Keep My Eyes on Jesus

Hebrews 12:1-4 (NLT)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

Heavenly Father, thank You for all those men and women who have come before me. Their lives serve as a testimony to faithfulness: Your faithfulness to us and our ability to be faithful to You.

I need Your help to keep my eyes focused on Jesus. The responsibilities, frustrations, joys, and sorrows of life all threaten to take my attention off of him. I am like Peter walking on the water, tempted to concentrate on the wind and the waves rather than on Jesus. I want my eyes on Jesus.

Empower me with Your Spirit so I am able to be faithful in every situation, demonstrating Your character to the world around me. Let my life speak of Your goodness.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Move in the Direction of Who You want to Be

Change is constantly happening. 

That is why we can say the above quote shared by Dave Ramsey on Instagram is incorrect. Time, experience, and other forces of life are at work in and around us. No one stays the same.

Yet, these forces are often indifferent to who we would like to become. They are simply the result of life.

The point of the quote and what I think we should all consider, is that we are not going to become the person we want to be without intentional effort. If we just go along with the flow of life, we will experience change, we will be different, but we probably aren’t moving closer to the goals we have for our lives.

Two of the greatest influences we have in life that are able to determine that direction of our lives are what we learn (reading was the primary source of learning a generation ago, it is not longer the case) and the people we are around.

Reading books, listening to podcasts, watching lectures, and hearing sermons all have the power to direct our thoughts and to get us thinking in ways that we wouldn’t on our own. When we seek to go in a specific direction in our lives it pays to hear from people who have already gone done that path. To neglect the discipline of learning means we will miss out on reaching our full potential.

This is why the New Testament tells us direct our thoughts (Romans 12:2, Philippians 4:8, Colossians 3:1-4, 1 Peter 1:13). To change our worldview and our behavior we first have to change our thoughts. 

We are going to be thinking, it is one of the things God designed our minds to do, and so we have a great responsibility to direct what we are thinking about. Don’t just passively allow the news, social media, and entertainment direct your thoughts. Instead, be intentional about what you put into your mind to think about so we can become more like the person you want to be.

If you are looking for a good book to read here are some recommendations:

1. Reading the Bible: When it comes to reading the Bible, here are two books I have found helpful: Scripture and the Authority of God by N. T. Wright and The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight. They are similar books in that they challenge us to examine the ways in which we read and interpret Scripture. N.T. Wright wants us to see Scripture as the way God works in and through us. Scot McKnight seeks to have us read through the lens of the Bible being God’s story.
2. Productivity: Here are two books about productivity/getting the most out of your time. Deep Work by Cal Newport and the Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. Deep Work (which is in my top 10 books people should read) focuses on the importance of regularly working distraction free, because distractions prevent us from truly getting the most out of our mental energy. The Slight Edge has a lot of content that is transferable to task of discipleship. The key is to develop little disciplines that help you accomplish your goals.
3. Church ministry: Wondering how the church can enter into a new time of ministry after Covid? Two books I have found helpful are Recalibrate Your Church by Dr. Troy Jones and Analog Church by Jay Kim. Recalibrate Your Church looks at the necessity of creating a church culture that is willing to evaluate and change the ministry of the church to impact the community. Analog Church, which is in the top 5 books I have read this year, looks at the importance community and relationships in following Jesus.
4. Leadership: Leadership is a tricky thing and we constantly need teaching and encouragement on how to do it. Ruth Haley Barton’s Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership is a good book for pastors, because it reminds us that our leadership requires a connection with God. John Maxwell’s Developing the Leader Within You is a classic book that focuses on the practical things we should pay attention to in our leadership.
5. Following Jesus: Here are three short books that provide a greater insight into what it means to follow Jesus. Imminent Domain by Ben Witherington looks at God’s Kingdom and our place in it. Life in Christ by John Stott explores how we are connected to Jesus. Following Jesus by N. T. Wright explains what it means to follow Jesus.
6. Prayer: How about prayer? Here are three I have benefited from reading: With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray (one of my favorite authors), Moving Mountains by John Eldredge, and Seeing is Believing by Greg Boyd. With Christ in the School of Prayer is divided up into 31 lessons (a month long) that conclude with a sample prayer. Moving Mountains provides an encouragement to pray as well as some ideas of how to pray (Daily prayer, praying Scripture, Warfare Prayer). Seeing is Believing focuses on using our imagination in prayer, especially as we seek healing and restoration.

Start being intentional about the person you are becoming. Read a book, listen to a lecture, and hang out with the right people. These are intentional actions that will point us in the direction we need to go.

Be Humble and Pursue Truth

This tweet has been with me all the way through this year. Those closest to me know that Tom Woods has been a big influence in my life for the last decade (I discovered him sometime during Ron Paul’s 2008 Presidential run), mainly through his daily podcast.

As a person who strives to be a life-long learner, what Tom encourages people to do has been a goal of mine. I realize that the knowledge that I have is only a tiny drop compared to the vast amount of information that is in the world. It would be arrogant of me to approach life with the assumption that all my beliefs are correct. 

Over the years as I have read books and listened to lectures, sermons, and podcasts my beliefs have shifted and changed. Sometimes the change has been drastic such as going from conservative Republican to a Ron Paul Republican to a libertarian and finally to a anarcho-capitalist/Christian anarchist. Some changes have been more subtle like moving form a staunch young earth creationist view to being open to other possibilities. 

The apostle Paul in Romans wrote: “ Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, NLT)

God transforms us through the renewal and change of our thinking (see also Philippians 4:8 and Colossians 3:1-4). The thoughts and beliefs that are rolling around in our heads and hearts effect everything else about us. They form the structure of our worldview and they guide our actions and emotions. This is why God needs to change our thinking before transformation occurs in our lives.

Followers of Jesus also need to be confident that all truth is God’s truth. This means we want to be on the side of truth, whatever that looks like, because we know all truth comes from God. This gives us the freedom to admit that we might be wrong about things and to re-examine what we believe.

I will offer one bit of advice here: In our pursuit of truth we need a bedrock truth that is able anchor us in faith. Otherwise we are in danger of believing whatever sounds good to us.

For me, and I think for any follower of Jesus, that bedrock belief needs to be the resurrection of Jesus. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 wrote (1 Corinthians 15:14, NLT), “And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.”

Because I think there is credible evidence to believe in the resurrection of Jesus, I secure my hope there, and let that be the foundation of my worldview.

As we enter the last month and half of 2020 may we set our faith in Jesus and allow God to guide our thinking, so our lives can be transformed.

In Spite of Our Sins and Flaws

 

I have given these two tweets quite a bit of thought the last few days. When I see things like this it causes me to stop and think, because I figure if one person is expressing the thought then other people are thinking it.

Each tweet has a thought that needs to be addressed.

First, Mayfield equates the expression of unworthiness with self-hatred. Now, there are times when I have heard worship leaders and pastors lay it on a little thick when it comes to reminding people about not living up to God's glory. Even when we take into consideration the over the top emphasis of our unworthiness, I don't think that equates with self-hatred.

You don't have to hate yourself in order to understand that the love another person has for you is totally undeserved. In many ways, that is the basis of true love. There is nothing you have done to earn the love of the other person.

Even in my best moments, I don't deserve the love my wife and children have for me. Too often I am selfish, moody, and inconsiderate of who they are and what they want. I am not hating myself to admit this reality, but rather grateful for the love they show me, in spite of my flaws.

To acknowledge that God loves us, even when we have rebelled against His will and have failed to bear His image in this world, is not a form of self-hatred. It can be an expression of gratitude for what God has done for us and the blessing He has given. It is an acknowledgement that in spite of our flaws God continues to loves us.

This then transitions into the second tweet. Murray makes the claim that self-hatred is at the heart of the evangelical gospel. Now, I realize that he is trying to say something about the gospel as American evangelicals typically teach it, but he also added "no matter how woke or kind the iteration is,"so I think it is fair evaluate this sentiment based on how I teach the Gospel.

Remember the Gospel is the proclamation of God's Kingdom coming into this world through the person of Jesus Christ. Watch the Bible Project video on Gospel.

To understand the Gospel we have to understand that God created human beings in His image. In other words, we are to be God's representatives in this world. We are to look after God's good creation using His wisdom, love, grace, and all the rest. The only way we can do that is to be connected to God so that His life is flowing through us. 

Sin severs the connection we have with God and instead of living with His wisdom and love, we live according to what we think is best. At the heart of the Gospel is God's love for humans and His plan for us to once again rule with Him in his Kingdom. Through the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, that connection is restored, allowing us to demonstrate God's character in this world.

Now, if you believe the Gospel is about a God who created people to try to live up to a ridiculously high standard and then condemn and punish them for not doing so,  I can understand why you think the heart of the Gospel is self-hatred. You will feel like Anakin Skywalker in The Attack of the Clones after he slaughtered the Tusken Raiders on Tatooine, "I'm a Jedi, I know I'm better than this." 

To feel like you need to be "better than this" and yet feel powerless to become better will lead you on the path towards self-hatred. Here is an overlooked truth: we can't be better than this. A life lived based on our definitions of good and bad, right and wrong will lead to a world filled with war, abuse, addiction, violence, and oppression. We don't have want it takes to become better.

The beauty of the Gospel is that it is a declaration that God loves us and seeks to renew and restore the connection He has with us. It tells us that we can't be perfect and that we can't bear God's image apart from Him.

The Gospel helps us to understand how unworthy we are of God's love and declares that in spite of our sin and flaws God desires to be in relationship with us. God has not given up on us. Instead, He is working to restore His image in us so we can live out our calling to demonstrate His character in this world.