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Stop Trying to Become More Godly

By Jeremy Myers
39 Comments

Stop Trying to Become More Godly

It is commonly thought that the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to make us more spiritual. That through indwelling and empowering us, He connects us to our “spiritual” side so that we become more Godly and spiritually-minded.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Holy Spirit is given to us, not so that we can be more Godly, but so that we can be more human. So that you can be you, and I can be me.

One of the great lies of the Christian religion is that God wants you to be like Him.

become more godly

This is not true. God does not want you to become like Him. God wants you to become like you.

God wants you to become fully you.

God wants you to become like the person He created you to be.

God does not want you to become fully divine, but to become fully human.

We Must Come out of Hiding

C. S. Lewis once said that the goal of life is to learn to come outside of ourselves. He did not mean that you become less “yourself” but that you become fully “yourself.” Most of us hide our “true self” in the dark recesses of our hearts and minds, afraid that if we come out, people will not like us, love us, or accept us.

We feel that the true person crouching in a dark corner of our heart is not worthwhile, not valuable, not able to contribute, not worth revealing, not worth loving.

This is the great lie, and it seems to me that Christianity often contributes to it.

The Great Lie about Humanity

Many Christians, churches, pastors, and books tell people that who they are is “wrong” and “of this world” and they need to die to themselves and become like Jesus Christ. And while there are attributes and character traits to each of us that need to be sloughed off so that other aspects can be raised up to their potential, I think that we sometimes get the two reversed so that we disown and discredit that which should be strengthened and honored, and we raise up and glorify those things we should let die.

Christianity is great at making clones.

We all wear church-sanctioned clothes, use church-sanctioned language, and engage in church-sanctioned activities.

We do this for the sake of “community” but such community is dead because all the people in it are dead. Sure, they may be breathing and talking, but they are not really living. They are not living within the astonishing uniqueness which God gave them.

You are not fully alive until you become fully you.

The will of God for your life is not a “to do” list so that you can change who you are and become more like God. No, the will of God for your life is that you discover who you are, and then become most fully “you.”

God does not desire a performance, but a person, and He loves you for who you ARE, not for who you might one day become.

As Robert Farrar Capon wrote, “The will of God is … his longing that we will take the risk of being nothing but ourselves” (Hunting the Divine Fox, 275).

God doesn’t want you to be Him; He wants you to be you.

The Holy Spirit Makes You “You”

And this is one reason God gave us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to us to lead us out of the prison of our mind and lead us into being the person that God wants us to be.

The Holy Spirit does not make us like God; the Holy Spirit makes us like ourselves.

The Holy Spirit does not make us more spiritual, but more physical, that is, more human.

The Holy Spirit does not prepare us to live in another world, but prepares us to fully live in this world.

This work of the Holy Spirit happens in two stages.

The Two Stages of Spirit-Inspired Human Development

mystery of godlinessFirst, the Spirit helps us to see that the person we are inside is the person God wants us to be.

The “me” inside is not someone to be ignored, locked away, or hidden from sight, but is someone to be embraced, loved, and strengthened.

The Spirit helps us “see” ourselves for who we really are, and learn to love ourselves for who we are.

Second, the Spirit gives us the courage to reveal ourselves, our true self, to others.

Each of us is made with amazing gifts, talents, abilities, insights, ideas, and personalities. The Spirit helps us learn what these are, and learn how to share these with others.

When we do this, it is then that we begin to become truly human, and in this way, begin to truly reveal Jesus Christ to others.

How to Become Godly

The surprising thing is that when we learn to become more like the person God made us to be, when we live up to our divinely-sanctioned human potential, it is only then that we begin to develop into godliness and Christlikeness.

Jesus was the perfect man, not because He didn’t sin, but because He lived up to His full potential.

Similarly, when we also start to live up to our full potential, when we start to become who God made us to be, when we live the way God created us each to live, it is then that we become more Godly.

It is a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. In chasing after godliness, we end up denying ourselves and who God made us to be, and the result is a life that is less human and less divine. But when we, with the indwelling Holy Spirit as our guide, chase after the person God created us to be, it is then that we become more human. And since becoming the person God made us to be fulfills His plan for us, we become more like God in the process.

So stop trying to become like God. Instead, ask God to use the Holy Spirit to mold and make you more like you.

God is Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, godliness, Theology of Man, Theology of the Holy Spirit

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It’s hard to be religious…

By Jeremy Myers
6 Comments

It’s hard to be religious…

hard to be religious calvin and hobbes

God is Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: humor, laugh a little, religion

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2000 Posts! And how YOU can win some of my books!

By Jeremy Myers
26 Comments

2000 Posts! And how YOU can win some of my books!

2000 Blog Posts!It’s my Birthday (in a couple days, anyway), and I want to thank you for the great Birthday present.

I also want to give YOU a present (Read on to find out how to win some of my paperback books. I’m giving away 65 of them.)

Did you know you gave me a Birthday present?

You did.

What was it?

You read this blog.

Thank you very, very much. You have no idea how much it means to me. (Keep reading to find out how I am celebrating.)

And you know what else? This post is my 2000th post.

Yes, since this blog began, I have written 2000 blog posts!

Below are some other milestones we have passed along the way…

NONE of this is to brag or boast, but just to say thank you for the Birthday presents… Every time you read a blog post, it is like another gift to me. A gift of your time, your eyes, and your mind. Thank you.

The website has received over 3 million pageviews.

I’m getting nearly 200,000 per month now…

200000 pageviews per month

The website has received over 23,000 comments.

23,000 comments

I have published 12 books.

Click the image below to see my books on Amazon…

Amazon.com  Jeremy Myers  Books  Biography  Blog  Audiobooks  Kindle

More to Come!

I am nearly done with my next book. It is a book on the atonement. The book is done, but I am just working on two appendices, and then it goes into the editing and layout phase…

As always, those who subscribe to my email newsletter will get a free digital copy when it comes out. So make sure you are a subscriber!

Also, I have a super exciting announcement in early September… (So stay tuned).

Get Presents FROM ME for my Birthday

As a way of celebrating my Birthday and my 2000th post, I am giving away over 50 paperback copies of some of my books, plus 15 copies of a book from a friend of mine. So, your chances of winning are pretty good…

Of course, I will not be shipping out over 65 packages… I will make up about 15 “sets” of books, and send those to the winners.

If you want to win free paperback copies of several of my books, enter below: You can enter every day, and the contest is over on September 3, 2015.

[This contest is now over…]

Please share this post using these buttons as well. Thanks!

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Thanks again for reading, and I look forward to the next 2000 posts!

God is Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: blog reading, Blogging, free books, giveaway

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What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name?

By Jeremy Myers
35 Comments

What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name?

Jesus says that whatever you ask for in his name will be given to you (John 14:13-14). But what does that mean?

In an attempt to follow Jesus’ instructions, many parents and churches teach (usually by example) that every prayer should conclude with the words “…in Jesus’ name, Amen.” But is this what Jesus meant?

In Jesus name

Sometimes you hear people take this idea to an extreme, and they say, “…in Jesus’ name” over and over throughout their prayer such as this:

Father, we come before you in the name of Jesus, to ask ย you, Father, that you bless our time together, in Jesus’ name. And we bring forward our needs to you, Father, thinking of Ruth and her ingrown toenail, that you would heal it, Father, in Jesus’ name. And we lift up to you the sick cat of Carol. You know, Father, how the cat has been throwing up all night, and how Carol loves the cat which you gave her, and so we ask that you reach down out of heaven and touch her cat in Jesus’ name, Father, and deliver her cat from this malady that is causing the cat and Carol so much problem, in Jesus’ name…

And so on. (And while you might think I am trying to be funny with requests about toenails and sick cats, if you have been in many prayer meetings, you know that these sorts of requests are not uncommon.)

Even when Christians are able to root out of their prayers all the repetitious mentioning of “Father” and “in Jesus’ name,” it is still quite common for most Christians to end their prayers with the word, “… in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

I admit I do this. It is a habit I just cannot break.

in Jesus nameBut why would I want to break it?

Doesn’t Jesus tell us to pray in His name?

Well, yes, He does. But His instruction does not mean that we liberally sprinkle our prayers with the magic words “in Jesus’ name” or that we even close out our prayers with these words.

When we do this, we are treating the words “in Jesus’ name” like they are some sort of magical incantation by which we will get whatever we ask for in prayer. But that is not at all what Jesus meant, and in fact, mindlessly repeating the words “in Jesus’ name” to get what we ask for in prayer is actually the exact opposite of what Jesus meant when He invited us to pray in His name.

What does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”?

To pray “in Jesus’ name” means to pray as if Jesus Himself was praying our prayers.

When an ambassador visits another country “in the name of the king” (or president) it is as if his king (or president) is speaking the words that the ambassador speaks. The leaders of these other countries are to assume that whatever the ambassador says, it is as if the king (or president) himself said them.

Obviously then, the ambassador had better be certain that what he says is exactly what the king himself would say. If an ambassador says something foolish or insulting, he could easily start a war or ruin a trade agreement or destroy a treaty. To be a good ambassador, the ambassador needs to know the mind and heart and will of his king so intimately, that the two minds are nearly one.

This is what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name.” They are not magic words to get what you want, but are a mind frame we must adopt when praying to God. We must so intimately know the mind and heart and will of Jesus in whatever situation we are praying about, that the words we speak are the same exact words Jesus would speak if He Himself were the one making the petition to God.

How to Pray in Jesus’ Name

So to expand a bit on what Jesus said in John 14:13-14, I think His words could be paraphrased this way:

But when you pray, spend time thinking about what I value, what I have instructed you, how I lived my life, the kind of example I provided, the people I hung out with, the goals I sought to achieve, the relationship I had with God. Take careful notice of what I taught and what I prayed for. Then, offer your requests to God in light of these things. And when you do, make these requests boldly, knowing that the words you speak are the same words I am speaking. And when you pray this way, know that your prayers will be answered.

in Jesus name amenIf you are not completely confident that what you are praying is what Jesus Himself would pray, this is when it is best to add the little caveat to your prayers of “if it is your will.” This way, in your conversations with God, you can tell Him what is heavy on your heart and weighs on your mind, but you are telling Him that you trust Him to make the best decision since you yourself do not know what is best.

In my opinion, most of the prayers we pray will be of this second sort, where we recognize that our hearts can be deceived and our minds darkened, and so we leave judgment and decision up to God.

To “pray with faith” is not to summon up so much “confidence” that God is somehow “forced” to do what we ask. No, to pray with faith is to offer our requests to God, knowing that He loves us and will do what is best for us, even if this involves not giving us what we have asked for.

So let us stop praying with magical words by which we try to coerce God and manipulate Him to do what we want. Stop using magic words in your prayers.

Instead, let us spend time learning the heart and mind of Jesus so that our prayers can match His prayers, and then, when we pray, pray with the humility of faith, knowing that God will do what is best for us.

Do I need to say ‘Amen’ at the end of my prayers?

Do you want to pray like never before?

Do you what to talk to God like you talk to a friend? Do you want to see more answers to prayer?

If you have these (and other) questions about prayer, let me send you some teaching and instruction about prayer to your email inbox. You will receive one or two per week, absolutely free. Fill out the form below to get started.

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God is Redeeming Life, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: answers to prayer, how to pray, Jesus name, John 14:13-14, prayer, What is prayer

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Why the Eagles Cut Tim Tebow

By Jeremy Myers
81 Comments

Why the Eagles Cut Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow EaglesDo you want to know why the Eagles cut Tim Tebow? Or why the Patriots and Jets didn’t keep him on their roster? Or why the Broncos traded him?

It’s not because of his quarterback skills (or lack thereof, depending on who you ask). From a purely statistical perspective, Tim Tebow is better than most 3rd string quarterbacks and many 2nd string quarterbacks in the NFL.

It is also not the media frenzy that follow Tim Tebow wherever he goes, though this is part of it.

The real reason that the Eagles cut Tim Tebow is because Tim Tebow believes that his purpose on a football team is to evangelize his teammates and the coaching staff. Every time he gets a camera in his face, he starts talking about Jesus and giving glory to God for letting him play football.

But NFL Coaches don’t put people on their team to give them a platform to share their religious ideas. Nor do they put people on their team to share their political ideas. Or to sell their branded merchandise.

Imagine what would happen if an NFL football player, every time he got a camera in his face, said, “I’m just glad I get to play this game because it gives me the opportunity to tell you about my line of t-shirts and hats. Go to my store today to buy one!” No NFL coach in the league wants someone like that on their team.

NFL Coaches put players on their teams to win football games.

In the locker room, in team meetings, in coaching meetings, on the field, and in front of the cameras, Tim Tebow was always talking about Jesus and inviting people to believe in Jesus, and on and on and on.

It’s not about Tim Tebow getting more reps in the CFL. If Chip Kelly really believed that all Tim Tebow needed to become an NFL-quality QB was more reps, Kelly could have given that to Tebow in practices. No, that excuse is a smoke-screen. Kelly can’t come out and say he cut Tebow because Tebow spent half his time practicing and the other half proselyting, because the religious right in this country would scream and yell about religious discrimination.

But it’s not religious discrimination. It’s about not doing your job because of your religion. (Like the clerk in Kentucky who won’t issue marriage licenses … If she can’t do her job for religious reasons, that’s fine, but then she needs to quit her job.)

Tim Tebow prayingIf Tim Tebow wants to play in the NFL as a quarterback, here is my recommendation to him: โ€œTim, stop praying after you score a touchdown. Stop putting โ€œJohn 3:16โ€ in your eye black. Stop giving thanks to Jesus whenever you win a game.โ€

I agree with Jake Plummer, who, in 2011, gave Tebow the best advice, but which Tebow never heeded. Jake Plummer said this:

โ€œI wish heโ€™d just shut up after a game and go hug his teammates,โ€ Plummer said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. โ€œI think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ then I think Iโ€™ll like him a little better. I donโ€™t hate him because of that, I just would rather not have to hear that every time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff.โ€

I can hear the Christian outrage already.

What? You want Tim Tebow to stop witnessing? You want him to stop thanking God for his successes? Weโ€™re not supposed to be ashamed of the Gospel! With all the murders and wife-beaters in the NFL, itโ€™s nice to have a good Christian role model for a change, and you want him to just shut up about his faith in Jesus?! What kind of heathen heretic are you, anyway?

Yes, well, hear me out.

I am thrilled that Tim Tebow is outspoken about his faith. Notice that I never said anything about him hiding the fact that heโ€™s an evangelical Christian.

But Tim Tebow is making a basic mistake about witnessing, which is the same mistake a lot of Christians make.

Lots of Christians think that if they gain some sort of prominence in the public sphere, this means that they are responsible for using their position or their prominence as a platform to witness to other people.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

If a Christian becomes the CEO of a large corporation, God has not put him or her in that position so that they can witness to all the employees of the corporation, shout โ€œPraise Jesus!โ€ whenever they land a big account, or open up all their board meetings with prayer. God does not raise up Christians to places of prominence so they can cram Christianity down other people’s throats.

No, the person in a position of power or prominence is there so they can be the best CEO possible. They may include (but is not limited to) providing good wages and fair treatment to employees, and operating the business with honesty, transparency, and generosity. It means running the business in an ethical way, with creativity and imagination.

I hate it when well-meaning Christians tell powerful, prominent, rich Christians that โ€œGod raised you up for such a time as this.โ€ Then they are told that God raised them up so they can hand out gospel tracts to their employees, or take a stand for โ€œbiblical marriage,โ€ or some such nonsense.

I hear such things, I just want to barf.

If God raised someone up to be a CEO (which is debatable), then it was not to hand out gospel tracts or take a stand for โ€œbiblical marriage,โ€ but is for the purpose of being the best CEO they can possibly be. If God really raised a person up to be a CEO of a company, it would be for the purpose of showing the world how a business can successfully be run according to the principles and values of the Kingdom of God rather than the principles of the rulers of this world. Same goes for politics, music, art, and sports.

This brings us back to Tim Tebow.

Tim Tebow John 3:16If God truly raised up Tim Tebow to be an NFL quarterback (which is debatable), then it was not so that Tim could announce his Christian faith by praying in the End Zone and praising Jesus at press conferences. No, God raised up Tim Tebow to be a quarterback so that he can be the best quarterback Tim Tebow can be. Period.

If Tim Tebow wants to be a quarterback in the NFL, he needs to be an NFL quarterback; not a missionary quarterback. Not a prophet quarterback. Not a โ€œGodโ€™s spokesmanโ€ quarterback. Just a quarterback. He needs to work hard, throw the ball, and run the ball. And he must do it all with honesty, integrity, and a good work ethic both on and off the field.

Someone needs to tell Tim Tebow that the NFL stage is not for proclaiming the Gospel but for playing football.

If you still disagree with me, let me make one more point.

When Tim Tebow played for the Denver Broncos and knelt to give thanks to God every time he scored, what exactly was the message he was proclaiming to all who watched him? I think Tim Tebow thought he was showing everybody that he was thankful to God.

But thankful for what?

For letting Tim play football in the NFL?

If that is the case, what about all the other Christian quarterbacks who also wanted to play in the NFL but never had the chance? Does God love Tim Tebow more? Does God hear his prayers more? Is Tim Tebow more faithful than those other quarterbacks?

Or maybe the prayers of Tim Tebow were his way of giving thanks to God for scoring a touchdown?

But again, if this is the case, what does this tell the Christian players on the opposing teamโ€™s defense? Does Tim think that God heard his own prayers and ignored those of the Christians on the defense? If Tim threw an interception, would he like it if the opposing team knelt down to thank God for Timโ€™s bad pass?

Tim Tebow and GodHereโ€™s the point: Whatever Tim Tebowโ€™s motives might be (and I think they are pure), his prayers on the field tell the world that God hears and answers the prayers of some people more than those of others. This further implies that everybody who doesnโ€™t seem to have the success, money, or fame that Tim Tebow has, must have less faith than Tim, or maybe God just doesnโ€™t love them as much as He apparently loves Tim.

I really, really doubt that this is the message Tim wants to send when he kneels to pray in the end zone.

Which is why I encourage Tim to stop praying on the football field.

And the โ€œJohn 3:16โ€ on his eye lids needs to go as well, for the same reasons. If he wants to invite people to believe in Jesus for eternal life, let him do it in one of his numerous speaking engagements, or in personal conversations with friends off the field. But when heโ€™s on the field, this is not the time to share the gospel, but to live the gospel by being the most hard-working, honest, ethical, cheerful, and dependable quarterback he can possibly be.

And this will be a good example to the rest of us about how to be a Christian in this world. I am not a good Christian if I refuse to do my work because I have to pray for 15 minutes out of every hour โ€œin order to show my coworkers how good of a Christian I am.โ€ I am not a good Christian if I refuse to work with certain coworkers because they have a lifestyle I disapprove of. I am not a good Christian if I show up late for work because โ€œmy morning devotions went too long.โ€

Look, we Christians are not good Christian witnesses when we stop doing the things we should be doing because we want to โ€œbe a witness.โ€ No, we are good Christian witnesses when we work hard at being the best we can be in whatever job or position we find ourselves.

Christian witnessing is not accomplished by trying to be a witness.

Christian witnessing is accomplished by living life the best we can and loving others in the process as much as we are able. When we do this, we naturally become a witness to how a life looks that is transformed by God.

So if Tim Tebow truly want to follow his lifelong dream of being an NFL quarterback, I suggest he lose the Christian circus. This begins with letting his passing, not his praying, do the talking.

God is Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, evangelism, prayer, witnessing

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