day 7, lent 2009

greetings!

nouwen states: "the crisis of our prayer life is that our mind may be filled with ideas about God while our heart remains far from him."

we can be so cerebral...

our brain is probably only about 18 inches or so from our heart, but sometimes that seems like an insurmountable gulf...

we so easily live in our minds -- neglecting our heart...

almost every church i have ever attended or pastored would rather take another class on almost anything [e.g. sharing our faith, caring for the poor, feeding the hungry, visiting the prisoners, managing our money, using our gifts, starting a home church, growing up in Christ, etc.] THANK ACTUALLY DOING IT!!!

i call it the paralyzation of the church...

i have heard it so often: "we are just not ready -- we need more training!"

MORE training -- you gotta be joking!

for the most part, i believe most of us [certainly me included] are educated far beyond our intellligence level already...

it is so much easier to cram our mind full than to pour out our heart until it is empty and spent and used up...

i love what john wimber [founder of the vineyard movement] used to say: "just do the stuff -- that Jesus stuff..."

maybe we know enough -- could it be time to act -- right now during lent?

maybe we could learn better on-the-job -- there are people all around us who need love -- what holds us back?

maybe Jesus is sending us -- not to another class, but to white fields ready for a harvest?

let's listen -- i think Jesus may be breathing the Spirit our way: "as the Father sent me, NOW i am sending you!"

nouwen closes: "finally, listen to your heart. it's there that Jesus speaks most intimately to you. praying is first and foremost listening to Jesus, who dwells in the very depth of your heart. he doesn't shout. he doesn't thrust himself upon you. his voice is an unassuming voice, very nearly a whisper, the voice of a gentle love. whatever you do with your life, go on listening to the voice of Jesus in your heart. this listening must be an active and very attentive listening, for in our restless and noisy world God's so loving voice is easily drowned out. you need to set aside some time every day for this listening to God if only for ten minutes. Ten minutes each day for Jesus alone can bring about a radical change in your life...if you stick to your daily prayer time, then slowly but surely you'll come to hear the gentle voice of love and will long more and more to listen to it."

i am going to stop writing and sit in front of the fireplace and LISTEN before i go to bed...

maybe you will want to do so as well...

blessings!

guy

FIRE > READY > AIM [maybe that is better than ready > aim > fire]!