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Increasing Cheer

February 21, 2012 in Growth with 0 Comments

The more we like something, the greater the chance that we will increase our participation in it.

It’s the reason that people all over the world wish that vegetables tasted like chocolate. It’s the same reason why another contingent of people spend money that they don’t have to participate in hobbies that they enjoy. It’s also why the most obedient person generally isn’t the person who is doing it because they “have to” but the person who takes pleasure in pleasing their Heavenly Father. They obey to an increasing measure because they have aligned their joy with His.

And while I realize all the above, I’ve also realized that I’m slow to apply this to all areas of my life. For example, one thing that God says He loves is a cheerful giver. Not a giver who gives without complaining, or a giver who gives because they’re commanded to (although both are good), but one who takes pleasure in giving. One for whom giving is a joy.

And if something brings me joy, I should want to do it to an increasing measure.

Which means that I go the extra mile with a friend, even though I should only “have” to go one.

It means I give the extra dollar even though it means I can’t do something I want.

It means that instead of trying to figure out whether there’s someone else who can meet the need, I look at the opportunities for me to give and I jump at the chance to do so.

My Christian walk should be characterized by increased generosity – in time, effort and resources. 

Because I take pleasure in it.

And the things that I like, I will do to an increasing measure.

And I want to increase my cheer.

First Words

February 17, 2012 in Growth with 0 Comments

Being at the receiving end of God’s discipline isn’t a fun place to be.

While there may be some comfort in knowing that “the Lord disciplines those He loves” there is also the realization that God will go to great lengths in order to prompt His children towards repentance and living a life that is pleasing to Him. He desires holiness. In His graciousness, He has provided His Spirit to believers in order to equip them towards such a high calling.  His desire is for us to live in right relationship with Him because that is what He has created us to do. When we live otherwise, He often uses the painful consequences of those decisions to bring us back towards a right relationship with Him.

However, while we may recognize that God can do good through it, most of us don’t like discipline. Most of us would rather forgo the painful consequences, and when we experience them, we often rail against the God who is using them for our good. Yet, this wasn’t Zechariah’s response (See Lk. 1:5-25; 57-66 for the complete report). When Zechariah was told he would have a son, he questioned the veracity of that statement, and he was disciplined for his distrust. The fact that God made him mute may have made it difficult for him to complain, yet he responded to this discipline in two very important ways. First – he obeyed. The angel of God had told him what he was to name his son, and he did so accordingly. Secondly, his very first words were ones that praised God. He could have opened his mouth and talked about how good it was to speak again, or how difficult it was to endure the time of discipline. However, he chose neither of these things. His first words were ones of blessing. He responded to correction with thanksgiving and praise.

Perhaps we would be inclined to think this was easy. After all, Zechariah had months to think about his response and to get his heart right before God. However, if we couldn’t speak for months, would our first words be ones of thanks? When we undergo God’s discipline, is our first response to give Him praise?

Settling

February 13, 2012 in Growth with 0 Comments

As children we’re taught to “reach for the stars” and to “dream impossible dreams.” Yet, as adults, we often settle for things short of those illustrious ambitions. Perhaps it’s because the reality of our talents (or lack thereof) prompts us to reconsider, or perhaps it’s an unwillingness to do the work that’s required. Regardless of the reason, it isn’t uncommon to find a shift in our priorities as we make compromises and consolations.

In Scripture, we’re warned against settling in another way. As Galatians 4:9 states:

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

It’s a question not just for the Galatians, but one we should consider as well. Why we would settle for the “worthless” and lesser things of this world, when we know God and have His Word? We are so tempted to accept that which is weak, when we have the strength of God. Why do we settle for what is common, or worse, what is base, when we have the wonder and majesty of our King that we can behold? Why do we trade amazing for anything less? 

These are questions that have no good answer. The truth is that it’s a foolish choice. Yet it is one that we make time and time again. We let the desires of our flesh overwhelm the better, more lasting thirsts of our spirit. We trade the eternal for the temporal, and we forgo the riches that come from knowing our God and Savior.

May we not abdicate the beauty of being known by our King. May we not”settle” for that which the world offers, but may our pleasure and our confidence be in Him.

Sharing God’s Story

January 31, 2012 in Growth with 0 Comments

Sharing what God has done in our lives is such a privilege. Although it seems that we get the opportunity to do this more often with believers (or perhaps we are just more willing to take those opportunities), sometimes we also get to share with unbelievers. Traditionally, this has been called our “testimony.” Just like witnesses in a court trial, His children get to attest to the work of God and how this has led to a radically-transformed life.

The challenge with sharing our testimony is that if we are not careful it can sound like “we” are expending a lot of the effort. For example, coming to repentance – a recognition that we have enacted wrong against a holy God, seeking forgiveness for that sin, and turning from it – is often talked about in terms of what “we” did. We realized that we had sinned. We acknowledged our need for a Savior. We sought His forgiveness.

And while I realize the ease of talking in such parlance, Scripture indicates that God is the One directing that experience. Romans 2:4 says that God’s kindness leads to repentance; 2 Corinthians 7:10 indicates that godly grief can accomplish the same thing. In either case – God is the proponent. It is His character that prompts us to seek Him and to recognize that we have committed wrong against Him. Not only is He the One extending forgiveness, He is leading us towards it.

It’s easy to think that our testimony is primarily about us – after all we think it’s “our” story. But in reality – our testimony should be primarily about God – Who He is and the work that He has accomplished. There is nothing better that we can attest to; there is no better story to share.

Holding On

January 25, 2012 in Growth with 0 Comments

In the waves and shifts of life, sometimes it can be hard to remain steadfast. We think we’re heading one way, things changed and we’re knocked off balance. What we thought we knew for certain, now comes into question. The direction we thought we were heading becomes unclear.

When this happens, we’re tempted to revert to the things we know. For the Christian, this can mean their old way of living before they repented and put their faith in Christ. The things that were once familiar can become enticing again. We can cling to the patterns of live and behavior that helped us get through tough times before.

We usually think of sin as something that we do, not something that we have possession of. Yet, Colossians 3:8 states that we can put these things (anger, wrath, slander and obscene talk) away. Through the grace of God, He enables us to let go of these things that previously defined our lives (See Col. 3:7) And by His power, we can cling to Him instead.

Walking down the path that’s familiar seems comforting; we know what to expect and we know how to navigate the circumstances. Yet, when it comes to the pattern of our lives, God calls us to no longer walk in the former ways, because they no longer define our lives. He does. And when times are trying, we must not cling to what we once knew, but instead we must hold on to Him.

Promises, Promises

January 23, 2012 in Growth with 0 Comments

We go through all kinds of hoops in order to try to ensure that someone will keep the promises that they’ve made. When we’re younger, we ask them to cross their heart or “pinky swear.” As we get older, we have contracts that are signed, and hands that are raised. We do these things because we want to convey the seriousness of the matter. We want to make sure that in this instance there is a commitment to the truth.

The ironic thing is that if we can’t accept what people say without making them going through these shenanigans there’s little reason that we can believe what they say with them. It’s why Scripture commands believers to “let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes” and your ‘no’ be ‘no’” (Ja. 5;12). There shouldn’t need to be extra provisions in order to ensure that Christ followers will do what they say.

Yet I find that sometimes the commitments that Christians are most flippant about are the commitments that they’ve made before God. Perhaps because I work at a college,  it’s not unusual for me to hear about people (usually girls) who have pledged to refrain from dating for a time in order to focus on their relationship with their Savior. Almost invariably, sometime during that time period someone will express interest in them, and, if the interest is mutual, the commitment to that promise will quickly evaporate. Maybe the thought is that God couldn’t have anticipated this great person who would have come into their life, and so they feel like they should be released from that commitment.  Or maybe they feel like they weren’t really that serious about the commitment to begin with. I’m not sure. Yet from the time I was in college until now, I’ve seen it happen again and again.

It’s not just in these commitments, however, that there is an apparent disregard for the vows we make to God. We pledge that if something we desire happens, then will respond in a certain way. We swear that if we just get this one thing, we’ll never ask for anything else again. We promise to sacrifice more, love better, give more and be different, yet we often break these commitments within minutes of giving them.

I supposed it’s because we can’t see the Person that we are making our pledge to. However, it’s been helpful to me is to think of the commitments that I’ve made to God in the same way that I think of my marriage vows.  Just like my husband rightly expects exclusivity as the result of the promises I’ve made, God has the right to expect that we would keep the promises that we’ve made to Him.  I wouldn’t be able to “justify” a relationship with someone else, just like someone who is single and has committed to abstaining from relationships for a time can’t “justify” pursuing a relationship simply because their circumstances has changed. God should rightly expect that we would be committed to keeping the promises that we’ve made to Him. The fact that we can’t see Him doesn’t mean that the promises we’ve made are any less real. He expects faithfulness to our commitments just like we expect from those who make promises to us.

The easy way to address this situation is to not take vows lightly – the vows that bring you into a relationship with someone else, or the vows that you’ve made to focus on your relationship with God, or any vows that you make standing before our great and mighty King.  There will be times that you’ll be challenged to keep those vows – where the promise you’ve made doesn’t seem worth the sacrifice to keep them –   but for the Christian the commitment should be to remaining faithful; after all God has and will continue to remain faithful to us.

 

 

 

One to The Other

January 17, 2012 in Growth with 0 Comments

The phenomenon of cause and effect is well documented. One thing happens and it causes a subsequent reaction. It’s the stuff of science experiments, kids games, and world affairs. One individual decision propagates other developments. Sometimes these developments are anticipated, but other times they come out of nowhere – catching us unaware and with little recourse.

The Bible makes it clear that cause and effect are not just limited to the physical world. For instance, the status of our heart determines the words that we speak (Mt. 12:34) Because they hated our Master, the world will hate us too (John 15:18-19). And anxious hearts lead to sinful behavior (Psalm 139:23-24).

The last one may seem like a stretch. However, the psalmist seems to imply that the two are related. First, the author asks God to test his anxious thoughts. Next, he asks that any sinful way be obliterated. It an “bottom line” culture like ours it may seem meaningless that the author starts with his internal dialogue. But what the psalmist knows, and what we know experientially, is that if our thoughts aren’t glorifying to God,  it’s less likely that our actions will be. Cause and effect – our internal sin often leads to external ones. 

While we quickly recognize that thoughts influence our behavior when it comes to how we treat our spiritual family, or even in how we respond to unpleasant circumstances, we are less willing to acknowledge that merely worrying about something could lead us to sinful behavior. Yet, we see this in practice. Stressing over a situation leads to anxiety. Anxiety leads to an uneasiness and mistrust. Mistrust leads to futile anger and frustration. And frustration explodes into a quest for control and a lack of contendendess.

It seems so dramatic – and yet we all can attest that worry is quick to manifest itself into sinful actions. In fact, as one pastor stated, instead of saying “we are worrying about such and such” we really should be saying, “I’m in sin over such and such.” Worry it itself is a sin – and it leads to “grievous” behavior. If our hearts aren’t firmly resting in the sovereignty of our great God and King, our actions will soon reflect this. Actions that don’t acknowledge the sovereignty of God are actions that seek to place something else in His place; they are sin.

It can be hard to always anticipate the outcomes of certain events. Yet when we allow worry to fester and take root, we can almost always anticipate that this will be an area in which we will be tempted to further sin. If we want to prevent the latter, we should work on eliminating the former, and instead center our thoughts and place our cares, on our great God and Creator.

 

How can you practically let your thoughts rest on God rather than letting them be consume with worry? 

Heavenly Reputation

January 16, 2012 in Growth with 0 Comments

It’s hard to keep track of all the things that people say about us. Even with technology’s help, the sheer increase in the number of channels for which people to say things – true or untrue – makes it nearly impossible to manage. As politicians and celebrities have found out, this is why it’s so important that who you are in private is who you are in public. Eventually the truth of one’s character comes out, and reputation is built accordingly.

For those who follow Christ, we’re building for ourselves both an Earthly and a Heavenly reputation. After all, the work that we are here doing isn’t primarily about things that matter on this Earth. Instead our focus is on eternity, and therefore we want to do the work that matters there. Wouldn’t it be great if our reputation in Heaven was the same as the one that the disciple John had? In Revelation 22:9 we get a little insight into what the Heavenly buzz about John must have been. The angel of the Lord says that he is a”fellow servant” of John. In other words – the work that John is doing and the work of the angel are one in the same –  they are both bringing glory to the King.

This is quite the reputation! Even the angels are saying that John is doing the work of the Kingdom and that his efforts are focused on the same things that they are focused on – displaying the greatness of our God. He is known as a servant – working with the angels to bring God praise. And the rest of the verse continues that all “those who keep the words of this book” are also fellow servants.  So if we want this same reputation – we must keep the Word of God. In doing so, we are serving right alongside the Heavenly host.

It may be difficult to keep track of what people say about us here on Earth but the Bible makes it clear that if we want a stellar reputation in Heaven, we must diligently follow the Scripture God has graciously given us. We won’t do it perfectly, as John didn’t either, but obedience should increasingly characterize our lives. As this is true, may our lives, and our reputation, bring God praise.

No Worries

January 6, 2012 in Growth, Hope with 0 Comments

“It’s o.k – no worries.”

That’s a phrase I find myself saying often. It’s my way of minimizing a potentially contentious situation.

The problem is that when I say it, oftentimes it is an inaccurate descriptor of what I’ve been doing. I’m focusing on how the person didn’t respond according to my timetable, or how they behaved in a way that I didn’t anticipate, or even how they failed to do what they said they would. I’m stressing over my inability to control their behavior, and the cataclysmic outcomes that I envision as a result of that. In short, worrying has been my exact response. I just don’t want them to know this. Because when it does get resolved, worrying seems like such a futile activity. And of course, that’s because it is.

The Bible makes this clear. In His longest recorded sermon, Jesus takes up this topic precisely. He reminds us that worrying doesn’t accomplish anything and that worrying is a sign that we lack trust in God’s sovereignty. Similarly, Paul writes in Philippians 4:6:

[D]o not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [emphasis mine].

We might try to rationalize what’s “acceptable” to worry about – money, our kids’ future, issues in the church – but God doesn’t leave any room for negotiation. He says we aren’t to worry about anything – and when He states that – He means anything.

This of course is hard. Not because God isn’t trustworthy – because He certainly is. And not because God can’t handle the situation – because He certainly can. But because we fool ourselves into believing that control is in our hands. And the truth is, if it was up to us – we should worry. But it’s not – so we shouldn’t.

I hope that in the future when I say “no worries” that I’ll be able to fully mean it. I hope that I won’t be saying it as a way to make myself or the other person feel better, but I’ll be saying it as an acknowledgment that I trusted in God and not man, and therefore, there really wasn’t any reason to worry.

 

How do you fight the temptation to worry?

Mission Accomplished

January 2, 2012 in Growth with 2 Comments

The start of another year. It’s a time for goals to be made as well as hypotheses for how long it will take us to achieve them. These goals not only help us mark our progress but help us to know when we have completed what we set out to do. They are a way to identify success – to know that the sacrifices that we made, the time we invested, was worth it.

This inclination to measure progress is not unique to secular pursuits. Churches may set goals in regards to attendance or new memberships. Individuals may have aspirations in regards to the time that they will spend reading the Bible or memorizing His Word. We  may set good and beneficial goals for ourselves that will further our understanding of Who God is and deepen our relationship with Him. The problem arises when we think these goals are the end; when we think achieving them means that we have arrived. For the Christian, there is no earthly achievement that marks the pinnacle of our walk with Christ. This comes when Christ calls us Home.

Years ago, President George W. Bush found himself in a public relations nightmare when he stood on an aircraft carrier with a “Mission Accomplished’ banner hanging in the background. Time would demonstrate that success hadn’t been achieved in Iraq and in fact that the war would wage for years to come. We face a similar problem when we think achievement of the goals that we set here completes what God has given us to do. If we are still on this Earth, then there is still more that He has for us. Our mission is only completed when we are in His presence. He, not our goals, decides when our work here is done.

So as we start a new year, let us make sure that we resolve to love more and work harder for the sake of God’s Kingdom. At the same time, if we are still here next year, let us remember that we haven’t accomplished all that God has for us, and let us run hard after Him, so that when our mission here is over, we can here Him say “Well done.”
What are your goals for the new year? How will you continue to run hard after Christ even if you “accomplish” what you’ve set out to do?

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