How we change the world – pt 1

2] We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.  3] As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  4] We know that God loves you, dear brother and sisters and that he chose you to be His own people. 5] For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true.  And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth of our message.  6] So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the sever suffering it brought you.  In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.  7] As a result, you yourselves became an example to all the Christians in Greece.  8] And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God.      

- 1 Thessalonians 1:2-8, NLT

In this letter to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul says it is their faithful work, their loving deeds, and their continual anticipation of Jesus’ return that marked their reputation as followers of God.  These things were not manufactured through behavioral modification, through personality or even through sheer determination but instead they were a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in the believers in Thessalonica.  Both verse five and six point out the role of the Holy Spirit in the process of transforming the believers into world changers.  This is the key ingredient to the joy that is also an identifying feature of the reputation these believers are establishing.  The facilitating (enabling) forces that helped this group to create a contagious culture was the Holy Spirit, joy, faithful work, loving deeds and anticipation of Jesus’ return.

It is important to note that it wasn’t all kitty cats and lollipops.  There was resistance to this transformation among the believers.  The obvious from this passage was the “severe suffering” that came directly as a result of their decision to follow Jesus.  The believers in Thessalonica experienced the hardships associated with the transformation that occurred.  Whatever they were, the people saw the sufferings through a supernatural perspective.  This perspective was attributed to the Holy Spirit’s work in their hearts. 

If it is our goal to create a unique and contagious culture of love, we have got to understand that there will be resisting forces, (aka: severe suffering) that will come along in the process.  We must recognize this resistance and view it through the eyes of a transformed heart.  Having the faith perspective that there is more potentially than what is seen physically will help to neutralize the impact of the resisting forces that are sure to come. 

My favorite phrase in this passage is found in verse 7 – “As a result.”  It requires the reader to see what brought about the results that are written in verse eight; world-change that reached even beyond what they had imagined.  These results were directly associated with how these people responded to the suffering they faced.   It wasn’t their sufferings that determined the reputation of the believers of Thessalonica.  It was the imitation of Jesus – their joy in spite of their circumstances that allowed their reputation to precede them.

Beilievers should be marked by their faithful work, their loving deeds and their anticipation to see Jesus.  That means that the Holy Spirit-transformed body of the Church should confront suffering with joy.  This is how we imitate Jesus.  This is how we inspire with his love.  This is how we change our world!   

Are you marked by faithful work?  

What are your loving deeds?  

Are you anticipating Jesus’ return? 

Are you experiencing joy in spite of the sufferings you face?

Another reason to gouge out your eye.

“Many people – even brilliant scientists – examine the natural world and see nothing of God’s wisdom. Only those looking from the right perspective – the faith perspective – can see it.” (Lennox, 2009, p. 175) I believe that if we want to be transforming leaders, we have to be transformed leaders. Our perspective is one of the most telling indicators of our transformation. If we have only let the knowledge of the power of God into our lives without allowing the influence of that power into our hearts, we will never inspire people to seek after that influence in their lives. This altered perspective is what keeps our circumstances from shaking our faith but rather allows our faith to shake our circumstances. (Thank you Judah Smith, pastor of the City Church in Seattle, WA for that thought.)
“The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.” (Joshua 5:12, NIV) This verse is significant to me because it shows the blessing of faithful obedience. One day, many years earlier, Joshua had returned with eleven other spies telling of the great promise that awaited the Israelites in Canaan. Because ten of those spies did not engage their faith perspective but instead let their physical eyes guide them, they ruined the spiritual morale of the nation causing them to miss the promise. But Joshua’s faith perspective earned him a seat at the feast of Canaan’s yield by remaining faithful to what he knew God could do and would do for them. This is a lesson to take into life and into ministry.

Do something!

“Obedience turns two-dimensional knowledge into three-dimensional experience.”  Mark Batterson from his book PRIMAL.  If you are struggling to know if God is leading you to do something, how about just doing something.  So many people wander around like the Israelites in the wilderness because they are too scared of the unknown element of immediate obedience.  It seems that the “what ifs” get exaggerated so much that by the time we even think we could, for example, say that bold statement to defend God’s word in a conversation that we are convinced the other party is going to be calling a mental institution to pick us up because we must be crazy.  Our hesitation invites complication in the form of dissection of the prompting, which equals zero impact.  Last time I checked, zero impact was the opposite of what God wanted to have produced in our lives.  Imagine the great commission if it were communicated in that light… “Go, therefore, when you are sure that I am telling you to go, and you are convinced that it is not just a voice in your head telling you to do something that scripture clearly supports…”  Not a lot of going at that point I imagine.  Batterson also wrote, “don’t let doing what you can’t do keep you from doing what you can.”  Is God prompting you to act?  If you struggle with recognizing if He is, I think it is likely because you have formed a habit of delaying your response.  Maybe you should try acting immediately and see what God does in that situation.  Even if it turns out that you conjured up the action in your mind, if what you do is in alignment with scripture, you still make an impact for God in some capacity.  Trust the new heart and spirit that God put in you when he took your heart of stone and trust that He is able to work through your immediate obedience in faith more than your logical deduction of the possibilities.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stubborn hearts and give you obedient hearts.” Ezekiel 36:26, God’s Word Translation.

Meditating on scripture

A thought from Mark Batterson: “If the point of reading is to get through the bible, the purpose of meditating is to get the bible through us.” – Primal. What an awesome reality and revealing opportunity. You sit and read the Word, but do you allow all that is contained within the words to permeate your heart and mind. It is an impossible question to answer really, but if you just read through without a second thought of the text, you are not catching any of the transforming power of the Word of God. That isn’t to say there is no power in the Word. It is to say that the transformation lies somewhere between reading and action.

Take the book Numbers for instance. I have recently been reading Numbers where God tells Moses to take a census of the people of Isreal, the men of every tribe in fact. And upon meditating on this scripture, I am asking, “Why does God need to know the number of men over the age of one month in every tribe of Isreal. He knows the number of hairs on our head (an easier count for some than others). It is surely an intentional task because of something that He wants to show the people.” Meditating further will llikely reveal more depth than this, but it could simply be for the application that when God tells you to do something, you should realize that He wants to show you something that He already knows. He is not trying to learn something about you from you. He is trying to get you to learn something about Him from what He leads you in. I know you may think you know all there is to know about your self, but I am confident that God knows you better. He saw the end when He made you in the beginning. Just move in Him and look for what it is that He is wanting to reveal to you.

Time to Go.

I just finishing reading the book Soulprint by Mark Batterson (and I do recommend it if you are interested). Anyway, the book basically looked at some defining moments of David’s life and how they impacted the moment he decided to stand before Goliath. This book put the nail in the coffin on what God has been stirring in me for over 15 years. Over the last 2 years I have prayed for God to do something in my life that people would only be able to say, “That is God at work.” I have been praying for God to lead me out of my own comfort. I don’t want to get to the end of this life and be able to explain all that the years contain by my own abilities. And, like I heard a pastor recently say, I also don’t want to stand before Jesus with a list of things I could have done.

Well, like my own pastor says, “Don’t pray to be moved out of your comfort zone if you don’t really want it.” In true form, God has responded. I see God positioning my family in a way that will allow Him to show off His faithfulness to us. I have already had moments were God has checked to see if I was really “all in” or if I was just interested in having a “sexy story” like those often told by immediate obedient followers of God. You can’t help but be attracted by the stories of great faith that some share. So, it has seemed that God has already taken the spiritual temperature of my commitment to His leading. Jennie (my wife) and I have spent hours taking inventory of our resolution to this journey and we have now found that it is time to put our faith where our mouths are. It is time to move from talking the talk to walking the walk.

Is this scary? Yes. Is this uncomfortable? Without a doubt! Do we know what is ahead? No, not clearly. Not beyond the immediate steps that we are being led to take. Claiming the Word for your self is obviously harder than believing it for someone else. But we are doing it. We are activating our faith. We are going to find confidence in the truth of God’s Word and our peace is going to be established in it.

The details…well, the manuscript is still being written. And it doesn’t affect the details of your story. Our unique Creator desires to unfold a personal plot of Supernatural proportion in your life. What really matters is that you take Him at His Word and put your faith where you mouth is. Is God asking you to start leading a ministry at your church? Is God leading you to stay where you are in spite of the circumstances that surround you? Is God leading you to do something that will cause people around you to question your sanity? Don’t put off what God is calling you to do and offend Him just because you are worried about offending others.  You may even find the worst-case scenario that you are imagining is nothing like the God-sized scenario that He is waiting to accomplish.  Move in God so that He can move through you.

“God, who called you, is faithful…” 1 Thessalonians 5:24.

Don’t be surprised…

If you have ever questioned whether God was telling you to do something, or trying to show you something new, maybe you can relate to this experience. It is like there is this conspiracy to re-deliver the message in as many ways as it takes to get you to believe it is the Holy Spirit’s voice prompting the change/action/move. Recently, every book, podcast, scripture and conversation has led down the same path as what I have felt that the Lord was calling me to walk. When I told a friend of this strange occurance, he just looked at me and said something really quite simple. “Don’t be so surprised. We are all plugged into the same source.” So true!
The application – make sure your connection is strong and pure, and don’t take a chance at losing power by only being barely engaged. Also remember, continuity (the ability to transfer power) is only attained through being properly postioned/humbled.

Rest and Faith

Starting a new year is the perfect time to recommit your self to fulfilling goals and agendas.  My hope for you is that those goals are the God-inspired purposes for your life.  Our lives should express the dreams that God has for us and the fruit that our lives bear should reflect God’s desires for our lives.  If you are actively pursuing God’s desire for your life then you will find time for rest in your schedule.  If you can’t show rest in your week, you are not aligned with God.  It really is that simple. 

Rest was important enough for God to demand it in His covenant with His people. (See Exodus 20)  Our culture has put God’s law on our scales and balances, minimizing the importance of rest and honoring God with the Sabbath.  The biblical reality is that the man who doesn’t rest is disobedient. 

But do not confuse the rest that God calls for with inactivity.  Simply opening up a day on your weekly schedule and watching football or refusing to wash the dishes is not fulfilling the fourth of the 10 commandments.  Those things aren’t wrong, but we are called to honor God with our rest.  What does this mean practically?  It means that you allow the peace of God to rule in your life when our culture says you need to work to maintain a yard, a lifestyle, a bank account, a reputation, a business, etc instead of rest. It means that your trust in God’s provision for you is more sufficient than any the world would offer.  You honor God when you choose to rest in His desire for your life more that working in your own desires for it. 

What drives you beyond the point of rest?  Are their personal desires that are not aligned with God’s best for your life?  Do you feel like the circumstances you are facing demand action, not rest?  This discrepancy was active in Jesus day as well. (Mark 4)  Caught in a major storm, the disciples acted out of personal preservation by running to wake up Jesus who was asleep in the boat.  Why was Jesus sleeping so peacefully in such turbulence?  I believe it was because Jesus knew who was in control.  His perception of God had infiltrated even his personal comfort in the midst of trials.  His ability to rest was directly correlated with his faith in his Father.  Peace allowed Jesus not only to lie down, but to sleep!  When all you are – your heart, soul, mind and strength – are influenced and impacted by the power of God, you will find that you too can make rest a regular, effective occurrence in your schedule.

I have recently started reading PRIMAL by Mark Batterson and I am really digging what he has to say about the process of meditating on the Word.  Among his insights, one of my favorites is “If the goal of reading is to get through the BIBLE, then the goal of meditation is to get the BIBLE through us.”  AWESOME!  He writes about the fact that meditation turns our one-dementional knowledge (what we read) into two-dementional understanding.  Further more, obedience is three-dementional reality of the impact of God’s word. 

This is all coming at a great time as I have also recently began a bible reading plan for the year.  I do not simply want to get to the last word of the last day of this plan and look back to see an unchanged life-landscape.   What benefit would there be? To say that I have read through the bible in 365 days (8760 hours).  Really?  That is suppose to be impressive?  No, I want to see transformation as a result of alignment with the Word of God that came through meditation and submission. 

Are you wanting to see a change in your life?  Open the Word of God.  Soak in God’s heart as he pours it out from cover to cover.  Consider the discrepancies between your heart and his.  Make the necessary adjustments.

There is no “might” in Mighty God!

There is no “might” in Mighty God.  Let me clarify.  One of the weakest words in the English language (in my opinion) is “might.”  For example – (Q) “Are you coming to church Sunday?”   (A) “I might.” 

See what I mean!  Come on, man! 

Let me translate the “might” –

1) If nothing better comes up. 

2) If I feel like it. 

3) If there is not a good game on TV. 

4) If the sacrifice isn’t too great.

5) If my conditions are met and I still feel comfortable about it.   

Imagine going to God with your greatest needs and in response to your plea He says, “I might.”  Is this really the God that you want to put all of your hope for eternity in?  

But our God doesn’t have “might” in his vocabulary.  He is the God of unwavering character.  “God, will you offer a means for salvation?”  “YES!”  “God, will you forgive my sins if I repent?”  “YES!”  “God, will you overlook my sin if I haven’t accepted Jesus as my savior?”  “NO!”  “God, is your grace enough to blanket my human nature with righteousness through Jesus, in spite of my self?”  “YES!”  “God, can I ever be separated from your love?”  “NO!”

Only a Mighty God is without “might.”  Faith in our God is not saying, “He might.”  Faith is saying, “His Might!”  Don’t let the weak-link of your “might” substitute for unbreakable surety of his Might.

⁷ “Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
   Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do?
   They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
   and wider than the sea.

                                                Job 11:7-9

Wonderful Counselor

There is no better time to acknowledge who Jesus is than during Christmas.  The world has added elements to this season that Christians, my self included, easily fall into sync with.  I spent time last night wrapping columns on the front of my house in white lights and brought down about eight storage totes filled with figurines, fake Santas and other decorations.  Not to mention the forty rolls of wrapping paper that are sold so cheap on Dec 26, my wife is unable to fight the urge to buy them.

 But there was a different kind of wrapping done that requires more than a “drive by” reading of the Christmas Story or a half hour of Charlie Brown during this season.  There was a gift given by a great Giver that was highly undeserved.  And this gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of swirling candy cane printed paper.  Jesus was born – the manifestation of hope, love and forgiveness!  His sinless life is the only sufficient payment for the death that our sin had created.  And through incredible obedience, he offered himself to the cause – sacrificially and unselfishly. 

But Jesus did not only live long enough to reach an age of accountability, where he knew what was right and what was wrong, making his death sufficient.  Instead, Jesus lived 33 year enduring and experiencing the same life that we walk, fighting the same temptations we fight and walking humbly with the same God that we attempt to walk humbly with. 

People may say that Jesus had the advantage of being God and that helped him avoid sin.  I say that the power of God in his life came through ultimate surrender to the Father’s will.  That condition is available to us as well.  We too, can daily walk in alignment with God, led by his Spirit, to avoid sin and its devastation. 

Jesus’ experience on earth gives him the full credentials to associate with the struggles that we face.  He is not unaware of all we experience but rather faced an often greater struggle in comparison.  Knowing he was to be murdered, Jesus obediently pressed on in the will of God because he knew that it would ultimately offer hope, fullness and life to us.  Jesus has been where you are.  He has felt the ache of betrayal, loss and rejection.  Jesus has fought urges, faced enemies and found himself in unfair situations.  And Jesus knows how to endure those experiences for the highest honor and glory for God.  Jesus is a wonderful counselor waiting to lead you through the challenges life is throwing your way.  He knows what’s at stake, he cares about how you come through and is capable of helping you realize the good that God is trying to bring through your life if you let him.  Read his resume.  He put it all down for us.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and others are waiting with all he can offer you. 

 ⁶ For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
   there will be no end.             Isaiah 9:6-7