God Identifies Us By Giving His Holy Spirit

A powerful & important reminder this morning via Don Boyd’s message at our Friday Morning Men’s Group:

13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. (‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬ NLT)

Identity is so important and I’m thinking about it more as our kids get older. I want to define my identity in Christ. I need to seek guidance and direction from God and His Holy Spirit. Today especially, My eyes are open to the direction God wants me to go in my life.

I know sometimes God brings us into situations of great discomfort to shift our thinking and behavior into a new direction. I think sometimes we bring ourselves into those situations by our own poor choices, but God has mercy on us and lifts us up with His grace when we call upon His name.

Please pray for me to have faith in the promises and truth of God and His word.

It is dark in the valley, but there is light & help above in the heavens.

Let Your Light Shine

These are some if my favorite verses in the Bible. The metaphor of letting the light of Christ shine through our lives for others to see resonates deeply with me.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 NIV)

Live By God’s Power

These are our sermon focus verses today at our church:

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:15-21 NLT)

I pray this day and this year I would be filled with God’s Holy Spirit, to know and do God’s will. I pray our church would be filled with God’s Holy Spirit and overflow with the gifts He gives is through the indwelling of his Spirit.

Praying in the Holy Spirit

Today in our church service we are considering these two verses which reference “praying in God’s Holy Spirit.”

But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, 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. (Jude 1:20, 21 NLT)

Also:

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (Ephesians 6:18 NLT)

Our pastor (Mateen Elass) pointed out these references are not talking about speaking in tongues. Neither is this a reference to God interpreting our groans & nonverbal messages which we share as we pray.

Instead, these verses are calling us to be “in sync” with the Holy Spirit so out desires & passions are in alignment with God’s. As we read in the Psalms:

Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm. For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land. Soon the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone. The lowly will possess the land and will live in peace and prosperity. (Psalms 37:3-11 NLT)

God is not a “vending machine in the sky,” giving everyone the selfish desires of their hearts focused on sin and selfish ends. Rather, God calls us to invite his Holy Spirit into our very bodies, so we would be filled with HIS desires as well as his powers and abilities. This is what New Testament authors are referencing when they exhort the church to pray “in God’s Holy Spirit.”

Conformed to God’s Image and Spirit

Our sermon verses this Sunday came from Romans 8, and the daily verse in my YouVersion Bible iOS app today does too. This is a verse in the chapter which stood out to me:

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6 NIV)

Our focus in life each day, and even every minute of each day, is very important. The things we focus on and pay attention to with our conscious minds are things our unconscious minds continue to process and turn over. We literally shape our minds and our identities through the things we choose to pay attention to. The things we read, watch, the conversations we have, the notes we write… All of these things shape our minds cognitively but also neuro-biologically. That ‘s a mouthful as well as a lot to consider.

Paul reminds us in these verses to focus on the things of God’s Spirit, rather than the things of the flesh, so we will be conformed to His image and perfect will.

God, help me to focus on the fruits of your spirit this day. I pray you would fill me and those around me with your love, joy, patience, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. I pray you would conform my heart, my spirit, and my mind to yours. Thank you for sending us your son, Jesus, to teach us about your love and your plans for our lives.

In the powerful name of Jesus I pray,

Amen.

An Entrepreneurial Tipping Point

Update: Here’s part 2 (the ‘secular’ part): “Lessons Learned as an Educational Consultant (Oct 2013)”

I’ve been wanting to write this post for months, but I haven’t felt I was ready. I’ve decided to write this in two parts, and am writing here first… because it is impossible for me to write about this without discussing my faith in God, and I don’t want to partially write about this in the constrained way I’d feel I needed to if I only posted to my primary professional blog. That’s one of the main reasons I setup “Eyes Right,” so I would have a space to share about my faith and not feel I needed to “self-censor” because people were coming to my site for educational technology tips or other non-religious reasons. I’m not sure why you’ve come to this post… but hopefully you’ll find something which is not only practically helpful, but also points you toward God and gives you encouragement in your own journey of faith.

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In February of 2009, I become a full-time digital learning consultant. It was a big leap of faith. In the ensuing 4 1/2 years, I’ve learned a great deal, but I still don’t feel like “I’ve arrived” or “I’ve figured this out.” That’s the main reason I’ve delayed writing this post… I still feel like I have SO many things to figure out, and perhaps (with more time) I’ll figure out more of them and THEN write this post. Yet, time marches on, and things continue to both change and evolve. There are many, many more lessons to still learn, but perhaps now is a good time to share a few that I’ve learned up to this point.

In the past few weeks, I’ve reached “an entrepreneurial tipping point” as a full-time digital learning consultant. I believe God is calling me to stop doing my consulting work full-time, and instead take a full-time teaching position and only consult a bit on the side. It has been my dream for years to be a full-time educational consultant, and this has been what I’ve done now for almost five years… but there are a lot of caveats to that history and it’s been FAR from the glamorous job it might appear to be to outside observers. The ONLY way our family has survived financially and otherwise the past 4.5 years is thanks to the grace of God: as manifested in the generosity as well as support of our parents, our church family, and my professional work for an ongoing educational nonprofit. This isn’t something which God revealed to me through a burning bush or another dramatic encounter… it’s actually something which has become apparent because of financial difficulties. Since I started as an educational consultant, I’ve frequently wondered what my “Now I’ve got to STOP doing this” point would be. It’s not something I’d defined. I never even created a formal “business plan” for the LLC I started, and I’m sure that would have been a good idea. We’ve lived ridiculously close to “the financial edge” of having absolutely no money… exhausted savings, almost no available credit. I’m embarrassed to admit this, and I question the degree to which I should be publicly transparent about it. I know there are many, many people who live “month to month” with “regular” jobs, not trying to make it as entrepreneurs, but I don’t take solace in that. It’s not the responsible way to live, and whether it’s something lots of people do or not it’s not right. Still, I’ve known that persistence and faith in the path forward have been important, and I’ve believed that God would eventually financially bless my efforts if I persisted in always striving to follow His will for my life, and following the path in life I believe He is calling me to travel.

So, to try and avoid a rambling post (which would be VERY easy to write on this topic) I’m going to organize my thoughts into several “lessons learned” which have a specifically Christian and religious focus. I’m next going to write a secular version of this which addresses things which aren’t particularly faith-based. I’m not doing this to hide any of these ideas, or to hide my faith… which I strongly feel is important to share with others. It’s because the people who read my primary educational blog aren’t coming there to read about my faith journey… and there are aspects of this which can only be shared in the context of faith and my walk with God. Here we go. Many of these things aren’t “lessons learned” or “advice” that is just applicable to someone who is pursuing or wants to pursue a career as an educational consultant. Lots of this can apply to anyone.

1. Seek a Spiritual Mentor

One of the best things I FINALLY did in the last year was find a spiritual mentor who I meet with on a monthly basis. Mine is Curt Gruel, who is the leader of a “Heartpaths” group here in the Oklahoma City area. They have a multi-year training program in which they learn how to become spiritual advisors to other Christians, helping them grow in their journey of faith and both recognize and understand the call of God’s Holy Spirit in their lives. My wife has been in this “Spiritual Directions” program though our church for the last seven years, and it’s been transformational for her. It has been for me too. It’s not quite accurate to call this a “program” of our church, because it’s not something that is very visible to others. I don’t know if it’s listed as an official ministry, and it’s not something you’ll find in our bulletin on Sundays. Still, it’s definitely something members of our church are intimately involved with, and it’s an ecumenical ministry involving multiple churches.

The reason spiritual mentorship is gigantic goes back to Biblical stories and models like Paul and Timothy. We’re all called to have mentors in our spiritual life, and to also serve “mentee’s” too. Meeting regularly with someone to explore where God is moving and acting in your life is a powerful experience. It helps focus not only your attention, but also sensitize your spirit to God’s Spirit. God is moving around us all the time, but so often we’re too “blinded by our busyness” to see Him and his work. These verses from John, as Jesus talked to Nicodemus about how God’s Spirit is like the wind, are a case in point. We can see and experience the effects of God’s Spirit every day, but we have to be attuned to Him to see Him. That process (which thankfully continues) has been HUGE for me to better recognize and understand God’s Holy Spirit in my own life.

2. Spend Daily Time in God’s Word

The last two years I’ve read through the entire Bible with the assistance of daily reading plans included as part of the YouVersion iPhone Bible app. (free) The first year I actually got behind and didn’t complete the last few books, but I was close. The second year I stayed on track better and finished the entire Bible. This year I haven’t done a daily reading plan, but I try to read the Bible most days. Reading God’s Word daily is essential. There are SO many competing sources of information angling for our attention each minute of every day. Planting God’s Word into my mind intentionally every day has been a HUGE part of my walk with Him, and is a giant part of the reason now I feel very confident about how he’s directing me professionally to change course.

3. Seek Balance in All Things

Especially for the past year, I’ve been working hard to strike a better balance in my life in multiple arenas, including spiritual development. I want to live my life in balance when it comes to my work, sleep, family time, prayer, Bible study, other kinds of reading, play, and exercise. This is really tough. I tend to be a person who works too much. Since most of my work is done on a computer, and I have access to laptops, I can work anywhere and at anytime. There is so much work to be done, it would be easy to be overwhelmed. I have not given some things in my life, like exercise, play, free reading, and (at times) sleep, the time and attention they both need and deserve. It’s vital to MAKE time, not find time, for spiritual growth and development. For me, this happens both through scheduled meetings with groups like my Friday morning men’s group as well as individual time to read the Bible, pray, and be quiet as I listen to God. I’m not still and quiet, as a listener, nearly enough… all of these things are hard and difficult for me. Yet I am convinced this is an important part of the call God has placed upon my life at this time, to not only take care of myself but also set a good example for my children and my wife. Balance is hard but thankfully I have multiple people in my life who are helping me stay accountable to these goals.

4. Have Humility to Ask and Accept Help

One of the absolutely worst, toughest, and HARDEST parts of trying to be an independent learning consultant over the past 4.5 years has been the times when we ran out of money and had to ask for help. Thankfully this hasn’t happened lots of times, but it has happened several times, and it’s excruciatingly difficult to ask family members for help. I absolutely didn’t want to do it any of the times we did, and when we did I never wanted to do it again. When this has happened, it has always been at times we were “waiting for checks” which were going to come in, but were late. Having to ask your family for financial help is a very humbling thing, and I don’t recommend it to anyone. I would say, however, that God can and does bless us through others including our family, and at times this can include financial help. So it’s important to have the humility as well as courage at times to ask for assistance, as well as ACCEPT assistance when it is offered. These experiences have taught both my wife and I that we want to maintain very open and transparent communication with all of our children as they grow older, so hopefully we can be in a position to help them when and if our financial assistance is needed. In this way our families have “paid it forward.” There is absolutely no way we could have made it without the support of our families, and our church family, over the past few years. Praise God for His blessings and his grace which he demonstrates and shares generously through those who are called according to His purposes.

5. Submit all major financial decisions to the Lord TOGETHER

I’ve learned the hard way that it’s vital to never make large financial decisions alone. It’s now our rule as a couple to always make large financial decisions together. Maybe this seems obvious to everyone else, but it wasn’t something I was using as a “personal operating procedure” early in our marriage. When you submit an idea, opportunity, or prospective purchase to the Lord together, there are important dynamics that kick in which can help avoid bad decisions. I’ve made bad decisions in the past, but my decisions have always been better (and better informed by God, I think) when I’ve discussed them with my wife, committed them to prayer, and then submitted them to God together.

6. Don’t Expect Things to Be Easy

I’ve been waiting for YEARS for things to financially “smooth out” and get easy for us, as I pursued what I believed to be God’s will for my life as an educational consultant. It never happened. Maybe it never will, but I actually think that God does not and will not call us to live in a constant state of financial uncertainly and stress. My advice for those who are considering full-time educational consulting work is to NEVER expect things to be easy. It certainly hasn’t been for me or for our family, but that doesn’t mean that we weren’t doing the things God had called us to do. I’ve never read in the Bible a passage where God said, “And when you choose to follow me, all your paths will be straight and I’ll always fill your bank account with more money than you need or can spend.” I’d love that to be true in many ways, but it’s simply not reality or God’s promise for our lives. I think there is a fine line to tread between being persistent and stubborn in our desire to follow our “dreams” and work toward the goals we want to achieve, and the need to be attuned to God’s Holy Spirit who can and may say at some point, “You need to go a different direction” or at least “Change tack by shifting your course over here.”

Those are a few of the lessons learned and ideas I’d like to share which tie directly to my journey of faith, regarding my career and professional work. Now I’m going to write a post over on my main blog, which will address the more “secular” lessons learned and bits of advice I can share.

If you’ve read this, I’d love to hear any feedback you have or ideas to share. May God bless you richly in your own journey of faith to know Him and to serve Him!

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The Tongue of Fire

These words from James, the half-brother of Jesus, remind me of a couple things today.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. (James 3:6 NIV)

First of all, it reminds me of bullying my wife talked about happening at school last week. It can be amazing, shocking, and sad (all at the same time) to witness how cruel kids can be to each other at times. Negative, attacking language can be like a poison. The words of children, even young ones, can be incredibly destructive.

The second thing it reminds me of is a conversation my wife I had last week, talking about the use of what might be termed, “stinkin’ thinkin’.” In many ways, we are both struggling with perceptions of failure. Some of this is financial, and some is also related to our family and professional work. We are not failures, and we are not failing, but there is a great temptation to not only view ourselves in this way but also talk about ourselves in this way. We are not and would not talk about each other this way, but in the past we have used the self talk of failure. This is incredibly destructive, and at least this time I was and am able to see it for the poison it is.

Perceptions of ourselves as failures do not come from the Spirit of God. They come from a spirit of evil, which seeks to destroy rather than build up. These words from James remind me how important words are, and how important it is that I take charge of my own tongue, even when I am using self-talk and language that only I can hear.

Remember Children of Single Moms

As I read these verses from the author of Hebrews today, I was reminded that not everyone on earth has experienced the positive and loving discipline of an earthly father. Single moms face special challenges, and so do their children. Assumptions are dangerous. Remember not everyone has shared your life experiences or mine.

Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:9-11 NIV)

Love is an Orientation: Session 1

These are my notes from the first evening of our new Wednesday evening adult study class at church, “Love is an Orientation.” We are principally using the book the book “Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community” by Andrew Marin as our discussion text. We are using the videos and discussion guide which is also available for this book. We’ve setup a website, FaithDiscussions.org, to use as a space for conversations and discussions about the book and the issues it raises.

Tonight we started with a video interview of Tim Keller, evangelical pastor in NYC

What do Christians have against Homosexuality? Tim Keller at Veritas

Some Christian churches are ignoring what the Bible says about homosexuality to engage with homosexuals, others

Some Christians will love and befriend their Hindu and Muslim neighbors, but hate their homosexual neighbors

Heterosexuality doesn’t get you to heaven, so how could homosexuality send you to hell?
– Jesus talks about greed 10 times more than adultery
– you know when you’re committing adultery, but almost no one thinks they are greedy because they are comparing themselves to others

Will greed send you to hell? No. Self-righteousness will, believing you don’t need God.
– what does get you to heaven is a personal relationship with Christ and confessing your sins / your need for him

Of course homosexuality is a sin, greed is a sin too
– unfortunately many Christians hear this and think “if you’re a homosexual you’re going to hell” and that’s wrong

What sends you to heaven or hell is not just “I’m a homosexual” or “I’m a heterosexual”
– you can’t be your own savior through your own actions and good works
– sin underneath the sin which is “I am my own savior” will send people to hell

Thoughts from John on where he’s been with these issues:
– finally started reading the Bible in his late 20s, looking for how he can justify himself in those pages
– my wife pointed out I was reading the Bible as a medical journal and trying to get it to conform to me
– when I started letting the scriptures shape me, looking for the meaning life
– it was a challenge for what the kingdom of God looks like
– what justice looks like is not fighting just for your own way, it’s submitting to others

1991 in General Assembly had a report on human sexuality
– was a culmination of the first phase of this battle in PCUSA
– all about “justice love” (anything is ok as long as it’s between two consenting adults and justice is involved)
– I remember thinking that this has nothing correlated to what I’ve been reading in the Bible

When I was called to Austin Seminary the pastors said, “Why?”
– my answer was I wanted to read the theology that was stimulating the other side of this conversation
– I tried to approach the issue with an open mind in seminary

Entire time I was in professional ministry these issues kept coming up and distracting both sides of the church from doing anything productive, in my view
– so I lost interest in the conversation
– I never heard anything new
– I am always open to hear new ideas, read a new book
– I came to this class hoping maybe there is a way to elevate the conversation, to be more Christian and converse on a better level

Matt’s perspective
– I’ve had gay friends all my life
– my first best friend was gay, he didn’t know until he turned 30 but I knew it when he was 6
– something wrong with me? I always seem to attract gay people!

I am about introducing God’s big plan for people
– that is often about restrictions
– that’s about all I learned

Curt’s perspectives
– John went to a liberal seminary and came back
– I was one of the token liberals at my evangelical seminary because I was middle of the road
– I find myself drawn to the liberal-progressive arguments because they have heart, but when I examine them closely they don’t stand up to rational analysis

Robert Gagne’s book, very scholarly and authoritative
– his book doesn’t have heart

I am really tired of all the factionalism

Keep thinking of Gamaliel, Acts 5
– sitting on Sanhedrian, reminds others we’ve seen uprisings before
– if it is not of God, it will fail
– I wish our big church could wait and see what unfolds: 50 years, 100 years
– it may be a long time

I would like to live in the tension
– I see liberal / progressives cutting all kinds of corners in their interpretation of scripture
– on the conservative side, we see very rigid interpretations that is all ‘head stuff’ where they are not thinking with their hearts

I’d like to encourage for people to live in the tension until we can discern together what is God’s will in this matter
– that’s where I am and why I put this class together

Andrew Marin is a very interesting guy
– very conservative, evangelical Christian
– was shaken to the core when 3 of his closest friends came out as homosexual within 3 months of each other
– moved with his wife to Chicago, has lived for 10 years in Boys Town living with LGBT community learning what things are like for them, and what the church has been like for them

Watching these videos makes me realize I’m a homophobe
– this is like discovering I’m a racist environmental

We have many stereotypes that are wrong
– not all LGBT are out, loud and proud, and want to have nothing to do with Christians

Laura teaches human anatomy and physiology, and is the sponsor of the “Equality Club” at her school which is the LGBT club
– I asked her to come as a resource to this class

Now sharing our names and 1 thing related to these issues that we’ve wanted to hear addressed. Here are the questions we shared together:

– Why is it hard to be honest and open about these issues?
– Why is this such a big deal?
– What’s the church’s response to homosexual actions?
– Are people born with their sexuality defined?
– What happens to unrepentant homosexuals?
– Why as a society are we singling out this one issue?
– What are heteros so afraid of?
– Are there any gray issues here?
– Can we explore the complexity of sexuality and sexual identity?
– hOw can we be on the compassionate side and act against hate?
– What does ‘living in the tension’ about this issue look like?
– How does God want ME to address this?
– Could we welcome people into our church community who are gay and support gay lifestyles?
– Why do we spend so much time talking about the gospel of Jesus determining if you go to heaven or hell, rather than what it looks like to live under the lordship of Jesus Christ / in his kingdom?
– How can we reclaim our brothers and sisters who we (in many cases) have pushed aside our out (even of our churches)?

I mentioned Google’s project “It Gets Better” and in my question asked how we can be on the compassionate side of this project, which is (I think) an outstanding project. It’s seeking to give hope to kids to not give up and commit suicide in their teen years if they are gay and struggling in their school / family / community. As Christians we (I think) need to be on the COMPASSIONATE side of this discussion, NOT on the (or a) HATEFUL side.

It Gets Better Project - YouTube

John’s point: We should keep all issues of sexuality in our minds
– all the colleagues I’ve known who have lost their positions in the church, and in 1 case even their ordination, have been over heterosexual behavior

money, sex, power: all of these things have a lot of control and influence over us

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