“Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?” – Galatians 4:8-9

Turning back

It’s easy (or at least natural) to look at the Christian life like this: we used to do certain things, but now that we’re believers – we don’t. And that’s a true and noble aim that we can only hope to attain through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

But that’s not what Paul is writing about here. He’s not saying I used to be a drunk, but now I’m not. I used to act sexually immoral, but now I don’t. I used to cheat people, but now I don’t. He writes about that in other places.

The challenge of the Galatians is the challenge of every believer who grew up in a particularly religious environment. Paul is issuing the challenge to resist returning to a system of rules and regulations as your metric for measuring or earning your standing with God!

The Law

The law has a very specific purpose. Simply put, the law was given so that we would realize our complete and total inability to keep it. Period.

Paul says it like this: ‘Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith‘ (Gal 3:24). The law is, and has always been, a mirror that allows us to see our true selves in light of God.

The bottom line: we don’t measure up.

We can’t measure up.

None of us.

Not even close.

The law is like looking in a mirror that shows us something is wrong. But the mirror can’t fix what’s wrong!

Only Jesus can do that.

Jesus Breaks the Cycle of Futility

Jesus is the only one who ever has kept (or ever could keep) the Law perfectly. He is the perfect, unblemished sacrifice offered for our forgiveness and salvation. When our trust is placed in Jesus as our only necessary and sufficient sacrifice, our standing in eternity is based on the work Christ did.

We actually receive His righteousness!

Once you realize and embrace that Jesus did the work – because you couldn’t and only He can – it releases you from an endless cycle of trying to earn God’s love or measure up to His standard (which is perfection by the way).

You are freed from the slavery of sin and freed to yield yourself to the power of Christ working in you. Apart from that, we would have no hope.

But we do.

His name is Jesus.

‘But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.’ – Galatians 4:4-5

My dad’s house

There’s something comforting for me about being at my dad’s house. Now I realize that everyone has different experiences growing up…and your childhood or upbringing might not be a pleasant memory. For some of you, it might be downright painful.

I can’t relate to that. My childhood memories bring me great joy today when I think of them. I mourn the fact that children are raised into adulthood without ever knowing what it is to have a loving father and mother. But I am thankful for mine.

When I’m at my dad’s house, I am totally at ease. I am not worried about feeling comfortable. I don’t put on a performance so that he will be impressed with me. No actions are taken for show. I do not question the fatherly pride he takes in me as his son.

Adoption as sons

Scripture gives us this beautiful picture of the believer’s relationship with God. He actually chooses to adopt us as his children!

Wow!

I have several friends who have adopted and, to be honest, Tabitha and I have talked about it a good bit. I have other friends who are themselves adopted. What a different perspective they are able to have on the adoptive love the Father has for us.

Just like my earthly father beams with pride, so does my heavenly Dad – but here’s the kicker:

God’s affection toward me has nothing to do with what I do and everything to do with who I am – his son!

Can you feel the weight of that difference?

Some of you reading this can’t because your earthly father blew it. He wasn’t there. He was there but you wish he wasn’t. Physical and emotional abuse. Neglect or apathy.

Many of you are locked in a struggle of trying to earn the affection and approval of the God of the universe because the approval you so desperately wanted from your own father was never realized.

It’s a Family Thing

Don’t miss the freedom that comes from the security in knowing you are God’s chosen son or daughter. God’s word says in Psalm 139 that God formed you and knew you – that even when you were unformed substance the days of your life were formed for you.

Though fractured by sin and desperately wicked when left to our own desires, the regenerate heart is precious to the Father – in spite of your sin and shortcomings.

You are a child of the King! An heir to all that he has for you! A full member of the family.

He loves you.

He has a plan for you.

He wants you to trust His unconditional love for you.

Quit trying to earn what is already yours. Stop striving to deserve what cannot be lost.

“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” – Galatians 3:3

This is a question I have asked myself at least a thousand times. Why am I so foolish? Why do I frequently try to earn what is already mine?

Our Nature

We have an insatiable desire to value ourselves. It may manifest itself in selfishness, jealousy, self-aggrandizing, greed, or even lust. These are all slivers of a larger pie – PRIDE! The early church leader Augustine said pride is the mother pregnant with all other sin.

C.S. Lewis reminds us that if not for pride, the devil would not be the devil.

At the end of the day, we seek to feel good about ourselves (often by comparing ourselves to other people) in an attempt to convince ourselves that God should love us because we are not THAT bad!

Christian Pride

Those two words don’t really go together. Sort of like ‘vegetarian meatball’! It’s what we call an oxymoron in English where two opposing words are placed in juxtaposition to each other.  The words “Christian” and “pride” don’t go together, yet all too often we find ourselves demonstrating this frustrating behavior.

Here’s the fallacy we buy into:

“If I behave better, God will love me more.”

Very few of us would make that statement aloud, but many of us operate under the pressure of this practically. We live under the crushing reality that we don’t ever and can’t ever measure up.

The Solution

So what’s the answer?

For the true follower of Christ, recognize the weakness of your flesh and embrace the fact that Jesus bought and paid for your redemption when you were ‘dead in your trespasses and sins‘. He loves you right now and he can’t love you any more. He loves the you of today – not some future version of you! Not the you 5 or 10 or 30 years from now that has it all figured out.

When you realized that Jesus didn’t accept you because you were all nice and shiny, it frees you up to lean into that truth and ‘be transformed by the renewal of your mind‘. As Paul said, you started out by the Spirit. How can you keep trying to perfect yourself by the flesh?

Knock it off! Quit being so foolish.

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20

A Tale of Two Natures

Though there is nothing simple about it, there exists within the life committed to Jesus two natures that are at times directly opposed to one another. To put it another way, you are at war with yourself.

Constantly.

Paul expressed it fully in Romans 7:15-20 as he talks about the tension that exists between what we want to do and what we actually do.

The Death of Me

In this verse from Galatians, Paul is identifying with Christ in his death. When Jesus was crucified – in our place, bearing our sin – our sinful natures were provided a means of death as well. Even though the ultimate eradication of our sinful nature won’t come until Heaven, we now have the means to crucify our own sinful passions and desires as we place them under submission and the authority of the Cross.

It requires work. It’s probably what Jesus was referring to when he said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). This is a daily act of dying to yourself.

The Life of Christ

It’s not just the death of our old selves that Paul writes of in this verse. Christ died but didn’t remain buried. He experienced death but it could not hold him! He walked out of the tomb – it’s empty! Paul is also identifying with the risen and reigning King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

We have the power of the resurrection to draw from as well. The life we now live in the flesh, we live by faith in the son of God!

That’s the key. We don’t kill our sinful desires for sport or spiritual exercise. We assault them with the new life that is found in Christ. Every time we do that, we learn to listen to the Holy Spirit a little better. We gain encouragement and strength that the enemy really is defeated and doesn’t own us any longer. Our conditioning increases so that tomorrow’s battle is a little easier.

Are you practicing dying to yourself?

It’s not easy.

It is necessary.

“…when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…” – Galatians 1:15-16a

One of the most common questions I hear as a pastor has to do with people seeking purpose in their lives. Actually, it usually comes as a statement, but it points to a bigger question. It goes something like this:

“I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing!”

Ever felt that way?

On a very basic level, God has designed each of us with an ultimate purpose. This purpose never changes and contains the full measure and totality of God’s plan for your life. Do you know what it is?

You were created to bring God glory.

Simple. Yet complex.

Easy to say. Difficult to apply.

Ultimately unique. Particularly varied.

Your Purpose

I can tell you with authority about your ultimate purpose, because that’s the purpose of all things in the universe – God’s glory. It really is all about Him! Every fiber, molecule, and particle in all of creation points to the glory of the creator.

But there’s a difference in your ultimate purpose and your specific path. That’s what Paul is so secure about in this passage. He knows what he was born to do. Peter and John too, were absolutely secure in their calling to preach the gospel (Acts 4:19-21). I can relate to that. Sometimes I feel like I will explode if I don’t get the message out God has placed within me.

But that’s not everyone’s specific purpose. We know the church is a body made up of a lot of different parts – all with different specific functions. Some of you would be as out of place if you tried to preach as I would putting on a pair of ballet shoes and attempting an arabesque penchée!

We have to know where we are going before we can choose a path to get us there. Failing to realize our ultimate purpose is God’s glory, keeps us from settling on a particular plan to do that in our lives because we don’t have a clear destination in mind.

The exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland sheds light on this (paraphrase):

Alice: Would you tell me please where to go from here?
Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to go.
Alice: I don’t much care where.
Cat: Then it doesn’t matter much which way you go.
Alice: As long as I get somewhere.
Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that if you walk long enough.

If all you want to do is get somewhere, eventually you will. But we aren’t aiming for somewhere! The opposite of that is true too. If you don’t know where you’re going, then you’re sure to never get there. You have to keep the destination in front of you at all times.

Conflict

Conflict arises when our aim gets skewed in our ultimate purpose. Many times we find ourselves out of position in our particular plans because of this gross error in defining our ultimate purpose:

We make it about our glory – not God’s.

That’s why many people feel so disconnected and why I have the same conversation again and again. We want to substitute our glory for God’s…and that’s not a fair exchange…not even close!

I can’t begin to give an opinion on what your specific plan is in God’s economy. That’s why it’s so important to walk in community with other believers who can affirm the specific gifts evident in your life. Everyone needs encouragement!

We need help in another area also. A community of peers can also caution you from attempting something God never wired you for. The idea that you can do anything you want to do is a huge myth! Just look at some of the people who audition on American Idol.

You can’t do everything. But you can do something. Set your ultimate sights on glorifying God. He’ll clarify the details.

It’s a great place to start.

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” – Gal 1:10

Every day, most of us face a multitude of choices. What time do I need to get up? What will I wear? Do I take a shower (hopefully an easy decision)? Breakfast bar or cereal? Interstate or backroads? All this before we even make it to our first destination!

Some of these are pretty trivial. Do I take the elevator or stairs? Some choices are much weightier. Can I forgive this person? What will they think if I attempt to share my faith? This is a risky decision, what if I fail?

The lynchpin of this decision making process rests with this question: what’s your aim?

Desire vs. Motive

Discovering the nature of our aim really gets down to a question of desire vs. motive. Desire is fleeting. Selfish. It changes with circumstance. Motive is much deeper. It’s the driving force behind our desires. Motive influences and shapes our desires. Our desires will ultimately determine our actions.

What we want to do in any given moment is deeply dependent on what we treasure most. It is what we treasure that determines the decisions we make. Jesus said our heart follows our treasure (Matt 6:21).

In this passage, Paul is talking specifically about the desire to seek the approval of man or the approval of God. Are we more concerned with what people think or what God thinks? With what he wants or what I want?

Progression

The more intimate our relationship with God, the more our  motives are conformed to his image, thus influencing our desires, which leads to action. It looks like this:

God -> Motive -> Desire -> Action

It won’t work the other way (which is normally what we try). We try behavioral modification. Jeremiah said our hearts are deceitful and wicked (Jer 17:9) and we must deal with that if we have any hope of change.

We make futile attempts to change our actions without dealing with the underlying heart issue. That’s like trying to fix a piston in my car’s engine by putting Armor All on the tires!

New Desires

Thankfully, God is in the business of heart change! One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible is:

“Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.“
Psalm 37:4

This is amazing stuff! As I become more satisfied in him, he shapes the desires of my heart. But, this verse gets misapplied often. We want it to say, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you what you want“. That misses the point completely!

God does much more than giving us WHAT we desire…he gives us NEW desires! And that really is so much better.

How’s your aim? Maybe it’s time for a heart check.

“Paul, an apostle— not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead” – Gal 1:1

Qualification
Paul had a unique qualifier that we don’t have today (at least not in the exact sense he was speaking). He was an Apostle – with a capital “A”.  Paul listed himself as the last Apostle in 1 Cor 15:7-9. Apostles in this sense can be compared to the Old Testament office of Prophet and they had the ability, responsibility, and calling to write Scripture. To be considered an Apostle, general orthodoxy through the ages contends that the individual must have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes and be commissioned specifically by Jesus as an Apostle (literally meaning ‘sent one’).

Authority
The basic authority of the office of Apostle is rooted in the power of the resurrection. Paul demonstrates this and it was the single biggest emphasis of his preaching. Repeatedly, he was received well by the Jews in a town – until he brought up the resurrection. The resurrection still stirs up visceral emotions today! People are fine with you talking about the moral teachings of Jesus (even in other religions), but the resurrection forces us to contend with the divinity of Christ.

Mission
Paul was a man on a mission. He purposed in this letter to his friends in Galatia to deal with the issue of legalism. With the risen Christ in full view, how can some claim justification by religious ritual or demand that others observe ceremonial tradition? Simply put…they can’t! This is the thrust of this short letter and Paul begins with his credentials – not his earthly accomplishments or his vast knowledge of the Scriptures, but with his calling as an Apostle. This is equivalent to Paul saying, “Thus saith the Lord…“

Have you ever felt like you just don’t measure up? No matter how hard you try you just don’t cut it? Yes, I love Jesus and do my best to follow him, but the truth is, I mess up all the time! I spend a good portion of my life as a Christian feeling like a failure and have just realized I’ll never be as good as some of the ‘super-Christians’ I look up to in my life.

Sound familiar?

The letter Paul wrote to the Galatians between his 1st and 2nd missionary journeys is a fascinating and valuable read for any follower of Christ. And it deals directly with this kind of attitude. It was his earliest letter, but it dealt with an issue that plagued the church early and still exists today: legalism.

Does God love me more because of the ‘things’ I do for him? Is his love diminished when I stumble and fall? The answer to both is a resounding “NO“!

FREEDOM is the battle cry that leaps off the pages of Galatians!

An excellent commentary on the subject says:

Throughout the history of the church the message of Galatians has been needed to free men from chains of false doctrine. When the early Judaizers tried to bind men to the old commandments from Sinai, Galatians set them free. When the apostate church of the Dark Ages tried to bind men to a papal system of salvation by penance and works, Galatians set them free. When modern legalists try to bind us to a joyless religion of superior “rightness,” Galatians sets us free.^[1]

Here’s what we’ve covered so far: (and a link to the whole series of posts)

Post #1 – Speaking truth in love is hard but necessary for spiritual maturity.
Post #2 – Many speak truth but few do it in love.
Post #3 – Speaking truth in love requires direct interface with the person in question – not gossip with others.

Now let’s look at the final piece of the puzzle: What if you are the person about whom truth is being spoken?

How do you handle that?

Wow!  That’s a tough question.  I remember my parents saying on rare occasions “do what I say, not what I do“.  That’s probably good advice here.  No one can honestly say they enjoy criticism.  You think things like: If they only knew what I have to face…you think I’ve got issues, take a look in the mirror buddy!

But, since none of us are perfect, we will probably all face a certain level of criticism at some point. Here are some things to consider:

1. Consider the source – Criticism can come from all sides.  While God can give anyone insight into a particular situation, I very naturally trust the counsel of my close circle of influencers more than the comments of a stranger.  Why?  Because they know me and have more insight into my motives.

2. Get a second opinion – Ask someone else you trust to consider this.  This is not a good exercise for a mom or that friend who would never disagree with you.  I love having people in my life that feel comfortable calling me out!  It’s why I always maintain a relationship with an accountability partner.  Someone who has open access into any area of my life and will be honest with me – even if it’s not what I want to hear.

3. Lay it down – THIS IS HUGE!!!   This is a common place for breakdown.  It’s at this point you have to bare your soul to God and repent first.  David confessed it was against God and God alone he had sinned.  Spiritual reconciliation has to occur before any real or meaningful relational reconciliation between individuals.  Recognition before God that an action, attitude, or behavior is sinful places it consciously under the power of the cross!  That’s where the blood of Jesus can transform a situation and develop the new creation He has made us in Christ!

4. The human factor – Sometimes there may be relationships or situations that need mending.  This cannot be adequately dealt with until the spiritual issue in #3 is taken care of, but it cannot be skipped either.  Sometimes we just have to say “I’m wrong”.  This is also a good time to recognize the one who brought the matter to your attention to begin with.

5. Move forward – There is no way to predict the response of people.  Some will embrace you – others never will.  Some hearts are wired to hope for the best – others just need something to talk about.  There will come a point in time (and it’s different for every situation) where you simply have to accept that you have done all that you can.  You are right with God and you have made every effort to be right with people.  Then you have to move forward.  There is no condemnation in Christ and no time for you to hang your head!

6. Check-ups – It’s probably a good idea to keep a check on your progress in dealing with an attitude or behavior.  Again, it’s critical at this point to have meaningful relationships with people that will hold you accountable.  It’s also a good idea to ask God how you are doing in this area.

This is not exhaustive and there are unique situations…but this is a good outline when you are the one that has to deal with truth being spoken to you.

As we’ve already noted, speaking truth in love is not easy. Most people can’t or won’t do it.  Many people speak truth but forget the love.

Here’s another common pitfall:

Speaking truth in love does not mean sharing with a friend the issues you have with someone when you haven’t confronted the individual you need to…even when it’s cleverly disguised as a prayer request!

That’s NOT speaking truth.

It’s COWARDICE.

That’s NOT confronting in love.

It’s GOSSIP.

…Don’t give in to that temptation.  If you’re the one telling the tale – CUT IT OUT!  If you’re the one listening to someone else – confront them. Tell them not to talk to you about a person when they won’t talk to the person they have the issue with.  They might get hurt…maybe even mad.  That’s OK!

Refuse to give an audience to that kind of trash.

No good will come from it.

This is one of the hardest things to do, but here is something interesting about it. There are a lot of people who can speak truth with no problem. The doing it IN LOVE part…not so much!

It’s one thing to tell me I’m ugly.  We would know you are a liar and the truth is not in you!  Just kidding!

Seriously, let’s say I have an attitude that needs to be confronted.  Or perhaps someone has a certain behavior that may compromise their testimony.  It’s one thing to attack me and tell me my attitude sucks – or to assault the other person with a 10 lb. Bible and raining down a thousand verses of scripture on their heads.

That’s a whole lot different than approaching the individual from a heart of love (as opposed to self-righteousness) and humility (rather than pride, which got the devil kicked out of Heaven) hoping the best for the individual you are confronting.  People attack others and use the pitiful excuse of “speaking truth” when the truth is they do it because it makes them feel superior. That’s just wrong.

The “spiritual” formula is simple:

(TRUTH) – (LOVE) = SPIRITUAL PRIDE & LEGALISM

(TRUTH) + (LOVE) = SPIRITUAL MATURITY & GROWTH

How are you speaking truth?

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.”

- Ephesians 4:15

It’s easier to be silent.

You fear the other person’s reaction.  Will this hurt our relationship?  Will we still be friends?

You fear rejection.  What if they point out all my imperfections?

You fear change.  It’s easier to maintain the status quo.

…so a lot of us remain stuck…as spiritual infants in a world that desperately needs believers to put their “big girl” and “big boy” pants on!

What will you do? Will you speak difficult truth into a situation motivated from a heart of love?  Or will you be silent?  I’m betting some of you are truth speakers!

My progress (you can read initial post here) is slowly trending downward on the weight loss.  Still have 22 lbs to go on my quest.

I popped a blood vessel the other day trying to button a pair of pants and it only motivated me more.  No way I’m backing down now!

I have these cool new bands a friend at church brought me that I keep at the office.  There not very manly, but they basically let me do one long workout that lasts all day!

So far, the hardest thing to even attempt to give up has been the late night munchies.  I have not been 100% faithful, but I am definitely moving in the right direction.  Thanks for the encouragement!

It wrote about hearing from God in this post earlier.  Yesterday, I covered the first point…today, I will tackle #2.

Sometimes, the harder I strain to hear, the more difficult it is to distinguish between the voices in my head.

That’s right!  I have voices in my head.  Many have wondered for some time…it is now official…I have full blown conversation (even arguments) with myself, about me, and with me listening.  While it is a very cheap form of entertainment, spiritually speaking, it is less than productive.

Here’s a little more about what I mean by that statement:

1. God’s voice is not usually the loudest – If God is telling me to put the brakes on, He usually screams through circumstances or something else.  When he’s stirring something in my heart, his is rarely uttered above a “whisper”.  Trying to focus is not bad…as long as God’s voice does not get drowned out by other noise.
2. My voice tends to be louder than his – Of course he could out-shout me…but that’s not really ever been God’s style.  When I talk to myself…I always have my attention…and I AM LOUD!  The longer I debate an issue, once I think I’ve heard something from God…the more I tend to listen to myself.
3. Circumstances and emotion influence my voice – Once I start dwelling on a direction I fell God is urging me to go, I look at all the practical reasons it won’t make sense.  God always intend for us to consider the cost, but to see miraculous works requires dangerous faith.
4. I listen to other people’s voices – This is a tough one.  God expects us to seek godly council.  I listen to the advice of others regularly.  My goal is to never allow another persons voice or opinion to carry more weight than God’s.  There is a time for seeking and listening to others…but other people will never see a faith step God is asking for in your life the way you will – never.

This is counter intuitive.  Usually, we focus and listen intently when we are trying to hear something specific.  That’s really what we’re going for in this example…we just want to make sure we’re not listening to the wrong things.

Again, my experience has been confirm with what I posted yesterday and watch out for today’s.  For me, the longer I roll something around…the more succeptible I become to listening to my own voice or someone else…instead of God!

I mentioned two things in this post about hearing from God.  I am going to unpack the first statement I made today.

When I think I have heard from God, I usually have.

This is my experience.  It does not have to be yours.  But I have found when I think God has been saying something to me, regardless of how many “fleeces” or checkpoints I create in my own mind, I will end up…most of the time…right back where I started.

Of course there are exceptions to this…because I am fallen and redeemed by God’s grace. Yet I am still quite capable of infusing my own selfish desires into the mix…and even worse…blaming God for it!

So…here’s some indicators I use to weigh the situation:

1. I know what His voice sounds like – I am a child of God.  Just like my children know what my voice sounds like, I can recognize his voice…because I have heard it before.
2. I rarely agree with it (at first) – Hence the reason He is speaking to me…DUH! He is speaking to me to get me to do something I would not naturally do myself.  If I sense God’s tugging and I immediately say “God, that’s a GREAT idea!” I am automatically suspicious.
3. It often requires some level of persecution – It always makes me laugh to hear people say, “The safest place to be is inside the will of God”…not because it’s not true…but because they usually mean “If you’re obedient to God, He won’t let anything bad happen to you”.Can I just say that is total CRAP! The Bible says all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Paul and Silas were fully obedient when they went to Macedonia.  Where was the first place they ended up? Jail.  I have learned though that I would rather be in the jail God put me in than the place I choose for myself!
4. It comes in the normal course of following Him where I am – God speaks most clearly to me when I am already being obedient to what I know he wants me to do.  Whether revealed in His word or something specific He wants from me, God speaks to me from a position of obedience.Don’t get me wrong, He will get my attention when I am disobedient…but then there is no question where that’s coming from.  Disobedience hinders communication with God.

This is what goes on for me.  I use these as some common ways to identify God is speaking to me.  Tomorrow, I will share about point 2: sometimes, the harder I strain to hear, the more difficult it is to distinguish between the voices in my head.

Sometimes it’s the amazingly simple tugs from God that result in the most profound works of God in our lives…if we are listening.

Talking with some friends recently, I was reminded that we all want the whirlwind experience of Job, but can easily miss the quiet whisper of Elijah.

My experience has been:

1. When I think I have heard from God, that usually means I have.
2. Sometimes, the harder I strain to hear, the more difficult it is to distinguish between the voices in my head.

I am going to unpack these two statements this week.  These are my experiences and your’s may be different.  My desire is that this would help someone who is seeking Him, hear clearly from God.

I went to the doctor the other day for a sinus and bronchial infection I have had for about 7 weeks.  What I discovered while I was there was HORRIFYING!

Since shortly before I broke my ribs on June 13 (post here and here), I have been less active than normal.  As a result I have gained 24 lbs in less than 2 months!!!  OH MY GOSH!!!!

I have set a target of 35 lbs to lose and I am going to periodically post my progress.  Anyone is free to openly hold me accountable! I am serious about this.

It has been 5 days since that doctor’s visit and I am down 4 lbs.  31 more to go!

Yet it’s not a deterrent to change. Change must and will occur…and it has been and will be difficult. But that cannot discourage our resolve because it’s only on the backside of change that we see the greatest benefits.

The casualties of change are numerous. Wars have been fought over change. Lives have been sacrificed to the cause of change. Why pay such a high price to change a situation? Why not acquiesce to the likes of discrimination, subjugation, racial inequality, or even acts of terror? Why will a bold few cast aside fear and refuse to accept the necessity of status quo? Simple…because change is worth it!

For the first time ever (that I am aware of), the Church is shrinking. We are hemorrhaging souls! To sit back and glibly attribute the crisis to the fact that the world is going to hell in a hand basket is UNACCEPTABLE! The world has always been destined for hell. But, believers are called be salt and light in a world that is in the midst of desperation!

Anyone who thinks the kind of change that’s needed is as simple as playing contemporary music or producing a fancy light show is missing the whole point! Jesus Christ is the only means of building the church. The Bible’s pretty clear about that here and here. We have the most relevant message for the whole of creation…but there’s one problem…creation is not listening!

I wrote in an earlier post that change necessarily had to occur or we become irrelevant. We exist at a time in history where the church is unbelievably disconnected from the culture we are trying to reach. To bridge that gap…we must change.

We must identify with those we would reach with the love of Jesus! Identification does not mean conformity. It does not mean compromise. We must connect. We must identify. We must change.

It will be hard.

It has to be done.

It will be so worth it!

[EDIT] – I just read this post from Gary Lamb that echoes my series of posts on Change.

January 31, 1829

President Jackson,

The canal system of this country is being threatened by the spread of a new form of transportation known as railroads.

… if boats are supplanted…serious unemployment will result. Captains…will be left without means of livelihood,[and] farmers now employed in growing hay for horses…boat builders …and harness makers would be left destitute… canal boats are absolutely essential to the defense of the United States.

As you may well know, Mr. President, railroad carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour by engines which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.

Martin Van Buren

Obviously, we overcame. Unemployment was transformed into new career opportunities. Boat builders and harness makers adapted to change. We have discovered even newer means of transportation. Why did we overcome? Because we had to! Change was coming regardless of opposition.

Some will grumble, others will protest, and occasionally there will be organized forms of opposition. But in the end, change is an inevitable necessity! Change has to happen…or we become irrelevant. If you don’t believe me, answer some of these questions:

• Do you enjoy listening to the 8-Track player in your car? Or even your cassette player?
• How many times a week do you use a microwave?
• Do you grow your own food or purchase it from your favorite grocer?
• How many of you have bathrooms in your home without the benefit of indoor plumbing?

This could go on endlessly, but the point is it was not that long ago that any of these things were the norm. Even still, each of these changes was met with its own group of resistance. Yet each time, relevance led to adaptation and ultimately the status quo changed! Did you notice that? What may have seemed radical at the outset became normal. To move backward is abnormal!

What is normal today will be replaced again and again in our personal lives, in society, and yes – in our churches! Our message is the same…and Jesus Christ is ALWAYS the SAME. How we communicate in a world that has redefined the expectations of communication must change! Why is that so hard to get?

We are all works in progress. We all must encounter change. I say embrace it! Look forward to it! Paul said it great here when he said “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”!

To be continued…

This innate feature is genetically imprinted within our souls. We are built with natures that are resistant to change. Paul highlights that in Rom 7 when he expresses his own inability to resist his sinful nature. It’s not just our best efforts that are thwarted by this change-resistance. Someone once said that some people are prone to change once they see the light, but others will change only when they feel the heat. It seems that whatever the circumstance, human beings are quite naturally resistant to change.

Why? Because change is hard! There is nothing easy about change. On the individual level, change requires chiseling, chipping, refining, and reshaping elements about us that quite honestly we’ve become attached to. Sometimes it means gentle adjustments – and sometimes an absolute overhaul is required!

I had a pair of blue boating shorts since I was in high school. Actually, they started out blue, but over time they turned a sort of purplish-red with some spots of bleach. They were my favorite pair of shorts. The waistband pretty much disintegrated back during the Senior Bush’s administration. I loved them. Tabitha did not. The damage was irreparable. The only thing to do was to chunk them and start over.

Sometimes, the shape of our lives is like that. God pretty much drew a line in the sand in Jer 18:3-6 concerning his prerogative about putting His hands in our business. He said that He (as the potter) can shape us (as the clay) in whatever way “seems best to him”!

If navigating change is tenuous for an individual, than it is extremely difficult for a church (made up of a lot of individuals)! Sometime, much like my old blue shorts, we embrace the familiar rather than consider a fresh direction. Often in doing so, we settle for ministries of mediocrity because they “feel safe” rather than expose ourselves and take a risk. Instead of obeying God, we placate our people by bowing to the gold standard of Holy Spirit deterrence, “We’ve never done it that way before”!

God help us for watering down our convictions to the place where man’s approval is more coveted than that of God Almighty! Paul said in Gal 1:9-11 if he wanted to please man, he wouldn’t be servant of Christ. Far too long, the church has escaped the temporary discomfort of change and settled for status quo. This isn’t a new problem! Jesus said, “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men…you have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!” (Mark 7:8-9)

No more! It’s time to embrace change. Is it hard? Of course! But it’s absolutely necessary…that’s the next post.

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