How People Change 7

I loved what he said about cleaning up our prayer requests and not being vulnerable! It's so true, and something we must fight! The typical small group prayer requests of the American church are so shallow and surfacey-- who are they really helping? How does that show what God is up to? How does it point us to Christ and point each other to Christ? How does it show us what a powerful God we serve when He answers those vulnerable prayers if they're unspoken? Let's be real and honest with each other, shall we? And let's see the body of Christ function as it's meant to!

 

Chapter 7: Heat 1—God in the Real World

The Morphing of Emotions

Experiences are lenses through which we interpret life. We don’t just wake up one morning and decide to change our theology. It’s gradual, and it often happens through life experiences.

The emotions we experience in life’s circumstances constantly morph and change; they are not static. They concern how we view God, ourselves, and others.

The Heat: God’s View of My World

We are constantly living in either trial or blessing.

Alone in the Darkness?

Ps 88

“As you examine your own life, are you like the psalmist? Can you be honest with God? Are you afraid to face how you are responding to the Heat of your life? Do you wonder if God really welcomes yoru honesty, so you hesitate to bring the cries of your heart to him? Do you feel like you have to put on a good frint of unwavering faith before God and people? Does your faith genuinely impact your daily life?” (99).

“Why do we all feel the need to clean up our prayer requests before giving them? Why are we all so skilled at editing ourselves out of our prayer requests? Why are we so good at sharing the difficult circumstances we faced, yet so afraid of talking about our struggles in the middle of them? Do we really care more about what people think than ew do about getting help? Do we really think that God would be repulsed by our sins and weakness?” (99).

Even More Encouraging

“God intended the darkest human laments [i.e. Ps 88] to be brought together with the brightest human hopes. Honest expressions of fear, pain, and doubt were welcome in the place of worship, atonement, and forgiveness. The mess of human misery was welcomed into the place of mysterious, glorious grace” (100).

“This kind of honesty before God is meant to be part of our worship” (100). Wow!

Biblical Realism

James 1:1-15

“…the testing of your faith develops perseverance…”

“…ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault…”

“…when he asks, he must believe and not doubt…”

“A trial can come in the form of difficulty or blessing….Both present opportunities for temptation and sin, as well as testing and growth” (102).

“It is very humbling and important to admit that trials do not cause you to sin. God does not tempt you to sin by sending trials your way. If we respond sinfully to the trials he sends, it is not because we have been forced to sin, but because our hearts have chosen to do so” (102).

“God is the giver of good gifts. The greatest blessing of all is Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Friend. Through him we have been given the one thing every sinner desperately needs—new life!” (103).

In this passage in James, we see:

1.     The certainty of trials (v. 2)

2.     The benefit of trials (v. 2-4)

3.     The need for wisdom (v. 5-8)

4.     Two kinds of trials (v. 9-12)

5.     Temptation and trials (v. 13-15)

6.     Avoiding cynicism (v. 16-18)

You, Your Lord, and Trials (taken from p. 104-5)

What assumptions do I tend to make about suffering, and how do they increase the pain I experience?

Do you expect life to be free of trouble?

Do you place undue confidence in your ability to control your life, mistakenly assuming that you can manage your way out of suffering?

Are you trusting your life to modern technology’s apparent ability to protect or rescue us?

What pressures do you regularly face?

What are your God-given opportunities?

What are your everyday responsibilities?

Where are you facing difficult circumstances?

What are the places you are tempted to hide from or avoid?

What situations tempt you to say you are okay when you are not?

What is the hardest experience of your past?

What is your greatest fear about the future?

“As you answer these questions, remember that you are actively loved by a God who has entered into relationship with you” (105).