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

Perfect

“You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48).”

I just finished watching one of those competitive races on television, where couples take on various challenges over a series of several weeks, hoping to win a million dollars.  Inevitably, the couples end up arguing, sometimes name-calling, and being quite frustrated with each other.  It is amazing to me how individuals who are extremely successful in other areas of their lives, can be made to feel so inadequate; all because they can’t eat grilled cobra or bungee jump from a bridge.

I see this on a regular basis in individuals and couples that come to my office.  People who feel they have to be perfect in everything.  It is a horrible affliction to have and carry with oneself throughout your life.  Often, it has to do with trying to measure up to some unrealistic expectation, some unattainable standard of excellence that isn’t even measureable.  I usually ask them who they are trying to please.  They use words like “should,” “ought,” and “have to.”  Again, somewhat rhetorically, I ask, “Who says so?”

At one time, I battled the same demon.  I grew up, like many of these individuals feeling I could never be good enough.  As a result, I determined to try harder.  Unfortunately, I carried this attitude over into my relationship with God.  I thought I “must (should, ought, have to) be perfect.”  With some relief, I now know this isn’t true.

The Greek word used here refers to being finished, having reached its end, as in something being completed.  Any of these words could easily be substituted.  We tend to focus on the word “be,” assuming that it is a state we are to be in right now.  However, the verb tense in the Greek supports a different conclusion.  We are to make this our aim.

Jesus had been encouraging his disciples, in the previous verses, to love the way the Father loves, not just our neighbor, but even our enemies.  He concludes with challenging them to be perfect (to love) the way the Father does.  B.W. Johnson writes in his commentary, “It will require a constant struggle while in the flesh to come near so high an ideal, but it must be our continual aim (People’s New Testament with Notes).”  On this earth, we will not “attain absolute perfection, but we have placed before us, as a model, the perfect ideal, and we will constantly ascend higher by striving to attain to it.”

We don’t have to beat ourselves up for not being perfect.  Christ became the perfect sacrifice on our parts.  That is not the expectation placed upon us.  It is our aim, and praise God, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).”

Godspeed, Phil

 

You are invited!

You are invited...

Those words always gave me a thrill when I was younger and I needed a social life.  Nowadays, it usually means someone wants me to take on more credit card debt, or visit a timeshare, or in some other way, waste my time and hard-earned money.  It isn't really about me and it really isn't the type of invitation I appreciate in the way I did as a younger person.

But, there is an invitation that does get me excited when I recognize it for what it is.  As Barton writes, "It is an invitation to communication and communion with the One who is always present even when our awareness has been dulled by distraction (Invitation to Solitude and Silence)."  Time away, alone with God is one of life's greatest pleasures.

Rather than experiencing enough of those times, it seems it is me inviting God to participate in the activities of my life, to answer my prayers, or to do something that I want Him to do, as though that would make Him happy just to be invited.  I often wondered why it didn't feel as though God was all that enthusiastic over being included in my plans.  Sometimes, it seemed as though He didn't even show up for my party.  Imagine that.

What I came to realize is that God is the One who needs to be doing the inviting.  He is the One who needs to arrange the meetings that I attend, the encounters with others in my office that hopefully will be of some benefit to them, the experiences that I may have throughout the day, often unexpected, and not always appreciated.  Each of these are invitations for me to participate, to discover what God is doing, has already done, and to participate in the way that He has already equipped and planned for me to do.

Even when I dread what is about to happen, even when things don't go the way that I had hoped or prayed, or even when things occur that are clearly not what I would choose to happen, I need to see everything as an invitation from God.  I can rejoice as though I had just been treated to a surprise party.  I need to see that God has already gone before me, He is not going to be taken by surprise by anything that may occur, and He has promised that He will bring good out of any situation; because I have been called (invited) to accomplish His purpose in that situation(Rom. 8:28)!

You are invited.  All you have to do...is show up.

Godspeed, Phil

Is God always right?

"Nice try, God.  You almost got it right."

I'm joking, right?  Otherwise, that would be blasphemy, me correcting God because He didn't do something right.  The thought of doing so is ridiculous.  This is God.  He is perfect, omniscient, holy in all His ways.  I don't have a foot to stand on; and yet, I am guilty of doing just that, and I imagine you are, too.  Oh, not in so many words.  I'm not stupid enough to come right out and tell God I know better than He does; but, how often have you felt yourself questioning God?  How many times have you rejected His way and insisted on going your own way?  Guilty as charged.  Blasphemer.  Yes, that describes me.  If the shoe fits...

We all know the story of Job, how he lost everything when God let Satan have his way with him.  He lost his wealth, his status, his family, and eventually his health.  He was in terrible pain and suffering and, yet, he didn't blame God.

Job, in spite of all that had taken place, continued to worship God.  "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (1:21)."  The Scripture goes on to say, "In all this, Job did not sin."  The book of Job has inspired many, including myself, to see my momentary trials and difficulties from a different perspective.  It has helped me to endure those times and do my best to continue to trust God as Job did.

But, there is another perspective that I wish I could have all of the time, that I don't always.  In what way did Job not sin?  He didn't sin, "by charging God with wrongdoing."  Job didn't just go along with it.  He didn't just endure it and sing, "Que Sera, sera, what will be, will be."  Job didn't just shrug his shoulders and say, "Oh well, what choice do I have, anyway?"  Job accepted what God was doing as right.  He didn't question God's actions.

I don't know about you, but I typically get frustrated, sometimes even discouraged, when things don't go the way I think they should; especially, if it results in my being uncomfortable.  "In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing."  I can't say the same thing about my self.  If I don't understand what God is doing, it bothers me.  If He seems to be taking me in a different direction, I hesitate.  Sometimes, I don't listen and do what I want to do instead.  Whether I am saying it or not, I am challenging the God of whom David writes, "You are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge (Ps. 51:4)."

It doesn't usually occur to me that I am accusing God of wrongdoing, but that is what it comes down to; I don't trust God to always be right.  When God does finally address Job, He asks Job, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?"  Job's answer, "Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know."  Eventually, I may get around to admitting the same thing; but, I wish I could accept that God is right...all the time, not just when I choose to agree with Him.

Godspeed, Phil

Stop!

Sometimes, it must have seemed rather confusing.  As the people of Israel were going through the desert, seemingly in the direction of the Promised Land, they had to wonder if God really knew what He was doing.  They would be moving along for awhile, then, they would just stop...and wait.  No reason, no explanation, just "wait here."  I know what that always means when I do it.  I'm lost!  It doesn't matter how much I protest that I am just wanting to be sure, everyone in the car knows, "Dad doesn't have any idea where we are.  We are lost!"

Do you ever have those times in your walk when you feel like God is lost?  Seriously, does it seem like sometimes He doesn't know what He's doing or where He's going?  Of course, we would never say that and we would adamantly proclaim that we trust God, but we secretly want to take Him aside and ask if He needs our help.  After all, we have a pretty good idea of where we want to go and how to get there.  Why doesn't He ask for our help?

I have been going through one of those times.  Everything seemed to be pointing in the direction I was headed, and then, it was like the road just ended.  I couldn't move.  I couldn't go forward, as I was sure the Lord didn't want me to go any further; or if He did, He wasn't making it possible.  I couldn't back up; because that seemed contrary to everything that had happened up to this point.  I was certain God had led me here; but just like my kids, I want to know, "Why are we stopping?"

Paul and his companions had one of those moments, actually two...in a row.  They were on a roll.  In Acts 16, Luke writes that as they traveled from town to town, delivering their message, "the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers."  They had to be feeling it.  I'm sure they were all pumped about where they were going and what they were doing.  God seemed to be in all they were doing.  Then, we read in v. 5 that they were "kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word in Asia."  That may have left them a little confused, but they probably figured, God has a reason.  He probably didn't think much would be accomplished by going there.  But, hadn't God led them in that direction?  No, their GPS must have malfunctioned, or someone wasn't listening too closely when He was giving them directions, or maybe they had just made a wrong turn.  No problem, we are back on track and headed to Bithynia.  And, it happened again.

"As they tried to enter Bithynia, the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to."  "Why are we stopping?"  Everybody most likely turned to Paul looking for direction.  It was one thing for them not to know, but surely Paul had heard from the Lord.  "Why are we stopping?"  Awkward.  Paul was looking at his map, rubbing his chin, mumbling to himself, or was he praying?  They all waited for him to respond.  But, he didn't seem to have anything to say.  Sitting at the camel re-fueling station, Paul got off his camel and was talking to the attendant, showing him the map.  So, he was lost.

But, when Paul returned, there was no explanation as to why they had stopped.  They merely re-calculated their camel's GPS and headed a different direction.  Can you imagine the campfire discussions that evening.  "Paul, where are we going?  Did we make a wrong turn?  Are you and Jesus still friends?"  Paul didn't have much to say.  That night, he slept fitfully.  And, in the middle of the night, he had a vision.  That vision ultimately led Paul and his companions to Macedonia and to Philippi, a leading city of that colony.  And the rest, as Paul (Harvey) would later say, "is history."

Though I can't find it in Scripture, I have shared with individuals on many occasions, "God plans the stops of a good man as well as the steps."  I believe it.  I don't like it, but I believe it.  I don't always agree with it.  I often feel like we are losing momentum.  We need to keep going.  I don't want to be late.  I don't want to miss anything.  Mostly, I can't figure out what to do with myself if I am moving in some direction.  Sometimes, God just wants us to rest.  Sometimes, He wants us to learn to be patient and to trust.  Other times, there are things going on behind the scenes that we just don't know about, but God does and all He wants us to do is wait, until everything is ready, everything is in place, and then it will be time to act.

This takes great discernment on our parts, and trust.  We may want to blame ourselves and think it is because of something that we have done; and if that is how you feel, it is a good idea to check with the Big Guy upstairs and ask Him if you and He are still good.  Sometimes, there is something for us to get out of stopping.  Other times, there is no rhyme or reason to us; but, we have to trust God.  We need to remind ourselves that all our times are in His hands.  He will let us know when it is time to move.  For now, enjoy the scenery.

Godspeed, Phil