Strictly Business Pt. II

Many years ago, as I was studying 1 Thessalonians 2:8 the Lord spoke to me the following phrase: 'Whom you would change, you must first love'.

You can see in Scripture that Paul was passionately committed to helping people to grow in spiritual maturity (change) and seeing churches grow up into the 'fullness of Christ'. His first letter to the Corinthian church clearly shows how much that congregation needed to learn and grow into related to the gospel of Christ. In short, there was a lot of change needed in the people of Corinth and the apostle knew it.

There isn't a day that goes by that I am not confronted with some area of my life that needs change, as I seek to live a life that is worthy of the Lord (1 Thess. 2:12).

Some would argue that we don't bring about change; God brings about change. Okay. I agree. However, we are very often his agents of change in this world. Quite clearly Paul sought to teach and instruct in order to bring about change. "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ." (Col. 1:28) That's change folks!

I'm not saying that loving people is separate or distinct from helping to lead them toward change; the problem is that often when change does not occur then discouragement and frustration with can be stirred up, either towards ourselves or others we are working with.

I believe it was about this reality that the Lord was speaking to me about when I sensed him say, 'Whom you would change, you must first love'.

So the first priority needs to be on love for people and then the priority of being an agent of change (in this case meaning spiritual maturity). It's a matter of having things in the right order. When they are not in the right order, then it can lead to discouragement and frustration.

Another aspect of all this that I find very challenging is applying this to myself! I am remarkably good at getting all this mixed up when it comes to myself. I am often frustrated and discouraged with myself and the areas of my life that need to be brought into alignment with Christ. The idea of 'loving myself' can feel at odds with Biblical ideas of self-sacrifice and self-denial, but that is not the case. We must have a healthy and appropriate love for ourselves.

By this point, I've strayed off course from my original intent with the post 'strictly business'. That point was that it's very risky to love people because you often end up getting hurt. That's why I find Paul's words, 'we loved you so much that...' in 1 Thess. 1:8 to be so amazing.

It's easier to relate to people on a 'strictly business' level. It's less messy and lower risk, but it is NOT what God calls us to.

Strictly Business

There's a great line from one of my favorite movies, The Godfather: "It's not personal, it's strictly business'. It's a powerful line about not allowing personal sentiment and emotion to influence sound judgement. It sounds good, but often it's hard to do.

In stark contrast to that is a statement the apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church:

We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
1 Thess. 2:8

It's a little warm and fuzzy for me, but the point is clear: for Paul, it was personal!

It's an incredible statement to me. Think of all the churches that Paul travelled to and was involved with; think of how busy he was; think about how radically committed he was, not only to the introductory message of the gospel of salvation, but also to seeing the church grow into spiritual maturity!

That phrase, 'we loved you so much...' is a huge challenge to actually live out. When it is, you end up with deep and powerful community, but you also take some real risks because your heart is on the line. It's the very thing that Michael Corleone, in The Godfather, was working to avoid.

As a Christian, I am compelled to strive to follow Paul's example. It's an incredible goal to pursue and one that continually challenges me.

Near & Far

Like many people throughout history I wonder why God often feels near by and yet far away. There are times in prayer and worship when I sense the Presence of God quite clearly and times when I sense His voice and direction. And yet there are other times when I feel very much alone and wonder where exactly God is at. There are circumstances that I pray about and very little seems to change; there are issues where His direction seems shrouded in mystery.

There are times when I feel God leading the way and dynamically at work in my life and yet there are others when it feels like God has gone on vacation or put his MSN/ichat on 'Be right back'!

This has been the experience of multitudes throughout church history, including King David and the other Psalmists. Certainly that is why so many of the Psalms bring comfort in such challenging times.

All this has led me to recent meditation on Psalm 43

2You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
4 Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.

Previously in Psalm 42 (which traditionally is considered the first half of Ps. 43), the Psalmist asks "Why have you forgotten me?" (v. 9). Then is Ps. 43:2, he says that he feels that he has been rejected by God and oppressed by the enemy. He cries out for the Lord to cause His light to shine and His truth to guide him, and asks God to lead Him to His holy mountain, which is a reference to God's Presence (it's also a clear reference to the House of Prayer, but hey, that's for another post!).

The Psalm is concluded with a confident assertion that the Psalmist will experience God's nearness and will respond with joy and delight and worship. He ends with a recurring statement to stop feeling sorry for himself and remember to trust in God.

I love the Psalms because they're so dramatic. Some might say melodramatic! I'm a melodramatic kind of person, so I connect very easily with statements of feeling rejected by God and then turning around and stating that God is my joy and delight!

So which is it? Is God near or is He far? I believe that the answer is that we experience Him as both near and far. It's not at all satisfying an answer, but given the testimony of Scripture itself, that has been the experience of countless people and seems to be the way God chooses to reveal Himself!

Some people have become so tired of this kind of roller coaster experience of faith that they have chosen to get off the ride entirely. While I understand that temptation, I am 'haunted' by the reality expressed in Psalm 42:7

7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me--a prayer to the God of my life.

It's that experience which causes me to continually pursue God...when He feels near and even when He feels far.

No Other Name

I'm here at House of Prayer Edmonton. It's 1:30 a.m. and as I've been praying I sensed the Spirit speak to me about the power of the name of Jesus.

Consider the following verses:

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth
Php. 2:10

Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12

Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me...
John 17:11

It is no wonder that the name of Jesus has been made to be a curse word that is on the lips of multiplied thousands in Edmonton and around the world.

How amazing that Jesus would pray and ask for the Father's hand of protection over the disciples through the power of His name! That the name of Jesus would push back and destroy the devil's work and result in protection over the hearts and minds of people... Incredible!

Of course I'm not saying that the name of Jesus is some kind of magical formula... nothing could be further from the truth!

But there IS power in the name of Jesus; the man Christ Jesus; the lamb of God who was slain and who purchased men for God!

Jesus, you are the King of Kings and your name is the highest and the best. You are Savior and Lord and I love you!

Lately

Lately I've been getting back into the fall routine of life with Pam and the kids. Pam's coaching the swim team again and the kids are in sports again and I'm still running quite a bit. It all makes for a busy schedule and a lot of laundry!

Lately I've been trying some different things in my spiritual walk with God and it's going pretty well, but I'm also discovering that God is responding by causing a lot of internal issues to bubble up to the surface. Thus at times it feels like life has become more difficult than before, and yet I don't desire to go back; I must press through and into new things God has for me.

Lately I've been praying in tongues quite more than ever before. Not hours a day or anything; more like just daily. It works well in the car because you can't analyze too much about it when you're driving.

Lately I've found myself noticing motorcycles more than ever before. Perhaps that's because my friend Eric is now a 'biker'. Regardless, I'm also finding that I can't stand all those really loud obnoxious motorcycles that are on the road. Some of them are deafeningly loud. Perhaps that makes me sound old.

Lately I've been thinking that less is more.

Lately I've been wanting less than more.

Lately I've been finding that time flies by and I wish I had more of it. What would I do if I had more time? Why am I not doing those things now?

Lately I've been reading a book to the kids that I really enjoyed when I was a kid. It's been fun to read the story again; it comes back to me as I read it, but I can't remember what's going to happen next, so it's kind of even better than the first times I read it!

Lately I've been trying to be more organized, but not finding as much success as I would like.

Lately.... well, I'd better go now or I'll be late

I Can't Stand Lou Dobbs!!

Tonight Lou Dobbs began an 'Independent Convention', which follows the Democratic and Republican conventions. (it sounds far more grandiose than it actually is. In reality it's Dobbs normal show with a studio audience of average Americans that never actually get to take part in the 'convention'!)

Amazingly, this bonehead gets paid to promote his opinions on CNN!

Here is my big beef with Lou Dobbs: he continually insults the American federal government and says how stupid everyone in government is, yet REFUSES to step up to the plate at actually DO anything. He won't run for any public office where he could actually try to fix all the problems he seems to have all the answers to.

I'm not saying that there are no problems in American government, but Dobbs just sits on his high horse at CNN at spouts off all his ivory tower type opinions about what should be done.

Dobbs repeatedly speaks about the 'American people', referring to the average American citizen, whom he believes have all the answers themselves and have more common sense than anybody in Washington. It's just empty rhetoric! If the situation is SO bad and the the American people are SO smart, then why are there not riots in the street seeking to overthrow the 'Washington elite'?

On November 4th, tens of millions of these 'American people' will go out and vote and willingly take part in supporting the electoral system that Dobbs says is so broken and dysfunctional.

As I've said, I think that Dobbs is pointing out some important problems and issues that need to be raised but it's the overwhelming cynicism and insulting commentary that goes on day after day, week after week that gets me so angry.

It's easy to say the 'system is broken', but why doesn't Dobbs get off his high horse, run for office and try to actually fix something?

Ready, Set, Go!

Today the Canadian Federal election began. Despite the fact that Stephen Harper made a law to establish fixed dates for elections, he managed to use the loophole that was built into the law, allowing for exceptions to the fixed dates under circumstances of ineffective government. So while he may not have violated his own law in legal terms, most political observers agree that he has violated the spirit of the law.

Harper's no dummy; he knows that the opposition leaders can't really make much fuss about this because they would be arguing against a chance to campaign to become Prime Minister; there's no way they would do that because it would be politically stupid beyond words.

This may go down in history as one of the most boring elections ever in Canadian history. There really aren't any significant issues; perhaps an argument could be made that the Liberals 'carbon tax' proposal will be the main issue, but I just don't see that being the issue that will grip the Canadian people.

I was discussing the reasons for the election with another father in the schoolyard and he argued that the reason was that Harper knows that the economic climate is going to get a lot worse in the next few years, so he's getting the election out of the way so he can stay in power, rather than fight an election in the midst of an economic downturn.

Hmmm... maybe, but this is also a guy who tried to tell me that the federal deficits in the 90's were a cover-up by the government in order to justify the cutting of spending on social programs (and yes, he does campaign for the NDP!)

Stephan Harper has launched TV ads that portray him as a normal average Canadian family guy. Does this mean that we are going to be asked to vote on who should be Prime Minister based on personality rather than substantive issues and policy differences? That sounds a bit like some of the rhetoric that comes from the political campaign south of the border!

But then again, if there are no major issues at hand, then what exactly should Canadians base their vote on?

For the most part I don't think that the Conservatives have done all that bad a job running the country over the past few years and I'm not at all clear on how the country would end up being better off (or even different) if the Liberals came to power. They are the only other realistic alternative; the NDP and the Green Party are certainly welcome voices in the political debate but we all know they won't form a government.

Somehow I'm still left coming back to the question, 'why exactly has this election been called?'