Your Free Ticket to a Lifetime of Contentment
WHEN THE PROPANE FOR THE GRILL RAN OUT, WE STOPPED GRILLING.
I had personally learned how to stitch but was still down to one pair of jeans. We had sold everything that wasn’t nailed down, including all of my recording gear. Our fridge was empty, and our pantry was close behind. When the vacuum broke, I vacuumed the house on my hands and knees with a tiny Shop-Vac. “Father, do You see this?” I would ask.
However, throughout this season we knew we were blessed. And we chose to believe it. We chose to see it. Even while we experience great need in this life, we can always find something to be thankful for. Karen and I were able to see His provision in the small things. Even though we were overwhelmed, we guarded our hearts against self-pity.
Self-pity is deadly. It will shred a hopeful believing heart in moments. Whenever Karen and I began to realize we were experiencing self-pity, we would decide to give thanks to God for all of His goodness, often even making a list of all He had done in and for us.
Thankfulness is the key to victory in the battle against self-pity. God is always good and when we focus on His goodness it is impossible not to believe. Looking for evidence of His goodness in our lives and then giving thanks always increases our faith.
Self-pity cannot exist in the presence of thankfulness. I have seen this first hand with my kids. We will be driving down the road after having gone out for pizza, after having gone to the swimming pool, after having gone to the theater, after having gone to the amusement park, after having gone jet skiing, after having flown on a space odyssey through the Dagobah system, when suddenly one of them will remember something we didn’t get to do that day. Then they will begin to complain.
It starts out with a statement like, “we never have any fun,” followed by a list of things they never get to do. As one complaint follows another, the words “never” and “always” are used more and more freely until the minivan is filled with a cloud of self-pity.
That’s when I bark, “Quiet!” Then, “I want five things from each of you that you are grateful for. Quick!”
It starts out slowly, as they can’t seem to think of anything. So I remind them somewhat sarcastically, “Ahh, the Dagobah system?”
Eva, our youngest, likes this game and always gets there first. Finally, Maddy remembers something she is grateful for. Then Ethan follows close behind. A little more time and Maddy has something else, and Ethan has found one more thing.
By now Eva has given ten things that she is grateful for. By the time the older kids get to number four, the atmosphere in the van has changed. And by the time we get to five, we just keep going until we are matching Eva. Eventually, all we see is the goodness of God. There is no end of things we can be thankful for.
I told my kids the other day that joy is found in thankfulness, that contentment is discovered in gratefulness.
Karen and I are learning to practice thankfulness, even when we’re in the tough wilderness seasons—especially when we’re in the tough wilderness seasons. We are convinced that living thankful not only empowers us into joy and peace, but we reveal and empower a legacy of full life, health, and peace for our kids as well. We want to give them the road map to true happiness.
When we practice thankfulness we begin to see God as He is. We also begin to see the fullness of what He has given us. You see, we can only give what we have. While self-pity creates a perception of poverty, thankfulness increases our awareness of how good our Father is and, thus, how rich we truly are. His goodness will become so overwhelming that the desire to give, even in the midst of need, will overcome us, overflowing into radical generosity for our neighbors—because God’s goodness can’t be contained.
Ask The Question
I have three kids, Eva is my youngest and she is at an age where I am beginning to get the questions.
You know, like when I give her a bowl of soup and say “Honey do you want some crackers for your soup?”
“Why?”
“Cause these crackers taste good in soup.”
“Why?”
“Cause they are yummy soup crackers.”
“Why?”
“Because the soup cracker fairy made them yummy for soup.”
“What color is the soup cracker fairy’s dress?”
“Blue.”
“No daddy, it’s pink and purple.”
If you are a parent, or ever spoken with a child, you have laughed, sighed, had your patience stretched, and your heart expanded while answering a question.
If you are a parent, or ever spoken to a child, you also know this next statement to be true: If the question is sincere then there is no such thing as a dumb question.
Questioning is how children learn.
And as parents, or someone who has answered the question, we know that the question reveals a lot about what the child comprehends, and who they are becoming.
In this situation, you may have often responded to the child’s question with a question of your own.
We do this because our question positions our kids for the answer. It’s meant to help them learn how to process and find the answer themselves. It’s about helping them mature.
I have learned that when it comes to a sincere question, our heavenly Father absolutely loves them. This is evidenced in the life of Jesus.
Have you ever noticed that Jesus rarely answers a question directly? When He is asked questions, often His response is to either tell a story or ask His own question.
Even when He was teaching, He almost always raised questions.
Jesus told Nicodemus that to enter the Kingdom of heaven he would have to be born again. Jesus told a large crowd that, unless they ate of His flesh and drank of His blood, they had no life in them. While we now know what Jesus meant, at the time, these were inconceivable thoughts that raised lots more questions.
So why did Jesus often respond to questions by raising more questions? Because questions are one of the best ways to communicate with a free people. And Jesus was absolutely intent on releasing and empowering people into greater freedom.
God loves our freedom, and when I say “loves,” I mean absolutely without even the slightest hint of deviation. He will not compromise even a fraction when it comes to protecting freedom.
Why is freedom so important to Him? Because it’s the atmosphere in which love can exist. And love is the whole point.
Our freedom was what Jesus died to protect, it’s what the cross was all about. It’s the biggest thing that’s ever existed because it’s the soil in which love can be cultivated.
Jesus doesn’t tell free people the answer; he helps them devise a better question. He tells stories and asks His own questions. Along the way, He challenges how we think, and if we are hungry for an answer, we begin to re-form our questions until our mind is—in a word—renewed.
The renewed mind is the one that persists in asking honest questions, knowing that our Father has promised that the answer is soon coming.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
Jesus came to reveal the Father. That was the whole purpose of His years on earth. He told us that if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father (John 14:7). To truly see Him, we simply and persistently ask the honest questions until our perspective is aligned with heavens perspective.
Every sincere question is an invitation into a transformative answer. The honest questions resonate in heaven and pull heaven to earth!
And that’s the whole point of asking questions. It’s a search for what is in heaven, what is in our Fathers heart, so that we can live out His answer here on earth.
When we ask God the authentic question, the answer comes with revelation and power. It sets us free and empowers us to know His love in greater measure.
I am a good dad. I tell my kids that all the time, and they believe me. But I don’t hold a candle to my heavenly Father. As much as I want to answer my kid’s questions, God wants to answer ours more! And He so values us that He waits until our hearts are positioned for the answer, until our question reverberates with the answer that is in His heart, until we are ready to live out the answer.
Everything in the heart of our Father wants to answer the question! He knows the answer will transform and empower, set us free and set us on fire with His love!
If you are a parent, or ever talked with a child, you are well positioned for a renewed mind, for an answered prayer, for becoming like Jesus and living in the wonder and power of heaven.
May you ask more questions then you get answers and may you be transformed along the way!
Finding Kingdom Come
If you think about it, Love walked the earth in the body of Jesus.
And while Jesus very much lived on earth, He very much lived from heaven. So everywhere Love went, heaven invaded earth. What’s astounding to me is that every need that was presented to Love was met and fully answered—physically, emotionally, and spiritually—through the power of heaven. And it often looked miraculous.
Love trumped every need, every time. Love healed the sick, fed the hungry, and raised the dead. Love forgave the prostitute, the adulterer, the thief, and the liar. Love paid
As I’ve said before, I believe the Kingdom of heaven operates from a different core value than earth. While earth revolves around the reality of need, heaven exists in the revelation of love. Everything in the Kingdom of heaven operates, hinges, and moves in that reality. Love trumps.
Need doesn’t exist in heaven. We won’t need to be healed in heaven; there is no sickness there. We won’t need to feel loved; we will know and become love. We won’t know poverty, sadness, or confusion; our Father is rich in mercy and grace. We won’t have any questions about why we exist; the manifest glory of God will make it clear.
“Jesus told us that the Kingdom of heaven, the place that operates in love, is ‘at hand.’ In other words, this Kingdom is within reach—all of heaven is available to us now.”
I believe that we have access to the same heaven that Jesus did. He revealed that we could live in the same revelation of our Father that He lived in when He taught us to pray, “
As a friend of mine, Andy Squyres, says, “Earth is the only place we can love God while in need.” Here and now, we have the incredible opportunity to discover that—even while
“Earth is the only place we can love God while in need.”
This is the discovery of God’s Kingdom come!
Need / Love
I don’t know if you have ever thought about it like this but need is what defines life here on planet earth.
In fact, time itself is the father of need. The universe was created as finite. Meaning there is a beginning and an end. In a finite reality, need is the principle in which time exists, it’s the skeleton upon which reality hangs.
Need is the final singular truth by which our world operates. Humanity exists within the confines of need. We trade in the currency of need. Need is the foundational structure of our DNA. It’s the defining core value of our very existence. You could say that we are slaves to need.
Need is with us when we wake and when we sleep. And it’s not an abstract idea. It’s probably the most real thing many of us know. It’s an absolute. It’s a physical, emotional, and spiritual reality woven into the very fabric of our existence.
For instance, we need air to breathe; we need gravity to keep us from floating away. We need food to sustain our bodies. We need clothes and shelter. We need money to buy clothes and shelter. We need jobs to make money so we can buy clothes and shelter. We need a good economy to provide jobs…
I guess what I am trying to say is, we are one big walking, talking, breathing, need.
It’s not a bad thing – need. It’s actually beautifully brilliant if seen from Gods perspective. He created it, and because God is good, He only has good ideas and only creates good things. I believe God created need for one reason, to reveal His love, but I’m getting ahead of myself…
So creation took its first breath in the wonderful certainty of need. Our Heavenly Father created a finite reality in which men and women dwell. And then He did something odd and absolutely stunning, He breathed His Spirit, His Neuma in us. He put eternal spirits in finite bodies. He made humankind in His image – Love.
God is Love and He is always good. It says so in my Bible… yours too.
Love is the beginning and the end, and everything in between, and everything before, and everything after. Love is infinite. Love is complete; Love is the answer, not the question. Love is always good. That’s all in the book as well.
Now here is a crazy thought, while need is the very substance of our existence, it has no place in Gods reality. And if God is Love, then you could say it like this, need doesn’t exist in Love. Need is actually counter to the nature of Love. Love trumps every need, every time. It’s the good news that only gets better…
I would like to suggest that while need fosters insecurity, love cultivates identity. Stick with me; I think I’m on to something big here… I believe that there is a revelation of Love available to every one of us that settles the insecurity of need; that sets us free to become sons and daughters of a perfectly good, perfectly loving Heavenly Father.
Jesus came and revealed the Father. He took all of our needs upon Himself and died. He took a need-based existence to the grave where it always belonged. And upon His resurrection, He introduced us to a greater revelation – intimacy with our heavenly Father and access to the infinite reality of His Kingdom of love – heaven on earth.
Not only did Jesus reveal the Father and His Kingdom, He said we could do the same. “When you pray, say, Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”
I believe the Kingdom of Heaven operates from a different core value than earth. While earth revolves around the reality of need, heaven exists in the revelation of Love. Everything in the Kingdom of heaven operates, hinges and moves in love, it’s all about Love.
Therefore, need doesn’t exist in heaven. We won’t need to be healed in heaven; there is no sickness there. We won’t need to feel loved; we will know and become love. We won’t know poverty, sadness, or confusion; our Father is rich in mercy and grace. We won’t have any questions about why we exist, the manifest Glory of God will make it very clear.
While Jesus very much lived on earth, He very much lived from heaven. In fact, heaven is what He released wherever He went. If you think about it, Love walked the earth in the body of Jesus and everywhere Love went, heaven invaded. If you think about it, every need Love encountered was answered through the power of heaven.
John the Baptist told us that the Kingdom of heaven, the place that operates in Love, is at hand. Essentially, this Kingdom is within reach. I am convinced we are here to discover it in every area of our lives.
Let’s go find this Kingdom come…
Northern Lights / Pre-production
And the journey begins… my friend Jacob Early and I spent a few hours working on a demo of a song I wrote several years ago.
It’s my first attempt at pre-production – the process by which I will demo several songs and determine whether they will make the final cut.
That’s right, after nearly six years of a musical wilderness I have been set free! I am working on a new full-length album to accompany my new book.
That said, this song needs some re-working lyrically and some serious further production. But for now, I think we captured its spirit. Enjoy, and feel free to let me know what you think.
(I recently changed some lyrics, which is what happens in the production process. I put them in brackets below)
Northern Lights
Went to see the Northern Lights, so bright, reflected in Your eyes
And Your glory cloud descends, hey friends, it’s time we got going
Come on in out of the cold, come home, let’s go find this kingdom come, well done
I’ve been dreaming for a time, if its a crime, (Let me find my joy complete, let me see, oh) Love be my sweet witness
Come on in out of the cold, come home, let’s go find this kingdom come, well done
When the sun sets on my shoulder, and the Northern Lights shine bold
When my troubles, they’re all over (when Your love is all I know), well done
Come on in out of the cold, come home, let’s go find this kingdom come, well done
On Earth As It Is In Heaven: Buried Treasure
This Article is from the book The Open Table – An Invitation To Walk With God.
The Open Table is a Donald Miller Christian discipleship series designed for small groups. It is accompanied by two films and corresponding guidebooks. I had the great honor of writing the second guidebook with Donald and some amazing editors at Thomas Nelson.
On Earth, As It Is In Heaven: Buried Treasure
Matt 13:46 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
There was once a fella who knew of a treasure that was buried in a field. This treasure was greater than any treasure any mind could conceive. It was beyond imagination. The treasures name was “The Way, The Truth and The Life” (John 14:6).
This fella was so excited about the treasure that he sold everything he owned – right down to the clothes on his back. He gave all that he was and all that he had and naked he went to his field. He began to dig. And there he found his treasure and it was a Kingdom. It was a greater Kingdom than I can describe but I will try nonetheless.
This Kingdom was built on love. In fact, the King of this Kingdom was love (1Cor 13:13). The Kingdoms currency was righteousness, peace, and joy, which was engaged through believing. Everything about the Kingdom was good. There was no evil in the Kingdom, not a single drop – not a sliver. There was no sickness or sadness in this Kingdom and because this Kingdom was founded on love, all sorrow was redeemed and restored to joy. In this Kingdom, all things always worked to good. (Rom 8:28)
Amazingly, this fella, the one who went digging in the nude, well, he became an heir and citizen in this Kingdom. In essence, he was reborn and became a new creation taking on the very nature of His
This Kingdom had a creed. It was known as the good news. The King spoke it often and the fella’s heart leaped with joy to hear it! It went like this “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).
This next part may seem odd but it is true and truly astounding – over time this fella who became an heir of the King, well, he found that wherever he stepped the King and His Kingdom went with him. Then one day it dawned on the fella that this is why he existed – to know the Kings love and to establish his Kingdom of Love wherever he went…
I don’t know if you guessed it yet but that fella, he’s me. But there’s more. I would like to suggest that the fella, well, he is also you…
At the age of five, I found my treasure. I gave Jesus all of me and I asked him into my heart. At that moment, I became an heir to the King and I gained citizenship in the same Kingdom I just described. Since then I have been discovering just how amazing this King and His Kingdom is. Since then, I have been discovering what it means to be an heir of the King and citizen of His Kingdom.
Some refer to this moment in a person’s life as “salvation.” That’s a good word for it. But it’s not just a moment. Since the age of five, I have been learning that Salvation is the most beautiful of life’s miracles. I once was dead, now I’m alive! I once was clothed in self-centered ignorance, I’m now clothed in love and righteousness. I once was a citizen of a fallen kingdom, I now am a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20). What makes the miracle of salvation so much more amazing is the fact that it doesn’t end there. Our salvation is not the end of our story; it’s the beginning of a new one.
If I may put it this way, after saying yes to Jesus, salvation is not only the answer, it’s the question. The question salvation asks is, “how shall we now live?” Most of my life I have understood salvation as an assurance of heaven after I die. Yes, that’s true, but I’m discovering that there’s so much more. I am saved to bring heaven to earth while I’m alive.
Just like that fella who bought the field, I have met the King and am taking on His identity as my own. I am becoming love and because of this love, I have His creed burned on my heart… “Thy Kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven.”
I believe that if you have asked Jesus into your heart, the journey from here on is about discovering the Kings love, who you are within the context of that love and how to live out that love daily.
Why I Write…
At the age of eighteen, having already been a King for more than half his life, Josiah sent his man, Azaliah, along with a cleanup crew into the temple to tidy the place up.
Israel was at this point a pagan nation. They had fallen away from God and for several hundred years, they had served other Gods. They did “evil in the sight of God.” They had sex temples and altars where they could sacrifice their children – these were among the evils they committed. So yeah, it was pretty bad…
“King Josiah, while we were cleaning up we found this “book.” After Hilkiah (the High Priest) blew off the dust he read a bit of it and you wouldn’t believe this but it appears to be “the book!”
Three hundred and twenty years before King Josiah found the book there was a prophet by the name of Jeroboam. Jeroboam prophesied to this nation about a coming King who would destroy the evil altars that Israel had set up. This King would restore the nation back to God. He even prophesied this King’s name. “He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you, he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.” (1 Kings 13:2)
When Josiah’s clean-up crew found “the book,” Josiah had it read aloud in its entirety. Can you imagine what happened in his heart when he heard his name mentioned? Can you imagine what kind of impact that had on him?
If you don’t know the story of King Josiah, he went on from this discovery to completely destroy every trace of evil upon the land. He was zealous in his pursuit of the promise he received. He was intent upon fulfilling what God gave him to do. 2 Kings 23:25 says “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength…”
That seems like a pretty good reason to write eh?
Thank you Kris Vallotton – Kris is a pastor at Bethel in Redding CA. He spoke this word a few years back at a writing conference and it impacted me greatly.