1.4.2020 - week 36
on the true maturity of optimism
when you first start seeing people come to the altar or politicians make promises or your college friends dream dreams, it’s so exciting.
and then the people fall back into the same sin. the political system is still broken. we get older and fatter and sell insurance instead of changing the world.
jesus was pointing at a lot of things when he called us to ‘become like children’ (matthew 18.3). i believe one of the deepest and most important of these is optimism. children believe what people tell them, believe in good, see the future as bright. that reality is because of their simple mentality. and some adults with smaller intellects have it also. one of the beautiful things about differently abled people is their lack of skepticism.
it’s easy to see the negative. easy to see what’s unfair. typical to focus on how unlikely progress is. it’s pragmatically useful. it’s the easiest way to avoid getting hurt again. it’s more intellectually appealing to explain why universal healthcare will never get passed in the senate than believe it can. cooler to be annoyed by idealism than aim for it.
i used to see people and preachers that focus on positive thinking as immature. like if you really understand the world, you focus on sin and problems and try to prophetically fix them. and i still kinda believe that. but i also believe a reality-based positive outlook is the height of wisdom. can you see with crystal clarity what’s broken and focus on the good anyway?
maintaining optimism and focusing on possibility even as the scars of age and experience push you towards cynicism is one of the truest hallmarks of maturity in christ.
so … i’m proclaiming 2020 the year of good news.
good news in your neighborhood.
good news in your church.
good news in your family.
good news in your outlook.
not because there aren’t bad things to look at, but because christ is so beautiful in your eyes and your faith so strong, that the only front page or feed that truly affects you is the one with a giant picture of an empty tomb and coming king.
“and how are they to preach unless they are sent? as it is written, “how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” romans 10:15
“like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” proverbs 2:25
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23
This is my verse for the year. I read it a few weeks back and as soon as I laid eyes on it I knew.
This verse reminds me what to keep in focus. After a year of change and transition two things became crystal clear - who helped me survive and who is faithful over all. I don’t want to forget either of those things. In fact, whenever I have read through the Old Testament I am overwhelmed by the amount of times God has to remind the people not to forget. If they needed those reminders, I do too.
Last year the best way for me to ‘remember’ looked like keeping sacred time to myself in the morning. Deciding against the snooze button and holding onto my hot coffee while enjoying the beauty of quietness in our otherwise ALWAYS loud home. I spent that time laying my burdens at His feet and reading truth that I could stand on for that day. And for the mornings that it didn’t happen not completely scrapping the idea of it but being so hungry for truth that I would fit it in at the end of the night. The other main way I plan to stay zoomed in ‘on the confession of my hope,’ this year is through scripture memory. I can hardly remember where my to do list is and what is on the docket for dinner and I certainly don’t have the gift of a photographic memory but I want to know God’s Word and not just the verses I have always known or learned a few years ago but ones that have penetrated my heart recently. The daily rhythm of these practices is what helps prevent the wavering the verse presents.
The very definition of wavering is to go back and forth between choices or opinions. And I really don’t want to live a life like that. I want to know who my hope is, what he did for me, and why I am living for him and try and emulate him. Obviously there will be days and decisions of failure and regret - that’s part of being human. But, refusing to waver in my belief is living life on purpose.
If there is anything I learned about God last year that supersedes all the things it’s that he is faithful, I can trust him. His Word says it, my life proves it, it’s simply the essence of who he is. 2 Timothy 2:13 reminds us, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself.”
I have been all too quickly reminded time and time again this week with my need for a savior, which can be a harsh but beautiful reminder. I am excited to get after it this year and see what comes beyond the surviving, dare I say thriving. I believe to the very core of my being that there’s purpose in everything we walk through. Here’s to 2020 and living on purpose because He who promised is faithful.
Cup of Leadership
the (christian) world is filled w. people who are only watching. not really in the game, passive in their theology, slacktivist in their justice, consuming the experiences of others and not really engaged in a profitable way.
the (christian) world is filled w. people are only hurting. still nursing the real or imagine wounds of the past, they have little interest in forward movement or healing, content to broadcast their offenses to every new ear they can find to listen
the christian world w. people are only claiming. their faith is really only a canon propelling them towards future ambition and accumulation. they see themselves as altruistic, as they will be generous, as soon they say to this mountain, ‘throw the benjamin’s in my wallet.’
what if we didn’t settle into those molds but instead became a vessel.
vessels aren’t passive, but they are also certainly at the mercy of the person filling them.
2020 might not be about what god does/allows/gives …. what if its about what he pours through you. and into your neighborhood.
“therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
2 timothy 2:21
Book Review
this book isn’t an easy book to read (regardless of your ethnic background), but it’s a good one. not bombastic, simply candid and convincingly clear. if you can’t have reconciliation without truth, this book leads the reader to understand the ways the establishment white church promoted and/or allowed racial inequality to be a feature not a bug of the american experience. highly recommended.
Podcasts This Week
the listenership is slowly but surely growing. would love for you to rate/review to help us along.
1. weekly sermon – part 7 of my series on 1 thessalonians. this series was a huge blessing in my life and i hope in yours also … all the messages are also available on youtube.
Verse of the Week
but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
james 3:16-18
Things I Liked This Week
1. so often i long for a season of unimpeded explosive progress .. bishop jakes reminded me in this phenomenal little clip that simply isn’t the way it goes and that’s ok.
2. my boys made me watch this video w them prepping for the NFL playoffs, the 100 best plays of the 2010’s and i gotta say, i really enjoyed it a lot.
3. really great new worship anthem for a new year from cody carnes, christ be magnified
if it puts me in the fire
i’ll rejoice ‘cause you’re there too
i won’t be formed by feelings
i hold fast to what is true
if the cross brings transformation
then i’ll be crucified with you
well done sir.