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
No Comments »
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
2 Comments »
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
1 Comment »
In the last two weeks, a truth has been growing deeper in me. The truth is that my identity is secure in Christ. I recently drew a picture on a note card and will keep it on my desk for a while. On one side, I drew a circle and wrote “Identity” in it. I wrote a few things that are true of me in Christ underneath. I am a new creation and part of a chosen people. Then in the middle of the card, I drew a brick wall. Then on the write side of the wall, I drew several circles and placed in them the following words: vision, performance, opinions, achievements, and approval.
A constant battle rages inside me. I tie my identity to how people accept or buy into my vision. I tie my identity with how well I perform and achieve. I tie my identity with so many other things and this only brings depression, insecurity, and disillusionment or self-righteousness and pride.
All of this is a big trap, because the truest thing about me is who I am in Christ. I am not rejected, worthless or a loser. I am not self-sufficient or strong. But the things that I am are locked away and can never be touched.
I am a…
Child of God→ 1 John 3:1-3, John 1:12-13, 1 John 4:10-12
Adopted→ Eph 1:4-10
Chosen→ Psalm 139, 1 Thess 1:4-5, Col 3:12-13
Totally Accepted and a Righteous Saint→ 2 Cor 5:17-6:1, Eph 1:1, 2 Cor 13:12-13, Rom 8:27, Rom 1:7
Meditate on some of these verses and be reminded of who you are and remember that this is the motivation for loving God and others. We have been captured by God’s amazing grace and He calls us to share this message and love with a world that is broken. So start by loving the person on your right or left today and remember who you are.
Filed under: Identity by Chad Lewis
1 Comment »
I’ve been thinking about God’s gifts this morning. The gifts of difficult relationships, hard working environments, disobedient children - all of these and many, many more are gifts even though they don’t seem to be in the moment. God uses all of these “gifts” to make us more like Jesus. They are all part of our sanctification.
As you approach these “gifts” throughout each day of life, the choice exists for us to react in our own strength and understanding or turn our eyes to the Father and seek to use each of these situations as redemptive possibilities.
With difficult relationships, we have the opportunity to move towards people with the love and forgiveness that Christ has shown us. He is always moving toward us - especially when we are unlovable. With hard work environments, we have the opportunity to realize how needy we truly are and this can drive us to God to ask for help moment by moment to love others, react with kindness and actually live in the strength that God provides. And with our children, we have the opportunity to not merely correct behavior, we can explore their hearts and see each opportunity as a chance to share grace, love and discipline. It even gives us the opportunity to ask for their forgiveness when we act sinfully towards them.
Is any of this easy? Nope. It isn’t supposed to be. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 is not named by mistake. It isn’t the fruit of my good efforts or the fruit of trying harder. It is the fruit of the Spirit because it is the fruit that only God can truly give.
Rich Mullins wrote, “The long and short of all of it is that if I believe that God is good, then I need to accept whatever happens in my life as being a gift, and allow Him to take some of the things that hurt, allow Him to take some of the things that sting, some of the things that I think are going to kill me - allow Him to take those things and make of me the person He wants me to be. It may not be the person I want to be, but it’ll be the person He would want me to be.”
Let’s remember that God is at work today and seek to be thankful for these “gifts” that God gives.
Filed under: Suffering by Chad Lewis
2 Comments »
Language is such a funny thing. Sometimes we say something and mean something different. Sometimes words can have several meanings and we get confused when things are taken out of context. I once heard of an anecdote that posed a young Christian as dropping their Bible open to find out God’s will for their lives. They dropped it open and it said “Judas went and hanged himself” and then the next place it dropped open was to the phrase “go likewise and do the same.”
“Church” is a word that too often means very different things to different people. To most in the our day and age, “church” simply means the building that we go to on Sundays and Wednesdays. However, we would all agree that Jesus didn’t die to redeem a building.
A pastor has been challenging me to redeem the language of church. He says that we should kick hard against the notion that we ever “go to church” but rather, we go to gather with other members of the church. The church is me and the church is you. We can gather as the body that calls itself Sojourn Community Church, but we are not going to a building and calling it church.
Is this really such a big deal? I hope to answer this question more thoughtfully and eloquently later, but yes, it is a big deal. People for ages have been going to church and paying ministers to do the work of the Gospel. You can go to church twice a week and check those boxes off your to-do list and feel good about yourself. However, you cannot “be” the church and ever not consider your life as being a life on mission. We never cease being on mission if we consider that we “are” the church and we must reach out to a lost and hurting world that needs the healing power of Jesus Christ. May we go and “be” the church to those in our lives.
Filed under: Missional by Chad Lewis
1 Comment »
After living a gazillion places, having a thousand jobs, being up in front of people playing music and speaking, mopping floors, having money and being dirt poor, receiving accolades and awards, and being made fun of, I have realized that none of this earthly stuff is ever enough. One might think that after having experienced earth shattering lows that are so painful your teeth hurt that you would truly appreciate the highs where the whole world seems to be affected by you, but it is never enough and it was never meant to be.
We were created to never be truly filled by anything but God alone. If we believe the Scriptures, God has us where we are for His exact purposes and to fulfill a greater plan. I have seen the green grass on the other side of the fence and moved to the neighbor’s yard only to desire to go back because the shades of green seemed to change.
With all of this, I think of Paul’s words in the epistles. He counted “ALL” loss compared to knowing Christ. He counted everything as rubbish and refuse compared to knowing Christ. And he also found contentment in all things. Whether he was hungry or full, warm or cold, in safety or in danger, in all these places he was in Christ and Christ was in him.
We were not created for this world so the next time you find yourself useless because you are thinking that being somewhere else would solve all your problems, remember that your problems and heartaches will always go with you. However, the God of our fathers will never change and He can meet us in our time of deepest need.
So I write this to myself this morning because I’ve been thinking that the grass is greener right now and my contentment in what God is providing is at a low. But, I will trust in His promises and say along with David, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures…” God has made me lie down in the green pastures that He has ordained for me at this time, and I will praise Him for it.
Filed under: Contentment by Chad Lewis
No Comments »
As Christmas knocks on our door this year, let us continually keep before us the reason for this holiday. It is not for getting “stuff” though it’s theme is the gift of Christ and how He came to reconcile sinners to His Father. It is not about family though it is awesome to be with loved ones and even dwell on the fact that the family of God breaks through any socio-economic or cultural barriers. Christmas is about Christ.
One of the first things I learned in Seminary was so simple that it amazed me that I had not picked up on it earlier. When reading the Bible, the main character is always God. In the story of Abraham, the main character is God and how He will bring about His promises. With Moses, the main character is God and how He will set His people free and bring them into the land of promise. This list could go on and on. The story of the judges is how gracious God is and how He will bring his ways about even through a rebellious and obstinate people.
So we come back to Christmas. The main character is God again. In His infinite wisdom and with a plan that was drawn up before the earth was created, the Father decided to send His Son to earth to redeem a people of His own choosing. This Christ is spoken of so beautifully in Philippians 2. Paul admonishes us to be like Jesus as He is the ultimate and perfect picture of humility.
Though in perfect union in the Trinity for all eternity past, Christ does not keep hold of what is rightfully His. He lays down His rights and “made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7-8). This was the very plan of God!
As we meditate on these things, let’s not forget about the depths of this story. Let’s get beyond singing carols and kneel before our Maker who made our eternal salvation possible. And after a few thousand years of prophecy and things lining up perfectly by the administration of God, Jesus was born when the fulness of time had come. And now we are to proclaim, “Hallelujah, What A SAVIOR!!!!”
Filed under: Humility by Chad Lewis
No Comments »
I recently read a quotation from a famous pastor that relayed the following message. Those who deserve nothing should be content with anything.
We do live in an entitlement age. We feel entitled to get what we deserve. We see this on talk shows, on the news and to those desiring to get what is coming to them. The selfishness of this age should not surprise us. It just seems that media allows the message of “self” to get to the public’s ears much more readily than in any time before ours.
So this attitude seaps into our churches. We blame God for not making our lives perfect according to our standards. However, when you look at the lowest class of Americans, they are rich in comparison to the rest of the world. In our country, you can usually find food to eat and water to drink no matter how bad your plight might be.
If we are not careful, we can reach the point where we proclaim to God that we deserve grace and all the blessings of this life. We forget one enormous truth. We don’t really want what we deserve.
If we got what we deserve, we would be put on trial instantly for pointing our finger in the Creator’s face and saying “No thanks! I’ll do this life thing my way!” We would be put on trial for the mulititude of sins we commit each day as we put ourselves before God and others.
We are in the most hopeless and pitiable state. Those who do not realize this are the worst off. They do not even realize what they deserve.
If we are children of God, we should look and see that grace is really amazing. We should look and see that all we have has been given to us. We should look and be thankful for another breath to be able to even speak the Name of God and thank Him for what eternity has in store. This life is not too long to live recklessly with great contentment for the One who has given us life and Himself. Let us refocus and whose we are and what we really deserve.
Filed under: Contentment by Chad Lewis
1 Comment »
The thorn holds back the veil so I can see my Savior’s face.
I heard the above line in a poem a few days ago. In pondering this thought, I imagine all the things that keep us from an intimate relationship with our Lord. If we were left to our own devices, we would never seek God. We would simply go on god-hunts for all our lives thinking that the next thing would fill the Grand Canyon cavern in our soul that longs for something bigger than we can imagine.
The writer of Ecclesiastes says that God has put eternity in our hearts. We can taste that we were made for something bigger though so often, even as Christians, we don’t believe that God can fill this hole in our hearts.
Then enter the thorn. We hate thorns. We would have a problem if we liked pain or loneliness. But we don’t have to like them to know that they are useful in our lives. We can humbly accept the thorn because it will help us cling to the hem of our Savior’s robe and we will then notice His accepting eyes and open arms. Could this grace be true? Could God send distress? Could that be in His master plan?
There has been no sweeter fellowship with the Lord save when I was in my deepest point of distress. When aching and gut-wrenching agony had crippled my soul, I found my Savior weeping with me. But in the same moment I found my Savior smiling for He knew that this was best. This thorn allowed me to see Him more clearly. I could see better whose I was and that is much more important than who I am. I am beloved. I am Christ’s. I was bought back at the highest price so that I can be a shining jewel for God.
So if you find yourself complaining about your thorn, stop and breathe. Stop and read 2 Corinthians 12 and following. Stop and TRUST. For Gospel transformation only begins when we recognize our need and take it to the Savior. God choose a few ordinary people to change the course of the world. Each one realized their need for Him. Let us glory in our need for it will help us glory in our Savior’s sufficiency.
Filed under: Suffering by Chad Lewis
No Comments »
