God and Our Big Hairy Audacious Goals

    Phil Vischer was the CEO of Big Idea Productions and the creator of Veggie Tales, a computer animated show that teaches Biblical and moral lessons. The main characters are fruits and vegetables. The show was a hit with parents and kids. My two boys grew up watching, laughing, and singing along with Larry the Cucumber, Bob The Tomato, and 3-2-1 Penguins. We still have Veggie Tales videos in our collection.

    In his blog, Phil said that Big Idea Productions grew by 3300% in revenue, from $1.3 million to $44 million between 1996 and 1999. Dreaming big and bold, Phil had this Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) of becoming the next Walt Disney - a Christian Disney. However, great ambitions often go wrong especially when fueled by self-centered and prideful motivations. By early 2000, the company was in financial trouble and eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

    Phil admits that his decisions as CEO led to the company's difficulties. Phil says in his blog,

I have seen the enemy, and he is me. My strengths built Big Idea, and my weaknesses brought it down. Throughout Big Idea's history, my business instincts were generally quite good. But I had no experience managing people or leading teams to accomplish goals....As VeggieTales took off, I became terrified that my business inexperience and lack of people skills would result in Big Idea's failure. So, in a panic, I brought in others to help, often spending far too little time getting to know them before or after the hire. I then backed down from my own convictions, assuming that an executive with an impressive resume surely knew better than a Bible college dropout. And I launched projects like Jonah before we were really ready to handle them, assuming we'd figure things out on the fly as I had done in the basement and with the very first VeggieTales episode. The result was some amazingly rabid fans, and absolute organizational chaos. The result was the rise – and fall – of Big Idea.

Dreams are powerful but we often confuse our dreams with God's will. As a result, we fail to see that God will lead us in a completely different, but far better, direction. Our dreams therefore can become our god or idol and it's a very cruel taskmaster. It deludes us into thinking that the end justifies the means. We'll do everything we can : sacrifice, compromise our values, neglect our families, and even commit sin, in order to meet our goals. We expect that success will ultimately make everything ok. Yet all that hard work and effort only ends in pain, hurt, and tragedy.

    I'm not saying that you should not have dreams, ambitions, and even BHAGs. I am saying that your dreams are never divorced from God's revelation and holiness. Don't make the mistake of making grand plans for God and asking God to join you and bless your quest. The cry of the Christian is always, "Let Your will be done"! Wherever God leads you, that is where you go.

    Today, Phil has a new company called Jellyfish Labs and shares what he learned from running Big Idea,

First, our relationships with God are much more important than our work for God. God doesn’t want us to be “busy,” he wants us to be available. He doesn’t want us to focus on “impact,” he wants us to focus on obedience. If we’re walking with Him, we’ll know when He has something specific for us to do. We don’t need to make stuff up. If we’re so wrapped up in the work we’re doing for God that we can’t even make eye contact with the person bagging our groceries, something in our lives is way out of whack.

Second, to be a Christian is to give Christ “lordship” of our lives. That’s what it means. He’s Lord, we’re not. And if we’ve given Christ lordship of our lives, where we are in 20 years is, frankly, none of our business. Where we are in 5 years is none of our business. What is our business, is what God has told us to do today, and whether or not we’re doing it. That’s it.

    Even when meant for good, ambitions and dreams that exalt self must die. That's why God whacks us into submission and makes us fall flat on our backs so that we will discover that God Himself, His love, mercy, and grace is far better than what life and opportunities in this world have to offer.

How To Argue With Someone You Love

The plans of the heart belong to man but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

-Proverbs 16:1 (ESV)

    Here's a fact : disagreements are part of relationships. The problem is that people don't know how to argue. It certainly is true in my marriage. My wife and I agreed that we needed honing in our communication skills so that in resolving everyday issues, we would avoid saying the wrong things that turn small issues into full-blown confrontations. We needed to learn how to speak clearly so that we are not misunderstood. We also needed to learn how to listen to each other so that we understand what the other person is really saying.

    Never underestimate, or worse yet, ignore the power of speech to build or destroy relationships. Arguments can cause so much pain and suffering. James warns about the destructive potential of the tongue and says that everyone has stumbled in what they say (James 3:1-12). It is with the tongue that we communicate our needs, desires, ideas, and feelings. We use it to reprimand, rebuke, exhort, teach, encourage, or inspire others but what good does it bring if we haven't learned how to use speech properly? How do you speak the truth in love if you don't know how to really talk with others? Aristotle said, "It is not sufficient to know what one ought to say, but one must also know how to say it." If we speak so poorly, perhaps it's better to say nothing at all.

    Steve Brown, a professor of preaching at Reformed Theological Seminary, wrote a book on this titled, How To Talk So People Will Listen. He gives sound, Biblical counsel that, had I known earlier, would have spared me from a lot of self-induced heartaches in my relationships.

    When you get into an argument with your spouse, your children, your friends, or even colleagues at work, remember that they are not the enemy. Friends and lovers may have differences but they are not adversaries. So Steve Brown says that in these relationships, the object is not to win the argument, to prove a point, and certainly not to get your way. Instead, when the argument is with someone you care about, the goal is to strengthen and deepen the the relationship.


    He gives 8 rules that helps us to put this principle into practice.


Rule 1: Never characterize the argument made by someone you love.

To characterize means to interpret what the other person is saying through your own lens. You are hearing but you are not listening. You are already making conclusions without taking the time to clarify and repeat what the other person is saying in order to have an accurate understanding of his or her position. That is why James says, "Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger (James 1:19)." We usually do it the other way around when we get into arguments and that gets us into trouble (Proverbs 18:13).

Rule 2 : Keep short accounts. Always clean up the mess promptly lest one argument lead to one another.

This is what Paul means when he admonished, "Don't let the sun go down on your anger (Ephesians 4:26)."

Rule 3 : Keep the "weapons of destruction" in the closet. 

My wife and I have favorite "verbal bombs" that we unleash at each other. My favorite is what I call the "right back at you" bomb by accusing her of being a hypocrite. "You're telling me that I shout too much at you, well you're yelling at me now so you have double standards!" And the war is on. "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1)." So stow the guns.

RULE 4: Apologize quickly.

Do rule 4 when you violate rules #1,#2, and #3. And do it quickly. Giving an apology is confessing your sin to the one whom you offended (James 5:16). Admitting your wrong leads to healing (Proverbs 12:18) and brings down the defenses that your loved one has put up.

RULE 5: Affirm easily.

    John Piper quotes CS Lewis saying, "I had noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least." When we are misers in giving affirmation, we are like old Ebenezer Scrooge. To affirm is to call out something in someone that is worth commending. Affirmation is different from manipulation and flattery in that affirmation is others-centered. You commend the other person because you love them and not for your personal gain which is at the heart manipulation and flattery. It is easy to commend someone you love. So when you argue, be generous in your affirmations.

RULE 6: Compromise often.

This is another way of saying this admonition in Philippians:

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

-Philippians 2:3-4 (ESV

RULE 7: Stick to Issues.

Don't drag on other issues into the argument. Stick to the issues at hand and work to resolve it.  

RULE 8: Look for points of agreement and concentrate on them as you branch out to settle the issue.

Steve Brown concludes,

"In an argument or a disagreement with someone with whom you have an important relationship, the only reason for the argument or the disagreement is to reach some kind of accord so that you can work hand in hand with that accord to a particular goal. Winning arguments with people who are important to you is always a losing strategy. Remember, the relationship is always important than any argument."

The Best Version of You Is Jesus

    Self-evaluations can be helpful in assessing your strengths, weaknesses, your talents and gifts. Paul Tripp, however, points out that the standard of self-evaluation misses the core of your potential as a Christian. If Jesus did an assessment of gifts and talents, would he have selected the twelve disciples (let alone Judas!)? After Peter denied him three times, would Jesus have evaluated Peter and deemed him unqualified as an apostle? Would Paul, who persecuted the early church Christians, have become a missionary to the Gentiles?

    God often called people who felt unprepared and yet were successful in accomplishing what God called them to do. Despite the fact that they were weak, ordinary and could not boast of any talent, the disciples were able to step forward and do extraordinary works as they preached the gospel and ministered to the church.

    So what to do then with our potential? What to do with our talents and gifts? It's important to realize that the gospel, first and foremost, defines who you are as a Christian. Paul says,

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

-Galatians 2:20 (ESV)

A Christian is one that has died to self but made alive in Jesus Christ. The self is sinful, weak, undone, proud, and ill-tempered and is crucified with Christ on the cross. The Christian now lives and says, "Not I, but Christ." Think about this: the one who is the image of the invisible God, the one in whom all the fullness of the Godhead dwells, the one who holds creation together in himself, the Savior, Redeemer, the very God of the very God lives in you! One book describes it like this,

"Jesus Christ is like a vast ocean. He is too immense to fully explore, and too rich to fathom. You are like a bottle. The wonder of the gospel is that the bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle." 

-Jesus Manifesto

Amazing! Therefore the Christian lives by faith in Jesus Christ. Those who see, hear, and know you will see, hear and know Jesus. Your life manifests Jesus' presence. Paul Tripp says,

It is not enough for Paul to say that the death of Christ made him new. He says that when he died, the old Paul was not replaced with a new and improved version of Paul, but with Christ himself! He's not simply saying that the new Paul is better at controlling the sin in his heart. He is saying that where sin once controlled, Christ now rules! Our hearts, once under the dominion of sin, are now the dwelling place of Christ, the ultimate source of righteousness, wisdom, power, and love.

- Paul Tripp in How People Change

In short, the best version of you is none other than Jesus! That's the gospel of Christian potential.

"We no longer live based on our assessment of what we possess in strength, character, wisdom (from family, education, and experience). We base our lives on the fact that because Jesus lives in us, we can do what is right in desire, thought, word, and action, no matter what specific blessings or sufferings we face."

- Paul Tripp in How People Change

This is why God can use those who are simple and ordinary by the world's standards to shame the wise (1 Corinthians 1: 26-31). That is why he can use people with no extraordinary talents nor gifts because it is Jesus Christ in them who gives them the strength to do all things that they are called to do.

    Your life in Jesus Christ defines your potential. The question now is what will your life be if you measure your potential based on this? How would it shape your ambitions and your goals? How does the reality of Jesus living in you determine your agenda? How would success look like as a result? Can you honestly say, "Not I, but Christ"?

    Be encouraged by this : our potential in Jesus Christ is not hindered by our weaknesses nor our failures. Our potential in Jesus is not based on what we can do for him, but on what he can do through us.

Rejoicing -The Best Medicine

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

-Philippians 4:4 (ESV)

    The strange thing about this verse is that Paul urges the Philippian Christians to rejoice always, meaning, even if they don't feel like it, still they must rejoice in the Lord. And Paul repeats himself, emphasizing the point so that the readers will not easily forget this command.

    Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that there is a world of a difference between rejoicing and being happy. Happiness is a feeling within yourself. You cannot make yourself happy, but you can make yourself rejoice, in the sense that you will always rejoice in the Lord. 

    King David preaches to himself,

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.

-Psalm 42:5 (ESV)

    David wasn't feeling happy inside at all. So he exhorts his troubled soul to hope in God. Why? So he can praise and give glory to God. David did not look for an escape, he did not turn to alcohol, nor did he take pills for his depression. Instead, he believed that the God of his salvation is sufficient and will save him from his despair. He puts his hope in Him. He trusted God to rescue him.

    When you come to love, treasure, and delight in God, you will experience that God is more than enough to carry you through the dark days of your life. Like Paul, you may be afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:4).

    When you find yourself in a bleak situation where you may not yet see God's purposes, you can rejoice, knowing that He is with you and that He is working out all things for your good.

The Christian and His Past

    We have done things in the past that we now regret. The apostle Paul had a big one. Prior to his conversion, Paul zealously persecuted believers in Jerusalem. He could have been burdened by this guilt for the rest of his life. He could have tried to make up for it. Instead, this is what Paul said about his sordid past :

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.

- 1 Corinthians 15: 9-10 (ESV)

    He didn't run away from his past. Instead, he admitted the shameful things that he had done. He recognized that he didn't deserve to be called an apostle but for the grace of God. "I am what I am," Paul said, in effect saying that what matters is that Jesus saved him from his past and his present identity in Christ now defined who he is. Grace had transformed Paul from zealous persecutor and defender of the Torah to zealous missionary of the gospel to the Gentiles.

    In the same way, regrets from the past neither condemn nor burden a true Christian. Jesus Christ took our sins away and paid it in full with His sacrifice on the cross. In Christ, we can confidently say :

'I am what I am' - whatever the past may have been. It is what I am that matters. What am I?


I am forgiven, I am reconciled to God by the Blood of His Son upon the Cross.


I am a child of God.


I am adopted into God's family, and I am an heir with Christ, a joint-heir with Him.


I am going to glory.


This is what matters, not what I was, not what I have been.

-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in Spritual Depression It's Causes and Cure

The Red Sea Places of Your Life

    Many are familiar with the story of Moses leading the people of Israel in crossing the Red Sea. However, it's easy to overlook important details. That's what usually happens with spectacular stories like this: we remember details of the climax but miss the whole point of the story.

    The narrative is found in Exodus 14. Here's the overlooked details :

1. God deliberately sets up the action.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, 'They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.' And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." And they did so.

-Exodus 14:1-4 (ESV)

    The context shows the motivations of God. Exodus 13:17-21 tells that there was a shorter way to the promised land but that route would bring them into Philistine territory. That would mean engaging in war and God knew that Israel wasn't ready to wage battle. So God leads them into the wilderness going towards the Red Sea. He led them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

     God specifically tells Moses to encamp at an area by the sea. Why? The Lord wanted to set a trap that would destroy the Egyptian army so that He gets the glory and when the Egyptians will hear of the defeat of their army, they will know that "I AM" is the one true, living God.

Read more »

Tullian Tchividjian : It's Okay To Not Be Okay

    Pastor Tullian Tchividjian's reflections on the gospel has helped me through difficult circumstances in the past. In the midst of conflict, I realized that the praise of men did not matter because in Jesus Christ I have everything that I need, I am accepted by God, and I am his son. Even when I was misunderstood, when my motives were questioned, and when I was maligned, I realized that there was no need to retialiate nor defend myself. I had Jesus Christ and my satisfaction was in Him. My reputation did not matter, pleasing God in loving obedience mattered. I was free to lose because the truth was - I didn't lose anything!

    He has an upcoming book : Jesus + Nothing = Everything that helps us to remember the good news the we forget - the gospel - and that true Christianity is faith in Jesus and only Jesus.

Here's an excerpt of the book : It's Okay To Not Be Okay

Related posts :

The Good News That We Forget Part 1

The Good News That We Forget Part 2 : I Need The Gospel Daily

The Good News That We Forget Part 3 : What is Cheap Grace

The Good News That We Forget Part 4 : The Gospel-Centered Life

Christianity Explored - including the tough questions

    This is a great website to learn about Christianity. It explores the core message of the Christian faith and answers some of the tough questions that skeptics have raised and believers have struggled with through time. This site also includes stories of how people have come to faith in Christ from different cirumstances in life.

    If you've been curious about Christianity then start your investigation from this website. This is also a great resource for those who want to brush up on the basics.

Go to the website : Christianity Explored

Reflections on the Greatest Commandment

Jesus replied: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment.

-Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

    Can we be commanded to love God? It would seem that being commanded to love is like being forced to love. We all know from human experience that true love can't be coerced. So why does God command us to love him with our whole being? Shouldn't love be freely given and not demanded?

    The reality is that in our natural state we would choose not to love God. Even if He were to suddenly appear before us we still wouldn't love him. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul says that God has made himself known plainly to man ever since the creation of the world. Man considered God and judged that God is unworthy to be loved.

   We do this in two ways :

1. We do not honor God as God nor worship Him. (Romans 1:21)

2. We exchanged the truth for the lie and worshipped the glory of the creation over the the glory of the Creator (Romans 1:25). We would rather love the world, ourselves, or a god of our own making.

So we have to recognize that this command reveals that human nature is fallen. We cannot just decide one day to flip an inner switch and start loving God. We don't have that capacity in our natural state.

    The thing is God knows this. We can never obey this command unless our nature is radically transformed. The apostle John said that everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God and conversely, whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:7-8). The work that God makes in the new life that is received through faith in Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to love God (and also love others) with all our our heart, soul, and mind.

    How?

    John Piper explains,

"The most immediate and decisive work of God in the new birth is that the new life he creates sees the superior value of Jesus over all else (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). And with no lapse of time at all, this spiritual sight of the superior value of Jesus results in receiving Jesus as the Treasure that he is. That is faith: receiving Jesus for all that he is because our eyes have been opened to see his truth and beauty and worth."

-John Piper in Finally Alive

   

    That's the key. We cannot see the truth about God. We cannot see the infinite value and beauty of Jesus Christ. God has to do something in us so that we will see that loving Jesus is better than loving the world, better than loving ourselves, and better than worshipping our man-made gods. We are able to love God because God first loved us. We cannot love him without his love being poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5) and without his mercy that looked beyond our fault (Ephesians 2:4-5).

    So we are not forced to love God, rather because God's love is in us, it is now in our nature to love God. Because now we see Christ as the precious treasure that he is, loving God with all our heart, mind, and soul becomes our passion and our delightful duty.

William Farley : The Number One Destroyer of Marriages

There are many causes of marriage break-ups : infidelity, abuse, irresponsibility, irreconcilable differences among others. Author William Farley  identifies a cause that is "small, insidious, and seldom noticed". It compounds over time if not addressed.

Read more : The Number One Destroyer of Marriages