In His Presence, My Soul Is Restored

Cloud formation, Monroe County

Gordon Fee called it the "presence motif." It runs throughout Scripture like a holy river, from its source in Genesis, to the glassy sea of Revelation.

It's in the garden in Genesis 1, and in the final adoration chapters of Revelation. 

It's in the Psalmist doorkeeper's desire, and the Pauline "in Christ."

Moses refuses to move without it.

Jesus tells his disciples to primordially abide in it.

Fee refers to it as "God's empowering presence."

It's "Emmanuel, God with us," as an experiential reality, rather than a theological theory.

Don't mistake it for performance. It has nothing to do with entertainment. Instead of an audience voting with their thumbs, faces are on the ground. 

To know this earth-shattering presence one must be stripped and restored like a piece of wood undergoing sandpaper and knife.

Ruth Haley Barton writes:

"It takes profound willingness to invite God to search us and know us at the deepest level of our being, allowing him to show us the difference between the performance-oriented drivenness of the false self and the deeper calling to lead from our authentic self in God. There is an elemental chaos that gets stirred up when we have been in God’s presence enough that we can recognize pretense and performance and every other thing that bolsters our sense of self. It is unnerving to see evidence that these patterns are still at work—perhaps just a bit more subtly—in our everyday lives." (Barton, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry, p. 126)

For the past forty-three years I have taken every Tuesday afternoon to place myself before The Restorer of My Soul. My constant prayer before the Lord remains, "Search me, O God, and know my heart."

He will. 

He does.

He overturns the tables of salesmanship.

He transforms the consumer into the consumed. 

He crucifies residual performance-drivenness.

In his presence I am stripped away.

He restores my soul.

Nine Elements of Healthy Relationships

https://youtu.be/RNcReztzNsU


Scroll ahead to 56 minutes.

Has God Called You to Watch More News on TV?

 

                                                                   (Dragonfly on our sidewalk.)

This is for followers of Jesus who believe God is like a Shepherd who guides His sheep through the valleys and mountains of life.

This is for those who believe God speaks to them. As when Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and follow." (On hearing God, see HERE, and HERE.)

This is for all who believe it is possible to discern the voice of God from other voices.

It's for all who trust in Him, and discover that He makes their paths straight. 

This is for those who believe in taking every thought captive.

Every thought.

Even small thoughts.

If you present your entire self as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, and conform your heart and mind, not to this culture, but to Christ, then you will be able to test (discern) the good and perfect will of God.

In all things, correct?

So. What is God saying to me, to you, about TV news and social media?

Has God called you to watch more news on TV?

If God has said to you, "Watch more TV news," then you must do that, and who am I to judge?

As for me, here is what God is calling me to do. God has told me, "Watch less news on TV."

And, "Pick days where you go the entire day without watching TV news." I am doing this today. I am looking at no news reports today, all day. Check in with me tomorrow to see if I survived! (It's 10:30 AM - so far, so good.)

I cannot decide this for you. But God can decide this for me.

God has told me, "John, spend far more time with Me than with the TV." This is my focus today. That will be good for my soul.

Letter to My Church Family - August 17, 2020

 

7:30 AM

Good Morning Redeemer Family!

I begin this day by continuing to slowly re-read through the book of Proverbs. I just read Proverbs 29:11, and decide to stop there. I am letting it get inside me. 

Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

I pray that God would shape me into that wise person who brings calm into life, who stills the storms of life. To do that, my heart must be at rest.

This morning I am resting in the still waters of last evening's event with Craig Miller and Mike Hutchings. (See HERE.)

I write Philippians 4:6-7 on a 3X5 card. I'll carry these two verses with me today, and occasionally pull them out of my pocket, and memorize them.

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It's important to me that I begin the day like this, before I discern whether to watch any news on TV. God has told me to watch less news, and to watch him more.

I am to first, and foremost, cultivate the calm in my heart. I am to reside by the still waters. There is where I find my heart restored.

I pray the same for all of you.

May the peace of Jesus guard your hearts and your mind this day!

Love,

PJ

Overcoming Anxiety and Trauma with Mike Hutchings & Craig Miller

Letter to My Church Family - August 15, 2020

 

(Lebanese anniversary dessert at Leila in Detroit - delicious!)

August 15, 2020

Hello Redeemer Family!

I'll be checking the weather for Monroe early tomorrow morning. If the forecast at that time is rainy then the Outdoor Service will be cancelled. We will do the live stream at 10:30 - here's the link - https://www.youtube.com/c/RedeemerMonroe

Linda and I will co-preach Sunday morning on "9 ELEMENTS OF HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS." We are looking forward to sharing these things with you! It's about healthy friendships, family relations, and marriages. We have been preparing for this message for 47 years - hope you will be with us tomorrow!

OVERCOMING ANXIETY AND TRAUMA. With Mike Hutchings and Craig Miller. Sunday night, 7-9 PM. THIS WILL BE A GREAT EVENT THAT WILL HELP US ALL! It's free. Please invite friends to watch with us.

IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION for Mike and Craig and are able to send it to me beforehand, please do.

The link - https://www.youtube.com/c/RedeemerMonroe

A BOOK RECOMMENDATION - Linda and I are reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World, by John Mark Comer. This book is very readable, very good, an excellent guide for what we are going through.

Blessings to you all this day, and the next,

PJ

Overcoming Fear of the Unknown

 

(Holland State Park, Michigan)

In life, most of what lies before us is unknown. 

Sometimes in details. Sometimes in entirety. 

For example, Linda and I went grocery shopping today. I bought breakfast cereal. I intend to have this cereal for breakfast, tomorrow morning. Probably, that will happen. But something, unknown to me, may disrupt my plans. 

It could be minor, such as discovering the milk has gone sour. In that case, I'll figure something out. 

It could be a major interruption. Some serious situation, involving myself, or a friend, could occur. 

More dramatically, I could come face to face with a life-altering event. In either case, the future contains a whole lot of unknown.

Everyone encounters the unknown. The essence of unknown-ness is: out of our control. This reminds me of a bad joke I once heard. "Did you hear of the person who learned that 90% of all accidents occur within twenty-five miles of home?"

No.

"They moved."

They moved, to take control of the unknown. Unfortunately, that won't work.

So, what can we do, if anything? How can we live facing the unknown tomorrows? The only answer is: faith.

Look, if faith isn't reality-based, then there is, precisely, nothing available to us. A person might use alcohol or substances to mask the fear of the unknown. Maybe we can just keep very busy and preoccupied, so that the uncertain future does not occupy our thoughts. But these are only band-aids. They are like spray painting the rust spot on your car or, more dramatically, like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Our only hope is the reality of someone, or something, we can trust in. One way the Bible speaks of this is: keep your eyes fixed on the promise of the "unseen city."

In Hebrews 11:8 we read:

By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.

Abraham did not have a map. No GPS, as we know it.

But, Abraham did have another kind of GPS. He had a God Positioning System. God was leading Abraham. Abraham, traveling without a map, had to discern the leading of God.

To do this, Abraham had to stay close to God. The closer to God, the more accurate the discernment. Discernment is a function of intimacy, of closeness, to God. Discernment is a vaccine that counteracts the fear of the unknown.

Abraham kept his eye on the "unseen city." This is where we are today. God's people, the Church, are being led to the unseen city. We do not know what tomorrow, or the days after every tomorrow, will bring. But we do know the One who is leading us. And our faith is based on a great promise.

This kind of faith is Psalm 23 stuff. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...

...I will fear no evil.

And why not?

Because You are with me.

How practical is this? Does this "work?" For people, such as myself, and perhaps you, it makes all the difference. It is the response to nihilism, exhibited, for me, in the four thousand pages of journal entries I have kept since 1970. Those pages are a record of a life trusting in Jesus, imperfectly, and testifying to the reality of His guidance, through the innumerable unknowns I (and Linda) have faced.

These days are filled with unknowns.

Except to God.

I invite you to TRUST HIM.

(I write more extensively about how to lead church through the unknown in Leading the Presence-Driven Church.)

OVERCOMING ANXIETY and TRAUMA - SUNDAY NIGHT, 7-9 PM EST

 This will be a great evening! The link - https://www.youtube.com/c/RedeemerMonroe

If you plan on joining the event, and have a question you would like to ask Craig and Mike about overcoming anxiety and trauma, please email it to me at: johnpiippo@msn.com.

11Andy Griffith, Norelle Lutke and 9 others

3 Comments

Like

Comment

Share

Following Jesus and Political Understanding

 

                                                          (St. Joseph, Michigan)

I had a recent encounter with a person, call them X.

X: "I am against socialism."

Me: "Can you explain socialism to me?"

X: "No."

Me: "Can you tell me what socialism is?"

X: [SILENCE]

Me: "Do you find it odd to be against something you know nothing about?"

Politically, America is deeply divided. As a follower of Jesus, how do I evaluate this? What do I do about this? How shall I think about this?

Here's my approach, 

1) I identify certain guiding principles; and 
2) I keep studying and learning. This means disengaging from social media arguments, and finding the best scholarship available that can help me, in the first place, understand the issues. I am uninterested in people who want to argue political issues without first putting a lot of work into understanding those issues. This may not be you, but it is me.

A FEW GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR ME

• Change hearts first. When hearts are changed, systems transform.
• Focus on issues, not political alignment.
• I must understand before I evaluate. This takes time. I hesitate to jump on someone's political bandwagon. I rarely read political things people send me. My focus is on understanding. This takes time and, as I understand things, deep immersion in scholarly materials.  
• Attack arguments, not people (no ad hominem abusiveness please). Evaluate arguments; formulate arguments. Love people.
• Lift up Jesus, the one who changes hearts and minds, and from whom we Christians acquire our ethics.
• Deepen your abiding life in Christ, as the first thing to do. All relevant, Spirit-led action comes from this ongoing attachment to Christ.
• When the Holy Spirit identifies a socio-cultural need and burdens you with it, labor in the Spirit to achieve transformation. For example, my church family helped begin a soup kitchen that provides a meal every day of the year, serving 75-150 a night. For example, my church family has been involved in serving and raising support for ministries that rescue women out of sex trafficking. For example, Linda and I have, over the decades, provided free counseling for needy marriages and families (this is ongoing, to the very moment I am typing these words).
• Study and grow in learning about the relationship between following Jesus and political involvement. This will assist you in transcending shallow, uninformed, hate-filled debating. Here are some resources that have taken me deeper.

SOME RESOURCES THAT HAVE HELPED ME (These are resources I have read and studied, and have helped me better understand the relationship between religion and politics. Surely there are more. What books have helped you?)

The more context, the more understanding. I was trained to approach my studies this way. For me, God calls me to contextual studies. 

So, currently (8/13/20), I am reading...

An Introduction to Political Philosophy, by Jonathan Wolff. I bought a used copy. It is so well-written. The first chapter on "The State of Nature" has hooked me. (Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau - if there was no state, no government, what would life be like?)

Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, by Zeynep Tufekci. 

The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works In the Real World, by Greg Ip. Reading an excellent book like this adds to my ability to vote with rgeater clarity.

Other books that have informed my contextual understanding include

• Greg Lukionoff and Haidt's The Coddling of the American Mind is the best book I've read in 2019. Haidt and Lukionoff help us understand, e.g., microaggressions and hatred and the American culture of "safetyism."
• Tom Nichols, The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters. Please read this book. It explains a lot about what's happening in our world today.
• Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics and Religion. Everyone should read this before opening their mouth about politics.
• Amy Chua, Political tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations. Still reading - excellent!
• Patrick Deneen, Why Liberalism Failed. 
• Ross Douthat, The Decadent Society: How We Became Victims of Our Own Success.
• Brian Benestad, Five Views on the Church and Politics 
• H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture (Arguably, this is THE classic text which nicely forms intelligent discussion. How is Christ relevant to the world in which we live now?)
• John Howard Yoder, The Politics of Jesus (This is essential reading for any who would engage in the discussion about how Jesus would have his followers respond to the political world we live in.)
• Greg Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power Is Destroying the Church
• Jim Wallis, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and Why the Left Doesn’t Get It
• Jim Wallis, On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics hasn’t Learned About Serving the Common Good
• Ronald Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity (In evangelical Christianity, this is one of the classics. Read the four gospels as background, making note of all Jesus says about our relationship to Money. See also Ben Witherington, Jesus and Money.)
• Shane Claiborne, Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals (What should Christians do when allegiances to the state clash with personal faith?)
• Robert P. George, Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism (George, Prof of Law at Yale U., and a follower of Jesus, is a brilliant scholar who teaches us, among other things, how to civilly discourse about hard issues.)
• Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel (In a discussion with Greg Boyd he strongly recommended this book of readings to me. Representtives of this kind of thinking include Mennonites.)
• Francis Beckwith, Taking Rites Seriously: Law, Politics, and the Reasonableness of Faith (I read this book last summer and learned much from it. Beckwith’s chapter on human dignity is brilliant. [Christian Smith’s chapter on human dignity in What Is a Person? Rethinking Humanity, Social Life, and the Moral Good from the Person Up is stunning.] Beckwith is Prof of Jurisprudence and Philosophy at Baylor U.)
• Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail" 
• Charles Colson, God and Government: An Insider's View on the Boundaries Between Faith and Politics
• Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited. 
• James Cone, The Cross and the Lynching Tree 
• Gustavo Gutierrez, We Drink From Our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People 
• Richard Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? (If this book doesn’t break your heart and burden you for the poor, we’re going to have to give you an EKG.)
• Pellegrino, Schulman, and Merrill, Human Dignity and Bioethics. Arguably the book to read on: 1) What is human dignity?; 2) Is there such a thing as human dignity?; and 3) If there is, does it make a difference? Collected essays by a great variety of scholars.
• Robert O. Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism. Many consider this book the authority on the subject. Why read it? Because it is not for me to say I am not a fascist without being able to say anything coherent on the meaning of fascism. BTW - I have met someone who was a self-declared fascist. I asked them what they meant by the word. They could say nothing of relevance. This is part of the problem today.
• Wayne Grudem, Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture
• John Corvino and Ryan T. Anderson, Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination
• John Corvino and Ryan T. Anderson, Debating Same-Sex Marriage
• Ryan T. Anderson, Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom
• Mark Yarhouse, Understanding Gender Dysphoria: Navigating Transgender Issues In a Changing Culture
• Dan O. Via and Robert Gagnon, Homosexuality and the Bible: Two Views
• James Beilby and Paul Eddy, Understanding Transgender identities; Four Views.
• Eric Fromm, Marx's Concept of Man. A nice introduction to the real Marx. Why read this? Because many critique Marx, but are unable to explain what they are critiqueing. This approach is not for me. I'm not a Marxist. I want to be able to say, with some intelligence, why.
• Emmanuel Kotongole and Chris Rice, Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing.
• Ed Stetzer, Christians In the Age of Outrage: How to Bring Our Best When the World Is At Its Worst. Very helpful. 

And, of course, keep saturating yourself in Scripture. Why pay attention to anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus but has no time for this? Or, has no time to pray? Or, is disconnected from the church?

Study the ethics of Jesus. Read the Gospels. Check this out - The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics. 

Do I agree with everything written in these books? 

Of course not. I don't even agree with everything you say. 

And, I have said things that, upon reflection, have caused me to disagree with myself.

***

My three books are...

Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God.

Leading the Presence-Driven Church

Encounters with the Holy Spirit (a book I co-edited with Janice Trigg)

I''m now giving attention to Transformation: How God Changes the Human Heart

Followed by... Technology and Spiritual Formation

Then, Linda and I will co-write our book on Relationships.