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As many of you know our church has decided to dedicate the first three weeks of 2010 to fast and pray. This is a significant time…a time of beginning –the first of 2010 and also the first of a new decade. In prolonged seasons of praying it is not uncommon to be led to a specific passage of scripture that resonates with your spirit. For Chris (my wife) and I Psalm 66 was the passage for us. I’ve enjoyed a solid season of praying this Psalm into our lives, marriage, and children. I was particularly struck by verses 10-12 (Psalm 66:10-12) – the idea of God bringing us to a “place of abundance” after a season of being refined as silver. The Lord is so faithful and good…no matter what your trial…he brings us through it, he can be relied upon and on the other side we more clearly reflect his image.

                  Psalm 66:1-5                   

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.

There isn’t an easy or pat answer to maintaining balance in your life. Sometimes I think that Christians overate “balance”. It’s not so much about balance as it is about boundaries…living your life in such a way that the Holy Spirit is un- quenched and un-grieved in all your relationships/endeavors.

Practice life and ministry out of the intimacy of your relationship with the Trinity –just like Jesus did. In reading the gospels it often looked like Jesus life was out of balance…yet he only did what the Father told him to…he lived his life out of the overflow of his relationship with the Father.

My sails are set to enter this New Year and New Decade more in step with the Spirit of God and less in step with my own efforts. I’ve opened my journal to you today…below is my entry for this last day of 2009.

The spiritual life is not journeyed by following a set of formula’s but much more by listening to and keeping in rhythm with the voice of the Spirit. Romans 7:6 talks about this New Way…appropriate for a New Year.
Following a formula doesn’t always lead to a predicted outcome. The Christian life just isn’t that simple. Sometimes, a child raised in a godly family will turn off the path…an expression of their own free will. Tithing doesn’t always lead to financial prosperity – just like God doesn’t always protect His children from calamity, illness, death, and injustice. A mindset that is formula driven is set up for big disappointment – bad things happen to good people…you know, people who follow the rules.

A formula life is life under the Law – a spiritual life is life, unpredictably blown about by the Spirit – a life that flows, moves, keeps in step with the rhythms of the Holy Spirit. A formula paradigm (i.e. 2+2 =4) is a religious life but not a spiritual life…and thus when the blows (unbelievable hardships) of life hit (i.e. 2+2=5) the religious life and formulas no longer work. Unfortunately, the religious life responds by either quitting (entering the world of status quo) or worse becomes more resolute in attempting to make the formulas work.

God is about relationship, communion and partnership in his Kingdom work – I enter 2010, sails set, to navigate uncharted waters…as the winds of the Spirit lead.