Purpose

"God's purpose in guidance is not to get us to perform the right actions.  His purpose is to help us become the right kind of people.

"Personhood is formed through making decisions.  We learn to think and weigh options, we discover what we truly value, we take responsibility for our choices.  God wants us to be people, not robots, and that means we must make decisions."
--John Ortberg, "The Life You've Always Wanted"

Present

"I believe that the Holy Spirit really does offer to lead or guide or give direction to human beings - ordinary people.  He wants to do this for all of us.

"We can all learn how to be open to the promptings of the Spirit.  They are not reserved for the elite or for leaders only or for "important people."  They are not reserved for people who work as pastors or missionaries.  They are not reserved for people who are 'more spiritual' than you.  The Holy Spirit can and will give direction to us if we desire it.

"You may be right on the verge of experiencing this.  Your adventure is about to begin..."

But why do I never hear God's voice?

"I believe that one reason why we fail to hear God speak is that we are not attentive.  We suffer from what might be called 'spiritual mindlessness...'  It is a failure to be fully present, a lack of attending to the present moment.  In such a state, we go on autopilot..."
--John Ortberg, "The Life You've Always Wanted"

We spent a whole month talking about fasting...  making room for the important things and our faith, by cutting out the distractions. Maybe we all need to fast a few moments a day - to be attentive and focused on what God may be saying to us.

I'm writing this the morning after Open Sanctuary.  That is one way to find focus, to be in the moment.  There's nothing like staring at the flickering candles, soaking up the beauty of the space, and feeling completely at peace and in God's presence.  Do you need some space to put aside for God to speak?

Thursdays, 5-7pm.  The sanctuary is waiting.

Spiritual Direction

A spiritual director asks:

"Where do you sense God in that?"

"How is God drawing you out in that situation?"

"My husband is the one who started to notice subtle changes in me.  Something was happening in the periods between my spiritual direction sessions.  God was somehow, subtly, slowly, and in the most ordinary of ways forming my heart and mind through these very questions that I found so irritating.  It finally began to dawn on me that these were exactly the questions I want to live my life by.  These are the questions that pull me out of my narcissistic world and into the greater world for which God has created me.

"Something broken in me keeps telling me if I just work harder, read more Scripture, and become a better pray-er, God will be pleased and perhaps my life will be easier.  This misconception and myriad of other false beliefs that not-so-occasionally reek havoc in my body and brain are called into the light when I seek spiritual direction.  I notice God at work in places I hadn't considered and in ways I hadn't imagined.

"Meeting with a spiritual director has reminded me of the deepest realities I know, and yet, the ones I so quickly forget:  Namely that God is already at work here in my life and in this world; and that God is the initiator of all healing, redemption, wholeness, conviction, abundance; and I am the one who is invited to respond, and to partner."
--Beth Slevcove as quoted in Tony Jones' book, "The Sacred Way

Spiritual Direction is not something us Methodists talk about much...  But you'll be hearing a lot about it this month!  We're even having a Spiritual Director come to lead us in worship on May 23rd, to help us understand what this is. 

I think it could be something wonderful that some of us find immensely helpful as we journey on this road of faith....  Stay tuned for more insight!

But for now...  Think of a situation you are struggling with...  Where do you sense God in that?

Prayer

"As Christians, prayer isn't just something we talk about doing, it's something we actually do.  It's something that we feel deep in our hearts, something that offers us peace, direction, joy, and inexhaustible power.  But it's not a one-shot deal; it's persistence."
--Rev. John Ed, "Treasures of a Transformed Life"

Prayer is a form of guidance.  Pouring your heart out to God.  Saying the words.  Hearing the words.  Listening for God's quiet nudges...

Prayer puts us in touch with God in a profound way...  that only true persistence can develop.

What is something you are persistent about?
What results do you get from that persistence?
What if... you were that persistent with prayer?

Oops

"I can't tell you how many times I get calls from people who are really troubled, and they say, 'John Ed, what does the Bible say about my situation?  Where can I find some help?'  They're basically trying to borrow somebody else's knowledge about the Bible.  But the best thing is for us to be rooted and grounded in God's Word ourselves, so that his direction and guidance will come directly to us.  See, we can't be casual about it.

"Some folks say they just pick up their Bibles every now and then to look.  Have you ever heard the story about the man who decided he'd just flip open his Bible to see what God's Word was for him that particular day?  He opened it up, put his finger on a verse, and read that Judas went out and hung himself.  Not sure how that applied to his own life, he thought he'd try again.  This time he found a passage that said, 'Do likewise.'  He said to himself, 'Obviously there must be something wrong.  God wouldn't tell me to do that.'  So he tried again.  And finally, he flipped the page, put his finger down and read, 'What thou doest, do quickly.'

"See what can happen when we try to just pick the Bible up here and there, rather than looking at the whole picture and studying it regularly?  It'd be like trying to learn to surf while only hitting the ocean one day a year."
--Rev. John Ed, "Treasures of a Transformed Life"

The Bible seems like an obvious answer when we ask "Where do we look for God's guidance?"  But is it?  How many of us read the Bible - really READ it?  How many of us even know what the big picture is?

Looking to the Bible for guidance is so much more than picking it up now and then and pointing out a verse.  Maybe that has helped a time or two...  Maybe you've found word of healing or comfort that way...  But when it comes to seeking guidance and wisdom, it may be a chance to take some serious time to start reading.  Reading to know God better.  To know God's love and grace.  To know that God has great things in mind for each of us.

It's nice to hear those things said by a friend, a mentor, a pastor...  But even more amazing to see it in God's own words!

Humbleness

"Unless we're willing to humble ourselves and admit that God really does know better than we do, there's no way we're going to [take a chance].  The counsel of others who have gone before us is invaluable, too.  Look around you at some of the Christian leaders in your life.  I guarantee each one has something to teach you, if you're willing to learn."
--Rev. John Ed, "Treasures of a Transformed Life"

Any time we ask for advice...  we need to ask with humbleness of heart, right?  We ask because we do not know.  It's the same with God - we ask for help and guidance because we do not know the big picture.

God answers in all kinds of ways!  It may even be through the people that are already in your life...  through words they say, suggestions they make, gifts they give you...

The key is to be open to what is said.

Who are the people in your life you want to listen to more?  You want to pay attention to more?  What do they have to teach you?

Guidance can happen in so many ways...  This is just one!

Sunday at SPUMC - May 2nd, 2010

Today was a lovely day at St. Paul's UMC! 

The Education Hour got kicked off with:
* The Children talking about the ways that Jesus changes their lives - and they were encouraged to find something in their lives to change to become better disciples...  A good question for all of us!
* The Confirmands and Adults met in the Fellowship Hall to listen to Cathy D. share her life and faith story.  And what a wonderful job she did!  You just never know what people have been through and the ways their faith has been rocked, until you ask, and they share.  Thanks, Cathy, for doing such a great job!

In worship, we began our month of focusing on "Guidance."  Pastor Penny shared her story of how she came to be in ministry - and all the ways that God led her to this point.  All the big and little ways that God spoke to her, and guided her - through closed doors and open doors, through the words of friends, and through the "coincidences" that would make new things possible.

We've all had promptings and nudgings like this...  It's simply up to us to pay attention to those signs...

Take a moment this week - where are you feeling guided?