As we finish up this year we naturally look back to what has happened over the last 12 months. For example, I have a new job, a new place to live, a new church family, a couple new roommates, and a lot of new friends! I have gone kayaking on the Rogue River, camping at Twin Rocks on the Oregon Coast, stayed in a cabin at Diamond Lake, seen Crater Lake, and enjoyed a few plays at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I have been a camp elder, a soccer coach, and a bible study leader. I have prayed with many new people and for many new friends. I have been blessed enormously over the last year!

Having looked back I am amazed at all of the new things God has given me to do and be a part of to progress His kingdom purpose in our area! I am so excited to be part of what God is doing here at Medford Friends Church and through our church to bless the community we are part of. I am looking forward to the new things that God is going to be doing next year! 2016!

Following Jesus daily is the heart of the Gospel for us. Each day we get to renew our commitment to Him and His ways. Every moment is a new one. Each experience is unique and we get to respond in new ways. As we head into the New Year I want us to consider the passage found in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

We get to be new. Just like there is a new year coming we have a new life offered to us every day. I hope that we can engage our community in a new way this year. I hope that God encourages you to find a new thing that He is doing and you join Him in it! I hope that you let yourself be new this year, and that by doing so you participate in the renewal of the world that begins with and finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ!

Looking Forward

I love this time of year! This is the time we have chosen to celebrate the birth of our savior. We have just had time set aside to look back on the year and be grateful for the blessings of God. Now we get too look forward to what the birth of Jesus means for us! As we look forward to Christ’s coming into the world we get to experience a sacred expectancy. We get to consider what life is like because of how God has chosen to enter into our lives. He chose to come make a way for us Himself. He was born in humble circumstance and lived a simple life. He invited normal men and women to follow Him and join in His ministry. He changed the world through His presence.

During this time of anticipation for the coming celebration can we take some time to think about the people that have invited us to join them in the journey and ways that their presence has changed our world? Maybe we can also take some time to consider inviting someone new.

November is the month we have set aside to consider our lives over the past year and give thanks. Some of us have a lot of things to be thankful for: new lives joining our families, new opportunities at work, new friends, and new homes. We like the new. These things stick out to us and they haven’t lost the novelty of being a recent addition to our lives. Take away the “new” and what do you have? Family, opportunity, friendship, and houses; something doesn’t have to be new for us to be thankful for it. One of the biggest dangers in our society is that we jump from one new thing to the next and all of the things we used to be so grateful for seem to lose their luster.

What we have doesn’t lose value because something new comes along. Our relationships don’t suddenly become less important when a new one is added. Our economy works on the idea of scarcity and planned obsolescence; there are only so many of the thing you want and what you have will be out of date in a year. Somehow that has transferred to other areas of our lives. We put limits on love and our relationships are only good until a “new model” comes along offering new features. Instead of buying into the “new” culture let’s think thankfully about what we have and consider ways to continue investing in the relationships that have shaped our lives.

Take some time to make a list of the things/relationships you have that you are thankful for. Keep that list somewhere you can see it often and be reminded about who and what you are thankful for!

In my office I have a painting of a leaf on the wind. In the background the sky is blue with some nice white clouds and in the foreground the leaf is a beautiful fall orange and reminds me of a great big oak leaf. It is inspired by one of my favorite TV series, Firefly, and the follow-up movie, Serenity. As fall is coming on and the leaves start to fall from their trees I am drawn more and more to the image. It reminds me of the natural processes put in place by God to practice renewal in our lives. It also brings to mind what it can be like to live under the influence of the Holy Spirit. A leaf on the wind goes where the powerful invisible force takes it. Christians live under the steady, life giving, and powerful movements of the Holy Spirit.

Heading into fall means that a lot of us are dealing with busier schedules, more and more things vying for our time. As more and more things cry out for our attention and lay claim to our time it is easy to get lost in the tumultuous movements of this world. God’s call is that we be led by Him in all circumstances. Yes, the world is tumultuous and can be powerful in its determination to draw us into its way of life. The Holy Spirit’s power to guide and direct our daily lives is infinitely more powerful, and His claim on our time is the only valid one! As in the beginning, the Holy Spirit is hovering over the chaotic tumult of our lives and is ready and willing to bring order to the chaos. We have to be willing to let God take action to resolve the chaos into order. To blow into our lives and sweep away any of the detritus the world has placed there and restore order to what is left.

Just as the leaves on the trees are turning and falling off in their natural cycle of renewal. We too can turn to God and fall into the embrace of the Holy Spirit in our lives to find renewal and wholeness once again. As October starts and we head deeper into fall let’s take time to consider a couple questions:

How has the chaos of the world been showing up in my life?

And: 

In what ways has the Holy Spirit been ordering my life?