Forward Progress

A Simple Way to Die to the Self

Posted by MK | Filed under Marriage, Parenting, Theology

Are you ready for it? I’ll warn you beforehand – it’s going to sound simple, but it’s not. It takes great concentration and effort and no small measure of grace. So here goes – a simple way to die to the self:

Listen.

I mean really listen.

Here’s why that’s hard – because very few of us actually do it. Think about it – how many times, when leaving a conversation, have you forgotten the person’s name you just met? How many times has a detail resurfaced in conversation that you should have remembered but didn’t? How many times, as someone rattles on and on about their kids, their work, their ideas – do you simply tune out and look for an exit strategy to the conversation? How many times, if you heard a playback of the conversation, would you say something after someone else that only vaguely touches upon what they said and instead purports your own ideas?

Surely I can’t be alone here.

I find myself, more often than I care to admit, thinking more about my own clever reply or better story or great response than actually listening when another person is talking. But when you choose to actually listen, you are making the active choice to die to the self. You are placing importance on another human being – more importance than on yourself.

It’s true, those who actively listen, sometimes look like idiots in conversation because there are lulls after someone is speaking. But that’s because the listener hasn’t been thinking about how to respond nearly as much as he or she has been thinking about what is being said.

I’m willing to take that risk. Maybe you are, too. Listen today. Listen well.

On the Worst Day of Your Life, Jesus Has Been Praying for You

Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study

“I tell you, Peter,” He said, “the rooster will not crow today until you deny three times that You know Me” (Luke 22:34).

The words must have hung in the air for a moment, pointed and powerful. The disciples had just been arguing, to the last man, about who was to be the greatest in Jesus’ kingdom, and with Peter no doubt in the middle of the fray, Jesus’ words cut to the heart.

For Peter, the suggestion at that moment was laughable:

“Lord,” he told Him, “I’m ready to go with You both to prison and to death!”

Peter suffered from the same delusion that plagues us all from time to time – that we are above it all. That we are above such an outright and blatant example of sin. That we are above succumbing. That our faith, and our will, is strong. But Jesus knows better.

Peter was oblivious to the fact that he was embarking on what was to be no doubt one of the worst, if not the worst, day of his life. How many times in the years after would he look back on Jesus’ words and wonder how he could have been so arrogant? How many times would he replay the moment by the fire when all his will gave way underneath the weight of a little girl’s questioning? How many times would he remember the bitter tears he wept as Jesus was led away to His death in the shadow of His friend’s blatant denial?

But how could he have known? In that moment, Peter felt strong. He felt confident. He was, in his own mind, invincible.

But Jesus knew better. He still knows better.

Every morning we wake up and for the most part are completely oblivious to what the day holds. Rarely do we think about the fact that in only minutes or hours our world could change with a single word:

Cancer.

Downsize.

Bankrupt.

Unfaithful.

Betrayal.

Those are the kinds of things that await. And we, like Peter, are gloriously confident in our own faith and will. We are, in our minds, invincible to the lure of sin and the brokenness of the world. But we, like Peter, can take heart in the fact that while we don’t know what the day holds, Jesus does. And, amazingly, He’s been up long before we swing our legs out of bed… praying for us:

“Simon, Simon, look out! Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31).

Let that sink in for a moment. Feel the weight of the grace. On the worst day of his life, when Peter had no idea how far he was about to fall, Jesus had been praying for him.

When we woke up some 5 years ago on a morning in October, my wife and I had no idea that we would end the day sleeping in Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. We had no clue that our world was to be flip-flopped. We had no idea that the cancer inside our 2-year-old’s body was about to be discovered.

We didn’t know. We were blissfully ignorant. But thankfully, Jesus was not. He knew. And He was praying for us.

Take heart, Christian, not because you know what to expect from life today. You most certainly do not. But Jesus does. And if today is indeed the worst day of your life, know that Jesus has been praying for you.

I Have Fervently Desired to Eat This Passover With You

Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study

It was the eve of the crucifixion – the pivotal event in the course of human history. Jesus’ entire life had led to the upcoming moments. He knew the pain and hardship before Him, and as He gathered His early followers around Him, He made this pronouncement:

“I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you” (Luke 22:15).

And I wonder – if we actually heard Jesus say this sentence; if we observed the tonal qualities of His voice and saw the focus in His vision, where would His emphasis have been?

Maybe it was on the word, this: “I have earnestly desired to eat THIS meal – this particular one, though we have eaten many before – but this meal especially, with you.”

That would make sense. This was the Passover meal, the yearly commemoration of God’s redemptive work on behalf of His people. There were the bitter herbs, reminding them of their hardship in slavery. There was the unleavened bread, reminding them of the haste in which they fled their bondage into freedom. There was the cup of redemption, reminding them of how God had bought them back from their captors.

And now, this meal, one in which people for centuries had been reminded of God’s work in the past, would take on a new dimension. For this meal would become the means of remembrance for future generations of the fact that God has redeemed us, too, from slavery. That though we were bitter prisoners to sin and death, we have clung to Jesus and escaped into glorious freedom.

No wonder He wanted to eat THIS meal.

But maybe, must maybe, the emphasis in Jesus’ words was on you: “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with YOU – my friends. The ones I love and am giving myself up for. I could have eaten with anyone, but I want to eat, on the eve of my death, with you.”

That would make sense. Jesus wanted to spend His final time with His brothers because, and this is so simple and yet mind-blowingly profound – He loved them. He wanted to eat with them.

It’s so mind-blowingly simple and yet heart-meltingly good. The Lord’s Supper is one of those things, perhaps, that loses its significance over time for some of us. But feed your soul with this before you feed your body:

You are a friend of Jesus. He fervently desires to eat this with you.

Now take the bread and the cup… and remember.

Fridays Are For One Question

Posted by MK | Filed under Fridays Are For One Question

Two days ago was Truett Cathy’s birthday. If you don’t know who Truett Cathy is, shame on you, for surely you have enjoyed his chicken.

Chick-fil-A is more than a restaurant; it’s an obsession, what with the addictive chemicals they put in their chicken and their focus on fantasmic customer service. So let’s go Chick-fil-A for today’s question, in honor of Truett. For today’s question, complete the following sentence:

“For a year of free food from Chick-fil-A, I would…”

Keep it clean, people.

The Gospel Project Free Webcast Today

Posted by MK | Filed under Church, Current Events

This is something I’m really excited about. Lifeway is launching a new line of gospel-centered studies for all ages called The Gospel Project. Today there is a free webcast about The Gospel Project with Matt Chandler, J.D. Greear, and Ed Stetzer. During the event, these three men will each deliver a brief message:

- Matt Chandler will discuss the need to make the gospel explicit in our small groups.
- J.D. Greear will discuss the need to ground our life-application in the gospel.
- Ed Stetzer will talk about the need for gospel-centeredness to move us out on mission for God’s Kingdom.

After each message, Trevin Wax will sit down with each speaker and ask them questions we receive through FaceBook and Twitter. At the end, the four of them will gather for a panel discussion.

The webcast starts at 2:00 p.m. (Central Standard Time) and will go until around 3:15.

The Twitter hash tag for the event is #thegospelproject. If you plan on watching, let us know by tweeting to @Gospel_Project or by visiting the FaceBook page. You can send questions for Matt, J.D., and Ed via Twitter and FaceBook as well.

If you can’t make the website but still want information on The Gospel Project, check out the website and join the pilot project. Once you join the pilot project, you can download four sample lessons from each age group for free.

A Simple and Awesome Accessory for Book Nerds

Posted by MK | Filed under Just for Fun, Videos

Albatros bookmarks from Oscar Lhermitte on Vimeo.

The Difference Between “Right” and “Helpful”

Posted by MK | Filed under Books, Theology

Just because it’s right doesn’t mean it’s helpful.

Take, for example, the moment when a child comes to you and tells you something you already know. He broke the lamp. She told a lie. He took the extra cookie. There are all kinds of things you might say to your child in that moment, and most of them are right:

“Extra cookies will make you fat.”

“Every time you disobey me I lose a little bit of trust in you.”

“That lamp was worth more than what I currently have in your college savings account.”

All true. None helpful.

Wisdom knows the difference between these two things. When my book first started being shipped, we weren’t necessarily ready for the stories that have started to come in regarding the levels of pain and suffering endured by many of those reading it. There are stories of lost children, of terminal diseases, and of financial ruin, all of which have caused and are causing people to ask big, earth-shattering questions of God.

Now there are answers to these questions that may be right; that doesn’t mean they are helpful. We might say to someone in the midst of pain that God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. We might also remind them that God will use this event in their lives as a fire of refinement for their faith. We could also say that at the end of time all things will be set right.

These are all true things. But just because they’re true doesn’t mean they’re helpful.

One of the things I wrote about in Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal was about the story of Lazarus and his grieving sisters. Perhaps we could take a lesson from Jesus who, in John 11, was confronted by this situation of death. Instead of beating grieving sisters over the head with the right theological answer, He did something truly remarkable:

He wept.

No trite answer. No quick explanation. No bludgeoning with theology. Tears instead.

I put myself in the place of Jesus in this moment and I think I would feel the pressing need to defend God. To justify His actions. To say something – anything – that offers an explanation for the pain. But the truth is that I would do so largely out of my desire to seem smart. Or mature. Or well versed in the ways of God.

But Jesus has the amazing self-assurance to weep. He knows the difference between being right and being helpful. May God give us the grace and wisdom to know it, too.

Fridays Are For One Question

Posted by MK | Filed under Fridays Are For One Question

This is a great video. It’s great not only because it’s a clever prank, but because the pranksters end up getting roasted at the end. So watch this before proceeding to the question of the day:

Awesome right?

The question has to do with pranks in general, because we’ve all been there either as the prankster or the prankee: “What is the greatest prank you’ve ever been involved in, as either the instigator or the object?”

A Man of Little Consequence but Great Esteem

Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study

“Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth! You have covered the heavens with Your majesty. Because of Your adversaries, You have established a stronghold from the mouths of children and nursing infants to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I observe Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You set in place, what is man that You remember him, the son of man that You look after him?” (Ps. 8:1-4).

I am a man of little consequence. I, who am beaten down by sniffles and fatigue; I, who struggle to get out of bed most mornings; I, who am constantly struggling with patience and perseverance; surely so great a God does not need one like me.

If God had not formed the heavenly bodies and flung them into orbit; if He were not the very basis for courage, love, joy, and all other virtues we know; if He lived in houses made by human hands; then surely I could make some claim about my own importance.

I am a man of little consequence. And yet…

“You made him little less than God and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him lord over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet; all the sheep and oxen, as well as the animals in the wild, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea that pass through the currents of the seas.” (Ps. 8:6-8).

I am a man of great esteem. Of all the creatures in the universe, man alone is the one with whom God has chosen to deal in this way. I am no mere sheep or oxen; no mere goat or fish. I am a man, uniquely created in the image of God. Though of little consequence, the God of great consequence loves me and gave Himself for me.

Such is the great irony of the Christian existence: We are those of little consequence but great esteem.

“Yahweh, our Lord, how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!” (Ps. 8:9).

The True Vision Without Which People Perish

Posted by MK | Filed under Bible Study

“Where there is no vision, the people perish . . .”
– Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

It’s an often quoted verse in leadership settings, used as a charge for pastors and organizational leaders to form mission statements, articulate goals, and inspire movement forward. It’s also taken completely out of context. I appreciate this clarification from Jared Wilson:

But what if a leader’s good idea for church growth or success was not the vision Proverbs 29:18 had in mind? What if we aren’t free to insert anything we come up with, no matter how spiritual or “inspired by God”?

The verse is longer than is usually quoted. Proverbs 29:18 (in the ESV) in its entirety reads: “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” The vision is “prophetic vision”; what is in mind here is the revelation of God to his biblical spokesmen. Where there is no vision shared with us by the prophets, to whom God revealed the mysteries of the ages, we like savages run wild. In other words, we may have a vision, but if it is not the one given to the biblical representatives of God’s revelation and the forecasters of God’s coming glory, it is not to be conformed to. “But blessed is he who keeps the law.” The latter part of the verse implies that when the vision of the prophets is held by the people, the blessing of living God’s way ensues.

What is the vision of the prophets? It is “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints” (Col. 1:26; see also Rom.16:25 and Eph. 3:9). The vision is Jesus.

Read the rest of his post here.

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