It Is Well With My Soul

Greetings All,

     My daughter Bekah sent me the link to this devotional by Tori Kelly the other day, because she knows Horatio Spafford's hymn "It Is Well With My Soul" is one of my favorites. I opened it, read it, felt there was much honest transparency and biblical truth in it, and therefore thought I would pass it along to you. I trust it will encourage and speak to you as well.  Enjoy.

SOUL’S ANTHEM (IT IS WELL)

     Suffering is guaranteed in this life. The devil is always throwing fiery darts at us. Right now in this moment he’s trying to attack my family, my health, my relationships, and my peace. He’ll do anything to take my eyes off of Jesus.  He wants to take everything away from me, and most importantly, he wants to take my faith.

     Our faith is not grounded in our circumstances.  Neither can our joy in Christ be.  Recently, my grandfather passed away in the time I felt I needed him most.  I felt like I had lost my best friend. It was so painful to go through and I cried so much -- until my eyes had nothing left.  But through every tear, God was with me in those hard moments. I could still be in a dark and lonely place, and even be mourning, but my joy could not be stolen because it is secured in Jesus.  No matter what happens, no matter what arrows are thrown my way, no matter how dark it gets, I know I will be okay.  It’s not always easy to believe, but I know that when I remind myself that God is in control I find rest and am able to sing, “it is well with my soul.”

     Most importantly, I can always sing “it is well” because God spoiled the movie for us and we get to know how this story ends. “It is well with my soul” because there is a place called heaven where death will be no more, every tear will be wiped away, and any tears shed in this life will be redeemed (he has bottled each one).

     Maybe your suffering is different than losing a grandfather. Maybe it’s worse. Maybe it’s as bad as the writer of “It is Well” who lost his entire family in the days prior to when he penned this hymn.  Even still, God says all of it is not even worthy to be compared to the glory to come to us.  Like an adult reflecting on his experience in kindergarten, so believers in heaven will remember their suffering in this life, saying, “Oh yeah... I think I vaguely remember...”

     Suffering comes to each of us in a different way - broken relationships, physical illness, economic hardships, loss, crime, slander, betrayal, depression, humiliation, you name it. Scripture assures us of this. Jesus assures his disciples of this. "In this world you WILL have trouble (tribulations). But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  Jesus never promises us a trouble-free life in this world. His promised overcoming of the world means, as Tori Kelly rightly points out, we already know how the story ends!  Jesus is the Victor!  It's already a done deal!  God has won!  The world loses!  And we get to be over-comers with him in the victory he's already won!

     John 16:33 was spoken prior to the cross and resurrection.  Yet it is spoken in the past tense - "I have overcome..."  It is spoken before the cross an resurrection, but with as much confidence and assurance in the promise as if those those things had already taken place!  (If only they had truly "heard" him!)  In fact, in a very real sense the cross had already taken place, as John assures us in Revelation 13:8, where it speaks of Jesus as, "the Lamb slain from the creation of the world."   Jesus' ultimate victory of overcoming the world had already been decreed and determined and worked out in the providence of God before God ever created the world!  And we get to rejoice and participate in many of the benefits of that victory in this life (not all of them just yet), remembering as Paul assures us,  "Our light and momentary trials are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (I Corinthians 4:17).

     Resting in the victory of God until the promise becomes our experienced reality in eternity, Pastor Jeff

Sexual Temptation

Greetings All!

     I will get right to our topic for today: SEX.  Today's post is about sexual temptation.  That usually gets the attention of most since it's a struggle we've all faced, or do face, being people God created with sexual desires (unless we were "born eunuchs," as Jesus put it in Matthew 19:12, or born without a desire/ability for sexual fulfillment).
This post is lengthy, but worth reading if you are a Christian who cares about the things God cares about, and desires to gain victory in this area.  It is one of the best pieces of advice I've read on the issue, and comes to you from Jay Kesler. It is found in his book, "Being Holy, Being Human."   Jay (presently 83 years old, but written when he was much younger) was a former pastor in Illinois and Indiana, a former president of Youth for Christ, and formerly president of Taylor University.  His book is honest, practical, and helpful - a must read for the serious Christian or pastor.  It deals with Transparency, Expectations, Identity, Doubt, Money, the Pressure to perform, and other topics as well. With that said, he speaks here of just one on those many issues affecting holiness. Enjoy.

     “We all struggle in this area [of sexual temptation], and some have fallen,” says Kesler in a book written primarily to pastors.  “It's a serious problem, one of the most serious we face in the tension between being holy and being human.... Given the usual process by which sexual sin comes about, it naturally follows that the most important part of resisting sexual temptation is to maintain a good marriage relationship… I know that with all the demands we face, including obligations to our children, finding the time to maintain this kind of relationship with a spouse isn't easy — but there's simply no more important human relationship in the world for us to maintain. It's worth the effort and time and money it takes...

     Another big help to me in actually avoiding lust has been what I call contextualization. I pastored a church for fifteen years, and after about the twelfth year it dawned on me one day that I'd never had a sexual thought about any woman in the church. That amazed me, frankly, because I'm a sexual being like anyone else. I have sexual thoughts. I notice when I see a beautiful woman on the street; I didn't go blind when I became a Christian. In fact, earlier in my Christian life, when my buddies and I talked honestly, we all admitted that maintaining sexual purity was one of the major struggles of the younger man. Why hadn't I had sexual thoughts about women in the church? As I thought about it, I finally realized it was because I saw each of them in context. I knew all the people there so well that I knew everyone's husband, wife, son, and daughter, and many of the parents and grandparents, too. No one could be an object of lust to me without my being reminded of that person's other relationships. I knew that everyone there was a dear person to other people I knew and cared for. This included the women, and I couldn't look at them apart from their contexts of family and friends.  The only way you can prey on people and turn them into some kind of objects, especially for lust, is to mentally get them out of context. Conversely, if you think of them in context, you're not nearly so tempted to lust.

     Thus, I find it a good practice in ministry to continually think of people in context. For example, suppose I'm driving down the street and see some beautiful teenager who's dressed in an attention-getting way. My automatic response now is to contextualize her, to say to myself, “Hey, she's about the age of my daughter. I wonder who her parents are and how she gets along with them?” And suddenly the sexual part of it disappears. The girl hasn't changed, but my perception has. Instead of being an object of sexual thoughts, she's become someone's daughter, someone's little girl.  The same thing is true now that I find myself a college president on a campus that has its share of beautiful coeds. I can't say I haven't noticed them—I'm not blind—but I can honestly say that I don't think of them as a sexual turn-on. To me, they're all someone's daughters, someone's sisters, someone's granddaughters.  After I realized how my mind's eye was seeing people in context, I also realized that this is a biblical principle. It's what Paul told Timothy to do in — relate to older women as mothers, to younger women as sisters.

     I've also seen enough lives and ministries ruined by sexual sin that that's a deterrent for me. I've had frightening temptations in my own life that help deter me, too; just thinking about what might have happened if they'd gone another step in the wrong direction scares a lot of sense into me when I need it. We might call that putting yourself in context when you're tempted.  One time when I was much younger, I was flying to Denver on business, and a young woman in her twenties was sitting next to me. As we were flying, I noticed she was crying. I wondered if I should say anything or just respect her privacy. But after several minutes, I finally said, "Is there any way I can help you?” "I don't know," she said, then looked away. "Well, I'm involved in youth work, in Youth for Christ," I said. "And I'd be happy to just talk to you if that would help."  She began to open up then She said she had been engaged to a young man, and she'd just learned that he had run off to marry another woman. "The worst part of it is I'm still a virgin," she said.  She went on to say that she had always believed that if you kept yourself pure, everything would turn out right. Now she had decided that since a "wild girl" had stolen her man, her remaining pure had been to no avail, and she was going to go to some ski lodge and make up for lost time.  "Do you think it's worth giving up what you've always believed because of one painful experience?" I asked.  "I don't know," she said, then sank into silence.

     Finally she continued, "Well, where are you staying tonight?" I told her, and she said she was staying there, too. Then she suggested that maybe after we arrived we could "have a couple of drinks together and see how the evening turns out."  In effect, she was inviting me to help her initiate her new lifestyle.  "I don't want you to be confused," I said. "Let me show you my pictures." I took out my wallet and showed her my family photos. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I was putting myself in context. Looking at your wife and children really cools a potentially hot situation. After I showed her the photos, I went on, "I sympathize with the pain you feel. If you need someone to tell you you're pretty, let me tell you that you're very pretty. If you need someone to tell you you're sexually attractive, let me tell you that you're very attractive and desirable. But if you want me to say I'm willing to act on that desire, no, I'm not going to do it. You're vulnerable right now; you're in a difficult situation. Further, I'm married. I'm also a Christian. And I'm not going to do it because it would mean taking advantage of you and violating my commitments and my faith." Then I explained a bit of how my faith commitment guides my life.

     She was silent for a few minutes, but then she said, "Well, if I thought that by waiting the rest of my life I could find another man who would turn down the offer I made to you tonight, I'd stay a virgin till I found him.”  I replied, "There are more guys like me out there than you may think. I hope you don't go through with your plan."  When we got to Denver, I put the young woman in touch with some female Youth For Christ staff, and she stayed the night with them. They spent a few days with her and then sent her back home. So far, thank God, I've never been given that kind of offer when I was vulnerable. But I have been tempted, and it's always helped me to put both the woman and myself in context...  Sexual temptation is all around us these days, and if we're honest with ourselves, we know we're often vulnerable.  In spite of all we do to avoid tempting situations, there will be times, such as my experience on the plane, when temptation will stare us right in the face. Our job is to prepare ourselves and keep our marriages strong before we find ourselves in those situations so that when the temptations come, we'll be able to maintain our integrity—and our ministries.”

     A regular reading of the news is enough to assure us this is a common stumbling block for everyone -- Christian and non-Christian alike -- be it pastors or the people in the pews. But I would ask you to mull over his advice and put it into practice. For when practiced I can say from experience that it does work in helping one gain victory. Obviously, there are other pieces that are important, and John Piper shares an excellent portion that would be worth your time checking out in his book, "Future Grace," Chapter 17, "Applying the Power of Future Grace to Lust."  These two resources read and applied could go a long way toward helping break the addiction to pornography, or the lure of temptation which so many fall prey to in this area. A few dollars well spent, and these two books on your reading list, could save a lot of heartache.

 Fellow Sinner in the Struggle for Integrity and Godliness, Pastor Jeff

God For The Rest of Us

Greetings All,

     I was tempted to entitle this weeks "thought"  --  "Getting Back to Reaching People the Jesus Way."   I love it because it's a true story and I enjoy true stories far more than fiction.  I like to hear of people who have actually done things, not read fictional scenarios of people doing things!  True stories are more motivationally challenging than fiction!

     
     The following excerpt comes from the book, "God For The Rest of Us" by Vince Antonucci.  It chronicles his call to plant a church in Las Vegas (or "Sin City" as it is commonly called).  It shows his love for "sinners" which others might by-pass, overlook, and even avoid.  That's why I personally found his story(s) inspiring.  And my prayer in sending this out is that his story might inspire you to do what both he and his friend Tommy did. I pray it challenges you to think outside the box in terms of who you seek to reach, and how you seek to reach them with the message of Jesus.  Enjoy.

     "I met Tommy at church. Tommy had recently gotten out of the Air Force. He was in a unit called Air Force Special Operations. Tommy would drop behind enemy lines to prepare bomb sites in wars, and knew how to kill people with his pinky or a rubber spatula.  But those were his Chuck Norris days. Tommy was now in seminary. Like me, he had decided to become a pastor so he could make the biggest difference possible for God.  When Tommy started attending our church, he began by volunteering and joining my small group.   About two years later, during my 12th year at that church, my wife and I felt God leading us to move to Las Vegas to start another church. After announcing it to everyone on a Sunday morning, we got together with our small group.  As we shared our feelings with the group, Tommy had a big smile on his face.  I wanted to tell him he was a jerk for being so happy we were leaving the church, but I was afraid to.  Finally, I stopped and asked, "What are you smiling about?"  Tommy laughed and shocked everyone when he said, "We're coming with you." They did. Tommy, his wife and two children, moved to Las Vegas to help us start the church.  After years of seminary Tommy would finally be a pastor.

     Tommy has a Harley. And when he arrived in Vegas, he realized that there was probably a bunch of rough-and-tumble Harley riders who wouldn't step foot in a church, so he joined a biker club. Well, he said it was a club. It seemed more like a gang to me.  It was a bunch of scary-looking guys who wore leather jackets and rode Harleys.  If they didn't want you in their "club" anymore, they would take your leather jacket and cut it in half.  I'd never heard of a club like that!  So Tommy joined these guys, built relationships with them, and began sharing his faith with them. Eventually he invited the leader of the gang (I mean "club") to our new church. The leader showed up -- big, tall, ornery and with a Wiccan girlfriend.  And eventually he said yes to Jesus, and Tommy baptized him. 

     Tommy also has tattoos. He realized that there were more than 300 tattoo shops in Las Vegas, and more than 1000 tattoo artists, and that close to none of them would set foot in a church. Tommy really developed a heart for these tattoo artists who felt rejected by the church. How do you help tattoo artists to know God is for them?  How do you lead them to experience God's love and move into a relationship with him?  How do you get past the hard, painted exterior so you can tattoo on their hearts the gospel of God's love for those who think they're unfit? I'm not completely sure.  But I know the strategy Jesus used.

     Jesus is God. 

     Jesus was in heaven.

     Jesus wanted humans (sinful ones) to know God is for them, to experience God's love, to move into a relationship with him.

     So Jesus moved to earth and became a human.

     My friend Tommy wanted to connect tattoo artists with God, so he decided to become a tattoo artist! Unbelievable! He had done all that training to become a pastor, and now he would have to do a year-long apprenticeship -- at no pay -- to train to become a tattooer.  He had come to the conclusion that other people could be pastors, but no one else was going to reach those tattoo artists. Tommy started apprenticing at a local shop where he built a relationship with a coworker named Randy.  Pretty soon Randy started coming to our church, and not much later he gave his life to Christ. Tommy baptized him. Even more people from the tattoo shop started showing up at church.

     But, then, there was Johnny.  Johnny was a young tattoo artist, Kate Moss skinny and covered from head to toe in ink.  Of all the people at the shop he probably had the least interest in Tommy, or in Tommy's "spirituality."  Tommy was trying to figure out how he could grow their friendship. One day he asked, "Johnny, what are you into?"  Johnny had to think for a bit. Finally he said, "I don't know, tattoos...and Harry Potter."  Tommy told Johnny that he had never read or seen any Harry Potter stuff, which blew Johnny's mind. Tommy asked how many Harry Potter movies there were.  Johnny proudly told him, "Eight, and I own them all"

     Tommy sighed. He didn't care to watch any of them, but he did care about Johnny.  So he asked, "Do you want to watch them again? I'd watch them with you." Johnny was stoked!  Soon they began their marathon. Whenever there were no clients at the shop, Johnny and Tommy would sneak into the back room and continue the seemingly endless hours of watching Harry Potter. This led, finally, to the day Johnny pushed the pause button and asked Tommy, "Where is Mother Teresa in the Bible?"  That conversation led, finally, to the day Johnny showed up at one of our services. That led, finally, to the day Johnny decided to say yes to Jesus and have Tommy baptize him."

     I find Tommy's example inspiring!  Full of faith and unbelievable love!  A true saint! 

     In fact, his example, like the example of Jesus that he followed, makes me ask myself (and ask you):  What "Johnny's" do we know?  Who can you and I think of that the average church might write off, pass by, or worse yet, avoid?  How far would your love for "sinners," and your desire to reach the type of people Tommy and Jesus reached, cause you to go in sacrificial love, to reach them?  Would we be willing to move our families to a whole new city, state or country?  Change jobs (even when we have a wife and kids) and do a one year apprenticeship at no pay?  Join a biker gang?  Willingly endure 20+ hours of Harry Potter movies? Is the salvation of lost souls that important to us?

     Would we, like Jesus -- who left the unspeakable glories of heaven to endure the agony of the cross --  be willing to make such sacrifices to reach those who might not otherwise be reached?  These are questions we really do need to ask ourselves, lest over time we become far too comfortable in our Churchianity...

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff

Ecclesiastes, The Search For Meaning

Greetings All,

     I trust this email finds you well!  Today I thought I would share some thoughts on one of my favorite books in the Bible -- the Book of Ecclesiastes.  These "thoughts" come from a Brit (I'm assuming from the name he's originally from Wales).  His name is Selwyn Hughes, and they come from a Bible Study booklet in the series, "Every Day With Jesus."  The title of this particular volume is: Ecclesiastes, The Search For Meaning."

     Solomon begins this book with a rather shocking statement: "Meaningless, meaningless," says the Teacher... Everything is meaningless!"  Yet we must remember it's a statement qualified by the other frequently-repeated phrase in the book, "under the sun," which essentially means, "focused only on the things of earth."   "Under the sun" essentially means, "life lived without consideration of God," or "life viewed apart from the acknowledgement God," or "life lived apart from a relationship with God."   So, with that clarification, I hope you find these thoughts challenging, relevant and useful. Enjoy.

     "The main message of the book comes through it's opening statement: "Everything is meaningless."  Seeing the utter futility of life is the first step to an encounter with God. Many are not ready to meet with the Lord until they have been silenced by the futility of this world in which they live. I heard someone say that the first book of the Bible everyone should read is the book of Ecclesiastes -- because it silences you.  When we see as clearly as Solomon saw that the world does not provide us with the life for which our souls were created, then we are more likely to turn to the true source of happiness -- the eternal God Himself.  One of the reasons why some of us do not know God well is because we have never been convinced of the utter futility of trying to find life in things. We have not been silenced. We must let Ecclesiastes silence us, and and in that silence we may experience a deeper awareness of God...

     One of the reasons why Solomon uses such forceful language...is to break through our defensive attempts to avoid reality.  It was T. S. Elliot who once said: "Humankind cannot bear too much reality." Psychologists warn that we should be careful about stripping away people's defenses, as coming face to face with reality too quickly can cause those who are fragile to slide into depression. The author of Ecclesiastes seems unconcerned about this, however, and tells us over and over again, and with deep conviction that life, "under the sun" is futile... 

     He tells us how his determination to find purpose for living led him to deep and serious study. But study, and trying to grasp the meaning of the universe by the intellect alone, proved also to be futile. He says that it is like "chasing after the wind" (chap. 1:17).... Yet if education, intellectualism, and philosophy are not the routes to making life work, then what is? Perhaps (say some) life can be found in pleasure. Not so, says Solomon [and who would know better than a man who had 700 wives and 300 live in prostitutes?!]. Pleasure pleases, but it is powerless to quench the ache that exists in the soul.

     Solomon provides us with a list of ways that pleasure can be gained, but he gives all of them the "thumbs down."  The first pleasure is laughter (2:2).  Send in the clowns.  Bring on the jokers. Let's hear the funny one-liners. But as almost everyone knows, those who bring laughter to thousands are themselves often desperately unhappy.  Billy Graham tells the story of a man who went to a doctor for help with his depression. "I'll give you something better than anti-depressants," said the doctor. "Go to see the clown at the local circus. He has just arrived in the town and is sending people into hysterics." The man looked at the doctor and dolefully said, "I am that clown."

     If laughter cannot satisfy, then perhaps drink will help.  "I tried cheering myself with wine," Solomon says (2:3). But clearly that did not satisfy either. He then threw himself in a great round of activity -- great projects and achievements like building a house for himself, planting vineyards, purchasing male and female slaves, buying up herds and flocks, amassing silver and gold, and finally equipping himself with a harem -- what he describes as, "the delights of the heart of a man" (Chap. 2, v 4-8).  He even tried fame and making a name for himself (v.9). But did these things work? Here's his conclusion: "everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind..."  He is not saying these things did not bring pleasure. He is making the point that this kind of pleasure just does not last...

     Facing the realities of life can greatly provoke anxiety. The moment when we face the fact that there is nothing in this world -- no person, place or thing -- that can meet the deepest ache in our soul, is probably one of the most solemn moments of our existence. Many can't face that kind of reality so they escape into such things as fantasies, endless rounds of activity, drink, sensual pleasures, and so on...  Satisfaction in things is found only when they are seen as being behind God and not in front of Him. When God is not first, then everything around which we wrap our affections are unsatisfying idols. There are two paths we can choose: One is to find life in God and enjoy the provision of His hands; the other is to find life in things, and turn our back on God. The latter is "meaningless," says Solomon. It's like "chasing after the wind.'"

     I myself went through a period, in my late teens and early 20's, of trying to make sense of the world if God did not exist.  It was one of the primary things that drove me into a lengthy period of depression.  Thinking God did not exist made it much easier to sin, but it also made life (and all I did) meaningless and inconsequential. If there are no eternal consequences for anything we do, life becomes completely meaningless and somewhat intolerable. It even led me to entertain thoughts of suicide.

     I still say to this day that the only way one can be an atheist and think life has meaning is to lie to oneself.  To make up what a world without God can never supply.  To be "content" in a life lived apart from God ("under the sun") does not come from asking important questions and getting satisfying answers, it comes from refusing to ask enough questions.  It comes from being content not to connect the dots, or follow the path godless thinking to the depressing dead end where it will always lead when life is considered without reference to God.

     I do not encourage anyone to stop asking questions. I encourage them to ask one after another after another and not stop!  Because I believe (as Solomon shows and many others have discovered) that at the end of those all those questions -- if they dare ask them all -- one will run headlong into the eternal Absolute that stands behind all that exists. The road of truly seeking does not lead to nothing, it leads through the nothingness of human futility to the ultimate reality we call God. But we must press things to the limit, because it's a lesson many can only learn after trying all those other things and discovering they end in futility and will not satisfy the truly thirsty soul.

Grace and Peace, Pastor Jeff

Attitude Adjustment

Greetings All!

     What does one do when they find their job unfulfilling?  One answer?  Try looking at their job in a different light.
     I was searching through my documents (looking for something else) when I found this "thought" which I saved over a year ago. It was written by Gene Twilley, who works for CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach) and oversees CCO staff who work on college campuses doing outreach in the Philadelphia area.  I felt his insights could help those caught is a similar predicament, so I thought I would pass it along as we begin 2019.  It is entitled "Attitude Adjustment."  Most all of us could use that on one occasion of another!  Enjoy.

Attitude Adjustment

     "Eight months after finishing my undergraduate studies, I started working as an auto liability claims adjuster for a very large insurance company. There were ample benefits with the job—from day one, I was vested in a matched 401k; I had a pension, nearly a month of vacation per year, and great health benefits.  I loved the people I worked with An older African-American woman called me her newly adopted son. We worked in collaborative cubicles—four to a large cube—and laughed a lot.

     But I hated the work.  In a claims environment, every call is a complaint The workload is heavy. I was threatened with physical violence over the phone, bullied with potential lawsuits, and accused of all sorts of character flaws.  There were and are far worse places to be employed. But in the moment of any sort of seemingly bad circumstance, we don’t usually think about what could be worse. We long for something better.

     Then my wife and I attended a wedding for one of her co-workers, and I was making small talk with a woman I didn’t know, and who I probably wouldn’t recognize if I saw her today.  In the midst of conveying to her what I did, before I had the opportunity to complain about my job, she exclaimed, “How exciting! You have the opportunity to help put people’s lives back together every day.”

Sobering.
Clarifying.
Convicting.

     I was willing to approach my work as a Christian who had hope in Jesus, but not as a Christian who had hope that my work actually mattered.  I don’t know where this woman was in terms of faith, but she pointed out something that I was completely missing.

     Isaiah 61 is a messianic prophetic utterance. Jesus took up this section, read it in a synagogue in Nazareth, and explained, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21).

     He was anointed to preach good news to the poor.

     He was sent to proclaim liberty to captives.

     He was sent to give sight to the blind

     He came to release the oppressed.

     In all of that, Jesus was announcing the “year of the Lord’s favor.” In the broader context of Isaiah 61, we see other really good things too! There is comfort for those who mourn. Those who sit in shame and in repentance are made beautiful. They are planted deeply into God’s grace, that they might praise rather than mourn. The people of God are called by the Servant of God to be re-creators of things that are broken… All that hope, that expectation, that rebuilding of the things that have been broken—it’s in Isaiah 61. It all finds its beginning, current, and end in Jesus.

     And this is the kind of hope that can lift me out of myself and all my meandering thoughts about greener pastures. I start to ask different questions.  After all, aren’t we called to care about the situations that God has placed us in, the broken places already in our midst? How can we make the most of our God-given opportunities today? How might we redeem the time that he’s given into our possession?

     As a claims adjuster, I was occupied with my work—getting through the day, looking for the next best thing. It was a job, not a calling.  Or was it?  What if every opportunity to serve others is a calling from the Lord?  Tim Keller explains, “our work can be a calling only if it is re-imagined as a mission of service to something beyond merely our own interests. Thinking of work mainly as a means of self-fulfillment and self-realization slowly crushes a person.”

     Calling is found at the sweet spot where my vertical and horizontal relationships meet—where I love the Lord and where I love my neighbor. Too often, maybe we’re disappointed with where we are because we simply don’t see the potential of the work ahead of us. But what if some of us are so concerned with our own emptiness that we don’t see the joy set before us?  Isaiah 61 tells a bigger story, and in this story, work becomes service, pain becomes joy, and despair becomes hope.  Come, Lord Jesus. Give us eyes to see." 

     Where might an "attitude adjustment" (or simply looking at something from a different perspective) help you in your struggle to find fulfillment in something which is not at present?  Only you can know. But it is worth pondering!

Living in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff 

Gospel Fluency

Greetings All,

     Today's "thought" comes from a book entitled "Gospel Fluency" by a man named Jeff Vanderstelt.  It has to do with putting the Gospel into practice, or developing Gospel-like habits in our relationships. Not simply believing the Gospel and leaving it at that, but living in such a way as to help make Gospel-driven people more believable. This selection has to do with drawing out what's deep in the hearts of people. His point is well taken.  Enjoy.

Listen and Learn

     "Proverbs 20:5 says, "The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out."  We need to become people of understanding -- people who seek to understand others before we expect them to understand us and what we believe.  We need to learn how to ask more questions and draw out what is deep inside people's souls. We need to learn to slow down and listen closely to the longings of their hearts. We need to learn their stories. In short, we need to care more about winning people to Jesus than about winning arguments. Gospel fluency isn't just about talking.  It's about listening as well. This requires love, patience and wisdom. Jesus was so good at this.

     Whenever I consider how I can grow in being a person of understanding who listens well, I think of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well.  It was high noon, when the sun was at its hottest.  There was a reason this woman was getting her water at this time of day.  She chose a time when no one else would be at the well.  Nobody went there in the heat of the day. But she probably wanted to avoid running into one of the wives of the men with whom she'd been sexually involved. She had five husbands, and the man she was then involved with was not her husband. However, Jesus didn't start with where she was wrong. He actually started in a humble posture of receiving from her.  He asked her for water, and she poured out her soul. 

     I've found that starting with a posture of humility, standing in a place of need, and having a heart that is willing not only to give answers but also receive insight, creates a welcoming place for people to open their hearts. The more open we are to listen and learn, the more likely people are to be open as well.  If you look at the story closely, you discover that Jesus continued to make very short, provocative statements that invited more conversation.  He was drawing out, little by little, the longing of her soul.  He was a master at drawing out the heart... I'm amazed at how often well-intentioned Christians overwhelm people with a barrage of words. We go on and on about what we believe and what they should believe, assuming we know what others think, believe or need.  I often find that we are giving answers to questions people are not even asking, or cramming information into hearts that are longing for love, not just facts.  We fail to listen. We fail to draw out the heart. And we miss opportunities to really love people and share the love of God with them They also miss out on getting to hear what's going on in their own hearts.

     I have found that when people, including myself, are invited to say out loud what they believe, they come to realize something is wrong. This is why counselling is a busy enterprise. People have no one to listen to them  They need to speak out loud what is going on in their hearts, and the only way some can do so is by paying a counselor to listen.  I'm all for counseling, but I've spoken with many counselors, and most of them agree that if God's people would slow down, close their mouths, open their ears, and listen, many people wouldn't need counselors.  Jesus slowed down, drew out the heart and listened. As he did this at the well the Samaritan woman's heart spilled out. And as it did, he guided her in a process of confession -- not just of her behaviors, but also of her beliefs. She had been looking for love in all the wrong places, and had clearly misunderstood God and how he interacts with us as humans. As Jesus engaged and listened, he was able to show her how he could provide what she thirsted for most. He could lead her to a well that would never go dry, providing an unending supply of soul water. He was the water that would deeply satisfy her soul. 

     The love she was looking for was standing right in front of her. And the God she should worship would go with her wherever she went. He wasn't on this mountain or that.  He said he wants to come to human hearts like an unending stream of water that refreshes the soul. She believed Jesus, and then went to tell her whole village about him. That's what you want to do with good news -- share it with others.  When people really grasp the good news of Jesus, satisfying the deep longings of their souls, it's hard for them to keep it to themselves."

     A friend of mine used to enjoy pointing out that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason -- so that we would listen twice as much as we talk.

     He had a point.  Too often we seek to talk when we need to offer people the gift of listening, and nowadays it is a rare and scarce gift.  As the author goes on to point out: "Francis Schaeffer said, 'If I have only an hour with someone, I will spend the first fifty-five minutes asking them questions, and then in the last five minutes I will share something of the truth."  Yet, regardless of the specific ratios or percentages of time, we should in the very least make it our aim to spend more time earnestly listening than talking.  That's how we become people of understanding, as Prov. 20:5 puts it, who aim at drawing out the deep waters in a person's heart.  Maybe we could all give this a shot at one of the upcoming holiday parties or events. Two ears, one mouth.  That's a good ratio.  Let's do it.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Every Good Endeavor - Connecting Your Work to God's Work

Greetings All!

     This week's "thought" comes to you from Tim Keller's book "Every Good Endeavor - Connecting Your Work to God's Work."   I have not finished it yet (just over half way through), but what I have read is enlightening, inspiring, well-thought-through (as is typical for Keller) and so helpful for those seeking to find meaning and purpose in their jobs or work.  Better yet (as the title suggests), it is helpful for those who would like to connect their work to God's work in this world, and bring redemptive change into their workplace.  In my humble opinion, this book really is a must read.

     We all function according to some type of underlying worldview -- a worldview that guides our choices, priorities and pursuits. "Our worldview," says Keller, "places our work in the context of a history, a cause, a quest... and in so doing it frames the strategy of our work at a high level."  My challenge to you today is to see if your worldview is Christian, non-Christian, or a mixture of competing worldviews spliced together?  Read below and find out...  Enjoy.

The Gospel and Other Worldviews

     "Any worldview consists of posing and answering three questions:  1. How are things supposed to be?  2. What is the main problem with things as they are?  3. What is the solution and how can it be realized?  Leslie Steven's book (Seven Theories of Human Nature) includes Christianity among its "theories," but the author points out how different Christianity is from the alternatives. He observes that "if God has made man for fellowship with Himself, and if man has turned away and broken his relationship to God, then only God can forgive man and restore the relationship." In other words, the biblical worldview uniquely understands the nature, problem, and salvation of humankind as fundamentally relational.  We were made for a relationship with God, we lost our relationship with God through sin against him, and we can be brought back into that relationship through his salvation and grace.

     Plato, Marx, and Freud all identify some part of the created world as the main problem and some other part of the created world as the main solution. The protagonists and antagonists of their respective world-stories are played by finite things.  Thus, Marxism assumes that our problems come from greedy capitalists who won't share the means of economic production with the people. The solution is a totalitarian state.  Freud, on the other hand, believed that our problems come from repression of deep desires for pleasure. The villains are played by the repressive moral "gatekeepers" in society, like the church. The solution is the unrepressed freedom of the individual.  Many people have a worldview that to some degree is indebted to the Greeks or Plato. They think the problem with the world rests in undisciplined and selfish people who won't submit to traditional moral values and responsibilities. The solution is a "revival" of religion, morality, and a virtue in society.  Philosopher Al Wolters writes: "The great danger is to always single out some aspect of God's good creation and identify it, rather than the alien intrusion of sin, as the villain. Such an error conceives of the good-evil dichotomy as intrinsic to the creation itself...  Something in the good creation itself is identified as the source of evil.  In the course of history this "something" has been variously identified as the body and it's passions (Plato and much of Greek philosophy), as culture in distinction from nature (Rousseau and Romanticism), as authority figures in society and family (psycho-dynamic psychology), as economic forces (Marx), as technology and management (Heidegger and existentialists)...  As far as I can tell the Bible is unique in its rejection of all attempts to either demonize some part of creation as the root of our problems, or to idolize some part of creation as the solution. All other religions, philosophies, and worldviews in one way or another fall into the trap of idolatry -- of failing to keep creation and fall distinct.  And this trap is an ever-present danger for Christians [as well]."

     Look again at the uniqueness of Christianity. Only the Christian worldview locates the problem with the world NOT in any part of the world, or any particular group of people, but in sin itself (our loss of relationship with God). And it locates the solution in God's grace (our restoration of a relationship with God through the work of Christ).  Sin infects us all, and so we cannot simply divide the world into the heroes and the villains. (And if we did we would certainly have to include ourselves among the latter as well as the former.) Without an understanding of the Gospel, we will be either naively Utopian or cynically disillusioned We will be demonizing something that isn't bad enough to explain the mess we are in, and we will be idolizing something that isn't powerful enough to get us out of it. This is, in the end, what all other worldviews do... The Christian story line, or worldview, is: Creation (plan), Fall (problem), Redemption and Restoration (solution): 

     1.  The whole world is good.  God made the world and everything in it was good. There are no intrinsically evil parts of the world.  Nothing is evil in its origin... You can find this "creational good" in everything. 

     2. The whole world is fallen.   There is no aspect of the world affected by sin more or less than any other. For example, are emotion and passions untrustworthy and reason infallible?  Is the physical bad and the spiritual good?  Is the day-to-day world profane but religious observances good? None of these is true. But non-Christian story lines must adopt some variations of these in order to villainize and even demonize some created thing instead of sin.

     3. The whole world is going to be redeemed. Jesus is going to redeem spirit and body, reason and emotion, people and nature. There is no part of reality for which there is no hope.

     The Gospel is the true story that God made a good world that was marred by sin and evil, but through Jesus Christ he redeemed it at infinite cost to himself, so that someday he will return to renew all creation; end all suffering and death; and restore absolute peace, justice, and joy in the world forever. The vast implications of this gospel worldview -- about the character of God, the goodness of the material creation, the value of the human person, the fallenness of all people and all things, the primacy of love and grace, the importance of justice and truth, the hope of redemption -- affect everything, and especially our work." 

     That's obviously a bit to chew on!  But I hope it helps you see how the worldview one chooses to adopt will have great effect on how they view their work, carry out their work, and choose to live. My question is:  Do you have a Christian worldview?  Or, like many, have you adopted elements of a Marxist, Greek, Capitalist, or Freudian worldview?  Everyone has a worldview that under-girds their life choices and endeavors. Is your a Gospel worldview, or a syncritistic mix of many others with a small element of Christian lingo or references to Jesus added in?

     And I must stress that it is NOT irrelevant.  Since God commands us: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all you soul and all your mind and all your strength," it would seem to lay upon us as believers an unavoidable responsibility to think things like this through as best we possibly can.  For whatever worldview we have has a profound effect on influencing the choices we make, why we make them, and what we will pursue. It will impact how we treat people, why we love and value the things we do, live as we do, and view work the way we do. 

     So my prayer for everyone is this:  If you have come to Christ, yet retained a non-Christian worldview (or elements from various ones), you will seek (by the grace God gives) to root those elements out and replace them with distinctly Christian or Gospel elements -- something Keller's book distinctly aims at helping us with! 

In His Service, Pastor Jeff