Blog: Glimmers in the Fog by Kim Stiver

Gratitude, the Great Antidote

11/27/2019

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Gratitude the Great Antidote for the Heart

Glimmers in the Fog will be taking the month of December off in celebration of the holiday season!

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“Thank you.” Two short, simple words. Yet, often so profoundly hard to say from the heart. Even more difficult to utter when we are in the midst of struggle, anger, or frustration. If most of us were really honest with ourselves, we’d admit that saying it doesn’t come naturally. Why else would parents have to so diligently instruct and prompt small children to get in the habit of responding with appreciation? Even now, so many decades later, I can still recall the sound of my mom’s voice. “What do you say,” she would ask after the bank teller handed me a lollipop, or my neighbor would return a toy left in their yard. I would like to think that I would’ve come up with some nice gesture of gratitude on my own, unprompted by a parent. A hug, perhaps? Or at least a smile. But as cute as they are, kids are born with the instinct to look out for number one, and I think I was no different.

As we grow up, most of us become reasonably competent at expressing thanks when anyone shows us special consideration or offers a gift. Of course, some never seem to acknowledge kindness, which spoils the beauty and purity of many kind deeds or gifts. But on the whole, most people learn to respond with at least a nod of appreciation automatically. So, why then, do we struggle so much to offer heartfelt gratitude to God regularly? Is it that we don’t remember Him? Perhaps it’s because we don’t recognize the constant blessings being poured out on us daily. Maybe all the hardships and disappointments obscure His goodness. I guess the list of reasons for our lack of continual thankfulness could be as endless as the flood of blessings themselves.

The Thanksgiving holiday seems to function as an annual parental reminder to pause, acknowledge our blessings, and say thank you to those we cherish and hopefully to God as well. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing at all. But I am curious what would happen if more followers of Jesus would spend time expressing heartfelt gratitude to God every single day of the year, not just once a day, but throughout the day, for all things. Yes, not just the obviously good things, but also the difficulties and disappointments because every single one of them will work together for the glory of God… at some point. Maybe we won't see it happen any time soon. Or perhaps not ever. But if we say we believe in God, and if we truly trust Him, then that’s what’s required of us. We must believe that He loves us beyond what we can fathom, and while we may not understand what His plan is, we rejoice in the unseen, unknowable blessings that are to come inevitably.

This kind of gratitude is not naturally within us, but it’s what our souls are longing for as new creations in Christ. And the more we get in the habit of soul-deep appreciation, the more automatic it becomes… the more blessings we will recognize around us… and the more joy will overflow from our hearts. Simply put — Gratitude. Changes. Everything. It is an effective weapon against almost every ailment of the heart, including worry, anger, bitterness, frustration, unhappiness, greed, selfishness, and pride, just to name a few. Like an immediate antidote for poisonous thoughts, sincere appreciation lifted in praise to Jesus works quickly to lift our spirits and shift our perspectives. And this amazing heavenly cure can be applied to almost any situation in every area of our lives, from relationships and careers, to finances and parenting.

It’s a prescription that the Apostle Paul applied to almost every kind of emotional or spiritual ailment. And if his life is any indication of hardship and suffering, then he was a great test case. If it weren’t for his incessant practice of praising God in everything, it would’ve been impossible for him to continue championing the Gospel of Jesus around the world, much less exude infectious joy in the process of doing so. He sang in prison. He joyously declared the Gospel in the face of persecution. He rebounded from great injury only to return to his mission without taking a vacation. He patiently listened to opponents in almost every culture. He laughed contentedly in the pit of poverty and hunger. He followed his own advice from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

One of Billy Graham’s last written messages, “How to Be Thankful in All Things,” was published for Thanksgiving 2017. He passed away just a few months later. It was no secret that Billy was ready to be with Jesus in eternity. He often talked of seeing his beloved wife Ruth again, and said many times that he was excited about the day of his earthly departure. “I’m looking forward to it — I really am. I’ll be happy the day the Lord says, ‘Come on. I’ve got something better planned.’” And so, I think his words about thanksgiving are particularly poignant and wise for those of us a tad bit younger than his 99 years.

“Nothing turns us into bitter, selfish, dissatisfied people more quickly than an ungrateful heart. And nothing will do more to restore contentment and the joy of our salvation than a true spirit of thankfulness,” he wrote. “I don’t know what trials you may be facing right now, but God does, and He loves you and is with you by His Holy Spirit. Cultivate a spirit of thankfulness even during trials and heartaches.” Billy then goes on to tell stories of both ungrateful and thankful people alike, all of whom he’d met or had received letters from through the years. He comes to the conclusion that those who are richest, most joyful, have the best relationships, and enjoy the most rewarding lives, are those who are thankful in every circumstance and throughout each day.

As we prepare to launch into another holiday season, it’s so easy to get crazy busy and put off any thought of adding anything else to our to-do lists. We want nothing else that will add any measure of effort or thinking to the merry-go-round in our brains. “Ugh,” you might be thinking right now, “I don’t have time to add another spiritual discipline to my day.” If that’s you, I totally get it. But perhaps you are not aware of the surprising power of expressing gratitude to God for anything and everything throughout the day. And if you practice it regularly, in just a few short weeks it will become second nature for you. It has some incredible and almost immediate byproducts that will actually help slow the spinning of your mind and give you a greater sense of calm, primarily through the hectic days ahead. While there are many positive changes people experience when cultivating a thankful heart, here are five things that came to my mind when I contemplated my own walk with Jesus.

A greater sense of security and peace in God - Philippians 4:6-7, James 1:2-4
A more joyful demeanor - Psalm 28:7; Psalm 118:15
A greater level of patience with yourself and others - Galatians 5:22-23, 2 Corinthians 4:14-15
A more generous and contented spirit - 2 Corinthians 9:10-15
A humbler, more gentle heart - Romans 1:21, James 1:14-17

Perhaps you noticed something else about the five effects of cultivating frequent thankfulness and praises to God? All of them will make life better for those around you, as well. And when people feel better about being around you, your relationships will improve, you’ll have more support during times of need, and your reasons to be grateful will increase all the more. If complaining and worry lead to a vicious downward spiral, then being grateful leads to an upward one. You can’t be grouchy, sullen, hopeless, or self-centered when you’re in the habit of being grateful. Taking the first step is always the hardest, of course, because human nature is naturally inclined toward inertia. But if the Holy Spirit is speaking to you right now, don’t pretend you don’t hear Him or think that it’s just your own mind talking. Instead, take the opportunity to praise God for His presence, and then take a leap of faith into His arms with an outburst of gratitude. If you want to radiate the love of Jesus, thanking Him in absolutely everything is a foolproof way to do it. You’ll be glad you did, and so will everyone around you.
Happy Holidays! Glimmers in the Fog will be taking a break throughout December.

Five-Day Devotional Guide For Further Reflection and Daily Spiritual Journaling
These readings from today’s message can be used for a single-day study or your daily quiet time throughout the week. Before you begin reading the passage for each day, spend some time asking God to open your heart to His truth and hearing His voice.
Following each reading, spend time journaling about what you think God might be saying to you through the Scriptures.
Day 1 - When we praise God and give thanks to Him, we will receive a greater sense of security and peace. Read Philippians 4:6-7 and James 1:2-4.
Day 2 - When we praise God and give thanks to Him, we will experience a change in our perspective to have a more joyful demeanor. Read Psalm 28:7 and Psalm 118:15.
Day 3 - When we praise God and give thanks to Him, the Holy Spirit will inhabit our praise and produce spiritual fruit, such as greater patience with yourself and others. Read Galatians 5:22-23 and 2 Corinthians 4:14-15.
Day 4 - When we praise God and give thanks to Him, over time we will find ourselves becoming more generous and content with what we have and the circumstances we are in. Read 2 Corinthians 9:10-15.
Day 5 - When we praise God and give thanks to Him, the Holy Spirit will create in us a humbler and more gentle heart. Read Romans 1:21 and James 1:14-17.

What do you think of today's message? Comment and share your thoughts on this post! And if God brought someone to mind as you read or listened, please encourage them by sharing this post today!

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The Incredible Impact of Being Ordinary

10/30/2019

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Just about every television sitcom relies on a familiar formula for evoking laughs on a consistent basis: the smooth, cool guy or girl is portrayed in contrast to the ordinary, often awkward, everyday person. Think Fonzie juxtaposed to Richie on Happy Days or Rachel compared to Monica on Friends. Whether it’s a co-worker, friend, sibling, or even a spouse, we can all relate to feeling self-conscious around someone else whom we deem to have more of the “it” factor than we do. Often undefinable and challenging to explain, this vague sense that someone is more sophisticated, put together, or magnetic than we are, can make us feel ordinary… unremarkable… and downright boring. But unlike a TV sitcom, going through life without having the “it” factor is normal for 99% of the population. Most people will be Richies or Monicas, but the world will keep telling them through advertising and social media that they should aspire to be Fonzies or Rachels if they want to be truly accepted, admired, and loved.

To further compound the pressure to be cool, which has probably been around since the dawn of civilization, we now live in an era where being noticeably different is also a prerequisite to achieve society’s newest definition of success — the social media like or follow. When I was growing up, if you were different, then you stood out in a bad way. And you certainly weren’t cool. No one wanted to be different, and embracing those who were unusual or unique was not a popular thing to do. So while I’m thrilled that we live in an era where people who “march to the beat of their own drum” or were once labeled “an odd duck” are now more likely to be celebrated and accepted, I’ve become saddened to see the heavy burden that people of all ages are carrying to stand out, get noticed, be loved, and feel approved. We’ve taken it so far, that people across every demographic are seeking counseling for anxiety and depression at never-before-seen levels in history. And despite the pervasive clamoring for attention from others, people are becoming more and more isolated and lonely.

And in the middle of all this pressure, I have been wondering where does faith fit? How should our desire to be extraordinary change if we are believers? When we read that Jesus chose to have dinner with the most uncool members of society and hang out with the most unsuccessful people of His day, what impact should it have on us when modern Christianity has its own bubble of supremely cool and very successful celebrities? In America, most Christians are not marginalized, rejected outcasts. And while followers of Jesus will always be considered awkward or uncool in some social circles, Christianity now has its own equivalent of the Fonzies and the Rachels, plus an extensive pantheon of social media darlings garnering widespread acclaim from the Christian community and a huge portion of mainstream media. These Christian superstars might be more positive, far less vulgar, and present a more altruistic platform than the majority of their mainstream counterparts — which is good — but what happens when the rest of us ordinary people begin to believe our calling from God also requires the “it factor”? What happens when we desire the same level of coolness and trendy difference that the world around us cannot get enough of?

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” So is it possible that Jesus may want those in Christian leadership to build platforms based on their ability to stand out and be unique? And if our leaders are seeking that recognition to more effectively share the Gospel, then is it something that God would also want for the rest of us who are living, loving, and serving in the routine trenches of life? Should all of us strive so hard to be extraordinary? Could it be that the culture’s emphasis on being unusual and the pressure to be remarkable has lured us into believing that there’s something wrong with being ordinary?

I realize all these questions may be an oversimplification of the complex world we live in. As a former professional marketer, I also understand all too well the amount of publicity and promotion required to ensure that a message can cut through the clutter and commercialization and reach its intended audience. That amount is staggering, by the way. But what I am getting at is something much more complex and deceitful than the simple allure of easy fame or widespread notoriety. More and more, it seems as though the one-to-one, deeply personal impact that Jesus modeled for His church body is being replaced by the impersonal, seemingly more efficient approach of mass inspiration. Instead of volunteering to serve Jesus through the intimate relational discipleship of teaching and mentoring others in our communities, loving a reclusive neighbor with regular visits, or giving back by helping a neighbor in need, so many people think God is calling them to become a public champion for a cause, a national recording artist, a full-time motivational speaker, a cutting edge entrepreneur, or a best-selling author. And, yes, God definitely calls people to those roles. Please don’t misinterpret what I am saying. The Bible makes it clear that God has plans for some believers that will include massive platforms. But the humbling reality is that He calls most of us to be incredibly ordinary as defined by the world’s standards. Of course, we are anything but ordinary to Him, and our impact for Him will be extraordinary when we’re walking in His calling, but by most earthly accounts, it will appear as though our lives are anything but high profile or well known.

Jesus taught the disciples to operate on a micro-scale … at the community level… creating a ripple effect powered by the Holy Spirit that eventually changed the lives of countless people throughout the ages. Today, more and more Christians are being duped into believing that God is calling them to serve Him on a macro-scale, creating an impersonal wave of information that reaches millions but changes no one. Yet most churches I know of are desperate for more volunteers to teach, mentor, organize, reach out, give, advocate, serve, and comfort both those within the church and the surrounding communities. Most church attendees go in person once or twice a month… tops. Many drop small offerings in the plate, but don’t discover the incredible joy that comes from worshipping through regular tithing. There are many self-professed Christians who seek a taste of the abundant life Jesus promised, but miss out on the truly satisfying feast of developing deep, life-nourishing relationships. Instead, they want the polish and sophistication of a well-organized church service with emotion-stirring music, but would prefer to avoid one-on-one accountability of a small group or the sacrifice of vacation time to chaperone for a youth mission trip. And that’s the irony of it all… Our culture pushes us to desire the praise of many for being different, yet we yearn to display our uniqueness and offer our precious talents from the safety of a distant place. We don’t actually want to get in the ordinary trenches of others’ lives and help them walk through the pain, the need, and the despair.

But the fault doesn’t only lie with church attendees — churches themselves can unknowingly fuel this widespread desire for celebrity wisdom, teaching, worship, and motivation. For example, there are some churches that prefer to bring in a high profile speaker to deliver a powerful message versus listening to an equally competent teacher within their own body. Then they essentially forget about (or overlook) the necessity of personal follow-up, accountability, and day-to-day discipleship in the days and weeks following their “big event”. This effectively encourages believers to flock to online workshops, seminars, and conferences, delivered by a big name, rather than being a part of a local Bible study, life group, or book club. Yes, great interaction and dialogue can happen during online Bible studies and classes. I’m leading one coming up in November through several Facebook Live events. But the problem creeps in when we find ourselves seeking all of our edification, encouragement, and teaching from a distance, rather than participating in a local body on multiple levels. Over and over, Jesus demonstrated that there is a time for learning, but there is no substitution for putting that learning into action into life’s ordinary situations and hardships.

James 1:23 so clearly puts the relationship between learning and action into perspective. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.” In Luke 6:46-49, Jesus explains it this way: “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Oswald Chambers, author of My Utmost for His Highest and one of the most action-oriented theologians of the previous century, frequently reminded his seminary students of the connection between faith and serving God in the most ordinary of ways. Even back in the early 1900s, people strained after recognition and achievement, and Oswald pushed his young audience of future pastors, missionaries, and teachers to be on their guard against the pursuit of grand service and lofty performance for God. “It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God — but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people— and this is not learned in five minutes.”
Yes, there are times when God puts one of His faithful servants on a platform, and countless people may benefit. Jesus also had moments of being on stage. There were times where He delivered a message to thousands. But He never stayed there. He never craved it, because He knew all too well both the power and the peril of being on a platform. Scripture indicates over and over that He was much more likely to be found looking one person in the eye rather than many. Thousands heard Him speak and followed Him, but the greatest impact of His ministry happened through the one-on-one transformations and small group teaching. Consider these pivotal, micro-audience moments from the Gospels and their crazy ripple effect throughout history and in your own heart:

The miracle of healing for the blind man, Jairus’ daughter, Lazarus, the woman with the endless bleeding, and so many more.
The conversation between Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4)
The moment when Jesus squatted in the dirt to wipe tears off the face of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11)
The shock on Zacchaeus’ face when Jesus looked up to call him down from the tree (Luke 19:1-10)
The commissioning of the disciples to go out and share the good news two by two (Mark 6:7)
The painful interaction between Jesus and the thief hanging next to Him on the cross (Luke 23:39-43)
The intimacy of the upper room when Jesus appeared to His disciples and gave them the gift of His Spirit (John 20:19-23)
The conversation between the two travelers on the road to Emmaus and how Jesus intervened (Luke 24:13-35)

In all these moments, Jesus inserted Himself into the lives of ordinary people, transforming them and the circumstances into lightning rods for His glory. And this is how ordinary people can live truly extraordinary lives — letting Jesus fill every pocket, every corner of your heart, and following His lead, not your own desires or the world’s ideas of greatness. You and I may long to do something amazing for God, but all He wants us to do is long for more of Him, and Him alone. When that happens, everything else will fall into its proper place. Listen to Oswald Chambers one more time. “A Christian worker has to learn how to be God’s man or woman of great worth and excellence in the midst of a multitude of meager and worthless things. All of God’s people are ordinary people who have been made extraordinary by the purpose he has given them. We are not workers for God by choice. Many people deliberately choose to be workers, but they have no purpose of God’s almighty grace or His mighty Word in them. Paul’s whole heart, mind, and soul were consumed with the great purpose of what Jesus Christ came to do, and he never lost sight of that one thing.”

So, today, my friend, let me encourage you never to lose sight of the one thing that should reign supreme over your heart, with all of its desires, needs, and dreams. Simply long for Jesus. Long to know more of Him and bask in His presence. Loving Him with all your heart, mind, and soul and sharing that love with others as He leads you is all you need to be utterly extraordinary. Others may never recognize you for anything, and thousands may not flock to experience the work of your hands, but you will be making an impact and receiving a crown of glory from the only One in the audience who matters.

Five-Day Devotional Guide For Further Reflection and Daily Spiritual Journaling
These readings from today’s message can be used for a single-day study or your daily quiet time throughout the week. Before you begin reading the passage for each day, spend some time asking God to open your heart to His truth and hearing His voice.
Day 1 - When Jesus talked to the woman at the well, He was doing something the culture around Him deemed scandalous. Yet, this one-on-one interaction brought out an entire town to hear the Gospel. What should’ve become the social media scandal of its day, became a message of hope for many in the hands of Jesus. Read John 4 and write down anything remarkable from Jesus’ conversation with a very ordinary person.
Day 2 - Go back to yesterday’s Scripture reading again. This time, read it in a different version and write down the verse or verses that stand out the most to you. Spend time in prayer, asking God to give you an action item out of this passage.
Day 3 - Read the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11. Spend some time thinking about her situation and how it might relate to someone you know. Don’t focus on the specifics of her sin, but on the ramifications of her pain, struggle, and societal standing. Now think about how Jesus related to her… showed her love, grace, and mercy. Write down name(s) and how God might be leading you to show the same tenderness to them.
Day 4 - Read James 1:23 and Luke 6:46-49. Spend time in prayer asking God to search your heart for any ways you have avoided taking action on something He’s asked you to do.
Day 5 - I recently read a blog post about fame by Sam Eaton that said, “If we aren’t enough without the attention, we’ll never be enough with it.” Read 2 Peter 1:3-4 and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in His truth today. Write down anything God lays on your heart.

What do you think of today's message? Comment and share your thoughts on this post! And if God brought someone to mind as you read or listened, please encourage them by sharing this post today!

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Are you a Distant Observer?

7/31/2019

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Jesus wants participants, not distant observers. Supercharge your faith with intercessory prayer.

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There’s nothing like a little distance to put things into perspective. And while we’ve all heard the cliche that, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” I love Charles Lindbergh’s quote the most. “Life is like a landscape. You live in the midst of it, but [you] can describe it only from the vantage point of distance.” How his words so aptly describe the effect of distance on almost any feeling or circumstance in life. When we live in close proximity to those we cherish, we are more likely to take them for granted. Just as when we are too deeply embedded in a problem, we are unable to see the solution right in front of us. Like a pair of glasses for a nearsighted person, distance has a way of bringing life into focus that cannot be achieved through any other means.

With my recent relocation across the country, my awareness of distance and its effects on my life has been rolling through my heart like waves on a seashore. With each new wave of realization, a freshly unfamiliar landscape appears, forcing me to think about how far away are so many of the people who have shaped my heart, enriched my life, and impacted my day-to-day existence for more than a decade. As if my affected emotions weren’t enough, distance is also altering my memories. Like repainting a wall, the structure remains unchanged, but it is awash in a new color scheme.

This morning, my distance reminder came in the form of a text from a friend in need of prayer. Yet another reminder that more than 3,500 miles exist between us, but that God intends for me to love her just as completely as if I were there right beside her. The Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “Distance can become your excuse, or it can be My catalyst. Be a participant, not just an observer from afar.” As this thought rolled around in my mind, Jesus’ words in John 15:12 quickly followed: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” I may be halfway around the world from my friend (well, it feels like it anyway), but God placed me in her life, and she in mine, to take an active role.

Never in Scripture do we see Jesus advocating for passivity when it comes to relationships. Even more impressive is that He clearly reveals that active, life-giving relationships with each other are central to what it means to loving God Himself. In that same passage in John, we read: “You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” It is simply not possible to separate Jesus’ command to love others from fruit-bearing activities.

Prayer is at the top of the list of fruit-bearing activities for all believers. So much so that Scripture tells us to do it continually, without ceasing, in all circumstances, and for all believers. If we endeavor to be participants in people’s lives, then our activity must begin with prayer before we take any other actions. Philippians 4:6, tells us to pray about everything and Ephesians 6:18 issues this command: “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
As I prayed for my long-distance friend this morning, I also became newly fascinated with the mysterious and powerful interrelationship between prayer for others and our own spiritual well-being. When we pray for others, we are clearly carrying out God’s command to love them well. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Interceding for others in prayer is an act of obedience and an expression of our love for God Himself. And Scripture makes it very clear that being obedient is key to spiritual wholeness and living abundantly in Christ.

Take, for example, the story of Job who perhaps suffered more than any other person in history except for Jesus. After losing everything he owned and loved, he was also shamed and rejected by his friends. And then we read this enlightening verse from Job 42:10: “When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” When preaching on this stunning passage, Oswald Chambers asserted that if you are struggling spiritually, then you will find a fresh infusion of growth, joy, and hope by interceding for others. “If you are not getting the hundredfold more, not getting insight into God’s word, then start praying for your friends, [and] enter into the ministry of the interior. As a saved soul, the real business of your life is intercessory prayer.”

The way I see it, the best thing you can do for your friends is also the best thing you can do for yourself. Since my new location still feels entirely foreign to me and distance feels more like my constant companion rather than a simple measure of space, praying for those I love even when I don’t feel like it, is doing just as much work in my soul as it is theirs. James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Notice that James says, “that you may be healed,” not that they may be healed. Granted, he is using the collective form of the word “you,” but Scripture is consistent in how it describes the far-reaching effects of prayer on both the one praying and those being prayed for. Psalm 145:18 says, “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”

But prayer is a tall order, isn’t it? Praying for those we love with consistency takes both time and a serious level of commitment. Even though it takes far more effort physically, most of us would rather do something for a friend than take the time to pray for them throughout the day during their time of crisis. Human nature screams at us: just solve the problem for them, and you’ll feel good about it too. Throw money at it. Maybe even give a little of your time on a Saturday morning. Oh, and definitely meet them for a yummy lunch and offer your sage wisdom on the situation. These are all things that come naturally to us, and while doing something may be exactly what God is calling you to do, praying for your friend in need is always what God wants — whether or not physical participation is needed as well. Anything done without the covering of prayer is vulnerable to our own motives, misguided perceptions, or uninformed perspectives.

However, under the power of prayer, the Holy Spirit can reveal the otherwise unknowable to us in loving and serving others. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” And James 1:5 gives us this assurance: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” We all know someone who would be harmed more than helped by receiving certain kinds of aid. Likewise, we all know someone who really needs our assistance, and our selfishness may be stopping us from serving them in the way Jesus reveals to us in prayer or commands us in Scripture. Corey ten Boom famously said of prayer, “We never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can expect that He will get us involved in His plan for the answer. If we are true intercessors, we must be ready to take part in God’s work on behalf of the people for whom we pray.”

God puts us in — or makes us aware of — circumstances to be a participant, not an observer. The minute you hear of someone in need, it’s never a coincidence. If you believe God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and wants to be intimately and personally involved in our lives, then you must also think that nothing happens without His intention or knowledge. Therefore, we must conclude that praying for someone is always what God desires. He wired us to need Him and each other. When we go to Him in prayer for others, heaven touches earth, effectively drawing us closer to our Savior and to each other… no matter what the distance, emotionally or physically.

Today, whether you’re feeling distant from God, or feeling distant from someone else, the gap for either is closed in the same way: prayer. And if you think you’ve been away too long to pray, trust me, you haven’t. If you think you need flowery language to pray effectively, you don’t. If you think you’ve done too much wrong to pray, thankfully, you’re wrong. Prayer is simply talking to God without a filter, pretense, or agenda, and then waiting in stillness for Him to respond. Prayer is spending time with the One who loves both you and the person you need to pray for, no matter what either of you has done or not done. And, bonus, no matter what you say, according to Romans 8:26, the Holy Spirit will turn it into a pleasing aroma to your Heavenly Father. God designed prayer to lavish us in His love and teach us to abide in that all-encompassing love. And if His perfect love can drive out fear (1 John 4:18) and has nothing to do with punishment, then why do we so often fear coming into His presence?

No matter what you’re doing right now — whether you’re reading this at work or listening to it in your car — when you’re finished, I invite you to pray for someone you love, someone you’re struggling with, and someone suffering or in great need. That person may be one in the same, or many different people. As their names drift through your mind, recall and imagine this scene when you pray for them: their names are carried by the Holy Spirit into the throne room of the almighty King of the Universe. And as your prayers are lifted up, His wisdom, hope, peace, joy, and direction floods down over you. Every second of every day, our souls are longing to be with Jesus, it’s just that most of us don’t accurately identify that ache we feel as the distance between earth and our heavenly home. Prayer bridges that gap. Prayer puts us in the throne room. Any time. Anywhere. Why not go there throughout the day and take with you the needs of those God has called you to love? Sure, it will change their lives, but it will impact yours even more.

What do you think of today's message? Comment and share your thoughts below! And if God brought someone to mind as you read or listened, please encourage them by sharing this post today!

Five-Day Devotional Guide for Further Reflection and Daily Spiritual Journaling
The questions and readings below can be used for a single-day study or your daily quiet time throughout the week. Before you begin reading the passage for each day, spend some time asking God to open your heart to His truth and hearing His voice.
Day 1 - Read John 15:12-17. In what ways has Jesus exhibited friendship toward you? Which qualities of a good friendship do you wish you could experience more with Jesus? Why do you think those specific qualities came to your mind? Write them down and then present them back to Jesus in prayer, asking Him to show you what changes you need to make to grow closer to Him in that way.
Day 2 - Earthly relationships are incredibly important to our spiritual health. Read Matthew 5:24 and ask God to speak to your heart about any relationships in your life in need of repair. How might they be interfering with your growth in Jesus or your obedience to His Word?
Day 3 - Read James 5:16. In what ways are believers called to support each other in prayer when it comes to sin? How do you know when there is sin in your life that needs to be confided in another believer (who is not weak in the same area) and when you should keep it to yourself?
Day 4 - ReadJames 1:5. In what areas of your life or relationships are you in need of wisdom right now? Pray the verse from James back to God and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in paths of wisdom and teach you to obey His direction.
Day 5 - Read Ephesians 6:18. Praying continuously can sound like a daunting task, but with a little creativity and planning, there are many ways to incorporate simple “breath” prayers into your daily routine. Spend time with God in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you on ways to pray more often. If you’re looking for even more inspiration in this area, the short 78-page book The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence is packed with examples of how to incorporate prayer into everyday habits.

Jesus wants participants. Supercharge your faith with intercessory prayer.

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Finding the Fear to Live Fearlessly

4/10/2019

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Finding the Fear of God to Live Fearlessly in Christ

Finding the Fear of the Lord to Live Fearlessly

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Remember back in school when all you wanted in life was to be like the most popular kid? You know, that guy or girl that every other kid secretly wanted to be? For most teens, an envy of this nature usually kicks in sometime during middle school and can last well into high school. I suffered from a jealousy complex in a big way. There was one girl in particular who mesmerized me. To my immature and very naive eyes, she appeared to have it all — beauty, brains, cool parents, the right clothes, a glittering social life, and dozens of ardent admirers, both male and female, who seemed to pivot on her every move. And it wasn’t until the beginning of my senior year when I finally realized all the time and energy I had wasted trying to get into her circle of friends. I finally began to understand that my identity was nothing like hers, nor could any amount of effort on my part change the perception of my classmates regarding my social status. I couldn’t fabricate the “it” factor or generate authentic coolness. The only thing I could be genuine at was simply being me. For any of us who’ve tried to be like someone else, the realization that we can only be who we authentically are is both liberating and utterly frightening.

It wasn’t until many years after high school when I finally made the connection between my struggle with personal identity and my spiritual maturity in Christ. Sure, I grew up hearing the expressions, “Just be who God made you to be,” or “God made you unique for His purposes,” but platitudes like those never seemed to make me feel any better following a party snub from Mesmerizing Girl or a searing rejection from my latest crush. What finally clicked in my brain and set me on a solid path to a healthy self-identity began germinating in my college years and didn’t fully bloom until my late 20s. What was it? Having fear. The right kind of fear, that is, which is described in Psalm 103:11, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.” Another verse I love is Psalm 34:9, “Fear the Lord, you His godly people, for those who fear Him will have all they need.” That second part really spoke to me, because I had previously thought I needed to be like other people to find fulfillment in life. Yet God clearly indicated to me through those verses that if I learned what it was to fear Him and walk in fear of Him (Acts 9:31), I would never lack for anything.

The concept of fearing the Lord is mentioned hundreds of times throughout the Bible, with many of the verses praising those who do so. People who receive honor and blessing from God or other people are repeatedly labeled in both the old and new testaments with a specific identity… they are a particular category of people… they are called God-fearers. They are identified more by this spiritual trait than their jobs, their wealth, their families, or where they’re from. Perhaps most notable about their collective identity is that it is always mentioned in a positive light. This is remarkable in today’s culture because fear is commonly described as a negative emotion to avoid. When we read a verse like 1 John 4:18 which says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love,” we scratch our heads and wonder about the apparent contradiction. Why would God ask us to fear Him to the point of being marked by the fear, and then tell us that we shouldn’t have any fears because of His perfect love?

One of my favorite analogies to help explain the difference between the negative definition of fear and the positive practice of living in fear of the Lord, is from CS Lewis’ classic story The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The hero who saves the day is the strong and powerful Aslan. In this quote from the book, Susan, who is one of the main characters, has asked another character, Mr. Beaver, to tell her about Aslan.

“Aslan is a lion — the Lion, the great Lion.” [Said Mr. Beaver]
“Ooh,” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion…”
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.”

When we think of Jesus as the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5), which is where Lewis got his idea for the character of Aslan, the first question that comes to our heads shouldn’t be, “Is He safe?” That question comes from our own need to feel comfortable and secure. Naturally, our first concern is us… what’s in it for us… and how easy it will it be to stay where we are or acquire what we think we need? But when we shift our perspective to who God is, our first response should be one of complete awe of His power, justice, and purity. On our own accord, by our own means or goodness, we could not survive standing in His presence. But, because God is also the source of perfect love and compassion, we can have no fear of anyone or anything else — not even death itself. Just as Aslan was mighty enough to destroy Susan or any other creature in Narnia, his nature of perfect love drove him to lay down his life for everyone else. As a result, Susan, her siblings, and all the others in the realm were offered protection from all fears and dangers, especially the evil White Witch.

William D. Eisenhower crafted the best explanation I’ve read regarding the paradox of fearing God as a path to experiencing a fearless life. In his 1986 Christianity Today article “Fearing God,” he said, “Unfortunately many of us presume that the world is the ultimate threat and that God's function is to offset it. How different this is from the biblical position that God is far scarier than the world …. When we assume that the world is the ultimate threat, we give it unwarranted power, for, in truth, the world's threats are temporary. When we expect God to balance the stress of the world, we reduce him to the world's equal …. As I walk with the Lord, I discover that God poses an ominous threat to my ego, but not to me. He rescues me from my delusions so he may reveal the truth that sets me free. He casts me down, only to lift me up again. He sits in judgment of my sin but forgives me nevertheless. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but love from the Lord is its completion.”

As someone who has spent the majority of my life being afraid of something or someone, I long to grab ahold of Aslan’s mane and cling to him for dear life. I want to literally feel the breath from his fiery nostrils as he growls at my enemies. I want to see the muscles in his jaw ripple as he commands my fears to leave. But just as Aslan disappears at the end of Lewis’ epic tale and leaves the children with a promise of his presence, so God is asking me to humbly walk in daily awe of His power and trust in His perfect love to be with me, around me, and over me in any storm.

Oswald Chambers, the 19th-century missionary and theologian, said, “It is the most natural thing in the world to be scared, and the clearest evidence that God's grace is at work in our hearts is when we do not get into panics. The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”

And so, we return to where we started at the beginning of this post. What does your personal identity have to do with the fear of the Lord? Romans 8:29 tells us that our goal as believers is to become more like Jesus. Each day, God is working on us — if we let Him — to transform us into the image of His Son. So that means any quality, character trait, or action that Jesus has or did while here on earth is worthy of emulation. Isaiah 11:2-3 describes Jesus as the coming Messiah this way, “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear…”

Reading those verses stopped me in my tracks. Fear of the Lord is mentioned twice in that short passage. If we are to become more like Jesus… if we are to be known by His name… then we will yield to the Spirit the way He did. Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord. As if this isn’t mind-blowing enough, ponder the fact that God delights in the awe and reverence of Himself in the person of His Son. God loves us enough to show us how — through the sacrifice of His Son — to find the deepest level of satisfaction a human can ever know. As adopted sons and daughters of God, bearing His name and His identity, Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Having a strong identity in Christ is grounded in having a fear of the Lord.

What does all of this mean on a real-world, super practical, down-in-the-trenches level? When we’re actively walking in the fear of the Lord — through no power or effort of our own, but instead yielding to the work of the Spirit — we are far less likely to worry and future-trip, fly off the handle in anger, gossip and slander, harbor jealousy, cheat, or any other sin. Our awe of who God is — both for His justice and His incredible power — convicts our hearts, while the outpouring of His perfect love assures us that He will be with us every moment. We cultivate our fear of the Lord to live fearlessly for Him. Can we do it perfectly? Not even close. Will we have stops, starts, and backward progressions? Yes. We are not the Perfect One described in Isaiah 11. But we are human vessels for the Perfect One, so when we allow Him to shine through our weaknesses, others will see glimpses of fearlessness. Tiny visions of glory. Rays of hope. And they’ll want it too. Don’t be afraid to grab hold of the fear of the Lord. Is it safe? No. Is it good? Oh yes.

For Further Reflection and Deeper Study

Take some time to reflect on your understanding of the fear of the Lord and what it means in daily practice. How has your perception of it changed (either from when you were growing up or when you first started following Jesus)? What statement or scripture from this message resonated with you the most and why?
How have you let fears dominate your life? Which ones have plagued you the longest? How does the concept of fearing the Lord challenge your perspectives on the power and relevance of those fears? Google “verses about fear of God,” read a few of them, and then pick one that speaks to your heart to memorize. Pray it back to God and ask Him to make it real in your life.
Developing a healthy practice of fearing the Lord brings with it many more blessings than just fearlessness. Based on the verses you just looked up, list out the benefits of fearing God. Which one of those benefits do you long for the most and why?
If you like the CS Lewis stories and you’re looking for a daily devotional for your quiet time with God, consider this one: Walking Through the Wardrobe: A Devotional Quest Into the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by Sarah Arthur. The book is primarily aimed at teens and young adults, but the author’s Biblical insights are deep enough to challenge even the most seasoned believer.

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Fight Your Fears with the Fear of the Lord

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How to Be Flavorful for Jesus

3/20/2019

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How to be Flavorful for Jesus as Salt of the Earth

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There are some foods that just don’t taste good to me without salt. Take eggs for example, I think I would consider forgoing them entirely if I had to eat them without a little salt and pepper. And popcorn without salt? Forget it. Even though this basic seasoning will enhance the flavor of so many dishes, I didn’t realize how essential and versatile salt can be until recently. As an acid reflux sufferer, my husband decided he’d had enough of his symptoms and wanted to experiment with some dietary changes to see if he could effectively eliminate his problem without any medication. So everyone who’s married knows what that means… we both had to change how we eat. Drastically. And because I am overly fond of acid-triggering spices and herbs in just about everything I cook, suddenly I didn’t know how to prepare any of my signature meals. I was like a fish out of water flailing around on my kitchen countertops.

Thankfully, however, there are few acid-fearing chefs out there who have written cookbooks on the art of flavor for the heartburn weary. And as I fumbled my way through recipe and after recipe, some of which completely flopped, I came to a newfound appreciation for the power of plain old salt. Fortunately neither one of us battles high blood pressure, so instead of adding my usual chili powder to fajitas, I created a close facsimile of Mexican food by using only salt and cumin. Instead of adding tomatoes and cilantro to the avocado, we found it to be quite delicious with a pinch of sea salt and olive oil. And so it went… our culinary adventure into the brave new world of life without tomatoes, vinegars, citrus, and so much more.

Fast forward several months later, and my hubby is enjoying life without chronic acid symptoms for the first time in many years. For him, the reward has far exceeded the effort required and his esophagus is probably much healthier as well. But our persistence in this new diet has taught me so much more than a few eating and cooking habits, it’s really highlighted the value of sacrifice for the sake of serving others. Salt has become so much more than an essential seasoning, it has become symbolic of spiritual and emotional flavoring, making my walk with God more robust and helping me experience a more distinctive understanding of sacrificial love.

Just as salt makes a bland recipe more palatable, allowing the Holy Spirit to season our speech, attitudes, and actions will make us more effective for God and more loving toward each other.

Jesus encouraged His followers to be like salt in several of the Gospels, but I particularly like the way Mark put it: “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:50b) Ever the master of brevity, Mark’s wording implies both a state of being and a command requiring action. This duality echoes the longer version of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.” Both of the passages make it clear: if you truly believe in Jesus you will be different. You will stand out. But in order to make a difference… in order to be valuable for Kingdom work, you must take action and practice the art of being salt, or flavoring, in a world desperately wanting to taste real nourishment and find soul-satisfying truth.

But how does that play in out in real life? How does our satisfaction with Jesus help other people? How can our daily yielding to the Holy Spirit be experienced by others? I am sure there are more, but the Holy Spirit reminds me of frequently of these four flavor-enhancing examples.

Season our speech with grace to bring out the best in others through conversation. Colossians 4:5-7 says, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” When we engage others with an extra measure of grace, listen more than we speak, and show genuine interest in their lives, we give the Holy Spirit more time and space to work in our relationships. Every interaction is an opportunity to help someone else draw one step closer to God.

Stand out in a spiritually flavorless and malnourished world. Ephesians 5:8-9 says, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).” John Piper said, “To be the salt of the earth and the light of the world means that at root Christians are so profoundly satisfied by Christ as our eternal reward, we are freed from fear and greed for the sacrifices of love, and are able to rejoice at persecution. When the world sees this, they see the glory of Christ and taste the satisfying pleasure of who He is.”

Sprinkle alluring bits of joy on parched hearts. John 15:11 says, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." Another translation says that our joy in Christ will be like “a river overflowing its banks.” In my personal experience, real, infectious joy isn’t possible until I’ve learned to trust God. Once I completely trust God in a specific area, then I am positioned to receive His peace over it. With peace in our hearts, I am less stressed and worried, opening the door for joy to supernaturally bubble up in any situation. When others experience this entirely other-worldly joy, they will want to experience it for themselves.

Be a tasty reflection of what’s to come. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Living in a world that bombards us daily with scary news, crazy weather events, and unfair tragedies is enough to make even the most positive individual fearful, depressed, and frustrated. When we live like this world is not our home people want to know why. And when they catch a glimpse of what heaven-minded living looks like, they are amazed. C.S. Lewis said, “The Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next.”

Like with any other flavoring, there is always the risk of over-salting a recipe and rendering any food inedible. But the secret to a great outcome every time is allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your attitude, words, and actions. Even though we are far from perfect, Jesus makes up for our weaknesses, lack of skill, low appeal, and mistakes in the kitchen of life. Regardless of our inexperience or lack of creativity, if we stay faithful to the recipe He’s set forth in the Word, somehow in the end, Romans 8:28 assures us that He works everything together for the good. John Stott, the great theologian, once said, “The truth is powerful when it’s argued, but it’s more powerful when it’s exhibited.” When we get up each day willing to be a simple vessel in which the Holy Spirit can deposit flavorful truth and joyful refreshment, everyone we encounter will see Jesus on display. And that vision is far more appetizing than anything we can dish up on our own.

For Further Reflection and Deeper Study

As you contemplate Jesus’ statement that we are to be salt of the earth, spend some time in prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any ways in which you might be either over-salting or skipping the flavoring all together in your interactions with others. Take out a notebook and write about the ways God is leading you to adjust your expectations, actions, or attitudes.
Re-read the four “flavoring” examples mentioned in the blog post. For which ones are you following the Holy Spirit’s leading and which ones do you want to work on?
Read the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5:1-14 and ask God to speak to you of His truth and direction for your life based on Jesus’ words. Imagine yourself on the hillside listening to Him speak. How do you think you would’ve reacted? Write down any thoughts that come to your mind.

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Thanks for reading today's Glimmers in the Fog post. If you liked it, why not share it with someone else who might be uplifted by it? And when you invite friends or family to subscribe to my weekly emails they also receive my free RADIATE eBook too! You'll be encouraging them and you will be helping me share the love of Christ with others. It’s a win-win!

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The 5 Lies of Social Media

3/6/2019

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The 5 Lies of Social Media Can Keep You from Living Out Your Faith Authentically

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If social media is like a road — useful for connecting us with others and offering interesting things to see along the way — then the deeply veiled lies lurking within it are like black ice. If you live in a cold climate then you probably caught my meaning immediately. If you don’t, then let me quickly explain. Black ice is formed when rain or melted snow flash freeze as the temperature drops. This invisible, dangerous glaze is virtually undetectable in low light or under cloudy skies, making it almost impossible to avoid slipping or skidding over it. Black ice is a leading culprit in cold weather accidents of all kinds, from falls to crashes. And the worst part is that you can’t see it coming. You’re just walking or driving along, and then boom! You’re down for the count or seriously sidetracked.

As I have been pondering God’s direction in my life for accessing and using social media, He kept bringing this concept of black ice to my mind. Like our everyday use of roadways, social media has become a universal, frequent communications conduit for most of the world’s population. In the United States alone, almost 80% of adults have created a social media profile. Since you aren’t likely to avoid the use of roads and banish yourself to a hermit’s life because of the risks associated with black ice, it’s also highly unlikely that you are going to spend your life avoiding social media. But similar to the hidden dangers of black ice, there are sneaky, pervasive lies woven throughout social media, changed and altered as needed by the master of deceit to target every person online regardless of age, gender, lifestyle, or spiritual conviction.

Perhaps the greatest danger of all is how savvy and smart we think we are, which only creates a false sense of security and makes us even more susceptible to any of these common lies. Like a skilled driver, we can all become overconfident, erroneously believing that we will not only see the black ice ahead of time, but that we will also be wise enough to avoid being duped and skidding off into dangerous territory. But the reality is that these chameleon-like lies are so versatile, so universally appealing, that Satan can tailor them to fit perfectly with any weakness we have, no matter how mature we are.

I’m sure there are more, but here are five lies that I have been encountering over and over as I’ve ramped up my own use of the social media freeway. Capable of cutting through the noise to reach us in the most surreptitious of manners, you may recognize some of these yourself, even in the most benign, encouraging, or seemingly “spiritual” aspects of social media. Of course, you’ll also notice that these lies have been around since the dawn of time. And Satan just gets better and better at using them with each passing generation and with each new technology or fad.

Lie #1: We deserve a certain level of success or achievement in order to have a strong identity.
Scriptural Truth: We are not entitled to any recognition and everything is a gift from God. The only identity we should seek to cultivate, approval we should hope to gain, or praise we should long for is that of Jesus. 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”
Oh, how this one snares even the most clever among us because it goes right to the emotion of our work ethic, desire for achievement, and pride of a job well done. Social media lures us into viewing our success — of any kind — in the light of others’ triumphs. Something as simple as seeing a friend’s apparently endless level of productivity and energy can make us feel less than adequate when it comes to our own perceived busyness. And this lie seeps across all forms of success and achievement, from the obvious ones like financial prosperity and career positions to the more subtle forms of recognition, like healthy relationships, thriving families, and volunteer leadership roles. Only God knows when we’re ready for a certain level of success or notoriety, if ever. So the only identity we need to focus on is whether we’re becoming more like Jesus or not. There is no comparison to anyone else.

Lie #2: We deserve to be rewarded and spoiled once in a while.
Scriptural Truth: The only rewards we should be motivated by are those encouraged by the Holy Spirit. Mark 8:35-36 says, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
Everything about our modern age seeks to convince us that we deserve to spoil ourselves in some way. Whether it’s rewarding ourselves for losing 20 pounds by indulging in a decadent greasy cheeseburger or telling ourselves we deserve an unbudgeted trip to the Mall because of a promotion at work, social media can tempt us to concoct, sometimes self-defeating excuses to make ourselves happy. We have trained ourselves to be reward-driven so that we might resemble all the happy people in the social media feeds. Yet, God is calling us to desire His kind of rewards, not the world’s. Our best life comes through forgoing our earthly desires and instead of longing for heaven-minded ones. When we do this, we are rewarded with the fruits of the spirit, which are far better to obtain than any temporary pleasure.

Lie #3: We deserve to be the center of attention… at least every now and then.
Scriptural Truth: We are not worthy to be the center of attention for anything we’ve done, for our talents, or just because we’ve endured a trial or hardship. Romans 12:3 says, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
Being the center of attention is highly addictive. Even the most humble and well-meaning of people can fall in love with the idea or feeling of being adored by others. While it’s obvious how social media can feed our desire to be widely admired and valued, there’s a deeper deceit lying underneath the surface. Many of us would never overtly plaster social media with images of ourselves on a daily basis, yet we can ever-so-gradually get caught up in the lie that tells us we need to amass a huge legion of followers and a mountain of likes on our posts in order to make a positive difference for God. But our almighty Father won’t let a thing like social media stand in His way if it’s His will. Ever. God will never ask us to elevate ourselves above Him in order to achieve His plans for us. His accomplishments never require our works or our compromise. They simply require us to be a vessel.

Lie #4: We only have one life to live so we better take full advantage of it.
Scriptural Truth: We should be living each day knowing that the greatest portion of our existence will be in eternity. Matthew 6:21 reminds us, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Our time on earth is brief. So the age-old lie that we need to grab hold of all that we can while we’re able to do so is as energetic and appealing as it ever was. And social networks can feed our appetites for self indulgence if we let them. Every time we log on, we see friends with a new gadget, new fashion, traveling to cool places, or indulging in a lavish meal. While there’s likely nothing wrong with any of those things for a particular individual, when we are bombarded all at once by endless images of people doing countless enticing things, it can make occasional splurges seem like the everyday norm.

Lie #5: We need to be relevant at the sacrifice of holiness.
Scriptural Truth: Jesus never compromised God’s standards for the sake of reaching people or fitting in with the crowds that followed Him. Even among his own followers, Jesus never bowed to peer pressure or the need to feel accepted. John 6:65-66 says, “And He said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’ After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”
God’s truth has stood the test of time and cultural shifts without the help of humans. The Bible remains the most read book in the world for a reason — no matter what’s popular in society, people will always be inexplicably drawn to truth delivered with love. The reason many Christians are tempted to water down God’s truth when living out their lives online is because we’re afraid of offending someone in today’s politically correct culture. But there’s a time, a place, and a style for delivering truth — and it all needs to be orchestrated by the Holy Spirit’s leading. If we allow the Holy Spirit to fully and completely govern our social media usage and interactions, we will never need to worry about the outcome. Jesus wasn’t always well-received by every person, but He always accomplished God’s mission.

Because these lies can lurk anywhere and sneak up on us at any time, using social media in any capacity needs to be filtered through the moment-by-moment guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says not to grieve the Spirit, but every time we avoid His gentle nudging, we are doing just that. He might whisper to you, “That’s enough. Time to move on now,” when you’re looking at a friend’s vacation pictures and wondering why your spouse doesn’t take you to places like that. Instead, Paul calls us to put on the armor of God and wear it 24 hours a day, whether you are physically going somewhere or only traveling down the road of social influence. In Paul’s era, physical danger and persecution lurked around every corner, so the word picture he paints in Ephesians 6:10-18 of the tailor-made holy armor was especially reassuring. Today, it is highly unlikely any of us will encounter Roman dungeons or swords, but the realm of social media is no less a battlefield. The real enemy is unseen, but the wounds he wants to inflict can be life altering and gospel squelching. Satan’s number one goal is to make us less effective for God, so that means any of his well-rehearsed lies can be effective at discouraging us, distracting us, or diminishing our energy for the Gospel. But armed with God’s word and saturated with the Holy Spirit, we can march into the cultural arena with confidence knowing that no attempt to stop us can ever take away what matters most. When we seek to lose ourselves in Jesus, we find all that we need and abundantly more, no matter how many likes we get, what the latest hashtags promote, or the trendiest guru proclaims.
(Note: This was Part 2 of "Finding Spiritual Authenticity in the Selfie Age." You can read Part 1 here.)

Questions for Further Reflection

Read and spend some time meditating on the passage in Ephesians about the armor of God. Now go through each description of God’s armor and apply it to how you interact online, whether it be in social media, email, texting, watching entertainment videos, or surfing the web.
How is God calling you to alter your approach, opinion, or use of the internet and/or social media? If you don’t participate online at all, is that a decision you made or God directed you to make? Take some to pray about your involvement and seek His confirmation of your decision or His prodding to change it.
What are some ways God might be calling you to be more interactive and relationship-oriented through online communication methods? How can you carry the truth in love to others who are seeking answers online? What are some ways you can support those who are delivering the good news and love of Jesus to the online world?

The 5 Lies of Social Media that Can Prevent You from Living Out Your Faith Online

The 5 Sinful Traps of Social Media and How You Can Avoid Them to Live Out Your Faith Online

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Finding Spiritual Authenticity in the Selfie Age

2/27/2019

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Finding Spiritual Authenticity in the Selfie Age

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The last century brought us many dramatic philosophical shifts that forever changed how our modern culture functions and collectively thinks. And while none of us likes to acknowledge that marketing and advertising slogans can wield the kind of power to change society, the reality is that they do. Take for example the tagline, “Because I’m worth it,” which was coined in 1973 to help L’Oréal sell more hair color. What started as a simple, but highly emotive benefit statement turned into a societal stake in the ground by women of all backgrounds, ethnicities and socioeconomic status.

And just so the men don’t feel left out of this nondiscriminatory wave called advertising, recall the beer campaign featuring “the most interesting man in the world,” who is portrayed as being the ultimate “man’s man” — brave, unconventional, and adored by women half his age from all over the world. In both of these campaigns, we are invited to see ourselves in their eyes. We are encouraged to imagine ourselves as strong, confident, attractive, and so successful that no one can resist wanting to be around us or become us. The ideal specimens of men and women are presented with the implied promise that any one of us can aspire to be equally ideal as they are and therefore as widely admired.

Today more than ever, we are bombarded on a daily basis by images of “ideal” people living enviable lives doing exciting things with beautiful companions in the most exotic of locations. The difference is they are not models or actors hawking hair color, beer, or some other packaged good. They are promoting themselves. And while there’s certainly money as a reward for the elite few who stumble upon viral success, most are displaying themselves simply for the attention. If yesterday’s status symbols were luxury watches and high-priced cars, today’s symbol is the number of social media followers. And the lure of “fame” is also nondiscriminatory. All types, backgrounds, and ages are sucked into this overwhelming tidal wave of self-promotion. But unlike pricey status symbols of the past, the path to social media prestige is financially accessible, making it all the more pervasive… and addictive.

Perhaps the most disheartening is the way this addiction has not only seeped into the Christian culture, it’s also been welcomed and even encouraged — perhaps unintentionally — by many of its perceived leaders and key influencers. Of course, it’s packaged and presented differently, but it’s still pushing the same promise in the name of Christ: obtain followers in order to widen your sphere of influence for the Kingdom of God. Maybe another way to put it is, “Share your joyful life so that others may see Jesus and want what He offers too.” It sounds good, right?

Now before anyone thinks I’m advocating for an abandonment of social media entirely or that I’m a hypocrite because I’m trying to build a social media following for this blog, it’s important for me to be clear with what the Holy Spirit has been drumming into my thick head and stubborn heart over the last few months. It’s critically important because I’m not in this alone. If you’re listening or reading right now, then you, my friend, are a vital part of this too. You’re not just a reader or a listener, you’re an accountability partner. You are my fellow traveler on this faith journey.

God made it clear to me almost two years ago that I should leave my corporate career and take a leap of faith to serve Him full time... with or without compensation. Gulp. “Ok, Lord, here goes,” I essentially said back. And as it is with learning anything new, from making a new recipe to forging a new ministry, I sought wisdom and practical guidance from just about anyone with integrity that seemed to have the credibility, experience, and values that aligned with the direction I thought God was calling me. I prayed and sought the Word for wisdom. I was being highly selective with who I listened to, and despite all of that, I kept hearing the same stomach-turning advice over and over: if you want to write in service to God, you must — as in, there is no other path — build a platform in social media. You must collect followers. Without followers, you will not have an audience. Without an audience, you will never get a publisher. Without followers, you won’t even be able to self-publish. In short, nothing will happen and very few people will be impacted as a result of your work. Oh, and by the way, you also can’t make a living that way.

Now aware of that disheartening pronouncement on my entire future as a writer, I put my novel development on hold for a while, committed to praying even more, and started learning how to professionally manage and optimize my social media efforts about four months ago. I can’t even tell you how many articles I’ve read or workshops, podcasts, and trainings I’ve listened to. It feels like a thousand, but I know it’s not quite that high.

And what are the results, you might ask? The answer: very few followers, but a tremendous amount of confirmation of what I don’t want to become. Prior to my self-induced training period, I used social media very rarely. I shared blog posts and an occasional personal update, but that was about it. I never used Pinterest to search for anything. I couldn’t find time to browse Instagram. But once I actually had to become familiar with them and what works to be “successful” on them as an author, the Holy Spirit began to whisper to me, “Where is my glory?” And as I discovered Christian blogger after blogger posting more photos of themselves than anything else and allowing their devotional content to be fragmented by gaudy and distracting external advertisers, the louder God’s voice became in my heart. “This platform isn’t focused on Me. There’s more noise here than my Word.”

The crazy thing is that most of the content on these sites was fairly good or useful information. Some of it was theologically sound and encouraging. But the Truth was being drowned out by an attempt to sell the author’s own brand, their enviable lifestyle, their various products, or ads and links to other people’s products. At this point, the Holy Spirit reminded me of John 2:13-16 where Jesus throws the money changers out of the temple. Of course, none of these Christian websites is a literal temple, but they are all promising people who access them an encounter with the Living God, are they not? Another verse came to my mind at this point. James 3:1 says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Yet in perusing hundreds of faith-based blogs, I found that more than 80 percent of the hyper-successful sites with thousands of followers also promoted their lifestyle and their own proprietary training modules for blogging success in addition to their Christian content, such as Bible studies, devotionals, etc. I’m not talking about authors promoting their own faith-focused books and spiritual growth workshops. No, the vast majority of them were enticing people to pay money to learn how to become a successful blogger just like them.

Now I understand that people have to earn a living. As someone who’s not on anyone’s payroll right now, I am painfully aware of that need. But what God is wrestling out with my soul is how should Christians consume and contribute to the social media machine? This is not just about my choice or the other faith writers and speakers out there. This is also about our readers and listeners. The wider Christian audience has a responsibility for helping to feed this machine. Yes, Paul admonishes us to be all things to all people and to be relevant to the cultures in which we are sharing Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). But where is the line between cultural relevancy for the sake of the Gospel and pure self-promotion for the sake of ourselves? Jesus calls us to be authentically His (Luke 10:27) and genuine in our glorification of Him in every area of our lives (Isaiah 43:7). Every area. Period.

I’m not declaring that all the Christian bloggers who allow external ads on their sites or sell secular training products are in the wrong. What God has led them to do is between them and Him. And I personally love some of their content. What I do know is that God doesn’t want me doing it. Microscopic, small, or large, whatever community God places me in or whatever following comes for my blog will have to be sparked by people’s attraction to Jesus and the life He offers, not because someone thought I was cool or my life is charming (which it is not anyway).

On the other hand, I am unequivocally concerned about the social media influencers out there who claim to be trumpeting Jesus but fill their social media feeds and websites with images and products that put themselves front and center. And I think all of us as readers and followers need to think about that as well. No one should be on a pedestal but Jesus, and I don’t want to be a part of putting them there.

Next week, mainly because I didn’t have enough space this week, I will share more about having authenticity in this selfie, social media-driven age. As long as it doesn’t spark addiction or compromise the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I believe Christians should participate at some level in social media because, sadly, that is where people are searching for truth and hope. And if people are looking for truth, then we have a responsibility to share Him with them where they are. Over the last four months, I noticed five bold lies that Satan seems to be using over and over through social media to corrode the perspectives of both Christians and non-believers alike. So please come back next week and continue this journey with me. In the meantime, I would love to hear your thoughts about social media and how Christians should interact online. Comment on my website or take it to social media. After all, that’s what it’s for! Either way, I’d love to hear from you on this subject and what you’ve discovered in your own times of soul wrestling.

Questions for Further Reflection

Matthew 23:12 says, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” How should this verse guide anything we do in social media, whether it be posting something ourselves or looking at content others have shared?
Social media is a lot like food. There are healthy options and then there’s junk food. What might God be leading you to do with your social media habits to both glorify Him and to help others encounter Him?
Read 2 Corinthians 3:18. How can you cultivate an appetite for glorifying God more than focusing on those in leadership or popular influencers? If you use social media in your job or for your business, what might God be calling you to adjust or change about your approach? If you want to read more, take a look at a new book called Influence: Building a Platform that Elevates Jesus (Not Me), by Kate Motaung and Shannon Popkin.

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Finding Compassion in a World of Condemnation

10/24/2018

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Finding Compassion in a World of Condemnation

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We live in a world that is quick to condemn and prone to instant reactionary judgment regardless of moral, ethical, religious, or political leanings. Of course, this reality is nothing new, but there are times when it seems far worse and more suffocating than others. The human tendency to react with judgment rather than curiosity, grace, and compassion has been our collective flaw since the dawn of time. And while this post is not at all about politics, but rather the pervasive temptation of condemnation across all facets of our lives, I’ve always been especially grateful that election season immediately precedes the holidays. The founding fathers selected early November because it followed the harvest period and generally came before the consistent arrival of winter weather. But God surely had a hand in giving them that wisdom because after months and months of public incivility, arguing, and communication saturation, we all need to hear the refreshing themes of “good will toward men” and “tis the season to be jolly.”

Liberal, conservative, spiritual, atheistic, wealthy, poor, straight, gay, married, divorced, traditional, or progressive, regardless of our beliefs and convictions, we are all equally capable of making harsh, rash and horribly inaccurate assessments, casting blame, and applying labels to others. If it wasn’t so damaging, the level of polarization on any side of human preference would almost be comical to observe from a neutral perspective. Like the song made famous by Bette Midler, if we could view ourselves from far, far away it would be so much better: “From a distance, we are instruments marching in a common band… From a distance, there is harmony and it echoes through the land. God is watching us, God is watching us … from a distance.” Though I love the fabulous Ms. Bette, she couldn’t be more wrong. God is indeed watching us, but He is certainly not doing it from a distance. As Jesus did when He walked the earth, the Holy Spirit is here among us, trying to work through us, and is mightily grieved by the judgmental, divisive, and abrasive words humans carelessly fling about as though we have an excuse or license to do so.

Many Christians are fond of reacting to the all-too-common sin of condemnation by saying things like, “love the sinner, hate the sin,” and do their best to make it clear that they are adept at knowing the difference. But unfortunately, even a well-intentioned cliche like that has become horribly maligned and poorly received by the people who don’t believe they are sinning in the first place. That’s because the truth of the matter is, no one will feel that they are loved as long as you hate anything about them. Love and hate simply cannot co-exist in the same heart space. Embracing the attitude of this expression unintentionally, but inherently, links judgment to the action of loving. It makes offering the love conditional in some manner, no matter how much we argue that it doesn’t. We cannot effectively communicate the fullness of love to someone we disagree with if we are telling them that something they are doing is hateful at the same time. All they hear is the hate in our words, and miss our love, even if it’s really there.

So for those who long to share the love of Christ with others, what are we to do? I’m not writing about this today because I have the complete answer to that question. Because I simply don’t. I only have some clues to share based on two fundamental truths Jesus taught plainly. First, He commands me to love others as I would myself. Second, God asks me to love Him with my whole heart and mind, which means I must try to live by the convictions of the Holy Spirit. As I seek to love Him that way, He makes it clear through His Word and His voice in my heart what He regards as holy, honoring, and pleasing to Him.

One clue I have in reconciling these two truths is that the focus of each is different. Did you notice that the focal point of the first commandment is others? When Jesus gave the command in Mark 12:30-31, He didn’t add any qualifiers to that statement. We are to love our neighbor, who can be any one of any lifestyle, persuasion, political leaning, or faith. On the other hand, the focus of the second commandment is me and my relationship with God. Not your relationship with God. Not my neighbor’s relationship with God, or lack thereof. The only human being on the planet with a heart that I can look into and evaluate is my own.

The second clue I found in dealing with this conundrum is how Jesus reacted to people in his earthly ministry. I don’t think Jesus would have ever put a word that refers to a person’s eternal soul, a.k.a. the “sinner,” on the same weight and value as a word that refers to their earthly actions, a.k.a. the “sin.” Jesus loved people regardless of their sins, and He grieved over their sins. He even expressed sadness over the sin of those who would ultimately be responsible for His death on the cross. In Luke 13:34, Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” When I read that verse, I hear longing in His voice, not anger or words of judgment.

In story after story in the Gospels, we see Jesus embracing people caught up in habitual sin. The woman at the well. The prostitutes. The tax collectors who cheated people regularly. The woman caught in adultery. And so many more. Never once did He focus on their sins. Instead, He focused on loving them as people first. He knew that after they came to love Him in return, the Holy Spirit would deal with their sins in His time. Of course, it is important to note that He never condoned their sins either. And this is the uncomfortable truth about Jesus’ example that many people carry too far in justifying their own sins or excusing the sins of others. It is a very fine line and one that can only be walked in the power of the Holy Spirit.

John MacArthur said, “Don't ever let your adoration of the doctrine of sovereignty crowd out God's compassion or replace human responsibility with some kind of fatalism. Jesus wept because of this unwillingness to believe. It grieved His heart and it should grieve ours as well.” Jesus demonstrated grief over those who were blind to the truth of who He was and His offer of abundant life. Jesus allowed people to reject Him. He never forced Himself on anyone. Instead, He grieved over their waywardness, stubbornness, and sinfulness. When we are truly allowing the love of Christ to saturate our hearts, the result is sadness, grace, and compassion for those who refuse to believe, are trapped in habitual sin, or lash out in pain. How can we demand Christian morality from people who don’t love Christ?

For this reason, I think the phrase “love the sinner, hate the sin” should be banned from Christian vernacular and replaced with simply “love people to Jesus.” If we are truly loving people on their journey to Jesus, then we will grieve as Jesus did over their sin and respond not with judgment, but with compassion. Most importantly, we will be removing any personal responsibility for their sin from our vocabulary. Our actions should be contained to the realm of love, not hate. We cannot convict hearts. We cannot change people. Only Jesus can do that, and when they eventually come to Him, He will most certainly take care of their sins with expert timing and surgical precision. And we must resist thinking that what we believe to be the most egregious sins will be first on Jesus’ cleanup list. Letting Him do His work without our judgment is one of the hardest aspects of Godly love.

So when is it right to speak out about sin? The short answer is only when the Holy Spirit leads us to do so, and we better be very sure of that leading. Jesus demonstrated righteous anger when people committed atrocities in the name of His heavenly Father. He drove the moneychangers out of the temple because they were defiling God’s dwelling place, corrupting what is holy, and taking advantage of the faithful. He had strong words for those who prey upon innocent children, the weak, and less fortunate. Likewise, He spoke sternly and unequivocally against “religious” people wrapped up in hypocrisy, hard-heartedness, pride, and superiority.

When we do consider sharing our anger or simply calling out someone’s sin, the first question to ask is whether or not the situation or person you want to address is within the church body or outside the faith. There is no question that God calls believers to hold each other accountable for sin, but there is a very specific, prayerful process the Bible gives us to follow when doing so. Here is a brief article on the topic from Lisa Harper.

With those outside of the faith, we look to Jesus’ example of leading them toward God gently with love and not judgment. If you suspect God might be leading you to speak out to a person or stand up for a cause, one of the key indicators is whether or not God is also calling you to take action. Words delivered without some kind of Spirit-directed action are rarely of God. Many of the world’s greatest movements to stop corruption, reform broken systems, and help those in need have been started by Christians called out by God to create change. On the other hand, carelessly flinging accusations, harsh rhetoric, and rants on social media do nothing to change society, unify believers, or stop corruption. Venting, accusing, labeling, and blaming don’t contribute anything but negative consequences, while Spirit-led action can change the world.

One of Billy Graham’s most famous quotes happened in 1998 right after he had attended a dinner with Bill Clinton during the height of the impeachment crisis. When asked how he could behave so graciously to the President during the event, his response was simply, “It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict; it’s God’s job to judge; and it’s our job to love.” Until Jesus returns one day, the world will never be as it appears from a distance. And we will always battle the temptation to judge others. But by striving to do what God has asked us to do — and not the things only He can do — we can be purveyors of love rather than accidental carriers of hate.
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The Real Meaning of Royalty

9/26/2018

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Honor. It’s a word that many of us associate with the military or the knights of the roundtable. If you’re like me, it’s a not really a word you use in everyday vocabulary. I think that’s because we regard it as a kind of lofty word, reserving it for wedding vows, veterans ceremonies, lifetime achievements, and Jane Austen films. We seem to save it for special events or rare occasions as if honor is something we only do for specific people or as a part of time-honored traditions.

Given our modern technology-driven culture that minimizes offline relationships and appears to promote only the most disrespectful and abrasive treatment of others, it would be so easy to believe that honor is passé… an old-time value from a largely bygone era. While I am not one who longs for the repressed emotions and often faux civility of the Victorian period, I have often wondered just how far our society will degrade in my lifetime in terms of our public discourse. At some point, I think I’ll have to cut the cord to broadcast and cable TV (in whatever form it eventually takes) not because of the expense, but to avoid watching the news and commercials, especially the political ones.

CS Lewis said in his book The Abolition of Man, “We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” He wrote that in the early 1940s at a time when the use of the term of was very relevant for most Britons and Americans, who were summoning all the honor and courage they had to go fight an insidious evil perpetrated by the antithesis of honor. In that climate, it’s hard to believe Lewis thought honor was slipping away from British society. But in reading the first chapter of his book, while there is absolutely no mention of Hitler or the War, I think perhaps he was implying that if good society wants to continue to hold back callousness, hatred, outright irresponsibility, and even evil in future generations, we must figure out how to teach, inspire, and live out the honor of Christ. Only through divine guidance, can we learn to reason and act based on truth while fully feeling and experiencing what it means to be a human living in God’s abundance. As always, Lewis was ahead of his time.

I can’t even imagine what Lewis would say in observing just 15 minutes of a 2018 newscast or surfing Facebook for only a few moments. He might be shocked enough to be speechless. On the other hand, I do know what the Holy Spirit says — at least to me — when I process the largely dishonorable culture around me through the lens of scripture. I hear Him whisper about royalty. This week He has been reminding me of who I am and who all those who have placed their faith in Jesus are — sons and daughters of the King. We are royalty and, as such, it behooves us to act like children of our heavenly birthright. Even if you’ve read them a thousand times, take a fresh look at the weight and implications of these scriptures:

1 Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Romans 8:15-17: For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
Luke 22:29-30: And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the right to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones…
Isaiah 62:3: You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

So while most of us would readily agree that God’s idea of royalty includes a requirement to be honorable, there’s a surprising lack of understanding of how it is supposed to play out in everyday life. But scripture is not ambiguous about it, even though our society doesn’t teach or display honor to the extent that Jesus modeled for us. 1 Corinthians 7:22-24 says, “All of you, slave and free both, were once held hostage in a sinful society. Then a huge sum was paid out for your ransom. So please don’t, out of old habit, slip back into being or doing what everyone else tells you.” (The Message, emphasis mine) The term “huge sum,” or simply “price” in most English translations, comes from the Greek word meaning “honor.” Whoa. Think about that. Honor is defined as treating something or someone as precious, respected, and valuable. It’s not just about revering someone’s sacrifice, as in the military sense, or having a mutual respect so strong that it can withstand outside influences like the knights of the roundtable. Honor in its daily implementation means to treat others — no matter what their position, lifestyle, wealth, preferences, or behaviors — as if they are precious and valuable. The bottom line is that we are to treat them how Jesus did — that they are fellow royalty no matter where they are on their spiritual journey. From prostitutes to thieves, Jesus treated everyone he encountered based on who they could become in His kingdom, not what they were struggling with at the time.

In his sermon The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis said that there is no one you will ever meet who is a mere mortal. No one is just an ordinary person. Every interaction you have bears the weight of helping someone on his or her spiritual journey. Here is how Lewis put it:
“The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations.”

If you thought that one went right to the heart of the matter, 1 Peter 2:17 takes it even further, piercing into our deepest, most secretive thoughts, perspectives, and fears. The verse commands, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” Gulp! Peter leaves no one out of that brief but powerful statement, and he even does it with a little bit of humor with his reference to the emperor. Certainly, the term “everyone” included the emperor, but just like our politics today and in every society throughout history, there’s always going to be divisiveness and dishonor surrounding those who govern us, whether it’s our boss at work or an elected official. Even worse, I think, is the dishonor that runs rampant among the various segments of people that identify with one political vision or another. Just about every personal conviction or lifestyle choice seems to force us to self-identify with some group. And if we don’t put ourselves into a camp, then guaranteed someone else will label you and do it for you. But at the end of the day, no matter our choices or differences, we are to honor every human being as a fellow royal-in-the-making. No one is out of reach of the hand of God, but Jesus made it clear that it is not our jobs to judge anyone’s progress toward — or distance away from — that destiny.

When I am confronted with the lack of honor in my heart toward someone I disagree with — even if the thoughts never exit my mouth — my first instinct is to make excuses. But then the Holy Spirit reminds me of the inescapable truth of 1 John 4:10-11 which says, “This is real love — not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.” We can’t love God enough to make ourselves worthy of the royalty He gives us. Nor can we muster up enough honor or love from within ourselves to bring everyone we encounter to reach the glory God offers them. We have to let God’s unbiased love, made possible through Christ, flow through us to others. Our responsibility is to do our best to not get in its way and ask God to prune us more and more every day to be humble, royal servants to everyone we meet or talk to through any means, channel, or interaction. It’s a tall order, but it comes from a King who will stop at nothing to help us carry His love to every subject in the realm.
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Why BelievE In A God You Can Comprehend

6/20/2018

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Only a mysterious God is one who can be worshipped.

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A call to leap off the cliff of self-reliance into the free fall of complete trust

God simply cannot be understood or completely explained by human beings. Perhaps this is an obvious statement to many, yet billions of people in the world — particularly intellectuals and those under 40 — are increasingly choosing to be atheists because they can’t prove or comprehend God or His ways. Just a little bit of research unearths countless articles and studies about the rise of atheism. Yet how do we explain to unbelievers why it is impossible to have a personal, deep, life-guiding faith in God unless you can delight in His mysterious nature and incomprehensible sovereignty?

Perhaps even more disheartening are the many prominent self-professing Christians who spend countless hours writing and speaking about the mysteries of the Bible as if they are only allegories, legends, and hyperbole, in order to make belief in God more comfortable and acceptable in our modern culture.

At the other end of the spectrum, many conservative Christians seem to do everything they can to avoid people with challenging questions, particularly those grounded in science and logic. And while God is indeed sovereign and we should have a child-like faith in terms of our trust in Him, we often hide behind those two truths in order to squash any signs of unbelief, doubts and contradictions from those who are struggling with the existence of God.

Put this all together, and you come down to one essential issue: atheists don’t want to believe in a God they can’t comprehend or prove, and many Christians across the spectrum aren’t offering anything relevant to them. So the question I have been asking myself is, do I have the courage to reflect the true incomprehensible God, without watering anything down or putting up walls to avoid being challenged on the hard questions, like suffering, evolution, and global inequities?

When I think of having great courage for Christ in today’s culture, one person keeps inspiring me, particularly because he stands up for what he believes on a daily basis in a secular, science-driven, politically-charged workplace. And most of us think that our working conditions are non-conducive to living out our faith! He is both an MD and a PhD in physical chemistry, which means he is brilliant. He was appointed to his role by a Democrat and he has survived under a Republican, which means God’s hand is upon him. His name is Francis S. Collins and he is currently the director of the National Institutes of Health. For a decade from 1993 to 2003, he headed up the National Human Genome Research Project, leading a team to completely map the entire language of our DNA. Francis is one of the world’s foremost geneticists and an evangelical Christian who is unafraid to address the hardest, most intellectual questions anyone can ask him. Although you may not agree with his personal convictions about Biblical theology on every detail, his unabashed declaration about the existence of a loving, involved God to the scientific, medical, political, and intellectual communities is nothing short of a miracle. Of course, Francis is quick to say that his influence is none of his doing, but a humble submission to God’s work in his life.

In an in-depth interview with NPR back in 2007, shortly before his bestselling book, The Language of God was released, he said that there is no reason to believe that faith has any less evidence than science. He goes on to explain that science is only valid for investigating nature, and that while he sees evidence of God’s existence in nature, God would not have any meaning if He were constrained or contained within the bounds of nature. In his DNA research and in his medical experience, he says he repeatedly saw proofs or “signposts” of God. The problem is, he said, is that many scientists and intellectuals reject faith because they believe it must be arrived at through emotion, versus clear thinking and logical evaluation. “But just because science hasn’t caught God in our microscopes, doesn’t mean there isn’t enough evidence to prove that He doesn’t exist … I actually do not believe that there are any collisions between what I believe as a Christian, and what I know and have learned about as a scientist. I think there's a broad perception that that's the case, and that's what scares many scientists away from a serious consideration of faith.”

The Bible tells us straight up that we cannot understand God, but that by believing despite our doubt, we will be made complete in Him and thus overcome our doubts. Ephesians 3:19 says, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” Renown theologian AW Tozer said that humankind was created to think with fully engaged minds in partnership with the Holy Spirit. Even the most scholarly of minds is incomplete until his or her spirit receives the breath of the Holy Spirit. “If I can understand God, then I cannot worship God. I will never get on my knees and say, ‘Holy, holy, holy’ to that which I can figure out.”

The Bible makes specific, and sometimes shocking, truth claims, and they are facts whether or not our personal experience or intellect confirms them to be so. Some of these truths are hard for even Christians to accept, so why are we shocked when non-believers, particularly those in the scholarly community or younger generations, reject them and pose smart, intelligent questions to us? We weren’t there when God spoke the stars into existence or hung the rainbow following the global flood. We can’t fathom the depths of love He has for us by giving up His own son so that we might live forever in fellowship with Him, no matter how sinful we’ve been or weak our faith has been. We cannot see the full span of history and infinity of the future and understand why things happen as they do. But His word and history have proven His truth and steadfast love over and over.

Francis came to Christ because his highly intellectual mind recognized the “signposts” of God through experiences in the scientific and medical fields. By the time he approached a neighborhood minister, he had developed a list of extremely challenging, if not polarizing, questions. Instead of getting defensive, evasive or downplaying them, the minister talked lovingly and openly with Francis and recommended that he ponder the words of another scholar who turned from atheism to belief — CS Lewis. Reading Mere Christianity was the beginning of Francis’ faith journey and now God has placed him in one of the most influential roles in our nation.

For those who follow Christ, Paul gives us a great example to follow when it comes to addressing the hard questions. In Acts 17:11-12, we read about a group of Jewish scholars who were exceptionally intellectual. “Now these Jews were nobler than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.” Paul was not afraid to engage with them as they “examined the Scriptures daily” to test what he was saying. Later in that same chapter, we see Paul visiting Athens, where he encountered non-religious intellectuals steeped in the traditions of Socrates and Plato. Again, he was firm on Biblical truth, direct in addressing their questions and misguided conclusions, but very compassionate toward their need to understand the mysteries of the Christian faith. We read in verses 32-34 that some of them mocked him, but others were curious and became influential ambassadors of Jesus. I believe that none of them would’ve come to Christ if Paul had been too afraid or ashamed to speak the truth in love, even if it meant some ridicule. And you may be thinking, “You don’t understand — I am no Paul.” None of us are, but all believers have the same power inside of us that Paul did, capable of producing supernatural courage. If we’re willing to walk into a verbal challenge for Jesus, the Holy Spirit will come through for us with the words needed in the moment of action, and not beforehand.

Our calling is not to dismiss, argue, condemn, ignore or evade the ones who bring challenges, no matter how smart, stubborn, or misguided they may be. We are not called to change to their minds or convince them that the Bible is true, only the Holy Spirit can do that. Therefore, if it is not our responsibility to convert anyone, the pressure is off. We don’t have to assert our rightness, we just need to offer a loving, open, and responsive heart to receive, listen and answer as best we can. When we don’t know or don’t understand something ourselves, all we need to do is humbly say so and try to thoughtfully point the person to credible experts or resources they might appreciate. And, most importantly, we pray. Pray a lot. Pray to ready yourself before the encounters come and pray for the questioner after every conversation. God allows every person across your path for a reason. And it’s your job to just let Him shine through you. That’s it. The questions might be complex, but living out our love for Jesus is quite simple.
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