Thoughts

Missing the Point

September 6, 2019 By John Deisher

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
― G.K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World

Thomas Jefferson had a Bible. It was a very private book

The reason it was so private was that Jefferson had created a Bible suited for himself. He had taken all of the miracles out of the Gospels and was left with a document showing Jesus as a man of morals.

This leaves you with an easier Christian life. No Virgin Birth to explain. No miracles to deal with. No death and resurrection to mess with your idea of the afterlife.

Just a book of moral teachings offering an easy Christian checklist on what you should do.

Except we don’t do it.

Christ was never meant to be easy. It was never about checklists. It was about things that stretch us, challenge us, frustrate us, capture us, change us, shape us.

It was about “Greater things than this you will do.” It was meant to be difficult apart from Christ.

So, you cut out what you don’t want.

And miss the point entirely.

Ambitions

September 5, 2019 By John Deisher

Are you following Christ’s ambitions for your life or expecting Him to help you reach yours?”
― Stephen Davey

Following Christ — Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash

A guy walks up to Jesus on the road.

Sounds like the start of a joke, doesn’t it? But it turned out to be anything but that.

He wanted to follow Jesus. I mean, REALLY follow Jesus. Great credentials. Great background.

We would have signed him up right then to be a deacon or a teacher or small group leader.

Instead, Jesus said he was only lacking one thing.

That’s not bad, right? Only lacking one thing?

Except the one thing was everything. The one thing was everything the young man had sought—money, security, comfort. They were the things that made up his ambition

And when the young man’s ambitions for his life encountered Christ’s ambitions for his life, he couldn’t do it. Achieving his ambitions were more important than following Christ.

Whose ambitions are you following?

No News is Not Good News

September 4, 2019 By John Deisher

The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.”
― Carl F. H. Henry

You have probably never heard of Private John J. Williams.

He is reported to have been the last soldier killed in the Civil War. He died at the Battle of Palmito Ranch, which occurred on May 12-13, 1865.

But, he didn’t have to die. We may never have heard of him because the battle never should have been fought.

Any student of the Civil War knows that General Robert E. Lee had surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. The Civil War was over, which was good news.

But for Private Williams, the good news did not get there in time, which was not good new.

See the point?

If we have good news that could save someone but we don’t deliver it, it is no longer good news to them.

We have Good News.

And someone is dying today.

Will it be Good News for them?

God’s “Best”

September 2, 2019 By John Deisher

“The secret to following God’s will, I discovered, usually is wrapped up in rejecting the good for God’s best.”
― K.P. Yohannan, “Revolution in World Missions”

“The secret to following God's will, I discovered, usually is wrapped up in rejecting the good for God's best.” — Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

I have heard it said that “Good is the enemy of Best”.

And I suppose that is true.

There are times that “Good” is good enough. It gets the job done well enough to bring a sense of self-satisfaction. We can put that task behind us and move on.

But most times, “Good” doesn’t leave everyone else satisfied. There is a feeling that little effort was extended…that there was no thought for others.

And the question comes, “Is that your best?”.

Accepting “good enough” for a Christian means we feel satisfied with our lives. We have done the “Christian” thing and can now move on with what we want to do.

But it doesn’t leave God satisfied. Because he knows that there is a “best”.

When we follow him, he has a plan for us. And following that plan means that we make the hard choices to find his best so we can be our best.

“Good” is easy. “Good” is effortless. “Good” is convenient.

“Best” is hard. “Best” takes work. “Best” is inconvenient.

To find God’s best and follow him costs us everything.

But, it is the best.

What Do I See?

August 30, 2019 By John Deisher

“With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack?”
― A.W. Tozer, “The Knowledge of the Holy”

I have the ability to sometimes see what I don’t see. What I don’t see are things that I feel I need.

I don’t live in a house. I live in an RV. But one of my favorite things is hospitality, and an RV is not a great place to host people. I need a house, but I am lacking one.

It is easy to see what I don’t have. It is harder to truly see what I do have. So, I change my perspective.

What do I have?

I have a God who is good and watches over me. He blesses me with family and friends who walk through life with me.

I have a God who has given me a purpose. He has placed in my heart eternal plans and placed people in my life to partner with me.

I have a God who has given me the ability to carry out his plans. He has given me gifts to help me in doing the work to which he has called me.

So what do I have?

Everything.

What do I lack?

Nothing.

It’s all about perspective.

Deeper Things

August 29, 2019 By John Deisher

“We should remember that God always meets us where we are and slowly moves us along into deeper things.”
— Richard Foster, “Celebration of Discipline”

Deeper Things — (Photo by Cristian Palmer on Unsplash)

Someone recently found an old picture of me from college in 1978. I was 5’11”, 145 pounds, and had a large, curly “afro” (as they were called). I looked like a giant q-tip.

I don’t look like that anymore.

In 1978, I thought I knew how God worked, what he wanted from me, and how my life would work out. I thought I knew the “deeper things”.

I don’t think like that anymore.

God was real to me in 1978. But in the last 41 years, I have changed. I have had experiences I never could have dreamed about then.

I have had life experiences.

I have had God-experiences.

And I have come to realize that God is continually meeting with me in the present to draw me into his future.

That means more “deeper things”.

God loves me where I am right now. But, he is not content to let me stay here.

He has “deeper things”.

Interrupted by God

August 28, 2019 By John Deisher

We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I have a morning routine. A lot of people do. It is said it prepares you for a successful day.

I read my devotional for the day and then the chapters for my Read-Thru-the-Bible plan. I read selected sources and post to social media. Then I pray for the day.

It takes 30 minutes.

Unless I am interrupted by God. It happens.

Sometimes I am prompted to pray for a need. At times I just listen. Then there are those times I am just to be still.

Interruptions can be viewed as annoying. It takes my carefully scripted 30 minutes and upends it. Even God-interruptions can be troublesome if I let them.

Or, I can be prepared to be interrupted by God. Then when it happens I am ready. I create space for those moments.

Create some space in your day to be interrupted by God.

Learn to Dance

August 27, 2019 By John Deisher

“Learn to dance, so when you get to heaven the angels know what to do with you.”
― St. Augustine

Kathy and I were going through a difficult time. It was one of those dark seasons of life you never want someone to experience.

One night, for whatever reason, we decided that enough was enough. We opened all the doors and windows and put on some up-tempo praise music.

Then, we started to dance.

And dance.

We grabbed brooms and “swept out the devil”.

Our children came out of their rooms to watch us.

We laughed. A lot.

And we danced.

It was on that night that we came up with one of our life phrases: “Dance in the midst of your troubles. It confuses the devil.”

But not the angels. They know what to do with someone who dances with joy in the midst of their troubles as well as in those times of great celebration. The angels welcome dancers as those who have learned to find their joy in God.

So dance.