Life2gether

Many of you know that I’ve recently transitioned from serving as Family Pastor at LaGrange Baptist Church in LaGrange, Kentucky, to Senior Pastor at Oak Hill Baptist Church in Humboldt, Iowa.  It’s been a big change (thus the lack of blog posts!), but God has been very good.  We sense that He has us right where he wants us for such a time as this.

Maybe the biggest lesson God is teaching me so far is that He’s with me.  He’s given me the gift of himself – the Holy Spirit.  I’m learning to rely on him more than ever as I remind myself that the help I need lives right within me.*  The Holy Spirit gives me power to do things I cannot do on my own.  So when I’m faced with circumstances that are beyond my wisdom, instead of thinking to myself, “I can’t do this,” I’m reminding myself, “I can do this, by the power of the Holy Spirit in me.”

What an amazing gift to ponder at Christmastime.  The help of the Holy Spirit living within us.

Praise God.

*Paul Tripp elaborates on this concept in his excellent DVD series called, “Portrait of a Struggle.”

One of the most powerful ways we can strengthen the church and spread the gospel is through the verbal encouragement of others.  As we stir up one another with our words, we remind one another of the Holy Spirit’s work within us expressed through our unique gifts and strengths. Just this Sunday my wife and I had the opportunity to encourage a young lady who helped lead us in worship. We came up to her after the service and told her that her voice and her presence helped to draw our hearts to God.

Isn’t it amazing that God uses our mouths as a means of building up his church? And when the church is strengthened, its influence can spread outward into the lives of others. I think of Paul as he reminds Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God” (1 Tim. 1:6). What a cool metaphor to mediate on. I picture you and me sitting down by a campfire and the fire seems to be burning out. I take a stick and simply move the wood around and perhaps put another log on top. In just a few moments, the fire begins to burn brightly again spreading so rapidly that we have to push our chairs back because of the heat and flames. That’s what our words can do for others. They can stoke the fire of the Holy Spirit and his gifts within us to burn more brightly so that all can see his glory.

So here’s the challenge. When you witness the display of God’s grace and gifting in someone’s life, tell them. Point it out to them. Encourage them. And be specific. You never know how God could use your words as a way of stoking the fire of someone’s life to make a significant impact for Christ’s kingdom.

What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit? Albert Martin, in his book, Preaching in the Holy Spirit, offers a helpful analogy:

[The Holy Spirit] does not withdraw as to His indwelling. Those whom He indwells are said to be “sealed unto the day of redemption.” But if He is grieved, He generally withdraws His free operation in the same way that your wife, when grieved by your boorishness or insensitivity, withdraws her normal attitude and expression of openness or transparency, her free flow of expressed affection. She does not pull her wedding ring off her finger and throw it out the window, although there may be times when she is tempted to do so. No, she meant the vows that she took when she said, “till death do us part,” but an aggrieved wife becomes a withdrawn wife. Therefore, we must not grieve the Holy Spirit.

Yesterday I was encouraged to receive a needed word from a brother in Christ and share a needed word to a different brother in Christ.  It got me thinking.  This should be normal for Christians. We ought to be open to the Spirit’s nudging and not afraid to share a  word of encouragement, a word of wisdom, or even a word of rebuke.  Too often we forget the horizontal dimension of God’s grace. We think the only way that God will work in our lives is through our personal “quiet times.”  Could it be that God is waiting for you to avail yourself to others in community who can speak a word to your soul?  And could it be that God is nudging you to use your mouth as a means of grace in someone else’s life today?  Pray for it.  Be open to it.  Don’t be afraid to speak a word (perhaps from the Word!) into someone’s life.  And then be ready to humbly receive a word when God sends his messengers your way.

65 years ago today Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed at Flossenbürg concentration camp.  Yet his life and witness for Christ will never be forgotten.  Specifically, Bonhoeffer’s book, Life Together, continues to affect me as it did many years ago, becoming the inspiration for my blog by the same title. 

Today I’m reminded of these words as I bow my heart in thankfulness:

It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed.  Therefore let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart.  Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with other Christian brethren (Life Together, 20).

Justin Taylor also recommends reading this new biography on Bonhoeffer and for families this audio drama, Bonhoeffer: The Cost of Freedom.

Sometimes God has a way of getting my attention in the most peculiar of ways.  Yesterday two completely different events came together and spoke one message to my heart. 

The first involved my car.  I was driving to work when all of a sudden I hear a noise coming from the front wheels.  Now I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I knew right away it had to be my brakes.  After talking to one of our pastors who knows a lot more than I do (understatement!), it was confirmed — I needed new brake pads.  Bummer, huh?  That’s event #1.

On that same day, around the same time, my left ear started bothering me big time.  It was actually hard for me to hear.  But right away I knew what it was.  About two times a year, my ears have a tendency to get loaded up with wax (I guess it’s inherited).  So I tried putting some drops in them to soften up this junk, but it didn’t seem to work.  After struggling for awhile, I went to see my doctor and he flushed out my ears.  Not very fun.  That’s event #2.

Now … I admit.  I’m always trying to find spiritual parallels and pictures of God’s providence all around me.  Some may say I’m sensitive to the Spirit while others would call me crazy.  But here’s what I think God was up to.

I have a tendency to rush into my day and think about what I need to get done.   So maybe, just maybe, God used two completely unrelated circumstances to remind me to stop and listen to Him more.  To put on the brakes and clean out my ears, if you will, so I can hear his voice.  I’m sure you know that stopping and praying and meditating on Scripture takes time.  You can’t rush it.  But it’s so worth it to hear God personally speak to your soul. 

So even though I had to fork over some $$ yesterday for the brake pads and the doctor visit, I’m grateful that God got my attention.

Jonathan Dodson writes about the 3 leadership differences between David and Saul.

I’ve been challenged by Francis Chan’s book, Forgotten God.  Take this quote for example:

The Spirit is not a passive power that we can wield as we choose.  The Spirit is God, a Being who requires that we submit ourselves to be led by Him.  Do you really want to be led?  Even people who are natural leaders don’t get to lead the Spirit.  Everyone is called to be led by Him.

I honestly believe most of us–while we say we want to be led by the Spirit–are actually scared of this reality.  I know I am.  What would it mean?  What if He asks you to give up something you’re not ready to give up?  What if He leads you where you don’t want to go?  What if He tells you to change jobs?  To move? Are you willing to surrender to Him, no matter where He wants to take you?

This is one of the biggest reasons why we should thank God for John Piper.  Simply put, he brings us back to God.  If you have a teaching/preaching ministry, I encourage you to watch (at least) the first 7 minutes of this sermon as Piper reminds us that only our sovereign God can open eyes to see spiritual things.  And so, we must pray before we preach.