Don't Despair

I was just reading Terry Virgo's blog post from this past Friday and was very encouraged by it. Here is an excerpt:

David lamented, ‘One day I’ll die at the hands of Saul.’ Clearly, the temptation to despair was very real for him. He was away from Israel, his homeland, and he thought, ‘I’ll be killed. It’s inevitable.’ He nearly gave up. But then he voiced that beautiful Psalm: ‘I would have fainted if I had not believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.’

Many good people have nearly despaired and have cried out in desperation to God. Elijah prayed, ‘Take my life from me.’ Others, like Moses and Jeremiah, almost reached the place of suicide. Perhaps you’ve been overwhelmed by similar dark thoughts and have cried out, ‘Oh, God, I can’t bear this!’ But somehow God has given you the strength to go on.

Sometimes the pruning is hard. Maybe your fiancé broke off your engagement or you’ve lost your job. Perhaps a loved one died suddenly. Maybe you had a disabling accident or discovered a close friend has cancer. In situations like these, we are tempted to despair. David nearly did. ‘Why have you rejected me?’ he asked God. ‘Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?’ But he refused the temptation to give in to hopelessness. ‘Put your hope in God,’ he urged his soul, ‘for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.’

If you'd like to read more of Terry's blog, click here.

Jesus, Rich in Compassion

As he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him,"...You know the commandments:‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”

And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:17-22)

Neatly dressed, self-possessed, with an intelligent face and a purposeful stride--this is how I picture the man in this passage, who is referred to in the other gospels as the rich, young ruler. I wonder what was going through his mind as he wove his way through the crowds of Jesus' followers toward the Teacher himself. Did he glance discreetly at the disciples' rough robes and travel-worn sandals? Did he compare them with his own fine clothes and the glitter of the rings on his fingers? When he peered over his shoulder to make sure that his servants were still waiting with his camels, did he notice that none of these people had either servants or camels?

Whatever his impressions of Jesus' followers, the rich, young ruler managed to find Jesus and respectfully pose the question that would define him in Scripture. "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus starts talking to him about the law, and the rich young ruler shakes his head, unsatisfied with this answer. No, I've already tried that, he tells Jesus, wanting a different solution. So, Jesus offers this man a way out from under the law--sell everything you own and follow me, he says. The young man's face falls. This wasn't the answer he was looking for. Slowly, he turns and walks away.

The rich, young ruler stands out to me among the multitudes who came to see Jesus. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he understood that the law was not able to produce life in his soul. Sadly though, he still had the idea that righteousness could be obtained through the right system. So when he asks Jesus how he can have eternal life, I think he's not so much looking to be saved as he is searching for a better set of rules. When Jesus offers a new relationship governed by one rule--make Me your treasure--the man walks away disappointed.

Mark says it was Jesus' love for the rich, young ruler that moved him to offer such a challenging invitation. In his great compassion for us, Jesus will identify the thing that keeps us from following him and demand we give it up. Whatever it is, he will ask us to love him more than we love that.

Wendy Virgo on Influential Women

It's been pretty quiet around the office this week, so I've been enjoying listening to some podcasts and recordings. I've especially enjoyed a series of three talks that Wendy Virgo did on the topic of Influential Women. These talks cover the role of women, how this role reflects truth about God, and how we can uniquely influence the culture around us.

Here are links to Wendy's Influential Women series:
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3 (This is a link to the website where this talk will be posted--it's not yet available)

And here's a short bio on Wendy Virgo from the Newfrontiers website, in case you are not familiar with her.

Wendy is a popular speaker, traveling widely both in the UK and internationally. She has written many book including Leading Ladies, Women Set Free, Mainly for Mothers and Mary: Mother of Jesus. She is married to Terry Virgo and they have five grown-up children.

Anger Management

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. For the anger of man does not bring about the righteousness of God. Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

Sin is frustrating. Frankly, it often makes me angry--angry with myself and angry with others. I can testify, though, that James' evaluation in the verses above is accurate: anger does not produce righteousness, not in me and not in others. Thankfully, God has given us some instructions in the verses above about how we can relate to one another in a way that shuts down anger and promotes righteousness, and how we can fight the inner battle of self-loathing and instead respond to the Spirit.

First, how can we respond to each other in a way that dispels anger and promotes righteousness? In typically practical terms, James says we can be eager to listen with understanding ("be quick to hear"), have a humble hesitancy to voice our own opinion ("be slow to speak"), and determine that we will not be easily provoked ("be slow to anger"). It's pretty simple advice, but in the heat of an argument, things can look complicated. My mind swirls with accusations and comebacks and "Oh no, you didn't!"s. I need simple.

What about when we are angry with ourselves? Sometimes I think my conscience has been replaced by the world's worst soccer coach. He berates me for all my mistakes, pointing each one out and telling me that I must be a fool, an idiot, an ingrate to keep messing this stuff up. But you know what? After one of those internal tirades, I never find myself resting in God's steadfast love or considering the ransom he paid for my sin. Do you know why? Because self-loathing is not repentance, and therefore, won't help us receive grace. Usually, this kind of anger is pride. I'm angry because I think I should have performed better than I did (the inner soccer coach takes over here), and I reproach myself out of pride.

So if I can't change my heart by reproaching myself, what am I supposed to do? Heaven knows I don't want to stay the way I am! James says first to "put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness;" simply, to stop sinning. Whatever it is, quit doing it. Then we are to "receive with meekness the implanted word." The Greek word translated as meekness is an interesting one. It means to be reined in, as in the way one would use the reins to direct a horse. It doesn't have anything to do with weakness, but with being controlled for a purpose. James says to receive from God as one being reined in, for the purpose of righteousness. And what are we to receive? "The implanted word, which is able to save your souls." I think this implanted word is the Holy Spirit, the ever-present counselor who plants God's words in our hearts to convict and encourage us. We can fire the angry soccer coach and rely on the Spirit to help us see our sin and turn from it.

A Fashion Manifesto....A Fashifesto?

I recently saw the fashion manifesto posted above on another blog and had to laugh....and agree. It can be found in its original form on the aptly-titled website, www.tightsarenotpants.com, along with downloadable, printable fliers.

Summer School

During one of his talks at Celebration Midwest, Terry Virgo recommended a book by Andrew Murray called With Christ in the School of Prayer. I'm just a few pages into it and already feel encouraged to pray more and eager to encounter God in this way. Here are a couple of excerpts:

"I feel sure that as long as we look on prayer chiefly as the means of maintaining our own Christian life, we shall not know fully what it is meant to be. But when we learn to regard it as the highest part of the work entrusted to us, the root and strength of all other work, we shall see that there is nothing that we so need to study and practice as the art of praying aright."

"We have become so accustomed to limit the wonderful love and the large promises of our God, that we cannot read the simplest and clearest statements of our Lord without the qualifying clauses by which we guard and expound them...God means prayer to have an answer, and...it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive what God will do for his child who gives himself to believe that his prayer will be heard."

Doesn't it make you want to spend your summer in the school of prayer? If so, Andrew Murray's book can be purchased from Amazon here, and Terry Virgo's talks from Celebration Midwest are available as free downloads here.

Fashion Fridays

To tell you the truth, I don't shop very much in the summertime. It's my least favorite season as far as clothes are concerned. This year, however, I've noticed lots of gorgeous dresses out there. Take a look at this little number...

Embroidered Sundress - Topshop USA

Summer, I take back everything I've ever said about you. You're not so bad, really.

The Road to Capernaum is Paved With Politics

I've had the opportunity to transport groups of teenagers to summer camp on long road trips. Something I enjoy about those hours on the highway is listening to their conversations. Sitting behind the wheel in my sunglasses, eyes on the road, I can listen intently during these unguarded moments and learn a great deal about the lives and hearts of my fellow travelers. I wonder what the conversation on the road trip to Capernaum was like. Because the Bible says "disciples" and not specifically "the twelve," this group of travelers probably included many of Jesus' followers, not just the twelve main dudes. They had just come from an intense teaching session in Galilee during which Jesus revealed that we was going to be killed (Mark 9:30-32).

I imagine this teaching was weighing heavily on their hearts, and kicking a rock out of the road with his sandal, maybe one of them finally said, "Look guys, I hate to even bring this up, but someone will have to pick up where Jesus leaves off. John is one of Jesus's closest friends. He could complete the mission." After a moment of stunned silence, perhaps someone replied, "No, no, that won't work. John's great, but he just doesn't have that spark. We need a leader who is bold and fearless. I think I could follow Peter if Jesus...you know...wasn't around anymore." Then another guy pipes up, "Peter's got a lot of grit, but he's just so argumentative..."

I wonder what the twelve disciples were thinking as their leadership potential was being debated. Did they chime in? Did James say, "I think John's great (really, you know I love you, John) but you guys are right--he doesn't have that thunder that Peter's got." What about those who were found lacking in leadership potential? I wonder if Andrew was a bit miffed that no one thought to throw his name out there as a potential candidate. Maybe Thomas thought, What makes any of these guys think they're cut out for leadership? Peter wouldn't last a day. Honestly, I'm the only one with sense enough to lead this group.

Jesus is so gentle in the way he reveals our sin. In Mark 9:33-37, we read that he waited until he was alone with his disciples at the house (not publicly rebuking them) and asked, "What were you discussing on the way?" He is well aware that they were not discussing, but were in fact arguing. And not just arguing, but arguing out of pride and ignorance. His question causes them to re-evaluate their conversation, giving the Holy Spirit room to work. The Spirit makes them aware of their true motives, and their guilty silence answers for them.

However, Jesus is not interested in guilt trips unless they are short detours on the way to renewed understanding and freedom from sin. He does not say, "Don't do this," without also adding, "Do this instead." So he gathers the twelve for a lesson in servat leadership. "If anyone would become first, he must become servant of all." In God's kingdom, we do not promote ourselves, we devote ourselves. I think that Jesus wants his followers to see themselves as caretakers rather than competitors. The greatest thing we disciples can do is immitate Jesus by forsaking self-promotion and devoting ourselves to others, especially to those who, like children, can offer us nothing back and may not even appreciate our sacrifice. In this way, we immitate Jesus, the Greatest of the Great, who did not consider equality with God something to be held onto, but who humbled himself in love and gave himself up for us (Ephesians 5:1-2, Phillipians 2:1-8).

Why Are You Here?

This past Sunday, one of the pastors at my church posed an important question: why are you here? There are vast, metaphysical answers to that question. I was challenged by it in a more personal and practical way.

During the meeting that morning, I had been entertaining an attitude that sometimes tempts me. It's a lethal combination of bitterness and self-pity that interrupts my otherwise healthy relationships with thoughts like, I don't belong anywhere. Everyone else has moved on. This attitude sneaks into my thought life, and plants seeds of ingratitude and indignation. How could they forget to invite me? I can become so wrapped up in nursing my wounded pride that I miss or don't appreciate opportunities right under my nose.

As I was saying, this attitude had crept in and was working behind-the-scenes all morning, distracting me from worship and tempting me to be ungracious with my friends. Thankfully, God broke in on the drive home, and reminded me of why I'm not here. I'm not at Christ's Church because everyone here is just like me. That's not why I'm committed to loving and serving and doing my best to build up this church family. Paul had some things to say about being different:

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.... If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. (1 Corinthians 12:14-15,17-18, ESV)

If I could paraphrase these verses, I might say, "The church does not consist of one type of person, but many. If the single person should say, 'I'm not married, I guess I don't belong to the church," that would not make her any less a part of the church. If the whole church were married, where would the children's ministry volunteers come from?" (Don't know about your church, but a lot of singles who fill these spots in mine.) "But as it is, God brought together the members of the church, each one of them, as he chose."

Our different organs make it possible for us to do more stuff. And just like a body with a variety of parts, the church is composed of different and distinct people. We come from a variety of backgrounds, incomes, and places in life, but when our diverse components come under the headship of Christ, each part's function contributes to the health of the whole group. Our differences glorify God and build up one another. Instead of thinking of myself as the part that doesn't fit, I want to think of myself as uniquely positioned to serve. And then, I want to do just that.