Refocusing

This is something I posted a few months ago when I was reading Chasing the Lion. It's a quote from that book. Someone brought it to my attention today and I thought I'd repost it. There are a lot of difficult things going on in the world now, and this was a good reminder to me. Our help comes from the Lord. He is the only One able to make lasting changes.

"The circumstances you complain about become chains that imprison you. And worship is the way out. Worship reframes our problems and refocuses our lives. It helps us get through the bad days by reminding us of how good God is. And when you are worshipful, your eyes are more open to notice the miracles that are happening all around you all the time. One way or the other, your focus determines your reality. The outcome of your life will be determined by your outlook on life." (pg. 70)

May I always remember how good God is!

Chase the Lion -- the last 2 chapters

Chapter 8 -- The Importance of Looking Foolish

I loved this chapter so lots to share from it . . .

"Faith is the willingness to look foolish." -- Think of Noah building an ark for years and years, the Israelites marching around the wall of Jericho with trumpets, Peter stepping out of the boat to walk on water and so forth.

On page 151 the author states that "normality is overrated" and declares that we are called to be like Christ who was a nonconformer. Mark believes diversity should be celebrated in the church because God created this variety. We should not all seek to act, dress and think the same way. We are the body of believers ... and body parts differ greatly. Not all of us can be arms or toes or eyes.

Loved the part about the kingdom of God being "child-centric." Afterall Jesus did tell us we had to become as little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. (see pg. 155)

Page 156 includes an e-mail one of Mark's church members sent him regarding children. It was wonderful being reminded how children have so many dreams -- they want to be superheros or doctors or spies or astronauts when they grow up. However, as we get older we tend to stop dreaming, we embrace limits, "reality" some would say. But the woman says we "internalize limits ... [and] worse, we become small people with a small God." She asked what limits we are holding onto -- we are too old, don't have enough talent, not enough money, it's too weird. She reminded us that Jesus saw 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread and saw a feast for thousands of people. Our God owns it all. We don't need to live limited lives. Dream. Live. Chase lions!

Pages 159 to 162 discuss David's utter joy and dancing before the Lord. How he was not afraid to look foolish in front of his people because he was doing this for God's eyes, not for humans' approval! Wow! Oh that I could live this way consistently and dare to look foolish for Christ's sake! The author says:

I think David gives us a picture of pure worship. Worship is disrobing. It is taking off those things outside our relationship with Christ that we find our identity and security in. It is a reminder that our royal robes are like "filthy rags." It's not about what we can do for God. It's about what God has done for us. And that understanding produces the greatest freedom in the world: having nothing to prove. Instead of trying to prove himself as the King of Israel, David was consumed with worshiping the King of Kings.

One of Mark's "core convictions" -- "Christ followers ought to be the most passionate people on the planet." (pg. 163)


Chapter 9 -- Unleash the Lion Chaser Within

"I have an unshakable sense of destiny because I know that as long as I pursue God's calling on my life, then God is ultimately responsible for where He wants me to go." (pg. 168)

Lion Chasing Skills

You have to start by trying to comprehend the infiniteness of God so that you can believe He can help you to defy the odds. You have to face your fears, or they'll hold you back forever. You have to learn to reframe your problems through Scripture reading, prayer and worship. Then you'll shift your perspective so that your problem becomes less significant and God's greatness becomes more evident. And remember, you must take risks. That is the essence of faith. Then you're ready to seize the opportunity. But you have to be able to see it to seize it. That means getting yourself in tune with the Holy Spirit. You have to listen to His still, small voice prompting you and believe that He is setting you up for success. And finally , you have to accept that you're going to look foolish sometimes. Chasing a lion usually looks pretty crazy to everyone else. But following Christ is doing the will of God no matter how foolish you look in the process. (pg. 169)

What lion is God calling you to chase?

Chase the Lion -- chapter 7

Grab Opportunity by the Mane

"Lion chasers don't look for excuses. They don't focus on disadvantages. They find a way of making circumstances work in their favor. . . . Isn't it ironic that some people who have so much do so little and others who have so little do so much? Lion chasers don't let what they can't do keep them from doing what they can." (pg. 131)

This reminds me of a young Iranian lady I read about just the other day. She is 20 years old and boldly sharing her faith with her people even though this means persecution for her if she is caught. And here I am with so much and I rarely share the good news with people here.


"Think of every opportunity as a gift from God. What you do with that opportunity is your gift to God. . . . The great irony about opportunities [is] that they usually come disguised as insurmountable problems." (pg. 132)


"One of our spiritual shortcomings is low expectations. We don't expect much from God because we aren't asking for much. . . . Low expectations are the byproduct of prayerlessness, but prayer has a way of God-sizing our expectations." (pg. 133)

Yes, this is definitely a problem that I have at times. Oftentimes I will keep my expectations low in case God doesn't come through. That way I won't be very disappointed. Then if He does comes through, I will be overjoyed. But what a way to live expecting little of God. Hmmm. I am trying to change this now and pray more boldly and with great faith that anything we ask in His name, He WILL do it!


"Living in prayer mode is the difference between seeing coincidences and providences. Prayer has a way of helping us recognize that what we might dismiss as human accidents are really divine appointments." (pg. 136)

Ohhhh, I want to live in prayer mode rather than survival mode. The author says the latter is just reacting to things that happen. I'd rather live expecting God to work and desiring to be part of His work on this earth.

Chase the Lion -- chapters 5 & 6

Chapter 5 -- Guaranteed Uncertainty

The chapter began with a quote from Oswald Chamber. Really think about this:

"To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways; we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should rather be an expression of breathless expectation."

The author suggests, "you have to do something counterintuitive if you want to reach your God-given potential and fulfill your God-given destiny. Sometimes you have to run away from security and chase uncertainty." (e.g. Abraham, Noah, Jonathan) (pg. 81)



"Lion chasers challenge the status quo. . . . [They] are often considered crazy, but they are able to do these things because they aren't afraid of uncertainty. They don't need to know what is coming next because they know that God knows. They don't need explanations for every disappointment because they know God has a plan. Lion chasers refuse to settle down because they want to experience every divine twist and turn that God has in store for them." (pg. 82)

"Stop spending all your energy making plans for God, and start seeking God." (pg. 100) -- think of Pentecost where the people prayed and waited on God


"So if life is infinitely uncertain and God is infinitely complex, then all we can do is accept our finitude and embrace uncertainty. . . . Faith doesn't reduce uncertainty. Faith embraces uncertainty. . . . Complications are often a byproduct of blessing." -- Marriage, children, wealth, success - all these complicate life. (pg. 85)

The author reflects, "The longer I live, the more I think that spiritual maturity is less about figuring out the future and more about moment-by-moment sensitivity to the Spirit of God. . . . I just don't think spiritual maturity results in higher degrees of predictability." (pg. 86)

Mark suggests we are control freaks who "want a complete itinerary with everything mapped out. . . .But faith involves a loss of control [and] the loss of certainty." (pg. 87)

"Following Christ reduces spiritual uncertainty, but it doesn't reduce circumstantial uncertainty." (pg. 100)

"Our confidence is contingent upon the character of God. . . . Some of your experiences won't make sense this side of eternity, but lion chasers know that God is connecting the dots in ways they can't comprehend. Lion chasers are humble enough to let God call the shots and brave enough to follow where He leads." (pg. 98-99)



Chapter 6 -- Playing It Safe Is Risky

"Good is often the enemy of great. . . . Faith is renouncing lesser goods for something greater. And it always involves a calculated risk. I'm convinced that the only thing between you and your destiny is one small act of courage." (pg. 106)

About stepping out in faith, the author says we most always second-guess ourselves. Did Jesus really tell me to do this? We "stop focusing on Jesus and start focusing on the wind and the waves." (pg. 112)

"Most of us want absolute certainty before we step out in faith. We love 100-percent money-back guarantees. But the problem with that is this: It takes faith out of the equation. There is no such thing as risk-free faith. And you can't experience success without risking failure." (pg. 114)


Lots of food for thought!

Chase the Lion -- chapter 4

I'm back to reading this lion book after taking a few days off to read something else while Andrew finished this one. He enjoyed it greatly!

Chapter 4 -- The Art of Reframing

Some thoughts . . .

"Opportunities often look like insurmountable obstacles. . . . to take advantage of these opportunities, we have to learn to see problems in a new way -- God's way. Then our biggest problems may just start looking like our greatest opportunities." (pg. 61)

The author suggests we need to "rethink prayer" by reminding us that often our prayers are aimed at problem reduction. (Yeah!) He writes, "Many of our prayers are misguided. We pray for comfort instead of character. We pray for an easy way out instead of the strength to make it through. We pray for no pain, when the results would be no gain. We pray that God will keep us out of pits and away from lions. But if God answered our prayer, it would rob us of our greatest opportunities. . . .Maybe we should stop asking God to get us out of difficult circumstances and start asking Him what He wants us to get out of those difficult circumstances." (pg. 64)

Is the problem our circumstances or our perspective of them? God sees the big picture clearly while we see as one "looking through a peephole. So why do we assume that what we pray for is always what's best for us? If we could see what God sees, we would pray very different prayers." (pg. 65)

When we focus on our problems, we tend to get down and frustrated. At those times the author suggested we "zoom out" through worship. "Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what is right with God. Reframing problems is about shifting focus. You stop focusing on what's wrong with your circumstances. And you start focusing on what's right with God." (pg. 67) Of course a great Biblical example is Paul and Silas who were praising God after being beaten and thrown into jail for preaching about Jesus.

"One of the purest forms of worship is praising God even when you don't feel like it, because it proves that your worship isn't circumstantial."

Yikes!

Every day we are free to choose our attitudes! "Basically [there] are two types of people in the world: complainers and worshipers. And there isn't much circumstantial difference between the two. Complainers will always find something to complain about. Worshipers will always find something to praise God about." (pg. 69)

I want to be in the worshiping group!

I loved this thought: "The circumstances you complain about become chains that imprison you. And worship is the way out. Worship reframes our problems and refocuses our lives. It helps us get through the bad days by reminding us of how good God is. And when you are worshipful, your eyes are more open to notice the miracles that are happening all around you all the time. One way or the other, your focus determines your reality. The outcome of your life will be determined by your outlook on life." (pg. 70)

The author concluded this chapter reminding us that adversity is often a blessing in disguise and how the people God often uses the most have been through a lot of hard times. God uses our pain in order that we can help others. And when we go through adversity, we can come out stronger in the end.

Not that I want a lot of adversity, but I do want to be used by God. Hmmm. Like we have a choice about how much adversity comes at us in life! I want to see things through God's perspective and worship Him instead of grumbling about my problems. The world needs fewer complainers so I might as well begin with me!

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Chase the Lion -- chapter 3

Unlearning Your Fears


A few thoughts/quotes that stood out from this chapter . . .

This from Sarah who was fearful of going to Ethiopia on a mission trip with her church:

There were a million reasons why I shouldn't go. I'm not an evangelist. I don't have any special talents. I don't have three thousand dollars lying around. I've never been west of the Mississippi River, much less out of the Western Hemisphere. I'm not a physically ambitious person. I can't survive without electricity or running water. But I only needed one reason to go: I was called (pg. 42).

The author put in his blog: "Don't accumulate possessions; accumulate experiences!"

"So here's my advice: Don't let mental lions keep you from experiencing everything God has to offer. The greatest breakthroughs in your life will happen when you push through the fear. The defining moments will double as the scariest decisions. But you've got to face those fears and begin the process of unlearning them." (pg. 43)

"Half of learning is learning. The other half of learning is unlearning." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus often said, "You have heard that it was said . . ." and then "But I tell you . . ." We often have to unlearn bad teachings and unlearn our fears by learning the truth. "Half of spiritual growth is learning what we don't know. The other half is unlearning what we do know. And it is the failure to unlearn irrational fears and misconceptions that keeps us from becoming who God wants us to be." (pg. 44,45)

"Faith is unlearning the senseless worries and misguided beliefs that keep us captive. . . . Faith is rewriting the human brain. Neurologically speaking, that is what we do when we study Scripture. We are literally upgrading our minds by downloading the mind of Christ" (pg. 45).

"Think of your fears as mental lions. If we don't learn to chase those fears, they can keep us at bay for the rest of our lives. . . . Our Heavenly Father helps us unlearn the fears that would cause us to pass up so much fulfillment and fruitfulness -- because He loves us and wants the best for us. First John 4:18 describes the end goal of our relationship with God: 'There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.' The goal of love is fearlessness! As we grow in a love relationship with God, we unlearn the fears that paralyze us and neutralize us spiritually. That is the essence of faith." (pg. 48)


The author asks this question: "Are you living your life in a way that is worth telling stories about?" and then comments that "Too many of us pray as if God's primary objective is to keep us from getting scared. But the goal of life is not the elimination of fear. The goal is to muster the moral courage to chase lions. . . . The church has turned into a bunker where we seek shelter when we're actually called to storm the gates of hell." (pg. 56,57)

WOW!!

Chase the Lion -- got the book -- chapters 1 & 2

Got my new book the other day, and I think it's one I will want to write about after every couple of chapters so that I can remember the message of the book after I finish it. This is the book I referenced in my "Chase the Lion" post, and the actual book title is In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day. The cover also reads: "How to survive and thrive when opportunity roars." The style is upbeat and humorous, but there are several thought-provoking things throughout! Well, I've only read 2 chapters, but so far, there are many things that have stuck out to me. Nothing earth-shatteringly NEW perhaps, but just reminders of things I may have forgotten or failed to realize in my years of being a Christian. I wanted to write some of those things now so I can review them later. Here goes!

By the way the title and inspiration for this book comes from this passage in II Samuel 23:

20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. 21 And he struck down a huge Egyptian. Although the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear.

Chapter 1 - Locking Eyes with Your Lion

After discussing the sin of commission vs. the sin of omission that I pointed out in my previous post about this book, the author, Mark Batterson, asked this question:

"Is anyone else tired of reactive Christianity that is more known for what it's against than what it's for? We've become far too defensive. We've become far too passive. Lion chasers are proactive. They know that playing it safe is risky. Lion chasers are always on the look out for God-ordained opportunities. Maybe we've measured spiritual maturity the wrong way. Maybe following Christ isn't supposed to be as safe or as civilized as we've been led to believe. Maybe Christ was more dangerous and uncivilized than our Sunday-school flannelgraphs portrayed. Maybe God is raising up a generation of lion chasers" (pg. 15,16).

In the points to remember section, I noted these:

"Goodness is not the absence of badness. You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right. Our calling is much higher than simply running away from what's wrong. We're called to chase lions - look for opportunities in our problems and obstacles, and take risks to reach for God's best."

"When we don't have the guts to step out in faith and chase lions, then God is robbed of the glory that rightfully belongs to Him." --- Do you agree? Hmmm.



Chapter 2 - The Odd Thing About Odds

After discussing the story of Gideon, the author says,


"Too often our prayers revolve around asking God to reduce the odds in our lives. We want everything in our favor. But maybe God wants to stack the odds against us so we can experience a miracle of divine proportions. Maybe faith is trusting God no matter how impossible the odds are. Maybe our impossible situations are opportunities to experience a new dimension of God's glory" (pg. 24).

The author says our view of God determines what we will become. Our "internal picture of God determines how [we] see everything else. Most of our problems are not circumstantial. Most of our problems are perceptual. Our biggest problems can be traced back to an inadequate understanding of who God is. Our problems seem really big because our God seems really small. In fact, we reduce God to the size of our biggest problem. . . . A low view of God and a high view of God are the difference between scaredy-cats and lion chasers. Scaredy-cats are filled with fear because their God is so small. Lion chasers know that their best thought about God on their best day falls infinitely short of how great God really is" (pg. 28). -- WOW!!!!!! This reminds me a bit of something my pastor has instilled in us: "Don't tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big your God is!" Believe it or not, I have been doing this! Ha, ha...yes, I talk to my problems these days! :-D

"You can have a sense of destiny because you know that God has considered every contingency in your life, and He always has your best interest at heart. And that sense of destiny, rooted in the sovereignty of God, helps you pray the unthinkable and attempt the impossible" (pg. 30).

After discussing the ax head floating and mentioning the first miracle of Jesus where He turned water into wine at a wedding, the author makes this observation:

"God is great not just because nothing is too big for Him. God is great because nothing is too small for Him either."

Wow! Read that again if you want. :-) Have you ever felt you were praying for something, but then felt guilty because really it seemed so insignificant compared to all the major problems in the world? It's so wonderful to realize that God cares even about the small things!

It honestly doesn't matter how many Moabites you're facing. It doesn't matter how tall the Egyptian giant is. And the size of a lion isn't really the issue. The issue is this:

How big is your God? (pg. 34)

"Chase the Lion"

I love this!

I read a short article in a Charles Stanley publication the other day. Author Mark Batterson wrote about the "risk of taking no risks," and stated that social psychologists have said "over the short term, we tent to regret actions -- things we did that we wish we hadn't. But over the long haul, we tend to bemoan inactions -- things we didn't do but wish we had."

Wow!

He encourages us to remember there are sins of omission and we should do some things in obedience and faith. He pointed out that Jesus didn't get in trouble with the people of His day because He did nothing. By contrast, Jesus was "too dynamic to be safe." He was gutsy!

And Mark Batterson challenged us by asking "what lion is God calling you to chase?" Hmmm.

Great timing for me and Andrew.

And then I got an e-mail from my friend Leslie who mentioned in her devotions ... well, I'll just copy it here:

My devotions are in Exodus right now, and God says in Ex. 14:14,

"The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." And He did! Great,

miraculous victories, won by God, not man. But at the same time (and this is where

I got so excited this morning : ) in the next verse He says, "Why do you cry to Me?

Tell (them) to go forward..." God wants us to move forward in faith.

Yes, we need to walk with Him and talk with Him, but also, we need to have faith,

and MOVE FORWARD. Don't sit around waiting for a sign: when we know it's God's

will, go for it! Trust Him to work!

Another wow for me! I am often most fearful of DOING something! Ahh! It's like I want God to send me an e-mail with instructions on what to do! So Mark's article and Leslie's e-mail were a wake-up call for me.

I remember being at church one Wednesday night listening to my preacher speak on Ecclesiastes where Solomon talks about the vanity of a life lived for self. How that one day you get to the end of life and think, "What did I do that is of any value? What did I do for God?" I was so sad. I thought, "Oh my goodness, that is going to be me! I am going to have good intentions all my life, but DO absolutely nothing." Instead of being encouraged by Brian's message, I felt so much sadness.

So I need to do something and, Lord willing, I'm going act in faith and chase that lion!

(By the way, we ordered Mark's book.)