Category: Uncategorized

I was talking with a good friend a few months ago about the spiritual gift of healing.  He was sharing some pretty amazing stories, and I was feeling defensive because I’ve prayed for people before and it “didn’t work.”  I asked him “what about when it doesn’t work?”  His words have stuck with me, “There are many reasons why prayer sometimes does not produce the results we want, but the Bible is full of promises and examples and commands about praying in faith and seeing miraculous results…so I’m going to focus on that.”  I replied, “How often does it work for you?”  “About 75% of the time….but instead of getting derailed on the other 25%, I’m going to trust in God for the 75%.”

In my personal quest to know God, follow Him, and become like Him, it’s clear that all of my times of greatest learning & growth were triggered by calculated decisions to throw caution to the wind and step-out in faith to where I KNEW God was leading.  There have also been plenty of times when I THOUGHT I KNEW, stepped-out in faith according to that supposed knowing, and was unpleasantly surprised.  Those experiences have been forks in the road of my past…sometimes my faith was strengthened as I learned more about the distinction between God’s voice and my own…His desire and my own.  Other times I furrowed my brow, blamed God for not performing, and withdrew into more controlled & cautious places.  There is a healthy, mature type of caution that avoids recklessness….but fear-based caution is one of our enemy’s most potent weapons in keeping us at arm’s length from our Heavenly Father.  God always responds to faith.

I think that one of the biggest reasons for the apparent spiritual apathy & impotence of the American Church today is lack of faith.  It’s also at the root of why many Christians say things like “why doesn’t God do miracles anymore like in Bible times?”  Well, actually He does…but He insists on partnering with faith. Not faith in the sense of intellectual agreement with the historical facts & moral truths of the Bible, and trying your best to live by them.  That’s Kindergarten faith.  Grown-up faith is a conviction of trust that God is real & personal, and that His way is best for my life.  Faith is the antithesis of fear, and in the Old Testament there was a powerful euphemism for faith: Fear of God.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” (Proverbs 9:10).

The opposite of fear of God is fear of man.

Alex Rettman, Pastor of Youth & Young Adults at Bridgetown Church in Portland, says this: “What the fear of man can do in your life is to make looking respectable, responsible, and financially wise more important than being obedient to God…The fear of man is an over-rating of people in your life and an under-rating of God.  Fear of man is actually a hallmark trait of the Pharisees.  They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God…and this is why they couldn’t see Him as the Messiah.”

The Pharisees are known as “the hypocrites” of the New Testament.  This wasn’t because they sometimes lost their temper or said harsh words or sought the places of honor…those were only symptoms, and we all do these things on occasion.  Scripture says that God looks past our facades straight into our hearts; He alone can see our deepest desires & dreams.  The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was rooted in a deep-seated fear of man, or in other words “love of the world,” which stood in direct opposition to what God was doing around them.  Any time we find ourselves resisting what God is trying to do, we’re acting just like them…and it pinches the hose of God’s power that He wants to flow into us.  All of us struggle with fear/lack of faith, and God is constantly, eagerly waiting for us to take the first steps so that He can catch us when we fall.  He can be trusted!!!

In order to experience the “abundant life” that Jesus promises, answers to prayer, miraculous healings, prophetic words & visions, and all the other stuff God wants to do through us, we have to turn away from the false beliefs we have learned and walk toward Him in faith.  His goal for us is not to fill our lives with material blessings and comfortable circumstances that will make us happy.  That’s not God, that’s the American dream…and in terms of the Kingdom of God, it’s actually a narcissistic nightmare that blinds our eyes to the true wealth that Jesus offers us to be victorious in the midst of a broken world.  When we surrender our fears to the Almighty, according to the relationship we have with Him in Jesus, we are free to step-out in faith and receive what He is waiting to give us.

SCRIPTURES…

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.” (John 7:37-39)

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:1-2, 6)

“Everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.” (1 John 5:4-5)

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. (1 John 5:14-15)

“Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)

“Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, 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.” (Matthew 17:18-21)

“Jesus left there and went to his hometown…and they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:1-6)

“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they 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 person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.” (James 5: 14-18)

In my last blog I shared about a truly miraculous, life-changing event that happened to me as the result of being in a great spot with the Lord.  I was running toward Him with all cylinders, enjoying His presence, and open to His voice; and an amazing & supernatural thing occurred (see “Spiritual Gifts 5 – A Prophecy Story”).  Today, I’m going to share about the other fork in the road…when we find ourselves impeded by self-inflicted barriers that block God’s work in us and through us.  We all carry echoes of the fall-of-man within us that continue to war with our Creator.  They’re instinctive urges & expressions of self-will that prevent us from acquiescing to God’s reign over us.  Like the ancient serpent’s whispering temptation into Adam & Eve’s ears “Did God really say…,” our ears itch with similar desires to touch and experience that which has been forbidden by the Most High so we can do things on our own terms; and we end-up suffering for it.  The Bible calls this sin.

I’m going to invite you into my journey, which I think is probably the most effective way to communicate.  Of course, it’s easiest and most convenient when the portions of said journey reflect well upon my character, and cause the reader to admire me in some way.  However, as is always the case behind braggadocious sermonizing & Facebook feeds, I tend to learn my most valuable life lessons through my failures…and I suppose it’s the same for you.  But we don’t really like to share about that, do we? We tend to hide those parts of us that are less than right and cover them over with shiny, happy veneers.  I don’t think it’s necessary or appropriate to go into details, but let’s just say that I’ve been struggling with an area of sin in my life; something that frequently rears its ugly head within me, messes with my motivations & behaviors, and throws wrenches in the gears of my relationships with God & others.  Every time I give myself over to its lies I end up feeling betrayed, distant from God, and devoid of His power…do you have a thing like that?

• A substance addiction that beckons you with promises of escape & release
• An unhealthy relationship that causes you to compromise Godly values
• A fixation on consumption of food, clothing, drink, or experiences as a way of filling the void 
• A greedy drive for money, power, or possessions that controls your definition of success
• An unbridled sex-drive that tempts you to engage in porn & unbiblical sexual experiences
• A self-righteous anger that causes you to seethe with disdain and explode with rage
• A self-deprecating grief that alienates you from people and entices you with alternative-realities.

So, why am I writing about sin in a series about spiritual gifts?  Because sin puts barriers between us and God. Remember all throughout the Bible how it talks about FAITH being the thing that unlocks God’s blessings and miracles, etc.?  The New Testament word we translate as “faith” literally means to be “fully persuaded,” to “totally trust” that God’s way is best.  Like the good Father He is, God always responds to faith with favor, and always responds to sin with redirection.  The world speaks an opposing narrative of self-determination, and our eyes & ears are filled with lies about this…saying that we can have our cake and eat it too.  We hear things like “God wants me to be happy, and [indulging in something that God condemns] actually makes me feel happy, therefore it must be good for me to [indulge in whatever it is].  I’ve heard this to justify drunkenness, sex outside of marriage, divorce, and other stuff.  Sins like these certainly don’t damn us to hell, but the circular reasoning that justifies them alienates us from the Living God.  We need to get our heads on straight…

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proudbut shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:2-8)

Now, understand me correctly….this is not a “works theology” about salvation.  It’s crystal clear that God’s offer of salvation for heaven is a free gift based upon His grace rather than our obedience.  “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).  We often misunderstand the difference between salvation and sanctification.  Salvation means that God saves us from eternal death by offering us the free gift of eternal life because of what Jesus did for us through His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead.  Amen on that!  Sanctification, however, means that after we are saved and already part of God’s family, we find ourselves at the beginning of our journey with Him rather than the end…and how we travel the road of life with Him will determine how He interacts with us, and to others through us.  So, although I am free in Christ and saved for Heaven, He’s not going to entrust me with important messages for others when my own lifestyle is in direct opposition to His reign.  Why would we think that God would reward us with blessings of greater understanding, miraculous gifts, prophecies, etc., when we refuse to abide by what He’s already given us?  Remember, His ultimate goal is relationship with you.

I’ve learned (and am learning again) that when I find myself in this unwelcome but familiar place, I have to die to myself in order to find the pathway back to the way of Jesus.  When I hold on to sin it always involves self-deceit, which is a function of the original sin of pride….and self-deceit shields us from the blessing of shame.  Shame has gotten a bad rap in recent years, as new generations of positive-thinkers attempt to live “shame-free” lives by focusing only on the positive and denying the existence of negatives within them and their consequences.  But shame, like any other God-given emotion, is neutral…it can carry our souls to places all along the spectrum.  I agree that there is self-destructive shame, which originates with the lie that “I am bad” and ends up taking me into downward spirals of self-loathing; but there is also life-giving shame, which is part of the God stuff in us that leads to repentance.  When we embrace shame and hand it over to God’s capable Hands, we see clearly how we’ve veered off the right path, how to apologize and adopt His better way, and how to start walking toward Him again in a state of renewed blessing.  This is why I keep friends around me who aren’t afraid to tell me the truth about myself when I’m full of Godless bull-s*$%.  Not because they ridicule me and make me feel like a maggot, but because they love me and have permission to remind me of my deepest and most important values.

It’s essential that we open ourselves to criticism and judgment from those who have our best interest in mind, to scripture, and to the gnawing sense of the Holy Spirit inside us that won’t let us rest in a state of unrepented sin.  Not because God hates us when we do, but because He loves us and hates when we block ourselves from the miracles and hope and love He wants to birth in us. After I have repented and placed the reins back in God’s sovereign Hand, new life springs up like fresh shoots out of April soil, and His celestial GPS navigates a brand-new course toward my destiny from where I’m at.

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10) 

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16) 

“…In order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) 

“I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:21-25)

Fateful Bike Ride

Early in the Summer of 2007, I was enjoying a sunny & warm June morning on my bike. I had ridden to the local post office to pickup mail from the PO Box of the fledgling ministry venture that my wife & I had recently started.  We were hosting a small house church of about 12 people…we were growing as a community of Jesus people, and were praying for ways we might be able to serve people in our neighborhood.  On this particular morning, I was praying.  Exercise has always been my prime time with God, especially biking and running.

As I returned toward home, I was riding South on Watson Avenue in central Beaverton…there wasn’t much traffic.  It’s a one-way street, and I was riding along the right-side curb.  I don’t remember what I was talking with the Lord about at the moment, but I do remember that I was experiencing some of the joy & peace we get when we’re able to put all other things aside and just “be” with the Father who loves us.  It was sweet and meaningful, and I was really enjoying the intimacy of the moment.

As I rode, I noticed the Pregnancy Resource Center on my left.  In recent years, the PRC has moved, but at that time it was located on the corner of Watson & 2nd.  I read the sign and thought about the ministry they provide.  Regardless of one’s stance on issues surrounding abortion, I think that everyone can agree that the faith-based PRC provides a really wonderful service to young pregnant ladies & young moms who are seeking help.  As I got nearer, I noticed that the building had a few minor rough & broken spots, and that the landscaping seemed a bit unruly.  Immediately, a phrase popped into my head: “Ask them if they need help.”  I quickly brushed it aside, imagining how weird & awkward it would be for a middle-aged sweaty guy to come in and ask if they needed help.  As I reached the point where I was directly across the street from the building, the phrase came again, this time with much more force and conviction.  It wasn’t an audible voice, though I know many people who have heard audible spiritual voices; it was just a thought-phrase accompanied by a really strong feeling.  This time, I wondered if it was the Lord.  It didn’t make sense to me, so I furrowed my brow and continued on…convincing myself that it was a bad idea and it couldn’t possibly be the Lord speaking to me.  I got a few pedal-strokes past the building, and the phrase rang through my head like a horn blaring from a diesel truck: “ASK THEM IF THEY NEED HELP!!!”  I literally said out loud, “Okay, okay!”

I promptly turned around, rode to the front porch, and leaned my bike against the rail.  I felt totally stupid.  I didn’t know what I was doing, what I would say, or how they would respond.  Besides that, I was wearing dorky bike shorts and I was smelly.  I walked through the unlocked door to the reception area, and there was no one there.  I stood there for a moment, looking around sheepishly and wondering what to do…I meekly said “hello?”  A lady peeked her head through an open doorway behind the counter, “Oh, good morning, we’re not open yet….can I help you?”  This was the moment when I wondered if I was an idiot; internally rolling my eyes at myself, worried that I had put words into God’s mouth.  She looked afraid.  I explained, “I’m sorry, I was just riding by your building on my bike and couldn’t help noticing that there were some things that needed some help.”  She was looking like she wanted to call the police.  I continued, “I’m part of a little church group, and we’re looking for ways to serve our community.  I was wondering if you needed any help around here.”  She relaxed a bit and asked a few questions….we talked for a minute, then she asked me to wait.  “Oh great, now I’m freaking-out this poor lady and I’m gonna get in trouble with the boss.

A different, younger lady came to the counter with a very inquisitive look on her face.  “Hi, how can I help you?”  I started over from the beginning, determined to see this thing through.  The more I shared, the more interested she appeared to be.  She asked a lot of questions about who I was, and what type of group I was from.  She was the director, and it ended-up that we knew some of the same people in the local Church Community.  I could tell that they were no longer afraid of me, and we enjoyed a few minutes of stories and laughter.  After a bit, I felt comfortable with my two new friends, and told them the story about how I had been praying and felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me about helping them.  The director stood there stunned for a moment.  She finally said, “You might think this is really weird, but I have to tell you something.”  She paused, then continued, “Early this morning as I was sleeping, I had a really vivid dream of a man showing up here at the PRC in the morning before we opened, and that I was supposed to listen to him.”

Do you have chill-bumps while you’re reading this?  Cuz I do while I’m writing this…and it’s been 10 years since it happened!

We talked in more detail about her dream, and my impression to stop that morning; both of us totally persuaded that Almighty God had not only spoken to us, but that He had connected us for some reason.  How powerful it was to know beyond doubt that we were walking in the very footsteps ordained by God for us!  We compared notes and talked for quite awhile about what the Lord was doing in their ministry there at the PRC, and how helpful it would be to have our help with some repair & maintenance items.

This is the birthplace of faith. Not that God’s grand plan is to break into human history so that we can get the chills and have all of our needs met; but that He is always orchestrating divine appointments & destinies to advance His greater plans for His people and His work!  Did you know that the original Greek word translated as “faith” literally means “fully persuaded?”  When we see God show-up in the middle of life’s circumstances, intervening and transforming like He does, it reminds us that He’s real and active and working toward great things we cannot see.  How amazing He is!

I returned to the PRC in July with a group of 7 adults and 7 kids.  We repaired a screen door and the floor of the entry porch, did some painting, and raked leaves.  It was encouraging to the ladies who work there every day, and made a nice difference in the appearance of the building.  Honestly, it wasn’t that big a deal; but it was super encouraging for them to know that God cared enough about their work to send us.  For me and my group, it was life-changing.  It was shortly after this project, reflecting on how fun it was for our group and how God had orchestrated it, that we began to dream about the next step…”what if we did something like this to help a low-income homeowner in our neighborhood?”

It started with prayer, was catalyzed by prophecy, and led to the projects we know today as Catalyst NW.  The rest is history.  His history.

”Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

“I grew up in the church” is a phrase you hear often by all types of people, and it’s almost always followed by one of two contractions.  The “and” group seeks to carry the baton of positive memories they received onward; and will finish the sentence with something sentimental, meaningful, or purposeful.  The “but” group, on the other hand, holds their church memories in contempt as proof of the irrelevance & hypocrisy inherent within; seeking to throw shade in the direction of people & practices that tarnished their formative years.  Then you have the third group; those who grew-up in another faith tradition or with no religion at all, who see an endless sea of un-unified christian factions seeking very different expressions of the life & teachings of a special man who lived 2,000 years ago in modern-day Israel.  This continues to confuse and confound many of us.

Today I’m not going to spend any time on parsing the myriad forms of “churchianity,” instead I’m going to cut through the various traditions of men so as to get to some of the real stuff behind them. There’s a vast difference between carrying-on Jesus’ preferences & purposes and hijacking them to justify our own! I’m writing today about what I consider to be a missing link, a lens through which we can view the nature of God’s interactions with people and our own personal histories, which brings His truth into sharp focus in a world of countless opinions.  As a 34-year student of the Bible, I will say that the more I read and understand it, the God who inspired & inhabits it, and the timeless purposes & practices it promotes, I see one overriding theme that many of us instinctively forget day after day.  It’s weird, and it might surprise you.  It’s that the real God who is there is inherently personal and supernatural, and He insists on interacting with us on His terms.

Ever since Adam & Eve were kicked-out of the Father’s direct presence in the Garden, every subsequent move of God recorded in scripture has been heralded, activated, proven, pronounced, and spearheaded by spiritually inhabited men & women in committed relationship with Almighty God who performed miracles, spoke on His behalf, lived differently than the world around them, and recorded their experiences for those of us who would abandon primary allegiance to our earthly societies in favor of living as agents of His Ongoing Spiritual Kingdom.

Why am I writing this?

Because the American Church is asleep, and needs to be woken up!  The vitality and influence of America’s Christians has been steadily declining…free-falling actually…for at least 2 decades, and the answer to turn-around this huge ship and get back on-course is not better music or deeper sermons or more programs, it’s dependency on the supernatural power of God Himself!  In scripture and reality, spiritual vigor is always preceded by humble prayer, initiated by miraculous acts & prophetic words of God, and cultivated by the various gifts of the spirit of all God’s people inside and outside the Church.  We seem to have forgotten these principles, and instead entrusted ourselves into the hands of American business strategies for church growth…which in my opinion are almost always anathema to the Voice Of God.  I’m also writing this because I’m learning.  I grew up in a predominantly stoic genre of Christianity, which at best offered a very small funnel for the more “supernatural” workings of a real, engaged God.  This was true of my upbringing, formal education, and the bulk of my years in full-time church ministry.  I’ve been in detox and reformation ever since, seeking to rediscover and experience a more authentic & spiritually vibrant way of following Jesus like I read about in the New Testament…and I refuse to settle for anything less.

Francis Chan, well-known Christian author/speaker, says ”I believe that the biggest thing the enemy has stolen from the Church in America is our faith in the supernatural. Like we start looking at everything from a fleshly perspective…just like the world.”

Today, in this 4th part of my Spiritual Gifts series, I’m focusing in on THE PROPHETIC.

Prophecy has very spooky & erratic connotations in our post-enlightenment Western society.  You might be thinking right now about the fortune-teller down the street, or the scene from Star Wars of the Jedi prophecy about Anakin Skywalker, or the spacy co-worker who tells about her loopy visions.  That’s not what I’m talking about.  I’m talking about scriptural, contemporary, and personal experiences where God’s thoughts & instructions are supernaturally communicated through reliable, trustworthy, faithful people. Dictionary.com defines Prophecy as 1) the foretelling or prediction of what is to come; 2) something that is declared by a prophet, especially a divinely inspired prediction, instruction, or exhortation; 3) a divinely inspired utterance or revelation; 4) the action, function, or faculty of a prophet.  The Bible portrays a much wider variety of Prophetic communication forms that show themselves from beginning to end, and continue to this day.  Here are some rudimentary definitions:

• Prophecy (generic) is when someone receives some kind of message from God to give to others.
• Dreams are often used by God to inform us about what He’s doing in our lives or someone else’s.
• Visions are like dreams when you’re not asleep…like a super-strong flashback or even a trance.
• Word of Knowledge is when you’re given information about something or someone that you have no way of knowing.
• Word of Wisdom is when you’re given a direction/answer about a situation that reveals God’s will.
• Discernment of Spirits is when you’re given insight into the spiritual source of a person’s motivations & power.
• Tongues with Interpretation is when you’re given a message for the church in a foreign language (either human or angelic), and you or another interprets its meaning. 

I could give a thousand examples of various types of prophecy from scripture, through the ages of God’s people, and of contemporary friends that I know and trust.  Here are a few:

1. Old Testament: Samuel lived in a time of the history of God’s people when “the Word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions.”  There was widespread corruption among the people and spiritual leaders, which prevented God’s prophetic messages from “breaking through” (sound familiar?).  Samuel sought God faithfully throughout his growing-up years and into adulthood, and became first in a line of prophets who spoke for God, shared visions from Him, etc. (1 Samuel 3)
2. New Testament: Paul & Barnabas’ first missionary journey was the result of prophecy.  “Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers…While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13)
3. History: St. Patrick returned to Ireland, where he had been held in captivity, to preach the Gospel about Jesus as the result of a vision. “I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: ‘The Voice of the Irish.’ As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea-and they cried out, as with one voice: ‘We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.'”
4. Contemporary: The birth of Catalyst’s free construction projects was the result of a prophetic prompting, a resulting conversation, and a corresponding dream the night before that foretold the whole thing.  I’ll tell you about it if you’re interested!

The God of the Bible colors inside and outside the lines, painting a multi-faceted picture of a Living Person who cannot be contained by our understandings or controlled by our preferences… and He invites all of us to live on a higher spiritual plane than the world around us.  This is so uncomfortable and counter-cultural that many followers of Jesus simply ignore those parts of the Bible or develop theologies that dismiss them…settling for religion instead of authentic relational spirituality.  Admittedly, this is messy and scary because it opens us up to all kinds of misinterpretations & claims & inefficiencies.  But do we have the right to strip-away things that are uncomfortable in order to approach God on our own terms?  His highest priority is to cultivate our relationship with Him by faith, and with others by interdependency.  This takes time and patience.  This may not be the “American Way,” but it is certainly God’s.  Many of us need to learn new ways of integrating the prophetic into our church relationships, services, and groups…leaving room for God to be in control.  If we don’t, we may miss His voice and end up worshipping Him from afar.  The result is what we see now in most (not all) of American Christianity, and possibly you & I: Spiritual Anemia. Anemia is a physiological condition of the blood when it lacks enough red blood cells to do what blood is supposed to do…resulting in chronic weakness, fatigue, & all kinds of problems.  What happens when churches/christians don’t have enough of God’s Spirit coursing through their spiritual veins?

Symptoms of Spiritual Anemia:

1. Going through religious motions without experiencing the peace & purpose they promise.
2. Focus on God making me happy rather than serving Him from the overflow of joy.
3. Fixation on understanding theology rather than trusting God in daily life.
4. Decision-making based on goals & strategies rather than God’s leading & provision.
5. Prayer becomes an afterthought or last-resort in times of trouble.
6. Disbelief in the supernatural nature of God, the universe, His work in daily life.
7. Holding-on to the world’s value system and the desire to be like everybody else, rather than surrendering our reputations and futures to Him.
8. Redirecting our hopes in worldly political leaders & movements to address spiritual issues

So, what do we do?

• Pray.  Ask God to reveal any part of you that is trusting in things, relationships, or activities other than Him.
• Devote time to His Word.  It is His primary voice, and you will never grow in relationship with Him without it.
• Ask Him to speak to you…through a word or sentence planted in your mind, a vision or dream, a nugget of special knowledge or instructions, etc.  
• Ask Him to bring people into your life with gifts of the Spirit that you do not have.  Learn to work with them, practicing ways of functioning together as the Body of Christ.
• Ask Him to show you examples of people, churches, leaders, etc., who are already functioning in this way.  Learn from them and imitate their examples in your own context.
• Be open to His presence and movements throughout your day, praying constantly and trusting Him.
• Watch as He shows up and leads. Leave the results to Him.

Frequently Asked Questions & Scripture Answers about Prophecy:

• Why?  “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:11-16)
• Does the New Testament say that prophecy will be common & normal for followers of Christ? “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” (Acts 2:14-17).  “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy.” (1 Corinthians 14:1)
• What’s the purpose of the prophetic? “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up… If an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in…they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!… (1 Corinthians 14:24-26 excerpts)  
• Why does God have to be so weird & crazy about it?  Why not just make His desires & instructions more normal & obvious?  “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
• Does everyone have a prophetic gift?  “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:3-8) 
• What about when prophecies are wrong / don’t work? “You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22).  “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22)
• Why aren’t supernatural things more common? “And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. (Matthew 13:57-58)  

“The testimony of Jesus IS the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev.9:10)

I’m a fisherman…well I used to be, and am again.  I grew up fishing in fresh & salt water in Southern California.  My absolute favorite was angling for trout in the isolated mountain lakes & streams of the High Sierra Mountains.  Crystal clear hues of indigo & aquamarine & teal, imbued with entire ecosystems that supported the most beautiful fish I could imagine…and roast over a campfire for dinner.  Anyway, I got away from it in college when life started getting frantically busy; and my wife & kids had no interest whatsoever so I dropped it.  So after a 25-year hiatus, I’m dipping my toes back in the water!  Everyone knows that one of the fisherman’s greatest assets is a can of worms.  The problem is, you have to be really careful when you open that thing up because the little guys like to wiggle out and get free…getting everywhere and creating other problems.  Have you ever heard of that phrase?  Metaphorically speaking, to open a “can of worms” is to examine or attempt to solve some problem, only to inadvertently complicate it and create even more trouble. Literally speaking, opening a can of worms, as most fishermen can attest, can also mean more trouble than you bargained for” (compliments of mentalfloss).

Ok, now I’m going to stop talking about Worms and start talking about Spiritual Gifts.  In Part 1, I addressed the elephant in the room and offered a culturally-contrasting bullet-pointed list of what spiritual gifts ARE NOT.  In Part 2, I went back to the beginning of God’s interaction with people, and showed how the narrative of the Bible exposes His progressive plan to offer access of His Spirit to all people through Jesus.  I originally thought I’d go into straight into the gifts themselves in part 2, but after stewing & praying on it, decided that more groundwork was important so that new information doesn’t sit on top of a shallow foundation.  Today in Part 3, I’m exploring some of the reasons why there’s so much confusion about the gifts in general, and beginning to paint a new picture for what the Spirit of Jesus intends for us as His Body.

The subject of Spiritual Gifts in American Christian culture is so filled with misunderstanding & controversy that most churches tend to gravitate to one extreme or the other.  Negative stereotypes come to mind that malign the character & integrity of churches trying their best to interpret and experience the scriptures as they see them.  There are churches that seem wild and out-of-control with unfettered expressions of the gifts in public meetings, as well as stolid & stoic liturgies that leave no room for anything unanticipated.  Both are seeking what’s right and have a kernel of truth, but are hopelessly stuck on the extremes unless willing to cast-aside extremism and learn from the other.  Since I come from a mostly stoic background with regard to the gifts, along with the majority of American Jesus people, I’ll speak from that vantage point.

Most leaders would rather just leave the lid on the Spiritual Gifts.  Not the “normal” ones like leadership & service & mercy, but the “weird” ones like prophecy & tongues & healing.  They’re too confusing, too polarizing, too potentially fragmenting…so we just ignore them and hope our flocks won’t ask too many questions.  This often creates an unhealthy tension between Leadership and Laypeople, as one side can find itself quelling free-thinking and the other side can get caught-up in self-expressive defiance.   How many churches have split because of disagreements between free expression of the gifts and unwillingness to accommodate them?  As per usual, there is great error and sin on both extremes of this equation…and our common enemy rejoices at the demise manufactured by our angst against each other.  What we need is a balanced approach to the gifts, which requires the most precious of commodities that is in short supply these days: LOVE…but not the type we’re accustomed to.

The Apostle Paul wrote much to the Corinthian church about Spiritual Gifts in the letter we know today as 1 Corinthians.  The people of that church, with regard to the gifts, were apparently preoccupied with self-expression and were missing the whole point.  It seems that a culture had developed in the church that prized “speaking in tongues” above the other gifts, possibly as sort of a litmus test of proof that one only had God’s presence if he/she spoke in tongues (sound familiar?).  He went to great lengths to demonstrate that tongues is only one of many gifts, and one of the least important at that, because its primary function is to encourage the individual instead of the Body.  Chapters 12 and 14 are a treatise about the proper view & functioning of the gifts; and chapter 13 – the famous “love chapter” used in so many weddings – is like a pearl of wisdom that shows the “most excellent way” to obtain them.  The word LOVE used in these writings is the Greek word AGAPE, which is a self-sacrificing, benevolent love.  We Americans are really obsessed with our rights; and although the message of self-sacrificing love highlights our culture’s greatest heroes, the push & pull ethos of our day speaks the narcissistic message of “me first” which is in direct opposition to the way of Jesus and His Body.  And, unfortunately, we bring this into all of our relationships with us….including church.  We can have victory over this in the same way as how we’re saved in Christ to begin with…by laying down whatever control we imagine we have over our lives & preferences to the will of God through Jesus.  He’s the Head of His Church, and He’s pulling the strings.  What if all of us behaved as if we believed the message of these scriptures:

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:1-4)

“Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts…” (1 Cor.14:1)

The disunity that has resulted from confusion about the gifts, and the unhealthy denominationalism that it has bred, is a blight on the Body of Christ in our day.  I say let’s do away with it and come together!  Not meaning that all of us will agree about every doctrine & expression….of course not!  But we can “keep the main thing the main thing”, and “agree to disagree” about secondary and tertiary issues.  This must begin with the leaders.  The Church and her people won’t rise above the faith-ceiling of its leaders, and those of us in a leadership role must constantly challenge ourselves and others to stay on-target with the timeless purposes and methods of the Spirit, rather than getting pulled-in by the gravity that would have us focus the power in a myopic direction.  Great repentance is needed by many of us in leadership of Christ’s Church.  Here are my thoughts…

1. “Church” is not an event, building, or legal institution; although that’s what we call them in our culture.  Church, as described in scripture, is on the one hand a group of people who are committed to following Jesus together, and on the other hand a conglomeration of all followers of Jesus in the world who together form His ONE CHURCH.  Never once in scripture does the word Church refer to anything other than people; and although we see it referred to as the Body of Christ, and even preach & teach about that Body, we desperately need to rediscover what that means.
2. Leaders are not meant control or guide the church, but to encourage, equip, and empower them to follow Jesus as His continued agents in their world.  Tragically, ministry has become viewed as a profession; and leadership roles as elected offices.  Biblically, all of us are ministers; and leaders are the ones who are supposed to fan the flame and send the church out to the world.  
3. Many church governing structures have adopted the models of the world rather than the models of God shown in the New Testament.  Think about it: The Senior Pastor is the CEO; the Board of Elders is the Board of Directors; the Staff is, um, the Staff; the Church Building is the Factory or Store; and the Congregation is the Consumers.  If you’re rolling your eyes or doubting for a second that these corollaries exist, you obviously have never worked on a church staff with a robust budget that’s controlled by the charitable giving of your people!  I’ve sat in dozens of meetings where the “problem” we were brainstorming was that the church budget was in the red, and the pressing question was “how do we get more people to our church?”  The reversal of form & function, and ”putting the cart before the horse,” are both phrases that come to mind and wave red flags in the faces of church staff every single day.
4. Leaders must be willing to admit when we’re wrong, and be eager to change.  Leader, how are the strategies & structures & assets of your ministry helping or hampering the functioning of the Body of Christ?  How can you love your flock and help them grow into the fullness of God’s desire for them, even to surpass you? As a former church pastor, and a 20+ year veteran of vocational ministry, I admit that I still have much to learn about this.  I think that a large part of the problem in American church is that many of the traditions we’ve come to accept as indispensable facets of our faith are in fact manmade forms that can actually thwart the very purposes of God. Trustworthy accounts of the good news about Jesus Christ, and the movements of the Early Church, are forever preserved for us in the New Testament; but if we’re really honest with ourselves, there’s often quite a difference between what we read about and what see among us.  Most of us tend to perpetuate the customs & methods we learn as we grow up.  We need to remember that, Biblically and historically, adherence to tradition usually accompanies spiritual atrophy.  Change is good!
5. Laypeople must stop depending on the staffs of local churches to get their spiritual fill-ups, and church services/programs as the central locations for expressing themselves spiritually.  Layperson, how is your relationship to your church and it’s people helping or hampering your ability to grow in intimacy & identity with Christ?  How can you attach yourselves to others to exhibit Jesus’ presence in the world in ways you cannot do by yourself?  Are you depending on others to do your part, or do you take ownership for your own spiritual maturity?  Are you willing to express your love for Jesus everywhere or just at the church building? I am not against “big church” – the Sunday morning service that’s preplanned, rehearsed, and often repeated 2 or 3 times back to back.  But this isn’t the same thing as what we read about in the New Testament, where they all met in much smaller, relational groups several times a week and lived-out their faith in daily life.  Laypeople would do well to avoid the thought-trap that all of their “spiritual needs” should be met by showing up to church meetings once or twice a week.  We all need to constantly challenge ourselves to develop daily disciplines and rhythms & relationships that equip & propel us to victoriously walk with Jesus wherever we find ourselves…7 days a week.  THAT IS BEING THE CHURCH!

“Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4:11-16) 

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

• Abraham was the man of faith who listened to God and led his clan to obey commands they never heard for themselves.
• Moses was God’s executor of salvation for the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, then His mouthpiece for the Law.
• (I could go on & on, but for simplicity) The Judges like Samson & Deborah, the Prophets like Elijah & Isaiah, the Kings & Priests, etc.

• Yours – Spiritual gifts do not originate from you, and are not “for” you.  They are meant to be used for the benefit of others.  This was one of the primary errors of the Corinthian Christians to whom the Apostle Paul wrote the letter of 1 Corinthians.  Read through chapters 12, 13, and 14, and you’ll see what I mean.  They were focusing on the gifts themselves, rather than the giver or each other….which is the whole point.  God’s purpose isn’t to give you gifts. His purpose is to love you and to love others through you by the activity of His Spirit; filling you up to overflowing so you bleed out His presence into those around you in ways that are alien to your earthly nature… yet make you more alive than you’ve ever been!
• The same as your natural talents.  Physical agility is not a spiritual gift, nor is musical ability, nor is working with children; yet I’ve heard all of these referred to as spiritual gifts.  We need to be careful to let the Bible say what it says and not make it say what it doesn’t. For example, the athlete who uses his physical agility for God’s glory may be exercising FAITH, which is a spiritual gift, but his physical ability is a natural talent…..the musician who dedicates her craft to lead others in worshipping the Lord in a church gathering may be exercising EXHORTATION…the guy who teaches the 4^th grade boys Sunday School class may be exercising TEACHING. Distinctions are important so that we remain focused on the God stuff and separate it from the human stuff…lest we make God in our own image or make a mockery of His supernatural character.
• Determined by a man-made test – When I was in college, I took my first “spiritual gifts inventory” test.  It wasn’t online, because there was no such thing as online yet…it was on paper then, but now there are lots of different tests available on the web that claim to tell you what your spiritual gifts are.  To me, honestly, this is absolute hogwash.  The basis for these tests is personality theory; which is totally legitimate and helpful, but 1) it’s not a clear corollary to spiritual gifts, 2) my evaluation of myself is probably the least trustworthy source for how I operate in community with others.  Spiritual gifts are expressions of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in Jesus’ people and enables them to do what they could never do without Him.  Often, scripture gives us glimpses of spiritual gifts activity that is totally outside the control of the recipients.  Also, gifts are ALWAYS spoken of in scripture in terms of community with other members of the Body of Christ.  If anyone is going to tell you what your gifts are, it’s going to be the Body of believer who know & love you….not some super smart strangers who made a test for you to take!
• Meant to service your church’s programmatic needs – Often, an emphasis on spiritual gifts by local churches coincides with a push for more volunteers…like holes that need to be filled in the children’s classes, parking lot, or in the band.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with any of those things, and honestly when you’re part of a local church of any size & shape, you need to be contributing toward the needs of the congregation & programs that you’re benefitting from in some way.  Like if you live in a house with other people, you have be willing to take your turn emptying the dishwasher or cleaning the toilet or whatever your job is…cuz if you’re not you’re being a jerk.  But that’s not “spiritual gifts”…. that’s just simple Responsibility 101.  Spiritual gifts go on top of that.
• At your beck & call – In Jesus’ famous conversation with Nicodemus (see John 3), He said “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”  The Greek word translated as “wind” and “spirit” come from the same root.  In other words, the Spirit cannot be contained or bridled.  Your Spiritual Gift is a function of God’s desire at work in your circumstances to accomplish His will, rather than God’s power for you to wield in controlling your circumstances according to your desire.  Try to say that 5-times fast!
• Automatic – We get mixed-up about this, partly because we’re saved by God’s grace rather than our own effort…so we can tend to believe that everything about our relationship with God is free.  However, the gifts don’t work like that; they must be cultivated by faith (Romans 12:6), continued practice (1 Timothy 4:7 & Hebrews 5:14) and connection with the Body (Romans 12:4-6).  Spiritual gifts are like muscles; they need to be fed & worked & trained in order to perform in ways that produce results.

Today’s blog is about the fixation that all types of Christians often have with their church buildings. I think we tend to get really distracted with the things we create to help us reach toward God.  I’m going to challenge some assumptions here…first, however, let me say that I love the Church.

The Church, as scripture describes it, is an organism.  It is Christ’s Body, His physical presence, in the world today.  Not to be confused with the churches (note the “little c”) that dot the real-estate landscape with bricks & mortar & parking lots.  But the One True Church, comprised of all followers of Jesus everywhere, who have become brothers & sisters & inheritors of the Real Estate of God’s Kingdom in this life and the life to come.  There is only one Church (“big C”); and although it includes local churches everywhere, it’s independent of the programs & organizations & buildings that Christians call “home.” If I’m being totally honest, sometimes I’m not that crazy about the “little c.”

I think we tend to get really distracted with the things we create to help us reach toward God.  We’re blessed to live in a country where we have freedom to gather for worship as we please and build state-of-the-art buildings for weekly experiences that are absolutely amazing.  It’s ironic, however, that these great benefits we take for granted in the wealthiest nation in the world haven’t seemed to make an appreciable difference in the percentage of adherents to the faith or the depth of their devotion to the ways of Jesus.  Now you may disagree with that subjective “from my perspective” assertion, but I think that current statistics & cultural perceptions back me up overwhelmingly. I am not against traditional church buildings at all, they can be incredibly helpful tools; but I am against the notion that they are sacred locations where God’s Spirit Lives.

In the Old Testament, with the people of Israel, God was setting the stage for how He would work through them (the Jews) to bless the rest of the world.  As part of that, He had them setup a Tabernacle, which later morphed into a permanent Temple in Jerusalem.  This was God’s Dwelling Among Men.  It was Holy and Sacred, two words that mean “set apart.”  People came to the temple because that’s where God was, literally.  But this changed dramatically in the New Testament with the work of Jesus to fulfill and supersede the law and its limitations.  Remember all the crazy stuff that happened after the death of Jesus on the Cross?  At that time, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom by the Hand of God Himself…symbolizing that the dividing barrier between God’s presence and His people had been eradicated (Luke 23:45).  Before this, only the High Priest could enter the “Holy of Holies” once per year to make atonement on behalf of the people.  After Jesus and the Day of Pentecost, His Spirit became available to all people!

The Church is not a building, an event, or an organization…it’s you.  The church building you attend services at is only holy because God’s people are there; other than that, it’s just another building.  Church services are meant to inspire & equip you to go and represent Jesus in your world, and whenever you’re with another believer (follower of Jesus, disciple, apprentice, Christian, whatever you call yourself), You. Are. The. Church.

One of the first amazing heroes of the Early Church was Stephen, a man full of faith & power & wisdom.  He is known as the first Christian martyr.  False witnesses were produced against him that claimed “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”  Stephen fearlessly laid-out the development of God’s presence throughout the ages, ending with the fiery assertion, “…the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands…You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”  Then they killed him.  His death became the lightning rod that sparked the first movement of “The Way of Jesus” outside of Israel, as individuals & families & small groups accepted their God-given identities as the Houses of God.

• “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
• “Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them…the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:23-26)
• “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)
• “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22)

There are dozens of reasons why we do the things we do.  Motivations are what drive us, they’re the activation of our desires.  Desires are primary, instinctive.  Some are inescapable, hard-wired attributes that all of us are born with – like the desire to enjoy good food, be cared for by others, and be involved in pursuits that are meaningful.  Others are acquired through life’s traumas, which get written onto our permanent operating system as well…like inordinate desires to always be right, or to make a big splash in the world, or to be recognized & admired by others.  This is what I’m talking about…the insatiable hungers that develop in our souls as we live in this dangerous world.

As the leader of a service-oriented non-profit, I’m constantly serving other people and training volunteers to do the same.  Every year I work with literally hundreds of volunteers – they’re wonderful people and we do really good things for people in need.  Many of our projects have made life-altering impacts on those we serve and serve with, and I’m so blessed to be part of it!  That being said, it’s vital that we remain grounded when it comes to our motivations; because it’s easy to get sucked into doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

Speaking for myself, motivation is especially important because I set the tone for so many others.  Godly, healthy motivations in me have a way of inspiring & launching the dreams of those I serve with.  On the contrary, when I’m being driven along by inner winds that represent self-serving motivations, it often ends up disempowering others and throwing wrenches in the gears.  Can you relate?  It’s like this with all relationships, really.  When our inner-desires are under control, we are free to pour ourselves into the people we lead and/or love without being distracted by what we think we need from them.  This is true in marriage, parenting, management, friendship, neighborhoods, social groups, church life, etc.  This is deeply spiritual, and has its birthplace in our relationship with God.

When we approach other people with needs we want them to fill, it’s all about us and we can end up sabotaging God’s work in us and in others.  This can even happen when we’re doing good things.  For example, sometimes I do good because I want to be recognized and admired.  This is one of my acquired default settings that tends to rear its ugly head occasionally; and as I continue to grow in relationship with God, I’m learning to recognize it and bring it to the throne of my Master.

Each of us was created to be in intimate, daily relationship with God…to receive our source of identity & meaning & motivation straight from Him.  When we get our deepest inner needs met by our Heavenly Father, we consequently don’t come to others with a basket of unmet needs to fill.  This is incredibly freeing!  It’s what the scriptures mean when they talk about joy.  Joy is totally different than happiness, which is related to the “happenings” of our lives and is ultimately transitory.  But Joy is independent, it’s what automatically rises up within us due to the wonderfulness of God and His ability to empower us to overcome the world!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you.” Psalm 37:4-5

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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 4:4-7

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 11:33-12:2