Our true heart

Here comes Life Model bite #1:

One of the key concepts of the Life Model is living from “the heart Jesus gave you.” Many people find it difficult to understand what this could mean, especially in reference to the heart. I am not surprised that there is some confusion about our hearts. How should we see our hearts?

When I think of the human heart, the first Bible verse that comes to mind is:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. (Jer 17:9)

I guess, I must have heard this verse often enough, to associate it so quickly, even though I do not remember any concrete situation. The basic message, if you consider this verse as defining for what our heart is like, is that our heart can’t be trusted. Never trust your heart (or feelings), only your intellect. Mistrusting our heart, together with feelings and emotions, is very common but not necessarily biblical. If you have read my blog posts on Why Western Christianity Failed, then you already know where this is coming from (see here and here and here for more details).

But this is misleading because there are plenty of other references concerning the human heart that paint quite a different picture:

• We are called to love the Lord with all of our heart. (Dt 6:5, Mt 22:37)
• God said he will write his instructions on our hearts. (Jer 31:33.34 // Hebr 8:10; 10:16)
• We are told to trust the Lord with all of our heart. (Prov 3:5)
• We are told to guard our heart because it is a wellspring of life. (Prov 4:23)
• God made his light shine in our hearts (2 Cor 4:6)
• Christ even decided to live (dwell) in our hearts (Eph 3:17) – then it can’t be such a bad place.

On the background of these verses I am inclined to believe that a better translation of the above verse would be ‘deformed and desperately sick’ (Jer 17:9) as Jim Wilder suggested. I think that ‘deceitful and desperately wicked’ implies intentional badness and a state that is beyond hope, while ‘deformed and desperately sick’ paints the picture of a heart that is not how it should be but that it can be healed. And this is what God promised in Eze 11:19 where God calls the human heart dead (stone) but promises to give people a new heart that is alive and will know his will. Looking at some translators resources I find this view confirmed. Among other things, the heart is described as the place where God communicates with us and that knows Gods will.

In the context of the Life Model the terms ‘the heart Jesus gave you,” “our true heart” and “the heart of hearts” are used interchangeably and refer to the part of our heart that reflects God’s image. We are made in God’s image. Our true heart reflects this and each of us reflects a different aspect of God’s character.

However, this true heart has been buried among a lot of bad stuff – our own sin, as well as the sins of others, and the hurts that have been caused by these. They are like several layers of dirt on our true heart. This is why we often don’t even know our true heart and have problems trusting our heart. As a result, we often react from our hurts, instead of from our true hearts.

Another comparison I found helpful: the true heart is like an x-ray or a diapositive, but there are several other layers of x-rays on top of it, so that it is difficult to see what the original one looked like.

Over the last years I learned to recognize indications of my own true heart.

At first I was very surprised, when a friend exclaimed in a conversation that she can see my true heart in this situation. It was especially surprising because it was not something I had done or thought, but something I wish I had done. So, I thought this is not really me; quite to the contrary – how can this be my true heart? Over time I came to understand that it is the longing to have acted a certain way that is an indication of my true heart, of how God made me.

At the Thrive conference last year, we learned another way of discovering our true heart – by looking at our deepest pain. Often the things that cause us the deepest pain are an indication of the true heart that God put in us – because it is contrary to what we were made to be.

This is the heart Jesus gave you – a small reflection of himself and at the same time an indication for who he has called us to be to glorify him. I find it a worthwhile pursuit to find out more about it. This is what the Life Model is about – learning about the heart Jesus gave you, and learning to live from it. It means discovering of who God originally made us to be and how to live up to our calling and glorifying him through it.

Culture and Bible translation

Jim Wilder brought an interesting example in his webinar of how our culture can even influence a Bible translation. He discovered this when speaking to churches in Poland. His interpreter was very surprised when Jim read Hebrews 12:2 from his English Bible:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Holy Bible : New International Version, electronic ed., Heb 12:2 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984).

The Greek word αντι can be translated in two ways:

a) for, because (instead of)
b) because of

In the case of in Hebrews 12:2 this results in the following difference. It can be translated either as:

1) Jesus … who instead of the joy set before him endured the cross, or as
2) Jesus … who because of the joy set before him endured the cross

Most English translations chose the second option.

The New Living Translation also chose the first second option but provided the second first option as alternative reading in a footnote.

Because of the joy^* awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.

^* Or Instead of the joy.

Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible : New Living Translation., “Text edition”–Spine., 2nd ed., Heb 12:2 (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004).

The Polish Bible translation(s?) chose option 1). This is understandable when we consider the history and cultural context.

The culture in Poland is rather low joy and the church is considered to be about suffering, not about joy. Therefore joy did not belong in the church and is even perceived as offensive. The Bible translators therefore chose the first option because of their cultural background and Jim’s interpreter was quite surprised when Jim quoted this verse from his English Bible.

Quote for the week * Zitat der Woche

The Hebrew word  ‘shalom‘ is often translated in the Bible with perfection, health, well-being, contentment, peace, quiet, tranquillity, good human relationships, friendship with God through the covenant, absence of war and conflict.

Jim Wilder defines it in this way:

Shalom is when everything is in the right relationship, at the right time, in the right place, with the right strength and in the right amount for God and people … and nobody feels a need to change a thing.

***

Das hebräische Wort “Schalom” wird in der Bible oft übersetzt mit Vollkommenheit, Gesundheit, Wohlergehen, Ruhe, Stille, Frieden, Zufriedenheit, gute menschliche Beziehungen, Freundschaft mit Gott durch den Bund, Abwesenheit von Krieg und Konflikt.

Jim Wilder definiert es so:

Schalom bedeutet wenn alles im richtigen Verhältnis ist, zur richtigen Zeit, am richtigen Platz, in der richtigen Stärke und im richtigen Ausmaß für Gott und Menschen … und niemand hat das Bedürfnis, irgendetwas daran zu ändern.

Deeply De-Christian Doctrines (meme)

Joe started an interesting meme: Evangelist Changing: 5 Deeply De-Christian Doctrines Meme which I discovered through Eddie’s blog  Deeply De-Christianised Doctrines « Kouya Chronicle

Peter Kirk has tagged me with a meme that states: list 5 doctrines that are taught within the Christian church that you believe to be deeply de-Christian.

Among those who have already participated are:
Gentle Wisdom» Blog Archive » Deeply De-Christian Doctrines

St. Aidan to Abbey Manor: ’5 Deeply De-Christian Doctrines’

clayboy » The Deeply De-Christian Doctrine meme

De-fending the de-Christian | lingamish

Lingamish suggests that “If you’re a reader of this blog consider yourself tagged.” So, I consider myself  tagged and will contribute some thoughts on this topic. However, I am not necessarily listing real doctrines but ways of thinking that I believe to exist in many Christian circles but are not necessarily biblical.

1) Some cultures are more Christian than others: this is along similar lines as Eddie’s “Christians in one country or region are better than others” but not quite the same. The colonial attitude is unfortunately still alive – it assumes that Western cultures and Christianity are nearly identical. Therefore in case of doubt, the local culture must be wrong and unbiblical. For some it is hard to imagine that they got it right, even before becoming believers, and we might have gotten it wrong.

2) Bible Idolatry: the book called “God’s Word” is sometimes considered God’s only Word and often becomes more important than the author himself and my relationship with him. We forget that the Bible is only a means to an end – a deeper relationship with our creator.

3) Perfectionism: we are supposed to become more or less perfect soon after our conversion. If it does not work, I need to at least pretend; put on the Sunday smile before going to church. This is one of my more recent insights – we are called to become more and more Christ-like and this is NOT identical with being perfect but a matter of maturity. It’s hard to shake off a perfectionist upbringing and learning to understand that rules are not more important than relationships – “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

4) Having the right information solves all problems: as long as I have the right information (=get enough training, do enough Bible study), I can use my will and make the right decisions. Conversion and faith are a matter of the will. Legalism and judgmentalism are the logical result when you think that that ideas and choices are key to being a Christian and making us into the right kind of person. This means when you know God’s Word, you are able to decide in every situation what’s God’s will for yourself and others. No need to ask God. Or so many people seem to think. Unfortunately, there are lots of people who have all the right information and still make the wrong choices.

4a) Right theology is more important than character transformation: even though the theological part is only one point of many and the last in the list for the qualification of elders, it is often treated as the most important one when choosing a pastor or elder, to the detriment of other points that the Bible seems to consider more important.

5) Our mind is more important for spiritual living than the body: this mind-body dichotomy is rooted in a medieval psychology that is long outdated and no longer tenable in view of more recent psychology and brain science, but Western theology still subscribes to this view. Will and spirit were seen as spiritual and important, while the body and emotions were seen as fallen and therefore unable to please God. Today we know that will and spirit are very much linked to our body.

The last three points I owe largely to teachings by Dr. Jim Wilder, especially his recent webinar series on “Why Western Christianity Failed.”

EDIT: Oops – I forgot to tag others. Let’s see if the following people will take up the challenge: Dr. Mouw, Rombo, Marti, Tim and Wess.

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You are there

In yesterday’s Bible study group, we discussed another chapter of Tozer’s “The Pursuit of God“. It was on God’s omnipresence. Among other things, we read Psalm 139:7-10 and were then encouraged to rewrite the verses with those places where we need to be reminded of God’s presence. Here is my personalized version:

When I am wasting time with red tape,
you are there.

When I feel powerless in the face of corruption,
you are there.

When I am overwhelmed with things to do,
you are there.

When I am exhausted from the noise around me,
you are there.

When I am unable to meet others’ expectations and accomplish my own goals,
you are there.

When I feel lost and uncertain about the next steps,
you are there.

Even there you are IMMANUEL – God with me,
surrounding me with your love,
and delighting over me.

Rewriting these verses was very helpful for me and a wonderful reminder of God’s presence.

What do you think about blessings?

It seems that WordPress is able to display polls that I have created on Polldaddy, but not surveys. Too bad.

That’s what the start page looks like, but I can’t display it here. Please click on the picture or on this link to go to the survey.

Thanks!

P.S. for my German readers: Es gibt auch eine deutsche Version von dieser Umfrage. Bitte auf diesen Link klicken um zur Umfrage zu gelangen.

It is finished!

2 Cor 5: 19-21

19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,* so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
* Or: to become sin itself.
Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004

It Is Well with My Soul

Text: Horatio G. Spafford  Music: Philip P. Bliss

---

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.

2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
let this blest assurance control,
that Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
and hath shed his own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)

3. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)

Source:  HymnSite.com – allows you to listen to the tune.

Belonging and Appreciation

Yesterday evening I attended the revised Belonging module of the Life Model program. It was taught by Dr. Jim Wilder and I found it very insightful.
Two points stood out for me:

1. It is important to create belonging, not search for it, expect it from others.

Creating belong is something babies are very good at (maybe because of their unconditional acceptance?). On the other end of the spectrum “Elders” (meaning persons with a high level of maturity, Life Model terminology) are especially good at it, because they want to include everybody into the belonging. This does not depend on their age, nor whether they are Christian or not but on their level of maturity. We naturally feel drawn to these people and enjoy being with them. The challenge now is not to look for people who can do this for us, but to become people who can do this for others.

• How do we create belonging? This overlaps with the rules for group interaction in this class:

○ Showing appreciation
○ No cross-talk
○ No advice giving
○ Supportive listening
○ Confidentiality
○ Creating space for imperfect attempts of doing new things (these are my own words, I don’t remember how he phrased it).

• Creating belonging is work: I need to work to have other people close to me and for us to appreciate each other. I definitely want to learn to do that more.

2. Showing appreciation: When we put the “flashlight” (focus) on positive things, we create belonging. Focusing on negative things does not create belonging.

Or as Phil 4:8 puts it:
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (NLT)

• Telling stories creates Shalom, (Hebr. lit. peace and rest) a condition where everything feels just right and nothing needs to be changed, everything is in the right relationship, right place, right strength, right amount, for God and people. Story telling builds appreciation. So we practiced telling appreciation stories. Yesterday we focused on telling a story where we appreciated an “Elder”. Until the next evening our homework is to collect other appreciation stories and practice telling them.

Both, a) the importance of creating belonging and b) the fact that focusing on negative things does not create belonging, were light bulb moments for me.

a) I realized that I often wait for others to reach out to me, especially in unfamiliar surroundings or new groups. I can create belonging and usually do when I feel responsible for (e.g.) an event, a meeting, a new person in the group. In most other situations I usually don’t do it but would need to make a conscious effort to do it. It does not come natural. I still have a lot to learn in this area. I think yesterdays insight will help me be more conscious about it, and not wait for others to do it for me.

Recently I experienced a practical application of this. I went to a women’s retreat of my new church where I hardly new anyone. When I arrived at the retreat place in the mountains, I hang around in the lounge, not quite sure what to do as everybody seemed to know somebody else and I did not want to intrude in their conversations. After a little while one lady approached me and invited me to join their group which I gladly did. Most of the weekend I hang out with this same little group of three-four ladies; we often sat on the same table or reserved seats in the auditorium for each other. It was only at a later point that I realized that this little group had not existed before the weekend, but was the result of one person “creating belonging” with people she did not know before arriving there. She hardly knew anybody but she reached out to others, made them feel welcomed and included; she created belonging. Already at that time, I thought that her situation was not so different form my own, and I could have done the same thing. This not only made me feel welcomed, helped me to relax among people I didn’t know, but also it made me want to learn from her and do the same thing for others.

b) Where I grew up the general attitude was that if something is right, you don’t need to mention it. You only mention what is not right, so it can be corrected. So, the affirmative teaching style I often observed among Americans, feels very strange to me. In one interpersonal skills workshop I even said to my American colleagues: “If you only focus in your feedback on what I did right, and think that I will understand that the things you did not mention are the ones I should improve on, most likely I won’t get it. I need to be told directly what is not ok, what needs to be changed.”  Now after having visited the USA several times, I got more used to the encouraging feedback and I quite like it. Sometimes to the point that I grow irritated when correction comes in the direct (and often harsh) way of pointing out the negative things, with which I grew up. Still, sometimes when I hear teaching about positive feedback, affirmations, etc, I wonder how much of this is cultural and if this might only apply to Americans.

But when Jim Wilder said yesterday evening that focusing on negative things does not create belonging, I had my Aha-moment. Deep down I realized that this is true, no matter which culture, even if it is expressed in very different ways. Every human being needs acceptance and belonging, and pointing out faults usually does the opposite – it builds walls. I even got my practical lesson right afterward: after I had told my little story, my neighbor criticized that I had missed one point of a good appreciation story. I felt put down and grew defensive. When I thought about it later, I realized that she could have pointed out the same thing through an encouraging question, but the way she had said it built a wall between us. Wow! So, this is definitely something I want to learn to avoid myself.

At the same time I realize that this is a difficult balance. For example, as a consultant or teacher, I can encourage somebody, showing appreciation, for example,  for the good start in a writing project. But this will not tell him/her enough about which parts still need improvement. Having grown up in a context where this balance was rare, I do not have a lot of role models for this.

Can you share examples from your own experience where somebody showed appreciation, and still managed to indicate the points that need improvement? How do you do it yourself?

Zitat der Woche * Quote of the week

Aus dem Schlusswort von „Die Bibel oder Bibelkritik? Was ist glaubwürdig?“ von Eta Linnemann, 2007, Seite 171:

Als ich seinerzeit bei Rudolf Bultmann studierte, machter er uns deutlich, dass wir – ungeachtet unseres persönlichen Glaubens – in der neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft zu arbeiten hätten “ut si Deus non daretur“, als ob Gott nicht existierte. …. Den Evangelikalen, die auf wissenschaftliche Anerkennung pochen, weil sie die gleichen “Methoden” bedienen, ist diese Vorraussetzung nicht bewusst. … Lebendiger Glaube an Gottes Offenbarung in seinem Wort und eine “wissenschaftliche” Theologie, die arbeitet “als ob es Gott nicht gäbe” schließen sich aus. Der Spagat zwischen beiden muss misslingen. … Die atheistische Theologie und der Umgang mit der Bibel, der sie nicht als Gottes lebendige Offenbarung gelten ließ, wurde mir (nach meiner Belehrung) gleichermaßen als Sünde bewusst und zum Kreuz gebracht ….

Prof. Dr. Eta Linnemann war Bibelkritikerin. Ihr erstes Buch war ein Standardwerk der biblisch-kritischen Theologie. Nach ihrer Bekehrung in 1978 vernichtette sie ihre bibelkritischen Bücher.

***

Quotes from the final chapter of „The Bible or historical criticism of the Bible? Which is credible?” by Eta Linnemann (in German 2007, my translation):

When I studied under Rudolf Bultmann at that time, he made it clear to us that we had to work according to the New Testament science, irrespective of our personal faith, “ut si Deus non daretur“, as if God did not exist. … The evangelicals who thump scientific recognition because they use the same “methods” are not aware that this is the basic assumption. … A living faith in God’s revelation and in his Word, and a “scientific” theology, which works “as if God did not exist” exclude each other. This balance act cannot succeed. … (After my conversion) I recognized that the atheistic theology and the treatment of the Bible which did not accept it as God’s revelation, was equally sin and I brought them under the cross. …

Prof. Dr. Eta Linnemann was specialist in Bible criticism. Her first book was a benchmark of historical-critical theology. After her conversion in 1978 she distroyed these books.

Quote from the Quester

Here is another interesting quote from the “Quester” – as Eugene Peterson calls the writer of Ecclesiastes (explained in my other post):

²⁴ So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. ²⁵ For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?

Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Ec 2:24-25

This made me very thankful for the work God has given me. Not just because of the economic situation. I know that not everybody finds satisfaction in their work and so I am very grateful that God has given me a job that I find very satisfying. Some say that this is a matter of attitude and this might be true, even though I am not sure that I would find any kind of work satisfying.

Apart from that, no matter in which situation you are, being thankful for what you have and learning to thank for the small things in life can change your whole outlook and even improve your health.

Invitation to thankfulness: What are you thankful for today?

***

Hier ist ein weiteres Zitat vom “Sucher” oder “Frager.” So nennt nämlich Eugene Peterson den Schreiber vom Buch Kohelet oder Prediger (in meinem anderen Eintrag erklärt):

24 Es gibt für den Menschen nichts Besseres als essen und trinken und genießen, was er sich erarbeitet hat. Doch dieses Glück hängt nicht von ihm selbst ab: Es ist ein Geschenk Gottes. 25 Denn wer hat zu essen oder hat Grund zur Freude ohne ihn?

Gute Nachricht Bibel, © 1997 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Kohelet 2,24-25

“.. genießen, was er sich erarbeit hat.” ist im Englischen übersetzt mit “.. und Befriedigung in seiner Arbeit findet.” Das ließ mich sehr dankbar werden für meine Arbeit. Nicht wegen der gegenwärtigen Wirtschaftssituation. Mir ist bewusst, dass nicht jeder Befriedigung in seiner Arbeit findet und darum bin ich so dankbar, dass Gott mir eine Aufgabe gegeben hat, die ich sehr befriedigend finde. Manche sagen, dass das eine Frage der Einstellung ist und das kann gut sein, aber ich bin mir nicht sicher, dass ich selber jede Arbeit befriedigend finden würde.

Abgesehen davon, egal in welcher Situation du dich befindest, dankbar sein für das was man hat und lernen für die kleinen Dinge im Leben dankbar zu sein, kann die ganze Perspektive verändern und sogar die Gesundheit verbessern.

Einladung zur Dankbarkeit: Wofür bist du heute dankbar?