Contentment

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (NIV, emphasis mine)

A good friend recently reminded me that contentment is being thankful for what we have, rather than spending time thinking about what we don't have. Well said...

Discipline

Hebrews 12:5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”a

7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (NIV)

Conscience

This passage has taken on a whole new meaning for me recently:

1 Corinthians 8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge.a Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But the man who loves God is known by God.

4So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

7But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

9Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

I've spent a considerable amount of time over the years trying to get my thoughts and actions to line up with Scripture--to examine what it says regarding the things I encounter in life, and to try to live in a way that demonstrates consistency with what's taught there.  But I'm beginning to believe I've taken a responsibility as my own that was never mean to be--namely, the shaping of my conscience on the basis of truth.

I never noticed it before, but in this passage Paul doesn't really focus on what is true and what is misunderstanding.  He states rather matter-of-factly that idols are nothing; therefore, eating food sacrificed to them is no real issue: nothing we eat makes us closer to or further from God.  But these statements are almost an aside--a parenthetical "taken for granted" statement that isn't the focus of what he wants to communicate.

Paul doesn't suggest that a believer who knows this should try to convince his friend who does think it's wrong that it isn't; rather, he suggests that causing this person to do anything contrary to his conscience--even in light of what is true--is causing them to sin.  The focus is on being faithful to that voice within us--that red warning light that goes off when we are about to do something that we think is wrong.  We're not to exercise liberties based on truth if it runs over someone else's conscience.

This gets really interesting when we think about how we relate to our own conscience, particularly in matters where Scripture isn't very clear.  Do I let how others interpret a passage of Scripture determine how I will act?  What actions do I take when there's no way to weigh all of the passages relating to a topic and come up with a clear set of principles?  In other words, in the matters of faith where believers around the world have differing opinions, how do I know what Jesus wants me to do?

The solution, I'm beginning to think, is to be diligent to understand what Scripture says--both to the audience who would have heard it then and to me living today in my culture--but to ultimately be at peace with my conscience.  I have to trust that in time Jesus will mold my thoughts and heart as I walk with Him so that my conscience leads me to walk as He wants.  This makes sense; it allows believers of all spiritual ages to participate in walking by faith--not just those who can afford the time and expense of seminary training. Walking by faith becomes an exercise in listening to His Spirit speak to mine and being obedient in what he asks me to do...and all the while, the truth of his Word matures me and shapes the direction and path my conscience leads me to follow him down.

Some will say I'm advocating we follow our emotions rather than live by the hard black-and-white truth of Scripture, but that's not what I'm saying.  Anyone who's had to follow the advice of conscience in spite of what our emotions want will know exactly what I mean...

Must Be a Shriners' Convention in Town

Northview 30 days: Wait

I think there's a reason I stayed on the Northview e-mail list when I moved. This 30 Days of Prayer initiative has been sending me very timely and encouraging e-mails every morning...and I've needed them. I'm re-producing another one here, but it will be the last; sign up here if you want to see the rest.

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REFLECT

Wait?! What do you mean by wait? I have things to do, places to go and commitments to meet. Being productive is not only is required of me, it is how I have been trained since I first started getting an education. I hate long lines, traffic jams, inconveniences and other things that slow me down and get in the way of me getting my things done.

And, for heaven’s sake, why did Jesus after His resurrection tell the disciples to go to Jerusalem and “wait” for the promised Holy Spirit? The key disciples were all right there; He had their attention. Why didn’t He cut loose with the “tongues of fire” right then? Let’s get this over with and get the show on the road. Times a-wasting.

Some things take time. Stop it with these platitudes! I don’t have time. I am not going to wait. If someone else won’t step up to the plate, I’m just going to have to take the bull by the horns and get the job done. If I want something done right, I have to do it myself. Time waits for no one.

I, I, I. Who is in control, as depicted in the thoughts above? “I” is. (Excuse the bad grammar.) But who is really in control? Who holds time in His hand as a servant? Who started the clock, and who will draw time to an end? The great I AM.

PRAY

Lord, may I see things your way and be willing to come to You on your terms. May I be willing to wait for your timing, your order. May I delight in your purposes and in your plans. May I believe and hold on to what You have said and do things your way, for your ways are perfect. Amen.

READ

LAMENTATIONS 3:21-26 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Obedience

Good Friday is great for perspective.

I've been upset a lot lately for having to do something recently that I absolutely did not want to do. It's easy in these circumstances to focus on the discomfort of not getting what I want. I took an unpopular stand (at least unpopular with me) and seemingly am missing out as a result...

But today reminds me that Jesus faced a decidedly unfair situation and was obedient to a level I can never imagine--letting himself be killed when it was completely in his power to end it. If anyone had a right to shout "Unfair!" it was He.

Now there is no comparing the excruciating pain and perfect obedience of Jesus to my mild discomfort at not getting all I WANT along with all I need...don't misread what I'm saying. I'm just glad to spend an evening getting my attitude lovingly adjusted in the presence of other brothers and sisters in Christ as we reflect on His death and resurrection. His perfect obedience and loving sacrifice reminds me that He really does care for me and want the best for me.

Jesus, thank you for loving me and giving yourself so I could be with you. Help me with your strength be a man of obedience after your heart.

Have a Happy Easter everyone! I hope you experience His perfect love and acceptance in a real and meaningful way.

Despair and Hope

Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  (2 Corinthians 1:9)

Instead

(The following post is an e-mail I received during Northview Church's 30 Days of Prayer campaign. The original can be found here.)

REFLECT

You have been down many paths. All of them have taken effort and involved choices. Some paths you took with other people; some paths you walked alone. You will never pass that exact same way again. And you have brought something back with you from those places.

You have memories of these paths…some pleasant, some unsettling. You gained experiences from these paths and choices…some precious, some traumatic and some you now wish you had avoided. You brought back beliefs and impressions of how things are and how things work.

Did you know that God wants to redeem the hard things you have been through? Did you know that He can transform the results of the bad choices? Did you know that, despite the limitations and pain you feel, He is still in control and He is love?

Did you know that, in all of this, you are the prize of God, meant for the eternal display of His splendor? There is something much bigger going on here than what you see.

PRAY

Lord, I don’t understand why things have turned out this way. In many ways, I don’t see how you can fix things or make my life have meaning and true value. However, you have told me that you have this all worked out, and that you have my eternal best interest at heart, that you have a purpose and a plan specifically for me. I surrender my right to understand and my desire to control. May I simply believe, trust and follow. Amen.

READ

ISAIAH 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

Confusion

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your paths straight.