PAULA WISEMAN

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Study Tip: Nothing But the Truth

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507091_46504411Here’s another reason to study Scripture–discernment, the ability to tell the difference between truth and lies.

We are surrounded by misconceptions about who God is and how He operates. Colossians 2:23 warns us that a lot of ideas men put forth seem reasonable, and Paul could understand how we could fall for them. They have “an appearance of wisdom,” he said. But in the first chapter of the letter, and most of chapter 2, his focus is solely on Christ.
That devotion to internalizing truth is critically important to our faith in this culture. God reserves special condemnation for those who would twist His truth.  (2 Thes 2:12).
If we are so intimately acquainted with The Truth (John 14:6), we’ll never fall for a half-truth. In John’s letters, nothing thrilled him like knowing his spiritual children were walking in truth.
Just as Jesus Christ is God in human form, the Scriptures are God in written form.  The Father’s heart’s desire is for us to know Him (Eph. 2:7).
Don’t take someone else’s word – Take God’s!

We are surrounded by misconceptions about who God is and how He operates. Colossians 2:23 warns us that a lot of ideas men put forth seem reasonable, and Paul could understand how we could fall for them. They have “an appearance of wisdom,” he said. But in the first chapter of the letter, and most of chapter 2, his focus is solely on Christ.

That devotion to internalizing truth is critically important to our faith in this culture. God reserves special condemnation for those who would twist His truth.  (2 Thessalonians 2:12).

If we are so intimately acquainted with The Truth (John 14:6), we’ll never fall for a half-truth. In John’s letters, nothing thrilled him like knowing his spiritual children were walking in truth.

Just as Jesus Christ is God in human form, the Scriptures are God in written form.  The Father’s heart’s desire is for us to know Him (Ephesians 2:7).

Don’t take someone else’s word – Take God’s!

Letting it go

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Not long after crossing the Red Sea, Moses met up with his father-in-law, Jethro. Jethro observed how Moses ran things and offered some advice.
“The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”[…] “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.
“You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.”
He went on to suggest that Moses appoint trustworthy men to judge the lesser disputes, leaving only to major ones for Moses to deal with personally.
Letting go is one of the toughest things for us to do, especially if it’s a ministry, or something else noble and worthwhile. We get personally invested. It becomes part of us. It becomes the way others identify us. We never notice when it sucks the life out of us.
We are finite human beings with a limited amount of time, energy and attention. We also have an extreme desire to make the most out of that. However, I think we have a tendency to read “do all for the GLORY OF GOD” as “DO ALL for the glory of God.” God never told us we had to do it all. He did say to work for His kingdom and not our own.
How do you tell when or what to quit? I discussed that briefly here.
Reasons to let go-
Personal and spiritual health – Who was in better shape spiritually? Mary or Martha? Mary was accused of being lazy, but she knew what she was doing and Jesus confirmed that.
Others’ growth – As long as Moses took acre of everything himself, there was no opportunity for anyone else to grow as a leader.
Focus – Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you HAVE TO. Stick to the things only YOU can do. (And no, that’s not everything… See #2)

Not long after crossing the Red Sea, Moses met up with his father-in-law, Jethro. Jethro observed how Moses ran things and offered some advice.

“The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”[…] “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.”

He went on to suggest that Moses appoint trustworthy men to judge the lesser disputes, leaving only to major ones for Moses to deal with personally.

Letting go is one of the toughest things for us to do, especially if it’s a ministry, or something else noble and worthwhile. We get personally invested. It becomes part of us. It becomes the way others identify us. We never notice when it sucks the life out of us.

We are finite human beings with a limited amount of time, energy and attention. We also have an extreme desire to make the most out of that. However, I think we have a tendency to read “do all for the GLORY OF GOD” as “DO ALL for the glory of God.” God never told us we had to do it all. He did say to work for His kingdom and not our own.

How do you tell when or what to quit? I discussed that briefly here.

Reasons to let go-

  1. Personal and spiritual health – Who was in better shape spiritually? Mary or Martha? Mary was accused of being lazy, but she knew what she was doing and Jesus confirmed that.
  2. Others’ growth – As long as Moses took acre of everything himself, there was no opportunity for anyone else to grow as a leader.
  3. Focus – Just because you CAN doesn’t mean you HAVE TO. Stick to the things only YOU can do. (And no, that’s not everything… See #2)

Writing Update: Closer

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For those of you who have been with me on this writing journey, we took a very significant step forward. I got the critique back on Contingency and the comments were extremely encouraging. (Thanks to J.J. Hebert of Mindstir Media for his help. He gave me page-by-page comments and a summary report, plus he was extremely easy to work with.) The issues raised are straightforward and most of them will be relatively easy to fix. That said, I’m targeting a formal submission in about a month.

If you haven’t read the first chapter of Contingency, you can here.
In geeky news, I tweaked my Zemanta plug-in so it will cross-reference the blogs I read. That way, anytime my blogging friends have a post that connects with what I’ve written, a link will pop up at the end of the post. I encourage you to check them out.
I started reading Doubting by Alister McGrath. It’s gonna be a great book. He views doubt as an invitation to grow. Unbelief and skepticism, however, are willful decisions NOT to believe.
This verse caught my eye this week- “She has done what she could…” Mark 14:8. Jesus said these words about Mary after she anointed Him with her precious oil. Whatever my limitations, situations or opportunities, I want to do what I can to honor Jesus Christ. Amen.

If you haven’t read the first chapter of Contingency, you can here.

In geeky news, I tweaked my Zemanta plug-in so it will cross-reference the blogs I read. That way, anytime my blogging friends have a post that connects with what I’ve written, a link will pop up at the end of the post. I encourage you to check them out.

I started reading Doubting by Alister McGrath. It’s gonna be a great book. He views doubt as an invitation to grow. Unbelief and skepticism, however, are willful decisions NOT to believe.

This verse caught my eye this week- “She has done what she could…” Mark 14:8. Jesus said these words about Mary after she anointed Him with her precious oil. Whatever my limitations, situations or opportunities, I want to do what I can to honor Jesus Christ. Amen.


Lessons on Welcoming Visitors Learned in a Bar

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This past Saturday evening, Valentine’s Eve, Jon and I ended up at Applebee’s for dinner. We were headed home after teaching at a retreat Friday night and Saturday. Tired, hungry, anxious to see our kids, we hoped that 8:30 p.m. dinner meant no waiting. Ha! Not on Valentine’s Eve. Five minutes into our wait, the hostess announced there were seats at the bar- no waiting…  I looked at Jon. He looked at me. We’re walking in grace, right? We took the seats.
Now I don’t recommend bar-hopping as a way to learn how to minister more effectively, we did take away a few lessons.
Greeting – We were immediately greeted and welcomed by the bartender and the guys sitting around us. It didn’t matter that we weren’t drinkers.
When newcomers drop in our churches, we need to do our best to make them feel comfortable and connected even if they are not participating in our primary function, that is, even if they aren’t believers. Sometimes what happens, though, is we are so excited to have visitors we can’t help but act weird, and we end up making them feel uncomfortable.
Jargon – There is a lingo that allows a bartender and a patron to communicate. It’s almost like a code. And we have a tremendous body of jargon in the church. It leaves outsiders firmly planted there on the outside.
Cliques – We listened to the guys and the bartender talk about what was going on with some of the other regulars. We had no idea who they were talking about, and it highlighted our status as visitors.
Giving – Both guys had sizable bar tabs- considerably more than our dinners cost, but they each left 40% tips! Do we blow our visitors away with our generosity?
Boldness – We walked back into the bar like we belonged, blessed our food just like we always do. Don’t be surprised when our visitors don’t immediately convert and start doing things our way. They are going to do what makes them most comfortable. We need to be accommodating so that visitors can become regulars.

A neon OPEN sign glowing red in the window of a restaurantThis past Saturday evening, Valentine’s Eve, Jon and I ended up at Applebee’s for dinner. We were headed home after teaching at a retreat Friday night and Saturday. Tired, hungry, anxious to see our kids, we hoped that an 8:30 p.m. dinner meant no waiting. Ha! Not on Valentine’s Eve. Five minutes into our wait, the hostess announced there were seats at the bar- no waiting…  I looked at Jon. He looked at me. We’re walking in grace, right? We took the seats.

Now while I don’t recommend bar-hopping as a way to learn how to minister more effectively, we did take away a few lessons.

Greeting – We were immediately greeted and welcomed by the bartender and the guys sitting around us. It didn’t matter that we weren’t drinkers.

When newcomers drop in our churches, we need to do our best to make them feel comfortable and connected even if they are not participating in our primary function, that is, even if they aren’t believers. Sometimes what happens, though, is we are so excited to have visitors we can’t help but act weird, and we end up making them feel uncomfortable.

Jargon – There is a lingo that allows a bartender and a patron to communicate. It’s almost like a code. And we have a tremendous body of jargon in the church. It leaves outsiders firmly planted there on the outside.

Cliques – We listened to the guys and the bartender talk about what was going on with some of the other regulars. We had no idea who they were talking about, and it highlighted our status as visitors.

Giving – Both guys had sizable bar tabs- considerably more than our dinners cost, but they each left 40% tips! Do we blow our visitors away with our generosity?

Boldness – We walked back into the bar like we belonged, blessed our food just like we always do. Don’t be surprised when our visitors don’t immediately convert and start doing things our way. They are going to do what makes them most comfortable. We need to be accommodating so that visitors can become regulars.

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Why Study? Jesus’ Answer

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After giving a series of parables, Jesus asked His disciples if they understood His words. They answered that they did, and He replied:
(MSG) [Jesus] said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.” Matthew 13:52
In that simple statement, Jesus answers the question of why we need to study. God has a storehouse of wisdom and instruction in His Word- Old and New Testament- that covers the range of human experiences. Studying helps us find the answers we need AND the answers for others who come to us for insight.
The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us absorb, interpret and apply all these things, but He won’t unless we apply ourselves to learning.

1205099_33832717After giving a series of parables, Jesus asked His disciples if they understood His words. They answered that they did, and He replied:

(MSG) [Jesus] said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.” Matthew 13:52

In that simple statement, Jesus answers the question of why we need to study. God has a storehouse of wisdom and instruction in His Word- Old and New Testament- that covers the range of human experiences. Studying helps us find the answers we need AND the answers for others who come to us for insight.

The Holy Spirit stands ready to help us absorb, interpret and apply all these things, but He won’t unless we apply ourselves to learning.

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