Mother’s Day 2024: In Pursuit of Goodness

Posted on May 12, 2024 by Jason

Here’s a picture of our crew as we celebrate Sunny today. From my observation, Mother’s Day seems to be a bit sweeter for her than usual this year. Maybe that’s because Joshua and Abby Kate came home this week after finishing up their freshman year of college. Either way, I love the smile on her face as she is surrounded by all of her babies (and puppies).

Sunny and I met when we were teenagers. It was nearly 30 years ago that we started dating. I’ve had a front row seat as that young teenager became a college student, a young wife, a compassionate educator, and then a mother to our three children. Through every transition and every season, Sunny has been steadfast in her character. When I first met Sunny, what stood out to me most was her goodness. And this has been her constant disposition throughout the decades of our life together. I have never met anyone who wants to do the right thing more than Sunny. And this pursuit of goodness is her most quintessential characteristic. (For more on this, here’s a post I wrote about Sunny’s pursuit of goodness a few years ago. I still think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever written.)

Naturally, her pursuit of goodness overflows into our lives. When someone wants to do the right thing so much, she develops high standards. Expectations are inevitably raised. Such a person expects more out of you and teaches you to expect more from yourself. And that’s a good thing. I know that my life has been transformed by Sunny’s pursuit of goodness — and I think our children would say the same thing.

Jesus says that you’ll know a tree by the fruit it bears. Sunny, the Holy Spirit has borne plenty of fruit in your life, but today we are thanking God for the goodness He produces in and through you. Your goodness prompts us toward an even deeper pursuit of goodness in our own lives. We love you and appreciate you so much.

Mother’s Day 2024

Posted in Blessings, Blogging, Family, Jesus, Marriage, Sunny | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Service

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Jason

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The word translated as “workmanship” is the Greek term poiemo. Our English word “poem” is derived from this root. It basically refers to any sort of creative composition. A good substitute word would be “masterpiece.” Those who are saved by grace through faith (see the preceding verses) make up God’s beautiful, redemptive masterpiece.

What happens after you’re saved? Do you just sit around waiting to go to heaven? No! After you’re saved, God puts a paintbrush in your hand. He calls you to participate in this same redemptive work. He says, “Here, can you paint in that corner of this redemption picture?” He calls us to participate in the ministry of reconciliation alongside of Him.

I think this passage from Ephesians 2 is the most powerful teaching in the Bible about Christian service. If God has redeemed you in Christ, you are a new creation, created to do good works. And these good works were prepared for us “in advance.” Many scholars take this to mean that God prepared these works for us from the beginning. Before you were even created, God “set the table” in advance for the good works to which He is calling you.

What are those good works?

For me, those good works include preaching and teaching. I believe that before I was even created, God intended for me to preach these sermons and teach these lessons. I hope that doesn’t come across the wrong way. I’m just saying that’s part of what it is for me. What is it for you? What is the good work He prepared in advance for you?

There is a ministry to which God is calling you.

When people ask what I do for a living, I usually say, “I’m a minister.” And I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve this church in this capacity. But it is unfortunate that we’ve taken to using the term “minister” in such a narrow way. The world really applies to all of us, not just those who happen to be employed at the church.

In 1 Peter 2:9, Simon Peter says that all believers have become part of God’s royal priesthood. Old Testament priests were ministers. They served God and served others. And Simon Peter makes this connection to our identity. We are a royal priesthood, serving the King and serving the world. We have been enlisted int he ministry of the Lord.

So what is your ministry? Maybe it’s teaching Sunday school to a room full of four-year-olds. Maybe it’s serving the homeless in your community. Maybe it’s praying for those who do not yet know Jesus. Maybe it’s encouraging the elders and deacons in your church. Maybe it’s serving as a Huddle Leader to the 10th graders. It could be staying at home and raising your babies in the Lord or it could be living out the principles of the Kingdom in the marketplace.

Ministry is the work of all of us, not just a few of us.

If you know your ministry, praise God. Continue to follow His lead as you pursue the good works He prepared in advance for you.

But if you don’t, let me suggest that you pray for God to bring you an opportunity to serve someone this week. Ask God to show you where He wants you to minister. And then pray for open eyes and an open heart. I have a feeling God will show you some way to minister to others either in your home or in your place of work or at school.

Posted in Church, Discipleship, Faith, God, Jesus, Ministry, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Training, Not Trying

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Jason

To some people, the word “discipline” can be a bit off-putting. It can sound harsh, a bit demanding. Even worse than that, talking about spiritual disciplines has the potential to induce a lot of guilt. Most Christians already feel like they need to be praying more, they don’t read their Bibles enough. And in this series, we’ve come along and talked about a host of other spiritual disciplines, things like generosity and solitude and so on. And some might be thinking, “Great, now I realize that I’m not doing enough in all of these other areas, too. Thanks, Jason.”

That’s why it’s important to say this about the spiritual disciplines: the disciplines aren’t really about trying harder. Many of us are trying as hard as we can anyway. The problem with the “trying harder” mentality is that it puts the focus on human effort. It keeps the focus on me and what I’m doing (or not doing). And that’s the wrong point of emphasis. These spiritual disciplines are practices God uses to grow our souls — with the proper emphasis being on what God is doing, not on what I am doing.

I’ve benefitted from something I heard John Ortberg say: “The spiritual disciplines are not about trying, they’re about training.” It’s vitally important that we shift away from a “trying harder” mentality toward a “training” mentality.

Here is a passage that emphasizes this point:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Paul uses this example of athletes running in a race. If you’re going to compete in a race, do you have to try hard? Well, yes, I suppose that’s a given. But if you just get up off of your couch and walk to the starting line of the Rocket City Marathon, it doesn’t matter how hard you try — you’re not going to finish the race. Trying hard will only take you so far. You have to train.

That’s the point Paul is emphasizing in this text — and that’s where the spiritual disciplines come in. Look again at v25: “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it [go into strict training] to get a crown that will not last; but we do it [go into strict training] to get a crown that will last forever.” Paul pictures the spiritual life as a race with an eternal goal, an everlasting crown. And just as physical training is required for a physical race, our spiritual race requires spiritual training.

Athletes follow the training regimen set out by their coaches as they prepare for the grind of a physical race. In like fashion, God uses these spiritual practices (the spiritual disciplines) as part of our training. He “coaches” us in these spiritual practices. We could even say that the spiritual disciplines are the way that God (the coach) runs His practices.

Is that a helpful way to think of the disciplines?

When I think of the disciplines as simply trying harder, that keeps the focus on me — as if it’s all about human effort. “Just try harder and you’ll grow your spiritual life.” If it only worked that way.

The better way of thinking about this is to see the spiritual disciplines as training — as practices God uses to grow us at the soul level.

Paul gives further example of this in verses 26-27: “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

Training for our spiritual race includes certain physical elements. Paul says he beats his body to make it his slave, to gain mastery over his body. Paul is clearly saying that the spiritual race requires a certain amount of bodily discipline.

  • One of the great temptations in life is to allow your body to become your master. This happens when bodily desires become the controlling principle of your life. The body will seek to call the shots if you let it.
  • Since the so called “Sexual Revolution” in the 1960s, people have elevated their sexual desires to the highest place, giving bodily desire complete mastery over their identities.
  • For thousands of years, sexual activity was understood just as that: as activity, as behavior. But in our day, a person’s sexuality has become his / her identity. This categorical shift is one of the core ideas behind the LGBTQ movement. To speak out against sinful behavior has become — at least according to the common way of thinking today — an assault on this person’s whole identity.
  • But the Bible is clear that the body isn’t intended to be your master. The great spiritual struggle is to gain mastery over the body and its desires, to make it your slave as Paul says.
  • And certainly there are plenty of applications beyond sexuality. You could make this same point in terms of gluttony or drunkenness or some other form of addiction. The body is not meant to be your master.

I think Dallas Willard has a helpful way of thinking of the spiritual disciplines. He groups them into two categories: disciplines of engagement (study, service, prayer, etc.) and disciplines of abstinence (fasting, solitude, etc.). Basically, it’s a way of thinking of the disciplines in terms of “things we do” and “things we don’t do” for a period of time. And these disciplines of abstinence are particularly helpful in gaining mastery over the body and its appetites.

God uses these disciplines as training while He grows our souls.

Posted in Culture, Devotional, Discipleship, Exercise, Faith, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Obedience, Quotes, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines, Theology | Leave a comment

The Four “I’s” of Bible Study

Posted on May 3, 2024 by Jason

Here is a simple little Bible study method I’ve developed over the years. You need a sheet of paper (best to do this in a journal so you can look back and reflect later). I like to draw two lines: one horizontal and one vertical, dividing the page into quadrants. And at the head of each quadrant, I write the following words:

  1. Inspire
  2. Inquire
  3. Irritate
  4. Implement

Inspire

As you’re reading, take note of anything that really inspires you and write it down in this quadrant. “What resonates? What stands out?” These are the first questions I always ask when I am reading Scripture — or when I’m leading a Bible study. These questions give good information. There is likely something in the text that will resonate with your heart and soul. Pay attention to that. Look for some nugget of information, some picture, some part of the parable that really stands out to you and write it in this first quadrant.

Inquire

Serious Bible study focuses on more than the parts of Scripture that resonate with us. Bible study should also raise a few questions for us as we read. “Why is Moses saying this? What is Paul’s point? What in the world is ‘propitiation’?” This is where we inquire as we study. What questions do you have? What do you find confusing? What doesn’t make sense? Pay attention to those questions. The Holy Spirit is probably at work there to lead you to study something at a much deeper level. Even Simon Peter was confused by some of the things Paul wrote (2 Peter 3:15-16). It’s foolish to think that we won’t have a similar experience when we engage the text.

Irritate

This one requires us to be really honest. Yes, some of the things we read in the Bible will irritate us. We’ll be challenged by some of the things we read. So let’s name those things by writing them in this third quadrant. If we really believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then we ought to expect there to be some things in there that challenge us, that call into question our views and our perspectives. We shouldn’t always expect God to agree with us. It’s been said that God likes to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. That’s definitely true when it comes to Bible study.

Implement

This is the final question, perhaps the most important one. What changes do I need to make after reading this text? How can I implement this passage into my life? Take some time and write your responses in this final quadrant. I really appreciate Eugene Peterson’s perspective on this. Speaking about the Bible, he says, “Everything in here is meant to be lived.” And I love that. If we’re not careful, we might lose sight of this. There are plenty of academics who have studied the Bible at a high level as a piece of literature. They can tell you all the in’s and out’s of this Greek verb and that Hebrew word. But they’ve lost sight of the fact that these Scriptures are intended for life.

Maybe this little Bible study method would be a help to you as you read.

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Bible Study as a Spiritual Discipline

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Jason

Somebody once said to me, “I’m really pressed for time. I’m super busy but I want to read my Bible. How can I study the Bible quickly?”

“You can’t,” I said.

Like anything else worth doing, Bible study takes time. You’re going to have to set aside some time in order to study well. We can’t just rush through and move our eyeballs over the page and hope to experience spiritual growth. Studying takes time.

That means Bible study requires routine and reflection — a dedicated time and place; and a way of capturing your thoughts. Here are some practical tips that help me:

  • For me, the morning is my best time for studying. That’s when I do my prep work for sermons, teaching, etc. But the evenings are good time for me to read “for me” — just to study for devotional time.
  • It also helps me to put my phone in “Do Not Disturb” mode. Headphones are also a must. I have some go-to instrumental playlists that I use exclusively for studying.
  • I need a well lit space in order to study. I usually take my Moleskine journal with me. That way I have some method of writing down my questions, my thoughts, my observations, etc.
Posted in Faith, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Study

Posted on April 29, 2024 by Jason

Psalm 119:11

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

One of the ways God grows our souls is through study — specifically Bible study. Regular engagement with Scripture is a vital part of our spiritual lives.

Here are a few principles I’ve culled together from different sources — principles for reading Scripture.

Seven principles for reading Scripture:

  1. The Bible is the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. The Scriptures are the revelation of God to mankind. God is the source of Scripture; it is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17). This is the source of Scripture’s authority in our lives. I really think this is where we will have to make our stand moving forward. We submit to the authority of God’s Word rather than contorting it to match what our culture says. In fact, we should expect the living and holy God to say things that are radically contrary to the messages we hear elsewhere.
  2. Let scripture interpret scripture. The Bible is a literary whole; no part of the Bible may be interpreted so as to contradict another part. We should not rush too quickly to consult commentaries and other resources as we study. Rather, we should let the Bible interpret itself.
  3. Read for context. Every text has a context and context always matters. Don’t rush to application too quickly. Instead of immediately asking, “What does this mean to me?” we would do better to ask, “What did this mean to the original reader?” This is the best guard against eisegesis (reading one’s presuppositions and opinions onto a biblical text).
  4. Read with an eye toward “matters of first importance” (1 Cor. 15). Not all passages are to be weighted equally. For example, the words of counsel Job receives from his friends are patently false in some places. Yet, those words are “in the Bible.” But we should not put them on par with other sections of scripture where God or Jesus is speaking truth.
  5. Read with an eye toward genre. It has been said that the Bible is a library. It is filled with poetry, narrative, proverbs, prophecy, apocalyptic, epistles, and songs. Different genres are to be read on their own terms. It is always good to know which part of the library you’re in.
  6. Read with an eye toward the plain sense of the text. This is the “golden rule” of biblical interpretation: “When the plain sense of the scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense.” God’s truth rarely requires a special code to understand. (Except maybe Revelation.) God intends for His Word to be accessible. Scholars and preachers and teachers may aid in our interpretation, but they are not necessary for our understanding. As a general rule, the simplest interpretation is to be preferred.
  7. Read with an eye toward Good News. I favor the most redemptive reading possible in light of the awesome redemption story of Jesus Christ, a man who wouldn’t stay in the tomb. We would do well to remember that the Scriptures testify about Jesus (John 5:39). This is incredibly helpful to me. I’m always going to favor the interpretation that most aligns with the idea of good news, which is my own personal safeguard against the extremes of legalism and permissiveness.

I love what the young boy Samuel says in 1 Samuel 3:10, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” I think this should be our prayer as we open our Bibles. We should be asking God to speak and asking for the humility to listen — to truly heed His Word.

Posted in Books, Church, Culture, Faith, God, Gospel, Jesus, Scripture | Leave a comment

He Does Not Keep Silence

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Jason

Psalm 50:1-6

The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.

He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

“Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”

The heavens declare his righteousness; for God himself is judge!

The Psalmist declares that our God does not stay silent.

He speaks.

He speaks through creation, leaving us without excuse as we perceive His handiwork in the created order (Romans 1). We see the declaration of His goodness and His care all around us.

He speaks through the power of His word, through the prophets and the psalmists, in all these scriptures and songs and stories.

Most of all, He speaks to us through His only begotten Son, the Living Word at work in the written word, at work in our hearts.

And we enter into silence in the confidence that He speaks to us still.

He is no worthless idol with nothing to say.

He is the Living God.

As Habakkuk declared, The Lord is in His holy temple; therefore, let all the earth keep silence before Him.

Because our God does not keep silence.

He has something to say.

Of course, we may not always like what we hear when He speaks. The Psalmist declares that He is also the judge. And judges render rulings. No doubt, His rulings are fair and just. But the Judge might just upset the world I’ve created for myself. Nevertheless, He has something to say.

May we be found faithful when the Lord our God speaks.

And if we are not, may we heed His call and be obedient to His word.

For our God does not keep silent.

Posted in Culture, Discipleship, Eschatology, Faith, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Obedience, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Silence

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Jason

Miguel de Molinos was a Spanish thinker and writer in the 1600s. He wrote about three kinds of silence: the silence of words, the silence of desires, and the silence of thoughts. These silences are unique and yet they are also connected. There is a progression to these silences. Each one leads to the next.

When you quiet the external voices around you, entering into a period of fasting from words and sound, a funny thing happens: you begin to notice all of this noise on the inside. You begin to notice all of the noise within you related to your desires. And that can be an overwhelming amount of noise. Those desires feed a noise of thought that borders on relentless. Even when we are quiet externally, we notice the cacophony of our internal noise.

If you’ve been practicing silence this week, you’ve likely noticed this.

Madame Guyon was a spiritual writer who lived during this same period of time. She wrote, “Outward silence develops inward silence. It is impossible to live in your inmost being where Christ lives without loving silence.”

We are right to begin by silencing our words. Only then can we attend to silencing our desires and silencing our thoughts. But this requires help from the Lord.

This is how we reach a place of obedience to the command of Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Most Christians are familiar with this verse, although we appropriate it in an odd way. It calls to mind moments of tranquility. We think this is a verse for morning coffee on the back deck of the chalet we’ve secured for a mountain getaway with our family. But the immediate context is warfare. The preceding verse states, He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.

The idea here is that we can stop all of our striving, all of our pushing and warring and bickering and battling. The phrase “be still” has a connotation in Hebrew of “release, letting go, going limp.” This is a text about conflict. And all our conflict can be released in the knowledge that God is sovereign. We can trust, as the verse says, that He WILL be exalted.

THIS is what it means to be still and know that He is God.

In this way, this verse is about silence — or more pointedly, about all the noise warring within us.

Outward silence is the first step toward inner quietude.

This makes silence a vital discipline. It keeps us living out of the center, living out of the sanctuary of the heart where the word of Christ dwells richly within us.

We often use our words to wield control. We use language to influence outcomes, to produce results, to persuade. (It’s not lost on me that I’m doing this even as I write these words.) But in silence, we give up that control. We release. Such silence is predicated on the conviction of Habakkuk 2:20, The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Being silent before the Lord puts us in the position of not being in control. We are just keeping silence before Him.

And we are giving the Lord a chance to speak.

As you enter into silence, notice what’s going on. Notice what’s going on inside of you. Notice how much internal noise you hear.

Distractions will occur. That doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong; it simply means that you’re human.

I heard a story once about a young man who was speaking to his spiritual director. He was telling the director about how often he was distracted whenever he was praying in silence. In frustration, he said, “A thousand times I was distracted!”

The spiritual director replied, “Praise God! A thousand times you returned to God!”

That’s what we do in silence: we give God our undivided attention until our attention is divided. And whenever we find that our attention has drifted away from God, we gently turn our focus back toward Him. Even if we are distracted a thousand times, a thousand times we return to God! When you notice those distractions, gently redirect your attention back to the Lord and thank Him for the grace to be able to do so.

Silence will also be awkward at first. But we notice this as well. If you notice awkwardness, gently ask yourself, “Why exactly is this awkward? Why do I feel more comfortable when the room is filled with words? What does this say about me? What does it say about my relationship with God?”

I believe the Holy Spirit has a rich time in store for you as you enter into silence before the Lord.

Posted in Faith, God, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Obedience, Prayer, Quotes, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines | Leave a comment

The Demands of Critical Social Theory (Wokism)

Posted on April 23, 2024 by Jason

I’ve been thinking about the recent spate of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses and airports and highways / bridges across the country. As always, opinions about such events are wide and varied. It seems to me that the commentary reveals the fault line of typical political discourse. Progressives laud these protests as vital forms of activism in the name of free speech with the idea that remaining silent somehow makes a person complicit in the whole affair. “Silence is Violence” signs are ubiquitous at these rallies and sit-ins. Thus, the calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

On the other hand, plenty of conservative voices have voiced opposition to this view, particularly noting how blockading public highways disrupts the lives of thousands of innocent Americans. I read a report about a number of organ donor patients in the San Francisco Bay area whose care was limited or altogether nullified because these protestors blocked the Golden Gate Bridge for hours last week. In their view, these “protests” are more like domestic forms of terrorism.

But this also reveals something much deeper than one’s political leanings. This is also the outworking of the ideology of critical social theory — known more colloquially as “being woke” — which is held with religious-like fervor in the circles of academia today. In the new world order of intersectionality, the more oppressed an individual, the greater access to truth she possesses. According to this worldview, Muslims outclass Jews in terms of oppressed identity, which is historically inaccurate but fuels the anti-colonialism you’re seeing on these college campuses. And when you adopt this worldview, full blown antisemitism is just a step away — as we’ve seen on the campus of Columbia University, for example, as Jewish students have been harassed to the point that the Orthodox rabbi on campus issued a message urging Jewish students to return home until the situation improves.

This is what the new religion of our age demands.

Posted in Culture, Israel, Politics, Social Issues, Terrorism | Leave a comment

How We Grow: Solitude and Silence

Posted on April 22, 2024 by Jason

For the past few weeks, we have been talking about the spiritual disciplines. We’re thinking about these practices God uses to grow our souls. These practices overlap and they build on one another. We began our series by talking about prayer because prayer really undergirds most of these practices. From there, we moved on to fasting because fasting is connected to several of these as well. Today, I’d like for us to spend some time thinking about the disciplines of solitude and silence.

  • Solitude is fasting from interactions with others.
  • Silence is fasting from speech.

In our hyper-connected world, solitude and silence are as vital as they have ever been.

As in all things, we look to Jesus as our model. And when we look to Jesus, we find Him practicing the discipline of solitude.

Luke 4:42-44

At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

As you can see by looking at the preceding verses, Luke is describing a moment when the ministry of Jesus is really flourishing. He is teaching in the synagogues of Galilee. He is healing people of their diseases and He is casting out demons, pushing back the borders of the enemy’s kingdom. But in the middle of all of that activity, Jesus does something strange. He seeks solitude with the Father.

  • Jesus goes to a solitary place. That word most often refers to the wilderness or the desert.
  • Jesus goes out into this quiet place, away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds. To do what? Well, we know that He spent considerable time in prayer in the wilderness. Mark adds this detail in his account of this same story.
  • But in a broader sense, Jesus went into the wilderness seeking solitude with His Father. Jesus was fasting from the presence of others as a way of prioritizing time with God. He removes Himself from those external pressures of teaching and healing and He retreats into solitude to tend to His interior life. He was simply spending time with His Heavenly Father.

This time of solitude was clearly a time of reflection — to circle back to a previous discipline, it was a time of meditation. This solo time with the Father kept Jesus grounded. It kept Him focused on His mission. When the people try to keep Jesus from leaving — they just want to keep Jesus all to themselves — He refuses them by saying, I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.

Times of solitude will keep us grounded, too. In the midst of all the daily pressures we face, solitude and silence help us keep our sanity. They keep us focused on the mission God has given us.

Years ago, Klaus Issler wrote a great little book about all of this entitled, Wasting Time with God. And that’s such a great title because it really expresses Issler’s thesis. He encourages us to seek times of solitude and silence with the Lord apart from any agenda. He talks about this idea of spending time with God in a way that reflects friendship with God.

Does that concept sound foreign to you? Is God your friend?

Years ago, when I was in college, I was a summer youth intern at my home church. That’s where I met Corey Trevathan, who would go on to be one of our youth ministers here at Mayfair. Corey and I were teaching the youth group class together one night and Corey talked about the idea of friendship with God, how Abraham was friends with God and that this was an example for us — God wants to be your friend, too. One parent approached us afterward and he was really upset that we were talking about this. He said, “God is holy and righteous. He’s the Creator, the Judge — but He is NOT my friend!” He felt that this image of God somehow detracted from God’s holiness and His “otherness.” Friendship with God sounded too ordinary.

And some of us might feel something similar this morning. Maybe there’s a little pushback you’re feeling in your heart and your soul as I’m talking about friendship with God.

But the idea of friendship with God is biblical. In fact, you find this idea in both the Old and the New Testaments.

  • Jehoshaphat prays these words in 2 Chronicles 20:7, “Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?”
  • Isaiah 41:8, But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend.
  • James 2:21-23, Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” — and he was called a friend of God.

The Bible repeatedly puts forth Abraham as a model for our faith — and Abraham was called a friend of God. That means friendship with God is possible for us as well.

One key component of friendship is spending time together. And that’s the significance of solitude and silence. These are ways of prioritizing our time with God, our friend.

For many of us, I think our concepts of efficiency and productivity get in the way of spending time with God. Even the title of Issler’s book is difficult for some people: wasting time with God? Number one, how is time spent with God “wasting time?” Moreover, many of us loathe the idea of wasting time. I was taught from an early age NOT to waste time, but to be really intentional about how I use my time. Now we turn around and talk about wasting time? For many of us, that just sounds wrong.

Maybe it’s helpful to instead think about spending time with God apart from any agenda. Spending unhurried time with God. We’re not talking about spending time with God in prayer — at least not the kinds of prayers where we rattle off all the names of all the people we want God to heal. We’re not talking about spending time with God studying some passage of Scripture. We’re talking about spending time with God in leisurely friendship. It’s not time when you’re trying to make anything happen; you’re just enjoying time together. That’s what Issler is getting at with this phrase “wasting time with God.”

When I was a child, we would go over to visit my grandparents on most Sunday afternoons. My mother was one of six children and Sunday lunch was a time when many of my mother’s siblings would bring their families over to visit with my grandparents. Other than eating a meal together, there was no agenda. If you said, “What are we here to do?” you’d get a lot of strange looks. We were there to be together. No agenda apart from that.

  • If I wanted some more food, it was there in the kitchen.
  • If I wanted to watch the ball game, the TV was over in the corner — although it only picked up three or four channels.
  • If I wanted to play Rook, I could try and get in on the game my parents and grandparents were playing — good luck with that.
  • And if I got bored, I would go out and wander around my granddad’s farm. I’d climb up in the loft of the barn or take a walk in the woods.
  • When I’d come back in the house, my grandmother would have cookies or cinnamon rolls and she’d pour me a big glass of milk and we would sit at her table and she would ask me what I was learning in school.
  • Those were some of my favorite childhood memories because there was no agenda. We were all just wasting time together on Sunday afternoons.

When do you “waste time” with God?

Issler suggests a variety of different ways we can do this:

  • He suggests that you start with a few little 1-2 minute “retreats” in the middle of your day. You can do this anywhere — when you’re getting ready in the morning, when you’re driving home from work or school, at the end of the day before you go to bed. But you just give yourself a couple of minutes to stop, to breathe, and to give God your undivided attention. Most of the time when we do this, we’ll be surprised at the breathless pace at which we’ve been running. When we pause for just a minute, we find an invitation from God to slow down and enjoy His favor — not for what we’re accomplishing, but simply for who we are.
  • From there, Issler suggests finding a half hour on the weekend to go on a walk — but instead of putting your earbuds in and listening to another podcast, spend that time communing with God.
  • Or you may want to consider a spiritual retreat once a year wherein we can intentionally devote an even greater portion of time to our relationship with God.

In times of solitude, silence is vitally important.

Habakkuk 2:20

But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.

Silence is a Sabbath rest from speaking. It’s verbal fasting. We have an addiction to words and silence breaks us of this.

  • Habakkuk points out that when you worship an idol, you do all the talking — because the idol is going to say nothing. Any energy, any idea must be human created because the idol does nothing.
  • But if you worship the Living God, your first action is to shut up. Because the Living God might actually have something to say.
  • The passage says God is at home. He is in His holy temple, right where you would expect Him to be. So let all the earth keep silence before Him.

Silence is one of the ways we demonstrate our faith in God. It’s predicated on the belief that God has something to say, something to reveal that we might need to hear.

Solitude is the one time in your day when nobody will be expecting anything from you. No employees or employers with their questions and their demands. No children to feed or bathe or parent. No bills to be paid, etc. God does not make these demands on you. He simply delights in you, delights in your presence.

Do you believe that? God DELIGHTS in you. He craves time with you.

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.

Solitude is important because it grows our intimacy with the God who takes delight in us.

Henri Nouwen tells a story of these three disciples who go out into the desert to meet with a monk named Anthony. We usually refer to them as “the desert fathers.” In the early centuries of Christianity, there were many devout men and women who decided to forsake their normal lives to go and live out in the solitude of the wilderness. We call them the desert fathers and the desert mothers. Anyway, these three disciples come out to see Anthony. The first two ask Anthony question after question but the third says nothing. Finally Anthony asks him why he doesn’t speak. The disciple says, “It is enough just to see you, Father.”

This week, I hope you’ll be able to experience God in silence and solitude, the God who takes great delight in you, the God who says, “It is enough just to see you.”

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