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Pink Scooters and Big, Yellow Dogs

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In getting to know Kathy, her respect for God and His Word are quickly evident.  I love it that she loves Him, and knowing how she regards Him causes me to tune my ear to what she shares. I’ve never had a pink scooter or a big, yellow dog, but when Kathy used them to paint a picture about life with the God we love, I could relate. I realized that I’m actually a lot more acquainted with pink scooters than I thought I was, and I’m a lot more like Kathy’s Chihuahua Harley than I want to admit!  Kathy uses the ordinary to point to the divine in this inspirational challenge about fearing God, first posted in January 2009 on kathyhoward.org.

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Pink Scooters and Big, Yellow Dogs

I took our not-so-small, black Chihuahua for a long walk recently. About 3 pounds overweight, Harley needs all the exercise I’m willing to give him. He does well at all the dog walking basics. He stays right at my side, keeps the pace I set and rarely stops to sniff at a fireplug or lamp post.

But this particular day something spooked him. About two blocks into our walk, Harley not only came to a screeching halt, he dug his heels in (or whatever dogs have) and refused to budge. Looking ahead I spotted the object of his fear – a kid-sized, pink scooter in the middle of the sidewalk. I tried to encourage him with soothing comments, but his rump remained on the concrete. Then I combined pulling on the leash with some not-so-soothing comments. But Harley still wouldn’t move. I ended up carrying him around the scooter while he climbed me like a tree.

Harley’s fear of pint-sized power toys seems completely irrational – particularly considering the fact he has absolutely no fear of our eighty-five pound yellow lab. Boone could crush Harley with one miss-step or send him flying across the grass with a swipe of a skillet-sized paw. Yet, Harley acts like “king of the yard.” He lunges, snaps, and barks at a powerful animal ten times his size, but won’t walk at my side past a child’s toy abandoned on the sidewalk.

I thought this was ridiculous until God showed me how I do the very same thing. Early in His ministry, Jesus prepared His disciples to go from town to town and preach about the Kingdom of Heaven. He warned them they would experience trouble. Some people would persecute them because of their message. Yet, Jesus emphasized the truth that these persecutors didn’t have any real power over them. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).”

I often balk at pink scooters. I fail to talk about Jesus because I am afraid what people will think. I squander the peace of Christ while I worry about the economy, our retirement, and the security of our nation. I disobey the holy, all-powerful God and reject His blessings, but tremble before some temporary, earthly circumstance. What’s wrong with me? My God deserves my fear. Pink scooters do not.

The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love.    Psalm 147:11

It’s a Process (Es Un Proceso) – Or is it?

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Our first year on the mission field was spent in the classroom learning Spanish. Sometimes our brains would hit a wall and we’d get so frustrated. How could we reach a nation if we couldn’t even speak the language.

Our Spanish professor would consistently remind us, “Es un proceso” (“It’s a process”).

Many believe the doctrine of sanctification is like that…a process in which we become more holy as we grow in our Christian experience. And while that’s partially true, that’s not all there is to biblical sanctification.

The word sanctify or sanctification means to be set apart or dedicated to God. In fact, the words sanctify, saint and holy all carry the same basic root and definition. They all mean to be set apart or dedicated unto God.

If we’ve been born again, we’ve been set apart unto Him – sanctified – we’re saints – and He sees us as holy.

There are three aspects to sanctification. They are Positional Sanctification, Progressive (or Experiential) Sanctification and Ultimate Sanctification.

Positional Sancatification – Being set apart by God and for God whereby He sees us as holy and wholly His regardless of our conduct. Positional Sanctification takes place when we trust Christ as our Savior and Lord, accepting what He did on the cross in payment for our sin.

“And in accordance with this will [of God], we have been made holy (consecrated and sanctified) through the offering made once for all of the body of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One).” Hebrews 10:10 Amplified

Notice the tense of the verb used in Hebrews 10:10: have been made holy – it’s used in the perfect tense meaning it’s a completed work that happened in time past and cannot be changed.

From God’s perspective, we have been set apart, we have been made holy, we have been sanctified. It was a once and for all event that altered our eternal destiny.

How humbling and reassuring to know that we’ve been sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ…once for all. Our position doesn’t depend upon our works, our faithfulness, our godliness or our own strength. It’s a divine work in which God sets us apart for Himself – once and for all.

Progressive (or Experiential) Sanctification – The continual growing process in the life of a Christian whereby we set ourselves apart for God and allow Him to have His way in our hearts and lives. It is a constant yielding of ourselves unto God and to His will. This is what we normally think of when we think of Sanctification…it’s a process (es un proceso).

The Old Testament sacrificial system mirrors the concept of Progressive Sanctification. God’s people would ‘set apart’ their offering and present it unto the Lord. That ‘sanctification’ is echoed in Romans 12:1,2 and Romans 6:13 with the phrases, “yield yourselves’ and ‘present yourselves’.

We set ourselves apart by an act of our will so that we can be led by the Holy Spirit and be changed from one degree of glory to the next (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Positional Sanctification never changes. Progressive Sanctification never stops changing as long as we’re alive.

Ultimate Sanctification – When we die we will see Jesus as He is and we’ll be like Him. Sinless – deathless and brought to full spiritual maturity.

1  John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

And in Jude, we’re told that one day He will present us faultless before the presence of His glory. That’s Ultimate Sanctification.

Yes, sanctification is a process, but it’s oh-so-much more!

How does understanding the Positional, Progressive and Ultimate Sanctification help you in your Christian walk?

Our deep well

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Stephanie shared about creation yesterday, including how God lovingly created us. When He spoke us into being, He created physical and immaterial parts. In addition to our body, we have a spirit or soul, terms scripture uses interchangeably. While there are slightly different views, we ultimately know our immaterial aspects relate to God. This part of man includes our emotion, intellect, will, and thoughts. Understanding what our non-physical side can be and what it can do helps us grasp the importance of this side of ourselves.

God’s Word uses the words spirit and soul in similar ways. 1 Thess. 5:23 says “.. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  References such as this use both terms for emphasis.  Our non-physical man can be:

  • made alive in Christ (Rom. 8:10)
  • provoked (Acts 17:16)
  • downcast (Prov. 17:22)
  • troubled (John 13:21)
  • hardened (Dan. 5:20)
  • haughty (Prov. 16:18)
  • ruled (Prov. 16:32)
  • lifted up (Psalm 25:1)
  • defiled (2 Cor. 7:1)
  • cleansed (2 Cor. 7:1)
  • destroyed (Matt. 10:28)
  • saved (1 Cor. 5:5)
  • dead (James 2:26)

Our actions may be taken by our body, but our decisions are made within our spirit. As the place of choice and feeling within us, our spirit determines our actions.  In the unseen places of our soul, we act on what we value long before our body’s motion is ever seen. Our sin, our sacrifice, our service … all begin in our spirit. This immaterial side of us is able to:

  • perceive (Mark 2:8)
  • witness (Rom. 8:16)
  • know (1 Cor. 2:11)
  • wait (Psalm 62:1)
  • praise (Luke 1:46)
  • bless (Psalm 146:1)
  • pray (1 Sam. 1:15)
  • love (Deut. 6:5)

Women from the pages of God’s Word show us what the spirit can be and do. In the Old Testament in  1 Sam. 1:13-16, Hannah was deeply troubled and “praying in her heart” when Eli accused her of drunkenness. She answered that she, “was pouring out my soul to the LORD.” She experienced trouble within her, and it overflowed in prayer to the Lord out of the deep well of her soul.

When Mary spilled out into a song of praise in Luke 1:46-55, she said, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”  Her sweetest praise was born in the cradle of her spirit and soul, though her body was to bear the Son of God.

Just as Hannah’s physical state was tied to the state of her spirit, so Mary’s condition was bound to her soul.  Our Creator has made us physical and immaterial to relate to our world and to Him.  When benefits of singleness are explained in 1 Corinthians 7,  an unmarried woman is described as uniquely free to serve, since “Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.”

What difference does it make if we are “devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit”? When God breathed life into man, creating us with this amazing blend of body and soul, we emerged as a unified whole. “The body without the spirit is dead,” (James 2:26) and we are urged to “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Cor. 7:1). He will weigh our inner man. God wants us to grow in all areas of our lives, both the seen and the unseen.

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,  but the LORD weighs the spirits.” (Prov. 16:2)

Our Heavenly Father, master Creator, who watched over His first young garden dwelling child, now watches over us body and soul. Oh that He would weigh our God seeking, repenting, loving, and worshiping spirit and find us pure.

In a world that looks on the outward appearance, it can be easy to ignore our spirit. What helps you give attention to your inner man?

Tell Each Other What?

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Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. James 5:16 ESV

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5 ESV

The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works. Augustine of Hippo

 

Corporate Disciplines … spiritual practices exercised within the Body of believers.   Those habits and methods that grow us together to function in unity.    And we start with Confession.

Confession:  (n) acknowledgment, avowal; admission.  {from Dictionary.com}

Why is it necessary to engage in corporate confession?

I love what Richard Foster says about this in Celebration of Discipline:

But if we know that the people of God are first a fellowship of sinners, we are freed to hear the unconditional call of God’s love and to confess our needs openly before our brothers and sisters.  We know we are not alone in our sin.   The fear and pride that cling to us like barnacles cling to others also.  We are sinners together.  In acts of mutual confession we release the power that heals.  Our humanity is no longer denied, but transformed.  (145-146)

We need to confess to one another … not for redemption or absolution, but for healing! It is in sharing our failures – as well as our successes – that we are bound together in the depth of His grace.   And it is in receiving the sincere confession of others and offering our willing voices of grace and counsel without judgment or condemnation that we experience the fullness of bearing one another’s burdens.

It’s a scary thought, though, to look someone else in the eyes and confess the blackness of our hearts.   Opening ourselves up to that level of vulnerability forces us to assume a great risk.    Equally hazardous to our hearts is the hearing of another’s vulnerabilities and sins.

So how does this Discipline of Confession work?

  1. Discernment is vital! We do not confess to one another randomly or without great prayer beforehand.   Generally speaking, confession as a discipline functions best within the framework of a mentoring, discipling relationship.
  2. When we confess, we are specific … and when we pray over one another, we do not add to nor take away from the confession that has been offered.  Honesty is necessary for a sincere confession.  HOWEVER, this is not a time for unnecessary explanation or gratuitous details.
  3. Like fasting, confession is not commanded. We offer you information about these Disciplines not to add burden to your faith.   Rather, as with fasting, confession to one another is discussed in Scripture and therefore is a topic we must explore and seek the will of God in our own lives.

Exercising the disciplines of fellowship and confession will take us into relationships and situations that will challenge our faith and test our love for God and his people.  It is good to remember that God gave us these disciplines to aid us in our growth toward Christlikeness … they are aids for training us to live free of artiface and bondage to appearances. {Jan Winebrenner, Intimate Faith: A Woman’s Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines}

Perhaps you have experienced the grace found in confessing both to God and to another the burden of sin in your life … maybe you have difficulty believing the fullness of God’s mercy and grace and living in the freedom of His forgiveness … or maybe you struggle with being open with others about the sin in your life … the Discipline of Confession can be a powerful tool in our spiritual formation.

What are your experiences with confession to or from others?

How have you seen it benefit or harm the Body?

Image by:  suds4565


Laying Aside Every Weight

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Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,  and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1 ESV (emphasis added)

As we consider briefly the Discipline of Simplicity, I love using Hebrews 12:1 as a framework.   We are called to lay aside every weight, the unnecessary, that keeps us from pursuing life in Christ unencumbered. And, as with so much of our spiritual life … this will look different for each of us.

The legalist in us wants to make this a list of what we must give up.   No cable tv – check.  No eating out – check.  No big house – check.  No new clothes – check.  But simplicity is less about giving up materially and more about growing up spiritually.

The competitor in us would like to measure against someone else.  I have less “stuff” than she does.   We have family game night instead of going to the movies like “them.”  But simplicity is not a competition with others rather it is a cooperation with God.

The attention-seeker in us is desperate for others to notice how “simple” our lives have become and how little we need to make us happy.  But simplicity that is applauded by others is likely not celebrated by the Audience of One.

For some the call of Simplicity will involve decreasing material possessions.  In fact, the abundance of this American Dream in which most of us live may well be the very thing that keeps us from experiencing the abundance of God.   (For more on this idea I highly recommend reading Radical by David Platt.)

Richard Foster says this of simplicity in his book Celebration of Discipline:

Simplicity is the only thing that sufficiently reorients our lives so that possessions can be genuinely enjoyed without destroying us (84).

My “one word” for this year is simple … I have felt a deep longing for simplicity in my heart and life.   Learning to understand what the Lord wants edited out of my life and being content in what remains … materially and otherwise.  I’ve committed myself to laying aside every weight … allowing the Great Physician to remove the unnecessary from my heart, my mind, my possessions.  And so, I write this post not as one who has by any means mastered this Discipline but from a longing to grow in it and experience the deep contentment that comes through it.

Is the Discipline of Simplicity challenging to you?   This week, commit to memory Hebrews 12:1 and ask the Lord what is weighing you down … then agree with Him about the need to eliminate those weights.

{Tomorrow I’m beginning a study of what Foster terms the “ten controlling principles for the outward expression of simplicity” on my blog.   If you want to dig deeper into this Discipline, please feel free to join me for the next ten Wednesdays as we explore one each week.}

The Outward Disciplines

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Simplicity.

Solitude.

Submission.

Service.

The outward disciplines.  So termed because they are easily seen by others.

Last week we examined the inward disciplines, those habits and practices that lay a solid foundation for our pursuit of deeper intimacy with the Lord.   As we invest ourselves into those disciplines that are inward the results will often be evident in the disciplines that are outward.

Which of these outward disciplines are you most challenged by?  Why?

Why bother?

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Our culture has trained us to expect instant gratification and overwhelming results for minimal effort. Fast food. High speed internet. Movies on demand. “The Easy Button.” We can even “Jump-start” our weight loss. We don’t like to wait. We tend to avoid hard work and long-term investment.

So why bother with practicing the spiritual disciplines? The disciplines require long-term commitment and hard work, exactly those things we tend to avoid. What in the world would be worth the time, discipline, and self-denial?

Fulfilling our God-ordained purpose is the overarching reason for practicing the spiritual disciplines. Before God even saved us, He determined that we should be conformed to the likeness of Jesus (Romans 8:28-30). That is God’s ultimate goal for us – to be like Jesus. He wants to refine us, shape our character, mold us like clay in His divine hands. Only God can cause this spiritual growth and transformation.

Only God can make us godly. But He demands and works through our obedient cooperation. Paul told Timothy to “train yourself to be godly” (1 Tim 4:7) and commanded the Romans to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom 12:2). The author of Hebrews warns us to “make every effort… to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). In his book Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster comments on this spiritual truth.

“God has given us the Disciplines of the spiritual life as a means of receiving his grace. The Disciplines allow us to place ourselves before God so that he can transform us… By themselves the Spiritual Disciplines can do nothing; they can only get us to the place where something can be done. They are God’s means of grace… God has ordained the Disciplines of the spiritual life as the means by which we place ourselves where he can bless us.” Pg. 7

In addition to Christ-likeness, genuine pursuit of the spiritual disciplines yields other personal and exciting benefits. Foster elaborates on several:

  1. Spiritual depth – Foster says that “superficiality is the curse of our age.” Even Christians today lean toward shallowness. The spiritual disciplines take us beyond ourselves and the selfishness of our lives and plunge us into spiritual depths previously unknown.
  2. Freedom – Scripture tells us that when we die to self, we also die to the sin that enslaves. Obeying God through commitment to the Disciplines liberates us from the weight of “self” and frees us to serve Him.
  3. Intimacy with God – Through the disciplines we can experience and know God in ways and at levels not otherwise possible. They are the means of relating to God. Like Moses on the Mountain, we will be positioned to meet with God face-to-face.
  4. Joy – We will sense God’s pleasure with our obedience. We will live in the glow of His presence. We will find fulfillment in God’s purpose for us.

Are you ready? The beginning of a new year is a great time to make a new commitment to fulfilling God’s purpose for you!

Has your attitude about spiritual disciplines changed? Share your experience with us today.

What ARE the disciplines?

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I have to confess something … until June 2001, I had never heard of “spiritual disciplines.”   I’m the wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of pastors.  I went to church every Sunday and Wednesday of most of my life.  I attended a private Christian college.  I’d even taught Bible studies.  But until  June 2001, when my dad gave me Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, I’d not heard one word about spiritual disciplines.

I also have to confess that it took me awhile to read the book.  With countless references to people I’d never heard of like Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, and Francois Fenelon, I honestly felt very stupid and even a little lacking.

But, one night, I began reading … really reading … and the second line of the first chapter says,

The classical Disciplines of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living and into the depths. (1)

I was hooked!  As the wife of a pastor and mother of a toddler, I needed to move to the depths … I was longing for it.  I read and underlined and re-read.  In fact, since that first reading the fall of 2001, I have read Celebration of Discipline at least once every year.

And what I found wasn’t trivial legalism or frustrating check lists.  I didn’t experience condemnation or guilt as I read.  Instead, I found centuries-old wisdom and examples of lives well lived for the cause of Christ.  As I poured over the pages and dug into the Word of God, I experienced freedom and peace and longing for more than I had experienced previously in my spiritual walk.

The disciplines are simply tools. Foster states, “The purpose of the Disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery to self-interest and fear” (2).  As we pursue the depths of the disciple life, we find the disciplines as guides to those practices mentioned in Scripture such as fasting, prayer, worship and celebration.   Over the next few weeks we will explore the Inward Disciplines (meditation, prayer, fasting, and study), the Outward Disciplines (simplicity, submission, solitude, and service) and the Corporate Disciplines (confession, worship, guidance, and celebration).

As you join us for this month of Digging the Disciplines, we hope you will find this study challenging and inspiring.  Some of the disciplines will be familiar and some may not.  Some may be practices you have already learned and some may be challenges for you to pursue.  Regardless, our deepest longing is that as we dig into these ideas, we will all be drawn back to the Idea-Giver … the One who calls us His disciples and lovingly disciplines us and draws us near.

Will you join us?

Resolutions, Plans, and Goals

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“… discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” ~ 1 Timothy 4:7

As the new year begins, many will define resolutions, establish plans, and develop goals.  Perhaps your year will be focused on one word like Sandra’s or you will participate in an ongoing Bible study like the one Stephanie is leading on her blog.  Maybe you want to invest in your marriage by joining Julie for Marriage Mondays or you have sought a Bible study plan from the many resources Kathy has on her site.  Some of you may be like Kristi and relishing what you have learned in the past year and looking forward to how God will teach in the year ahead.

No matter what  your plans, resolutions, and goals for 2011, at Scripture Dig our desire is to encourage you in spiritual growth. We want to equip you to dig into the Word of God.  And we hope to empower you with confidence as you grow.

This month, we are focusing on the classical spiritual disciplines – those practices of believers that have stood through the centuries as tools for living a vibrant disciple’s life.

Whether you long for a more consistent quiet time, want to improve your prayer life, or seek greater fellowship with other believers – no matter what your spiritual goals and longings for the coming year – learning about and incorporating the disciplines into your life will be a worthy endeavor.

Join us for a month of Digging the Disciplines!!

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