1.11.2020 - week 37
on the resolutions / habits / spiritual formation
i have been crucified with christ. it is no longer i who live, but christ who lives in me. and the life i now live in the flesh i live by faith in the son of god, who loved me and gave himself for me. galations 2.20 esv
i have been re-reading ‘atomic habits’ by james clear. it was one of my favorite books of 2019 and probably my all-time favorite in a growing library of research on habit formation. preachers often get focused on habit formation as we mature because you quickly realize that inspiration gets stale and true change takes more than simply wanting to be different.
clear describes an important distinction between a goal and a habit. if i start this year committing to read the bible daily for 3 weeks or to run a 10k in march, i may muster the strength to meet the goal, but my behavior will likely revert back to where it was before. until my behavior becomes habit (done unconsciously and regularly without much need for will power) i haven’t really changed or grown.
if instead i focus on identity, ‘I’m becoming a person who reads god’s word daily’ or ‘I never look at my phone before morning prayer’ the habit starts to form and great outcomes are inevitable. clear proposes asking the question ‘would a runner sleep in today? if not, than i better get up.’
this may seem like a subtle switch, but this secular research has landed on a spiritual principle. the fruit of the spirit isn’t something we try hard to do, it’s something we increasingly become. i am truly loving when my intuitive reaction is love, not when i must pause, ponder and painfully choose it. so through the difficult middle of following jesus (between the joy of conversion and the delight of old age), we must keep choosing behaviors until they become our habits, because that’s when they have truly become our identities. that’s the moment where it is ‘no longer I who live, but christ lives in me.’
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
Have you ever needed shade?
A cover from the unrelenting sunlight at the beach or while you have to sit somewhere and work. The sweat is pouring, you have an unquenchable thirst, and you can almost hear your skin frying from the sun beating down on you. If we all think hard enough we can come up with a memory pretty quickly when we were sweltering physically but there’s also the emotional need for shade as well. We all need it! Shade brings refreshment, comfort, and kindness.
Scripture paints a beautiful picture of just that in one of my favorite psalms : 121. It says, “The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.”
One simple life lesson we learn pretty quickly is that in order to have shade the object or person providing it has to be near in order to do just that. I can have an outdoor umbrella that extends five feet but if it is at homea and I am at the beach or it is raining, unless I have it, it does me absolutely no good. I love that the Lord is near to those who call on him and that he is so near that he IS our shade so specifically it’s on our right hand.
Not surprisingly, as I searched through scriptures thinking about this idea it likens shade to a refuge, something we can find cover in and a shelter. Psalm 36:7 beautifully encapsulates the idea, “How good is your loving mercy, O God! The children of men take cover under the shade of your wings.” Such a kind, comfort-bringing father to provide shade when we need it.
I think as a follower of Christ I am always looking/thinking/wondering how I can be a light here on earth. Answering the question of why my life is different as a believer than someone who doesn’t know the Lord. One way I’d propose is by being shade for those around you. I didn’t say throw shade but give shade. What is the opportunity that God has put in front of me today to show comfort, kindness, or refreshment to someone in my path. I have to be near enough to recognize their need since I don’t have the omniscient power God has and I believe it looks different everyday. Yesterday it looked like giving money to a homeless guy and making a meal for a friend in the midst of grief. Other days it may be a text of encouragement, speaking life into someone who is in one of the valleys of life. Maybe it looks like celebrating a victory with your child, the win might not seem big to anyone else but their parents but knowing you see and are excited for them is going to propel them ahead. Be a canopy of shade for someone today and I believe that your refreshment will be provided when you see fit to love well those near you.
cup of leadership
sharks gain more power through the fear they cultivate than the damage they cause. it’s also easier to watch a shark attack aftermath than to take action. what i mean is, it’s easier to gawk at the bloody stump than to call the ambulance or kill the shark or go to another beach. in crisis, passivity is rampant. when you have no idea what to do, you can become consumed with doing the right thing and miss that doing nothing often causes more damage than any option in front of you. see reality and do something about it. don’t waste time worrying or passively watching.
book review
i don’t want to be an elitist reader. simple enjoyable fiction will always be part of my diet. john grisham is one of the best at this. this book is clearly influenced by the cultural winds and thinking around so many falsely imprisoned, really on the radar right now with the release of the movie ‘just mercy.’. he writes vivid and compelling characters. if you have a beach or long flight in your future, i highly recommend this book to you.
content this week
i preached a new message on the reconciling of jacob/esau in genesis 32/33. it has some powerful truth about relationshiops.
Verse of the Week
for the lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
psalm 69.33
2 pieces of good news I saw this week
1. kristen LOVES hallmark christmas movies .. this new yorker article on how/why their incredible success started.
2. a couple weeks ago kanye west came to my church faithful central and brought his ‘sunday service’ … this article is a nice write up on it.