Bring your whole self to God

Over the past decade, there has been a push to make places of employment “more inclusive”.  While that term has a variety of definitions and applications, one phrase that I’ve frequently heard is the desire to “bring your whole self to work” – and this idea is often hooked up to the argument that we’re not autonomous worker-robots simply there to do the company’s bidding.  Instead, we’re told, the ideal would be to foster belonging and acceptance, because a unified group gets more accomplished than a fractured group.

The counter-argument doesn’t necessarily advocate for a fractured group, rather the question is more around “How much of ‘our whole self’ really needs to be identified, shared, and celebrated within the workplace?”.  And this debate has volleyed back and forth over the recent years, with many businesses and employees caught in the cross-fire.

Regardless of how you view the idea of “bringing your whole self to work” – I have to wonder how much we have this same struggle in our relationship with God.  Are we holding back?  Are we over-sharing? If you’re not sure, try a few of these questions:

Do we approach God in prayer with the same robotic, formula-driven phrases because that’s what we think He wants to hear? 
Are we afraid He will get mad at us for being less-than-perfect or frazzled by the day’s events? 
Have we convinced ourselves that our issues are too small for the God of the Universe to be bothered with?
Do we feel guilty after we have an emotional outburst (anger, tears, etc.) while talking to God?
Do we think that God will “bring down lightning” or punish us for questioning His plans?

When we’re troubled by questions like this, the best place to go is to the Scriptures.  One famous psalm that is familiar to most people is Psalm 23, which starts out like this:

Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Reading through that psalm, we can find many truths that can be very comforting.  But did you know that the psalm just before it, Psalm 22, starts out very differently:

Psalm 22:1
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Completely different feeling and situation from what we read in Psalm 23.  Both psalms are authored by the same guy, David.  He’s talking about the same God in both psalms.

Most importantly – don’t miss this – God considers both of these psalms to be acceptable worship.  Psalms were not just words written on a page, but they were songs to be sung.  Can you imagine singing “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” in a church today?  And yet, the ancient Israelites sang it to God.

Take a look for yourself and survey the first verse of any number of the 150 psalms in the Bible – you’ll find that the ancient Israelites indeed brought their “whole selves” to God, looking to Him for truth, rescue, comfort, relationship, excitement, guidance, and support.  Regardless of circumstances, God welcomed them, just as they were.

So let’s stop with trying to say “the right prayer” or worrying that we don’t sound like our pastor when he prays.  Bring your whole self to God.  There’s no need to hide or pretend to be perfect.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Do not memorize this verse

Did you know that the numbering for chapters and verses in the Bible are not original with the text?  Instead, they were added later on to help us navigate the text in a consistent, reliable manner.  In fact, chapter numberings were first introduced around 1227 AD and verse numberings not until 1448 AD for the Old Testament and 1551 AD for the New Testament.

As such, we should not consider these numberings to be at the same level as the inspired Scripture text; instead, they should be viewed as helpful navigational landmarks.  Most of the time, chapter breaks and verse numberings make sense within the text; however, there are more than a handful that seem a little random or even interruptive to what the author was writing.

Many times we use these chapter-verse landmarks to help us identify truths that we want to recall later – to hide them in our heart, as the writer of Psalm 119 states.  Scripture memorization is an awesome tool to help us keep God’s perspective in focus through whatever life throws our way.

That said, not all verses are equally helpful, taken at face-value.  Check out this verse from the Mosaic Law:

Leviticus 11:30
geckos, monitor lizards, common lizards, skinks, and chameleons.

Feeling edified and uplifted?  Ok, maybe not so much.

While we might not find this particular reference to be a statement we want to immediately recall…we need to avoid thinking that because we shouldn’t memorize a verse that it means the verse isn’t all that useful.

Admittedly, taken by itself, this verse is kinda odd.  Since this is the back-half of a sentence, let’s go back to verse 29 and see if we can figure out why God would bother listing out a bunch of lizards:

Leviticus 11:29-30
These creatures that swarm on the ground are unclean for you:
weasels, mice, any kind of large lizard,
geckos, monitor lizards, common lizards, skinks, and chameleons.

Ok, well, that gives a little more perspective.  God is telling the Israelites that these lizards were unclean for them – meaning they should be avoided.  Interestingly, God gives them additional clarification about handling these creatures:

Leviticus 11:31-35, 41
These are unclean for you among all the swarming creatures.  Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening.  When any one of them dies and falls on anything it becomes unclean – any item of wood, clothing, leather, sackcloth, or any implement used for work.  It is to be rinsed with water and will remain unclean until evening; then it will be clean.

If any of them falls into any clay pot, everything in it will become unclean; you are to break it.  Any edible food coming into contact with that unclean water will become unclean, and any drinkable liquid in any container will become unclean.  Anything one of the carcasses falls on will become unclean.  If it is an oven or stove, it is to be smashed; it is unclean and will remain unclean for you…All creatures that swarm on the earth are abhorrent; they must not be eaten.

Well, that seems like a lot, doesn’t it?
Why would God get so seemingly bent out of shape about lizards?

When reading Scripture, not only is it important to read individual verses in context, but it’s important to remember the timeline context, as well.  At the time of the Mosaic Law, there are no refrigerators or freezers.  Food is always prepared fresh, otherwise it spoils.  None of the cleaning supplies we use everyday are available.  If a dead lizard fell and landed in your clothing or food or water, it would be contaminated.  Just because they didn’t know about bacteria and microbes doesn’t mean they couldn’t become seriously sick from them.  Getting a clay pot or clay oven cleaned out?  There’s no way they could guarantee that they had disinfected all parts of that super-porous material…the Israelites really were better off smashing them and moving on.

God gave these rules (and others) to both set them apart from the practices of the surrounding nations and to protect them from potential dangers/illnesses they could not foresee or understand. 

This is where the ancient rules in Leviticus actually teach us modern-day believers something…there are some commands that God gives in the New Testament that we might not fully understand.  For those instances, I would propose that God is doing with us the same thing He did for Israel – He wants us to live distinctly from the culture around us and He wants to protect us from potential dangers that, right now, we can’t foresee or fully understand.

So maybe you don’t memorize a verse from Leviticus that is nothing more than a list of lizards…but do remember the principle that God has a purpose in everything He commands, even if we don’t fully understand it at the time.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Depressed, messy prayers

There is a lot of nervousness right now about the economy and job security.  Government jobs are under heavy scrutiny, and while many private-sector companies are cautiously optimistic about the future…they’re also worried about budget constraints, talent shortages, foreign politics, domestic politics, and waning consumer sentiment – because many Americans still feel the impact of high prices.

If you’re feeling like your job security is low, then public perceptions, partisan divides, and loudly-shouted mixed opinions about economic data do nothing to alleviate your fears.  While I’m not currently there, I have been before.  There have been times in previous positions where I’ve been worried that I might lose my job for something I did, or times that I worried about moves the company was making that could eliminate my position, or times when fear and nervousness spiked because a “reduction in force” happened with no warning at all.

And in all those times, you know what always grew?  The amount of time I spent praying.  Nothing drives you to increase your time talking with God as much as having your paycheck security threatened. 

But what of those prayers?  How do you pray for help when the world around you feels so uncertain?  Especially if you haven’t talked with God 1-on-1 in a while…just letting the preacher on Sunday talk to God for you.  Should I sit up straight, fold my hands, bow my head, and close my eyes?  Do I need to drop down to my knees and (politely) beg?  Should I recite the Lord’s Prayer five times…ten times…more?  What are the right words to say?  Pastor Tony Evans has this advice:

If you have wrongly assumed that all prayer should be dignified and employ only theological jargon in your petitions to God, you have not understood prayer rightly.  Let David be your model. He approaches God honestly, pleading emotionally for deliverance.  As a troubled child depends on his or her daddy, go to your heavenly Father in your turmoil and open your heart to Him.

That is exactly what David did.  In Psalm 142, the beginning header recounts that this was written when he was in the cave.  How dark was it?  How confining?  How much despair and depression did the sloped walls communicate?  They certainly contributed to his mood and the raw words he prayed:

Psalm 142
I cry aloud to the Lord;
I plead aloud to the Lord for mercy.
I pour out my complaint before Him;
I reveal my trouble to Him.
Although my spirit is weak within me, you know my way.

Along this path I travel they have hidden a trap for me.
Look to the right and see: no one stands up for me;
there is no refuge for me; no one cares about me.

David certainly felt isolated and unsure of his future.  When he looks to the right and sees…no one, he feels utterly alone.  There was no one there to be his “right-hand man”; a warrior would have his trusted ally on his right to help protect his flank while holding his own shield with his left hand.  But for David…he looks and finds no one to care about him.

Alone.  Surrounded by cave walls.  No support.  All he sees are hidden traps up ahead. 
Perhaps you can relate. 

So David does the only thing he can do, and it is a model for us as well:

I cry to you, Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter, my portion in the land of the living.”
Listen to my cry, for I am very weak.
Rescue me from those who pursue me,
for they are too strong for me.
Free me from prison so that I can praise Your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because you deal generously with me.

There are no highbrow words, no flowery talk.  David doesn’t posture, fake being strong, or try to bargain with God.  Instead, he readily admits: I am very weak…they are too strong for me.  He can’t do this on his own.  The future, apart from God’s rescue, has no hope.

Looking at David’s example…it’s ok to pray this way.  Be raw.  Be real.  Be honest.  Tell God that you are weak, but you trust that He will be strong.

David made it out of that cave, because the God he trusted took care of him.  You can, too.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

I…I need a break

Let’s talk for a minute, ok? 

Just you and me.  Grab a cup of coffee, take a seat.

How are you doing?  Good, I hope.  Me?  Not so much.

I’m coming out of a very busy season, and I’m just now getting a chance to breathe again.  You may have noticed that for the last five weeks, the blog posts have all been “Flashback Favorites”, and for that I apologize.  My schedule has been so exhausting that I have not had the mental energy to study Scripture well and write up new blog posts to the standard I expect from myself as a teacher of God’s Word. 

But to be honest, my struggles were happening much before the most recent busy season started.  In my hard-headedness, I have ignored all the warning signs…either attempting to “power through” what I called a rough patch or simply convincing myself that “it’s only a season” – when in reality, it wasn’t a rough patch or a season…it was just my life.

During work this week, I looked out the window, and I could see the wind blowing the leaves off our red oak tree.  One leaf, then a small group of them, then two more frittered by…an uneven stream of dead tree pieces gently wisping away from increasingly barren branches.  “That,” I thought to myself, “is an apt picture of how I feel.”  To quote Bilbo Baggins, “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”

I didn’t have a name for what I’m experiencing right now, until I started the book “At Your Best” by Carey Nieuwhof.  The word for what I’m dealing with is burnout.  Experienced by many, but it’s new to me.  Common signs of burnout include time off no longer being restful, decreased productivity, no passion/emotionally flat, a cynical attitude, and a sharp decline in physical/mental/emotional/spiritual health.  I am in the midst of all of these, to one degree or another.

So, my friend, I need to take a step back.  I need calendar space and emotional grace to process what got me here, how I will move forward, and where God is in this moment.  I didn’t plan on being here.  This wasn’t my aim.  And yet…here we are.

So, this is my plan (at least, as much as I have at the moment): I need to get back to meeting with God in His Word, without the constant pressure of “How am I going to teach this truth to someone else?”  I need to step out from under the weight of a writing a weekly blog that aims to share God’s Word in a Biblically-solid, enlightening, and occasionally humorous way.  I’ve been doing this for over 11 years now, and I feel really dry right at this moment.  I have several close friends that I’ll be talking with regularly as I work through this.  I trust their godly advice and their love for me.  So, please know that I’m not going at this alone (as tempting as that might be).

Here’s what it means for THE WORD: I’m going to republish a series I walked through three years ago, because its premise is going to be helpful to me over the coming weeks.  I am hopeful that it is helpful to you as well.  As we navigate the demands of life, we move at a rather frantic tempo.  This pace rarely, if ever, allows us to pause and meet with God in the moment.  The blog series I’m bringing back looked at specific stories from Jesus’ life in the book of Matthew, intentionally “pausing” in real-life moments.  I want to get better at pausing and recognizing God in my daily moments.  My hope and prayer is that this series will do the same for you.

Just last night, before I went to sleep, I was reading through Psalm 22.  Jesus recited this psalm as He hung on the cross.  It’s profoundly prophetic that King David would write these words 1,000 years before Jesus arrived.  The entire psalm is a back-and-forth between struggling with a crushing circumstance and yet still looking to God for rescue.  Here is the verse that I paused on:

Psalm 22:19
But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.

That simple prayer, do not be far from me, is what I’ll be praying over the coming weeks.

I won’t take up much more of your time, but I would ask – if you choose to pray for me – that you would pray that I do not waste this time away.  It would be an easy trap for me to fall into.  While I do need rest, I do not need my rest to become simply escapism.  Also, please pray that I accept whatever changes God presents to me, in whatever areas of life He chooses to rearrange.  It may be time to trust Him in new ways.

Thank you for listening, my friend.  I appreciate your understanding, your patience, and you giving me grace. 

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: I don't know what to read next

Sometimes, we just need a little guidance.

I don't know what to read next

Originally posted on July 15, 2021

One morning, a guy got up early, made coffee, and sat down to read his Bible.  The problem was that he didn’t know where to start.  After a few moments of staring at the unopened book sitting on his kitchen table, he still didn’t know what to do.  So he prayed, “Lord, I don’t know what I’m doing here.  Please give me direction on what I should read and what I should do today.”

Not knowing where to turn, he decided to randomly open to a page and point at a verse.  He hoped God would guide him.  Not wanting to end up in the Old Testament, he veered towards the right side of his Bible.  He landed on Matthew 27:5, Then he went and hanged himself.  “That’s…weird,” he muttered. “God, I’m looking for guidance here…” So he flipped a few pages forward and stopped at Luke 10:37, Then Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”  Feeling a bit unnerved, he sought safety in the book of John.  Quickly turning there, he stopped at John 13:27, So Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.”

I joke, I joke.

Randomly opening our Bibles, hoping God will direct our flipping around so we land on a piece of wisdom is never a good idea.  However, wondering what part of the Bible to read next is a very common concern for Christians who choose to spend time and effort seeking God.  There are lots of blog posts, study guides, and other plans out there.  Which one to choose?

You could treat the Bible like one big book and read it cover to cover.  In fact, many people do that – only to get bogged down in Exodus and then quitting at some chapter in Leviticus.  Read-the-Bible-in-a-year plans also take this approach.  You’ll end up reading 3 or 4 chapters a day, every day.  I have finished a yearly plan like this once.  It certainly had its benefits – knowing exactly how much to read, seeing some familiar New Testament references in Old Testament passages that I don’t routinely read – but you have to be aware of the drawbacks, too.  The challenges with this approach is that you’re mainly reading for information and not life change; also your daily chunk of chapters could easily become an anxiety-driven checkbox for your day.  All in all, I’m glad that I completed a full read of the Bible, because getting a 30,000 ft view of Scripture was great – but I do not have any plans to do it again.

Over the years of reading/studying/teaching the Bible, I have found that the slower approach is better.  Take the text in smaller pieces…think about it, pray about it, and then take what you learn into your daily life.  To help with that, I offer 3 suggestions:

·       Proverbs – Whatever day of month it is, read that chapter of Proverbs.  This is my go-to if I’m not sure what to read next or if I just want to read the Bible while I eat breakfast.  Chapters in Proverbs are easy to drop in anywhere and not lose any context.  Read through each proverb and look for truths you have experienced, perspectives you might not have considered, or situations you can trust God with.  It’s ok to linger on a proverb and just think through it.  Since this blog is posted on the 15th, when I turn to that chapter, I’m immediately challenged with the first verse:

Proverbs 15:1
A gentle answer turns away anger,
but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

 We can easily see the truth in this statement, but let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?  Allow yourself the time to think through questions like:

Why do I immediately recognize this to be true? 
How do I respond to gentle answers? 
How do I respond to harsh words?
Which one am I more likely to give at work? to my spouse? to my kids? to strangers?
Where in my life can God help me to be intentional about giving others a gentle answer?

I’m sure you could follow this train of thought with a few more questions of your own.  Just one verse…and a lot of good applications that can come from it.  These are easily found when you look at the Proverbs chapter that match the day of the month.

·       Psalms – Where the Proverbs are steady, logical life-principles, the Psalms are dripping with emotion and relationship.  The shortest one is just 2 verses (Psalm 117) and the longest is 176 verses (Psalm 119).  There are 150 Psalms, so you could easily read one Psalm per day and have a five month plan laid out for you (maybe spread out Psalm 119 over a few days).  What you’ll find is a lot of raw emotion, especially in David’s psalms.  He wasn’t afraid to tell God exactly how he felt, for better or worse, and in vivid detail.  Don’t get caught up in any graphic details or cultural references you may not understand…instead look for the theme of each psalm and think about why the Israelites would have sung these lines to God.  You might be surprised to find out that ancient people and modern people aren’t all that different in their struggles, concerns, and aspirations.

·       John – The book of John is THE place to start when reading the Bible.  John’s gospel is the only book explicitly written to non-believers to explain who Jesus is, the purpose and result of His mission, and – most importantly – how to obtain eternal life from Him.  The apostle admits that he could have written about any number of scenes in Jesus’ life, but the specific ones that he selected were to convince his readers that Jesus is the Son of God and that by simply believing in Him, anyone can have eternal life.  John gives no additional conditions or requirements.  In this gospel, you’ll find that in order to obtain eternal life, you don’t have to confess all your sins, believe certain facts in a certain order, promise to live better, repent, or make a commitment to follow Jesus – while all those are good things, they are not pre-conditions of eternal salvation.  The only requirement for eternal salvation is that you believe in Jesus for it.  Don’t believe me?  John’s gospel has 21 chapters – read one per day for the next three weeks, and ask God to show you exactly what He requires.

The main thing is that we continually get into our Bibles.  There are too many things that clamor for our attention every day, and this is the book that God has crafted over the centuries in an effort to reveal Himself to us.  Don’t get hung up on what to read next…just take the next step and don’t be afraid to take your time.  It’s more important that you grow in your relationship with God than checking the box on a reading plan each day. 

The focus isn’t on how many times you’ve been though the Bible…instead, how many times has the Bible been through you?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: I don't know why you struggle

My migraines have flared up recently. Remembering what God taught me before has helped reframe my frustrations about it. Sometimes, our ailments are to be brought before God as a tension to be managed instead of a problem to be fixed.

I don't know why you struggle
Originally posted on July 14, 2022

I’ve had glasses since I was in Kindergarten.  I’ve always detested them.  Not because of how they look, but I’ve always wanted to be able to wake up and see everything clearly.  I hate not being able to rest without smashing my glasses into my face or into the side of my head.  My frustration came to a boil in junior high, and I can still remember one exasperated conversation I had with God about it.  I wanted to be healed.  I wanted to see normally, clearly – like everyone else.  I prayed, hard.  I knew God was capable of correcting my eyesight.  I was familiar with the number of stories where Jesus healed the blind.  In desperation, I offered to give God “all the praise and glory” if He would just fix me.  But nothing changed.  No healing came, despite the number of times I shut my eyes hard and reopened them quickly, just hoping that one of those times…I’d be able to see.

I also deal with a shoulder that’s prone to dislocation, frequent migraines, and essential tremor.  Within my family, there are issues with bi-polar, various cancers, MS, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, and Alzheimer’s (just to name a few).  I’m sure you could add your own experiences to this list.

Throughout the centuries, people have struggled with explaining why some of us deal with physical, mental, and emotional brokenness and pains.  Most explanations from able-bodied people to the disabled or impaired boil down to some form of “well, sucks to be you”.  Other explanations we may assume about ourselves are that “God is punishing me” or that “my parents messed up and I’m the one paying for it”.  Acknowledging that the world is broken may help explain the mess of aliments we see, but it doesn’t make the day-to-day activities any easier for those living with their issue.  It’s also hard to reconcile being told that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) with our list of struggles.

When we look in the Bible, we find that we’re not alone as we try to understand the imbalances we see in society:

John 9:1-2
As [Jesus] was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked Him: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

In first-century Jewish thinking, somebody must have messed up for this guy to be blind.  Blindness was viewed as a punishment from God.  So this would have been a natural question for the disciples to ask Jesus.  However, the answer He gave them was not one they were expecting:

John 9:3
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered.  “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him.”

Jesus then healed the man.  For the first time in his life, he could see clearly.  As you can imagine, this drastic change caused quite a stir among the community – especially with the religious leaders, who made the same assumptions the disciples had about the reason for the man’s blindness.

A second example I want to look at is the Apostle Paul.  When God called Paul to be His ambassador to the Gentile nations, He gave Paul specific revelations and teaching.  However, this was not the only thing God gave him:

2 Corinthians 12:7
Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself.

Paul never specified what the thorn in the flesh actually was.  Most scholars think it was some physical malady, along the lines of chronic eye issues, malaria, migraines, epilepsy, or a speech disability.  Even though the thorn’s purpose was clear – so that he wouldn’t become conceited – Paul still didn’t want it. 

2 Corinthians 12:8-9
Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me.  But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.”

In these two examples, neither person did something to cause their physical failings or situation.  Instead, God had a purpose and a plan that actually included their struggles. 

Could the same be said of us?  I don’t know why I have the struggles that I do.  I can’t explain yours, either.  But here’s what I think is a strong possibility.  While I don’t have any direct Biblical evidence of this, given what I know of the character of God, it would not surprise me: I think that sometimes, when God sees the results of sin in this world and a non-believer gets cancer, He allows one of His own children to have that same cancer.  Not out of punishment or spite, but so that the world can see the difference in how those two individuals handle it.  So that whether you have always struggled or a specific event caused your struggle – God’s comfort, strength, compassion, and ability to change a life will shine through His kids...even though we would not have chosen our situation or we ask God to take it away.

I can’t say for sure why you have to deal with anxiety, or depression, or same-sex attraction, or cerebral palsy, or lust, or pride, or anger, or colon cancer, or any other struggle.  But God knows how you can partner with Him through it.  However life is hard for us, we can still choose our attitude about it.  May we make the same choice that Paul did after God told Him three times, “No, I won’t take it away.”  Instead of being down on himself, Paul recognized that this area of his life was where God was most visibly at work.  Not to indulge himself or give into his area of difficulty, but that God’s power helped him overcome and do great things, despite the struggle:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.  So I take pleasure in weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Beneath the highlight reel

Many people on social media tell us that an exciting life can be ours – if we have enough money, power, or fame – or better yet, a lot of all three.  The message is loud and clear: get what you can, any way you can, and do it in front of as many people as you can…and then, the world says, you’ll be happy. 

There is a ton of content available with people flexing their money, power, and fame.  Looking for likes and approvals in order to feel validated and justified in their life choices.  However, we’ve seen too many people flame out to fully believe everything we see on social media.

We need to remind each other, and ourselves, that what we see on social media isn’t the whole story of a person’s life.  That what is presented is just a collection of highlight reels.  No one’s life is glamorous all the time.  No one is super-adventurous all the time.  No one is happy all the time.

But despite these warnings…I think that deep down, we wish that life could be full of highlights.  We feel like life should be exciting and fulfilling, but we struggle to find it.  The easy reaction would be to damn social media or money/power/fame.  It’s not difficult to rail against them, and you’ll get many people to join you in doing so.

But…social media, money, power, and fame aren’t the problem – our selfish misuse of them is.  That said, they certainly aren’t the solution to our desires, either.  There is another way, one that results in a life where money, power, and fame are managed well, even being a blessing in a person’s life.

Take a look at this psalm describing blessings from God.  There are highlights of money, power, and fame.  Wouldn’t it be great if this was our highlight reel?

Psalm 112:1-9
Hallelujah!
Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in His commands.
His descendants will be powerful in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house and his righteousness endures forever.
Light shines in the darkness for the upright.
He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous.

Good will come to the one who lends generously and conducts his business fairly.
He will never be shaken.  The righteous one will be remembered forever.
He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord.
His heart is assured; he will not fear. In the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
He distributes freely to the poor, his righteousness endures forever.
His horn will be exalted in honor.

Oh, to have a life described like this!  The blessings are fantastic and far-reaching – but did you notice they are simply tools to protect his family and help others?  The blessings are not the focus of this life.

Instead, a person with this kind of highlight-reel-life is one who fears the Lord, taking great delight in His commands.  God is his focus, and living life according to God’s design is his aim. 

This is the gut-check for us: Are we seeking the blessing more than the one who gives the blessing?  If so, then we can’t expect God to bless us – because we’re not ready to handle it.  Giving a child too many gifts doesn’t mature them, instead it spoils them and the relationship between the child and the giver. 

However, even if we mature to the point God blesses us at the level described in Psalm 112, as great as this life would be to live – admittedly, no one is perfect.  And no one’s life is perfect, even if your heart is confident, trusting in the Lord.  The psalmist knows this, and interestingly added one more verse to close out the psalm:

Psalm 112:10
The wicked one will see it and be angry; he will gnash his teeth in despair.
The desire of the wicked leads to ruin.

Just because you’re on God’s side and He’s blessing you…doesn’t mean you’ll be free from struggles or drama.  The wicked one – the person living contrary to God’s design – will see the life of the person God has blessed.  Instead of rejoicing and celebrating with them, the wicked one will become enraged…and may even act on their feelings, lashing out toward those who live righteously.

But in the end, despite any opposition they face, the one who trusts in the Lord knows that his heart is assured; he will not fear.  He isn’t shaken due to circumstances or situations or opposition from those who are living in rebellion against God.  Why?  Because he trusts that God will have the final victory and that in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.

That kind of life is worth highlighting.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

He’s more than they realized

Throughout Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life and ministry, he recorded a lot of events.  When you read through his text, he quickly moves from one setting to the next.  A story, then an interaction, a crowd teaching, then a confrontation, next a healing, and on and on and on.  The transition between most events can feel like switching scenes from a movie or TV show. 

There is one significant event that Matthew captures in just 5 verses – when Jesus stilled the storm.  This incident took much longer to unfold in real time than the time it takes to read, but there’s still a lot to notice in these few verses:

Matthew 8:23-27
As He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.  Suddenly, a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves – but Jesus kept sleeping.

So the disciples came and woke Him up, saying, “Lord save us!  We’re going to die!”

He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?”  Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this?  Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

Hardened, trained, experienced fishermen thought they were going to die – that’s how big this storm must have been!  The Sea of Galilee was, and still is, infamous for its sudden, violent storms.  While several of the disciples knew this and had survived many of its storms, this one was too much.  And of all things – Jesus was sleeping!

When the harried disciples finally woke Jesus up, He simply told the winds and the waves to “Knock it off” and they stopped.  Immediately, there was clear skies and calm waters.  What I want to note is the question Matthew recorded the stunned disciples asking each other: What kind of man is this?

According to Dr. Thomas Constable:

The Israelites viewed the sea as an enemy that human beings could not control. Throughout the Old Testament it epitomizes what is wild, hostile, and foreboding. It stood for their enemies in some of their literature.

The stilling of the storm is the first nature miracle Matthew records in his gospel.  What is interesting to note is that the ability to calm the seas is a characteristic that the Israelites believed only God could do.  Here is just one of the texts representing their understanding.  Notice how closely the details of this psalm matches Matthew’s account:

Psalm 107:23-32
Others went to sea in ships, conducting trade on the vast water.
They saw the Lord’s works, His wonderous works in the deep.
He spoke and raised a stormy wind that stirred up the waves of the sea.
Rising up to the sky, sinking down to the depths,
their courage melting away in anguish,
they reeled and staggered like a drunkard,
and all their skill was useless.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and He brought them out of their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced when the waves grew quiet.
Then He guided them to the harbor they longed for.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His faithful love
and His wonderous works for all humanity.
Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people
and praise Him in the council of the elders.

So, the disciples’ question of What kind of man is this? may actually have been more of a rhetorical question than one of simple bewilderment.  Through this miracle, they were beginning to realize that the rabbi they were following may actually be the God-man the nation had been waiting for.

For us, we should absolutely cry out to God when we’re in trouble and in need of rescue.  When He provides a way out, don’t take His provision for granted.  Instead, reflect on what God has done and realize that His ability to rescue is just a glimpse of who He is.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Receiving personal instruction

I didn’t realize how unique the situation was at the time, but one of my favorite college experiences became a great lesson when studying the Bible.

Receiving personal instruction
Originally posted on June 19, 2015

In one of my year-long college courses, I was fortunate enough that the professor who taught the class had also written the text book.  This might not seem like a big deal from the outside looking in, but it made a huge difference in how we learned from him.  We knew that what he taught us in the morning was going to be reiterated in the same style and with the same emphasis as we read the text in the evening. 

Prof could easily explain how the different sections fit together and even cross-referenced chapters as we were being taught.  He knew the exact layout and intention of each part of the text because he was the one who had put it all together.  There was never any conflict between the teaching and the text – they were from the same man.  Not only was the text well-written for the subject matter, but the class became almost like a personal tutoring session with the author.

We get the same dynamic as we go through the Scriptures.  Although it took hundreds of years and many different authors to complete the text, God superintended the process such that it all hangs together as one, and communicates truth directly from the Creator of Everything to each of us individually.

The author of Psalm 119 did more than just acknowledged this reality of Scripture – he enjoyed it thoroughly.  Take a look through this section and note the role God’s Word plays in the author’s relationship with God.

Psalm 119:97-104
How I love Your teaching!  It is my meditation all day long.
Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers because Your decrees are my meditation.
I understand more than the elders because I obey Your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow Your word.
I have not turned from Your judgments, for You Yourself have instructed me.
How sweet Your word is to my taste – sweeter than honey to my mouth.
I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.

The psalmist doesn’t distinguish between communicating with God and reading the Scriptures, they are interactions with the same person.  The psalmist gives the reason why he follows what God has taught him when he says for You Yourself have instructed me.  He trusted God’s teaching because it was coming from God Himself.  Nothing was second-hand, there was no need for an interpreter or any guess-work.

And just look at the results of this personal instruction from the Lord – success over enemies, gaining insight and wisdom, the ability to avoid every evil path, gaining understanding, and he can also recognize every false way.  The psalmist has become fully mature because his instruction has been taken directly from the Lord.

The Lord will mature and develop us as well.  He’s ready to give each of us personal, one-on-one instruction.  The teacher and the text are from the same person.  As much as the teaching or writing of others can sometimes help, there is nothing like direct communication and instruction from the Author of Life.  He knows how it all works and why it all works.  

We have an open invitation to be instructed by God Himself.  Will you accept the invitation and meet Him in the Scriptures?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Not like father, not like son

About 10 years ago, I was having a conversation with one of my sons about serving in the church.  He was clearly agitated as we talked, and he steadily became even more bothered as the conversation went on.  I had asked him a few times what was bothering him, and when he was finally able to wrap words around his anxious feelings, he blurted out, “I’m not going to be able to write like you!”

“I never said you had to.” I quickly retorted.  However, in that moment I realized…somewhere along the way and throughout the years, my son believed that my service example was “the best way” for any Christ-follower to serve.  Or, at least, he thought that the best way for a Clouser-kid to serve must be to follow exactly in his father’s footsteps.  Truthfully, I had made a conscious effort to not put that kind of pressure on him – however, given his outburst of a response, he must have been thinking and feeling that internal stress for some time.  

We can all relate to what he was feeling, though.  We all want to measure up to our parents’ example, and we easily self-flog when we feel that we’ve fallen short of their accomplishments and abilities. 

For this month, I’ve embarked on a Bible reading plan that takes me through all 150 Psalms and 31 chapters of Proverbs.  I’ve often followed the easy plan of reading a chapter of Proverbs that matches whatever day of the month it is – so I read Proverbs 1 on the first day, Proverbs 15 on the 15th day, etc.  However, adding in 5 or so Psalms per day along with the daily chapter of Proverbs felt like a worthy goal.  After about 10 days of this reading plan, I made an interesting observation, based on the authors for these Scriptures:

Psalms is a collection of five songbooks that ancient Israel used for worship.  A variety of authors contributed individual songs – or psalms – to the collection, but the vast majority of them were written by King David.  Based on the musical comments David left at the beginning of his psalms, we recognize that he wrote these songs all throughout his life.  There are psalms from when he was a shepherd, when he was running from Saul before he became king, psalms when he faced coup attempts, and psalms about the prosperity of the nation.  Writing songs that could be used for individual or corporate worship was an impressive skill that David had, developed, and used to serve God and help others do so, as well.

Proverbs is a collection of wisdom sayings and teachings that ancient Israel used for learning and instruction.  A variety of authors contributed their short, clear wisdom sayings – or proverbs – to the collection, but the vast majority of them were written by King Solomon…who was King David’s son and successor.  Solomon’s lifelong quest for wisdom and understanding can be seen throughout the books that he authored – Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes.  Recording his findings in a way that is both practical and memorable was an impressive skill that Solomon had, developed, and used to serve God and help others do so, as well.

Stylistically, Psalms and Proverbs couldn’t be any more different.  The psalms are dripping with raw emotion, often concerned with the immediacy of a conflict in the moment.  The proverbs take a clean, logical approach to situations and often focus on the big picture of a person’s life.  David and Solomon did not have the same expressive style and service skillsets.  When it came to communicating God’s truths and writing Scripture, the son was definitely not “a chip off the old block”.

Even though David and Solomon had different temperaments and communication styles, they still communicated the same truths from God.  Here is just one example:

Psalm 54:1-5
God, save me by Your name, and vindicate me by your might!
God, hear my prayer; listen to the words from my mouth.
For strangers rise up against me, and violent men intend to kill me.
They do not let God guide them.

God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my life.
He will repay my adversaries for their evil.
Because of Your faithfulness, annihilate them.

David is pulling no punches here.  He is not mincing words.  His feelings are perfectly clear – God, I want you to annihilate my enemies.  Don’t try and sugarcoat this wording.  David wants his enemies to be exterminated.  He probably wouldn’t mind seeing them suffer on the way out, either.

Now, compare David’s song with a couple of Solomon’s proverbs.  Don’t get caught up in the brevity of the proverbs – they are purposefully short and pithy.  Instead, recognize the similarity of truth in both passages:

Proverbs 11:6, 8-9
The righteousness of the upright rescues them,
but the treacherous are trapped by their own desires.

The righteous one is rescued from trouble;
in his place, the wicked one goes in.

With his mouth the ungodly destroys his neighbor,
but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.

Both David and Solomon recognize the conflict between those who follow God and those who do not.  Both David and Solomon acknowledge the verbal threats coming from their enemies.  Both David and Solomon recognize that God is the reason for their rescue.

This is but one example of father and son exploring the same topics with their differing skillsets.  There are plenty more comparisons that could be made between the psalms and the proverbs.  I’m thankful that both books are available to us, so we can reap the benefits of these different approaches that point us back to the same God.  Father and son didn’t have to serve the same way – in fact, it’s better for us that they didn’t.  Some of us find comfort in relating to the psalms, and some of us gravitate more towards the proverbs.

Nowadays, both my boys are serving God – in ways that I never did at their age and in settings that are different from each other.  They have skillsets that I don’t and they reach others that I can’t – and that’s a good thing.  I’m certain you can say the same thing, too, in the ways you serve others with the skills and abilities that God has given you.  Because ultimately, no matter how we serve, we’re all pointing people back to the same God.

Keep Pressing,
Ken