Tag: Spirituality

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Christel Gospel Marriage Spiritual Growth Suffering & Trials

Does Godliness Seem Like An Intimidating Goal?

I walk hand in hand with the man I love. Golden evening sun warms the flowing barley field, and we circle around it in contented quiet. My husband knows me well. My sensitive nature has been bruised, and I still feel the effects of it. Sometimes I wish I had thicker skin, but I’m reluctant to form calluses that shut people out. What I really want is to be able to forgive when people hurt me. But I’m weary, and it feels hard.“It’s like a muscle you have to train,” he said gently. “You just keep practicing until it becomes easier.”His comment got me thinking more about training for godliness. Each choice—no matter how small—is like flexing a muscle. The apostle Paul encouraged his spiritual son, Timothy, to “train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7). And I wonder if training looks more ordinary than we imagine. As strange as it sounds, sometimes we need to think smaller. Our longings for extraordinary experiences can blind us to the opportunity right in front of us. Even good ambitions require little steps first. Before you climb a mountain, you have to do your push-ups. And sometimes finding the motivation to “train yourself” is harder than you imagined.

God’s Grace Is More Than a One-Time Blessing

Do athletic metaphors for spirituality make you feel deflated? Maybe you are struggling in your spiritual life and can’t imagine how you could run harder. Christians feel the pull of sin because we live in tension between what is sometimes called “the now and not yet.” Christ’s sacrifice for our sin has made us “perfect” and yet we are “being sanctified” (Heb. 10:12–14). Our position before God is holy, and yet in practice, we still struggle with sin—both our own and also the sins of others. Paul describes it by saying, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. . . . Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:19, 24).We all feel this tension of not being good enough and frustration with struggles that we can’t seem to conquer. Remember there is grace for this moment. God’s grace is not exhausted by justification but overflows into sanctification. So we can respond with Paul, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:25).

Where Do You Find Hope?

Scottish pastor, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, once said, “For every look at self, take ten looks at Christ.” In other words, however long we analyze our struggles, we need to spend that amount of time—times ten—meditating on Christ and His promises. When we read God’s Word, listen to preaching, and pray, our minds are transformed and our spirits are renewed. These disciplines feel ordinary, and even boring at times, but God uses these ordinary means of grace to do an extraordinary transformation in our hearts. Far too often our struggles blind us to the hope in front of us. Like a millionaire who acts homeless, we have a wealth of resources in Christ but can’t see past our circumstances to take hold of it. But when we look to Christ, we find hope, because in Him we have everything we need for life and godliness (  2 Peter 1:3). Does godliness seem like an intimidating goal? Do you know that there is hope in Christ when your heart feels weary?

A version of this article was posted at TrueWoman.com under the title, Spiritual Training for Weary Souls 

unsplash-logoMelissa Askew

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Christel Personal Growth Spiritual Growth

4 Things You Need To Know About Spiritual Gifts

Ask your average churchgoer what their spiritual gifts are, and you may get a blank stare. Not many of us can say with certainty what God has supernaturally equipped us to do. And yet the Bible is clear that spiritual gifts are not just for pastors (Rom. 12:4–8).

Perhaps it feels audacious to claim discernment as our gift and no less prideful to claim wisdom or mercy. For others, defining their gift puts pressure on them and they’d rather leave ministry to the “professionals.” Still others simply have no idea how to begin to discover what our gifts actually are.

Theologian J.I. Packer’s book Keep in Step With The Spirit has been immensely helpful for me in bringing clarity to this issue. While the gifts function more like a footnote than a main theme in this book, his insight on the topic is invaluable.

What I Learned

1. Every believer has a gift.

According to Packer, “All Christians have gifts and tasks of their own within the church’s total ministry.” Ministry is not just for the pastors and clergy, it is “a necessary part of everyone’s discipleship.”

Many of us have wondered whether our spiritual gifts really matter. We see the highly visible gifts of preaching, teaching, and evangelism as “real ministry” and feel no compulsion to practice our “lesser” gifts with equal zeal. This logic may seem sound, but it is profoundly unbiblical.

The apostle Paul said that Christ gave us the “apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:11–12, emphasis added). In other words, your pastor equips you for the ministry of your local church.

It shouldn’t surprise us then that Paul is so eager to have Christians exercise their spiritual gifts. He warns Timothy, “Do not neglect the gift you have” (1 Tim. 4:14) and seems no less eager to have every member of the Body of Christ participating in their various roles (1 Cor. 12:14–19).

While it may not be essential to nail down with certainty the shape and boundaries of our giftings, it is helpful to have some idea. With so many things rallying for our time and attention, a defined spiritual gift helps us know what to prioritize.

2. Spiritual gifts must be defined as Christ’s work in our midst.

The reason many of us feel presumptuous in claiming a spiritual gift is because we have wrongly assumed that our spiritual gifts are about us. But as Packer points out, “spiritual gifts must be defined in terms of Christ, as actualized powers of expressing, celebrating, displaying and so communicating Christ in one way or another, either by word or by deed. They would not be edifying otherwise.”

They are not natural abilities and skills, nor on the other hand, a sort of “supernatural novelty,” as Packer puts it. Spiritual gifts are given “in Christ” (1 Cor. 1:4, 7), and they are for the common good and edification of the church (1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:12, 16).

We don’t need to feel embarrassed about naming and exercising our spiritual gifts because they are not about us. Instead, our gifts display, celebrate, express, and communicate Christ.

3. It is only a gift if and when God uses it to edify.

This point is closely connected to the last one. There must be outward, visible edification of the church when you exercise your spiritual gift. If there is none, it’s not a spiritual gift. An inward prompting and desire is important, but we must also have outward confirmation that others see and recognize God’s work through us.

Packer says, “We need to draw a clear distinction between use of our abilities rather than the abilities themselves that constitute charismata [spiritual gifts]. If no regular, identifiable spiritual benefit for others or ourselves results from what we do, we should not think of our capacity to do it as a spiritual gift.”

Getting input from pastors, small group leaders, and others in your church is essential. Just because you are a great orator doesn’t mean you have the gift of teaching. And just because you think you have the gift of discernment doesn’t mean you do.

On the flip side, God may empower you to serve the church in ways unexpected and perhaps against your natural inclinations. I will never forget reading about John Piper’s intense fear of public speaking. In his book Future Grace, he recounts how he made a vow to God before he had to pray publicly:

“Lord, if you will bring me through this without letting my voice break, I will never again turn down a speaking opportunity for you out of anxiety.”

Thank God that his fear of public speaking didn’t cause him to dismiss the idea that he could be gifted in speech!

4. Gifts of speech and gifts of service are theologically equal.

Many of us imagine a false hierarchy between the gifts of speech and what Packer calls “Samaritanship,” that is, “the loving helpful response to others’ physical and material needs.”

When our giftings fall into the realm of Samaritanship, they are often less visible and prominent than gifts of speech. For this reason, we tend to view them as less important. But the church is not like the world in how it assigns value.

Packer says, “From heaven Christ uses Christians as his mouth, his hands, his feet, even his smile; it is through us, his people, that he speaks and acts, meets, loves and saves here and now in this world.”

Is Christ’s smile any less important than His words? Are His hands and His feet? As Paul says, “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?” (1 Cor. 12:17). Even those who seem to be weaker are essential members of the Body (v. 22).

We are all “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10). When we feel uncertain about our spiritual gifts, the best thing we can do is start serving in our local church and see what God does. When our internal desires line up with external affirmation and identifiable spiritual benefit, we are on our way.

Understanding Spiritual Gifts: 4 Lessons from J.I. Packer was originally posted on reviveourhearts.com

unsplash-logoEric Nopanen

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Canada Clint Global Gospel Society

Why “The Universe Has Your Back” isn’t Enough

In the category of tee-shirt spirituality, I came across a slogan that said, “The Universe Has Your Back”. I won’t reference the promoters of this idea (because I don’t want to spread their message for them!). At least at the level of tee shirts and coffee mugs, the idea of the Universe as a benevolent, personal power is gaining traction among our neighbours.

Why is this spirituality appealing? Why stick it on a tee-shirt? Here are a few reasons, followed by what I believe is a necessary alternative.

1. Tee Shirt Spirituality is Casual

At a surface level, the reason for trusting ‘the Universe’ is that it differentiates that kind of believer from all others, without being exclusive of anyone. It can be Atheist, without the philosophy. It can be Buddhist without regimen. It can be Hindu without getting into the pantheon of deities. It can be Christian without the bible, the Trinity, or the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s a mix of deism and panentheism cast in a catchy way with a coastal vibe. No self-denial required.

2. Wanting a Free Agent Higher Power

The second reason why this tee-shirt spirituality is appealing is that many people are looking for a higher power to help them make sense of their loneliness, society’s strife, and a global awareness of pain. People are longing for something else. But for lost people, they tend to confuse spirituality with ethnicity and cultural allegiance. So if they are not Arab, Indian, Chinese, or Middle American, they will want to avoid associations with the various religions they assume are connected to those cultures.

The belief in the Universe is a handy solution. The Universe can be sort of like a free agent player in the sporting world. The player can play on any team, but is unassociated with any. That’s how belief in the Universe works. It’s a free agent god who is as adaptable as you want ‘it’ to be.

3. The Universe is Insulated from Criticism

Third, although secularism bans talking about God, talking about the Universe gets a free pass. So trusting in the Universe stays nicely insulated from criticism from the religious and the secular. The Christian critic will say that a person is just trying to trust in God, when they are trusting in the universe. But that Universe believer can be flexible and empathetic, all while skipping any of the truth claims of Christian faith. In fact, to the undiscerning, Western, cultural Christian, all of the talk about prayer, meditation, daily gratitude, and the sovereignty of the Universe, might well be what that person really believes anyway. For those ‘Christians’ a slogan like “The Universe Has Your Back”, is a little simpler. “Why fight it with messy doctrine?”, they might ask.

4. The Universe is Gender Neutral

It goes without saying that to have a gender-neutral god to believe in is highly attractive to our society. You don’t have to worry about the maleness of the Christian Jesus or the femaleness of pagan Gaia. If “The Universe Has Your Back”, you can project onto the Universe any combo of gender fluidity you wish.

A Story

In the face of tee-shirt spirituality, one of the great biblical accounts if how a young man was set apart by his father, as well as by God in order to interpret dreams. The young man’s life was filled with dreams, his own and others. Yet his reliance was not on the Universe, or unnamed spiritual forces to interpret these dreams. Instead this man could say to those who had dreams, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”(Gen 40:8).

Repeatedly, the man was guided and delivered by a personal being who “had his back”. But the reason he had his back is because of promises that had been made to the patriarchs of this man’s family. The promises were verbal and recorded in writing. The promises were specific, even differentiating certain blessings for some and different blessings or even cursings on others.

There was no vagueness about this God and his ability to interpret dreams, giving this miraculous information to the man. The actions of this God were so specific that even the afflictions that surrounded the man (family betrayals, human trafficking, false accusations, imprisonment,etc) were actually part of a fulfillment of specific promises. No tee shirt spirituality here.

If you know the story, you will recognize that the historical account I’m referring to is the life of Joseph, sold into Egypt, later imprisoned, only to be raised up to Pharoah’s right hand man. All of this was to provide a way to preserve the family of Jacob and fulfill God’s promises to bring the seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent.

Better Than “The Universe Has Your Back”

Compare the statement, “The Universe Has Your Back” to this:

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Genesis 50:20

Pray for those who are believing in tee-shirt spirituality. They need a merciful, loving, promise-making, covenant-keeping God to save them. Without it, their casual spirituality is only one more way for them to be those who “by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Rom 1:18).

This article was published at The Gospel Coalition Canada

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Church Clint Spiritual Growth

The Secret Many Christians Don’t Want To Admit: They’re Fatigued

tired-man
Photo by Ben Hershey on Unsplash

Christians are a busy bunch. And they get physically tired. Tired of work, schedules, commitments, and expectations (Or maybe that’s just me!). But there is a surprising secret that Christians don’t like to admit. They’re tired in another way. They’re spiritually fatigued.

Spiritual Fatigue Illustrated

I’ve seen this now for a while in my church and others. There can be a sense of fatigue in a believer’s heart. It’s a fatigue about preaching, about holiness, about the power of God’s grace and more.

Recently this fatigue was illustrated to me when I read an interview with Josh Harris. Harris is the former Sovereign Grace pastor who influenced many people through his books. The recurring theme that I got from the interview was that Harris had become spiritually exhausted. The Word of God seemed all but meaningless to him now. In fact, he expressed doubt that any meaning could be concluded from the bible. He wasn’t even able to position himself into the non-evangelical, ‘progressive Christian’ camp which the interviewer wanted. Clearly, Josh Harris was tired of it all.

The Threat of Spiritual Fatigue

That kind of fatigue is the greatest threat to your walk with God. It is the fatigue that prevents you from growing when there is a bit of testing. It is like the parable of the soils, when someone is rootless, even initial joy can be reversed. Then a person will ‘fall away’ (Luke 8:13). The problem reveals itself in that scenario, that the soil wasn’t good to start with.

When this fatigue sets into a person’s life, it will start to justify itself by multiplying preferences. They might begin preferring different music, happier sermon themes or an inclusive style of ministry. Yet this spiritual fatigue can also start to despair that anything can change. That fatigue will have low views of God. It won’t see God’s goodness, his power to change things, and his free desire to do his people good. The result is that the spiritually fatigued person will be tempted to give up. They will quit on God, the church, friends and spouses.

Pain and Fatigue

Of course, we normally get spiritually sleepy when we are comfortable. A bit of conflict, some job reversals, or a medical diagnosis can suddenly wake us up to our need. As CS Lewis said in The Problem of Pain:

“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

CS Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Pain will come and it will stir us from our fatigue. Yet long before that God’s Word can do the rousing and can make us better prepared for the painful days. We can be awake to them, self-aware and alert to God, even when we feel physically worn out. As David said, “I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.” (Psalm 69:3). Physical fatigue is part of our outer self “wasting away” (2 Cor 4:16). But our inner self is “being renewed day by day” as we receive God’s good, correcting and awakening Word.

Fatigued by Jesus’ Demands?

Still, the great danger is that comfortable fatigue. How scary is it to get too tired to listen to God, the Scriptures, or his people. If Jesus is Lord, then our claims to follow him require that we do what he says. His demands are completely within his rights over us. But when people give in to spiritual fatigue, they start to view Jesus’s demands as onerous.

Fatigued and Disillusioned

In a column for The Gospel Coalition Canada, I wrote about how disillusionment and deconversion are connected. This comes out in the Josh Harris interview too. One of the saddest descriptions he made was how he talked about his church. He said that his church and those like it were “high demand religious environments”. He spoke of “a culture that places high demand on the execution of [biblical ethics] and creates structures of accountability, reward for those that do it well, a sense of shame for those that don’t do it well”.

Now certainly there could be legalistic, graceless, unloving applications of the biblical ethic. All faithful churches seek to shun legalism, and live by God’s forgiving grace in Christ. Yet Jesus is Lord. He is the one who creates a “high demand religious environment”. When he summoned the first disciples, it was with the all-encompassing demand “Follow me”. John Piper wrote a whole book summarizing Jesus’ high demands which was logically titled, What Jesus Demands From the World. So churches that seek to follow Jesus will heed the instructions which Paul gave to Titus:

The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

(Titus 3:8)

Words like “insist”, “be careful” and “devote” are not sleepy words. They are words of awakening to the fatigued. Of course if there is no gospel-power, it’s useless. Gospel power is the animation of the Holy Spirit to apply undeserved favour of Christ’s love to the sinner’s heart. Sadly the natural man starts to think it’s all a waste of time. And he or she is too tired to bother with it (cf. 1 Cor 2:14).

The Trumpet and the Yoke

Friends, let us pray that God’s word will trumpet in our ears with his Spirit-empowered Word. Pray that God would do this when we get too sleepy to care what God thinks. Then, when we listen to our Lord Jesus, we realize that the demands of his yoke are easy and his burden is light (Matt 11:30).

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Clint Ministry

What Can You Give Up?

A few years ago I presented a paper at the Evangelical Theological Society titled, The Apostle of Calloused Hands: Paul’s Vocational Spirituality Reconsidered. Here is a summary of what I found:

Paul’s tentmaking activity was not merely a footnote in his pioneer church planting efforts. Rather his decision to ‘work with his hands’ in self-support became a key component in his overall testimony to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul’s piety was reflected not only in his obedience to the Lord’s commissioning (Acts 9.15) but in the creative gospel-centredness of how he did it. By abdicating his clear entitlement to remuneration he was able to display in his daily life an object lesson which heralded the freeness of grace. The result was that Paul’s proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ had readily available a living portrait of a grace-transformed life in Paul’s own tentmaking practice. Seen in this light, his vocational spirituality played a cohesive role in the advance of the gospel among the nations. Paul’s calloused hands preached when his lips could not. His calloused hands served the gospel when Paul was given an opportunity to herald it. In all, Paul’s vocational spirituality established a consistency of witness which distinguished him as the apostle of calloused hands

Here are some questions to consider:

  1. List your entitlements. By your role, status, achievements or any other criteria, evaluate things that you might think you are entitled to.
  2. Evaluate what would happen if you abdicated your entitlement in each of these areas. This doesn’t mean that you abdicate your responsibilities, or that your role, status, title or entitlement isn’t good or true. The point is to think about what a voluntary abdication of entitlement looks like.
  3. Pray to God to give you wisdom to consider what humbling yourself in these voluntary, uncoerced ways might look like.

You can download the paper at my Academia profile, here.