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Posts Tagged ‘Transformation’

Alignment – The Critical Success Factor

Posted in Church, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Priorities, The Father, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 13, 2018| 1 Comment »

After hitting the huge pothole the car drove terribly.  The steering wheel vibrated in my hands and the entire car had a constant shake.  Driving to the repair shop I was ready for the bad news.  The tires and car were fine.  The pothole had simply knocked my tires out of alignment.  Once they were aligned the vehicle ran as smooth as ever.

The project was a mess, behind schedule and over-budget.  The project manager called the entire team together.  Grievances were aired, apologies given and received, and goals were re-established.  Everyone exited the meeting with a clear sense of direction and purpose.  The project team was aligned and the project proceeded on time and on budget.

The plant was experiencing another motor failure.  But this time the maintenance team took a deeper look to determine the problem.  In the end root causes were addressed and the pump and motor were carefully aligned which resulted in the motor to running smoother and longer than ever before.

The young man in the prison cell was truly repentant of the things he had done.  He hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, but in the end his family and the person he had taken from had all suffered.  As he sat there he considered all he had lost, not the least of which was his freedom.  He had even said a prayer earlier in his life and said he wanted to be a Christian.  But his life was not reflective of the Christian life and he knew it.  He got down on his knees and prayed for forgiveness and asked God to help him live the life he wanted him to.  He began reading the Bible.  He began living the life described there.  When he was pressured, the tendency to return to old patterns of thought and action rose up.  But a whispered prayer, “Help me Jesus” and then thoughts of how would Jesus want him to respond came to mind.  The transformation took time.  But the more he aligned his life with what he read in the Bible, the more peace he felt and the easier it was to do the right thing.

In every case the improvement occurred when alignment was achieved.  One definition of alignment is for different parts to be in the correct relative position, i.e. the four tires of your car, the pump and motor in a coupled machine.  A second definition is the organization of systems or activities so that they match or fit well together.  The project team in the example above is a good example of this.  In the last example of the repentant man, both of these definitions are applicable.

Before we dive into what it means to be aligned with God and His plan for our life we need a little context.  There are essentially three phases in life and they are sequential.  They are the transgression phase, the transaction phase, and the transformation phase.  Sadly, some persons never leave the first one.  A significant number experience the first two phases, but either fail to realize the tremendous benefits of the third phase or they stall in the pursuit of it.  Blessed are the persons who experience all three, especially the ones who experience the first two early and live long in phase three.

The first phase is simply our life before recognizing our deep need of God’s grace.  Paul explains this succinctly in the book of Romans summing it up in Romans 3:22, ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’  The second phase is the glorious doorway into a restored relationship with God by accepting Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf.  This is the primary theme of the New Testament.  In one of the very last of Jesus’ exhortations captured in the bible we read these words, ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.’  Revelation 3:20.  Salvation through repentance of sin and accepting of Jesus as Lord and Savior is God’s desire for all people.

But this is where the fun begins.  God has a life full of joy, peace, exhilaration, adventure, literally fulfillment in the richest possible way, in mind for those who seek Him.  When we choose to follow Jesus and allow His Holy Spirit to guide us we are walking in that third phase – the transformation phase.

Lest I unintentionally mislead, the transformation phase is not all pleasure.  Old habits and thought patterns die hard.  Ways of living that are contrary to the life God has called His children to are culturally engrained into us.  We will find that transformation in us means we will swim against the current at times.  It means we will have to deny our natural inclination to satisfy our own desires before others.  And because we live in a broken world we will suffer simply because of that brokenness.

The key in the transformation phase is becoming aligned with God in His work.  I see three arenas where God is at work and we are to join Him.  He is doing a work in us.  He is doing a work in the lives of those directly touched by our life.  He is at work in the World.  Alignment with God in this work is a critical success factor in the results as well as the pace.

There are three primary ways we need to align with God in this transformation.  The first is to read the Word of God and allow God to use it to transform our thought patterns.  ‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.’  Romans 12:1-2.  These two verses must be read together.  The transforming of our mind is not simply a mental exercise.  We are to act upon this new way of thinking.  We are to cease conforming to the old way of thinking and the ways and patterns of the world.  The bible is the Word of God.  It is the stable place we can always turn to for the clear picture of God and His desire for His children.

The second alignment is with the Holy Spirit.  At the transaction, we not only had our sins forgiven, we were given a very great help to live the life of faith.  God placed His Holy Spirit in us to be our guide and counselor.  Jesus talked about this in his final meeting with the disciples before His crucifixion.  ‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.’  John 14:16-17,26.

The Holy Spirit is God living in the believer.  Yet He does not overwhelm us.  He is gentle and seeks to lead us into truth and into obedience to the Father.  As we align ourselves with the Holy Spirit’s leading, we will learn to discern His voice.  Obedience brings greater clarity the next time the Holy Spirit speaks.  Learning to tune our hearts to the Holy Spirit also means the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil are muted.  They don’t necessarily go completely away, but the more we lean in and listen to the Holy Spirit, the less frequent and less vocal these temptations are.  The converse is also true.  The less we listen and follow the Holy Spirit, the louder and more frequent the voices of the world, the flesh, and the devil become.

The final alignment with God’s transformation is submission to Godly leadership.  The Church is a big deal to God.  It is so important that it is referred to as the bride of Christ.  Through the Church, God’s transformation of the world is taking place.  The Lord has raised up leaders who have specific responsibilities to fulfill.  As I ponder this, it occurs to me that everyone has a leadership role in God’s economy.  The difference may be in scale, but not necessarily in importance.  The mother of a young child is leading that child and that is vitally important.  As is the pastor of a mega church.  Yet every leader is also a follower of someone else.  Asking the Lord to guide you to a bible-believing church and then aligning with the leaders has placed there is a vital step.

These three alignments work together to create a firm foundation for transformation in me, in the persons around me, and in the world.  Not unlike a stool with three legs, these support us whether we are sitting at rest or standing to reach higher than we can normally reach.  Take away any one of the three and the stool no longer works.

We are created to live in intimacy with God, the lover of our souls.  This life carries with it great blessings, not the least of which is the process of being changed into the whole, beautiful person God had in mind when He created us.  While this process continues our entire life, we facilitate this transformation by aligning ourselves with the Word of God, His Holy Spirit, and Godly leaders.

Feel free to join me in this prayer.

Lord Jesus, we want to live the transformed life you created us for.  We say yes to the work you are doing in us… in our family and friends… and in the world around us.  I offer myself to you anew today.  Take the broken pieces of my life and put them together in the way you know they need to go.  Take the supple pieces of my life and shape them to the form you have in mind.  Reveal the pieces of my life that need to go and then help me to leave them for good.  And whatever is good in me please use for your glory, the world’s good, and my joy.  In Jesus name.

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Your Kingdom Come

Posted in Church, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Prayer, Responsibility, The Father, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 16, 2018| Leave a Comment »

When His disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray Jesus gave them a short model of prayer that became known as “The Lord’s Prayer”.  It is recorded Matthew 6 and Luke 11.

‘”And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.‘ Matthew 6:7-13 https://www.bible.com/bible/59/MAT.6.7-13

The first intercession within the Lord’s prayer is for God’s kingdom to be manifest on earth.  Combined with the fact that Jesus repeatedly spoke about the Kingdom of God giving example after example of what it is like, it’s apparent that the Kingdom of God is a big deal in Jesus’ work.  So what is the Kingdom of God?

Simply stated, the Kingdom of God is the entire community of Christ-followers and all that makes up their lives…possessions, attitudes, passions, and occupations living under the dominion or rule of the Lord God Almighty.  While there is a difference between the spiritual realm and the natural realm, with respect to the Kingdom of God, all is to be submitted to the sovereignty of God.

Those who have entered into relationship with God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, are made citizens of the Kingdom of God.  But just like foreign born persons who immigrate to the United States, becoming a citizen is just the beginning of the process.  In fact, the appropriate approach to becoming a citizen is to diligently study and learn about your new country so that you are continually more knowledgeable and useful in making your new country great.  I was speaking with a friend yesterday and his wife is from Germany.  She has lived here several years and within the past week she, along with 88 other persons from 38 different countries, became a US citizen.  There are rights and privileges with citizenship, but let us not overlook that there are responsibilities too.

Citizenship in the Kingdom of God also has rights, privileges, and responsibilities.  Fortunately, Jesus promised that citizens of God’s Kingdom would have a helper, the Holy Spirit, Who would live within each and every person who puts their faith in Him.  The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity of God.  The Holy Spirit knows God’s heart and His unique purpose for each person in the Kingdom.  It is incumbent upon us to learn how to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit if we are to be good citizens in our new Kingdom.

Because of the unique nature of God’s Holy Spirit living within every believer, we have the potential of living life differently or set apart.  While we live in a natural world that does not fully embrace the principles of the Kingdom of God, we are still able to live these kingdom principles through the power of the Holy Spirit.  The definition of holy is set apart unto God.  That is what we as members of the Kingdom of God are called to be – holy or set apart unto God.  While it would be wonderful if every person immediately manifested the radical transformation from self-centered to God centered that occurs when they meet Jesus, submit to His Lordship, and become citizens of the Kingdom of God, it usually is a process.  Oh, a spiritual transaction takes place immediately.  Our eternal destination is flipped in an instant when we give our lives to Christ.  The Holy Spirit is given to every person at salvation as God’s internal guide to truth.  But the process of replacing old habits and thought patterns takes a bit longer.  In fact the process of sanctification will last the rest of our earthly lives.

One of the truly amazing things though about the sanctification process is that it not only changes us individually, but it transforms society around us.  When we look at the march of “civilization”, the good and wonderful elements of society today have been brought forth through people living out their faith in God, i.e. the Kingdom of God.  There was a time when orphans were simply abandoned by society until Christians saw the need, responded, and began taking these children in and giving them love and places to live, eventually developing orphanages.  Hospitals for the public at large were begun by Christians seeing a need and responding.  Throughout history, the frontlines of the undeveloped world has seen the Kingdom of God as the first outreach.  Missionaries bring the Gospel and essential practical care in the form of schools, medical care, agricultural aid, and general parenting knowledge.

The world today exists in the between stage.  There is still much evil that exists.  We’ll discuss the World, the Flesh, and the Devil at a later date, but suffice to say their influence in the world is still strong and the ramifications of that influence are decidedly negative.  But God has a people, the Church, who are also members of the Kingdom of God.  We are dual citizens if you will.  While we live on the earth we have an opportunity, actually we have a responsibility, to live as change agents.  But it all emanates from our intimacy with our Father God and obedience to the prompting of His Holy Spirit.  Jesus taught His disciples to pray knowing that we, His followers 2000 years later would also pray that prayer.  But prayer is to be two-way communication.  When we pray, we must also listen to hear His response.  As we listen we will hear Him say, “Go, show my kingdom to them today.”

God bless you my friend.

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At the Speed of Sacrifice

Posted in Church, God, Responsibility, Spiritual Growth, The Father, Worship, tagged , , , , , on February 14, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Brad said it 10 days ago yet it is still bouncing around in my head.  “The Kingdom advances at the speed of sacrifice.”  We are revisiting our core values and the 4th is Having a Kingdom Mentality.  Very briefly, this means we fix our eyes on Jesus and seek to live each day from the understanding that we are members of God’s kingdom.  Living from this perspective changes the way we approach many situations.  Instead of worldly wisdom, we seek to apply biblical wisdom to the challenges of the day.  Living from the knowledge that the God of the universe is actively engaged in the redemption of life on this green planet alters how we think, how we act, what we say – essential everything is flavored by this new perspective.  A key principle is that love and sacrifice are pillars in the Kingdom of God.  The following story from the gospel of John portrays this beautifully.

‘Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’ I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.“ ‘  John 13:1-20
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/JHN.13.1-20

Jesus demonstrated His love for us in numerous ways.  Washing the feet of visitors was one of the lowest of servant roles in Jesus’ day, yet Jesus didn’t hesitate to minister to the disciples in this manner and then called them to follow His example.  But this wasn’t the first or the last time Jesus would model sacrifice.

On the cross Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law paying the penalty for sin… for all sin… for your sin and my sin, so that we might enter into relationship with the Father.  His sacrifice is the watershed in all world history.  Everything is changed because of His sacrifice.  Yet, He calls us to partner with Him in the redemption  of the world.  The good news of Jesus’ love and sacrifice hasn’t reached everyone.  There are those who have not heard it because of their physical location.  There are those who haven’t heard it because of local beliefs and false religion’s hostility to the gospel.  And there are those who have not heard because the message is not compellingly delivered.

There is nothing wrong with the gospel.  But at times we fail to deliver the message from a true kingdom mentality.  Have we been on our knees in prayer interceding for our friends before we share the gospel?  Do we allow God’s principles to guide our actions causing us to live differently enough that people notice and are attracted by God’s grace showing through us?  Do we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our actions such that when we are nudged to step out of our comfort zone we promptly respond even if we may look a little foolish?  Are we willing to sacrifice when all the clamor around us says indulge, enjoy, treat yourself?

Let’s journey together this Lent and look at what this kingdom mentality looks and feels like.  I have been nudged to sacrifice a bit of sleep for the next 40 or so days to share some thoughts on the matter.  Please join me and share your thoughts.

Love and peace to you this Ash Wednesday, 2018.  May the Lord bless you with the richness of His grace.

 

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ALL

Posted in God, Holy Spirit, Prayer, Responsibility, Spiritual Growth, Vision, Worship, tagged , , , , , , on April 19, 2017| Leave a Comment »

““The most important one,” answered Jesus,“ is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”  Mark 12:29-30

Jesus was very clear here.  He was repeating the words from Deuteronomy.  I’ve read this dozens of times, but today the word ALL stuck out.  It was like they are being highlighted for emphasis.  Before I get to the weighty matter of what all means, let’s look at the four elements Jesus articulates.

Heart.  When I think of heart I think of passion.  I think of the thing or things that drive me, that compel me.  “The team with the most heart often wins.” It is more than emotion, but emotion is part of it.  Another analogy is if all our actions were a compass needle, our heart would be the point to which the compass needle consistently points.

Soul.  I struggle with distinguishing this from the other three, but I realize it is place where my will resides.  My soul is the center of my individuality and consciousness. 

Mind.  This is pretty easy, it is my cognitive, thinking self.  It is the part of me that processes data, assesses information, and makes decisions.  It is our intellect and the repository of all the data we have accumulated throughout our life.

Strength.  My strength is the resulting development of all my actions to date.  Much like a laborer muscled and toned from years of hard work, my strength is the capabilities I have now because of the life and actions I have taken.

So back to all.  Does Jesus really mean ALL?  And we are to LOVE with ALL.  If we love God with all then there won’t be anything left over for others – a spouse, children, parents or siblings, will there?  Well Jesus does say ALL and the heart, soul, mind, and strength pretty much encompasses everything about who we are.  How can this be?

It gets back to the reality that God is our creator.  He knows us better than we know ourselves.  He created us on purpose, for a purpose.  It is His desire for each person to fully fill their divinely ordained purpose.  But our purpose can only be found when we are immersed in Him and when we are filled by Him – through the in-dwelling Holy Spirit. 

By giving Him ALL of us, He is able to mold, shape, and transform us into exactly the person we are meant to be.  In some cases it is a transformation of sin habits.  At salvation the penalty for our sin is paid.  Jesus paid it on the cross and we said yes to receive it at our salvation.  We are washed clean by the blood of Jesus.  But the flesh still remembers the old habits.  Sanctification is the process of losing the old, bad habits and taking on new, good habits. 

A life verse for me is Psalm 37:4. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  This verse makes perfect sense when it is aligned with Jesus admonition.  When God has our heart, soul, mind and strength, we cannot help but become aligned with His heart.  When our heart aligns with His heart it will desire what He desires.  When we desire what God desires, we become partners with Him is seeing these things come to be.  In some cases we will be moved to missions, moved to serve sacrificially, moved to go and do the things we have been prepared to do with the totality of our life experiences and under God’s anointing.  In all cases we will be moved to love more deeply and fully than we are able to without Him.

Another aspect of this is we will be moved to pray God’s prayers.  Intercession is a high and holy calling.  I’m not talking about reading through a list of names and asking God to bless family and friends.  Intercession which emanates from God’s heart to our heart is a burden to pray for specific people and needs even to the point of travail. God wants to partner with us, to pray through us.

There is one final element of Jesus’ saying that needs emphasizing.  The admonition begins with LOVE.  Love is a game changer.  We can serve.  We can honor.  We can follow.  But none of these meet the standard of loving God.  They each are manifestations of our love response, but love is deeper and richer than these alone.  Love is the deep-seated acknowledgment that God is the wholly complete other to Whom our devotion, desire, and passion is aimed.  1 John 4:16 says this.  “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

To love God with All that we are is to enter fully into the life we were created for.  Amazingly we find that our ability to love and do the things God calls us to do become the desires of our heart.  He takes our attempts to love, pray, serve, work and, through His Spirit, accomplishes His good and perfect plan in us and in those He leads us to.  As we walk the road of loving God with our All we will find that He reveals our All to be more than we knew or imagined.  But it is only in losing ourselves in Him that He is able to do this great and wonderful work in us.

Purpose today to love God with your all and bask in the joy of knowing He first loves us and He will live fully in us as we abandon ourselves into His love.

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Bible In One Year 2017

Posted in Bible Study, Church, tagged , , , , , on December 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Start your day with the Bible in One Year, a Bible reading app with commentary by Nicky and Pippa Gumbel. Nicky Gumbel is the Vicar of HTB in London and pioneer of Alpha. ‘My favourite way to start the day.’ – Bear Grylls, Adventurer

Source: Bible In One Year 2017

Hi Friends,

I intend on reading through the bible this year and I am going to use this devotional from You Version to help me stay on track.  I’d love for you to join me.  I am getting a little head start because I know there will be times I miss a day.  This will give me a little cushion for those days.

Be blessed today and be a blessing.

Dan

 

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Spiritual Gifts – Understanding Spiritual Gifts and learning to use the gifts God has given us for His Purpose and Glory.

Posted in Church, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Spiritual Growth, The Father, Vision, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 23, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Before launching into this study, I want to put it into context.  Sadly, the spiritual gifts can be a controversial topic within the Church.  There are two extremes we can take which, if we hold too tightly to, can cause us to miss the ultimate purpose of the spiritual gifts, which is to build up the Body of Christ and to draw unbelievers.  (See 1 Corinthians 14)

On one hand, we can de-spiritualize the gifts of the Spirit to the point that they are simply natural human traits and capabilities maximized.  In this view we take something that is manifestly a supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit and turn it into an ability that we train and build up purely through regular exercise.

On the other hand, we can over-spiritualize the gifts of the Spirit to the extent that every manifestation of the gifts must be connected to an ecstatic event.  We work ourselves up into such a spiritually-heightened state that we are finally ready for the Holy Spirit to fall on us and the mighty works of God can begin.

These extremes are not so much false as they are simply much too narrow to capture God’s purpose in giving the Gifts of the Spirit.  Additionally, these extremes fail to adequately capture the experience within the breadth of the Body today.  The Church and it’s 2 billion adherents experience God’s grace sufficient for life in a broad range of environments and circumstances.  God is continuing His work around the world drawing people to Himself out of every nation, tribe, and people group.  And He does this through His people being obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and responding to the Holy Spirit.  The work is a collaborative effort between the Spirit of God and the people of God yielded to the Holy Spirit.  Our yielded-ness leads to the Holy Spirit moving in us to accomplish great and mighty things.  Many times that manifests itself in the spiritual gifts.  That is what this study is about.

 

This blog is from the notes I pulled together for our home group study.  I used a few on-line resources (which I will note at different points in the paper) and copious hours reading and praying over the scriptures.  I have been overjoyed to find new insights in the Word as the Lord expanded my understanding of spiritual gifts, particularly with respect to the source and foundation of why He gives them.

For the study, I usually began with general questions to draw us into topic, followed by more directed questions related to the text we were studying.  It is my intent to leave this to aid others who might want to expand upon this for their own study.

A final disclaimer.  Many years ago I entered a bit of a longer fast seeking God’s direction in my life.  I was ready and willing to go into ministry if that’s what the Lord wanted.  At the end of those three days, the Lord spoke very clearly to me.  He said, “Son, I’ve not called you to be a preacher.  I’ve not called you to be a teacher.  I’ve called you to be a man of prayer.  You will preach and you will teach, but first and foremost, you are to be a man of prayer.”

That was around 25 years ago.  I have seen those words played out perfectly in the meantime.  As I share this with you, I do so with a sincere sense that the Lord has made this one of the times when I have been called upon to teach.  Recognizing that teaching is one of the gifts I scored a middle-of-the-pack score on (Spiritual Gifts survey which I will identify later in the study), I can rightly assume that whatever good comes from this is due to the Holy Spirit enlivening it in me and in the reader.  Fortunately, these are spiritual gifts and as such God is able to do abundantly, amazingly, above all we can ask or imagine.  I sit here confident and overflowing with thankfulness that this is true.

 

Key Chapters Discussing Spiritual Gifts

Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4

 

List of Spiritual Gift Possibilities in Key Bible Passages (italics indicates a gift repeated in other places in scripture)

Romans 12

exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, prophecy, service, teaching

1 Corinthians 12

administration, apostle, discernment, faith, healings, helps – service, knowledge, miracles, prophecy, teaching, tongues, interpretation of tongues. wisdom

Ephesians 4

apostle, evangelism, pastor, prophecy, teaching  

Misc. Passages  (the following are implied as gifts in other scriptures)

celibacy, hospitality, martyrdom, missionary, voluntary poverty

 

OTHER GIFTS FROM THE LORD

Salvation, Church, Family, The conveniences He provides.

 

 

Lesson One

(Select two or three of these questions for ice-breakers to lead into today’s discussion)

What is your favorite gift-giving event?  What makes it your favorite?

What is one gift you have received that you value above all others?

What is a particularly memorable gift you have received?  What made it so memorable?

Any stories of gift-giving gone wrong?

What is the purpose behind giving and receiving gifts?

How about with spiritual gifts?

Have you given a gift and had it received poorly?  How did you feel? 

Have you ever received a gift poorly?

 

What are gifts? 

Transfer of an item from one who has or possesses the means to have something to one who does not currently have.

Transfer of ownership of something.

Freely released into the ownership of the other.

To be a true gift, there needs to be a recognition that the thing received is desirous and good.

For a gift to be good it must be “unwrapped”, appreciated, and used.

Gifts most often come from ones who care for us and want us to experience good things and to be happy.

Some gifts are given to us to help us be more functional and to accomplish specific tasks.

 

Is there timing associated with gifts?

Times of gift giving – Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Anniversaries, Graduations, Baby Showers, Weddings

Some gifts have an “expiration”, i.e. like a bouquet of cut flowers, a new car.  Some gifts have a lifetime legacy – a deed of land, a wedding ring, a poem written in honor of another.

Some gift-givers are extremely generous and continue to give and give and give.

 

 

Some gift receivers are very appreciative.  Some gift receivers are never satisfied.

Receiving with thankfulness and true appreciation engenders greater goodwill between the giver and receiver.

Receiving gifts with dissatisfaction or grumbling or without thankfulness damages the relationship between the giver and the receiver.

 

Romans 12

To be read in context of the whole chapter.

What is the first gift offered in chapter 12?  Verse 1 – our bodies as living sacrifices.

How is this sacrifice received?  We don’t determine this, but Paul tells us when we set ourselves apart unto God it is “holy and pleasing to God”.  He also affirms that this giving of ourselves is our true and proper worship.

What are the “personal” reciprocal gifts that we receive if we continue to give ourselves to the Lord? (verse 2)

Transformation, a renewed mind, clarity in knowing God’s will.

What are the “communal” gifts that we receive if we continue to give ourselves to the Lord? (verses 6-8)

Part of the body of Christ, prophesy, serving, teaching, encouragement, generosity, leadership, mercy / care-giving.

Are there any pre-requisites to receiving these communal gifts?  (verse 3)

Humility (do not think more highly of yourself than you ought), sober judgment, faith

Take time to make the distinction of the supernatural element of these gifts if they flow from sacrificial living leading to transformed people with renewed minds, living together in humble faith while exercising sober judgment about themselves.

 

What is the outcome of this gift giving, particularly when it entails all members of the body of Christ exercising their communal gifts? (verses 9-21)

Sincere love one to another.

A true rejection of what is evil with an active passion to fight against it.

A passionate embrace of what is good.

Devotion one to another… hugs and warm affection manifested, expressing genuine love.  Lives intertwined and supportive.

Honoring one another – accomplishments celebrated, faithfulness recognized, high-fives all around.

The zeal of the Lord present and richly manifested in lives devoted to Him, to one another, and to whatever work He has called us to at that time.

Joy even when circumstances are not exactly what we would want because hope is so rich and tangible.

Patience even when we are in the midst of affliction.  (I picture the body, particularly those with the gift of care-giving, rallying around the one suffering the greatest.)

Faithful intercession and prayer that moves mountains, breaks chains, heals wounds, and accomplishes God’s purpose, in God’s way, in God’s perfect timing.

Greed is gone as the body supports and shares with one another freely, especially those with the gift of generosity.  A point here – those with this gift also often have the uncanny ability to make money.  I think this may be either an aspect of the gift of generosity or simply a manifestation of the law of reciprocity where Jesus said, “Give and it will be given to you.”

Kindness, a supernatural love for and active reaching out to those who do not share our belief or faith.  In fact, it is a love for those who actively work against us.

Empathy manifested in every life situation.

Unity and harmony that is genuine and from the heart.  This absolutely transcends social status, education, age, race – and any other potential source of division.

The rejection of evil to the point that we do not respond in kind, but rather we are motivated by love and our response is what life within the body of Christ would approve of and support.

Peaceful living, with the full recognition that those not in the body might not live in peace nor want to allow us to do so.  Yet we seek peace.

Our response to evil’s attack is to seek to do good while trusting in God to be our shield, our shelter, and our defender.

 

Prior to this study I have always tended to read the bible with a strong awareness of the textual divisions that editors have inserted.  Romans 12 includes three different divisions… verses 1-2 are under the heading “A Living Sacrifice”, verses 3-8 are “Humble Service in the Body of Christ”, and verses 9-21 are “Love in Action”.  While these textual divisions are often helpful, they can also cause us to overlook some important connections the author may have had in mind.  Reading this chapter without those divisions leads us to see a flow that I believe Paul meant for the reader to grasp.

Before we focus on chapter 12, let’s take one step back and place this chapter into context of the entire letter to the Romans.  Romans is written to a part of the church Paul has not yet personally visited.  In this letter Paul provides a succinct explanation of the love and grace of God manifested through the sacrificial life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Through these early chapters we can trace God’s plan of salvation as Paul describes the ultimate gift of God giving His Son… of Jesus giving His life for us.  Paul paints with words God giving over and above anything we could deserve or even imagine comes through.

When we hit chapter 8 we see this new “life in the Spirit” which is available to all who are followers of Jesus.  This too is a magnanimous gift from a gracious and loving Father.  By the time we reach chapter 12 we have had the point driven home again and again – God has given us such a stunning abundance of grace and goodness.  This is the first “giving”.

In chapter 12 we then see giving taking place in three rapid bursts.  The first is in verses 1-2 where we give ourselves to God.  This is a call to total abandonment.  Paul has used old testament imagery throughout the previous chapters so when he speaks of a living sacrifice here, he is tying it to the old testament understanding of sacrifice being a complete giving over.  The only difference is as “living” sacrifices we get the honor of repeatedly deciding to completely give ourselves over to God.

The second giving is God giving spiritual gifts for the edification and building up of the Body.  I will speak about it more later, but I want to clearly state it here – the primary purpose of the spiritual gifts is the building up of the Body of Christ, but building up of the individual believer happens at the same time.  God is the ultimate multi-tasker.  In dispersing His gifts, He accomplishes many things as the Body, and the individual, receives and responds.

Then comes the third giving which is the one I had always missed.  That is the Body of Christ becoming a radiant, shining example of God’s goodness, grace, and love to the world that does not yet know Him.  We become God’s gift to the lost and unbelieving.  Through this, people are drawn to look to Him, to consider the claims of the Church, and to come to faith.

 

In conclusion to this week’s lesson, we see that God initiates the giving through giving Jesus as our savior.  We respond by giving ourselves to Him as our Lord.  He then continues giving by working transformation in us and by giving spiritual gifts to the Church.  The final giving is the Church being given to the world as a manifestly beautiful and attractive “Bride of Christ”.  This final giving includes an invitation to all who have not yet accepted Christ to join the fellowship of believers by receiving God’s initial gift of His Son – Jesus.

In our next lesson, we will investigate the ultimate source of God’s gift giving – His amazing love.

 

Until next time, may the God of all good gifts pour His Spirit out upon you, filling you with His wisdom, His truth, and His love.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

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Deficit of Humility

Posted in God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Responsibility, Salvation, Spiritual Growth, The Father, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on September 16, 2016| 3 Comments »

God is almost never limited by our lack.

We can lack money and yet God can provide the means for whatever He calls us to do.  My thoughts run to a little boy with two fish and five loaves on a remote hillside with Jesus and a crowd of thousands, hungry after a day of teaching and healing.

We can lack strength and yet Paul passes on what Jesus said to Him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” (2Cor 12:9)

We can lack intellect, but God can still use us.  I have been in a number of situations where I did not know “the answer” and yet the answer has always come.

But I realized the other day that there is one definite lack on our part that can constrain God… the lack of humility!  The lack of humility is powerful, ugly, and spiritually deadly.

There is value in specifically saying “lack of humility” and not simply calling it pride.  Being proud of your children, your country, your church can all stray into an unhealthy region, but for the most part these do not capture the attitude that the bible means when it says in a number of places, “God opposes the proud” (James 4:6).  The lack of humility is that kind of proud.  It is a cancer that sucks the life out of relationships, beginning with our relationship with the Father.

God loves us and He wants us to live in intimacy with Him.  The level of intimacy God desires is predicated upon mutual love, trust, and honesty.  Coming clean about every aspect of our life – from acts done or not done, words uttered or not uttered, even thoughts we’ve harbored requires a humility and honesty that does not come easily to us.  In fact it often requires a degree of divine support to achieve.  But He is near to us to lend us this help if we but bend our hearts toward Him in humility.

As I consider what this humility looks like several pictures come to mind.  A child listening in rapt attention and a teachable spirit… a parent returning from deployment falling on their knees and embracing their family… a “terminally” ill patient who is given a new lease on life.  God is the giver of all good gifts.  As He gives what He desires (which is always better than what we deserve) we should recognize the opportunity to give thanks and receive with humility all that the Lord wants for us.  Often, it is in these moments that He will speak wisdom into our lives that we can’t hear otherwise.

This morning I awoke with a very clear picture of what the lack of humility looks like.  It is one of the formational stories of the nation of Israel and it is found in the 2nd book of the bible, Exodus.  What had begun as a flight to sanctuary at the end of the Genesis had become servitude and slavery 400 years later.  The Pharaoh’s government had become a hard task-master and the people of Israel were crying out for deliverance.  God raised up Moses to serve as His human voice.  The message to Pharaoh was simple, “Let my people go.”  But Pharaoh, who was considered a god in that culture, refused.  Time and again God sent signs of His power and authority to convince Pharaoh and give Him the opportunity to bend His will to the Lord Almighty.  But Pharaoh would not.  The bible says that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

Friends, this is a vital spiritual truth.  The longer and harder we resist the Lord, the more difficult it becomes to respond to Him.  It is not that God’s love is not there nor is it that He won’t accept us.  The issue is that until we are humble enough to acknowledge that He is God and we are not, we can’t bend our knee to Him and submit to the foundational truth of faith that God is the great “I AM”, the wholly, Holy Other.  While I am thrilled that my heavenly Father loves me and desires to fellowship with me, it never changes the fact that He is the LORD God Almighty, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

The lack of humility can keep a person from accepting Christ, God’s provision to reconcile fallen humans with Himself.  But it can also rear it’s ugly head after conversion and stifle the spiritual growth the Lord intends for His children.  When I consider my faith walk, I can see how the lack of humility was a key factor in many of the lulls.

The message of today’s post is simple.  Take a moment to examine your life.  Do you have a deficit of humility that is limiting your relationship with God and others?  Are you thankful for the small gifts of grace you receive or are you disappointed because you feel slighted in some way?  Is God actively speaking to you and using you for positive change or is it quiet when you call out to Him?  If any of these answers make you realize that you have a deficit of humility, congratulations! Recognizing this is the hardest step.  Turn to God with your whole heart, acknowledge your sin (if you haven’t already figured it out, the lack of humility is a sin), accept His Lordship over you, and begin to walk in fresh fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

The limits of our intellect do not in any way limit God’s ability to use us.  The limits of our humility constrain how, and how much God can work in and through us.  Choose humility and throw off those constraints.  Reach for the Father’s hand and talk a walk with the One Who loves you to the uttermost.  You will be so happy that you did.

Be blessed my friend and be a blessing to those the Lord puts in your life today.

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Gauntlet 2016

Posted in Church, God Stories, Holy Spirit, Photography, Salvation, Service, Spiritual Growth, Worship, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2016| Leave a Comment »

I had the privilege of serving as a room leader at Gauntlet 2016.  In my young adult life I was a youth leader at two different churches and I even lead a diocese-wide youth event in Louisiana.  Other life demands took priority as I entered my mid 30’s so my youth leadership became focused upon coaching and a four year stint as a scoutmaster.  Gauntlet is our church’s youth camp, but it is youth camp to the extreme.  There were over 5300 youth at the Gauntlet with another 1700+ room leaders and support staff.  We descended upon Daytona Beach in 129 buses and filled 9 beach-front hotels.  And for the first time we filled the entire Ocean Center auditorium.

I intend on posting several pics and a few highlights from the week in this blog over the next few weeks.  The Gauntlet is an environment where youth and leader alike hear clear teaching on how to become a Christian and what it means to live the life God has created us for.  It provides ample opportunity to speak with caring leaders and fellow sojourners about life’s trials, challenges, failures, and triumphs in a safe place.  Within this context each person is given multiple opportunities to identify and take their next step in the faith journey of life.

This was my second time to serve.  And I almost didn’t go.  My experience the first time was enough of a challenge that I questioned whether the Lord wanted me there.  I left the date open on my calendar and I continued to ask the Lord to make it clear if I was to attend.  About 4 weeks prior the Lord gave me the nudge that I was to go and He provided two very clear instructions.  “Don’t have expectations on how your students are to respond”  and “Trust Me.”  So I signed up.  I am so glad that I did.

That I had chosen the right path was confirmed for me on the bus ride down.  Everyone traveled down in “pods” of three or four buses.  We were the first pod of buses from our campus which also happens to be the furthest from Daytona Beach.  Just outside Jacksonville the bus in front of ours broke down.  The failure on the bus disabled their air conditioning, so our bus leader asked us to make room for the folks from the other bus.  Our boys immediately moved to the back of the bus tripling up in seats or standing in the aisle.  We spent the next 3+ hours waiting on one of the other buses to complete the trip down to Daytona and then return to pick up the passengers from the disabled bus so our pod could continue.

The AC in our bus was stretched to the max with the extra body heat and the lack of air movement over the AC coils, so it was not very comfortable in the back where the boys were all scrunched together.  But during that entire time there was no whining or complaining.  The boys chatted.  I got to know several of the young men like Hawk, CJ, Bernard, Nick, Sean (or maybe Shawn), Drey, Marcelous, Dillon, and others.  For three hours we sweated together, watching bus after bus pass us as we sat on the side of the road with the Florida sun beaming in the windows… and the mood never turned sour with self pity.  I’m chuckling to myself right now because I was, and still am, pumped at how mature the boys handled the situation.

Although I didn’t meet and begin getting to know them until we arrived in Daytona Beach, my two roommates and new friends, Dylan and Greg were among those on the bus who handled the situation so well.  And they proved to be just as mature and good-natured as my initial impression of the other young men on bus 5.  It was truly a blessing to spend the week with these two guys, to get to know them, and to talk about what our next steps in growing closer to Jesus are.

That’s enough of a story for today’s post. So without further ado I share the first of my Gauntlet 2016 pics.

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Looking at Life Through the Pane

Posted in Church, Responsibility, Salvation, Vision, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Getting ready for Home Group I noticed the kitchen window needed cleaning.  It was the last task I got to, but I still had plenty of time.  It was probably good that I didn’t rush through it or I may have missed the simple message I share today.

I began by cleaning the inside.  As I cleaned I easily saw the dirt specs on the outside.  I almost convinced myself to stop working on the inside because it seemed like all the specs were on the outside.  I didn’t stop, although I was probably not as meticulous in “finishing” the inside before moving to the outside.  Oddly, my rag was pretty dirty from cleaning the inside even though I perceived all the dirt to be outside.

So I attacked the cleaning outside.  Once I was outside though, the dirt specs were suddenly not so obvious.  Oh, there was still grime to remove which I did.  Interestingly the more I cleaned the outside, the more obvious the remaining specs on the inside became.  After one final cleaning on the inside I was satisfied the windows were clean enough.  As I looked through I was surprised at how much clearer the view was.  While I was focused upon removing individual little specs, I had not realized how much cleaner the whole window had become.

That I could always see the dirt and grime on the opposite side of the glass better than what was on my side struck me as important.  Life is like that.  It is so easy to see someone else’s faults, but often we are blind to our own warped motivations and short-comings.  Jesus spoke on this in Matthew 7:1-5.  “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

When I cleaned the inside of the window, I didn’t realize how dirty it was.  However, after the first cleaning I was in a much better position to see and clean the outside.  And carrying the metaphor a little farther, when I put myself on the outside, akin to putting myself in another person’s shoes, I could see that there was still more cleaning necessary on the inside.

Jesus begins with an admonition about judging others.  Yet He ends by describing how we position ourselves to help others remove the stuff that hinders their vision.  These things that hinder are what the bible calls sin – ways we fall short of God’s plan for His children.  So there is a progression here.  We have sin in our lives.  We must deal with our sin first.  Then we are in a position to help our brother’s (that would mean other believers) deal with sin in their life.  And we are to do this without judgement.

Jesus specifically used the word brother meaning a person who shared the faith.  I believe this was intentional.  With the unbeliever, our focus should be upon introducing them to Jesus.  It is not to be about cleaning them up, getting sin out of their life.  It is pure and simple, to arrange for them to meet the One Who loves them more than us and Who can do exactly what they need.  With the believer though, we have a responsibility to encourage and strengthen one another in love.  Jesus helps in this, but He does so from within the believer.  We are simply to cooperate with Him in the work.  And it follows the progression mentioned above.

I hope this lesson I gleaned while I cleaned has given you a clearer view of God’s grace.

Lord, thank You for the work of Your Holy Spirit.  Thank You for salvation through Your Son – Jesus.  Thank You for the transformation that You are bringing about in us as we trust in You, as we read Your Word, as we obey Your commands, as we seek to know You better.  And thank You that we are joined together with other believers as Your Body, growing evermore into the people of God, fashioned for the good works You have prepared for us to walk in.  We love You Lord.  We pray in Jesus’ Name.

Be blessed and be a blessing today!

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When Common Courtesy is Not So Common

Posted in God, God Stories, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Responsibility, The Father, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2016| Leave a Comment »

2016-01-14 11.45.21

The sign on the window made me sad.  Not because of what it said, but that it had to be said at all.  And additionally because our federal government felt the need to create a law about it.  Oh, they got the sentiment right, but it is a sad commentary if, as a society, we are so broken about doing the right thing that the minutest details of our life have to be codified by the government.

CS Lewis was one of the most brilliant authors of the 20th century.  While raised in the church early in his life, he threw off the restraints of “religion” at a fairly young age.  His path led to an atheistic worldview for a while and then moderated to more of an agnostic perspective over time.  In his classic book, Mere Christianity, he identifies the existence of a moral code within every society as the reality that caused him to rethink his worldview.  The moral code – that framework of right and wrong, was intrinsic to every society.  Yes there were differences from place to place, but virtues such as loyalty, courage, and honesty within the tribe were consistent across every group.  Likewise the vices – betrayal, cowardice, lying within the tribe, were common threads across people groups.  The only logical explanation was that a universal law existed.  And if such a law existed, that demanded a Creator of that Law.  Hence Lewis followed the logic and expanded his godless worldview to include the reality that God existed.

Being the brilliant mind that he was, Lewis’ curiosity could not long rest with a riddle partially solved.  But neither was he going to be taken in by mere sentimentality or man-made religious dogma.  He was convinced that God existed, and therefore, the potential existed that He could be found.  His position on the staff at Oxford University gave him unfettered access to vast amounts of information collected from around the world and from history’s earliest recorded times.  Lewis was uniquely prepared and uniquely positioned to ferret out the truth.  I find it fascinating that JRR Tolkien was a fellow professor and confidant of Lewis.  In my mind’s eye I picture these two literary giants cloistered in the hallowed confines of Oxford, sharing a drink at their favorite pub, pondering the meaning of life, the potential existence of God, and how their latest book was shaping up.

His search led him back to Jesus.  Which brings me back to the writing on the window.  Right and wrong do exist.  And while I agree with Lewis that God is the authority of what is right and wrong, many people today resist or outright reject the reality of a Supreme Authority.  That vacuum is untenable.  Chaos, anarchy, and strife fill the void.  Society was not meant to exist without the structure that a framework of right and wrong provides.  So into that void government – whether it be a dictatorship in a third world country, elected leadership in a democracy, or simply the village chieftain, rises to define and enforce the law.

The problem with laws is the tendency latent in every person to break laws we don’t like or aren’t convenient for us.  In many cases we actually like the laws… so long as they apply to everyone else and I can be the exception when necessary.   The apostle Paul talks about this a lot.  The Law, in his writings meaning the Law given by God to the nation of Israel through Moses, served God’s ultimate purpose of pointing to our need of a savior and redeemer.  Jesus, was the only person who has ever lived who perfectly fulfilled the Law.  He was without sin.  And as such by His sacrificial death on the cross He was able to pay the price for every lawbreaker who has ever lived.  Those who accept His death on their behalf can receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

But it is the next step in the process that causes the sign on the bus window to stir me so.  When we submit to Jesus as Lord, we surrender our will to His.  He in turn puts His Holy Spirit within us.  The Holy Spirit will lead us step by step into closer intimacy with Jesus.  The Holy Spirit will gently transform our self-centeredness into other-centeredness.  It will become an internal desire of our heart to please God, to do what is right.  Read what Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40.  Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and will all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

In place of obeying the writing upon the window out of duty, we will look for someone needy of our seat and we will leap at the chance to provide it.  For the widow and orphan, we will reach out in love to provide for them.  For the sad and discouraged, we will speak words of life and hope.  We will act with compassion and kindness.  We follow the Law, not because of some external pressure, but rather from a living, vibrant center within us where the Spirit of the Living Lord is working to transform us into the real us we were ultimately created to be.

God reached out and saves us because He loves us.  As His children He desires that we join Him in His work.  Letting our light shine by following the leading of His Holy Spirit is one of the ways God is proclaimed to a hurting, dying world.  The world doesn’t need more laws.  It simply needs more of Jesus.  Join me today in seeking to let Him live larger, more completely through us today.

I love you friend.  Be blessed today and be that blessing God intends in someone’s life today.

 

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