Here is something I’ve been wrestling with lately.  (I know you wanted a good post to interact with because it’s the holidays.  Blog traffic goes up on those days just like video rentals.  I guess family can only take so much family )

Back to the wrestling…

1.  I can trust God to get me to heaven.  The Bible affirms it.  There is no tangible way I can work towards it.  I receive the love of God through Jesus and I’m a part of the family.

2.  I can trust God to transform me now.  I try to be more patient.  It never works.  I have to be in God’s presence and He transforms me.

3.  Can I trust God to provide financially?  I know all the phrases.  “God is your provider.  Not your job.”  I know the verses.  Matt 6:33, etc.  I also assume that there are people in different countries and economies that can’t meet their own needs financially even though they love and seek God.

Now before you stone me, let’s talk percentages.  Let’s attempt to put this practically in God’s part/our part.

1.  99% God   1% me  (all we do is receive God’s gift of love…some will even challenge the 1% saying faith is a gift and I agree.  You get the point.)

2.  What would you put here?  Maybe 80% God and 20% us.  We can not transform ourselves.  We can not manufacture wind.  But we can set sail.  We can ask people to pray for us.  We can read our Bibles.  That would be the 20%

3.  Hmmm.  Most Christians I know are practical atheists at this point.  The numbers get flipped with most of the percentage on us.  That would mean I’m mostly my own provider, wouldn’t it?  I’m not comfortable with that.  I need to be able to “rest in God’s provision”.  I’ve personally experienced multiple financial miracles that I didn’t ask for.  I’ve also experienced some that wouldn’t have happened unless I did ask.  See the tension?

I know we have to do our part.  I get that.  Beyond the reality of hard work, many of us are privelged to work at vocations we enjoy.  Let’s dig deep and avoid clichés.

So what percentage would you put on #3?  Do you have a better way of approaching this?  Click on comment and contribute.

Merry Christmas!

I wrote these 2 questions down a few weeks ago.  “Where am I hurrying off to and why am I in such a hurry to go there?”

Today I came across this quote by James Thurber,

“All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.”

The quote affirmed the search but I still don’t have any answers.  I wish I did.  I feel like if I did have some answers  I would be closer to experiencing more of what the Bible calls “rest”.

Are you hurried and driven?  If you know where you’re in a hurry to go and why you’re hurrying to go there let us know in the comments.  Teach us from your journey.

Some of you have asked about the doctoral program I’m completing.  The focus of the program is formational prayer.  This is a paper (12 pages or so) where I discuss 3 components of formational prayer.  It’s not a strict academic piece so it is reflective and may give insight into the program for those of you that asked.

formational prayer paper

Don’t forget, you can click on the email headline.  Scroll to the bottom of the post and click comment.  Enjoy more follow-up from an email I received.

Well what I think is that God gives us a calling and that he uses our potential to fulfill that calling. Here is the catch. We all have potentials to do lots of things, some are more pronounced than others.  In Paul’s case he had a potential to reach people.  His training and life may have  strengthened he’s potential to interact with Jews but the potential to speak and influence others was there. God used and strengthened that potential to spread His gospel to the Gentiles. Maybe you are thinking more of comfort zone.  God often, and in my case too often, calls us to use our potential or gifts outside of our comfort zones so He will be glorified. I am sure this is not new to you, but that is what I think. I think potential go hand in hand with God’s callings. As the song says, ” You can’t have one without the other.”

All right folks…I appreciate the way you reply to my blogs through email.  I’m copying some thoughts that I received to the last blog below.  Don’t forget that when you get the email you can click the headline and it will take you to the blog.  Scroll down and click comment.  That simple!  Then we can all participate in the conversation.  Below is a quote from a friend of mine from college.  Love the analogy…

Maybe we should just be faithful to the call and surrender the potential.  When we aren’t fulfilling what we feel we have the potential to do, sometimes God is doing a deeper work in us.  This can often increase our potential.  (Moses)  He will put us where he wants us when He wants us there and we have to learn to trust Him with all that.

The other day Silas (5) was holding  a heavy door open for a group of people.  He was so happy to be helping all these people.  He didn’t notice that my foot was wedged under the corner propping it open.  I thought “this little guy thinks he is actually doing something” and I was dismissing his act of service.  Then it hit me this was probably how it is when we use our God given potential.  We think that we are doing something when God is actually propping the door open and making it all happen.  We are just there using gifts that He has given us.  We do play a part, but we get off when we don’t give the foundational credit to God.  I don’t think he dismisses our service.  He may be propping the door open, but he looks at our heart.  If we aren’t being used to our potential, it probably means that God hasn’t opened a door.  I can’t explain it fully or very well…just some thoughts.

I read something last week that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.  It was a contrast between calling and potential.  We are obsessed with our potential while God works in the domain of calling.  For example, the missionary Paul was well suited to reach Jews.  His potential for that work was possibly greater than the original apostles.  Yet his calling was to the gentiles.

I’ve studied and thought a lot about potential.  I try to leverage my life and its resources towards maximizing my potential.  And yet, at this time, I haunted with the question of calling.  What do you think?