Tag Archives: being made new

Let’s get uncomfortable!

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“Western culture has things a little backwards right now. We think that if we had every comfort available to us, we’d be happy. We equate comfort with happiness. And now we’re so comfortable we’re miserable. There’s no struggle in our lives. No sense of adventure. We get in a car, we get in an elevator, it all comes easy. What I’ve found is that I’m never more alive than when I’m pushing and I’m in pain, and I’m struggling for high achievement, and in that struggle I think there’s a magic.”1

That’s a keen insight from long-distance runner Dean Karnazes. His words apply to all “adventure,” really all of life, as running and training can be a good metaphor for the real “endurance” events we call daily life. The ordinary, common, everyday activities are where we need the will to persevere and willingness to get uncomfortable.

In short: We can either be comfortable and stagnate or stretch ourselves—become uncomfortable—and grow.

We tend to think that comfort leads to happiness. It doesn’t. “Happiness” comes from growth, a deeper joy than temporal circumstances. In comes in part from making commitments and keeping them. We find a measure of joy in making progress, and especially joining others in their development. When we persevere, we grow.

Let's run up those hillsFor me that means hitting the pavement in search of some hills almost every morning. In reality, running is the easy part. It’s the other “endurance” events of life where we must embrace the uncomfortable: relationship tensions, hard decisions, confrontation, adversity, setbacks, each new challenge an opportunity. This is essential if we are to reject apathy.

I wonder if one reason 80%+ of people fail on their New Year’s resolutions is they remain committed to their own comfort. The love of comfort keeps them from a better adventure. People embrace apathy, which is a slow death. And a love of self-comfort keeps them for pursuing health and wholeness for the sake of others. If we are to benefit—and better yet: if others are to develop under our care and leadership—we must get uncomfortable. Seek out a measure of adversity, and train for the real adversity than will inevitably come your way.

“Nothing is more important than to learn how to maintain a life of purpose in the midst of painful adversity.”2

  1. Dean Karnazes in an interview with Outdoor Magazine, published online December 2006. ↩
  2. Timothy Keller, Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering. ↩
 

I am an adult, and I can eat whatever I want whenever I want, and I need someone to take this power from me.

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Newsflash: I’m an adult, and I can eat whatever I want whenever I want, and I wish someone would take this power from me.

Every year during the 100-days-of-holidays1 I eat too much sugar and salt. Salty things are my favorite, as they are for one of my brothers. Probably because salty snacks make me feel worse at a slower rate than sugary things. (Make that high-fructose-corn-syrupy things.) If there is a bowl of pretzels, or nuts, or jerky, out on the counter, it will be consumed faster than it took you to read that last paragraph.

So I run.2

Well, that’s not the only reason why I run 5-6 days a week. I really enjoy running, so there’s that. And other good and somewhat terrible reasons too.

But during the holidays—from Thanksgiving, to Christmas, to parties such as watching football on New Years and the like—I snack too much. Even loved ones get me salty and/or sugary gifts and say things like “I know you like these,” and “you don’t seem to gain weight.”

Wait a second. Yes, I like these, a lot. A lot too much. (And I gain plenty of weight during the holidays, but who’s counting besides me?) The snacks aren’t the problem. The problem is I eat them too fast. Why can’t I restrain myself?3

In any case, I turned to my wife yesterday and said what she was about to say: “How about you hide these from me? Can you hide these from me?” We agreed that I would have an appropriate ration, after I have forgotten about them.

Snack bag

The point is: sometimes we need to give people authority in our lives to help us grow into maturity. Sometimes we don’t have the willpower or motivation or even aptitude to make healthy decisions. This can be in areas of food, relationship, social media, exercise, or even growing spiritually. I’d say especially all of those.

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  1. Actually, I count 107 days from 10/31 spanning through 2/14. Those are the sugary holidays. ↩
  2. I exercise about an hour a day. Running stats: In 2014 I bested my year goal of 1,420 miles by more than 200 miles, and was out running for more than 250 hours total, plus another 102 hours on the bike. ↩
  3. John Owen writes, “Mortification from a self-strength, carried on by ways of self-invention, unto the end of a self-righteousness, is the soul and substance of all false religion in the world.” ↩
 

Listening & talking about stories that matter.

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It takes humility to tell someone your story, without trying to downplay the brokenness or exaggerate your successes.

sharing-stories

It also takes courage and generosity to listen to another’s story without chiming in with your own thoughts.

The RENEW men are seeking to understand our Gospel Stories (Creation » Fall & rebellion » Redemption » Restoration), finding our place in God’s big Story, where Jesus is the Hero.

Recently we’ve been sharing our own stories, and now we turn to the better task for listening to other’s stories. Call it “Gospel Listening.”

Do people think of you as a good listener? 

Since everyone has the same four parts of their life story — and in all the countless little stories and narratives that flow out in normal conversation — let’s take a look at each part, from the perspective of Gospel Listening. 1

Gospel Story

1) CREATION // Everyone has a fundamental belief about their origin — who or what brought about their existence, made them who they are, or shaped them into the person they are today.

  • Listen for: Who or what do they credit or blame for who they are today? (Or the situation they find themselves in?)

2) FALL // Each person has a central belief about the cause of brokenness in the world and a deep desire for justice. People blame their parents, family, friends, boss, government, etc. for what they’ve become AND want just for putting the blame on someone else for the pain and suffering in the (their) world. Someone is at fault and someone deserves punishment.

  • Listen for: Why are things and people not the way they are supposed to be and who is to blame? 

3) REDEMPTION // Everyone has a solution they believe in, a remedy they look to or a “savior” they trust in to redeem the brokenness in their life and world. Many are looking to a philosophy. Others look to a plan for self-improvement or personal growth. Many believe some kind of reform in education or politics will change things. Everyone believers in a “redeemer” or in a self-improvement plan of some sort.

  • Listen for: Who or what will rescue them and redeem what is broken in their life?

4) RESTORATION // Every person has a picture of the future when everything is as it should be .. or how they hope it will be. Some see a utopia with humans all living at peace with one another. Others believe Mother earth and humanity will be one. Still others see another world where they will go to where they will be at the center. Some people’s future hope is to be married, have children, get a job, be rich, etc. Everyone wants something better — restoration of what they believe their world should be like.

  • Listen for: What will the world or their circumstance look like when all is as it should be (according to them), AND who or what will be the focus of this world? 

Learn to listen to people. The aspects of life they complain about or are super excited about helps us discover what they see as “bad news” in the world, and what is “good news” to them.

As you listen to someone’s story (or consider your own), notice the reasons for not being willing or able to obey Jesus’s commands: fear, insecurities, selfishness, pride, need for approval, and the worship of child, family or work. All of these reflect trust place in something or someone other than God.

As you become aware of the people or things that have become idols or “little gods,” take the time to compare them to Jesus. Ask the Holy Spirit to help in revealing Jesus as the best resolution to what a person is seeking elsewhere, the opposite of what they are experiencing, and the deeper reality of what they are searching for.

That is Gospel Listening.

  1. This section adapted from The Gospel Primer, a resource the Renew Church men utilize for discipleship and learning. ↩
 

Following Jesus in the Life Advice Age

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We followers of Jesus try so hard to summarize what He means, turning His words into eternal life advice. But Jesus has another message: die first, then live.

Read my guest post on Tyler Braun’s blog: Discipleship in the Life Advice Age
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(Image for blog series designed by Ross Gale, original iconographic artwork by Duccio)

 

I am not what I ought to be …

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John Newton“I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be — I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was; a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.'”

—John Newton1 reflecting on 1 Corinthians 15:10.

  1. As quoted in The Christian Pioneer (1856) edited by Joseph Foulkes Winks, p. 84. Also in The Christian Spectator, vol. 3 (1821), p. 186. ↩
 

Not fools: We exist because of Jesus’s resurrection.

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On the morning of the third day [Sunday] Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus go to His tomb to anoint His body. They expect to find it, and are anxious about how they might roll away the stone that covers His tomb.

And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here.” (Mark 16:4-6)

It’s this moment that allows the apostle Paul to cry out, years later,

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:54-55)

The empty tomb shows that the greatest oppression of all—the oppression of sin and death—has been defeated. It’s gospel Judo. In Judo, you learn to use the power and movement of your attacker against them, often in moves that end with your opponent landing headfirst. Jesus takes on all that is plagued—He becomes human, taking upon Himself all the wrath of God against sin and all the attack and oppression of death, turning it on its head to provide life for God’s children.

Why did Christianity arise, and why did it take the shape it did? The early Christians themselves reply: We exist because of Jesus’s resurrection. Were there no resurrection, we would have neither comfort nor hope, and everything else Christ did and suffered would be in vain.
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—Daniel Montgomery and Mike Cosper, Faithmapping: A Gospel Atlas for Your Spiritual Journey, 59, “The Gospel of the Cross.”

 

Speeding ahead, finding confidence, being protected.

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Last week Kari and I finished writing a letter to send to friends and family, including a little bit of an update on church planting with RENEW. Re-reading it yesterday caused me to pause and thank God, while considering the rapid change in our lives. This is a season of dynamic change, while other seasons are more like plodding or trudging through the mud. (Which season are you in? Are things moving fast, or really slow?)

I sat there and thought: “Who is up for this challenge? How can we not lose heart? We’re clearly not doing everything ‘right.’ No wonder most church plants ‘fail’ (on a human level). How can we gain the wisdom, generosity, courage we need for this journey?”

That’s a moment of searching for confidence.

Then this morning this Scripture leapt of the page:

“Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord [the Gospel] may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”
—2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (ESV)

All those verbs Paul uses jump off the page (or screen): pray … speed ahead … delivered … establish you … guard you …

It’s remarkable how a passage meant to encourage it’s first readers can also encourage us, while not really being about them or us. It’s centered on Jesus, the Hero. We gain our significance from being minor characters in His big Story.

Will you pray that for us, as we pray the same for you?

20121129-061852.jpg If you are curious about RENEW, there are three main ways to support this pioneering church plant, described briefly here. One way is to give financially at the close of this year. We’ve simplified the process, adding online giving to snail mail to the PO Box. You can also sign up to receive not-more-than-monthly updates.

Most of all we ask for your prayers personally, that the Gospel would race ahead of us, and this would clearly be God’s work and not merely ours.

 

Guidance.

Quote

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For since the world began,
no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like You,
who works for those who wait for Him! (Isaiah 64:4 NLT)

The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.” (Psalm 32:8, 9 NLT)

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Really know.

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“If there is not radical growth in humble love toward everyone (even your enemies), you don’t really know you are a SINNER saved by grace. If there is not radical, concrete growth in confidence and joy (even in difficulties) you don’t really know you are a sinner saved by GRACE.”
—Tim Keller

Many people are willing to agree that they are sinners. “We all make mistakes,” they say. “It’s part of being human.”

And then comes the self-justifying disclaimer, “I try to do my best everyday,” or a comparison with others (“Well, I’m not as bad as ______, I don’t _______.”)

Let’s really know we are sinners, and really know God’s grace, as He changes our motives, conquering our fears, overwhelming us with His love.

 

How much do we value hope & healing?

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“… the church is called to be for the world what Jesus was for Israel: not just a moral lecturer, nor even a moral example, but the people who, in obedience to God’s strange vocation, learn to suffer and pray at the place where the world is in pain, so that the world may be healed.” 1

We will value hope and healing for others as far as we value these truths for ourselves. That is why rehearsing the Gospel every day is vital. We begin each day voicing our greatest needs, far deeper than financial concerns or relational strife — we are estranged from God until He mercifully brings us back to His table to enjoy the life of His Son.

When He invites us back day after day, we develop an appetite for the nourishment He offers, and cannot go on without inviting others to the table as well. Yet, if we think we’re better than others, we’ll live that way. (E.g., it’s impossible to really forgive someone if you think you are better than him or her.) People who think of others as more important than themselves — like Jesus lived and why He died — people like Him find opportunities to set aside their personal comforts to bring comfort to others. I dare say this is part of the vision Jesus has for our lives. I tend to think many of His so-called followers fail to grasp this and thus fail to become who He rescued us to be.

Grasping the Gospel of hope & healing: If we are convinced all the time that we are worse off and undeserving than we ever realized before, and at the same time more loved than we ever dared to dream, we will be on the right track. Our hearts will be renewed with compassion as we hear Jesus invite us again to His gracious table – just as He invites the lame, sick, and outcasts to dine with Him (yes, you and I are two of them). Furthermore, we’ll pull out a chair for another whom Jesus is also waving into His banquet.

“Given the iterative weakness of our surrender to Jesus’ authority and the frequent frailty of our resolve to follow Him, our lives of discipleship must regularly be punctuated by intentional pauses at the feet of the Servant, not only remembering His grace, but thoughtfully receiving it. In this way, the Spirit will bring the grace of Jesus to bear on our hearts, softening them, inclining them toward God, and enabling them to respond to the virtuous demands of our King.” 2

Will I value hope and healing enough to daily remember, daily receive, and daily respond? If so, I won’t go it alone.

  1. N.T. Wright, “The Truth of the Gospel and Christian Living,” in The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions (ed. Marcus J. Borg and N.T. Wright; New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1999), 224. ↩
  2. Jonathan Lunde, Following Jesus, the Servant King: A Biblical Theology of Covenantal Discipleship (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 286. ↩
 

Spiritual experience.

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Do you know anyone who lives in their head? As if every emotion is secondary to just ‘figuring it all out’? How about someone who seems to respond emotionally but not logically to trouble and personal challenges.

I love thinking about the connect of head and heart, and how Christ refuses to let our faith reside in either/or (it’s both/and). Why does He do that? Because we’re whole people, though many lack wholeness — okay, we all lack wholeness — in our fallen human condition. So the connection of our beliefs (head) and emotions (heart) is closer than we realize. And the disconnect is more real than we imagined.

We see this when a friend is depressed. And when we have no words to describe how we feel; we just have to return to the Gospel and sing it back into our souls. And connect our deepest passions to God’s good gifts. This is where we begin to truly experience the Spirit.

So what makes for true spiritual experience?

“Spiritual experience that does not arise from God’s word is not Christian experience. Other religions offer spiritual experiences. Concerts and therapy sessions can affect our emotions. Not all that passes for Christian experience is genuine. An authentic experience of the Spirit is an experience in response to the gospel. Through the Spirit the truth touches our hearts, and that truth moves our emotions and affects our wills.
This also means that Bible study and theology that do not lead to love for God and a desire to do His will—to worship, tears, laughter, excitement, or sorrow—have gone terribly wrong. True theology leads to love, mission, and doxology (1 Timothy 1:5, 7, 17). We should not expect an adrenaline rush every time we study God’s word. We all express our emotions in different ways. But when we study God’s word we should pray that the spirit of God will not only inform our hearts but also inspire our hearts.”
—Tim Chester & Steve Timmis, Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community, 31.

Do you agree? How does engaging God in His Word really change you?

 

Blessed self-forgetfulness & the desire to change.

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What are the marks of a super-naturally changed heart?

This is one of the questions the apostle Paul address as he writes to the church in Corinth. He takes aim at the blessings of self-forgetfulness in 1st Corinthians 3:21-4:7. He’s after a deep-rooted, life-altering change on the inside, that brings about much greater joy than some superficial outward tinkering will (as our best self-help efforts can only hope for).

In an age were people-pleasing, puffing up your ego, and building your resume are seen as the methods to ‘make it,’ the apostle Paul calls us to find true rest in God, through blessed self-forgetfulness.

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“The more we get to understand the Gospel, the more we want to change. Friends, wouldn’t you want to be a person who does not need honor — nor is afraid of it? Someone who does not lost for recognition — nor, on the other hand, is frightened to death of it? Don’t you want to be the kind of person who, when they see themselves in a mirror or reflected in a shop window, does not cringe either? Wouldn’t you like to be the type of person who, in their imaginary life, does not sit around fantasizing about hitting self-esteem home-runs, daydreaming about successes that gives them the edge over others? Or perhaps you tend to beat yourself up and to be tormented by regrets. Wouldn’t you like to be free from them? …
You will probably say that you do not know anybody like that. But that is the possibility for you and me if we keep on going where Paul is going [in 1 Corinthians 3:21-4:7]. I can start to enjoy things that are not about me…
This is gospel-humility, blessed self-forgetfulness. Not thinking more of myself as in modern cultures, or less of myself as in traditional cultures. Simply thinking of myself less.”
—Tim Keller, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: The Path to True Christian Joy, pp. 34-36.