G.R.O.W. - Fear Withers in an Atmosphere of Faith

(Me and Linda, in Asheville)

Fear is a virus. It looks for a person, or a home, to reside in. 

Fear needs a host.

Fear is a virus that cannot survive in an atmosphere of faith. Just as darkness flees when light appears, faith shows fear the exit door.
  
We see the antagonistic relationship between fear and faith when we read this from Psalm 23:

Because you are with me,

I fear no evil.

Because who is with me? Jesus. In John 14 we read that Jesus takes up residence in our home. He is the One who will never leave or forsake us. When Jesus lives in us, fear exits.

Many people and their homes are fear-based. In his book Lifesigns, Henri Nouwen writes: 

"We are fearful people. The more people I come to know and the more I come to know people, the more I am overwhelmed by the negative power of fear. It often seems that fear has invaded every part of our being to such a degree that we no longer know what a life without fear would feel like." 

Nouwen asks us, "Do you dwell in the house of fear, or the house of faith?"

We can grow, and cultivate, an atmosphere of faith. It will be a fear-less, less-fear, environment, as we do these four things.

Give thanks. Make a list of things you thank God for. Carry the list with you. Re-read often. Add to it as needed.

Remember. Make another list, this time writing events where God brought you through hard times, and into the light. Carry this list with you. Re-read often.

Obey. Live a disciple's life. Follow Jesus. We learn a lot about faith as we trust him and follow.

Worship. Live a God-honoring, God-glorifying life.

G. R. O. W.

Fear withers in an atmosphere of faith.

PEACE (Variations on Matthew 5:9)

 

                                                                    (Monroe County)

Here are the words of Jesus, in Matthew 5:9, with variations on the theme.

Blessed are the peacemakers, 

for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who put things together, 

rather than tear things apart.

Blessed are those who, 

more than loving peace, 

make peace.

Blessed are those who stay when the going gets tough,

rather than leave because the going is tough.

Blessed are those who go to the other person,

rather than tell others about the other person.

Blessed are those who deal lovingly with their anger,

rather than sleep on their anger.

Blessed are the problem-solvers,

rather than the complainers.

Blessed are the understanders,

rather than the judgers.

Blessed are the participants,

rather than the observers.

Blessed are the doers,

rather than the talkers.

Blessed are those who wage peace,

not war.

Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled

(Redeemer)

John 14:1 - “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

Jesus' words imply that we have a responsibility for the spiritual and emotional condition of our hearts.  It appears  we can “let” our hearts be troubled. It seems there is something we can do about our troubledness, some action we can take. 

That action is: actively trusting. The antidote to inner troubledness is trust. Where there is active trust, troubledness does not exist. 

The object of our trust must be sufficient enough to alleviate our troubledness. For example, were I to take a plane across the ocean, I place my trust in: 1) the pilot (he must have sufficient training, knowledge, experience, and physical and emotional well-being; 2) the airplane (it must be structurally sufficient, have the requisite capacity of range, and so on); 3) the airplane mechanics; 4) and so on.

The question becomes: Is Jesus a sufficient object of trust? Can I trust Jesus? I only find this out by actively placing my trust in Him. All trust is learned, and earned.

Jesus continues, "You believe in God; believe also in me." (John 14:1) The Greek word we translate as "believe" is pisteuete (πιστεύετε). This can be translated as "place confidence in," or "trust in." To believe is to trust.

I place my confidence in God. I place my confidence in Jesus. I believe, therefore I trust. This means: I follow Jesus. 

There;s an old worship song called "Trust and Obey." As trust is exemplified in obedience, I discover that troubledness dissipates. 

Be Discipled in Renewal School of Ministry (Begins Jan. 10)

 

The purpose of "church" is: to make disciples of Jesus.

So, I have been in an ongoing process of being discipled. 

If you identify as a Follower of Jesus, then continue your discipleship training this winter.

Renewal School of Ministry is a great opportunity to do this.

On Jan. 10 the first of four class offerings is launched. Each class is a once-a-week, six-week learning experience.

Here are the four class offerings. Registration is here (tuition free, with a small processing charge).

The courses for Winter/Spring 2021 are listed below. 

Click on the course title for the course descriptions.

  

RSOM Courses, 2021 Winter/Spring Terms

Term 1 From January 10, 2021 to February 20, 2021

All Classes start at 8 pm ET, 7 pm CT, 6 pm MT, 5 pm PT

 Identity in Christ -                         Ross Lieuallen

Starting Sunday Jan. 10 for 6 consecutive Sundays ending Sunday Feb. 14

The Presence Driven Church -           John Piippo

Starting Monday Jan. 11 for 6 consecutive Mondays ending Monday Feb. 15

Old Testament Survey -                           Peter Conlin

Starting Tuesday Jan. 12 for 6 consecutive Tuesdays ending Tuesday Feb. 16

Ministry and Kingdom Impact Through Power, Authority, and Spiritual Gifts-         Steve Dominquez 

Starting Thursday Jan. 14 for 6 consecutive Thursdays ending Thursday Feb. 18

 

SPECIAL SEMINAR: 

"Demystifying Homosexuality: Questions and Answers"         Phillip Lee 

Date:  Saturday Feb. 13, 2021 at 9am-11am PT, 12noon-2pm ET

A seminar designed to help clear up the misconceptions many have today about homosexuality. 

Why should sharing the Gospel to a gay person be approached differently than to anyone else? Scripturally-speaking: what do we know about homosexuality? Why doesn't God just go ‘Poof!’and make it go away?

Is just saying homosexuality is a sin good enough?

Is there a difference between unwanted same-sex attraction versus stating, "I'm gay! “? 

Does it matter why the person you love is homosexual? 

The seminar offers biblical and compassionate responses to homosexuality for parents, pastors, co-workers, a neighbor, or maybe just a good friend.

 

BASIC CLASS INFORMATION

Course Times/Dates:  

Classes will be a 1.5 hour Zoom meeting for six weeks on the same night each week starting at 8 pm ET / 7 pm CT / 6 pm MT / 5 pm PT. Currently there are classes scheduled for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights. 

Cost:  

The cost to participate in RSOM is so  low  it is astounding!  You’ll be charged a fee of $10 per course, or a maximum of $25 for all courses taught per six-week term.  It is our desire to make these courses accessible to all. 

Judgmentalism and Making Judgments

(Oval Beach, Douglas, Michigan)

A belief is a judgment that something is true, that a certain state of affairs obtains. Beliefs are expressed in statements. A statement is a sentence that is either true or false. A statement makes a claim that a certain state of affairs obtains, or does not obtain.

If a statement is true, it is true for everyone. In logic there is no such thing as subjective truth. To think that something is "true for you" but "false for me" is to fall into the rabbit hole of irrationality. 

Consider, e.g., the statement The lights in this room are now on. That is a belief, expressed in a statement. The statement is either true or false. If it is true (= the expressed state of affairs, viz., the lights being on, obtains) then it is true for everyone.

Of course there are things that are relative to persons. For example, John thinks sushi is good, but Jim thinks sushi is bad. But note this. When these two states of affairs are expressed in statements, the statements themselves, if true, are true for everyone.

Because everyone has beliefs, everyone makes judgments. This is unavoidable. Because every judgment is either T or F, every judgment (statement) marginalizes. If the statement The lights in this room are now on is true, then if I think the statement is false I am wrong. All statements make truth claims. All statements either embrace or exclude. 

Some people (many, I think) mistake the making of judgments with an attitude of judgmentalism. Let's say, for example, that X thinks There is nothing wrong with doing heroin. But I think It is wrong to do heroin. These two statements express beliefs X and I have. Both cannot be right. One of us is wrong. In fact, I think X is wrong about their belief. To say this is not to be "judgmental" or some kind of "judging person." It is only to make a judgment. Judgment-making is unavoidable and necessary and helpful in navigating through life.

Let's say X does heroin and asks me, "What do you think about doing heroin?"

I respond (here comes a statement): It is wrong to do heroin.

X feels angry and tells me, "Stop judging me! You are so judgmental!" 

No, that can't be right. I only expressed a belief, only made a judgment. X has committed the mistake of confusing the making of a judgment with a judgmental attitude. This now becomes a problem with X, not me. In fact, when X says, You are so judgmental, they have made a judgment about me which, in this case, is false.

Judgment-making is unavoidable and necessary to live this life. But judgment-making is not equivalent to being judgmental. The first is a matter of logic, the second is a matter of attitude.


***
My book on prayer is Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God (May 2016)

My book on leadership is Leading the Presence-Driven Church

I'm now working on...

Transformation: How God Changes the Human Heart

After the dust clears, Linda and I plan to write our book on Relationships.

Overcoming Self-rejection

The River Raisin, Monroe County, MI

Henri Nouwen writes: "The great obstacle which prevents the Spirit working in us is self-rejection. The greatest obstacle to the Spirit working in us is that we say to ourselves that we are useless, we are nothing." (The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life, 78)

Conversely, the open door to the Spirit's working in us is the heart-knowledge that we are deeply loved and accepted, by grace, by God. 

Jesus told his disciples that, after his death, the Father would come and make his home in their hearts. When we know we are loved by God, and that God loves us in spite of the condition of our hearts, we welcome the homecoming of God. We are "something" in the eyes of God, so much so that the Spirit desires to take up residence within us.

Self-rejection resists the Spirit of God residing in us because we feel undeserving. I have met Christians who insist that God is angry with them, and wants nothing to do with them. That is a denial of the grace of God, and shuts the door to experiencing the love and power of God.

Nouwen writes:

"Once I know I am the Beloved, once I start discovering that in me, then the Spirit can work in me and in others; then we can do wonderful things. Now, once I say, "No, God doesn't love me, I am not as good as everyone else," somehow I do not claim the truth that Jesus came to proclaim." (Ib.)

Embracing God's love for you is the antidote to a spirit of self-rejection.

***
My two books are:

Praying: Reflections on 40 years of Solitary Conversations with God

Leading the Presence-Driven Church

Letter to My Redeemer Family - Jan. 2, 2021

1/2/21 

HELLO REDEEMER FAMILY!

Tomorrow morning Tim and I are preaching on the discipline of CELEBRATION.

After the service you are invited to drive-through communion, plus prayers of blessing to those of you who come, as you drive through.

Jaymi Yettaw with her shofar will be there - the idea right now is that, as you drive through, the shofar will be sounded, and we will pray and declare blessings over you for this new year.

And, I will have, for each elementary age child, a party horn to celebrate with.

In addition, a basket will be available should you decide to bring your offering.

Hope this makes sense, and hope to see some of you tomorrow.

Blessings!

PJ

                      (I bought a bunch of these party horns to give to kids on Sunday morning.)

To Love Is Not to Always Agree

 

(Lake Michigan sunset)

The man and his fiancé sat in my office. They wanted to talk about premarital counseling, and to ask if I would officiate at their wedding ceremony.

The man said, "We have arranged a prenuptial agreement." This is an agreement made by a couple before they marry concerning the ownership of their respective assets should the marriage fail.

I said, "I cannot do your wedding."

"Why not?"

"Because I see marriage as a covenant, made before God, that lasts through better or worse, "until death do us part." So, I cannot support prenuptial agreements."

That meeting happened twenty years ago. I have not seen this couple since then.

I did not hate them. I felt that I liked them. Even loved them, as God loves them. But I did not agree with them, concerning the prenuptial agreement. And this made them angry with me. Many will not like you if you are not in agreement with them.

To love is not to always agree. If that were true, we would hate everyone. No two people agree on everything. I say this humbly, after forty-seven years of marriage to Linda. Can you believe it - we do not see eye-to-eye on everything!

Disagreement can be dangerous. It can destroy an unhealthy relationship that is already unloving. The words "I disagree with you about that" is impossible for some to hear. If their relationship was truly loving, then disagreements can be voiced, without fear of being accused of being unloving.

In the biblical book of 1 John we read that there is no fear in love. Where there is perfect love, withholding disagreement would be unloving. 

One more example. Our church's position on marriage, to which I have long ascribed, is this: Marriage is a covenant relationship between a man and a woman, established by God as the foundation of family and human society reflecting the nature of Christ’s sacrificial love and devotion for His bride, the Church. 

If you disagree with me on this, please do not conclude that I do not love you. I don't agree with you. If I was dishonest about this, I would not be loving you. Because to love is not always to agree.

(For an example of two people lovingly disagreeing with each other on the matter of same-sex marriage, watch this video.)

***

SEE ALSO

To Disagree Is Not to Hate

Welcoming and Sometimes Disaffirming

It Is Irrational and Unloving to Affirm All Beliefs

How to Keep a Spiritual Journal

Munson Park, Monroe

I've been keeping a spiritual journal for over forty years. I have read and responded to hundreds of 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 spiritual 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? Write it down in your journal.

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 the burden on paper makes it feel like its 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 when 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) Interact with other Jesus-followers who spend much time in God's presence.

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, as a record of God's voice to you, is about you and God. 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, 
• 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.

***
My two books are:

Leading the Presence-Driven Church

Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God

Hope

 

                                                                        (Our grandson Levi)

"Hope," writes Miroslav Volf, "is love stretching itself into the future." (Volf, A Public Faith: How Followers of Christ Should Serve the Public Good, Kindle location 978)

Hope is expectation. When I hope, I expect something from the future. And that "something," when it comes to hope, is seen as good. 

"In our everyday usage, “hope” is, roughly, the expectation of good things that don’t come to us as a matter of course." (Ib.)

Hope is different than optimism. 

"Optimism has to do with good things in the future that are latent in the past and the present; the future associated with optimism is an unfolding of what is already there. We survey the past and the present, extrapolate about what is likely to happen in the future, and, if the prospects are good, become optimistic." (Kindle Locations 989-991) 

Hope is different. Hope "has to do with good things in the future that come to us from “outside,” from God; the future associated with hope— [Jurgen] Moltmann calls it adventus—is a gift of something new." (Kindle Locations 991-993)

Hope is about a promise, given to us from God. 

Because God is love, we trust in God's faithfulness. "God then brings about “a new thing”: aged Sarah, barren of womb, gives birth to a son (Gen. 21:1–2; Rom. 4:18–21); the crucified Jesus Christ is raised from the dead (Acts 2:22–36); a mighty Babylon falls and a new Jerusalem comes down from heaven (Rev. 18:1–24; 21:1–5); more generally, the good that seemed impossible becomes not just possible but real." (Kindle Locations 994-996)

Volf writes: 

"The expectation of good things that come as a gift from God—that is hope. And that is love too, projecting itself into our life and our world’s future. For love always gives gifts and is itself a gift; inversely, every genuine gift is an expression of love. At the heart of the hoped-for future, which comes from the God of love, is the flourishing of individuals, communities, and our whole globe." (Kindle Locations 997-999)

How does a person become a hope-filled person? By living in constant connection to God. Hopelessness is a dis-ease that breeds outside the house of God. But within God's house, we live close to the heart and voice of God. This is where we hear and receive the multiform promises of God.

Hope is the emotion, as an orientation of my being, that arises in God's presence, where I hear his promises to me and to us.

In this new year, 2021, increase intimacy with God, and hope will arise in you.