Lay Down in Silence

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Carl Simmons

As we examined last week, we’re often slaves to our own agendas without even realizing it. We can become so paralyzed by self-analysis and self-inflicted hurry that we forget how to simply be obedient in the things God’s already called us to—and to realize that is all God asks of us.

And as last week’s assignment suggested—and you’re doing it, right?—we’re going to spend much of this week practicing the discipline of silence, and in a variety of venues. Because there’s a variety of venues where we need to begin practicing it. We need to be prepared for what God truly wants us to be doing, in every part of our lives.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Timothy 4:1–5).

Our ears are itchy, and arguably at a level never before seen in history. As a society, and on a personal level, we’re addicted to news media, social media, sports, games, music, movies… anything that will get our adrenalin flowing and make us feel more alive. If we’re being honest, this is also a testimony about the state of our real lives. We clearly want to be distracted from other things, from responsibilities, from the grind of work, from the pain of dealing with other people. Just as clearly, we’re looking to derive our (self-)satisfaction from something other than God. And once we become distracted from God, it becomes impossible to obey him in the moment.

Again, I say all this as a fellow sinner who’s increasingly shocked by his own shortcomings and hypocrisy. Most of us love having at least an aura of drama in our lives—especially if that drama is more vicarious than personal (although some of us love the personal drama as well). When I first wrote this, a 7,500-acre forest fire was raging about fifteen miles northwest of here; in fact, we could both see and smell it from here. (Fortunately, it’s in a national forest area and no homes were destroyed.) Yet, there’s some part of me that wanted to see those numbers get even bigger, even while the logical part of my brain reminds me that by doing so I’m assenting to the destruction of God’s creation (which I love hiking in, for that matter). You’ve likely felt that kind of rush (and conflict), too.

And as a native New Jerseyan, don’t think I haven’t pulled out our proximity to/experience of 9/11 on occasion to impress my fellow Coloradoans who’ve only heard about it from afar. I say to this my shame, but also again because I’m pretty sure it’s a universal experience. Somehow, for some perverse reason, simply being in the vicinity of a big event makes us—strike that; makes me—feeler bigger, too.

That’s the dirty little secret—let’s go ahead and say it: the satanic lie—behind much of our obsession with instant information, and with much of our busyness: It offers an instant substitute to our God-given desire to become a part of something bigger than ourselves. It gives us the chance to lose ourselves in something—other than God. We’re not willing to wait for God to do his work in his time, and so we turn elsewhere. And we are the lesser for it.

By laying down in silence, we turn back to God. And remember: Turn back means repent. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23). We must give ourselves the chance to hear God’s voice, and to experience his new compassions, because he’s been offering them all along.

Let’s set aside our distractions—and our egos that have become so deftly intertwined with them—and give God our full attention. The daily surprises that come by walking in the Spirit will beat anything we can try to come up with on our own.

Lay It Down Today

Let’s literally “bring it home” today. Sometimes in the next twenty-four hours, set aside one hour to not only be silent but completely media-free. No Web, no radio, no TV, no reading, no nothin’. Within those parameters, how you use the time is completely up to you. Take a long walk, or lay in bed and do absolutely nothing, but do it silently yet mindfully before God. Unplug from the world and plug into God’s presence.

It might be uncomfortable at first—and don’t be surprised if all sorts of thoughts start flying around—but remain intentional toward God. Give those distractions the chance to die down. You might actually enjoy it. You’ll certainly have a deeper sense of how constantly distracted you are from God—and what those distractions are. If you enjoy this activity, consider expanding your time to a half-day or even an entire day sometime in the future.

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Rediscovering Our Reverence

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Carl Simmons

“In spite of the amazing advances that we have seen in the church, one great overwhelming loss troubles me greatly. The gains are wonderful, but they do not offset the one devastating loss, and that is the loss of a proper perception of God.”

This latest posthumous A.W. Tozer book is being billed as the originally planned follow-up to his classic The Knowledge of the Holy, and after reading it I see no reason to not treat it that way. In fact, I’m’a adding it to my re-reads list so that I can read the two together in the future.

tozerA.W. Tozer. Delighting in God. Compiled and edited by James L. Snyder. 208p., $14.99, Bethany House.

In this book, Tozer moves from focusing on God’s attributes to its practical ramifications here on earth—the most obvious being that such a God should be the focus on all our worship, rather than being secondary to the “worship experience” or church-as-entertainment. With that comes the lack of reverence; as Tozer so witheringly puts it, “We do not fear God anymore. We do not dread Him anymore. He is our buddy and only wants to help us be the best kind of people we can be.”

As editor James Snyder points out in the intro, “Even in his day, Tozer complained about the mediocrity of the Christian church. He complained about how worship had fallen to such a low, despicable level. I wonder what he would say today?”

We certainly have some idea from what Tozer writes here. There are places where he veers into attacks on what passed for Christianity even 50 years ago (and again, is even more applicable today), but he’s at his best when he’s looking upward and calling us to do the same: “What is needed today is passion, but more defined, a passion for God, a deep desire to know God as He desires to be known.”

Inherent in many of the problems the church faces today, Tozer reminds us, is our presumption that “We assume that if it is in the Bible, it is in us… but we cannot assume that…. We must come to the point of personally experiencing everything that the Bible is teaching us. To know the first step is important, but it is only the first step, and we must persevere unto perfection; that is, experiencing what God wants us to experience in the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.” And this will only be accomplished by actually wanting what God wants, rather than trying to cram God into what we want.

Tozer was always a master of calling us back to “the pursuit of God,” and he doesn’t fail here either. Maybe the reason it took so long to un-earth this book is that we need it now more than ever.

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Lay Down Your Agenda

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Carl Simmons

We’ve had to lay down a lot so far. Some of it has no doubt been difficult; maybe it’s even felt unnecessarily negative to some. But we have a much longer journey ahead, and we need to travel light—especially since our journey takes us even further upward.

So when I encourage you to “lay down the law—and leave it there,” I’m not just asking you to admire my mild attempt at cleverness. What I really intend to encourage you to do here is live a life where you’re not only walking in the Spirit day by day—but ideally, moment to moment.

Something you might have noticed over the course of our journey together so far is we’ve been moving from dealing with our longstanding struggles with sin to addressing daily temptations. Today, we begin condensing the timespan even further, as we begin exploring the things that tempt us to go into some sort of “spiritual autopilot” rather than obey God in the moment. (And if you haven’t noticed this sequence before now, that’s OK—I just picked up on God’s strategy here myself.)

This transition from day-by-day to moment-to-moment is equally, if not more, true of the works we claim to do in Jesus’ name. As Andrew Purves puts it in his wonderful book The Crucifixion of Ministry:

“Of course we should not exclude asking ‘What would Jesus do?’ There is an appropriate place for the moral influence of Jesus. But it is more important to ask, ‘Who is Jesus Christ for us today and what is Jesus doing here and now, in this hospital room, during this committee meeting, during this service of worship, in this counseling session and so on?’… Wherever Christ is and wherever we are joined to him, there truly is the intentional, disciplined and faithful ministry of the church. It is not our ministries that make Christ present; it is the present, living Christ who makes our ministries possible.”

Whatever it is that I truly do for Jesus, he is already there. I’m the one who’s showing up—and who’s arguably late for the party. Not him.

At the same time, we very often want to do the right things, but we don’t know exactly what the right things are. Oddly enough, this is often when our prayers are most effective. There are times where God gives us the confidence to pray for (and then pursue) something, knowing it’s in his will, but usually our best prayers come when we’re empty. When we have no agenda except, “Not my will, but thine.”

But more often, we’re in that “autopilot” mode, bearing ahead without keeping our eyes open to what other things God wants to accomplish right now. We want a stake in the ground, a fixed point, a checklist—because that’s far easier for us than following wherever the Spirit leads—at least in the short term.

Nonetheless, eternal life starts now. To follow is to lay down your control. What could I possibly plan for myself that’s better than God’s plans for me?

In fact, I’m going to pray this for myself right now. Feel free to join me, and we’ll talk again tomorrow:

Lord, help me to rest in the work you’ve already given me, and to always remember that it is your work. Help me to lay down my agenda and hand over control to you, so that I may remain open to the next work you desire me to find Your joy in, in every moment. Amen.

Lay It Down Today

The good news is, you don’t have an assignment—at this very moment. The better news: The following assignment is meant to last all week. (After all, it’s only bad news if you think of it that way.) It does require some work on your part.

For the remainder of this week, commit to getting up at least a half-hour early to spend time with the Lord. Some of you may already get up early for Bible reading and/or prayer, others not; either way, take some extra time at the beginning of each day this week to be in God’s presence, silently. It’s OK to add Bible reading or other spiritual reading during this time, but be sure to leave time to do… nothing, in God’s presence. Enjoy him. Relax in him. Take peace in him, before starting your day. Try to be observant this week about how God uses your time with him—even after you’re done.

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Lay Down Your Future: a small-group session

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Carl Simmons

For this session, you’ll need….stress ball

  • beanbags, stress balls, or other soft items that can be tossed around—two for every group of four or five

 

Laying Down Your Day (10+ minutes)

Have everyone get into subgroups of four to five. (If your group is less than eight people, stay together.) Give each subgroup two beanbags (or whatever items you’re using).

I’m sure everyone’s experienced a certain amount of tension today, so let’s de-stress a bit before going any further. A couple of you are holding beanbags. Take a few moments to squeeze them. Let out some of that stress…. that’s it!

Now, toss your beanbag to someone else so he or she can squeeze it. But don’t give any clue who you’re going to toss it to next. Keep squeezing and tossing your beanbags around for the next minute, then we’ll move on.

After a minute, have subgroups discuss the following questions:

  1. When have you felt like you’ve had more things thrown at you than you could handle? How do you normally respond when that happens?

 

  1. Is all stress bad? Why or why not?

 

Allow five minutes for discussion, and then bring subgroups back together. Ask for volunteers to share a few of their answers.

There are plenty of poor ways to respond when we’re feeling stressed or anxious—anger, negative talk, withdrawing from others, turning to bad habits or addictions…. The list goes on, and we’re all too familiar with it—and for that matter, so are the people we subject to our responses. So today, we’re going to focus on the kind of perspective God desires us to have as we face the things that come at us—or for that matter, the things that haven’t yet happened that we’re already worried about.

Laying Down the Word (30 minutes)

Read the following passage from “Lay Down Your Anxiety,” and then read Matthew 6:25–34. Discuss the questions that follow.

“God intervenes in our lives when he’s supposed to, at our time of deepest need—not when we think he ought to show up, or when it would be easiest for us. Those who constantly take faith-filled risks live in 11:59. The rest of us would do well to remember that 11:59 might, in fact, be the best place to live our lives.”

  1. What usually makes you more anxious: things that are currently happening, or things you think are about to happen? Why do you think that is?

 

  1. Think again about your responses to those situations. What do those responses say to God (maybe even verbally) about your ability to trust that he’ll “clothe” you with whatever you need in that moment?

 

  1. When have you had an “11:59 moment”—when you’ve said, “OK God, I give up,” and then God addressed those things you were so concerned about (or at least your anxiety over them)? Talk about it a little.

 

Take turns reading Luke 19:12b–26. Then read the following passage from “Lay Down Your Expectations,” and discuss the questions that follow:

“God wants to create new things through us—not just give us control over things (and kingdoms) we already know. We can only prepare to receive them by remaining obedient to the King, and by remaining faithful to his kingdom and the things he’s already entrusted to us….

“So stop expecting too much from yourself spiritually, or otherwise. Stop expecting instant regeneration, or instant success. Trust God as you once did. Don’t try to anticipate his moves before he’s made them. Allow him to grow you at his pace, instead of thinking you can run out ahead.”

  1. Which servant in our Luke passage do you feel more like right now? Why?

 

  1. What’s your reaction to the idea that God wants to create new things in your life, and will in fact reward you for your current faithfulness?

 

  1. Where are you trying to push God for an answer to a “crisis” you’re facing right now, or an area you’re tired of being “stuck” in? How’s that working? Based on your reading and discussion this week, what do you think God’s been trying to tell you?

 

It’s worth remembering that our ability to trust God with our futures doesn’t just affect us—it also affects our responses to the world around us. The more we try to protect ourselves, the less room we have in our lives for both God and others. Let’s close by spending some time with the “others” piece.

Laying Down Your Life (20 minutes)

Ask for a volunteer to read 1 John 4:18. Then, read the following passage from “Lay Down Your Fears” and discuss the question afterward:

“Whether it’s a preemptive strike or a full-scale retreat, we’ll do just about anything to avoid the hard work of loving others. But the way to God is through loving others…. Even the difficult matters in our lives are signs of God’s love for us. When we can place ourselves before those circumstances, neither shrinking back not attacking, the perfect love of God can be fully manifested in us.”

  1. In what tangible ways does God’s love removes fear, anxiety, and stress from our lives? When have you experienced this truth?

 

  1. How does being freed from fear, anxiety and stress, in turn, free you to love others the way God intends? Try to come up with some concrete examples—either past, present, or future.

 

During our last session together, we paired up with others in the group to whom we’ll stay accountable for the remainder of this study. Get back in those pairs now. Give yourselves enough room that you can talk confidentially and/or not interrupt another pair’s discussion.

Give everyone time to pair up. If people are absent, help stragglers get with another pair for the rest of this session. Again, it’s OK to have a triad, but have no more than three.

In your pairs, review Paul’s “remedy to fear” from 2 Timothy, from “Lay Down Your Fears.” Spend up to five minutes discussing which of the items in this bullet list are speaking to you the loudest right now, and why. Keep it to your one or two top items each.

When you’re done sharing, spend another few minutes praying for one another over what you’ve shared. Again, set aside a time each week when you can touch base with one another. Once you’re done, remain quiet and give other pairs a chance to wrap up. May God bless each of you this week, as you trust Him with whatever your future brings—this week and beyond.

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Lay Down Your Fears

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Carl Simmons

A great deal of the sin in our lives is little more than a lame attempt to protect ourselves from the possibility of being sinned against. Whether it’s a preemptive strike or a full-scale retreat, we’ll do just about anything to avoid the hard work of loving others. But the way to God is through loving others. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1 John 4:18). We long to be perfect, but God’s perfect work in us cannot be completed without a willingness to expose ourselves fully to the people and situations God has placed before us.

Even the difficult matters in our lives are signs of God’s love for us. When we can place ourselves before those circumstances, neither shrinking back not attacking, the perfect love of God can be fully manifested in us.

Almost all of us struggle with fear, whether we show it or not. No less a man than Timothy—who helped Paul write the books of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon—clearly struggled with fear throughout much of his ministry. Consider the advice from Paul, near the end of his life and while in prison, to the man who by this time had become bishop of Ephesus:

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.  Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you (2 Timothy 1:5–14, emphasis mine).

What’s Paul remedy to fear, then? Several exhortations come up here:

  • Remember your faith, and who you are in Jesus (v.5).
  • Take the spark God’s given you, and fan it into a flame (v.6).
  • Exert the “power of love and self-control” you’ve already received (v.7).
  • Be willing to take some heat for the gospel you believe (v.8).
  • Remember that Christ conquered death—what more is there to fear (v.10)?
  • Accept suffering as part of the package of both sanctification, and of life itself, and realize that even in those times God’s protection remains upon you (v.12).
  • Do what you know to be true and right. Obey God, faithfully and in love (v.13).
  • Through the Holy Spirit, guard what God’s already given you (v.14).

Which of these is at the top of your list right now? In what ways can you step out of fear and into “life and immortality to light through the gospel”? Eternal life begins now. So lay down your fear, and step boldly into the light.

Lay It Down Today

If you can’t do this final activity immediately, do it in the next twenty-four hours: Read Paul’s two letters to Timothy in one sitting. They’re ten fairly modest chapters (less than two hundred verses total), but chock full of fatherly advice and en-courage-ment to a son in the faith. As you read, put yourself in Timothy’s place, reading these personal letters from a spiritual father he might never see again in the flesh. Think of these letters as a mentor writing to you, sharing his life experience while he still has the opportunity. Feel the immediacy.

After reading, ask God to show you how to act upon what you’ve just read. Which of Paul’s words struck you hardest, and why? What does God want to do with that? Spend time praying through that, “pushing” God for an answer. Don’t stop until you’re satisfied you’ve laid all out your fears, anxieties, and concerns before God. Then let him go to work, and watch what happens.

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Lay Down Your Expectations

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Carl Simmons

Rather than attacking today’s idea from the front—and our previous rumination on goals and plans hit on many of the ideas inherent in this next idea already—I’d like to approach today’s meditation from a different angle.

Over the last several years, and from multiple sources, God has reinforced the importance of expectancy in my life. Meaning: When we lay down our time, our possessions, our attitudes, whatever, to actually give God something to work with in our lives, do we truly expect that God will show up?

At the same time, I’ve realized how little expectancy bears resemblance to expectation. If I bring my own agenda to the table, even with the best of intentions, about the only thing I can expect is disappointment—and I’m likely to do more damage than good, not least of all to myself. That’s not only true about my relationship with God, but about every part of the life he’s given me.

Conversely, when I turn to God and say, “This is your gig; do what you will” (or the old-fashioned but still effective “not my will, but thine”), things tend to fall into line much more easily—because they’ve been left in the hands of Someone who can draw a line correctly.

Hopefully, it’s obvious that being expectant doesn’t translate to “do nothing.” It means: Go about the business God’s called you to, and let the results take care of themselves. The parable of the talents nicely illustrates this:

“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Luke 19:12b–26).

In re-reading this recently, something hit me that I hadn’t previously noticed. There’s a bit of conjecture to it, but it makes sense: The king comes back after receiving his kingdom, and upon seeing the faithfulness of the first two stewards gives each of them authority over several cities. Where do you think those cities came from? My bet’s on the kingdom that the nobleman just received. Someone’s got to watch over those cities, after all.

Likewise, God wants to create new things through us, not just give us control over things (and kingdoms) we already know. We can only prepare to receive those things by remaining obedient to the King, and by remaining faithful to his kingdom and the things he’s already entrusted to us. Expecting God’s goodness (or in the third steward’s case, his “badness”) to look a certain way is usually a futile exercise. God will show us what we need when we need it. Sometimes we get a glimpse into what God’s fulfilled vision in our lives will look like, but more often he’ll let us know when it’s time to move forward, and into what new kingdom.

So stop expecting too much from yourself spiritually, or otherwise. Stop expecting instant regeneration, or instant success. Trust God as you once did. Don’t try to anticipate his moves before he’s made them. Allow him to grow you at his pace, instead of thinking you can run out ahead.

At the same time, don’t underestimate what God can do. Be faithful with what God has already entrusted to you, and live in the expectancy that the good things he’s already entrusted to you will produce even better things beyond your expectations. 

Lay It Down Today

We’re going to try a little parallel Bible study today, reading both versions of the parable of the talents—Matthew 25:14–30 and Luke 19:11–27. Note the similarities and the differences between each account. More importantly, note what God’s saying to you through each version.

Then, reflect on this: What can you identify as things God has already entrusted to you—things you know God wants you to do? It could be a specific calling or impression of the Spirit, or something as profoundly “mundane” as being a better parent or spouse. Whatever those things are, list them out now. Then, pray over your list. Ask God to help you “[be] faithful in [the] very little” he’s already given you, so that you may be ready to receive the authority you need for the new works he has in store for you—both here and beyond.

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Lay Down Your Goals

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Carl Simmons

Let’s return to the idea of us “taking things out of God’s hands” through our own control issues—specifically, through the plans and goals we lay out for ourselves. There’s nothing wrong with having goals for our lives. They give us focus; they inspire us; they inspire others. And quite often, those goals are things worth aspiring to.

But there’s a down side: Namely, they’re our goals and plans. Thus, they can become a wall that gets between us and God’s plans for us—even when what we have in mind and what God has in mind look very similar on the surface. God is always more concerned with what’s going on under the surface. Let’s look at one of Jesus’ more in-your-face parables, and dig down from there:

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:15–21).

While this parable specifically addresses our possessions, we would be wise to expand our definition of the word “possessions” here. Let me ask a simple question: When you’ve reached a goal, whose accomplishment is it?

If you answered “mine,” congratulations: You have a possession.

It’s no coincidence that Jesus follows up this parable with his command to not be anxious (which we explored in Day 1, via Matthew). When our goals are more our goals than God’s, we feel we’re the ones who need to protect them. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).

The next time you’re feeling stressed, ask yourself, “What am I protecting here that God can’t protect a million times better?” Again, it may not be the goal or the plan that’s wrong, but who’s being glorified by them. If God truly wants us to pursue such things, then we can lay them down at his feet, confident he’ll take care of them.

In my previous book, I’d put forth a series of questions for those considering pursuing a “God-given vision”—specifically, to determine whose vision it really was. I think, with a few minor tweaks, those same questions are a good filter for any goals and plans we have in life. Think about two or three goals you have right now, and then apply the following questions to each of them:

  • As I’m pursuing this, am I sensing God revealing more about the things he truly cares about?
  • Once this goal has been reached, will it reveal more about God to others, or just more about me?
  • Which pieces of the plan were clearly not my idea (even if I’m excited about them now)?
  • Have I tried letting go of my plans, only to find God bringing them up again?
  • Would I still want this to happen even if someone else did it—or even if I did it and someone else got the credit?

How did you do? It’s OK (for now) if you thought, “Well, it’s both, actually—it’s me and God; it’s flesh and spirit.” But it’s critical that we stop to figure out what’s God and what’s just us, because at some point we’re almost certainly going to find ourselves disagreeing with God on some things. And when that happens, guess what? God’s right. At that point, you’ll need to remember what’s truly God’s, so you’ll be able to keep trusting him when you don’t understand what’s going on. Hold your own plans loosely, and hang on for dear life to God’s plans.

Lay It Down Today

Read Luke 12:13–48—or rather read, review, and reflect. This longer passage combines today’s passage, a reiteration of Day 1’s passage, and two more parables that are tied in more than you might think, so read slowly. When you get to verses 35–48, read them aloud. Put some inflection into your reading; think about how Jesus said these words to his disciples as you read—because, after all, you’re one of them.

Reflect on today’s questions again, in light of what you’ve just read. Allow God’s Word to be “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:11). Ask God to help his Word penetrate more deeply into your goals and plans, so that the parts that are “just you” are cut away—if even if that means all of them. Trust that God’s plans are far better than anything you could come up with, and act on his leading as it comes.

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Lay Down Your Doubt

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Carl Simmons

Our anxiety expresses itself through doubt. And our doubt expresses itself by taking things into our own hands. Whether we say it or even consciously think it, trying to make things happen on our own says, at best, “God’s not giving me what I want when I want it, so I’d better make it happen myself.” And despite what seventy-five percent of Christians believe (Barna, 2005), the phrase “God helps those who help themselves” does not come from the Bible.

In this season of my life, God has been confronting my tendency to live out of my doubt. Ask anyone: I’m good at coming up with a plan, pulling things together, and making them happen. I am, to use a human compliment, resourceful. Heck, I like referring to myself as “tenacious.” And yet, in this season all my efforts have come to nothing. Instead, God says, “Depend on me. Let me handle it.”

I try every idea at my disposal, thinking one of them will work. They don’t. And then something that wasn’t my idea shows up and accomplishes what all my bright ideas and efforts couldn’t. Again, God repeats, “Depend on me. Let me handle it.”

Sometimes we already know things are out of our hands. And yet, we wrestle with the same problem as the anxious and the self-reliant—the failure to acknowledge that things still in God’s hands. We see a great example of this as Jesus encounters a boy with an unclean spirit—and even moreso in the people surrounding Jesus and the boy:

And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:14–29).

I love the incredulousness of Jesus’ “If you can!” here. It not only carries the sense of “Who do you think I am?” but also “Who do you think you are, in God’s sight?” Which is borne out by Jesus’ next sentence, “All things are possible for one who believes.”

While it’s not simply a matter of “God helps those who help themselves,” our inability to “make” God’s will manifest might indeed be a matter of us not being in position for God to use us. Our doubt restrains God’s ability to operate. Not that he couldn’t blow past it any time he liked, as Jesus in fact does here. Nonetheless, God wants us to believe, and is willing to withhold his temporal blessings and deliverance until we do so.

I’m not advocating a “name-it-and-claim-it” theology here, but I am suggesting a principle of “believe it and you’ll receive it”—provided it’s what God wanted to give you all along. Psalm 84:11b affirms this: “No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” There is a truth buried within the more positivistic twistings of the gospel, and it’s this: So much of God’s will for our lives remains unclaimed, because we can’t bring ourselves to believe that God would really want to do something good for us.

Thus, I suspect that the prayer and fasting the disciples lacked for this situation wasn’t purely a matter of failing to press the right spiritual buttons—let alone “if you do this spiritual discipline more regularly, you’ll be so much more effective for the kingdom.” There’s truth to that, but there’s a deeper truth here: Like every spiritual discipline, prayer and fasting was a way for the disciples to humble themselves before God so that they too could see the situation properly, become acutely aware of their own fallenness, human inability, and just plain lack of trust—and acknowledge, as the boy’s father did, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Lay down your doubt, and let Jesus help your unbelief, so that you can receive the good things he has already prepared for you.

Lay It Down Today

Let’s get more creative with today’s passage from Mark. Read it again right now, putting yourself in the disciples’ place. Experience the inability to heal, Jesus’ rebuke, and the curiosity/humility afterward. Then read it once more, from the perspective of the father—the overwhelmedness and desperation for his son to be delivered, and the equally deep desperation to want to believe fully that Jesus could, and would, deliver his son.

Who do you identify with more right now? Spend some time giving up your doubt, and the roadblocks you’ve placed to reinforce that doubt, to Jesus right now. Hand over to him those things that make you anxious or overwhelmed. Let him handle them, and ask him to keep those things out of your hands from this day forward.

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Lay Down Your Anxiety

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Carl Simmons

Let’s begin our exploration of our future at its most immediate location: Today.

11-59My dad has a phrase I’ve used a lot in the past couple decades: “He’s the God of 11:59.” In other words, God intervenes in our lives when he’s supposed to, at our time of deepest need—not when we think he ought to show up, or when it would be easiest for us. Those who constantly take faith-filled risks live in 11:59. The rest of us would do well to remember that 11:59 might, in fact, be the best place to live our lives.

Peter wrote the following about the Day of the Lord, but I believe it applies pretty well on this day, too: “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:8–9).

What I interpret as God’s slowness in making my life less stressful is, rather, his patience in waiting for me to repent and be willing to live in 11:59—to fully accept the easy yoke of Jesus, so that I move at his correct pace, knowing that his provision will always be there when I need it, and that his provision to me in fact brings him glory.

Thus, I’m also often been fond of adding a corollary phrase to my dad’s: “I need to reset my watch.”

The truth is, we often have no clue about God’s timing. But a good rule of thumb is this: Remove yourself, and anything else other than the God you trust in, from the equation—which is also to say, remove the pain that “waiting” brings to you—then view the situation again. At that point in time when it’s clear there’s nothing you can do to meet that need, there God will be.

I’m writing today’s entry in such a season. Over the past year, things I thought I could depend on—schedules, promises, routines, people—have failed or fallen by the wayside. My wife and I are in a place where each week could be the one when we no longer can successfully pay the bills, when work may or may not come. And yet, weeks and now months like this have now gone by, and a check or an assignment arrives in time, or the money went further than expected. Thus, if we look at the situation objectively rather than with an anxiety about our future, the fact is… we lack nothing.

We are already residing in eternity, even here. The more I realize that, the less I need to worry that God will take care of our needs. We all have to rely on God, whether we care to admit that or not. The blessing, when it comes right down to it, is when we realize that and live as if it were true. Because it is.

Matthew 6, the center of the Sermon on the Mount, is loaded with Jesus’ assertions about our future: The Lord’s Prayer, the promise that our private giving—and fasting—will be rewarded openly, the encouragement to store up treasures in heaven rather than on earth, but most apparently in the following passage used by every one of us who worry about the future—thus, I’ll step aside and let Jesus close today’s thoughts, because after all they’re about today:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:25–34).

Lay It Down Today

We’re going to spend some extra time in the Word in the coming entries, to discipline ourselves in this habit. But first, let’s try a little experiment. Find a watch or a clock with a second hand. Then, do not be anxious: Close your eyes and wait before Jesus right now. In fact, do it for exactly 1 minute and 59 seconds—or at least what you think is 1 minute and 59 seconds. Keep your eyes closed until you think that amount of time has passed, then look up. Note how close you were (or weren’t). Read Matthew 6:25–34 again, then reflect:

  • How hard was it to still yourself and wait, for not even two minutes? What kinds of things went through your head during that time? Why?
  • Why do we seem to be able to do everything but wait? Why does that make us so uncomfortable?

Close your eyes once more—this time to pray. Ask God to “reset your watch,” that you can live more within his perfect will and timing, free from anxiety about your future—including your future today.

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Lay Down Your Love (Retreat Session 4)

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Carl Simmons

Throughout the course of this retreat, you’ve been exposed to—and sometimes thrown into in—just a few of the spiritual disciplines. (And if you haven’t, check out the previous three entries below.) But the fact is, every spiritual discipline is a form of worship. It’s a way of being intentional about recognizing God’s “worth-ship.” As you’ve hopefully experienced, they get us out of our own way so we can see and appreciate God for who he is.

shawn in the valleyIn this final session, we’re going to focus more on worship in the more “conventional,” outward sense, as well as use the above disciplines, with Revelation as our guide. We need to always remember that our lives are prep time for eternity. Right now, we’re being prepared to live forever in God’s presence. Just thinking about that should help us view our lives differently. Thus, we’ll also consider what God still has in store for us here—how we can serve the world he’s placed us in, for his sake. So let’s begin to pick up our new life in Jesus, put it on, and walk it out.

Take fifteen minutes to think and journal on these questions:

  • Out of the activities you’ve done during this retreat—study, prayer, silence, confession, “alone time with God” (and fellowship and service, if you’ve been with a group)—which have helped you connect with God the most? Why do you think that is?
  • Which disciplines would like to do more often? How can you become more deliberate about doing so?
  • Think about a meaningful time or season of worship (of any kind), or of closeness to God, that you’ve experienced. What made that time so meaningful? What did it feel like? How did it affect your thoughts and actions?
  • How has your idea of what worship is (and isn’t) changed over the course of your Christian life? How has your own approach to worship before God changed, as a result?

Leaders: Take twenty minutes for this as a group. If you have ten people or fewer, do this initial discussion time together; if more than ten, use your subgroups. Give a few minutes’ warning when your twenty minutes is almost up, and regain everyone’s attention when you’re ready to move on.

Read Revelation 7:9–8:3. Then read it again. Once more, if you need to, to get the whole picture of what’s taking place here. Then move on.

We’re not going to observe an entire half-hour of silence, but we are going to take a few more minutes to just sit and be silent before God. Close your eyes, and put yourself in the middle of this passage. Go from being an observer to a participant, because that’s what you’ll be one day. Meditate on this passage until you can truly see yourself there. Once you’re ready to leave the scene, take at least ten more minutes to reflect on these questions:

  • How did you feel as you reflected on this scene? Were you excited? Uncomfortable? Scared? Or did you have a hard time resonating with it at all? In any case, why?
  • Regardless of your answer, how does (or should) knowing our eternal future with Jesus help us make worship—however we do it—a higher priority in our lives?
  • How easy is it for you to accept the idea that you’re created for God’s pleasure—and that God delights in growing you even further? Explain.

Leaders: Encourage group members to read through Revelation 7:9–8:3 as many times as they need to, in order to get the picture here. Then, move on to the instructions in the next paragraph. Ask everyone to be totally silent for the next five minutes, imagining themselves in the midst of this passage. When five minutes are up, have everyone get back into their subgroups. Give everyone fifteen minutes to debrief their experience and to discuss the questions that follow. Again, give a heads-up when a few minutes remain. Ask for volunteers from each subgroup to share their answers and insights afterward.

Before you move on to the next section, spend some time worshipping God, in whatever form you’re comfortable doing it. But do something audible and visible before God—maybe even shout, cry, and fall on your face. Get ready to become a part of what you’ve just experienced in Revelation 7.

Leaders: After your discussion time, take a worship break. Take at least fifteen minutes to sing, pray, praise—whatever comes most naturally to your group. Encourage group members to be audibly and visibly expressive in their worship during this time.

Then, read Revelation 21:1–7, 21:10–22:5. Read it as many times as you need to for the images here to sink in. Then think once more about the people you’ve reflected on during the course of this retreat. Consider this: They, too, with be with you for eternity. In fact, you’re going to spend eternity with every believer who’s ever walked the earth. Then, take fifteen minutes to reflect on these questions:

  • How can remembering your destination enable you to begin living eternal life more fully right now?
  • Where is it most apparent to you that you’re not yet “one who conquers”? How can the One who has conquered help you in that battle?
  • Even more important than you: Who are the “conquered” in your life right now? Who needs joy? Healing? Comfort? A sense of God’s presence? Refreshing? A sense of their value to God? How could God use you to help bring that to them? Be specific.

 

Leaders: Get back into your subgroups, and take twenty minutes for this next section. Take turns reading this passage, twice around, and then discuss the questions that follow. Give subgroups a heads-up when a few minutes remain. Afterward, ask people to share their answers and insights. Encourage as many responses to that last question as possible, but don’t force anyone to answer.

Take at least fifteen minutes to pray in response to that last question. Ask God to build upon and expand the vision he’s begun to place upon your heart. Ask him to guide you to those people that either you can come alongside or who can come alongside you, or both, depending on your situation.

Try to have an extended time of worship between you and God to close your retreat time. Pray, sing, talk… give whatever you can give to God. When you feel you’ve done that, thank God once more for your time together, and then get back out there—because eternal life starts now.

Leaders: You can either do this section as an entire group or in your subgroups, depending on your size. If you do get into subgroups, bring everyone back together after fifteen minutes and close your prayer time together. Then, spend at least fifteen more minutes in worship. Again, encourage group members to be audibly and visibly expressive. If you need to sing or pray or anything else longer, do it. Let the Spirit do his full work in your midst, and don’t end your time together until you’re satisfied you’ve allowed that to happen fully.

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