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A song from the Doobie Brothers got me to thinking. The title is “What a Fool Believes” and I thought about some of the things I once believed. Yep, I have believed some foolish things in my life. I used to believe that I had control. Life showed me otherwise. I used to believe that performance pleased God. Now I know that the gift of grace is that my faith pleases Him. I used to believe that I could go it alone. I have learned that is the worst way to navigate this journey and that we are designed to be in community. Philip Yancey states it beautifully.

“The church works best not as a power center, rather as a countercultural community – in the world but not of it – that shows others how to live the most fulfilled and meaningful life on earth. In modern society that means rejecting the false gods of independence, success, and pleasure and replacing them with love for God and neighbor.”

The author of Hebrews knew this.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another…  (Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT)

I wrote about this in my book Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace. Here is an excerpt about living in community.

We were created to be in a community with other believers. Because of our unity in Christ, we are to embrace those different from ourselves. That’s what makes a church dynamic to a person who experiences grace and acceptance for the first time. And that is why church can be devastating when the congregation becomes selective, judgmental, and legalistic. Anne Lamott shares a thought-provoking observation: “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

That is both an ouch and an amen statement. When differences result in judgment, what we thought was a safe place instead becomes the biggest betrayal of all. When we become “experienced” Christians, something seems to happen. We can lose touch with our former brokenness and sinfulness and desperate need to be forgiven and accepted. That is when the pretense begins that our holiness is based on performance instead of complete dependence on Christ.

Years ago I wrote When Bad Christians Happen to Good People. I envisioned a church that would be the kind of place that you couldn’t keep people away from even if you barred the doors. A place that would value every spiritual, physical, and financial gift, no matter how big or small. A place that would make it a practice to reach out and care for one another sacrificially. A place committed to meet those needs that we now prefer to leave to the “professional Christians” on staff. I dreamed of people from different walks of life, economic status, and culture being involved in each other’s lives without our differences dividing us. A place that would practice the prodigal son ministry, running to welcome those returning home, especially those scarred by bad decisions and sin. We would hold our brothers and sisters accountable to godly standards, but always in humility and grace. We would delight in the company of other spiritual travelers and make it a priority that no one ever felt alone.

I realize now that what I was longing for was a place of grace.

I know that finding and living in real community in our culture isn’t easy. I understand how easy it is to want to throw in the towel. I almost did. The truth is that we need community, even if we’ve been hurt by bad relationships in the past. If you aren’t in a community of grace, it may be time to ask God to lead you to such a place. I know that can be daunting. It took me a long time to find such a place, but I found one. It took me a longer time to realize how God was redeeming every hurt, every slight, and every trial. Eventually, I was able to see how He’d been preparing me, especially through those hard times, to embrace and welcome grace in a whole new way.

I have been swept away by grace. My life—including my relationship with Jesus, my marriage, and my ministry—have been transformed. It’s been that dramatic.

Taken from Stay by Dave Burchett copyright © 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Today I stopped during a road trip for the usual infusion of a caffeinated product. I visited the coffee shop restroom first and noticed that it could use a bit of attention. But I recognized that this was an extremely high-volume pit stop and gave the workers some grace that they were trying to keep up with drink orders more complex than the tax code.

An article on Quora named the most complicated Starbucks order of all time: a Venti, half whole-milk, one-quarter one-percent, one-quarter non-fat, extra-hot, split-quad-shots (1½ shots decaf, 2½ shots regular), no-foam latte, with whip, two packets of Splenda, one Sugar in the Raw, a touch of vanilla syrup, and three short sprinkles of cinnamon.

If I worked the counter and heard that order, I would curl up on the floor in the fetal position and whimper quietly until help arrived. But God raises up people who can handle that kind of stress. I try not to be high maintenance, so I order my Grande Americano and leave quietly.

As I was waiting for my drink to arrive, a woman rejoined her husband after visiting the aforementioned restroom. She left no doubt about her feelings.

“I have never seen such a disgusting and filthy mess. There were paper towels overflowing the containers.”

Her face looked like she had just left a construction-site portable toilet on a searing summer afternoon. Seriously? You have never seen such a disgusting mess? A few paper towels on the floor drives you to that level of hyperbole? Have you seen the conditions that people live in around the world? Do you see the conditions the poor endure in our own country? This coffee shop restroom is distressing you that much?

I was reveling in self-righteous judgment, and then it hit me. That is me. I complain about minor aggravations as if they were actual problems. And yet my first response was to condemn this woman.

I thought about how much I dislike being around people who find fault with everything and, conversely, find little to be grateful for. I know that I look for any excuse to remove myself from their company. But until I came across the following study, I had no idea how important it was to avoid ingrates.

Neuroscientists have learned to measure brain activity when faced with various stimuli, including being involved in a full-on gripe fest. The results are sobering: “Being exposed to too much complaining can actually make you dumb. Research shows that exposure to 30 minutes or more of negativity—including viewing such material on TV—actually peels away neurons in the brain’s hippocampus.”¹

The hippocampus is the part of the brain involved in problem solving. So scientists have determined that complaining or listening to complainers makes us less able to solve problems. This is not a risk I can afford to take. The article offers some ideas on how to keep your neurons safely in place, but I decided to go back to the Owner’s Manual.

James reminds us that all gifts come from God:

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. James 1:17

Paul pens a pretty strong directive:

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

I get it. I should be thankful for both clean and not-so-clean restrooms. I don’t mean to be flippant, but the point is that being grateful really is an attitude. Gratitude is a mind-set, and I am praying that the response of appreciation can become a lifestyle for me, with some practice.

It is easy to be grateful for the good things. Accepting with thankfulness the bad and sorrowful takes faith and trust that God is faithful with His children. I cannot claim to be grateful until I can simply say thank you for everything that comes my way, recognizing that every event will bring joy, character, perseverance, or ultimately, glory to God.

I know that some seasons of life are difficult, and some days you just hope to survive. But I think that the majority of us would admit that we can find something to be grateful for, even in moments of frustration.

Gratitude is the stabilizer for my spiritual walk. I think I can make a pretty good case that growing a grateful heart is the foundational attitude of the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It is that important. Gratitude keeps me from envy, if I can mentally pivot to the many things I am blessed to enjoy. Gratitude keeps me from anger, if I can be grateful for how patient God is with my myriad of shortcomings. Gratitude keeps me from frustration, when it reminds me how much worse things could be.

I have programmed a trigger into my gratitude response. When I start getting cranky about my back pain, I think of my friends who live in constant pain. I become grateful that my pain is not constant, and I am reminded to pray for them. A simple mind-set change can take me from self-pity to prayer for others.

I am also being prompted to pray for anyone who makes me angry with his or her thoughtlessness or rudeness. What is hurting that person’s heart so much that the response is filled with such venom? Full disclosure . . . I am not there yet. But when I can respond with an attitude of gratitude, it is the most freeing feeling. Maybe that is the best way to be grateful consistently. When I get outside my little world and see the suffering and sadness around me, I fall to my knees in thanksgiving for how fortunate I am.

Today when you find yourself being tempted to complain, pray for a grateful heart, and see if there is something you can be grateful for in that moment. There almost always is.

Waking Up Slowly is a personal journey to become more connected with God and one another. Would you join me?

This excerpt was adapted from Waking up Slowly  by Dave Burchett, ©2017, Tyndale/Momentum.

Twitter makes cowards courageous and the anonymity of cyberspace can make the mean spirited downright evil. I have watched with sadness as Twitter tyrants have destroyed or severely damaged people and institutions. Sometimes the venom is directed at those who simply have a sincere difference of opinion on moral issues. Nothing seems to generate more glee than a Christian leader or institution failing.

Without fail the hypocrite word is used with smug satisfaction.

And it is true. Let me make this personal since I can only speak honestly for me. I am a hypocrite. I do not consistently live up to the teachings of Jesus. I fail. I sin. That is why I need a Savior and not a self-help course. I am confident not in my holiness but in the holiness of Jesus. I remember hearing a pastor say that “we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But that doesn’t keep us from comparing distances.”

That is exactly what I used to do and still do when I forget why Jesus found it necessary to die for me!  I condemned without knowing anything about that person’s wounds or struggles. I would self-righteously note that at least I haven’t said something that offensive or done that bad thing! I am not as bad as them!

So what?

God’s Word says I am condemned when I judge, idolize, lie and covet. It doesn’t matter whether it is less offensive than another person’s actions. Whether I fall a millimeter short or miles short is meaningless. I have fallen short. I am a desperate sinner in need of a Savior. Today I asked for the Holy Spirit to examine my heart. I am not responsible for the comments of others. I am accountable for my comments and thoughts before the One who went to the Cross to win my forgiveness.

Earlier in this space I wrote about a familiar passage from the Gospel of John. I wondered how Jesus might respond to today’s condemning cyber-mobs. Here is a modern version of a well known story.

A crowd soon gathered, and He (Jesus) sat down and taught them. As He was speaking, the teachers of politically correct speech brought a woman who had been caught in the act of hateful speech. They put her in front of the crowd.

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the very act of intolerance and hate speech. We say she should be fired, disgraced, and shunned. What do you say?”

They were trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him, but Jesus stooped down and looked at the device in His hand. They kept demanding an answer, so He typed a message that appeared on every device in the crowd simultaneously. They read the message on their screen.  “All right, but let the one who has never unfairly judged another and who has never said an ugly untruth about another send the first Tweet!” Then he looked down and typed something else.

When the accusers read this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

“No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Remember that every person is precious in My sight and that I loved them enough to endure the Cross. Go and sin no more.”

Forgive me for taking liberties with such an amazing text. But I think it brings it home for us that I (and you) are often just like that mob who dragged the woman to Jesus.

Lord Jesus,

Forgive me for my judgement of others. Forgive me for my ugly thoughts. Forgive me for my sin of not defending others who are overlooked and oppressed. Forgive me for my mean comments about those you love dearly.  And thank you for still loving me in spite of the ugly reality of my own sin. I fall on your grace today. Please remind me to use these gifts of communication only to edify, encourage and inspire and to remember Paul’s words to the Colossians.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:13-14, NLT)

Thank you for loving me. Help me to love others in the power of Your Amazing Grace.

Amen

Waking Up Slowly is my personal journey to become more connected to God, others and myself. I would love for you to join me on this journey.

I have been doing this church thing for a lot of years. I have sung hundreds of songs over the four decades or so that I have been a follower of Jesus. Some lyrics moved me to deep worship of God. Some times I really meant what I was singing. Other times I was singing through the motions while thinking about when the kick off was going to happen.

One song has always made me uncomfortable. The song was put to music by the legendary George Beverly Shea in 1932. The words were a poem written by Mrs.Rhea Miller in 1922.

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.

Can I really say that I would rather have Jesus than silver or gold? Maybe my retirement fund will make that decision for me. Do I mean it when I sing that I’d rather be led by his nail pierced hand? Am I prepared to make Jesus more than an “activity” in my busy life? What would I have said if I was the young rich man described in Matthew? Here is the text from The Message.

Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”  Jesus said, “Why do you question me about what’s good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.”

 The man asked, “What in particular?”

 Jesus said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself.” The young man said, “I’ve done all that. What’s left?”

His response has always surprised me. I think I would have begged for mercy after Jesus detailed that list. But the young man thought he was doing just fine. And then Jesus exposed his heart.

 “If you want to give it all you’ve got,” Jesus replied, “go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.”

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crest-fallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go.

I have held on tight to a lot of things. As I get older I wonder why.

 As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the rich to enter God’s kingdom? Let me tell you, it’s easier to gallop a camel through a needle’s eye than for the rich to enter God’s kingdom.”

 The disciples were staggered. “Then who has any chance at all?”

 Jesus looked hard at them and said, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”

I can do that. I can trust God. I have no choice because I have a long and spectacular track record of not being able to live this journey on my own ability. I always fall on grace. The song continues.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
I’d rather be true to His holy name.

Given the sales of my books I am pretty safe from the world-wide fame snare. But I do crave applause if I am not careful.

He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,
I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

Perhaps the uncertainty in the world will cause all of us to evaluate our dependence on Christ. I hope that I will continue to grow in my desire to echo Paul and his words to the Phillipians.

“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”

So can I sing the words of this classic hymn and mean it? I am slowly, slowly, slowly getting closer.

Waking Up Slowly is a 21 day journey to become more connected to God and others. Check it out!

Hearing a Beatles song today reminded me of a lesson I learned as a kid. “You Never Give Me Your Money” finishes with an English children’s rhyme.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
All good children go to heaven.

I learned in a legalistic church that my eternal destiny was determined to a large extent by my performance. I had to be good. I had to do my part. The performance message was reinforced all around me in church and in life..

If you eat your vegetables you can have dessert.
If you are good you get toys at Christmas.
If you get all A’s you will get a monetary reward.
If you behave your parents will be proud of you.

So I learned to perform to get rewards and affirmation. Performance addiction is easy in legalism because you always have someone willing (and extremely happy) to challenge how well you are doing and where you can improve. So I performed. I tried hard. Then harder. Like most addicts I got tired and sad and desperate. I was on the verge of accepting that this journey with Jesus is a lot of begrudging compliance and non-stop confession of sins both real and imagined. The supposed joy that I was promised was hard to find. Then something happened.

Grace.

I heard a message that I had probably heard before but my heart was prepared this time for the seed of freedom to flourish.

Grace.

That there is actually nothing I can do to improve my eternal odds. The work of Jesus on the Cross is finished. I am forgiven. The Biblical texts on forgiveness are past tense.

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32, NLT

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. Colossians 2:13

I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus. 1 John 2:12

Jesus died for past, present and future sins. I used to agonize over unconfessed sin. What if I forgot something? What if I was unaware of some sin? What if I died with unresolved sin? I made it so hard when all along the eternally patient voice of Jesus was saying “relax”.
“It is finished.”
“My work on the Cross is complete and forever.”
“You are forgiven once and for all.”

I contribute nothing to that except my need for a Savior and my abundant sin. I wrote this in Waking Up Slowly.

The uniqueness of grace for a follower of Christ is that God already knows everything about me (and you) and He loves us exactly the same on our best or worst day. Don’t rush past that truth for Christians. Read it again.

God knows everything about you, and He loves you exactly the same on your best or worst day.

I don’t have to fight a battle that has already been won. I can relax in the finished work of Christ.

The answer to performance addiction can be found in two simple words.

Jesus.

Grace.

Two more words come to mind.

Praise God.

 

 

 

 

On a recent flight I received the perfunctory peanut pack and noticed this odd warning.

Packed in a facility that handles peanuts.

Disclaimer: I am totally sensitive and supportive of warnings for those with peanut allergies. But it seemed a bit odd to have to disclaim that the place where peanuts are packaged handles peanuts. I remembered seeing this warning on a brass fishing lure with a three-pronged hook on the end: “Harmful if swallowed”. I am sure many large mouth bass would agree.

There is another warning that we might consider posting for those who choose to follow Jesus.

Caution – “In this world you will have trouble”.  (Read the small print in Mark and John, this truth IS in the brochure)

Perhaps the most insidious tactic of the Enemy is to suggest that troubles demonstrate that God is not there or that He has abandoned us. I think one of the most dangerous ideas that Christians communicate is that coming to faith in Jesus will make life trouble free. Coming to faith does not remove the trouble from our lives. Jesus is not a money back guarantee for perfect health, unlimited prosperity, and non-stop giddiness. Trouble is a part of life. Problems refine or ruin us. No one gets out of this life untouched by sin and sadness. In fact, trouble is where Jesus becomes most real.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NLT)

Jesus was preparing his Apostles for troubles they would face and assuring them that He would be provide peace in the storm. That is what I have discovered in my journey with Jesus. When life delivers the inevitable I can be assured, deeply at peace, and even unshakable. It is not like He tried to cover up the cost of discipleship. In one of His best known messages Jesus proclaimed that “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

We all want to be like Jesus but without the process. Rick Warren writes what that looks like. “Since God intends to make you like Jesus, he will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through. That includes loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection, and many other problems.”

I wrote this in Waking Up Slowly.

God does not promise that everything will be perfect. Far from it. You and I are pretty much guaranteed to have some degree of suffering; none of us gets out of this life unscathed. Here is what God does promise:

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:4-5

The idea of suffering for Christ does not get people to buy prayer cloths, miracle water, and books. However, God’s promise to shower me with comfort should give me confidence that I can make it through trials.

Perhaps I should amend my earlier idea. We don’t need to warn new followers but instead assure them of the promises found in the finished work of Christ.

His comfort is constant.
His grace is always sufficient.
His love is unconditional and eternal.

I leave you with these words from a follower of Jesus who experienced his share of suffering.

And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later. (Romans 8:17-18)

I am leaning on that promise today.

Want to be more connected to God? Join me in the journey.

A song by Big Daddy Weave cycled up on the playlist recently. Maybe you are better at this following Jesus thing than I am but I tend to be forgetful and slow to learn. A song called “Redeemed” summed up my struggle and encouraged me to know (again) that I am not alone in this battle.

Seems like all I can see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past

Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last

Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “Son stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”

That is the truth I have to remind myself just about every day. The fight has already been won. Yet I too often live as if my self-effort is required to make up for past struggles and efforts. That I need to earn the grace that is already mine. I need to remind myself everyday what the lyricist proclaims next.

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
Wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed

I am redeemed. Paul spent a little over two years teaching and discipling the new believers in Ephesus. Just a few short years after he left Paul received reports that those new hearts had reverted to old habits. Things were a bit of a mess and the word came back that the old behaviors of rage, immorality, lying, stealing and gossip were resurfacing. Paul wrote a letter to address this sad turn of events. Yet the amazing thing to me is that the first three chapters never address their sin. Paul even calls them Saints for crying out loud! If I was writing that letter it would have had an entirely different tone. Something more along these lines. “What are you thinking? I am so disappointed in you. What is wrong with you? Do you know how much I sacrificed for you?” But Paul doesn’t do that. All he does is remind them who they are.

Adopted
Redeemed
Sealed

He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1, ESV)

Makes me feel a little better that folks who were mentored by Paul needed a refresher course in who they were. It makes me feel a lot better that Paul understood that the first thing on the list was to remind them of who they were and only then address their wrong behavior. We tend to reverse that order. One more line from this wonderful song by Big Daddy Weave…

I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet.

Praise God for that! And praise God for His amazing grace and patience with this very slow learner.

Check out my latest book for more on how to become more connected with God and one another.