God's Grace is Enough!

I wanted to follow up on yesterday's post by saying this: when we believe in Jesus Christ, when we say that we have given all of our lives to Christ, then our journey with Christ begins.  Giving all of ourselves is a process (theologically called "sanctification") that God will never stop in us as long as we remain open to God's work.  The journey is not our alone - actually the journey to Christ isn't done by self will, self determination, self-effort, or hard work.  Granted, lots of hard work is involved in the journey...as well as  lots of perseverance and lots of determination.  But the journey itself is done by God - that journey is God transforming our hearts, our minds, our will, our thoughts, our lives into Christ-likeness.

Mark 4:26-29 contains a magnificent parable about the Kingdom of God which grows like a field of grain without the farmer understanding how it grows (think 2000 years ago, not about the scientist next door who meddles with the genetics of the grain to make it stronger!).  This is like the journey of a Christian - as long as we keep receiving the Word of Life, as long as we keep repenting from sin, as long as we keep turning towards Christ - Jesus will do the rest, growing us into full crops with the fruits and works of the Spirit by the power of the Holy Spirit working inside of us. 

In our walks with God, we are always companions with God - working alongside and trying to be more like Christ.  However, the measure of our work isn't in how much we give to others, how good we try to be, or how much faith we have.  The real work of a Christian is to surrender the self to God (continually) and to love God with all our hearts, minds, and souls.  This work, which can take many forms but always includes spiritual disciplines, is the crucial work of a Christian because it positions us before God who then does the real work in our lives and in our journeys with Jesus - transforming us into sons and daughters of God.

"Lord, may I surrender all to you, that you may do the true work on this journey - transforming me into your child."

How Much is Enough to Give to Christ?

One of the questions that I have been struggling with recently is, "How much is enough to give to God?"  God asks for everything, absolutely all of ourselves to give to Jesus.  The answer I give, and most other Christians I know, is "I give all of myself over to you Lord - of course!"  But really, when we say we give all of ourselves over to Christ, do we really do so?  Do we give all of our time, all of our energy, all of our life over to God?  Do we leave nothing out, abandoning job and security when God calls, do we give all of our thoughts over to Christ, all of our entertainment/relaxation time over to God?  Or do we hide some things in secret, lose track of God during the day outside of our devotional periods, do we worship God in Church and walk out the door and forget?

Don't get me wrong.   There are times when we can relax and enjoy the good things God brings us in life, including entertainment like sports, movies, music, and video games.  But even during those periods of relaxation, our minds should wander and dwell on Christ...but most times when we are supposed to be devoted to Christ, our minds wander to what we do while we are relaxing!  Instead, let our minds wander continually to God - may our concentration on entertainment or work break and allow thoughts of praise, thanksgiving, worry, concern, or pleas for help rise to Jesus!  "How much is enough to give to God?"  Nothing less than everything...and I think we spend most of our Christian lives arriving at the place where we give absolutely all to Christ!

"Lord, may all my life, all my thoughts, all my love be yours forever!"

Theology of Distraction

Someone recently sent me a quote by Henri Nouwen from an Advent devotional that said this: "I have always been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted until I slowly discovered that my interruptions were my work."  This quote doesn't necessarily originate with Nouwen, but a professor of his from Notre Dame.  However, it's an important quote that can help us to live and notice God working in everyday life.

I think that the meaning behind this quote for the professor was something to the effect of this: "I thought my work was research and preparing to teach, but I am interrupted by family, students, and others, and I discovered my true work (living for God) was all about these interruptions, and not necessarily with what I thought my work was."  This is a profound point in our busy schedules between work, family, chores, and daily necessities.  The interruptions we think distract us from what is important may actually be the most important work for God that we do that day.

I am not saying we should be unfocused while we are at work, or when we need to get something done.  I am of the opinion that focus is necessary when trying to work.  However, we also must be fully focused when people enter our lives...whether family, students, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, or strangers in the grocery store.  They may be the people we need to share God's love with in that moment...love that we can't share when we are working, staring at a computer or TV, or speed walking through the local store. 

So let's be aware of those "distractions" which interrupt our work, for they may be the work God has for us after all. 

"Lord, help me to be attentive to your will, your words, and those you send to interrupt life."

Reader's Review #2 (in 500 Words or Less)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a famous theologian who died in a concentration camp during World War II.  He was sent there because of his role in a failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler.  However, while in the camp, he ministered to those around him in a way that brought hope and courage in the middle of hell on earth.  By the grace of God, he also wrote letters and books on Christian living while in the camp.

One of Bonhoeffer's famous works is The Cost of Discipleship.  Without pulling any punches, this book describes the true nature of God's grace through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection - and also the ramifications it has on Christian life.  The entire book is full of deep theology expressing itself in the life of Christian's walking with Jesus.  However, three main points were driven into my heart while reading.  First, our eyes should always be on Jesus - when Jesus calls us to himself, we give our entire lives, our whole beings over to him.  That can mean leaving our jobs, our activities, our safety...all for the sake of Christ.  Second, obedience to Christ is not something to be thought about, not something to be considered, but simply to be done (love God, and love your neighbor as yourself).  The entire second part of The Cost of Discipleship is given over to carefully working through the Sermon on the Mount and obedience.  Third, the way to follow Jesus is difficult - and in the end it all comes back to God's grace.  That doesn't mean we abuse God's grace...it just means we live for God and leave the rest to Jesus. 

The above paragraph is a far oversimplified version of what Bonhoeffer is trying to do, but it's a fair, short synopsis.  One deep one-liner (of many) that may help illuminate the depth Bonhoeffer goes into is this:  "And if we ask how we are to know where our hearts are, the answer is just as simple- everything which hinders us from loving God above all things and acts as a barrier between ourselves and our obedience to Jesus is our treasure, and the place where our heart is" (175).  Upon reflection, this statement drove me to repentance - how many of my thoughts, actions, attitudes, and possessions create even a hint of a barrier between God and I?  Is my heart truly with God?

One Line Summary: Buy this book and read it.  This is definitely a crucial work to reflect on and live with over the course of a month or two.  It can help build on God's current foundation in our lives while challenging us to greater heights of living like Jesus.

Book Reviewed: Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. The Cost of Discipleship. New York, NY: SCM Press Ltd, 1959.

Struggling with Scripture #5: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-9

I find it nearly impossible to control myself sometimes.  I'll eat too much food, enough that my stomach expands to the point of hurting while I'm eating.  I will lose track of time and spend several hours in front of my computer watching TV or playing video games when I wanted to only spend an hour.  My mind wanders from prayer into thinking about things of the world, like the latest iPhone, Kindle, video game, or I will think of some woman I just met.

And yet, we hear the call of Christ through Paul: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication, that each of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God..." (1 Thes 4: 3-5).  Control over our bodies includes control over our minds, control over our lusts (whether sexual or material, including food, relaxation, or possessions).  Control is something that people have struggled with for ages, and control is something we are called to obtain.

Yet, how is it possible when "I do what I don't want to do?" (Rom 7:15).  How can I follow Christ when I cannot control my own desires, when I cannot control my actions?  The answer is this: the cross of Christ.  The call of Christ is to pick up our cross and follow him...and that means that our eyes need to be on Jesus, our hearts and minds given over, abandoned to him, left in God's care.  When we abandon our desires for God's, when we give our bodies, hearts, and minds over to the Lord, then we shall not be consumed with the lusts of this world...then control comes naturally as we are fulfilled in Jesus. 

Jesus is the answer. The call to break with our lives is here, and now is the time to give ourselves over to God.  It's a radical sudden break...and a long and arduous journey.  We give our all up for Jesus, then  find there were parts of ourselves we never knew existed that we haven't given up...or we backslide.  And yet the call comes again..."control your own body...not by yourself or for yourself, but control it by giving everything to Jesus.  Then you will know the yoke that is easy, the burden that is light...and the love that knows no end as it fills your life."

"Lord teach me control myself...through abandonment to you."

Rage against Consumerism

I am angry that consumerism has gone so far that people need to work on holidays.  There were always some who gave up their holidays to help others - nurses and cops,  doctors and medical emergency people, snow plow drivers, soldiers, and others who (perhaps not voluntarily) sacrificed their time with family and friends in order to serve others.  This I appreciate and value - and am more than grateful to these individuals.  

Yet, when did times so change that Walmart now needs to be open on Thanksgiving for last minute shoppers?  Not even with a skeleton crew, but full blown "let's start Black Friday on Thursday to make money" work crews?

There are two different parts of this that I am angry with.  First, I am angry that we have become materially possessed as a nation. When did we as a nation, as consumers, decide that we are entitled to be served on holidays, that objects are too valuable not to buy the next day and are so important that we are willing to allow corporations to sacrifice their employees time with family to serve us? 

Second, I am angry with corporations that decide that money is more important than allowing individuals to spend time with family, that profit is so needed that not a single day can be given off.  No need for a corporation-wide rest day (which everyone knows is needed), but instead "this is simply another twenty-four hours where we can't afford to lose the profit."  I am also angry that employees cannot demand the time off; sure they can take vacation days (if allowed), but there is no room for striking or simply not coming in.  The economy is too poor to sacrifice a job for a holiday.

When did we become so entitled to consume, when did corporations become so concerned with profit, that six to eight days off a year is too many to go without?  That a single day off a year is too long a time to not have our needs served or profit gained?  I seriously doubt that the Lord had this in mind when abundant blessings were first poured upon this nation.  Possessions never satisfy, never create security or safety for tomorrow, never decrease anxiety.  Only the Lord can ever do that. We have an important lesson to learn. 

"Lord, help calm the bitter anger welling inside, and help me to keep my eyes simply and only on you." 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is an amazing day. Taking time to be thankful and expressing gratitude to God for life is incredible and important...not something that should just be done once a year, but everyday of the year. In today's era, thanksgiving usually involves feasting on food, whether large or small portions, spending time around the table and in the living room, and in general giving thanks to God and to those around us for life.

The most important aspect of thanksgiving is spending time with family - those people in our lives who shape us, support us, love us, and who make life ...well life. God and family are the ingredients that makes thanksgiving joyous and wondrous. They make it special. They remind us to give thanks and be grateful for what we have.

I have much in my life to be grateful for. The Holy Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, who never cease to amaze me in their love, mercy, grace, blessing, and perseverance. My family, especially my parents and sister, without whom I would never be the man who I am today. My friends who I consider family members - those steady rocks whom I continually lean on. My wider circle of friends, with whom life would be much duller without. My mentors and pastors, professors and counselors, through whom the Lord has worked wonders. My church, whose love and bountiful grace pours out continually.

And again, I am thankful for Jesus, the one who is there day in and day out, who was slain on a cross and rose again so that we might have life.

"Lord, thank you...for simply being you. Thank you for family, friends, mentors and teachers, church and blessing. And thank you..for Jesus. Thank you for the Holy Spirit. Amen."

The Journey and the Destination

Which is more important? The destination or the journey? The goal or the means by which we get to that goal? Is it how we go about doing something or just the fact that something is done that counts?

In our journey's with God, it matters how we go about doing something... and it also matters about the destination. It matters that we enjoy life, stop to smell the coffee (and the roses), to take in beautiful sunrises and sunsets, to stare into the eyes of the ones we love, to spend time with family and friends, to work hard as we earn a living. It also matters that we focus on the goal: eternal life with God, our one true love.

So what does it mean to enjoy the journey while pressing on toward the goal? The first and only way to enjoy the journey is to enjoy life with God...the relationship that is our destination is also the means to enjoying the way to that destination. The second piece of this way is to love our families, friends, neighbors and enemies - something that can only be done wholesomely with God. The third piece of this way is to love life itself - not things of the "world" but to simply enjoy the time we have in the place we are with the people we are around.

This life is the only one we have...and it passes us by without us being able to regain a single moment. We progress steadily towards our destination on a journey that can be enjoyed but never redone. But it is also hard, with rough spots, holes in the road that can trip us up, false paths, and dangerous detours. We can get too focused on the journey, on the moment, on the splendor that God has created for us, which is why we must keep our eyes on the destination so that we may gain the ultimate prize. Life is a balance between this world and the next, the journey and the destination. The way to maintain this balance is also both the means for the journey as well as the goal: a relationship with Jesus Christ.

"Lord, help me to love you, enjoying the journey of life with you while honing in on the prize that is eternal life in your presence."

The Mercy of Being Provided "Enough"

Currently I am a bi-vocational pastor who works for a major cell phone company as a customer service representative.  Before I began working for the cell phone company, I carefully calculated a budget and how many hours a week I would need to work to meet that budget, including overtime.  The company allows as much overtime as a person wants, meaning that I could work as much time as I needed to meet the budget that I figured I would need to survive.  So, I began to work 50-55 hour weeks in order to "make ends meet" - and quickly burnt out, drifting into despair as I slowly became more distant from God.  I was also too tired to put my all into the work that mattered - Kingdom of God work.

As things became darker and darker, I finally started talking - to one of my spiritual counselors, to my parents, and to friends about what was happening.  My spiritual counselor finally said this to me: "Matthew, you are very smart and very talented, and far too often you try to do everything on your own instead of simply trusting God.  You rely on yourself, not on God.  Why don't you try relying on God?" 

Following this conversation and one with my mom, I came to a decision: I will work no more overtime at my job to make ends meet.  I will work 40 hours a week at my secular job, recover, and work at the church where my main focus needed to be all along.  

As soon as I came to this conclusion, things began getting brighter.  Almost immediately my attitude lightened as I put in a 40 hour work week instead of a 50+ one.  I then got a surprise: I will be given a bonus for the amount of money that I would have received from working over time, to be paid out with my next pay check.  Suddenly, ends could be met putting in normal effort and trusting in God, instead of working overtime to make enough money by myself to make ends meet. 

This is the mercy, the grace, the blessing of being provided with "enough."  It's not extra, it's not smaller than what's needed, it simply is enough.  God provides if we rely on God's strength.  Some months I may be a little short, others I may have a little extra, still others I may have just enough.  But I know from now on I will not rely on myself, my plans, or my abilities to make the money I need to survive...I will trust in God for that!

"Lord, help me to rely on you...and help reveal to me all the ways I rely on myself instead of on you."

Cultivating Life with God

One of the challenges I find in life is the multitude of activities to do and choices to make.  Each choice made has a corresponding consequence or can shift life in new directions, closing some doors and opening new doors.  With the massive amount of things which occupy my time (work, friends, family, church work, hobbies, chores, and other) , I have trouble keeping my eyes fully fixed on Christ.  I feel bad if I don't do devotions as I should, or if I say "no" to some volunteer activity, or if I am not volunteering outside of normal activities.   I feel badly because I know that if I cut out some hobbies, or some rest time, I would be able to serve more or be with God more.

However, I must always be careful about this feeling.  There is definitely something to be said about a life of simplicity, of not becoming so involved in this world (including volunteer activities!) that we miss spending time with God, family, and periods of rest.  A life of simplicity can also assist us with being servants of God by giving time and space for God to send people our way unexpectedly - and we can say "yes" to this unplanned ministry because we leave space in our lives for God to direct us.

I do not mean to say all of my hobbies or activities are bad, or shouldn't be done, but perhaps I should choose carefully what I do in my free time - making sure to leave room for God, for service, and especially for rest and rejuvenation.  In a world that says, "work hard and play hard," we need to take to simply be and wait for God.

"Lord, help me to be with you, both while I'm busy and in time set aside just for you."

Godly Insights in Everyday Life #1: On Determination

One of the many hobbies that I enjoy doing is watching anime, which is the term used for Japanese cartoons.  My all time favorite anime is called Kenichi, History's Strongest Disciple.  This show is about a high school boy (named Kenichi) who dreams of being a martial artist and being able to protect his friends and family.  Unfortunately he has absolutely no talent for being a martial artist...but he does have a kind heart and a whole lot of determination. Eventually the boy ends up being trained by five of the greatest martial artists in the world...all at one time.  Since these masters never fail, they never give up on this boy and put him through incredibly hard training in order to build his skill.

During one of the most difficult periods of his training, Kenichi is encouraged by seeing one of his master's work very hard at learning to play a certain board game - the master had practiced so much that the pieces literally wore thin from his fingers pressing against them.  Kenichi then makes the statement, "Well then I will simply train until the floor gives in from my training!"

Hard periods of our lives come to us too as we struggle and train to live for God and become more and more like Jesus.  In the middle of these hard times, when we feel like we can least keep up with devotions, or prayer, or fasting, or whatever the Lord is having us do, may we say, "Lord may I train until the binding of my Bible breaks, may I train until holes are worn into my pants from kneeling in prayer!"  When the path gets rough, when times get tough, its then that we must press towards the goal, giving it our all for Christ until "the floor gives in from my training!"

"Lord, help me to know you more each day, in every way, and may I never give up on my journey towards You!"  

Struggling with Scripture #4: James 2:26

For many years I thought that faith and works inspired by faith were two separate but related entities.  Faith was the source of works that came from believing in Jesus Christ.  Faith was also something that the mind, heart, and soul did, a spiritual-something that received salvation from Jesus if placed in Jesus Christ.  Works were something that came out of that faith,  material acts which showed faith; these acts could vary in intensity levels as time and space allowed.  While spiritual fruits were expected, it didn't really matter if I didn't make time for working in the church or doing some other ministry work if I was busy with other things. 

Yet James challenges this perception of the dual nature between faith and works.  In James 2:26, James writes, "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead."  Normally when we think abstractly about faith, we think of it as something "spiritual," something ethereal.  This notion relates directly to the spirit of the body, which we also think of in ethereal terms as some spiritual  substance that floats up to heaven after death to be with God before the resurrection.  However, James turns this notion on its head, relating faith to the material body and works to the spirit which moves the body.

In essence, what James is saying is that works drive faith - without it, faith is limp and motionless, like a body without the spirit.  Yet, just like the body/spirit relationship is complex and intertwined in such a way as to be almost indistinguishable, so is the analogy between faith/works.  Dietrich Bonheoffer, a great theologian during World War II in the midst of Nazi Germany, writes this: "Only those who believe obey, and only those who obey believe" (Cost of Discipleship 68). 

Another way of putting this phrase is to say, "Only those who have faith will do what Jesus wants them to do (works), and only those who do what Jesus wants them to do have faith."  This is a very difficult thing to admit to myself, and is even more difficult to follow, for while obeying Christ sounds easy when spoken ("Just do it!"), it is far harder to "just do it" in practice.  So where does this leave us? We need to struggle, strive, push ourselves, and pursue God with everything we have, not making excuses for ourselves and what we do, but looking to live for God with every breath.  As we do this, we can also relax and fall into Jesus loving arms, knowing that his grace abounds, and we can remember that the point behind all the works and all faith is simply the love relationship with the Triune God.   

"Lord, help me to live for you, for only in obedience does faith come alive."

The "I-Don't-Feel-Like-It" Syndrome

For the past two weeks I have stopped working out.  Of course, the rest period started off innocently enough.  My voice began to get scratchy, my body was weary and tired, so I said to myself, "P90-X (home work out videos) is simply too much at the moment and will weaken my immune system because of the intensity.  I should stop for this week to simply rest and allow my body to recover."  It was a well-meaning rest, and most certainly needed.

Yet, this rest turned into a two week rest.  The second week of rest was haunted by the phrase, "I'm simply too tired this week, I'll start again next week,"  "I don't feel like it today," and "Skipping just this once won't hurt."  I am now in week three of my "rest," struggling to get in three workouts when six workouts was the norm, battling the desperate desire to remain at rest.

Walking with God and living for Christ is the field of that same battle, that same desperate desire to remain at rest, to take the easy road.  "I don't feel like it today, so I will skip prayer." "I don't feel like guarding my eyes today, so it's OK if I take a second look at that beautiful individual." "I don't feel like it today, so I will skip my devotional, or my fast." "I don't feel like it today, so it's fine if I ignore my family so I can get some rest." 

Taking breaks and resting the soul is a needed practice in our culture, but stopping important habits because we " don't feel like it" can lead us into complacency, sin, and laziness.  It can deter us from walking with God, place a spiritual roadblock in our lives preventing us from moving forward, and it can even place plugs in our ears to prevent us from hearing the Word of God. 

Instead of taking that break when we "don't feel like it," let us continue to run the race set before us...and instead pray for rest, for a true Sabbath, rejuvenation, and revitalization from God.  Jesus' "burden is easy, and his yoke is light." The Lord will grant us real rest and rejuvenation when the time is right, which will motivate and prepare us further for our walk with God.  Taking rest on our own, seizing the right to declare when we will take a break from our Master, giving in to the "I don't feel like it today," will only feed our need for more rest, feed our presumptiveness, and will leave us un-rejuvenated and un-filled.

"Lord, help me to fight to obey when I don't feel like it, and come quickly to my rescue with real rest when I am under siege from everyday life."

Struggling with Scripture #3: Mark 1:16-20

Sometimes I struggle to simply make it through the day, whether a work day or a day off.   Most of the time it is simply a casual day: free time on my hands, normal chores to cross off a list, simple ideas floating through my mind to be reflected on.  Perhaps it is the normalcy itself that I struggle with - the daily routine, the repetition of  activities, the lack of new or stimulating work - just another day. Thoughts cross my mind about what it would be like to be in a different time or place, doing something different, something "exciting," and I look around and heave a sigh.   Just another day.

It was just another day for the first disciples of Jesus Christ.  Sun shining high in a cloudless sky, slight breeze crossing the sea, smell of salt and fish, the feel of rope in their hands.  Strong backs used to the work still ache while heaving the nets, communication is spoken back and forth, companionable silence filling spare time.  A perfectly normal day.  Then, Jesus walks down the shore, and their lives change in the blink of an eye, never to be the same again as they follow Jesus. 

The most holy, epic,  and strange adventure had just begun for the first disciples on a completely normal day.  No one wrote about the decades coming before this day, nor the weeks before this event, but only this single day when the disciples were called and chose to follow.  It's amazing that the disciples simply got up and left to follow Jesus, that they knew enough to pay attention for his coming, to go about everyday work but ready to leave at a moment's notice.  It is this waiting, this working-until-that-time, that I struggle with.

In much the same way as the disciples, much of our work, family life, chores, and free time goes- unwritten and unspoken about; it simply goes.    Yet each of these routine days are preparatory days, times and places where our character is tested and prepared, where our ears and hearts are opened and attuned to Jesus voice, where we are trained heart, mind, body, and soul to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.  And in the midst of these days, these simple, ordinary, normal days, we wait for Jesus to walk along our shore and shout out to us.  The question that haunts me is this: will I hear the call and know it, will I see it and believe it, or will I be so bored by normalcy that I miss the day Jesus walks along my shore and calls for me to follow?

"Lord, in the midst of each day, help me to know you a little deeper, love you a little more, and become more attentive to your call."

Cleaning Theology: Prayer and Everyday Life

Like most people, I have a toilet...and a shower...and a bathroom sink...and a bathroom floor.  It is a necessity, being an adult, to clean this bathroom several times a month.  And it is drudgery...there are a million and one things I would rather do than clean the toilet, scrape down the tub, wash the floor and walls, and pour Draino down the sink.  It is not that the task is difficult, or that the bathroom becomes so messy in a week that it's gross to clean- it's simply that I don't want to do it.   However, having a task that must be accomplished, I roll up my sleeves, whip out the sponge and cleaning solution, spray down the bathroom, take a big gulp of air from outside the door, and wade in to do the dirty work of getting the place clean. 

A funny thing occurs while I scrape down the walls and toilet, wash the floor, and make the place clean.  Focusing on such a simple task, clears my mind of the day's work, entertainment, and play.  This frees up room to think, focuses the mind on reality, and brings my attention to God.

Paying attention to God brings to mind prayer, which leads for a perfect time for saying small prayers.  Menial tasks open room for us to think and to pray, to take time for our relationship with God in a powerful way that entertainment, work, and play can deprive us of.  In God's grace and mercy, chores can provide room for the love of God to saturate our daily existence. 

I find that praying while doing these daily tasks, praying in open periods of work, reminding myself that God is whom I am following, brings grace into my life and heart in ways that keeping myself entertained never does.  Chores provide me with an opportunity to pray that I might not have taken if left to my own devices; it is these prayers, everyday, that will lead me to walk with Christ in each moment of life.

"Lord, help me to pray each day as I walk your way."

Reader's Review #1 (in 500 Words or Less)

Richard Foster is a modern legend among those familiar with the field of spiritual formation in Christianity.  Classics such as Celebration of Discipline and Streams of Living Water have been staple works for those seeking to further their journey's with God by positioning themselves for transformation before God through historic spiritual disciplines. With grace, honesty, and knowledge, Foster always writes practical, deep, and 'God-encountering' works that assist people on their everyday journey with God.

In Life with God, Foster continues to write practical ways of experiencing everyday life with God, this time through reading the Bible in ways that expect to encounter the living God the Scriptures talk about and point to.  Spiritual practices such as lectio divina (reading the Bible spiritually) are discussed in detail, so much so that those experienced and inexperienced alike can learn and use the method simply by reading and following Foster's steps. 

However, for me the most insightful part of Foster's work was the final part "Understanding the Means."  Within this section, Foster discusses the process of being spiritually transformed by God through reading the Bible and through spiritual disciplines.  It was in this section that I quickly began to tab down page after page, highlighting one liner after one liner of spiritually potent thoughts that will shape this part of my Christian journey.

One such one liner was this: "Let's be clear on what discipline is: the ability to do the right thing at the right time for the right reason.  This is not the same as the ability to accomplish the desired result through human effort.  God is the One who brings about our inward transformation into Christ likeness" (136).  Foster's intent behind this passage is potent and applies to the entirety of our walks with Christ. It is not the mere act of sitting down and reading our Bible's every day, or reading twice a week, that will make us like Christ.  No - if we force ourselves to read the Bible every day, we mine as well be reading the local newspaper for all the good it will do us.

Instead, we must read the Bible with our hearts open to God, expecting a radical encounter with Christ. This will not look the same every time, nor be of the same intensity, but we read with the hunger to experience and continue our relationship with God, not to simply press through the routine.  (This is not to say there is not a time to persevere in daily readings in our Dark Nights, but I digress...)

One Line Summary:  If you are in need of encounters with Christ through the Bible, buy this book, read it, and keep it on the bookshelf to re-read.  Foster does a fabulous job of helping readers explore the Bible with new eyes - this book is good enough to keep!

Book Reviewed: Richard Foster.  Life with God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation.  New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2008. 

Struggling with Scripture #2: Romans 8:28

In my last post, I shared my perspective of life, particularly what we as Christians have control of in life - our own actions, whether initiating or reacting.  I also stated that I believe the only one who has the world "in hand" is God.  However, I do not mean that I think God controls everyone like a master puppeteer, or that God controls everything that happens in the world.  No, God allows life to happen, acting and reacting to events and free will in a similar fashion that humans do.  The question I then ask is this:  "How do I have hope in hopeless situations?  Will life get any better if God isn't controlling what's going to happen next?!"

Romans 8:28 is one answer to that question, but is also a passage of Scripture I struggle with deeply.  Romans 8:28 states, as a matter of fact, that "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (NRSV).  What does this mean?  To me, it means that all things, good or bad, normal or weird, splendid or terrible, will somehow accomplish God's purposes for good for those who love God...whether it's immediate, ten years down the road, or in eternity. 

But how can I say this? How can I believe that all things will work together for good when someone's child dies?  When a grandparent passes away?  When cancer begins to eat at the body?  When someone is left naked and beaten in a strange place, being kidnapped, raped, and sold into child slavery?  How can these things ever work together for good for those who love God?

We know that God has the world in hand; though God does not cause evil things to happen to people that God can still weave together a beautiful life tapestry out of those evil things for those who love God.  Sometimes, when the tapestry is our lives, we may not think it's beautiful - ever.  We may struggle with what happens to us or what we have done for our entire lives.  Yet, all lives lived with God in love are beautiful...and somehow God will work the evil strands of our tapestries into one marvelous work.  How?  I cannot say...but I hope and trust in God.

"Lord, may I hope and trust in you, even when evil things happen, because I know all things work together for good for those who love God...somehow.  May I trust in you."

Theology for Living #1: Choice

I have an odd habit of naming different periods in my life under three varying labels: I am "In Control" or life is "Spinning Out of Control" or I have "Lost Control."   These three categories have many synonymous phrases which help illuminate them, such as "life is going well" or "I need to get a grip" or  "Life is falling down around me." 

Yet, as a Christian, I proclaim that all of these labels and categories are simply faulty ways of looking at the world.  In fact, God is the only one who has the world in hand, and even then not every molecule is controlled by God!  Life, for the most part, just happens...for better or for worse.  Car batteries die, jobs are lost, jobs are gained, cars are fixed.  Relationships are made, relationships are broken, the sun goes up, and the sun goes down.

Sometimes we are forced into terrible predicaments brought on by other humans or nature - such as being raped, or being beaten to a pulp, or being very sick.  Other times, life goes on "as normal" until an amazing, or a horrendous, event turns our lives around and reshapes our perspectives and ways of thinking.  Most of life...simply happens without us asking for it to happen, without us liking what happens, and with us praying for life to change.

We, as Christians, are not in control of life.  So what are we in control of? What can we gain control of?  The answer is this: ourselves.  We control how we act in life and how we respond to life when life happens to us.  One day, we will be held accountable for every choice we make and action we take.  There isn't always one right answer, but there is always one right question: "Am I acting as Christ Himself would act?"

Let's take a moment together and breathe...breathe a deep breath before we speak a word, take an action, or respond to a situation.  Let's think about what Christ would do...for ultimately we cannot control what life does or brings to us, but we can choice how we will act and respond in the midst of those situations.

"Lord, help me surrender to your will, so that I may act and respond like you."

A Life of Intention

"It was this...intention that made the primitive Christians such eminent instances of piety, that made the goodly fellowship of the Saints and all the glorious army of martyrs and confessors.  And if you will here stop and ask yourself why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it." - Williams Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, found in Richard Foster, Life With God (New York, NY: 2008), p. 55.

I always wonder, how much do I truly intend to do the things I do?  When I intend to work out by stepping outside of my room and into the main room of the apartment and I turn on the DVD player and P90X, I have pretty much conquered the desire to not work out and committed to the desire to work.

Living for God seems to be the same way.  Days that I intend to pray I take a moment to sit down and pray.  Those days in which I battle a desire to not pray and those days in which I simply, "don't feel like it" or don't have the time, I find that I do not pray because I began the day not intending to pray at all.

Am I truly committed to becoming perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect?  Or did I never intend to strive for such heights from the beginning?  This is a question I must challenge myself everyday...

"Lord, help me to be intentional in living for you, each and everyday."

Struggling with Scripture #1: Judges 19:22-30

Scripture is the main tool that God uses to reveal God's self to humanity today.  When we read Scripture, we read it not to gain facts or information, but to gain a sense of the God whom we have devoted ourselves to with the purpose that we may enter into a deeper relationship with the One who loves us so much.  However, there are a lot of Scripture passages that make me struggle because they don't make sense.  Some of them are simply horrifying, such as Judges 19:22-30. These nightmarish passages raise questions and doubts, not faith.  What in the world can this passage say to us as Christians in the twenty-first century? 

As a Biblical scholar, I am aware of the variety of methods which can illuminate the reason for why this text exists in the Bible.  Yet, one question rips apart all method and shoves itself to the fore: "Why?  Why does this person have to experience betrayal by her husband, wanton rape by villains, and have her body hacked apart by her husband in the end (19:25, 29)?"

All of humanity struggles with this issue, the question of theodicy: why does God allow bad and evil things to happen to this world? To me?  Why does our world have to disappear in one terrible, wretched moment?  I wrestle with the ache that comes when this question is asked, I see the pain in the eyes of friends and family dealing with life-shattering issues, and I hear the pain of breaking hearts when family members die, when children die, when a life-threatening disease is discovered in the body, and when everything from the car to work to familial life crashes in a single day.

And the answer, the only answer I hear from God, is this: "I Know, and I love you."  In response, my hands raise themselves high, and crash against the desk below me with a resounding bang.  Tears flow down my face, and I raise my head arrogantly, pointing upwards, and with seething rage I shout, "HOW?  HOW DO YOU, GOD, KNOW?"  And then I hear the cry of my own heart, and the heart of aching humanity, scream with pain: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" rip from the mouth of Jesus - God's own Son (Matthew 27:46).

And I understand...God does know the pain, the feeling of being forsaken, alone, crushed, and destroyed. And God has shown us the way to victory, by conquering death and bringing life through the resurrection of Jesus.  It doesn't make it better, or easier, or calm the pain.  But it gives hope for a brighter day, even if that day is not today. Judges 19:22-30, a text grasping its way up from the bottom of broken humanity, screams our pain.  Matthew 27:46 echoes that pain.  And the resurrection of Jesus breathes life.

Prayer for today: "Lord, help me to have faith and hope in You, even when my faith and hope are lost in what little remains of my once whole life."

The Snowball Effect

One of my hobbies that I enjoy is working out - specifically "getting in shape" using P90X, which is a difficult home-workout program.  Today as I was struggling through the Plyometrics (jump-training) routine, I finally realized something that identified itself immediately as the "snowball effect" in my mind.  I was panting for breath about 20 minutes into the routine, watching enviously as the people on the P90X DVD began jumping in double-time (going twice as fast), and I correspondingly began jumping in one-half time (going twice as slow), the thought came to me that the reason the people on the DVD could do what they did was because they built up to where they are slowly.

As this obvious thought entered my mind, I thought about my own struggles with "getting in shape."  I thought about the slow drop in weight, the switch in eating lifestyles, the agony of initial workouts.  I also thought about the development of this lifestyle to the point where I now am. Initially, everything was difficult and progress was slow - agonizingly so.  Then, as I got more comfortable with eating healthy foods in proportion, and as I began dropping weight and struggling through more of the workout-routines, my progress actually sped up.  I lost more weight faster, became stronger quicker...and all the while working out and eating healthy became easier!  As I develop, I find that development happens at a faster pace with increasing results than during the initial period.  This is what popped into my mind as the "snowball effect" - the culminating progress that occurs as disciplined training is steadily done over time.  

In my life as a Christian, I struggle to initiate various activities which would help me know God more, walk stronger and healthier in the faith, and live for God through every moment.   I struggle to initiate the snowball: to take time out for prayer everyday for more than a week; to pray over each customer I assist in my occupation each day; to be disciplined in my reading of Scripture.  Instead, it comes inconsistently, sporadically, waxing and waning like the ocean tide.  

So, my prayer for the next few weeks will be this: "Lord, help me, teach me, to struggle through the initial development of the disciplines of praying and Scripture study in the midst of ordinary life - create in me a "snowball effect of holiness" to help me walk with you.  Amen."