God Does Not Tire of Us

Those of you who have listened very long to this Web cast or read my book, Mind Change, know that I find in the Old Testament Psalms some of my greatest encouragement and inspiration. I decided at the beginning of this year to read one psalm each day and make some notes as I went along. I am almost finished with the 150 readings.

God's Nearness

Because of my study of the kingdom of God (as in “the kingdom of God is near”—Mark 1:15), I recently studied the way the word “near” is used in the Scriptures. I quickly found that in various places it is not used to mean that something is close but not yet here.

Take Heart

I am writing these words on a day when physically I am quite depleted. Two physically and emotionally challenging weeks have taken their toll. A good night’s sleep hasn’t done much to relieve the fatigue. My legs are stubbornly refusing to work. The pain is persistent.

Trump Card

Welcome to a Mind Change Summer Encore

Trump Card

According to The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, here is the definition of a trump card: “the suit designated as having precedence over the others. In general, it is something capable of making a decisive difference when used at the right moment” as in ‘The prosecutor played her trump card by calling a surprise witness.’”

There have been more than a few times in my life when I did not like the hand I was dealt. It looked like there were too many things against me, and I found my unreliable emotions taking a dip. But in those times, I have learned something. I have learned that God has given us the ultimate trump card.

Without using the term, I think I was getting at this in several of the power thoughts in my book, Mind Change.

Number 13 says, “Relax. Your God Reigns.” Number 15 says, “In all things God works for your good.”  Number 19 says “ Be ‘unreasonably,’ ‘illogically’ joyful because your name is written in heaven.”

You see no matter what hand we are dealt, how ugly it looks, or how challenging it feels, God still reigns. He is still at work for our good, and we can still rejoice because our names are written in heaven, no matter how illogical such joy might appear to someone looking at us in our trial.

If the hand you are dealt looks pretty crummy and the opponent across the table thinks he has you, just remember that you have something from God capable of making a decisive difference. Use it in those defining moments.

Filled, but with What?

Some of you probably saw the animated movie Up where the old gentleman and his unintended young passenger flew to South America in a house lifted by helium-filled balloons. Well, this weekend a North Carolina man sat buckled  in a chair as a colorful bunch of balloons that looked like they belonged at a party (picture to the right), pulled him up and over the While Cliffs of  Dover, on across the English Channel to a landing in France.

Fill balloons up with the right stuff and they provide quite a lift. Fill them with heavy gases and they go nowhere. It is the same with you and me, and so the Scripture says, “Be filled with the Spirit.”

That statement in Greek is in the imperative mood: It is a command we can obey. But it is in the passive voice: we cannot fill ourselves; we have to allow God to do it. It is in the plural form: as with balloons, we need to be filled along with others—not by ourselves. Finally, it is in present tense: which means in Greek, continuous action. It is something to be done again and again.

Now, just so you know: I wrote this because I needed it.. If you can use it, all the better. But, I see my need to be filled with the lifting Spirit. I have had other heavier stuff trying to fill me up this week: stuff like discouragement, weariness and frustration, which is probably just a nicer word for anger. You get a lot of attitude but not much altitude from those guys, and they seem to come in only black and gray.

 We can choose what will fill us and  I am choosing God’s Spirit. And I am buckling up for the ride.

Ephes. 5:15-20

15Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.


Picture in the heading this week taken from the movie Up by Disney-Pixar
http://adisney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/up/

For Their Sake

For today’s Mind Change Moment I have asked my wife, Sheila, to share a thought from her book entitled  My Bucket of Sand.

Do you have special and clear memories of Bible studies that you did years ago? A verse or a phrase that was emblazoned on your consciousness, to stay for a lifetime?

One such study for me was in the book of 1 Thessalonians…thirty years ago. I can see myself in the house with the 70s kitchen, complete with harvest gold appliances—the house that I almost burned down by leaving oil heating on the stove in anticipation of frying some breaded shrimp.

The sentence that has lodged with me all these years is at the end of verse 5 from chapter 1: “You know how we lived among you for your sake.”Paul’s heart called me higher. How natural it is to live among others, and be more aware of ourselves than of them. How unnatural it is to be more aware of them than of ourselves. It is the “unnatural” that is also the “spiritual.”

Paul lived among the people for their sake, not for his own. He was focused on what was good for them, not what was good for him. He sacrificed his life to make theirs richer.

Do I live among my family for their sake? Do I live among my neighbors for their sake? Do I live among my coworkers for their sake? Do I live among my brothers and sisters in the church for their sake?

I want that heart. I want to live among others for their sake. What a blessing that will be to their lives…and to my own.

Focus Scripture:

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 1:4–6)

O-P, and O-K to Kingdom Living

Let me see if I can summarize what we have looked at the last four weeks. If I want to have a mind change and start living the kingdom life, that is living heaven on earth right now, there are four key words.

First, I must be open—open to all kinds of new ways of thinking, being and doing.  Having a strong resistance to change will pretty well kill kingdom living.

Second, I must see the importance of prayer. This kingdom life is such an out-of-this-world kind of life that trying to live it with just ordinary human resources is about like trying to fly to the moon on a 747. Someone’s resources may look pretty impressive but they will be humbled by the task. This kingdom life will only be lived by kingdom power that comes from prayer.

Third, I must have a heart eager to obey. One learns more and more about the kingdom by obeying the king. I must not wait until I get items 11 and 12 figured out before I obey items 1-10 which are crystal clear. Obeying what I know will lead to clarity with things I didn’t understand.

Fourth, I need what in Greek was called koinonia. That is I need to be involved in other’s lives, learning from them and letting them learn from me, them supporting me and letting me support them. By definition the kingdom life is communal life or, if you please, the community life. We don’t grow in kingdom attitudes apart from the koinonia.

Openness, prayer, obedience, koinonia. Don’t forget them. If you need a memory device, just remember “O-P and you will be O-K.” He who has ears, let him hear.