Turkeys and Eagles: Facing Storms with Fear or Faith

I was both challenged and encouraged this past Sunday by a powerful sermon on Mark 4:35-41.  Here are a few of the thoughts that Dr. Ron Cline shared, as well as a passage I love by Anne Graham Lotz.

There’s no question that we will face storms during this life – those trials that test our health, finances, friendships, families, emotions, strength, time and trust.

So, the only question is, how will we respond to the inevitable storms – with fear or with faith?  As we face challenges, will we cling to our plans for our comfort and depend on our own limited resources or will we remember God’s goal of His glory and rely on His boundless strength?

Anne Graham Lotz creatively describes our two options of fear and faith in her book Just Give Me Jesus:

“A turkey and eagle react in different ways to the threat of a storm.  A turkey reacts by running under the barn, hoping the storm won’t come near it.  On the other hand, an eagle leaves the security of its nest and spreads its wings to ride the air currents of the approaching storm, knowing the wind will carry it higher in the sky than it could soar on its own.  So which are you – a turkey or an eagle – in the way you react to the storms of life?

I have discovered I am an emotional turkey.  I want to withdraw from the emotional pain and burdensome demands and frenzied activities and unending responsibilities.  I want to run under the barn with my wings over my head and hide from the [suffering and the struggle].  I want to escape the hurt.

Yet I have chosen to be an eagle in my spirit.  And in the midst of the storm, when I have spread my wings of faith to embrace the ‘Wind,’ placing my dependency upon Jesus and Jesus alone, I have experienced quiet, ‘everyday’ miracles; His joy has balanced the pain, His power has lifted the burden, His peace has calmed the worries, and His all-sufficiency has been more than adequate to meet all my responsibilities.

Soaring has become an adventure of discovering just how faithful He can be when I am way out of my comfort zone in the stratosphere over the storm.  In fact, soaring has become so exhilarating that I increasingly find I am no longer content to live in the barnyard of familiarity just for its relative security.  I want to live by faith!  And I imagine a smile of infinite tenderness on His face as the angels in heaven applaud…

Jesus wants us to soar higher in our relationship with Him. He wants us to fall deeper in love with Him, to grow stronger in our faith in Him, to be more consistent in our walk with Him, to bear more fruit in our service to Him, to draw closer to His heart, to keep our focus on His face, to live for His glory alone!

This growth in depth and strength and consistency and fruitfulness and ultimately in Christlikeness is often [made] possible when the winds of life are contrary to personal comfort. Just as storms make it possible for eagles to soar, so suffering makes it possible for you and me to attain the highest pinnacles in the Christian life.  [Storms] develop our faith.”

Looks like eagles Defy Gravity much better than turkeys !  So, when difficult times come, I pray that we, as the body of Christ, will be prepared to soar high rather than hiding under the barn!

God-Centered Vision

Our greatest mental, physical, and social achievements are as straw compared with one glimpse of the living God. ~ Ken Boa

Tonight I had every intention of writing about distractions – those things we allow, knowingly or even unknowingly, to sidetrack us from fruitful fellowship with Christ.  Somewhere, however, between my bread-making class, pick-up basketball games, and now sitting on my bed, another thought popped into my head and wouldn’t go away.  So, “distractions” will have to wait; tonight I’m writing about what I believe is the most important paradigm for the Christian life – namely that perspective which John Piper describes as a “God-centered, soul-satisfying vision of reality.”

Here’s the thought that’s been bouncing around in my head: I realized that if I could ask the Lord for one thing while here on this earth, I would ask that He grant me His vision.  I want His perspective on how to love Him well, love others well, make difficult decisions, deal with suffering, and honor Him with my time on this earth!

Ultimately, I want to live a God-centered, rather than self-centered, life!  I want the Lord to so enlarge my vision of Him that there’s no room left to focus on myself.

What spurred this line of thought?  Well, I’m blessed to be in a bible study with twelve amazing women, and we’re reading through Kay Arthur’s Lord, I Want To Know You – a neat book about the names of God used in Scripture.  Last night we discussed the names Elohim and El Elyon.

Elohim – the first of God’s names used in the Bible (Gen. 1:1) – refers to God as creator.  While discussing the significance of this name, Arthur points out that God created us for His glory – to give all of creation a correct opinion of His worth (Is. 43).  The ultimate purpose of our existence is to know God, to delight in Him and in so delighting, to display His glory to the world.

Our bible study group discussed how difficult it is to live out the familiar and yet deeply profound truth that our life paradigm should be Soli Deo Gloria: “Glory to God Alone.”  All too often we act like this life is about us.  We become surprised, disillusioned, or even angry when God’s plan doesn’t fit ours.  We doubt why He doesn’t do what we think He should do or act within the timeframe we think He should act.  We question why He ordains the confusing situations, waiting periods, difficult circumstances, and seemingly senseless suffering that we think He should keep away from those He loves.

We forget that the purpose of this life is His glory, period!  It’s all about Him – not our ease, our comfort, our advancement, our praise, our health, our happiness, or our way.

Despite the apparent harshness of this truth, the amazing thing is that God’s glory is also our good!  While we might not readily define certain circumstances as good, the Lord knows what’s best for us – namely that we know, love, and honor Him.  We will always find the greatest peace and fulfillment in maintaining a God-centered perspective no matter what we face.  John Piper wisely writes, “The exhibition of God’s glory and the deepest joy of human souls are one thing.”

After discussing the goal of bringing God glory, our bible study group talked about the significance of God’s name El Elyon.  The term means Highest, Exalted One, or Most High and refers to God’s sovereignty (Dan. 4:34).  Ann Spangler provides this powerful definition in Praying the Names of God: “When we praise the Most High, we are worshiping the One whose power, mercy and sovereignty cannot be matched.”

Thinking about God as the sovereign Most High sparked further discussion in our group about God’s call to live out a God-centered perspective.  In particular, it made me consider whether God is truly “most high” in my own mind, heart, and vision.  Do I love and treasure Him above all else?  Do I dream about, desire, and focus on Christ, or am I too distracted by other thoughts about a relationship, a job, a decision, fun, friends, the future, money, or myself?

Psalm 97 paints a powerful picture of El Elyon: “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols—worship him, all you gods! For you, O Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; 
you are exalted far above all gods.”

Spangler writes this powerful response to Psalm 97.  “The psalmist’s words make me wonder how different my life would be if I could etch this vision into my soul.  How could I take my eyes off such a God?  Wouldn’t this picture of him dominate my thoughts?  Wouldn’t it compel my devotion and reshape my response to life, moment by moment, day after day?”

That’s what I want – to live with a vision of God’s grandeur that shapes how I think, work, give, love, and live.  I want God to be Most High in my life!

A co-worker and I were talking a few weeks ago about how great it would be to live constantly with the heart and mind of Christ, to think about Jesus with every brain wave.  In all honesty, I get excited about the mere thought.  And while I know the Christian life is a process of growth, and we won’t reach such perfection with the snap of a finger, I pray that as we learn to abide in Christ a God-centered perspective will become the paradigm for our lives!  I believe such a perspective results in His glory and our good!

God-Focused Vision

• But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death (Ps. 141:8).
• Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2).
• For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Cor. 4:17-18).
• My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare (Ps. 25:15).
• Turn my eyes away from worthless things; 
preserve my life according to your word (Ps. 119:37).

Passion Requires Action

While watching a basketball game tonight, some friends and I were joking back and forth about the differences between men and women.  Somehow that conversation transitioned to a discussion of the qualities we find most attractive in persons of the opposite sex.  When asked our opinion, my girl friend and I both answered that one of the top qualities we value in a man is passion.

Passion: I love that word!  To be honest, if someone even routinely mentions the term, I can’t help but get excited.  It immediately evokes notions of contagious enthusiasm, inspiring vision, meaningful action, and boundless devotion.  When I picture passion, I picture grabbing life by the horns carpe diem style, refusing to settle for an apathetic existence.  And, as I alluded to above, I love being around passionate people, those who are inspired by and take action on the vision God’s given them.

Ultimately, when it comes to passion, I want to passionately pursue Jesus Christ!

Thinking about this concept on my way home from the game, the question kept coming to mind: What does it mean to live with passion for Christ?  We say the word “passion” so often, but how do we live it out day to day?

My favorite Christian conference – founded to encourage spiritual awakening amongst this generation – is called Passion.  I’ve asked myself a similar question after each Passion Conference I’ve attended: Are we translating the spiritual excitement, emotion, and dedication that builds up during those three days of amazing messages and phenomenal worship to the everyday jobs we do, classes we take, games we play, and relationships we have?  How do we live out the conference montra?

After limited reflection, while sitting here at the living room table, I’ll make the claim that passionately pursuing Christ means loving Him with absolutely everything – with our entire heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mk. 12:30).  It means wholehearted commitment to Christ with every aspect of our being and our life.  It means prioritizing our Savior, our First Love above all other things (Rev. 2:3-5).  There’s a reason Jesus labeled loving Him the greatest commandment, and we should be passionate about living it out!

That leads me to one more question: How do we tangibly love God?  John 14:21 provides a helpful suggestion.  In this verse Jesus says, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.”  He reiterates the idea two verses later: “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.”

So, passionate love for Christ is expressed as passionate obedience to Christ.  As we grow in our knowledge and love of Christ and His Word – studying and applying His teaching – our lives will be transformed into the image of Christ and we’ll grow in obedience to His commands.  Also, as we grow in our love for Christ, obedience becomes less a legalistic burden, more an exciting opportunity to honor our Lord and Savior.

If love is displayed in obedience, do our lives show that we passionately love Jesus Christ?

The emotions – that burning desire to know Christ and to live for His glory – might come easily enough.  The words – those heartfelt prayers, public declarations of our love for God, and beautiful worship songs – might be completely genuine.  And, while both emotions and words are important components of our relationship with Christ, Scripture says that our love for Him is revealed by our obedience.  So, the real question is whether or not our actions reveal that we are passionately pursuing Christ.

Here’s the convicting part: obedient action requires so much more than following the Ten Commandments, avoiding the “big” sins of adultery, lying, stealing, or murdering.  Obedient action extends to the little things – avoiding the friendly gossip, the inappropriate movie, the offensive music, the stingy spirit, the jealous grudge, the little white lie, the lazy effort at work, the prideful attitude at the gym, the entertainment gluttony, the exercise obsession, the fretful spirit, the uncontrolled temper, and the controlling ambition.   That’s why I know I have so much room for improvement when it comes to living a life of passion .

The good news is, as we actively aim to love and obey Christ, our hearts increasingly beat in tune with His heart and our desires increasingly become His desires.  As a result, we are able to more clearly see this world according to His perspective.  And as God reveals His vision, I pray that He will inspire us to take action for His purposes. I pray that we will passionately shine for His kingdom in the arena of work, study, and relationship that He’s placed us.

Lord, turn my burning passion into obedient action.  I desire to live aflame for the glory of your Name!

Millennial Trends: Challenges for Christians Today

What words come to mind when you think about your generation?  How would you describe your friends?  What are the strengths, weaknesses, and trends usually associated with your age group?

When I think about my generation – often labeled the Millennials – words like capable, connected, confident, optimistic, diverse and self-expressive immediately come to mind.

At the same time, words like searching, waiting, relativistic, unsettled, self-focused, entitled and confused quickly arise.

Several books that examine the lives of young adults, including Christian Smith’s Souls in Transition and Robert Wuthnow’s After the Baby Boomers, as well as Pew Research’s Millennial Study, indicate that all of these interesting descriptions do indeed apply to the sundry twenty-somethings.

Still, there’s one more fact amongst the schmorgesborg of Millennial trends that matters to me the most.  Pew Research concluded that my generation is the least religious of any age group that’s been studied.  The organization found that less than half of twenty-somethings say religion is very important in their lives.  Meanwhile, three out of four twenty-somethings believe there’s more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their faith.  These stats illustrate the religious apathy and pluralism that often characterize Millennials’ lives.

Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith further corroborates these trends, writing that most young adults are indifferent about religion.  Smith explains that faith is basically irrelevant to the everyday lives of young believers and non-believers alike.  As a result, Millennials’ religious beliefs rarely impact their actions, commitments, values, or priorities.

Smith also writes that most young adults reject the idea of absolute truth.  As a result, they think everything is relative.  Right and wrong are based on nothing more than personal opinion.  Each individual, rather than God, is the absolute authority over his or her own beliefs and actions; religion is a subjective, personal choice; and nobody can tell anybody else what’s right or wrong.

Wow, these trends translate into big challenges facing Christians today!

• The current cultural situation, where religious beliefs rarely impact actions, is the perfect breeding ground for apathy and complacency in the Church. The Challenge: encouraging Christians to live out their faith, rather than living the lie that faith isn’t a priority meant to shape decisions, actions, and commitments.
• In our society, which upholds individuals as the highest authority and personal happiness as the highest goal, even Christians are susceptible to subconsciously living according to the world’s standards. The Challenge: encouraging Christians to pursue Christ, rather than striving for advancement, ease, comfort or personal desires.
• As society twists “truth” into nothing more than a subjective, personally-defined hunch, it’s no wonder that Christians have begun to uphold their emotions and personal experiences with Christ as the ultimate spiritual authority, to the detriment of spiritual disciplines and knowledge of the Word.  The Challenge: encouraging Christians to study Scripture and to think critically about the application of biblical truth, rather than buying into the lie that religion and truth are based on subjective, personal feelings.
• Society’s deification of tolerance makes it extremely difficult for believers to tell others that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life.  The Challenge: encouraging Christians to confidently share the Gospel and proclaim Truth, rather than buying the lie that religion is fine so long as everyone keeps it to himself and doesn’t tell anyone what to believe.

Kenneth Myers aptly describes the situation facing Millennials: “Every generation of Christians faces unique challenges… The challenge of living with popular culture may well be as serious for modern Christians as persecution and plagues were for the saints of earlier centuries.”

While the trends might be discouraging, there’s still good news.  As I was thinking about the challenges facing young believers today, I actually got excited.  You see, those cultural obstacles we face might be the very opportunities we need to go big or go home for God’s glory!

Winston Churchill once said, “Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”  Embracing his powerful perspective, more cultural difficulties mean more opportunities for Christ to win in and through our lives!

Martin Luther King, Jr. painted another applicable picture when he said, “Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.”   Maybe the difficulties facing our generation are inspiring opportunities for us to more distinctly shine before a world in need of Light.

Besides, times have been challenging for God’s followers before, and He’s faithfully raised up men and women who were willing to count the cost and live counter-culturally for His Kingdom.

Case in point: one of my favorite men in the Bible, Phinehas.  Numbers 25 tells the whole story of Phinehas, an Israelite priest, but I’ll summarize the details.  During Phinehas’s day, the problematic societal trend in Israel was that Israelite men were engaging in lewd sexual acts with foreign women and then worshiping the women’s idols.  Since both of these acts violated God’s commands, He told the Israelites to kill those individuals who engaged in idol worship.  He also sent a plague on the nation.

Just as the people of Israel began to beseech God’s forgiveness for the sins of their nation, an Israelite man interrupted the prayer meeting, parading his sexual partner right past the praying people and into his tent.  When Phinehas saw this act of such blatant disrespect for God’s commands, for God’s very character, he was so upset that he grabbed a spear, entered the tent, and killed the man and his partner with one thrust of the spear.  His courageous act stopped the plague against Israel.

While such an action might appear extreme, and the point of the story isn’t that we should kill or even tear down those in our society who disobey God, in that cultural context, Phinehas’s action illustrated the depth of his devotion to the Lord, obedience to God’s commands, and willingness to act on his convictions.  It also serves as an encouraging reminder to us that one person’s decision to stand for God’s truth can positively impact an entire generation, even an entire nation.

In fact, Numbers 25:10-12 actually says, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him.’”

Wow, that powerful statement gives me goose bumps!  Can you imagine the God of the universe telling you that He knows you are just as passionate about His glory as He is?  That He knows you desire Him to be honored in your nation as much as He desires to be honored?  That He knows you long to love and obey Him above all other things, so much so that you are willing to break the trends of your society and radically follow Him?

Can you picture standing for God’s truth so firmly that the Lord actually chooses to bless your entire nation because of your actions?  Well, that’s exactly what happened in Israel: people were saved from death because Phinehas decided to live passionately for God’s honor and glory in the society God had placed him.  And that’s exactly why Phinehas is one of my favorite Bible characters.

While we might not be – and hopefully aren’t – called to spear anyone for God’s glory, we are called to passionately uphold His honor in this generation.  That means we’re called to represent Him well to an unbelieving world.  Our “spear” might be the deliberate choice to live with integrity, to pursue purity, to exhibit humility, to love God passionately, to love others selflessly, to serve others willingly, to read God’s Word earnestly, to obey Him diligently, to prioritize Him constantly, to speak winsomely, to embrace life joyously, to give generously, to seek truth scrupulously, to share the gospel unashamedly, to bear fruit increasingly, to seek His will fervently, and to surrender our desires daily.  The cumulative effect of such small decisions is all it takes to break the trends of religious apathy, self-focus, and pluralism that characterize our society.

With that said, I have to ask, where are the Phinehas’s of this generation who will steadfastly stand for God’s truth amidst a world living for lies?  Where are the Millennial men and women who will passionately advance God’s glory on this earth?

While the cultural trends might be challenging, let’s embrace the opportunity before us to shine in the darkness for Jesus Christ!

There’s a stirring in my heart, Unexplainable                                           There’s a calling on my days, Undeniable                                                      And there’s a fire in my bones, Uncontainable                                               And it’s causing me to burn                                                                                     It’s causing me to burn for you

I’ll go anywhere                                                                                                           I’ll do anything                                                                                                             At any cost for you                                                                                                      My King

There’s a passion in my heart, For the world to see                                 Revival fires burn, A great awakening                                                               And there’s a raging fire inside, That’s so high                                               And it’s causing me to burn                                                                                     It’s causing me to burn for you

I’ll go anywhere                                                                                                           I’ll do anything                                                                                                             At any cost for you                                                                                                      My King

~ Steve Fee

Passage of Health Care is a Wake-up Call to Get Involved

Last night the U.S. House passed the most massive, life-altering legislation of our generation—government-run health care.

Meanwhile, most twenty-somethings went about their merry way, either unaware that the final vote on health care was taking place or indifferent to that fact.

This sad reality of disengagement almost makes me sick to my stomach, considering the harmful impact government-run health care will have on our generation and those to come.  Among other consequences, the health care bill will almost certainly raise our health care costs, increase our taxes, decrease the quality of our health care, impose costly coverage mandates on employers that will discourage hiring, and lead to government rationing of health care.

Leaving aside the fact that a majority of Americans oppose the health care bill, it’s a telling sign that 30% of U.S. doctors said they would consider leaving the medical profession if Obama’s plan passed.

Despite the significance of this issue, most of us didn’t even pause from what we were doing to watch the health care debate or the final decision, much less research the topic, call our Representatives to voice our opinion, or discuss the issue with friends.

In fact, a Pew Research study found that only a quarter of young adults were well informed about health care.  The study concluded: “As is typically the case with major policy issues, Millennials have largely tuned out of the health care debate.”

Sadly, as the Pew conclusion hints, political disengagement among young adults isn’t limited to the issue of health care.

Christian Smith, in his excellent book Souls in Transition, makes this sad observation: “Very few emerging adults are idealistic or activists when it comes to their making a mark on the world.  Many are totally disconnected from politics, and countless others are only marginally aware of what today’s pressing political issues might be.”

Smith goes on to offer two reasons why young adults don’t engage with important social and political concerns – neither of them encouraging.  1) We are too focused on ourselves, and 2) We are too preoccupied with our private worlds of interpersonal relationships.  Regarding the former, he says, “[Emerging adults] are so focused on themselves… that they seem incapable of thinking more broadly about community involvement, good citizenship, or even modest levels of giving.”  Regarding the later, he writes, “[Young adults appear to center their lives] on creating and maintaining personal relationships.  By comparison, the larger public world, civic life, and the political realm seem to them alien and impenetrable…  Most emerging adults would rather spend large amounts of time merely ‘hanging out’ with various [friends] than being part of [volunteer organizations], political parties, or social movements.”

While my pride in our generation makes me wish Smith’s observations weren’t true, my experience with our generation makes me think they are

Still, I don’t mean to be a Debbie-downer.  If anything, I see the health care decision as an exciting wake up call for you and I to know what’s going on in our world, to get involved, and to make a difference on important policy issues.  Our generation is capable and passionate, and I believe we can invest these gifts to make a lasting impact on our society – if we take the time to learn and to act.

As you can probably tell, I strongly oppose the health care bill.  Ultimately, however, I’m more concerned about our engagement with this important issue than about our opinion on the issue.  Regardless of whether or not we support the health care bill, or any other piece of legislation, it’s our responsibility as citizens to critically consider political concerns and to take informed action.

Plato said it well: “The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves.”  Our generation should take these words to heart and get involved!

Living in Freedom

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor. 3:17).

Don’t you love those moments when a passage of Scripture you’ve read so many times before suddenly comes alive and seems to jump off the page with meaning?  Well, last week I was sitting at the table – way past my bedtime – working on prep for the Bible study I’m blessed to be in, and a verse from Hebrews grabbed my attention:

Since the children have flesh and blood, [Christ] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Heb. 2:14-15).

That last phrase filled me with excitement!  Christ came to rescue men and women held captive by their fear of death.  With His crucifixion and resurrection, Christ conquered the devil’s ultimate weapon against us.  Instead of final separation from God, death is now the passage to eternal bliss for those who believe in Christ.  As a result, Satan can no longer use death to defeat us.

Wow!  The implications of this simple, sunday school concept blew me away as I was prepping for Bible study.  Since Christ already defeated Satan, destroying the sole spiritually fatal blow we had to fear, isn’t He powerful enough to defeat those lesser concerns that take us captive each day?  Since He is able to free us from our fear of death, I’m certain He is able to free us from our fear of failure, rejection, guilt, hardship, and surrender.

For some reason, however, my life doesn’t always exemplify this freedom that Christ offers.  Follow me around for a day or two and you’ll see signs of striving after perfection, seeking others’ approval, and struggling to surrender control, which hint at unconquered fears.  Considering the reality that God sent His Son to bring freedom (Is. 61:1) and yet minor fears and failures continually drag us down, I wonder if we’re missing something.  What keeps us from tapping into Christ’s victory and thus, our freedom?

Pondering this question, I embarked on a mini quest to find Bible passages that address the issue of freedom from fear.

The first verse that popped in my mind was 1 John 4:18.  “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”  While the context of this verse is believers’ fear of judgment, it applies to several aspects of the Christian life – particularly the implications of God’s love for us.

If we really grasp the marvelous truth that God Almighty, Lord of the universe, loves us unconditionally, there’s nothing for us to fear.  You see, when we base our worth on Christ’s unfailing love, rather than on false and fading foundations, we don’t have to fear losing those things we can’t ever save—beauty, popularity, praise, perfection, awards, wealth, friends, fun, comfort… and the list goes on.  We don’t have to fear failure, rejection, loneliness, or pain because Christ forgives, embraces, treasures, and sustains us.

So the question becomes, is His love enough?  Based on how we spend our time, what thoughts consume our mind, and where we search for significance, does the truth that God loves us, and our love for Him in return, matter more to us than achieving our goals, maintaining our image, impressing our friends, and enjoying the fun life?  Or, is His love merely an abstract sermon topic that fails to transform our lives and produce victory?  Because, if we truly prioritize and rest in His love above all else, we’ll experience the freedom from fear that Christ longs to give.

The second verse that came to mind in relation to freedom was John 8:31.  “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”  So, not only does God’s love lead to freedom from fear, His truth leads to freedom as well.

What does it mean to know and embrace Christ’s truth?  Well, that initial phrase “if you hold to my teaching” is better translated “if you abide in my word,” meaning that those who “stay,” “continue,” or “dwell” in Jesus’ word will know His truth and be set free.  John Piper aptly described our calling to abide: “Keep on trusting [Christ’s] word.  Keep on trusting what [He] has revealed to you about [himself] and [His] Father and [His] work.”  Similarly, Matthew Henry challenged believers to make Christ’s word their center, rest, and refuge.  He wrote, “Our conversation with the Word and conformity to it must be constant.”

The Bible explains that God’s word itself is truth (Jn. 17:17).  So, as we pursue relationship with Christ through knowledge of His word – as we eagerly read Scripture, study it, and memorize it – we will grow in our knowledge of truth.

In turn, God’s truth sets us free from those sins that hold us captive.  First, when we accept the Gospel – believing the truth about Christ’s life and work – we are released from the power and penalty of sin, which is separation from God.  Second, as we grow in our relationship with Christ and knowledge of His word, His truth transforms our lives and frees us from the sinful habits that hold us captive.  God’s word is the primary tool for renewing our minds, or verifying that we are viewing life according to His perspective, and thus, preventing us from being captured by the lies of this world.  Ultimately, as we continue to learn, trust, and obey His word, God rescues us from those desires and distractions that keep us from living life to the full.

So, the question becomes, are we passionately pursuing Christ’s truth?  Are we eagerly and diligently studying Scripture?  Is time in the Word our first priority or an afterthought squeezed into our day?  And, as the Lord reveals truth from His word, do we trust and obey what He teaches?  Are we doers of the Word or hearers only?  Because, if we truly trust God’s word and live out His truth, we’ll experience the freedom from sin that Christ died to give.

While we could look at so many other powerful verses that discuss Christ’s work to set us free, these two passages provide a great place to start.  They remind us that as we seek to live out the freedom Christ died to give, we must actively work to prioritize His love and apply His truth during the moments and situations of our day.   They also remind us of our amazing hope that through the joy of His unconditional love and power of His transformational word, Jesus is able to free us from bondage in life just as He’s already freed us from bondage in death.

Wooden on Leadership

No written word nor spoken plea, can teach your team what they should be, nor all the books on all the shelves, it’s what the leader is himself.  John Wooden

Over the years, countless men and women have achieved excellence in their chosen fields.  Names like Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Steve Jobs, Agatha Christie, and Celine Dion quickly come to mind.

When it comes to coaching, however, John Wooden – Sporting News’s “Greatest Coach of All Time” – is on a plane of excellence all his own.  The legendary men’s basketball coach led UCLA to an unprecedented 10 national championships.  He coached the Bruins to 88 consecutive victories, 8 undefeated conference seasons, 38 straight NCAA tournament victories, and 4 perfect seasons – records many say will never be broken.  Even more amazing, Wooden is lauded for his character just as much as for his winning percentage.

If anyone has something to say about true leadership, teamwork, and success, it’s John Wooden.  That’s why I love reading his books and studying his teaching philosophy – particularly his Pyramid of Success.

I first received a copy of Wooden’s fifteen-principle Pyramid from my high school basketball coach.  And while I’ve since hung up my Air Jordans – well, at least stopped playing games that count for anything – I can attest that Wooden’s fifteen building blocks for success apply to all areas of life – on and off the court.

Since I just finished reading Wooden on Leadership, and was once again inspired by Wooden’s words, I figured I would summarize his Pyramid Principles for those who don’t have time to read this excellent book:

Industriousness:

• Work hard.  Don’t just go through the motions.  Be totally focused and fully engaged to accomplish the task at hand.

Enthusiasm:

• Be passionate about what you do.  Energy and enjoyment, drive and dedication prevent work from becoming drudgery and stimulate a team to succeed.

Friendship:

• Instill respect and camaraderie, or a spirit of goodwill, amongst team members.

Loyalty:

• First, don’t betray yourself by compromising your standards and values.  Second, don’t betray those you lead by compromising their trust.

Cooperation:

• Be more committed to what’s right than to who’s right.  Freely share ideas, information, creativity, and responsibility regardless of who gets the credit.
• “A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit.”

Self-Control

• Show self-discipline in the little things.  Resist the easy choices, the expedient solutions, and the temptations that will drag you and your team down.

Alertness:

• Constantly observe, absorb, and learn from what’s going on around you. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as well as your competitors’.

Initiative:

• Exercise the courage to make decisions and to act.  Be willing to risk failure.  Take a strong stand.
• “Make each day your masterpiece.”

Intentness:

• Exhibit diligence and determination, fortitude and resolve.  Constantly, relentlessly persist in your pursuit of excellence.

Condition:

• Develop mental, moral, and physical strength. 
• “Practice moderation and balance in all you do.”

Skill:

• Be proficient in performing all aspects of your job.

Team Spirit:

• Be eager to sacrifice personal interests or glory for the good of all.
• “Define success for those under your leadership as total commitment and effort to the team’s welfare.”

According to Wooden, as you build a solid foundation of character based on the principles of success, you’ll naturally develop poise and confidence.

Poise:

• Hold fast to your beliefs and live them out, regardless of how bad or good a situation might be.  Avoid pose or pretense.  Don’t compare yourself to others or act like someone you’re not.  Be brave in all circumstances.

Confidence:

• Believe firmly that you’ve done everything you can to successfully face the challenges ahead.  Then, rest assured that you’re prepared to perform at the highest level.

Poise and confidence lead to the pinnacle of success and my favorite principle of the pyramid: competitive greatness.

Competitive Greatness:

• Wooden defines competitive greatness as “A real love for the hard battle, knowing it offers the opportunity to perform at your best when your best is required.”
• Derive joy from the struggle, the journey, the contest.
• “The hard struggle is to be welcomed, never feared. In fact, when you define success this way, the only thing to fear is your own unwillingness to make the full, 100 percent effort to prepare and perform at the highest level or your ability.”

Ultimately, the concept I respect most about John Wooden’s leadership philosophy is his definition of success: self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you can be.  “Success isn’t a destination; it’s a journey,” he writes.  In this regard, competitive greatness is not defined by victory nor denied by defeat.  Rather, it exists in the effort that precedes those two impostors, as well as their accomplices: fame, fortune, and power.

Wooden often reminded his teams, “When you give total effort – everything you have – the score can never make you a loser. And when you do less, it can’t somehow magically turn you into a winner.”  

Can you tell, I love John Wooden’s definition of success!  Why?  He eloquently verbalized the intuitive drive I’ve always felt to pursue excellence simply for excellence’s sake.  Once, during a job interview for a post-college consulting position, I was asked how I defined success.  The manager of the consulting firm was visibly and pleasantly surprised when I explained that I defined success as the process of pursuing excellence – working to the best of my ability – rather than the result I might attain.  To me, this was a no-brainer answer, merely the natural outlook on life I had held since grade school, when I would excitedly study for a test and then forget to look at the resulting grade.  Or when I would shoot hoops for hours in the driveway with my Dad, simply because I loved the game of basketball.  Often, I was so excited about the chance to learn, to improve, and to give my best effort that the self-satisfaction that I had given my all was sufficient reward in and of itself.  Any tangible outcome in the form of a grade, victory, or accolade was merely inconsequential icing on the cake.

Not only has Wooden’s perspective on success held personal significance in my life, I also believe it’s biblical.  According to Scripture, we’re called to pursue excellence in all that we do (Col. 3:23), but we’re not responsible for excellent outcomes - results rest securely on the Lord.  He is the one who establishes the work of our hands (Ps. 90:17) and accomplishes His purposes (Is. 26:12).

This truth about success is inspiring, empowering, and liberating - it takes the pressure off.  When we focus on the process rather than the result, the never ending quest for victory – as defined by the world – can no longer hold us captive and run us weary.  The nagging fear of failure can no longer keep us from dreaming big and reaching high for God’s glory.  We can rest assured that God is pleased when we serve him with our best effort, regardless of the result.  We no longer have to fret about what we can’t control – the outcome, and this frees us to spend time wisely investing in what we can control – the effort required along the way.

How you run the race – your planning, preparation, practice, and performance – counts for everything. Winning or losing is a by-product, and aftereffect, of that effort.

Thanks John Wooden for living a legacy of character and rightly defining success along the way!

To learn more about John Wooden, check out his Web site.

When to Move

Whenever the cloud [of God’s presence] lifted from above the [tabernacle], the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.  Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days.  Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning.  Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out.

At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order. ~ Num. 9:17, 20-23

Numbers 9:15-23 describes the process by which the Israelites moved from Mt. Sinai – the site where God gave them the ten commandments – to the Promised Land – the site where they would ultimately settle.  Basically, they followed a cloud that manifested God’s presence.  Whenever and wherever the cloud – which usually covered the tabernacle – moved, the Israelites moved.

This passage explains in detailed, repetitive language that the Israelites were instructed to follow God’s lead no matter how long or how short he led them to sojourn in any location.  If the cloud remained over the tabernacle for weeks, months, or even a year, the Israelites were to remain in camp that entire time.  And if the cloud stayed put for only one night, the Israelites were to pack up their belongings and head out the very next morning.

Reading this description, I tried to picture what the situation would have been like for the Israelites.  And one thing I know: if they were impatient like me, it had to drive them crazy at times.

Can you imagine camping in the same hot, dry, unsightly desert for a month? Opening the door of your tent each morning, looking out, and seeing the same sand-covered wasteland.  Day after day: heat, dust, more heat, more dust.  There you are eagerly awaiting arrival at the amazing land God’s promised to give you and He’s not moving.

I don’t know if I could handle the same drudgery each day.

On the other hand, I bet it was also hard to walk all day, covering miles and miles in your sandals, exhausted and expecting a few days rest, only to wake up the next morning and see the Lord ready to move out, meaning… more dreary steps across the desert.

So, why was God stopping and starting, moving fast and moving slow, for no apparent rhyme or reason?

Further thought about God’s nature and purpose provides clarity to this question. God’s goal is His glory, and He created mankind in His image to reflect His glory on earth. As a result, His purpose in guiding our lives is rarely efficiency and often conformity to His character, as we learn to follow His commands.  This same purpose held true for Israel, a nation the Lord created and chose for His glory.

So, God told the Israelites to move based on His seemingly arbitrary command because He wanted to teach them to absolutely obey His word, trust His timing, and depend on His guidance. Israel had just been rescued from Egypt – a nation that followed false gods and practiced detestable customs – and God had to re-teach His people the very basics about how to love and serve Him.  Hence, he led Israel through the desert to get to Canaan – though He could have chosen a shorter and easier route – and he trained the nation how to live as His people along the way.

God’s priority in leading the Israelites through the desert wasn’t to get them to the Promised Land quickly and efficiently; His priority was to teach them complete and continued obedience to His direction.

That’s a lesson the Lord wants us to learn as well.  God desires our absolute dependence, surrender, and obedience, and he will provide circumstances in our lives that challenge us to trust and follow Him no matter the waiting, confusion, difficulty, frustration, or fear that we face.

To be honest, I needed the Numbers 9 reminder this week, or better said, during this stage of life.  As I seek the Lord’s direction and timing with various decisions, and sometimes get frustrated with the waiting periods, it’s a huge encouragement to know that the Lord is faithfully working through the process, not just the end result.  God will guide us forward, but rarely will it be in the timing or in the direction that we want.  Still, we can rest assured that He is working to accomplish His glory and our ultimate good as He uses the journey to develop in us the character of Christ.  So the question is, will we faithfully seek the Lord’s presence, patiently wait on His direction, and obey His orders to move or stay as they come?

Time to Live Like We’re Dying

We gotta start
lookin’ at the hands of the time we’ve been given.  If this is all we got,
then we gotta start thinkin’.  If every second counts on a clock that’s tickin, Gotta live like we’re dying. ~Kris Allen

Only when you fully comprehend the magnitude of potential that exists in every individual minute will you begin to treat time with the grave respect it deserves. ~ John Wooden

While in college my sister and I once made the drive from Atlanta to Chicago in just over nine hours.  The trip’s supposed to take more than eleven.

By the time we reached campus, Lindser’s knuckles were white from gripping the armrests in fear as I weaved around cars at a breakneck pace.  We had to wait two and a half hours before we could call our parents to let them know we had arrived safely.

At the time, that drive was an exciting thrill shot at the school speed record.  In hindsight, that trip was sheer stupidity.  I foolishly put my sister and myself at risk.

But when we’re young we feel invincible, don’t we?  Whether in our driving or our daily decisions, we seek thrills, take risks, and often make foolish choices.

As we grow older, we usually grow in common sense and self-restraint, recognizing more clearly our own frailty.  All too often, however, our daily routine reveals that we still take life for granted.  We act like tomorrow is guaranteed and time is an endless resource.

As with so many other biblical principles, we know cognitively that life is short.  We even memorize verses about the importance of investing time for God’s glory.  The truth is, however, that head knowledge about intentional living doesn’t really matter unless it penetrates our hearts and transforms our lives.

C.S. Lewis painted this picture so well in his ingenious work The Screwtape Letters.  He said that while we might admire and desire Christian virtues with our imagination, or even understand them with our intellect, only those virtues that penetrate to the level of our will and become embodied in our habits actually matter for eternity.  Applying Lewis’s words to the virtue of wise time management, “the conscious fume and fret of resolutions and clenched teeth [to invest time well]” won’t make a difference in our lives apart from action.  Rather, it’s those small, daily decisions to spend time loving God and loving others well that will cumulate in a God-glorifying life.

Lewis’s words are a hard-core challenge!  Who cares about our good intentions to live for eternity if we don’t actually follow through and serve God with the time we’ve been given?

In this regard, our actions reveal what we really believe about life and eternity.  How we invest our time – whether on self, success, pleasure, power, entertainment, God’s Word, or God’s call – reveals our true perspective on what matters most.

With that said, we’ve got to ask ourselves why we live apathetically, wasting time on worthless distractions, fretting about the past or the future, forgetting to love others well, and overlooking opportunities to bring God glory.

Could it be that we’ve subconsciously bought into the lie that we’re guaranteed lots more time on this earth?  That we can put off conviction and change until it’s convenient?  That we can focus on ourselves today and serve others tomorrow?  That we can completely surrender to the Lord later on, when we feel like it?

The truth is we can’t count on tomorrow to pursue the God-given convictions that we didn’t practice today.  We’ve got to approach daily decisions from the perspective that time is a precious, passing gift.

In fact, Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:16 to redeem the time we’ve been given.  The word “redeem” means to “buy up,” “ransom,” or “rescue from loss.”  Based on this definition, Paul’s calling us to approach life intentionality, to invest time deliberately.

Moses says in Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  In other words, we need to consider the fact that our days on this earth are few.  We need to live with a constant, though confident and joyful, recognition that life is short and uncertain.  And when we actually do pause and think about the near approach of eternity, we gain wisdom.  We realize that we don’t have time to trifle and thus, gain insight into the art of living well according to God’s priorities.

Growing up and recognizing our own mortality, most of us drive more carefully now than we did in college.  The bigger question is, are we practicing this perspective on finitude by living wisely?  Are we actively redeeming our time, intentionally investing today – the only day we really have – for God’s glory?

Practical ideas for living out an abstract concept?  Encourage someone today.  Choose to have a positive attitude today.  Love that person who drives you crazy today.  Read God’s Word today.  Forgive that person who wronged you today.  Serve your roommate today.  Live passionately today.  Laugh today.  Pursue God’s call courageously today.  Challenge your mind today.  Pursue excellence at work today.  Pray for the impossible today.  Surrender whatever’s holding you back to the Lord today.

Today. Today. Today.  Time to live like we’re dying.

Is My Trust All Talk?

It’s so easy to say that we trust the Lord, isn’t it?  Particularly if we’ve been Christians for a while and have grown accustomed to the routine.

And, most of the time when we say we trust God, we really mean it.  We know in our heads that He is faithful, powerful, and loving.  We know the Bible promises that He has a good plan for our lives, that He will never leave us or forsake us, that He will accomplish His purposes.  And we waltz through life with an abstract concept of “trust” in our heads.

But what happens when hard times come?  When we face a painful, frightening, confusing, or even annoying situation?  What happens when God seems distant, silent, unaware, or unwilling to work?  Will we trust Him in darkness, as we do in light; in waiting, as we do in consummation; in confusion, as we do in clarity; in pain, as we do in joy; in action, as we do in talk?

All too often, I’ve thought that I finally grasped the practice of trusting God.  That I finally achieved the level of unwavering faith Christ desires.  Then, sadly, some circumstance has come along and revealed my heart’s persistent propensity to doubt and fear.

Already, this past year, humbling challenges - big and small - have tested my trust.  Here’s one frustrating, albeit minor, example:  I know in my head that God holds the future, that He will guide my steps, and that He cares more about accomplishing His will than I do.  But, as I struggled last fall with doubts about what direction to head, confusion about what grad program to pursue, and frustration about the lack of clear guidance, I began to feel restless, discouraged, and anxious.  In many ways, I became slightly self-focused in my desire for clear answers to my questions, and I pursued God’s guidance rather than His character.  Fortunately, the Lord challenged me to step up and trust His plan and promises during the waiting period.

In a similar way, I also trust that God will grant wisdom and discernment in relationships, guard my heart, and – in His timing – provide a husband committed to His glory.  Yet, that head knowledge doesn’t always translate so easily to a heart level.  I found out this year that it’s hard to let go of someone you care deeply about, even if you feel peace that you’re following the Lord’s lead.  Fears still welled up inside that I was making a mistake and might miss out on God’s plan, and I subconsciously doubted God’s timing and His promise of provision.  Fortunately, we’re called to a faith – to trust the Lord with our future, with our hopes and fears, and with our life – that transcends emotion.

Isn’t that how things always seem to go, though?  It’s easy to trust the Lord’s provision when you’re dating the guy of your dreams, but it’s hard when you’re single and there’s no man in sight.   In the same way, it’s natural to believe God’s promises when you see them being fulfilled, to accept His plan when you understand what He’s doing, but it’s tough to surrender control and follow His lead when nothing makes sense. 

You might wait on God’s timing when He’s moving at your preferred speed, but what do you do when He doesn’t seem to be moving at all?  You might believe in God’s love when things are going well, but what do you do when you face pain or loss?

No wonder MLK, Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  The true depth of our trust is revealed when things get tough.

And, as my friend Jen shared last week, life will continuously present tough challenges in which we must fight to trust God’s character and His promises in the face of circumstances and emotions that raise doubt and fear.  As long as we live on this earth, it will be a struggle to walk by faith and not by sight.

But you know what?  I wouldn’t trade the fight.  Each difficult circumstance, confusing situation, or fearful emotion – no matter how big or small – where I have been forced to rely on God’s strength and grace , has deepened my knowledge of who He is. Each successful choice to trust has strengthened my faith for the next challenge.  And, ultimately, the joy and sweetness of experiencing His love and faithfulness in the midst of struggles has been worth it!

So, though I haven’t arrived at the level of unwavering trust Christ desires, in life’s ups and downs, I hope to trust Him in action, not just in talk.

Trials have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Pt. 1:7).