Living Intentionally

Many years ago a man by the name of Charles Hummel wrote a pamphlet entitled “The Tyranny of the Urgent.”  The main idea of the writing was that all too often we “sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent.”  Hummel reminds us that we are easily derailed by good things often at the expense of the best things.  

The last several months I have made a commitment to what I call “intentional living.”  I am prayerfully asking God to shape my purpose and priorities and I am beginning to base my decisions on those things that He shows me matter most.  I am sure it is not a minister’s-only malady to get so distracted with so many things that we have little time or energy left for those things most important.  

How many of us live our lives with a clear sense of the specific purpose to which he has called each of us?  Sadly, most people occupy their days dealing with what lies in front of them, spinning plates, putting out fires, and just trying to stay one step ahead of life.  

How would your life be different if you knew God’s purpose for each phase of your life?  Would decisions be different if you considered God’s purpose for your family role?  Would your job take on new meaning if you began to see it as the place God strategically placed you to affect people for Him?

God has divinely ordained your stations in life not by accident but INTENTIONALLY.  How can you then INTENTIONALLY invest yourself by choosing the important over the urgent and the best over the good.  I invite you to come with me as we live our lives ON PURPOSE.

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians, and my prayer for me and for you:

…so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ… – Philippians 1:10

Tomorrow’s blog:  Help for setting priorities.  

The Word of God: Affirmation or Transformation?

His family thought He was “out of His mind.” (Mark 3:21) Yes, even Mary.  She was there, too, and presumably she agreed with Jesus’ siblings, her other children, that Jesus had crossed the line.

How could Mary misunderstand?  She had received an angelic announcement tell her she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and carried the Son of God in her womb.  At Jesus’ birth, she received visits from shepherds who had received a heavenly announcement as well, telling them that this baby was the long awaited Messiah.  Magi from the East came calling, bearing precious gifts, and recognizing the significance of her firstborn.

She had watched her son grow from the twelve year old boy who confidently taught adults in the temple during a trip to Jerusalem to the man who now forged out on his own, teaching other men the ways of the Kingdom.  Really, how could she miss it?

She missed it the same way we do.  She had preconceived notions about the Messiah that obscured the truth right before her eyes.  She thought Jesus was blowing His chance, misusing the opportunity that God had given Him, and going about Messiahship the wrong way.

To her, the Messiah would be a popular, national and political leader who would rise among the ranks of the religious establishment and eventually take His place at the top.  He would lead Israel away from Roman domination and establish His throne in Jerusalem.  But all He was doing now was alienating the religious establishment and acting quite… well, foolish.

If only she had read and received God’s Word with an open mind and heart she would’ve seen the truth. The Messiah would be not only a Righteous Ruler but also a Suffering Servant.  If she had listened carefully to what He spoke and recognized that even though He was her son genetically, He was her Lord supremely.

We come to God’s Word the same way all too often.  We have a notion of the way things should be, or at least how we want them to be. We consequently either twist Scriptures to mean what we want them to mean or ignore them if the meaning cannot be manipulated.  We read the Bible looking for affirmation rather than transformation.  We claim the Scripture is unclear or difficult when actually it is quite clear, but fails to say what we want it to say.

Let me challenge you to come to God’s Word humbly and with an open heart.  Let God’s Word shape your understanding rather than your presuppositions shaping God’s Word.  Let the Word speak for itself.  Consider it in its contexts – historical, literary, grammatical, and revelatory.  Seek its true meaning and conform to it.  Let God’s Word speak authoritatively in your life.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. – Hebrews 4:11-13

What Does “Judge Not” Really Mean?

I believe that the single Bible verse most taken out of its context in Matthew 7:1:

Judge not that you be not judged.

Often a person will employ this verse to defend sinful behavior, but such is not the meaning at all.  The Bible actually encourages us to look at the behavior of others.

As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him – Titus 3:10

Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Matthew 7:20 (Speaking of false prophets)

Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. – Hebrews 13:7

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not bring death, he should ask, and God will give life to him… 1 John 5:16a

We are not judging when we measure our life and the lives of others against the plain teaching of Scripture.  Judging occurs rather when we make value judgments and assume that we know the heart and motives behind the actions of others.  We are encouraged to observe the behavior of others but we must NEVER assume to know their heart.

In addition, this verse is part of a larger passage of Scripture (Matthew 7:1-5) that encourages us to examine our own hearts before judging the hearts of others.  We must not overlook the Biblical admonition to remove the foul motives of our own hearts.  When we do, we more accurately see the hearts of others.  In fact, when we remove our own foul motives (the beam) we recognize that the motives of others were nobler than we imagined (only a speck).

So the true applications of these verses would include

1. Don’t be so quit to assume to know the heart of others, and
2. Be careful to examine your own heart.

Somebody’s Knockin’

In 1981, I remember a hit song on the radio titled “Somebody’s Knockin’.”  The song would be the first hit for a soulful sounding, piano playing lady named Terri Gibbs.  For me, it was one of those songs I remember all of my life.  I was blessed this past Easter Sunday when Terri Gibbs worshipped with us at Ty Ty.  

The song and the fact that Terri visited our church also connects my memory to one of the Bible verses that is often misapplied.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me. – Revelation 3:20

Most of the time I hear that verse employed as an appeal to an unbeliever to “ask Jesus into your heart.”  A well meaning preacher or witness will present the plan of salvation and then quote the verse above as Biblical admonition to offer Jesus an invitation.

I find two problems with that application.  First of all, salvation is not about me asking Jesus to come into my life, but rather about me surrendering all of my life to Him.  I am not asking Him to join me, I am joining Him.  The second problem with that application is that it misrepresents a most important application for BELIEVERS.

Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation contain letters Jesus dictated through John to seven CHURCHES across Asia Minor.  Churches. Presumably filled with BELIEVERS.  The verse is less Jesus requesting an unbeliever to let Him in and more of an invitation FROM Jesus to believers to enter a personal and intimate relationship with Him.  We have Jesus’ invitation to talk to Him (prayer) and hear from Him (through the Bible) on a regular basis.

Sadly the verse portrays a church going about its business as usual, but with Jesus on the outside.  It stands as a stark reminder to believers that we can go through the motions and still leave Jesus out of our daily lives.  Do you have regular, meaningful fellowship with Him?  He stands ready, waiting for you.

What to Do When Two or Three Are Gathered Together

I love corporate prayer.  Few things compare to interceding alongside other believers.  Even since my days of youth I have enjoyed prayer meeting.  Having said, however, there is a Bible passage that is often mistaken for a verse about prayer.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” – Matthew 18:19-20

While encouraging group prayer is always a GOOD thing, using this verse to do it omits another very important Biblical instruction: dealing positively with another believer who has sinned against you. A quick reading of the preceding verses in Matthew 18:15-18 clearly reveals the context in which Jesus was speaking.

These verse indicate what a believer is to do when another believer sins against him.  Notice the catalyst for this confrontation – SIN, not disappointment, disagreement, or difference.  When another believer doesn’t measure up to our expectations or does something with which we disagree, then we are called to exercise forbearance and patience, but when the offense is clearly a SIN against us we are instructed to take positive and proactive steps.

First we are to lovingly confront the believer and make him aware of his sin against us.  Hopefully, at that stage reconciliation is achieve and the matter is over.  If not, then the offended believer is to take two or three people to attest to the fact you tried to resolve the issue peaceably.  If that doesn’t work, then it is time to hold the sinful brother accountable to the congregation.

These steps seem incredibly uncomfortable because we so seldom employ them.  Most of the time, we ignore the offense and allow the sinful brother to continue in his sin. Quite often his sins grow increasing egregious, because no one lovingly confronts him.  Still other times, we skip the private first step and we bring a “posse” to the one who has offended us and we attack him in a group setting.  That always creates more hostility rather than fostering reconciliation.

Taking the prescribed Biblical steps honors God, shows respect to fellow believers, and testifies to the Grace of Christ.  It is simply the RIGHT way to do things.  When two brothers in Christ come together when once there was disharmony, the presence of Christ is evident in their union, and the testimony of Christ to the lost world is encouraged.  Sure, it is great to pray together as believers, but it is even greater to come together Biblically when one believer has sinned against another.

Do We Really Speak Truth and Is It Really in Love?

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One of the most popular Scripture misquotes is a phrase found in Ephesians 4:15:

“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

Many believers have used the concept of speaking the truth in love as found in this verse to assault verbally other brothers and sisters in Christ.  It seems as though anyone has the liberty to say any matter of hurtful things to another by claiming to speak the truth in love.  The problem with that approach is that (1) usually “the truth” is not God’s truth, but rather opinion, and (2) the motive is most often not loving but self-serving.

When we see the context of Ephesians 4:15 we can gain a more accurate understanding of what it means to speak the truth in love and a better idea of how to practice it.  The verse immediately preceding holds the key for our understanding.  Verse 14 admonishes us not to be gullible and vulnerable to teaching that not grounded in truth.  So then, verse 15 stands in antithesis to encourage us to speak TRUTH.  “Truth” contrasts “every wind of doctrine” in verse 14, and “love” contrasts “by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

While some will manipulate and spin doctrine to suit their own agenda, the true believer, from a heart of love (love for God, His Word, and for His people) will be careful to speak the truth of God’s Word; to teach God’s truth rather than personal preference.

This verse, then, is not license to speak harshly to another believer, while claiming to do it because we love him or her.  A more appropriate guiding principle for our speech toward others can be found a verses after verse 15:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29

 

 

Coming Up This Week on the Blog

One of the greatest obstacles to understanding and applying Scripture is taking those Scriptures out of their context and applying an unintended meaning to them.  Unfortunately, we Christians do that too often.  With this week’s posts I want to highlight a few of the more popular verses to take out of context, explain what their true meaning is, then suggest ways we can apply those verses accurately to our lives.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15

The Bible requires that we be “workers” who “handle” the word of truth “rightly.”  Understanding Scripture often requires intentional thought and insight.  The Bible is not a frivolous book; it is the revealed mind of God and as such deserves careful attention.   Just as mining for precious metals and costly jewels requires hard work, so also mining the truths of the Bible requires us to dig deeply into its meaning. The rewards of Bible mining, however, far more outweigh the results of natural mining.

The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. – Psalm 119:72

I hope these few blog posts this coming week will challenge your conventional thinking, if that conventional thinking is wrong.  I hope they spur you on to serious Bible study, and I hope they cause you to think twice before you accept anyone’s explanation and application of Scripture.

Come back this week, read, and feel free to interact.

How Much Are You Worth?

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Back in August 2007, a Laurens County Georgia sheriff’s deputy pulled to the right side of road and began to make a left U-turn. As he pulled back onto the road toward a 90 degree angle, a motorcyclist traveling in the same direction t-boned the sheriff’s cruiser at such a rate of speed that the impact flipped the car over on its side. The deputy was seriously injured and the motorcyclist was fatally injured.

The motorcyclist’s widow sued the county, the sheriff’s department, the sheriff, and the deputy for what she calls (notice I am quoting here) “the full value of the life of her husband.” What price tag could you put on a man’s life? Well, apparently he was worth a cool $1,000,000 to her.

I lost track of the case and I am not sure of its outcome. I have neither the desire nor responsibility to determine the merits of this case. What intrigues me is placing a monetary value on the life of a human being.

While not addressing the monetary value of one’s earthly existence, Jesus did rhetorically ask about the value of the human soul.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Matthew 16:25-26

Who’s to say how much one’s time here on earth is worth, but we can easily determine the value of the human soul. Jesus exchanged His life for our soul. That makes our soul the most valuable commodity known to man.

You are so valuable to God that He gave His Son’s life in exchange for you. Never believe the devil’s lie that you don’t matter or that you are insignificant. You are worth far more than a mil to God. Our lives have been redeemed, let’s rise above the common and ordinary and live as the priceless treasures that we are.

Challenge #3 – What Is the Church to Do with ME?

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The consumer mentality that drives our culture has seeped into the church as well.  In every facet of culture, we expect entitlement.  We have learned to assert our rights and to demand that we receive what we have coming to us…and more.  We expect others to give us more than we are willing to invest ourselves.

One of the first questions people ask as they consider joining a church is “how can the church meet my needs,” and one of the last statements disgruntled church people utter as they leave is “this church isn’t meeting my needs.”  We want music that suits, programs that entertain, preaching that tickles, and fellowship that affirms.  We want benefit without cost, blessing without effort, and gain without sacrifice.  We shop for church experience like shopping for a new car.  We search until we find one we think we will likes, then we dicker for membership at the lowest possible interest rate.

The problem with such a self-centered mindset is that it is not really the center.  Church isn’t about me, it’s about Jesus.  It’s HIS church.  Church is not about what I can get, but how I can invest and serve Him.

John 3:30 – He must increase, and I must decrease.

Matthew 16:18 (the words of Jesus) – …I will build MY church… (emphasis added)

Ephesians 3:21 – …to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Philippians 2:9-11 – Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Colossians 1:18 – …and He is the head of the body, the church.

In Matthew 25, Jesus told a parable of a man who went on a journey and entrusted portions of his possessions to his servants.  Two of his servants invested their master’s goods and gained him even more.  The master praised them and rewarded them for their investment.  The third servant played it safe and hid his master’s money, and the master chided the servant and punished him for his laziness and apathy.

Jesus has entrusted His most precious treasure to us – His Church.  He is not pleased when I hijack His precious possession and assert my preferences and wants.  He is not please with my desires to conform church to my image, but rather He is please with my determination to invest my time, resources, and efforts in His Church.

We will begin to experience the winds of revival when we die to ourselves and return Jesus to His rightful highest place in His Church.

Challenge #2 – What Do We Do With Worship?

I believe in the value of music in a believer’s life as I wrote in an earlier blog.  I strongly believe in the value of music in the corporate worship experience. I do believe, though, that we have made the music the central focus of worship.  How often have you heard people refer to the musical portion of the service as “worship” and the pastor’s part as “preaching,” as if the two are mutually exclusive? The so-called “worship wars” that have pervaded many churches indicate we have crossed an idolatrous line and have begun to worship worship.

My point is not to argue worship styles or to defend one style over another.  I like them all as long as they are done with energy, enthusiasm, and genuineness.  My point is we have made the wrong thing central to our worship.  The church is in a mess because PREACHING is no longer central in our worship experience.  I once heard the joke about a young child critiquing his first visit to “big church” by saying, “The music was good but the commercial (preaching) was too long.”

Here are my thoughts on what we need to do to recenter our worship around the Word of God preached.

  1. PREACHERS – stop slacking!  Spend the necessary time to deliver to your dear people a Bible centered message.  Quit stealing sermons from the internet, quit filling the time with cute sound bites, quit tickling ears, but proclaim the Word and apply it to life.  Make it interesting and make it meaningful, but by all means preach it!  That is the PRIMARY task to which God calls us.  (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
  2. PREACHERS – pray!  You cannot deliver a WORD from God if you don’t have a Word  FROM God.  A sermon is not a speech.  It can be erudite and alliterated; it can be humorously illustrated and cleverly applied; it may be entertaining, but it cannot accomplish with human instrumentation anything of Spiritual significance.  Bathe your message in prayer and preach with confidence that only comes from the anointing of God.
  3. CONGREGATIONS – come hungry!  Don’t come to church with your mind already made up about what you want to hear or not hear.  Expect that God knows what you need better than you do and come with an empty heart to hear what God has for you.
  4. CONGREGATIONS – free the preacher to preach.  I have been misquoted as saying that I am a preacher and not a pastor. That is wrong on at least three accounts.  First, I never said that nor do I believe that.  Second, you cannot be one without the other.  I cannot connect my people to the Word of God if I do not sympathize and move among my people.  I love them and because I love them I want for them what God wants for them.  Third, preaching is pastoring.  The term “pastor” sounds an awful lot like “pasture” which conjures up shepherding images.  The pastor’s primary task is to lay spiritual food before Jesus’ sheep.  Free the pastor up to give ample time to study and pray.  You will NOT be sorry you did.  (Acts 6:1-7)

When we return preaching to the place of prominence in our public worship – as God prescribes – we will be inching closer still to revival.

See also 1 Corinthians 1:21 and  Romans 10:14