What do we “Get ‘er Done
First?” - Purity 840
Purity 840 09/18/2022 Purity 840Podcast
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a magnificent sunset over Lake
Ontario in Oswego, which I will take the liberty of calling “August Departs” comes to us from Celestial Blue Photography
who captured this last sunset of the month and shared it on social media back
on August 31st.
Well It’s the 19th of September and although
its been a while since August departed it is still officially summer until Thursday
but I won’t be looking for any last minute summer time fun as the next few days
will be filled with work during the day and ministry opportunities at night and
so now I am in the midst of the fine art of juggling and prioritizing my tasks
in order to be fully prepared and effective to perform what’s expected of me in
the days and nights ahead.
And so comes the question, what do we “get ‘er done,
first?”
Yeah when we look at the calendar and look at all
the things we have to do sometimes we can easily be overwhelmed and perplexed about
how we are to accomplish what we need to without being a total wreck.
I’m still a work in progress, as we all are and will
be until Christ returns or welcomes us into His kingdom, but one of the things
that I have learned on the path of Christian discipleship is that “perfection” and
results is not a thing we have to worry about. But at the same time we don’t
necessarily want to be accused of not putting forth our best efforts when we
seek to represent the kingdom of God with the ways we live our lives.
So thus another set of paradoxes to life in the
Spirit:
· We want to care about what we are doing but not care
so much that we stress ourselves, and others, out to the point we lose our
peace
· We want to press in to do a good job but we should
realize that our work will never be perfect and we will have to be aware of our
limitations and have peace with what we actually can do
· We may want to do
many things and we may want to do things well but we may have to realize that
if we agree to do too many, we won’t be able to do them all as well as we like.
· We may want to kick
back and relax but it may be better to work, or We may want to work but won’t
be effective in our work unless we get some rest.
Now these
challenges of life and work are more or less universal but as Christians who
want to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit – the way we “get ‘er
done”, the ways we rest, the ways we get results, and the way we prioritize
things matter.
While the world
will justify their means by their ends and put the overall emphasis on the end
results and possibly ride an emotional roller coaster ride to get there, our
walk with Christ and the proof of our maturity as Christians will be
demonstrated by our ability to maintain our peace and joy in the midst of the
process of completing what we need to accomplish.
So we have to keep connected to the Lord and
be wise and discerning in choosing our path and although we want to be
disciplined in our lifestyles of faith we don’t want to be so rigid that we can’t
think outside of the box and change the ways we normally do things when met
with challenges that will require a little juggling or a reprioritizing of our
goals.
This morning I had
to make the decision to forgo my normal morning exercise routine because I didn’t
make enough head way in a ministry project I was working on over the weekend
and as I looked at the calendar I could see that time would be scarce over the
next week and I had to “find the time” somewhere.
Yesterday afternoon
I was faced with the fact that this ministry work hadn’t gotten done and I had
a decision to make yesterday. Do I press in on Sunday afternoon to get it done
or do I spend time with my wife. I
chose my wife over the ministry work and I don’t regret it.
So yesterday I
chose my wife over the ministry work and today I chose the work over the exercise. And the lesson I learned today is that in order
to avoid having to compromise in my regular routine, I will have to “find the
time” to accomplish these ministry work projects in a way that doesn’t
interfere with the other things that matter to me. So in examining my time, I realize that
there are places where I can make adjustments to put it all together in a way
that runs smoothly by doing a little bit each day o rather than leaving things
undone and scrambling at the last minute.
That was sort of
the way I did things in the past. Work hard, play hard. Leave things undone to
the last minute and then run around angry and stressed out to get things done
at the last minute. The thing that was
always the problem back then was
selfishness. When I though about
projects, I would think – “I don’t want to!” and would do what ever pleased me,
all of which was not productive at all. It wasn’t like I shirked work
responsibilities to do something else that was good, necessary, or productive.
No I would watch TV, or drink, or eat, or play video games or all of the above….It
was all about entertaining myself.
But since coming to
Christ and attempting to live according to His ways, I realize how foolish I
was and how my selfishness led to negative consequences personally and in all
of my relationships. I spent most of my
time doing what I wanted but some how I didn’t have any lasting sense or peace because
I wasn’t wise to take be a good steward of the things that God had given me and
eventually lost it all.
Ironically, I lost
it all when I decided to follow the Lord. You would think I would have lost my
former home, marriage, and most of my possessions because of my alcoholism and
rollercoaster of emotions of depression, anger, and anxiety but I only lost all
of those things when I finally saw the light and decided to stop being in
bondage to my addictions and emotions by surrendering to the Lord. Unfortunately, the ex wasn’t with the
program and even though I didn’t try to change her, she wasn’t content to be
with the new me and demanded a divorce.
So in the process of
building a new life I have learned when to work and when to rest and how to
prioritize my life in a way where the Lord is at the center of it and even
though there has been a lot of changes to my life in the past few years I would
say that through it all I have had a peace that goes beyond all understanding
because I was diligent to stay in the Lord’s presence, to let go and let God,
and to do the best I could with my part of this relationship. And even though I might have to do some
juggling at times to “get ‘er done”,
somehow there is always a measure of peace and joy as I keep ”walking and
talking with God.”
Well the clock
tells me that my time management isn’t perfect yet and I will have to skip
sharing that verse of the day for “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men” like I usually do but I’ll
give you this one. It might be out of
context from it’s part of the Bible’s narrative but it was on my heart as I was
writing so here it is, Christ said in:
John
14:27 (NKJV)
27 Peace
I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to
you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid..
Christ came to give us peace and I have found that
when you follow Him you find it. So keep walling and talking with God. You don’t have to be troubled or afraid but
the pathway to peace requires you follow the One who came to give it to you.
---------------------------------------
Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible
Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s meditation verse is:
Psalm 18:28 (NLT2)
28 You light a lamp for me.
The LORD, my God, lights up my
darkness.
Today’s Bible verse speaks of the
illuminating power of God.
______________________________________________________________________
As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s
“Discipleship”, also known as “The Cost of Discipleship”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase Bonhoeffer’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
Chapter Two
The
Call to Discipleship - Continued
The concept of a
situation in which faith is possible is only a description of the reality
contained in the following two statements, both of which are equally true: only the believers obey, and only the obedient believe.
It is really
unfaithfulness to the Bible to have the first statement without the second.
Only the believer obeys—we think we can understand that. Of course, obedience
follows faith, the way good fruit comes from a good tree, we say. First there
is faith, then obedience. If this meant only that faith alone justifies us and
not deeds of obedience, then it is a firm and necessary precondition for
everything else. But if it meant a chronological sequence, that faith would
have to come first, to be later followed by obedience, then faith and obedience
are torn apart, and the very practical question remains open: when does
obedience start? Obedience remains separated from faith. Because we are
justified by faith, faith and obedience have to be distinguished. But their
division must never destroy their unity, which lies in the reality that faith
exists only in obedience, is never without obedience. Faith is only faith in
deeds of obedience.
Because talk about
obedience as a consequence of faith is unseemly, due to the indissoluble unity
between faith and obedience, the statement “only the believers obey” has to be
paired with the other one, “only the obedient believe.” In the first, faith is
the precondition of obedience; in the second, obedience is the precondition of
faith. In exactly the same way that obedience is called a consequence of faith,
it is also called a prerequisite of faith.
Only the obedient
believe. A concrete commandment has to be obeyed, in order to come to believe.
A first step of obedience has to be taken, so that faith does not become pious
self-deception, cheap grace. The first step is crucial. It is qualitatively
different from all others that follow. The first step of obedience has to lead
Peter away from his nets and out of the boat; it has to lead the young man away
from his wealth. Faith is possible only in this new state of existence created
by obedience.
This first step
should, to begin with, be viewed as an external deed which exchanges one mode
of existence for another. Anyone can take that step. People are free to do
that. It is a deed within the iustitia
civilis [civil justice], within which people are free. Peter cannot convert
himself, but he can leave his nets. In the Gospels that first step consists of
a deed which affects all of one’s life. The Roman church required such a step
only for the exceptional alternative of monasticism. For the other faithful it
was enough to be willing to subject themselves unconditionally to the church
and its commands. In the Lutheran confessions the importance of a first step is
recognized in a significant way: after they thoroughly removed the danger of a
synergistic misunderstanding, space could be kept and had to be kept for that
first external deed required to enable faith—the step, in this case, to the
church, where the word of salvation is preached. This step can be taken in full
freedom. Come to the church! You can do that on the strength of your human
freedom. You can leave your house on Sunday and go to hear the preaching. If
you do not do it, then you willfully exclude yourself from the place where
faith is possible. In this the Lutheran confessions show that they know there
is a situation which enables faith and one in which faith is not possible. To
be sure, this knowledge is very hidden here, almost as if they were ashamed of
it, but it is present as one and the same knowledge of the significance of the
first step as an external deed.
Once this knowledge
is ascertained, then something else must be acknowledged, namely, that this
first step as an external deed is and remains a dead work of the law, which can
by itself never lead to Christ. As an external deed, the new existence just
remains the old existence. At best, a new law of life, a new lifestyle, is
reached, which has nothing to do with the new life in Christ. The alcoholic who
gives up alcohol or the rich man who gives away his money are truly freed from
alcohol and money, but not from themselves. They remain as their old selves,
maybe even more so than before. Subject to the demand for works, they remain in
the death of their old lives. The works do have to be done, but by themselves
they do not lead out of death, disobedience, and godlessness. If we ourselves
understand our first step as a precondition for grace, for faith, then we are
judged by our works and completely cut off from grace. Everything we call
convictions or good intentions is included in those external deeds, everything
which the Roman church calls facere quod in se est [to do what is in oneself,
i.e., to act according to one’s own abilities]. If we take the first step with
the intention of putting ourselves into the situation of being able to believe,
then even this ability to believe is itself nothing but works. It is but a new
possibility for living within our old existence and thereby a complete
misunderstanding. We remain in unbelief.
But the external
works have to take place; we have to get into the situation of being able to
believe. We have to take the step. What does that mean? It means that we take
this step in the right way only when we do not look to the necessity of our
works, but solely with a view to the word of Jesus Christ, which calls us to
take the step. Peter knows that he cannot climb out of the boat by his own
power. His first step would already be his downfall, so he calls, “Command me
to come to you on the water.” Christ answers, “Come.” Christ has to have
called; the step can be taken only at his word. This call is his grace, which
calls us out of death into the new life of obedience. But now that Christ has
called, Peter has to get out of the boat to come to Christ. So it is, indeed,
the case that the first step of obedience is itself an act of faith in Christ’s
word. But it would completely misrepresent the essence of faith to conclude
that that step is no longer necessary, because in that step there had already
been faith. To the contrary, we must venture to state that the step of
obedience must be done first, before there can be faith. The disobedient cannot
have faith.
You complain that you
cannot believe? No one should be surprised that they cannot come to believe so
long as, in deliberate disobedience, they flee or reject some aspect of Jesus’
commandment. You do not want to subject some sinful passion, an enmity, a hope,
your life plans, or your reason to Jesus’ commandment? Do not be surprised that
you do not receive the Holy Spirit, that you cannot pray, that your prayer for
faith remains empty! Instead, go and be reconciled with your sister or brother;
let go of the sin which keeps you captive; and you will be able to believe
again! If you reject God’s commanding word, you will not receive God’s gracious
word. How would you expect to find community while you intentionally withdraw
from it at some point? The disobedient cannot believe; only the obedient
believe.
Here the gracious
call of Jesus Christ to discipleship becomes a strict law: Do this! Stop that!
Come out of the boat to Jesus! Jesus says to anyone who uses their faith or
lack of faith to excuse their acts of disobedience to his call: First obey, do
the external works, let go of what binds you, give up what is separating you
from God’s will! Do not say, I do not have the faith for that. You will not
have it so long as you remain disobedient, so long as you will not take that
first step. Do not say, I have faith, so I do not have to take the first step.
You do not have faith, because and so long as you will not take that first
step. Instead, you have hardened yourself in disbelief under the appearance of
humble faith. It is an evil excuse to point from inadequate obedience to
inadequate faith, and from inadequate faith to inadequate obedience. It is the
disobedience of the “faithful” if they confess their unbelief where their
obedience is required and if they play games with that confession (Mark 9:24).
You believe—so take the first step! It leads to Jesus Christ. You do not
believe—take the same step; it is commanded of you! The question of your belief
or unbelief is not yours to ask. The works of obedience are required and must
be done immediately. The situation is given in which faith becomes possible and
really exists.
Actually, it is not the works which create faith. Instead,
you are given a situation in which you can have faith. The point is to get into
such a situation, so that faith is true faith and not self-deception. Because
the only goal is to have true faith in Jesus Christ, because faith alone is and
remains the goal (“out of faith into faith,” Rom. 1:17), this is an
indispensable situation. Anyone who protests too quickly and in too Protestant
a manner should be asked whether or not they are defending cheap grace. In fact
the two statements, if they remain juxtaposed, will not offend true faith, but
if each is taken alone it would cause serious offense. Only the believers
obey—that is said to the obedient person inside the believer. Only the obedient
believe—that is said to believers in their obeying. If the first statement
remains alone, the believer is prey to cheap grace, that is, damnation. If the
second statement remains alone, the believers are prey to their works, that is,
damnation.[1]
---------------------------more
tomorrow------------------------
Join our “Victory over the Darkness”, “The Bondage
Breaker”, "Freedom in Christ" series of Discipleship Classes via the
mt4christ247 podcast!
at https://mt4christ247.podbean.com, You can also find it on Apple podcasts
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[1]
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship,
ed. Martin Kuske et al., trans. Barbara Green and Reinhard Krauss, vol. 4,
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003), 63–67.
