Tag: God

Top 10 Places To Connect With God…

Realizing that I like to do Top 10 lists here is another one for us. The top ten places I connect with God, which aren’t in any real particular order.

Place #10: Wherever Hudson – My Son – Is

Jesus says that we can learn a lot from children about his Kingdom and I’ve found this to be so true in and through Hudson.

Place #9: Mountains

Krista and I in Banff

I want to live on a mountain. I just feel close to God.  I have wonder and awe all-over. Connecting and mountains go hand-in-hand for me.

Place #8: Around the Dinner Table

Top 10 Meals I've Had: Eating at an Outdoor Seafood Cafe, in Dubrovnik with Krista

Its no surprise that Jesus instituted a meal to remember him. Meals are times of connection, fun, discussion, and dialogue. And for me I often feel closest to God with friends, food, and drinks around a table.

Place #7: Church Buildings

The church isn’t a building, it’s people. But even still I often feel like I can connect with God in a space that is regularly used for prayer and worship. Any place where people continually invite God’s presence to rest, is a place where I find God.

Place #6: Sunrises – Anywhere…

If I’m up for a sunrise it also means I have coffee, and there is something about having some stillness, seeing God’s creation, and listening that makes me feel close to God. Maybe you’ve felt the same thing.

Place #5: Around Art

Being around things of depth and beauty helps me to connect with God. I love good art whether photographs, pictures, or anything else. Has this ever happened to you? Seeing a picture of beauty that draws you closer to God? Here’s one of my favorites by Rembrandt. What’s yours?

Place #4: Serving

Somehow when you serve, volunteer, or give I feel connected to God. It’s simple why that is. Because when I do that, I’m acting like Jesus and so connecting with him.

Place #3: The Bible

The Bible isn’t a place so much as a conversation. But that’s where I connect with God in his conversation with me, often started whenever I read his word.

Place #2: In Silence

In the beginning God spoke and brought everything into existence, except us. We were brought into being in silence. And in deep silence I connect with God.

Place #1: In Everyday Life

I most often connect with God in everyday life. For me God isn’t removed but active. And it’s amazing how often he shows up when you’re looking for him in your day. Maybe in a conversation, an interruption, a brief moment. But he is there.

So what about you? What would you add or change in my list?

by Andrew Mills

Speaking New Things Into Being…

While out for lunch with someone the other day, I simply shared a few thoughts about where they were at. I was trying to simply understand their space, and maybe give some words to what they were feeling. When this happened it was like an understanding or world opened up for them. They said, “that’s it exactly”. It’s as if words opened up space for understanding, acceptance, and new meaning.

I’ve often pondered over Genesis 1. God creates with words. I’ve often wondered how his words have so much power, or how he could create something through speech. I no longer wonder about this.

Words have power. And when you listen, share, and speak something into someone else’s life it can breathe life – literally. Words have the power to create, to open up new understanding, new worlds, and new life. Sitting at a table drinking coffee and talking a few days ago confirmed that to me. The simple act of sharing deep conversation opened up new possibilities. In the Bible James teaches us about the tongue and how words can be used to hurt, and harm. But the flipside is true too. Words can be used to create hope and health.

So the question then is what are your words doing? Creating life, heath, and hope? Because words have power.

So today listen, and share deeply. Use your words to create, give life, and in this way follow the model of God in Genesis 1. Speak new life into being for someone today, and see what happens…

by Andrew Mills

Go and Make Disciples…being #missional

This past Sunday I left the challenge to go and make disciples, as a way of life. You can hear the sermon here.

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gathers his disciples together for one last time. What he doesn’t leave them with is a reminder to pray. He doesn’t remind them to be holy. He doesn’t really remind them about what he’s taught them. Instead what he leaves with them is an invitation. An invitation to adventure, mission, and to go out into the world and make disciples. And he leaves behind one promise: “I will be with you”. He doesn’t tell the disciples how to make more disciples. He doesn’t leave behind a 7-step process. What he gives to them is an invitation and a promise.

And isn’t that all we need? An invitation to partner with God in his mission, and promise that he will partner with us. We’re given an invitation and promise that Jesus will be with guiding us, shaping us, and leading us as we follow God on mission.

The question is: are you going to accept his invitation and promise?

For me and my family we’ve made the deiscion to accept both the promise and invitaiton this year to make disicples. We are going to make 2012 a year of making disciples, living out Jesus command and believing in his promise. What about you?

I’m excited to see how this year unfolds and what God does. So this year I’ll be sharing stories of how it’s going for me. And I’d love to hear yours as well!

Discussion Questions: Here are the discussion questions that came from Sunday in case you missed them:

  • Adult Questions
  • Are you ready and willing to follow Jesus in making disciples?
  • How might you start to make disciples?
  • What excites you about making disciples? What maybe makes you a bit nervous about making disciples?
  • Who might help you stay accountable in your decision?
  • Questions for Young Families
  • Talk with your kids and share about how God invites us to join him in helping people find and follow God. Ask them if they are willing to help people find and follow God. Ask them what friends you, as a family, can pray that they might become a disciple of Jesus? Spend some time praying as a family.
by Andrew Mills

My Top 10 Lessons I’ve Learned… Part 3

Here are the last 2 lessons I’ve learned this year.

Lesson #2: God Leads One Step at a Time

We often love to know the destination. But the life of faith isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. And what I’ve learned is that God reveals the next step but often not the destination. He asks me to trust him, in that as I walk with him, He always shows me the next step and asks me to trust him with that. And I’m learning to do just that.

Lesson #1: God is Certain

So much in our lives feels uncertain. As we look forward into the next year I don’t know what it holds. Maybe you too have some uncertainty in your life. You might not know what’s going to happen with your job, family, personal life or health. But what I’ve learned is that while I’m often uncertain about what the future holds: God isn’t. He is certain. He is steady and true. And he promises us that the future in front of us is good. This doesn’t mean easy and perfect. It means good. It means that he will cause everything good, bad, and boring to come together for good (Romans 8:28). God’s future for you and for me is full of hope, promise and more than we could ever hope, dream or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). So I’m learning to trust in that.

So I guess the only last question is to ask – what’s the next step God is leading you to take to reach your certain future? What is he asking you to do? Maybe today is the day to take that step.

by Andrew Mills

My Top 10 Lessons I’ve Learned… Part 2

Here are the next three lessons I’ve learned this year.

Lesson #5: God’s Love is Unconditional

This is something I’ve known, but this year experinced in a deeper way than before. With a son, whom I love so deeply for no reason other than he’s worth loving, I’m starting to get a glimpse into what God feels for us. This in reality is really changing me this year.

Lesson #4: God sees Us as Holy

This has been an amazing learning, that once you come to know Christ God sees you as holy. You are not a sinner, but saint in God’s eyes. Go and check it out yourself. Read the Bible and discover that what defines us isn’t sin but Jesus Christ within us. So this year I’m focusing on reminding people who they are in Christ, not what they need to do. My theological hunch is that the more we focus on who we actually are, the easier it will be to actually live that out.

Lesson #3: Grace is Costly

Grace is freely given, but that grace costs. I’ve learned this year that grace is hard to give, it isn’t cheap. We love to give grace to people who deserve it, but God gives it to us, those of us who don’t deserve it. And we should do the same. To give grace to those who hurt us, who know better, who won’t accept any responsibility for their actions. We don’t do this because it’s easy, but because it’s godly. This doesn’t mean excusing the hurt that was caused, but recognizing the depth of the hurt and still choosing to show grace. This is the high road, and high roads are hard. But that’s also where you’ll find God and Jesus walking with you.

For me these were three amazing lessons to learn. The first two were great to learn, the last one no one wants to have to learn. But each made me a better person I believe.

What have you learned over the past year that’s made you a better person?

Would you share it with us?

by Andrew Mills

Making a Top Ten List…

This upcoming Sunday is the first day of the new year. It’s a time to look forward to what’s coming and to reflect on what’s happened.

If we don’t reflect we run the risk of not realizing how we’ve grown, how we’ve changed, and how God’s spoken to us. There is an old spiritual technique called the Ignatian Examen. But in a simplified version you simply look back over a period of time and ask yourself these questions:

  • When did I feel closest to God? When did I feel farthest from him?
  • When did I feel full of generosity and grace? When didn’t I feel generous and gracious?
  • Where did I notice God in the past year? When did I fail to notice him?
I’d invite you to simply do that. Take some time and reflect on what God taught you this year. I’ve done that and have come up with a Top 10 list of lessons I’ve learned about God this year. And I’ll share them with you all next week.
But what about you? What has God taught you this year? What’s your top ten list?
I’ll share my list, but I’d love to hear a few of them off of your list!
Because maybe what God has taught you, you can teach me…
by Andrew Mills

Messy Spirituality

After an amazing children’s program on Sunday I thought I’d share something I’ve learned from my child.

My personal style or aesthetic is clean, simple, and modern. This is just me. I love working with clean lines and in clean spaces. My son has not inherited this trait. This is him after being home in a spotless house for under five minutes.

How is it that something that was so clean becomes so messy so quick? But this is my life…messy. So I do what any good parent does. I wade into the mess, into the toys, and sit and play with my son.

And God isn’t any different with any of us.

He enters into our mess, plays with us, and helps us clean it up.

So today if your life is feeling a bit messy and you’re stressed about Christmas or any number of other things; if your life is simply not feeling put together – just know this: God is with you, present in our messy lives.

He’s there. Just like how I sat and was with Hudson, God’s wherever you are today. He is with you.

My style may be to prefer clean spaces but that’s not God’s style.

God’s style is to simply be wherever you are…and isn’t that what we need anyway?

by Andrew Mills

Failing Confidence…Finding God…

Yesterday when is spoke I didn’t feel confident. I didn’t feel I did well, that I let myself down. To be honest I don’t know why.  I prepared, prayed, and did my best. I know that others when they preach have sometimes a similar reaction afterwards. Knowing all of that should be enough. But it doesn’t feel like enough…

That’s the hard thing with confidence. Sometimes things don’t feel right. You don’t feel confident, you feel like someone else could have done better, or you feel just off.

But isn’t that the problem? Confidence shouldn’t be based on my feelings, my abilities, my perceptions, or me at all. It should be based on God. But what does that really mean?

Well maybe it’s this simple. That when God decides to use us, we simply trust in his decision. We may not feel like we did the best. We may feel like we could have done better. But I think our feelings lead us astray. Our feelings often focus us on ourselves, doubts, and self-perceptions. They focus us…on us…rather than on God who wants to use us.

So maybe being confident is actually very simple. Simply trusting in the God who wants to use you. The God who wants to use our imperfect, unsure, and limited but desiring selves.

God chooses to use you…as you are…knowing who you are.

So maybe then today just rest in that. That God, knowing your limitations, is still wanting and choosing you. He trusts you.  And if he trusts us, shouldn’t we trust ourselves? Shouldn’t we trust in his choice, and leave the rest up to him? That’s what I’m going to do on Sunday. Just trust in him, and leave it up to him.

Maybe take some time today and simply decide to trust in God, and see where that takes you.

My guess is that it will take you quite far…

by Andrew Mills

How Do You Connect With God?…

On Sunday were going to be focusing on one key part of following Jesus: our relationship with him. If we are going to follow Jesus we need to have a strong, deep, and vibrant life with him. The question is, how do we do that? How do we ensure our relationship with him stays strong? How do we stop drifting apart?

In essence, on Sunday I want to share how to keep a strong connection with God.

Which leads me to my post for today. Take a moment and think and reflect in your own life: how do you connect with God?

What is it that’s apart of your life that helps you to stay grounded with him? What practices, rhythms, or acitivites do you do to connect with him? All of us are diverse; our personalities, preferences, and particulars differ. So the ways in which we connect with God as also diverse.

So my challenge for today is simply to do this. Take time and reflect on your life and how you intentionally connect with him.

  • What strengthens your relationship?
  • What gives it new depth and meaning?
  • What have you found helpful in keeping your connection strong?

And then if you can, comment, email me, or facebook me about how you connect with God.

Because your way of connecting maybe just the encouragement or inspiration for someone else…

by Andrew Mills