by Chad Lewis on February 11, 2010
I came across the following in a devotional I am reading. It is an excerpt from Hannah Whitall Smith’s The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life.
Years ago I came across this sentence in an old book: “Never indulge, at the close of an action, in any self-reflective acts of any kind, whether of self-congratulation or self-despair. Forget the things that are behind, the moment they are past, leaving them with God.” This has been of unspeakable value to me. When the temptation comes, as it mostly does to every worker after the performance of any service, to indulge in these reflections, either of one sort or the other, I turn from them at once and positively refuse to think about my work at all, leaving it with the Lord to overrule the mistakes, and to bless it as he chooses. I believe there would be far fewer “blue Mondays” for ministers of the Gospel than there are now if they would adopt this plan; and I am sure all workers would find their work far less wearing.
by Chad Lewis on April 2, 2009
Before I list my reasons, it might be helpful to explain what I mean by “contemplative spirituality.” It is interesting to see what people mean by “contemplative spirituality” and the range goes from meditating on God’s Word to sitting in a room with a candle with no Bible and seeking to hear God for “new stuff.” I would like to redeem the term because the call of Scripture over and over again is to REMEMBER. So if you call it meditating on God’s Word or contemplative spirituality, if the source is God’s Word and His truth, then I need it.
There are many people in the contemplative camp I cherish and others who I think are dangerous. So maybe we need to create a new term after all. The Christian life is not just having a quiet time and then walking through the day doing your best. This is not the gospel message. We must continually be reminded throughout the day that we can’t, but He can. We must remember that the fruit of the Spirit is something that only the Spirit can produce. Many of us live with spiritual hernias trying to produce something in our own strength when the words of Jesus are clear, “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). So with that preface, here are some reasons I need contemplative spirituality…
Reason 1: I don’t naturally have soul rest.
Most days it seems like a mini-wind is blowing through my soul. Often, the winds increase and hit hurricane force. I’ve heard it said that we often revert to a worried and hurried pace when this happens. By stopping and meditating on the truths of Scripture throughout the day, I can remember – Who God is, what He’s done, what He is doing, and what He promises to do. This fosters soul rest in me and it is a daily, moment by moment need. This might be simply taking a 5 minute walk and rehearsing Scripture in my heart and asking for help, but this simple act humbles me and reminds me of my need of God’s grace.
Reason 2: I am very forgetful.
I am forgetful. I forget where my keys are if I don’t put them in a certain place. I forget who I am in Christ and so easily merge back into my youthful ways of thinking. I need to be reminded everyday. I need to be gospeled everyday. I am finding Peter Scazzero’s The Daily Office helpful as an additional tool to point me to my Heavenly Father several times throughout the day.
Reason 3: If I don’t, I will crash and burn.
One writer called compulsion, “a blasphemous anxiety to do God’s work for him.” I have this anxiety often. I now believe that these feelings themselves surfacing are not sin, but rather, what I do with them can either be sinful or godly. If they only drive me to be busier, I will crash and burn. If they are a reminder of my desperate need for God, then they are a gift. What are some tools that help point you to Christ?
by Chad Lewis on March 25, 2009
MSN Year in Review 2008 has a 75 picture slideshow of famous people who passed away in 2008. This past Monday I scrolled through the list and read about people I was both familiar and unfamiliar with.
Heath Ledger, Bernie Mac, Tim Russert, Paul Newman, and the list goes on. From this list of 75 people, some died from old age, some from health complications, some from drug abuse, and some from suicide. Many of them had reached the pinnacle of fame, prestige, and success. But they all have one thing in common now: they no longer make their home on this earth.
As I reflected on these stars’ lives, my spirit was really affected. I turned to Psalm 39 and read the following words of David:
4 “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath.
Selah
6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
Truly, our only hope is in the Lord. This life is but a breath and then eternity. I do not want to try to build up my own kingdom, reputation, or success. I truly long to point people to the God who created us and who longs to have a relationship with us. In the end, all that truly matters is what we did with Jesus. That will affect not only this life, but it affects all of eternity.
How do these thoughts from Psalm 39 stir your soul? How can reflecting on the brevity of life actually encourage us?
by Chad Lewis on February 6, 2009
I get made fun of quite often for the illustrations I use and how I act them out in front of crowds. Inside I chuckle because it just shows that people remember the illustration.
The performance treadmill is one of my favorite illustrations. I act like I’m on a treadmill and then ask how far it gets me. People reply, “Nowhere.” I then tell them how it just works up a sweat and if you stop running, you actually get hurt pretty bad.
For years, this described my Christian life. I had no rest. I had no soul rest. I was constantly trying to win God’s approval with how I lived and of course I could never stack up. I would either dwell in the land of despair if I was not doing well, and if I was doing alright, I would live in self-righteousness. Despair was my land more often.
Then, in 1997, God awakened my heart to start understanding what the finished work of the cross really was and how that applied to my life. I was not called to live to win God’s approval, but rather, God’s approval through Christ was already mine and that should be what stirs me to live.
So my motivations began to change. God continues this work in me today.
Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”
Do you find yourself on the performance treadmill today? Do you find yourself trusting in the finished work of the cross? Is the center of your motivation for living that God loves you and longs for what is best in your life? The best gifts God can give us are those things that shake us to the core so that we will find our greatest treasure in Him alone and not in the passing things of this world.
So take a breath and reflect on the cross. Thank God for what He has done and ask Him to help you live in that reality today.
by Chad Lewis on July 14, 2008
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.
by Chad Lewis on June 25, 2008
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.
by Chad Lewis on June 15, 2008
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.
by Chad Lewis on June 10, 2008
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.
by Chad Lewis on June 5, 2008
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.)
by Chad Lewis on July 13, 2006
Ginger and I just got through listening to John Piper’s sermon on George Mueller’s life.
Mueller has long been a hero of mine as his faith in God’s Providence is legendary. As an evangelist, head of orphanages, and missionary, Mueller saw God do amazing things. It is not hard to get discouraged when I sometimes look at my lack of faith.
But as I listen and read about this man’s life, his main desire was to show the faithfulness and majesty of God. Those whom we would call “super-saints” would be horrified to hear such a title. They would be quick to proclaim that they are not super, but that God is more powerful, awesome, lovely, caring, intimate, etc… than we can ever dream or imagine.
Do we dare take God at His Word? Do we dare trust His hand and not the riches of this world? Take the long view brothers and sisters! It may seem that we are throwing away our money, time and very life to the world, but we are trading the temporary for the eternal! Mueller knew this full well.
The ironic thing is that we actually find life when we give our life away. By trading these worldly accolades and treasures in for God’s glory to be known, we gain joy indescribable. This takes place as we shine like lights to a darkened world and they see something that cannot be explained.
This directly shines the spotlight on our God and His sufficiency.
Take some time today and ask yourself “What things am I really putting my trust in?” “What things am I not willing to part with?” Then get before the Lord and ask Him to be your sufficiency. It is then that we don’t need to struggle for more faith. We need to struggle to rest and see who God really is. For when we get a better view of God and His glory, our faith is soon to increase. It is all about Him. We must decrease and He must increase.
