Discerning God’s Will

August 19, 2015

“You will win the election if it is God’s will,” the lady told a political candidate.

Subsequent conversations with others about God’s will centered on the question of how do you know and what do you mean.

Is it God’s will for whether the politician wins or not? Or, is the issue whether the politician is following God’s will–his calling–for his life? Maybe he sat in contemplation and God whispered that his talents would be best used as a politician. Although I have to say from personal observation (I’ve met him briefly, he’s my representative somewhere) that he probably had a better calling as a Navy SEAL than as a legislator. But, who am I to question God?

Psychologist Henry Cloud spoke the past two weekends at Willow Creek Community Church on that topic. God’s will for your life–not my legislator.

He talked about finding your passion. Getting your passion aligned with your talents. That will be a hint about following God’s will for your life.

But you need discernment. Is this a real passion or a momentary infatuation? Does it match my talents and skills with passion for service? Can you visualize a beneficial outcome?

He talked of two builders. Each made a pile of money developing tracts of land, building houses, and selling them.

One was tired and burned out. He found it boring to do the same old thing over again–even if he did earn millions of dollars.

The other was energized. “I just love what I’m doing. I fly over the undeveloped tract of land and visualize houses and parks and families grilling and kids playing. I just love this.”

One found his passion. His heart was in it, and his heart was in a right relationship. He made a lot of money, but his heart was on helping others.

This one, no doubt, had found God’s will for his life. And many benefited. The other merely found a job he was good at.

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Drinking From The Source

August 18, 2015

Our children and family pastor had an 8-year-old ask the people in church Sunday morning a series of questions. The questions related to the Christmas story. All came directly from the Gospel record. 

Most people missed at least half of the questions. Almost all missed these:

  • How many wise men?
  • Were wise men at the manger scene?
  • Did Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem from Nazareth?
  • Is the story in all four gospels?

People get confused all the time. I see it ofen relating to the Bible. I see it other places.

You see a picture someone painted of a scene. That becomes real in your mind even though it was an artist’s interpetation with no thought of being literally true.

The other day in a study group a question came up. I suggested, “Read 1 Corinthians 5.” Someone else said, “Did you hear the pastor’s sermon on that? Go listen to that.” I repeated, “Read 1 Corinthians 5.”

What is so hard about going to the source material.

In college I got so frustrated. We read about Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Euclid, Newton, and so on. We didn’t read Plato, et. al.

If you are discussing things related to Scripture, then read the Scripture. You can say subsequently, so and so said this about the passage. Then everyone can discuss. But you have as close to the source material as you can get.

It is so important to get the facts before we go off constructing wild hypotheses represented as fact when actually it is unfounded conjecture.

Wow, wouldn’t that raise our discourse above the shouting matches our politicians love!

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You Have To Use It

August 17, 2015

“What good is it if he never used it?” Oxford student to his professor regarding Nietzsche on Inspector Lewis on PBS Masterpiece Mystery.

Nietzsche was most likely insane from syphillis during much of his life. Like some insane or “sub-threshhold” people, he could see into the human soul. He looked deeply into the 19th Century European soul and found darkness.

He also wrote about Das Übermensch, translated into English most literally as the Overman but popularly as Superman. He talked about the Will to Power. But he, himself, was not very powerful. He was sickly. 

Hence the comment by the student.

How many people do you know that know a lot but do little with it. I didn’t finish a formal engineering degree, but I used to work alongside many who did. Having enough knowledge to finish a degree did not make some of them an engineer. 

There are people with Masters degrees or Doctors degrees in various disciplines whose heads are filled with stuff. They go to leadership meetings and seminars. They can quote leadership stories. Tell leadership anecdotes. They couldn’t lead a group of children to a candy store.

There are people who can quote Scriptures for every circumstance. Do their lives reflect that they are disciples (by the way, my tradition and belief system is a follower of Jesus, but I observe the same problem with followers of Islam and Judaism)? It’s a human problem.

I am going through another cycle of studying the Proverbs. There are so many about accepting wise counsel. But also I read today that you can even tell a child’s character by what he does.

What good is it to say you’re a Christian and memorize reams of Scripture, and then your actions betray you as not a follower of Jesus?

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Think and Do

August 14, 2015

Welcome to the Friday leadership tips post. By the way, this week I passed the 1,000 post barrier. That’s a lot of writing. 

What happens when you realize (finally) that you could use some help?

I know, too many people think they can do it all by themselves (guilty!). Sooner or later you’ll need some help. And you’d better ask for it.

When help arrives, do you know how to make the best of it?

Several incidents and a couple of conversations lately have clued me in to thinking about this.

First–know what needs to be done.

Think about your task. Break it into chunks. Figure out what only you can do. Figure out what sort of person can do the rest.

Second–write a detailed list.

List what you will do. List what you’ll ask your help to do. Trust me, this hard work of thinking ahead of time will save you bundles in the long run. When you list what others can do, include a vision of what the completed work will look like. Include some instructions and best practices. Give them room to think and create a workflow. But, be perfectly clear about the outcome you desire.

Third–do.

Then you all get to work. It’s a good practice to reflect on what you’re doing to make sure it is best use of your time as the project evolves. Check with your helper. Make sure they’re on the right track. Ask if they need any help or additional tool.

Oh, and celebrate and enjoy the fruits of a job well done.

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Victim Attitude Is Unbecoming Of A Disciple

August 13, 2015

Donald Miller wrote some good novels before he turned into a marketing guru. Blue Like Jazz, A Million Miles In A Thousand Years,  Searching For God Knows What, Through Painted Deserts are all worth a read.

He just posted an article on his blog talking about how some Christians like to play the victim card.

I have thought often about people I know (quite a few) who identify themselves as Christian, but they always are looking through a lens of being underdogs, underappreciated, misunderstood, persecuted, or something. And this is all in the USA!

Miller used the word victim to identify this syndrome. 

He starts looking into people who like to be a victim as an outlook on life. He may stretch it by saying it gives them power, but in a way it does give them some leverage over some people.

Read his post. Think about it. I just spent quite a bit of time today contemplating his thoughts.

I relate to when I was a little kid at the height of the Cold War. All I heard from the old farmers around town was how the Soviets were going to overrun the country (so they all had their .22 rifles and 12 ga shotguns and were going to stand up to the Russian tanks that were coming). 

Even at 7 or 8 years old, I thought that was a ridiculous picture. For two reasons. First even as a youngster, I seemed to realize about firepower. But secondly, I kept wondering why these upstanding patriots had so little confidence in our armed forces that it was a sure bet that we’d be overrun.

And the same thing with Christians. (100% of the people I grew up with identified as Christian.) They always talked about how Communist Atheists would put an end to Chrisianity. 

I guess it was just pure naiveté of someone not yet 10 who thought that if God is so powerful, why should we think that some group would put him out of business.

Even so today. I have confidence in God. I also know (learning from the New Testament) that society at large is composed of many different types of people. It is foolish to think that everyone around us in society is exactly like us. 

What we learn from Revalation aside from all the over-thinkers looking for all manner of fortune telling, is that the game is over. God wins. Jesus leads the world to God.

So, why do we (some of us) go around acting like victims. In America, we don’t have a clue. Why not try living with our brothers and sisters in Iran, Iraq and many other places. They are fighting for their very lives even as I write this. But here? We have money. We have comfortable lives. No one shoots at us as we go to church. No one arrests us simply for our faith in God.

We just need to help those who are. It is not becoming to act like a victim. It is becoming to be strong in our faith.

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They Made Their Own Rules

August 11, 2015

Ever play games with children?

They are always making up rules. Often they change the rules arbitrarily. They change the rules to put themselves at an advantage.

Thoughts of this behaviour came to mind as I was meditating on Romans 10. “For being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness.”

At the time Paul wrote this, Jewish religious leaders and teachers had managed to take ten commandments of God and turn them into an incredibly complex set of rules designed to put them at an advantage. They could then condemn others for not following all the rules.

Jesus blasted that idea. He taught that what is most important is what’s in your heart. If your heart is in a right relationship with God, you’ll do what’s right. Trying to live by following a rigid set of rules leads to a life of slavery or hopelessness. It also leads to a life of comparison. It breeds the “I’m better than you, and you’re going to hell” <snicker>. 

Andy Stanley’s current Your Move series is titled Christian. The premise is that since “Christian” is not defined in the Bible, you can make it whatever you wish. But the word Jesus used, disciple, is a word easily defined.

Beyond that, Stanley has been asking, “Do you know any angry, judgemental Christians who seem to derive pleasure by thinking you’re going to hell”?

Of course, the answer is Yes.

The Roman Catholic church has tons of rules. Each protestant denomination seems to have its own set of rules different, of course, from anyone else’s set of rules. Everyone make up rules.

Even today.

Even while saying they are following the guy who said to worry about the condition of your heart first.

Back to Paul. They made their own set of rules, just like children do. And they lost.

It’s not rules, it’s relationship.

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Not The Old Yeast of Malice

August 10, 2015

Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerety and truth. 2 Corinthinians 5:8

A friend posted a limerick full of hatred and malice on his Facebook page with a comment about the racism and hatred contained in the poem.

By the time I got to it, several people had posted comments attacking my friend (he’s used to it, by the way) and supporting the thoughts as either truthful or protected free speech.

The US Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the Constitution) are really what sets us apart in our governance. It limits the rights of the government to trample on the rights of citizens.

Many Americans today, however, in this rebellious and individualist time, confuse freedom with irresponsibility. Many have adopted a lifestyle and opinion that the world revolves around them and that therefore they can talk and act with impunity.

With freedom comes responsibility. No responsibility by the people means eventually no freedom.

Paul wrote a whole letter about freedom. The letter to the Galatians is packed with advice about freedom and what it means. We are free in Jesus, but not free to run around and do anything we choose or say anything we wish.

But I’ll stick with the Corinthians quote.

Many people posted that they knew the truth of the incident (this discussion revolves around the incident in Ferguson, MO).

I beg to differ. From the comments I gather that none had been there as an eyewitness to the events. Even had they been eyewitnesses, all criminal attorneys and police know that eyewitness accounts are the most unreliable versions of the facts of the matter.

It was a truism in a politics class I took in the late 60s and remains true today–almost everyone reads the source of news that most agrees with their predisposed opinions.

If all your knowledge comes from newspaper, TV, and Web news, then you know nothing. You know not one true fact of an incident. Well, maybe one or two, such as the names of the people involved.

Beyond that, when you take up opinions and voice them publicly, then you should beware lest you are partaking of the yeast of malice and evil instead of the unleavened bread of sincerety and truth. I believe that means acting and speaking responsibly.

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The Physics of Spirit and Church

August 7, 2015

One evening during a small group Bible study of Romans, I said that the topic reminded me of quantum physics. Everything is composed of energy and information. Chuck just gave me one of his looks.

Without getting too deep into physics and so risking a few readers–I just came across this quote from Physicsclassroom.com, “The amount of energy carried by a wave is related to the amplitude of the wave. A high energy wave is characterized by a high amplitude; a low energy wave is characterized by a low amplitude.”

I like thinking about many things as requiring energy. We describe certain people as “high-energy.” When I contemplate about Paul’s life, I think energy.

Let’s think about this a little. Energy is related to amplitude.

To make the most of your Bible study or other studies, you need to increase energy. In so doing, you will increase the amplitude of your effort.

Adding energy to worship–well, do I need to say more?

Even contemplation requires energy lest you just drift off to sleep.

As for service, well, think about people who serve by just “going through the motions.” They are listless, unenthusiastic, pretty much worthless on a project. But add energy to the situation and you increase the effort into a high-energy wave with greater amplitude.

Next, we could discuss biology at its most fundamental level which concerns networking and connectedness. But, again, we’ve probably enough science for the morning.

Oh, and don’t get your energy from a can! Look toward letting God fill you with the spirit.

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You Can’t Manage Change

August 6, 2015

Getting Things Done–it’s a book by David Allen and a method of organizing your thoughts, to-do lists, projects, plans. I am a GTDer.

He discusses a perennial hot topic in management circles and sometimes in personal development circles–management of change.

We are taught to “manage change.” Allen says in his recent monthly newsletter to subscribers that he always avoided that thought because he never really came to grips with it. Then he discovered his uncertainty with the concept. You can’t really manage change.

Change happens. Often you can’t anticipate it. Stuff comes at you suddenly from seemingly out of nowhere. You’re just cruising along and then something happens. The world is changing.

What we know is that we can manage albeit sometimes with great difficulty how we manage ourselves and our teams or family through the change.

This is especially important to recognize in our spiritual formation. We aren’t “unspiritual” just because change hits us. But working through change has the power to strengthen our spiritual life. There may be times when it doesn’t seem like it. But it does.

I have changed so much in my life that looking back it seems unreal. But each step was a growth. I removed myself–or got removed–from several situations that were either going nowhere or actually detrimental to my health.

Don’t get frustrated by trying to manage change. Manage yourself through the changes.

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Don’t Live in Denial

August 5, 2015

“Every day ain’t a happy day.”

Have you ever met someone who is perpetually happy? They are always smiling. Do you wonder if they ever crash?

I was listening to Harvey Carey speak at Willow Creek on podcast from the Aug. 1 gathering while taking my annual run along Lady Bird Lake (Colorado River) in downtown Austin, Texas. I’m attending a technology conference and had a long day on Monday. So no post yesterday.

He told a story about a “testamonial” service at a little Baptist church in the south. 

A woman stood up and said she would like to give her testamonial. “Ever since I accepted Jesus 35 years ago, I’ve never had a bad day. The enemy has never entered my life.”

The pastor said to the congregation, “Let’s pray for this woman.” She said, “Why?” He replied, “When you are walking with the Lord, you will face headwinds from the enemy. If you are not walking against him, then you are walking with him.”

Carey said, “Every day ain’t a happy day.”

When I meet someone who is a little “over the top”, my internal sensors go on alert. 

We will all have bad days. Stuff happens. The key isn’t that we are happy 24/7. The key really is living through the bad days in the hope of the joy that will come.

That is reality. Living otherwise is living in denial.

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