Nine years ago she said Yes.
I proposed in an old fraternity building undergoing massive renovations, the least likely place she would anticipate. Yet, if you know me, it kinda makes sense. After using a Lite-Bright to ask the big question, we sat to thank God and in the middle of prayer my shirt caught fire from a rogue candle.
True story.
I can confidently say it’s been the best near-decade of my life.
Still get goose bumps when she walks in the room.
A few years ago a friend introduced me to a helpful way to examine my heart and see if I am living in God’s righteousness, or asserting my own self-righteousness. The simple chart shown below was adapted from Tim Keller’s talk “Preaching the Gospel.” I found it at a time when I felt far from God’s will (vocationally), but desired to live more deeply in His will (personally). Since then I’ve walked through it personally with many, each time rejoicing in the Gospel truth.
While the chart is useful for instructing others, we must begin by filtering our own heart through it:
Do I tend toward religious performance (acceptance based on obedience) or living by the Gospel of grace (obedience flowing from acceptance)?
To this I would add: we are saved by works. Yet these works are not our own; we are graciously saved by the works of Jesus, who lived the life we should live — in perfect submission to God’s will — but haven’t, and died the death we should die, but won’t have to, if we trust in Him.
RELIGION |
GOSPEL |
Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| In religion one says, “I obey — therefore I’m accepted.” | In the Gospel one says, “I’m accepted — therefore I obey.” | Ephesians 2:8-10 |
| Motivation is based on fear and insecurity. | Motivation is based on grateful joy. | 1 John 4:7-11 |
| I obey God in order to get things from God. | I obey God to get to God—to delight and resemble Him. | Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23 |
| When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or my self, since I believe, like Job’s friends that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life. | When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle but I know all my punishment fell on Jesus and that while he may allow this for my training, he will exercise his Fatherly love within my trial. | Psalm 23:4; John 16:33; Phil. 4:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-13 |
| When I am criticized I am furious or devastated because it is critical that I think of myself as a ‘good person’. Threats to that self-image must be destroyed at all costs. | When I am criticized I struggle, but it is not critical for me to think of myself as a ‘good person.’ My identity is not built on my record or my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ. I can take criticism. That’s how I became a Christian. | Romans 10:4; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18 |
| My prayer life consists largely of petition and it only heats up when I am in a time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of the environment. | My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with Him. | Philippians 4:4-7 |
| My self-view swings between two poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel humble, but not confident-I feel like a failure. | My self-view is not based on a view of my self as a moral achiever. In Christ I am simul iustus et peccator—simultaneously sinful and lost yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad he had to die for me and I am so loved he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deeper and deeper humility and confidence at the same time. Neither swaggering nor sniveling. | Romans 10:4; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18 |
| My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work. Or how moral I am, and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral. I disdain and feel superior to ‘the other.’ | My identity and self-worth are centered on the one who died for His enemies, who was excluded from the city for me. I am saved by sheer grace. So I can’t look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. Only by grace I am what I am. I’ve no inner need to win arguments. | Phil. 3:8-9; Mark 10:45; Phil. 2:1-11 |
| Since I look to my own pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability, my heart manufactures idols. It may be my talents, my moral record, my personal discipline, my social status, etc. I absolutely have to have them so they serve as my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, whatever I may say I believe about God. | I have many good things in my life—family, work, spiritual disciplines, etc. But none of these good things are ultimate things to me. None of them are things I absolutely have to have, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despondency they can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost. | 1 John 5:11-14; Psalm 73 |
(Scripture references added)
Keller says he got the idea of contrasting Religion and the Gospel from reading C.S. Lewis’ short essay, “Three Kinds of Men,” in which he says there are not merely two ways to live (God’s way and man’s way), but three: religion, irreligion, and according to the Gospel of grace.
On Romans:
“This letter is truly the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian’s while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul. It is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more one deals with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes.”
—Martin Luther, The Letter of St. Paul to Romans, written 1546
Chart source: Mark Barry, Visual Unit
“There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence… activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence… It kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
—Thomas Merton, via Chad Lewis of the Sojourn Network, who adds:
“If you are not doing the hard work of sitting at Jesus’ feet daily, you are in trouble.”
So true.
Shakespeare had a working vocabulary of 54,000 words.
We Americans today have about 3,000 words in our regular vocabulary.
No wonder we struggle to make sense of the “classics.”
What if Shakespeare wrote “The Three Little Pigs”? John Branyan illustrates:
A few friends have texted, tweeted, emailed and called us to say they say the features last night on KATU news, a “Frugal Living” segment in two parts at 5 PM and 11 PM. (Click on links below or on the image to the right to see the features.)
Last Fall reporter Shellie Bailey-Shah contacted my wife Kari to see if KATU could interview her for an upcoming feature segment of “Problem Solvers.” (Little did they know the ‘problem’ we were after solving was our own tendency to love ourselves more than others.) When she and the cameraman arrived at our just-sold home, we didn’t know what to expect. Yet, the interviews were fun, as they were a joy to work with. They particularly welcomed our kids to be part of it all. When the time came for the segments to run, we likewise didn’t know what to expect. We’ll leave it to you to see if the stories were worth sharing:
Frugal Living: Downsizing the dream house (video), was featured on the 5 o’clock news. I was especially pleased with how they mentioned the book The Hole in Our Gospel, which was a key part of our journey in following Christ toward becoming more generous like Him. We aren’t after simply spending less; it’s saving more to give more.
Frugal Living: Take the ‘Food Stamp Challenge’ (video), was featured on the 11 o’clock news. Kari was asked to follow-up the KATU story with a frugal family meal plan.
To answer the question: we don’t live like we’re on food stamps. But our food budget is at that level. We’re grateful to be far from poor, and desire to steward well the resources we have on loan from God. Being frugal is unlike being stingy or miserly, as our frugality is part of a bigger plan to invest wisely instead of hoarding for ourselves.
So, with Kari’s ingenuity (and enthusiasm) we’ve sought to pare down our budget over the last few years. One aspect is spending less on food while eating better, and setting aside more to give. (People who know me well, know I still like to snack.)
While prioritizing our local church, we also support missionaries who labor among college students here in the States, and then our hearts are aimed at helping those in need abroad, supporting kids with Compassion and World Vision, and friends who are missionaries to unreached peoples, along with Gospel for Asia. Simplifying also frees us up to do spontaneous giving as we sense the Spirit leading. It gets fun. We long to do more.
—
For those in the Portland area, Kari will be speaking at a workshop entitled Faithfully Frugal – how to live more and spend less. It’s Wednesday night, Feb. 15th at 6 PM, hosted by Beaverton SDA church as part of their weekly family night (14645 SW Davis Road, Beaverton). Dinner and childcare are provided, and the event is free.
This Sunday you may be watching a Big Game … or waiting to watch the commercials between plays. Super Bowl ads have become a cultural icon for our nation, with ad agencies seeking to make us laugh … and tempt our subconscious to remember them.
Here’s a fascinating video of a 5-year-old girl’s reaction to some of the major “brands” from corporate America. Graphic and identity designer Adam Ladd interviews his daughter on brand recognition for a weekend project. Watch:
Our son easily recognizes Target, for whenever mom is out of town I somehow automatically go there and buy him something.
“If God is composing a story with our lives, then our lives are no longer static. We aren’t paralyzed by life; we can hope.
Many Christians give in to a quiet cynicism that leaves us unknowingly paralyzed. We see the world as monolithic, frozen. To ask God for change confronts us with our doubt about whether prayer makes any difference. Is change even possible? Doesn’t God control everything? If so, what’s the point? Because it’s uncomfortable to feel our unbelief, to come face-to-face with our cynicism, we dull our souls with the narcotic of activity.
Many Christians haven’t stopped believing in God; we have just become functional deists, living with God at a distance. We view the world as a box with clearly defined edges. But as we learn to pray well, we’ll discover that this is my Father’s world. Because my Father controls everything, I can ask, and He will listen and act. Since I am His child, change is possible—and hope is born.”
—Paul E. Miller, A Praying Life: connecting with God in a distracting world
GOOD has a great new infographic out: Not Your Parent’s American Dream: a whole new national ideal [flat, larger version], based on the 2011 MetLife study on the American Dream.
Overall, the new generation of young adults (Gen Y) is more likely to want to own a home than get married. I dare say it’s much easier to buy a home than build one that shall abide in love and peace. Marriage is seen as more an “non-essential” than going to college or owning a home. Yet, which of those pursuits is more rewarding? After owning four homes, I can say it’s overrated. There’s no price one can put on a thriving, happy, godly marriage.
Click below to see the whole graphic, which is a wealth of information (no pun intended), though I wish it more clearly showed what the “American Dream” looks like now across generations. (There are some good clues.) It goes without saying — but I shall say it — that we, the new, hip, cool, new kids on the block — Millennials (Gen Y) and the now less-famous Gen X (my generation) — are living the lifestyle benefits come our way through the hard work and persistence of those before us. I doubt our nation’s founders envisioned the luxurious lifestyles we now enjoy; today, even the middle class lives like kings.
In the course of the last few years, Kari and I have begun to dream anew about our hopes and goals. We dreamed out downsizing our life and becoming more generous, giving away more than we spend on ourselves. There were times when that seemingly noble dream had to die, and I’m grateful to journey through our momentary life story, together, and on the same page. Truly, it’s more blessed to give than to receive.
For the rationalist, relativist, religious, reservationist, resentful, and realist in all of us:
“… the perfect life Jesus lived is imputed to us, and we are declared righteous. God looks at us, and instead of seeing our sin, He sees Jesus’ righteousness.” —Greg Gilbert
Jesus is the One by whose risen life justifies. Repent and believe. Christ is risen indeed.
(A Spoken Word piece written by Odd Thomas for Trinity Church of Portland.)
You may have heard it before: an invitation from Evangelical Christians to “accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.” What on earth do we mean by that? (Or, since it sounds like religious jargon and we can be poor messengers: what should we mean when we say that?)
Ray Ortlund illustrates the modern idea of ‘accepting Jesus’ in two ways:
You and I are not integrated, unified, whole persons. Our hearts are multi-divided.
There is a board room in every heart. Big table. Leather chairs. Coffee. Bottled water. Whiteboard. A committee sits around the table. There is the social self, the private self, the work self, the sexual self, the recreational self, the religious self, and others. The committee is arguing and debating and voting. Constantly agitated and upset. Rarely can they come to a unanimous, wholehearted decision. We tell ourselves we’re this way because we’re so busy with so many responsibilities. The truth is, we’re just divided, unfocused, hesitant, unfree.
That kind of person can “accept Jesus” in either of two ways. One way is to invite him onto the committee. Give him a vote too. But then he becomes just one more complication.
The other way to “accept Jesus” is to say to him, “My life isn’t working. Please come in and fire my committee, every last one of them. I hand myself over to you. Please run my whole life for me.” That is not complication; that is salvation.
“Accepting Jesus” is not just adding Jesus. It is also subtracting the idols.
—Ray Ortlund, Jr., Christ is Deeper Still (emphasis mine)
We shall not merely invite Jesus into our lives. Our lives are a mess! Rather, Jesus invites us into His life. Through what He has done on the cross — in defeating sin, Satan, and removing all the obstacles we have before a holy God — after all that: God accepts us. And then cleans out our heart idols. They were terrible leaders anyway.
“You turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.”
—1 Thessalonians 1:9
Some college admissions departments are now asking prospective students to provide 25-word, Tweet-worthy college essays.
I remember having the option to write my entrance essay on a “word processor” and save it to a 3.5″ floppy disk and mail it back to the admissions office. It was that or a hand-written version.
Wut do ya think — are these questions too silly?
http://www.hulu.com/embed/olBoxB4Jj2y0Spu2nZTjiA
“I’m At Ur Admissions Site, Writin’ My College Essay”