Encountering the Father in Creation

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How much time do you spend in creation? Recent studies show that  Americans spend 100% more time on their phones each month than taking a walk outside, a gap that widens to over a 134 % among Gen. Z. It has been proven how important it is for our bodies, minds, and our souls to spend time each day in creation.

Right now there is a group of middle school students from the US on the Oceans Retreat Center campus. On their final night before they head back home we will ask each of them their “take aways” from the Kingdom Encounter trip.  Many will share the life changing impact of serving in a township or time of worship and prayer in local churches, but without a doubt several will share how they encountered the Father in His amazing creation.

For some it is the hike up Elise’s Peak and the time spent journaling on the top. For others it is the quiet time spent gazing at the ocean. And many will testify to hearing the Father speak while walking in the vineyards-mediating on Jesus’ teaching on the Vine and the Branches from John 15.

The Scriptures shout out over and over again how our Father God speaks and reveals Himself in His Creation. As we open the first chapters of Genesis we read about a God who spoke our world into existence and He delighted in it. Everything we see, touch, smell, hear, taste comes from His masterful design and points us back to His glory.

One of the greatest song writers in history received his inspiration watching sheep at night and gazing at the canopy of stars above. David could hear God speak in the breath taking brilliance of it all:

“The heavens declare the glory the glory of God, and the sky above His handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the ends of the world.” Psalm 19:1-4

When you think about all the fears, worries, and stress this generation is encountering-could one reason be they are missing out on the glory of God in His creation? Endless scrolling on the phone has kept so many imprisoned in caves of false worlds of media bias, and influencers, a fake reality and in doing so miss the truth and light right outside our front door.

As I was writing the words above I began to hum a song I learned early on in school which sings out what we need to recapture in our anxious generation:

This is my Father’s World, and to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought of rocks and tress, of skies and seas: His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise. This is my Father’s world; He shines in all that’s fair; in the rustling grass I hear him pass; He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is my Father’s world; why should my heart be sad? The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Today I challenge you to put down your phone, walk out your door and open up all your senses to encounter the Father’s voice speaking to you in His glorious creation.

Finding Authentic Community

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I recently read an encouraging Harris Poll which stated that Generation Z, (those born between 1997-2012), are more religious and spiritually active than older generations.  33% of Gen Z respondents identified as religious, the highest proportion among all generations surveyed. 88% of Gen Z respondents reported regularly practicing at least one religious or spiritual activity, the highest share of any generation.  They are also most likely to attend religious services or read scripture compared with older cohorts.

Oceans Ministries has found this also to be true with many of the students who decide to sign up for a Kingdom Encounter. There seems to be a hunger among young people to find a place of authentic spiritual community, a place where they belong.

So many desire to have an honest, truthful, raw and trustworthy space to dwell. A place to share fears and worries. Perhaps as a result of Covid, AI, a changing job market, the emptiness of materialism, striving for perfection and popularity, and all the things society continues to pump out… a place to rest and simply be is a longing deep within.

The last few blogs have addressed answers found in Biblical practices for the Anxious Generation that we all seem to encounter one way or another. Persistent Prayer and Hearing the Voice of the Father through the Word have been highlighted and in this blog I want to look at the importance of Finding Authentic Community.

One of the reasons Christianity thrived in its early days was because followers lived in authentic community. As you read through the book of Acts you notice most of the time they met in homes where “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer…” Acts 2:42ff.

These small home fellowships exploded all over the Roman Empire in spite of extreme suffering and persecution. In less than 300 years they transformed the western culture. These simple fellowship gatherings provided a home, a true family, and a Spirit filled life hungry hearts were craving.

As the Harris Poll points out, this is what the Gen Z is looking for as well. This generation which has grown up with smart phones and global networks of social media feeds, are lonely, lost, and looking for something real to connect with. They don’t need big buildings, perfect worship bands, or the best preachers, to heal their anxious souls. They need an encounter with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through a fellowship of followers filled with the Father’s love.

And its not just Gen Z that is looking for this type of authentic community. Recently I was preaching at a small church, after the service a senior saint came up to talk. It was her first time at the church and she shared with me her spiritual journey of trying to find a place where she can experience family and a place to truly belong.

Each one of us is looking for a place to be loved and to love others no matter what generation. We all desire to be part of a community where the Holy Spirit brings Heaven’s love to earth through the ministry of the followers of Christ who open wide the doors to the Father’s home of love.

Ultimately no matter what our age we all desire to interact with someone else who knows they are a weak, needy, and a sinner saved by grace. To know someone whose heart is filled with an ever flowing streams of love from the Father is a true gift. At times we may offer such love and other times in need of such love. Today is a good day for Christ followers to open our hearts, homes, our spiritual communities, to one another. To reflect the love of our Heavenly Father, who has His enteral arms of love open to bring each of us to the place where we truly belong.

 

 

A Lamp Shining in a Dark Place

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I will never forget when my son-in-law decided to take cell phones away. He was helping lead an Oceans Kingdom Encounter trip for a group of students from the high school where he works.  We try to limit phone use on the trips, but the pull to stay connected and watch a favorite feed is often too great of a temptation.

I give kudos for the courage it took for my son-in-law to make this call. You could see the anguish in some of the faces of the students as they reluctantly handed over their phones as if their very life depended on it. But, by the end of their trip to South Africa it was those same students who were in tears not wanting to leave because of what the Holy Spirit was doing in their hearts.

Last week I shared about the book “The Anxious Generation,” and how studies reveal that smart phone usage has led to an epidemic of addictions, loneliness, despair, and mental health concerns. Prayer was one of the steps suggested to break the bondage of anxiety. Right along with the power of prayer is spending time listening to the voice of the Father, through His Word.

The Apostle Peter, calls the Word “a lamp shining in a dark place,” 2 Peter 1:19. One of the enemy’s goals is to keep us so distracted by other voices in our minds that we miss the greatest voice of all, and that is the Father’s voice. When you and I try to live off the voices of others and our culture it often leads to a slippery slope into dark and hopeless places.

Our whole goal in the Kingdom Encounter experience is for teams to hear the voice of the Father during our time together. Knowing that if young people can learn to hear the Father’s voice, it will help break the stronghold of the lies of the satan, who desires for God’s children to live and dwell in darkness.

I challenge you to pick up your Bible and read 2 Peter 1 and notice how Peter masterfully demonstrates the importance of being in the Word of God and daily encountering His voice by means of the Holy Spirit. This Word will be “a lamp onto your feet and a light unto your path.”

Peter illustrates this by sharing the experience he, James and John had on the Mount of Transfiguration. They were eyewitnesses to the majesty of Christ glowing with the glory of God in His being.  They heard the Father’s voice shouting out:

“This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased!” (vs. 17)

These words of love from the Father are the summary of all Scripture. I believe all of the Bible is pointing to what these words reveal. Words hat the Father wants His beloved children to hear.  Jesus, the True Word from Heaven, came to earth as the Father’s beloved Son, to open our hearts through His life, death, and resurrection, so we could be transformed by the Father’s voice of love.

I recall those students, who were not happy handing over their phones, being transformed by their encounter with the voice of the Heavenly Father. His life changing words ,  “you are My beloved child!”  caused their faces to beam with His heavenly light.

The chains gripping this anxious generation can be broken by prayer and daily listening for the Father’s voice in His Word given to us through Christ and the Spirit. Hear His voice lovingly reminding us that we belong to a loving Father and are His beloved children. This Lamp is what we need our lives to depend on. This Lamp can shatter the darkness and give us hope.

The Answer for an Anxious Generation

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Recently I read the book “The Anxious Generation,” by Jonathan Haidt. My kids recommended this New York times bestseller book a while ago and once I started it was hard for me to put down. It definitely captures the modern day crisis spurred on by smart phones and social media.

Haidt does a masterful job laying out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental health issues seen worldwide. His research depicts how childhood development drastically changed with the introduction of the smart phone in 2010. He presents many mechanisms by which the great rewiring of childhood has interfered with children’s social and neurological development, covering everything from sleep deprivation to attention fragmentation, addiction, loneliness, social comparison, suicide, perfectionism, and extreme anxiety.

Oceans Ministries has been working with many who have grown up in this generation and can testify to the truths of Haidt’s research, as we have seen first hand the adverse impact social media has had on young people. Even youth who have grown up in Christian homes and Christian Schools have not been exempt from this epidemic.

Jonathan Haidt would call himself an atheist and yet when he probes for solutions to deal with technology and the next generation he turns to spiritual practices as one of the answers to bring healing to wounded minds.  He quotes from the famous French philosopher Blaise Pascal who said, “there is a God-shaped hole in every human heart.” How we need spiritual practices to help fill that hole that the phone based life use will block.

As a solution the author suggests to practice the following: shared sacredness; embodiment; stillness, silence, and focus; self transcendence; being slow to anger, quick to forgive; and finding awe in nature.  I applaud Haidt for being courageous enough to include this in the book-though he  also includes how various other religious traditions will benefit.

As he goes on to define what these spiritual practices look like I would argue that each one of them finds its roots deep in Scripture from the heart of our Father God. Who sent His Son Jesus to to fill the “God-shaped hole” in our searching hearts.

This past Sunday I was blessed to preach on the Parable of the Persistent Widow and was challenged by the words of Jesus and His answers to help an anxious generation:

“And He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” Luke 18:1

Because of the finished work of Jesus we have been given the gift of prayer. No matter what set of circumstances or storm we may face we can always go directly to our loving Father. At any time we can knock on the door of heaven knowing He will hear our cry for help and answer us with the gift of His Holy Spirit who gives us His perfect peace.

We live in an anxious generation and it is not just young people but senior saints and everyone in between as well. Our phones and social media feeds just make it worse. But Jesus shows us one spiritual practice which will fill the longing hole in our heart and give us the peace and belonging we are so desperately longing for. Jonathan Haidt does a masterful job defining the problem BUT Jesus gives us the only true answer that will heal the problem.

I have been challenged by both the book and the words of Jesus to “pray always” and fill my needy heart with His presence, which is the only hope for an anxious generation.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7

 

 

Beauty will save the world

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Have you heard the saying, “Beauty will save the world”? It comes from a novel “The Idiot” written by the famous Russian author Dostoevsky. In his novel Prince Myshkin, a Christ figure, goes against the norm of the rich and famous of his day and chooses the path of love.  Myshkin is mocked as an idiot, for believing true beauty can change one’s heart.

I’m not sure what verse in the Bible Dostoevsky was thinking about when he coined that phrase, but the other day I was reading through Psalm 27, and when I got to verse 4 I thought this may be where he derived the idea.

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple.”

David’s number one prayer request was to be at home in the presence of the LORD just to “gaze on His beauty!” I these words could be why God called David “A man after His own heart.” We all know David struggled with a boat load of sins, yet he always found His way back to the Father’s heavenly home and gazed on the Beautiful One who loved Him and forgave Him.

And we all know the Father rewarded David’s seeking after true beauty by bringing through His family line a Son who would overcome the darkness of sin and all the demonic powers that seek to destroy true beauty.

We constantly encounter beauty breakers at break neck speed through media feeds which pump out fear and seek to seduce our hearts with false beauty. The idols of quick fix false beauty may be: money, pleasure, sex, self promotion, etc. and keep us locked in a cave of darkness groping around searching for some glimpse of the beauty our soul longs for.

As I pondered David and Dostoevsky the light went on. They are right… True Beauty is the only hope for our world to be saved. When we see a intricately designed flower, gaze on the glory of the Rocky Mountains, hold a new born baby, laugh and cry with our spouse, get a phone call from a concerned friend, we encounter the work of the Creator who wants us to know His beauty.

But because of the seed of sin that distorts our souls from seeing true beauty, the Creator entered His creation to reveal the source of all beauty. The paradox of it all is that the most beautiful experience of true beauty is found in the most vile of events, Jesus crucified on the cross. A blood, beaten, perfect God/man dying for sinners is the epicenter of beauty that saves the world. Here we have a picture of what perfect beautiful love looks like.

And three days later the empty tomb invites us to live in the beauty of perfect love for all eternity. That love we are offered is indescribable. When we receive such love, it awakens within the soul the beauty of God dwelling in us-which results in the beautification of His children. The more we His children gaze on His beauty the more we reflect His love to the world around us. Our hope is to become His beautiful light and love to a hopeless world.

Yes, the Beauty of Jesus’ love in us is the only hope for our hurting world. I challenge you to make Psalm 27:4 your One Thing, don’t take your eyes of Jesus. Let His beauty in you give hope to our world.