Please go to my new website. I have a blog page there and some studies you will hopefully enjoy.
I am migrating this blog to the following website: www.ourkairos.com
Dave
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Doubt to Doubt; Doubt to Deeper Faith...process by which we grow in faith
I thought you might enjoy this sermon.....keep it in the center of our hearts, that what God is doing is deepening our faith and love for him,
moving us from doubt to faith, doubt to faith...step by step...patiently revealing Himself, exposing our doubts and replacing that with gentile
and sincere faith brought about through knowing His word and Christ.
Dave
Sermon by John Piper:
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/willing-gods-will-as-a-way-of-knowing-christs-word
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Finding My Voice in the Sound of Silence
Picture courtesy of Leonard Havemann, my uncle in law.
In her book, Finding My Voice, Diane Rhem (of public radio fame) wrote, "...silence unnerves me. I am uncomfortable in it. It's as though I don't fully exist in silence...sounds fill the void in me, a void that reminds me again and again of just how close I am to being alone. Silence is aloneness."
I suppose that many share Ms Rhem's emotion on the matter of silence. Many equate silence with aloneness, and that aloneness echoes around in the core of the soul like a metal ball bearing that clatters as it makes a scraping sound as it bounces then rolls over hardwood flooring. It is that place of the soul where voids exist --- voids we want so desperately to fill.
God says in several places in Scriptures, "Be still" and "Be silent, and know that I am God." When Jesus fed the multitudes with the fish and loaves, He instructed the disciples to have the people to sit in small groups. He blessed the food and broke up the barley loaves and boiled fish, and distributed them to the people, After eating their fill and their hunger was completely satisfied, the disciples took up somewhere between seven and twelve baskets of scraps. But, Jesus found no contentment with performing such a miracle, even though it won Him the accolades and attention of the thousands of people in that barren place. After the people were fed, Jesus sent them on their way, told the disciples to get into their boat and launch out for the other side, but, Jesus did not go with them. Instead, He found a solitary and quiet place --- a place where the noise of people ceased and where the only sound might have been the hush whispers of the breeze or the occasional warble of a songbird in the distance. And it was there, in that place of aloneness and silence that He communed with His Heavenly Father, receiving true nourishment, refreshment and re-creation; those precious commodities that busyness and people cannot provide, nor can they be extinguished, because in that place we find deep-seeded contentment and assurance that only that place in the silence can provide.
It is in the place of solitary respite that our spirit is stirred and the soul can finally be at peace on any given day. Jesus said that when you pray (when you seek the face of God), go into the inner chamber or closet and meet with God there, and you will be rewarded. So, here is a question: 'what is the reward'? I will share with you my opinion on what the answer may be...I remember the answer from my own pinning --- The reward is the presence of Him who calms the fear, heals the wounds, corrects with the loving gaze that only a father can provide. The reward is when He leads with impressions of sweet assurance, grace and the infinite wisdom of His eternal Word.
Mother Theresa was asked by a journalist once upon a time, "when you pray, what do you do or say?" Her answer was a little startling to the questioner; 'Sometimes I do nothing and say nothing -- I just listen to God." Continuing his query, the journalist asked, 'And what does God say?' 'Sometimes He says nothing. Sometimes, He just listens, too," she replied, her eyes piercing and her wrinkled face unmoved, refusing to react to the shocked look on the face of her anxious interviewer.
It is in the silence that we can find honest responses to the questioning of our own soul, too, to the haunting questions. So we should embrace, not hold with disdain that place or time of silence and aloneness. I believe that the urgent and constant need for noise is a sign of sickness of the soul. Resist that, and let your heart open to the possibility that the most deepest of questions may just be answered and your restlessness quelled there, in the silence, where only the sound of the whispered breeze or the warble of the songbird in the distance might be your only audible companion, and God, the Great Listener, will reward you openly.
Try this --- 'be still, and know God'. He is there, waiting silently. Don't be disappointed if He doesn't speak audibly, because He might just be listening, too.
Blessings,
Dave
Friday, September 11, 2009
Peace at Forest Hall
Wallowa Lake, Oregon:
© D L Deeney 2009
The bark upon the tree, it smelled so subtly sweet to me;
The wind within its bows
Whispered a lullaby that wound round ‘bout my heart.
Sunbeams resting on swaying arms - lined with bristle-brush fingers all waving;
Chipmunk chatters echoed through the pines, giving meter to Nature’s gentle chime.
And caused me pause to drink it all in.
Finally, my restless soul in solace fell ~
Quiet. Still. A respite stall.
At peace within that forest hall.
Supper Time
Wallowa Lake, Oregon:
© D L Deeney 2009
The little brook, winding down to the lake; bubbling, rambling and splashing about.
While crawdads dart and raccoon paw chase each other 'round tiny stones and flipping foam.
The masked marauder takes his chance; retrieving paw from the watery stew;
Crawdad in hand ~ the coon’s delight;
Tongue on chops ~ a Cheshire’s grin.
He slurps up the meal, then begins again.
Wallowa Lake, Oregon:
© D L Deeney 2009
The bark upon the tree, it smelled so subtly sweet to me;
The wind within its bows
Whispered a lullaby that wound round ‘bout my heart.
Sunbeams resting on swaying arms - lined with bristle-brush fingers all waving;
Chipmunk chatters echoed through the pines, giving meter to Nature’s gentle chime.
And caused me pause to drink it all in.
Finally, my restless soul in solace fell ~
Quiet. Still. A respite stall.
At peace within that forest hall.
Supper Time
Wallowa Lake, Oregon:
© D L Deeney 2009
The little brook, winding down to the lake; bubbling, rambling and splashing about.
While crawdads dart and raccoon paw chase each other 'round tiny stones and flipping foam.
The masked marauder takes his chance; retrieving paw from the watery stew;
Crawdad in hand ~ the coon’s delight;
Tongue on chops ~ a Cheshire’s grin.
He slurps up the meal, then begins again.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Roots
Around 1605 a seedling poked its head through virgin soil to take in the warmth of the filtered sunlight that found its way to the forest floor. The tiny seedling found itself surrounded by sentinels who have been growing for millennia. A grove of tall, strong Sequoias surround the place where this infant is being born. It is that part of earth that will become known as north-central California.
The little seed will become a sapling around the time Jamestown is settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. By the time the seed grows and becomes a young Sequoia, Quebec City will be established in New France (the soon-to-be country of Canada). When the tender tree grows to be around 11 or 12 feet in height above the ground, scholars will release the King James Bible. By the time the tree is about 2 stories in height or so, a new colonial nation called America will be forged.
This Sequoia will see the time of the civil war, the war of 1812 (the tree is now 206 years old at this point). It will go on to see the days of WWI and WWII. It will even see the Korean War, Viet Nam, the landing of man on the moon, Desert Storm and 9-11. It soars to over 240 feet in height and it takes several men to join arms to circle its trunk. It is a behemoth.
Just a few years ago the Sequoia, without warning and without disease or insect infestation, fell to the ground. It was a mysterious event that puzzled forestry biologists and parks personnel. What they found as to the cause of the Giant’s demise was a surprise – foot traffic - over many years; foot traffic had broken down the root system. After the constant beating down of the earth around the base of the giant by tourists and onlookers and gawkers, the roots gave way and the Sequoias could no longer stand.
There is a man named Bernie Krause, who began recording nature sounds for Hollywood in the 1960's; it used to take him about 15 hours to capture 1 hour of nature without man-made mechanized sound. Today, it takes him 2000 hours of recording time.
In a normal day, people are subjected to an average of 8 hours of television and radio sound per day. We subject ourselves to decibel levels well beyond what the EPA believes is acceptable to human beings. We receive visual pollution from billboards, street signs and business signs every moment as we walk or drive down the streets of our cities. Minivans and SUV’s now come equipped with DVD players. Clothing comes with MP3 and cell phone attachments.
In addition to all of this, we speak thousands and thousands of words to one another - voicing opinion, anger, frustration - we try to talk each other into supporting our ideas or we are being lured and swayed to emotionally invest in every one else's life and problems...I wonder, if we spent the same amount of time being quiet and listening to God as we do talking about our difficult circumstances would we be more at peace?
We find talking so much easier than just listening. But a question presents itself in light of our lifestyle; if we are not still, and if we don’t take time to listen to God, how is He going to give us the rest He promised if we have not positioned our lives to receive it?
There is a saying, “If you continue to do what you’ve always done you will continue to get what you always have had.” Another saying goes like this; “A fool says in his heart, "I can do the same things over and over and expect a different result.” We all understand that that is ridiculous.
Farmers know from planting seeds what kind of harvest they will get. We need to consider what and how we are planting into our own lives and the lives of those around us.
If we think about it, what makes silence so hard to accept into our lives? After all, you do simply nothing to get it. There is no effort on our part to have this experience. You listen to your own breathing and the sound of your own heart beating. If you are outside, in a solitary place, you hear the breathiness of the soft wind…sometimes the blustery wind across the plains or prairie.
Perhaps it is ego or just really bad habits of having to have noise to make us feel less scared in life. But when we consider all of the noise, I hope that we are not too late in awakening to the reality that it is the sound of constant conflict and banter and the stupid rush of the rat race around us that is our version of foot traffic; traffic that beats down the earth around the roots of our souls -slowly, over time, weakening that which is supposed to nourish us and bring refreshment.
I think that we think that other voices and our own are more interesting and more wise than God’s…we must, or we’d reverse the percentages.
Recommended readings: Deut 27:9 Ps 4:4 Hab 2:20 Matt 11 (come to me all you who are heavy laden) Luke 5:16
The little seed will become a sapling around the time Jamestown is settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. By the time the seed grows and becomes a young Sequoia, Quebec City will be established in New France (the soon-to-be country of Canada). When the tender tree grows to be around 11 or 12 feet in height above the ground, scholars will release the King James Bible. By the time the tree is about 2 stories in height or so, a new colonial nation called America will be forged.
This Sequoia will see the time of the civil war, the war of 1812 (the tree is now 206 years old at this point). It will go on to see the days of WWI and WWII. It will even see the Korean War, Viet Nam, the landing of man on the moon, Desert Storm and 9-11. It soars to over 240 feet in height and it takes several men to join arms to circle its trunk. It is a behemoth.
Just a few years ago the Sequoia, without warning and without disease or insect infestation, fell to the ground. It was a mysterious event that puzzled forestry biologists and parks personnel. What they found as to the cause of the Giant’s demise was a surprise – foot traffic - over many years; foot traffic had broken down the root system. After the constant beating down of the earth around the base of the giant by tourists and onlookers and gawkers, the roots gave way and the Sequoias could no longer stand.
There is a man named Bernie Krause, who began recording nature sounds for Hollywood in the 1960's; it used to take him about 15 hours to capture 1 hour of nature without man-made mechanized sound. Today, it takes him 2000 hours of recording time.
In a normal day, people are subjected to an average of 8 hours of television and radio sound per day. We subject ourselves to decibel levels well beyond what the EPA believes is acceptable to human beings. We receive visual pollution from billboards, street signs and business signs every moment as we walk or drive down the streets of our cities. Minivans and SUV’s now come equipped with DVD players. Clothing comes with MP3 and cell phone attachments.
In addition to all of this, we speak thousands and thousands of words to one another - voicing opinion, anger, frustration - we try to talk each other into supporting our ideas or we are being lured and swayed to emotionally invest in every one else's life and problems...I wonder, if we spent the same amount of time being quiet and listening to God as we do talking about our difficult circumstances would we be more at peace?
We find talking so much easier than just listening. But a question presents itself in light of our lifestyle; if we are not still, and if we don’t take time to listen to God, how is He going to give us the rest He promised if we have not positioned our lives to receive it?
There is a saying, “If you continue to do what you’ve always done you will continue to get what you always have had.” Another saying goes like this; “A fool says in his heart, "I can do the same things over and over and expect a different result.” We all understand that that is ridiculous.
Farmers know from planting seeds what kind of harvest they will get. We need to consider what and how we are planting into our own lives and the lives of those around us.
If we think about it, what makes silence so hard to accept into our lives? After all, you do simply nothing to get it. There is no effort on our part to have this experience. You listen to your own breathing and the sound of your own heart beating. If you are outside, in a solitary place, you hear the breathiness of the soft wind…sometimes the blustery wind across the plains or prairie.
Perhaps it is ego or just really bad habits of having to have noise to make us feel less scared in life. But when we consider all of the noise, I hope that we are not too late in awakening to the reality that it is the sound of constant conflict and banter and the stupid rush of the rat race around us that is our version of foot traffic; traffic that beats down the earth around the roots of our souls -slowly, over time, weakening that which is supposed to nourish us and bring refreshment.
I think that we think that other voices and our own are more interesting and more wise than God’s…we must, or we’d reverse the percentages.
Recommended readings: Deut 27:9 Ps 4:4 Hab 2:20 Matt 11 (come to me all you who are heavy laden) Luke 5:16
Saturday, May 2, 2009
A Way Through The Wilderness
I recall when we moved from southern California up to Winchester Idaho. I was 14; we traveled in a motor home up highway 101 up the California coastline. My parents sold almost everything we had; sold the Lincoln and mom's hard-top convertible 55' T-bird with 3 on the floor, and it had a Hurst gear shifter - racing engine and all (we all cried when that happened); we lived in an executive home outside of Escondido near San Diego...but, there we were, modern Bedouins heading for parts unknown.
It was a brave venture. Few people that I've ever known have had the fortitude to launch out with 4 kids in tow and leave the security of a good paying real estate career (dad) and the hostess position for the Lawrence Welk Resort (step-mom)...but that is just what they did (thank you mom & dad). While we did not know our ultimate destination, we knew the comforts, the friends we loved and the familiarity of our home that we were leaving behind. Having the hopeful perspective of youth, it was all exhilarating to me. We spent a night at Bodega Bay - that's where they filmed the movie The Birds - scared the heck out of us kids...every seagull was suspect..we screamed and ran into the motor home more than one time that day to get away from the killer birds.
On another night we spent it in a lot at Pismo Beach. We ate our fill of Pismo clams that night...it was so fun.
When we got to Portland, we hung a right and headed to Idaho - our Uncle Floyd and Aunt Bonnie ran a halfway house for mentally and physically challenged people. And, that's where we landed - they offered my dad an administrator position - we stayed. While waiting for my parents to find a home for us to buy, we lived among the patients in the halfway house for many weeks. What a heart opener. I embraced the friends I made there -most were 30+ years my senior, but they won my heart and gave me a deeper appreciation for the blessings I'd known; health, laughter, love and my family.
It was a most excellent time of my life.
I have had other ventures that have led me to many heights of happiness and those filled with the bitterest of sorrow; but regardless of what type of experience that came my way, each had in common an element of leaving behind the familiar and a necessity to embrace the new - to accept the things I could not change and to embrace the comfort of the Lord ~ I recall the molestation I experienced as a six year old boy by my mother's boyfriend (my parents had divorced when I was very young) while she showered....I can still recall the fear and confusion of that experience.
I remember when my pastors died in the crash of Alaska Air flight 261 - I can almost feel the hot tears streaming down my face several years after...and I remember the passing of my dear friend, Cliff Clare - he was like a father to me...tears falling like rain from my eyes - I remember those painful and horrid experiences, yet within the memories I recall a deep deep comfort- a confidence that the hand of my Heavenly Father was there holding my hand - drawing me to Himself. There was a quiet sense that I was not alone and that I could trust Him with my deepest sorrows, with my tears and grief and all of the questions that flew through my mind; and, I could trust Him to bring the greatest joy of His Presence into my daily life.
I also remember winning the mile race for Jr. Olympics in southern California - beating runners 2 grades higher than me. I remember finishing every cross country race I ever started (3 years worth - 1 1/2 to 3 miles each). Victory. Yes!
I will share a secret with you. I know why that deep confidence was there; with every painful experience (including my real mother's abandonment of me and my brother in Phoenix when I was seven) I did not blame God. Even in my youth I had an understanding that people are fallen and wounded, and that wounded people wound others. I grasped that the world is a dangerous place. And, I knew that I was not the cause and I knew that I was not the cure.
In the wilderness that life can be, while we are sojourning from one place to another, there are oasis along the way where we should drink in great draughts of refreshment. They can be found every single day - in moments and in people we don't even expect. They are needed and should be cherished...because life shifts and changes and the world is a dangerous place.
In my earlier post (below) I speak of finding refreshment by quieting ourselves and our surroundings so that we can simply be with the Father. I believe that, with all my heart, God is found by anyone who willingly, consistently and persistently waits -without wagging an accusing finger in His face - to hear Him and to openly receive from Him assurance, grace, forgiveness and the needed strength to overcome and to cope. There are things we never get over - we just get on with living our lives.
Just be sure you're not traveling alone.
Dave
It was a brave venture. Few people that I've ever known have had the fortitude to launch out with 4 kids in tow and leave the security of a good paying real estate career (dad) and the hostess position for the Lawrence Welk Resort (step-mom)...but that is just what they did (thank you mom & dad). While we did not know our ultimate destination, we knew the comforts, the friends we loved and the familiarity of our home that we were leaving behind. Having the hopeful perspective of youth, it was all exhilarating to me. We spent a night at Bodega Bay - that's where they filmed the movie The Birds - scared the heck out of us kids...every seagull was suspect..we screamed and ran into the motor home more than one time that day to get away from the killer birds.
On another night we spent it in a lot at Pismo Beach. We ate our fill of Pismo clams that night...it was so fun.
When we got to Portland, we hung a right and headed to Idaho - our Uncle Floyd and Aunt Bonnie ran a halfway house for mentally and physically challenged people. And, that's where we landed - they offered my dad an administrator position - we stayed. While waiting for my parents to find a home for us to buy, we lived among the patients in the halfway house for many weeks. What a heart opener. I embraced the friends I made there -most were 30+ years my senior, but they won my heart and gave me a deeper appreciation for the blessings I'd known; health, laughter, love and my family.
It was a most excellent time of my life.
I have had other ventures that have led me to many heights of happiness and those filled with the bitterest of sorrow; but regardless of what type of experience that came my way, each had in common an element of leaving behind the familiar and a necessity to embrace the new - to accept the things I could not change and to embrace the comfort of the Lord ~ I recall the molestation I experienced as a six year old boy by my mother's boyfriend (my parents had divorced when I was very young) while she showered....I can still recall the fear and confusion of that experience.
I remember when my pastors died in the crash of Alaska Air flight 261 - I can almost feel the hot tears streaming down my face several years after...and I remember the passing of my dear friend, Cliff Clare - he was like a father to me...tears falling like rain from my eyes - I remember those painful and horrid experiences, yet within the memories I recall a deep deep comfort- a confidence that the hand of my Heavenly Father was there holding my hand - drawing me to Himself. There was a quiet sense that I was not alone and that I could trust Him with my deepest sorrows, with my tears and grief and all of the questions that flew through my mind; and, I could trust Him to bring the greatest joy of His Presence into my daily life.
I also remember winning the mile race for Jr. Olympics in southern California - beating runners 2 grades higher than me. I remember finishing every cross country race I ever started (3 years worth - 1 1/2 to 3 miles each). Victory. Yes!
I will share a secret with you. I know why that deep confidence was there; with every painful experience (including my real mother's abandonment of me and my brother in Phoenix when I was seven) I did not blame God. Even in my youth I had an understanding that people are fallen and wounded, and that wounded people wound others. I grasped that the world is a dangerous place. And, I knew that I was not the cause and I knew that I was not the cure.
In the wilderness that life can be, while we are sojourning from one place to another, there are oasis along the way where we should drink in great draughts of refreshment. They can be found every single day - in moments and in people we don't even expect. They are needed and should be cherished...because life shifts and changes and the world is a dangerous place.
In my earlier post (below) I speak of finding refreshment by quieting ourselves and our surroundings so that we can simply be with the Father. I believe that, with all my heart, God is found by anyone who willingly, consistently and persistently waits -without wagging an accusing finger in His face - to hear Him and to openly receive from Him assurance, grace, forgiveness and the needed strength to overcome and to cope. There are things we never get over - we just get on with living our lives.
Just be sure you're not traveling alone.
Dave
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Be Still and Know....
When Elijah went to the Mountain of God, he hid himself in a small cave. In that cave he sought God's protection from the threatening Jezebel. More importantly, though, he needed God's assurance and confidence. I find it interesting that what he experienced and what ultimately brought him the solace and strength he needed was not in the wind that had power to break rocks, nor was it emotions that the earthquake may have fostered, nor was it found in the raging fire that burned the rocks outside the cave entrance...but it was the still, quiet voice of God.
When the disciples were in jeopardy on the lake, and the wind was blowing with the sound of a freight train, and the waves broke over the bow of the boat, when Jesus shows up, He rebukes the wind, the noise and the waves....and everything became still and serene.
When Jesus was worn out by the constant demands of the people longing for answers, healing and food, He would pull away to a deserted place and quietly wait on the Father. When He needed courage and clarity the night before His betrayal, crucifixion and impending death, He took His disciples to the garden - away from the city - to pray in quietness to the Father.
It is in the quiet place - that place where cell phones and pagers and television and crowds are not allowed to go - Jesus called it a 'closet' place. A place where others aren't and only you and the Lord are - where you can hear the still quiet voice of God your Father. It is a safe place where you can lay down your anger, your wounding, your internal arguments that you have with yourself and with others and simply be with Him.
It is not noise and clamour and loud energy that soothes the soul, but the calming reassurance brought by our Father's voice - in prayer and in His Word. Let Him speak to you today.
Tell yourself: "Shhhh...quiet....my soul is being refreshed and rejuvenated and healed. My Father is speaking."
Peace to you.
Dave
When the disciples were in jeopardy on the lake, and the wind was blowing with the sound of a freight train, and the waves broke over the bow of the boat, when Jesus shows up, He rebukes the wind, the noise and the waves....and everything became still and serene.
When Jesus was worn out by the constant demands of the people longing for answers, healing and food, He would pull away to a deserted place and quietly wait on the Father. When He needed courage and clarity the night before His betrayal, crucifixion and impending death, He took His disciples to the garden - away from the city - to pray in quietness to the Father.
It is in the quiet place - that place where cell phones and pagers and television and crowds are not allowed to go - Jesus called it a 'closet' place. A place where others aren't and only you and the Lord are - where you can hear the still quiet voice of God your Father. It is a safe place where you can lay down your anger, your wounding, your internal arguments that you have with yourself and with others and simply be with Him.
It is not noise and clamour and loud energy that soothes the soul, but the calming reassurance brought by our Father's voice - in prayer and in His Word. Let Him speak to you today.
Tell yourself: "Shhhh...quiet....my soul is being refreshed and rejuvenated and healed. My Father is speaking."
Peace to you.
Dave
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)