2.29.2020 - week 44
on the core issue w influencer culture
influencer : someone who uses their audiences positive assessment of their lifestyle to sell lifestyle associated products to that audience, usually on social media
i have never exactly had a life verse, but for a season i really leaned into and tried to internalize ezra 7:10
for ezra had set his heart to study the law of the lord,
and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in israel.
a great 3 step process to successful discipleship is laid out in this verse:
1. learn
2. practice
3. teach
it was pointed out to me this week that the order is purposeful, that it’s a natural progression. it was suggested to me, (which I think has a lot of validity) that this is a systemic way of thinking of your life in 25 year increments. your first 25 years to learn, your second 25 years to master, your third to entrust your practiced learning to others. now, is that legislated, hard and fast rule? of course not.
but far too often in many pockets of modern culture, everyone wants to be a guru. right away. they start a path of learning with an almost immediate desire to be the expert. whether it’s weight loss or parenting or investment property or fertility or or or, theres someone clogging up your feed selling you their secret formula. and typically, they haven’t completed level 1 or 2 fully yet. parents w no one out of elementary school assuming master status etc.
maybe one of the reasons so many people are so aggravated is that they want to be a master without being a student. if we accept that god is more interested ‘who’ we are than ‘what’ we do, we must accept that there is great profit in our learning and private mastery even when most of what the kingdom of this world wants is public notoriety that comes from showing and teaching things to others. be patient in your learning and practicing and watch god multiply your opportunities to teach it over the long haul.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
This past weekend I experienced something for the first time that can only be described as ‘so L.A.’ What do you mean, you say? Well, the kids and I were headed to the beach and as we headed down the stairs next to the pier with two footballs in hand these other kids look at my boys and say, “Can we play football with you?!” My kids took a look at them and without them saying anything I knew what was going through their minds… these ‘little kids’ want to play with us… that won’t be fun! Before my kids even replied the kids asked again, “Hey, can we play football with you?!” Insistence proved to work because within another minute they were already picking teams and tackling each other … here comes the clincher …. Before these kids got out of their dad’s sight, the dad said, “great, if you’re gonna play football I’ll be back in five minutes.” Except when I heard the dad’s voice I couldn’t help but look up and confirm my findings… he was a movie star! I knew his voice and yet I’ve only seen four of his movies.
I mean I know my own kid’s voices and my husband’s voice and I could pick them out of a crowd but beyond immediate family there’s not many people I could hear out of the blue and without any hunch confirm their identity. I wasn’t at the beach for five minutes without thinking… am I listening for and able to hear God’s voice through the chaos of the day to day just as I was able to identity this actor’s voice? What in my life is drowning out his voice? And maybe most importantly, are my ears ready and willing to listen?
As I searched the scriptures on listening to God’s voice I came across John 10 which says,
“To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers…” John 10 :3-5
Here’s what I know: my time of fasting earlier this year heightened my ability to hear from the Lord. And I know that we can ask God these questions (above) and that he will help us see what is in the way if there is something hindering our ability to hear. I also know that my ability to hear his voice is more clear when I pave the way through moments of solitude which has to be intentional. I know, like most of us, that I am a sheep that is in need of hearing and listening to the Good shepherd. I know, “I am prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” I think the assurance of an answer to prayer or observances that he sees me in my day to day life and the supernatural understanding that comes from His word reminds me that if I’m willing to drown out the noise of the world, He’s right there showing me something he wants me to see. It’s in those moments where you are fighting to see any glimpse of him and you feel like you haven’t heard from him in so long that I think in dire need you say, “Lord, where are you? Are you even there? Won’t you reveal yourself to me? I am listening, my ears are open...” Where God meets us in our need, He leaves the 99 and pursues you and shows you that he hears you and loves you. I pray that his voice would be so clear and obvious to you today.
cup of leadership
accept this difficult but unchangeable reality: many of your relationships exist because of a role. you think it’s a friendship, but it’s not. and that’s ok. you are ‘co-workers’ or ‘teammates’ etc, which usually means that when the job or team is over, so is the relational connection. rather than being frustrated, give more to the long term friends you have and insulate your heart from the unnecessary hurt caused by conflating roles and relationships.
book review
after reading his more recent biographical work, i dove into this book that made jack deere famous. it’s a straightforward push towards seeing a full and complete new testament working of the holy spirit in the world today. i have always believed in the holy spirit being active today, but at many times have let my own insecurities or fears keep me from leaning forward without true mountain moving faith. i wouldn’t say my mind changed much from reading this, but my heart was genuinely inspired. check out the pages of quotes, i think you will be as well.
content this week
new ‘welcome to the war’ podcast .. in this one bishop ulmer tells his personal story, it really will bless you to hear what God has done in his life.
the next message in ‘just do it’ through the book of james is up on youtube.
untying a 2000 year old knot - new sermon on faith + works from james 2
verse of the week
I LOVED eugene petersons paraphrase of proverbs 26:9
like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of fools. (esv)
to ask a moron to quote a proverb
is like putting a scalpel in the hands of a drunk. (msg)
2 pieces of good news I saw this week
1. this new song from hillsong young & free gets the rare 6 out of 6 people in the mac family LOVE it … such a fun track
2. this article investigates whether the oldest woman who ever lived (jean clement, died in 1997 at 122 years old) was real or a fraud, super riveting