Brian Castelli – With His Heart

I have never been big on wearing jewelry. There was the gold chain I wore back in the Disco era (Yeah. I’m that old…) just to please my future bride. Then there was the shark’s tooth necklace I wore once (and only once) after my daughter gave it to me for my birthday. (It’s very cool as the rear-view mirror ornament in my truck, but around my neck? Nah…)

This morning I read Proverbs 3. Verse 3 (HCSB) reads as follows:

Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.
Tie them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.

When we tie something around our neck, what happens? The thing is with us everywhere. We can’t get away from it. In fact, it becomes such a part of us that we don’t think about it being there. Haven’t we all worn a ring or other jewelry so long that we just forgot we had it on? And then, when we took it off, it felt like it was still there? That’s the picture: Make loyalty and faithfulness so much a part of our lives that they become part of us. Written on the heart, they become part of who we are.

Be loyal. Be faithful. Enjoy your day!

I used to work as a grunt in a machine shop. Whatever dirty job the boss wanted done was assigned to me. The problem–besides the dirt and tedium–was that my boss usually only told me half of what I needed to know to complete the job. When I got half done, I’d ask for additional directions and get–you guessed it–half of what I needed to know to finish. This process would repeat itself. Purists in the audience will be quick to point out that the theoretical conclusion of always getting half meant I would never actually finish! Luckily the tasks were entirely practical and I was eventually able to get close enough to declare the jobs complete for all practical purposes.

I would have benefited tremendously from some kind of road map to my end goal, how a task fit into the larger scheme of things, and the step-by-step directions for how to get there. In chapter 1 of J. I. Packer’s Knowing God, the author provides all three. In fact, The Study of God delivers with three main thrusts:

• Road map
• Reasons
• Recipe

Road Map

Packer opens the chapter with a discussion of the universe. He asserts that God made the universe, that it operates according to principles He put in place, and that where we’re going in the book requires us to at least agree to think about it in this way. As such, Packer invites the skeptic to table their doubts for a time and join him on the journey. His request:

I ask you for the moment to stop your ears the those who tell you there is no road to knowledge about God, and come a little way with me and see. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and anyone who is actually following a recognised road will not be too worried if he hears nontravellers telling each other that no such road exists.

In the same way we trust MapQuest or our GPS to show us the way–until the directions tell us to take a left turn into a corn field–Packer is inviting us to trust him that there is, indeed, a road to God that can be followed. He says that if we give him a chance we’ll see the road and not the corn field.

More on Road map, Reasons, and Recipe in subsequent posts…

It happens all the time. The most recent occurrence happened when I was working with some folks to tutor at a local high school. In the midst of the altruistic discussion I thought, “I’m doing a really good thing here! Am I not a good person?” Pride. Paul was right when he wrote:

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

(Romans 7:21)

In the book The Reason for God, pastor and author Tim Keller writes:

The devil, if anything, prefers Pharisees–men and women who try to save themselves.

Keller is known for his talk about self-salvation projects. He says there are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord:

The first is by saying, “I am going to live my life the way I want.” The second is… trusting your own goodness rather than Jesus for your standing with God.

The folks in the first group are easier to identify. They are ignoring Jesus. Folks in the second are more difficult to pick out. They are doing “good works” as if those good works will ultimately save them. It’s as if they are trying to be so good that God has no choice but to open heaven’s gates for them. Both groups are ultimately lost because neither is dependent on Jesus who is salvation. This is a critical difference.

What about me? I am a former card-carrying member of the first group. These days I have a tendency to end up in the second group, as evidenced by the example at the start of this post. I want to do things that come from a heart that is being transformed by Jesus Christ, but I have a tendency to look for ways I can build myself up in the process. Let me try to be clear: I don’t believe we ought to live in guilt or constantly beating ourselves up. But I do believe that, in recognition of our natural state and the incredible sacrifice Jesus made to get us out of that state, our service should come out of gratitude and joy for what has been done for us, not by us.

I spend a lot of time commuting to and from work. For years all I did was complain about the time. With the advent of MP3 players, however, my commute time has been reclaimed! I now sport a cell phone that can hold hundreds of MP3’s that I use to fill my mind with truth and encouragement as I drive. More often than not, you’ll catch me on the road listening to some pastor’s sermon…

Recently, I’ve been listening to MP3’s from Pastor Matt Chandler of The Village Church near Dallas. I have found them to be both helpful and encouraging. Very recently–Thanksgiving time–Pastor Matt was diagnosed with brain cancer. He’s 35, has a wife and three really small kiddos. Here is the location of the 4.5-minute video message he recorded for his congregation prior to surgery:

http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/?p=363

After watching the video, I went back and re-read Hebrews 11. I believe the words there are an encouragement to us as we face trials of every kind. Some, by faith, were able to shut the mouths of lions and quench fire. Others endured suffering–sometimes to their deaths. In either case, the scripture says that the world was not worthy of them. Pastor Matt’s spin on this is that suffering means that God has counted us worthy. I buy that. I pray that someone will remind me of that when I’m in the middle of some trial that has me on my back. I also buy into the notion that even though we love our families God cares more about us and our families than we do. This translates into us being called to follow God’s revealed will (to not lie, to be honest in business–using proper scales and so on…) regardless of the consequences.

I hope that you find this encouraging. I know that I did. I also hope that I will have the courage to live according to the words I have written when the time comes.

Our small group Bible study has been working our way through Genesis. What we’re seeing is how important God considers his promises. Last night we jumped ahead and looked at a promise kept as testified to by Simeon and Anna in Luke chapter 2. When Simeon saw the savior, he proclaimed:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”

Simeon was more than satisfied. Simeon rested in God’s promise of bringing a Redeemer.

This account made me inspect my own life. Am I relying on God’s promises? Does my hope lie in him or in what things I can do for myself? I don’t know about you, but I’m finding that I can’t do it all. I’m in the middle of a storm or busyness. I’ve realized that the main problem is me–and all the things I think I can do.

Lord, help me to trust! Lord, help me to rest!

“Aren’t you offended when someone says, ‘I am so blessed?!!?’”

The speaker was upset because, in her mind, the latter statement demonstrated arrogance and superiority. “I mean, God lets some children starve. Does that mean he loves the rich more?!!? I should hope not!”

The answer depends on your world view.

If you believe in luck–a.k.a. blind chance–to say, “I am blessed,” because you were born into relative affluence is an acknowledgment that you had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t by your own power or initiative that you were born then and there. The only way one could find this offensive, in my opinion, is if one was really upset that credit for the situation could be given to God.

If your world view includes a belief in God, then “luck” can’t be part of the equation. If there is a creator, is it really plausible that he’s playing dice with the universe? Does it really make sense that he’d just let things happen by random chance? I don’t think so. Therefore, “I am blessed,” is a very humble acknowledgment that, “I didn’t earn this.”

It seems to me, then, that the only way to consider such a statement offensive is to have a firmly held anti-God stance–so firm that you don’t want him getting any credit.

No one knows why God gives material or health blessings to some and not to others. If someone claims that they understand that, they are either wrong or lying. What’s clear in the Bible is that God does not favor the rich over the poor. In fact, in most cases where God rails against nations it’s because the nations have failed to care for the poor and the needy, the widow and the orphan, in their midst. God cares very much about the plight of the poor, and he seems to expect those of us who aren’t to lend a hand.

The truth is, it was kind of meaningless. I feel I wasted something.

The October 2, 2009 edition of The Week magazine reports that this is actor Woody Harrelson’s assessment of years of “hedonism” brought on by quick success in a business known for its excesses. Harrelson continues:

…you take those hours–not to mention the money–I spent and apply it toward something meaningful… I could have learned 12 languages! I could’ve learned several martial arts. I mean mastered. I could’ve become a successful engineer and still had time to study acupuncture and the guitar, the flute, and the ukelele. I did have a… ball! Loved it! But did it help me or anyone around me?

The last question shows that Harrelson is finally starting to get it. Our value, our worth, is not measured by how well we entertained, how much money we made, or how many partners we slept with. Our success is measured by the kind of difference we make in the lives of those around us.

In the most-recent edition of the Christian Research Institutes’s Journal magazine (www.equip.org), Sean McDowell reviews the book Thank God for Evolution by Michael Dowd. McDowell quotes Dowd’s explanation for his shift from Bible-believing fundamentalism to evolutionary evangelist:

“First, I came to know and trust several students and teachers before learning that they held evolutionary world views.”

Dowd is a smart guy. It seems likely that he has considered the evidence carefully. But what I find particularly compelling in his story is that relationships he built with people who held opposing viewpoints with him ultimately led to his change of heart and mind. My guess is that he came to trust these folks before he was willing to give their viewpoint a fair hearing.

This applies to all of us. When we carry the truth–either to an unbelieving co-worker, a homeless vagabond, or a student at the local high school–we need to show them that we care through our relationship with them.

I’m reminded of the story of the Hall’s relationship with Denver Moore (http://briancastelli.com/?p=211). It was the people who came down to the mission week after week that came to be trusted. As we build our relationships, we must be consistent in the way we spend time with people. Drive-by charity doesn’t build relationships…