discouraged

I've been a bit discouraged lately. In the scriptures we find two contrasting attitudes displayed. Look at the following words:

"How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High." (from Isaiah 14)

These words are in stark contrast to Paul's description of Jesus:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (from Philippians 2)

These words provide a stark contrast between two ways of living - one a self-gratifying, self-centered grasping for position and power. The other - a freely relinquished right to anything that might give us a sense of importance in order to harmonize with God's plan.

I have been in leadership in the church world in one way or another for the past 25 years or so. I have always marveled at the sacrifices that people will make in order to be part of something that appears successful. As long as I was leading people higher, they willingly followed, even at great personal cost to them. Unfortunately, while people will follow a leader that takes them higher, almost none will follow a leader who takes them lower into seeming insignificance at the invitation of the Father.

There is something wired into our psyche, maybe it's our sin nature, that inherently desires to ascend, to be important, to be like God. That something resists the way of the cross and the accompanying seeming insignificance that following Jesus requires.

Incidentally both passages of scripture give the contrasting results of each attitude. Reading on in Isaiah we find the following words:

Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.

Likewise in Philippians we read:

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father

The only way to achieving the significance for which we were created is through the way of the cross. There are no shortcuts, no detour around the cross. Jesus' words drive this point home:

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

I am discouraged because I see much grasping, much self-exaltation in the church today. At times I wonder why God puts up with us, with our self-exaltation. I am discouraged because we fall so far short of abundant life. Our grasping for position, our desire for exaltation leads to strife and division. In our self-motivated efforts at ascension, we find ourself being being petty and small. Perhaps the thing that discourages me most is the fact that most of our posturing and grasping is done behind the facade of God. God help us!

more on i am...

I have been reflecting a good deal about what it means to know who God has created me to be, to hear His voice of affirmation. Last evening at a family gathering, my brother jokingly wondered if I was offended by something that happened before I arrived. In further conversation, we came to the conlusion that life is too short to be ruined by being offended by the actions of other people.

I have noticed a direct correlation between the frequency that a person is offended by others and by how well they know what God says about them. The more secure that one is in the "by the grace of God I am what I am", the less likely they are to be offended by people. Being insulted or hurt usually indicates an elevated sense of self-importance.

Today I had a short converstion with Heidi, our oldest daughter. She commented how free it is to be a "nobody". While she realizes that her life is significant, she is also fully aware that her significance comes, not from attempting to be important, but rather from being who God created her to be. She has no desire to be considered important by people in church. She refuses to become embroiled in the petty posturing that occurs among the staff at the school where she teaches kindergarten. In her words - I am free to be me.

When we are not aware of how the "by the grace of God I am that I am" practically applies to our life, we will attempt to create our own sense of validation. When something happens that violates our self-created sense of importance, we immediately feel hurt.

Following Jesus takes us to a place of death, to our cross. A dead body feels no pain; it will not respond to blows or stabs. Why? Because it is dead! In the same way, when we feel pain in the blows and stabs of people, it reveals that self has not completely died. We have not yet yielded completely to the will of the Father. We have not relinquished our self-identity to embrace His identity. It is impossible to even begin to understand the affirmation of the Father until we set ourselves on the road of the cross.

i am what i am

This past Sunday I was part of a church service. As happens sometimes, the person teaching read a scripture and a phrase from that scripture caught my attention. It was really a rather obscure phrase yet it arrested my attention. It comes from Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth and can be found in 1 Corinthians 15:10 - "But by the grace of God I am what I am..."
What a powerful statement!

Paul had come to grips with who God had created Him to be - I am what I am. He was no longer "kicking against the goads". (See Acts 9:5) His statement reveals the depth of his harmony with God and with God's purposes for him. It demonstrates a settled-ness with his past, a contentedness in his present, and a security in his future. There is a great deal of power in the person who has settled these issues of identity.

My observation from my own life as well as the life of others is that until we come to grips with who we are, we will never truly reach our God-given potential. One of the reasons we grasp for significance, for position, and for power is that we have not settled who we are by the grace of God. Instead of allowing God to define our existence, we create an image of who or what we would desire to be. It causes us to clutch at that which would make us feel more important.

Jesus, at the last supper, was able to wash the disciples feet because He was fully aware of the who of His being. Notice the words from John - Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

Coming to the realization of "I am what I am" allows for a great deal of freedom. Freedom to serve in unnoticed mundane ways. Freedom to lay down our life for others. Freedom from the fear of man. Freedom from the fear of failure.

Next to giving His Son, the greatest work that God did for me occurred in what I called the dark night of my soul. He attacked everything with which I identified myself. Every strength evaporated, every ability seemed to disappear. It felt as if every self-created definition of myself completely unraveled into a pile of rubbish. During that time I learned about God, about myself, but most of all I was able to hear what He said about me. His words to me were all I had at the time.

His words of identity to me became the doorway to life. I am beginning to understand "I am what I am". As I said earlier, coming to the realization of "I am what I am" brings a great deal of freedom. My prayer is that you experience the freedom that comes from harmony with God's purposes for you!

the work of God

This morning I read from the wisdom of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes. The following words caught my attention - Notice the way God does things; then fall into line. Don’t fight the ways of God, for who can straighten out what he has made crooked? (Ecclesiastes 7:13, New Living Translation)

The older I get, the more acutely aware I am of the need to be conscious of and responsive to the ongoing, current work of God. How can we walk in harmony with God if we have no idea of His way of doing things?

The work of God and His way of doing things falls into two realms. God has set principles and laws into place that govern the universe. There are financial parameters, relational parameters, parameters in the realm of physics and in the realm of the production of food. If we do not understand the laws He set into place that govern the universe, we are doomed to failure. For instance, if we ignore the law of gravity we can be assured of a great deal of pain. While these principles may not appear to be spiritual from our perspective, they are the God ordained framework on which creation operates. This realm is the governmental work of God; it does not change from generation to generation.

Then there is the ongoing work of God; the current things that God seeks to accomplish today. This work is frequently on a more personal level although it also occurs on the governmental level, both in the church and in nations, as well. It frequently has to do with redemption, healing, and correcting the mess we as humans create.

In both realms, the work of God is tangible and very real. It frequently appears much less spiritual than we might think it would or should. While creation and the principles that govern it is orderly, the ongoing work of God commonly appears chaotic.

If we are going to succeed in life, then we must fall into line with God’s way of doing things. If we no clue of His work, at best we can only hope to intermittently stumble into his blessing and at worst we will oppose His hand. The words of the song “Open the Eyes of My Heart” are so true – Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see You.

the offensiveness of God

Throughout the scriptures, we find people who on the brink of receiving God's promises become offended by the God-ordained pathway A wealthy young man is offended by Jesus words. Naaman is offended by Elisha's solution for his healing. Abram waited for years for the promised son to arrive. At times it seems like God intentionally offends people to see how they will respond. For some, like a Gentile woman who wanted deliverance for her daughter, the offence drove her to pursue Jesus even more desperately. For others, like the wealthy young man, the offence caused him to turn away from eternal life.

Just like thousands of years ago, God frequently still offends people as they get close to achieving their dreams and desires. I have seen people miss out because of a lack of patience with God. Like Abram, they attempt to "help God" because they can no longer wait on His timing. In doing so, they create something other than what God intended. For some, the personal cost becomes too great and so they turn away from the promise. And yet for those who choose to trust that God knows best, that His ways are beyond our intellectual reasoning, for those who embrace the offence, the promise becomes reality.

I believe God offends our natural mind to see if we will trust Him. Will we choose Him over out natural inclinations? If we choose to be offended, we will never fully discover the goodness of God and His promises. However, if we submit ourselves to His hand, we can expect to receive the promise.

team

The older I get, the more I am impressed by the value of teamwork. As a young man, I had the attitude of “I can do it myself”. My personal orphan issues frequently caused me to hold people at a distance, especially those who could have helped me. As a result, at times I struggled to accomplish what I had set out to do.

I am keenly aware that in every current endeavor in which I am involved, I will fall short of potential success if I choose to ignore those who can play a vital role in the unfolding of the endeavor. I am continually watchful for those whom God brings across my path that have the same interests and God-given dreams that I have. I watch for those with whom I can have the gifts, wisdom, and experiences that I lack.

I want to differentiate between true teamwork and the practice of using people to accomplish goals. I have seen people manipulate others for the purpose of selfish gain. In these situations, the project is more important than the relationship; people are used and then discarded. True teamwork involves mutual benefit for all involved in the relationships.

The God-pattern for teamwork can be seen within the nature of God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work together, not dominating each other but in mutual submission to each other. When the church functions as God intended, we discover the same type of relationships that propel us farther and faster than we could have gone alone. The writer of Hebrews challenges us to get together for the purpose of mutual exhortation.

The principles of relational teamwork apply to all areas of life. I encourage you to invite people to walk with you in the unfolding of your God-given dreams and responsibilities.

Identify with Christ

Part of our Christmas celebration this year occurred at the cabin. There is something about the North Country that seems to stir my thoughts even in the midst of work. On Sunday late afternoon, I spent a bit of time outside. I began to ponder what it meant to fully identify with Christ. There is a Biblical principle of the believer’s identification with Jesus. We can expect to experience many same things that Jesus experienced; both the suffering and the glory.

I believer that there is no greater privilege than having our lives mirror the life of Jesus as revealed in the scriptures. We rejoice when attacked by the religious establishment of our day. We are blessed when people say all sorts of falsehoods about us because we are following Christ. I am convinced that there is no death more honorable than dying for the cause of Christ.

While following Christ frequently seems to bring us to the point of death, death is not the end for those that identify with Jesus. Scripture clearly outlines that if we identify with Christ in His suffering, we will also experience His glory.

Bev and I have experienced the truth of the words of scripture, especially during the past several years. At no time in our lives have we been as blessed as recently. God has restored many of the dreams of the past all the while fulfilling the present dreams as well. Conversely, at no time in our lives have we been attacked on a personal level like the past years.

I do not think that our experience is out of the ordinary for followers of Jesus. As I posted earlier this month, Simeon spoke prophetically that Jesus would be a sign that would be spoken against. Jesus told His disciples that they (we) would experience the things He experienced. Followers of Jesus can expect that they too will become a sign that will be attacked.

I want to encourage you – Do not be fearful of the attacks. Do not be diverted by the falsehoods. Lose your life for the sake of Christ. If you do, you will be sure to find it!