Flee!

How can we separate ourselves from the world and still have an impact upon it?  How can we be in the world, but not of it?  How are we to be transformed without being conformed?  Every way your turn, there are books about spiritual transformation, and others telling us this is what is needed.  Paul says it is the only way, "to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do (Rom. 12:1-2)."  So, of course, that is what we want.

But, how do we get there?

I spent the day retreating to the woods, reading a book, "The Way of the Heart," by Henri Nouwen.    In it, Nouwen tells of the "desert fathers (and mothers)" who were determined not to be tainted by the influence of their world, to such an extent, they retreated to live in the desert.  Spiritual guidance they believed they were given is also good advice for us to follow.  Abba Arsenius believed that God told him to "flee from the world and you will be saved."  And so, Arsenius left Rome and sailed to Alexandria to live a solitary life in the desert.

Now, I am not advocating we sell our house, buy an RV, and move to Death Valley.  But, I think the counsel is still applicable; we need to flee, to get away from the world.  Fleeing is essentially about finding a place of solitude, a place away from all the distractions of the world, to create conditions whereby transformation can take place.  Nouwen goes so far as to say, that it is out of this type of experience that "real ministry flows."

In the vernacular of the psychological community, most of us are living in the FOG.  We do what we do out of Fear, Obligation, and Guilt.  "I am afraid that if I do/or if I don't, something bad may happen."  I do what I do out of obligation, because I should or have to...  "I will feel guilty if I do/or don't..."  If you don't think any of these apply to you, ask yourself why you do the majority of what you do.  If the answer isn't because you want to, then most likely you are motivated by living in the FOG, afraid of failure, being judged, wanting to have other's approval, needing affirmation, or some other wrong motivation.  Is it any wonder so many in ministry are frustrated, angry, depressed, stressed and burnout?  We need to flee from the world.

We need to flee from the world and run right into the arms of our Savior, the one who approves of us, loves us, refuses to condemn us, and calls us His friends.  It is when we spend time alone with Him, we experience the purpose He has for us, and the value He has placed upon us.  It is there we discover His will for us and the direction He has for our lives and our ministries.

Too often we are tempted, as Jesus was, to be relevant, to be spectacular, to be powerful.  In solitude, Nouwen says, we find our true identity is found in our relationship with God.  When we are able to experience that, we are more open to allowing Him to transform us, to make us more like Him, in His image.  Nouwen writes, "We have, indeed, to fashion our own desert where we can withdraw every day, shake off our compulsions, and dwell in the gentle healing presence of our Lord."

Flee!!
Godspeed, Phil

Restore

I was about ready to throw it down on the floor and, hopefully, do enough damage I could convince my wife we would have to buy a new computer.  I was tired of all the pop-ups, the unwanted intrusions that kept me from getting to the sites I wanted to view, and having to divert my eyes from all the women that wanted to date me.  The worse thing was when, in the middle of writing, or reviewing and responding to e-mails, or checking out other's websites, internet explorer was shutting itself down.  Of course, it promised to submit a report, but I had yet to hear a response to the previous 50 or so that had already been sent.  So, I wasn't too hopeful the problem would ever be fixed.

I couldn't tell you how all this confusion had become a part of my life, I blame my son who was constantly playing a game, building things out of blocks of something, or looking up new weapons to add to his virtual collection, or checking out prices on things that we had already told him were too expensive for us to buy for his birthday.  Anyway, there was only one solution, my computer needed a tune-up.  I think they called it cleaning, but that is unimportant.  It just needed to be done...and fast; before I had to join my own anger management support group!

So, I took it to the "nerds," at the local computer and electronic store and was ready for them to work their magic.  They assured me they could do the job...for $200!  Ouch!!  I knew we weren't far from being able to buy a new one for that (obviously, I don't buy expensive computers; which may be the real reason I had this problem).  The alternative, do it yourself.  The kid behind the counter advised me I could take the computer back to its original condition in just a few easy steps.  I thought he was going to suggest it would only cost me $19.99, but it wasn't going to cost me anything.

So, I bravely and confidently went home and asked my wife to do it.  I told her it would only take a few easy steps, that the kid behind the counter had said so, and he seemed to know what he was talking about; and with that she went to work.

It reminds me of what the Lord has to do with us at times.  Sometimes we think that spiritual transformation is the Lord coming along and blessing what is good and helping us to do better.  I have heard myself praying that before, "God, please help me to do better."  God's goal for us is not to make us better versions of what we have always been, He wants to completely transform us, to make us Christ-like.  In  Rom. 12:1-2, Paul writes that we are to be "transformed."  The Greek word is metamorphaomai, obviously from where we get the word for metamorphosis, the changing of the caterpillar to the butterfly.  That process is not the making of a more beautiful caterpillar, it is the creation of almost a new being; and, that is the work God wants to do in us.

God wants to transform us, and He has to strip us of ourselves and make us into a new creature.  He, literally, needs to start from scratch.  There really isn't anything good about us when we first give ourselves to Him.  I imagine His biggest frustration is that we cling to what we consider "good" about ourselves; but, as Isaiah wrote, even "our righteous acts are like filthy rags (64:6)."  We need to be willing to let go of even what others may say is of value, what has brought us "success" in the past, or what we have always considered of value, surrender it all, let it go, and be willing to allow God to create the "new man."  And, I am sorry, but your wife can't do this one for you.

Godspeed, Phil

Take a Step

Do you remember your first step?  Probably not, but I would bet that your parents do.  I remember when my daughter, Grace was learning to walk.  My wife and I would sit on the floor just a few feet away from each other and have her stumble between us.  She giggled and laughed the whole time and, once she got to one parent, couldn't wait to be turned around and sent back to the other one.  She loved it and and we would be entertained for hours.  I wonder if God is as amused, as He sees us stumbling and fumbling around, trying to get from one place to the next place He wants us to get to.

There is one way we are quite different than our children when they are learning to walk.  They trust us.  As far as I know, there has never been a toddler that said, "I don't know guys.  Do these legs really work like that?  This balance thing, can we go over that again?  Now, you say you will catch me if I start to fall.  Do you have any experience doing that sort of thing or are you just winging it."

I think most of the time, what God sees is a lack of trust.  Remember the story of Jesus walking on water when He invited Peter to join him (Matt. 14:22ff)?  Most of us are like Peter when he crawled out of the boat onto the water.  Within minutes, he was doubting.  He took his eyes off of Jesus and looked down at the ferocious waves.  He couldn't believe he was actually walking on water.  And, at that point, he no longer was able to do so.  He begain to sink.  What's the lesson here for us?

Obviously, it has to do with faith or trust in God.  But, let's be a little more specific.  We can't help but be a little more cognitive than a baby.  We are thinking, reasoning adults; but, we must come to Christ like one of these little ones, trusting, excited, ready to have a good time.  Instead, like Peter, we may be hesitant to even get out of the boats; and then, even if we do, we lose our focus almost immediately.  We begin to trust in our own logic, or knowledge, or skill (in this case, lack thereof).

It isn't hard to imagine what Peter was thinking.  "Wait a minute, what am I doing?  I don't know how to walk on water.  I have never done this before.  Maybe I should take it slow, start with a mud puddle or a shallow spot near the shore.  Are there sharks in this water?  I am sure Jesus meant something else.  He wouldn't expect this of me.  Of course, He can walk on water, He's Jesus.  The waves, the wind, it was all pretty noisy; I probably didn't hear it right.  I need to learn to listen and not be so impetuous."

All Peter needed to do was to keep his eyes on Jesus.  It isn't rocket science.  Trust Jesus.  But, don't we make the same mistake?  We need to keep our eyes on Him in order for us to be able to keep moving in the right direction.  Ultimately, all our efforts are to become more like Jesus.  Whenever we put our attention on anything other than that, we will begin to sink, we will begin to fail.  If we try to think too far ahead of that, we will end up like Peter, talking ourselves out of doing what we have been told to do.  Jesus gave Peter one instruction, "Come."  He invites us to do the same.  Come.  Trust me.  Just come.

Godspeed, Phil