pigsty blessing

by KBortland

“And when he had come to his senses….”

I read this verse today and it hit me right in the face. This line is in the story of the prodigal son.  After insisting on his inheritance before his dad even died, he ran through the money and was in the pigsty, coveting the food given to pigs. Not a great destination for a Jewish man.

“And when he had come to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s servants have food to spare, and here I am starving!’ “

He knew what care his father took of his servants.  In that moment of clarity, he decided that to be a servant in his father’s household would be a better reality than his present circumstances.  “He came to his senses.”

Each of us, like the prodigal, must “come to our senses.”   We acknowledge that we are

• at the end of our rope,
• the end of our resources,
• the end of our ingenuity,
• the end of solutions that we can provide for ourselves.

We can’t think our way out

We can’t act our way out.

We can’t talk our way out.

We can’t bargain our way out.

tBut coming to your senses is not as easy as it sounds. We often don’t see the pigsty.  We don’t recognize our own hunger, thirst, or need.

“You were wearied in all your ways, yet you would not say it was hopeless…”

This haunting verse was the pattern for Israel.  Despite warnings, repeated warnings from the Lord, they continued in their own ways, looking to anyone or anything other than the Lord to give relief. This is the heart of the self-life. And we all have it.

God offers us something different, something weightless, something refreshing – life itself.  The invitation of God stands throughout Scripture, and He repeats it in any number of ways.

“Come all you who are thirsty….”

“Come all you who are weary and heavy laden…”

What  Jesus offers is that cold drink of living water that the Samaritan woman found so appealing. “Tell me where is this water.” Like the prodigal, she recognized her physical need first, only to find that Jesus was offering much more- love, acceptance, forgiveness. Recognizing spiritual thirst is a gift.

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,^[a]    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”

Perceiving our spiritual poverty is a blessed thing. In other words, God blesses those who see that they are in the pigsty. From that place of need, we all, like prodigals, come to our senses.

What tells you that you’re thirsty for more than water?  What helps you “come to your senses”?

Photo Attribution:  By Kborland (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Scripture references are from the NIV (Zondervan) unless otherwise noted:  Luke 15:17-18; Isaiah 57:10; Isaiah 55:1ff; Matthew 11:28; John 4:3-27; Matthew 5:3 New Living Translation.

Check out some great posts over at with Faith-Filled Fridays at MissionalWomen.com

training for THE marathon

“Take this rule: whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself.”   – Susanna Wesley (Mother of John Wesley)

I read that quote and thought, “ouch.” Paul wrote similar warnings in his first letter to the Corinthians (chapter 9) and in his first letter to Timothy.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. ²⁵ Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. ²⁶ Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; ²⁷ but I ^[l]discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

…discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; ⁸ for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.  I Tim 4:6

What does this kind of training look like? If we were talking about weight loss or a 5K, we’d know exactly what would be needed. Regimens of aerobic exercise and strength training, proper diet, recovery periods – it’s all very scientific.  Athletes can tell you what increases their ability to perform well and what decreases it.

Many followers of Jesus are familiar with basic spiritual disciplines- time in the Word, prayer, fellowship with others and personal ministry- and would view them as pathways to growth. Susanna Wesley’s counsel echoes Paul’s words to us. They call us to train for the marathon. Not just to finish, but to win.

Like an athlete in training, Paul highlights our need to be aware of how we are affected by our own habits. Susanna is straightforward-whatever damages our capacity for God becomes sin to us. She focuses us on our capacity to continue to follow hard after God in the midst of temptation. I found myself thinking about what feeds my loyalty to the Lord.

• Is my mind more in tune with the Word of God? Do I know what He loves, and what He doesn’t?
• Am I more or less sensitive to offending God by my choices?
• Is my desire to be please Him, the One Audience that matters? What has my affection?
• Do I value spiritual things over this world’s offerings?  Do I keep my eyes on the eternal?

Maintaining that focus is not merely a matter of the will.  Part of the “ouch” of reading the quote is just knowing that I cannot do that through willpower.  I need His grace to make those choices. Only His Spirit can provide the power to keep me in training for godliness. He guides me into all truth.  He convicts me of sin.  He gives me the ability, the power to live in a way that pleases God.

How do we keep ourselves in a place where we can say “yes” to God, and “no” to the things that take us away from Him?  I have to rely on Him to change my heart. I have to be honest about what diminishes my capacity to love Him first.  Even as Susanna points out, what bothers me may not bother you.  I have to pay attention to my soul and the things that strengthen or weaken my love for the Lord.

More yes to loving Him first and best.  More no to the things that take me away from Him.

Training for the marathon. Yes, indeed.

Scripture references are from the New American Standard vis Bible Gateway.

are you in step or out?

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

At a recent gathering, my colleague and friend, David Martinelli, shared the challenge of keeping in step as a member of a marching band.  Having been part of a bandfront (color guard), I identified with his thoughts and my own memories started flowing.

Four blasts of the whistle meant the street-beat (that particular combination of beats that set our marching pace) was about to start.  Whatever the rhythm chosen, we knew that after the four short blasts could come a long blast, and we watched for the downbeat on the drum major to take the first step of “forward march.”  The discipline of checking your line to your right enabled the line to stay straight, theoretically.  But we all knew what the signals were, what they meant, and the need to follow the leader.

As David shared, in a marching band, you need to pay attention.  You need to stay focused.  You have to fight against distractions. You have to practice, practice, practice. You have to move when the drum major says, “Go!”

Isn’t that so similar to walking in the Spirit?  Hearing the Lord’s voice in the midst of our busy days isn’t so easy.  You have to pay attention.  Staying focused on Him, being in step with Him, means continually turning back to Him when your mind or attention has wandered.  Lots of practice, repetition.  And doing what He says, when He says, “Go!”

Ways we get out of step?

1.  settle for less than what Jesus promises, relying on head knowledge rather than heart obedience.

“Don’t nurture a life that the flesh can handle!” Howard Ball

2. let the frustrations of life dictate our attitudes or response, resulting in a roller coaster life

“Dissatisfaction or frustration is not of God. If you’re frustrated, tell God what it is, and ask Him to change it.” Robert Munger, as told by Vonette Bright.

3. thinking our competence or plan is greater than God’s

“God needs our availability more than our ability.”  Bill Bright

4. forgetting to thank the Lord in all circumstances.

“Do I want to be better or bitter? The key to peace and hope and courage is an essential, ongoing commitment to an attitude of gratitude.  Give thanks in ALL things.”  Don & Sue Myers

Let’s pay attention and fight the distractions around us. Let’s not settle for just getting by.  Let’s go for the joy and peace that Jesus promised. Let’s acknowledge the mis-steps and get back in step with the Lord.

There are great adventures to be had for the Christ-follower who is “in step” with the Spirit.

What tips do you have for keeping in step with the Spirit?

 

Scripture Reference is Galatians 5:24 NIV, Zondervan.

to change habits, watch energy

Change takes energy!

We changed email systems.  While I was familiar with the system we adopted,  I kept looking for, reaching for the tools of the old system, now gone.  There is the icon in my desktop tray, a not too distant memory of a way of doing things that also took time to learn.

Change is funny that way, isn’t it?  The familiarity of well-known pathways shortens, almost eliminates thinking once the habit is established.  But cutting new paths takes effort.  You have to think about every step of what you are doing until you don’t have to think about it anymore.  Then it’s a habit.

When you are working with people who are developing new ways, remember this!  You only have so much energy.  For those who are eager to change, their individual development plans can get loaded down, almost diluted with too many things.  The energy required to do them all will get depleted pretty quickly, and along with the dissipated energy goes the motivation to change as well.  There is good research out there now on this phenomenon.

Here are three things to keep in mind as you’re developing people:

1.  Keep development goals simple. 

Focus on 1-2 things only.  Look for ways to help a person grow in a strength area at the same time they are working on a weak area.  Usually, in a strength area, a person gains energy and motivation.  This can help build some capacity  and momentum for the goal that will take more focused thought and attention.

2.  Identify what kind of support or structure needed for progress.

For instance,  when I am having a hard time getting myself to exercise, just putting it in my schedule doesn’t work.  I have to commit to go somewhere and work out with someone to get it to happen.  That’s what I mean by structure.  Build the support system that can make goals attainable. Ask the person you’re developing to identify potential obstacles and address them.

3. Celebrate progress.

Whether it’s a simple notation on an index card, or stars on your refrigerator, tracking progress is motivating.  If you’re taking time to establish goals with someone, it’s doubly worth it to celebrate their accomplishment.  This builds confidence and momentum for continued change.

All that to say, change happens best in the context of relationships.  We all need the grace of God and support of each other to keep growing.  If you can keep  things simple, identify the support needed, and celebrate progress, you have some good ingredients to support personal development with those you lead (including yourself!).

What else do you do to ensure that people you’re developing are able to stay focused and make progress?

on effectiveness (or the lack of it)

For the past seven months, I’ve had a problem with a particular service, and interacted with their customer service people regularly.  All of them have been courteous, and respectful.  I appreciate that very much!

In fact, after several calls, I have received an automated phone call to rate the performance of the individual, though there has never been a problem with the actual interaction in terms of the behavior I experienced.

The problem is that the problem never got fixed.

So, would you say that their customer service is effective?  From my point of view, no.  Had the problem been solved, I would not have to call back more than once, maybe twice.

Today as I listened to yet another automated customer service feedback survey, I found myself thinking, “they will never solve their problems this way.”

They are not asking the right questions.

All of that got me thinking about effectiveness overall.  When we measure effectiveness through transactions only, we do ourselves a disservice.  The bottom line is – how well we are doing in fulfilling our mission?  We may see improvements in behavior as in the customer service example, but what if the problem is not in the transaction?  What if it’s in the system?  What if it’s in our assumptions?

In my example, the assumption seems to be that if the customer service person is courteous and takes ownership of your problem, offers an apology and takes some action, then they have done their job.  All of that has taken place, so, I can only assume that they are not looking at callbacks as part of their effectiveness.

 Being effective requires aggressive learning. 

Assuming that addressing direct cause and effect will solve the whole problem is flawed.   Did the people do what we thought they should do?  Yes.  Then, good. They did “their job.”  But really, did they?

Leaders ask additional questions.

• Why is this lady having to call back every month with the same problem?
• How is it that their data system rejects their changes every month?
• What if changes or upgrades they made to their system now prevent customer service agents from actually solving customer problems?

If you’re not looking at questions like that, your learning is not aggressive enough, and your mission will suffer for it.

Good leaders will examine results, both the individual transactions as well as context and patterns.  They will look for causes beyond the immediate actions.  In reflecting on results, we have to ask ourselves some hard questions.

• Are we fulfilling our mission?  How would we know?
• What assumptions do we have about fulfilling our mission?  Are they still true?
• What challenges repeatedly surface?  Are we addressing them?
• Are we repeating the same mistakes and not learning from them? Why is that?

As leaders, we have stewardship of our mission, people and resources.  Are we paying attention to our effectiveness?  Are we utilizing all we have to full advantage in going after our mission?  If your mission is worth doing, these are questions worth asking.

Servant leaders get to the root cause … Cheryl Bachelder

What questions do you regularly ask to evaluate effectiveness?