The Present of Presence

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Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Presence is a gift. It is a present like none other. It is the gift of one spirit completely focused on another spirit. Love, Time and Talent are brought to focus in that singular moment. Presence is personal. Giving the gift of presence requires a mindful choice. We choose to be solely focused on a person or an experience in that moment. If there are distractions, we’ve not chosen to be present.

This is an age of distraction. Phones interrupt conversations. Work distracts from family. Social media replaces friendship. Electronics mindlessly absorb time. Parents ignore children in favor of Facebook. People text one another, while sitting across the table from each other. The art of letter writing is passing away. The craft of the personal phone call is on life support. The days of a personal visit to someone’s house, for some time with coffee on the porch, is thought to be odd.

Presence takes focus. A complete presence, giving all to another human being, for a period of time, is a present, a gift. When we focus a letter on someone, focus a phone call on someone, or focus a home visit on someone, we gift love to that person. We reach into our souls and extract a measure of love. That measure must come without strings. When we gift time to a person, we reach into the limited time that God has gifted to us and we extract a portion to spend on another.

Give the present of your presence to someone needing it today. In the end, it will not be the present that the child remembers, but the presence. It won’t be the compliment the spouse recalls, but the presence. It won’t be the praise the pastor treasures, but the presence.

When we’re called home, the Bible is quite clear. We won’t be judged on the presents we brought, but how present we were as we brought them. God won’t ask about the gift we gave, but about our heart as we gave it.

Our presents mean nothing to God in the absence of our presence.

Pastor Appreciation

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October is Pastor Appreciation month. Somewhere during that month, many churches celebrate by buying themselves dinner and giving the pastor a $50 gift card. The Hallmark card given has been passed around the church for four weeks, trying to collect the signatures of all the members. 

Why must there be a specific day to appreciate the pastor? Every Sunday, the pastor receives a present when the members are present. Their presence is valued more than their presents. He doesn’t count the money in the envelope, but the people in the seats. Ultimately, appreciation is not voiced but demonstrated. Compliments at the door fade. Promises to attend are hollow. People present is the only real gift.

Many pastors will receive cards and cash in October and November. The pastor will stand and thank the church, as he looks out on the half empty pews. He’ll look at the signatures in the card and find no matching face in the crowd. He’ll consider that the leaves are changing and many “needed a vacation”, while he’s had none in two years. He’ll remember that some had the sniffles earlier in the week, while he ignores the pain that’s wracked his back the whole week. He’ll see some in the week to come, because he understands the importance of “presence”.

In the end, presence shouts the volumes of appreciation that presents only whisper. He won’t remember the gift card in a month. He’ll remember the gift of your presence for months to come. Excuses are just that… excuses. Reasons to excuse our absence from the presence the pastor appreciates.

 

 

Be Inspiration

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1 Peter 3:4 rather let it (beauty) be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

When we can’t be the artist, we can be the artist’s inspiration. We can model the beauty, we can communicate the peace, we can echo the love that will inspire the artist.

Poets and songwriters write of love – flowing words and melodies that grab our heart and transport us into the emotion the artist is experiencing. Painters transform blank canvas into beautiful women using only paint, brush, and the inspiration held in heart.

The artist must have talent, this is true… but he must also have inspiration. She must have something that draws the music of the heart out. The talent is nothing without the inspiration. Inspiration, inspire, In Spirit – The Spirit inspires the art.

Artists exist in all mediums. There are artists leading business – they create the business using inspiration and talent. Artists lead non-profits – they’re inspired by a passion and create the non-profit to answer a societal gap.

When we cannot be the artist, we can provide inspiration for the artist. Being beauty, being God’s spirit in bodily form, being love and gentleness always – let the beauty inspire. I may have no talent to paint, but my love and encouragement may quicken the hand of the one who does.

World Versus Divine Value Stream

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Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Life is a balance of investments. We trade off between four basic areas each day, in every decision we make. Love, Time, Talent, and Money are being bartered in our effort to optimize this experience we call life.

Worldly design tells us to “go for the money”! Trade all love, time, and talent in pursuit of dollars. Build the bigger house, buy the nicer car, take the more lavish vacations. Invest all in pursuing what others will see and covet.

Divine design tells us “love is all that matters”! Use money, talents, time to amplify love. Focus on spouse, children, parents, neighbors, and strangers. Love your enemy. Do it all in secret and with pure motives. Give, with no thought to receiving.

Imagine a line extending between an endpoint on the left labeled “World” and an endpoint on the right labeled “Divine”. Our truth, what we will do, our focal point, lies somewhere along the line between the two extremes. As we move along this line, left to right, we become more personally invested.

When we consider Money, it’s almost purely of the world. It is very impersonal. The dollar bill I hold today will be in another hand tomorrow. To accumulate large wealth is not bad – to make it our focus is bad. To focus and sacrifice talent, time, and love (on the altar of life) to money shifts us away from the divine and toward the world. While we can trade love, talent, and time for money, we can’t trade money for talent, time, or love.

When we consider Talent, it’s more personal. No two people share the same talents. Though perhaps similar, each is unique. Talent is personal. Talent may be appreciated, but cannot be replicated. We trade talent for money, but no amount of money can buy talent. No amount of talent can be traded for time or love. When we trade talent for money, we are investing more personally than when we simply give money.

When we consider Time, this is even more personal. Time cannot be created. We each have a set amount each day. Giving time to someone or a cause means personal investment and other opportunities placed on hold. We trade time for money, we trade time to develop talent, but no amount of time can be traded for love.

When we consider Love, this is the most personal of all and is positioned on the divine end of our line. Love is completely unique. It is unlimited in capacity. You have only to look as far as the parent sacrificing all for the life of a child to understand this. Giving love means a purely personal investment. None of the other elements can be traded for love, but love is often cheapened in pursuit of the other elements. It is closest to divine.

Jesus warns us – value the most valuable most. Value love above all else. Fill the heart with love. Don’t trade the true gold of love in pursuit of trinkets and idols. In the end, Love will be the only treasure that follows us to heaven. All else will remain behind.

Encourager Truth

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Think of who seems to need your encouragement the least -Now, go encourage her orhim. Even the encourager needs encouragement.

We all know that one person who always lifts us up. He or she always seems to be on top of the world, a smile on the face, a kind word on the lips. Every phone call is treated as important. Every conversation is focused. We leave feeling better than when we arrived. We feel a different energy when we’re in this person’s presence. 

Sometimes we think that this person is “just like that”. He wakes every morning with that smile on his face. He drives every mile with a song in his heart. He has bluebirds circling his head, whistling their merry tune. After all, the energy we feel is drawn from a perpetual well of encouragement that fountains skyward like a geyser in Yellowstone, a fine mist of kindness drifting down on all around.

Some may be like this.

It’s more likely that this person chooses to place a smile on his or her face. It’s more likely that the encouragement comes from personal energy, a limited supply spent on those seeming to need it most. It’s more likely that this person feels more discouraged than those he’s encouraging. She chooses to lift rather than to be lifted. She chooses to add rather than subtract, even when it costs her personally. He decides to leave someone smiling in hopes that one day he will have reason to smile too.

Rest assured – even the encourager needs encouragement. Rest assured – a kind word, a thank you note, a encouraging letter, or a loving post is not lost on him. Rest assured – though you may not think about her, she considers you. 

Eventually, the fine mist raining down on all around will be revealed to not be an unlimited geyser at all, but love being drawn from a limited personal supply, a well drilled in the soul. When the mist stops, we see that we took for granted a true miracle of God and, in so doing, we drained the well. We chose not to fill it, but to drain it. We chose to soak up and never give back. We chose to only see our need and ignore the giver.

Choose carefully. Once the well is drained, refilling takes a while, if it ever happens at all. 

 

Stay Humble About Being Humble

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Luke 16:15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

As Christians, we are called to be humble. Humility is not a place we go, but a journey we take. It’s not a spot at the end of the road… it is the road. It’s not an easy road. Pride is a constant road hazard. Lust calls from the sides of the road, trying to draw us off.

Some are quick to proudly share how humble they’ve become in their walk. They’ll trumpet about how long they pray, how often they forgive, how much they’ve overcome persecution. They puff up as they talk of humility. They’re proud of being humble.

It’s important to stay humble about being humble. Pray in secret, in a prayer closet. Give in secret so even your left hand doesn’t know what your right hand is doing. Observe your walk with God, not to be seen by others, but to be in communion with God.

The moment we believe that we have become more humble than others, we are no longer humble. We are proud of our humility. When we feel that we are better than another, as we kneel to pray for him, we are no longer humble. When we give to another, while thinking critical thoughts of him, we are no longer humble.

God does not honor pride – in fact, Proverbs 6:17 has a proud look leading the list of seven abominations before God. God hates pride because it causes separation between our heart and His.

Stay humble about being humble. Pray for your enemy without telling him. Give to your neighbor secretly. Bear the criticism of others silently. Let God do your talking. He speaks louder than pride.

Evergreen Souls

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I heard a story not long ago about John Quincy Adams. Thomas Jefferson wrote him, inquiring of his well-being. John Adams was about 80 at the time, his walking wasn’t very good, and he was having a hard time seeing. I was so touched and encouraged by his response. He communicated so well how our spirit – our soul – our essence – who we really are – is quite separate from our physical condition. We can be very well, while our physical health isn’t so great.

John Adam wrote, “Thank you for asking. John Quincy Adams is well, sir, quite well indeed. I thank you so very much. But the house in which he lives at present is in disrepair. It is tottering upon the foundations. Time and the seasons have taken their toll upon it. Its roof is pretty well worn out, its walls are cracked, and it trembles when the wind blows. This old house is becoming almost uninhabitable, and I think John Quincy Adams will have to one day move out; but he himself is quite well, sir, quite well indeed. How very kind you are to ask.”

What a beautiful way to express that our souls in Christ are healthy, vibrant, and alive, even as our body is fading. My soul is evergreen! This world may cause my body to fade, but it cannot touch my soul, my essence, my inner self without my permission. 

2 Corinthians 5:1 describes our earthly body as a tent. “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” This tent, when we are in Christ, houses an Evergreen soul. Yes, physically we may be fading, but spiritually we are blooming!

Focus on the bloom – that’s where the beauty is found.

Being versus Doing

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Doing will never lead to Being, but Being always leads to Doing. Be your calling.

Many spend much time doing. They wake in the morning with a long list of things to do. This list fuels an anxiety driven day trying to do everything that they feel they are called to do. Visit enough, pray enough, read enough, pray some more, call or text enough, give enough, witness enough… all very good things to do, but are they God things to do?

At the end of the day, as we strike one more item off the To Do list, we see all the things we didn’t get done and feel tired, overwhelmed, shamed, guilty, angry, and, in extreme cases, like giving up. Pastors and Spirit Leaders are very susceptible to these feelings.

We will never Do enough to Be what God has purposed in our hearts. We will never work our way into a state of being. It is not the doing that creates the being, but the being that creates the doing. As Dr. Wayne Dyer so wonderfully said, “If we are what we do, when we don’t, we aren’t.” Let that one sink in.

God wants us to Be. We are to Be His child, Be His servant, Be His under-shepherd. God says “I Am”. We too must say, “I am.” When we realize who we truly are, the outflow of this sense of Being is the activity of Doing. Because we become our true purpose and operate each day from the place of our purpose, our priorities become aligned. The things we do come from our sense of Being. 

Being is a place of Spirit. Doing is an act in the world. When I sit confidently in who God has made me to be, I also flow confidently into what God would have me do. The actions are fueled by spirit and love – love for the Father. As we come from this place, we no longer seek the approval of people. We “did” something because God purposed it in our heart. Man’s approval is not required.

Take the time today to simply Be. Stop the frantic Do list for a couple of days and realign with God. Return to purpose and Be. Once there, the Do will flow naturally.

September 11th Lessons

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Today, let’s remember the love we had for one another, the support we offered one another, the bravery we showed one another, the generosity we extended to one another, and the unity we felt with one another. Let’s recall the love we had for our country on this day seventeen years ago. Let’s relive how we sought God and His protection. 

Too often, we focus on the hate, the cowardice, the loneliness, the greed, and the disunity. We focus on who and what we can fear rather than on the lessons of love that come from every occurrence. We allow our vision to be blurred with the politics and philosophies of division and hatefulness. 

Today is a day when we remember the best parts of America shining through the tragedy of September 11, 2001. May God bless America.