You Can Skim This One

How will you measure my life?

Clayton Christensen is a Harvard Business School professor who recently wrote an article posing this question to graduating MBA students. The author is a Christian and offers a model that is meant to be used to by individuals to define the important things in their life and what metrics are pertinent to track implementation. A short read, I highly recommend it.  

Where is my value found?


Placing my value entirely in God is impossible. It goes without saying that I would tell you I want my value to be completely interwoven into the fabric of our relationship, but my actions betray my altruistic rhetoric. In fact, using pretentious language like "altruistic rhetoric" just tied up some value in what I perceive as a facetious mind.

I spend a lot of my time trying to make sure that I seem valuable through: popularity, professional success, relationships, personal appearance, a wise demeanor and fractiously battle any enemy -- especially God. These exogenous variables valiantly defy the Almighty, but why?

Unusual circumstances often serve as points of clarification. Recently, God revealed how satisfying and "right" it was to yield all (or as much as my sinful mind could) of my value proposition into His grace and loving arms.


Eternity panic attacks

In Ernest Becker's book, The Denial of Death, he discusses the dualism of having an animalistic nature with all the functions of a sentient being-but also having a symbolic self, such as a name and self-awareness. This thought led me to an "eternity panic attack" which I occasionally have. You know, the thought of forever and what that will be like. I can grasp the idea that I have a symbolic self and how that places me on higher tier of creation, but if you want to feel insignificant and completely dependent, look up at the sky and imagine uninterrupted existence.

The dualism of having a symbolic self, like a name and cogent thought processes combined with the eternal purpose that God created us makes me feel like a dumb mule. Thankfully, God grants a clue to this dumb mule, and has offered the gift of eternal life.

It was interesting that when I stopped fretting about eternity, I looked less at myself and began to look at ways I could spread this exhilarating thought.

-Luke (sorry if this post was overly fragmented...hopefully you just skimmed it anyway :)

Power -> God’s Glory

I’m a man of little faith, most of the time.  I’ve increasingly grown less confident of my own ability to do anything, and yet instead of realizing this displacement is God’s strategy to shift my focus inevitably toward His all-sufficing provision, capability, and resurrection power, usually I see things as falling into an awkward state of limbo from which there seems no proximate remedy.  Over the years God has been developing in me, through adverse circumstances and loving discipline, an awareness to His sufficiency and my minute mortality. 

One of the stories of Jesus’ steps on our planet that has most intrigued me goes like this [end of Matthew 8]:  two dudes have so many demons they’re uncountable, thus called ‘legion,’ demons recognize Jesus as having power over them and they ask to be sent into farm animals, Jesus sends them into some pigs [thus honoring their request…odd], economic loss of pigs ensues when pigs run off the cliffs, townspeople have entirely inverted priorities of the universe and prize economic value over supernatural visitation of the Lord God Almighty in their town and kick him out of town….

…which leads to Jesus showing up and mind-reading the religious dudes who are looking down on him for healing a previously lame person, which sets up Matthew 9:8-9:

“But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.  And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him”

           That’s quite a turn of events.  Let’s be honest: what would you do if you turned on the evening news to see pigs running off a cliff due to being recently possessed by demons – demons who had just had a conversation with some dude who claimed to be the Son of God, who everyone has been talking about, and then after you turn off the news your buddy who’s been lame his entire life walks up to your house claiming this Son of God dude just healed him?   Oh, and your neighbor’s cousin’s wife’s friend Matthew just up and left his cushy job and started following this guy right afterwards?!  But wait, do you even think that some of the causes of events in our world and/or actions of people are directly attributable to demon possession or God’s direct healing hand on someone’s life? [but I digress, as that is another conversation…]

            

           We have a perspective today which, I believe, does not truly account for the power of God.  Or at least, I don’t.  Sure, we acknowledge the saving power of God over our sins, etc., but do we contemplate that it is power over EVERYTHING.  Over life, over death, over demons, over disease or deformity?!  We might claim we believe the Bible is true, but when’s the last time you overheard someone in church say:  ‘so, I was having an argument with this demon the other day…’ or ‘my daughter was recently raised from the dead’?  I’m overstating to make my point, but overall I believe we down-size God to match the parameters of our current problems.issues.wants.wishlist.mood.  If we contemplate God’s power, we see God as being all-powerful over our job search, our upcoming final, our relational drama, our income taxes, etc.  We see something like the tragedy in Japan and…is our first thought of God’s omnipotent power or Him or the destruction and how devastating it must be?  I know what my first inclination is. 

And yet, the Scripture says that God had ‘given such power unto men.’  A friend who is much smarter than I believes this passage shows that God’s design is to give us power, and cites how the apostles healed others, cast out demons, etc. when Jesus sent them out.  And I do get his point, and I haven’t studied the Scriptures to the degree he has, but I would agree with him thus far that a general construct goes like this:  God is all-powerful.  That means He has power over EVERYTHING.  Our God is not diffracted and does not report to someone else.  He gave this power to men.  Jesus and the apostles, to name a few.  We are made in His image and are built to become ‘little Christs’ and thus replicate Jesus with our very lives.  Thus, His design is for us to wield His power as well…why?  The Scripture says the result of Jesus using God’s power is that when the multitudes of people saw Jesus do it “they marveled” and “GLORIFIED GOD.” 

When I ask God why I’m weak the answer is usually that I’m not glorifying Him.  Every time, now that I think about it, that I’ve ever been powerful, channeling God’s power through me, it’s been synonymous with my life glorifying His.

And, Lest we think this is a one-time thing, or something Matthew blew out of proportion to justify him leaving his job to follow a random stranger, consider the very last instruction of Jesus to his disciples before ascending into heaven [talk about a sight to behold!]

Matthew 28:18-20  “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Then in Acts 1:8 Jesus instructs them that “you will receive power” and be His witnesses…to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Main takeaway:  There is one Being with all the power in all Heaven and earth given to Him.  And He says we will receive power.  Why?  To be His witness, and to glorify God, that’s what His power’s for.

--Matthew

Comfortably Uncomfortable

As humans, I think we strive for comfort.  Some of us take comfort when we have enough money, others take comfort in having a good education, others in a family, and others in a career.  We like our routines, we find comfort in small things, because we know what to expect. 

Living a comfortable Christian life is easy too.  Go to church, go to fellowship, read the bible, have a few conversations, pray—all of these things are safe and comfortable.  And I’m not saying they’re wrong, but I do think there is a way for us to be challenged and thus have a stronger faith.

When we are comfortable, it’s hard to depend on God because we have other things to depend on; we are not much different from the rest of the world.  When we are uncomfortable, the only thing we have is God, and we have to put all of our faith in Him.

God clearly called me to Pepperdine, and for me this was an uncomfortable choice.  I had a safe and comfortable choice at home; I could stay in my hometown, I could work at my same job--easy choice.  I had to step out in faith and depend on him 100% and the peace I felt by making that uncomfortable choice was surreal.

What if God called you to…Africa…or to live homeless…would you make that leap?  I can think of many reasons why not to make that choice including fear, loneliness, safety, etc.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”—Isaiah 6:8

So many times we cry out to God “Here am I. Send me!”  Then we complain that we never hear Him calling us, but I think sometimes we have selective hearing.  “Here Am I, Send me…but only if it’s safe and I will feel comfortable.”  I have made this same cry myself…there are many things that I feel God has called me to do…and I have ignored a lot of them because I’m not sure how I am supposed to do them or where I am even supposed to start.

We can’t expect to change the world if we live by the same rules.  Jesus I’m sure was quite comfortable in heaven, but instead He came down into the world in a very uncomfortable position…knowing He was going to be crucified.

If Jesus can put himself in a position like that for us, certainly we can step out in faith in uncomfortable situations and depend completely on God.  We can take comfort in the fact that God is not going to let us fall, and even if we do stumble, He’s going to be there. 

I think living uncomfortably, but depending completely on God will allow us to see Him work in a refreshing and rewarding way.

--Carly

Dependence

Two main things that God is working on in my life are craving His word and depending on Him.


Graduate school has really taught me how to skim a reading.  When we are assigned hundreds of pages of reading I have learned how to skim these pages by quickly reading them looking for key words or dates that I should pay attention to.  Unfortunately this seems to be the only way I know how to read now.  Since the business school is on break I was excited to take up reading as a past time again, at least for a week.  Although when starting to read I realized that I was skimming even a book I was reading for pleasure.  I have been reading the bible like this as well.  Every night when I sit down to read a chapter or two of the bible, I have been skimming searching for key words as well.  I now have to force myself to read it a few times to completely comprehend what I am reading so that I don't automatically go into this mode.  God has really been working on me to learn to separate what I am reading for school and actually crave reading his word in a real way instead of reading it like I am reading a book for school.  Sometimes it seems reading the bible is just another check on my to do list for the day but instead it is becoming a reward at the end of a long day.


--


When I think of truly living I think of depending on God 100%.  For someone who really likes things planned out, this is really hard for me.  I honestly have no idea where I will spend this summer for my internship or where I will be living next year or where I will be working in a year from now when I graduate.  These uncertainties are really hard for me to deal with and they really put me outside of my comfort zone.


For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. --Jeremiah 29:11


I need to remind myself constantly that God does have a plan and that even though I am feeling out of control and have no idea what will happen in the next year, God is in control and He knows exactly what will happen and that His plan is good.  Although I hate this feeling of lack of control, the idea of depending on God and truly letting Him work in my life really allows me to rest in Him.


-Carly

"Jesus? Or no?"

One of the things I struggle with most is procrastination.  I find myself putting things off until the last possible minute, telling myself that I work best under pressure.  I make long lists of things I need to do, but instead of doing them, I can always find a reason to wait until “later.” 

A few weeks ago, I was listening to an incredible woman share her thoughts about what it means to walk with Jesus, to really know him for who He is and not just things about him.  In Matthew 16:13-15, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  They respond with “John the Baptist…Elijah…Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”  Then Jesus asks, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” 

That seems like an easy question.  I’ve known Jesus since I was a little toddler in Sunday school singing about how much He loves me.  Of course I know who Jesus is!  But really think about that.  Do I really have an answer that even begins to describe character and depth of the person of Jesus Christ?  Do I have more than a scripted list of all the things I simply know about Christ or all the things He’s done for me?  What does my relationship with Christ really look like? How often to I just listen to Him speak to me?  Am I always looking for what he can give me? Do I wake up every day eager to know Him more deeply than the day before?  Do I choose to follow him wholeheartedly and intentionally in every choice I make?

It was at about this moment that the woman hit me with this: every single day we have the choice of “Jesus, or no.”  Every day.  Following Christ is not a decision you make once and then go on living as you want—it is a choice you make daily.  And while I was completely struck by the truth of that statement, I also had to wonder if I can honestly say that I deliberately “choose” Jesus every day of my life.  It’s so incredibly easy to get caught up in my own plans and lists and desires and all these things that the world places above Christ. 

And grad school seems to magnify all of this—we are constantly under the pressure of assignments, papers, tests, presentations, internships, interviews, career planning, job searching, projects, networking…the list goes on and on.  Everything about school is telling us to plan, to work hard, and to achieve.  And while these things are not necessarily bad, it’s terrifyingly easy to let our relationship with Christ take a backseat to our own initiatives and goals.

How many times have I thought, “I just really need to finish this project…I’ll spend time with Jesus when I’m done” or “I know I need to spend time praying about this…but I’ll do it later”?  How many days go by with nothing but a short, tired prayer of “thanks for this and these are the things I need your help with?”  Too many than I would care to admit.

The fact is, Christ offers us more.  He is not just a place to dump our laundry list of problems, and He is not someone that’s just along for the ride as we plan out our futures and worry about how we’re going to find jobs, etc.  He invites us to be a part of His plan, to be on mission with Him in a way that is far bigger than anything we could even imagine, let alone plan ourselves. “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” - Proverbs 19:21. 

So why would I live in a way that places daily stresses and planning above being with God?  I don’t want to “procrastinate” building a deeper relationship with Christ—thinking all the while that I will get to it eventually.  In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis is speaking from the perspective of a head demon when he says, “We have trained [people] to think of the Future as a promised land which favored heroes attain – not as something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.” 

The reality is that every minute contributes to who we are and the depth of our relationship with God.  In one of my favorite quotes, C.S. Lewis also points out that “every time you make a choice, you are turning the central part of yourself, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different than it was before.”  Every time we make a choice, we can choose Jesus, or we can say to Him, “No, I need to do this my way, on my time.  I will listen to You later.  I will get to our relationship when I’m done with all of these other things.” 

My prayer is that even in the midst of school, work, and concerns about the future, we would choose to put Jesus first.  I pray that, especially with finals coming up, we’ll resist the tendency to procrastinate spending real, quality time with Him.  Because when it comes down to it, I want to have an answer to the question of who Jesus is that can only come from walking with Him at all times, from valuing my relationship with Him above everything else, from seeking His face rather than his blessing, and from choosing Him daily.   

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.   For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

-Chelsey

Edification or Gossip?

"Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear."

Ephesians 4:29

I remember being in elementary school and seeing the other girls staring at me and my friend Danny from across the playground, whispering, giggling then running away. Later that day the rumors spread like wildfire. "ooo, Danny and Lindsay sitting in a tree..." Were we "going out," as the lingo of the 4th grade class was at the time? No, we just both happened to like Beanie Babies and enjoyed looking at the latest edition of the catalogue on the playground. Needless to say, Danny  never wanted to hang out with me anymore on the playground after that. 

This would be a funny anecdotal story of a silly fourth grade class of kids, but the gossip never stopped. As we aged, the compulsion to gossip never ceased, but the implications changed from year to year. I, too, was drawn into this lure of mindless chatter about my peers around me. Never stopping to verify its validity or thinking about how the spread of this information could hurt those involved. It didn't end in junior high either, nor in high school, nor in college, nor in the workplace, and it most certainly has not ended in grad school. One thing I have definitely come to realize around my peers that cannot hold a conversation without belittling someone else, is that more than likely, they probably say some similar things about me. How can that type of knowledge possibly build a community of trust?

This is especially problematic within the body of Christ. Paul encourages us in Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear." 

We, as fallen human beings, struggle with this issue. I have seen this (and unfortunately participated in it) within churches, Christian fellowships, small groups, and other Christian groups. We try to draw a hard line between what is and what is not gossip. I think Paul gives us a clear definition in Ephesians 4. There are a few "lies" I think we as Christians tell ourselves to make us feel better about the words that come out of our mouths.

Lie #1: It's not gossip if it is true!

Although rumors that spread that are not true are also bad, it is the rumors that are true that tend to hurt the most people. No one appreciates having the dirty laundry spread around the community. We are all sinners. We all have a past and have done things we are not proud of. Things have happened to us that we had no control over. Even if it is true, if it does not build or encourage another, there is not need for it to be discussed.

Lie #2: It's not gossip if it isn't a secret!

Simply because everyone already knows about something does not mean that discussing it is edifying to the hearers. Though there are points in time when issues within a community must be discussed, it should not be something that is dwelled on. Paul says we should say that which "is good for edifying as the need may be." Dwelling on these failures is not what Paul had in mind. Once an issue is addressed, it should not be repeated unless the issue arises once again. 

This is even more true about the mindless chatter that is easy to fall into about a person's sense of humor, personality, or looks. When you tear down fellow human being, regardless of their shortcomings, you are tearing down an important piece of God's creation that He loves so much, He died for it. 

Lie #3: It's not gossip if it is in the context of a prayer request!

This is a trap that I have seen so many people in Christian groups fall into, including myself. There is something beautiful about sharing prayer requests with one another and lifting each other up in prayer. However, there is a definite tendency for prayer request time to become a feel good gossip circle. It is a time to talk about others and their situation under the auspice of "praying for them." This doesn't necessarily only happen in a group setting. It is an easy tendency to tell others one on one about issues regarding other people for the same reason. This is a tricky trap. 

There are times when sharing things with others is both necessary and edifying. But how do we know? Ask yourself these things before you proceed:

1. Is what I'm about to say corrupt? 

Are the words I am about to say both true and glorifying to God? This is especially dangerous for the mindless chatter about the fellow Christian in your community whose personality you just clash with.

2. Is what I'm about to say edifying? 

We are encouraged to build each other up. Talking about the successes and victories of our friends is encouraged! We are one body so it is wonderful to celebrate with one another over these things. We are also told to rebuke one another in love. In the case of someone living a sinful lifestyle, one should first approach that person directly before anyone else is ever involved. (Matthew 18:15-17)

3. Is what I'm about to say applicable right now?

We are all sinners and are always in need of edification. However, constant reminders of past sins or shortcomings will only continue to tear a person down. 

4. Am I extending grace with my words?

Even if harsh things do need to be said, they should always be done so in a way that extends grace. Christ extended his grace towards us so we are commanded to do so to each other.

5. Is my audience appropriate?

This is sometimes a hard line to walk. If something needs to be said, be careful to whom you confide. Communities are prone to the "Group Think" phenomenon. If one person mentions a dislike or a suspicion of another person, it can plant that seed of thought into the mind of others and create a dislike that was not there to begin with. 

Ultimately, Paul's letter to the Ephesians was a letter of encouragement. It was a letter of excitement over all they were doing in Ephesus. Despite their wide success as a Christian community, Paul still warned them to be careful with their words. The words that we use are the most powerful thing we have. They can both build up and completely destroy a community. 

My prayer for myself in the past few years has been to be known as "the girl that never says anything bad about anyone." I've met only a handful of people like that in my life and those are the people I admire the most. I write this blog out of frustration of my own failures in this area. I have by no means conquered this temptation in my life but God has certainly been working on my heart to combat it. I pray that he does the same for you.

~Lindsay

Outlive Your Life

So for Christmas my mom wanted this book by Max Lucado, "Outlive Your Life" but once I gave it to her I stole it and brought it with me to Malibu.  I did end up buying her a copy and shipping it back to her.

This book is amazing and is really having me rethink my role as a Christian.  Sometimes I seem to think that I am doing all the "right" things by going to school and getting my education so I can live out God's will in my life.  I psych myself into thinking I am living my Christian life to it's fullest.  I get stuck in my own little world and forget about all of the things going on around me and around the world.

The first chapter of this book really made me think even more about this.  It asks, "Had you been a German Christian during World War II, would you have taken a stand against Hitler?  Had you lived in the South during the civil rights conflict, would you have taken a stand against racism?"  Immediately after these questions I think to myself of course I would have taken a stand against these things.  I'm Christian and I would give my life to whatever God wanted me to do.  As soon as I feel all high and mighty about my decision, it asks this question: "When your grandchildren discover you lived during a day in which 1.75 billion were poor and 1 billion were hungry, how will they judge your response?"  My feeling quickly changes.  It's easy to look back and say we would have taken a stand during those tragic times but when we look at our current lives, are we doing all we can to take a stand regarding the issues that are going on now?

Immediately after I read this chapter I felt like I needed to travel to a third world country and start feeding the hungry but two things came to mind.  1.  I live in LA, and there are tons of hungry and poor people right here that I could help and 2. I really need to bring this to God and see what He wants me to do instead of trying to fit what I think I need to do in His plan.

The catch phrase of this book is "You were made to make a difference."  After all, "We are God's masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things planned for us long ago." (Eph. 2:10)

It's so easy for us to forget there is a greater plan than the one we see in the next 2-3 years (graduation, career, etc.).  We really were made for a greater purpose and were made during this current time for a reason so we could help with these issues.  So I think back to the original question: "When your grandchildren discover you lived during a day in which 1.75 billion were poor and 1 billion were hungry, how will they judge your response?"

-Carly