I Thessalonians and Personal Growth

This coming Sunday, Pastor Andy is going to kick off our new sermon series through the book of I Thessalonians. I was reading I Thessalonians this morning and I realized I had done a project on the letter while I was a college student. After digging through a couple of files I found my project. The goal of the project was to synthesize the themes in Paul's letter. While so often biblical study is focused on analyzing and breaking down the text into the smallest bits, my professor wanted us to bring it together; to look at the whole thing at once. I had a blast with this project because as much as I love to analyze I need to see the big picture for it to be worth the work. 

But as I looked closer at this project, I started seeing a bunch of things I didn't like. I drew some connections that don't seem that important, and missed some more of the obvious points. I didn't like how I broke down the segments. Why did I stop that section there, when Paul kept on the same theme in the next verse? Did I seriously misspell a three letter word? In a matter of minutes, this prized project became embarrassing. 

Then I noticed the date on the cover page: December 12, 2002. I did this ten years ago?!? I did this project the first semester of my college career! Now I feel old. But, I also get to have grace for myself. While this was a mildly impressive display of biblical literacy when I was 18 (at least my prof thought so), I have changed in the last 10 years. I see things differently now.

Life with Christ is never stagnant. We never learn anything in finality. We are always growing and changing, and so our understanding of God and his Word must always be growing as well. The Bible is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and so are we! The gospel of Jesus never changes, but because of its infinite dimensions, we should always see it new. 

I pray that I never see the Bible as something I have all figured out, or even any one book as something I've already studied enough. I pray these next 13 weeks through 1 Thessalonians will be a great rediscovery of the unchanging message of the gospel and that it would penetrate our lives in a brand new way. 

Living in Reality

Psalm 4

¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?    Selah

³ But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;

the LORD hears when I call to him.

⁴ Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.   Selah

⁵ Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the LORD.

⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”

⁷ You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

----------------------

A few weeks ago I stumbled across this verse while playing a little Bible Roulette. I don’t recommend this as a regular reading plan because it can really lead you in the wrong direction, but I didn’t have any ideas of where to read that day so I was just flipping around. 

The Psalms are well known for not mincing any words, and for expressing extreme emotions, but what stuck out to me about this chapter is not the circumstantial context of the words but the process David goes through. He looks honestly at his circumstance, looks at the truth of the Lord, and then responds in light of the truth. 

In verses one and two David cries out to God about his troubles, and to his neighbors about their sin. David looks around and asks, “How long?” In other words, “Will this never end?” It is easy to get caught in that cycle of thinking: look at the messed up world around me (or the messed up me!), yell at God, repeat. But David doesn’t stop there; he looks beyond the trouble to what he knows about God. 

Who The Lord Is

The truth about the world is glaringly obvious to us, but the truth about God is all too often more difficult to find. In the middle of his distress David is able to say in verse three, “The LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call him.” 

How could David say this with such certainty? I think there are two basic reasons. First, David knew the history of God’s faithfulness to his people. He would have grown up being told all about how the Lord had called Abraham out of his homeland, how he had protected Joseph from slavery and made him #2 in all of Egypt, how he had called Moses to service through the burning bush, how he made the Red Sea dry for the Israelites to cross, and then flooded Pharaoh's army in it. He would have known about the manna and how the Lord led them by fire and cloud through the wilderness. He knew about (and had copies of) the Law that was handed down to the Israelites to set them apart for the Lord. 

But knowing about good work of God in other people’s lives does little to change our own. After all, David’s older brothers would have known all the same stories, but they weren’t exactly jumping up to fight Goliath. Which leads me to the second part: David had personally experienced the Lord’s work in his life. When he was just a kid he talked King Saul into letting him fight Goliath by saying, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37 ESV) He had seen the Lord protect him before and he had confidence that He would do it again! 

For us, all of these stories and more are now in our Old Testament. If we don’t know the history of God’s faithfulness, how will we ever trust him ourselves? It would be like handing over your children to a daycare you had zero research on, and no one recommended to you! Having personal experiences with the Lord, however, leads to greater and greater trust in Him. This means we cannot hide in our comfort zone. We need to be willing to be in places that require us to trust God. It means stepping out in faith even when the reality of the situation is grim, because the reality of God is great. 

David responds this way in verses four through eight, with a few instructions and some attitude adjustments. If we really believe that God hears us and will always care for his people, we are freed up to not be angry, to trust the Lord, and to live in joy. Even with his enemies all over the place David entrusts his safety to the Lord so much so that he can lie down and sleep in peace! 

If the Truth is True...

If this doesn’t sound like you, what is missing? If we say we believe the truth about who God is and what He can do, then why should we live any other way than in peace and joy? Either we don’t believe the reality of God, or we are crazy. Reality (i.e. truth) inevitably affects how we live. 

Consider this example: You have a friend who is deaf. You know this about her, so naturally you communicate differently with her than with a hearing friend. Maybe she can read lips, so you’re conscious of facing her when you speak. Or maybe you learn sign language, or you type to each other. Whatever you do, you change your typical habits in light of the reality of her hearing loss. You then see someone walk up to your friend and start speaking to her as if she can hear. The speaker doesn’t get a response and repeats themselves more loudly. What goes through your head at this point? Either 1) they don’t know she’s deaf so they aren’t changing their habits, or 2) they do know she’s deaf and they’re foolish for thinking that they should be able to communicate the same way they always do! 

We naturally conform to reality in every day life, so why is responding to the reality of God so hard? Either we don’t truly know or believe who the Lord is and what He can do, or we are actively choosing to live life contrary to that reality. 

Truth is not just a thing to be studied or argued about, but something that radically changes our lives. In John 8:31-32 Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” David was not spending sleepless nights wondering what would happen to him. He slept soundly, knowing the Lord was protecting him. Knowing the truth turns us from slavery to freedom! 

So what? 

A couple questions to consider:  

Do you know the Lord? God has revealed himself to us through his Son Jesus (“the Word made flesh”) as recorded in the Bible (“The Word”). God is powerful enough to overcome any circumstance, but he will only do so if you know him. Commit your life to him, and turn from your sin. If you are struggling with trusting God in tough times, spend more time in his Word, and find out who he says he is. He has things to say to each of us in our situations, and wants to be our Redeemer. 

Are you living in reality or in fear? Sometimes we live contrary to the truth we know because even if we say we know it, the scary reality of life is more convincing than the reality of God’s truth. Meditate on John 8:31-32--the truth will set you free! Ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?” and then ask Jesus to redeem that fear and help you live in the truth of his love and power. We need to continually remember that His Word is the ultimate authority on everything, and when our circumstances don’t make sense, he is still true. 

Who will walk with you? The Christian life cannot be lived alone. We need each other to function. Share with at least one person where you need help trusting the Lord and ask them to support you...and support them as well! Your Community Groups are a great place for this. You don’t always need to give all the details, but no one will be shocked if you share that you are not always believing the truth of the gospel and living it consistently at all times in all ways! The nature of life on this earth is one of constant growth in this area. 

Other thoughts? Leave a comment below! 

Living It Out...in the most unexpected ways

Early this summer, Andy told me he wanted a mini fridge in the church office so we could offer water and snacks to people when we had meetings there. Being the ever-submissive assistant I went to Home Depot and got one for less than $100! We almost had some trouble with our tax-exempt status because I didn't have a Home Depot account for the company, but a manager came over and just hit a few buttons. It looked great, was inexpensive, and held water bottles. Mission Accomplished.

But in the fall it mysteriously stopped working, and lukewarm water just wouldn't do. So Kyle dug up the receipt for me, only to discover that the return date had passed! Knowing that, I dragged my feet on calling Home Depot to find out what to do next because I just don't enjoy cold-calling people or companies, especially when a negotiation is likely. I know that I put the receipt in a safe place because I would need it when I did finally deal with this. Unfortunately, it is still in that place, and that place has been lost to history. Without the receipt my interest in calling Home Depot plummeted even further. 

I finally went there in person yesterday and explained my problem at the service counter to find out what the options were. Praise the Lord, it was super simple! They found the receipt in their system, printed it out and told me to come back with the fridge and they would give me store credit. I ignored the note at the bottom of the printout that read, "This receipt cannot be used for returns."

So I immediately went to the office and brought the fridge back to Home Depot. The Service Desk guy scanned a few things, but just as I was about to sign the transaction, I realized that they had returned the tax to me even though I never paid tax. It was about $7, but I never had it, so they shouldn't give it back to me! That little mention I made led us down a path of 20 minutes of phone calls to multiple managers, finally resulting in them just deciding to give me the tax anyway because they couldn't figure it out due to how the manager got around the tax when I first bought it. 

The last thing I had to do was pick out the new fridge. I found it (still under $100, and bigger!) and brought it up to the same service desk because I also had to set up a formal tax-exempt account with them. But I told the woman I wanted to pay the tax on this one because they had returned the tax to me that I didn't pay in the first place and this would just even everything out. 

The woman's reaction took my totally by surprise, "Did you go to Northwestern?" I realized I was wearing an old NWC shirt. 

"Yes," I replied. 

"Well, you are just a wonderful image of Christ!" Come to find out, she had two kids go through NWC, and is currently reading a Piper book that she's loving. 

That was about the last situation I ever expected to be pointed out as a witness for Christ. Granted, if that woman hadn't been a believer I doubt she would have made the leap from financial integrity to Jesus on the cross, at least not without more of a conversation. But whether or not the world fully understands why we are compelled to do good, we are still called to do so. Scripture calls it being the "fragrance" of Christ (2 Cor. 2:14ff); I once had a youth pastor call it "being Jesus with skin on." However you want to say it, the way we act to the world reflects Christ for good or ill. I want to continue striving to mirror Christ in a way that honestly reflects him, and in so doing, change the world through the simplest encounters. 

A Song Inspired from Multiple Stories

Long ago, out of the night I was led

By a Voice, I’m still not sure what he said

but in my heart I heard the unrelenting words of love

When he said, 

Follow me, out of the night I will lead you

Take my hand, live in the light you are mine. 

Now this is something new

Freedom in the fences, could it be true? 

I always thought I knew that freedom came without a home

‘Till he said, 

Follow me, out of the night I will lead you

Take my hand, live in the light you are mine. 

What is it about your grace that terrifies me? 

Why can I not live in light of love? 

Oh great and mighty, awesome God I know you are

But my Redeemer, Father, Friend, I’m not so sure

Still you say,

Follow me, out of the night I will lead you

Take my hand, live in the light you are mine. 

Back On Land

On Monday I returned from a week-long vacation in the Caribbean on the Disney Dream cruise ship with my parents, littlest sister, grandparents, and one cousin. It was a fantastic week of sun, sleep, salt, snorkeling, and sweets. Wow, I didn't even try for that alliteration! That's just how good it was. 

The biggest adjustment was not learning to move with the ocean swells, or not having to pay for anything on the ship; it was the disconnection from the rest of life. We of course had no cell service or internet and I was surprised at how much I missed connecting with my friends after just a couple of days. It was a serious adjustment to post on Facebook the funny thing that just happened, or text someone when the crowds were just too much. It was incredibly eye-opening to how much I rely on technology. I still like to think of myself as a country girl who's been called to this crazy urban world, but it really showed me how much I have consigned myself to this lifestyle. I have trained myself to not seek silence and solitude and rest. I have learned to fill my moments with tweets, movies, music, and texts. 

Here at home I have no roommate or office mates and I sometimes go a whole day without seeing anyone. On the ship I was never alone sharing a room with my whole family on a ship of 4,000 guests and another 1,500 staff, but I had better solitude there than I have at home in quite awhile. 

So now that I'm back on land, the challenge is to merge the two. Can I re-enter my life of ministry, family, friends, housework, etc, while maintaining the priority of solitude, rest and reflection? The jury is still out on that one. I continue to have feelings of swaying on a ship, so I'm not sure I'm totally back yet. 

I'm On A Boat

This morning my sister Kelsey and I were talking about the book Sticky Church by Larry Osbourne (which I highly recommend), and the nature of our churches and the individuals that make them up. She used an awesome analogy that I have thought of before (and I’m sure many others have) but she took it to a whole new level. 

Kelsey and her husband Dave both work at a large church that has been in the cities for 125 years! It’s not a mega church, but it has maybe up to 1000 regular attenders and something like 20,000 children. At least that’s what their children’s programming makes it seem like! 

By contrast I work for 3-year-old church plant, we have about 100 committed adults but the 40 somethings are called old, and our regularly scheduled children’s ministry is a nursery. And sometimes that’s empty. 

She told me about a young man (non-pastor) in their church who is really frustrated that the church is not latching on to the renewed vision which has been presented in the last 4 months for where they need to go next. He wants to storm the kingdom of darkness now and can’t understand why people aren’t aren’t carrying the torch with as much vigor as him. 

Then Kelsey proceeded to explain that their church is like a barge or a cruise ship: there are a lot of people on board, it takes a long time to turn it around and you have to be careful to not hit icebergs or other hazards. This young man in contrast is like a jet ski. He can tear off in the direction of his choosing, and if he changes his mind he can make a 180 degree turn with very little wake.

Now what if this same guy gets married? He is going to need a bigger boat! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) He may think that he can just throw his wife on the back of the jet ski and keep up the same speed, but at the first hairpin she’s going to go skidding angrily across the water. So maybe this new couple needs something more like a canoe. They’re both responsible for getting the boat anywhere, but it’s a little slower. And they will need to watch the waves. If they don’t work together and they hit waves at the wrong angle, they’re both sunk. (Some couples opt for a fishing boat--more room, goes faster, but only one person can control the motor at a time.) 

Someday they’ll have children and it’s time to get a speed boat. Life speed picks up, you’re carrying more passengers, but you also have to be careful not to whip the skier you’re pulling into the reeds, or into the path of an obnoxious jet skier. Though he can get out of the way quickly if he needs to. 

Compare the nuclear family to the church family, and you’re back to the barge! With each new life phase, an individual becomes a family, there are new cautions and people to consider. 

My church feels more like a catamaran. A catamaran is like a sailboat but with two hulls connected by a canvas or solid platform. The beauty of the catamaran is that it can carry a lot of weight for its size, and it’s surprisingly maneuverable and stable for its shape. The danger is that it’s surprisingly maneuverable. It may not capsize even when one end is 60 degrees in the air, but it is easy to suddenly veer off course if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

We have only two main focuses (Sunday mornings and Community Groups) and can’t offer all of the services of a passenger or freight ship. But wow, do we have wind in our sails! We are powered by the fervor or 100 jet skis. Where my sister’s challenge is to get the ship turning at all I am just hanging on for dear life, trying not to capsize, and enjoying the ride. 

Courage and Fear, part 1

A couple days ago I used a topical bible index to look up the words Courage and Fear. It was an older book so Fear redirected me to Cowardice, and I happen to like that alliteration. :)

So I copied the ones that stood out to me most into a list so that I have them to read/meditate on at will. Of course they came up in biblical order, so here's the one at the top of the list:

How could one have chased a thousand, and two have put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had given them up? Deut 32:30

I immediately loved the confidence, security, and assurance it gives, but a few days later I read the entire chapter.

The context of this verse is nothing like I thought it was. I expected it to be one of those situations where the Israelite people were terribly outnumbered and yet they succeeded. Instead, it is about the Lord contemplating destroying his people because of their disobedience and using their enemies to do so. But He decides not to because he doesn't want the enemies to get the wrong impression that it was their might that defeated the Israelites when really they could only win if the Lord were to hand the Israelites over! God is still in control and the Lord is still the one who gives victory, but this realization puts a completely different (or at least fuller) perspective on things. If anything, it kind of makes me feel more secure because even if I am disobedient, get myself into trouble, and make myself easy prey for my enemies, they still can't harm me without the Lord's hand being involved.