Do you understand? Do you need to?

As I reflect back on the past year, there are events that I have yet to figure out as to how they fit into God’s plan and His purpose.  I don’t always understand God’s ways; but I heard someone say once, “You can have God or you can have understanding.  You can’t have both.”  Is that true?

Solomon writes in a verse very familiar to most of us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”  With all your heart goes beyond what most of us are willing to do.  As I noted in a previous blog, we “know” we should trust God, but to trust God with all our heart implies we will go beyond our own knowing, our own understanding, to a deeper level of acceptance and trust, or as one author puts it, to a “deep reliance on the Lord, a settled confidence in His care and faithfulness.”

In a book I often like to quote, “The Shack,” the main character is confronted not for his lack of understanding, but his lack of acceptance of God’s methods.  He is accused of judging God.  He is encouraged to, “Give up being His judge and know Papa (the nickname for God) for who He is.  Then you will be able to embrace His love in the midst of your pain, instead of pushing him away with your self-centered perception of how you think the universe should be.”  Ouch!

Maybe it isn’t so much that we need to give up trying to understand God and His methods.  That understanding is often available to us and what God desires for us.  However, we are reminded, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Is. 55:9).”  What is truly needed is for us to learn to trust God’s ways.

“For I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare (shalom, peace and plenty) and not for evil (calamity), to give you a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11).”

Have a blessed New Year!  Godspeed, Phil

God is "with us"

Enjoying Isaiah 9:6 this morning, it reads: 

“Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”

Matthew thought it so significant that he quotes this verse at the beginning of his gospel, and tells us the meaning of the word, “Immanuel.”  It means, “God with us (Matt. 1:23).”

I am reminded of a similar verse in Isaiah 31:8.  Moses is commissioning Joshua to succeed him as the leader of the people of Israel.  In front of all the people, he encourages him to be strong and courageous for, “It is the Lord Himself who goes before you.  He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Isn’t it awesome that we have a God who goes before us, past Christmas and into the New Year.  It is so reassuring to know He has already been there, He knows what our year will be and all that we will need, and He will be with us.  He will not leave us or forsake us.  We have nothing to fear.

I hope that you have had a great year, but if anything has happened that has led to feeling discouraged or frustrated or afraid.  Jesus also made a similar statement to these others, and Matthew closes his gospel with what Jesus had to say:

“Behold I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20).”

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Godspeed, Phil

From the Head to the Heart

“I know that I can trust God, but…”  I have heard others say it and I say it myself, at the same time realizing that I am much like my children when I tell them I want them to do something (e.g., take the trash out).  Their immediate response is, “I knowww (exaggerated response here with tone of disgust),” and then it doesn’t get done.  I wonder if it annoys God as much as it does me.

I know I can trust God, but I get stuck when I am confronted with trusting God beyond what I am able to see.  Alice Fryling speaks of “moving from the head down to the heart.”  It doesn’t mean I leave my mind out of the picture and trust only in my feelings.  It does mean, as Fryling states, “moving from theoretical knowledge to actual experience (“Seeking God Together”).”

I understand that God has given me a rational mind to use, the ability to predict, plan, and process information as needed.  Paul writes in I Cor. 2, after exposing the futility of the world’s knowledge, that we have received “the Spirit that is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God…spiritual truths.”  These are things that can only be spiritually discerned, according to Paul, for “we have the mind of Christ.”

However, we would be amiss if we fail to nurture our heart relationship with God. Several times in Scripture we are told to “love the Lord your God with all your heart (heart is always first), mind, strength and soul.”  As Robert Mulholland suggests, we need to respond to what we read in Scripture with our heart and spirit rather than only with our “rational, cognitive, intellectual faculties (“Shaped by the Word”).”  In my book (“Here’s My Heart, Lord”) I argue that while God initiates, we are called to respond to God’s heart with our own.

Tohoyiko Kagawa writes, “Love alone introduces God to me.  Love is my sanctuary…I have my sanctuary everywhere I go in the universe.  Where Love is, there God is…Love is the ultimate religion.  Classify me not by creed: I belong to nothing but Love.”

We need to be able to take our faith beyond being able to know that we can trust God.  Blaise Pascal said, “The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know.  It is the heart which experiences God, and not the reason.  This, then, is faith: God felt by the heart, not by the reason (“Pennes”).”

 

Godspeed, Phil

 

Raisin Cakes

Today is a day of feasting.  I heard on the radio, most of us will consume a day’s worth of calories at one seating.  Some will partake of as many as 5000 calories, more than 2 days’ worth for some.  It depends on the day, but I am certain that these are conservative estimates of what I hope to accomplish.  This is one day of the year, I do not intend to fast or feel guilt over what I eat.

I have, however, been attempting to fast in a sense over the last 40 days.  I have been trying to say “no” more often to achieve my “greater yes,” which is to turn to God more often.

I love comfort and food is a form of comfort to me.  Inadvertently, I was studying what it meant to truly comfort someone, according to Scripture; and I found there is a Greek word for comfort (as a noun) that bothers me somewhat.  The Greek word is anesis, from which we get our word “anesthesiology.”

Why should this bother me?  Ask me later after your Thanksgiving feast.  How do you feel after consuming all of that incredible food?  I would imagine, like me you will feel somewhat anesthetized.

One day a year is not what I would consider a problem, but it is the fact that day after day I may be taking this anesthesia to deal with the pain or discomfort or stress of the day, rather than turning to the true Comforter for what I need.  And it isn’t just food, there are other things or activities that I may be turning to instead of the Holy Spirit that is available to me.

What does this have to do with raisin cakes?  In Hosea 3:1, God condemns Israel for their worship of other gods and their love for raisin cakes.  Raisin cakes were regarded as luxuries and used as delicacies.  The attraction of idol worship was that it involved a form of sensuality that was appealing to the people of Israel.  Raisin cakes were a part of that particular practice.  God was condemning their turning to other gods and, in particular to those that involved something so sensuous.  I can only imagine how many calories were consumed at one of their worship services.

Today, take a pass.  Tomorrow, or maybe after the leftovers are all consumed, consider…”How do I anesthetize (comfort) myself?”  Jesus left us the Comforter, the paraklete to comfort us and strengthen us for the work He has given us to do.  Let’s take advantage of this.

 

Godspeed, Happy Thanksgiving

Phil

Niche-picking

We all have at one time or another sought to obtain an advantage, an edge if you will.  Maybe you camped out all night to buy the first of the new iPhones, or to buy tickets to a concert.  Perhaps you are one who loves the after-Thanksgiving sales and staying up all night to get the best bargains.  I have worked with young people who stay up all night to be able to spend $150 or more on a new pair of gym shoes with a particular person’s name attached to them.

 

It isn’t just something we do as college students or adults.  Most likely, we did something like this when we were younger. Maybe it was in sports where we learned that to win, we had to find the weakness of our opponent, an area of vulnerability in order to defeat him/her.  I played chess.  The strategy of chess involves placing your opponent at a particularly disadvantageous position referred to as checkmate. 

 

A similar thing occurs in the business world referred to as niche-picking.  It is a term having to do with strategically placing oneself in a “potentially advantageous position,” e.g., for advancement, promotion, a raise or bonus, or to make a sale, for example.  In the marketplace, we attempt to place ourselves or our product before our audience in such a way so as to convince them to purchase our merchandise over that of our competition.

 

Each of the above situations involves our making an effort to be in a “potentially advantageous position” over someone else, usually for our own benefit.  However, we are given a completely different set of instructions in the Scriptures.  Beginning with the words of Jesus, we are told, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave (Matt. 19:26-27).”  Paul writes, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phil. 2:3-4).”

 

This theme is rampant throughout Scripture.  Paul writes to the Ephesians, “Walk worthy of the calling to which you were called (4:1).”  What is he referring to?  What is the nature of this walk?  In 5:2, he states, “Walk in love.”  In 5:15, Paul encourages us to, “Be careful how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise.”  Mulholland offers this for our consideration.  “Wisdom is the ordering of life according to God’s will and purpose (not our own).  Wisdom is bringing all the dynamics of your being into harmony with the word God is speaking you forth to be in the world (“Shaped by the Word”).”

 

Paul adds to what he has been saying, “making the best use of time.”  Here, he uses the Greek word “kairos” for the word time.  Kairos refers to a special time, an almost sacred time.  The idea is that we are to be mindful of a particular time when all that God is doing comes to fruition.  We are to be mindful of that time and be prepared to respond, not for our own sake, but for the benefit of others.

 

For the Christian, in whatever context, putting ourselves in a “potentially advantageous position” has to do with placing ourselves in the hands of the Father to be used to accomplish His purpose through us.

 

Godspeed, Phil

 

I'm not good enough...thank God

I was always one of the last chosen.  I was always on the B-team.  I could hardly get a date in high school.  I really can’t tell you how many times I felt “not good enough,” because of others perceptions of me and their actions towards me.  I struggled most of my life with feeling “not good enough.”  And, every day, I work with people who grew up with that same perception of themselves.  Not good enough.

Never mind there doesn’t seem to be a true standard by which we are to measure ourselves.  Never mind that is not what anyone ever actually said to us.  The message came through loud and clear.  Not good enough.

As I said, that is how I felt about myself for a long time.  I found out I was in good company.  Consider this cast of characters.

A liar, deceiver, polygamist, and non-believer.

A proud, boastful, naïve, deceiver.

An impulsive, cowardly, doubter, wth low self-esteem and a temper.

A vain temperamental, womanizer, and show-off.
A complacent, compulsive, sex-addict.

Would these be good enough?  Apparently they were.  God used them to accomplish great things.  You may recognize them as: Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Sampson, and David.

I like to say, “If God can use a donkey, He can certainly use me.”  It isn’t low self-esteem.  At one point, I realized I needed to quit thinking that I had to be good enough for God to be able to use me.  When I finally admitted I wasn’t good enough, instead of feeling worse, I felt better.  It meant I could quit trying; because, no matter how hard I try, I will never be good enough, at least on my own.  The more I think it is up to me, the worse I feel because I know I could never be good enough on my own.

The only way I can be good enough is by surrendering control of my life, and giving it to God.  It doesn’t matter how I feel about myself or what others may think of me.  There’s nothing I can do on my own and nothing anyone can do for me.  God’s statement on the cross was, “I will make you good enough,” but I was unable to feel that way until I accepted that I wasn’t good enough.  When I did accept it, I was freed from the guilt, shame, and feelings of discouragement that came from my constant failures. 

We are only good enough, because of the sacrifice of the perfect life of Christ on our behalf.  We only cheapen that sacrifice by thinking we can become good enough through our own efforts.  Accept it.  Deal with it.  You aren’t good enough…and that is just the way it is.

Godspeed, Phil

 

Sink or Swim?

Recently, I took the opportunity to get away to spend some alone time with the Lord, to hopefully listen and hear what I needed to hear from Him.  I try to do this from time to time, as there is just so much noise in my life and other distractions.  This particular time, I chose to combine my time with God with my favorite pastime, fishing.

So, for a few hours I was on a lake fishing, or I should say pretending to fish as I only caught one small crappie the whole time.  I really would have liked to catch something, but I was actually annoyed; because, it was actually a distraction from being able to focus on why I was actually there.  The wind was a bit brisk and kept taking me towards the shore and I found myself worrying about getting caught up in the weeds, or the fallen trees, or being run ashore.  So, finally, I just took myself out to the middle of the lake, where I knew I could go for a long time without worrying about those things.

I was better able to focus and my mind went to the story of Jesus walking on water found in Matt. 14.  At first, I was wondering if God wanted me to step out on the water, but I thought better of it.  Instead, I felt led to ask some questions about this narrative.  You have to admit, it is a little bit Hollywood-ish for Jesus.  What was His point?  It made sense to me to look at the context.

Jesus had just heard of the beheading of John the Baptist, His cousin.  His initial response was to withdraw “to a desolate place by Himself;” but, the crowds showed up and Jesus “had compassion on them.”  He began to heal them and then, He fed them.  Finally, at some point, Jesus sent the crowds away and “made the disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side.”

The disciples were already a bit troubled by the news that John had been beheaded and, no doubt, wondered if theirs might be forthcoming.  Then, to top it off, they were hit by a storm, one that appeared to be pretty fierce, even for a seasoned fisherman.  And then, they see Jesus walking towards them…on the water!  Why?

In the events that follow, we see impetuous Peter inviting himself out to do what Jesus was doing.  All goes well for a while, but he soon begins to sink and Jesus has to rescue him.  Then, the storm was over, and the disciples “worshipped Him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’”

So many lessons are contained in this passage of Scripture.  You could easily find 5 or 6 life lessons or principles.  I don’t know that any one is more important than the other, but I would like to list a few.

1.  If you keep your eyes on Jesus, you won’t sink.

2.  f you take your eyes off of Jesus and are distracted by the storms in your life, just call out and He will rescue you.  No problem.

3.  Most of us are not ready to walk on water for any length of time, but that shouldn’t stop us from taking the risk.

4.  No matter what the storm, Jesus is always there to give us confidence.  Even when He had His own personal grief to contend with, He took the time out to meet the needs of the crowd, and He gave the disciples reason to believe, to trust, and to continue to follow Him. 

If there are storms in your life, whether they be personal need, life-threatening circumstances, or other fears, Jesus is there for you; and He invites you to come out and walk on the water with Him.  Just keep your eyes on Him.

Godspeed, Phil

 

How would you like your criticism?

Seems like a stupid question.  No one likes criticism, do they?  But, then again, why does it bother us so much?  A couple months ago, I asked a small group of men that I met with weekly, if they would criticize me.  Actually, I asked them for feedback.  I told them I thought they knew me well enough that they should be able to tell me what they didn’t like about me, or at least, what areas of my life they thought I should be working on to be a better follower of Christ.

They found it very difficult to think of anything; not because I was such a great guy, but because they weren’t prepared for the question.  The truth is we choose to spend our time with people that appear to enjoy being around us, people that we assume like us.  One way we continue to be able to spend time with these people is that we continue to focus on those things that we have in common, or that we value or like in each other.  We don’t typically look for the things that we don’t like, or if there are such things, we don’t dwell on them.

It’s true in most of the relationships we are in.  We form our relationships, in the first place, around places where we can easily connect.  Ask yourself, have you ever deliberately decided to spend more time hanging out with people you don’t like?  Why would you do that?  It would make you miserable.  If there are differences, we tend to overlook those; if there are enough commonalities; we don’t want to risk losing the relationship.

Yet in Scripture, we are encouraged not to ignore these differences, especially if these are areas of sin in our brother’s life (Gal. 6:1-2; etc.).  We are told there is benefit to doing this.  In Prov. 9:7-12, Solomon suggests that reproof taken well will lead to wisdom and further learning.

So, why do we despise criticism?  Because it isn’t always constructive.  We allow it to affect our self-esteem, our sense of worth, to impact our initiative and our motivation.  I love this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”  Criticism is not the culprit, it is what we do with it, how we handle it.

In Oswald Sanders’ book, “Spiritual Leadership,” he warns against defending ourselves.  He cites the response of Samuel Brengle to his critics, “I thank you for your criticism of my life.  It set me to self-examination and heart-searching and prayer, which always leads me into a deeper sense of my utter dependence on Jesus for holiness of heart, and into sweeter fellowship with Him.”  Sanders’ encouragement is to turn a “curse into a blessing, a liability into an asset.”

We can also look at Paul and his handling of criticism.  To the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court…It is the Lord who judges me (I Cor. 4:3-4).”  As Sanders notes, “Independence from human opinion can be a valuable asset to the person whose life goal is the glory of God.”

How would you like your criticism…rare or well done?

 

Godspeed, Phil

Works of the Heart

Throughout the letter to the Romans, Paul is arguing against the works of the flesh as the means of salvation.  He writes, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Rom. 9:16).”  Even God’s chosen, the people of Israel were unable to obtain a state of righteousness by their works (v. 32).  It simply was not obtainable by that means.

And yet, even today, we continue to be performance-oriented in our attempts to please God.  Let’s get this straight, our works cannot save us.  How then can we be saved?  Paul cites an Old Testament passage, “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart (Deut. 30:14).”  In other words, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 9:10).”  Enough said.

But, then why do we have to serve God, do good, and all that?  You don’t.  Not unless you want to that is.  First of all, if you sought out the salvation that Christ came to offer, you probably appreciate it.  So, it may be that out of gratitude, you want to give something back to Him.  Second, you were most likely wanting to leave a certain lifestyle behind because it wasn’t fulfilling.  Christ has set you free from the bondage and the consequences of the life you previously lived.  However, we are not to use that freedom to continue to live in that way, and that is pretty easy to do if you don’t adopt a different way of life; and that life is only available by being obedient to what he calls you to do.

So, let’s say I choose to do make the right decision and be a good person.  Is that enough?  Keep in mind, we are incapable of being good on our own.  We are still of the flesh.  If we want to be good, Christ alone can make you good.  We are, in fact, made holy by the sacrifice of His blood on the cross.  So, if we are made holy, we might want to choose to live our lives in such a manner as we are called to do.  So, we are back to works, right?  Yes and no; keep in mind that our reason for doing good is not to earn our salvation, or because of some mandate to do so, but out of our recognition that we have been saved, we have been made holy and righteous before God, and continuing in that state seems preferable to the old way of life.

God, the Supreme Being, Creator of the Universe, Lord of all, has saved us, when we could not save ourselves; given us grace when we could never deserve it; made us holy by the sacrifice of His very own Son.  He expects nothing in return.  He just wants you to know He loves you, and He hopes you want to know Him better.  He has much more He wants to give you, many more blessings He wants to pour out into your life.  But, these come when we do good, when we serve others, when we share the Gospel with the lost, feed the hungry, care for the “least of these,” and let them know that He loves them too.

It isn’t like the Boy Scouts where you get a badge for every good deed you do.  What you get by being obedient, trusting and serving God, is a closer relationship with Him, and the joy of knowing that you are using the gifts He has given you, helping others with the issues in their lives.  Works, right?  Yeah, works…of the heart.

 Godspeed, Phil

Condemned!

I’ve done it.  I’m sure you have as well.  Condemned yourself for not doing more, not doing better, for not being good enough.  It seems like an epidemic.  I hear people saying all the time, “I am my own worst critic.”  They probably figure, I had better fault myself before someone else does.  It isn’t just new Christians that do this.  Even pastors are guilty of these negative attributions.

In the past, I have consoled people (and myself) with Paul’s words in Rom. 7, that we all struggle with doing what we want to do, with keeping ourselves from doing what we don’t want to do.  There is some consolation in those words.  At least I’m not the only one.  But, that didn’t make me feel as good as I would like to have felt.  I wanted to feel better, and I thought the only way that was possible was if I eventually got it all right, or at least if I kept getting better.  But, I didn’t always get better.  So, I continued to feel bad, to feel inadequate.  Until I read further.

Rom. 8:1, Paul goes on to say, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  That’s what I had been doing.  I was condemning myself.  It was as though I felt the need to feel bad for a while, or that there needed to be some type of consequence, some form of punishment, before I could move on.  There is a distinction between feeling convicted and feeling condemned.  The Holy Spirit is there to convict, but not to condemn.

Now, I’m not suggesting we just gloss over it and act as though it doesn’t matter that we stepped outside of God’s will.  When my kids were younger, they would quickly apologize as though that made it all good.  They couldn’t understand why I still felt as though there might need to be some type of consequence for their behavior.  At the same time, I’m not suggesting we need a consequence every time we slip and make a wrong decision.  Somewhere in there is a need for genuine repentance.  But, we don’t need to wallow in it.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).”

There is no condemnation.  There is only grace and forgiveness.  "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him (John 3:17)."  You see, we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, one who was tempted in the same way we are (Heb. 4:15).  He understands.  And He forgives.  Get up and get back to what you were doing when you fell.  It’s over.  It’s done.  It is finished.

"The Lord redeems His servants; no one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned (Ps. 34:22)."

 

Godspeed, Phil

 

If...

In this time of graduations, many of you will have recited for you the poem “If,” by Rudyard Kipling, by some young person who believes they have unearthed a rare and precious jewel that has never before seen the sun.  And many will be impressed and think it is full of great wisdom and promise.  But, an even wiser man wrote even greater wisdom, long before Kipling, that I think holds even greater promise for those who would tend to it.

Solomon wrote Prov. 2 to his son and started off with the same word, “If…”  Both, Solomon and Kipling encouraged their sons to accept their words, offered some useful guidelines, offered some principles to live by (although I would differ with some of those by Kipling), and suggested there would be rewards; especially if they listened to their words, even when the rest of the world seemed to be going in different directions.

However, Solomon’s writing to his son differed in two respects.  One, he placed greater emphasis on his son’s pursuit of wisdom on his own.  Wisdom from our fathers can only take us so far, and then we must find it on our own.  Most graduates forget 80% of what they learned while they were in school.  Solomon encourages his son, “Turn you ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding…call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding…look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure.”  Solomon’s admonition to his son was to make it a lifelong pursuit, to put everything he had into it.

A second distinction and one of great significance is what Solomon describes as the benefit of this pursuit of wisdom.  Kipling’s poem ends with the words, “”Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it; and—which is more—you’ll be a man, my son!”  Solomon held out to his son a much greater reward.  Although he assured his son he would benefit by having victory/success, protection from his enemies, help him have a successful marriage, and have good friends; there was an even greater treasure in store, and one that is still available to the graduates of today.  Solomon wrote, “Then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”

Consider the challenge before us.  Do we want our young people to pursue the earth and everything in it, or to know God?

Godspeed, Phil

“…nor sits in the seat of scoffers (Ps. 1:1).”

Scoff: verb 1. Speak to someone or about something in a scornfully derisive or mocking way; an expression of contempt (synonyms: mock, deride, ridicule, taunt, dismiss, or belittle)

My son just returned home from playing with another boy in the neighborhood.  As he has on many occasion after playing with this particular boy, Jacob came in with frustration, and was a little bit angry.  This time, the other boy had mocked Jacob for wanting to return a ball that Jacob knew didn’t belong to his friend.  While Jacob knew this was the right thing to do, the other boy didn’t want to do it.  He began to tease Jacob and say hurtful things to him.  He was scoffing at Jacob for wanting to do what was right.

David continues to describe the downward progression that we began talking about a few blogs ago.  In the Keil and Delitzsch commentary on Psalms, the authors offer this rendering of the verse, “Blessed is he who does not walk in the state of mind which the ungodly cherish, much less that he should associate with the vicious life of sinners, or even delight in the company of those who scoff at religion.”  We might think this is a lesson only for the young; but, how easy it is for a lot of us to get sucked into the lifestyle of the ungodly, especially when our reputations are at stake.

 We don’t want to be seen as “pushing our religion down their throats,” or as “holier-than-thou,” or, heaven forbid, judging others.  While all of that may be true, there is nothing in the Scripture that suggests we should hide our faith, or pretend as though it isn’t important to us, and join these others in their sin.  It is preferable to take a firm stand for what we believe is right, than to succumb to the temptation that results from not wanting to offend someone.

 This brings up a related issue.  Why do we feel the need to always be on the defensive when it comes to our faith?  From childhood, we learned we were not supposed to “hide it (our faith) under a bushel.”  We are called to be salt and light, and we are reminded of the words spoken by Paul to Timothy, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (II Tim. 1:7).”

We have effectively been intimidated into not sharing our faith, even while others are apparently free to openly discuss their lifestyles, their values, and their behaviors.  We worry about being ostracized, isolated, judged ourselves, and even ridiculed.  I have been so as well; but, I found there are many opportunities where I can share what I believe, and that it sometimes makes a difference to those around me.  Sometimes, we are the ones who can effectively turn the conversations around to what is more appropriate and productive.  Sometimes, choosing to act upon what we believe can make a difference in terms of the outcome of a project, or the outcome of a major decision.

 A couple years ago, I and others in my office were in a very difficult situation, which could have resulted in a loss of business, and a scarring of our reputation, even though we had done nothing wrong.  I was encouraged in my time with God to express confidence that we were going to come out of our situation unscathed.  I especially felt compelled to share this with one of my supervisors, a marginal Christian, who never openly spoke of his faith.  I not only spoke to him on a regular basis; but, I also would text him Scripture to give him encouragement.  We did come out of it as I had hoped, and his faith grew exponentially, I believe as a result of my sharing with him.  I also spoke to one of my other supervisors, who was not a Christian.  I continue to trust God used that time to influence him.

At times, it is best we not associate with those who only scoff at our beliefs.  But, there are other times, we need to take a stand for what we do believe, and not back down.

Godspeed, Phil

 

Don't stand in the way

A second lesson that comes to us from Ps. 1 is that we are not to “stand in the way of sinners.”  It is a natural progression that, if we entertain the counsel of the wicked, instead of seeking the counsel of the godly in our lives, we will, inevitably find ourselves staying too long and being influenced by them.  We need to examine what has influenced us along the way and what may even now be influencing our walk with the Lord.

Recall how God told Joshua not to turn to the right or to the left, but to be careful to “obey all the law” Moses had handed down to him (Joshua 1).  Joshua was further instructed to meditate on the Word day and night, so that he would be “careful to do everything written in it.”  Our focus must be very similar.  We must not even slightly be distracted by wrong counsel or wrong influence.  Our conscience should become alarmed when we are so deterred.  After a while our life begins to take on a different direction and we will become like them.

I worked with an attorney who worked with prosecuting criminals day in and day out.  He came to me concerned because his wife had noticed a change in his demeanor, that he was becoming more grim and negative, even at home with his children.  Even our outward appearance can take on the features of the work we do.  I know, for example, my mouth turns downward into a frown if I focus on my work too much and allow it to influence my attitude.  Just look at the President after he’s been in office for a couple years.  An amazingly young looking man can all of a sudden appear to be years older.  How much more are our hearts affected by the continual influence of others?

The Hebrew tense of the verbs used in this verse suggest this a man who has never done this.  Unfortunately, for many of us, that horse has already left the stable.  The difficult, then, becomes extricating ourselves from where we have been walking, sittiing, and standing.  It isn’t easy to remove ourselves from relationships that are especially long-standing.  However, Jesus told His disciples, “No man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).”  Once we have started down this road, there is no turning back.

If we are to become more like Christ, we must obey all the law, not turn to those on the right or left, stay focused upon the Lord and His Word, and let go of wrong influences, and the ways we have been influenced by them.

Godspeed, Phil

 

My new book, "Here's My Heart, Lord," is now available on Amazon.com.  it speaks of the problems of our hearts that get in the way of complete devotion to our Lord. 

 

 

Two Ways

 Are you happy?  Instead of “blessed,” Zorn translates Ps. 1:1 in this way, “Oh, the happiness that man experiences…”  This particular Psalm has a lot to say about being happy.  David’s purpose in writing this Psalm seems to be to promote the way of the righteous.  This Psalm commends living right, those we call the righteous, indicating what they avoid, what they delight in, and what that kind of life looks like. Zorn writes, “The Psalm is brief, consisting of some 65 words in Hebrew, and to the point.  It calls for a decision.  In the OT, if one is not godly, he is not wise, for there wisdom and godliness are inseparable.”

Wisdom directs one to the ways of God, to do what is right in the sight of God and to avoid doing what is evil.  What is involved in order to do what is right and to avoid doing evil?  David describes a progress.  The man who wants to do what is right will not walk, stand, or sit in such a way that will lead to a lack of godliness.

First, the godly man does not entertain the counsel of the wicked.  He is careful to seek out godly counsel, the wisdom that comes from those who know the Lord and know His Word.  Further, the godly man spends time with the Lord to listen to Him.  Gordon Smith (Listening to God in Times of Choice) writes, “Urban Christians, in particular live such harried lives that there is little time for reflection, prayer and silence, and consequently little time to attend to the quiet presence of God and the prompting of the Spirit.”

Some would argue that we cannot hear God and we cannot expect to have His counsel.  Willard (Hearing God) argues that is more dangerous to presume we cannot than that we can.  He contends, God has created us for intimate friendship with Himself.  Why would He choose to not communicate with us?

Two questions we need to ask of ourselves…are we in relationships that speak the truth into our lives, or are some of our relationships questionable?  While we are to minister to all, we need to be careful in terms of getting into personal relationships, where we are seeking counsel from those who are clearly not talking to God.  Secondly, are we taking/making time to listen to God? 

The Obedience Factor

What is success?

It doesn't matter where you are at in life, you can't avoid the call to be successful.  Students are expected to be successful in their academics, in their athletic events, their other extracurricular activities; not to mention, they want to be successful in getting a date to the prom.  At work, at play, in relationships, we all want to be successful, right?  Success may be the right word for most of these situations, but is that all that our lives are about, being successful?  If that is the case, then is it any wonder most of us are rarely happy?  Most of the time, do we feel successful?

Kent and Barbara Hughes, in their book, "Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome,' note that the Bible consistently links success with obedience to God's Word.  One of my favorite passages related to this topic is Joshua 1:7-8, where God tell Joshua that if he wants to be successful, he must "obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go."  Isn't that what we all would want, to be successful in all that we do?  But, what are we talking about?  Is success about winning all the time?  Is success about making it to the top?  Is it about being the best, the brightest, a Marine?

In an earlier chapter in their book, the Hughes say that success is about serving.  When Jesus' disciples argued about who was the greatest, Jesus knelt and washed their feet.  Then, he called upon them to do the same--to be obedient and to serve in the same manner that He did.  How are we to serve?  We are to serve by being obedient to what we have been called to do.  Hughes writes, "Never are we greater, never do we know greater joy, never are we more successful than when we are obedient to His will."

What has God called you to do?  Before you can be successful, you need to figure that out.  We can determine most of what we are to do by reading and listening to His Word.  We can also spend time at the feet of the Master and learn from Him.  Take time daily to listen to determine how to be obedient.

Godspeed, Phil



 

Does it really matter?

Several times this week, I have told people that we need to let what matters matter.  Why is it so difficult for us to stay focused on what really matters?  In our relationships?  In our work?  In our relationship with God?  I am sure you have heard the description of someone that they major in what’s minor.  I think that describes most Christians.  We major in what really doesn’t matter.

Jesus confronted the Pharisees with their pettiness over His not washing his hands before a meal.  Apparently, his mother never taught Him any better; or maybe He just was looking for an opportunity to get into a debate with the Pharisees over their religious practices.  He went on to chastise them over their placing a burden upon the people by demanding they comply with rules and regulations that they themselves couldn’t even follow to the level of perfection they demanded.  Paul confronted the same problem in Galatia.  He wrote to the church there, that they needed to quite trying to justify themselves by their doing the right things.  The only thing that really mattered, he wrote, was “faith expressing itself through love (5:6).”

We can’t make ourselves any more righteous or any more significant by doing.  Yet, I find as I work with even those in positions of leadership in the church that they are focused more upon their doing than their being.  Our focus needs to be on our being…being more like Jesus.  We seem to appreciate that we are not saved by our works; yet, we seem to think we must prove that we are worth the sacrifice of God’s Son after the fact.  Nothing we can do on our own really matters.  The only thing that matters, as Paul wrote, is trusting God as He leads us to demonstrate His love to those around us, in the same way Christ demonstrated the love of the Father through His life and His death.

It is nothing but a distraction to think that we need to focus all our attention on doing what is right.  I have a sign in my office that states, “It is exhausting masquerading as a normal person day after day.”  Let’s stop the pretense.  We are not normal.  We are not good.  We are not capable of doing enough to be worth what the Lord did for us at Calvary.  But, we can share His love with others around us. Nothing else matters.  But, that does.

Godspeed, Phil

 

 

Have you stopped dreaming?

“At some point, most of us stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory.  Instead of creating the future, we start repeating the past.  Instead of living by faith, we live by logic (Mark Batterson, “The Circle Maker”).”

For some time, I have felt challenged to look at my prayers and I have to admit, they are often somewhat vague and simplistic.  They lack any imagination.  They have really become quite logical.

What Batterson suggests, and I agree, is that we reach a place where we stop using our imagination and dreaming of what could be.  We forego our idealism for pragmatism, or realism, or whatever we choose to call it; and settle for what we believe is more attainable.  We leave most of what we pray for up to God, praying with all sincerity, “Thy will be done.”  What we have really done is lost our connection with God and subsequently lost our faith.  Batterson suggests that the true measure of our faith is how specific our prayers are to God, and asserts, “The more specific your prayers are, the more glory God receives.”  However, many of us are afraid to be too specific when we pray.  We feel as though we need to leave God plenty of cushion in case He wants to do something besides giving us what we want.  And yet, James writes, we have not because we do not ask God for what we want (James 4:2).

Some of us have lost track of what we really do want.  Often we seem to give up praying for what we want because we don’t get what we really want.  Yes, we have to admit God does provide, He does protect, He does answer some of our prayers, but not the really important ones.  As it regards these, we run out of patience with God, we tire of asking and feeling disappointed, we feel somewhat uncertain about our own faith and don’t want to feel to blame, so we stop asking; because after all this, we don’t really believe God wants to give us what we want.  We even doubt ourselves as to whether we know what God really would want.  But, what if we are right?  What if what we have prayed about is what God wants to give us, that God really does want to give us the desires of our hearts (Ps. 37:4)?

 What if the reason we don’t see answers to our prayers is because we give up too soon?  Batterson writes, “You are always only one prayer away from a miracle.”  What if God is asking us to wait?  What is He has already heard and answered your prayer, but you just can’t see what He is doing?  What is He is just asking you to trust Him?  What if He wants you to keep dreaming and planning and trusting?  Think of Joseph who spent 7 years in prison before realizing God’s plan for him?  Think of Noah who spent 40 years building an ark?  What about Abraham who waited until he was 100 years old before he had a son?  And what of those listed by the writer of Hebrews, who “were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised (Heb. 11:38).”

 “Dreaming is a form of praying and praying is a form of dreaming…The day we stop dreaming is the day we start dying (Mark Batterson, “The Prayer Circle”).”

 

Keep dreaming!

Godspeed, Phil