Living an ungodly life

A provoking thought was presented to me today through the sermon I heard. You can hear the whole sermon here (just give them a couple of days to post the 11/30 podcast).

The most poignant part for me personally was when the pastor referenced a book by Paul David Tripp (author of a book for parents of teens called Age of Opportunity) called A Quest for More. He cited a chapter entitled "Groanings" in which Tripp paints a picture of a woman who seems to have a wonderful life. She is married to a wonderful husband who has a great job and they have healthy children. They live in a fixed-up farm house that was their dream home. She has wonderful friends who support her and in general just seems to have an idyllic life. She even has a relationship with God and attends a great church regularly.

Tripp goes on to call her ungodly and cites her case in an attempt to "[compel] believers to see beyond the worldly deception of personal achievement, success, materialism, in order to break free from this ungodly fulfillment that is too easily satisfied with a mediocre walk with Christ." Ungodliness is not merely a failure to check the right boxes of holy living, and it is NOT simply a matter of right behavior. Ungodliness creeps in whenever we are satisfied by ANYTHING other than God Himself.

This woman is finding her fulfillment in the wonderful blessings that she has received rather than her relationship with Christ. This is the insidious danger of how we Americans often view the "blessings" we've received. Sadly, it is often these very things which inhibit our view of radical (meaning root -- not extraordinary) fulfillment in God rather than the stuff of this life. I am not advocating masochism or living a life devoid of accepting and embracing these blessings, but I believe most of us in my sphere (including myself) love our blessings more than we love our God. I know I often fall into that trap.

God calls us to a life of faith and trust not in the stuff (physical and immaterial) we have, but in our connection with Him alone. What does this look like? I hope to explore it more tomorrow.

Advent Conspiracy

This morning, as has been the custom for the past few years, I went out early in search of deals on this "Black Friday." Unlike previous years, however, my single purchase was confined to three pairs of shoes for my sons. We knew we could get a good deal on them, and figured it was worth it to save that money at this point in our lives.

I have to confess that my heart was definitely grabbed by all the "great deals" out there. Laptops for next to nothing (or so it seemed), toys, electronics, and $$ off if you use paypal at this web site. I find that I am still very tied to the stuff of this world as I've felt twinges today of lament for the deals that I didn't get in on. I realize that is sad, but I'm guessing some people can relate.

We're still trying to sort out our thinking on what to give for Christmas and how much to spend. Something that has definitely influenced my thinking this year is the Advent Conspiracy. Before you do too much shopping, I'd encourage you to visit their site and watch the video at the top right of the home page. Like I said, we haven't figured it all out yet, but we're definitely looking at Christmas purchases differently this year.

The Hope of Glory

I'd like to start by saying, "Happy Thanksgiving!" to anyone reading this. I hope today is a wonderful day of giving thanks for you. I realize that holidays can be pretty painful for many people for various reasons, and I am asking the Lord to give you joy in the midst of this today.

Last night at our Thanksgiving church service, we prayed a corporate prayer from the Book of Common Prayer that I really appreciated. Here is one excerpt:

We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.

However you are feeling today, relish the last reality of that prayer -- as believers in Jesus Christ, we have an immeasurable hope of glory. He has graciously desired to share His glory with us and "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18). That glory will one day be fully realized, but even today you share in that glory with Him! May we recall that to mind and thank Him for that regardless of how we feel today.

Happy Day of Giving Thanks to the God who has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 1:3).

Answered Prayer

So much has taken place since the last time I posted! Even so, I want to share something that just happened yesterday. I have been praying for two things while here in Memphis. First, I really wanted to play basketball -- this is a great outlet for me and helps me to exercise. The other day I played two on two and it was good, but yesterday I found a group that regularly plays at the lunch hour (we played four on four half court)! I gave them my email address and they said they would put me on the email distribution list. I really see that as God's hand giving me that opportunity. Most of the guys work for ServiceMaster, and I'm eager to get to know them better.

The second thing I've been praying for is opportunities to speak to people and share through preaching/teaching. I've told the Lord that I don't care how many people it is -- I just really want to share as He determines to give me the opportunity. Before I came, I emailed the pastor of my in-laws church and offered myself to preach if there was need. He wrote a very gracious reply saying there was not really an open time. I was a little disappointed, but all the more determined to ask God to figure it out in His timing (not mine).

Yesterday morning I went my father-in-law to a men's prayer meeting and there were about 10 of us there. I gathered that the flow was usually to eat a breakfast, have someone share, and then prayer at the end. At the end of the morning we were talking and the lead guy asked me if I would be willing to share next week! I didn't have to hesitate because I've been asking the Lord for that (not trying to arrange times for me to speak). He told me that I could pretty much share any week that I wanted while we were here. How exciting is that!

Finally, I was checking my spam folder last night and I received an email that began like this:

Hi John! I hope all is well and that you are having a good fall season. [Our Director] asked me to e-mail you on his behalf to see if you might be interested in speaking at our Alumni Reunion in January. It would be the weekend before you teach at Ecola, so it would involve you coming down a couple of days early - Friday Jan. 16th.

Unsought and unexpected, this is just another sign of the kindness of the Lord toward me and He answers prayer!

Project #1

So yesterday was a great day on a lot of fronts. Probably the most exciting part of my day was that I embarked on my first project of the trip. My in-laws had some rotten trim at the base of one of the walls of their home. My goal was to replace the rotten trim with new good boards. I started by tearing off the existing trim and realized the rot had gone through to the siding underneath. That meant that we tore off the siding as well and exposed the exterior studs and insulation.

I then made Lowe’s & Home Depot runs for fix-it stuff. Fortunately I only had to make one trip to HD and two to Lowe’s (that has got to be a record for me for the fewest trips for one project). At any rate, I’m nearly done with the job and it is really satisfying to work with my hands.

I didn’t take any pictures before starting the job, but Jessica shot a few of me “in action” (not inaction). The plastic sheeting in the picture was a vapor barrier I put on to cover the insulation behind the siding. The temperature isn’t forecast to rise over 50 degrees until Sunday, so we won’t caulk and paint until then.

Today’s project involves tearing down a fence, cleaning out a flowerbed, and generally getting an area ready for a new fence! Did I mention it feels really good to use my hands? I’m excited even writing about this.

Daily Bread

Early this morning Joe padded into our room and announced to me that he was scared. I walked him back to his bed, prayed for him, and returned to my room to fall back asleep. After lying there for a while and feeling very little tiredness, however, I realized that perhaps the Lord was asking me to get up and spend time with Him. He is so kind to woo me to spend time with Him.

I spent time reading in Proverbs and while it was good reading, I kept having thoughts race through my mind of wondering how in the world the finances of life will be dealt with. Am I crazy? What is my next step going to be? Should I just go figure out some full-time job? What field? Do we stay in Tri-Cities? What about our sons? Anxiety and suspense were flooding in.

After telling the Lord my concerns and sharing my heart with Him, I picked up C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters (which I've decided to re-read). In the very part I read this morning (chaper VI), Screwtape writes this to Wormwood (keep in mind that the Enemy is God):

There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human’s mind against the Enemy. He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.

Your patient will, of course, have picked up the notion that he must submit with patience to the Enemy’s will. What the Enemy means by this is primarily that he should accept with patience the tribulation which has actually been dealt out to him – the present anxiety and suspense. It is about this that he is to say “Thy will be done.” And for the daily task of bearing this that the daily bread will be provided. It is your business to see that the patient never thinks of the present fear as his appointed cross but only of the things he is afraid of.

How timely this word is for me! I believe this dovetails with Luke 9:23 which says, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." In an instant, the suspense and anxiety that was spinning my head and choking my heart transformed from fear-producing, paralyzing tools of the enemy into the object of my joy. These are the means by which I have the privilege of taking up my cross this day in order to follow Jesus!

I am sure I am not the only one wrestling with anxiety or suspense about life. Or perhaps you're struggling with some other tribulation. Whatever it is, we can joyfully call on the Giver of Daily Bread to provide us the faith and strength to bear this cross today. What a gloriously reassuring thought.

Meeting Neighbors

I have been pretty woeful at getting to know my neighbors for the past few years. This is something I've often talked about, but never really done anything significant to change it -- truthfully it has seemed somewhat intimidating and overwhelming (how do you know a whole neighborhood?).

Yesterday, I was wandering around the inside and outside of the house looking for my family. I couldn't find them anywhere and wondered if they had gone out for a walk together. I decided to take a walk and try to find them. As I ambled down the street I thought about how wonderful it was just to have time to slowly walk. Aloud I just thanked God for this season of rest and wondered if this is what Christ felt like as he moved from place to place walking. I also prayed that the Lord would draw the hearts of these people to Himself.

Very exciting to me was when I happened to encounter two of the local neighbors and had short chats with them. This wasn't anything earth-shattering, but as I headed back to the house, I realized that this neighborhood walking is what put me in the place where I could meet people. Furthermore, I can do this same thing at home. Just walking around my neighborhood and praying. This is a habit I hope to form while here in Memphis.

By the way, I finally found the family -- they were in the playhouse in the back yard doing schoolwork!

Waiting

Yesterday I took some time to study the meaning of the phrase "wait on the Lord." As I studied that, however, I decided to expand my search to simply understand the word "wait." Interestingly, many of its uses in the OT refer to people who were "lying in wait" to do harm. Obviously, I don't think God is asking me to harm someone through my waiting, but the priniciple that struck me is that waiting is not simply hanging around watching time elapse.

No, instead waiting seems to be a concept of expectantly watching for the right moment to spring into action. Moreover, prior to "lying in wait," there are likely plans that need to be laid and preparations to be made.

As I thought about the stories of people in the Bible who waited, the Lord brought to mind the story of Saul who failed to wait for Samuel the priest to offer a sacrifice. God had clearly forbidden kings to offer the sacrifice -- it was the priest's job (this actually has some great foreshadowing for the way in which Christ divinely assumes both roles as King AND Priest -- ruling and offering Himself as a sacrifice). You can read about Saul in 1 Samuel 13.

Sadly, Saul chooses not to wait as commanded. At least three factors seem to influence Saul's decision to stop waiting:

1. The time he expected to have to wait (7 days) had passed.
2. People around him were scattering.
3. Philistines were gathering in battle array in front of him.

He had waited "too long"(impatience). People all around were communicating a lack of confidence in him (rejection). Enemies were lining up to assail him (fear). I have no doubt that these same threats (impatience, rejection, and fear) are in store for all who seek to wait for God's timing. My takeaway is to find scripture that addresses each of these three threats and commit them to memory. If you have any good ones I'd love to hear from you on them!

Costly or Carefree?

I really appreciated the sermon at church yesterday as the pastor was discussing the concept of suffering. As a side note, he pointed out that people in America often look at Christians and dismiss them completely because claiming allegiance with Christ has not really cost the proclaimer anything of substance. Instead, Christianity is merely an added-on title to a life that really doesn't look much different than that of a person who doesn't claim to follow Christ.

I've felt this myself. How often do we (I included) marry Christianity with the American Dream of being free to pursue my dream of happiness, security, and prosperity? I realize much more articulate people are writing about this (see John Piper's writing for one example), but I wanted to weigh in myself.

Where does the message of Christ cost us financially? Where does the message of Christ cost us security? Where does the message of Christ cost us relationally? With our reputations? In our career path? I'm certainly not setting myself up as an example of living costly Christianity, but I am trying to honestly ask these questions as I move along this journey.

Interestingly, just this morning, I opened the local paper and saw a great example of a guy who has embraced the cost. Take a moment to read Bob Sauter's story and ponder what the Lord might be asking of you. I'm praying for insight for me.

I'd love to hear your answer...

to a question posed to me this morning after the church worship service we attended. Jessica and I saw a gentleman we knew and greeted him after the service ended. In the course of conversation he asked me, "What are you doing these days." I gave him my current standard answer that, "I'm waiting on the Lord." He then looked squarely at me and asked, "What are you doing to be intentional about waiting on God?" I thought that was one of the best questions I've had put to me lately. I have a few thoughts, but do you have any suggestions for me in this? I'm sure that will be a topic for a future post.

The past two Sundays I have found myself really moved during the worship services we've attended. Singing with the congregation today was especially meaningful as several songs helped me to express what my heart feels right now. One was "Everlasting God," and I opened up my bible and just meditated on Isaiah 40:31 (check it out here). The second was an old song that really needs to be sung more. It is called "We will Dance" by David Ruis (here's the song -- though this doesn't do it justice). I love the image of the "glorious bride and the Great Son of Man!" I know that Day is coming and at the rate life flies by, not very long from now.

Faithfully living below our means

I was thinking a bit more about the finances issue and knew there was one more thing on my heart to share. It burns in my heart to call us as believers in Jesus to live below our means. I won't pretend to lay out some formula that we all need to abide by, but I really hope anyone who is reading this is prayerfully considering how they can better allocate their money resources for the Kingdom. This likely means buying and consuming less, borrowing from and lending to others more (sounds like Acts 2 to me), and denying our "wants." Beyond that, I'll let the Holy Spirit guide you -- please simply consider this!

Do you remember when Jesus and His disciples were in the temple and they were watching people come in and give their money? Many people gave large (likely impressive) sums of money and yet the highlight for Christ was the widow who gave her two mites. Don't overlook why! "They gave out of their surplus, but she gave all she had to live on. She gave out of her poverty."

This has been challenging to me because when I stopped receiving a paycheck, I wanted to stop giving. My natural inclination was to hunker down and try to conserve and save. Yet, here is my chance (more than any other time in my life perhaps) to give like that widow gave. I can cheerfully continue giving because although it will cause my money to "run out," I am convinced that if I get to the point where I have no more then I am that much more dependent on God.

He has never failed me so far, and to the contrary, has been amazingly generous in meeting not only my needs, but many of my wants. Is God calling you to give more? Giving away our money is perhaps the biggest way for Americans to demonstrate a true faith in God because money is often the object of our faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to God must believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Oh, that we will be people of faith in God's power, goodness and sufficiency.

Gospel of Grace -- Theology of Enough

Last night after the boys went to bed and while Jessica was updating our other blog, I was reflecting on the trip that we're taking. Initially, I was completely against taking a trip because:

1. I couldn't earn money while on this trip.
2. I couldn't look for a job while on this trip.
3. I knew we'd spend MORE of our savings on this trip than we would if we just stayed home.

Yet, as I thought and prayed more about this possibility, I realized that taking this trip is a way for me to tangibly demonstrate something I've felt and talked about concerning money for several years now. It does not own me -- it is a tool for me to use to advance the Kingdom.

In our culture we really don't talk much about personal finances, and I encourage you to take a moment and think about why we find it so hard to talk about our personal finances with one another. I wonder if it is because finances are so closely tied to our identities in America. I have a hunch that to talk about how much I make (or don't make) is a deeply personal statement about who I am in the minds of most Americans. What do you think? If you have other ideas, I'd love to hear them.

My goal is not to violate that taboo, but I think many people (especially in American evangelicalism) have missed the boat on handling finances with a Kingdom perspective. I really resonate with Shane Claiborne's comment that we need to have a gospel of abundance -- Jesus really blesses us tremendously (spiritually obviously, but also relationally and materially). Yet to balance this gospel of abundance with a theology of enough (my material blessings are not simply intended to raise my standard of living).

I'm not sure any book has impacted my thinking on finances more than Randy Alcorn's, The Treasure Principle. I highly recommend you check out his web site and especially consider reading that book (http://www.epm.org/books/the-treasure-principle.htm)

What is the bottom line on this? There are actually a few things I'd like to share, but the one that is most germane is that I feel that spending money on this trip is a way for me to use the tool of money to impact the lives of my family. As I love them and prioritize them, they see the truth of God's love through me I believe.

Last night Clay, out of the blue, said, "Dad -- do you remember when mom took that picture of us today?" I look at the picture above and think, "Yes, this is investment in the Kingdom."

Hotel pools

are some of the coolest things in the world when you're a young boy -- or at least my sons seem to think so. So here I am sitting here in the hotel room after playing a great game of Marco Polo with the boys in the hotel pool. We played the version where I was it and once I tagged one boy he was frozen. He could be unfrozen by his brothers and so it was kind of like the never-ending game of Marco Polo. Even so, I really enjoyed spending time with the guys in this way. We laughed a lot and had much fun.

This is part of the joy I have right now in following Jesus -- loving my sons and enjoying time with them. Speaking of which, I'm signing off to do a bit more of that.

Mismatched People

On Sunday morning our family attended Open Door Fellowship Church. Over 1o years ago Jessica and I first found out about this ministry in Denver. They are a wholistic ministry that really seems to wed the spiritual needs of people with their physical needs. As a plan, the church has purchased several houses adjacent to their church building and they have turned them into homes for people in need. One house is for girls living on the street who are trying to get off. Another is for unwed mothers who need support. It really is a phenomenal ministry. If you want to know more, check out www.odmdenver.org

After the experience of worshiping Jesus with this group of people (which was VERY different from our typical Sunday morning), I asked my family to share their impressions of the experience. Will said something very insightful. He said, "People were mismatched." Sensing what he might be saying, but not totally sure, I asked him to elaborate. He said, "Well, people were dressed really differently. Some were really dressed up (suits) and others were people who dressed in pretty raggy clothes." I asked him for any other insights about how people were mismatched and he said skin color, age, and demeanor. I thought that this is likely a great picture of the Kingdom of God.

I am sure that ODF has plenty of issues as a church (they have people in it after all), but I can't help but love the fact that the mismatched group of people reflected the Kingdom to me on Sunday morning.

The true test of loving one another

We covered nearly 400 miles in the car today and I have decided that perhaps this trip has no other purpose than for God to reveal to me how easily irritated I am. Tonight as I put the boys to bed, I asked them to share about how our attitudes were today. Our latest mantra goes something like this,

Me: "Jesus says that the person who loves Him will..."

Boys: "Keep His commandments."

Me: "And Jesus says, this is my commandment that you..."

Boys: "Love one another."

So I was originally planning to ask the boys to talk about how well they had loved each other (pushing, pinching, stealing, and yelling were all regular parts of our day). I think I figured this piece of pedagogical brilliancy (read rhetorical question) would serve to help them reflect on how poorly they had achieved this command of Jesus throughout the day.

Yet when I went to ask this, it came out something like, "So how do you think Dad did at loving the family today?" Their answers were embarrassing and sad to me. Here is a sampling:

Clay: "You yelled at me (for being loud -- for Pete's sake the kid is 6)."

Will: "You got really mad -- well, not really mad...just kind of...annoyed with us when we did certain bad stuff."

Joe: "You put drops in my eyes."

Granted that last one is actually loving as we seek to eradicate Joe's eye infection, but the first two are pretty pathetic. Before I start challenging any of my family to examine their loving actions toward someone, I heard the message today that I have a long way to go on this one. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I am hoping that the Lord gives me a loving heart so that I can more reflect Jesus to my family and the people around me. We ended tonight with the boys asking Jesus to help dad love more -- their prayers seemed heartfelt and I really want this.

Just don't plan on any long car rides with me for a while until I grow in this area.

So, what's your plan John?

Many times this question has been asked by gracious people who love me and want to keep me in their prayers. I have felt at times, however, an embarrassment that I really have no solid plan that I can tell to people. In my own mind I've battled feelings that I am foolish, idealistic, or plain stupid for embarking on this road without a plan for knowing where the road is taking me. Especially, people remind me, when I have a family to provide for.

In moments like these, I remind myself of Genesis 12 in order to recall that there is precedent for God calling someone to GO without actually telling them where in the world they were going. Check it out for yourself...God tells Abraham to leave everything familiar to go to a land that "I WILL show you" (emphasis mine). Also, note that when Jesus called His disciples to follow He didn't give them a destination -- only an invitation to become something much more than what they were currently (Fishers of Men). Oh, how I want to become so much more than what I am currently!

A few encouraging outcomes of this time:

1. In my better moments I have a sense of exhilaration that literally God can do ANYTHING with me and my family and send us ANYWHERE He wants right now (this is an adventurous feeling).

2. My prayer life is very conversational with God right now because my life regularly feels so unstable.

3. I am God's adopted son. As corrupt as I am, He still chose to adopt me into His family. That really encourages me.