Be Present: Salvation Is Here

This summer, by GOD's designed coincidence, we had the opportunity to attend Switchfoot's Bro-Am in Southern California.  Hearing many of the songs that have been on my play list for nearly a decade and a half had me feeling reminiscent. Mid June on Moonlight Beach, the taste of salt in the air blended well with the electric hum of guitars full tilt.  We enjoyed Jon and his band expressing their music in their natural habitat, but the day was filled with more than songs and sand and sea.  I was struck by the poignancy of the lyrics. Although many of the ballads had become so familiar, fare for radio sing-along commuting--the gravity of grace, embedded in the words, anchored my heart.

As I've spent these past several months reflecting on the theme, "Be Present," it's been wonderful to explore GOD's Word and enjoy the many places He's creatively revealed facets of the theme to our team.  A Switchfoot album that could very well have been written expressly for this GODencounters experience would be "The Beautiful Let Down."  Of the many powerful tracks, "Dare You To Move" speaks to the tension between motion and stillness that I sense GOD calling us to as He asks us to "Be Present."

So without too much theological adulteration of this classic anthem, enjoy and linger on these lyrics:

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next
What happens next

[Chorus]
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
Tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

[Chorus]

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened
Today never happened before 

Encounter the Word:

"But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well. Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today." –Matthew 6:33-34 [CEV] 

Encounter:

• What will make today different?
• How might your live today in such a way to express the significance of your faith?
• Who is the GOD calling you to be? Today? Right now? 

Be Present: Today

"What day is it?"
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.  –A. A. Milne

When our daughter was still very young, she loved Winnie the Pooh.  Her childhood days were filled with wonder and play.  Every person had the potential of being a new friend, and if they were just her size, she was eager to see if they wanted to be playmates.  Playing house only required imagination and a willingness on my part to sit on a miniature chair as she prepared plastic vegetables for dinner.

Over the years, I’ve grown fond of looking for stuffed toy “Winnie the Poohs” for her as I travel and minister—Partly because the Dad DNA in me is inclined to spoil her, and partly because it reminds me of the days when Pooh was as real as neighbors, summers seemed to linger forever, and school was some day when she “grew up.”

Those “todays” seem long ago.

Today, our schedule is packed full of demands and deadlines.  Between my church commitments, my wife’s 12-hour shifts at the NICU, and our daughter’s academic responsibilities, sports rehab, and extracurricular activities, it sometimes feels like today’s a too-small-carry-on-packed-too-full-to-fit in the overhead compartment.

My iPhone, and iCal, and MacBook Pro aren’t synced well enough for me to optimally track my appointments, my wife’s work schedule, and the various activities at the academy for my daughter. I sometimes feel like today gets lost in the scramble to go from one critical commitment to the next.

I miss the “today” of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.

Not that I want to go back in time, but rather, that I can all too easily let “today” become a tool instead of a treasure.  Today can be made to take a toll instead of offer a twinkle.  If I’m not careful, today disappears in the deluge of the urgent—Too often, as of late, I’ve made today drudgery.

“This day belongs to the Lord!
    Let’s celebrate
    and be glad today.” –Psalm 118:24 [CEV]

In some ways, “today” is like the stuffed animal presents I would get my little girl during my travels.  Today is a gift.  Undeserved, unassuming, yet full of joy, and love, and imagination.  There are smiles to be had, moment’s brimming with gladness and celebration.  Today is stuffed with enough goodness to make it my favorite day.  Today can be like Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.

However in order to receive the present of today, I need to be present. . . today.

Encounter Prayer:

21 I praise the Lord
    for answering my prayers
    and saving me.
22 The stone that the builders
    tossed aside
    has now become
    the most important stone.

23 The Lord has done this,
    and it is amazing to us.
24 This day belongs to the Lord!
    Let’s celebrate
    and be glad today.
25 We’ll ask the Lord to save us!
    We’ll sincerely ask the Lord
    to let us win. Amen.

--Psalm 118:21-25 [CEV]

Much like my daughter's earliest years, today, GOD is calling you into a childlike faith, permitting you to see this day with the imagination of GOD-sized possibilities.  Our heavenly Father is always thinking of you, eager to give you gifts for no good reason.  His blessings happen in the unexpected moments of this day simply for the sake of His delight in you.  

But so unlike my earliest daddy years, GOD, your heavenly Father, is giving you so much more than an airport gift shop stuffed animal.  GOD is giving you the cornerstone of the world, Christ Jesus--He's giving you His favorite Son today, His favorite day.

May today be a gift to you from GOD, filled with all the wonder, celebration, and joy He intends.

Encounter the Word:

For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness. –Psalm 84:10 [ESV]

Encounter:

• If you were to cultivate a childlike faith, what might you see today as a gift from GOD?
• Who might you share your "gifts" with today?
• How might you shape your days to start seeing each one as a gift?  What role might Christ Jesus play in the new shape of your day, today?

Be Present: Game Plan by Barbara Quaye

I like to have a game plan.

As a college student I am thinking about things from clubs to classes. It is a different lifestyle. One day I may have classes till early afternoon, drive to a community service event, then come back to school for an evening banquet. My major gives me the responsibility of mastering various disciplines in my field, so I’m forced to figure out what I should be studying for the next week. College life seems to be all about schedules, planning, and getting ahead.

Apart from school, I have all kinds of everyday things to work in; from car inspections to grocery trips to dental appointments to oil changes. As a “picky dresser” I start Sunday evening by picking a week’s worth of clothing. Otherwise, I will try on five outfits, before I go with the first choice. I like crossing off the calendar days as I get closer to an event we have been planning for or an upcoming birthday party to attend.

I’m living for tomorrow.

When tomorrow finally comes around, I think about the next day. Makes for a busy week. Now I’m not saying it is wrong to plan ahead; I might not study if I don’t have a schedule or I might become a neighborhood restaurant regular if I didn’t plan time to cook. I am simply saying that sometimes we are so caught up in planning for tomorrow, that we forget about today. We forget about right now.

Christ Jesus told us “Give your entire attention to what GOD is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow [Matthew 6:34, Message].”

At times, that is a little difficult for me. As a collegian, so much of my energy is wrapped up in tomorrow; I do like to have a solid idea about what will be happening next.

But GOD calls us to be present; to not obsess about the pressures of tomorrow and learn to live more fully in today’s moments.

Earlier in Matthew 6, Christ talks about how the lilies are more beautiful than any clothing store can design. He also says how the birds of the air don’t plant or store away things for later yet they have food to eat. That sounds like being a cozy heir; that is what GOD wants to do for us. He knows our needs and will provide. I don’t need to stress about the future. GOD promised us in Jeremiah 29:11 that He already has a life strategy for each of us. All that is left for us to do is stop, trust and “Be Present.”

Now that sounds like a great plan.

Encounter the Word:

“And this same GOD who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” --Philippians 4:9 [NLT]

Encounter:

• What are some things you like to plan for? What plans stress you out? Why?
• What would happen if you let GOD lead in your plans?  What might you experience in your today?
• Where in your life might you trust GOD a bit more?
• What steps can you take to rely more on Christ Jesus and discover His game plan?

 Devotional by Barbara Quaye of Younger Generation Church. Posted by A. Allan Martin by permission.

Be Present: Treasure Today

As a teenager, I remember grown ups talking gloriously of how it was in the “old days.”  They would talk about how this, that, or the other was so much better back then compared to now. 

“When I was growing up…” 

“Life was better when...” 

“Back in the day we used to…”  

And as I have grown older, I have caught myself at times doing the same thing; sharing fairy-tale sized stories of my own “days gone by” and the bigger than life exploits of my yesteryears.  Yesterday was all that.  Right?

On the other side of the pendulum, as an adolescent, I had a great optimism about the future—bright, bold, and full of promise.  This appeared no more prominently than in my great ability to procrastinate.  Whether it was household chores or the earth science project for class or brushing my teeth, I was almost genius in my ability to put off until later, practically anything.  It was a real skill.

Even as an adult, I can put off packing a suitcase, cleaning the garage, or getting on the treadmill almost indefinitely.  There’s always tomorrow.  Right?

In his book, Today Matters, leadership guru John Maxwell, outlines well my plight, and maybe you share my predicament:

• We over exaggerate yesterday – past failures and successes
• We overestimate tomorrow – things will get better, I will do it tomorrow
• We underestimate today – don’t recognize today’s potential and value

True.  In my more honest moments, I would confess to have squandered more than my share of todays.  Fondly framing yesterday and/or putting off until tomorrow, I’ve missed the power and precious jewel of today.

By embracing today, I have opportunity to form history that shines legacy.  If I embrace today, I foster a tomorrow that fills with hope and joy.  Exaggerating the past and overestimating the future are distortions that, at their very best are fantasy—at their very worst provoke anxiety.  All the while, what I have in my hands is…today.

So what might I do to harness the potential and value of today?  Matthew 6:33 [CEV] suggests, “But more than anything else, put GOD’s work first and do what He wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.”

More than the future or the past, seek first Christ’s kingdom and His righteousness…right now. Today.

Today, I want to be in His story, not merely idolizing history.

Today, I want to be in this moment, not putting off real life to some day.

Today, I want to be all about Christ Jesus, because He holds all of it—

   My past.

   My future.

   My present.

Today, I want to be present.

“Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone; and do not be troubled about the future, for it has yet to come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering” –Ida Scott Taylor

May you and I live in the present, love in the present, and discover the gift of the present…today.

Encounter Prayer:

Christ Jesus, let today be for Your fame.  May I seek after what is most important to You and find delight in the freedom to embrace this moment for Your glory.  Whatever You decide to give me is great, but for right now, let me give you today. Amen.

Encounter:

• What does it mean to you to “seek first Christ’s kingdom and His righteousness?” Beyond the religious stock answers, what are some practical ways to do this?
• Amidst what you have planned for today, what will offer you chances to seek Christ Jesus’ kingdom?
• How might you “Be Present” today?