Lay Down Your Strength: the fuller version

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Carl Simmons

Our strength—or rather, our reliance upon it—is still pride. And because of that, it must be broken. Watchman Nee, in his book Changed Into His Likeness, put it this way, “The characteristic of those who truly know God is that they have no faith in their own competence, no reliance upon themselves.” When we reach that point, then we’re truly useful to God.

Even much of the strength we think we have comes from our need to compare ourselves to others. We may be correct in thinking we’re much more gifted in a certain area or areas in comparison to others. But what is that in comparison to God? Before Him, even our strength is weakness. Until we’re willing to acknowledge that, even what little strength we have is useless to God.

On a personal level, studying the life of Abraham may have been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in terms of understanding God’s work in our lives. Over and over, you see this cycle:

a) God calls Abraham.
b) Abraham tries to do things his own way, and fails miserably.
c) Abraham finally “gets it,” relents and allows God to accomplish His will in His way, and with His timing.
d) Abraham himself begins to truly reflect God’s will.
e) God brings Abraham to a new level—and a new test.
f.) Repeat b.-e.

In the end, Abraham gets where God wants him, but in God’s way and God’s way only. Abraham was an ordinary man with an extraordinary God. So let’s take the cycle and use it to break down what’s probably the best-known example:

a) God promises Abraham a son (Genesis 15).
b) God doesn’t appear to be doing anything, so Sarah pushes Abraham to take matters into his own hands. “Here, sleep with my servant Hagar; we’ll have a son that way.” The result: A ton of family contentiousness (Genesis 16)—as well as millennia of religious contentiousness, via the birth of Ishmael, the forefather of Islam.
c) God waits 13 more years, until Ishmael’s has reached adulthood and neither Abraham nor Sarah have the human ability to bear any more children, and repeats his promise to Abraham (Genesis 17-18).
d) Oh, and Abraham also has to pray for an entire kingdom’s worth of barren women first, because he hadn’t managed to break that nasty habit of calling Sarah his sister whenever another king was around—yet another trust issue for Abraham. Imagine for a moment how it must have felt to pray for the barrenness of those women, in light of the years of waiting Abraham’s already had. But once he does, then at last God delivers on His promise (Genesis 20:17–21:1).
e) Years later, God commands Abraham to sacrifice Isaac—the very same son God had promised, and given. But now, Abraham doesn’t flinch. As a result, God spares Isaac, and makes a great nation of him and his offspring (Genesis 22).

Likewise, we often want to do God’s work, but nearly as often we don’t want to do it God’s way. We rationalize why we shouldn’t wait, or why some other way would be so much more “efficient.” But unless what we do starts with God, it’s worth nothing. We must not will to do, but will to receive, and then share what God gives us.

When we lay down our strength, we give God permission to exercise His strength through our lives. We give birth to Isaacs instead of Ishmaels. We grow fruit that lasts, not dead branches to be burned. We witness God doing something so much greater than we ever could have imagined that we have to choice but to praise Him—and rejoice in our weakness that gave Him the opportunity to work in our lives.

And when it comes right down to it—when you look at the results instead of the circumstances—what’s really the easier and more rewarding route, to give birth to an Ishmael or to an Isaac? Think about it.

 

Lay It Down Today

If you’re a reader—and since you’re reading this, I’m guessing you are—take the time to read through Genesis 15-22 (or at least Genesis 15:1-6, 16:1-6, 20:1-7, and 20:14–21:3). Don’t try to analyze it; just read the story of this part of Abraham’s life and let God speak. To help you process (and even if you don’t read through the Genesis passages), take the time today to think and pray through these questions:

• What right now has got you wondering, “Why hasn’t this happened yet?”  If your impatience were to get the better of you, what would you try to do on your own strength? In other words: What would your Ishmael look like?
• What small successes and evidences of God’s presence in your life could you focus on, while you wait for “this” to happen?

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It’s a New Day… because it HAS to be.

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Carl Simmons

I’ll try to keep this one short but personal.

Well, first of all: If you’re reading this, thanks. I hope you’ve found these postings useful, inspirational, or something positive. ‘Cause now, things are gonna change up a bit.

Over the last 10 months — particularly on Mondays and Wednesdays — you’ve been enjoying devotional reiterations of lessons from my small-group series Growing Out: From Disciples to Disciplers. And again, if you’ve enjoyed them, click that link I just posted and show Growing Out some love (or get some free review copies and tell yr friends — details, again, here).

But now I’ve exhausted that significant motherlode of content. So from here, it’s all new, baby. You’ll either find reviews of brand-new releases here, or excerpts from the work-in-progress, Lay It Down. You’ve already been seeing pieces from the latter on Fridays, and thanks for the positive feedback so far; it tells me I’m on the right track. But now it’s time to stop coasting and get serious, for any number of reasons. In short, you’ll be encouraged to lay down a whoooole lot more in the days to come.

So here we go. Stay tuned, and thanks again for all yr support. — Carl

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The Meaning of Success

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Carl Simmons

For those of you who’ve been following along: Congratulations! We’re spent an entire season of Wednesdays exploring what it means—and what it takes—to pursue a God-given vision. And I hope that, in the process, you’ve gained a deeper understanding of how God’s working in your life to accomplish that vision.

But this isn’t the end of our journey. It’s really only the beginning. So let’s begin to dream even beyond where God’s already taken us. And so we can truly be ready for that dream to become real, let’s get grounded, too. Let’s start this dream session by considering the kind of people God dreams about us becoming, even now on earth. Reflect on this:

• Who’s the finest person you know? What makes him or her so special?
• Think about that second question again. Why do his or her qualities resonate so deeply with you? What does God say to you through that person’s life?

We’ve spent a lot of time over the last few months exploring how to “do” the vision God’s placed before each of us. But it started with us being people God was willing to take a chance on, by being available for God to work through us. Anything good God accomplishes through us starts and ends with God, and therefore any glory that comes from it is His, too.

Dallas Willard, in Renovation of the Heart, puts it this way: “To ‘grow in grace’ means to utilize more and more grace to live by, until everything we do is assisted by grace…. The greatest saints are not those who need less grace, but those who consume the most grace, who indeed are most in need of grace—those who are saturated by grace in every dimension of their being. Grace to them is like breath.”

So let’s spend one last round being in God’s Word and discovering more about Him, so we can hand all the glory over to God—where it belongs.  Read the following passages slowly. Pause between readings. Take the time to hear what God’s saying through these passages to you. Then , go on to the questions that follow:

• Psalm 92:1-5, 12-15
• 2 Corinthians 3:7-13, 16-18
• Ephesians 1:9-11
• Philippians 2:12-13
• Philippians 3:10-14
• Hebrews 13:6-7, 14-16
• 1 John 2:28–3:3
• Revelation 4:1-11

• Which of these passages speaks the loudest to you right now? Why?
• 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?
• Think again about these passages, and the people in your lives you shared about earlier. How can we experience God’s pleasure more and more?

“Life in concert with God—ultimately that is what we are practicing for,” says pastor Robert Gelinas in Finding the Groove. So let’s begin to envision that, and get practicing.

There’s a scene in the movie Field of Dreams that just kills me, and which speaks to how big, yet how personal, God’s vision for us is. Let’s watch it now (it’s a long one).  Then think about this:

• As you finish this season—and prepare for the next season God has in store for you—who in this scene do you most feel like right now? Why?
• Think about Shoeless Joe’s comment, “No, Ray, it was you.” How has God already touched you through this vision in ways you couldn’t have imagined a few months earlier?
• There’s really only one question left: What do you think might be next?

Right now, just open your mouth and glorify God for everything He’s done, and for everything He has yet to do but will. And here’s my benediction to you, as you do so:

May you fully realize who God has created you to be, and become those people.
May you reveal God’s Spirit to everyone who sees your life.
May the love of Jesus spread from you to everyone you know—and beyond.
May God use you to transform and renew your world, as he has transformed and renewed you.
May your joy in Jesus be so great that nothing can contain it, and so it flows over everyone God puts in your path.
And to God be all the glory. Amen.

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Where Do We Go From Here?

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Carl Simmons

“Here’s a test to see if your mission in life is finished—if you’re still alive, it’s not.”
—A.W. Tozer

Over the last few months of Mondays, we’ve explored gifts, talents, and passions—the hands and hearts God has given each of us. Today addresses the big question, “Now what?” So let’s reflect on how God got us to this point, and what we’ll need to go any further.

Last Monday we closed with a picture of the early church in Acts 2—one which often seems more like a dream than a reality. So this week, let’s look at a different snapshot of a very similar scene—one that might give us a better idea of how God could actually use us to achieve to change the world around us, no matter how impossible that looks to us right now. As you read, put yourself in this scene. Don’t worry about hostile religious leaders or the fact that you’re not Peter. Let’s not forget that Peter wasn’t always the person we find in this passage either.

Whatever’s stopping you from putting yourself in this scene, block it out of your head. Again, we’ve spent an entire quarter focusing on the gifts, the passions, and the heart God’s given each of you, so let’s have a little fun envisioning this. Where would you be in this scene? How could God have changed you from an observer to a participant here?

And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among menby which we must be saved.”

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition….

When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

   “‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
   and the peoples plot in vain?
   The kings of the earth set themselves,
   and the rulers were gathered together,
   against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet (Acts 4:7-14, 23-37, ESV).

So let’s think about what God created in this scene, and about God might want to create with each of us:

• Sticking to what’s actually in God’s Word here, what gifts and passions did you see play out during this scene? Name as many things as you can.
• Now let’s shift back to our reflection time. How did you see God using the gifts and passions he’s given you in this scene?
• Read the first paragraph again. How does Peter’s reply answer your own doubts about being able to do what God might want you to do?

Take some real time to reflect on the questions that follow. As you do, don’t approach this as if you need to have it all worked out. God doesn’t expect that—and besides, even if you think you’ve got it worked out, God knows His plans better than you do. Simply capture as best as you can where you sense God’s leading right now, and what you think the next steps could look like.

• How might my gifts and passions might work together to serve God?
• What’s the most important thing God’s been showing you recently?
• Based on your last answer, what’s the next step God you believe God’s leading you to take?
• Are you willing to prayerfully wait for God to lead you into those next steps, rather than run out ahead on your own strength (even if all your answers above were “I don’t know”)? If not, what’s holding you back?
• Do you really believe this is what God wants you to do? Are you willing to see it through even if things don’t go the way you want them to? If not, again, what’s holding you back?
• What skills or gifts do you know you lack but know you’ll need for this thing God’s put on your heart to work? Who can use their gifts to help you? Who can you learn from?
• Whose gifts complement yours? How might you also be able to help them accomplish what God’s put on their hearts?

Good work! So before moving to the end, let’s take a moment to recollect ourselves. Watch this scene from the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; you can start it at the 1:47 mark, if you like. Then, move on…

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:7-11. ESV).

Where are you thinking, “I can’t do this”? Where have you gotten so wrapped up in “I have to do this” that you can’t see the people right alongside you who want to help? Where can’t see you see far enough to the end to believe God will finish the job he’s started in you? What’s the good that’s worth fighting for that you need God to renew in your own heart, so you can keep fighting for it? Take all of it to prayer now. I’ll even get you started…

Lord, we thank you for giving us your life—for breaking through the darkness in our lives with Your light. There’s nothing more important than that. And because of what You’ve done in our lives, please use our lives to bring glory to you, and to reveal Your power and goodness to a world that desperately needs to see it.

Help each of us to see how unique we are to You, and to see what You want to accomplish through each of us. Show us the gifts and passions that truly have come from You, and what You want to do with them. Show us the people we need to work with to glorify You. Give us what we lack so we can look back and see the incredible things You’ve done through us—and maybe even despite us. Open our eyes to see those who need to hear of Your love, and those who need to see it in our actions, and prepare us for that work. Give us all the hearts to allow You to work, and show us how to put our hearts together to accomplish Your will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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An Offer You Could Refuse… But Why WOULD You?

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Carl Simmons

This week’s Other Voice… is you.

Well, that’s actually up to you, but that’s the offer I’m putting on the table.

Here’s my dilemma: For the past year, my 6-study series Growing Out has been wandering the earth without a marketing team behind it (and given that it’s only been out 15-19 months, depending on the book, that ain’t good). So I’m taking one more shot at helping it to be heard.

My solution: Again, that’d be you. Here’s how it works:

1) Read over the series description, here.
2) Write me at carl.simmons@comcast.net. Tell me which one study y’r most interested in, and give me an address to send it to, and I’ll send it (a $14.99 value!).
3) Write a review of 200 words or better, then post it to yr blog and at least one other commercial site (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, christianbook.com, etc.).
4) Then, let me know you did, and I’ll push your review out to FB, Twitter, etc. Cross-promotion helps all of us. 🙂
5) If you want to review more books in the series, I’ll be happy to send more later on, but funds are at a premium right now. So get the first review done first, then we’ll talk.

The reality is, the most likely way any word will travel from this point forward is word-of-mouth. Therefore, I’m asking you to open your virtual mouths.  If this blog, this series, or the passion for discipleship itself, has moved you at all, help me out.

I know God can do anything, and that the creation of this series was not for nothing. Too many things happened along the way that only could’ve been God’s hand at work. But I also know that God moves the hearts of people to see His work accomplished. So I’m putting this request out there. This is too important. I wouldn’t’ve written 1,100 pages if I didn’t feel it was that important.

And to be honest, I have yet to see another small-group study on the market that addresses this question: How do you take what God’s already revealed to you, turn around, and help someone else walk through those same issues, rather than stamping them with a “saved” sticker and leaving them to drown?

Put simply, this is where the American church has failed miserably. People get plateaued or stuck, and leave, because a critical point has been overlooked: Do you see those people coming in the door and/or just coming to Christ? THEY NEED YOU. And guess what? You need them, too—more than you know.

So in my own small way, I’d like to help address this gaping problem in the church. And in your own small way, I’d like you to help. So drop me a line and tell me which study you’d like to check out. Thanks in advance.

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So, How Are YOU Doing?

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Carl Simmons

We’ve spent the last few Wednesdays looking at various challenges we’ll face in walking out the vision God’s given us for ministry, and our reactions to those challenges. But even when we don’t run into major issues, we can still find ourselves running on empty just from the work itself. And that’s going to affect how well we live out God’s call on our lives—and God’s call is on every area of our lives.

As J. Oswald Sanders observes in Spiritual Leadership, “If a Christian is not willing to rise early and work later, to expend greater effort in diligent study and faithful work, that person will not change a generation. Fatigue is the price of leadership. Mediocrity is the result of never getting tired.” Therefore, if we’re truly engaged in God’s work, we constantly need God’s strength and wisdom in order to fulfill that work. So today, we’re going to work on becoming more proactive in pursuing God, so we’re relying on Him when new challenges hit.

So let’s tab up, and read read 1 Kings 18:36–19:18. Then think about this:

• How would you explain the dramatic shift(s) in Elijah’s behavior here?
• What things does God provide Elijah throughout the course of this passage? Name as many as you can.
• When have you “hit the wall” like Elijah did here? If God had asked you at that time “Why are you here?” (1 Kings 19:9), how would you have answered?
• How did God restore you? What did God teach you from that experience?

We may feel, like Elijah, that we’ve done everything God’s asked. We might have even seen great victories like Elijah had. Nonetheless, getting those things done takes something out of us, and suddenly we find ourselves incapable of dealing with the next challenge. Even if others might be able to look at us and say, “What’s your problem? Look at how well you’re doing!” we may still feel like Elijah did—alone, abandoned, like no one else understands what we’re dealing with. Even when God’s clearly with us. And God always is with us.

“[T]hose who are looking to us for spiritual sustenance need us first and foremost to be spiritual seekers ourselves,” says Ruth Haley Barton in Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. “They need us to keep searching for the bread of life that feeds our own souls so that we can guide them to places of sustenance for their own souls.” So let’s step back and explore how we can remain, rediscover, reconnect, and be renewed by God’s presence and power, and where we might need that most right now.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2, ESV).

• When do you find it easier to try harder, or “be conformed to this world,” to get things done, than to be “a living sacrifice”?
• What would God’s “good and acceptable and perfect” will look like in those situations? (And if your answer’s “I don’t know,” what do you need to change in your thinking to find out?)
• Where do you find yourself overextended (or in danger) in either your ministry or your personal life right now? How can that situation be transformed so it’s fully in God’s hands, rather than yours?
• How can you invite God to continue to transform and renew the way you think in those areas, so this isn’t a “quick fix” but a new way you’ll do things from now on?

So go forth and do… or don’t do. But “do” it with a sense of pursuing God’s “good and acceptable and perfect” will. And may you, and your ministry, be transformed as you “do” so.

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The Importance of Being You

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Carl Simmons

Since we’re only a little removed from Christmastime, let’s open with a scene from the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Cue it up to 1:32:18, where George Bailey says, “I’m in trouble, Mr. Potter. I need help,” and play it until 1:35:11, when Potter’s on the phone saying, “Bill? This is Potter.” Got that? (BTW, keep the tab open when you’re done; you’ll come back to this later.)

Now, I’d like you to close your eyes, and think about a time you went through a crisis or an emergency. For some of you, that might right now. Some of you may need to reach back further, but get that situation in your head. Remember the details of it, the emotions you experienced, the conflicting thoughts you had—or maybe just the same thought you had over and over. Let that roll around in your head before reading any further….

Now, let’s bring that situation into the present (for those of us not already there):

• Think about this question: Who would you call right now, if you were going through that situation?
• Who did you think of, and why?
• If you didn’t mention someone in your church or small group, why not?

No matter how gifted we might be, no matter how strong we think we are (or how strong we think we have to be), we all hit places in our life where we can’t do it alone.

And the fact of the matter is: God never intended us to do it alone.

Of course, God is always with us, and sometimes God is the only one we can turn to. And He’ll use those times to bring us deeper into relationship with Him. Nonetheless, from the very beginning, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). God created us not only to find our fulfillment in Him, but to share the life He’s given us with others—to develop spiritual friendships with those we can love and trust, where everything’s on the table, and together we can bring those things to God.

If you already have friendships like that, you know how precious and rare they truly are. And as we find those people who shine Jesus’ grace into our lives, and learn how to become those people to them, God helps us discover how to become those people to others as well. As we develop real spiritual friendships—as walk alongside other true disciples of Jesus—God turns us into disciplers. There are very few experiences you’ll ever have on this earth that equal that.

So tab up, read the following passages, then reflect on the questions afterward:

• Proverbs 27:5-6, 9-10, 17
• 1 Corinthians 16:13-18
• Hebrews 3:12-14
• James 5:16
• 1 John 1:6-7

• What differences do you see between how the Bible defines friendship and how we often define it? Where does God’s definition of friendship look like ours?
• Think of a relationship where you wish God played a bigger role, even (or especially) if you’re already close to that person. How can  you invite God deeper into that relationship?

So far, we’ve looked at spiritual friendships mostly from a one-on-one or smaller-group perspective so far today, but we shouldn’t stop there. Let’s dream a little about what God might want to do. Watch another scene from It’s a Wonderful Life. Start at 2:04:59, when Mary says, “Come on, George, come on downstairs,” and play it through to 2:08:51, when George says, “That’s a Christmas present from a very dear friend of mine.” (By all means, play all the stuff in between our two scenes for another illustration of friendship.) Then, when you’ve wiped the tears away yet again, read the following and reflect:

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:44-47, ESV).

• What are some things we can accomplish as a larger group of friends, brothers, and sisters in Jesus that we can’t do with only one or two other friends?
• If you knew you had the support, what things would you attempt for Jesus—or help someone else attempt—that you know you can’t do on your own?
• Be honest: What stands in the way of your trying? And what’s your first step toward doing something about it?

Thank God for the friends he’s given you both inside and outside of church, and ask for God’s help in seeing how you can put Jesus at the center of each of those relationships.

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Lay Down Your Baggage: a small-group session

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Carl Simmons

For our purposes today, I’ve edited this so you won’t need to read through the devotionals that go with this study. Should you want to read them anyway, they’ll be in bits and pieces under the following names:

Lay Down What’s Done
Lay Down Your Hurt
Lay Down Your Bitterness
Lay Down Your Addiction
Lay Down Your Idols

So have at it. 🙂

**********

For this session, you’ll need….
• a large suitcase
• a variety of items—at least one per person. Include a Bible, as well as several of the following:

  • work-related items, such as a stapler or even a laptop computer
  • family-related items, such as a photo album
  • items representing personal interests, such as a football, book, backpack, musical instrument or baking pan. The heavier the item, the better—but make sure it fits in your suitcase.

Find an area where you can spread out all your items (and your group members, once this activity starts). Put all your items all out before your group arrives.

Laying Down Your Day (20 minutes)

Take your group member to the area where you’ve placed all the items from your supply list above.

The items here are meant to represent different interests and priorities each of you have—God, work, family, hobbies. So let’s take turns here. Grab an item that represents an interest or priority of yours, and place it inside the suitcase.

Let everyone take a turn loading items into the suitcase. If you have more than one item per person, let everyone have another turn. Load your suitcase up, but be sure you can close it. Once your suitcase is fully packed, say something like, Let’s see how easy it is to carry all this stuff from our lives around.

Take about 10 seconds to pick up and hold your suitcase, and then pass it on to the next person to hold. Let everyone have a turn—and don’t let your suitcase hit the floor until everyone’s had a turn. Afterward, sit back down and discuss these questions:

1. We’ve spent a lot of time this week looking at our need to “lay down our baggage.” Even though we loaded it with mostly good things, how is our suitcase like the baggage you’re carrying in your life right now?

2. How relieved were you to hand your baggage to someone else? What does that tell you about the need to let go—and the importance of helping others to let go?

3. What does it also tell you about the dangers of putting all our baggage on others?

We all have our “stuff.” Some of it—like the items in our suitcase—isn’t all bad, but has taken too much priority in our lives. But as we’ve read this week, we still carry around a lot of baggage from our past, and while we may have moved on from it we’ve never really let go of it. We still carry it around, and it still holds us back from fully becoming who we were meant to be in Christ. So let’s dig deeper into this.

Laying Down the Word (25 minutes)

Have someone read the following excerpt from Day 1. Then, discuss the question that follows.

“Our experiences, to a large degree, have made us who we are. But we are more than our experiences, let alone our negative ones. There’s a life in Christ waiting for us that goes beyond what we would limit ourselves to. ‘Laying down what’s done’ doesn’t mean we forget the things in our past. And it certainly doesn’t mean we stop feeling anything when they come to mind, although hopefully we learn to move on more quickly. It does mean that we no longer allow ourselves to own those things, and that we no longer allow them to own us.”

4. In what ways do you still find yourself defined by the negative experiences in your past? What positive things have nonetheless come out of those experiences?

Have someone read the following excerpt from Day 3. Then, discuss the questions that follow.

“When we refuse to forgive, we keep others in bondage. Jesus says it: ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven’ (Matthew 18:18). Forgiveness, or the lack thereof, has that kind of power. By believing ourselves someone who needs—deserves—to be repaid for the wrongs done to us, we become, in a very real sense, spiritual slave owners. We accuse others of evil, then, instead of freeing them from it, leave them trapped in it. Are those the kind of people we want to be?…

“In short: You don’t get to hold onto your hurt. You don’t get to allow it to fester into bitterness. You don’t get to hold it over their heads. Let Me handle it. You, lay it down.”

5. How does our unforgiveness reveal a lack of trust in God?

6. How does giving your hurts and bitterness over to God release both you and those who’ve wronged you from the bondage of unforgiveness? Share a personal example, if you can.

Have a volunteer read the following excerpt from Day 4, and then have another volunteer read Hebrews 2:14-15, 18. Discuss the questions that follow.

“[A]ll of our addictions—all of our sin, really—is a response to the gnawing sense we have, deep down, that God doesn’t really want what best for us. That God’s will comes at His whim, and at our expense. That we, the created ones, somehow don’t owe everything we have to the Creator in the first place.

7. Whether it’s unforgiveness, caving into an addiction, or any other baggage we carry—what power do you think sin gives you, at the time you’re indulging it? Share as much as you’re comfortable.

8. How does (or should) the fact that Jesus has “been there” help free us from those sins—and to release others as well?

Laying Down Your Life (15 minutes)

Discuss:

9. What idols did you identify in your life as you read Day 5? (Review now, if necessary.) How do they connect with the baggage you’ve identified this week? In other words, how do your past hurts and your current idols feed one another?

Have a volunteer read John 5:2-15, then discuss:

10. What are some reasons that we choose not to get well? How would (or did) Jesus respond to those excuses?

11. Where are you not allowing Jesus to heal you right now—or where do you wish He would but instead you just feel stuck? In what ways might you still be resisting His healing?

Close by praying for your group—or, if you’re familiar enough with one another, pair off. Spend some time praying about your answers to question 11 (and 9 as well, if you have time). Ask God to overwhelm your lack of trust with His love, and to give you a heart that’s willing to lay down your baggage, so you’re willing to receive whatever God wants to give you in return.

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Learning to Live Out of Our Identity

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Carl Simmons

Basically, what we have here is a book about finding, and resting in, our identity in Christ,  and you can never have enough books like that out there. And for the record: We don’t.

David M. Showers. Ten Steps to a Closer Walk With God. 154p., $12.99, CreateSpace.

It’s a bit of misnomer to call it “10 steps,” as if what Showers is suggesting here was that easy or proscripted. (But marketers do consider such titles “catchy,” so there you go.) To his credit, he acknowledges this disconnect up front, and instructs the reader to take things at the pace God sets instead. Perhaps a more accurate title would be “10 Ways to Get Closer to God That We Forget Way Too Easily… or These Days, Possibly Haven’t Even Been Told.”

In fact, the first two “steps” here—giving up control and learning to trust—are arguably the hardest, especially for a self-proclaimed “recovering control freak” such as Showers (and myself, for that matter). They’re probably also the most important and all-pervasive (although the closing “step”—reverence—is right up there). From those launching points of control and trust, however, the fruit discussed later on in the book—forgiveness, humility, faith, joy, availability to others, a deeper sense of stewardship—fall into place pretty readily.

Each chapter concludes with a personal prayer of commitment and an action point—which, more times than not, consists of waiting on God until He gives a specific direction on how to manifest what you’ve just learned in your life. Which again, is pretty sensible advice we don’t get often enough.

The strengths of this book comes from 1) Showers’ own experiences in drawing closer to God (for example, learning the importance of fellowship), and in rephrasing those experiences in ways that anybody picking up the book can immediately get and apply; and 2) constantly redirecting us back into the Word and prayer. Showers’ tone here is totally accessible—anyone should be able to pick this up and get what he’s saying.

In short, this fairly concise book is probably a good choice for that person who’s starting to realize that the Christian life isn’t just something that happens after they die. Use it to help them to see and take those first “steps” to a daily life with Jesus—in this life.

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You’re WHAT?

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Carl Simmons

Over the course of this Wednesday series on developing a God-given vision, we’ve talked about how to deal with setbacks and failures. We’ve also talked about how to deal when nothing much is happening at all. Now, we’re going to talk about maybe the most painful issue of all when walking out the vision God’s given us.

And it’s this: There will come a time when team members you’ve worked with and gotten close to will drop out… and for any number of reasons. The commitment might be too much for them or their families. They might move. God might call them to something else. They might not like the direction things are headed. And yes, they might not like the leadership—which might include you.

No matter why it happens—and again, it will—we need to remember a few things: 1) We should always want God’s best for others, no matter how it affects us; at the same time, 2) what others decide doesn’t change what God’s called us to; and thus, 3) we need to allow God to deal with each person’s decision, and remain obedient to what God’s called us to. So let’s work through this together, and learn how to deal with the issues we’ll have when others leave.

Whether it’s ministry or any other kind of work, turnover usually doesn’t happen in isolation. It affects everyone, and might raise issues you weren’t even aware of before. Therefore, we’ll often experience aftershocks from the departure of even one person, and we’ll need to deal with it as a team. Our first case study is a good example of this (roll with the first several verses—it’s context):

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem….

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches (Acts 13:4-13, 15:36-41, ESV).

• We can’t know for sure, but what are some reasons John Mark might have chosen to leave Paul and Barnabas, based on what you’ve just read?
• Based on these two passages, would you have sided with Paul or Barnabas? Why? Come up with as many reasons for both sides as you can.
• Now, what do your two lists show you about how one person’s departure can affect an entire group?
• How can we guard against our differences becoming too big to get past?

Fortunately, our story doesn’t end there:

Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him) (Colossians, 4:10, ESV).

Do your best to come to me soon. For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them! (2 Timothy 4:9-16, ESV, emphasis added).

…and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers (Philemon 1:24, ESV)

• What does Paul say about John Mark in these passages? What must have changed?
• What other people are named in these passages, and how does Paul describe their departures?
• How do we keep going when others leave our team—even if they do kick us on their way out?

It’s easy to think of worst-case scenarios like Demas and Alexander, or even Paul’s painful split with Barnabas. The truth is, most of the people in our lives will be more like a John Mark or a Titus. They just move on, or in and out of our lives, for reasons that aren’t personal, even though the sting we feel when they leave is still real and legitimate.

We can never know for sure what God wants to do with those he brings into, or allows to leave, our lives. The people we become closest to can nonetheless be called to other things. And when they leave, it will hurt, even when we’re happy for them. If it doesn’t hurt, we’re not human. But we have to allow God to do his work in each person’s life—including ours. So let’s do some moving-on of our own.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,  and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil” (John 6:60-70, ESV).

Let’s face it, Jesus understands being abandoned better than anyone. This passage is just one example. Some time later, everyone else—including Peter, despite his beautiful words here—would abandon Jesus in his time of deepest need. And yet, he chose each of them—even “a devil” who he’d allow to keep following him until the day he betrayed him.

Therefore, we shouldn’t really be surprised by anything that happens to us as we choose to follow Jesus’ leading. But that doesn’t mean we won’t be surprised, or upset, when others we’d depended on and grown close to choose to leave, even for the best of reasons. So let’s see what Jesus wants to teach us through His own experience.

• What different emotions and approaches do you hear in Jesus’ words to Peter and the other disciples? What makes each of his responses appropriate?
• How does focusing on those who stick with us help us not to be overwhelmed by those who don’t?
• How are you dealing with this issue right now—whether it’s a recent issue or one from your past that you’ve never quite gotten over?

Thank God for the faithfulness of each person in your group God has you with right now. Ask God to help each of you past the hurts that come through others leaving or not following through, whether it’s recent or something in the past that group members are still dealing with. And be there for your group—while it is still called today.

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