Making Tough Choices

Dear JimBob,

“Say you have a large decision and you have to choose between two things; let's just say two jobs and both jobs are equally as good.  How do you know or even choose which job?  I hear God saying ‘trust me’ but I have no idea what I'm supposed to trust Him with.”

Facing Choices

Dear Facing,

            Making choices is tough. Personally, if I were God, (and for the record, the world is much better off with me not being God), when my followers asked me for directions, I would be very clear and specific about the answer. I’m a firm believer that God should always appear in a glowing light and speak audibly so that there is never any misunderstanding. Sadly, God doesn’t tend to work that way. That’s not to say that God doesn’t give us direction; it’s just that he’s not as clear as some of us would like him to be; hence the difficulty in making choices between multiple good options.

            I was tempted to wax eloquently about the whole idea of free will and the sovereignty of God, but thought better of it. Instead, regarding making choices, let me offer the following as my top five guidelines for making choices that are in line with the will of God:

1) Know enough of God’s word so that you can discern what is or is not God’s general will. If one of the jobs you mentioned entails lying, embezzling, taking clients to strip clubs, neglecting your family, or anything that is contrary to a healthy walk with God, then it’s very unlikely God is calling you to do it. And don’t pull out the lame argument that those who work in the underground church lie in order to be able to preach the gospel. You know what I mean.

2) Pray and listen to the Spirit. I believe the Spirit still speaks to us today IF we’re listening, Of course, listening (or more to the point, hearing) is contingent on keeping our lives free of sins that tend to clog up the communication mechanism between us and God. While you’re praying, ask others to pray for you.

3) Ask yourself, “Does one choice glorify God more than another?” Sometimes we know God’s will between two options, but we refuse to obey because the choice we would like God to rubber stamp is the one that tends to fit our self-centered agenda.

4) The drop of oil in the 5 gallon bucket test. If you put a drop of oil in a 5 gallon bucket of water and swirl the water around, the drop of oil will spin to the bottom. However, given enough time, the oil will to rise to the surface. I’ve discovered that often, God is calling us to an action that we just cannot get out of our minds. We swirl the thought away and try to ignore it, but it keeps coming back time and time again. Of course, psychotics who bomb subways have been known to justify their actions by declaring that God told them through a light socket to do it. IF you faithfully work through guidelines 1-3, that usually circumvents hearing a voice through a light socket.

5) Open and closed doors. Sometimes we are so invested in a choice that it’s difficult to separate our own agenda from what might be God’s. In those times, IF I’ve been faithful with 1-4, I’ve often prayed that God would open the doors I need to go through and close the ones I keep trying to pry open.

            Before I leave this happy little topic, I want to address the last line of your question. You said, “I hear God saying ‘trust me’ but I have no idea what I'm supposed to trust Him with.” Let me offer this as a suggestion: Four years ago, I had seven different ministry paths I could have followed. I utilized all of the above and slowly whittled the list down to 3. I called a friend of mine about my dilemma (like you, I wanted to make the right choice), and he said, “Maybe God has opened the cafeteria of heaven for you and is simply saying, ‘Jim, Choose one. I’ll help you bloom where you’re planted.’” Of course, if you lean toward the predestination side of things, your head is spinning around right now and about to explode. However, for me, those words spoke great comfort into my heart. The world wasn’t going to evaporate if I chose to do A instead of B. God would still be God. I would still be his child, and if I was living to give him glory, he would ultimately be pleased with me. What mattered most was would I trust him to go with me, to walk with me, to struggle with me, to triumph with me no matter which choice (of the three good, prayed over, godly choices) I made?

            So, if you genuinely go through the above five and still have multiple choices, don’t sweat it. Take a path and trust that God will walk it with you.

Jim

PS: OH, by the way, #6 on my list is to usually avoid the easy path. J

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Faith as a gift of discipline

Dear JimBob,

            Is faith a gift or a discipline? I find myself wrestling with faith all the time. Do I need to pray for more faith?

Faithless

Dear Faithless,

            I doubt very seriously that you’re actually “faithless.” You’re probably like me and simply want more faith. Wanting more faith is more than half the battle of becoming a person of faith. I’ve always said there are those who doubt in order to avoid belief and there are those who doubt in order to believe. If you’re a doubter who wants to believe, praise God. You’re in good company. Martin Luther, the author of the protestant reformation, was one of Christian history’s greatest doubters, yet he had enough faith for the Spirit to use him to create a powerful movement of God. Much of her adult life, Mother Theresa wrestled with deep doubt and a seeming lack of faith. Yet God used her to touch millions and be a shining example of genuine faith; which, in many respects, gets back to your original question, “Is faith a gift or a discipline?” My answer would be, “Yes,” to both. Yes, faith is a gift, and yes, faith is a discipline.

            The Bible is full of references to faith being a gift. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is of the father of the demon possessed man who when asked by Jesus if he believed Jesus could heal his son, responded, “I believe. Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). The man had enough belief in Jesus to bring his son to him, but he wasn’t really sure whether Jesus could actually do anything. The father wanted to believe, but he needed help believing. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul included faith in his list of some of the gifts of the Spirit. In Ephesians 2, Paul writes, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God…” (Eph. 2:8). John Wesley wrestled with whether even one’s ability to know Christ as Lord, to have enough faith to believe, was a gift from God. Obviously, faith is a gift that we can ask God to increase in our lives.

             However, at one and the same time, faith is a discipline. Though there are those who have been given the gift of faith in spades—they have a boldness and passionate belief that puts my puny little faith to shame, all of us have been given or at least offered, some measure of faith. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story of the master who gave three servants a different number of talents (money). The story really doesn’t say whether one servant deserved more talents than the other. It just simply says the master gave one servant 5, another 2, and another 1 talent. The Reader’s Digest version of the story is that upon the master’s return, each servant was asked what he did with the talents he was given. The servants who were given 5 and 2 doubled the master’s investment. They were rewarded. The servant who was given one talent, hid it and did nothing with it. Five preachers will give you five different sermons on this passage. I personally believe one of the primary points answers your question: Faith is a gift (a talent) given to us by God and whether we have more of it when the master returns is contingent on what we do with what we’ve been given; faith is also a discipline.

            Some persons are more naturally “gifted” in sports than others. How far one goes with that gift is almost exclusively dependent on whether the gift is exercised and matured. The young lady who has been given 5 talents in basketball, but who through discipline and use works and matures those talents, 9 times out of 10 will defeat the 10 talent basketball player who has spent her hours watching TV instead of honing and maturing her gift.

            Just in case I lost you with that analogy; we often mature and grow in faith when we put what faith we have to use. Too many of us (myself included at times) confuse faith with a feeling. We say that we’ll be obedient when God inspires us, when we feel more faithful. That’s one of the reasons why so few Christian ever see the mighty hand of God. God often calls, awaits our response, and THEN enables, empowers, and emboldens (gives us faith) once we’ve taken a step of faith, even if it’s a reluctant and fearful step. There’s a great illustration of this in the book of Joshua. The Hebrews are about to finally cross over into the promise land after 40 years of wandering in the desert. They’re facing the Jordan river at flood stage. The priests are told to put the ark of the covenant on their shoulders and march into the middle of the raging river. Most of us who want to have more faith would stand on the river bank praying to feel more faith so that we could reach a certain (or required) level of bold and fevered faith so that God would magically stop the river, then we would walk out on dry ground. God had already told them what he was going to do, they didn’t need enough faith to make God do it. They simply needed enough faith to take a step in God’s direction in order to see it done. The account reads, “Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing” (Joshua 3:15-16).

            The priests were given just enough faith to touch the water’s edge with their feet, but I can almost guarantee, because they exercised their faith, their faith increased mightily when they saw the water stop flowing. What is faith? It’s believing just enough to say, “Yes,” to God. The more we say, “Yes,” to God, the more we’ll discover we have become people of greater faith.

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Angels and baptism

Dear JimBob,

An acquaintance and I were talking about what the United Methodists believe. She said, "Oh, they don't believe in angels, and they sprinkle babies with water". What does the UMC believe in regards to angels in our world now and baptism? Sincerely, Just Curious

Dear Curious,

            Finally, an easy question. After hearing about Oprah’s mystery sister, I’m been emotionally exhausted all week. Thank you for a little reprieve.

Here are the answers to your questions, in order: They do and they do. First, the UMC church absolutely believes in angels. I’m sure that since there is a wide spectrum of what various UM churches propose and UM preachers preach there are a number of folks who don’t believe in angels. I’m also equally sure there are others from other denominations who don’t believe in angels. Some of those who don’t believe in angels are probably some of the same people who discard other aspects of the Bible they can’t explain or that makes them uncomfortable. On the other end of the spectrum of those who don’t believe in angels, there are those who would be more along the lines of, “I’m not sure, because I’ve never seen one.” But as far as the official UM position, they’re an angel believin’ bunch.

Regarding the sprinkling of babies with water; the UM church does baptize by sprinkling. In fact, they even sprinkle adults. The origin of sprinkling as a means of baptism dates back to the early days in the Christian church when people were saved who lived in very arid areas. The leaders of the church decided that three drops of water was sufficient for baptism; one drop for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit. This is the reason Methodists can baptize with a small amount of water, but they also baptize by pouring and immersion. If you were to ask me personally, I like the symbolism of immersion baptism. It speaks more to one’s dying to self and rising to a new life in Christ. However, keep in mind that it’s Christ’s blood that opens the doors of heaven; baptism is the believer’s way of announcing to the world that they follow The One who has made available the way.

Personally Into Dunking

Jim

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Once Saved Always Saved

Dear JimBob, I have a simple question: Can someone lose their salvation?

Signed

Secure

Dear Secure,

            Since this is another one of those joyfully easy questions to answer, so easy, in fact, that theologian have been debating it for 2000 years, I’ll simply offer my biblically based opinion and how this question informs my preaching.

            In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. In that parable a man sows seed among different types of soil. When Jesus explained the parable to his disciples and reached the point where he described the seed that was sown in the rocks, he referenced the shallow soil that allowed the seed to take root quickly. Jesus said this about that the plant that grew in that shallow soil, “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away” (Matt. 13:21). Evidently Jesus believed that someone could begin a relationship with God and then “fall away” because of life’s troubles.

Similarly, Paul says in Romans 11:22, “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” The interesting thing about this verse is that Paul then follows what sounds like a clear indication that people can be cut off from a relationship with God by talking about the disobedient Jews who will still be saved because of God’s faithfulness. Paul ends that somewhat contradictory chapter by quoting from both Isaiah and Job which paraphrased, basically says, “I know this doesn’t make sense, but remember, we’re talking about God. If we could figure out God, do you really think we would have the right God?” Though those two instances—as well as others—point to the possibility of someone being able to loose his salvation, there are as many, if not more, scriptures that seem to state that God’s faithfulness always overcomes any sinfulness that might seek to destroy a person’s relationship with Him.

            Since a biblical argument can be made for both positions, I tend to lean toward the possibility that a person can walk away from his relationship with God. I tend to lean that direction because the more I read the Bible and understand the reason Christ came, the more I’m convinced that God is seeking a relationship with us and not a one time transaction. What I mean is if my sole purpose is to “Get my ticket on the soul train to heaven” by professing Jesus as Lord, then “once saved always saved” makes sense. I bought my ticket and no one can cancel out my guarantee. But the essence of the Christian faith is not a ticket to be purchased but a relationship to be experienced and matured into. If that’s the case, then like any other relationship, I have the ability and free will to choose to walk away from that relationship.

            As I said, this is not a new discussion, and it’s certainly not the first time I’ve ever had the question posed. Typically at this point in the conversation, someone will say, “If a person walks away from Christ, they were never saved in the first place.” I would answer by again pointing them toward Matthew 13 and the possibility that Jesus was saying that someone could.

            I fully understand the power and encouragement of “once saved always saved.” That belief offers a sense of security and comfort knowing that my eternal destiny is firmly established not by what I do or don’t do, but by what Christ has already done. However, there is also a very powerful negative ramification to the “once saved” belief: it frequently leads to lazy and anemic faith. You can see the same dynamic play out in marriage. The spouse who believes the work is done when he says, “I do,” is going to end up with a pitifully shallow and meaningless marriage. “I do” may be an end, but it’s the front end of the marriage. To truly be married, one has to choose daily to work on the relationship. “Once saved” seems to lull many Christians into a lazy and shallow faith because, “What do I have to worry about? I have my ticket, and now I can do whatever I want.”

            Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that I’m wrong but I continue to question “once saved.” If I am wrong then all I’ve perpetuated is responsible faith; persons would still be saved any way. But, if my suspicion is correct, then in some small way, I may help someone become more intentional about experiencing the ongoing and powerful presence of God in her life because she kept working on it.

Jim

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The difference in denominations

Dear JimBob,

What is the difference between Catholic, Protestant, Non-demonational, Mormon & Jehovah Witness?

Bewildered

Dear Be,

            This is going to be a lame response, but that question is waaaay too broad to be answered in a single blog response. That being said, here’s my abbreviated response: Catholicism, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, is the oldest of all organized and labeled Christian religions (or denominations if that sounds better). The word “catholic” often confuses people because it’s used in some of the major creeds of the protestant denominations. For example, the later portion of the Apostle’s creed states, “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” In this instance, “catholic” means the varied and wide-ranging mix of all believers who make up the body of Christ. The “Roman Catholic” church represents those who follow Christ, but base their earthly authority in the person of the pope who resides in Rome.

            Most of the other Christian denominations like the Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Church of God, etc. are referred to as “protestant” churches. 500 years ago, a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther stood in protest of the corruption and false teachings in the church at that time. Because of his protest, they tossed him out of the church and the Lutheran church was the result. His protest eventually lead to other groups forming in protest to what the Roman Catholic Church was doing at that time. Because every new movement was formed in protest to the long established church of Rome, they were eventually referred to as Protestant churches.

            Again, it would take many books to cover the differences between all of the different denominations. Many RC churches tend to emphasize the saints and especially Mary, the mother of Jesus. Some RC churches believe that a person has to go through a priest to find forgiveness. There was a time when the RC church didn’t want its members owning or reading the Bible because the clergy wanted to control the flow of information. I’m not picking on the RC church, but emphasizing some aspects that many Protestants like to point out when talking about the differences. It’s somewhat of an irony that Protestants point out some of the above as shortcomings in the RC church, but then never pick up the Bible themselves and rarely take advantage of going into the presence of God solely based on the blood of Christ; but that’s another blog entry unto itself.

            Some churches have few distinctions in their beliefs bur rather differ more in their governing systems, styles of worship, and emphasis on rituals. For example, if you compared what the Baptist and Methodists believed, 95% of it (that’s an estimate on my part) would be the same. The Baptists seem to emphasize salvation and evangelism more than the typical Methodist, while the Methodist seem to emphasize missions and putting one’s faith into action. However, I’ve seen powerfully evangelical Methodist churches, and I’ve seen Baptist churches that have radically impacted their communities because of their social outreach programs. It’s tough, and not all that wise, to make overgeneralizations about any denomination.

            When it comes right down to it, I tend to fall in line with John Wesley, an Anglican priest who inadvertently started the Methodist revolution in the 1700’s, who said (and I’m paraphrasing), “When it comes to the things that are not at the core of the Christian faith, we think and let think. If you believe in Christ and want to walk faithfully in His Spirit, give me your hand.” In other words, I think the world would benefit greatly if more Christian churches emphasized their common call to make disciples of all the world than continued to bicker over inconsequential and non-eternal issues.

Jim

PS: I know I didn’t answer the Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness question, but I don’t feel I have enough information to adequately, much less fairly, speak to either.

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Turning the Other Cheek

Dear Jim Bob,

At a local restaurant play area, I recently saw one child act aggressively towards another, i.e. throwing sand in the other child’s face, knocking him down, etc. My first reaction was to remove the non-aggressive child from the environment. However, I also wanted to tell the non-aggressive child to defend himself, to knock the bully down if necessary, to push the bully’s face into the sand. What does the Bible mean by turn the other check, and how do we teach this to our children?

Thanks,

Ready to Fight

Dear Ready,

            I will take this opportunity to shamelessly push a book I just finished writing entitled, “Climbing Higher.” The book is written in a daily devotional format and uses Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as the primary text. The reason I bring it up is not only because I’m trying to raise enough money to buy my own yak, but because week five deals specifically with this topic. If you would like to order the book, you can write me at wadingin@theriverumc.com

            Okay, enough pathetic commercialism; on to a response. I believe, if you take Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek in context with the entire Sermon on the Mount, he was illustrating how radically different a person could live if he truly surrendered his life to Christ. Just prior to the whole “turn the other cheek” reference, Jesus talked about how we could live free of hatred, lust, and lies. In my humble little opinion, the core message of Jesus’ admonition to turn the other cheek was to say that we could live lives that did not revolve around whether our rights were being met or not. I don’t believe Jesus was calling all Christians to be doormats to the world, but rather he was sharing the good news that we could live without the destructive tendency to strike out whenever we’ve been injured or inconvenienced.

Imagine how freeing it would be to be able to maintain a steady calm in the midst of a firestorm of false accusation simply because we find our value not in what others say about us or do to us but because we find our value in what God says about us and has already done for us. It’s those who remain calm despite the chaos around them who typically triumph in any given situation. In many ways, Jesus’ reference to turning the other cheek and walking the extra mile are illustrations of Matt. 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

By the way (shameful book pushing again), Matthew 5:1-16 is the cornerstone text of another book I wrote two years ago entitled, “A Walk on The Mountain.” What can I say; I really want that yak.

The other question you asked is a bit more complicated, but illustrates another aspect of what Jesus had in mind. Being a parent myself, I think it’s only healthy for parents to teach their children to stand up for themselves, but to do it in a Christ-like manner. Jesus wasn’t a push over, but he sensed through the Spirit’s leading, when he needed to surrender his rights in order for God’s greater plan to be accomplished. Sometimes our children will need to stand up to the bully because a bully can be “de-bullied” if he/she comes in contact with a formidable opponent. However, sometimes, the longer lasting lesson and more dramatic impact on the bully (and any present audience) is had when one’s response to a bully is non-violent, i.e. Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr..

The primary qualifier I’ve discovered over the years is that Christ calls us not only from a life of having to protect our personal rights but also to a life of intentionally working to protect the rights of others. Part of the joy and the frustration of the Christian faith is figuring out what both of those look like. Sometimes we’ll get it right. Other times we’ll blow it. At the heart of getting it right more often than not is staying connected to the Spirit and listening to His voice.

Ready to Relinquish Control

Jim

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Praying in Jesus' name

Dear JimBob,

No too long ago, I heard someone talking about “praying in the name of Jesus.” Would you please shed some light on that subject? Thanks.

I was Listening

Dear Listening,

            There are a number of places in the gospels where Jesus promises that he would do whatever we ask “in his name.” John 14:13-14 is one of them. Sadly, the concept of praying “in Jesus’ name” has been one of the most misused and misunderstood concepts in the Bible. Ironically, the way you signed your note as “Listening” gets at the heart of the answer to your question.

            First of all, in promising that he would do whatever we ask in his name, Jesus was not offering the secret key to God’s treasure box. He wasn’t saying that if we constantly repeat the name of Jesus, or simply end our prayers with “In Jesus’ name,” God would fulfill our every desire, regardless of how selfish or self-centered they may be. If the simple use of Jesus’ name resulted in the automatic fulfillment of whatever phrase followed, those who use Christ’s name profanely would be in a lot of trouble. Just think of the implications for the person who is startled by someone else and yells, “Jesus Christ, you scared me to death!” Praying in Jesus’ name has more to do with listening than it does with asking.

            Let’s say, for example, that Billy Graham approaches you and asks you to build a retreat center for him. Once you agree, he sits down with you to spell out what he wants, the vision he has for the center, how he would like the center used, etc. After enough time of listening to Billy’s heart, you’ll have a pretty good grasp of what Billy wants. What Billy wants is more than brick and mortar. He has a dream and it’s your job to understand that dream so that you can build something that reflects his heart. After some time and a few more meetings, you submit the plans. Your heart leaps because Billy is overjoyed. You heard him and created something that was true to who he is. He signs the document, giving you the go-ahead, and you proceed to build the retreat center in his name.

            That scenario is not too far removed from what it means to pray in Jesus’ name. Though I’m sure there are a few more minor elements to what it means, praying in Jesus’ name can be whittled down to these four criteria:

First of all, God initiates it. We don’t create a plan in our heads, take it to God, and “trust God to fulfill it” because we’ve claimed it in his name. Something prayed for in his name is something God’s Spirit initiates and calls us to ask for and work toward. Read the verses prior to John 14:13. Jesus says he does only what the Father asks him to do. God initiates it and Jesus does it. It’s under that umbrella that Jesus then promises that he would do whatever we ask if we follow the same principle of waiting for God to lead. So, step number one is LISTEN.

Second, to pray in Jesus’ name means we’re praying about something that would fit who God is and not who we want God to be. This is the reason the gospel of prosperity slant on praying in Jesus’ name doesn’t make any sense. God is smart enough to know that if he gives us everything our selfish hearts desire, we will quickly become spoiled brats. God’s desire is to help us to grow into mature believers not emotionally crippled babies. We want God to be a doting grandfather in the sky, but God is instead a loving Father who loves us enough to help us grow up.

Third, does what we pray for fulfill God’s dream and represent his heart? Put another way, does it please God; does it put a smile on his face? Like the first and second criteria, this truth implies again that if we’re going to be able to truly pray in Jesus’ name, we’re first going to have to know his heart. We can only do that when we LISTEN to his heart.

Finally, does what we pray for glorify God’s name? When God lays a crazy prayer on someone’s heart, it almost always seems impossible. In fact, more often than not, the things God calls us to are impossible; at least for us. He calls us to the impossible because when we finally do pray for it, when we are willing to lift up that burden and ask God’s Spirit to move us and the mountains that stand in front of us (if they are mountains God has called us to move), then when the mountain moves, it is God who gets the glory.

I hope this helps.

In Christ,

JimBob

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