Many vibrant devotional lives have died in seminary. People are often surprised to learn this. Students come to seminary because of their love for God and His Word. But when the Bible becomes a textbook, it can lose its vitality. As with everything else, when you dissect it, it dies.
I remember being a seminary student who was enthralled with hermeneutics (the fancy word, along with exegesis, for principles of interpreting the Bible). As much as I enjoyed the subject and gleaned from it, the classes and books taught me to come to the Bible with dozens of questions that had little to do with God or me. I was excited about the original author, the author’s intent, the original audience, the original language, syntax, lexicon (not the little green people at the end of rainbows), and other ways to find the meaning of the text.
I still value hermeneutics, but that is not the focus of this post. This post is meant to cultivate questions for Bible study that focus primarily upon God and me (or you). The outline of the post comes from a recent video post by David Powlison on the prayer life of Martin Luther. In the video Powlison discusses four ways Luther responded to Scripture in his prayer life.
Dr. David Powlison – Martin Luther’s Prayers from CCEF on Vimeo.
Bible as Text Book
When we come to the Bible as a text book we are seeking to learn what and how to think. We want to know what is right, good, wise, and worthwhile. We come to it as innocent children eager to learn from trusted parents.
We recognize the world as a complicated and large place. We know that we are not capable of mastering it on our own. So we ask questions to fill our mind with the relevant facts and needed perspective to respond to the challenges we will face.
Bible as Hymn Book
When we come to the Bible as a hymn book we are seeking to find the majesty of God. We come to the Bible like children asking questions of their parents’ “glory days.” We want to be awed, inspired, and made to feel safe because of what we learn.
We recognize that we will never be satisfied with our own achievements. As creatures made to worship, we crave a thrill that we cannot produce. We were made with imaginations that require the presence, mission, and power of God to swim in.
Bible as Confession Book
When we come to the Bible as a confessional book we find everything we want to be (or would want to be if our perspective was right) and are not. Yet we do not find shame. We come as children who have failed and are seeking the comfort of a loving parent.
We recognize that light reveals dirt that was hidden in the shadows of our lives. But the inspiration and motivation developed in worship causes us to find value in the hard work of cleaning (okay, the children metaphor might be breaking down here). We ask questions that reveal our desire to get our character from where we are to what we see in our Father.
Bible as Prayer Book
When we come to the Bible as a prayer book we are seeking help in the journey from what we saw in the Bible as confession book to the Bible as hymn book. We come with the innocent faith of children who believe if we have seen in His Word, God can get us there.
We talk like children with their Father, when they know their request pleases the Father. As we ask God to make us more like what we’ve read and adored, we are like the child asking his/her parent to teach them the parent’s favorite hobby.
To summarize this post, as you read the Bible, never forget how God says we get into His kingdom and (my inference) come to understand His Word, “Truly I say to you whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child shall not enter it (Mark 10:15).” Let your Bible reading echo the heart of a child peppering his/her parent with questions of admiration.
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago at 12:22 pm. Add a comment
A Counselor Reflects on Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
“The point is not that God will refuse you admission to His eternal world if you have not got certain qualities of character: the point is that if people have not got at least the beginnings of those qualities inside them, then no possible external conditions could make a ‘Heaven’ for them – that is, could make them happy with the deep, strong, un-shakable kind of happiness God intends for you (p. 81).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Am I prepared to enjoy Heaven? When I take away the presumed “yes,” then this question is quite startling. I might be the kind of person for whom Heaven would be miserable or, at best, boring. Heaven might be an acquired taste that only those who have been transformed by God can enjoy.
Considering this question for a moment has made me realize how self-centeredly I have thought about Heaven. Honestly, I have always thought of it as my Heaven more than God’s Heaven. I thought of it as an eternal playground built for my preferences and specifications. I thought of it as a place where “my will be done” was the guiding force.
Unless that changes, my Heaven might actually be Hell (C.S. Lewis fully develops this theme in his book The Great Divorce). Unless my way of thinking were renewed ,then my dreams come true would be so inherently contradictory, consuming, exhausting, disappointing, or otherwise damaging that if I had to live with them for eternity it would be torturous.
This reveals another dimension of my depravity: I am unable to enduringly desire and enjoy God’s goodness apart from His grace. This should humble me greatly, but not necessarily in the sense of shame (which is not really humility at all). It should humble me when I disgruntedly try to tell God He has not been good.
Discontentment is predicated on the assumption that I know (or get to define) what is truly good. If C.S. Lewis is right about Heaven, then discontentment is not only wrong but foolish. I am much more like my 4 year old who wants to only eat marshmallows for every meal than I cared to admit. I think I know what happiness (Heaven) is and am offended by anyone (even God) who would tell me differently.
If I truly believed this, I would pray differently. I would ask more questions and seek more guidance while making fewer petitions. Not that petitions are bad, but my petition-to-question ratio displays a confidence that I know what I am asking for and how it should be defined.
I pray, “Lord, help me lead a healthy family” assuming I know what “good” is and what “lead” means. It might do me more good (in terms of refining my character, not altering God’s willingness to answer) to pray, “Lord, show me more of what a good family is and how you would have a husband to lead one.” With that prayer, I am allowing God to define Heaven and lead me into it rather than verbally drawing the dots and asking God to connect them.
This view of Heaven excites me more than my previous perspective. This understanding reveals how Heaven can truly be “better than I imagined” because my imagination is not yet prepared to ask for Heaven. But as God continues to refine me I will see more clearly through a dim glass and those things that I want will be in line with the eternally satisfying place God has prepared for His children.
Posted 9 months ago at 12:31 pm. 1 comment
This post is meant to offer guidance to common “what now” questions that could emerge from pastor J.D.’s sermon on Luke 11 and 18 preached at The Summit Church Saturday/Sunday April 2-3, 2011.
We usually think of our prayer life as saying things “to” God (praising God, making requests, or having conversation) rather than saying something “about” God (evaluation of His character, power, or involvement). But prayer does both, and what our prayer life says “about” God often determines when, if, how, and about what we pray.
Think about it as if you were about to have a conversation with the President of a major company. What you said “to” that person would largely be shaped by what you thought “about” them. Were you a fan of their product? Did their product harm you? Did you want their financial support for a cause? Are they your spouse, parent, or sibling?
The same is true in our prayer life. In this blog post, we will look at five things our lack of prayer can say about God. These are not the only five things, but are meant to help you evaluate your own prayer life; not merely as a discipline but as the expression of a relationship.
- God is powerless. Often we do not pray because we do not believe God can do anything about our struggle. We view our struggle as “outside God’s jurisdiction.” We view God as constrained by the situational variables involved like Superman is constrained by kryptonite.
- God is uncaring. Other times we do not pray because we do not believe God will do anything about our struggle. We might believe we are too insignificant for His attention. We may believe we have sinned in way that removes His willingness to intervene for us. We may believe that God is just the Creator and doesn’t care about our prayer, because He just doesn’t care. Sometimes we view God as uncaring and hesitate to pray because we have reduced “caring” to “giving me what I want most” and we fear being told “no” too much to ask.
- God is irrelevant. Prayer may believe that we have limited God to addressing “spiritual problems” and reduced spiritual problems to church, worship, and evangelism. We might not pray because we believe our daily concerns are not on God’s job description. In this case we don’t pray for the same reason we don’t talk to a plumber about our computer problems.
- God intrudes on my independence. If we are honest, there are times when we don’t pray because we do not want to know what God might say. We are like the child who wants to “do it all by myself.” Praying would require acknowledging a level of dependence that our pride does not want to see.
- God is a set of wisdom principles. Sometimes we confuse prayer with contemplation. We might think, “I already spend time trying to ‘figure out’ my struggle, isn’t that the same thing as prayer?” This misconception can often be reinforced when we ask for prayer and immediately get met with suggestions. Another form of this misconception would be, “If God has already given me the Bible, what more could He have to say?” This would be the equivalent of a teenager thinking his/her parents didn’t want to talk about peer pressure, because they had already told him/her to resist it. There is power in a good, conversational relationship that enables us to live out the principles.
The big point is this, if we do not pray, it likely reveals a wrong view of God. “Trying harder” will probably not change the belief(s) that impedes our prayer. If we want to become people of prayer, we need to examine our beliefs and get to know God for who He really is. Hopefully these reflections equip you for the self-examination.
Posted 10 months, 1 week ago at 12:27 pm. Add a comment
What does it say about you when you have to ask for help? Take it a step further, what does it say about you when you are always having to ask for help? Those are easy questions. It means you’re weak. It also says that you are in good company.
Consider the words of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:10.
“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
I believe the epitome of this powerful weakness is prayer. We are told to pray without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17); to constantly cry out for help. That expression of weakness (prayer) taps us into the greatest, most constant, and most benevolent source of strength – God Himself.
I have heard many people say that they feel like this kind of praying is whining. But then I remind them that, by that definition, most of the Bible is either whining or the response to whining (see my post “Biblical Whining”).
But that whole defense is given because we believe asking for help is weak and we should not be weak. Have you ever noticed that the most precious things are weak? Fine china dishes. Roses. Babies. We handle them with care and feel honored to have them. But for some reason we do not want to be put in the place to be like them.
We become like my 3 year old who is so committed to being big and strong that life becomes hard for him. I am there longing to help, waiting to be asked, but his refrain is, “I can do it myself. I know just what I’m doing.” His definition of “strong” causes his effectiveness to be much weaker and slower than it has to be.
Paul understood what it meant to be strong as a child of God; it meant relying upon our Father for those things we were never meant to do without Him. That is where the illustration of my son breaks down. He is meant to grow up and be independent and even take care of me in my old age.
We were never meant to be independent of God. Even if the Fall had never happened, God created us a finite beings meant to draw delight and purpose from interaction with His infinite being. We never can outgrow God.
The call of the Christian life is to embrace weakness to find strength. This is seen and experienced most practically in prayer.
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 12:27 pm. 1 comment
It started with conviction when I heard JD say, “Prayerlessness is the inevitable result of pride or a lack of faith, usually both. You fail to pray, instinctively, because you are too proud to realize you need God or too unbelieving to grasp God’s willingness to help,” in staff meeting. I could no longer chalk up inconsistent prayer to a lack of discipline.
Choosing to follow the church-wide prayer guide, I read Luke 1:8-17 and found myself identifying with Zechariah more than I expected. Zechariah was in his routine of serving God (v. 8-9) while surrounded by people who were praying (v. 10). His occupation and religious duty caused him to miss the worship for the service.
Working in ministry can sometimes make prayer seem redundant, after all, “I already know what God wants me to do today – it’s in my job description and on my calendar.” It can become a mindset of, “Why talk to God when I already know the assignment. When I get stuck, I’ll check back in for clarification and direction.” I have a tendency to view myself as God’s servant more than God’s son (adopted child, little “s”).
But it’s more than that. I also grow comfortable (a nicer word for “pride” per JD’s quote above). I treat God like a mentor more than my Savior. The more I learn about what God wants me to do, the more independent I feel like I can be.
With much of this kind of thinking I quickly reach the point that, like Zechariah, I am surprised and questioning of God’s “interference” in “my” assignment (v. 18-20). Honestly, Zechariah had much better reason than I do. He was struggling with decades of unanswered prayer about the desire for a child (v. 7). I just tend to make second things first.
It struck me how the description of John the Baptist is a part of ministry to which I rarely pay attention. John was to “prepare the way” for Jesus. So much of the impact of teaching and counseling is what happens before the conversation begins. John proclaimed the sinfulness of humanity so that the grace of Jesus would be the answer to the question people were asking. Without the right question, Jesus’ message would have been thought-provoking not life-changing.
This made my subtle pride less subtle. The tasks God gives to us are not side jobs over which we take dominion but cooperation with His moving in the life of people. It is humbling to remember that what I can’t control is so much bigger than what I can. When I grow comfortable with “my assignment” it is because I have shrunk the scope of God’s activity to my life. I merely want to check off that “I did it right, so nobody can get on to me.”
From these points of conviction my prayers centered on:
- Asking God to reverse the way I shrink life and ministry to make it manageable.
- Praying for the events prior to the prayer meeting that God would prepare His people.
- Praying that God would use the events before each ministry task a Summit pastor engages in.
- Reflecting on and thanking God for the number of “coincidences” that made ministry more effective in recent weeks.
- Praying that God would “prepare the way” for the Gospel in places that are hostile to Christianity.
I hope these reflections serve as an encouragement for you to pray and to share with others how God uses prayer to change you and change the world around you.
Posted 11 months ago at 1:24 pm. Add a comment
Most small groups end with a time of shared prayer requests and prayer. This is more than routine and playing nice with spiritual expectations. It is a recognition that information alone (even biblical information) does not change our hearts—God does. It is also a recognition that we were made for relationship with God and that to study God’s Word without consulting the Author is like buying your children battery operated toys for Christmas and not getting batteries.
More can be done during these prayer times to fulfill the model of the church found in Ephesians 4:11-13:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
The following steps are designed to maximize the ability of prayer during small groups to intentionally equip the saints for the work of ministry.
1. When preparing the lesson, identify the core life struggles to which the passage speaks (i.e., suffering, communication, hope, love, forgiveness, etc…). During the Bible study, mention that you would like members to reflect on these areas in preparation for the upcoming prayer time. With this, you are preparing to think about their spiritual growth as something that will be lived out in the community of this small group.
2. When you ask for prayer requests, let the class know they are free to bring any life challenge, but ask that they give special consideration to the subjects raised in the Bible study.
3. Provide the class with a “Prayer Request Journal” [link] page to record prayer requests in the class. This will enhance the expectancy with which requests are given and is very important if members are truly going to minister to “one another” (Gal 6:2).
4. Ask the class to keep the journal in their Bibles and review it as they have their times of personal devotion. This again raises the level of expectancy that prayer requests will be regularly prayed over.
5. Ask the class to write one letter or e-mail that seeks to encourage another member of the class with a portion of the lesson. This repetition increases learning. It also places the class in both the position of student/learner as well as teacher/minister.
6. Ask the class to seek to follow up in one practical way per week to a prayer request given in the class. If an idea comes to mind, as they pray for the request, they can write it on the “Follow Up” line beneath the request. Once they follow through on God’s prompting, there is even a nice box to check.
We hope this serves as an enriching part of your small group experience. One of the marks of good teaching is that it raises up new leaders and creates a context for each person to utilize his/her gifts.
Posted 11 months, 4 weeks ago at 1:33 pm. Add a comment
Case Study: Martha was an empty nest single mom who had done the best she knew how and that time/energy had allowed. She looks back now with lots of regret as all four of her children are far from God and not looking to return. When they were in her home she stressed the importance of church, she often referenced Bible passages when she disciplined them, and always she prayed for each of them daily.
Todd is the wandering soul. He doesn’t know what he believes or what he wants. Occasionally he gets excited about some new hobby, job, relationship, or faith, but it never lasts long.
Amy is the child who is mired in depression. She is the one who spoke most about missing a father figure. Divorced and with a child of her own, Amy struggles to muster the energy to get to her minimum wage job. Child support (when it comes) and occasional assistance from Martha helps her “just get by.”
Doug is the child who got into drugs. Meth is his drug of choice. He stays high, doesn’t eat, and when Martha does see him it breaks her heart. Doug is rail thin with sunken eyes that reveal a soul as empty as Doug’s life really is.
Steve is the “successful child.” Steve saw his older siblings throw their life away and vowed not to repeat their mistakes. Steve went to college, got his degree, moved to the nearest major city, got a good job, and worked his way into several promotions in his brief time there. However, his obsession with work is already putting a strain on his marriage and Martha can see how much his kids miss their father. Steve occasionally tells Martha about a few of their marital arguments, but he can’t understand why his wife is upset when he’s “doing everything right.”
Martha thought she would get to rest when the kids all moved out. But babysitting, paying off debt, and the burden she carries for her children hardly let her rest. She knows she should pray for her kids, but a cynicism is growing within her because she has prayed for years and it hasn’t done any good. In her pain, she calls out to God, “Lord, give me the words to pray.”
Pre-Questions: This case study is meant to challenge you to think biblically about the real struggles of life. These questions will not be answered completely in the sections below. But they do represent the kind of struggles that are being wrestled with in Psalm 107. Use the question to both stir application and to give you new insight into the psalm.
- If Martha was in your small group or Sunday School class, what would be effective ways you could ministry to her?
- How would you respond when Martha expressed guilt and/or anger about the “train up a child” verse (Prov. 22:6)?
- How would you help Martha discern the line between enabling her children and loving her children (or her grandchildren)?
- How could you assist Martha as she struggles to not just give up hope?
Read Psalm 107 in your preferred Bible translation. The “rewrite” of Psalm 107 below is an attempt to capture the words that God would give Martha to pray (Romans 8:26-27). This would be something Martha would need to pray many times as she was burdened for her four children..
A re-write of Psalm 107
Martha Prays for Her Family: 1. Lord, You are good. I may struggle to see it, but if Your love was not trustworthy and unending I would be hopeless.
2. You have brought me through so many things as I raised my four children on my own. When we needed food, new tires for the car, or clothes for school some how You always provided. It is so easy to forget those times of faithfulness in the midst of the current hardships.
3. Right now we are scattered and need to be brought back to You and each other… again. We have gone to wandering, depression, drugs, and the American Dream. It feels like we have been scattered to the ends of the earth.
Martha Prays for Todd: 4. Todd wandered into wandering. He’s not connected, addicted, or committed to anything. There is nothing that guides his decision making and allows him to get anywhere.
5. He is starving to find something that gives meaning to life and gives direction to his choices. His heart has given up, checked out.
6. May Todd call to You in his troubles and be delivered from the mess he is making of his life.
7. Bring Todd back to the narrow way that leads to life, meaning, and satisfaction. Let him know what it means to live in a community of faith that cares for one another.
8. Bring Todd to the place where he can thank You for Your steadfast love, continual presence, and ample grace. Give him a testimony of Your redemption that he can share with his friends and bring many to You.
9. Only You, Lord, can satisfy his search for meaning. His soul is hungry call him back to Yourself, the Bread of Life and Living Water.
Martha Prays for Amy: 10. Amy is in darkness and the shadow of depression is always covering her. She is a prisoner in her own sorrow, grief, self-pity, and shame. They weigh her down like shackles.
11. She listens to her pain and it drowns out any truth that comes to her ears. She refuses to hear instruction from Your Word because she believes it’s too hard, cliché, would work for someone better than her, or it just hurts too much to hope any more. If I mention the Bible, she just gets off the phone.
12. Bring her to the bottom of her pain and self-pity so she will look up to You. Remove from her life her friends who don’t want her to “do better” because then she would leave them behind. Those friends are not friends. Cause Amy to see how alone she is.
13. May Amy call to You in her troubles and be delivered from the mess she is making of his life.
14. Bring Amy out of the darkness and shadows. Break the emotional shackles that bind her.
15. When You do, let her see that it is (and only could be) You who freed her with your steadfast love, continual presence and ample grace. Give her a testimony of Your redemption that she can share with her friends and bring many to You.
16. For you are The Great Despair Buster. You are Hope! Life! and Peace! You are the Light that penetrates the darkness.
Martha Prays for Doug: 17. Doug is a fool because of his addiction and meth is his cruel master that causes his many pains.
18. He looks awful. He won’t eat. He’d rather be high, starve himself to death, and meet the destiny that awaits him.
19. May Doug call to You in his troubles and be delivered from the mess he is making of his life.
20. Send someone to Doug to speak truth to him that will penetrate his denial and lack of care. Wake him from his addiction and deliver Doug from the inevitable destruction it will bring.
21. When You do, let Doug see that Your steadfast love is stronger than the bonds of addiction; that Your continual presence is more comforting than the escape drugs provide; that Your ample grace is able to penetrate and remove the sting of guilt he fears when he gets sober. Give him a testimony of Your redemption that he can share with his friends and bring many to You.
22. When Doug returns to You let him be as generous with life for Your glory as he was frivolous with his life for the temporary pleasure of drugs. Let him put the contrasts into words that he can share and point many to Your superior joy!
Martha Prays for Steve: 23. Steve has left for a better life. He is doing good business in the city. Steve is prospering in his job and getting the promotions he deserves.
24. Steve heeded the call of Your Word to work hard. He is reaping the benefits of following Your principles; by them You are raising him up.
25. Your Word is true and works whether those who are following it have genuinely surrendered their life to You or not.
26. But without You at the center of his life Steve cannot handle the success he has achieved. The more he has, does, and is, the more he gets in over his head. I can see when he realizes it; fear grips him. He is scared to death to be “a failure” like the rest of us.
27. He frantically pours himself back into his job, because he knows how to succeed there. But when his wife isn’t happy, the kids don’t appreciate him, and he has no peace, he doesn’t know what else to do.
28. May Steve call to You in his troubles and be delivered from the mess he is making of his life.
29. Let Steve see that You are the Peace that can calm the storm of his fear of failure. Let him come to grips that the Gospel calms the waves of a performance-driven, bottom-line existence.
30. Teach Steve to be content with a simpler life of worshipping You and loving his family. Bring him to that life You made him to live and for which he longs but cannot put into words.
31. When you do, let Steve see that “success” is merely resting in your steadfast love, continual presence, and ample grace. Out of that life-altering redefinition of success give him a testimony of Your redemption that he can share with his friends and bring many to You.
32. Since You have raised him up to a position of influence, let him use that influence to call Your people back to “success” as You define it. They will listen to him because they admire him. May many people see that what You have to offer is better than what the world has to offer because of the change you bring in Steve’s life.
Martha Prays through New Wisdom: 33. Lord, You turn success into failure (Steve); comfort into pain (Doug); suffering into misery (Amy); and meaning into folly (Todd).
34. All this you do because we seek to live independent from You. Nothing we want is what we think it will be without You.
35. Lord, it is also true that You turn failure into success with Your grace; pain into comfort and misery into bearable suffering with Your presence; and folly into meaning with Your balance of truth and love.
36. You are inviting Todd, Doug, Amy, and Steve to come dwell with You when they will repent and acknowledge it is You they have been looking for all their lives.
37. When they surrender to You, I know they will begin to live differently. As they surrender to You more and more they will sow wisdom and reap blessings by the truth of Your Word and the grace of Your care.
38. Everything I want to give them is in You. My fretting for them and enabling of them is as foolish and broken as their sins. Only you can bless them as I try to bless them. Remind me that I cannot care for them better than You currently are.
39. It pains me to pray that they will be broken more so that they can be made whole by You. I know You often work to change our hearts through suffering.
40. Like a proud prince must be reminded he is only human, You have to show them their “wisdom” is empty. They must taste of fear of being completely lost and without hope before they will call to You to find them.
41. But I also know that You, Lord, raise people out of that kind of despair and pain when they quit trying to do it for themselves. You are the Good Shepherd who will go looking for Your one lost sheep (or my four).
42. I see that now, and for now, my fear is less. Thank you for returning to me the joy of Your salvation. I can be quiet in Your presence again.
43. I know I will battle the foolish doubt of You again, but return me to You in prayer for these things again and again. It is only your steadfast love, continual presence, and ample grace that can comfort this mother’s heart.
Passages for Further Study: Judges (for an account of God dealing with His children as they wandered and returned many times); Matthew 23:37-39; 3 John 4
Post Questions: Now that you have read Psalm 107, examined how Martha might rewrite it for his situation, and studied several other passages, consider the following questions:
- What do you learn from the repeated themes that arise in each sinful situation the “some” (v. 4, 10, 17, 23) find themselves in? What should we pray for everyone caught in sin?
- What do you learn from the unique aspects that are prayed for each of the sinful situations? How does God present Himself uniquely to each of His children to draw them from their particular sin?
- For what instances of regret or troubled friends/family do you need to re-write your own version of Psalm 107?
Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 2:42 pm. Add a comment
Grant You to be Strengthened (3:16)
We tend to think of strength as something that is worked for. Athletes go to the gym and work out to get stronger. Even if they cheat and use steroids or human growth hormone, they must still work out to gain the benefits of the performance enhancing drugs. Yet this passage speaks of strength as a gift that is given to us by God.
In the midst of temptation we often wonder if we have the power (in ourselves) to resist. Even in our temptation we are often too proud to be God’s beggars (as if we were ever anything more). Yet because of how we phrase the question (self-centeredly) we are given to the doubt and fear which strengthens our temptation.
Application: Hopefully we can see that timeless truth “in our weakness then we are strong” more clearly in light of this reflection. The question of temptation is not one of ability or strength, but of dependence and trust. Make a list of the temptations you regularly face. Beside each one list the setting(s) in which you frequently face that temptation. Describe how your self-assessment leads to fear and doubt. Write a brief narrative of what it would look like to face that moment in God’s strength.
Strength to Comprehend (3:18)
Have you ever studied something until your head hurt? That might be what Paul is saying here. If we are going to fathom the breadth, length, height, and depth of God’s love it will require the strength of God to prevent that understanding from breaking us. When we set the darkness of our sin against the brightness of God’s love the contrast should bring us to our knees like Paul on the road to Damascus.
If we miss this, we likely approach our study of Scripture too casually; like children playing near a high voltage generator. Imagine being an orphaned child who lived well into adulthood without any knowledge of his parents. Then finally by some means he is given a letter from his birth parents. As he read the letter, he would likely have to sit down. The weight of knowing this was the only first-person knowledge he would ever have from his parents would be physically moving. When we read it correctly, that is the Bible.
Reflection: How often, before you study the Bible, do you pray that God will grant you the strength to comprehend His Word? I think this kind of prayer prepares us for the miracle of divine revelation that we are preparing to read. One of the great challenges to rightly interpreting the Bible is coming to it with a right understanding of what it is. Because we live in a day of endless books, a leather bound one does not seem that special. Let us pray that God would give us “eyes to see” the Bible as divine revelation, before we open it to read.
More Than We Ask or Imagine
(BCH_Eph3B_handout for Printable PDF Handout)
What is the point of trying to imagine something you cannot imagine? That is the invitation of Ephesians 3:20. We are constantly faced with the temptation to make God in our own image. This is partly because we are limited to the capabilities of our finite mind.
I believe one good application of this verse is to expand the breadth of our imaginations. By so doing we increase our capacity for God. The goal of the passage is not to challenge us to ask more and more of God so that we can be awed, but to have a greater and greater capacity for God so that our service in the advancement of His church is never delayed by our lack of faith.
With this being said, let me suggest two types of reading to help you grow the breadth of your imagination: Christian fiction and Christian biography.
As you read one of these works, do not just seek to glean new information or to be entertained by a good story, ask God to expand the capacity of your imagination so that vision for what is possible for His kingdom will also grow.
Introduction to the “Living Our Faith” series.
TOOL: “Using Prayer Time to Cultivate Ministry”
BLOG POST: “Teachers Equipping Ministers Through Prayer Time“
Posted 1 year, 4 months ago at 12:41 pm. Add a comment
Tamper with God’s Word (4:2)
In II Corinthians 3:5-6 Paul had already said, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Paul is now explaining what this competent ministry in God’s sufficiency looks like – faithful handling of God’s Word with a reliance upon God’s Person (God’s Spirit not our interpretation of the letter).
This is a hard balance to strike. On one side, many come to Scripture and ask, “What does this passage mean to me?” They tamper with God’s Word (often putting words in God’s mouth) that are not consistent with the words God inspired. On the other side, others explore Scripture exclusively in its historical context thinking an extensive understanding of the culture and setting in which the Bible was written is a “deep” understanding of Scripture. They tamper with God’s Word by ignoring or being silent about the modern relevance of God’s Word.
For what it’s worth, both groups often treat conversations with other people the same way. One group thinks what they feel is the same thing as what you meant. The other group thinks that if you only understood the context of their thinking you would agree with them. Here again we see that we tend to treat other people the same way we treat God (life reveals our hearts).
Application: If you have never read a book on interpreting and applying the Bible, I would recommend two. The first one does an excellent job of teaching you how to interpret each genre of Scripture (epistles, narrative, parables, prophetic literature, wisdom literature, and psalms). The second gives excellent examples and a model of how to make application of Scripture to the modern context and struggles of life.
Blinded the Minds of Unbelievers (4:4)
Evangelism is about more than convincing someone about the Truth of who Jesus is, why Jesus came, and how the Bible says we are to respond. Evangelism is a miracle in which God gives sight to the blind. Ezekiel described humanity in his prophecy, “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.”
With this in mind we can see how evangelism is more spiritual warfare than it is education. The Gospel does have exclusive content, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).” But it takes a supernatural intervention in the heart of an unbeliever for him/her to “see” this truth. When you share the Gospel you are conducting a “spiritual vision check (even believers need this; II Pet 1:9).”
Application: When you pray for a lost friend or family member, pray that God will open their eyes to His truth. When you meet resistance or confusion in sharing the Gospel recognize that you will not argue someone into sight. At that point, your first goal is to help them “see their blindness” (which oddly enough spiritually blind people are the only blind people who think they can see). The type of question (modify it to fit the conversation) I advise for this is, “What do you think makes life worth living?” Only when they see the inadequacy of their current hope will they “see” their need for an eternal hope.
Outer Self vs. Inner Self
(BCH_2Cor_4_handout for Printable PDF Handout)
In Ephesians 4:20-24 Paul discusses the old man and the new man in reference to our battle with sin. In II Corinthians 4:16-18 Paul contrasts the outer self and the inner self in reference to our struggle with suffering. We learn from this that we are conflicted people (without a derogatory connotation) whether our challenge is moral or endurance.
Unless we realize this we will often wonder “Am I going crazy?” when we feel so torn in the midst of every life challenge (sin or suffering). The points below are meant to help you find encouragement by rooting your identity in your “inner self” during episodes of suffering.
- The “inner self” lasts longer. The passage contrasts wasting away with being renewed and transient with eternal to make this point. We are called to treat suffering like a woman treats pregnancy. The condition is temporary and comes with a great reward.
- The “inner self” is more real. We would tend to think the outer self is “weightier” than the inner self. But we learn the opposite. The outer self is the shadow that will fade away when we come fully into God’s light (presence).
- The “inner self” belongs to the unseen reality. Just like there are more micro organisms (which we can’t see) than there are animals, there is more unseen reality than seen. Before we acknowledged germs we got sick for lack of washing our hands. Until we acknowledge the greater unseen reality we will be sick for lack of hope in suffering.
- God understands our attachment to the “outer self.” God gave us this passage to comfort us in our current level of awareness. God is not impatient with our finite limitations. He believes the benefits of the process are worth the effort in ways we probably cannot understand because of our limited awareness. We must trust that Father knows best.
- It is right to grieve the decay of the “outer self.” God does not expect us to be unmoved about the process of change. We should not grieve the dying of the “old man” (it is sin), but we should grieve the decay of the “outer man” (God said it was “very good” Gen 1:31). God has not told us we can only come out of our room when we stop crying. After all it has already been said He is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (II Cor 1:3).”
Introduction to the “Living Our Faith” series.
TOOL: “Using Prayer Time to Cultivate Ministry”
BLOG POST: “Teachers Equipping Ministers Through Prayer Time“
Posted 1 year, 6 months ago at 12:53 pm. Add a comment
But Have Not Love (13:1-3)
Lots of good things can be done without love. Even the things that Paul just referenced as “higher gifts (I Cor 12:31)” can be done without love – teaching, deep spiritual understanding, and sacrificial giving. Again, we are reminded that God is not impressed with mere outward performance. Unfortunately, much to our defensiveness, others can often see through and fail to be satisfied with our just doing/saying the right thing.
Based on Paul’s words, not even the degree or extravagance of our actions can verify that our actions are rooted in love. What more could we do than is listed in verses 1-3? One (not the only) good indicator of love is that it does not need a particular response in order to be satisfied. Love enjoys being a blessing. Appreciation, affection, and recognition are nice, but they are the icing not the cake. It is this lack of “neediness” that allows genuine love to resist the tendency to become codependent. If love “needs” a particular response it will go further than wisdom permits to obtain its desire and then grow resentful or self-abasing.
Reflection: How have you tended to measure or verify genuine love? What criteria would you use? How have you learned to meet your own standard and grown unduly dependant upon others meeting that same standard? How has that distorted view of love caused you to extend beyond the limits of wisdom? When and with whom does your view of love fight against wisdom? Remember, when Jesus came He was full of truth and grace (John 1:14), so whatever tension we experience between love and wisdom reveals an error in our definitions.
Marriage Communication Tool
T
he following communication tool uses I Corinthians 13, a Kleenex box, and a bit of intentionality to create playful and encouraging marital enrichment exercise. BCH_kleenexbox_ABC for the PDF instructions published by the Association of Biblical Counselors (www.christiancounseling.com).
When I Was a Child (13:11)
Paul moves from “love never ends” to a discussion of eternity. This discussion is rooted in humility (we only know in part, prophecy in part, and see in a mirror dimly). One implication we can draw from this is that love knows its limits. As Paul said earlier “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (I Cor 8:1).” When we love well we do not assume we know. We ask questions. Even when we think we know, we assume we only see in a mirror dimly.
Children speak before they think, and usually it’s cute what they think they know. When adults speak before they listen well, it is usually quite hurtful and offensive. We honor one another (a partial synonym for love) by allowing them to put their thoughts into their own words and seeking to understand what they meant by what they said. When we get offended because we assume what we felt when someone spoke is what they meant we are childishly “high jacking” their words.
Application: Understanding is not the same thing as agreeing. When we forget this communication becomes very juvenile. Adults who love one another begin cutting one another off, telling each other what the other person is thinking, and resorting to increasingly immature tactics to get their point across or hurting the other person. When we “put childish things away” and remember that understanding and agreeing are different things, we can listen well. By honoring with our ears first (using our mind to understand and showing a patient body language) we can fairly represent what the other person says. Only when we represent the other person fairly will they believe we are disagreeing with what they actually said (if we still disagree with them). Remember, love is patient and kind… it is not rude… irritable, or resentful.
Praying I Corinthians 13
(BCH_1Cor_13_handout for Printable PDF Handout)
There is great value in praying Scripture. We are more assured that our prayers are in the will of God. We are learning, reinforcing, and applying Scripture as we pray. What follows is a guide to help you pray I Corinthians 13:4-8.
Heavenly Father,
I know that it is not natural for me to love in the way you call me to love. It is only by your grace and strength that I will ever succeed. But I also know that relational joy and peace are only found in emulating You. Show what I need to pray and how I need to grow.
Love is patient [list the things that most naturally annoy you and ask for God to help you see them as He views them] and kind [list your characteristic harsh phrases, repent, and meditate on reasonable loving responses]; love does not envy or boast [list the people you are competing with as you envy and boast, forsake this false standard of worth and righteousness, and ask God for ways to be a blessing instead]; it is not arrogant [remember that anything we boast over is a gift from God that we did not earn and allow your arrogance to become gratitude] or rude [ask God to give you ways to serve those you demeaned by your words and actions, thereby correcting your view of them and yourself]. It does not insist on its own way [list times/things about which you are compulsive or demanding, ask God to show you how they have become your identity or idols, repent, and look for opportunities to lovingly surrender them]; it is not irritable or resentful [ask God to remind you of times when you have confused your preferences with His law, pray for the courage to go back and humbly acknowledge your distortion]; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing [repent for times when you thought sin was cute, funny, or entertaining], but rejoices with the truth [pray God would excite you about His Word, integrity, and faithfulness]. Love bears all things [pray for perseverance in the midst of your current struggles], believes all things [pray for the courage to give the “benefit of the doubt” when it feels risky], hopes all things [pray for steadfastness in those areas or with those people you want to give up on], endures all things [pray for the willingness to continue loving wisely when you cannot change someone]. Love never ends [commit to God to pray through this passage regularly as you seek to love like He loves; thank God that He does perfectly everything you just struggled to pray].
Introduction to the “Living Our Faith” series.
TOOL: “Using Prayer Time to Cultivate Ministry”
BLOG POST: “Teachers Equipping Ministers Through Prayer Time“
Posted 1 year, 7 months ago at 12:35 pm. Add a comment
