Tag: Christian Living

Articles I have written specifically dealing with areas of Christian living.

Surprised By Joy Again

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Theology

–April of 2007

Surprised By Joy Again

For over thirty years, I have been on the most wonderful journey with Jesus that any Christian could desire.  Yet for most of that time I have been somewhat perplexed by joy.  Joy is a recurring theme in the New Testament and is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit.  It is clearly one of the graces of the Christian life. The Apostle Peter refers to knowing Christ as “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” The apostle’s statement sounds to me like an “ecstasy of overflowing happiness.”   Yet, in all honesty, I have had only brief encounters with anything that would fit this description. Furthermore, though I have met many pleasant and happy Christians, I have not met very many who seemed to possess such a state of life. My muddled mind kept posing two questions: “Is there something deficient in me?” or “Is there a problem with my definition of joy?”

A window of insight opened for me while probing around in John 13-17.  These five chapters record one evening in the life of Jesus and His disciples — not just any evening, but the last one they spent together before His death on the cross.  He has so many things to tell them that they haven’t yet understood.  In solemn tones He shares with them what is soon to happen.  He tells of Judas’s betrayal and Peter’s denial and speaks plainly of His departure back to the Father.  He warns of tribulations, hatred by the world, and times of sorrow so extreme that He compares it to the labor pains of birthing. The disciples reel emotionally as they try to comprehend such news. Yet running through this dialogue of despair is the recurring theme of joy!

As I dug around in these verses and their context I discovered two very important insights.  The first is that joy is both a feeling and a condition.   As a condition, joy is the assurance of faith that we are acceptable to God and the knowledge that God’s good providences are working on our behalf.  This joy is an inner comfort and confidence in God. It is untouched by outward circumstances and is not diminished by pain and sorrow.

As a feeling, joy is a kind of ecstasy or overflowing happiness.  C.S. Lewis said that “peace was joy at rest and joy was peace dancing.”  The feeling of joy is simply a graced moment whose duration may be brief or remain for an indeterminate amount of time.

The second insight I found was that Jesus gave His disciples a basis for their joy.  Actually, He anchored their joy to three things, three things that provide everything that both they and we need in order to have joy under any circumstances. 1. Love and acceptance.  In John 15 Jesus assured them of their connectedness to Him, of His unconditional love for them, and of His constant presence with them through the Holy Spirit. 2. Purpose and hope.  John 14-17 unveils His unfolding purpose for these and all future disciples.  It is a mission that includes trials and rejection, but more importantly divine enablement and inevitable victory.  3. Security.   John 17 allows us to listen to Jesus praying that we may be “kept from the evil one” and “may be with Me where I am.”   With these truths for an anchor no wonder Jesus proclaimed that their – and our – joy could be full!

The insight gained here in John helped me understand James’s statement, “Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations.”  It also gave new meaning to Hebrews 12:2, “…who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross….”  C.S. Lewis wrote in another context of being “surprised by joy.”  Well, another seeker on the journey for truth has once again been surprised by joy!

Educating the Body

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Education

–March of 2007

Educating the Body

Eva Sutton is a ninety-two-year-old resident of a nursing home.  Her days are lived in the shadowy world of dementia.  She has a number of children and grandchildren, but if you mention them to her she will talk of another era.  She rattles on about her mother and father as if they were alive and she was still a child.   Eva was an active part of her church and its organist for over forty years.   So on most days, she will sit at the piano in the foyer of the nursing home doing what she loves the most—playing the old hymns. The hymns that she played for decades are now lodged in her bones and are released through age-bent fingers with what appears to be little effort.

Eva Sutton reminds us that the body learns – that it can be educated.  That it can be deeply and resiliently marked by that education.  Her fingers and tongue and lips remember the old hymns, even when her broken mind doesn’t.

The athlete calls this “muscle memory.”  One practices movements over and over again until one can do them without thought or any mental awareness of what is happening.  We ride our bikes, milk a cow, swim, make our beds, play basketball and do a host of other things without ever thinking about or analyzing the movements we make.  Our body knows what to do, and it just does it.

The Apostle Paul understood this and admonished us to “…exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (I Timothy 4:7-8).  He understood that spiritual formation involves the whole person, not just the spiritual part of us but the physical body as well.  Actually, the body lies right at the center of the spiritual life and is a chief ally in the formation of Christlikeness.  Paul again makes this clear in a question to the Corinthians: “Are you unaware that your body is a temple to the Holy Spirit from God, Who is within you?  And that you are not your own property?  A price has been paid for you.  So make your body a showplace of God’s greatness” (I Cor. 6:19-20, paraphrase).  This truth is quite a shock for many 21st century Christians who disconnect the mind and heart from the body in their spiritual walk.  For those who “walk in the flesh,” the body may well be the primary barrier to conformity to Christ.  But that is not because it has to be that way.  The body is not some uncontrollable mass that carries our head around.  It is not inherently evil, or the cause of evil.  The body, when presented to God, can be a servant unto righteousness — in fact, it must be.  The proper training, enculturation, and disciplining of the body is absolutely essential to spiritual formation.

Actually it’s the body that often learns first and can retain that learning long after the mind is gone.  We teach our children to speak words of appreciation long before they understand true gratitude, for we know that trained, repeated responses of thankfulness can in the long run create an attitude of gratitude that can mark them for life.  We instruct them in the posture and words of daily prayer years before they understand its real value because we want them to develop the habit of daily prayer.  We repeat this process with acts of mercy, deeds of kindness, and respect for authority and age.  We are “training up the child in the way he should go: so that when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

For those who need help in this area, there are some practical steps you can follow to bring the body under the control of the Spirit.

  1. Surrender your body totally to God.  (Romans 12:1.)  This must be decisive and complete.  You must then understand that the body is no longer your own to do with as you please.
  2. Refuse to make the body your ultimate concern. (Matthew 6:25-34.)  Contemporary culture idolizes the body.  We are overly concerned with food, fashion, fitness, longevity, sickness, and death.  We can become far more concerned about the body’s wellness and care than we can about its usefulness to God.   The body is not a god to worship.  I recently went on an extended fast just to let my belly know I was still boss and that feeding it was not the ultimate concern in my life.
  3. Stop misusing the body.  (I Corinthians 6:12-17.)   Stop using the body to speak the language of this present world.  Christians do not dress to look sexy or any other way that misuses the body by accentuating its sensuality. They do not need a “power tie” or any other clothes that tend to elevate them above others or possibly intimidate others.  We do not misuse the body by lacking sleep, being a workaholic, or eating too much or the wrong things.  The body doesn’t have to have a steak, sex, or Sony’s latest Play Station when it wants it.  Food is our servant, and we are not its slave.  Sex is for the mutual benefit of a husband and wife in the context of a marriage relationship.  Recreation is my servant, kept within the bounds of wise stewardship.
  4. Honor and care for the body as God’s Temple. (I Corinthians 6:19-20.)  The body should be nourished, cared for, rested, and adorned so that we may glorify God in our bodies.
  5. Train the body in godliness and grace. (I Timothy 4:7-8.)  Writers on spiritual formation have listed around twelve spiritual disciplines that have been used through the ages to cultivate Christlikeness and to keep the body as a servant to righteousness.  Make the practice of some of them or all of them a part of your spiritual exercise routine.

Coy McGinnis has been a preacher of the gospel for over fifty years, much of that time spent in evangelism.  He recently passed away after battling cancer for several years.  Toward the end, there were times when his mind was not clear from the sickness and the medicine.  On one such occasion in the middle of the night, while still asleep, he cleared his throat, announced his text, quoted it, and then preached a complete sermon from John 1:29.  When he finished the sermon, he stretched out his arms and pled for souls to come to Christ.  He was never aware of any of this.  Preaching has so marked his life that he could literally do it in his sleep.

The body can be deeply marked and thoroughly educated.  If you don’t think so, don’t try to convince Eva Sutton or Rev. McGinnis – they know better.

Disciplined Spiritually

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living

–Winter of 2007

Disciplined Spiritually

Serious saints who aggressively pursue the growth of their faith often struggle with maintaining the proper balance between discipline and dependence.  It is easy to slip into the extreme of either approach.  The extreme side of discipline is to overemphasize the role of what we do and to minimize what is done for us in and through Christ.  This position is characterized by the mentality of striving.  It emphasizes knowledge, rules, rededication efforts, and human activity while virtually ignoring God’s grace extended through the enabling power of His Spirit. Its emphasis on what-do-I-need-to-do can lead to the bondage of legalism. The extreme side of dependence is to overemphasize God’s role in our spiritual development to the neglect of any human initiative.  This position is characterized by a Jesus-did-it-all passivity.  It stresses experience, the supernatural, and the person of the Holy Spirit to the neglect of human endeavor.  The one side rolls up its sleeves and says, “God helps those who help themselves.”  The other side responds with, “It’s all by grace.”

The biblical answer is that spiritual formation is both human and divine.  Kenneth Boa stated it succinctly when he said that “discipline should work in concert with dependence, since grace is not opposed to effort but to earning.”  Paul places these elements back to back in Philippians 2:12-13:  “So then, my beloved, …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Paul makes it clear that working out our salvation is not the same as working for it.  He is also careful to balance this with the fact that God is active within us, accomplishing what all our learning and labor cannot.

What Christian history proves is that fallen human beings, even the redeemed ones, tend to seek the way of least resistance.  This means that most of us are more inclined to follow the extreme path of dependence rather than the path of a rigorous pursuit of developing holy habits. While it is true that dependence is critical and that the life of Christ within us is achieved not by human effort but by divine enablement, it is also true that there is no growth in the Christian life apart from discipline and self-control (I Timothy 4:7).

The New Testament teaches us that spirituality is not instantaneous or haphazard, but is developed and refined.  Paul’s letters are filled with commands to believe, obey, walk, fight, reckon, hold fast, pursue, draw near, and love.  He uses the metaphors of an athlete, a soldier, and a farmer to illustrate the disciplines required for growth.  The point he is making is that the principles and precepts of the Word of God are brought to life in us only when they are deliberately put into action and daily practiced.  This, of course, requires human choice and disciplined behavior.

For years I have longed to be able to sit at the keyboard of a grand piano and create beautiful music.  But my desire to do so has never been matched by the willingness to put in the countless hours of study and practice to make it happen.  Likewise, there is a certain depth of soul and spiritual life that will only come to those who follow the path of disciplined spirituality.

Seeking Him

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Theology

–November of 2006

Seeking Him

Here on the Hilltop, we have taken the Biblical language of “Seeking Him” as the theme for this school year.  The language is found in a number of Biblical passages, but we have chosen Psalm 24:6 as our special passage.  The staff and student body has committed themselves to daily seeking the face of the Lord for personal and corporate revival.  Each Wednesday chapel is dedicated to a sermon that develops the theme of seeking Him.  I began the Wednesday series with the passage from Hosea 10:12 that says, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you”.  I found two important truths that I wanted to share with the Revivalist family.

First, there is a process in seeking Him.  In the language of farming, Hosea says there is plowing, then planting, and then the exercise of patience. Plowing is the deepest and most painful part of revival.  The hidden must be exposed – the hard ground broken up and softened.  Planting is the most instructive and enjoyable part of revival.  It can be simply glorious to fill our prepared hearts with the good seed of the Word, prayer, and faith.  Patience is the most challenging part of revival.  We can be highly engaged in the first two steps but only God can send the rain and the ultimate harvest.

Evan Roberts, the human instrument in the 1904 Wales revival, gave the following steps as a process for seeking revival: 1. Confess all known sin to God; 2. Deal with and get rid of any “doubtful” area of your life; 3. Be ready to obey the Holy Spirit instantly; 4. Confess Christ publicly.   It was a good process, as over 100,000 people were led to saving faith in Jesus Christ during that move of God.

Second, there is a promise in seeking Him.   The Bible is very clear that God delights to respond to His children. James 4:8 says, “Draw nigh to God…and He will draw nigh to you.”  The Prophet Isaiah told us that He would “pour water upon him that is thirsty…” (Isa. 44:3).  The Apostle Paul gives the most encouraging word of all when he tells us that “all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us” (2 Co 1:20).  God longs to say “Yes” to the earnest cry of His children for a fresh outpouring of His Spirit.

This truth is illustrated in an event that happened over two centuries ago.  President Thomas Jefferson and a group were traveling across country on horseback when they came to a river which had left its banks due to a recent downpour.  The swollen river had washed the bridge away, so each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback, and the swift currents posed a life-threatening situation.  A man traveling by foot was standing aside at river’s edge.  He watched each of the riders in turn plunge in and finally make it to the other side.  When Jefferson was the only rider left to cross, the man asked the president if Jefferson would ferry him across the river.  The president agreed without hesitation.  When safely on the other side, another rider asked the man, “Tell me why you selected the president to ask this favor of?”  The man was shocked, as he didn’t know it was President Jefferson.  “All I know,” he said, “was that on your faces was written the answer ‘No,’ but on his face was written the answer ‘Yes.’”

Written on the face of God is the answer “yes” to the cry of His children who long for and seek after a personal revival.

Half-Way Christians

by Mike Avery, posted in All Articles, Christian Living, Education, Theology

–October of 2006

Half-Way Christians

In the early 1600s the Puritans made the arduous journey to America to establish a pure community of like-minded Christians, a “City on a Hill.” As the first generation of these settlers began to die off, their congregational churches faced a membership crisis. Full participation, or membership, had been limited to the “Visible Saints” — those who had made a public affirmation of a conversion experience. In the early days, most Puritans testified to such an experience.  But as time passed, the fires of conviction did not burn as brightly in the hearts of the second- and third-generation Puritans. Fewer of them had a “conversion experience,” and even fewer were inclined to devote themselves to the principles of the church.

In 1662, the church leadership, to confront this crisis of faith, created the Half-Way Covenant.  It provided a partial church membership for the children and grandchildren of church members.  It allowed them the rite of baptism (which opened the door to civil privileges) without having to devote themselves to the strict principles of the church or testify to a “conversion experience.”   Within a generation these partial Puritans were complete worldlings.

History has proven that it is a daunting task for parents to hand down their faith to succeeding generations.  The Book of Judges graphically describes this challenge: “The people worshipped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works He had done for Israel…. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works He had done for Israel. The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. They worshipped the Baals and abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt.” Succeeding generations have a natural tendency to accept the status quo and to lose the vision of the first generation. Too often the second-generation experience is a second-hand experience. The parent’s fervor for the faith becomes the children’s formalism and the grandchildren’s apathy.

This is more than a sad fact of church history.  It’s a tragedy of eternal proportions.  I have witnessed children who have grown up in the finest of Christian homes succumb to the subtleties of what one writer calls the “second generation syndrome.”  They conform to the codes and creeds of their religious subculture; they perform their Christian duties with sincerity; they speak the appropriate shibboleths with ease and familiarity; yet they lack the vital heart of basic Christianity.  Like the Rich Young Ruler, they are fine examples of religious conformity and moral integrity, but totally void of true spiritual life.

Every Christian parent wants more than anything else to have children who love and serve the Lord.  We all want to give them the benefit of the doubt and take them at their word that they are indeed Christians.  But both parents and pastors need to be very careful not to assume that because Johnny and Sally look the part they truly know God.  The new birth carries with it some unmistakable marks of spiritual life.  If these are not present, then well-meaning attempts to confirm children in the faith will never substitute for a true conversion.  God has no grandchildren.  Every generation must find God for itself and experience His saving grace. There are no half-way Christians in heaven, just totally lost ones in hell.