On Being a Tree

Today’s post is by Kim Shay and appeared at Out Of The Ordinary, a blog that is dominantly written for women. I felt this advice could apply to male readers as well. (I made two small textual changes, but then decided to change them back!) Click the title below to read at source.

I’d rather be a tree

While preparing a seminary assignment, I had cause to look at this passage in Jeremiah 17:5-8:

Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places
in the wilderness
in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when the heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

We either trust God or we trust something else, usually man, whether it is ourselves, another person, or a man-made system. It’s not wrong to trust people, but when we trust people above God, we are walking on dangerous ground. Jeremiah says that the one who trusts in man has a heart which turns away from the Lord. The result is that he is parched, dry, and sees no good. For the one who places all of his trust in man above God, this parched condition will ultimately show up when trials come. Human friends don’t always stick around when trials come, but God will not forsake us.

When we have a crisis, where do we turn first? Does turning to God in prayer come second, or even last? Do we run to a close friend before God? Our husbands? Our siblings? Our parents? Where do we find our value? Are we more worried about what others think than God? If we walk through a trial, these things will be revealed.

As women we are encouraged to be in relationships with people, especially other women. And we need those relationships. We need to be encouraged in the things of God and we need to minister to others. But it is very easy to put more emphasis on what others think of us than is good.

I picked up the book Trust, by Lydia Brownback, and I liked what she had to say about the risk of trusting too much in people:

Consider your motivations in showing love to others. If you detect an underlying compulsion to obtain a compliment or word of approval, it’s a pretty sure bet that you have placed your well-being in their hands.

Desiring the love and approval of the significant people in our lives is natural; however, if we feel we must have that to be happy, then a good desire has become a destructive one. We are attributing to people what rightfully belongs to God, which is why we are never able to live at rest with ourselves and at peace with others.

In this world of “likes” and “re-tweets,” and sharing of links, it can be a very subtle thing to begin living for the approval of others. We may think we’re putting God first because we travel only in Christian circles, or because our intent is to use social media to spread the gospel. But if we’re restless and frustrated when we’re not getting the attention we feel we deserve, that is a sign that our priorities may be off.

Notice the contrast in the Jeremiah passage: the one who trusts in flesh is a shrub; a little shrub, living in a parched, dry land. The one who trust is God is a tree, tall, strong, flourishing, and well-fed. Perhaps our times of feeling spiritually dry and frustrated are symptoms that we are trusting in man more than God. When it comes right down to it, whom do we trust? It’s a question worth asking.

Good Deeds: Pre-Conversion vs. Post-Conversion

Today we’re visiting the weblog Canon Fodder, written by Dr. Michael Kruger, the President and Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC. to look at an interesting topic. This was suggested by a reader; if you see something online we might enjoy, be sure to suggest it.  As always you’re encouraged to read entries here at their source blog, and then look around. Just click the title below:

A Word of Encouragment to Those in Ministry: God Does Not View Your Labors as “Filthy Rags”

by Dr. Michael J. Kruger

When it comes to our justification–our legal standing before God–our own good works are in no way the grounds of God’s declaration that we are “righteous.”  Indeed, that is the very thing that makes the gospel good news.  We are saved not by what we have done, but by what Christ has done.  We are accepted by God not because of our works, but in spite of them.

But what does God think of our good works after we are saved?  Here is where, unfortunately, Christians often receive mixed messages.  Somewhere along the way we have begun to believe that our pride is best held in check, and God’s grace is most magnified, when we denigrate all our efforts and all our labors as merely “filthy rags” in the sight of God (Is 64:6) .

But does God really view the Spirit-wrought works of his own children in such a fashion?  Is God pleased with only Christ’s work, and always displeased with our own?

Not at all.  Time and time again, the Scriptures show that God is pleased with the righteousness deeds of the saints.  God was pleased with  Noah: “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Gen 6:9).  God was pleased with Zechariah and Elizabeth: “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord” (Luke 1:6). Christ was pleased with Mary’s gift of perfume (Mark 14:6), a deed he called “beautiful.” Christ was pleased with the widows offering: “She put in more than all of them” (Luke 21:3).

Indeed, one could say that the entire “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11  is a catalog of the great deeds of the saints that are held up by the Scriptures as noteworthy.  Think of all that was done by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel, and others.  Are all their deeds “filthy rags” in God’s sight?

Of course, we should not be surprised that God is pleased with the good works of his people.  As Hebrews 11:1-2 tells us, God is pleased with these works precisely because they were done out of faith. They are good works that are generated from the work of God’s own Spirit in the hearts of the saints (Eph 2:10).  Sure, they are not perfect works–they are always tainted by sin to some degree.  And yes, we cannot think for a moment that they merit salvation. They do not. But, they are the works of God’s own sons and daughters and he delights in them.

This larger biblical context can provide the proper framework for understanding the intent of passages like Is 64:6.  The “filthy rags” in this passage is not a reference to the Spirit-wrought works of the regenerate, but the outward religious grandstanding of the wicked (see Isaiah 58).  This understanding allows John Piper to say the following:

It is terribly confusing when people say that the only righteousness that has any value is the imputed righteousness of Christ.  I agree that justification is not grounded on any of our righteousness, but only the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.  But sometimes people are careless and speak disparagingly of all human righteousness, as if there were no such thing that pleased God. They often cite Isaiah 64:6 which says our righteousness is as filthy rags…[But] when my sons do what I tell them to do—I do not call their obedience “filthy rags” even if it is not perfect.  Neither does God. All the more because he himself is “working in us that which is pleasing in his sight” (Hebrews 13:21).  He does not call his own, Spirit-wrought fruit, “rags” (Future Grace, 151-152).

In a similar fashion, the Westminster Confession offers a wonderfully balanced perspective on how God views the good works of his own people:

Yet notwithstanding, the person of believers being accepted through Christ, their good works are also accepted in him; not as though they were in this life wholly unblameable and unreproveable in God’s sight; but that he, looking upon them in his Son, is pleased to accept and reward  that which is sincere, although accompanied by many weaknesses and imperfections (WCF 16.6).

This recognition that God’s delight in the works of his people is not, as some might think, a recipe for pride, but rather a tremendous (and much needed) encouragement to those of us who are laboring in ministry.  Truth be told, ministry can be difficult.  Our efforts can seem futile.  We often find ourselves spent and exhausted.

What a refreshment to our souls to know that our father in heaven actually delights in these labors.  It is like salve on our blisters, and a balm to our aching muscles to know that he is pleased with the faith-driven works of his children.

He is like a Father who sees the painting his five-year old brought home from school.  He doesn’t pour scorn on the effort because it is not a Rembrandt.  Instead, he takes the painting, with all its flaws, and sticks it on the refrigerator for all to see.

Indeed, it is this very hope–that God might be pleased with our labors–that Jesus lays out as a motive for us in our ministries.   For our hope is that one day we might hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:23).

Speaking To Yourselves in Spiritual Songs

^{(NIV)Hebrews 10:24} And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds…

^{(CEB) Col 316} The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

This is a blog about “digging a little deeper.” I look for articles that begin with scripture and offer something beyond the superficial or shallow. I often recommend authors who “go deep.” Sometimes I borrow an HTML computer term and talk about “rich text.” There are only so many hours in the day, and I want to spend my devotional or Bible-study time with something that really sparks my thoughts. You can begin the day with your Our Daily Bread devotional booklet and your morning coffee, but hopefully that’s not the end of your meditating on God’s word for the day.

While some people consider the popular, contemporary Christian music — and by that I’m not referring to the modern worship genre — to be a little shallow. But there are songs that challenge us to deeper commitment. As we “speak” these songs to one another through video sharing, playing music as we drive somewhere, pre-service music on the sound system at church, background music as we cook dinner; we should naturally gravitate to the songs that take us a little deeper; the songs born out of rich text.

Case in point: Sidewalk Prophets “Live Like That”

Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change a heart
Do I live like Your love is true

People pass
And even if they don’t know my name
Is there evidence that I’ve been changed
When they see me, do they see You

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

Case in point: Matthew West “Motions” (I’ve written about this song before!)

I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking,
“What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?”

Case in Point: Lincoln Brewster “Love The Lord” (My wife mentioned today how she loves the fact this is straight scripture.)

Love the Lord your God
With all your heart, with all your soul
With all your mind, and with all your strength.

Case in Point: Danniebelle “Work The Works” (a classic song from the early Jesus Music days we just added to our YouTube project; also straight scripture; this is how I originally learned this Bible story.)

One day Jesus saw a blind man sitting by the wayside
His disciples asked him, ‘Master who did sin?’
He said, “Neither this man, nor his parents,
But that the works of God might be manifest in Him”

I must work the works of Him, who sent me while it is day
For when the night is come the time for works will be done away.
Would you be willing to work for Jesus any time and every day?
He’ll reward you when He comes to take His bride away.

Let’s not minimize the gift of music God has given to us individually, and to the Church at large.

Build, Pray, Love, Look

I’m currently reading one of a number of “never before published” books based on the writing of A. W. Tozer.  This one is titled The Dangers of a Shallow Faith: Awakening from Spiritual Lethargy, released this year by Regal (Gospel Light). In Chapter 3, he speaks about having a wrong concept about God himself.

If you do not have a right concept of God, of yourself and of sin, you will have a twisted and imperfect concept of Christ. It is my honest and charitable conviction that the Christ of the average religionist today is not the Christ of the Bible. It is a distorted image — a manufactured, painted on canvas, drawn from cheap theology Christ of the liberal, and the soft and timid person. This Christ has nothing of the iron and fury and anger, as well as the love and grace and mercy that He had, who walked in Galilee.

If I have a low concept of God, I will have a low concept of myself, and if I have a low conception of myself, I will have a dangerous concept of sin. If I have a dangerous concept of sin, I will have a degraded concept of Christ. Here is the way it works: God is reduced; man is degraded; sin is underestimated; and Christ is disparaged.

Does this mean we must be tolerant? Actually, men are tolerant only with the important things. What would happen to a tolerant scientist or a tolerant navigator? The liberal religionist simply admits he does not consider spiritual things as vital.

No wonder Jude said the terrible things he said in his epistle to the Church. I recommend you read the book of Jude…

…We are not called to always show a smile. Sometimes we are called to frown and rebuke with all long-suffering and doctrine. We must contend for but not be contentious. We must preserve truth but injure no man. We must destroy error without harming people…

A Call to Remain Faithful

^{(NLT) Jude 1:17} But you, my dear friends, must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said. ¹⁸ They told you that in the last times there would be scoffers whose purpose in life is to satisfy their ungodly desires. ¹⁹ These people are the ones who are creating divisions among you. They follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s Spirit in them.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, ²¹ and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.

²² And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. ²³ Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

…Now He’s come to His own — true believers in God and in Christ. And then He gives them four things to do:

1. Build up — “building up yourselves on your most holy faith…” (v. 20) Do you have a Bible, and do you study it? Have you read a book of the Bible through recently? Have you done any memorization of Scripture? Have you sought to know God or are you looking to the secular media for your religion? Build up yourselves on your most holy faith.
2. Pray — “praying in the Holy Ghost” (v. 20) I do not hesitate to say that most praying is not in the Holy Spirit. The reason is that we do not have the Holy Spirit in us. No man can pray in the Spirit except his heart is a habitation for the Spirit. It is only as the Holy Spirit has unlimited sway within you that you are able to pray in the Spirit. Five minutes of prayer in the Holy Spirit will be worth more than one year of hit-and-miss praying if it is not in the Holy Spirit.
3. Love — “keep yourselves in the love of God…” (v. 21) Be true to the faith, but be charitable to those who are in error. Never feel contempt for anybody. No Christian has any right to feel contempt, for it is an emotion that can only come out of pride. Let us never allow contempt to rule us; let us be charitable and loving toward all while we keep ourselves in the love of God.
4. Look — “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (v. 21) Let us look for Jesus Christ’s coming — for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. Isn’t it wonderful that His mercy will show forth at His coming? His mercy will show itself then, as it did on the cross; as it does in receiving sinners; as it does in patiently looking after us. And it will show itself at the coming of Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
   

~A. W. Tozer, The Dangers of a Shallow Faith pp. 44-46

(scripture text added)

The Right Type of Name-Dropping

Here’s a bonus post for today, the first of two.

Carlos Whittaker:  After standing in a room tonight with a hundred or so AMAZING people who all are “somebody”, I realized again… It’s not who you know…It’s Who you serve. At the end of the day it is not about getting “the deal” At the end of the day it’s not about writing “the song” At the end of the day it’s not about meeting “the man” At the end of the day it’s not about your church hitting “that number” At the end of the day it’s not about speaking at “the conference” At the end of the day it’s not about writing “the book” At the end of the day it’s not about losing “those pounds” At the end of the day it’s not about being invited to “that party” At the end of the day it’s not about being on “the list” At the end of the day it’s not about opening for “that band” At the end of the day it’s not about dating “that girl/guy” At the end of the day it’s not about hitting “those stats” At the end of the day it’s not about getting “that award” At the end of the day it’s not about selling “that number of copies” At the end of the day it’s not about creating “the perfect sermon series” At the end of the day it’s not about solving “that problem” At the end of the day it’s not about preaching “that message” At the end of the day it’s not about shmoozing “those reps” At the end of the day it’s not about everyone lifting “those hands” At the end of the day it’s not about praying “that prayer” All that crap is just crap. It does not matter. It is not your identity. It will ALL go away. But what will not go away is that moment that you stopped believing all your self righteous lies and found your identity in Christ alone. Not the deal, the song, the man, that number, the conference, the book, those pounds, that party, the list, that band, that girl/guy, those stats, that award, that number of copies, the perfect sermon series, that problem, that message, those reps, those hands, or that prayer. It is about Christ in you the hope of Glory. So let’s make a deal. For today, myself included, let’s not drop one name, not unless it’s His.

Carlos Whittaker blogs at Ragamuffin Soul. See this post here, or check out the rest of the blog with this link.

A Personal Note from the Author

Most people reading this are familiar with the term “minister” as a verb, describing the way we can aid and encourage others, as in “ministering health” and “ministering wholeness” to people.    Of course, to qualify, it is God who brings healing and wholeness; and it is also is requisite that you have the spiritual gifts necessary to “minister” to others.

In the last six months, my other blog has fallen victim to a guy who, for lack of a better term, sees his mission to “minister discouragement” to me and try to “minister dissension.”   I base the choice of terminology on the strong evidence that this is his “chosen ministry” for the time being.   His particular strategy is to attack that blog where any blog is at its most vulnerable; that is, where the author is describing, subjectively, his or her own story.   His revisionist version is one which basically takes away any credit for anything I ever did in the years 1975-1990, a formative era in my life that I refer to somewhat frequently.

Needless to say I simply delete the comments.

The discouragement is so severe that I frequently meet the comments with the thought, “Maybe I should just discontinue writing each day.”

That is exactly what the enemy of our souls would have us do.  Bloggers who are not making an impact — and I’m not trying to exalt myself in this — probably don’t have detractors.   Bloggers who are making a truly significant spiritual impact (far more than I) probably have dozens of them.

If asked, this person would probably tell you in rather self-righteous tones that what they are doing is just and noble and truthful.    This individual would probably maintain that knocking me down a peg or two is simply trying to set the record straight.   But in fact, this person knows nothing of my story, because he was too busy at the time building his own personal empire which, as it turned out, was a house of cards.

I know that a lot of people who read C201 have blogs of their own, and I want to encourage you:  Keep telling your story.    If you write about something that is doctrinally or theologically controversial, expect the usual disagreement or debate.   But if you are telling your own story — unless you are suffering from amnesia or false-memory syndrome — and it is the veracity of that story that is being challenged, remember that Satan appears as an angel of light, and is bent on “ministering” confusion and discouragement and even destruction. He will attack where you are most likely to be knocked off balance.  His attacks will be relentless, trying to get to you with each passing jab.

The servants of the devil can take away your house or your car or whatever else may seem valuable, but don’t let them take away your story; don’t let them take away your name.