Steve's Blog

This past weekend I had the unique opportunity to meet one of my living heroes for the very first time. His name is Rueben Job, an 84 year old retired Methodist Bishop. He’s the author and compiler of several books that have dramatically impacted my personal spiritual life, especially his Guide to Prayer series published by Upper Room. We use his materials extensively at Leadership Transformations, on our retreats, among our board/team/donor family, and with seminary students at Gordon-Conwell. I was deeply touched by this encounter with a man after God’s heart, who embodies one word: gentleness.

Having never met my colleague, Rick Anderson, or myself, Rueben and his wife Beverly welcomed us with open arms into their home in a lovely retirement community just outside Nashville, Tennessee. Rueben has been following with interest the development of LTi since our inception in July 2003, has offered words of encouragement to our ministry family, and recently wrote an endorsement for Crafting A Rule of Life (www.RuleOfLife.com/endorsements/) He sat with us in his living room, shared openly about his life story and his love for God’s Word, the Church, and his family. He opened several windows into his own soul, and paid close attention to the state of our souls as well. It was an encounter drenched with the sweet, gentle aroma of Christ.

Rueben reminded me of my own grandfather, another gentle man of God. These men remind me that the word gentleness is very close to the word gentleman…who do you know who truly embodies that word? Jesus was gentle and humble of heart (Matt. 11:29) and he encouraged gentleness among his disciples and followers. The Apostle Paul spoke often of gentleness too: be completely humble and gentle (Eph. 4:2); let your gentleness be evident to all (Phil. 4:5); clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Col. 3:12); and includes gentleness as a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23).

As I reflect on meeting Rueben Job, consider prayerfully the biblical definition of gentleness, and then turn on the television to listen to political pundits and candidates, I’m startled by which kind of life and message is most endearing. A gentle heart expresses gentle words, thoughts, attitudes, and actions. A gentle heart is what most comforts the downtrodden and heals brokenness. A gentle heart is sensitive to God and the needs of others. A gentle heart is not puffed up with pride, instead considers others more important than self. A gentle heart evokes a similar response.

In what ways are you most drawn to gentleness? In what ways might God be calling you to abide in a spirit of gentleness toward all who cross your path today, even toward those who are the most difficult for you to love? Pursue faith, love, endurance and gentleness, and then invite God to blossom from within you a gentle heart.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to the crowds, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5: 27, 28) Here Jesus is quoting from Exodus 20: 14, the 7th of The 10 Commandments, with an emphasis on looking lustfully with the eyes as he defines the essence of an adulterous heart.

Then, Jesus continues with the harsh analogy of gouging out your right eye if it causes you to sin, for it would be better to lose one part of the body than to have your whole person thrown into hell. In other words, He challenges His hearers to consider the ramifications of one bad choice (looking lustfully) which can lead to much larger consequences (an adulterous heart).

Today the heart is greatly tempted by viewing pornography, the place where lust is most dramatically exploited, encouraged, and embodied for this generation. The pornography industry in America today is estimated to exceed $10 Billion/year, and is larger than the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball combined. With an estimated 420 million pages of pornography available online, 13,000 new porn videos released annually, and 900 million videos available for sale or rent, one can’t help but be concerned about how this is shaping our gender and sexual identities, as well as our relationships.

Amazingly, the pornography industry is legal and oft-promoted as socially acceptable, as it has become a part of today’s cultural and economic mainstream. But, it is destroying hearts, homes, and relationships 24/7 all around the globe. Now considered one of the fastest growing addictions among young, impressionable adolescent males, as well as a large percentage of men (especially those under the age of 30 who grew up with ease of accessibility to the internet), looking lustfully has become a way of life. Jesus’ words ring true today, and it should break our hearts and realign our prayers for all who struggle with and ultimately succumb to this temptation.

But, the lustful look and the adulterous heart isn’t simply a man’s issue. Women also struggle with their own lustful temptations (and many accompany their male counterparts in the world of pornography). Adultery has no distinct gender or age boundaries, or other lines of demarcation. The need for purity of heart exists for all. So, how will you pray for those who wrestle with sexual temptation? How will you come alongside them with compassionate empathy and support? And, most importantly, how will you maintain your own purity of heart?

Previous to His statements about the adulterous heart, Jesus also said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5: 8). May the eyes of our hearts search earnestly for God and focus our attention on all that honors and pleases Him.

The psalmist David writes such magnificent prayers! In Psalm 86, notice how the heart of David cries out for more of the Lord…

“Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy…Guard my life, for I am devoted to you…Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul…You are kind and forgiving, abounding in love to all who call to you…You are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” (Psalm 86: 1-6; 10,11)

David acknowledges that the Lord is great in love, the one who delivered his soul, he’s compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. In return, the psalmist longs for a heart that’s undivided. An undivided heart is so filled up with God that there’s no room for any evil intent, arrogance, malice, vice or pride. An undivided heart instead seeks purity of thought, intimacy of fellowship, loving worship, and unity of life purpose with God.

When the Lord gave the land back to the Israelites, as he had promised, the prophet Ezekiel records for us that the Lord “Will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezekiel 11: 18-21). From a heart like impenetrable stone to one likened to malleable flesh – what a gift of transforming mercy and grace.

The competition for the heart of a believer is likened to warfare. An undivided heart knows how real the battle is within, as the enemy prowls around the heart seeking full control. The enemy tempts us with alluring pleasures, earthly pursuits, and worldly possessions. An undivided heart leans fully on the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to confront the enemy’s schemes.  That which divides the heart today keeps one from experiencing the fulness of the God-abundant life of Christlikeness.  We cannot serve two masters.

So, what is it that’s dividing your heart today and pulling you away from living fully for the Lord? Acknowledge the reality of your heart today and put your hope, confidence, and trust in God’s lovingly faithful and forgiving hands.

“The fool says in his heart ‘There is no God’” Psalm 14:1. To deny God is to foster a foolish heart. Period. End of thought.

But, there are many other manifestations of foolishness of heart toward others, and the Proverbs are filled with insight here. “A chattering fool comes to ruin” (10:10) and “Whoever spreads slander is a fool” (10:18) and “A fool shows his annoyance” (12:16) and “A fool is hotheaded and reckless” (14:16) and “A fool spurns his father’s discipline” (15:5) and “Every fool is quick to quarrel” (20:3) and “A fool repeats his folly” (26:11) and “A fool gives full vent to his anger” (29:11).

Foolishness comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Fools consider their heart as their own and left to their own devices end up foolishly inconsiderate toward all others. It’s almost as if a foolish heart is the ancient term for what we know today as a narcissist. A self-absorbed person is unable to see anyone else but themselves. Therefore, to act in such unbecoming ways isn’t seen by the narcissist. There is no clear self-awareness to a fool. Others can see it in them, experience their world by projection, and suffer (often quietly) as a result.

When have you seen a foolish heart lately? And, in what ways has your own heart led you down foolish paths yourself? When “fools” submit to God, He imparts them with wisdom. That’s the grand irony of the gospel. God takes the foolishness of the cross and transforms it into the outstretched arms of love. God takes the foolish heart and makes it wise, courageous, eternally focused. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength” (1 Cor. 1:26). I love the upside down nature of God and His Gospel unto our Salvation!

So, my friend, stop looking over your shoulder at the foolish heart of another and look inwardly and prayerfully toward your own foolishness of heart. Allow the Spirit to renew your heart and revive it into a wise and discerning heart. Invite God to lavish his forgiving love upon the foolish places in your heart where you have denied him full access. Then watch how God himself takes that which was previously foolish and makes it all brand new. That’s the power and the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to Him alone belongs all dominion, honor, and praise.

In the Apostle Paul’s “rule of life” for the Colossians, he urges them to “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3: 15-17).  Notice his emphases at the end of each encouragement: be thankful, with gratitude, giving thanks.

A grateful heart is a blessed and joyful heart. Gratitude is the source of both. When we are grateful for our salvation, grateful for the grace extended to us so generously from God, grateful for the gift of life, every breath we are privileged to breathe, then our hearts are overflowing with love. A grateful heart is in essence a loving heart. Who among us doesn’t like to hear the words “thank you” or “I’m grateful to God for you” or “how grateful I am for life: whether in suffering, in plenty, or in want.” Yes, a grateful heart is a gift to the one who’s thankful and to all who cross their path.

When you examine your life, even the past 24 hours, for what or whom are you most grateful? This blog is being posted just three days after Ruth’s and my 33^rd wedding anniversary. I am profoundly grateful to the Lord for the gift of my precious wife. I am giving voice to my gratitude to both God and directly to her so that the giver of the gift and the gift herself can know of my heart’s true delight. I treasure the gift of Ruth and when she knows of my grateful heart I can see her heart swell; when I deny her of my gratitude I can see her heart shrivel. O Lord, may you continue to ripen within me a grateful heart!

Crafting a personal rule of life includes the awareness of all that God has given to us thus far. When we have a grateful heart we are led into a deeper fellowship with the God of grace, goodness, and generosity. Each time I hear a story of how God has so sweetly developed gratitude in the heart of His followers, my heart grows with thankfulness and joy. Listen for yourself to the testimonies of others – at www.ruleoflife.com – and may your heart blossom with gratitude too.  I’m grateful that you took the time to read this blog, dear friend!

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” says the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 17: 9).He previously judges similar hearts, “Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. ” Jeremiah 9: 5. So beware of the deceiver and the slanderer and all who speak not the truth.

Our mouths speak forth that which is in the heart. If truth is in the heart, truths will be spoken. If lies are in the heart, lies will be spoken. Sometimes the lies we have believed are about a god we think we understand…but it’s a false god when what we believe about God isn’t based on the truth of His Word. Many think they know God but when their mouths give voice to that knowledge it can sound more like shame, ridicule, condemnation, judgment, or constant rebuke. That’s not the God we know as loving Father, forgiving Son, and empowering Spirit. But, many lie about their god and many others believe their words.

We can also lie about ourselves and others. We say things about ourselves that are untruths…and we are deceived. We say false things about others…and we deceive. Deception is beguilement, bluff, mystification, bad faith, and subterfuge, all acts to propagate beliefs that are not true, or not the whole truth (as in half-truths or omission). Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand. It can employ distraction, camouflage or concealment. All of which when employed toward a friend or family member wreaks havoc on relationships.

I have seen the destruction and dismantling of relationships first hand when deceitful hearts have the upper hand. It’s demoralizing and debilitating for all involved. When such deceit is in ones heart toward God, it leads to eternal damnation. When deceit is in the center of human relationships, there is a separation that often goes unresolved. The antidote to deceit is truth. Knowing truth, living truth, and speaking truth will indeed set people free to fully live and fully receive the love that comes from the God of Truth to set free their captivity of deception.

“Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise” (Jeremiah 17: 14). Be free to love and serve with truth in your heart and love on your lips!

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11, 29, 30). Jesus is the perfect embodiment of a humble heart. He displays such a heart toward all who cross his path. He willingly humbles himself and gives up his life, even on the cross, for the sake of his followers.  He humbly receives all responses to his life and ministry and doesn’t fight back or stiff-arm anyone. His humility is contagious and beautiful. He invites us to humble our hearts and be filled up with God. Then and only then will we truly find rest for our souls.

As Jesus lovers and followers, we are to exhibit a humble heart – first and foremost toward God and then toward all who we know and serve. But, a humble heart begins with the choice of the will. “Humble yourself before the Lord” (James 4:10) as it emerges from the gift of God, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).  These same two phrases are repeated in 1 Peter 5: 5,6 and wrapped up by verse 7, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” which harkens back to Jesus’ words previously quoted above.

A humble heart is evidence of a contrite heart. When we are willing to admit our brokenness and our desperate need for God, we humble ourselves before God and invite him to reign supremely in our hearts. When God’s Spirit resides in the deepest crevices of our hearts and transforms from the inside out, we are changed people. From such a humble heart we are available to love and serve others in Jesus’ name. But, it begins with our desire to submit ourselves to God.

I’m so encouraged by the many friends who are crafting their personal rule of life – read about and listen to their stories at www.RuleOfLife.com and be encouraged by their humility of heart. Each of them represents a life in discovery of true rest for their souls. Each are finding that a humble heart is the beginning of the journey toward a well-ordered life with God. Join us today as together we pursue a life that “acts justly, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God” (Micah 6: 8).

When the 21 year old Zedekiah became king of Judah (subsequently reigning in Jerusalem for eleven years), he did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before God or King Nebuchadnezzar. “He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel” (2 Chronicles 36: 13). One of a string of kings who continually defied and defiled the ways of God and took matters into their own hands, Zedekiah mocked God’s messengers and stood up against anything that would breathe godliness into his heart.

When we stand up against God’s Word, defy His reign in our hearts and lives, we may not be as dramatic as Zedekiah but in fact our necks stiffen and our hearts harden nonetheless. Ever see such a display of arrogant exile of the heart? Ever experience it yourself? I recently confronted one such leader about the defiance in his heart toward God and those he was called to lead and serve. I could almost see his neck stiffen as he was confronted by truth about God and himself. He didn’t like what he was hearing and even though I could see a seared conscience, he resisted the invitation of God to soften his hardened heart. A sad sight indeed.

“Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 36: 14). The fruit of a hardened heart, and the sad reality, is unfaithfulness and defilement among others…the ripple effect of a stiff-necked person is that they espouse and encourage similar hearts to grow in others.

The invitation from God is quite the contrary…”Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95: 7,8). Instead, let it be softened by God’s Word, in prayer as you hear his still small voice, and in community as you are challenged to embrace the truth (which will set you free!) from a brother or sister who cares enough to confront a hardened heart. The world needs leaders who confess their hardened heart and allow the Spirit to soften it for God’s glory.

The Bible refers to at least 50 different terms descriptive of the condition of our heart. Words such as broken and contrite, discerning, hardened, devoted, foolish, pure, wounded, and undivided. I will be looking at these terms throughout the summer and will invite you to consider them in light of your own heart.

The one word that jumps out the most is “all” my heart. There are dozens of places where we are urged to know, love, serve, obey, trust, desire, seek, and extol God with all of our heart. Not just a portion of our hearts, as if it can be partitioned into segments of quarters, halves, fifths or tenths. No, with all of our heart, as well as our soul, mind and strength…nothing held back for ourselves – all of our heart given all for God.

When we love God with all of our heart, we are coming to the conclusion that He in fact wants all of our heart. We are acknowledging our need for God to reign supreme in our heart. We are professing our desperate need for God to take over every dark, distant, disillusioned part of our hearts and heal us from the inside out. We are saying yes to His invitation to trust and obey so that with all of our heart we may discover more and more of His heart for us and for our world. With all our heart we love God and follow after His personal rule of life for us – declaring every part of our lives in submission to God’s heart (see how others have inclined all their heart in God’s direction at http://www.RuleOfLife.com).

Loving God with all my heart is an invitation worth affirming, celebrating, claiming and living. In fact, don’t just make this choice for your own sake, impress it on your children, talk about it along the road of life, tie it like a string of remembrance on your finger, bind this priority on your forehead, write it on the doorframes of your house and on your gates (cf. Deut. 6: 4-9). Inclining the entirety of your heart in God’s direction will reap fruit beyond measure.

“I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High,” Psalm 9:1.

My dad was an imperfect father. I criticized him for years as a result. But then I became a pretty imperfect father myself; I now have a lot more grace for my dad-who-tried-his-best. In fact, most dads I know these days are laced with imperfections. They seem to eek out more times than we care to admit and we certainly don’t admire them when they emerge (and reemerge over and over again). Imperfections are what we all have in common, and on the heels of Fathers Day 2012 I’m grateful for the kindness of my family’s love despite my imperfections (thanks for a special day, Ruthie, Nate and Bekah!).

What’s great about earthly imperfect dads is how wonderfully redeemed they become when they submit to their Father God who’s nothing but perfection…and grace. You see, when I spend too much time thinking about all my imperfections I feel pretty crummy about myself as a dad. My brokenness can get the best of me. On the other hand, when I think too highly about myself and all that I’ve given, offered, and sacrificed in behalf of my children I can easily get puffed up with pride. I love getting cards from my kids espousing all the many wonderful blessings I’ve offered them over the years (they were especially delightful this Father’s Day!). But, when I pause and reflect on the years we’ve been family and my role as father I can get pretty melancholy about all that I didn’t do, say or be in my children’s behalf.

The teeter totter of pride on one side and imperfection on the other is balanced by the grace, mercy and peace of God. Father God is the One who lovingly created me and ordained my days. He sent his Son Jesus to live, die and be raised up so that I can experience resurrection life now and always. The Father shared His Spirit with me at the point of my conversion and has filled and empowered me ever since. Father God is standing on the porch of heaven and He’s got his eyes peeled on me as His beloved son and He wants nothing more than to occupy my every waking moment. When I come to my senses and turn His direction He’s there to greet and gift and guide me by His tender loving hand.

Yes, that’s pretty awesomely perfect of God the Father. His perfection redeems all my imperfections, claims them as His own, seals them by the blood of His Son, forgives them and even forgets them as far as the east is from the west. God the Father is the fountain and wellspring of life. He is the origin and the object of our worship. Father God is the hero of our hearts, fellow brothers and fathers on earth. So let’s claim our sonship and cling to Him, find courage in Him and seek consolation from Him. Happy Fathers Day 2012! [[Note to all my female readers…thanks for allowing me the privilege of writing about fatherhood and sonship on Father’s Day. I hope you can find great joy in trusting the Father today as well. His love is for you too, dear daughters and sisters of God!]]

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir,” Galatians 4:4-7.