I'm Back! Phew it's been a long time...
Major update on where I'm at and my normal musings and ponderings on faith and life --- join me in the conversation!
Kia ora 1 fellow faith travellers!
Yes, it has been a while since I have popped into your email box. It has been 6 months! I’m sorry about that. I am not sure why either. Maybe because I have been pondering so many things but no one thing has crystallised into a conclusion. But life is like that right? It’s a journey and we are all travelling in a process that is ongoing with sometimes no definite conclusion. So it’s okay for me to write as I travel through the pondering process. Is that ok with you?
It is suppose to be summer here but climate change has another idea and my city has come through a 1 in 200 year flooding event and now we are on the eve of expecting Cyclone Gabrielle.
(Ponds overflown near my place in Auckland New Zealand by Shaun Larkin)
How is it in your place?
I’ve been thinking about a bunch of things in the past 6 months. Some of them you may not agree with, but that’s ok. We all have our unique ways of connecting with Papa God, Jesus and Spirit. They 2 created us as unique humans with different ways of relating so that makes sense.
Let’s dive in shall we? I would love to hear your ponderings so don’t be shy and click the “Leave a comment” button at the end and continue the conversation.
We are Human and that’s OK…
Yeah, this is not a show stopper statement but I am only now, at 53, coming to understand my humanness. I think it is because my church upbringing focused on perfecting ourselves constantly and not to allow emotions to rule but just have faith.
Let’s just say that is bull crap and nonsense. Papa God created us as earthly creatures built from dust and mud. We were designed to be a human with feelings. They 3 want to relate to us through our minds and feelings.
Why have we (the western church) created Christian traditions that feature our minds and downgrade or banish our emotions? God wants us to experience him which means not just knowing about him but living and walking with him. This includes how we feel.
There is no requirement to clean ourselves up before we approach God. No, God wants to relate to us as we are. He is the seeker of the lost.
Remember after Adam and Eve made the wrong choice and God sought them out? Then God did this again with Cain where he warned him of sin crouching at the door. After the murder God came again to seek Cain out.
Grace and Love seeking humans is all through the Scriptures. Even in the middle of dumb human choices.
As humans, Papa God is teaching us…
To trust him for the knowledge of good choices.
To take our feelings to him for comfort.
To hold his hand through the valleys.
To rejoice in the green pastures.
To hide under his eagle wings in the storms.
Yes and to confess and be restored, even if that is 100 times in one day. We are human and that’s OK!
Accepting my humanness has lead to living lighter and freer. Isn’t that how Jesus invited us to live?
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?
Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.
I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with me and you’ll learn to life freely and lightly.
—Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-30;The Message)
Finding God Outside Church
Where do you come across God? This is a very good question to ponder. I would love to know your thoughts.
I have come across God more in my daily comings and goings than in a Church service on a Sunday morning.
God never wanted to be confined to a building, ark or tabernacle.
Remember when Moses was on the mountain and God was wanting to speak and reveal himself to the people but they didn’t want to come close? The people wanted an intermediary and a place to bring their offerings but not to get too close.
I am so glad that Jesus came as Emmanuel - God With Us! There is no need for church buildings to have a relationship with God. The Church is a group of people walking with God. Belonging to the Church is not attending an hour long meeting in a building on a Sunday morning. It is so much more than that. It is life!
I have discovered God while washing dishes, listening to a podcast, prayer walking the streets, discussing various topics with my sons, gazing at my yellow flowers (see photo gallery above), sharing God moments with other believers, watching the sun setting with brilliant colours every night and just doing life.
This observation is kind off linked to my humanness discussion above. Most Christian church organisations have added rules, whether they are official or inferred, on how to be a Christian that subtracts from how God wants to relate to us as his human earthly creatures.
Papa God doesn’t want us to be a Man/Woman of the Book only, but a God Walker, a Jesus Follower and Spirit Led.
We can fill our minds with knowledge of the Scriptures but where are we at with experiencing God in the moment?
God, Jesus and Spirit are to be known through experiencing life in and through them. The Scriptures are useful for teaching us wisdom from above through ancient Hebrew stories, Hebrew poetry and letters. But we have to actually live the wisdom out in daily relationship with our Creator.
Well, I have so much more to share but I will leave them for next time…
What I am Reading or Listening:
I am loving watching and listening to The Bible Project. I am currently going through the Classroom series on Noah to Abraham having completed the Adam to Noah earlier series. I highly recommend them for understanding the context of the Hebrew scriptures, overall themes and also very interesting design patterns in the narrative stories and poetry. They also have a podcast - here and videos - here.
I am enjoying reading Sarah Bessey’s Field Notes on a regular basis - I am a paid subscriber on Substack. She is very insightful and honest.
One other podcast that is high in my listening queue is The Bible for Normal People where Pete Enns and Jared Byas interview loads of different people and talk about the Bible. Their main goal is to bring the best in biblical scholarship to everyday people. I think they do a really good job. You can check them out here or search on your favourite podcast platform.
Please share your thoughts in the comments thread and if this has sparked curiosity in you, please share it with others.
Hello in Te Reo Maori - the language of the Maori people of New Zealand/
“They” is in reference to our Triune God — Papa God, Jesus and Spirit
see above
Welcome back :-)
Some interesting comments from your readers.
There are many kinds of churches in our western world and while some may add rules etc, and may seem to not allow emotions- others are the opposite.
Thanks for sharing Rachel and others!!
Welcome back, Rachel! The pictures are lovely! Especially the flowering plants-and all the greenery on your hike! A little bit of heaven! It was good to hear you.
I hear what you are saying, but church is so very important to me, for in depth Bible teaching/preaching, as well as fellowship, worship in song, sharing prayer requests, encouraging others and being encouraged. I am blessed to also be in community with a group of Intercessors throughout the week. Our church facilities get used many days throughout the week with various groups sponsored by the church, outreach ministries, and a school. The outreach ministries include a pro-life center and feeding ministry.
I can’t imagine my life without the church. I do struggle with finding time for quiet time with the Lord, which we all need. Relationship with the Lord and nourishing that is so important! In fact, I believe, as Christians, our time with our Lord should be the most important time of the day, and it gets us ready to face the day with victory, come what may, because we focused on Him from the beginning. So I agree, we can commune with the Lord anywhere. Stillness and quiet is hard for me so I can hear from the Lord in those times. Busyness of church can interfere with private Bible study, letting God teach rather than being totally fed by others, albeit, great Bible teaching. Reading the Bible daily not a struggle but study is! Also, we do go through seasons in life, so maybe this step away from the routine, is a good thing, to discover what God alone has to teach you. I think there could be value in that if one doesn’t camp out there from now on. We need others in the body of Christ! I am so sorry to hear about all the bad weather there. That has got to be difficult! Praying God’s grace and mercy, and His blessings in the middle of it!
Sandra K