Who's Running the Show?

Living the balanced Christian life is not an easy thing. A motivating pastor or college professor, a book or two promoting "extreme" Christian living, having an awakening sense of the great need in the world all have the potential to get us running around, darting in different directions like humming birds seeking out nectar. The current stress in Christendom seems to be upon "doing."  But undergirding all that "doing" needs to be a life centered upon Christ. That's ground zero, that's our starting point and that's our resting point. If it's not, then what we're "doing" is in our own strength, not Christ's, for our own glory, not Christ's. Goals can become "ours," not Christ's. Our methods can easily become "what works," not what honors Christ. Here's an interesting piece concerning these things. An excerpt...

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“There is a first-rate commitment to a second-rate mission.” That is what Roger, a leader in global church planting, said as he looked at the rock climbers ascending a cliff in the Alps. Many of us called into ministry feel the same way. Rather than giving our lives to climbing a rock, building a business, or amassing a fortune, we are committed to what really matters; a first-rate mission -- advancing the Gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ.

But what if we’re wrong?

Roger spent decades serving Christ and planting churches on four continents. But after reflecting on his labor for the kingdom of God, his confession surprised many of us. “I’ve given most of my energy to a second-rate mission as well,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. Church planting is great. But someday that mission will end. My first calling is to live with God. That must be my first commitment.”

What Roger articulated was a temptation that many in ministry face. To put it simply, many church leaders unknowingly replace the transcendent vitality of a life with God for the ego satisfaction they derive from a life for God...

Is impact everything?

The students I meet with often worry about what awaits them after graduation. This is a reasonable concern for any young adult, but for many of them the worry extends far beyond finding a job with benefits. They fixate, and some obsess, about “making a difference in the world.” They fear living lives of insignificance. They worry about not achieving the right things, or not enough of the right things. Behind all of this is the belief that their value is determined by what they achieve. .. When we come to believe that our faith is primarily about what we can do for God in the world, it is like throwing gasoline on our fear of insignificance. The resulting fire may be presented to others as a godly ambition, a holy desire to see God’s mission advance--the kind of drive evident in the Apostle Paul’s life. But when these flames are fueled by fear they reveal none of the peace, joy, or love displayed by Paul. Instead the relentless drive to prove our worth can quickly become destructive.

Sometimes the people who fear insignificance the most are driven to accomplish the greatest things. As a result they are highly praised within Christian communities for their good works which temporarily soothes their fear until the next goal can be achieved. But there is a dark side to this drivenness. Gordon MacDonald calls it “missionalism.” It is “the belief that the worth of one’s life is determined by the achievement of a grand objective.” He continues:

Missionalism starts slowly and gains a foothold in the leader's attitude. Before long the mission controls almost everything: time, relationships, health, spiritual depth, ethics, and convictions. In advanced stages, missionalism means doing whatever it takes to solve the problem. In its worst iteration, the end always justifies the means. The family goes; health is sacrificed; integrity is jeopardized; God-connection is limited.^[1]

...While a vision for serving God is needed, and the desperate condition of our world cannot be ignored, there is a higher calling that is going unanswered in many Christian communities. As shepherds of God’s people, we must not allow our fears of insignificance to drive us into an unrelenting pursuit of church growth, cultural impact, or missional activism. Instead, we must model for our people a first-class commitment to a first-class purpose -- living in perpetual communion with God himself.

[Related post "Eyes on God"]
[entire post here.]
[1] Dangers of Missionalism

Expectations

In Letter 30 of The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis), the high-ranking demon, Screwtape, counsels his young protege, Wormwood, with this bit of advice for tempting men away from God and into sin: "Whatever men expect, they soon come to think they have a right to." One difficulty we face as we live out the Christian life is that we've synthesized our expectations concerning what this life should be like, our "world view" if you will, from any number of sources ... not all of them biblical. The more time we personally spend in God's revelation, the more aware we become of areas in our thinking where we need to change our view of reality and truth. That's what it means to "renew your mind." (Eph.4:22-24).

Though it was more than 40 years ago, I can clearly recall the high expectations everyone had for the members of my graduating high school class.  Our class song was "The Impossible Dream"... 1968 was the beginning of the you-can-be-whatever-you-want-to-be, you-can-have-it-all movement. That's not true, of course. It's really an unkindness to even make such promises. It didn't take long for things to fall apart... bad behavior, bad circumstances, bad health, bad luck. In similar fashion, many begin the Christian life with equally impossible expectations. Often it comes down to one question ... Why did you start the Christian walk? Was it in the expectation of having an easier life? Was it in the expectation of having a support system of people to help smooth your path through life? Was it in the expectation of having a life crisis resolved? Or was it because you saw the beauty and value of Jesus Christ, and came to understand that His worth, His excellence was such a treasure, you were willing to suffer any insult, any want, any deprivation, any difficulty or unpleasantness if you could only follow Him, love Him, serve Him?

Jesus told us to consider the cost of following Him ... "And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." [Lk.9:23] Luke uniquely adds that one interesting little word to Jesus' call to those who follow Him ..."daily". Today ... and tomorrow ... and every single day after that until you're home. Are you willing to deny "self" daily... i.e. are you willing to have your toes stepped on, willing to be ignored in ministry, willing to suffer illness, mistreatment, discomfort, criticism, pain, insult, willing to have things not go your way? Are you willing to graciously submit to the authority He has placed over you, willing to live for Christ's glory, not your own, willing to completely entrust yourself to Him, to deny your will for His will? That is what Jesus asks of His followers.

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul offered believers great insight from his own walk before the Lord. Few, if any, of us can say we have followed our Lord as faithfully and single-mindedly as Paul did. And what did he get for his life of faithfulness? Ease? Respect? Appreciation? Safe travels? No pain? No trials? No discomfort? He lists his earthly struggles in 2 Cor.11:23-27. 

... in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.  

Yet, to the church at Philippi he wrote, "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." [Phil.4:11] How did he do that? Well, he says it was something he "learned," which means God allowed him ample opportunities to practice being content in Christ, to find his joy and contentment in his relationship with Him. Secondly, we see in other portions of this letter that Paul set his expectations upon the right goals for his earthly life, God-honoring goals, ones that were impervious to any circumstance he might face. Read through Philippians and find them. He made it his goal to magnify Christ [Phil.1:20]. He made it his goal to pour out his life in Christ-honoring service to others [Phil.2:17]. He made it his goal to know Christ [Phil.3:8]. Philippians 1:21 sums it all up, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Make THAT your goal in life and you will be content, no matter the circumstance, no matter the trial, no matter the pain, no matter the grief. Develop an eternal perspective to life and like Paul, though you may grieve, though you may suffer, though you may be mistreated or maligned ... you will be content.

God's Classroom of Illness

No one enjoys being ill. I've been incapacitated by illness for long periods of time throughout my life and expect there are many more likely to be waiting in my future. Watching my daughter recently go through chemotherapy for breast cancer has reinforced my trust that God uses these times to teach us truths about Himself, about ourselves and about the value of being built up in His Word prior to the onset of  serious illness or any deep trial for that matter. J.C. Ryle (1816-1900), a pastor who saw much illness among his parishioners during his years of service to the Lord, wrote the following to encourage believers to turn their eyes off their illness and onto their Savior, that they might enjoy spiritual growth during times of trials and joy in their relationship with Christ in the midst of it. Following is an excerpt from his tract.

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That King Hezekiah received spiritual benefit from his illness I think there can be no doubt. The beautiful and pathetic language of his "writing," which Isaiah was inspired to record, places that beyond question. The good man saw things in his sickness which he had never seen clearly and fully in the days of health. "By these things," he says, "men live." He might have added, "By these things men learn."

I do not say that sickness always does good. Alas! We ministers know to our sorrow that it frequently does no good at all. Too often we see men and women, after recovering from a long and dangerous illness, more hardened and irreligious than they were before. Too often they return to the world, if not to Sin, with more eagerness and zest than ever; and the impressions made on their conscience in the hour of sickness are swept away like children's writing on the sand of the sea-shore when the tide flows. 

But I do say that sickness ought to do us good. And I do say that God sends it in order to do us good. It is a friendly letter from heaven. It is a knock at the door of conscience. It is the voice of the Savior asking to be let in. Happy is he who opens the letter and reads it, who hears the knock and opens the door, who welcomes Christ to the sick room. Come now, and let me plead with you a little about this, and show you a few of the lessons which He by sickness would teach us.

1. Sickness is meant to make us think—to remind us that we have a soul as well as a body—an immortal soul—a soul that will live forever in happiness or in misery—and that if this soul is not saved we had better never have been born.

2. Sickness is meant to teach us that there is a world beyond the grave—and that the world we now live in is only a training-place for another dwelling, where there will be no decay, no sorrow, no tears, no misery, and no sin.

3. Sickness is meant to make us look at our past lives honestly, fairly, and conscientiously. Am I ready for my great change if I should not get better? Do I repent truly of my sins? Are my sins forgiven and washed away in Christ's blood? Am I prepared to meet God?

4. Sickness is meant to make us see the emptiness of the world and its utter inability to satisfy the highest and deepest needs of the soul.

5. Sickness is meant to send us to our Bibles. That blessed Book, in the days of health, is too often left on the shelf, becomes the safest place in which to put a bank-note, and is never opened from January to December. But sickness often brings it down from the shelf and throws new light on its pages.

6. Sickness is meant to make us pray. Too many, I fear, never pray at all, or they only rattle over a few hurried words morning and evening without thinking what they do. But prayer often becomes a reality when the valley of the shadow of death is in sight.

7. Sickness is meant to make us repent and break off our sins. If we will not hear the voice of mercies, God sometimes makes us "hear the rod."

8. Sickness is meant to draw us to Christ. Naturally we do not see the full value of that blessed Savior. We secretly imagine that our prayers, good deeds, and sacrament-receiving will save our souls. But when flesh begins to fail, the absolute necessity of a Redeemer, a Mediator, and an Advocate with the Father, stands out before men's eyes like fire, and makes them understand those words, "Simply to Your cross I cling," as they never did before. Sickness has done this for many—they have found Christ in the sick room.

9. Last, but not least, sickness is meant to make us feeling and sympathizing towards others. By nature we are all far below our blessed Master's example, who had not only a hand to help all, but a heart to feel for all. None, I suspect, are so unable to sympathize as those who have never had trouble themselves—and none are so able to feel as those who have drunk most deeply the cup of pain and sorrow.

When your time comes to be ill, I beseech you not to forget what the illness means. Beware of fretting and murmuring and complaining, and giving way to an impatient spirit. Regard your sickness as a blessing in disguise—a good and not an evil—a friend and not an enemy. No doubt we should all prefer to learn spiritual lessons in the school of ease and not under the rod. But rest assured that God knows better than we do how to teach us. The light of the last day will show you that there was a meaning and a "need be" in all your bodily ailments. The lessons that we learn on a sick-bed, when we are shut out from the world, are often lessons which we should never learn elsewhere. Settle it down in your minds, that, however much you may dislike it, sickness is not an unmixed evil.

[from J.C. Ryle's tract, Christ in the Sick Room; sketch by Rembrandt, Sick Woman Lying in Bed, probably his wife Saskia]

Is Your Mind In the Battle? (Part 2)

  'Do not let your heart be troubled; 

you believe in God, believe also in Me.'  (John 14:1)

"Why is it so hard to just find some peace of mind? Well, peace is hard to come by when you live in a warzone. And like it or not you are in a war — a very serious one. This war is cosmic in its proportions. It involves God, humans, angels, demons, principalities, powers, nations, and antichrists.

And do you know where the front of the battle is? It’s in your head. Here is how Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Where is the battle raging? Where your thoughts are. What are the strongholds that spiritually imprison people? Arguments and opinions.

And arguments are not merely strongholds, they are weapons of mass destruction. Adam and Eve (and all of us with them) fell because of an argument. They believed the serpent’s argument and stopped believing God.

That is the deadly essence of sin: not believing God. To not believe God is to ally with Satan, whom Jesus said is “a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth… for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).  You don’t want Satan as an ally. He’s treacherous. He’s out to murder you with lies.

Watch your emotions. They are signals of arguments. Your emotions, which can land on you like vague impressions or moods, are usually responses to an argument. Moods don’t come out of nowhere. When we are angry, discouraged, depressed, anxious, self-pitying, fearful, or irritable, it is likely because we are believing something very specific.

To battle sin is to battle unbelief—or destroy arguments. And in order to battle unbelief effectively, we must press doubts and temptations into specific arguments. What specifically is being asserted or promised to us? Only then can we destroy the enemy’s false arguments with true ones.

The devil does not want us to think clearly about sin. He wants to keep things vague so he can imprison or disarm us. But Jesus wants us to think clearly. He wants us to know the truth because the truth brings freedom:

If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32)

So as freedom fighters let’s fight against “unbelieving hearts” by exhorting one another every day (Hebrews 3:12-13) to live in the freedom—and peace (John 16:33)—of the truth."

[From: Jon Bloom, "We Destroy Arguments"]

(Earlier post: Is Your Mind in the Battle? (Part 1) can be found here.)

To the Soul In Despair - "Don't listen to yourself." (Psalm 42)

 Psalm 42

As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? 

My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" 

These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me. 

For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God, 

With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. 

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? 

Hope in God, FOR (the reason) I shall yet thank Him for the salvation of His presence.

O my God, my soul is in despair within me; Therefore (resulting conclusion) I remember You...

The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; 

And His song will be with me in the night, A prayer to the God of my life...

(daytime + night = all the time)

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? 

Hope in God, FOR (the reason) I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.
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"The main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this, that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self. Am I just trying to be deliberately paradoxical? Far from it. This is the very essence of wisdom in this matter. Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problem of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now [the Psalmist's] treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself, ‘Why art thou cast down, O my soul?’ he asks. His soul had been repressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you’. Do you know what I mean? If you do not, you have but little experience.

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why art thou cast down’- what business have you to be disquieted? You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope thou in God’- instead of muttering in this depressed, unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do. Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: ‘I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance, who is also the health of my countenance and my God’.

[D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in Spiritual Depression]
Related Post: "How God's People Handle Despair" (Psalm 77)

Preview: "Uneclipsing the Son"

I've started reading Rick Holland's debut book, "Uneclipsing the Son." Too many settle for "Christianity" rather than delighting in the glory of Christ. Holland compares it to settling for the aura around the sun seen during a total eclipse, instead of basking in the full radiance of the sun itself. It's an apt metaphor that will get you thinking ... and growing! This is a short book with a dull cover... that may help you discover what it means to have joy in Christ. Here's a taste...
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"Love craves knowledge of its Beloved. It is impossible to overstate how important the knowledge of Christ is to loving Him. The less we know about Him, the less air flows into the lungs of our souls. The more we inform our minds with truth about Jesus, the more captivated we become with wonder of the God-man. Knowledge of the Savior provides an authentic, rational encounter with divine majesty...

Peter (2 Peter 1:2-3) understood that the reception and experience of grace and peace are the consequences of the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. Beyond that, this knowledge grants us all, everything we need for living life and being godly. Everything our soul desires comes from understanding Jesus.

Sometimes - too often - we want other things, but Peter gives us a clear hint that if our souls recognize the spiritual needs that the knowledge of Jesus meets, then He will become the object of our desire. The truth is, what you want and what you need is Jesus, but you won't know that until you know Him. The more intensely He becomes the focused centrality of our faith, the more His worth overshadows all other joys...

The whole reason you have affections is to enjoy Christ. And everything recorded about Christ in Scripture was specifically put there to draw out your affections, to discover His attractiveness, to make your love more deep and intimate. What does it look like when our love for Jesus controls our affections? He Himself will be the object and focus of our love; our hopes will long for Him; our desire will be for Him; our hate and anger will be directed at sin because it offends Him. All the powers and aspirations of the heart will look to Him. Thoughts of Him will be our favorite thoughts. Remembrances of Him will be our most precious memories. Our consciences will be tuned to His heart. Every sense and ability will be at His disposal:

eyes to see His glory, 

ears to hear His word,

tongues to proclaim His praise,

feet to serve His mission,

awareness to give Him attention.

Our gifts will be used for Him, our talents displayed for His glory. Our resources will all be at His disposal. every relationship will be regulated by our greater love for Him. Every moment of life will be about Jesus. He will come to have first place in everything. (Colossians 1:18)"


 

Worldliness - Is Your Mind In the Battle?

"Worldliness, that which makes the ungodly seem normal and the godly seem abnormal (David Wells), can seep in under the door, crawl in through the cracks, and flow in through the vents—all unannounced. This afflicts us when our taken-for-granted habits engender sensibilities (modes of thought, perception, and conduct) that make us less likely to hear God’s voice, to do God’s will, to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16), and to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12)."  [Douglas Groothuis, in a review of Tim Challies' book, The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion]
["Is Your Mind in the Battle? (Part 2) found here.]

"... From Self and Pride to Set Thee Free"

Tim Challies' posted an unfamiliar hymn from the pen of John Newton. In it, we are reminded that God does not often answer prayer in the way we had hoped, but instead answers it in the way He, in His omniscient goodness and love, knows is eternally best. Newton's hymn is a good reminder of the need to approach God with a humble and submissive heart ... and to trust Him in His answer.

I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and every grace,
Might more of His salvation know
And seek more earnestly His face.

Twas He who taught me thus to pray
And He I trust has answered prayer,
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair.

I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He’d answer my request,
And by His love’s constraining power
Subdue my sins and give me rest.

Instead of this He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry powers of Hell
Assault my soul in every part.  

Yea more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe,
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Cast out my feelings, laid me low.

Lord why is this, I trembling cried
Wilt Thou pursue thy worm to death?
“Tis in this way,” the Lord replied
“I answer prayer for grace and faith.”

“These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free,
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou mayest seek thy all in Me,
That thou mayest seek thy all in Me.”

Starting Out Right - Am I Saved? (The Beatitudes)

Some who read this blog are struggling, perhaps to the point of wondering if they actually are "in Christ," that is, spiritually united to Him. Scripture tells us to examine ourselves, whether or not we're "in the faith." This format is certainly not the best approach for helping you grasp the realities of life in Christ. But not everyone can be approached face to face. So I thought I'd try to share some of the things the Ladies' Bible study has been studying from the book of Matthew. [If you're a woman who is struggling and you live in my area, please, please ... join us every other Monday night. These very issues are being covered!]

The best place to start is where Jesus started in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Let's get a little background behind these three chapters. Matthew's purpose in writing the gospel is to present the King and His kingdom to the nation Israel, in fulfillment of OT prophecy. (Mt.21:5) At the end of Chapter 4, Matthew gives an overview of Jesus' message and His approach to ministry. [From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Mt.4:17);  And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Mt.4:23)] The kingdom of heaven, i.e. an earthly kingdom ruled over by God Himself (Zech.14:9), was "at hand" because its King was in their presence! His miraculous healing of all types of afflictions was in fulfillment of OT prophecy concerning the Messiah, God the Father's "Anointed One," signs meant to verify His message and His person. (Isa.35:5; John 14:11)

In Chapters 5-7, Jesus gives the first of five discourses found in this gospel. Though specifically addressing His disciples (Mt.5:1-2), we find the crowds had eventually surrounded them and are intently eavesdropping on His teaching (Mt.7:28-29). Those verses also explain WHY the multitudes are so "amazed" at His teaching. [The Greek word translated "amazed" means to have the wind knocked out of you!] He spoke in His own authority! They had never heard anything like it! Unlike the OT prophets who prefaced their teaching with "thus says the LORD" or the Jewish religious leaders who constantly quoted key teachers, "according to Shammai," "according to Hillel," Jesus says, "But I say to you" and "Truly I say to you". The Greek construction doubles the pronoun for emphasis, "But I, I say to you..."  He speaks as the very author of the Law!

At the beginning of the discourse (Mt.5:3-12), He describes the Kingdom citizen and pronounces God's favor upon him ("blessed"). He then attaches future promises. But you'll also notice the first & last Beatitude (Mt.5:3,10) are in the present tense.  This passage has the sense of "now/not yet" that we often see in Scripture. Being a citizen of the kingdom starts now, but is ultimately, completely fulfilled at a time in the future.

Jesus bases each beatitude on an OT psalm or prophecy. He starts out with the foundation of kingdom citizenship in Mt.5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit..." and then builds upon that, block by block, one Beatitude at a time. This first Beatitude ... being "poor in spirit," is foundational to entering the kingdom. It's what turns you towards the "the narrow way." Two different Greek words are used for "poor" in the NT. The one used here means "absolutely destitute." It's also used of the poor man Lazarus in Jesus' story of Lazarus and the rich man (Lk.16:20-31). Here, it describes the individual who understands his own spiritual bankruptcy, the one who comes to realize he has absolutely nothing to offer a perfectly holy God, the one who has a clear understanding that even his best deeds are "as filthy rags" before a holy God (Isa.64:6) because they spring from a self-promoting heart, not a God-honoring one. That  person is the one who is "poor in spirit." 

The person who is "poor in spirit" is the one who "mourns" over his sin against a God of infinite worthiness, a Being who deserves His creation's obedience and honor. (Mt.5:4) And the one who is "poor in spirit" and who "mourns" over his sin is the only one able to be "meek/gentle," i.e. humbly obedient to God. In Mt.11:29, Jesus equates being meek/gentle with being "humble in heart." Meekness/gentleness is "a Holy Spirit empowered attitude, a humility of mind towards God whereby we willingly accept His dealings with us as good and loving and do not dispute or resist His will." 

In turn, one who is "poor in spirit," who "mourns" over his sin, who is "meek/gentle/humbly obedient to God" is the one who has a hunger and thirst for God's righteousness in their own life (Mt.5:6). The Greek word translated "hunger" is the same word used of Jesus after he had fasted 40 days in the Wilderness of Judea prior to His temptation by Satan. It's having that depth of hunger for God's righteousness in your life!

In these opening verses of His discourse, Jesus teaches that the basis for entrance into the kingdom is a clear recognition and confession of your own spiritual bankruptcy before a holy God. It means having a deep sorrow over your sin against Him, having an attitude of humble obedience to God in your inner man and a ravaging hunger and thirst to have His righteousness in your own life. That's exactly what we should use to evaluate our own hearts, our own attitudes towards God. That's the point where it all begins...

[If you'd like to think about these things further, I highly recommend listening to the four sermons on Mt.5:3-6 given by Pastor Brian Sayers, Christ Community Church in Plainfield, NH: "Misery Is the Key to Happiness" (Mt.5:3), "Sorrow Is the Key to Comfort (Mt.5:4), "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" (Mt.5:5) and "Are You Hungry for Holiness? - Part 2 (Mt.5:6). I'd be happy to burn these onto a CD for you, if you'd prefer. Just ask.]

"What It's Like to Live in Romans 8:28"

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"  [Romans 8:28-32]

"If you live inside this massive promise, your life is more solid and stable than Mount Everest. Nothing can blow you over when you are inside the walls of Romans 8:28. Outside Romans 8:28 all is confusion and anxiety and fear and uncertainty ... Once you walk through the door of love into the massive, unshakable structure of Romans 8:28 everything changes. There come into your life stability and depth and freedom. You simply can't be blown over any more. The confidence that a sovereign God governs for your good all the pain and all the pleasure that you will ever experience is an incomparable refuge and security and hope and power in your life. When God's people really live by the future grace of Romans 8:28 - from measles to the mortuary - they are the freest and strongest and most generous people in the world. Their light shines and people give glory to their Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

[excerpted from John Piper's Future Grace]

Spiritual Depression - D. Martyn Lloyd Jones [Book Trailer]

One Savior, One Life

Nostalgia and Name Brands

This post is purely nostalgic. I hate to admit that my nostalgia even tips towards something as foolish as a name brand. Nostalgic for places? Sure. Nostalgic for good times with people crucial to your life? Sure. Nostalgic for when your kids were little and loved to snuggle you endlessly? Sure. But nostalgic for commerce? Ooooo, seems a little shallow. Nonetheless, I am a child of the advertising age. I may have grown up with only two TV channels, but it was during the time that advertising came into its own and started convincing us that we were not buying just a product ... we were buying a lifestyle. It turns out, in a way, that we were. Those products became so intertwined with stages in our lives, that to think of one makes us recall the other.

I just read an article predicting 10 name brands that will go out of existence in the next year. This isn't rocket science; they've been known to be wrong. But the odds are pretty high that these name brands will disappear forever, either through complete bankruptcy or absorption into another company who won't maintain the identity of the brand name. Three of those named really stirred up memories.

According to the article, some time in the next year Sears is expected to disappear. That's a name brand that became familiar early in my life, back in the days when every child eagerly awaited their issue of the "Christmas Wish Book" catalog in the mail. I don't think anything under my Christmas tree ever came from there. We were pretty poor and most things were handmade or handed-down at Christmas.  But oh ... how I loved to look through it and imagine myself playing with that kitchen set, that doll, that Davy Crockett rifle. (I was an eclectic child.)  My husband, who grew up in northern NH where stores were few and far between, remembers actually picking out a list of longed for items from the catalog and having his parents choose a gift or two from it. Mail order was a vital part of the economy of the North Country even in those days.  But alas, time marched on and the catalog disappeared. Then the Sears stores became the "anchor" for something new called "shopping malls."  I counted on them to carry sturdy clothes for my children and well-made basics for me.  How many "Winnie the Pooh" blanket sleepers I bought and relied upon to keep my children warm in our drafty old house!  And I can recall one particular hooded red winter jacket that was so indestructible it was used by Beth a few years, then by all three Francis girls... and it still looked brand new!

Another brand expected to disappear soon is A&W restaurants. They're mostly gone already, but still, the idea of never driving past one again makes me a little nostalgic. When I think of A&W drive-ins, I think of my teenaged years in Newport, NH (1963-1968). I even knew the kids of the owner of our local A&W; one was in my class. I remember she gave the required "Explain How to Do Something" oral speech in English class by demonstrating how to make extruded french fries. We thought that was pretty remarkable! No peeling or slicing required! :)  And the absolutely coolest thing that could happen to you in those days was to be seen at the A&W with a cool guy in a cool car. Hats off to all the cool guys with cool cars who took me there!

The third brand expected to disappear this year transports me back to my late college years and the decade following. If they're right, Saab will be driving into the sunset soon. But in the early 70's those who could afford to do so chose Saab or Volvo. Mustangs were still cool, but Saabs and Volvos let the world know you had become an adult... even better, a cool adult.  Put a ski rack on the back and you were good to go!  And then one day you put one of those new safety innovations, a child seat for the car, in it and knew your children were doubly safe. Very responsible ... yet still very cool.

So goodbye Sears, A&W and Saab. I'm not cool any more, and apparently neither are you.  But surprisingly, you became so intertwined with my life, you came to represent my childhood, my teen years, my young adulthood and my young motherhood.  If you're a young person and just can't identify with my silly nostalgia, stop a minute and imagine Apple, amazon and Starbucks going out of business... it might happen some day.  After all, My Space was also on that list.

Why We Need Books In a High Tech World

The following is excerpted from a post by columnist Johann Hari reviewing a book by David Ulin. Though both men are referring to literature in general, I believe these issues have an even larger impact upon a believer's ability to read & study their Bible, and are therefore worthy of our consideration. If nothing else, it will be an interesting self-guided test to see if you can read through these few paragraphs, maintaining concentration and reading comprehension until the end. [If you have difficulty, consider turning off your smartphone, closing your laptop, unplugging the TV ... and spending concentrated time reading Scripture. Do it for two weeks and notice how your hunger and thirst for God has increased!]
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In his gorgeous little book The Lost Art of Reading -- Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time,  critic David Ulin admits to a strange feeling. All his life, he had taken reading as for granted as eating -- but then, a few years ago, he "became aware, in an apartment full of books, that I could no longer find within myself the quiet necessary to read." He would sit down to do it at night, as he always had, and read a few paragraphs, then find his mind was wandering, imploring him to check his email, or Twitter, or Facebook. "What I'm struggling with," he writes, "is the encroachment of the buzz, the sense that there's something out there that merits my attention, when in fact it's mostly a series of disconnected riffs, quick takes and fragments, that add up to the anxiety of the age."

To read, you need to slow down. You need mental silence except for the words. That's getting harder to find.  In the age of the internet, physical paper books are a technology we need more, not less... Here's the function that the book -- the paper book that doesn't beep or flash or link or let you watch a thousand videos all at once -- does for you that nothing else will. It gives you the capacity for deep, linear concentration. As Ulin puts it: "Reading is an act of resistance in a landscape of distraction... It requires us to pace ourselves. It returns us to a reckoning with time. In the midst of a book, we have no choice but to be patient, to take each thing in its moment, to let the narrative prevail. We regain the world by withdrawing from it just a little, by stepping back from the noise."

A book has a different relationship to time than a TV show or a Facebook update. It says that something was worth taking from the endless torrent of data and laying down on an object that will still look the same a hundred years from now. The French writer Jean-Phillipe De Tonnac says "the true function of books is to safeguard the things that forgetfulness constantly threatens to destroy." It's precisely because it is not immediate -- because it doesn't know what happened five minutes ago in Kazakhstan, or in Charlie Sheen's apartment -- that the book matters.

That's why we need books, and why I believe they will survive. Because most humans have a desire to engage in deep thought and deep concentration. Those muscles are necessary for deep feeling and deep engagement. Most humans don't just want mental snacks forever; they also want meals.

The idea of keeping yourself on a digital diet will, I suspect, become mainstream soon. Just as I've learned not to stock my fridge with tempting carbs, I've learned to limit my exposure to the web -- and to love it in the limited window I allow myself. I have installed the program 'Freedom' on my laptop: it will disconnect you from the web for however long you tell it to. It's the Ritalin I need for my web-induced ADHD. I make sure I activate it so I can dive into the more permanent world of the printed page for at least two hours a day, or I find myself with a sense of endless online connection that leaves you oddly disconnected from yourself. T.S. Eliot called books "the still point of the turning world." He was right. It turns out, in the age of super-speed broadband we need dead trees to have living minds.

Summer Ideas: Teaching Your Kids to Serve

Here we are at the beginning of summer! The kids are out of school... no lunches to make, no early morning car drives, no after school activities, no homework to supervise, no sudden announcements of school projects "due tomorrow". I think I hear a collected sigh of relief. But as you plan your summer vacations, trips to the beach and overnights with friends, take time to think about creating opportunities for your children to serve others this summer. Erin Davis at the True Woman blog writes, "... summer also offers a unique opportunity to do ministry together as a family. A whole lot of free time offers a whole lot of opportunities to reach out to others and minister side by side. If your kids can get a taste of the value of serving like Jesus did, they’ll be learning an important lesson." She offers the following ideas, with a few of my own additions in italics. I'm sure you can add to the list!
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Help with Vacation Bible School
Many churches host VBS during the summer. Instead of just sending your kids off to attend, grab your pre-teens and teens and get involved yourself with serving. If your church doesn’t have a VBS, look for ways to serve in another church, or launch a Backyard Bible Club for a few kids in your neighborhood. [Have your kids help bake cookies to serve at VBS, help prepare room decorations, distribute invitations in your neighborhood, put up signs in your community, pray those who attend will have hearts open to the gospel.]

Plan a local short-term missions trip
You don’t have to be a missionary to take a missions trip. Simply think of a group of people who have a need, and find a way to meet that need while sharing the love of Jesus. You can go for a day, a weekend, or a week. Here are a few missions trips my family have done:

• Clean up a playground in a low-income housing area, and then offer a free hot meal to the residents (hot dogs and chips work great!).

• Find an area of your state that has been impacted by a natural disaster, and get plugged in with a relief organization such as the Red Cross or Samaritan’s Purse. 

• Ask your pastor for a list of widows or shut-ins, and call and offer to do lawn work for free during the hottest days of summer.

• Call that same list of widows and shut-ins and offer to bring them fresh produce from your garden. They likely don’t have the oomph to garden themselves, but would love to share in the bounty of your back yard. 

• Call your local pregnancy care center and offer to come and sort supplies for moms in need. 

• Volunteer together at your local Food Pantry & Clothes Closet. Have your kids organize a neighborhood or church food drive of non-perishables to donate. Follow up your efforts with prayer.  

This list is just the tip of the iceberg. The possibilities are endless!  

Serve lemonade
Encourage your children to set up a lemonade stand to raise funds for people in need. Even young children will enjoy creating and decorating a lemonade stand, making lemonade and treats, and collecting money from “customers.” (I would recommend calling friends and neighbors and encouraging them to stop by). Then, give your child a few options of organizations and let them go with you to deliver their hard-earned money.

Adopt a family
Not every momma gets to stay at home with her kids in the summer. This can be especially true for single moms. That means some kids are left to fend for themselves while their parents work. If you know a family in this situation, offer to take the kids during the day for the summer, and be sure to specify that you don’t expect any payment in return. Will it be a sacrifice? You betcha! But God’s Word urges us to look after each other in practical ways like this. Be intentional about looking for a family that you can help by being generous with your time.
  
Create a Prayer Wall at Home
Find a blank wall to turn into a wall of prayer. Teach your kids the importance of praying for others rather than focusing on their own desires and needs. On one side of the wall, have kids tape prayers for those in need and on the other side, ask the children to write down something for which they are thankful. Teach children to pray as a way of praising God and relying on Him when things seem hopeless. (Idea from eHow)

Summers provide a unique opportunity for families who have the time and flexibility to break free from routine. Using that window to serve others in Jesus’ name is one of the  best uses of your family’s time.

Edwards on Spiritual Pride

 Another challenging quote from Jonathan Edwards. All believers must guard their hearts against spiritual pride and be quick to repent whenever sin is discovered there. As usual, Edwards words it so well...

“Spiritual pride is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of Christianity.  It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit, to darken the mind and mislead the judgment.  It is the main source of all the mischief the devil introduces, to clog and hinder a work of God.

Spiritual pride tends to speak of other persons’ sins with bitterness or with laughter and levity and an air of contempt.  But pure Christian humility rather tends either to be silent about these problems or to speak of them with grief and pity.  Spiritual pride is very apt to suspect others, but a humble Christian is most guarded about himself.  He is as suspicious of nothing in the world as he is of his own heart.  The proud person is apt to find fault with other believers, that they are low in grace, and to be much in observing how cold and dead they are and to be quick to note their deficiencies.  But the humble Christian has so much to do at home and sees so much evil in his own heart and is so concerned about it, that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts.  He is apt to esteem others better than himself.”

[Jonathan Edwards, Works (Edinburgh, 1979), I:398-400. Style updated.]

The Furnace of Affliction

“In affliction, God makes himself known to his people. In the Word we hear of God, but in affliction we see him. Prosperity is the nurse of atheism….In prosperity we pray and hardly take notice of the answers. But in affliction we can press God for the return of our prayers. God is never worse than his word. Affliction is a furnace to try the faith of God’s people and to see God’s faithfulness in his promises.” – Thomas Case

A Look at Herodium

Shmuel Browns offers an excellent article on Herodium in the April edition of Popular Archaeology, in honor of its excavator, Ehud Netzer, who died last autumn as the result of a fall at the site. Herodium is one of the fortresses built by Herod the Great. (Masada was another such fortress.)  He also built "Lower Herodium" at the foot of the man-made hill. The site is located just outside Bethlehem, on the edge of the Judean wilderness.  It offers spectacular ruins and views from the top.  According to Josephus, Herod built the fortress to commemorate his victory over the Parthians early in his reign. It was destroyed by the Romans in 71 AD.

Professor Netzer had dedicated much of his life to its excavation.  Several years ago he discovered what is likely to be Herod's desecrated tomb on the side of the hill, half way up.  Herodium's proximity to Jerusalem & Bethlehem make it a "must see" should you happen to visit Israel.  The wonder of this article is the opportunity to get a close look at a few of the artifacts and an artist's recreation of what the original area would have looked like. The illustrations are based on the archaeological discoveries made thus far. I love looking at ruins, but I also enjoy being able to imagine what it once looked like in its prime. Enjoy the article! [If you right-click on most of the pictures in the article, and choose "view image," you'll get a large photo to look at.]

Praying for Your Husband, An Example

Thabiti Anyabwile, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman, recently shared an example of how his wife prays for him. (See her prayer below.) Several things made an impression upon me as I read through her words to him. First, I noticed how her thoughts were centered upon being a force for good in her husband's life. (Prov.31:10-12)  She wasn't dwelling upon his shortcomings, nor upon how he had failed to meet her needs, nor upon how he happened to measure up to other husbands, both real and imaginary. She set her mind upon praying for God's good in his life.

Then I noticed that her prayer was informed by biblical truth. She didn't pray vague generalities. She didn't pray for her will in his life, but for God's will in his life. She took the time needed to study out a topic in God's Word, then formed her prayers around the truths she had learned. (Ps.19:7-8)

Finally, I was struck by the fact that she took the time to write her prayer out. In written form he can now refer back to it as an encouragement in his future sermon preps. Her dialogue with him is biblical, filled with meaty truths for him to consider. Though his own biblical knowledge is prodigious, I imagine, she didn't assume that even he was able to apply everything he knows to the immediate situation at hand. She didn't write out a list of "don't"s, but a list of "do's". She didn't write out a major thesis, but a few short paragraphs. And she ultimately drew his attention to the larger eternal view of what God is doing through him.

What an excellent example of how we should pray for our husbands ... and one another! This is how we love in a manner that glorifies God! (1Pet.4:11)
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I’m praying for your sermon preparation and hope you have a fruitful time in the Word and prayer.

I was just looking for a verse to encourage you as you prepare to preach, and found it interesting to look at how “preach” is used in the old and new testaments. In the OT, most often preaching is against a city or rebellion of some sort. In the NT, preaching is often mentioned in the context of preaching the good news, preaching throughout the whole world, preaching to the poor, preaching the kingdom of God, preaching repentance, preaching the gospel, preaching in particular places, preaching Christ (and His unsearchable riches), and preaching to particular people.

So…I pray that you would preach in all these ways, against sin and rebellion toward God, and that you would preach the unsearchable riches of Christ in the gospel, which is good news for all who believe in Him, and which has power to save all those throughout the whole world who repent of their sin and trust in Him. I pray that you would do this boldly and fearlessly, as you should and as the Spirit enables.

Loving you!

[Pastor Anyabwile's blog may be found here.]

Sargent's "Mrs. Fiske Warren & Her Daughter"

Living near Boston provides access to many of John Singer Sargent's works. One of my favorites is a society portrait of "Mrs. Fiske Warren and Her Daughter", which can be viewed at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Sargent was born to American parents in Florence. He studied art  primarily in France under the teaching of Emile Carolus-Duran. Following the fervor over his controversial portrait, Madam X (originally painted with one strap off her shoulder; repainted with both straps up & now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY), he relocated to England. Like his parents, Sargent was a world traveler. He spent his adult life traveling back and forth between England/Europe and the US, primarily Boston & NY. Among his friends were notables of the time such as artist Claude Monet, author Henry James and Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner, who commissioned several works from him and purchased his early large scale painting of a Spanish gypsy dancer, El Jaleo, which can be viewed at the Gardner Museum.

Sargent's portraits were in great demand. He preferred other genres, but his portraits proved so popular he was heavily sought after by high society. As a body of work, these paintings are a testament to the "Gilded Age". His style was often a combination of a more traditional treatment of the face & use of color (he was a great admirer of the Spanish painter Velazquez 1599-1660) and the looser style of Sir Thomas Lawrence ("Pinkie") & later Impressionist painters in his representation of the clothing (note his treatment of the chevrons on Mrs. Fiske's gown - click on the photo for a close look). At the height of his career he chose to turn away from portraits and dedicate himself to open air landscapes, watercolors and public art, some of which may be viewed on the ceiling of the rotunda at the Museum of Fine Arts and at the Boston Public Library.

Mrs. Fiske Warren (1868-1961) was born Gretchen Osgood. Raised on Beacon Hill, she was considered "an accomplished actress, singer and poet" from an early age. She studied at Oxford, graduating with  honors (no mean feat for a woman in her time!), and married Frederick Fiske Warren, who commissioned this portrait in 1903. [Their home, The Hutch, at 42 Bolton Road in Harvard, Mass. (near Concord) is on the National Register of Historic Places.]

The sitting for the portrait was done at Fenway Court, the home of Isabella Stewart Gardner (the current Gardner Museum) on the 3rd floor, in the same room where empty frames remind us of the artwork stolen from the Gardner in 1990 (including a Rembrandt and a Vermeer). If you visit the museum today, you will find a photograph of Sargent painting the portrait of Mrs. Warren and her daughter, Rachel. It's rather interesting to see what the subjects actually looked like and then compare them to the painting. Andy Warhol once commented that Sargent "made everybody look glamorous".

If you visit the Boston area you have a splendid opportunity to view both the portrait and the photograph. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are within easy walking distance of each another, with ample parking available at the MFA parking garage. You might also wish to view the Warren home in Harvard, Mass. the next time you happen to be in the Concord area. It's a little piece of art history come to life!

Be sure to check your local library for books displaying Sargent's works. Two works featuring his portraits are John Singer Sargent: Portraits of the 1890s and John Singer Sargent: The Later Portraits.  An inexpensive way to introduce your children to his work is to purchase the following sticker book. If you're homeschooling, be sure to tie-in Sargent when you teach the Gilded Age.

The Best Bible Reading Program Ever ... Really!

Now that it's June, you may have long abandoned that Bible reading program you started back in January. Perfect timing to promote the method I prefer! The Cerulean Sanctum offers a good explanation of it.  This approach has been around in various forms for years. I've tried programs that have you read through multiple books at the same time. I've done several different read-through-in-a-year programs. But this Reading Program is the one I've landed upon because it's the one that has given me the most understanding & brought about the greatest change in my Christian walk. It puts Scripture into your mind...and it stays there! You'll discover you actually begin to remember what you've read... in its context. That is the beauty of repetition!
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How To Read the Bible for Life, Not Just a Year

Beyond the artifice behind them, most Bible-reading plans suffer from an imposed superficiality and disjointedness ...  The World's Best Bible-Reading Program, as I see it, moves beyond this piecemeal approach to reading the Scriptures. It has nothing to do with the proud announcement that, "I read through the entire Bible this year!" Instead, it has everything to do with knowing the word of God and putting it into practice. It's not a one-year reading program, but a "rest of your life until they bury you in a pine box" program. The first way of thinking is marketing; the other is transforming.

Here's how the World's Best Bible-Reading Program works:

1.  Find a quiet, undisturbed place to read. Start in the New Testament ... Might as well begin with Matthew.

2.  Read through one entire book in a single sitting. Obviously, the first five books of the NT are going to require some time. But do it. (You're eternal. Live like it!) These books are whole units and are meant to be read as such. We need to experience their coherence. Trust me; the Holy Spirit will bring the entirety of the book to your mind in the future in a way you've never experienced before.

3.  When you've read the book once, don't move on! Read through it again. For the first five books, if you must break them into chunks, go with five or six chapters - whatever maintains the arc of the narrative.

4.  Re-read that one book. Note the way the narrative and themes flow. Commit those stories and themes to memory. Note where they exist in the book.  [Write down your observations.]

5.  Re-read that one book. Pay special attention to the way the Lord is portrayed.  [Write down your observations.]

6.  Re-read that one book. Examine the relational aspects of the book, God to Man, Man to Man, Man to God.  [Write down your observations.]

7.  Re-read that one book. Note the Lord's redeeming and salvific acts within the greater arc of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. [Write down your observations.] This first pass-through of the NT assumes you have a modicum of OT understanding. After reading the OT through, the second pass-through of the NT will clarify things further.

8.  Re-read that one book. This time around, note all the Lord's commands and how we're told to practice them. Consider how they might work practically in your daily activities. [Write down your observations.]

[By this point, you've read the same book seven times. Depending on the length of the book, it may have taken seven days or seven weeks. It doesn't matter. This is about changing your life and relationship with Christ. This is about sixty years of discipleship. It's not about getting through the Bible in a certain length of time.] Now comes the hard (and controversial) part ...

9.  Take everything you've learned in this book and put it into practice. Take a month to do nothing but concertedly meditate on what you've just read by making it real in your own life. It might mean that the only Bible you read this month are the parts of this one book that you still aren't getting and must re-read. Doesn't matter - do it! (If you absolutely have to read something every day that isn't part of this program, consider a few Psalms or a cycle of Proverbs. They're the most suited to broken-up reading patterns since they are collections of wisdom and less unified than a book like Romans.)

10.  After your month, take stock of all that you've learned by reading and practice. Make a mental assessment of the themes of the book and how they apply to your discipleship. If you're confident you've read and practiced this book, move on to the next one.

Once the NT is finished, move on to the OT. (I realize some of the OT books are daunting in length for a single read-through. Make a concerted effort to read them in one sitting. Failing this, some of the OT books are narrative, which allows for breaks in the story. Psalms and Proverbs are easily segmented, as noted above. All prophets must be read in one sitting the first time through. A book as enormous as Isaiah is hard to partition, so consider reading it on a weekend day.)

Repeat these ten steps for the rest of your life.


[Entire post found here.]

Gifted to Serve as Part of a Body

When it comes to using our God-given gifts within the local body, much confusion can arise. Many expect that if God has gifted them to use a spiritual gift within their local assembly, they should not only be quite proficient at it, they should also enjoy every moment using it. "Therefore," the thinking often continues, "if I am not good at doing [insert spiritual gift], it must not be my gift." Or perhaps, "It's hard and uncomfortable for me to do "x", therefore it must not be my gift."  Allowed to go on over time, this kind of thinking leaves many paralyzed, unsure how to serve as a functioning member of their church, waiting to "discover" what it is they are "good" at. A related expectation is to believe that a person who has been exercising a spiritual gift for many years has always been able to do so at the ability level they currently enjoy.

Should we find ourselves in such a dilemma, it's good to remember the following Scriptural truths.

1) A spiritual gift manifests itself by what God does with it. The amazing thing is not so much your "giftedness" as that God chooses to use you in such a way that He may bring about the change, the encouragement, the understanding in the hearts of those to whom you minister or to meet a need in your church that enables others to use their gifts more effectively. It is not you being so proficient at something that you cause the desired result. [1Cor.12:4-7] Don't take God out of the equation. You are not "the star", He is! The truth is that every believer is gifted by God for service as part of their local body, perhaps in multiple ways. That's true whether you're a brand new believer just starting out or an aged saint who has been serving for years. [There's no "retirement" for a saint, just perhaps "reassignment".] That's encouraging! It means you can be used NOW!

2. There is not one specific, unique way to use a spiritual gift. As I've heard some do, I might say I have "the gift of teaching 5th/6th graders" or "the gift of teaching groups of women" or "the gift of biblical counseling". What I actually have is a teaching gift that can be used in multiple ways ... teaching 5th/6th graders or teaching groups of women or bringing Biblical truth to bear on someone's problem. Today I teach groups of women. Tomorrow I may be teaching the Bible to my nursing home roommate. The implication is that I should not expect I have to use my spiritual gift in any one specific way. This understanding is crucial! The leadership of my church may decide to reassign me at any time to an area they see as a vital need at that particular point in time. Or they may believe the women I teach would be better served by a different teacher or in a different context. The Lord may change my health at any moment making it impossible for me to regularly teach a group Bible study. But I could still exercise my gift by teaching through the medium of letter writing or the Internet or telephone conversations or one-on-one studies with women. And if I was physically unable to do any of those things, I could concentrate on a ministry of prayer. [I actually was "reassigned" to that task for several years due to health problems. It was incredibly satisfying and encouraging to be able to draw near the throne of grace and devote so much time to prayer!]  Amy Carmichael, missionary to India in the late 1800's to mid-1900's, was bedridden at the end of her life, reassigned by God to write edifying books and devote herself to prolonged, deep prayer. I've often used books written by her then to encourage women now!

3. Our spiritual gift should not be our primary focus. Humbly and cooperatively serving God alongside other believers in our local body, under the direction of the leadership God has placed over us is the focus. (Eph.4:11-13; Heb.13:17) A local body of believers is meant to function as a unified whole, working together as one, building up one another in order to do the work of ministry. The modern Christian world has too many divas. Your church does not exist to display your spiritual gift. Your spiritual gift was given to you by God in order for you to serve in the manner He has decided is necessary within the particular local assembly He has placed you in, within the timing He has chosen. Don't take God out of the picture and promote your gifts to superstar status. Don't expect your local assembly to accommodate every idea you might have for using your gift. That's not an attitude that brings any glory to God. At that point, you're serving yourself, not God. (Phil.2:1-2, 14-15)

4. There is a learning curve. Phil.2:12-13 tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling ... because it is God who works in us both to do and to will. What a perfect example of "both/and"! Yes, God gives the gift, but you also participate by seeking to use it to the best of your ability. That means your comfort level will change. Your abilities will change. What may be difficult and uncomfortable today, can be accomplished with hardly a second thought once your Bible knowledge has increased, once you've practiced doing it time and time again, once you have matured in your Christian walk. So, yes, even a brand new baby believer is gifted to serve, BUT they are not meant to stop at that level of service. They are to be progressively growing in knowledge and experience. (Heb.5:14) It takes effort and it takes time.

Greek scholar Bill Mounce recently wrote about his first experience preaching as a young believer. I found his reflections most encouraging. It brought to mind my own first experiences teaching. It was terrifying, and admittedly, I wasn't very good at it! But I did it because there was a need and my pastor thought I should apply myself to it. May you also find Mounce's recollection encouraging. Remember everyone had to start somewhere!

"I was terrified. Stand up in front of people! What was God thinking? I still remember that Sunday. I wore this long sleeved gold and white shirt with a gold colored sleeveless sweater. (Does that date this story or what?) I remember preaching, rivers of sweat poured down my back and sides, and being glad that the baggy shirt and sweater combination wouldn’t show how nervous I was. And when I got down I said to myself, “If there is one thing I now know, it is that God has not gifted or called me to speak in public!”

As I stood on the front steps today of Mount Zion Church 38 years later, I know how wrong I was. I love to preach and teach; it is my gifting and calling. But just because you are called and gifted doesn’t mean you don’t have a lot of hard work ahead of you. For me, it was finishing college, a MA and PhD, and then years of teaching in college and seminary, and preaching hundreds and hundreds of sermons.

If you are just starting out, if you think you are called and gifted to pulpit ministry, or a teaching ministry, please understand that the call and gifting are not sufficient. Gifts and calling have to be nurtured, developed, practiced. So be patient. Don’t think you necessarily made a vocational mistake just because you are struggling with term papers, taking finals, or delivering what in your mind was the worse sermon ever preached. These are the fires we get to walk through in order to learn and to grow.

Did you think that being a herald of the king would be easy?"