Through our study of the Psalms at our weekend services, we’ve seen again and again the important of honesty in our conversations with God. A few weeks ago, I quoted C.S. Lewis who said, “We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us.”

Here’s a quotation from a seventeenth century believer who has similar thoughts as Lewis. Whatever you do—just keep talking to God!

“Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, it’s pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you to conquer them; talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wound of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself and others.”

“If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never want for subject of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back; neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of abundance of the heart, without consideration they say just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God.”

Francois Fenelon
1651-1715

This weekend we talked about being people who delight in the teaching of the LORD (Psalm 1:2a), and I wanted to give you a practical way to learn to do it. One of our favorite axioms around Capital is “We don’t just work through the Bible. We allow the Bible to work through us.” I’ve found one of the best ways to do that is to practice the spiritual discipline of scriptural meditation (Psalm 1:2b).

Most days I will take a short passage of scripture and pick it apart. I dwell on it, asking God what he means. I ask him how it applies to me, and I invite him to work the truth into my heart and mind. Then I try to take it with me through the day, remembering it on the drive time or between meetings. I don’t rush the process. I don’t take on massive amounts of Scripture. Sometimes I’ll spend 3-4 days on one passage. I’ve found this to be one of the most powerful ways God speaks to me.

If you click the link below, you will find a list of suggested verses. I encourage you to read through the list and choose one that especially applies to your life today. If you’ve never done this before, you may want to start slowly. Perhaps spend just five minutes of focus during the least distracting part of your day. Then take it with you. You may want to print them onto a small card, so you can refer to it throughout your day.

May you allow the Bible to work through you, sinking into your heart, mind and soul, that you may know Him more!

Psalm 119:11 – I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

LINK: Meditation Verses

Five years ago last weekend, I became the Lead Pastor of Capital Church.  Over the last five years, our church has grown in many ways—not just numerically.  But I think I’ve grown more.  I have thoroughly enjoyed these last 5 years, and I look forward to many more years of journeying together with you as we discover what it means to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength,” and to “love our neighbor as ourselves.”  Thank you for being a part of the journey with me.

Troy

Are any of you worn out? Do you feel like the pace of your life has become to fast? Are you overwhelmed by responsibilities and TO DO lists and emails and commitments? Maybe you need Sabbath. In his book The Sabbath, Abraham Joshua Heschel describes this ancient, holy day saying:

        “He who wants to enter the holiness of the day must first lay down the profanity of clattering
        commerce, of being yoked to toil.  He must go away from the screech of dissonant days, from the
        nervousness and fury of acquisitiveness and the betrayal in embezzling his own life.  He must say
        farewell to manual work and learn to understand that the world has already been created and will
        survive without the help of man.  Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the
        earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul.  The world has
        our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone Else.” *

Does your soul crave rest and refreshment?  I invite you to join us this Wednesday night as we examine the fourth commandment to discover what it means for us today to “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” 

The Wednesday Night Bible Study meets each Wednesday in the Capital Café at 7:00pm.  Children and youth ministry provided.

As I prepared for this weekend’s message from 2 Samuel 11 and 12, I came across a beautiful and honest prayer from Walter Brueggemann in his book Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth.

     We yearn, in every season, for your presence
     We know that our hearts will be restless, until they rest in you;
     We are like deer who seek a watering hole in the drought;
     We hear invitations for “all who are weary and heavy-laden…”
                             And approach to you seems ready and easy.
     Truth to tell, we do pant restlessly,
                 but not always for you.
                             Sometimes, instead for security
                                                     or sex and beer and sports,
                                                     or power and success,
                                                     or beauty and acceptance… not seeking you.
     Truth to tell, we know you to be no easy mark,
                 with your rigorous entrance requirements
                             of blamelessness, truth-telling, no bribes,
                             and all manner of neighborliness.
     We yearn for you in every season,
                 making you too easy, imagining you too difficult,
                 bewildered and unsure until you give yourself concretely to us…
                 as you have done and as you do.  Amen.

Over the past few months, I’ve had many conversations within our church regarding the economic crisis.  Many have seen their retirement accounts decimated by the stock market downturn.  Some fear losing their jobs.  A few already have.  Many of us are cutting back on spending for the holidays, because we just don’t know what the future will hold.

If you’ve felt the ground crumbling under your feet during the economic crunch and wondered where you’ll find your footing, I want you to be sure that you attend one of our services this weekend.  We’ll take a look at an aspect of the Christmas story where I suspect you’ll find a hope that transcends uncertainty.

This weekend at our services, we talked about the doubts that we encounter as we journey through life.  If you are presently struggling with doubt, I found a great article by author Brian McLaren that may be of some great encouragement to you.  Enjoy!

“Doubt: The Tides of Faith”

So last weekend, I decided to be helpful.  About twenty minutes before the 10:30am service on Sunday, I stepped back into the café to chat with the baristas.  While discussing life with Katie and Amber, I observed a cup of water left behind by someone from the Saturday Café service.  In my attempt to discard it, the contents of the cup made it neither to the sink nor the trash can.  As if ordained by a higher power, the particles of H2O affixed themselves to my flat front Gap khakis in such a way as to question my continence. 

A couple lessons learned:

1.     Learn to laugh at yourself (Everyone else is laughing at you, so you might as well join in).

2.     There’s a reason the baristas wear aprons.

As our church continues to grow as we approach the fall, we’ll need more help in the Capital Café at all of our services.  If you’re interested in volunteering, please email us at volunteer@capitalchurch.com.

Psalm 19:1-5

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

Did you see him?  This morning, when you drove to the office—did you see him?  While you were mowing your lawn this weekend—did you see him?  Theologians speak of omnipresence: God is everywhere.  But too often, I race through my day distracted by to-do lists, appointments, meetings and messages.  I want to see him.

Psalm 19 gives a voice to creation.  Our planet sings a song about the essence of God.  Every tree, every rock is the ceaseless proclamation of who God is and what he’s doing.  This proclamation transcends language; it transcends dialects.  There is no location on the face of the earth that can escape that cry of the cosmos declaring God is here and God is good.

I want to see him.  If I see him—truly see him—then I cannot help but be changed. I cannot help but be inspired to be a better husband, father, pastor and friend.  So why am I so easily distracted by the mundane?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote:

        Earth’s crammed with heaven,
        And every common bush afire with God;
        And only he who sees takes off his shoes.
        The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries

So may you stop settling for blackberries.  May you take off your shoes and open your eyes to see the glory of God all around you.  May he give you eyes to see and ears to hear that you might discover the presence of God in your life today.
 

Some of you have asked about the book I recommended at the weekend message.  Boundaries, written by Henry Cloud and John Townsend, has sold over 2 million copies.  If you are struggling with a relationship with a difficult person (and who isn’t?!), I highly recommend this book along with its companions Boundaries in Dating, Boundaries in Marriage, and Boundaries with Kids.  This August, Dr. Cloud will release a new book called The One-Life Solution that covers boundaries in business and leadership.  I received an advance reader copy, and I’ve seen its amazing relevance in my own life.  I highly recommend its purchase upon release.