Perfectionism (Pt. 1)

"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." 1 Corinthians 13:9-10

Though most of those who know me probably wouldn't guess it, I am quite a perfectionist. 

My perfectionism manifests itself in many diverse ways (often to the chagrin of my wife): getting the "perfect" guitar tone, the "perfect" barefoot running strike, finding the "perfect" bible version, and various other manifestations. 

You may have noticed I put perfect in quotations. I've done this because, as often happens during my lunch runs, I've had a revelation. There is no such thing as perfection in this lifetime. 

This may seem obvious to most, but for some of us it's harder to let go of the idea of perfection. Perfectionism is often associated with adult children of alcoholics, and I just read something that it's closely related to depression. When you think about it it makes sense: we are striving for something that is not attainable in order to gain some measure of control or feel better about ourselves. 

It doesn't help then in matters of faith when we are told by Jesus (in most bible translations) to "be perfect"! (Matthew 5:48) But a closer look at the Greek word for "perfect" reveals that the word more accurately means "complete". And, comparing scripture with scripture, we see that we already have been made complete in Christ! (Colossians 2:10). Therefore "perfection" is not based on our performance, but rather by faith in Christ and what he did for us on the glorious cross. Hallelujah!

Now can we live in willful sin and disobedience and still claim to be "perfect" in Christ? Of course not. Faith needs to be put into action, and God gives us all we need in order to live godly lives (2 Peter 1:3). But when we do fail, restoration is instantaneous upon our [true] repentance (see 1 John 1:9), and don't let Satan ever tell you otherwise. 

Giving up on perfection in this lifetime lifts a great weight off our shoulders.We need to "let go" (see Psalm 46:10 footnote), and let God be all He says He can be in us. Amen.

Talking To God

 

"And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend" Exodus 33:11

Sooner or later in life, God lets us know that we need to have a conversation with someone that we would rather do anything else than have. The Holy Spirit will not leave us alone until we have it, but when we do we are the better person for it. 

Yet there is one person who is always available, with whom we should have the sweetest fellowship: one who can meet all of our needs and who knows us completely, and who invites us always to talk with him (see 1 Thessalonians 5:17) - and yet we avoid Him constantly. 

Maybe this isn't you, but speaking for myself, sometimes prayer is a last resort. I tend to look for "formulas" to make me a more spiritual Christian: books, bible reading - all great things to be sure, but they point to the One with Whom we are to have an intimate relationship.

Why do some of us avoid prayer? I think part of the reason goes back to what I talked about before: we're afraid God will ask us to do something we don't want to, like talk to that person! Another reason is that, while God knowing us completely is a wonderful thing, it's also a double-edged sword: maybe we don't want to know ourselves! While God's Word acts as a mirror to reveal our true condition, standing in the unfiltered presence of God is like an "objects in mirror are closer than they appear" mirror!

The two reasons I gave are, of course, part of the strategy Satan deceives us by, because above all things, he is opposed to God's people truly being in prayerful fellowship with Him. Therefore he (Satan) will use all his dirty tricks to get us out of prayer. Let us examine closer the two reasons I gave for why we don't pray:

1) Fear of what God will "make us do". Fear is Satan's "wheelhouse" tactic. Although Job was righteous in all his ways before his trials, the bible indicates his devotion was based out of fear rather than trust (see Job 1:5), suggesting that Satan had a stronghold of fear in his heart already. Friends, you may have heard it before, but God will not ask you to do anything that He will not accomplish through you! (see Ephesians 2:10). If we are fearing he will "make us do something", our relationship is still that of a slave rather than a son (see Galatians 4:7).

2) Fear of seeing ourselves as we really are. Satan loves nothing more to whisper his lies that we are "not so bad", and "better than others". To come to God through the Cross requires complete humility: to place oneself on the same level as the worst people in history. As long as we think we have something good to offer from our old sinful nature, full communion with God will not be possible(see Galatians 6:3).  "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling" (A.M. Toplady).

May we always humbly see ourselves as we are: sons and daughters of the Almighty God, and run to the "throne of grace" (Hebrews 4:16) as often as we can, talking to God as Moses did: face to face as a friend.

A Firm Foundation Pt. 3

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

I guess you could say I'm into foundations lately.

Imagine, if you will, a five-story apartment building which you own. At the fifth floor you decide you're going to blow out the exterior wall and build a new room suspended over the ground below with virtually no supporting structure. A wise friend rushes up to you in mid-progress, assuring you that this endeavor is way out of code (not to mention extremely dangerous) and urges you to stop and rethink what you are doing.

Inevitably we all do things that stray from God's perfect will, including outright sin. We do things and get into thinking patterns that are not supported by the foundation of our relationship with Him and his Holy Word, the Bible. We sense we are off course, yet sometimes we press on.

Our wise friend (i.e., the Holy Spirit) is warning us, pointing to the building codes and standards (i.e., the Bible). If we don't heed the warnings, our "building" will crumble and we incur damage upon our lives. However if we listen and repent, we will save ourselves from a lot of hurt and ruin.

God does more than just help us to change course, though. We actually incorporates our mistakes into our lives for good (see scripture above)*.

Imagine God dropping a plumb line straight down from your furthest progress on the attempted building "experiment". First there is more foundation built to accommodate the new structure. Then God proceeds to build and incorporate the mistake into the building so that not only is it stronger than before, but the new design is more beautiful than the old.

Thanks be to God who can even turn our failures into something good.

*Incidentally, the Greek word for "together" is where we get the word "synergy"

No Condemnation

"Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard" Daniel 10:12

The above verse is precious for those of us who sometimes are overzealous to please God in our own strength, and then fall under condemnation when we fail. It reminds us that God was "for" us way before we were ever "for" Him (cf Romans 5:8). Why do we so often fall under the condemnation of Paul's "wretched man" of Romans 7:24?

The chapter of Romans 7 confuses some, who think that it was either about Paul before becoming a Christian, or that he was overcome by sin on a daily basis. In reality it is a continuation of Romans chapter 6, which deals with freedom from sin, but it is freedom from the law. Paul is relating his post-conversion experience of abject failure at trying to keep God's holy law in his own strength. 

This may seem foolish or counter-intuitive to some, but sometimes when we get the urge to do something for God, we may be in danger of falling from our heavenly "position" in Christ (Ephesians 2:6).  This is where Satan loves to trap those who have consecrated their lives to the Lord and are picking up His cross daily and following Him (Luke 9:23).  If Satan cannot cause a victorious Christian to outright sin, he will try to convince that person that they are not doing enough for God and need to do something immediately!* The person, laden by guilt, carries out the task, it fails, and falls under greater condemnation. If he or she does not discern their error, they may wonder "what's the use?", fall into despair, and engage in sins previously conquered. If the cycle continues they may even doubt their own salvation. Thus Satan's plan of reversing the progress of God's plan of salvation shown in Romans 5 through 8 is complete. 

So how do we get victory over condemnation? Paul gives the answer after his "bottoming out"experience: "Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?**  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 7:24-25).  The answer is simply Jesus our Deliverer. 

Romans 8:1 goes on to declare "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (my emphasis). Period. End of story. If you are in Christ, and Christ is in you, then there is no ground for condemnation. The blood of Jesus has cleansed you from past sins, and the cross has forever crucified your sinful nature (Romans 6:6). You do not need to follow the law in your own strength (the body of death), but you are set free by a new law, the Law of the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:2). You can now perform good works Christ has prepared for you (Ephesians 2:10), because you are attached to the Vine , and He produces fruit through you (John 15:4), and no longer demands it of you.

Let us praise God for the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

* This incidentally is an easy test to distinguish the Holy Spirit from an evil spirit: the Holy Spirit is gentle and neither drives nor pushes
** It is called "the body of death" because death is weakness to the most extreme

A Firm Foundation Pt. 2

"God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet: and setteth me upon my high places." 2 Samuel 22:33-34

I just came back from my lunch break run, which is when I get a lot of my ideas for devotions. It's a steep incline straight out of my office of about a half mile, to a loop around a scenic pond. The climb up is not so fun (especially in the winter), but the more level run around the beautiful pond makes it worthwhile. 

As I was making my way around the loop today, in the "zone" and feeling pretty good about myself, I prayed that God would increase my "territory", or my influence for His kingdom. It was then the verse from 2 Samuel above came to me, but maybe not in the way you think.

As I shared in "A Firm Foundation Pt. 1", I've been sort of "rebuilding" myself as a barefoot runner (let's face it, there wasn't much to tear down). It's a slow process of rebuilding yourself from the ground up. What I felt God was saying to me was that I still had more foundational work to do until I had the spiritual "hinds feet" to reach more people for God. (An attempt down a gravel trail also told me my natural feet had more work to do too!) It also occurred to me that building our spiritual foundation is not a one-time deal: we are to constantly make it bigger and wider so it can support a bigger "building" (i.e., God's kingdom around us). 

Lord, may we always be humble enough to recognize we always need a bigger foundation based on Your Word to impact others for Your Kingdom. Amen

Is the Gospel Enough? (Video)

Is the Gospel Enough?

Work Smarter, Not Harder!

 "...redeeming the time, because the days are evil" Ephesians 5:16

I recently read an article entitled "15 Scientifically Proven Ways to Work Smarter, Not Just More", which contains advice on how to be more productive at work. Much of the advice is counter-intuitive, with suggestions such as "watch YouTube", or "take a nap"(!) (actually, the "siesta" (nap after lunch) is common in Mediterranean and southern European countries, and if you're like me you may find this time of day very tempting to do such a thing). The overarching idea is that people are "fresher" from little intermittent breaks, and are more productive than people who plug away straight through the day. I have to say I tend to agree with this approach (although a two hour nap may not be so productive!). 

As Christians we also need to "work smarter, not just more". What do I mean by this?

The broken world around us presents us with a crush of human need. You name it: poverty, homelessness, mental illness, depression, substance abuse, physical illness, spiritual need, the list goes on. As Christians we should be concerned with all of these, but at times it's all so overwhelming we end up doing nothing and protecting our poor, pitiful selves. This is where we need to "work smarter, not harder". The bible calls it "redeeming the time". But what did Paul mean by this?

The word redeem means to rescue from loss. Some bible translations translate this "make the most of the time." Therefore we need to "work smarter, not harder". Easier said than done, right?

I believe the key to working "smarter, not harder" lies in the very next verse in Paul's letter to the Ephesians: "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is". (Ephesians 5:17)

The will of God. For many it's an elusive concept, yet it is the key and guide to all our Christian work. Nothing should be undertaken that is not birthed by a burden placed in the believer's spirit by the Holy Spirit. Otherwise absolutely no action should be taken. This will no doubt confuse some and make some angry that nothing is being done, but this is (or should be) the great difference between worldly and Christian charity. Christian charity should be carried out in the will of God in such a way that, not only does the need get met unusually effectively, but that God alone gets the glory and people actually witness God in action.

So the essential question becomes, how does one find the will of God? There is no formula (thank God), but what I believe to be three essentials:

1) Regular reading and meditating of God's holy word, the bible. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews puts it this way: "Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a baby. But solid food belongs to those who are mature, for those who through practice have powers of discernment that are trained to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:13-14)

In other words, the baby Christian (or "carnal" Christian, see 1 Corinthians 3:1-2) basically doesn't know right from wrong, much less the will of God, because he or she is unfamiliar with God's word. We need the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), or God's word, not only to cut through unseen powers of darkness, but to light the way for God's will to be discovered. 

2) Prayer! Simple, right? During our quiet moments before God, he speaks his "still, small voice" (1 Kings 19:12), revealing his will. It is imperative, however, that we learn to discern God's voice (dropped sweetly in our spirit by intuition) from the thoughts (sometimes seemingly good) flashing across our mind. The former is from God (see 1 Corinthians 2:10-11), the latter is often from the enemy of our souls, trying to distract us, or even counterfeit the voice of the Almighty (2 Corinthians 11:14). All the more reason to know God's word to help discern which is which. 

3) Finally, we should be free of unconfessed sin, because sin will cloud our prayer life (see Psalm 66:18). 

Therefore brothers and sisters, let us work smarter, not harder: redeeming the time and understanding what God's will is, so that we can meet this broken worlds pressing needs and glorify God in the process.