Joe Fontenot's Blog, page 9

Discerning Exercises

“For it is necessary that temptation comes”


— Jesus (Matthew 18:7)

Some verses are tricky.

Some are difficult on their face (like the one above), while others seem straightforward until we really begin to think about them.

While discernment as a gift is something the spirit gives. Discernment as a process is something we all do. Here are five exercises to discern what a verse or passage means.

Commentaries (including the notes in your Study Bible)

When you get to a difficult verse, read others’ opinions. They may be right, or they may be wrong. But commentaries can help you expand your view.

Reference verses

This is that little column of verses on the page in your Bible. Not every Bible has this, but most do. It’s showing you other verses that say something similar. You can use this to see how other parts of Scripture talk about this issue.

Prayer

Prayer is something we do throughout this process. But specifically here, understanding a difficult passage might be a simple as asking God directly and listening for an answer.

Thinking to the end

When you come across something that doesn’t make sense, run out the logic to its natural end. Is it consistent with what you already know from Scripture? If it is, then maybe you’re learning something new about God. And if it’s not, then keep thinking about it.

Discussions

Ask a friends who seem knowledgeable. A friend might see a different side of the passage, or they may see it in clearer light.

However you go about it, doing the hard work to understand always yields fruit. It is, in essence, how we grow.

Meditation Exercises

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”


– Jesus (Matthew 18:4)

Meditation helps you get past the superficial and repetitive. But getting started can be hard.

Taking the above verse, here’s what I’ve done for years. And it works–regardless of what state of mind I’m starting from.

First, get still and quiet.

This can be done in a noisy place, but it’s harder. Put the phone away and go to a place were people aren’t.

Then breathe. A few deep breathes in followed by slow exhales. Statistically, this is the only time today most of us will breathe deep. But the benefits are great. Deep breathes help us to quiet and center our mind.

Second, think about each word.

Start by saying the verse above out loud a few times. Say it from memory. Get used to the sound.

Next, think about each word by itself. Whoever… humbles… himself…

Stop to dwell on the implications. Why is that word there? What does it mean? And what would be different if it was missing?

Third, make a list.

One–me–might argue that the first two steps are really just a preamble to this one.

Quickly write down ten different ways you can apply this verse in your life. I say quickly because you won’t use them all. But one or two will often be pretty good.

And don’t skimp. Push through and go all the way to ten. The first three or four on your list will be what you already know. Then you’ll hit a wall and have to think for a moment. Keep going. The good stuff comes toward the end.

Exercises like this don’t take long. Maybe 10 minutes (for reference that’s about 0.8% of your day). But they help break the barrier between the superficial and the deep.

Try it. You’ll see.

I have to share all my food.

“Can I have a bite, daddy?”

– Hadley, my three-year-old

This, in a nutshell, is parenthood.

If you have it, they want it.

But it’s also a picture of our spiritual walk.

For us, it’s not about prying God to break off a piece of the good stuff. Our journey, instead, is about learning to want the good stuff.

This, I believe, is why Jesus made such a big deal about the children.

This is something they inherently understand.

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

Closing In

At a point late in his ministry, Jesus lays it out plainly:

“The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 17:22-23).

The ones who had eaten the bread, seen the dead rise, and–one of them, even–walked on water, were now, as the verse ends, “greatly distressed at this news.”

This, I don’t think, is simply a testament of their immaturity (though they may well have been immature).

Instead, this is what happens once we’ve walked so near Jesus and now face the prospect of losing him.

In the days before the comfort of the spirit, it was Jesus, directly, they looked to.

In many ways, the disciples here are our models today.

Is distress the emotion we feel at the prospect of not seeing or hearing from God?

If it’s not…then perhaps it’s us who are the immature ones.

first draft

Anne Lamott is famous in writing circles for her advice on the virtues of bad first drafts.

Bad first drafts, she says, are really a good thing, because they’re honest. By getting the raw words on a page, before an editor touches them, you capture the essence of the story.

As I stand in my kitchen writing this, I can’t help but think that life is no different.

There’s no editor. No re-dos. It’s all one big first draft.

Which is what makes it so real and fresh and exciting.

And, for me, that’s something I’m thankful for.

Outwitted

Paul writes something curious in one of his letters.

“I also forgive…so that we would not be outwitted by Satan” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11).

The context here was how to treat someone who’s done wrong.

The conclusion: when we refuse to forgive, we are “ignorant of his designs” and playing into Satan’s plans.

The takeaway: not only is forgiveness the more strategic option, it is–bonus–the more freeing option.

A good strategy, indeed.

Faith vs fiction

“I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.”

– Matthew 17:16

Fiction is a made up world. That’s where if I believe hard enough, anything I want will happen.

Faith, on the other hand, is real. That’s where if I believe wholly in God, I will see the mountain moved.

On the surface, they seem to be the same.

A belief driving an unbelievable result.

But the difference is subtle. And it’s found in the ownership.

In the first case, I’m executing my plan. In the second, I’m going along with God’s.

Risking

A couple times a year, we drive across the country. Each time, we see the same thing: digital billboards with live updates of all the people who have died doing this exact activity.

But there’s a simple problem to highway deaths.

Just lower the speed limit to 5 miles per hour. Nobody dies in 5 mile-per-hour car crashes.

But, of course, no one ever gets anywhere either.

That’s the trade off.

Going forward always has risk. But usually we can calculate that risk, to see if it’s worth it.

Jesus, standing on top of the waves, told Peter–still leaning against the edge of boat–“Come.”

Fortunately, risk is relative.

3 kinds of creative people

Everyone is creative, but not everyone is recognized as creative.

I think this is mostly because we (as a society) misunderstand what “creative” is.

There are three kinds of creative people.

First, there are the obvious creators. They are the ones who take a blank canvas and put something new on it. They are the something-from-nothing types that most of us think of as “creative.”

Then there are the adapters. They take something that already exists and then make it work in a new context or for a new audience.

And finally there are the crossers. These creatives take two existing things–things that aren’t normally together–and combine them to make something altogether new.

Each path is valid.

Each path is creative.

And because God’s made each of us to create, the sooner we find our path, the sooner we start living out our design.

P.S.

You may find yourself in more than one of these categories, or in a blend somewhere in between. The labels aren’t important–the creating is.

How to lose

For years I helped humanitarian aid companies move their cargo internationally to places in Latin America and Africa.

Many were devoted. Beyond devoted, in fact. This was their life, their mission—to help others.

I’ve always had a special connection with these kind of people.

And Jesus commends this kind of devotion when he tells his followers: whoever loses his life will find it.

Except, he gives this one qualification. He says, “for my sake” (Matthew 16:25).

Altruism—for as good as it is—isn’t good enough on its own.

In the end, it’s a question of investment. Our time here is short, but our existence isn’t.

The more important question is: are we losing our life for something that will matter today?

Or today + eternity?