Dear Lord,

Please simplify my life.

May it be about You.
– Loving You, worshiping You, spending time with You, listening to You, walking with You, obeying You.

May it be about eternity.
– May what I think, say and do be all about producing eternal fruit and getting as many people as possible into a right relationship with You!

May it not be all about the here and the now.
– There is way too much emphasis on what is in front of us and what is in our hands. Please help me to let go. Help me to get rid of stuff. Help me to not get caught up in the temporary.

Lord, please cut off, remove and purge everything that is only distracting me from You and Your purposes.
– I know that means I need some things to change in regards to my possessions, my diet/exercise/sleep, my thoughts/attitudes/words, my entertainments and my actions. Please simplify my life and help me to remove the clutter that is keeping me from what really matters.

Finally, Lord, please help me to simply know the next step of faith to take.
– I can’t handle knowing everything that is to come or everything that is going on in this world. So help me to simply know what the next step is you have for me. Help me to know who to serve, what to say, how to help and when to rest.

Thank you God, that I know you hear this prayer and will answer out of the depths of your riches and knowledge. Help me to simply obey, no strings attached and holding nothing back.

In Jesus’ Name

AMEN

There was an old Sprite commercial where one of the actors asks “what’s my motivation”? And it does seem an appropriate question for us to consider. As pastors we need to inspect our motives and also examine our purposes.

As pastors we need to ask the Lord to show us our heart and reveal to us what our motive is. Are we doing what we are doing for attention? For earthly accolades? For a personal sense of fulfillment? Are we doing the ministry because we don’t think we have any other marketable skills or because if we quit there will be no one else to do it? Why are we in the ministry?

Hopefully, above all, you are in ministry because God called you. Hopefully we serve because we have a passionate love for God and people. I pray that your and my motivation for ministry is a desire to honor and glorify God while also joining Him in bringing people to salvation, healing and wholeness.

But along with examining the motivation of our heart, we should also look deeply at our purpose and intended outcome of ministry. Are we doing it to build a big church? Are we doing it to entertain people? Are we doing ministry to put a smile on people’s faces and make them feel good about themselves?

I hope that our motive is purely for God’s glory and the eternal good of those we minister to and I hope that our end goal is to help people to know God, spend time with God and to become like God.

Even when things aren’t going perfectly or we aren’t reaching new people like we hoped or had the breakthroughs we were praying for and dreaming about, if our motivation and purpose are both holy we know God can surely use us and will be at work, even in our feeble attempts. God does desire fruitfulness, but this I know: when we faithfully stay connected to Him (the vine) then He will source, supply and provide the fruit.

So please, ask the Lord to examine your heart and show you your motive(s) and your purpose(s) and then take the next step in faith, trusting the Lord to sanctify your heart, redeem your mistakes and bless your efforts once your heart is right with Him.

There is a God-shaped hole in all of us. Nothing can fill that emptiness except God Himself. Anything else that we try to find fulfillment in will leave us lacking, bankrupt, and lifeless. We need God. More than the air we breathe, more than the food we eat and more than the water we drink. We need God more than anything because He is our everything. He is the source of our life, He is our healer, our deliverer and our sustainer.

But not only do we need Him, we must make our journey also one of desire. It is so important that we not only recognize our need for Him, but also that deep within our hearts we yearn for Him. Like hunger and thirst, we need to pine after God because we want Him to know our love, we need to lean into Him because we prefer Him to every other thing.

And finally as we recognize our deep need for Him and we allow that need to blossom into a deep and abiding yearning of desire for Him, we must move even further into an active pursuit of God. Of course we know that He loves us and that He pursues us, because His grace always goes first, but we must reciprocate. We must invest our time, energy and efforts in drawing near to Him. Let us not waste any more of our lives pursuing things that pass away, instead may all we do be about seeing His glory and participating in His mission.

So this week, no matter your vocation, and no matter what tasks you find yourself engaging in, may it be that through it all you would acknowledge your need for God, express your desire for Him and actively run after Him.

In the first blog post, I gave a basic introduction to doctrine as well as dealing with the fact that how we address false teaching or theological misunderstanding is of utmost importance. We need to be patient, kind, and holy. 

In this post I would like to address how we watch over our doctrine to make sure that it is indeed inline with the Biblical truths, historical creeds and church traditions. In the next blog post I will address how we can “contend for the faith” when other people around us are continually assaulting and trying to undermine the truth which has been given by God.

How can we know whether what we are hearing, believing or passing on to others is in fact right and true? How can we make sure that we are not allowing our doctrinal understanding to drift into heresy?

First of all, all doctrine must find as its starting place, the Word of God. The point of doctrine is that God is revealing the salvation He is offering to humanity as recorded in the pages of the Bible. Scripture must be the foundation. Furthermore we must understand that Scripture is inerrant regarding all things for salvation. Because the Bible contains what we need to know about God’s holiness and truth and about our sin and need for salvation, all doctrine must begin and find explanation and further interpretation in the Bible.

Second, doctrine is not simply what I think the Bible means or what you think the Bible means. Humans (and the devil!) have misinterpreted, misconstrued and misapplied the Bible for millenia. To understand the Bible, we must have the Holy Spirit who gives us understanding, but our understanding, interpretation and application must also come to life through the traditions and creeds of the Judeo-Christian faith which have been handed down to us from the beginning. Our interpretation of Scripture must also be examined in light of the gifts of the collective conscience and experience of the historical church and through the gifts of wisdom and reason. Of course it is not merely my own experience or my own logic, but rather the collective, prayerful, Biblically-based reason and the collective corporate experiences of worship, prayer and listening to God throughout Judeo-Christian history that helps to give explanation to what the Bible is saying. If a so-called doctrine is contrary to the history or tradition of the faith or in opposition to the historical reason and experience of the saints, people and churches of God, you can be reasonably assured that it is a false teaching. 

Finally, there are layers upon layers to the depth of who God is and what He has done and there is mystery surrounding His heavenly wisdom. As Scripture says. God’s ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts and we need the Holy Spirit to give us spiritual words for spiritual understanding (see Isaiah 55:8-9 and  1 Cor 2:10-14). So if we don’t understand what has been handed down to us by previous generations, let us not arrogantly throw it out and presume they were wrong and we are right. Instead, let us carefully and prayerfully examine what they have given to us, pre-supposing that if it has been established, accepted and promoted throughout Judeo-Christian history, they may indeed understand something more about the depth and breadth of God and His truth, than we personally do yet. I think of Jeremiah 6:16 and the fact that if we would be willing to go to the ancient paths God would show us what is true and confirm the doctrine we have received and give us understanding in it. Let us guard carefully against any teaching that invites us to disregard that which has gone before in favor of new wisdom or ideas that only our current generation could finally understand. 

Please, if you have questions about what is orthodox, true, right teaching and what is false, seek the Lord in prayer, study diligently His Word, but also especially go to the ancient creeds of the church and seek Godly counsel from a pastor (who holds firmly to the authority and primacy of Scripture) to help you discern false teaching and to watch over your own doctrine closely and carefully. 

I Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers

What does it mean to watch over our doctrine closely?

What about for pastors who have been entrusted with the spiritual development of God’s people and given the role of watching over the church? What does it mean when we are trying to help other people watch over their lives and doctrine closely? 

I want to share a few ways we are to apply this verse to our lives and our ministries as well as pointing out a few things that this verse does not mean…

First, what it does not mean:

• This does not mean that we have to defend God’s character and pontificate on perfect orthodoxy at every moment and on every point. God has not called us to police everything and everyone around us to make sure that no one in close proximity to us believes or promotes a false teaching (As God places us in a relationship with people we can and should gently disciple that person, but if we are the doctrine police, we will have little time for anything else, because there is a lot of confusion out there about who God is.)
• It also does not mean trying to parse every word, reading between all the lines and somehow figuring out what nefarious thing the person really means (Even when people are promoting a specific belief, it does not mean that they are really aware of what they are saying or what the Bible says about the matter. We must be gentle, and give the benefit of the doubt that they are not trying to malign God or His Word, but simply are unaware of the truth.)
• Finally it does not mean automatically excluding or excommunicating people we disagree with (We know that there is absolutely a truth revealed in the Bible and the gospel and indeed there are people who are part of God’s family/kingdom and others who are not. But it is not our job to speak or teach or dialogue in such a way that our primary goal is to push away anyone who sees something different than we do, but instead that we go together with people to God and His Word and His church so that He can help us to know the truth of a matter. Also there may be things God never clears up this side of eternity, and we have to be okay sojourning with people who think differently on some things.)

So what does it mean to watch over our doctrine closely (and that of those we lead?)

• It means to read the Word carefully, listen to Godly counsel (including the creeds and historical beliefs of the church), attend church regularly, pray often and let the Lord guide us into understanding who He is and what He is doing
• It means seeking to understand doctrine, its formation and particularly how it flows forth from Scripture and from God’s revelation and activity in the church and the world
• It means helping other people to discern God’s voice and learn deeply of His character and activity
• It means being discipled and discipling others

One big temptation when it comes to matters of doctrine is that we condescend to give our “pearls of wisdom” to people who are less knowledgeable and less mature than us. Another big temptation is to presume that the other person is willingly and knowingly distorting the truth towards their own ends. We must recognize that in doctrinal discussions (like so many other areas of life) the devil seeks to distort, confuse and blind people and we must graciously and patiently seek to help them to come to a knowledge of the truth, even as we ourselves recognize that we do not know or understand perfectly and still need God to help and guide and instruct us. 

This article may already have angered some of you, because it may seem that I am soft on doctrine. I want you to know that there is true and right teaching and there is false teaching, and I believe that there is orthodox teaching and there is heresy. But how we deal with it is of utmost importance. If we believe in a holy God and His call for us to be holy, that means we must be holy even in how we engage with others as we dialogue about doctrine. 

Finally let us be challenged to consider that doctrine can be defined as the words that God gives us to explain the encounters and relationship we have with Him. And that doctrinal explanation of who He is, who we are, what He has done, and what is available to us, helps us to find and use words to express God’s activity in our lives and the world. If we can explain doctrine without having encountered God and entering into a right relationship with Him, we will make ourselves pious Pharisees, and bring judgment upon ourselves, not for our orthodoxy, but for our unkindness and pride. 

May the Lord be merciful to us, helping us to indeed watch over doctrine closely, but may we do it in a God-honoring and holy way!

There is a falsehood that is often believed by many people. I know I have been taken in by it, and maybe you have too.

The lie is that you have to “do more,” and that you need to “get more.”

The accusatory thought is that you are not working fast enough, you are not doing it well enough and that you will never get it done or do it right.

These are words of condemnation.

The accuser of Christians is the devil and he loves to use words like these to trip us up, get us tied up in knots and keep us going nowhere.

But this is the truth that we need to cling to and live according to: In Christ there is enough! There is enough time, there is enough energy, there is enough money, to do what needs doing, because God Himself has availed to us everything we need for life and godliness. We of course must ask. And then we must receive and walk according to what He gives us, but in Christ there is enough.

So the next time you hear the lie that you need to do “more” and be “more,” recognize it for what it is, push it out of your mind and then slowly, carefully work on what God leads you to. Whatever must be done, God will help you, and furthermore He will also help you to know what is unimportant.

Please, remember: Christ is enough, in Christ we have enough and by His atonement, He makes us enough!

Do you find yourself so consumed with thoughts, feelings, plans and obligations that you just don’t know what to do? Like the expression: “I have so much to do, I don’t know what to do!”

There are many things that vie for our attention. Many things that are worth paying attention to, and many more things that we need to ignore.

Since we are so consumed in this way, how can we know what to focus on, what to ignore and what to do next?

First of all, I recommend that you get rid of all of your distractions in order to sit down and prayerfully sort through all the noise and options in your life. Find a quiet, empty room (maybe at your church or a local library) and bring nothing with you but a blank piece of paper or journal. Write down all of the things that God has given you and what He is teaching you. Then write down what you know you are neglecting, all of the things that seem to be begging for your attention, and finally (after much prayer) write down what you believe God is saying your purpose and goals are for this season of your life.

Second, after you have these things written down, go to your pastor, Sunday school teacher, counselor or a godly friend and share with you them what you are have written down and what you are struggling with. Ask for their input. In particular, ask them to help you discern if anything you have written down is incorrect (in light of Scripture) or if there is any wisdom they can give to you for your journey.

Third, even after you have done this, don’t yet begin working on your list and checking things off of it. Instead take a day, a week or even a month and fast and pray about the things on the list. Then while you are fasting and praying, try to eliminate the noise and the extra voices in your life and instead listen only the God (through the Bible, preaching, teaching etc) and continue to write down the things that you believe God is speaking to you.

Finally, after all of this, then only implement one or two things at a time (unless the Lord Himself directs you otherwise). Work on the new tasks diligently for 4 – 6 weeks and when they begin to become habits in your life, then you can add 1- 2 more things. Remember, the point of this is to discern the will of God for what to do with all of the many choices and voices in your life and then to intentionally develop a plan to work through them one on one until you are only doing what God directs and are not consumed by the fear and the incessant demands and accusations. Your goal is to peacefully, patiently and joyfully take one step of faith at a time to accomplish what God has laid out for you.

May God richly bless you as you seek His will and to live an intentional and disciplined life to His glory and according to His plans and purposes for your life!

If you feel like everything is just too much, too overwhelming and too painful, I want to share some life-altering truth with you!

Please take the time to read both the first and the second parts of this article. They are both exceedingly important.

Part 1

The gospel of Jesus Christ, is a message of good news of deliverance for all who will receive it from God. It is a gift of salvation, paid for by the sacrifice of God, the death of Jesus and the victorious salvation offered to us by God. All we have to do is to believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and then live it out and we can receive freedom from worldliness, distraction, discouragement, sin, shame, guilt, etc. God begins the process of fully setting us free and sanctifying and glorifying us with a single step of faith, wherein we say to Jesus: “Yes I believe! Now what do I do?”

You may be saying to yourself, what does that have to do with the title of this article? I’m glad you asked

First, if you and I are distracted by sin, tired of running from God and feeling under a weight of guilt, shame and emptiness, then God is the answer to this and all we have to do is listen, believe, receive and then walk with God our Savior.

But it might also be that you are already a Christian and you still feel distracted, tired and overwhelmed and you can’t figure out why…

Part 2

Here is some straightforward and difficult truth that you might need to hear.

As Christ followers we are not supposed to act or react like the world. We are not supposed to behave or think or talk like the world. And yet over and over again Christians seem to do these very things.

Why is that?

In large part because the greatest influencers in many Christians lives are secular culture, Hollywood, worldly music, materialism, social media, etc. In other words we begin believing and acting according to the input that we receive and Christians are constantly digesting the world’s content.

So please, if you are already a Christian and you want to get rid of your distraction, your fatigue and the overwhelming discouragement in your life, start with cutting out the input and content from the world. Turn off the TV, turn off your phone, unplug from technology and instead plug in to God with all of the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, worship, meditation, fasting, etc. Do this for a week or a month or even longer! And watch and see how as God detox’s your mind and soul from the corruption of the world, that all of a sudden you will notice the craziness of the world’s distraction, tiredness and defeat fall off of you and you will be able to walk in the freedom made possible by the amazing grace and perfect provision of Jesus Christ!