2010 Summer Reading Program - Intro and Chap.1

Welcome to our 2nd annual summer reading program! I’m so excited that you’re joining me in reading Francis Chan’s book Forgotten God. This little book will add to and enhance what we studied together in our recent teaching series “Pneumatikos—living the Spirit-filled life.” For the next six weeks we’ll work sequentially through each chapter and I’ll post some summary statements and discussion questions online. My hope for this exercise is the same that it was during the teaching series: that we would regularly and increasingly experience the presence and reality of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

That’s Francis’ objective too as he made clear with a haunting statement from the introduction: “I’m willing to bet that there are millions of churchgoers across America who cannot confidently say they have experienced the Holy Spirit’s presence or action in their lives over the past year.” (Page 15) As much as I hate to think that that statement could be true, I have to admit that there are times when we can talk about the Spirit without actually encountering Him. We can practice the spiritual disciplines, perform acts of service, and regularly attend church functions without the help of the Holy Spirit. According to Francis, “Even our church growth can happen without Him. Let’s be honest: if you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative elements, people will attend your church. Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming.” (Page 31)

This reminds me of a statement I heard from a delegation of Chinese pastors who visited several churches in America several years ago. Their summarizing statement was that it is amazing how much the church in America can accomplish without the help of the Holy Spirit. That strong indictment certainly isn’t true in every case—there are millions of wonderful believers in our country who fervently want to be used significantly by God, but it’s a sobering enough analysis to inspire some internal questions:
1. Do I have a genuine relationship with God the Holy Spirit? Jesus called the Holy Spirit “another Comforter” (i.e. a comfort just like Jesus). Has that been a reality for me?
2. Am I growing in my understanding of, and my sensitivity to, the Spirit’s movement in my life?
3. (From page 32) “If it’s true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, then shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?” Is there a difference in me?
4. If, as Francis says on page 16, “The Holy Spirit is as essential to a believer’s existence as air is to staying alive,” am I living that way?

Let’s begin to live that way! Let’s invite God the Holy Spirit to teach us more about Him so we experience of Him. In doing so fresh joy, inspiration, and power will wash over our Christian experience!

Know Your Season

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

Those of you in the fiftyish age range might recognize these words from the Byrds’ 1965 hit song, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” The rest of us will recognize them from their original source, Ecclesiastes 3:1-4.

They’re tremendous words, and when we read them, they inevitably inspire the prayer: “Lord, help me to always know my times and seasons.” This is an important prayer because there is always grace to accomplish what the appointed time demands; however, to attempt an activity outside of its appointed time is an exercise in futility.

We can’t reap during sowing season, and when the harvest is ready we shouldn’t be arranging our seed—we need to know our season and live appropriately in it.

Sharpen the Saw

Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (and the myriad of follow-up books it spawned) has coached millions of people in the art of efficiency and time management. In my opinion, one of the most powerful habits that it promotes is Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw. We all know that, contrary to common sense, a dull blade is actually more dangerous than a sharp one. A freshly whetted blade that slices easily through opposition is safer than a blunter one that is less precise and requires more force to get the job done. Sharper edges accomplish more and are less likely to slip off target.

In Covey’s presentation he suggests that WE are the saw, and that when we develop regular habits of emotional, physical, and spiritual renewal, we increase our effectiveness and safeguard our long-term health and success.

He got that idea from Solomon who wrote in Ecclesiastes 10:10: “If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed,” and Solomon probably learned that from his father, David, who twice in the Psalms said that God “restores my soul.”

Routine restorations of soul are essential for a healthy and effective life and ministry. Discovering those routines can require some effort and experimentation, but they are absolutely essential. We are marathon runners, not sprinters, and we need to make it for the long haul.

How to Not be Disappointed on Vacation

How many times have you heard someone say, “We need a vacation to recover from our vacation”? How many times have YOU said that? Certainly there are reports of the perfect vacation where the time away exceeded expectations; however, it’s more common to try to cram a year’s worth of fun into a couple of weeks, and then end up experiencing a mixture of stress and disappointment, while vowing to do it differently the next time around.

Here are a few suggestions on how to not be disappointed on a vacation:
1. Don’t suspend your daily devotions—the biblical purpose of times of rest is to restore our connection to God.
2. Set realistic expectations—your visit with the kids and the in-laws won’t be a repeat of that time you were alone in Mexico...
3. Don’t pack too much in—leave a little margin to catch your breath on either side of your days away.
4. Don’t suspend the routines that bring happiness to your everyday life—if you’re a morning person who loves to jog, then wake up early and enjoy your run.
5. Try to integrate “vacation” into your everyday life—if we can maintain a rhythm of worship, work, rest, and play in our daily lives, then our vacations are less likely to be rushed attempts at recovering what we’ve lost throughout the year.
6. Surf. Enough said.

Run Your Own Race

Well, since I can’t talk about the L.A. Lakers for the next couple of months (probably a relief to some of you), I’m ready to switch in to Tour de France mode, and as I’ve been thinking about Lance Armstrong’s final attempt at a Tour victory (he and I are the same age so I like to think that I, too, could ride a bicycle across France in 21 days), I keep reflecting on Hebrews 12:1 that says, “...Let us run with endurance the race set before us.” Each of us Christians is running toward a prize—Paul called it the “upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). And the beauty of our spiritual race is that while we each have the same end goal, the course for getting us there is uniquely designed for our individual destinies. I can’t run YOUR race and end up at MY destiny—I have to run the race that’s been set out for me. And you have to run the race that is specifically designed for YOU. I kind of like that—I’m glad I don’t have to run your race. And you don’t have to run mine! I’m sure we’ll all learn similar lessons and values, but we each have a specified course to run. Let’s cheer each other on, and admire one another as we run our respective races, but let’s all commit to embracing our own race, and running it well.

Dad, keep watching!

"Watch me, dad!"
"Okay, I’m watching."
"Dad...you didn’t watch!""Yes, I did. I saw you do your flip underwater.""No, you didn’t. When I came up, you weren’t even looking!"
I think all parents can relate to this little exchange—we know the unspoken rule that forbids parents to look away until their child’s trick is complete. It’s not enough to watch them do their little underwater somersault—we have to still be staring intently at them after they’ve come up, fixed their hair, and brushed the water out of their eyes. And then we have to compliment them. "Great job, sweetie! That was probably the BEST somersault I’ve ever seen. Thanks for allowing me to witness such a great event." (Okay, maybe that’s taking it a little too far).
God is watching you and me, too! But He’s not watching us in the way that a traffic cop watches the flow of traffic, looking for someone who’s breaking the rules. He’s not super-spiritual law enforcement, just waiting for us to mess up. He’s a father who wants to encourage, coach, and guide His kids—He’s watching with an intensity that tells us that He’s never going to look away.
"The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Meaningless, Meaningless!

Do you like the book of Ecclesiastes? I hope you do. It would help me to know that I’m not the only person who is melancholy enough to enjoy reading this gloomy, Eyore-ish book. If you’ve spent much time reading it you know that, despite its ability to cure any good mood, it tells a phenomenal story about a grand human experiment in which Solomon, the wisest and richest person on the planet, goes in search of the meaning of life. It sounds like it will be a profound, rewarding experience except that the starting point for Solomon’s experiment is flawed. Thirty times in the twelve-chapter book of Ecclesiastes Solomon says, "under the sun." The fundamental flaw in Solomon’s approach to his study is that he attempts to find the meaning of life under the sun. And when he limits himself to the realities "under the sun" his ONLY possible conclusion is that life is "meaningless." When our vision is limited to what we can see "under the sun" we will agree with Solomon, inevitably concluding that life is "meaningless, a chasing after wind." You and I should skip to the end of his book and read the part where he finally looks up. He rightly concludes that life is not found "under" the sun—it is found in the heart and mind of the one who made the sun.