Monday meditations Gal. 2.18: choose freedom

“Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.” Gal. 2.18

It is difficult to speak or write much about this without leaning toward the twin dangers of legalism and lawlessness. Theological debates can go on without end and frankly I have no interest in them as they never seem to help anyone.

I present this little verse to you because in your ongoing relationship with Jesus, he has/is/will be setting you free from things in your life, remnants of old systems of religion or self-help, various ways of trying to please God and/or improve yourself. Jesus is teaching you that he is always and already pleased with you – totally passionately in love with you. The Holy Spirit is growing and maturing you, accomplishing what you could never do tugging on your own bootstraps.

And yet there is something within us that has a tendency to try and refurbish those old ways. Often it comes in the form of bad teaching from those who (perhaps unwittingly) would saddle us with the same bondage they themselves are under (as Peter was doing in the story Paul relates in Galatians). It might come from impatience with the Spirit’s pace or order in growing us, or with dissatisfaction with where we are in life. Self-help is an attractive way to put ourselves together and gain success as the world defines it. But success as the world defines it is often what God calls failure.

When you came to Jesus, he began to tear down the old system of law that had you in bondage. He is in the process of setting you free. Reflect and pray on this verse this week and make sure you are living into that freedom as fully as you can, that you are not rebuilding what was knocked down.

One warning: living in freedom sometimes means making hard choices, ones that go against the grain of what our sinful culture would deem wise or prudent. I have seen people lose their freedom entirely because they would not give up the security and comfort of where they were, even when God was very plainly telling them to leave it and follow him. There are many reasons our sin nature craves the system of law, like all lusts of the flesh, it must be resisted. Freedom is a harder choice, one you have to continually make, but it is also the choice the Spirit of Jesus is always calling you to make. Choose freedom.

who you work for

Who do you work for? A small business owner? A large (faceless) corporation? Yourself? How do you know when you’ve done well, made the boss happy?

If you’re anything like me, you have multiple income streams, which means multiple ‘bosses’ with various degrees of personal contact. One my jobs is helping out at a small business here in Raleigh, working directly for the owner. Easy to know who I work for there and when he’s pleased. In my teaching posts, I work for the universities, interacting with (ever changing) people in administration, none of whom I have ever met in person. You could say I work for the students, but the right thing to do with a student is not always what pleases them.

In my own research, I really work for myself, but I find it really hard to please my boss in that setting. That boss is never satisfied, anticipates and rejects all my excuses, and is a real task master, on my back all the time.

But then there’s this thing Paul wrote:

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.” Col. 3.23-25

You know who we work for? We work for the Lord. Read it closely, Paul is not encouraging us to start working for the Lord, but to recognize the reality that we are already working for the Lord in everything we do. The question is not who we are serving – only how well we are serving. If you haven’t done this before, try going through a whole day deliberately thinking to yourself that what you are doing – working, driving, cooking a meal, cleaning the kitchen, etc., is serving Jesus. It will make a difference in your productivity and the quality of your work. If you’ve been a slacker in some areas, it might be a good idea to ask forgiveness for poor service rendered. I did that just this morning, praying: “Forgive me for wasting time, energy, resources. Make me into a more faithful steward of all the many gifts you have given me.”

And don’t ignore that last sentence in what Paul wrote. If you have been doing immoral/unethical things in your work, you need to find ways to do your job ethically. That does not mean some arbitrary standard you or your company can live with, but real ethics – your work should engender (or at least not inhibit) justice, freedom, and well-being for all the people (all of them!) touched by your company. Working for the Lord means working in this way. You may find this requires small or large changes in how you go about your work. Or you may find it is impossible to do ethical work where you are. In which case you should quit at your convenience immediately as soon as possible. If you feel a tug in this direction, don’t ignore it. Pray into it, seek counsel and prayer support from those you trust in spiritual matters, and follow what the Lord tells you. Because he will tell you.

Working for the Lord is the best. He is gracious, easy to please, and gives the best swag. Plus the retirement benefits are out of this world (or to die for (pick your pun!)).

Monday mediations Ps. 105.17: your not so random path

The Lord sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave. Ps. 105.17

If you’re not familiar with the story of Joseph, it is worth the read, one of the most captivating stories in the Bible (see Gen. 37-46). In short, he was the 11th out of 12 brothers and clearly his father’s favorite. His brothers grew quite jealous of their special brother, faked his death, and sold him as a slave to a caravan headed to Egypt. Nice. Once there, things initially looked like they were improving for Joseph, until he wound up unjustly (and indefinitely) imprisoned. Turns out, God sent Joseph to Egypt in order to save that entire nation and his own (large) family from starvation in a 7 year long famine. And the mode of transportation God arranged for Joseph was a slave caravan. And the lodging God prepared for Joseph was a jail cell. Things worked out quite well for Joseph in the end and for all who were touched by his work. Joseph later tells his (guilt ridden) brothers that the whole thing was God’s design to save many. This Psalm tells us, “until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.” Funny how our paths can seem so random at times and yet completely fit with who we are and who we are becoming. If you are in the pit/slave caravan/jail phases of your journey, don’t despair. They are as much a part of your path as the dreams God has given you. Tests forge character, preparing you for what God has for you. All the random, loose ends of your life are neither random nor loose, they have been set in your path on purpose. Accept the Lord’s transportation and lodging, however he chooses to send it. Be as faithful as you can (as Joseph was as a slave and inmate) where you are, doing all like you’re doing it for Jesus himself (because you are), and try to enjoy the ride. Reflect this week on what it might have felt like to be sent via slave caravan and how the random (especially negative) experiences in your life might be part of God’s sending you for a great purpose.

Monday meditations 1 Thes. 4.9: taught by God

“But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.” (1 Thes. 4.9)

The word that jumps out at me in this verse is theodidaktoi – the taught-by-God ones. Paul uses this term a few times both to refer to others and to himself. At first blush it can seem arrogant to call yourself a theodidaktos, suggesting that your knowledge comes directly from God. But then when you think about Paul using this word to describe others – people who have sat under his own teaching – you can begin to see the deep humility being expressed. Paul was not their teacher, God was their teacher. God used Paul for a time (like a professor uses a T.A.) but their education remained in God’s hands. In this verse, Paul is commending them for recognizing that and living into it.

You can also be one of the theodidaktoi. God will teach you, lead you, and guide you through a development process. God is already trying to do that with you now, but it goes so much better when you recognize it, learn to look for it, and lean into it. Like any other sort of schooling, there will be classes you enjoy and ones you don’t, but all are necessary and for your benefit. This week, reflect on ways you can more actively and intentionally pursue the education God is trying to give you. Ask the Holy Spirit for specific ways you can improve your ‘study habits.’ May what Paul said here of the Thessalonians also be said of us.

Monday meditations Mark 1.35: quiet time

“In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” Mark 1.35

I just returned from a 10 day trip to Costa Rica where I served as a leader/chaperone for a youth group missions trip. God did so much through and in us during this time. I will share more later because God spoke to me a lot, far more than usual. On one of our last days there, I asked the Lord what was up with this. Does God like Costa Rica more than Raleigh (I can see why he would)?

The answer was pretty easy. We began most mornings with at least 30 minutes of quiet time. This wasn’t highly structured, we could pray, read our Bibles, journal, think. No talking, music, sleeping, TV, or internet, but no other rules. It was in these times that God spoke to me most, simply because in those times I was listening, paying attention, removing all distractions.

We tried this at home for the first time this morning and (lo and behold) God spoke again. He does like Raleigh too. Funny how it takes a trip to remind me of what I already knew to do. If you don’t already have some time for God at the beginning of your day, I encourage you to build some in. You might have to do like Jesus and get up extra early. You also may want to meditate through the week on why it seemed so important to Jesus (of all people) to go off alone and pray (the Gospels record him doing this a number of times). If Jesus needed it, you can bet we do too. And we know following his example is always the best practice.

Rock the piano recital grace

(This is a repost from 2009.)

Eph. 2.8 says:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

I read this the other day and for some unknown reason a picture came to mind of God like a loving parent at a piano recital. I have now been on both ends of this deal, as the kid sweating through “Shenandoah” or the theme from “Chariots of Fire,” and now as a parent watching Emily and Katelyn. If you’ve been either parent or recitalee, you know how this goes down. The kid gets up there and plays, maybe well, or okay, or not-so-okay, or train-wreck. But this has no bearing on the reaction of the loving parent, does it? They clap and cheer and hug and video and shed a few tears. And they keep shelling out for those lessons, even if it is a futile endeavor. They may justify it as a good experience or something like that, but it’s really an act of love.

God treats us like that, accepting us no matter how badly we’ve done (or how well we think we’ve done). God’s grace is free and generous, lavish and never-ending, well beyond the patience of even the best human parent. And God’s not like the tone-deaf parent who doesn’t really know how bad the recital went; God knows exactly how it should be played, aware of how all the notes, rhythms, and phrasings are supposed to go. Yet, God cheers us and hugs us and loves us anyway.

As true as that is, that’s not the end of the story. As comforting and encouraging as it is to have parents who support you as you mutilate the music, how much cooler is it to totally rock? It won’t make the parentals love you any more, but isn’t it always better to rock than not to rock? Should the kid take their love and acceptance as a free pass to stink it up, or as a secure foundation from which to pursue excellence boldly?

See the very next verse in Eph. (the one right after we usually stop quoting) says:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God’s grace is not contingent on our works; our works don’t earn us anything. But God’s grace does not give us an excuse to slack off and not do any work either. We were created for good works. Our sin wrecks all that, but God pours grace into us to re-enable us to do the good that we were created to do.

When you’re playing music, the surest way to mess up is to be afraid that you’re going to mess up. As soon as you think to yourself, “here comes that hard lick, I hope I don’t blow it” – - BAM – - you blew it. Just like you knew you would. Knowing that the people you’re playing with believe in you and won’t blink if you do slip up frees you up to play really well, often times better than you thought you could play.

God believes in your ability to do good because God created you and knows what you are capable of doing and being. God’s grace enables you to do good and is there to cover you when you do slip up. There is absolutely nothing to fear, nothing to lose, by taking the risk to do what God is telling you to do. There is actually everything to gain because with God’s grace supporting you and cheering you on, you will totally rock.

Monday meditations Heb.12: do the hard work of a disciple

Hebrews 12 (NLT, with alterations)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.4 After all, you have not yet shed your own blood in your struggle against sin.
  5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

“My child, don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline,
  and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the LORD disciplines those he loves,
  and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but be healed.

14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal.17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

___________

This is by far the longest passage I have posted as a meditation. I want these to be short enough that you can repeat it back to yourself many times through the week. What I’m hoping this week is that one of the bold sentences will stay with you as the mnemonic device and that the meaning you fill with it will be the call to action we see toward the end (with all the bolded verbs).

What is on my heart right now is how easy we have made it to be a follower of Jesus, not any harder really than making any other selection in our consumer culture (another post for another day right there). We evangelize and work to make converts – just get them in, get them saved, and get them giving and volunteering.

But this is not how Jesus went about things. The Gospels depict him as elusive at times, making hard demands, delivering hard teachings, making meanings harder to understand (the opposite of the typical sermon these days), testing the resolve of his followers, pushing them farther and farther into faith.

We don’t make these demands of ourselves or others often enough. Worse still, those who think they are making these demands of others are often completely off base, demanding religious/cultural conformity, theological uniformity, or pro forma piety. These are not the demands the Gospel makes of its disciples, but are quite literally the work of antichrist.

The key here is that no one can tell you when, how, and why you are being disciplined, except the One doing the disciplining. So I encourage you to meditate this week on these metaphors:

1. shed my own blood in struggle against sin
2. enduring divine disciple as a child of the Father
3. take a new grip with tired hands
4. strengthen weak knees
5. mark out a straight path for lame feet

I am hoping one or more of these resonates with you. Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you about this with regard to your own situation. I think you will find the Spirit leads you to something specific within these categories the passage gives us:

1. work at living in peace with others
2. work at living a holy life
3. look after each other – so each receives grace
4. watch out that no bitterness grows between you and someone else
5. make sure no one is immoral – selling out their inheritance for a pittance

These are fairly broad and can cover a number of situations, so allow the Spirit to direct your thought to something specific. This includes defining what “a holy life” means to some extent. Let the Spirit lead you to an understanding of this, you’ll be better off than if a religious busybody does so.

In short, do the hard work of a disciple, which is never anything more, less, or other than exactly what your Lord requires you to do.

Monday meditations: Gal 5.1 for freedom

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Gal. 5.1

I just finished grading a batch of papers in which students were asked to describe and reflect on the essential traits of the Christian moral life. This is always an interesting exercise because it comes near the beginning of the course and serves as more of a bellwether for where students are coming in than what they may be taking away from the course. I have taught this particular course a number of times and what I have found over the years is that nearly all the students (most of whom are training for some form of ministry) build their reflection around the Ten Commandments. Rare is the student who begins with the Sermon on the Mount or the new commandment Jesus gives in John 13. No, they almost always begin and end with Moses in describing the essential traits of the Christian moral life.

I have seen this so much I am left with only one conclusion: this sort of thinking is prevalent in the church (at least the American church) today. We see Christians fight to place the Ten Commandments in various public places, but when has anyone fought to put the Beatitudes in those same places? Don’t get me wrong, Moses has his place, the OT has value for us, but Moses’ place is behind Jesus, the value of the OT is that it points to and testifies of Christ. To the extent that we let any other voices – even those within Scripture – take predominance over Jesus and his teachings, we have done just what Paul warned us against here.

I heard a pastor recently explain why the Law was a great safeguard, how it protects us, how those who claim to rely on the Holy Spirit are misguided, but I think this has it exactly backward. Jesus gave us a new commandment and the Holy Spirit precisely because the Law was insufficient either to save us or to make us into Jesus’ disciples. Can the Spirit use the OT? Certainly. Look back through my blog and you will see more than half of these meditations are taken from the OT which is as God-breathed as the NT. But the danger of returning to slavery is an ever present one, especially for those who place all Scripture on equal footing and spend more time trying to build safeguards out of the Law and not enough time learning to live the radical life of a disciple. We were set free to live in freedom and set others free. Don’t turn around and go back to Egypt. The Lord doesn’t have anything for us there.

On a day set aside to celebrate political freedom, I hope you will take time to reflect on the spiritual freedom you have been afforded and whether you are enjoying that spiritual freedom as fully as you might, or if a return to slavery has crept back in upon you. In the passage that follows this verse, Paul reiterates Jesus’ new commandment and encourages us to walk by the Spirit. I echo that encouragement. Walk in the Spirit, then you won’t need to worry about the safeguards. Bear the fruit of the Spirit in your words and actions and enjoy the freedom Jesus has won for you.

Old odd ends

Great tips on staying creative offered in the most concise way:

(29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.)

Another component to creativity is often necessity as this shows:

And finally, two of the most creative people I have encountered in a while:

Hurt by church

I had lunch with a friend today who was recently deeply wounded by his church, by people he had respected, admired, and been faithful to for years. No need for the gory details, but sheesh this is a recurring theme in my life. All the way back in 1985, when I was just a typical 14 year old boy, the church we had been part of my whole life fell apart. Because of things the pastor and his wife were doing. No need for the gory details, but a lot of people were left with serious emotional hurts. It put me into a tailspin spiritually that lasted through one wild year of college before the Lord was able to get through to me again.
This issue has remained close to my heart and Amy and I often find ourselves ministering to those hurt by church. Part of my dissertation is exploring how the Pentecostal movement has perpetrated hurts through the codification of its doctrines and practices (the insistence that everyone speak in tongues being the most prominent, though not only, example). I think it is worth devoting some space here on my blog to this subject too. Hurt by church comes in many forms and there are no easy answers, but we should look at the ecclesiological problems that lie behind the abuse and look for a better way forward.
You can help me with this. If you have been hurt by church post a comment here (or send me an email if you want to keep it private). Be as vague as you like (no need for gory details) and focus more on where you are – where the hurt has left you emotionally and spiritually. I’m not looking for gossip or mudslinging, but a space where hurts can be voiced and addressed.