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Archives For November 30, 1999

Childlike vs. Childish

September 30, 2009 — 1 Comment

I read this the other day:

“We are born charming, fresh and spontaneous and must be civilized before we are fit to participate in society.”

—Judith Martin, “Miss Manners”

At first, I thought, “OK…that is the way it should be.”  We need to mature and grow up in order to move from childhood to adulthood.  It’s the progression of maturity.  [BTW, “mature” doesn’t equal boring!]

But…

The sad part, is that we often transfer this thinking to our walk with God and in the community of Christ Followers known as the “church.”  We have this idea that we must move from a walk marked with a sense wonder, newness, and awe to one of familiarity and stoicness in our relationship with a God who we think would have us “behave” in certain ways.

On one hand, Jesus calls us to be childlike:

“…for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these [children].  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Mark 9:13-16

On the other hand, the author of Hebrews challenges us not to be childish:

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!  Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Hebrews 5:12-14

Being “childlike” without being “childish” in our walk with God is the key.  We must keep and balance an amazed, excited, awestruck, and safe-in-the-arms-of-God attitude with one that seeks to grow and mature our worship through the “solid food” of God’s amazing Word and the encouragement of fellow Christ Followers.

God, I pray I would be childlike in my faith and walk with You.  Forgive me for the times I’ve settled for being a childish Christ Follower.

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HWJD?

September 23, 2009 — Leave a comment

think3So I was a little frustrated at some stuff/people recently and got to thinking, How Would Jesus Deal?…or for the acronym-minded: HWJD?*

That’s when my head started hurting…

  • Jesus dealt with life, family, school, church, work, people situations, the “stuff” of life…just like me.
  • He ate, slept, cried, had conversation, traveled, lead people, relaxed, laughed, prayed, spent time alone and with people, faced adversity, had an adoptive father (Joseph),…just like me.  (FYI: my adoptive Father is God [Ephesians 1:4-6])
  • He had feelings: anger, happiness, sadness, concern,sympathy,…just like me.

BUT…

  • Unlike me…He was perfect.
  • Unlike me…He was sinless.
  • Unlike me…He was holy.

So, HWJD?

How Would Jesus Deal with being, as I put it above, “a little frustrated at some stuff/people”?

There are a TON of passages in the Bible that speak about this, but one immediately comes to mind.  It’s a passage that talks about an attitude that was evident in Jesus’ life and one that is really is the essence of “dealing”.  To the “expert in the law” who tested Him, Jesus offered this framework for living a life that worships God:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:30-31

Jesus was the perfect example of living this passage.  In spite of all the similarities with me (you, us) listed above, it’s the differences that set Him apart.  He loved and obeyed His Father and unconditionally loved the people with whom He “dealt” – the ones He created.  We do well to stumble and mumble at doing those things…

Will trying to live Mark 12:30-31 out and follow Jesus’ example make things magically better?  I think we all know the answer: no.  But, living out this passage through the power of the Holy Spirit enables me (you, us) to dependently fulfill our purpose in life: bringing God glory through a life of worship (Colossians 1:16).

So, HWiD? (How Will i Deal?)

Well, Jesus set the watermark.  I know full well that I cannot get close to it.  But, that does not exempt me from striving to follow Jesus’ example (through the conviction (John 16:10) and enabling power (Philippians 4:13) of the Holy Spirit).

In fact, not striving for this watermark is…well, sin:

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do [think Mark 12:30-31, at a minimum] and doesn’t do it, sins.

James 4:17

Thank God for His grace, mercy, and forgiveness:

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Maranatha!

So…  HWuD?

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*HWJD? OR How Would Jesus Deal? – not to be confused with HWJD (How Would Jesus Drive). In writing this post, I wanted to see other uses for “HWJD”…this site was at the top of the internet search.

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The Box

September 17, 2009 — 2 Comments

boxThe box has been sitting near our desk at home since May 31st.

Each time I saw it, I thought of the lives it represented.

Lives I was praying for…each time I saw the box.  Wondering what God was doing in each person’s life…praying that they were being refined by the Holy Spirit.

Now it’s empty…

You see, last Spring I taught through Francis Chan’s book – Crazy Love – during Sunday School.  At the end of class on the final Sunday, I passed out note cards and a sheet that listed the “Profiles of the Lukewarm” and the “Profiles of the Obsessed” we had read about in chapters four and eight.  I asked each person to write a note reminding themselves of one lukewarm and one obsessed area that they felt they needed to work on – areas in which they (by faith) wanted the Holy Spirit to refine them over the next three months.

We prayed, people wrote, the envelopes were collected, we prayed again, and I said that I would mail the envelope back to each person in September.  I went home and set the box near our desk.

The notes are in the mail.

I hope – I pray – that they serve as a reminder and encouragement to each recipient.  A reminder of the amazing, crazy, and undeserved (but graciously given) love that God has for us.  A reminder of our call, as Christ Followers, to reflect that insane love to the world, for the praise and glory of God.

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So why write this post?  You may be reading this and say, “So what, I wasn’t there.”  Two reasons:

  1. To encourage YOU, the reader. The Apostle Paul (and others) did this.  Paul often wrote to one group of people and reported about other people’s faith in order to encourage people (Romans 1:8 & 12).  He challenged Christ Followers to think of ways to encourage each other (Hebrews 10:24).  So: If you haven’t read Crazy Love, I highly encourage it.  It (and the biblical truth on which it is based) will refine you and make you a better worshiper of Jesus.  If you have read it, are you living in light of it?
  2. To challenge myself and those who lead and teach. We must always remember to encourage people to take the next step – to live the “topic” out…tangibly.  Simply teaching and not encouraging “practice” is, quite frankly, a waste of time and really doesn’t foster growth or further the Kingdom of God (Hebrews 10:24-25).  Recently, I heard Rick Warren say, “Jesus turned up the heat little by little to mature his disciples.”  Shouldn’t we, as teachers and with the love and care of Christ, do the same?  Have I mastered this?  No – thus the challenge to me as well.


Blessings & Maranatha!

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Attachment

September 16, 2009 — Leave a comment

hand holdKaren and I attended a great training session Tuesday night as we move on in our journey to becoming the forever family for two to three precious kids [in the lingo, that means adoptive parents.]  The topic was “Attachment Issues & Intervention Strategies.”  Wikipedia defines Attachment in Children as:

“A theory of attachment between children and their caregivers specifically addressing the behaviors and emotions that children direct toward familiar adults.”

The training dealt with how children attach to parents (biological and adoptive), hindrances to that attachment, and techniques to address the challenges.  It was really informative, especially as we prepare for the time when we have kids and seek to nurture and help them with the unique challenges they may face.  On the drive home, we talked about how any parent would benefit from this (and the other) training we’ve received.  We also talked about the rest of this post…

Here’s the thing.

As I sat in the classroom, absorbing the information and taking notes, my mind immediately began to see parallels to our relationship with God – our attachment to our Heavenly Father.  So much so that I, of course, wanted to post about it.  I share the things below as an encouragement and reminder for those who consider God as their Heavenly Father.

Before reading on, take a few minutes to read these passages:

Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 23; Psalm 61:2-4; Psalm 91:3-5; Psalm 139:1-16; Isaiah 49:15-16; Matthew 6:26

From the presentation:

Information about attachment theory in children:

  • “When I am close to my loved one I feel good, when I am far away I am anxious, sad, or lonely.”
  • Attachment is mediated by looking, hearing, and holding.
  • “When I am held, I feel warm, safe, and comforted.”
  • Results in a relaxed state so that one can, again, begin to explore.

Secure or good attachment is best assessed in times of stress and when one is upset.

Children need both a:

  • Secure Base: “Watch over me, Help me, enjoy life with me.”
  • Secure Haven: “Protect me, comfort me, delight in me, organize my feelings.”

Insecure or Anxious Attachment is manifested in:

  • Anxious about caregiver’s availability.
  • Afraid that caregiver will be unresponsive or ineffective in providing comfort.

Now, re-read the passages and know without a shadow of a doubt that they are true.  God, our Heavenly Father, is amazing, faithful, caring, loving, gracious, comforting, shepherding, powerful, and so much more than a mere list of adjectives on some irrelevant blog can describe.

x

If you don’t consider God as your Heavenly Father, the truth is that He is real.  He created you and loves you in a profound way that isn’t really explainable in human terms or understanding.  He is the perfect father – incomparable to any earthly father (the best or the worst).  Know that God loves you and gave His Son (Jesus) to pay the price for our sin.  He desires our…your “attachment”.

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No Condemnation. [Kapow!]

September 10, 2009 — Leave a comment

serie_kapowI’ve read these verses from Romans chapter eight before:

1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

But today, they hit me in the gut.

As Karen and I wait for phone calls, emails, snail mail,…whatever about our adoption process, tons of thoughts run through our minds.  Last week we were talking and the subject of sin and punishment came up.  Is/was there something hindering God answering our prayer for kids?  We know there isn’t, we know and live 1 John 1:9-10.  It was “the accuser” accusing.  [OK, I’m not saying we don’t sin.  Speaking for myself, I identify with Paul’s self-evaluation in 1 Timothy 1:15 (“…of whom I am the worst.”)  Karen’s human, so she sins…  ]

In those “accuser” instances, my mind always goes back to this passage in Romans – I say in those instances, because Satan always tries to throw those (and other) thoughts at Christ Followers.  None of us is squeaky clean, and guilt can be stifling.

Anyway, today…  Me getting hit in the gut…

I’m reading a book titled, “Adopted for Life” by Dr. Russell Moore.  It’s about adoption in human terms and also in spiritual terms.  This book is for everyone, not just people adopting.  Powerful stuff!

In a passage talking about feeling like God’s punishing you, Moore writes:

“Remember, we can’t bypass Jesus…  He is the One who bore the curse on our behalf, every bit of it (Gal. 3:13).  If you’ve believed in Christ, you are blessed, not cursed, whatever your situation.

…God is not punishing you.  If you are in Christ, your punishment was adsorbed in the body of a crucified Jesus.  God may be disciplining you, shaping you, and he often uses suffering to do so, but He isn’t punishing you.  He views you within the body of Christ, and loves and delights in you.  Whatever is happening in your life, nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8:31-39.)” [pg. 89-90]

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Pow. Thwack. Kapow.*

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Again, this is nothing new for me – I’ve heard and read this before.  …but I needed to hear it again.  I have to believe that I’m not the only one needing to hear this.

Thank you God! (take that satan!)

x

*From the “you can find anything on the Internet”: I was trying to remember the punch sounds from Batman and stumbled on this site that cataloged all the sounds…by episode.  They are now offered by me for your future use and reference! [the fact that they are in Spanish shouldn’t make a difference!] 🙂

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What I Did On My Summer “Vacation”

September 4, 2009 — 1 Comment

It’s a common question being asked by returning students right now – regardless of age or grade: “What did you do on your Summer vacation?”  It’s somewhat lost on us adults…we don’t generally get three months off from work (although we’d like it!)  OK, we do truncate the question and ask: “What did you do on your Summer vacation?”

Anyway, here we go:

<you>: Dennis!  How’s it going?  Love the blog, keep up the great work!
<me>: ‘sgoing pretty good.  How ’bout you?
<you>: Fantabulous!  Hey, What did you do on your Summer vacation?
<me>: I’m glad you asked…

The Deets:

bibleThis summer, our church went through a program called The Bible in 90 Days (aka BIND, aka B90X).  It’s not a hard program with hidden details – it’s reading the Bible in 90 days (OK, actually 88…there were two “grace” days built in).  We started on June 7th and from that day until September 3 (for me), we read about 12 pages each day – straight through…Genesis to Revelation.  Our adult Sunday School class and Sunday service sermons also followed the readings, highlighting various themes or characters from the previous weeks readings.

The Story:

True confessions here – I actually saw the official BIND Bible at our local Christian bookstore over a year ago. I bought it and thought I’d give it a go.  It didn’t go…  But, when we decided to go through the program at church, I decided I was going to do it!  GULP!

I read & study the Bible daily – but I don’t generally read 12 pages.  I’m also a slow reader (I’ll admit it!), so this was especially a challenge.  [FYI – my reading speed is really a product of wanting to fully understand and I just can’t get there by scanning…some can – I can’t.]

In addition, having just started this blog a few months before, I decided that I would write a post about each days reading.  Yes, EACH DAY (read: Leviticus).  My decision was based on two things:

  • If 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is true (and I believe it is), then I ought to be able to glean at least one nugget from each day’s reading.  Yes, even from Leviticus.
  • A comment I heard from a speaker a while back.  He said that he tried to find at least one thing in every sermon or talk he heard that was applicable or edifying.  This should be true of anything read in the bible.  [BTW, I hold to this truth in any meeting, seminar, conference, presentation.  It forces me to listen!]

So I started.  I read…and I blogged, and I read…and I blogged…  Eighty-eight days of reading, too many late nights trying to stay on track, and 67 blog posts (some were catch-up days) – all in all, an incredible journey.  I am glad I stuck it out.  It was great to read the whole Bible in a concentrated time frame.  It was amazing to see the thread of God’s redemptive love and care for man (me, you!) in this life-changing, life-giving book that has been lovingly preserved.

So, there’s no badge, t-shirt, or tattoo (?!) for completing the program.  But, there is the joy in knowing that I am a little bit more “equipped”  to be a better worshiper of my awesome and amazing God!

What’s Next?

For the Christ Follower, the Bible shouldn’t be a book that is read and then put on the shelf – saved for future reading if desired.  So, for that reason, I’ll never be “finished” reading the Bible…  I think I’ll even do BIND again next year.

I am starting two new books though:new_read

Both look to be GREAT reads…even blog subjects!

HEY, if you’d like to give BIND or B90X a try, here is a reading schedule that Elevation Church in North Carolina has posted.

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CPR Training: A Skill and a Lesson

June 10, 2009 — Leave a comment

cpr-2Karen and I had CPR training Monday night (and again tonight.) It’s part of our adoption preparation process (one of the final steps as we inch closer to kids!).  Needless to say it’s been very interesting…and exhausting.  The skill of learning to do CPR and first aid is an important one that I pray I never have to use.  [I’m actually having flashbacks from my Boy Scout days!]

As I was driving to work this morning, I was thinking about how passionate the teacher was about CPR and saving lives AND how interested and attentive the 14 of us were as a class.  OK, the fact that she mentioned the “T” word (test) probably made a few sit up a little taller and listen a little closer. Anyway, she mixed the theory with the practical in such a way that the 4.5 hours went by pretty quick.  I’m sure tonight will be the same…at least I hope!

So, contrast my last paragraph with how unpassionate we, as Christ Followers, can be at times in two areas:

Continue Reading…

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From, Through, and To

June 4, 2009 — Leave a comment

If the title of this post were a Jeopardy question, the answer would be:

What are all things we “have” in relation to God.

Think about it…when we buy someone a gift, often it is something that is a surprise or unexpected (unless someone spills the beans).  When we give God our worship (which is all that we are and do: Romans 12:1 & Colossians 3:17), we are giving Him something that He created.  We offer back to the One who created that which He created.  There is nothing that we can give, write, sing, play, do, say, act,…whatever that doesn’t originate from Him.  We never surprise Him with our worship.

It’s mind boggling when you think about it.

Romans 11:36 reads:
“For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen”

“All Things” pretty much covers everything…anything that we can offer.

Continue Reading…

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Where’s That Button?

June 2, 2009 — Leave a comment

easy btnI have one of these on my desk.  I’ve had it for a while, although it did get pushed to the back by magazines and papers (I have some piles…don’t judge me).  As I was cleaning the desk the other day, I saw it and got to thinking about how, if we are honest with ourselves (and God), we would much rather have something like this in life than depend completely upon God or even come before Him in prayer.

We are in good company.  In Mark 9:14-29, we see that Jesus’ disciples (the ones He picked to follow Him first), still occasionally defaulted to primarily relying on their own ability (sound familiar?).  In this passage, we read that they couldn’t cast out a demon from a possessed child…and the crowds and the boy’s father are not happy.  The bible doesn’t describe that scene, but can you imagine the disciple’s frustration and repeated attempts?  Not to be sacrilegious, but the image of trying to start a lawnmower repeatedly comes to mind…

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me: waa! GOD: SKADOOSH!

June 1, 2009 — 1 Comment

skadoosh2the waa:

So I posted my weekly Service Set list, Recap, and Confessional last night – including a whine (or waa!) in the confessional portion.  It felt good to write about it and get it off my chest.  Sunday AM was rough – I felt rushed and didn’t like not have things under control…

THE SKADOOSH*:

Fast forward to this morning.  I’ve been listening to Andy Stanley’s podcast series, Defining Moments and this morning I was on episode 8, Playing God.  The text was from John 18:28 to 19:16…it’s about Jesus before Pilate.  The key being that while Pilate thought he was in control – he wasn’t.

Continue Reading…

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