Therapy and the Christian

After thousands of hours of schooling, internships, studying, exams, office hours, and clients, my twin sister has officially become a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. As I’ve watched her excel in her vocation, I’ve seen how beneficial and necessary professional therapy and counseling can be in the life of a believer. 

Wait, Therapy? Huh?

In Protestant  circles, there seems to be controversy surrounding the place professional therapy should have in the Christian walk. If you are truly following God and walking in obedience to Him, why would you need therapy? Can’t God, His Word, and Christian community provide what is necessary to heal the depths of our psychological brokenness? 

I’ve also spoken to many believers who have found themselves in turmoil, blaming themselves for cognitive hang-ups as if it is somehow connected to the health of their spiritual lives. Turning over rocks, pledging deeper obedience, and intense praying failed to ease their depression and anxiety, resulting in enormous shame and even questioning “What’s wrong with me?” 

Have we considered the possibility that these mental difficulties might not be the result of a poor spiritual life? 

Mental Health Therapy is Comparable To Physical Therapy

What might be helpful is relating mental difficulties to a physical injury. There are moments in life when we need professional help for injuries sustained like a broken bone or a torn cartilage. Just as these injuries are examined, reset, and healed, the mind is the same way. Oftentimes, the services of a licensed therapist/counselor who has been professionally trained in the area of the psyche and the mind is the most common-sense, responsible, and medically-reliable answer to a psychological difficulty, such as depression or anxiety. Just as we wouldn’t look at a child with a broken arm and rely on just prayer to heal the bone, we would be negligent to apply the same philosophy to a misaligned mind. Please don’t misunderstand - I believe in God’s power to heal, yet I also believe in God’s power to provide professionals with the appropriate expertise and wisdom to help those in psychological need.

Therapy Is Essential for Spiritual Growth & Formation

I love how Christian author Robert Mulholland puts it in his book Invitation to a Journey: A Road Map for Spiritual Formation. He says this -

“Oftentimes, profound, deep-seated psychological problems are met with demands for deeper faith, more rigorous obedience, more vital spirituality. [Yet], psychological brokenness needs treatment in the same way that a broken bone needs to be set and healed.  There may come points in our spiritual pilgrimage when the Spirit of God awakens us to some area of deep psychological imbalance or brokenness within. At those points, sound psychological therapy becomes an essential component of our spiritual journey. Psychological therapy, carried out within a Christian understanding of human nature, can richly enhance spiritual formation, just as holistic spiritual formation always enhances sound psychological treatment. Neither of these is a substitute for the other, but they work together as means of grace through which God forms us in the image of Christ for the sake of others.” - Robert Mulholland

Wait, What Does A Therapist Actually Do?

What happens in a professional therapist’s office? What I’ve learned is, when trauma strikes (large and small), it gets lodged in our bodies, severely limiting our ability to experience peace, joy, and flourishing, as God intended. Oftentimes, anxiety and depression is the human body trying to overcorrect, cope, and make sense of trauma.

A professional therapist has the accredited training and ability to support, listen, identify, and help their client trace the roots of the trauma itself. Once identified, the client and therapist together can practice evidence-based therapy techniques to correct a struggling mind and false neural pathways.

Professional therapists are also able to find and correct distress caused by generational family systems, childhood abuse, false narratives, behavioral stuck patterns, poor attachment styles, and more. A therapist not only provides tools, but also provides an emotionally safe, redemptive relationship to their clients. 

All this to say, it is profoundly freeing for a struggling believer to have a safe, confidential space to gently dig through, identify, and heal from decades of emotional baggage which had previously manifested itself into mental distress and turmoil. Well-trained therapists will encourage and empower their clients (despite whatever has happened to them) to take personal responsibility and put into practice the tools learned, eventually leading to autonomous flourishing. 

With this kind of understanding of mental illness, it is quite common for there to be community-enriched, Word-saturated, striving-for-holiness Christ-followers out there who still experience emotional and mental turmoil in their life - requiring psychological help and healing which can take place in a counseling office. 

Couples and families can also find breakthrough in therapy sessions together. Professional therapists will likely not take sides, but rather seek to help parties speak in a way where they can understand one another, providing great clarity to marital and family dysfunction.  

Now, there may be times in life where our mental struggles are the result of poor decisions, ongoing sin, or lack of faith and prayer. Yet - I have found oftentimes we actually pursue sin in order to cope with or escape from our  mental illnesses. This should give us enormous compassion and grace for those struggling. 

Shouldn’t We Be Skeptical of Worldly Therapy & Wisdom? 

Some Christians might express concern with seeing a counselor who doesn’t share a biblical worldview. What if worldly philosophies are guiding the therapist’s understandings? Aren’t there dangers with modern psychology? These are valid questions and concerns. Let me share a few thoughts -

• God, in his common grace is not beyond using secular tools and worldly knowledge to provide freedom and peace for varying levels of human brokenness. Just as God uses the knowledge of a medical professional to tend to the body, He also can use the expertise of a mental professional who has avidly studied the pathways of the mind.

• Well-trained counselors will honor, listen well, and try to understand and work toward a client’s implied and stated values, even if those values differ from the therapist’s values. Put simply, a therapist helps clients identify their own values and move towards them. If a therapist tries to align a client’s values to their own, this is no longer therapy. As with anywhere, there are good and bad therapists (as there are good and bad doctors, teachers..etc). If there are problems or concerns with one’s therapy experience, a client can simply find a new counselor who would be a better fit. Referrals from a trusted and reliable source are helpful, too.

• It is technically unethical for a therapist to criticize a client’s faith. As mentioned earlier, therapists are there to assist and help the client work through their psychological distress, not change one’s values. I was encouraged to recently read a study from the American Psychological Association that reported a majority of psychologists do find faith and spirituality very helpful in the lives of their clients. 

What is the Difference Between Pastoral Counseling and Professional Counseling? Should We Only Seek Out Professional Christian Counselors? 

I’ve heard many ask this question. Some additional thoughts to consider - 

• Professional Therapists are there to provide mental health guidance and treatment, not spiritual direction for their clients. If a client is looking for biblical direction or spiritual guidance, this is where Pastoral or Biblical Counseling can be helpful. Pastoral Counselors and Spiritual Directors are incredible resources in the Body of Christ for spiritual mentoring and guidance. In the same way, Pastoral & Biblical Counselors, unless they are professionally-trained therapists, should be wise and proactive when noticing if the person they are counseling needs the services and treatment provided by a professional - such as cases like debilitating anxiety, chronic depression, PTSD.. etc.

• Professional Christian counseling is a great option. However, if mental health therapy is the goal, this can be a service offered by any professional therapist, Christian or not. 

To nuance this out a bit, I’ll share a personal story. In a particularly difficult season of my own life, I attended weekly counseling sessions with a gifted, licensed professional therapist who helped me understand and work through my mental health - specifically, anxiety. God used this therapist to provide an enormous amount of freedom for my anxious body. She provided life-altering expertise and tools which I plan on implementing for the rest of my life. At the same time, I had a spiritual director/mentor who daily walked alongside, mentored, and poured into me spiritually. She helped me navigate and reclaim my identity in Christ, which was vital for my weary soul. I sincerely needed both types of counseling in that season, as God used these two women (and still uses these women) in powerful yet different ways in my life. 

Stay Glued to Mentors, the Word, Community & the Holy Spirit

My final note is this - a mature believer will not take a therapy journey alone. It would behoove them to do so while staying glued to God’s Word, the Holy Spirit, authentic Christian community, and perhaps even a close mentor. These are invaluable, life-giving resources God has provided to us for our nourishment, companionship, and flourishing. As Robert Mulholland pointed out in his book earlier, beautiful healing comes for the mentally-struggling believer when these are practiced together.

All this to say, for the Christian who wrestles with mental difficulties or an illness: there is tremendous hope. May the wise and God-fearing Jesus follower feel no shame enlisting themselves to the services of professional therapy. God uses this beautiful tool for our freedom and flourishing, and I am a living testimony of this. 

-Natalie Goens

Do We Care More About Politics Than the Kingdom of God?

I felt a strong conviction to write a blog about an issue I’m seeing in the Church.  This is not intended to be a final word on anything, just a growing observation, along with some questions for personal reflection.  It appears some people care more about advancing the causes of a politician or an idea than the Kingdom of God. What surprises me most, is that I’m seeing this among very mature Christians, who have been a part of the Church for a long time. I know I have been guilty of this too, and I should be looking in the mirror as I write this, believe me.

I want to make it clear that there are many of you that are involved in local politics, and are doing great work. Thank you so much, and it doesn’t go unnoticed. But here I am referring to those of us that are consumed by politics, and have potentially become “less consumed” toward works of the Lord. Therefore, I have some questions that may help us rethink, and possibly, realign: 

1. Do we watch an hour of Fox News or CNN every day? Do we spend a lot of time getting spun up on social media, surrounded by pundits that agree with us? If so, do you think this is a good use of our time, and is it possibly reaffirming what we already believe about political issues?  Do we ever listen sincerely to the views of our “opponents” in order to better understand where they are coming from, and perhaps gain a more balanced understanding of a particular issue?

2. Are political issues more important to us than loving people? Is it possible that an unbeliever on the other side of the aisle would be turned away from the church based on the things we say, or the issues we make front and center?

3. Do we have more political conversations in our workplace than spiritual ones? Do we care more about winning arguments than sharing what Jesus has done in our lives?

4. Do we attempt to build bridges, show empathy and relate to people, or do we always start with what we’re against?

5. Can we see the huge problems that could potentially result if the Church openly got behind an imperfect political candidate?

6. Do we find it interesting that among the 12 disciples Jesus chose a tax collector (who betrayed his fellow Jews to serve the Romans), and a Zealot (who was a part of a terrorist group that would assassinate Roman soldiers). Yet they worked together to build the Church!

7.  Are we MORE consumed with a desire to make disciples of all nations (in accordance with Jesus’s last words in 2 of the 4 gospels), or to “Fix the mess we are in as a culture/nation?”

8. Do we realize that something is true (or untrue), regardless of the person who says it?  In our day of extreme tribalism, are we more concerned about the blind loyalty of promoting our “tribe”, or are we most concerned about truth no matter where it comes from or who says it?

9. Isn’t it interesting that the Church thrives under persecution? Is it comforting to us knowing that one day Jesus will return as King?

In conclusion, I want to share about a friend of mine who happened to be pro-choice before he became a Christian. He ended up changing his position to pro-life, not because he lost an argument with an opponent, but because he met a God who began to change him from the inside out. God’s Holy Spirit inside of him and gentle conversations with his new friends (who he knew cared about him) slowly began to change his world view. Let us ask ourselves, which way is better?

-Cody Goens

Something Better Than Productivity

I. The Value of Productivity

I love productivity. Gettin’ stuff done. My idea of a perfect day is one where everything on my to-do list gets checked off (a rare occurrence). Admittedly, I’m more of a task-driven person. But regardless of your personality type, we all can learn from the plethora of productivity resources that have come out recently.

Think about all the newish books about habits and focus (My favorite is Deep Work by Cal Newport). Even more valuable are all the apps, tools, planners, calendars, helping us track our time, tasks, meetings, calories, and workouts (my favorite being a task-managing app called Todoist).  

And of course, the only reason we’re all still on Facebook is to efficiently remember birthdays. “Of course, I remembered, grandma!”  

Why has there been such an appetite for productivity resources recently? I think it’s because we’ve never had more options, opportunities, distractions, and demands on our attention. The average person is exposed to 6,000-10,000 advertisement per day. This would have been more than someone in the Middle Ages would have gotten in 500 years.

My friend Sam says: “it used to be that information was the currency of successful people. Now, as information is infinite and immediate, the currency of successful people isn’t information, but self-management.” 

In other words, the most successful people aren’t the smartest or most educated or the most talented, not anymore. The most successful people today are those who carefully and intentionally manage their time, energy, and attention. People who can filter and focus.  

So productivity conversations have been a helpful corrective to our distracted, hedonistic, and immediate culture, that I need to plan my week or my week will plan me. That scrolling through reels for two hours maybe isn’t a great use of my time. This renewed emphasis on efficiency gives us helpful boundaries, like when you go bowling with bumpers. Sure, it might be embarrassing, but you’ll get a better score.

II. The Problem with Productivity

Productivity can be helpful, but here’s at least two problems with it.

 1) When Productivity Isn’t That Productive

I think it was Francis Chan who once said: “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”

With all the demands on our schedule, we’re reminded that busyness doesn’t always equal real productivity. I could be “productive” at something that’s not that important. Really good at getting some things done, while neglecting the more important things. There’s always more to keep us occupied at a surface-level productivity, always more emails or laundry or homework, which we prefer over the big task. Because the big task is usually the most difficult and demanding, a big project, an intangible problem, the relational rift, the place where we don’t even know where to start.

Getting things done without intentional evaluation is like someone digging a huge ditch with a shovel. Are they productive? Perhaps. Is there a better, more productive way to dig a ditch? Definitely. 

Worse is…

2) When Productivity Becomes A God

When two people meet for the first time, what usually the first question asked?

“What do you DO?”

Non-western cultures ask where you’re from. But we focus predominately on profession.          

Alan Noble in his book You Are Not Your Own talks about how the modern world prioritizes (idolizes) efficiency above all else. “efficiency becomes the greatest good and a way of reassuring our conscience. . .the drive for maximizing efficiency in every activity is a considerable aspect of modern life.” He points out how so much of the language around improving the work environment, for example, is rooted not primarily in worker well-being, but in worker productivity. Unapologetically. “Treating workers well increased productivity. A happy worker is a productive worker.”

Human flourishing in the workplace is a means to the end of efficiency. “We want to take care of you, SO THAT YOU’RE EFFICIENT (and make us more money).”

And it’s not just the big, bad corporations, we do this too. We justify the extra sleep or a day off so that we can be more productive when we’re on. We allow ourselves to spend extra money on our health, not because we’re creatures made in God’s image, but so that we have more energy for efficiency.

The big lie underneath the productivity idol is “I am what I do.” That my value, my significance, my worth as a person, comes from how much I produce, achieve, accomplish. Batman said as much, with a mouthful of marbles: “It’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you.”  We’ve all known for years that Batman needs to see a therapist.

Mary Bell provocatively put it like this: “Achievement is the alcohol of our time.” When life gets hard, some people turn to the bottle, some people to pornography, some people to food. But most of us turn to achievement. Getting stuff done is our coping mechanism to deal with, or really to NOT deal with deeper anxieties.

And what happens when I’m not producing anymore? When I’m sick or retired or fired or burned out? It’s heartbreaking how many people take their lives when they feel like they no longer contribute, when they feel like a burden. Productivity is a good gift, but a miserable master.

III. Something Better Than Productivity

I used to daily pray: “God, help me to be productive today.” And I don’t think that’s the worst prayer in the world. I was asking God for focus in a distracted world. But I started to wonder, considering the problems with productivity, is there a better way to think about this?

And then it clicked. The better, biblical category for work is not productivity, it’s fruitfulness.

In Genesis 1:28: God tells the humans to “be fruitful and multiply. . .” Genesis 2:15 says they’re role is to “work and watch over the garden.” To make babies and grow fruit. Sounds like heaven on earth!

But seriously, it’s a beautiful calling: to create and cultivate life. To be a blessing to the world.

Fruit is such a gift. My favorite argument against atheism is the raspberry. Eat a box of raspberries and tell me that God doesn’t love us. And there are over 2000 different kinds of fruit in the world. Isn’t that incredible? God’s candy speaks to his creativity.

Productivity language is rooted in machinery and assembly lines. But in ancient agricultural societies, fruitfulness language is rooted (pun intended) in gardens and orchards. It communicates abundance, blessing, joy, life, fullness. Think of a little girl holding a half a watermelon twice as big as her head, with joy and juice radiating off her face.

When we think of our work, our activity, paid or not, everything we do, what if we ran it all through the category of fruitfulness instead of the category of efficiency? Is what I’m doing fruitful? Important? Valuable? Purposeful?

The New Testament talks about both 1) ministry fruit and 2) character fruit.

1) Ministry fruit is the fruit of love and service, external. Paul says that he prayed for the Colossians, that they would be “bearing fruit in every good work.” (Col 1:10).  

2) Character fruit is obviously internal, our development, maturity, and growth. Galatians 5:22-23a: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Good fruit indeed.

So I no longer pray: “Lord, help me to be productive today.” My new prayer is “Lord, make me fruitful.”

Sure, I want to be efficient and focused. But sometimes fruitfulness requires inefficiency.

Sometimes fruitful things don’t seem productive.

For example, maybe you’ll have a longer (fruitful) conversation with someone today, and so some other responsibilities (productivity) get neglected. Maybe you’ll turn off the podcast (productivity) to process a complex problem or fear (fruitful). Maybe you’ll get less done in a day (productivity) but add more value (fruit).   

Sometimes fruitful things take a long time and aren’t easily measured. Slow, organic growth. As I’m looking out my window to a small apple tree I planted years ago, it’s still not ready to produce fruit. But the tree is healthy (I think) and growing, things are happening underneath the surface. Roots before fruit.

Let’s give the last words to Jesus:

 “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” -John 15:4-5

My Top Books of 2021

I saw a funny meme the other day: “It’s almost 2022. . .but I’m not finished processing 2020 yet!” Fact check: True. And yet, time moves on. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that reading (books) keeps me fresh, focused, and sane in our fast-moving times. 

There’s something about sitting down with a cup of coffee and a book that resists the tyranny of the urgent. An opportunity to step outside of my repeated and predictable patterns. A chance to reflect instead of react. 

So here are a few of my favorite books that I read in 2021. Admittedly, my list reflects my (potentially unique) context and commitments: I’m a Christian, a pastor, a new(ish) husband, and a long-time nerd. But I still think almost everyone reading this will enjoy at least one book on my top 5 list or my 10 runner ups. Let me know if you’re interesting in reading one of these!

1. Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith

A book that delivered on its title. I’ve often read books defining, defending, or debating the Christian God, but this one made me delight in Him. Reeves effectively makes the case that we will never understand the statement: “God is love” without understanding the three-person nature of God. Recommended for Christians or those interested in Christianity.    

2. S.C. Gwynne, Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History

This fascinating and disturbing story about the rise and fall of the Comanche Indians really complicates any kind of overly simplistic narratives about the past in our country. The powerful Comanches are both horrifying and humanized (Same thing for the Texas Rangers who fought them). Recommended for anyone who likes history! 

3. Eugene L. Lowry, The Homiletical Plot, Expanded Edition 

Pastor John Mark Comer says that Lowry’s book is the only book on preaching that he recommends to people. I might not go that far, but I’m close. Lowry’s book argues that all preaching should follow a “plotline,” using ambiguity, tension, and conflict to keep people listening and to bring resolution to all that with the gospel. A must-read for all preachers or communicators! 

4. John Mark Comer, Live No Lies, Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace 

I like how John Mark’s books are both aesthetically beautiful but theologically and experientially deep. This book is no different and is one of his best ones yet (although that Ruthless Elimination of Hurry was gold, wasn’t it?). His main point is that our primary conflict is that of truth vs falsehood. Whether it be the world, our sinful nature (flesh), or the devil, the primary enemy to our flourishing and life with God is falsehood. Spiritual warfare doesn’t look like a scene from The Exorcist, it looks like being a person who repeatedly counters lies with the truth of God.

5. Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Suffers

How does Jesus feel about you? I confess that it’s not a question I’ve really thought about much. I know God loves me, in my brain. But does he like me? Does he roll his eyes at me and get annoyed with me? Is he just really good at putting up with me? Gentle and Lowly is an excellent book about the heart of Christ, how he is actually drawn to sinners and suffers, with joy, not away from us in disgust.

Runner ups:

Jon Tyson, Beautiful Resistance: The Joy of Conviction in a Culture of Compromise

Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams

Peter J. Williams, Can We Trust the Gospels?

Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

James L Haley, Captive Paradise: A History of Hawaii

Andrew Wilson, God of All Things: Rediscovering the Sacred in an Everyday World

Phyllis Tickle, The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

Crawford Gribb, Survival and Resistance in Evangelical America: Christian Reconstruction in the  Pacific Northwest

Carole MacRobert Steele, A Pictorial History of Highway 99 The Scenic Route: Redding, California to Portland, Oregon

Patrick Lencioni, Death By Meeting: A Leadership Fable

Afghan Prayer Guide

Afghanistan today: On one hand, suffering and sadness beyond measure. On the other, a God who measures the Heavens with his fingers and the Earth on a balance. (Is. 40.12) Let’s bring those hands together in prayer for Afghanistan this week.

Monday: The Vulnerable

Ask God to help and comfort all for whom the rug has been ripped out from under them by the Taliban takeover. Women, children, the disabled, girls, friends of former regimes, helpers of various militaries, and normal, half-hearted Muslims just trying to feed their families.

Tuesday: The Taliban

As they lead Afghanistan, ask God to give them wisdom to govern civilly. Ask him to hold back their arm of violence that Afghans may “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” (I Tim. 2.2) Pray for radical transformation.

Wednesday: The Afghan Church

Can we even begin to imagine what it’s like for Afghans who follow Jesus? Ask the Holy Spirit to fill them with peace, power and wisdom to navigate these days. Some will leave. Some will stay. Some will die. May God use their faith in trial to spark a great turning to Jesus.

Thursday: Refugees

Upwards of 70,000 Afghans will seek asylum based on their service to the U.S. military. God alone knows how many more will simply run for their lives. Pray for safe passage. Pray for neighboring countries as they receive newcomers. Pray for our hearts, homes and wallets to be open to help Afghans find new lives in the U.S.

Friday: The Kingdom of God

Imagine what the fullness of the Kingdom of God in Afghanistan would look like and ask God for what you see. Pray in line with Jesus’s prayer, “Our Father. . . let your kingdom come and let your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” (Mt. 6.9-10) Peace, security, joy, hope, freedom from fear, corruption, oppression. The abundant life of Jesus. Yes, Father, let your kingdom come, your will be done in Afghanistan.

Written by http://shanebennett.com/.

The Church is for Singles, Too

I’m 28 and unmarried, so naturally, the word singleness comes up quite commonly in the conversations that surround me. What I find interesting is the way singleness is described, I frequently hear it defined in the negative. The absence of something. The state of not being married. There seems to be anxiety, embarrassment, and pressure around singleness. To many, it’s viewed as the loneliest thing imaginable. 

We might even find ourselves pitying singles, thinking that their lives aren’t very exciting or established until they find themselves in married life. Although well meaning, it’s also easy for social media posts, captions, and even wedding vows to give off a tone to singles that life doesn't start until marriage or until eros love comes into the picture. We might use words like “you complete me”, “you fulfill me”, “you’re my soulmate”. This type of language is well intentioned and endearing, however, what are we saying to singles in these moments? They are incomplete? They are unfulfilled? They don’t have a spouse so their life isn’t worth living? 

Once again for the record - I know none of us are intentionally trying to view singles this way or demean singles with our language, and there is nothing wrong with celebrating marriage. 

But, it can be easy to unintentionally display an attitude that marriage is the ultimate.. that life doesn’t start until marriage.. ministry doesn’t start until marriage.. true love & intimacy doesn’t start until marriage..family doesn’t start until marriage.. joy and happiness doesn’t start until marriage.. etc. I often wonder how difficult it is for singles to flourish securely in Christian community with this posture? When the focus is on God’s kingdom, singles belong. As soon as romantic relationships are our main focus, we’ve just alienated the singles. 

What would it look like to celebrate the gift of singleness in the Body of Christ? What if we rejoiced and encouraged singles for their unique vocational opportunity to live for the Lord? 

There are a few questions I’d love to address that I’ve heard from time to time around the topic of singleness. 

QUESTION ONE: DOES SINGLENESS MEAN NO INTIMACY?

Intimacy defined is a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or personal relationship with another person or group.

It’s easy as a single to think that our status means no intimacy in our lives.  Many think  singleness = alone/deprived.  But, if we are truly operating as the Body of Christ, should it be this way? Shall we rethink intimacy? Yes, singles may not have the type of intimacy that comes with marriage (and it is okay to grieve this). But intimacy is still available to us (and more) in the out-workings of the Body of Christ.  

The truth is, we singles need intimacy. We can live without sex, but not intimacy. We aren’t designed to be on our own! In our singlehood, it is so important that we seek to satisfy our need for intimacy first in deep devotion to Christ but also in deep devotion to His Church. One could argue that deep devotion to Christ actually means deep devotion to His Church. Much of our spiritual formation occurs in the context of community, so we need the deep and Godly relationships in our lives to fill our God-given desires for connection and intimacy. 

Biblical marriage is a beautiful expression of romantic and sacrificial love that glorifies God. But in the New Testament, when we read about intimacy and love between believers - it is most commonly in the church setting.  We read in Acts 2 that the church broke bread, met needs, and enjoyed the favor of one another. Christ gives us intimacy (even if unmarried) through the fellowship of Christian community.

Deitrich Bonhoeffer puts it like this -  “The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.  The believer feels no shame when he yearns for the physical presence of other Christians.  The believer lauds [praises] the Creator, the Redeemer, God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the bodily presence of a brother [or sister]. The companionship of a fellow Christian is a physical sign of the gracious presence of the triune God.   Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living in common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart.  Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.” 

Christ actually gives Himself to us through His Body. Fascinating! 

Pastor/Author Sam Allberry says this - “We need to rediscover a biblical category of intimacy that has been neglected in our cultural context and sadly in many of our churches - which is the intimacy of friendship.”

Married people get to experience a deep, beautiful depth of intimacy that involves the oneness of body and soul, in the covenant of marriage. Singles may not always have the unique depth of intimacy that married couples enjoy, however, we have a unique breadth of intimacy available to us that perhaps a married person may not be as able to experience. My singleness allows me to give myself so deeply to so many people in so many places. I am able to sustain a large amount of relationships. I have the time and energy to give myself to many people and ministries. This is a beautiful gift from the Lord!

What singles need to see and know from the Church is that they can still have intimacy, and strong, deep, powerful relationships, even if unmarried. 

QUESTION TWO: DOES SINGLENESS MEAN NO FAMILY LIFE?

Singles often find themselves grieving the fact that they may never have a family or children. In the Bible we see women grieve this as well. It can be a very painful future to contemplate - one without a family of your own. But Jesus has much to say about community and the family of God. Jesus actually reconstituted family in his ministry - he says real family is spiritual, not biological.

In the Book of Matthew, we read this fascinating paradigm shift. 

Matthew 12:46-50. “While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Jesus redefines family. The Body of Christ is the truest sense of family, in Jesus’s words.  

The Apostle Peter in Matthew 19  tells Jesus - “Jesus we have left everything and followed you.” So then Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left everything for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive it all back, a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Don’t miss it - this right here is a promise Christ gives us that he is expecting the Body of Christ to fulfill! I have a question for married people and those with families. How are we providing this for singles? Following Jesus should mean an abundance of spiritual family for all followers. Nature may only have given us a few family members, however, the gospel gives us far more. God has such a special place for all his children to enjoy the family life that the gospel provides. In my opinion, one of the biggest perks of the Christian life is the rich and bountiful family life God promises us. 

I have an incredible biological family, but I also want to mention how overwhelmed I am by the “spiritual” families in our church that take me in. I am so fortunate to have dinner tables and living rooms open to me almost every night of the week. I’m given spiritual sisters, mothers, fathers, and brothers. I feel so grateful and can’t imagine thriving in my walk without this tremendous blessing.

QUESTION THREE: DOES SINGLENESS MEAN YOU ARE LESS VALUABLE IN MINISTRY?

It’s easy to think that the heavy-hitters in ministry are the marrieds and those who have families. After all, they’ve lived and experienced so much right? Yes, they have. But singles are an absolute irreplaceable force in ministry and church life. Does the church need married couples? YES. Does the church need singles? YES. The church must have both. I truly feel that both are needed in all areas of church, including leadership. 

Singles, first off - I can’t express the importance of involving yourself inside ministry and church body life. Where else will you find what we talked about earlier - intimacy and family? Choosing to not be involved is practically handing yourself over to extreme loneliness- and its attendant dangers.

Singles have a wonderful way of giving themselves in time, energy, flexibility - in a way that marrieds can’t always give because of their godly duties to spouse and family. Neither is better; we need both. 

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 - “I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.”

Now is Paul saying it’s wrong, worldy, and ungodly to get married? Not at all! He’s not saying singleness is spiritual and marriage is unspiritual. Nor is he saying singleness is easy and marriage is hard. Or vice versa. He’s stating that married life is more complex. Singleness is more straightforward. Husbands and wives have duties to each other and children. Good, godly duties! How to love and encourage each other. Mindful of each other’s spiritual, emotional, physical needs. To live and act otherwise would not fulfill the vows they gave. 

For singles, there is a bit more freedom. Life is a little less complicated. We can give ourselves in a way that married people can’t. And surely Paul knew and lived this out. 

Final Thoughts for Families, Churches & Singles

Marrieds and families: Are you adopting singles? Inviting them over for dinner? Welcoming them into your home? Who are the singles you have welcomed to be part of YOUR family? 

Churches: How is our language on singleness vs marriage? Are we helping singles embrace their special role in the kingdom of God? Are we letting singles integrate into our ministries? Do we have single leaders? Lifegroups, are you allowing singles into your groups to provide the rich perspective a single has to offer on how the gospel is completely sufficient for all their needs? 

Singles: Are you embracing your singleness? Remember, you are completely fulfilled in Christ. Join families. Join COMMUNITY. How can you serve and be part of the SPIRITUAL family, the Body of Christ? If you feel sad about your singleness, it’s okay to grieve this season you find yourself in. But pour out your heart to God. He hears you and empathizes with you deeply. But remember, your deepest desire is communion and intimacy with Christ. Marriage- as amazing as it probably is - will not fulfill your ultimate heart desire. Why? Well, because it's not Jesus. Let HIM fulfill you in all ways. We can trust him “who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..” (married or not.) - Eph. 3:20

Let’s change our perspective on singleness - as the Church is for singles, too. 

-Natalie Goens

**Much of my content was retrieved, inspired, or gleaned from Sam Alberry’s book “7 Myths of Singleness”.

Hunger Pains

“After the son squandered all his possessions in reckless living, a severe famine arose in that country and he was in need..” - Luke 15:13-14

I find this a fascinating parallel of our own lives when it says the severe famine came after he spent everything. The sinful lifestyle he created from his own resources satisfied him for some time but eventually he found himself achingly famished because he came to the end of his own means.

Yet he still seeks in his own strength food to fill his ache - so in desperation he desired the “the pig food” to fill his hunger. When we are truly starving we somehow become willing to try things we never thought possible. This is a picture of what happens to us spiritually and emotionally.

When we run down sin trails long enough, everything looks cloudy and strangely appealing. Our attempts to satisfy our hunger pains become increasingly thwarted. The son trades one empty meal for another (sadly thinking the next one will satisfy only to find it won’t) until he is aware that he is physically and emotionally dying.

Finally the story says he came to his senses and knew where he could get the real feast - His Father’s house. He knew he could feast on the real meat that would satisfy beyond ache - the real protein that would fill the deepest most empty cracks of his soul... and the best part is - when he came home, the Father was more than prepared to provide that for him. And his soul was filled beyond ache.

-Natalie Goens

How Do I Connect to Thrive When I’m Stuck at Home?

At River Valley, we just started a new series through our core values. This last weekend, we talked about our first and probably most important one: Connect to Thrive: We connect people to Jesus and each other through life groups, for authentic relationships and growth, because lives depend on it.

 Countless studies show us that isolation is horrible for our health.  Most recently and more fascinatingly is this Gallup mental health study of Americans, in which every category of people expressed worse mental health from 2019 to 2020, except those attending a religious service weekly.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/327311/americans-mental-health-ratings-sink-new-low.aspx%C2%A0

Very eye-opening. Even those who attended “nearly weekly” were in the same boat as every other category of people who experienced the mental health decline.

However, some of us are stuck at home right now, for various reasons, concerned we might get the virus (or give the virus to someone else). I have a few thoughts for Christians, how do we Connect to Thrive when we are isolated at home?

1) Determine a Measurable, Reasonable Standard by Which You Will Return to In Person Gatherings. 

 If we just wait until things “feel right,” or are “completely safe,” that day may never come. Standards based on feeling are not very reliable. And an object at rest stays at rest. The more time that you’re away, the more difficult getting back “in motion” will be.

What might be a good standard? Maybe when cases drop below a certain point in our county. Or better yet, to have a conversation with your doctor about the risks of return, balanced with the decline of your mental/social health (we’re all feeling it). If your doctor is anything like mine, she or he will be very understanding and come at it from a balanced perspective. Maybe your standard is the weather, that when it warms up you’ll interact more with church services and groups. Set a standard and then ruthlessly commit yourself to it.

Of course, determining this reasonable, measurable standard also involves an honest look at your risks. I’m not a doctor, but statistically, it seems that older people are those most at risk, the younger people, not so much (there are always exceptions).  

But think critically about this question: Is a church service more dangerous than Winco? It could be, depending on how seriously the church takes the pandemic. But I suspect that the risk levels are similar, particularly if you’re cautious.       

2) Consider a Weekly Conversation with Someone on the Phone or Video Chat.

This is especially valuable if that person is in a similar situation to you. We need relational connection, even if we can’t get it in person. This discipline of a weekly conversation will encourage you to not curve inwards on yourself.  

3) If the Weather Permits, Meet with Someone Outside for a Walk or with Spaced-out, Camp Chairs.

Someone sent me a picture last week of her life group, meeting outside on their deck, all bundled up in coats and blankets. I was so encouraged by that. It makes me think of the early church, doing whatever it takes to meet in person. Many in our church are meeting on porches, or talking walks and hikes. When exercise is involved, you get double the benefit. Actually more like triple the benefit with social, mental, and physical health improving.   

4) Stay Plugged in to the Life and News of Your Local Church.

Most of you reading this probably call River Valley your home church. Continue watching the teachings, staying aware of what’s happening, pray with us and for us. Continue to support your home church financially as well, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Instead of watching Fox News or CNN all day, pay attention to your church’s news, and your local news. It’s immensely more relevant and you might actually be able to do something about it. 

5) Write Notes and Letters.

Not only do you stay invested through prayer and conversations, but consider working on notes and letters of encouragement. We are definitely missing out on something in our high-speed communication era. Even as the quantity of our words goes down, the QUALITY of the conversation goes up quite a bit. Have you noticed that much of our New Testament was written when church leaders were in prison? Forced isolation produced the greatest book of all time, a book of long-distance letters.

6) Wisely Assess the Situation & Trust God.

On the one hand, God has called us to wisdom, not foolishness. We shouldn’t test God by taking unnecessary risks. On the other hand, there is no way to totally prevent getting COVID. Or any other illness or death. One of our family members skipped our wedding, only to die a month later of a stroke. Time is short, and life is precious.

In talking to many of our seniors at church, safety is not their only priority. Quality of life is too. So I respect my older family members who sat out this Thanksgiving out of caution, and I respect those who showed up, saying: “How many Thanksgivings do I really have left? I’m going to enjoy them.”  

We should walk in wisdom, but at the end of the day, all we can do entrust ourselves to God and walk in (thoughtful) faith. God has commanded us to meet together. He never said how big our gatherings should be or where they should be, but only that they should be. With our mental health and our marriages on the brink, isolation is not a long-term option for the Christian. It’s far too dangerous.      

-Tyler 

Christian Posture During The Pandemic

I’m not a doctor. I’m not a lawyer. I’m not a statistician.  

I’m a pastor and theologian (doesn’t theologian sound so pretentious?).

Thus as a pastor/theologian, I can’t speak intelligently about the severity of the pandemic, nor about the dangers of governmental overreach. Like many of you, I can be concerned about all these things, without inerrant answers to them. This seems to me to be one of the problems we’re facing, so many people speak with expertise without having any. And it’s funny, it’s easy to point the finger at “those losers with bad information,” but I do it too. When I hear someone, who is obviously consuming a different news narrative than me, I find an anger welling up inside: “THEY have obviously bought into the narrative,” as if I, WISE TYLER, have not bought into any such opposing narratives. “God I thank you that I’m not like other men, foolish, manipulated by (right-wing) (left-wing) media.”

And THIS is what I want to pay attention to as a pastor. Because scripture doesn’t say a ton about how western democracies should balance public policy in the midst of a pandemic. And it really doesn’t say much about rights (as important as they may be from a societal perspective).  

But scripture says a lot about anger. And resentment. And pride. And contempt, condescension, and scorn. Positively, it says a lot about love of neighbor, joy in the Lord, peace-making, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.   

So I can’t say what your church (or family or social circle or you as an individual) should do. I do think gathering face to face is important. But perhaps more important than what we do is HOW we do it. Our posture.

So say your church prayerfully decides to meet. What does this gathering look like? What does God see? What does our community see? Is it a gathering of resentful people, clinging to our rights and freedoms as sacrosanct? Unified under a common ideology: “To each his own?” Eagerly flipping the bird to our left-leaning state leadership?

Or. . .

Is this a gathering characterized by a transcendent love, joy, peace and hope? The kind of hope that makes others ask about us, because we’re not just another grievance group: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. . .” 1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV)

And yes, we will be misunderstood. Some may see Christian gatherings as deeply irresponsible and putting the broader community at risk. This has actually always been the case; from the very beginning, Christianity has been maligned, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes not. For example, the early church was accused of cannibalism when taking communion (Fact check: False).   

Even if we disagree about the risk involved in our gatherings, our obligation here is to respond with “gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience.”  So instead of fighting fire with fire in verbal fights (especially online), and clinging to our rights, we should do our best to gently explain why we are choosing to meet.

So for example, when a church in town decided to continue meeting, someone commented on their Instagram:

“When religious people have their heads so far up their a____ that they are selfish enough and more willing to break the law and put more people at risk of death than to split up mass or hold virtual gatherings. . .”

 How do you respond to something like this? It’s easy to fume with anger, to dismiss, or to lash back out. And of course, the post isn’t very charitable and doesn’t assume good will. But neither were many of the responses to it. (If you ever doubt the depravity of humanity, or the need for Christ’s return, just read the comments’ section anywhere).   

What might be a better way to respond? I think a better way to talk about our gathering is not along the lines of rights but responsibility. So if I had a conversation with this person, I might say something like:

“I totally agree with you that we need to take this pandemic seriously. The LAST thing I want to do is spread this virus to someone else. But I also think that we need to take isolation seriously. There’s a lot of evidence that the mental health tole of this year is massive. In a recent Gallup Survey on Mental Health, the only people who self-reported better mental health from 2019 to 2020 were weekly church attenders. Every other category of people went backward. For the sake of our society’s mental, emotional, and social well-being, I strongly feel that people need this weekly gathering. I know for me, when I get isolated, my mind goes to bad places and I’m not a great person. So I truly believe I have this obligation to meet with others, to help them and for them to help me. I respect your opinion though, and so I wonder what you think we could potentially do to take this pandemic more seriously in our gatherings? 

We can’t win them all. But the more we can step outside of our echo chamber, to do our best to have a great reputation in this community, the more winsome I think we’ll be to those of different perspectives outside of the church.

What are some ways that you think the church can improve its posture and reputation during these times?

-Tyler

My 2020 Favorites

It’s time for my annual “Favorite Five” books of 2020. This year, I added my “Favorite Six” podcast episodes as well. Admittedly, I’m a pastor (and something of a nerdy one at that), so what interests me may or may not interest you (except the Lincoln book, that’s for everyone).

My Five Favorite Books in 2020 

1. Justin Witmel Early, The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose For An Age of Distraction

This is a really excellent book on habits and spiritual formation. Self-imposed limits, like a tomato trellis, actually lead to more life, not less. I was especially helped by Early’s constant reminder that these habits are for the purpose of greater love for God and neighbor; they are not primarily for my own self-improvement or better life management.  

2. John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Ironically, I finished this book in February, and then got lots of practice in not hurrying as COVID hit. Burnt out, mega-church pastor John Mark realized something in his life needed to change, and so he show us what journey for slowing down looked like. He has some really good cultural, historical, theological, biblical, and practical insight on our pace of life.    

3. Eugene H. Peterson, Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity

 This book “framed” the beginning months of the pandemic for me. Peterson’s three angles are three forms of attention to God: 1) Scripture (paying attention to God’s work in history), 2) prayer (paying attention to God’s work in ME) and 3) spiritual direction (paying attention to God’s work in YOU). In an era where lots demands our attention, this was a much-needed message.

4. Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave

Frederick Douglass is a fascinating figure, a runaway slave who eventually gains an audience with President Lincoln. The short book is mostly about his time and mentality as a slave. Most troubling of all is his scathing analysis of southern “Christianity” and it’s glaring hypocrisy at so many levels.

5. Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch, The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America’s 16th President—and Why It Failed

This riveting read takes us through a lesser known assassination attempt on President Lincoln right before his inauguration. A team of detectives, including the first female detective, must go undercover to try and determine where, when, and how this assassination will happen, and how they can stop it.       

My Six Favorite Podcasts Episodes 

1. The Theopolis Podcast, Episode 318: Paths to Human Maturity & the Way of the Cross, with Dr. David Field and Peter Leithart 

What hath Freud to do with discipleship? Perhaps more than we think, argues Dr. David Field. Sometimes psychology and theology are pitted as enemies. But this fascinating discussion with Leithart and Field shows us how paying attention to the deeper reasons behind why we do what we do is a vital part of becoming more like Christ.    

https://www.soundcloud.com/user-812874628/episode-318-paths-to-human-maturity-the-way-of-the-cross-with-dr-david-field-and-peter-leithart 

2. History Extra Podcast, Tom Holland on Christianity’s Enduring Legacy

Historian Tom Holland, not necessarily a Christian, shows us how so many of the values that we westerners share, arise out of the soil of Christianity. Everything from the freedom of the individual, the obligation to help the needy, the sanctity of sex (like rape = wrong), even the secular/sacred distinction, these are all direct products of Christianity’s influence on the world. Provocatively, his argument is that all of us, even non-believers and atheists, have deeply internalized so many of Christianity’s values without even knowing.    

- History Extra Podcast

3. Unbelievable? God, Gay Christians, and the Church-Brandon Robertson and David Bennett 

This is a great discussion between two Christians on whether or not the traditional, historical sexual ethic is good for everyone, and how the church can be more loving towards everyone. Although the two men have significant disagreements, notice the graciousness and wisdom that comes particularly from David Bennett on this very personal issue for so many people.  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMsv6ZBK8SE

4. Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast, Q&A with Patrick Lencioni: What’s Your Motivation?

I need to start reading this Lencioni guy. He’s such a helpful leadership coach, and in this episode with Craig Groeschel, he highlights the five uncomfortable things that we leaders need to do, even though we don’t want to: like having difficult conversations, leading great meetings, managing direct reports, building a healthy team, and repeating yourself constantly. In my spheres of influence, if I don’t do these things, I’m failing as a leader. 

https://www.life.church/leadershippodcast/q-a-with-patrick-lencioni-whats-your-motivation/ 

5. The Bible Project, 193. Apocalypse Please—Apocalyptic E1 

Are we nearing the “end of the world?” Our fascination and fear with the question has contributed to the rising interest in the apocalyptic, from inside and outside the church. But on the Bible Project, Tim and John show us that apocalypse doesn’t mean “the end of the world” but rather an uncovering or revealing, a better understanding of what’s already happening. 

https://thebibleproject.simplecast.com/episodes/apocalypse-please-apocalyptic-e1-9uELnOXG

6. The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast, Tim Keller on How to Bring the Gospel to Post-Christian America, How’d Preach Today if He was Starting Over Again, Why Founders Get Addicted to Their Churches, and Why He Left Redeemer 

I try to read and listen to most of Tim Keller’s stuff, but this interview was one of my favorites. Keller seems to be a humble, thoughtful, and faithful minister. I especially enjoyed his analysis of how the culture how changed since he’s been a pastor. His parents’ generation was motivated by duty, guilt, responsibility, his kids’ generation motivated by personal freedom, his grandkids’ generation, by person “identity.” The gospel message never changes by the way we present it to each culture will.

https://careynieuwhof.com/episode339/

Thanks for reading! What were some of your favorite books and episodes of 2020?

-Pastor Tyler

How Should Christians Respond To Government?

As we continue on through our Romans Series - our teachers spoke s few weekends ago on Romans 13:1-7. What a timely message for today as we learn how to live as good citizens under the allegiance of Heaven, but also here on Earth. Want to study this topic deeper? We've provided two resources for you!

Firstly, we've attached an excerpt of Wayne Grudem's book titled "Politics - According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture." This free PDF contains Grudem's first chapter of his book which outlines "5 Wrong Views Christian's Have of Government". We found this an incredibly insightful read! Click below to read this first chapter. 

> Read Chapter 1: Five Wrong Views about Christians and Government by Wayne Grudem (PDF)

Secondly, tune in below as our Mark Goens, Tyler Goens, Austin Abbott, and Brian Lucas discuss Romans 13:1-7 on our Digging Deeper Podcast. Don't miss this powerful discussion!

Work & The Proverbs

What is God’s heart for work?

Ephesians 2:10 says, “We are God’s workmanship (masterpiece) created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. God is at work in our world. He is always working. And this verse says his greatest work, his masterpiece, is the work He is doing in us. The purpose of this work He is doing in us is so that we will do the “good works” that He has planned for us. We call this work serving or ministry. We are ministers FOR the Lord and TO the Lord.”

In our most recent Digging Deeper Episode on Work & The Proverbs, Pastor Mark referenced for us two different resources that help add a Biblical perspective on work and rest. Watch the episode here and then check the PDFs out referenced on work & rest.

Blessings,

Mark & Teaching Team

Resources for Studying Proverbs

We’ve recently taken a break from the Book of Romans & launched into The Book of Proverbs. This incredible piece of Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament invites us to live with wisdom and in the fear of the Lord as we journey through our daily lives. The Proverbs touch on many common areas of life and show us what it looks like to live well before God and toward others. 

Want to learn more about the Proverbs? Click below to check out online resources on the Book of Proverbs from The Bible Project, The Gospel Coalition, Tim Keller and more. 

Learning From Jesus & 1st-Graders

I love teaching first grade! It truly brings me SUCH joy. There is something so rewarding and energizing about being in the presence of 25 wide-eyed six year olds. No doubt my feet hurt at the end of the day.. but my heart is completely filled to the brim. Reading, writing, math.. all the things, you name, I LOVE teaching it. When children learn to read and puts words on a paper for the first time… all the feels. I get a little teary typing right now.

There is however another subject I do love teaching that maybe isn’t considered “academic”……..it’s social skills. Yeah, I said it, social skills. I would actually say the majority of my days is spent teaching social skills. Social skills are the skills we use to communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance. Human beings are generally sociable creatures and we have developed many ways to communicate our messages, thoughts and feelings with others. 

To break skills down for the kids, I often will find a read aloud, song, quote, or life example I can use to teach a social skill concept for the week. A few of my favorite teaching books include: “My Mouth is a Volcano” (the art of not interrupting), “I Just Don’t Like the Sound of No” (all about accepting no for answer), “Personal Space Camp” (hands to ourselves and staying in our own bubble). Again, those are just a few. Believe it our not, every time I teach these, I am reminded of these social skills myself. Yes, at age 27 I still interrupt, have a hard time accepting no for an answer, and don’t always do the best with personal space. There is a particular social skill in the year that is my favorite to teach. It typically takes longer than a week. I usually find myself leaving this one on the white board for like a month. This is when I teach the acronym THINK. Before we speak, we stop and THINK….

T - Is it TRUE?

H - Is it HELPFUL?

I - Is it INSIGHTFUL?

N - Is it NECESSARY?

K - Is it KIND?

You can see why this is a social skill we work on for longer than a week. This is HUGE. We go over what these words mean in depth. Believe it or not.. kids learn quickly. If two students are having a conflict, it most often is a result of something said that hurt someone’s feelings. We go back to what was said, I ask them each these five questions. It takes time, but eventually first graders can ask these questions before they say something. Y’all…..first graders can do this. 

I wasn’t alive when Jesus was physically walking on the earth, but I imagine if I overheard one of His conversations, His speech would be gentle. I believe his speech was truthful, helpful, insightful, necessary, and kind. One example that comes to mind of Jesus’ gentle speech is when He was introduced to a woman caught in adultery that the Pharisees angrily brought to him (John 8). The Pharisees are verbally assaulting this woman. Jesus tells the Pharisees, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” I wonder what the Pharisee’s faces looked like? I imagine the scene in my mind of Jesus boldly, yet gently defending this woman. Meeting her where she is, speaking life to her, and empowering her to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). As Jesus followers, we have an opportunity to follow Jesus’ example of speech and be love to others. Ephesians 5:1-2 tells us, “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” I’ll type it again for the people in the back: walk in the way of love. 

Friends, think about what is happening right now in this world. So. many. things. Anxiety, fear, hate, shame, anger are all around us. We can choose to speak life and love to our dear brothers and sisters in a time where the hope and love is Jesus is needed. So before you speak… before you post.. before you tweet… before you text…….before you walk up to the person holding a sign you may not fully agree with… THINK TO YOURSELF. Is what I’m about to say thoughtful? Is what I about to say helpful? Is what I’m about to say insightful? Is what I’m about to say necessary? Is what I’m about to say kind? For some reason I just can’t see Jesus being a facebook warrior. I see him having true, helpful, insightful, necessary, and kind conversations with people. People that he loves DEEPLY. People just like you and me. Let’s learn from Jesus & first graders. We can do this.

Ascension Day: Why It’s More Important Than You Think

On the church calendar, today is Ascension Day.  

If you’re not as familiar with the church calendar, no worries. Basically, it’s a way to structure our entire year around the significant events in the life of Jesus, so we can look more like him. Just like the 4th of July “disciples” us in American values (freedom, fireworks, down with the man, bbq), so the church calendar disciples us in around Jesus’ priorities. Different church traditions will have different emphases, but some of the major framing is the same. 

Most of us as Christians are familiar with Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter. And of course, these are incredibly important days in the life of Jesus. His birth, very important. His death, very important, his resurrection from the dead (kinda a big deal). But the ascension is one of those events we’re less familiar with. But I think it’s actually just as important as the other three big ones.    

“When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.” -Luke 24:50-53

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” -Acts 1:9

Tim Keller uses the illustration of making an incredible meal, but no one is there to eat it. Or building a beautiful house, but no one ever lives in it. Or rigging explosives to blow a tunnel through a mountain, but no detonator ever ignites them. The Ascension is like that detonator, making Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection an explosive reality for us.

Basically, the ascension affirms Jesus’ authority over all things. “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”- Matthew 28:18. 

And then he drops the mic and ascends into another dimension (or something). To a way smaller degree, it’s like calling your shot in basketball or soccer (crossbar challenge). Jesus calls it, and proves it. The ascension affirms, confirms, validates Jesus’ authority over all things. He’s the boss. 

But how does the Ascension benefit US? The Heidelberg Catechism (a teaching from the 1500s), puts it like this: 

Question 49: How Does Christ's Ascension into Heaven Benefit Us?

A) First, he is our Advocate in heaven before his Father (Rom 8:34; 1 Jn 2:1) 

Advocate means helper, counselor, intercessor, or defense attorney. The word literally means “one who is called alongside,” typically for encouragement, exhortation, and strength. Jesus advocacy from heaven involves dishing out all the gifts and blessings that he died to win for his people. Far greater than Oprah’s “you get a car!” Christ generously gives and works for his children. The most powerful person in the universe is FOR you.

B) Second, we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he, our Head, will also take us, his members, up to himself (Jn 14:2; 17:24; Eph 2:4-6)

“Flesh in heaven” is another way to say: “human in heaven.” Let me tell you a (not so) secret: We have an “inside” man, in heaven (new creation), trail blazing the path for us to follow. Did you know that Christ is still 100% human? He didn’t leave humanity behind at his resurrection or ascension. He didn’t throw off his humanity like you take off muddy clothes: “Finally glad to strip off that horrible humanity.” Not at all.  

One Scottish thinker says: “the dust of the earth is on the throne of the majesty on high.” I think he’s right. Heaven is not like that the perfect home you visit, where you’re required to take off your shoes, and you always feel a bit unwelcome, because you’re not like your host. Christ in heaven means humanity is totally welcome there. As advocate, he washes away our sin. As human, he prepares a place for us. Because Jesus rises from the dead, and transcends this present age, so we who are in Christ get to follow. 

This is why Jesus is sometimes called the “Firstborn.” This doesn’t mean he was created (he wasn’t), this doesn’t mean he’s the firstborn of Mary, Firstborn, theologically, means he’s the first resurrected, ascended human in heaven. He’s the firstborn of New Creation. 2.0. Upgrade.

* Those who have died before us are not yet physically in heaven. We eagerly wait their resurrection and our own, confident that because Jesus rose, we will too (Although cue someone bringing us Enoch and Elijah. . .fascinating to think about).       

C) Third, he sends us his Spirit as a counter-pledge, by whose power we seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and not the things that are on earth. (Jn 14:16; Acts 2:33; 2 Cor 1:21, 22; 5:5; Col 3:1-4) 

We’ll talk more about the Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, which is ten days from today (May 31, 2020). But the Spirit is the greatest gift that the Son gives us. A pledge of God’s covenant and commitment to us. But I love what the catechism says about how the Spirit helps us: “by whose power to seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”

For more on this, meditate on Colossians 3 (one of my favorite chapters in the Bible), for what it looks like to set our minds on things above, not on things of this earth.  That which is transcendent, true, beautiful, lovely, important, and eternal.  It’s worth thinking about, are the things that dominate your thinking, and feeling, and doing, our priorates and values and frustrations and fears, do they come from a meditation on things above, or on temporary, transient things? 

So friends, on this Ascension Thursday, would you find comfort in the Advocate of heaven, the Human in heaven, as we FIX our minds on things above, where Christ is seated.   

-Pastor Tyler

Snap Peas & Spiritual Growth

My wife Ashley has been working hard on a new garden bed this year. This is a picture of some snap peas and a home-made trellis for them to climb. I know many of you are working on your own gardens, so I am sure you know how important it is for certain plants to have these types of structures to climb. Without the support of a trellis, the vines will still grow, but will be susceptible to many hardships. For starters, without a trellis to climb up, the vines and leaves will be in contact with the ground; this will subject them to insect damage, mold, and other diseases. No trellis structure will also mean a smaller yield at harvest time. 

Jesus used many agricultural metaphors in his teachings, and one of the most quoted comes from John chapter 15. In this famous passage, Jesus presents himself as a vine, His Father as the gardener, and us (his followers) as branches. He goes on to say, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

What does that fruit look like in our lives? Many books have been written on that topic! But at a fundamental level, it is growing in our desire and capacity to obey Jesus’ command- what he called the greatest commandment- to love God and love others. To that end, we follow the pattern of Jesus’ life, in the power of the Spirit, which among other things will result in “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” increasingly being present in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23). I don’t know about you, but I would love for my life to be marked by these things!

In our own backyard gardens, we cannot create the growth of our plants. Sure, we can supply water, amend the soil, pull weeds, and build trellises; but at the end of the day, the organic growth of the vine is beyond our control. It is not always predictable, and at times feels downright mysterious.... And the same is true of our own spiritual growth. We are told to remain (abide) in Jesus; only in connection to Him, through the Spirit’s work, will we bear the spiritual fruit mentioned above. So at the end of the day, producing true spiritual growth- fruit of the Spirit- is beyond our control. 

It is true that in the same way we cannot force a plant to grow, we cannot force the Holy Spirit to change us; but it is ALSO TRUE that in the same way we tend a garden to encourage growth, we can learn practices that will encourage our spiritual growth.

Think of it in terms of organism and structure. The organic, natural growth (life) of our garden is what we want, but to accomplish that, we use structures and tools. Building a trellis for its own sake is not the point; the vine, and its fruit, is the point. BUT the vine needs the trellis to grow and reach its potential. Simply building a trellis does not guarantee life and growth, and a vine with no trellis will not be as healthy or strong as it should be… Both are needed.

In exactly the same way that our gardens need water, trellis, and pruning, our souls need structure. The life and growth is supplied by the Spirit, but Christians throughout the ages have believed there are practices that we follow in order to prepare the soil of our hearts for spiritual growth. Most often these practices are called “spiritual disciplines.” They can be every bit as difficult as pulling weeds in the hot sun, or building raised gardening beds and trellises, but the results are infinitely greater. 

This month at River Valley, we are asking everyone to participate in a project we call “Formation.” It is an opportunity for all of us to work on 4 of the most foundational spiritual disciplines, with a special focus on Bible reading and prayer (you can find the details here). Perhaps these are already a consistent part of your daily life, or perhaps you have struggled with practicing them regularly. Think of these disciplines as structures in the garden, like a trellis or a raised garden bed. The goal is not the practice, the goal is new spiritual life and growth… but the structure is necessary. 

I hope you will join us on this journey, whether you are adding onto your trellis, or building one for the first time.

-Pastor Brian Lucas

CORONAVIRUS GLOBAL PRAYER OPPORTUNITY

by Maritza

As we have been praying for the Coronavirus these last few weeks, we have prayed for ourselves, our communities (including medical personnel), our leaders, and our country.  One area that can get overlooked is praying for our world.  This pandemic clearly shows us is how interconnected we all are, not just locally but also globally. Thus, we also want to intercede for our global community: the world. 

Here’s a prayer for the world modeled after the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught us in Matthew 6.  Take some time and personalize this prayer (as a guide) as you lift up the needs of our world in this pandemic.

Dear Heavenly Father, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Eternal Spirit, we worship you as the Creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, the One who was from the beginning, through whom all was made that has been made. We worship and lift up your name. We fall on our knees before you to bring our broken world to you. This world that you love, Lord, is in deep pain at this time. You see the novel corona virus that is moving like a darkness covering the globe. We pray, Lord, for our/your fragile and precious world, the earth and all upon it. We pray against the darkness of the corona virus. We pray healing for those currently stricken; we pray comfort for those currently grieving and mourning. So many places in the world have no access to water, soap, sanitizers, medicine, hospitals, respirators. We pray, Lord, for your protection over the poor and the most vulnerable of the world. We pray for believers all over the world to join in one voice to free the world of this sickness. We also pray for protection over medical workers everywhere. We pray for medicine, science, and miracles to come together to save lives all over the world. 

Wherever the global church needs to repent and ask forgiveness, may we repent. Wherever the global church needs to offer praise and worship, may we magnify your name. Wherever the global church needs to submit to your will and usher in your kingdom, may your kingdom come and your will be done. We pray, Lord, for the provision of daily bread and basic physical needs (food, water, shelter, hygiene) for the many hungry and poor in the world, made even more vulnerable by closed borders and lost work. We pray you protect your followers everywhere from temptation that we might not bring a shadow upon your name. We pray you deliver us all from evil, specifically from the evil of this virus. We pray for your global church to be protected and to be salt and light, your hands and feet to serve the poor, the needy, the sick, the dying. May your kingdom come and your will be done on this earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Extended Prayer and Sabbath Celebration

Deepening Opportunity by Maritza

Fasting and prayer are spiritual disciplines that become easier as we practice them. And they are intended to improve us as we practice them. That’s why we practice them, like practicing a skill, like an athlete, or a musician, or a student practices. When we take the time to pray and fast, we are offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, as a spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1-3). This very process transforms, and then, renews our minds. Then we can hear God’s voice and know what his will is.  What an amazing process. What a gift. What an opportunity. 

Let us celebrate this Sabbath as a time to fast and pray and enjoy the Lord. Focusing on the Lord will, in fact, help us to “go deeper,” as Pastor Mark has recently encouraged us to do. 

One tool for deepening is a practice we call holy reading (or Lectio Divina in Latin). Below is a short guide, as an example from my experience, to introduce this practice. It is intended to give you a model and the opportunity to practice a new skill that you can use anytime with the Lord.  

Session 1:  EXAMPLE  Holy Reading (Lectio Divina) guide

During this session we are practicing “holy reading” (Lectio Divina) which includes reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation.

First, I read Psalm 27:1

“The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?”

To prepare myself, I find a quiet place to sit or stand where I can be comfortable and relaxed for 15-30 minutes. I have a Bible with me and maybe something to write on because I like to write. I take several deep breaths which helps me focus and be still. It looks like this: I breathe in my nose and count slowly, silently as I breathe in (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). I breathe out my mouth and count slowly (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) as I breathe out. I do this several times. I ask the Holy Spirit to shine his light in my mind and heart as I read his word.

I read Psalm 27:1 again.

“The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?

Now I meditate on Psalm 27:1 What does the verse mean? What are different ways of understanding some of the words? What words stand out to me? What is this saying for me today? What do I need to apply? How specifically can I apply this? Who can I share this with to help me or help them?

Here are some of my thoughts…What does the Lord is my “light” mean? What is dark in me, in my world? Physical light? Lack of understanding? I see (I imagine) a lantern on a table, a candle in the window, a light left on above the door, a nightlight in the hall, a lighthouse on a cliff…How is the Lord “my salvation”? Certainly, he saves my soul…he saves my body, he can save my job, my home, my children, my parents…my life. “Whom shall I fear?” This is a big one, right now. Who/what do I fear? Sickness, loss, pain, death, mine? My family’s? My friends? My neighbors? 

 “The Lord is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?

What are some of your thoughts? 

 I pray. I talk to God aloud, I write my thoughts out, I take a walk and talk to God silently, or I put in my ear-buds, so people think I’m talking to a person, and I am; I’m talking out loud to God. I tell him what I read and what I thought and how I feel. I tell him what comforts me. I tell him what challenges me. I tell him what scares me. I allow myself to feel…The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? I cry because I am afraid. I feel this. And I bring this in my heart to God. I bring my heart in my hands, open before God. And God meets me in this place. And he wraps his arms around me. And I feel his love. I stay in this place until I find God in this. I wait for God. God waits for me….

I contemplate. I listen. I stop trying to fill the silence. I stop talking, stop thinking. I simply breathe deeply and stop trying. I am still. I wait for the Lord. I breathe. I listen. I wait for God to be my stronghold. To hold me strongly. To be my light. To enlighten my heart, my mind. I wait for God to fill my fear with his Presence so that his perfect love casts out my fear. I wait for his Presence to fill me with peace. I wait for his Presence to fill me with the fullness of joy. I wait for Him to lighten my darkness and fear and fill it with the light of his Presence and love. (Psalm 46, 1John 4:7ff, Psalm 16:  Ephesians 2:14)

Session Two: PRACTICE Holy reading (Lectio Divina)

Now it’s your turn to practice holy reading (Lectio Divina)

First find a quiet place to breathe and focus. Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you.

Read: Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV)
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (NIV)

and/or

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (ESV)

Mediate: What does the verse mean? What are different ways of understanding some of the words? What words stand out to me? What is this saying for me today? What do I need to apply? How specifically can I apply this? Who can I share this with to help me or help them?

Pray: Talk to God. Be. Yourself. With. God.

Contemplate: Then Listen to God. Listen for God. Just Listen. Listen.

Now that you have practiced a couple of sessions of holy reading (Lectio Divina) including meditation and prayer, what have you heard the Lord saying to you? Is there anything you need to confess and repent of? Take more time to talk to God, to confess, ask forgiveness, and submit this area of your life and heart to God. You might write out a prayer. You might need to write a card or note of apology to someone. What does confession and repentance mean for you in this moment? The point is to align yourself in right relationship with God and others. James tells us that the effective prayer of a righteous person has great power. (5:16) 

Then spend time thanking God for his generous forgiveness, for his continual kindness and care of us! What answers to prayer have you seen this week or last week? In what areas do you see growth in yourself? What are you learning about yourself?

What are you learning about God? Psalms tells us that God dwells in the praises of his people. (22:3) Isn’t that a beautiful image? Take this time to savor the sweetness of gratitude and praise. Another Psalm tells us that in his presence there is fullness of joy.  (Ps 16) 

Allow his presence to fill you with joy!

In his presence (which is always) our posture is worship, humility, gratitude, thankfulness. We have practiced holy reading (Lectio Divina), and we have spent considerable time in prayer. We may also be practicing fasting. All this has been a spiritual act of worship. Remember that this very process transforms and then renews our minds. Then we can hear God’s voice and know what his will is. We are fine tuning our minds to know what is “good and acceptable and perfect” before the Lord. (Rom 12:1-2, ESV)   We are deepening and learning to abide in his presence.

Bonus: Intercession for the world

As we have been praying for the Coronavirus these last few weeks, we have prayed for ourselves, our communities (including medical personnel), our leaders, and our country.  One area that can get overlooked is praying for our world.  This pandemic clearly shows us is how interconnected we all are, not just locally but also globally. Thus, we also want to intercede for our global community: the world. 

Here’s a prayer for the world modeled after the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught us in Matthew 6.  Take some time and personalize this prayer (as a guide) as you lift up the needs of our world in this pandemic.

Dear Heavenly Father, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Eternal Spirit, we worship you as the Creator and sustainer of heaven and earth, the One who was from the beginning, through whom all was made that has been made. We worship and lift up your name. We fall on our knees before you to bring our broken world to you. This world that you love, Lord, is in deep pain at this time. You see the novel corona virus that is moving like a darkness covering the globe. We pray, Lord, for our/your fragile and precious world, the earth and all upon it. We pray against the darkness of the corona virus. We pray healing for those currently stricken; we pray comfort for those currently grieving and mourning. So many places in the world have no access to water, soap, sanitizers, medicine, hospitals, respirators. We pray, Lord, for your protection over the poor and the most vulnerable of the world. We pray for believers all over the world to join in one voice to free the world of this sickness. We also pray for protection over medical workers everywhere. We pray for medicine, science, and miracles to come together to save lives all over the world. 

Wherever the global church needs to repent and ask forgiveness, may we repent. Wherever the global church needs to offer praise and worship, may we magnify your name. Wherever the global church needs to submit to your will and usher in your kingdom, may your kingdom come and your will be done. We pray, Lord, for the provision of daily bread and basic physical needs (food, water, shelter, hygiene) for the many hungry and poor in the world, made even more vulnerable by closed borders and lost work. We pray you protect your followers everywhere from temptation that we might not bring a shadow upon your name. We pray you deliver us all from evil, specifically from the evil of this virus. We pray for your global church to be protected and to be salt and light, your hands and feet to serve the poor, the needy, the sick, the dying. May your kingdom come and your will be done on this earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Gratefulness

Hi friends! I have seen in so many different ways lately how the church has acted like a body and really strived to encourage each other. I love how God uses us to edify each other. LOVE IT! With that being said, I’d like to share what God has been teaching me. In the last two weeks, I have been learning so much about thankfulness and gratitude. With the social, economical, and health climate of our current world, anxiety has been such a temptation for me. What about my job? What about this gathering? What about my daily schedule? Will this have financial implications on mine and Tim’s life? Everything feels off. So often I have given fear and doubt the final word. BUT, then I read Colossians chapter 3:15-17 (ESV) and it says this:

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Wow! That whole “BE THANKFUL” stuck with me. God in his favor and mercy has given me SO much. He has saved my soul from an eternity separated from him. He has shown compassion on me. I woke up in a warm bed, in a home I own, drinking amazing coffee, with good health, I love my church, I have a wonderful husband, and my job/life is still in motion with everything going on. The list goes on. When I humbly dwell on what God has given me, and in turn show gratitude and thankfulness to Him, my anxieties seemingly go away. I heard this quote that resonated with me:

“Anxiety is a kind of grasping for control of what we do not have in the future, and THANKFULNESS is giving thanks for what we do have in our present reality” (John Mark Comer).

I love that. I want to daily ask God, “God what is there to be thankful for today”? The list will NEVER end.

So church family, I’d like to know, what are YOU thankful for? How has God blessed you? I know there are seasons when we have to dig a little deeper, but His blessings are there. I promise. Comment below three things you are thankful for! Once you comment, I’m going to spend some time thanking God WITH you. Thank you so much for taking the time to read what has been on heart. My prayer for you today: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” (Col 3:1).

Blessings,

-Rachel Sorenson

The Coronafast

A Prayer & Fasting Opportunity

Forced Sabbatical? Who is setting your narrative as we as a family, a church, a community, a city, a state, a country, a continent, a world face an unseen foe?  

Brothers and sisters, what if we were to look at our current set of circumstances as a forced sabbatical? A chance to recalibrate our focus on the unseen realm first before we recalibrate our lives in the seen realm (2Cor. 4:16-18).  Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20) and now we are being presented with an opportunity to focus on our living Lord (Hebrews 12:1-3) and on our eternal home which might lead us to simplify our world and become reassigned or reacquainted with our heavenly assignments here. 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to pick a day this week to follow this 6-hour pattern of fasting, reading, prayer, repentance and stillness before the Lord. 6 hours is just a recommendation, but it doesn't have to be that long.

How you order your fast is up to you. I would recommend minimal people contact in this block of time. No calls or screen time. Spend the first 15, 20 or 30 minutes of each hour meditating on the Lord, His Word and the theme for that session. Then go do a relatively mindless task (take a walk, pull weeds, clean out a drawer) and continue to meditate on what you just read asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth or a fresh perspective on what you just focused on. Then do it again at the start of the next hour with the new theme. 

Here are a couple devotions that will help set the tone for your time of fasting:

The Battle

Judges 3:1-2 offers an often overlooked and misunderstood insight into the battles that come our way.  Read it. Here you and I are, not combative people but rather non-confrontational, just trying to go about our daily lives with as little conflict as possible and yet we encounter snipers cleverly disguised as co-workers, neighbors, family members, sheep or even a virus. “Why can’t I just be left alone?” we mutter. Well.....because your Heavenly Father wants you to learn warfare. And how we fight this battle is critical if we are to move towards Christlikeness. 

Oswald Chambers writes, “The reason the battle is not won is because I try to win it in the external world first.” Get alone with God. Ask him to show you how to walk throughout this conflict in order to obtain the goal of the conflict, which is hidden to you. We must learn to take the dependent posture before God and quit seeing ourselves as so capable. The first gate to being blessed is humility.  Read Matthew 5:3. Pray, “I can’t do it Lord. Please show me the way. I am fearful of what I am capable of doing in this situation. Please place me on the path to victory.” He who guides us in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake would love to honor the one who takes this stance. 

So before the battle can be fought in the seen realm, it must first be fought in the unseen realm. “My righteous one will live by faith, but if he shrinks back I will not be pleased with him.” (Hebrews 10:38)  Fight this battle in faith and you will never be the same again.

Fasting in Secret

If you have determined to fast in some manner during this Coronavirus season, the question of who needs to know of this fast becomes an issue. If the fast is food-related, then those who would normally cook for you or eat with you may need to know, and it may give opportunity to verbalize your commitment and purpose in doing this fast to those individuals. Beyond those individuals, I might go to one or two others who I know would be willing to support me in prayer during this fast (if you are doing an extended fast). In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus warned us not to fast in a manner that makes it obvious to others that we are fasting. “Do it in secret and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” 

The deliberate act of denying yourself something good (food) in favor of something better (more of God) is pleasing to God. Don’t pilfer from that reward by making sure that everyone within earshot is aware that you are ‘going without’ for a season.

“Holy Father, I know that my obedience may make others around me feel uncomfortable so please help me to know who needs to know that I am fasting and to maintain a secrecy to all others so as not to give my flesh the opportunity to boast of an act of righteousness. I offer myself and this fast to you in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

SESSION 1 (1ST HOUR): A PRAYER OF NATIONAL REPENTANCE

Read Daniel 9:1-19 with an eye toward how Daniel identifies himself with the sins of his people. Once Daniel began to understand the extent to which the people had fallen away from God, in repentance with fasting through prayer and petition, he pleaded with God.  Daniel, who had followed the Lord faithfully all his life, repented; how can we not think we must do the same?  

Read it in a posture of prayer (for me as a former Catholic...that would be on my knees) and then meditate on how our nation (USA) has offended, repulsed, transgressed, dishonored the Creator and Living Lord. Make a list or our sins as a nation. Greed, rebellion against authorities (Romans 13:1-2), shedding of innocent blood, to name a few. Once you have compiled a list of our national sins ask the Lord to give you His broken heart for what we as a nation have done though we should have known better. Repent on behalf of our godless nation as you bring up our sins one by one to Him. Terri Millard wrote.. “I do think Numbers 16: 46 - 48 is so important to add as well under the virus section as we stand in the gap for a wicked nation.”

SESSION 2 (2ND HOUR): A PRAYER OF PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Break Up the Fallow Ground

One of the purposes of the Lenten season (which we are in right now) is to take some extended times of quiet before the Lord and allow for Him to do a deeper work in our hearts, even if the extended time is simply the lunch break or the earlier hour you are rising. While there, ask what David asked in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God and know my heart….see if there be any offensive way in me…” What surfaces may be a grudge you have held; a theft you need to restore; a letter that needs to be written to someone you have offended asking for forgiveness; a wrong spirit towards a parent, sibling, co-worker, neighbor; or perhaps a warped view of God that has been offensive to Him. 

Your growth has been stagnated by the hard ground of your heart that is just below the surface and “it is time to break up your unplowed ground and seek the Lord until he comes and showers righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12). This proactive style of repentance is far more preferable than the alternative (waiting for a rebuke from the Lord) which can cut deeply, leaving you in little pieces feeling undone by the revelation of your offenses when you may have felt you were doing fine. 

“Holy Father, I want nothing to interfere with Your plan and purpose being carried out in my life. Please reveal or cause to surface whatever sin I have failed to confess through forgetfulness or willful ignorance. I want to take hold of all that for which You have taken hold of me. In Jesus’ name.”

Like you did in the previous session, compile a list of known sins you have committed against the Lord and others. Where have you indulged the flesh rather than walk in the Spirit? Been lazy in your pursuit of God? Been critical and condemning of others? Lost integrity? Been too engaged and franchised in this world? Used your mouth in ways it was not designed to be used  (James 3:8-11; Matt. 12:34; Eph. 4:29)? Succumbed to fear and anxiety rather than hold on in faith? I could go on...now lay these sins out before the Lord and allow Him to break you of your selfishness, self-righteousness, self-confidence, ego, self-exaltation, self-promotion, impatience, indifference, indulgence of the flesh... (James 4:8-9)  

SESSION 3: PRAYER FOR OUR AREA CHURCHES 

Read Paul’s prayers...Col. 1:9-12; Phil. 1:9-11; Eph. 1:15-23

This worldwide crisis has created an interesting challenge for the pastors of our area churches. Most of our area churches will not be meeting as a congregation for a month, or 2 or 3. How will they continue to operate as a congregation without the large meeting? At RV we are set up fairly well because of our Life Group focus, but some churches will be scrambling to check in on all their members in this season. Will the congregation continue to give? There are still bills and salaries to pay. 

How can we be a light in the darkness of our community in this season? How are we to minister if one of our congregation comes down with the virus? So many challenges facing churches in our community. Make a list of the area churches that come to mind. Parkway, Calvary Crossroads, Calvary Lutherian, Grace Bible, Edgewater, Jerome Prairie, Pursuit, Lion’s Gate, First Christian, Vineyard, Solid Rock...and pray for them individually and collectively using your prayers and Paul’s prayers.

SESSION 4: PRAYER FOR OUR NATIONAL LEADERS

Read Romans 13:1-2;  1Tim. 2:1-4

 World Leaders and their administrations

- Our President, his staff 

- Our United States Executive, Legislative and Executive Leaders

- State Governors and all those in the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and the Judicial Branch within those states - inclusive of but not limited to: Secretary of State, State Treasurer, Attorney General, Justice Dept, Labor and Industry Commissioner, Bureau of Labor and Industries, County Commissioners, City Councils, those appointed to all Boards (School, Water, Airport etc) Mayors, State Reps and State Senators, all State Judges, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and Circuit Courts.  Let’s also include leaders within our business realm: corporations, mid-size and small businesses. Let’s pray for wisdom for their decisions in their companies as folks are being economically hurt by this virus.  

Also pray for our response to our leaders as laid out in 1Peter 2:13-17.

SESSION 5: PRAYER FOR THE MEDICAL WORLD

During this session, stand in the gap for the researchers and scientists, for God to give them insight and understanding into this virus and to reveal to them the “cure.” For a vaccine to be fast tracked, and for whatever comes to your mind as you lift them to the Lord. Also for the doctors to be wise, protected, compassionate, strengthened, and likewise for the nurses to have these same graces. Pray as well that as the medical world fights this virus and seeks to be a blessing to the individual as well as the masses that they would see the handprint of God and become extensions of His life, expressions of His character to those they minister to (Col. 3:17, 23-24).

SESSION 6: PRAYER FOR MY MARCHING ORDERS IN THIS SEASON

Gen. 1:26-28 can be summarized by this statement…  “God has designed us to be extensions of His Life, expressions of His Character, and exhibits of His Power.” So what does that look like in your home, your extended family, your neighbors, your co-workers, your community, your county, your state, your country, your world in light of the needs that are surfacing because of the virus and our response to it as a State? What is my assignment, Lord?

 Luke 12:35 urges us to be dressed in readiness. “Lord, I am Yours and I am ready to represent You in word and deed” (Romans 12:1). There is a certain abandonment that comes with this living sacrifice and we can give way to fear, being over-cautious, and miss a simple assignment He sets before us. 

I have included a few devotions that I wrote some years back that might be helpful in navigating this session and this season. 

Calm in the Storm

How did you handle the last storm that shook you externally or internally?  Did you say things you later had to apologize for? Did you lose it emotionally?  Did you forget to Whom you belong?

Look at the storms the Father brought Jesus through and how he responded. This calmness is available to you and me.  It was during the last week of Jesus’ earthly life that he gave his peace away. John:14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give it to you as the world gives.”  

This peace transcends our circumstances and may be a far greater testimony to those observing you in the storm than anything you could say. Jesus could calm the storm, but what if empowering you to remain calm in the storm is the greater miracle?

Do You Understand?

Jeremiah was frustrated, and God told him in Jeremiah 23:20 and 30:24, “In days to come you will understand this.”   Peter was baffled, and Jesus spoke in John 13:7, “You do not realize what I am doing now, but later you will understand it clearly.” There are seasons where we must do as Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.” 

Job and Joseph are great examples of guys who did not have a clue about the drama involving them, being played out in the unseen world, but they held on in faith.  And so must you and I. If God has allowed a coil of circumstances that is entirely unfamiliar and quite possibly dark, then stand firm and wait for him to light your way a step at a time.  Isaiah 30:15, “In quietness and trust is your strength.”

What is the Power For?

Colossians 1:11 reads, “…being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may…” (pause) move mountains, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, preach and have people get saved. That is what I would have expected it to finish with, but it doesn‘t. So what is all this glorious power for? (continue) “…so that you may have great endurance and patience.”  Wow! Is all that power really necessary for patient endurance? It must be or Paul would not have prayed it or the Spirit included it. 

Could it be that the place and the process God is taking us to and through to be more closely identified with his purposes on earth will require this patient endurance?  I certainly believe so. Jesus felt it in Luke 9:41, “How long shall I put up with you?” 

Could it be that this power is necessary for us to put up with sin and the effects of sin in our world, the slowness of people to respond to the gospel, the poor decisions and the consequences that follow for those we love, the arrogance and aggressiveness of those who are in step with the evil one and the apparent slowness of God to bring justice and sanity to our chaotic world? It must be so.

Don’t lose heart, my friend. Ask for this power to endure and remain patient. The consequences of proceeding without this is that you become hard, cold and cynical. The blessing of proceeding with it is you model Christ to those who need this alien perspective.

-Written by Doug Higuera