Spiritual Growth

Try Again This Year

When CJ leaves for work at the end of the day, he tells Tony, his assistant, and Nora, his secretary: “We’ll try again tomorrow,”
 
That’s short for: “Well friends, we worked hard today, but once again we failed to accomplish everything we hoped. Maybe we even made mistakes, used poor judgment, or experienced setbacks. We are frail and finite creatures. Only God gets His to-do list done. And only God does it perfectly, every day. So, let’s humbly acknowledge our weakness and insufficiency in contrast to His strength and sovereignty. But let’s not give up in despair. If God wills, let’s come back tomorrow and by His grace, do our best to serve Him faithfully, for His glory!”
 
Let’s try again tomorrow.
 
I think CJ’s little phrase can help us in the New Year.
 
Are you discouraged by unfulfilled resolutions from years past? Maybe you’ve already failed to keep your resolutions for 2010.
 
I can easily get discouraged when I consider this past year: My recipes remain half-organized on my computer. My reading list is only two-thirds completed. Certain relationships I wanted to invest in remain untended. My unbelief still dogs me.
 
But I read more books this year than if I’d never resolved to read at all. I’ve taken more initiative with people, even if not as much as I would have liked. And the recipes are half way-organized instead of one big mess! By God’s grace, I think I’ve even grown in faith, however slow my progress.
 
I may not have completed my to-do list for 2009. But I’ve done more than if I never tried at all.
 
So, I’m going to try again this year. I’m going to make new resolutions to glorify God. I’m going to seek to make them humbly—recognizing my weakness and inability to complete them all perfectly.
 
But in the words of Paul: “one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). I want to press on to be more like Jesus and be with Him more often in 2010.
 
As we bid goodbye to 2009, I say to you: “Let’s try again this year.”

As Evening Shadows Advance

My friend Rita sent me this letter from John Newton to his wife, Mary. The author of Amazing Grace was sixty years old when he wrote these words. He and his wife—whom he loved very much—had been married for thirty-five years. She would pass away five years later and he would live for another seventeen years after that.

CJ and I have been married for thirty-four years, so I feel I can relate to much of what John Newton writes about this season of life. His beautiful letter is long, I know, but it is worth taking a few moments to read.

Let pastor, husband, author, and Christian John Newton instruct all of us in the joys of marital fidelity and love, the peace of trusting in the faithfulness of God, and the hope of future grace for the journey.

August 6, 1785
 
My dear wife,

I long to hear that you had a comfortable journey to Southampton, and that you are now with our dear friends. Nothing has taken place among us that can be properly called new; which is a great mercy. For, though you have been gone but one day, a single day, or a single hour—may produce painful alterations in a family. The Lord has preserved us through a long course of years, and in different situations, from various calamities which have overtaken others. Our obligations to thankfulness are singular and numerous.

When the carriage drove past the corner, my heart seemed to go away with it. It contained what was of more value to me than the cargoes of a whole East India fleet. Tell our niece Eliza that I love her very dearly. She would soon be well--if I could make her so. But she is in better hands than mine! I have a comfortable hope that her illness has been, and will be, sanctified to an end far more desirable than health or life itself. Therefore I leave her to the wise and merciful direction of the Lord, who loves her better than I can.

I cannot write a long letter tonight. What could I, indeed, say, if I had more time, that I have not said a thousand times over? Yet there still is, and will be, something unsaid in my heart, which I have not words to express. May the Lord bless this little separation to quicken us to mutual prayer, and to lead us to a thankful review of the mercy and goodness which have followed us through the many years we have been united.

How many changes have we seen! Under how many trials have we been supported! How many deliverances have we known! How many comforts have we enjoyed! Especially, what great advantages have we possessed, in knowing those things which pertain to our everlasting peace!

The years we have passed together--will return no more. The afflictions are gone, the pleasures likewise are gone, forever. The longer we live, such pleasures as this world can afford, will, more and more, lose their power of pleasing. Only our love, I trust, will exist and flourish to the end of life--yes, beyond it! It will always be a truth, that the Lord, in giving you to me--gave me the best temporal desire of my heart. But the shadows of the evening advance. Old age is creeping in upon us, and the days are approaching when we shall have no pleasure--but what we can derive from the good Word of God, and the consolations of his Holy Spirit. These, if we are favored with them, will sufficiently compensate for the abatement, or the loss, of all the rest. The streams may run dry--but the fountain of living waters will always flow! May His presence be near our hearts--and then all will be well.

I am too fully employed to feel time hang heavy upon my hands in your absence; and, if I am permitted to come to you, the thoughts of the journey's end will make the journey pleasant.

A Coronary Mom

These days you’ll find me at home changing diapers, picking up toys, helping Jack make pb&j’s (I do the peanut butter and he does the jelly), wiping spit-up off my clothes—and, here’s where it gets exciting—going to Wal Mart to purchase more diapers. (Hot Tip: I’ve found the White Cloud brand to be the best of the cheapest.)

My home is a long way from the community college campus where I used to serve as a ministry intern on behalf of my church—sharing the gospel and discipling girls every day. It’s a long way from the offices of Covenant Life Church where I organized women’s meetings and retreats for hundreds. It’s a very long way from Hungary and India where I traveled on short-term mission trips.

I love my life now, even if it doesn’t always seem as “exciting” or “significant” as what I used to do. Maybe that’s why this thought from John Piper—from his book The Roots of Endurance resonated with me:

“As I write this Preface I have just preached to my people several messages in which I pleaded with them to be ‘coronary Christians,’ not ‘adrenal Christians.’ Not that adrenaline is bad, I said; it gets me through lots of Sundays. But it lets you down on Mondays. The heart is another kind of friend. It just keeps on serving—very quietly, through good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated. It never says, ‘I don’t like your attitude, Piper, I’m taking a day off.’ It just keeps humbly lub-dubbing along. It endures the way adrenaline doesn’t. Coronary Christians are like the heart in the causes they serve. Adrenal Christians are like adrenaline—a spurt of energy and then fatigue. What we need in the cause of... [motherhood] is not spurts of energy, but people who endure for the long haul. Marathoners, not sprinters.”

Being a wife and mother—or doing any other long-term kingdom work—requires us to be “coronary Christians.” It requires faithfulness even when we don’t see the fruit. It requires joy in the mundane, unglamorous tasks. It calls for confidence that God will bless our gospel-motivated labors.

So if you are weary, discouraged, or even bored with the work God is calling you to today, join me in asking for God’s grace to be a “coronary Christian.”

Regrets Resolved

I recently had a conversation with a woman who expressed regret over how she had parented her daughter. Mothers or not, we all have regrets. We are sinners, who, although "made anew by an unseen power of grace," (The Valley of Vision, "Man A Nothing") still await glorification in heaven some day.  Maybe our regrets are mild and nagging, or perhaps they overwhelm our everyday thoughts and stymie our progress in godliness.

Whenever I am tempted to wallow in regret over a mistake, an unwise decision, a sinful comment, I have often found encouragement in these thoughts from Charles Spurgeon:

“What is the use of regret unless we can rise by it to a better future? Sighs, which do not raise us higher, are an ill use of vital breath. Chasten yourselves, but be not discouraged. Gather up the arrows which aforetime fell wide of the mark, not to break them in passionate despair, but to send them to the target with direct aim, and a more concentrated force. Weave victories out of defeats. Learn success from failure, wisdom from blundering” (Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership by Steve Miller, p. 93)

Let’s get off our mental couch of despair over past sins and mistakes. Let us not be like the one the apostle Peter describes as “so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (1 Peter 1:9) By the power of Christ, let’s be all the more diligent to make our calling and election sure (v. 10). Let’s weave victories out of defeat.

All Good Gifts

All the girltalkers awoke this morning feeling extra tired and a little achy (Nicole especially!) from having walked many miles over the past two days for our annual shopping trip. We say it every year, but it’s true once again: This trip was our best one yet! We had a blast together and were able to finish almost all our Christmas shopping to boot! 

How grateful I am for the friendship I enjoy with my three daughters. I’m even more thankful that they passionately love the Savior, ardently adore their husbands and children and delight in their homemaking careers, and faithfully serve in their local churches. I am a rich woman indeed!

However, I am freshly aware that this relational richness is not of my own making, but a gift from God. As my all time favorite preacher reminded us in his sermon on Sunday from 1 Corinthians 4:7: “What do you have that you did not receive?” Of course, the only right and appropriate answer to this question that Paul asks is: Absolutely nothing!

This reality should have a humbling effect on our souls and should produce expressions of gratefulness as we identify countless gifts throughout our day. Instead of arrogantly imagining we had something to do with all the blessings we enjoy, let’s recognize they come to us straight from Calvary.

For further (and more profound) thoughts on this topic, take some time to listen to my husband’s sermon. And may God receive the glory for all the good gifts He bestows—most of all, the gift of His Son.

How I Became a Christian

During his sermon on Sunday (the link is up, by the way!), Dad shared a well-known story from Charles Spurgeon, describing the origins of his understanding of the doctrines of grace:

One week-night, when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking much about the preacher's sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, "How did you come to be a Christian" I sought the Lord. "But how did you come to seek the Lord?" The truth flashed across my mind in a moment--I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, "I ascribe my change wholly to God."

When I consider, as Spurgeon did, the question, "How did I become a Christian?" my first thought is: because of my parents. I was taught the truths about Christ and His work on the cross from a little child. The Christian faith is all I ever knew. But why was I attracted to my parent’s faith? Why did I personally repent from my sins and put my trust in Christ? Why have I persevered in my Christian walk? When I pursue the answers, as Spurgeon did, I come--as I must--to the same conclusion: "God was at the bottom of it all…He was the Author of my faith." It was He who placed me in a Christian family. It was He who made my parent’s faith attractive to me. It was Christ who drew me to Himself. And ultimately, it is His grace that sustains me to the end.

What a comfort and a joy the doctrines of grace are. I am not a Christian because of the family I was born into or because of my own efforts. For then what confidence would I have to persevere? Rather, I am a Christian because, in the mystery of His mercy, Christ chose me.

Likewise, this doctrine inspires faith to pray for my own children. I cannot create little Christians. I cannot, by all my own efforts bring them into the kingdom. Although it is my privilege and responsibility to share the gospel with my children, only Christ can draw their hearts to His truth. Lord, may you reveal yourself to my boys. May they one day say with Mr. Spurgeon: "I ascribe my change wholly to God!"

My Typical Un-Typical Sunday

Yesterday was a typical and not so typical Sunday. 

First of all, nobody had a runny nose and I was able to attend church! Not typical.

I dressed my boys in their cute new fall clothes. They all looked quite handsome, I do have to say. We made it all the way to church without any spills, rips, or buttons popping off. Again, not typical.

After dropping each of the boys off at their Sunday school classes, I went into the service for worship. I arrived during the second song. Typical, I’m afraid. But I’m working hard to be on time!

Yesterday’s service is one I would have been especially disappointed to miss because my favorite preacher—my dad—was speaking. This occurrence is not so typical, since he no longer leads Covenant Life Church. I know I’m biased, but I have to brag on him a little because he did an incredible job! Listen for yourself and see if you don’t agree.

What a powerful and holy time it is to hear God’s Word preached. Typical? Yes. But on the other hand, never typical!

A Letter for Chad (and for you)

We’ve already spoken about Chad’s birthday several times this week. Before we leave this event to the family history books, we want to share one of Chad’s letters with you. As Mom explained on Monday, she and Dad wanted Chad to hear the “voices” of godly men he respects on this special occasion. To read Chad’s book of letters is to realize what a precious gift he has received in the lives and the words of these men.

One of the men who kindly wrote Chad a letter was Dad’s friend, David Powlison. While each letter was uniquely moving, Dr. Powlison’s words were not only applicable to a thirteen year old boy progressing toward manhood, but have been an encouragement to us all. So much so, that Dad even used this letter in a recent counseling situation, and we couldn’t refrain from asking permission to share it with all of you.

Please don’t skim this letter or read it too quickly. It is priceless biblical guidance from a wise man for all of us—young and old. I’m willing to bet you won’t get through it without being moved to tears as you contemplate the mercy of God in your life. So, please read it as if it was written to you. Then share it with a friend.

Maybe This Year…

Do you do this too? Each year I make my New Year's resolutions, but without planning to, I set New Year's hopes too. I picture myself at the following new year, happily contented, having received my heart’s greatest desires.

When I was single, it was the desire for a husband. Maybe this year, he will come. I couldn’t see “him” anywhere and yet I would imagine myself married by the following new-year, or at least with a potential young man in sight by then. Maybe “This Year” was holding him in the wings.

But marriage didn’t cure this hope-setting habit. This year I desire to have another child. So, predictably, I picture myself excitedly telling my husband we’re pregnant, or pushing a stroller into church. Maybe this year.

In a meditation by this title from her book, Keep A Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliot encourages a radically different New Year's hope:

“Will the young woman find a mate? Will the couple have a child? Maybe this year will be the year of desire fulfilled. Perhaps, on the other hand, it will be the year of desire radically transformed, the year of finding, as we have perhaps not yet truly found, Christ to be the All-Sufficient One, Christ the ‘deep sweet well of Love’” (page 49, emphasis mine).

This year I’m setting a new hope along with my resolutions, that 2006 might be a year of desires radically transformed. “Lord, this year, would you please dissolve all my desires into a single one: to know You. Please tear down all the idols of my heart that I set up in a row at the new year. Please give me an all-consuming passion to know you, a consistent joy in the forgiveness of my sins, and a constant delight in the glory of Christ. May this be a year of finding you to be the All-Sufficient One.”

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8a).

Q&A and Personal Reflection

Well, once again we are going to defer Q&A for another Wednesday. For all of you who have sent in questions--we have not forgotten about you! We've saved all the questions in our folder and will continue to try to answer them. You may have sent a question in June and figured it was lost in cyberspace somewhere. But keep checking back. One day you might be pleasantly surprised to find we've attempted to answer your question!

On a different matter, we have received several requests for a downloadable pdf version of Dr. Powlison's Personal Reflection, and he has graciously agreed to allow us to make it available to you. We hope everyone who reads this blog will download this material, re-read it, and apply it often. We don't say this lightly: many questions can be answered as we simply learn to bring Scripture into the details of our lives.

(Personal Reflection, copyright Dr. David Powlison, editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling, published by the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation.)

Personal Reflection Part Six

When we were little, my dad would sometimes tease us by saying: "I've got bad news and I've got good news...which do you want to hear first?" In this case, the "bad" news is that this is the final post of the Personal Reflection by David Powlison. However, the good news is that this concluding portion contains recommendations from Dr. Powlison of Scriptures, articles, and books for further study in the areas of anger, anxiety, and escapism.

And the very good news is that God has blessed Dr. Powlison with an abundance of biblical wisdom which is available in many other articles and books. We hope, that like us, you too have become big David Powlison fans (if you weren't already). And we want to vigorously encourage you to take advantage of the resources available by him, and the other godly folks at the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation.

We want to mention just a few before offering the conclusion to the Personal Reflection.

1. The Journal of Biblical Counseling, edited by David Powlison -- we've mentioned it before on this blog, but if you haven't yet subscribed to THE Journal (that's what we call it around our house), do it now! Better yet, consider it as a truly life-changing Christmas gift for friends and family.

2.  Seeing with New Eyes -- this excellent book by David Powlison includes many of his best articles from the Journal, including several recommended below.

3. Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community -- Dr. Powlison's new book, due out this month!

Personal Reflection, cont.
by David Powlison

For Further Study

Anxiety:
•    1 Peter 5:7 offers a particularly condensed version of themes we have been discussing: “Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you.”  A specific promise from God meets us in the variety of our cares.  As you really hear this promise and call, anxiety must yield to faith.  The parable of the sower has a pointed challenge to the corrosive power of anxiety (Matt. 13:22, Mark 4:19, Luke 8:14).

•    “Peace, be Still:  Learning Psalm 131 by Heart” (Journal of Biblical Counseling, 18:2 and in Seeing with New Eyes, P&R, 2003).  This psalm is the finest example of how restless souls learn peacefulness!

•    “Don’t Worry” (Journal of Biblical Counseling, 21:2 and in Seeing with New Eyes, P&R, 2003)

Anger:
•    Galatians 5:6, 5:13-6:10.  Notice how the sins related to anger comprise 8 of the 15 works of the flesh that Paul samples in 5:19-21, as well as his introductory and concluding examples (5:15 and 5:25).  Notice how it addresses both motives (lusts/cravings of the flesh as voices that contend with the voice and desires of the Holy Spirit) and lifestyle (works of the flesh, the behaviors and emotions that contend with the fruit of the Spirit).  Notice how repeatedly, specifically, and variously God reveals himself in order to produce faith working through love.

•    3 articles on anger by David Powlison (Journal of Biblical Counseling, 14:1, 14:2, 16:1)

Escapism/addiction:
•    Consider the dozens of psalms of refuge.  Each calls us to the opposite of sinful escapism in the midst of the pressures of life.  Psalm 55 is particularly vivid on the impulse to escape troubles, rightly directed.

•    Galatians 5:13-6:10 (see above).  Notice that the first three and last two works of the flesh are escapist sins.  See also Romans 13:12-14.  Here the first of four examples are in the escapist family of sins (and the last two are anger-family sins).  Notice how horizontal sins are addressed in relation to heart issues (when desires of the flesh rule--deeds of the darkness; when faith puts on the Lord Jesus Christ--daylight lifestyle)

•    Ed Welch, Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave (P&R, 2001)

Trials:
•    “Suffering and Psalm 119” (Journal of Biblical Counseling, 22:4, Speaking Truth in Love, 2005) God has much bigger goals than just solving our personal problems. He wants us to KNOW Him—and along the way that changes us, too. Psalm 119 is an example of the interpersonal/conversational nature of living, talking faith.

Personal Reflection Part Five

This week we have received biblical and intensely relevant counsel for overcoming the sins of anger, anxiety, and escapism. As common as these sins are, we face many other temptations as well: selfishness, arrogance, lust, greed, vanity...and I'm just getting started.

Mindful of this reality, Dr. Powlison has provided us with eight questions that will help us recognize what sinful desire is ruling our heart, identify what the Bible says to us in our specific situation, and take actives steps to repent and change.

In my own efforts to apply God's Word to my life, nothing has helped me more than these eight questions. I've used them countless times, and I have no doubt you will too.

Personal Reflection, cont.
by Dr. David Powlison

Questions

1.    What is your situation?  What are you facing?

2.    How do you react?  How are you typically tempted to react?

3.    What rules you, capturing your heart?  What do you want? Fear? Believe?

4.    What does God in Christ say and do that enters, addresses, and changes everything?

5.    Respond to God from the heart.  Listen.  Turn. Trust.  Come.  Seek.  Ask.  Talk.   Transact.

6.    Respond constructively into your situation.  Speak.  Act. Don’t do.

Personal Reflection Part Four

I spend most of my days joyfully chasing three small boys. However, there are some days when I’m the one who wants to run away and hide in the bathroom. For those of us mothers with young children, the desire to “escape” and find comfort, relief, and pleasure in something other than God is a pronounced temptation. But all of us can succumb to this ungodly way of dealing with trials, both big and small. In this portion of his Personal Reflection, Dr. Powlison will offer us a guide to how, “Faith works out into a right longing to escape trouble and to help others in their troubles.” (Click here to read the previous posts in this series.)

Personal Reflection, cont.
by Dr. David Powlison

Escapism

1.    Ponder the following passages from Psalm 31.

“In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge…Into your hand I commit my spirit…You have seen my affliction; you have known the troubles of my soul…Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress.  My eye is wasted away from grief…Make your face to shine upon your servant; save me in your lovingkindness.  How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you have wrought for those who take refuge in you, before the sons of men!  You hide them in the secret place of your presence from the conspiracies of man; you keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues…Be strong and let your heart take courage, All you who hope in the LORD.”

Read it over 3-4 times.  Take it slowly.  Emphasize different sentences, phrases, words.  Notice the troubles he faces, and how open he is about his experience.  Jesus quoted this psalm as he was dying.  Notice also how persistently he calls on the character and promises of God.  What most strikes you about this passage as you think about it in comparison to the “false refuges” where you tend to turn when the heat is on?

2.    Now work through our six questions.

Situtation:  What difficult circumstances trigger your avoidance and escapism?

________________________________________________________________________

Reaction:  How do you tend to express pleasure-, safety-, and comfort-seeking (thoughts and fantasies, ‘addictions, ‘vices’, emotions, behavioral choices to avoid or procrastinate)?

________________________________________________________________________

Motive: What “false refuges” do you flee to?  What things, activities, and feelings do you turn into your god, your strong tower of safety, your comforter from trouble?

________________________________________________________________________

Message:  What specific things does God reveal about Himself (right in this passage), that bid to do battle with your escapism?  ______________________________.  Fan out into the surrounding sentences, backwards and forwards into the psalm.

Turn:  Bring the real you, in your real world, to this real Savior and Father.  Have a real conversation about what matters.  Talk to God about all these things.  Look how honest David (and Jesus) are in this psalm. They honestly experience the difficult circumstances, and come to God about these experiences, interacting with specific things about God.

Respond:  What are you now called to do (and to not do)?  What specific action will express how faith-working-through-love replaces false-refuge-working-through escapism?  What are innocent pleasures?  What can and should you do right now?  Or when you get back home later today?  Or tomorrow when you face your typical difficulties? 

________________________________________________________________________

3.    Worship is the opposite of being an escaper and false refugee. 
What “consolations to delight your soul” do the hymns, ("Jesus what a friend for sinners" & "How firm a foundation" ) offer, give, proclaim, embrace, hope in, delight in?

Personal Reflection Part Three

The girls and I planned who would post this week by determining which topic was most applicable to each of us, so that we could provide a personal introduction. I had a difficult time choosing, because I struggle--equally I think--with all three of these sins. (By the way, if you are checking out the blog for the first time this week, you will need to read Monday and Tuesday’s entries to understand what I’m talking about.) Needless to say, I am benefiting greatly from Dr.Powlison’s invaluable biblical counsel. In fact, so much so, I have taken a brief detour from my normal study during my morning devotions and I'm studying this material instead.

Speaking of detours, we will not be doing our normal Q & A post today. We think that the wisdom Dr. Powlison is providing will serve to answer many of the questions we receive far better than we could. We hope you agree and we pray that you are benefiting from this rich counsel as much as we are!

Personal Reflection, cont.
by David Powlison

Anger

1.    Ponder the following passage from Ephesians.

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.  Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma”  (Ephesians 4:29-5:2).

Read it over 3-4 times.  Take it slowly.  Emphasize different sentences, phrases, words.  Where do you tend to misfire in this area?  Notice how God boxes us in: you can’t “keep to yourself” (bitterness), or “go to the other person” (wrath and anger), or “go to other people” (clamor and slander)!  We are driven to deal with our attitudes before God, and then deal constructively and mercifully with others.  Notice how persistently Paul puts specifics about the Lord into the picture.  He knows we need strong and sweet-tasting medicine in order to deal with anger.  What most strikes you about this passage?

2.    Now work through our six questions.

Situation:  What circumstances trigger your anger or complaining? What pushes your buttons?

________________________________________________________________________

Reaction:  How do you express anger (thoughts, emotions, actions)? 

________________________________________________________________________

Motive:  What are your “buttons”? 
I want _____________________. 
I must have____________________. 
At all costs, I don’t want _______________ and must avoid it.

Message:  What specific things does God reveal about Himself (right in this passage), that bid to do battle with your angry reactions?

________________________________________________________________________

You might also start to fan out into the surrounding sentences in Ephesians.

Turn:  Bring the real you in your real world to this Savior and Father.  Have a conversation about what matters.  Talk to God about these things.  It is a huge step to verbalize out loud that our “buttons” (idols, cravings) are core sins, and to verbalize that we need the very mercies that are held out as our example.  Christ is not a “model” that we watch from afar and then seek to emulate. Rather, he actually treats us with mercy, so we experience his mercy.  By doing mercy to us, he teaches us up close and personal to show mercy to others.

Respond:  What are you now called to do (and to not do)?  What specific actions express how faith-working-through-love replaces craving-working-through-anger?  What can and must you do right now that is merciful?  Or when you get back home later today?

________________________________________________________________________

3.    Worship is the opposite of anger & grumbling.
What “consolations to delight your soul” do the hymns, ("Jesus, what a friend for sinners" & "How firm a foundation") offer, give, proclaim, embrace, hope in, delight in?

Personal Reflection Part Two

This Personal Reflection on anxiety is excellent application of the little paragraph that we read this morning.  I call this a “sit down and stay a while” kind of post.  I would encourage each of you to set aside some time to work through this material.  Don’t read it and quickly move on.  There isn’t one of us who can claim innocence when it comes to the sin of anxiety.  Dr. Powlison is both direct and gentle in his words as he leads us through a Scriptural perspective and a plan of action for change.  I am so grateful for this material as I daily fight my own battle against anxiety.

So have a seat, (at this point, I would also recommend getting your favorite snack), and ask the Lord to speak to you as you read.

Personal Reflection, cont.
by David Powlison

Anxiety

1. Ponder the following passage from Psalm 94.

“When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, your consolations delight my soul” (Psalm 94:19).

Read it over 3-4 times.  Take it slowly.  Emphasize different words and phrases.  Where do you tend to misfire regarding worry, fear, uncertainty, obsession?  What most strikes you now as you think about how this voice of faith talks about his experience of both anxiety and the Lord?

2. Now work through our six questions.

Situation:  What circumstances tend to arouse your specific worries and preoccupations?

________________________________________________________________________

Reaction:  How does anxiety typically show up in you?  (thought patterns, feelings, behaviors, inner obsession)

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Motive:  What erases God from your universe, hijacking the controls of your heart?  Get as specific as possible.  Our lusts and lies are evasive and deceitful, but to identify them is like publishing a picture of your enemy.

I want __________________________________________.
I fear (don’t want) _______________________________.
I believe ________________________________________.
If only ________________________, then everything would be fine.

Message:  What specific “consolations” bid to delight you and reclaim you?  Start to branch out from Psalm 94:19, working backwards and forwards into the surrounding sentences.  What brought this worried man delight?  You might also consider Psalm 103, Numbers 6:24-26, or Exodus 34:5-10 to prime your pump.

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Turn:  Bring the real you, in your real world, to your real Savior.  Weave together situation, reaction, motive, and message.  Pick one specific “consolation” to focus on.  Have an honest conversation with your Father about what matters--out loud, not just spinning words within the anxious chambers of your mind!  Honor Him. Give Him thanks.  Need Him.  Ask. Plead. Confess. Delight. Notice. Remember.

Respond:  What are you now called to do (and to not do)?  What specific actions will express how faith-working-through-love replaces idolatry-working-through-worry?  What exactly can and should you do right now?  Later today?  Tomorrow?

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3. Worship is the opposite of anxiety. 
What “consolations to delight your soul” do the hymns, ("Jesus, what a friend of sinners" & "How firm a foundation") offer, give, proclaim, embrace, hope in, delight in?