Month: September 2024

Is it time for a change?

“How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible’s astounding words about God’s love for me . . ?” – Philip Yancey

Every now and then in our lives, we long for change – wanting something new, different, challenging, inspiring. It’s natural at those times to try to find the satisfaction we need by adjusting externals: rearranging the furniture, taking a trip, or changing jobs. Those things, though, are superficial compared to an internal change that will truly make a difference.

It might be wise at times of dissatisfaction to pause and ask God if there is something in our lives he wants to change. His ideas of what we really need are surely better than our own temporary fixes. I had a friend who daily prayed, “Lord, meet me at the point of my deepest necessity.” That’s the kind of change that will fulfill the longings we have. Only he knows our “deepest necessity.”

I can’t possibly say it better than Paul:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2 The Message)

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” – Isaiah 43:19

Maybe there’s more to the story.

“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating.  By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace to which others are just as entitled as we are.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Have you ever judged someone just by the way they look? Or how they worship? Or how they vote? Have you ever assumed motives behind what someone said and later found they meant it in an entirely different way? It’s so easy to label people or to misinterpret a comment, text, or post.

We too often assume we know more than we do about another person’s beliefs, motives, or actions. Maybe that’s why the Bible has many cautions about being quick to judge. Think of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1. She desperately wanted children, but she and her husband had been unable to conceive. She was despondent and out of options. So, she went to the tabernacle to talk to God. She wept and prayed quietly – her lips were moving, but no sound came out.

Eli, the priest, saw this and was immediately filled with disgust. He assumed she had been at the festival and was drunk – in this holy place. So he confronted her, and she responded, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord.” Eli quickly saw she was telling the truth and reversed his judgment, offering her a blessing instead of a rebuke.

Judging is so easy to do! Let’s be wary of it by committing to these attitudes instead:

  • Assume the best motives unless or until proven otherwise.
  • Don’t be too easily offended.
  • Sometimes just let it go.
  • Love and be loved.

Life will be better. God will be pleased.

“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”- John 7:24

The Monks’ Two-Minute Rule

“Thinking Christianly is thinking by Christians about anything and everything in a consistently Christian way – in a manner that is shaped, directed, and restrained by the truth of God’s Word and God’s Spirit.”
– Os Guinness

High up in the mountains of central Greece sits Meteora, a monastery representing retreat from the world and all its temptations. However, the monks realized, as isolated as they were from worldly allurements, they still had problems with evil thoughts – things like vengeance, lust, envy, anxiety, and pride. The thoughts just seemed to come out of nowhere and, once planted in their minds, they began to savor them, engage them, and treat them as welcomed guests.

St. Paisos the Athonite, one of the great teachers at Meteora, heard their confessions and gave this advice: Essentially he said that an evil thought is like a hand grenade tossed into your mind. When it comes you have about two minutes to toss it back. If it stays longer, it will explode and cause great damage. It comes from the evil one. Throw it back to him!

We know from Jesus’s teaching that evil thoughts are where sin begins in our lives. If we are serious about our spirituality, we simply can’t accept them. We have to cultivate good thoughts instead: Those that are honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable and excellent (Philippians 4:8) and those that are from above (Colossians 3:2).

It’s not sin to have evil thoughts come into our minds, but it is a sin to let them stay. And, if we do, they will lead to pain and destruction. The trajectory of our lives begins in our minds. Let’s protect ourselves by protecting our minds. Remember the monks’ two-minute rule!

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” – Romans 8:6

He had it all – and it wasn’t easy.

“By inviting God into our difficulties, we ground life—even its sad moments—in joy and hope.” – Henri Nouwen

David was a man God loved, protected, and used. He was handsome and strong and he defended his nation. He had a friendship which has become the epitome of all friendships. He had a wife who loved him. He was acclaimed by crowds every time he returned from battle. It seemed God gave him success in whatever he did.

But that didn’t mean everything was easy. King Saul grew to hate David so much he spent years trying to kill him. And, because of that, David fled for his life with his group of outcast followers. Later, David’s wife turned against him, his dear friend Jonathan died in battle, and his rebellious son tried to usurp the throne.

David was called of God to be king of Israel. He was empowered by God to do great things. But his life was filled with pain and suffering. It doesn’t make sense to us. It didn’t make sense to David, either, and we see that in his brutally honest psalms.

Many of us can relate. We’re trying to serve God, but there are struggles with relationships, finances, sickness, and loss. How do we deal with these things and continue trusting God? David asked similar questions in his prayers. We have the same outlet as we cry out to God for help, as we look for his will in every decision, and as we always find something for which we can thank him.

He has promised never to leave us, and he seems to accomplish something in our suffering that we will never understand completely. We just have to stay faithful, trusting his love. Somehow.

“Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!” – Psalm 30:10