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GO AHEAD – EXPECT THE BEST

August 7th, 2013

It was several years ago at a Soul Care gathering in the Philippines, and we were sharing our reflections on a particular text of scripture. I shared how I simply expected the worst in every situation. For a long time, I thought of this as a good trait since it alerted me to possible “dangers” ahead.

While this may be good in some ways, it also provides for much internal strife and tension. Those who deal with the behavioral sciences may have a fancy name for this, but it certainly feels like being on a leash. Every decision was made with lots of inhibitions. I never felt the freedom necessary to expect the best.

I’ve always wanted to share about this struggle with my readers, but I thought no one else might be experiencing such things. But recently I read a post by Seth Godin “The opposite of anxiety.” He said: “I define non-clinical anxiety as, ‘experiencing failure in advance.’ If you’re busy enacting a future that hasn’t happened yet, and amplifying the worst possible outcomes, it’s no wonder it’s difficult to ship that work.” When I read that I said “That’s it. That’s exactly what I’ve done all along. I jeopardized the possibility of doing my best due to my expectation of the worst.

Jesus said “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:12-14 ESV) These words of Jesus exhibit a confidence far beyond what we can fathom. He is not expecting the worst, but the best.

So go ahead. Expect the best. Jesus did. That’s what you were meant to do.

How do you see the future? What do you expect to find there? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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MORNING

July 29th, 2013

This week we have a guest post by Chris Erdman. Chris is a writer and pastor of University Presbyterian Church in Fresno, California. He’s married to Patty. Together they have five adult kids with partners and growing families who make them feel wildly fortunate to be alive. He blogs at chriserdman.com.

The way you greet the day matters. Your first lucid moments set the course for what follows. Set that course with intention, through a simple prayer, and you’ll be okay. The prayer needn’t be long, but it ought to be clear. In fact, the simpler, briefer, and more focused it is, the better.

For the better part of your life, you’ve let the day start you. Your alarm awakens you, and you stumble out of bed. You turn on the coffee or the shower. A steady stream of thoughts flow through your head. You get the newspaper, put on music or the TV. Maybe you check your email or head off to the gym. The mental stream swells, and as it does, your body and spirit are pulled along with it. Even first thing in the morning, tension and stress tug at your neck and shoulders. The thought-stream nags at you from the start, demanding more from your body than your body’s ready to give. So you pump a little more caffeine into your veins and jot another note on your to-do list. These thoughts—largely unexamined—have yanked you into a river whose direction you control far less than you realize.

Isaiah says, “Morning by morning GOD wakens–wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught” (50.4b).

What might it mean for you to arouse your spirit first thing–to embrace the day and join up with God?

Intention: Tomorrow, I’ll embrace the moment of my rising and waken my ear to GOD. Doing so has the power to change everything.

Click here to leave a comment on Chris’ blog post.

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Becoming an Observer

July 17th, 2013

When our kids were small, we visited our friend’s home whose children were in their early teens. We all had a great time together as we discussed various parenting struggles. The kids were there as well doing their own stuff.
About half way into the conversation, my friend switched to a complaining mode and began sharing how the kids were not doing well in school and how they are struggling to keep order in their home and wondering how they will make it financially, and a swirl of other struggles as well. At that moment, in the midst of the games the kids were playing, his son turned around and said “Yea, he’s really just stressed out.” My friend’s face turned to an embarrassed look, realizing his son had correctly identified his real situation.
It seems we often get “broad-sided” and blinded by our circumstances. We get caught by the whirlwind or caught in the current of our situation. In the midst of that, we loose our perspective. It’s really an element of surprise coupled with confusion. Reality becomes difficult to gauge, and it becomes somewhat of a “pseudo-reality.”
Although this was the case with my friend, his son had another perspective. Very close and living under the same roof, their perspectives were quite different. He was in the midst of his turmoil, unable to see beyond it. But his son was like an observer looking at the situation from a different vantage point. His son’s perspective was broader and clearer.
So what does it take for us to step out of the situation and get a different perspective? Is it possible for us to step out? Is that even an option for us? Can we become an observer of our own life?

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Bounce Back

July 1st, 2013

This week we have a guest post by Dr. Jeff Jibben who is my friend & former classmate. He is the founding pastor of freshwaterchurch.net, president of the church planting network paradoxplants.org, and adjunct professor of theology at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix Arizona. Check out his blog eCouragement.

“If you fall, I’ll be there.” ~Floor

For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again… – Proverbs 24:16

The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. – Psalm 145:14

The floor is very supportive, consistent, and always there for us. Falling and floor just seem to go together.

Also very supportive, consistent, and there is the Lord. He cares when we fall, he cheers when we rise. Our deepening relationship with the Lord – our righteousness – provides us the insight and hope to rise again. Our humility before God creates miraculous lift. The Lord – active and powerful in our life – gives us the bounce back stuff.

Just like in natural life, our bounce-back-ability is dependent on content of our character. Drop an egg to the floor and it will crack. Drop bread dough to the floor and it will splat. Drop a bowling ball to the floor and it will make a dent in your floor. But, drop a superball to the floor, and it will bounce back over and over again. God is in the business of changing our natural character into superball stuff. In times when we might have been cracked, splat, or dented others, we now bounce back because of what God has done in us.

Have you fallen many times? Good. You are normal. You are human. It is the nature of life. Need to get up again even though it is against all odds? Invite the righteous Lord into the depths of your soul. Your bounce-back-ability is about to change.

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Being Hunted Down

June 16th, 2013

Just the other day I sat with a man who has been struggling with numerous vices in his life. He really wants to leave the life of sin, but he just can’t shake it off. He just can’t walk away from the things that have gripped his life for so long.

As we sat together to talk and to pray, he said something to me with lots of frustration in his face: “Pastor, God is after me. He won’t let me go. I feel like I am being hunted down by him. Why is he doing this? What does he want from me?”

The book of Job recognizes that God reaches out much further than we can imagine. His “light” shines and searches out much beyond anyone’s reach (Job 25:2 ESV). Thus no one is beyond God’s reach nor His sight.

The Holy Spirit indwells the believer and works as a “counselor.” It is his job to convict the world regarding sin, righteousness, and the coming judgment. So, as a child of God, no wonder we feel guilty as soon as we are about to sin. Yes, it is as if we are being hunted down by God.

It is all part of God’s massive plan of ongoing redemption in our lives. So, once he finds us guilty, what does he do? Does he condemn us? Or, is his plan to destroy us? Neither. He gently leads us to the right path by his mercy and love.

But some of us are more stubborn than others and continue in our own ways of sin. Then, God understands that the pain of remaining in sin is greater than the pain of correction. So he decides to correct us with his love and a strong hand. He continues this process of correction throughout our lives. It’s a process of fine-tuning our hearts to line up with his standards. I suppose that process takes an entire lifetime. Then by the time he takes us home, or as he takes us home, he completes that process.

Until then, we continue to feel like he is hunting us down. Yes he is. But not in anger to destroy us, but in love to re-align us according to his will and plan for us.

Do you feel like you’re being hunted down?

Share your experience in the comments section of this blog.

Photo by indi.ca, Creative Commons license.

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Making Sense of Evil

June 9th, 2013

It was with a BBC news App on my phone that I read about the three women from Cleveland USA who were held captive for ten years. I read the story about Ariel Castro’s crimes in disbelief and disgust. For days, I felt within me a sense of repulsiveness as they were just teenagers when they were abducted. I thought of my own children and their friends. I kept thinking about all the evil present in this world. But I kept checking the news about the crime to see the outcome, especially to see whether this criminal would be brought to a quick trial. Surely no punishment will be great enough to cover the intensity of the emotional, physical, and social damage that has been inflicted.

But what about all the evil and wickedness in this world? Why is there so much of it all around us? Why must innocent children suffer so much injustice? Why can’t God – or why won’t God intervene in such extreme cases? We hear of many stories of rescue at the nick of time. But why not at this time?

The Biblical prophets of long ago spoke of the day when God’s Messiah (savior) would come and put away all evil for ever. He would establish God’s kingdom on the earth. On that day, there would be no more tears, pain, or suffering. In due time, the Messiah (Jesus) came and inaugurated the kingdom of God. But that kingdom has not come in its fullness yet. The final consummation of God’s kingdom will only occur at the second coming of Jesus. On that day, all evil will be wiped out. The evil one (Satan) will be restrained and put away forever. Then there will not be anyone to tempt and prompt people towards sin and wickedness.

For now, we are in an interim period where two kingdoms co-exist. The kingdom of evil (of Satan) was given an opportunity to enter and be set up from the time Adam and Eve sinned. In the same way, the following generations (including us) continued to give opportunity for that kingdom to prevail in this world.

The kingdom of God, which was inaugurated by Jesus, continues to rule in the hearts of those who have put their faith in Christ. As people’s lives are transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, they become a part of this awesome kingdom that Jesus has established.

So as we read of the wickedness and evil in this society, we recognize that there are two kingdoms in conflict. Those who continue a lifestyle of sin continue to give way to the reign and authority of the kingdom of evil.

But those of us who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ have taken that important step into God’s kingdom. We live with a different set of values that defines who we are and how we live.

So as we see the evil and wickedness in this world, be reminded of the second coming of Jesus. On that day God’s kingdom will be consummated in its fullness. All evil will be put away as the Evil One is removed from the scene. That is the future we can look forward to.

How have you understood the evil and wickedness you see all around you?

Share it in the comments section of this blog post.

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Live Generously

June 2nd, 2013
This week we have a guest post by Dr. Bob Logan . He focuses on incarnational missional ministry and multiplication. He is a church planter, coach, consultant, trainer, writer, mountain biker. He lives in Los Angeles, California USA, and blogs at loganleadership.com. You can follow him on Twitter @drboblogan

Living generously is more than a matter of specific actions. It’s an internal posture of openness that informs all of our decisions and the way we live our life. Are we willing to unclench our hands and recognize that all we have is from God? Our money, our home, our talents, our relationships – they’re not ours. We are entrusted with them for a little while with the charge to use them to benefit the world around us. We are stewards whose master will one day come home and ask us how we have invested what he left with us. If we can lay hold of this reality, we will be changed. We will live with open hands, blessing those around us with our words, our actions, our resources, and our time.

Ask each other these questions to help one another journey along the way in this area:
- How can you bless people with your words?
- When do you most sense a spirit of generosity in your life?
- What do you have to give?
This blog post is part of a series of nine entries, each highlighting one of the nine Journey Guides. Each Journey Guide is a three-week discipleship study. They can be engaged in separately or as a series. If you want to take people through a 3-week journey on this topic, visit the Logan Leadership Store.

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The Fine Art of Offense

May 5th, 2013

I remember the discussions during my college days regarding what can be an offense and a “stumbling block” for others. It was in the early 1980’s and articles appeared in several Christian magazines regarding Christian rock music. Those writers opposed it heavily without any mercy. They opposed the idea of connecting the word “Christian” with rock music. They compared it with overt demonic manifestations in various countries. Somehow it was also connected with the worship of demons and Satan himself. Within the context of such arguments, we struggled with the concept of being an offense to others. We were trying to understand what our limits were. How far are we being a stumbling block to others?

The ministry and teachings of Jesus were offensive to some prominent religious leaders of his day. This was quite obvious and the disciples even responded and said to Jesus: “Do you know that the pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” (Matthew 15:12) In fact, the “offense” was so fierce that they labeled Jesus as a drunkard, glutton, and a friend of sinners. That’s quite a damper for a young rabbi starting out in the ministry at a young age. Jesus was offensive to those who were self-righteous. But to those who were weak and struggling, he was completely merciful.

While dealing with the issue of eating food and how one should choose what to eat, Paul urged them to be considerate of the weak (Romans 14). Paul’s admonition was that they should be directed by love and consideration for the weak. If their faith is weak, we must be considerate and loving towards them.

So, is the perspective of Paul different from that of Jesus? Rather than being different, the two views are complementary. To those who are mature, and to the hypocritical ones, be firm. Know what you believe and stand for it with all your heart. But to the weak, be kind and do your best to explain your actions and intentions. Most of all, be motivated by love and selflessness.

How have you handled the fine art of offense?

Share it in the comments section of the blog.

Photo by a2gemma Creative Commons

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When Life Ends Before Mercy Ends

April 28th, 2013

Tom* was a man who really wanted his life to be different. He had always wanted a peaceful life. As a hard working man, he believed in making an honest living. As a skilled, qualified diesel mechanic, he always found work wherever he went. His employers sought him out for his uncanny ability to trouble-shoot the most complicated issues at work. He was their “go to” man for their difficult tasks.

But somewhere, his life began to make all the wrong turns. Everything he hoped for in life turned sour. Then he had no where else to turn but to the bottle. When he finally showed up in church one day, I looked into his blood-shot eyes and somehow we connected. I had him sit next to me during worship, but he just couldn’t sit for long. Periodically he would go out for a smoke then come stand in the back of the church until I called him back to the seat next to me.

The alcohol, tobacco, and life itself had taken a toll on his body. Now estranged from his wife and children, he had a very lonely life. No one wanted to spend but a few minutes with him. That was enough for most people.

Sometimes he would come to our home and we would spend time together while he told me his story. He had tried all other avenues of help such as rehabilitation centers, counseling and other government programs, but no change. I strongly believed the only answer for Tom was Jesus. So during the hours we spent together I tried my best to turn his focus on to Jesus. But his brokenness was so severe that he just could not see through the thick fog.

I knew that I had to compassionately show mercy to him. There were so many others in the church with problems, but I put that extra effort and time on Tom because of the depth of his brokenness. The only way I know is to show mercy and compassion and to keep turning him to Jesus.

Prayer was a key factor in my attempt to minister to this person. I tried every prayer I knew from my last thirty years of ministry. Something had to work to break through this thick fog. It worked for many others, and it certainly should work for Tom. I had to turn him to Jesus.

Then one day I heard the sad news. Tom died. My heart sank. Even now, I simply don’t understand. I often ask why the Lord just wouldn’t break through all those barriers into his heart. I suppose his life just ended before mercy ended. In my mind I have put this experience in my “Mysteries” file. I’ll figure it out one day.

I know that God’s kingdom has come through not in its fullness yet. But I wish it was in its fullness. It would have surely broken through the fog and into Tom’s heart. Although I don’t understand, I continue to show mercy and expect the power of God’s kingdom. It continues to impact so many lives – but I always remember Tom.

Have you experienced loss in the midst of mercy?

Share it in the comments section of this blog.

*Name changed

Photo by inkknife_2000

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When No One Understands

April 14th, 2013

Once in a while Susan* would come out of her shell and try to talk with others and smile. But most of the time she was simply withdrawn and isolated. She came to church regularly and attended all of the special meetings and gatherings. But somehow she just couldn’t connect with most of the people.

Her problems were different. Others could not understand her situation. As pastors, my wife and I attempted to help her connect with the rest of the people in our church. We knew that would be good and healthy for her spiritually and emotionally. But she felt that no one else understands her pain and struggles. She just couldn’t see how anyone could possibly help her.

Several people tried to reach out to her, but they just couldn’t connect. Her problems were too deep and intense, and their patience in listening to her wore out quickly. So she remained in her “shell” for a long time. Visits to counselors and psychiatrists continued, but there was no change in her.

Susan just couldn’t understand how God could love her or understand her situation. She felt that she was too “broken” for God to ever want her. But the Bible is clear that God accepts these “broken” ones. The Psalmist says “The sacrifices of God are a broken Spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17 ESV)

The above mentioned Psalm was possibly written during a time when animal sacrifices were still common in Israel. But even in that time, a broken and contrite heart was understood to be the primary requirement. Yes, the sacrifices continued, but they had to be offered with such a heart that was open and contrite before God.

This is exactly what God wants of his people: brokenness and contriteness. This doesn’t mean that God wants his people in a mess. He wants us to be aware of our brokenness so we can be open to his love.

Its a fact that people usually remain the same. They’re busy with their own problems and struggles in life. They may not have the time nor even care to look in your direction. But God remains faithful. Keep trusting him, and keep moving forward.

What do you do when no one seems to care?

Share your experiences in the comments section of this blog.

*Name changed

Photo by jasleen_kaur Creative Commons

http://www.barnabas.in

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