THE OWL'S SONG

Here is the video from last Sunday. Thank you, Darren, for a great job!

"Sometimes we don't see eye to eye" Kelly and Donna show us. They are dressed in blue and all are barefoot because they are coming down to "the river."



"We are called to a life of purpose. You can't live on purpose by accident."

SEEK GOD’S PURPOSES

“Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” Westminster Catechism

Romans 8:28-29 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

It seems God has plans and purposes for us! How do we live on purpose?

Let's take a look at Philippians 3:7-14 from "The Message."

The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God's righteousness. I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it. I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

Don't you love the way Eugene Peterson has rendered that passage?

And here are the same scriptures from "The New Living Bible."

6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.
8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ
9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.
10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death,
11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

To live a life "on purpose" or a life devoted to discovering and living God's purpose and plan:

1. We must know Christ (v. 8) John's Gospel, chapter one, tells us that Jesus Christ came to reveal God to us. Do you hear the longing in Paul's words to the Philippians to "know" Christ? Like him, as we journey onward, pressing toward the goal we discover our purpose by discovering our Lord.

2. We must let go of the the past (v. 13)
Whether your past is good or bad, you can’t focus on it.

Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

If your past is bad, you can’t let it keep you from doing the Lord’s purpose. If your past is good, you can’t depend on it!

3. We must have a worthy goal (v. 13-14)
Have you ever noticed that if you do not have an agenda for your life (or even for your day) one will be provided for you either by the events of life itself or by other people. There’s nothing wrong with setting goals. Actually, it is essential to a purpose filled life, but our ultimate goal must be to serve the Lord. When we see Him, will He say “Well done…”?

4. We must realize that our purpose is eternal (v. 14)
Pleasure won’t last. In Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, Solomon (speaking of pleasure) says “as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. It was like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.”

Possessions won’t last. In I Timothy 6:7 Paul says “After all, we didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die.”

Prestige won’t last. In Matthew 19:30, Jesus says “... many who seem important now will be the least important then, and those who are considered least here will be the greatest then.”

I will never forget the cheap, plaster plaque that used to hang in our dining room when I was a child. It was not the beauty of the plaque that stayed with me. I think one of my sisters may have made it at a summer Vacation Bible School. It read:


Those words had a lasting impact on my childish heart. Life had eternal purpose! What would my Lord Jesus have me do?

You can’t live on purpose by accident. Will you join me in the journey of discovery?

This continues the OASIS series. I forgot to post it on Sunday. We have reached the I of OASIS--"Invest in People."

I’d like to introduce you to a woman, who is a lot you and me. On the day she met Jesus at the well she did not know she was dying of thirst. She did not know that God saw and loved her. She did not know that her life was about to change forever.

John 4:3-27

So he [Jesus] left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.

The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus told her, “I AM the Messiah!”

Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?”

The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him.

Jesus broke several barriers--he changed travel plans, ignored gender-based limitations, flouted common racial prejudice, and he the "rabbi" spoke intimately with a woman of questionable reputation. Why? Because he knew that he came to this earth for one purpose. People. People are eternal. He saw this woman's need for the life only he could give to her.

Jesus always invested in people, even when it meant going the cross. People are the only thing that lasts for eternity. In Jesus' encounter with a woman at a well, we see our own need for an encounter with Jesus, and we are reminded of what it is we, as followers and disciples of the Lord, are to do. To invest in people is to invest in eternity.

Jesus invited the woman to see him for who he is. Jesus said, in effect, "You don't know who I am." Sometimes I think we are not much different. We may intellectually know who Jesus is supposed to be, but our hearts aren't so sure. Sometimes if we have been rejected we see him as rejecting us, if we have been judged harshly we see him as judgemental, if wounded by anger, as someone always angry, and so on. We don’t come to God with our deepest hurts if we see him wrongly.

Secondly, he invites the woman to let go of the things that do not satisfy. Samaritans and Jews were bitter rivals; each group claimed the distinction of being the people of God. The Samaritans believed that their land, and especially Mount Gerazim, was particularly holy and set apart for God. Jacob, the father of Jews and Samaritans, was an important figure and his well was special. She was holding on to what she had, what she knew, what she thought would bring meaning and significance.
Jesus invited her to spiritual life that would truely satisfy. He offers us the same invitation, knowing that we run to relationships, or alcohol and drugs or friendships, or distract ourselves from our thirst with work or busyness. It is never enough. We have to keep coming back. Drugs, food, sex, elationships... whatever it is we use to quench our thirst.

He invites her, and us, to see him for who he really is. He invites us to let go of our ways to find satisfaction, to give up our attempts to find satisfaction.

Sometimes he works through people, members of the body of Christ who speak something to us in the power of the Spirit, sometimes with the gifts of the Spirit, sometimes circumstances, or books or songs or many other ways. He pursues us. Jesus got the woman’s attention, and she invited him give her the better water, the one that truly satisfies.

Ah, he will come, but only at your invitation!

He next moves to the area of her brokenness. He says, "Go call your husband." We know that one of the woman’s issues was relationships with men. Married five times, she tried to find relief over and over again. Many preachers make a point of saying she was a "sinful" woman, but Jesus doesn't say much about that, does he? We do not know what caused her brokeness--was she widowed, abused, deserted? What will you do when the Holy Spirit reveals a wounded place in your heart? She was honest. "I have no husband." When we confess, when we agree with Jesus that we’re hopelessly defeated in a certain area, we’re allowing Christ to enter into that place of brokenness to bring healing and new life.

Jesus invited her to see him for who he really was. Why? He invited her to give up the inferior things, things that don’t really satisfy. Why? He went, kindly but purposefully, to her brokeness. Why? To bring life. He gives an astonishingly clear statement, "I am the Messiah!" And as truth dawned in her life, she ran to tell others.

Jesus went out of his way, broke social custom and convention, and spoke plainly in order to invest in one woman who opened the way for others to find him.

Will we learn from his example and invest in the only thing that lasts--PEOPLE?

Someone once said, "In order to get the best, you have to give up the rest." He invites her, and us, to enter his presence and worship. That is where her healing, and ours comes.

If you have been reading here you know that my church is exploring an OASIS theme together as a way to think about our vision and purpose.

O Offer Hope
A Advance God’s Kingdom
S Share God’s Love
I Invest in People
S Seek God’s Purpose

I've posted sermons the last few weeks, but this week I am just posting scriptures. We are reading these passages from Psalms as part of Sunday's worship service. They focus on God's love.

Psalm 63:1-8

O God, you are my God; I earnestly seek You
My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.
Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.

Psalm 103:8-14

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.

Psalm 89:1-2

I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!
Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
Your unfailing love will last forever.
Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.

Those who begin to understand the kind of love God gives to us should begin to explore how that love can be shared! Below are some that will help you begin to think about how God’s love is shown through us to those around us.

Consider reading one passage each day this week, and spending some time thinking and praying about what God may want to speak to your heart. Who is around you who needs to know His love, and what can you do about it?

Monday John 13:35,

Tuesday I John 3:16-18

Wednesday John 4:16b-20

Thursday Romans 13:8

Friday 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:13

Saturday Ephesians 3 17b-19

I'm off to pack for the Festival of Homiletics. Back in a week!

My sermon for May 4th, the first in a series based on a metaphor we are using to cast vision--an OASIS.

The first letter in OASIS, O, reminds us to OFFER HOPE.

We cannot offer water we do not have. If we are to truly be an "oasis," we must be people who have hope ourselves and are willing to offer it freely to others..

We think of "hope" as a kind of wishful thinking. I hope I get what I want for Christmas, get asked to the prom, lose weight, find my keys, and so on. The Bible speaks of a different kind of hope. The write of the Book of Hebrews says our faith is sure and our hope is certain.

Our world tells us otherwise.

Romans 5:1-5
Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who through our faith has brought us into that blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God's glory. We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. He gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.

Romans 8:22-25
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)


Romans 8: 22-25 from The Message
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

"Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength." G.K. Chesterton

Why Do We Need to “Hope in God”?

Because is is the only way to hope when things are hopeless. Only God is unchangeable, full of love and compassion and kindness. Discouragement, dryness and frustration often begin with a faulty sense of hope. A person who hopes in God will not be destroyed by hurts from people, because they are not looking to people for their source of satisfaction. If we are dry it may be because we need to place less of our trust in people, things or ourselves and more of our hope in the Lord, the one who promised to never leave or forsakes us.

Paul teaches us how to overcome feelings of tiredness, sadness or hopelessness when he writes, that we wait patiently and confidently!

Things Are Not Yet Right

The earth groans….we do too. Things are not yet made right. People who hope in God have the confident expectation that regardless of what happens, God will love us and sustain us--and some day it will be made right.

Perhaps Paul thought of what David wrote when he was tried and troubled, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God." (Psa. 42:11)

I once read a children’s story about a man sentenced to death. He obtained a reprieve by assuring the king he would teach his majesty’s horse to fly within the year--on the condition that if he did not succeed, he would be put to death at the end of the year. "Within a year," the man explained later, "the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, in a year, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn to fly."

Stuff Happens

When our hope is in the Lord we are not undone when things do not go our way. Paul in NT and David in OT abounded in hope despite their many trials, attacks and troubles. These men were not like some of us that quickly give into discouragement when faced with adversity. Hope is built upon a confident faith that the Spirit will help us look towards better things to come. Hope visualizes the blessings that come with new life through Christ. Placing our hope in God helps us base our expectation on all the characteristics of God instead of our circumstances or feelings. This is expressed in the hymn, "The Solid Rock." I sang that as my first "special" in church. I was about 11 and my knees knocked together. I was grateful they were concealed behind the pulpit! I loved the song then, and I love it now.

"My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand."*

Water for Our Spirits Brings Fruit in Our Lives

Jesus described himself as LIVING WATER. Paul remembered that our roots of faith reach an inexhaustible reservoir of Christ’s grace, love and hope. When a person is consistently drinking from Christ’s living waters they are not overcome by dry spells (and those will, inevitably, come).

David wrote that those we delighted in God’s words were “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1:3) Ezekiel wrote, "By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing." (Ezek. 47:12)

Allow the Lord to help you yield a greater quantity and quality of spiritual fruit as you grow in your hope in God.

Suggestions

Would you like some suggestions about how to refresh your spirit in God? Here are some I find helpful:

Prayer. This includes both talking with God and taking time to become still and peaceful, seeking awareness of God’s presence.

Praise. It is not easy, but if you stop in the middle of despair and praise God, and I mean aloud,
you are making a conscious decision to hope in God.

Read scripture. You knew I would say that, didn’t you? We know it, but we often don’t do it. We turn on the TV, or we send an email, or we eat or any number of things to distract ourselves. The Psalms are especially good for refreshing your spirit.

Listen to music. Since the goal is to refresh ourselves in God, choose carefully what you are listening to. I love to play the works of Bach, a man who wrote music with the express intention of glorifying God. Perhaps you like hymns. Or you can sing along with praise music.

Choose. I mean make choices that are deliberate and positive. Choose to speak in an uplifting, positive manner. Choose words that are hopeful and encouraging. Avoid negative words like a poison. Sometimes you might even need to, as much as possible, avoid negative people.

Remember, attitude is everything. Choose a good attitude. Yes, you can.

There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them. Clare Boothe Luce.

Hopeless is Human, But Jesus Promises Refreshing

Only God gives hope when everything appears hopeless. When people become weary, sick or weak they tend to give up hope. Many are depressed, worried and gloomy. Others are overwhelmed, tired and lonely. Every one of us has experienced those things. It is part of being human.

Paul teaches us that the only way to remain hopeful is to develop a thirsty heart for Christ’s rivers of life. Paul knew what it was like to feel tired, ill and abused, but He wrote, "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day." (2 Tim. 1:12)

Hope equips us for what lies ahead. The great apostle realized that no one is able to face the trials of life without hope – it is like a fresh drink of water.

Perhaps you are trying to quench your thirst with some other hope besides the Lord? Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied." (Matt. 5:8) Nothing else satisfies like Jesus. Turn your eyes and heart toward Him. Allow the Lord to turn your night to day, your gloom to gladness and your sorrow to singing. Ask the Lord to allow you to grow in your hunger and thirst for righteousness and hope.

A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned. The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope!

Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. If hope holds such power for unthinking rodents, what might it do for us?

Are you feeling hopeless? Are you willing to hope in God? Take a deep drink of God’s hope. At times we may have to wait until our hope is realized, but it is as sure as God’s Holy character and word.

* Edward Mote (1797-1874), "The Solid Rock," 1834:

This Steven Curtis Chapman song goes with last week's sermon. Better late than never.

A Few of Our Young People

Good Morning!

The Oasis in the Entry

A Close Up of the Fountain and Pool

"Welcome to the Oasis!"

Let Us Pray

Mistine Shares a Song Dedicated to Her Mom

Step Into the Water!

This is a sermon for Jubilee's "Vision Sunday" which will introduce our OASIS theme. Thank you, J. Lee Grady, for the idea for this sermon.

From Ezekiel 47:1-10, 12

In my vision... I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance...I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across.

The water was up to my ankles. He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist.

5 Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?”

Then he led me back along the riverbank... I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river. Then he said...“This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure. 9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. Fishermen will stand along the shores... the shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun...

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”

I make no claims to being an expert in prophetic interpretation, but I believe that sometimes prophecy has a literal meaning, sometimes a symbolic one, sometimes both, and sometimes more than one fulfillment at different times in history. Prophetic messages come in a variety of ways, but the book of Ezekiel contains many striking visual messages--what we call visions: a valley of dry bones coming to life and a giant set of wheels, for example.

In this fascinating and detailed passage there are likely several meanings that we may not grasp. At least one thing, however, is clear. This is a picture of LIFE--abundant life that originates from the temple--a symbol of the presence of God. As the stream of life flows in the desert, life flourishes along the banks.

The writer first wades ankle deep, then to his knees, then to his waist, and then he’s in deep water. "Are you paying attention?" his guide asks, significantly.

The question seems to be, “How deep do you want to go?” I believe God will take us deeper and deeper. Largely, where we stop is up to us.

Lets’ picture the ankle deep water as like a wading pool. What are the characteristics of a spiritual “kiddy pool?”

I have a cute video of Trinity as she explores the pool with her mommy. She is having a wonderful time with this totally new experience. It makes me smile to watch. The water is shallow. It is safe, especially because a parent is near, supporting, encouraging, smiling. How like our early spiritual life! God's presence may have seemed so real to you, this new life so exciting, so comforting, so full of discovery!

Babies and young children belong in the shallow pool. No offense whatever is intended when I say that there is a time and place for the wading pool. But how sad if that was all we ever experienced! The same is true of our spiritual experience. How odd it would seem if we never ventured any further but simply stayed in the wading pool with infants long past the time we should have departed.

Let’s picture the knee deep water like a jacuzzi. What are the characteristics of a spiritual jacuzzi? Ah, there is a place for the hot tub! It is a place of comfort, of rejuvenation, of rest, of "pampering." It is a place, really, of self-gratification. Sometimes even if we spend time in the deep water, we need a trip to the jacuzzi. It is lovely, especially after stressful times, to relax and soak in security and warmth. The jacuzzi does not involve work or struggle or progress.

It has a purpose, but it was never intended as a place to stay long-term. Sadly, it seems that so many American Christians never get past the spiritual hot tub. We sit and soak in Bible studies, and in music, and we listen to our favorite preachers on the radio or the TV. We buy "inspirational" books. The fellowship is quite nice, sometimes, in the hot tub. It's a place to hang out but not to explore or be challenged or take risks.

If the water gets less than ideal, we find another place that "meets our needs" better, and thus we have an illusion of movement when really it is still all about us.

Gasp! Now waist deep! What happens in waist-level water? It is a bit more challenging, isn't it? Not as warm and cozy. Less secure, less safe less indulgent, less relaxing. The waist deep water is often, spiritually speaking, where a crisis occurs.

I think of myself and Ken when we are at the ocean. I always think that this time will be the time I go out beyond the breakers, where Ken tells me it is lovely to swim. I wade in. I proceed. Then I get to waist deep--I'm still having a great time. But I have a decision to make. Will I follow Ken on beyond to where my feet no longer touch bottom?

Inevitably, I "chicken out." I am afraid, frankly, though I don't like to be. I always decide at that point that I will stay where I am for a while and then I will head back to shallower water, or even to the beach while I wait for Ken to come back.

But, spiritually speaking, the prophet, and we, people of God, are called to deeper water. To the place where our feet don't touch the bottom. What is it like to go to spiritually deep water as the Lord guides us?

So much could be said, but here are a few thoughts:

It is a place of unashamed worship, a place where you stay by the grace and mercy of God, and you know it, and you are grateful and thankful. It is not quite safe, so you keep your eyes on Jesus. It's not all about you any more. The focus has shifted. Worship is not an empty exercise. It is real, no matter what tradition or form it takes.

It is a place of bold proclamation. I did not say loud, or dogmatic or annoying proclamation. I sad bold. A Christ-follower in deep water is not concerned all that much about the opinion of those around him or her. There is more at stake. In the deep water, we are "not ashamed of the Gospel, knowing it is the power of God to salvation"

It is a place of joy. Am I saying that a spiritually mature man or woman who is determined to go deeper will never be sad? Never depressed? Never ill? Never questioning or wondering where the Holy Spirit is? Not at all! Sometimes those who walk by faith in deep water have outwardly difficult lives. But there is a sense, thorough it all, that there is no going back. The decision is made, and with that may come difficulty, but also a sense of freedom, of exhilaration, and an abiding sense of joy.

It is a place of love. It is not the self-gratifying experience of the jacuzzi. Those swimming in the deep water of God's presence begin to love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love their neighbors as much as they love themselves. Squabbles sometimes happen in the wading pool, or even the jacuzzi, but not usually in waist deep and certainly not in deep water. Focusing on non-essentials is a thing of the past. Those longing for God's presence begin to see what is of lasting value.

The deep end of the water is a place of radical sacrifice. If we begin to love God and others we will be ready and willing to give of our finances, of our time, our talents and abilities, our prayer, and on it goes. We know we are not the center any longer. We realize that we never were. Eternity is in view! The cost has been counted long ago. No matter what it costs to go deeper, the shore is not the place to be.

Have you ever been deep sea diving, or even snorkeling? What fabulous wonders lie below the surface! Those who have conquered their fear to follow their divine guide on are going "from glory to glory" and they find the richest of God's treasures. Meanwhile the water of God's presnece brings life and healing and renewed hope along the shore.

Are you ready?

Are you ready to move off the beach and into the water? Are you ready to get out of the wading poor or the jacuzzi? Will you keep going--even to where your feet do not touch bottom? It can be a little frightening and even dangerous. It is not safe, but it is good. There you find the richest treasurers of spiritual life with God.

Will you go where you must live by faith?