Jonathan Evans

I love the Bible! part 1

When do kids want to talk? It never fails that the moment my youngest son wants to talk is AFTER I’ve said goodnight to him. It’s then that his mind comes alive with many questions. 

 

As parents, we often want to listen on our time. But the reality is that we have to learn to listen when, where and how our children want to talk. 

 

The bible is when, where and how God wants to talk. 

 

The bible is God’s revelation of Himself; He has made Himself knowable to us in the pages and words of Scripture. Furthermore, the goal of God’s revelation to us in the bible is not to make us smarter or better than other christians or non-christians; the goal is to bring us to worship Jesus – to know Him, to love Him and to live for Him. 

 

LOVE THE LAW?

As christians, what we believe and how we feel about the bible is a reflection of what we believe and how we feel about God. 

 

Psalm 119 is a love poem written by the Psalmist about God’s word – God’s testimonies, statutes, commandments, precepts, words, law. It’s divided into 22 sections, one section for each of the letters in the Hebrew alphabet, each section with 8 stanzas, each stanza beginning with the corresponding Hebrew letter. It’s magnificently inspired and carefully crafted. 

 

Whenever I travel, my wife writes and gives me a love note to keep while I’m away. If I’m gone for multiple days, she writes me a note for each of those days! Imagine, though, that I refuse the notes or that I say, “I’ll read them when I get back.” My actions towards her written words would speak volumes concerning my value and love for her. 

 

When we love the bible we love God; when we love God we love the bible. They are distinct, yet they are inseparable. 

 

The Psalmist says in 119:97, “O how I love your law!” The law?! Does that sound odd, unusual, even absurd? Who of us loves the speed limit? Who loves to pay their taxes? Who loves submitting to their authority? Who loves serving their spouse at all times? Who loves forgiving their enemy? 

 

In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus is asked which is “the great commandment”. Jesus answers with, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” What does this mean? It means that the law is love and love is the law. It means that the source of God’s law is God’s love and that the source of man’s obedience to God is man’s love for God. It means that the law is not simply moral, but also relational.

 

WHICH CAME FIRST?

Early in the Old Testament, God sees and hears that the people of Israel are suffering in bondage to slavery in Egypt. So God appears on Mount Sinai, calls a man named Moses and sends him to deliver Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. Moses, however, is unsure of his ability to accomplish such a task. God assures Moses, “they will listen to your voice” (Exodus 3:18). 

 

Moses does obey and God does deliver. After their exodus from Egypt, Moses leads the people of Israel to Mount Sinai where “the LORD came down” (Ex. 19:20) and “spoke all these words” (Ex. 20:1). What words? The words of the Ten Commandments, the words of God’s law. 

 

QUESTION: Which came first? God’s law or God’s rescue? 

 

Rescue. God didn’t rescue Israel on the basis of their obedience to His law. God gave them His law on the basis of His rescuing and making them His people. The law was/is given within the context of a relationship that God initiated out of love.

 

Now think of Jesus. In Matthew 17:5, Jesus is on a mountain top with his disciples when  both Elijah and Moses appear with him. Peter wants to join the conversation when God speaks three words from heaven that change everything for the disciples, and for us: “listen to him.” Listen to Elijah? Listen, still, to Moses? No. Listen to Jesus. When you listen to Jesus, the beloved Son of God, you are listening to God. 

 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:1, 14)  

 

 

WORDS OF LIFE

The law, Scripture, the word of God – ALL of the BIBLE – finds its fulfillment in WHO Jesus is and WHAT He has done. ON Jesus depends ALL that God has spoken and done, and continues to speak and to do through his word. On His authority, power and life hangs ALL the authority, power and life of God’s Word. At the beginning and end of all our bible reading, studying, meditation, preaching, application, exhortation, training, etc. are the words of Peter concerning his realization and revelation of Jesus Christ: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:69)

 

So, then, do we need to have the right degrees or tools or skills to come to the bible and to understand it? 

 

No, but to think this way will either produce fear or pride. It will produce fear because we will feel like we can’t; we’ll think it’s too complicated for us. It will produce pride because we’ll believe that we can, since we’re convinced we have what it takes.

 

As we come to the word of God we come to The Word of God. Approach the word of God without fear of not understanding, since you’ve no reason to fear Jesus, The Word of God made flesh. Approach the word of God without pride in understanding, since you’ve no reason to boast about anything before Jesus, the Word of God eternal. 

 

Come to Him. Listen to Him. See Him. Worship Him.

 

This post is adapted from the sermon I Love The Bible! part 1

10,000 Guides

I walked up under the lights, opened my Bible and looked out over the faces. It had been a long time since I preached in Spanish. I was nervous. Would I remember the right words? Would I pronounce them correctly?  There I stood, ready to preach the Word of God to a people ready to hear it. And so I began. It didn’t take long to feel a sense of accomplishment, a confidence that not only was I doing well, but they were listening well. “Why,” I thought between my words, “doesn’t my congregation listen this well?” “Why,” I thought as I soaked in the thrill of the energy of the room, “isn’t my congregation this spiritually zealous?” And then it happened. My thoughts formed into words and I began to compare this Mexican congregation to my American one.

 

Later when I returned home I listened back to my sermon and was ashamed, embarrassed, and convicted to the bone. I repented and now, ten years later, I love the United States, the American Church and my local congregation more than ever.

 

THE MESS

But what happened? Why did I admire a congregation not my own more than the one I called my own? Is it easier to notice what God is doing in another congregation than it is to pay attention to what He is doing in my own – maybe even to believe He is doing anything at all? And what about us as individual Christians? Is it easier to notice what God is or is not doing in another than it is to pay attention to what He is doing in me? Being a pastor of a local church means being in the mess and creativity of it all. It means being content with, not in control of, and thankful for, not critical of, what God is doing in these people’s lives. Being a disciple means also entering the mess and creativity of it all. It means being content with, not in control of, and thankful for, not critical of, what God is doing in my life and in my church, and recognizing that discipleship and church are inseparable and interdependent.

 

The problem is this: To submit ourselves to a location, to a congregation, to leadership, and to others is to become aware of the good, the bad and the ugly being worked on and worked out of us, individually and corporately, by the Holy Spirit. We don’t find it difficult to notice it in others; we find it easy to attach the label of lacking obedience, faith, knowledge or love. But we have great difficulty seeing it or acknowledging it in ourselves. As the medical saying goes: A doctor who is his own doctor has a fool for a doctor. But the beauty of submitting myself to the work and church God gave me is that it brings out the attitudes that need reshaping, renewing, and recreating. There’s no other way for these things to be dealt with outside of a localized body of believers.

 

10,000 GUIDES

Today, though, it’s so much easier to attend church without submitting anywhere, to listen to sermons without ever engaging in the relationships that are the soil the Scriptures work in. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 4:15-16, “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” We have countless guides in Christ. Not a bad thing. The word “countless” can be translated as “10,000 guides”. We have 10,000 guides, then. Guides are necessary to our growth and maturity in Christ, but guides lead from a distance. We never get close enough to see their faith being worked out inside the walls of their homes, or in their personal lives. The platform, a book, or a podcast is not adequate for considering the faith-integrated lifestyle of a man or a woman. They can teach us good things, but they can’t see the intricacies of our hearts – the habits, the tendencies, the temptations, the mess. Something, or rather someone, closer is needed. Which is why Paul goes on to say to the local believers in the local church that they need fathers.

 

FEW FATHERS

The ratio of guide to father is 10,000 to a few. Yet, it is more necessary and critical to our Christian life and spiritual growth that we have a father than a guide. We’re called to imitate fathers, not guides. A father is someone who can get close enough, who is close enough, to see over time with precision and patience what’s happening in my heart, what God is doing creatively in this mess and vice versa. This is unattractive and undesirable to us, naturally. Children often believe those closest to them – their parents – don’t see, hear or know enough about them to teach, show and correct. The thrill of learning from friends over parents is always present and attractive. The thrill of shopping is always a threat to being content with what we have. The thrill and excitement of going to those who don’t know us at all, those who don’t have authority over us, will always be greater than sticking it out and grounding ourselves in the slow-growing, zeal-flickering local church we’re close enough to be blessed to see and be a part of.

 

GROWING UP

Today there are 10,000 guides at the fingertips and demand of Christians everywhere. But the “fathers” remain few. The ratio will always be lopsided. And I wonder, Do we have a “spiritually fatherless” generation? Do we have churches filled with many followers, yet few sons and daughters? Imitation is the goal! Paul said to imitate him as he imitated Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). This is done in close proximity, not safely at a distance.

 

Do we have churches filled with Christians who would rather listen to preachers and follow churches more “radical” than their own? A few questions:

 

(1) Can I remember the last podcast I listened to by Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, John Piper, Judah Smith and countless others, but not a word my pastor spoke on Sunday? Am I more excited to hear their sermons during the week than my pastor’s on Sunday?

 

(2) Do I feel I grow more while driving and listening to podcasts, while watching other teachers or preachers on TV, while reading other pastors or authors, than I do while sitting and listening to my pastor? And do I blame my pastor, but praise the guide for this?

 

(3) Am I often looking to my favorite pastor or preacher for guidance found online or written in their books, but consider the advice of my local pastor or close friends in my local church less than spiritually adequate?

 

Driscoll, Osteen, Keller, Piper, or whoever we listen to and follow, is not enough.

 

Biblically, we would be more in line moving and submitting to those guides in order that they might become our pastors than we are listening to them and doing as I did, comparing their churches or others’ lives to ours. But God wants you and I to grow up into the full stature and maturity that is Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). And the way, the primary way, He accomplishes this is in a local church, a corporate body of believers, where time seems to slow, where messes seem to abound, where the Spirit of God appears to be hovering but never quite forming anything of substance, at least that we can see. Yet, this localized body is how and where life happens: below the surface, invisibly, slowly.

 

In the end, a “father” in my life is equal in value to 10,000 guides. One local, congregational home is more beneficial to my growth than 10,000 I could visit elsewhere. Discipline and correction and full attention to what is going on in the home is never really attractive or fun or thrilling, but it is absolutely necessary to long-term health and growth and imitation.

 

RUTH: God's extraordinary work through vocation

“How are you?” It’s a common question, one I commonly answer with, “Busy.” Most people today are busy, which means we are engaged simultaneously in a variety of things and endeavors, sometimes beyond our ability to juggle and our capacity to sustain. We are busy by our own choice. But are we working?

www.sxc.hu/photo/1407133 

“What is work the result of?” When asked, many people might say sin. But work is the result of creation (Genesis 2:15). Creation was God’s work (Genesis 1:31) and God delighted to work and delighted in His work.  The futility of work is the result of sin, but Jesus turns that futility into fruitful labor. The difference between our busyness and God’s work is in the word “vocation”.

 

WORK FOR

Vocation means “to call”.  When you are called by someone to do something for someone, you enter into a vocation. In today’s society, though, we have a job. And a job is most often what I do for myself, what I use to seek self-fulfillment, what I leverage to advance myself. But a vocation is not only something I do for myself, it is something I choose to do for another, to bring them good and to advance them for their good. When we begin to perceive our job as a vocation, we begin to get a glimpse into the heart of God, who worked for us in creation, continues to work for us by providing for us, and most supremely came to serve us in His Son Jesus, to work His salvation for us.

 

We read in Ruth 2:2 that Ruth took it upon herself to go and work for her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth had returned from her homeland and left her own family in order to devote herself to Naomi and to take care of her. This is the heart of every vocation -- to work for another. A vocation is an invitation and a calling to join and participate with God in serving others.  Paul knew this desire well (Phil 1:22-25). On the one hand, he desired to go to heaven and to be with Jesus. This was better for him! But on the other hand, he desired to stay on earth and to be with people. This was better for others! It was fruitful labor worth pursuing.

 

Having this perspective can change the way we approach career choices and job transitions, i.e., how and why we do what we do. For example, when faced with two vocational decisions, one being a larger amount of money but a smaller opportunity to do good for others, and the other being a smaller amount of money but a larger opportunity for doing good, which one do you choose? According to our abilities and opportunities, where can we be of greatest use for the greatest good of others? Ruth went to the field. Where do you go? Where should you go? What do you do?

 

Colossians 3:17 says “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” “Whatever” leaves room for, well, whatever! This means there may be a vocation that is overtly religious, like pastoring, and there may be one that is not overtly religious, like a plumber. Is the pastor in a better position before God than the plumber? Is the pastor’s work more valuable than the plumber’s? No! Whatever you do, do it for Jesus! This also means that our work doesn’t need to have religious buzzwords stuck on it, or even associated with it, in order for it to be pleasing to God. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) Therefore, whatever you do, do it all FOR the good of others. 

 

WORK HARD

Ruth not only worked for Naomi, she worked HARD for her. To begin, Ruth approached her work with humility. She was of the poorest of the poor, and so came to Boaz’s field not demanding but asking. “She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers’” (Ruth 2:7). Please? There isn’t a hint of entitlement in her request. Humility is the root attitude of good character and fruitful labor. Jesus was humble. He knew His position under the Father and was submitted, never doing anything beyond what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). Jesus, though, was also confident. He knew the Father was pleased with Him and that He had His full support (Matthew 3:17). Ruth knew her position, and so approached confidently. 

 

She receives favor, and when Boaz comes on to the scene, the report is that Ruth has been working hard since the moment she arrived (Ruth 2:7). Here is something very important to note: receiving favor shouldn’t mean working less.  Ruth took advantage of her opportunity and brought all her energy and skill to the task. After all, she was working for another. The fact that we’ve been given a job, work, or an opportunity should not result in our only doing the required minimum. On the contrary! Another word for favor is “grace”. Receiving grace should mean working harder. Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” What is the evidence of God’s grace being received by Paul and Paul being changed by it? Hard work. Yet, Paul says, it was God’s grace supplying the energy. Paul was not willing to be dependent upon anyone for his livelihood, and so worked with his own two hands to make tents (Acts 18:3).  Paul exhorts the church in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 to work with their own hands so they would not be dependent on anyone. Why? Because as far as it is possible, this is the proper way for Christians to live before the world: self-starting, self-disciplined, hard-working laborers.

 

Paul also says that our salvation is hard work (Philippians 2:12-13), not in the sense of our accomplishing it, but in the sense of our living it out.  Yet again, he insists that it is God working within us to both desire and work for Him. In other words, diligent physical labor (1 Cor. 15:10) is as much God’s work as our spiritual disciplines are. Diligence is a righteous attribute; laziness is not (Proverbs 21:25-26). Neither is busyness. Diligence understands which vocation God has called us to, what it takes to get the job done and goes to work. Laziness doesn’t take advantage of what opportunities God gives and busyness goes beyond what God gives, neither of which lead truly to contentment or to a tiredness that is free of regret and self-condemnation.

 

Finally, Ruth worked hard and then rested (Ruth 2:7). But Ruth had already been accepted when she began to work hard. She wasn’t working to earn acceptance. She was working out of her acceptance. So when Ruth needed a rest, she could rest easy. She needn’t worry about being “fired” or rejected. She had already been approved. She was resting out of her approval. Restfulness of heart is a sign of our dependence on and trust in God. As Christians, knowing we have been justified and accepted by God through the work of Christ frees us to work hard for others. And knowing we have been justified and approved by God through the work of Christ frees us to rest when our work is done. 

 

WORK WELL

Ruth finished the job. At the end of the day, she completed the task she had set out to accomplish for Naomi (Ruth 2:17-18). She worked hard, was efficient and successful. She was competent. Not only did she have the skills necessary for the job, she used them to finish well. What we do should be done WELL and well DONE. Competency is a ministry. If I am to do something for my wife, I want to do it as well as I can because it’s FOR her and is an expression of my love. In particular for Christians, when we claim to do all things for the glory of God, it is most evidenced in how we do things for others – in our competency. 

 

Isaiah 28:24-19 shows us that the farmer’s knowledge of the soil, the seasons, and the tools comes from God. Regardless of who passed down the knowledge to the farmer, it ultimately came from God. In Exodus 31:1-5, God tells Moses he has called a man named Bezalel, filled him with His Spirit in order to create incredible artistic designs and to work in all kinds of craftsmanship. God is the one who teaches humanity what to do and how to do it. God is the original designer, inventor and craftsman. He is the one who makes known the brilliant ideas that have advanced society and civilization. We as humanity are often the ones who take God’s wisdom and make it foolish. Still, any advancement for good in the world today is only the result of a God who is good in His common grace toward all. Whatever your vocation, there are ideas you haven’t thought of.  God can teach you to do your job better and more efficiently, both for your sake and the sake of others. Your home or workplace could become “explosive” with the creative genius of God. God has never done any job with mediocrity. He is excellent in all His ways! 

 

Furthermore, God has never left anything half done, nor will He ever.  Genesis 2:1-2 says that God finished the heavens and the earth, that He finished His work of creation, and rested. Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:6 that “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” In Jesus’ parable on faithfulness he speaks these words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” On the cross, Jesus, knowing that all that needed to be accomplished for His work of salvation to be complete had been accomplished, said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).  And in Revelation 21:2 we read the promise that one day the new heaven and the new earth will come down from out of heaven “prepared” for the bride of Christ, the church. Whatever we do for others, let us work hard and work well from beginning to end.

 

WORK BEYOND WORK

After Jesus died, rose and ascended back to heaven, many of His disciples went back to their jobs. Do you think they approached their work the same way they did before Jesus came onto the scene and into their lives? Certainly not! Jesus forever changed His disciples’ relationship to their work. Now their fishing went beyond fishing. Their carpentry went beyond carpentry. Paul’s tent-making went beyond his tent-making. Their work went beyond their work, and so should ours. Whether you’re a stay-at-home-mom, a banker, a janitor, a teacher, a CEO, etc., your work goes beyond your work. One day, all our work done in the name of Jesus will be rewarded. Whether our vocation is esteemed or despised; whether we’re succeeding or failing; whether we’ve gained it all or lost it all; whether we think life can’t get better or life can’t get worse; in the end, at the end, all our hard and skillful labor will be finished and completed in a way we never could have imagined. And then we’ll receive it as a gift of His grace, and worship forever Him to whom, through whom, and for whom all things exist (Romans 11:36). 

 

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

60 SECOND READ: The glory of Jesus and the size of my responsibility

I have two sons and it is curious to observe their ability to climb, scale, lift, jump, create -- to accomplish great feats of strength for a boy -- and then to see their “inability” to pick up that stained t-shirt and throw it in the dirty laundry! 

Big adventure and exciting play are natural and attractive to them. Boring responsibility, on the other hand, is not. And it’s not always attractive for me, either.

I can perceive and pursue doing great and amazing feats for God, and yet find myself ignorant of or unwilling to do the small things for God, i.e., being faithful in small ways with small responsibilities.

We marvel at the miracles of Jesus’ ministry, but do we minimize the small acts of kindness He did? Was He more faithful when He healed than He was when He held a child? Or was His faithfulness and obedience to the Father in equal measure evident in everything He did, both big and small?

Many times the smallness of my responsibility isn’t as attractive when compared with the greatness of a task I hope to accomplish. But responsibility tests the disposition of the heart to humble itself, to obey, to submit, to surrender to God and His will. Small responsibilities before God, such as telling the truth, admitting wrong, holding your tongue, asking forgiveness, correcting your children or paying your bills, all of these and more test the heart and prepare the heart for greater responsibilities. 

Am I being faithful in small ways? Am I fulfilling my daily responsibilities? My ability to handle more will grow in proportion to my responsibility in handling what I see as less. 

Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” In humble responsibilities, in mundane tasks, in simple things - acknowledge God. But more than acknowledge, be familiar with God in the smallest of your ways. Have fellowship with God in the smallest of your tasks and responsibilities. The size of my responsibility is not as telling of my relationship with God as is the willingness of my heart to say “Yes” to Him in anything.

When Peter replied to Jesus, “At your word I will let down the nets,” (Luke 5:5), he had no idea Jesus was about to perform a miracle. Peter simply said “Yes”, and as a result he saw the glory of Jesus Christ. THAT GLORY, the glory of Jesus, shines through the smallest of holes, upon the narrowest of paths, and in the humblest of responsibilities. 

Get the most out of Sunday

As Christians, Sunday morning should be a time of expectation and excitement for us. We’re meeting with the living God! The living God is meeting with us! Therefore, we should “ENTER His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). A thankful heart, then, is something we bring to church, not something we get at church. 

 

Sunday morning is the time, and the local church is the place, where you and I gladly, willingly, deliberately and purposefully come to give thanksgiving and praise to God for all that He has done, is doing and will do. 

 

This should change the way we view and treat our “going to church”.  Attendance means “being present”. But we shouldn’t just want to be present. We should want to be active, i.e. participating, giving, receiving, responding. Thanksgiving and praise are activities of a heart that has been renewed by the Holy Spirit. 

 

To that end, there are things we can do to help us get the most out of Sunday, actions that we can take to actively pursue all that God has for us, and in this way honor Him and value the time.

 

Be early

Most of us will be on time for any commitment we have. A doctor appointment? A dinner appointment? A counseling appointment? On time. I would encourage you to be early for church. Come hang out with people. Spend a few minutes in quiet prayer. Soak in the atmosphere. 

 

Take the first step

The service doesn’t solely depend on the worship team or the preacher. Take the first step and prepare your heart, speak to your soul, focus your mind, get to know people in your row -- make a difference.

 

Write

I’m an avid iPhone user, but more than ever I’m dedicated to writing in my journal. A pen and paper can help you focus and help you remember things better than a screen and app can. Plus, with technology, I’m always one tap away from being distracted!

 

Smile and Serve

Be generous with your time. Smile. Ask someone how they are doing. Serve someone a cup of coffee. Help someone out to their car. Find some way to leave an impression of kindness. 

 

Sleep

It’s hard to focus when you’re tired. While God can speak to you in your sleep, you can only pursue God when you’re awake! Try to go to bed on time. 

 

Expect 

God delights in revealing Himself to His people! He desires to speak to us and to change us. Never expect to leave God’s presence the same way you came in. 

 

This post was provoked and inspired in part by this article written by Brian Houston. Check it out:   http://hillsongcollected.com/leadership/hillsong-conference-2013-revival-starts-with-me

THE GUARDRAILS OF GODLY COUNSEL: AVOID THE DITCHES

It is a great joy to see a Christian find a good, solid local church, get plugged in and begin to grow and mature in their faith. Their character is formed and shaped by being around and with other Christians. They begin to thrive as their relationships with Jesus and with other Christians deepen. They learn to trust and confide in others, and others learn to trust and confide in them. There is mutual encouragement.

 

One of the greater blessings a Christian finds in the company of a local church is wise and godly counsel. It is no secret that there are scenarios and circumstances, decisions and struggles, when we don’t know what to do. There may be two solid options or seemingly none. Either way, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22) 

It is a great sadness, then, to see some Christians not seeking the enormous blessing of godly counsel, or even ignoring it. 

 

UNGODLY COUNSEL

Ungodly counsel clouds the mind. It unsettles the heart. In the company of ungodly counsel, peer pressure can take over. Family ties can pull under. The mind that once thought clear about the present and the future is now uncertain. Common sense is weakened and faith is shaken. Rash judgment and decisions ensue. The Christian in this position can very quickly doubt, if not forget, the stability their church family brought them. The joy of following Christ is quickly diminished under the growing influence of pleasing people. We begin to trust in others. Those who have not helped us grow in our faith become more important in our hearts and bigger in our minds than those who have helped us.

 

NO GODLY COUNSEL

Seeking no godly counsel closes our mind. Our mind is deluded into thinking we need no one else to bounce ideas off of, or run decisions by. We become arrogant and independent, wrongly assuming God speaks to us, just not through others. Those around us who at one point we looked up to, respected, and enlisted for help and counsel, now become small and dull in our eyes. We begin to trust in ourselves. Unfortunately, the Christian in this position ends up making big and bad decisions - decisions they will greatly regret. They find themselves in circumstances and in messes beyond their ability to control.      

 

GODLY COUNSEL

Godly counsel clears the mind. Because of the relationships developed and established with other Christians in a local church, we come to trust their opinion and counsel. Quite simply, we trust them because they love us. They’ve cared and prayed for us, laughed and cried with us. When we needed to talk, they listened. They have demonstrated who they are by how they live. They are people we are genuinely thankful for, because God has used them in our lives in both small and significant ways.  

When we put ourselves in the position of asking for godly counsel, the result is that we’re often put in a position of discomfort or disagreement. We walk away feeling like we’re losing control of our lives, and they’re taking it. We don’t like being told that our plans are not wise or that our ideas are not well thought-through. We feel this way because this is the way of mutual submission. This is the way of wisdom: to seek wise counsel AND to accept wise correction. When we learn to submit to and trust those whom God has brought into our lives as friends and wise counselors, we learn to trust God. 

 

GUARDRAILS

Every Christian needs these guardrails of wise and godly counsel and correction. Otherwise, we run the risk of driving our lives off the road, one bad decision after another. If we continue to live this way, sooner or later, we’ll end up in a ditch where it is possible that no one will find us, where potentially there will be no way out or back. But if we ask and listen and receive, although we may feel at times like we’re driving blindly or going nowhere, slowly but surely we are making progress - we’re growing and maturing and reaching our next destination in life.

A tale of two hearts

Since, as Christians, we are all in the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, inevitably we will be confronted by the sin yet indwelling our hearts and surfacing in our thoughts and actions. 

At the intersection of conviction and repentance is the condition of the heart. Two people can be confronted about their sinful behavior, yet they can respond in two very different ways. So, what are some of the differences between a heart being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and a heart being softened by the conviction of the Holy Spirit?

 

THE HARDENING HEART:
1) is defensive when confronted
2) is divisive with others
3) is elusive of confrontation
4) is secretive in behavior
5) lacks initiative, but makes demands of others
6) casts blame
7) avoids accountability from those who are close, but seeks it from those who are far away
8) sees and seeks to remove all the “specks” of sin in the eyes of others (Matthew 7:1-5)
9) is quickly provoked to anger
10) leverages the past to disrupt the present to destroy the future to avoid exposure
11) isolates itself from spiritual authority
12) seeks spiritual submission on its own terms
13) manipulates through promises, yet also through insults and threats
14) is quick to demonize others, even faithful friends
15) forgives, yet makes no effort to rebuild and restore what is broken and lost, like trust or communication

 

THE SOFTENING HEART:
1) confesses
2) needs to tell those affected
3) admits weaknesses, blind spots and stumbling blocks, yet takes responsibility and casts no blame
4) is quick to mourn over sin
5) shows initiative
6) seeks help and counsel and cooperates
7) seeks and is not elusive of accountability from those who are close
8) sees and seeks to remove the “log” of sin in it’s own eye (Matthew 7:1-5)
9) receives correction and, if necessary, discipline
10) asks for forgiveness
11) makes no demands of others in exchange for forgiveness
12) desires submission and expresses gratitude, respect and appreciation for spiritual authority
13) is humble and careful to make grand promises
14) doesn’t avoid communication, but responds quickly
15) forgives and makes any effort necessary to rebuild and restore what is broken and lost, like trust or communication

 

A Christian who denies or dismisses the lure of temptation and the power of sin is either dead or not really a Christian. We must be aware and vigilant over our heart at all times, as well as be diligent and willing to put ourselves “in the way” of both honest accountability and faithful encouragement. 

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6

THE GRACE POINT

Have you ever noticed that God seldom describes or discloses what He is doing? What is always clear is what He wants us to do. 

 

In Psalm 127:2, Solomon writes that God “gives to his beloved in his sleep.” (NASB) These words are in contrast to our building what God isn’t building, guarding what God isn’t guarding and taking what God isn’t giving to us (verses 1-2). In other words, when we are doing everything, God may in fact be doing nothing. Yet when we are doing nothing, like sleeping, God may in fact be doing everything. 

 

In Mark 4:27, Jesus tells a parable describing the kingdom of God as “if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.”  (ESV) What is God doing? Growing His kingdom. How? In ways we “know(s) not how.” We scatter, we work, and we then lay down and sleep. The part that we can’t do, God does when we’re doing nothing. Apart from sowing there is only waiting and trusting. 

 

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus invites us to “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Our part is to work, but it is also to receive rest from Jesus. 

 

Sleeping, waiting, trusting, resting. These things are, honestly, more difficult than waking up, working hard, and making “good” things happens. Still, what happens if we don’t get enough sleep in a night? Naturally, we will have less energy and strength to get our work done the following day. Sleep makes effort possible. Sleep reminds us we are not self-sufficient nor self-sustaining. Sooner or later I need sleep and rest, because without it I will become weak and useless. But sleep also reminds me on a deeper level that I need grace and I cannot ignore that either. We were created to sleep, in the same way we were created to rest and trust in God’s grace.

 

Grace makes effort possible. Grace means you couldn’t, but Jesus could. Grace means you can’t,  but Jesus can. The point between laying down my efforts and lifting up my burdens is what I call “The Grace Point”. It is the lowest point you can go as a man, yet the highest point you can go in God. It is the point of rest, of trust, of surrender, of doing nothing, and therefore, of doing everything in order to receive the grace of God.

 

You cannot go deeper in God than your willingness to lay down your efforts as the source of your accomplishments. And you cannot go higher in God than your willingness to lift up your burdens as the confession of your trust.

 

A sure sign you are relying more and more upon your own effort and/or trusting more and more in your own control is that: 

• you are spiritually forgetting more and more about the cross
• you are spiritually depressed, losing hope, joy, peace, etc
• you are spiritually frequently sick, meaning you are quicker to fight with others, to hold on to grudges, bitterness, and anger, etc.
• you are becoming spiritually prone to doing things you never did before, like mocking other Christians, ignoring spiritual disciplines, separating yourself from your church, etc

 

In the end, grace makes effort possible, but equally important is that grace brings rest from our effort and in our effort.

 

When I feel I am doing everything, God may in fact be doing nothing. When I feel I am doing nothing, God may in fact be doing everything.  It’s not about me and my efforts;  it’s all about trusting in His grace.

STAYING ABOVE REPROACH: Being FOR > Being AGAINST

How often are you satisfied with your order at your favorite coffee shop? Do you order exactly what you want but always find your order less than exact? How often do you recommend a restaurant without hesitation, or is there always that little disappointment you have to add? How often do you find what is wrong in someone else, things you think they can’t “improve” without your help?

It’s easy to find what we’re against, to spot what we would like changed, to call out what we think should be done differently. Yet if we find ourselves most of the time criticizing, as valid as our reasons might be, we should not be surprised to find people unwilling to listen to us.

 

The bottom-line is that people who are mostly ‘against’ things will find that their opinions are mostly ignored. 

 

Rather than making a habit of speaking against what we think others are doing wrong, how about making a habit of speaking for what we think others are doing right? Is it easier to remember the last time I criticized someone or complemented someone?

 

Having a reputation is not optional. You and I already have one. Is my reputation one of being critical or encouraging? It takes greater maturity and boldness to encourage and be FOR people than it does to criticize and be AGAINST people. In fact, encouraging people often involves us dying to ourselves to serve and put others first. Criticizing can simply involve putting me and my opinion above others. 

 

Being FOR people is greater than being AGAINST people. Helping or influencing others is rarely accomplished by being against them. Certainly, we all have blind spots that MUST be corrected. But those who are best able to bring correction are those who have established beforehand that they are FOR us, not AGAINST us.

 

Having an opinion doesn’t make me wise, discerning or influential. Having character does. And godly character is built on love for God and for others, not for self. Godly character is broken and formed in the presence of the God who is FOR me, not AGAINST me (Psalm 118:6; Romans 8:31; 1 John 4:4). Put simply, because He is FOR me and loves me, He grants repentance and changes me (Psalm 54:10; Acts 11:18; Romans 2:4).

 

To have a greater marriage, be FOR your spouse, not against them. To have a greater family, be FOR your children, not against them. To have greater leaders, be FOR them, not against them. To have a greater church, be FOR your church, not against it. To have greater friendships, be FOR your friends, not against them. 

 

CHALLENGE: Everyday for the next eight days, DO encourage someone or write something encouraging and DON’T correct someone or write something critical.

 

90 Second Read: Are you spiritually multi-tasking yourself to death?

photo courtesy of Piotr Bizior

 

Multi-tasking never works for me. I have found that if I focus on a single task I can get it done quickly. Yet, if I focus on (get distracted by?) a second task it only adds time to getting the first task done. This is why a 15 minute task can conceivably take me 30-45 minutes. In that amount of time I could have gotten three tasks done! 

 

Spiritually, we like to multi-task, thinking about everything God is doing and everything we need to do. But are we then able to zoom in and focus on what in particular God is doing? 

 

Let me ask you: What’s one thing God is focusing on in your life, right now? Said differently, what’s one thing being highlighted in your life, right now? Is it a lack of patience? Is it becoming more generous? Maybe it’s taking more time to be with your children or wife? Maybe it’s beginning to exercise? It could be a variety of things, but why not determine what is that one thing above the other things, that one step before the other steps that God wants you to take?

 

If we focus on ALL the things we think we need to improve on or change about ourselves, we’ll become overwhelmed. We’re not God. We can’t do everything, we can’t know everything, we can’t be everywhere. We can do one thing at a time, think one thought at a time, be in one place at a time. God knows that, which is why He speaks in a clear manner, a simple manner and, believe it or not, in an organized manner. God is not scatterbrained! 

 

Remember this: There are no results of faith without taking steps of faith. But remember, too, that results are not the primary goal. Heart transformation is the goal, and there can be no change of heart apart from the obedience of the heart. As my friend Esteban Grasman says, “At times the result of a step of faith is secondary to the step of faith itself.”

 

Take one step, focus on one thing, and respond to one word God is speaking to you. It’s enough because that’s where you start. You get through your walk one step at a time. You get through a book one chapter at a time. You get through a day one minute at a time. God will not likely change one big chunk of your heart at a time. Rather, He will change you one step of obedience at a time. Through daily worship. Through conviction of and repentance from one sin at a time. Through renewing one thought, empowering one action, shaping one feeling, and creating one desire at a time. 

 

Jesus is patient, we often are not. He can do all things, we can’t. Don’t spiritually multi-task your life to death. Be still, listen, surrender, and respond one step at a time. Don’t get ahead of yourself - or of Him! Wait for Him, all day if necessary, because there is life in every single step He will ask you to take. 

 

“Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.” Psalm 25:5