Category: Reflections

DISCOVER is the perfect word to describe what it means to go after God’s call in your life! When you make his plan a priority, an unexpected adventure awaits. One where you’ll

• Uncover a purpose that is far greater than anything you can dream up.
• Enjoy a significance that outperforms anything the world has to offer.

What will his call look like?

First: God’s call in your life is INTENTIONAL.

Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors… (Acts 13:36)

God has a specific plan that is custom tailored for your strengths and experiences. He has a plan for your life today, in your family, with your neighbors, in your school or work. When you don’t do what you were made to do, God’s family, and the world, missis out on something vital. God called David to something special, he went from shepherd to warrior to king to psalm-writer. He also has something awesome for you.

Second: God’s call in your life is INSPIRATIONAL

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

God is good, all the time. In the highs and in the lows, he is working for the good of his people. Followers of Jesus often look to this passage for strength during the difficult times. This is good and true and right! However, we must remember that God is also working in the good times—and it is so VERY easy to forget God when things are good. God is moving, let us always be inspired by Him.

Third: God’s call in your life is EXCEPTIONAL.

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. (Ephesians 4:1)

Worthy is a difficult word to translate into our lives. At one extreme, some of us are trapped by our feelings of unworthiness, and we fail to see the God-placed wonder that exists within all of us. At the other extreme, some of are trapped by the false confidence that are up to the task earning God’s gifts.

Worthy means that we give to God everything we’ve got. We make him our number one priority—God is to take exception over everything else in our lives. He gets first place!

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry … Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit…” (Luke 4:1-2; 14)

Flip the switch, and the light turns on. Is this how God’s power works for us?

Luke makes it clear: Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, led by the Spirit, and had the power of the Spirit. There seems to be a progression in this passage:

1. We are filled.
2. We are led.
3. We have the power.

There is no doubt that our life in the Holy Spirit is ongoing and dynamic.

Does obedience to God, explicitly seeking him through fasting and resisting temptation, grant us God’s power?

Personal experience would seem to support this. I feel closer to God when I seek him and live a holy life. My life is more fulfilling when I resist temptation. Additionally, I am more effective when I’m obedient to God.

Of course, Scripture is more authoritative than personal experience! James tells us that if we come near to God, he will come near to us (James 4:8). 

Does this make our obedience the light switch to God’s power?

Most assuredly not!

God is not a cosmic vending machine, as if we could deposit coins of prayer and devotion and then select our snack.

Jesus didn’t return in the power of the Spirit after ten days of fasting. Not ten, but forty! Jesus didn’t return to Galilee after one temptation. Not one, but three!

God is good. We can trust that he will bless us with the power of the Spirit at the right time. We must seek him more than food and resist temptation more than temporary rewards.

Jesus warns us about the thorns in life that keep us from following him and being blessed.

The thorns are self-inflicted; we choose them. We are responsible for the thorns; they are not situations that happen to us.

Jesus specifically mentions three kinds of thorns (although anything that keeps us from following him is a thorn): worries, riches, and pleasures.

Worries feed our fear. It sees our problems as more powerful than God.

Riches feed our pride. It sees our resources as enough to meet our needs, keeping us independent from God.

Pleasures feed our desire. It sees our playful diversions as better than God’s peace and joy.

Let us look for the thorns! And with God’s help, unroot them from our hearts!

“I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)

Everything belongs to God, but some people “especially” belong to him.

The distinction is found in a person’s response to Jesus. He died for everyone (even the people we don’t like!), but not everyone accepts his free gift of salvation. For those who believe in Jesus, it is certain that they belong. Those who reject him, they do not belong—at least, not yet!

Do you believe that God is good and that he gives good gifts? Have you said “yes” to Jesus, believing he lived a perfect life, died a real death, and resurrected after three days—all so that we might have eternal life? If God is your heavenly Father, Jesus is your Savior, and the Holy Spirit is your Comforter, then God looks at you and says, “My people.”

Do you see yourself as a child of God, a member of his family, a citizen in his kingdom? Sometimes we forget our true identity in Christ. How does this happen? The world, and the enemy, are working hard to mold us into anything other than the image of Jesus.

Let us accept the free gift of grace! Let us remember who we are!

We are his people because he is our God!

“Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith.” (1 Timothy 1:4)

Ideas are important.

They determine how we feel, think, speak, and act. When we promote the wrong ideas, not only is unity threatened, but we also don’t accomplish anything worthwhile.

(Truth is, there’s enough controversy when we focus on the right ideas!)

Speculation is the weakest form of ideas. Why? Because they don’t lead to meaningful change. Idle speculations draw lines between “us” and “them.” They create pointless controversy.

How do we know when we are “majoring in the minors?” Here’s the test: ideas that don’t advance God’s work are a subject best left alone. In this passage, Paul specifically warns against the danger of false doctrines, myths, and endless genealogies. Let’s dig a little deeper into those three kinds of bad ideas.

False doctrines are easy to identify…if you know God’s Word. Without a firm understanding of the Bible, it’s difficult to recognize untruths because some false doctrines sound really good! It’s not until they are seen under the light of Scripture that they are seen for what they really are. Myths also exist outside of God’s Word; they are unverifiable stories passed along by word of mouth. Everyone loves a good story! Did you hear about Peter picking a fight with Paul in Alexandria over the best spot for carnitas tacos? (For the real story, check out Galatians 2:11-15) Focusing on “endless genealogies” is an example of spending too much time on trivial details. Details are essential, but we should not over-inflate their value.

Our goal should be to advance God’s Work. Anything less will provide an opportunity for pointless controversies. This isn’t the same as “keeping the peace” at all costs. Paul urged Timothy to command false teachers to stop–talk about controversy!

What moves a person to teach things that aren’t true? Or to focus on myths or overinflate the value of details? I’m sure there are many reasons, but here are two that I have seen:

First, there’s a temptation to bend the truth to fit a personal agenda (or “narrative”). We no longer operate by faith in God when we do this.

Second, not all biblical information leads to transformation. Learning more facts doesn’t equate to a more obedient life. Learning more facts fills our ego without challenging our lifestyle. Jesus commanded his disciples to “teach people to obey” because faith without deeds is dead.

Most importantly, for you personally, how much of your life is devoted to advancing God’s work?

I really liked The Postmodern Pilgrim’s Progress. It was thoughtful and funny–a great combination! It was an allegory, and I usually rather hear the ideas because that’s much faster than a story. That being said, I recommend this book!

The book was filled with a ton of great ideas–challenges, reminders, and encouragements. The book has a ton of quotable material, but I think the following was probably the central theme:

“That’s right: you weren’t enough,” the King said. “You were never meant to be enough. You were only asked to be faithful. You were only asked to keep on going forward.”

This story addressed a wide mix of “classical” and “contemporary” spiritual struggles. What do I mean by this? 

Since the beginning, followers of Jesus have struggled with doubt, temptation, anger, discouragement, confusion, suffering, loss, the problem of evil, etc. (I consider these “classical” issues).

Unsurprisingly, the creators of the Babylonian Bee would also address current issues like cancel culture, deconstructionism, prosperity, and abortion. And let’s not forget the angry people on Twitter!

The story effortlessly weaves between all of these issues, evidence of great writing! According to my reading, here’s the picture the authors painted:

#1 The spiritual life is filled with constant struggle, pain, and loss. A dark picture! (I wonder if their primary audience is comfortable Christians.) The Christian life is good, but it isn’t easy. The authors did a great job driving home this point.

#2 God’s Word is important without becoming more important than God. The journey wouldn’t be possible without “the Book.” They also accurately described the core messages of the Bible and how we experience them.

#3 Everyone needs a buddy! We don’t need to get lost in a crowd of like-minded people; we need one person who is both encouraging and challenging–through the highs and the lows (Although there aren’t many highs in the story!).

#4 They connect faith and action. The spiritual life isn’t just about believing the right things; it’s also about doing the right things. When everything is upside down, and we don’t know what to do, just move forward!

#5 Humanity is limited — utterly and completely insufficient. We aren’t smart enough to understand God, and we aren’t good enough to follow Him. 

I’m sure I’ve missed a lot! When I read the book, I wasn’t reading with a critical eye. I read it for personal encouragement, and this post reflects my “takeaways.”

I don’t want to be a comfortable Christian. I want to rely on God’s Word every day. I need a few good relationships, and I need to nurture them. I want to believe the right things about God — with AWE and REVERENCE — and I want to do the right things for God — with PASSION and ENDURANCE.  Ultimately, I want to be faithful in all things, and the can’t happen without humility.

“My soul is overwhelmed to the point of death” (Mark 14:34)

I don’t understand the mystery of Jesus being overwhelmed. Jesus was both man and God! How could he get overwhelmed? It doesn’t make sense to me. I get overwhelmed because my power and knowledge are (severely) limited. God is can’t be overwhelmed because his power and knowledge are limitless.

We could say that Jesus was overwhelmed because he was “limited” in some ways for the 30+ years he was on earth. What’s the evidence for this thinking? For starters, he didn’t know when the end would come (Mark 12:32). Additionally, when he was young, it seemed as if Jesus learned from others (Luke 2:46). Finally, Jesus couldn’t be more than one place at a time. Where did these “limitations” begin and end? One mystery is not solved by falling back on another.

Mysteries ought to be explored because this moves us to greater enthusiasm toward God.

We are told that Jesus was overwhelmed — no explanation was given. While can’t put all the pieces together, the overall picture is clear enough:

• Jesus was overwhelmed— this is a great comfort for us to consider.
• Jesus was overwhelmed, and he reached out to others for support—we need to cultivate the right community for support.
• Jesus was overwhelmed, and he still fulfilled his mission—this is an example we need to follow.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. (Hebrew 4:15)

Questions are good, they can lead to greater understanding. This is an essential skill for reading Scripture to hear God speak.

Unfortunately, asking questions isn’t a habit for many people. Why not? First, they lead to hard work. The path of least resistance often bypasses questions. Additionally, asking a question requires a measure of humility—most of us don’t want to look dumb.

Hard work humility aren’t popular choices!

Without questions, we rarely grow and get stuck in a rut. Our assumptions become continuously reinforced. With a casual reading, the lesson from the poor widow’s offering seems simple enough. Let’s dig deeper without overcomplicating the teaching.

41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41–44)

The widow gave “all she had to live on.” Is this literal? Did her offering make her a greater burden to others because she gave away everything?

For Jesus, the value of an offering is not the size of the gift but the size of the sacrifice. What then, does it mean to sacrifice? Is Jesus telling us to give everything like the widow? Or to do better than the wealthy? If so, how much sacrifice is required? Are parents called to give everything they have to the point of being unable to provide for their kids?

What were the external circumstances of the widow? Was she without family or work and at the mercy of handouts by strangers? Or did she have someone to care for her? If she could count on her needs being met, then wasn’t she also giving out of her wealth?

Since Jesus gives no specific rule, are we called to give sacrificial offerings according to our conscience? If this is the case, why didn’t he say this?

While the example for this teaching is about financial offerings, does it apply to our other offerings of worship? Scripture is clear that God is to be our first priority and that we love him with our heart, soul, and strength. Is it possible that this teaching applies not to financial offerings but to our offerings of worship?

This passage is rich with historical context. It would be easy to focus on the layout of the temple and how offerings worked. We could focus on the literal value of the two coins or mechanisms for collecting the coins (more coins lead to more noise—an audible way of saying, “I’m kind of a big deal.”).

This passage also has a clear teaching: Jesus values sacrificial offerings. This is personally convicting, but when we are honest, we are left with the question: how much sacrifice is enough?