Refining

You know good coffee shops know when and what to change. They recognize that change is a part of life and growth. They also recognize that changing the right things at the right time leads to improvement over time. I love when different coffees are made available or products or environments fazed out or restructured. This keeps discovery ongoing and guards against complacency. The opposite is also true. Some coffee shops and many people, don't think any change is good or necessary. I myself often settle into comfortable patterns of life and faith. My schedule is full but predictable. If anything gets moved or changed it is seemingly catastrophic. But in the midst of all the superficial change, God has been reminding me that there are deep, heart level changes that He still needs to make in me. I am thankful for the grace of God that covers me through the substitutionary life and death of His Son. I know that I can't outs sin the grace of God. But I also know that that same grace appears to teach me, over and over again to say "no" to ungodliness. I still have much to learn and much to change. Thankfully, my hope is in His faithfulness not my own. My grandmother, who turned 98 today, has trusted God for the long haul and been a huge example of God's transformative plans for our lives. I'm thankful for all that I've learned from her and look forward to being example for others to trust in God's faithfulness even when we're in the midst of our brokenness.
Grace and peace

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Simplicity

After spending a week in Ecuador with some fabulous people, I thought I should reflect a bit on the joys of going and coming home. One thing I especially love about being home is having strong, dark coffee ready when I wake up. In Ecuador just getting clean water for coffee is a challenge. Each morning I would get up to read and pray and usually drink iced coffee made with bottled water. The hot coffee wasn't made till close to breakfast time-@ 8 o'clock. This is part of going on mission but the return also makes me very thankful. I really seem to value the simple goodness of many things after not having them for a week. Being at home, talking to people face to face in a language I understand are huge blessings to me now. Seeing my wife and kids and holding them close is very sweet and precious. All people need refuge and friendship and some purpose to wake up to. Mission always refines what our list of true needs actually are. So I stand in awe of the grace given me this day to know Christ and be known by him. On top of that is all grace, even the uncomfortable stuff. And because of this grace I will seek to make him known in my home, at work and in the world. Pretty challenging, but just like finding good coffee, worth it if I keep it simple.
Grace and peace


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Location:Home

One who is full loathes honey,
    but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.-Proverbs 27:7
     When I get together with people drinking coffee, it is always interesting to see what people put in theirs. Maybe they like it really sweet or with lots of cream. Maybe just a little or somewhere in the middle. Then there are folks like me who don't want anything but coffee in their coffee. My wife and so many others always comment on how bitter and unpleasant black coffee seems. But I contend that if your palate is trained to taste just the coffee, you start to see it as good.
     I worked at Starbucks my first year of seminary. I did not like coffee. I just needed a job and it seemed like a good deal. Each shift I worked I was supposed to (and I did most of them) make a French Press of a particular coffee and then sample it and record what I noticed, liked and disliked about it. At first, they were all just different flavors of dirt. This one was a stronger dirt than that one. But over time a subtle shift began to happen. The coffee didn't change, I did. My perspective, enjoyment, evaluation and consumption all began to be transformed. This was no longer just hot, bitter, dirty water. I could begin to find things I liked about certain coffees. I began to drink it sometimes at work and eventually at home. This didn't happen over night. It took repeated exposure and thoughtful contemplation. But I didn't just make up my mind to start liking it. The change happened to my taste buds  What had changed was what I thought tasted "good".
     I truly believe that this growth also occurs for those that follow Jesus. When we are new believers we only see "blessing" (financial, familial or otherwise) as good. As we grow and our knowledge of God is more real and deep, we began to see life through His eyes. We learn that He has promised to only do good to those that belong to Jesus. This doesn't mean that bad stuff doesn't happen. It means that in the faithfulness and power of God even the worst, most bitter things in life are used for our good. Our character is developed as well as our trust and dependence on Christ. We no longer need just the sugary sweet life all the time. We can now embrace the joys and refining goodness of darkness and loss. This does not mean that we look for difficulty but we certainly are not to avoid that or suffering either. The verse that I mentioned at the beginning is full of amazing truth about how what we are full of changes what we hunger for and enjoy. In the ancient world, honey was an amazing and precious thing. If you wanted sweetness that was your primary source for it. And when you are full, it's not that you don't just say "no thanks". The verse says that you loathe the sweetness. But the opposite is true too. When we are hungry even bitter things seem sweet. This is exactly what God wants to grow in all of us. I need this truth now as much as I did when I first started drinking coffee or having kids or struggling in ministry. When we are truly hungry for God and so thankful for all that He gives us, we can rightly understand the hard things that we have to persevere through. We can find joy in the face of sorrow or harsh treatment for God is our joy and our portion forever.
So as you encounter difficulty or bitter things, remember that God is seeking to create a new taste for Himself in you. For if He is sweet and good to you, you will not need the temporary sweetness of this life. When you do get them you will be thankful but not make it an idol. I hope that you find greater hunger for God and His grace each and every day. I hope that for me too.

The best part of waking up is...

The old Folger's commercials and jingle probably still ring in all our minds a little too loudly. But for many of us, while that may not be our brand, morning coffee is the best or at least one of the best parts of waking up. There is something so amazing in my house about time before my kids get up to just read, pray and drink coffee. It has to be strong so that it wakens my taste buds up and so that deep need for energy and vitality is met as well. After a long night with kids or just busy schedules, I can feel like "death warmed over." This overused cliche is probably more true than I like to admit. Life, with all of its busyness and condemnation and pouring out for others can really empty the soul. Those mornings with coffee I am reminded of how desperately I needed and still need resurrection power. We are all confronted by those kinds of days or even just those desperate feelings. I believe that these God given reminders are there to point us to much bigger truths than coffee or snooze buttons will provide. While I know that I will be resurrected at the end of this world, I need daily resurrection power even more than coffee or more sleep or sex or money or relationships. While I know that Jesus is king and that I was made alive in Christ many years ago, I still need Him. That is what is so amazing about Easter. God defeated death and sin and offers that freedom, confidence and forgiveness to all who repent of their sin and trust His finished work. But God also gives us His Holy Spirit to empower us and give us that resurrection power each day. In Ephesians 1:18-21 Paul referencing his prayers for the Ephesian church says it like this: " 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in me! So when I feel dead inside or far from God or bound up in sin or whatever is bringing death instead of life, the Spirit of God floods me with fresh power for the day. Truly His mercies are new and fresh every morning. So if you have heard that Christ is risen and it has become no big deal to you, may you be empowered this day to fight sin and enjoy Christ and walk by faith in the one who loves you. May each morning from here on out that you would remember the resurrection power you have been given and that you so desperately need to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel. We all need the strength of the Holy Spirit to awaken our taste for God again to see that He is good and we need God to work and will in us to accomplish His good pleasure. Coffee only hints at that glory. Truly the best part of waking up is the presence and power of God still working and changing us in the midst of all of life's trials and troubles.

The Power of One Cup (or conversation)

So there has been a lot of research going into finding out what is good and/or bad for you. For years people have been told that many things in moderation can be very helpful for you. They have looked at red wine, dark chocolate and others but now great interest in being shown to coffee. While coffee is a huge business and so many consume it in large amounts daily, science (and coffee companies) wanted to see what good a cup of coffee can do for you. It turns out that the amount I drink exceeds their recommendations for purely healthful benefits. But while I enjoy coffee to its fullest it is interesting to think about how a single cup may be so important that it can change your health or even your life. And what God has been showing me lately is that it is not only single cups of coffee that are helpful and life changing, it is also single conversations with individuals that seem to have the same helpful results. When we engage one another in conversation, it can be lighthearted and fun or serious and challenging. But in those moments we find connection with another human being and truth is able to be shared or a challenge or invitation to be offered. I have seen this time and time again in working with students that what is huge for them is really knowing we want them to be a part. We want to hear their story and seek to share life with them so that God might connect them to His great story. Whether inviting someone new to join our leadership team or asking a student that attends regularly but doesn't really "plug in" to key events, it is amazing how following the leadership of the Holy Spirit in those small ways can be life giving and encouraging. The benefit is for both the one initiating and the one responding and that is one of the greatest mysteries of how God uses simple, broken vessels to display His worth and glory. He is usually working both in and through us at the same time. And it is often the most "normal" or mundane events and activities that point best to His greatness when He works through them, like conversation. So I encourage to take some initiative and have a conversation that matters. Get to heart stuff and laugh and cry or encourage or whatever. But don't settle for just the surface conversation at least once today. We never know what that one conversation might mean for us or them.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29

Caffeine Motivation

As much coffee as I drink, I have been thinking lately that there are days when I consume too much. Most of you who know me understand that can be a genuine concern. It may not be the best evaluation tool to monitor how "shaky" I feel. I have learned that while I enjoy the effects of the caffeine, coffee is much more about that. I enjoy the warmth and flavor. But many days I can find myself thinking, I "need" some coffee! What I mean is that I need some caffeine. This has made me really think about what I truly need.
Do I need facebook or twitter? How many friends do I need? How much food do I need each day? each meal? There are so many things that our brokenness clings to as needs. In the second chapter of Jeremiah, verses 11-13, we see a great word picture of confusing what you want and what you need.

11 Has a nation changed its gods,
    even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
    for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
    the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.
There are two key things that are amazing and convicting to me in this passage. One is the way God views this false understanding. He calls all creation to be shocked because this is so evil. God calls this evil! Which means...it's evil! The more I read the Bible the more I see this idea of satisfaction in God. He is meant to satisfy our deepest needs and fill our greatest longings. What are those? To be loved by someone greater than ourselves; to be forgiven completely; to be known, no secrets, and to still be cherished and pursued and  embraced forever. This is what we get with Jesus in the here and now and for all time. The second thing that is amazing is that here we see that in God we are offered a fountain of living waters and we settle for a broken tank that can't hold even dirty water. When Jesus talks to the woman at the well in John 4, he tells her that the only water that will truly satisfy her soul is from him. Yet she is looking for it in relationships and pleasure. How quickly do we forsake the living waters for broken cisterns.
While it all seems amazing that anyone could goof this up, we all do. It is awful and foolish and life-sucking, but it seems to be our natural inclination. What we need is the Spirit of God to do his work and make much of Jesus to us. This is one of the key reasons God gives us the Holy Spirit: to glorify Jesus. And we need this work to remind us that he is what we truly need. May that be the gift that God gives us this very moment and each day.
So as you enjoy the good things in life, remember what you really need and be super thankful for all the rest. Even when it feels like you need more coffee.
Grace and peace

Beauty and Rest

These are two things that are often lacking in our lives. As I am waiting on the coffee to brew pre 6 a.m. I can hear one of my little girls jump out of bed and running through our upstairs. For me, time to read and think and drink coffee in silence or at least quiet is very restful and beautiful. Perhaps I think of those coffee times as more beautiful when they are quiet. I am starting to learn that the quiet is great. But the little feet running downstairs is greater. There will always be a sense of joy from being still and just knowing God is sovereign. But there is great joy in my daughter pretending to read and drink coffee with me. I am always looking for a more restful state or something that just seems simpler. There seems to be a deep call to enjoy the grace of the  moment, no matter the moment. I often think that in these moments God has forgotten how important my time with Him is. We all have times when we think we know what we need. We are tired, empty or soul sick. We think we need a vacation or at bare minimum a sleep in day. Maybe what we all need is the wisdom to see the gift of the moment. The beauty of simple conversation with a 2 year old. The fostering of a good morning ritual for my children. Many of these perspective shifts don't happen because we just start thinking them. They take a grace anvil to waken us up to the presence of God in our own homes and lives. We live life in the mundane and God is very present in our lives. I pray that I will see Him at work in my own heart and my own home. I pray that you will see it more clearly as well.

Grace and peace