I’ve recently been enjoying John Ortberg’s new book, The me I want to be, in which the author talks about the unique ways God grows each of us spiritually into the people we were created to be.  One of the parts that really spoke to me was where Ortberg said this:

“The Bible does not say you are God’s appliance; it says you are his masterpiece (Eph 2:10, NLT).  Appliances get mass-produced.  Masterpieces get hand-crafted.  God did not make you exactly like anyone else.  Therefore, his plan for shaping you will not look like his plan for shaping anyone else.  If you try to find a generic plan for spiritual growth, it will only frustrate you.”

(Can anyone say journaling?)

Ortberg then goes on to give an excellent summary of some of the ways God worked in the Bible:

“He had Abraham take a walk, Elijah take a nap, Joshua take a lap, and Adam take the rap.  He gave Moses a forty-year time out, he gave David a harp and a dance, and he gave Paul a pen and a scroll.  He wrestled with Jacob, argued with Job, whispered to Elijah, warned Cain, and comforted Hagar.  He gave Aaron an altar, Miriam a song, Gideon a fleece, Peter a name, and Elisha a mantle.  Jesus was stern with the rich young ruler, tender with the woman caught in adultery, patient with the disciples, blistering with the scribes, gentle with the children, and gracious with the thief on the cross.  God never grows two people the same way.  God is a hand-crafter, not a mass-producer.”

Boom.  Just like that, your categories and presuppositions, your expectations and formulas, are all blown out of the water.  All of a sudden, discipleship returns to what it was meant to be all along:  following the Spirit of God, living in relationship with Him, and going wherever He leads.  “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).
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In my last sermon before I went on vacation, I told the story from Luke 7 about the sinful woman who crashed the Pharisees’ dinner with Jesus and honored Jesus by anointing his feet with her tears when she saw how Simon the Pharisee was publicly shaming Jesus (read Luke 7:36-50 if you have no idea what I’m talking about).  Near the end of that passage, Jesus says “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven– for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”  This incident is just one of many where, in the end, the proud religious man is challenged and the “sinner” is shown love and compassion instead of judgment and condemnation.

 Wouldn’t you know it, on that very day I was preaching came a modern day example that was really intriguing.  It comes out of North Columbus, Ohio, where a church called New Beginnings Ministries exists in the same town as a strip club called the Fox Hole.  According to the local news, the pastor and many from his church have for the past four years been rallying outside the strip club to try to shut it down, preaching at patrons with bullhorns and even taking pictures of license plates in the parking lot and posting them on the church website (you can read about it here). 

On August 8th, however, the strip club turned the tables.  Read more »

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable– if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things. (Philippians 4:4-8)

Thank you, Lord, for saving my life.  Thank you for coming after me and revealing yourself to me when I was not even looking for you.  Thank you that in spite of my self-centeredness, you chose me, filled me with your Holy Spirit, gifted me, and have used me to bring you glory.  Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always, and so today I just want to spend time rejoicing in who you are.  I praise you for creating me, that I am your workmanship (Eph 2:10), not a cosmic accident but someone who has been crafted by you in order to do the good works which you prepared in advance for me to do.  Thank you that though you are holy and just, your mercies are new every morning (Lam 3:22-23), and you are always full of patience towards me (2 Pet 3:9).  Thank you for the hope I have in you, that you are able to work all things together for good for those who love you (Rom 8:28), that even when men intend evil, you work it out for good (Gen 50:20). 
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Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22)

I have been cursed with a weakness that has at times wreaked havoc on my life.  In fact, it’s a double curse, and I’ve been spending a lot of time recently trying to overcome this terrible flaw of mine.  Worse than any addiction or disability, it threatens everything I put my efforts into.  Just what is my Achilles’ heel, you ask?

I am an intelligent man.

I am one of those men who always got A’s in my classes throughout high school and college.  I could fall out of bed and write a ten page paper.  I could study the night before and ace an exam. 

And, to make things worse, I am a man.  A self-reliant, figure it out myself, thanks for your input but I’ll be okay on my own, I don’t need to ask for directions, I’ll find it myself, red-blooded man. 

Like I said, I am doubly cursed.

Some of you, either because you are also an intelligent man or are married to an intelligent man, understand where I’m coming from, get why this is a double curse.  Read more »

This week’s guest blogger is Jim Quigley.  Jim has been a part of NewLife since last August, after moving up from New Jersey, and is an engineer who also works with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Trinity College.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  (Matthew 5:11-12)

As I pondered Eric’s sermon this past Sunday on John 8:1-11, with the condensed message of laying down our stones and not judging others, I started to think about the proper reaction of those being judged.  How are we supposed to react to those who are judging and persecuting us, whether the accusations are true or false?  As with most questions of this type, if not all, the answer is found by looking to Jesus as our example. 
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This week’s guest blogger is Anthony Varesio.  Anthony will be contributing to the NewLife blog on occasion with his, as he puts it, “unfiltered and in-progress diary of the personal challenges and revelations that come with my pursuit of becoming a better person and living ‘The Way’.” 

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (Romans 15:5-7)

I am so inundated with thoughts of spiritual and moral recovery that I have created a “traffic jam” in my mind.  I could literally write a rambling list of, or inventory of, self-realizations, focus items, or epiphanies to run an endless ink well dry.  But, one thing is weighing heavy on my mind; now stay with me, this could be a delicate situation:
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A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from?  2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.  3 He will not let your foot slip– he who watches over you will not slumber;  4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.  5 The LORD watches over you– the LORD is your shade at your right hand;  6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  7 The LORD will keep you from all harm– he will watch over your life;  8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121:1-8)

As many of you know, I am the father of three young children – Ryan (5), Will (3), and Nate (1).  When each of them was a baby, I used to put them down for bed at night by standing near the crib, holding them in my arms, and singing quietly to them before laying them down.  If you have children of your own, you know that it can be a challenge getting little ones to go to bed without crying for a parent to come and pick them up again.  One question that often went through my head during the nighttime routine was which approach would help them go to sleep more peacefully:  keeping my eyes closed while I sang to them, or keeping my eyes open.  For a time, I went with the eyes closed approach.  By closing my eyes, I reasoned that I was showing them by example that it was time for sleep. 

Ultimately, however, I settled on the latter approach – putting them down with my eyes open, looking them in the eyes as I sang to them.  And every time I did that, I was reminded of Psalm 121, Read more »

This morning was the memorial service for Eve Christie, a woman of great faith and prayer who was a long-time member of NewLife before moving to a different church in 2008.  Eve died last Wednesday of cancer at age 68, but she left a legacy of the power of prayer and the joy of trusting in the Father through even the most difficult circumstances.  One of the verses shared during the service was Philippians 1:21 – “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  Eve’s life was most certainly about Jesus Christ, and praise God that in death she has only gained a greater relationship with Him. 

One of my most treasured memories of Eve had to do with prayer, of course.  Read more »

One of the highlights of my week this past month has proven to be Fight Club, the new men’s group that began meeting on Wednesday nights in May.  What a privilege it has been to see men sharing their lives and struggles with each other, encouraging each other with Scripture and from personal experience, and forming real friendships.  I have found that while there is a place for Bible study, there is also great benefit to beginning with our issues and struggles and then bringing Biblical wisdom into those specific situations.  One passage in particular that has ministered to our group has been Micah 7:8-9, which reads:

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.”

This passage speaks powerfully to those times that we find ourselves having sinned against God and feeling like we are not worthy to be forgiven.  Read more »

This past Sunday, I preached about the gospel and personal growth, and how the deeper our belief in the good news of Jesus Christ’s death for our sins is, and the more we look to Him for our hope, peace, love, significance, and life, the more we have the power to overcome the challenges we face.  During the sermon, I briefly mentioned my lifelong struggle with time management and prioritizing.  I’ve tried every different system under the sun, put up motivational quotes and sticky note reminders, sought out accountability, installed deadlines – all with limited progress.  Why is this the case?  Do I just need to find a doctor who will prescribe me with a pill?  Have I just not found the right system?

Or does the gospel shed some light on what is really going on?

Let me use my issue as a case study in how the gospel helps us get at the root of the issue instead of just modifying behaviors.  Read more »

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