Suffering

 I relate to this letter by Fenlon.

"I am amazed at the power that comes to us through suffering: we are worth nothing without the cross. Of course, I tremble and agonize while it lasts, and all my words about the beneficial effects of suffering vanish under the torture. But when it is all over, I look back on the experience with deep appreciation, and am ashamed that I bore it with so much bitterness. I am learning a great deal from my own foolishness!"

Let Go - Francis Fenlon

Love of Scripture

If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of the Scriptures.

--Daniel Webster

Who is in Charge

I had lunch with a friend this week. As I reflected upon lunch I was remembering this verse from Galatians 1:1

Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia:

The above scripture points out that Paul's calling was not from men or through men. In other words Paul isn't an apostle because a man handed him a diploma or an agency gave him that title. He doesn't minister in a local body because man put him there. The principle here is that God is the one who calls us and empowers us to do what he has called us to be.

As we mature as Christians God will take us through processes that help mold His image and nature in our character. He does this by given us specific life lessons in our day to day lives. God will give you times where you have favor with men or agencies of men and from a human eye it could look like they are promoting you. The test here is remember that it is God who calls and God who put us forward or promotes us. The first test comes when we are promoted by men or an agency of man (not that we really are, God promotes us but that is what the perception is) and are challenged to think we have earned that promotion, when the truth is we were faithful and God has promoted us. When it is in our thinking that men or an agency of man promotes us then we are vulnerable to the expectations of those men and our own expectations of that those men should do for us. There comes a second testing time when we don't have the favor of men or an agency of men. Again this tests whether our faith is in Christ alone. I think it is a given that these two processing situations will come into our lives that we can know that God alone is our supply. He is the one who calls, He is the one who appoints.

Having said this, I believe a second lesson is to be respectful of agencies or denominations or seminaries. God can call us to be involved in all of these because they are the place He is teaching us or ministering through us or allowing us to be stewards of the Kingdom of God. But these systems are not our primary source, they are just the environments God calling has us in at that time.

Remembering Process

It is interesting to look back and see how God develops areas of your life. I had a friend recently comment on my facebook blog about a time when I was in college where myself and three other guys took a whole evening and spent time in worship and prayer. This is a reflection of the furthering of that journey.

My worship journey began in the early 80's.

In the early 80's when at Tech I began to develop a love for intimate worship. Much of this was because in an atmosphere of worship and prayer is where I began to encounter the presence of God. This happened primarily in home bible studies with other college students in my college years. After college I was able to attend some churches where being open to the Holy Spirit in an atmosphere of worship was a primary focus.

In college I began listening to Hosanna type worship stuff. Songs were coming out of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. Then in the later 80's I began to enjoy much of the CFNI (Christ for the nations worship). In the early 90's I went out to Los Angeles to work on my MDiv at Fuller seminary and started running into alot of Vineyard people. My wife and I ended up at Vineyard Christian Fellowship when John Wimber was there and the music as well as the presence of God through the Holy Spirit was very strong. Worship leaders like Andy Park, Eddie Espinosa, David Ruis and Larry Hampton became common place for us. Vineyards paradigm was for worship to be horizontal. John Wimber wanted people to sing directly to God not about God. The Vineyard recognized that intimacy was directly related to people singing straight to God.

There seem to be so many streams of worship these days. There is integrity music, Vineyard stuff, the Passion worship leaders, Hillsong, Desperation Band, all the worship leaders at International House of Prayer and countless others.

Third Quarter Living

This past four months has been full of much soul searching and evaluating my life which is causing some refocusing for me. I am comparing life to a football game which consists of four quarters. I am realizing that I am in the middle of the third quarter. I have moved out of half time and need to be focusing on finishing the second half well.

My health issues this year have been like my coach pulling me out of the game and sitting me down on the bench and giving me a good talking to about my approach to the game. Here is some of the instruction I have gotten.

Son, if you don't quickly begin to focus on health then your not going to be able to finish the game. Your body (the tool that it is) will not be able to withstand the rigors of the game anymore. If you don't learn to say no to greasy foods like cheese fries and chicken fried steak and cheeseburgers then your body will not perform for you anymore. So I have traded in chicken fried steak for grilled chicken salads. I have traded in tacos and fries for breakfast for a protein shake. I have traded in my cheeseburgers for turkey on wheat w honey mustard.

Son, if you don't exercise for health you can't expect your body to act healthy. The reason it is not performing is you are not exercising it right. Adrenaline can only last so long before many pieces of the body give out. So I have begun running 2 miles at least three times a week and lifting weights at least twice a week. The others days I am trying to walk as exercise.

Son, if you don't exercise your heart with the thoughts and attitudes it needs, your heart will wear out. A quaility life depends upon how your heart is. As proverbs says "Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life". More specifically you have to meditate on God's word day and night. This will direct your heart to the healthiest desires and thoughts it can have. They will be kingdom thoughts and kingdom desires. They as much as anything can bring you health. -- So I have set a goal of reading a minimum of two chapters of the word each day. And I have begun a blog on the gospel of John to keep up with some of the things I am learning and to help me focus on a specific book of the Bible.

Son, if you just live to survive, if you just live to take care of today, you will get weary quickly. You will live wanting to give up. Live with a transcendent cause. Live for something bigger than yourself. Live to leave kingdom legacies on the earth. Live to prop up other men and women and their gifts and ministries. This is a cause worth giving effort for. This is a cause worth being disciplined for because it gives glory to the giver of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I have been sidelined. I am on a blood thinner right now which slows me down whether I like it or not. Since I am a doer it has been hard to be slowed down, but good as I am learning the importance of being consistent with my coaches advice so that I can live on with the health I need to finish the full game, all four quarters, and to be able to say I ran the race well, I finished the fight and to further hear my coach say "Well done son, you listened and you learned, and you have completed the task on the earth you have been created for."

Can we change ?

How do we change ? Modern Psychology says we gain a cognitive understanding of what is wrong and make right choices to correct the problem. In others words we get the right thought track and change our doing. I think in the church we take this tact also. We find five steps to change our habits.

I think we see a different pattern in the Word of God. It is true that we must think differently and that thinking differently we change who we are which in turn changes our actions. What is missing too often in the equation though is that the only way to change is through a relationship. It is a relationship that has the power to affect change in us. It is a relationship with a master mentor. Someone with all wisdom to help us. Our change doesn't come in our putting some new thoughts in our mind. Our change comes as we get in relationship with God himself and begin to think His thoughts. We begin to get to know Him and how He thinks and how He is. In the context of that relationship we begin to change. We begin to grow in wholeness and health in all parts of our being.

The key is to think, be, and then do in context of a relationship with God.

Update 04/01/08

This has been an interesting season in my life to say the least. I have had a serious illness that causes problems to my spleen and put me in the hospital for 10 days in December. The doctors could not find a cause for my problem and since that time I have been on a blood thinner. The blood thinner makes me tired often and quickly. During my time in the hospital which was rough both emotionally and physically the Lord has strongly had me focus more on health in my life.

In recent years I had allowed eating what I wanted and not exercising become a habit, as well as not being daily in the word. It has been impressed upon me that HEALTH, both physically and spiritually needed to become an emphasis in my life.

I began in the hospital and have since been focused on HEALTH as a goal in my life. I am trying to read at least two chapters in the Bible each day. Along with that I am studying through the Gospel of John. I started a blog to help me record what God is showing me and what I am learning in John. On the food side my diet has changed dramatically. In the three months since I have been out of the hospital I have eaten two pieces of red meat (so no hamburgers). I am eating salads frequently and fruit. I usually start the day with a power smoothie comprised of whey protein isolate and soy protein isolate, lecithin, probiotics, apple vinegar, glucosamine, msm, flax oil, safflower oil, bananas and fruit mixed in orange juice. Ummmm doesn't that sound good. It actually doesn't taste too bad and helps me get all those good items my body needs to start a day. I have had no butter in three months. I am eating whole wheat breads. I am eating non fat yogurt semi frequently. I have taken almost all fried foods out of my diet. Turkey and chicken breast are the usual meats I have.

HEALTH take more discipline but is a good thing. I've lost about 30 pounds in three months and am working out at the gym three to four times a week. I didn't realize 40 year olds could still have actual defined muscle. I try and get on the treadmill or elliptical each time out at the gym and do some weight training.

more later . . .

Catalyst 2007 part 2

Here are some quotes from the main sessions at Catalyst.

Catalyst 2007 part 1

The Set Up

This was my first year to attend the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, GA. I couldn't have asked for a better set up. The foreshadowing began when I arrived in long term parking at DFW airport and it took me 15 minutes to get from parking, through ticketing, and then through the checkout points and to my terminal. That itself is a miracle of unknown proportions. Our flight was smooth with no turbulence. Checking in at the motel went without a hitch

As we walk into the conference James, the friend I was with, meets a seminary friend who invites us to join him in one of the stadium suites to enjoy the conference. So we aren't crowded in rows but up in a box suite.

I must admit I kept looking over my shoulder. I don't know that I had ever been on a spiritual retreat without some sort of spiritual warfare or struggle.

First Day highlights: The labs

Reggie McNeal:
Some people think the church is a place, others think the church is a vendor of religious services. The church in reality is a group of people on mission with God.

There is a shift from an internal focus to an external focus. The church has gotten to internally focused, they have a church-centric view of the world. the shift is toward being externally focused and seeing the church through kingdom lenses..

An internal focus try's to get people to come to us. An external focus is about the church going out to them in all the domains of life.

Missional emphasis irritates church people. Church-centric people believe we use our gifts at the place (church) and that church staff are paid to serve the place (church).

The Spirit of God is out running in the streets not just hanging out at the church.

The kingdom of God is the destination for people not the church. Like an airport the church is a connector not a destination.

Chris Seay:
We are addicted to buying things. Our identity is tied to consumerism. It is the prozac of our society.

This is the original sin of Adam and Eve, wanting "more".

The church gets caught up in offering people "more".

Christmas is Jesus birthday, not ours, yet we spend much more on ourselves than Him. Let your kids give money to needy this Christmas not just be consumed with what they can get.

Leonard Sweet:
We have become a culture of consumption. Consumption is the opiate of the people. I consume therefore i am.

We need to become a culture of conception. We tend and till Gods garden.

The greatest failure of the church in this generation if the failure to confront the culture of consumption with a different model.

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Building Block of Transformation

In our Christian lives the destination is transformation into the image of Christ. If the destination is transformation then the road to the destination would be called maturation. And there is a way of navigating this journey.

The Bible is clear that as we have become new creations we are to think differently. Here are some of the steps of that journey which I would call the building blocks of transformation.

1. Think kingdom thoughts
2. Saturate yourself by Meditating on the word day and night
3. which encourages you to Act upon Gods will
4. Which will develop Godly Habits in you
5. Which build strongholds of character in our lives
6. which leave kingdom legacies for others

As my pastor says "if you elevate your thinking you elevate your life". When Gods word empowered by the Holy Spirit dominates your thinking you are transformed.

Getting current

I had quit using this blog for a season, but I am going to begin to update it again. I am a bit frustrated at the thieves of cyberworld. I moved this blog to my website berryalvis.com for a while and tried to move it back to my address on blogger. Only to find someone is poaching the site. Someone has stolen my site and is using it to advertise. My new address is http://berrya.blogspot.com. I am pursuing the issue with google but haven't heard anything yet.

Deconstruction

I got to hang out with Justin, Kelly and Aiden Nygren tonight at Starbucks. In our conversation the idea of deconstruction came up. I think Aiden mentioned it.

I was thinking on my way home that deconstruction is a part of every Christians life. When we are transformed in our hearts becoming sons and daughters of God then we begin a life journey of deconstructing all the parts of our lives that are not in unity with God. It is a deconstruction toward simplicity. It is deconstructing our lives to simply follow Jesus. It is deconstructing our religion to simply following Jesus.

I like that phrase "deconstructing to simplicity".

Ripples in the pond

I had the privilege of speaking to the songwriters of the At Your Feet community this past weekend and on Friday night to the greater community as a whole.

The key scripture that the Lord put on my heart to share was Hebrews 3:13. It says "encourage one another while it is called today, lest your hearts be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin"

And also Acts 14:22 in which Paul exhorts disciples to continue in the faith.

Why would Paul encourage people to continue in the faith ? As I thought about it, I realized that life can be really hard on all of us as we journey this road of faith in Christ. As Hebrews says our hearts can be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Sin will lure us or seduce us into hardened hearts. Sin makes itself available when we are stressed, when we have been wounded (sometimes by other believers and even trusted believers), when we get overconfident because Gods grace has come through us.

Sin is like a mouse trap, luring us with bait that entices us only to snap on us and do real damage. And sin seems often at our doorstep.

This is why Paul is calling us to encourage one another. That word for encouragement is not just a pat on the back. It is a summons to fight the good fight, it is a passionate plea to continue. When I was sharing this with my wife, she said the picture that came to her mind was from Braveheart as William Wallace rides down the line of men to encourage them that the fight they were about to face was about their family, their sons and daughters, their country.

One encouragement can be a pebble in a pond and will send out ripples to the rest of the pond. Let's remember to encourage one another often because the battle is real and we all get wounded.

Time keeps on ticking ticking ticking into the future

It has been about ten months since my last blog. It has been a time of hibernation in some senses for me. A large part of that is becuase the business I am in has been very busy. I really think the Lord is directing me to a new season of time where my availability to people increase. I hope to spend time blogging again.

A vision aligned with "the vision"

My friend Loren Bishop has revisited his vision for his blog: Pulpit of the Last Days. It is a great reminder that our Biblical hermeneutic (way of interpreting the Bible)is to have a Christ centered one not a human intellect centered one. Check out his vision on his blog.

link

Real versus False Religion

One afternoon on our recent trip to Kansas city the kids and I decided to check out an authentic Kansas City barbecue restaurant. I had heard of the fame of KC barbecue and wanted to check it out. We ended up at a place near downtown.

We walked in and you could smell the smells of barbecue cooking on a grill. One of the first sounds we heard as we walked in was a high shrill voice almost yelling "Hi may Heeeeelp U". Honestly it was a little freaky because this lady was yelling this statement over and over. My first thought was that this was a gimmick used by the restaurant so that people would remember it. I've been to places where the waitress poured your tea from a distance of three feet above your glass as a gimmick or another place where all the employees had to say "Welcome to Moe's" as soon as you walked in the door. So again, I'm thinking okay this is a ploy to advertise and it's kinda weird.

As we got to the counter I saw a little sign saying you got your meal free if someone didn't say to you "Hi May I help you". It dawned on me that this lady with the shrill yell had taken on a false religion. The store had a statement that was intended on politeness to their customers. They so believed in it that it was required for every customer. It was meant to be done with a heart to serve. This lady had taken that principle and decided to yell an abbreviated version of it so often that every customer would hear it. She didn't realize that the meaning and heart of the matter had totally been lost. Instead of leaving customers with a sense of being truly served, they were left with entertainment at the most and irritation on the other side.

This reminded me of the church today and where we get in trouble. The commandments of the Lord were given as a means for loving and serving God and one another, but at times we manipulate them to serve ourselves. This was a great example of true and false religion.

postnote: the barbecue was good, but didn't quite hit Texas standards.

All the plates are never spinning at the same time

I was listening to Mike Bickle teach and he said some things that really made me think. He was talking about the human propensity to look towards the future to a time when everything in our lives is in sinc, we have all the plates spinning. He laughed and said this is not a perspective birthed from reality. The reality is that there is always a plate not spinning. It helps us continue to depend on God.

Either the devil is keeping one of the plates of our lives from spinning, or our own immaturity, or at times God keeps that plate from spinning.

He also said he considers this life like a 70 year internship preparing us for the kingdom of heaven.

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 2 Corinthians 3:6,7

From the mouths of pups !

I ran across this on Dan Kimballs blog and thought it was relavantly funny.




Originally published August 9, 1976 by Charles Shultz

The New Blog and Dialogue

For a time I have wanted to put together a blog on the topic of the Kingdom of God. It seems God brings that theme to me over and over. So the Kingdom of God dialogue has been birthed . It is my random thought on the Kingdom.

This blog isn't designed to be a thorough treatise on the Kingdom or a well built linear theology of the subject. It is primarily a place for ruminations, meditations, and a growing ideology about the Kingdom. Come visit and feel free to leave a comment.