Paul starts the letter off with a beautiful offering of thanksgiving and prayer in verses 1-14 of chapter 1, which is a good prayer to pray for ourselves and others every day.  In fact, my small group did just that every day for a week and the fruit was plentiful.  Next, Paul gets to the most important thing that he wants to communicate, which is the absolute supremacy of Christ in verses 15-24.  Just take a minute and let these words sink in....

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.  He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.  And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.  For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." (NIV)

AMEN, HALLELUJAH, AWESOME, AMAZING, WOW and every other superlative in English or any other language!  Wouldn't you agree?

In the next section of the letter, verses 1:24-2:5, we get insight into Paul's efforts and suffering on behalf of the church and his heart-felt encouragement for the people he was raising up in Christ.  This is followed by a freeing and empowering section on freedom from human regulations through life with Jesus (2:6-23).  Then comes chapter 3 and the first six verses of chapter 4 where Paul gives wise and life-giving instructions for holiness, for relationships lived out in ways that honor and serve Christ, and for watchful, expectant praying and purposeful, grace-filled conversation with others.  He wraps up the letter in the rest of chapter 4 with final greetings and updates on some of his co-laborers.  And just as he began the letter, he ends it with a blessing of grace.

I love the fact that throughout all of 2010 thus far we have been focusing on Jesus in our sermon series.  First, was the series "Captivated" which was all about Jesus as an absolutely captivating King over an equally captivating Kingdom that we are invited to become captive to.  Next, the "Hidden In Plain Sight" series traced the scarlet thread of God's love and plan of redemption through Jesus that is woven throughout the magnificent story of God's interaction with His children told in the Bible.  Praise be to God that we can accept his invitation to receive that redemption and the abundant life that is ours in Christ Jesus, if we will only believe.

So, let us take our cue from Paul and set our hearts and minds on the absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ, on the truths and principles laid out for us in this letter to the Colossians, and on the other "things above" rather than on the earthly things around us.  For Christ is our life now.  Colossians 3:1-4. 

After we got everyone on the buses, I drove around the area before going to my work site at Town North Bible Church.  I saw orange and yellow (T-shirt wearing) embodiments of Jesus everywhere I looked.  It was a vivid picture of 2 Corinthians 2:14-16(a) and 5:20. 

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us [Fellowship Dallas, especially on May 2] in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere [in Vickery Meadow, Town North Bible Church, etc.] the fragrance  of the knowledge of him [and the beauty of the sight of him wearing yellow and orange T-shirts].  For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life… . We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

I served with my small group at Town North putting a new coat of paint on their exterior doors.  Then I went back to Tasby Middle School for the festival and graduation of the latest Refugee Empowerment Pathway students.  What a beautifully diverse sight all of that was.  Then I joined the team at the Biltmore Apartments as they were finishing the installation of playground equipment.  It was there that I had "my moment".  Young Hispanic and Arab boys pitched in to help us build their playground.  The pride and joy on their faces was a tremendous blessing that has stuck with me.  It makes me want to go back and get to know them and their families.  See how it works?  We go out and bless others in the name of Jesus and we end up getting blessed and wanting to bless them even more.  That's the kingdom being extended.  What a wonderful thing to be part of and, obviously, I don't need to wait for next year's "Fellowship Serves" day to experience it again. 

Thank you to everybody who served so beautifully and effectively, for being a sweet fragrance of life and a bright—yellow and orange—light of life and hope in Jesus.  We loved God well on Sunday, May 2nd and we certainly loved our neighbors as ourselves.  I know for sure that it can now be said of Fellowship Dallas that, if we weren’t here, we truly would be missed by our neighbors.  And don't fail to realize that who they would really miss is Jesus who they are seeing in us.  Let’s keep making that more and more of a reality.

It is important that we all recount and celebrate our experiences of that day.  I invite you to share your stories and moments here on this blog.

For the Kingdom,

Tommy

I’ve been reminded of this need to preach the gospel to myself anew every day as I was reading through Galatians, one of our latest stops on the journey (check out Join The Journey on the homepage of this website).  Preaching the gospel to myself daily (if not minute-by-minute) is essential lest I frustrate the grace of God, which I am prone to do.  What John meant when he told me to preach the gospel to myself is that I must everyday remind myself of (even relearn if I have to) the good news that I am justified and saved by faith in Jesus Christ, not by my works or the works of any other save Christ and not by adherence to any law, rule, doctrine, discipline, tradition, norm, or custom—be it Old Testament, New Testament, familial, cultural, societal, city, state, federal, or international.  (Think I covered everything in that list?)

I blaspheme the grace of God if I open the door even an inch to thinking that I’m justified and saved by anything other than faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  By maintaining faith in Jesus, I sign on to the truth that (1) Jesus was crucified for my sins, thereby transferring them and their penalty onto Himself and imputing His righteousness and inheritance to me; (2) Jesus was resurrected from the dead, thereby making it possible for me to enjoy a new existence of ressurection life with Him that will last for eternity; and (3) Jesus invites me to particpate daily with Him in the fullness of His grace and the incredible Kingdom-building project He has underway in the world.  It's this salvation-by-faith truth that is the good news of the Gosepl and that's what I need a daily dose of.

Let's camp out on faith for a moment.  I've always thought of faith as the thing a person needs to have in order to enter into a saving relationship with Christ, and the thing that is called for when we face trials, tribulations and testings.  But, I'm learning more and more that faith is also a way of living my life in Christ that has me trusting in His faithfulness (not my own or anyone else's) "from first to last" (Romans 1:17).  The same faith that is the through-way into saving relationship with Jesus is the same faith that I must continue and ulimately end with.  Every minute of every day for my entire life I have a choice to make--whether to trust in the sufficiency of Christ to justify, validate and empower me or to trust in someone or something else, including striving to please God that is sometimes rooted in fear or pride.  When I sin, fall short, fail God and others, I must not look down on myself and be burdened by guilt or shame.  No, I must simply look up to Jesus and rely on Him for His forgivness, faithfulness, righteounsess and power that He is extending to me.  And when I do, the Holy Spirit unleashes in and through me fresh fruits of a renewed faith.  Remember what the Scriptures teach us...

• In the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." (Romans 1:17)  
• Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)
• The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love (Galatians 5:6)
• The life we live we live by faith in the Son of God (Galatians 2:20)

There is no better time than Easter to preach anew to yourself the Gospel--the glorious good news that by grace we have been saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8).  Live your resurrection life to the full.  Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead so that you can.  Put your faith in Him and His faithfulness and that alone.

Before we answer that question, let's first consider another: “How Should We Then Live?”  That's the title of a classic written by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, one of the foremost Christian thinkers of our time.  Its subtitle is “The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture.” Let it not be lost on us that 1976, the year it was published, was also the 200th anniversary of the nationhood of the United States, which is a paragon of western thought and culture, whatever you may think of it currently.  In the book, Schaeffer takes the reader from ancient times through the Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment, right on up to the Atomic/Scientifc present.  He discusses the breakdown in philosophy and science and moves on to art, music, literature, film, and much more.  Along the way, he analyzes the reasons for present day society’s state of affairs and gives the only viable alternative: living by the Christian ethic, acceptance of God’s revelation, and total affirmation of the Bible’s morals, values and meaning.  I agree with Schaeffer, as would all followers of Christ I assume.  How should we then live?  Answer: in accordance with revealed truth from the Bible as personified by Jesus (1 John 5:20).  In other words, live like Jesus taught and lived.  He is self-proclaimed truth (John 14:6).  You know how many times Jesus says, "I tell you the truth...?"  Twenty-seven times.  The Bible makes it abundantly clear that Jesus is full of truth and truth comes through him (John 1:14, 17). 

Having hopefully established (though briefly) that the preferred and truthful way to live is to live like Jesus, how do we stop living like we have been and start living like Him?  How are our lives changed to look and feel like His?  Thankfully, it's not entirely (nor primarily) up to us.  The Bible teaches that God is the one committed to making us like Jesus once we have put our faith in Him.  He in turn indwells us, and we begin a relationship with Him. (See John 17:17, 19; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Thessalonias 2:13; and 1 Peter 1:2; 5:10.)  Just like we needed God's intervention to save us (through Jesus), we need God (through the Holy Spirit) to make the indwelling Christ real to us and to make us like Him.  However, we're not passive players in this change process.  Quite the contrary, we are called to action in response and submission to what the Spirit wants to do in us.  Paul compares our life in Christ to the training of an athlete (1 Corinthians 9:25; 1 Timothy 4:7-8 and 2 Timothy 2:5).  Check out these passages if there is any doubt about the level of love and holiness that we are called to rise to: Romans 12:1-2, 9-21; 13:9-14; Ephesians 5:1-21; Colossians 3; 1 Peter 1:13-22, 2:11-21; and 2 Peter 1:5-10.  We may be tempted to ask, does the Bible contradict itself?  Don't these verses take us back to a works-based theology thereby stripping God's grace of its meaning and effect?  No, because, to put it very simply, the opposite of grace is not effort, but earning.  We can't earn God's love, favor or help.  But, we must absolutely let that unearned and unconditional love movitate us to fully cooperate with and submit to His powerful, purposeful working on our behalf.  We confirm (to ourselves, each other and the world) that we have accepted God's love and that His love is in us by loving Him and who and what He loves (Luke 10:27; 1 John 4:7-21; 2 John 5-6).  However, we don't always (if ever) come by this love mandate naturally.  We must study it, learn it, desire it, pray for it, and practice it.  It is a process of transformation and relationship development that lasts our entire lives and it requires something from us.  We must engage with God in the process.  We must invest in developing the relationship.  It takes effort.  But the motivation is not one of earning God's love and approval, but one of fully responding to and engaging with Him in the redemption story of our life that He wants to tell and in developing the intimate, life-giving relationship that He desires with us. 

The call to love like God loves, to live a holy life as Jesus did, and to live in relationship with Him is also a call to Kingdom living.  Jesus taught on the Kingdom more than any other subject and He beautifully modeled what Kingdom living looks like everywhere He went and with everyone He engaged.  I'm loving what we're learning about the Kingdom through the "Captivated" series.  It is impacting my veiw of the world and my place in it.  Truly, the Kingdom of God involves profound and revolutionary change in how a person seeking to live a Kingdom-oriented life makes sense of his or her existence and purpose in the world.  I find myself asking how do I grow in my understanding of it all and, more importantly, in my application and experience of it all?  Once again, I know that change is required, repentance if you will.  I'm a product of the world's way of being, thinking and doing, specifically the western, scientific modern/post-modern world.  His Kingdom is not of this world so a life lived according to His Kingdom will not mirror this earthly kingdom.  It should instead mirror His heavenly Kingdom.  WOW!  That's a lot to even ponder, much less see come to fruition.  How should we go about it?  How should we then change?

In case it's not clear yet, what I'm trying to get at in this blog post is a process for transformation (or "life-change" or "repentance" if you prefer one of those terms).  I'm reading from the Apprentice Series by James Bryan Smith.  In the first book, "The Good and Beautiful God, Falling in Love With the God Jesus Knows" (Intervarsity Press, 2009), the author presents four necessary components for tranformation.  Try drawing this diagram on a piece of paper.  First draw a triangle and in the middle of it write "The Holy Spirit".  Just above the top angle of the tringle write "Adopting the Narratives of Jesus".  Out to the side of the bottom left-hand angle write "Engaging in Soul-Training Exercises".  And out to the side of the bottom right-hand angle write "Participating in Community".  Those are the four components involved in the process of our transformation into Christ-likeness:

1. Adopting the Narratives of Jesus.  We have to replace whatever stories, tapes, messages, and hauting words are embedded in us driving the way we view the world and ourselves in it.  These narratives can come from parents, siblings, teachers, and coaches, or from TV, movies, books and the Internet.  While some are clearly false and harmful, others may be good and helpful.  But, they must all ultimately be tested against the truth of Jesus.  To do that, we must study, learn and adopt His narratives (stories, truths, parables, sermons, etc.) and let those dominate our thinking, feeling and acting.

2. Engaging in Soul-Training Exercises.  Once we have the right narratives in place, we need to let them change and shape how we live.  For this to happen, we need to train, like an athlete trains for his sport, or like a musician practices her instrument.  Soul-training exercises (like prayer, Bible reading or solitude) are the means by which we grow and improve our functioning as Christians.  They are not righteousness or Christ-likeness in themselves.  "But they are wise practices that train and transform our hearts." (Smith, p. 27).  And they are the means by which we invest ourselves in deepening our relationship wiht Jesus.

3. Participating in Community.  Being created in God's image means, among other things, that we are created for relationship and community.  If it's good for the members of the Trinity (Father, Son and Spirit), then it must be good for us.  This truth about us suggests (and is reinforced in scripture) that life-change happens most effectively in the context of community.  We need others to speak truth to us, to encourage us, to warn us, and to help us along the way in our journeys of transformation.

4. The Work of the Holy Spirit.  Each of the above three components only happens when the Holy Spirit is at work in the midst of them, which is part of His "job".  As James Bryan Smith says, "The Holy Spirit orchestrates the events of our lives with the single aim of making us disciples of Jesus. [He] is at work in...subtle ways, ways we cannot often discern.  But the Spirit is at work nonetheless."  (Smith, p. 28).  It is the Holy Spirit who gives us accurate understanding of the Jesus narratives and deepens them in our hearts and minds.  It is the Spirit who comes alongside us in soul-training exercises and ensures that they have their intended effect.  And it is the Spirit who is present with us in community empowering love, grace and truth among the members and leading us all to a deeper love of Jesus and the Father.

And, so, my encouragement to us all is to embrace these components of transformation and order our lives such that they become priorities.  We must make room for them.  We must practice them.  We must learn them and learn from them.  The reason is not to earn anything.  In Christ, we already have God's unconditional love and acceptance and His commitment to bring us into intimacy with Christ, Christ-likeness and Kingdom-mindedness.  But, these components help put us in the best possible position to receive all that God has for us, to realize what He wants to do in and through us, and to experience that as reality in our lives.  And they help keep us in that one place that we are meant to never leave--that of abiding in Him (see John 15).

“Wake Up Tommy”

In the movie Brave Heart, at various times when he was asleep and about to be visited upon by some grave danger, William Wallace would be dreaming of his murdered wife.  At the right moment in the dream, she would say, “Wake up, William, wake up!”  Her wake-up call would rouse him out of his sleep just in time to avoid the danger.  The Holy Spirit has brought such images to my mind of late along with scriptural wake-up calls about the urgency of the times.  Take a look at the following.  “Wake up,” “change your life" (i.e., repent), “get out” (of spiritual laziness and a worldly, worthless way of thinking and living), “recommit” (to life in Christ), and “don’t quit”.

• Ephesians 5:13-15. Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see…. Wake up from your sleep, climb out of your coffins; Christ will show you the light! So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
• Romans 11:13-14. But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!
• Acts 2:14, 38-42. That's when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency…"Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…. He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, "Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!"  That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
• Matthew 10:21-23. When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you've run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived.
• Matthew 4:17. Change your life.  God's kingdom is here.

All of these passages are from “The Message” translation and the emphases are mine.  By God's grace and power, I will answer these wake-up calls in 2010.  They couldn't be more clear nor more timely.

“On Your Knees Boy”

A line from a U2 song called Mysterious Ways says, "If you want to kiss the sky, you better learn how to kneel - on your knees boy!"  This too has come to mind lately as a reminder that if I want to taste more of God and experience more of the reality of his presence and his kingdom, prayer is the medium.  In multiple conversations and from various sources I’m hearing a common call to a greater emphasis on prayer.  But, all are wisely saying they first want to let prayer gain greater priority in their own hearts and lives before they expect others to.  They want to walk it before they talk it.  Though I have no idea what all it might look like nor what all it might lead to, I think a prayer movement is in store for Fellowship in 2010.  That thought thrills me but also challenges me in my own prayer life, a challenge I need and, by God’s grace and power, I commit to heed this year.

“Model the Way”

Those three words came through loud and clear to the leadership of Fellowship Dallas in the results of the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey we took in October.  (We’ve started to process the results and let them impact us on many levels.  For more on this, see the January 3 “Survey Says” message and notes.)  As I let that soak into my soul, it is challenging me to more fully own the responsibility I have to be a better example to others as I go about my spiritual living and growing and my relationship with God.  I want to be a better spiritual leader for Fellowship than I am an organizational leader.  I’m starting by accepting the challenge from Gary to grow spiritually by following a simple but essential recipe for growth in general.  Like physical growth, it requires eating right and getting enough exercise and rest.  For spiritual growth, which at its core means growing in our love for God and our love for whom and what God loves, I need to…

• Feed more on the truth of God’s word revealed in the Bible and let that transform me and the way I see and act in this world.
• Strengthen my spiritual muscles through tried and true spiritual practices and disciplines like prayer, solitude and silence, acts of kindness and service, and abstinence from what I know wages war against my soul.
• Rest regularly in God so I stay alert, prepared, surrendered, and at peace amidst the busyness, trials and tribulations of life, and so I don't lose sight of the fact that any real strength or power I may have comes not from my own efforts but from God.

The tanglible expressions of these for me are to:

• Faithfully participate in Join The Journey this year as we study Acts and the New Testament letters.
• Start a small group in my home.
• Recommit to daily time in prayer and the scriptures and to a weekly day of rest with God.
• Make myself available to serve at Conrad High School, the school that our church has "adopted" in Vickery Meadow.

As important as it is for me to do these things, it is equally important for me to maintain a right attitude and perspective about why I do them.  The reason I want to grow spiritually by engaging in these things is not so I can check off another to do list and feel good about what I've accomplished.  It's because I want more in my relationship with God—more of him and more of his fruit in my life—and because I want to more fully live a kingdom-minded existence.  The reason Jesus says to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself is because he knows that is what will ultimately bring fulfillment to my life.  I was made to give and receive love; I'm made in my Father's image and he is the ultimate lover.  And the reason Jesus wants me to repent (i.e., to change my life) is because the kingdom of God is at hand and he wants me to be fully engaged with it—letting it take root in my heart and life and working with him to make it more and more the reality that it ultimately will fully be.  I am excited about the new series that we began today called "Captivated".  It's all about the King and his Kingdom.  I hope you will join us for it.  Today is January 10, 2010.  I can't think of a better time than 1/10/2010 to decide to be all in for what God wants to do in and through me and our church this year.  As I write this, I am making that decision.  I invite you to make the same decision for yourself.  I know we won't regret it and we will marvel at what God does.

Why am I writing about this, about idols?  I’ve been thinking all along that the next blog entry should be on thanksgiving, joy, peace—you know, the desired emotions and feelings of the season.  But, I just finished a new book by Tim Keller entitled “Counterfeit Gods, The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters”(New York: Dutton, 2009).  I simply couldn’t not write about its subject matter, so purifying and freeing is the effect on me of what Keller has to say.  Anything by Keller grabs my attention.  I think he is brilliant.  What God is saying and doing through him and the church he leads in New York City (Redeemer Presbyterian www.redeemer.com) inpsire and inform so much of my current thinking on many issues within the realms of following Christ, advancing His Kingdom and building His Church.  Ironically, I have to note that my heart could make an idol of Keller (or any other author, philosopher, politician, counselor, teacher, sports hero—come on, what guy wouldn’t want to be Tim Tebow or Colt McCoy after their recent performances—the list goes on and on).

Citing Paul in Romans 1:21, 25, Keller points out that idolatry is the root sin of the heart.  "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him….They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator."  Dig up any sin and dangling from its roots will be an idol.  It’s not just that we are weak and fleshly.  In every situation of sin there is something—human approval, reputation, power over others, financial advantage—more important and valuable to our hearts than God (p. 166).  It’s in service to that something that we sin.  We usually make idols out of good and right things, even things like being a great parent, espousing right doctrine, succeeding in business or ministry.  But, when we elevate those things to be ultimate things in our hearts and we look to them for our justification, security and meaning in life, we commit idolatry.

Bottom line, asks Keller, “What is operating in the place of Jesus Christ as your real, functional salvation and Savior?” (p. 174).  To help identify our idols, he says to consider the following:

I’ll add a fifth one: 5. What person or relationship occupies more real estate in your mind and heart than God?

If your results are anything like mine, you are sobered and convicted.  Here’s a sampling.  My answer to no. 2 confirmed what I already knew, that I spend too much money on too many material things that I don’t need and too little on Kingdom matters.  My answer to no. 4 revealed that I idolize job security because I experience too much anxiety over the thought of losing my job due to a bad economy, personal failures or becoming ineffective.  No. 5 exposed approval idolatry in my heart where certain people are concerned.  If I were to lose their love and respect, what I would experience would go far beyond understandable sorrow. 

Ultimately, says Keller, idolatry is setting our whole heart on something (anything) besides God.  Remember the first two commandments: "You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of ANYTHING in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below." (Exodus 20:3-4a).  Repentance and willpower to live differently are not remedy enough.  We can’t stop at identifying and uprooting our idols.  We have to replace them or “plant” something else in our hearts so the idol won’t grow back.  That something else is the love of Christ as demonstrated by His birth, death and resurrection all for the sake of saving us from the destructive and deadly consequences of our idolatry.  In short—surprise, surprise—it’s the Gospel.  But, even knowledge of the Gospel truths doesn’t replace our idols.  We have to take that cognitive knowledge and work it into our hearts and imaginations as life-shaping and life-changing reality.  And for that we need patience, perseverance and spiritual disciplines (or practices) like private prayer, corporate worship and meditation.  Spiritual disciplines are basically forms of worship and it is worship, says Keller, that finally replaces the idols of our hearts (pp. 171- 175).  Remember the second part of the second commandment: "You shall not bow down to them or WORSHIP them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." (Exodus 20:5a).  Two excellent works on spiritual disciplines are Richard Foster’s “Celebration of Discipline, The Path to Spiritual Growth”(New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998) and Dallas Willard’s “The Spirit of the Disciplines, Understanding how God Changes Lives” (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1988).

I hope I’ve stirred your heart to consider any idols that lie therein and to replace them with the loving God who made you, saves you, sustains you, and who, ultimately, will glorify you.  As I read and processed all this, my heart was eventually filled with gratitude, peace and joy like I have not known for some time.  How wonderful that the Spirit left me with these since they were the very things I was first after when I started thinking about this blog entry. 

Sounds like an ad for a health spa, right?  Well, not only do these words apply to the body, they also apply to other parts of the soul, like our heart, mind and spirit.  "Soul" is defined by Dallas Willard"as the hidden or 'spiritual' side of the person. It includes an individual's thoughts and feelings, along with heart or will, with its intents and choices. It also includes an individual's bodily life and social relations, which, in their inner meaning and nature, are just as 'hidden' as the thoughts and feelings." http://www.dwillard.org/articles/artview.asp?artID=106. 

The idea is that of one's entire existence in this life.  And my point is that all parts of our existence--physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relational--need rest and need it regularly.  I know this personally to be true.  If I am fatigued or drained in any of these areas, the others are effected.  I also know that all parts of my soul need transformation and deeply so.  Thankfully, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is supernaturally carrying out that transformation of me.  But, rest, I've found, facilitates the transformation or at least gives me a greater awareness and apprecation of it.  For me to get to a place of rest, I know I need three things: (1) Solitude, (2) Silence, and (3) Security--in the finished work of Jesus Christ and His unfailing love for me. 

Let's look at these three "S's" for rest.  The first two, solitude and silence, are pretty understandable on their face.  They mean, respectively, "get alone and still" and "get quiet and listen".  Easy enough to understand, but hard to practice.  Commitment and discipline are required and we are opposed by an enemy who tries to thwart our efforts.  For more on these, I refer you to the excellent writing of Ruth Haley Barton in Sacred Rhythms, Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation (Intervarsity Press, 2006).

For the third "S", I point you toward Good News for Those Trying Harder by Alan Kraft (David C. Cook, 2008).  Chapter 6 is entitled "Resting in Christ".  Kraft makes the point that until our efforts at growth, transformation, and obedience are born of faith in the finished work of Christ and motivated by our understanding and acceptance of Christ's love toward us and power in us, we will eventually become exhausted (i.e., non-rested).  All too often, I must admit, my efforts and motives are based in fear, guilt and shame instead of faith, love and power.  I know that's the case when I'm feeling exhausted, burned out, anxious, resentful, etc.  I know I'm not resting in Jesus' love for me.  So, I must retreat and reorient myself to a state of rest.  That starts, once again, with preching the whole of the Gospel to myself anew--that Jesus had such love for me, even in my sinful state, that he died to save me, every part of me, and that salvation involves transformation of my sinful nature to a Spirit-filled and Spirit-controlled nature.  Such transformation makes possible the abundant (overflowing) life that Jesus came to give.

I've tried here to get at a linkage between rest and transformation.  How did I do?  What are your thoughts and experiences with this?

In any event, I hope you take a deep breath and relax (your heart, your mind and your body) in the blessedness of Jesus' unfailing love for you.  He really does love you and He really is for you.  Start there.  Let that motivate you.  Now, see if you can't rest better. 

On a personal note, I realize that my view of church, ministry, and how I engage the world around me is shifting.  It's one of those paradigm shifts or sea changes that doesn't happen very often.  It's thrilling and invigorating, but at times frustrating, confusing, wearisome, even scary. I feel the Pharisee in me saying, "Nothing needs to change really. This 'new wine' tastes funny. I like my 'old wine'. There's nothing new I need to see, learn, or do in my expression of life as a believer. I just need to work harder at the tried and true."  But, thankfully, the One who has my heart (and speaks to it if I will only listen) and who continually cleans and magnifies the lenses I see through is wooing me out of any entrenchment or constriction that limits the freedom and abundant life that He paid so dear a price to give me.

But, what do you think?  And, if you did hear Reggie, and accepted his challenge to be a person of blessing, I would love to here about your experiences.  In any event, I hope you come back for future weeks of the new series we're in called "Renaissance".  There is more being renewed and re-birthed at Fellowship than just our website.

For the Kingdom,

Tommy Shelton