Tag Archives: Pete Scazzero

Daily Riches: A Silent Conversation of the Soul with God (Brother Lawrence, Pete Scazzero)

Posted on by under "Being" with Jesus, Awareness, Being the Beloved, Contemplative Prayer, Loving Union with God, Mysticism, Prayer, Silence, The Sacrament of the Present Moment

“God invites us to practice the presence of people within an awareness of His presence. That is no small task, especially at this time of year.
How then can we do this? By intentionally practicing His presence first. No greater teacher can offer us insight on how to do this better than Brother Lawrence, a 16th century Carmelite from Paris. I reread The Practice of the Presence of God every couple of years to remind myself of his simple, timeless wisdom. Here are a few of his gems for you to prayerfully consider this Christmas:

  • I make it my business only to persevere in His holy presence…or, to speak better, a habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with God.
  • The time of business does not differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of the kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees.
  • His prayer was nothing else but a sense of the presence of God.
  • As for set hours of prayer, they are only a continuation of the same exercise…simple attention and passionate regard to God.
  • (He) resolved to use his utmost endeavor to live in a continual sense of His presence, and, if possible never to forget Him.

Jesus said it simply: If we remain in Him, we will bear abundant fruit (i.e. not so much us holding a position, but allowing ourselves to be held). If we don’t, we won’t give anything lasting or substantial. May we practice His presence this Christmas and, in so doing, offer our presence to those around us.” Pete Scazzero

“Be still in the presence of the Lord”
Psalm 37:7

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • To what degree is your life “a habitual, silent, and secret conversation of your soul with God?”
  • Can you “possess God in great tranquility” in the midst of something like the “noise and clatter of the kitchen?”
  • Perhaps instead of asking whether we can do what Brother Lawrence did, we would do well to see that we are “practicing” as he did–regularly giving God our “simple attention and passionate regard.”

Abba, teach me to practice never forgetting you through the hours of my day–always giving you my loving attention.

For More: Practicing the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: The Impact of Others on Your Emotional Health (Pete Scazzero, Francis Fenelon, Oswald Chambers and Thomas Merton)

Posted on by under Change Yourself First, Self-care, The Call to Change, truth and illusion

“We can often do more for other men by trying to correct our own faults than by trying to correct theirs.” Francis Fenelon

“Before we can conquer the world we must conquer the self.” Oswald Sanders

“In this journey of emotionally healthy spirituality, we are talking about radical change at the core of our being. At least two critical forces hinder such a profound shift. First, the pressure of others to keep us living lives that are not our own is enormous. And second, our own stubborn self-will is much deeper and more insidious than we think. The possibility of self-deception is so great that without mature companions we can easily fall into the trap of living in illusions.” Pete Scazzero

“A current of useless interior activity constantly surrounds and defends an illusion. I cannot find God unless I renounce this useless activity, and I cannot renounce this activity unless I let go of the illusion it defends. And I cannot get rid of an illusion unless I recognize it for an illusion.”  Thomas Merton

“I want to do what is good,
but I don’t.
I don’t want to do what is wrong,
but I do ….”
Romans 7:19

Moving From the Head to the Heart

We must “correct our own faults” and let God deal with the faults of others. Most of us don’t do this easily, and, as Scazzero points out, when we do manage to focus on radical change at the core of our being “at least two critical forces hinder such a profound shift.”

  • Change is not only hard for us, but for others who are comfortable with the “system” we share with them. Change shakes up everything and everyone. Have you noticed others working hard to resist your determined efforts to change? If so, how do you handle that?
  • Have you learned that your own “stubborn self-will is much deeper and more insidious than you think?”
  • Are you perhaps under the illusion that those around you want you to change? or that personal change will occur somewhat efficiently now that you are seriously motivated?

Jesus, grant me mature friends to help me recognize the illusions at work in my life.

For More: No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Practicing the Presence … Vertical and Horizontal (J. I. Packer, Pete Scazzero, Jean Vanier)

Posted on by under Contemplation and Activism, Contemplative Prayer, Emotions and Spirituality, Loving Well

“We only honor God as we honor his image in the other person by practical love to that person, whoever he or she may be: rich or poor, strong or weak, red or yellow, black or white, conventional or wild, respectable or rough, significant or unimportant in the community. To put it the other way round, honoring and loving God means refusing one’s natural inclination to withhold love and honor from people whom one finds awkward, repellent, and inconvenient.” J. I. Packer

“As emotionally mature Christian adults, we recognize that loving well is the essence of true spirituality. This requires that we experience connection with God, with ourselves, and with other people. God invites us to practice his presence in our daily lives. At the same time, he invites us to ‘practice the presence of people,’ within an awareness of his presence, in our daily relationships. Sadly, the two are rarely brought together. Jesus’ profound, contemplative prayer life with his Father resulted in a contemplative presence with people. Love is ‘to reveal the beauty of another person to themselves,’ wrote Jean Vanier. Jesus did that with each person he met. We see this in his interaction with the woman suffering from a twelve-year bleeding problem (Mark 5). This ability to really listen and pay attention to people was at the very heart of Jesus’ mission, and it could not help but move him to compassion. In the same way, out of our contemplative time with God, we too are invited to be prayerfully present to people, revealing their beauty to them.” Pete Scazzero

“… the one who does not love his brother
whom he has seen,
cannot love God
whom he has not seen.”
1 John 4:20

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Do you find that you are naturally included “to withhold love and honor from people whom you find awkward, repellent, and inconvenient?” Yeah, me too.
  • Loving well requires being “present” to God and people, yet “sadly, the two are rarely brought together.” Do you work at both?
  • Do you see loving well in this way as the “essence of true spirituality?” Have you perhaps put something else first?

Abba, most of all, let me love.

For More: Christianity the True Humanism by J. I. Packer

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Why Racism Continues in the Church Today – Part II (Pete Scazzero)

Posted on by under Awareness, Being the Beloved, Community & the Church, Emotions and Spirituality, Humility, Insiders and Outsiders, Learning Your Proper Place, Loving Well

For over twenty-five years, New Life Fellowship in Queens, has been developing a paradigm for the practice of unity in the midst of great diversity. Today’s post includes the remainder of Pastor Scazzero’s reasons why racism, one great source of disunity, continues in Evangelical and other church traditions:

“6. Isolation.

Most American Christians attend churches with people who look like they do, perpetuating a subculture of minimal contact with people of different races and cultures. As a result: ‘Despite devoting considerable time and energy to solving the problem of racial division, White evangelicalism likely does more to perpetuate the racialized society than to reduce it.’ Michael Emerson and Christian Smith*

7. Naiveté regarding demonic powers and principalities.

Evil, unclean spirits are real, feasting on the wounds of a split nation and church. To drive them [out] involves us in a spiritual warfare beyond discussions and statistics. It calls for our following of Jesus to the cross.

8. Lack of skills to love well. 

Learning to love well is among our most important tasks as Christ-followers. Learning to listen, ‘fight’ cleanly, and speak clearly and honestly (to name a few) are foundational for being a healthy community. Bridging barriers requires we create a new culture with a new language. For this reason we developed Emotionally Healthy Skills 2.0 out of our life together at New Life over our 29 year history.

9. Obliviousness of systemic racism.

Peggy McIntosh said it well: “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.” (See her “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack“)

10. Emotional Immaturity.

It is not possible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature. To engage in this level of warfare without addressing people’s immaturities (e.g. unawareness, defensiveness, ignorance of how our families of origin impact us) is a sure recipe for further wounding and division.” Pete Scazzero

“grow up in all things into Him who is the head”
Ephesians 4:15

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Is your church helping to perpetuate our “racialized society?” Don’t be too quick to answer.
  • Did you read McIntosh’s words about white privilege. Are you oblivious to the reality of white privilege?
  • Does the ministry of your church help you be a more mature person? …a better human being?

Abba, help! We’re in deep waters.

*For More: Divided by Race: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek God and he seeks you. Thanks for reading and sharing my blog. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Why Racism Continues in the Church Today – Part I (Pete Scazzero)

Posted on by under Awareness, Being the Beloved, Community & the Church, Emotions and Spirituality, hospitality, Humility, Insiders and Outsiders, Learning Your Proper Place, Loving Well, Spiritual Formation, The Call to Change

Pete Scazzero pastored New Life Fellowship in Elmhurst, Queens for over 25 years. The church reflects the demographic diversity of Elmhurst – perhaps the most demographically diverse zip code in the country. Over the years, the church has been forced to deal with racism in unsuspected and painful ways. Here’s why, according to Scazzero, this problem is so persistent:

“1. Failure to capture Scripture’s vision of the church as a multi-racial community that transcends racial, cultural, economic and gender barriers.

The gospel is the power of God that bridges the infinite gap between humanity and God as well as the ‘dividing wall’ between races, cultures, ethnicities, social classes, and genders.

2. Measuring success primarily by numbers.

We want to grow our churches. We want it to happen quickly. The problem is that bridging racial barriers is slow and will rarely produce ‘big’ numbers.

3. Superficial discipleship.

We focus on getting people ‘over the line’ into salvation and connected. We don’t spend an equal amount of time equipping them to be deeply transformed in their interior lives. ‘Who can your child not marry?’ The answer to that question tells us a lot about how deeply the gospel has penetrated a person’s life.

4. Failure to break the power of the past.

Sins like racism are passed on from generation to generation. At New Life we like to say, ‘Jesus may live in your heart but Grandpa lives in your bones.’ Each of us – African American, Latino, White, Russian, Jew, Arab, Serbian, African, Chinese, Korean, and Pole – must take the journey of Abraham. We must decisively leave our family, our culture, and our country and learn to do life in the new family of Jesus.

5. An inadequate, biblical theology of grief and loss.

If I don’t deeply feel my own losses, how am I going to deeply enter the world of those who suffer the sting of racism? Trauma is passed from one generation to the next. We see this most powerfully in overwhelming historical events such as the Holocaust and slavery. Unresolved loss gets buried behind a curtain of silence, incubating fear and shame. Biblical grieving powerfully heals and transforms.” Pete Scazzero

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile,
neither slave nor free,
nor is there male and female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:28

Moving From Head to Heart

  • How well is the foundational principle of Galatians 3:28 being worked out in your church? If favoritism is on display, can you show others a better way?
  • Are you sensitive to your own prejudices? How much does “grandpa in your bones” still affect you?
  • Is your church experience transformative? Are people growing more loving, inclusive, more humble over time?

Abba, teach us a better way in the family of Jesus.

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Thanks for reading. Please share!  –  Bill

Daily Riches: An Hour Well Employed (Allen Verhey, Pete Scazzero, and Francis de Sales)

Posted on by under Contemplative Prayer, Daily Office, devotions, fixed-time prayers, Meditation, Patience with Yourself, Silence, Spiritual Disciplines

“Prayer is focused attention to God.” Pete Scazzero

“In learning to pray, Christians learn …a practice – and the good intrinsic to that practice. They learn, that is, to attend to God, to look to God. And they learn that not just intellectually, not just as an idea. In learning to pray, they learn a human activity that engages their bodies as well as their minds, their affections and passions and loyalties as well as their rationality, and that focuses their lives and their common life upon God. To attend to God is not easy to learn – or painless. And given our inveterate attention to ourselves and to our own needs and wants, we frequently corrupt it. …In learning to pray, Christians learn to look to God and, after the blinding vision, to begin to look at all else in a new light. In prayer they do not attend to something beyond God that God – or  prayer – might be used in order to reach; they attend to God. That is the good intrinsic to prayer, the good ‘internal to that form of activity,’ simple attention to God.” Allen Verhey

“How to meditate? Bring yourself back to the point quite gently. And even if you do nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back a thousand times, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.” Francis de Sales

“Lord, teach us to pray.”  Luke 11:1

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Is your prayer aimed at “focused attention to God” or are you often easily distracted by your “inveterate attention” to yourself and your own needs and wants? If you’re easily distracted, can you forgive yourself, admitting you’re like everyone else?
  • When worries, fantasies, noises, sinful thoughts and the making of plans disrupt your attention to God, are you able to “bring yourself back to the point quite gently” – with no self recrimination, self-defense or further distraction?
  • Can you bring your heart back to attentiveness to God, even if in one session it’s “a thousand times?”

Abba, I’m encouraged that with each distraction, I have the opportunity to turn to you and attend to you again. I’m glad to do this over and over as long as I must, knowing you’re waiting for me there, eager for my return.

For More: The Art of Loving God by Francis de Sales

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and God seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Adjusting to God’s Slowness (Tertullian, Pete Scazzero, Pope Francis and Dan Allender)

Posted on by under Hurry Sickness, Striving and drivenness, Waiting on God

“Impatience is, as it were, the original sin in the eyes of the Lord. For, to put it in a nutshell, every sin is to be traced back to impatience. I find the origin of impatience in the Devil himself. …When the Spirit of God descends, patience is His inseparable companion. If we fail to welcome it along with the Spirit, will the latter remain within us at all times? As a matter of fact, I rather think the Spirit would not remain at all.” Tertullian

“Tertullian expounds on a truth we rarely talk about – i.e. God’s nature to be patient. …Tertullian’s exhortation on patience keeps me anchored in peace and joy since the realization of goals almost always take much longer than I expect.” Pete Scazzero

“I am always wary of decisions made hastily. I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time.” Pope Francis

“God is not bound by time, nor is our story. We desperately want our situation solved. We want resolution. But God unfolds the plot in his own time. It is in our months or years of waiting that our story comes to maturity. It is over a lifetime of stories that he turns our desire toward him.” Dan Allender

“Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering,
take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.”
James 5:10

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • “When the Spirit of God descends, patience is His inseparable companion.” Are you a patient person?
  • Do you allow for the fact that “the realization of goals almost always takes much longer than you expect?”
  • Are you wary of “decisions made hastily?” of the “first decision?” What does this look like in your actual experience?
  • Do you know how to look “deep into yourself” so that you act with an awareness of your unconscious motives?
  • Is there a spiritual discipline you can devise to help you develop a slower, more aware approach to decision making?

Abba, here it is, yet another reason for me to learn to slow down.

For More: To Be Told by Dan Allender

_________________________________________________

These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: The Impact of Others on Your Emotional Health (Pete Scazzero, Francis Fenelon, Oswald Chambers and Thomas Merton)

Posted on by under Change Yourself First, Self-care, The Call to Change

“We can often do more for other men by trying to correct our own faults than by trying to correct theirs.” Francis Fenelon

“Before we can conquer the world we must conquer the self.” Oswald Sanders

“In this journey of emotionally healthy spirituality, we are talking about radical change at the core of our being. At least two critical forces hinder such a profound shift. First, the pressure of others to keep us living lives that are not our own is enormous. And second, our own stubborn self-will is much deeper and more insidious than we think. The possibility of self-deception is so great that without mature companions we can easily fall into the trap of living in illusions.” Pete Scazzero

“A current of useless interior activity constantly surrounds and defends an illusion. I cannot find God unless I renounce this useless activity, and I cannot renounce this activity unless I let go of the illusion it defends. And I cannot get rid of an illusion unless I recognize it for an illusion.”  Thomas Merton

“I want to do what is good,
but I don’t.
I don’t want to do what is wrong,
but I do ….”
Romans 7:19

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Change is not only hard for us, but those who are comfortable with the “system” we share with them find it difficult too. Have you noticed others working hard to resist, or even sabotaging, your determined efforts to change?
  • Have you learned that your own “stubborn self-will is much deeper and more insidious” than you think?
  • Are you learning to leave changing others to God and focus on the changes needed in your own life?

Abba, help me change in spite of powerful forces, within and without, and not to fall short of the change you have planned for me.

For More: No Man Is An Island by Thomas Merton

_________________________________________________

These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Ministry and Contentment (Pete Scazzero, John Calvin)

Posted on by under applause, Downward Mobility, Ego Issues, Embracing Losses and Limits, Jesus the Savior, Learning Your Proper Place, Obscurity and Secrecy, Striving and drivenness, True Greatness

“Looking over our shoulder to more ‘successful’ ministries is one of the most frequent sources of pain for leaders.  …We can learn a lot from the pattern of John the Baptist’s leadership as he responded to the news that he was losing people to the ‘new, big thing’ happening around him (John 3:26-30): (1) I am content. I am exactly where I am supposed to be. “A person can receive only what is given him from heaven.” Yes, God gives gifts and abilities that we want to steward well. But each place of service, employment, success, or failure (a lot of God’s closest servants seem to suffer martyrdom) is under God’s sovereignty. It is tempting to strive, manipulate, and anxiously toil to push doors open that God does not have for us. But we want to receive as a gift each task given to us by God regardless of the where it leads. … (2) I am second. “I am not the Messiah…I am a friend of the Bridegroom, who stands and hears him.” John’s self-knowledge enabled him to escape the deadly trap of envy. …May we never lose sight of the pure happiness found in listening to the lovely voice of Jesus in Scripture, as well as the privilege given to us to speak His words to the world. (3) I am disappearing. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John is happy to decrease, even to disappear. Are we? Calvin said it well: ‘Those who win the church over to themselves rather than to Christ faithlessly violate the marriage they ought to honor.’ You and I will disappear some day and God will continue to build his kingdom. May we too rejoice in that process whenever God opens doors for us to disappear.” Pete Scazzero

“A person can receive only what is given him from heaven.” John 3:27

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • If you live by the numbers, you’ll die by the numbers. Do you measure ministry success by numbers? Is your identity based on competition and out-doing others?
  • Many leaders are tempted “to strive, manipulate, and anxiously toil to push doors open” that God has closed. When doors close, what’s your response?
  • Your ego has a plan for you as a pastor – and it’s not “disappearing.” Are you aware of it? prepared to handle it?

Abba, give our leaders great contentment serving you.

For More: Open Secrets by Richard Lischer

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Why We Can’t Slow Down (Vincent de Paul, Thoreau, Pete Scazzero, and Andréana Lefton)

Posted on by under Busyness, Contemplation and Activism, Hurry Sickness, Striving and drivenness

“The one who hurries delays the things of God.” Vincent de Paul

“Nothing can be more useful to a man than a determination not to be hurried.” H. D. Thoreau

“Slowing down can be terrifying because doing nothing productive leaves us feeling vulnerable, emotionally exposed and naked. Overworking hides these feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness, not just from others but also from ourselves. As long as we keep busy, we can outrun that internal voice that says things like:

I am never good enough.
I am never safe enough.
I am never perfect enough.
I am never extraordinary enough.
I am never successful enough.

Do you recognize that voice? Far too many of us use workaholism to run from these shaming messages. …Sadly, I’ve discovered that this distorted concept of identity can be found from Asia to Latin America, from North America to Africa, from the Middle East to Europe.” Pete Scazzero

“An active life is a good and laudable thing. Action has its seasons too – one of which is inaction.” Andréana Lefton

“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
‘In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.’”
Isaiah 30:15

 Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Do you keep busy to “outrun that internal voice” that shames you with charges that you’re not good enough? Are you good enough?
  • Does “doing nothing productive leave you feeling vulnerable, emotionally exposed and naked?” Could feeling that way be something good that God could use?
  • What do you miss out on when you refuse “quietness and trust?”

Abba, help me listen to your loving voice, not those internal voices that want to side-track and shame me.

For More:  Waiting for God by Simone Weil

_________________________________________________

These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow and share my blog. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

 

Daily Riches: Good Friday and Embracing Endings (Pete Scazzero and Parker Palmer)

Posted on by under Awareness, Death Daily, Desolation's Gift, Embracing Losses and Limits, Emotions and Spirituality, Faith and Doubt, Waiting on God

“On Good Friday we remember that at the cross Jesus wipes away our sins, becoming a global magnet that draws the whole world to Himself. Good Friday also reminds me that embracing endings (deaths) and new beginnings (resurrections) is the pattern of life for every Christian. Nothing new takes place without an ending. A real ending – a final death – often feels like disintegration, falling apart, a coming undone. It feels that way because that is what death is. It is an ending that requires walking through a completely dark tunnel, not knowing when or if any light will come again. If we embrace these losses for the severe mercies they are, God does a profound work in us and through us in ways that are similar to what the apostle Paul describes as “death is at work in us, but life is at work in you” (2 Cor. 4:12). As a person who tends to resist accepting the necessity of endings, I consistently do four things to keep me on track:

  • I face the brutal facts of situations where things are going badly and ask hard questions, even when everything inside me prefers to distract myself or flee.
  • I remind myself not to follow my feelings during these times of embracing endings as a death.
  • I talk with seasoned mentors who are older and more experienced, asking for their perspective and wisdom.

I ask myself two questions: What is it time to let go of in my personal life and in my leadership? What new thing might be standing backstage waiting to make its entrance in my personal life and in my leadership? This second question especially encourages me to move beyond my fears, reminding me that God has something good for me in the future – even though I may not see any hints of what that might be. Parker Palmer sums it up well: ‘On the spiritual journey…each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up. All we need to do is to stop pounding on the door just closed, turn around – which puts the door behind us – and welcome the largeness of life that now lies open to our souls.’” Pete Scazzero

“death is at work in us”
2 Corinthians 4:12

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Can you “embrace losses for the severe mercies they are?”
  • Can you trust that God still has something good for you when that “door” closes?
  • Can you wait well in the in between time, instead of acting out in some destructive way?

Abba, help me trust in your love when I experience the darkness of endings.

For More: Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero

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I appreciate your interest in Daily Riches! Please share! –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Working with God’s Slowness (Tertullian, Pete Scazzero, Pope Francis and Dan Allender)

Posted on by under Hurry Sickness, Striving and drivenness, Waiting on God

“Impatience is, as it were, the original sin in the eyes of the Lord. For, to put it in a nutshell, every sin is to be traced back to impatience. I find the origin of impatience in the Devil himself. …When the Spirit of God descends, patience is His inseparable companion. If we fail to welcome it along with the Spirit, will the latter remain within us at all times? As a matter of fact, I rather think the Spirit would not remain at all.” Tertullian

“Tertullian expounds on a truth we rarely talk about – i.e. God’s nature to be patient. …Tertullian’s exhortation on patience keeps me anchored in peace and joy since the realization of goals almost always take much longer than I expect.” Pete Scazzero

“I am always wary of decisions made hastily. I am always wary of the first decision, that is, the first thing that comes to my mind if I have to make a decision. This is usually the wrong thing. I have to wait and assess, looking deep into myself, taking the necessary time.” Pope Francis

“God is not bound by time, nor is our story. We desperately want our situation solved. We want resolution. But God unfolds the plot in his own time. It is in our months or years of waiting that our story comes to maturity. It is over a lifetime of stories that he turns our desire toward him.” Dan Allender

“Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering,
take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.”
James 5:10

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • “When the Spirit of God descends, patience is His inseparable companion.” Are you a patient person?
  • Do you allow for the fact that “the realization of goals almost always takes much longer than you expect?”
  • Are you wary of “decisions made hastily?” of the “first decision?” What does this look like in your actual experience?
  • Do you know how to look “deep into yourself” so that you act with an awareness of your unconscious motives?
  • Is there a spiritual discipline you can devise to help you develop a slower, more aware approach to decision making?

Abba, here it is, yet another reason for me to learn to slow down.

For More: To Be Told by Dan Allender

_________________________________________________

These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: Joining God in His Dream for the World (Amy Grant, Dallas Willard, Pete Scazzero)

Posted on by under Jesus the Savior, Prayer, Social Justice, The Poor and Disenfranchised

“No more lives torn apart

That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up Christmas list.”
Amy Grant

“…the kingdom of God …is the domain where what he prefers is actually what happens. And this very often does not happen on this sad earth…. In human affairs other ‘kingdoms’ may for a time be in power, and often are. This second request [“hallowed by thy name”] asks for those kingdoms to be displaced, wherever they are, or brought under God’s rule. … Jesus’s own gospel of the kingdom was not that the kingdom was about to come, or had recently come, into existence. … his gospel concerned only the new accessibility of the kingdom to humanity through himself. …So when Jesus directs us to pray, ‘Thy kingdom come,’ he does not mean we should pray for it to come into existence. Rather, we pray for it to take over at all points in the personal,  social, and political order where is it now excluded: ‘On earth as it is in heaven.'” Dallas Willard

“The kingdom of God is God’s dream for the world.” Pete Scazzero

 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,
for the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted
and to proclaim that captives will be released
and prisoners will be freed.
He has sent me to tell those who mourn
that the time of the Lord’s favor has come,
and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.”
Isaiah 61:1-2

Moving From Head to Heart

In many ways our dream for the world and God’s dream for the world are alike: healing of broken lives, peace, comfort to the brokenhearted. God’s dream also probably transcends ours: prisoners and slaves freed, good news for the poor – and a judging of evil.

  • Is your “wish list” inclusive enough that you can pray “thy kingdom come?”
  • Are you praying for God’s kingdom (petitioning), or merely wishing for it – or perhaps neither?
  • Are you praying for God to break into not only the personal, but also the “social, and political order?”

Abba, thy kingdom come, thy will be done – here and now in this place.

For More: The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: The Upside-Down Kingdom (Pete Scazzero, Tertullian) *

Posted on by under Downward Mobility, The Upside-Down Kingdom

“Here’s the way God’s kingdom works: it’s ‘lose your life, and you’ll find it.’ It’s ‘the last will be first, and the first will be last.’ It’s ‘life comes out of death, new beginnings out of endings.’ The kingdom of God is ‘in giving we receive.’ It’s ‘when we rest God works.’ It’s ‘weakness is the way to power.’ …It’s ‘the humble who will be exalted, it’s those who exalt themselves – they’re going to be humbled.’ In fact, the meek are going to inherit the earth. It’s the broken, it’s the meek, it’s power under control – in fact God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith (James 2). God’s kingdom is small, it’s little. Jesus said it’s like a mustard seed. You can barely see it. It’s imperceptible.  …It’s the weakest and the least among us. God says, ‘There’s my kingdom. They’re indispensable to our whole existence. The kingdom of God identifies with the unimpressive, the insignificant, the orphan, the widow, the elderly, the poor, the sick – these are the ones, these are what you’re all about.’ … We want ‘God’s dream’ [His kingdom], but we don’t want this! And we end up running after the wrong things.”   Pete Scazzero

“…[A]s it is with God himself, a particular respect  is shown [among Christians] to the lowly” Tertullian
“No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love
…he is our help and our shield.”
Psalm 33:16-20 

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Jesus’s Kingdom values aren’t the values of our world. Are they increasingly your values, or are you “running after the wrong things?”
  • Do you have others that share these counter-cultural, counter-intuitive values with you, so you can encourage one another on the spiritual journey?
  • When you go to church, are you taught to embrace these values? If you have a ministry, do they inform it?

Abba, help me more and more to see through the constant noise and nonsense of this world for what it is.

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For More: Thy Kingdom Come (podcast) by Pete Scazzero

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These “Daily Riches” are for your encouragement as you seek after God and he seeks after you. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it. My goal is to share something of unique value with you daily in 400 words or less. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

“I practice daily what I believe; everything else is religious talk.”

Daily Riches: “Slow Jesus” (Pete Scazzero and Barbara Brown Taylor) *

Posted on by under Hurry Sickness, Obscurity and Secrecy, Striving and drivenness, The Sacrament of the Present Moment

“Jesus moved slowly, not striving or rushing. He patiently waited through his adolescent and young adult years to reveal himself as the Messiah. Even then, he did not rush to be recognized. He waited patiently for his Father’s timing during his short ministry. Why is it then that we hate ‘slow’ when God appears to delight in it?” Peter Scazzero

“Jesus walked a lot…. This gave him time to see things. If he had been moving more quickly–even to reach more people–these things might have become a blur to him. Because he was moving slowly, they came into focus for him, just as he came into focus for them. …While many of his present-day admirers pay close attention to what he said and did, they pay less attention to the pace at which he did it.” Barbara Brown Taylor

“…Jesus’ brothers said to him, ‘You ought to leave here and go to Judea,
so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.
No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.
Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.’
… Jesus told them, ‘I am not yet going up to this Feast,
because for me the right time has not yet come.'”
John 7:3-8

Moving From Head to Heart

  • “No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.” Jesus clearly knew of his divine identity and mission from his youth, but he kept it “secret” most of his life! What kind of plan was that?
  • Dallas Willard famously remarked that the best word to characterize Jesus was “relaxed.” He ministered under a microscope and the shadow of his violent death. No-one really understood him. The power brokers of his day eventually all turned on him. It was in this context that he was “relaxed.” What does that reveal about him?
  • And yet, as his followers, we seem to “hate slow.” We don’t relax. Do you hate slow? Can you relax? What do your answers reveal about you?

LORD, grant me the grace to do one thing at a time today, without rushing or hurrying. Help me to savor the sacred in all I do, be it large or small. By the Holy Spirit within me, empower me to pause today as I move from one activity to the next. In Jesus’ name. (Scazzero)

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Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day by Pete Scazzero

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)