Category: Pastor’s Notes

Article updates from the Pastors of Believers City Church, Menomonie, WI.

March 1, 2020 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

If you grew up in a Christian home, you are likely familiar with the phrase “All things work together for the good.” Personally, I’ve recalled these words to memory at least a thousand times since junior high. Many of us look to this promise of a brighter future, in the midst of difficult circumstances. And we put our trust in these words because they aren’t just some nice sentiments, but were penned by the Apostle Paul in the holy scriptures. In fact, Romans 8:28 is one of the most referenced bible verses by both Christians and non-Christians alike to encourage, to comfort, and to provide hope for the future.

Is it really true?

We might not admit it openly, but in times of hardship, we can quietly wonder if all things really are working together for good. Consider those who have walked away from God, whose lives are a mess, who seem to be spiraling toward disaster. They once claimed to be a Christian. Is everything working together for their good? Consider those who attend church weekly, but are constantly in spiritual turmoil, are personally unfulfilled, and are full of complaints? They claim to be a Christian. Is everything working together for their good? If this verse isn’t true in their lives, are we trusting in empty words?

Suffering…

Add a little suffering or difficulty to our lives, and we really begin to doubt. Yet, this is who Paul was trying to encourage with these words. He was writing to those who share in Christ’s suffering. (For further study on suffering, listen to the message “Suffering” from Romans 8:17-28 by Pastor Tim Dodson.)

Due to our present suffering, we can also come up with theological arguments to defend Romans 8:28 while denying its spiritual and practical implications for our lives. For example, we may agree that all things are working for God’s good, but not necessarily for ours. The problem with this argument is that Romans 8:28 isn’t talking about what is good for God… The verse continues “all things work together for the good… for those…” The good that God intends is for us personally. When we argue that this verse is all about what is good for God, we conveniently sidestep the honest examination of our lives. Are all things working together for the good… for us? And if not, why not?

If we love God…

The living bible continues the verse this way, “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good… if we love God…“ The word “if” is a qualifier. Meaning in order for all things to work together for good, we must love God. This is one reason why things might not be working out.

Our greatest call in scripture is to love God (Matthew 22:37-38)… and we are told to do so with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27). But does God have our innermost affections? Do we meditate on him in the evening, like David? Do we wake up before the morning light to spend time with Him, like Jesus? Are we diligently applying our minds to His scriptures? Do we serve Him with all our strength?

God isn’t expecting perfection… But He does know those who are His… and those who truly love Him. Do we love God? If not, we cannot expect all things to work together for good. In fact, we should expect quite the opposite.

And are fitted into His plans…

The living bible finishes the verse this way, “And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God… and are fitted into His plans…” The word “and” indicates this is the second qualifier. Meaning in order for all things to work together for our good, we must be “fitted into His plans.” This is another reason why things might not be working out.

We must evaluate our life in the context of His plans. Are we living where he wants us to live? Do we involve ourselves in the church He wants us to be in? Are we working the job he wants us to work? Do we serve in the ministry He asked us to serve in? Are we being who he created us to be?

We may not have all the answers to these questions. King David started out as a shepherd boy, was promoted to a music leader, then a captain of the army, before becoming King of Israel. We may not be at our final destination today. But are we on the right path? If we are sidestepping his plans today, we have no guarantee that things will work together for our good in the future. In fact, they probably won’t.

Putting it all together…

If things just aren’t working out for us spiritually or practically, it may be time to reevaluate our lives in the light of Romans 8:28. Perhaps God is calling us out. He may be asking us to love Him… and we haven’t been. He may be telling us to abandon our plan… because He has a better one. Do we trust Him? Will we repent where we recognize we are out of line?

But if we are loving Him… despite our numerous imperfections… And if we are fitted into His plans… to the best of our limited understanding… He wrote Romans 8:28 to encourage us. He wants to remind us today that all things really are working together for our good. Peter puts it this way, “He will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life” (2 Peter 1:3 TLB). Do we trust Him?

He’s a good God. He loves us. And He has our best interests in mind. May we love Him… And be fitted into His plans…

February 1, 2020 Believers Church

Grow up

These days, at least with the older generation, it is culturally imperative that one becomes self-sufficient. I think most of us would agree that a capable and able person should have the capacity to stand on their own two feet. One should be able to take care of herself vocationally and pay her bills. One should be able to hold a job, keep a home-life, feed and clean himself. While this is all good and beneficial for everyone involved, I wonder if any of that affects our great need for God.

That said, we have such odd dichotomies in our society. Young people remain under their parent’s roof and protection much longer than they used to. They rely on parental-bailouts much longer than before. They’re still found under their parent’s insurance and cell phone plans into their early 30’s. And yet, they are so quick to claim in adulthood over their sexual practices, vocations, and life choices. Something’s wrong here. Time to get real.

The Missing Factor

One missing aspect of my pre-adult years was a tangible understanding of God’s presence. Though I went to church as a kid, this was never shown me on paper or in practice. I did learn about responsibility, morality, stability, and consequences. However, when these qualities remain untethered to righteousness and the cross, they develop some pretty distasteful pride and self-assurance. When you grow into adulthood with a strong foundation of responsibility, but miss out on learning our need for God, you naturally doubt God. “What do I need him for? I’ve made it this far without him.” I have come to believe that children must be trained to know God and shown how to rely on God so that when they depart the oversight of their parents, they’re prepared to walk dependent on God. Sadly, this is not usually the case.

Feeding at the Trough of the Culture

One of the popular axioms of our day is, “You Got This!” It’s like giving candy to a little kid, isn’t it? When someone says, “you got this”, it makes us feel strong and capable, but whoever stops to ask whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing? We have different personalities in our culture: those who plow ahead thinking they can do anything and those who do little because they are incapacitated by fear. One is admired/ridiculed for their fearlessness/recklessness, and the other for their overt caution/lack of gusto/laziness. Whether you are an extreme risk-taker or the bastion of life-safety, you arrive at both of those places on your own. It requires no other influence but your own power. Given enough time however, we all discover none of us have ultimate control over either of these lifestyles. The risk-taker will someday go too far and the fearful one will atrophy. Which will we be? At this point, it really doesn’t matter because they are both flawed.

The Wake of Disaster Without God

How many disturbing life-events or habits will it take before we realize that Jesus meant what he said in John 15? Wrong turns. Terrifying crashes. Ruined marriages. Lost jobs. Premature declining health. Virtual bankruptcy. Heartbreak. Sexually transmitted diseases. Perversion. Unwanted pregnancy. Hellacious godless children leaving the house. Credit card boat anchors. Extravagance. Fashion trend pressures. The need to be liked by everyone. Drunkenness. Substance abuse. Tobacco addiction. Uncontrolled temper. Depression. Hopelessness. Untamed selfishness.

John 15:4 “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

The point Jesus makes here is that we’re to be “continually” dependent on God. He clearly explains that life apart from Him is no life at all; it’s worthless! It makes no difference whether you are the risk-taker or fearful. Apart from Him, we can do nothing! In fact, unattached branches are meant to be picked up and burned because they are withered and lifeless (risk-taker or fearful). Do you want life? –remain in Him… continually.

The Prize at the Bottom of the Box

Stop thinking about dependence on God as something that is situational and contingent upon the difficulty of an issue. It’s our tendency to only seek him for “big” things. We reach for God like he’s in the medicine cabinet next to the Advil. “When that pain sets in, reach for Christ-afed.” [insert cheesy radio voice]. Instead, think about it in terms of relationship. It’s eye-opening when we come to realize that Christianity is not about knowing what God can do for us so much as it is to know God; the real prize. When we know him well, we see the world for what it really is. Because of that, we take his hand and begin to step through this life with his guidance, experiencing what he wants for us. Without him, we may do many things that seem exciting, fun or safe but they have no meaning; no purpose. Sure, you’re independent… Good for you! But is it worth anything in the Kingdom?

Galatians 6:8 “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

January 1, 2020 Pastor Tim Dodson | Menomonie

Ok…so I’m a bit uneasy. Perhaps knowing that fact does little to endear myself in the hearts and minds of my church brothers and sisters. I guess I feel like as the Pastor that I am supposed to be the bastion of enduring strength.

As I look out “across the river” at 2020, I wonder now where we are to go from here. Is it our destiny as a church to plod down that well-paved road of religion in America? It’s not that I am disappointed in how far we have come over the past 30 years as a church. Nor am I saddened by the lack of advancement into the territory of the enemy. It’s really not that at all. In fact, the journey has been extraordinary! Yes, bumpy for sure, but what a ride!

It’s more of a trepid feeling of the future, really. The idea that it would be very easy now to settle into a spiritually comfortable rocker on a porch somewhere and wait for Jesus to come pick us up. But I also have a real sense that there is more to do. MUCH more to do really! Maybe it’s my age and strong desire to finish well, but I don’t want to rest and I still have fight inside me. But is that how my church family feels?

Over the past year it seems on various levels and multiple platforms that God has been questioning us as to our personal and individual lifestyles. We’ve talked a lot recently as a church body about simplicity and priorities, but has His message gotten through? After all, the pull of the world is strong, and our tendency will always be that we deserve our comforts and possessions. So we indulge and we accumulate. And over time…subtly and quietly we start to look just like the world. We dress the same, drive the same cars, listen to the same music, and watch the same movies. We raise our kids the same… (failing at the same rate), our marriages are the same, our vacation time is the same, our houses look the same, our time and priorities are spent the same. Most of all, just who is our model? Because most often the ‘bar’ is set by the next guy in the pew beside us!  2 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT) speaks of such saying “But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!”

Somewhere along the way…if we are under the belief that we are actually still in the game, we have to stop and evaluate. And most of all, be honest with ourselves…

There are many “mirrors” that we can utilize in scripture for this task. One of which is in Luke 7…the story of Jesus’s visit to the house of the Pharisee. Jesus was “in the house” but it wasn’t the Pharisee who was receiving the kudo’s… it was a woman who had every reason to see herself us the last in line for the attention of the Son of God.  Verses 37 and 38 tell us that “she brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil… and stood at His feet behind Him weeping. She began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.”

I wonder how long it has been that each of us have put ourselves in her shoes? No, not philosophically, but in reality! How long has it been since you embraced such a radical manifest of love toward our redeemer? Or maybe…there is no ‘radical’ left in you? Do we remember…like that woman, the magnitude of what we were forgiven of? Have we embraced a soft “suburban-style” faith?

Recently Vice President Mike Pence’s gave the commencement address at Liberty University where he warned his audience they’d leave Liberty to live and work in a country that doesn’t particularly like them:

“My message to all of you in the Class of 2019 is — derives of the moment that we’re living in today. You know, throughout most of American history, it’s been pretty easy to call yourself Christian. It didn’t even occur to people that you might be shunned or ridiculed for defending the teachings of the Bible.

But things are different now. Some of the loudest voices for tolerance today have little tolerance for traditional Christian beliefs. So as you go about your daily life, just be ready. Because you’re going to be asked not just to tolerate things that violate your faith; you’re going to be asked to endorse them. You’re going to be asked to bow down to the idols of the popular culture.” [Vice President Pence via The White House]

Sadly, Christianity as a movement has largely already “bowed down to the idols of popular culture.” We have essentially made ourselves comfortable in a world that is ok with your faith as long as you don’t open your mouth about it. Are we ok with simply “fading away?”

“Give me one hundred men who love only God with all their heart and hate only sin with all their heart and we will shake the gates of hell and bring in the kingdom of God in one generation.”

— John Wesley

Pastor TIM

December 2, 2019 Believers Church

What’s your method?

Sometimes we need a reminder that the Bible is wholly and completely a message about God; who He is. It’s when we read it to discover Him that we gain true wisdom and understanding in this life; not because we gain Biblical knowledge but because we get God. Sadly a lot of the time we don’t read it to discover Him but to aid ourselves. In other words, we look through the pages of the bible so that we might gain temporary hope, situational comfort, or a means to a better life. With this in mind, it’s not a stretch to think we just might be putting the Bible and the power of God on par with self-help books and rehab programs. By reading the bible with that intention we come up short. God is NOT a rehab program. Neither God or scripture is a means to “self-help” betterment.

Is it working?

When we think of church this way, we invariably disconnect the living God from His teaching thus treating the Bible as a source for helpful advice, and the church as though it were some sort of self-help seminar… which might be why you’re struggling. It’s as though we’re soul-searching our way through Christianity hoping to find ourselves. It’s a misunderstanding of God and it’s why things never seem to get better for you. It’s why you wrestle with backsliding. It’s why you feel like God is powerless in your life. It’s why you think the Christians around you favor some people over others.

What’s missing?

Ephesians 1 reveals a huge list of the blessings of God toward us. It says, “He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing…” If you continue reading Ephesians you’ll discover that God did all that He did for us because of His great love, and abounding mercy and grace. The only contingency given in Paul’s letter is that these blessings are only given to those who are “in Christ”. It’s “in Christ” that His blessings mean something to us; because we’ve come to know Him. To know Him is to discover that he is love and that he has mercy and grace toward those who are His children. Mind you, Ephesians does NOT indicate more blessings for a more favored group of believers over a less favored group of believers. Additionally, Peter says we’ve [all] been “given all things pertaining to life and Godliness” and it is understood “through the knowledge of Him.”

If you don’t know the living God of scripture, you cannot even begin to understand what He does or why He does it. When you seek to know Him, that’s when the lights come on and understanding begins. And knowing Him (His ways and purposes) leads to loving Him with a growing heart of gratitude.

How does it affect you?

Giving thanks is an aspect of the life of a Christian that is often ignored or neglected. Or if it appears, it only shows up at times when we receive those things which seem to be a blessing or a benefit in the positive. Do you know the Bible commands thankfulness? …in all things (bad or good)? Ridiculous, right? (1Thess 5:18)

Additionally, speaking of the last days, Paul says, “men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,…”  Sounds about right… Don’t we often find these qualities even within the church today? Why are we like this?

Luke 17 recounts a situation with Jesus and 10 lepers that speaks to this idea. Luke 17:12-19 says,  “Then as Jesus entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. 13  And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14  So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. 15  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16  and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. 17  So Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18  “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19  And He said to him, “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

Do you do it or wait for it?

What does it take for you to be thankful as the Bible commands? One way is by intentionally stirring up your affections for God by taking time to talk to him and reflect upon everything he’s done; where he has brought you from. Or you can just march through your life and wait until you “feel” thankful. I believe this is the reason that Christians seem to have little gratitude. If you are waiting around to feel it, the only time you will feel it is in the positive times. And even in those times, you’ll rarely connect it to the hand of God. Instead, you will attribute it to “good fortune”, “luck”, or because we’re finally receiving some well-deserved or long-overdue attention.

If you are sitting around waiting for good, you might be waiting… for good. On the other hand, if we intentionally stir our affections for God by reflecting and remembering, we can begin to exhibit some interesting levels of gratitude even in the worst of situations.

Take some time out of your week to read and reflect upon Psalm 107. Tell me God isn’t good.

November 1, 2019 Pastor Jason Gilbert | Menomonie

What do people see when they look at us? Scripture tells us that we are God’s workmanship, His masterpiece, His poem (Ephesians 2:10). We are God’s letters of recommendation. But how do those around us actually see us? Would we be described as a masterpiece, an intriguing story, to be read and told to others? Or would we be depicted as a rough draft, as a ‘piece of work’, to be discarded in a recycle bin?

The first-century church in Corinth, like many of us, was sending mixed messages. The Apostle Paul reminded this church of:

  • The means God uses for communicating His message
  • The medium God uses for recording His message
  • The resulting effects of beholding His message

Paul’s instructions were left for us today, that we might be letters of recommendation to the world around us.

The means God uses for communicating His message

What means do we use to hear from God? Many of us hear from God through bible devotions, Christian books, journaling, memorizing scripture, and bible apps. We can distinctively hear from God through His word (Psalm 119:105, 2 Timothy 3:16). We find God’s word alone to be living and active (Hebrews 4:12).

But by what means does God use… to communicate to us? According to Paul, we are a letter… written not with ink, but with the Spirit of God… not of the letter, but of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:2-6). God communicates to us, not through the letter (i.e. grammar, words, scripture, books, epistles), but through the Spirit.

Is it possible we are mistaking the means for the end? Jesus warned the Pharisees of searching the scriptures, but failing to see who the scriptures pointed to (John 5:39-40). Elsewhere, Paul warns of those who are always learning, but never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7). Is our end goal to know scripture? To be proficient with the gospel? To practice correct biblical doctrine? Or is our end goal to communicate with God? To have communion with God’s Spirit?

Paul says such is the confidence we have… not of the letter, but of the Spirit. The Spirit is who gives us confidence in our relationship with God (Romans 8:16, 1 John 4:13), not our knowledge, our understanding, our biblical doctrine. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:4-6). The Spirit is the means God uses to communicate His message.

The medium God uses for recording His message

What medium do we use for recording God’s message? Perhaps we use our bible margins, our journals, our memories, our phones, the cloud, etc. But what medium does God use… for recording His message?

Paul writes, “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ written not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). God writes his message on our hearts.

Why would God choose the human heart? No canvas is more contaminated, no backdrop more corrupt (Matthew 15:19). No environment is more fragile, with no storage more transient (Jeremiah 17:9). Yet God chooses to write his masterpiece in the most volatile of habitats, the human heart.

When the bible refers to the heart, it is referring to more than the organ. It is referring to the thoughts, feelings, middle, center; the entire mental and moral activity, including the emotions, reason, and will; the hidden springs of the personal life (Proverbs 4:23). God chooses to pen his poem on the medium of our hearts.

When hearing God’s message, where are we storing it? In our memory, in our thought life, in our journals, in the margins of our bible? Or do we allow God’s Spirit to inscribe his message into our hearts, our wants, our desires, our will? God wants more than our bodies, our obedience, our intellectual agreement. God wants the hidden springs of our personal life. Does our heart belong to God today? The heart is the medium God uses for recording His message.

The resulting effects of beholding His message

When we turn to the Lord, through the Spirit, in our hearts, the veil is removed and we experience freedom (2 Corinthians 3:16-17). We are freed from condemnation, guilt, shame, judgment, selfish desire, restlessness, and wantonness. We are feed to a new life provided by God, with patience and quietness of soul, being fully satisfied with the presence of God. Have we been liberated by this freedom today?

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). Beholding refers to a prolonged gaze, not a quick glance, as to something remarkable with wide-open eyes. Where are we looking today? Are we looking on our phones, at social media, to relationships, to our careers, for approval, for success? The old hymn says,

Turn your eyes upon Jesus... 
Look full in His wonderful face... 
And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim... 
In the light of His glory and grace...

Are we beholding His glory, today? If the light is not getting through, it is because you are not looking at Him long enough. You do the beholding. He does the transforming. There is no short-cut. This comes from the Lord, who is Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Letters of recommendation

What will people read when they look at us as Christians? Will they see someone whose communicating with God’s Spirit? Someone whose heart is filled with His divine presence? Someone whose face is beholding the glory of God? Will they see someone being transformed… to reflect the glory of His image?

We are God’s workmanship… His masterpiece… His poem…

May we be His letters of recommendation… to be known and read by all…

October 1, 2019 Believers Church

A Section from the Conclusion

Through the journey of the wilderness, Israel mistakenly believed that they left Egypt behind when they left the country. Then, amid the exposing struggle of the wilderness, their hearts were revealed to be like Pharaoh’s, and they hardened their hearts against God. They did not become the kinds of people who could hear the Word, nor did they give themselves to ways of life that allowed them to walk with God. They were idolaters, and so like the idols themselves, they became people with eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear. They were becoming like the dead idols that looked alive but had no real life in them.

Today, we face a similar problem. It takes a certain kind of life to be a true listener of the Word of God. This does not happen at random, but demands that we give ourselves to the way of Christ. Unfortunately, we can neglect to consider how modern life and technology might hurt our ability to be listeners to the Word. We fail to consider how ways of living could hurt our ability to attend patiently to God’s calling on our lives. We forget that influence and popularity are not intrinsically good. We do not notice that we are becoming like the idols in our lives, and that the rituals of God’s family are boring and lack meaning for us. But this kind of numbing will always be the fruit of idolatry.

In our calling to be fruitful for the kingdom of God, we must discern the way of God (Eph. 5:10), so we must be the kinds of people who can discern this way (Heb. 5:11-14). The “from” and the “for” of our power need to align with God and his way, regardless of how savvy, sophisticated, or skilled we are. As we seek to thrive in whatever position the Lord has called us to, we can still seek to be skilled at what we do, as long as that skill is grounded in our abiding in Christ, and our purpose is oriented to God’s calling to love. In this sense, our skill is like our unblemished lamb that we lay before the Lord in offering to him. Sacrifice was never a mechanistic reality. God wasn’t waiting around for more dead animals. As the psalmist proclaims, “You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:16-17 NASB). Our sacrifice is, in part, the mode by which we can come before God in repentance, trust, and abiding. Our skill, therefore, is the way we present ourselves to the Lord, and is the vehicle by which we abide in Christ and serve him. The focus is always on God, and the sacrifice is our means to partake in his work and live in the freedom of his presence. The more skilled we become, however, the easier it is to seek power from within; and the more fruitful our power becomes, the easier it is to seek power for control and our own glory, rather than God’s.

Power in weakness for love is power that bears fruit for the kingdom. Power in strength for control, used to achieve kingdom ends, will ultimately deceive us into thinking we’re living in the way of Jesus, when in fact we are living in the way from below. This power is the power of straw; it is the power that seems invincible, and then one day just disappears. Power in weakness works the opposite way. Power in weakness appears to be powerless in the face of this world and it may even be denounced as foolish within the church itself. We must be prepared to face opposition, rejection, and mockery. We must be prepared to be ignored and passed over for the promotions of “powerful people.” In these moments we ought to pray with Augustine: “Let the strong and mighty laugh at us, then, but let us weak and needy folk confess to you.” †

Getting Some Wise Advice

The above text is a section from the conclusion of a book I completed recently, called “The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb”. During the writing of the book, its authors (Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel) traveled various places to conduct interviews with many seasoned aged ministry leaders and pastors. Their focus was to consider how Christians and Christian leaders can undiscerningly default to worldly/humanly methods to attempt to build the kingdom. They hoped that the perspective of these wise Christians after years of walking with the Lord might have some insight. Each one revealed how easy it is for us to begin to rely on our personal skills, wisdom, and abilities to inch along the progress of Kingdom work personally and in the church. They talked about how easy it is to employ the strategies of the world to generate spiritual success.

In the text, I could really see the illustration of Israel’s post-exodus Egyptian-like tendencies and how that derailed their progress in the wilderness. See, we all struggle with internal elements leftover from our previous way of life. That’s not surprising to us, or at least it shouldn’t be. We are every one of us unfinished and imperfect in this life. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not extending a blanket excuse for us to continue living in foolishness while thinking, “well, I guess that’s just who we are…” Instead, I’m hoping to bring to light the reality that the flesh will never produce righteousness, even with our best intentions. If we can acknowledge that fact and repent of those elements and tendencies, we can humbly re-engage God and begin again kingdom work in His power rather than ours. In all honesty, presuming ourselves to be smart enough and skilled enough to do ministry is to say to the Spirit of God, “Stand back, bro, I got this… I’ll come to get you when I can’t handle things myself.” It’s a mentality rooted in our western culture proclivity toward self-sufficiency and independence.

Abiding or Idolatry

The life-lessons expressed by the sages interviewed for this book (J. I. Packer, Dallas Willard, Marva Dawn, John Perkins, Jean Vanier, James Houston, and Eugene Peterson to name a few) all circled back to the slow and tedious means by which the kingdom is built; relationship with God by humbly submitting to and following Him… talking extensively with God and listening to Him and His word. The alternative is to live as Israel in the wilderness, just as it was expressed at the beginning of this article, “They did not become the kinds of people who could hear the Word, nor did they give themselves to ways of life that allowed them to walk with God. They were idolaters, and so like the idols themselves, they became people with eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear. They were becoming like the dead idols that looked alive but had no real life in them.”

How often do you talk with God about your life, ministry, and purpose? …even the stumbling blocks or roadblocks of your life that seem impossible? Or are your conversations with God more often reduced to pleas for His help to fix things or give you things? If the disciples are any form of example to us, we need to consider their day to day interaction with Jesus in comparison to ours. It’s the gospel call to all disciples to abide in Him. From that position comes peace, hope, purpose, direction… and power in love. For what? …the glory of God and His Kingdom alone. It’s not about focusing on making your life count, leaving your legacy, or being a good example to others. The fact of the matter is if you live your life for the glory of God, you will count, leave a legacy, and be a good example; all which are a legitimate side-effect of a proper Christian focus.

Spiritual Activity in the Flesh

This issue affects our lives in subtle and various ways. Compare the effect of a father who abides in Christ before the eyes of his children versus the one who “behaves as a Christian should” in order to be a good example to his children. Which one is correct or most effective? One is done in the power of God and the other in the flesh. Assuredly the one who “behaves as a Christian should” is more concerned about how he looks than being sincere. In fact, it seems God almost guarantees we’ll look like fools if we abide in Him. Compare the Christian who abides in God amongst the Christian community to take part in the work of God versus the one who tries to “do all he is supposed to do” and “struggles to live up to the expectations of God and the church” to gain a position, attention, or some payoff. Compare the one who abides in Jesus day-to-day submitting to the authority and direction of the Spirit versus the one who lives the way he lives so that he will be remembered after he is dead. Something that seems so honorable on the surface reveals fleshly roots that are so subtle and corrupting. There is such a great pull inside us to make something Godly into a work of the flesh. We can’t take credit for something God has done which is such a blow to our ego. And claiming credit for the work is to claim control of it.

The Doorway Out

Our hope in changing direction in this common-to-man problem is in abiding in God. I believe we all could use improvement in our personal prayer with God. In another book by the same authors, they expressed that, “prayer is not the place to be good, but the place to be honest.” I encourage you to join me as I seek to deepen my relationship with God; as I grow in my desire to abide in Him more consistently; not doing the activity of prayer but communing with God. “Here I am, Lord.”

† The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb: Searching for Jesus’ Path of Power in a Church that Has Abandoned It
by Jamin Goggin, Kyle Strobel – Paperback – January 24, 2017