Pride: A Checklist

(Linda and me, with Payne Theological Seminary students)

God is opposed to the proud,

but gives grace to the humble.

James 4:6

Those are strong words! In areas of pride, God is against us. Pride in us hinders others from experiencing God's love, mercy, and grace.

C.S. Lewis once wrote that the true Christian's nostrils must be constantly attuned to the inner cesspool. That cesspool includes pride. 

Do I, do you, have ungodly pride in your heart? In my praying time yesterday I was bringing, before the Lord, some areas of pride that are within my heart, and asking God to remove them.

Michael Brown, in Revolution in the Church: Challenging the Religious System with a Call for Radical Change, provides a checklist of potential evidences of pride. If you have a pointy finger, aim it at yourself as you read these. If the shoe fits, confess and turn from the prideful attitude.

• You are accountable to no one. 
• You think you are “the one”—that your church, your ministry, your anointing or your teaching is the necessary ingredient for true revival or evangelism or growth. 
• Your opinion is always more important than the opinion of others. 
• You are able to find sin in the lives of others but not in your own. 
• You are quarrelsome. 
• You find it difficult to be a team player. 
• You are always right about everything. 
• You are slow to repent. 
• You find it difficult to say, “I’m sorry,” without defending yourself or blaming others. 
• You refuse to take help. 
• You are unteachable. 
• You are unable to recognize others’ accomplishments or rejoice in their successes. 
• You are unable to say, “I’m hurting; I’m in trouble.” 
• You never reverse your path when wrong, but make only minor adjustments. 
• You always think, “This message is for someone else, not me.” 
• You fail to realize when God is trying to get your attention, when He is correcting you, when He is judging you.

MY TEACHING SCHEDULE SEPT. 8 – OCT. 27

 

                                                                        (Monroe, MI)

MY TEACHING SCHEDULE SEPT. 8 – OCT. 27

Payne Theological Seminary (African American)

Four one-hour Zoom classes to seminary students on “Spiritual Formation into Christlikeness”

          9/8; 9/15; 9/22; 9/29

Redeemer Church Youth Group

Linda and I will do three one-hour teachings on “How to Have Godly, Healthy Friendships”

9/18; 9/25; 10/2

Preaching at Redeemer (Sunday mornings)

          9/21; 10/5; 10/12

India Abiding Conference

          Two 1-2 hour Zoom classes to Indian pastors on “Abiding in Christ”

          9/29; 10/4

Faith Bible Seminary (Chinese – New York City)

          Four 2-hour Zoom classes to Chinese seminary students on “Heaven, the Soul, and the             Afterlife”

          10/6; 10/13; 10/20; 10/27

Renewal School of Ministry (HSRM)

“Healing a Church from Emotional and Spiritual Abuse”

Two-hour teaching on 10/11

Heaven, the Soul, and the Afterlife (Chinese)

 I'll teach this four-session intensive course in October, for Faith Bible Seminary.

The Meaning of "Presence-Driven" Church

Monroe County

New Testament scholar Gordon Fee has made a case for what he calls "the presence motif" as the core thematic river that runs through the Christian theistic Grand Narrative. From Genesis to Revelation, the point of the whole thing is God and his empowering presence. (See, e.g., Fee, God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul.) 

Fee defines "Holy Spirit" as "God's Empowering Presence." I like this. But God's presence is this and more. God's presence is his all-encompassing Trinitarian being; viz., the three-in-oneness of Father, Son, and Spirit. Wherever God manifests himself, he is there in his totality. When God is among us, the Father does not leave the Son and the Spirit in heaven.

Because of this, what I am calling a Presence-Driven Church is vaster than a Spirit-led Church. "Spirit-led" is subsumed under "Presence of God." "Spirit-led Church" is necessary but insufficient to describe "Presence-Driven Church." (Like having three sides is necessary but insufficient in describing a triangle. That's just an explanatory analogy. In no way do I think a triangle is a good analogy for the Trinity.)

By "Presence-Driven Church" I mean a community of Jesus-followers whose doing is "driven" by God, presently. This involves all of God - Father, Son, Spirit. The Presence-Driven Church finds its "doings," its raison d'etre, in its relational connectedness with the Trinitarian being of God. Which includes, of course, the power of the Holy Spirit.

(For more see my book Leading the Presence-Driven Church.)

Be a Discerning (Not "Deciding") Church

(Grand Haven sunset)

Church leaders either:

1) Make decisions on their own, without consulting God; or

2) Meet with God to discern His good and perfect will.

When our church's leaders meet, we ask questions like these. 

"What is God saying to you, about you?"

"What is God saying to us, about us?"

"What is God doing in us?"

"What do you discern God is doing and saying?"

We are a discerning community, not a group of decision-makers. This is exciting, empowering, and non-striving. We are not trying to make things happen. 

Here are some things about discernment that are important to us.

Defining “discernment”

-      Discernment is the capacity to recognize and respond to the presence and the activity of God—both in the ordinary moments and in the larger decisions of our lives.

Discernment is different than “decision making.”

The word in the Presence-Driven Church is” discern,” not “decide.”

This is not about “decision-making.”

God makes decisions and leads; you and I are to  discern what God has decided.

Biblical examples of discernment.

1 Kings 3:9-14 – Solomon asks God to give him a “discerning heart” to govern God’s people, and to tell the difference between right and wrong.

Psalm 119:125 – The psalmist prays: I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.

Proverbs 18:15 - The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.

Daniel 2:21 - God gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Hosea 14:9 - Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand.
The ways of the Lord are right;
    the righteous walk in them,
    but the rebellious stumble in them.

1 Cor. 2:14 - The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

How do I become a spiritually discerning person?

Cultivate intimacy with God. 

Discernment is a function of intimacy.

The rule is: The greater the intimacy with God, the more you have discernment.

“Discernment” is a fruit, an inevitable byproduct, of a presence-driven Life.

To discern the mind and heart of God: 

1. Meet regularly with God.
2. Engage with scripture.
3. Root yourself in a community that does the same.

If you don’t have time for this, you will not have spiritual discernment. Prayerless people dwell in the land of unfamiliarity.

There are three Greek words we translate as "discern." The first is in Rom. 12:1-2:

Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to discern and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

This includes not only the mind of each individual but also the corporate mind.

What is fundamentally needed is mind-renewing transformation.

We must live in the rivers of constant spiritual formation and transformation, in order to discern what the will of God is. This is what the whole "church" thing is about.

The Greek word we translate as "discern" in Romans 12 is ἀνακρίνω,v  \{an-ak-ree'-no} - anakrino

1) examine or judge  1a) to investigate, examine, enquire into, scrutinise, sift, question  1a1) specifically in a forensic sense of a judge to hold an  investigation  1a2) to interrogate, examine the accused or witnesses  1b) to judge of, estimate, determine (the excellence or defects of  any person or thing 

A second Greek word is in 1 Cor. 12:10 - 

to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

Here the word is διάκρισις,n  \{dee-ak'-ree-sis} - diakrisis

1) a distinguishing, discerning, judging

A third word is in Phil. 1:9-11:

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Here the Greek word is δοκιμάζω,v  \{dok-im-ad'-zo} - dokimazo

1) to test, examine, prove, scrutinise (to see whether a thing  is genuine or not), as metals  2) to recognise as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy 

How to become a community of discernment.

Teach your people how to abide in Christ.

If you are a pastor, you must give up control. It’s not about you. It’s about what God is saying and doing in your people.

          

A Discerning Community is a Movement, not an Institution.

We discern what the Spirit is saying to us, and then move with the Spirit. 

Interview with Crucible of Faith Ministries - Spiritual Transformation

 

Here's my interview with Crucible of Faith Ministries.

2300 views.

Eight Reasons to Believe that God Exists

 

                                                                     (Monroe County)

 A long, long time ago Bill Craig (aka William Lane Craig) was one of my campus pastors at Northern Illinois University, where I did my undergraduate degree in philosophy. I was honored to sing in Bill and Jan's wedding. 

We were always talking about our faith, the existence of God, apologetics, metaethics, philosophical anthropology, and much more. It all got inside me, and has never left, but has been tended and watered and nurtured over the decades.

Here is Bill's essay in Philosophy Today where he gives eight reasons to believe God exists ("Does God Exist?"). Read the essay for the reasoning. 

They are:

1. God is the best explanation for why anything at all exists.
2. God is the best explanation of the origin of the universe.
3. God is the best explanation of the applicability of mathematics to the physical world.
4. God is the best explanation of the fine-tuning of the universe for intelligent life.
5. God is the best explanation of intentional states of consciousness.
6. God is the best explanation of objective moral values and duties.
7. The very possibility of God’s existence implies that God exists.
8. God can be personally known and experienced.

(If #7 confuses you, it's the modal version of the Ontological Argument for God's Existence.)

Our True Labor

(Monroe)

It's Labor Day weekend in America. Time to rest and recreate from work. 

For followers of Jesus, our true work is all that is done "in the Lord." This brings satisfaction, as we view ourselves working for God, and his greater purposes. This was my experience as a new follower of Jesus. 

I was working my way through college. I had a job as a custodian, at the large factory my father worked at. I was convinced I was to work hard at all that God called me to do. Colossians 3:23 was living and breathing in my soul.

Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, 

just as though you were working for the Lord 

and not merely for your masters.

And I did. I worked hard, with joy, to please my heavenly Father, and my earthly father as well. What kind of witness would I have if my labor was half-hearted?

God's greater purposes have to do with the redemption of his creation, to include persons. Our job may involve making things, selling things, cleaning, teaching, whatever. But our real job involves the bigger, redemptive picture of what God is doing. This is our true labor. 

We see this in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. 

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord . 

"Labor" is "vain" if it has no meaningful purpose. "Vain  labor" is boring. "Boredom" is not having nothing to do, but finding no meaning in what one is doing.

A philosophical example of vain labor is Albert Camus's "Myth of Sisyphus." Sisyphus, according to the Greek myth, was punished for all eternity, and condemned to roll a boulder up a mountain, only to have it roll back down to the bottom when he reaches the top. This happens over and over again and again, everlastingly. 

Camus claimed Sisyphus is representative of the human condition. Sisyphus struggles perpetually, and without hope of success. His labor is absurd. Camus thinks if Sisyphus can accept his absurd labor, then he can find happiness in it.

Many people view their labor as absurd. They find no joy in it. Their work lack telos (purpose), and is in vain. 

But, from the Jesus-perspective, all labor "in the Lord" is not vain, but meaningful. When what we do emerges out of who we are in relationship with Christ, our lives become purposeful. Purposeful, *telic living, brings satisfaction.

We are to view God as our Employer. From this God-relational POV, redemptive activity can be seen and experienced everywhere. What seem to be vain, meaningless tasks, from a human POV, take on eternal, missional qualities. This happens, not because of any intrinsic majesty of the task at hand, but as a function of who we are under.

Labor under the Lordship of Jesus, and abound in the work you are doing under God.

Know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.



***
*telic - a purposeful or defined action; from the Greek word telos, meaning "end," or "goal"; such as telescope, literally "to see to the end."

***
In my book I talk about prayer as purposeful activity - Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God.

Day 32 - One Day Jesus Was Praying

 

 I am reading, slowly, through the Gospel of Luke. This morning I began in Luke 11:1:

One day Jesus was praying in a lonely place.

I can't get past this verse. It's enough for me.

The verse does not say:

One day Jesus thought about praying.

It doesn't read:

One day Jesus desired to pray, but didn't have time for it.

It's not:

One day Jesus read a book about praying.

Nor does it say…

One day Jesus said "I believe in the power of prayer."

It does say:

One day Jesus was praying.

 

One day Jesus was actually doing it.

 

One day Jesus was engaged in praying. 

 

One day Jesus, my Lord,

my exemplar,

my mentor,

was spending considerable time talking with God.  

One of his followers saw him doing this. This follower was so impressed that he wanted to do what Jesus was doing. Which was: communicating with the Maker of Heaven and Earth.

When Jesus finished dialoguing with God, the follower who desired to do the same said to Jesus, "Mentor, teach us to do what you just did."

A disciple of Jesus prays like Jesus prayed.

I bless you with a deep, powerful praying life that, more and more, emulates that  of our Lord Jesus! 

 John Piippo 

johnpiippo@msn.com

***

Most of what I have to say about praying is in my book Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God. 

  

Day 31 - Prayer Journaling

I've been keeping a spiritual journal for fifty-five years. I have read and responded to over 3000 spiritual journals that pastors and Christian leaders have sent me, as part of seminary classes, retreats, and conferences I have taught. Here are my thoughts on keeping a spiritual journal.

A spiritual journal is a record of the voice and activity of God, to you. When God speaks to you, write it down. To do that is to keep a prayer journal. 

People write differently. Some include lots of detail, such as the place where they are praying, prayer concerns, and biblical exegesis. But the core of the journal is: God's words, spoken to you. When I read the journals of others, that's what I am looking for. What is God saying to you? What is God doing with you?

When your mind wanders, I suggest writing where it wanders to. The mind does not wander arbitrarily, but always to something like a burden. The wandering mind is a barometer of your spiritual condition. Then, following 1 Peter 5:7, "cast your burdens on God, for he cares for you." 

I find it helpful to get the burdens on paper. To see them on paper makes it feel like they are not inside me any longer. Now, it's at a distance from me. De-burdening is an important part of entering into God's presence more fully. We have a greater focus on God because we are not so distracted by our burdens.

If keeping a spiritual journal is writing down what God says to me, how can I know it's really the voice of God? I have found that one better hears God's voice when they:

1) Saturate themselves with Scripture.
2) Spend MUCH time alone in God's presence.
3) Hang around people who do 1 and 2. 

There are some good books about this, such as Dallas Willard's Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship With God.

Because the spiritual journal is a record of God's voice to you, it is fruitful to occasionally re-read and re-meditate on your journal. A number of the things God tells you will become thematic in your life. It is important to remember them.

 

"Remembering" is huge in a person's spiritual life. When we have a written record of God's words for us, it can be easier to recall them as we re-ponder them anew. The maxim here is: "I will not forget God's words to me."

A spiritual journal, because it is a record of God's voice to you, is about you. Not others. Yes, I sometimes write about others in my journal. For example, I pray for others. Or, If I'm upset with someone, I use letters such as 'X' to refer to those persons. I don't want my journal to be found or read by someone with whom I'm angry with. When I write down such things before God I'm primarily asking God to help, not 'X,' but me, and with anger inside me.

What can you expect God to say to you? My experience tells me that God will say things like: his love for you, things he wants to heal inside you, things you need to repent of in your life, that he forgives you, things about his essence (the glory of who he is), giving you deeper insights on Scripture, giving direction, and so on. And, God impart things to you. When this happens to me I write down things like grace, mercy, peace, joy, love, hope, and power.

I don't believe journaling is for everybody. But remembering is. So is entering deeply into God's presence and hearing his voice.

***

For more on prayer and hearing God, see my book Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God. 

From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Praying.

Questions and Answers on Prayer

In my book Praying I include a Q&A section at the end of the book.

I give my answers to the following issues. 

- I’m a Parent and Have Little Time to Get Alone with God.

- God Seems Absent from Me.

- How Do I Know if God Has Answered My Prayer?

- How Can I Pray When I Have Doubts?

- Why Isn’t Everyone Healed When I Pray?

- What Does It Mean to Ask for Anything in Jesus’ Name?

- What Do I Do When I Hear from God?

- What If I Don’t Feel Like Praying?

Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God

Day 30 - A Prayer Movement

 

Dear Church,

I want you to launch a prayer movement that will influence many. 

I began this book by issuing a call to prayer, for a move of God in our churches. You do know, don’t you, that every awakening, every revival, began with, and was fueled by, praying people. Here’s one example.

I am especially moved by the story of a man who called his business colleagues to pray. It was 1857, in Boston. A businessman named Jeremiah Lanphier was led by God to host weekly noon prayer meetings for workers in Boston’s business district. A local church gave Lanphier permission to use their facility. The format was simple. No preaching, just praying, worship, and prayer requests.

The first gathering was on September 23, 1857. Six people showed up. Next week, there were twenty. The week after, almost forty. By the end of October there were one hundred. Word of these meetings spread. Another church was needed to host what came to be known as the Fulton Street Prayer Meetings.

On March 28, 1858, 6100 people gathered, at various locations in Boston, to pray and worship. At one place there was 600, at another 1200. This was a move of God that spread to many cities across our land.

Could this happen again? I believe it not only can, but it must. We need a mighty, earth-shattering, paradigm-shifting move of God in our churches. It is time to be part of something great, for the cause of Christ. This means me. This means you.

J. P. Moreland, in his book on miracles, wrote this.

“I would rather have the Lord take me home than risk failing to finish well,

hurting those who look up to me, or losing my integrity.”

(Moreland, A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles, p. 23)

Upon reading this, I reached for a 3X5 card, and wrote down the quote. I placed it in my pocket. I carried it with me for a few weeks, reading it often.

This quote became a prayer. I prayed the words to God, asking him to protect and guide me so I might finish my life well.

I think of what Jesus said, in Luke 12, about watchfulness and readiness.

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning…

It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.

t will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready,

even if he comes in the middle of the night…

You also must be ready, 

because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” 

From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Praying

Day 29 - When It’s Hard to Pray

 

Dear Church,

Sometimes it is hard to pray. 

In 1985 Linda was pregnant, expecting twins. We were thrilled about this! I remember working together to prepare a room for them. I subscribed to a magazine called “Twins.” I celebrated this awaited event!

Soon, two baby boys would be in our life. Until…

I remember the routine doctor visit. The stethoscope. The doppler. The doctor. The look on his face. He told us to go to Sparrow Hospital, immediately.

One of our little boys was dead. The other was on the edge of life and death. An emergency C-section brought them both into the bright, antiseptic room. I will never forget the weight of my son David, as I held him. The other, Joshua, was being attended to.

On that day Linda and I entered the valley of the shadow of death. And it was hard to pray. In my praying time the day before, I read these words.

Those who sow with tears
    will reap with songs of joy.
⁶ Those who go out weeping,
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126:5-6

Sometimes, when I pray, my mind wanders. After the loss of David, and the fight for Joshua’s life, “wanders” was not the word to describe my experience. In our grieving it felt like being in a black hole that devours whatever light there is.

Through it all, we are certain God understood our struggle. I remember us standing, in the hospital, looking through the window and seeing little Joshua, when one of us said, “This is hard. But imagine how hard it would be if we did not have God.”

Prayers offered in the dark valley feel extraordinary compared to praying in the ordinary. During such times, do not feel less than loved and less understood by God.

In times when you are weak, and it is hard to find words, remember that Jesus himself was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

Love,

PJ

P.S Our Joshua made it, and today lives a flourishing life.

 

REMEMBER

Express your grief to God.

Remember that Jesus was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3)

Remember that we do not have, in Jesus, a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. (Hebrews 4:15)

From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Praying.