I loved the discussion about being Spirit-led. It made me think of Jonah's story. I would say he wasn't acting in a Spirit-led fashion by sailing the other direction from Nineveh, but along the way, sailors repented of not serving God. Of course, when Jonah acts in the Spirit, Nineveh repents. One aspect of this story shows that God can use us even if we're not totally obedient, but I often wonder what opportunities Jonah missed in his rebellion and how much blessing he missed because of his rebellion.
I had a dream last year that helps me illustrate this.
This dream was about the American church. This church sat in a land where part of it faced a desert and the other part faced a luscious, green valley with a flowing river. The part of the church for our younger child faced the desert. You could tell this land was once very fertile and lively, but this area of the church had exposed walls, old toys, and brittle stairs.
The part of the church for our older child was more stable and enclosed, but it also had an air of staleness. You had to cross it to get to the part of the church that sat in the living area. This was the area of "big church," where older saints met.
On the radio came news of two storms. One wind would propel the church into the desert at one speed; the other would propel it toward the living area at a higher speed.
Somehow I felt this dream meant that God will always move His church forward, hence the stronger wind pushing the church toward greener pastures. Yet, it felt like the wind of tradition (preferences without spiritual or Biblical basis) would limit its progress. It was up to the congregation to determine how much effect this wind would have.
The declining state of the church as it reached younger and younger ages showed an impending decline as the generations progress.
I write this about Jonah and this dream to say God wants to bless us extremely, abundantly pressed-down and shaken. While many traditions are Biblical and have an element of obedience in them, we miss out on an overwhelming, awe-inspiring blessing by letting them become rote liturgy. We must educate younger generations about why the traditions we implement should stand the test of time, if indeed they have a Biblical basis, or we must actively seek the Lord in which traditions we keep to ensure that we stay blameless and do not grow cold.
I loved the discussion about being Spirit-led. It made me think of Jonah's story. I would say he wasn't acting in a Spirit-led fashion by sailing the other direction from Nineveh, but along the way, sailors repented of not serving God. Of course, when Jonah acts in the Spirit, Nineveh repents. One aspect of this story shows that God can use us even if we're not totally obedient, but I often wonder what opportunities Jonah missed in his rebellion and how much blessing he missed because of his rebellion.
I had a dream last year that helps me illustrate this.
This dream was about the American church. This church sat in a land where part of it faced a desert and the other part faced a luscious, green valley with a flowing river. The part of the church for our younger child faced the desert. You could tell this land was once very fertile and lively, but this area of the church had exposed walls, old toys, and brittle stairs.
The part of the church for our older child was more stable and enclosed, but it also had an air of staleness. You had to cross it to get to the part of the church that sat in the living area. This was the area of "big church," where older saints met.
On the radio came news of two storms. One wind would propel the church into the desert at one speed; the other would propel it toward the living area at a higher speed.
Somehow I felt this dream meant that God will always move His church forward, hence the stronger wind pushing the church toward greener pastures. Yet, it felt like the wind of tradition (preferences without spiritual or Biblical basis) would limit its progress. It was up to the congregation to determine how much effect this wind would have.
The declining state of the church as it reached younger and younger ages showed an impending decline as the generations progress.
I write this about Jonah and this dream to say God wants to bless us extremely, abundantly pressed-down and shaken. While many traditions are Biblical and have an element of obedience in them, we miss out on an overwhelming, awe-inspiring blessing by letting them become rote liturgy. We must educate younger generations about why the traditions we implement should stand the test of time, if indeed they have a Biblical basis, or we must actively seek the Lord in which traditions we keep to ensure that we stay blameless and do not grow cold.