I Didn't Say "Fun"

Recently I was talking with a youth about some choices and how much more deeply satisfying it will be in their core to choose to honor God and love and serve others than anything they could do for themselves. After some thought the youth said, "But it won't be as much fun." I pointed out that I hadn't used the word "fun" and that they were right, it wouldn't be as much "fun," but that I was talking about something much more satisfying and lasting than temporary fun.

The world is right. There are a lot of things more "fun" for a moment than surrendering to God in that moment and loving or serving another person instead of yourself. I can't argue that the alternatives are a lot more fun than helping out a parent, or submitting to what someone else wants to do instead of you want to do, or doing an unpleasant job that needs doing but others are walking around. But I didn't say, "fun."

What I did say is that there is nothing we can do for ourselves that will match, at a level of deep satisfaction and lasting joy, what comes to us by choosing to love another more than we love ourselves, and to express that love in tangible acts of selflessness. To walk in the plans prepared for us by the Star Breather Himself when He created us—what greater honor or deeper joy could there be? To make God smile and to open up a flow of relationship with Him instead of quenching or grieving His Spirit—what higher goal could there be than this? To invest in things eternal instead of things that moths eat and rust destroys and thieves steal—what could rank higher than that? To say to God, "I love you" through our life and not just our words and songs—what louder voice could there be than that? To be conformed closer to God's image—what higher desire could there be for ourselves than that? And what an adventure and promise of clarity of God's voice it is to explore, through our obedience, the amazing words of Jesus in John 7:17 when He says, "If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority."!

No, I didn't say "fun." Didn't mention the word. I can't argue against fun for the moment. Curl up with a good book, or help someone unclog a toilet—I won't even try and say that the toilet wins over the book for "fun." But this isn't about fleeting fun that in the end has no lasting value—it's about finding the deepest level of satisfaction possible in living in the plans we were created for and expressing our love for our Creator through our obedience to Him and our laying ourselves down for another . . . and experiencing the closeness with Him and intimacy and fellowship that seems to often spring forth from simple acts of love and obedience.

And, you know what? I've often found that when I have obeyed and loved, often I'll sense the Spirit release me to have "fun" and He often prepares the way and blesses me in it far more than I could ever do for myself on my own. And it feels so much better to know He's given me the fun, than that I took it when my Spirit was nudging me to something else I turned away from.

For Me, Alone . . .

(Note: Please don’t forget about my Saturday, November 28, 2009 post, “So, You've Been Given the Pulpit . . . Christmas.” I truly would value your answers to it, and I think you would be blessed in the time spent with God seeking your answer to it, and others would be blessed by what you share.)

I heard an interview on K-Love radio yesterday with, I believe, Jeremy Camp. In it he said something that spoke to my heart. I will paraphrase it since I was driving and couldn’t write it down.

Basically, he was talking about the songs he writes and he shared how he had set out to write songs that connected with and touched the people and ministered to them. During the process God told him, simply, “You write songs that touch Me, and let Me worry about ministering to the people.” Jeremy said it was so freeing because he realized he only needed to write songs for God and God would do the rest.

As a pastor I found that speaking to my heart. There is such a temptation to preach to, or at, people, and to weigh their possible reactions to things in your mind as you write them. You have to battle all of those things aggressively or they will start to be the driving force. Each week I have to bring myself back, out of that place, and simply ask, “Father, what do You have for this Sunday?”

I don’t think that the struggle is simply for those in ministry, either. I believe that we all struggle with focus and where we put our eyes. Some struggle with wanting the glory of men more than the glory of God, so they live in fear of the cost of open worship or testimony. Others struggle with ministering for God, hoping it will bring intimacy with God, instead of ministering FROM a place of intimacy with God. Many of us carry burdens that the Lord never put on us, because His yoke is easy and His burdens are light. The struggles, the pain, the doubt, the fear, the longings, the needs—the all can weigh so heavily that we sometimes forget the model of Mary, to simply take the time to sit at His feet.

So, maybe the lesson in this busy season from the Jeremy interview is this—before we wear ourselves out trying to do good all around us let’s first simply worship and adore Him, and see what comes out of that. It is truly amazing what He can and does do through a surrendered heart and life that is fixed on worshiping Him! When we let go and let His Holy Spirit lead, the world is turned upside down. It is not about not doing anything—our faith is called to be an active faith expressed in works—but it is works that come from the place of our faith, works that are led by the Spirit who inhabits our praise and worship, works that spring from a place of love for Him and others.

Esther . . . Part 1

As I was reading in Bill Johnson’s book Dreaming with God he was talking about how the disciples went from a servant to friend relationship with Jesus in which Jesus said, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). As Jesus’ friends He shared with them the things of heaven, the things His Father shared with Him.

It reminds me of when Jesus told Nicodemus, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?” (John 3:12). I believe God stands ready to share His voice and thoughts, and reveal secrets of His heart from heaven, to those who will be His friends. He has, I believe, created us for intimate relationship with Him which involves a sharing of hearts. For a variety of reasons we don’t always hear (or recognize) His voice as easily as other times, but I believe the invitation is there for us to pursue.

While talking about that change in relationship with Jesus that the disciples experienced (from servant-based to friendship-based) Bill mentioned casually that of the people of old the one who might really understand that would have been Esther who went from captive to queen. As God so often does for me, a comment made almost in passing can change the entire direction of my study or thought. I found myself looking up the book of Esther and from there starting to read it, and I was caught up in excitement as my heart was quickened to so many things in that book that I had never seen before.

I plan on sharing some of these things in some upcoming blog posts. I shared a few at church yesterday and I want to state something here that I stated there, which is this: In what I will be sharing that He showed me I am not saying that God meant these things to be symbolized as He authored Esther (that He intended the symbolism or wrote it to symbolize them). I believe the book of Esther to be a true, historical account that stands as it is written without there needing to be symbolism in it (though, maybe He DID intend it, I just don’t know). What I am saying is that He is USING the story of Esther to illustrate some things for me. As I told the church, I don’t believe God created seeds and soil simply to illustrate evangelism, but I believe He USES seeds and soil to illustrate evangelism. Likewise, I don’t know that He authored the book of Esther to illustrate the things I will share, but rather that He is using the book of Esther to show the things to me that I will share.

The first of the things that I felt God showed me was the invitation to us all to move from captives to a place of intimacy with the King. Esther was an orphan, and a captive, living in a land not her own (the least likely, in other words). Then, one day, she finds herself the Queen of Persia, and in a place of intimacy and relationship and favor with the King—still living in a land not her own, but now positioned to hear the King's voice and to influence the land from her place of favor with the King. We all are captives to sin and slaves to Satan until we accept the blood of Jesus as our sacrifice for our salvation. When we do we become the Bride of Christ, the children of God, colaborers with God, citizens of heaven living on earth (not our own land) with a tremendous potential to have tremendous influence over our regions because of our place of favor with God and our new identity as His children and dwelling places of His Spirit.

So, I encourage you to pick up your Bible and read through Esther. It’s not too long. Tell me what God shows you. I’ll be telling you what He has showed (and is showing) me.

Your friend in the journey. Love ya all. Erick.