Chapter 9
Standouts
"Most of us, whether we are aware of it or not, do things with an eye to the approval of some audience or other. The questions is not whether we have an audience but which audience we have."
"A life lived listening to the decisive call of God is a life lived before one audience that trumps all others - the Audience of One."
"To follow the call of God is therefore to live before the heart of God. It is to live life coram deo (before the heart of God) and thus to shift our awareness of audiences to the point where only the last and highest - God - counts."
"I wonder how far Moses would have gone if he had taken a poll in Egypt." -Harry Truman
"General Charles Gordon, peerless military strategist, legendary commander, and mostly all-conquering victor, lived so closely before the Audience of One that when his time came, he had only a short step home. Like all for whom God's call is decisive, it could be said of him, 'I live before the Audience of One. Before others I have nothing to prove, nothing to gain, nothing to lose.'"
Matthew 6:1-4 was the scripture focus with the question, "Why does Jesus require that our good deeds be done in secret?"
Most of the time I can do the good deed in secret. But what I'd really like is for the reward/blessing to be the marching band, the round of applause, the confetti. And what if God's blessing in secret is stuff like patience, kindness, mercy and grace - stuff I will live out and give out. Thinking that way really reveals that I have not lived before the heart of God. But as Jesus refocuses me to remember who it was that gave me reason and purpose for living, I live and serve, love and give before the Audience of One, the Eye in the Sky. The driving motivation of my life will be to honor the Caller.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Terrible Sweetness of Jesus
Chapter 8
Standouts
"God's primary call, his address to us, always has two dimensions: summons and invitation, law and grace, demand and offer. Unquestionably the former comes first, yet that side is missing among many followers of Christ today. The result is a casualness in faith and a slackness in behavior that show no sign of having listened to any call from either Sinai or Galilee, let alone Calvary."
"All too often our familiarity with the Gospels breeds inattention. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer insisted, 'The response of the disciples is an act of obedience, not a confessions of faith in Jesus.' They did not consider his claims, make up their minds, and then decide whether to follow - they simply heard and obeyed."
"The only way to follow is to leave everything and follow him."
"Disciples are not so much those who follow as those who must follow."
The scripture focus of this chapter is Matthew 4:18-22 (the calling of Peter & Andrew and James & John). When I was about 4 or 5-years-old, I was with my mom in Woolworth in downtown Honolulu (about 1955). It was crowded. We were together and then we weren't. I was lost. I've never felt so desperate, so alone. I looked around and I couldn't see her. Then, I heard a voice calling my name. I didn't see her, but I knew it was my mom - instantly. No mulling over if it was her voice or not. I knew it was her. Every child knows mom's voice, their mom. I ran to her. I wasn't lost anymore.
Standouts
"God's primary call, his address to us, always has two dimensions: summons and invitation, law and grace, demand and offer. Unquestionably the former comes first, yet that side is missing among many followers of Christ today. The result is a casualness in faith and a slackness in behavior that show no sign of having listened to any call from either Sinai or Galilee, let alone Calvary."
"All too often our familiarity with the Gospels breeds inattention. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer insisted, 'The response of the disciples is an act of obedience, not a confessions of faith in Jesus.' They did not consider his claims, make up their minds, and then decide whether to follow - they simply heard and obeyed."
"The only way to follow is to leave everything and follow him."
"Disciples are not so much those who follow as those who must follow."
The scripture focus of this chapter is Matthew 4:18-22 (the calling of Peter & Andrew and James & John). When I was about 4 or 5-years-old, I was with my mom in Woolworth in downtown Honolulu (about 1955). It was crowded. We were together and then we weren't. I was lost. I've never felt so desperate, so alone. I looked around and I couldn't see her. Then, I heard a voice calling my name. I didn't see her, but I knew it was my mom - instantly. No mulling over if it was her voice or not. I knew it was her. Every child knows mom's voice, their mom. I ran to her. I wasn't lost anymore.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Hot Gates
Chapter 7
Standouts
"... one of the most courageous stands in human history: Thermopylae."
"But at their core were three hundred Spartans, trained to stand or die. ("Come back with your shield or on it," a Spartan mother told her son.) They were led by a fifty-five-year-old Spartan prince, Leonidas. And they took their stand in a narrow pass, twenty yards wide, bounded by the sea on one side and the five thousand-foot cliffs of Mt. Kallidromos on the other. Hot sulfurous springs, which the Greeks called Thermopylae, or Hot Gates, bubbled out of these cliffs at the narrowest place."
"But before they died, they sent home the stirring message that has become their epitaph: 'Stranger, tell the Spartans that we behaved as they would wish us to, and are buried here.'"
"As the French philosopher Montaigne said of Thermopylae two thousand years later, 'there are triumphant defeats that rival victories.'"
"Will it be said of followers of Jesus Christ across the world, 'Passerby, tell our Lord that we have behaved as he would wish us to behave, and are buried here'?"
"'A time to stand' is a time to behave as our Lord would wish us to behave. A time to behave is a time to believe as he has taught us to believe. A time to believe is a time to move from small, cozy formulations of faith to knowing what it is to be called by him as the deepest most stirring, and most consuming passion of our lives."
The scripture focus for this chapter was 2 Timothy 4:1-8. As I read it, with ch. 7 in mind, I remembered those who were the "older people" when I first started in ministry. In the last few years several of them have "finished the race" and they are missed. One of the questions asked in this section was, "Why did Paul have confidence that he was finishing well?"
One reason I think Paul had that confidence was Timothy. Someone to hand it to, to take over, someone who would stand.
Several days ago, as I was going up the stairs to my office with my eleven-year-old nephew, he said to me, "I'm going to replace you." I think he meant he wanted my office space (just kidding - because we both laughed). But, in the deepest part of me, I hope that happens. I hope someone who grew up here takes over my office.
Standouts
"... one of the most courageous stands in human history: Thermopylae."
"But at their core were three hundred Spartans, trained to stand or die. ("Come back with your shield or on it," a Spartan mother told her son.) They were led by a fifty-five-year-old Spartan prince, Leonidas. And they took their stand in a narrow pass, twenty yards wide, bounded by the sea on one side and the five thousand-foot cliffs of Mt. Kallidromos on the other. Hot sulfurous springs, which the Greeks called Thermopylae, or Hot Gates, bubbled out of these cliffs at the narrowest place."
"But before they died, they sent home the stirring message that has become their epitaph: 'Stranger, tell the Spartans that we behaved as they would wish us to, and are buried here.'"
"As the French philosopher Montaigne said of Thermopylae two thousand years later, 'there are triumphant defeats that rival victories.'"
"Will it be said of followers of Jesus Christ across the world, 'Passerby, tell our Lord that we have behaved as he would wish us to behave, and are buried here'?"
"'A time to stand' is a time to behave as our Lord would wish us to behave. A time to behave is a time to believe as he has taught us to believe. A time to believe is a time to move from small, cozy formulations of faith to knowing what it is to be called by him as the deepest most stirring, and most consuming passion of our lives."
The scripture focus for this chapter was 2 Timothy 4:1-8. As I read it, with ch. 7 in mind, I remembered those who were the "older people" when I first started in ministry. In the last few years several of them have "finished the race" and they are missed. One of the questions asked in this section was, "Why did Paul have confidence that he was finishing well?"
One reason I think Paul had that confidence was Timothy. Someone to hand it to, to take over, someone who would stand.
Several days ago, as I was going up the stairs to my office with my eleven-year-old nephew, he said to me, "I'm going to replace you." I think he meant he wanted my office space (just kidding - because we both laughed). But, in the deepest part of me, I hope that happens. I hope someone who grew up here takes over my office.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Ours for Others
Chap. 6
Standouts:
"Somehow we human beings are never happier than when we are expressing the deepest gifts that are truly us. And often we get a revealing glimpse of these gifts early in life. Graham Greene wrote in The Power and the Glory, "There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." Countless examples could be added to these stories, but they all point to another crucial aspect of calling - God normally calls us along the line of our giftedness, but the purpose of giftedness is stewardship and service, not selfishness."
"This is why our gifts are always 'ours for others,' whether in the community of Christ or the broader society outside, especially the neighbor in need."
"... God created us and our gifts for a place of his choosing - and we will only be ourselves when we are finally there."
"... Soren Kierkegaard's observation that life is lived forward but understood backward.'
"Do what you are"
"Ours for others"
When I was in grade school, I wanted to be a doctor. Then in the 5th grade I wrote a play, or rather I co-wrote a play. I think it was about Lewis and Clark. That's when it started. That's when I wanted to be a writer. I don't know if that's when the door opened and the future was let in or not, but I there are times when I look at what I've written and wondered where it came from. It's been almost 50 years since then.
And the classmate that co-wrote the play with me - he became an English professor and has won literary awards for writing poetry. I guess I'm still waiting.
The scripture focus on 1 Corinthians 9:14-23 is about Paul's calling to preach. In reading it and reflecting on it, I know this about myself: for the last 30+ years, I would not hesitate to disciple students even if it was not in my job description and I did it on my "free time". I would do it for free.
Standouts:
"Somehow we human beings are never happier than when we are expressing the deepest gifts that are truly us. And often we get a revealing glimpse of these gifts early in life. Graham Greene wrote in The Power and the Glory, "There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." Countless examples could be added to these stories, but they all point to another crucial aspect of calling - God normally calls us along the line of our giftedness, but the purpose of giftedness is stewardship and service, not selfishness."
"This is why our gifts are always 'ours for others,' whether in the community of Christ or the broader society outside, especially the neighbor in need."
"... God created us and our gifts for a place of his choosing - and we will only be ourselves when we are finally there."
"... Soren Kierkegaard's observation that life is lived forward but understood backward.'
"Do what you are"
"Ours for others"
When I was in grade school, I wanted to be a doctor. Then in the 5th grade I wrote a play, or rather I co-wrote a play. I think it was about Lewis and Clark. That's when it started. That's when I wanted to be a writer. I don't know if that's when the door opened and the future was let in or not, but I there are times when I look at what I've written and wondered where it came from. It's been almost 50 years since then.
And the classmate that co-wrote the play with me - he became an English professor and has won literary awards for writing poetry. I guess I'm still waiting.
The scripture focus on 1 Corinthians 9:14-23 is about Paul's calling to preach. In reading it and reflecting on it, I know this about myself: for the last 30+ years, I would not hesitate to disciple students even if it was not in my job description and I did it on my "free time". I would do it for free.
Monday, January 17, 2011
How Did You Do That?
Chap. 5
Standout:
"We are not primarily called to do something or go somewhere;
we are called to Someone. We are not called first to special work but to God. The key to answering the call is to be devoted to no one and to nothing above God himself."
Someone commented that the author sounds a lot like Oswald Chambers. He does. In fact, he quotes Chambers in the next sentence. And if you read "My Utmost for His Highest", today's entry echoes these thoughts.
The Scripture Focus for this chapter is Exodus 35:30-36:2. Bezalel and Oholiab were craftsmen called to do the designs for the sanctuary. They were called by God to do this because he had made them to do this. The beautiful designs in their heads and the skill of their hands were put there by God.
I am always in wonder when I see drawings, paintings by people who didn't "learn" how to do that. It just comes out from them. We may call it their talent or gift, but maybe it is the expression of what God has made them. It really doesn't come from them, but from the Creator who created them and breathed it into them. And when they exhale, that's what comes out.
And not just art or music, but words of comfort, deeds of mercy, undefinable acts of wisdom. What we do is not a career choice, but an expression by Him, to Him and for Him through our lives.
Standout:
"We are not primarily called to do something or go somewhere;
we are called to Someone. We are not called first to special work but to God. The key to answering the call is to be devoted to no one and to nothing above God himself."
Someone commented that the author sounds a lot like Oswald Chambers. He does. In fact, he quotes Chambers in the next sentence. And if you read "My Utmost for His Highest", today's entry echoes these thoughts.
The Scripture Focus for this chapter is Exodus 35:30-36:2. Bezalel and Oholiab were craftsmen called to do the designs for the sanctuary. They were called by God to do this because he had made them to do this. The beautiful designs in their heads and the skill of their hands were put there by God.
I am always in wonder when I see drawings, paintings by people who didn't "learn" how to do that. It just comes out from them. We may call it their talent or gift, but maybe it is the expression of what God has made them. It really doesn't come from them, but from the Creator who created them and breathed it into them. And when they exhale, that's what comes out.
And not just art or music, but words of comfort, deeds of mercy, undefinable acts of wisdom. What we do is not a career choice, but an expression by Him, to Him and for Him through our lives.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Every ... every ... every
Chapter 4
Here's what I highlighted in this chapter.
"Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by him, to him, and for him. First and foremost we are called to Someone (God), not to something (such as motherhood, politics, or teaching) or to somewhere (such as the inner city or Outer Mongolia).
Our secondary calling, considering who God is as sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere, and in everything should think, speak, live and act entirely for him. ...
They are our personal answer to God's address, our response to God's summons. Secondary callings matter, but only because the primary calling matters most."
I've been waiting for someone to get hold of this. I can just imagine ... a pastor to KTA, or Ford dealership. Maybe a missionary to Macy's or the papaya farm. Followers of Jesus living it out on the job, at play and at home. Every Jesus follower who lives for him everywhere and in everything they do - this is powerful.
Here's what I highlighted in this chapter.
"Our primary calling as followers of Christ is by him, to him, and for him. First and foremost we are called to Someone (God), not to something (such as motherhood, politics, or teaching) or to somewhere (such as the inner city or Outer Mongolia).
Our secondary calling, considering who God is as sovereign, is that everyone, everywhere, and in everything should think, speak, live and act entirely for him. ...
They are our personal answer to God's address, our response to God's summons. Secondary callings matter, but only because the primary calling matters most."
I've been waiting for someone to get hold of this. I can just imagine ... a pastor to KTA, or Ford dealership. Maybe a missionary to Macy's or the papaya farm. Followers of Jesus living it out on the job, at play and at home. Every Jesus follower who lives for him everywhere and in everything they do - this is powerful.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Question
Chapter 3
What stood out to me.
"As C.S. Lewis pointed out, 'The more we get what we call 'ourselves' out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become.' The alternative is the real disaster. 'The more I resist Him and try to live on my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity and upbringing and surroundings and natural desires. In fact what I so proudly call 'Myself' becomes merely the meeting place for trains of events which I never started and which I cannot stop.'
Only when we respond to Christ and follow his call do we become our real selves and come to have personalities of our own."
I found out that there are study questions for each chapter at the back of the book (thanks, Colby!). So, here's my response to the scripture focus on Exodus 3. God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. But, I don't know if it's really from the bush or the fire. It just underscores for me that you really don't know what God looks like - he's not the bush, not the fire. But you do know that you are in his presence - unmistakeably in his presence.
God identifies himself as "I AM", not I am _______. He is undescribable. He is. And he calls Moses to go back to Egypt. After all those years of being sure of who you are and acting on it (prince of Egypt) and then finding out you have to run because that's not what's going to rescue the people; then wandering around the desert for years chasing sheep. NOW God calls you. Now you know you go on God's reputation, not yours. Now Moses is becoming the person God made him to be.
The haunting question is "Who am I?" The answer? It's found in I AM.
(Yes, I need to catch up on posting. Reading ch. 5 today.)
What stood out to me.
"As C.S. Lewis pointed out, 'The more we get what we call 'ourselves' out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become.' The alternative is the real disaster. 'The more I resist Him and try to live on my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity and upbringing and surroundings and natural desires. In fact what I so proudly call 'Myself' becomes merely the meeting place for trains of events which I never started and which I cannot stop.'
Only when we respond to Christ and follow his call do we become our real selves and come to have personalities of our own."
I found out that there are study questions for each chapter at the back of the book (thanks, Colby!). So, here's my response to the scripture focus on Exodus 3. God speaks to Moses from the burning bush. But, I don't know if it's really from the bush or the fire. It just underscores for me that you really don't know what God looks like - he's not the bush, not the fire. But you do know that you are in his presence - unmistakeably in his presence.
God identifies himself as "I AM", not I am _______. He is undescribable. He is. And he calls Moses to go back to Egypt. After all those years of being sure of who you are and acting on it (prince of Egypt) and then finding out you have to run because that's not what's going to rescue the people; then wandering around the desert for years chasing sheep. NOW God calls you. Now you know you go on God's reputation, not yours. Now Moses is becoming the person God made him to be.
The haunting question is "Who am I?" The answer? It's found in I AM.
(Yes, I need to catch up on posting. Reading ch. 5 today.)
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