Matthew Forrest Lowe 10/6/15 Matthew Forrest Lowe 10/6/15

4 Gifts to the Church from Mechthild of Magdeburg

Editor: In our Family History Series we are seeking to understand how Christians of the past have pursued making disciples. We want to connect the church’s current efforts to make, mature, and multiply disciples to its historical roots as well as encourage the church to learn from her rich past. So far in our series:

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A week after I started reading Mechthild of Magdeburg[1], my wife asked jokingly (I think) whether she should be worried about my new 13^th-century girlfriend. It was an understandable question: I’d never read anything quite like Mechthild’s The Flowing Light of the Godhead and I was eager to tell anyone who would (pretend to) listen about this fascinating writer. Mechthild (her name looks complicated, but it’s closely related to “Matilda”; the ch is hard, like in character, and the th is more like a t) lived most of her life as a beguine[2]—a member of a lay sisterhood, living in chastity, poverty, and community—before entering a convent in later life. She and her book became inspirational models for contemplative prayer; but soon after her death, Mechthild’s work was known only in bits and pieces, often anonymously. So if you haven’t heard of her, that’s not surprising. As I’ve continued to study Mechthild’s life and work, I’ve found four significant gifts that she gave to the church—gifts that I’ve experienced personally, and that I think can be profoundly helpful for discipleship today.

1. The gift of creativity in prayer and writing.

Mechthild’s book is a mixture of visionary journeys, images of courtly love drawn from her medieval world, conversations between her soul and the Lord, sympathetic observations on characters from Scripture, and other meditations. But later, she asks God to let her stop writing: she feels “just as weak and unworthy, and more so, than . . . when I was required to begin.” God responds by showing her “a spiritual convent” of personified virtues. For example, the “abbess is sincere love”; the choir mistress, hope; the schoolmistress, wisdom; and the “mistress of the sick is toiling mercy.”[3] In these personifications, perhaps Mechthild’s prayerful imagination is rising to the challenge of relying on (and identifying with) her new sisters, even in the frustrations of writing. It’s as if she’s looking at the flawed, flesh-and-blood sisters around her, and seeing, in their actions, reflections of love, hope, mercy, etc. What would happen if we asked the Holy Spirit to use this text to shape our perceptions of others in our churches and communities? Individually and together, how are we embodying such virtues? Where might God be calling us to nurture, complement, and pray for one another in our practices of love, generosity, or peacemaking?

I’ve also found that Mechthild’s book fuels my own reading and writing. In my journaling, her tendency to align her character with those that inspire her in Scripture—not just for their heroics, but for their approach to suffering—has transformed the way I identify with the oh-so-human thoughts and reactions recorded there. Mechthild’s honesty about her failings and weaknesses has changed the way I see the Examen, the prayer in which we take stock of our day and ask for God’s help in remedying the moments that require forgiveness. I’ve even found Mechthild’s work helpful for my own creative writing, as I’m working on a novel that draws significantly from her life experience. Not that I always agree with her theology or her interpretations of Scripture; but when I part company with her, I have to discern what it is that I disagree with and why. Prayerfully cultivating such discernment makes us more sensitive to the voice of God, more faithful in our imagination and discipleship, and that’s never a bad thing.

2. The gift of seeing estrangement and exile as welcome gifts.

One of the most consistent notes in Mechthild’s writing is her yearning for God’s presence. To express this yearning, she often used images of estrangement and exile, as though she were living in another country, separated from her true home and her Lord. These metaphors helped her face challenges in her life, coming to see them as bittersweet blessings from God. It probably shouldn’t surprise us that she found help in identifying her feelings of estrangement and exile with similar experiences of the Bible’s cast members, including Jesus, Mary, John the Evangelist, Peter, Paul, and Stephen. In the following short excerpts, Mechthild speaks respectively to Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist, and Mary, Jesus’ mother:

“I live with you in the desert wilderness, because all things are foreign to me except God alone”;

“To the extent that we live a holy life in exile,” we resemble John the Baptist;

“Ah, Lady, remember all my longings and all my prayers . . . when I leave this deplorable exile.”[4]

Desert wilderness. Foreign. Deplorable exile. With these images, and in solidarity with biblical figures who had undergone similar experiences, Mechthild transforms her feelings of estrangement and exile into heartfelt prayers of hunger for God. Amid the rapid religious, political, and cultural shifts that are re-shaping our world today, the image of exile is receiving a lot of attention: in some instances it’s being used to describe a sense of loss and nostalgia for the Christendom of the past, while in other cases it’s employed as a picture of Christian mission in an uncertain future, and it’s not easy to tell where one ends and the other begins.[5] And in the current Syrian refugee crisis, we should be careful not to use images of exile too easily, as exile is a very real thing for so many. But in all of this, exile and estrangement should never be left as merely abstract concepts. They certainly weren’t just images for Mechthild; they were at the heart of her prayer language, shaping her prayers for herself and for others in their suffering.

3. The gift of following Christ as a pilgrim.

400 years before John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, Mechthild envisioned her life as a pilgrimage, following a path that Jesus had walked as a pilgrim before her. In her younger days, she had observed,

“God guides his chosen children along strange paths . . . that God himself trod: that a human being, though free of sin and guilt, suffer pain. Upon this path the soul that aches for God is joyful.”[6]

Years later, ravaged by age, illness, and blindness, she returns to the exile theme as she laments:

“This is how the tormented body speaks to the lonely soul: ‘When shall you soar with the feathers of your yearning to the blissful heights to Jesus, your eternal Love? Thank him there for me, lady, that, feeble and unworthy though I am, he nevertheless wanted to be mine when he came into this land of exile and took our humanity upon himself.’”[7]

The younger Mechthild understands this path is “strange” not merely because it carries both pain and joy, but because God himself has preceded her on it and is now her guide. Looking back upon the same path, her older self is thankful for the same grace, in a different key: Christ “wanted to be mine when he came into this land of exile and took our humanity upon himself.” Here—and in other places in her book, where she envisions Christ himself as a pilgrim[8]—Mechthild reminds herself, and us, that if the hard moments of our lives feel like estrangement, alienation, and exile, then there is consolation in knowing that God himself knows what it is like to have been estranged, alienated, and exiled. As if that were not enough, God wants to identify so closely with us in our hardships that he belongs to us, and we belong to him.

4. The gift of submitting our gifts to our community and the church.

Having spent her earlier life serving in what today we might call “intentional community,” when Mechthild transitioned to the convent in later life and poor health, she struggled with letting others serve her, as well as with the question of whether to keep working on her book, as we’ve already seen. But her writing shows how she brought these challenges back to God. Even when she struggled most with her longing for God’s presence—confessing, once, that when God “chooses to withdraw,” to temporarily estrange or absent himself from her, “My longing is higher than the stars”[9]—even then, her life points to a submission to Christ and to the church. In continuing to live in community with her new sisters, in submitting to their Cistercian order, and in completing her book as an example of contemplative prayer that would inspire them even after her death, Mechthild’s path of discipleship wasn’t just a “vertical” relationship of disciple and Master, but a “horizontal” relationship with other disciples in her community, too. She might not have put it quite this way, but Mechthild was contributing her gifts to what has been called the maintenance of longing:[10] a mutual support of one another’s hopes for God’s kingdom, when facing a deeply fragmented world.

In all of these gifts—and perhaps in others that I haven’t yet discerned—Mechthild’s discipleship isn’t a new thing. It is a well-worn path, which she followed with faltering but prayerful steps, inviting others to follow along. She was well aware of the company of saints who had preceded her on this path, and of her own frailty and faults that kept her from walking it as confidently as she might have liked. But she allowed Christ to use these challenges to conform her more closely to his image, so that others might meet Christ while following the written “footsteps” she left behind in her book.

[1] Much of this post is adapted and expanded from a longer paper that I hope will be published in an upcoming issue of the Canadian Theological Review.

[2] Yes, as a matter of fact, the word is distantly related to the Cole Porter song, “Begin the Beguine.”

[3] Mechthild of Magdeburg, The Flowing Light of the Godhead, Book 7.36. Quotations in English are from Frank Tobin’s translation (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 1998).

[4] Ibid., 2.24, 6.32, and 7.20, respectively.

[5] For a helpful study of this image of exile in biblical tradition and the church today, see my friend Lee Beach’s book, The Church in Exile: Living in Hope After Christendom (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2015).

[6] Ibid., 1.25.

[7] Ibid., 7.65.

[8] Ibid., 6.33, 7.13.

[9] Ibid., 7.8.

[10] Sherrie Steiner and Michelle Harper Brix, “Mark 7: Nurturing Common Life among Members of Intentional Community,” in School(s) for Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism, edited by The Rutba House (New Monastic Library 1; Eugene: Cascade, 2005), 97–111, citing 102 here.

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Matthew Forrest Lowe is a freelance editor, professor, and writer, specializing in spiritual formation, biblical theology, and imperial contexts. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, where he co-directs Lectio House, a retreat house startup, with his wife Karen.

Chad A. Francis 4/28/15 Chad A. Francis 4/28/15

3 Fundamental Reasons to Recover Fasting

Recently I was asked to preach on fasting. Better yet, I was asked to preach on fasting on Super Bowl Sunday. In my mind I was being asked to preach on a super spiritual topic to the super spiritual people in our church who would actually show up to our services. Because I’m still being trained for ministry and never turn a preaching opportunity down, I pursued this curious assignment with excitement. As I studied and tried out what I was learning, I began to realize what a normal and important practice fasting was for believers in Jesus’ day, and more importantly I experienced why.

We talk a lot about spiritual disciplines (rhythms of grace, or whatever term you want to use for personal disciplines that help line our lives up with all that we have in the gospel) in the church today—and rightly so, because we need them. But for some reason we treat fasting as this abstract discipline reserved for only the spiritual elite, removed from normal, everyday Christian life and discipleship. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus only talks about three spiritual disciples (giving, prayer, and fasting), and treats them with equal weight (Matt. 6:1-18). In Matthew 9:15 Jesus explicitly states that he expects his disciples to fast.

So what is fasting? And why does Jesus treat it as important and normal in the Christian life? Fasting creates hunger to experience more of God.

Creating hunger

Creating hunger means we take something out of our lives for a period of time that will hurt. Usually this is food, but it can also be other morally neutral things that are staples in our lives and would hurt to go without (like Facebook, email after work hours, TV, shopping, etc).

To experience more of God

We are not ascetics that just enjoy pain. The hunger we create is so we can feast on something greater. So fasting involves not just the cutting out but adding in—you have to fill that space with something. Use the time you would have spent consuming food or something else with feasting upon God. It’s for this reason that fasting in the Bible is always tied to prayer.

Why fast? Here’s three ways we specifically see this play out in our lives:

1. To plead with God/seek guidance.

This is one of the most common ways we think of when we think of fasting. For me, it was the only way I had thought of fasting before this sermon. Some examples include the Jews when facing annihilation (Esther 4:3) and the church at Antioch considering whether or not to send out Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2-3).

In this way, fasting creates space for us and reminds us to pray. It helps align our soul with an appropriate seriousness and tunes us to hear from God. Martin Lloyd Jones says it this way, “One any important occasion, when faced with any vital decision, the early Church always seemed to give themselves to fasting as well as to prayer.”

2. To help fight besetting sin.

Just as we might train in a gym for a big triathlon, so God calls us to train ourselves for godliness (1 Tim. 4:7). Fasting is one of the ways we do this. When we say no to bodily urges in the form of food or something basic, we are exercising the muscle to resist in other areas (i.e., sexual temptation).

Fasting trains us to not just gratify our bodily urges. This strength to resist will transfer to other areas where we fight against sin. Martin Luther says, “Of fasting I say this: it is right to fast frequently in order to subdue and control the body.”

3. To remind us of God’s presence.

Have you ever gotten through a day and realized you forgot about God all day? Me too. It’s madness! You know when this doesn’t happen? When you’re fasting. The hunger pains serve as a reminder that there is more going on beyond what we can see. Fasting tunes us to a deeper and truer reality. The sovereign King of glory is with us, in spite of how we are doing, and this is where we find true life in the midst of our crazy circumstances.

As I got up to preach this sermon to my church family, I was really preaching to myself all that God had been teaching me . Fasting is not something we must add to our lives in order to earn God’s love, rather fasting is a gift to help us live more awake to the undeserved love of God in Christ and to stay clear of distractions that numb and take our life .

If we’re serious about walking in the joy, freedom, and life of the grace of God, how can we neglect fasting? Incorporating fasting as a regular discipline into my life has taken me into much more vitality in my walk with the Lord .

What do you need to take out of your life, where do you need to create a hunger, to help you tune your thoughts, affections, and energies toward God?

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Chad A. Francis (@chadafrancis) serves as the Ministry Coordinator at Garden City Church, where he is being assessed and trained for future pastoral ministry. He’s obsessed with grace and passionate about being a waker where complacency exists. You can read more from Chad at www.chadafrancis.com.

Greg Gibson 4/21/15 Greg Gibson 4/21/15

5 Easy Ways to Develop Gospel Habits

Can you say that you are truly satisfied with the way you live, or the habits you have formed? If we’re honest, most of us can’t answer that question with a positively. We often live from crisis to crisis, from reaction to reaction, or from bad habit to bad habit. The opposite of reactionary living (responding to the circumstances life brings) is intentional living (having a plan and being disciplined enough to stick to it).

There will be times in life when you are hit with a fast-pitch curve ball, and things will happen that we least expect to happen. Even then, though, we can live intentionally in how we respond. The Bible teaches us that there is a war going on—not against flesh and blood—but against the spiritual forces of this world (Eph. 6:2). We are at war everyday with our own flesh (Gal 5:17). What you want to do, you don’t do, and what you don’t want to do, you find yourself doing (Rom. 7:15).

We live this way primarily because of sin, but also because of the bad habits we have formed. We don’t necessarily live each day from decision to decision, but from habit to habit—whether positive or negative, good or bad.

For example, when you’re at a restaurant, you might habitually order a coke instead of water. Or you might wake up in the morning with just the right amount of time to shower, jump in the car, and leave for work—with no wiggle-room for morning devotions or a morning workout . . . or any morning routine.

Even though you might have formed the habit of waking up late (or just being late everywhere you go), the habit you’ve formed the night before effects the habits you have in the mornings.. Think about it this way: You stay up late watching a movie, and then you sleep late. From here, you find yourself in a hurry to get to work on time, drive a little too fast to work, and then yell at a co-worker because you’re tired and grumpy. It all started the night before when you chose to stay up late and watch a movie instead of go to bed at a reasonable hour to be rested for the next day’s events.

At this point, you may be asking, “How is this a gospel issue?” When we talk about using our time well, we are talking about stewardship and dominion-taking issues. Taking dominion over your life also involves how you spend your time—how you redeem your time. It’s a Genesis 2-3 issue, redeemed in Christ. When we understand that Jesus changes everything, the gospel will affect all areas of our lives.

So, again, we all want to live with healthy, gospel-centered, and life-giving habits, but how can we do so? Here a few ways to go beast mode:

1. Plan out your week—every bit of it.

Here’s what this looks like for me. On Sunday evenings, I sit down with my computer and plan out my week. I sit down and plan out these things:

Days and times I will exercise
Breakfasts and lunches
Doctoral work
Other writing and work endeavors
What I’m reading and learning that week
Date night with my wife
Daddy-daughter date (every Friday morning)
And more . . .

Also on Sunday night, my wife and I have a “family council.” At this scheduled weekly meeting, we plan out our meals for the week, our calendar, our evenings at home, our date nights, our budget, relational nights with friends and family, etc. We want to be intentional about our week, not reactionary. This helps monumentally with communication.

On Mondays, I pretty much meet with people all day (from 9am to 5pm), but I prepare for those meetings before I go into them, because for me, they effect the rest of the week.

2. Plan for the next day the night before.

Before I go to bed each night, I plan out the next day. I look at my schedule (both morning, work, and evening) then get ready for the next day.

For instance, my Monday schedule looks like this on most Mondays:

5:30am | Wake up and Bible Reading
6am | Morning routine and get ready to leave
7am | CrossFit
8am | Allergy Shots (I’m literally allergic to the world), Kroger (for the weeks essentials), and get ready at the office

Work Schedule at FC

9am | Check-in meeting
9:30am to 1:00pm | Executive Tactical Meeting and Executive Lunch
1:30pm to 2:45pm | Student Ministry Team Meeting
2:45pm to 3:45 | Family Ministry Team Meeting
4pm to 5pm | Staff Workout

Home

5:30pm | Family Time
9:30pm | Nightly Routine
10pm-ish | Read and bed

Call me weird, but if I don’t plan accordingly like this, then I start to become reactionary over my time. I am prone to wonder . . . be lazy . . . procrastinate . . . be selfish with my time . . . get lost in entertainment. Planning out my days like this allows me to be disciplined, develop healthy habits for my life, and use my time in a redemptive manner.

3. Keep track of your tasks and plan them out accordingly.

It doesn’t matter if you’re relationally-oriented or task-oriented, you need a system for keeping up with everything you “have to get done.” Some people use a moleskin notebook, while others use a task-management app on their computers and phones.

Find what works for you and stick to it. The last thing you want is to be known as someone who lets things fall through the crack because you aren’t intentional about writing things down and getting them done.

I use a task management system that allows me to schedule tasks out into the future. This allows me to plan accordingly, as well as know exactly what I need to get done that day, without having a million other things looming. I put the tasks in my system, plan my upcoming days, then go about my current day as planned.

4. Let your calendar serve you. Don’t serve it.

Here’s the deal with this—don’t be such a stickler that you can’t let unplanned things come up from time to time. Processes, procedures, task management systems, and calendars should serve us. We don’t serve them.

Try something out for a few weeks. If it doesn’t work, change it. Don’t do what I do. Do what works for you and allows you to develop good habits in your life.

5. Be disciplined enough to stick to it!

This is actually the hardest part of developing healthy habits for your life. The first four points are somewhat easy. The hardest part is actually being disciplined enough to live the way you want to live.

Again, the point is to not live reactionary. Live intentionally. Take ownership over your life. Redeem the time. Take stewardship over your week. Go beast mode.

When you do this, I promise you will look back in a month and you will see a mountain of gospel-centered, healthy habits you have developed because of your intentional planing and sticking with it.

When I plan this way, I am able to develop healthy habits in these areas of my life:

Bible reading and devotional times
Prayer time
Date nights
Work schedule
Intentional times with family and friends
What I eat
When I exercise
Morning routines
Evening routines
Healthy family routines
Financial budgets for giving, savings, and spending
And more . . .

Again, it’s all about living intentionally. When we do this, Christ becomes more of your life as you become less (Jn. 3:30). And when you live this way, then healthy, gospel-centered habits begin to form and become second nature.

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Greg Gibson (@greggibson86) is married to Grace and is the father of Cora and Iver. He serves as an elder and family ministries pastor at Foothills Church in Knoxville, TN overseeing birth through college and marriages. He is the author of Reformational Manhood: Creating a Culture of Gospel-Centered Warriors and serves as Executive Editor, CBMW Blog, and Communications Director. Greg also writes often at ggib.me.

Tim Keller 2/19/15 Tim Keller 2/19/15

How Christians Should Mortify Sin

Hostile To God

Romans 8: 7 is simple and stark: “The sinful mind is hostile to God .” The mind is not neutral ground, and cannot love one preoccupation without rejecting the other. A mind “that is set on the flesh” (ESV translation) must also be treating God and the desires of his Spirit as an enemy. This is why our minds are, naturally, unable to deal with sin. We may realize that a particular impulse is unhelpful, or that a certain course of action is destructive. We may even decide to cut it out, and may do so successfully. But the root of sin is still implanted in the mind— hostility to God. So sin will still grow unchecked in our lives.

And that hostility makes us incapable of pleasing God. Verse 8 is an equally striking statement : “Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” Left to ourselves, we are totally unable to live in a way that causes our Creator to approve of us. Why? Because the mind that drives the actions is acting out of hostility to him. The person controlled by their own flesh is able to have a thought that is good, or perform an action that is right. But it cannot please God, since it is thought or done in enmity toward him.

Here is a helpful illustration: a man in a rebel army may look after his comrades, may keep his uniform smart, and so on. Those are “good”— but they are done in hostility to the rightful ruler. You would never expect that ruler to hear of this rebel’s conscientiousness or generosity and be pleased by his conduct in rebellion!

But none of this needs to be, or ought to be, the way “you”— Christians— live (v 9). Every Christian is “controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit,” since the Spirit lives in anyone who belongs to Christ. When we received Christ and became righteous in God’s sight, the Holy Spirit came in and made us spiritually alive. The Christian has a body that is decaying (v 10), yet also enjoys a spirit, a mind, that is alive.

And, Paul says, not only must our spirits/ minds not follow our flesh now, but one day our flesh will follow our spirit. In Greek thought, the physical was bad, to be rejected and hopefully one day to be left behind; the spiritual was good, to be embraced. Verse 11 overturns all this: ”He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” Someday, even our bodies will be totally renewed and made eternally alive by the Spirit. There is no dualism (body bad, spirit good) here— one day, both will be perfected.

For now, though, there is still within us the remaining sinful nature, which is hostile and inimical to our growing spiritual life. And even as we look forward to our bodies being given life (v 11), we must “put to death the misdeeds of the body” (v 13—the end of this verse is best seen as the end of a sentence, unlike in the NIV). As John Stott argues, Paul is still likely referring to an experience of life, and death, now— not in the future. Paul says here: If you let the remaining sinful nature alone— if you allow it to prosper and grow— there will be terrible trouble. Instead, you must by the Spirit attack and put it to death. The more you put to death the sinful nature, the more you will enjoy the spiritual life that the Holy Spirit gives— life and peace (v 6).

Mortification

This process of “putting to death” is what earlier theologians used to call “mortification.” They got it from the old King James Version translation of the verse: “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (v 13).

So what do verses 12-13 tell us about what mortification is, and how we do it? First, it means a ruthless , full-hearted resistance to sinful practice. The very word translated as “put to death” (Greek word thanatoute) is violent and total. It means to reject totally everything we know to be wrong; to declare war on attitudes and behaviors that are wrong— give them no quarter, take no prisoners, pull out all the stops.

This means a Christian doesn’t play games with sin. You don’t aim to wean yourself off it, or say: I can keep it under control. You get as far away from it as possible. You don’t just avoid things you know are sin; you avoid the things that lead to it, and even things that are doubtful. This is war!

Second, it means changing one’s motivation to sin by remembering to apply the gospel . This process of “mortification” goes deeper than merely resisting sinful behavior. It looks at the motives of the heart. Verse 12 says: “Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation— but it is not to the sinful nature.” This is a critical statement. “Therefore” refers to the statement before, in which Paul tells us we have been redeemed by Christ’s righteousness and will someday be totally delivered from all evil and pain in the bodily resurrection. Then Paul turns and says: “Therefore ... we have an obligation…” Some translations express it differently: “We are debtors, not to the flesh” (NRSV). Paul means that if we remember what Christ has done and will do for us, we will feel the obligations of love and gratitude to serve and know him.

Paul is saying that sin can only be cut off at the root if we expose ourselves constantly to the unimaginable love of Christ for us. That exposure stimulates a wave of gratitude and a feeling of indebtedness. Sin can only grow in the soil of self-pity and a feeling of “owed-ness.” I’m not getting a fair shake! I’m not getting my needs met! I’ve had a hard life! God owes me; people owe me; I owe me! That’s the heart attitude of “owed-ness” or entitlement. But, Paul says, you must remind yourself that you are a debtor. If you bathe yourself in the remembrance of the grace of God, that will loosen, weaken and kill sin at the motivational level.

Therefore, “put to death” (v 13) is just a sub-set under “mind the things of the Spirit” (v 5). Mortification withers sin’s power over you by focusing on Christ’s redemption in a way that softens your heart with gratitude and love; which brings you to hate the sin for itself, so it loses its power of attraction over you. In summary, then, we kill sin in the Spirit when we turn from sinful practices ruthlessly and turn our heart from sinful motivations with a sense of our debt to love and grace, by minding the things of the Spirit.

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Tim Keller is senior pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Manhattan, New York, and author of numerous books. He is also co-founder and vice president of The Gospel Coalition. For more resources by Tim Keller visit Gospel in Life. You can follow him on Twitter.

Joshua Torrey 9/30/14 Joshua Torrey 9/30/14

Self-Justifying Prayer

Constant and Considerate

After discussing the value of prayer in discipleship in Luke 18:1-8, you would think the subject would be closed. But I do not think it was for Jesus. The concept of the downtrodden and prayerful faithfulness permeates the rest of Luke 18 and it is right after teaching to “pray always” that Jesus presents one of his more famous parables,

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Lk. 18:10-13).

This is a familiar passage to many. And often prayer’s crucial role in the narrative is neglected. But in context it makes sense that the prayers of the parable are worth studying. The lessons learned are not that unlike the parable of the widow but before a new aspect of importance is added. For, Jesus spoke the parable against those “who trusted in themselves” (18:9). But more importantly they were also people who “treated others with contempt.” Ultimately this is always true. Those that trust their works, theology, and experience of God more than a godly humility mistreat the downtrodden. Christian prayer and discipleship must be constant and considerate, as we shall see from this parable. And with this in mind, Jesus proceeds to contrast sharp distinctions within prayer.

Both men went up to the temple (18:10). Let me put it in modern language: they were members of the same church. One was of good standing in the church and the other the type of person that people don’t usually like. But both were together in the same building.

This makes it interesting then that the Pharisee is said to have stood “by himself” (18:11). As his prayer affirms, when it comes to God this guy is in it for himself. He is willing to praise God (All thanks goes to God!). In fact he praises God for all the good that he does. And he does a lot. He abides by the law. He goes beyond the law (his fasting). And he does not keep anything back from God (his tithe).

Self-Justifying Prayer

What then was he guilty of? Jesus tells us at the start of the parable: he trusted himself and had contempt for others. He stands by himself. He is thankful for himself. And none of his works are focused on others. His prayer is both self-focused and degrading to those who are not on his level.

In contrast, the tax collector (who is also by himself) could not lift up his eyes to God. He too prays in a self-focused manner. There is no thankfulness in his voice. He does not trust in himself. He does not degrade others. He lacks any semblance of pride. But he is the one who went home “justified” (18:14). It would be inappropriate to presume that Jesus is here referring solely to the type of soteriological justification that systematic theology is concerned with. Though it is included—it can also indicate that the worship of the man was accepted before God.

And it is this element that I’d like to stress. For the second sin in Scripture was over denigrating a brother’s acceptance before God (Gen 4) and Christ taught the failure of any worship done while there is strife before brothers (Matt 5:24). Christian discipleship and prayer can never turn in trusting in “us” (whether our theology or works) and denigrating our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Prayer as Essential to Christian Discipleship

Since prayer is essential to Christian discipleship, we should learn from this how it gets abused. For in advancement of discipleship there begins anew the opportunity to say “God, I thank you that I am not like …”

Those who don’t study and memorize the Scriptures.
Those who miss church service.
Those who don’t read as many theology books.
Those who don’t pray often.
Those who don’t catechize their children.
Those who don’t attend Bible Studies.

For each Sunday the Christian disciple gets to determine if they will go home justified in their worship before God. And it will be the one who returns to the realization that they have only accomplished what they should have done (Lk 17:10) that will go home justified. But if we proceed in a spirit of demeaning contempt for our brothers then we must repent of our “discipleship.”

—

Joshua Torrey is a New Mexico boy in an Austin, TX world. He is husband to Alaina and father to Kenzie & Judah and spends his free time studying for the edification of his household. These studies include the intricacies of hockey, football, curling, beer, and theology. You can follow him @benNuwn and read his theological musings and running commentary of the Scriptures at The Torrey Gazette.

Joey Cochran 6/1/14 Joey Cochran 6/1/14

Bringing the Multiplication Mindset Home

Long days are draining. You need rest, but you’re not actually expecting it. You’re preparing yourself for children’s excited voices greeting you. You’re ramping up to mediate disputes between them, hopefully about who gets to hug you first. You also might greet a relieved spouse, fatigued from a long day of either being with the children or being at a long day of work. You’d think the daily re-assimilation into home would be seamless. But it isn’t, is it? Sometimes we are not spiritually or mentally prepared for it. Sometimes we are exhausted and our guard is down against pride and selfishness, resulting in ruinous family patterns.

Knowing this, practicing a routine that prepares the heart, soul, and mind for re-assimilation into family life is essential. It is an intentional discipline not just for your spiritual formation, but also for your wife’s and your children’s. It’s a small step taken as you lead and disciple them. In turn, you and they will duplicate the mindset in all other discipleship environments: school, work, extra-curricular environments, and third places. When we approach every place with this mindset, we are better prepared disciple multipliers.

Obviously, the mindset shift into a new environment is not always successfully executed. This is the case particularly for fathers or mothers re-entering home environments after a long day of work. That’s why I picked this one to discuss. It’s easy to re-engage home with work-brain. But when we shift to home-brain, much discipleship fruit is cultivated. And so is the model for your children to duplicate as they multiply disciples in other contexts (2 Tim. 2:2).

It takes only a few minutes each day to prepare our mindset. We can do this in our car before departing from work, or as we are driving home, or sitting in the driveway. It’s a really simple and classic process: shift your mindset, read Scripture, and pray.

1. Shift Your Mindset

Shifting our mindset is not some rote process. It is an intentional plan of engagement where we earnestly decide that what is ahead is more important than what is left behind. Thus, we plan to lay aside our pocket screens, ignore notifications, and push back any residual work until after little ones are tucked in bed. This is also when we place work cares upon Christ; anger, fear, anxiety are relinquished in him (1 Pet. 5:7).

We prepare our minds for inquiry. We want to be quizzical of how the day went: the joys, trials, conflicts, surprises—all that took place during our absence. And quite honestly, a stay-at-home spouse will crave adult conversation, so we must be prepared to listen.

We also want to enter with the posture of service. Typically, I am in the practice of swooping into the home and whisking all three children away for a walk or playtime at the community playground while my wife, who is the one staying at home in our case, gets 15-30 minutes of quiet solitude.

Most working dads—if they are honest—have a Ward Cleaver or George Banks expectation for home arrival: immaculate home, hot dinner, spotless and perfectly behaved tykes, and wife in a dress and pearls. My mindset is a little different. I’m hoping for no fire, flood, or other acts of God to have occurred. But most of the time, I’m certain a tornado hit our kid’s room.

However, we should have realistic expectations rather than idealistic expectations. God, fully anticipating our fallen condition, has been long in suffering with all our short failings. We, likewise, should follow in his step, not expecting a picture of Eden when we arrive home.

2. Read Scripture

Thomas Watson said, “The Scripture is the compass by which the rudder of our will is to be steered.” My will is prone to drift off a God-glorifying course due to the desires of my flesh. Scripture is what holds the course of the mindset.

It’s not enough to think on Scripture; we must share Scripture, too. We should be primary feeders of Scripture to our children. What if we had a Scripture to share with our children every time we returned home from work? How glorious would that be for our family? Not only would our will be set on the right course, but it sets a pattern for our children to be set on the right course with the right instrument to aid them: Scripture. When our mindset is built off Scripture, then it will be that much easier to mold our children’s minds towards the same end. In many ways, this will be effectively caught more than taught, as long as we are contagiously and earnestly conversant with our children about what the Lord is teaching us.

In Taking God at His Word, Kevin DeYoung says, “The word of God is more than enough for the people of God to live their lives to the glory of God” (55). He’s not just talking about Scripture’s sufficiency to tackle the tough question of apologetics, theology, and our wrestling with doubt. DeYoung is saying Scripture is sufficient for everyday people to live everyday lives to the glory of an extraordinary God. Scripture dishes up helpings of truths that sufficiently ground us in the fruit of the Spirit and armor us to wage war against our enemy.

Thus, we’re prepared to enter the foray of a potentially chaotic household. God’s Word serves as a sufficient implement of peace in our hearts and homes. That peace is the peace of Christ. For Ephesians 2:17 says, “And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.” That peace will then be spread afar by those whom we are training in our household to bear that peace to others. They will see us bring it, and they will long to share it with others.

3. Pray

You will regret watching too much TV, playing too much Candy Crush, and reading too many tweets. You will never regret praying too much. You can’t pray enough. Prayer is this incomprehensibly extraordinary gift where we have direct and full access to the God of the cosmos. He instructs us to ask for wisdom (Jas. 1:5) and to petition him with our requests (Phil. 4:6). Yet, we treat prayer like someone who picks a particular mobile carrier with unlimited talk minutes with a particular person, but who never actually called that person. That’s precisely what we have—full access; and that’s precisely what we do—full neglect.

Prayer doesn’t produce a desired outcome as much as it transforms our current outlook. When we earnestly pray for our family before arriving home, it reorients our family around God rather than our children or ourselves. Helplessly bringing every concern, fear, or potential conflict to the Lord sets us up for entire dependence upon him for resolution. So often we rack our brains on how we can provide solutions and fix problems. Perhaps those tensions or problems exist not to give us something to troubleshoot, but to direct us to shoot the message of our troubles up to heaven. They become a grappling hook that draws us up to God.

If we’re always praying about how we want things to change in our family, then it might just be us that require change. If nothing else, we need to open our eyes to the gift our spouse and children already are. They are a gift to steward, so we should ask God to show us how to steward, lead, and equip this gift as we prepare to commission them for gospel ministry.

So we shouldn’t just deliver requests to God, we should express thanks and praise to him for our family as well. Before you head home is a great time to do this. It will—just like reading Scripture—facilitate that right mindset you wish to have when you return home each day.

I know what Scripture says about praying in our closet, but there is something valuable about praising God’s answer to prayers before our spouse and children. If they never know that we’ve been praying for them, they will never have appreciation for God’s answered prayer. They will also not share the same value and import prayer into their mission contexts. So don’t just secretly pray for your family, openly discuss what you pray. Not only this, but solicit their prayer needs. That way, you can pray specifically for them as you are about to re-engage in your family context.

Multiplication in Mind

Our society is programmed to pull families further and further apart over time. This is not healthy; it is actually potentially harmful. The more families are apart, the more false doctrine and false teachers may slyly slink into the family and corrupt convictions. This could slay souls.

Those few hours that exist after work and before bedtime are critical. They are the hours that we have to build into our family the stronghold of a Christian worldview. We’re not just constructing a stronghold; we are training emissaries of our King. Our family will be sent out to herald good news to others. This means they must have first heard it from us, seen it demonstrated by us, tasted the fruit of it, and felt a stirring to multiply the process. Ones who have tasted the nectar of the gospel will naturally share it on to others.

—

Joey Cochran served as an Associate Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma for four years before transitioning to be the Church Planting Intern at Redeemer Fellowship in St. Charles, Illinois under the supervision of Pastor Joe Thorn. Joey is a graduate of Dallas Seminary. Joey blogs at jtcochran.com and you can follow him on Twitter at @joeycochran.

Joshua Torrey 5/25/14 Joshua Torrey 5/25/14

Praying Desperately for Grace

My mother-in-law is a one of a kind pray-er. The type of Godly woman who prays as if God’s head is tilted in her direction ever so yet somehow, just barely, not touching hers. My wife has on occasion admitted to fear when she’s heard the words “I’ll be praying for you” from her mother. I make my apologies in advance. For in all kindness I cannot think of my mother- in-law without hearing the words of Christ echo in my head,

“And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” Luke 18:3-5 (ESV)

Often times the purpose of this parable gets lost because of God’s comparison to an unrighteous judge (18:6-7) or the rhetorical question with which Jesus concludes (18:8). But the purpose of this parable is that Christ’s disciples “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (18:1). As we walk through Luke 18 it should become plain that I take the view that this teaching on prayer permeates the whole of Christ’s teaching in this chapter. Christian prayer is thus utterly essential to Christian discipleship from a multitude of angles.

But what can we learn directly from the first of Christ’s parables? It might be easy to just say, “Pray always.” But it is instructional and encouraging to look at the conditions of the widow in the parable. For starters, she is a widow. She has no husband. And it is evident by her direct interaction with the “judge” (18:2) that she had no son or male representative in her family to rely on for protection. She was down cast and without a redeemer. She was the epitome of the down trodden in this life.

Second, she had an adversary (18:3). Life was already not easy on this widow. She was without a redeemer, but she had enemies. She was without a defense attorney before the judge, but she had an accuser (the word in Greek literally means an opponent in court). She was down trodden with an enemy pushing her deeper down.

Third, the widow’s judge was “unrighteous” (18:6). The downtrodden widow hounded by her enemy must make petitions to a judge with little chance of justice. And yet she does. Repeatedly. And she is the person Jesus Christ uses to model Christian prayer. For even the unrighteous judge can be beat down with constant petitioning.

Desperation for Grace and Deliverance

But Christians have a Righteous Judge (18:7). Isn’t this all the more reason for us to “cry out” throughout the day and night? Luke 18 begins with Christ teaching us that his disciples must practice the trepidation and begging of a widow in distress for there is humility, not pride, in Christian prayer. There is desperation, not pretension. But also ultimately for Christians there is grace and deliverance.

The beauty of Christian pray in discipleship is that everyone, all the times, can practice it. For we are always in need of grace and deliverance. We are always called to prayer. Whether for ourselves or for others downtrodden in this life, the disciplined life in Christ is portrayed as one that batters down the doors of heaven with prayer.

Earlier this year my mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. From all outward appearances, she is now a part of the downtrodden in this life. The world would have her join together with others downtrodden as she is. Together they could encourage each other to “pull through.” But her reputation is one of prayer. And her testimony is that she has grown closer to her Savior.

We are all in distress like the widow of Christ’s parable. Some of us are just more aware. Christian discipleship is about crafting a prayer life that matches the true level of our despair. That’s what being a mature disciple of Christ looks like.

—

Joshua Torrey is a New Mexico boy in an Austin, TX world. He is husband to Alaina and father to Kenzie & Judah and spends his free time studying for the edification of his household. These studies include the intricacies of hockey, football, curling, beer, and theology. You can follow him @AustinPreterism and read his theological musings and running commentary of the Scriptures at The Torrey Gazette.

Robert Dukes 8/10/12 Robert Dukes 8/10/12

Laying Foundations for Spiritual Growth

When my two sons were young we went to Atlanta for the groundbreaking of one of the more famous skyscrapers. We had been reading about the project for months in the local papers and were excited to watch the construction of the “tallest building in the South”. As we arrived on the scene, the bulldozers were already clearing the site, but there was a viewing area for spectators with an architectural rendering of the completed structure emblazoned on the side of the construction fencing. “Wow!” my oldest exclaimed, “It’s humongous!” And indeed it was, soaring nearly seventy stories above Peachtree Street, it certainly promised to be a focal point of the city skyline. We faithfully trekked to the site and watched trucks haul away dirt and debris while other trucks delivered steel girders and other building materials. After several weeks of this vigil, one of the boys exclaimed in frustration, “Dad, when are they going to start working on the building?” (It was a question that I had pondered myself, because all that existed was a large hole and lots of mud.) Approaching a worker with a set of plans under his arm, I inquired, “Can you give us some idea when the building is going to begin?” His chuckle made it obvious the question had come up before. “It’s hard to believe it,” he said, “but this hole is the most important part of the building. We have to dig down several hundred feet and build a solid foundation to support a structure that’s over seventy stories tall. It will take several months to pour the concrete and sink the steel pillars, but then we’ll start going up. Once we start, it will rise pretty fast!”

The Bible compares living the Christian life with constructing a building. Just as there are phases in building a building, there are phases in the growth of a Christian, and the first phase is: “laying a foundation.” Our initial salvation experience is the beginning of a process of growth that lasts a lifetime. The success of our spiritual growth is determined by the strength of our spiritual foundation. Matthew 7: 24-27 asserts that the Christian life built on a solid foundation will withstand the storms of life. The tallest building in the South is still standing today. Believers who lay solid foundations are more likely to stand tall than those who fail to establish a solid base for growth. This foundations phase actually consists of four interconnecting parts:

relating to God,
relating to other Christians,
understanding truth, and
applying truth so that it transforms us.

Let’s explore these together!

Relating to God

Unlike other religions, the essence of Christianity is a relationship with God, not a set of rules. In John 17: 3 the Scripture affirms that eternal life is all about knowing God. It is thrilling to remember that God desires a relationship with us that will never end. The great news is that believers don’t have to wait for heaven to experience this. It begins the moment we accept Christ!

Having a relationship with God is not all that different from having a relationship with anyone else. As we relate to others, we get to know them better and the relationship deepens over time. There are specific situations that will help believers better experience a relationship with God. The first of these involves setting aside time for personal devotions, a quiet time each day devoted to prayer, Bible reading, and personal meditation. The Scripture promises in James 4: 8 that as we “come near to God, he will come near to us”. This “coming near to God” is not a religious duty, but a time for relational development. Of course just as good disciplines and habits can be beneficial in other areas of life, the more we remain faithfully committed to our quiet time, the more benefit we derive from it.

Another aspect of developing a relationship with God is attending public worship in a church that exalts him. Although we can worship God any place, any time, worshipping with other Christians deepens and develops our ability to relate to God. There are many different public worship experiences and not all churches structure them in the same way.

Worship that focuses on the greatness of God and includes times of singing praise, prayerful meditation, and Biblical preaching should be a priority. Ask God to help you find a church in your community and become a part of the fellowship. This leads to another important part of laying a good foundation: relating to other Christians.

Relating to Other Christians

God has placed us in his spiritual family, the Church, to encourage us, protect us, correct us, direct us, and provide for us. Again there are specific situations that help believers experience relationships with other Christians. Each of these plays a unique role in helping to form a spiritual foundation and each will require some effort. But they all are incredibly beneficial. Christians who do not have connections with other Christians tend to stop growing. (cf. Hebrews 10: 24-25)

In the first century there were very few church buildings. Mostly the believers met together in private homes for Bible teaching, prayer, and fellowship. There are benefits to meeting with large groups in public worship, but there is also an advantage gained from being part of a small group. The intimacy of the setting provides a place for relationships to flourish. Many modern believers have learned that meeting together in small groups helps to forge close relationships as members discuss Scripture, pray for each other, and share personal matters.

The term “mentoring” was coined by the modern business community to describe a relationship where a seasoned executive tutors a younger colleague in commercial practices. But long before mentoring was introduced to the world of commerce, it had already existed in the spiritual community as “one-to-one discipleship”.

In this case it describes an intentional relationship between a young believer and a more mature Christian who models the Christian life, answers questions, gives counsel, and helps the younger Christian stay focused on the priorities of spiritual growth.

Understanding Truth

One important priority for growth (and the third part of laying good foundations) involves developing an increasing understanding of God’s truth. The Bible is the Book of Truth for Christians, but it can appear overwhelming to a new learner. It was Jesus who proclaimed that knowing truth sets people free from the bondage of sin. Therefore, it is helpful to have a basic plan of study for learning the truths that we need to build upon, a plan that focuses on specific themes and principles of foundational development. A good beginning series of studies for young believers should include the themes mentioned earlier: truth that helps someone to know more about God, truth that helps people understand other people, and truth that helps someone to grow spiritually.

There are specific approaches to gaining an understanding of these foundational truths. The first is a curriculum of systematic instruction. This is the first of a series of “Pocket Principles” that are designed specifically for helping new believers lay solid spiritual foundations. If you received this “Pocket Principle” from a mentor or small group leader, continue to work closely with that person to discover and apply the other truths in this series.

Another way of gaining insights into living the Christian life is by reading. There are many excellent materials and resources available in Christian bookstores, libraries, and on the Internet. Your own informal reading will supplement your spiritual growth. But be sure to focus on the foundational themes mentioned above as a starting point.

Your local church is also an excellent source of content. Besides the weekly sermon delivered by the pastor or other teacher, many churches offer small groups devoted to helping new believers get established in the faith. Consult the churches in your area for opportunities to learn foundational truths.

Applying Truth

But as important as truth is in the growth process, it is not the information alone that transforms us. In fact other parts of Scripture warn us that knowledge by itself can be dangerous, leading to spiritual pride and the deadening of our hearts to God. This particular sin characterized the Pharisees who were enemies of Christ. It is only truth that is obeyed or applied to our lives that changes us and causes growth. Romans 12: 2 reminds us that it is a life consecrated to obeying God that is impacted by truth. When our minds are transformed in this way we help establish the will of God on earth. This is more than just knowing the truth, it is actually doing truth.

A skyscraper is an engineering marvel, but soaring high means digging deep and laying solid foundations. A maxim of the Christian life asserts that “you can only grow as tall as you grow deep”. Laying good foundations takes time and effort, but the benefits are worth it. The new believer needs to embrace experientially the truths related to knowing and understanding God and other believers.

The Foundations of Spiritual Growth

Applying truth will require becoming involved in specific situations that facilitate foundational growth. Establishing a time for personal devotions, joining a small group, locating an older believer who can come alongside you as an encouraging mentor, setting up a systematic plan of study , and participating in public worship are layers of spiritual brick and mortar that form this foundation. But these situations without a heart commitment to obey the truth will not suffice. Blessings to you as you grow!

So where are you laying foundations?
Where do you find is the best place to find a mentor?
Have you made time for studying God’s word?
What are some of the things you have done to help lay foundations for growing in your faith as a Christian?

Robert D. (Bob) Dukes is the President and Executive Director of Worldwide Discipleship Association (WDA*) headquartered in Fayetteville, Georgia. He is the author/co-author of many educational publications and articles including: A Biblical Framework for Disciple Building; A Practical Strategy for Disciple Building; Disciple Building for Small Groups; and Disciple Building for Life Coaches. He serves as a founding member of The Steering Committee for The Pierce Center for Disciple Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston, MA.

WDA is an international training organization specializing in Christian discipleship. WDA establishes interdenominational training centers on university campuses, seminaries, and in communities around the world, and forges partnerships with other Christian organizations. WDA staff and associates equip current and emerging generations of leaders, and offer seminars and training resources to help local churches develop progressive discipleship strategies.

Editor's Note: This article is reposted with permission from WDA's Laying Foundations. This is the first Pocket Principle in the Knowing God Series. For more resources on digging deeper into a creative & restorative relationship with God through the gospel of Christ, check out Grow: Reproducing Through Organic Discipleship by Winfield Bevins. For more free articles of applying the gospel to your everyday life, read: Making Disciples is Not Just for Super Christians by Nathan Creitz, Meditating on God's Word - Memorization by Tony Merida, & Discipling the Disillusioned by Andrew Byers.