Chad Lewis’ Blog

My thoughts are going 90 to nothing this morning so I opened up one of my prayer books to meditate on other people’s prayers. I will often turn to Valley of Vision and meditate on some Puritan prayers, but today, I opened another prayer book.

I came upon a prayer from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He wrote the following prayer while awaiting execution in a Nazi prison. Bonhoeffer’s life is worth investigating if you like a good biography, but know that he wrote this prayer not knowing if he would be released or executed. In the end, he was put to death not long before WWII ended. Here is his prayer.

O God, early in the morning I cry to you.
Help me to pray
And to concentrate my thoughts on you:
I cannot do this alone.

Restore me to liberty,
And enable me so to live now
That I may answer before you and before me.
Lord, whatever this day may bring,
Your name be praised.

Wherever we are today and whatever our state, we must realize and believe that God hears our prayers. He knows that we are feeble and weak. He knows we are made of dust. He knows that our days are numbered here on this earth.

What does God want from us? What does He demand? He asks us to believe. He asks us to trust that He is good, right and perfect and that His ways are always best. He asks us to cast our anxieties upon Him because He cares for us.

So where do you start? Begin with honesty. I have often prayed, “Lord, I don’t desire You right now. But I do desire to desire You. Please help me!” This might be the place you start today.

Filed under: Prayer by Chad Lewis
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A few of our pastors had the privilege to be treated to dinner by Paul Tripp this past week. Paul and his friend were in town teaching a quick class at Southern Seminary .

As dinner rolled on, we began talking about love and Paul mentioned Amos 4. We discussed how God tells the people all of the tribulations that He brought their way but they did not turn back to Him. The list includes holding back rain, smiting their crops with mildew and blight, sending plagues and even killing some of their young men with swords. If you read the chapter, these are not things that God allowed, but rather, these are things that God directly brought about from His own hand. We might ask ‘Why?”.

When we think about God’s love, do we consider that He is willing to do anything to give us what is best. Is God willing to break our legs, bring heartache, suffering, discontent, along with huge lists of other things in order for us to have what is best? The answer that we find in Scripture is a resounding “YES!” What would it profit for us to gain the whole world, all it’s riches and comforts and then lose our souls? What good would it do for us to become a child of God and then never grow past being a babe in Christ? How would this bring glory to God and how could this be best for us?

So what is best? Is happiness best? Is our comfort best? Is an easy life best? All of these things are not best. They actually fall so short of what is best that it would be like comparing the chance to live in a kingdom as a son of the King along with all it’s riches with having the chance to walk out alone into the dessert to die a long, slow, painful death. It’s a no-brainer right?

So why do we choose what we don’t really need? The problem is that we have short term vision. If we can look with eternal eyes, we can see that we would always trade the temporary in order to gain the eternal. As Paul writes, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)

Are you looking at your trials as gifts today? Are you hoping to be released from their midst as quickly as possible? If we look at these questions with eternal eyes, we might answer these questions differently. Ask God to help you view the circumstances that surround your life today with eternal eyes.

Filed under: Suffering, love by Chad Lewis
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In Jeremiah 17:5 and following, we get a look into the difference between a person who trusts in man and the person who trusts in God. The differences are like night and day.

In verses 5 and 6, we see that the person who trust in man and depends on flesh for his strength is cursed. This person is also described as having their heart turn away from the LORD. I believe this can allude to the person who trusts in other friends, themselves, governments, or anything other than God. Just like the Psalmist said, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). People can trust in a variety of things, but none of these things give life and the foundation they offer is like shifting sand.

So what is this person like? The descriptions here are pretty drab and hopeless. A bush in the wasteland that does not see prosperity. This person’s thirsty soul is never quenched. This doesn’t sound like a place I want to visit though I have seen the affects of wandering scar my soul during some seasons of life.

The good news comes in verses 7 and 8. The opposite is true of the person who trusts in the LORD and puts their confidence in Him. What is true of this person? They are like a tree planted by water and this tree grows it’s roots deep down into the ground and finds water and life from a source unseen to the naked eye. These roots drink from a stream that never runs dry.

When heat comes, this person does not fear for he knows and ruthlessly trusts in the Lord. The most amazing thing is told to us next. In times of drought, this tree produces green leaves and does not dwell in worry during the dry spells. And by God’s grace and good pleasure, this person produces fruit for the world to see and wonder. As many see our good works and the fruit that pops out, they will praise our God who fills up empty and weak believers who trust in Him.

So what are you trusting in today? Your intelligence? Your ability to convince? Your future? Your spouse? Are you trusting in some future ministry to fill you or to validate your life? Are you trusting in ______________? You fill in the blank and get before the Lord and ask Him to reveal what you are trusting in other than Him. Repent, confess it to some fellow believers, and seek to trust in the Lord. It will always be a daily battle, but God will empower us to do what He calls us to do.

Filed under: trust by Chad Lewis
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In 2002, my life fell apart. I had written my entire story and it was unfolding just how I imagined. Upon moving to Georgia to marry a young lady I’d been dating for 2 years and to begin a new ministry, all was ripped away. It was as if I arrived to some foreign land and was put into a prison of darkness. The young ladies heart was no longer for me though it once beat stronger than I could imagine. The traveling ministry that I had dreamed of just dwindled away as if God had simply blocked all invitations to go and speak about the things that I wasn’t experiencing anyway.

For years I had dreamed about being an oak of righteousness and being useful in ministry, but I had made an idol out of getting married and I had made an idol out of ministry as well. My identity was so wrapped up in those things that it was nearly a fatal blow to my heart. It was the darkest time of my life.

As I was traveling to help out my grandmother in a time of need, I stopped at a rest stop and saw a tree stump. It had been cut pretty close to the ground. This image stung my heart because I felt that this was a picture of my spiritual life. I once thought myself a tree that was deeply rooted for God, but I realized that I had been cut down. I had been brought very low. I wasn’t what I thought I was.

I went up to the tree and examined it. In the middle of the stump grew a tiny green shoot. In my heart, I felt like God was saying that He had brought me low. He had cut me down, but He was beginning a new work and this work was like the little green shoot. This work would be done by Him and He would grow me by His grace to be an oak of righteousness that declared His glory and that others could come and take shade under. They could glorify God as this new tree would stand in the storms and not be easily shaken.

So 6 years later, I can say that God has begun and continues to work this into my life. If you have been brought low, do not despair. Turn to God and trust that He has brought you low for a reason. He can turn your mourning into dancing, and He can grow back any tree stronger than it was before. Always remember, He is God and He knows best.

Filed under: Identity, Suffering by Chad Lewis
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So we are supposed to bloom where we are planted. We are supposed to be about growing up in maturity so that we won’t be spiritual babies. Even so, it is important to remember that we cannot grow ourselves. This is a work that only God can do. So you might ask, “If we can’t grow ourselves in righteousness, what are we supposed to do?” Well, I’m glad you asked.

The best example I’ve heard is from a book called the Green Letters by Miles Stanford. We all know that a plant cannot grow itself. But if you take a plant and place it in a closet with the lights off and cease to water it, that plant is going to go downhill fast. However, if you take a plant and put it in direct sunlight, water it regularly and even give it plant food, that plant has been put in a position to grow.

It is like that in the Christian life. When a Christian puts himself in the dark places and stops eating spiritual food and being around other believers, that Christian is not going to grow in righteousness. I picture someone who is glued to the TV all of the time and who stops being around God’s people (which has been me in the past). That person is not going to grow. But, the Christian who has deep spiritual friendships, seeks God through prayer and reading the Bible, attends a local gathering for corporate worship, and seeks to love God and others is a person who is putting himself in a place of fertile soil, sunlight, and much good spiritual food.

God will throw in times of darkness and trials, times of joy and victory, along with seasons of doubt and distress. God is using all of these things to grow us and let’s be thankful once again that Philippians 1:6 is true whether we feel like it is or not. “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Filed under: Gospel by Chad Lewis
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Eugene Peterson writes, “The person… who looks for quick results in the seed planting of well-doing will be disappointed. If I want potatoes for dinner tomorrow, it will do me little good to go out and plant potatoes in my garden tonight. There are long stretches of darkness and invisibility and silence that separate planting and reaping. During the stretches of waiting there is a cultivating and weeding and nurturing and planting still other seeds” (From Traveling Light).

As I reflect on this thought today, I am reminded how easy it is to always take the short view and to forget the long view. We are such a fast food and microwave society that we want things and we want them now. However, God is not bound by our definitions of success or timing and we should be thankful for that.

Where are you right now? Are you content in the place that God has you? Are you seeking to grow where He has planted you or are you dreaming about getting to the place where you can really thrive? Do you believe that God is going to finish the work that He started and that right now and that He is using the circumstances of your life to accomplish His goals? In reality, if we believe Romans 8:28-29 and have a proper theology of place, we must believe that God has planted us exactly where we need to be. The only place we can be is wherever we are right here and right now. We can daily miss opportunities to love those in front of us, experience God’s grace, and lose precious moments to truly live. I know because I’ve spent countless days in some nebulous future that will never exist. I must be where God has planted me and live in the now for that is where I am.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”

Remember that we can’t just flip a switch and appear in the land of contentment. We must own our lack of contentment and take it to the Father. We must pray and ask that He would teach us and draw us to believe what is true. We need to surround ourselves with believers who can speak truth in our lives, and ultimately, we must trust ruthlessly in the goodness of our Abba Father. He is always faithful. He is always good. He always knows best and He is doing a work that is beyond our understanding.

Filed under: Contentment by Chad Lewis
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I carry around a bundle of Scriptures and quotations with me to read at various downtimes in life. One of my cards has the following John Bunyan quotation: “God has gone all the way from the gate of hell, where you were, to the gate of heaven, where you are going, with flowers out of His own garden. Behold how the promises, invitations, calls, and encouragements, like lilies, lie round about you! Take heed that you do not tread them under your foot.”

What promises are you resting in today? A famous pastor said that he searches the Bible each day for one nugget of truth to carry with him throughout the day. Whether it is something about the love of God or a particular promise that will be fulfilled in heaven, the beauty and depth of these promises and truths will never be exhausted.

At times in my life, I have said things in my heart like, “I know about God’s love”, or “I know about being saved by grace.” These statements are simple evidences that I wasn’t getting it at all.

The depths of God’s love are deeper than any ocean, wider than the galaxies, and as unfathomable as the mathematical languages of the universe. Even so, a simple child can know love. So we start simple and slowly move into the depths. We should all be moving towards the deep end of the pool by now.

So if you find yourself feeling like you know it all and you like you are only catching repeats from Scripture, try reading on your knees. Pray a simple and honest prayer to God and ask Him to help you see more. Ask Him to open the eyes of your heart to see more truth and to love Him more. Because in the end, if these promises don’t warm our hearts to love God and others with a love that can only come from God, they are not doing what God intended them to do.

Filed under: Faith by Chad Lewis
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Amy Carmichael was a famous missionary to India for 55 years without a furlough. She was a woman of great joy and sorrow. She said that faith doesn’t eliminate questions, but faith know where to take them. I’m sure that Amy had a lot of questions as she saw young children kidnapped and abused. I’m sure she might have had moments of doubt as an injury left her bed-ridden in the last years of her life. But through all of this turmoil, the overwhelming overflow of her life was joy and trust in God.

So where do you take your questions when you doubt? Do you let them swirl in your head and try to figure out everything on your own? Do you go to the internet and look for answers from random sites?

We must develop a culture of being able to openly discuss our doubts and fears with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is one thing I love about my church body, Sojourn Community Church. Somehow, a community of open discussion has been fostered over the years. I get to grapple with questions from people that are open, honest and revealing.

But where do I go as a pastor when I am struggling with doubt and questions? By God’s grace, I have a few places. Ultimately, when the doubts and questions rage, God has given me an open door to come and sit with Him and pour my heart out to Him. This is the first place I should go though it is often the last. God has given me other means of grace to lean on in troubling times.

I have my triad. Scott Holman, Chris Davis and I meet and listen to each others hearts. We ask probing questions and it is a place where we can be honest to the point that I have rarely known. I also have some other Christian friends in other states that have journeyed longer than me and have more grounding in the Gospel. I also have an amazing wife who always accepts me as I am. Ultimately, I know that I cannot bear the weight alone so I run for help.

Don’t suffer in silence alone. Run to God and then go to those people in your life that God has provided. Be honest and be humble in receiving counsel and prayer. If you don’t have people in your life, ask God to provide and I have full confidence that He will. It might not look like you expect, but it will be for your good. Don’t fear your doubts, but do take them to the right place.

For more information about Amy Carmichael’s life, check out A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael by Elisabeth Elliot.

Filed under: Faith by Chad Lewis
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So I feel like I’m in a bit of a slump. Baby Thomas is having to share a room with Ginger and me because our house is far from being revamped. We have holes in the walls, unfinished floors, and nails exposed as fun little traps waiting to catch your shin if your not careful.

So baby Thomas is not sleeping really well these days because of teething or some other law of babyness night patterns, so that means Ginger and me are not sleeping well either. That boy has some lungs and can cry with the best of them.

So with sleep deprivation often comes a funk. I’m in a funk. It is hard to get motivated to work hard at work and work hard at home and then sleep a bit to go work hard at work and then come work hard at home. In the midst of the cycle, my feelings are all jacked up. I don’t feel much like I’m very effective at life in general and I don’t really “feel” anything from God. But I’m glad my faith is not based on feelings.

Don’t get me wrong, the two can be intimately combined and a life without ever “feeling” at all is a pretty sad life. But, when we walk through the valley or enter a funk, the same truths that rule the universe are as true as when I feel the presence of God as close as my babies breath on my cheek. Romans 8:28-29 and 38-39 are still true if I feel like a loser or if I feel like a success.

So… with all that said, stand on the promises of Scripture and if you see me with eyes closed in my office, I am probably just praying… (in my sleep that is.)

Filed under: Faith by Chad Lewis
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Henri Nouwen writes, “Every good relationship between two or more people, whether it is friendship, marriage, or community, creates space where strangers can enter and become friends. Good relationships are hospitable. When we enter into a home and feel warmly welcomed, we will soon realize that the love among those who live in that home is what makes that welcome possible.”

It is easy in America to fall into the trap of compartmentalizing our lives. It is easy to say, “I do the church thing on Sundays, I have a small group on Tuesday nights, and I do a service project once a month.” And then others say, “Man, you are rocking the Christian life.”

This leads me to ask, “Where in the world did we become so satisfied with mediocrity?” I have been satisfied way too many days. When I seek to be comfortable and shut my life off from others and then choose when to minister, I need to do a heart check. The following are some questions from a missional cardiogram that we use often at Sojourn Community Church. I will add a few of my own as well. These questions are not meant to beat us up, but they are meant to help us see if we are really being hospitable and if we are on mission 24/7 and not just when we feel like it.

• Do I have regular conversations with people outside the faith?
• Have I shared a meal with someone outside the faith in the last month?
• Have I served a friend who is outside the faith in the last month?
• Have I invited a friend who is outside the faith to church or my community group?
• Have I shared the Gospel in the last month?
• Do I look for opportunities to serve my neighbors?
• Do I have the tendency to run from people who are needy?
• Do I need to repent?
• What can I do this week to meet the needs of one person in my life?

How can you start? Here is one easy example. My wife and I just moved into a new neighborhood and are renovating an older house. She has already baked cookies and taken them to some of our surrounding neighbors and begun to ask them about their stories. We are having the widow who lives next door over this week for supper and will paint her window trim in the next weeks. All of this things are simple, but they all breathe life. And we hear the familiar refrain, “You get life when you give yours away.”

Filed under: Missional by Chad Lewis
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