FOUR LITTLE WORDS

What would you think if I told you that on your tombstone would be inscribed a four-word epitaph? Based on your life, what would those words be?  Jesus once had an encounter with a person whom he described with just four immortal words: “Great is your faith.”

Interestingly, she was a Canaanite woman, from the country north of Palestine, a country hostile to the Jews. Presumably, the woman was married; she had at least one child; but that's all we know about her. We don't know whether she was a good woman or a bad woman. We don't know her name. All we know is that in this single encounter with Jesus he spoke to her this four-word epitaph: “Great is your faith.”

Only four words, but they are enough to make her immortal. We can trust these words as being true because the expert on faith spoke them. Jesus continually searched for faith, as a gem collector would search for fine jewels. He didn’t always find it in his disciples. He never said of Peter, James, or John: “Great is your faith.” More often His words were, “Oh, you of little faith.” On only one other occasion did Jesus praise a person for their faith, and that person was a Roman soldier – not a disciple, not one of the “chosen” people.

The Canaanite woman awakens in us a feeling of admiration, perhaps even envy, because she stands where most of us would like to stand. What faithful Christian would not like it said of him or her, “Great is your faith”?

But what great thing did this woman do to prompt Jesus’ affirmation? She simply believed.  She took Him at His word.  She acted on His words.

If we are to have the same epitaph, we, too, will need to simply take Jesus at His word.  We will need to act, simply because Jesus made a promise.  Then it can be said of us, “Great is your faith.”

With Love,

Mike

PRAYER

Many of us have unhelpful views of what prayer is. One of these views is that prayer is reserved for the spiritual elite. In other words, prayer is for clergy, elders, maybe even very committed church members, but not really for me. This mindset is most revealed when people feel compelled to ask pastors to pray for them. There’s nothing wrong with this (I’ve done this several times), as long as you remember that no person, including your pastor, has more access to God than you do. Scripture says that every believer is a priest and a part of a chosen people  (1 Peter 2:9). In other words, if you believe in Jesus you have all you need in order to access God directly—in fact, He encourages each one of us to approach Him with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). 

Another view is that prayer is the means through which we get what we want from a begrudging Father. Put another way, prayer is the way we convince God to give us what He doesn’t want to give us because He’s really quite stingy. Though not directly stated this way, this mindset is seen whenever we place an undue emphasis on a certain level of intensity or specific length of time in prayer needed in order to compel God to respond to us. In this line of thinking, prayer is transactional, in that our effort somehow earns us God’s response and favor. I’m not saying that prayer doesn’t sometimes feel like labor or that it doesn’t require discipline—it definitely feels like training at times. What I’m saying is that this transactional view of prayer sounds very unlike the picture of a generous Father that Jesus speaks of (Matthew 7:9-11).

If prayer is not either of these things, then what is prayer?

Journey of Relationship 

Prayer is the practical way in which we invite God to journey with us. 

From the Old Testament (Exodus 25:8) to the New Testament (John 1:14), the Bible reveals the story of a God who gets “messy” with his people—who desires to live among them despite their dysfunction. The purpose of prayer is to connect with this Person we, in the English language, refer to as “God.” The purpose of prayer is relationship.*

Through prayer we invite God into the good, bad, and ugly of our lives. We open up the doors of the messy homes that we call our lives, and say, “Jesus, do you really want to move in?”, only to find that He has a moving truck parked out front—He’s been patiently waiting for us to open the door and invite him in. We do this by praying not just from our intellects, going through a list of requests, but by praying from our hearts—telling Him what’s really going on, how we really feel, and in light of that asking Him for what we need. We surrender our whole selves to Him, asking Him to influence every area of our lives. We have a conversation, stopping and listening to what He has to say through His word (the Bible), reflecting on what we read. 

Through this process (and it really is a process, by the way), I’ve found that my picture of God has shifted from Him being the abstract Ruler of the World, or Creator of the Universe, or even Savior of my soul, to being my Friend. He’s present with me—in the pain, the joy, and everything in between. 

I want to get to know the heart of this beautiful God. What about you? 

HOW

• One morning or afternoon this week, simply talk to God . . . except, don’t say any “thank you’s” or make any requests (no “T’s & G’s,” aka “thank you” and “give me”). In other words, simply share how you are really feeling on that particular day (“Today I feel ___,” “I’m worried about ___” etc). You can do this through writing (my personal favorite), taking a walk, or some other way that makes sense for you. When you’re done, take a couple minutes to be silent, knowing that God has heard you and is with you no matter what you’re going through.**

• Read a Psalm, or a portion of a Psalm, every morning. Most Psalms are prayers, and they’re a great way to kickstart your own conversations with God. 

Hope this is helpful to you. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com.

On the journey, 

-Ian 

References

*I got this conception of prayer from Dr. Roy Gaton 

**This prayer practice was introduced to me by Dr. Allan Walshe 

HUNGER (for God)

Whether we realize it or not, we are all hungry for God. The problem is that most of us don’t know how to satisfy that need. We tend to spend our lives searching for something to satiate our inner hunger.

One way of satisfying our need for God is by studying the Bible. It has been referred to as “meat in due season.” However, surprisingly few people actually feast on this banquet of God.

In Yellowstone National Park you will see this sign: "Do Not Feed the Bears." Most tourists probably assume it's there to protect humans, thinking, "If you're close enough to feed a bear you could be in a position of real danger." Not true! The sign is posted to protect the bears.

Each fall, when the feeding tourists have long since departed, the park service must carry off the remains of dead bears who became so dependent on tourists that they were no longer able to gather food for themselves.

We can become like the Yellowstone bears if we depend on others to spiritually feed us. Each day we must take the initiative to gather spiritual nutrients for ourselves from God and his Word.

Yellowstone bears who become dependent on tourists have either forgotten or never actually learned how to find their own food. If you find yourself with little to no knowledge of how to feed yourself, let me offer a simple method for devotional Bible study. This simple procedure can be a starting place for eventually developing more advanced methods of study.

An easy place to start is with one of the Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are primarily collections of stories and teachings from the life of Christ. Choose one story from your favorite Gospel as the place to study.

First, pray that the Holy Spirit will guide your study and then read the story through a couple of times, once out loud if possible. As you read, jot down words, phrases or ideas that stand out to you as significant, or write down questions the story brings up. If time permits, look up the words you wrote down with a bible dictionary, or even a good English dictionary. You may consult a commentary if you have one and if you have the time.

Next ask: What did this story meant to the people who were there? What was it like to be a character in that story? What understandings might they have taken away from the story?

Then ask: What lessons can I take from the story?

Finally ask: What does God want me to do today in response to this passage or story? Jot down your observations and conclusions.

You may want to choose a particular word, phrase, or entire verse that meant something to you and memorize it. Then repeat it often throughout your day.

This simple method will help provide spiritual nourishment for you each day. You will no longer be a dependent, starving Yellowstone bear, but instead will be a bear who, guided by the Holy Spirit, knows how to forage for the nourishment you need to sustain your spiritual life.

With Love,
Mike

FASTING

As we’ve been learning, God wants to use the “spiritual disciplines”—practices employed by followers of God throughout the centuries in order to grow closer to God—to unumb us to Him. These disciplines include Scripture, prayer, community, and many others. 

God particularly uses the practice of fasting to sensitize us to His presence, and help us realize our dependence on Him. 

“Bread”

“But he answered, ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4 ESV)

Besides the necessary nutrition we need for each day, I think each of us has some kind of “bread” in our lives. In the language of Brene Brown, we all have things and practices that help us “take the edge off” of the difficult emotions caused by the daily challenges of life. From dessert, to exercise or sports, to coffee, tea, and sugar, these and many more items help us get through the day (I left off the plethora of addictions that are ravaging this generation; I’ll leave that for another day). Notice, much of what we use to help us through are not inherently wrong things—in fact some are beneficial to us. However, the reality is that, if you’re anything like me, you often use these things to mask what’s really going on behind the surface of your personality. 

Fasting as Revelator

Fasting—the intentional, temporal removal of one or more things that we typically rely on for subsistence—is a revelator. It reveals the true condition of our emotional, physical, and mental states. It brings uncomfortable emotions to the surface, challenges our mental states, uncovers how tired our bodies really are without those four cups of coffee. Fasting puts our true selves on display—the parts of us we don’t want anyone to see. 

Why put ourselves through this? Why does Jesus model this practice for us? Why have followers of Jesus practiced this throughout the centuries?

Need

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3 ESV)

In his famous words from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), Jesus is essentially saying this: “You’re blessed when you realize you need God.”

This is one of the primary things that fasting does for us: Fasting puts us in a state of blessedness. For those of us living in the West, where even the poor among us are in a significantly better condition than many of those in other parts of the world, we especially need this kind of blessing. In our supplemented lives, it’s so easy to forget that we have needs that no one can meet but God alone. Not more money, not more status, not more of anything . . . only God. 

My experience with fasting is usually the following: I spend the first part of my fast complaining to God. I am mad. I feel challenged, because I’m not getting what I want (Do I sound like a pre-teen? . . . absolutely). However, by the end of the day, I find that the things I thought I needed don’t seem to be as important as I thought they were. I feel grounded, with more clarity about who God is and who I am. When I return to the rhythms of life, I’m a little different than I was. I’m more thankful for the little things, and I typically find it easier to communicate with God. 

This is not my experience every time . . . a lot of the times I don’t feel different than when I started. But I’m learning to see those dull moments more like a regular aspect of practicing a new skill—it doesn’t always seem like you’re growing, but over time you find that you’ve improved (if you play an instrument, you know what I mean). 

What fasting is not . . . 

At this point, you’re probably seeing that I’m about to challenge us to take on the practice of fasting . . . you’re right. But before I do, I want to clarify a couple of things:

Fasting is not a means to earn God’s love. 

We are saved by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8). Our salvation is not earned through even the most “holy” of efforts. God would not love you any more than he does right now if you fasted three times a week, or did any other action for that matter. 

Fasting is not only for priests, pastors, etc. Fasting is for every believer. God wants to have a closer relationship with each one of us, and fasting is one of the tools he uses. Clergy have no special standing before God. 

Fasting is not about flexing spiritual muscles so others can be impressed. Jesus explicitly taught against this (see Matthew 6:16-18). 

Fasting is not about being sad all day to show God you’re sorry. Again, you cannot earn forgiveness. God gives it to you freely when you believe in Him and ask Him to forgive you. 

Fasting is a practice that sensitizes us to God’s presence, and helps us realize our dependence on Him. 

HOW?

Particularly if you’ve never tried this before, DO NOT GO BIG. The goal is not to try really hard for one day. Our goal is to incorporate this life-giving habit into our way of life. So . . .

Start small. Habits take a while to form. Here are some ideas: 

• For a specific time period, refrain from something that usually gives you comfort, security, or distraction. (food, social media, a hobby)

  • Food fast (check with your doctor if you have any medical conditions)

    • Fast for a 16 hour period (after you do this a few times, you can increase to 24 hours)

    • Drink plenty of water 

  • Social media 

    • Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok . . . stay off for a day. After you did this a few times, increase to two or three days. 

  • Other 

What to do with your time during a day of fasting . . . 

• Intentional time of prayer 

• Intentional time studying or reflecting on the Scriptures.

• Go about your normal day, and every time you feel the pang of hunger (or the need to look at social media etc.), pray in your heart. 

I’m curious to know what your experience is. If you have any thoughts or questions, email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com.

Love y’all,

-Ian

SCRIPTURE

“Right at the heart of this alienation lies the absence of Jesus the teacher from our lives. Strangely, we seem prepared to learn how to live from almost anyone but him. We are ready to believe that the ‘latest studies’ have more to teach us about love and sex . . . We lose any sense of the difference between information and wisdom and act accordingly . . .

     Where we spontaneously look for ‘information’ on how to live shows how we truly feel and who we really have confidence in. And nothing more forcibly demonstrates the extent to which we automatically assume the irrelevance of Jesus as teacher for our ‘real’ lives.” - Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy

Most of us don’t look to Jesus to inform our real lives. 

Maybe we let him influence our theological, church-going, belief lives. Maybe. 

But our everyday lives? Not so much. 

With little to no exaggeration I say this: We have a spiritual crisis in our country. 68% of the people in our nation claim to be “Christians.”* However, does this seem to be the case when we look at our society? Hatred from both sides of aisle, divorce rates and domestic abuse worse than ever, and a failure to offer hope and proper intervention to younger generations who are being wrecked by depression, anxiety, and suicide. Does it seem like we have 225 million “little-christs” (as C.S. Lewis would say), living their lives informed by Jesus, bringing love, justice, and peace to the people in their spheres of influence?** Again, not so much. 

There’s clearly a disconnect between what most of us say we believe and what we actually are allowing to inform our lives. As Willard points out, we “seem prepared to learn how to live from almost anyone but [Jesus].” Whether it’s the propaganda machines we call the “news,” social media influencers, Oprah, or pseudo-scientific articles, Jesus is not exactly the top informant of our practical decisions. And that’s why so many of us are stuck. 

We’re often caught in the tension of divided lives and personas—Jesus as Lord of our lives on Sabbath, but not really on Monday. We wonder why our characters aren’t developing, or why we don’t experience the peace and joy that is so often promised in Scripture. It boils down to this: For many of us, Scripture is not informing our real, everyday lives. Instead, we’re making choices based on popular sources that are letting us down time and time again. 

Why? 

At first, I read Scripture because it was a requirement. I was homeschooled for several years, and part of my daily tasks was reading the Bible—it was just something my brother and I did. Maybe this is the case for you. Scripture reading is just something to check off of a list. 

    For some of us, maybe we’ve been taught to see Scripture as a rigid manual—something that has very burdensome requirements for living.*** And what do we do with most manuals? Well if you’re anything like me, you don’t read them. They’re too long, and too boring, and they might contain something I’d rather not know. 

    Particularly if you’ve grown up in particular sections of the Adventist tradition, maybe you’ve learned to see Scripture as a future predictor—a futuristic book that has the answers for exactly how the world is going to end. 

    Are any of these ways of approaching Scripture inherently wrong? Not exactly. But are they all that Scripture is supposed to be in our lives? 

Purpose

One of Scriptures biggest purposes is to inform our real, everyday lives. Jesus does not just want to be our Saviour that forgives us of our sins, He wants to be the Teacher (Rabbi) that informs us how to live.**** Scripture is how God teaches us to live each day. He’s not in the business of telling you each specific decision to make—like whether to eat PB&J or cereal in the morning (or help you choose between kale or spinach, for you salad-lovers). But Jesus does want to teach each of us to grow up in our faith journeys by allowing him to develop our characters in line with His Word. 

So who are you going to let form your life? If we want to move beyond nominal Christianity, if we truly want to be Jesus’ apprentices, we must let Him teach us how to live. 

How? 

“Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.”  

-Deuteronomy 6:6-9 MSG

Here in Deuteronomy, God tells us how we can let Him inform our everyday lives: practice and repetition. In the morning, at lunch, in the evening; alone, with our families with our friends, we read and think about what He says about life. If this sounds daunting, join the club! But, in relationship with Him, we can start small and let Him make this our reality little by little. 

The average person spends about two hours on social media per day.***** Try reinvesting some of that time, or other media time into one, or some of these Scripture practices. 

Start the day with Scripture

-A great way to do this is to reflect on a Psalm, or read a devotional on the Bible app. 

-Bible app: https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app/

Listen to The Bible Project podcast or YouTube videos

-This is a great way to learn how to read the Bible in a more effective and enriching way. 

-Link: https://bibleproject.com/

Join a Bible study (or start one)

-If you’re interested in Bible studies, email hello@canyoncreekproject.com

Listen to a sermon on the way to work

-Some of my favorite speakers right now: John Mark Comer, Kevin Wells, Erwin McManus

Talk to a friend about Scripture once a week

-Grab some lunch and talk about a Scripture verse, and how it affects your lives.

If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com.

On the journey, 

-Ian 

References

*https://www.barna.com/research/changing-state-of-the-church/

**https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/3-ways-that-the-u-s-population-will-change-over-the-next-decade#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20population%20today%2C%20at,just%20under%201.4%20billion%2C%20respectively.

***Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy 

****John Mark Comer - Practicing the Way of Jesus https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/practicing-the-way-of-jesus-audio/id374440024?i=1000384958561

*****https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2019/01/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic.html

WHAT YOU LOVE

Before taking a closer look into what the spiritual disciplines look like practically, it’s important to understand the “why” behind them. Today we’ll see: 

• We are what we love–and we often love the wrong things. 

• We learn to love God through practice. 

You are what you love. 

In a lecture I heard recently, James KA Smith argues that humans, rather than being primarily rational creatures, are really the sum of their loves and passions*. In other words, Smith makes the point that humans, though possessing a strong intellect, are not primarily driven by this intellect in their decision making processes. Rather, they almost always act in accordance with what they long for or desire—what they love. 

A simple though revealing example of this is exercise. In my undergraduate years of college, I knew exercise was important. I had heard information, gotten fitness instruction, and had even experienced the benefits of exercise. In fact, I could give a room of kids a lecture about why it was important to exercise. Yet, I hardly exercised myself, usually employing the excuse that I was too tired or busy. Though I knew exercise was important, my passion was set on accomplishing the most I could in a day, and I consistently acted in line with that passion.**

Smith goes on to explain that what we love is shaped by our habits–what we regularly do, often without thinking. That which we regularly do is what we will eventually come to love—to have our hearts set on. This ranges from simple things like our morning cup of coffee or a weekly football watching ritual, to destructive addictions which become an integral part of daily routines.

In my journey with exercise, this came about when I made over packing my schedule a habit. I regularly put so many things in my day that it became a way of life. In fact, it felt wrong if I wasn’t doing something “productive.” As a result, things that didn’t fall in line with this ideal of productivity were neglected, things like regular exercise.  

Maybe hearing this makes you hesitate—it certainly makes me think. What do the things I love and desire say about me? What about you? What if we really understood that it is these loves, these passions, that are really driving our decisions? Are we loving the right things? Remember Dallas Willard’s quote from last week: 

“For it is not, truly, a matter of anything we do or don’t do. It is a matter of how we cannot but think and act, given the context of our mental and spiritual formation.”

We are what we love. We can cognitively try to change a pattern in our lives (aka “Think positive,” “Name it, claim it”), but it will be incredibly hard to sustain it for any amount of time because, according to Smith, we are driven not by our minds but by our hearts. There is good news though, as Smith goes on to explain—we can change what we love. We change by introducing new habits, which forms new loves, and eventually leads to a transformation of our lives. 

By the way, Smith’s ideas make perfect sense if you take what Scripture says about God and humanity seriously. The Bible teaches that we are created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:26), and that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). In other words, we are not created in the image of the god of the Greek philosophers, who is solely rational, cold, and intellectual; rather we are molded after a Being who is love in His very essence! To me this implies that we as humans, in a very fundamental way, are designed to be driven by what we love, not just what we think. 

Command

No one understood how humans really make decisions and shape their lives more than Jesus, and I think we see this in what is commonly known as the Great Commandment: 

29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29–31 ESV

In these well known words, I hear Jesus saying this: “Let me make it simple for you. What God really cares about is that you love Him with everything you have, and that you love other people as you love yourself.” He tells us this because he knows what we often fail to see—we are what we love. We can know a lot about God and that can really help—but even the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who had more Scripture memorized that any one of us, failed to allow Jesus to transform their lives. Jesus knows that, while knowledge is important, our lives are not going to change until we learn to love God, ourselves, and others. 

You and I don’t need to be confused about what’s important in life, or how to live our lives. Jesus summarized what’s important to God—love Him and others. He doesn’t say anything about what university you should attend, when you should get married, or about many other things. Why? Because when your love is in the right place—namely in God, yourself, and others—you will more and more make healthy and life-giving choices. 

Jesus is inviting us to re-prioritize our lives around loving God, self, and other people. He wants to reorient our loves, and in this way, reorient our lives.

HOW?

As we saw today, our habits form our loves (desires). This week, begin forming one of the following habits–not for the purpose of earning something from God, but in order to allow Him to bring about real change in your life.

• When you wake up in the morning, before you start doing things on your phone, spend 10 minutes reflecting on a Psalm. As you read, ask God: “What are you saying to me? How does it connect with my life? What are you inviting me into?” Writing your reflections helps. 

• Before starting your day, take five minutes and tell God what you’re thankful for. Take another five minutes and ask him for what you need for the day. 

Modify as is helpful for your spiritual life. Becoming a spiritual spartan in a week is not the goal. The goal is to develop new habits, however small, that will begin to change your desires and eventually lead to you gradually and organically become more like Jesus. 

I’d love to know how it goes! Email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com

On the journey,

-Ian

References

*James KA Smith, Culture as Liturgy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdVkXk3NADE

**I was aided by John Mark Comer’s 2017 talk at Rebuilders Conference: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rebuilders/id1462274371?i=1000437047922

PATTERNS

Last week we talked about surrender. But once we take this step, what’s next?

PATTERNS

“For it is not, truly, a matter of anything we do or don’t do. It is a matter of how we cannot but think and act, given the context of our mental and spiritual formation.” - Dallas Willard

What I understand Willard saying here is that our actions are the natural result of the current state of our spiritual formation. In other words, each of us almost automatically make choices that are in line with our patterns of life, or daily habits. Willard goes on to mention the management adage, “Your system is perfectly designed to yield the result you are getting.” Put another way, your life choices, even on a day to day basis, are an accurate picture of the state of your heart. 

• What do you spend the majority of your free time doing? 

• How do you treat others? Yourself? 

• What do you enjoy, and what is difficult for you?

Are the answers to these questions in line with the way of Jesus, or a different pattern of life? 

If you’re like me, you probably are not feeling the best about the answers to the questions above. Look, we’re in this together. The spiritual life is often quite hard, even for the most committed among us. Many of us try to be intentional, but give it a couple weeks, and we’re burnt out.

Spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, meditating on Scripture, community, etc., can seem so daunting—partly because, at first, they don’t feel good. They feel intrusive, unnatural. 

Think about it. Each of us have a story about who God is, who we are, and our purpose in life. Whether given to us by society or religion (or a strange combination of both), this story is relatively safe and stable—whether or not it’s accurate or helpful. Then Jesus comes in and challenges us to question our stories, in other words, to read the Scriptures for ourselves every day and let them inform our lives. This can be frustrating, not to mention disruptive to us, as it forces us to reconsider our realities. 

Or what about the common American conception that we are what we earn, and that at the end of the day no one has our back. Many of us live in this story, so we work and work and work without stopping, afraid that if we don’t we won’t have our needs and wants provided for. Then God comes along and invites us to take a day off every week and enjoy time with Him (Sabbath). An entire day of potential productivity?! Yes. In the context of our culture, this makes no sense, yet it’s exactly what we’re told to do by God Himself. 

These are just two of many examples, but to summarize, the spiritual disciplines can seem unnatural and imposing. They trespass on our conceptions, our patterns, our understandings. They’re disruptive to our way of life, and I think that’s exactly why it’s so hard for many of us to practice them—to take God’s advice on practical living. 

FORM

 2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2 

For those of us who have given our lives to Jesus (surrender, as we talked about last week), the spiritual disciplines are how God teaches us a new pattern of life—renewal of the mind. Because of the way our culture, families, and even sometimes churches have formed us to think and act, most of us have become numb to God. The spiritual disciplines are how God teaches us to even be aware of him. They are the methods that God uses to detox us, and invite us into real life—“eternal quality of life,” as Willard puts it. 

Over the next few weeks we’re going to be diving deeper into what the spiritual disciplines look like practically, but today I just want to give you an overview of what Jesus is inviting us into.

Through training, Jesus is inviting us into new stories. 

In place of the stories told to us by society, Jesus is challenging us to inform our lives through studying and meditating on His word. He wants us to let him teach us what life really should be like, rather than just embracing what we’ve learned through media, and overall culture. 

To replace our mindsets of scarcity and hustle, Jesus is inviting us into the rest of Sabbath—a once a week holiday we share with God and those we love. 

In place of being self-reliant—thinking that we provide for ourselves and are in charge—Jesus invites us into learning dependence on Him through fasting. 

SUMMARY

 2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

Issue: We can make a decision for Jesus (surrender), but that doesn’t automatically change the patterns of this world we have adopted in our lives.

Solution: Spiritual disciplines are God’s tool of rescuing and reforming us. 

HOW

We’re about to take a journey together into these practices, but before we do, take inventory of where you’re at:

• What do you spend the majority of your free time doing? 

• How do you treat others? Yourself? 

• What do you enjoy, and what is difficult for you?

Whether you like your honest answers to these questions or not, remember, this is a process—for all of us. No one is exempt—we’ve all been formed in ways that are not life-giving, and are in fact opposed to Jesus’ way of life. But take heart. The truth is, even the fact that you’re reading this is evidence of the work of God in your life. The presence of a struggle is a sign that the Holy Spirit is in the process of teaching you a new way to be human. 

Thanks for reading, and if you have any questions, reach out! (ianreyes567@gmail.com)
-Ian

STRUGGLE (of surrender)

Jesus is a lot more honest than I’d like him to be. Just when I start to think that he’s some kind of zen yoga instructor, or maybe an empathetic therapist, or maybe even a kind-mannered priest in a black gown, he surprises me (if I take the time to read his teachings of course). 

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Mark 8:34-35 ESV

The Crowd

Many people were around Jesus, not everyone followed. It makes sense really.

Jesus is cool to be around. If you’re new to him, you’ll find out soon enough. You get such a beautiful taste of his personality in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (the Gospels). You see a riveting man, full of joy, life, zest, and most of all, love. Some people love him, some hate him, but most people at least want to be around him (to get a great visual picture of this, check out the show: The Chosen). As attractive as he is though, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of the crowds who heard his invitation to follow.

He spoke to merchants, religious leaders, laborers, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters. He asked them to leave everything they knew—their plans for their lives, their cultural norms—and just follow him around . . . every day. This was not an invitation to some mystical ascension or abstract belief . . . he was asking them to be homeless . . . with him. “Uhh, no,” you might be thinking. Yea, so did many of them, so they just stayed around in the crowd, a safe distance away. Close enough to benefit from him, but not close enough to know him. 

If this isn’t enough, in verse 35 the phrase “loses his life,” can be translated “to have one’s life destroyed.” In other words, “. . . whoever [has ‘one’s life destroyed] for my sake . . .” 

Jesus is telling them to really consider what they’re getting into. He tells us the same today. 

His call is inconvenient and requires an immediate shift in lifestyle—everyday, ordinary life. He did not just intend to be the main figure of a religious system that punches tickets to heaven. He intends to be Lord (Master, Director, Teacher) of each of our lives, to teach us a new way to live in the here and now. He asks us to leave everything we know—our plans for life, our cultural norms, our concept of success—and come be his students. 

The lesson of the crowd is this: Just because we hear the words of Jesus, even on a very consistent basis, does not make us one of his followers. 

Friends, here is the bottom line: Hearing the words of Jesus will not do much for you if he is not the teacher (or informer) of your real, everyday life. 

Surrender 

For those of us who want to accept his invitation (“If anyone would come after me”) we are faced with the first task, one which is known to many as surrender.

In his letter to churches in Rome in the first century, Paul, author of the majority of the New Testament, gives us some more information about what Jesus’ invitation means for our lives. 

1Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 

2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . .”

-Romans 12:1-2 NASB

Therefore

Therefore, or in light of what, Paul? What is the context for Paul’s exhortation to present our bodies to God, in other words, “lose our lives” to reference the words of Jesus we discussed earlier? 

Well, we’re dropping into the twelfth chapter of Paul’s letter. He’s said a lot up to this point, things like:

• Romans chapter 5

  • We are “Justified by faith” (v1)

  • “we have peace with God” (v1)

  • V8 “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us”

• Romans chapter 6

  • V14 “we are not under law but under grace” 

  • V23 the “free gift of God is eternal life”

Put another way, Paul is saying, “If you’ve believed in Jesus, you’re at peace with God.” DON’T MISS THIS (please). Our aim for surrender is not to earn our way to God’s favor. Salvation, peace with God, is given to us the moment we believe in Jesus. The true “why” for surrendering to God is to know God—to know him closely, to experience the fullness of the life he offers in the here and now. “Therefore . . .” Everything that we’re talking about has to be in light of the fact of what God has already done: made us right with Himself through the sacrifice of Jesus his Son. 

“. . . by the mercies of God. . .”

• We can surrender to God only “by [means of] the mercies of God. . .” In other words, the invitation to follow Jesus by giving up our lives is itself a gift. It’s an invitation out of life choices that will only leave us unsatisfied, into a life better than we could have ever hoped for. 

• Having this opportunity is only enabled by the compassions of God

“present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Giving yourself up—letting Jesus have a hold of your everyday life—is the most genuine worship you can give to God. Choosing to sacrifice every area of your real, everyday life, subjecting it to the teachings of Jesus in the Scriptures rather than the feelings of the moment or the teachings of culture, pleases God more than we can know. We essentially say to God, “Teach me how to live my life. I don’t know what I’m doing. I give up the current way that I’m living my life.”

Overall, what we see in Romans 12:1 is that surrender (sacrifice) is an act of worship, in response to God’s actions, and it’s the precursor to genuine transformation (which we’ll talk about more next week.)

To those of you who are willing to accept Jesus’ invitation, you have a personal promise from Him. 

• “You will find life. You will find what you’re looking for. You will discover real life.” 

• “35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Mark 8:34-35 ESV

HOW

It’s your turn to reflect . . . 

• What is God saying to you through His word?

• How does this intersect with your life?

• What is he inviting you into? (What action step is he calling you to take?)

If you’re not sure where to start, or you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com. 

This is a journey, and you’re not alone, 

-Ian

TEACHINGS: WORRY

“Where we spontaneously look for ‘information’ on how to live shows how we truly feel and who we really have confidence in. And nothing more forcibly demonstrates the extent to which we automatically assume the irrelevance of Jesus as teacher for our ‘real’ lives.” - Dallas Willard

Who informs how you live?

Theologian Dallas Willard argues that we have misinterpreted Jesus as only having something to say about forgiveness of sins or as a commentator on broad ethical standards, and have mostly ignored his role as the teacher for our everyday lives. For the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at some of Jesus’ practical teachings on life, and exploring what they mean to us today. 

Intersection

We are living in the toxic intersection of two cultural phenomena: A hyper-individualistic culture, a fear-driven society. To say that America is individualistic is not a surprise to anyone who has lived in the United States more than ten minutes. From an early age we are taught that independence from others is the ultimate virtue, and that dependence is a sign of weakness (Whether or not this value lends itself to human flourishing is not the point here). Our culture is also saturated with fear. Creating fear is a main objective for many influencers in business, politics, and religion alike. Fear is what helps companies sell products, politicians win elections, and churches gain membership. Fear of not fitting in, fear of what will happen if (Trump, Biden) wins the election, fear of going to hell—it pervades our televisions, social media’s, our conversations with one another. 

These two phenomena combine to tell us a story: “The world is a dangerous place, and you are all alone to navigate it.” 

Add to this an anxiety-reeking pandemic and an economic crisis and you have the perfect recipe for crippling stress and worry. Are you experiencing some of this? 

A Conversation

Imagine for a second that you’re sitting at a table. Maybe it’s your kitchen table, or a table at your favorite restaurant or coffee shop. Take a deep breath. Become aware of the emotions that you’re experiencing right now. Worry? Anxiety? Maybe some confusion? Now imagine that Jesus has just walked into the room. He’s got a smile on his face and he starts walking towards you and sits down. You begin telling him what’s going on in your life, and you tell him the whole story. He listens intently to you, not interrupting you. He seems genuinely interested. You finish sharing what’s on your heart, and the two of you spend a few moments in silence. He has a thoughtful look in his eyes and he’s really considering what you’ve said—you can tell that he knows what you’re going through. He then looks you in the eye, and begins to say:

“My advice would be not to worry about what is going to happen to you: about what you will have to eat or drink, or about what clothes you will wear. Your life doesn’t consist of eating, and there is much more to your body than clothing. Take a lesson from the birds of heaven. They don’t sow or reap or hoard away in granaries, and your Father—the One in the heavens around you—sees to it that they have food. Aren’t you more important than birds?” (Matt. 6 excerpt, translated by Dallas Willard)

In these words, I sense Jesus tenderly inviting each one of us, his worrying ones, to remember who we are. God takes care of and provides for creatures that we consider to be of little value or significance. We are God’s children, that is our first and foremost identity. How much more will God take care of his kids?

“Sin is inevitable. All will be well, all will be well.” - Julian of Norwich

Yes, we’re going to go through a lot in this world. You are no stranger to this. But here in Matthew 6, Jesus is reminding us to remember that, at the end of the day, our Father is going to take care of us and our needs. 

Jesus the Teacher is inviting us to let go of our worries and to trust the character of our Father. 

HOW 

Overcoming worry is a discipline—a daily one. Let’s practice:

Write down a list of what you need to do today. Then write down a list of what you’re worried about regarding the future. 

• Start the day by praying about what you have to do today. Ask for God’s help in those things.

• Entrust your worries about the future to God. Express your trust to Him, even if you don’t feel it yet. 

• Be aware of your thoughts throughout the day. If you find yourself worrying about the future, redirect your thoughts to what you have to do today.

This is not easy, and we’re not going to get it all right on the first try. But together, let’s take Jesus’ advice for living . . . he knows what he’s talking about.

-Ian

If you’re not sure where to start, or you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com. 

TRUST + BRUTAL FACTS

Have you noticed things aren’t going well? 

Our country? Super divided, dealing with a pandemic. Families? Many parents have lost their jobs and several kids are growing up in a fear-saturated culture. Your personal life? Well, if it’s anything like mine, you might be finding that the stress reveals a lot of things in your character that you really wish weren’t there. And if we’re tempted to forget our situations, the 24 hour news cycle (or social media) is always happy to remind us . . . and stress us out even more without giving us any real solutions other than blame—but I digress.

What do we do? 

If you’re a follower of Jesus, maybe something you’re tempted towards is a good helping of Christian denial. You know, repeating cliches like, “Everything’s ok because God’s in control,” or “This too shall pass.” I’m not saying there’s not any truth in this, but to the average person I think this sounds a lot more like wishful thinking than reality (to put it politely). And I think that even when these things come out of our mouths, there’s a part of us that really doesn’t believe it anyway. 

So for this week’s reflection, we’re going to (try) to avoid the cliches, and allow God, through the ancient King David, to teach us what to do in times like these.

Brutal Facts

Psalm 13 ESV

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I take counsel in my soul

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

In the first two verses, David confronts what author Jim Collins calls the “brutal facts” about his situation, and how he’s feeling. He admits, “I’m alone, I’m depressed, and I’m defeated by my enemy. To make matters worse, You Lord have forgotten me and hidden your face from me.” Have you been there? 

David does not turn to cliches to give him comfort, nor does he choose to numb the pain by not talking about his situation at all (for more on this read HOW pt. 3 at https://www.canyoncreekproject.com/praxis). Rather, he decides to reckon with his situation. 

What are the brutal facts about what you’re facing right now? 

Need

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,

4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”

lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

David doesn’t only confront the reality of his situation, he brings it before God in prayer. He asks God for help. He’s desperate for God and he admits his need. 

How long does it take us to finally take our struggles, our pain before God? Not just shout up some quick “hail mary,” half-hoping prayers in the morning or the evening, but to get to the point that we realize that if God doesn’t help us, we’re done for. In my life, I find that it’s usually only after I’ve tried everything else, or tried to convince myself that the issue is not that big of a deal (our old friend, denial), or have really hit bottom emotionally that I finally seek God with all my heart. What about you? 

Trust

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Then, suddenly, something unexpected happens Psalm 13. Nothing indicates that his situation has improved, yet all of a sudden we see a shift in David’s spirit. Despite the fact that his circumstances haven’t changed, being in the presence of God has reminded him of something important: God’s character (who God is as a Person). God loves him, God is for him, God will save him—David knows this, and chooses to trust this, even though he can’t see it yet. In fact, a few verses after David sounds like he’s lamenting on his deathbed, he says he’s going to sing! Why? Because God “has dealt bountifully with him.” What?! 

You see, this wouldn’t make any sense to me . . . unless I had experienced it. Maybe you have too. There’s something about God’s person and his presence. Whenever I intentionally choose to be with him, I never leave the same. Sure, it takes some practice and some consistency, and I certainly have my share of “prayer naps,” but as theologian Dallas Willard puts it, “Undoubtedly [God] is the most joyous being in the universe”—and when I spend time with this beautiful Person, I can’t help but remember that life is worth living; that in spite of everything portrayed in media, my life matters, there’s still good in this world, and I can live with hope even through the most trying of seasons. 

If you are feeling defeated, if you’re wondering where God is, the solution is not to quote a few Bible verses to make you feel better. The solution is not to listen to twenty sermons, or keep repeating Christian cliches over and over. You must enter the presence of God. 

“Must” is the wrong word though. The “most joyous being in the universe” has sent you an invitation. The letter (or text) reads something like, “I know you feel alone right now, I know you’re scared. But your enemy will not prevail over you. Trust in my steadfast love, rejoice in my salvation—even if you don’t feel it yet. Will you let me journey with you?”

HOW?

Let’s try praying like David this week . . . 

• Ask for God to meet you where you are. Ask Him to fill you with his Spirit. 

• Confront the brutal facts 

  • Tell God what’s really going on (express your frustration, struggle, anything)

• Ask for help

  • What do you need? What are you asking him to do for you?

• Remember his character

  • Take a second and remember what God has done for you in the past. Take some time to think of how much he loves you. Choose to trust his love.

  • What is something about God that you admire? Praise him for it, even if you’re still struggling.

-Ian

If you’re not sure where to start, or you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

THE MIDDLE

Psalm 6: 2-3, 7 NLT

v2 Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.

    Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

v3 I am sick at heart.

    How long, O Lord, until you restore me?

v7 My vision is blurred by grief;

    my eyes are worn out because of all my enemies.

It doesn’t take many years on this planet to realize that life can be confusing. Questions fill our minds, tripping us up like logs would travellers walking through a misty swamp. “Where am I heading in life?” “Where is God?” “Why does this hurt so bad?” “Why did He allow this to happen to me?” Maybe well-intentioned friends come to us with some grocery store birthday card cliches . . . “Everything happens for a reason.” “God will work it out for good.” “The best is yet to come.” “God has good plans for you.” . . . all good, often true things—but not entirely helpful. 

In her book, Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood puts much of our confusion into words . . .

“When you are in the middle of a story it isn’t a story at all, but only a confusion; a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and splintered wood; like a house in a whirlwind, or else a boat crushed by the icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard powerless to stop it. It’s only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all. When you are telling, to yourself or to someone else.”

I think many of us are finding ourselves in the middle of some perplexing, and challenging stories. All of us are in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and its ramifications on our health, families, and livelihoods. Some of us are in the middle of family issues; others of us are in the middle of trying to find a job. Students are in the middle of online and in-person, knowing that school can be cancelled at any moment. We’re in the middle.

What do we do in these places that don’t seem to make any sense, or that definitely don’t offer any certainty? What do we do when we feel like, “. . . a boat crushed by the icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard powerless to stop it . . .”? 

In Psalm 6, David gives us an example:

2 Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak.

    Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

3 I am sick at heart.

    How long, O Lord, until you restore me?

First, David is honest with God, telling Him what’s really going on. Informed by our cultural “do-it-yourself” mindset, many of us feel that we can or should be self-sufficient. We should be able to handle anything that comes at us, and there’s something wrong with us if we can’t. Yet in this Psalm, David openly admits his situation to God, and he clearly says, “Lord, I need you.” David lifts up his complaint to God, wondering why He seems to be taking so long. 

4 Return, O Lord, and rescue me.

    Save me because of your unfailing love. 

Second, David asks for help. Appealing to God’s character of love, he makes his request clear. He asks the Lord to rescue him, to save him. What do you need rescuing from today? What do you need God to save you from today?

8 Go away, all you who do evil,

    for the Lord has heard my weeping.

9 The Lord has heard my plea;

    the Lord will answer my prayer.

Third, David trusts that God has heard him and will answer him. Despite the fact that his circumstances have not yet shifted, David chooses to believe that the Lord has heard his cry. Do you believe that God hears you, that He sees you? Do you believe that He hears your prayers, even in the most difficult of times? Not only does David trust that God has heard him, he trusts that God will answer him. 

David’s example reminds us that we each have a choice; to allow circumstances to dictate our outlook on life, emotional states, and hope for the future, or to trust that God sees us, hears us, and will answer us in his timing. 

Friends, we’re in the middle, and it seems like it’s going to be that way for a while. We can’t wish this story away, or fast forward it to the end—we are at sea and there’s no sign of land anywhere. Yet it is precisely in this place, in the middle, where God is meeting us right now, reminding us that we are not alone, that His rescue is on the way, and here even now. 

What will you do in the middle?

HOW?

This week, give David’s process of prayer in Psalm 6 a try:

1. Be honest with God. Tell him about what’s going on, about your need for him. Don’t leave out the details and the messy parts—he can handle it. 

2. Ask God for help. Ask him for what you need, for deliverance, for strength. He’s your loving Father; remember that he listens intently to you.

3. Even if you don’t feel it, or none of your circumstances have changed yet, take a step of faith and express your confidence in who God is. Thank him for his promises, and praise him for his character of love. If you can’t think of anything to say, pray David’s prayer in Psalm 6. 

Helpful tips

• Set a timer on your phone, put it on “Do not disturb,” and place it in a place that’s out of your sight. Remember, even five concentrated minutes is often more valuable than a half hour of distracted prayer. 

• Sit in silence for a few minutes before you start to talk to God. Ask him for his Holy Spirit, and be aware of his presence in the room with you. 

• Share your experience with a trusted friend.

On the journey,

-Ian

If you’re not sure where to start, or you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

HOUSES

This week, we’ll be looking at another obstacle that gets in the way of experiencing the “eternal kind of life” Jesus is inviting us into—responsibility.

“It’s all up to God.” 

In some senses this statement is true. There are certainly things that are all up to God. While it is true that humans have the choice whether or not to believe in Jesus, Scripture teaches us that the only One who makes it possible for us to be saved is God (Eph. 2:8). Salvation starts and ends with God—our only role as people is to say yes or no to the gift. “It’s up to me,” is not a valid statement when it comes to salvation according to Scripture. This concept that we are only made right with God through faith in Jesus alone is called “justification.” If we confess Jesus as the Lord of our lives, we can trust that our sins are forgiven and that we will have eternal length of life with God. 

However, I think that some of us have applied this same logic to how we think about the way that God shapes us to be more like him—something called “sanctification.” Put another way, I think some of us expect our everyday lives and characters to be transformed from one day to the next; “If I believe in God, shouldn’t He do the rest?” It doesn’t take too much time following Jesus to realize that it often doesn’t happen this way. Life often feels similar, and circumstances may stay the same even after the most dramatic of encounters with God. This can be confusing if not frustrating; “I gave my life to Jesus; shouldn’t he be making a difference in my life?” If we don’t feel we’re growing spiritually, are still struggling with the same issues, or can’t seem to experience God in a meaningful way, it can be easy to begin to blame God, give up completely, or resign ourselves to a half-hearted hope that secretly believes that faith in Jesus doesn’t really affect our everyday life.

Responsibility

Pastor and author Erwin McManus shares that while not everything in our lives may be our fault, it is our responsibility. The circumstances you find yourself in may not have been caused by you, but how you respond to those circumstances is up to you. McManus goes on to say that we have no power to change anything in our lives that we do not take ownership for. In other words, when I blame others for any situation I find myself in (even if it may seem to be legitimate), I give over to them my power to change. I can only hope to change if I take personal responsibility for my life.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matt. 7:24-27 ESV

In this simple parable, Jesus tells each of us that we have a high degree of autonomy in regards to what we build our lives on. He then goes on to tell us the consequences of our potential choices. The person who hears the words of Jesus and does them stands strong through any storm like the house of the wise man in the story. The person who hears the words of Jesus and does not do them is bound to be swept away by the storms of life, as the house of the foolish man in the parable. 

One of the most beautiful, and one of the most stressful things about God is that he respects our free decisions. He will not shape our lives if we don’t let him. God has given each of us the responsibility to build our houses, and choose what we build them on. In other words, God has given us each the task of building our lives and the freedom to choose whether or not we build them on His words. 

Let’s be honest . . . it’s going to be difficult to experience the eternal kind of life that God is inviting us into if we choose to sleep only four hours a night, are so busy that we don’t take time to read the words of Jesus on a daily basis, only pray or think about God during church once a week, or constantly overload each of our free moments with distractions. God gives us the freedom to do each of these things if we choose—we can build our houses wherever we want. If we want to build our “houses” on the teachings of Fox News, CNN, social media, our careers, pop culture, or anything else, we are totally free to. But if we do, we cannot also then expect to experience the eternal kind of life of Jesus—a life characterized by a closeness and intimacy with the Father.  

If we want to experience the eternal kind of life, we must build our lives on the teaching and example of Jesus. With his help, we must let him influence every part of our lives and characters. We don’t do this to earn his love, for he gives it to us freely. We do this simply to accept his invitation into real life, his own life, bursting with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness . . . (See Galatians 5:22). 

You’re building a house—it’s called your life and character. What will you build it on?

How?

Building a house is a process—so is building a life (see last week’s devotional). Take one step towards building your life on Jesus by, asking the Holy Spirit for help, hearing and doing one of his teachings this week. 

• Read Matthew 5. Pick one of Jesus’ teachings on life that especially resonates with you (ex. Not insulting your brother; verse 22). Asking the Holy Spirit to help you, start training this command into your life. 

If you’re not sure where to start, or you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

I love you Canyon Creek Project,

-Ian 

ORDINARY

I tend to live in the future. I’m always imagining what the next moment, month, or even year could be like. It’s easy for me to see potential in people because I don’t see them as fixed entities, but rather as dynamic, full of potential to change. I tend to see moments not as isolated events, but as part of a bigger picture. This is one of my most pronounced strengths.* Yet, this strength also has a downside—I often do not value the present. My default is to see my present, everyday life as mere happenstance—an inconvenience to be endured on the way to the vision that I see in my head. It’s so difficult for me to see meaning in my everyday life because it feels so . . . ordinary compared to the future I have in mind.

In her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown makes the point that what is ordinary has come to be seen as insignificant. This is what our society has conditioned us to think. Living for the weekend, hating Mondays, constantly desiring to go on vacation, anticipating special events—we are told that our ordinary, everyday lives are just something we get through in order to get to the “real” things, the moments that really matter. Yet, in spite of its popularity, this way of thinking is one of the biggest reasons why so many of us struggle to experience the eternal kind of life Jesus freely offers. 

Ordinary

Rather than being meaningless, the ordinary is where God most often meets us. Remember Jesus’ teaching on the vine and the branches?

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 ESV

Branches don’t bear fruit in dramatic, one-time fashion. It takes time--a very ordinary, some would say even boring process. Branches just stay in their vine, and eventually they do what branches do--bear fruit. 

So it is in our journeys with Jesus. Our ordinary, daily lives are the places where God matures and develops his “eternal kind of life” within us. We allow him to do this by, in relationship with him, shaping our lives around the teachings and example of Jesus. If we will simply trust this process, connecting our natural life to the eternal life source of God himself, we will naturally begin to experience transformation. 

Consider this: we worship a God who was willing to be a laborer for several years before he moved into executing his mission through public ministry. Jesus’ everyday life for 30 years would be considered boring, uneventful, and even insignificant by our modern standards. Though we don’t have much historical record of his early life, he likely ran his family’s business, providing for his family as the oldest son. He worked for six days, went to synagogue on Sabbath, spent time with his family, and did it over again. He celebrated holidays, paid taxes, attended weddings—he lived the normal life of a first century Jewish man. Yet, for all of its lack of drama or excitement, his surroundings were no obstacle to him experiencing the “eternal kind of life” or for his formation into who he was going to need to be in order to save the world.** The ordinary was the crucible in which Jesus was formed. Jesus himself was extremely patient with his development process, yet some of us wonder why we haven’t discovered our God-given purpose by 20 years old (me). 

Seeing our everyday lives as meaningless leads to a life of frustration. We will live our lives always looking to the horizon, hoping transformation, or at least better quality of our inner lives will come through a silver bullet—an event, a dramatic moment with God, a miracle. Yet, as shown through the example of Jesus, our everyday life and choices are the key to experiencing the quality of life that Jesus offers each one of us. By staying in Jesus—in relationship with him, shaping our lives around his teachings and commands—we will experience true life over time, just like a branch bears fruit when it remains in its vine.

How?

• Read Matthew 5 this week. What is one of Jesus’ teachings that you can seek to practice in your daily life? Try it out, making sure you ask for his help through the Holy Spirit.

If you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

On the journey with you,

-Ian

*My ideas on this strength comes from, StrengthsFinder 2.0, by Tom Rath

**My ideas on Jesus’ everyday life are based on Dallas Willard’s, The Divine Conspiracy, chapter one

ABIDE

ABIDE 

“4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 ESV

It’s interesting for me to hear people in my life talk about having roommates. The only roommate I’ve had is my little brother and that really doesn’t count, so I’m amused by their stories. While there are certainly exceptions, the majority of how I hear my friends talk about my roommates is pretty neutral. They see them in the morning, go about their own business during the day, and occasionally see them awake in the evening and say goodnight. If they have a better relationship, maybe they even go out to lunch from time to time, especially towards the beginning of the semester. In some ways, I came to see and practice “abiding” in Jesus in this roommate-like manner. 

I figured that to abide meant to just have some kind of morning routine that included a devotional and some prayer. After that, assuming that I had “checked” the abide box, I would go about my day, and then close my day with a prayer. As I reflect, I see that it’s almost like I had this subconscious belief that after our time together in the morning, I would leave my room and live my life, while Jesus would stay in my room. I had come to define abiding as a once a day check in—I had come to see Jesus as my roommate. 

“Meno”

Rather than implying this sporadic encounter idea, the Greek word translated as “abide” (“meno”) is simply defined as, “to remain in the same place over a period of time—‘to remain, to stay.’” In another part of the New Testament, the same root word is used to say that the apostle Paul “stayed” at a certain place for two years (Acts 28:30). In other words, to abide in Jesus is to stay with him over the course of time. This makes perfect sense when we look at the metaphor used by Jesus--He is the vine, we are the branches. We intuitively know that if a branch is disconnected at any point from its source, it will wither. 

To abide is to live in the presence of God, as God’s friend. 

Friends

“15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15 ESV)

Here Jesus calls his disciples “friends,” but it’s important to recall the context. Whenever we think of the word “friend,” we think of someone who we enjoy that we see once, twice, maybe even three times a week if they’re close. We call people who we haven’t seen in months our friends, or in some cases we call people we’ve never even met in person our friends (ie Facebook). I don’t think this is what Jesus had in mind. 

The ones whom Jesus is calling “friends” are people who have journeyed with him. They’ve seen him at his best, they’ve been with him when he’s tired; they’ve walked with him almost everywhere he’s gone nearly every day for three years. They were Jesus’ apprentices, learning how to walk, talk, live like him.* They were not his roommates, they were his companions.

In my best understanding, this is what it means to “stay, reside, abide” with Jesus: Like his original disciples, shaping our everyday lives around his teaching and example, involving him in our everyday life, following him wherever he goes. Like the disciples, we don’t do this in order to earn Jesus’ love—they were chosen and loved as they were. Rather, we seek to become more like Jesus (be his apprentice) because we are simply accepting his invitation into a better kind of life (the “eternal kind of life” in the language of theologian Dallas Willard). To summarize, we allow Jesus to shape our lives around His teachings and example, and like his original friends, we “do life” with Jesus. 

Practicing this a little more every day, we then let the process work, trusting that we will experience growth as naturally as a branch produces fruit when it stays with its vine.

If bearing fruit, or experiencing God’s “eternal kind of life” is so simple, then why do so few of us claim to experience it. What gets in the way? We’ll be tackling this question next week.

How?

One day this week, give this a try:

As opposed to purely studying the Bible, or reading someone else’s reflections about the Bible, try reflectively reading the Bible, seeking to hear what God is speaking to you and your specific life situation. Here’s how:

• Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you and help you understand Scripture.

• Read a short Psalm (ie Psalm 23) or a passage in the book of John (ie John 15:1-15). 

• Ask yourself 3 questions

  • What are You (God) saying to me today?

  • How does this intersect with my life (what does it have to do with my real, everyday life)?

  • What’s the invitation Jesus is making to me here? 

• Write down your responses. Take a few moments throughout the day to think about what you wrote. 

For this perspective on apprenticeship to Jesus, I’m indebted to a 2017 talk by John Mark Comer: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rebuilders/id1462274371?i=1000437047856

HOW - Part 4

We’re a few weeks into this “HOW” series, and I want to refresh together about why we’re even having a conversation around this topic. 

Eternal Life

Heaven, eternal life, the “sweet by and by.” There is a lot of speculation and theorizing about the afterlife. Churches often talk a lot about this topic. Many focus on entry into heaven;  “How can I be saved? How can I know if I’m ready to die?” Other churches focus on our time-proximity to heaven; “When is Jesus coming? What are the exact signs? How do I prepare?” This emphasis on the afterlife makes sense. After all, our realities are often marked by heartbreak, disappointment, fear--we need the hope that there is a better future awaiting us through faith in Jesus. But was granting us a ticket to heaven Jesus’ only purpose for becoming a human? What does He have to do with now, this moment, your life—family, school, work, and everything else you do?

In the language of theologian Dallas Willard, Jesus came not just to bring eternal length of life (what we often think of as heaven), Jesus came to bring us access to the eternal kind of life. In other words, Jesus came to give us access to a quality of life that is not of this world—a life marked by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness . . . (Galatians 5:22-23). Through Him, we can experience a taste of the Kingdom of Heaven in our ordinary, mundane, everyday life. The Kingdom of God is not just a far off, future event--it is a present reality that we can each experience.* With this in mind, let’s look at the words of Jesus in John 14 and 15.

“Erga”

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” - John 14:12 NIV

Here, Jesus is saying that those who follow Him will do the things He did. I’ve always assumed that the “works” of Jesus were His miracles—turning water to wine, healing the sick, raising the dead. That’s what Jesus did, so he must be saying that those who believe in him will also do these things . . . right? At first, this sounds pretty empowering—those who believe in Jesus will be able to do all of these awesome supernatural things?! Yet, it doesn’t take too long to realize that, as a follower of Jesus, every day does not feel supernatural. Most days feel pretty ordinary. And since I wasn’t finding myself really doing the “works” of Jesus, in other words miracles, I figured I wasn’t believing hard enough, or I was missing something. 

However, after a long time of not reading this passage, I did some research into it. The word for “works” in the beginning of the verse is the Greek word ἔργα (“erga”), which is simply defined as, “that which one normally does.” In other words, rather than only referring to miracles or unusual activities, ἔργα seems to have a lot more to do with the everyday, the ordinary. This brought me to a totally different understanding of this verse: “. . . whoever believes in me will do [that which I normally do] . . .” Put another way, the one who believes in Jesus will do that which Jesus normally did. This leads us to ask the question, “What did Jesus normally do?” What was his everyday, ordinary work? 

We get some clues in two primary places—his teaching and his example. In Matt. 5-7, a summary of the teachings of Jesus, we encounter a person that is humble, merciful, peaceful, pure in heart, never lusts, is always truthful, never takes revenge, and loves his enemies without exception . . . and that’s just chapter five. In his example, as shown through the Gospels, we see Jesus regularly engaging in prayer, fasting, loving every person he encounters, bringing healing into people’s lives, and that’s just scratching the surface. In other words, what Jesus normally did was love the Father, and love people . . . always. And he says that those who believe in him will do the same. 

I know I’m not currently living up to His example. What about you? Are we really not believers according to Jesus? 

For those of you reading who are new to faith, maybe this makes sense; If you believe in Jesus, shouldn’t you take on and accept and implement what He says about life? Shouldn’t your belief make a difference in your everyday reality?

However, for those of us from certain Adventist circles, I imagine you might be having a different reaction. Maybe some anxiety, maybe some shame? Maybe you’re trying so hard yet wondering why you’re not seeing growth? Maybe you feel like you know where I’m going with the rest of this reflection: “You’re not good enough, in fact you don’t even know if you’re saved right now. Go try harder before it’s too late!” Have you heard that type of teaching? Doesn’t really sound like “good news,” does it? (If some of these thoughts did come to your mind, check out HOW pt. 1: https://www.canyoncreekproject.com/praxis The rest of this reflection is built on that framework.)

Well, that’s actually not where I’m landing this plane. Let me explain. (By the way, this is why we should always keep reading before making a conclusion about what a certain verse in the Bible means . . . but that’s for another discussion.)

“4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 ESV

Jesus is saying that if you want to bear fruit, in other words, live your everyday life like Jesus did, you can’t do it apart from Him. You need His help. In fact, you can do nothing apart from him. But with him, through “abiding,” your life will organically begin to look more and more like Jesus’. 

Imagine your inner life being more like Jesus; what type of emotional health would you have? What kind of character would be formed in you? Or what about your relationships? What would they look like if you became more and more like Jesus? Would there be healing, breakthrough, peace? What about your family? Your work? 

I want to re-emphasize a point I made last week—there are certain things that God does, and certain things that you do. Please don’t miss this—I’m not saying that you have to be perfectly like Jesus in order to go to heaven or in order to earn His love. Scripture clearly teaches that our works cannot earn us anything before God. Salvation comes from Him, and if we simply believe in Him we will have eternal life (John 3:16). Yet, there are other things that God puts in our hands. It is our choice whether or not to abide in him and let him transform our lives. 

So how do we begin to do the works (“ergon”) of Jesus, living more and more like Him in our everyday life? By abiding in Him, like a branch stays connected to a vine. In the next few weeks we’ll be looking more at what abiding means, but for this week, I want to leave you with this thought:

Training vs. Trying

John Mark Comer, pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, makes a great point about how we change as people. He makes a distinction between trying and training. He explains that “trying” has to do with raw effort. Training, on the other hand, is consistent effort in a set direction. So while an out-of-shape person would be unable to run a marathon, even if they tried their very best, that same person, through consistent training, could build enough endurance to run a marathon. 

You cannot try your way into being more like Jesus. It just doesn’t work. If you’re not patient today, you can’t expect to be patient tomorrow, no matter how much you pray between now and then. However, by consistently abiding in Jesus, over the course of time, you can become the type of person to whom patience comes more and more naturally. In other words friends, becoming more like Jesus is a process—and we’re in this together.

HOW?

Try connecting consistently with Jesus this week. Here are a few ideas:

• When you wake up, set a timer for 10 minutes, putting your phone away. Concentrate on the words of Jesus in John 15, writing down any questions or thoughts you have.

• Pick a time in the middle of your day to have a “check-in” prayer (ex. one minute at 1pm). Tell Jesus what’s on your heart. Invite him to be with you and help you through the rest of your day. 

• Whether to or from work, try driving in silence and using that time for prayer. Talk about your day, be yourself—no need to be fancy. 

If you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

On the journey with you,

-Ian

* My ideas in these first two paragraphs are based on Dallas Willard’s, The Divine Conspiracy, chapter one)

HOW - Part 3

I had just come out of what had been the most difficult season of my life. I had hurt myself and others through a series of unwise choices, and my regret was like bricks on my chest. I decided I just had to move on with my life—leave the past in the past and step into the future . . . right? So I did my best, focusing on my career aspirations, taking on new projects, being productive. I began moving at a frantic pace, motivated to move on with my life, choosing to put the events of the past months in a locked box and throwing away the key. 

THE COIN

One of my favorite authors, Brene Brown, in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, uses the metaphor of a coin to describe the relationship between joy and pain. She explains that our culture has taught us to do everything possible in order to numb hurt. Brown says that numbing can look as obvious as alcoholism, or as innocuous as stress-induced shopping sprees, but regardless the objective is the same—block out negative emotions by indulging in temporary comforts. Brown goes on to explain that the true danger of this practice is that it not only numbs the vulnerable feelings of shame, grief, or anger, numbing also debilitates us from experiencing joy. In other words, what she has found in her research is that joy and pain are two sides of the same coin—you can’t block out one without nulling your capacity for the other. Brown argues that we cannot selectively numb emotions. 

MY STORY 

As I reflect back on the season of my life I mentioned above, I see that though most of the things that I was doing with my time would be considered positive—organizational involvement, work, music—there was a part of me that was subconsciously attempting to numb my pain through busyness (an unsustainable pace of life that leaves no room for thoughts of inner/mental/spiritual health). I was reading my Bible and checking all of the boxes, but I was not paying attention to what was going on within me. I wanted Jesus to meet me in joy, peace, and comfort—after all, didn’t he promise these things? Yet, I wondered why I couldn’t get a hold of my anxiety, why I was stressed all of the time, why I struggled so much with my self-image—was Jesus just not coming through?

It was around this time that a friend of mine invited me into something that changed the course of my spiritual journey: he challenged me to—rather than avoid the negative and painful emotions I had been burying—to sit with the hurt and ask Jesus to meet me there. Though I was extremely uncomfortable with his suggestion, knowing the type of visceral emotions it would awaken in me, I gave it a try. I wrote down exactly what I was feeling—unfiltered and raw. I brought the real me before God, not the “nice,” church-going, pastor guy I wanted Him (and others) to see me as. 

Doing this, rather than killing me (as I thought it might), unearthed me—I could finally feel again. I knew that there was a lot more work to do, but my heart felt softer, more forgiving, more alive. Over the course of time, incorporating heart work into my journey with Jesus—diving into my places of pain with Jesus and trusted friends—has significantly impacted the course of my life and health. It didn’t happen in a day, or a month, and it’s still in progress, but consistently practicing bringing my true self (including my hurts) before God is transforming me into a more authentic, self-compassionate, kinder person. Oh I still fall on my face—a lot—but more often than not, I remember now that Jesus is right there with me.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - John 16:33 NIV

The way of Jesus is not the way of pain avoidance. Jesus has overcome the world. We no longer have to let our pain drive us to lives of regret, numbing, or spiritual apathy. If you let Him, Jesus will transform your pain from a potentially destructive force, to a constructive, transformative power. 

There are some things that Jesus does, there are other things that He has given us the responsibility to do. Jesus offers us the free gift of salvation, promises us his presence, and so much more. Yet to us he has entrusted the power of choice. Erwin McManus, a pastor in Los Angeles, says that the most spiritual thing in the world is choice, as even prayer or worship or any other spiritual activity first requires a choice. If we want to grow in our journeys with Jesus, we must choose to become vulnerable with him, allowing him into our places of hurt, giving him the  permission to work in our lives. We must choose, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to step into our pain, inviting Jesus into it, having the faith that He will use it for good. (Rom 8:28)

If you feel stuck, if you find yourself in numbing patterns, even if you just have the desire to grow . . . here’s a “how”: invite Jesus into your struggle. Sit with it. Your path to growth is not around the uncomfortable things in your life . . . it’s through them.

THIS WEEK

• Give it a shot. First, try taking some time to write about something that is causing you hurt. Give yourself permission to be completely honest. Second, talk or write to God about it--tell him about what’s going on. Third, share your experience with a trusted friend.

How - Part 2

Last year, my family and I took a vacation to Colorado. If you’ve ever been to Colorado, you know the scene: towering mountains, crisp air, the refreshing scent of countless pine trees—it’s breathtaking. Though we had intended to have a relaxing time, soon after arriving, my brother Alec and I became fixated on something that wasn’t exactly in line with a calming retreat—climbing one of Colorado’s famous 14,000 foot mountains. I had never hiked up one before, and I wasn’t completely acclimated to the elevation or in the best cardio shape, but that was not going to deter my brother Alec and I—we were going to conquer the mountain. When Alec and I first set off on our quest, the environment looked similar to other hikes I had taken—tall trees and only a slight elevation gain. It was beautiful, but underwhelming in terms of difficulty. I was feeling pretty confident . . . until we crossed the tree line, and saw what we were really up against. Thousands of feet above us was a snow capped peak that was as menacing as it was majestic. It was clear that this trek was not going to be like anything we had taken on before. But we had made a decision, and since we both possess a streak of stubbornness, we just kept walking. Minutes turned to hours, and weariness began setting in. Eventually, after navigating steep drop offs, slick ice, cramping muscles, and constant lunges that would put a StairMaster workout to shame, my brother and I made it to the top. Exhausted, we sat down, took in the view, and opened our much anticipated summit sandwiches. We were worn out, but felt accomplished—we had done it, we had conquered the mountain. As I reflect, I’ve come to see that following Jesus is, and simultaneously is not, like climbing a 14,000 ft mountain. Let me explain.

God: CEO of Gospel Inc.

Remember the “three chairs” from last week? (What you do for God; how you love God; how you see God) Well, for many years I saw God as a CEO, and myself as a striving young employee. As the CEO, He was above me “looking down,” evaluating my performance. He had invested a lot in me after all—forgiven my sins, improved my life immeasurably. So my goal was to pay Him back, or at least try to. If I was able to perform, I figured I could earn my way up to a promotion, reach the “corner office” of sorts—in other words, be in a place where I would be so connected with God that everything would just click in my life. School would go well, I would achieve incredible success in my career, and I’d probably get in great physical shape, too.

As silly as this may sound, and though I was believing much of this on a subconscious level, this view of God had serious consequences in my life. I constantly wrestled with a heavy perfectionism. Almost every time I didn’t “perform” well, or at least perceived that I didn’t, I allowed shame to inform me that I wasn’t good enough, that I was a terrible person, and that I would never become the person I desired to be. To make matters worse, I figured that God was angry with me, and would remove His blessings from me, or “demote” me to stick to the CEO metaphor. 

Looking back, my view of God made a lot of sense in that I think it reflects some of the values of American culture. From an early age, the school system informs us that our worth is measured in letter grades, and corporate culture reinforces this later in life by valuing people by their merits. Doesn’t God work in the same way?

Well, though it reflects the espoused gods of several religions, gods that apparently change their opinions of humans constantly based on their performance,  the problem with this thinking is that it is a gross misrepresentation of who God reveals Himself to be in Scripture.

DWELL (It’s back)

14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14

Remember a few weeks ago we discussed the importance of “dwelling” with God—involving Him in our ordinary, everyday lives? Well, in Jesus (the Word), God came to dwell with us—do life with us, journey with us. To those who chose to follow Him (dwell with Him), He called them friends (John 15:15). And He offers the same title to anyone who chooses to accept His invitation today. Rather than being a high handed aristocrat that we have to appease in order to gain access to, Jesus comes down to our level and wants to be present in every moment of our lives—from the most difficult moments, to the times we deem to be insignificant.

So is following Jesus a little like our hike up a fourteener? No, and yes. No in that it’s not about earning our way up to the presence or approval of God. In the words Dallas Willard, “You cannot call upon Jesus Christ or upon God and not be heard.”  Whenever you call on God, He hears you and is present with you. Simply, God is not waiting for you to reach a summit (get your act together) before you can call on Him. When you reach out, you discover He’s been there the whole time. 

Following Jesus is like climbing a fourteener in that it’s a journey. You are not going to be transformed by reading this devotional, going to church one time, or reading your Bible once in a while. God is not in the microwave dinner business. You will be transformed, and see the growth and progress you desire through, as John Mark Comer says, the “unglamorous work of following Jesus.” More on this in the following weeks. 

Invitations for this week:

• This week, call out to Jesus by asking Him to journey with you in your everyday life. One day this week, before work or school or whatever you do, try taking five minutes and telling him about your plan for the day. Ask him for what you need to face the day. Thank him for his presence with you. 

• Listen to podcast

  • If you get the chance, check out this podcast by John Mark Comer: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rebuilders/id1462274371?i=1000437047856

If you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

On the journey with you,

-Ian

How - Part 1

I’m just going to say it: Sometimes theological teaching can be really abstract and not all that helpful in our day to day lives. Each of us has real responsibilities, to-do lists, schedules, and if you’re like me, I often feel that a lot of teaching about the Bible seems to have very little intersection with my “real” life. If I’m not careful, though I may not admit it, sometimes this can get to the point that I feel like God is not too involved in my day to day life. I begin to believe that God belongs to some other, abstract level of reality that I only think about at church—one that has nothing to do with my everyday life.* 

Commenting on the Church, theologian Dallas Willard said, “Our usual ‘gospels’ are, in their effect . . . nothing less than a standing invitation to omit God from the course of our daily existence.” What I understand Willard saying is that what is taught in most churches today almost exclusively focuses on how we can get to heaven, or in many Seventh-Day Adventist circles, what the end of the world is going to look like (eschatology). While these teachings are good, and often true, whenever they are the primary emphasis, they can cause us to forget how God actually wants to affect our daily lives.

The way of Jesus was never supposed to just be “three easy steps to get to heaven.” While part of Jesus’ mission was to invite us into eternal life through faith in Him, Jesus also came to invite us into what Dallas Willard calls the, “eternal kind of life.” In other words, Jesus came to give us the opportunity to have a certain quality of life in our here and now, everyday lives. This life is available to us whether we are rich or poor, young or old, single or married, or any other distinction. 

So in the next few weeks I want us to explore this question together: “What does it mean to follow Jesus in our daily lives?” 

The Three Chairs

I was only a few weeks into grad school whenever one of my professors, Dr. Allan Walshe, pulled out three chairs in front of our class. Seeing our confused faces, he began to explain in his silky Australian accent what each chair meant to our spiritual lives. “The first chair is what you do for God,” he said, “This chair represents things like helping others, serving in church, and even how much time you spend with God.” He continued, “The second chair is how you love God. This chair represents your feelings, thoughts and overall disposition to God as a Person.” He moved on to the final chair, saying, “This last chair is how you see God, in other words, your understanding of who He is.” 

Dr. Walshe went on to explain that while most churches often focus on the first chair (what we do for God), and some even on the second (how we love God), it is actually the third chair (how we view God) that determines the other two. Put another way, you will not want to love God or do anything He wants you to do if in your heart you believe He has a judgemental, petty, unfair character. Sure, you might try to do what He says, acting out of fear of some kind of punitive measure, but it won’t be out of a genuine desire. Our view of God determines whether or not we love Him or follow His guidance for our practical lives.

It did not take long for Dr. Walshe’s guidance to challenge me. As I started to analyze my “three chairs,” I began to see that for much of my life, I had been serving a “god” that was not reflective of the God of love who reveals Himself in the Bible. Somewhere along the way I had come to believe that He expected me to be perfect in everything I did. This made loving God difficult, as I saw Him as always being disappointed in my performance (or lack thereof). It also made the things I did for God (like worship, or other kinds of serving) difficult as I usually had the anxiety that it wouldn’t be good enough for Him. I realized that I had a third chair problem. Even years into my relationship with Jesus, I needed to ask myself, “Who is God? Who am I?” all over again.

Have you ever been there?

Those questions opened up a new journey for me, one that I’m still on. They challenge me to look into Scripture to discover who God is, rather than relying on my feelings, or only what others have told me about Him. 

Before we dive deeper into how we can better follow Jesus in our day to day lives, it’s crucial that we begin by asking ourselves, “Who is Jesus?” In other words, “What is He like? What is He about? What’s His attitude toward me?” If we want our actions, and our attitude towards Him to shift, we must first challenge ourselves to have an honest look at who He is and what He’s about.

How?

Everything practical that we will be talking about in the next few weeks will be of little use if you don’t know the character of the One making the invitation.

In the first lesson of his popular Bible study series [truth] Link, Ty Gibson says that the “true north,” or the point of departure, for his entire study is “God is love.” The same is true of our journey together. Discover (or rediscover) this for yourself this week:

• Read Romans 5, asking yourself, “Who is God? Who am I?”

• If you want to dive deeper, go to truthlink.org, create a free account, and read the first lesson of Ty Gibson’s course.

If you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

Looking forward to seeing y’all soon, 

-Ian

*These ideas were brought to my attention in Dallas Willard’s, The Divine Conspiracy

WHAT DO I DO?!

“WHAT DO I DO?! How should I respond to everything that’s happening in our nation? How should I respond as a follower of Jesus?” Maybe these questions have come to your mind the last couple of weeks. They’ve come to mine. 

I’m sure you have so many different sources that are already trying to answer these questions for you. From the news to social media influencers, it might seem like everyone is trying to tell you how to feel, and how to react. 

In our reflection this week, I want us to consider one step Jesus might be inviting His followers into at this unique time.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” - Matthew 5:4 NIV

I read the following lines from influential author Brené Brown last week: “As individuals, we’re afraid of the darkness grief brings. As a society, we have pathologized it and turned it into something to cure or get over.” What I understand Brown to be saying is that, as a culture, we cannot stand the uncomfortable feelings that grieving brings, so we do everything in our power to short-circuit or bypass the process altogether. But is not engaging with the process of grieving (or mourning) the best reaction to the cultural moment that we are all facing? What would Jesus say about this?

The Greek root word for “mourn” in Matthew 5:4 is πενθεω (“pentheo”), which means, “to experience sadness or grief as a result of depressing circumstances or the conditions of persons.” In other words, I think πενθεω means to be sad about something that’s wrong around you, in other people, or in you. The root word for “comforted” is παρακαλεω (“parakaleo”), meaning, “to cause someone to be encouraged or consoled, either by verbal or non-verbal means.” (It can also mean to “urge,” “implore,” or “exhort.”)

Using these two definitions, I rewrote the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:4 in this way: 

“Blessed are those who ‘experience sadness or grief as the result of depressing circumstances or conditions or persons,’ because they will be ‘encouraged or consoled, either by verbal or non-verbal means.” 

To put it simply, Jesus is saying that we are in a state of blessing whenever our hearts break for the things that break God’s heart. Why? Because it feels good to have your heart broken? No. We are blessed because we are promised that the encouragement and consolation of God will meet us in our mourning. 

Notice who does the comforting. It does not say that those who mourn will comfort themselves. The people who mourn are not “blessed, happy, fortunate” because they comfort themselves by numbing the pain of deep sadness (whether through substances, distractions, or Christian cliches like “This too shall pass” or “Everything happens for a reason”). No, they recognize that something is wrong, they sit with it, they wait on God to comfort them.

As I reflect on the words of Jesus in light of what’s happening in our nation right now, I realize that my heart should be broken right now. I should experience sadness about the state of my country, church, and the sin/prejudices within my own soul. Things are not right. I need to sit with that and allow God to “urge, implore, exhort” or encourage me in His timing. If my heart is not broken right now—if I numb or distract myself—then something is not right within me. What about you?

If you’re grieving right now over something that breaks God’s heart, Jesus says you are “blessed, happy, fortunate.” Again, not in the sense that it feels good, but because you will be encouraged. 

So what should followers of Jesus do in this cultural moment? 

One thing we should do is mourn—in other words allow ourselves to feel what we’re feeling. We are called to courageously choose not to numb ourselves, but instead to mourn and reflect on the conditions of our country, of people groups, and our own hearts. By giving ourselves time in this space, we will be “encouraged,” “consoled,” “urged, “implored,” “exhorted,” by God. In doing this we will receive the courage we need to encourage others and actually be the people of Jesus in this difficult time. 

“3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” - 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV

How

• This week, take some time to write down some of the feelings you’re having as a result of what’s going on in our country. Whether grief, anger, sadness, or anything, write it down.

  • Take your emotions to God in prayer, saying or writing something like, “Jesus, today I’m feeling angry . . .”

• Take some time to talk to a trusted friend about what you wrote, asking them to simply listen, whether or not they agree with your perspective. Ask them to pray for you in this difficult time. 

If you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

We’re in this together,

-Ian

FILTERS

I have a love-hate relationship with photo filters. Growing up, Instagram was still emerging, and I was pretty excited when I discovered the filter feature. All of a sudden the somewhat (very) awkward selfies of my early teenage self were graced by a level of sophistication they had never had before. As the years passed though, I became disillusioned with filters, primarily because of a single thought, “What if I’m setting people’s expectations too high?” In other words, I became afraid that my real appearance would not be able to live up to the image other people saw through the filter I was projecting to them on social media.

Beyond affecting my teenage anxieties, filters play a role in each of our lives. 

All of us have filters (biases) that affect (for better or worse) the way in which we see the world. 

One of my favorite thinkers, John Mark Comer, teaches that the factors that shape us are our habits, environments, experiences, and our relationships. Put another way, what we do regularly, the people and spaces in which we surround ourselves, and the lessons we learn, form our characters and our filters. This is very intuitive to most of us, as I think we have all experienced the way in which the influences that surround us mold the way in which we see ourselves, others, and our world.

Now more than ever, in light of all the events that have taken place in the last few months, we as followers of Jesus must check the filters through which we see life.

“. . . Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me . . . If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” - Mark 8:34,38 NIV

Here Jesus makes a clear invitation to all of us: “If you want to be my disciple [apprentice, student], you have to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” In other words, He calls us to question and let go of our natural way of living, seeing the world, relating to others, and every other part of our lives. For Jesus, it is all or nothing; He is either the Lord (the Master, Teacher) of our lives, or He’s not. There is no in between. He wants all of our lives. How we treat others, what opinions we accept, what we post or don’t post on social media, our lifestyle—He wants to influence all of it. His invitation is optional and can only be freely chosen . . . “Whoever.” In other words, “If you want to.” But if you want to, He tells you how in this invitation. 

I’m not telling you what to think, how to vote, what cause to support, or what influencers to subscribe to. I am challenging each of us to question ourselves and our filters. Helpful questions can be:

• Where is my opinion on [fill in the blank] coming from?

• Is what I think on this issue informed by my political party or by the values of Jesus?

• Is how I’m treating someone (in person or on social media) being determined by what I heard on the news, or by the way of Jesus?

I want to make it clear that the first person who has to do this . . . is me. It’s not easy to question our way of seeing the world because it opens us up to the possibility of change. But I do believe that this reflection is what Jesus is calling me, and calling you to. Not reacting as others in our culture do, but to individually and as a church, seek to respond in the way in which Jesus would—in the way of love. 

HOW

Putting this into practice is not a mathematical formula, it’s a journey with Jesus—one I’m inviting each of us to step into. 

Take 20 minutes to reflect this week (more effective if you write this down)

• What does it mean to deny yourself and follow Jesus in this season of your life?

  • What things (whether actions, or thoughts or opinions) is He asking you to challenge?

• Are your views on your life, others, and society being influenced primarily by your own thoughts and feelings? The news? Other people? Or by the teachings of Jesus?

• What would it look like in your life to see yourself, others, and what’s going on in our country through the lens of the words of Jesus?

If you want to continue this conversation, have some questions, would like to study the words of Jesus with others, or simply want someone to pray for you, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

We’re in this together,

-Ian