Archive - Growth RSS Feed

Cruise Control

March 15, 2011 in Growth with 4 Comments

I drive a long way to work (Full disclosure – I love my job and I love where I live so this isn’t a complaint, just a statement of fact.) And as can be seen from previous posts, God often uses these moments on the road to teach me lessons that I may otherwise not hear in the busyness of the day. In fact, if I were to recount almost all (but not every) major decision I’ve made in adulthood, at some point in the story you’ll probably hear me say “and as I was driving….” Perhaps this is weird, but like most people, my life is busy. When I’m on the road, the distractions are minimal, and I spend sweet moments with my Lord.

Because I drive against traffic, I often have the opportunity to use cruise control. To whomever invented that neat little feature, I owe a huge debt of gratitude.  It provides such freedom, such liberation for those who are on the road for long periods of time. When I’m driving on cruise control, I’m not as worried about what’s going on around me, because I know my car will continue to move forward. It allows me to relax, to not take the drive quite as seriously as I otherwise would. It affords me the opportunity to, in the immortal words of some teenager, just chill.

However, there are some occasions when I don’t dare hit that cruise control button. If there’s construction (which is a common occurrence on Southern California freeways) my foot remains firmly on the gas, ready to press the brake. If there’s an accident or a car driving erratically, I stay poised ready to make a move. In short, when there’s any kind of danger, putting the car in cruise control is the last thought on my mind.

This is why the Christian life doesn’t come with the cruise control option. God’s Word tells us that we don’t have to wonder if there’s the possibility of trouble, we’re guaranteed it. In fact, Scripture tells us that Satan is on the prowl, looking to make us stumble. Therefore we have to be constantly vigilant, constantly active, in order to thwart these attempts. Our opportunity to chill remains for the enjoyment of Heaven. When there’s no danger, that’s where we finally get to rest.

Cruise control is great,  when it comes to the car. But for the Christian, in this life, the only option is press the pedal and drive hard until we reach the end.


Unveiled Faces

March 14, 2011 in Growth, Hope with 2 Comments

I’m never been a big fan of costume parties.

The primary reason for this is that my creativity is limited as is my originality. So coming up with a costume that I’m comfortable being in, but that’s also not totally expected is a little bit of a challenge. The second reason is that I don’t like talking to people in costumes. Specifically, I don’t like talking to people when I can’t see their faces and therefore don’t know who they are. Although my students don’t really believe it, I’m an introvert by nature, so talking to strangers in and of itself is a bit of a stretch outside my comfort zone. Talking to strangers when I can’t even tell who’s behind the mask is way outside of it.

Sometimes, it can feel like our relationship with God is like a conversation at a costume party. And Scripture makes it clear that there’s a reason it feels this way. After all, our sin separates us from God. Before we are a Christian, our faces are veiled; they are covered. However, after repenting and putting our faith in Christ, that veil is lifted. I used to always think that the removal of this veil was in regards to the removal of our shame. Instead of seeing our sin, when we put our faith in Him, God sees Christ’s righteousness. Therefore, we have no reason to hesitate to approach the throne because our price was paid on the cross. And just like the veil of the temple was torn at Christ’s death, so was the barrier of our sin torn asunder. And while this is true, it is also true that having the veil lifted has another effect. Just as we see who we’ve been talking to when costume masks are removed, having our spiritual veil lifted causes us to see God for Who He is. We can experience His glory – His majesty – because we rightly recognize His holiness.

This is one of the many reasons I’m looking forward to heaven so much. After all, Scripture also teaches that here we know only in part, but there we will fully understand. We will not only completely understand the need for our Savior and the grace that He extended, but we will fully comprehend all that He surrendered in order to give it to us. We will realize that magnitude of His majesty, the cost of His compassion, and the lavishness of His love for us. We will fully appreciate what He had, and what He forsook in order to save us who were His enemies. We will see, not only the depth of our own despair, but the heights of His glory.

And as a result, we will worship.

In the meantime, until we are in His presence, our goal is to increasingly see Him as He is. And then to live the life we would live if we could see Him completely.


Equal to the Task

March 11, 2011 in Growth with 4 Comments

It’s easy to get overwhelmed.

With all the demands on our time, energy and abilities it’s hard not to feel like at some point we’re going to let somebody down. For the Christian, perhaps this is especially difficult because we know that we are to be spending our time, our energy and our abilities reflecting Christ. When the opportunities seem to surpass our availability, it can be stressful. We might feel as Mother Teresa did when she famously said, “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wished He wouldn’t trust me so much.”

However, as Phillip Brooks reminds us maybe it’s not that our abilities are too small, but that our prayers are too weak. As he states, “Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you yourself shall be the miracle.”

In other words, while we marvel at all that some people are able to accomplish for the cause of Christ, we forget that the source of their fortitude was not themselves. They were spurred on, energized, and motivated by the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that is able to change the hearts of men can work through us to accomplish the tasks God has set before us. Bu we need to petition Him for His strength.

So let us not shirk the tasks that God has set before us. But let our prayers be equal to the work that God has called us to. If the work is great, may our prayers be as well.


Sensible Sacrifice

March 9, 2011 in Growth with 4 Comments

“Go Big or Go Home”

It’s a phrase and a mindset that has permeated our culture.

In a world of “Extreme Home Makeover” and “Biggest Loser,” we honor and acclaim those who take great measures to achieve a desired goal.

Except when it comes to Christians.

Followers of Christ who are fully committed to live for Him are often derided by such phrases as “holier than thou,” “radical”, “too heavenly-minded to do any Earthly good”  and the ever-popular “Jesus Freak.”

Even when they do good, they can be accused of being “generous to a fault” as if somehow giving things away condemns them.

But Scripture tells us that giving our all for Him is not only good, it’s entirely proper; it’s what we should do. After all, He gave everything for us.

So living a life totally committed to Christ is not exceptional, it should be normative for those who call themselves Christians.

And giving everything to Him, sacrificing our all, is not radical, it’s reasonable.

In fact, it’s the only sensible thing to do.


Privilege of Pain

March 3, 2011 in Growth with 4 Comments

Sanctified afflictions are spiritual promotions. – John Dod

I used to tell people that God knew I needed to have a great family. From my perspective, He knew I wasn’t one of those people who would be able to overcome bad circumstances in order to give my life to follow Him. I know that in reality that this is never possible apart from the will of the Father and His gracious provisions, still it seems that some people are better equipped to rise above the mire, to put their lives in His hands, and then to be used in mighty ways for His purposes. I didn’t think I was one of those people. It meant my testimony was never as captivating as some others’ might be, but still, I was grateful to have the relative comfort of my idyllic upbringing.

Yet, as I got older I began to realize that my assessment was only looking at half the equation. After all, God allows difficult situations for those of His children that He knows can “handle it” (or that more properly, will trust in Him to handle it.) Think about it. When you think about the heroes of the faith from both modern times and from biblical ones, they are heroes because in the midst of challenging circumstances, they persevered. God allowed them to experience pain knowing that as a result He would be more glorified. And that in glorifying Him, these individuals would accomplish what they had focused their life upon – making Christ look good.  My relative comfortable circumstances was good for life on this Earth, but it was a poor investment in my eternal home.

Luke 6:22-23 demonstrates this clearly. We are to rejoice when we suffer for Christ, because just like those who have gone before, when we suffer well for Him, we receive eternal rewards. Pain, for the Christian then, is not punishment from a vengeful God, but a responsibility granted by a concerned Dad. He knows that at some point He must give His children the responsibility of spiritual adulthood, and He knows that the responsibility might cost us. However, He also knows that in the end, it’s worth it. He’s willing to grant us the privilege of earthly pain so that we may use as a means of attaining “spiritual promotions.”

Our challenge then, is to see pain in this way. That in doing so we realize that is a privilege to be counted worthy to suffer for Him.


Losing Weight

March 2, 2011 in Growth with 4 Comments

It’s easy to put on weight.

And not just the physical kind.

It’s easy to put on the weight that pulls us from what God wants and keeps us rooted in our own desires. This weight is unseen but potentially deadly. It’s the burden of living a life for ourselves, instead of living it in the way that we were created to live – exclusively and totally for Him.

Just like the physical weight gain, we often don’t see the slow encroachment of this increasing hindrance. Over time, we slowly put on a little weight here, and then a little weight there, until one day we hardly recognize ourselves. We consider ourselves to be an “in-shape” Christian, just like many of us still think we can run the mile like we did in high school, only to be rudely awakened from that delusion by an gradual, yet significant decline in our spiritual fitness. In our overburdened state, we’re not equipped to even run the first lap of the race, let alone run with perseverance to the end.

Sometimes we like to try to trick ourselves that the weight gain isn’t all that bad. We tell ourselves that the scale hasn’t tipped too far in one direction, it’s just the season of life that we’re in, similar to the way women the world over convince themselves that their doctor’s scale is inaccurate because they wore their shoes while they were on it.  We think we can get back in spiritual shape any time we wanted, just like we promise ourselves that after a few weeks of healthy eating we’ll be fitting into our old jeans. In both cases this is rarely true.

However, unlike physical fitness in which sliding into our favorite jeans may be our strongest motivation, Scripture gives us an even more compelling reason for taking off the weight caused by sin. Hebrews 12:1-2 says we do this because we are surrounded by “so great a cloud of witnesses”; people who have run this race and are now at the end.  In other words, we are being cheered on by the saints who have gone before – who no longer experience the encumbrance of sin, and want us, to as much as we are able to on this Earth, experience the joy that this attains. They know what it’s like to throw off the weight of sin forever, and through the lives they lived and the life that they are now living, their exhorting us to do the same.

May we press on to that aim.


The Pick Up Game

February 23, 2011 in Growth with 4 Comments

We’ve all seen the kid who has played the “pick up” game. For those who need a refresher, the game comes something like this.

1) You give a baby a toy.

2) The baby drops the toy.

3) You pick up the toy.

Then you repeat the cycle until one of you gets bored.

And while the game may seem remedial and a little silly, we often do the same thing with God.

We ask God for something.

He gives us a good gift.

But instead of treasuring the gift He gave us, we thrust it to the floor.

  • We mistreat our loved ones.
  • We neglect to serve His church.
  • We use our talents for our own purposes.

When we do this, sooner or later we realize that we’re no longer holding the treasure we so desperately wanted. We’ve thrown away what’s good for empty pleasures.

And sometimes, in His grace, He picks it back up again.

  • He restores relationships.
  • He provides opportunities to serve.
  • He uses our talents for His good purposes.

And we realize that the best place to leave the treasure, is in His loving hands.

Now it’s your turn…

Practically, how do you show that you’ve placed your treasures in God’s hands?


Rock, Fortress, Deliverer

February 18, 2011 in Growth, Hope with 2 Comments

He said “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” – I Sam. 22:2

As I tell my students often, in business it’s important what you are known for. In marketing, we call this positioning – the space you occupy in your customer’s mind (relative to your competition). The idea is that you want to so “own” a place in your customer’s mind that when they think of that need or that attribute, they think of your company. So let’s say you focus on quality. When customers think “quality” you want them to think of you.

What’s interesting is that it’s very hard for a company to occupy more than one position. After all, if a company tries to be “low-cost” while at the same time being “high-quality”, people will get confused.  However, this verse in I Samuel makes it very clear that God can and should occupy multiple and distinct positions in our mind.

He is our rock. – He is the One who is our support, Who stays steady even when the world goes crazy. He is the immovable, grounded in Who He is, unchangeable to the end.

He is our fortress. – He is our protector. He is our defense against the enemy; the One in Whom we take refuge. He is our security, the harbor in which we can find respite.

He is our deliverer. – Not only does He protect us when we come to Him, but He rescues us from the storm. He thwarts evil’s plans in order to bring about good through our lives. He acts on our behalf so that our lives may be used by Him.

Three separate positions that God should occupy in our lives.  Three different ways in which we should consider God. And yet, while they are distinct, they are also complimentary. Because the God Who delivers us, is our fortress that defends us, and is the rock on which we can depend.

And for us, the best position to be in, is completely dependent upon Him.


In My Own Hands

February 17, 2011 in Growth with 1 Comment

One of things I love about Scripture is that you can always learn something from it.

Like this little story in I King 21.

I’m sure I’ve read it before, but I’m also pretty sure that there were no Sunday School flannelgraphs on this one.

And yet, despite it’s non-appearance in children’s church, it’s something we can all relate to.

1) We want something.

2) God tells us “no.”

3) We try to get it anyway. (Or in this case, Ahab’s wife tried to get it for him – which to all the wives out there – this is a bad idea on multiple levels.)

What the story of Ahab makes very clear is that there are repercussions when we behave in such a way. God does not take kindly when we try to usurp His authority by exercising our desires.

And the consequences for such action may not just affect us.

So the next time we’re tempted to grab what we think we deserve even though God has told us “no,” may we think of Ahab, and leave our future in the Hands of the One who already knows what it will be.


Broken Ears

February 16, 2011 in Growth with 0 Comments

A sweet friend recently brought to my attention this video of John Piper. In three minutes, he provides us eight reasons why we should memorize Scripture. (Take a few minutes to watch the video – it’s excellent!) The last reason that Piper provides focuses on the fact that God speaks through Scripture. Piper continues to explain that prayer is our way of communicating to God, and Scripture is the way that God communicates to us. Therefore, if we want to be have a relationship with God, if we want to be in conversation with Him, we must be in His Word.

One of the challenges, however, is to make sure that we are listening to what God is saying. Time and time again, I’ve seen people who read God’s Words and twist them in such a way to reaffirm what they already want to ear. I know I’m guilty of this too.  We know we should seek God’s wisdom, but we do so like a child who stands talking to their dad with their hands over their ears. Sure, the child is there like they are supposed to be, but you can’t really say that their listening to their father’s instruction.

Similarly, we often approach God’s Word as if our soul’s ears are broken. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that our heart is deaf to what God is saying, after all we could hear Him if we wanted to, but our heart is definitely not listening in any meaningful way. We’re hearing what we want, and nothing more. Just like a broken arm exists, but can’t be used for its intended purpose, so are the broken ears of our soul. They are there, but they aren’t functioning in the way that God intended.

What’s the solution then? The solution is to approach God’s Word as just that – the Words of God. To realize, as Piper demonstrates, that if we want to hear from God, we need to turn to Scripture. And then we must listen to those words. Not to hear what we want, but to hear what God is saying.

And then behave accordingly.


Page 10 of 29« First...«89101112»20...Last »