Interpreting a Dream

During the holidays, I have had the joy of getting to know our college-aged girls a little better. In addition to discovering their senses of humor and talents for singing, cooking, or others, I have been blessed to have some good conversations. During this time, these girls have really become little sisters to me.

One of our girls told me of the dream she had the night before. I will attempt to relay her description as accurately as possible: God had descended and clothed everyone He chose in pink. I thought that was a little humorous, but then I remembered that her favorite color is pink. She looked around her and didn’t know anyone else clothed in pink. Then God and his angel went back into heaven and left everyone in pink here.

A pretty simple dream. But her questions to me about the dream I believe were the exact questions the Lord was leading her to ask. She first said, “Why did He choose me?” She had some difficulty expressing it, but eventually articulated how special she felt for being one clothed in pink and chosen by God. Her next question was, “..and why did He leave me here?” I nodded, then smiled, knowing that I once asked the same question in a very different circumstance. Then I told her as much.

I asked her, “You remember my testimony, right?” She replied, “Oh yes. Your testimony taught me very much.” I then recounted to her that at my lowest point of greatest pain, I asked God with all sincerity to let me die and enter the rest of Heaven. But He said, “no.” What He revealed to me in that time, which struck me more sharply than all the pain I was in, was that He only left me here because He had purpose that remained for my life on earth. And the day, the moment, that my purpose has been fulfilled, I will immediately enter His presence in Heaven. Therefore, every day that I wake up once again, every breath that I draw, has God’s divine purpose behind it. I assured her that we had the same question…and the same answer: purpose.

She repeated a single word to me: “Purpose,” as her demeanor and expression changed into a fascinating combination of resignation, contentment, and deep satisfaction. She smiled. Then we were interrupted (a continual occurance in India, perhaps the subject of another post). The conversation was over.

A simple dream. From the Lord? I believe so. And perhaps He has used me to help to partially interpret her dream, such that she never forgets that God has purpose for her life. Every day. Every breath. And the great news is that the same is true for you and me. I pray that you have that same assurance of purpose this very day. May the Lord turn your countenance into contentment and deep satisfaction, just as He did for my little Indian sister. Amen.

Obeying His Call: The Fullness of the Life of Christ

Matt 10:16-32 – “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17 But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues. 18 You will be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. 21 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.” 

“The power which men enjoy for a brief space on earth is not without the cognizance and the will of God. If we fall into the hands of men, and meet suffering and death from their violence, we are none the less certain that everything comes from God. The same God who sees no sparrow fall to the ground without his knowledge and will, allows nothing to happen, except it be good and profitable for his children and the cause for which they stand. We are in God’s hands. Therefore, “Fear not.”” – Bonhoeffer, “The Cost of Discipleship,” Ch 25, “The Decision.” (commenting on Matt 10) 


If you are a child of God’s, kept in the Spirit of Christ, you come to no longer fear making wrong steps along your path.  Instead, your only fear becomes the fear of the Lord in denying Christ. Your path is simple: proclaim the life of Christ everywhere you go…that is, the life of Christ Himself, the life of Christ in you, and the life in Christ available for all men who repent and call on Him for salvation. The “everywhere you go,” is less important than proclaiming Him wherever you happen to go. Some go here, some go there, and God will direct. We often get all worked up about which direction to go, taking long periods of time and expending tremendous mental and emotional energy, such that we might walk rightly with God in obedience in the physical places we go and things we do on earth…meanwhile, we give no thought to the fact that wherever we chose or felt led to go, we did not proclaim Christ. The disobedience is in failing to proclaim Christ. What if we spent as much mental energy and dedication to obedience of our Lord simply on proclaiming Him everywhere we went, spending less on where God might want us to go and be? Only then would we have apportioned our seeking of His will and our obedience properly to what matters most. It is as if we are an athlete on the basketball court, trying to decide whether to go right or left…there is likely a best choice, but it is unclear…if we spend our time and energy (there is precious little time and energy on the field of play and in the span of our lives!) determining which way to go, and even choosing well, but we fail to even shoot the ball, have we done well? Certainly not. Too often, we design plays, we seek to be the wisest in our choice of plays and execution of the plays, and then we never even engage in the whole purpose of the play…in basketball, the purpose was to score a bucket, and with the Lord it was to first draw near to Him and second proclaim the life of Christ WHEREVER we go. It is time for us as individual believers to alter our focus in seeking the Lord, looking less for direction for our specific lives (afterall, that is easily selfish in nature), and more to simply be obedient to the call of our Lord WHEREVER we might end up going. Meanwhile, a single sparrow does not fall to the ground without both His knowing and willing, and even the hairs on our head are numbered by our Lord. That’s right, every morning God takes an inventory on even the number of hairs on your head. How much more will He be absolutely present and sovereign in decisions that will alter our lives?! The liberating truth is that we cannot misstep for long if we will obediently proclaim the life of Christ wherever we go, for in proclaiming Christ, what was once a misstep becomes the work of the Kingdom; and living by obedience produced by faith, our hearts will be continually united in Christ. This sounds so simple and easy because it is part of the source of Jesus proclamation that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:30). Conversely, as simple and easy as the yoke of Christ is, disobedience to the life of Christ is its proportional opposite, being utterly confounding and impossibly difficult. 


I speak somewhat boldly about this because I have been the self-centered, path-focused believer that I described above. And I am convicted that if I spent half as much fervency in prayer and intentional living to simply obey the Lord WHEREVER I go, proclaiming the life of Christ (that is, equally proclaiming verbally and in living as Christ in both the mundane and exceptional things), my struggle of obedience would not only be more victorious, but I would experience the truth that my Savior’s “yoke is easy” and His “burden is light.” 


When we have been confronted with this liberating truth, the crux of the matter becomes simply obedience to the life of Christ. If we know that when we walk in obedience to the life of Christ WHEREVER we go, we are aligned with Him, whichever path we might have taken originally, then we must simply understand and obey the life of Christ. Therefore, we must spend more time exploring what the life of Christ means in you and me. 


As a sinner, obedience to the life of Christ is first repentance. If we do 100 works of kindness and self-sacrifice daily, ministering to the hungry, needy, and defenseless, but we have not confessed our sin to the Lord, we are not walking in the life of Christ. After confessing our sin, obedience to the life of Christ is in asking Him to replace that sinful nature with Himself. His reply to our pure cry for salvation is that we would “take up our cross daily and follow [Him]” (Luke 9:23). This means that the next step in living the life of Christ is in utterly crucifying my old self, my old life, my entire identity. If any portion of my identity prior to Christ lives on, I have yet to experience the fullness of the life of Christ in me, no matter how noble or moral that old identity may seem. After crucifying our old identities and the sin we were slaves to, obedience to the life of Christ is then surrender to the Spirit of Christ to reign in us. This surrender can only accompany and follow repentance and the crucifying of the old self, or we would still be holding on, if only slightly, to the old self, which is mutually exclusive to surrender. Finally, when we have surrendered and beckoned our Lord’s Spirit to have total dominion over us—our minds, hearts, souls, and lives—obedience to the life of Christ is made manifest in our actions, as we both proclaim verbally the life of Christ wherever we go, and we walk in the Spirit of Christ, abundantly loving in action whomever we come across. We do this as an outpour of the life of Christ within us—it is Christ Himself who is living in action, for “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). In awe of His grace to give us life for certain death, we then live a life bestowing grace to all who will receive it in Christ. In all of this, there was no mention of how to serve, what action to take, on whom to bestow grace, or where we would live the life of Christ. That is because the when and where are not central—the life of Christ is central and everything else is periphery. And yet, our sovereign God who counts every hair on our heads every morning, is faithful to allow and will only what is profitable for His saints and His Kingdom, down to the minute detail. With that understanding, we can trust Him to guide us and not fear bad decisions of where we might minister, work, play, or live…but instead spend our days and nights praising our gracious Lord and living the life of Christ wherever we might walk. 


Challenge: Tomorrow, when you wake up in the morning, take a moment to pray and consider what obedience to the life of Christ in you means. Consider not where you will go, but instead consider that wherever you end up going, you will obediently live out the life of Christ to every single individual you encounter, as well as alone before God. This becomes a worshipful life lived in spirit, action, and truth. A life of humility and diminished self-thought. A life of surrender and without fear of any earthly thing. This becomes a life of supreme joy and purpose, a life of purified love and kindness, where grace abounds, both given and received. Grace received by you from God, given by you to your fellow man. You may be ridiculed and defamed, you may be physically beaten or even killed, all the while you will be able to say “it is well with my soul” for your soul rests in the grace, promise, and eternal certainty of the life of Christ. You may be highly esteemed and praised, you may be successful and world-changing, all the while you will stand in humility saying “I must decrease, He must increase” (John 3:30) for your identity rests in the life of Christ alone. I pray that you and I will walk in the life of Christ so simply, so powerfully, in such liberty this very day. Amen.

Guest Post - Re: The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation

A dear friend of mine responded to my latest blog post titled, "The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation" with some very insightful and edifying assertions. With this friend's permission, I cannot help but share, as I enjoy and value the perspectives offered in this reply:

"I agree that the calling is to Christ Himself, because the relationship is more important than the roles we play. So often we seek to establish ourselves in a business relationship with God, instead of a personal one. We strive hard to be servants when God has called us to be sons.

In being sons, the ultimate thing is the love and intimacy we share with Christ. Since we share in His kingdom, we share in His kingdom's work. The scripture seems to discourage segregating this work into higher vs. lower within the kingdom because, after all, the highest is the least servant in God's kingdom. Philippians does talk about the high calling, but never the higher calling.

The term "higher calling" has been used to distinguish those who are following a specific calling with the organized church or full time mission effort. When I say full time mission, not to be stuck on semantics, I mean one whose life activities are not fungible in the securlar market place. His economic needs must be subsidized by others of the "lower" calling (so to speak in keeping with the topic). So, in this sense, I would agree we would be off-base to say one Christian has a "higher calling" because he does not have a day job.

But the status of being supported by the Christian community is Biblical, and is a specific calling, albeit not higher. Those in that role tend to be held to a "higher" standard, which is also Biblical. Of course we are all held to the same standard which is the Word, but Biblicially speaking leaders of the church throughought the Bible have been expected to demonstrate exceptional holiness as they naturally become leaders. In being in this office it can be said that we "follow them" as they follow Christ. It is in this sense that the "higher" terminology would gain some historical basis - but I would agree that it still is inaccurate.

The secular perspective says jobs are to produce products, and the "better" we are, by worldy standards, the more products we produce. In that lifestyle, if I were to "do my best," I would always be trying to maximize my competitiveness and success would be measured in magnitude.

The Word says, the kingdom of God is like a treasure someone found in a field, burried it, went and sold all he had, and bought the field. If I won the lottery, my paycheck would diminish as an important factor to me. In the secular sense, my paycheck is my master - because its presence commands my obedience (speaking in worldly perspective). If I were to become a millionaire, it would no longer have any meaning for me. My paycheck would decrease, and the need to enjoy my work would increase. Similarly, when we are saved, we are set free from the shackles of status, the need to produce. We now do those things because we enjoy them.

Some may try to correct me there and say "because we serve Jesus." But serving Jesus is joy. We continue to do what we are good at because of joy, nothing else. God knows who he gave a good voice to, a quick body, a bright mind...we use those gifts out of joy. When your future is secure, your present takes on a new identity. The law, no longer our master, fades as the love and joy of Jesus fills our lives. God lacks nothing, yet he intervenes to save the needy. Why? Because he is so full of joy, it is overflowing. He is so full of love, it is overflowing. His actions are a result of His love and joy.

When you are full of fear and hate and bitterness, you seek to share it. When you are full of love, joy, and peace,you share that too. And when you get grafted into the vine that is love, joy, and peace.....you can't help it. That becomes who you are.

Being a Christian is being free from status. What would it matter if I exchanged one activity I enjoyed for one I will enjoy even more? This would be the case for a Christian transitioning from engineering to full time missions. I believe a man I greatly respect once said, missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is the goal of the church, not missions. Paraphrasing alot but, he goes on to say: because God is ultimate, not man. Whether I'm a slave, free, engineer, nurse, ditch digger, or whatever else - it is for worship. For joy. For the life I have in Christ. Missions is just one more role - but a temporary one like all the others. Preacher is temporary, because Jesus is our true shepherd. Engineer is temporary, because by Christ all things were made. Whatever role He puts us in, He is highest, not our role. He has called us to only one thing, to worship Him forever. The rest is just the details."

The Power of Proper Identity: Ministers of Reconciliation

2 Cor 5:18-20 – “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

We must get the idea of a higher calling out of our collective minds. It is misleading and destructive to the pursuit of the Lord and hearing His voice in obedience. It puffs up if we receive what we feel is higher, and it casts down if we receive what we feel is lower. A higher calling alludes to a lower calling with lower standards…but there is only one standard: Christ. Therefore, there is no higher calling than to Christ Himself by Christ Himself. And if you call Jesus your Savior, you have received the highest calling, and one shared with everyone who calls Jesus Lord.

This calling is into full-time ministry, for we are ministers of reconciliation. At different points in my life, I have considered what is commonly referred to as “full-time ministry,” at times being very much unattracted to such a life and at times being very attracted. I have wanted to give my full life to Jesus so thoroughly, such that all that I do and every ability with which He has gifted me is to serve Him and His purposes, and to do this in a way that feels impossible or at least very hindered in a common “secular” job. And tonight I am convicted more than ever of my error in thought within the aforementioned framework.

I have heard it preached and have nodded my head in agreement with numerous others who sincerely follow Christ that we are all in full-time ministry, right where we are. But I challenge you as I challenge myself: how well are you attending to that calling and do you really believe it in your heart? Is it your identity or a side-gig that you continually wish was more dominant, but never seems to be preeminent?

I want to challenge our spiritual world views. When you view your head pastor and others such as John Piper, Francis Chan, or Billy Graham; or going back in time, Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, or Martin Luther; or even going back to Peter and Paul…when you view them in your mind, do you hold them higher? I certainly do. These are amazing and inspiring men after God’s heart and dedicated with lives that some even laid down both in the spirit and in final bodily death. Men who are mentors, if by their words and examples only, on whom Jesus has built His church. Men who fit together in the sentence above…a sentence that we wouldn’t dare place our names within and alongside these names. But what if you did? Peter, Paul, [Your Name]. How does that sound? I chuckle as I think, “Terribly inadequate or terribly and misguidedly prideful.” The truth is that we should never place our own names there. In fact, we should seek to have no separate set-apart list whatsoever. The reason is that we have all received the same call from Jesus: “Come, follow me,” and since then have been commissioned as ministers of reconciliation. Peter, Paul, [Your Name], ministers of reconciliation and disciples of Christ. What a privilege to be called as such…a privilege because of the nature of the blessed gift of the calling that we could never deserve, not because of the uniqueness of it, for we share it with every soul throughout time who calls Jesus Lord.

Too often we look at our new lives in Christ as adaptations of our old lives. We see where the call to be ministers of reconciliation fits into our day-jobs and lives as they have always been. We are set free to live a new life, yet we don’t. The truth is that for the newfound in Christ, there is no adaptation of the old life…the old life must die and a new life be erected in its place. This means that every framework of self that I have believed, every way that I perceive the world and my fellow-man, my every purpose and desire, is transformed into nothing less than Christ Himself. In Christ alone am I to know my identity, in Christ alone am I to perceive the world and fellow-man, and in Christ alone is my every purpose and desire. And therefore, any circumstance that lies before me is quite secondary to my identity in Christ. Any job or calling by which I am the hands and feet of Christ is quite secondary to the calling as a full-time minister of reconciliation. This may seem elementary or it may not, but how easily we get it squarely backwards! We try to build Christ into our frameworks that are external to Him. We try to fit the ministry of reconciliation into our lives, as if God was saying, “Will is a chemical engineer. How can I now work the ministry of reconciliation into that job?” God is not saying that, although I am prone to. Quite oppositely, as a believer in Christ, we have been called to the ministry of reconciliation since the foundation of the world.

1 Peter 1:20-21 – “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

Eph 1:4 – “…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love…”

Thus we see the Word of God paring up the commissioning as ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-19) with Christ who was foreordained from the foundation of the world to reconcile us to Himself (1 Pet 1:20-21, Eph 1:4); therefore, our commission as ministers of His reconciliation is most certainly present from the foundation of the world. And therefore, it is preeminent over anything that you or I have become, learned, or have been gifted with. And so we must take on the new view in truth that our current circumstance, whether a job or otherwise, is a subset of the ministry of reconciliation, both in importance and in time. That means that what is commonly referred to as “full-time ministry” is also a subset of this same call to be ministers of reconciliation. In this we see the peer-to-peer brotherhood among all who are ministers of reconciliation, whether they serve in the church, on the mission field, at the office, or in the home.

The first misunderstanding that we have in our identity is that our primary calling is to any particular service or purpose...our primary calling is simply to Jesus Christ Himself, in the solitude of our hearts before Him. The second misunderstanding we have in our identity is placing the subset above the superlative office…i.e. placing any “full-time” ministry or “secular job” above the ministry of reconciliation to which we have been called. The final misunderstanding of our identity that I want us to examine is that one subset is higher than the other…which turns out to often be the result of the first and second misunderstandings. If our secular jobs or works in ministry were indeed our superlative calling and the ministry of reconciliation was but a subset of that calling, then there certainly would be a difference…for the observation is that much more reconciliation to Christ is happening in these works of ministry than in the common, secular workplace. But even in this misunderstanding, we have placed the value on the ministry of reconciliation itself after all, judging between the two callings, “secular” vs. “works of ministry,” by their fruit. In any case, we can more easily begin to see that the first calling was to Jesus Himself, being commissioned as ministers of reconciliation…a calling that we each share and that dominates our shared identities. Therefore, there is absolutely no difference in the height or greatness of the callings that lie in the subset…only a difference in obedience. Let us note that often the reason for attributing one calling as consistently higher than the other is that we perceive greater obedience to the call of reconciliation ministry within the works of traditional ministry. Oh, but what our world might look like if we took the same sold-out passion and love for Christ into our secular jobs! The fruit of the harvest that we could reap! This is where the droves of the lost reside, and we have been given access to the front lines of the battles over their souls, having greater contact with these than many of their closest family members and friends (how many people do you spend 40+ hours with each week?).

So what is the conclusion? Firstly, that there is one, singular calling to Christ, which is manifested in full-time ministry of reconciliation. Second, that this is manifested in numerous ways, for the Spirit gifts as He pleases (1 Cor 12:11). Thirdly, that all specific endeavors, works, and sub-callings are subsets of the calling to the ministry of reconciliation, and we need not consider that one calling is greater than another, such consideration being futile, elusive, and even destructive. And finally, that we cannot measure the greatness of the calling by the level of obedience of the multitude in that calling: Firstly, because we have examined that in principal, the callings are the same in necessity and value, though different in means; and secondly, by what means can we determine that one calling is greater than the other? We might better judge obedience, but even in that, we have difficulty seeing clearly the spec in another’s eye, due to the plank in our own.

I encourage you, I challenge you, I implore you: heed your calling. It is as magnificently great as it is common, the calling as a minister of reconciliation. As Christ dominates our identity, this ministry dominates our daily works. There is no greater calling than to Christ Himself. There is no greater blessing on this earth. There is no greater joy. And there is no escaping the full-time ministry of reconciliation as a follower of Christ, for to follow Christ is to minister to each other of reconciliation with Him. There are different ministry methods, but one ministry of reconciliation. May the Lord continually call you to Himself, and bless you abundantly in your personalized, yet shared calling as a minister of reconciliation. Amen.

*This post was inspired by current events in my life, as usual, as well as the first two chapters in "The Cost of Discipleship," by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a book that I most highly recommend.*

What Is Your Response to “Bad News?”

Recently I’ve been reading through the book of Acts. It’s almost peculiar how I’ve had a desire to study the book recently, yet I have missed the opportunity to study it in a group setting twice recently. I arrived in a new Sunday school class shortly after they concluded a long study of Acts; and another Bible study group that I was a part of last year, but cannot be part this year, is about to do a 9-month study of Acts. So apparently, God desires that I study it on my own for the time being.

Reading through Acts, there is no shortage of amazing stories…stories of faith, stories of persecution, and stories of God moving supernaturally and decisively in order to establish and grow the church body. Additionally, Acts is a study on communication between God and His servants. There is so much there—ways that God spoke to different people or the same people in different ways at different times. Ways that different people responded to God or the same people responded differently in different situations (Peter is a good example). There are a lot of circumstances to consider…insurmountable circumstances from which God saved Paul and others countless times…and other times when circumstances were fully avoidable, yet God willed Paul and others to go through them and the saints obeyed at their own physical expense (even to death). The lattermost example is the one that caught my eye today. It is the story of Paul willingly and knowingly walking towards His death, first by shear faith in a sovereign God and secondly to achieve a purpose that would be later revealed to Him. This is an uncommon faith that I’m afraid I don’t yet possess and is therefore worth examining in great detail.

Starting in chapter 19, we see Paul’s sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to know that he would go to Rome to preach the Gospel at some point:

Acts 19:21 – “Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem." And after that," he said, "I must go on to Rome!”

At this point, Paul was receiving direction. His direction from the Lord was clear: 1. Go to Jerusalem. 2. On the way there, go to Macedonia and Achaia. 3. After Jerusalem, go to Rome. To say much more is speculation, because I do not find much more specific detail in the book of Acts. One could hypothesize that Paul knew where he was to go and in what order only, knowing that his purpose was to continually spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, yet not knowing many other specifics or purposes, as well as not fully knowing the timing—knowing order only—nor knowing his final fate in each place, especially Rome. On the entire opposite end of the spectrum, one could hypothesize that Paul, through the Spirit, knew all of these things, including his fate in Rome at this time. I tend to lean towards the first hypothesis, but I think the degree to which Paul knew God’s specific, detailed will for him, ranging from one end of the spectrum to the other, as noted above, is less important. I say this because if it was of utmost importance, it would certainly be contained in the Bible.

Nevertheless, Paul certainly had received direction from God and was obeying to the fullest, regardless of any other foreknowledge. We can take one of many lessons right here. It is a luxury to know what God might have you do two steps ahead, but obedience only requires direction for the next immediate step—we must discipline ourselves to have the kind of faith and obedience that stops asking for an entire roadmap, but can instead trust our Creator, Counselor, Savior, and God with one direction at a time.

Part of the reason I lean towards the hypothesis that Paul’s foreknowledge of God’s will to go to Asia, Jerusalem, then Rome was limited…though with clear direction…is that it appears that more and more is revealed to Paul as we progress through Acts. This wouldn’t be noteworthy if it had already been revealed to him sooner. And in fact, in chapter 20 Paul confesses that he goes to Jerusalem “not knowing the things that will happen to me there.” The use of the phrase “happen to me there” indicates to me at least a consideration of personal harm, for otherwise he might have said “happen there” instead of “happen to me there.” Furthermore, Paul senses danger in Jerusalem, yet look at his attitude (speaking to the elders of the church in Ephesus):

Acts 20:22-25 – “And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. 24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.”

In response, the elders wept, signifying a sincere belief that they would never see Paul again.

In chapter 21, we see an even clearer proclamation of what awaits Paul. It turns out that the Holy Spirit had been preparing his heart all along, and Paul was so sensitive to the Spirit to discern it so early, as seen in chapter 19. This time in chapter 21, the message was much clearer:

Acts 21:10-15 – “And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”
12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

15 And after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem.”

Think about the news that Paul had just received. I’m afraid that my response would in all likelihood be as Luke and the other apostles and saints who accompanied Paul—“Don’t go!” I would probably cite the prophecy as a providential warning from God and justify a change in plans, saying, “we’ll go another time when this threat is dissolved.” But this wasn’t Paul’s response at all. Why?

“Why?” is a very loaded question because it speaks to the very character of Paul and the extent of his relationship with God. In that situation, faced with that “bad news,” only two kinds of men would continue towards Jerusalem: those who are complete and utter fools, and those who are completely abandoned to God’s purpose, such that Paul’s words are true: “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Those of worldly mindset cannot discern between those two types of men, the fool vs. the servant of God, but the Spirit of God testifies to truth such that we can discern godly submission and abandonment. Additionally, such a man would have to be more than abandoned to God’s purpose—he would have to hear from the Lord and be absolutely in tune with the Spirit to know and follow God’s will. Abandonment without communication is haphazard, directionless wondering. Communication without abandonment is stubbornness and heard-heartedness that “quenches the Spirit,” leading to no fruitful work. We must have both, and I hope that we can draw on Paul’s example and at least set our faces towards God with that goal…regardless of how far we are from it in this moment…knowing that we desire such utter abandonment for God’s glory, purpose, and pleasure with such sensitivity and intimate relationship with our beautiful, perfect, powerful, loving Father that we would know and discern His good and pleasing will in every such situation. What an amazing richness of life for Paul and for us with such faith.

Finally, we see in chapters 21-24 that the prophecy comes true and Paul is bound in chains, arrested, and even beaten. How merciful that God allowed him to have a warning. But God trusted Paul with that warning because he was trustworthy. A man such as myself may not show themselves to be so trustworthy…any man who would respond by avoiding Jerusalem when hearing the “bad news” would not be allowed to know such information. Make no mistake, God’s will gets accomplished every single time in all things. We get to choose 1. Which side we’re on, and 2. How willingly we will cooperate and obey the Lord. Consider Jonah. He was to go to Ninevah. He didn’t want to go and fled from God. God captured him in the stomach of a whale for 3 days! Jonah repented and went to Ninevah afterall. Now, he could have just gone there when God told him to. Either way, he was going (though he didn’t realize that yet). Things are much easier in life if we’ll just obey the Lord. In Paul’s example, I think it was merciful for God to give him such foreknowledge, such that he would not be utterly surprised and could have such sweet goodbyes with the Ephesians. And those blessings were only available through obedience in the face of such "bad news."

Notice the first time we see God actually speaking to Paul and revealing his will for Paul to go to Rome happens only AFTER Paul was already captured and had to obey in faith through the Spirit, not before:

Acts 23:11 (while captive) – “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.’”

If you have a “red-letter” edition of the Bible, you will see these words in red, as they are the spoken words of Jesus. This direct communication could have taken place back in chapter 19, but I find it very instructional that God waited until chapter 24 (these chapters are written in chronological order, so keeping track of time by chapter is appropriate). You see, sometimes we seek the Lord with ears that are only tuned into His voice to the extent that an audible voice alone would be discernable. However, it can be clearly seen that Paul was receiving communication from God the entire time prior to Jesus' words to him, through the Holy Spirit. We can take a lesson here. How is God communicating to you this very day? And if you heard Him, how would you respond? Would you respond in self-interest and preservation? Or would you present yourself as a living sacrifice?

Rom 12:1-2 – “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We marvel at how Paul discerned God’s will so early on, but Rom 12:1-2 ties these concepts together. You see, by presenting himself as a living sacrifice, he was “transformed by the renewing of [his] mind,” such that he was granted the discernment of God’s good and pleasing will through the Holy Spirit. We usually get it backwards: “If I could discern His will, I would know how and where and with what extent to sacrifice. If I knew details, I could obey them.” Ah, but the converse actually is true: only when we present ourselves as living sacrifices, in worship to our God, then we begin to be transformed by the renewing of our minds such that we receive knowledge of His will.

It’s also interesting that such a verse is contained in the book of Romans. Do you know that it is one of the most influential books of the Bible, a roadmap of pure theology, and is the fruit of an obedient servant of the Lord in the face of “bad news?” Paul went to Rome to die, as most scholars agree he died there in captivity. And in preparation for going there—part of the “clear direction” discussed previously—he wrote the book of Romans…glorious fruit of the obedience and faith described in Acts 19-28.

A close friend of mine recently conveyed the following astute observation to me, after considering 1 Peter 4:12ff, which addresses “fiery trials” experienced by Christians, their necessity and normality, and their great purpose: “You know, we don’t tell Christians what the Bible says often. We try to be sympathetic, which is Biblical too, but how often do we follow it with reminding each other to rejoice to the extent that we partake in His suffering? If my ability to rejoice is based upon the extent to which I have shared in His suffering, then I’m not a very joyful person.” Wow, that convicts me. Being robbed of suffering is to be robbed of the joy of God that manifests itself in obedient, abandoned souls with an intimate relationship with God such that His will is in our hearts and we see as He sees…we see and feel as God sees and feels! What joy as a pure fruit of the Spirit when we partake in such trials for the sake of God’s name. Are you so willing to follow God anywhere? If so, what might God do with your smallest of sacrifices? He has brought billions of souls to Heaven through Paul, and He can and desires to do the same with your life. I pray that we would both accept the challenge and responsibility of presenting ourselves as living sacrifices to God, and may the full pleasure of living God’s will in a beautiful, intimate faith in our Creator and Savior be ours forever. Amen.

Pray It Through - Changing God's Mind?

I had a very theologically stimulating conversation with a close friend the other night. We were discussing the purpose of prayer and its results. The concept of “changing God’s mind” was brought forth. Through study of some books by prestigious theologians, he was leaning toward the side that says “prayer can actually change God’s mind and change world events.” At the beginning of the conversation, my reply was that prayer absolutely changes world events—but does that take place because God truly changed His mind or because we took the action that allowed the realization of His greatest will, instead of disobedience? I did not know the answer to these questions, and I still may not, but I feel that my understanding has grown towards the revelation of these answers and I would like to encourage you to engage in your own Spirit-led thoughts as you consider mine below.

“God changed His mind” In the Bible

Consider Moses. We read the following in Exodus 32:19-14, in response to the Israelites' construction of the golden calf, an offense punishable by death:

“'I have seen these people,’ the LORD said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. ¹⁰ Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God. “O LORD,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? ¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. ¹³ Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” ¹⁴ Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.” (NIV)

The word “relent” in verse 14 is translated in a minority of English texts as “changed His mind.” The Hebrew word here is “nacham,” in the Niphal tense, which blueletterbible.com defines as follows:

נָחַם (nacham)

1) to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted

a) (Niphal)

1) to be sorry, be moved to pity, have compassion

2) to be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent

3) to comfort oneself, be comforted

4) to comfort oneself, ease oneself

(Note: When you read “changed His mind” in the NLT, NAS, or other version, “nacham” is likely the original language.)

So we see that God was moved to compassion by Moses’ intercession and it did absolutely change what would have occurred, had the intercession not taken place. But did God’s mind change, or was His preferred will for Moses to step up as an intercessor fulfilled by Moses’ prayer? Perhaps the jury is still out in this discussion, but I find the explanation offered in the previous sentences to line up much more harmoniously with the rest of the Bible than the belief that God actually did any changing of His mind, at least in the way that we experience the changing of our own minds—which is to be persuaded unto different thought or action. Was God persuaded here or had He already willed this and honored a prayer within His will?

Practical Importance of the Matter

As my conversation with my friend continued, we began to realize a few things: that our minds were not entirely made up and were open to further “proof” that may be brought forth, that in this moment we differed in our opinions, and most importantly that we absolutely agreed upon the following things: Regardless of whether God is actually changing His mind, it doesn’t alter the fact that prayer works—things in this world change because of and in response to our prayers. The overarching point became less about why God honors prayer (changing His mind or otherwise) but that the answer to that question does not dictate whether or not I pray—we pray because of the following:

1. It brings me closer to God in a loving relationship, and that would be sufficient enough reason to pray even if it availed no impact on the world.

2. When we pray, it does change things.

Addressing point #2 above: When we pray, it does change things.

However, let me very quickly point out that I don’t believe a correct attitude in prayer is to convince God of anything, or to persuade Him. This is hard to grasp because in our interaction with humans, when we speak passionately about something, we perceive the opportunity to spread our point of view, whether by enlightenment, argument, conviction, or otherwise. Even those of us who are the least logical-minded, when we converse, we understand the necessity of satisfying another individual with our words such that our point of view or our desires are accepted and even chosen. So when we pray to a sovereign, holy, all-powerful God, we tend to approach Him in the same way. He understands that—He made us. Nevertheless, do you really want to project your imperfect thoughts and plans onto a perfect God such that they come to fruition? Any thoughts that we have are either in error, whether completely or just slightly, or they are born of God and are perfect. Therefore, we cannot convince Him or bring a plan to Him that is any better than the one He already prefers. We can only come in agreement, be strengthened in our concurrence, and be empowered to go and live out the purpose that God prefers. In that moment, we have taken part in an important transaction that God allows through free-will…and life events change.

Human Observation and Understanding of Cause and Effect

To illustrate our human view of prayer and events versus God’s perspective, consider a car on the street of a highly populated city. We have the view of the driver of the car. We see the immediate landscape in front of us and have a general sense of where we might like to go and how it might be best to get there. God, however, is above the city in something such as a blimp, seeing your very car, where He desires you to go, and the best way to get there. We often go long periods trying to navigate on our own intuition, following the same mistakes of men before us and around us from whom we have learned worldly wisdom. One day, we realize we have a GPS, or a phone line to the overhead blimp (prayer). We ask the GPS or blimp (God) to help us with the direction or to get to a specific destination. What we observe is that our asking led to a change: turn here, go there, the light turned green or another red light. Even when we recognize His hand guiding us, we might be tempted to say in our limited point of view that our prayer actually changed those things and even changed the mind of God. But in reality, God already saw all and knew all, and He would not have guided you in a way that was not within His will. Therefore, we were right that our prayers changed things—we received the right direction as a result of contacting Him. But we were probably wrong in thinking that our prayer actually changed the mind of God—instead, it merely allowed us to interact with God such that His desires were fulfilled, in a way that they weren’t fulfilled apart from our prayer. How important that prayer was! Even if in the beginning we were asking to go 180 degrees opposite of His will. Because when we began to realize the general direction He was guiding us and we continued to pray for direction and for change, we began to walk within His will. None of this would have happened without the prayer.

So prayer is absolutely necessary and vital to God’s will, but it does not change it. I encourage and implore you: pray any matter on your heart to God continually until your heart has been changed or the thing comes to fruition, being open to either, having faith in God and His perfect love. In either case, through prayer, God’s will has been realized.

The Product of Free-Will

Another amazing part of this discussion is the fact that we get to take part in such things and are given free-will. Free-will allows us to make choices. If we have the ability to choose God, then we have the ability to reject Him. There is not one possibility without the other. The possibility of rejecting God opens the door to the amazing relationship of choosing Him—and this is love (agape)! God is sovereign and ruler of all. And in that sovereignty, He by all means has the right to make the choice to limit His control and allow free-will. Please do not misinterpret my words and call this a heresy. This makes God no less sovereign—in fact, it puts an exclamation point on His sovereignty, coupled with His patience and love—that He would purposefully step back ever so slightly from controlling all decisions and actions at all times, such that we would have the capacity to make choices…and in that, have the capacity to love. Otherwise, we are just robots. But since God is love (1 John 4:8), then God is a choice-maker. And by making us in His image, He has made us choice-makers capable of love. This is His design and He looks at this creation and calls it good (Gen 1:31).

So when the world hangs in the balance—our individual worlds or the entire earth—consider prayer. Pray the matter through to completion, knowing that your prayer does matter. “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b). This is because it aligns us with God. This is because it changes our hearts. This is because God willingly gives us this power of Himself to choose and make changes in this world. This is because the angels respond to the word of God and the righteous prayers of His saints. This is because of the power and value God gives an intercessor.

God’s Design: Intercessor

Isaiah 59:15b-16: “Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. ¹⁶ He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.”

God has an almost peculiar affinity to intercession. We read in Isaiah that God “wondered that there was no intercessor” to plead the case of the terribly sinful Israelites, such that they might be spared the punishment and wrath of God. If the presence of an intercessor didn’t matter, the role would not have been mentioned. In the example of Moses and his prayers (discussions with God), he was the sole intercessor and God honored that.

To God and to us, an intercessor means everything. This is because the ultimate prophecy of Isaiah 59 is Jesus Christ as the ultimate intercessor to our Father in Heaven, such that we might be spared His wrath and instead receive eternal life (Rom 8:34, Heb 7:25, 1 John 2:1). The reason that John 3:16 is true—that through the love of God and by belief in Jesus we can be spared eternal death and instead have eternal life—is because when we call on Jesus for who He is, He intercedes to the Father on our behalf. In doing so, we are imparted the Holy Spirit, who cries out “Abba, Father” for us (Gal 4:6-7). If instead in the last day, Jesus says, “Depart from me, I never knew you,” we are damned because of our sin and the lack of righteous intercession (Matt 7:21-23).

So we see that a great component of the power of prayer is God’s value of intercession. In intercession, we agree with Christ for simultaneous grace and justice—a favorable outcome for us through Christ alone—and He responds in a very real way. He responds in eternally saving those interceded for, and He even responds by changing physical circumstances in the lives of those for whom intercession has been made. All within His will, of course. If in my human emotion of anger, I was so zealous to call fire from Heaven down upon the man who just cut me off on the highway, I highly doubt that God would honor that request. If God is pursuing that driver to be His child, then I just prayed outside His will and the Holy Spirit is grieved by that disharmony (Eph 4:30-32). But if instead I pray in sincerity that my co-worker who denies Christ would be saved by faith, and I pray in fervent faith, I know that the Lord will honor that prayer. Simply because God responds to holy intercession, none greater than Christ Jesus.

Conclusions

Whether or not you subscribe to the theory that “God changes His mind,” it becomes a little less relevant and doesn’t change these facts: Prayer does change specific physical things on this earth that are within God’s will. These physical things are changed because of their spiritual impact. Why this is true can likely be summed up by God’s gift of free-will and our capacity to choose and love Him, as well as each other. We should pray to seek God’s face (intimacy, seeking Him for Him alone) and not just His hands, and in a deep relationship, that would be enough. But beyond that, God desires that we are empowered and approach Him with confidence, knowing that He responds to our prayers and changes the world through us for His glory. I challenge you therefore, to approach prayer with the following motives:

1. Seeking God’s face (intimate relationship of knowing Him for the sake of knowing Him alone)

2. As a natural outflow of your love for Him

3. As an intercessor for your fellow man and God’s glory

4. As a subordinate to a sovereign God who has given you this responsibility and privilege

5. To test your desires and be transformed

6. To alter the world forever, making change for God’s preferred will and glory

What would the world look like if we all stepped up with these attitudes in sincere prayer? I don’t know fully, but I do know that it would look differently, for the better, and for God’s glory. I’m making a recommitment to prayer with full confidence of God’s power through it. I’m making a recommitment to prayer to bask in the full loving relationship with a loving God. Will you join me, be changed for good forever, and change this world for good forever? It is my prayer that you do. Amen.

Guest Post: "We Have A _______ God"

In year two of iron sharpening iron on this blog, I thought it would be both appropriate and fun to have occasional guest posts. I was inspired to do this after an email conversation with a loved one yielded some inspiring thoughts that I wanted to share. So I asked that person to draft a "guest post" for this blog. I am pleased to bring you guest post #1:

We Have A _______ God

“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Mark 8:34b

“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.” Matthew 12:31, 32

“And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:30

“And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou has smitten me these three times?” Number 22:28

“And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulcher of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.” II Kings 13:21


What do these five passages of Scripture have in common? They are just a handful of dozens of passages that are evidence of this:

We Have A Radical God

Usually, in this day and age, radical has a negative connotation, so let me hasten to say that the definition of radical here does not mean ridiculous or outrageous, but rather, intense or extreme. And it is meant in the most positive way. Our God, the God of the Bible, is extremely good, extremely loving, extremely brilliant, extremely powerful. And because of these wonderful qualities, His words and actions, while always perfect, are, on occasion, no less jolting.

Thank God we have a radical God. We are living in radical times: we have a radical economic crisis, we are seeing an increase in radical acts of nature (most recently, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan), and most tragic of all, a radical moral crisis where Judeo-Christian values are being thrown aside like so much dirty laundry.

None of this surprises our radical God. He saw it all coming hundreds of years ago and has warned us about it in His word, both Old and New Testament.

He has proven Himself over the centuries to handle the most radical of problems. There was the parting of the Red Sea, Daniel in the lion’s den, Noah and the Ark, the Resurrection of Jesus, just to name a few. These were boldly radical events, but there was a lot of quietly radical living that went on in between.

Think about Noah. We remember that it rained for forty days and forty nights and Noah and his family were kept safe on the Ark. But what led up to that? We know that he built the ark, according to the Lord’s command. For a hundred years. Measuring and sawing and hammering. For a hundred years. Quietly, radically, obeying the Lord.

What about Jesus? He lived between thirty-three and thirty-six years on this earth, but He spent the first thirty, with the brief exception of his time in the Temple when He was twelve, being quietly radical. I can only imagine that, at age twelve, Jesus was like a race horse, chomping at the bit, anxious to break out of the stall and burst on the scene. He was teeming with knowledge of and passion for His Heavenly Father. But His parents chided Him, because they had been searching for Him for days. So what did Jesus do?

“And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them….” Luke 2:51a

Quietly radical. For eighteen more years.

We, too, as Christians, will have many quietly radical days, and months, and years and probably just a few boldly radical moments.

We recently moved into a home that is much larger than our previous home. I was overwhelmed as how I was going to keep this house clean. But I prayed about it and the Lord gave me a basic plan that has proven very effective. I knew that, in order to be a good steward, I should take good care of the house, which of course involves keeping it clean. But I sensed that keeping the house clean had an even greater significance…it almost seemed like a godly assignment.

Still, I would have misgivings. I would watch the news and think “The world is going to hell in a hand basket, and I’m scrubbing toilets.” I wondered, “Shouldn’t I be doing something more significant?” But the conviction persisted: just keep doing what you’re doing.

Finally, the Lord’s vision for this house began to materialize: In December my husband and I hosted a meeting where a report on a mission trip with “As Our Own” was given. Then in March, we held a ladies mini-retreat for women from three different churches.

I have begun to understand that the Lord has some wonderfully radical things that He wants to do, but I must continue in quietly radical obedience until He is ready to do them.

In the cases of Noah, and Daniel, and even Jesus, (as well as many others) their quietly radical way of living led to boldly radical events that changed the world.

We may be tempted to think, “Well, I’m not a Noah or a Daniel, and I’m certainly not Jesus. What I do isn’t going to make a difference, one way or another.”

Have you ever had an ingrown toenail? An ingrown toenail can cause a great deal of pain. Pain usually distracts and can even be an energy drain. As your body compensates by favoring the foot with the pain, it can even throw your skeleton out of alignment, leading to knee, hip, and/or back problems.

So even if you think you are nothing more than a toenail in the body of Christ, what you do matters.

The day to day, seemingly mundane, living that we do as Christians are links to great things that our Lord wants to do. Every time we resist sin, every time we obey the instructions the Lord has given us in His Word, whether it be resisting gossip or resisting sexual temptation, wives choosing to reverence their husbands (yes, that’s in the Bible), being kind to neighbors, friends, and yes, enemies. These are part of a radical way of living that we call Christianity.

And it’s the way to be on the same page with our radical God.

As Our Own & Salvation - Popcorn Christian Church - Feb '11

I had the pleasure of speaking with Popcorn Christian Church in Springville, IN yesterday. They are the church in which I grew up, and they supported me on my recent mission trip to India with As Our Own. The "video" below is of the message I gave to convey my newfound appreciation for my personal salvation through Christ...a greater appreciation as a result of teaming up with As Our Own. I hope that you might gain a renewed love of Jesus and those He seeks to rescue, as well.

Spiritual Exhaustion and Starvation – My Personal Testimony

Have you ever had this thought: “If only I didn’t have to take the time to eat and sleep, I’d have plenty of time to do all of these other things I need to do.” I had that thought today, and looking back, I chuckle at it a bit.

Sometimes I get so busy with work and life that I start to lose sleeping hours and scarcely have time to prepare a proper meal for myself. So I end up sleep deprived and eating way too much fast food or other prepared foods—I just don’t have time to do it all. Example: today I was called into work at 5:30am (on a Sunday). The Lord answered my prayer that I would be able to leave work in time to get to church. After church, I had plans to eat, go for a run (I’m training for a 10k), come back to clean my apartment because I found out this morning that I’ll be hosting our men’s group gathering on Tuesday, then off to a friend’s Superbowl party that will finish off the night. You may say, “wow, that’s a lot!” However, this can often be a typical day, and I know that your life may get so busy from time to time. My conviction came when I was leaving Chipotle with my to-go order (side note: I love Chipotle and it’s worth going when I’m not short on time!). I got my food so lightning quick that I was in a very pleasant frame of mind as I thought the following thoughts: “Wow, that was so quick and I needed it to be quick today. If only I didn’t have to take the time to eat at all, or to sleep. If somehow my body could be nourished and given energy by some other means, I’d have so much more time!”

Now, of course those are just thoughts and don’t make any practical sense. My thoughts weren’t based upon sincerely considering them to be possible—they were simply the natural progression of my mind in time-management mode.

Here is the revelation: do we ever treat our spiritual lives the same way? My thoughts regarding going without food and sleep for any length of time are absurd. Sure, for a short time you can do one or both, but eventually we will need both and need them consistently in order to just stay alive, let alone live a healthy life.

We do the same thing when we consider that we are so busy that we don’t have time to read the Word or pray. Realize that the Word of God is our spiritual bread and water. Jesus speaks many times of himself being the living water and bread of life: “And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’ (John 6:35)” To eat and drink of Christ is to believe in Him as the perfect Son of God, coming in the flesh, who bore our sin, setting us free and unto eternal life, and to partake of His Spirit. It is to make Him such a part of our bodies that we are an extension of His very self in this world. We do this by confessing we are a sinner, accepting Him as our Savior and receiving the Holy Spirit to indwell us, having “fellowship in His sufferings” (Phil 3:12-12, Rom 8:17), living obediently as ambassadors for Christ, and going to the Bible often. John writes that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, (John 1:14)” referring to Jesus. So we see that if Jesus is our spiritual food and is the Word of God, that God’s Word in the Bible is a source of nourishment for our souls.

Additionally, we are to rest in our Lord and Savior. Jesus said in Matt 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” How is he to give us rest? When I think of rest, I think of comfort and of relaxation…a place undisturbed, a quiet place…a time where I don’t have to be working hard on anything, and a place of familiarity such as my home. So perhaps going to God in prayer and experiencing rest in Jesus means that He is my comfort and a place of peace and quiet. Perhaps I should get to know Him such that prayer is a place of familiarity and being with Him is like being home. Perhaps resting in Him is where I realize that I do not have to do the hard work—that my salvation is His great gift and He loves me, and I can simply be in His presence, just Him and me.

But what if we lived our physical lives the way that all too many of us live our spiritual lives? How often have you read His Word this week, this month? How often have you prayed and rested in Him? What if I went an entire month on 4 meals and slept only 2 nights? I would likely die or collapse and have to be hospitalized. What if I carried on this way for years? Our bodies would obviously fail us under those conditions. Don’t you think that spiritual lives will be taken to the point of death in the same manner if we are so starved of the Word and of prayer and resting in Him? I think we too often experience these spiritual hunger pains and exhaustion and fail to take action.

Look around—I see frail Christian bodies in the masses of Christians around the world. Spiritual bodies that are gaunt, with skin stretched over ribs, knobby joints, legs that can barely stand, arms that cannot carry their own weight. We are a malnourished culture of Christians in the United States. Take heart, for there are many who stand strong with the full armor of God and spiritual bodies that are growing with the might of Samson. Additionally, many of us are as adolescents with growing bodies and new spiritual muscles all the time. But how long have you merely sat in church, living on that single spiritual “meal” per week? I’ll tell you that I have gone years with that meager nourishment from the Word and perhaps even less rest in His presence. It left me feeble—interestingly, both spiritually and physically, as I was stricken with a disease that nearly took my life. In that time I had lost 40 pounds from a frame that was at my ideal weight. My condition took my entire appetite away and anything that I did actually eat did not strengthen my body as it would a healthy body. This entire experience happened to coincide with the greatest emotional trial I had ever experienced as I worked through the ending of a long-term relationship, making my despair feel complete both physically and emotionally. One day, I got to the point where I was lying on the couch and a pack of crackers was on the table in front of me. I hadn’t eaten in almost two days. I had just slept 14 hours and still barely made it across my apartment from my bed to my couch. I had the slightest desire to eat just 1 or 2 crackers, but I decided that it wasn’t worth the energy to lean forward 12 inches to get them—my body was utterly exhausted, depleted, and failing. Thank the Lord that my mother and I spoke on the phone moments later, and her plea for me to go to the emergency room, combined with what must have been the Lord’s hand on me, gave me the energy to get up and drive down the street to the hospital.

Up to that moment and for months afterward, I experienced the worst pain in my life daily, even hourly. There were things happening in my body that might horrify you—things that unless you are a doctor or someone with medical knowledge, you wouldn’t even think were possible. I remember the night that I prayed the most sincere prayer I have probably ever prayed: “Lord, would you please kill me and let me die?” I knew what would await me upon death: Heaven. I wanted to no longer struggle with this physical body—I so desired to shed it and go to the peace of Heaven. I prayed with sincerity on my bed before falling asleep and truly believed that I would not wake up in the morning, very hopefully expecting to open my eyes in Heaven. But God did not let me die then. I knew in the days that followed that God as my Father desires His children to join Him at home, yet He knows that it is best for both us and His kingdom that we remain here for a time. Similar to a mother or father who’s child has gone overseas to serve the Lord as a missionary—if the parents love their child second to God, they will desire that the child come back home to them, but they would see that it was the Lord’s will for the child to remain at a distance for the time being. And if that child beckoned them to allow a homecoming, the parents would surely agree immediately! So I realized that God heard my cry and desired me to come Home; yet He left me here, and He would only do so if it was best for both Him and me. Additionally, since I could not come “Home,” but He had the means to come to where I am, He would surely do so. So I rested knowing that in my cry for God to let me die, He left me here for a purpose—one that He had in mind for me specifically—and that He would be with me here. Friends, I am not different than any of you—I speak not of some special purpose for me that is unavailable to you and only available to a few. I speak of the fact that we each have a specific purpose for God in this very life and in our everlasting lives in His Kingdom to come.

From the point of going to the emergency room forward, there was a long recovery for my body. I do not know how I made it through, except for the Lord’s presence in my life. Through the experience, I learned what it was to NEED our God. Through the physical and emotional trial, I learned my NEED of a Savior for my sinful soul and of His deep love for me. When no one could comfort me, my God did. When no rest from the pain could be found, rest was found in time with Him. When I could muster no strength of my own, I was sustained by His Word. This was a powerful experience that I will never forget, and I learned the importance of being nourished by God’s Word and the power of resting in Him through prayer. Since that time, my body has been completely restored, perhaps even healthier than before the trial—Praise God alone for this!

I want to encourage you today: feed yourself! Get rest! I should take my own advice and apply it physically. But even more importantly than that, I pray that we would do it for our souls. We are hungry, my friends, and require daily nourishment. We are in need of rest, and require daily re-energizing. Let’s take the initiative to find both nourishment and rest where we know it resides: in God’s Word and in His presence through prayer. Let’s not live starved lives any longer—let’s build our frail frames into strength in Christ. Let’s not live in a state of utter exhaustion any longer—let’s give rest to our weary and heavy laden souls through our comforter, Christ. Let’s make Him our home. In our homes we recharge with food and rest; let’s make Him our home and live in Him daily, inviting Him to live within us perpetually. Times will still get tough and our energy will still wane, but in those times we need even more spiritual “calories” and rest! In my time of physical need, I was spurred onward by another by the Lord’s hand and found help that led to a new healthy body—I pray that today you are spurred onward to seek help where we both know it resides. I knew to go to the emergency room, and I learned to go to the Word and prayer. Whatever your physical needs, I know we are equally needy of the spiritual nourishment and rest that comes only through real relationship with Jesus Christ. Let’s never forget what He has done for us, what we’ve been saved from, and where our livelihood truly resides—in Christ alone. Amen.

In encourage you to meditate upon the lyrics of “In Christ Alone,” in light of the thoughts above:

In Christ Alone
by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

IN CHRIST ALONE my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!

Recognizing and Responding to the Call - Wisdom from Oswald Chambers

"My Utmost For His Highest," Jan 14(http://utmost.org/called-by-god/):

CALLED OF GOD
"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8

God did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying, "Who will go for us?" The call of God is not for the special few, it is for everyone. Whether or not I hear God's call depends upon the state of my ears; and what I hear depends upon my disposition. "Many are called but few are chosen," that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time, "Who will go for us?" It is not a question of God singling out a man and saying, "Now, you go." God did not lay a strong compulsion on Isaiah; Isaiah was in the presence of God and he overheard the call, and realized that there was nothing else for him but to say, in conscious freedom, "Here am I, send me." Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion from outside. The quiet passionate insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men with every power wide awake. If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say, "Here am I; send me."

Pair this up with recent insight from previous days' "My Utmosts:"

"If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight...
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him." - Jan 11

"We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself." - Jan 8

"He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8

Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?”You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely...
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is." - Jan 2

"There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.

At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move." - Jan 4

I'll admit, I don't have all this put together in my mind yet, either. I know to wait on God, for His timing is perfect. I also know to listen in the waiting and when I hear His still, small voice, to say "Here am I, send me!" I also know that it takes faith, beyond what is certain or logical, such that we will go out like Abraham, "not knowing where he was going." I know that we must count the cost, not just to ourselves to but to loved ones and those around us, and that any cost to us or others is no reason not to obey the call, but rather to prepare our hearts for His work. I know that although the call can bring sacrifice to others and myself, that the call is a delight, for we "Delight [our]selves in the Lord, and he will give [us] desires of [our] heart" (Psalm 37:4). I also know that I cannot dictate what consequences will be conditions of my obedience or what the call may be--but that obedience is our only condition.

The paragraph above is just a brief summary of the "My Utmosts" quoted above, and each is sound and in agreement with the Word. However, how do we apply each of those things correctly, such that we are not either over eager or too hesitant? Again, I'll admit that I'm still figuring it out, but I love to ponder these things and I hope you do, too. I think of it like this:

In the moments before the start of a horse race, each horse is in the gate with the rider poised for the start. But there is silence. Some horses stir a bit, getting anxious for the start--these often get poor starts. Some horses and riders are almost too relaxed or not on full alert, such that when the gate drops, there is a slight enough hesitation to put them in the back of the pack at the start. In any case, all horses and riders are ready to some extent, yet the gate has not been dropped.

Sometimes I think we need to have the attitude of the horse and rider behind the starting gate. We should not try to charge ahead while the gate is in place! We will be disqualified from that race and have to wait for the next one. By the same token, we should make sure we've gotten to the gate and in position, or the race will start without us. But I think we can be like that well-trained horse and rider, ready for the drop of the gate. Until the gate drops, until the Lord makes it clear without a doubt that we are to charge forward, we wait. Immediately upon dropping the gate, immediately upon picking up on that still, small voice, we go out with all we can muster, though we don't know what the race is going to look like--will my horse grab the lead or will I be last? Will the track be slippery? We go out without knowing where we are going, but we go at the drop of the gate. Others will not be chosen by God for this race that we're running, though we may wish that we could run with them. "Run with endurance the race marked out for you" (Heb 12:1). We may feel that we wanted to go with others on their races before us (their calls), or that we want to bring others and not "leave them behind" in our own minds, but God has called each to a race marked out for them. We cannot consider what it is costing them or us to run this race--we simply run the race marked out for us. And though we do not know all the consequences and there was sacrifice in leaving our comfortable stables to get out on the edge in the race, putting ourselves at risk, we can forget all the other distractions and realize the great exhilaration of the race--we are running with the wind in our faces! But only if we have gone through the life-long training, only if we've taken our place at the starting gate, only if we've waited for the gate to drop, and only if we'll charge forward when the gate is dropped, knowing perhaps little more than that a gate has been dropped, we are here and equipped by our Master Trainer, and we must run the race He has marked out for us.

All of the above alludes a specific call for ministry. As if we as riders and horses are committing to something new and different that is full-time ministry. Indeed, this fits, I believe, and you and I may very well need to read it that way. However, we might want to examine in what way we define "full-time ministry." When you hear that, I'm sure you think of pastors and missionaries, etc. Indeed, they are included. But could you be in full-time ministry right where you are? Could you be an engineer, school teacher, doctor, or lawyer in full-time ministry right now? I believe the answer is "yes." We often think about "going out without knowing" as being discarding all for the sake of a career in ministry. That may very well be your call--do not dismiss it if He is asking! And if you're unsure, then you can still start in obedience by making your life and career full-time ministry right now. The difference is attitude and approach to the work day. The difference is attitude and approach to friendships. The difference is attitude and approach in your thought life. We can "take every thought captive" (2 Cor 10:5) in the working world, doing everything "...with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Col 3:23) being ambassadors for Christ every day.

I do not want to discount the calling to pastors and missionaries here. I believe that as many will read this, less are going to commit to such service for God than He has called. "Many are called, but few are chosen." As O.C. writes, few prove themselves chosen by responding to the call. In encourage you, in whatever way the Holy Spirit is guiding you right now, do the following:

- Listen for God continually while you wait and as you go out
- Wait for the Lord's direction that you KNOW is from Him
- When you act in obedience, go out without knowing or being hindered by the consequences for you and others
- Check to make sure that whatever the sacrifice, you still have the full joy of the Lord
- Start living for Him in full-time ministry right where you are today
- At any snare, at any success, at all times, "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17)

If you can satisfy these conditions, I believe that the Lord has you right where He wants you, your life will never be the same and for the better, and we are one step closer to walking down the path of His preferred will.

If this is all confusing, I understand. You might throw everything written here out the window and do just one thing: pray. You don't need me or anyone else to tell you what God can tell you Himself through prayer and sincere study of His Word. I write these things to be a catalyst in your relationship to Him, not at all to be a substitute. Your inspiration can start while reading here or "My Utmost" or any other Christian writing, but it must immediately be fed by the Source, God Himself. This is endeavored through prayer and Scripture.

May the Holy Spirit speak to you today, and may we both respond to His voice in the way that is most pleasing to our Father in Heaven. Amen.