Mark S. Mitchell

Pastor, Writer, Follower of Jesus

Category Archives: Christian Life


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How Faith Grows

I’ve been reading a book by Andy Stanley called Deep and Wide. The sub-title is Creating churches unchurched people love to attend. I don’t agree with everything in the book, but it’s a good book that I’ve found helpful.

Andy is the Pastor at North Point Church in Atlanta. Their mission statement is: to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. After much thinking and praying, they also decided that faith is what grows in a growing relationship. Specifically, confidence in God. Confidence that God is who he says he is and that he will do what he has promised to do.

But then they took this even further and came up with five faith catalysts; five things that God uses to grow a person’s faith. Everything they do in that church revolves around at least one of these catalysts. They are:

  • Practical Bible Teaching: The emphasis here isn’t on knowing the Bible but understanding how the Bible affects the way we live our lives. Stanley believes topical sermons achieve this the best. I happen to disagree and believe expository preaching is more effective when done well.
  • Private Spiritual Disciplines: When people develop a private devotional life (prayer, reading and memorizing the Bible, etc.) they experience intimacy and accountability in their faith walks.
  • Personal Ministry: When people overcome their fears and step into personal ministry such as a short term missions trip, leading a children’s small group or sharing their faith story in front of a group of high school students, their confidence in God grows. Few things stretch our faith like jumping into a ministry environment where we feel unprepared and seeing God come through.
  • Providential Relationships: When people tell their own faith stories, they always share about the individuals that God placed in their path to help them grow. When we hear from God through someone else or when we see God in someone else, our faith gets bigger.
  • Pivotal Circumstances: We often call these “defining moments”. These include times of blessing as well as times of trial and disappointment. The key here is learning to interpret these events through a biblical worldview.

Take some time and think about how each one of these has contributed to your own faith journey. I find these five catalysts very helpful in thinking through what we do as a church to help people grow. Are we providing a context in which these five things are nurtured and experienced?


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Should I have a Quiet Time?

How important is it for believers to spend time alone with God? As you can tell from what I write below, I believe it’s worth the effort. Since New Year’s is typically a time many of us make renewed commitments to do such things, I’d like to offer a few thoughts that might help.

As I observe the life of Jesus, I see even He needed time alone with the Father. The Gospels confirm He had a lifelong practice of withdrawing from people to be with God (Luke 5:16). While it doesn’t say He was regimented about when He did it and for how long, it’s clear He did this with regularity. He even appeared to have a special place. His times with God were not cluttered with a list of things to do; they reflect a remarkable simplicity. He simply would spend time away from the crowds in prayer. I have no doubt that this prayer involved both pouring His needs and concerns out to His Father, as well as listening to what the Father was saying to Him as He reflected on the Scripture and listened to the Spirit’s prompting in His own heart. One of the most remarkable things about this is that He often withdrew when the demands upon His life were the greatest. While I so often use the demands on my life as an excuse for putting this time off, Jesus saw them as reasons to pursue God more intently.

Each of us needs to find our own devotional style; one that fits with the particular rhythms of our own life. There is no one right time, place, or way to have a quiet time. Many people have found early in the morning is the best time for them because it sets the tone for the entire day. Others can’t see beyond their coffee cup or crying infant in the morning and choose to snatch some time in the midday or evening. It will help a great deal if you have a place where you can truly be alone and free to express yourself to the Lord without fear of being walked in on. Whatever you do, simple prayer along with reading and meditating upon God’s word ought to be the center of this time. Many people have also found that it’s helpful to write down their thoughts, prayers and revelations in a journal. I suggest you try to think creatively about this time too. Some of us need to get out of a routine that has become dry and lifeless. I have often broken the routine by taking “prayer walks” where I spend an extended time praying, singing, weeping, and worshipping the Lord on a nearby trail.

Don’t place yourself under an impossible burden of having to meet with God too early or for too long. The need for discipline in this area can easily become a source of condemnation, especially for those performance—oriented types like myself. Remember that you’re cultivating a relationship, not trying to set a record or impress someone! It’s God who draws you near, not your own spiritual heroism. There will be days when you daydream more than pray. There will be days when you miss. When you come to Him after a series of missed days, just thank Him that He has continued to draw you near and enjoy His welcome.

Be careful about your expectations for this time. Don’t expect the Lord to give you some “lightning bolt” experience in each quiet time. Just as in any relationship, there will be times when you feel close and there will be times when you feel distant and can’t seem to connect. Don’t get discouraged! Keep pursuing Him! Keep showing up! It’s a process. Like putting pennies in the bank, over time, you’ll notice a difference. You will notice yourself practicing and enjoying His presence throughout the day. You will walk together as familiar friends rather than estranged former acquaintances.

I can’t remember who it was that first encouraged me to have a quiet time, but for them I am grateful. Some have let this practice go after repeated attempts and failures. Others are struggling to keep it consistent. Still others are hearing about this for the first time. Whatever your own situation is, commit yourself afresh to spending your best time each day with God. May it be said of us as it was said of Him: “But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness to pray.” Luke 5:16


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A Family Tree with lots of Knots

In recent years the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Society announced it had reached a conclusion that there was a “high probability that Thomas Jefferson fathered Eston Hemmings, and that he most likely was the father of all six of Sally Hemming’s children.” This came after over two centuries of denial and cover-up which was motivated by a desire to protect the reputation of one of our Founding Fathers. The idea that someone of his stature would have an illicit affair and several illegitimate children is scandalous. The idea that he would have a relationship of this kind with an African-American slave would be even more scandalous, which of course is a testimony to our own deep seated racism.

Perhaps thats why when we read the Christmas story in the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we don’t start at the beginning. We usually start in the middle of the chapter with the angel’s command to Joseph to take Mary as his wife. But Matthew begins the story of the birth of Christ with a record of the family history of Jesus; we call it a genealogy. The genealogy of Jesus is about as scandalous as they come. For example, there were four women included in this genealogy. As you look closely at these women and their stories, it’s clear they’re not the kind of people you would expect to be in the bloodlines of the Son of God.

Take Tamar. Judah had chosen Tamar as a wife for his son. His son died and left her childless. The law required that his brother should marry her, so she could have children, but he refused. So Tamar, desperate to have a child, concocted a scheme where she dressed up as a prostitute, put a veil over her face, and waited by the roadside until her own father-in-law, Judah, strolled by and paid to have a little fun. Twin sons were conceived. One of them was Perez, a forefather of Jesus. What a story to have in your family tree! Try explaining that to your children!

Next, we meet Rahab in the Bible, she is a professional lady of the night. After wandering around the wilderness for forty years, Joshua sent spies into the Promised land. They came into the city of Jericho, and somehow these “nice, innocent guys” ended up in the red light district at Rahab’s house. It was providential because Rahab protected them and later came to be a follower of God.

And then there is Ruth. Ruth wasn’t a harlot, but she was a Moabite. The Moabite race was a product of incest. They were descendants of Lot. Lot was living in a cave with his two daughters after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. His daughters were afraid there would be no one left to marry them and give them children. So they got their father drunk and seduced him. One of their sons was named Moab. The Jews found the Moabites repugnant. Though Ruth married Boaz and became a Jew, she was one of those descendants.

The fourth woman mentioned is “the wife of Uriah.” Her name was Bathsheba. Her story is not pretty either. She had an affair with King David. They tried to keep it a secret, but their union had produced a child, and David had to knock off her husband and then marry her to cover it all up. That child died in infancy, but she had another son, Solomon, who became the next link in the royal line.

Put these stories together and the genealogy of Jesus makes Thomas Jefferson’s look rather tame! We have prostitution, incest, adultery, murder. Who needs Hollywood?  This stuff could keep the National Enquirer in business for years! This is not the Hall of Fame, this is the Hall of Shame.

The message of the family tree of Jesus shows why he came. He came to rescue the kind of people we find in his genealogy–weak, broken and sinful people. That’s why the angel said to Joseph, “You shall call him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). That’s why Jesus was called a “friend of sinners” (Luke 7:34).

Its hard news for some; its good news for others. Some of us have a spirituality of self-reliance. No matter how much we may talk about the grace of God, we’re still trying to be good enough for God and still trying to emulate the heroes. But the Gospel confronts us with the utter inadequacy of our own willpower. It shatters the myth that we can pull up our spiritual bootstraps. The fact is we can’t add a single inch to our own spiritual stature. Brennan Manning wrote, “Any spirituality that furnishes a do-it-yourself kit plants the seeds of discouragement and disappointment.” That’s good news though for those who could very well see themselves on this list of names, and who dare to believe that Jesus really did come to rescue and transform them. Could you think of anything better than that? A God who says, “I’ll take care of everything. You just trust in my Son.”


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Following Christ When it Hurts

A number of years ago, at a conference put on by Young Life in the former Soviet Union, I met Martin Hasik. We hit it off immediately. Martin is from the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. After that conference, he became the first Czech national to join the Young Life staff. He also got married to Jane and they now have two beautiful children. A while back Martin was diagnosed with leukemia. Recently, in a newsletter they sent out, Martin included a short reflection he called “Following Christ When it Hurts.” I would like to share it with you as it provides an excellent example of suffering well. After reading this, I encourage you to lift a prayer up for my dear friend.

It is over a year since my diagnosis of leukemia. God has not left me nor forsaken me. Neither was I guaranteed a safe and rich long life that I enjoyed for 37 years, nor can I claim any entitlement for it now. As the life circumstances changed, He has not changed. My life was changed. My relationship with Him is growing stronger, the false idols are useless and worth dropping off. Not even money can buy the way out of cancer. Giving Jesus my life was a decision to submit to His leading into the ways of His kingdom, not the success in this world. Life looks different from the hospital bed. The line between life and death is thinner, but the ties with Him are stronger. Praying for healing. Praying for remission. Praying for becoming a better witness of the hope that I have thru His love and grace. For the sick Jesus has something more… Praise God for that!


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When Tragedy Strikes

I’m so sad about the tragedy that took place in Connecticut today. I can’t imagine the pain those families are experiencing. In our humanity, it’s normal for us to ask “Why?”. In our humanity, it’s normal for us to wonder how God could allow such a thing to happen. I really don’t have any answers, but I’m comforted to know that in the midst of such pain, God understands and offers Himself.

John Stott once wrote, “I could never believe in God if it weren’t for the cross.” His short story, The Long Silence, explains:

At the end of time billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God’s throne. Most shrank back but some near the front talked heatedly with belligerence.

“Can God judge us? How can he know about suffering?” snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. “We endured horror…beatings…torture…death.”

In another group, an African-American young man lowered his collar. “What about this?” he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn, “Lynched for no crime but being black!”

Far out across the plain there were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering he permitted in this world. How lucky God was to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, hunger or hatred. “What did God know of all people had been forced to endure in this world? God leads a pretty sheltered life,” they said.

So each of these groups sent forth their leader, chosen because he had suffered most. A Jew, an African-American, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly deformed child. In the center of the plain they consulted with each other. At last they were ready to present their case and it was rather clever.

Before God could qualify to be their judge he must endure what they endured. Their decision was that God would be sentenced to live on earth as a man.

“Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him work to do that even his family will think he is out of his mind to try to do it. Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury, and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let him be tortured. At last, let him see what it means to be terribly alone. Then let him die. Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died.”

As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled. And when the last had finished pronouncing the sentence, there was a long silence. No one uttered another word. No one moved. Suddenly they all knew that God had served his sentence.

At times like this, we can come to Him with our fear, our grief, our confusion and even our anger. He may not give us a list of answers, but He will give us Himself.


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Guidelines for Sexual Purity Among Staff

At the church I serve in, we’ve carved out some basic guidelines for our staff to encourage purity and to avoid even the appearance of evil. While we want to avoid legalism, we came up with the following parameters. By the way, these are not addressing any specific situations that are taking place right now. Most of these apply to both married and single people, but there’s probably some variation in how they are applied in each case:

  1. A church leader should not travel alone in a car with a member of the opposite sex, other than a spouse, except in cases of emergency.
  2. When at a restaurant or coffee joint with a member of the opposite sex, try to make it with at least with three people.
  3. Counseling members of the opposite sex should be limited to three sessions and should never be done at night or any time that another adult is not in an adjacent room. If the nature of the meeting allows it, keep the door open.
  4. Never enter the home of a member of the opposite sex when no one else is present. (The very sick or elderly are an exemption.)
  5. Since most affairs begin with conversation, avoid suggestive comments and any discussion of intimate subjects with members of the opposite sex. This includes email, texting and social media.
  6. Avoid inappropriate touching or suggestive hugging of members of the opposite sex. Use wise judgment to discern what is proper.
  7. Avoid suggestive clothing. 1 Timothy 2:9 tells us our clothing should be respectable and modest.
  8. When traveling out of town, try to avoid going alone, and don’t travel alone with a member of the opposite sex. Stay accountable with at least one other person about your conduct during the trip.

 

These guidelines may seem rigid, but I can’t help but think of what Paul wrote, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:3-4).


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Lessons from the Life of Solomon

I just completed a three—month study of the life of King Solomon of Israel. We called this series “The Wisest Fool” because that describes Solomon to a tee—he was incredibly wise but squandered his wisdom on foolish living. There are several lessons from his life that stand out for me. Here are just a few:

1. Wisdom is an infinitely valuable gift from God. As a young man, Solomon asked God for a “wise and discerning (listening) heart.” God was pleased with this request and granted him unsurpassed wisdom. How important to me is the pursuit of Godly wisdom? We don’t acquire wisdom innately; no one is born wise. We don’t acquire it by reading a lot of books and having a lot of knowledge. We don’t acquire wisdom just by getting older. We get it by asking God for a heart that listens and heeds His Word. James wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

2. It’s not what you have that matters, it’s what you do with what you have. Solomon had so much going for him. Besides wisdom, God granted him wealth and fame. He also had a Godly father who did everything he could to set him up to succeed. But Solomon demonstrates that being blessed by God in these ways will not keep us away from sin if our hearts turn away from God. Solomon’s wisdom, wealth and fame did not keep him holy, and neither will ours.

3. God graciously and relentlessly pursues us even when our hearts are divided. God showed up in a very personal way three times to Solomon. The first time he offered to grant any request. The second time was more ominous—God presented him with a choice: “If you walk before me faithfully, I’ll bless you, but if you turn away from me, there’ll be consequences for you.” The third time he presented Solomon with the consequences of his action. God raised up three adversaries against Solomon, but even in that there was an opportunity to come clean. I’m so glad I have a God who pursues me and even disciplines me when I am headed in the wrong direction!

4. Disobeying God’s clear commands sets us on a trajectory in which our hearts turn away from Him. Solomon started falling into sin far before he fell into disgrace. As a young man he made an alliance with the king of Egypt and married his daughter. No big deal, right? I mean, he didn’t really love her. It was just the politically expedient thing to do. But it was a big deal. Sin is always a big deal. Before long, Solomon made more and greater compromises until towards the end of his life it says “he loved many foreign women” and built worship centers for their gods! It’s a lesson for us that we need to tend to the little things in our lives. Sin almost always starts with a small compromise, a minor concession, a brief indulgence, but that can make a huge difference in your eventual destination. There’s no telling what we might do if our hearts turn away from God.

5. Solomon gets us ready for another King. Solomon ruled over Israel in what was really the apex of her existence. But as great as his kingdom was, it eventually crumbled. But Solomon prepares us for another King whose kingdom will last forever. Spurgeon wrote, “The kingdom of Israel under the sway of Solomon was a fair type of the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. The present state of the church may be compared to the reign of David: splendid with victories but disturbed with battles. But there are better days to come, days in which the kingdom shall be extended and become more manifest, and then the Lord Jesus Christ shall be even more conspicuously seen as the Solomon of the kingdom.”


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Converge

One of the things my wife Lynn and I have a passion for is helping young couples establish a healthy marriage. Three months ago, we started a new ministry at CPC called Converge. Converge is an informal, once-a-month meeting, open to any young couple in their 20’s and 30’s. We meet in a home, hang out, have a potluck style dinner, and take some time as a group to discuss different aspects of marriage and family. Our desire is to provide a setting where young couples can connect and build community with one another, as well as learn from a “mature” (that’s a nice word for “older”) couple who shares a bit about their own marriage.

Last Saturday night we squeezed 52 people into our house in San Carlos. We had a great discussion about how to handle the holidays as a young couple. This is an area that can often be a source of struggle for young marrieds and it was great to learn from one another some of the ways we have handled this, especially as it relates to in-laws. I found a decent article on the Focus on the Family website that deals with this very issue. Here is the link: http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/communication_and_conflict/inlaw_relationships/holidays_and_the_inlaws.aspx

If you would like to attend Converge, or you know a young couple who might benefit from this ministry, contact my assistant, Mike Northcote at mnorthcote@cpcfc.org. Mike is the ”go to” guy for this ministry and he and his wife, Megan, have done an amazing job at organizing it. We are taking the month of December off but will reconvene on January 25, 2013.


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Two Graces

It’s been said, “We’re like beasts when we kill. We’re like men when we judge. We’re like God when we forgive.” Those of us who have been on the receiving end of forgiveness know what a gift God’s grace is!

Years ago, I learned that forgiveness involves another kind of grace as well. While I was a seminary student, I lied to one of my professors. I told him I’d finished a reading assignment that in truth I’d yet to complete. As our grade was based on the honor system, I received a decent grade based on the belief that I’d completed the reading. Years later, the Lord convicted me of the need to come clean with my professor. I wrote him a letter, confessing my lie and seeking to make it right in whatever way possible. I waited anxiously for his reply, fearing possible repercussions. It couldn’t have been more than two weeks before I received the following letter from him:

Dear Mark,
Thank you for your good letter! I value deeply your willingness to acknowledge your failure to list your reading accurately for the course. The pressure to ratify course requirements can be a temptation!
But through this you have received grace to acknowledge this. Calvin said that true and lasting repentance follows our union with Christ through grace. I accept your confession as a sign of God’s grace in your life – and you should too!
God bless you in your continued ministry and study – (and read the book because you want to, not because you have to!)
Cordially,
Ray S. Andersen

Needless to say, God used Dr. Andersen to show me His amazing grace in a whole new way. I received two graces that day. First, there was the grace of forgiveness. This is what I had asked for in the first place, and it was quite a relief to receive it after all that time! But, there was another grace that I experienced even prior to that. Dr. Andersen’s letter taught me that it was grace that led me to repentance and confession in the first place. This was a grace I had not asked for, but God granted anyway. Perhaps this is what Paul had in mind in his letter to the Romans when he said, “the kindness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4).


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Open Windows for a Grateful Heart

In my last blog post, I said that thankfulness is both a duty we work at and a gift we receive. I like the way Lewis Smedes put it, “Gratitude dances through the open windows of our heart. We cannot force it. We cannot create it. And we can certainly close our windows to keep it out. But, we can also keep them open and be ready for joy when it comes.” So what are some of these windows that we can learn to keep open so that gratitude might enter? Here are a few:

Learn to celebrate imperfect gifts. This may sound like blasphemy, but not all God’s gifts are perfect gifts. Are you ever thankful for your children? For your family? For your friends? Of course you are. But, are they perfect? Of course not. In 1 Cor 1:4 Paul says to the church in Corinth, “I thank my God always concerning you…” He then went on and in the rest of the letter he rebuked everything from sexual immorality to spiritual pride. Paul had learned to celebrate imperfect gifts. People who demand perfection choke gratitude before it has a chance to blossom.

Keep in mind that we are always thankful for one thing in spite of another. One day I was driving down the road feeling very thankful. Then I remembered a woman I’d seen just a few days earlier in the hospital who had died. Immediately I thought to myself, “What right do I have to be so thankful for my life when someone else’s was just devoured by cancer? How can I rejoice over my healthy children when someone else’s child was just run over by a car? How can I be glad for my full plate of food when someone else’s is empty?” Thoughts like this turn gratitude into shame. But if we wait till no one ever dies, we’ll never be thankful for our own life. If we wait till every child is healthy, we’ll never be grateful for our own children. If we wait till every beggar has a plate of food, we’ll never be thankful for our daily bread. Sometimes the “in spite of’s” hit closer to home. How can I be thankful for my job when my family is a mess? How can I be thankful for the roof over my head when I can’t afford to buy the house I really want? But, we can and we must or else we shut out gratefulness from our lives forever. We’re always thankful for one thing in spite of another.

Saying some thanks primes the pump of gratitude. There are times for all of us when, if someone tells us that life is a gift, we’d just as soon give it back. There’s too much trouble, too much pain. But, even in those times, in a raw act of our will, we can say thanks anyway. And when we do, the window for gratitude stays open. Feelings are strange and unreliable things. We can never know when saying something we don’t feel will prime the pump and get that feeling flowing. C.S. Lewis said the line between pretending to feel something and beginning to feel it is too thin for a moral bloodhound to sniff. So go ahead and pretend, because it might fan the flame of something already lit. One of the most helpful ways to do this is to keep certain times and places set aside for thanksgiving. Times like November 22, 2012. Times like Sunday mornings. Times like each time you sit down to eat a meal.

So there you go, three ways to open the windows of your life up to gratitude. Maybe you can come up with a few more. We ought to be grateful, but we don’t always feel like it. And believing that God wants more for us than just going through the motions, these are ways to be ready for it when it comes.