Boasting Only in the Cross

Boasting ONLY in the Cross - Pastor John Piper - May 19, 2000

One of my favorite sermons...Enjoy! :)

The Heart of a Child: Lesson 1 – “He Delights In You”

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” -Matthew 18:1-4

In my near seven years of parenting I am sure that God has illustrated His love, grace, discipline & compassion a countless number of times, through my relationship with my daughter, Angelique. But now God has made it very clear to me to start writing these lessons down. God’s voice is constant, distinct and beautiful. My prayer for myself (and anyone reading this) is to continue to hear his voice and do His will.

June 6, 2009

It’s a typical Sunday evening, about a quarter to 7pm. Angelique and I are at the church’s Ministry Center, gearing up for “Pursuit”, the young adults’ ministry service. However, I am not in my usual spot, greeting and welcoming people in. I am in the office, on the couch trying to get rid of my headache.

She quickly gets bored, having just her ill mother to play with. She soon spots a nice, clean dry erase board and her eyes light up with excitement from the possibilities. She quickly asks me, “What do you want me to draw?” I reply with the first thing that comes to my mind, “a bunny!”

She pauses for a moment, with a scrunched up, uncomfortable look on her face, and replies back, “I don’t know how to draw a bunny.” I try to encourage her, “you can do it, just try!”

After some arguing back and forth, I finally convince her that she is capable of drawing a bunny rabbit. She is still so unsure of herself, saying things to me like “I’ve never drawn one before. It’s going to be ugly.” But I am glad that she does it anyway, because she loves me. There is much concentration on her part, until her masterpiece is done. She then says, “I made my bunny, but it came out ugly.”

But when I saw it, I thought it was the cutest thing ever! I loved every little quirky detail. I loved that it was unique and original. I quickly told Angelique how much I liked it and told her I want to take pictures of it. Her confidence increased with each compliment given.

She then said, “Okay, I’m going to write cursive too!” She looked around for what to write and found Pursuit’s slogan key words on the wall “TELL, TRAIN, TAKE”. She begins again to meticulously craft out her new creation on the board, frequently erasing and redoing many parts (that, in my opinion didn’t need to be redone).

And then after all of her hard work, she starts to cover the board with her body and says, “No, no, no, it’s UGLY. I want to erase it!”

I am speechless. Here in front of my eyes is the most beautiful “first time bunny” I’ve ever seen, alongside cursive writing that does not look like it could be from a first grader, AND the artist about to wipe it off the face of the earth. With her hand on the eraser, held up to the board, I tell her “don’t you dare erase it! I want to take a picture!” She responds with much anxiety, “no, it’s ugly. Let me do it over again!” I remind her that she drew it for me in the first place and that I think it’s absolutely gorgeous. I would not change a single thing about it. After much convincing, she starts to see that it is not nearly as bad as she once thought it was. She was even a little proud of herself, and asked to be in a picture with it.

God reminded me that I often act the same way as Angelique. With great excitement I ask Him, “What would you like me to do, dad?” and then He gives His answer. My reply is, “But I can’t do that. I’ve never done that before.” He then exhorts and encourages me that I can do it. To my surprise, I can actually do what He asks of me and yet, so often I still doubt that my works are “good enough”. Then when I hear the voice of approval from God, I have the confidence to do more. But while doing more, I often find that it’s more difficult than expected. I find myself “erasing and redoing” many parts because of my sometimes perfectionist nature. Then, when I look back and see that things are not perfect in my own eyes, I tell God, “That’s it, I’m done. I’m erasing it!” This is when He reminds me that I am just simply doing what He asked me to do. It is perfect in His eyes and His opinion is the only one that matters (even my own doesn't count). God reminds me that even when I feel inadequate, He still delights in me.

Lesson Learned: Our heavenly father is pleased when we obey him, especially when we step out in faith, doing things that are new to us. I am sure there are even times when we are trying to hide our work in shame, thinking that it's not good enough, but He is the parent with the camera just waiting to take a picture of our masterpiece, because he is just so tickled and pleased by our effort & obedience. Regardless of the outcome of our effort, He still delights in us...more than we’ll ever know.

"The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless." Proverbs 11:20

My Top Five Strengths...

Your Signature Themes

Many years of research conducted by The Gallup Organization suggest that the most effective people are those who understand their strengths and behaviors. These people are best able to develop strategies to meet and exceed the demands of their daily lives, their careers, and their families.

A review of the knowledge and skills you have acquired can provide a basic sense of your abilities, but an awareness and understanding of your natural talents will provide true insight into the core reasons behind your consistent successes.

Your Signature Themes report presents your five most dominant themes of talent, in the rank order revealed by your responses to StrengthsFinder. Of the 34 themes measured, these are your "top five."

Your Signature Themes are very important in maximizing the talents that lead to your successes. By focusing on your Signature Themes, separately and in combination, you can identify your talents, build them into strengths, and enjoy personal and career success through consistent, near-perfect performance.

Includer

“Stretch the circle wider.” This is the philosophy around which you orient your life. You want to include people and make them feel part of the group. In direct contrast to those who are drawn only to exclusive groups, you actively avoid those groups that exclude others. You want to expand the group so that as many people as possible can benefit from its support. You hate the sight of someone on the outside looking in. You want to draw them in so that they can feel the warmth of the group. You are an instinctively accepting person. Regardless of race or sex or nationality or personality or faith, you cast few judgments. Judgments can hurt a person’s feelings. Why do that if you don’t have to? Your accepting nature does not necessarily rest on a belief that each of us is different and that one should respect these differences. Rather, it rests on your conviction that fundamentally we are all the same. We are all equally important. Thus, no one should be ignored. Each of us should be included. It is the least we all deserve.

Connectedness

Things happen for a reason. You are sure of it. You are sure of it because in your soul you know that we are all connected. Yes, we are individuals, responsible for our own judgments and in possession of our own free will, but nonetheless we are part of something larger. Some may call it the collective unconscious. Others may label it spirit or life force. But whatever your word of choice, you gain confidence from knowing that we are not isolated from one another or from the earth and the life on it. This feeling of Connectedness implies certain responsibilities. If we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. Your awareness of these responsibilities creates your value system. You are considerate, caring, and accepting. Certain of the unity of humankind, you are a bridge builder for people of different cultures. Sensitive to the invisible hand, you can give others comfort that there is a purpose beyond our humdrum lives. The exact articles of your faith will depend on your upbringing and your culture, but your faith is strong. It sustains you and your close friends in the face of life’s mysteries.

Responsibility

Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion. Your good name depends on it. If for some reason you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to the other person. Apologies are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution. This conscientiousness, this near obsession for doing things right, and your impeccable ethics, combine to create your reputation: utterly dependable. When assigning new responsibilities, people will look to you first because they know it will get done. When people come to you for help—and they soon will—you must be selective. Your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should.

Empathy

You can sense the emotions of those around you. You can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own. Intuitively, you are able to see the world through their eyes and share their perspective. You do not necessarily agree with each person’s perspective. You do not necessarily feel pity for each person’s predicament—this would be sympathy, not Empathy. You do not necessarily condone the choices each person makes, but you do understand. This instinctive ability to understand is powerful. You hear the unvoiced questions. You anticipate the need. Where others grapple for words, you seem to find the right words and the right tone. You help people find the right phrases to express their feelings—to themselves as well as to others. You help them give voice to their emotional life. For all these reasons other people are drawn to you.

Developer

You see the potential in others. Very often, in fact, potential is all you see. In your view no individual is fully formed. On the contrary, each individual is a work in progress, alive with possibilities. And you are drawn toward people for this very reason. When you interact with others, your goal is to help them experience success. You look for ways to challenge them. You devise interesting experiences that can stretch them and help them grow. And all the while you are on the lookout for the signs of growth—a new behavior learned or modified, a slight improvement in a skill, a glimpse of excellence or of “flow” where previously there were only halting steps. For you these small increments—invisible to some—are clear signs of potential being realized. These signs of growth in others are your fuel. They bring you strength and satisfaction. Over time many will seek you out for help and encouragement because on some level they know that your helpfulness is both genuine and fulfilling to you.

*Somehow I am not surprised that 4 out of 5 of my strengths deal with interaction with other people ;)