The other morning I was driving to campus and noticed that the flags on top of Lane Stadium were blowing in the wind.  Although I’ve driven by the stadium hundreds of times, for some reason on this particular morning, I noticed that the flags at the top were waving strongly in the blustery Blacksburg wind.  Something inside me jumped.  An unexpected sense of anticipation and excitement rose within me.  Seeing the flags reminded me of the excitement I felt last summer when I was learning to sail on Lake George.

When sailing, obviously the wind is necessary to go very far.  If you don’t have wind, you don’t sail.  It’s a fairly simple concept.  When I was first getting started, I learned how to position my boat in a way to most effectively capture the wind.  And after struggling for minutes (which felt like hours) there was something powerfully exciting when you saw a fluttering sail suddenly fill with air and then feel your boat lurch forward!  As simple as it sounds, when I was floating around Lake George struggling to find the direction of the wind, it was REALLY exciting to finally feel the sail catch the wind and my boat take off across the water.

Seeing the flags flying atop of Lane Stadium reminded me how the wind comes like a breath of fresh air, like something new has come alive.  It also made me think of how the Holy Spirit works.  Many times in the Bible, the Holy Spirit is described like wind or breath.  And just like when flags and sailboats move with the wind, you can’t always see the source, but you can see evidence of when and where it is moving.

As we pursue Christ and seek to bring God’s Kingdom here to earth, are we looking to see where the Spirit is moving?  Many times, we try this and that, without much thought to the Spirit.  But in reality, our efforts are maximized when we seek to find where the Spirit is already moving, and then join in.

So where do see the wind blowing?  Where do you see the Spirit moving?  How can you join in there?  Whenever you see flags flying or sailboats traversing, may you be reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit.

~David McCann, Staff

Road to Emmaus – ‘did not our hearts burn when he opened the scriptures to us?’

A few weeks ago I was reading through the gospel accounts of Jesus after his resurrection. The famous interaction between Jesus and the disciples on their way to Emmaus in Luke 24 stuck out to me anew. If you’re unfamiliar, two men leaving Jerusalem are troubled by the events that have unfolded during the Passover, especially the gruesome crucifixion of the man they followed, Jesus. They encounter a stranger who walks with them along the way. Unbeknownst to them, this man is himself the risen Jesus. He begins to explain to them the scriptures regarding the Messiah and about the events that happened. They invite him to dinner and as Jesus breaks the bread, they suddenly recognize him and he disappears from their sight. They turn to each other in amazement and begin to run, AT NIGHT, back to Jerusalem to tell the others. Two things stick out to me from this amazing encounter. First, this verse –  “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”” (Luke 24:32) Second, their immediate response through obedience.

“Were not our hearts burning within us…”

Perhaps we can relate to these men. Buzzing after an encounter with the risen Savior they leave changed, uplifted, mesmerized. I sometimes can fall into the trap as a church staff member of wanting to create these moments for the congregation. I want them to experience that “heart-burning” sensation when they read the Word, or hear the Gospel, or in their prayer and reflective times. I cannot create these on my own. That’s a good thing – I’m not God.

However I can, hopefully, help foster receptive hearts and responsive wills to the word of God. Diving into the spiritual disciples myself can create a more attentive heart, and I can encourage those around me to do the same.

But… the disciples who encountered Jesus weren’t just suddenly “in-tune”. They didn’t just continue on their merry way home to prepare for the week ahead. They left and immediately went back to Jerusalem to share their news.

When we encounter Jesus, whether it’s a moment while reading scripture, a word from prayer or reflection, or in the serving of others – we must respond.

We must be aware that our culture desires us to limit our faith experiences to behind closed doors occurrences on Sunday mornings, and compartmentalize our worship – setting it aside for “real life” throughout the week. Too many times we may have an amazing encounter with Christ, only to say “wow,” and move on as if that’s it.

But that’s not what following Jesus looks like.

There must be a moment when our belief becomes reality. Where our knowledge becomes action. Where hearing becomes obedience.

Perhaps Jesus famous proclamation in Mark 1:15 of “the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the good news” could be even further simplified as “hear the good news of the Kingdom and respond!” Listen and obey!

In Luke 6, drives this point home.

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

[Luke 6:46ff – emphasis mine]

These words are strong, because they matter. The disciples along the road recognized this, and obeyed.

That’s actually another piece of this encounter that stands out. The disciples hear and respond in congruence – together. The best way to heed Jesus’ call on our lives is within a community. Whether it’s one or several hundred people. Our commitment to our brothers and sisters in Christ allows us to be a part of this community that stretches back two thousand years. We can’t do this alone!

The encounter along the road to Emmaus is a great passage of scripture that helps place us in that very real time Jesus walked around this earth resurrected. The text speaks to us just as Jesus did to the disciples – here I am! It’s really me! Now go and do!

What can we understand from this passage of scripture?

1. Learn to recognize the “heart-burning.” Become adept at listening to the voice and seeing the movement of the Spirit in our midst.
2. Respond with obedience – immediately. Don’t hesitate when we sense the need for a response.
3. Respond together. Dive into a community of believers that can challenge, push, pull, and encourage you. And do the same for them. That’s why we emphasize over and over again the importance of small groups, Engage Groups, and programs like summer Leadership Training.

~Robbie Poff, NLCF Staff

♬ I Believe in Miracles… ♬

The other day a friend asked me if I had ever witnessed a miracle, and immediately my head started to run through any stories I could recall of some crazy healing or unbelievable provision from the Lord. These kinds of miracles are scattered throughout the Gospels. Especially in Mark, it seems like Jesus could barely eat a meal without being interrupted to cure leprosy or blindness or even death. I don’t know about you, but these are the things my mind jumps to when asked about miracles.

There’s a story in Mark 2, though, about a paralyzed man who gets dropped through the roof of a house by his friends so that Jesus could heal him. These people had heard about all the things Jesus had been doing, and they wanted their friend to experience a miracle first hand. What’s interesting about this story is that Jesus doesn’t immediately say, “Stand up, pick up your mat and walk out of here.” Instead, he first says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” In the midst of all these crazy miracles Jesus is performing, Mark points our attention to something even crazier: Jesus can wipe away all our sins. It’s not that this guy was paralyzed because he sinned a lot and therefore he must be forgiven before he could be healed. Jesus was simply getting straight to the heart of the issue: the common root of all pain and suffering is humanity’s sinful condition. And Jesus says, “I can fix that. I’m going to make it right.” One pastor said it like this, “Forgiveness is the greatest miracle that Jesus ever performs. It meets the greatest need (we’re dead in sin without it); it costs the greatest price (Jesus’s death on the cross); and it brings the greatest blessing (reconciliation with God and becoming part of his family) and the most lasting results (life eternal).”

I don’t think miracles are as rare as we make them out to be. They are happening every single day when a sister forgives her family for not listening to her hurts, when a friend forgives a roommate for being petty with the chores, when a son forgives his dad for not being more present, when a traveler forgives airport security for racially profiling her. This is the Gospel at work. These are all just small tastes of the greatest miracle ever: forgiveness given through Jesus Christ. I need this miracle. And I want to be a part of bringing this miracle to others. So often, though, I choose to hold on to faults or wrongs because it gives me the feeling of power. Remember when we wanted a miracle to be hard? Well, forgiveness certainly fits that description. I don’t have an easy answer for this, but if I’m serious about bringing God’s Kingdom here and proclaiming Good News, I have to get serious about forgiving. I have to humbly submit to the way of Jesus and trust my little miracles of forgiveness are pointing people to the greatest miracle ever.

~Meg Hearl, NLCF Staff

The Lord has led me to focus on prayer this summer. Prayer has been something that always confused me.  I generally understand how to pray in public and how to have a conversation with the Lord, however, I always feel like I’ve been missing something in my prayer life. It feels incomplete. Therefore, this summer, I am reading a book called “A Guidebook to Prayer” by MaryKate Morse (whom I had the privilege of hearing at the Missio Alliance conference in April).

One of the first chapters is on Creative Prayer.  This concept began to shift my view of prayer.  I used to see it as something I need to schedule to do and it needs to be my sole focus during that time.  I now understand how while that is one way to pray, it is not all there is.  When I invite God into something I am already doing that is creative, whether cooking, painting, singing, etc I get to enjoy community with Him in that space.  “By being creative we allow God to open up areas of our lives that are not controlled or managed” (p 35). By engaging with Him in something I am already doing, not only am I “killing two birds with one stone” (something I really love doing) but I am learning how to pray without ceasing, how to truly live my life in constant communication with the Spirit.

“Creative prayer requires solitude… Solitude requires that we get rid of the scaffolding we often use to prop up our lives. Constant connection equals constant distraction. In solitude there are no friends to talk to, no meetings and no internet access… Solitude gives us ‘negative space.’ In art negative space is the place where there is nothing, no color or line. In Japan the word is ma meaning pause or gap…. Therefore, creative prayer needs space in both time where there are no distractions and place where there is no intrusion.  The result of solitude is compassion” (p 36-37).

As an extremely extroverted individual, solitude can be challenging.  But shifting my focus and allowing creative prayer to be a time where I engage in something I enjoy and focus on God as my partner who is actually creating with me and guiding me throughout the process, changed my view of solitude. I thoroughly enjoy being in His presence and doing something we both love to do. I encounter such incredible peace and joy with each experience.

~Anna Gibbs, NLCF Staff

I was driving down the road the other day when a familiar scenario played out.  I pulled up behind a line of cars at a busy traffic light and there was a man there with a sign reading something along the lines of, “Hungry family, no job.”  A twinge of guilt and confusion hit my gut.  He was taking cash handouts from the cars in front of me and I began a slight panic of wondering what to do.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who has faced situations like this.  But the question often arises, what do you do?  Obviously, we can’t tackle this whole topic in one blog post, but let’s hit the highlights.

There’s an old saying, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”  These are essentially the two viewpoints of “simply giving, no questions asked” vs “giving wisely and investing in long-term solutions”.  To put it shortly, I think there is the time and place for both; to “give fish”, as well as to “teach to fish”.

“Give a man a fish…”  You meet a homeless man who clearly could use a hot meal. You go eat with him and then part ways.  Your gift of a meal was a good thing.  There was a direct “emergency” need that you helped meet.  The main downside to this perspective is that it is short-term.  Most often when we see poverty, the problem runs deeper than a single meal or a $20 bill.  Sometimes, when a short-term giving perspective takes over our entire thinking, people can become dependent, and all sense of self-motivation goes away.

“Teach a man to fish…”  Honestly, giving a fish is much easier than teaching someone to fish.  Teaching someone to fish involves helping in a long-term, sustainable format.  What could this look like?  If you have regular encounters with a particular individual, this involves lots of conversation and building a relationship with the person.  With time comes trust.  The more time you spend with someone, the more trust is built, and the more honest conversations can be had about moving forward out of poverty. This might also include finding out what long-term aid programs are available in your area that are designed to help people find jobs, housing, etc.  Once you know what programs are available, you can then invite someone you meet to walk with you to the program office.  Obviously, this “teaching” route is more involved, but often this is what truly helps in the long run.

At the end of the day, Jesus calls us to love everyone, care for those around us, and give to the poor.  When you feel the tension of giving someone a $20 bill or investing in a long-term relationship, I recommend praying and seeking the Spirit’s direction…then move.  When you encounter poverty, do you ignore it, or do something?

~David McCann, NLCF Staff

Currently, I’m sitting in a mix of emotions and unknowns. Being 39 weeks pregnant, feeling the weight of things that would be *helpful* to get done sooner than later while anticipating an imminent – unclear – AND awesome deadline … I’m at the mercy of feelings that might come as quickly as they might go. And it’s all rather tiring if I’m honest.

I get that not many readers would be in my boat currently, yet I imagine there are many of us who are in a time of transition – stepping into college for the first time, transferring, graduated and seeking what’s next, and everywhere in between.  Any time of transition comes with a degree of uncertainty and with that – if I’m not entirely crazy – the opportunity for thoughts and feelings to get tossed around a bit.  We find ourselves standing at the edge ready to embark upon a myriad of unknowns … Excited at what the future holds … Curious if we’re up to the task.  

When I get to these places, I am most grateful for the way I am met by the tenderness of God. It is here that I am ministered to! Just as long as I’m willing to, for long enough, silence my voice (and the freak outs) and hear the knowing voice of my Creator.

In the midst of whirlwind-like timelines and expectations, God’s steadfastness remains constant. And I’m reminded of that! In His care for His children, He reminds us that He is constant and faithful and trustworthy. (Hosea 6.3 — as surely as the sun rises, he will appear) But even more intimately, while I see those things written in Scripture about His character, I am drawn in by the invitation He extends to rest. To just be and be with … Him. *releasing sigh*

Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6.31

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46.10

This is God’s invitation not to sleep or lounge around, but to settle into the constant, steady, unending peace & rest in the bigness & power of Christ. A rest that comes with the reality that more is accomplished in God’s rest than in man’s work. This is the most life-giving place that we can be established in — the way that gives way for us to engage and navigate through the surrounding, imminent, and exciting whirlwind.

My prayer in this transition has been that I would have the wisdom to heed this invitation, even if just in my own spirit, even for just a moment. That I would seek peace and pursue it. And so I put that out there, so YOU are reminded that the invitation is yours too. HE is our steadfast. I am not at the center of it all – He is. And, praise the Lord for THAT! *praise hands emoji*

~Kristal Poff, NLCF Staff