OnFire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #240 Large Fries and Diet Cola
Hi Folks:
When I was a teen hanging out with my friends, our weekend ritual was to rent a movie and then go to McDonalds for a snack. A creature of habit, I ordered the same thing every week - large fries and a diet Coke.
I thought that the diet Coke would somehow counter the effect of the greasy French fries. This exercise in wishful thinking seems really funny to me now but at the time it was discouraging since I exercised regularly in the pool as a lifeguard and swimming instructor, but wasn’t losing weight. The problem was that I didn’t make the connection between the different areas of my life.
There is a parallel to our experience with spiritual disciplines. The effect of regular spiritual practices is not automatic. Just because we take part in spiritual practices does not mean we will grow spiritually, change, or feel closer to God. We can have regular spiritual habits but still not grow because there are areas of our lives which are not God-honouring.
Let me show you two examples from scripture.*
Isaiah 58:3-4 “Why have we fasted,” they say, “and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed.” Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
These people had strict disciplines of prayer and fasting but they had two problems. First, they thought God was obligated to them because they prayed and fasted. And, second, in the same way that I could not see the connection between french fries and my weight, they could not see the connection between their behaviour and God’s quietness. God had a problem with the way they exploited their workers, their selfishness, tempers, and violence.
We see the same issues in Zechariah 7:4-5 : “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?”
Like Isaiah, the people had highly disciplined spiritual practices, but they were doing them for the wrong reasons. Spiritual disciplines are not about pleasing God so that He will give us what we want. God is not obligated to us in some kind of “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours” kind of way. In this way they really fasted for themselves, for what they could get out of it.
Spiritual disciplines are not for us. Spiritual disciplines are about giving God the opportunity to reveal himself, and in this way they are really about Him. The goal of spiritual practices is to see things as God sees them. If this had happened in Isaiah’s or Zechariah’s time, the people would have understood how their unchanged lives acted against their spiritual discipline. As we begin to see things through God’s eyes our hearts are changed, and changed hearts lead to changed lives.
I hope this helps us understand the nature of spiritual disciplines. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Oct 27, 2010. *Scripture taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com
OnFire is an occasional letter on Christian faith and character
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
OnFire #239 Spiritual Disciplines for Everyday People
OnFire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #239 Spiritual Disciplines for Everyday People
When I was in high school jazz band we went to the annual regional competition and discovered we had learned a section of music with the wrong rhythm. So with less than 24 hours to relearn the music, we practised the section over and over until our chops burned. We rested, and then did it over and over again until we had it right. It was hard work because we had practically memorized it the wrong way. Even still, we retrained ourselves to do it correctly and managed a second place, if I remember correctly.
In the same way that we had to retrain ourselves to play the music correctly, Christian growth and maturity involves a retraining of our thoughts and actions. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
We’re going to start a new series, this time on the topic of spiritual disciplines. Disciplines in this sense are good habits. Spiritual disciplines are regular practices and good habits which help the believer grow spiritually, transform character and relationships, and experience closeness with God. In essence, they help us retrain.
I’ve been teaching a Sunday school class this fall called, “Spiritual Disciplines for Everyday People.” My goal is to take the mystery out of the disciplines and help people put them into practice in their own lives. I don’t come at this as an expert, but as someone who has the same time challenges as everyone else. I know I should read my Bible more, pray more, be closer to God, but so many things seem to get in the way, important things like serving God and other people. This may sound familiar.
While spiritual disciplines are the good habits which help bring spiritual growth, I wish there was a different word to describe them. We all know we should have more discipline, to exercise more and eat less, to do push ups and push aways. Its hard work to discipline ourselves to do the right things.
This is where we need a change in perspective. A few years ago our oldest boy was popping caps when he hit his thumb with a hammer. We were on summer vacation at my mother’s cottage and I could hear him setting them off against a rock. Bang, bang, bang, thud. Almost immediately I heard him howl and then he ran to find me. With tears in his eyes he held up his thumb to reveal a small blood blister which had already formed.
“Cool,” I said. He stared at me as if to say, “Are you crazy, this hurts!!” I continued. “That’s the first of many blood blisters you’re going to have as a man.”
A look of wonder came across his face as he stared at the blister. “Cool.”
A change in perspective helps us to see that the goal is a closer relationship to God. The goal is not to add burden to our lives, another thing on the to-do list. When I started dating Jan, I did not say, “Oh, great! One more thing to add to my list of things to do.” That would have seemed very silly. We looked forward to every moment because we wanted to be together and we grew closer because of it. We even set aside some other things because we loved being together. That’s the perspective we need as we approach spiritual disciplines.
And so I hope this series will help and encourage you. Set aside time to read your Bible and pray, even today. Over the upcoming weeks we’ll talk about adding depth and meaning to your time with God, but Bible reading and prayer are at the heart of it all.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Oct 20, 2010. *Scripture taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com
OnFire #239 Spiritual Disciplines for Everyday People
When I was in high school jazz band we went to the annual regional competition and discovered we had learned a section of music with the wrong rhythm. So with less than 24 hours to relearn the music, we practised the section over and over until our chops burned. We rested, and then did it over and over again until we had it right. It was hard work because we had practically memorized it the wrong way. Even still, we retrained ourselves to do it correctly and managed a second place, if I remember correctly.
In the same way that we had to retrain ourselves to play the music correctly, Christian growth and maturity involves a retraining of our thoughts and actions. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
We’re going to start a new series, this time on the topic of spiritual disciplines. Disciplines in this sense are good habits. Spiritual disciplines are regular practices and good habits which help the believer grow spiritually, transform character and relationships, and experience closeness with God. In essence, they help us retrain.
I’ve been teaching a Sunday school class this fall called, “Spiritual Disciplines for Everyday People.” My goal is to take the mystery out of the disciplines and help people put them into practice in their own lives. I don’t come at this as an expert, but as someone who has the same time challenges as everyone else. I know I should read my Bible more, pray more, be closer to God, but so many things seem to get in the way, important things like serving God and other people. This may sound familiar.
While spiritual disciplines are the good habits which help bring spiritual growth, I wish there was a different word to describe them. We all know we should have more discipline, to exercise more and eat less, to do push ups and push aways. Its hard work to discipline ourselves to do the right things.
This is where we need a change in perspective. A few years ago our oldest boy was popping caps when he hit his thumb with a hammer. We were on summer vacation at my mother’s cottage and I could hear him setting them off against a rock. Bang, bang, bang, thud. Almost immediately I heard him howl and then he ran to find me. With tears in his eyes he held up his thumb to reveal a small blood blister which had already formed.
“Cool,” I said. He stared at me as if to say, “Are you crazy, this hurts!!” I continued. “That’s the first of many blood blisters you’re going to have as a man.”
A look of wonder came across his face as he stared at the blister. “Cool.”
A change in perspective helps us to see that the goal is a closer relationship to God. The goal is not to add burden to our lives, another thing on the to-do list. When I started dating Jan, I did not say, “Oh, great! One more thing to add to my list of things to do.” That would have seemed very silly. We looked forward to every moment because we wanted to be together and we grew closer because of it. We even set aside some other things because we loved being together. That’s the perspective we need as we approach spiritual disciplines.
And so I hope this series will help and encourage you. Set aside time to read your Bible and pray, even today. Over the upcoming weeks we’ll talk about adding depth and meaning to your time with God, but Bible reading and prayer are at the heart of it all.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Oct 20, 2010. *Scripture taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com
Thursday, October 14, 2010
OnFire #238 Rescue From the Mines
OnFire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #238 Rescue from the Mines
If you’re like us, you probably watched the recovery of the miners in Chile. Stuck over 2000 feet underground for almost 70 days, the 33 men survived the collapse of a mine on August 5. Feared dead initially, they were discovered alive after an amazing 17 days when a hole was drilled into their cavity. Since then, rescuers worked to drill a hole big enough to lift the men one at a time in a steel cage. Amazingly, all were rescued.
I’ve been thinking about this for some time, that we might compare their rescue to the second coming of Jesus. All metaphors or comparisons eventually break down, but check this out.
Life here on earth is dark and bleak compared to what awaits us in heaven.
We are without hope unless we have a Rescuer
Our Rescuer put communication in place through the prophets, scripture, and prayer.
Our Rescuer came down to put the plan into action
We need to prepare ourselves in order to be ready for the journey to the surface
All eyes everywhere will be watching when Jesus returns
We will rise to meet Jesus
There will be great excitement on that day
There will be a great reunion when we are rescued
I would hate to press things too far, but I think you get the idea. The rescue of the miners in Chile reminds us of the great hope all believers have in the second coming of Jesus Christ. As Paul tells us in Titus 2:13, the second coming is our “blessed hope.”
As we remember the miners being rescued, let’s not only marvel and give thanks that they were rescued, but may we also give thanks that our Rescuer, Jesus Christ, is coming back for us.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Oct 13, 2010. *Scripture taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at http://www.onfireletter.blogspot.com/
OnFire #238 Rescue from the Mines
If you’re like us, you probably watched the recovery of the miners in Chile. Stuck over 2000 feet underground for almost 70 days, the 33 men survived the collapse of a mine on August 5. Feared dead initially, they were discovered alive after an amazing 17 days when a hole was drilled into their cavity. Since then, rescuers worked to drill a hole big enough to lift the men one at a time in a steel cage. Amazingly, all were rescued.
I’ve been thinking about this for some time, that we might compare their rescue to the second coming of Jesus. All metaphors or comparisons eventually break down, but check this out.
Life here on earth is dark and bleak compared to what awaits us in heaven.
We are without hope unless we have a Rescuer
Our Rescuer put communication in place through the prophets, scripture, and prayer.
Our Rescuer came down to put the plan into action
We need to prepare ourselves in order to be ready for the journey to the surface
All eyes everywhere will be watching when Jesus returns
We will rise to meet Jesus
There will be great excitement on that day
There will be a great reunion when we are rescued
I would hate to press things too far, but I think you get the idea. The rescue of the miners in Chile reminds us of the great hope all believers have in the second coming of Jesus Christ. As Paul tells us in Titus 2:13, the second coming is our “blessed hope.”
As we remember the miners being rescued, let’s not only marvel and give thanks that they were rescued, but may we also give thanks that our Rescuer, Jesus Christ, is coming back for us.
I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Oct 13, 2010. *Scripture taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at http://www.onfireletter.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
OnFire #237 Foundations of Praise
OnFire Encouragement Letter
OnFire #237 Foundations of Praise
Hi Folks:
As we approach Thanksgiving in our own family, this letter is as much for us as it is for you. Jan’s hands continue to bother her, and we continue to search for answers. We pray constantly about this, but her hands still ache and fall asleep, and if anything they are worsening. She has a hard time sleeping through the night because of them. At times this takes its toll on Jan and she becomes discouraged.
We try not to say much because there isn’t much to say and we don’t want to inflict others with our afflictions. But it is our struggle currently and these words spoke to me this past week as I prepared for our church’s Thanksgiving newsletter.
And so I pass them along to you with the hope that they encourage you as they encourage us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you visit my office, you will see that there are always several piles of books, files, or papers sitting on my desk. These represent projects I am working on, but aren’t complete. In this way they are both reminders so I don’t forget, but also symbols of frustration over incomplete work.
With unfinished projects in mind, this verse stood out for me lately: “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love to Israel endures forever.’” (Ezra 3:11*) They sang this song at the completion of the foundation of the new temple. The original had been demolished about 50 years earlier in war, and as people returned from exile, they began work on the second temple.
It seems odd to me - Why stop to praise God when there was still so much work to be done? After all, it was just a foundation. There were still walls to put up, rafters and roof to install, doors to hang. Why pause to celebrate at the laying of the foundation? These simple verses teach us something about the nature of thanksgiving.
They celebrated even though the work was not yet complete. How many times do we become discouraged by projects we haven’t finished, work that isn’t done, and prayers yet to be answered? Every once in a while we need to stop so that we can look back and see what God has accomplished. This is what the returning exiles did, and they were able to praise God as a result.
I’m not very good at looking back. There is too much planning ahead to reflect in the past. But here is something I find at work in my own mind. I get frustrated if I only look ahead. I need to look back, to see the ground we’ve covered, the work that has been completed, the victories that have been won. God is good. I need to remember this to keep from getting frustrated about all there is to do.
They celebrated the work God was going to do in the future. The foundation of the temple was a promise which declared, “There will be a glorious building here someday!” We too can celebrate the fact that God continues to lay foundations in our lives.
A few days ago I drove past a building which someone had started but not completed. There was a foundation and a floor, but it must have been started years ago because it was falling in and trees were growing up from the cellar through the holes in the floor. There are times when our best-made plans come to nothing, but this is not the way it is with God. He will continue to build upon the work He has done in the past, and for this we can be grateful. God is not done yet.
At Thanksgiving we pause even though there is still much work to do because we want to celebrate the foundations of our lives. God has accomplished so much, and he has left foundations upon which he will build for the future. May we sing with the people in Ezra’s day, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Oct 6, 2010. *Scripture taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com
OnFire #237 Foundations of Praise
Hi Folks:
As we approach Thanksgiving in our own family, this letter is as much for us as it is for you. Jan’s hands continue to bother her, and we continue to search for answers. We pray constantly about this, but her hands still ache and fall asleep, and if anything they are worsening. She has a hard time sleeping through the night because of them. At times this takes its toll on Jan and she becomes discouraged.
We try not to say much because there isn’t much to say and we don’t want to inflict others with our afflictions. But it is our struggle currently and these words spoke to me this past week as I prepared for our church’s Thanksgiving newsletter.
And so I pass them along to you with the hope that they encourage you as they encourage us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you visit my office, you will see that there are always several piles of books, files, or papers sitting on my desk. These represent projects I am working on, but aren’t complete. In this way they are both reminders so I don’t forget, but also symbols of frustration over incomplete work.
With unfinished projects in mind, this verse stood out for me lately: “With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: ‘He is good; his love to Israel endures forever.’” (Ezra 3:11*) They sang this song at the completion of the foundation of the new temple. The original had been demolished about 50 years earlier in war, and as people returned from exile, they began work on the second temple.
It seems odd to me - Why stop to praise God when there was still so much work to be done? After all, it was just a foundation. There were still walls to put up, rafters and roof to install, doors to hang. Why pause to celebrate at the laying of the foundation? These simple verses teach us something about the nature of thanksgiving.
They celebrated even though the work was not yet complete. How many times do we become discouraged by projects we haven’t finished, work that isn’t done, and prayers yet to be answered? Every once in a while we need to stop so that we can look back and see what God has accomplished. This is what the returning exiles did, and they were able to praise God as a result.
I’m not very good at looking back. There is too much planning ahead to reflect in the past. But here is something I find at work in my own mind. I get frustrated if I only look ahead. I need to look back, to see the ground we’ve covered, the work that has been completed, the victories that have been won. God is good. I need to remember this to keep from getting frustrated about all there is to do.
They celebrated the work God was going to do in the future. The foundation of the temple was a promise which declared, “There will be a glorious building here someday!” We too can celebrate the fact that God continues to lay foundations in our lives.
A few days ago I drove past a building which someone had started but not completed. There was a foundation and a floor, but it must have been started years ago because it was falling in and trees were growing up from the cellar through the holes in the floor. There are times when our best-made plans come to nothing, but this is not the way it is with God. He will continue to build upon the work He has done in the past, and for this we can be grateful. God is not done yet.
At Thanksgiving we pause even though there is still much work to do because we want to celebrate the foundations of our lives. God has accomplished so much, and he has left foundations upon which he will build for the future. May we sing with the people in Ezra’s day, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. Troy is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Highfield Baptist Church, Moncton NB Canada. This letter published Oct 6, 2010. *Scripture taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com. Blog located at www.onfireletter.blogspot.com
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