Recently the Vitamin Z blog posted the following from a blog by Scott Sterner.  While it specifically deals with criticism and ministry I think there is plenty of application here for all of us.  I have always found that criticism is an incredible test of humility- and an aid in growing in humility.  Enjoy.

Having worked in different aspects of music ministry for almost 15 years, I am no stranger to criticism. It has come from people who are very close to me as well as people who prefer to remain anonymous. Some criticisms are delivered in the context of anger and others are thoughtful and constructive. Here’s a few things I try to think about when criticism comes my way:

1. What can I learn?

Though it is humbling to have someone critique your work, it is important to maintain a teachable attitude.

2. Always assume the best

Unless it is substantiated that this is not the case, it is important to always assume that people have good intention when they share their concerns.

3. Validate people’s concerns

In most cases, the person sharing the concern is very sincere. Try your best to “walk in their shoes” and empathize with them.

4. Rebuke when needed

If people are sinning in how they confront (critical spirit, arrogance, etc.), then call them on their sin. If they are complaining about someone else then ask them to take that concern directly to the person before speaking with you.

5. Consider subjectivity

Remember that people’s opinions are often subjective. Sometimes you simply have to agree to disagree.

6. Educate

Often people disagree with a decision because they aren’t aware of all the information that went into making the decision. Do your best to inform them so they can get your perspective on the issue.

7. Empower

Sometimes our strongest critics can become our greatest ally if we get them involved in the process of coming up with solutions. If someone doesn’t like the way a specific ministry operates, then get them involved in a group working to reform or guide that ministry.

8. Let it go

Try your best to not take criticism personally. If our identity is too tied into our work, then we will allow criticism to paralyze us, making us ineffective for the Kingdom. Once you’ve received and learned all you can from criticism, the next step is to move on.

A couple of weeks ago Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds posted the followed prayer from From The Valley of Vision (pp. 76-77),

Christ was all anguish
that I might be all joy,

cast off
that I might be brought in,

trodden down as an enemy
that I might be welcomed as a friend,

surrendered to hell’s worst
that I might attain heaven’s best,

stripped
that I might be clothed,

wounded
that I might be healed,

athirst
that I might drink,

tormented
that I might be comforted,

made a shame
that I might inherit glory,

entered darkness
that I might have eternal light.

My Saviour wept
that all tears might be wiped from my eyes,

groaned
that I might have endless song,

endured all pain
that I might have unfading health,

bore a thorny crown
that I might have a glory-diadem,

bowed his head
that I might uplift mine,

experienced reproach
that I might receive welcome,

closed his eyes in death
that I might gaze on unclouded brightness,

expired
that I might for ever live.

O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou mightest spare me,
All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished;
Help me to adore thee by lips and life.
O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise, my every step buoyant with delight. . .

Thabiti Anyabwile over at the Pure Church blog recently posted the following on election- I found it encouraging to meditate on the glorious mystery of God’s sovereign grace.

A few biblical reasons to rejoice in election:

Election ensures that God’s purposes stand:
“Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad–in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls–she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger’.” (Rom. 9:11-12)

Election ensures that our salvation depends on mercy, not ourselves:
“It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Rom. 9:16).

Election maintains the Creator-creature distinction, producing humility:
“One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? ‘Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “Why did you make me like this?”‘ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” (Rom. 9:19-21)

Election guarantees our good in life and our glorification with Christ:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:28-30).

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thes. 2:13-14).

Election ensures blameless justification:
“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies” (Rom. 8:33).

Election guarantees that God will be worshipped:
“God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah–how he appealed to God against Israel: ‘Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me’? And what was God’s answer? ‘I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:2-5).

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:11-12).

Election establishes grace:
“So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (Rom. 11:6).

Election obtains the salvation we seek:
“What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day’.” (Rom. 11:7-8).

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2 Thes. 2:13).

Election makes the gifts and calling of God irrevocable:
“As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:28-29).

Election accords with God’s plan to make us holy and blameless:
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” (Eph. 1:4)

Election expresses itself with the Father’s love toward us in adoption:
“In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…” (Eph. 1:4-5).

Election coincides with the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit:
“To God’s elect, strangers in the world… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood” (1 Pet. 1:1-2).

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2 Thes. 2:13).

Election provides the ground for our perseverance in gospel ministry:
“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God” (Acts 18:9-11).

“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10).

Election limits the deception and the destruction of the last days:
“those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them” (Mark 13:19-20).

“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible” (Matthew 24:24).

The Vitamin Z blog has recently posted a couple of quotes from Ed Welch’s book “When People are Big and God is Small.”  This book is a classic on reorienting our perspective and battling the fear of man.  Enjoy these nuggets.

Regarding other people, our problem is that we need them (for ourselves) more than we love them (for the glory of God). The task God sets for us is to need them less and love them more. Instead of looking for ways to manipulate others, we will ask God what out duty is toward them. This perspective does not come naturally to any of us, and many of us need to look at this truth from several angles before we can see it. But the conviction of this book is that this truth is another of Scripture’s divine paradoxes – the path of service is the road to freedom. (p. 19)

That’s the paradox of self-esteem: Low self-esteem usually means that I think too highly of myself. I’m to self-involved, I feel I deserve better than what I have. The reason I feel bad about myself is that I aspire to something more. I want just a few minutes of greatness. I am a peasant who wants to be king. When you are in the grips of low self-esteem, it’s painful, and it certainly doesn’t feel like pride. But I believe that this is the dark, quieter side of pride – thwarted pride.  (p. 32)

Doesn’t the teaching on self-esteem and its emphasis on self seem to make the problem worse? That certainly was my experience. When I tried to raise my own self-esteem, it just led to painful self-consciousness and further individualism. Even from a secular perspective, the self-esteem teaching seems suspect…

But even with all the crazy ways that popular books try to inflate our self-esteem, there is a biblical message in it all. The massive interest in self-esteem and self-worth exists because it is trying to help us with a real problem. The problem is that we really are not okay. There is no reason why we should feel great about ourselves. We truly are deficient. The meager props of the self-esteem teaching will eventually collapse and people will realize that their problem is much deeper. The problem is, in part, our nakedness before God. (p. 28-29)

Here is a third and final excerpt from David Powlison’s recent blog post on worry.

Jesus starts out by saying, Your life is so much more than food or clothing. There’s so much more to who you are than what you have or don’t have. Jesus refers back to the story of the rich man who was a fool: “for this reason” points back to what He’d just said. That rich man’s life was not made by the fact that he had lots of money. Money couldn’t give him identity or meaning or security or life. Therefore, Jesus adds, “If that’s so, then your life can’t be unmade by the fact that your finances are tight.” What you have or don’t have is not what’s playing in the theatre of the universe. Your life is more than food and clothes. For starters, what matters a lot more is “Who do you fear?” and “What do you do with Jesus?” Those are life and death.

You’ve probably known people, as I have, where it’s obvious that they are living for very empty, foolish things. Have you ever seen a twenty-three-year-old woman who was living to be beautiful? She’s living for her face. You say, “That is the stupidest thing in the world! If you live for your face, the best that can happen is you grow old and wrinkly. Come on! That’s a losing bet right from the start!”

What if you live for your health or for your athleticism or for adventures? Inevitably, you start to get knee injuries after age thirty-five. Your reflexes slow down. You get old. Systems start to break down. And, sooner or later, you surely die. “You fool! Isn’t there more to life than health and sports and vacations?”

It’s like that with everything we live for— and worry about. If you live for money, you are banking on a clunker. The car is a lemon, but you spent everything you have on it. It will always break down and give you reason to have worries on top of your worries. Your life is so much more. There are better things to give your energies to. I promise you this. I promise you that there is something much more important going on in your life than the stuff you worry about. Go through your worry list one by one. Jesus promises, “Your life is more than __________.” Something much bigger is playing in town. That’s promise Number 1.

Just in case y0u are checking the site last minute to find details for our Easter service, here they are.

We are gathering at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn at 9:30am for a lite breakfast, followed by our service at 10am.  Childcare will be a little different- only the toddler’s nursery and one class for 2 1/2 to 6 year olds.

Hope to see you there!

One of the things that has struck me as our Rooted Bible Reading planhas taken us through Leviticus is the bloodiness of the sacrificial system.  Can you imagine placing your hand on the head of a lamb, symbolically transferring your sins to that lamb, seeing the priest slit its throat and then watching the life drain out of it?  What a reminder of the seriousness of sin!

Today Justin Taylor linked to a blog post by Todd Bolen about a video of a Passover sacrifice conducted in Old Jerusalem last year.  The video link is at the bottom of Bolen’s post.  As they mention, it is graphic- but perhaps graphic is what we need in this case.

Today we celebrate that Jesus the Lamb of God, the ultimate Passover lamb, gave Himself for our sins- once for all.