“RACE EXPECTATIONS” – July 14

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealously, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.  I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace,  patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 3:19-23

I am a Spudman.  Yesterday, I competed in the Spudman Triathlon, which was my first triathlon of the year and my first try at the Olympic distance.

I was a little disappointed in my results.

I had hoped to finish with a time between 2 hours 30 minutes and 2 hours 45 minutes.  I had it all figured out.  Swim the 1.5 K in 28 minutes, ride at a 20 mph average, and run at a 8:30 minute/mile pace, then I would finish right where I was hoping.

My race did not turn out as I had envisioned it in my head.  My mind pictured me gliding through the water with the race leaders.  I saw myself flying up the two big climbs like I was in the Tour de France.  The visualization was to conclude with me running like a gazelle along the Boise River.

In reality, I finished at 2 hours, 51 minutes, 37 seconds.

As usual, I was right in the meat of the race bell curve; The Meat of Average.  I did not swim with the race leaders.  I was jostled about with swimmers all around me throughout the swim.  I emerged from the water after 31 minutes, 17 seconds.  However, I swim 1.6K in a 25 yard pool at around 32-33 minutes.

Therefore, my swim was right about what I average in training.

The professional cycling teams will not be seeking to take me to the Tour de France next year.  The two big climbs of the course humbled me to 8 mph.  I made up time on the descent and the flats but the climbs were brutally long stretches and my average speed was only 18.7 mph.  However, I finished a similar hilly course two weeks ago and averaged only 17 mph.

Therefore, my ride was right about what I average in training.

The tranquility of the Boise River Greenbelt was not sufficient to transform me from an ox into a gazelle.  I plodded along as other competitors continually passed me and I passed no one.  There were so many familiar faces that I had raced past on the bike only to see them gracefully stride past me on the run.  It was depressing as I labored in at a 9 minute, 14 second per mile average.  However, I normally run a 10k just under 9 minutes per mile.  When you consider that I had just swam 1.5K and cycled 25 miles, my run was right about my training average considering my tired legs.

Race day expectations should be guided by everyday training experience.  There was nothing in my training that supported my vision of 2 hour, 30 minute finish time.  However, that had not prevented me from creating all of these justifications for why my race day expectations would be different from my training experience.

There are many people who are discouraged by how they respond to temptation.  They wonder how they could get caught up into something so completely of the flesh.

Why did I click on that website;
Why did I flirt with that person;
Why did I say such a mean thing;
Why did I get so angry;
Why does that person irritate me;
Why can’t I stop wanting their life;
Why did I do something so unethical;
Why did I drink so much?

It seems to me that many folks have  expectations of  responding well to big temptations that the experience of their daily spiritual walks’ do not support.  It should not surprise us that we fall when we are not regularly and consistently walking by the Spirit and setting our minds on the things of the Spirit.

Adultery never just happens –
it comes from habitually allowing our minds to linger on the sensual and lust.
Fits of anger never just happen –
it comes from allowing our selfishness to regularly be irritated for not getting what it wants.
Major lapses into the unethical never just happen –
they come from a pattern of compromise and justifications.
Feuds never just happen –
they come from years of pride and a refusal to reconcile.

Most of us want to think that we will never do those “big” sins.  What is your confidence built upon?  Is the confidence of victory over temptation based on hopeful speculation or experience?

How is your training been going? 

Does your daily walk support your expectations? 

There are many folks who expect a spiritual response when their path has not been of the Spirit.  They expect godliness when their minds have been languishing in the godless.  Our daily walk in the Spirit is a good indicator of how we will respond to those bigger challenges of our faith.

We need to have realistic expectations.  This is no place for speculation.  If your daily walk in the Spirit is not what you know it should be, then do something about it.  All of our minor flubs and foibles do matter because they show us where our minds are set.  Those mis-steps should not be merely dismissed and justified.  They should turn us back to our Lord and Savior in repentance, love, and a desire to follow Christ with our whole heart.

We can face temptations with confidence when we face them through the power of the Spirit.  Let’s make sure that we are actually living in the power of the Spirit.  Let’s run this race of life with realistic expectations based on the joyful experience of being daily trained by the Spirit himself.

PRAYER: Lord, you know that I want to persevere to the end.  You know that I want to run well.  You also know that I am very weak.  Father, help me; fill me with your Spirit and help me to set my mind on the things of you.  Lord, I need your help to walk in the Spirit.  Thank you for helping.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“WANTING TO BE LEGOLAS” – April 21

“…He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.” Acts 27:43b-44

My daughter recently bought the DVD of the Hobbit by director Peter Jackson.  We have subsequently watched it a multitude of times in the last couple days so my mind has been flooded with images of Middle Earth.  I love epic tales.  I have been drawn into all of J.R.R Tolkien’s tales of Middle Earth due to their epic scale.

The problem with epic tales is that they can skew our expectations of reality.

We are all part of the most epic plan ever imagined.  The wonderful aspect of this plan is that it does not come from an author’s imagination but it is real.  God’s redemptive plan has been unfolding throughout history.  What story could be greater than the Creator God of the Universe, the Great I AM, saving His fallen and rebellious creation from certain destruction?   It is a plan of unfathomable dimension and limitless depth.

However, this epic plan mostly unfolds in the ordinary.  It is typically carried out in the normal.  Every person plays a role in the greatest story of history when they rise in the morning and either set their minds on the things of the Spirit or the flesh. We are all living in the epic whether we know it or not.

There are the occasional glimpses of the spectacular but the majority of the time we trudge along in the familiar.  I want to participate in  God’s epic plan with grace and courage.  I am reminded of a scene in the Return of the King.  Legolas slays an oliphant by effortlessly swinging up its side while agilely dodging his assailants. After killing the beast he then gracefully slides down it’s trunk to land lightly upon his feet.  That is the sort of participant in God’s great unfolding story that I want to be.

Mûmakil in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

However, this is where the imagination and reality clash.  Reality is more like the Apostle Paul’s experience. Directed by God to return to Rome, he was placed on a ship by his captors.  They were caught in a violent storm for fourteen days where they struggled in vain to hold the ship together.  They had to unload cargo into the raging sea.  Able seamen had to be prevented from abandoning their ship and responsibilities.  They spied an opportunity to run their ship ashore on a beach of a nearby island.  They casted off their anchors, set the sail, and made for the beach only to strike a reef.  The entire party gets washed ashore amid planks and a myriad of ship debris.  They were undoubtedly covered with sand and the grime of the sea, bruised and battered.  It was not a very graceful exit.  It certainly was not an elegant or agile landing.

That is life.

I have never really experienced a “Legolas” type moment.  Most of my moments have been more of the ungraceful and awkward type where I have landed in an inglorious and embarrassing heap.  That does not mean that they were unimportant or not a part of God’s plan.

We need to be careful about seeking out and participating in only “Legolas” like moments.  They may never happen.  I don’t know if I have ever felt like I had the perfect words to say or write.  I can’t remember ever clearly seeing the path before me so that I could effortlessly bound forward without the risk of tripping.  If we wait for the perfect conditions to make our leaps of faith, then we may never jump.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1

Our eyes are on another world as we walk through this one.  We have placed our conviction in things that cannot be seen.  Our reality is that we move forward by faith.  That means that we may stumble.  That means that we may become part of a group that gets ingloriously washed ashore.  We may pick imperfect words and look foolish.  We may not see the next foothold and appear indecisive.  We may be walking along and trip over the common and fall in an awkward and embarrassing heap.

However, I will risk landing in a clumsy heap over the security of standing on the sideline of God’s wonderful plan of redemption with my dignity intact.  My dignity is not worth much in comparison to God’s plan.  The opinion of others is insignificant in comparison to the glories of God. The blessings of a deep and meaningful relationship with God are found only in the practice of our faith.    God will only be found by those who seek Him through the power of His Spirit.  That happens when we are actually in the epic journey of faith.

Are you ready to trust in the promises of God and take your potentially inglorious next step?  We need to remember that every inglorious step that we take forward leads us to a glory beyond what we can even comprehend at this time.  That glory of our Lord will cause all the struggles and suffering of this time to fade in an insignificant memory.  Every inglorious step, taken in faith, serves a purpose and is transformed by the Spirit into glory for our Lord and Savior.

We must decide which glory we want the most – God’s glory or our own.

PRAYER: Father, forgive me for so often choosing my glory over yours.  Forgive me for seeking out opportunities where my risks of appearing inglorious can be managed.  Forgive me for not trusting you like I know I should.  Father, help me in my unbelief.  Help me to walk by faith and to set my eyes not on what I see in this world.  Help me to set my convictions on the things that I cannot see.  Help me to take the next step of faith, forgetting myself, for your praise and glory.  Amen.

“FORGETTING OURSELF” – April 8

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 13:52

I have a tendency of forgetfulness.  I don’t think it is a dementia type of forgetfulness, at least I hope not.  I think it is a preoccupation type of forgetfulness.  I have had to rush from my office on more than one occasion, breaking free from the after-hours cocoon of solitude, to pick up my kids.  I have been lost in conversation to discover that hours have slipped past.  I have been entranced by the promise of the next page and lost afternoons in books.

There is some forgetfulness that is good and there is some that is very bad.  However, there is a forgetfulness that I wish was permanent and that I don’t experience as often as I would like.

I am rarely forgetful about myself.  How about you?

When given a picture that you are in, where do your eyes go? 

If you see someone in new clothes, do you wonder what you would look like in them?

How often do you tickle a conversation back to your life and experience?

Are you insulted when your opinion is not requested or you are not included?

Is it your expectation to receive complimentary comments on your new haircut?

When you see a great relationship, are you inclined to question your own?

Do you feel bad when “how is it going” is not asked?

Do your feelings preoccupy your mind?

Do you want your children to behave well because it reflects upon you and your parenting?

Do the opinions of others weigh heavy upon you?

Do the good estimations of friends cause you to change your behavior?

Are compliments a condition of your service?

We are told that our old self was crucified with Christ and has been set free from sin.  We are no longer bound to our old sinful ways.  Through Christ, we have put off our old selves and those associated practices and put on our new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of our Creator.  This on-going renewal is a work of God in our minds.  Our knowledge, how we think, must be renewed after the image of our Creator.  The renewal of our new self is not measured by our level of obedience.  Self-control is not mastery over a rebellious body.  True self-control comes from a mind that does not think about self.   Sin is the manifestation of a self-indulgent mind.  A mind preoccupied with one’s self is a mind that is prone to seek itself first.

The pursuit of today’s self-esteem is the seed of tomorrow’s anguished confession.

A mind that does not think upon itself is a mind that is freed to seek God first and wholly.  The fallen condition of every person enslaved them in a mind that binds them to seeking first the kingdom of self; a mind that is set upon the things of themselves.  Every person has a kingdom of self that resides between their ears.  The ruler of this old kingdom is our old minds.

We do not want to subjugate that ruler.  The old ruler of our mind can mask himself into following religion because in even the most selfless appearing sacrifice his appetite for praise and adoration is still fed.  That old ruler cannot coexist with our new mind that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of our Creator.  The old ruler of the kingdom of self must be put to death and the kingdom of self must be allowed to fall and crumble away.

The renewal of our minds allows us to forget about ourselves.  There is a forgetfulness that is good.  It is a forgetfulness that comes from a preoccupation of God.  It is a forgetfulness that comes from a mind that is intentionally set upon the things of the Spirit.

A mind that is forgetful of itself is a mind that will experience the most liberating of self-control.  It is a self-control of freedom rather than a self-control of excessive personal discipline.  Self-control is the natural result of a mind that is not thinking about itself.

Effortless self-control comes from a mind that wholly loves God in all ways with a mind that has forgotten itself.

PRAYER: Lord, I am so prone to think upon how things affect me.  Forgive me for falling into the great temptation of contemplation that swirls around my own feelings rather than upon You and You alone.  Lord, teach me how to forget myself; it is impossible for me to do on my own.  I need the work of your Spirit in my life to free me from my thought on myself.  Lord, I want the effortless self-control that comes only from You.  The self-control that brings you all the glory for it is your work.  Father, please continue your work of renewing my mind for your glory and praise.  Amen.

ETERNITY CONFIDENCE INDICATOR – Nov. 23th

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb. 11:1

I am very content to be missing all of the excitement of Black Friday – endurance shopping and large crowds. That seems more like an enhanced interrogation technique that needs to be banned. However, I am interested in the results of Black Friday. I am anxiously awaiting the final tallies like they are the scoreboard of my favorite team. I am very concerned about the condition of the US economy and Black Friday is a good indicator of what is going on out there. The amount of cash that will be shelled out on this day is a good indicator of how consumers are doing.

I have not talked with anyone who is very “bullish” on the US economy. It is possible that I am in the middle of a bunch of eeyores. I tend to live on the cynical side of the fence, which is fine if the world really is falling apart. However, if it is not falling apart, I would like to inoculate myself (maybe it will work). The Black Friday turnout will be a good indicator as to whether we “eeyores” are in the minority.

I hope to be in the minority because our attitudes matter more than most of us are willing to admit. We all can accomplish great things and endure hardship if we have confidence in the future. This fact is why consumer confidence is tracked. The fundamentals of an economy can all be sound but if consumers are not confident in the future then it is bound to languish.

Confidence directly influences attitude and attitude matters. Atttiude matters because of its influence in every aspect of our lives, including our spiritual lives. The optimism that we feel in our spiritual lives is linked to our confidence in the future. Eternity confidence is called hope. Hope is such a big deal that it is mentioned over 120 times in the Bible. Every believer should aptly be called hopeful.  We are to be people of faith. Hope is in the definition of faith. Therefore, we are to be people of hope. Our confidence in eternity should overflow into every aspect of our daily lives.

Have you been languishing in your faith? Maybe you should try tracking your hope. The bars on this graph show the confidence of consumers in the US over last several years.

Your hope shouldn’t look like that. Our hope is not tied to our economy or anything else from this world.  If your eternal confidence is all over the place than your faith is probably languishing. Our hope should look like the line on this graph. It should be ever increasing as the assurance of our salvation grows through sanctification.

It is always good to periodically get back to the fundamentals.

• What are you hoping in?
• What are you day-dreaming about? Is God in it at all?
• Do you have conviction in God?
• Do you have conviction in the things of the Spirit that can’t be seen?
• Do feel your faith crumbling due to a lack of conviction?

Every follower of Christ needs to be reminded that our hope is not in this world. There is nothing in this world worth hoping for since it will all be gone one day. We aren’t taking it with us. What have you really achieved if you gain all that you’ve hoped for in this world and lose your soul?

Let’s get our confidence on what really matters and lasts, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the hope that will never disappoint. Set your mind and your hope on the Spirit and the things of the Spirit and you will be amazed at the growth in your confidence (your faith) and your eternal optimism.

PRAYER: Lord, Thank you for giving me a future that I have confidence in. Lord, you know that I have such a tendency to hope in all of the wrong things. You are surpassingly more valuable than anything this world has to offer me. Father, I set my hope in you this day; I place all of my confidence in you.  I know that I am a child of God and there is nothing that this world can to do me except disappoint if that is where my hope is.  My hope is in you and I know that you will never disappoint me. Praise be to your name.    Amen

ACHIEVING THE IMPOSSIBLE – Nov. 19th

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you , neither is it far off.” Deut. 30:11

I am a triathlete. I feel a little silly about claiming that title but this year I completed my first sprint triathlon.  I have been surprised by the consistency of the responses. They always seem to have some variation of “I could never do that”.  That makes me laugh. Now that I have experienced one, I realize that most people can finish a sprint triathlon with a little training.  The reason they don’t even try is due to what they are telling themselves, “I can’t”. My goal is to do an Ironman. That does not seem possible at this present time but I have a plan. I know that after I have done an Olympic distance and a 70.3 distance that I will then have the confidence to achieve an Ironman. I am going to break the “impossible” into achievable tasks until the “impossible” is ordinary.

Many folks are caught in the same “I can’t” mindset in their spiritual life. They have struggled for years with obedience and consistency in spiritual disciplines. We can get so focused on our defeats that “I can’t” is all we hear.

I am here to tell you that you can! Whatever you are struggling with may seem impossible at this moment but it is not. The impossible is achievable when you break it down. I fail all the time but I focus on the victories, achieved through the Spirit, that are taking me down the slow road of sanctification.  My task, every morning, is to set my mind on the things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:3-8). I do this through reading my Bible and prayer. This focuses my mind on what I love the most, which strenghtens me to kill sin before it’s sin. John Owen in “Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers” gets it right:

“Rise mightily against the first actings of your distemper, its first conceptions; suffer it not to get the least ground. Do not say, “Thus far it shall go, and no farther.” If it have allowance for one step, it will take another. It is impossible to fix bounds to sin. It is like water in a channel – if it once break out, it will have its course. Its not acting is easier to be compassed than its bounding.”

Too often, we play with sinful thoughts and give them a small place in our life, where we can affectionately caress them. We cannot control sinful desires. It is just  a matter of time before those sinful desires break out. Killing sin is much more achievable when it is a thought, before it has made a channel through our life. We need to take a stand like the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf and tell sin, “You shall not pass”.  

You can do this. It is not too hard. It is not impossible. Jesus tells us in Mark 9:23 that “all things are possible for one who believes.” Believe and break it down: Set your mind on the Spirit; remind yourself of what you love most and what you want the most; then FIGHT – fight for the control of your mind; kill every one of those sinful desires as they spring up; refuse to let them pass, but take them one at a time. Don’t worry about the whole day, just deal with the one thought before you at this moment. Kill it, praise God for it and soon you will be through a whole day. You can do this, it is not too hard, neither is it far off.

PRAYER: Father, I believe; Help me in my unbelief.  I believe that through the power of your Spirit that I can have victory this very day. Lord, I need your strength; help me to achieve what is impossible in my life without you.   Amen

SCARED BY GENGHIS KHAN – Nov. 18th

“This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” Psalm 56:9b-11  

I have been listening to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcast series, “Wrath of the Khans”. I cannot grasp the horror associated with the subjucation of so many great societies by those Eurasian nomads lead by Genghis Khan. I can only imagine the emotions of terror that would rise up in my mind out of concern for my family and friends if a Mongol like army were sweeping in from Montana to destroy my way of life. Yet, the inhumanity of man is nothing new. It is seen throughout history. It can be seen every day in the news. Strip the news of the inhumanity of war, terrorism, oppression, murder, rape, abuse, deception and thief and there will be little left. We are masters at doing bad things to each other. When the Pslamist asks, “What can man do to me?”, I answer with, “A lot – that is why I have a concealed weapons permit and guns”. The question is can they can do anything to us that matters eternally? Jesus tells us in Matt. 10:28, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” We should not miss the point that man can do bad things to us, even kill us. God did not save us to make our physical life better. Sometimes he does, but that is not his purpose. He saved our souls for eternity. We get all messed up when we confuse our situation with our relationship with God. Faith draws upon the Spirit to bear witness that we are God’s children – a Father is always for His own child. When God is our Father, that can never be taken away. That would be something worth fearing but we don’t have to fear our Father losing his grasp on our souls. The gain or loss of lesser things, even our own life, is not crushing when we know that God our Father is for us and nothing can take that away. Our souls are secured when threats are challenged by crying out to an exalted God, who is our Father.

PRAYER: Father, you are great and greatly to be praise. There is no one like you. It is you who hold me in the palm of your hand. It is you who knows all about me, even the number of hairs on my head. You know me better than I know myself. You know all my needs. You know the secrets of my heart.  You are my Father, the keeper of my soul. It is in you who I trust. You are may all in all.  It is to you that I give all of my praise.  You are worthy of nothing less than my all.   Amen

AIMING THE LAMP OF MY LIFE- Nov. 17th

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.” Luke 11:34-35  

I have been watching what I eat. It is not because I am a picky eater. I am the opposite of that. I have to watch what I eat because I can easily pound 4,000 calories. I know what happens when I consistently do that; I don’t like those results. Therefore, I am willing to give up ice cream because I prefer fitting into my pants more than having dessert.  I have freedom but I have given it up because I want something better. We have similar decisions that effects our soul. This world if full of light & darkness. Gods’ word is a light shining into this dark world (Ps 119:105, Prov 6:23). However, it has no effect unless it gets inside. Once inside, God’s light will clean house. There is no “twilight” living for a person filled with the light of God but it has to get in. Therefore, it comes down to our eyes – the lamp of our body. Our eyes will either let in light or darkness. They are dependent upon what we set them upon. This is not difficult to understand. Most just don’t want to think about it. We want to live like there are no consequences to what we do & don’t do. When we set our eyes on the darkness of this world (I know what the spiritual ice cream is for me), that is what you will become – the darkness of this world. When you don’t set you eyes on God’s word & the things of the Spirit, that is going to have an impact. We want to think that a diet of filth will have no impact on our spiritual health. How absurd is that?  We do what we want most. What is that for you?

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for being the light in the very dark world. Lord, fill me with your light; remind me every time I am confronted with an appealing dessert of this world. I don’t want that darkness. I don’t want to suffer the effects of letting that darkness into my heart. I delight in you; you are better than anything this dark world has to offer. Lord, today I will set my mind upon you and all the things of your Spirit; help me.   Amen