Heartburn? Take a Dose of Complete.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:3-6 (NIV)

There are a lot of things that come our way that are deemed “complete.” Multi-vitamins, antacids, gift sets, television on dvd, workouts, diets, and stores are among the few things that come to mind. Not to mention all of the various goods and services that are advertised each and every minute of every day to each one of us promising to “complete” some otherwise meager existence. Other things are “complete” as well. Deep fried candy bars are completely unhealthy (strike that, they are anti-healthy). CSI Miami is a complete waste of time. New Kids on the Block releasing a new album is completely desperate. Most top 40 Christian music is completely embarrassing. I think you get my point.

My question is: What would it take for you to be complete? I have spent a lot of time and effort trying to work into being complete. In fact, it was last Wednesday morning with a group of trusted men, I confessed, “I am tired of feeling like a project.” There is a very real truth that we are all on a journey and in a process to becoming more and more like Christ. Most of us would describe the end result of being like Christ as being complete. That is true.

However, according to the above passage, we are complete. There is no future tense. Our completeness is a present reality because of who Christ is and the glory bestowed upon him by God the Father. It is our honor to be included in that glory, which makes us complete! Awesome!

Our perspective is often narrowly focused on our short-comings, rather than on the complete work of Christ. We believe, and therefore, live out a guilt driven call to duty and have convinced ourselves that Christ’s blood is merely a covering of our disgusting existence as humans. Is that true? Does Christ’s blood trick the eyes of God into believing that we are somehow better than we actually are? Or does Christ’s blood permeate our veins thereby giving us the very nature of Jesus Christ? I believe the latter, which is why I believe that I am complete. Not yet perfected, but complete. I believe the same for you. Do you believe?

Prayer 12.07.2009

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. Isaiah 61:10-11(NIV)

Our Lord is so faithful to see us according to his character. Praise him. Pray this passage to him. I believe he finds tremendous delight when his children speak to him from their hearts in his words.

Also, remember the saints around the world who are hurt and insulted because of the person of Christ. Let us rejoice together in their sufferings, and look forward to the glory of Christ being revealed to its fullest.

Finally, I have felt some degree of loneliness lately. Not discontentment, rather I feel a sense of not being able to truly integrate my gifts and talents into all areas of life. It’s as if I feel a sense of guilt or shame if my artistic leanings surface too strongly as if I need to suppress them so that they don’t do any damage. Pray as I grow in this area. I know God has blessed me with all things, but I am afraid. As I recently heard Bruce Fong teach, fear trumps faith. Pray that I will become a fearless follower of our mighty head, Christ.

Prayer 12.2.09

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (NIV)

This week please pray the above Psalm and worship our Lord. Also pray for the Lord’s guidance as I am preparing to launch a teen small group ministry in 2010.

Remember, our great God is worthy to be sought. Seek him honestly and humbly.

A Letter From a Friend

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:1-2 (ESV)

Each year around Christmas, my mailbox and inbox are inundated with greetings, updates, and special offers. Some of these things are immediately opened and cherished while others are immediately tossed out.

The Bible is also full of letters, most of which are written by Paul.

Have you ever wondered about the sincerity of Paul’s greetings? I have. Mostly because I know that when I write a letter, I almost always finish it with “Sincerely, Michael Sheldon.” Only on a few rare occasions have I actually thought about my sincerity at the moment of writing “Sincerely…” I will say that as I am writing I am sincerely trying to present my thoughts to the recipient, in hope that what is being said will be received and processed.

However, how often have you received a letter and actually questioned the sincerity of the author? That’s a different story altogether. Isn’t it?

If you are anything like me, the validity of the sincerity comes in the context of relationship. If I get a spam letter or a chain letter or any other annoyance come across my desk, I immediately call into question the motive of the sender.

But when I get something from a close friend, I receive it with joy and anticipation for what he or she took the time to write me about.

What I’m driving at is this: When we open a letter like Ephesians, do we treat it like junk mail or do we anticipate it as though a close friend wrote it? I believe the Ephesian Church would have welcomed Paul’s letter and been encouraged by his formal greeting because Paul was a close and trusted friend.

Let’s together receive the Word of God as if it was written by a close friend.

In the words of Paul: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rocking Chair Lyrics

Here are the promised lyrics to my song: "Rocking Chair".

Also, my good friend Dayn Arnold is the man on the acoustic guitar. His style and sensibilities on the guitar were just what this song needed. Thanks Dayn.



Rocking Chair
by Michael Sheldon

Verse 1:
I’m not rocking in this rocking chair
All is still, I’m locked in a stare with you.
Should I stay or should I proceed?
If I move at all, I’ll move cautiously to you.
The light coming in from the window pain
Reveals your shape. I’m resolved to be with you.

Chorus:
So let’s stay for a while
And hear what the silence has to say
With no words to get in the way

Verse 2:
I tuck your hair behind your ear
You tremble as you begin to hear the tune.
Slowly we sway to a sacred strum
To harmonies that only we can hear.
No longer a simple melody,
But an intricate symphony as one.
It’s the soundtrack to our destiny
In the perfect meter in the perfect key of me and you

Rocking Chair

A while back, when I still lived in Portland, I was sitting in my old ratty recliner watching my wife interact with our two daughters. As I observed her enjoying the moment, I was suddenly struck by just how wonderful and beautiful she is. Hence, I wrote this song, about that moment, and each time I sing it, I am reminded of how God has provided for me a wonderful example of his love for us in my wife Debby.
Here is the song. The lyrics will come soon.

Difficult Questions

Every once in a while someone asks me a question that is difficult. Difficult to ask, difficult to hear, and difficult to answer. Such a question was recently asked of me by someone that I love and care about, and who also loves and cares about me. I believe it is this fact alone that gave us both the mandibles needed for us to begin the digestion process of such tough questions.
To give you some context, I recently started a new ministry position and have struggled with the transition. Partly because of the nature of transition and mostly due to the fact that coming into this transition I had the perception of failure in all past ministry experiences. That is not the truth, but like so many things in life perception is 9/10ths of the law. This perception of failure has naturally plagued how I see God’s vision of how he has made me, how he as used me, and how he will use me for his reconciling work in this world. Somewhere along the way I just quit the journey toward the Kingdom of God and just settled into the lie of complacency when I should have been living by the truth of conviction.
Enter a loved and trusted friend who has the ballocks to ask me this difficult question: “Are you called by God to the ministry or is this just a job?”
OUCH!
Now, this did not feel like the sting of an insult, but much more like the sting of being told that if I continue to live this way I will die very soon. Something has got to change. The sting comes from knowing the truth of the situation, but not how to get out of the unhealthy lifestyle. I found myself thinking in the midst of the sting, “You’re absolutely right, but now what? Where do I begin? Is there time to start over all over again?”
The short answer is that as long as the Lord gives me breath there is always time to reposition my heart toward him. That is good news.
So here I sit, a veteran rookie and I take my first small step. A simple prayer.
God, here is my heart, it’s broken and held together with generic glue from my own attempts to keep it safe. Take it and mend it and use it to your glory. Amen.
With that I leave you my answer to the tough question.
I know I have been called by God to declare the message of his power, love, and grace through his son Jesus Christ to all who will hear it, and that the most effective and beautiful platform for the good news is the church which God has placed in my heart and seared into my mind the awesome responsibility of loving and caring for (flaws and all, mine included). I am a minister, a man who longs to share a heart with God.

Until next time...