Walk With Me

Hey There! Here is this week’s Living Water! It is the introduction to my new book, With You Every Step of the Way, now available on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/You-Every-Step-Way/dp/1617778389/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316536283&sr=1-1 and as eBook, http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/book.php?w=978-1-61777-838-4 It’s one of my favorite parts of the book because it captures what I believe about being a pastor and what I have been trying to do for most of my life. Blessings, Christopher

 

 

Walk With Me

 

 

I have always been a fan of journeys. Growing up, as soon as I was able and all the way to graduation, I walked to school. I loved it. In college, I was able to go from the student center to across the street from where we lived with a combination of buses and trains. Near the end of college, I started on the greatest journey. I had always believed in God, but with just a few months left before graduating, I went on a walk, a journey during which I committed my life to Jesus and His will and design for my life. And that is when everything started to change.

No longer was the journey as easy as walking home from school or making the train or bus. No longer was the journey measured in footsteps or miles, but rather in faith steps. The journey got much more complicated—as well as wondrous, perilous, and joyful.

It seems very accurate and appropriate to think of the life of faith as a journey. Now, to be sure, this is no random jaunt or spree! Each and every step of our journey is intimately and definitively known by our loving God, who is there every step of the way. This book, With You Every Step of the Way, is putting to words, creating a word atlas, illustrating the things that we pick up, let go of, share, imagine, need, and that come with this journey. In broad terms, these things are: assurance, heart and soul, fellowship, possibilities, and transformation.

But I have to tell you something. Too often I have thought I had figured out things like who and what could be counted on; I thought I had looked inside and changed enough; I thought for sure I knew what God was up to. I have tried to take faith steps along the way on my own, thinking that I knew better than God, thinking that I was invincible and didn’t need any guidance or support from others either. In all of this, I couldn’t have been more wrong. And my journey reveals this fruitlessness: the dead ends, the wandering, the times of isolation, and the disorientation, as well as, by grace alone, the fruit: the miracles, the dreams, the loves, the stands, the revelations, and the reaches. See, from God’s perspective, there is no part of the journey that isn’t part of the journey; nothing is wasted in the kingdom economy and in our lives. Each and every step can be used to draw us closer to God and can be used to comfort, console, and encourage others. Through it all, and thanks to God’s faithfulness and mercy, I have learned and experienced so much, from the wonderful to the tragic and everything between, and I think I have discovered enough to be able to authentically share it with you. So this is me taking my journey and steps, taking my worn and torn maps and notes, and sharing them in the hopes of helping you with yours.

Like any good guide, I want to walk alongside you for a while, sharing, reflecting, and taking steps. Maybe we can even stop and sit and rest for a while together. All of our journeys include mountaintops, valleys, and wildernesses; and it often seems like the weight we carry doesn’t get any lighter. As you know, I can’t alter the journey God has graciously designed for you, but I can encourage you, whisper wisdom and insight, help reveal purpose and promise, laugh and cry with you, and make it more bearable, as well as illuminate pitfalls, landmarks, and breathtaking views along the way.

So, would you walk with me for a while?

 

Rev. Christopher B. Wolf

Isaiah 42:7

cbrianwolf@gmail.com

www.christopherbwolf.com

 

Christopher B. Wolf is the author of Giving Faith a Second Chance: Restarts, Mulligans and Do-Overs (2007) and the forthcoming, With You: Every Step of the Way (September, 2011).

 

“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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Christopher B. Wolf Announces New Book Contract

Hey There!

I am blessed to tell you that I have signed a contract for my second book to be published. Thanks be to God! As you might remember my first book was Giving Faith a Second Chance: Restarts, Mulligans and Do-Overs (2007). The working title for this one is With You: Every Step of the Way. Below is a description:

With You: Every Step of the Way

With You: Every Step of the Way is a new and practical “word atlas” for believers and seekers – anyone who desires to navigate and draw closer to God along the unpredictable but exhilarating journey of faith. It is a lifelong expedition with much uncertainty and loneliness. The weight we carry rarely gets lighter and it requires more strength than we know we have…

Along this journey, we lose our way and our confidence, yet celebrate and find meaning, get distracted and stuck, learn and gain wisdom, become hopeless and despairing, deepen relationships and build new ones, leave our old selves behind and become new creations, and ultimately arrive at discovering who God created us to be and who God really is.

With You: Every Step of the Way reveals and illuminates these very things we need and receive along the way: Assurance, Heart and Soul, Fellowship, Possibilities, and Transformation. Pastor and author Christopher B. Wolf’s clear, authentic, engaging and encouraging writing style and messages will very quickly become a trusted and faithful companion.

Formatted for the individual who needs insight and support as well as for the small group that wants to grow, study and think together – With You: Every Step of the Way includes thoughtful, discerned messages as well as reflection questions that will inspire compelling contemplation and discussion.

I am very excited for the release of this book! It captures and summarizes my distinctive voice, heart and approach as a pastor, brother and friend – as a shepherd. I have designed it in such a way that it can serve as more than just a one time read – but as a trusted companion to whom readers can turn and return for encouragement, challenge, comfort, hope, direction, growth and reflection in their faith journeys.

The timetable for its release is about 6 months. I will send you updates throughout the process. Please share this email/message with family, friends, co-workers and others that you think would be interested in this book and my other writings.

In addition to this new book, I am exploring the idea of a new blog that would be a combination of Living Water, church revitalization messages and renewing America articles. Stay tuned…

Please learn more and keep up in touch with me through the following channels:

www.christopherbwolf.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-B-Wolf/17378287393

http://twitter.com/ChristophBWolf

https://christopherbwolf.wordpress.com

As always, I am so grateful for your prayers, support and encouragement – all of these continue to be welcomed and needed!

Grace and Peace,

Christopher

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Letting Go

Letting Go

Psalm 32:3

There are these twin trees in my neighbor’s back yard. Here it is in December and one of the trees is barren but the other one still has nearly all its leaves. When I noticed it yesterday, I thought that was strange. It has been windy enough and its twin has let go of its leaves. What is going on?

It made me think of the things we hold on to – long after we should. For example, there is this verse in Psalm 32 that talks about holding on to sins for too long, “While I kept silence (rather than confessing sins to the Lord) my body wasted away through my groaning all day long (3).”

But we also hold on to many other things too long that aren’t healthy for us or others. We often hold on to many things for too long: relationships, people, things, jobs, guilt, the past, certain thinking, pain and other things. And we often hold on in the face of weathering forces. On one hand, I could look at the tree and think, “Ah, you brave tree, stand strong against the wicked winter winds!” We do this in our lives by rationalizing holding on. What may look brave, stubborn or principled may be absolutely counter to what God wants in a given situation and when in reality we are just making things worse for others and ourselves.   

Some other thoughts… 

When we hold on too long, it affects us on the inside. Like the verse above, when we hold on to anger, hurt, resentment, and frustration it literally affects us physically, mentally, spiritually and in our relationships. Another way to think of it is from this quote I found a while ago, “We are as sick as our secrets.” Think of some of the things you know about yourself or others and how long you have been holding on to those things – it’s not healthy.  

When we hold on too long, it makes it harder on us when God is doing something new.  Not sure about the tree, but if the leaves never fall off, won’t that affect the new shoots emerging in the spring? And with us, we know that God can do whatever He wants to do. But if you have ever felt His gentle nudges of something new starting the pain comes from holding on to something current or old. God is loving and He is purposeful and He will accomplish His will. Think about the time it takes us to move on to something new because we are holding on too long. 

When we hold on too long, it disrupts the natural order of things.“ For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven,” says Ecclesiastes 3:1 and as you know it also says there is a time to live and a time to die. There is a time for a tree to let go of its leaves – and there is a reason for it. Spring always comes after winter. Likewise there is a time for us to hold on and to let go.  

When we hold on too long, it may be because we are afraid. Another reason we hold on too long is because we are so afraid of what things may look like without what we are holding onto. That fear is real. But fear is the opposite of faith. Sometimes we ask the question, “Who will I be, if I let go of this person, place or thing?” And the faith answer is that when you let go of anything, you may be transformed but in God’s eyes, thanks to Christ, you are always the same treasured person.   Is this tree in my neighbor’s yard thinking, “If I let go of my leaves, I may never grow leaves again, spring might never come, or I might die if I let my leaves go.” Not sure; this of course, if trees could think J. But this inner dialogue probably sounds a little familiar to all of us. 

When we hold on too long, we aren’t trusting in the Lord. Often when we are holding on for too long, it is because we don’t trust that the Lord will…take care of it, forgive, heal, start something new. Whatever “it” is when we hold on for too long, we are often thinking we know better – when we don’t. We forget that God wants only the good for us (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11) and so we don’t trust that letting go could be the gateway to something new, amazing or healing.  

When I think about all the time I have wasted holding on to ideas, dreams (of mine, not God’s) and a of lot sorrows for too long all because I thought I could fix things, or make them happen or heal myself – when I should have just let go – it’s just sad… About as sad as a tree with all its leaves in early December with snow on the ground. 

Amen. 

Discussion Questions

1. Can you think of some things in you life you are holding on to for too long? Could be internal or external.
2. How do we actually let go of someone or something? Have you ever experience that?
3. A big part of letting anything go relies on discernment (praying and listening for God’s will) – how do we effectively discern?
4. How is fear the opposite of faith?

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The Peace of God

Philippians 4:5-7

“…The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:5-7

We are a bunch of “worriers” aren’t we? We worry about everything. And yet that wasn’t the design.

This passage today gives us some basics. First, the Lord is near. Great! Part of what happens when we worry is our perception is narrowed. It is a little bit like when you are asked to do a presentation or public speaking and you get up there and your heart is pounding and you can’t remember what you were going to say. The worry we experience on a daily basis is a lesser version of that. It may not feel like being in front of a crowd, but it does affect us. It is a mental and spiritual thing. On the spiritual side, it seems to cause us to be less aware of God’s presence. Sometimes we feel like God is far away…most, if not all the time it has to do with our spiritual perception and us. So yes, the Lord is near whether we believe it, or see it…or not.

And if the Lord is near…”Do not worry about anything…” Think about it this way, if you were fully convinced that the Lord was near, would we worry about anything? If the Creator, Savior and Sustainer of our lives was right next to us, not a lot to worry about (read Psalm 121 for more on this idea).

But we keep on worrying and the passage asks us to, “…in everything by prayer and supplication (fancy word for request or plea) with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. A couple of thoughts here. First, do you wonder why thanksgiving is in there when what you have asked for might not have materialized yet? Faith. The idea is that if we are asking for something in God’s will or ways, we can believe that it will happen (Matthew 7:7-11). And so the thinking here is that we should already be thanking God for His answer as we are praying about it.

Next, “be made known to God.” God knows everything so what does this mean? The meaning of the Greek word for “made known” carries the understanding of “recognize” or to reveal. But again, why do we need to reveal or share something that God already knows? This is the relationship part of prayer. Think about this…you may love your spouse or family members or friends and you think, “They know I love them.” They may know it, but they also need to hear it from you. Likewise, God knows our hearts, but the connection with Him is built and strengthened by saying and sharing our needs and hopes in prayer. See???

Here is what happens when we trust that the Lord is near and we are sharing and expressing our needs and hopes to Him. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Looking at these verses, part of what is happening, part of why the worry is supposed to evaporate is because we have handed over or given away, through prayer, those things that are stressing us out.

Often what we do though, is think or pray about the things that are stressing us out and then hold onto them. We may think we have handed them over…but we often grab them right back…so that we can worry and fret some more! You know it’s true!

This not to say that believing the Lord is near and letting our requests be made known to God means a pain or worry-free life. Not at all. But in all that happens, according to these verses we have access to a peace that is beyond what any pill or drink or drug can offer – no matter what is happening. It won’t change the circumstances, but it will alter how we deal, face and witness through.

A “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” What else can I add to that? Except to say that I have experienced it and it does…surpass all understanding. There is nothing like it. And I know many of you reading this have experienced it too. It is real.

This “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus,” is possible and something I think we are all in need of.

I know this guy who said to me one time, “All I want is peace.” That is great. We want that too. God wants us to have His peace too. It is waiting for us if we open ourselves to the Lord’s nearness and truly share and hand over our needs and hopes to Him.

Amen.

Discussion Questions

1. Name some things that are really stressing you out right now? After reading this, what can you do differently to deal with them?
2. Have you actually tried this before and not felt this peace? What happened? Did you really hand it over to God?
3. Are you tired of worrying? Have you become so used to it that it would feel strange not to worry?
4. Do you find it hard to believe the Lord is near? Why is that?
5. Have you felt this peace before? Can you describe it? If you haven’t, what do you think it might be like?

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