Tamara Buchan
Time 2021-11-12 22:06:42Web Name: Tamara Buchan
WebSite: http://www.missiolux.blogspot.com
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keywords: description:Fairy Circle: a circle of new trees created from the death of a parent treeLast week our family went to Armstrong Woods to see a vastforest of giant redwood trees. One of the reasons redwoods can become so tall(some 330 feet) is because their roots systems intertwine underground. I read about fairy circles in the forest, discovering a fairy circle comes from a parent tree which dies. Intheprocess it sends out redwood shoots in a circle which result in the birth ofmany new trees. As I observed thesefairy circles, I sensed the Lord say to me, This is the picture of what istaking place in Missio Lux. The parent tree must die, but in the process theshoots will thrive and continue to significantly impact my kingdom.
It is with deep sadness, and yet a sense of gratefulness andjoy over the many shoots created through Missio Lux ministry, that Missio Luxas an organization will cease operation.However, in the death of the organization, we recognize we have beenimpacted by the relationships and the sense of family created in MissioLux.
5 comments: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 Turning our D's into P'sDs and Ps. They keep rolling around my head as the smaller letters: d and p. When you look at them its easy to see that they are direct opposites. But, when you turn a d around it becomes a p. Why is this important? Its not the letters themselves but the words they represent that alert me to a reality of direct opposites, yet when the d is turned around, it becomes a p!
Think about it, the letter d begins the name of our enemy: Devil. The letter ps points us to our Savior: Prince of Peace. I realize the ds start words such as doubt, despair, destruction, disabled, discouragement, and depression which lead to death. The ps lead me into life: peace, protection, provision, promise, power and perseverance. Who is the author of the d words? Of course, the Devil himself. Who is the creator of the life giving p words? Our Prince of Peace, the Son of the Living God.
Ive been considering the reality of our ability to take a d in our life and to turn and face the Prince of Peace to partner with him to make the ds our ps. Two of the most devastating realities for people in the 21st century is depression and despair. When the Devil gets us to believe that life will never change, we are chained into a prison of despair, no hope exists for breakthrough, we often find ourselves sinking into depression. But, when we take our despair and depression and bring it before the Prince of Peace, we are able to experience the ds becoming ps of peace and promise.
The transformation journey has ten stops en route to wholeness and freedom. Most Americans, according to the research, never get beyond stop three (awareness and concern about sin and its effects, but not cooperating with Christ to alleviate that problem). Among those who become born again Christians, most never move past stop five (i.e., having invited Christ to be their savior and then engaging in a lot of religious activity). In other words, a majority of the American public never reaches the second half of the stops on the journey to wholeness.
The research actually indicates that only 2% of Jesus followers ever get to stop 9 and 10; the place where people live in peace, productivity and power, rather than doubt, despair and destruction.
How can this be? I spend a lot of time thinking about it because following Jesus is my life passion and pursuit. I am also privileged enough to also engage pursuit and passionate work helping others live a life of peace, protection, provision, promise, pleasure, passion, perseverance and power partnering with the Prince of Peace.
The question I wonder is, which life do you want?
Doubt, despair, depression, destruction, disablement, discouragement or Peace, power, perseverance, provision, protection, passion, pleasure and promise.
When we discover that our focus has been on the author of the ds, or living in a d place of destruction, despair, depression and doubt, we take time to observe, reflect and discuss the root of the d, and the ability to turn it around so that it becomes a p in our life. This is called repentance which only means to turn around and go another direction. The d becomes a p as we turn it around.it faces another direction.The good news about the turn of ds to ps in Missio Lux is that we dont do it alone. We have the power of the Prince of Peace to make it happen and the support of a loving community. It happens through yet another life giving word: prayer. Prayer is our communion with the One who loved us so much he couldnt live without us. Prayer is the place where our body, our mind and our emotions come into peace. Prayer is what reminds us we are protected and provided for; prayer brings us passion and pleasure, as we persevere through the challenge of ds.
This High Priest of ours, the Prince of Peace, understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. The challenge is whether we want the life Jesus came to give us enough to fight for it. Will we do the work to repent, or change our direction? Will we seek out a loving community who will walk with us in our journey from the ds to the ps? Will we share what we are experiencing with others, so they can live in freedom too? Will we pray often, setting aside sacred time with the Prince of Peace, so that our minds become permeated, another p, with his presence and power?Heres my challenge to you:1. Make an intentional decision to set aside three days to do a mental audit of your thoughts. Carry around a notebook or a recorder so when a thought pops up, you can decide, is this a d thought or a life thought? when you decide, record it as a d or p.
2. At the end of the three days, count up how many ds and ps you have. Are they equal in number, or way out of balance?
3. Ask yourself if they are equal, Is this the life I want to live, or are too many of my thoughts dominated by the prince of death? If they are way out of balance on the d side, take immediate action and find a Celebrate Recovery or a Healing Prayer ministry, www.missiolux.org where you can find others who are intentionally facing their ds head on and partnering with Prince of Peace to turn them into ps.
4. Celebrate if you have a disproportion of ps. This indicates you are living a life the Prince of Peace invites you to live. It also means you have the privilege and responsibility to take your life and multiply it into others. Jesus told us in John 15:7-8:If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Fathers glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
When we intentionally commit ourselves to partner with Prince of Peace to help support, encourage and equip others, the Father is filled with pleasure and in return, releases his pleasure into us. I dream of a world where the ds have no more power because the ps are so filled with life which entices us to live the life Jesus came to give us.
As Ive grown in my identity as a beloved child of my Heavenly Father, Ive begun to realize my interaction with my young children mirrors the interaction I have with my heavenly daddy. He, too, delights to please me because of the joy it gives me to experience his answer. Its cylical too: the more I express my delight, the more he loves to give me his gifts. This reality is even in Scripture when Jesus expresses, If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him (Matthew 7:11)
Ive been praying a Scripture out of 1st Timothy 6 that almost always causes my spirit to leap up, Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment! There it is in print: our heavenly father richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Do we believe this?
Do I believe this? I think for a long time my view of the Heavenly Father was one of withholding. I thought he would withhold from me because it was good for my character, or I had disappointed him, or someone else deserved it more. Its taken me time to move into the mindset where I firmly believe he wants to please me. He just wants to please me. Wow, this makes my relationship with my heavenly father a lot more enjoyable. Just like my time with my young daughters; it was more enjoyable for me when I was telling them yes, I want to please you, rather than a no or come back later or just a minute.
I often wonder why it is such a struggle to stay on the side of believing our heavenly father wants to please us. But, when I take time to explore it, I remember Adam and Eve and their interaction with the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The serpent so brilliantly planted the seed of doubt in their minds: Your God doesnt want to please you, hes holding out on you by telling you not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He caused Adam and Eve to begin to mistrust Gods good intentions for them. His strategy worked so well, hes been using it on the rest of humanity ever since!
So, you may ask, how do we begin to experience our heavenly father showering us with good gifts provided for our enjoyment?
First, experience his love through getting to know him better as your daddy. Spend time in Psalms 103, Romans 8, 1st John and Psalm 139. Go to a location where you feel most alive. If you love to be in nature, take a hike and meditate on one of the passages along the way. If you are contemplative, put on some soothing music and read the Scriptures slowly, letting Gods love pour over you. If you are an activist, consider how you can convey Gods character to those around you who need to hear good news.
Second, begin to pray. But, dont just make it a long laundry list you spout out occasionally at God. No, begin to be very specific, consistent and unified in your prayers. These three concepts will literally begin to unfold Gods delight in answering our hearts desires.
When I pray, I often set timelines for when Id like God to answer. Some people have commented they think its demanding to ask this way, but I disagree. When we pray specifically with timelines, we can be even more positive its Gods answer. When we are in the process of discovering Gods delight in answering, it helps to build our faith and to recognize his work amongst us.
I love this example. Our house was on the market in preparation for our move to California. Our new house was set to close on November 17th, so I prayed for a contract in hand by Nov 15th before we closed on our new loan. The whole week leading up to November 15th, not one person came to look at our house. I kept telling God, Its getting close, dont you want to bring a new person to look? I like to say, God is the God of just in time because he often likes to wait until the last minute just to make his answer even more tangible and dramatic.
Well, it turns out that we didnt get just one offer on November 15th, we got 4! One offer came from traveler in China who got up in the middle of the night to call their realtor. When we signed a contract for purchase of our present home in our kitchen at 3:25 on November 15th and literally walked around the corner to our living room at 3:30 to close the loan on our new house, I was fully aware of Gods smile as he looked at me and said, See, you didnt need to worry, the answer was always on its way.
Pray Specifically!
Pray Consistently. I continue to encourage those around me to set their alarms to go off at 10:02 a.m. every day. The reason? Jesus taught his 72 friends to pray for harvesters because the harvest is ready in Luke 10:2. Luke 10:1 tells us Jesus strategy was to send his friends out two by two to the places he intended to go. Its the same with us. He sends us out in prayer to prepare the way for where he wants to show up and show off!
The third aspect to discover Gods delight in answering our prayers is to do it with others in unity and community. When we make a decision to pray together at the same time, wherever we are, when the alarm goes off, we know we arent on this journey alone, but we have fellow travelers who are praying with us for Gods answers! When we get a spectacular answer like the one we received for the contract on our house, its so much to share it with our friends who are praying too! Its just like Jesus sending us out two by two to prepare the way for his coming.
Jesus told us When two or three are gathered together, I am in their midst. This promise applies to us even if we arent literally in the same location. When we are gathered through our commitment to pray at 10:02, Jesus is there, preparing the answers for us.
Last week my sister came to help me unpack our new home. When the alarm went off at 10:02 she cried out, Time to pray for the harvest. Even though she doesnt live by me, she knew about the prayer because she had just been with her son who also prays at 10:02. We stopped our unpacking for a couple of minutes, prayed for a harvest in my new neighborhood, and then went back to work.
The fathers invitation is here for you to know him as a generous and loving Papa who wants to please us. Put my challenge to pray specifically, consistently and in unity and community to the test!
Start the challenge through considering what would fulfill your hearts desire. Is it a visit to see your grown children? A trip with your family? A promotion at work? A meaningful conversation with a neighbor? A medical issue healed? Nothing is too big for our heavenly father.
Next, set your alarm to go off at 10:02 every day. When the alarm goes off, pray your specific prayer, every day. Invite your friends or family to pray with you at 10:02. If you are with others at 10:02, stop and invite them to pray with you. If you are in a business meeting or in a place where it isnt appropriate to stop and pray out loud, take a moment in your mind and pray; then, re-engage what you were doing.
I cant wait to hear your answers to prayer. Post them on the blog, or send them to me at tamara@missiolux.org. We have a heavenly father who cant wait to hear from us!
No comments: Wednesday, December 21, 2011 Advent Reflections: God with us: the Rest of the StoryOne of my favorite Christmas carols is Emmanuel. My family will tell you that I have one version that I blast around the house during the month of December. They are spared this year since we are moving and I havent gotten the CD out; I think they are grateful!
Emmanuel means God with us. We sing about this reality, we celebrate it at Christmas, we reflect on what it means. However, there is so much more to the story . . .it spans all of history as well as pointing us to eternity. I dont believe our Heavenly Father wants us to stop with God with us. He has so much more for us; so if you are willing to accept the missionread on!
Abraham is one who experienced God. He had several encounters with God; the first being told to go to an unknown land which I will show you. Imagine having to go home to Sarah to tell her the news: we are moving.where? .not sure yet, we have to pack up and start moving and then we will know. Probably wasnt the best conversation in the world! Abrahams next encounter involved being told he would have a son in his old age. When Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord appeared and created a covenant with him; he would become the father of a multitude of nations. Finally, his last encounter with God came with great sacrifice. Abraham was to take his long awaited son and put him on the altar. All together Abraham personally experienced Gods presence four times in his long life.
God Present to a Nation:
Emmanuel: God with Us:
When Jesus was about to be crucified, he told his disciples, It is best for me to go away because when I do, the counselor, the Holy Spirit will come. (authors paraphrase: John 16:7)
The Rest of the Story:
God in us is the mystery kept hidden for all history. At Pentecost, everything changed. The disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, their bodies instantly becoming the Holy of Holies, the place reserved for one priest to enter one time per year.
We carry the living God with us. We are tabernacles which brightly reflect the glory of the Lord: when the angels rejoice in the heavens at Jesus birth, they were a prophetic sign for our present reality: God in us.
We have everything we need to live as Jesus did. He lives in us! So, this Christmas season as you sing Emmanuel and celebrate God with us, remember our true reality is God in us.
When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,the promised Holy Spirit,who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of thosewho are Gods possessionto the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13b-14
This is called a Kairos Moment. Kairos is the Greek word for when time stands still and God breaks through. All of our Bible heroes experienced them: Abraham did when God told him to go to a"land which I will show you." Moses did when he experienced the burning bush and a call to return to Pharaohs palace to set the Israelites free. David did when he was called out of shepherding sheep into leading a nation as king. The prophet Ezekiel did when the Lord called him to speak to a valley of dead bones which became an army of living people.
Mary was confused and disturbed. She didnt consider herself a woman yet; she was most likely 14 or 15 years old. She had no clue she was favored: she saw herself as from the lower class of life as she was poor, a woman, and part of the Israelite culture oppressed by the Romans for decades.
But, God isnt concerned with our viewpoints of ourselves. He identifies us through the lense as his beloved children with a purpose to help redeem all of creation in the world. The Angel Gabriel spoke out Gods identity for Mary: one who was favored to conceive, carry through pregnancy, and birth the Messiah to the world for all time.
So, instead of a birthing room or a hospital, the baby Messiah was born in a smelly stable amidst the animals he had created in the beginning of the world. Its a picture of Gods upside down priorities. He takes the least likely situation and makes it extraordinary.
But, instead, I heard him say, Go now. So, like Mary who responded with "May it be to you as you have said," so in other words, YES!, I did the same. I told God, "Yes, I will do what you asked." When I gave him my yes,I was given great peace and joy and a day whereeverything in life seemed multiplied with goodness.The next daywe put everything in motion; telling our daughters and Missio Lux, putting our house on the market, and coming to California to discern our new location.
Where are you experiencing a kairos moment? Where are you observing something unexpected happening? Where is God surprising you with a direction you didnt expect to go? Where are you being challenged to live into the unknown?
How are you responding? Is it with a yes God, or is it with fear and doubt? I just returned from the 3dm Learning Community which equips leaders to lead integrated lives of discipleship and mission. As we invited people into the journey of discovering a lifestyle of integrated discipleship, I saw many present responding with a lot of apprehension about the shift it would involve for their churches and their leadership. As I processed their kairos invitation, I realized once again the cost to following Jesus versus the cost of staying in the familiar.
However, if we want to become one of Gods heroes for this particular segment of history, we MUST pay attention when we experience a kairos moment which takes us into the land of the unknown. We must courageously walk toward the burning bush, observe what is taking place, reflect on what it means and talk to those we trust in relationship about how to respond.
I anticipate becoming one of Gods heroes. I am willing to make the adjustments to Gods kairos moments in my life, so I can live fully aligned with his purposes for me. I dont know fully what the next segment of my life will include, but I have confidence that if I follow the Shepherds voice (John 10), I will have the opportunity to discover the abundant life Jesus promises.
Please pray for our family as we move to Santa Rosa, CA right after Christmas and for Missio Lux Seattle as we make the faith filled adjustment to living life together in different locations.
My prayer for you is for you to observe your kairos moments and to have the courage to take the next step to discover the invitation God is giving you within it. In the meantime, consider Gods heroes and how they partnered with God for some of the biggest opportunities throughout the history of the world.No comments: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 Seek first his Kingdom: a Posture of ThankfulnessIts fun to see all the facebook postings of thankfulness messages this week. This is the season we are reminded to stop and give thanks for the blessings we experience in life. Its good to have this season, but I wonder, what would the world be if everyone of us followed Pauls admonition to live a life of thanksgiving.? How does a posture of thanksgiving for all things change us, and the atmosphere around us?
1st Thessalonians 5:16: Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is Gods will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Be joyful.
Give thanks for everything.
The first phrase be joyful can only be done in relationship with our Heavenly Father.
The second phrase pray continually is a posture of how we live our days.
The final phrase give thanks for everything ends with a qualifier for this is Gods will for those who are in Christ Jesus.
What I now understand is the Gods will for us is to live in the posture of thankfulness, which leads us to continual prayer, and results in joy!
I wrote earlier about the challenges we hit regarding the purchase of our new home. Despite the impossibility of the situation, when I started thanking God for them, I was freed up emotionally and able to pray in faith, which resulted in Gods tangible presence which brought me joy. I will never forget the power of that day. When everything fell apart around us, we were given peace and joy. Romans 14:17 tells us the kingdom of God is not eating or drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy.
I want to conclude with a story I heard Mike Breen (www.weare3dm.co) tell at a Learning Community. On a trip to Africa, he found himself very ill in a small village far away from any hospitals. Mike was so sick the doctor told him he was going to die. As he laid on a cot two feet too short for him, far away from any family, he heard the Lord tell him to thank him. Mike asked him what to thank God for in his situation. He heard God say, Start with the nurse taking care of you.
One day he was dying all alone in an African village. The next day he was totally healed.
It came about through the posture of thankfulness, which caused him to pray continually, which brought not just his spirit joy, but his body health.
What are you thankful for?
Take some time this week to make a list of everything you can think of as you thank your loving Heavenly Father. Repeat the list out loud. Do it again the following day. I encourage you to do this for 40 days throughout the entire holiday season.
I think I will start now.
No comments: Thursday, November 17, 2011 Raise Up Your Staff: Missio Lux Moves Forward!In many ways, it feels as if Missio Lux is pressed up against the water's edge, just like the Israelites after they were miraculously delivered from Egypt! They literally had nowhere to go, but instead of being defeated, they walked through a sea which supernaturally parted for their crossing.
We have a moving date now; we are moving at the end of December! Watch for my future blog where I describe the miraculous way God has moved to answer our prayers for our home to continue to be a beacon of light, welcome and hospitality for his kingdom!
When I asked the Lord to show me the most important things to do before I move, he was clear to show me we needed to do a process of discernment and prayer. So, we set two nights to gather, discern and pray.
Our first was Sunday when we asked the Lord to show an areas where we needed to repent, open entry points where the thief is able to sneak through a door, and sins made against us. We took communion and prayed for repentance for the areas we discerned through the evening.
Last night many of us gathered to pray specifically for repentence and breakthrough. It was exciting to me to see how we humbled ourselves, prayed and sought God's face, as we trusted him to hear from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land (2nd Chronicles 7:14).
It was also good for us to gather from our different missio communities to come together to pray. The unity in the room was palpable; the desire for God to do more amongst us increasing as our prayers of faith rose up to believe God to part the waters so we can walk through, and our enemy the thief, is drowned in the sea.
When people hear I am moving to another state, their first question is "What's going to happen to Missio Lux?" However, instead of distress, we hear the Lord saying, "This is my finest hour. Watch and see what I do...."
We are expectant. We are watching, waiting and listening...as we raise up our staff like Moses for the sea to part.No comments: Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)Identity Crisis
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