3 Ways to Respond to God’s Word
In the first session of New Attitude, Josh Harris spoke about the ways three different people responded to God’s Word (listen here). These are some of my notes and thoughts. I hope they make sense; they might seem a little disconnected. The images he gave are very powerful. And I didn’t even remember the story of Jehoiakim, so it was great to hear it afresh.
1. Ripping: Josiah (2 Kings 22)
- He turned to the Lord with all his heart by responding to, loving and obeying His Word.
- My heart is revealed in the way I respond to God’s Word.
- An entire generation had forgotten the Word and had no anchor.
- When the documents were found, Josiah tore his robes. This was an expression of despair, anguish, and humility.
- He took it seriously. He knew that God really meant it, and that it was speaking to him.
- The important question is not, “God, do you hear me?” but, “Do I hear God?”
- What moves, owns, and preoccupies me?
- Josiah allowed the Word to reform and reshape him. Returning to the Word = reformation. I need to change.
2. Burning: Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36)
- Fearing God means not treating Him and His Word flippantly or lightly.
- Jehoiakim had a cold heart. He destroyed the Word and got it out of the way.
- He had no fear of God; he felt safe because he was surrounded by others who agreed with him.
- How do we burn God’s Word? By ignoring it, approaching it with a pick-and-choose mentality, or acting like a connossieur of preaching instead of humbling ourselves and listening.
3. Eating: Jeremiah (Jeremiah 15)
- You eat something you trust – something that’s good, healthy, and nourishing. It becomes a part of you.
- Jeremiah approached the Word with anticipation, joy, and excitement, even though…
- …his experience was rejection and loneliness; “I have missed out on all the joys of this life.”
- He had to fight for delight in the midst of discouragement.
- God’s Word meets us right where we are.
- His Word speaks perfectly when I am not doing perfectly, and is powerful when I am weak.
- We don’t love God’s Word to establish our standing, but because He established it for us.
- “If you utter what is precious and not what is worthless” – lay aside the accusations and believe. He is good!
- The Bible becomes a delight when we realize its central truth – it is not about everything we are supposed to be doing for God; instead, it is about everything He has done for us.
A Snake Story
There was a little adventure at our house the night before we left for the conference. Kayla has chronicled it as only she could in Suburbs Gone Wild.
Back from Na
I am home now. This will be quick, but I do hope to give a fuller overview soon! God really blessed me through the conference. I was encouraged, and convicted of some areas of sin and unbelief. It is so easy to talk the talk and not walk the walk. I have so many areas of immaturity.
I want you to listen to the last message by C.J. Mahaney, even if you don’t listen to any others. It was about adoption, how we are God’s children. Simple but powerful. I really, really needed to hear it.
Being around people who are on fire for the Lord makes me realize that I can’t just coast along in my faith. The Word of God is living and active, and the Lord wants to fulfill His promises. I am His child, so why don’t I ask Him to? When I’m anxious, why don’t I pray for His strength? I mean really pray, not just offer up a quick token prayer? When I’m confused, why don’t I turn to the Bible for guidance? It has a wealth of wisdom.
I am just so thankful… more thoughts later.
Can I just say…
- New Attitude is amazing. Tonight’s session in particular was a huge gift of God. I’m humbled and amazed and joyful. I’m looking forward to sharing some of my notes on here.
- Louisville is a beautiful city! Today Sarah and I drove around for awhile, and we saw some gorgeous homes and the campuses of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian seminary (whose exact name I don’t remember). Really pretty!
- Tomorrow John Piper is preaching, and I’m really looking forward to hearing the Word from him.
I’ll be back before long! 
Busy day ahead
If you missed yesterday’s post about the horrible tragedy in Steven Curtis Chapman’s family, I encourage you to read it and most of all, to pray for the pain this family is going through.
New Attitude begins in two days, and I am really looking forward to it! My friend and former roommate Sarah came to my house tonight, and we’re driving to Kentucky on Saturday. I have wanted to attend this conference for awhile, and I never thought that I would actually be able to – and with one of my best friends to boot. I don’t know how my Internet access will be while I am there, but I will definitely try to keep you all updated.
This past week and a half since I graduated has been very restful. My summer job didn’t have any hours for me until June, so I have been unpacking and relaxing. I have gotten some things done, but there are a lot of things remaining on my to-do list, and I need to be productive tomorrow and get things done in preparation for the weekend.
With that, friends, I must bid you adieu. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I look forward to seeing some of you at the conference this weekend!
Praying for this family
Chapman daughter struck, killed by car in driveway
Many of you probably are familiar with Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman. This is a song from his Speechless album several years ago – it now has poignant relevance. I pray that through God’s grace, they can cry with hope even in this terrible tragedy.
This is not at all how we thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you, we had so many dreams
And now you’ve gone away and left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say and nothing we can do
Can take away the pain, the pain of losing you
But we can cry with hope, we can say goodbye with hope
‘Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, no no
And we can breathe with hope, ’cause we believe with hope
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again
We have this hope as an anchor
‘Cause we believe that everything God promised us is true
Update: The Chapman family has set up a blog in remembrance of Maria. You can see a sweet video of Maria and her dad, as well as leave condolences for the family.
I don’t feel particularly inspired.
But I do feel like writing about something – anything.
Does that ever happen to you, whether it’s with writing or something else?
Sturdy Joy
Nonetheless, I still let outward things determine my inward state, with the result that I have fickle joy, not Paul-like joy – the kind that would lead me to say,
“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Philippians 4:12)
So when this unhappy lack of sturdy joy leads me to pray (which it always does, and I thank God!), I don’t want to pray primarily for my circumstances to change. I want to pray first for my unbelieving heart to change.
(Tyler Kenney on the Desiring God Blog)
When I read the phrase “sturdy joy,” it really resonated with me. A lack of Paul-like joy, that steady, unflinching contentment in all circumstances, is what keeps me from being satisfied in the here and now. And it makes me afraid that I’ll be unhappy in the future, because my joy is often more fickle than sturdy – based on externals, and easily swayed.
What I need instead is a joy that is sturdy; an enduring happiness that is hardy, uncompromising, bold, and strong. A rugged rejoicing, if you will. And this can only be rooted in Jesus! How many times I am going to have to preach that to myself.
Really, it’s an incredibly freeing truth. My joy won’t have to waver. I don’t have to be unsure if I’m not building my joy in my circumstances. If I know that I am content because of inward, not outward realities, I won’t have to fear the future, because it has no power to shake my contentment.
“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:16-18)
Closing walls and ticking clocks
I love Coldplay’s song “Clocks” – it’s one of my recent favorites. Have any of you heard it? You can listen to a sample here. The lyrics and melody are lovely, and there are certain lines that shimmer for me. One of those comprises the title for this entry, and some others are:
Come out of things unsaid
Shoot an apple off my head
And a trouble that can’t be named
A tiger’s waiting to be tamed…
Come back and take you home
I could not stop that you now know…
Home, home, where I wanted to go…
It probably doesn’t make much sense unless you hear it. I’m not even sure what the song means. But I started listening to it a few weeks before graduation, and for me, it really captures this time in my life, all the little pieces of beauty, longing, and uncertainty. I’m trying to pick up the pieces right now, frantically fitting them together. And then I stop and realize, it’s okay that everything has scattered, lying around my feet. I’ll bend to pick it up, but maybe I won’t try to force a pattern just yet.
