Seven Needs: Genesis 1-2

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I am thinking again about kingdom principles. I am rethinking, reviewing, restudying. Everything begins with God. Who is God? What must we know, say, share about God?

When one begins “in the beginning” (Genesis 1), the Bible introduces human beings as the capstone of God’s creation. Who are we? We are “image of God” (Gen. 1:26-27) and living beings (Gen. 2:7). As human beings we have a dual nature. We were made with the ability to exist in this biological world: thus we are living beings. This is communicated in the phrase “living souls” (KJV), but it is what we share with the animate world. We are biological beings. Here “soul” is not a reference to our eternal nature.

We are also created “in his image.” We are spiritual, eternal–space does not permit an expansion of all this means. This is God within us, from the beginning.  With the created image torqued or twisted, re-creation became necessary.  The gospel is a story of creation, marring, and re-creation.   We are called to live lives that balance this duality. Only one person has ever perfectly balanced the physical and spiritual–Jesus Christ.

This dual nature Satan uses. Sin is possible in two ways–we can think we are gods, we can think we are no more than animals and adopt the morals of the barnyard.

Paul Hegstrom’s work in Genesis 1-2 maintains that God created human beings with seven primary needs. Each of us has a need for 1) dignity, 2) authority, 3) blessing and provision, 4) security, 5) purpose and meaning, 6) freedom and boundaries, 7) intimate love and companionship.

Are these aspects of the physical creation or the spiritual? How do these reflect God? What do they say about us?

Blessed is the one…. [Ps 1,2,40,41]

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Book 1 of the Psalms is framed by four psalms containing “blessed” declarations.

  • Blessed is the one who does not share with the wicked (1:1). God receives into his presence and favors with salvation and blessing those who delight in his revealed will. To choose the way of the sinner is to reject God’s blessings. Godliness is the faithful response to God’s word. To live a godly life is to live in the blessedness of God.
  • Blessed are all who take refuge in him (2:12). God’s Anointed One controls all. Blessed are those who seek and find refuge in Him.
  • Blessed is the one who makes the Lord his trust (40:4). God blesses those who trust Him.
  • Blessed is the one who has regard for the weak (41:1). God blesses those who reflect God’s blessings to those in need and to the weak.

    Here are four goals: (1) delight in God’s word to avoid evil, (2) find refuge in Him, (3) trust Him, (4) share him with those in need.
    How would our lives change if we were to adopt these as our daily goals?

    • Christians Who Influence the Culture

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    My conversations with Christians in various parts of the United States and in other countries, especially in Latin America, suggest that many Christians are dissatisfied with the world. How can Christians influence a culture, or a nation, or a world?

    First, understand that the nature of a culture or nation is the result of a particular view of the world. The worldview and values of our culture are reflected in the books, movies, television programming, art, and entertainment. Values are reflected in how and on what we spend money. When a Christian rails against the culture or society, the criticism is really of a particular way of thinking and the values in the culture.
    Second, consider that although we Christians may not be able to influence and change the surrounding culture, we can control their own culture–our own thinking and values. First century Christianity did not see its role as that of changing the Roman Empire but instead that of living faithfully within the context of the surrounding political and cultural system. Paul urged the Corinthians to be in the world but not of the world. To the same church he wrote about waging the battle for Christianity by bringing every thought into captivity. We Christians control our culture by deciding what we allow into our lives. Christians who allow into their lives the world’s music, entertainment, and language will usually find themselves adopting the thinking and values of the world.
    Finally, we Christians can by our own lives demonstrate the kind of world we demand to live in. We begin to change the world by changing our own lives. We influence our world by controlling our own lives. We can decide our priorities; we can show what matters most to us by the things we invest our lives in–how we spend our time and money, what we find entertaining, what we find disgusting and repulsive. What the world sees as funny is often sad from God’s viewpoint. What the world values is seldom what God values.

    How are we Christians doing in living by God’s standard rather than the world’s standard? What are we doing to bring about the world as it should be?

    Heaven: Wanting God

    Consider these phrases from the song, “As the Deer”.
    As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you. I want you more than gold or silver. Only you can satisfy.

    I am glad we sing songs of faith and dependence, because the daily grind of life tends to undo the reality of God-dependence. With economic pressures, problems and conflicts around the world, and our own individual struggles, we often think life in this world depends on better human endeavors.

    One of my favorite topics for preaching is “heaven.” The Bible says the goodness of God leads people to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Heaven tells us just how good God is. When I try to understand heaven, I find motivation for living in Christ. I do not remember when I first heard the illustration, nor where, nor from whom.
    I have good news and bad news. The good news is that you are definitely going to heaven. The bad news is that God will not be there. Do you still want to go?

    I realize such is hypothetical, even unreal. Heaven without God? Heaven without Christ? But get behind the irreality, and think about the point. Do we seek God or deliverance from punishment? Are we focused on God or streets of gold?

    A goal for today: think often about the presence of God in your life, and seek his presence. Only in his abiding presence can we know his plan and purpose, his power, his provision and protection, and his promises.

    Psalm 17: A Model for Praying in the Midst of Problems

    The symmetrical outline of the Psalms as presented in the NIV Study Bible parallels Psalm 17 with the better known Psalm 22 (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Both are briefly described as pleas for deliverance from the foes. The shorter Psalm 17 deserves more attention and awareness than it typically receives.

    Psalm 17 can be outlined as follows: Initial Appeal for Justice (1-2), Claim of “Rightness” (3-5), Petition based on author’s trust in God and God’s “rightness” or righteousness (6-9), Accusation (10-12), Petition (13-14), Confidence in God restated (14-15). In reading the psalm, you will see significant overlap in these themes as one section arises from the previous one and flows into the following one.

    The psalm provides a helpful prayer model. When we pray to God concerning any matter, we state our desire and base our appeal on our unswerving faith and trust in God’s righteous nature. Describing the nature of the problem and the reasons for our concern naturally lead us to restate our desire and our confidence in the God who always does what is right. With a little practice and repetition, the sequence and rhythm of this psalm can become familiar, providing a pattern for prayer.

    “Lord, we ask that you hear us today and do what is right in our lives. As we seek to avoid sin and to live faithfully, we seek the wonder of your love and the salvation of your hand, and we ask you to _____________ , protecting your children in the shadow of your wings. This problem is overwhelming, so we ask you to intervene, rescue and save. We believe you provide for those you cherish and that righteousness will prevail, and that is enough. I depend on you and will be content with your presence, both here and in eternity when we share face to face fellowship forever. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

    Effective Leaders

    I am working on an article with today’s title. I want to distill the most important aspects of effective leadership into a few basic principles. I am looking for those things that are almost always a part of the lives of vibrant, growing, effective spiritual leaders. Today I share my “beginnings.”
    What characteristics would you mention in describing the most effective leaders you have known or observed? What would you add to the list below?

    Effective leaders are “on the move.” By this I mean that they are active, hard workers, disciplined, examples of commitment.
    Effective leaders are creative. Here I think of words like visionary, strategic, flexible, innovative.
    Effective leaders are concerned about people. This concerns makes effective leaders also effective followers, able to hear others, receptive, connected.
    Effective leaders are effective communicators, with words but often without words.
    Effective leaders are happy, fulfilled, and content.

    Fruit is Natural–Not Forced

    Galatians 5 contains a list of the fruits of the Spirit–love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control. The text contrasts works of the flesh with fruits of the Spirit. Some, because of this contrast (unconsciously and unintentionally) treat the “fruits” of the Spirit more as “works” of the Spirit. But the fruits are the result of the healthy presence of the Spirit in our lives; the list is not to be used as a behavior modification list, works to be achieved. The description is of how a Christian naturally behaves; Paul’s purpose is not to describe how a Christian should act.
    The distinction may seem minor, but this “shouldistic” (legalistic) attitude toward life in the Spirit changes how we approach the Christian life. Jesus took exception to this attitude in the Pharisees. Failure to see the damaging results of this attitude continues to have a negative impact on the Church. The fruit of the Spirit comes naturally, as a result of continual surrender to the Father’s will and care in all of life.

    It’s Sunday Again: Grateful

    Sunday is many things to me. Some Sundays I contemplate one aspect of God and the Christian life, on another Sunday my thoughts take a different turn.
    Today I am grateful. First of all, for the forgiveness and restored relationship God provides in Christ. Second, for the blessings he provides–especially family, Christian family, and friends. Third, for the opportunity to serve and be used in some small way in God’s purpose and plan.
    Today my gratitude will motivate my worship.

    An Identity Statement

    Each church must answer three questions: Why? What? How?
    WHY? Why do we exist? Why are we here? What is our purpose of mission? A good mission or purpose statement fills in the blank: “We exist to….”
    WHAT? What should we look like? What is our identity? What makes us different? What would we look like if we were doing what we are here to do? This is sometimes called a vision statement: This is a vision of how we look when we are fully accomplishing our mission. Other times it is called a goals statement–what are our goals, where are we trying to go, what is the end result? Notice that an identity or vision statement is is different than the mission or purpose statement.
    HOW? This is a strategy question. This is “how” we will accomplish our mission and reach our vision.

    With this in mind, the following is a possible identity or vision statement for a local church.
    We are a local body of Christ, but we are also part of the larger body of Christ.
    We devote ourselves to doing the will of God as it is revealed in his infallible word, the Bible.
    We exist to glorify God in our collective worship, to reach out to the lost with the gospel, and to build up one another in love.
    Because we are saved by grace through faith, every member is encouraged to use the talents given by God to serve others and to grow in faith toward God and his Son Jesus Christ.

    Encouragement–The Power of the Positive

    Jan and I attended an interesting seminar recently. Although we were invited to the seminar by our Merrill Lynch consultant, the topic was not financial. The seminar was about how to stay healthy by integrating a balanced diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, and socialization.
    One of the things the seminar presenter mentioned was the value of encouragement and positive feedback–both as a stress reliever and as an important part of healthy socialization. Most of us have heard that it takes lots of positives to overcome a negative. It is also true that most people tend to dwell on the negatives more than on the positives. A person who gives negatives to others often does significantly more harm than is realized–both to others and to himself.
    For these reasons, it is good to take inventory of the encouraging positives we have received or are receiving. It is good to think about all of those people to whom we matter and make a difference. Getting in touch with the positives goes a long way toward offsetting the negatives we receive.

    Here is a sample of some of the recent encouragements Jan and I have received as we think about our missions, ministry, and church life. We share these few things as examples, hoping you will find help in developing your own list of the positives received in your life.

  • We are incredibly encouraged by how genuinely enthusiastic the Park Plaza church is about our presence.
  • Mitch Wilburn is a jewel–he constantly throws encouragement our way.
  • We are amazed at how quickly the Park Plaza church has adopted a level of ownership of our mission and ministry work, especially in the missions prayer list.
  • My friends and coworkers in missions, especially at Baxter, are a continuing source of positives and incredible encouragement.
  • The unexpected phone call from a brother who works in preacher training–he just called to say that he appreciates what we are doing in missions.
  • I recently met a sister in Christ who asked me what I do. When I tried to give a brief explanation of the projects I juggle, she said, “I think you are using all of the talents God has given you.” How encouraging!
  • The thank you notes and emails received from the elders of a U.S. church where I recently presented a leadership development seminar.
  • The Facebook post this week from a Christian couple in Honduras who simply wanted to send greetings and maintain our love and friendship in Christ.
  • The enthusiastic response to the leadership seminars, most often reflected in the question, “How soon can you come again?”