Mar 14 - DAY 30 - Shaped for Serving God

Day 30

Shaped for Serving God

I searched for a man among them

who would repair the wall and

stand in the gap before Me

on behalf of the land

Ezekiel 22:30a HCSB

My mom is a nurse. When I was a teenager, she started the Hospice in Wilmington, North Carolina.

At first the organization was very small – my mom and two part-time nurses. With little to no revenues, she was practically volunteering her time, rather than drawing much of a salary. She’d always “take call” on the holidays, so her equally underpaid staff could count on time with their families. She modeled priorities and sacrifice.

My dad modeled the blessing of service too. For twenty-five years, my father became my mother’s chief volunteer. For example, he built a shed in our back yard. Why? To store hospital beds – old and used and donated from the local hospital. We’d frequently be eating dinner when my dad would say, “We’re going to deliver a hospital bed tonight.”

Now what do you think my response was?

•      I’d whine because those cast iron beds were heavy.
•      I’d whine about having plans (which were never much more than playing basketball in the backyard and watching TV).
•      I’d whine because dad would take forever to set up the bed just right and then visit lovingly with hurting strangers whose loved one was dying.
•      And then I’d whine one more time about having to go back to the same old house – sometimes only a few days later – to pick up the same old, heavy bed.

Service was a terrible inconvenience to a lazy teenager.

But I thank God for those days!

My parents taught me what life was all about.

Yes, I whined a little, but I quickly learned it did no good. They ignored it! In our house, there was simply no excuse for not doing the right thing.

We’ll talk for the next few days about spiritual gifts. God created you with unique talents … for the specific purpose of blessing the kingdom of God. But here’s the greatest gift of all …

Becoming a person

that stands in the gap

and simply says, “Yes!”

In Christ’s Love,

a yes-man,

thanks to my parents

Mar 13 - DAY 29 - Accepting Your Assignment

Day 29

Accepting Your Assignment

"Well done, you good and faithful servant!'

said his master. "You have been faithful

in managing small amounts, so I will

put you in charge of large amounts.

Come on in and share my happiness!'

Matthew 25:21 GNT

When people ask, “What’s my purpose?” what they traditionally think of is today’s theme. Rick Warren says, “You were put on earth to make a contribution.”

Indeed, when people ask, “What’s my purpose?” they’re generally thinking about contributions … and then legacies.

It’s at this point that we need to stop and remember our first three purposes:

•      Worship – loving God
•      Fellowship – loving others
•      Discipleship – becoming more Christ-like

If all we did in life was through first three things, we’d be well on our way to life of purpose and joy. Indeed, if we’re systematically becoming more Christ-like, we’re going to start serving God whether anyone (like Rick Warren) suggests you do or not. Indeed, becoming Christ-like naturally includes a life a service. Similarly, loving others more fully (fellowship) implies a life of service too.

So … why do we need a whole week on service? Because we’re sinful, slothful, selfish, weak, and distractible. That’s why Jesus says, love others and serve others. That’s why Jesus also says, be like me (discipleship) and help others too (service).

Rick Warren says, “You are created to serve God … [and] saved to serve God … [and] called to serve God … [and] commanded to serve God.” And the greatest words any of us could ever hear will be, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:21).

If you want to hear these words,

Follow Jesus

Love Others

And get off your backside and simply serve

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s watched people

for twenty years: and

the most content are

always the servants

Mar 12 - DAY 28 - It Takes Time

Day 28

It Takes Time

so I am sure that God, who

began this good work in you,

will carry it on until it is finished

on the Day of Christ Jesus.

Phil 1:6 GNT

I was talking to someone recently. They were discouraged. They were middle aged, and like every one of us, they’d made a few mistakes in life. This person was wondering if their life would ever amount to more than it was right now. Have you ever been there?

I said, “Think about it this way.”

•      “How old was Jesus when he was baptized and began his public ministry?” About thirty.
•      And how old was he when died?” About thirty-three.
•      “If you don’t get hit by a bus,” I said to this friend, “how many more years of good health might you have left in life?” The person added in their head. About thirty-three good years.
•      “Do you see what I’m driving at?!!!” I said.
•      Jesus took thirty years to prepare his heart and grow in spiritual maturity. Then he had the three most impactful years of anyone in history.
•      “You can start over,” I said to this friend.
•      “You can live a life of significance.”
•      “And like Jesus, your impact can continue to grow and grow. You might not be where you want to be today, but imagine where you can be if you begin to focus.”

I could have been quoting Rick Warren on Day 28. “There are no shortcuts to maturity.”

•      There will be blessings every day.
•      Imagine how your impact will grow after a year of discipline and focus.
•      Your ideal may take thirty years, but that’s okay. You have the daily blessing of a Savior who is with you every step of the way.
•      Enjoy the journey.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who doesn’t want

to be legalistic about

where he is or isn’t yet …

I just want to enjoy the journey

… with God

Mar 11 - DAY 27 - Defeating Temptation

Day 27

Defeating Temptation

Run from anything that

gives you evil thoughts …

but stay closer to anything

that makes you want

to do right

2 Timothy 2:22 LB

Rick Warren does a good job of discussing how to defeat temptations. Therefore, I won’t!

What I want to talk about is what temptation has to do with discipleship – our third purpose, as Rick Warren describes it.

Discipleship is the process of spiritual growth. If you want a picture of it, it’s looking and acting more like Jesus.

Jesus was tempted. We are too. The temptations come from outside of us. And they come from inside of us. It’s part of being human.

Learning how to battle the daily occurrence temptations is spiritual growth. Like Jesus did in the wilderness, I can defeat temptations with the truth of scripture. To know the scriptures well enough in times of stress requires daily reading … and therefore, daily spiritual growth. That’s discipleship.

A disciple is not without trials and temptations. In fact, Jesus predicted a life of trials for those who followed him. (Of course, he predicted a life of bigger trials for those who didn’t follow him. But trials are part of life after the Fall.)

Discipleship, then, is the art of learning how to live fully in an imperfect world.

•      Like Jesus, a first help is knowing the Word. And growing in our knowledge of the Word is discipleship.
•      Like Jesus, a critical factor is our relationship with the Father. The way we foster that relationship is through prayer. And learning to pray is discipleship.
•      Jesus came to serve – not to be served. And the more we focus on God and others – another piece of discipleship – the less our own selfish desires can tempt us.
•      The list could be endless. But every time we strive to look more like Jesus – which is discipleship – we also fight temptation.

Therefore … today’s reading really isn’t about temptation. It’s about discipleship – the art of living most fully in this imperfect world!

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants one of those

silly French caps

(because I want to look like

and be more of an artist)

Mar 10 - DAY 26 - Growing though Temptation

Day 26

Growing through Temptation

We are tempted when we are drawn away

and trapped by our own evil desires.

Then our evil desires conceive

and give birth to sin; and sin,

when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Do not be deceived, my dear friends!

James 1:14-16 GNT

Do you curse temptations?

They come at us all the time. Some temptations are almost a predictable as the rising of the sun. Some seem to reach out and grab us when we least expect it. Each of us has a weak spot.

There are also times when we’re weaker. I’m more vulnerable when I’m tired. Others are more vulnerable when they’re lonely. Pride can make us vulnerable too. In moments of success, we forget to be vigilant.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time can also lead us into temptation. Being with the wrong people has its own set of temptations too.

So yes … do you curse temptations?

I love how Rick Warren turns our perspective of temptations on its head …

•      “Every temptation is an opportunity to do good.”
•      “Every temptation [can be] a stepping-stone rather than a stumbling block.”
•      “Temptation simply provides a choice. … It is just as much an occasion to do the right thing as it is to do the wrong thing.”

We could spend today listing all of the ways to avoid temptation – get more rest, avoid the wrong people, etc. – but what’s more important is reorienting our overall perspective …

All of life is a test, and each moment, including the temptations, is an occasion to develop our character. Therefore rather than cursing temptations, view yourself as a noble adventurer in the midst of a great battle.

Furthermore, realize that you’re not alone in these struggles. You have the great conqueror behind you. And your foe may be angry, but he is already defeated. Rely, therefore, on the conqueror’s strength, and venture boldly into the future.

Look at, perhaps, it like a game – a video game. Your character battles the dragons. Occasionally you get hit by the monster’s tail. And the words pop up, “Would you like to try again.”

Not only is God’s power behind us, fighting for us, especially when we ask for it. But his grace gives us another try and another try. Every temptation is a new opportunity to choose right and life.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s thinking of

his most recent temptations

in a new way

… with God’s grace,

I want to try again

Mar 9 - DAY 25 - Transformed by Trouble

Day 25

Transformed by Trouble

our … momentary troubles

are achieving for us

an eternal glory that

far outweighs them all

2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV

Yesterday the theme was “Transformed by Truth.” Not looking ahead, I said that we need to ground our lives on the unchanging foundation of God’s truth because … the inevitable trials and troubles will come.

Today is all about those troubles. And Rick Warren has the audacity to say that those troubles can transform us.

We all naturally lament life’s troubles. They are absolutely no fun. Indeed, sometimes they are downright harrowing. Nevertheless, if we’re honest, we’ve all grown ten times more from our challenges than from our simple days of comfort and ease.

Therefore, are you thanking God for your trials?!

Alright … of course not! No one says, “Hooray, I have cancer. I wonder what I can learn from this.” We’re supposed to hate being battered and abused. But what the pains of this world should do is teach us to long for heaven more than for this broken earth.

Our hope is not here. And if we can make it through a trial with our faith intact, we our faith is stronger … and we gain a powerful testimony.

Someone else will inevitably go through the same trial we did. And when we can point them in the direction of a loving God – in spite of this world’s challenges – then that pain will be transformed into victory. And then will come to pass the saying that is written, “our … momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor 4:17)

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who finally understands

“no pain, no gain”

Mar 8 - DAY 24 - Transformed by Truth

Day 24

Transformed by Truth

Everyone who hears

these words of mine

and puts them into practice

is like a wise man who

built his house on the rock.

Matthew 7:24 NIV

Wow! I love Rick Warren’s opening lines:

Spiritual growth is the process

of replacing lies with truth

As a pastor, one of my most important jobs is pastoral care. It’s important to visit people when they sick and counsel them when they’re hurting. But I view visiting and counseling as secondary pastoral care.

What’s primary pastoral care: spiritual growth (and the ministry attention needed to encourage that process).

Everyone will face trials in this life. And while it’s nice to have a visit when you’re hurting, it’s better to have a rock to stand on in the face of the storms.

I’ve been to two hospital rooms on the same day. Imagine that in both rooms dad’s had a heart attack. In the first room, I have to spend an hour teaching the faith and building up the faith to a family that’s crippled by fear. In the second room, the family’s also worried. They love their husband and father very much. But after an hour with them, their faith has strengthened my faith.

Do you see the difference? Primary pastoral care – nurturing a family’s spiritual growth – has prepared one family for life’s inevitable illnesses, trials, and even death.  A lack of spiritual maturity – in the other hospital room – has left them totally vulnerable when these same inevitable trials come.

Rick Warren says that spiritual growth involves replacing the lies of the world with the truths of scripture. It is transplant surgery. We need to cut out the obviously diseased tissue – including the world’s lies and our own selfishness.

We also need to replace any theology that’s mixed-up with half-truths. That’s why Rick Warren says, we must abiding in God’s Word. His word is truth. Anything else – including pious and religious half-truths – is ultimately a lie.

And the first step to abiding in God’s Word and growing spiritually is to “accept [the Bible’s] authority.” If God is God, his truth is timeless – and thus is more true than my personal opinions or my culture’s changing values.

Personally, my freedom in Christ began the day I accepted his authority by submitting to his Word. It seems ironic – that submitting is the beginning of freedom – but it’s true. When I submit – and let God be God – I don’t have to be in charge anymore. Someone more loving, more wise, and more powerful is in control. And that’s freeing indeed.

In Christ’s Love,

a former slave

(to myself)

Mar 7 - DAY 23 - How We Grow

Day 23

How We Grow

Let God transform you inwardly

By a complete change of your mind.

Then you will be able

to know the will of God –

what is good and is pleasing

to him and is perfect.

Romans 12:2 TEV

In Rick Warren’s first line today, the pastor pulls no punches …

God wants you to grow up.

He’s talking about maturity.

His model is the disciples. They didn’t know or understand everything when they began to follow Jesus.

You and I don’t know everything either. Maturity comes when we realize that a million eternities will not be enough time to learn all about God! Therefore, maturity is not knowing it all, but learning to become completely dependent on the only, true source of life.

Sadly, too many people think they know it all. “Oh, I’ve studied that book of the Bible.” “Oh, I’ve heard a hundred sermons on this topic.” “Oh, that teacher has nothing new to say.”

I learned years ago that if I flew to a conference, rented a hotel room, and paid for my registration at an event, I might get only one thing out of the event. That was sometimes a thousand dollars for one thing. But if I got one thing that sparked an idea or encouraged my soul, it was worth it.

How many people quit coming to church or Bible Studies because they’re greedy for ten good things a minute? We forget the small step process. We demand to be entertained.

I can remember only two things my home pastor ever said in a sermon. Two jokes. But after ten years of listening to unmemorable sermons, the trickles of living water cut a deep canyon of faith and good theology in most of our hearts.

Maturity is listening. Patiently.

It is seeking depth. Not entertainment. 

It is reveling in little truths. Not viewing incremental growth as big disappointment.

When one plants bamboo (which I don’t advise doing in North Carolina), it can take years before it sprouts up. It looks like a failure. But what has it been doing in the meantime? Developing its roots. It can then sprout up something like a dozen feet in a month. 

It took Jesus thirty years of preparation before the Spirit descended upon him in a new way at his baptism. I wonder if his mother, Mary, ever wondered if this Messiah – the one who was supposed to change the world – was looking more like a failure than a king. (Probably not. She trusted God … and she was his mom!) But what was Jesus doing? Developing his roots … his knowledge … and his relationship. God was preparing him.

Are you willing to take thirty years – if that’s what necessary – for your greatest fruit to arrive?

Try day-by-day. “Closer, Lord, I pray.”

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to look

like a grand canyon

(and I mean deep … not wrinkled)

Mar 6 - DAY 22 - Created to Become Like Christ

Day 22

Created to Become

Like Christ

take on an entirely new way of life

- a God-fashioned life,

a life renewed from the inside

and working itself into your conduct

as God accurately reproduces

his character in you.

Ephesians 4:22-24 MSG

What is the purpose of this life?

                                            

If this is it … if all we have is our short time on earth … if we die and we become just dust … then the purpose of life might as well be “eat, drink, and be merry.”

Secularists may say that we’ve involved in such a way that a little cooperation and altruism is bred into us. We survive better, in other words, if we work together. But if all we are is a product of our genes and if our destiny is only our inevitable demise, then we might as well go for all the gusto we can muster … because this is it.

But what if this is not it … what if beyond our short time on earth, we have an eternity in heaven … what if dying is the gate to something more real … what if this life is preparation for eternity?

Here’s the real what if … What if God uses this life as our training ground? That changes everything doesn’t it?!

Suddenly life is not about me, myself, and I, and grabbing all the gusto. Suddenly life is about loving God and serving others. Indeed, as Rick Warren says, “God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development.”

Not comfort … but character.

And how do we do that? By “becoming like Christ.”

That’s really the goal of life. Indeed, by becoming like Christ, we begin to love God and serve others … and develop our character … and worship … and pray … and trust … and focus gloriously on heaven.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who wants to look more like Jesus

(and no, that doesn’t mean I need a beard

… much to my wife’s relief)

Mar 5 - DAY 21 - Protecting Your Church

Day 21

Protecting Your Church

Don’t think only of your own good.

Think of other Christians

and what is best for them.

1 Corinthians 10:24 NLT

I was talking with a man at church a few days ago. His job has changed. Huge long commutes. He hadn’t been at any of his normal church activities during the week. He said, “I’ve decided that even if I’m tired, I have to come …”

I was listening, caring, not commenting yet.

“… because,” he said, “I’ve watched too many people over the years quit coming to one thing. Then quit coming to another thing. Then quit coming quite as regularly to anything. And before you know it,” said this friend, “they are gone.”

Gone. And from a pastor’s perspective, they often go blaming the church. “Something’s changed with the church,” they say. No. What’s changed is them. Their participation has lessened … which means their connection with people has lessened … which means they’re feeling distant.

And here’s the worst part … They often complain to others about it.

Rick Warren tells us – as the focus for Day 21 – that “it is your job to protect the unity of the church.”

He offers several pieces of practical advice:

•      Focus on what we have in common, not our differences – “We must remember that it was God who chose to give us different personalities, backgrounds, races, and preferences …”
•      Be realistic in your expectations – “Other believers will disappoint you … [but] they are your family, even when they don’t act like it.”
•      Choose to encourage rather than criticize – Rather than “stand[ing] on the sidelines and tak[ing] shots at those who are serving … get involved and make a contribution.”
•      Refuse to listen to gossip – “It is sad that in God’s flock, the greatest wounds usually come from other sheep, not wolves.”
•      Practice God’s method for conflict resolution – “It is tempting to complain to a third party rather than courageously speak the truth in love to the person you’re upset with.”
•      Support your pastor and leaders – Pastors are “given the impossible task of trying to make everyone happy, which even Jesus could not do.”

Based on my conversation with my friend, I’d add one more. Tiredness is a symptom of a world out-of-balance. Satan uses this to pull us away from fellowship. And this – instead of nurturing fellowship and harmony – fosters frustration and then division.

If you’ve received life in the past from congregational activities, keep at them until you receive refreshment again from these dependable sources of living water.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who can’t make

everyone happy, so he tries

to make God pleased

Mar 4 - DAY 20 - Restoring Broken Fellowship

Day 20

Restoring Broken Fellowship

God … has restored our relationship

with him through Christ, and has

given us this ministry

of restoring relationships.

2 Corinthians 5:18 GW

Do you know why shaking hands is a custom?

Warriors used to extend their right hands to show that they were wielding no weapons and came in peace.

(That’s probably why “left” means sinister. Lefty’s could shake with their right and stab with their left. And that would be sinister indeed.)

Extending the right hand of fellowship is what today’s chapter in The Purpose-Driven Life is about. Rick Warren says, “Because life is all about learning how to love, God wants us to value relationships and make the effort to maintain them instead of discarding them whenever there is a rift, a hurt, or a conflict.”

“In fact, the Bible tells us that God has given us the ministry of restoring relationships.”

At Spirit of Joy, we know that phrase well. Though we usually hear it in our liturgy as “the ministry of reconciliation,” that’s what’s meant when we’re asked to share the peace.

Think about the order in which we do things.

•      First, we confess our sins to God. And what we should be confessing is all the ways that we’ve broken fellowship with God and neighbor. That’s what sin always and ultimately is – breaking relationship. The first four commandments tell us how to avoid breaking fellowship with God. The next six commandments tell us how to avoid breaking fellowship with other people. Therefore, in our liturgy and as we come into God’s presence, we first confess our sins to God.
•      Then we immediately turn and share the peace. We stretch out our hands – again and again and again – as part of the “ministry of restoring friendships.” Now, most weeks, it’s probably not the person in the next pew we’re most angry at. But this is a symbol – and a start. Sharing the peace reminds us that we need to keep reaching out – again and again and again.

And you’re the one who needs to reach out first. Repeatedly. Now that’s not because you’re the one who is repeatedly at fault. It’s because you’re the one who understands God’s call. He wants us to reach out – again and again and again – because relationships are that important of a blessing.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who is left-handed

but is not sinister;

I’ll gladly extend both hands

Mar 3 - DAY 19 - Cultivating Community

Day 19

Cultivating Community

Be kind and tender to one another.

Forgive each other, just as God forgave you

because of what Christ has done.

Ephesians 4:32 NIrV

After serving as a pastor for almost twenty years, I am convinced that God created the family – and the church family – for one purpose …

to teach us how to forgive!

I was with a group of people the other day. Our little group had a little disagreement. Tensions could have risen; instead, we stopped and laughed. “Who here occasionally disagrees with their spouse?” someone said. We laughed again. “All of us!” When people live close together, toes inevitably get stepped on. Therefore, if they’re to ever survive, families must learn to forgive. Daily. Even hourly sometimes!

The better that churches are … the closer the people are … and that means more toes get accidentally stepped upon. And thus it means more opportunities to practice forgiveness.

Actually, let’s put it this way … The whole reason that Jesus came to earth was to forgive (indeed, to give us life through the forgiveness of sins). Therefore, if living close to family and church family gives us plenty of opportunities to forgive, then what it really gives us is more opportunities to be like Christ!

Let me ask a question … Why are so many families splintered and splintering nowadays? And similarly, why do so many people come and go from church nowadays too?

Well … I suppose we could play the game of the chicken and egg, pondering which comes first.

•      Are our families splintering because our culture is looking less Christ-like? Or is our culture looking less Christ-like because our families are splintering?
•       Are our church families splintering because our culture is forgetting how to forgive? Or are we forgetting how to forgive because our church families are splintering?

Yes on all counts. And it’s very sad indeed.

Rick Warren says that cultivating community takes humility … and courtesy … and frequency … and confidentiality. Most of all it takes honesty and forgiveness.

If you’re hungry for community – and we all are, it’s how we were made – then it starts with deciding who you need to work on forgiving today.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s blessed to have a wife

who is quick to forgive

(she’s my role model and

sadly I give her lots of practice)

Mar 2 - DAY 18 - Experiencing Life Together

Day 18

Experiencing Life Together

How wonderful it is,

how pleasant, for God’s people

to live together in harmony!

Psalm 133:1 TEV

The first time I led a study of Purpose-Driven Life, I had just become the pastor of a church that was about twice the size of Spirit of Joy. It was twelve hundred members. But only twelve were involved weekly in any kind of Bible Study or small group. (Would you be surprised to learn that there was a lack of harmony when I arrived?!)

As a result, Day 18 of The Purpose-Driven Life became the most important chapter in the book for us!

Day 18 began to teach people how to experience life together. No … not just how … this chapter began to create a desire for this kind of life together through small groups and Bible Studies.

Every Wednesday, two chapters a week, I led forty people in four small groups through this book. Fourteen of those forty led seventy more. Within a year-and-a-half, one hundred were in weekly Bible Study through the Disciple Bible Study program. It wasn’t me. I was gone by then. Rather, I credit, in large part, chapter 18.

As Rick Warren says, people were hungry for fellowship … for authenticity … for mutual giving and receiving … for sympathy and caring … for mercy and support. They were hungry for the life that God created them for.

Some of you are reading, right now, The Purpose-Driven Life. Take chapter 18 to heart, asking what you’re most deeply hungry for. If you’re not reading it, dig an old copy off the shelf, check one out of the library, or ask a friend to borrow theirs. Read chapter 18. Maybe you’re already experienced the blessings of fellowship. Maybe this is what you’re truly hungry for.

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s seen

the blessings of true fellowship

change lives

Mar 1 - DAY 17 - A Place to Belong

Day 17

A Place to Belong

For just as the body is one and has many members,

and all the members of the body, though many,

are one body, so it is with Christ. …

If the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye,

I do not belong to the body," that would not

make it any less a part of the body.

If the whole body were an eye,

where would the hearing be?

1 Corinthians 11:12,16-17

When the Apostle Paul talks about the church, he often calls it a body. And he repeatedly says that each of us is a part of the body. Some are eyes. Some are hands. You’ve probably heard that before.

But I like what Rick Warren adds next. He says, “If an organ is somehow severed from its body, it will shrivel and die. It cannot exist on its own, and neither can you. Disconnected and cut off from the lifeblood of a local body, your spiritual life will wither … This is why the first symptom of spiritual decline is usually inconsistent attendance at worship … and other gatherings of fellowship.”

Have you seen that in friends? Have you seen that in yourself? Have you ever withered when cut off from others? That’s the first thing fellowship saves us from – withering faith.

Fellowship also saves us from loneliness. Through accountability, fellowship can also keep us from backsliding.

Those are some of the personal blessings of fellowship. But did you know that God also blesses you to be blessing to others. Through your fellowship, you draw others out of isolation. You nurture their faith. You make them laugh. Because of you, others never need to be alone. You can keep them accountable. You can serve with them in mission.

As Rick Warren says, “I am called to belong, not just believe.”

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who can’t imagine life

without the family of the church