constant state of change

as we sit here and talk about change these last few weeks, i realized that i feel like my life is always in a state of change. there is always is an area of my life that I want God to change in me. and sitting here tonight i have been reminded that i am being transformed into the likeness of God for the rest of my life here on earth. knowing Christ deeply means that life is never stagnant. He is always renewing me. i have been thinking about what it means to really be obedient to God and when i think about it-being changed to be like Him is really an amazing thing - God has done this for us out of love to be able to be like Him. so inasmuch as this constant state of change i am in is challenging, it is an honor that God would love me that much to want to change me to be like Him.

A message of Change

It's taken me a while for me to post, but the day after we first started talking about change, this email from the president of my company hit my desktop. He's an enlightened individual and gifted speaker - in his address to our company he talks about what is necessary to create change, and I quote:

Today is the day we set aside to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The day is important both as a turning point in our history and also offers an example of leadership that I hope is helpful to each of us.

In almost every survey done in almost any type of organization or group, the most admired trait of a leader is honesty or truthfulness. The number two character trait tends to show up far down the list.

Yet, honesty is not always received with open arms, and neither was Dr. King. One could argue that Dr. King’s best writings and speeches merely tell people the truth. Even though not an elected official, Dr. King may have been one of the few leaders to declare boldly the truth about what was going on all around us.

To paraphrase, Dr. King reminded us that our country was founded on ideals that all men were created equal and asked if a country that prevents some eligible people from voting based on race is really being true to those ideals. He called upon the Judeo-Christian heritage and asked how a country founded on principles that purport to respect the dignity of every human being could prohibit people from going in restaurants, hotels or forcing them to have separate bathrooms. In essence, how could we go against our own widely-held values?

Dr. King’s assertions were not disputed as being incorrect factually as these inequalities existed and everyone knew it. Although very young at the time, I knew it. Further, not many disputed that such actions were immoral, illegal, or both.

So, Dr. King merely was honest and truthful-----he pointed to an environment of inequality that was contrary to so many principles that people believed. In essence, he held up a mirror for us to see ourselves.

Further, although Dr. King did call for more legal enforcement of existing laws, his over-riding focus was to change behaviors by changing attitudes. Notice that he did not say, “I have a dream that one day the Government will make little black boys and little white boys play together.“ Or, “I wish people in Mississippi would comply with laws like they do in Vermont“. I have attached a copy of the “I Have a Dream Speech” to check yourself.

Rather, Dr. King wanted people to treat each other with dignity and respect because it is right the thing to do, rather than because they were made to do it.

Dr. King understood that real change comes by changing how people view the world which thus impacts their attitude toward an issue. Only changes in attitude eventually result in changes to behavior. One can change people’s behavior through force if necessary, but it is not long lasting and it is not sincere because it is not precipitated by a change in attitude. Dr. King did not appeal only to the Government; he appealed to our heads and hearts.

True committed action without corresponding attitude change is a thin edge; and it falls apart with the first rough spot in the road.

Very few important actions are taken merely because people are told to do it. Did the heroes at Normandy keep charging because they were told to do so? Do researchers get up each day looking for a cure for cancer because they have to do it? A good analogy is the difference between reading a song and singing a song----all of us know the difference inside.

Real change only happens when people do things they are committed to doing; and forcing compliance is only a hollow, short term victory. Dr. King feared that the Government forcing compliance to laws might result in some short term changes; but that real change only comes about when people are committed to making that change from within. He wanted us to “sing a song of freedom.”

In my lifetime, I have seen a steady and on going (but by no means perfect) commitment to live up to the ideals Dr. King espoused. It is true that since Dr. King’s death, the Government has done a better job of enforcing laws, and that certainly has helped. More compelling is that Dr. King changed how people viewed inequality, and thus inspired commitment to changing behavior, one person at a time.

So, Dr. King’s honest communication and focus on the harder, longer term way of change has resulted in perhaps the greatest social progress in this country in the past 50 years. He paved the way for the progress in correcting all inequalities. If, as a country we did not deal with the black and white issue; could we ever really deal with any other equality issue?

As an example, would the growth of female sports ever happened if Dr. King had not struck the match to cause us to think differently?

Please take a moment today to think about Dr. King and to see the impact of all the changes that his leadership has effected, not only in his lifetime, but throughout time.

Thanks……Bill

I am deeply moved by both First Pres and Vintage Faith. The community is just such an important part of Christ and I am so glad that this is a big part of both church communities, now becoming one. Last Sunday, God really revealed to me that, no I don't hate all of my sin. Some, I hold on to because it gives me power, and makes me feel like I can live in these two worlds, that under God and Christ, but also one with sin (but only the non-harmful of course I was thinking). I need to rid myself and hate, even those seemingly non-harmful sins. I need to listen to God. I was reminded today that taking one of the biggest decisions of my future to God was something that I needed to do, and that I wasn't doing that. Ahhh, the Lord and how he calls me back every time.

Vintage Faith Church

I love Vintage Faith Church.

Righteous Sinner

The message Sunday night really impacted me in terms of understanding that I see usually myself as a "sinner" instead of as "righteous" in God's sight. I am a sinner, but like was taught God sees me through Jesus as "righteous" and I am justified, sanctified and righteous.

Why don't more churches talk about this? It seems the focus is usually on being a sinner rather than being righteous through Jesus.


The prayer with the mud was also really remindful and I have my little stone with me. I love when when we have prayer elements like that.

Vintage Faith is a very special and very wonderful community. God is in our midst.

innocence

dan spoke tonight about how we need to be constantly recognizing our identity as justified and righteous in gods sight... and how living the identity as one who is set free from sin and seen as holy and pure by god should inspire and encourage and compell us to live lives striving for purity and holiness. though we are sinners and fall short, if we constantly live in that identity, we can never break out of our cycle of sin-- and can sometimes even use our idea that we are "just sinners" to justfiy us staying in sin and subtly abusing God's grace and forgiveness. it was an important reminder for us all, as we humans are in the constant state of understanding our need for this, then failing... thinking we have it right and then falling flat on our face to find we need to be lifted back up again.

dan quotes cs lewis at the end of his message

"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased"

as part of the gathering, the creative arts team had set up a prayer path, with small pretty stones covered in mud. the prayer path was to kneel down at the "mudpie" and put your hands in it, recognizing that as we continue to sin and not strive for holiness, we are settling for mud. the second part of the path was to take one of these small stones out of the mud, wash it in a basin of water and wipe it clean, recongizing that we can chose to not play in the mud and see the true beauty of purity in our lives.

as i approached the prayer station, one of the kids in our community stood by the station observing people go through the path, telling them "you can keep those if you want, you know." as i kneeled down next to him, i felt like i should feel this heavy weight on me, that i should bear the guilt of sins i have committed knowing full well that i was taking advantage of Gods grace. but instead there was this bright boy, his innocence radiating, reminding me that this small stone, representing the innocence and purity and holiness i have in Gods sight, can indeed be kept by me.

i invited him to pick a stone out with me and we both picked them out together, put them in the water, feeling the mud sticky, then washed away in one simple act. then wiped clean in the towel.i looked at it in the light, held it up. "look," i told him, "hold it up to the light!" and he did and it was a moment, both of us holding up our stones, letting the light shine through.

Learning to Love Righteousness

Awhile ago I was asked to preach one message in a series called "The Life of God in the Soul of Man". It was a series about how the character traits of God are evidenced in us, albeit imperfectly... a search for the Imago Dei that went beyond the typical. Anyway, I was so excited about the topic and was eagerly anticipating which character trait I would get to talk about ... mercy, lovingkindness, longsuffering, grace, compassion ... each one seemed like it would be an awesome assignment. Instead, I was totally disappointed to be assigned 'the righteousness of God'. I was so bummed I actually pouted for a few days. I tried to think of good reasons why I could exchange topics with another speaker or even get out of the commitment. To me, righteousness evoked thoughts of the judgment and wrath of God ... characteristics I tried not to think about and, to be honest, didn't much care for. I think when I talked to others about God I was even a little embarrassed about how angry and wrathful God is about sin. It was like I thought he couldn't control his temper very well or something. Or that he was too particular. So I moped a bit but eventually dug into the Scriptures. The prep for that talk was a life-changing experience for me. I learned, like Dan talked about today, that I was so content enjoying my identity as a sinner saved by grace that I didn't see myself as God sees me ... as a saint. I thought it was real great that I could identify with other sinners and have understanding and compassion for them. And it was. But it wasn't so great that I wasn't aspiring to be 'holy', something that seemed too elusive for a sinner. Before that talk I told myself in the mirror morning and evening, "I am a sinner saved by grace" lest I ever forget my dependence upon the gracious God who saved me. After that talk, I switched my morning message to myself to "I am a saint!" This has radically changed how my start my day. I am a saint and can confidently live my life as one who is justified and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live as Christ would have me live. Of course, at night, I still remind myself that "I am a sinner, saved by grace". I think the main thing I learned was that if I say I love God, I can't pick and choose from the charater traits that appeal to me. I am learning to love God's wrath and judgment and intolerance of sin in the same way that I love his mercy and compassion. After all, without righteousness, he wouldn't be God. And without his judgment of sin, we would never know the tremendous lengths to which he would go to bring us back to him. If we don't get the righteousness of God, we don't totally get grace either. I'm a sinner and a saint at once. Another great paradox of faith.

LO

Scary, eh?

What beckons from the other side of the gate?

When I think about transformation I get scared. The old life is so familiar and easy to understand. I keep my head down, and my eyes focused on whatever is immediately in front of my feet. Otherwise, I am afraid I'll get overwhelmed with all the colors and smells. The times I have been able to made adjustments to my life have been rare. It has taken a trip to the doctor's office, or losing a job. I don't make changes unless I have to, unless there are no other choices. I don't move unless I get evicted.

Dan talked this morning about finding the joy in righteousness, in our new identity. I made a list of all the good things that could come of living a more pure life, of purging destructive habits. It wasn't very exciting. I use lists as something to hide behind, they look so official, but rarely translate into real accomplishment. I tried to imagine that I was being told to "walk the plank" by a jolly pirate, whose sword is very sharp, but who secretly knows that I can fly, and all I need is a little shove. I am at the point where the end is looming, I am about to pee my pants and a voice in my head is whispering that the water can't be that bad, that it might actually be fun to take a swim on this fine, sunny afternoon.

CMO

Renew Together?

Yes.
This is a good thing.
Vintage gets down to business.
I sat in church a few weeks ago and overheard a convsation in front of me. Innocent and understandable enough. But revealing.
One person was commenting to another how he had not attended VFC for quite some time, and that now it seemed like the crowd was a whole different group of people he mostly did not recognize.
I think he was wondering how this fit the "body" concept of the community of faith. This got me asking myself myself some even deeper questions. Are we all here because of the "buzz" of the place? Is this just another pop blip that people drop into and move on from like a million meaningless blogs out there. Are our meetings jammed full with people who stop by a few times and then move on and forget? Just like most else in life today? X-Box attention span?
Or are we a family of faithful, a community? The living body of Christ? And not just a momentary religious blog--"the bloggy of Christ"?
Sunday's message, January 28, was the call to get down to business. I hope we were all listening well.
Thank you, VFC.

A living House

I think the word “painful” could so appropriately be added to messy and mysterious to describe the process of transformation. The pangs of being renewed, reshaped, transformed, reborn- whatever language we use to describe our sanctification- can strike so hard and hurt so deeply in those mysterious and messy moments in which God is really at work inside of us- in our minds, in our hearts- in our souls.
Sometimes the pain is quite literal, quite physical. I remember one particular night over the summer, I felt so strongly convicted in so many areas of my life that needed to change, the pain inside my heart became overwhelming. I prayed. I was pacing my studio in the dark, in this state of confusion soon after, feeling so many things inside going on at once, it seemed like absolute chaos within. I thought to myself, that these moments of chaos were supposed to have passed, and accepting Christ was supposed to lead to some greener pasture, some place more peaceful than this. In that moment I had this image of a house being gutted. The outside was in tact, but inside I saw walls being knocked down, rooms being stripped bare, old furniture being carried out, dust everywhere. In some areas it seemed there was nothing left but the foundation. I then realized what God was doing.
Some weeks later I came across a C.S. Lewis quote and was completely taken aback. It was a parable he had borrowed in one his books from George MacDonald. Apparently they had seen it too, maybe on some night like the one I had- and the many I have had since - what God’s messy, mysterious process of transformation looks like…
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of- throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

Chris Durso

untitled

I love the Lord with all my heart, spirit and mind. I love my neighbors with gratitude and grace. I love my parents with honor and respect. I love my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
I have learned through Christs teachings that He loves me. But I am not familiar with any passages in the bible that teach me how to love myself. I do not love myself.

A man I consider wise once told me that our walk with God was like a trip to Disneyland. Somewhere along our trip down Highway 5, we pulled off and got lost. We spent years lost on this road, not knowing how to get back. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Jesus came, and directed us back to the freeway. So what did we do? We set up a monument on the spot. A huge sign with flashing lights that tells everyone what happened. This is NOT the way to Disneyland, we got lost, but now we have found our way back to Highway 5 with Jesus' help. We hand out brochures, and hold meetings, it is so great to not be lost anymore! Somewhere along the way, we forgot that God made us to go to Disneyland. Jesus didn't find us so we'd know where the road was, he found us so we would get back on it.

I find myself so caught up in that moment when Jesus found me, whispered in my ear, and called me back to the road. That alone is good enough for me, and I can never thank Him enough. But, Jesus is calling me back to the road. All I want is to stay where I am, where I know. But, He whispers to me, this is only the beginning. He doesn't seem as concerned as I am about getting lost again. He isn't worried about whether or not I'll have enough gas, money, food. He is just excited to see me back on the road He made me for.

I don't know how to start this entry except to start typing and see where it ends. As I have sat in church on Sunday and listened to the message about changing and renewing one subject resonates in my mind. In January 2006 I made the decision like I had done several times before to loose weight. This time was different. It was different because I came to several realizations, the most important being that I was on a path of destruction. When I started this process I told myself it was going to be different this time. I was going to succeed unlike my past attempts. Don't get me wrong, the last year has been successful, I have lost 40 pounds. However, I have find myself in a rut struggling to succeed. With all this in mind I have decided to take a different route. I have asked god to help me to change. I am seeking his guidance and strength to get me through the difficult times.

I imagine this is a subject on other peoples minds so I thought I would let you all know what was on mine....

transformation through family

That means church family and my own family. My children have transformed me, as I have watched them transform, and this could not have taken place without the grace of God. Through all of this, my church family, First Presbyterian Church of Santa Cruz, has held my children in their hearts. To read more, visit http//www.toestothenose.blogspot.com.

I am grateful to have joined the Vintage Faith family.

Tory Wilson

How Great is Our God

We sang “How Great is Our God” and it was so awesome! I felt like if I just had the right kind of glasses, I could have seen God and the angels singing with us. That's when it struck me. The key to my transformation is completely wrapped up in "How Great is MY God"--not a god of wood and stone but One beyond my understanding in greatness and yet nearer to me than I can fully comprehend.

Head games

Here's a practical idea someone shared with me once. Maybe it will help you too. Imagine a baseball glove above your head. (You know like how the light bulb idea works in cartoons.) Here's what I do. I "catch" the thought in the glove and take a look at it. Does it jive with what I know about God from his word and my love relationship with him? If not, is it coming from my own fear, insecurities, my narcisism? Or is it from one antagonistic to my relationship with God, from the enemy of my soul? If I can determine the source behind the thought, it can slow me down enough to allow me to see what I'm considering. Is the action in keeping with my true identity as a daughter of my Creator. If I give in will keep me from being who I truly am becoming as I walk with God? Hopefully someone out there will be helped by this. It was huge for me.

love is key

first, i am so stoked that dan used the passage about loving God with all your being as a key thought last week. to me, that is the starting point. if i can grasp that God craves my love and that he IS God, those are the first steps toward my transformation. it's always a tougher road to transformation if i forget God is loving and desires to be close to me. i also have to let him be God instead of me. once i focus on the love and protective heart of God, i begin to grow.

longing for purity

why is it so easy to want to change and yet so hard to actually do it? i have come so far in claiming victory over sin in my life, and today i found myself faced with yet another temptation. i went through the entire of process of weighing whether i should give in to temptation or not. i clearly had a way out and what did i do? i gave in! does it mean i'm back where i started 4 years ago when i began really seeking freedom from this particular sin? no, but it certainly makes me feel like a wretched waste of God's time. i often wonder how long the Lord will offer me a way out...how many times He'll forgive me before His grace runs out...and i sometimes wonder if i will ever be fully free. my heart cries out - LORD FORGIVE ME! I NEED YOU! I CANNOT FIGHT THIS FIGHT ON MY OWN AND I NEED YOU EVERY MINUTE...TO STAND WITH ME AND BRING ME INTO COMPLETE FREEDOM. and in my heart, i know He hears and with new hope, i step forward, believing His desire for my freedom is even greater than my own. i sinned. i chose to bow to temptation instead of running from it. it was a moment of weakness that i will one day have to give an account for, but it does not erase all that God has done. today i choose purity. i choose freedom. i choose to believe i am forgiven. i choose to be renewed and transformed. i am not my sin and i will not let it rule me. i am a beloved daughter of the King. a sinner saved by grace. purified. loved. accepted. and free.

transformation

One of the things that I love about transformation is that no matter how difficult it may seem at the time...especially as we begin to see that we have places in our lives that are NOT pleasing to God...the end result is more beautiful and more amazing than we may ever realize. God longs for us to be close to Him...to long for our lives to be changed and renewed from the inside out. What transformation am I looking for? To say my entire life seems like a pretty tall order...but I guess it isn't for God. He said NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. So yes, I want my entire life to be transformed...to see the greatness of God mold and shape me into the woman He desires I would become. If you think of me, pray that I will continue to believe what God says about who I am in Christ and that I would submit fully to God's leadership over my finances. My prayer for all of you is that you will be open to being changed by God, to become more intimate in your relationship with Him, and know His love more deeply than you ever have, and that as a church community we would truly become all that God desires for us to be!! :)
-René

Please Read Before Posting

(re)new: the messy mysterious process of transformation

Where is God taking us and how do we do this messy, this mysterious, this sticky thing that we call transformation? Well, we can’t do it alone and it is for this reason that this Renew Together blog was created—for us, as members of First Pres and Vintage Faith, and for us as the body of Christ—to be able to dialogue and discuss and wrestle with the places we are being transformed.

Please post your prayers, prayer requests, your heart cries, your questions, your wrestling, your insights, and your testimonies. We are asking God to transform us into who He wants us to be. We are asking God to use this space so that we can begin to open up to each other as a community, to ask the hard questions, and to reach out, as well as to share the inconceivable and good things that God is doing. You might be surprised to learn that—whatever you’re going through—that you’re not alone. We are excited to see the new beginnings and wholeness that God has for our lives!

We ask that those who participate are thoughtful and respect each another’s opinions, keeping what we learn confidential. We cannot wait to hear where people are being transformed.

Vintage Faith and First Presbyterian Churches

hope springs

eternal