Author Archives: Jeff

The goal.

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In all areas of life that involve working and striving towards a goal, we must define the ‘win.’ Had some interesting conversations with people recently about what does it mean to ‘win’ in the Christian life. Perhaps the reason some of us are frustrated in life is that we’ve made something our goal that may not be attained in this life. Or tomorrow.

Here’s my simple take:

The goal of Christian spirituality is Christ-likeness and restoration of the image of God (2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Peter 1:4)

To that end, let us welcome God as He introduces anything into our lives that leads us towards Christ-likeness. Any circumstance that makes be depend upon God and lead us towards Christ-likeness can be received by faith as in keeping with His will. As we are being restored into the image of God, we will be less of our own ‘self.’ At least less self-concerned, and more consumed with Him and His will — loving people. It’s a journey. In the end shall be like Him (1 John 3:2).

 

Getting boys to read

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Is the best way to teach boys to love reading by pandering to their tastes? (Like a book about all things gross: Oh, Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty.)

Is it by bribing them with video games?

Thomas Spence writes in the Wall Street Journal (9/24):

When I was a young boy, America’s elite schools and universities were almost entirely reserved for males. That seems incredible now, in an era when headlines suggest that boys are largely unfit for the classroom. In particular, they can’t read.

According to a recent report from the Center on Education Policy, for example, substantially more boys than girls score below the proficiency level on the annual National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test. This disparity goes back to 1992, and in some states the percentage of boys proficient in reading is now more than ten points below that of girls. The male-female reading gap is found in every socio-economic and ethnic category, including the children of white, college-educated parents.

The good news is that influential people have noticed this problem. The bad news is that many of them have perfectly awful ideas for solving it.

Read the rest here including a very good strategy for getting boys to read.

(Could the reading gap have more to do with competition for boys’ attention than with their supposed inability to focus on anything other than outhouse humor?)

 

Free and content — in His promises.

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Yesterday I re-read the last chapter in the letter to the Hebrews. Here’s a command that won’t let go of my mind:

“Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Hebrews 13:5

The things we love captivate us. It takes wisdom and diligence to keep those things from capturing our affections in ways they were not meant to. How many of us have possessions that in actuality possess us? (Searching my own heart here.) The path to true joy is to repent of trusting in these things and turn to God who supplies all our needs. Repentance is more than a one-time act; we get to trade one short-lived pleasure for a greater one, for when we repent, we turn from one thing to the One who is much greater, more pleasureful, and longer lasting.

When we are content with what we have, we say to God in effect, “You are enough!”

As this Scripture reminds us, God’s promise of His presence with us will sustain us through any circumstance. Being with Him is the great promise of eternal life, which for we who trust in Christ has already begun.

 

Everyday Justice.

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A promo video for the upcoming Justice Conference in Bend, Oregon (Feb. 11-12, 2011).

A mark of a maturing believer and follower of Jesus is a growing awareness of the true needs in the world, and a love for those people with a passion to help meet those needs and build bridges for the Gospel message. We see the inequity in the world and are not content to wait on governments to move solely for the sake of the marginalized, needy, poor, and destitute. We give up personal comforts so others can have the basic necessities for health and life.

Justice is about reconciliation, which is rooted in love. We who have been reconciled with God, get to see His reconciling work spread to every area of our lives and all of creation. What began as a personal relationship with God adds a public dimension that becomes a transformational relationship with the world. One day the universe will be set right (final justice), though we don’t have to wait until then to meet the needs that are within our control today. The love of Christ compels us.

(On a side note: World Relief did a tremendous job on the video, shot in Drake Park in downtown Bend. As I grew up there, I remember walking, riding, running and skating through the park hundreds of times. Good times.)

 

What Drives us? Protection?

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Time for installment three of our What Drives Us series looking at why we do, think and feel the way we do. The core idea is this: we either make our decisions based on God’s promises in the Gospel, or on something else.

We’ve looked at Preference and Perfection. Now it’s time for a dominant purpose here in the comfy West: Protection — safety at all costs.

Does Protection drive you?

Let’s look at how this may play out in life.

Situation … response:

  • When all is well in my life … I feel secure (and probably depend upon God [and pray] less).
  • When trials enter my life … I pray more, for safety, for life to steady (to control my surroundings).
  • When I am criticized, I … Get defensive or run away to a safe place, avoiding the pain.
  • My relationship with God … Helps me find shelter from the battles of daily life.
  • Motivation: Insecurity and fear.
  • When I sin … I don’t want anyone else to know and guard my reputation tightly.  (I may be prone to shift blame to others who threaten my peace of mind.)
  • I trust … in people who can keep me safe from any stress or harm. Who will protect me?
  • My greatest strengths/ weaknesses are … my strength is that I see dangers others neglect; my weakness is that I live a boring life.
  • My identity is found in … being safe and comfortable, in having a good reputation.

What is the antidote?

The Gospel shows a God who is willing to forsake His own comfort, and endure pain and shame on our behalf (Hebrews 12:1-3). Why? Because it is worth it; God the Father and the reward at the other end is of far greater value. For that reason when we come to God through Jesus we can be assured that everything we forsake is of lesser value than Him.

When we learn to love God for who is He, more than what He can do for us, we are beginning to grasp that our comforts will fail us and He will satisfy. As we grow in endurance through suffering and dependence, we will become better (not bitter) and learn how to truly love ourselves. Self will no longer be the abiding center of our lives; God will be, and others will be higher on our radar. This is the beginning of what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself,” as Jesus taught. We love what we think about. And we think about what we love.

While our desire for protection is good, it simply cannot be ultimate. Otherwise our trusting in Christ would be the end and not the beginning of an amazing adventure, full of risk and reward, with dangers on every side (2 Cor. 4-6, esp. 4:7-12) and joy in risking everything for our Savior. In the day to day pressures of life, turning over our worries (our cares and anxiousness) helps us flee the idol of comfort and find security behind the walls of His power and love (Philippians 4:6-7).

Paul states it decisively:

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15)

Are you willing to forgo your protection to find refuge in Him?

 

In pursuit of piety.

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“The most important part of Christian piety is taught by him who inflames men with a love for it. A wise king, in educating his son for true wisdom, spends much more time on motivation than on information, as if the love of wisdom were almost the attainment of it.”

—Desiderious Erasmus (c. 1466-1536), from a letter to Paul Voltz, dated August 14, 1518, later published as the preface to Erasmus’ Enchridion.

 

What about the rest of us, the other 99% ?

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We need churches that help people integrate their faith with their work. That let the Gospel inform everything about them, including where they invest most of their time.

Consider what Tim Keller says below at the Lausanne conference earlier this month in Cape Town, South Africa. This point is brought up at about 5:54 in the video (with a key question at 7:05).

One hope I have as a pastor is that I could be the kind of leader who helps followers of Jesus make the connection between God’s worth and their daily work. That is one oft-neglected aspect of what it means to make disciples.

 

Behind every sin

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Behind every sin is a lie about God.

Most of us believe that the way to stop sinning is to change our behavior. Is that true? Can we simply try harder?

(Of course, some believe there is no such thing as ‘sin,’ or it is an allusion or self-imposed rule. That is not only unhelpful, it also flies in the face of reality.)

Assuming we recognize sin and error in our lives and want to change, consider why we get upset at others when they don’t do what we want. Making it personal, what led me to get upset, to yell, and to try to control others? (We’re at more of a root cause thant simply looking at our poor behavior. Yet, we haven’t gone far (or deep) enough in considering why we do what we do.)

If behind every sin is a lie about God, then what really needs to change is what I believe in my heart. Why do I want to control others? Is it because I neglect to truly believe GOD IS GREAT?

Consider Psalm 145:3:

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unfathomable.”

Fathoms are units of measure, such as to measure how deep the ocean is offshore. God’s greatness is beyond measure — His sovereignty is beyond limit.

So, if you and I worn out in busyness and stress, or feel the need to control others, it may be that we don’t really believe God is sovereign and in control. Instead we will seek to take control of situations ourselves, with disastrous results.

Since lies about God are what get us into sin, what gets us out? What sets us free? Consider the words of Jesus:

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

 

The Four Loves

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Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) wrote On The Four Loves [read]. Recently in a seminary course (the history of Christian spirituality), we delved into Bernard’s writings. So good, meaty and challenging. Seems he was writing for our age, as well as to his.

Consider this outline on the four levels of love:

  1. The first degree of love: When one loves oneself for self’s sake
  2. The second degree of love: When one loves God for one’s own good
  3. The third degree of love: When one loves God for God’s sake
  4. The fourth degree of love: When one loves oneself for the sake of God

In our culture, what is considered “loving God?”

Is not the second degree commonly thought of as real Christianity? (Loving God for what He can do for me — rescue me, give me a good life.) We are fine if people stop there, and make the appeal as “do you want to go to heaven when you die?” as the essence of the good news of Jesus. Here’s good news — we posture it —God can do stuff for you. Don’t you want it?

(But, what if you ‘accept’ Jesus and life becomes harder and others reject you? How would that be good? How could we continue to love God when He doesn’t meet our expectations?!)

We are (I am) so prone to love God more for what He can do for us than for WHO He is. The third level of love is enthralled with who God is. The fourth then moves into sacrifice, giving up one’s own self-love as the ultimate and into a seemingly ‘radical’ life of love and worship. This must become the new goal; it shall be our reasonable response to all of who God is in Christ (see Romans 12:1-8).

Ask yourself: Is my heart on a trajectory towards the third and fourth levels of love as Bernard describes? Why not? How can this trend be reversed?

 

Happy tensions: IN but not OF the world.

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A helpful, brief read: Two Essential Gospel Impulses: The Indigenizing Principle and the Pilgrim Principle

Which one do you tend to emphasize (even subconsciously)? Let’s keep the two together, in a happy tension.

Some Scriptures to consider (thanks JT):

Pilgrim Principle Indigenous Principle
But Not of the World—and Be In It “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world” (John 17:16). “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15)
Separate—and Participate “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing” (2 Cor. 6:17). “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world . . . since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality” (1 Cor. 5:9),
Confront—and Adapt “The wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them. . . . Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Eph. 5:6-11). “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). “Aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands . . . so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thess. 4:11-12). “[I pray] that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:2).
Refuse Conformity—and Contextualize “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom. 12:2) “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). “Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:32-33).