How Do We Fail? - Your Comfort is not Assured if You Read This
thesis
state at start
prove and restate at end
how have we failed
how are we failing
main things walk away
state in end
PREFACE
I like the New Years' season.
I greatly enjoy planning.
I like to make time to look back and to look forward.
I like to consider carefully how I might best use the next 12 months.
What I share here came bubbling up in my soul during January 2020.
It is a long and complex message that helped me and I believe will bless you.
I have asked God to examine me and reveal to me what I am ready for now.
I often need to be open and honest with God about my attitudes, habits, and shortcomings.
I know that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. (John 16:8)
When I feel convicted by God then I do not feel guilt or shame.
God is gracious to guide in ways to live better in the light of His love.
I must change my ways to follow the Lord Jesus Christ better.
PRAY
Again I was convicted that I need to learn to pray better.
There is always room for improvement in the quality of my prayers.
I have learned over the decades that I tend to stay stuck in the same prayer patterns.
I do not witness plenty of answered prayers or intimacy with God by staying in a rut.
While meaningful changes are needed they are not easy.
I believe that God wants me to grow and mature in my spiritual life.
The fruits of my spiritual life come from the roots of my prayer life.
STUDY
Again I was convicted that I need to gain more discipline to study the Bible consistently.
The Lord reminded me that the season when I prayed and studied was when I preached weekly.
God opened a door for me to preach each Saturday at a small church for homeless people.
That was when I was living at the homeless shelter myself.
When I had that audience and that weekly deadline then I got into the healthy habit.
I preached several sermon series and I enjoyed each one.
ENGAGE
It was the weekly deadlines and the waiting audience that led me to pray and study.
Currently, I do not have an open door to preach offline.
But I have recorded many audio and video messages that I published online.
I have studied various ways to use Internet marketing to grow a following.
I have never felt focused or motivated enough to put a lot of Christian messages online.
Mostly what I have done over the decades is to write messages and put them on a blog.
I have published on Facebook rarely but I have learned much there from others.
There are a few podcasts that I hear while I am shopping for groceries.
FORMAT
So today I am not sure how the following materials will be shared.
But I know that I need to get the ball rolling and God will guide me as there is movement.
First I need to complete this initial draft of these short messages.
Each of the paragraphs in the middle of this message could become a short podcast episode.
Or it could become a short video with voice over the text.
And it might be linked to a blog, forum, website, or private Facebook group for interactions.
Just maybe this could work as an ebook.
What do you think?
I am sharing this work in progress with you and others.
I request your best prayers.
Pray for the message that is still taking shape.
Pray for guidance on how to share it online.
Pray for God to connect me with the right people as the audience right on time.
Also, I am seeking feedback.
I invite your comments, suggestions, and questions.
The inputs by you and others will help me in this formative stage.
REPENT
I find myself in an odd set of circumstances.
I have retired and I receive enough retirement income so that I do not need to work a job.
I do not need to write in order to make money from sales or donations.
I live in an apartment complex with senior citizens and most of them are older than me.
Nearly all of them watch TV all day and all night.
I do not have a TV but I have binge-watched lots of Netflix shows and Youtube videos.
There is a suitable place for rest, recreation, and entertainment.
But a lifestyle that has only passive consumption is not healthy.
I enjoy taking online courses and reading self-help books.
Yet there is a soft voice deep inside me that says I have insights to share.
I have been praying for wisdom and asking others to pray for wisdom for me.
About five years ago during January, I was full of faith and hope.
I had moments when I believed God could do anything through me.
I wrote the titles of 9 books I want to write in the coming years.
Each of those books was based on many lessons I learned the hard way.
Three of the books were about the basics of Christianity.
Three of the books were about practical daily Christian living.
Three of the books were about secular guidelines to better navigate the journey of life.
I was born again on January 16, 1977, at 23 years old.
God had delivered me from alcohol and drug abuse as well as promiscuity.
I had scrambled my brain on LSD and God restored my right thinking.
God used 18 months of living in an intentional Christian community for my rehab.
When I have experienced leaps of improvements in my prayers there were internal shifts.
The internal shifts were not centered around thinking more or working harder.
They came from the heart in a moment of repentance from good to better.
motivated to leave legacy lessons
keep it simple yet profound and actionable
INTRODUCTION
There is an advantage to growing older.
At 66 years old there is much for me to reflect upon.
My personal experiences, observations, lessons, and regrets add up.
Patterns are noticed both in personal behaviors and in our shared society.
It becomes obvious that guilt and shame are poor motivators.
It becomes also obvious that until there are internal shifts the external life remains the same.
There is always room for improvements and so people set goals and make resolutions.
These rarely manifest as planned, so the default is to sink back into the same stuck rut.
Let us realistically notice our own lives and objectively consider the lives of our peers.
It is easy for the parent of a teen to warn them about the risks of peer pressure.
Yet to be completely honest is there not also conformity of those at every decade?
Do those in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s think, talk, dress, act, and purchase alike?
This is what makes mass marketing so profitable.
Such matters of living like others are not harmful.
Yet there are pockets of people to consider it normal to indulge in toxic behavior.
Some examples include drinking heavily, driving under the influence, and shoplifting.
Those obsessions are easy to see and they risk liver damage, injury, and jail.
Other less noticeable obsessions include pornography, impulsive spending, and extreme dieting.
The book of Judges says that every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6)
Just before that the Bible says there was no king in Israel.
So the people did not have a higher authority to be submitted to and to provide guidance.
In that setting, the dormant desires for selfishness and sins were expressed repeatedly.
As that continued then the bad fruit of that led to them hitting bottom painfully.
They cried out to the Lord who sent another judge to restore them until the next cycle.
The Old Testament was given to us as an example of our human nature and our need for God.
The names and nature of God are revealed in the many stories that are told to children.
Let us leverage the painful lessons of those who went before us to guide our path.
The deepest internal structures of life have not changed in these thousands of years.
That is why myths, legends, and novels can be adapted into movies that are blockbusters.
So let us drop the pretense and ask ourselves do we do what is right in our own eyes too?
Do we orient our lives to a set of moral and ethical standards that are godly?
Those who not only attend 12 step recovery meetings but work the steps need a Higher Power.
Left to our own devices humans will go off the rails into an addiction or get stuck.
Those who are consumed by addiction will feel pains and attempt to numb the hurts.
Those who keep plodding along on the career, family, and fun path will seek to numb also.
Their sources of numb are legal and normalized by society and the economy.
They have a large menu of options including overeating. workaholism, gossip, codependency, etc.
Much is revealed about how a person's life was lived by paying attention to a memorial service.
Beyond the polite talk what was said about the person that just past?
What kind of impact did they have on family, friends, associates, community, etc?
What character qualities were used to describe the departed person?
What good deeds were done out of love were remembered?
godly ungodly
Lordship
The cold hard facts are that life is not fair, we all have weaknesses, and change is not easy.
There is no end of products and services that make profits for others to cope with pains.
These options include beer, wine, drugs, binge-watching shows, computer games, and sweets.
There are untold numbers of sad stories in rehab centers and prisons.
However, there is hope.
Consider the hard-driving executive that had a stroke or heart attack.
The doctor said AGAIN that lifestyle changes are required to avoid dying soon.
Sometimes the habits of diet and exercise change so that death is postponed for many years
Consider my own mother who had been a chain smoker for decades.
Her doctor confronted her AGAIN and said if you do not quit smoking you will die soon.
That time she heard the message and quit cold turkey so that she lived for many more years.
The bottom line is that the truth needs to sink in and register at the core of the soul.
What I offer here might be used by God to prick your consciousness and lead to lasting changes.
Mostly these are ideas I wish I had considered long before my hairs started to turn gray.
This message relates to that biblical teaching called repentance.
It concerns me that the call to repent is in the Bible yet absent from most pulpits.
The Bible calls Christians to humble themselves and pray.
That prayer includes the confession of their sins like in first John 1:9.
But that life-giving process of repentance involves some unpleasant convictions.
The law of inertia says that an object at rest will remain at rest until acted on by an outside force.
Also, an object in motion will continue in that motion until acted on by an outside force.
To understand the law of inertia I imagine an absolutely round billard ball on a totally flat pool table.
It will remain still forever unless it is acted upon by a pool cue or another ball.
If an absolutely round billard ball on a totally flat pool table that is rolling north it will keep going.
The rolling ball will change only when impacted by another billiard ball.
This relates to personal behaviors and habits.
An overweight couch potato will continue in that lifestyle like the stationary billiard ball.
The chronic nail biter will not stop suddenly for no reason.
It is my hope and expectation that God will use these words to change the inertia in many.
Some people will start to take bold action steps that will lead to healthy habits.
Other people will respond by changing direction or priorities that will lead to lasting good fruits.
I have lived in the USA for more than 6 decades.
I briefly visited Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas.
I have seen videos of others who live all over the world.
We Americans are blessed to have so much material prosperity.
There are more than 7 billion other inhabitants on our shared planet.
We mostly only see and relate with others like us.
So we do not notice or care much for those unlike us in our own city, state, or nation.
The continual marketing of Maddison Avenue has programmed us to be eager consumers.
Our lifestyles are cushioned with comforts and conveniences.
The drumbeat of materialism lulls us into a stupor of complacent mediocracy.
We have been trained to idolize celebrities and many of them are just famous for being famous.
We have become passive spectators of actors, actresses, sports figures, rock stars, etc.
Yet these celebrities are replaced by the next round of pretty faces, big muscles, and lovely voices.
Too often the most popular heroes are not happy or why would they have a messy divorce?
It is common for those that made it big to have invested poorly and so not have lasting prosperity.
The popular media programs us to seek happiness yet many celebrities are poor role models.
How do we fail to shake ourselves from the ever-present influences around us to think for ourselves?
Advances in virtual reality will make the first-hand personal experience of life become less common.
The considerations so far and what follows are essential both for a responsible adult and as a parent.
They say that children learn more by what is caught than what is taught.
It is said that people want to see a sermon more than they want to hear one.
Those who lead best are modeling their lessons by their example.
So it is not enough to mentally understand a Christian principle.
The understanding needs to penetrate to the thinking, talking, choices, commitments, etc.
Let us see that life is difficult, complicated, and stressful.
Then to make matters worse there are continual changes due to rapid advances in technologies.
Therefore a healthy spiritual life and consistent self-care are needed to endure the common hardships.
This brings us to the words of Jesus Christ to the church in Laodecia as recorded in Revelation 3.
He rebuked their lukewarmness as he called them to repentance.
I have heard fellow Christian speculate if they would deny their faith if threatened with death.
Such dire consequences have been faced by believers throughout church history.
And the same is happening today in some Muslim countries.
However, that is not the kind of challenge that most American Christians face these days.
The core of the challenge is to wake up from this cozy slumber.
Repent from lukewarmness and notice what Jesus Christ says in Revelation 3:19,20
19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Please notice that in this message I repeatedly use the phrase How do WE fail?
The word WE includes ME.
CONTEXT
HOW DO WE FAIL
We are deceived to think we are so wise.
How do we fail to look beyond the shores of the USA to notice the 7 billion other humans?
We who live in the USA have been bountifully blessed due to the sacrifices of our ancestors.
They gave of themselves so that those that came after them would have a better life.
We harvest the seeds they planted.
We ride on the coattails of their courageous leadership.
We stand on the shoulders of their painful learning experiences.
There are veterans that fought for our freedoms and many died or were wounded.
Yet are we genuinely grateful each day for the people, products, services, and blessings?
Are we thinking, praying, talking, serving, helping, giving, etc. to minister to those in real need?
Do we make generous investments in the next generations beyond our bloodline?
How do we fail to appreciate that we have been blessed to become a blessing?
TRAVEL to unfamiliar places will challenge dearly held perceptions.
Making friends and being of service to those unlike me shatters prejudices.
About a third of the adults are single and many married couples do not have children.
Yet local suburban churches are full of nearly exclusively those married with children.
Their DAILY reality is unlike the common perceptions of the suburban middle-class folks.
Long before Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary the Jews often repeated Duet 6:5
Let us become painfully honest with ourselves.
Are we genuinely content with our spiritual life?
Is there any room for improvement?
If we keep doing with we have been doing then what are the chances for important improvements?
When I have attended conferences for missions I was deeply challenged.
My complacency was shaken.
That is what I hope has happened to you.
I am not calling you to give to a certain missions agency or join a certain group.
But I am asking you to prayerfully consider objectively examining your life.
Read this article again 1 or 2 more times
Notice the thoughts and feelings that arose.
Make note of those.
Take those to God in earnest prayer.
Let go of your fears, doubts, expectations, excuses, etc.
Look to the Holy Spirit to speak to you in the Bible, from others, and in your heart.
The Bible uses the term repent and repentance at key intervals.
If you are convicted that you have failed in some of these areas then just repent.
Trust the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you and lead you in the path of righteousness.
God will provide both the promptings as well as the courage to take bold action steps.
It might feel frightening at first but that is when it is essential to trust the Lord with ALL your heart.
What got me inspired to write this article is how the following broadened my horizons.
make room
empty self
become teachable
memento mori
speak truth to power
voice for voiceless
comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable
judges right in own eyes
convict of sin righteousness and judgment
confess
convict v guilt
forgive others and self
book of judges did what is right in own sight
sovereignty free will
human responsibility and destiny fate
lordship
religion spirituality
Christmas baby easter crucifix
statues
glam paintings
know Him intimately
names nature
as understand
self-care
mind on a stick
respect limits of the body
make it a priority to stop look and listen
food a fuel not as
daily devotional
sent email
video
voice thread
self-care without crisis
lecture hall concert hall
core apologetics trust Bible who is JC what is salvation doer of the word
love
wake up
shake self
repent from and to
spiritual disciplines
EMS
failure success lessons improvements
love people use things
path to satisfaction
idols comfort convenience pleasure success things fame popularity
fashin gadgets
professional sports
few on-field many spectators need to exercise
Your gifts, experiences, and wisdom have benefited many and will continue to do so. THEREFORE I exhort you to PLEASE take great care of your health and safety SO THAT you will live long and prosper. I mean business. You can best love me and others by DELIBERATELY setting a HIGH priority on your self-care ESPECIALLY as it will impact your LONGEVITY. This is because in the coming years and decades what you have to offer others will ONLY gain in value and usefulness. PLEASE talk candidly with your spouse, primary care provider, and closest friends about these matters. Also, do an annual audit of safety related to your vehicle, bathroom, workplace, and any other place where injuries might happen. Shalom
stage of learning
what would ancestors say
death quality of life quantity
fame fortune yet lottery celebrities
vs love family Maslow
busy yet lazy
fearful
fear failure unknown others say think
comfort zones
want to be seen heard accepted respected
difference listen not hear
not judge
unto send for feedback
Ryan and Sarah
Sara
Ted Megan
to podcast
legacy v resume
pleasure purpose
the highest good make this world a better place
20s idealism
compromise
cross-generational
money and time to priorities
persecuted
history and current
Gandhi sins
God loves you communion 3 16
let go release
forgive
print out and write on to give to me
show of Blogger w units
Lamina
*** examine self
Study to show yourself approved
Holy Spirit
personal responsibility
tests
imminent and transcendent
human and divine
merciful and just
tough love and tender love
thinking and feeling
reason and intuition
Myers Briggs
masculine feminine
who am I
body looks
job
parent
position
who can I trust
what is my worth
positional righteousness
conditional righteousness
justification sancitficaion
glidifction
faith
hope
love
religion
spirituality
philosophy
theology
psychology
all your mind
He answered, "' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
https://biblehub.com/luke/10-27.htm
amazing grace lyrics
natural reader
unto 30 or 40
Kerry and Ofelia
revised January 19, 2020
version 2.0
thesis
state at start
prove and restate at end
how have we failed
how are we failing
main things walk away
state in end
PREFACE
I like the New Years' season.
I greatly enjoy planning.
I like to make time to look back and to look forward.
I like to consider carefully how I might best use the next 12 months.
What I share here came bubbling up in my soul during January 2020.
It is a long and complex message that helped me and I believe will bless you.
I have asked God to examine me and reveal to me what I am ready for now.
I often need to be open and honest with God about my attitudes, habits, and shortcomings.
I know that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. (John 16:8)
When I feel convicted by God then I do not feel guilt or shame.
God is gracious to guide in ways to live better in the light of His love.
I must change my ways to follow the Lord Jesus Christ better.
PRAY
Again I was convicted that I need to learn to pray better.
There is always room for improvement in the quality of my prayers.
I have learned over the decades that I tend to stay stuck in the same prayer patterns.
I do not witness plenty of answered prayers or intimacy with God by staying in a rut.
While meaningful changes are needed they are not easy.
I believe that God wants me to grow and mature in my spiritual life.
The fruits of my spiritual life come from the roots of my prayer life.
STUDY
Again I was convicted that I need to gain more discipline to study the Bible consistently.
The Lord reminded me that the season when I prayed and studied was when I preached weekly.
God opened a door for me to preach each Saturday at a small church for homeless people.
That was when I was living at the homeless shelter myself.
When I had that audience and that weekly deadline then I got into the healthy habit.
I preached several sermon series and I enjoyed each one.
ENGAGE
It was the weekly deadlines and the waiting audience that led me to pray and study.
Currently, I do not have an open door to preach offline.
But I have recorded many audio and video messages that I published online.
I have studied various ways to use Internet marketing to grow a following.
I have never felt focused or motivated enough to put a lot of Christian messages online.
Mostly what I have done over the decades is to write messages and put them on a blog.
I have published on Facebook rarely but I have learned much there from others.
There are a few podcasts that I hear while I am shopping for groceries.
FORMAT
So today I am not sure how the following materials will be shared.
But I know that I need to get the ball rolling and God will guide me as there is movement.
First I need to complete this initial draft of these short messages.
Each of the paragraphs in the middle of this message could become a short podcast episode.
Or it could become a short video with voice over the text.
And it might be linked to a blog, forum, website, or private Facebook group for interactions.
Just maybe this could work as an ebook.
What do you think?
I am sharing this work in progress with you and others.
I request your best prayers.
Pray for the message that is still taking shape.
Pray for guidance on how to share it online.
Pray for God to connect me with the right people as the audience right on time.
Also, I am seeking feedback.
I invite your comments, suggestions, and questions.
The inputs by you and others will help me in this formative stage.
REPENT
I find myself in an odd set of circumstances.
I have retired and I receive enough retirement income so that I do not need to work a job.
I do not need to write in order to make money from sales or donations.
I live in an apartment complex with senior citizens and most of them are older than me.
Nearly all of them watch TV all day and all night.
I do not have a TV but I have binge-watched lots of Netflix shows and Youtube videos.
There is a suitable place for rest, recreation, and entertainment.
But a lifestyle that has only passive consumption is not healthy.
I enjoy taking online courses and reading self-help books.
Yet there is a soft voice deep inside me that says I have insights to share.
I have been praying for wisdom and asking others to pray for wisdom for me.
About five years ago during January, I was full of faith and hope.
I had moments when I believed God could do anything through me.
I wrote the titles of 9 books I want to write in the coming years.
Each of those books was based on many lessons I learned the hard way.
Three of the books were about the basics of Christianity.
Three of the books were about practical daily Christian living.
Three of the books were about secular guidelines to better navigate the journey of life.
I was born again on January 16, 1977, at 23 years old.
God had delivered me from alcohol and drug abuse as well as promiscuity.
I had scrambled my brain on LSD and God restored my right thinking.
God used 18 months of living in an intentional Christian community for my rehab.
When I have experienced leaps of improvements in my prayers there were internal shifts.
The internal shifts were not centered around thinking more or working harder.
They came from the heart in a moment of repentance from good to better.
motivated to leave legacy lessons
keep it simple yet profound and actionable
INTRODUCTION
There is an advantage to growing older.
At 66 years old there is much for me to reflect upon.
My personal experiences, observations, lessons, and regrets add up.
Patterns are noticed both in personal behaviors and in our shared society.
It becomes obvious that guilt and shame are poor motivators.
It becomes also obvious that until there are internal shifts the external life remains the same.
There is always room for improvements and so people set goals and make resolutions.
These rarely manifest as planned, so the default is to sink back into the same stuck rut.
Let us realistically notice our own lives and objectively consider the lives of our peers.
It is easy for the parent of a teen to warn them about the risks of peer pressure.
Yet to be completely honest is there not also conformity of those at every decade?
Do those in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s think, talk, dress, act, and purchase alike?
This is what makes mass marketing so profitable.
Such matters of living like others are not harmful.
Yet there are pockets of people to consider it normal to indulge in toxic behavior.
Some examples include drinking heavily, driving under the influence, and shoplifting.
Those obsessions are easy to see and they risk liver damage, injury, and jail.
Other less noticeable obsessions include pornography, impulsive spending, and extreme dieting.
The book of Judges says that every man did what was right in his own eyes. (Judges 17:6)
Just before that the Bible says there was no king in Israel.
So the people did not have a higher authority to be submitted to and to provide guidance.
In that setting, the dormant desires for selfishness and sins were expressed repeatedly.
As that continued then the bad fruit of that led to them hitting bottom painfully.
They cried out to the Lord who sent another judge to restore them until the next cycle.
The Old Testament was given to us as an example of our human nature and our need for God.
The names and nature of God are revealed in the many stories that are told to children.
Let us leverage the painful lessons of those who went before us to guide our path.
The deepest internal structures of life have not changed in these thousands of years.
That is why myths, legends, and novels can be adapted into movies that are blockbusters.
So let us drop the pretense and ask ourselves do we do what is right in our own eyes too?
Do we orient our lives to a set of moral and ethical standards that are godly?
Those who not only attend 12 step recovery meetings but work the steps need a Higher Power.
Left to our own devices humans will go off the rails into an addiction or get stuck.
Those who are consumed by addiction will feel pains and attempt to numb the hurts.
Those who keep plodding along on the career, family, and fun path will seek to numb also.
Their sources of numb are legal and normalized by society and the economy.
They have a large menu of options including overeating. workaholism, gossip, codependency, etc.
Much is revealed about how a person's life was lived by paying attention to a memorial service.
Beyond the polite talk what was said about the person that just past?
What kind of impact did they have on family, friends, associates, community, etc?
What character qualities were used to describe the departed person?
What good deeds were done out of love were remembered?
godly ungodly
Lordship
The cold hard facts are that life is not fair, we all have weaknesses, and change is not easy.
There is no end of products and services that make profits for others to cope with pains.
These options include beer, wine, drugs, binge-watching shows, computer games, and sweets.
There are untold numbers of sad stories in rehab centers and prisons.
However, there is hope.
Consider the hard-driving executive that had a stroke or heart attack.
The doctor said AGAIN that lifestyle changes are required to avoid dying soon.
Sometimes the habits of diet and exercise change so that death is postponed for many years
Consider my own mother who had been a chain smoker for decades.
Her doctor confronted her AGAIN and said if you do not quit smoking you will die soon.
That time she heard the message and quit cold turkey so that she lived for many more years.
The bottom line is that the truth needs to sink in and register at the core of the soul.
What I offer here might be used by God to prick your consciousness and lead to lasting changes.
Mostly these are ideas I wish I had considered long before my hairs started to turn gray.
This message relates to that biblical teaching called repentance.
It concerns me that the call to repent is in the Bible yet absent from most pulpits.
The Bible calls Christians to humble themselves and pray.
That prayer includes the confession of their sins like in first John 1:9.
But that life-giving process of repentance involves some unpleasant convictions.
The law of inertia says that an object at rest will remain at rest until acted on by an outside force.
Also, an object in motion will continue in that motion until acted on by an outside force.
To understand the law of inertia I imagine an absolutely round billard ball on a totally flat pool table.
It will remain still forever unless it is acted upon by a pool cue or another ball.
If an absolutely round billard ball on a totally flat pool table that is rolling north it will keep going.
The rolling ball will change only when impacted by another billiard ball.
This relates to personal behaviors and habits.
An overweight couch potato will continue in that lifestyle like the stationary billiard ball.
The chronic nail biter will not stop suddenly for no reason.
It is my hope and expectation that God will use these words to change the inertia in many.
Some people will start to take bold action steps that will lead to healthy habits.
Other people will respond by changing direction or priorities that will lead to lasting good fruits.
I have lived in the USA for more than 6 decades.
I briefly visited Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas.
I have seen videos of others who live all over the world.
We Americans are blessed to have so much material prosperity.
There are more than 7 billion other inhabitants on our shared planet.
We mostly only see and relate with others like us.
So we do not notice or care much for those unlike us in our own city, state, or nation.
The continual marketing of Maddison Avenue has programmed us to be eager consumers.
Our lifestyles are cushioned with comforts and conveniences.
The drumbeat of materialism lulls us into a stupor of complacent mediocracy.
We have been trained to idolize celebrities and many of them are just famous for being famous.
We have become passive spectators of actors, actresses, sports figures, rock stars, etc.
Yet these celebrities are replaced by the next round of pretty faces, big muscles, and lovely voices.
Too often the most popular heroes are not happy or why would they have a messy divorce?
It is common for those that made it big to have invested poorly and so not have lasting prosperity.
The popular media programs us to seek happiness yet many celebrities are poor role models.
How do we fail to shake ourselves from the ever-present influences around us to think for ourselves?
Advances in virtual reality will make the first-hand personal experience of life become less common.
The considerations so far and what follows are essential both for a responsible adult and as a parent.
They say that children learn more by what is caught than what is taught.
It is said that people want to see a sermon more than they want to hear one.
Those who lead best are modeling their lessons by their example.
So it is not enough to mentally understand a Christian principle.
The understanding needs to penetrate to the thinking, talking, choices, commitments, etc.
Let us see that life is difficult, complicated, and stressful.
Then to make matters worse there are continual changes due to rapid advances in technologies.
Therefore a healthy spiritual life and consistent self-care are needed to endure the common hardships.
This brings us to the words of Jesus Christ to the church in Laodecia as recorded in Revelation 3.
He rebuked their lukewarmness as he called them to repentance.
I have heard fellow Christian speculate if they would deny their faith if threatened with death.
Such dire consequences have been faced by believers throughout church history.
And the same is happening today in some Muslim countries.
However, that is not the kind of challenge that most American Christians face these days.
The core of the challenge is to wake up from this cozy slumber.
Repent from lukewarmness and notice what Jesus Christ says in Revelation 3:19,20
19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
Please notice that in this message I repeatedly use the phrase How do WE fail?
The word WE includes ME.
CONTEXT
The messianic prophecies hinted at a soon-coming king and a suffering servant.
The Jews of Jesus' time wanted a conquering king to cast off Roman rule.
BOTH hints were present in the Old Testament.
They saw what they wanted to see.
How are we seeing ONLY what we want to see in the Bible?
How are we seeing ONLY what we want to see in the Bible?
I saw hours of video interviews of church leaders in San Francisco from the 1990s.
They wanted Jesus to be ALL about LOVE.
They centered their theology on the verse judge not lest you be judged.
They saw Jesus ONLY is all about acceptance and a warm fuzzy buddy.
How are we making the Bible a tame book without any challenges?
How are we making the Bible a tame book without any challenges?
The medieval generation saw Jesus as the Judge in on Judgement Day in the museum paintings.
How do we overly-magnify or overly-minimize the reality that Jesus is the Judge?
The FULL TRUTH is more complex than our lazy thinking likes.
How do we overly-magnify or overly-minimize the reality that Jesus is the Judge?
Over the centuries Mary Magdalene has been considered as the following.
horrible prostitute
horrible prostitute
wonderfully redeemed sinner
a closely dedicated disciple of Jesus
the wife of Jesus who went to Europe to have children that became the monarchs
a critical spiritual leader that was minimized due to the oppressive patriarchy
Mary Madeleine is recorded as a finite number of words in the Bible.
Yet each era sees them differently.
Likewise, Jesus is recorded as a finite number of words in the Bible.
Also, there are Bible verses that refer to God and Jesus indirectly.
Healer
Hope for the hopeless
Great teacher
Itinerant preacher
Friend of sinners
Miracle worker
Friend of children
Moral teacher
Creator
True Vine
Emmanuel - God with us
Intercessor at the right hand of God the Father
Trailblazing missionary
First martyr for the faith
Good Shepherd
First great disciple-maker
Lamb of God
Scapegoat
Lord of lords
King of kings
Awarder of eternal rewards
The sender of the Holy Spirit
Foot washing humble servant
First fisher of men
Head of the Church
Savior of the world
Fulfillment of prophecies
Great High Priest
The heavenly bridegroom
Likewise, Jesus is recorded as a finite number of words in the Bible.
Also, there are Bible verses that refer to God and Jesus indirectly.
Yet each era sees Jesus Christ differently.
Here are some of the ways Jesus was perceived over the last 2000 years.
They are based on a magnification of a part of the Bible.
Yet for many people, the other views are neglected, ignored, or denied.
Jewish Messiah
Word made fleshHere are some of the ways Jesus was perceived over the last 2000 years.
They are based on a magnification of a part of the Bible.
Yet for many people, the other views are neglected, ignored, or denied.
Jewish Messiah
Healer
Hope for the hopeless
Great teacher
Itinerant preacher
Friend of sinners
Miracle worker
Friend of children
Moral teacher
Creator
True Vine
Emmanuel - God with us
Intercessor at the right hand of God the Father
Trailblazing missionary
First martyr for the faith
Good Shepherd
First great disciple-maker
Lamb of God
Scapegoat
Lord of lords
King of kings
Awarder of eternal rewards
The sender of the Holy Spirit
Foot washing humble servant
First fisher of men
Head of the Church
Savior of the world
Fulfillment of prophecies
Great High Priest
Social liberator
The ultimate role model for zealous obedience to God
The ultimate role model for zealous obedience to God
The non-violent warrior whose followers changed the repressive Roman Empire
The ideal monk that often needed to get away to prayThe heavenly bridegroom
These varied interpretations of the same data are like a Rorschach inkblot test.
The exact same image can be seen differently.
The exact same image can be seen differently.
See this slide show to get an understanding of this kind of test.
The FULL TRUTH is more complex than our lazy thinking likes.
You might have roles as a spouse, parent, employee, student, friend, etc.
Those in your contact base see you mostly from just one lense.
Yet in reality, you have ALL these roles at the same time and much more.
HOW DO WE FAIL
We are deceived to think we are so wise.
The tiny snippets of news, commentary, and media programming make us feel informed.
We trust those who inform us to be truthful, unbiased, balanced, and without an agenda.
We trust those who inform us to be truthful, unbiased, balanced, and without an agenda.
The waters we swim in are FULL of both Bread and Circus.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bread-and-circuses
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/bread-and-circuses
We eat FAR more junk food than is good for us.
We prioritize entertainment above all other options to suck up our available time.
Yet because those around us are doing this we cannot imagine any other way.
This is why paying close attention to movies set long ago and traveling abroad adds perspectives.
Yet because those around us are doing this we cannot imagine any other way.
This is why paying close attention to movies set long ago and traveling abroad adds perspectives.
How do we fail to notice that our time and money are spent in ways that do not last?
A huge percent of Americans carry over the balance on their credit cards from month to month.
Over the course of a year, they are paying a large premium for doing that.
There are proven ways to get out of debt and stay out of debt, but that escape is neglected.
Many tell themselves they cannot afford to give more to charities, but they pay for being in debt.
How do we fail to exercise greater self-discipline so that our money can do more good?
It seems that there is not enough time or money for self-care or spiritual practices.
The days and weeks seem full to overflowing with responsibilities and obligations.
The money seems stretched from month to month.
Yet somehow there is time and money for the Holidays and vacations.
When a person is sick for a long time or laid off they still make things work out.
When a couple falls in love all other matters become irrelevant.
How do we fail to set wise priorities and then take the needed action steps?
The advertising industry sends us many millions of messages each year.
They gradually train us to want more and better products or services.
We rarely feel content but the discontent leads to more purchases.
So the consumerism carrot motivates us to seek happiness in shopping.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot_and_stick
The materialism impacts our self-worth.
Closets, drawers, garages, attics and storage units along highways have our surplus stuff.
This system requires making yet more income to fuel the quest for satisfaction.
That leads to the treadmill of the Rat Race so that workaholism is made normal.
There is very little time or energy for family and friends.
There is very little margin for rest.
There is a chronic lack of enough sleep by many people.
The constant uses of smartphones have only magnified these matters.
How do we fail to take a few steps back and notice how our lifestyle is toxic?
Christian cults have taken the verses about good works and distorted them.
They IGNORE the amazing grace of God in salvation.
They briefly acknowledge the Easter Story but FAIL to notice what God did then.
They make endlessly WORKING for salvation the only way to gain the favor of God.
How do we fail to appreciate that salvation is by faith ALONE in Christ ALONE?
Roman Catholics viewed Jesus as totally unapproachable.
So they needed to pray to Mother Mary and the Saints.
Then those holy ones might pray for them.
How do we fail to EMBRACE that we have DIRECT access to God due to the work of Jesus?
I worked on staff at a seminary for 12 years among international students.
They informed me that in much of the world the main orientation is for the community.
They care primarily about group and less so about the individual.
There needs to be a healthy balance between concern for me and us as well as mine and ours.
How do we fail to recognize that selfishness and greed are harming us collectively?
There is a special holiday in late November called Thanksgiving Day.
It is wonderful to pause and give thanks.
But what about the rest of the year?
Are we so caught up in chasing after more stuff and experiences that we fail to notice what we have?
The bottom line is that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is healthy.
How do we fail to appreciate the blessings we have already received?
A large percentage of teens that grew up as active in the local church drift away during college.
This has happened for decades and many would return when they got married or had children.
However, that pattern of returning has been decreasing.
How will this impact extended families and our communities?
Why is this not often thought about, talked about, and prayed about?
What are some of the possible causes and possible solutions?
Do we not care about the next generations?
Are we so self-absorbed that we do not bother to notice such matters?
Is it possible that Christian parents and grandparents need to fast and pray?
Is it possible that church leaders, parents, and grandparents need to grapple with these matters?
Is it possible God can use this material to spark lively conversations that will lead to changes?
If we keep doing what we have been doing them we will keep getting the same results.
Consider what daily life was like before electricity.
Light at night came from candles, fireplace, or kerosene lamps.
There was a time before automobiles and airplanes.
Transportation was from walking or with the help of horses.
There was a time when wood-burning stoves were used for cooking and heating.
Clothes washing was done by hand and hung outdoors to dry.
After World War II there was a boom of labor-saving kitchen appliances.
The manual typewriter was displaced by the electric typewriter and then the personal computer.
Every year smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets get better.
Yet amidst all this amazing progress why is there a chronic lack of sleep, rest and solitude?
How do we fail to make our machines work to improve the quality of our lives?
By contrast to we who are spoiled in the West consider the following people and pray for them.
A huge percent of Americans carry over the balance on their credit cards from month to month.
Over the course of a year, they are paying a large premium for doing that.
There are proven ways to get out of debt and stay out of debt, but that escape is neglected.
Many tell themselves they cannot afford to give more to charities, but they pay for being in debt.
How do we fail to exercise greater self-discipline so that our money can do more good?
It seems that there is not enough time or money for self-care or spiritual practices.
The days and weeks seem full to overflowing with responsibilities and obligations.
The money seems stretched from month to month.
Yet somehow there is time and money for the Holidays and vacations.
When a person is sick for a long time or laid off they still make things work out.
When a couple falls in love all other matters become irrelevant.
How do we fail to set wise priorities and then take the needed action steps?
The advertising industry sends us many millions of messages each year.
They gradually train us to want more and better products or services.
We rarely feel content but the discontent leads to more purchases.
So the consumerism carrot motivates us to seek happiness in shopping.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot_and_stick
The materialism impacts our self-worth.
Closets, drawers, garages, attics and storage units along highways have our surplus stuff.
This system requires making yet more income to fuel the quest for satisfaction.
That leads to the treadmill of the Rat Race so that workaholism is made normal.
There is very little time or energy for family and friends.
There is very little margin for rest.
There is a chronic lack of enough sleep by many people.
The constant uses of smartphones have only magnified these matters.
How do we fail to take a few steps back and notice how our lifestyle is toxic?
Christian cults have taken the verses about good works and distorted them.
They IGNORE the amazing grace of God in salvation.
They briefly acknowledge the Easter Story but FAIL to notice what God did then.
They make endlessly WORKING for salvation the only way to gain the favor of God.
How do we fail to appreciate that salvation is by faith ALONE in Christ ALONE?
Roman Catholics viewed Jesus as totally unapproachable.
So they needed to pray to Mother Mary and the Saints.
Then those holy ones might pray for them.
How do we fail to EMBRACE that we have DIRECT access to God due to the work of Jesus?
I worked on staff at a seminary for 12 years among international students.
They informed me that in much of the world the main orientation is for the community.
They care primarily about group and less so about the individual.
There needs to be a healthy balance between concern for me and us as well as mine and ours.
How do we fail to recognize that selfishness and greed are harming us collectively?
There is a special holiday in late November called Thanksgiving Day.
It is wonderful to pause and give thanks.
But what about the rest of the year?
Are we so caught up in chasing after more stuff and experiences that we fail to notice what we have?
The bottom line is that cultivating an attitude of gratitude is healthy.
How do we fail to appreciate the blessings we have already received?
A large percentage of teens that grew up as active in the local church drift away during college.
This has happened for decades and many would return when they got married or had children.
However, that pattern of returning has been decreasing.
How will this impact extended families and our communities?
Why is this not often thought about, talked about, and prayed about?
What are some of the possible causes and possible solutions?
Do we not care about the next generations?
Are we so self-absorbed that we do not bother to notice such matters?
Is it possible that Christian parents and grandparents need to fast and pray?
Is it possible that church leaders, parents, and grandparents need to grapple with these matters?
Is it possible God can use this material to spark lively conversations that will lead to changes?
If we keep doing what we have been doing them we will keep getting the same results.
How do we fail to zoom out our perspective to notice the patterns, trends, and ripples?
Consider what daily life was like before electricity.
Light at night came from candles, fireplace, or kerosene lamps.
There was a time before automobiles and airplanes.
Transportation was from walking or with the help of horses.
There was a time when wood-burning stoves were used for cooking and heating.
Clothes washing was done by hand and hung outdoors to dry.
After World War II there was a boom of labor-saving kitchen appliances.
The manual typewriter was displaced by the electric typewriter and then the personal computer.
Every year smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets get better.
Yet amidst all this amazing progress why is there a chronic lack of sleep, rest and solitude?
How do we fail to make our machines work to improve the quality of our lives?
By contrast to we who are spoiled in the West consider the following people and pray for them.
Christians in developing countries that do not have access to one Bible.
Christian leaders have a Bible but nearly zero Bible study aids to help teach church members.
Subsistence farmers must work 16 hours a day to barely make enough money to survive.
Millions of women and children walk hours a day to get just enough water and firewood.
Millions of people who cannot read or write but desperately want to learn those skills.
Millions of women and children walk hours a day to get just enough water and firewood.
Millions of people who cannot read or write but desperately want to learn those skills.
Missionaries that face terrible opposition for years to have very little spiritual fruit.
Those that were persecuted for their Christian faith long ago and recently.
Contrast those hardships to our typical first world complaints, wants, whining, and blaming.
Contrast those hardships to our typical first world complaints, wants, whining, and blaming.
How do we fail to look beyond the shores of the USA to notice the 7 billion other humans?
We who live in the USA have been bountifully blessed due to the sacrifices of our ancestors.
They gave of themselves so that those that came after them would have a better life.
We harvest the seeds they planted.
We ride on the coattails of their courageous leadership.
We stand on the shoulders of their painful learning experiences.
There are veterans that fought for our freedoms and many died or were wounded.
Yet are we genuinely grateful each day for the people, products, services, and blessings?
Are we thinking, praying, talking, serving, helping, giving, etc. to minister to those in real need?
Do we make generous investments in the next generations beyond our bloodline?
How do we fail to appreciate that we have been blessed to become a blessing?
BEWARE of the DEFAULT ways that the pilgrimage of life makes for a fixed set of lenses.
I believe it is ESSENTIAL for EVERY committed Christian to be actively involved in outreach.
Moving outside the typical relationships and experiences CAUSES horizons to be broadened.
TRAVEL to unfamiliar places will challenge dearly held perceptions.
Making friends and being of service to those unlike me shatters prejudices.
When I visited the Bahamas in high school we went to a fishing village and not a tourist trap.
My worldview was shaken and not reinforced.
I have lived for years among seminary students, disabled veterans, those going through drug rehab, homeless men and women as well as and senior citizens in retirement.
About a third of the adults are single and many married couples do not have children.
Yet local suburban churches are full of nearly exclusively those married with children.
Their DAILY reality is unlike the common perceptions of the suburban middle-class folks.
Those on the margins have trouble finding a place of belonging in the common local church setting.
How do we fail to open our hearts and healths to those unlike us?
Many years ago there was a saying, What Would Jesus Do?
There were wrist bands that said WWJD.
That was a passing fad.
But there is a kernel of truth we need to consider earnestly from time to time.
How do we fail to live out what Jesus stated we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world?
How do we fail to open our hearts and healths to those unlike us?
Many years ago there was a saying, What Would Jesus Do?
There were wrist bands that said WWJD.
That was a passing fad.
But there is a kernel of truth we need to consider earnestly from time to time.
How do we fail to live out what Jesus stated we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world?
The bottom line is that the most awake of us are barely alert to our cognitive biases.
Yet on this Wikipedia page, their HUNDREDS of biases listed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases
As we start this year and decade let us WAKE UP from the slumber of lazy thinking.
Let us FULLY obey the New Commandment of Jesus that said simply Love One Another.
That includes not just those that are easy to love but those that are unloved by society.
Let our love be expressed in words and deeds.
Let us FIRST love those of the household of faith.
The Bible says we are each member of the greater body of Christ.
Like members of the human body, we have need of one another.
We can practice the unconditional love of God for or brothers and sisters in Christ.
THEN those on the outside will say we are surely disciples of Jesus Christ due to our love.
Let First Corinthians 13 become our manifesto as individuals, marriages, and families.
When we make LOVE as the main thing then it will ripple out to those who are desperate to be loved.
Yet on this Wikipedia page, their HUNDREDS of biases listed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases
As we start this year and decade let us WAKE UP from the slumber of lazy thinking.
Let us FULLY obey the New Commandment of Jesus that said simply Love One Another.
That includes not just those that are easy to love but those that are unloved by society.
Let our love be expressed in words and deeds.
Let us FIRST love those of the household of faith.
The Bible says we are each member of the greater body of Christ.
Like members of the human body, we have need of one another.
We can practice the unconditional love of God for or brothers and sisters in Christ.
THEN those on the outside will say we are surely disciples of Jesus Christ due to our love.
Let First Corinthians 13 become our manifesto as individuals, marriages, and families.
When we make LOVE as the main thing then it will ripple out to those who are desperate to be loved.
Long before Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary the Jews often repeated Duet 6:5
| And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Notice how the term ALL appears 3 times. We who have been reborn and filled with the Holy Spirit have this challenge. How have we failed to love God with ALL our heart, soul, and might? Jesus included loving your neighbor as yourself in Matt 22:39. How have we failed to be a doer of that Great Commandment? Notice in movies and novels of long ago there was mention of the Golden Rule. Yet these days why and how have we ignored such a simple guide? These few words are valid navigation aids for children as well as adults. Pause and consider these versions. You shall love your neighbor as your self. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. How have we failed to recall and use this CRITICAL biblical guidance? |
Are we genuinely content with our spiritual life?
Is there any room for improvement?
If we keep doing with we have been doing then what are the chances for important improvements?
When I have attended conferences for missions I was deeply challenged.
My complacency was shaken.
That is what I hope has happened to you.
I am not calling you to give to a certain missions agency or join a certain group.
But I am asking you to prayerfully consider objectively examining your life.
Read this article again 1 or 2 more times
Notice the thoughts and feelings that arose.
Make note of those.
Take those to God in earnest prayer.
Let go of your fears, doubts, expectations, excuses, etc.
Look to the Holy Spirit to speak to you in the Bible, from others, and in your heart.
The Bible uses the term repent and repentance at key intervals.
If you are convicted that you have failed in some of these areas then just repent.
Trust the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you and lead you in the path of righteousness.
God will provide both the promptings as well as the courage to take bold action steps.
It might feel frightening at first but that is when it is essential to trust the Lord with ALL your heart.
What got me inspired to write this article is how the following broadened my horizons.
Note that there are three videos by John Stott about the Incomparable Christ on Amazon Prime for free BUT somehow video number one is not available.
Here is a link to the book
https://www.amazon.com/Incomparable-Christ-John-Stott/dp/083083222X/
subtractHere is a link to the book
https://www.amazon.com/Incomparable-Christ-John-Stott/dp/083083222X/
make room
empty self
become teachable
memento mori
speak truth to power
voice for voiceless
comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable
judges right in own eyes
convict of sin righteousness and judgment
confess
convict v guilt
forgive others and self
book of judges did what is right in own sight
sovereignty free will
human responsibility and destiny fate
lordship
religion spirituality
Christmas baby easter crucifix
statues
glam paintings
know Him intimately
names nature
as understand
self-care
mind on a stick
respect limits of the body
make it a priority to stop look and listen
food a fuel not as
daily devotional
sent email
video
voice thread
self-care without crisis
lecture hall concert hall
core apologetics trust Bible who is JC what is salvation doer of the word
love
wake up
shake self
repent from and to
spiritual disciplines
EMS
failure success lessons improvements
love people use things
path to satisfaction
idols comfort convenience pleasure success things fame popularity
fashin gadgets
professional sports
few on-field many spectators need to exercise
Your gifts, experiences, and wisdom have benefited many and will continue to do so. THEREFORE I exhort you to PLEASE take great care of your health and safety SO THAT you will live long and prosper. I mean business. You can best love me and others by DELIBERATELY setting a HIGH priority on your self-care ESPECIALLY as it will impact your LONGEVITY. This is because in the coming years and decades what you have to offer others will ONLY gain in value and usefulness. PLEASE talk candidly with your spouse, primary care provider, and closest friends about these matters. Also, do an annual audit of safety related to your vehicle, bathroom, workplace, and any other place where injuries might happen. Shalom
stage of learning
what would ancestors say
death quality of life quantity
fame fortune yet lottery celebrities
vs love family Maslow
busy yet lazy
fearful
fear failure unknown others say think
comfort zones
want to be seen heard accepted respected
difference listen not hear
not judge
unto send for feedback
Ryan and Sarah
Sara
Ted Megan
to podcast
legacy v resume
pleasure purpose
the highest good make this world a better place
20s idealism
compromise
cross-generational
money and time to priorities
persecuted
history and current
Gandhi sins
God loves you communion 3 16
let go release
forgive
print out and write on to give to me
show of Blogger w units
Lamina
*** examine self
Study to show yourself approved
Holy Spirit
personal responsibility
tests
imminent and transcendent
human and divine
merciful and just
tough love and tender love
thinking and feeling
reason and intuition
Myers Briggs
masculine feminine
who am I
body looks
job
parent
position
who can I trust
what is my worth
positional righteousness
conditional righteousness
justification sancitficaion
glidifction
faith
hope
love
religion
spirituality
philosophy
theology
psychology
all your mind
He answered, "' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
https://biblehub.com/luke/10-27.htm
amazing grace lyrics
natural reader
unto 30 or 40
Kerry and Ofelia
revised January 19, 2020
version 2.0
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