Yearly Archives: 2016

Our Identity – Seeking God – VOTD.11.22.16

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12-13

Last time we drew our attention to Jeremiah 29:11 which says, “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.” Today’s verses follow right on the heels of that promise. Last night I saw this meditation which I wrote 5 years ago on the same verses and it fit well with our theme of our identity and practicing kindness. So I’m reproducing it here. You see, God’s plan is active and He calls his people to actively pursue it. And Kindness is what happens when we’re pursuing our identity in Jesus.

God is telling His people: I’ve got a good plan for you (v29), here are some things you can do
1. CALL to Me. God is calling us according to His purpose, Paul writes (Rom 8:28). In keeping with the purpose and plan God has for us, He calls us. But He wants us to call out to Him. “the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him (Rom 10:12). Calling on God is both simple and profound. It was so central to the identity of Christians in the early Church that they were referred to as “those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 9:14, et al., 1 Cor 1:2) (more…)

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The Identity of Kindness (pt 4) – VOTD.11.21.16

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

Closely tied to the question we’ve been looking at related to our identity in Jesus and our practice of kindness (Who am I? Does God Love me?) is another question that makes up our identity: ‘Why am I here?’ For Christians, this comes down to God’s call on our lives. This is where His plan comes in.

It’s not uncommon for Christians at times to be obsessed with God’s plan for their lives. This is especially true when they haven’t established who they are in Jesus, or internalized the fact that God loves them immeasurably more than they can comprehend. (See parts 1, 2, & 3 of this series).

So if Christians try to determine, establish, and walk in God’s personal plan for them—without the foundation of identity and the love of God—they are more likely to fear His plan or their inability to attain it…than a faith-building confidence they find comfort in. It becomes a frustration, like finding a needle in a haystack.

And it’s come to a place where saying “God has a wonderful plan for my life,” becomes a Christian cliché rather than a truth we live from. When I meet other Christians they want my resume (they ask the questions—what positions do you hold? what roles do you play?). They are trying to discover my identity but they’re looking in the wrong place. (more…)

Continue ReadingThe Identity of Kindness (pt 4) – VOTD.11.21.16

The Identity of Kindness (pt 3) Who Am I? – VOTD.11.15.16

…being found in (Jesus), not having a righteousness of my own that comes from keeping a list of rules (religious characteristics), but that which comes through faith in Christ. Philippians 3:9

Last time we looked at 2 questions establishing the healthy identity that is needed for kindness to fill our lives. 1. ‘Am I loved by God?’ 2. ‘Am I loved by others’. Today we’ll look at a 3rd question ‘Who am I?’ Apart from roles I play; apart from titles people call me, apart from things I do, who am I really?

‘Who am I?’ is a question usually associated with kids in their teens trying to figure out the imponderables of life; the question is dismissed as an adolescent heart-palpitation. But our identity is important to God and it’s an area that virtually all advertisers, all employers/schools, all churches/clubs attempt to engineer and exploit. They know something we don’t: If they can define our identity, you and I will belong to them and they will control us.

What do they drive us to look for our identity in? What we wear; What we buy; Who we associate with; How we use our time (that’s a biggie); What we see in the mirror. What other people will think (as if everyone is thinking about us in the first place!).

Even as Christians who walk in the Spirit, our identity is often about religious characteristics. I travel a lot and I meet a lot of wonderful Christians. I can tell you the first questions Christians always ask: Where we go to church; what denomination/non denomination are we; What’s our political stance on a social issue (including Israel); What about school… Do you see where this is going? We identify each other by our religious characteristics instead of being in Christ. (more…)

Continue ReadingThe Identity of Kindness (pt 3) Who Am I? – VOTD.11.15.16

The Identity of Kindness (pt 2) – VOTD.11.14.16

One of the teachers of the law…asked [Jesus], “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus answered, “The most important one is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:28-31

There’s a popular saying that if we are to love others as we love ourselves, we have to love ourselves. That statement has been used to justify all sorts of self-indulgence, which was never the point of Jesus words in today’s verse. But it also reflects a truth that becomes more obvious when talking about showing love through acts of Kindness.

People who are at peace with themselves are able to give peace away. People who are kind to themselves are people with a reservoir of kindness to work from in their kind words and actions. People with a healthy identity spread emotional health among those they come in contact with.

So the first question in establishing a healthy identity is ‘Am I loved?’ And we have to find a yes to that. ‘Am I loved by God?’ is the central question of life, and similarly, ‘Will I allow myself to receive God’s love?’ We know we are loved by God—at least we know it in our heads. But do our hearts respond to His love? (more…)

Continue ReadingThe Identity of Kindness (pt 2) – VOTD.11.14.16

The Identity of Kindness – VOTD.11.08.16

For to me, to live is Christ (Phil 1:21) Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God (Gal 2:20) Your life is now hidden in God with Christ. He is your life. (Col 3:3,4)

We’ve been looking at the Christian grace of Kindness over the past few weeks, and that has been the foundation from which we’ve looked at a spirit of entitlement and now are considering a spirit of rejection. Both are obstacles to practicing kindness as a lifestyle.

Last time we saw how kindness is a weapon in the spirit realm and so it’s something the enemy wants to prevent in our lives. Nearly everyone has had their motives misunderstood when they’ve reached out in kindness, so it seems safer to not reach out. That’s an obvious problem of a rejection-spirited person. But most of the time it goes quite a bit deeper…to the core of our identity.

Through the lens of rejection, we will struggle with our own identity. The person who finds their identity in Jesus will live out of the peace of that identity because their self-value is established in Jesus… “to live is Christ”. The tragedy here is that for many in the Christian faith our identity is not found in Jesus, it’s found in a role we play. When we have a spirit of acceptance, our core identity is “I’m a child of God.” “I’m the bride of Christ”. And we live out of that identity. (more…)

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A Spirit of Rejection – VOTD.11.07.16

Grant to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. Isaiah 61:3

We’ve been talking in recent weeks about Christian kindness and some of the things that make kindness happen; some of the things that hinder it. One of the foundations for any of us practicing kindness is how we see reality around us—and that has a lot to do with how we see ourselves…and how we see God.

Kindness is a weapon in the spirit realm. So when it comes to spiritual warfare, the enemy wants to give us a lens—a way that we see things—that gives the side of evil an advantage. These lenses are not necessarily a just a temptation or an accusation, even though the enemy is good at both. But with a lens, the enemy gives us a way of thinking that envelops us, and a filter through which we see everything else— how we see others, how we see ourselves, how we see God. (more…)

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The Poor in Spirit – VOTD.11.01.16

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
  For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

A reader sent me an interesting quote related to the spirit of entitlement that we’ve been talking about in these meditations. It’s too long to reproduce here, but the sum and substance is this:

The result of being poor in spirit is you get it all…the whole Kingdom. That’s not a reward…it’s the consequence. That suggests there must be a result of NOT being poor in spirit. It, too, is not a punishment…it’s a consequence.

The poor in spirit have access to everything. Being poor in spirit is what enables us to experience repeated “Yes’s” to prayer without it leading us into a spirit of entitlement…without it destroying us. If God blesses us with many “Yes’s” and we’re not poor in spirit, we will not be able to get away from an inner “You owe me, God” mentality no matter how much we cognitively know that it’s wrong to feel that way…no matter how much we know that God is a giving Father who will not withhold any good thing from us (Ps 84:11).

And it gets worse: Without being poor in spirit we will not be able to get away from an inner “I deserve God’s blessing” mentality…no matter how much we know it isn’t true. We know God’s blessings come from His grace (undeserved favor) yet we’re insidiously taking silent credit for God’s blessing us and that attitude is so far from the reality of His grace and mercy that He will not feed it. He won’t feed it because He loves us too much, not too little. (more…)

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An Attitude of Thanksgiving – VOTD.10.31.16

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published (saying that anyone who prays to any “god” except the king would be thrown into the lions’ den), he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10

As we saw last time, when God tells us to give thanks in everything (Eph 5:20), He is actually prescribing the way for us to position ourselves to receive what He promises us.

Daniel is a great example of this. When he got down on his knees and thanked God he actually released the power of God into his dire situation. He released the favor of God upon himself.

Thankfulness releases blessing. It is an access to anointing God gives us to do great things for Him…to receive great things from Him…and to facilitate the fulfillment of His promises. Just like parenting children, it’s difficult to get into a situation where we’re rewarding an entitlement spirit by giving our children things they don’t appreciate. (more…)

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An Attitude of Entitlement – VOTD.10.25.16

The sacrifice that honors me is a thankful heart. It prepares the way so that I, your God, may show you my power… Psalm 50:23

There’s an old sermon illustration which I’ve enjoyed about two old friends who bumped into each other on the street after not meeting for quite a while. One looked dejected, on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What’s the matter?” The sad guy answered, “Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an uncle died and left me fifty thousand dollars.” “That’s a lot of money,” replied his friend. “Are you sad about your uncle’s death?”

“Well not really, it’s just that two weeks ago a cousin I never even knew died, and left me a hundred thousand free and clear.” “Wow! Sounds like you’ve been really blessed…” “Wait! You don’t understand!” the sad guy interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away and I inherited almost half a million.” Now the friend was really confused. “Then, why are you so bummed out?” The sad guy answered, “This week no one died!”

We are a people that fall easily into an attitude of entitlement. God expects us to be thankful. Not in a circumstance-dependent way, but in a Spirit-induced way. If we are ever to practice kindness effectively, appreciation has got to be foundational.

Something that is often missed today, is that there’s an immense spiritual significance in thankfulness—in refusing to have to nurse and entitlement attitude. As today’s verse states, thankfulness is a significant key to release God’s power…a spirit of heartfelt and mouth-expressed thankfulness is one of the most life-shaping qualities you and I can possess.

Thankfulness releases God’s power. It gives us access to anointing (1 Jn 2:20). That is, it opens the way for us to experience a side of Jesus that we can’t so long as we live in an entitlement mindset. (more…)

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A Culture of Graciousness – VOTD.10.24.16

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14

One of the reasons Christians fail to act kindly is simply because we don’t have the presence of mind in the moment that we might have responded with kindness to put away apathy or rudeness and put on compassion, kindness, etc.

That is, we take people around us for granted. Their wishes, their value are thrown under the bus of our preoccupation with ourselves. That’s an easy thing to do as we race through the day, distracted by so many things, trying to beat the clock, trying to do it all. How can we show Christian kindness when we’re overly tired, bogged down in responsibilities that steal our time and drain us, diverting our attention from other people and their needs? (more…)

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