Teleos Blog that we may present everyone complete in Christ

Spiritual Disciplines: FastingPosted by Phil on February 17th, 2009

We’re finishing up w/ the one that we were all probably most afraid of. The discipline that most of us don’t want to do, because we love to eat. We’re going to finish up with fasting. This is a tough one for me because my body convinces me that I need food. I get hungry and need it. And this is a spiritual exercise to convince me that God truly needs to be the most important thing in my life.

My goal for you is that you’d try to skip at least one meal that you would normally eat. No skipping breakfast if you normally don’t eat it. For obvious health reasons, you may not be able to go long…might not be able to fast for a full day or 2, but most can skip a meal. Then maybe you use that time to spend on one of the other disciplines we’ve used. Still take a lunch break, but pray, study, memorize, sit in silence. Fasting is often done with a purpose in mind and we’re asking you to jump into it. If God lays something on your heart, fasting may be one way to spend time praying and trying to figure it out. But fasting can also be a regular practice without a specific issue in mind….a way to focus on God and not yourself. This article, I went back to the blog we’ve been using all along…good insights on fasting. I hope you enjoy your time.

Article 1
Article 2

IT: Tip or Give?Posted by Phil on February 16th, 2009

did you know that the typical american spends 103% of their income over their life and end up dying in debt?  nearly 95% of americans over the age of 65 cannot write a check for $600 without it bouncing.

we’ve been given a horrible example in our society how to deal with money.  we’re told we need more, more, more….and that it’s the only way to be happy.  most cars depreciate in value nearly 40% in 1 year, but yet we’re constantly bombarded with messages that we should have a brand new car.  we live in houses that are bigger than our needs.

more fun facts…2/3 of the parables of Jesus are about money or possession.  actually, 1 verse of every 10 in the New Testament deals with money….that’s 2300 verses.

i think God new that money and stuff could be a major idol in our lives, a huge strain in relationships, and a key reason why we struggle with contentment.

if there’s one thing i want you to take away from this series on contentment is that you have been blessed.  God took his time and carefully knit you together to make you who you are.  He has your future planned out even when you’re confused and don’t know what will happen next.  And look at your stuff….look where you live….you have a car!  you’ve been blessed.

the parable of the talents is extremely common in Matthew 25.  wealthly landowner gives property and possessions to 3 guys while he goes away.  2 guys double their stuff and 1 guy buries it.  upon return the landowner is furious at the guy who buried the treasure.  at least put it in a bank….do something!  i gave it to you, now use it.  he then turned around and gave it to one of the others.  you see….he didn’t give it to them for a time and collect it back…it was theirs to use.  he didn’t collect his stuff.  i kind of wish this story had one guy losing money because i’m not sure he would be that upset had he tried to do something with the money and failed.  he was upset w/ not doing anything.

too often i’m like the 3rd servant and i don’t do anything.  God has blessed me and i want to do something with what he’s given me.  i’ve been learning a lot about generosity recently.  and we’re left with a choice.

we can be a tipper or a giver

a person who tips gives back for what’s been given to them.  “hey, thanks a lot….here’s a little something for you.”  they want to be seen well, or at the very least not be seen poorly.  but a giver is known for a lifestyle of generosity.  they give because they’ve been blessed and they know it.  they give when it hurts.  they realize that they are God’s ambassador and they are supposed to bless others the same way he’s blessed them.

if you look at your stuff….do you take the example left by our society?  do you need a new car, new phone, new clothes, and money to buy it all with?  and if you have something left over you’ll throw a few bucks in the offering for God or help out a friend in need?  or do you plan to give to the church and look for ways to help people?  do you determine that you can live with less so you can bless others?

you have been blessed.  are you using it to bless others?

Posted by Phil on February 11th, 2009

We’re down to the final few disciplines that we’re going to cover. This week we’ll be looking at simplicity, or frugality, or what I have always called a media fast. We live in a world that pushes bigger and better. On Sunday, we looked at the stuff that we have and we’ve been talking about contentment. Simplicity is all about doing without. What can I cut out of my life that creates clutter. It’s not that you’re removing bad things, but you could be intentionally setting aside good things in order to slow down your life.

The past 2 weekends I’ve been on 2 different winter retreats. Three days each week with no cell phone, no internet, and no TV….and it wasn’t a bad thing. I was amazed to find that I didn’t miss those things…I don’t need them even though they are really nice to have. For a goal, I’d love for you to find something that you can give up….maybe it’s for the week, maybe for just a day. I wouldn’t expect you to give up your cell phone for the week, but maybe you leave it at home one day to realize that it’s not life or death if you don’t have it. Maybe you say no to Facebook for the week, or the internet all together except for school work. The purpose is to realize that you can do without…that these things can sometimes complicate our lives. And you might have more time for better things….reading your Bible, doing school work, reading, taking a nap, hanging out with your family, or talking with a friend. It also might show an addiction to something and that it might be more important than it should be in your life.

Simplicity.

Frugality: Appropriate Smallness in a Bigger-Better World

IT: Fitting it into the Rest of ItPosted by Phil on February 11th, 2009

we all have our stuff….most likely lots of it. you could probably go around your house and point out your favorite things pretty easily. the things we have typically fall into a few different categories: necessities, things i can use/share with others, luxuries, and things that are just excessive. we had a little show and tell tonight with Jason’s stuff….but we all have things that fit into these categories.

one of my clients got a great promotion and a raise.  he came in depressed.  good grief, I thought.  why?  every man longs to be praised, and paid well on top of it.  he confessed that although the applause felt great, he knew it only set him up for a bigger fall.  tomorrow, he’d have to do it all over, hit the ball out of the park again.  every man feels that the world is asking him to be something he doubts very much he has it in him to be.  (Wild at Heart, pg 46)

every time we think we have reached the top, obtained enough, it turns out that it isn’t the top.  it’s not the way we thought it’d be.  we get stuff….and we still want more, or we find out it can be nicer.

solomon…the wealthiest man the world has ever known says a lot about wealth and the stuff we have.  he says in Ecclesiastes that whoever loves money will never have enough.

the issue with the wealth we’ve been blessed with and the stuff we have is how we look at it.  Luke 12 looks at this a bit.  there was a rich fool who was blessed beyond was he was prepared for.  instead of sharing his wealth, he built bigger storage facilities for his stuff.  he missed the point.  when you look at the stuff you have don’t ask, “What can i do for myself?”  instead you should ask, “what can i do for others?”  we need to delight in what God delights in.

how do you view the stuff you have?