"...Do all to the glory of God" -- What does that mean?

I grew up attending a Christian summer camp that before every mealtime would recite 1 Corinthians 10:31 which says this: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

This verse just might be one of the most well-known verses in Christianity, especially those of the Piperian persuasion. However, it is a curious thing; while one is hard-pressed to find a Christian that will not give mental assent to our responsibility to give glory to God, it is quite another thing to find a Christian who actively pursues such proclamation of God's glory.

Another curious thing about the conversation of "God's glory" is that those words themselves are quite vague. Until recently, I would have been very hesitant to define what the "glory of God" is and what "giving God glory" actually means.

Here is my quick explanation: proclaiming the glory of God is the act of showing how much better and more important God is in every word we say and every action we do. The difficulty in this discussion of trying to glorify God is that it is impossible to display the awesomeness of Jesus if He isn't awesome to you.

One might say, "But David, I'm a Christian, and I do want to glorify God." To which I would respond, "Good for you." But here's the deal: because it's nice and easy to talk about this conceptual "glory of God", all Christians fall into patterns of simply forgetting about Jesus and not recognizing Him as the only all and only-satisfying fountain that He is.

Volumes are written in discussion of what the glory of God actually is, so I hope this post simply gets the cognitive juices flowing in your mind in attempt to understand what we mean when we say that we want to "glorify God" or "do all to the glory of God."

If it means that we want everything that we do to point to how special Jesus is, then consider these two things:

1) Is He actually special to you?
2) If He is special to you, what steps do you take to communicate that to others?

I am not saying that merely doing lists of things will show that Jesus is more important. Not having tattoos, not drinking alcohol, not smoking cigarettes, not saying bad words, not listening to "bad music," and not going to "R" rated movies are not ways to put the importance of Jesus on display. Any good Catholic or Mormon can conform to a regimen of externals and hate the Gospel as much as any anti-theist.

I also do not want to say that we should simply go around saying "Jesus is the most important thing in my life" (I actually know someone who said that). As I always tend to say, the things that you love the most will make themselves evident whenever you do anything. If it is important for you to be well-liked, you will probably not say too many controversial things or get into too many arguments. If it is important that you become an elite in sports, you will spend a lot of time in the gym or on the field. If it is important that you are able to get an attractive boyfriend or girlfriend, you will look and act in a certain way. If you are about letting people know about how awesome Jesus is, you will talk about Him all the time; and if you don't talk about Him all the time, your manner of communicating will be one that points to His love and ultimate supremacy at all times.

Consider these things and be honest with yourself. Don't make excuses. If you see room for improvement, praise God that you aren't too proud to be blinded to weak spots.

My suggestion: Ask Him RIGHT NOW to make Himself so important to you that you can't help but share His awesomeness with family, friends, co-workers, and anyone that will listen.

If God changes and moves your heart towards that end, you won't be able to stop His name from coming off of your lips.

He is our glory, our satisfaction, and our hope.

.DSN.

Stop Fighting and Start Fighting

I saw that I wrote most of this over this past Christmas vacation. With some edits and the last few paragraphs added more recently, here it is:

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30 ESV)

Everything we do is for our own happiness, pleasure, and joy. There is no motivation that affects us greater than the motivation for the maximizing of our own comfort and happiness. Think about where you are sitting right now. I'm in my bed. I am sitting here because it is one of the quietest places and most comfortable seats in the house, and my room affords me the ability to spend time reflecting and gaining a clarity of thought that is no other place can. Why do I value all these things to thereby choose my bed as my writing spot? In the end, I aim to have more peace, more lucidity in my own thinking, and really, I hope to mitigate my discomfort as much as I can.

This same principle applies to every area of life. The pursuit of my own joy, happiness, and fulfillment realizes itself in the most mundane tasks of daily living: eating, sleeping, playing music, doing dishes, even blogging. These are all avenues through which every living person pursues his or her own sense of meaning and fulfillment, even at the minuscule level.

This is a fact of life.

But here's the problem:

We fight for fulfillment, meaning, and joy in all the wrong places.

I'm not saying that there's a problem with doing mundane things throughout the day to make us feel better. I am firmly convinced that my sense of fulfillment as I clean the toilet in my house is a well-justified one. What I'm saying is that our pursuit of learning, our pursuit of skills and abilities, and especially our pursuit of different inter-personal relationships are all ways in which we chase our hunger for fulfillment. I drove home today after spending some time with friends, and I came across a song that referenced the verse with which I introduced this post. I started to choking up as I realized how much harder my life is than it has to be. Jesus said that His yoke is easy and his burden is light. What a contrast to the burden that I feel right now. Life as a believer shouldn't be so, for lack of a better word, burdensome. It's a really crummy feeling when we try so hard to be happy and fulfilled through so many things and end grasping at the wind and punching the air. I'm becoming increasingly aware that the solution is to stop trying so hard to be so happy. It never works. This kind of fight for our own joy is miserable and it is a battle that we will lose 100 percent of the time.

While we need to stop striving for peace outside of the rest that Jesus brings, we need to strive for the peace inside of the rest that Jesus brings. Paul says in Philippians 1:27:

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel"

Striving for faith does not mean forcing yourself to pray harder, read the Word more, and talk about theology more profoundly. It means that we strive for faith in the Gospel by preaching it to ourselves again and again. We must look to more accurately see our sin in light of our salvation and praise God for His salvation. You might say, "But David, I'm saved. I already believe the Gospel." To which I would respond that if we really believed all of the Gospel all of the time, we would never sin, because belief in the Gospel affirms that Jesus, the only perfectly beautiful being in existence, died to ransom His people from the eternal destruction that we all deserve. In the end, Gospel-belief should affirm that Jesus is better every single time. If we believe that this is true, we should never look to anything else to give us the rest that our spirits need.

Paul also gives us this command in Philippians 2:12-13:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

This may seem like we do need to fight for our own peace. Not only does it seem like we need to fight for our own peace, but it seems like we should do so out of fear. The problem with this reading of that passage is that it is the conclusion of one of the most glorious explanations of the Gospel in verses 1-11! Paul expounds on how humble Jesus was to lower himself to our level and die at the hands of his own creation so that we might be saved! Paul then concludes that because those things are true and because it is God Himself who is actually working, we should respond! We should not respond out of mere obligation, but we should respond because of the great love with which he loved us!

This whole subject of "working out our own salvation" can be tricky and confusing. While I by no means understand all the ins and outs of it, what I will say is that the times I have been in love with Jesus the most is when I ask God to show me my own sick and depraved heart and then minister the good news of the Gospel to me, yet again.

Rest in God's love. He LOVES you. He loves you more than you love the thing you love the most. He loves you more than you love you. Rest in that, and seek His face all the more often, asking that He will enable you to have faith in the Gospel more deeply and fully.

God is our hope.

.DSN.

Embracing Accusation - Thanks to Shane and Shane

I just heard this song for the first time this week. I just read the lyrics while listening to it and I started to cry. Listen and be blessed.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1sSZ1zTEs


The father of lies
Coming to steal
Kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can't abide
He's right
Alleluia he's right!

The devil is preaching
The song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation 

Could the father of lies
Be telling the truth
Of God to me tonight?
If the penalty of sin is death
Then death is mine
I hear him saying cursed are the ones
Who can't abide
He's right
Alleluia he's right!

Oh the devil's singing over me
An age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently
He's forgotten the refrain
Jesus saves!

He redeemed us from the curse of the law


Satan is right about our miserable state. That is why God is our only hope.


.DSN.

Dating and Relationships: Flirting For Fun Finishes In Farcical Failure

We all know flirts. Flirts have a certain distinctive stereotype; and unfortunately for them, it isn't positive. When I was in high school, I had little respect but a twisted admiration for one football player in particular who would always hang out with the most attractive girls at school, seeming to always have the cutest and popular one on his arm all the time. Thankfully, being a few years removed from that insanity, God has given a little more perspective so that I now no longer envy this guy; I see his ability to “get girls” is just a manifestation of his own insecurity. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Oxford American Dictionary defines "flirting" in the following way: to behave as though attracted to or trying to attract someone, but for amusement rather than with serious intentions.

Flirtation can take a few different forms. It may take the form of the too-interested guy or girl who gives a lot of superficial compliments and is just a little too touchy; this person may also make winsome and light-hearted jokes at the expense of the flirtee. While this kind of playful fun-making could be perceived as harmless, there is no intention for a meaningful relationship, and therefore these actions will inevitably lead to confusion and hurt for at least one of the parties involved. Overt flirting is a manifestation of insecurity, in that the flirter is attempting to lure the flirtee into letting down his or her emotional defenses and reciprocating similarly false affirmation.

Flirting can also manifest itself discreetly. When Person "X" (who I will refer to as "Pat") is aware of the dangers that false affection brings but still wants the attention and heightened self-esteem that flirting promises, "Pat" will make subtle and abnormally kind advances to evoke these warmly uncommitted feelings in an attempt to satisfy that desire. In many Christian circles, this form of flirting is more common and harder to spot. Having grown up in mainstream Christian culture and thusly kissing dating goodbye, I am aware that the popular teaching forbids casually romantic relationships. To circumvent this stipulation, Christian flirting often takes the turn of a tactful and covert operation by avoiding the superficial compliments and engaging on a deeper/more emotional or even spiritual level, but still, covert flirting is just as deceptive and hurtful.

So here's the problem: Flirting/false displays of affection does two things: 1) It lies to the one who is being flirted with by giving them an impression of interest that, while possibly present, will not be followed up on in any responsible way. This attitude is dishonest and disrespectful towards others; nobody who is flirted with and left out to dry comes away from the experience saying, "I'm glad that just happened to me." 2) The second but fundamental aspect of flirting reveals a heart that is looking for something other than Jesus to make it happy. It is so hard not to flirt with someone of whom you are desirous of his or her affection and approval, and the reason for this is because our hearts are wicked and sinful. It's too easy to look for the quick fix. For those who are good at flirting and are thereby skilled at getting his or her desired response (getting that girl or having that guy) unfortunately means that it takes less work for them to be satisfied with that which is other than Jesus. 

What is interesting to me is that the healthiest relationships I have observed (ones that lead to and continue in marriage) are not make-me-feel-good relationships. There is a seriousness that is unique to two people who genuinely love each other for who they are not what they provide. With that mutual love and self-sacrifice comes real joy; the typical high-school love story that says "I think you're cute and you think I'm cute... let's date" has been long forgotten.

An insatiable desire for attention from the opposite gender cannot be cured when you find "the one." The reason for this is because a heart that participates in deceptive, flirtatious behavior is a heart that believes that it needs more than what has already been provided through Christ's perfect life, death, and resurrection on our behalf. This is not merely a situational problem, it’s a heart sickness problem... as always.

If we understood the glorious truth of having everything provided for us in Christ and funneled every single decision through it, we would not see the need to flirt for fun. We would seek other's interests above our own and hold the emotional and spiritual lives of our brothers and sisters in a far higher regard. 

Without Him, no part of this solution is remotely possible. 

He is our hope.

.DSN.

Devos and Deltas

North Africa is a massive desert, the Sahara Desert to be exact. Except Antarctica (which is dumb because it qualifies on a technicality), the Sahara is easily the largest desert in the world. The only variance in color in a satellite photo of North Africa is the sandy light brown color that on occasion moves to a darker brown. Dry sand and more dry sand.

There is one peculiar sight, however; the northeast section of the map where Egypt has been located for a few thousand years contains a lonely strip that fans out into the Mediterranean Sea in resplendent, life-bearing green.

That green symbol of vivacity are the banks of the Nile River.

How awesome is that! God decided to create North Africa a barren wasteland but stick the longest river in the world right in the middle of it. What are rivers? Water. What is a desert? Lack of water. Ancient Near East civilizations were oriented around this same river for the same reason. Without water, life is impossible.

Think with me for a second; who is Jesus? Jesus is the source of the water without which we don't have life (John 7:37-39). Without Him, we die inside. We shrivel and dry up, lose passion and fervor for the glory of God that we might have had before, thusly becoming ineffective for the kingdom and terrible heralds of the beauty of our Savior.

For example, the song "As The Deer" can be depressing at times because so often I cannot truthfully sing the lyrics, "As the deer panteth for the water, so my soul longeth after You!" Time and time again I don't want to read the Bible, I don't want to pray, I don't want to share my problems with others that care. But it's like my pastor once said, just because you don't think you are thirsty doesn't mean that you aren't. My heart is just like the deer- it always needs water; the problem is that I feed it motor oil instead. When I could humble myself before God and laying my burdens on him, I run to books. I run to athletics. I run to writing. I run to music. I run to food. I run to cleaning my house. I run to calling friends. I run to bed.

God is the water that will quench our thirst. I know what happens to my body when it gets racked with thirst: I get tired, sullen, irritable, bitter, sharp, rude, unloving, selfish, along with all kinds of other sinful attitudes. When I am finally able to replenish my bodily water supply, I feel like my whole persona changes for the better. During these periods of time when I have not talked to Jesus or read what He has to say to me, my propensities change towards all kinds of worldly ungodliness. I shy away from good, hard conversations with a brother, I listen to music that fills me up with more of myself, and I waste tons of time on selfishness; but all in all, I just. feel. dry.

I can't give you "Seven Ways To Have A Successful Devotional Life" because there are no seven ways to have a successful devotional life. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know what they're talking about. Your "devotions" should be just that- a time where you pursue God because you are DEVOTED to Him! "Devotions" isn't this magical spiritual weapon that we can wield to boost our sanctification points each day we get it done.

This is the bottom line: if you are concerned with your lack of time in the Word and prayer, don't just try harder. Trust me, it never works. Instead, ask yourself why you don't want to read the message from the creator of the universe to YOU. Ask yourself why you don't want talk to Him like you talk to your friends. Ask Him to change your heart to genuinely want to do those things. He's promised that if you ask, He will provide. At that point, take some time and start reading! If you are looking for suggestions, I suggest reading a chapter or two from the book of John everyday- one of my personal favorites.

Remember, the farther away from the Nile that your spirit runs, the more dry, cracked, and bloody it will become. Gross, but true.

Rejoice in the fact that God is our hope and He will enable those who seek Him!

.DSN.

Trigger Points

trigger pointnoun• Physiology & Medicine a sensitive area of the body, stimulation or irritation of which causes a specific effect in another part, esp. a tender area in a muscle that causes generalized musculoskeletal pain when overstimulated

--
(what a cute definition)

I have few really bad trigger points (tightly banded-together muscles that restrict movement of blood), but the worst one is in the middle of my back, behind my right shoulder blade. This trigger point moves back-and-forth over a particular bone (possibly a rib..? I have no clue) and makes a popping noise whenever I do anything strenuous involving my scapluar region. While I've had this problem for about a year now, I just found out recently that the situation could get to the point that those muscles, if not properly released, will begin to function incorrectly on a regular basis. The massage therapist that explained this to me said that I should not do any upper body exercises other than extensive stretching for a few weeks until the tightness can be released. She gave me a few stretches/techniques to work towards that end, so I guess it's up to me to see if I can make it happen. Gonna be a process.

Trigger points are released (and in my case are loosened) by applying very specific pressure on the tightened muscle cluster for an extended amount of time. The pressure needed to separate the banded muscles results in a serious amount of discomfort and pain. My muscles have banded together so tightly that blood is not able to pass through them; but hopefully, constant stretching and pressing will loosen the muscles and free my blood to finally flow through them again. It's a wonderful thing to have a real diagnosis and a helpful solution to fixing my problem, but in this case, the truth literally hurts. It hurts a lot.

Here's what I'm learning:

Over the last four months, God has diagnosed and began working on a very long-ignored trigger point in my life of growing into selfless leader and godly man. Right about mid-October of 2011 things were great. I had recovered from a very stretching summer, and I felt like I had stabilized myself fairly well. However, when God began to feel around this trigger point, I began to squirm. In this area of my life, the blood of maturity had never flown through the way that it should. Looking back, this group of spiritual muscles has been tight and abnormally-functioning throughout my entire life.

My divine massage has been uncomfortable, unenjoyable, even depressing at times- but to the praise of His glorious grace, I can say with honesty that the blood is starting to flow. Not that these muscles are completely operational (or will ever be), but looking at journal entries, songs I've written, blog posts, and conversations with friends,  I've been able to identify how God's pushing on this trigger point has led to my clarity of thought and changed life.

But I'm still in process... (obviously). Just the other day I had one of those moments where I thought, "Why do I do the same exact thing again and again after having learned the hard way like fifty times." I don't want to be the guy that never learns, but I guess that's sanctification.

Here's what I want whoever reads this to come away with:

Be encouraged! We all have trigger points. Blind spots, propensities towards particular sins, specific areas of struggle, we all have them. It has been helpful for me to think of the times of confusion and frustration as spiritual trigger points- tight muscles that have constricted so that the truth of the power, beauty, and satisfaction in God and His Gospel has stopped flowing, thereby parching my soul.

If you are His son or daughter, He will put His finger on those trigger points at some time in your life. It will hurt. You'll get discouraged. It will take time. Just remember that He is tenderizing your injured muscles so that they will finally be able to work again.

Expect the trigger points to get pressed on and worked out. Expect it. In time, I promise that He will make all of His true children more like Himself, and that's an awesome thing.

I know this is one of the most well-known Bible verses of all time, but I hope that this discussion gives it even just a little more meaning than before!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28-29)

He is my hope.

.DSN. 

Keep Yourselves From Idols

The very first message I heard at Bethlehem Baptist Church in August of 2010 was preached by our downtown campus pastor, Kenny Stokes. He was concluding the book of 1 John and spent the message on the very last verse, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

He made a list of ways to identify idols in our hearts through a series of questions that one could periodically ask in introspection to gauge where his or her heart is towards God. 

I cannot stress this point enough: Identifying idols in your heart is not just an easier way to find problems and through hard word and discipline fix your stance towards God. All idols can tell you is that you have a heart that looks for joy everywhere else. Being able to identify the particular places of struggle simply give direction as how to pray more specifically for yourself. The reason I believe this list is really helpful is because, so often, we are self deceived when it comes to what are problems actually are. Through complete honesty, this series of 13 questions help to pinpoint some of the major areas of failure in your life. For it to be helpful, it is imperative that you are honest with yourself. You have nothing to gain by trying to sugarcoat your problems.

I made a Microsoft Word document and fill it out and save it every month (that I can). I put the heading "Idol Test" as a recurring event on my calendar so that I am reminded to fill it out every 30 days or so. 

Here are the questions:

1.  Who or what do you most highly value?

2.  By default, who or what do you think about most often?

3.  What is your pinnacle, or your highest goal?

4.  To whom, or to what are you most committed?

5.  Who or what do you love the most?

6.  Who do you trust or depend on the most?

7.  Who or what do you fear the most?

8.  Primarily, who or what do you hope in and hope for?

9.  Who or what do you desire the most?

10.  In whom or in what do you most delight? (If object is gone, then sin may be introduced)

11.  Who or what captures your greatest zeal?

12. For whom or for what are you most thankful?

13.  For whom, or for what purpose do you work or attend school?

I realize that there is overlap in these questions, but they really do help to isolate the problems. I do suggest filling these out periodically, and then looking back over the span of a few months and seeing how God has been moving and changing your life and your struggles. It's like a spiritual journal filled with the ways that God has grown you through seasonal struggles. 

Grace is an astounding thing.

God is our hope.

.DSN.