What is Advent, Really?
Dec 1, 2009
By Lee Sherry

Waiting is not something most of us desire. We are able to warm up meals in seconds through the technology of microwave ovens. We communicate globally through the Internet. We have cell phones for instant communication through voice and text messaging and many other sophisticated devices to keep us plugged in and up to date every second. But Advent Season is a time of waiting—of looking forward with anticipation. You might ask, to what?

Waiting on God
Mar 4, 2009
By Lee Sherry

The Convair 880 had taxied out to the strip approaching the runway. The voice of the captain came over the intercom announcing, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are number 12 in line for takeoff. We may expect a delay of 15 to 20 minutes.” His words brought a concerted groan of impatience from the passengers in the plane.

Chafing restlessness and desire for action seem to be trademarks of our age. The business of waiting is difficult. Christians sometimes display the same trait in their attitude toward God and His dealings with them—especially when His providence seems strange or restricting. We can never lose time, however, by waiting on the Lord.

Jesus is The Way
Jan 19, 2009
By Lee Sherry

In Jesus is life and light. To tap into that we need to embrace the first four verses of the New Testament book of John: “In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” Jesus—the Word—Who was with God and at the same time, was God at Creation. A mystery really; through Jesus all things were made, and in Him was life and that life was the light of men.

No Ordinary People
Nov 19, 2008
By Lee Sherry

We enter into a process of spiritual development when we become Christians: similar in many respects to entering into the metamorphosis of the different stages of growth and development. However, we are eternal creatures. The choices we make have consequences that ripple into eternity. God created us in His image, and wants us to mature to become like Him; we are not mere mortals.

Crash-Proofing Your Life
Feb 15, 2008
By Lee Sherry

How’s your life? Do you feel like you’re doing well in life, like you know where you’re going? Do you feel like you have good instructions for how to live? These days we rush around a lot, not leaving much time for planning, for contemplating, frankly, for God.

Extreme Makeover
Jan 17, 2008
By Lee Sherry

Shortly after I came to faith, my Sunday school teacher said he was reading a little booklet entitled, My Heart—Christ’s Home. It is a beautiful allegory of how Jesus knocks at the door of our heart; when we open the door, He comes in to make a home. I experienced mystery when I invited Jesus into my heart. I could not define the mystery until later when my formal spiritual formation began, but initially there was a definite awareness of the beginning stages of transformation as Jesus took up residence within me. The booklet was helpful, because my male mind naturally compartmentalizes, and it was easy for me to envision my heart like a house filled with different rooms. As I begin this new year, I am once again asking myself, “Am I making a place in my heart for Jesus?”

Choosing and Being Chosen
Dec 14, 2007
By Lee Sherry

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Would anyone choose me?” One of the most important Advent messages we can embrace this Christmas season is that God loves us—that we are chosen as His Beloved. Last week I was jarred when I read John 15:16 - “You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you." I remember the evening I came to faith. I thought I chose God. Now all these years later I read, “Lee, you did not chose Me, but I chose you.”

Images & Symbols
Nov 19, 2007
By Lee Sherry

When I look at a photograph of my wife an image in my mind and heart is evoked. I feel the emotion of love in my heart and my mind is filled with an ocean of memories. I remember laughs we have shared over the years, but I also remember tears as we have navigated through difficult times. I feel joy for the laughter, but sadness for how my brokenness has caused her pain. A photograph is an example of an icon or form of symbol that fortifies reality for me. It is a form of symbol that connects me to something much larger than my own small self...

Further Upward and Further Inward
Oct 23, 2007
By Lee Sherry

Life is a journey and sometimes a battle. Frequently, it seems life is both simultaneously. As I write this, I am still moving in my own personal journey of knowing God more intimately. Just as you do in your life, I struggle against the hectic daily demands of our post-modern contemporary society to make space for Him in contemplative prayer. There is always the challenge, perhaps temptation would be a better word, to coast back to knowing about God, rather than maturing in our relationship with Him.

Knowing God and Knowing About God
Oct 1, 2007
By Lee Sherry

This morning as I was praying, in my head I heard the music and the words of the praise song, “As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul panteth after Thee. You alone are my heart’s desire and I long to worship Thee.” The composer of those lyrics was apparently inspired by Psalms 42:1. And so it happens that as we make space to come into the very healing presence of Jesus in contemplative prayer that we discover who we really are. In the quietness of that space, our identities become posited in the true self God created us to walk in. We no longer must wear the many faces of the false self we have accumulated from walking in a broken fallen world bent in opposition against knowing God. It is possible to know about God without really knowing God.