As I think about the daily process of trying to participate in God's work of transformation, here are some preliminary thoughts about how it seems to work out for me day by day, temptation by temptation, challenge by challenge:
1. GIVE UP ON YOURSELF. Recognize that your sinful nature prevents you from living righteously. Stop trying to attain righteousness and moral goodness by yourself (self-righteousness). In a prayer to God, confess that you can’t. Implication: when you read Scripture, recognize FIRST what God is doing, not what you should be doing. See Jesus at work through people in the Bible, and remind yourself it’s not them, it’s Jesus at work in them. Then recognize the call for you to live in righteousness.
2. EXPERIENCE GOD'S LOVE. In this moment of despair for your rotten self-righteousness, experience God’s undeserved love for you and be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is unearned love. Unconditional. Feel the joy of a debtor forgiven by a king, of a lost son received home again in a bear hug from his father, of a sinner defended and protected from a condemning mob. Feel spontaneous gratitude for receiving what you do not deserve—love and acceptance instead of condemnation and rejection.
3. DO LIFE INSIDE-OUT. Don’t focus primarily on your outward actions, but on the internal source of your beliefs and thoughts (heart and mind) that always precede and cause your actions. Recognize that internally, you have an old and new self.
4. TAKE OFF THE OLD. Identify the lies that are behind every sinful attitude and action in your life. Call them lies. Say it out loud. Ask God to help you see their falsehood. Ask God to help you reject them as the basis for how you will live.
5. PUT ON THE NEW. Identify the truth of God’s Word and His commands. Say it out loud. Since your mind and heart have been habitually trained to believe lies for a long time, ask God for the gift of belief in the Truth.
6. GIVE UP ON YOURSELF. AGAIN. Having begun with the Spirit, don’t think you can now do this on your own power—living in righteousness, being like Jesus. Confess and ask. “Lord I can’t do this. Lord I don’t have the right desires. Will you give me your desires? Can you give me that part of the life you lived here on earth that will directly overcome the temptation I now face, that you conquered while living in the flesh?” Trust that the Holy Spirit will show up with Jesus’ life and work Him in and through your life.
7. NOW TRY. TRY HARD. But try in accordance with the Spirit. In step with the Spirit. Always letting the Spirit lead. And do this out of gratitude. Out of love. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, knowing it is God who works in you. Work at it remembering the assurance of your identity as a child of God, not as a fearful slave. Work at this because you already are loved and valued, not to feel loved and valued.
8. WHEN YOU FAIL, CONFESS IT. Be open and transparent about your failure. You don't have to worry about what others will think because you have your core need for love settled in Christ's love for you. So Repent. Repent wholeheartedly. Don't rush through your confession. Feel the pain, but don't wallow in it. And stop sinning. Get up. Move out of that mud-hole. Seek God’s forgiveness. Seek forgiveness from others who were hurt by your sin. Make reparations as you can. Remember this failure does not take away or change your identity. You are secure as an adopted child of God, a daughter loved by the Father, a son loved by the Father. Your identity isn't in jeopardy. So meditate on and identify where you went off the tracks. Learn from it. And try again.
9. WHEN THERE IS SUCCESS, GIVE GOD ALL THE CREDIT. Worship Him. Give Him glory. Lather, rinse, and repeat.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Cultivating = Repetition
In many places, the Bible uses the metaphor of agricultural growth to describe what it means to practice resurrection. And anyone who has planted seeds knows the kind of work required to grow a plant. The growth itself is out of our hands. If the seed is bad, then no amount of gardening will help. But, if the seed is good, then what we do will have an impact on growth. And what do we do? A lot of the same thing, day after day. Fertilize. Water. Pull weeds.
One of the seeds I'm cultivating is to daily begin with an acknowledgement that I cannot resurrect myself. Only God can do this in my life. I need to be content with the somewhat mundane business of fertilizing, watering, and pulling weeds. Patience. Satisfaction that, although nothing is poking through the ground just yet, the day was not wasted when I fertilized my heart by meditating on a Scripture passage. Belief that watering a seed that is buried beneath the soil is how I'll participate in God's miracle of growth. Determination that even the smallest weeds are robbing the seed of nutrients, and that the effort to bend over and pluck them out is worth the trouble. And to do these things day after day, persevering in the repetition that is cultivation.
One of the seeds I'm cultivating is to daily begin with an acknowledgement that I cannot resurrect myself. Only God can do this in my life. I need to be content with the somewhat mundane business of fertilizing, watering, and pulling weeds. Patience. Satisfaction that, although nothing is poking through the ground just yet, the day was not wasted when I fertilized my heart by meditating on a Scripture passage. Belief that watering a seed that is buried beneath the soil is how I'll participate in God's miracle of growth. Determination that even the smallest weeds are robbing the seed of nutrients, and that the effort to bend over and pluck them out is worth the trouble. And to do these things day after day, persevering in the repetition that is cultivation.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Out of the driver's seat
Eugene Peterson's excellent book on growing up in Christ that gave me the name for this blog ("Practice Resurrection") has a vivid description of how the transformation process begins with God, not us. He reflects on the opening passage of Ephesians 1:3-14 (which in Greek is one, long, excited, run-on sentence) and notes: "This orienting introductory sentence places us in a cosmos in which God starts everything. Everything. There is not a single verb commanding us to do something, not so much as a hint or suggestion that we are to do anything at all. No requirements, no laws, no chores, no assignments, no lessons. We are born into a cosmos in which all the requirements and conditions for growing up are not only in place but in action. Once we get this through our heads and assimilated into our imaginations, we are out of the driver's seat forever. The practice of resurrection is not a do-it-yourself self-help project. It is God's project, and he is engaged full-time in carrying it out." (Practice Resurrection, pp. 67-68)
We are quick to want to move beyond this revelation. We want to know, "Yes, but what's my part? What am I supposed to be DOING?" We will have a part, and we will be called to participate, but knowing we are not in the driver's seat will change the very tenor and tone of HOW we go about joining in with God's work in us. I'm convinced that simply to acknowledge that this God's work with a quick nod of the head is not enough. I've got to reflect on this, remind myself of this every morning. Otherwise, it's like trying to grab the wheel again and telling God, "Thanks for driving this far...I'll take it from here." No. I am a passenger being taken to a destination and I don't know how to get there. But Jesus, who is the Way, will get me there.
We are quick to want to move beyond this revelation. We want to know, "Yes, but what's my part? What am I supposed to be DOING?" We will have a part, and we will be called to participate, but knowing we are not in the driver's seat will change the very tenor and tone of HOW we go about joining in with God's work in us. I'm convinced that simply to acknowledge that this God's work with a quick nod of the head is not enough. I've got to reflect on this, remind myself of this every morning. Otherwise, it's like trying to grab the wheel again and telling God, "Thanks for driving this far...I'll take it from here." No. I am a passenger being taken to a destination and I don't know how to get there. But Jesus, who is the Way, will get me there.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Through the abundance of your steadfast love, I enter
How can I enter this process of transformation? David teaches us again what he has learned. We can't enter by self-righteousness. We can't enter by mustering up enough self-will. We can't enter with special knowledge, techniques, or how-to steps. We can only enter "through the abundance of your steadfast love." (Psalm 5:7)
And it's not just entering where we need God to do for us what we can't do ourselves. We need God to lead this process. "Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness." (Psalm 5:8) This is why the order is so important when talking about what we do (our effort in trying to be obedient, "work out your salvation") and what God does (the Holy Spirit working Jesus' life in and through us, "for it is God who works in you"). I must get that order straight in my mind each and every day so that I'm lead in God's righteousness and not trying to lead in my self-righteousness. And it's the abundance of God's love that moves this whole process along, from start to finish.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
O God of my righteousness
In Psalm 4:1, David cries out in another moment of distress, "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness." As I mentioned yesterday, even though David pre-dates the incarnation, he is exercising the same post-incarnation truth that the apostle Paul wrote about in his letter to the Romans: "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe." (Romans 3:21-22) This calling out to God and trusting in God's righteousness instead of my own is a second step for participating in God's transforming of my mind, heart, will, character, motives, and actions. Only when I give up on myself--my self-righteous attempts at renovating my own heart--will I have the inclination and urgency to say, "Save me, O my God! Only your righteousness can change me."
It's a very symbiotic relationship between these two steps...giving up on myself and calling out to God. Especially since this seems to happen in varying degrees. I give up on myself only partly, and I will call out to the Lord only partly. But I hear real desperation in David's voice through the Psalms. Psalm 3 he's running for his very life. Psalm 4 there is deep frustration and concern. Until I sense and see my own desperate state I'm not going to actively participate in what God is doing in my life. Lord, take away this false self-confidence that masks itself as a desire to live for you. Make me hungry and thirsty for your righteousness and your kingdom, not my own.
Friday, August 13, 2010
David gave up on himself
I'm reading through the Psalms here of late, and since I'm working through this first step of how we participate with God's work in us by first giving up, that theme is kind of popping out at me in these texts.
In Psalm 3, David writes about the terrifying time when he was on the run for his life from his very own son, Absalom. I've seen the movie, "The Fugitive," but that's as close as I can imagine what it's like to be hunted day and night. Anxiousness, paranoia, and fear must have been the norm for David. And although David is doing all he can by running and hiding, he also recognizes that his cunning and experience as a life-long military man won't be enough. "Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!...Salvation belongs to the Lord." (Psalm 3:7, 8) Our salvation (not just our entry into heaven, but the transformation that needs to take place in our lives) is in God's hands, not ours. There will be things for us to do, but we must begin with the most basic of prayers that is also a confession about my own inadequacies: "Save me, O my God!" David knew and believed, even before the incarnation, that apart from Jesus we can do nothing.
In Psalm 3, David writes about the terrifying time when he was on the run for his life from his very own son, Absalom. I've seen the movie, "The Fugitive," but that's as close as I can imagine what it's like to be hunted day and night. Anxiousness, paranoia, and fear must have been the norm for David. And although David is doing all he can by running and hiding, he also recognizes that his cunning and experience as a life-long military man won't be enough. "Arise, O Lord! Save me, O my God!...Salvation belongs to the Lord." (Psalm 3:7, 8) Our salvation (not just our entry into heaven, but the transformation that needs to take place in our lives) is in God's hands, not ours. There will be things for us to do, but we must begin with the most basic of prayers that is also a confession about my own inadequacies: "Save me, O my God!" David knew and believed, even before the incarnation, that apart from Jesus we can do nothing.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Read this when I'm not ready to give up on myself
Yesterday I mentioned that the starting point for participating in the transformation of my soul that only God can accomplish is to (paradoxically) give up on myself. This process called sanctification cannot be reduced to a Christianized self-help talk. When I don't feel ready to give up on self-improvement, I need to read and meditate on these truths:
"Apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) That's sobering. Jesus doesn't even soften the blow by saying I can do very little without him. No, I can do nothing. Nada. Zilch. No effect, no change or transformation without Jesus.
"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5) Paul later echoes this truth by saying, "I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin...I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature." (Romans 7:14, 18) Apparently both David and Paul gave up on themselves with an honest confession of their sin--not just a particularly bad action, but a factory of sin within that keeps pumping out the worst of me. I'm a slave, unable to simply break free by more effort and will power.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) This must be God's work, not mine. I can ask, but only God can pull it off.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10) I'm ahead of myself here, but even when the transformation of his character and life began to show, Paul made it clear it wasn't his doing. And Paul indicates there is an effort we will put forth. We don't sit around like bumps on a log waiting for our lives to change. We will participate and "work hard". But it will be a secondary action that occurs as a result of God's work in us. The starting point is to give up on myself because, as these verses indicate, if left to myself I can do nothing.
"Apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) That's sobering. Jesus doesn't even soften the blow by saying I can do very little without him. No, I can do nothing. Nada. Zilch. No effect, no change or transformation without Jesus.
"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5) Paul later echoes this truth by saying, "I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin...I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature." (Romans 7:14, 18) Apparently both David and Paul gave up on themselves with an honest confession of their sin--not just a particularly bad action, but a factory of sin within that keeps pumping out the worst of me. I'm a slave, unable to simply break free by more effort and will power.
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10) This must be God's work, not mine. I can ask, but only God can pull it off.
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10) I'm ahead of myself here, but even when the transformation of his character and life began to show, Paul made it clear it wasn't his doing. And Paul indicates there is an effort we will put forth. We don't sit around like bumps on a log waiting for our lives to change. We will participate and "work hard". But it will be a secondary action that occurs as a result of God's work in us. The starting point is to give up on myself because, as these verses indicate, if left to myself I can do nothing.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Giving Up on Myself
I think the starting point for participating in the transformation process that only God can accomplish in me is to formally give up on myself. Not just some vague thought that I might not be able to pull off self-righteousness, but an explicit, verbal prayer acknowledging that I am not capable of living as God wants me to.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear I can't live like I should, even when I know exactly what I should be doing. "For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing...For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:19, 22-24)
When I say "give up on myself" I mean to remind myself every day (every moment it comes to mind!) that I am "wretched" and conflicted. My mind is a war zone, and if I try to fight the battle by mustering all of my will-power and desire for self-improvement, I will lose every time. But if I admit that I need God to deliver me through Jesus Christ, then there is hope.
Practically speaking, one implication of starting with this confession is that it changes how I read the Bible. Most often I think we approach it from the self-help / self-improvement mindset. We read from Psalm 1, "Blessed are those...who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on his law day and night," (Psalm 1:1, 2) and we assume the application of this is, "I should delight in God's word and read it regularly, meditating on it day and night." That's not a wrong interpretation, but we must first ask, "Can I do that?" Is it possible for us to simply decide what our desires will be? No doubt some people can be very disciplined and structure their outward actions and routines so that they'll read a chapter a day, or even memorize entire books of the Bible. The Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus' time did this. And yet we are told they missed out on the inner desire of "delighting" in the law. "Nor does his word dwell in you. For you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you possess eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:38-40) They were not blessed in trying to apply Psalm 1 as a self-help text.
So, if I give up on myself, I change how I read Psalm 1. Instead of reading myself into it as a first step, I read Jesus as the fulfillment of Psalm 1--of the way I want to be, but can't be in my own effort. Jesus lived a completely blessed, perfect life on this earth, in the same struggles I experience. And yet Jesus did delight in God's law, and he meditated on it day and night. This despite the fact that Jesus got tired and hungry and busy and experienced all of the physical limitations that turn me from delighting in God's law.
If I begin by giving up on myself, I open myself up to the next step of asking Jesus to put his delight for God's Word into my heart. I open myself up to asking Jesus to change my desires, so I'll want to read the Scriptures as much as a starving person wants to eat bread (remember Jesus' temptation in the wilderness from Matthew 4:4..."People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God"? He said that when he was extremely hungry after a 40 day fast). Giving up on myself makes me ready to ask Jesus to take that part of his life which fulfilled Psalm 1, and to supernaturally, through the Holy Spirit, live it in and through me.
But I won't ask until I give up on myself first.
The Bible makes it abundantly clear I can't live like I should, even when I know exactly what I should be doing. "For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing...For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:19, 22-24)
When I say "give up on myself" I mean to remind myself every day (every moment it comes to mind!) that I am "wretched" and conflicted. My mind is a war zone, and if I try to fight the battle by mustering all of my will-power and desire for self-improvement, I will lose every time. But if I admit that I need God to deliver me through Jesus Christ, then there is hope.
Practically speaking, one implication of starting with this confession is that it changes how I read the Bible. Most often I think we approach it from the self-help / self-improvement mindset. We read from Psalm 1, "Blessed are those...who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on his law day and night," (Psalm 1:1, 2) and we assume the application of this is, "I should delight in God's word and read it regularly, meditating on it day and night." That's not a wrong interpretation, but we must first ask, "Can I do that?" Is it possible for us to simply decide what our desires will be? No doubt some people can be very disciplined and structure their outward actions and routines so that they'll read a chapter a day, or even memorize entire books of the Bible. The Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus' time did this. And yet we are told they missed out on the inner desire of "delighting" in the law. "Nor does his word dwell in you. For you do not believe the one he sent. You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you possess eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." (John 5:38-40) They were not blessed in trying to apply Psalm 1 as a self-help text.
So, if I give up on myself, I change how I read Psalm 1. Instead of reading myself into it as a first step, I read Jesus as the fulfillment of Psalm 1--of the way I want to be, but can't be in my own effort. Jesus lived a completely blessed, perfect life on this earth, in the same struggles I experience. And yet Jesus did delight in God's law, and he meditated on it day and night. This despite the fact that Jesus got tired and hungry and busy and experienced all of the physical limitations that turn me from delighting in God's law.
If I begin by giving up on myself, I open myself up to the next step of asking Jesus to put his delight for God's Word into my heart. I open myself up to asking Jesus to change my desires, so I'll want to read the Scriptures as much as a starving person wants to eat bread (remember Jesus' temptation in the wilderness from Matthew 4:4..."People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God"? He said that when he was extremely hungry after a 40 day fast). Giving up on myself makes me ready to ask Jesus to take that part of his life which fulfilled Psalm 1, and to supernaturally, through the Holy Spirit, live it in and through me.
But I won't ask until I give up on myself first.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Knowing How it Works
When I was a kid I remember asking my dad to explain how things worked. How does an automobile engine start just because I turn this key? What exactly happens when I flip the switch on/off so that a lamp gives off light? I recognized that I was obviously taking part in a mystery, but I was curious how my small action (turning a key, flipping a switch) could be part of something bigger and grander than what I could accomplish on my own.
I have that same curiosity for spiritual matters, especially when the Bible says things like, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." (Philippians 2:12-13) I am called to work as God does a work in me. It's a mystery that Eugene Peterson has articulated better than most. A recent book of his is entitled, "Practice Resurrection" (the title I borrowed for this blog). He feels this captures the paradox of participating in something we can't accomplish on our own. Dead people don't resurrect themselves. It must be done to them and for them, like Jesus did for Lazarus, like the Holy Spirit does for everyone who is dead in their sins. And yet this new life in Jesus is something we are called to participate in. We are not to be complacent or lazy or disconnected from what God, in Christ, is doing in us. We practice resurrection.
I am experiencing a growing passion to find clear, concise ways of talking about how this works. The danger I want to avoid is trying to reduce this profound mystery to a series of "how-to" steps. But I also think if we are going to participate and work out our salvation with fear and trembling, we need to know what we are called to do. Hopefully this blog will enable me to think about this out loud while receiving some ideas and constructive criticism.
I have that same curiosity for spiritual matters, especially when the Bible says things like, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose." (Philippians 2:12-13) I am called to work as God does a work in me. It's a mystery that Eugene Peterson has articulated better than most. A recent book of his is entitled, "Practice Resurrection" (the title I borrowed for this blog). He feels this captures the paradox of participating in something we can't accomplish on our own. Dead people don't resurrect themselves. It must be done to them and for them, like Jesus did for Lazarus, like the Holy Spirit does for everyone who is dead in their sins. And yet this new life in Jesus is something we are called to participate in. We are not to be complacent or lazy or disconnected from what God, in Christ, is doing in us. We practice resurrection.
I am experiencing a growing passion to find clear, concise ways of talking about how this works. The danger I want to avoid is trying to reduce this profound mystery to a series of "how-to" steps. But I also think if we are going to participate and work out our salvation with fear and trembling, we need to know what we are called to do. Hopefully this blog will enable me to think about this out loud while receiving some ideas and constructive criticism.
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