This the journal entry from my quiet time with God earlier today. For me, what God said to me in His word today was powerful and important. It may be for you as well. But nothing can replace adopting the daily practice of quiet time with God for yourself. This message from a year ago will explain how I approach quiet time.
Look: “And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.” (Exodus 15:24-25)
Three days after the Lord delivered the people of Israel at the Red Sea, throwing the Pharaoh’s chariots and horses who had been chasing them, into the sea, we come to this verse. The Israelites are beginning to wonder where their water is going to come from out in the wilderness.
The people have short memories. None of them stop to think, “The Lord Who controlled the wind and waves to save us can also provide us with the water we need.”
Instead, they panic.
Not only that, they seem to forget any connection they have with God, despite having sung God’s praises just three days earlier (Exodus 15:1-18). They grumble to the man they think is in charge, Moses.
But while the people grumbled, Moses prayed.
Moses “cried to the Lord.” On that, God created fresh water for the people.
God is good at making ways where there are no ways, at opening up new possibilities, of doing “a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19).
Doubters grumble about what can’t be done.
Believers submissively ask God to do what they know only He can do.
At their best, believers remember that God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…” (Ephesians 3:20) In fact, by living in the lifestyle described by Martin Luther of daily repentance and renewal, they seek to constantly remember God’s faithfulness. And in the sacrament of Holy Communion, they’s grateful to be re-membered to Jesus.
Listen: Of course, even the most fervent believers are sometimes doubters. That’s why I need to keep remembering God’s promises and God’s track record of kept promises.
Today, God extends His promises to all who believe in Jesus. Through Jesus and our faith in Him, we can know God as the One to Whom we can cry out like Moses did. Jesus says: “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7)
Jesus says that I can trust God enough to stop grumbling and to start praying: “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” (John 16:24)
The people of Israel were right in one sense. There was nothing they could do to get the water they needed. That was the reality. The problem was in their response to that reality: They grumbled instead of praying. Fortunately for them, Moses prayed for them.
When I think about the impossible things in my life, I can grumble, give up, become bitter.
Or I can pray to God in the name of Jesus, my God, Savior, and High Priest, Who died and rose for me.
When I pray like this, Jesus may help me get through the impossible; get around the impossible; give me the strength to endure; create a new path. I may die or I may live. I may suffer or get through without a hitch. I may be asked to sacrifice something of myself or I may be showered with miraculous provisions.
All of that is up to God as He works what’s best for my development as a child of God.
In any case, as I choose to pray--to submit, to surrender, to ask that God’s will be done, I learn the truth of Paul’s words: “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Romans 14:8)
Respond: Lord, I need to pray and not grumble, to trust You to do the impossible rather than thinking about what I face that’s impossible.
I need to remember that if You will something, it is NOT impossible!
Give me boldness to trust in You with the things that seem impossible, Lord. Help me to remember Jesus’ words: “...with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
As I pray that, help me to not to fall into a “name it and claim it” heresy. You are not an ATM that dispenses goodies if I only believe it enough and say it enough. You are the sovereign God of all creation. As I pray to You, help me to genuinely surrender to Your will and Your will alone.
Prayer is, before it’s anything, submission to You.
Help me to seek your kingdom first and above all else (Matthew 6:33). Help me to alter my requests to You as Your Word speaks to me and as I listen for the voice of Your Holy Spirit.
Above all, Your will be done!
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen
[I'm the pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]
Showing posts with label Matthew 6:33. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matthew 6:33. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Friday, November 29, 2013
Two Kinds of People
"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will
be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice
there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires
joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock it is
opened." (C.S. Lewis)
If we truly want the God made known to all the world in Jesus Christ, He will have us and we will have Him. And whether we truly want Him, as is true of anything or anyone we truly desire, it will be manifest in the choices we make each day.
Jesus says, "But seek first [the Kingdom of God] and His righteousness..." (Matthew 6:33)
Prayer: God, help me to be the kind of person who chooses Christ and who so chooses life. I know this is only possible by the power of Your Holy Spirit, Whose help I ask for now. I pray it in the Name of Jesus. Amen
[See here.]
If we truly want the God made known to all the world in Jesus Christ, He will have us and we will have Him. And whether we truly want Him, as is true of anything or anyone we truly desire, it will be manifest in the choices we make each day.
Jesus says, "But seek first [the Kingdom of God] and His righteousness..." (Matthew 6:33)
Prayer: God, help me to be the kind of person who chooses Christ and who so chooses life. I know this is only possible by the power of Your Holy Spirit, Whose help I ask for now. I pray it in the Name of Jesus. Amen
[See here.]
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Who Do You Put First?
[This was prepared for Ash Wednesday worship with the people of Saint Matthew Lutheran Church in Logan, Ohio.]
Matthew 6:16, 16-21
In tonight’s Gospel lesson, Jesus tells us, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them.”
He goes on to give three concrete examples:
When we give, we’re trusting God to keep providing for our needs even though we have less.
When we pray, whether publicly or privately, we’re acknowledging our complete dependence on God and not ourselves.
When we fast, we’re seeking freedom from what we want and asking God to give us only what we need, what Jesus calls “our daily bread.” (And that, above all, means Him.)
Spiritual disciplines aren’t meant to give us bragging rights, so that we can show the world how faithful we are.
All of that is easy enough to understand. It’s easy to understand too, when Jesus says that those who make shows of their acts of religious piety get the very shallow, meaningless rewards they seek: People notice them.
But the notice of people, the applause of the crowd, won’t get us what only Jesus, Who bled and died and rose again for us, gives.
To those who turn from sin and entrust their lives to Him, Jesus gives the only rewards that last after the cheering has stopped, after the crowds have turned away. Those rewards include forgiveness of sin, eternal life with God, and purposefulness for the living of these days.
Don’t forfeit the only reward worth having, Jesus is telling us in tonight’s Gospel lesson, by allowing your life with God to boil down to things you do for show.
The fact is that what people think of us doesn’t matter. Jesus commands us to play to an audience of One. The opinion Jesus Christ has of our beliefs and motives is the only opinion that will count on judgment day, when He will return to the world to judge, as we say in the Creed, "the living and the dead."
The apostle Paul knew all of this. The first century church of Corinth that he founded, after a time, became a dysfunctional mess requiring him to send at least two letters of correction, both of which the Holy Spirit has inspired the Church to include in the New Testament portion of the Bible. One dispute among many that existed in the Corinthian church was between those who liked the teaching of Paul and those who preferred that of a preacher who came along after Paul left Corinth, named Apollos. Paul wrote to say that such arguments were silly. Paul hadn’t died for their sins and Apollos hadn’t risen from the dead for them. Only Jesus could save them, Paul reminded them.
In the midst of this conflict, some of the Corinthian Christians who aligned themselves with Apollos said nasty things about Paul. Paul couldn’t have cared less. He wrote, “With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you…I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord Who judges me.”
Paul knew well what Jesus is getting at in this evening’s Gospel lesson:
The distortion to which Jesus’ words for us this evening often get subjected seems especially popular among we Lutheran Christians. Historically, Lutheranism has its roots among the people of northern Europe: Germans, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians. These aren’t folks known for being talkative or demonstrative. So, Lutherans have often taken Jesus’ admonition to not make a show of religious piety to mean that we're to never talk about our faith, never tell a friend what Jesus means to us, never invite others to come and see what God is doing in our church family. This is why Lutherans are sometimes called “the frozen chosen.”
But in what Jesus says to us tonight, He isn’t telling us not to live our faith in Him out in the open where the whole world can see it. Pull out a pew Bible and turn to page 553, please. Take a look at a passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which we discussed a few weeks ago, Matthew 5:14-16. Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Now, turn to page 557 in the pew Bibles and look at Matthew 10:32-33. Jesus says: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before [people], him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before [people], him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
Then, turn to page 572, and find Matthew 28:19-20. There, the resurrected Jesus, about to ascend to heaven, gives the Great Commission to all who believe in Him. The Great Commission is of equal importance for us as the Great Commandment, which Jesus gives in Matthew 22:34-40, to love God and love others. In the Great Commission, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
We are to live our faith out loud. We are to share Christ with others. We are to seek to make disciples of our neighbors, friends, and family members. Jesus commands us to do these things. But what He says to us this evening is a simple admonition: “Watch your motivation. If you’re out to glorify yourself and not Me, Your religious observances are meaningless.”
These are great words for us to remember as we begin the season of Lent. I knew a guy who gave up all sweets during Lent. He seemed to tell everybody he knew that he had given up sweets for Lent. “Want a cookie?” someone would ask him. “No,” he’d say, “I gave up sweets for Lent.” “Want a piece of cake?” Same answer. “Want a can of pop?” Same answer. The first twenty or so times he said, “No, I gave up sweets for Lent,” the response was predictable. People applauded him for his discipline and self-sacrifice and altogether upright behavior. He basked in their compliments. But after a time, people quit asking him if he’d like a cookie, a piece of cake or candy, or a can of pop. Without these offers and the opportunities they gave him to brag about his Lenten discipline, he found it harder and harder to stay away from sweets.
This fellow's desire for compliments isn't unique. Just yesterday, I read about a study conducted by scholars at Ohio State who determined that receiving boosts to their self-esteem was the thing that college students loved more than anything. The compliments of others can be addictive.
Taking on a discipline for Lent (or at any other time of the year) can be a fine thing. But, Jesus says, if it’s all about getting compliments, we’ve got it wrong.
The other night, Ann and I saw an interview on TV with an educated, middle clas Libyan man who had never before held a gun in his hand and, despite having so much to lose, had enlisted in the fight to bring down the dictator Moammar Gadhafi in his country. He said that, for him, it boiled down to a simple sentiment: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” We who confess Jesus as our God and Savior belong to the Kingdom of God. Tonight, Jesus challenges us to set our egos aside, to ask not what our acts of religious devotion can do for us, but how our acts of religious devotion can make us more submissive to the will of God and how they can help us to tell the whole world the story of the God Who loves all so desperately that He became one of us, died for us, rose for us, and gives everlasting life to those who dare to put Him first in their lives.
That’s the dare Christ lays before us this Lenten season, the dare He lays before us every day we live: Put Him first just as He did when He went to a cross for you two thousand years ago. Jesus characterizes His call to us in this way: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Don’t ask what’s in it for you; just follow the God revealed in Jesus, whether anybody else notices it or likes it or not.
May seeking God’s kingdom and the righteousness that belongs to followers of Jesus be our chief motivation this Lenten season…and our whole lives. Amen!
Matthew 6:16, 16-21
In tonight’s Gospel lesson, Jesus tells us, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them.”
He goes on to give three concrete examples:
- When you give charity to the poor, don’t make a show of it.
- When you pray in public, don’t pile phrases one on top of the other in order to wow the people around you.
- And when you fast—that is, give up food for a time, don’t let your outward appearance call attention to your “sacrificial” religious devotion.
When we give, we’re trusting God to keep providing for our needs even though we have less.
When we pray, whether publicly or privately, we’re acknowledging our complete dependence on God and not ourselves.
When we fast, we’re seeking freedom from what we want and asking God to give us only what we need, what Jesus calls “our daily bread.” (And that, above all, means Him.)
Spiritual disciplines aren’t meant to give us bragging rights, so that we can show the world how faithful we are.
All of that is easy enough to understand. It’s easy to understand too, when Jesus says that those who make shows of their acts of religious piety get the very shallow, meaningless rewards they seek: People notice them.
But the notice of people, the applause of the crowd, won’t get us what only Jesus, Who bled and died and rose again for us, gives.
To those who turn from sin and entrust their lives to Him, Jesus gives the only rewards that last after the cheering has stopped, after the crowds have turned away. Those rewards include forgiveness of sin, eternal life with God, and purposefulness for the living of these days.
Don’t forfeit the only reward worth having, Jesus is telling us in tonight’s Gospel lesson, by allowing your life with God to boil down to things you do for show.
The fact is that what people think of us doesn’t matter. Jesus commands us to play to an audience of One. The opinion Jesus Christ has of our beliefs and motives is the only opinion that will count on judgment day, when He will return to the world to judge, as we say in the Creed, "the living and the dead."
The apostle Paul knew all of this. The first century church of Corinth that he founded, after a time, became a dysfunctional mess requiring him to send at least two letters of correction, both of which the Holy Spirit has inspired the Church to include in the New Testament portion of the Bible. One dispute among many that existed in the Corinthian church was between those who liked the teaching of Paul and those who preferred that of a preacher who came along after Paul left Corinth, named Apollos. Paul wrote to say that such arguments were silly. Paul hadn’t died for their sins and Apollos hadn’t risen from the dead for them. Only Jesus could save them, Paul reminded them.
In the midst of this conflict, some of the Corinthian Christians who aligned themselves with Apollos said nasty things about Paul. Paul couldn’t have cared less. He wrote, “With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you…I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord Who judges me.”
Paul knew well what Jesus is getting at in this evening’s Gospel lesson:
- Don’t worry about showing others what a good Christian you are; just be a Christian.
- Don’t call attention to your acts of Christian devotion; just be devoted to Christ.
The distortion to which Jesus’ words for us this evening often get subjected seems especially popular among we Lutheran Christians. Historically, Lutheranism has its roots among the people of northern Europe: Germans, Danes, Swedes, Norwegians. These aren’t folks known for being talkative or demonstrative. So, Lutherans have often taken Jesus’ admonition to not make a show of religious piety to mean that we're to never talk about our faith, never tell a friend what Jesus means to us, never invite others to come and see what God is doing in our church family. This is why Lutherans are sometimes called “the frozen chosen.”
But in what Jesus says to us tonight, He isn’t telling us not to live our faith in Him out in the open where the whole world can see it. Pull out a pew Bible and turn to page 553, please. Take a look at a passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount which we discussed a few weeks ago, Matthew 5:14-16. Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Now, turn to page 557 in the pew Bibles and look at Matthew 10:32-33. Jesus says: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before [people], him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before [people], him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
Then, turn to page 572, and find Matthew 28:19-20. There, the resurrected Jesus, about to ascend to heaven, gives the Great Commission to all who believe in Him. The Great Commission is of equal importance for us as the Great Commandment, which Jesus gives in Matthew 22:34-40, to love God and love others. In the Great Commission, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
We are to live our faith out loud. We are to share Christ with others. We are to seek to make disciples of our neighbors, friends, and family members. Jesus commands us to do these things. But what He says to us this evening is a simple admonition: “Watch your motivation. If you’re out to glorify yourself and not Me, Your religious observances are meaningless.”
These are great words for us to remember as we begin the season of Lent. I knew a guy who gave up all sweets during Lent. He seemed to tell everybody he knew that he had given up sweets for Lent. “Want a cookie?” someone would ask him. “No,” he’d say, “I gave up sweets for Lent.” “Want a piece of cake?” Same answer. “Want a can of pop?” Same answer. The first twenty or so times he said, “No, I gave up sweets for Lent,” the response was predictable. People applauded him for his discipline and self-sacrifice and altogether upright behavior. He basked in their compliments. But after a time, people quit asking him if he’d like a cookie, a piece of cake or candy, or a can of pop. Without these offers and the opportunities they gave him to brag about his Lenten discipline, he found it harder and harder to stay away from sweets.
This fellow's desire for compliments isn't unique. Just yesterday, I read about a study conducted by scholars at Ohio State who determined that receiving boosts to their self-esteem was the thing that college students loved more than anything. The compliments of others can be addictive.
Taking on a discipline for Lent (or at any other time of the year) can be a fine thing. But, Jesus says, if it’s all about getting compliments, we’ve got it wrong.
The other night, Ann and I saw an interview on TV with an educated, middle clas Libyan man who had never before held a gun in his hand and, despite having so much to lose, had enlisted in the fight to bring down the dictator Moammar Gadhafi in his country. He said that, for him, it boiled down to a simple sentiment: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” We who confess Jesus as our God and Savior belong to the Kingdom of God. Tonight, Jesus challenges us to set our egos aside, to ask not what our acts of religious devotion can do for us, but how our acts of religious devotion can make us more submissive to the will of God and how they can help us to tell the whole world the story of the God Who loves all so desperately that He became one of us, died for us, rose for us, and gives everlasting life to those who dare to put Him first in their lives.
That’s the dare Christ lays before us this Lenten season, the dare He lays before us every day we live: Put Him first just as He did when He went to a cross for you two thousand years ago. Jesus characterizes His call to us in this way: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Don’t ask what’s in it for you; just follow the God revealed in Jesus, whether anybody else notices it or likes it or not.
May seeking God’s kingdom and the righteousness that belongs to followers of Jesus be our chief motivation this Lenten season…and our whole lives. Amen!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Funny?
The following is today's daily emailed inspiration from my colleague, Pastor Glen VanderKloot:
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Funny, Isn't It?
(Author Unknown)
Funny how a $20.00 bill looks so big when you take it to church, but so small when you take it to the market.
Funny how long it takes to serve God for an hour, but how quickly a team plays sixty minutes of basketball.
Funny how long a couple of hours are spent at church, but how short they are when watching a movie.
Funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray, but don't have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
Funny how we get thrilled when a baseball game goes into extra innings, but we complain when a sermon is longer than the regular time.
Funny how hard it is to read a chapter in the Bible, but how easy it is to read 100 pages of a best selling novel.
Funny how people want to get a front seat at any game or concert, but scramble to get a back seat at church services.
Funny how we need 2-3 weeks advance notice to fit a church event into our schedule, but can adjust our schedule for other events at the last minute.
Funny how much difficulty some people have learning a simple gospel message well enough to tell others, but how simple it is for the same people to understand and repeat gossip about someone.
Funny how we believe what newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.
Funny, isn't it?
Not really.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Scripture
Matthew 6:33 NIV
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Prayer
Dear Lord, change my attitudes about time I spend with you. Amen
*************************************************
Friday, February 18, 2005
Goal-Setting, A Christian Approach, Part 3
In the first two installments of this series, I’ve said that...
Regular readers of this blog know that one of my favorite books of recent years is The Will of God as a Way of Life by pastor and historian Gerald L. Sittser. It’s had a great impact on my thinking and my life.
As a student in college, Sittser was certain that God had called him to be a doctor. But while in college, he got turned on by theology and ministry. A new certainty supplanted the old one. Now, he was sure God was calling him to be a pastor.
To the extent that such things can be measured, he became a successful pastor.
After several years though, he felt that God was calling him to yet another profession. He was sure that he needed to go to graduate school, earning advanced degrees in History so that he could teach at the college level. This he did. Again, he was successful.
As he looked back over his life, Sittser was sure that God had called him to everything he had done. Included in this certainty was his marriage to Linda and their beautiful family. Friends told them they had the perfect life. They were convinced that in it all, they could see the sovereign hand of God.
But then, tragedy struck. One day when his mother was visiting Gerald and his family, a drunk driver struck the vehicle in which they all were riding. His wife, his mother, and one of his children were killed. Was this the will of a sovereign God for a family that had always sought to do God’s will?
Some Christians, particularly those whose lives have never been touched by tragedy or those who have never helped a friend through a tragedy, might answer thoughtlessly, “Of course.”
But such responses hardly do credit to God, to those whose lives have been snuffed out, or to the ones left behind.
After these multiple tragedies, Sittser still believed in the goodness of God. The willingness of God to share in our sufferings on a cross showed that.
Sittser still believed in the power of God. Jesus’ resurrection and His continuing ability to change people’s lives for the better are evidence of that.
But Sittser also believed that he needed to look exactly at what the will of God means.
All of his life, Sittser had assumed that the will of God was about the future. If things he thought were God’s will turned out okay, he assumed this to be God’s affirmation of his having made the right guess about God’s will for his life. I suspect that most Christians take a similar view. It’s the view I held until a few years ago.
But as Sittser looked at the Bible’s understanding of the will of God, particularly as evidenced in the writings of Paul in the New Testament, he made a discovery. In the Bible, the phrase is never used of the future, only of the present.
In other words, the will of God is not some mystery shrouding our futures which we must, through agonizing prayer and discernment, seek out.
Instead, the will of God is about how we live in the present moment. And how we are to live in the present moment is crystal clear. As Sittser writes:
So, what exactly is the will of God for our lives in the present moments in which each of us live our lives? Even a perfunctory reading of the Bible will give us the answer to that question. It would include these imperatives from Jesus:
They indicate that God isn’t terribly concerned about what profession we enter. Chefs, plumbers, teachers, carpenters, computer programmers, housewives, preachers, and others all have the same mission. So long as the profession is honorable, God’s will is the same for all of us and each of us is equally capable of pursuing it. God calls all to follow Jesus.
The imperatives also indicate that God may not be terribly concerned about who we marry, so long as we submit our marriages to His lordship.
God may not care what we volunteer to do in the Church or in the community, so long as we express His love in whatever we do.
God may not care how many children we have or how we spend our quiet evenings at home either., so long as He is at the center of our lives
God may not care where we live, so long as we seek to live for His purposes.
To all followers of Jesus, God addresses the words found in the New Testament:
This insight complicates, simplifies, and grants freedom to us as we set goals for ourselves.
(1) It complicates because doing the will of God can sometimes bring trouble, challenge, and difficulty to our lives. It necessarily means “dying to ourselves” and our old selfish ambitions so that our new God-selves can rise. [Romans 6:1-8] The martyred Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that “when Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”
We can no longer dodge the will of God as a “someday I’ll” proposition. We know the will of God and we know that it’s something that we can and should do right now.
Doing the will of God isn't always easy. It got Jesus into trouble. Why should those who claim to follow Him be any different?
(2) It simplifies things because the will of God is clear to us. It helps us to know what to say Yes to and to what we should say No.
(3) It grants us freedom because we can plan and live each day in the certainty that if our intention is to follow Christ and do God’s will, our life is being lived God’s way!
In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren identifies five purposes for every one of us:
[Read the first two installments of this series:
Part 1
Part 2]
(1) Conventional approaches to success and goal-setting, even when resulting in success as usually defined by the world, can leave us empty and unhappy. That’s because the finite, dying trophies of this world cannot scratch the itch for significance we all have.
(2) The place to start in establishing goals for our lives isn’t inside of ourselves because we are as finite and death-bound as those trophies. Rather, we must begin with the eternal God of the universe. The God Who designed us and Who, when we had gone wrong, entered our lives in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth to die and rise for us, has every right to call the shots in our lives. In the model for prayer that Jesus gave us, the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father, the centrally important petition is one that echoes Jesus’ earnest prayer in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest: “Your will be done.”The third point to be made about establishing goals for ourselves, be they the overarching direction we establish for our lives or the baby-goals that we jot down in our day planners each day, may be considered a bit objectionable by some. I would have found what I’m going to say objectionable myself just a few short years ago. But prayer, study, and life experience have convinced me of what I will assert here.
Regular readers of this blog know that one of my favorite books of recent years is The Will of God as a Way of Life by pastor and historian Gerald L. Sittser. It’s had a great impact on my thinking and my life.
As a student in college, Sittser was certain that God had called him to be a doctor. But while in college, he got turned on by theology and ministry. A new certainty supplanted the old one. Now, he was sure God was calling him to be a pastor.
To the extent that such things can be measured, he became a successful pastor.
After several years though, he felt that God was calling him to yet another profession. He was sure that he needed to go to graduate school, earning advanced degrees in History so that he could teach at the college level. This he did. Again, he was successful.
As he looked back over his life, Sittser was sure that God had called him to everything he had done. Included in this certainty was his marriage to Linda and their beautiful family. Friends told them they had the perfect life. They were convinced that in it all, they could see the sovereign hand of God.
But then, tragedy struck. One day when his mother was visiting Gerald and his family, a drunk driver struck the vehicle in which they all were riding. His wife, his mother, and one of his children were killed. Was this the will of a sovereign God for a family that had always sought to do God’s will?
Some Christians, particularly those whose lives have never been touched by tragedy or those who have never helped a friend through a tragedy, might answer thoughtlessly, “Of course.”
But such responses hardly do credit to God, to those whose lives have been snuffed out, or to the ones left behind.
After these multiple tragedies, Sittser still believed in the goodness of God. The willingness of God to share in our sufferings on a cross showed that.
Sittser still believed in the power of God. Jesus’ resurrection and His continuing ability to change people’s lives for the better are evidence of that.
But Sittser also believed that he needed to look exactly at what the will of God means.
All of his life, Sittser had assumed that the will of God was about the future. If things he thought were God’s will turned out okay, he assumed this to be God’s affirmation of his having made the right guess about God’s will for his life. I suspect that most Christians take a similar view. It’s the view I held until a few years ago.
But as Sittser looked at the Bible’s understanding of the will of God, particularly as evidenced in the writings of Paul in the New Testament, he made a discovery. In the Bible, the phrase is never used of the future, only of the present.
In other words, the will of God is not some mystery shrouding our futures which we must, through agonizing prayer and discernment, seek out.
Instead, the will of God is about how we live in the present moment. And how we are to live in the present moment is crystal clear. As Sittser writes:
...the New Testament offers no hint that Paul agonized about the will of God as it pertained to the future. He gave himself to the present because he was eager to use what little time he had to do what he already knew God wanted him to do.The only time we have to know and do God’s will is this present moment.
If we sense any agony in the heroes of Scripture, it is not in discovering the will of God but in doing it....
So, what exactly is the will of God for our lives in the present moments in which each of us live our lives? Even a perfunctory reading of the Bible will give us the answer to that question. It would include these imperatives from Jesus:
“I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die...” [John 11:25-26]All these passages make clear what God’s will is and for any given moment of our lives, give us more than ample inspiration for our goal-setting.
...”’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’...’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” [Matthew 22:37-40]
“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you...” [John 15:12]
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28:19-20]
“Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” [Mark 16:15]
“...strive first for the kingdom of God and His righteousness...” [Matthew 6:33]
They indicate that God isn’t terribly concerned about what profession we enter. Chefs, plumbers, teachers, carpenters, computer programmers, housewives, preachers, and others all have the same mission. So long as the profession is honorable, God’s will is the same for all of us and each of us is equally capable of pursuing it. God calls all to follow Jesus.
The imperatives also indicate that God may not be terribly concerned about who we marry, so long as we submit our marriages to His lordship.
God may not care what we volunteer to do in the Church or in the community, so long as we express His love in whatever we do.
God may not care how many children we have or how we spend our quiet evenings at home either., so long as He is at the center of our lives
God may not care where we live, so long as we seek to live for His purposes.
To all followers of Jesus, God addresses the words found in the New Testament:
...you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. [First Peter 2:9-10]As Sittser points out, Jesus doesn’t say that we need to go through a process of discernment to uncover what God wants us to do with our vocations, avocations, relationships, or futures. He writes:
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exhorts us not to be anxious about tomorrow but to concentrate on what we must do today...[He says] nothing about how to discern God’s will for our lives...Jesus demands instead that we establish right priorities and put first things first...Jesus only requires that we make sure our heart is good, our motives are pure, and our basic direction is right, pointing toward the “true north” of the kingdom of God. We can, in good conscience, choose from among any number of reasonable alternatives and continue to do the will of God.I agree with Sittser.
This insight complicates, simplifies, and grants freedom to us as we set goals for ourselves.
(1) It complicates because doing the will of God can sometimes bring trouble, challenge, and difficulty to our lives. It necessarily means “dying to ourselves” and our old selfish ambitions so that our new God-selves can rise. [Romans 6:1-8] The martyred Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that “when Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”
We can no longer dodge the will of God as a “someday I’ll” proposition. We know the will of God and we know that it’s something that we can and should do right now.
Doing the will of God isn't always easy. It got Jesus into trouble. Why should those who claim to follow Him be any different?
(2) It simplifies things because the will of God is clear to us. It helps us to know what to say Yes to and to what we should say No.
(3) It grants us freedom because we can plan and live each day in the certainty that if our intention is to follow Christ and do God’s will, our life is being lived God’s way!
In The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren identifies five purposes for every one of us:
- to worship God with our whole lives
- to fellowship with other Jesus-Followers
- to grow spiritually, learning to love God and neighbor more each day
- to serve others in Jesus' Name
- to be messengers for God, telling others about the free new life that comes from Jesus Christ
[Read the first two installments of this series:
Part 1
Part 2]
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