The Living Word

Recently I had an experience that made me feel unlovable. It was one of those temporary issues that just threw me off the horse for an evening. When I sat down for my devotionals that night, I was amazed when I read the following verse as part of my Bible reading plan:

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love" (John 15:9).

At a time of emotional need - when I felt so unlovable - His Word met me right where I was. It is amazing when something written 2,000 years ago pierces your situation in 2006. And its even more amazing to me when I realize that God has promised that His Word will bring such power and meaning into my journey. My experience proves the words written in Hebrews:

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

How marvelous and how wonderful is His unfailing love and His living Word!

Welcome to Lithos!

Hopefully you're visiting because you have received the new "Stone Sentinel" Christmas newsletter. Welcome to Lithos, our blog of life and seminary in Dallas. Though we are not in the Big Star State yet, we have uploaded some pictures and reflections from my first class on Bible study methods.

This blog was not originally my idea. My friend Scott Benjamin, who has his own blog, suggested we do this to chronicle what God does in our lives while we are in Dallas.

So far, I'm really enjoying it. Its an amazing feeling to type something, hit a button, and see your words published in real time.

We are not sure how often we will post things - my goal at this point is twice a week. And we would really be honored if you would comment on what we share. Nothing is more encouraging than knowing that people are reading - and responding - to our thoughts and experiences.

One final word: Lithos is the Greek word used in the New Testament for 'stone' and 'spiritual edification by Scriptural teaching.' We are the Stones and we are moving to Dallas to pursue such spiritual growth based on God's Word. How awesome is that!

Welcome . . . we are glad you're here.

Just enough light for the next step

The last time I moved more than 400 miles I was three or four. In just three weeks, though, Heather and I will climb into a sixteen foot rental truck and drive 800 miles from Atlanta to Dallas. We'll be moving from a two bedroom apartment into a one bedroom apartment. From a state I've lived in for almost twenty years to a city neither of us have spent more than a week in. Its a very exciting, exhausting, anxious time. At least, we're not doing this in the middle of the Christmas season!! :)

But we couldn't be moving for a better reason: in the spring, I will be attending Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) as a full time student. More on that later.

But we thought it would be great to share some pictures of the beautiful campus and our new apartment community with you. So here they are. . .

Pictures of Dallas Theological Seminary

James: Proverbs for the Christian's Path

We’ve spent about a month working on the New Testament epistle of James in my Bible Study Methods class. It’s a five chapter letter full of proverbs and wisdom on Christian living. It raises quite a high standard for those who follow Christ. For me, it became a source of great sadness as I realized (again) my complete inability to live the way God calls us. James presents a clear reminder that “all fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

The letter encourages readers to “be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God” (James 1:21). Those of you that know me know a verbal person who likes to talk for hours on end about almost anything. You also know that I’m extremely passionate about certain things. Such passion often leads to anger and frustration when I’m unable to fully influence others. So for me, the first half of this verse is tough medicine. In life, be quick to listen instead of just thinking about your feelings and thoughts and planning what you are going to say next. He’s not talking about me, is he?!? After you’ve listened to someone, be slow to speak. Don’t fly off the handle . . . don’t react based solely on emotion. Take a minute. Process what has been said and what’s really going on in the heart of the person who has been speaking. Regardless of their response, be slow to anger. These are hard commands to apply in life.

Until James explains the purpose of the proverb. “The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” What a filter for life! Do my actions produce the righteousness of God? Flying off the handle without listening and responding to others with anger may make me feel better, may help release some steam . . . but these actions do not achieve the righteousness of God. So this proverb all of sudden gives us a grid, a filter to examine not only our actions but our motives and priorities. Is it more important for me to express myself and win influence or let my life be a conduit for God’s righteousness.

After Heather and I have both had hard days at the office and we’re not quite on the same page, its awfully easy – and a miss of God’s mark – to not actively listen, to respond to her words quickly, and let my anger rear its ugly head. So I’ve been working on this – listening more, talking less (not making much progress on this one) and being attuned to my anger level. Because I want my life to produce God’s righteousness everywhere that I go and with everyone that I know. It seems that James presents one of God’s upside down commands to us in his letter. Don’t do what is easy, pursue what is hard – and know that He will meet us and use us in that place.

What I'm learning from Habakkuk

I’ve always enjoyed Habakkuk – at least the last couple of verses when Habakkuk radically commits to worship God no matter what he loses. The rest of the book has always been lost on me – just more prophetic stuff.

We’ve been working on Habakkuk in class recently and I have really come to love almost every word of this book – and understand most of it too!

In breaking down the text, I’ve identified what I think are pretty significant messages for me:

· God’s idea of judgment in not the same as Habakkuk’s idea of judgment.

· The righteous will live by faith while those who do wrong will face certain consequences.

· Seek mercy from God and offer worship to God.

As I typed the first statement out, I wanted to substitute my name for Habakkuk. You see, it should read God’s idea of judgment is not the same as Matt’s idea of judgment.

This idea has caused me to reflect on the many worship services where we sing about the Lord’s return and I’m crying and pleading with God to come quickly. To come and end all the bad stuff. To judge those who have been mean to Him (especially if they’ve been mean to me).

We watch bad things happen in our personal lives, our ministries, and all over the world and often we too cry out for judgment, for the end to come. But, like Habakkuk, I have realized that when the Lord comes back to judge, I bet its not going to result in a celebration of all that I’ve done right. My thoughts, my motivations, the deep things in me that are impossible to see, will all be exposed and I’ll be held accountable.

His idea of judgment is very different from mine.

So what do you do? God warns Habakkuk about pride and then says, “the righteous will live by their faith” (2:4). Trusting God regardless of our circumstances is a mark of the maturing believer.

The end of the book brings us to a conclusion about how we should live: as people who seek mercy from God and offer worship to God. As Habakkuk realized that God’s judgment would include him, would happen at the time of God’s choosing, would be accomplished by whatever means God chose, and would be perfect and holy, Habakkuk’s fear of the Lord returned.

He realized that his cynical questions and raised eyebrows were not the appropriate way to conduct himself before the Lord in his holy temple.

So, he pleads that God “in wrath may . . . remember mercy” (3:2). When faced with the prospect of God’s holy and perfect judgment, Habakkuk and I can only ask for God’s mercy. Anything less results in a quick guilty verdict against us.

He goes on to praise God’s immense power as Creator, Warrior, Judge, and Savior. Then Habakkuk closes his prayer with some of the most beautiful poetry in the Bible:

“Though the fig tree does not blossom,
And no fruit is on the vines;
Though the produce of the olive fails,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock is cut off from the fold,
And there is no herd in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.”

When confronted with God’s holy presence and power, Habakkuk asks for mercy from God and offers worship to God. Oh, that I would live each day of my life doing just the same.

Here's what I'm thinking here . . .

So I’m beginning seminary this fall. In only two class sessions I have noticed dramatic differences in approaching the Bible on a daily basis. Sitting in class for eight hours while the Holy Spirit prompts and convicts is an amazing experience. Studying the Bible for hours on end in my study at home and experiencing God open His Word to me is truly life-changing.

And I want to share it. I feel like I must.

There are people back home – my family, my closest friends, and those who have walked faithfully with me in His calling – who may want to peak into this experience from time to time. And then there are those people that I’m just beginning to meet and even those I don’t yet know who may enjoy my musings as we share this seminary journey. Finally, there is the future – the time when this experience will come to a close only to yield to another beginning. At that point, Heather and I will have this written record of our time here and how God used it in our lives and ministries.

I will get things wrong a lot. This is not meant to strictly be a theological record but a record of how God has touched my heart, turned me around, and further called me to His holy mountain again and again.