Witnessing in Secular Contexts

"Behold, I am with you always,

to the end of the age."

Jesus in Matthew 28:20

"A disciple is not above his teacher, not a servant above his master.

It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher,

and the servant like his master.

If they called the master of the house  Beelzebul, 

how much more will they malign those of his household."

Jesus in Matthew 10: 24-25

Where is God and why is He not working through me?

Last year, I had a message from a young lady in south east Asia who shared her desire to see people come to know Christ, but her deep concern for the lack of conversions and spiritual interest she was experiencing.  She shared about hearing of God working in and through others in great ways, but she was not seeing the action of God in her life.  I could tell she really wanted to see God work in and through her!  Yet, through her witness, only a few had expressed interest in Christ.  She asked, "Is there something wrong with me?"

I replied to her message, but I wanted to give a fuller explanation.  I believe her experience marks the experience of many!  I know for times and seasons in my life, it matched perfectly with my experience.

So, is she doing something wrong?  I would guess the answer to be no.  While she probably could be better at knowing and presenting the gospel, I can read between the lines to see that her heart is in the right place.  She desperately wants to see God's name exalted in her life and in the lives of her not-yet-believing friends.

This heart attitude is where most believers fall short in being used by God.  For many, complacency and selfishness drive our Christian life.  We view Jesus and the Holy Spirit as our personal saviors and helpers.  We seek to be healed of our hurts and hang-ups, and then we might tell others about Jesus.  

Unfortunately, this attitude is why so many people do not grow in their faith!  The Holy Spirit must go somewhere in our life.  His purpose is to exalt the name of Jesus and the bring glory to the Father.  As we share about Jesus' work in our life and the truth about who He is, the Holy Spirit shows up to bring glory to Christ.  In the process, we are changed and transformed!  

Yes, the biggest reason most of us do not grow and do not see people come to faith is that we do not share the life-changing message of the gospel!  Our "fear of rejection" illustrates a profound lack of faith.  Our desire to "be made right and holy" before we share our faith illustrates a profound misunderstanding of how we grow in grace.

So, what could be wrong?  If she is sharing her faith with a right heart, why is there so little fruit?

I just finished working for eight years in an area of America known for the highest levels of secularism in our country.  Northern New England also the lowest percentage of church attendance while boasting the highest level of "noners" (those claiming absolutely no religious affiliation or preference) in the United States.  New England, and Maine in particular, has been called the grave-yard of preachers because of the rocky spiritual soil.  I know many sincere pastors and Christians who have seen little or no conversions through their witness.

Does this mean we are all failures?  I know many need to get past the fear of rejection and witness.  Others need to stop thinking of Christ as their personal savior and see Him as the answer to virtually all human questions and needs.  Their friends and co-workers need Jesus!  But there is something more at work here.

In scripture, we are told that Satan has blinded the eyes of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4).  In my experience and in the book of Acts, I have seen some groups of people responded more favorably to the gospel, while other entire groups of people rejected the gospel.  Even Paul witnessed little conversions in Athens (Acts 16:16-34), while seeing great revival in Berea (Acts 16:10-15).  Did he do something wrong in Athens?

Some would argue yes, but I think not!  The people of Athens were more worldly and secular than the people of Berea.  By this I do not mean "evil" but instead I mean that they looked and believed in natural cause more than spiritual answers.  Secular folks rule out the work of God from consideration.  Obviously it is harder to witness to these folks!

For example, the Stoics mentioned in Acts 16:18 most likely would have been very moral people marked by great self control.  They might be "more righteous" in their conduct than anyone we know!  Yet, they rejected the supernatural as superstitious "babbling" from a weak mind.  Of course they reject Paul's message.  They probably did not even listen to it.

I would argue that such thought is the very definition of worldliness.  It is also the mark of those controlled and dominated by the blinding influence of the Evil One.

This young lady labors to witness for Jesus in an area dominated with the same worldly and secular thought.  I also labor in such an area!  What can we do?

First, pray like your life depends upon it!  In fact, pray like the lives of those to whom you witness depend upon it.  Ask for the Lord to send a spirit of revival and transformation.  Pray that the veil will be lifted so they may see their real need and embrace Christ.

Second, do not give up!  Keep praying, witnessing, and most importantly washing yourself in the gospel.  It will be easy to forget the gospel if you do not have others around you to remind you of its beauty and truth.  Find a community of like-minded believers to encourage and pray with you.

Finally, rejoice in the spiritual interest and conversions you do see.  It may not match the volume or experience of others in different towns or place, but who cares!  You do not live in those places.  God has called you to your specific place and to these people.

In other words, please remember that there is nothing wrong with you!  In fact, God has shown great trust in you by placing you in such a difficult environment.  Keep witnessing to the truth and praying for God to send His Spirit to open the eyes of unbelievers.  Immerse yourself in the gospel.  Gather with a community of believers who share the same Lord and the same struggles.  Remember that today may be the day the revival starts through your witness.  To God be the glory in that wondrous revival!

Demonic, Discernment, and the Body of Christ

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

1 John 4: 1-3

Monday evening's Gospel-Centered Life bible study was strange in its demonic qualities.  We typically meet at 7.  This Monday there was also a finance team meeting at the same time.  I ducked into the finance team meet for a few minutes and let my normal study crew talk and catch up on the week.  I thought nothing of it.  Yet, strangeness was brewing!

I was not in the finance team meeting more than 5 minutes when my wife comes in, obviously a bit flustered, to tell me that I am really needed in the bible study because we have "guests."

I think, great!  I love guests.  Strange for them to come 5 weeks into a 9 week study, but O.K.  I made my way into the room, and I was greeting by three very strange looking woman dressed in simple white garments.  They also have a white head covering.  The oldest one is talking almost non-stop.  She is sharing her message.

These woman arrived in the study with the words, "We are Christians too."  They then shared how they are against all violence and eating of meat.  They are for celibacy, vegetarianism, love as brothers and sisters, and "following the way of Jesus."

When I arrive, my discernment gift immediately goes code red.  There is something wildly wrong with these women.  What is it Lord?

The oldest woman then shares that we were created spirits, but after the fall we were given "these animal skins" as our outer garments (she pointed to her arm, indicated her flesh).  She smiled and said that our flesh and all flesh is corrupt and evil.  What is important is following the inner light of the spirit.  (Notice how this teaching matches with the warning above found in 1 John against the spirit of the antichrist found in strange gnostic teachings)

After hearing this, I wonder if these women are part of some strange Shaker-like sect, if they are just weird gnostics, or what.  I want them out of the study to protect these folks.  Yet, as the "new guy" do I just tell them to "get out, spawn of Satan," and leave it at that or how should I do this?  Do others feel the same way I do?

At this stage, the conversation changes.  They want a place to spend the night.  They want and need our help, since they are "wandering witnesses for the truth and light."

I must confess that after two months, I do not know our exact procedure for helping people with such need.  I know I want them out of our church.  I also have an elder and deacon from our church in the study.  I ask if these folks can make some calls and help these folks find a place to stay.  They want to stay in our church.  I am adamant, and so our several others, that this is not going to happen.

Our two church leaders take the woman outside the study and they start to make some phone calls.  This gives time for the remaining 10 of us to talk and to pray.  I am so glad that I was not alone in thinking these ladies have demonic qualities.  Several folks confess to being greatly disturbed in spirit.  Others wish to help in hope that it might witness to them.  After talking, we all agree that we need to get them out of the church immediately because they are not right.  In fact, they might be dangerous.

At this point, our church leaders rejoin us and they share they are going to put the women up in one of our church's homes.  This home has a private basement and they will go down there.  The home is also rented by a single man who could lock the basement from the woman, but who would have access to the basement through the same door because the woman could not lock their side.

In unison, the entire study group told them this is a very bad idea!  Something else must be done.  We all shared why we felt these women had demonic and evil qualities.  One of the leaders, the elder, is one of the most caring folks I have ever met.  He will personally extend himself to meet the needs of others at the drop of a hat.  He shared that he saw someone in need, he wanted to help, and he believed that such help might witness to the truth in Jesus.  We agreed in principle even if we felt odd about these women and their spirituality.  Once help is offered, it cannot just be taken back without thought.  Yet, we also shared our common concern that we must be very careful how we do this.  

So, what did we do?

Our bible study was in shambles for the evening.  The entire atmosphere was disturbed and it really did not do well.  We finished early and the leaders and myself waited for the women to return from getting something to eat.  We told the renter that we would not put him in this position, so the church's home was not an issue.  We also decided to put the women up in a safe but inexpensive hotel about 5 miles from the church.  When they returned, we carried out the plan.  The two leaders led them over in their car (these wandering women who had given up everything did have their own car!), and I went home to pray for protection for these men, the church, and all involved.  Now, three days later, they appear to have just moved on.  Praise the Lord!

What can be learned from this experience?  First, several in the study said they have never experienced anything like it.  I must confess that I have.  It is not an everyday experience, but it has happened often. As we move out in ministry, this church must be aware and ready for spiritual attack.  It will happen again.

Second, even though I have the gift of discernment, the community of faith must help with the discernment process.  When we talked, we all agreed that something was desperately and spiritually wrong with these women.  Personally I felt it, but I also was insecure as it if I was completely right.    By feelings of conviction, yet doubt were shared by almost all.  We felt like something had to be done, but what?  When we talked in community, we affirmed our shared thoughts and opinions.  We also came up with a plan and had time and space to pray together.  The result was God's wisdom to lead us.  He worked in and through community.

Third, the spirit of the antichrist is alive and well (actually sick and twisted, not well).  Believers should know their scriptures, be walking with the risen Lord, and live in community.  We are in a world in spiritual conflict!  I do believe these women were not harmless.  They seek the destruction and disruption of God's kingdom.  They come "in the name of Jesus" but they prove by their words and deeds that they do not know the real Jesus.  

Christians and Church be awake, aware, and alive!  Please join us in prayer for protection and wisdom from God to rule us and the Church as we deal with those who oppose the truth.  Know that these folks often will come saying, "We too are Christians..."  

Worship, Desire, and Satisfaction

I have been neglecting my posting for this week!  Yesterday morning, M.E. had a long blood test that began very early in the morning.  I do pray all results are good.  I also have to say that not getting to work and to the computer before noon means I could not get anything written.  My mind is really sharpest in the morning.  By the afternoon I cannot easily do sustained thought!

Today, I have a brief quote and some comments on worship.  What do you think?

"This extra "glimpse of God" is what most of us crave.  With any experience of God's nearness comes all the blessings of God's divine nature: renewal, power to change, deliverance, comfort, joy, and peace.  It is no coincidence that these are the very things for which the world is longing and searching." Sally Morgenthaler's Worship Evangelism: 

Inviting Unbelievers into the presence of God, 97-98

Are you in a worshipping community where you enter into the presence of God each week?  I find it interesting that many of us are not worshipping in such a place.  Instead, we rationalize that we are "not one of those worship junkies" who insist on feeling God's presence.  We are more mature.

I would challenge that if we do not find God's presence in worship and we are content with it, then we might not be as mature as we think!  

I love how scripture affirms a biblical desire for God.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When can I go and meet with God?

Ps. 42:1-2

As people we were made to enjoy the presence of God.  When you get a taste of God's presence in Christ, it is addicting.  It is satisfying.  It is life.  Who does not want more life, peace, joy and love deep within their soul?

One of the greatest attractions of worship is to create a place where individuals can meet with God.  I know we can meet with God anywhere, but the time and space of worship together in community is often where we experience God's presence in a deep and real sense.  I believe such an experience can be felt and experienced even by non-believers.

My actual experience verifies this claim.  At my former church, Grace Bible Church in Maine, I often heard from visitors that they "felt" the presence of God while with us in worship.  This observation was made from believers and unbelievers,  first-time visitors and long-time attenders, and everything in between.  We were not a "large church" by the standards of worldly judgment, but God did work through and in our worship.

I also have experienced this phenomena in many other growing churches.  In fact, I could argue that such an experience of God's presence in worship is a mark of a growing and thriving church.

So, how do we move/grow a church so this experience of God's presence is felt even by unbelievers?

This is a tricky question.  God cannot be manipulated to "show up" like magic.  Yet, I think and I have experienced several traits of churches that have worship renewal.

First, these churches pray for this experience and presence.  They also come anticipating meeting with God.  These churches are filled with people who ask that the Lord's presence be known, and they are marked by a directed prayer ministry that asks the Lord to work through and in worship.  There is also an expectation that God will move and speak.

Second, these church have people who are called and gifted to lead worship.  These folks may not be the best musicians in the church, but they love to worship.  They have all the traits above, and they ask the Lord to work through them to touch hearts.

Please notice, I said gifted and called.  How do we tell this?  These folks have an inner call to lead worship, they have external call from a group to help them lead worship, and the Lord blesses their work by showing up!

The last mark of calling is the trickiest.  Who determines this?  Does someone's best friend get to say, "The Lord blessed your leading/playing today"?  Is it only the Elder's job to determine this?  Unfortunately/fortunately churches are often full of encouraging folks.  They encourage effort as much or more than results.  Could this skew the data in determining God's blessings on their work?

Of course it can!  The real and ultimate proof is God's presence being known to believers and un-believers, long-time members and first-time visitors.  Such proof cannot be ascertained in any given Sunday, but should be measured over the course of time.

What does this mean?  Finding, developing, and encouraging worship renewal is essential for a growing church.  As individuals we can pray.  As churches we can lovingly search for and encourage those who are blessed to help lead such renewal.  Is this easy?  No.  Is it fool-proof?  No.  Yet it is essential for worship evangelism and worship renewal to take place.

I would love thoughts and opinions on this topic.  As you can see, I am working through my thoughts, so help me grow by sharing yours!

Tending the inner fire...

Be still, and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

Ps. 46:10

It is Monday.  I always have the feeling that I said too much on Sunday when I wake up on Monday.  The desert fathers often spoke about how when we open our mouth, the flame of the Spirit escapes.  Their suggestion was to shut your mouth, be still before God, and allow the Spirit to flame high again.

Pastors have a huge occupational hazard that we speak too much!  At least this pastor does.  On Monday, I often feel tired and I run through my mind all the worthless words, illustrations, and phrases I uttered.  I ask the Lord would take away that which was not of Him so that people will be built up in Christ.  On Monday mornings, I often doubt whether He could do such a thing through me!

When I am emotionally, physically, and spiritual spent, I need to "Be still, and know that He is God."  He will be exalted.  He can and will use me.  He can and will use you.  He is amazing.

Today, I plan to shut my open mouth and receive from the Lord His grace and mercy.  I know I will still utter many words today, but I also know I need Jesus to re-ignite the flame.

Resting in the presence of God is so needed.  It is also so hard- at least for me!  I know my heart runs against trust, rest, and being still be my God.  So often make it all about me!

Most folks return to work today.  Their lives will be filled with words.  I encourage you to take a moment to ask the Holy Spirit to burn brightly with you.  Make a plan this week to have a day, a morning, an hour where you consciously talk less and listen more.  May the Lord fill this time so as to re-ignite the flame of true life!

Lord have mercy upon us and show us Your beauty so our hearts will be captured by You.  May our trust and rest flow from a deep-seated knowledge that "You are God!"

Growing by Faith

I like to leave a topic concerning spirituality over the weekend.  This is a repost of an important post on how to grow as a believer.  May the Lord bless us all with a great weekend and personal growth!

On several occasions the New Testament makes clear that cheap grace, the attempt to be justified through faith in Christ without commitment to sanctification, is illegitimate and impossible.  The thrust of these passages is not really that we should add works to our faith, as if it were possible to advance one step forward into faith but to hesitate before adding a second step into holiness.  Faith and repentance are not separable qualities.  To have faith is to receive God's Word as truth and rest upon it in dependent trust; to repent is to have a new mind toward God, oneself, Christ and the world, committing one's heart to new obedience to God.  Obviously these two factors are so interwoven that they are experienced as one, so that the condition of justification is not faith plus repentance, but repentant faith. In the famous antiphony to Paul's teaching in James, it is clear that works and merit are not being added to the means of justification, but that the root of living faith which produces works is being distinguished from a dead and sterile conceptual orthodoxy: "So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. ... For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead" 

(James 2:17, 26)

An unrepentant faith is a theoretical belief which originates outside the sphere of the Spirit's illumination in a heart which is still in darkness concerning its own need and the grace and grandeur of God.  Paul points to incomplete realization of truth as the cause of the abuse of grace:

"Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means!  How can we who died to sin still live in it?  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  ... We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.  For he who has died is freed from sin." 

(Rom. 6:1-3; 6-7)

It is true that justification can only be appropriated on the ground of our union with Christ.  But we cannot be in the light about our union with the perfect righteousness which covers our sin without simultaneously being in the light about the power available to transform our lives and displace our sin.  We cannot be in union with half a Christ, as the Puritans would say.  We must appropriate a whole Christ if we are to remain in light and thus in spiritual life.

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of the Spiritual Life, 102-103.

If a book is worth reading, it is worth reading multiple times.  As I grow in my faith, I find so many books and aids to Christian growth to be "one-time" reads.  I have many in my personal library, but as I ponder the mysteries of the faith, I constantly come back to several important books.  Richard Lovelace's book is one of these books.  It is tough to read, but well worth the effort.

As I read this passage, I find that the human heart is so easily led astray by our flesh.  Lovelace, and Paul for that matter, emphasize the need for balance.  Our flesh likes to run to extremes and we ignore the need for balance.

On the one side is the tendency to be justified by grace, and then grow in holiness by self-effort.  This unbalance is the mark of much evangelical Christianity.  I know I was captured by this tendency for years!  It leads to frustration and self-righteousness.  I have seen this tendency so often in Christian circles that I have written this blog to help move the balance back toward the other direction.

What is the other direction?  A strange quietism that denies the need to grow in holiness?  Quietism is the belief that "God must do it all."  Thus, people deny the need to promote, encourage, and grow in personal holiness.  Quietism claims to be God- and Christ-centered, but it does so by ignoring the "holy" part of the Holy Spirit!

In the contemporary evangelical world, if you steer clear of growing in holiness by self-effort, you are often accused of quietism.  I would vehemently argue this dichotomy is completely false!  The real key is balance.

How do we strike this balance?  We learn, remember, and emphasize that true faith is marked by repentant faith.  As Lovelace states, "To have faith is to receive God's Word as truth and rest upon it in dependent trust."  I am always leery about those who wish to argue that parts of God's Word are mere "cultural expressions" of the biblical writers.  If I get to choose what God's Word really means, then I trust in my opinions more than God's Word!  This is a clear avenue to allow the world, the flesh, and the devil to determine God's will instead of promote humility and acceptance of God's Word.

Furthermore, we also must remember to walk in repentant faith.  As Lovelace states, "to repent is to have a new mind toward God, oneself, Christ and the world, committing one's heart to new obedience to God."  As God's Word points out places and areas of our lives and thought that do not match God's thoughts on a subject, we must repent and believe.  We should not diminish the realities of our incorrect thoughts or behaviors.  We should not try to argue away what God's Word says.  Instead, in humble faith we repent and believe.

Such a life is not quietism, but an active life of dependent faith.  We ask God to change us.  We look to the Holy Spirit to transform us.  We also follow the Spirit's leading to walk in the newness of life found in the amazing justification declared by God.  In other words, we actively rest in God's Word. We trust in Christ by walking in repentant faith.

May the Lord help us to learn about and rest in this repentant faith!

The Lost Beauty...

This week has been "church week" on this blog.  I find it interesting that people "vote with their feet" (or in this case their search engine) according to topic.  Anything about "church" is not a winner for web hits.  Church is a topic we would rather not talk about.  The following is more of my thoughts concerning the Church from a post in the end of June.  I believe it hits at several reasons why we don't love the Church.

You see, I fear that for many my age and younger, the Church has an image problem.  Instead of the seeing the "radiant bride of Christ" we see the church as an archaic and tangential appendage to true faith.  We have been told for several generations that our faith is all about "relationship" and not going to church.  Unfortunately, way to many of us have believed it.

Now I know that many of us have been hurt by those in the church.  I know many have had horrible experiences with church politics and the rest.  Yet, I still wonder why have so few of us seen the local and universal Church as the most beautiful entity in the universe apart from God?  Why do we not get more glimpses of glory as we meet together in community to praise God and to learn how to walk with Him?  So why do we often not see the church as a shining light of beauty?  Why do we have difficulty seeing her beauty?  While each of us have had different experiences, I believe there are several major reasons why we often do not see the Church as beautiful. 

First, in this world the church is a mixed group.  By that I mean that many within the church are redeemed individuals still struggling with sin.  In addition, in a healthy church there will be those who are not yet redeemed struggling with sin.  So, if we look closely we can see hypocrisy, doubt, anger, and every other sin under the sun.  For many of us, this is a complete turn-off.  How could "holy" people do such things!?

We need to understand that in our fallen world, all institutions are infected with sin.  This includes the church and ourselves!  This should be taught and understood by all.

This truth leads directly to the second reason do not see the beauty of the Church.  I fear that most of us have an incorrect understanding of God's glory in this fallen world.  As people, we are learning/relearning how to walk in faith with and through Jesus.  God's glory is seen most starkly when a person or group of people turn from darkness into light.  It is seen in the process of transformation.  Such transformation comes through the grace of God through the channel of faith.  The Church is a place where we are reminded of our need for grace and where we are encouraged to continue the journey of transformation.  

We should not be surprised when others hurt us or act in a selfish manner.  We should not be surprised when we judge "church" by our feelings and immediate desires.  Instead, we should be people who repent quickly of our sins and who forgive quickly the sins of others.  Let us confess sin as sin, but not be shocked we live in a fallen world.  The Church is truly the only place on earth where we can experience and extend grace that allows us to be real about our struggles, sins, and lack of faith.

So what is God's glory through the Church on this fallen earth?  God's glory is seen in the restoration of that which has been lost through sin and death.  This glory is most clearly visible in the local church!  The local and Universal Church has always been and remains one of God's surest means of grace.  As the Church operates and lives the Word of God it is a corrective to our sinful tendencies, and it is a proper guide toward righteousness. 

This leads to a third reason why we have trouble seeing God's glory in the church.  All to often those in church buildings are not living out the gospel of faith.  In other words, we have experienced a dead church instead of a living, breathing, beauty!  

The church is beautiful when it works well.  It is beautiful when it preaches and lives out the gospel.  It is beautiful when it protects and teaches the Word of God.  This means that it will be marked by Christ-centered worship that promotes true humility and authenticity.  It will also be marked by outreach to a lost world through word and deed.  Such action is the only hope for this world.  Such action is beautiful and lovely.  Such action is also rare in a day and age marked by self-concern and self-centeredness more than God-centered living working itself out in love for others.

May our Church be marked by the beauty of her King, the Lord Jesus Christ.  May each of us worship together in community and promote the beauty of the Church!

Love, Marriage, and Church

In order for a marriage to not only survive but also thrive, love has to grow.  I often share with couples coming for pre-marital counseling that the intensity of desire may wane, but if they do it right, their love will grow through the years.  How is this possible?

I have witnesses such growing love, and I have lived it.  My grandfather was married for 60 years to my grandmother.  The last ten years of her life were pain and agony as she struggled with cancer and ill health.  As the stomach cancer took root, my grandfather made taking care of her his full-time job.  He told me that as he spent so much time with her, he came to see how he had often taken her for granted.  You see, throughout their life they were basic sustenance farmers.  He worked hard outside and she worked hard inside.  They raised a family, raised their food, worked hard, and fell into a habit of life.  Their intense labors kept them from learning about each other.  In the midst of these labors, grandpa had lost his eye for looking at and marveling at the wonderful person to which he was married.

All of this changed when he left his outside pursuits to take care of my grandma.  As they talked, worshipped and prayed together, and re-built a life together he found his love growing.  He confessed his love for her and how often he had taken her for granted.  She confessed the same.  I watched as a mature, deep-seated love grew between this aging couple.  Honestly, I could not understand it as I witnessed it, and I struggle to find words to describe it.

Yet, I want this love in my life!  I have witnessed it so occasionally.  I know it is possible and it is beautiful beyond description.  I have a small taste of it after 20 years of marriage, and I want to nourish it so it grows.  I pray that I do not lose my eye for looking at and marveling at the wonderful person God has given me to be my bride.

Please understand that such an eye does not mean that I will not see and notice my wife's imperfections.  I know my wife's flaws much better than I did 20 years ago.  My grandpa took care of and grew in love while my grandma struggled with the intense "stink" of stomach cancer.  The imperfections become obvious.

Love does not mean blindness.  It recognizes imperfections while moving past them to marveling at the beauty, strength, and splendor of my bride.  Love takes time; and in our fallen world, it takes repentance and faith.  Repentance and confession when I fail to walk in love and faith to nourish relationship.

Where am I going with this?

Jesus says that the Church is His bride.  Yes, He loves you as an individual, but the vast majority of the time in the bible His love is affirmed for "you all" and not just individuals.  Jesus loves the Church!

So why if scripture declares the Church as the radiant bride of Christ do we often see her as an accessory to true faith?  I know there are many reasons, but I think we can easily name a few.

First, in this world the church is a mixed group.  By that I mean that many within the church are redeemed individuals still struggling with sin.  In addition, in a healthy church there will be those who are not yet redeemed struggling with sin.  So, if we look closely we can see hypocrisy, doubt, anger, and every other sin under the sun.  For many of us, this is a complete turn-off.  How could "holy" people do such things!?

Again, I challenge us with the image of marriage.  In our fallen world, sin and death leave their mark.  The church is no exception.  Our biggest problem with the church, like so many of us with marriage, is incorrect expectations.  We want the person and the church that is perfection.  We want our needs met.  We do not want to be hurt.  All these desires are completely natural and good!  The problem is we live in a fallen world.  Our desires reflect the way things were created to be and the way things will be when Jesus sets them aright.  Our experience is often marked by fallenness more than perfection.

So, many people give up on the Church, move from church to church looking for something that meets their desires, or resign themselves to complaining and a life marked by half-hearted engagement with the church.  Does this not match the experience many have with marriage?

Jesus loves the Church.  He gave Himself up for the Church.  If we wish to follow him, we should grow to love what He loves.

Honestly, this takes both faith and discipline.  It takes faith to believe we live in a fallen world where God is at work restoring what was lost.  It takes faith to believe God's word that plainly declares God's love and work through the Church!  In a fallen world, faith also means repentance from our false views and our disillusionment with our church (and our marriage).  It takes faith to pray, "Lord help me to see Your hand at work through and in your Church."

It takes discipline to stay the course.  We have to learn how to marvel at the beauty and strength while looking past the imperfections.  Yes, we repent of those imperfections as we gather communally, but as an individual we must remind ourselves to look for the beauty.  Remember, Jesus is seeing the beauty and strength in the Church.  Let's discipline ourselves to come in faith so we can see it too!  Do not give up.  Work through your doubt and disillusionment by and with faith (This is also good advice for struggling marriages).

The Radiant Bride.  Lord, give us eyes to see our marriage and our church with eyes that look at and marvel at the beauty and strength you have placed before us.  Help change our hearts so we can love as You love.

Why is the Church part of God's plan?

Yesterday we began to address some interesting questions concerning the Church.  Today we will pick up on these questions by addressing the scriptural teachings concerning the people of God and how it relates to the Church.  As a reminder, I will begin with the questions I was posed in an e-mail.

I am reading the letter of Paul. He refers to the church. When is this term first used? Why? How did he understand its meaning? Why didn't he call the followers of The Way the synagogue? What's the difference between "church" and "synagogue"? Did he coin the word "Church"? I don't remember seeing it in the Old Testament. Did the "church" exist before Pentecost and the Spirit's filling? Which leads to another question dealing with the Holy Spirit that I won't ask at this time. 

In the NT, the term ekklesia is most often translated church.  Ekklesia is a term borrowed from the secular Greek context where it referred to the town meeting in Athens.  Its range of meanings within the scriptures include assembly, meeting, or congregation.  Why do we not see this term used in the OT?  Most likely because we do not look for it in the right places.

Since ekklesia is a Greek term, it would not be used directly in the Hebrew.  Yet, the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, uses the term ekklesia 100 times.  This early translation helps us see that the Hebrew had a similar idea as ekklesia even though they did not use the term.

Jesus also uses the term in several important places.  For example, in Matthew 16:18, Jesus announces to Peter, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."  Again in Matthew 18:17, Jesus uses the term to express the process of how to win over a brother or sister who has sinned against you.  The final step before treating a brother like a pagan or tax collector is to bring the charges to the church.  If the individual refuses to listen, then they are to be treated like an unbeliever.  What I find most striking about both of these passages is that they are found in the gospel of Matthew.  I find this book to be the most Jewish of the gospels, and Jesus' use of the term illustrates a continuity with the OT and the gospel of Matthew.

Overall, the term ekklesia is used 114 times in the NT with 46 of those time by the Apostle Paul.

All of these statistics and usages illustrate that the term and idea of church was not invented by the Apostle Paul.  This idea is found in the OT, used on important occasions by Jesus, and it is used by Paul to describe the character of the Christian community.

So now it is time for the million dollar question: so what does all this mean?  In all of these 214 usages, what does "church/assembly/meeting" mean?  Well, there is no clear cut answer!  Paul uses the term church, but also gives us some other images of the church.  He calls it the people of God (Romans 9), God's temple (1 Cor 3), Abraham's seed (Gal 3), Israel of God (Gal 6), Body of Christ (1 Cor 12), Family of God (Eph 3), the Bride of Christ (Eph 5) and the Pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim 3).  Furthermore, the apostle Peter calls the church a Holy Priesthood (1 Pet 2), and the Apostle John describes the church as the Bride of Christ (Rev 21).

What I find so interesting about these images is how many of them are direct OT allusions.  In other words, for the NT writers the Church was an extension of the OT idea of the people of Israel.  I know this is tough for some to understand.  Many have been taught that the NT Church was God's plan B after the people of Israel rejected the Messiah.  I find such teaching hard to square with the NT images concerning the Church.  I also find it difficult to square with the biblical teaching of an omniscient and omnipotent God who knows the exact number of hairs on my head (unfortunately decreasing daily!).  

I offer another understanding of the Church.  The Church is the community of all true believers throughout all of time.  Such a community was God's purpose in calling Abraham to be the patriarch for all believers (to be a blessing for the entire world) in Genesis 12 (so says Paul in Romans 4 and Galatians 3).  Thus true Israel in the OT is the same as true Israel in the NT- those who believe the promise.  This is why Paul can write, "It is not as though God's word has failed.  For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." (Romans 9:6)

What does Paul mean?  Physical descent has some value because of the covenant and the promises.  Yet, those who follow Abraham's example of believing are his true descendants.  I am going to quote one of many passages that illustrate this point because I know that some still will not believe this is the clear NT teaching.  

We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.  Under what circumstances was it credited?  Was it after he was circumcised or before?  It was not after but before!  And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.  So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.  And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
Romans 4: 9-12

Even as I write, I can clearly see the consequences for how the Church should understand the sacraments, the covenant community, and the promises.  I will pick up on these ideas at a later time.  I will end with a repeat of what I take to be Paul's definition of the Church.

The Church is the community of all true believers throughout all of time.  

The True Community of Faith

It is Monday.  On Mondays, I often feel emotionally, spiritually, and physically spent.  Sundays are great days.  I love the worship, the preaching, the talking with folks.  Yet, the more I do these things in the power of the Spirit, the more tired I am on Mondays.

I am not alone!  What does this mean?  Pray for your pastors on Mondays as we often feel a bit weak on this day.  For me today, it means that I do not have the creative energy to write a new post.  Instead, I will re-post from December a topic that I think is really important but most Protestant believers find boring, redundant, and unimportant.  Read along and see who is right!

The topic: what is the church?  Related to it is the questions of how will I recognize the true Church and is the Church really important for my growth?

To get into this topic, I will include an e-mail I received about the Church.  Here are a series of questions asked.

I am reading the letter of Paul. He refers to the church. When is this term first used? Why? How did he understand its meaning? Why didn't he call the followers of The Way the synagogue? What's the difference between "church" and "synagogue"? Did he coin the word "Church"? I don't remember seeing it in the Old Testament. Did the "church" exist before Pentecost and the Spirit's filling? Which leads to another question dealing with the Holy Spirit that I won't ask at this time. 

I find there is much confusion regarding the nature and structure of the church.  There are major traditions, such as Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, who emphasize the church as the means of grace.  In other words, the church is the vehicle through which we come to know God.  In many/most ways, I agree completely with this statement!  

The problem comes when "the church" values its tradition as the only or primary lens through which to interpret scripture so as to overrule scripture as the revealed Word of God.  When this occurs, it is time for revival and renewal.  At its best, this is exactly what the Protestant tradition attempted to do.  Protestantism is a renewal movement that seeks to call the true Church back to faith.  While it recognizes there are many true believers in the RC and Orthodox tradition, it also affirms that their view of the church tradition has gone too far.  As a result, at its best, Protestantism is a movement challenging the true Church to return to its roots of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, revealed in scripture alone and all to the glory of God alone.

Before my RC and Orthodox friends object too loudly, let's confess that Protestantism also has issues.  The primary problem with Protestantism is that we live in a fallen world!  While these principles are excellent, it is possible to use them in harmful and dangerous ways.

How so?  Well, too many Protestants have used the critique of Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy as an excuse to promote "private interpretation" as the proper means of understanding scripture.  In other words, many Protestants, particularly in the West, have made Christianity about God and me: my faith, my life, my interpretation of scripture, my thoughts, and my feelings are what truly matter.  After all, we all have our right to our own opinions!

The result of this thought is thousands of slightly and some not so slightly different Protestant sects and denominations.  Furthermore, this view also leads to very immature believers who have no appreciation or even acknowledgement of the Universal Church.

Such a view is not the official position of Protestantism!   It was the view of some within what is now known as the Radical Reformation.  As Protestantism began, these folks were seen as a small and dangerous minority.  Unfortunately, today in the West, particularly in New England, this view is dominant.  It is dangerous to churches and to individuals, but it is a popular understanding of "true" faith.

This view also ties in easily with another cultural phenomena that continues to grow in the West.  Increasingly, I encounter many who have been hurt by folks within the church, so they desire a life without "church."  They prefer to have a personal relationship with the Lord without the confines and fallenness they have found in the church.

While I feel for these hurt individuals, I still must warn them of the dangers of "going alone."  I have never met a "going it alone" believer who is not a bit strange and errant in their life and doctrine.  I do not believe my experience is odd.  I think that the Christian life was meant to be lived in community.  What type of community?  How about the Church!  Without such a community and the assistance of called and educated clergy who teach and live the Word of God, individuals go astray.

So now to the questions asked above.  What is the true church?  As I have argued before, "The true church is the congregation of saints in which the gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments rightly administered." (Augsburg Confession, Article 7)  Could this have happened in the Old Testament?  Is such a place only a NT occurrence?

In the Protestant landscape, there was a minority view that arose (again) and became popular in the 1870s.  This view argued that the Old Testament was too Jewish, too hard to understand, and too different from the NT, particularly the teachings of Paul, to be relevant today.  It understood the OT as the Law, and it taught that the era of the gospel began at Pentecost.  For some within this camp, even the teachings of Jesus were too Law focused and too Jewish for the gospel age.

This view was brought to a largely uneducated and socially marginalized segment of Christianity in the West.  In this seedbed, it took root and flourished!  It emphasized evangelism, personal salvation, the imminent second coming of Christ, and a "literal" interpretation of scripture, particularly the book of Revelation and other apocalyptic literature.  Through an ardent mission emphasis, it took this message around the world!  I praise God for all of the people who have come to know Jesus through this witness.

The problem is that this view offers a very limited and damaging view of the Church.  It often emphasizes the local congregation while ignoring and decrying the Universal scope of what God has done through His bride, the true Church.  The primary reason for this mistake is that this view buys completely into the Enlightenment emphasis on the individual.  In the process, it denies the effects of the Fall and sin on individuals and our churches.

I also believe this view does not do its homework on understanding the Word of God.  The idea of the Church is not coined by Paul, but it has strong OT background.  Why?  Well for starters, the OT is not merely about the Law, but about God's redemptive work and plan being worked out in time and space. Even a proper interpretation of Paul would illustrate his building upon the OT foundation to explain the true Church.

This post is getting very long, so tomorrow we will pick up on this OT teaching and how it relates to Jesus, Paul, and the rest of the NT.  What a great question to think about!

Changing Habits by Changing the Heart

I am currently on a diet.  I really hate being on a diet!  I like to eat because I enjoy food.  Being on a diet means I do not get to eat all the types and quantities of food that I would wish.  For me, being on a diet is no fun.

Yet, I need to lose some weight so I can be healthy.  Since discovering my gluten issues, I have put on a few too many pounds.  Now I need to lose about 30 pounds to get back to the weight I was when I got married at age 22.  What happened?  For the first time in memory, my body actually digests food, so I cannot eat 4000 calories a day and stay the same weight.  I also changed the way I eat.  Since wheat is out, corn and potatoes entered the picture.  All I can say is that they do not feed corn and potatoes to fatten up livestock for no reason!

What is really needed?  I need to change my habits.  In order to change my habits, I need to have my heart changed.  I know from the past that my will-power will not work through the many weeks needed to lose 30 pounds.  I will need plenty of grace to help me make it!

So, how will I change and how do any of us change?  In my experience, it takes three days to make most surface changes.  To change your diet, three days.  To change exercise patterns, three days.  Three days of will-power and you can change many patterns.  The key is that you really have to want to change.  

I also have found that three weeks of pattern change often changes our character.  In other words, keep doing what you change for three days for three weeks and you will find your desires for the old behavior are lessened.  

Many say they want to lose weight.  Yet, they eat horribly.  The reality is that they like junk food more than they wish to lose weight.  Three days and you can change patterns!  Three weeks and you are different!

If you fall off the wagon, remember it is only three days of will-power.  Remind yourself of your goal.  Stop yourself from your destructive patterns for three days.  On day four, it will be easier!

So where does God fit into all this?  I ask Him constantly for the will-power to make it three days!  I talk with Him constantly about my desire to give up the chips for better health.  I ask Him to change my desires.  In other words,

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will make your paths straight." 

Proverbs 3: 5-6 

In the process of making surface changes, I also ask the Lord to help me see why I do what I do.  What really motivates me?  What truly causes my surface sins?  I have to admit the answers to these questions are often elusive.  I need God to reveal what is going on under the surface.

Let me give an example.  Why do you eat wrong foods?  There are probably many reasons.  Some just like food.  Some like the sugar rush.  Some are too lazy to make good food so they grab what is convenient.  Yet, others eat too much and get very fat because they hate themselves and their body?

How do we change?  So much depends on what causes the behavior!  Some of these issues can be cured with will-power and the three day trick.  Others are much deeper and more difficult.  These folks need the gospel to deal with their heart.

I have found that so many folks believe deep down that they deserve to be fat and unattractive.  Such a belief is both untrue and destructive.  In Christ, it needs to be identified, confessed, repented of, and the truth of the gospel needs to be applied.  At this point, you may need help of a trusted friend or counselor to help apply the love of God to your heart.

So how do we change?  Ask the Lord for mercy, grace and a change of heart so we can have the will-power to change some basic habits.  Remember in three days you can change many habits!

Also, ask the Lord for mercy and grace to see that your surface behaviors/sins are caused by a heart that needs grace.  In my walk with God, I use the three day will-power trick to force myself to come before the Lord in repentance and then faith.  By day four, it is much easier to come into His presence in repentance and faith.  My guess is that such behavior also could help you!  Remember, in three weeks you will find changes to your heart.

Remember growth is a process.  Real heart change often takes time and there will be ups and downs.  If you fall off the wagon, repent and begin again.

Every day is a new day of grace!

Why take prayer so seriously?

While Jesus left no recorded instruction to the apostles to prepare themselves for mission by prayer, Luke reports that during the interim until Pentecost "all these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer" (Acts 1:14).  When the mission of the new church was threatened by an edict commanding them to cease their witness, the apostles turned to prayer again, and their mission was confirmed by a new spiritual empowering (Acts 4: 1-31).  The first missionary journey from Antioch emerged from a prayer meeting (Acts 13: 1-3).  Thus there is an indissoluble reinforcing connection between mission and dependent prayer.  Those who realistically face the demanding task of local mission are immediately driven to prayer by the magnitude of the work confronting them.  Those who are praying about the needs surrounding them in the world are awakened to the greatness of those needs and the opportunity for the church to meet them.

Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 152.

On Monday I wrote a post concerning the importance of dependent prayer.  It is a mark of a heart radically converted by the grace of God.  Yet, as I write and talk to folks about dependent prayer, I so often find a great resistance to the concept.

No, this is not completely true.  What I find is an embracing of the concept as concept coupled with a resistance to confessing that we as individuals so often lack dependent prayer.  In other words, we say, "Someone should do something about that," while we personally do little to change the spiritual climate of our lives, homes, and churches.

Why is this the case?  I think so many of us feel downright guilty about our lack of concentrated prayer.  We know the good we ought to do, we can tell you what you ought to do, but we lack the evidence in our lives that we really do what we know we ought to do!  In time, we build up an immunity to calls for further and deeper prayer by placing walls around our souls.  Who wants to feel guilty all the time?!

My goal is not to make us feel guilty.  It is also not to hold my life or anyone else's life up as "the standard."  My true goal is to encourage us to grow.  To do so, we need to recognize and repent of several things.

First, our biggest hindrance to prayer is our indwelling flesh.  Even if you have been a believer for years, your flesh is still with you.  The supernatural gift of faith was lost in the fall.  Faith is what propels prayer, particularly a life-style of prayer.  Thus, walking in dependent prayer does not come naturally to us.  Instead, it runs opposite of our natural, fleshly, tendencies.  

In other words, we do not naturally pray and walk in faith with God.  It is something that has to be nourished and grown.  It will not naturally happen just because you have been a believer for many years!

So, when it comes to dependent, missional prayer, almost all of us are beginners.  In fact, new Christians can often lead us older believers in dependent prayer.  I would go so far to say that if you have known Jesus for years, but have not nourished and grown your ability to pray in faith, you probably have more "fleshly" walls built up against dependent prayer.  Why?  You have a reputation to keep.  You should not be so "immature."

The first step to overcoming our lack of prayer is confess that rumors of our great maturity need to be rejected as a complete lie.  All of us need to repent and believe.  Claim the truth of your justification and adoption by God.  Start anew.  Begin small- with 5 minutes of prayer in the morning.  Learn to pray throughout the day.  Get past the guilt by claiming the truth of your identity in Christ.

Our second greatest hindrance to prayer is our huge tendency to walk in our fleshly strength.  There is so much that all of us can do without "divine" help.  I know that sounds horrible, but it is true.  You can perform your job without direct aid from God.  You can do so many work tasks without even a thought of needing God's help.  I can almost assure you there are others in your workplace that do your type of work who do not believe.  They still "get it done."

Even in ministry, there is so much that can be done through our fleshly efforts.  If you are a good musician, you can play and lead worship without divine help.  You can follow the script and the plans made from past years so as to pull off a great VBS or some other church program.  You can go about your "Christian Life" without much need for moment by moment dependence on God.  You can even parent or make it through your normal day without much if any divine help.

Doesn't what I just wrote sound heretical?  Yet, I think it is really true.  I know I lived that way, and I still live that way sometimes.  I even prepared sermons and talks without much dependent prayer.  I am a good public speaker and I have a vast trove of theological knowledge at my disposal.  With the orderly mind that God has given me, I can pull of speaking or teaching without prayer.  I know many pastors who are experienced will affirm the same thing!

How about you?  Take a moment to really think about it.  I think many of us vastly overestimate the amount of dependence we have on Jesus.  If this true, repent, confess, and believe afresh and anew!

Do you want to grow in dependence?  I offer this piece of advice.  Get out of your rut by starting or participating in a new ministry.  Push yourself outside of your comfort zone.  Try something that will fail without God's direct help.  See if that helps promote dependency!

Such stretching in ministry is exactly what the early church experienced in the book of Acts.  God's call prompted dependent prayer.  There is something nice and peaceful about maintaining the status quo in ministry.  Yet, it can also be deadly to our spirituality.  

Growing in dependency upon Jesus leads to unshakeable joy, power, and growth in holiness, maturity, and depth.  

Why not take some time today to ask the Lord to fight against your fleshly tendencies and grow you in dependency?  He loves you so much that He will lovely guide you deeper in.

Gifting and Calling to Ministry

"For the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power."

1 Corinthians 4:20

Why doesn't God allow all of us to have the same gifts and abilities?  It is not fair that some folks have such greater gifts than I do.

Even as I write these two sentences, I must confess I find them ludicrous.  Why does God gift each of us in different ways?   I have no idea.  I do know that He calls us all to be the body of Christ.  A body without different parts just will not work right.  Instead, health means that all the parts of the body are present and working to help the rest of the body.

What does this mean for the ministry?  Having walked with believers and ministry workers for many years, I believe that most of us secretly wish we had different gifts.  We wish we could be like someone we look up to in ministry.  We are painfully aware of our shortcomings.  Deep within we believe that life and ministry would be different if we were just different.

In answer to this natural, fallen human tendency, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12 that we should not wish we had other gifts than the ones we do (gift envy), and he instructs us not to look down on those with different gifts (gift projection).

As I grow older, I am more and more convinced that there is a place for every type of person in the Kingdom of God.  In fact, I believe there is a place and ministry for every type of person.  The key to success is matching our gifts, calling, experience, and talents with the ministry to which we are called.  To put this positively, when God gives the call to a specific ministry, He also gifts us for the task.

What does this mean for us?  When we are looking at a ministry opportunity, we must know who we are in Christ and we need to understand what the ministry needs to succeed.  This requires wisdom and a bit of knowledge.  Today I want to offer some of Paul's wisdom regarding how God gives to His church spiritually gifted people just like you!

As Paul describes,

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.  To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

1 Cor. 12: 4-7

Notice the phrase in the middle of these verses, "There are varieties of service and activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all."  In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul writes to a church where jealousy, envy, and ignorance have brought about division within the body.  It appears that this church has a variety of gifted folks.  In fact, Paul describes more and different types of gifts in writing the Corinthian church than he mentions in writing to any other church in the NT.

The problem is that this church wants to see some gifts and callings as greater than others.  From the context, we can see Paul argues such thinking is ridiculous!  Everyone and every gifting/skill set is needed!  All the different types of gifts are needed in ministry, and in the varieties of service in which we find ourselves.  The key is to serve where we are gifted and called while also affirming and encouraging others to service in different areas according to their gifting and calling.

So how do we know who God has made us to be?  Here is where wisdom is needed.  Unfortunately, it is a wisdom that often takes experience to discern.  I find that most of us learn this wisdom by getting into a ministry area to which we do not fit.  Let me share a brief story to illustrate.  

I had a good friend in seminary who came to school from North Carolina with his wife who was studying to be a psychologist.  He had loved his pastor in college and he wanted to be like him.  He wanted so much to be a pastor who could impact people's lives like he had witnessed.

He began in the M.Div. program, which is a degree to train for ordained ministry.  After a year, he was miserable!  His grades were very good, because he was bright.  Yet, he had no peace and joy in the work.  Before coming to seminary, he was an accountant.  After months of forcing himself to study theology, Greek, and such, he found himself nightly in the library studying tax law.  He found it fascinating (I cannot even imagine!).  Finally, he called his old firm and asked if they had a position in Boston.  He shared that he needed to get back to work in something he loved.  That was a Thursday afternoon.  The next Monday, he began to work at the Boston office of his accounting firm for $80,000 a year (remember this was the mid 1990s)!

What can we learn from this?  First, it pays to be an accountant!  Second, he was trying to force his way into a life and ministry to which he was not called and gifted.  The result was misery and a lack of success.  When he finally came to his senses, the Lord opened other doors and blessed his work.  In fact, he later applied for law school, did extremely well, passed the bar, and became a tax lawyer.  Last I heard, he was also working toward a political career.

If you are not good at understanding yourself (and most of us aren't good at such self-knowledge), I encourage you to find a trusted friend, pastor, or counselor to help you gain some self-understanding.  I also recommend that you take some personality tests and that you take some tests to help you discover your spiritual gifts.  While these tools are not fool-proof, they can be helpful tools in the hands of a wise counselor to help us gain self-knowledge.

Most importantly, get out in a variety of ministries and environments to see what brings you life, joy, and success.  Try everything!  If you fail at something, do not get down, but learn from it.  Why did you fail?  What happened?  If you find that you are good at something, but still not empowered and full of joy while doing it, ask why?  Perhaps the gifting is present, but the direction of this ministry was not quite correct.  Most importantly, try a variety of ministries and areas of labor!

At all times remember that God is one who has given you a desire to serve Him.  He will never forsake you and He loves you dearly!  If you are in a tough spot now, this does not change God's love for you.  If you have failed miserably in a certain ministry, this does not change God's love for you.  He even uses our failure.  In fact, He seems particularly good at using our failures to give us wisdom and direction if we have the heart and faith to ask for wisdom with what happened!

Rest in the reality that God is the one who prepares us for life and ministry.  His Spirit leads us to fruitful fields of labor.  We should strive to discover where and how God is leading us while at the same time be encouraging and acknowledging that others are called to different tasks.  

May the Lord lead us and guide us to use our gifts and personality to pursue His calling for us!

Dependent Prayer

In much of the church's life in the twentieth century, however, both in Evangelical and non-Evangelical circles, the place of prayer has become limited and almost vestigial.  The proportion of horizontal communication that goes on in the church (in planning, arguing, and expounding) is overwhelmingly greater than that which is vertical (in worship, thanksgiving, confession, and intercession).  Critically important committee meetings are begun and ended with formulary prayers, which are ritual obligations and not genuine expression of dependence- when problems and arguments ensue, they are seldom resolved by further prayer but are wrangled out on the battlefield of human discourse.  The old midweek prayer meetings for revival have vanished from the programs of most churches or have been transformed into Bible studies ending with minimal prayer.

This was the picture in much of the American church until recently, and it is still almost universally the case in some instruments and organs of the churches which have to do with teaching and administration.  Why has this come about?  Perhaps it stems partly from the deficient teaching and emphasis on God himself throughout the church, and partly from the man-centeredness of much religious activity.  Deficiency in prayer both reflects and reinforces inattention toward God.

Richard Lovelace,  Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 153.

Last evening I was teaching about the Disciples prayer that Jesus gave us in Matthew 6: 10-13.  (You can find the message/talk at www.seattlecrc.org) I began with a series of questions based upon this passage from Lovelace.  Let me share a couple of these questions.

What is your prayer life like?  Do you come before the Living God and pray like your life depends upon it?  Are your prayers mostly brief and about you and your needs?  Have you learned how to listen to God's leading?

What about your church?  Do you as a body of Christ come before the Living God and pray like your life depends upon it?  In our busy culture the Wednesday evening prayer meeting has often gone by the wayside.  Does your church have other groups that meet together for the primary purpose of prayer?  Does your church encourage such groups?

I am speaking from personal experience when I share that I have found growing in prayer to be difficult.  I will never forget the way my hypocrisy was most clearly exposed to me.  I was serving in a very good Presbyterian church in Asheville as an assistant pastor.  The church had recently lost its long-time senior pastor, and conflict was starting to brew.  Quite frankly the leadership of the church was opinionated, but not very solid or godly.  They were the leadership mentioned in Lovelace's thoughts above.  The people were growing restless.

Into the midst of this, I walked: a recent seminary graduate who the church leadership did not trust because the senior pastor hired me before he left.  The church's leadership team felt like I was foisted upon them and they did not like it.  I was asked to preach.  I chose the topic of prayer.  I encouraged the church to see that they were in a spiritual war, and that prayer was so desperately needed.  I pointed out that another assistant pastor has a mid-week pray meeting that was very sparsely attended.  I asked, "Does this lack of attendance not show our lack of attention toward God?"

The sermon was very well received.  I was glad!  Then on Wednesday, over 100 people showed up for the prayer service.  I cannot tell you the exact amount of people there, because I did not attend!  You see, I talked about prayer.  I knew prayer was important.  Yet, I did not join in prayer when it was most needed!

What a hypocrite!  Looking back, I can see that I did not join in mid-week corporate prayer because I really did not have a solid grounding in personal prayer.  I had not been led to a place where I personally prayed "like my life depended upon it."  

In the midst of my immaturity, God worked.  He led the church in one direction, and I headed off to further graduate study.  He also used this situation to constantly remind me of my obvious immaturity.  Through this situation and others, He worked over the next five years to change my heart concerning my need for prayer.  He used it to help me grow up.

Individually and corporately, most folks in America do not pray like their very lives depend upon it. It is something they talk about, but do sparingly.   Prayer does not drive their life or ministry.  If this is you or it is your church, I ask that you repent and believe!  You need Jesus and the Spirit to work to transform lives and communities.  Learn to depend upon Him.

I am so thankful this is not the case for all people.  It is also not the case for all churches.  Some individuals and churches have learned their need for Jesus and they depend upon Him for life.  Individually and corporately they have learned how to walk and live in dependent prayer.  These individuals and churches are the very life-blood of God's Kingdom on earth.  I pray that the Lord will multiply these individuals and churches!  

Friends, let us walk this week in dependent prayer.  May the Lord's grace lead us into deeper repentance and faith so that we might find our rest and dependence in Him!

Seeing God's Hand in your life

But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

and called from its farthest corners,

saying to you, "You are my servant,

I have chosen you and not cast you off";

fear not, for I am with you;

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41: 8-10

The weather in Seattle has been breath-takingly beautiful.  I have enjoyed my weekly travels to beautiful places within 60 miles of my home.  Truly this is a wonderful place in the summer!  I am told that we should not mention this too much because everyone from California will move here.  All I know is that as a family we have enjoyed learning about a new place.

I have also deeply enjoyed my mornings with the Lord.  We have a front room on our home that we call "the talking room."  In the morning it is bright, sunny, and delightful.  As the sun comes up, the fog burns off around the Cascades.  The light changes slowly to the full light of day.  It is beautiful and very peaceful.

It is also quiet.  Perhaps the biggest surprise of moving to the city is that my current home is much quieter than my former home in the country.  I am very thankful for this quiet.  Getting up early in my household gives me an hour to enjoy the quiet.  I so enjoy these times to read the Word of God, meet with the Lord in prayer, and have time to quiet myself before the Living God.  Today I was thinking of the untold billions who do not know how to do this.  I believe deep within me that their souls long for such times, but they do not know what it means to meet with the One True God.

I also believe this is the plight of many believers.  It only makes sense that most do not know how to meet with God in intimate prayer and fellowship.  Without models of how to do this, most live either in the land of little prayer or in the land of doing devotions because it is their duty.  Of these two extremes, doing one's duty is better than no prayer at all!

I must confess that I did devotions out of duty for years.  I gained much knowledge of the Bible, but I often did not find a life changing meeting with God during these times.  I think the primary reason why had to do with my approach to these devotions.  I did much talking to God in prayer, but I did not know it was possible or that is should be encouraged to take time to listen to God in the Word and prayer.  In fact, my religious tradition looked upon people who "listened to God's voice" as crazy folks.  What a shame!

How do we listen to the voice of God?  How do we see His hand at work?

One of the best ways to see the leading of God and to hear His voice is the process of journaling.  This morning I had the privilege of looking back over the past year to see how my thoughts, emotions, and confusion illustrated God's hand in my life.  How?  I read over my journal.

I write my in my journal occasionally.  The more confused I am about life, the more I write.  The more I need clarity in seeing God's hand, the more I write.  I write with the Word of God and my mind open to applying what I read to my life circumstances.  As thoughts come into my mind, I write and pray about them.  Generally, I then completely forget about it!

This is why journaling is so important.  I forget that the Lord is my help and shield.  I forget that He has seen me through so many questions, dangers, and difficulties.  When I write it down in my journal, I have a record of what God has done.

Yesterday, I could prayerfully see that the Lord has strengthened me, helped me, and upheld me with His righteous right hand.  Through the questions, fears, and doubts, God was at work.  What an encouragement!  If God helped me then, He will help me now.

If I had not written it down, I would have forgotten.  I would have remembered generalities, but nothing specific.  Having looked back, I can now tell my children how God has rescued me from my enemies.  How He protected me in my struggles.  How He loved me through my sin and doubt.  (Thus fulfilling God's call to fathers in Deuteronomy 6)

I challenge you to listen for the voice of the Lord.  I encourage you that even not faithful journaling can be an avenue into hearing His still small voice!