STALLED – A look at where we are in our faith journey.

Stalled

Scripture –  “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

One of the first memories I have of a car was a Rambler that in the late 60’s or early 70’s was traded for a brand-new Plymouth Valiant. I can’t remember all the reasons, but one of the reasons I remember Dad trading this Rambler in was it stalled a lot. This might not have been the only reason, but this is where my old mind is trying to remember things 55 years ago.

I remember a time when we were going through some deep water and the car stalled leaving us motionless, stuck, and stranded. I think I remember Dad and Mom receiving some instructions of what to do if it ever happened again. Instead, my next memory is being in the back seat of a new green Plymouth Valiant as Dad drove it out of a dealership in Mt. Pleasant PA. That car stuck around for many years as I remember learning to drive in our driveway in that car some years later.

The Valiant was in deed a great new car and I don’t remember a whole lot about it other than eventually it started to have problems of it’s own and there were things you had to do to get it to start when it stalled.

Through some recent situations I have been thinking in my own life, the life of others and the life of the church, are there places where we have stalled. I’m not talking about walking away from or renouncing faith, I’m simply talking about stalling.

Have we stalled in growing closer in relationship with God and forsaking the practices of Spiritual Disciplines into quick minute reads of a verse or two, a couple lines of an ordinary prayer that we have become comfortable with, or attending to worship for that hour of week. In these thoughts I have come to realize that we are trying to put God into a box that we have built and become comfortable with.

Are we still listening to God and God speaking through the Holy Spirit when the words that are spoken into our lives that which we want to hear and are not listening to the words that the Holy Spirit is saying.

Are we still serving and doing what the Holy Spirit is leading us to or are we choosing and or making our own priorities in the way that we want things to happen. Truly are we living out God’s plans.

As the Holy Spirit is speaking this morning through the scripture from John 3 as Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus – I must think – are we even trying to manage the move of the Holy Spirit to conform to our agenda causing us to become stalled. And when we are stalled how do we get moving again.

I will be sharing more thoughts tomorrow in part 2 –

Thanks for reading – Pastor Calvin