More Lessons from the Elliptical

Have you ever been to the gym and witnessed a guy bench-pressing about 500 lbs., but weighing almost as much?  Okay, I may have exaggerated somewhat.  But, while these guys are building massive muscles from the navel up, their midsection hasn't been properly trained.  While I haven't lost a lot of weight, I have learned a few things while exercising on my elliptical.  If I want to lose weight, I have to control my eating as well.  Physical exercise just isn't enough.  Okay, so this isn't rocket science, it is a fitting analogy to our growing in spiritual discernment.

Apparently, Timothy was spending too much time in the gym and Paul had to tell him to back off.  He wrote this, "Train yourself to be godly.  For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (I Tim. 4:7-8)."  How does this apply to us and to discernment?

I recently was feeling a form of spiritual dryness.  What could be wrong?  I was reading the Scriptures faithfully, fasting regularly, reading other Christian literature, hanging out with other Christians, and serving. What was missing?  I wasn't making time to be alone with God and my prayer life was growing stale as a result.  Even when I was spending time with God and praying, I was too tired and had difficulty focusing, because I was getting up faithfully and exercising.  I was physically wearing myself out and it was affecting my ability to be discerning.

It is frustrating because I am continually telling others how important it is to avoid being distracted, and here I was again, finding myself focusing on something other than God.  I had often appreciated working out before my devotional time, because it made me more alert when I did spend that time with the Lord.  However, it had become the end instead of the means.

Jeanette Bakke, in her book, "Holy Invitations," writes, "When good actions such as worship, Bible study, or service are detached from our prayer, they can become dead.  We have many ideas about how to continue what God has begun in us and can easily slip into taking charge of our spiritual nurture and development instead of seeking the Holy Spirit's way...unless we ask God to help us set priorities, order our lives, and guide us moment by moment, how can we hope for our actions to grow from God's intentions rather than from seemingly good ideas of our own?"

Godspeed, Phil

Get Fit!

In an effort to get into better shape, I started using an elliptical about a month ago.  The piece of equipment that I use has settings on it for what you want to get out of it.  There are a number of decisions to make that I find strangely similar to the decisions we need to make about our spiritual fitness.

There is, first of all, the decision whether to do things my own way or choose one of the fitness programs available--Toning, Endurance, or Fitness.  I think most of us know how difficult it is to get into shape doing it on our own.  That is true in the development of our faith as well.  It helps to use a program, a Bible study, a devotional guide, a reading plan, or something.  Otherwise, we make very little progress and give up as soon as there is something more alluring to do with our time.

So, I chose a program.  Now, I think I am ready for the Performance setting.  So, I dial that up, only to find out that it involves the highest settings on levels of resistance, speed, and inclination.  It's also 30 minutes long and I don't plan to spend that much time, so I look at the other options.  I probably need to work on endurance, so I choose that.  I quickly find out I don't have what it takes to endure.  Apparently, I need to focus on toning.

Often, in my faith walk, I find myself focusing most of my attention on performing.  Recently, I have been developing a new ministry and been quite anxious to start offering the ministry; only to find God calling me back to toning.  When we are called, sometimes God has to work on us to prepare us to be the instruments He is able to use, to accomplish what He wants to accomplish.

We shouldn't get in too big a hurry to start performing, whether that be performing a ministry, starting a new program, or preaching a sermon.  The majority of our time needs to be devoted to allowing God to tone our spiritual muscles, to get us into shape for what He has in mind for us to do.  The actual performance may only be a small portion of what we actually do.  But, if we want it to accomplish God's purpose, we have to allow Him this opportunity to do what He does best.

"...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13)."

Godspeed, Phil, just another doulos

False gods

False teeth.  False eyelashes.  False...you get the idea.  What do they all have in common?  The most simple answer is that they aren't real.  What about false advertising?  Why do we get so riled up when we watch commercials that promise something, you know couldn't possibly be true?  There are laws against that sort of thing, right?  How do they get away with it?  They get away with it because there is just enough truth in what they are offering, that it isn't really false.  It isn't really true either.

Nobody likes to be lied to or deceived.  We would like to believe that we wouldn't fall for that sort of thing in the first place, right?  But, don't we deceive ourselves every day?  The things that we turn to, coffee, snacks,energy drinks, cigarettes, alcohol, new clothes, new car, are all intended to give us something we think we need.  But, are they for real?  Do they actually meet a need?

We are told not to love the things of this world or the things in this world, "For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world (I John 2:15-16)."  In other words, they aren't real.  It is just false advertising.

The problem with the things of this world is they sometimes take a place that is intended for God to occupy, a place in your heart that is meant for Him and Him alone.  We become attached to these things and rely on them for something that can only come from the Father.  As in most relationships, if we allow something else to take away our attention, our energies, our affections, then our relationship will suffer.  God wants our love.  He wants to be first in our lives.  For real.  In order for that to take place, we may have to let go of our other attachments, the things of this world that we love, to create space in our hearts for this to  occur.

"No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other; or, he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matt. 6:24)."  God's love is the real thing.

Godspeed, Phil
 

Irrevocable

"Nothing that a man owns and devotes to the Lord...may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the Lord (Lev. 27:28)."

A footnote at the bottom of my Bible notes, "The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord."  In other words, there are no take-backs.  Once you have given something to the Lord, it belongs to Him.

Has it ever occurred to you that when you do your devotions, you are irrevocably giving yourself over to the Lord?  I don't think that is typically what comes to mind.  I sometimes think we are more devoted to our favorite sports team, to our work, or to our spouses, than we are to the Lord.  I recall in my younger days, Olivia Newton-John singing a song with the lyrics, "hopelessly devoted to you."  That may be what you wrote on that Valentine's Day card you gave your wife, but is that the song in your heart when you spend your quiet time with the Lord?  Is that the level of commitment that you intend when you give Him the day and pray for His will to be done?

The motivation for doing so is that whatever we devote to the Lord becomes holy.  While in our hands, it had some purpose, upon giving it to the Lord it took on a greater significance.  It is now useful for His purpose.  It can be used for the furthering of His Kingdom.  It has become sanctified, made holy.

What is it that you are praying for?  If you are praying for yourself, then the Holy Spirit sanctifies you, and makes you holy before the Lord.  If you pray for your wife, Paul says that she is sanctified by your prayers (I Cor. 7:24).  Your children, too, are sanctified, made holy and useful for God's purpose, when you give them over to Him.

However, the greater challenge is not to want to take back what we have committed to the Lord.  It is tempting to do so.  We don't always agree with the way the Lord is managing those areas or those things that we have given to Him.  We cannot give to the Lord and have an agenda.  When we give, that devoted thing or area of our life is now irrevocably His and we must trust that He will make the best use of it.

Godspeed, Phil

Purge!

One thing I have been convicted of recently, and for some time now, is the need to purge.  No, I am not bulimic, though some might question that when they see me eat.  I do love to eat.  God has been trying to get my attention to let me know there are some things yet in my life, that He did not put there, and they are in the way of what He is trying to accomplish.  These are things that He wants me to purge from my life, thereby creating space for Him to do more through me.

I have been pretty stubborn about the whole thing, kind of like Saul who was "unwilling to completely destroy" some of the "good" things taken from the Amalekites, as he had been directed to by God (I Sm. 12:20-22).  I have argued the same way with God.  The things that He has been wanting me to let go were things that had some value, at least to me.

I have counseled a few hoarders, people whose homes and lives have become so cluttered, their homes are no longer safe places for them to live.  The difficulty, for them, is that everything they have hoarded has some value.  They are difficult to help because their way of valuing things is unlike anyone else's; so that, when others try to get them to remove things from their homes, they can't agree on what to get rid of first.

We, too, are at risk in terms of our spiritual lives by our own hoarding, by hanging onto things that may have some value to us, but, interfere with the plan God has for us and our ministries.  Using the opportunity provided by the season of Lent, Ruth Haley Barton challenges us on her website, to return to God with all our hearts.  She cites the example of Christ who was tempted in the wilderness to "trust in that which is not God for security and survival, affirmation and approval, power and control."

Typically, when we are hanging onto something that is not of God, it is because it appears to us to have some value.  However, if God is saying to let it go, it is time to let it go!

Godspeed, Phil

Perfect submission

Third Day, not too long ago, did a remake of "Blessed Assurance," a beatiful hymn with an awesome testimony.  It is a song that calms and soothes in times of stress.  However, there is a line in the song that cause me some consternation.  One of my pet peeves is when I am singing a song, worshipping the Lord, and I come across a line in the song or a statement that just doesn't ring true with me (e.g., "I surrender all."  Sure I do.).  I find it really difficult to continue to sing the song with a straight face.

In the song, Blessed Assurance, there is a line that speaks of "perfect submission."  Oh, how I wish that were true.  It isn't, but it is a goal I am striving for and one that I believe all Christians need to be striving for, as well.  I love this statement by Paul Anderson, a professor at George Fox University, quoted in Ruth Haley Barton's book, "Pursuing God's Will Together," where he says, "One great need of the church today is to experience the dynamic leadership of Christ as its head...The Scriptures promise us that Christ's Spirit will be with us, will guide us, and will lead us into all truth...If Christ is alive He desires to lead His church.  If Christ desires to lead His church, His will should be sought.  If His will can be sought, it can be discerned; and if it can be discerned, it deserves to be obeyed."

Many of us may believe we are doing pretty good and wondering why God's will isn't more clear, or why God isn't blessing us in ways that we feel we deserve.  Maybe we are wondering why we are experiencing some difficulty in our walk, some trial that seems greater than we can bear, in spite of the promises of I Cor. 10:13.

I encounter people every day who have good reason to wonder what God is doing or why it doesn't seem as though He is doing anything.  I find it a challenge to explain well enough that God has a purpose and a plan, even when nothing seems to be going the way we think it should.  Many of these have reached what they believe to be their limit.  I realize that my role is to encourage them to go a little further.  Remember, He who began this work in you will be faithful to complete it.  However, we need to hold on.  We need to hear what the Hebrews heard, that "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Heb. 11:6)."

Let me challenge you, at your more difficult times, when things aren't too clear, when God's will isn't real obvious, when God doesn't seem to be listening, don't give up.  Continue to believe, to trust, to seek His will.  But, don't just think of this as a holding pattern.  At times like this, I think we need to continue to be on the offensive.  Don't just keep doing what you had been doing, do more.  Dont' just practice your usual disciplines, add to them.  Sacrifice more.  Give more time.  Show the enemy and God that you mean business, that you do want God's will in your life, that you want to be perfectly submitted to Him...and expect God's greater rewards.

Godspeed, Phil

Insignificant

So often, we focus on the greats of the Old Testament, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, etc.  Though the story of Gideon is a brief one and appears somewhat insignificant in the overall history of Israel, it is a story most of us are familiar with, and a story with important insight for us as leaders.  The story of Gideon, as he puts it himself, is about one who is insignificant.  His clan was the weakest of all of Israel, and he was the least in his own family.  That may not describe you, but it does speak to the majority of us.  Abraham Lincoln once said, "God must have loved the common man, he made so many of them."  Well said.

Gideon, though cunning and confident in his own right, doubted God and was fearful of stepping out to lead as God was calling him to do (sound familiar).  The task was a significant one.  So, Gideon put God to the test and God restored his faith...at least for a time.  Each time Gideon was presented with a new challenge, he became fearful and God had to do it again.  I am thankful for Gideon's story, because it is much like my own.

God never told Gideon to do anything more than what he was able.  Quite often, when we consider what God is calling us to do, we tend to look to ourselves and become fearful; because, we know we are not equipped to do what He is calling us to do on our own.  God tells us as he told Gideon, "Go in the strength you have (Judges 6:14)."  That isn't very comforting.  I don't have the strength I had when I was younger (okay, again, I am talking about my age).  I have back problems, sleep apnea, chronic heartburn, etc., etc.  You get the picture.  Like Gideon, I have lots of reasons that God should be calling someone else.  He simply says, "I will be with you (v. 16)."

That works for awhile until the next challenge presents itself.  God tells Gideon that He intends to fight this battle with only 300 men.  The Midianites, Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples were "thick as locusts."  "Their camels could no more be counted than the sands on the seashore."  God continues to show His patience with Gideon and encourages him by showing Gideon that the enemy is even more afraid, and believe themselves that they will lose the battle.  Gideon gains confidence and begins to praise the Lord.  He leads the army to battle and routs the enemy.

So, what is the lesson in this for us?

First of all, we should never let our "insignificance" keep us from believing that God can accomplish something great through us.  Second, when we are afraid and listening too much to our fears and insecurities, we need to go to God for reassurance; rather than allow those things to keep us from doing what we have been called to do.  We need to remember that He is with us.  Further, we need to recognize that all we need is all that we have, nothing more and nothing less.  I counsel individuals often on their feelings of inadequacy and remind them that God wants to work with what we have, and if He needs anything further, He will make provision for that.  Most importantly, we need to appreciate that it isn't about us and our ability, so much as it is about us and our availability.  God will fight for us, He will cause us to be successful.  That way the glory goes to Him and not to us.

Godspeed, Doulos