THE LIFE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED (Ortberg) Ch. 1-3

The following devotions are based on the book THE LIFE YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED (Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People) by John Ortberg  (Zondervan, 2002)  All text in red italics is a direct quotation from the book. 

Ch 1 WE SHALL MORPH INDEED! 

(The Hope of Transformation)

Now, with God’s help, I shall become myself.  -Soren Kierkegaard

9.21.15 The State of My Spiritual Self

Galatians 4:19  GNT

My dear children! Once again, just like a mother in childbirth, I feel the same kind of pain for you until Christ's nature is formed in you. 

• I am in a state of dis-appointment.  I am missing the life that I was appointed by God to live – missing my calling. (14)
• To grow spiritually means to live increasingly as Jesus would in our unique place – to perceive what Jesus would perceive if he looked through our eyes, to think what he would think, to feel what he would feel, and therefore to do what he would do. (14)
• The truth is that the term spiritual life is simply a way of referring to one’s life – every moment and every facet of it – from God’s perspective. (15)
• We are pregnant with possibilities of spiritual growth and moral beauty so great that they cannot be adequately described as anything less than the formation of Christ in our very lives. (20)

            I picked up this book by John Ortberg last summer mostly because I have enjoyed two of his previous books.  I also noted that it focused on spiritual disciplines and that has been an avenue the Missional group has considered over the past few years.  In this opening chapter I found myself ‘guilty as charged’ more than once!  What is our calling?  God considers us a work of art, worthy of constant restoration and redemption.  Our failure to reflect Christ alive within means we are missing our appointment, missing the life we were created to live.  My spiritual life is not some separate entity to attend to once a day, and then move on to my business life, my financial life, my family life.  My spiritual life must be the driving force behind all facets of my being 24/7!    I look forward to reading more.  I look forward to letting Ortberg’s words seep into my soul and allow me a chance for transformation. 

9.22.15  TURN ASIDE

Exodus 3:2-4 MSG

The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush.  He looked.  The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.    Moses said, “What’s going on here?  I can’t believe this!  Amazing!  Why doesn’t the busy burn up?”  God saw that he had stopped to look.  God called to him from out of the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!”

Everything turned on Moses being willing to ‘turn aside’ – to interrupt his daily routine to pay attention to the presence of God.  He didn’t have to.  He could have looked the other way, as many of us would.  He would have just missed….the reason for his existence.  He would have missed knowing God. (18)

The story of the human race is not just one of universal disappointment, but one of inextinguishable hope. (17)

            Have I missed my calling?  Have I failed to turn aside, to interrupt my life, and pay attention?  It is so easy to do.  It is just a little frightening to turn to God and answer the call.  God has his own time-table.  Moses was getting old, past what he considered his ‘prime’.  But not too late for God. 

            Our transformation is possible, can be probable, if we are attentive to the presence of God, if we listen with receptive ears. 

            Worship last Sunday at the Whitefish Presbyterian Church was Women’s Sunday.  The message came from three women reading as the voices of ‘strangers’ – the refugee, the abused, the homeless.  After each one, all the women in the congregation responded, “Listen! Listen! Listen!”  Sometimes the voice of God comes in the voices of others.  Our receptive ears must be attentive to all the many ways God may be speaking.  
          Ironically (no, probably God-ly) today Rick and I walked past 'burning bush' upon burning bush.  The sumac in Jewel Basin was aflame in red and orange.  Colors were past vibrant and the touch of God was everywhere.  Was I listening?  

9.23.15 IT’S MORPHING TIME! 

Romans 12:2 MSG

Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

• Ordinary people can receive power for extraordinary change.  It’s morphing time. (21)
• The good news as Jesus preached it is not about minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven when you die.  It is about the glorious redemption of human life – your life.  It’s morphing time!  (26)

            Ortberg recalls the era of Power Rangers – those childhood super heroes who could morph into incredible powers when needed.  He likes to use the term ‘It’s morphing time!’ with his congregation to remind them that God is capable of granting us power beyond our belief when redemption is at stake.  Morphing into a Super Hero reminds me much of a doodle I drew a couple years ago of the Holy Spirit handing someone the super cape.  When the Spirit dwells within us, we morph into a new creation capable of incredible action.  Not on our own, but with God-power.  So….when God calls our name, take the cape and put it on, and get ready for MORPHING TIME! 

CHAPTER TWO:  SURPRISED BY CHANGE 

(The Goal of Spiritual Life)

If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are.  – Frank Laubach

9.24.15   DO WE EXPECT TRANSFORMATION?

Philipians 3:20-21 MSG

But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthy bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him.

• By and large we do not expect people to experience ongoing transformation.  We are not shocked when change doesn’t happen.  We would be surprised if it did! (30)
• If we do not become changed from the inside out – if we don’t morph – we will be tempted to find external methods to satisfy our need to feel that we’re different from those outside the faith.  If we cannot be transformed, we will settle for being informed or conformed. (31)

            A body like Christ’s own to me means a morphed body that has the heart and desire of Christ; a body and life that radiates the love of God.  We don’t have to wait for death to experience that heavenly transformation.  Yet, do we expect it to happen.  We ‘conform’ and follow the rules; we ‘inform’ ourselves and learn all we can of the Bible, and think it is enough.  We are good Christians.  We seem to work hard at making sure we are following the ‘law’ better than others to maintain our position in the ‘in’ group.  That isn’t morphing!  That isn’t the transformation that is possible through God and Christ.  Our heart is changed in transformation.  We morph into a life capable of love we didn’t know existed.  We all know people who don’t conform, don’t attend church perhaps,  and know little religious ‘facts’ but they radiate the love of God.  Their heart has been changed. 

            Why do we as a church worry so much about the conformation and  the information and apparently don’t expect the transformation?  That is the question Ortberg poses at the beginning of this chapter.  

9.25.15 BOUNDARY MARKERS

Matthew 22:37-39 MSG

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ 

• Instead of focusing on the boundaries, Jesus focused on the center, the heart of spiritual life. (33)
• A boundary oriented approach to spirituality focuses on people’s position: Are you inside or outside the group? A great deal of energy is spent clarifying what counts as a boundary marker. (34)
• This was the great irony of his day: The ‘righteous’ were more damaged by their righteousness than the sinners were by their sin. (34)

            For Biblical Jews, the boundary markers that earmarked people as Jewish were simple: circumcision, dietary laws, and keeping the Sabbath.  If you follow the Law, you were spiritual.  Today we have different rules, but they exist just the same.  Smoking, drinking, sexual identity all are used to determine who is in and who is out.  But Jesus didn’t care about ‘markers’.  Jesus cared about love, love that transforms one from within.  If you were transformed, who cared about such ‘rules’!  Jesus claims only two laws:  Love God, love people!  That’s enough. 

            I am wondering if much of the decline in church membership and attendance is due to such boundary markers.  People claim spirituality.  People claim a belief in God.  But when some churches emphasize the boundaries more than the love, morphed people aren’t going to be interested!  Churches that concentrate on the ‘love God, love people’ principal, churches that focus on the mission of feeding the poor, sheltering the homeless, and seeking justice – those churches will be sought as community for the transformed. 

            What kind of church are we?  Are we helping or hindering transformation?

9.26.15 THE DISTORTION OF SPIRITUALITY

Matthew 23:1-3 MSG

Now Jesus turned to address his disciples, along with the crowd that had gathered with them. “The religion scholars and Pharisees are competent teachers in God’s Law. You won’t go wrong in following their teachings on Moses. But be careful about following them. They talk a good line, but they don’t live it. They don’t take it into their hearts and live it out in their behavior. It’s all spit-and-polish veneer.

• The misunderstanding of true spirituality has caused immense damage to the human race. (35)

How many people are radically and permanently repelled from The Way by Christians who are unfeeling, stiff, unapproachable, boringly lifeless, obsessive, and dissatisfied?  Yet such Christians are everywhere, and what they are missing is the wholesome liveliness springing from a balanced vitality with the freedom of God’s loving rule… Spirituality wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God. (Dallas Willard)

            Ortberg uses Matthew 23 and Jesus’ extensive tirade against the religious leaders of the day to formulate some warning signs of false spirituality:

1.    Am I spiritually ‘inauthentic’?   Inauthenticity involves ‘a preoccupation with appearing to be spiritual.  Appearances are everything.

2.    Am I becoming judgmental, exclusive, or proud?  Pride is a potential problem and judgment puts us in a position to play God. 

3.    Am I becoming more approachable, or less?   True spiritually draws people toward you. 

4.    Am I growing weary of pursuing spiritual growth?  The pursuit of righteousness is always an exhausting pursuit when it seeks a distorted goal. (38) Boundary markers are both intimidating and unchallenging at the same time.  We lose interest. 

5.    Am I measuring my spiritual life in superficial ways?  What is my definition of spiritual life?  Must I write in my journal or blog everyday?  If I have a quiet time with God and the Bible daily, is that enough?  The measure should be in terms of how I am loving people!  What kind of person am I becoming? Am I becoming alive in Christ?

So much in this section to consider in regards to our spirituality and how we live out our faith.  I will let my notes here suffice for any commentary! 

CHAPTER THREE:  TRAINING VS. TRYING

The Truth About Spiritual Disciplines

Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.  

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

9.27.15 TRAIN or TRY

• Trying hard can accomplish only so much.  If you are serious, you will have to enter a life of training.  Training is required for any significant challenge in life – including spiritual growth. (42)
• There is an immense difference between training to do something and trying to do something. (43)
• This need for preparation, or training, does not stop when it comes to learning the art of forgiveness, or joy, or courage.  In other words, it applies to a healthy and vibrant spiritual life just as it does to physical and intellectual activity. (44)
• Following Jesus simply means learning from him how to arrange my life around activities that enable me to live in the fruit of the Spirit. (44)

       Have I ever considered 'training' to be a Christian?  No, but what Ortberg discusses in this sentence makes sense.  When we train for something, we make a conscious choice, a decision, to change.  We apply those practices that will help us achieve our goal.  We have to train to do something that doesn't always come naturally to us.  Later parts of the chapter will delve into what spiritual disciplines are not and some key signs of what they are, but the point of this first section is to emphasize the need for a 'disciplined' approach to such disciplines!  

        Will praying every morning for a week suddenly make me a spiritual being?  Probably not any more than running every day for a week will give me the ability to run a marathon.  Training takes time, a variety of approaches, and a willingness to keep at it through the ups and downs, knowing God is at work through it all....in God's time and place.  Training helps open us up to the many places and times in which God speaks and we have failed to turn aside and listen!  

9.28.15 ABOUT SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
1 Corinthians 9:26-27 MSG
 I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES ARE NOT: (45)

• - a barometer of spirituality.  The true measure is growth in the ability to love God and people.
• - necessarily unpleasant.  If we are training for a life of joy, peace, and affection, we should assume that some of the practices are going to be enjoyable.
• - a way to earn favor with God.  We don’t get extra credit, nor use them to demonstrate our commitment to God. Spiritual disciplines don’t oppose or exist in tension with grace. 

WHAT MAKES SOMETHING A DISCIPLINE?

• Discipline: Any activity I can do by direct effort that will help me do what I cannot now do by direct effort.  A SPIRITUAL discipline then is any activity that can help me gain power to live life as Jesus taught and modeled it. (46)
• A disciplined person is someone who can do the right thing at the right time in the right way with the right spirit.  A disciplined follower of Jesus is not someone who has mastered the ‘disciplines’ and never misses a day of spiritual exercises.  A disciplined follower of Jesus is someone who discerns when laughter, gentleness, silence, healing words, or prophetic indignation is called for, and offers it promptly, effectively, and lovingly. (50)

          It is amazing to me how I have been reading all week about transformation and today I attend a church with the mission "Transformed by Christ to Transform the World".  I have seen devotionals posting with the words transformation, songs sung on the radio about change and transformation.  Some of the main points of today's sermon matched up with the last portion of this chapter (you'll have to wait until tomorrow).  LISTEN, Ginger! God is speaking!  

           We can practice spiritual disciplines 24/7, but if they don't make us more loving it is like the adage, "Practice does not make perfect.  PERFECT practice makes perfect."  The three indications of what a discipline is NOT are helpful.  They are NOT a indicator of our relationship to God.  They are not unpleasant as a rule.  And they don't EARN any extra grace.  So what are they?  I like the definition of an exercise that helps me do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason.  Spiritual exercises that condition my love factor.  We often know what the right response should be in a situation, but we don't respond immediately.  We have to think about it.  Jesus didn't stop to think whether love was the right or wrong response.  Jesus just did it.  Hmmm.  Maybe Nike has something there.  LOVE.  Just do it.  

9.29.15 SIGNS OF WISE SPIRITUAL TRAINING

John 3:8 GNT

The wind blows wherever it wishes; you hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going. It is like that with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

RESPECT FOR FREEDOM OF THE SPIRIT.  

• We can aggressively pursue transformation, but we cannot turn it on and off.  We can open ourselves to transformation through certain practices, but we cannot engineer it.  We can take no credit for it.  (51)
• Spiritual growth requires discernment.  We must learn to respond to the fresh wind of the Spirit.  God’s responsibility is to provide the burning bush.  Our responsibility is to turn aside. (52)
• Our primary task is not to calculate how many verses of Scripture we read or how many minutes we spend in prayer.  Our task is to use these activities to create opportunities for God to work. (52)

RESPECT FOR OUR UNIQUE TEMPERAMENT AND GIFTS. Each person is created to see a different facet of God’s beauty – something no one else can see in quite the same way – and then to bless all worshipers through all eternity with an aspect of God they could not otherwise see. (CS Lewis)

ACCOUNTS FOR OUR SEASON OF LIFE.  

• Whatever our season of life, it offers its own opportunities and challenges for spiritual growth.  Instead of wishing we were in another season, we ought to find out what this one offers. (54)

RESPECT FOR THE INEVITABILITY OF TROUGHS AND PEAKS.  

• A law of life is rhythm.  There will be times of consolation and times of desolation.  It is during the trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that growth happens and we become what God wants us to be. (55)

BEGINS WITH A CLEAR DECISION. 

• It is probably a mistake to assume that one ‘spiritual routine’ is adequate to cover us for the rest of our lives. (56) 

            Again, there is so much in this brief section.  But if I can summarize, I would list these five signs as this: Open to Spirit, Individual gifts, Current opportunities, Ups and Downs, and Decide!  Since yesterday was a golden aspen day, I will put my prayers and these signs into the beauty of the aspen groves.  Amen!

            No, I cannot stop there.  I must comment on CS Lewis’ quote.  I love it.  Sometimes we get caught up with envy over someone else’s gifts.  The “I wish I could do that” mentality.  When we do, we fail to recognize or use the gifts God has given us.  We fail to share that aspect of God that others might not see unless we reveal it.  What are my gifts?  What are yours?