A Country Church Revelation

"Perseverance is the great test of genuineness in the Christian life."—John Piper

On a cool late spring evening in 2004, I was with a group that had gathered at a small, white-steepled church to hear a couple speak on their sense of God's move in New England. I was very curious, because these folks, as we say around here, were from "away," yet humbly felt they were supposed to come here to stir some Kingdom-first embers among people who were tired but endlessly hungry for the satisfaction that can only be found in God, a remnant that had perhaps wanted to give up but who remained ever-hopeful, who had taken Jesus' opening words from Luke 18 to heart but were still waiting, waiting, waiting....

"One day Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must keep praying until the answer comes."

To this day, I still remember some unusual things about that night: where I was standing, the way the evening light was coming through the large, drafty windows, the palpable eagerness in the room. No one was leading worship. Instead, a CD played quietly in the background as people prayed or worshiped as the Lord led them. Then in the middle of it all, something a bit startling but beautiful: a woman stood and sang a prophetic song in an unknown tongue. I remember it being simple, gorgeous, and resounding in the old sanctuary. Unfortunately, there was no one who had an interpretation (or, if there was one, no one spoke up, so I'm not about to say the song was "out of order").

But something just seemed....right.

There's no Biblical precedent that I know of for this, but what follows is what came to pen and paper the next morning when I asked the Lord, after the fact, "So, what was that lady saying that You are saying? I want to know!"  Maybe the words that flowed are what can happen when a man or woman takes God at His word: "You will seek me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13). And maybe that's nuts. Maybe...but perhaps only if what is downloaded doesn't align with something God has already said at least once between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22. And the download was this:

"Behold, I make all things new. I stand at the door and knock, but who will long for My appearing in this hour? For I am coming soon. Do not faint or grow weary, for I will uphold you with My righteous right hand if you will seek Me with all of your heart. My ways are just and true, and I am faithful to you and My Word. Faint not. Hold on. Forsake all others and seek Me. The time has come for new things, but I will not force My way in. I knock. I long for you. Will you listen? Will you open the door of your heart for Me? What truly matters? This is the day. This is the time. Hold on to what is True, because I long for you." 

As I read it over again this week, nearly 13 years later, it seemed to be just as fresh and relevant as the night it was sung—an insistent clarion call to listen up and pay attention. Especially, in light of reading theses verses a few days after running a 5K last week:

"...you have limited strength, yet you have obeyed My Word and not denied My Name...you have obeyed My instructions to endure and be patient...one who conquers through faithfulness...I will plant that person as a pillar in the temple of My God, and that person will never have to leave the presence of God." (Revelation 3:8-12, selected, The Voice)

And then, just like 13 years ago, putting to pen and paper what seemed to be an interpretation...

"When the going gets tough, globally or in the backyard of your own little world, hold on to these key words that Jesus modeled and passes along even now: Obey, love, keep going, stay faithful. Remember that 5K and refusing to walk or quit but enduring to the finish line because other people were doing the same and others were cheering you on. Remember the 'runner's high' of crossing the finishing line well. You wanted to stay in that moment but you had to get out of the way. And besides, it was over. Not so with the Race that truly matters. What an incredible finish line it will be in the Kingdom race of perseverance. You have no idea. In fact, it's not a finish at all but the beginning of eternity forever in My incomparable presence."

For all who come by here today and are weary, thinking of quitting this race or perhaps exploring a different route...selah.

"I may be weak, but Your Spirit's strong in me. My flesh may fail, but my God, You never will."(from "Give Me Faith," Elevation Worship)

Reading the Goodness Everywhere

"Then God surveyed everything He had made, savoring its beauty and appreciating its goodness."—Genesis 1:31, Voice

Living in a small town means you get some privileges you don't get by living elsewhere. Like being able to stand in the middle of Main Street hill on a Saturday morning to take a photo and not get run over...because there were no cars in sight to do the dirty deed. Decades of walks down that hill (on the safer sidewalk) inevitably trigger flashbacks to numerous mostly-wonderful moments, most of them from being a kid in a great public school further up the hill. So much of that goodness happened after the last bell, when several hundred like-minded caged animals were let loose at once into the great outdoors.

Some of us walked home down that hill. Some of us walked with friends to go play in their yard until dark. In later years, a lot of us walked down Main Street for Friday night dances at the Town House following a home basketball game. And in both grade and high school, a lot of us wound up at the library at the bottom of the hill, to study, to bone up on the skill of whispering, and to participate in "story hour."

Through that experience, many of us grew to like or at least appreciate books, and great stories, and exciting adventures told in carefully crafted print. The library experience was even a trigger to make the most of a scary experience, like hiding under the covers with a flashlight during a wicked thunderstorm at night, and reading a book that was a bit sunnier in its content. In time, those walks to the library also proved pivotal for a journalism career, where wise men and women kept saying, "if you want to be a good writer, read good writers." 

But the library never tried to make me become a recluse book worm. And even if it had tried, it would have failed. Because along with many of my friends, whether we were in fourth grade or high school sophomores, we'd much rather be outside, away from the confinement of classrooms and hallways and lunchrooms...and later, the office. Or, as it says in one of our small town stores: "Better to be lost in the woods than in a maze of cubicles. Let's get outside."

It is good to know that you can find God, or more accurately, a rich reflection of Him, in both settings. A twist of a phrase, or just a sentence or two from a book of hundreds of pages can help magnify some aspect of God's awesomeness that you've been unable to express. You write it down, and carry it with you on the inside for days to come. It stirs your faith and encourages your next step in the Journey. But then there is also this, penned by St. Augustine some 300 years after the birth of Christ but resounding with clarity even now...

"Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Note it. Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that? Why, heaven and earth shout to you: 'God made me!'"

Those childhood memories have proven prophetic. When you get outdoors, you get the best of both worlds: you get to "read," in all that you see around you, some greater glimpse of the goodness of God. Let the list begin and never end: God, You are....

Beautiful

Huge

Magnificent

Always active with every breeze

My rest and stillness seen in every starlit night

One who is supremely attentive to every detail of every created thing

Provider of all I need

The true Promise of hope and resurrection seen in each spring

The One source of new and abundant life seen in each summer

Lover of each unique thing (and person) You have made, seen in the endless colors of fall

Present and good, 24/7, even through every winter season of my life

And perhaps especially this reassurance amidst the battles...

"Why, heaven and earth shout to you:

'God made you beautiful, too, and announced the day you were born, 'It is good...I have loved you with an everlasting love.'"

"So I will sing of all You've done

I'll remember how far You've carried me

From beginning until the end

You are faithful, faithful to the end."

(from "Faithful to the End," Bethel Music)