Out of the Overflow

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
       he leads me beside quiet waters,

 he restores my soul.
       He guides me in paths of righteousness
       for his name's sake.

 Even though I walk
       through the darkest valley,
       I will fear no evil,
       for you are with me;
       your rod and your staff,
       they comfort me.

 You prepare a table before me
       in the presence of my enemies.
       You anoint my head with oil;
       my cup overflows.

 Surely goodness and love will follow me
       all the days of my life,
       and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
       forever.


When I was a kid, the church we went to had a huge tapestry in the foyer.  Depicted on it was a pasture with nearly a hundred shades of green. Etched around the edges was this psalm of David.  Passing by this every Sunday morning, evening and Wednesday night numbed me to it's beauty and the power it's words have for life.  I can't say that I have ever heard a sermon preached on it. I don't think it was ever one of my required memory verses. I have recently come back to this neglected verse and it has become a source of strength for me.


God is always doing one better.  It is not enough for God that he provides physical nourishment with green pastures - he restores my soul. The journey he is taking me on wanders deeper than beside quiet waters - he guides me in paths of righteousness. The darkest evils are ignored when we realize his presence is greater, his rod and staff mightier and his comfort so assuring that we can feast at his table right in front of our enemies. When God anoints with oil...

He 

keeps 

pouring

and

pouring

and 

pouring. 

Abiding in him, love and goodness follow.


This is where I want to serve from.  What would happen in my family if I lived in the 23rd Psalm. How would the ministry God has given me be affected if it is out of the overflow of what he is doing in my life? If I were walking in paths of righteousness for HIS namesake instead of mine, what would look different?

The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want ... but to follow.

~JK

Out of the Overflow

A New Kind of Christian

I just finished reading Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian. I was not sure what to expect when I picked it up other than the fact the McLaren was rethinking how Christians think about things and sharing his insights with the world. After completing the first of the trilogy following the spiritual journey of Dan and Neo, I feel very similar to how Dan descibed himself at one point - very excited but mildly depressed. I am excited because I feel that McLaren has captured much of my own frustrations and anxieties over the current state of Christianity and the dialogue between Neo and Dan captures many of the questions I have had for some time and allows for dialogue - not necessarily answers - about them. The mild depression I find myself in is the result of a "now what" feeling I am left with. I think I am going to let McLaren's words marinate for a while before trying to move on to the practical side of things. Right now there are certainly more questions than answers.

A New Kind of Christian

Hopping Fences

This morning I woke up and went for a bike ride. Miriam woke up crying and after I helped her go back to sleep, I realized that by being woken up by her, I had been granted a few moments where the house was quiet and I could have some time alone. Since Krista has been encouraging me to get a hobby and was pleased I was okay with one as active as bike-riding, I figured going for a little ride would be a good chance to focus my thoughts today. I really do love mornings and find that when I push myself to actually make the best of them, I am particularly contemplative.
I rode around our neighborhood (looking at googlemaps.com first so I wouldn't get lost) and created for myself a loop that I could complete in about 20 minutes. When I returned, everyone was still asleep and I realized, I had more time to spend with God. That's when I began my search for some type of devotional literature. I looked around the house and didn't find anything worthy so I turned my search online. I went to some of my favorite spots only to find that nothing was particularly inspiring. Then it hit me....I could read the Bible!

I don't know if it is just because I have been preoccupied with church stuff or home stuff but for some reason, it is often easier to turn to devotionals rather than the Bible for spiritual nourishment. This morning though, after my "aha!" moment, I turned to John 10. I think it may have been because I rode past this large field with a horse in it, I was thinking of a pasture that my thoughts were focusing on Jesus the Good Shepherd. Here is what John said to me,

"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture."

While I do not think that reading devotionals will save me, I do think they will deepen my relationship with God. At those times when I am in need of pasture, I quickly go to my favorite authors in hopes that they will give me just what I need. This morning, it was just the Good Shepherd. he called me back to him by the sound of his voice. Entering through him brought me the salvation this morning I needed. He allows me to "come in and go out" and it is there that I find pasture. He knows the places where this sheep can be fed and where the best feeding place are at. Funny what happens when you try to enter the pasture through the gate instead of trying to hop over fences.

~JK

Hopping Fences

God is Near

This morning I preached a sermon that has developed out of some spiritual awareness I have had recently. I have been thinking a lot about God's nearness. God has been much nearer than I have known and felt. As I was preparing my sermon, I began tracing God's presence throughout history in the Bible. I worked my thoughts into my sermon and thought I would share them here.

When God created the world. His desire for intimacy with his creation is seen as God walks in the garden in the cool of the day. God is near his People and now we claim that nearness as our own.

When Abraham feels as though the Covenant God made with him is being threatened by a command to sacrifice the very son promised to him. God’s story shows us a God that is so close He can halt a dagger as it pierces the air before it pierces the son of a covenant.

As a half million former slaves leave Egypt for a land promised to them, God’s presence leads them by fire at night and by smoke during the day, only to marvel this baby nation by paving the way through a mighty river.

As two rebellious nations make Israelites choose sides, God’s story brings us “in your face messages” ending with “thus saith the Lord” from reluctant prophets.

God’s story takes us into a foreign land where Jews mourn the loss of a Holy City. Other prophets emerge to help them know that while they are in a distant land they worship a not so distant God who shuts lion’s mouths and visits friends in a fiery furnace.

From the least likely places God shows just how involved he is by moving the heart of King Cyrus to deliver his people back to the promised land. His involvement guides prophets to expect an even more incredible deliverance from a coming Messiah.

Here God’s story takes the most exciting turn yet. Limiting the distance more than ever, God comes down to dwell in one man. Emanuel, God with us. The very God of creation walking and talking, breathing and hurting among those he created.


Just as quickly as God makes his dwelling on Earth, it appears that he makes an about face and leaves his own Son to die. In reality his ultimate attachment to you and to me is shown by attaching his own son to a cross.

When we think that God couldn’t get any closer to showing his love for us than a nail splitting wood, God’s own spirit splits our hearts and once again God’s dwelling place is not just among his people but now inside his people.

As we join God’s story we remember Jesus words before leaving his disciples. That as we go out into the entire world Jesus says, “Surely I am with you always.”

God is near.

~JK

God is Near

Empty Tombs

Mark 5:1-20

I wonder what Jesus saw when he looked at this man. As soon as Jesus gets out of the boat this man comes out of the tombs to meet him. Did Jesus know that he too would one day be spending time in a tomb? Perhaps he also knew that, like the demon possessed man, no one could bind him. Chains could not hold the demoniac, hell couldn't hold Jesus. The man knew who Jesus was instantly. It was as if all the evil in the world, bound up in this one man, knew the power of "Jesus, Son of the Most High God" to put an end to the suffering. As a fellow chain-breaker, Jesus knew what freedom would mean for this man. The man (or rather the demons inside) did not want Jesus to send them away, but Jesus - perhaps seeing in the man his own after death experiences, sent them away, leaving the formerly demon-possed man in his right mind. Later something interesting happens. Everyone around wanted Jesus to leave and the man, now without demons wanted to go with him. Throughout the entire book of Mark, Jesus is commanding people not to tell about their healing. Over and over again, he commands them to keep quiet. Here, but not only here, Jesus commands him to go and tell. The only other place in the entire book that Jesus commands someone to go and tell is after his own resurrection.

When tombs become empty, then people are told to go.

~JK

Empty Tombs

Spiritually Unemployable?

There are some people who are totally unemployable in the spiritual realm. They are spiritually feeble and weak, and they refuse to do anything unless they are supernaturally inspired. The proof that our relationship is right with God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not.

~Oswald Chambers

Every now and then I will read something that gets me charged. It may be a daily devotional or passage from the Bible. I feel that I can run marathons for God because of this newly inspired self. To be honest there are times when I feel like hiding from people and ministry and feel that I cannot do it. If you ask Krista, she will say that I am more introverted than extraverted. I do not feel that introverts cannot be good ministers, but in many ways I like myself better when I feel I am the "inspired, go-getter, people person." I sometimes feel that I am disappointing God if I am not.

Oswald Chambers says that some people are "unemployable" in the spiritual realm. I think by this he means that the people who always feel the need for "inspired, go-get-em, spiritually supercharged," revelations are unreliable. In fact I think sometimes I look for opportunities to serve where, to be successful, that is the type of power I need. Instead, I think I need to find ways of serving where I feel empowered regardless of any inspiration I may or may not have received. Then when I do get a charge, that area of service can receive a boost and be blessed even more.

~JK

Spiritually Unemployable?