Soul Shaping

…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11b-13

In my last post we explored some basic understandings of the nature of true contentment. Primarily, we came to understand that contentment is more a result of the inner condition of the soul than it is the state of our outward circumstances. Furthermore, we concluded that we have to be intentional if we want our inner life to be healthy and vibrant. So in this post we will identify some ways to do that. They are in no particular order, nor is it necessary to do all of them at the same time. The point is to do something on purpose on a regular basis so that we may be strengthened within and thus enabled to experience contentment. We will explore four soul-shaping practices this week and four more next week.

…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11b-13

After completing my freshman year in college, there was one thing that I wanted more than anything else – a car, any car. The thought of going through another year without wheels was almost unbearable. Thankfully, my parents had mercy on me during the summer before my sophomore year and bought me a 1974 Dodge Colt. It was a two-door with manual transmission, vinyl seats, vinyl floorboard, no air conditioning, and no radio. I sometimes joked that the steering wheel was the only accessory that came with it. Oh, and it was pea green. But it was a car, and that’s what I wanted.

Guess what? Though I got what I wanted, I wasn’t content despite the fact that other students at my school still had no personal transportation. No, I wanted something better – with air conditioning and a different color. A couple of years later, I got my wish only to find myself wanting something better again. Throughout the years I have repeated this scenario many times. For some reason I have a tendency to want something newer, better, bigger, fancier, more reliable, more economic etc. etc. No matter what I got, I wasn’t content.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Psalm 23

Psalm 23 has been memorized by millions. Its words of comfort and assurance have blessed the hearts of those who have sought hope and peace for their troubled souls. I’ve found that to be true in my life. So I’d like to take a moment and share with you what the phrase, The Lord Is My Shepherd, means to me.

My shepherd provides for me. Though I don’t always recognize His hand, He’s always at work meeting my real needs. Sure, sometimes I complain about things I wish I had but don’t. I wonder what the economy will do in the future – whether the grocery stores shelves will stay stocked. But the truth is that my shepherd provides what I really need: Assurance, forgiveness, hope and yes, my daily bread. So I can truly say that I shall not want.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the Kingdom of God was central in all He did and taught. Basically, the Kingdom of God means the rule of God in the hearts of people. So when the model prayer instructs us to pray for the kingdom to come, it means that our chief desire is that in every life, in every home, in every work place, in every neighborhood, in every church, and in every place where people live God’s rule will reign supreme. The implications of such a prayer are staggering.

As God’s kingdom comes and its influence grows on the earth, marriages will be stronger. Businesses will be more honest. Neighborhoods will be safer. Seekers will be converted. Churches will be more unified. The oppressed will be liberated. Righteousness will prevail. And believers in general will live less focused on themselves and more focused on acting like Christ before a hurting and broken world.

“…these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13b

Evangelistic strategies are legion. Methods like The Roman Road, Evangelism Explosion (the Baptist version called Continuous Witnessing Training), the Sunday School Growth Spiral, church revivals, seeker services, evangelistic handouts, Becoming A Contagious Christian and more have been used for years with varying degrees of success. As one method fell out of favor and a new or repackaged method was introduced, it came with the promise that it was “the” strategy that would reach the world.

Of course, all of this was well-meant, and thankfully some people were brought into Christ’s kingdom as a result. Nevertheless, I find it interesting that you can find no discernable, evangelistic strategy in the ministry of Jesus. For instance, His approach with the woman at the well was totally different than how He dealt with Nicodemus. The same is true for the early church. Certainly, there was the core gospel message, but it wasn’t wrapped in some kind of program package. Instead its power came from the quality of the relationship that the believers had with their Lord.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42

I had been a minister for less than a year. My wife and I were living in an apartment next to the church where I served on staff. One day I received a call from the apartment complex manager asking me to come to her office. A tenant in another apartment had just gotten the tragic news that a family member had unexpectedly died. This tenant was distraught, and the manager thought that I could help since I was a minister.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. Matthew 28:1

When we think of people doing extraordinary things in the Bible, we usually think of persons like Moses, Esther, John or Priscilla. Whoever it is, we know who they are. We know what they did. And we’re amazed by their faith and how God used them. They are our heroes.

All of this is understandable, of course. God did use them to do extraordinary things, and we should be grateful for them. However, there is a subtle and unintended downside to this. If we aren’t careful, we might conclude that in order to be of any real value to God’s kingdom, we have to be like one of these heroes. We have to stand out in the crowd and do great things for God. If we don’t, we may conclude that we have disappointed God and been less than we should have been.

The truth, however, is very different. Take the story of the women who went to the tomb who were the first witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. One of them is simply referred to as the “other Mary.” Thankfully, the other gospels give us some clues as to who this “other Mary” is, but the point still stands. Despite the pivotal role she played in sharing the wonderful news of the resurrection, she is often treated as little more than a footnote in the history of the faith. It’s Peter and John who get all the attention not the other Mary.

“…Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Luke 22:42

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. We have to make scores of them everyday. Thankfully, most decisions aren’t all that life-altering. For instance, choosing between vanilla and chocolate at the ice cream parlor doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. At worst, you might wish you had made a different choice, but you could always do that later – perhaps immediately after you finish your first choice.

But as we all know, there are other decisions that can make a huge difference in the quality of our lives and in our walk with God. So we just need to choose properly. Right? Well, of course. But that’s not always as easy as it seems. We all have a problem with willfulness. Willfulness is the tendency to impose our self-will in a decision, because we want to get our way even if doing so isn’t best for us, others, or our reflection of the character of Christ.

For everything there is a season. Ecclesiastes 3:1

I delivered my last sermon on August 31, 2020. It’s hard for me to believe that I have now been retired from vocational ministry a year. As I am continuing to adjust to this new season in life, there are some things I am observing that I want to share with you.

There really is a time for every season.

When I announced my plans to retire, some people wondered why I was taking this step since I wasn’t at full retirement age. Among several reasons I gave was the sense that it was simply time. I had served as a vocational pastor of a local church for over forty years. It was a long and hopefully fruitful season that I will always treasure. But inwardly I knew that it was time to let it go. It was time for me and for the congregation I served. This is true for all of us. No earthly season lasts forever. So when it is time to let go of a past season, we need to let it go.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. III John 2-10

This coming Sunday my wife and will join the Northside Church in Jackson, TN. It will be a significant moment for me in that after 40 plus years of being the pastor of a local church, I will now have a pastor. Having been in his shoes for so long, I know something of the challenges he faces, and I want to be helpful to him. We find a similar desire in the little letter of III John. So based on these verses, here’s what my pastor needs from me.