John and Kathy Deisher

One Call, One Harvest, 50 Teams

God

Conversation with God

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[A note to my readers. During this time of “shelter-in-place” I thought I would write a series of devotionals aimed for those in vocational ministry. I recently re-read Eugene Peterson’s book “Working the Angles” and thought that this would be a great time to refocus on my ministry priorities. There is some good stuff in there for those who are not in vocational ministry, but it is geared particularly to those who are. –jd–]

  • Read

Leviticus 26:12 “I will walk with you—I will be your God, and you will be my people.”

  • Meditate

Like many people, I keep a journal. It has taken different forms over the years, from legal pads to notebooks to OneNote files. I enjoy going back and looking through them from time to time. Often, I look at what was happening and carry on a conversation with my distant past in my head. I see now know how the situations I was facing have resolved, the decisions I was going to make have played out, and I reassure my written past that we survived. I know the whole story.

When we read Scripture, we are entering into a conversation with God, and into the story of men and women who were facing situations and decisions as they lived their lives. We see the beginning of the story as well as the ending. We know what has occurred and how the matter has been settled. We see the development of the characters and understand that everything in this conversation has significance.

In these stories, we find ourselves. We learn that nothing in the world of Scripture can be made sense of apart from God, and nothing in our world can be made sense of unless we walk with him. In reading Scripture, we are engaging in an active conversation with God between the biblical past and our present situation.

In times of crisis, in times of pain, in times of frustration, we have to remember that we know the whole story. We have conversed with God, and in him it all makes sense.

  • Pray

Father, forgive me for reading scripture as some historical document and not as your living conversation with me. As I read, I see you at work. I can see the whole story. In my life right now, I don’t see the whole story, but I know you are at work. I trust you that this all makes sense. Amen

  • Contemplate

1. As you read the Bible today, find yourself in God’s conversation with his people. What is happening in your life right now that parallels the passage? Ask God to help you make sense of the things you are facing.

2. Keep a journal. If you don’t have one, start it. If you do have one, continue it. From time to time look back over your history and see how God has been faithful to you.

(This devotional series is based on my notes from “Working the Angles” by Eugene Peterson)

Raise the Sail

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God provides the wind, Man must raise the sail.” 

— Augustine of Hippo

There are times when it is perfectly appropriate to say, “I’m waiting on God.”

It sounds spiritual, as if to do anything would be out of God’s will and we do not want to interfere with his plans and purposes.

But, there are also times when it is perfectly appropriate for God to say, “I’m waiting on you.”

Maybe more times for the latter than for the former.

If we are not careful, we can live in a spiritual paralysis of waiting for God to do something he has already clearly said is our responsibility. That is why we read the Bible. It has God’s revealed will. That is why we walk in community with other believers. We have God’s lived-out purpose.

God has said, “Go into all the world.” We say, “I am waiting for him to tell me what to do.”

God has said, “The harvest is ripe everywhere.” We say, “I am waiting for him to tell me where.”

God has said, “The days are short.” We say, “I am waiting for him to tell me when.”

We are waiting for God to speak in response to our question. But, God has already spoken first. The sailer does not raise the sail to cause the wind. The wind is already there.

We just need to raise the sail.

Life with a Shadow

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If you’re a Christian you’re just a shadow of your future self.” 

— N.T. Wright
Photo by Martino Pietropoli on Unsplash

There is a picture my Dad posted on my Facebook page of me when I was 25 years old. I was 5’11”, 142 pounds, and had a very large amount of hair on my head.

Truth be told, I thought I knew all the answers to every question.

Forty years later, age has shrunk my height a little, expanded my weight a little more, and reduced my hair a lot more.

And I have learned that often I don’t even know the question.

At 25, I would not have guessed I would be where I am today. At 65, I cannot imagine being anywhere else.

At 25, I lived in the shadow of who I am now. At 65, the shadow I cast includes that 25-year-old me, as well as all the years in-between. But my life now is already a shadow of who I am to become.

It is a paradox. I cast the shadow of my past, but I am making the shadow cast by my future. My life, my actions, my decisions, my relationships with God and others, are all in the shadows of the past.

And they are making the shadows created by my future self.

Stand boldly in the light. Cast a God-sized shadow.

Made Like Him

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Sometimes I consider myself there as a stone before a carver, whereof he is to make a statue; presenting myself thus before GOD, I desire Him to form His perfect image in my soul, and make me entirely like Himself.”

― Brother Lawrence
“Sometimes I consider myself there as a stone before a carver, whereof he is to make a statue; presenting myself thus before GOD, I desire Him to form His perfect image in my soul, and make me entirely like Himself.”

I have noticed something during my lifetime. I develop something, I learn something, something of which I am very proud.

And I take it to God, the great stone carver, and point out my new thing. He looks at me for a minute. He sizes me up, and he sizes up this new piece of me.

“That’s nice,” he says. And he picks up a hammer and chisel and whacks it off.

Then he whacks off some of the old things as well.

I am not good at this “stone before the carver” thing. Why would God do this? Those were my best parts.

But I’ve learned they are not my God-parts. They are not in his image. They are not like him.

So, whack away.

People are the Plan

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God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. ”

― E.M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer

I like planning. I like creating projects and processes. I like creating better methods of doing things.

But ultimately, everything comes down to people.

It is about providing guidance. It is about providing direction. It is about providing opportunities.

But ultimately it is about helping people see who they are in God and his plans and purposes for them.

It seems as if at times we are looking for the method that by-passes people. Social media is one example. If we create the right profile, the right image, the right content, we can reach people without anything else. Just get them into the church.

We forget that God’s plan was for people to reach people. That was always the method.

Not better methods. Better people.

Not Average

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Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will.”

― A. W. Tozer
“Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will.”
Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

There was recently a story in the news about how similar all hipsters look (though I suppose the author of the story could have chosen any group and made the same claim). A man contacted the publisher of the story to complain that his photo had been used in the article without his permission. On further checking, the publisher found that it was not the same man but someone for which they had a model’s photo release.

Point proved.

According to Webster’s dictionary, average is “having qualities that are seen as typical of a particular person or thing”. Hipsters, for instance (or cowboys, or surfers, or lawyers, or teachers…).

But often when we use the word average, we don’t mean that.

We mean “mediocre; not very good”.

“The food was just average.” “The presentation was just average.” “The store was just average.” “The date was just average.”

It is as if “average” requires a sigh of disappointment after the word is uttered. We know it could have been better.

But, if we are not careful, we will settle for a lifetime of “average” because average is enough. Not good. Not bad. Average.

But who wants to live life with a sigh of disappointment. 

Have an impossible dream. Set an unreachable goal. Soar high.

You may fail, sometimes, and end up for a moment in “average”. But don’t settle for the mediocre.

Soar.

Choose Joy

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“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

— Henri J.M. Nouwen

Photo by Quan Nguyen on Unsplash

I appreciate those people who seem to be happy all the time. But that is not me.

Sometimes there are things going on that make happiness feel unattainable for me. There are things I face that don’t make me happy.

But I still have joy. Even in those tough times, I keep an attitude of joy.

My joy comes from knowing who I am in God, and though the situation I face may be challenging it does not change who I am as God’s child.

So I choose joy.

Everyday.

Yes, sometimes I forget to choose joy. I can be a bit grumpy.

But I always come back to it.

Stop waiting for good things to happen and bad things to stop happening. Choose joy.

Everyday.

Enjoy the Moment

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Every man must render an account before God of all the good things he beheld in life and did not enjoy.”

— a saying from the Jerusalem Talmud (Kiddushin)
Every man must render an account before God of all the good things he beheld in life and did not enjoy.” — a saying from the Jerusalem Talmud (Kiddushin)
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

I was at a theme park one time waiting in line for the newest, latest and greatest ride. The line for people getting off passed my line at one point, and I heard someone ask one those getting off the ride how they liked it.

The person replied, “I had the time of my life, and I didn’t enjoy a minute of it.”

The Preacher in Ecclesiastes wrote that there was nothing better for a person than to enjoy what they were doing because that was their reward.

The reward is enjoying what you are doing. The reward is not something that comes after you finish doing something. It is what you are doing that moment.

Each moment gives us a chance to enjoy the good things in front of us. It is a shame if we miss them because we are waiting for something else.

Don’t seize the day. Enjoy the moment.