Musings with PWC

As a certified spiritual director I spend time with clients on a one to one basis.  The one common thread I find in all my ministry with clients (directees) is as follows.  Most have difficulty on the ‘relationship’ level with God.  Now let me explain briefly.  This doesn’t mean they are not followers of Christ, are not saved, not born again, not a Christian—or whatever introductory level of commitment language you choose to use.  But what it does mean is that after the initial conversion experience, outside of a couple of basic things, people are stuck.  The basic things most of my directees get are going to church and stopping noticeable sins.  But after that…they are stuck. Hello coronavirus!  This now presents a HUGE problem to us in every conceivable way.  Most are watching the news channels to find out the latest concerns.  This coronavirus is affecting us powerfully!  Forced closings, financial issues, sickness, and...

Pursuing Christ Ecclesiastes 1:17 So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly.  But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.  Lord, deep within there is a settled peace and understanding— pursue only Christ,  pursue God— and all will be well. Jesus, you said, Seek FIRST the kingdom of heaven. But Lord there is another voice— It is the voice of culture,  It is the voice of my flesh, It is even the voice of demons… This is what they are saying: Pursue knowledge. Pursue possessions. Pursue success. Pursue position. Pursue relationships. Pursue advancement. Pursue money. Pursue security. Pursue contentment. Pursue bigger. Pursue better. And here Solomon screams at me—-pursuing all this is like chasing the wind. Those things do not satisfy. Those things are empty. Those things are draining. Those thing are circular. David said: ...

Learning to be a giver—is just that—a learning experience. We begin with learning to give consistently…working our giving up to a tithe of our income as we noted in Am I required by God to Tithe : http://pwcusick.blogspot.com/2019/12/am-i-required-by-god-to-tithe.html Then our next step is understanding the idea of Sowing Seed.   http://pwcusick.blogspot.com/2020/01/sowing-seed.html Again it is the idea of learning to give…moving into the realm of generosity. This last step in giving elevates giving into the realm of worship.   Giving As Worship. This realm of giving elevates giving into a new realm.  There are a couple of scriptural texts that tell stories of this kind of giving. The Tabernacle. When the tabernacle was being built—it required items:  gold, silver, garments, and various items needed for construction.   Exodus tells us two significant things. # 1.  People gave from their hearts:...