Hello! Here is the best of Living Water 2012. As always I thank you for you for reading and sharing; as well praying for and encouraging me. May God bless you and keep you in 2013. Christopher
Christopher Wolf Twenty (CW20); January
7. Winning doesn’t always look like winning – most often it’s enduring and remaining standing.
8. Being vs. Doing – I used to think that I had to do a lot of stuff for the Kingdom – numbers, accomplishments, etc. Not. God’s asking me (us) to be faithful. That’s what He can use. Accomplishment, activity, doing more…is about us. And being impatient is about us…Being patient and waiting on God working is also being faithful. I’ve had to learn to be patient.
9. What has broken me in life has made me who I am. I used to resent things I didn’t have growing up as well as feeling bad about wounding experiences and failures. Now I understand better that God works best out of our brokenness and vulnerability rather than our strengths. I am able to lead, care for, pastor, teach, reach out primarily because of my woundedness; and then my Spiritual gifts enable me to “export” and share that passion and compassion effectively.
Upside Down, Inside Out; February
But Jesus, here in this essential message, is clearly saying that what is valuable, what is worth fighting for are these people. When the poor in spirit, the grieving, the meek, and the others in his list are the center of ministry and activity we do as individuals and congregations – the Kingdom will be visible.
We are ambassadors of God’s Kingdom. Our churches are embassies of that Kingdom. I tell you with great passion that Christians and churches that commit to more fully representing this Kingdom of God and to finding, reaching and caring for people who need God today – will certainly find themselves turned upside down and inside out – but will also find themselves closer to the Kingdom than ever before.
A Confession; February
It’s hard to explain in words, but it’s there. I guess a lot of it is I want people to know and experience what I have with God – the joy, the purpose, strength and healing. I am very moved by stories of people who feel like God abandoned them or wasn’t there for them or just feel like they can’t get close to Him for many reasons – like feeling unworthy or not perfect enough. In part because these are some of the worst feelings in the world; and in part because these feelings are real; but they’re not true. In general, I am so driven to try to show people how much God loves them.
Just a few months ago, I was talking to someone and I mentioned that I was so blessed to be where I am right now because it gives me the opportunity to reach out to people I grew up with. And the person with whom I was speaking said that he had never heard of a pastor concerned about that before. I laughed; I had never thought of it as unique – I just thought it was what I was supposed to do.
Stuck; February
So I want to say very lovingly to many of you today that yes it happened and it was awful and it was not your fault. I want to say lovingly that the guilt you carry from what you have done in the past is crushing and suffocating you. I want to lovingly say that there is a problem but you don’t have to suffer under it anymore. I am lovingly saying that you will still be you, in fact a more wonderful you than you have ever known. You know, “we are as sick as our secrets” and I am saying lovingly that all the pretending, denying, pride and fear are only hurting you and keeping you from the goodness and grace God wants to and is ready to pour out on your heart and soul. The irony of course is that to welcome and receive that healing and restoration, you have to embrace the truth of what has happened, what you’ve done, what you can’t control anymore, and what you fear; and it is in that embrace that it’s or their power over you will end and the healing and new beginning can begin.
Maybe it starts like this, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God…Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love for they are from of old…Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord (Psalm 25:1, 6-7).”
And when you lift up your soul and trust in Him above everything and everyone else, and He supplies you with the strength to embrace whatever ending you need to embrace today, He will absolutely be remembering you according to His love and grace. Then you’ll see that those dreams that seemed so far away will be as close as a whispered prayer. Those dreams of forgiveness and restored relationships, those dreams of getting clean or sober, those dreams of being free of guilt and the expectations of others, those dreams of being and feeling loved unconditionally, those dreams of living fearlessly and purposefully, those dreams of the past being the past, those dreams of no longer being defined by past events or decisions, those dreams of having a future with hope, those dreams of finally more fully experiencing the joy and peace of God’s presence.
Alive; March
Second, this passage reveals that believing and following are connected but very different. Of course, we have to believe in Christ before we know and are enabled by the Holy Spirit to follow. In this passage, Peter is a believer – perhaps the first believer when he says that Jesus is the Messiah. But, seemingly within minutes he is not following. Jesus then explains what following is – (based on believing) denying one’s self, losing our lives for his sake, setting our minds on heavenly things not earthly things. This is not easy. I’ve found that moving from believer to follower is very challenging – but it’s where we are all called to go. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “When Christ calls a person, he bids he or she, come and die.” Meaning, when we die to ourselves, we become alive in Christ, thus truly alive. Today, Christianity and churches are filled with believers (a good start) but meaning it’s pretty easy to attend a church and recite creeds and say some amens and sing some hymns; but when it comes to losing our lives for the Gospel, it’s not happening very much. This is a zombie-ish quality. It’s often called the Holy Huddle. It’s as if you were watching a football game and your team came out on the field high-fived each other, got in a huddle talked for a while and then headed for the locker room. When we go from believer to follower – our responsiveness to the Holy Spirit grows (as our fears of same decreases), our compassion for others increases, our desire for “on earth as it is in heaven” grows, serving is joyful rather than like a chore. If we want to be alive, we have to move and grow from believers to followers.
Religion or Relationship?; March
A long time ago…
In the middle east, a man named Jesus, the Son of God, came to save, not condemn the world by inviting all people to a relationship with Him and the Father. A real, active, alive relationship. He came at a time when religion had taken over any kind of relationship with God – loveless, elitist, joyless, rule-based, graceless, institutional religion became a god of its own. This Jesus then and today has liberated billions from death and religion and delivered them to eternal and abundant life. Sadly though, even with His Holy Spirit and His Word, people are still prisoners of this kind of religion today – even religion in Jesus’ name. I offer this note of love to awaken people to the essential differences between religion and relationship with God. I offer this to liberate prisoners. I offer this because as I feel called to reach out to and lead people back to God – therefore I also feel called to make church a safer place for them when they come home. Please read and reflect on the following…
Guess How Much God Loves You; March
And, this love of God doesn’t wait for us to be good or get better. It reaches us, it touches wherever it finds us – at our best or at our worst. It’s the very definition of unconditional love.
It’s the kind of love that frees and rescues.
It’s the kind of love that heals and awakens.
It’s the kind of love that lifts us to want to try again.
It’s the kind of love that leads us to want to come home.
It’s the kind of love that eclipses our past.
It’s the kind of love that opens our eyes to seeing who we really are – in God’s eyes.
It’s the kind of love that assures us that when all else fails; it never will…
Yes, God loves you and me this much…arms outstretched; pouring over and through all the walls, sins and hurts; overflowing into the very depths our hearts and souls.
Right There; April
Listen, it’s because the point is not to be richer or more successful or more loved as a way to achieve peace – God’s point all along with us is that our relationship with Him through Jesus is the starting point and source of our joy, grace, and peace, then all the other things will be added. It’s not about solving all our problems with cash and mantras – it’s so that we can see and endure anything that happens in our lives and still say or sing, “It is well with my soul (because I am His and He is mine).” When you and I can more and more genuinely say and believe that no matter what the circumstance – that’s abundant life, that’s living rescued and forgiven, that’s faith, that’s the peace beyond understanding.
Maybe you’ve been praying for a rescue or an answer for a long time. And you feel like it’s never come. Maybe you’ve been faithful in waiting for it – “it” as you hoped it would be. But you’re still waiting, still hoping. That’s a good thing. It’s a very good thing to recognize the need to be rescued and that God could be or is the one to turn to. And about that rescue or answer seeming delayed…
Maybe it’s because the rescue you needed, was right there all along, right in front of you…
Snapshots of Faith; May
A Prayer of Confession
Dear Jesus, we acknowledge our sins to you this morning. We have not loved others as you have asked us. We’ve chosen safety over risking. We’ve chosen convenience over reaching out. We’ve chosen our ways instead of your ways. We’ve chosen loving ourselves rather than loving others. We’ve chosen preserving over pouring out. We’ve chosen fear over trusting you. We’ve chosen indifference rather than mercy. We’ve focused more on the co$t rather than the cross. We’ve chosen to turn away instead of embracing. For all of this, for all the people we have failed to care about and reach, and more, we humbly say we are sorry, ask for your forgiveness and repent of our ways. Pour out your mercy and grace upon us that we may be made new. Renew and remake our hearts in your image – let our hearts break for those for whom your heart breaks – the poor, the alienated, the prisoners, the unloved, the broken, the ones who don’t know you, the rejected, the needy – to anyone who needs you – send us we pray. In Your name, Amen.
A New Vision for First Reformed Church of Saddle Brook; July
For me, I am so thankful to God. I have served at three churches and in each case He has been faithful to grant powerful and unique visions that have helped shape congregations and individual believers. Vision animates, vision unites, vision lends purpose, vision points us to possibility. Vision is a picture of what God most desires in a given context. A long time ago, when I was on a 9th grade trip to Washington D.C, wandering through the Capitol Building, I found a plaque above a door that read, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…(Proverbs 29:11).” That left such an impression on me. And beginning in college, I have sought to bring this to every endeavor of my life – personal, professional and ministry. Asking what God desires for lives, a congregation, people, and community; and passionately seeking with the Holy Spirit’s help to actualize it. Discerning and casting vision takes hard work – constant prayer, understanding the present in truth, knowing the Word, effective communication, knowing the collective gifts of the given congregation, patience and endurance, understanding God’s mission for the church, and being aware of the needs of people in the community. It is truly a gift from God in so many ways.
A Prayer for America, July 2012; July
Our Father, we are asking today for You to open the heavens and let Your rains mercifully, gently and abundantly fall upon this nation and people. Where the wildfires of violence, lust, and division burn out of control – let Your rain of peace and love cover and extinguish them. Where we experience crippling droughts of reason and sanity, let Your wisdom fall and satisfy. Where corruption and greed ravenously consume, let Your justice sweep down like a flood to purify and cleanse. Where grief and sorrow burden and weigh down, let Your rain of joy and strength lift and raise spirits. Where discouragement and desperation cloud and darken futures, let Your rain of hope reveal a rainbow of promise to come. In this time of trial for our nation in these last years and the ones to come, we ask for the power and strength through the Holy Spirit to repent and turn from away from the things and ways of death and destruction; and to turn to You, and to life, and to purpose. We cry out to you to renew and heal the soul of this nation; that we may truly become one under You. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
Satisfaction (You can get some); September
Are you thirsty today? The kind of thirst that is deep in your soul? That’s good. Are you tired of trying to pursue satisfaction through stuff, people and activity? That’s good too! Because you’re in a perfect place to awaken to God’s invitation to experience the satisfaction He wants to give you. It’s a satisfaction that is purposefully designed for you, it’s full of grace, and will touch you deeply in your heart and soul.
“Come, all you who are thirsty…” and come to where there is enough; enough of something that gives life – the living water of Jesus – a supply that never runs out and is deeply, richly satisfying – more than satisfying than anything we have imagined or experienced.
The Return of the Joy; September
Second, when we focus more on God being able and good; we are able to let go of and focus less on circumstances. When we dwell on circumstances we can get very discouraged and be joyless. I’ve been there, I know what it’s like. After all, we think, things are so bad, there’s no solution. And often it feels like that; and many times the circumstances are awful. But if we lift our vision off the circumstances and onto God, we find joy. See, circumstances are about what we can or can’t do; circumstances are temporal; circumstances function like walls that close in on us; like prison bars. But focusing on God’s goodness and his being able to overcome anything in this world allows to see beyond circumstances and experience joy despite everything pushing against it. It’s a powerful feeling.
How’s Your Garden?; November
Yet, we have this bounteous harvest of love, peace, joy, compassion; and together we can produce fruit of salvation, changed lives, and community impact. We just need to let it out from the inside and bring it to market, so to speak.
It all starts with the garden though, right? We have to awaken to the source of our life fruit – which garden is our source for fruit? Is the fruit of our lives from Eden – selfishness, pride and disobeying God. Or is our fruit coming from Gethsamane – obedience, compassion, sacrifice, God’s will over ours – leading to new life. One garden leads to death and misery; the other leads to abundant life. One garden is about us; the other is about God and others. One garden is rife with weeds and thorns; the other is beautiful, full of potential, and always has room for more.
From which of these gardens is your fruit growing?
Even With My Dark Side?; November
For many years, I have been haunted by this question, “Will you love me, even with my dark side?” because I know it has been the source of confusion, hurt, distance for so many – it breaks my heart. I find that many people ask it and often don’t believe God’s answer. I find that many people get stuck living in their dark side; stuck in guilt, the past, mistakes, hurts, addictions and more – from which there is freedom in Christ. I also find that lots of people pretend that they don’t have dark sides; in which they lose out on the grace and joy of God; to deny that we’re sinners is to miss the whole point of Jesus.
But for today, if you are asking, or if you have ever asked, or if you avoid asking because you’re afraid of the answer, or if you stopped asking at some point – yes, absolutely, yes, God loves you with your dark side. And, for what it’s worth, so do I.
My prayer is that more and more, you find your worth, your sense of being loved and loving, your hope, and your heart in the One who is loves us more than we can ever know.
Rev. Christopher B. Wolf
Isaiah 42:7
cbrianwolf@gmail.com
www.christopherbwolf.com
Christopher B. Wolf is pastor of First Reformed Church of Saddle Brook, NJ and is the author of Giving Faith a Second Chance: Restarts, Mulligans and Do-Overs (2007) and With You Every Step of the Way (2011); and the host of Walk With Me, Wednesdays 7 pm on WYFN 94.9 FM-NY and on www.yfnradio.com.
“It is a matter of sharing and bearing the pain and puzzlement of the world so that the crucified love of God in Christ may be brought to bear healingly upon the world at exactly that point.” N.T. Wright
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