Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Let’s Get Excited

School started back here today in Carlsbad.  I know for some of my friends and family in other parts of the country, your schools have already started back, while some are still a week away from starting as well.  And don’t forget, colleges are about to get back into session as well.  We are already in August of 2015.  This year is flying by, yet there seems to be some big excitement this time of year, every year.  Schools are starting back.  Some may be excited about that, while others are not so much.

Another source of a lot of the excitement surrounding this time of year is that football is about to start.  Preseason NFL games are taking place, and we are less than a month away from high school and college football being back.  In fact, we have less than four weeks before Carlsbad has their first home football game of the season.  I’m a big University of Tennessee football fan, and they are about three weeks away from their first game.  I love this time of year.  But it’s not just because of football.  It’s not just because of school starting back.  It’s also because it seems to be a new beginning for churches as well.

For many, we trim down our programming and calendar for the summer months.  This could be because of many different things.  People are traveling on vacation a lot during the summer, volunteers need a break, attendance drops whether you are having your full programming, and many other factors seem present, along with the fact that many churches follow the schedule of the school systems.  So now, most churches are gearing up for their fall kickoffs if you will.  And you’ve got a lot of excitement in the air.

Most of that excitement, however, seems to be about school, or football, or anything else other than church at times.  I’ve been one of those people.  I love football and the anticipation of it starting back is always an exciting time of the year.  But this year is different for me.  Yes, I’m still very much excited about football and fall and everything else.  Even more than that, this year, I am super excited about what we are going to be offering in the fall at Central Christian Church.  Our whole church will be going through The Story through small groups, adult worship, and our children’s church program.  I’m excited because we have almost 30 people that have committed to being in a small group, which is over 75% of our regular attendance.  I’m excited because I know what The Story can do.  I’m excited because my leadership team here at the church seems to be excited as well.  But most of all, I’m excited because we get to talk about how our story intersects with God’s story.

I want our whole congregation to be excited about this, though.  I want us all to participate and to dig into God’s word together heavily over the next few months.  It’s my prayer that we can all channel this excitement of a new school year and a new football season into excitement about a new endeavor here at church as well.  If you are in Carlsbad, NM, especially if you are a part of Central Christian Church, and you have not signed up to be a part of a small group yet, please consider it.  I promise you it will be worth it.  If you have signed up, join me in the excitement of this new opportunity.  Let’s take our excitement out into our community, and let’s do exactly what we talked about doing this past Sunday; We Speak Good News!

It’s great to be excited about things.  But let’s all get excited about the best thing.  The good news of Jesus, and sharing that with all that we come into contact with!  I’m excited about what’s to come at Central…Are you?

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The Importance of Community (August 2015 Newsletter Article)

We are three weeks away from starting The Story and I am really excited about starting this journey with all of you.  In the weeks leading up to the kickoff, we will be looking at the book of Job for one week, and then a short two-week series on the mission and vision of Central Christian Church.  Then, on August 23rd we will start our series that we’ve been talking about for the last few months.  That first Sunday will be an introduction to what we will be looking at over the next several months.  Then on August 30th, we will jump right into The Story, including kicking off our small groups program.  It’s this program that I want to talk to about this month.  I want to stress the importance of joining a small group, and the reasons behind this important part of what we are trying to do. 

First, we wanted to introduce the small groups during The Story because of the nature of the study itself.  We will be walking through over 80% of scripture in the 33 weeks of The Story.  That means we will be taking huge chunks of story each week, so our sermon time will not be able to go really in-depth with the study.  That’s were reading along with us in The Story Bibles and joining a small group will come in really handy.  We want everyone to get as much out of this study as we can, and the more ways you are able to participate, the more you will get out of it.  In the small groups, you will get to watch a video about the section that we are on, and then discuss with each other how and why that applies to our lives today.  I have done this study while we were in TN, and led a small group of adults through this.  It is a very worthwhile small group study to go through.

Second, we feel that there are even more benefits to being in a small group than just this study or any study for that matter.  I truly believe that we were made to live in community, and that is what a small group is designed for.  Basically this will become a smaller family that can really get to know each other well over the 30+ weeks that you meet together.  I mentioned that Kelley and I led a small group through this study back in TN.  Well, this group stayed together and did many other studies together after this one was over.  More importantly, we shared life together.  We prayed together each week, we shared meals together, we laughed, and we grew closer and closer to each other.  While Kelley and I were looking for a ministry position, it was this group of people that prayed earnestly for and with us.  We shared our frustrations and stress with one another.  And it was the people from this group that were the first to welcome us back when we went to TN on vacation last month.  They truly became family to us, and even though we are separated by 1,400 miles today, we are still family because of the time that we spent together in these groups. 

These small group gatherings that we are encouraging you to attend are not just something that we want you to add to your already busy schedule.  It’s something that we feel is vital to the life and health of this church and our faith family members.  Not only will you be able to dig deep into scripture, you will be able to truly share life with one another in an attempt to live out the Christian life better together.  There will be a sign-up sheet in the lobby of the church up until the kick-off of The Story.  Please prayerfully consider joining one of these groups.  I promise, it is worth it.  If you have any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer any and all of them.

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Just Stop It (July Newsletter) 

God has been teaching me a lot recently. There is a common theme, however, that just keeps coming up over and over again. It’s something that I have always known in my head, but it’s something that for whatever reason I’ve had a hard time truly implementing in my life. I don’t know, maybe I have just kind of gone through the motions of my walk with Christ for so long, that I just couldn’t get to the point that Jesus has been calling me to over and over the last few weeks. And finally it broke me while Kelley and I were attending Jr. High Camp a few weeks ago. It took getting away from the normal, day-to-day activities, and easy access to technology (although I did have cell and internet service at camp) for me to finally hear and understand Jesus in a real and impactful way. What was He saying? Well that’s what I want to say to you today, as you read this article as well.
It’s not enough to just go through the motions anymore. Just stop it. Let Jesus become real in your life, or quit pretending that He is. In other words, let’s realize that awe that we are supposed to have of a God that gave it all for us, even while we were still sinners. If we aren’t able to be in awe of God because of His love for us, do we really understand what He did for us by going to the cross and dying for our sins? Romans 5:6-8 puts it this way;
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 
If that doesn’t make you realize how awesome our God is then I don’t know what will. Again, it took getting away from the normal routine of life for it to become real to me this time. And I hope I remember to step away from the normal on a somewhat regular basis to reclaim that awe of God again and again. There is a lot of junk and muck that gets in the way through day-to-day living. We are all called to ministry in one way or another, and let me be the first to warn you; Ministry is messy. Being in ministry, whether paid ministry or volunteer ministry, can easily be described as being in the trenches. And being in the trenches is a very messy thing. Because in the trenches of ministry, we have to deal with our humanness and the humanness of those around us. It can bog us down, and we can become jaded. Through that jadedness, we can easily lose sight of the awesomeness of our God. But in that muck, in that messiness that we live in, God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  
So take a step back, stop going through the motions, and find that awe of God again. Do whatever it is that makes you realize His awesomeness over and over again. While you’re reading this, Kelley and I are on vacation, and part of that vacation for us is taking a step back and making sure we are still in awe of the One that gave it all on the cross for us. Psalm 46:10 tells us that God said this about Himself; “Be still, and know that I am God…” That’s a call to be in awe of Him, and He tells us how to do it. Be still. Take a step back. Be in awe of the One who created it all and the One who gave it all because He loves us. Our God is and AWESOME GOD! It’s time we start living like it. God Bless 

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Summer (June 2015 Newsletter Article)

Summer is an exciting time of year. School’s out, vacations are planned, and there’s lots of other exciting things to do. People tend to get together with friends more during the summer time and just spend time together. The days are longer, which means that there is more daylight to do things outdoors. And all of that is great. I love summer, although I’m not sure I will like the 100+ temperatures that are coming our way even this week as I write this.
There is one thing that happens during the summer that is not a good thing. Church attendance across the country drops. For some reason, whether it’s going to the lake with family, sleeping in, or something else that just seems to drive people away from being in church on Sunday mornings, or any other time of the week for that matter. In fact, we proactively address this in some ways here at Central. We stop our Wednesday night programing during the summer, because our children’s ministry volunteers need a break, but also because we never know what attendance is actually going to look like. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not just here at Central that this happens.  
I’m not trying to complain. I understand that life gets busy, and more things seem to happen during the summer. And if you are out of town and can’t make it one Sunday, or multiple, we understand that. But what I want to say is that if you are out of town, find a church where you are vacationing and make a point of going. In fact, if you do that, I would love if you could bring me a bulletin from whatever churches you visit this summer. We love to see what other places are doing so that we can maybe improve what we are doing here as well. In fact, if you are planning on being out of town, let me know where you are going and I would be happy to try to find a church close to where you are staying.
Being gone on vacation is one thing. But attendance seems to drop even if people aren’t out of town. And there is something wrong with that. We were made to live in community. You’ve heard me say that time and again, and I believe that with all of my heart. Following Christ was never meant to be done on your own. In fact, gathering together as a body of believers is something that scripture actually commands. Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us;
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 
We are supposed to help each other live this Christian life, and how can we do that if we are not gathering together on a regular basis. I understand being out of town. In fact, Kelley and I will be out of town for a couple of Sundays in a row later in the summer, but we will also be attending church while we are gone from here. I even understand missing a Sunday or two occasionally. But gathering with your fellow Christians, your faith family, should be a priority. It should be something you crave, and something you miss deeply when you aren’t able to be there. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to guilt anyone, but what I’m asking is that you make gathering with your faith family a priority. And if you’re going to be out of town, do your best to find another congregation to gather with if at all possible. Even through the summer, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and not give up on meeting together. 

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Story (May 2015 Newsletter Article)

Over the next few months, you are going to hear me and others in our faith family start talking about stories a lot.  That’s because we all have a story to tell, but all to often we don’t feel like anyone would be interested in our story, or we just simply don’t know how to tell our story.  But story is vital in how we communicate and interact with those around us.  We live in a state of story.  Think about it.  What do we do when we have free time and don’t have to work?  We either read a book (which is a form of story) or we watch television (which you guessed it, is another form of story).  There may be times that we do neither of these when we have free time, but then again, if we aren’t doing those, we might be listening to music (another form of story), or hanging out with friends.  I don’t know what it’s like when you are with your friends, but I know that my friends and I share information with each other in story form most of the time.

That’s because we are geared to see things as story.  How our life unfolds is like an untold story.  And we get to live it out.  Stories are fun, exciting, funny, suspenseful, full of knowledge, and a lot of other things.  What we don’t recognize a lot of times is that our story can be used to help others come into a relationship with Jesus.  If you are a Christian, you have a testimony, just a fancy word for a story of how Christ has impacted your life.  We are meant to share our story with others in an attempt to introduce them to our Lord and Savior.  Learning to tell our story is vital in our attempts to reach family and friends that don’t know Jesus.  So, again, over the next few months, you will be hearing a lot about story.  In fact, we started this year off by hearing the story of how our leadership has been impacted by Jesus.  Those videos are still available on our Facebook page, and I would encourage you to watch those again if you need a refresher.

Even more exciting than that, however, is that toward the end of August, which will be here before we know it, we are going be starting a sermon series titled, The Story, which will takes us through 80% of scripture in 33 weeks, beginning in Genesis and going chronologically through to Revelation.  I’m super excited about this process that we will go through together, but it’s also important that we begin to talk about and think about story as we lead up to this.  When we begin The Story, one of the things that will be really important to understand is that we will actually be looking at two stories in one.  We will have the “upper story”.  That’s the big picture.  In other words, that God’s story.  We don’t always get to see the upper story, but God sees it all.  Then we have the “lower story”.  That’s our life.  That’s the story that we get to see, but again, we don’t see it all.  The most amazing parts of this is when the “lower story” intersects with the “upper story”, and for a brief moment, we realize how much God loves us and how much He sees the “big picture”.  We are starting to gear up for The Story and it’s going to be just a brief overview of “the greatest story ever told”!  I hope you’re excited, because it doesn’t get any better than being able to see how our story is just a small portion of God’s “upper” story.

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

The Joy of Easter

*This is the devotion I wrote for our Easter Sunrise Service, April 5, 2015*

I’ve been looking forward to today more than I have ever looked forward to an Easter, at least that I can remember.  Last year may have been close, because Kelley and I were volunteers at our church in TN.  They were doing three services for the first time ever, with the thought they could break 1,000 in attendance for the first time.  There was a lot of excitement leading up to this, and the 1,000 in attendance mark was broken.  But this is my first Easter being here with you all.  And it’s my first Easter getting to preach.  Kelley and I love this congregation so much, so it is an honor to get to share this Easter celebration with you this morning.

As I said, this Easter is one that I have been excited about, longing for, and anticipating for a while.  I’ve had today circled on my calendar since about the time we moved here, but this current sermon series we will be concluding in our regular service later today, I have been gathering ideas for for around three years.  But I have a confession to make today as well.  Over the last couple of weeks, that excitement seemed to not be there completely.  At first, I tried to rationalize it.  “It’s just the stress of this time of year”, or “it’s hard to stay that excited about something for so long”, or “I’m just really tired”.  Those were all things I just kept telling myself when I would realize that we were only a few weeks from today, but I just wasn’t feeling the excitement that I knew should be there.

And I really thought that’s all it was.  But this past Monday night/Tuesday morning, when I couldn’t sleep for whatever reason, it finally dawned on me.  I had been lying to myself.  I had lost some of the excitement because I had lost my focus, which is something I do all to often anyway.  I let some things that maybe aren’t perfect in my life make me start worrying about a lot of different things.  In other words, I had let Satan steal my focus.  I was more concerned about things going on around me, that I may or may not have any control over, instead of remaining “Crosseyed” like Hebrews 12 tells us to.

When this all dawned on me, it made me start thinking, which led to even more of a sleepless night, but I was able to work through a bunch of stuff.  It all started making sense, and I don’t think it is just something that I am going through.  When things are good, and we are excited about things and where they are going, it’s easy to lose that focus.  And as we approached this Easter season, Satan used that lack of focus in my life to cause some great havoc. 

When this realization hit, all I had to do was refocus, and you know what, my excitement for Easter returned.  Think about it this way.  In a lot of the same ways, the disciples experienced this almost 2,000 years ago didn’t they?  They were in Jerusalem for the Passover, one of the greatest celebrations for the Jewish people.  Yet they watched their Rabbi be betrayed by one of their own.  They watched Him beaten and crucified.  They watched Him laid in a borrowed tomb.

Their world fell apart when they were supposed to be a part of a huge celebration.  One of my favorite professors from school, when talking about the anguish of watching Jesus go to the cross, would always describe it this way.  He would say, “It’s Friday…But Sunday’s coming!”  In other words, the world around you may be falling apart, but the greatest news in the history of the world is just around the corner.  Jesus not only was crucified and laid in a borrowed tomb, three days later HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD!

That’s all we need to know about why this is an exciting day.  Timothy Keller, a well know minister, wrote this earlier this week on his Facebook page;

If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said?  The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.

In John 11, right before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, He claims;

I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?

It comes down to this, and this alone this morning.  Do you want the excitement of the resurrection, or do you want to let Satan steal your joy?  Just the chapter before, Jesus tells us in John 10:10;

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Let me ask you this morning, as we wrap up, just one question.  John 10:10 again tells us;

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

And John 11:25-26 tells us;

I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Lukewarm?

A few weeks ago, I was flipping through the pages of Crazy Love by Francis Chan, looking for a quote that I was wanting to use in an upcoming sermon.  This book is a favorite of mine, but I have to admit, it’s been about five years since I’ve set down and read it in its entirety.  As I was flipping through the pages, I eventually found the quote I was looking for, but I came across another that struck me hard.  I posted this quote on my Facebook page and said that I would write more about it at a later time.  Well, it’s about a month later, but this quote is what I want to talk about in my newsletter article this month.  So, let’s start with the quote.  Francis Chan states;

“Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. Just as the prophets of the Old Testament warned Israel that they were not safe just because they lived in the land of Israel, so we are not safe just because we wear the label “Christian” or because some people persist in calling us a “Christian” nation.”

Before I go any further, this is not intended to be a political debate.  Honestly, I think that our relationship with Christ is far more important than any political holdings we could ever have.  So, for the purposes of this article, I don’t care what voting tendencies you have.  What I am concerned about is the growing statements by religious people around this country wanting the USA to become a “Christian” nation once again.  I grew up thinking that we were a Christian nation, and that my Christianity and my patriotism was the same thing.  Don’t get me wrong, I still love this country and am very patriotic, but I have come to realize that, if I let it, that can become my religion instead of actually following Christ.

What am I trying to get at?  It doesn’t really matter if the USA is a “Christian” nation.  Just like it didn’t really matter that the Jews lived in the land of Israel.  It matters what we do and what’s in our hearts.  We aren’t safe just because we say we believe in God.  James warns that even the demons believe that there is one God, and they shudder. (James 2:19)

To borrow from our current sermon series, we need to WAKE UP and fall deeply, truly in love with God.  We can’t go on being lukewarm in what we believe.  And that is exactly what we are doing when we claim we want America to be a “Christian” nation again, because we think that makes us safe.  We need to take personal responsibility for our relationship with Christ.  Jesus warns what will happen if we stay lukewarm in our faith for too long.  In Revelation 3, to the church in Laodicea, Christ warns about their lukewarmness.  I’ll let you look up the whole section, for sake of space, Revelation 3:14-22.  But just for reference, here is Revelation 3:15-16, which states;  “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Do I want America to come back to God?  YES!  But more importantly, I want to see as many individuals come to God on fire, not lukewarm.  That is my desire above anything else, finding truly, completely, on fire lovers of God that can sweep across this nation, bringing others the good news of Christ!  That’s the cry of my heart this Easter, and it starts with us, individually deciding what type of relationship we want with Christ.  “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)  God Bless.

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

No Surprise (March 2015 Newsletter Article)

There is a lot of evil in the world today.  We were reminded during our time of communion the other day of the evil that existed during WWII with the Holocaust, and in a lot of ways, it seems like history is starting to repeat itself.  We are hearing on almost a daily basis about Christians being kidnapped, beheaded, burned alive, or many other horrific things at the hands of ISIS and other groups.  It seems like there is just more and more persecution happening around the world, and some of it seems to be starting here in the US as well.  We should definitely be praying for all of our brothers and sisters in Christ for strength to hold to our faith. 

But what is bothering me more than anything about all of this situation is the fact that most Christians, at least ones that are being vocal about what is going on, seem surprised that it is happening.  They seem to not understand why this persecution is happening and they can’t understand that “in this day and age” why this type of evil still exists.  I understand this, in the sense that we, as Christians, are called to love everyone.  So in our view, we should be able to get along.  “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:17-21 NIV)

The problem is, we think this applies to everyone, but not everyone knows Christ.  That’s why we are surprised when this evil still exists in the world.  But it shouldn’t surprise us at all.  Jesus, in fact, told us that we would face persecution because of our faith and relationship with Him.  If we believe His word, then why are we surprised that persecution is still happening.  Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.” (John 15:18-21 NIV).

Pray for our brothers and sisters around the globe that are being persecuted.  Pray for strength to stand firm in the face of evil.  But don’t be caught off guard that this is still happening.  Jesus told us it would, because the world hated Him first.  We also have to remember that as far as it depends on us, live at peace as well. 

God Bless,

Kraig

Christian Living, God

Let’s Get Serious About The Presence of God (February Newsletter)

It is no secret, whatsoever, that I plan to focus on Spiritual maturity and depth over the coming year, for myself, and for our faith family.  That’s what our current series of “Not a Fan” is all about.  Becoming a truly committed follower of Jesus, and then growing in Him.  So, we started off the year with a series designed to start the conversation of what a true follower looks like.  There are still two more sermons in this series, but where do we go from there?  What is the next step after we decide to become a completely committed follower of Jesus?  As I have stated, it’s not just a one time decision.  It takes making the decision daily to pick up our cross and follow Jesus.  And there are going to be days where we fail, but we have to try and make that a daily decision.

So, what’s next?  Starting February 15, we are going into a four part series on Spiritual disciplines.  I know that at first glance, that may not sound exciting, especially since it has the word discipline in it.  I get it, but have you ever put any thought into what Spiritual disciplines actually are?  If you want a little head start with where we are going, we are going to be using Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline as our jumping off point for this study.  Foster breaks the disciplines down into three categories, so we will be tackling our series this way.  The first week will be a general study of what Spiritual disciplines are, and why they are important.  And then we will take Fosters three categories, one each week. 

This will be a very generally study, as we could spend a couple of months or more on them if we took each individual discipline by themselves.  Foster’s three categories are “The Inward Disciplines (Meditation, Prayer, Fasting, Study)”, “The Outward Disciplines (Simplicity, Solitude, Submission, Service)”, and “The Corporate Disciplines (Confession, Worship, Guidance, Celebration)”.  In his introductory chapter to the disciplines, Foster states;

Superficiality is the curse of our age.  The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem.  The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people…Joy is the keynote of all the Disciplines.  The purpose of the Disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery to self-interest and fear.

Kit Dotson, a friend from Tennessee says this about the importance of Spiritual disciplines;

The importance and beauty of spiritual disciplines is that in practicing them, we are intentionally aware of the presence of God.  They do not bring us into the presence of God because He is constantly present.  To often though, we find ourselves going hours, days, or weeks with no awareness or thought of the creator of the universe who loved us and sent His Son to die for us.  When we are forgetful, we tend to wander.  When we are aware of the amazing presence of God, we have the hope that we will be transformed.  Spiritual disciplines are intentional opportunities for us to live in full awareness of God and be changed to look more like His Son.

I hope that this short introduction to Spiritual disciplines helps you get interested to learn more.  Foster’s book, The Celebration of Discipline is one of many books if it’s something you would be interested in learning more about the subject.

          Because of Him, Kraig B.

Christian Living, God, Life, Ministry

Bible in 90 Days Reflections (Day 26)

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for theLord is about to pass by.”   Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.  Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (I Kings 19:11-13 NIV).

As I was reading through our reading plan today, this is the passage that stuck out the most to me.  It seems to be very relevant to us today.  With all the technology and busyness that we have in every part of our lives, it’s no wonder that we sometimes have a very hard time seeing or hearing from God.  And it makes even more sense, thinking through this passage, that those that don’t know or believe in God have an even harder time.  Christians tend to get asked very regularly, “How can you believe in God with all the evil in the world”.  I think this leads often to the question, “How can you know God is real, because I’ve never seen or heard Him.”

This passage from Elijah’s life sheds some light on this for us.  If Elijah, who was a prophet of God, someone who regularly heard from God, was not able to hear Him in the strong wind, earthquake, and a raging fire, I think that shows us that it’s going to be hard for us to hear Him as well, unless we are able to really listen, and find His voice in the stillness and quiet.  That’s why so many have a hard time finding God.  They don’t quiet themselves down, slow down, and truly listen.  They think we can just keep doing what we are doing and that God will speak louder and louder until we hear Him.  That happens sometimes, but more often than not, it is only when we quieten our lives, minds, hearts, and truly seek Him that we find Him in the gentle whisper in our lives.

I’m not sure how our community of Carlsbad will react, but I have a feeling that many will be asking some of the questions above with the loss of a 9 yr. old boy from our community to a tragic accident.  I couldn’t help but think of this family as I read and prayed today.  My prayer is that God’s comfort will find this family.  That in the midst of their pain and loss, that they are able to seek out God.  Our God is a God who’s peace surpasses all understanding, and that is what I truly pray for this family.  May we all find ways to quieten our own lives, step away from the busyness, and seek God’s voice in the stillness.

God Bless,

Kraig