Criticism Can Help You Grow

2 Comments January 3, 2019 Jim Duggan

Recently, I shared an article from a Christian site that raised questions about the public’s trust of my profession – pastor. I originally shared the article on an online forum for pastors of small churches like my own. Most reacted, as did I, with sadness and a desire to do all we can to make the situation better. Other responses fell to the more negative side. Criticism is not easy to receive.

The responses of the forum members were varied and set me to thinking. How do I react when presented with news that I may not want to hear?

All of us hear or read critiques that challenge us personally, our behavior, and/or our thinking concerning certain issues. How we respond to those critiques reveal our heart and could determine whether or not we grow.

Here are a few thoughts centered around the various reactions to the post and what I think they may mean.

December 31, 2018 Jim Duggan

New Year’s resolutions get a bad rap. Many people scoff at others who make them, prophesying the fact that the resolutions will not stick. And with good reason, since most of us who make resolutions often abandon them early in the year.

I’ve also noticed that those who scoff at others who make resolutions usually fail to grow personally themselves. They mock others who have a plan to grow but fail. Yet, they have no plan nor growth themselves. Seems to me it’s better to try and fail than to not try at all.

I think New Year’s resolutions are a good idea. I firmly believe in the principle of living an INTENTIONAL life. On old saying reminds us, “Aim at nothing, and you are sure to hit it.” New Year’s resolutions provide us a goal, a pathway to growth.

In 2 Peter 3:18, Peter challenges us to grow, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” Notice the first word, “BUT.” Why did he start the verse that way?

In the preceding verse, Peter warns them not to not get carried away into error and lose their stability. Then encourages them to grow. So he presents two options – decline or grow. No middle ground, we either grow or we backslide. New Year’s resolutions at least give us a plan to grow.

The Benefits of Resolutions

First of all, New Year’s resolutions are an admission they we need to improve. Socrates famously said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Trust me. You, just like me, have lots of room to grow. Unwillingness to own our shortcomings robs us of the opportunity to become a better version of ourselves. Even worse is knowing our shortcomings and being unwilling to address them.

Moreover, New Year’s resolutions provide a framework of intentionality within which we can work to better ourselves. It’s not enough to want to “be a better person.” We will make greater improvements when we specifically choose one or two shortcomings to work on at a time.

Additionally, resolutions present the opportunity for accountability. When we specify parts of our lives we want to improve, we reveal plans and are more likely to follow through. Without resolutions, our desire to improve is nothing more than a nebulous, non-specific dream.

Setting Resolutions

If you plan to establish some resolutions for the coming year, maybe these ideas will help you successfully establish and achieve them.

Make your goals challenging yet reasonable. Most people err in one of two extremes – goals that are either too easy or too difficult. Push yourself, but keep it real.

Break your plan down into increments. If your goal is to lose weight, set a goal to lose a fraction of amount in the first three months. You will gain added momentum from the small victories on the shorter terms.

Put your resolutions in writing. Make a list of what you want to accomplish and why you want to accomplish it. Look at your list every morning to remind yourself of the improvements you desire. As you look at the list each morning, you can strategize plans for that particular day that move you toward your goal.

Finally, share your goal with a trusted friend who will hold you accountable. You might also have a friend who has a similar resolution. The two of you can challenge, motivate, and encourage each other as you move toward your intended results.

Questions to Consider

What are some areas of my life I would like to improve in 2019?
What changes must I make to see these improvements happen?
Do I have a trusted friend to whom I can make myself accountable for working on these areas?

Comment section is open. What have you done it help your resolutions become reality? What are some areas you want to improve in 2019?

Click here for a look back at last year’s New Year’s post.

How Can We Have Success Against Temptation

November 14, 2018 Jim Duggan

Oscar Wilde famously wrote, “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it…I can resist everything except temptation.”

Temptation is a battle everyone faces. Sometimes, it sneaks up on us and we give in before we even realize the temptation is there. Other times, we wrestle with the temptation, doing our best to overcome. Many times, we are successful, but more times than not we fail.

Today, I want to offer some insights that hopefully will help us all find more success against temptation.

What Is Temptation?

James 1:12-15 gives us some of the clearest Biblical teaching on temptation. James draws an important distinction for us between the testing of our faith and the temptation to sin. Interestingly, in the original Greek, both “temptation” and “trial” come from the same word. The difference is seen in the outcome of a particular circumstance.

If an adversity builds my faith, trust, and reliance on God, then I can consider it a trial. But should that same adversity cause me to disobey God in some way, it then becomes a temptation. How I choose to respond determines whether adversity is a temptation or a test.

Where Does Temptation Come From?

In distinguishing between trials and temptation, James also helps us identify temptation by its source. God is not tempted by evil and He does not tempt anyone to give in to any form of evil thought or action.

Temptation, however, is an inside job. James shows us that it comes when we are “lured and enticed” by our own desire. It uses our own fleshly desire against us to draw us out from a more desirable state of obedience.

We tend to blame our circumstances for our sin. James shows us that we are the ones to blame. Temptation comes when we allow ourselves to be duped into desiring something other than God’s provision.

How Does Temptation Affect Us?

We can see another distinction between trials and temptation in the outcomes of each. In verses 2-8, James shows us that trials strengthen our faith and draw us closer to the Lord. When God allows adversity in our lives, He hopes to draw us closer to Himself.

In verse 15, James shows the dangerous downward spiral into which temptation throws us. Sin is the love child when our fleshly desire gives in to temptation. When sin grows up, it leads to death.

There is a sense in which all death here on earth is the consequence of sin’s presence. The original sin in the Garden of Eden introduced death to God’s perfect creation, just as He warned it would.

But our present sin also leads to death on several levels. Because of our sin, Jesus died. When we harbor unconfessed sin, our fellowship with God is temporarily offline. Sin causes the death of relationships, health, and a myriad of other consequences. Temptation makes sin look very attractive in its immediate gratification. But it fails to show us the long term ill-effects.

What Can I Do to Overcome Temptation?

Nothing. You are powerless.

I am glad the article doesn’t end with the previous two sentences. You see while we are powerless on our own to overcome temptation, our almighty Redeemer has already conquered for us. The catch is that we must choose to appropriate His victory on the cross rather than give in to our desire.

In a previous blog, I offered some practical steps we can take when we find ourselves facing a battle with temptation. I would love it if you clicked here and read it. I think it will help.

In a way, Oscar Wilde was right. We only get rid of temptation by letting it have its way. Unfortunately, it’s never satisfied. It will be back again; begging for even more. As we grow strong in our faith, we recognize it sooner and turn to the One who is our rescue.

Further Reading:

No Shortcut No Hack for Spiritual Growth

Your Vision is Your Life’s GPS

September 7, 2018 Jim Duggan

vision I love the GPS on my cellphone. The GPS app that I use on my phone guides me along the path to my destination. The app also warns me of road hazards, traffic jams, and other potential pitfalls in my path.

But for my GPS to work, I must enter a destination. My GPS will not tell me where to go, it will only tell me how to get there. I have to supply the destination.

In life, we often wander aimlessly in our lives because we have no idea where we are going. We react to circumstances as they come and make decisions based on the whims of the moment. We are like the old man who told his wife as they travelled on vacation, “I don’t know where we are going, but we sure are making good time.”

Vision is the one element that gives our life true direction. Without it, we may think we are making good time, but we have no sense of direction in our life. In Genesis 37-50, we read the story of Joseph, a man whose life was guided by vision. Let’s consider some lessons we can learn from the life of Joseph.

Getting A Vision

In Genesis 37, Joseph receives his life’s vision in the form of two dreams he understood to be from God. The dreams let Joseph know that God would one day place him in a position of leadership.

Many times, we try to come up with our own vision rather than asking God to show us HIS for us. We think of all the things we want to do, and we set our lives on course to achieve them. We ask God to bless our plans for Him, but He only blesses His plan for us. Commit yourself to a season of prayer, maybe even several years of prayer, seeking God’s vision for you. God’s vision for us is always bigger and more amazing than any vision we could imagine for ourselves.

Chasing the Vision

When my GPS guides me to the destination, it does so one turn at a time. As long as I follow the course, I know I will end up at the destination. So also, vision keeps us on God’s course for our lives. In Genesis 37 –

His brothers wanted to kill him, and eventually sold him into slavery (37). In a foreign land, an influential leader’s wife falsely accused him of sexual assault (39). Two of his jail mates did not keep their promise to speak for him when they got outside (40). It seemed often his life GPS was taking him on different journey.

Vision gives us hope when our circumstances threaten to discourage us. Also, God’s vision for us provides a guiding light for big decision in our life. We can make decisions based on what moves us toward God’s vision and what presents a detour from His path.

Living in the Vision

We also need to remember that God’s vision for our lives involves how HE wants to use us for HIS glory. When we pursue a selfish vision apart from serving God, we wind up lost and living aimlessly.

In Chapters 41 – 50, we see that God brought His vision for Joseph to pass. God had a reason for placing Joseph in his position in Egypt. During a time of famine, Joseph had the wisdom to provide food for the entire empire as well as sojourners. Some of those sojourners turned out to be his brothers and his father.

When God begins to bring His vision for us into play, the time is right to use those opportunities for God’s glory. The moment we being to take ownership of God’s vision, He will send us back to another place on the journey.

I pray God will show you what He wants to do in your life, that He will enter a destination in your life’s GPS. With equal fervor, I pray that you will pursue His vision relentlessly and faithfully. And, when the it becomes reality, I pray you serve God in greater ways than you every imagined you could or would.

For further reading: What to Do When Your Dream Takes a Detour

Click here to learn more about using the WAZE GPS app on your phone

When God Makes the Ordinary Extraordinary

August 31, 2018 Jim Duggan

I go to that store often. Additionally, I wear that shirt regularly. Also, I speak to strangers politely as a rule. But this one time when all three of those came together, God was at work. At times God turns our ordinary extraordinary.

The First Ordinary

Mark and I became Facebook friends without knowing each other personally. He was a bi-vocational pastor in Jacksonville, Florida. He and his wife were members at the church I pastor years ago when God called him to preach.

Just a few months ago, Marks primary job relocated him back to the Middle Georgia area, and I invited him to church. One Sunday he and his wife came to renew old acquaintances and make new friends. Ordinary people returning to an ordinary church.

I told Mark I would pray for him and help him find a new ministry any way I could. I could not have imagined how God would use me to do that.

The Second Ordinary

I had been to visit a church member who was in an assisted living facility, something I ordinarily do. As is ordinary when I plan to visit such facilities, I wore a shirt bearing our church logo.

The Most Important Hour of Your Day

August 13, 2018 Jim Duggan

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On the very first day when God created the earth, He first created light. Then He separated the light from the dark to form the first day. “And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day.” (Genesis 1:5) So from the beginning, the 24 hour day became the standard of time for all of creation.

But what if I asked you to choose which on the 24 hours in your day is the most important? What would you say?

I am sure the first reaction would be that it depends on the day. But I want to suggest that the most important hour of the day is not a consecutive 60 minutes. It is two 30 minute segments.

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July 24, 2018 Jim Duggan

Many years ago, Folgers coffee ran commercials in which someone secretly exchanged a gourmet coffee with their brand. Of course, in the commercials, the unsuspecting coffee drinkers could not tell the difference. Additionally, many even claimed Folgers was better than the original brand.

Sadly, I see a similar trend prevalent in Christian circles – not with coffee, but with preaching and teaching. Many preachers today stand a passionately deliver messages to people who stand in great need to hear from God. But some deliver what amounts to a coach’s locker room speech rather than a clear, anointed message from God’s Word. They exchange the gourmet truth of God’s Word with the Folgers crystals of human insight and perspective.

[Tweet “If the message is not based on, rooted in, and filled through with God’s Word, it is merely a speech.”]

Things to Consider Before Drinking the Folgers

How to Get Control of Your Thoughts

July 18, 2018 Jim Duggan

Have you ever, like me, had thoughts pop in your head that you didn’t know where they came from? We can’t necessarily control what thoughts enter our stream of consciousness. But we better control what we do with them after the pop up.

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The Bible teaches that we reap what we sow, (Galatians 6:7-8) and that reality is definitely evident in our thoughts. What we think directly influences what we do and who we become. Solomon challenges us to protect our hearts diligently since all of life’s issues flow from it. (Proverbs 4:23) When the Bible refers to our heart, it speaks not just of our feelings, but our thinking and our will.

The Secret to Successful Thoughts

Consider the admonition of Paul.

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:5

“Take every thought captive.” We should have thoughts rather than letting thoughts have us. We have to ask the question, “who is in charge here, me or my mind?” I like to put it this way: think about what you think about.

So the secret to successful thoughts is to be both intentional and protective of our thoughts.

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How to Do A Verse Analysis for Bible Study

July 15, 2018 Jim Duggan

In high school I was a grammar nerd; I REALLY enjoyed English class. I even remember what an indirect object is! Because I was (and still am) a visually oriented learner, I especially liked diagramming sentences because the diagram was a good analysis that helped me see and understand the relationships the words in a sentence had with each other.

Verse analysis is not as involved as sentence diagramming

The same type of analysis can help us in our Bible study through what I call a verse analysis. The verse analysis is not as in-depth as the sentence diagram, but useful nonetheless to help us see the relationship of the words in the verse to one another.

I believe that not only did God inspire EVERY word of the Bible, but He also inspired EACH word is. Words matter and their relationship to one another in a given passage reveal the truth that God wants us to know about Him, His precepts, and His purposes for us.

At the end of this blog, I have included a video tutorial demonstrating how I do a verse analysis, and I invite you to watch it and let me know if it is helpful to you.

A Working Example

Let’s consider as an example Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.

My first step is to isolate the main verbs in a passage. Once I’ve isolated those verbs, I study their context and meanings. I use many of the tools I mentioned in the “Tools Blog” to help with this task.

July 11, 2018 Jim Duggan

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when studying the Bible is the failure to consider context. The inspired words of God did not drop down in book form in a vacuum. The Holy Spirit moved men to write eternal truth in their times, cultures, languages, and personalities.

Types of Context

By context, I mean the unique place, time, and style of each part of God’s Word. We may consider several different contexts in a passage of Scripture.

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Literary Context

God used several different types of context to communicate His truth to us. Likewise, we should understand different types of literature in different ways. Poetry reads differently that narrative. We understand letters differently than historical writing. The book of Revelation and several parts of Old Testament prophecy include cryptic apocryphal language. We have to interpret them in that light.

Historical Context

The authors of the Bible lived and wrote in times different than ours. When we understand the cultural norms and practices of Bible times, we gain deeper insight into its message. Good Bible interpretation considers what the Bible meant to its original readers and hearers. Then we can find application for our current lives. The Bible cannot mean something it never meant.

Grammatical Context

The Bible is a written document. (I know, duh!) It was written primarily in two languages, Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament. Additionally, there is a little of the ancient Aramaic in the Old Testament as well. Translators work diligently to bridge the gap between those languages in the Biblical period and our contemporary language.

Likewise, we must consider a word in its relationship to the sentence. We look at the sentence in relation to the chapter, chapter to book, and book to the entire Biblical narrative. Never forget that the Bible, Genesis to Revelation, is a unified story. Grammatically, how does a particular passage fit into the whole narrative?

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A Case in Context Point

Just the other day a Facebook post described a “new” meaning to Psalm 23:5, “You anoint my head with oil.” According to the article, shepherds rubbed the heads of sheep with oil to protect them from flies who would lay maggots in their ears. The sheep in turn might injure themselves by beating their heads against rocks in an attempt to alleviate the torment. The article’s author drew the conclusion that God helps us when we are mentally tormented.

I do not claim to be an expert on shepherding – today or in David’s time. Shepherds may very well anoint their sheep for such a purpose; however, that is not the meaning of Psalm 23:5.

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