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No shortcuts to a deeper relationship with God
I subscribe to a website that shows you when e-books get discounted. One day, one of the books on sale was related to discipleship and being able to increase the depth of discipleship in a short amount of time. While on the surface this does not appear to be a problem. I found that the more I thought about it, the less I liked what it was saying about the discipleship process.
What do I mean? It makes me uncomfortable to think people are trying to short-circuit the discipleship process in their lives.
The reason for this is there is no shortcut to a deeper level of discipleship. There is no quick way of growing in intimacy with God. And to think that there is we put ourselves on a path toward self-deception. A path that leads to spiritual harm and weakness. Discipleship is a journey. It is a journey that takes time and endurance in order to achieve the ultimate goal.
This raises an interesting question: What is the ultimate goal of discipleship?
I believe the ultimate goal of discipleship is a deep and abiding relationship with God. That’s it. That’s the whole of it.
That relationship with God cannot be achieved by taking shortcuts. Now, I know that the book and other books like it are not trying to necessarily give the reader the impression it is possible to have a deep relationship with God in a short amount of time. However, that was the effect it had on me. And I have been maturing in my understanding of discipleship for over 20 years.
The fact that we struggle in our discipleship journey does not mean there is not some redemptive purpose in it. None of us likes to struggle. None of us likes to think there is a measure of suffering we all must endure. But life does not always come wrapped in a tight little bow.
Sometimes life is messy. In other times it can be downright vicious. But in spite of whatever comes at us in this life, we will do all we can to look towards what God has promised and not merely what we hope for him to fulfill at our request.
In my own life discipleship has often been costly. The reason for the cost of true and lasting discipleship is it requires us to sacrifice something we would normally never consider we could sacrifice. And what is that? We are called to sacrifice our very lives.
The reason for the cost of true and lasting discipleship is it requires us to sacrifice something we would normally never consider we could sacrifice.
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This is the very thing Jesus does in his own example to us. Jesus enters into the world and he lives a life among people who do not understand who he truly is. He lives among people who only see someone who can bring them out of their own suffering and into what they believe is a life of abundance. But not the spiritual kind of abundance God desires to give. But the kind of abundance that says we are supposed to be rich in the world’s treasures. But Jesus says he has come to give us life and that life to the fullest.
I think what troubled me the most about books that promise to give us special insights and a quicker route to a deeper relationship with God is it offers something that not even God has promised to us. God calls us into a deeper relationship with him through his son Jesus Christ and invites us to live all eternity with him. Too often we find this invitation to be too far off. And so what we do, we look for ways to help God give us what we desire. But it’s not something we desire according to God’s purposes. It is what we desire according to our own.
I think one of the great challenges of the Christian faith is trusting in God’s timing. Learning to rely upon God to bring us to those moments and places he has determined are for our greatest good.
And so we need to learn to be patient. We need to learn to be more trusting. We need to learn to be more content with what God is giving us rather than looking for a “get holy quick scheme.”
“O Come to the Altar” Cover – Bailey Stowers and David Taafua
This is an amazing cover of the song.
Regaining Focus in an unclear World
Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
John 21:20-23 KJV
Introduction
At the start of every year whether people follow through with it or not it has become accustomed to setting out resolutions what we will accomplish in the new year. One of the greater challenges of following through with these resolutions is that oftentimes we pick things that will require greater changes than we are really prepared to do. We have not really learned that smaller changes over a longer period of time can provide lasting changes for the rest of our lives.
One of the struggles that we will have as we strive to leave a mark in this year is to seek a renewed focus for our lives. If we are not deliberate in our actions we can run the risk of missing what God has in store for us. Today I want to talk with you about regaining focus in an unclear world.
There are so many mixed messages being sent by the world in which we live. We have to do a better job of figuring out how to live our lives in a Christ-like way in a world that doesn’t want to have any part in that. How do we regain focus? How do we get our lives back on a road that will bring us closer to God?
Obey what Jesus has said
The first commitment we should make is Christians in this new year is to obey what Jesus said. I will grant it is not always easy to do what Jesus says. It isn’t easy because doing what Jesus says requires that we acknowledge that He has spoken. We are all on a journey to find meaning and significance. We all are looking for ways of making our lives count. So we make friends and we start families. We get involved in the community and we look for careers that will be fulfilling. We tell ourselves that if we do these things we will find happiness.
But no matter what we do doubt will linger in our minds. “Is this enough?” It is so hard to see what we need to do most of the time, but God desires to be a part of that process. God is looking for you and me to turn to Him and say, “God, I want to have a life filled with meaning and purpose. But I need you if I’m going to get there.” And do you know what He did? He sent Jesus.
Jesus was and is God’s way of saying I want to be a part of your life if you will let me. I find myself rededicating my life to Christ on a regular basis. Why? I do it because I make mistakes. I let people down. I let myself down. I’m not perfect. And it is only when I turn my life over to Him that I know I will be all right? Do you need to give your life to him today? Do you need to recommit your life to Jesus today?
When I look at the story here at the end of John I am reminded that we have to obey what Jesus says. We can’t go and do what we think that Jesus has said. If we do what we think He said we will get hurt and we will hurt others in the process. Our good intentions go wrong when we don’t follow the instructions. Peter had not been restored to fellowship long before he was concerned about somebody else’s status with God. When we fail to obey what Jesus has said we go and do foolish things. This is not something new. It’s something that has been going on from the very first moment that God breathed life into Adam.
Don’t underestimate your own struggles
The second commitment we should make is that we should not underestimate our own struggles. If we want to regain focus we have to be willing to admit that we have struggles. I don’t like to admit it, but if I want to have a chance at enjoying my life I can’t go and stick my head in the sand. Life is hard. We have to account for other people, what they say, what they do, what they mean. I have to account for my actions and how I will react in those situations when I deal with other people.
We have mortgages to pay, jobs to deal with, bosses to please, families to maintain, cars to fix, recitals to go to, students to teach, children to rear, and churches to build. Life is complicated. Because of this, we can’t afford to underestimate our struggles, because any wrench could bring the whole thing to a halt.
I don’t know about you, but some days are a real struggle. Trying to make the right choices, trying to live a good life. I really don’t have the time to be focusing my energy and effort on making sure other people are doing what they are supposed to be doing. If I were to spend my time trying to do this I would go insane.
Not everyone sees things the way that I do. Not everyone is interested in what I am interested in. Not everyone that I come in contact with on a daily basis holds the same things dear that I do. This is all part of the struggle that I must deal with. And yet I find myself in the same situation as Peter. I start looking around wondering, “What about Him?” I have to seek to do the best that I can with what God has given me. And I should do this with the sincere prayer that God would use what I give for His glory.
The comparison game is such a dangerous way to live our lives. God does not compare us to anyone else except Jesus. And that the standard is difficult enough on its own.
Compare yourself to Christ, Not to “John”
The third commitment we should make is to compare ourselves to Jesus and not to “John”. One of the most harmful decisions you can make is to try and compare yourself to someone else. When we compare ourselves to those around us we make assumptions about the other person that may not be true. But the assumptions that could be the most troublesome are the ones that you make about yourself. It doesn’t matter whether the comparison is positive or negative. Whether we are making ourselves better or worse. Do you know what the biggest problem with comparing ourselves to “John” is? We are comparing ourselves to the wrong person.
We too often get caught up in what is going on in other people’s lives at the expense of what is happening in our own. Peter wanted to know what was going to happen to John because he did not want to get any less than what John was getting. We are not here to compete with one another. We are not here to best one another and try to see who can do more for the church than the person next to us.
I think that this boils down to the way that we are taught about success. We are taught and told that success is competition. We have to do better than the person next to us if we want to get that promotion. We have to work harder if we want to get ahead. And what ends up happening is that we all have to maintain where we are just so we don’t fall behind. If we try to keep up with those that are around we will lose sight of something much more important, keeping up with Jesus.
There is a chorus that helps me to put aside that tendency to want to look across the aisle to see how I’m doing against so and so. The chorus says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the life of His glory and grace.”
Commitment:
If you need to give your life to Jesus for the first time or if you need to give your life again do it today. You can pray something like this:
Jesus, I am not perfect. I need you to come into my life and help me to regain the right focus in my life. Help me to obey your word, help me to identify the areas of my life where I struggle, and let me look to you to see how I’m doing. In Jesus name I pray, AMEN.
Originally Delivered in 2004. It has been edited and expanded.
2022: The Fog
We’re in the beginning of the 4th week of 2022. And I’m still processing why it doesn’t feel like the new year even happened…
I also wonder: Does anyone else feel that way or is it only me?
I don’t have any specific answers yet as to why. But as I’ve been spending time with God about it, and He gave me this image: a foggy hiking trail thru the forest.
This “hiking trail” actually represents a path I’ve been on with Jesus for a while now. It started well before the pandemic, but I just wasn’t aware of it until the lockdown in 2020 created the space for me to acknowledge it and begin exploring it with Him.
I’ve started talking about the path I’m on as wandering with Jesus.
Not because I’m lost. I’m not.
Mostly because Jesus isn’t lost and I’m walking with him. So he knows where we are going, even if I don’t.
But also because the wandering isn’t actually new, or without meaning. It’s a part of the path He’s always been trying to lead me on, in a very intentional way. I just wasn’t aware of it, so I couldn’t talk about it.
For too long in my relationship with Jesus, I saw feelings of wandering as problems to be solved. And now I know that’s never been the case…
I’ve been aware of my wandering with Jesus for a little while now. And I know many others are “waking up” to it too. I’ve spoken with so many who feel dismissed by “church leaders” because of their wandering.
And I just want to say: I’m sorry.
I’m more interested in finding ways to wander together than to “fix” the wandering anymore. Because I know, what Jesus wants for me is the relationship(s) along the way anyways.
And 2022 just brought something new to the wandering: fog.
Before I would have seen the fog as an obstacle to be overcome.
Something Jesus had to solve. Something He had to clear so we could get to where we were going.
But now that I’ve embraced the wandering, I realize now that’s not the purpose of the fog at all. And that it’s also not Jesus’ desire.
He wants me to focus on Him. Not what He can do for me.
The fog will likely slow us down on our walk. And that’s okay. That’s probably exactly what I need right now.
So if you find yourself in a place where the only way you know how to describe it is wandering – I get it. I’ve discovered this wandering has actually always been the plan all along. It’s not a problem to be solved. It’s a path to focus me on what matters: the relationship(s).
I’m not sure what all 2022 will hold. But I do know it has started with a fog. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll help me slow down even more, so I can see even more clearly when it’s gone.
If you’re wandering with Jesus and looking for others who are too, I’m there with you. It might help not to wander alone. I’m glad I don’t feel like I am. I remember when I did.
Maybe 2022 for you will include finding others to wander with…I think it will for many people. If you want to explore what wandering with Jesus, with others could look like – reach out. There’s a number of us talking about that very thing right now.
I’m just thankful I’ve embraced this wandering with Jesus. Trying to solve it, like I used to do all those years ago, meant I missed out on so much of what He was wanting for me.
I’m looking forward to another year of wandering…but there’s some fog right now, so I’ll be taking it a little slower. Jesus has something for me in it.
Blessed Assurance – Tommy Walker
Who’s Driving Your Emotions?
When others use our emotions either against us or for their own goals, they are not trustworthy sources of counsel.
God gave us emotions to serve as brakes. Not the gas pedal. But there seems to be a growing epidemic of emotional pedal confusion1 in our world. Then, unironically, people are surprised by the carnage and chaos that results.
Watch out for those who are constantly pressing the gas on your emotions. They are not trying to help you. They are using you. Controlling you. And you should ask yourself why you let them.
What’s worse is those people are doing you a disservice and spiritual harm. When others use our emotions either against us or for their own goals, they are not trustworthy sources of counsel. I will grant that not all people who do this may have malicious or nefarious objectives, but the end will be the same. We have to become more discerning in who we allow that kind of influence in our lives.
This happens in the church. At your workplace. On the news. In your family. And especially on social media. It’s going to happen anywhere two people interact.
But, learning to be a steward of your own heart is the key to becoming free from these tactics. It can be challenging to set up healthy barriers. But doing is so is an essential part of growing emotionally and spiritually.
One of the most important disciplines we can cultivate is reflection. Taking the time to think about what is happening in and around your life. Slowing down long enough to make sure you are going where you planned and doing those things that are healthy and good.
When we reflect on those moments and events that caused us emotional frustration, we begin to discern how we respond to different stimuli. This is how we grow.
It’s one thing to be passionate. But it’s quite another to have your passions enslaved. And even more dangerous when our passions are used for the purposes of another’s agenda. We can be so passionate about something we can’t actually change we lose sight of who we are in the process. This is a recipe for being deceived and misled.
It’s one thing to be committed to a cause. But it’s quite another to give blind allegiance to anything. Particularly anything that does not provide a path toward forgiveness and reconciliation.
Too many people can no longer tell the difference. Why? Because they have invested too much of themselves into what they are promoting. And no one wants to admit they are wrong. That they may have been misled. Or even manipulated.
When our identity is subsumed into another’s or into a cause, no matter how noble its purported aims, we will become cogs in someone else’s machine. This is not how we are to live our lives. We should not surrender our personhood to anyone or anything. Who we are is a gift from God. To give ourselves in a way that only rightly belongs to God to anyone or anything earthly is a form of idolatry.
Good intentions are not good enough. Good intentions are the internal reasons for why we act. And it’s important to have them. I will not deny that. Wanting positive results can be and is commendable.
The challenge is recognizing whether or not those intentions actually produce the intended results. If they don’t, and we continue to do those things that are inflicting obvious harm, then we have become the very thing we were trying to oppose. Our intentions have to be evaluated by the results they produce. Otherwise, we will give ourselves, and others, a pass on their actions when the results are negative.
Judas had good intentions. But he ended up betraying the Son of God. And Peter had good intentions, but when confronted with his association with Jesus he denied Him three times. One could not forgive himself, the other found forgiveness he didn’t deserve.
Our intentions should not be the metric we use to evaluate what we do. What results from our actions should be. And the results must be under constant evaluation.
Steps for Reflection
Because learning how to reflect on our lives and our responses is so important, I’ve asked my friend and contributor to this site to provide us with a simple pattern we can use. There is also an example below. When you find yourself feeling like you are not clear about a reaction you had to an event or situation go through the following steps.
1. What emotion do I feel the strongest right now?
(If you’re having trouble identifying it, use a feelings wheel – you can find one fairly easily on Google)
*Express your emotion to God, be specific about why you feel that way.
2. What might God want to say to me in the midst of that emotion?
(It can be helpful to use the Psalms in this case – Google the emotion you feel and the word “Psalm” and see if you find one that you identify with)
*Pray, listening to what God might say about that emotion to you.
3. What is a healthy way to express that emotion to those around me?
(This might be the step that requires you to talk with a trusted mentor in the faith – despite a culture that wants you to react immediately)
*Act on the emotion in a Christlike way that displays empathy and humility.
Example:
Someone shares an example of injustice in the world that is horrible.
1. What emotion do I feel the strongest right now?
Anger. Specifically frustrated and infuriated.
*God, I am angry about this injustice. Why would such a thing be allowed?! Do something!
2. What might God want to say to me in the midst of that emotion?
I see examples of anger about injustice in several Psalms, so I read those Psalms.
*It seems like God is saying it’s okay to be angry over such things, to trust Him that He will enact justice, and to seek Him on how to participate in His justice.
3. What is a healthy way to express that emotion to those around me?
I think about a humble and empathetic way to respond in my context. I seek the advice of trusted mentors.
*I commit myself to on-going prayer and periodic fasting concerning this injustice. I decide to start a petition to change the laws and I contact lawyers and politicians to begin making changes.
Footnotes:
1 Pedal confusion is the phrase used to describe when a driver presses the wrong pedal while driving. Usually leading to an accident.
There Is None Like You/ You Are (The Love Of My Life) Medley- Jared Reynolds
4+1+19=24
Today is my wife and I’s 19th wedding anniversary.
But we have been together for 24 years. Four years dating. One year engaged. And the rest in holy matrimony.
Like in any relationship we have had to learn a lot of things along the way. But each lesson has strengthened us, helped us to become better versions of ourselves. At least I think and hope so.
I remember the young man who was waiting for his bride at the front of the church. He thought he knew what life would look like with this woman. But the truth is it has been more and better than I envisioned.
The life we have built together is not what others may have wanted. It is what we wanted. Still not perfect, but it is ours. We own our life together. Warts and all.
I’m a blessed man.
I love you, Miranda! Thanks for putting up with me for this long. Looking forward to what is yet to come.
God’s Commands are Near to Us
The commandments of God are not difficult to know. But they may be challenging to perform.
11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 ESV
The commandments of God are not difficult to know. But they may be challenging to perform. We too often confuse the two. The more we grow in our understanding of what God has desired, the greater our ability to live in God’s will and under God’s blessing.
The passage here is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, in the passage, we are reminded that we spend too much time trying to hear from God something new. But, we overlook and even diminish what God has already said. We should not be constantly asking God to speak some new insight or revelation for our lives. We should rather be looking at what has already been said, and ask, “Is this reality present in my life today?” An additional question we could ask is this: “How consistently am I living this reality out?”
the second reason this passage is interesting is it identifies where these commandments are (or should be!). The commandments are “in your mouth and in your heart.” Wow!
I don’t know about you, but that really convicts me. Is this true in my life? Is this true OF my life?
If God’s commandments are not in my mouth or in my heart can I honestly say that I am living as I should? I know this may not make us feel comfortable, but maybe that’s the point. We should be convicted by this.
Not for one second do I believe this is supposed to make us feel bad. But it might. And if it does, we should not run from it. We should ask ourselves, why? Why do I continue doing what I know is not helping draw me closer to God? There may be a million reasons. Only you know yours.
A final thought about this passage is that it clearly details what we should be doing and why. But it also helps us to understand the promises attached to our obedience. When we understand our part in hearing and doing what God commands we will feel and experience the nearness of God.
The link between obedience and our growing awareness of God’s presence can be missed if we are not careful. It is in obedience that we know God is near. Why? Because our obedience is how God knows we are serious about our relationship with him. He doesn’t forsake when we falter. But, when we obey, all the other distractions are removed so we can more fully experience how near God really is.