eCOURAGEment

"This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was [just] the first time Jesus revealed His glory." John 2:11
 
What's your theology of spiritual breakthrough? Do you have one?
 
When you think about God doing something really special in your life, church, or midst, do you see the occurrence as:
 
Probability or possibility?
Normal or abnormal?
Daily or rarity?
Incarnational or more apparitional?
Anytime, all the time, or only at special times?
Involving anyone or only those who are really, really special?
 
Well, depending on your answers to the above, you might need to reframe your heart and soul. I confess I've needed to. So, God has been working on me.

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In the Gospel of John I've discovered for every breakthrough, the opportunity comes with a significant challenge.
 
John 2...The Miracle of Water to Wine
 
It was almost as if God couldn't deny God's-Self. Though not coming in perfect time, it was yet always time. Are you ready at anytime? Or does it have to fit your schedule or current rhythm of life as it stands now? What if God wanted to perform an Easter in the middle of your Christmas, totally messing up your concept of the Christian Year? What if God wanted to use your breakthrough to interrupt your absolute everything?
 
John 3...Nicodemus' Visit
 
Jesus met him in the dark of his night. Are you willing to go through a dark night to get to Jesus? And, what if you have to be born again once you do? What if you have to begin to live life a brand new (i.e. completely different) way? How much do you and your church really want a breakthrough? If it took you becoming a completely different leader than what you are now, would you? Could you?
 
John 4...The Samaritan Woman at the Well
 
Jesus told her everything she had ever done. He showed her that He knew her at the very core and still loved her, and would make streams of Living Water come forth from her dry and weary soul. But, are you willing to let God reveal all of your stuff out in the open and come completely clean before Christ? It takes getting real and letting go of any comfortable, albeit ineffective charade.
 
John 5...The Man Waiting for the Stirring of the Waters
 
God stirred those waters and often. The man had to wait though 38 years for his miracle to come. If that's how long it takes would you still be ready or would you have given up all hope by then? Put another way; are you willing to give up 38 years of your particular way of living to dive in head first to a whole new way? Now that would be a breakthrough.
 
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The Scriptures are so cool, aren't they?
 
What if God wanted to use you and me to remake Methodism for the next 200 years?
 
We still get to keep our pallet or mat if we really want to. The man above did. Jesus, in fact, told him he could take it home. Jesus also though invited him not to lie on it as much anymore.
 
Maybe, just maybe, the turbulence we feel in our lives and world is just God stirring the pot all over and once again, preparing the waters for whoever wants to jump in and taste the glory.
 
Join me in the anticipation.
 
Seeking to thrive in Christ with you,
 
Chris H.

In II Samuel 24 it's the last thing David is said to have done in his life.
 
Even after all that he had been through and done...
 
Battles and bloodshed,
Acts of arrogance and adultery,
Along with a mix of some good stuff too,
 
God invited him to build an altar.
 
Hardened by life, hurt by betrayal, a broken human being was called into sacred space with the Holy.
 
And so too are you.
 
Whatever your week was like,
Whatever your life has been,
 
Whatever you have ever done,
Or left undone,
 
However well your church people have behaved,
However well they have responded to your leading,
 
When you enter the pulpit this week, build an altar.  Build a place where whoever is in pew or chair can meet God too.
 
It's interesting as well the piece of property David often used...a threshing floor.
 
Sometimes, instead of bringing our best stuff, altars are where God helps us sort it out.
 
Chris H.

 
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you to be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the to the greater ends of the earth." Acts 1:8
 
The Spirit empowers, empowering us to be witnesses. We are not empowered to just sit here or even sit there. We're not empowered to act entitled, excused, or embittered. We're empowered to be engaged in making disciples...here, there, anywhere, and everywhere.
 
Jerusalem: Our HERE...right where we are, our local, and unfortunately sometimes the barely noticeable. God's Spirit though is always opening doors into people's hearts and in our society to effect change on the planet, right where we are especially.
 
Our Judea: Our THERE...in the first ring of our influence out, regionally. God is too big to be contained or restrained. Whatever vessel you are working with, God overflows and wants to break out.
 
Our Samaria: Our ANYWHERE...the improbable, where we would be most surprised for God to work, in the most desperate, despondent, off kilter and in the out of whack.
 
Greater ends of the earth: Our EVERYWHERE...sometimes we think of "ends" as bad...dead ends, loose ends, split ends, but "greater ends?" That's different. God is already there in what to us seems like the furthest off and out of reach.
 
I was sitting out on our deck not too long ago and looked up and noticed the wily planter of flowers that had been growing all summer without much, if any, attention. The thought occurred to me, "That is so God." The springing forth of life is uncontainable. Our Creator has sparked it all into being. Life breaks forth and it breaks out. It's unstoppable. God is.
 
It's interesting, last week was Town and Rural Life Sunday... the same week the reports came out that said the rural population in our country continues to shrink. People still need God...here, there, anywhere, and everywhere.
 
Our Conference's Rural Fellowship is trusting God to bring renewal in our local churches in all those various types of settings. They are recruiting people and the necessary resources to revision and redouble their efforts. If you'd be interested in knowing how you can be more involved personally or financially, as a church or individual partner, please feel free to drop me a line. They invite you to consider any sized gift.  But, if your passion is more for the urban, you can enhance your involvement in Christ's mission there too. Anywhere is somewhere you can get involved, all within God's marvelous reach and touch.
 
I read Isaiah 43 in my morning devotions today.  In that passage God is raising up a new nation or generation of witnesses...among whom will be the deaf and blind. It's truly remarkable...we will see, even when right now we may not.  And, we will all testify, even though right now we might not be able to hear God's voice, soon we will.  God's greatness is uncontainable!
 
It seems so improbable and yet it is therefore so of God.
 
Seeking to thrive in Christ with you,
 
Chris H.

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 1:18, NIV
 
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As some of you know, just got back from a Holy Lands Trip traipsing through Israel and Jordan with a small group including my immediate family...
 
·    11 hours cramped on a plane with my long legs and aching back,
·    Stopped at every border crossing because my passport had a stamp that looked like I snuck into Iran three years back,
·    An afternoon in an Israeli Emergency Room learning the ins and outs of their health care system with one of our members,
·    110 degree heat in the Jordanian Desert with spoiled chicken sandwiches,
·    The typical travel-related intestinal disorders,
·    Two Galilean forest fires that diverted our itinerary,
·    But watching the Gospel come to life for my daughter while we rode a boat on the Sea of Galiless, priceless.
 
What a privilege watching people come alive in their faith, especially when it's one of your own kids.
 
As much as we pray that people will see the light of Christ, Paul prayed that we would see the light in the privilege of offering Christ and the power available to all who believe.  May that be just as transformative for us as we...
 
·    Establish cultures of dynamic invitation and welcome.
·    Lead by example in sharing our faith and story in all venues.
·    Pray specifically for people within our reach to find a deeper faith.
·    Trust and expect God to use us in leading people to Christ.
·    Teach our churches and people to do the same.
 
Seeking to thrive in Christ with you,
 
Chris
Rev. Chris Heckaman
Miami Valley District Superintendent
4501 Denlinger
Dayton, Ohio 45426