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 I will be writing some thoughts throughout the teaching series called: “For the Love of God.” Some of these thoughts will crystalize what I taught on previously and some will be entirely new because I did not have time in my message. 

Will you join me in prayer for Blue Sky and our community that we would experience more of God’s love? Will you pray that God in his mercy will pour more of his love in us?  Will you pray that we will be a community who will pour his love in our communities?

Ephesians 3:14-19

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. 

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

• This Scripture answer the question, “How do we get filled up with God’s love?” (Eph. 3:19).

• Paul states that we must have Jesus settling in our hearts as the answer. When we have more of Jesus, then we will have more of his love (Eph. 3:17). 

• In order to have more of Jesus, we need more of the Spirit’s work in our lives (Eph. 3:16)

• Needing the Spirit to work on hearts states an important truth: we are unable to receive his love. Our hearts are not a suitable home. 

• The more we humble ourselves with this realization and therefore get our our knees with desperation (like Paul here), only then can we begin to get filled with his love (Eph. 3:14).

Every Saturday, I will use this prayer as the basis of everything I say. 

As I was earning my master degree at Dallas Theological Seminary, Connie and I shared our lives in a community called Irving Bible Church. Great church! The Lead Pastor is Andy McQuitty whom I consider a friend and I am a great admirer of his leadership. Equally, he is a great writer. Andy sends his congregation his thoughts from time to time. Below is a piece on how to think through on casting your vote. With the Democratic Convention now in Denver, I thought this would be opportunistic. 

Truth is, most people votes are swayed by appearance and other’s opinion. My challenge is for you to be a thinking Christian. 

I have edited his thoughts for our context. 

1. Understand the major issues at stake in the race. Stuff like the the energy crisis, war in Iraq, health care, immigration, taxes and the economy, Supreme Court appointments is all big. . . 

2. Come to grips on where you stand with regard to these issues according to your political philosophy. 

If you haven’t developed your political philosophy based on fundamental convictions about the nature and workings of people, society, government, etc., then stop now and do that. You’ll need to settle questions for yourself like: what should government’s role be in our lives? What is my view of capitalism, socialism, fascism, and communism? Where do I stand on the perfectibility or fallenness of mankind, personal responsibility versus government largesse, the redistribution of wealth, individual liberty, the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights? By all means, let your faith in God and your understanding of the truths of Scripture inform your thinking. 

3) Become informed about the candidate’s positions on the issues from #2 above. First, make sure you are registered to vote: www.elections.colorado.gov . A simple comparison of the candidates and their views. http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/issues/climate.html

5. Match your informed view of the issues to the candidate who most closely tracks with what you believe. 

6. No one candidate will perfectly reflect your opinions on all issues unless you’re the candidate. The harsh reality is that sometimes you may feel like you’re choosing the better of two evils. But go ahead and do it. The better of two evils may still seem evil, but it could have been worse if you didn’t vote, right?

7) My only addition to this list is the character of the politician. You may find a great match of a candidate and your political issues. But do they have the courage to carry out their plan? A classic example is George H.W. Bush’s claim, “Read my lips, no new taxes.”   <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read_my_lips:_no_new_taxes>  Is there also a match on what they say and how they have voted? 

Please be in prayer. Ask the Lord to lead you. Ask the Lord what is on his heart for the future of America. 

On a final note, let’s be a community of dialogue –even on the tough issues. One Blue Skyer came up to me and and spoke about his desire to see a gathering on the book: Jesus is President by Shane Clairborne. This book has stirred up many issues which would make it a good book for discussion. If any are interested, perhaps we can get something going. 

A Look at a Pastor’s Day in Prayer

Personally, I have learned from many pastor’s before me in how the seek the Lord. Over the years I have taken bits of info from them and adapted to what works best for me. Perhaps you can take something from me and adapt it as your own. 

The Scriptures may be the only voice in your life telling you to get away from it all. Your boss will not. Your kids will not. Nothing in our culture tells you to take care of yourself. The Scriptures say to “draw near to God and he will draw near to you,” James 4:8. Jesus certainly is our model. No one can claim a busier life than him. Two times in the Gospel of Mark, it tells us that ministry got so busy, they did not have time to eat. Yet, Jesus got away. Luke 5:16 tells us, “But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” 

You may think that getting away from it all is impossible in the 21st century. It has been noted that America is the most overworked nation in the world; we only take ten vacation days a year. Our world moves so fast that it seems hazardous to step off the train. Yet, I never met anyone who has wished for a moment of golden silence. 

I am confident, that even in the midst of the cultural flywheel, you can get away. Corporations are allowing “personal days” over sick days. And if you even if you cannot get away from work, you can take an evening walk, or a morning sip of coffee on the porch. And for those single moms juggling work and kids, there is always the story of Susanna Wesley. She was the mother of 18 kids, yes 18 kids! When she pulled her apron over her head, her kids knew not to bother her for it was her time with God. 

So what does this look like for me? 

1) I need to get away from people. Most of my time is in a cabin in the mountains but I have pitched a tent before. There is even a “chair” carved out in granite in the Rocky Mountain National Park which faces the snow capped peaks. I love that spot!

2) Fasting is necessary. Fasting quickens and intensifies the Word of God. Fasting trains the body to substitute food for the Word of God. Some days are fine for me but other days are quite the struggle. My body really hates to fast, but the reward is worth it. If you have never done this before, skip a meal first. Then maybe try a day at a time. If I am fasting for a day, I go from evening to evening –a 24 hour fast. 

3) Drinking a ton of water is essential to fasting. Martin Luther said that when he felt hunger pains, he would drink water. It works for me. 

4) Reading the Word of God aloud is key. Fasting will not make sense unless you can substitute for the word of God. Matthew 4:4, “People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.” No one disciplines their body for the sake of discipline. You discipline to seek to get a good spiritual meal 

5) I like to focus on a book of Scripture and I plan on reading it through in its entirety. I only read Scripture and then I  journal my thoughts and prayers. 

6) I have a certain rhythm to my day. Here it is: a) I go for a walk to exercise my body which helps to quiet myself. b) Then, I read aloud Scripture mixed with praying and journaling. c) After this, I take a nap. Yep! I get pretty tired when fasting. Some naps are for a hour and some are for only 10 minutes. It is during these times God reveals how tired I am. The naps also allow me to soak up what he has taught me. Finally, they allow my soul to quiet even more. After a nap, I go for a walk again to start a new cycle. 

7) Finally, my attitude is that God will relate to me. He has never let me down. I have learned when I truly take the effort to seek him, he meets me where I am at. Only twice in my life has he directed me to come near to him. This is rare and it should be. He has already requested that we seek him, we just need to hungry and willing to obey. 

A poll was given to 1800 unchurched people which asked them, what church building do you prefer? I will post their answers in a week. What about you? Choose your top preference and your least preference.

Pastor Joe

The results which are posted, 8/21/08. The first option, the Gothic Cathedral, is certainly the favorite. Almost half choose this. The least, however, may surprise you. Option #4, received less than 10% of the vote. The reason? Unlike the Gothic Cathedral, the building did not stir the imagination. 

Darcie Palmer is leading a book club on the book, “Walking with God” by John Eldredge. These thoughts are from their previous gathering. You can find out more about this book club on our website. 

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

Since much of our talk centered around our will and God’s will, this is the verse that keeps rolling around in my head.  What is a kingdom?  Where does His kingdom need to come? How is His will done in heaven?  How can we be part of seeing that His will is done here on earth?

A wise woman in my past once taught on this subject.  Her simple definition of a kingdom was “where the king reigns or has authority, where the will of the king is done”.  If God is the King, where is His kingdom?  Scriptures tell us in some places that the kingdom of heaven is within us and in other places speaks of it as a location, territory.  God is in the process of reclaiming everything that is rightfully part of His kingdom, all that He created.  But, God is a gentle king, a patient king.  He desires us to become part of His kingdom and to play a role in accomplishing His purposes, but only if we come on our own and allow Him to reign over us.  He is not a dictator forcing His will onto His subjects.

He wants us to know him as a good, loving, and just God.  And what is so cool is that He is also all-powerful and all-knowing-so much more than any human king.  He wants us to want to be under His rule and moreover to be one of His children sharing in ruling the kingdom.  Through the work of Jesus and our faith in Him, we are brought into His family.  But only by allowing His kingdom to come and His will to be done, do we experience the joy of being part of expanding His kingdom, the joy of becoming more of who He created us to be.  I believe that God desires to expand His kingdom in two main areas.  The first territory is within us.  He desires to reclaim those parts of our hearts, our person that still cling to this world, our will and our old ways.  Throughout our whole lives God will reveal areas of our lives that we have not yielded to Him, places where we still do not trust God to know best, places He needs to heal in order for us to be whole and holy.  The other territory is the world at large (the on earth part of the verse)-He desires to bring the light of His kingdom into this dark, fallen world.  Jesus brought God’s light directly to earth, light shining in the darkness as the first act of reclamation,  and continues to  reclaim His kingdom through His children who have come by faith.  He asks us to do His will in this world.  To be His eyes, ears, voice, hands and feet in this world.

I believe joy comes to us as we join Him in reclaiming His kingdom.  This will go on until the fullness of time when Jesus returns.  But we have to remember that this reclaiming goes on both within us and around us.  We must be willing to join Him in both of those areas.  Where does He desire to expand His kingdom today, this season, this moment within me or through me in the world?

So, I spend time with my King.  Where do you wish to extend Your kingdom today?  Are there places in my heart that You are revealing as dark places-where am I harboring anger, resentment, envy, unforgiveness; where am I  clinging to things that burden me , keep me from growing?  Sometimes, I just need to stay with my Wonderful King and allow His kingdom to come, His will to be done in my heart-to embrace the things of God and release the other things.

But I also ask-God where do you want me to expand Your kingdom today?  How can I bring  Your light into this dark world today?  It may be as simple as a kind word to fellow grocery shopper or telling a hurting person the Good News, or as involved as starting a mentoring program for high school girls or training to be a church planter.  But all I know is that I must remain in Christ, within God’s will in order to accomplish anything of eternal significance.  If I try to come up with the plan to do good on my own out of my own strength-I will not be able to bring it to fruition, or I will neglect important people in my life along the way, or the fruit of my labor will be sour or temporal.  Only by stepping into things that are what God has specifically purposed for me to do and doing them by His strength and in His way and in His timing will I truly be part of expanding His kingdom.

So to conclude, I need to allow God’s kingdom to come, God’s will to be done within me so that I become more of the person He created me to be.  And I can do my part to see God’s kingdom come, His will be done, on this earth as I ask Him what my marching orders are for the day-what good works are mine to do today.  And ask Him to help me to do them by His power, in His way, and in His timing.  This is where I move toward living a life of freedom and joy producing lasting fruit in the right season. 

Darcie Palmer

(Some associated verses-Eph. 2:10, John 15:5, Philippians 2:12-16, 4:13, Luke 17:2, Matt. 6:10).   

My kids call it the Waffle House. But this is not what you think. After the Saturday Night service, Jack and Claire Strandquist have an open invitation to their home. You will find many blue skyers creating Belgian Waffles with homemade coconut ice cream, assorted fruit and caramelized walnuts. Of course, it is not complete unless one chases it down with homemade mint iced tea. The food is worthy of a Rachel Ray visit. It is “delish!”

But the best part is not the food, it is community organically forming. No one from the staff of Blue Sky asked the Stradquist’s to do this. You will not find this gathering programmed in the community guide. They took the initiative, used their gifts (hospitality and some good cooking) and invited all who wanted to come into their home. This puts a big smile on a pastor’s heart. Memories are made and friendships are born. 

I know years from now blue skyers will say, “Do you remember those late night waffle times?” These times will be a defining moment for some. Until then, you may here a friend after a service say, “Waffles?” To which no reply is needed.