I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world-
It is the door through which people walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind people,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it ...
So I stand by the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for people to find that door--the door to God.
The most important thing any person can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch--the latch that only clicks
And opens to the person's own touch.
People die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter--
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it--live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him ...
So I stand by the door.

Go in, great saints, go all the way in--
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics--
It is a vast roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms.
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening ...
So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry,
And the people way inside only terrify, them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much:
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving--preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them, too,
I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not, yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God,
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from people as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too.
Where? Outside the door--
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But--more important for me--
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a door-keeper ..."
So I stand by the door.

I Stand by the Door
by Sam Shoemaker

Sam Shoemaker, founder of Faith At Work at Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City, in 1926, was also one of the spiritual leaders who helped draft the 12 Steps of A.A.

Obtained from the Faith at Work website.

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"Is there then anything you will not leave for Christ? You cannot know him - and yet he is the Truth, the one thing alone that can be known! Do you not care to be imperfect? Would you rather keep this or that, with imperfection, than part with it to be perfect? You cannot know Christ, for the very principle of his life was the simple absolute relation of realities; his one idea was to be a perfect child to his Father. He who will not part with all for Christ, is not worthy of him, and cannot know him; and the Lord is true, an cannot acknowledge him ... "

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

From Matthew 6

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Something I read this morning and thought I'd share:

"To let their light shine, not to force on them their interpretations of God's designs, is the duty of Christians toward their fellows. If you who set yourselves to explain the theory of Christianity, had set yourselves instead to do the will of the Master, the one object for which the Gospel was preached to you, how different would now be the condition of that portion of the world with which you come into contact! Had you given yourselves to the understanding of his word that you might do it, and not to the quarrying from it of material wherewith to buttress your systems, in many a heart by this time would the name of the Lord be loved where it now remains unknown."

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Grace & Peace,

Deji.

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Have you ever come home with leftovers of a really good dinner, that was really delicious but with portions large enough to have you planning a reprise for brunch the next day? Then you get home and forget to put it in the fridge? You wake up the next morning, a little bit later than usual, very much hungry and find yourself eying the to-go box on the counter, wondering if you can heat it back up to being good to eat again. Umm ... yeah, I have done that on occasion, depending on just what dinner was. Quick disclaimer - Don't ever ever do this with seafood or you may end up in the E.R. after some really crazy .... (you know what to put here).

I recently made a comment to a friend that if it is pizza, you can probably get away with it but the truth is - it is never any close to being as good. I may be hungry enough and maybe just lazy enough (sometimes it's being low on groceries) to where it seems to work out pretty well. Once the food had gone bad however, you cannot cook it back to being good again. It's just not going work. You may not get crazy sick from it but it is going to taste nasty.

All of that rambling was to get to this point - there are some leftovers in our lives that we may need to take a good look at and perhaps throw out rather than trying to "cook" them into being good again (and that is if it was ever any good in the first place). I don't know what shape or form it takes for you, could be habits, liaisons, lifestyle, projects ... perhaps even work. I know I have my fair share and as I grow in my walk with Christ the layers keep getting peeled away and I see things that I am still holding on to that really should have no place here.

In his preface to "The Great Divorce", C.S. Lewis wrote -

"A sum can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on. Evil can be undone, but it cannot 'develop' into good. Time does not heal it. The spell must be unwound, bit by bit, 'with backward mutters of dissevering power' - or else not. It is still 'either-or'. If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."

Borrowing from a friend's prayer at the start of the year, my payer for us as we start this New Year is that God gives us new beginnings. That His grace will work in our lives to give us the discernment, conviction, discipline and peace we need to let go of the things that we need to leave in the past; and walk with Him into the newness & joy that He has in store for us.

Phillipians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Happy New Year!

Deji.

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"In the Christian story God descends to reascend. He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still, if embryologists are right, to recapitulate in the womb ancient and pre-human phases of life; down to the very roots and seabed of the Nature He has created. But he goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him."

- C.S. Lewis (Miracles)

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May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

[From Psalm 19.]

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Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.

Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

[from Psalm 90]

Sometimes we forget ... I forget, that it is only in God that I can put my trust and find my refuge. That everything else passes away and everything is inconsequential if I don't put God at the center of it all and as the foundation of anything I try to build.

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Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

[From the hymn "Be Thou my Vision" - Dal�lan For�gaill (translated from the Irish by Ma�ry E. Byrne, Versified by El�ea�nor H. Hull)]

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Well maybe a bit more of a ramble than usual :-)

Have had lots of different thoughts over the past couple of days but they seem to be so disjointed that trying to draw a theme through them would be ... well a complete ramble. So I'll just try on the one that I think spurred me to post this morning - the struggle between the hunger for the seen vs. the unseen. How do we, how do I replace my desire for the physical with a desire for the spiritual? Maybe that is even pushing it a bit. How do I even get to being able to elevate the spiritual over the physical, given that the physical is always there asserting itself by the space it takes up or the vacuum it leaves behind?

This continues a bit from the theme of my last post - wanting God for His own sake and not as a means to something else.

I'm not sure how this plays out in your walk with Him from one day to the next or even from one moment to the next but this morning, I think I am being reminded that "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

There are times when this seems so far away though. When it seems like this faith is just not there and yet we so desperately would like it to be otherwise. We want to trust, we want to believe, we want to be found faithful to what we profess. We want to cry out - "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

Paul's prayer for the church at Ephesus (Ephesian 3:14-21):

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge�that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Grace & peace,

Deji.

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Well since I'm up and on here, I might as well put something else up. It is not actually my writing up of a thought in the shower ... or anywhere else for that matter :-), but the subject seems to be rather spot on for me at the moment and I thought I'd share. It's an excerpt from C.S. Lewis' "The Great Divorce".

'I'm afraid the first step is a hard one,' said the Spirit. 'But after that you'll go on like a house on fire. You will become solid enough for Michael to perceive you when you learn to want Someone Else besides Michael. I don't say "more than Michael", not as a beginning. That will come later. It's only the little germ of a desire for God that we need to start the process.'

'Oh, you mean religion and all that sort of thing? This is hardly the moment ... and from you, of all people. Well, never mind. I'll do whatever's necessary. What do you want me to do? Come on. The sooner I begin it, the sooner they'll let me see my boy. I'm quite ready.'

'But, Pam, do think! Don't you see you are not beginning at all as long as you are in that state of mind? You're only treating God as a means to Michael. But the whole thickening treatment consists in learning to want God for His own sake.'

Grace & peace,

Deji.

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Haven't been able to write much lately but hoping that I'll get back to doing so again soon. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Grace & peace,

Deji.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. - "I Have A Dream"

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So this morning it's the usual stuff - roll out of bed and begin to go through the mental checklist of the stuff that will need attention today. I'll need to drop that letter in the mail. Are there any bills that need to be paid this week? Yeah, but that one can wait till I get back. What time is it? Shoot! I can't iron a long sleeve this morning so a polo will have to do if I'm gonna get out of here in time. I could re-write the problematic code from last week to fix the problem on the database end instead of whatever the heck it is doing now. Should I check e-mail before or after shower? (I do both).

So, I work my way through the morning scramble, about to head out of the door and at the back of my mind is the thought that I'm supposed to be trying to get back into the habit of spending some reading, praying, quiet ... or something. Just something that puts God back in front of the day. Some days are okay and some other days not so good. Very often, so much has crowded in by the time I pick up my Bible that it is difficult to quiet down and hear God speak.

Standing there with my bag in hand, I decided to drop the bag for a minute or two and do a quick read. I scan the bookshelf briefly and settle on "A Year with C.S. Lewis". It has readings for each day which will make the decision of what to read this morning easier. Plus, his writings always getting me thinking and I was curious what I might find today.

Talk about being hit upside the head! This is an excerpt from the reading for today - July 8 (pulled from "Mere Christianity"):

"The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day. Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind."

Grace & peace,

Deji.

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Yeah, it's been a while since I last posted and even my last post was not that much of a post but I'm back ... at least for the day :-) Thought I'd try to get back to putting some stuff down here. It may be a bit random for a while but we'll see how it goes.

Okay, so this one is just from me thinking about what I could possibly blog about today (I wanted to just start - today being the 1st of the month and just see how July goes) and I was listening to the podcast from this weekend's "This American Life" and the two things that popped into my head were the comments in there about to the food provided to the homeless in that city by the churches there (and the love with which this service was provided) and just how important socks are to homeless people. Act One of the podcast - "Choosers, Not Beggars" - tells the story of two guys, who through a series of events (and in a number of ways a deliberate choice on their part) become homeless. This post is just about a sliver in their story. A diversion from their story really and just about something they said about what their experience was like in becoming homeless and having to live on the streets.

I had heard a bit a while back about the socks thing from my friends William & Shelley from their experience in ministry to the homeless up there in Austin, and hearing about it again in the podcast just reinforced to me how something that seems so insignificant to us can mean so much to those who live out there on the streets. So, the next time you are heading out to volunteer at a shelter, soup kitchen, or in some other manner, pick up a bulk pack or two of tube socks from your favorite discount store will ya? It sounds like it will be just as important as the food if not more.

Continue reading "Socks & Soup Kitchens" »

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A couple of weeks ago I heard a lesson taught on the following passage and in reading through it again something kept coming back to me and I thought I'd share. The passage is from the 11th chapter of The Gospel according to John and I've pulled out the following verses to highlight my thoughts.

From John 11

11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

12 His disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better." 13Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

14 So then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead, 15and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."

...

20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

24 Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

27 "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ,[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world."

...

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

There are times in life when we will walk through life's valleys and we find ourselves in a place where all we seem to feel is the pain and grief. Comfort feels really far away and there is nothing anyone can say to bring relief. At times like this, remember - God shares in your grief and your pain. Even when He knows that His sovereign plan will shortly be bringing new life out of the graveyard of our sorrows, He still takes a moment to share in our pain and grief. To weep with us and let us know that we are His beloved. And because we are His beloved He is fully present in the times we cry out in pain and He laughs with us in our moments of joy.

So that is part of our calling as His followers to live this out -

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

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Rejoice the Lord is risen.

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3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

from Isaiah 53.

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What would it feel like to know that you had only a couple of hours left to live?

Most of the time, when we think about the last couple of days and/or hours that Jesus spent before his crucifixion, we tend to focus on what he did, which is a very right thing to do. I wonder though, as I sit here in bed at 4:30 in the morning if we might get a deeper understanding of what he did by trying to take a look to see how he might have felt.

How he felt - that would be the fully human being expressed in the fully divine. To fully know that this punch is coming towards your face and struggle to keep fully in its path because you know that it would do something beautiful in the lives of those you love. To struggle with drinking from this cup of suffering even as you know that with it comes the salve of redemption & healing.

Back to how it feels ... or might have felt.

Have you ever had an important event coming up on a certain day at a certain time? An exam? A race? Surgery? For some - a wedding or perhaps even the birth of a child? We get all nervous and fidgety don�t we? We worry about being ready and we can hardly sleep the night before. Even when I know that I am ready and well prepared, I worry that I will be there on time and not wake up long after the exam has started or the race well under way.

Now, try to feel what Jesus might have felt. His actions in that context do help us a bit in doing this. The act of spending time with those he loved and stopping in the middle of the fast moving pace of everything that is going on around him to love on them and express that love to them as best as he could. The act of an agonizing but honest time of prayer - to pray out the desires of my heart and yet acquiesce to a divine will that might have plans different from my own.

How does it feel to know that you only have a couple of hours left to live?

Grace & peace,

Deji.

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"Compulsive" is indeed the best adjective for the false self. It points to the need for ongoing and increasing affirmation. Who am I? I am the one who is liked, praised, admired, disliked, hated, or despised... . The compulsion manifests itself in the lurking fear of failing and the steady urge to prevent this by gathering more of the same - more work, more money, more friends.

from "Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings" - Henri J.M. Nouwen

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God's mercy is greater than our sins. There is an awareness of sin that does not lead to God but rather to self-preoccupation. Our temptation is to be so impressed by our sins and failings and so overwhelmed by our lack of generosity that we get stuck in a paralyzing guilt.

...

The question is: "Are we like Judas, who was so overcome by his sin that he could not believe in God's mercy any longer and hanged himself, or are we like Peter who returned to his Lord with repentance and cried bitterly for his sins?" The season of Lent, during which winter and spring struggle with each other for dominance, helps us in a special way to cry out for God's mercy.

from "Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readings" - Henri J.M. Nouwen

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[AC] Advent Conspiracy from Jon Collins on Vimeo.

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So this is what Christmas has become - a deluge of "Holiday" catalogs & special offer e-mails. Every year it seems to kick into a new gear of marketing and solicitations to come spend, come buy, send gifts, receive gifts, show how special you think the other person is by outdoing their own efforts to get stuff for you. I will admit - I am guilty. There is a certain pleasure to it. I think even an amount of narcissism. That part of the drive to get those gifts and find just that special one that will put that look on the face of the child, spouse, parent, sibling, friend, significant other ... etc is ultimately about me. That I will have been the one who got just that special gift that put that look there - and I can smile and bask in the pleasure of having done that. It does feel good doesn't it? At least for just that moment.

Then there's the part that is just about me. Just about getting that gizmo that I've been putting off getting all year and now it is Christmas and you know what, I think I deserve to get something that I really want. Right? :-) You don't know how convicting it is to write this. The B&H Photo store catalog arrived in the mail a couple of days ago and so did the gift guide edition of Wired magazine.

So what is the problem? Well, the question is - Is this what Christmas is really about? It is supposed to be a birthday celebration but who is getting the gifts?

"'... For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' ... 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" - Matt 25:35-36, 40

What if we made Christmas about giving gifts to the celebrant instead of the guests? What would that look like?

"Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by worshipping Jesus through compassion, not consumption."

It is a bit of a change of focus isn't it? That the truth of Christmas is not about having stores say "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays". That it is not about the stores at all. It is about giving life, restoring hope, easing pain, sharing grace, bringing peace.

I will probably still buy some gifts, but I might also make some or make the gifts themselves more meaningful and I will find a way to give life and share grace with people I don't know and whose faces I may never see, realizing that this particular gift is not about me and is definitely not about any recognition for it. That maybe through all of this I might realize that whatever it was that I was able to do did not come from me but only passed through me.

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From Matt. Chap. 5:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Sometimes we read this passage (usually referred to as "The Beatitudes" and our attention is usually drawn by those parts that speak to existing circumstance - poor in spirit, in mourning etc. The passage, however, also speaks to things that we do or are and that seems to be what jumps out at me this morning.

Do I show mercy? Am I a peacemaker? Am I pure in heart?

Do we as Christians live out this credo? Does the Church feel blessed when it is insulted and/or persecuted? Do we lash out in anger & resentment or do we reach out in love? "Rejoice and be glad ..." - can this be said of us?

Grace & peace,
Deji

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Just some quick news on the music front - 2 of my favorite bands are in the process of releasing new CDs. The Robbie Seay Band's new album "Give Yourself Away" will officially be out tomorrow (the 28th) but is now available on iTunes and their CD release concert is tonight at 2115 Taft. Also, the David Crowder Band will be releasing "Remedy" on the 25th of September. Looking forward to listening to that when it comes out and off now to do some shopping on iTunes.

Just one more shout out - you need to check out Pink Martini! Yeah, a totally different genre of music from the above :-), but they have some very groovy stuff going on there. Have all 3 of their albums now ... all very bueno!

Peace!! :-)
D.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Was in Galveston this past weekend for a sorely needed time to unplug. We had a reunion of a bunch of us that had gotten to know each other via the CrossTrainers Sunday School at FUMC. Somehow, I managed to get up just barely in time to catch the sunrise and then did my Saturday long run on the beach - which was a totally different experience.

All in all it was a blast! Great weather, wonderful friends & plenty of food :-) I'll have more photos in the next couple of days.

Blessings, grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 8:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Following up on the previous post regarding the �Absence of the Presence of God�, I thought I�d throw something into the mix that might be something of a counter-point or perhaps reason to think things through a little bit more and dig a bit deeper on my thoughts from that previous post.

I think a lot of us agree that it is possible for us to walk so far away from God that we no longer enjoy His presence, but then we find the following in Psalm 139:

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

[Those were verses 7 � 12 and you can read the entire Psalm here]

I read those verses and had to ask - What then does this mean with respect to my thoughts in the previous post? Is this a direct contradiction to the whole issue of God�s Spirit departing from Saul or is it just more of the author's (David?) experience of his walk with God?

Continue reading "But then we find this in a Psalm ..." »

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For the past couple of weeks, I have been leading a class discussion & lesson on the life of David and as part of our study on the journey of David so far, we have had the occasion to look at Saul�s life in parallel as well. In doing so, we�ve run into a couple of spots that raised questions. One in particular is the topic of this post � God�s rejection of Saul as king (1 Sam 15 & 1 Sam 16:14).

Can God�s presence depart from a person?

I think the unequivocal answer is yes, but I would rephrase the question a little bit differently � �Can a person depart from the presence of God?� I believe that it is possible for us to live in a way that is so out of step with God�s nature that we become far removed from Him. I believe that on this great journey called life, we are either journeying towards a closer relationship with God; or sliding away from Him. I believe that when we choose to live a life that is out of step with God, we are making a decision to go on a journey away from Him and we begin to put a spiritual distance between us and Him.

For a lot of us we (every now and again) start to slip away but are still within �earshot� so that we are still able to hear the voice calling us back into love, into safety and into light. We can still ignore the call though and stay on that journey away from Him till we get to that place that we are so far removed from God�s presence that we find ourselves in (as someone put it during our discussions yesterday morning) our own private hell. In some ways, I tend to think of our sinfulness as a pit we dig ourselves into and in which we have made ourselves so comfortable that we expect God to come hang out with us there.

God is holy. We cannot choose evil and yet expect to enjoy the presence of God.

Continue reading "The Absence of God's Presence: Thoughts on Saul & Repentance" »

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 2:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Wow! July went by very, very quickly!! It has been rather busy around here with stuff all over the place. It seems like we just got into July not too long ago and the next thing I know, it is August.

Let's see ... what has been going on? Some photography stuff - got one of my entries picked for a photo show (600 sq mi: Photos from Houston) that opens in September (more on that later). Took up a bit of running and now it seems like I might give the Houston 1/2 Marathon a shot (quick note on this - I thought since I do a bit of cycling this should not be a big deal and boy was I wrong ... it is harder than it looks). What else ... teaching the CrossTrainers Sunday School class at First Methodist again (3rd week on a series on David this Sunday). Of course there has been work stuff which takes up most of the daylight hours (and some night time too).

Anyway, just wanted to post something and say "hola!", hoping to resume posting on a more regular basis again.

Gotta sign-off now ... have a run rather early tomorrow morning, and combine that with being a Sat. morning and that is way early for me!! :-)

Blessings, grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 9:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was thinking in the shower this morning (part of ongoing ruminations on prayer) - Can pride become an obstacle to prayer? You know in a sneaky way that does not even show itself as something being wrong but in a more insidious manner that makes us do a lot of thinking, soul-searching, analysis etc about prayer ... but not the actual act of praying.

Or perhaps it is in those moments when we ask ourselves what the point of the whole thing really is - If God really loves so and so, why do I have to pray for that person to be healed? Shouldn't He already know and be helping that person whether or not I pray? In this instance, I think pride starts to begin those whispers of mutiny & rebellion. Very subtle to be sure but also quite infectious.

In another instance, we might feel that we need to be on our spiritual best to be able to pray. You know - when the right words seem to come easy and we seem to be able to ask for the right things with the right amount of piety, gravitas etc. And so, in our pride, we put off prayer because we don't feel like we are ready.

Our time of prayer is not just a time to ask and to speak, it is not a time to put on a performance and it is not a meeting with the boss where we need to put our game face on. Sometimes it is a time to listen and lay ourselves bare to our creator, when we expose & encounter who we really are - warts, flaws and all .... and that can be a very humbling experience.

Grace & peace,
Deji.

[P.S.: Original draft - July 13; Published - Aug. 1]

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I think we've all had those moments - when we experience something so beautiful and fleeting it strikes a chord in us, so profound that we can hardly put the feeling into words and tears seem to be the only response ... and an apt one too. C.S. Lewis writing about this experience in "The Weight of Glory" said:

The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things - the beauty, the memory of our own past - are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.

I hope you experience beauty this weekend and through it, a glimpse of and a yearning for God's glory and our true home.

Grace & peace,

Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thinking more about the post from yesterday, there was a bit of something that C.S. Lewis wrote in one of his books that kinda kept flitting through my mind. So, I decided to go digging and see if I could find it :-)

Every one says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive, as we had during the war. And then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger. It is not that people think this too high and difficult a virtue: it is that they think it hateful and contemptible. 'That sort of talk makes them sick,' they say. And half of you already want to ask me, 'I wonder how you'd feel about forgiving the Gestapo if you were a Pole or a Jew?'

So do I. I wonder very much. Just as when Christianity tells me that I must not deny my religion even to save myself from death by torture, I wonder very much what I should do when it came to the point. I am not trying to tell you in this book what I could do - I can do precious little - I am telling you what Christianity is. I did not invent it. And there, right in the middle of it, I find 'Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against us.' There is no slightest suggestion that we are offered forgiveness on any other terms.

From "Mere Christianity" (emphasis mine).

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I think a lot of us have gone through the experience when we feel that someone close to us has done something or said something to us that feels like a deep cut. It might feel that hurtful because of what was done, how it was done, why it was done or a combination of all of the above.

We find ourselves in that place where we feel we should be able to forgive what was done/said but also find ourselves with this sense of wanting to feel that we have been wronged and would like to hold on to that grudge or to withhold the grace of forgiveness just a little bit longer. After all, we were the ones on the short end of the stick here.

So I was thinking, while going through something similar not too long ago - Why this reluctance to forgive? Could it be that once I let go of the grudge that I feel, then I might have to face my own flaws in that situation? You see, as long as I hold on to the grudge, that other person is the "bad guy" and I don't even have to deal with anything that might have been a shortcoming on my part.

Or is it that in order to be able to forgive and let go I first have to take a look at and recognize my own shortcomings? That when I do this, I am then able to "love my neighbor as myself". That I see that I am just as flawed as they are and yet able to think that on the whole I am not a bad person.

So which comes first - the humility to recognize my own fault; or the practice of grace & forgiveness? :-)

Grace & Peace,

Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 9:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I suspect that a lot of us can relate to the title of this post as a description for what this early part of Lent has been like for us so far. In some ways, I even feel a bit muddled about what is going on and struggle to put it into words. There is just this feeling of - "Ack!! This is not quite working out how I had it all planned out!".

So this morning, I came across this post on In The Midst Of Grace:

I gave up caffeine for lent with the hopes of eventually giving up all sugary drinks. I didn't really have a plan after that... I just wanted to practice the discipline, practice self-control, and somewhere in there reflect on Christ's temptations and his wilderness as I encountered my own. I haven't been praying much though and to be honest I've had a few sodas since Ash Wednesday...

I need Jesus.

See, when I went the first week without any caffeine, I actually became sluggish, worn out, run down. I felt tired.

I felt tired.

Tired became a noun. Tired became a tangible thing I could touch, feel, it even had a smell. Tired. My true nature, stripped away of caffeine that has covered it up for so long. In my tiredness I see brokenness. I see a body that is out of shape, out of whack, and in need of care. So, the next chance I got, I drank another soda.

I need Jesus.

That was just an excerpt from Jeana's entry. You need to go ahead and read the full thing here.

I'm not even sure what to say except - Yep! Sure feels like that around here. Like layers are once again being stripped away and brokenness revealed.

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So how has Lent being going for you so far? Feels like it has been going on for much longer than it actually has huh? :-) Something about "Holy Disruptions" comes to mind .... but more on that later.

For now I'm just going to copy & paste and entry from a friend's Blog and my comment/response to his entry, just as something to think about and possibly share your thoughts about.

Jeremy, in his original post had written (in part):

As each of us discuss these items with our families, friends, and congregations; as each of us explore our own relationship with the Lord, let us ask ourselves why it takes a time in the church calendar, like Lent, to reflect on these things in our lives. Why is it that we can give up things in our life that are particularly not good for us anyway, yet pick up these "bad habits" again after Easter? Why is it that we can work on sacrifice, prayer, and reflection during Lent, but the rest of the year it seems to be less of a priority...for some? Why?

I am not perfect and, at times, I have felt somewhat hypocritical in this post, because I too am challenging myself to do things and live ways I should be living everyday of my Christian walk. As I step into the Lenten season, I too am a lemming. I will be reflecting more than I usually do on a daily basis. My hope: to understand the challenges that I face. My hope: to have the courage to trust the Lord enough to not just breathe a sigh of relief on Easter Sunday, but that I continue forward with my choices and reflections. My ultimate hope: to live any changes I made during Lent every day for the rest of my life.

During this Lenten season, are YOU going to be a lemming with a purpose, or just a lemming doing what lemmings do?

I found this to be a very good question and a thought provoking post and my comment to his entry (with some correction for typos) was:

Hey JD!

Thanks for the thought provoking post and my thoughts so far (in no particular order) are:

* That maybe it is not so much a "lemming"-like action that happens to us at Lent but more one of the reality of our human condition manifesting itself during the season. That deep down we yearn to be better, to do better and this is the one time that we think it is possible. Even if for just a short time. There are those of us that are perhaps now shrugging of habits that we have tried, time and again, to let go of and are now where we are going to try to let it go for just 40 days in the belief that this season is a special time and that somehow, God provides a special grace to let us do so.

* Kind of tied to the previous thought is this - that perhaps it becomes a doorway to permanent change. That perhaps every time we come to this season of Lent and come to this place of letting go of self and turning away from our desires, we are changed there. The change might be more subtle for some and for others, more poignant. We may find that some of us go back to our old habits after Lent but then find that we are not as comfortable there as we used to be. Somehow in our observance of Lent, God has touched our hearts with something more significant than we had before and we are no longer satisfied to be less than He intended us to be.

* That deep down, we all struggle to be better people and we feel that at this time, in this particular season, we have a reason to try. We believe we will not be alone in our struggle to do better and somehow because we know that, the burden does not feel as heavy as it might at some other time. The thought that there are other people praying, giving up stuff and having a go at something similar to that which we struggle with somehow makes it easier to deal with.

That's it for now. It should have been a short comment but somehow it became a post on its own :-)

Blessings,
Deji.

You can read the original post and other comments on Jeremy's Blog. I pray that in this season, as our routine is disrupted and upended, you see God's grace at work in the middle of it all and that we let Him use this time to re-shape us back into what intended us to be.

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just a quick thought that popped into my head in the shower this morning (well actually, it is yesterday morning now). We have over time (and for good reason) associated Lent with the process of giving something up. Of a "fast" from something we'd like to have, that in some ways can tend towards an indulgence and some of us do take a break from things that are not indulgences at all but can even be looked at as an everyday essential - regular meals comes to mind :-)

My thought is this - that even while that is, in its proper place, a good spiritual exercise for us to go through at this time, is it also possible that there are things we need to take on and do or practice? Perhaps a new habit we need to form (as opposed to one we need to give up); or perhaps a family member we need to try to share a good meal with more regularly and in so doing, re-establish relationship with (as opposed to the usual giving up something edible that has become all to usual for us and maybe even easier on some level).

Don't know how this strikes you ... just thinking out loud :-) Can you think of anything that you might want to "take on" for Lent?

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 12:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The site is Oaktree Idea. It has been around for a while and was recently acquired by my dear friend Shelley. The idea behind this site is to build an online social network and community that is Christ centered and allows each of us to connect with our fellow sojourners in dialogue with each other and supporting one another in our individual journeys and our communal efforts.

That sounds rather "wordy" doesn't it? :-) Well it is kind difficult to explain it all very succinctly so you need to just go on over there, check it out and sign-up. They have Forums, Dialogues, Impact Groups, Blogs, Photos ... you know, all that good "Web 2.0" stuff. When you do join, give me a holler on there.

By the way, they are having a drawing for a free iPod Nano when you register and vote on site's potential new name.

Blessings,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." - 1 Cor. 13:4-7

Love, grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just found out about this item on The Chan Clan's Blog about how the two coaches in this year's Super Bowl are using that occasion to share with others something else that they share in common and care deeply about - their walk with Christ. The website - Beyond the Ultimate - is where their story (along with that of some players) is being shared. Check it out!

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Wow! This month has gone by rather quickly and it feels a bit like I'm getting this post in, just to make sure that something did get posted for January. It has been rather noisy around here of late - with work and other distractions (some imposed and others ... well, I guess indulged-in or allowed in).

As a result, things have been a bit jumble sometimes - thoughts come and then flit away when I ignore them, thinking that "I'll come back to it later" and as time passes it gets easier to just keep putting it off. So here's a quick something that I'm going to post. It is not necessarily deep or anything, but I need to start again somewhere and what better place to start than Middle Earth? :-)

I was reading "The Two Towers" again the other day and there was this bit in there that stayed with me for a good part of that day.

The scene is Isengard ("Flotsam and Jetsam") and the reunion of Merry & Pippin with Aragorn, Legolas & Gimli. They are sitting together catching up and filling-in the stories of their respective journeys and Aragorn is giving back to Merry & Pippin some items they had lost when captured by Orcs earlier in the story. One of those items was a brooch from Lothl�rien that Pippin had left on the trail in the hope that it would allow Aragorn, et al to track them and know they were still alive.

"And here also is your brooch, Pippin," said Aragorn. "I have kept it safe, for it is a very precious thing."

"I know," said Pippin. "It was a wrench to let it go; but what else could I do?"

"Nothing else," answered Aragorn. "One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters. You did rightly."

The emphasis at the end there is mine and I am still chewing on that thought - that if we hold on to something that is precious so tightly and to our detriment, when we can find hope in letting it go (or perhaps give hope to others), then maybe it is not so much that we posses a precious object but that we are possessed by it and it is no longer the beautiful thing that we thought it to be. That instead, it has become an ugly iron chain around our ankles or neck that is holding us in captivity and preventing us from the freedom and joy that is meant to be ours in Christ.

I pray that we are all blessed with beautiful and precious things and moments but I pray even more that we are blessed with the grace and wisdom to be able to let them go when doing so will bring joy and hope to others, and to ourselves.

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:14

Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas! Here's wishing you and yours the very best in the New Year.

Grace, peace, hope & joy,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Below is a video by Chris Seay, the pastor at Ecclesia in Houston and I thought I'd share it with you all. Just something to think about - in my case, as opposed or in addition to thinking about the next gizmo or gadget I'd like to lay my hands on :-) It also is a reminder for me that, as members of the Body of Christ, we are capable of much more than we think are. Even when we think that our smallest effort does not make a difference.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving if I don't talk to you before then.

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

You probably know at least a bit about what is going on in Darfur (if you are a little bit hazy on the details, you can find out more at SaveDarfur.org), so I'm not going to spend most of this post on the details of what is going on there.

What I really wanted to ask is that you - think about it, pray for them, and lend your voice to the cry for action to aid our brothers and sisters who find themselves in a living hell right now. It should break our hearts that this is happening and while I'm not looking to burden any of us with a load of guilt or anything of that nature, I just wanted to call your attention to it as a way of lending my voice to the cry for help in the hope that you will, in your own way, lend your voice as well. The next time you see your pastor, ask him/her - "Are we doing or saying anything about what is going on in Darfur, Sudan?".

There are other ways you can help as well. The SaveDarfur.org website has a post called "Be a Voice for Darfur" and it lists 5 different ways that you can help.

'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' - Matt. 25:40

Grace & peace,
Deji.

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Felt like posting something and thought I'd put up a photo ... or two

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It has been a while since my last post. Life, it seems, got a bit crowded with things calling for attention here and there, so much so that it felt that there were not enough hours in the day. That, or it could have been that I just got caught up in the noise and distractions of life and had neglected to give attention to the more important matters of faith and grace and peace and God�??s presence & voice.

I just got back this past weekend from a personal retreat (along with some friends) in the Texas Hill Country and given the state of affairs that I just described above, I was really looking forward to getting unplugged for a couple of days.

It was beautiful! To get up and hear nothing but the hum of the refrigerator and the birds chirping outside. To walk out and splash down the riverbed (on the side where there was still some water flowing), to see the sun rise, feel the breeze rush past you and through the trees while you hear the rustlings of some yet unrevealed critter in the underbrush. To sit under the shade of a tree and spend time in God�??s word and with God, letting go of requests and questions for a while to just hang-out and be still.

Leaving on Sunday to come back home was a bit difficult, realizing that all the noise was going to come rushing back in and that all the distractions will still be there. Looking down that riverbed one last time though, there was also a sense of blessing. A sense that it was good to have had time to be still with God and the knowledge that He is never absent, even in our noise. In that moment, I was reminded that part of what He purposes for me and for each of us is not that we remove ourselves from the craziness of our world but that we influence it. That while we do need to retreat from it every now and then so that we can "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10), we are supposed to go back into the world with gusto but not forgetting whom and whose we are.

The reality we live in will still be noisy, crazy and distracting but God has promised that �??My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.�?� (Ex. 33:14) So that is where we are at this moment as we read this �?? surrounded by the noise and distraction but with the knowledge that as the river of life rushes past us, we have a rock on which to stand which can affect the course of the river, slow it down or make music of it.

A thought - How can God work through you to bring His reality into your world today?

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. "

Isaiah 55:1-2

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I was driving back into Houston on Saturday night �?? about a hundred miles to go, had the cruise control set at an easy pace and had found KUT on the radio. They were playing a nice, if perhaps interesting, selection of music and I had settled in to listening to the station when I hit that spot on the Interstate. You know �?� that one where the road dips or curves and the 70s groove music coming out of the radio is interrupted by a couple of seconds of crackling static and then the sounds of a harmonica from another station�??s Tejano selection comes streaming out of the speakers!!

So on that drive back into town, the static prone radio playback made me wonder and think about what our journey in this world can sometimes be like as Christians. We sort of think we have our radio tuned in correctly and we settle in for the �??drive�?� and then out of nowhere �?? stuff cuts into and interrupts our seeming idyll. Sometimes it is negative (when the interruption is a rude one and the junk that we thought we left behind cuts into our lives) and sometimes it is positive (when we get a glimpse of something so beautiful it makes us realize that what we have been living with is a load of crap and that we were made for something much better).

Our journey through life is like that �?? imperfect. We hope, though, that as we go further along the road, we find ourselves listening more to the beautiful even if the unwanted station cuts-in every now and then. It means that we will need to work on (or continue to work on) our reception and tweak that dial a bit to make sure that we are properly tuned in. Sometimes, it might mean changing the station as we go from one town to the next, realizing that we are just passing through and will not really get to hear our true station clearly until we get home.

My uncle passed away on Saturday morning. He is home and I�??m sure he has a clear, uninterrupted reception now. Requiescat in pace �??Daddy Canada�?�. I suspect you, Grandpa and the other folks over there are hanging out, catching-up and perhaps playing on the piano a little bit :-).

�??Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known�?� �?? 1 Cor. 13:12

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" - Gal. 5:22-23a

I think it is fair to say that most of us are very familiar with this particular verse and for some of us, it is something that we might even say that we have heard ad nauseam. Thinking back though, it seems that I have had a tendency to cherry-pick through the list, so that if I find that I can put a check mark beside a good number of the "fruits" (or even a few) then I'm in good shape.

This list is not about one or the other though. It is a list of things that should all be represented in my life, so that if one of them is missing, well ... I may be needing some more "Spirit" :-)

So my thought for the day is this - "What fruit is hanging off your spiritual tree?"

Grace & peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't really think there's anything better that I can or should add to this right now, so I am going to keep this one as simple as possible - just two quotes that are really worth spending some time mulling over:

"Addiction" might be the best word to explain the lostness that so deeply permeates contemporary society. Our addictions make us cling to what the world proclaims as the keys to self-fulfillment: accumulation of wealth and power; attainment of status and admiration; lavish consumption of food and drink, and sexual gratification without distinguishing between lust and love. These addictions create expectations that cannot but fail to satisfy our deepest needs. As long as we live within the world's delusions, our addictions condemn us to futile quests in "the distant country," leaving us to face an endless series of disillusionments while our sense of self remains unfulfilled.

And from The Bible (New International Version):

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Feel free to post your thoughts and/or comments.

Grace & peace,
Deji.

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Thought it might be nice to add a splash of color to the site :-) Enjoy ....

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 12:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A thought I had a while back regarding the passage about Jesus washing the feet of His disciples in the upper room (see John 13:1-17) and His interaction with Peter at that time. In that conversation Jesus tells Peter "Unless I wash you, you will have no part of me" and after Peter very enthusiastically asked for a not just a foot wash but a bath - "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean."

My thought is this - Is our walk with Christ pretty much like this? In the sense that, does the fact that we are in this world means that our "feet" will inevitably pick up quite a bit of dirt as we walk through life, so that even though we have been bathed (saved and justified by Christ's death and ressurection) we will still need to constantly have our feet washed clean of the detritus of sin that we pick up constantly?

So ... do your feet need a wash? Do mine?

Just a thought. Feel free to leave yours in the comments section :-)

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 4:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Got word the other day about this new Blog - GodSecret.com

Godsecret is an alternative to bring in the light of God and show others our daily testimonies in a new and creative way.

There are two objectives for this blog:
1. To challenge ourselves to worship and glorify God in a different way.
2. To communicate our testimonies to the world. in a different way.

As you know, all of us can't sing - but we still sing in service every Sunday. Some of us don't feel comfortable about sharing our private testimonies with others ~ here's your chance to do it anonymously,
all while honoring God. This is a unique opportunity to speak to the world about God's truth.

Check out their Blog and send them a postcard. It is anonymous so you might even be able to share those places where God is still at work in you and you still struggle with :-)

"For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; ..." - Rev. 12:10b-11a

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 3:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

So I guess the long delayed follow-up would be - "This love of which you speak ... how the heck do I get to have and/or nuture it??". We all, to some degree or another, feel that we do have that love in us but there are times when we feel that it has not yet grown into fullness that it can and should. We don't feel that it is quite able to see us through rough times yet or that it has grown into that unashamed "I love Christ and I don't care what you think of me for it" state that we sometimes see in others and wonder at.

So, how do we nurture the growth of this love for Christ, this "Agape"?

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." - John 13:34-35

These were some of the last instructions that Christ gave us before going to the Cross. Well yes, that only makes sense ... if we are Christians we should love each other. Sounds pretty simple and straightforward, right? (Is it really? Think about the different fellow Christians that you know ... not just the ones you like).

And that is just scratching the surface. In the parable of the Sheep and the Goats (in Matt 25) we find:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

We grow in love through our practice of it, even when we are not feeling very loving towards the recepient ... perhaps especially at this time. Now here's the hard part - we ought to love for love's sake not so we can feel like we are good people or better people and not so that we can cash in on our deposit of good deeds.

It is not always easy, our reasons sometimes get jumbled up and we are not quite as pure in our motives as we ought to be. To that I'd say just start somewhere and let God's grace and mercy take care of the other stuff. It is His grace that brings the purity to our love and in the recognition of our failings even in the area of showing love to each other and to Him, we let Him love us through Himself and through others.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

It's funny how everything seems really clear in the shower and then I sit down later and try to write them down and it feels like a tangled mess as I try to figure out the best place to start. So let�??s just jump in and maybe somehow it will sound coherent :-)

The thought I had is this - there will be times in our walk with Christ when God seems absent and it feels like there is little hope (if any at all) that He will intercede in our situation to make it better. I raise this issue because it is Good Friday today and I was thinking about the alternate universe of Narnia and the similar situation there. In that alternate place, Aslan has just been killed and having witnessed it, Susan and Lucy sit by his dead body on the Stone Table. They stayed there with him through the night even though, as Susan said (when Lucy was going to try to heal him using her "Christmas present") - "It's too late. He's gone."

What kept them there by that body through the night was love not hope. They had no hope that Aslan would come back to life but they loved him and that love was not diminished by his "death".

Switch back to our reality and we find those that followed Christ who would be in shock at this time and with very little left of the hope they had placed in Him, still fully expressing their love for Him in spite of the circumstances. They stayed with Him, claimed His body, provided a tomb ... and so on. These things they did not because they thought or hoped that he would be raised to life again in a couple of days, but because they loved Him.

A couple of days later, the women - Mary, Mary and (according to Mark) Salome. Came early in the morning to the tomb fully expecting to still find a body there, but they still came out of love for Him. That love led them to an empty tomb.

I've gone into all of that to make this point - it is our love for Him that is the key to all of our walk as Christians and it is His love for us that makes it possible. Can you still love God when everything seems bleak for you and there seems little hope that He even knows you exist or when you feel that He can't or won't help you out? It is that love that can see us through the dark nights of distress, suffering and death, and bring us through to joyful and hope filled mornings of resurrection.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Cor. 13:13

Grace and peace,
Deji.

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For a lot of us, the image we have of Christmas is one of a joyful, picture perfect time of the year. We have this mental picture of a cute baby "asleep on the hay" with cherubic angels looking on, a joyful mother beaming over her son and the proud "dad" standing just over her shoulder. Sometimes, though, we find that our own Christmastime is not or does not feel as picturesque as that and we wonder - "Why?�?�.

There are so many tangents that one can go down at this point and trust me, I have :-)

My original purpose though, and the one I keep coming back to, is one of a word of comfort to those of us that are stressed out and are not really having a picture perfect Christmas. You are faithful (or at least trying very hard to be) in your walk with Christ and yet things are coming at you from all over the place and you wonder ... we wonder - "can't God just make this just a little easier, especially at this time?"

Continue reading "Emmanuel" »

Posted by Deji Osinulu at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)