Back in School!

I thought I had graduated.  Going back to school is not something I had been considering, but God in His always-proven-to-be-better wisdom, has had other plans. 

It seems there are times we "insulate" ourselves from the pruning and stretching effects of the Spirit of God, the kind of work that hurts but eventually results in our good.  While God definitely allows us seasons of rest and joy, my insulation seems to have been totally man-made.  I was busy in "ministry", leading in missions, entrenched in the routines of church-staff life, ... while my spirit subtlely became malnourished.  Being insulated may feel good at first, but I am grateful God loves us too much to leave us there!

The school I am going back to is not one that awards degrees.  In fact, it may not even be one that we're intended to graduate from!  If the goal of our Christian lives is for "Christ to be formed in us" (Galatians 4:19), then I can see why long-time followers of Jesus call this a life-long journey, and by the end of our days, we're simply a little closer, but still not "there" yet....

So God in His once-more-proven-to-be-exceptional goodness is taking me back to school.  I am discovering basic truths in new light, like only the multi-dimensional Word of God can reveal.  Here are some 'basic training classes' that I'm taking right now, challenging, stretching, and encouraging me today:

* Bible 101:  Nowhere in Scripture does it say to "read the Bible".  It says to meditate, to study, to write it on, and hide it in, our hearts. When I come to the Scriptures, I need to come ready to dig in, meet Jesus, and go deep, not just to read it to have read it.

* Educational Psychology 101:  We all know God made each of us unique, like snowflakes.  We all know we each have different learning styles.  Then why do we tell EVERY Christian the path to discipleship is to "read your Bible and pray" without showing them the distinct ways you can do these things so that they engage you in your own learning style?  So read the Word out loud, walk in the yard and pray out loud, touch things, draw pictures, journal thoughts and prayers, listen to audio recordings of Scripture, and engage multiple versions.... Could it be that our paths of discipleship are as unique as our distinct personalities?  I am learning to become a unique creation of God, having been a monochromatic clone far too long....

* Physical Ed 401:  There is a dramatic difference between trying and training when you apply it to athletics such as running a marathon.  We may TRY to run it the day of, and we'll quickly find we're not naturally suited for running 26.2 miles!  But if we TRAIN, it's a different story.  1 Timothy 4:7 says "train yourself in godliness."  Now really, if I were training for a marathon, it would be serious business.  What am I seriously and aggressively doing to train myself to be godly?  ALL try to be godly, but FEW train.

* Economics 101-301:  Level one:  It is God who gives us the ability to produce wealth (Deut. 8:18); Level two: Giving resources away instead of clutching them is the antidote to materialism (1 Tim. 6:17-19); Level three:  God can do more with our 90% than we can with our 100% and if we don't give Him this chance, we are robbing Him of the opportunity to be our Provider God! (Malachi 3:8-10)

* Theology (Infinity-0-1):  And finally, everything we learn about the character of God Himself is eternal, huge, mystifying, satisfying, and priceless.  Of late, God has been revealing His definition of faith:  "Trust Me"!  That's it.  My faith, as He is teaching me, is not in Him saying things He has NOT said such as, "I promise you will keep the house"; not "I promise you will have nice things"; not "If you have your quiet time I will pay your bills"; and definitely not "I promise to keep you and your family safe from every bad thing".  Life moves on around us and often hard things, even evil things, will come against us. 

God's promise is simply His presence.  "Trust me", he says, and when it seems right to Him we will receive, or we will lack, or we will rejoice, or we will hurt ... but in all things we will learn to glorify Him and say, "I can do all things thru Christ who give me the strength".

Hard lessons, but it's an even harder life without them!  

I'm thankful to Pastor Rick and Pastor Jerrell of Palm Valley Church for igniting these lessons in me.