day no. 12,965: a messy calendar or an organized coffin?‏

I am really enjoying this season of growing as a CG leader and thinking about how we all can better lead our groups. I feel like I’m beginning to enter a sweet spot in some regards with specific reference to that subject matter. I love my connection group. I want other people to love theirs. It’s work, but it is producing fruit.

 

Proverbs 14:4

 

Where there are no oxen, the stalls are clean; but much is produced by the strength of an ox.

 

You could make life easier if you got rid of your ox.

But you’d be less productive and see less fruit from your life.

 

An ox can help you produce more fruit.

But it means shoveling poop.

 

If you prefer clean stalls, kill your ox.

 

If you want a fruitful and productive life, learn to shovel.

day no. 12,964: connection group leading and training‏

As CG leaders it is sometimes easy to come up with a great list of questions and then pose them to the group and hear the answers and then move on to the next question and fire away until your time is through.

It can easily produce the quiz master effect. Here’s what I mean. Studies have shown that the person asking the questions (the quiz master, a la Alex Trebek) is perceived as more intelligent than the group. Why? Because they never get a question wrong for one. And they control the questions and answers. Those combined: never being wrong and always being in control, leads people to interpret that the leader is smarter and better than them in some regard (in this case being more intellectual, more holy, etc…).

 

That can happen in CG. If the leader fires penetrating questions off at other people and then comments in response to their confessions, but never themselves experience the bulls-eye of the question, it can be interpreted by some that the leader has it all together and is the quiz master.

 

Disciples making disciples thrive best, I imagine, when the leader is themselves doing as Paul commanded Timothy:

 

1 Timothy 4:15

 

Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all.

 

People need to see our progress. How can they see our progress if they never see our weakness or failure? We must place ourselves under the scalpel of God’s Word in front of them and lead by that example.

 

Why?

 

That they can see us practicing, committing and progressing in Christlikeness and discipleship before them. We want them to do what they see us doing.

 

Practicing, committing, progressing.

 

People don’t need you to be Jesus for them.

They need to see you needing Jesus in front of them.

day no. 12,963: GOOD MORNING!!!

Matthew 28:9

 

Just then Jesus met them and said, “Good morning!” They came up, took hold of His feet, and worshiped Him.

 

HE IS RISEN!

 

THE TOMB IS EMPTY!

 

JESUS IS ALIVE!

 

GOOD MORNING!

 

!!!EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!

day no. 12,961: Good Friday

1 Corinthians 15:3-6

 

³ For I passed on to you as most important what I also received:

that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,⁴ that He was buried,
that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures,
⁵ and that He appeared to Cephas,
then to the Twelve.
⁶ Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time;
most of them are still alive,
but some have fallen asleep.

 

The most important thing anyone can pass on is the most important thing anyone can receive: the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on their behalf.

 

1 Corinthians 11:26

 

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

 

Today, we specifically set aside to proclaim the Lord's death.  This is that Good Friday where the Man Jesus Christ ended His perfect life by voluntarily submitting Himself to a sacrificial death.  He was the perfect sacrifice.  The willing sacrifice.  He died on purpose and with purpose. 

 

As Christians, we proclaim the Lord's death often.  Particularly when we received communion and particularly today as we remember His specific death on a specific tree at a certain time in a certain place where for certain He finished the good work that is our secure hope of salvation.

day no. 12,960: debunking DIY Christianity‏

Galatians 6:2-3

²Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.³ For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

 

At Connection Group the other night (March 11, 2014), I led my group first through these verses prior to jumping in to our discussion through Genesis 3 and the lies we are tempted to believe and the consequences we are quick to forget.

 

We default, without any effort, to DIY Christianity.

 

We want to carry our own loads and clean up our own messes.

 

We don’t want people seeing how embarrassingly dirty and muddled we are, so we go to great effort to portray ourselves as “OK” when in actuality we’re KO’d.

 

***sorry, that’s boxing lingo for Knocked Out for those of you not remotely familiar with sports and/or boxing – not that I am, I just played a lot of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out when I was a kid.

 

Stop considering yourself to be something.

You’re not.

 

Stop taking yourself so seriously.

You’re a joke.

 

Stop deceiving yourself.

Listen to truth.

 

Stop doing it yourself.

You can’t carry your own load alone and you can’t fulfill the law of Christ by neglecting the loads of others.

 

We fulfill the law of Christ when we take upon our shoulders the weight of other people’s heavy loads.

 

We fulfill the law of Christ in asking for help with the burdens we carry when they’re weighing us down.

 

Don’t be too proud to say, “Help!”

Don’t be too busy to say, “How can I help?”

day no. 12,959: cashing in a lifetime of worry‏

Luke 12:25-26

 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

 

My friend Tim observed the following in response to this passage.

 

This is such perfect wisdom. The truth is, the accumulation of a lifetime of worry can be cashed in for a lifetime of stress and a reduction in your physical life span, as well as the destruction of your emotional health.

 

I've always heard and repeated the idea of "worry" as motivator. I don't think that's really worry (especially not as Jesus is describing). This motivator, I would say is better described as awareness. When I have a project coming up at work, an awareness of the deadline and tasks to be completed keeps me motivated. If the awareness turns into thoughts of concern, and then in to desperation and worry - I can't say that I'm motivated by the awareness anymore - just discouraged - believing Satan's lie.

 

An accumulation of a lifetime of worry can be cashed in for a lifetime of stress and destruction.

 

Well stated Tim.

 

Additionally, I loved his careful treatment of worry and awareness.

 

Awareness is productive in disciplining godliness and contentment.

 

Worry is destructive anxiety that results in reduced productivity.

day no. 12,958: i was supposed to write this, i'm sure of it

A conversation this morning regarding predestination fueled a fury of thoughts on my drive to work this morning. The conversation was, as per usual, in reference to Romans 9.

 

Romans 9:11-18

 

¹¹ For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand—¹² not from works but from the One who calls—she was told: The older will serve the younger.¹³ As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.

 

¹⁴ What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!¹⁵ For He tells Moses:

 

I will show mercy
to whom I will show mercy,
and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion.

 

¹⁶ So then it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy.¹⁷ For the Scripture tells Pharaoh:

 

I raised you up for this reason
so that I may display My power in you
and that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

 

¹⁸ So then, He shows mercy to those He wants to, and He hardens those He wants to harden.

 

My thoughts were rallying around one common objection people make in response to the reality that God has predestined people. That being, “Well if God has already decided, what does it matter what I do?”

 

Great question.

 

Unfortunately, the answer to that is almost without exception fleshed out in the following manner. An exasperated person hears that God is in complete control and throws up their hands and says, “Well if it’s already been decided, then I’m just going to do what I want. If God is going to do what He wants, I will do what I want and we’ll see what happens in the end since He’s going to do it anyways.”

 

This commonly takes the form of laziness, self-centeredness, callousness and the most base behaviors imaginable found under the defense of, “Who can resist God’s will? If He wants to save me, He will. If He doesn’t, He won’t.”

 

I agree.

 

But your response to freedom is interesting, is it not?

 

You discover that nothing you can do will gain or lose your salvation and so your default is to act in a way unworthy of the Gospel.

 

Why is it every time someone says, “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter what I do,” they throw their hands up and engage in the most vile behaviors imaginable?

 

No one ever says, “It doesn’t matter what I do,” and then ends up giving all their possessions away to the poor and serving widows and orphans with all their time and energy. No one ever says, “I guess it doesn’t matter” and spends their free time preaching the Gospel to strangers and opening their house to those in need.

 

Isn’t it interesting how we default to total depravity in a moment’s time?

 

The very response to God’s sovereignty and decision proves our depravity and the election necessary for anyone to be saved.

 

God is free to do whatever He desires.

 

Observe the stark contrast.

 

He can do whatever He wants and with that freedom, He sends His one and only begotten Son. He send Him as a sacrifice to die. He chooses to be selfless. He chooses to die.

 

When given a world of possibilities and options, He chooses sacrifice.

 

He is not totally depraved. He is wholly divine.

 

Godliness chooses to die, chooses to suffer, and chooses in love to do whatever it takes to win those opposed.

 

And for whom does He do this?

 

Selfish, introspective, infantile hedonists who choose themselves every time over everyone else and over God.

 

He dies for those who would never choose Him. He dies for those who default to pleasure-seeking and impatience.

 

God demonstrates His love in choosing to save those who have proved themselves unworthy of being saved.

 

This should produce hands raised in worship, not in exasperation. Yes, He is fully in charge and has determined our steps. But He is good and loving and has proven this time and time again by His faithfulness and His provision of Jesus Christ.

 

That is the Gospel.