Week 6: The Screwtape Letters - Adjusting Focus

"Men are not angered by mere misfortune but by misfortune conceived as injury.  And the sense of injury depends on the feeling that a legitimate claim has been denied.  The more claims on life, therefore ... the more often he will feel injured and, as a result, ill-tempered."

Letter 21 deals with our having a sense of "ownership" of things, such as time.  Most of you have probably heard me tell about the watershed moment I experienced several years ago while reading the Missions to the Military magazine from the Hammons.  There was an interview with a young man who had just found out he was being deployed to Eastern Europe.  [This was before the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts, a time when military men did not expect to be deployed into hostile areas.]  I think the young man was only around 20, but his response to this unexpected interruption in his life showed great spiritual maturity.  He said, "I can't wait to see what God has planned for me!"  That's when it hit me ... he wasn't complaining that this was an interruption in his current service for God ... he wasn't agonizing over whether or not serving in Eastern Europe was God's will for his life ... he saw every step of his life being controlled by God.  He just kept walking faithfully and expectantly.  He was a willing, alert tool ready to serve wherever and whenever God might choose.  What a lesson to learn!  Living my life this way means seeing the opportunities God places in my path, instead of rushing on to the next thing on my 'to do" list.  That telephone call in the middle of lesson prep isn't an interruption, it's an opportunity to use God's Word to comfort or exhort someone.  My husband needing me to show him how to do something on his computer isn't an interruption, it's an opportunity to demonstrate my love for him. My child's rebellious sin isn't a frustrating, maddening interruption to getting my housework done, it's an opportunity to teach him or her godly truth.  My "late" arrival at the grocery store isn't an interruption to my schedule, it's an opportunity to witness Christ to a lady I "happen to bump into" who needed someone to talk to.  Overhearing a conversation in the library while reading a book isn't an interruption, it's an opportunity to teach the Bible to two young women who have lots of questions and very little knowledge.  What a difference it makes when you look at life that way!

In Letter 22, we see Screwtape and Wormwood's relationship deteriorating further as they jockey for position, with Screwtape suffering a rather humorous "meltdown" at the end of the letter.  Wormwood's patient is slowly growing in spiritual maturity and is now in love with a committed Christan woman.  Screwtape does not take the news well!  It's interesting that he speaks of her home as having a "deadly odour" which rubs off onto others.  A family walking closely to the Lord, living out their faith in their relationships with each other positively affects all who come into contact with them.  There's a God-honoring goal for you home ... and mine!

"...it will be quite impossible to remove spirituality from his life.  Very well, then; we must corrupt it."  Screwtape to Wormwood

Letter 23 reveals a change in strategy.  If Wormwood can't turn the patient away from worshiping Jesus, then he suggests changing the "Jesus" he worships into something other than what Scripture reveals Him to be.  This strategy is certainly alive and well today!  If you've never heard of The Jesus Seminar, read the following excerpt from wikipedia.  I think it's good to be aware of movements like this so that we don't misunderstand when we hear people talking about the "historical Jesus".   They're not merely referring to the fact that Jesus existed in history, they are applying human reason to the Scriptural portrayal of Jesus, voting on what they think is true and what they think is false, rather than accepting Scriptural revelation as written.

          The Jesus Seminar is a group of about 150 individuals, including laymen and scholars...

             The Seminar uses colored beads to decide their collective view of the historicity of the

          deeds and sayings of Jesus of Nazareth...

          The seminar's reconstruction of the historical Jesus portrays him as an itinerant Hellenistic 

          Jewish sage who preached a "social gospel" in startling parables and aphorisms.  An 

          iconoclast, Jesus broke with established Jewish theological dogmas and social conventions

          both in his teachings and behaviors, often by turning common-sense ideas upside down, 

          confounding the expectations of his audience... the fellows argue that the authentic words 

          of Jesus indicate that he preached a sapiential eschatology, which encourages all of God's

          children to repair the world.

So, in their view, Jesus died to "repair the world".  That certainly is not the message of Scripture! It's true that Christians have historically had a significant moral impact in the world, that has been a secondary side effect, not the primary focus of the gospel.

Letter 24 targets the danger of novice believers developing spiritual pride.  "It is always the novice who exaggerates... the young scholar is pedantic."  In his interactions with his girlfriend and her family, who are further along in their Christian walk than he, Screwtape writes, "He has no notion how much in him is forgiven because they are charitable and made the best of it because he is now one of the family.  He does not dream how much of his conversation, how many of his opinions, are recognized by them all as mere echoes of their own."  Reading that brought a blush to my face as I recalled what I was like as a new believer in our weekly Bible study.  It's a good reminder of the importance of patience when interacting with new believers, particularly opinionated ones!

For someone new to the faith, I'm not sure the sudden contrast between being with believers and being with the world can be maneuvered through quickly and easily.  There's a time of adjustment as a new believer begins applying his new world view.  At first the contrast between the saved and the lost seems overwhelming.  He may find himself frustrated with the actions and opinions of unbelievers, and feel safely cocooned among his Christian family.  Christian radio often exacerbates the problem of "us" and "them".  But as time goes by, you realize it is unjust to expect Christian behavior from the those who do not possess the Holy Spirit.  At that point I think you begin to see the lost as God does and you look for opportunities to reach them with the gospel, instead of condemn them for their unbelief.  It's a process most of us went through, may in fact be going through right now.  Eventually you become solid enough in your Biblical understanding that you respond with compassion instead of anger, and you have a great desire to teach God's truth and help people realize their great need and Christ's provision.

[Week #1; Week #7]

Week 5: The Screwtape Letters - Controlling Appetites

The next group of letters focus upon the danger of allowing our senses to rule us.  In Letter 17, Lewis expands the common understanding of "gluttony" to include the "gluttony of Delicacy," exemplified by the attitude of the patient's mother, whose over attention to the precise satisfaction of her food preferences leads her into "querulousness, impatience, uncharitableness, and self-concern."  21st Century America has turned this sin into a marketing tool!  Do any of you remember when coffee was ordered one of two ways: either "black" or "regular"?  I marvel at times listening to people give their coffee orders!  There's nothing inherently wrong with having food preferences, of course, but problems do arise when the satisfaction of personal preferences begin to rule us, leaving us dissatisfied with anything less than our exact personal specifications.  We have become a nation of complainers.  We've come to expect everything and everyone should meet our personal requirements ... our coffee, our food, our spouse, our job, our church.  We have each become gods of our own little world, demanding that our personal preferences become the standard for all, without thinking through how impossible that would be to attain!  Our "belly" comes to dominate our life.  Screwtape calls it "the 'All-I-want' state of mind."

Letter 18 addresses sexual appetites.  Screwtape gives a nod to the success poets and novelists have achieved in redefining "love" and thereby eroding the sanctity of marriage "by persuading the humans that a curious, and usually short-lived, experience which they call 'being in love' is the only respectable ground for marriage; that marriage can, and ought to render this excitement permanent; and that a marriage which does not do so is no longer binding."  [Remember this was written in the early 1940's!]  He also comments how the label "love" tends to be applied to any infatuation and used "to excuse a man from all the guilt, and to protect him from all the consequences, of marrying a heathen, a fool, or a wanton."  People are easily swayed by emotion, sometimes to their own detriment.  In counseling sessions I've often heard sin justified by emotion, as if we had no control over our emotions and expected to be ruled by them, rather than by God's revelation.

Letter 19 continues the theme of love.  The love of God is explored, and misunderstood, by Screwtape and the demons.  Satan's pride and lack of love has blinded him to having a correct understanding of God, who IS love, personifies love, as Scripture tells us.  I've been thinking about how we tend to desire, even demand, that kind of love from others, yet seldom demonstrate that level of love ourselves.  What a dangerous characteristic of the sin nature!  Maybe it's just me, but I find this is something I constantly need to be alert to.  God wants us to be focused on loving, not on "being loved."  Too often we look at verses commanding US to love and twist it around in our minds to demand love from others.  It's a good biblical practice to read those commands and focus on our own walk before God.... Am I being loving?  Is that a loving thing for me to say?  Is that a loving thing for me to do?  Am I exhibiting a loving attitude?  Am I building up or tearing down?  Am I serving others or myself?

There's a commercial on TV that reminds me of the issue of "the ideal woman" raised in Letter 20.  At the beginning you see a woman dressed in clothing from the early 20th Century.  As she walks through the house, she pulls her dress off over her head to reveal the next stage of what was considered stylish dress.  I don't remember what is being sold, but the ads make me realize what a silly thing "fashion" is and how people's idea of beauty changes so frequently over the years.  When I was a child, Marilyn Monroe's voluptuousness was the fashion.  When I became a teenager, Twiggy's boyish, anorexic image became the fashion.  Screwtape writes, "As a result we are more and more directing the disires of men to something which does not exist - making the role of the eye in sexuality more and more important and at the same time making its demands more and more impossible."  If that was true in the early 1940's, how much more unattainable is the "ideal" in the age of the air brush and Photoshop?  Personally, I love candid shots of celebrities ... in their "natural" state most look just like the average person on the street, just skinnier.  I remind myself that it's all smoke and mirrors, that outer beauty fades, but inner beauty grows as you walk obediently with the Lord.  This is certainly an area that needs to be addressed in parenting.  Helping your child develop a godly attitude and focus in life should be a parent's primary goal.  The question that always helps me to get my thoughts back in the right place is, "What matters the most for eternity?"  Those things need to be my priority.

[Week #1; Week #6]

Week 4: The Screwtape Letters - Strengthening the Inner Man

"The characteristic of Pains and Pleasures is that they are unmistakably real, and therefore, as far as they go, give the man who feels them a touchstone of reality."  [Screwtape to Wormwood]

In Letter 13, we find the enjoyment of true pleasure has lead to a change of direction in the patient's life, as he turns away from the direction he had started to go with his new friends.  How often people settle for the glittering, but false pleasures of "vanity, bustle, irony and expensive tedium".  I don't think we realize how vulnerable we are to appeals to our vanity.  "Even in things indifferent it is always desirable to substitute the standards of the World, or convention, or fashion, for a human's own real likings and disliking," advises Screwtape.  Of course, our ultimate pleasure is found in God, yet sadly, how often we're willing to settle for things less satisfying.

We see additional evidence of advancement in the patient's walk in Letter 14.  He has abandoned broad vows of commitment, "lavish promises of perpetual virtue", in favor of daily reliance upon and obedience to God, "daily and hourly pittance to meet the daily and hourly temptation".  Wormwood's young man has taken his first steps down the road to humility.  Screwtape suggests two possible courses: either inspire him to have "pride at his own humility" or encourage him to become so introspective about it that he begins to foster self-contempt, which can then "be made the starting point for contempt of other selves, and thus for gloom, cynicism, and cruelty".

Key to developing a proper sense of humility is coming to the realization that we did not create ourselves. Our talents, our abilities and our spiritual gifts were all given to us by God, so how is it possible to be either prideful or dismissive about them?  They were given for a purpose ... that we might love our Creator and glorify Him in all we do.  Which leads me to a rather awkward question:  taking all of that as a "given", how then do we encourage one another in ministry?  Our tendency, I fear, is to praise the gift, the talent, the ability rather than how that gift, talent or ability resulted in our having a better understanding of God and His purposes and motivated us to act accordingly.  We focus on the tool rather than on the Master Craftsman using it.  Personally, I would be encouraged much more if, as a result of my teaching, you said to me, "Now I understand this about God ...." and you began to trust Him more, or if you said, "Now I have a better understanding that God expects me to ...." and you started doing the work of the ministry, than if you told me, "I love how you teach". While I work very hard at trying to teach well, the teaching is only a means to an end.  It's the results that really matter!  Does it result in you knowing God and His word better?  Does it result in you living a life that glorifies Him?  Does it result in you falling in love with Jesus Christ?  THAT would be a true encouragement!

"Tortured fear and stupid confidence are both desirable states of mind." [Screwtape to Wormwood]

Letter 15 deals with where we tend to place our trust - in what we think we see, in what we hope will happen or in God's governing hand.  As creatures of time, how easily our understanding of events can become skewed.  Since we can't possibly know what tomorrow holds, God desires men would be "continually concerned either with eternity (which means being concerned with Him) or with the Present - either meditating on [their] eternal union with, or separation from, Himself, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure."

"[God's] ideal is a man who, having worked all day for the good of posterity ... washes his mind of the whole subject, commits the issue to Heaven, and returns at once to the patience or gratitude demanded by the moment that is passing over him.  But [Satan & his minions] want a man hag-ridden by the future - haunted by visions of an imminent heaven or hell upon earth - ready to break [God's] commands in the present if by so doing [it] makes him think he can attain the one or avert the other - dependent for his faith on the success or failure of schemes whose end he will not live to see ... a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now ..."

While Scripture does not suggest we never plan for the future, we are instructed to do so in light of the knowledge that God is sovereign.  Reflecting upon my own life prior to salvation, it's easy to see how my hopes for happiness and fulfillment were always pinned upon the future.  "I'll be happy ... when I graduate from college ... when I get a job in my field ... when I get married ... when we own a home ... when we have children."  It's important I don't allow that way of thinking to follow me into my Christian life!  I need to check myself and redirect my thoughts whenever I catch myself thinking, "I'll be happy ... when I have financial security ... when my son is in full-time ministry again ... when my friend's cancer is under control ... when everyone in my church loves the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind."  Instead, I need to be asking myself, "Am I  ... walking in obedience  today?  ... being thankful today?  ... communicating with God today?  ... serving God today?  ... loving others today?  ... using my God-given spiritual gifts and talents today?  ... trusting God today?  ... glorifying God today?

Finally, Letter 16 addresses commitment to a local assembly of believers.  This is probably the one area our attitudes are more heavily impacted by our culture than they are by biblical truth and early church practice.  Oftentimes we're not even aware of it.  We don't live in a culture of commitment.  We don't tend to think corporately.  Instead, we tend to see ourselves as the Masters of our Fate.  Invictus is not a Christian poem!

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed...

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

I often point out the pronoun "you" in the NT is almost always plural, a corporate "you" written to a local body of believers, not a singular, individualistic "you"!  God has chosen to work through local assemblies in this age and He gifts people according to the needs of that assembly.  His intent is that they would all work together as one body of believers in one assembly, committed to one another and to the work of God. [1 Cor. 12:11-12]  Screwtape writes to Wormwood, "Surely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that 'suits' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches ... the search for a 'suitable' church makes the man a critic where [God] wants him to be a pupil."

And over each local body of forgiven sinners, God places pastor-teachers/elders, whom He gives the task of training up the members through the preaching of God's word, in order that those members are able to do the work of the ministry. [Eph. 4:11-12]  On their part, local church members are commanded to, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you." [Hebrews 13:17]  The Greek word for "submit" is a descriptive one.  It means "to yield", literally "to place yourself under."  It's related to the verb "be subject" used several times in Eph. 5:21-24, where wives are commanded to place themselves "in submission" to their husbands.  Now that's not natural to our "flesh", nor is it natural in our culture!  God is making a call for full-fledged commitment, because we trust God knows what He is doing!  How often we view things with merely human eyes.  But acting on our purely human view does not lead us into a good place with God.  Numbers 12 should serve as a warning to us!

"What [God] wants of the layman in church is an attitude which may, indeed, be critical in the sense of rejecting what is false or unhelpful, but which is wholly uncritical in the sense that it does not appraise - does not waste time in thinking about what it rejects, but lays itself open in uncommenting, humble receptivity to any nourishment."

[Week #1; Week #5]

Week 3: The Screwtape Letters - Faith Lived Out

"Religion is all very well up to a point.  A moderated religion is as good for us as no religion at all." [Screwtape to Wormwood]

Letter 9 Over 30 years later I can still recall my concerns after the first blush of salvation had passed.  While I loved learning Scripture and being with God's people, it slowly began to dawn on me that my long held world-views were under attack.  It was one thing to know I had eternal security, but an entirely different issue to apply the things I was learning to my lifestyle and opinions.  I also had unsaved friends and family members who were worried about what was happening to me, fearing I was going "too far" with this religious thing ... had perhaps even gotten myself involved with a cult!  We didn't have our own church building, after all, nor were we connected to any denomination.  That was unheard of in those days.  They, and I, feared I might be getting "carried away".

Screwtape advises Wormwood to "keep knowledge out of his [patient's] mind" and to be careful to "keep him out of the way of experienced Christians" who might direct him to the truths of Scripture.  The core group who started FBC consisted of mostly new believers. God in His grace provided a knowledgeable and patient first pastor to lead us.  Had he been the sort who demanded obedience to a list of Pharisaical behaviors or adherence to a set of doctrines which I had no base of biblical knowledge to evaluate, it's likely I would have walked away, chalking it all up to a "religious phase" I once went through.  Instead, Pastor Loren faithfully taught us God's Word and helped me fall in love with Jesus Christ ... which lead to slow, but steady spiritual growth from the inside out.

From this side of those 30 years, I am astounded that I, or anyone, would even consider it's possible that we could know better than God!  I find myself extremely saddened by those who start out on fire for the Lord, but subsequently remain more enamored with the things of the world or resist biblical truth when confronted with it, slowly losing their ardor for the things of the Lord.  When faced with trials, they are more likely to shake their fist at God in anger than to cast their cares upon Him and trust in His goodness and sovereignty.  At those times it's good to remind myself of my own shaky faith and lack of understanding as a new believer and to recall the patient love shown to me ... a love that consistently confronted me with God's truth, prayed for me during trials and loved me even when I was unlovable.

Are you in love with Christ?  What specific ways can you help other believers "grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ"? [Ephesians 4:16]  How can you expand your own biblical knowledge so that you are prepared to effectively encourage others with Scriptural truths, rather than just vague Christian "catch phrases"?

This week's set of letters deal primarily with the first steps of applying faith to our lives. Letter 10 peers into the area of friendships.  When first saved, it's common to have an overwhelming desire to witness God's truth, what little of it we may possess at that stage, to our unsaved friends.  A point comes, however, when we realize that the influence of our unsaved friends upon us is greater than our influence upon them!  Few of us like to admit our own vulnerability, but God also makes us increasingly aware of our pride, "the sin which so easily entangles us." [Hebrews 12:1]  How easy it is to be attracted to the "rich, smart, superficially intellectual, and brightly skeptical about everything in the world" crowd ... especially if they want to include you!  There's a fine line between being IN the world, yet not being OF the world.  Fortunately, that line becomes more substantial as we grow in our knowledge of and obedience to God.  We eventually discover it's much more pleasurable to desire God and we begin to wonder what we ever found so enjoyable about the alternative!  But that's not always so obvious to us in the early stages of our Christian walk.

A believer "must very soon realize that his own faith is in direct opposition to the assumptions on which all the conversation of his friends is based."  If the temptation proves effective, "He will be silent when he ought to speak and laugh when he ought to be silent."  After a time, he will find himself living "two parallel lives ... [acting like] a different man in each of the circles he frequents" ... a classic case of hypocrisy!  The thing about hypocrisy is that it can't be maintained indefinitely.  The human heart will eventually expose itself in actions, creating a "crisis moment" when you must decide which direction to go in... towards God or away from God?

Which leads to Letter 11, dealing with the misuse of humor, a mark of the unsaved.  Screwtape describes ungodly humor as "the all-consoling and ... all-excusing grace of life," finding it "invaluable as a means of destroying shame."  He also commends the particular "value" of flippancy, which turns virtue into a laughing matter.

I've been in Christian company for so long now that I find myself shocked at the coarseness and foulness of what passes for humor among the general populace.  People don't tend to speak this way in my presence, but I catch pieces of it in commercials advertising the nightly offerings of prime time TV!  Most unbelievers, if they've known me for any length of time, are careful to refrain from repeating such jokes in my presence. I do recall an incident from a few years ago when a young guy at a local establishment started to tell me an dirty joke.  His boss, who had known me for years, repeatedly attempted to stop him, letting the young man know I would not be amused.  The young fellow was incredulous that I could possibly find his joke offensive and kept trying to tell it to me, until his boss finally raised his voice and firmly said, "No ... she WON'T think it's funny!"  How many believers, I wonder, who would never repeat such jokes in my presence, have no hesitation watching entire TV programs or movies full of them behind the closed doors of their own homes?  What message is that giving their children?  How is it deadening their love for God?  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your ... mind."  [Mt. 22:37]

Take time to evaluate what you are regularly exposing your mind to.  What do you find humorous?  Do you think God would laugh?

In 2007 Jerry Bridges published a book called, "Respectable Sins" concerning the "small sins" we tend to tolerate in our lives.  Letter 12 reminded me of the inherent danger of these "small" or "respectable" sins.  Whether through a lack of watchfulness (Lewis) or through our desire to place sins on a scale, comparing ourselves with each other instead of with God's holiness (Bridges), unattended sin serves to deaden our spiritual life.  How often do you become aware of sin in your life and dismiss it to a list entitled, "Get To It Some Day"?  Both Lewis and Bridges warn about the ability of "small sins" to increasingly dull our relationship with God and quietly head us off in a direction we never intended to go, ultimately starving us of the richness and power which repentance and obedience could have brought had we only dealt with it.  I've noticed that "small sins" have a way of taking over our hearts if left unattended over long periods of time.  Eventually they come to color our entire walk before God, and any good we might have done for His glory is choked out by the undergrowth of our "small sin".  I look upon them as the "kudzu" in our lives.  If you've ever lived in the south, you know what kudzu is like!  Beth waged battle against it on the hillside in her backyard in West Virginia.  Left unattended, "small sins" act just like kudzu, wreaking havoc and eventually taking over until your life becomes characterized by your "small sin".

"You will say that these are very small sins ... But do remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the man from the Enemy [i.e. God].  It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing."  [Screwtape to Wormwood]

[Week #1; Week #4]

Week 2: The Screwtape Letters - Developing A Christian Perspective

"One of our best weapons, contented worldliness, is rendered useless.  In wartime not even a human can believe that he is going to live forever."  [Screwtape to Wormwood]

Letters 5 & 6 are written in response to the outbreak of WWII, an event bringing premature pleasure to young Wormwood and caution from his more experienced mentor.  Screwtape prefers the advantage of "contented worldliness," where men cocoon themselves inside sand castles to avoid the reality of death.  The tide of war, however, easily smashes through such flimsy defenses by bringing "the continual remembrance of death which war enforces."

The world's way is to avoid the issue of death, preferring to distract men away from the inevitable as an act of kindness.  From God's eternal perspective, however, it is no kindness!  For believers, death and subsequent judgment are motivating forces moving us to tell others of God's grace and provision. To the extent it doesn't do that may be an indication of how much of our culture's world-view has infiltrated our Christian world-view.

A biblical understanding of death helps those who have entrusted themselves to Christ to rest in the knowledge of their eternal hope.  Lillias Trotter, missionary to Muslim women in Algeria in the late 19th/early 20th centuries wrote, "Death is the gate of life. ... The Christian life is a process of deliverance out of one world into another." [Parables of the Cross, 1894]  Screwtape acknowledges that the "precise moment of terror, bereavement or physical pain" may result in human reason being "temporarily suspended."  But even in those painful moments, calling out to God results in His defense of the vulnerable.

To what extent has the world's desire to mask death had a negative effect upon your passion to be God's ambassador? [2 Cor. 5:20]  What steps can be taken to draw your focus back to God and eternity?

War also serves as a breeding ground for suspense, anxiety and fear.  God is concerned with your daily moment-by-moment walk of faith in the midst of circumstances, as you demonstrate reliance upon Him and  trust in His goodness and sovereignty.  "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result/work, SO THAT [purpose] you may be perfect/spiritually mature and complete, lacking in nothing." [James 1:2-4]  That is, endurance through trials leads to becoming equipped with every grace and skill God knows you will need to serve Him best!  Tim recently noted that praying for the avoidance of trials is akin to asking God for spiritual immaturity.  In contrast, demons prefer trials would serve to cripple your effectiveness for God by keeping your mind focused upon what MIGHT happen, hoping you will become "focused on the fear itself," instead of on God and His greater purposes.

How does your approach to a trial affect the level of benefit you receive from it?  How is it possible to count trials as "joy", though the trial itself is far from "joyful"?  What can serve to strengthen you during such times?

"All extremes, except extreme devotion to the Enemy [i.e. God], are to be encouraged."
[Screwtape, Letter 7]

In Lewis' era the extremes were Pacifism and Patriotism. The human propensity to latch on to a "cause" instead of Christ has not changed.  Perhaps it appeals to our prideful sin nature; we become attracted to the idea of "me and God against the unenlightened."  We begin to believe that we are the only ones who "get it" and instead of fostering unity in our local assembly, we become like the Corinthians who fostered factions and divisions, thereby diminishing their church's effectiveness in the work of God.

God gifts each believer differently [1 Cor. 12:4-7] with the express intention that all will work together as one body comprised of various parts.  Periodically you find a believer who has turned his God-given gift into a "cause".  He naturally gravitates towards others similarly gifted and a "clique" soon forms.  Other believers, gifted differently, become viewed with disdain.  "I and my like-minded fellows get IT ... the rest of my assembly does not."  That kind of thinking should set off alarm bells! That kind of thinking brings disunity and weakens any local body of believers.

How can your God-given gifts and passions be used to build  up your local assembly?  How can unity be promoted?

Finally, Letter 8 deals with "undulation", the emotional ups and downs common to every spiritual walk. Humans, Screwtape informs Wormwood, have "periods of emotional and bodily richness and liveliness" alternating with periods of "numbness and poverty".  We experience days when we're on fire for the Lord and can easily see His hand at work. Then we have days we can't get out of our own way, prayers hardly reach the ceiling and it feels as if God is very far away.  Being emotional creatures, it can be a challenge to not allow our emotions to shape our knowledge of God or dictate our interaction with Him. Building our faith upon the roller coaster of our emotions is fatal to spiritual growth!

Screwtape, having broader knowledge, recognizes God's desire to help His children mature spiritually, to see them learn and apply insights gained. "It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be.  Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best."

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ... By faith [Moses] left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; FOR he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen."  [Hebrews 11:1, 27]

How does walking by faith and not by emotion or sight affect your approach to the Christian graces [e.g. prayer, worship, studying God's Word, time spent with edifying believers, etc.]?  Where do you turn in Scripture for perspective during "trough" times?

[Week #1; Week #3]

Week 1: The Screwtape Letters - Starting the Walk

"It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds:  in reality our best work is done by keeping things out."  [Screwtape to Wormwood]


Screwtape and Wormwood are first met midway into their correspondence. We quickly note Screwtape's prideful arrogance and sense of superiority in the relationship.  We also realize we're being allowed to witness one battle in a long war.

Letter 1:  Screwtape asserts that the existence of God, whom he calls "the Enemy", is actually quite reasonable to the human mind.  "The heavens declare His righteousness,  And all the people have seen His glory." (Psalm 97:6)   "When Gentiles ... do instinctively the things of the Law... they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness."  (Romans 2:14-15)  Fortunately for the demons, early 1940's English culture is quite adept at drowning out such witness with a "stream of immediate sense experience".  How much further we have traveled down that road by 2010!  You'll not find many today who enjoy spending time in quiet contemplation.  We are so easily distracted away from such soul searching opportunities.  I'm reminded of Obi Wan's "old Jedi mind trick" which worked so effectively on "the weak-minded".  Left unattended, "streams of immediate sense experience" easily drown out "considered reasoning".  Our modern hunger is for "amusement" ... an interesting word.  The "a" at the beginning means "without" and "to muse" means to think, to meditate upon.  "Amusement" literally means an activity "without thinking".  Steep your life in it and you could easily become one of Obi Wan's victims!

As followers of Jesus Christ, how can we build the habit of meditating on the things of God, while resisting the flood of "amusement" around us?  How can we consciously build it into the lives of our children?

Letter 2:  We discover Wormwood's "patient" has become a Christian.  Yet Screwtape does not consider it reason for despair, noting, "All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favor."      Sanctification is a lifelong process, a day-by-day, repeated process of "putting off" unrighteousness, "renewing the mind" with God's revealed truth and "putting on" righteousness, all made possible by God's grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

The most obvious place to attack a new believer is within the church itself.  Screwtape points out the difference between the actual "body of Christ" triumphant through the ages and the "visible church", the assembly we sit among every week.  We say we love God, but often find His people annoying at best and sinful at worst.  How easy it is to perceive and be outraged by sin in others and yet be blind to sin in ourselves. (Mt.7:3) Don't we tend to expect more from others than we do from ourselves?  "If I, being what I am, can consider that I am in some sense a Christian, why should the different vices of those people in the next pew prove that their religion is mere hypocrisy and convention?"

In our interaction with new believers, how can we best help them start their journey down the road of sanctification?  How do we train our minds off annoyances and onto worship?

Letter 3 deals with the area we probably struggle with most - living out the Christian life in our homes.  If we're impatient, unloving and self-righteous among the brethren, how much easier it is to be that way within the grind of daily living in our homes!  If we're not careful, we begin to routinely assess the actions of others negatively, shining an unflattering light on every phrase and deed, while expecting only the best light be shed on our own words and actions!  We eventually create "an imaginary person", less and less as they truly are.  Screwtape advises, "Once this habit is well established you have the delightful situation of a human saying things with the express purpose of offending, and yet having a grievance when offense is taken."

How can you develop an attitude of expecting "the best" of people, instead of expecting "the worst"?  What Scripture speaks to this issue?  What concrete steps can you take this next week to start to train your mind away from self and towards loving others they way God loves you?

Letter 4:  This week's final letter deals with hindrances to powerful prayer.  Screwtape believes the "best thing... is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying alltogther."  Barring that, he encourages he make "an effort to produce a vaguely devotional mood in which real concentration of will and intelligence have no part," quoting poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge who described his own prayers as "merely composing his spirit to love."  Another tactic involves turning "their gaze away from Him towards themselves... trying to produce feelings ...by the action of their own wills".  Equally effective in producing powerless prayer is to have the patient pray to a god created from his own imagination, rather than to the real God who reveals Himself in Scripture.

In what ways have your prayers changed as your knowledge of God has increased?  What have you found  helpful to strengthen your prayer life?

[Week #2]

Reminder from Young Charles Spurgeon

Having come from a long line of Congregationalists, Spurgeon became convicted of the need for believer baptism soon after coming to the Lord as a young man. Though a member of a local Congregational church, he made arrangements for his baptism with a Baptist church some 8 miles away and wrote seeking permission from his parents. His father replied with reluctant consent. His mother also agreed, but was not enthusiastic about the prospect. She wrote the following to him...

"Ah, Charles, I often prayed the Lord to make you a Christian, but I never asked that you might become a Baptist."

Spurgeon wrote in response...

"Ah, Mother, the Lord has answered your prayer with His usual bounty, and has given you exceeding abundantly above what you asked or thought."

Though this brought a smile to my face, it also reminded me of the importance of praying regularly and fervently for the salvation of our children and grandchildren. Spurgeon recalled his mother reading the Scriptures to her children and pleading with them to be concerned about their souls. "I cannot tell how much I owe of the solemn words of my good mother..." he wrote. "I remember on one occasion her praying thus, 'Now, Lord, if my children go on in their sins, it will not be from ignorance that they perish, and my soul must bear a swift witness against them at the day of judgment if they lay not hold of Christ.'... How can I ever forget when she bowed her knee, and with her arms about my neck, prayed, 'Oh, that my son may live before Thee!'"

[from "Spurgeon: A New Biography" by Arnold Dallimore]

The Priority of Family Worship

I thought I'd share practical advice from a worship pastor with 3 young children (aged 5, 6, 8) concerning Family Worship. The FBC Library recently added a number of resources for you to view/use - you'll find them at eye level on the right as you enter the library, at the end of the "Christian Living" section, I believe. [I'll label it soon!]


1. Keep It Short:
15-30 minutes on average. You don't want it to be a tedious time, but one looked forward to and tied into daily family living.

2. Read Scripture
Read a section of verses, then unpack them together... making sure you understand the wider context. Teach your kids how to make Observations. Interpret what the passage meant to the original recipients. Then consider the Universal Principles and Personal Application. "The important thing is to connect Scripture to life in a way your kids can understand." Remember the main theme of the Bible is GOD... not the characters, who are merely foils to help us learn about God and how He is working.

3. Pray
A family that prays together understands the cares and concerns of each child, and teaches their children that God is willing to listen and able to answer! Prayer is a privilege, bought with a great price ... use it!

4.  Keep It Regular
Choose a time of day and stick to it. Make the time. Keep it a priority. You'll miss a day here and there, but start up again. It will become habit after a while and be a time of great blessing!

5. Older Kids Set the Example
Young ones will watch the older ones. I was blessed to have an older child who embraced Family Worship. Though there was a 4 year age difference, it seemed to work out nicely.

6. Limit TV
It's a proven fact that TV decreases attention span, especially in young children. If you or your kids can't pay attention for more than two minutes, perhaps it's time to pull the plug!

7. Make It a Daily Priority
Remember you're the parent. You get to decide these things. There's nothing more important to do with your children than teach them God's Word and pray with them. Their SS teacher is just a helper... you're their REAL teacher.

EXPAND Your Comfort Zone

One thing I've observed over the years is the tendency for Christians to cling to catch phrases. I've never been a fan, finding them a bit too pat and trite, not giving a truly serious consideration of God's revealed truth. I become especially concerned when I hear (...and read in fb conversations) people quoting catch phrases more frequently than they quote God's Word! Wouldn't bringing God's Words to bear on a situation prove so much more effective?

On his blog Pastor David Hegg, whose sermons I enjoy listening to, recently considered the Christian catch phrase, "stepping outside your comfort zone". I don't believe the phrase represents a true picture of what a God-honoring Christian life looks like. It makes it sound as if serving God and glorifying Him is painful and not filled with joy and satisfaction! The real problem is we've made our "comfort zone" too narrow and we're missing out as a result! Consider Pastor Hegg's words...

"I've been pondering the idea of "stepping out of my comfort zone." Like me, you've heard this many times. We've been encouraged to do it, to go outside the supposed boundaries of our comfort. Those calling us to do so make it sound like comfort is a bad thing, a self-centered thing, and ultimately, a barrier to better living. And all this time I've believed that comfort was a good thing! And so I've been thinking about this, and have come to a conclusion: calling someone to "step out of their comfort zone" is foolish, and actually quite counter-productive. If the thing you want us to do is "outside" the zone of comfort then even if we do it, we'll just retreat back into the zone when you're not looking. This is especially true if you keep telling us that the "thing" is actually uncomfortable! So, I have a better idea.

Here it is: instead of saying "step out of your comfort zone" to get me to do something uncomfortable, say "enlarge your comfort zone to encompass a new opportunity." Enlarging my comfort zone calls on me to do two things. First, to believe that there are actually "comfortable" things that I don't now recognize. Second, to understand that once I recognize and grasp those as yet unknown comfortable things, it will make my life so much better! ... So, try this:

Think of something you're uncomfortable doing, but you know would really bring a smile to God. Then, concentrating on God's glory, check off all the myths you currently believe that keep you from being comfortable doing what God loves. Then do it! And when you find that you're most satisfied when He's most glorified, you won't be tempted to retreat to a zone of comfort; rather, you'll find that your zone has grown to encompass what God has in mind. So, don't settle for "stepping out". Grow your zone!"

[from: heggthought.blogspot.com]

Deep Waters

From the pen of Lilias Trotter, a late 19th/early 20th century missionary to Muslims in Algiers for over 38 years... a single, older woman with a weak heart. Mission boards rejected her... so she and two friends went on their own! She was a prolific artist, close friends with John Ruskin, in fact, as well as a writer. I look forward to reading more of her work!

She writes...
"I am come into deep waters" took on a new meaning this morning... It dawned that shallow waters were a place where you can neither sink nor swim. In deep waters it is either the one or the other... Swimming is the intensest, most strenuous form of motion. All of you is involved in it, and yet every inch of you is in abandonment of rest upon the water that bears you up. 'We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go.'

Lest We Forget...

"Every so often I’ve contemplated what a Saturday Night Live type of variety program might look like if the topic was “Christendom.” There’s definitely enough material. One of the recurring skits would involve some Christians from the 1400’s about to be burned at the stake. They would be visited by contemporary Christians who would thank them for their sacrifice and tell them how such a great sacrifice gained later Christians ________. You could fill in the blank with all sorts of things. “Your sacrifice has helped give us a world in which our children can learn theology from talking vegetables. Your suffering will all seem worth it when a handsome Texan with a great smile can renovate a sports stadium and broadcast feel-good, gospel-free theology to all the world. Thank you for your noble sacrifice, brother.” Tyndale might have been willing to face the stake for the sake of the Bible, but would he have faced it for a Bible-zine for girls that looks and reads like Cosmo?

I’m a writer, not a comedian, so perhaps it’s not that funny. But the point is that real people died real deaths to pass to us a heritage of the gospel. They were serious, dead serious, and weren’t in the business of printing silly bumper stickers. We evangelicals have long done a remarkable job of trivializing that heritage. Maybe this is what happens when the danger of persecution passes and we enjoy a time of safety, a time of freedom. Or maybe this is what happens when we lose sight of the seriousness of the gospel and the countless sacrifices that made it available to us, when we begin to replace theology with something else, something less."


[from www.challies.com, June 14, 2010]

You DON'T Highlight Fiction?

Many of you seemed surprised to learn that I highlight fiction, and some questioned why I would do that. I thought I'd give you a peek at the most important thing I take note of in every piece of fiction I read... namely, "What is the author's worldview?" That's a crucial question to ask if you want to become a discerning reader.

I made a bookmark I use to remind myself of 5 basic questions I want to ask in order to determine a particular author's worldview. As I read, I look for the answers, HIGHLIGHTING and writing notes in the column of the book as I find evidences in the text.

1. What is the author's view of Reality? [e.g. Atheistic? Deistic? Pantheistic? Biblical?]

2. What does he/she believe is the nature of the external world? [e.g. ordered or chaotic? material or spiritual?]

3. What is his/her view of human nature? [Are men viewed as basically good? As victims of their environment? As captive to their emotions? What happens after death?]

4. What are the ethics of the author? What is their basis of morality? [e.g. What is "good"? What is "evil"? Are there consequences to immoral decisions or is the author pragmatic, leading you to "root" for the sinner?]

5. What does he/she believe is the basis for history? [e.g. Cyclical? Progressive? Chance? Design?]

Why don't you write these five questions onto an index card and tuck it into the next work of fiction you read. You may be surprised to find yourself a more discerning reader by the end of the book!

[Gleaned from James Sires' The Joy of Reading; his updated version is How to Read Slowly]
[Related Post: How to Become a Better Reader]

Don't Let Me "Get Over It"

There are high and low points in the spiritual walk of every Christian. There are times we rejoice seeing God work through us... and times when we burn with shame over missed opportunity: We didn't speak for God when we should have...We suddenly realize how selfish we've been with our God-given resources, oblivious to the suffering of others...We come to the realization that we've placed other things in life above our love for God. Two short-term missions groups, as well as two members who have been working in Haiti, recently returned to FBC. They all had opportunity to see the world through God's eyes. I would guess each one of these men and women came away with a desire to reflect Christ's love and compassion to a lost world, to prioritize their personal lives and make life decisions in a manner which would glorify their Lord and Savior. They don't want to ever "get over" the experience God has given them.

Tim Challies' blog today touches upon what a struggle it can be to maintain that kind of view in our ever distracted, overly busy, "there's always tomorrow" lives. He looks back upon the loss of a former co-worker, a man of similar age and family situation, who was about to succumb to leukemia. Deeply regretting his lost opportunity to clearly present the gospel to this man, Challies vowed to use the experience as a perpetual reminder. Here is an excerpt...

"So now I sit here at the time when it is too late, wondering why I did not do more. Sure I told the family that I was praying for them and asked if I could pray with them. And sure I tried to get Mike to think about preparing for eternity. But I did so in such a pathetic way. Such a half-hearted way. I burn with shame as I write these words thinking of all I didn’t do and didn’t say. I feel burdened with guilt that Mike is days or maybe even hours away from standing before God, and that I did not make one clear, strong presentation of the gospel. I failed him. And I failed God.

Do you know what may be even worse? The likelihood that I’ll get over it. Two days from now I probably won’t even think of Mike. I’ll get busy with my life and the guilt will ease away. In a week or two I guess I’ll attend his funeral and feel this guilt again, but a few days after that I’ll conveniently put Mike out of my mind and go back to life. But you know what? I don’t want to get over it!

Truly I don’t.

This burden I feel right now—why can’t I feel this same burden for the lost all the time? Why is it a burden birthed from guilt rather than from a desire to see the lost be saved? I’ve asked God to tell me why. The only answer I find is the hardness of my own heart.

Still, with hope in my heart I pray for Mike, that maybe, just maybe, there will be someone in that hospital who can reach out to him with the message I failed to bring. Maybe God will bring to Mike’s mind some fragment of Scripture he heard as a child, or some words I shared with him years ago. Maybe. Hopefully.

With hopeful sadness I pray for Mike’s family, that somehow God would use this awful situation to draw them to Himself. That somehow God would make His presence felt and provide meaning through the pain.

And then with tears I pray for myself, that God would not allow this burden to disappear, but that He would use my shortcomings to teach me how I can do better next time, not simply to avoid this crushing, burning guilt, but to use the opportunities He provides.

Because I just don’t want to get over it. Oh God, please don’t let me get over it!"

[To see the entire post go to: www.challies.com/]

Impatience with God's Timing

In Mt.4 we see the Holy Spirit leading Jesus into the Judean wilderness to be tempted by Satan. Unlike Adam, Jesus responds righteously to Satan's temptations, demonstrating for us the correct way to react to any temptation we may encounter.

As we walk through the Christian life, all believers find themselves tempted to sin. We're bombarded by a world system opposed to God, by fallen angels, and perhaps most insidious of all, by our own flesh. Scripture informs us we're in a daily spiritual battle, whether we realize it or not. The 3rd temptation of Christ unveils a subtle temptation all believers can face at times. Satan "showed [Christ] all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Satan offered Christ what the Father had already promised Him (Mt.28:18) ... but without the cross. Rather than relying upon God's perfect timing, Satan tempted Jesus to gain God's desired end in different timing. And the price would be heavy... worship Satan.

In the same manner, we might desire some good thing God's providence may have in store for us, but we want it now, rather than in God's perfect timing.  If pursued, we may compromise our obedience to God, our morals, even our faith in order to get it. Consider for a moment. Perhaps we have a desire to marry and have a home, or our heart may yearn for a fulfilling vocation, or we find ourselves craving financial stability or solid relationships with others or well-behaved children or successful ministry or church growth or ... you fill in the blank. While the desire itself may not be sinful, wishing to bring it to pass in our own timing (now!) instead of in God's perfect timing can lead us far from God. If we're not careful we may find ourselves trying to accomplish God's purposes... on Satan's timetable.

So how do we counter temptation toward impatience with God's timing?

Step #1  Remember... Satan always promises more than he can give and God always gives more than He promises. ["...Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us..." Ephesians 3:20] 

Step #2  Worship God... "Worship" is primarily a verb in Scripture. It means to give honor, homage to someone of great worth. Literally it means "to kiss towards". In the ancient Near East, when men of equal rank met they kissed each other on the lips. When those of slightly different rank met, they kissed one another on the cheeks. But when someone of low status met someone of very high status, he bowed down, touching his forehead on the ground or prostrating himself full length and "threw kisses toward" the one of exalted rank. ["Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD...". Psalm 29:2] 

In Scripture sacrifice is a key element of worship. NT believers are called to "to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." [Rom.12:1]  In Hebrews 13:15 believers are commanded to "continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name." We're to thankfully worship the Lord 24/7, to be willing to say to God every day, "Not my will, but Yours be done." Be faithful today to what God has for you... this is true worship!

Step #3 Seek Him in His Word...  Jesus countered Satan's temptation, even his misuse of Scripture, with a right understanding of God's Word. Knowledge and use of God's Word is essential in answering temptation.

If we focus upon worship and God's revealed Word, we can respond correctly to the temptations we face... and God will be honored.

[inspired by a sermon by Dr. Tom Halstead]

7 Ways to "Quench the Spirit"

In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Paul commands believers, "Do not be quenching the Spirit". To "quench" means "to dampen, hinder, repress, as in preventing the Holy Spirit from exerting His full influence" on a believer. Puritan author Richard Sibbes, in his book The Bruised Reed, points out several ways believers might "quench" the Holy Spirit. It's good to examine ourselves lest we should cling to such behavior!

"My sin is too bad." - False despair of Christ's mercy:
"As soon as we look to heaven, all encouragements are ready to meet us ...None are damned in the church but those that are determined to be... that they may have some show of reason to fetch contentment from other things..."

"Sin now... repent later." - False hope of Christ's mercy: 
"There are those who take up a hope of their own, that Christ will allow them to walk in the ways to hell, and yet bring them to heaven."

"I'm saved... I don't need to pray... read the Bible... sit under preaching... fellowship... submit" - Presuming on Christ's mercy:
"If we are negligent in the exercise of grace received and the use of the means prescribed, allowing our spirits to be oppressed with many and various cares of this life, and take not heed of the discouragements of the times, for this kind of neglect God in His wise care allows to fall into a worse condition in our feelings than those that were never so much enlightened."

"I'll look elsewhere for comfort." - Seeking another source of mercy:
"How do they wrong themselves and Him that will have other mediators to God for them than He!...Let all, at all times, repair to this meek Savior, and put up all our petitions in His prevailing name. What need do we have to knock at any other door?"

"I love Jesus... I just don't like some of His people." - Mistreating the Heirs of Mercy:
" When He is so kind to us, shall we be cruel against Him in His name, in His truth, in His children? How shall those that delight to be so terrible to 'the meek of the earth' hope to look so gracious a Savior in the face?"

"How dare you!" - Strife Among the Heirs of Mercy:
 "Our discord is our enemy's melody...The more to blame are those that for private aims affect differences from others, and will not allow the wounds of the church to close and meet together."

"We need to soften the message so it's not offensive." - Despising the Simple Means of Mercy:
"They carry themselves very unkindly towards Christ who...are ashamed of the simplicity of the gospel, that count preaching foolishness... (who) mend the matter with their own devices so that they may give better satisfaction to flesh and blood."

The Source of Discouragement

Discouragement... we all experience it at times. We throw ourselves into service for the Lord and see little fruit. Poor health  prevents us from serving God in the way we desire. Our path through this world doesn't proceed the way we thought it would/should... financially, socially, vocationally. We repeatedly struggle with a sin issue and fear we'll never be able to conquer it and glorify God.

Puritan Richard Sibbes, in a helpful passage from his book, The Bruised Reed, investigates the source of discouragement in a believer's life. He writes, "Where, then do these discouragements come from?

1. Not from the Father, for he has bound himself in covenant to pity us as a father pities his children (Psalm 103:13)...

2. Not from Christ, for he by office will not quench the smoking flax. We see how Christ bestows the best fruits of his love on persons who are mean in condition, weak in abilities, and offensive for infirmities... And this he does, first, because thus it pleases him to confound the pride of the flesh, which usually measures God's love by some outward excellency; and secondly in this way he delights to show the freedom of his grace and confirm his royal prerogative that 'he that glorieth' must 'glory in the Lord' (1 Corinthians 1:31)...

3. Neither do discouragements come from the Spirit. He helps our infirmities, and by office is a comforter (Romans 8:26; John 14:16). If he convinces of sin, and so humbles us, it is that he may make way for his office of comforting us.

Discouragements, then, must come from ourselves..."

I suspect the primary source of discouragement comes when our personal expectations are thwarted by the realities of life. We develop an idea of how WE think life should proceed, and it's often quite a rosy picture without the realities of pain and struggle. Inevitably our expectations don't materialize... and we become discouraged, perhaps depressed and maybe even angry at God for not delivering on our expectation. Life isn't the way we planned it...and it's painful!

For a believer, the key to moving away from a life of discouragement is to focus instead upon submission to God's hand in our lives, and to replace OUR particular expectations with His. Scripture says we do that by daily denying self and following HIM. We  keep our focus on HIM, saturating ourselves in His Word, meditating on how to conform our lives to the truths found there, communicating with Him through prayer and gathering together for mutual edification/building up to do the work of the ministry. We learn to regularly examine our heart's expectations, changing them as we walk with our eyes on Him, highly sensitive to whatever situation He might bring us into that day. We rest in His comfort, His purposes, His timing... His sovereignty.

"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18-18

A Call for "Coronary Christians"

More memorable words from John Piper, in another of his devotionals, Life As a Vapor:

I am glad for adrenaline; I suspect it gets me through lots of Sundays. But it doesn't do much for Mondays. I am even more thankful for my heart. It just keeps on being a humble, quiet servant - during good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated. It never lets me down... It just keeps humbly lubb-dubbing along.

Coronary Christians are like the heart in the causes they serve. Adrenal Christians are like adrenaline - a spurt of energy, and then fatigue. What the church and the world need today is marathoners, not just sprinters. People who find the pace to finish the (lifelong) race.

Oh, for coronary Christians! Christians committed to great causes, not great comforts. I plead with you to dream a dream that is bigger than you and your families and your churches. Un-deify the American family, and say boldly that our children are not our cause; they are given to us to train for a cause. They are given to us for a short season so that we can train them for the great causes of truth and mercy and justice in a prejudiced, pain-filled, and perishing world.

Oh, Lord, this is our heart's desire.
Forgive us for adrenaline spurts of righteouness.
Forgive us for little sprints of holiness.
Forgive us for short flashes of noble-minded sacrifice.
And build into the fiber of our faith a rugged, resilient,
never-say-die perseverance in the cause of truth and love!
Make us coronary Christians!

The Art of the Book Pile

As we age we discover we have become adept at many esoteric things. One of my gifts is apparently the ability to create good book piles. (And we all know beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My husband does not find them quite as mesmerizing as I do.) I keep several piles around the house. Next to my "study" chair and ottoman is the "Study Pile". There you will find my two basic Greek books... kept within hand's reach for easy access, the books needed for whatever projects I'm working on, Challies' current classic book and a few candidates for future Ladies' Book Clubs. Next to the love seat is a stack of Seminary Journals, an easier to read book for the evenings I'm brain dead and two fat puzzle books (crossword & Suduko) for emergency use. Upstairs beside my bed are the books I read at bedtime, along with my "waiting to be read" stacks. In the Library are some works I am working through more slowly, as well as the overflow stacks of books I've already read, but wish to keep near for reference, lending or rereading. The system seems to work for me, so I thought I'd give you the visual basics of book piles.

Here's a good example of a "project pile". Using table space, however, can be problematic as you may want to actually use the table for eating. [Table surfaces tend to get covered much too easily!]

This is a cardinal sin... NEVER place knick-knacks where books should be. Don't listen to HGTV! This is a waste of perfectly good bookshelf space. It IS acceptable to place small items in front of the books, as long as it doesn't slow down your ability to grab a book quickly. Pictures hung on book shelves over books are also no-nos.

This is what the book pile next to my study chair normally looks like. You can tell it's an "active pile", that serious work is going on here and that it's more than just a dust collector next to my chair. A slightly cluttered pile shows thinking is going on.

This is that same book pile after Tina has cleaned my house. It takes me an entire week to get it back into its "proper" position!

                                                                                                                                                                        And this is how Tina REALLY wants to stack them! Beware of overachievers like this!

Contemplating Your Navel or Thoughts on Biblical Application

Most of us are familiar with the three primary steps of Bible study: 1. Observation (author, recipient, when written, why written, key words/phrases, literary genre, development of thought, historical background, etc.) 2. Interpretation [meaning to original recipients, taking into account context, history, culture, original language, etc.] 3. Application What are the universal principles & how do they apply in your life? I think I have a better handle now on the points the old Word of Life Quiet Times had in mind when, after each Bible reading they asked, "What does it say?", "What does it mean?", "How does it apply?". To be honest, I never understood what they wanted. What's the difference between the first two questions? Should I answer the first question by copying the verse word-for-word? I just didn't get the point... and it seemed pretty boring. If they had only explained Observation - Interpretation - Application, I might have made real progress in my Bible study!

Recently I've been thinking a lot about the "Application" stage of study. That step is difficult because it takes thought based upon biblical truth, honest evaluation of your life and meditation on both ... chewing on it, turning it over in your mind, examining the ins and outs. In my biblical counseling training days, a lot of time was spent looking at the application sections of the epistles. I remember someone once saying to me, "I just want the Bible to tell me what to do and I'll do it." Really? I find myself feeling a lot more like Paul in Romans 7 when I look at clear Biblical commandments and resolve to obey them ... until the next time I'm tempted, that is. 

In recent years it seems the final step of "Application" has become more akin to the world's fascination with "self-help". The Bible is too often viewed as a guide to making your life function better. What steps do I need to take to have a manageable, fulfilling life? How can the Bible make my marriage better? ... make my children more obedient? All those things are possible, of course, but I think the questions are wrong. These things are BY-PRODUCTS of living a life pleasing to the Lord, not goals within themselves. God did not give us the Bible to make our lives better. He gave us His word as a revelation of HIMSELF! He gave us the Bible that we might know HIM.

So how should we think about the "Application" step in our Bible studies? When Pastor Wragg first came to FBC, he tried to get me to think more about "Implication", before thinking about specific "Application" in my life. I didn't understand what he meant at first, but I think I'm beginning to get a handle on it. When I read God's word now, I look for the "big picture". What is it teaching me about God? For example, when I prepared to teach the Book of Ruth last year, instead of asking myself, "What can I learn about the life of Ruth and/or Naomi?", I continually asked myself, "What can I learn about God and what is the Implication of that in my life?"

So what did I come away with from the Book of Ruth? I learned that God is always good and always faithful to His people, even when circumstances might make it appear that He is not. THAT is the main point of the Book of Ruth, which is why (like John Piper) I chose my title for the Book from an old poem about God's providence, "The Hidden Smile of God".  Once I had determined what God is teaching about Himself in Ruth, I had to spend time thinking about the implication of that truth in my life. From a broad perspective, the "Implication" is that as one of His own, His goodness and providence is present in MY life, just as it was in Ruth and Naomi's. The implication of THAT would then would be: I must trust Him, even in the midst of trials and difficult circumstances. Another implication would be that a trial in my life does not mean I am being punished, but that God in His goodness knows precisely what experiences will make me more like His Son ... which is THE ultimate goodness that can happen in my life! From that point comes more specific, day-to-day personal life "Applications" ... one trial at a time.

I would encourage you to train yourself to think this way as you study God's Word. Step back and see the bigger picture of what God is revealing about Himself. Then contemplate the Implication of those truths in your life. You'll find such an approach results in a change in your "inner man", in your thinking ... which will ultimately be expressed in a lasting change in your outer actions. What a depth of richness there is for those who contemplate God. Don't settle for "self-help". Get your eyes off your navel and onto God!