The Gift of the Spirit

What is it that humans want? There are many answers to that question. Weak-sighted people may give answers like money, relationships, beauty, or popularity. I say 'weak-sighted' because rarely do people want these things for their own sake, but they want them for a deeper end. Money promises happiness, relationships promise joy and love, physical beauty promises self-fulfillment and worth, popularity promises the satisfaction of being valued. 

The problem is that all the promises the world has to offer are empty cisterns, blank checks that will only bounce back and smack us in the face, vanity and trying to grab the wind. On the contrary, God promises that he is our only ultimate fulfillment. He promises to deliver the happiness, joy, love, and fulfillment we desire, even in the midst of suffering. Perhaps God's promise that 'those who seek will find' is more radical than we think. Although God does not necessarily promise the things that we think will bring us fulfillment (e.g. cars, food, electronics), He does promise the Holy Spirit who will bring fulfillment. 

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:13)

What if your life was suddenly penetrated by true and genuine love for others? a joyful smile through all circumstances? peace when the storms are crashing all around? patience so that you can wait contently when circumstances are not ideal? kindness, goodness, and faithfulness which flow from the love you have in your heart? gentleness when the world tempts you to strike back? and self-control, which is the truest of all freedom? (Gal 5:22). 

Is there anything on this list (which we tend to ramble off so quickly) that the world does not actively seek and deeply desire? Do we really believe that God will simply give them to those who ask? Do we really believe He will freely give His Spirit, to lead us into a most abundant life? After all, the best things in life you can't buy: a peaceful spirit, a good night sleep, lasting joy, etc. 

People have tried to buy the Spirit for His power and it didn't turn out so well. "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!" (Acts 8:20). But all we have to do is ask, and God will give! Come, brothers and sisters, join me in asking for a Spirit-filled life, purchased for us by the blood of Christ because of the Father's love for us as His children! 

A Good and Faithful Servant

Finals week is a type of heaven. The person who thinks their works have nothing to do with their eternal reward have no concept for a "well done, good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of your master" (Matt 25:23). Heaven is going to be so much sweeter when we enjoy it after the strain, the heartache, and the endless toil. Yes, God's grace is the sole basis for our salvation and our righteous deeds. And yes, we do work; we work very hard.

What is that sweet rest at the end of a long day (or semester) if it is not a picture of our eternal rest? What is that pay check for a job well done if it's not a type of our heavenly reward? Woe to the man who disregards the mindset of working hard for a heavenly blessing in fear of legalism. He may well find himself becoming a lazy and unfaithful servant. May we rather thank God for his faithfulness in giving us the desire and the ability to serve him in the righteousness he provides.

"For it was granted [the Church] to clothe herself with fine linen...and the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (Rev 19:8).

A Parent's Ministry

Child raising should never be seen as a less-important calling for men or women. Raising up a godly family should be seen as one of the highest callings of your life. Coleman’s book The Master Plan of Evangelism helps to demonstrate that a heavy investment in a few can go a long way in multiplying the kingdom of God. Why not make ‘the few’ your own children? Why not make the people you spend so much time teaching, preparing, and equipping for further kingdom ministry the people who are already living under your own roof? Psalm 127:4 supports this thinking: “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.” We are fighting a war and children are the arrows in the hands of parents. When a woman decides to become a mother and to put most of her time and energy in that vocation, she is not choosing the easy life or the life of peace. Rather she’s choosing to be engaged in war. She’s choosing to shape and fashion effective arrows that will pierce into the darkness of this world with the blazing heat of the gospel. But notice that the Psalmist refers to them as “the children of one’s youth.” This hits another issue. We live in a culture and an age which asks a young men and women aspiring to be parents questions like: ‘Why don’t you just wait a few years before having children? You’ll be ready when you’re older. Why don’t you enjoy life while you’re still young? You can have children later.’ While it may sometimes be wise to wait to have kids, this verse rules out the mindset that it is always wiser to wait to have children until you’re older. In fact, I there can be much wisdom in starting such an important venture such as child-raising early on. Just as the youth of a warrior helps him to fight with more vigor, so the youth of a parent is potential for more energy to be poured out into the struggle of raising children. 

Perhaps one thing that keeps us from seeing the value of parenting is that the fruit is not immediately evident. Isn’t it wiser to spend most of your time evangelizing the lost and doing ‘more important’ works of ministry? But this is the reasoning that Coleman pushes against in his book. He describes Jesus-like discipleship investment as “slow, tedious, painful, and probably unnoticed by people at first, but the end result will be glorious, even if we don’t live to see it...really it is a question of which generation we are living for” (32). Parents may not live to see it, but that doesn’t mean that their investment wasn’t worth it. The argument may be made that many people raised in Christian homes end up abandoning the faith, but even Jesus in his own ministry had a Judas. Our discipleship count will never be %100 . . . so maybe you should have more than one kid. :)

Spiritually Homeless

Home is where the heart is. At least, that's what they say. But what does that mean?

Some people may think it means home is where your affections are. But there's a difference between treasuring something or someone in your heart, and having your home there. Home is a sanctuary, a sacred space where you feel safe. You're able to open up and be yourself. You're more capable of allowing people to know you through and through. Home is not merely a place you value, but it's a place you belong. You can value something from a distance without actually investing in it.

Adam and Eve experienced this kind of home/sanctuary in the garden before the fall. They were naked and unashamed. There was nothing to hide.

With sin, it's much more difficult to find a safe place like this. Because of sin, we have so much to hide. So many secrets from God and others. We need clothes to hide our shame.

But there's a place for taking the clothes back off. First and foremost we need to be naked before the Lord. But there's also a desperate need for open/vulnerable relationships with others. We need to find people we can trust, and learn to be ourself around them. There is never risk in being open with God, but you'll find yourself in danger at the prospect of showing others the tender parts of your being. They may hurt you. They probably will.

Some people have lived in fear for years, and mostly because they still aren't right with God. They haven't been able to open up about sin and secrets. They remain with no home, no sanctuary. In a word, these people are homeless...spiritually homeless.

Co-written with Emily Moeser

A Frustrated Saint

There comes a time as a Christian when you return to the tree of the bitter and nasty fruit of sin one too many times. Time stops and you just ask Why? Why do I keep on cutting others down with my words and my rotten attitudes? Why do I continue to love money and material things above Christ? Why do I always compare myself to others? Why do I lust? Why do I idolize?

Quite frankly, I get frustrated; really frustrated.

If Christ's death is sufficient in and of itself to ransom for himself a bride and to clothe her with his own righteousness, what's the point of leaving the bride here in partial sin and great suffering? Couldn't we at least be a little more sinless...or suffer a little less?

I know there are many answers to these questions, but here's a thought:

One reason God doesn't apply all of redemption at once is so that we can live in a world of concessives

• Although we don't see him, yet we love him. 
• Although we don't see him, yet we believe that he exists. 
• Although we don't see him, yet we worship him. 
• Although sin makes promises, yet we trust obedience to be better
• Although we suffer greatly, yet we rejoice.

The list goes on. We live in a drama where we have the capacity for sin, we've tasted it's fruit, and we've experienced suffering. Though God could change our nature to a much greater degree, he chooses to let us continue the drama with these elements still in place. The old man still has power; his influence remains. God does this in order to show how even a little glimpse of Himself can spur a people to the greatest levels of love and self-sacrifice. Compared to other things in the world, our experience of God is extraordinary. But let me tell you, we haven't experienced God yet. We haven't seen his glory. And one day we'll enter into a new world which he is preparing for us; a world where great wonder and excitement awaits us. But in the meantime, may our lives only make sense through this 'kingdom lense.' 

Running and Coffee

I was almost at the two mile mark of my run (which, if you know me, is definitely the end). I realized at that moment that my relationship to running really reminds me of my relationship to coffee. Let me describe coffee first.

I broke down and started drinking coffee a couple weeks ago. Ever since then, I've been trying to figure it out. When I consider drinking coffee, it always sounds like a good idea. Immediately after I'm done drinking it, there's a strange sense of relief...or even accomplishment. Most of all I like it's affects on me. It gives me energy and life. But all of these positive things seem to stand against the bitter taste of the coffee which I can rarely say I enjoy. There are moments when I enjoy a good brew, but those are few and far between.

I also started running last week. Whenever I consider running, it seems like a good plan. Immediately after I'm done, there's that strange sense of relief and accomplishment. I've come to realize that I most of all appreciate the affect running has on me. It helps me know I'm alive. It gives me greater confidence and somewhat strangely helps bring me out of introverted seasons. It gives me time with God and helps me feel good about myself. Once again, all of these positive things seem to stand against the horrible feeling I get with a cramping stomach or imploding lungs. There are moments when I enjoy a good run...but it's rare for me not to feel like I'm dying.

Sometimes it's not the activity itself that you enjoy, but the results of sticking it through. It's no coincidence that the Christian faith is compared to running a race. Sometimes it's a bitter experiences that help you know you're alive and that make you appreciate the sweet things in life. For the Christian, no pain is arbitrary. It may have a strange (apparently random) cause, but the result is what God has in mind. Just push through and God will bless your faith. (and yes, my analogy just put suffering in the same category as coffee and running; no remorse). May God help us to see the benefits of suffering for his sake. Amen.

Patience vs Complacence

I've come to realize that there's a fine line between patience and complacence. It's an inner difference, and one not readily noticeable by those watching. Because it's such a subtle difference, many people mistake a complacent person for a patient one.

Here's an example: Three people have been working out in the heat all day and are now waiting for dinner. As it cooks on the stove, they can all smell the sweet aroma of an incredible meal. 

The first man sees the food cooking and continues to grumble and complain that it's not finished now. It's easy to see that this man's attitude is wrong. 

The second man, however, is more difficult. In an attempt to be content while waiting for dinner, he decides to ignore the food for a while. By suppressing his desire for what's coming, time begins to slip by almost unwittingly. From the outside, this man appears to be patient. But deep down he just doesn't care anymore. Complacence guises itself as patience. He no longer longs for the blessing ahead, but tries to forget about it until it comes. 

The third man exercises true patience. Seeing something good that is about to come, this man does not suppress the thought of it in his mind. Allowing full desire for the supper to remain, the third man affirms that it is worth waiting for. Because his hopes are held high, the waiting is really difficult and can be described as suffering...or even longsuffering. 

The second man avoids suffering, but his desire for dinner is inadvertently diminished. Not only does he enjoy dinner less than the third man when it finally comes, but a lack of future expectations may undermine his current actions. While it may seem crazy for someone to stop cooking dinner because they no longer desire dinner as much, we can imagine a Christian who stops bearing their cross because they don't desire heaven enough. 

We ought to be like the third man, embracing our present circumstances as God's will while fully desiring the blessing to come. When we look at the fallen world, and the depth of human hurt, and the effects of the curse, there ought to rise in us a deep discontent for the present state of things and yearning for God's renewal. These longings place value on what we long for and help us to endure. For how can we claim to prize something we are trying to ignore? 

(Romans 8:18-25)