Category: A Shot of Encouragement

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A Shot of Encouragement

Nerve as Faith

I’ve spent a decent amount of time thinking about the word nerve.

It’s the key word in Edwin Friedman’s book, A Failure of Nerve.

I can’t say I’ve ever wasted any minute spent meditating on nerve, its meaning and the related network of concepts.

In discussion about high-agency, nerve connects with the idea of disagreeability. It also seems to involve some mix of hope/optimism and zeal.

I have also spent time thinking about what biblical word overlaps most onto nerve. It’s possible that it takes multiple words to color in all the meaning; think courage, think of self-control and sober-mindedness. In some ways how Friedman defines nerve as gravity seems to have a lot of overlap with love, with affections.

But thinking about it again, maybe the best word is FAITH.

It’s a kind of believing confidence that both anchors someone to hold fast when the wind is blowing against them and also a wind in the sail that compels a person in the right direction.

Even related to the subtitle of Friedman’s book, “Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix,” faith obviously is, by definition, not living on the things that are seen and immediate.

All that to say, living by FAITH is needed as much now as ever.

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A Shot of Encouragement

Prayer Holds Us Together

Prayer changes us. Prayer orients us. Prayer relieves us.

We don’t pray because we feel that it takes a little too much effort, certainly more than a scroll through any of our half dozen social network apps. Or we don’t pray because we think God doesn’t care about our particular/little concern. Or we don’t pray because we know we’re guilty of a sin that we’re not ready to give up.

But if we don’t pray, can we say we’re acknowledging Him in all our ways? If we don’t pray, isn’t the only other option to lean on our own understanding? How far, really, will that get us?

When was the last “free” moment when you chose to leave your phone in your pocket/purse and you shot an arrow prayer instead? Think of Nehemiah who made quick, urgent requests before answering the king. Do we see that more is happening than what’s in front of our eyes?

In his Lectures on Calvinism Abraham Kuyper made two short comments about how prayer holds us together and how it is a measure of our hold on God.

“In prayer lies not only our unity with God, but also the unity of our personal life.”

“[O]ur prayer remains the deepest expression of all religious life.”

Paul told the Colossians to “devote yourselves to prayer” (Colossians 4:2). What marks a devoted husband? He can’t stop thinking about his wife and would never turn away from her. What marks a devoted fan? He wears his replica jersey with pride and is frustrated out of season.

So pray. Pray for five seconds. Pray for five minutes. Write out a page of prayers. Go for a prayer walk. Pray for help to pray. Pray that the Spirit would make you a man of prayer. Pray, and remember that it is a privilege to have access to the Father through the work of the son. Pray, and remember that the burden of running the world is God’s. Pray without ceasing. Make your requests known to God with thanksgiving.

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A Shot of Encouragement

Three Spheres

As disciples of Christ we can develop our:

  1. Personal Obedience
  2. Doctrinal Beliefs
  3. View of the World

Mixing It Up

We could love obedience and studying the Word but still act like God didn’t say that what He made on earth was good.

We could love obedience and love all creation but still elevate a system’s authority over the Bible.

We could love the biblical Covenants and love creation but still be a jerk.

Of course we could also just have one, or none. Or have baby versions of any or all.

A Loves Trifecta

We could have and develop all three: Heart x Head x Hands, and our jealousability would be not just good and better but at its best.

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A Shot of Encouragement

That You Might Know

Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ. He died for our sins and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. 

But how do you KNOW that you have eternal life?

The letter of 1 John was written so that we might KNOW. Here are some questions from the book to help:

A Christian must believe/confess the right things about Jesus Christ. (1 John 4:1-3; 5:1-5) What do you believe about who Jesus is?

A Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. (1 John 3:24; 4:13) In what ways do you see the Holy Spirit living in you?

A Christian demonstrates a pattern of obvious obedience to God’s commands. (1 John 2:3-6) What commands are you clearly obeying? How would you describe your lifestyle in serving the Lord?

A Christian shows love for the brothers. (1 John 2:9-11; 3:14-18; 4:7-21) How are you showing this love, both in what you do to bless others and in what you avoid doing to sin against them?

A Christian does not deny his sins, but confesses them. (1 John 1:8-2:1) What sins have you recently confessed to the Lord, and what does that process look like?

A Christian grows in his confidence and assurance of salvation in Christ. (1 John 5:13) What would you add to the above answers that describes your confidence that you are saved by Christ?

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A Shot of Encouragement

Always Level 101

You’re learning. You’re growing. You’re not who or where you were a year ago. That’s GOOD.

AND, especially (if not ironically) for teachers/pastors/parents, there are a couple temptations:

Temptation #1: Assume Others Know

It’s easy to forget that the point of teaching is to teach others things they don’t know yet.

We assume. We think others are thinking along with us. We’re surprised to discover that they are still ignorant.

Instead, go ahead and communicate. Remind and repeat.

This leads to growing understanding, increasing care, and shared direction.

Temptation #2: Get Irritated That Others Don’t Know

This takes our surprise in the wrong direction.

Getting irritated also sets a tone that makes us less desirable to listen to.

There are always people at Level 101. If everyone knew what we did then we could be quiet, but we wouldn’t be a blessing. Keep gladly starting over.

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A Shot of Encouragement

Why So Much Soul-Suck?

Why is there so much anxiety and soul-suck in the world? 

Because there is too little sober-mindedness.

The adjective in the New Testament (νηφαλίους) relates to a verb (νήφω) for not being drunk, for avoiding excess. 

The ESV uses “sober-minded” and the NASB translates it as “temperate.” It’s connected to self-control (σώφρονας), sure, but both words are found in Titus 2:2, and they are not mere synonyms. 

To be temperate is to be moderate, but moderate in two directions. The sober-minded man must not be extreme in addiction to wine but also not be extreme in anxiety about wine.

So: not addicted to or anxious about. 

Is he so fearful that he has to make up extra rules? Or is he consumed with wanting more than his share so that he loses clarity and respect, if not actually making a fool of himself? 

Does he know what things are good, and what things are good for, and how to use/enjoy them for good?

Wine/alcohol is not the only setting to consider on the table of a man’s life, so to speak, but it is actually a decent tell about how a man handles good things.

As it relates to Leadership and Differentiation, there are also two directions. He must be present to challenge and yet not co-dependent or reactive, neither aloof or entangled. He knows where he wants to go, he takes steps in that direction, and yet not so far away that none can follow.

Sober-mindedness protects a man, and those he leads, from soul-suck.

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A Shot of Encouragement

Stewardship Hermeneutics

Taxonomy is an image-bearer’s prerogative.

A lot of people don’t like the label “dispensation,” and fine. I use it. In fact, I am glad for it, baggage and all.

But, what might be an alternative?

The English word dispensation comes from the Greek word oikonomia, “house-rule” and so the idea of managing a household, being a manager, a steward. “Economy” is most closely derived from it, but perhaps has too broad of baggage to be useful.

How would all this apply to reading and understanding the Bible?

What about this label: Stewardship Hermeneutics

That name emphasizes that when it comes to the priority principles of understanding Scripture:

  • we receive the Master’s word as the ultimate authority
  • we are accountable to the Master for making the His word known (like Paul, Colossians 1:25)
  • we will also answer for how we attended to the context of the Master’s word (such as 2 Timothy 2:15), not adding or taking away from it
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A Shot of Encouragement

Uncomfortable

There’s a word that I keep running into the last couple years. As I think about the word in the following contexts, the point seems true and profitable. What is necessary in order to execute the Important Things?

“The issue is that the important actions are often the uncomfortable ones. In our experience, the number-one thing that you will have to sacrifice to be great, to achieve what you are capable of, and to execute your plans, is your comfort.”

The 12-Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington

“Bottom line if you want success of any kind: you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”

Relentless by Tim Grover

“It takes many hours to make what you want to make. The hours don’t suddenly appear. You have to steal them from comfort.“

article by Derek Sivers

“Simply put, the drive to relieve discomfort is the root cause of all our behavior, while everything else is a proximate cause.”

Indistractable by Nir Eyal

“Your growth as a conscious being is measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations you are willing to have.”

103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known by Kevin Kelly

And in addition to fruitful productivity in general, though it doesn’t include the word uncomfortable, the point stands for sake of ministry and reformation in particular:

“Well, brethren, sad experience hath showed us our frailty. We have refused the troublesome and costly part of the reformation that we prayed for.”

The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter
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A Shot of Encouragement

A Blessed House

God has used the Scriptural teaching of three men to build the four walls of my theological house.

I have learned a LOT from the pen of saints now with the Lord, but the following are men whose hands are still at the plow.

The Lord used John MacArthur to build the first two walls, both of which are about the Bible. If I had to distinguish, I might say the first wall was about the AUTHORITY of the Bible and the second wall holds up the SUFFICIENCY of the Bible.

Then from that Bible, the Lord used John Piper (and his pointing to Jonathan Edwards) to show how truth is not complete apart from AFFECTIONS, the third wall. We must know God and LOVE God. I had gotten stuck in the doctrine without the delight, both as a Christian in my relationship with God and as a husband and pastor with my people.

And for the fourth wall the Lord used Douglas Wilson to demonstrate from the Bible that truth and affections WILL come out of our fingertips. For all that I knew about the importance of truth and love, I missed that truth and love ought to be EMBODIED. All that God says is good is GOOD, to be received with thanks (rather than avoided with suspicion) and to be stewarded with urgency and diligence (rather than excusing inactivity because “it’s all going to burn.”)

Mine is a blessed house.

If you read all the above and it was interesting to you (ha), you might enjoy this podcast where there’s related discussion.

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A Shot of Encouragement

All Are Yours – the Podcast

“Do not start a podcast.”

This is the message of the world. Or at least it came from separate but united sources on the internet.

Which is fine, because I don’t really like podcasts.

Plus I don’t want to start a podcast.

Then my friend used some (other) of my arguments against me.

So, here we are.