Saturday, February 27, 2010

Day Ten: The Heart of Worship

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The whole chapter hit home for me today. It's stuff that I already know, stuff I've been doing, but stuff I need to be reminded of, stuff that I need to recommit to. Again. Surrender IS such an unpopular word. I cringe at the thought of surrendering. Yet... when it comes to God, it IS the heart of worship. I needed to remember that to surrender to God is not about turning off my mind, or abandoning the need to choose, or passively awaiting whatever happens next.

Surrender is what opens up my heart to God, to his love, his direction, his plans, his tasks for me. Without surrender I'm guessing at what he's up to, guessing as to what I ought to do next, and guessing as to how best help others. I don't want to guess at how to make the most of my life here on Earth.
C.S. Lewis observed, "The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become - because he made us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be.... It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own."

How do I know when I'm drawing back from a surrendered attitude? Here's some paragraph's that were revealing for me:
A.W. Tozer said, "The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us."
We aren't God and never will be. We are humans. It is when we try to be God that we end up most like Satan, who desired the same thing.
We accept our humanity intellectually, but not emotionally. When faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to be taller (or shorter), smarter, stronger, more talented, more beautiful, and wealthier. We want to have it all and do it all, and we become upset when it doesn't happen. Then when we notice that God gave others characteristics we don't have, we respond with envy, jealousy, and self-pity. 

This stuff is very convicting for me.

Here's a couple of more quotes that I found to be inspiring:
Surrendered to God, you don't have to fear or surrender to anything else. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said, "The greatness of a man's power is in the measure of his surrender." Surrendered people are the ones God uses.
Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to worship God - and if you fail to worship him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice.
Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover that the greatest hindrance to God's blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself - your self-will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. You cannot fulfill God's purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans. Jesus said, "If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me."

What about you? What did you find to be convicting or inspiring in the reading today?

Friday, February 26, 2010

Day Nine: What Makes God Smile?

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The Bible says, "Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it." This runs against the grain of our usual tendencies. Yet when we make it a regular habit of trying to make God smile, we end up making a lot of other people smile to. Including us. At the core of this effort to God make smile is love and trust, which ought to seem kind of obvious - this is at the core of what makes the other people in our life smile.
Trusting is an act of worship. Just as parents are pleased when children trust their love and wisdom, your faith makes God happy. The Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."

As a parent, I know how pleasing it is when my children obey my requests without whining or ignoring me. I suppose the same thing goes for God, we make him smile when we do what he asks of us.
God doesn't owe you an explanation or reason for everything he asks you to do. Understanding can wait, but obedience can't. Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions. In fact, you will never understand some commands until you obey them first. Obedience unlocks understanding.

Maybe we underestimate the power of gratitude, but its encouraging to remember that God smiles when we are thankful towards Him. The more we notice the good that God does in us and through us and around us, the more our respect and awe will go up for Him, as well as our words of appreciation and approval. This is the kind of worship that makes God smile and us as well. It's win-win kind of worship!

It's also really cool to think that God smiles when we use our skills and abilities for Him. We often assume that the only things that really make God smile is doing spiritual stuff, but everything we do can be an opportunity to make God smile.

Right now my boys are laying on the kitchen floor coloring with markers. Levi and Isaac are filling in some Toy Story pages, and Eli is coloring his fingernails. It makes me smile, and it makes God smile!

More than just the little things that make God smile, he smiles when we accept who we are and live out of that.
You don't bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or by trying to be someone else. You only bring him enjoyment by being you. There are no unspiritual abilities, just misused ones. Start using yours for God's pleasure. 

God even smiles when we enjoy his creation - our smiling at a sunrise or racing clouds or swaying trees or the licks of a puppy - this all is pleasing to Him. It doesn't take much to make God smile in terms of knowledge. It's really mostly about attitude: do we even want to make God smile?

Once we make that choice to please God, we'll find Him giving us even more reasons to clap our hands in glee. Not that this eliminates hardships and trials - but rather the strength and the determination to keep looking up, to keep getting up, to keep trusting and loving God with our hearts opened up.

What about you? What was challenging or encouraging to you in the reading today?

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Day Eight: Planned for God's Pleasure

What hit home for you in the reading today?

Isn't it nice to know that God was smiling at your birth? That's probably not an image we consider very often, but maybe we should. We also probably don't dwell on the idea that "we exist for his benefit, his glory, his purpose, and his delight." Our tendency is to stay very very focused on our own existence and our own efforts to be happier. Interestingly, our best shot at happiness may come from seeking to make God happy. What do you think?

Worship has all sorts of boring connotations. There are plenty of places where "worship" is the scheduled event, and it's common for there to not be much "life" there either.  But I'll bet those places don't connect the idea of "worship" with the idea of "pleasure." The Bible says, "The LORD is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love." I'll bet you know plenty of people who "worship" God but  lack in the love and trust category. This is what gives worship a bad name. God wants us to enjoy life with him, and thus worship is a response of gratitude. Worship out of duty is dull.

And is it even worth discussing the subject of worship and music? By now everybody knows that worship is far more than music. Right?

I think these days the really big issue we ought to deal with is this: Worship is NOT for your benefit! In our consumer culture, we go to church for what we can get out of it. And if we don't get out of it what we think we ought to be getting out of it, then we shop around. But if going to church is mostly about worship of God, then it's not about what you get out of it, but what you put into it. A lot of church-goers are lazy gluttons seeking to gorge themselves on live music that fits their taste, and soak in a sermon that either makes them laugh or feel good about their life. Oh, and don't get me started about programming in the church for kids and youth - talk about competition to attract the most customers!

What would a church have to do to remind its members that they come to worship - so they had better do their own prep work so that they are ready? We don't go to church really even to learn more about the Bible - not as an end in itself. The learning is connected to our lifestyle of worship - what else can we do that fuels gratitude, trust and love with God and others? Learning more interesting Bible facts is what lazy glutton Christians enjoy! A Bible fact is useless if it's not absorbed in an attitude of worship. The Bible says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are from from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." 

What is God looking for from people who want to worship him? "Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering." When this is your lifestyle, worship on Sunday is an overflow of the rest of the week. When your everyday life is placed before God as a gift to him, then what makes Sunday unique is not worship, but worship with lots of other worshippers. Sunday is not a day of worship, Everyday is. Sunday, though, is a day of worship with friends and neighbors and family and people who are not like you.

Worship on Sundays has gotten a lot of bad press. Maybe we should just focus on how to help people worship God on all the other days of the week, and then Sunday will take care of itself. If people aren't ever thankful or open to God during the week, forcing it on Sunday will get stale. If we can work to offer up our everyday life to God, and fuel an attitude of thankfulness towards him, and point to him as the giver of good gifts at work and school and home and church, then Sunday worship will have a whole new energy. That would be fun! God would enjoy it, and so would your friends and neighbors and family.

What about you? How has your concept of worship changed? 

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Day Seven: The Reason for Everything

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The chapter opens up with this verse:
Everything comes from God alone.
Everything lives by his power,
and everything is for his glory.

Romans 11v36 (LB)

It's a very radical verse to write and believe. Whether you are inclined to believe some form of creationism or some form of evolution, do we believe everything - material stuff and humans - come from God? Do we believe that God sustains the world, that his energy is what breathed life into our existence? And do we believe that everything is to bring glory to God? All three are outrageous beliefs and have their own difficulties and rewards. The last one is what this chapter is about - and it has it's own unique problems.

Some people are suspicious of a God who wants so much glory. They wonder if maybe this God is insecure, that he needs validation, he needs to be praised a lot. Is that what is going on here? Is it wrong for a Creator to desire recognition and appreciation for the created art? What should a Creator feel if what was lovingly and skillfully created gets trashed, maimed, and mocked?

What we believe about God shapes what we do with our life. When we believe that God is the source of our Universe and Humanity - (we have no idea how He did it though...), we begin to better understand where we stand with God. We don't stand as equals with Him. But we do stay thankful for the good gifts he gives us. Even then, is it about what God can do for us, or is it about the One who got everything going? Or is it mutual - a give and take relationship where it's a win-win for both?

It's pretty obvious that in this relationship with God, he's got a better perspective on reality, on what is going on amongst us. We are the ones who have a very difficult time remembering where we stand with God, or remembering that we belong to God, and that the whole Earth is a gift to us. It's a sin to disregard God the way we often do. And the more we disregard God, the more we bring corrosion into our life. If God is the one with the power to make life work for us, and we belittle his contribution, we're cutting ourselves off from some very helpful help.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."
It's worth spending some time reflecting on this thought, this belief. The idea of God's glory can be kind of abstract, despite this chapter's noble attempt to explain it in practical ways. But God's glory is best experienced in relationship, though it is beautifully displayed in nature. I struggle to understand what it means to give God glory. I struggle to understand what it means to be satisfied in him.

Here's my best understanding of it so far:
When we trust God, when we go along with His prompts and directions, when we are used by Him to accomplish something good, when we are an available instrument for His rescue and restoration work, when we are open to what He wants us to become, and when we accept Him on His terms with peace, we are bringing great delight to Him and affirmation. We are telling God through our actions that he is trustworthy, that he is capable, that he is enjoyable, that he is helpful, that he is brilliant, that he is mercy-full, that he is just, that he is always present.

This is called praise. Or glory. Too many of us give too little praise/glory to people in our life. We crave it for ourselves, but rarely give enough of it out. We flatter too often, but rarely do we make the effort to give authentic praise or appreciation. There is much benefit in giving praise or glory, I always feel better when I do it, and so does the one who received it. Doing so doesn't make all the bad stuff in my life go away, but it does help me refocus.

Wherever you are at in our knowledge of God, or in your attitude towards God, or in your confusion or anger with God, I'd encourage you to at least open yourself up to acknowledge the good that has come your way from God. And thank him for at least that stuff. It's a start.

What about you? What convicted you or inspired you in the reading today?

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Day Six: Life Is a Temporary Assignment

What hit home for you in the reading today?

I'm going to be very honest here: I don't think about heaven that much. I don't dwell on eternal life that much. I don't spend much time pondering the temporary nature of life on earth. My friend Don Gentry does, and he has encouraged me to consider the life to come more than I do. So I've been trying. It's not that I don't ever think about heaven, it's just that it's not often a source of motivation for me. Maybe it should be. Is it for you? In what way? I'd be interested to read your answer, to learn from you.

This was a thought-provoking paragraph for me:
In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life - longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better. 

And this one:
The Bible says, "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." It is a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even in ministry. 

When we think of the ancient story of Adam and Eve, they were given work to do in the Garden of Eden. It may have been a beautiful and verdant region, but there were still plenty of assignments for each day. We live many years removed from that story, yet it is still the same earth - just with a lot more gashes and bruises. There is still plenty of work to do, and God is still handing out assignments to those that are willing. The temporary nature of the assignments are due to the life-span of you and me. Our work, upon our death, will be picked up by someone else. But what kind of work will we have done with the few years we have here on earth?

What about you? What convicted you or inspired you in the reading today?

Monday, February 22, 2010

Day Five: Seeing Life from God's Point of View

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The initial sentence of the chapter was very helpful: The way you see your life shapes your life. Very true. As complicated as life can be, I suppose there are many life metaphors that fit at different points, but some are probably more helpful than others. Seeing our life as a test and a trust are very helpful, more so than seeing life as a roller-coaster, or seeing life as a series of repeating, ascending circles.

I really liked this paragraph:
Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. You are always being tested. God constantly watches your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment, and even the weather! He even watches the simplest actions such as when you open the door for others, when you pick up a piece of trash, or when you're polite toward a clerk or waitress.

And this one:
When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God. 

And another:
The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them. The Bible says, "God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out."

It was helpful to see life as a test, but also as a trust, that we are stewards of what God has given us.
Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and management. We are stewards of whatever God gives us. This concept of stewardship begins with the recognition that God is the owner of everything and everyone on earth. The Bible says, "The world and all that is in it belong to the LORD; the earth and all who live on it are his"
Looking back over the past ten years, it is so clear how the decade was full of test after test after test. On this end of it, God has helped me pass those tests. Many of the tests were grueling, excruciatingly difficult, covering long-stretches of time and uncertainty. But here I am, on this end of them, and I've passed. Not that the tests are done, but rather, they set me up for even more difficult tests. Not because God is a irritable task-master, but because through these tests I've become stronger, wiser, gentler, and loyaler.

And the tests have helped refine the my usage of the gifts God has stewarded to me. The tests and the trusts go hand in hand. My wife is a gift. My daughter is a gift. My sons are a gift. The best gifts. They are often the primary source of my tests, but they are also my most important trust. My life with them is the arena where Jesus brings out the best in me, as well as give out the best through me.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Day Four: Made to Last Forever

What hit home for you in the reading today?

This can be an easy chapter to gloss over, since it seem so theological and religious and not very practical. The topic, though, is pretty important to the whole goal of this project. Here's some ideas in the chapter that I found to be helpful reminders or insights:
This life is not all there is.
Your relationship to God on earth will determine your relationship to him in eternity.
C.S. Lewis said, "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God says, "All right then, have it your way.'"
The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.
To make the most of your life, you must keep the vision of eternity continually in your mind and the value of it in your heart.
"For us this is the end of all the stories... But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All of their life in this world... had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever and in which every chapter is better than the one before."
...God offers you an opportunity beyond your lifetime. The Bible says, "[God's] plans endure forever; his purposes last eternally."
You may feel it's morbid to think about death, but actually it's unhealthy to live in denial of death and not consider what is inevitable.
Just as the nine months you spent in your mother's womb were not an end in themselves but preparation for life, so this life is preparation for the next.

From my point of view, describing life on earth as a dress rehearsal for life in eternity is not very helpful, well not to me. Life on earth is very important, and so is life in eternity. Both are crucial to life with God.  Life on earth is more than a dress rehearsal. But I get the point being made.

Also, I disagree that if our time on earth is all there is to our life, that we should encourage everyone to start living it up immediately. The Way of Jesus, or even a good and ethical secular life, has much advantage over hedonism and rampant narcism for this life. A party life becomes unsustainable pretty quick. The hope of eternity is beautiful and essential, but it is not the only compulsion we have for being good and loving while alive on earth.

What is heaven like? It's probably fair to reason that Jesus' resurrected body is what our resurrected body will be like. So imagine yourself existing for eternity... kind of scary, isn't it? Except that our resurrected body is "like" the original, recognizable, yet renewed, restored. And our personality, our "essence" is like the original, recognizable, yet renewed, restored. So what will we do for eternity? Probably a lot of what we are doing now, except in a universe void of death and sin. Those two factors profoundly shape life on earth. Imagine if there is no death or sin... it's easy if you try.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?

Friday, February 19, 2010

Day Three: What Drives Your Life?

What hit home for you in the reading today?

There was much in this chapter that made me think. For example, I'm one of those people that is driven by the need for approval. It's a very annoying situation, and I'm trying to work on it, but it's still there. I'd like to think that the drive isn't as strong as it used to be, since I've been trying to seek God's approval more.

There was also much to think about with the five benefits of living a purpose-driven life. I definitely feel like my life has meaning, and I think my life is simplified, though I can sense the need for even more of it. I'm focused and motivated, yet there is something in me that keeps pushing for more focus and less dabbling, something that desires more passion and less weariness.

The last two questions of the chapter are pretty important. What did you do with Jesus?, and What did you do with my gifts? 

When I say that I believe in Jesus, I'm obviously confessing that I think he is real and exists; but I'm also say that I have confidence in him, I think he's brilliant, capable, reliable, and persistent.

When I reflect on what I'm doing with God's gifts to me, there are moments of paranoia that I'm not doing enough, but most of the time there is a relaxed intentionality - God is always at work, he's the one that bears responsibility for accomplishing his Will and Way on Earth, I just need to be willing to join in on what he started and sustains and will finish.
"God... is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of - infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes."

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today? 

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Day Two: You Are Not an Accident

What hit home for you in the reading today?

Here was the most helpful part of the chapter for me:
"God formed the earth... He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited." Why did God do all this? Why did he bother to go to all the trouble of creating a universe for us? Because he is a God of love. This kind of love is difficult to fathom, but it's fundamentally reliable. You were created as a special object of God's love! God made you so he could love you. This is a truth to build your life on.

It's not uncommon for me to beat myself up due to my failures, my weaknesses, my shortcomings. I've got my own list of sins that stir up shame and guilt. Sometimes I pay too much attention to what isn't right in my life. And then I feel powerless to change. Which only makes the despair more heavy. But... if I let myself remember God's perspective on my situation and me... I don't have to stay so glum.

God knows me, he knows everything that has ever happened to me, he knows why it happened, he knows what is going on in my life now because of everything that has shaped me. He knows where this stuff is taking me in the future. But he doesn't just sit there with a knowing smirk. God has got his sleeves rolled up, working in me and with me and through me to bring good out of everything that has ever happened to me and by me. Why does he do this? This is what love does. This is what God does.

God loves me just the way I am, but he loves me too much to leave me this way. I am not an accident in God's eyes, I am someone he can use to fulfill his redemptive and renewing purposes in our world.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Day One: It All Starts with God

What hit home for you in the reading today?

I could feel myself resisting the truth of this statement:
You were made for God, not vice-versa, and life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not your using him for your own purpose. The Bible says, "Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life." 

It can be almost too easy for me to stay focused on what I wish God would do for me or my friends. While there is nothing wrong with dwelling on what I want God to do, if I dwell too long I will miss what God is actually already going for me and my friends.

When I pay too much attention to all the things I'm curious about, all the things I'm interested in, I tend to get very overwhelmed, and then do nothing, or at least I procrastinate. And it's very annoying when I do that. I'm feeling convicted to relax about all the things I want to do in life, and instead of getting anxious become aware of what opportunities God is presenting to me.

If the desires in me come from God, then he'll help me find ways to fulfill them - His way, His time. But the fulfilling of those desires is not about me and my happiness, but about letting God bring out the best in me for what he wants to accomplish in our world. If I insist on always being happy and fulfilled, I'll make a lot of people miserable. If I relax and focus on what God is doing in and through me, the smiles will last longer and mean so much more.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?

A 40 Day Journey with a Purpose

By being part of Anchor, Lent & 40 Days of Purpose, you are giving yourself a daily opportunity to move forward in your life, forward in a bit different direction, with a bit more intention, maybe a bit more hope.


As you walk this journey, make some time in the early morning or early evening, or even on your noon lunchbreak, to do some reading and thinking. Working your way through the Purpose Driven Life won't be hard, but it will be helpful when you work at it, when you chew on the material, focus on what convicts you, and open yourself up to some change. You get out of it what you put into it.


So, for 40 days you get permission to have fifteen or thirty minutes all to yourself. You, a book, a pen, a mug of hot chocolate, and a curious heart. Reflect as you read, no need to race through it. Write as you reflect, it'll help you remember what you read. And pray as you write, make the writing your prayer, your questions to God, or let them be questions from God. Does that make sense?


You may not agree with or understand everything written in this book, but it should prompt some inspired ideas, some thinking that leads you in a renewed direction.


Let God transform you 
into a new person 
by changing the way you think
Then you will know 
what God wants you to do.  
(Romans 12v2 TEV)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

40 Days of Lent & Desire

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 Days of Lent. Not only is it a season of reflection and repentance, but also of desire.

Maybe you don't feel like you have permission to pursue what you desire, or you feel guilty about it. Maybe you keep your desires secret, for fear of being smirked at. Or because your desires are selfish. Or your just shy.

But reflection and repentance is not about the suppression or rejection of desire, but about renewing desires about what is good and noble and beautiful and true and freeing. It's about unleashing the desire to truly love and be loved, imitating the way God loves us.

What do you desire? Is it good? Is it a win-win-win for you, others, and God? Or is it just about you?

Some of you have such high expectations for everything and everyone that you're usually disappointed most of the time. What if you focused less on all those expectations you cling to, and followed your God-given desires to be more loving, more patient, more kind, more forgiving, more reliable, more humble, more loyal, more generous, more strong?

40 Days of Desire. Interested?

Sunday, February 14, 2010

40 Days of Lent & The Purpose Driven Life

The 40 Days of Lent are as good as time as any to make some changes in your life. In order to make lasting change, you need to do it for about forty days. And you need to do something different, something good again and again. Reading through The Purpose Driven Life (again, for some of you...) may be what you need - a helpful book that reorients your perspective onto the Way of Jesus in this world. If you're getting frustrated or bogged down in life, you may need some good reminders on what the Way of Jesus can be like for you.

Starting Ash Wednesday there will be a posting everyday on the reading from The Purpose Driven Life. For forty days, as you read and reflect your way through the book, you can come here for more insights, as well as a place to leave your thoughts and comments.

I encourage you to start making some good changes in your life. One way is to start reading with other Anchor friends The Purpose Driven Life. Do it! Many of you from Anchor have a book already. Find it, pull it out, dust it off and jump in again. If you don't have a book, let me know and I'll get you one.

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