Enthusiasm for the King

Inside the Mind:

As we seek to find out why, with such millions of Christians, the real army of God that is fighting the hosts of darkness is so small, the only answer is – lack of heart. The enthusiasm of the kingdom is missing. And that is because there is so little enthusiasm for the King. – Andrew Murray in Key to the Missionary Problem

I came across this statement and believe it to be so true in the lives of Christians today. Why is it so hard to fight for joy in Christ? Why is it so hard to share the gospel with my friends? Why is it so hard to feel enthusiastic about missions? Why is it so hard to be on the front lines in God’s army? Sometimes I find myself waiting and waiting for some sort of a spark that will get me going or a light to turn on in my head that will show me what to do. Over the past year, I have learned life is not just about sparks or lights but about knowing our King. Oftentimes we find ourselves losing enthusiasm for the battle because we have lost sight of our King. We begin to feel we are on our own. We do not see an end so we settle down and make ourselves comfortable with what we have around us. We cease to exist as sojourners and become settlers. After we become comfortable, we trick ourselves into thinking there is no real battle going on and try living our own lives apart from the battle. We then wonder what has happened to our zeal for Christ.

I have learned that a deep knowledge of God is extremely vital in my relationship with Him. I must know of His faithfulness and grace so that I am empowered. I must know of His sacrificial gift so I feel redeemed. I must accept His hope so I can see the end. Not only is it vital to know these things, but it is vital to be continually drenched by them – they need to be continually at the forefront of our mind. We may know of God’s faithfulness, but, when the battle arrives at our doorstep, the only thing that will keep us from cowering in the corner is the truth of God’s faithfulness at the forefront of our minds. Furthermore, we will only remove ourselves from our settlements when God’s empowering grace is so ingrained in our mind that we trust completely in His provision and protection during the battle and actually act on our faith and knowledge without even thinking about it.

In order to have God’s truths ingrained in our minds and in order to know Him better, we must study God’s word regularly and memorize it continually. Until recently, I was of the mind that studying the Bible was sufficient enough to renew my mind. Now, I have seen the power of memorization and have committed to memorizing the whole chapter of Matthew 6 followed by many other chapters as a part of my quiet time. I hope and pray that many will see this same importance and join me in my goal of Bible memorization. In John Piper’s book When I Don’t Desire God, he quotes Dallas Willard:

Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our mind with what it needs. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. That’s where you need it! How does it get in your mouth? Memorization.

Once we have the Word of God in our mind and on our lips by studying and memorization, we will not be satisfied with the pitiful comforts of our surroundings, but will look with joy to Christ and all he has to offer us. We will not settle down but continue to actively participate on the front lines in God’s army. Our joy in Christ will overflow into a passion for missions as we seek to spread that same joy we have. We will be enthusiastic for the Kingdom because our knowledge of the King will be ingrained into our minds and will become a part of how we live. It all comes down to how much we know our God.

Refined Glory

Inside the Mind:

He sat by the fire of seven-fold heat,
As He watched by the precious ore.
And closer He bent with a searching gaze
As He heated it more and more.
He knew He had ore that could stand the test
And He wanted the finest gold,
To mold as a crown for the King to wear,
Set with gems of price untold.
So He laid our gold in the burning fire,
Though we fain would have said Him, "Nay."
And He watched the dross that we had not seen,
As it melted and passed away.
And the gold grew brighter, and yet more bright
And our eyes were so dim with tears,
As we saw the fire, not the Master's hand,
And questioned with anxious fear.
Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow,
As it mirrored a Form above,
That bent o'er the fire, though unseen by us
With a look of infinite love.
Can we think that it pleases His loving heart
To cause a moment of pain?
Ah, no, but He saw through the present cross
The bliss of eternal gain.
So He waited there with a watchful eye,
With a love that is strong and sure,
And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat
Than was needed to make it pure!

- Author Unknown

I have heard this gold analogy of the Christian life many times but am still amazed and encouraged every time it pops up in my reading. We might be happy and content just making it through life as a lump of rock, but we often forget that God has called us to a higher purpose – one that requires not a lump of rock, but a unit of pure, refined gold. When we are buried under the discouragement of trials, the fears of the unknown arise in our hearts and we are lured into doubting the sovereign plan of God. All we can see is the fire melting us away. We begin to wonder: How could this be in God’s plan? It doesn’t make sense! I don’t see how this could further His kingdom! It’s not right!

Although all we could see is the fire, we must remember that our God is a loving God and has a plan for us far beyond what we could ever imagine. It does not please Him to see us struggle through trials, but the trials must take place in order to refine us and mold us into His likeness. Nothing… and I mean absolutely nothing takes place in our lives without His sovereign hand guiding us. As the last couple lines say, His gold will not suffer a bit more heat than is needed to make it pure.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 3:18

For or In God?

Inside the Mind:

I just recently read a devotional by John Fischer that discussed the contrast of doing things for God and doing things in God. This devotional caught my attention immediately because this was something I have been struggling with for a while. I find it easy to give money to a homeless person, help out with the computers at church, volunteer in a food and clothing pantry, or help someone load a U-Haul. While these are all wonderful things to do, sometimes I feel that I am being lured into believing they are the only things I need to do as a Christian. All of these things I am doing for God, but I am doing them on my own strength and not God’s strength. When I help out with the computers at church, I am in control of what happens. Because of my past experience with computers, I could find a solution to most computer problems on my own – I don’t normally ask God for strength while I install a word processor. Sure, I sacrifice my valuable time, but I feel good about using my gifts to do things for God. Therein lies the trap. I could fill all my available time with doing things for God on my own strength and feel good about myself as a Christian, but I would not grow spiritually a single inch. I believe that doing things in God is what forces us to grow spiritually. Only when we loosen our iron grip of control on the situations we encounter, will God actually appear larger in our lives.

As I look back over my life, every spiritual milestone that I could remember was a result from a leap out of my comfort zone, an unexpected experience, an uncomfortable experience, or a time of complete helplessness and vulnerability. Not one single milestone was reached as a result of just doing my thing. Only when your strength is completely exhausted, is God’s strength seen in abundance. Only when times appear hopeless, is God’s love seen as perfect. Only when life gets out of our control, is God’s sovereignty displayed at its best. Instead of only doing things for God in our own strength, we should be doing things for God and in God. I believe that living a life that is radically in Christ would entail feeling uncomfortable, vulnerable, weak, and insignificant, but in reality, we couldn’t be any safer.

Excerpt from "In Me" by Casting Crowns:

If you ask me to leap
Out of my boat on the crashing waves
If you ask me to go
Preach to a lost world that Jesus saves

I'll go, but I cannot go alone
Cause I know I'm nothing on my own
But the power of Christ in me makes me strong
Makes me strong

Cause when I'm weak - You make me strong
When I'm blind - You shine your light on me
Cause I'll never get by
living on my own ability
How refreshing to know You don't need me
How amazing to find that You want me
So I'll stand on Your truth, and I'll fight with Your strength
Until You bring the victory, by the power of Christ in me

-----------------------------------------------------------------

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Midnight Stroll and a Satisfied Soul

Inside the Mind:

On Thursday nights, I usually don’t get to the Lisle train station until very late because of my IV Bible study. When I finally do arrive, it is usually dead quiet and very dark because of the lack of street lights. (You don’t realize how loud and distraction-filled life really is until you take the time to be somewhere that’s dead quiet.) I usually walk the long way to my car and spend the time praying and meditating. During my walk last Thursday, I remember just being hit with a sense of overwhelming satisfaction in Christ. It was a tough week, but at that point in time I realized the grace of God that pulled me through the week, the blessings in my life, and a satisfying knowledge that He will pull through for me in the future. I felt that all is well and all will be well. No worries.

As I read Psalm 63 (posted below) today, I remembered that walk and wondered why I couldn’t feel that way all the time. Why is it that when I get back to the grind of school, work, and life in general, all the worries come crashing back down on me? No matter what God seems to do in my life, I just keep on worrying.

I noticed in verse 8, David mentions the word ‘cling’. The word used in the Hebrew means to stick to, stay close, and follow closely. This is most likely my problem. I may hang on every now and then when I’m in trouble or the time is right, but on any typical hour of the day, I am thinking about the fun I’ll have later that day or on the weekend, the food I’ll be eating, or just plain ol’ daydreaming. I’m not really ‘clinging’ to God. I’m not meditating on His word enough throughout the day, I do not rejoice in his protection, and I do not praise Him nearly enough. How can I find satisfaction in His name if I am too busy trying to find satisfaction in this world?

Psalm 63:
1 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.

3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You. 4 So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips. 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches,

7 For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek my life to destroy it, Will go into the depths of the earth. 10 They will be delivered over to the power of the sword; They will be a prey for foxes. 11 But the king will rejoice in God; Everyone who swears by Him will glory, For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

Random Confrontations

Inside the Mind:

Well, it has been a while since I posted last. It is an unbelievable relief to get through midterm week. Talk about a stressful week.

Being that conversing with people is one of my glaring weaknesses, that is one of the lessons God has been teaching me this past week. Relating with others who drive me nuts, believe the opposite of everything I believe, and push me out of my comfort zone.

I’m sure many of you know some weird computer geeks – I might even be one of them. I’ve had the chance to get to know several of them in my database class, but one in particular seems to push my button more than not. He’s the type that I could easily give up as a hopeless cause for Christ. Any type of encouragement or homework help I give him, he finds a way to turn it into complaining and whining. During the week, as I thought about him, I started to realize what a whiner and complainer I was as well. Most of my time in prayer was spent whining about my life’s situations and what a terrible week I was having. I also began to realize that the whining in my life as well as the looking down of the whining in other’s lives was starting to grow into a barrier between me and God. The many situations I used to have in talking about Christ were growing few and far between. It reminded me of a passage in C.S. Lewis’ book The Great Divorce. One of the travelers from the dead world was talking to one of the angelic giants – well more like whining and complaining anyway. He(or she, I don’t remember) was rattling off continuously about how mistreated he was and how everything was unfair. Slowly he began to shrink. As he shrunk, his voice continued to get smaller and smaller until finally he disappeared altogether. Compared to Christ’s suffering on the cross for all of our sins, we have nothing to compare with it, no matter what we go through. Rather than complaining about it, we should be learning from it.

In addition, no one should be considered a lost cause for Christ. Even though this person may drive me up the wall sometimes, my mission is still the same. Christ’s love can have an amazing effect on people like this as well. In our InterVarsity Bible Study, we are going through the book of Acts and learning more about Paul. Anytime I think of an impossible person, I think of Paul’s conversion. He went from one of the most feared persecutors, to one of the leading leaders in the body of Christ. What an amazing story! If God can change Paul’s life, than surely He can change anybody’s life. It is not our job to give up on someone.

On Thursday, I had to turn in my rough draft for my English paper. As soon as we got there our teacher told us we can leave after we turned in our papers and anyone that wanted help on their paper could stay and talk with her during the rest of the class period. I had a couple questions and I had nothing else to do for the next hour so I decided to stay. Now you have to understand that my English teacher is an Athiest, pro-choice, pro gay-rights, and opposite of about everything else I believe. Not the person I would typically get into a conversation with. Anyway, we started talking about my paper and then moved on to several other topics and somehow ended up talking about the Bible (I don’t remember how we got there). It turns out she knows more about the Bible than many Christians I have met. We talked for about an hour (nothing really deep or spiritual). I just thought it was so cool that God opened up a door for me to talk about the Bible with someone I least expected to.

On to another subject. Also on Thursday, I stopped into a LIFT large group meeting (another Christian group on campus) after my small group IV Bible study. The room was absolutely packed and I was amazed at the passion that filled the group as we worshipped through song. It was extremely encouraging to see another large group of Christians that attended DePaul. After visiting their large group meeting and talking with several of the student leaders, I was even more convinced of the need for some sort of unity among the groups. If I can be encouraged that much by being with another Christian group, I can only imagine what it would be like for everyone else. We have four Christian groups on campus, but I feel like we are divided. Something to pray about I guess.

I apologize for the disorganized and random thoughts but I’m a little scatter-brained tonight and just typed what came to mind.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.
– 1 Corinthians 15:10

Union Void

Inside the Mind:
I saw my man James again on Tuesday after not seeing him for at least a week. He had just gotten out of the hospital again – this time surgery on his intestine. This was the worst shape I had ever seen him in. When I started talking with him, it sounded almost as if he was crying. He then told me that as of Thursday he will be staying in a Salvation Army house for four months before being transferred to a YMCA housing program. The problem was that he felt extremely sick after his surgery and still had two more nights out on the streets. We went into Potbelly’s for about a half hour and I was able to pray with him about his health and provision for the next two days and gave him some words of encouragement. Sure enough, before I even left, God provided the money needed for the first night in a hotel. The next day, I stopped and talked with him again and found that God provided again for the second night – and even some extra. When I saw him that second day, his eyes were filled with tears of hope and happiness instead of hopelessness and despair. This was the most jumpy and happy I had ever seen him. I was amazed when he reminded me that we prayed for health and provision the day before and God provided the needed money along with comfort for his body. He was genuinely praising and thanking God. Another prayer answered, another hopeless man filled with hope, another discouraged soul encouraged, another day closer to the end of the beginning. Praise God!

Over the week, I was struggling with the seemingly hopeless position a Christian can be in aside from the hope of Heaven. What can you do when everything seems to screech to a halt in your life? As I saw in James’ life, there is no such thing as a hopeless life on earth as a Christian. He doesn’t just keep you around on earth for no reason. He will pull through in some way – when the time is right and when His name is most glorified. James was able to see God work visibly in his own life, but I saw Him work in my life through this situation as well.

It is so painful to walk by so many homeless people on a regular basis, but it is an encouragement to know that there is one less now than before. Just another testament that God is alive and active around us. He desires to battle by our sides each day, if we would only let Him.

Verse:
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man of just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. - James 5:16-1

Grounded Hope

Inside the Mind:
I was on my way home from school one day last week and was surprised to see my old friend James standing on the street corner. (You might recall one of my entries for November talking about him. He is the older homeless gentleman who often stands nearby union station.) The last time I had seen him was in November on my second to last day of the school quarter. He felt extremely sick, and was about to go to the hospital as soon as I was able to talk with him that day. Before that time, I often prayed with him and he seemed open to talking about God, but I was never able to establish if he was truly a Christian. I had planned to make sure of it the next day (my last day of school) over lunch with him because I was in a hurry to catch my train. As it turned out, he was not there the next day and I did not see him again until last week. After not seeing him that next day, I kicked myself several times for not doing it when I had the chance. At that point, I left it in God’s hands and trusted that my relationship with Him would not be in vain.

You can imagine my surprise when, after not seeing him for several months, he suddenly was back in his old spot as if nothing ever happened. After talking with him for a while, I was able to change the subject to his assurance in Christ. I was overjoyed as I listened to his testimony and how he truly accepted Christ as his Savior. After he was finished, something started nagging me. He mentioned several times over the months how sometimes he just hoped the Lord would take him. He felt tired of scrounging his way through the final years of his life. This brought me to a question: What hope is there in life besides heaven if you have absolutely nothing on earth and your time is running low?

Just imagine: You are nearing your 70s. You have no relatives, home, food, job, money, or friends. You are constantly in and out of the hospital. You spend all your time panhandling, just so you can get into a cheap hotel to get out of the evening cold. You can never get into the local Christian homeless program because the line is always tremendously long and they run out of room. The few times you do get in, you are scared away because of the fights and drug dealing that goes on there. You are a Christian. What do you do? Where does your hope lie?

The more I think about it, the more discouraged I get. How can I encourage and help someone in this state? This is something I have been thinking and praying about for a while. I just do not know too many Christians that are in this kind of position. Maybe there is a reason behind it?

Whatever the answer to these questions may be, I believe the hope that is found in the answers is vital to our lives as Christians. Our hope should not be grounded in a hope that can be shaken by loss of home or money, but in a hope that is founded on the immovable solid foundation of Christ alone.

Into the book of Job I go.

Prayer Requests:
That God make His presence known to James and that he will be encouraged.
That God will shed some light on this situation and help me to understand His ways in the matter.

Verse of the Week:
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. – Psalm 62:5-6