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The New Face of Idolatry

Excellent words from today’s “Jesus Calling” devotional:

     “WORSHIP ME ONLY. Idolatry has always been the downfall of My people.  I make no secrets about being a jealous God.  Current idols are more subtle than ancient ones, because today’s false gods are often outside the field of religion.  People, possessions, status, pleasure, and self-aggrandizement are some of the most popular deities today  Beware of bowing down before these things.  False gods never satisfy; instead, they stir up lust for more and more.
     When you seek Me instead of the world’s idols, you experience My Joy and Peace.  These intangibles slake the thirst of your soul, providing deep satisfaction.  The glitter of the world is tinny and temporal.  The Light of My Presence is brilliant and everlasting.  Walk in the Light with Me.  Thus you become a beacon through whom others are drawn to Me.”

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Holy Failings

These wise words are from my friend and coach Greg Getz, of Field USA:

“I want to work with people who will get out there, make mistakes, learn from them, tweak and try again. Failure is our friend because it eliminates what doesn’t work and moves us closer to what does.”

Right on the heels of that, a new friend of mine posted this on Facebook, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” Whoa! Wow!! AMEN!!!

Never forget that God did some of his best work with failings… Jonah… Moses… Elijah… Peter… Paul… John Mark… In every case it was what THEY thought was right… what THEY thought was possible… what THEY thought was safe… what THEY thought others would admire…

It seems like the issue is not only OBEDIENCE, but when we fail under our own agendas, flesh, safety, power, etc., we get up and say, “Sorry LORD, now what was it YOU wanted me to do?” I call it having, “Holy Guts!” and you need that to take the Divine Risks!!

What will you risk today for Him?

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God’s Will Is Not A Mystery

There is a BIG FAT LIE believed by many of us.  
The lie is that God, in His omnipotent, omniscient wisdom, has a plan for every minute….every second…of every life on earth.  That He is this Supreme Puppet-master pulling all the strings so that everything on earth happens “according to His will”…and that our role, in relation to His Will, is to figure it out and align ourselves with it.  Well, it is true that our role is to align ourselves with God’s Will, but the idea of seeing His will as a complex, inter-related system of constant control is misleading.
When we read in scripture about “God’s Will,” it consistently seems to be couched in terms of our character being transformed into that of Christ….in other words “sanctification” – the process of being “set apart”, or “dedicated” to God.  It’s about our character being transformed into who Jesus would be if He were me…or you. God’s will is that each one of us grow more and more, each day, into the image of Jesus.  I think there’s a lot of flexibility inside of that.  I do not believe that God has a specific plan for everything in my life.  Many people I have known or read about have driven themselves crazy with a hyper-religious world view that God has predestined every aspect of our lives according to a complex master plan for every single little thing.  Does God have master plans, even for specific things?  Absolutely.  But “every” specific thing?  Does He care what you eat for lunch? What car you drive?  What socks you wear?  What team wins today’s big game?  There can be great comfort in believing that we don’t have to make hard choices, because God wants to make them for us….but I think this type of thinking is short-sighted, immature, and untrue to God’s “revealed will” in scripture.  
Instead of spending so much time trying to figure out God’s hypothetical plan, let’s spend our time & energy living-out what WE KNOW is God’s will, always: “Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Self-Control” in Galatians 5 is a good place to start.

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Be Still My Soul

One of my favorite meditative songs of all time is “Be Still My Soul” by The Imperials. Yeah, I know, you’re either saying “who the heck are the Imperials?” or “I can’t believe Shawn likes Imperials.”  Whatever, the song is rad.  It’s meaning & impact are simple but very profound, based on Psalm 46:
(verse 1) Surrounded by the cares of life.  Situations rise, they press against my soul. Desperate thoughts have blocked me in, feels like I may lose control.  A voice from somewhere inside of me, brings comfort and fills my heart with courage.  It lets me know that everything will be alright. 

(chorus) I hear Him say ‘Be still my soul and know that He is God.’  Stand quietly, He is the Lord.  If God is for me, who can be against me.  He is God…be still my soul, He is the Lord.

(verse 2) Teach me, Lord, to stay in you when my emotions try to rule me.  Remind me, Lord, of who I am.  Show me what You want me to be.  There is great strength and confidence, knowing that You are with me.  I’m not afraid of tomorrow, what waits ahead.

(chorus)

As I read that, and hear the song echoing through my mind, I say AMEN.  So be it in my soul today.  So help me, God, to stay in You and Your shalom today.
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My Morning Ritual

This is my view from the brown couch I sit on every morning.  Bible open, reading glasses for my getting-older eyes, in the wee hours of the morning after shaking-off the cobwebs & downing a cup of coffee.

My Bible time is an invaluable exercise this sinner uses to start my day off in the right direction.  Every morning, my attitudes & fears & hopes & dreams are influenced by God’s Word.  Every morning, I drink from the living water of Jesus for purpose & direction & encouragement…and His waters are deep!

“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts….As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should! I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me! …I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you….I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. Your laws please me; they give me wise advice.” (Psalm 119, excerpts)

“O LORD, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” (Psalm 5:1-3)

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Why Pray? (prayer, part 2)

From my previous post, it could appear that I don’t believe in prayer…or that I’m skeptical about God’s ability or desire to answer our prayers.  Neither of these is true.  I believe deeply in the power of prayer…and I practice it every day in a variety of forms.  I pray sometimes with my eyes closed in “traditional” ways…like before or after meetings or reading scripture.  I also pray with eyes wide open…especially in nature.  By far, my most meaningful times of prayer are during runs and bike rides.  I do believe that prayer works, and the Bible is absolutely full of examples and commands about prayer.  Here’s one:
“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
So yes, totally, God answers prayer! However, prayer is not a cure-all formula that obligates God to intervene in our favor.  For example, the above quote was written by the Apostle Paul.  The Bible doesn’t specifically say how the Apostle Paul died. We know he was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. However, during that time, Christians were being beheaded for their beliefs. Therefore, it may be safe to assume that Paul was beheaded too.  So, did God become unfaithful by letting those early martyrs die?
What I believe about prayer tends to be a bit different than the norm.  I don’t think prayer is about getting God to do what I want, or to bless my favorite team, or even to favor my own country.  I think prayer is about setting up a communication line between my heart and God’s for the purpose of CONFORMING MY WILL TO HIS.  This is different because I think many people pray for comfort…either their own, or for others they care about.  And, although it is totally obvious in scripture and in my experience that GOD DOES ANSWER THE PRAYERS OF HIS PEOPLE, it’s not because He wants us to be comfortable.  In fact, I think that denying our comfort is often on God’s priority list…not because He likes to cause pain, but because He knows that we grow in Him most deeply out of need.  Our discomfort drives us to fill the hole, and we often choose easy counterfeits instead of pressing into the struggle He has us facing…and we can actually short-circuit the will of God by praying for and chasing other solutions….then calling those things His will.
So…..why pray at all? 
1)      As stated in the scripture above, and in many others, it often does move the Hand of God in miraculous ways
2)      Obedience & surrender to God’s Kingly Reign in our lives
3)      To experience His peace that passes understanding……

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:6–7
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Faithful Prayer v. Superstitious Manipulation

I recently heard of an account of apparent physical healing as a result of praying in Jesus’ Name.  This came through a friend of a friend of a friend.  I found myself feeling skeptical immediately.  Not because I don’t believe that Jesus does, in fact, exist…or that He no longer heals….but because of the way the whole account was described.  I sometimes hear of undercurrents within Christendom where people will take 1 or 2 verses from scripture that seem to say something totally radical, and form their entire worldview around it.  This happens a lot with healing.  Jesus did, indeed say:

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt.17:20)

“I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt.18:19-20)
And James, the Lord’s half-brother, says:
“Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:13-16)
Yes, but.
Fill in the blank.  Yes, but.  What about the people who love God and actually follow Jesus with their lifestyle, and they die in a car crash, or lose a child to cancer?  What about the people who get hurt in an accident, and then live in pain for the rest of their lives in spite of the prayers of the elders, and many others, for years?  I believe all these scriptures, but I struggle because for every story I hear of miraculous healing there are several others where it doesn’t seem to “work.”  What does that mean…that Jesus is a liar?  That the Bible can’t be taken seriously?  These are important questions, and it has to be OK to ask them.  Too often, those of us who ask questions are condemned as blasphemous, and told to just shut-up and believe.  Usually they say it nicer than that.
John, the Apostle closest to Jesus, says:
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”
HIS WILL.  What difference does that make?  Huge.  I think this verse sheds some light on the background code behind prayer.  It’s not something we can manipulate, nor is it an easy 5-step program to get God to do whatever we want.  Here are some of my beliefs about this.  Feel free to agree or disagree….I’d like to hear from you:
  • God DOES want us to pray for the miraculous, but not for the sake of the miracle…but for the sake of our believing dependence upon Him.
  • God DOES heal and work miracles in Jesus’ Name…but not in every case because our prayers are often either selfish in nature/against His will for our character (“God, give me a new Camaro”) or they go against God’s foreknowledge/predestination that only He can see.
  • You can’t build a solid theology about something without taking into account the “whole counsel of scripture.”
Why am I so passionate about this?  Because often, well-meaning Jesus followers blast others because of their “lack of faith” when their prayers don’t work.  Or they go to great lengths to develop & prescribe deeply detailed strategies for how & when to pray for stuff you want…almost like Jesus is at our beck & call.  But this does not mean we should not pray in faith, or seek to have more faith to pray.  Do you feel the tension between these two points?  What say you?
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Brokenness Can Lead to Blessing

I have to share these amazing words I read last night from pp.97-99 in Nowen’s book “Life Of The Beloved”:

     “When we have cursed ourselves or have allowed others to curse us, it is very tempting to explain all the brokenness we experience as an expression of confirmation of this curse.  Before we fully realize it, we have already said to ourselves: ‘You see, I always thought I was no good…Now I know for sure.  The facts of life prove it.’
     “The great spiritual call of the beloved children of God is to pull their brokenness away from the shadow of the curse and put it under the light of the blessing.  This is not as easy as it sounds.  The powers of the darkness around us are strong, and our world finds it easier to manipulate self-rejecting people than self-accepting people.  But when we keep listening attentively to the voice calling us the Beloved, it becomes possible to live our brokenness, not as a confirmation of our fear that we are worthless, but as an opportunity to purify and deepen the blessing that rests upon us.  Physical, mental, or emotional pain lived under the blessing is experienced in ways radically different from physical, mental, or emotional pain lived under the curse…
     “This explains why true joy can be experienced in the midst of great suffering.  It is the joy of being disciplined, purified, and pruned.  Just as athletes who experience great pain as they run the race can, at the same time, taste the joy of knowing that they are coming closer to their goal, so also can the Beloved experience suffering as a way to the deeper communion for which they yearn.  Here joy and sorrow are no longer each other’s opposites, but have become the two sides of the same desire to grow to the fullness of the Beloved.”

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Today, Choose Your Master

God issues a call for all of us to leave behind our natural, instinctive desires in order to be drawn into something much deeper, higher.  Indeed, we were created by God with a strong sense of desire…yearning.  But this sense was built with purpose, and this direction of this purpose is hijacked continuously within us and veered off-course into all kinds of other alternatives that take us nowhere except farther away from where we really need to go.  Do you know what I’m talking about? 
Contrary to what popular culture seems to proclaim all around us, we humans are not the center of the universe.  There is a God, and it’s not you or me.  He created and sustains this world with deep, specific purpose, and He created us with purpose that goes way beyond our limited perspective.  We get so enamored and obsessed with the things we desire – whether it’s things money can buy, pleasures we can experience, or even relationships we can savor – that we naturally, instinctively focus beyond the purpose of the desire.  Desire was built into us in order to connect us with God!  Our relationship with Him, guiding and providing each day, is the purpose of desire itself.  Desire is a tool…but we humans have a long, long history of worshiping the wrong thing, don’t we?  This misguided, conflicted, calloused tendency is a snare that threatens to derail us from the path of God every single day.  So staying on the course toward Him is a constant decision that often goes against our grain.  It’s important that we understand and accept that, remembering that these two paths – focused on God or releasing focus to embrace desire – represent two masters.  We must choose wisely…every moment of every day.
Some days we need more heavy reminders of why & how to walk in the ways of Jesus.  Today is one of those days for me.  These words from Ephesians 4 kicked my but this morning, in a very good way.  I hope they help you too:
“17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.  18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.  20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.  21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.  22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;  23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;  24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
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Reminders from Ephesians 5

“Living in the Light”
Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.
3 Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. 4 Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. 5 You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is really an idolater who worships the things of this world. 6 Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible anger of God comes upon all those who disobey him. 7 Don’t participate in the things these people do. 8 For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them. 12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 13 But when the light shines on them, it becomes clear how evil these things are. 14 And where your light shines, it will expose their evil deeds. This is why it is said,
“Awake, O sleeper,
rise up from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

“Living by the Spirit’s Power”
15 So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you. 19 Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, making music to the Lord in your hearts. 20 And you will always give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.