Recognizing My Idols

Money, image, a missionary lifestyle, children, success, marriage, ministry, status, health, education, comfort... I have been convicted lately about how easily I am recognizing the idols in the lives around me while growing numb to the idols in my own heart. As I have been reading in Isaiah lately, I realize I am not alone in growing numb to idols. The Israelites return to their idols over and over even though God warns them over and over through various tests & prophets. God reminds them (and us) through Isaiah that the man-made things we turn into idols are useless.

"All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit...Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?" (Isaiah 44:9-10)

Even good things (like family, friends, health) can become idols when they become ultimate things in our lives. We don't wake up in the mornings intent on making idols, but rather take a step down that slippery slope every time we allow anything else besides the Lord of the universe to be THE ultimate thing in our lives. So how do we prevent this?
Here are 13 great questions from an old Puritan sermon that help us to recognize our idols, that we may turn from worshiping created things back to worshiping the only ONE who deserves all of our worship.

1. What do I most highly value?
2. What do I think about by default?
3. What is my highest goal?
4. To what or whom am I most committed?
5. Who or what do I love the most?
6. Who or what do I or depend upon the most?
7. Who or what do I fear the most?
8. Who or what do I hope in and hope for most?
9. Who or what do I desire the most? Or, what desire makes me most angry or makes me despair when it is not satisfied?
10. Who or what do I most delight in or hold as my greatest joy and treasure?
11. Who or what captures my greatest zeal?
12. To whom or for what am I most thankful?
13. For whom or what great purpose do I work?

Suffering: A Means Of Grace In The Hands Of God

"Even suffering is a means of grace in the hands of God. In Judges 3:1-2 God leaves other nations in the promised land 'to teach war' to his people. As each generation confronted hostile armies, it was faced with the need to trust God for itself. Adversity tests, strengthens, and personalizes faith. SInful desires can lurk in our hearts unnoticed because those desires are neither threatened nor thwarted. But suffering stirs the calm waters of latent sinful desires. It reveals the true state of our hearts. It's God's diagnostic tool, preparing the way for the medicine of gospel truth. Deuteronomy 8:2 says, 'You shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart.' Horatius Bonar comments:
'The trial did not create the evil: it merely brought out what was there already, unnoticed and unfelt, like a torpid adder. Then the heart's deep fountains were broken up, and streams of pollution came rushing out, black as Hell...Even so it is with the saints still. God chastens them that He may draw forth the evil that is lying concealed and unsuspected within...When calamity breaks over them like a tempest, then the hidden evils of their heart awakens.'
So suffering always presents us with a choice.
We can get frustrated, angry, bitter, or despondent as our desire for control, success, love, or health gets threatened. Or we can take hold of God in a new way, finding our joy in him and comfort in his promises."

From You Can Change by Tim Chester

Caught In The Middle Of A Morreshet

Middles can be good or bad - people don't like the middle seat on the airplane, but they love the middle of an oreo. We have stereotypes for the middle child, and many times the middle is overlooked. But in most cases, the middle of something is the key link and without it, the whole of that thing would be compromised! Middles are necessary and blessings in disguise. At times there is more pressure on the middle than on the ends, because it often holds things up or holds them together. And as I have been reflecting lately on the role God has called me to be in the middle of a morreshet, I realize how key this middle role is here as well!
Morreshet is the Hebrew word for spiritual legacy, totally separate from their word for a physical/material inheritance. You can imagine how frequently this term was used as the Jews passed down their spiritual legacy from generation to generation. Unfortunately, we have become numb to the responsibility of passing down the spiritual legacy from one generation to another. We underestimate the importance of shaping future generations spiritually, and we will be held accountable for that one day. Yet passing on a spiritual legacy is hardwired into who we are as people and families, and has been since the beginning of creation.

"Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

My life this month has been a realistic picture of what it means to be the middle generation of passing on a spiritual legacy. I spent a few hours a couple of weeks ago going through some old pictures and mementos of my grandparents. Included in these things were confirmation pictures, prayers, and Bibles. I am blessed to have both of my grandmothers' Bibles, but was captivated by some of the older Bibles I still have. A couple of these Bibles are written in German, and I imagine they accompanied my great-grandparents on their cross-country journey to settle in Colorado. As I look at the tattered pages and faded birth, baptism, marriage, & death records, I am reminded of what Charles Spurgeon said "The Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to the person whose life is not." I can imagine the many nights of hardship during the depression, during the unknowns of traveling across the country by wagon, during the early days of settling on the farm and raising a family...that these Bibles and the God revealed in and through them were the things that sustained my ancestors! I am reminded of their deep faith that called them to help start & build a church here in Loveland that is still standing today. And I am thankful for their faithfulness throughout the years - who knows how much of my life today is a fruit of the prayers they prayed for the future generations of their family.
Yet, I am caught in the middle because there is already another generation of our family, hungry to know the God who created them. I am thankful to live so close to my nieces and nephews, to be able to pray with them and talk with them about God. I love their brutal honesty, and curiosity about God, and their simple faith. And I may never see the fruit of the prayers I pray for them, but I know those prayers don't fall on deaf ears, because God hears each and every one of them, and is faithful to complete the work He has begun in each of them. And as we await the newest baby in our family, I pray that we, as a family, would take seriously and be faithful to the role that God has called us to - to raise this baby to know who God is, what He is like, and that salvation can be found in Him alone. More than learning how to read & write, more than learning how to talk & ride a bicycle, this child needs to learn about the God who created it and who has every day of its life planned out, even though it isn't born yet! May God give us the grace, strength, courage, and wisdom to be faithful to the role He has called us to.

"O God, from my youth you have taught me, and still I proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come." (Psalm 71:17-18)

Every time it snows...

While Denver has continued to stay warm into November, I have been blessed to be up enjoying a few days of winter this week! And I'm constantly amazed (and giddy) as it snows, as it is a tangible reminder that even though we muck up the world and make it dirty & ugly, God can turn it into a wonderland of clean, pure, refreshing whiteness in a matter of minutes. Over the past couple of weeks, in a couple of conversations, I was reminded of the ways that God speaks through His word about how we can compare the purity & completeness of our forgiveness to the whiteness of snow. And as I have been soaking in it (well, actually sitting warmly inside while watching it snow out the window) over the past couple of days, I have been reminded of the complete and permanent forgiveness we have been offered through Christ again.

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." (Isaiah 1:18) "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7)

I Thirst To Be Made More Thirsty Still

“O God, I have tasted thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Thy glory, I pray Thee, that so I may know Thee indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, “rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” then give me grace to rise up and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus’ name, amen.” (A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit Of God)

A Matter Of Perspective

It seems as though my mail increases this time of year with all of the holiday specials and sales. I have random advertisements stuck to my door, encouraging me to buy one thing or another for someone as a Christmas gift. The other night a salesman came to my door, offering me a great deal on cable and internet. When I told him that I don't have cable or use internet at my house, he looked at me with such shock that you would have thought I told him I have a giraffe in my condo. He continued his sales pitch, encouraging me to buy the package deal so that I have something to do when it's snowing outside. He ended his speech with a question that has still been haunting me over the last few days...he said "it's only $50...what else are you going to do with $50"?
Well, as I closed my door, my mind started wandering...thinking of all of the people who I know that would do anything for $50 a month!

• I thought of several missionary friends of mine who live off of $1000 a month - and a commitment of $50 a month would add up to $600 for them over the year (which doesn't seem much to us, but when you live off so little or in a foreign country, it will go a long way).
• I thought of a ministry I have worked with that can get meals to kids at a cost of 25 cents a meal...which would mean that $50 a month would provide 200 meals to kids whose parents can't afford to feed them.
• I thought of the many child sponsorship programs around the world where you can contribute to a child's physical, spiritual & educational well-being for around $30 a month (the 'community center' here provides a meal for dozens of kids each day in Swaziland, who otherwise wouldn't get food every day).
• I thought of so many parents I have met around the world who work endlessly to provide for their families, yet still don't have enough money to buy their children shoes so that they can go to school...imagine what a one time gift of $50 dollars could do (the house in this picture is where the teacher - one of the few working men in the village in Haiti - lives with his wife and their 9 children)!
  

So while I don't think that everyone needs to cancel their cable and internet, I do think that we should think creatively about our finances and look at it from a different perspective, willing to sacrifice a few of our comforts so that others can simply have a few necessities. As we shop for Christmas presents and budget for 2011, let us remember that most of the rest of the world lives on less than $1 a day, and that it's only by the grace of God that we find ourselves on this end of the equation (wondering how we can give) instead of the other (wondering how we are going to feed our families or keep them warm during the winter)...and let that impact how we spend our money!
The next time the cell phone salesperson asks you if you want to upgrade your phone for $20 more, take a minute to think about what you need instead of what you want, and about how God could multiply your $20 for His glory and people's joy! The next time you get a cup of coffee, get a size smaller and start collecting the extra 50 cents in a jar - knowing that you can donate it to provide 2 meals for kids!
As we enter into the most materialistic season of the year, in one of the richest countries in the richest times in history, may God protect us from the lies of the culture & the enemy, and give us a new perspective on our money, and give us discernment about how we should spend it.

"...your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness." (2 Corinthians 8:14)

How Do I Think??

If someone tells me to think about something, what do I do? How long can I realistically think about it before my mind wanders down some random rabbit trail? My ADD mind often has trouble focusing on one thing for a long time, unless I am in a blank room with no sounds. So, as you can imagine, it makes it hard for me to follow all of the exhortations in Scripture to "meditate" on God's word, character, law, etc.
One of the Biblical words used for meditating on Scripture actually has ties to how a cow digests its food. With multiple stomachs, a cow eats something, digests it partially, regurgitates it to a different stomach, digests it more, passes it to a different stomach, and so on...until the end product comes out. So by the time it has thoroughly processed it, it's absorbed as many nutrients as it can and broken it down as much as possible. And that is how we are supposed to read/meditate on Scripture?!
It seems to make sense, but I still have had a hard time putting practical legs to this until I heard how Martin Luther taught his barber to pray as he meditates on Scripture (I actually heard it on a podcast, and pulled over on the side of Berthoud Pass to take notes because it was so impactful!) To say this has revolutionized how I read & pray Scripture is an understatement, so here is what Luther wrote in that letter to his barber, encouraging him to ask these questions as he is reading the Bible.
1. How can this passage/concept/word lead me to adore God?
2. How can this passage/concept/word lead me to confess sin?
3. How can this passage/concept/word lead me to petition [ask] for grace?
4. How is Jesus the ultimate revelation of this attribute; solution to sin; source of grace?

May this teaching bear fruit in your heart and your life as you feast on God's word!

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
(Psalm 1:1-3)

Asking Expectantly

What have you been praying for lately? In your prayer life, do you pray hesitantly or expectantly? I confess that often I pray timidly, not totally praying in faith for God to answer my prayers and meet my needs. You would think that after all of the examples of His faithfulness in my life, I would pray expectantly, knowing that He would sovereignly answer the prayers of my heart. Yet He used a 3 year old girl to remind me that too often I pray hesitantly and not expectantly.
While in Juarez, I bonded with a tiny 3 year old girl, who fell asleep in my arms within hours of me meeting her. Over then next 48 hours, we shared many songs, car rides, naps, and smiles...even though I could only speak a little of her language, and she could speak none of mine. She captured my heart as she sang, danced, and wouldn't let me put her down before we left. While her face will remain in my mind, the way God used her to teach me about prayer will remain in my heart!
A little while before we left, I was talking with some of the older girls, and this little 3 year old walked up to me, tapped my leg, handed me her two ponytail rubberbands, and turned around. Without a word of communication, or even really thinking, I squatted down to put her pigtails back in her hair. I didn't ask her what happened or wait for her to tell me what she needed, I just acted out of seeing her need, and her boldness of knowing she could ask me to do this for her and I would respond.
And I realized that just as she approached me, knowing I would help her, that is how I am to approach God with my needs and requests in prayer. Jesus taught us that through Him, we can bring all of our requests, prayers & needs to God...knowing that it is natural for Him to answer them because of who He is (Matthew 7:7-11).
So as we go through our day, let us come humbly,continually, and expectantly before the sovereign God of the universe with our needs.

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

"...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6)

Forgotten People

Recently, I was blessed to be able to spend some time in Juarez with some very special kids at an orphanage. These kids, who have been abandoned by their families, are living very tough lives in a city that is known for it's violence and evil. The atrocities that are happening in this town are at times hard to comprehend, and so often when we can't comprehend something, we ignore it. Or we hear the statistics so often that we become too familiar with them and can become numb to them. But as I spent time with these forgotten kids, I was convicted.Convicted because one of the comments I heard from several people in Juarez was that they felt like the church just over the border in the US had become so numb to the deadly statistics that they just forgot about their brothers and sisters who were suffering just miles from where they are living in comfort and safety.
And I am among the guilty! Juarez isn't that far from where I am, yet I haven't even consistently prayed for what is going on there. I confess that I am not prompted to pray enough - even as I read more stories on the killings in Juarez or hear another story on the news.
Not only was I convicted about Juarez, but it also spurred me on to ask what my Juarez is here in Denver. Who are the people who are suffering that I am often overlooking? Who are the people who are suffering that I have become numb to as I hear their stories?
Lord, let me be more like the Samaritan who has compassionate eyes to see those in need, and less like the man who asked "Who is my neighbor?" as he tried to avoid the messiness and danger of getting involved in serving those in need.

Radical Or Obedient?

I confess that for a time I used to think that missionaries and people in full time ministry were super-spiritual. I thought that they had something that I didn’t or that somehow God liked them better. I know it’s stupid, but I honestly thought that the more you served God, and the harder your circumstances were, the better off you were with God. As if our good works or radical living could somehow improve our status with God. I’m not the only one who thinks this though. And it’s nothing new - people have been trying to push this line for a long time, thinking that God will like them more if they live off of less or in harder circumstances - people making their own clothes, eating only organic, not using electricity. It doesn’t just go back to the 1990’s or the 1970’s, but it goes even further back to the desert fathers - the monks who thought they could increase their holiness by depriving themselves of more and more things.
But, that’s not the Gospel - that’s a works based system of salvation, where I am in control and it is all up to me. The truth is that

“We are accepted before God based on how righteous Jesus is, not how radical we are. Radical living flows from righteous standing”(David Platt).

And that truth should impact how we live - for some of us, it should free us to realize that we don’t have to put on the “radical” show - that our status before God doesn’t depend on what we do.
And for others of us - it should cause us to get up and live differently - that the fact that we have righteous standing before God will cause us to reevaluate how we spend our money, how we serve God, how we live our daily lives. And if our lives aren’t any different than the world we live in, we need to spend time reflecting on the righteous standing we have been given - and the cost it came by!
So the question I am asking myself this morning is “Am I trying to live more radically to make God like me better or am I striving to live more obediently as I continue to surrender to the promptings of the Holy Spirit?” Since I have been bought at a price and am not my own, I can’t put limits on how God calls me to serve Him. So, while it may seem more radical to go to another country to live and serve God, I am called to live obediently, right now meaning I must stay where I am and serve Him in the circumstances I am in. Radical & obedient living may mean to downsize in order to give more away; it may mean to quit your job here in the US to move overseas to do the same thing in a place where it is more needed; but it may also mean staying faithful & married in a hard marriage; reaching out to your family who doesn’t know Christ; or something else here where we find ourselves today.
As you & I reflect again on our righteous standing before God today, may it lead to radical living for His glory, His fame, and the furthering of His kingdom!