The object of our faith

“If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.”- Matthew 17:20

“It is better to have little faith in a big God than to have big faith in a little God.”- John Ortberg

John Ortberg concludes Chapter 2 of All the Place to Go by emphasizing the words of Timothy Keller- that it’s not the quality of our faith that saves us, it’s the object of our faith.

Just as with Abraham, the only thing God needs to get our redemption project going is our trust.  God can work with simple trust- not perfection or superhuman efforts.  In The Spirituality of Imperfections, Ernest Kurtz writes that the great enemy of spiritual growth is perfectionism.   He adds that an ancient sage named Macarius pointed out that if we only made progress we would become conceited- conceit being the ultimate downfall of all

Christians.

God’s redemption project involves imperfect people.  When we answer His call and walk through the open door, we get to becomes part of the story.  As John concludes:

“He still call.  He still sends.

“And if you say yes . . .

Oh, the places you’ll go.”

Today’s question: In what areas of your life do you demand perfection?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “But wait!  There’s more.”

The object of our faith

Truths about myself

“When I walk through an open door, I often learn truths about myself that I would never have learned if I’d stayed on the other side.”- John Ortberg

As John Ortberg continues Chapter 2 of All the Places to Go, he observes that when we go through open doors, we have to trust that God will use us in spite of our imperfections.  The process provides a unique avenue for learning about ourselves, warts and all.  Pastor Ortberg adds that, when we go through open doors: (a) we’ll discover our faith really is weaker than we thought it was before we went through the door; and (b) we must be humble enough to accept failure.

The Israelites were a classic example of this when the escaped from slavery in Egypt.  When Moses and Aaron gathered the Israelite slaves to deliver God’s message and show them the miraculous signs, they voiced their belief.  But when they saw Pharaoh coming after them, they changed their tune.  John summarizes: “When their circumstances changed, it turned out they really didn’t believe at all.”

Yet, as Pastor Ortberg will discuss in the next blog, people who walk through God’s open doors need not be spiritual giants, possessing a faith we never could possibly reach.  For example, God chose to work with Abraham because Abraham was willing to trust Him.  It wasn’t based on Abraham’s ability to do the right thing.

Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, how has God used you in spite of your imperfections?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The object of our faith”

Truths about myself

When the divine "go" comes

“The divine ‘go’ comes into every life, but we must be willing to leave before we’re willing to go.”- John Ortberg

In Chapter 2 of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg notes that there’s an entire field of study in the social sciences based on the psychology of regret.  Regret changes over the course of our lives.  When we’re young we have short-term regrets. They most often involve wishing we hadn’t done something, like getting a speeding ticket.  As we age, we come to regret those actions that we did not take, such as the chance to serve.

Pastor Ortberg adds that if we make the wrong choice we’ll have short-term regrets, but we won’t wonder what might have been.  If we say yes we may fail.  But if we don’t, we won’t experience life with God and be a blessing in this world.

John states that when Terah and his family set out for Canaan, Terah didn’t complete the journey.  He stopped at Harran.  When Abram received his divine ‘go’, he willingly followed God’s calling to  new land.  John concludes:

“When a door is opened, count the costs, weigh the pros and cons, get wise counsel, look as far down the road as you can.  But in your deepest heart, in its most secret place, have a tiny bias in the direction of yes.  Cultivate a willingness to charge through open doors, even if it’s not this particular door.

Today’s question: What regrets have you had following your vocation loss?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Truths about myself”

 

When the divine "go" comes

Turn around

“Having said this, she (Mary) turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.”- John 20:14

“If you’re scared that you don’t matter; if you’re lost and need to be found; if you’re looking for a Savior, all you gotta do is turn around.”- Matt Maher

I would estimate that I supervised approximately one thousand recesses during my twelve years teaching at Northwest Lutheran School in Milwaukee.  Children had three play area options: the athletic field, the black top, or a fenced-in section with swings and a modern jungle gym.  On this particular day, I had duty in the fenced-in section.  Out of the blue, someone exclaimed, “There’s an owl in that tree!”  Being an avid bird watcher, that was my cue to turn around.  Near the top of the tree, completely unperturbed by the bustling activity below, perched a short-eared owl!  It was a one in one thousand experience.

Had I not made the decision to turn around, I would have missed that one in a Northwest-lifetime opportunity.  One brief moment produced a beautiful remembrance of God’s creation and His encompassing  presence.  Indeed, as author and pastor John Ortberg writes, God is present in this instant, offering to partner with us in whatever we face.  Stephen Mansfield reasons that our soul must yearn for long-term righteousness rather than temporary methods to dull our pain. Human solutions fall far short.  Our soul needs to be whole.

Singer/songwriter Matt Maher notes that when one of his guitar strings breaks, it affects not just itself, but also the whole guitar. It’s not enough to tune the replacement string, because the pitches of all the other strings have been altered.  There’s a delicate balance at play between all the strings.  Matt adds that we must turn away from anything that we make more important than God, taking stock of what direction we’re facing: “You don’t need to move, love has come to you, all you gotta do is turn around.”  John Ortberg echoes Matt’s instrumental illustration:

“We are not meant to embrace moments, but to embrace God.  Moments are not always good.  God is never anything but good.  Moments are simply the place where we meet him.  Every moment.  Starting now.”

Each moment of our lives can be a sacrament, a vehicle for God’s love and power (Jean Pierre de Caussade).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IbgbfmQogo

 

 

 

 

Turn around

You"re not done

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he later would receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country.”- Hebrews 11:8-9

“If you’re not dead, you’re not done.”- Pastor Craig Groeschel

As John Ortberg continues in Chapter 2 of All the Places to Go, he stresses that, despite extended periods of waiting, open door people resist becoming discouraged and persist in faithfulness to God’s calling.  Pastor Ortberg notes that when God promised Abram and Sarai a child, they had good reasons to be skeptical, for Sarai wasn’t able to conceive (Genesis 11:30).

This was a big deal in Abram’s day.  In the ancient world: (a) children meant financial security; (b) children were a continuance of your name, a form of immortality;  and (c) women were understood to exist on earth for the express purpose of having children.  The inability to bear a child was a stigma, a shame, and a disgrace.

God told Abram and Sarai He would make happen what they’d been waiting for.  But they had to go- by faith.  Yet, John reminds us, we always will find an excuse to hinder us.  But age never is a reason for us to say no when God says go.  John concludes:

“Sometimes it takes a while for God’s promises to be fulfilled.  But if your not dead, that’s the clue you’re not done.”

Today’s question: What Bible verses have strengthened your resolve to resist discouragement and persist in faithfulness?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: the new Short Meditation, “Turn around”

You"re not done

Blessed to bless

“. . . I will bless you.  I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all -peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”- Genesis12:2-3

In Chapter 2 of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg notes that the word blessing “needs to be rescued from the clichés of social hash tags.”  It has become to go-to form for people wanting to brag about an accomplishment while pretending to be humble.

Believing, for Abram, was not only an opportunity to know and experience God, but also included being used by God to benefit others.  Abram was blessed to bless.  Rather than having an attitude of scarcity, Abram had a attitude of abundance.  A spirit of generosity is required when going through an open door.

John states that open doors are an invitation to be part of the misseo Dei– the mission of God.  In Genesis 3-11 the word curse is used five times in response to sin.  But in Chapter 12,God uses the word bless five times.

For the nation of Israel, blessing included not just God’s gifts but life with God.  One could not be blessed in the highest sense apart from becoming a blessing in return.

Today’s question: Following your vocation loss, how have you been blessed to bless?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “You’re not done”

Blessed to bless

Coming from and going to

Moving on in Chapter 2 of All the Places to Go, John Ortberg observes that open doors aren’t’ always well-marked.  In other words, when God does call, the call isn’t always clear.  Pastor Ortberg states that, as a general rule, God gives information on a need-to-know basis.  And God makes the decision as to who needs to know what, when.

Abram’s move from Ur of the Chaldeans to the land God would show him (aka Canaan) is a prime example.  Just as with Abram, there are two parts to God’s ‘go"; coming from and going to.  God was vague about where Abram and Sarai were going to.  John points out, though, that open door people are comfortable with the ambiguity and risk- or at least don’t allow it- to paralyze them.

No one looking for opportunity would have considered “going from” Ur.  Ur was a place of great wealth, trading, learning, and technology in 2000 B. C.  So Abram’s open door wasn’t obvious.  Going through God’s open doors means trusting God with our future when our path is ambiguous.

In Ur Abram had received a cultural inheritance of idolatry.  For Abram to receive God’s blessing and become a great nation, a move to seemingly undesirable Canaan was a necessity.  John notes:

“The open door is often more about where my insides are going than where my outsides are going.”

Today’s question: How comfortable are you with ambiguity and risk?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Blessed to bless”

Coming from and going to