Day 3/Chapter 3

Introduction
This morning it was a little harder to get things (e.g., my mind, body) going and functioning properly. I guess I’m not naturally a morning person. I would have loved to just turn the TV on and sit down and relax. As a matter of fact, I did turn the TV on and then off twice. This is the third straight morning I’ve woken up without an alarm. I don’t normally do that. What’s going on? It seems I’m receiving help from above to spend 34 days with the book of Deuteronomy.

Chapter 3 observations
- Chapter 3 breaks down nicely into three sections; Battle with Og (vv.1-11), the passing out of land (vv.12-20), the encouraging of Joshua by Moses (vv.21-29).
- Again the Israelites receive help from God in defeating and destroying the inhabitants of the Promised Land.
- Moses is told to not be afraid as they march into battle (v.2).
- In the last section Moses encourages Joshua. Moses will not be crossing the Jordan River and entering the land. It is unclear as to why that is, but I’m guessing the story will be picked up and explained a little later in the book or elsewhere in a different book. The only thing you can deduce from this chapter is that God was angry with Moses. Moses says in verse 26 that it is because of the Israelites. The phrase, “because of you” is spoken (cf.1:37) in reference to the Israelites.
- Joshua had been right by Moses and seen “with his own eyes” everything God had done. He was now getting ready to cross the Jordan and take the rest of the land.
- There is more work to be done in conquering and claiming the land. The Israelites still have a ways to go, they still have to cross the Jordan and take the cities.
- A very encouraging word is spoken to Joshua in verse 22, “the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”

Comments
Why so much violence and war? Was this the only way for the Israelites to inherit the Promised Land? I remember discussing this issue in my Old Testament classes at Indiana Wesleyan. Those verses about the Israelites destroying everything, including women and children (v.34) are hard to reconcile with a loving God. I think placing this story and other stories similar to it in the context of the time helps shed a little light on why the Israelites did this. War and violence was the norm of the time. If you wanted land you would go and have a bloody violent fight for it. There was no U.N. to keep peace and talk about things. So, it seems God is just speaking the language of the day through the Israelites and their actions. I bet God would have done this a different way if it was possible in this particular time and culture, but it wasn’t. I can’t help but wonder if so much fighting and victory puffed up the Israelites and made them feel invincible. Maybe that is what led to them turning their backs on God. Maybe they started thinking they didn’t need Him, that they could do it on their own.

It’s neat to see some of the interplay between Moses and Joshua in the last section. It seems they had a tight relationship with each other. Moses had a lot of trust and confidence in Joshua. I’m surprised there is not bitterness here. Moses truly was a humble man and he respected God’s decision to not let him enter the land. So, he is preparing and encouraging Joshua. He gives him hope and assurance. I hope you will be an encourager today to someone.

Day 2/Chapter 2

During the 40 days of Lent I’m saturating in the book of Deuteronomy. I’m on day 2 of this journey. Writing this down each day and blogging about it has helped keep me accountable (part of the reason I’m doing it).

Chapter 2 observations
- More sun and sand as the Israelites continue journeying through the desert.
- Moses truly was a man guided by God. Verse 1 is very personal, “as the Lord had directed me.” You see how involved God is in giving guidance throughout the rest of this chapter.
- God is specific in His instructions. He commands the Israelites and Moses to pass through certain lands and leave the people alone.
- A promise from last chapter is kept. God said, in chapter 1, that He was upset with this generation and none of them would see the Promised Land (v.35). That is fulfilled as chapter 2 unwinds.
- There is a process here of getting into the Promised Land. It isn’t as easy as just walking in and taking it. There are things to do and things not to do. There are fights to fight and fights not to fight. It’s a step by step process.
- God gives the King of the Heshbon over to the Israelites. God promises to spread the word about the Israelites to other nations. Other nations will respect them.
- Despite being told to engage King Heshbon in battle (v. 24), Moses tries sending a peace delegation. This doesn’t work and the Israelites end up destroying him, his family, and his people.

Comments
I was intrigued to see how “in-tune” Moses was with God. This chapter seemed more personal, like Moses’ diary or something. He knew the where and when of God’s plan. There’s even a sense of him being the only one aware of it (v. 1). I like this. Moses speaks of God like he knows Him. He speaks with confidence about who God is and how He directs. Do you hear of many people doing that today? I’m guessing what he did in verses 26-30 was a direct result of his relationship and friendship with God. God commanded the Israelites to engage King Heshbon in battle, but Moses tried bringing about peace first. Did he know God so well that he knew God would want this? Apparently God was ok with this. I pray God would allow me to know Him like this.

I would guess that verse 30 creates problems for some people when it credits God as the one who made King Heshbon’s heart stubborn. Reminds me of what Exodus says about Pharaoh. I bet Calvinist grin from ear-to-ear over this verse, it helps defend their doctrine of predestination. However, I ask the question, “was it God that did it or was it King Heshbon who did it by not responding to God and the peace offered him from Moses?” The latter, I believe, was what Moses wanted to communicate. Just like Pharaoh in Egypt, King Heshbon refused God and so his heart was hardened. It wouldn’t make sense to say King Heshbon never had a choice. We all have a choice, this is one of the freedoms given us in creation. So, today as I journey with God may my heart be as “in-tune” as Moses’ heart was. May I know Him and trust Him.

Day 1/Chapter 1

Introduction
Lent has begun. During this Lenten season, I have chosen to spend 34 days with the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy has 34 chapters, so I plan on reading/studying/reflecting on a chapter a day and posting it here. There are 40 days to Lent, so I have some grace in there if I miss a day. Always good to have grace. :-) First, Deuteronomy isn’t a book I would normally turn to but in light of how much the New Testament, and especially Jesus (it's how He fights against Satan during His temptation in the wilderness), use this book, I have decided to dive into it.

Chapter 1 observations
- Setting for the book is the desert.
- Verses 6-10 is the instructions of Moses for the Israelites to go and “take possession” of the Promised Land. The rest of the book will be preparing them for such a task.
- Verse 10 is a reminder of what God said He would do to Abraham (Genesis 15:5).
- A reminder is give again to the Israelites that they are like a son to God (Deut 1:31).
- Chapter 1 re-hashes Israel’s story (rescued from Egypt and led to Promised Land).
- The older Israelites generation has upset God because of their disobedience (v. 35). What did He want from them? An example is given in vv. 34-36. Caleb was a man who “wholeheartedly” followed the Lord.

Comments
Already I see how important obedience is to God and blessings that come from obeying. God wanted the Israelites to trust and obey while they were conquering the Promised Land. I have a hunch that these things (obedience & blessing) will be main themes throughout this book. I also sense how intimately the Lord God was involved in their lives and in their story. He has really joined with them in their journey and become their Father. Not that God wasn’t already the eternal Father, He just wasn’t their Father. He chose to be their Father. It looks like he could have chosen to be the Father of any Nation during this time period, but He chose Israel to be His firstborn.

He reminds them of the big things He did for them (Blessing them, rescued from Egypt, help in defeating enemies, disciplining them). How could they not listen to Him and not trust Him after all the amazing things He did for them? I don’t understand that. Was it laziness on their part, an unwilling heart, a stubborn heart, fear, rejection of God, or just plain human nature that kept them from going all the way in their obedience? What keeps us from following “wholeheartedly” today? There seems to be no middle ground in following Jesus. We cant’ just say a prayer and sit down. We must say a prayer and walk with Him. With God, it’s an all the way or nothing thing. A question emerges from this. Where’s the grace? Is there already grace there, but I’m just not aware of it?

Scripture Reflection 004

Read James 1:17 here or in your own Bible.

1. What does this verse teach about God?

2. How do we know what “good gifts” are?

3. How would you define a “good gift”?

4. What are some things we don’t normally think about as being gifts from God?

5. How does this help us in our battle against evil? Does it?

Scripture Reflection 003

Temptation

Read James 1:13-15 here or in your own Bible.

1. What do these verses suggests about Satan’s role in leading us astray?

2. Does he have a role?

3. Who, if anyone, does the blame for our sin fall upon?

4. Is this fair?

Scripture Reflection 002

Reflecting on Satan’s character and ways of deceiving

Welcome friends. Below you will find some guidance for studying Genesis 3:1-5 and Isaiah 14:12-14. Keep in mind that our enemy searches, like an empty-stomached lion, for Christians to eat. We need to be constantly on our guard, for ourselves and others, and on our knees in prayer as well as in the Word daily.

Some advice: Take your time this week (there are two passages this week), read and re-read the passages during your prayer time or lunch break, chew on them throughout the day, think about what is being said, and then try and work through a question or two. If you want to dive deeper, you can access some excellent free resources online to help you in studying these passages (i.e. www.blueletterbible.org).



Guidance for studying Genesis 3:1-5

1. Read through Genesis 3:1-5 here on in your own Bible. What tactic is the Serpent using here on Adam and Eve in regards to deceiving them? Can this tell us anything about Satan’s methods of attack? Do the names “Deceiver,” “Tempter,” and “Father of lies” serve him well here?

2. What is the first thing Satan questions when talking with Eve? Why does he do this? What is behind his question to Eve? Was this a well thought out question?

3. Was Satan’s promise of what would happen to Adam and Eve if they ate of the tree kept? If yes, was Satan really lying to them then?


Guidance for studying Isaiah 14:12-14

1. Read through Isaiah 14:12-14 here on in your own Bible. Some of the early church fathers believed this passage to be descriptive of Satan and his origins. Others (e.g., John Calvin, Martin Luther) believed it to be about human pride. What prohibits a person from entering into a relationship with Jesus, Satan or pride? Why?

2. How does the statement in verse 14 compare to the Serpent’s promise to Eve in Genesis 3:5? Why would such a thing be sin?

3. In what ways is Isaiah 14:12-14 helpful in regards to spiritual warfare? Is there anything we can learn from this passage?

Scripture Reflection 001

Reflecting on Satan’s ways of trying to deceive Jesus as seen in Matthew 4:1-11

Welcome Sunday School class to Thursday Thinking! I normally post something on Thursdays here, but I’m changing that up a bit for this discussion about the Devil and C.S. Lewis. I hope you find encouragement here to get into the Word and reflect upon it deeply. You know as well as I do how rewarding that can be! If you are unsure about what to do here, I have provided some guidance below. You can try and answer a set of questions, or you can take your time and do one question a day, or just one question period. this post will be up until next Sunday. Next Monday there will be a new post related to next week’s lesson. I hope you enjoy this as much as I’m going to!

Guidance for studying Matthew 4:1-11

1. Read through Matthew 4:1-11 here or in your own Bible and try and write down the different ways in which Satan tempts Jesus. What are they? What does this tell us about Satan’s methods of attack?

2. How does Jesus defend Himself against Satan’s attacks? Were you surprised at all in regards to the book of the Old Testament Jesus uses here? What does this tell us? How does this help us know what to do when we are under attack?

3. What do we learn about Satan and his character in all of this? What type of character does he possess?

4. Why do you think Satan used scripture when he was tempting Jesus? What does this tell us about him?

5. Why would Satan tempt Jesus to turn rocks into bread? What’s wrong with Jesus doing that? What is behind Satan’s schemes?

Here is a great book that will challenge the way you look at and think about disciple-making. Bill Hull, in his book The Disciple-making Church, strongly urges the church (people who have put their trust in Christ) to take on their God-assigned role in discipling others. Hull provides a clear definition of what he believes discipling to be:
The intentional training of disciples, with accountability,
on the basis of loving relationships (pg. 32).

From here, Hull launches into a full-scale investigation of the principles and preferences of the first Christian churches (e.g., the Jerusalem Church, the Mission Church at Antioch, and the Discipling Church at Ephesus). Each church is explored through out the book of Acts and Paul’s writings.

Hull contends a movement is needed from Christocentric leadership (Jesus as the leader), the style found throughout the Gospels, to churchocentric leadership (leadership team), is found in Acts and the epistles. The Christocentric model, though effective while Jesus ministered, is not the most effective model for making disciples today according to Hull. Hull points to five changes needing to take place in the church in order to be effective in making disciples. Hull believes these changes to be essential in order to keep discipleship a process that involves the whole church rather than an event involving one person. The direction the rest of the book takes is the “how-to” of implementing these changes. The following are the changes Hull suggests along with a short explanation of each (take from chapter 2 of The Disciple-making Church).

1. Leadership – A change from Christ leading Apostles to elders leading the congregation. While Christ was on earth, authority remained in one person. That person was Jesus Christ. When He ascended into heaven the leaders shared it. The Christocentric model is master-pupil. The master is Jesus, Himself, and anyone under him would be His pupil. The churchocentric model is elders-congregation. In this model disciple making is in the hands of the church. Hull points out that individuals cannot completely disciple another person. It must be done by the variety of gifted believers known as the church. Only the body of Christ can fully provide an environment capable of creating challenges and experiences a believer needs to grow into full maturity. Hull reminds us on page 36, “Anything that helps a person move forward in Him fits the label of discipling.”

2. Guidance – We move from Christ's personal presence to the Holy Spirit living in us. We also have the ministry of the Word, Prayer, and others. Our purpose is to serve God through an obedient lifestyle. Through obedience we come to know God and His leading. Part of this obedience to God involves being disciples and making disciples. When it comes to guidance in the church, the churchocentric model of leadership is a shared experience. Hull points out in the end of his book that guidance comes through elders (leaders) and their apprentices.

3. Training – Here we move from Christ preparing leaders alone to a leadership community engaged in multilevel training. This means the church is doing various things (e.g., small group Bible studies, special classes, Sunday school) to disciple and train future leaders. Where does discipling begin? According to Hull, discipling begins when a member of the discipling church makes contact with a person. Making disciples begins with introducing men and women to Christ.
Hull states three things that the church is:
1. A hospital for sinners.
2. A greenhouse for the growth of new believers.
3. A training center for the eager and well.

Church leadership should be engaged in three primary areas of training/discipling:
1. Preaching/teaching track (Come and see). The Word of God must be preached to the world. How will people hear if no one preaches?
2. Leadership track. Church needs zealots (or people dedicated to the vision of the church) to be produced. Their fire and passion will draw others.
3. Small-group track. This gives seekers and those hungry for God’s Word a chance to develop and grow.

4. Outreach – A move from individual evangelism to team evangelism. Each member of the body has different gifts and can more effectively reach the lost by working together. Evangelism is and must be shared by the church. The corporate witness of the church's love for one another creates a power and attraction that make verbalization a natural result (pg. 45). The Holy Spirit must be allowed to creatively work through different people to reach the lost. Evangelism is not a bounty hunter job and suffers if it is left to individuals (in that it isn’t as effective).

5. Pastoral care – Here movement is from Christ meeting the needs of all people to Christ meeting needs through gifts of the body. What Jesus was to the disciples, the disciples are to one another. Hull elaborates in chapter 11 on the role of a full-time pastor. There he suggests:
- A pastor is one who is committed to God’s Word and the studying of God’s Word.
- A pastor’s primary role is communicating God’s Word to others.
- Through Paul’s pastoral epistles (i.e., Timothy and Timothy 2) we learn a little more of what is expect of pastors. They teach, rebuke, correct, and train.
- Pastors also have the responsibility to develop faithful leaders (elders and deacons) in the church.

Hull’s book is very insightful and challenging in light of our individualistic society. Personally, he challenged my view of discipleship and how it is done by broadening it to include the entire church body (I previously thought of discipleship in terms of small groups and one-on-one meetings). I was right in regards to discipleship being intentional and a process but that is only a small part of discipleship. When we involve the whole church we make the kind of disciples Jesus asks us to make (Matt 28:19). To incorporate the church into the discipling of others is a challenge, especially when statistics say only twenty percent of church members actively involve themselves in serving God while the other eighty percent watch comfortably from the bleachers. How do we change this?

Hull holds in high esteem the church at Ephesus as an example.[1] By this time, the apostle Paul was able to hone his skills and gifts in disciple making. This model disciple-making church did a wonderful job of inviting people in and attracting people (come and see). This was followed by getting them all involved (come and follow me), and then handing over responsibility (come and be with me), and finally letting the reigns of power down so someone else could pick them up (remain in me and go and make disciples). Once implemented this would continue the disciple-making process Jesus commanded in the Great Commission.

To apply the principles gleaned from this book one must evaluate his/her own perception of discipleship and the church. Are the two separable? Can one be done without the other? What exactly is discipleship? How is it done? For me, answering questions like these has led to some brainstorming of ideas for implementing what I have learned into practical steps.

æ Set up church activities (e.g., fellowship dinners, small groups, cookouts, mentoring, Sunday school, mission trips, training seminars) that call all people into participation. If the Body of Christ is responsible for making more mature and fully developed disciples, then participation of everyone is essential. Sermons and teachings of the church must back this up and confirm it to all church members. So, maybe a good starting place is restructuring how one’s church views discipleship through sermons and teachings. If the majority of your church sees discipleship as primarily the leaders’ job and responsibility they need to be taught that all Christians have that responsibility. Maybe sermons on the book of Acts and the Epistles would be helpful.

æ Search for ways in which all people in your church can participate in discipling. Since discipleship covers everything the church does, what are some things currently being done or that could be done to incorporate more of the Body of Christ in the process? What are some things your church could do to utilize the spiritual gifts of others? Here are some discipling/ministry opportunities a pastor could make available:
§ Teachers for VBS, Sunday school, small groups, special seminars
§ Mechanical work (e.g., oil changes, minor tune ups, etc.) available to anyone needing it
§ “How to play golf” workshops taught by church members
§ Van drivers willing to pick up kids and teens needing rides to church
§ Sound and video technicians for worship service
§ Coffee makers for the Sunday School hour
§ Grounds keepers willing to serve by landscaping and/or mowing church yard

æ As a pastor one of my responsibilities is to look for/identify leaders (zealots if you want to call them that) on fire for God in my church to hand over responsibility to. These people need to be given responsibility. Investing in their lives allows the process of discipleship to continue, as they will in turn invest in someone else’s life. I guess you would call this leadership development. Hull provides an appendix in his book giving guidelines and expectations of such leaders that could be useful to encourage commitment from such leaders.

These are just a few of the practical ways I came up with to change the church’s approach to leadership, guidance, training, outreach, and pastoral care.

Bill Hull’s The Disciple-making Church is not a difficult scholarly read, but a down-to-earth and practical book. This book is a good launching pad for pastors wanting to further study principles of discipleship because it gives a complete summary of principles used by the early Church that is easy to follow and understand. I highly recommend to every pastor, layperson, and congregation member Bill Hull’s The Disciple-making Church.

[1] The church at Ephesus combines and synthesizes nicely the principles and preferences of the two churches (Jerusalem and Antioch) mentioned and studied earlier in Hull’s work (pg. 51-148).

R & R

It's been an exciting week. New President of the United States sworn in. New season of Lost began last night (I'm a huge fan!). How can the human mind keep up with everything? I'm trying not to do too much thinking (that comes easy!), so this post will be short.

I'm on vacation this week down in Tennessee. You can't beat the beauty of snow covered mountains. Yesterday we took the fam to Ripley's Aquarium. Walking under the sharks was the fav. I was surprised my daughter wasn't more afraid than she was. I think I would have been. I was holding her most of the time, so that might have helped calm her fears a bit. I couldn't help but feel like the shepherd in Psalm 23. For most of my adult life I've been trying to see and feel His presence, yesterday I was helping somebody else feel His presence and calm. That's a huge change in perspective.

So, have you ever been the shepherd of Psalm 23 to someone?

I change my mind

How do we begin to change and take on the new life we have in Christ after we receive Him? What is the first thing we should do? What role does the Spirit play in this life-long process of renovation?

The mind acts as the entry point for our way forward to Christ-likeness. The mind is such a powerful thing. Paul urges us to be "transformed by the renewing of our minds" in Romans 12. What does this mean? How does it work? We must begin by thinking correctly and logically about God and His Word. According to Dallas Willard, this leads to loving God. This way of thinking involves the filling of our minds with the truths of scripture and dwelling (i.e., meditating, studying, wrestling, and questioning) on the content and message of it.

I believe Paul gives some general direction, or a framework, in Philippians 4:8-9 for how we can begin to put this into daily practice and take our first step forward. I throw verse 9 in there because “thought” is supposed to be connected to action in Hebrew thinking. Here are some of the first nitty-gritty activities I would do.

Step #1 – Examine thoughts for an hour, a day, or a week. How? Keep a journal to keep track of thoughts throughout the day (or start a blog to do it!). I would try and write as many of my thoughts throughout the day down on paper. If images affect us as much as Dallas suggests, we need to jot down what we are watching and what kinds of things we are seeing in a day (e.g., TV shows, pictures, magazines, etc.).

Step #2 – After compiling a list of thoughts and images do some dissecting of those thoughts. Question what thoughts certain images, from TV to magazines, bring to your mind or how they make you feel and write them down. Question why they brought those feelings up or made you think that way? Take notice of the times of day, or day of the week that you had certain thoughts and write those down. Maybe all of this will lead to the discovery of a pattern for when you are most susceptible to sinful thinking and acting.

Step #3 – Come up with a plan of how you will try and avoid certain thoughts or images that would be sinful or hinder your relationship with Christ. The plans made here would be different for each person, but would center on the idea of being proactive in our spiritual formation and taking back our minds for the good they were intended for.

I’m a visually oriented learner and so I like to surround myself with pictures and images of Bible stories and characters. If I can see scripture or get an image of it in my head I’ll remember it forever. I love the icons of the Orthodox Church! I don’t pray to them, but I have found them to be a very helpful tool in the transformation of my mind. They bring scripture alive to me (the same goes for stained-glass windows) in a beautiful way. On the other side, because I am so affected by images, I have to be extremely careful and guard what I see.

Any thoughts?

Renovation of the heart

In my class this semester I am reading again (third time now) Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard (one of my all-time favorite authors!). I love the book and don't mind diving into it again. The book is deep enough that there's no way you can truly get all of what he's trying to say in just one read. I think Dallas has some God-given wisdom for our day and age on change and how we truly change as we walk with Jesus. If you get only one book to read this year as a serious book this is a eye-opener!

Here's a quick synopsis of the book.

In Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard explores spiritual growth and transformation in the lives of followers of Jesus. “We live from the heart,” Dallas writes in the introduction to his book (pg.13). The heart (will/spirit) is where our outlook on life, our choices, and our actions are formed. The problem is that our heart has curved in upon itself and, “has been formed by a world away from God.” (pg. 14) Dallas points out that Jesus came to change us from the inside out through a relationship with Him. Through constant fellowship with the Holy Spirit, God works a change in our heart. This is renovation of the heart and God is willing to renovate any heart submitted to Him. Dallas defines spiritual formation for the Christian as, “the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.” (pg.22)

In the following chapters (2-5), Dallas sets forth the basic human aspects that need renovation. The six basic aspects are: Thought (mind), feeling (mind), heart (will/spirit), body, social context, and soul. Explanations of each aspect follow. All human action flows out of our heart and this is why Jesus worked a change from within. Dallas sets forth the ideal life ordered by God and what it would look like: God, spirit, mind, soul, and then body. This is almost opposite for those living in darkness. Without God present in their lives, their life order looks like this: Body, soul, mind, spirit, God. To start the process of spiritual renovation, “our spirit (heart) must come alive to God,” Dallas writes (pg.41).

Dallas is quick to point out that spiritual renovation involves both human and Divine effort. We are to be diligent and persistent in our spiritual growth, but our mere human efforts will not bring about transformation, that is the job of the Holy Spirit working through the grace poured out on those who have accepted Jesus Christ into their lives by God the Father. We also learn the importance of coming face to face with who we are and how far we have fallen from God. Pride (which is taking things into our own hands), rooted in the heart, can keep/does keep many from embarking on spiritual renovation of the heart.

The following chapters (6-13) deal with a hands on approach to spiritual formation of the different aspects of humans (e.g., mind, heart, body, social context, and soul) and the processes involved in that transformation. Some important highlights from each chapter include: spiritual renovation begins with transformation of the mind (chp.6), mastering our feelings involves submission to God and acceptance that our feelings don’t have to be fulfilled (chp.7), “temptation to sin originate in desire,” (pg.154) and an enslaved heart will in turn enslave the mind (chp.8), our body is the primary target of temptation (chp.9), “spiritual formation is always profoundly social” (chp.10), the soul (which even God has) dictates everything in our life, this is why soul renovation is so important (chp.11). Chapters 12 and 13 focus on what a renovated heart looks like in our world, sanctification of believers, personal discipleship, and community discipleship.

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Fav Christmas Album

What is your favorite Christmas album(s)? I grew up listening to the Oak Ridge Boys Christmas tape (that’s right, a heavy plastic cassette tape). Dad always cranked it up on the way to grandmas. That was a classic album our whole family loved! All us kids, for the most part all grown up now, still like listening to it.

Another favorite Christmas album of mine is the Squirrel Nut Zippers Christmas album (called Christmas Caravan). If you haven’t ever heard of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, you are missing out on one of the most creative bands around. Their style? 1930’s style swing and jazz, I call it hot jazz. Their Christmas album became an instant classic the moment I laid ears on it. I still have some convincing to do with my wife on how great this one is, she’s stuck on the name being too weird, but I think she secretly likes it.

So, besides listening to a band that makes people scrunch up their face and say, “Squirrel Nut what?!?”, I’ve been chewing my way through Scot McKnight’s book on the mother of Jesus; The Real Mary. So far it has been a great book! Fairly short and an easy read too. It does a good job of revealing that Mary was a real person, like us, who struggled a bit (understatement) with her Son’s identity and mission. We are doing a special study on Mary in our Sunday School class the week before Christmas and this book has been an excellent preparation guide and provided plenty of fodder to keep the fire of my curiosity burning.

So, to close with my opening, what is your favorite Christmas album?

The Advent of my life

Well, four and a half years of youth ministry is behind me now. Youth ministry was an incredible learning experience for me and I’ll miss it and the wonderful people I built relationships with. However, like Christians looking forward to what’s to come during this Advent season, I’m looking forward to what’s to come as I transition into the direction I believe God has been nudging me. I have officially transitioned into a new area of ministry at my church, discipleship and sr. adult ministries. It probably sounds funny to some of my youth pastor friends that I’m moving from one end of the age spectrum to the other (I jokingly tell people I have a fountain of youth group now!), but it’s exactly what I have been wanting to do for a little while now.

One of the things I’ve begun to do in discipleship ministries is teaching on conversational prayer. This isn’t something new in that this concept of praying was developed fifty years ago by a woman named Rosalind Rinker, but it is new in that I’ve never heard of it or practiced it until I read her book this past summer. Her book, Prayer: Conversing with God, is an excellent guidebook if you want to pursue conversational prayer. It was even named by Christianity Today as the #1 book that has shaped evangelicals. She bases conversational prayer on Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.”

Here is a summary of the three stories that led to Rosalind’s discovery of conversational prayer.

Story #1 – 15 years old and has a choice to go to a party or a cottage prayer meeting on a cold snowy night. Chooses the latter and is amazed by everyone praying. She feels she should pray out loud during prayer meeting but is scared to death to do it. She finally does it and feels Jesus’ presence in a special way. This teaches her that when you pray out loud with a group you can feel God’s presence in a special way. She understands Matt 18:20 better now.

Story #2 – Now not afraid to pray in public. Goes to a prayer meeting in China and realizes everyone is making little speeches to God, feels like she has to start her prayers in a special way, use lofty language, to top the person that just prayed. She talks about how easy it was for her to get distracted while someone else was praying. She gets a desire to pray in way that is different and more inclusive.

Story #3 – She is praying with a close friend and realizes while her friend is praying that her prayer has already been answered (praying for peace between a lady and her sister-in-law). So, she interrupts her friend’s prayer and says, “We thank you God for already answering that prayer. This lady has already forgiven her sister-in-law”. They both stop after this and a moment of revelation comes. What if they prayed one or two sentences and then stopped to let the other person add something to the prayer? What if they went back and forth for several minutes talking/praying over the same person and/or situation?

All of this leads her to discover conversational prayer. In a nutshell, here are the basics:

The basics to conversational prayer

1. Bring up one person and/or situation at a time.

2. Each person prays two or three sentences only about the particular person and/or situation. Everybody in the group will go back and forth praying only 2-3 sentences.

3. Only move on to next person and/or situation when you feel at rest, or peace, about the person and/or situation. It helps if you have person in the group act as the leader and when there is several seconds of silence the leader thanks God for hearing their prayers and closes in a final word of prayer. When the leader finishes, another individual in the group brings up another person and/or situation to pray for.

It really was a neat thing to be a part of a group that prayed conversationally. You are all involved and in-tune with one another and God’s Spirit. When you finish praying you feel as if you have really prayed thoroughly for the person. It’s an awesome experience! I think this would work for any age group and is also a great teacher of how to pray. If someone struggles praying aloud or in front of people (which most people do), this helps them overcome that fear and learn to pray. It’s easier to say 2-3 sentences of prayer than to pray for 3-5 minutes. I encourage you to buy the book and practice it!

You will be rewarded.

God's presence (part 4)

A big happy Thanksgiving Day to you all! After the meal tomorrow, I’ll be settling in to watch some Lions football. Who knows, we may even get to see the Detroit Lions keep their perfect season (ha!). I hope you enjoy the time with family and friends. We conclude this series on how we can experience God’s presence with the last step, a conversational relationship.

4. A Conversational Relationship
Before Jesus was crucified He told them (15:15 NIV),

I no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know his master’s business.
Instead, I have called you friends,
for everything that I learned from my Father
I have made known to you.

What does it mean to be a friend of God? What does that involve? The answer leads us to the last way we can experience God’s presence. This is through a conversational relationship. Friends talk to one another; this is how Jesus revealed everything from the Father to His disciples in John 15. Since God is a Person, the question becomes, why wouldn’t He talk with us? Maybe we should ask ourselves if we even believe such a relationship with God is possible? Is it possible to come to a point where we are in a conversation with God and actually hear Him speaking on a regular basis? I think scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, presents an overwhelmingly convincing case that we can.

Example of a Conversation Relationship
One of the best examples of this is Abraham. His life can be read about in Genesis chapters 11 –25. He was called by God to leave his country and go to the land God would show him (12:1-3). God spoke to Abraham and told him he would be a great nation and a blessing to all the other nations (12:2-3). If you glance at Abraham’s life you see a pretty common occurrence, God speaking to him and Abraham speaking back. In fact, it is interesting that the New Testament holds Abraham up as the greatest example of what real faith in God is to look like. It is not Moses, or David, or any of the prophets (major and minor), it is Abraham. Why? Abraham didn’t have the Law, the written Word, or the Temple. So, what did he have? He had a conversational relationship with God. Abraham spoke to God and God spoke to Abraham. They communed on a regular basis with each other.

How?
So, how do we get to the place of having a conversational relationship with God? I think there are a couple of things we can do.
1. We need to learn how to talk with (not at) Him meaningfully. Maybe we start in our prayer life by learning how to pray conversationally. Maybe we pause after requests and listen for Him to answer.
2. We need to learn how to listen to Him and discern His voice. This will come with practice and patience. The longer we walk with Him the better we should be at getting to hear and discern His voice.

The greatest thing about all of this is that the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, the Comforter, is willing to help us. The great chink in the Enemy’s armor is that we were made to live like this. We were made to live in a conversational relationship with God. When I sold auto parts, the parts that were made for the vehicle fit it best. It may have taken some work to get them to fit, but they were made for that.

May you enjoy God and may He enjoy you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

God's presence (part 3)

We continue looking at the different ways in which a person can experience God's presence. This series started, in case I failed to mention it, from examining Psalm 139:7-12. The psalmist asks the questions,

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?"
(Psalm 139:7 NIV)

The third way is the God who acts. Here is a diagram I created to help you see where this fits in with everything.

3. The God Who Acts
This is when God does something, when God intervenes in such a way that is just unexplainable. This is God transforming and changing our reality in ways we could never do. This is seeing His power at work in our world around us.

Example of The God Who Acts
You can get plenty of examples of this if you read through the book of Acts. To narrow things down a little, and be a bit more specific, Acts 16:25-28 is an excellent illustration of what the God who acts experience looks like. You have Paul and Silas, who were thrown into the most secure part of a Roman prison, singing and praying to God (maybe they were singing Psalm 139?). God shows up, an earthquake happens and we have a jailbreak. All the prisoners’ chains become loose enough for escape and all the prison doors fly open. This is God doing something Paul and Silas could never do in their own power. This is just one of the many instances of the God who acts experiences recorded in Acts.

I believe there is another way we can experience God’s presence that is more complete and rich for our spiritual growth (this will be next week's). These three ways that we have just discussed (e.g., blind faith, sensing it, the God who acts) miss the message of Jesus’ farewell discourse in John 15. Here we have Jesus in His last hours talking intimately with His disciples. Before Jesus was crucified He told them (15:15),

I no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know his master’s business.
Instead, I have called you friends,
for everything that I learned from my Father
I have made known to you.

Your thoughts?

God's presence (part 2)

We continue with the discussion about the different ways we can experience God's presence in our lives. The second way Dallas Willard mentions in his book Hearing God is sensing God's presence.

2. Sensing God’s Presence
Sensing God’s presence is about feeling God is present in a special way. This is the strong impression an individual or groups of people get when they believe God wants them to do something or say something to someone. We had an example of this a few weeks ago in our morning worship service. People felt led, right in the middle of service, to stand and testify about God and they were obedient to that feeling. As a result, the rest of us felt God’s presence in a special way during that service.

Examples of Sensing God’s Presence
Luke gives two beautiful examples of this when he shares the story of Jesus, the young boy, being presented at the Temple. A devout follower, who was patiently awaiting the Messiah, by the name of Simeon was able to sense God’s presence in a special way and recognized Jesus the little boy as the Savior of humankind. Verse 27 in Luke 2 says the Spirit moved Simeon. If Simeon weren’t able to sense God’s presence in his life he would have missed the Son of God.

In the following verses (36-38), we have the prophetess Anna, who lived and worshiped night and day at the Temple. She experienced God’s presence in a special way that allowed her to have an encounter with the Christ-child.

I bet you have stories you have lived or heard of special encounters with God’s presence. I would love to hear them if you care to share!

God's presence (part 1)

Have you ever considered if there are different ways to which we can experience God's presence? I want to begin a 4-part series on the ways in which we can experience His presence. To help us understand the different ways, I want to refer to a philosophy professor and author at USC by the name of Dallas Willard. In his book, Hearing God, he outlines four different ways[1] a person can experience the presence of God. The following is a diagram I put together to give you a visual picture of the four ways we can experience God with us. For this first week, we will discuss blind faith.


1. Blind Faith
The first way mentioned by Dallas is what he calls “blind” faith. I find this to be the essence of Hebrews 11:1,

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see.

This faith is about believing despite not seeing or feeling God’s presence. We just have this confidence and trust in God’s presence.

Example of Blind Faith
There is a great example of this in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 3 tells the story of the three brothers (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) who exemplified this way of experiencing God’s presence on their way to the fiery furnace. They were on their way to being martyred for not bowing down to an idol. They believed in God even if they didn’t feel or sense His presence. They believed in God even if He didn’t step in and save them. This is the essence of verses 17-18,

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,
the God we serve is able to save us from it,
and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.
But even if he does not, we want you to know,
O king, that we will not serve your gods or
worship the image of gold you have set up.

This is a legitimate way to experience God’s presence, but I believe our hearts will be restless if we stop here. If you really believe we are made for a relationship with God, then there has to be more to the relationship than just an intellectual belief that God is with us. I believe my wife loves me, but if that was all I had to go on, if she never said anything or showed her love for me, or if I didn’t feel her love for me, or talk with her regularly, I think I would start to get the impression that I was getting short-handed in our relationship. Is it any different with God?

Why we need more than just blind faith
The relationships we long for are a direct result of being made in His image and likeness. We serve a God who is three Persons, but at the same time one God. There is something in each individual Person of the Trinity that cannot be found in the other. There is something in the Son that is not in the Father or Spirit. There is something in the Spirit that is not in the Father or Son. There is something in the Father that is not in the Spirit or Son. God’s completeness is in the fact that all three Persons live in relationship with each other. We serve a God who finds His completion in relationship with others. He had made us in His image (Gen 1:26,27).

I find it interesting that Jesus, when forced to go on blind faith alone because He couldn’t feel or sense God’s presence while hanging on the cross, cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” For Jesus, blind faith was not enough. His relationship with God needed more. This leads us to the next way we can experience God’s presence in which we will talk about in 2 weeks. I'm taking next week off for a pastor's retreat.

[1] Dallas Willard, Hearing God, (Downers Grove, IL. IVP), pp. 46-52.

The Good God

Remember the classic chorus God is So Good?

God is so good,
God is so good,
God is so good,
He’s so good to me!

Why sing it?
This song helps us understand some of the dynamics of life within God’s kingdom. In order to have a kingdom you obviously have to have a king. Our King, the One in charge and ruling over us, is that good King we sing about in God is So Good. I love the response of Mr. Beaver in C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe when the children ask him if the Lion (Aslan, which represents Christ) is safe. Mr. Beaver tells the children, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” How do we know He is good? Because He has revealed it to us through revelation. We have general revelation (e.g., the order of nature) which points toward a Creator and we also have special revelation (e.g., the Word and Jesus).

Through revelation we come to know Him. Through revelation the psalmist of Psalm 139 came to know God. How do we know that? You can tell there is a personal relationship between the two by the vocabulary used in this Psalm (e.g., You have searched me and you know me (v.1), always there for me (vv.7-12), intimately involved in my life (vv.13-18), I’m loyal toYou (19-24), and I offer myself up to You (vv.23-24)). The fruit of this relationship is that the psalmist’s eyes are open to the kingdom of God. His eyes are open to the unseen world.

Change I can believe in!

No, this isn’t a post about Obama’s campaign slogan. You hear and see enough of that these days that you’ll probably think something is wrong when the yard signs and TV ads come to an end in November. No, this is a post about facing change and believing in it. I don’t normally like to write too much in regards to personal matters, but I decided to face a fear and do something a little different. Anyways, getting a story out in the open can be therapeutic, you know?

My wife and I found out recently that our daughter is far-sighted (means she can’t see things up close). She is one and half years old and now has to wear glasses. Initially, I was bothered by the whole thing. I was irritated, even a little angry at God, over this. I was asking under my breath, “Why should a kid so young have to wear glasses?”, or “There’s no way she’ll keep those things on!”

It was change. Change I didn’t like. Change I didn’t want to like.

Seeing her in glasses for the first time was challenging. They changed her whole appearance. She wasn’t the same looking little girl I was used to looking at. Feelings of unfairness and frustration boiled to the top. This was such an injustice. To top it off, we had to hold our daughter down, and force the glasses onto her tiny head; all the while she screamed and cried. It was just too much. Before I knew it, I was praying Psalm 143,

O LORD, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
(Psalm 143:1 NIV)

If only God would touch her and heal her so she wouldn’t have to wear glasses anymore. That was my idea of how God could hear my prayer and come to my relief. Somehow God was able to help me see the bigger picture. This was about helping my daughter live a better life. God is not going to heal her, not that He can’t or won’t, but that is not the change He is bringing about in all of this. Actually, now that I think about it, in a way God did heal her by giving her glasses. She can see now. Apparently she can see pretty well too with them on, because she is now to the point where she lets us put the glasses on her. She has also been looking in between her toes for toe jam. I guess she can see that now and wants to take care of it herself. The glasses are working and I believe in them. The glasses did change her appearance, but for the better. She’s a cutie!

The glasses also changed me. They unmasked selfishness in my prayers and behavior, which led to the discovery of selfishness in my heart. This led to me praying verse 2 of Psalm 143,

Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.
(Psalm 143:2 NIV)