This Is The Way Forward... But Which Way?
Over the last few weeks we've walked through the first two steps of the Pendulum Process. First, define the extremes: name what "too far" looks like on both sides. Second, discuss both sides: consider what is valuable each way.
Now comes the part most of us want to skip to: discern where God has you now.
I love Isaiah 30:21: "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'"
Notice what that verse doesn't say. It doesn't say "always turn right." It assumes that sometimes right is the way and sometimes left is. What makes the difference is the voice.
That's the whole point of the wide middle. God didn't leave it empty so we'd guess. He left it open so we'd listen.
So how do we actually discern? Here are a few things that help me:
- Ask. James 1:5 promises that if we lack wisdom, God gives generously when we ask. I sometimes don't stop to ask because I assume I already know.Â
- Check the edges. Is one of the ...
Too much grace isn't grace at all
"She comes across a little strong, don't you think? Shouldn't we just love people where they are? After all, love covers a multitude of sins."
"Yeah, but don't you think she'd want to know? Faithful are the wounds of a friend."
Have you ever been part of that conversation? Both people are quoting Scripture, and both are right. That's what makes it so hard.
This is step two of the Pendulum Process: discuss both sides.
On one side is truth. Honest feedback can show someone a blind spot and spark a real "aha" moment. But truth pushed over the edge becomes bluntness without timing or care. I've been there. Years ago I removed a dancer from a role in a drama without much discussion because she couldn't get the part right. I was right about the timing. I was wrong about how I handled her, and it hurt her.
On the other side is grace. Grace lets things go, refuses to be offended, and leaves room for people to grow. But grace pushed over the edge becomes silence, or even abdication. A frie...
If there were just a set of rules...
If I were in charge of the world, I think I would have made right and wrong a lot clearer. I'd have written a list of rules so we could all know for sure whether we were doing the right thing.
God didn't do that. Not for everything, anyway.
Some things are clearly right and wrong. Murder, adultery and stealing aren't up for discussion, and neither are forgiveness and our need for salvation. Those sit firmly on the outside edges of every pendulum.
But look at how many of Jesus' teachings seem to pull in two directions:
- We're told to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), yet Jesus told His disciples to shake the dust off their feet in towns that rejected them (Matthew 10:14).
- We're told to let our good works shine so others see them (Matthew 5:16), and in the very next chapter to do good in secret (Matthew 6:2-4).
- We're told not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:25-34), yet the bridesmaids who weren't prepared were left outside (Matthew 25:1-13).
So how are we supposed to know wha...
No one ever? Anyone always?
Last time I asked you to notice where you've been swinging. This week I'll go first.
When I walk by a homeless person, I tend to just keep walking.
Please don't write to tell me how cold that is until you've read the rest! I'm telling you my natural tendency, not my best moment. In my head it sounds reasonable. There are missions in every city offering a real way out. Handing over food or money feels like helping someone avoid the harder answer. I even have verses that support my thinking. Jesus said, "You will always have the poor with you." Paul wrote, "Anyone who refuses to work should not eat."
If I let those thoughts run to their extreme, they land here: give to no one, ever.
Now let me tell you about a guy from our church. I'll call him Keith. Keith has thought about setting up a tent city in his backyard for anyone who needs it. He regularly gives food to people in need, and he runs a food truck that is free, no questions asked.
Keith has verses too. The Good Samaritan. Joh...
How Does Discerning Work For You?
Â
We all face stuff... Maybe it's a decision to be made, a goal to invest in, or perhaps you are facing a relational challenge.
Whatever it is. God wants to use it for good in your life.
He wants to connect with you in new ways. He wants to reveal Himself in some new way - maybe Counselor, or Friend, or Sustainer, or...
I kind of have a love/hate relationship with that familiar verse. You know the one - Romans 8:28, where God promises to use it all for good in our lives. If I'm honest, I sometimes have a different definition of "good". I don't want difficult stuff in my life, and even more so, I don't want my people to have it either.
I want all my people to be healthy, wealthy, and wise! :)
Turns out, though, we all learn and grow more through our difficulties than when things are easy. I'd rather learn from stories of others who were overcomers than have to face overcoming myself.Â
Guess that makes me human:)
It's complicated, though. On the one hand, we want things to go smo...
If He Is The "Great Arranger", What's Our Part?
I've been thinking about God as the "Great Arranger" lately and seeing evidence of it all around me, in Scripture, in history, and in my life. He sets things in motion even before we ask. Just this morning, I was talking to a pastor who made an announcement about shifting youth ministry to a different night, and after the service, a mom came up to him and shared that her son was just saying on the way to church that it would be so much better if youth were on a different night. That pastor had been working on that shift for weeks, maybe months, and yet the Great Arranger set it up so that the announcement would come that day! :)
I could tell you stories of how God provided housing for us in miraculous ways - more than once. There are stories of financial provision and relational connection that could not have happened without Divine guidance.Â
So, what's our part? Do we even have a part?
If He is the Great Arranger, do we simply need to let go of doubt, believe, and wait for somethi...
Passion Week Devo - When did Jesus move? [Wednesday]
If I oversaw Jesus’ timeline, I would have made a couple of significant timing decisions differently.
First, what was up with his ministry not going public till he was thirty? Was he not ready? Did the world not need him till then? What was the holdup?
And then once he started forwarding the kingdom full-time, Personally, I think he should have stayed around a little longer. If I were on the leadership team determining whether the disciples were ready to “take it from there” I would have voted, “No” quite adamantly.
Good thing I wasn’t in charge!
Galatians 4:4 shows us the Father was in charge of the timing. “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.”
John 5:19-20a says, “So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.”
Jesus moved when the Father showed ...
Working Genius & Coaching [Discernment]
Discernment is noteworthy for several reasons.
- It's the third letter/step in the Working Genius process. (Wonder and Invention are the first two.)
- Discernment may be the most neglected part of the process while at the same time the most important.
- Discernment is likely the most difficult genius to describe and also to trust.
Let me explain.
The official Working Genius definition of Discernment is "The natural gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations."
It's a gut thing. And personally, that is hard for me. I'm a facts person. I value logic and reason, so when someone with the genius of discernment just isn't "feeling it", I have a hard time accepting that.Â
And yet - I have paid many a steep price for skipping this step.Â
I'd like to think I have this genius, but the truth is I just want to move things along. I tend to go straight from invention to implementation and skip D and G altogether. (More on G next time.)
Once I start something it is re...
What's A Gal To Do?
It's not easy to figure out what to do.
We've been digging in to the word "Discernment" as a church staff lately and looking at what it means in our everyday lives. The Bible gives us overarching guidelines we need to adhere to - like "Don't kill people" in the Old Testament, and "Don't even hate people" in the New Testament.
But, you can't just say to do what the Bible says. Sometimes the Bible isn't so clear. Fairly often even it forwards two completely different responses. Here are a few examples:Â
Â
- Share the truth in love ~ Love covers a multitude of sins
- Judge wisely ~ Don’t judge at all
- Give to everyone who asks ~ Don’t throw your pearls before swine
- Don’t take anything with you ~ Prepare well
- Be the head and not the tail ~ Be the servant of all
- Be angry and sin not ~ Be at peace with all men
You get the picture. Even the same situation in a different season of your life will require new discernment
The Bible points us to a personal relationship with God ...