Be silent or speak

Today Bill Hybels discusses a second season Solomon mentions in Ecclesiastes 3, specifically Ecclesiastes 3:7, where Solomon says there is ” a time to be silent and a time to speak.”

2.  Be silent or speak.  Due to the frenzied pace of our culture, the decibel level in our head makes it very difficult to “hear God’s quiet whispers of encouragement, guidance, or correction.”  Each of us needs a time of silence when we can give God our full attention.

At other times, we may sense God nudging us to speak us.  Pastor Hybels emphasizes that we can’t excuse ourselves from responsibility by thinking it’s not our place to say anything or want a friend to feel judged.  Our silence may create a new set of dilemmas more challenging than deciding whether or not to speak up.  Even if things don’t go well when we speak up, we still can know we did the right thing and were obedient to God’s whisper.

Bill concludes that it’s vital to simplifying your life to identify your current season:

“It equips you to be more fully present and engaged.  It brings a single-minded clarity to your days.  You are more likely to notice God’s active hand, to learn the lessons He has for you, and to maximize the character development, wisdom, and spiritual growth opportunities that each season holds.”

Today’s question:  How are you intentional in setting aside a time of silence with God?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “A reason for every season”

Be silent or speak

Mourning and dancing

Bill Hybels continues Chapter 9 of Simplify with a discussion of some of the seasons Solomon mentions in Ecclesiastes 3.  Today he covers mourning and dancing.

1.  Mourn or dance.  Pastor Hybels writes that any kind of loss begets a need for grief:

“If you have recently experienced the loss of a job, marriage, or home , or other significant disappointment- and if you are honest about it’s impact- you will give yourself permission to enter an appropriate season of mourning.”

Bill goes on to list three factors that determine the length and characteristics of mourning:

a.  the depth of loss

b.  our own natural wiring for handling loss

c.  the intensity and pace with which a person chooses to grieve

Pastor Hybels encourages us to be intentional in allowing ourselves to feel loss.  Non-grieving is not a style and leaves us stuck.  Furthermore, isolation only exacerbates our feeling of loss.  We need to put ourselves in places where people can walk alongside us in our grief.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Scripture is filled with descriptions of seasons of dancing.  Specifically, the Old Testament contains detailed instructions for festivals and celebrations God not only permitted, but also mandated.  We need to mark our seasons of dancing, not let them slip by unnoticed.  The author concludes:

“Above all else, give words of gratitude to God, whose fundamental demeanor toward you is goodness.  From Him come all seasons of dancing.”

Today’s question: How would you describe your characteristics of mourning?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Be silent or speak”

Mourning and dancing

The seasons of our lives

“When we view our lives as a string of random days connected only by the calendar, it’s easy to overlook the active movement of God.”- Bill Hybels

In Chapter 9 (“From Stuck to Moving On: Welcoming New Seasons in Your Life”) of Simplify, Bill Hybels notes the song “Turn, Turn, Turn” by The Byrds became the number one song in America on December 4, 1965.  Pete Seeger based the words of his song on the writings of King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3.  Today these words draw Pastor Hybels’ attention for a much more substantive reason- the words call for change.

The author comments on the necessity of viewing our lives to see the active movement of God:

“Our ability to identify the seasons of our lives increases our ability to cooperate with God, recognizing His guiding hand, follow His lead, and accept the end of one season as the beginning of the next.”

The seasons we enter into have different lengths- weeks, months, or even years.  All these seasons have a beginning and an end.  We spend time in one season and then move on to the next one.

Adverse circumstances, such as a ministry downsizing or vocation loss, define some of our seasons.  When adverse seasons come in rapid succession, the challenge is extraordinary.  Pastor Hybels exhorts us that it is vital to remember that adverse seasons don’t define our whole life:

“Good or bad, easy or difficult, every season on this earth is temporary.”

Today’s question:  What Bible verses help you persevere through your temporary seasons of adversity?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Mourning and dancing”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiprqeaydik

The seasons of our lives

Hats or hardware?

Bill Hybels concludes Chapter 8 of Simplify with an illustration from one of his favorite replenishers, sailboat racing.

One kind of sailboat-racing event is a regatta.  A regatta usually consists of seven to ten races.  Points are awarded in order of finish in each race.  The crew with the lowest overall score is the winner and receives the champion’s trophy- aka “the hardware.”

Winning crew members of each individual race receive a smaller prize, usually a hat from a corporate sponsor.  Sailors care little about the hats- it’s the hardware that truly matters.

In one particular regatta the crew Bill was part of had a chance to win the hardware.  All their boat had to do was stay ahead of their closest competitor to win the race.  They didn’t have to finish first.  At one point, the crew lost focus and tried to pass other boats in front of them.  Their tactician, an experienced America’s Cup racer, got them back on track: “Boys, it’s hats or hardware.”

Bill states that having a life verse is our hardware:

“Having a life verse is one of the most powerful tools I know for simplifying your life.  Like a lighthouse in the darkness, it keeps you on course.  It helps you make wise decisions about where to invest your time, energy, and gifts.  It drives you to live each day with fervency and passion.”

Today’s question: What life verse have you selected or are you considering?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “The seasons of our lives”

Hats or hardware?

A crown that will last forever

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”- I Corinthians 9:24-25

Today Bill Hybels discusses the second and third reasons for choosing a life verse (Chapter 8 of Simplify).

REASON #2: It calls out the best in me.  Bill Hybels stresses his life verse “minces no words; its marching orders for my life are blindingly clear.”  The late Dallas Willard put it this way: “A Christ follower’s motivation should come from within.”

REASON #3: It brings comfort.  Pastor Hybels states his life verse reminds him that every effort he expends to advance God’s kingdom in this world- whether big or small, visible or hidden- is not in vain.  This brings comfort.  God notices and appreciates what we do.  Ultimately, we do what we do is for and audience of One.

In Paul’s day, the author notes, the prize for winning an Olympic event was a crown of olive or laurel leaves.  By the time the athlete got home that night, the crown already was wilted.  Great energy had been expended for something that didn’t last a day.  What a comfort to know we have an eternal, imperishable crown waiting for us.  Pastor Hybels says it’s time for us to consider this assessment:

“Are you in the right race?  Or have you accidentally drifted into a race that is mostly in vain?”

Today’s question: Which of Pastor Hybels’ three reasons for choosing a life verse resonate most with you?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Hats or hardware?”

 

A crown that will last forever

Yo Cliff!

“I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”- Psalm 57:2 (NIV)

“If God can bring blessing from the broken body of Jesus and glory from something that’s obscene as the cross, He can bring blessing from my problems and my pain and my unanswered prayer.”- Anne Graham Lotz

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”- Martin Luther

I never included one particular activity in my lesson plans during my elementary teaching career- the dreaded pop quiz. Well, there’s a first time for everything!  But don’t panic, this one-question quiz is child’s play.

1. When Cliff (photo, left) and I (photo, right- with “stunt pilot” Ted in the middle) were elementary school age and I wanted to play with him, I would:

a.  waste valuable landline phone minutes calling someone living less than one hundred feet away

b.  string two empty soup cans together and toss one through Cliff’s open bedroom window

c.  get in some daily cardio, walk to his side door, and shout “Yo Cliff!”

There was no hesitancy in voicing my request for Cliff’s attention and companionship.  I was honest and to the point.  Jeff Manion writes in The Land Between that there is a fine line separating honesty and complaint.  God invites us to be honest, for honesty is fruitful and healing:

“The very act of voicing our trouble to God begins a conversation in which we have opened ourselves to his care, his mercy, and his provision.”

Rather than being a sign of spiritual deficiency, crying out may be seen as a sign of spiritual health.  We have great assurance God will answer our petitions, even though he previously has denied our desperate, heartfelt requests. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the habits of the heart we foster during our desert, transitional journey, will result in spiritual life transformation.  We can maintain the heart to pray.  Timothy Keller (Prayer) argues that in the end, there is no such thing as unanswered prayer:

“We know God will answer us when we call because one terrible day he did not answer Jesus when he called. . . . God treated Jesus as we deserve- he took our penalty- so that, when we believe in him, God can then treat us as Jesus deserved.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjrBWRSmwYA

 

 

 

Yo Cliff!

Choosing your life verse

Bill Hybels continues Chapter 8 of Simplify with a detailed definition of a life verse:

“A life verse is a short passage of Scripture that serves as a rallying cry to guide and focus the current season in your life, or your life as a whole.  Carefully chosen after prayerful consideration, a life verse resonates with you in a personal way and  . . . continually guides you back to God’s mission and vision for your life.”

Pastor Hybels notes his life verse has been remarkably helpful in keeping his life simplified.  He has adopted an overall life verse, and at various times added other verses to help him navigate specific seasons.  When adverse times have left Bill without words to express his dejection, writing his life verse over and over again or repeating it out loud has left him centered, anchored, and renewed.

The author then gives three reasons for choosing a life verse.  The first reason is discussed today.

REASON #1: It clarifies what matters most.  God uniquely has gifted you for the assignment He has given you in this world.  Thus, your life verse will be a reflection of God’s specific guidelines in your life.  Pastor Hybels writes that you must maintain focus on your core Christian beliefs:

“When we are steadfast and immovable in our commitment to core Christian beliefs, it clarifies how we live our lives.  It has a simplifying effect.”

Today’s question: What do you believe is God’s unique assignment for you in this world?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: the new Short Meditation, “Yo Cliff!”

 

Choosing your life verse