Everyday Learning
in the Classroom of Life
By Randy Raysbrook (and Bill Mowry)
Navigator Representative
Starting Place of Wisdom
God wants us to be learners and to grow in wisdom. The Lord gives wisdom. Proverbs 15:33 also tells us the starting place for it, “The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom.” So, how does one begin to discern the fear of the Lord?
Fear of the Lord
Proverbs 2 tells us much about fearing the Lord and what that means. And the countless blessings that flow from it, like delivering us from the path of evil. God promises that if you:
- Receive my [God’s] sayings
- Treasure my commandments within you
- Make your ear attentive to wisdom
- Incline your heart to understanding
- Cry out for discernment
- Lift your voice for understanding
- Seek her as silver
- Search for her as for hidden treasures
Then, you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God.
Take some time and meditate on Psalm 2. Let the Lord continue to teach you. The fear of the Lord is also to hate evil, as Proverbs 8:13 teaches. Those who do not hate evil or sin often do not fear the Lord.
For Christians, learning is not an event; it is a way of life. Proverbs 18:15 says, “Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights” (The Message). But how does one develop such a lifestyle of learning?
Most people associate learning with classrooms or universities. However, God’s definition is much broader. The Bible associates learning with the ordinary events of life. What if God lovingly designed all of life to teach and change us? Then each day becomes rich with lessons to be learned.
Everyday learning is a way to learn anything. From this discovery process, you can learn about any topic, in any place, at any time. You can learn from things like your daily routines, conversations, failures, victories – the stuff of God’s “classroom of life.”
God’s classroom differs from other learning settings. The lessons He has for us are often hidden in life’s ordinary routines and in relationships with people, what theologian Eugene Peterson calls “the splendor of the ordinary.” Think of it like a treasure hunt to discover gold. Learning becomes a partnership with the Holy Spirit in this treasure hunt, if we know the process.
King Solomon understood this. In Proverbs 1:20-21, he describes how wisdom is calling aloud in the streets. Yet, have you noticed that noisy streets can drown out wisdom’s voice if we are not carefully looking for it? A process for learning will equip us to carefully look.
What is everyday learning?
Everyday learning is following a simple process of Stop, Look, and Ask.
Consider this example of everyday learning from a country stroll in Proverbs 24:30-34. “I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who has no sense; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.”
Notice the learning process in action. On an ordinary walk, you spot a vineyard overgrown with thorns and weeds. The ragged walls are in ruin. It catches your attention. You could keep walking, but you choose to stop and look. Now you look intently. You scan the area from side to side. And observe. You notice the big picture as well as the details. These observations lead you to ask questions.
Your questions dig beneath the obvious. “What’s going on here?” “Is there a pattern?” “Is there a relationship between a person’s character and the thorns and weeds?”
Next, you apply your heart to these observations. From stopping, looking, and asking, the Holy Spirit helps you understand and learn that whenever there is too much sleep, snoozing, laziness, or irresponsibility, poverty will come on that person like a bandit.
Now, how can you and I also practice everyday learning in today’s world?
Stop
In the often dizzying pace of the workplace, neighborhood, university, or home, we must deliberately stop and consider how God is at work around us, in us, and through us. We must resist the natural inclination to always keep moving.
Without stopping, we remain blind to God’s lessons for us. Some lessons could then whiz by us unseen. Try planning
- Regular times to stop and think about your activities
- To pause for a few minutes after a conversation or interesting experience and reflect on it
- To be totally still once a month and spend 1-2 hours reviewing your life
If we do not stop, we will not be able to take the next step, to look.
Look
We all know how to look . . . or do we? Careful looking is so important to life that Jesus links our failure to look as a failure to see spiritual truth. “You will be ever seeing but never understanding” (Matthew 13:14 NIV).
God expects that we will look at life and the world around us. Proverbs repeatedly challenges us with statements like, “You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two” (Proverbs 6:6, The Message). In other words, think about what you see and draw conclusions from it about how to live.
Looking is so important for spiritual growth that there are 32 different words in the Scriptures for noticing what is occurring around us! These words include: look, see, appear, behold, watch, examine, explore, peer, search, observe, and recognize.
You can look backward (at the past). After a busy day, you take a few minutes to look at what happened in the past few months or even years. You might recall people you met, feelings you had, or experiences that affected you. Then focus on one thing. Take some time to explore it in more detail.
Looking also includes viewing the present (what is happening currently in your life). Yesterday you surfed the net. You had a conversation at work. Today you played with the children, led a Bible study, or thought about the idea of recycling. Something catches your attention from this scan. This one thing could be a news event, a work dilemma, a new word from a conversation, or an insight from your six-year old. Stopping and looking leads you to asking.
Ask
Asking questions yields the real treasure. The Bible is full of questions—3,296 of them. In the Book of Psalms, there are more questions than there are Psalms. God has designed you and me to be question-askers. Why? So we could learn from everyday life. Questions are like the miner’s pick axe to break through the surface of things to discover the treasures hidden to the untrained eye.
Good questions to ask include
- Why do I think this event, conversation, or feeling is important to consider?
- What is unusual about this event or statement?
- Why do I think this is happening/has happened?
- What is this event, circumstance, etc. teaching me about God, life, or ministry?
As you start your day tomorrow, anticipate that God has a lesson for you. But to learn it, you must stop, look, and ask.
About the Author: This article was originally written by Randy Raysbrook and Bill Mowry. It was revised by Randy Raysbrook for publication here. Randy Raysbrook has been on Navigator staff for over 30 years ministering to college students, professionals, and church leaders. He designs creative evangelistic and discipleship materials, and trains others in communication skills, as well as critical thinking and question asking. With a Ph.D. in higher education and Masters Degree in instructional communication, he is an associate professor at Colorado Christian University.
Reaching Out Now – Ready or Not!
By Mike Jordahl
CityLife Director, 20s Mission, The Navigators
Perhaps Tomorrow
Putting things off is so easy because life is hectic. We promise ourselves that we will reach out tomorrow, and then tomorrow comes and goes.
Take a moment and note one thing that you can do today to reach out. Make a call, drop by their cubicle, send a note, …
Not Now!
Some say that opportunities to help others come at the worst possible times, like when we are watching a ball game.
Consider telling the Lord that you are available to reach out now.
As We Go
There will be numerous opportunities to reach out as we go along in life. To see these opportunities we need to be open to them and even looking for them. We can also ask Christ for His help.
What one thing can you do in the coming week to increase opportunities where you live and work?
If you need help on your journey, we are here for you. If you are searching for a mentor or simply have a question, you can send us a note.
Maybe you’re like me? I have a tendency to want my life to be “together” before I take the initiative to reach-out to others.
I love it when my job is going well, my finances are stable and my house, garage and yard are all just the way I like them. Basically, I yearn to be stable and caught-up at work, at home and with all my current relationships.
“THEN,” I think to myself, “once all that is done, I can move forward in reaching-out to those around me.”
The Big Lie
What a big lie that is! The truth is I never feel all together or all caught-up! On those very few instances in my life when I have felt all caught-up, what I really needed then was a nap (or a vacation) – mostly because I was so tired from getting all caught-up and settled!
I usually crave this sense of order even more when I am in a transition – like starting a new job or a new chapter of my life. Most of us have a normal desire to be settled in our career, our living arrangements and our relationships. The danger is in thinking that we should always be “on top of everything” and that only THEN are we ready to begin living intentionally among those who don’t know Christ.
Our reality is that “being all settled” and “caught-up” is so temporary that if we wait for our lives to be well-ordered and organized before engaging with others, we will likely wait a long time – and miss out on many opportunities God has for us in the “right now. “
Inconvenient Opportunities
My life has been full of inconvenient opportunities to reach-out to, love, serve and share with others! Sadly my initial response to these unsolicited opportunities is usually “There is no way I have time for this!”
Like the time a teacher died at my sons’ school. I was on my way out the door on a trip up to New Hampshire and I was not very happy when “Aunt” Jeanne, one of my neighbors and trusted mentors in Massachusetts called me and asked me “Well Mike, what are you going to do?” It was clear that Jeanne thought I should call the principal to see how I could help him.
I listened to Jeanne’s wise counsel and as a result I spent the next three days talking with and comforting first the teachers, then the students and then, on the third day, comforting the entire community as they asked me to say some words at the schools’ memorial service for this teacher. Somehow my “do-list” took care of itself and somehow God used me, even though the one thing I did not feel was “ready” for Him to use me – as a relatively new resident – in our little New England town.
More recently, it was during a very busy season for me that my neighbor “Jon” rang my doorbell. Jon and I had talked several times about dogs, lawn-care, politics, Iraq, his Alma Mater, basketball and God. But this time, with tears in his eyes Jon asked if I would come over to his house so we could talk. At his kitchen table Jon told me of his wife’s affair and of how she said she no longer loved him but hoped they could be friends even though she was divorcing him and wanted custody of their young son.
My lawn wasn’t mowed, I had emails to write, decisions to make – and I was tired. So what! Jon needed me. We talked late into the night and then did the same several nights over the next months. I did a lot of listening and Jon would even let me say short prayers for him as we cried together, laughed a little and looked to Scripture for the hope he desperately needed.
As we go along in life
You may have heard that the verb “Go” in the Great Commission passage of Matthew 28:19 is more accurately translated “as you are going.” The idea is that as we go along in life we are to “make disciples of all nations.”
It’s a freeing thought for me – the Lord knows all I have to do and how much I like “being settled.” But, he hasn’t asked me to get my life all perfectly arranged and then engage with others. He wants me to be initiating with people and available to them as I go through my days and weeks and years – no matter how unorganized or unsettled I may feel.
How About You?
How about you? Are you still waiting for that “more settled” sense to come over you before you begin intentionally pursuing those He puts around you?
Where you live, where you work, where you play – all around you there are people in need of the gospel who would welcome your initiative and friendship. They are people our Father is at work in now – and they don’t need you to be all organized and together before you initiate with them.
They just need you – and they need you now, “ready” or not!
Mike and Nancy Jordahl live in Colorado Springs with their youngest son, Peter. Mike currently directs CityLife – a Nav ministry focused on recent college grads and military vets in their 20s. Mike can be contacted by using this Navigator Contact Form if you would like to discuss any portion of this article with him.
Personal Spiritual Warfare
By Steve Brown
Chief of Operations, People Resources Team, The Navigators
Door Openers
Steve mentions five door openers in his article. Can you think of any other door openers?
Signs of Activity
Read through Possible Signs of Demonic Interference and make a note of one or two that could be a problem in your own life.
Connect With Friend
Get together with a mature Christian friend and share insights from the article. Choose one thing to apply to your life.
There Is Help!
If you need help in finding a mature mentor, we can help. Go to the MAP Page of NavConnect and search for a Green Pin (first choice) or Red Pin (second choice) in your area. You can also send us a note if you have a question.
Door Openers For Demonic Interference
Ephesians 4:26 says, In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry… But Paul isn’t finished with his thought. He continues in verse 27 – and do not give the devil a foothold. Paul links anger with giving the devil a foothold, or a place to stand. A foothold gives the enemy a beach-head or permission to interfere in our lives and ministries. It’s like giving the devil a building permit. Paul makes another connection in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. Here Paul points to unforgiveness (or bitterness) as playing into Satan’s schemes. A door opener is a pattern of sin that gives the enemy an opportunity to interfere in a person’s life and ministry. This pattern opens the door to the enemy, allows demonic interference, and plays into the devil’s schemes. Along with anger and unforgiveness, some other door openers are:
When these emotions or patterns have been consistently harbored and practiced over a long time, they become door openers. A flare of anger or episode of pride won’t necessarily establish a foothold, but if the pattern of anger or pride isn’t dealt with and becomes habitual, a door will eventually open. Lust was Gollum’s door opener. His first encounter with the ring ended in violence, but if he had repented then and turned away from his sin, evil would have found no opening. Instead, Gollum fled with the ring and lived in secrecy and darkness, seduced into allowing himself to become dominated by the enemy. How do you know if you have an open door?
Possible Signs of Demonic Interference
Many of us have been in situations where we feel stuck and unable to break free. Here are some questions to help you determine if you might have an open door:
If you can answer yes to any of these questions, you may have an open door. If you have an open door, what should you do?
Understanding Our Brokenness and Shame
Gaining a good understanding of our brokenness and shame is an essential part of our personal spiritual warfare. Through this understanding, we can become more aware of where we are prone to open doors and our spiritual warfare weak points.
Our door openers, which can be exploded open by relational conflict, can be caused by our brokenness and our shame. Some things that contribute to our vulnerability to open doors include:
All of the things on the list can affect our view of ourselves and others, can help us misinterpret events, and can make us think or respond negatively. These can all play into the enemy’s hands.
Another reason for exploring our deeper selves is found in Matthew 22:37 that states the following:
In order to love the Lord with all our heart, soul and mind, we have to grow our heart, grow our soul and grow our mind. We can grow our heart by healing the emotional wounds from our past. We can grow our soul by freeing ourselves from those things that hold us in bondage. We can grow our minds by replacing the lies we have embraced with the truths revealed by God.
How Do You Deal with Door Openers?
Submit – Focus first on submission, or yielding to God. Usually when I’ve struggled with an intense emotion like anger or fear, it’s a sign that I haven’t been yielding to God in some area. Submitting includes not only my actions but my thoughts: I need to think about things the same way God does. Submitting my actions and thoughts to God begins the process of freeing me from my door opener.
Resist – In the spiritual realm, will has more power than desire. You may want to follow hard after God, but if your desire isn’t supported by your will, your walk with God will be impotent. The same holds true as we battle the devil. We may want to resist him, but he won’t yield. If we exercise our will to resist him, though, he must flee (James 4:7). Augustine characterized Satan as a yapping dog. A dog doesn’t run from you just because you want it to; exercising your will by stomping your foot and saying, “Go!” sends the dog scampering with its tail between its legs.
Renounce – One way to exert your will is to renounce or close the door opener you’ve allowed in your life. Laborers must use spiritual weapons to fight spiritual issues. Praying through the Personal Spiritual Warfare Tool helps to renew perspective and gives an opportunity to identify any door openers you may have allowed in your life. Once you’ve identified a door opener you can, by an act of your will, pray something like, “Heavenly Father, in the name, power and authority of Jesus Christ, I choose to renounce the door opener of _______________ that I have allowed in my life. I ask you to take back any ground I may have given the enemy. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
Stand Firm – Once you renounce, you need to stand firm – by faith not surrendering the ground you’ve taken. When Jesus was hungry and weak after forty days of fasting, the devil came to tempt him. Jesus didn’t try to overpower the enemy. Instead, by faith he stood firm in the commands and promises of God and resisted the evil one. Paul commands us in Ephesians 6:11-14 to stand against the devil’s schemes, stand your ground, and stand firm. Standing firm is the battle we face after closing any doors of demonic interference. Once you’ve identified an open door, you should Submit, Resist, Renounce, and Stand Firm. Simple—just not easy. Have you opened any doors that could give the enemy permission to interfere in your life and ministry?
Closing Thought
Though the work of closing door openers is personal and internal, it does not have to be done alone. Community and friendship are powerful allies in our life-long battle against our enemy. Isolation can play into the enemy’s hands, but community can be a safe-guard. So, ask God to lead you to a safe friend with whom you can share your battle. And together you can journey to triumph.
Steve and Kathy Brown have four children and live in Colorado Springs, CO. Steve has ministered for the past 17 years with the People Resources Team (PRT) in Colorado Springs – focused on caring for Navigator staff.
Professionalism in the New Normal
By Dan Wooldridge
Strategic Leadership and Leader Development
Servant Leadership
In Mark 10:43-45, Jesus taught that greatness is defined as being a servant. Jesus came to serve. He was a servant leader. In your work, what is one way you can seek to serve rather than to be served? Ask God for his perspective and ideas.
Good, Right and True
When he was king, 2 Chronicles 31:20-21 says that Hezekiah did “what was good, right, and true before the Lord.” In your work today, are you willing to do what is good or right or true? Are you facing a difficult decision? Have you perhaps compromised anywhere? Is there something you have put off? As you seek God and His Word, what is He saying is the right thing to do?
Pleasing Him
Colossians 3:23-24 instructs that “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men.” Heartily can mean vigorously, thoroughly, completely, with gusto, or enthusiastically. How can you serve your employer heartily? What about those least favorite parts of your job? When you seek to please God first in your work and how you do it, what difference does that make?
Boiling this down means we must embrace new ways to think about work and what it means to be a professional today. Just what is this “new normal?” How do I successfully work in it? Let’s emulate the sons of Issachar, who “understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do” (I Chronicles 12:32).
The New Normal
Globalization has radically restructured economies, industries, markets, and businesses. Whole industries can now disappear overnight as in 2008 with the investment banking industry. And businesses today have had to realize that their strategies and assumptions of how to make money used to be valid for a decade or two, whereas now they are valid for just five years at the most.
Consider also that the economic crisis we are experiencing is not the result of a cycle that we will eventually live through and return to good times. Fundamental global shifts and restructuring have happened. And while there will be better times, the overall climate will remain turbulent. So be prepared to work in these rough waters for many years.
Lifetime job security is also gone. You will likely work many jobs and probably have multiple careers. The whole concept of the “job” is increasingly obsolete. Fewer people are hired for highly defined tasks because many of these can be automated or outsourced. People today are increasingly being hired or contracted for the ability to bring unique value to a company, for what they can truly contribute.
Basic good “citizenship” qualities are still necessary, but not sufficient. These qualities include honesty, faithfulness, the ability to get along with others, and hard work. However, I’ve observed that these qualities are no longer unique or distinguishing to just Christians. In hiring, they are now the price of admission. Your co-workers will try to exhibit these same qualities because they are expected in today’s workforce. So although this good “citizenship” is necessary, it’s no longer sufficient for you to be considered a top performer, and it no longer guarantees that you keep your job. So, what can you do beyond your character and hard work to set yourself apart?
Must-Do Things for Today’s Professional
Broaden your view of the world. Stay aware of what is happening. Read. Listen. Travel. Work internationally. Every business, every industry, and every job today has a global dimension to it. Gain insight into the opportunities as well as the risks that confront you.
Do not just think of having and doing a “job.” Rather, picture yourself as a one-person company, sort of a “Me, Inc.” This helps frame your thinking more like that of a small business, which must be savvy and current to stay in business. For example, think of your co-workers and your company as your clients. Then every single day, consider how to bring fresh value to them. Earn their business by not just doing the job you are asked to do, but understand what they need and work to deliver that value better and better.
Learn the big picture of how your company works. What is its purpose? Who are its customers? What does it promise customers? How does it deliver value? How does it make a profit? These business model questions open avenues to begin to see how you create value, possibly in ways that have not previously been seen. If you were a supervisor trying to decide between a person who faithfully does his job and another who not only faithfully does her job but also seeks fresh ways to create value, who would you keep?
Never stop learning. Strive to master your field of knowledge. Where is the field going? Many companies have had to cut back on education and development, but you must always take ownership of your development. Build depth in an area of expertise, but also add new and complementary areas of knowledge to your portfolio. This enhances your ability to create value over the long run.
For many years now, I’ve created a personal learning project every three years. The topics include my interests and abilities plus areas where I see needs developing for my clients. Areas have included marketing, organizational culture, strategy, leadership, innovation and talent development.
Learn how to create value and improve your company. Get involved with or take on projects that focus on improving the company. That project may be an innovation to develop for the company. Learn how to “work on the business, not just in the business.” Interact with your boss and co-workers to design a project that tests your idea.
Build a network inside and outside of the organization. Include collaborators, mentors, thought leaders, and crazies. Collaborators are those whom we can learn from and work with. Mentors and coaches advise and give unvarnished feedback. Thought leaders stimulate our thinking and imagination. And “crazies” are unafraid to try things, take risks, and dream big. As jobs and companies come and go, you will find the next open door in this network.
Develop your leadership abilities. As you progress in your career, you will likely face a fork in the road. One road leads to greater specialization, e.g. the chief rocket scientist. The other road leads to a more organizational contribution, e.g. the director of NASA. If you enjoy the more organizational path, then work on developing your leadership abilities. Study good leaders. Practice your leadership. Get feedback on it so you can improve.
Free to Serve
In conclusion, also consider that due to the “jobs” mentality and other factors, people have become increasingly dependent on companies and the government to take care of them. However, people have historically been more independent, creating cottage businesses or other means to take care of themselves and their households. I fear that in this volatile age, the more dependent we are, the more we can become trapped and unable to do the things that God wants us to do. Those in bondage through dependency to others are not free to serve.
The apostle Paul contemplated the last days and instructed the Thessalonians to “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody (I Thessalonians 4:11-12).”In my experience, what I’ve outlined as the new professionalism is the modern equivalent of “working with your hands” and “not being dependent on anybody.”
As we work at these things, in what might be the last days, we can survive and thrive in the turbulence. We can also lead a life that wins the respect of others and enables us to freely serve people for the sake of Christ.
About the Author: Dan Wooldridge was involved with The Navigators at the University of Texas. While in school his interest in business led him to start the first of several businesses. He graduated with a BBA in management. He eventually left the business world to be involved in The Navigator collegiate work in Texas and California in staff and staff leadership roles. He also served from 1992-1999 as the Director of Glen Eyrie. Dan returned to the business world and has served as an advisor and mentor on leadership and strategy to corporate executives across the country for the past decade. He also writes and speaks on leadership, strategy, and business.
Astonished by Jesus
By Bob Adgate
U.S. Navigators Metro Director
Make a List
List how you are astonished by Jesus. What about him amazes you and causes you to wonder at the privilege of knowing him?
Getting to know him
What are you doing in your daily life that is helping you to know Jesus more fully? Is there something you need to start doing that would radically alter your awareness of who he is and how he wants you to live your life?
Finding community
Who and what are you listening to 24/7? Are you listening to people who are also astonished by Christ? If you aren’t currently in a Bible study or fellowship, take the needed steps to connect with people who are also amazed by our Lord and Savior. We can help!.
From the very beginning Jesus has astonished humanity
The shepherds on the day Jesus was born were astonished. When the wise men saw the child King they were overwhelmed as they fell down and worshiped him. People throughout the Gospels were amazed when Jesus taught with clarity and authority; they were astonished when he healed the sick, lame and blind. They were also stunned as his commands calmed literal storms. And the two men on the road to Emmaus were shocked as they realized they were walking and talking with the resurrected Messiah.
Over the last few years I have found myself being especially astonished by Jesus in three connected ways. First, I am overwhelmed by Jesus’ jealous love and heart for me, us and his whole creation. Second, I am in awe how his jealous love for us moves him and propels him on a rescue mission to redeem and transform everything: you, me, those around us, families, communities, institutions and culture. And third, I am amazed that we get to join our jealous King in experiencing him in all his vast richness, in extending the rule and reign of his kingdom into every nook and cranny where we live, work, and play while exalting his name.
Astonished by Jesus’ jealous love
Chapter 11 of the book of Hosea captures powerfully for me one of the most incredible pictures of God’s jealous love and heart. In verse 8 God says: “How can I give you up? How can I surrender you? My heart is turned over within me, all my compassions are kindled.” What I hear, see, and feel in this verse is our God crying out in raw agony over his unfaithful spouse, Israel. He is crushed, he has a consuming ache that won’t go away, he is saying to Israel, ‘you are killing me, my insides are on fire within me, I can’t get you out of my mind because I can’t get you out of my heart. I can’t give you up, can I?’
Astonished how Jesus’ love for us moves him
The answer to his gut-wrenching rhetorical question is found in the next verse, verse 9. “I will not come in wrath.” Instead of coming in wrath, his jealousy moves and propels him into action … right out of heaven into the person of Jesus Christ. As our friend and colleague, Connally, says, “God in his jealous love for us gets up out of the lounge chair, puts down the clicker and comes after us. He pursues us and gives himself away for us!”
Jesus tells us in John 10:10-11 that: “I came”…I pursued, I put down the clicker and came after you … “that you might have life, abundant, real life.” “I came and expended my life for you. I gave every last drop for you.” Why? Love, jealous love, there is no other explanation. Astonishing!
Astonished we can join Jesus
Well, out of his jealous love he spent everything so we can experience him fully and then join with him in extending the redemptive reign of his Kingdom into every arena of human existence. …Into every nook and cranny. …Into everything! Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch in the whole dominion of our human experience over which Jesus Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry out, ‘Mine’!” Our God wants it all, the whole kit and kaboodle. Why? He is the sovereign, gracious, holy King and his kingdom has come on earth as in heaven.
How about you? What comes to your mind that astonishes you about Jesus? Maybe it is his goodness, his faithfulness, his strength, his grace, his forgiveness, his presence, his purity. The list can go on. The next time you gather with some Christian friends, you might just ask yourselves, “what astonishes you about Jesus?” and just see where the conversation takes you in discovering together more about our astonishing God.
Pursuing a relationship with our astonishing Lord
One verse in the Gospel of Matthew, describing the wise men’s encounter with Jesus, gives me some insight in pursuing a relationship with our astonishing Lord.
“And they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother; and they fell down and worshiped him, and opening their treasures they presented to him gifts of gold, and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11
The wise men:
The wise men traveled some distance in their pursuit of Jesus. They spent energy and time coming to Jesus. When they finally arrived to meet the child Jesus, they saw him. What did they see in Jesus? They understood they were seeing more than a small child. Here was God in flesh before their eyes. Their response to seeing Jesus was to fall down and worship him. Could there be any other response? And finally, they presented gifts to Jesus.
It may be obvious, but do you see a “flow” in the actions of the wise men in this verse? First, the wise men came to Jesus. Next, coming to Jesus leads to seeing Jesus. Then, seeing Jesus results in worshiping Jesus. And finally, a response to worshiping Jesus is to present gifts to Jesus. This flow of – coming, seeing, worshiping, and presenting – is found throughout the Bible as men and women pursue God. Isaiah 6:1-8 and Luke 5:1-11 are examples.
Daily come, see, worship, and present myself to Jesus
It is a “flow” that can be a daily part of our lives as well. I can do the same as the wise men in encountering the astonishing Jesus:
As I come to clearly see Jesus – my only response is to stand in awe, worship him, and present myself fully to him.
Along the line of this “flow,” here are a few simple questions you may ask yourself in encountering our astonishing Lord, Savior, and Friend:
Coming to Jesus
What are you learning about coming regularly to Jesus? …When, how, where? What helps and what hinders you in coming to Jesus? Notice that the wise men came – together – not alone. What are you learning about coming to him together with others?
Seeing Jesus
What are you learning about Jesus? You might just read back through a favorite or familiar passage in one of the four Gospels and ask yourself: “What is there about Jesus that stands out to me?”
Worshiping Jesus
What are you learning about “worshiping” Jesus? What does it mean today for you to worship Jesus? What have you found helpful in worshiping Jesus? What about Jesus makes you stand in awe of him?
Presenting myself fully to Jesus
What are you learning about “presenting” yourself fully to Jesus? What areas in your life do you find easy to present to Jesus and what areas of your life do you find hard to give fully to him?
Well, I hope you will experience the presence of our astonishing Lord in refreshing ways. And I hope your relationship with him spills over to others so they also will be astonished by Jesus.
Bob Adgate lives in Arlington, Va with his wife Ronda. Bob currently serves as the Metro Director for the U.S. Navigators.