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The Charismatic movement has been (often rightly) taken to task for excesses, abuses, and cultural flaws that obstruct the Gospel. Nevertheless the Charismatic renewal throughout the world has been in my estimation a mostly positive movement, and has given us a language and theology to describe the more experiential aspects of the Christian faith. Although in past I have been hesitant to use the label, I now embrace charismatic as a word that accurately describes one aspect of my faith practice. Here are three reasons I still consider myself a charismatic Christian:

1) I believe in mystical experiencs and the value of contemplative practice. I believe that as result of the merits of Christ and gift of the Holy Spirit, it is possible and desirable for Christians to have direct, unmediated experiences of God. These kind of experiences include visions, dreams, “promptings,” and deepened awareness of the presence of and union with God. I also find great value in practicing the Spiritual Disciplines as means to strengthen my consciousness of the Divine and open myself to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit on my heart. Mystical experiences have been part of Christianity from the beginning–whole passages and books of the Bible were written as a result of such things. Many passages also detail the kind of direct experience I am talking about (cf. Acts 9:10, Acts 11:5, Rom. 8:16, Rom. 9:1, etc).

2) I believe all of the biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to contemporary Christians. I am as-yet unconvinced that the so-called “sign gifts” of speaking in tongues (“private prayer language”) and prophetic speech (“words of knowledge”) and healing have ceased for any compelling theological reason. I know too many Godly, sane, people that have experienced these things to simply dismiss them as “emotionalism” or “a psychological phenomenon.” I see God using people with these gifts for his glory all over the world and in many corners of Christendom. (cf. 1 Cor. 14:5, Matt. 12:33, etc).

3) I believe ritual can and should be infused with emotional response. A wonderful part of Charismatic culture is its emphasis on expressiveness in worship. Biblical worship is full of emotion (just see the Psalms!) including kneeling and raising hands, falling prostrate, clapping and shouting (cf. Ezra 5:9, Rev. 4:10, Psalm 47:1, etc). Yes, our corporate worship should be full of rich theological content, but that doesn’t mean it simply must be reserved in character. Proper reverence does not preclude an authentic response to the Holy Spirit that is deeply and openly heartfelt.

Although I understand and appreciate the point of view of my ceasationist brothers and sisters (at one point I was very close to committing to the position), I cannot reconcile it with the Scriptures or the witness of the Church throughout history.

The Holy Spirit continues his work now as he began it at the foundation of the world: revealing mysteries, changing hearts, healing the broken, and all to point to Jesus.

To reach satisfaction in all
desire its possession in nothing.

To come to possess all
desire the possession of nothing.

To arrive at being all
desire to be nothing.

To come to the knowledge of all
desire the knowledge of nothing.

To come to the pleasure you have not
you must go by a way in which you enjoy not.

To come to the knowledge you have not
you must go by a way in which you know not.

To come to the possession you have not
you must go by a way in which you possess not.

To come to be that which you are not
you must go by a way in which you are not.

When you turn toward something
you cease to cast yourself upon the all.

For to go from all to the all
you must deny yourself of all in all.

And when you come to the possession of the all
you must possess it without wanting anything.

Because if you desire to have something in all
your treasure in God is not purely your all.

~ John of the Cross

Be hungry for God and nothing else. Find good in things not for their own sake, but because they express the goodness of God.

Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39, ESV)

…confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16, ESV)

You know the situation. You’re with a friend, also a believer, and they begin to confide in you. Things aren’t going as they hoped…maybe they’ve had a rough day, they’re concerned for the health of a loved one, or they’re facing a particularly tough decision.

You offer some kind words of advice, the best stuff you can think up on the spot. Maybe you share a story about how you’ve gone through something similar. You do your best to sympathize, empathize, and encourage.

Finally the conversation begins to wrap up, and you say, “I’ll be praying for you” and that’s that (if we’re honest with ourselves we might realize we often forget these promises).

But what if that wasn’t the end? What if you made it your habit to vocalize your prayer, right then and right there?

“Heavenly Father, thank you that are with my friend. Give them guidance in this situation, Lord. Protect them and reveal yourself to them by your Holy Spirit. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.”

These short, sweet, to-the-point “in the moment prayers” are powerful! Not only do they help to keep you in the habit of praying without ceasing (1 Thes. 5:17), but you let the person you’re speaking with know you’re serious about bringing their concerns before the Lord. I think making space in our day for these prayers honors our friends and God as an act of service and love.

Honestly, I think our conversations and relationships would be transformed if we stopped talking about prayer so much, and started actually praying together like this more. When we come before God with a sincere heart, we tend to be open and vulnerable, which naturally strengthens trust between those praying together. Spontaneous prayer like this reminds us of the continual presence of God, and intentionally seeks him out in every situation.

Don’t always wait until the end of your conversation to pray. Practice the presence of God by acknowledging and inviting him at the beginning.

I’ll never forget when a good friend of mine introduced me to this practice by simply doing it…he just started praying right as we began our conversation! I had begun our talk by sharing about a choice I was having trouble with, and he immediately responded with something like this:

“Heavenly Father thanks for being here with us. Help me to know how to help Nathan, and guide our conversation in a way that is pleasing to you.”

What an encouraging, humbling way to focus our time together.

So next time you have one of those conversations with a friend desperately in need of help that only God can give, don’t just stand there. Don’t simply talk about praying.

Pray.

I was changing the strings on my guitar late at night and came up with this little chord progression to help sooth my kids to sleep. Started singing softly, and this is what came out! After they fell asleep, I set up a mic in the living room and pressed record.

I’ve got one other song I’ve written (but not decently recorded) in a similar vein, so stay tuned for more like this in the future.

I’ve been looking for a Bible that’s not too big or too small, but that’s rugged enough to take camping and traveling without a lot of worry. I’m definitely not going to take my super-nice ESV Legacy to the beach! The problem is that most Bibles just can’t stand up to dirt or moisture of any kind. The good news is that the ESV Waterproof Bible from Bardin Marsee Publishing isn’t most Bibles.

My brother-in-law got me the ESV New Testament and Psalms with the camouflage cover (pictured). Excited and nervous, I decided to put the Bible to the test immediately. I unpackaged the Waterproof Bible and let my kids take it for a spin in the tub. Yes, you read correctly–I let my toddler and pre-schooler test the Bible in a bath full of soapy water.

I was impressed that all I had to do was let the book dry for a few hours, and it was like new! I brought it in to the office the next day and my coworkers could hardly believe it had been practically immersed the night before.

The secret is that the Waterproof Bible isn’t actually made out of paper, but rather plastic.

The plastic pages make sure that water and mud are no problem. They are also quite tear-resistant, and completely opaque. You know how Bible paper is often annoyingly see-through? Not a problem with the ESV Waterproof Bible. In fact, this feature means the text is amazingly clear and easy to read (although it is in a two-column setting). You can even write in it with a pencil.

The only real trade off here is that the pages in the Waterproof Bible are necessarily thick, so the New Testament with Psalms is about the thickness of most full-text thinline-Bibles. A Waterproof Bible with the whole Old and New Testaments will probably be a little inconvenient to carry around in a backpack or purse all the time.

If you’re not an ESV fan like me, you can get the Waterproof Bible in KJV, NKJV, NIV, NLT, and Spanish editions. There also a few cover designs to choose from, depending on the translation.

I love that I finally have a Bible that I throw in a backpack and not worry about. Look, the Waterproof Bible is no match for my Pitt Minion or Legacy in terms of aesthetics or craftsmanship, but it’s amazingly readable and can take a beating (or a dunk in a river). I’m sure I’ll get many years of use out it.

Evangelicalism is quickly going the way of fundamentalism as far as being a useful term.

Although fundamentalism hasn’t always meant “religious person that hates others” it’s practically a lost cause to recover its original intent at this point…and I see the same thing happening with Evangelicalism.

This is unfortunate, not only because Evangelicalism has historically distanced itself from fundamentalism as a movement (even before the term became corrupted), but it has its own rich history and distinctives–some of which are well worth preserving. (more…)

I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of holiness. What it means to be set apart for God, for the new creation to begin.

It seems to me that many Christians basically act as if the new creation has really started yet. That although they are forgiven for their mistakes and are going to heaven, now they play a passive waiting game for Jesus to come back. There is sometimes as sense of powerlessness, that holiness is an ideal that will never be fully accomplished in this life, and so…why even try? (more…)

I recently got to hear John Piper preach at the Catalyst Atlanta conference.

Although I have my differences with Piper on theology and practice, I have to admit this was one of the most powerful sermons I have ever listened to in person. His passion for Jesus is nothing less than inspiring and infectious.

The theme of conference was “Known” and so Pastor John spoke to us on the fundamental identity of human beings as being made in the image of God. He pointed out that many speculate on what it means to be made in God’s image. Some say it is humanity’s capacity for love or relationships, or that it means we reflect some other aspect of God’s character.

Piper says this is missing the common-sense meaning of what an “image” is and does. Fundamentally, an image draws attention to what it is “imaging.” A statue, for instance, draws attention to the person or object it is a statue of. Even abstract works of art point beyond themselves to something deeper.

Therefore, as beings made in the image of God, we are to draw attention to him; this is called giving God glory.

But, Pastor John admits, this seems to pose a problem. What do we do with the megalomania that God seems to demonstrate by erecting 7 billion+ statues of himself on the planet? Isn’t this abuse? Isn’t God just using me?

Far from it. We are created in such a way that we actually experience the greatest pleasure, happiness, and perfection when we are in genuine fellowship with God, and witness to God’s surpassing greatness in every area of our lives to others.

We point to God not out of a sense of coercion but because we genuinely enjoy and delight in him! So his glory and our good are built to intersect. This is where’s Piper’s famous catchphrase starts to make sense, even to this non-Calvinist:

“God is most glorified when I am most satisfied in him.”

It’s tough for me to do this profound concept justice, but I think I’m convinced that it is what the Bible teaches.

You should really listen to the sermon for yourself.

As the Fall season hits full-swing, tiredness and burnout can appear more swiftly than we think. It is vital remember that in this state your ministry will probably suffer. It is very difficult to give out of a place of spiritual, physical, or emotional emptiness, much less have inner peace. 

A fairly recent discovery for me has been the realization that stress is simply a form a fear. Stress comes when we wonder “what will happen if?” What will happen if I get sick, if my vacation doesn’t go how I planned, what if I have family conflict, what if I can’t accomplish everything I would like to accomplish at work and at home today, or tomorrow, or this week, or this month.

The thing is, Christians aren’t meant to be living in fear of what could happen.

Jesus says,

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness… do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. ” (Matthew 6:33-34 ESV)

Peter said that it is okay for us to cast all of our cares on God, because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). It is interesting that at the start of this verse Peter tells us part of doing this is humbling ourselves. It isn’t easy to let go and let someone else take the reins, but we have to. We have to realize that God is one doing the work through us. Our job is to be really, truly, submitting to him.

One of my favorite passages of all time is from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The Apostle wrote,

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV).

A vital part of how we find peace in the midst of all the stress (which remember is really fear) is–unquestionably–prayer to God. This is where we worship God, where we ask him for the desires of our hearts, and most of all where we request to know and follow his will, not ours. God is faithful to meet us in prayer, and it is in him we find peace.

I encourage you to stay grounded in prayer to God each day as the foundation not only for your ministry (whether it be vocational or otherwise), but for your walk with Christ in general.

Less fear is nothing other than more trust in Christ to be all that you need.

It was quiet outside the small, cylindrical building. Vividly green desert plants lined the bottom of the cement wall. Bright Arizona sun glinted off of embossed metal letters around the wooden door.

NOT LIGHT BUT FIRE

DARKNESS NOT CLARITY

PRAYER NOT READING

ASK

It was my first stop of the day. Not entirely sure what to expect, I breathed deeply, pulled on the door handle and entered. (more…)