Category Archives: Writings

What are you trying to do?

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Okay, I shall make it personal first: what am I trying to do?

Ask yourself the same.

Together, and personally, there are many goals we could focus our time, energies and talents toward fulfilling. Let’s ask ourselves, what must I be doing? What is my grand purpose in life?

As a believer in Jesus I believe the purpose of all humans is to know and enjoy our Creator, specifically shown through loving and serving one another. Those two directions — vertical, our relationship with God; horizontal, our relationships with one another — are inextricably linked.

The Apostle John puts it this way:

“Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.” —1 John 4:20

We cannot see God. Yet we can see people made in His image.

Our neglect in loving God and people is the reason why we feel to urge to renew our resolutions in the new year. We aren’t our true self when we’re living selfishly. It’s also the reason why more than 80% of us will fail in these new resolutions. (And the other 20% are pretending we ‘did it.’)

The Godward life is lived in the service of others. Yet the paradox is that this service is done not in order to earn their approval, but to show His approval that we already have in Christ. As my five-year-old would say, a paraphrase of his favorite verse of Scripture: “Jesus came to serve” (Mark 10:45). If we want to be great, we must become a servant like Him.

If you’re daily in fear of not living up to the demands of your boss, spouse, children, even ‘culture’ in general, then pleasing God is not your goal. Something else has become your god, and you will serve it relentlessly. It will prove to be a terrible substitute for the good Master. (As Bob Dylan famously sang, “You gotta serve somebody…”) Why do you and I feel the need to impress others and win their approval?

Back to question at the top: What are you trying to do? More to the point: Who are you seeking to serve? 

 

The power to change.

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“…the most effectual way of withdrawing the mind from one object, is not by turning it away (to nothing), but by presenting to its regards another object still more alluring…The love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere demonstration of the world’s worthlessness. But may it not be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than itself? The heart cannot be prevailed upon to part with the world, by a simple act of resignation. But may not the heart be prevailed upon to admit into its preference another, who shall subordinate the world, and bring it down from its wonted ascendancy? …In a word, if the way to disengage the heart from the positive love of one great and ascendant object, is to fasten it in positive love to another, then it is not by exposing the worthlessness of the former, but by addressing to the mental eye the worth and excellence of the latter, that all old things are to be done away and all things are to become new… the only way to dispossess [the heart] of an old affection, is by the expulsive power of a new one.”
—Thomas Chalmers, The Expulsive Power of a New Affection,” (sermon date unknown), 2-8.

 

Starting with Knowing God.

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As we seek to shape our minds with truth, especially as we begin a new year, good books are vital. During the month of January you may download the audiobook for J.I. Packer’s Knowing God for free.

I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy it and be challenged.

Packer writes in the 2005 preface:

“Late in life I have learned the right word to describe what I am up to in Knowing God. That word is catechising; I am an adult catechist. The catechist’s job is to spell out the truths, and the response to them, that constitute a Christian’s identity, and to apply this directly to people’s lives as evangelist, pastor, counsellor [sic], trainer, and encourager, according to the bearing of the truth itself upon them. Just as one of Moliere’s characters rejoiced to find he had been speaking prose all his life, so I rejoice to discover that I have been a catechist all my life, though I hardly knew it till recently. Knowing God is a catechism — maybe a catechism plus.”

 

Sure of something this new year.

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What are you sure of this year? My good friend Chris Nye preached on “God and the Great Unknown” yesterday at WCC (audio forthcoming), where the saints gathered to bring in the New Year with a healthy dose of the Gospel. Certainty is an allusion, one we all cling to, especially when it comes to the circumstances of our lives. Yet even as we live in “uncertain economic times,” we shall pray to God for courage and boldness, and not just for clarity and confirmation (Acts 4:13-20, 29-31). God’s presence is the one thing I am sure of this year.

Should we even make New Year’s Resolutions in these un-sure times? I think so; more to the point, we shall pursue change this year. More on that later this week. There is one thing we Christians must all resolve to do, but before I get to that, let’s consider how the substance and shape of our resolutions have changed over the decades.

The late Woody Guthrie (songwriter, folk music legend, famous for “This Land is Our Land”) sketched out his “NEW YEAR’S RULIN’S” as 1941 drew to a close and his thirtieth year began in 1942. Here’s a glimpse at his list:

1. WORK MORE AND BETTER
2. WORK BY A SCHEDULE
3. WASH TEETH IF ANY
4. SHAVE
5. TAKE BATH
6. EAT GOOD – FRUIT – VEGETABLES – MILK
7. DRINK VERY SCANT IF ANY
8. WRITE A SONG A DAY
9. WEAR CLEAN CLOTHES – LOOK GOOD
10. SHINE SHOES
11. CHANGE SOCKS
12. CHANGE BED CLOTHES OFTEN
13. READ LOTS GOOD BOOKS
14. LISTEN TO RADIO A LOT
15. LEARN PEOPLE BETTER
16. KEEP RANCHO CLEAN
17. DON’T GET LONESOME
18. STAY GLAD
19. KEEP HOPING MACHINE RUNNING
20. DREAM GOOD
21. BANK ALL EXTRA MONEY
22. SAVE DOUGH
23. HAVE COMPANY BUT DON’T WASTE TIME
24. SEND MARY AND KIDS MONEY (his wife and kids did not travel with him; sadly they divorced in ’43)
25. PLAY AND SING GOOD
26. DANCE BETTER
27. HELP WIN WAR – BEAT FASCISM
28. LOVE MAMA
29. LOVE PAPA
30. LOVE PETE
31. LOVE EVERYBODY
32. MAKE UP YOUR MIND
33. WAKE UP AND FIGHT

[via Lists of Note; Image: The Woody Guthrie Foundation; Large version here]

Do you have any resolutions like those? Are you “keeping [your] hoping machine running?”

While that list is kinda fun, here’s one resolution, a goal even, that shall be our great passion in 2012:

“It ought to be the primary goal of every Christian to put aside confidence in works and grow stronger in the belief that we are saved by faith alone. Through this faith the Christian should increase in knowledge not of works but of Christ Jesus and the benefits of his death and resurrection.”

—Martin Luther, The Freedom of the Christian (Minneapolis, 2008), page 55. [Via Ray Ortlund]

 

God With Us: the end of fear. [a reflection on the good news of Christmas]

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Willamette lights by Jordan Chesbrough

Have you ever felt afraid? Even in the happiest of times, fear can haunt our hearts, nagging, keeping us from experiencing true joy and peace.

What if I lose my job? Did I get the present I hoped for? Why was my friend acting mean to me? Why wasn’t I invited to the party? Will I make the team? Will I get accepted? Will he always love me? Will we have enough? Will I be healed?

As you read the Christmas story in Luke 1 and 2, you’ll find angels appearing three times, messengers from God sent from heaven to give the world wonderful news about the Savior Jesus Christ. The angels appeared to a man named Zechariah, a girl named Mary, and a group of shepherds in Bethlehem. Each was occasion for celebration, for the angels brought the greatest news the world would ever hear. But do you know what happened each time the good news came?

Those who heard were afraid.

Zechariah was afraid (1:12). Mary was afraid (1:19). The shepherds were afraid (2:9).

And all three times the angels spoke these words:

“Do not be afraid.”

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That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” —Luke 2:8-12 (NLT)

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These heavenly messengers were the first to declare the Message of Christmas — that God so loved us that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will never die but will have eternal life.

Christ is the end of fear for all who believe. Why? Because Christ conquered the source of fear. He triumphed over sin and death, trampling Satan once and for all, delivering us from evil and delivering us into the God’s glorious Kingdom. But sometimes—just like Zechariah, Mary, and the shepherds—we can actually be afraid of the message of Christ. We can be afraid of really trusting Him. What will He make me do? we wonder. But Christianity isn’t primarily about what God asks us to do but what God has already done.

What has God done? He has loved us.

“This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him…. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear…” —1 John 4:9, 18 (NIV)

As you welcome Christ in your hearts and home this Christmas His perfect love will cast out all fear. (You know who wasn’t afraid in the story? The angels. Perfect love does cast our fear.)

Look to Him and hear His words, “Do not fear, only believe.” No need to fear; God is with us.

Merry Christmas.

For a Child is born to us, a Son is given to us.
The government will rest on His shoulders.
And He will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

—Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)

Reflection questions for discussion:

  • When were you afraid this year? How did you respond when overcome with fear?
  • What are you afraid of today?
  • Is there any aspect of that coming year that makes you feel afraid?
  • How does Christ’s presence remove that fear?
 

Finding the good kind of joy.

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Kari wrote a new post for {in}courage, up today: “How Joy Comes to Your World.” She begins:

About a month ago we sold our dream house and down-sized into a rental. We lost a lot of money, I guess you’d say.

We lost about 1,000 square feet. Lost that big soak tub. Lost my walk-in closet. Lost our garage. Lost our double-sinks. I guess we lost the tax deduction for mortgage interest too.  Now that I think about it, I guess we lost a lot.

Maybe that’s why I feel so much lighter. Why I feel so free.

What happened? some asked. Lose your job? Unforeseen financial challenges?

Nope. Nothing’s changed except our hearts. We read a little story about a Kingdom:

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

Discovering hidden treasure makes us so excited we do crazy things.

We find crazy joy.

Because that’s what we’ve found in the midst of all this loss. Found this crazy joy of kicking the American dream to the curb and racing back to that field to dig down and unearth that treasure…

 

Grace and Fullness we have received.

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Re-post: originally written 24 Dec 2009 at deTheos.com.

Wonder what Jesus looks like?

We don’t know. One day we shall see Him as He is, and become like Him (1 John 3:2). (Doubt He looks like the blue-eyed, blond-haired version sold here in the States as “Jesus junk,” that is, as trinkets.) Yet, we do have some clues as to what He is like. His character shines through brighter than His physical appearance. He’s full of compassion (Matthew 9:36: σπλαγχνίζομαι = moved with compassion), which is much deeper than mere emotion. More broadly, He’s full of grace and truth. He is the living embodiment of Grace, and Truth became a Person. Grace is meant to be experienced, truth intended to be known in the same way. We are to “receive” them as we receive Him. God’s grace never fails, and as wholly true He is completely faithful. (He’s not like us.)

Yet, He became like us. One of my favorite passages of Scripture is in the Gospel of John, first chapter, verses 14 & 16. It reads:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…. And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

In His incarnation, Jesus stepped down into our world, showing us the worth of God in real-time. Someone has said the Incarnation is “deity for dummies.” God made Himself obvious and visible. Jesus was overflowing with the two essential qualities of perfect humanity: grace and truth. Those twin perfections remind us of God’s essential character: “steadfast love [Heb. hesed] and faithfulness [Heb. ’emet]” as revealed about 1,500 years prior in Exodus 34:6 (cf. Exodus 33:18–19). Moses asked to see God in all His glory. Yet the great patriarch was only  able to see the back side of God’s presence passing by. Here in Jesus we see God making Himself known as a person. To be known, experienced, treasured and loved. If God is a theory or His Son simply a business transaction to get us to Heaven, we we’ll miss everything in between. This relationship of love is founded on endless grace and rock-solid truth. God intends Jesus to be sufficient for our failures and sweeter than our failures. He is Grace & Truth in action, making life worth enduring until the end. The Triune God enjoys a fullness that spilled over into this world.

A few years back pastor John Piper wrote about these Scriptures and the Incarnation in a short article on these verses (read the entire thing here). Here are some highlights:

  • …the one from whose fullness I am being drenched with grace is the Word that was with God and was God (John 1:1-2), so that his fullness is the fullness of God—a divine fullness, an infinite fullness;
  • …this Word became flesh and so was one of us and was pursuing us with his fullness—it is an accessible fullness;
  • …when this Word appeared in human form, his glory was seen—his is a glorious fullness;
  • …this Word was “the only Son from the Father” so that the divine fullness was being mediated to me not just from God, but through God—God did not send an angel but his only Son to deliver his fullness;
  • …the fullness of the Son is a fullness of grace—I will not drown in this fullness but beblessed in every way by this fullness;
  • …this fullness is not only a fullness of grace but of truth—I am not being graced with truth-ignoring flattery; this grace is rooted in rock-solid reality.

As I savor this illumination of Christ’s fullness, I hear Paul say, “In him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). I hear him say, “In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19). And I hear him say, “In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

Can we see how deeply that God’s glory resides in Jesus? He intends us to seek Him in that one place alone: in Christ. Piper continues:

Paul prays that we would experience Christ’s fullness. Not just know about it, but be filled with it. Here is the way I hear him praying for me:

That I “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:18-19).

The “fullness of God” is experienced, he says, as we are given the “strength to comprehend” the love of Christ in its height and depth and length and breadth—that is, in its fullness. This is remarkable: The fullness of God is the spiritual apprehension (experience) of the fullness of the love of Christ. This love is the grace and truth that fills the Son of God and pours out on us.

Experiencing the fullness this Christmas. Pray you are as well.

 

What Drives Us? Preference?

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I’ll be re-posting and completing an unfinished series asking the question “What drives us?”  We’ll look into why we do, think and feel the way we do. Can’t promise it will be epic, but it has been a long-time in coming. (This one is a re-post, following up from previous ones looking at Perfection, Protection & Apathy. More to come, as well as a parallel series in the new year, [in]complete.)

—

The core idea is this: we either make our decisions based on God’s promises in the Gospel, or on something else. What is that something else? What drives us? What motives lie beneath the surface?

The idea came to me while meditating on the difference between guilt as a motivator and curiosity, joy, passion, etc…. and for context I must say I was driving. In fact, over a two-minute drive home my mind was flooded with a list of a dozen words that start with “P,” and all describe why we do what we do. I couldn’t pause and jot down notes quick enough. In a future post I will share the scriptural background, and how these motivations interrelate. Plus, how I have used these categories in pastoral counseling.

So, what drives us?

Consider this one relatively easy to identify: our preferences.

Situation … response:

When all is well in my life …When trials enter my life …When I am criticized, I …My relationship with God is …MotivationWhen I sin …I trust…My greatest strengths/ weaknesses are…My identity is found in …
I feel like my relationship with God couldn’t be better.I try to move on to a better situation.Am sometimes hurt, and move on to other people, places or things.A high priority, but doesn’t necessarily impact every square inch of my life.PreferencesI am actually probably more aware of others’ failures than my own.in those who meet my needs and wants.s: my ability to make wise choices
w: those (morons) around memy refined tastes and desire
  • When all is well in my life … I feel like my relationship with God couldn’t be better.
  • When trials enter my life … I try to move on to a better situation. (I strong desire my circumstances to adapt to my needs and comforts.)
  • When I am criticized … I am sometimes hurt, and move on to other people, places or things.
  • My relationship with God is … a high priority, but doesn’t necessarily impact every square inch of my life.
  • Motivation: Preferences (maintaining personal freedoms and comforts).
  • When I sin … I am actually probably more aware of others’ failures than my own.
  • I trust … in those who meet my needs and wants.
  • My greatest strengths/weaknesses are …
    • [strength]: my ability to make wise choices;
    • [weakness]: those (morons) around me.
  • My identity is found in … my refined tastes and desires.

What is the antidote to living a preference-driven life?

Meditate on Jesus, who though He was rich became poor for us, setting aside His comforts to meet our deepest true needs. He is not only our Example, He is the perfect sacrifice for our sinful nature. He lived the life we should have lived, but haven’t, and died the death we should die, but don’t have to. Meditate on His love and grace; prepare to be amazed.
Continue reading →

 

Keep the X in Xmas.

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It seems popular in recent years to bemoan the fact that CHRISTMAS is often truncated to X-mas (or Xmas) in written communication. “Keep the Christ in Christmas!” is the rallying cry. I agree. Keep Christ in everything. Everyday. Always. Not just from the day after Thanksgiving until the New Year. Nor only as a Baby in a seasonal nativity scene.

It may be helpful to take a step back and realize what that “X” stands for.

X marks the spot where God’s glory was revealed, on the cross. Every time I see Xmas I think of the Cross. More to the grammatical point, X is the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter for Christos, which is Jesus’ title: He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. He’s the true human, the God-Man who came to rescue us from sin, death and Satan (and ourselves). It seems that many of us need rescuing from ourselves even more now.

I’m not sure there really is a culture war over “X” instead of “Christ.” It’s the other instead-of’s that we need to war against: those idols that steal our joy and captivate us from fully following Christ. What is ultimate to you? What do you build your life upon?

While about 20% celebrate Christmas (or Xmas) as a secular holiday, I wonder if the key is to bring the Gospel back in the forefront for the 3/4 of us who claim Christmas as a religious event.

  • Who is Jesus?
  • Why did He come?
  • What does it mean to follow Him?

Jesus is the Good News. He brings us the resources to look past ourselves, not be offended by those who do not know God, and to respond with compassion and grace — and in creative ways in keeping with our being made in the image of God. Americans know why we Christians are outraged at the X instead of Christ. Do they also know why we think Jesus is a big deal? Do they see His life portrayed through ours? Do we make them want to know what the X is all about?

To broaden the discussion, I find that having a shared season of “Happy Holidays” is a great antidote to the otherwise break-neck pace of our culture.

If Jesus is special grace (John 1:14-16), then the pause in American society of this week and next is common grace. Most people have time off, get to be with family, and are simply nicer to be around. Even with “Happy Holidays” and “Xmas,” it’s like we all have a headstart on conversations. Those terms may not be a simple pathway to getting my views heard, but it is an easy pathway to valuing people, slowing down, asking questions, and even challenging assumptions.

People generally don’t care about my personal relationship with Jesus. They do care how my life reflects Him.

Because of the Cross and who Christ is, I say keep the X in Xmas.

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For a little background on how X represents Christ, we can quote R.C. Sproul:

“The idea of X as an abbreviation for the name of Christ came into use in our culture with no intent to show any disrespect for Jesus. The church has used the symbol of the fish historically because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the first letters for the Greek phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” So the early Christians would take the first letter of those words and put those letters together to spell the Greek word for fish. That’s how the symbol of the fish became the universal symbol of Christendom. There’s a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect.”


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Image credit: “In the key of X” by Miskan

Re-post: originally written 23 Dec 2009 at deTheos.com.

 

The Path (as a podcast).

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I turned a featured post, The Path, into a podcast episode:

Imagine there is a pathway before us. Those who are faithfully following Jesus daily by faith are walking straight ahead, empowered by grace. Those who fall into the ditch on the left are self-absorbed or apathetic, while those who fall into the ditch to the right desire to follow but are over-stressed and overwhelmed. Jesus walked the path perfectly for us, and invites us to join Him, walking in His steps. A meditation on following Jesus (Galatians 5:16 & Hebrews 12:1-2).

 

Vulnerable.

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“Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to be make sure of keeping it intact, you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket of coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
—C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (New York: Harcourt Trade Publishers, 2003), 121.