Come to the Living God

Carl's life is reeling

The Lord appears to be opening up Carl's heart as I visit with him at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Carl attended a pagan church since he was 13. At 22, that church ex-communicated him from their fellowship. That experience left him reeling. 

I left him with a "spiritual journey inventory" so he could evaluate his life in the quiet of his cell.

                                Come right where you are
Right from the beginning, he was relaxed and ready to talk.  He read and interacted with me about it openly.  From the inventory, he started by acknowledging:
"faith in Biblical Christianity is "OK for others but not for him"
            "not certain a living God exists"
                           "willing to seek some answers individually." 

That is not where we ended. Once again, this entire experience needed to be fully submerged in prayer.

                             Come with  others

He continues to sit at circular tables with a number of the believing men but has cautious and limited spiritual conversation with them.  His form of paganism stands on feelings, the worship of nature, and the pantheon of Greek gods.  His dad is a Roman Catholic and his mom has a Christian background.

As I approached him before, I kept quiet and asked him questions and encouraged him to share more with me, as he uncovered his feelings and beliefs. It was clear in all three of our visits a major issue is him coming to grips with the reality of the existence of God.

He has not read the Bible but listens to a group of inmates who share Bible study sometimes several times each day.  He is watching what they say and how they live.

                              Come to the Living God
I asked if I could read some Scripture about God from Acts 17.  In the middle of my reading, I asked if he wanted me to continue and he was eager following along with a King James Bible.

"So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.  

"The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. 

Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for
    “‘In him we live and move and have our being’ as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.'"     ~Acts 17:22-28 ESV

He was listening carefully.  After my reading, I asked what it said about God.  He recognized it said a God created man and places people where He wants them.  I didn't coach that answer.

I kept listening.  He wants to thank the person who asked me to talk with him if he would approach him.  He carefully placed the KJ Bible on top of mine watching my response.

"I don't want to be rude but you brought it for another man and I'm not quite ready for it, yet.  ...I think I will be in just a little while." 


                           Come to quench your heart thirst
I asked if I could read one more short passage I thought would be helpful in his thinking.  He agreed so I turned to Isaiah 55:1-3--

1 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;

and he who has no money, come, buy and eat.

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live;

and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

                           Come to the One who loves you

I shared simply this:

"Come to JESUS!"

"Carl, God really loves you,  I know you have many questions and unresolved issues in your life.  There is a whole lot going on.  In everything, Jesus invites you to come to Him.  He just says, Carl, come."

Silence filled the room for a short instant.  He whispered, "Wow!"

I invited him to talk to and ask questions with the others around the tables. We agreed to get together again in the next few days. 

Annoying pride

On October 21, Justin Taylor posted on his, "Between two worlds" Gospel Coalition blog a quote from C.S. Lewis.  The Lord is using these short paragraphs to probe into my multiple levels of levels of real sin and pride. To read more of Justin Taylor, click over to:  Between two worlds

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Why We Find Pride in Others So Annoying

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, chapter 8:

"There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. 

"I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards. 

"I do not think I have ever heard anyone who was not a Christian accuse himself of this vice. And at the same time I have very seldom met anyone, who was not a Christian, who showed the slightest mercy to it in others.  

There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves.  And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others. 

The vice I am talking of is Pride. . . .In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, “How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off?” 

So, where is this vice of pride in me? Well, at just about every level, the deeper I dig. I keep hoping as I dig through layers of my fleshly life, I'll find a really "good" place.  At the very core, aren't I a good guy?  At the very core, aren't you and I a good man or woman? 

To begin to answer the question, I consider what the writer to the Hebrews said:

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."  

~Hebrews 4:12-13 

 I am almost finishing rereading and listening to, "The normal Christian life," by Watchman Nee, as I was encouraged by Student Ministries Pastor Aaron Bauer at our Faith Church in Kent.  First read in 1992 and 1994, parts of it are hitting far deeper, this time.

One of Nee's lines is a commentary on C.S. Lewis.  Nee says my pride competes with the pride of other people in my life.  Our pride competes. Other people's pride competes with my pride.

I am prideful about my:

...pastoral education, Bible knowledge, and what I "do" and "accomplish" in my Faith Church in Kent

...service as a chaplain with Prisoners for Christ at the Maleng Regional Justice Center and with the Chaplaincy Advisory Group in Kent

...knowledge of baseball, basketball, and football

...impact or influence with men I "mentor" in and outside the sphere of faith

...numerous frustrations and failures as a public middle school special education teacher

...responses to whatever matters most and the people I interact with daily

.... ___________________________________________________

...____________________________________________________

What does your "pride list" look like?  Maybe, you don't struggle with pride, like me.  If not, what do you struggle with? If you do, fill in the blanks because there is more!

Ugh!  I repent, Lord, right now, I repent of all these things.  I have been arrogant. Right now, I am dead to me and alive to You! 

If you can join in with me, c'mon along.

For I know my transgressions,
        and my sin is ever before me.
    Against you, you only, have I sinned
        and done what is evil in your sight,
    so that you may be justified in your words
        and blameless in your judgment. 

                   ~Psalm 51:3-4

Journeys from paganism

This morning, I rejoiced to watch the Lord answer my prayers right in the middle of a one-to-one with Carl at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. 

I met with Carl in September after another inmate encouraged me to speak with "the guy in 51." 

The referring inmate may have made a "mistake,"...but this was no mistake from God's perspective. 

Would you pray with me for Carl, this week?

                       Paganism

Carl graciously agreed to share.  He believes in "paganism," so he worships nature and follows Greek gods and attends church in Kent. I started praying, right then.

A Wiccan website reports, "In Wicca, and Paganism in general, each of the Goddess and Gods represents an ideal, a human quality, something we as people can relate to, something to engender our passions. Above the individual Gods and Goddesses are the overall principles of male and female polarity.  Nothing happens in the Universe without this flow of Energy between polarities. Above even this personification is the Universal Power.  It’s very difficult to focus on this Power, however, so we invoke human-like deities to summon." 

                                                  Praying

In that first meeting, I didn't open my Bible. I suggested I would be pleased to meet with him as often as he would like and would listen to whatever he wanted to talk about. He suggested he would like to meet often.  I began to pray for Carl regularly. He sits in proximity to an active small group Bible study fellowship group of inmates and so is carefully watching and listening.  We said hello and smiled several times.

                                       ...and Jesus

As I continued praying, I was very mindful of the incredible words of Jesus in John 6.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” ~John 6:35-40

This morning, there was a kite request for a visit waiting for me from Carl.  I began to pray and headed for his unit. 

                                             ...and listening

As I went in to visit Carl, I wanted to be a great listener and practice "spiritual direction" principles I appreciate from Eugene Peterson, the editor of the Message Bible, a retired Presbyterian pastor, author, and Regents Seminary professor. 

spiritual journeys

"I have two basic definitions of spiritual direction," Peterson wrote. "One is you show up and then you shut up. It’s important that people have a place they can come to and know that you’re going to be there with and for them. The other is that spiritual direction largely involves what you do when you don’t think you’re doing anything. In other words, you’re not trying to solve a problem. You’re not answering a question and it doesn’t seem like you’re doing anything. It takes a lot of restraint and discipline for a pastor not to say anything, not to do anything. But the pastoral life is an ideal school for learning how to do it."

So is being a chaplain

Carl shared right away he is unhappy.  He observed the Christians carefully and that they seem happy despite their circumstances and asked my opinion why they are different than him. That is almost exactly what he said.  The other guys are shining with the joy and light of Jesus.

I asked him questions around what he is feeling and what he is like in his life outside of jail.  He has never been in jail before. He has received a few visits but, "my pagan church ex-communicated me because they don't like people who get in trouble or are in jail."

                                ...and struggles

I reflected some Christians struggle with significant depressions and discouragement as much as anyone else and that some families and churches don't know what to do when family and friends are incarcerated.  I tried to keep quiet but he pressed me about what Christians have. 

I kept praying, now, for the right words and the clear leading of the Holy Spirit. Clearly, Carl is in the midst of spiritual warfare.

                                                     

                                   ...and speaking

I shared Christians believe in a living God who loves us and saves us from our sins.  I also shared Christians read the Bible, God's message for us, and care for each other.  I kept it that simple.  He was still listening.

Before our time concluded, I left him with a simple "spiritual journey inventory" brochure for him to review and answer follow-up questions for him to think about or write out.  We agreed to meet later this week.  I also suggested he grab a Bible and start reading the Gospel of John. Later that day, he was sitting with some of the Christian inmates.

 

I am actively praying the Lord will  draw Carl to Himself for salvation.  Maybe, you have a friend to pray for, as well.

The life-changing Word

Student Ministries Pastor Aaron Bauer and I are leading our Sunday morning high school Sunday School "Gathering" through First John, chapter 1 at Faith Church in Kent.  

We are walking through 10 verses in 10 weeks and are focusing together on the solid truths about what life-changing believing looks like and on making all these deep things relevant.

Aaron Bauer

Pastor Aaron and I are praying through how to actively engage with the students around 1 John 1.  We want them to be able to participate in genuine spiritual conversations with one another and with their peers in the real world they live in.  Many of our kids know how to give us "the right answers."  We want to hear where they really are. 

What does the LOGOS and the truths from1 John 1 impact Aaron and me?  What difference does it make to our students?  As you read this, what difference does the LOGOS make in your life?

 The presentation of the Good News message and heart belief pivots around the Person, claims, and accomplishments of Jesus.  Was He who He said He was?  Did He do what He said He would do?

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."  

~Luke 24:46-48

Next week, I am taking the lead as the Holy Spirit spoke through John, who identifies Jesus Christ as "the LOGOS Word." 

Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created..."  Moses used the Hebrew plural word, "Elohim," for God.  Right from the beginning, the Bible presents one God with plural parts. The creation story presents the work of the Creator God and the Holy Spirit.  The first chapter of the Gospel of John, verse three, says nothing was created without the LOGOS Word.

John 1:1 says, " In the beginning was the LOGOS Word and the Word was God and the Word was with God." 

Jesus Christ is recognized as the "LOGOS" Word in John 1:1 and John 1:14 where it says, "And the LOGOS Word became flesh and dwelt among us..."

In His high priestly prayer, Jesus said:
"And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed." ~John 17:5



John says he is speaking about "the LOGOS word of life," at the end of 1 John 1:1.

John writes again in Revelation 19:13, "He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood and the name by which He is called the Word of God."  Same word, "LOGOS."

The LOGOS is Jesus Christ, who revealed Himself and His message of saving life to creditable witnesses who delivered His message to us through our totally trustworthy, inerrant Bible.   

The Greek word LOGOS appears throughout the New Testament when the declared message of God. 

Leon Morris, a greatly respected commentator, said the LOGOS, "was not a principle but a living Being and the source of life; not a personification, but a Person and that Person divine.  The Word was nothing less than God."

In A.T. Robertson's "Word pictures in the New Testament," a commentary set known by many seminary students as "ATR," he explains, "LOGOS is an old word in Homer to lay by, to collect, to put words side by side, to speak, to express an opinion. It is common for reason as well as speech. 

Heraclitus used it for the principle which controls the universe. The Stoics employed it for the soul of the world (anima mundi). The Hebrew memra was used in the Targums for the manifestation of God like the Angel of Jehovah and the Wisdom of God in Prov 8:23.

"John's standpoint is that of the Old Testament and not that of the Stoics nor even of Philo who uses the term Logos, but not John's conception of personal pre-existence.  

"ATR"

"There is a possible personification of "the Word of God" in Heb 4:12. The personal pre-existence of Christ is taught by Paul (2 Cor 8:9; Phil 2:6 f; Col 1:17) and in Heb 1:2 and in John 17:5. 

"This term suits John's purpose better than sophia (wisdom) and is his answer to the Gnostics who either denied the actual humanity of Christ (Docetic Gnostics) or who separated the aeon Christ from the man Jesus (Cerinthian Gnostics). The pre-existent Logos "became flesh," John 1:14 and by this phrase John answered both heresies at once."

Those are the "facts."  How do we deliver these things to our high school students at Faith Church? 

Brandon's journey from emptiness to Jesus

"I'm ugly, I'm worthless, I'm stupid, I'm an accident. God's grace can't save me," Brandon said. " Have you ever felt this way before?  I know I certainly have.  In fact, of all these thoughts, as hurtful as they are, these are the better of some of the lies that Satan had me believing."

Brandon has been an inmate at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent since November 19, 2010 and continues to meet with fellow Chaplain Dick Rothlisberger and me.  Originally, Brandon was in a wheelchair because of incidents surrounding his crime.  He wanted comfort and help from God but was stressed and could not concentrate or remember what we shared about in our previous visits.  

I asked if I could share what he read to me this morning here with readers of my blog. Let's let him tell his own story:

"(I am talking about) things I have done in the past and the pain that I have felt in relationships with family and friends and teachers and others who have come into my life who affected my outlook on having a close relationship with God.  

"I didn't know the true power of God's saving grace.  I never knew what it felt like to be free from the bondage of sin.  One day, I was living the 'FREE LIFE,' I thought I was, anyway, when my whole life changed in less than a minute.  Everything I had was taken away from me and there wasn't a thing I could do about it. I almost lost my life and got my family killed that day.

"The most ironic thing was I had everything I would want but I still had an emptiness inside.  Satan, the deceiver, had me lost and I was believing all of those lies he put in my head.

"The Lord made you in His image," Genesis 1:26.  So, regardless what we look like, or how we appear, you can be sure it is beautiful in the sight of the Lord. God does not make mistakes.  Your days were numbered before you were conceived.  The Lord made you in the womb, Psalm 139:13-16.  

So, me and you are not a mistake but a loving plan of God to show that God's creation is not worthless.  Just turn to Matthew 10:30. Every single hair on your head is numbered and created individually.  Anyone who has someone who cares enough to intimately know the atoms of millions of hairs on their head, my friend, is not worthless.

"If I had found time in my all too busy life to pick up a Bible, I would have understood why I had such an overwhelming emptiness. Man does not survive on bread alone, but off every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, Matthew 4:4.

"The Bible is nothing but the word of God.  Therefore, the emptiness I felt was my lack of the word, or spiritual food.  Without the word of God, I had no armor to protect myself from Satan's attacks which left me spiritually blind. 

"Then, I was susceptible to believing all of Satan's lies.  Who goes to war hungry? Any wise soldier would eat and renew his strength before battle. It should be the same in spiritual warfare.  The Bible is our daily bread which gives us strength and wisdom to fight off Satan's attacks. If there was a choice for me to pick one message for the reader to take with them out of this letter, it is this, "Seek first the Kingdom of God...and all these things, _______, _______, will be added to you."

"Fill in the blanks with fruits of the Spirit and you and I can be happy wherever we are because we are at peace with God and we know our salvation is secure with Jesus."

10,000 hours to invest

When I was a little boy, my Dad tried to interest me in working with him in his garage woodshop in Boulevard Park near South Seattle.  He loved that shop and spent endless hours after work building and painting.

Over the years, he came home from his job an an industrial engineer manager at Boeing, changed clothes, talked to Mom, and headed straight to the basement until dinner was ready.  Often, he would head right back downstairs after dinner with his lifetime friend, Kenny.

He loved woodworking and really wanted me to enjoy it, too.  On that day when Dad tried to get me into the shop, Mom and Dad got me bundled up in a coat and we headed for the garage.  They were really excited because there is a picture of me out in the shop smiling with my gray-speckled coat and glasses.  

I know I wanted it to be a great day.

He had me around some kind of a saw within several minutes.  Despite his caring protection, I cut one of my fingers on my right hand. Everything changed in that moment.  It wasn't a big cut but that was the end of the shop experience for me. 

I never took industrial arts nor shop in school.  I spent many hours watching and talking with Dad later in the shop in Federal Way but it was all "hands off," by my choice.  I wanted to throw and catch whatever sports season it was, coach, read The Sporting News and study my Bible.

Many people are frustrated with embarrassment after they fail at an activity for the first time or first couple of times so they give up.  Someone might remember falling down while being introduced to skiing or struggling with a new version of software at home or at work. 

Macolm Gladwell, a sociologist and author, asserts 10,000 hours practice are required honing your skills to be a success at anything. My Dad I know spent 10,000 hours in his shop.  He and Mom never missed a concert, ball game, or play for my brother, sister, and me. Dad spent 10,000 hours in his shop and with his family.

What does 10,000 hours look like?

Who spends that kind of time? 

It is not just the hours but the quality of time spent practicing.

Gladwell recognizes sports stars such as Boris Becker, Jonny Wilkinson, Tiger Woods and the Venus sisters, who have all become world-beaters because of the obsessive devotion they have shown to their game since childhood. He says it is all about dedication to practice.

In his book, "Outliers: The Story of Success," Gladwell says that if you examine the greatest athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians and scientists you will notice they only emerged after spending at least three hours a day for ten years practicing.

'What’s really interesting about this 10,000-hour rule is that it applies virtually everywhere,”  Gladwell told a conference. 'You can’t become a chess grand master unless you spend 10,000 hours on practice."

World class performers don't always spend this 10,000 prescribed hours to perfect their craft.  Some pick up skills and are amazing performers.  They just "get it."  Some are satisfied with this initial success and even get A's, win games, and are profusely applauded. We all know friends and co-workers who are applying the 10,000 hour practice pattern with solid results.  They work faithfully at their passion. 

Geoff, one of my friends, leads a band, writes music, and plays a rockin' electric guitar with a Christian band for Prisoners for Christ and elsewhere called, "Unchained." 

Ted, another friend since 1971, has played tennis from high school and sees no reason to stop at nearly 60.  

George, a student from our church at WSU, may have even passed 10,000 hours practicing and performing on the piano with Mozart and a wide range of classical artists. 

There is a special giftedness required to persevere over a prolonged season of years.  Many celebs work with coaches who motivate, push, and encourage them through 10,000 hours or whatever it is for each.  Others are remarkably self-directed. 

At a recent Al-anon meeting, this issue of frustration over failure after trying something new came up.  We shared about feeling frozen, just like I was as a child with my Dad back all those years in his shop.   Then, one of the members changed the spin relating to discouragement and frustration.  What if we give ourselves the gift of time and practice to change "from the inside out."

There are two Bible verses that speak directly to this focus of life and how we spend the time God Himself has given each of us in His grace and mercy.

Puritan John Owen reflected on Romans 8:13 when he said,  
"Be killing sin or sin will be killing you."

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33 

"For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."   Romans 8:13

I don't have to be so hard on myself.  I don't have a deadline for character development.  I don't have to measure up.  I believe 10,000 hours is all about getting to know God deeper and deeper and living out His customized purposes for our lives. We are walking by faith every day as we are seeking to please Him. 

Geoff suggested for him it's not about his band, writing music, and practicing or playing his particular instrument.  He suggested it is spending a lifetime following Jesus, serving Him, and remaining sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in obedience.

Now, that is a quality 10,000 hours and a quality lifetime.