Desire, Moods, Prayer, Thirst, Worship

Playing Tag with God

1 Comment 22 February 2008

Scripture
My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” Psalm 27:8

Observation
More is recorded in the Old Testament about David than any other character and his name is the last name mentioned in the Bible. The reason why is condensed in this one verse: My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” What causes David to stand out among the three greats of the Old Testament was his relationship with the Lord and his ability to communicate that with others. Abraham had a friendship with God, but he related to God more like a business partner and we don’t see much of his heart. Moses saw God face to face, but we read more of the laws God gave him than their personal relationship.

David, however, left the windows and doors open to his most personal experiences of God so that we can enter into the same relationship ourselves.

It begins with God’s pursuit of David and of us. We are naive to think that we think of God first. The fact is, whenever we consider the Lord and desire him it is because he has been lonely for us. God desires conversation with us. He wants to talk with us.  He who is limitless wants to know about our finite lives; we who are bound are to be stretched into the boundless mind of God. God stoops low to meet with us and crouches into our existence because of his great love for us; we are carried further than the most distant star and deeper than the earth’s core when we enter into the mind of God.

What set David apart from most human beings is that he answered the call of God. He said, “Lord, I am coming.” He did not dismiss God with a yawn or place him on hold. He spontaneously bounded toward the Lord even as the Lord sprinted toward him. That is a relationship of love.  It was William Barclay who said, “The kingdom of God is not for the well intentioned but for the desperate.” There is one phrase that will keep us from knowing what David knew: “just a minute”. The presence of God is like a sunrise or sunset, for we have just a brief window to enjoy it. Often he will not linger to pander to our indifference.

Application
How many times in a day does the Lord nudge me with his presence? More than I consider. I cannot be passive; I must be active.  I must pursue him even as he pursues me.

Prayer
Father, today as I sense you playing tag with my soul, let me bound toward you. Amen.

Church, Holy Spirit, Thirst

Getting There Together

1 Comment 26 January 2008

Scripture
And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit.…Acts 2:4
“In the last days,” God says, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.” Acts 2:17

Observation
Most of us have a bathroom mirror experience of God for we see only how he affects our own individual life. When we have an encounter with the Lord we think of how it affects us and benefits our lives but not often of others.

God doesn’t see his touch on our lives in an individualistic way. Selfishness is unknown to God so he expects nothing less from us. The Lord vision is for all the members in a church to simultaneously experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Simultaneous experience was the way he worked at first in Jerusalem, then with Cornelius’ household in Ceasarea and finally at Ephesus. Communal experience of the Holy Spirit is God’s ideal.

So why is our corporate experience of God sometimes so ho-hum that we turn to worshipping God in the mirror of our self-centeredness?  We need to take lessons from the first Christians to be open for more.

For starters, they gathered together in Jerusalem, Casearea and Ephesus. We need to do more than just ‘go to church’ but make a choice to dissolve our importance and become part of the church. We are in this thing of following Jesus together so we will all get there together.

There was a sense of openness, vulnerability and approachability at Jerusalem, Casearea and Ephesus. In all three experiences God’s people were ‘all ears’. They were unexperienced and unaffected. They simply wanted more. What would happen if we could drop all of the theological hopscotch about the way the Holy Spirit works and simply come to church open and predisposed to say ‘yes’? Probably more would happen than we would expect.

They were obedient to take action with what God had given them to use. They spoke for God. They acted for God. They loved for God. There were no spectators. There were only participants. It is only as all of us in the congregation use what we have been given that a local church will come close to what God has in mind for them to achieve.

Application
I want more than an experience of the Holy Spirit, I want to be part of a congregation that corporately and continually is filled with the Spirit.

Prayer
Father, I come to you open and ask that you would navigate my life among those open to more of you. Amen.


I'm Phil McCallum, a husband, father and most of all one of the people Jesus loves. I'm privileged to serve Evergreen Community Church in Bothell, Washington as Senior Pastor where people love enough to believe "it's all about relationships." In 1982 I made a vow to read God's word daily and apply it to life. Each day I write out my reflections. Some days I post those on my blog. It's a little personal but it's my hope it will stir you to go deeper still. Learn how I do my devotions. These are my thoughts and not necessarily those of the ministry I serve. By the way check out the computer study Bible Glo. I highly recommend it.

© 2012 Deeper Still by phil mccallum. Powered by Wordpress.

Daily Edition Theme by WooThemes - Premium Wordpress Themes