Purpose

Vol. 2 Issue 4
January 24, 2008
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

The Roadmap to Peace

George W. Bush and I were in Israel earlier this month … not together. But I did see his airplane on the tarmac at Ben Gurion. He came over as part of an eight day trip to bring peace to the Middle East. I appreciate his optimism, but eight days isn’t much time.

Like I usually do before writing about a particular subject I research the definitions of key words to get a feel for what they really mean. This week’s subject, “Peace,” wasn’t any different. Webster’s defines “peace” as: “the condition that exists when nations or other groups are not fighting//the end of a state of war//the treaty that marks the end of war//friendly relations between individuals, untroubled by disputes.”

“The condition that exists when nations or other groups are not fighting.” That sounds reasonable. That’s what everybody wants for the Middle East, right? That’s why President Bush went over there, right? He wants peace in the Middle East. That’s what I want too.

I get most of my instructions from a Book that has a lot to say about Israel and a lot to say about peace. It’s the single most authoritative work on Israel and on peace ever written. As a matter of fact, it includes a Roadmap to Peace in the Middle East; it’s been in there for nearly two thousand years. I’m talking about the Bible, of course, and I wonder why more politicians don’t consult it as they work toward peace in the Middle East.

*****

The Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek originally. And since that’s the Book I’m studying to understand how to achieve peace (whether it’s in the Middle East or in my own heart) I figured I’d better understand the definition of peace in those languages.
“Eirene” is the Greek word for peace in the New Testament. There’s another word, “sigao,” translated peace in English but it means “be quiet” or “hold your tongue” as in “keep your peace.” Not the kind of peace we’re looking for right now.

Eirene, to the secular Greeks back in New Testament days, meant about the same as “peace” means to us as defined by Webster, “the absence of war.” The New Testament writers, though, drew on their Hebrew roots to make eirene mean something deeper then just “not fighting.”

The Hebrew word for “peace” is probably the best known Hebrew word, by Jews and Gentiles alike, around the world. It’s the word, “Shalom.” “Shalom” means more than just “the absence of war.” According to the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary; “It was not a negative or passive concept but involved wholeness and completeness. The related verb could mean to ‘repay’ or ‘fulfill a vow’ and so referred to completing or repairing a relationship. A related adjective could be used to describe something as ‘uninjured, safe, complete, peaceable.’”

So, “Shalom” peace means “wholeness, completeness, that something’s already been paid for or that a vow has been fulfilled.” It means that “a relationship has been completed or repaired.” Wow. That’s a lot more than just “not fighting.”

Remember a few weeks ago when we talked about the Greek words for “love”? The Greeks never really used the word, agapao in secular society. Agapao referred to God’s sacrificial love in response to our need; it was a word and a definition reserved for the Christians.

“Eirene”(peace) was treated the same way. The secular Greeks limited its definition to “the absence of war.” Early Christians, however, had a deeper meaning for “eirene”; drawn from their Hebraic roots and their relationship with the resurrected Christ, who became “peace” for them.

“Peace,” to the early Christians (and hopefully to us later Christians) meant much more than “the absence of war”; it was a relationship with the One who reconciles what is broken so that it is once again whole, once again as it should be, once again at peace.

Peace is a relationship. It’s reconciliation between God and man. The relationship between God and man was broken when our father Adam chose his own way. Peace is a state of being whole; that state of being was broken in the Garden. Fixing that broken relationship, that broken state of being, required that a price be paid.

Jesus Christ, God’s Son, understood the broken relationship and the price for making it whole again. Through his death on the cross, He made payment for Adam’s sin debt, providing the way for Adam’s children to be reconciled, be at peace, with God; their relationship restored.

Broken relationships between men are only reflections and symptoms of the broken relationship between God and man. Likewise, peace between men is only possible when man has come to a place of peace with God. The one key relationship must be restored in order to make restoring other relationships possible.

Hostility between Jews and Arabs is no new thing. It began nearly four thousand years ago, between competing sons of the same father. One son, the eldest and rightful heir in earthly terms was tossed out in the cold when his younger half-brother was conceived. The younger son, the child of a promise, was given the birthright and the blessing of his father, which in turn, was the birthright and blessing of God. Ironically, the story repeated itself a generation later between twin brothers.

This animosity between brothers grew into an animosity between people; between the sons of Isaac and Jacob and the sons of Ishmael and Esau; between Jews and Arabs. The relationship, broken between brothers thousands of years ago, prevents peace between their children today.

The only way there’s ever going to be peace between the Jews and the Arabs is to restore the relationship that was broken so long ago. But that’s not going to happen … not until another, more important relationship is restored.

In his letter to the believers in Ephesus, Paul explained this peace process; how Christ mended the relationship between God and man, and in doing so not only made peace between God and man, but also a way of peace between all men.

"For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit."

(Ephesians 2:14-22 Living Bible)

*****

“Unit[ing] Jews and Gentiles into one people”? “Hostility toward each other … put to death”? Is such a thing even possible between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East?

Yup. I witnessed it.

At the same time President Bush was talking to the Israelis and the Palestinians about making peace I was with Israelis and Palestinians who had already made peace.

They were the people of Carmel Assembly in Haifa. Israeli Jews, Arabs, Druze, and Gentiles from around the world. Because of Jesus, they were all now members of one family, they were “one people”; a new creation. They sang together, prayed together, ate together, brought up their children together; one family. Their peace between each other, their repaired relationship between Jew and Arab, was made possible through Christ, who repaired their relationship with God and gave them a peace deeper than any man-made Roadmap to Peace could offer.

It’s a definition of peace that goes way beyond “the absence of war.” It’s a “shalom” peace. It’s wholeness, completeness, a bill that’s been paid, a vow that’s been fulfilled; it’s a relationship that’s been repaired. Theirs is a peace between restored brothers of the same father; not Abraham, but God.

I pray every day for peace in the Middle East. I know it’s possible, I’ve seen it in action.

I wish President Bush all the luck in the world as he tries to make the Roadmap to Peace work, and I appreciate the efforts of politicians, leaders, and well-wishers from around the world as they work for peace in the Middle East. I just think they’re going about it the wrong way.

Pray for peace. He’s already provided the way.

Until next week … Shalom,

Steve Spillman

Purpose

Vol. 2 Issue 3
January 18, 2008
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Joy

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Thinking of this week’s subject, joy, I was having a tough time getting my mind around the idea. Joy, according to Webster’s Dictionary is: “intense happiness or great delight.” Happiness or delight about what? People display joy (intense happiness or great delight) over all sorts of things – a new house, a new car, a new baby. What makes joy, as a fruit of the Spirit any different than joy in general?

As usual, God had an object lesson in mind for me.

*****

I attended church services at Kehilat HaCarmel last Saturday. Kehilat HaCarmel, or Carmel Assembly, is a non-denominational Christian church on Mount Carmel in northern Israel; not too far from the seaside city of Haifa and not too far from the Lebanese border. Remember the Bible story about Elijah calling fire down on the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel? That’s the place.

Carmel Assembly is a Messianic Jewish congregation; that is, most of the congregation is made up of Israeli Jews who have accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah. But the congregation is by no means exclusively of Israeli or Jewish descent. The Christians of Carmel Assembly are made up of native Jewish, Arab, and Druze Israelis and immigrants from America, Russia, Asia and Africa – it’s a pretty international group.

Christian pilgrims from around the world often visit Carmel Assembly when they’re in Israel. My friend, John, knew the pastor from past visits and invited me and a few other friends to join him for Sabbath services. We sang hymns and worship songs in Hebrew (the words were translated into English and Russian so the non-Hebrew speakers could understand and sing along). The sermon was preached by an Arab pastor, in Hebrew, and translated into Russian by an interpreter on stage. I listened through headphones as an unseen interpreter fed me the pastor’s words in English.

I’m not a big fan of going to church for church’s sake. Christians gathering together in fellowship, community and worship is a good thing; we’re told to do it in the Bible. But, going to a building every week, sitting through a bunch of music and words and thinking that the act will somehow gain you brownie points in Heaven isn’t biblical and frankly, it’s a waste of your time.

When the Bible talks about the church it’s talking about you and me, those individuals who make up the body of Christ. It’s not talking about a building or a denomination or a tradition. It’s too easy for folks to confuse a relationship with Jesus Christ with “going to church.” The difference between the two is that one will give you eternal life and the other one won’t.

The people (the church) that gathered at Carmel Assembly last Saturday were, to me, a wonderful example of what a church gathering ought to be. People from every nation, language, tradition, and race, united in worship of the One who made them a family and gave them a life that doesn’t end.

What I saw in their faces and heard in their voices was joy. By joy, I’m trying to convey something more transcendent than just mere happiness. Happiness speaks to the circumstances - a new house, a new car, a new baby. Joy is deeper; it speaks of something beyond our present circumstance.

The people (the church) in Carmel come from a lot of different backgrounds and life experience. In many ways their daily existence probably isn’t a lot different from ours. They have jobs and spouses and kids. They need groceries and electricity. They worry about the world going to pot all around them and the unique dangers we all face from the outside world in this century. They juggle families and parents and in-laws; all of these relationships in various states of grace or disrepair; just like us.

They’re a lot like us … almost. Their faith, because of their unique location and situation seems a little closer to the surface, a little more practical in light of their daily reality. Whether we like the idea or not, it’s a universal truth that faith is developed and matured in the presence of trouble. If life is good and everything is going your way how much opportunity do you really have to get your faith out of the closet, dust it off and expose it to the light of day?

Let me explain. Yousef, the pastor who gave the sermon on Saturday is an Arab Christian. He wasn’t born into a nice Arab Christian home and he didn’t grow up in a nice Arab Christian neighborhood. He was born and raised a Moslem. When Yousef gave his life to Christ, he was kicked out of his home. His family hasn’t spoken to him since.

Before they were married, Yousef’s pretty wife gave her life to Christ and became a part of the family of God too. Good thing, because her family divorced them both on the spot and haven’t spoken to them since. Still, they got off easy. It’s perfectly acceptable under Islamic law to have them both murdered for rejecting Islam and disgracing their families.

Undeterred, they started a small fellowship for Arab Christians. Their little church was firebombed by the neighborhood watch. Did that discourage them? Nah … in fact they rejoiced. Their unique circumstance allowed them to experience the kind of faith described by James the brother of Jesus. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” (James 1:2).

David and Karen, the husband and wife team who founded Carmel Assembly began their ministry in Israel by opening a drug rehabilitation center. Worthy cause right? The community wasn’t exactly happy about the idea. The men of the town paid the couple a visit to voice their displeasure … with guns. Did the death threats put their plans on hold? Nah … they found joy in Paul’s words as his life was threatened for preaching the good news of Christ. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (II Corinthians 4:17-18).

Church announcements were along the same lines as church announcements in this country, but the details were a little different. “Don’t forget that next Saturday after the service we begin our fifty hour intercessory prayer meeting.” “For all of those beginning the forty day fast next week, we ask that you not fast from water.” “Our mid-week prayer service will be held in the bomb shelter.” Like I said, typical church announcements, only the details are a little different from what we’re used to.

Are these people better Christians or intrinsically more holy than us here at home? I don’t think so. It’s just that their unique circumstance gives them more opportunity to practice their faith in the light of tribulation that the Bible promises will come upon us in this life.

If you live your Christian life in a world where nothing ever goes wrong, where your family never threatens to murder you for your faith, where the neighbors never fire-bomb your church or threaten to kill you for ministering to drug addicts, where you never have prayer meetings in the same bomb shelter you retreat to during missile attacks, then certain aspects of your faith can seem sort of theoretical. Believe me, trials and tribulation aren’t theoretical to the people of Carmel Assembly.

So what affected me so remarkably about this group of Christians? Was it their situation or perseverance or sacrifice or exposure to imminent threat? All those things are a part of their daily reality, much more so than we, as a body, in this country have ever experienced. But that wasn’t what impressed me. It was their joy.

They celebrated plenty in their worship; singing, dancing, hugging and greeting one another, but they weren’t necessarily more joyous than Christians here. A lot of us do that sort of thing. I’m not comparing their level of joy as Christians to ours. I’m comparing the evident source of their joy, or rather, their joy in spite of their surroundings.

Because I learned a little bit about their reality, I could see that their joy wasn’t because their daily circumstance was all that great, it was because they know what their eternal circumstance is. I’m not criticizing Christians who have been blessed by living in a society where mom and dad love Jesus and they’re tickled you do too, where the neighbors are happy to see a new church or street ministry pop up and don’t consider fire-bombing the church building or coming to your house with guns in the night to discourage your ministry and where we don’t have bomb shelters because we don’t have missile attacks. I don’t wish any of that on us or on them. I’m profoundly thankful that my reality isn’t their reality, but I take it as a gift, as a blessing I’m not deserving of and as a responsibility to use what I’ve been blessed with in His service.

What I was able to see in them was a spirit of joy that I knew didn’t come from an easy situation or abundant possessions in this world. It came from their hope in the next. Joy, as displayed by the folks of Carmel Assembly, is a fruit of the Spirit. It’s a result of God living inside of us. It’s something the world has no ability to give to us and no power to take away. Joy is immune to hardship and trouble and tribulation. It’s a gift from the next world that we’re allowed to hold onto today.

Peter, who was a guy that knew something about church and something about tribulation, also knew something about joy. He explained the relationship.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! The inheritance to which we are born is one that nothing can destroy or spoil or whither. It is kept for you in heaven, and you, because you put your faith in God, are under the protection of his power until salvation comes – the salvation which even now is in readiness and will be revealed at the end of time. This is cause for great joy, even though now you smart for a little while, if need be, under trials of many kinds. Even gold passes through the assayer’s fire, and more precious than perishable gold is faith which has stood the test. These trials have come so that your faith may prove itself worthy of all praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. You have not seen him, yet you love him; and trusting in him now without seeing him, you are transported with a joy too great for words, while you reap the harvest of your faith, that is, salvation for your souls.” (I Peter 3-9)

*****

In yours prayers, remember our brothers and sisters in Carmel and around the world who share our joy in spite of their circumstance. Until next week, I wish you joy in Christ.

Steve Spillman

Purpose

Vol. 2 Issue 2
January 10, 2008
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Love

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).

I was beginning to wonder if spending nine weeks exploring the fruit of the Spirit might be a little too preachy, a little too much like I was giving a sermon instead of writing about purpose and human potential. The fruit of the Spirit includes some wonderful character traits, but is it really on topic for this newsletter?

When I started reading Paul’s introduction to the fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatians, I realized that he was writing about freedom; escaping the slavery that prevents us from accomplishing our purpose and embracing the freedom to become whole, fully-realized human beings – as God intended us. That’s about as on-topic for our weekly Purpose letter as I can imagine.

*****

When we talk about “love” in the New Testament, we always have to start out with a Greek lesson. The New Testament was written in Greek and then translated into other languages; ours being English. The thing is, the Greek words the New Testament writers used don’t always have an English equivalent that’s going to accurately and fully convey the meaning the writer was trying to get across. “Love” may be the best example in the New Testament. In fact, “love” may be the most important word in the New Testament.

In English we use the word “love” to convey a lot of different meanings, from I “love” hotdogs, to I “love” the guys on my bowling team, to the sign on that seedy little video store on the west side of town called the “Love Shop,” to “For God so loved the world…”.

It can get a little confusing. That’s why the Greeks had different words for all those meanings of “love” … and that’s why we need a Greek lesson before we start to consider what the New Testament means when it speaks of “love.”

“Epithumia” is a Greek word that could be translated “love” in English. “Epithumia” means “craving, a desire for what is forbidden, lust.” It’s what that guy at the video store was thinking when he ordered his sign. When the Bible uses “epithumia” it’s not a good thing and certainly not what Paul was talking about as fruit of the Spirit.

“Eros” means “erotic or sexual love.” “Eros” isn’t in the same irredeemable league as “epithumia.” It still has mainly to do with sex, but is can mean the romantic and intimate love between man and wife. Not altogether bad, but not a word used in the Bible, so we’ll move on.

Of the two words used to convey “love” as we generally understand it, “phileo” would be the meaning we use most commonly as part of our everyday life. “Phileo” means “to approve of, to like, to treat affectionately or kindly, to welcome, befriend, to be fond of doing.” When I say that I “love” hotdogs and I “love” the guys on my bowling team, I’m talking about “phileo.” It’s a nice word, but not fruit of the Spirit.

“Agapao” (or “agape”) is what the Bible says we should have as a result of God’s Spirit living inside of us. “Agapao” wasn’t used much in Greek culture at the time the New Testament books were written; it was more of a “church” word. Believers used “agapao” to express the unconditional love God has shown to us in Christ and that believers should show toward their brothers.

My friend and author David Pawson explains “agape” love in his book, Is John 3:16 the Gospel?

"[Agape] is the love of action. In other words, ‘eros’ is centered in the heart, ‘phileo’ in the mind, but ‘agape’ is centered in the will. The nearest English word I can get to ‘agape’ is care. To care for someone means giving them two things: your attention and your action. It is to do something loving on their behalf. Essentially, it is a response to someone’s need. It is neither a response to their attractiveness nor a response to things which may interest them. To act in agape love is to respond to someone else’s need, pay attention to that need, and then do something about it."

The kind of love Paul lists as fruit of the Spirit is a love of will and action. It’s a love that would sacrifice itself to come to the rescue of others. It’s the same love Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Paul tried to show the early believers that no matter what else they considered a sign of being godly, if they didn’t have love they were wasting their time. He told them that they could display all the gifts of the Spirit; they could speak in tongues, they could prophecy, they could have all the wisdom and knowledge and power in the world, they could give all their money to the poor and sacrifice their lives, but if they didn’t possess love (agape) it would all be for nothing.

Right after that, he explained what agape love is and isn’t: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (I Corinthians 13: 4-8a).

Agape love isn’t a feeling; it’s a matter of will. You have to practice it intentionally.

How do you incorporate agape love into your everyday? Take Paul’s advice. The next time your spouse or child or coworker aggravates you, take a breath, be patient; look past your irritation to their need.

The next time you see a young mother in a parking lot, in the rain, trying to wrangle three children and get her groceries in the trunk at the same time, offer a hand. The next time the kid in line ahead of you is fifty cents short, dig out your change. The next time you see a soldier in an airport buying lunch or a coffee, pay the cashier. Be kind.

Don’t worry about Bob having a nicer car than you, or about Sally having a bigger house. Life is about loving Bob and Sally, not about loving their stuff. If Bob or Sally is a little green about you having the nice car and big house, blow it off; Bob and Sally are more important than your stuff too. Don’t envy, don’t boast.

Don’t be rude, don’t be self-serving, don’t get angry every time something isn’t going your way, don’t hold a grudge. You get the idea. Take Paul’s list above and make your own list.

*****

To say that love is the key to success in life, the key to fulfilling our life’s purpose and living to our highest potential seems a bit naive in light of today’s philosophy and concept of success. In a world that defines success as “the attainment of fame, wealth and power,” can love really trump all of man’s schemes and strategies to make his life matter?

As I said in last week’s letter; everything this world has told you about success, purpose and human potential is wrong. True success goes beyond the here and now. True success lasts; real meaning and purpose are still alive long after the cars and houses have turned to dust and long after the opinions on men have been lost in the history of eternity.

When our lives on earth come to an end and when this earth itself finally passes away, Paul tells us, only three things from the here and now will remain: “faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

*****

I mentioned my friend David Pawson, above. David lives, writes and teaches in the United Kingdom. His book, Is John 3:16 the Gospel? And many, many other wonderful resources can be purchased from www.goodseed.org.

Next week, we will explore joy, and discover how joy is integral to living out our purpose and living up to our true potential. Until then, may God bless you and keep you.

Steve Spillman

Purpose

Vol. 2 Issue 1
January 3, 2008
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

Producing Fruit

I started True Potential Publishing to address how we define success and human potential in this culture. Before founding the publishing company I had been in business for several years and had been in full time sales for years before that. As a young, energetic, thinking salesman I gravitated toward books and audio tapes about how to become more successful in my career and in life.

All of the success literature I read and listened to had pretty much the same message. “You are in control of your own destiny.” Their action steps were pretty similar as well:

1. I deserve and I can accomplish anything I can imagine.
2. I will determine that nothing will get in the way accomplishing my goal.
3. I will make a plan for my life.
4. I will execute my plan – every day, every week, every month, every year – until I accomplish my goal.
5. I will look in the mirror every morning and tell myself, “I am good.” “I am worthy.” “I deserve success.” “I can accomplish anything.”
6. Putting myself first will enable me to help others later.

See a common theme here? The words “I” and “me” come up a lot don’t they? I am in control, I decide, I make it happen, I deserve it, I am the center of my own universe; it’s all about me.

As I studied I could see the self-serving and self-absorbed focus of this kind of success literature. I had been raised in a Christian home, believed that Christ was my savior and down inside knew that there had to be something a little more to success in life than “I” and “me.” So I went looking for the success guys who claimed to be, or at least hinted at being, Christians. But I was disappointed. What I found was the same old “I” philosophy dressed in “God” verbiage.

If you dress a pig in a tutu you haven’t turned it into a ballerina; it’s just a pig in a tutu. You can’t make a carnal philosophy holy by dressing it in religious words or preaching it from a pulpit. No matter how you dress it up, it’s still a pig in a tutu.
I had to completely dump everything I had learned about “success” and “human potential” and begin again from an entirely different perspective – God’s.

*****

The ancient Greeks came up with the idea that the earth is the center of the universe and all celestial bodies - the other planets, the sun and the stars revolve around it. This belief persisted for a long time; nearly two thousand years.

The idea that the universe revolves around the earth made sense to pretty much everyone; it seemed true from where they were standing. The sun came up in the east every morning and went down in the west. Likewise the moon rose and set in an arc across the sky. The stars, from their observation, rotated around them in the heavens. From their perspective, everything seemed to rotate in its orbit around the earth.

It was also evident to them that the earth didn’t move. If a man jumped off the ground he landed in the same spot he jumped from - not two feet away. If the earth traveled in an orbit around the sun, they reasoned, it would be moving so fast that surely everyone would be flung into space. The earth didn’t move, therefore it must be the center of the universe.

Another reason the idea of the earth being the center of the universe hung around so long was that it just appealed to folks. The earth being the center of the universe and man being the dominant inhabitant of the earth meant, by extension, that man was also the center of the universe. Thinking this way puts me, being the man I’m most closely acquainted with, in essence, at the center of the universe. What a nice thought!

Until Copernicus came along in 1514 and proposed that the earth really revolves around the sun and isn’t the center of the universe after all. Drat!

Well, today’s humanist philosophy and most success and human potential gurus prefer the old view; being the center of the universe works well for them and they’d like to stay that way.

Problem is, as Copernicus found out, we’re not. Not only is the earth not at the center of cosmos, I’m not at the center of my own little universe – although I tend to act like it sometimes.

So if I’m not at the center of the universe and fulfilling my purpose and achieving my potential as a human being isn’t about me, me, me … what is it about? As I said, I had to throw out everything I learned about success, purpose and human potential from the “gurus” and go back square one.

*****

If I believe in a personal and intentional Creator; One that knows me and put me here for a reason, then it would follow that my purpose has something to do with His purpose and my potential as a human being has to be connected to fulfilling the reason He put me here for.

Then it occurred to me why I couldn’t be the center of the universe. He created me for His purpose; I was the object not the subject. I’m not the author of my purpose. I don’t decide my destiny; He does – He already has. For me to say that I am the author of my own purpose and the captain of my own destiny is as silly as a teapot saying it’s a hammer. It’s not. It’s a teapot. That’s what it was created to be – it was the intention of the teapot’s creator that it be a teapot. The teapot can only fulfill its full potential as a teapot. If it lives under the delusion that it’s a hammer the delusion and the teapot will be shattered the moment it tries to drive its first nail.

When I discovered that I had to see my purpose and potential from the eyes of the One who created me, I had to relearn what success, purpose and human potential were from His perspective. So I asked Him. “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:8).
True to His word, He told me. I’ve said before; don’t talk to God if you’re uncomfortable with Him answering you. Because He does. He may speak to you in the quietness of your own heart and mind, He may speak to you through a teacher or preacher or friend, He may speak to you in an audible voice from above (although most folks quickly qualify that they don’t hear Him that way; people would think they’re nuts). Mostly though, God speaks to you from His Word, the Bible. That’s what it’s there for.

So I started looking for definitions of success, purpose and human potential in the Bible; to get God’s opinion on the matter. And boy, what I found didn’t look anything like what the gurus were saying. Stuff like “deny yourself,” “take up your cross,” “if someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn your left to him also,” “sell all you have and give it to the poor,” “do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” This wasn’t in the success literature! Jesus apparently never listened to tapes and CD’s.

So that’s why I started True Potential; that’s why I write this letter every week – because everything the gurus have told you is wrong. It’s not about you; it’s about Him. It’s not about being rich on earth; it’s about being rich in heaven. It’s not about receiving praise and glory; it’s about giving praise and glory.

Fulfilling your true human potential is about fulfilling His purpose; the one he assigned you before creation began. To do that requires a whole new way of thinking. It’s not so new, actually, it’s about two thousand years old, and the guru who showed it to us is God’s own Son.

For the next nine weeks we’re going to embark on a journey into the heart of God’s perspective on human success, purpose and potential. When Jesus left us to return to His Father he promised us a Helper – God’s own Holy Spirit. He promised that His Holy Spirit would indwell us, that is, live inside of us, and change us to conform to God’s perspective.

According to the Bible, there are two groups of things that come along with the Holy Spirit. One group it calls the Gifts of the Spirit; things like messages of wisdom or knowledge, faith, the power to heal or perform miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues. These are gifts the Holy Spirit gives to people. Christians seem to pay a lot of attention to the Gifts of the Spirit; they’re flashy so folks like to focus on them … or fight about them.

The other group is the Fruit of the Spirit. They’re more like results than gifts. They’re what happen to you when you let God’s Spirit start reshaping your life. They’re what your life produces, that’s why they’re called fruit.

In his letter to the Galatians (5:22-23), Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit and lists nine: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Each week, for the next nine weeks, we’re going to cover one of these fruits of the Spirit. If you’re looking for success and purpose, if you want to live up to you true potential as a human being, this is a good place to start. If these nine fruits, or results, are a part of your life, you can bet you’re on the right track from His point of view. If they’re not, no matter how successful you are in any other area of life, you will have failed the success test in His eyes.

I’d like to thank Anne, one of our readers, for her suggestion for doing this series. It was a great idea. What you produce, your fruit, is what measures your success. So fasten your seatbelts! We’ll start next week.

Until then, may God bless you and keep you.

In Him,
Steve Spillman

Purpose

Vol. 1 Issue 22
December 27, 2007
The weekly newsletter of True Potential Publishing

New Years Resolutions

“A good resolution is like an old horse, which is often saddled but rarely ridden.”
- Mexican Proverb -

I must be part Mexican.

I love New Years resolutions … making them, that is. I’m not sure what happens on the keeping them side, but I make them faithfully. I have kept a personal journal, irregularly, for years. Irregularly meaning that I have faithfully kept a personal journal each year for the last twenty years, but have consistently avoided making daily entries. Fortunately enough for this week’s letter, each yearly journal includes an entry for January 1. After that, things get sketchy.

The reason for my faithfully beginning a journal each year is that it is always on my New Years resolution list; thus the January 1 entry. The reason it’s always on my New Years resolution list is that each year I fail to keep up the journal entries on any regular basis.

One thing that has proven my yearly personal journal useful, however, is that it always includes my New Years resolutions. And every year the list is pretty much the same.

Thus my suspicion of a Mexican heritage. My old horse is often saddled but rarely ridden.

It may seem like some sort of psychosis to constantly make resolutions only to fail in implementing them, only to make the resolutions again. It may not just seem like a psychosis, it may be a psychosis. But let’s not explore that path any longer.

My point is that it’s part of the human condition to want to improve one’s self. Each year we have a fresh start, a new chance at improvement, or dare I say, even perfection. Well, perfection seems like stretching the point. I mean, after all who’s perfect anyway? Certainly not you and me.

The problem is, if you’re a follower of Christ, that the Bible commands you to be perfect. Jesus Himself ordered it. “Be perfect, therefore, even as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

“Be perfect.” Oh great. We can’t even be good!

By the way, Jesus Himself laid that one on us too. Remember the rich young ruler? The guy who really was pretty good and trying to get gooder? Jesus’ answer to him was; “Why do you call me good? … No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).
So, no one is good but God alone and we’re commanded to be perfect. That, they taught us in school, is a conundrum – a puzzler.

But I think I may have figured out the puzzle. It’s in what the words “good” and “perfect” really mean in the New Testament Greek in which they were written. “Good,” the Greek word agathos, just means “good” … not going far there. “Perfect” though, gets pretty interesting.

“Perfect,” in New Testament Greek is teleios; it means “complete.” More fully, it means “complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.) completeness - of full age, man, perfect.”

It’s the finished product –what we’re supposed to look like when we’re done.
Today we have our own meanings for the words “good” and “perfect.” “Good,” for us, is weighed out by its ingredients. If we add up all of our actions and intentions and come up with a result of 46% bad and 54% good, then we’re ready to consider ourselves mostly good. “Perfect” on the other hand, means flawless; and nobody’s flawless.

God, however, gives us a very different definition of the words. “Good,” in God’s eyes, is good; something as it should be, the way it was meant to be, it doesn’t require any change or alteration. “Perfect,” in God’s lexicon, means complete or finished. It’s what the object of perfection should look like once it’s done. It refers to the intended final outcome of a work in process.

When Jesus said that no one but God is “good,” He meant that no one (other than God) is as he should be - not requiring any change or alteration. And when He commanded us to be “perfect,” He knew that we weren’t already “perfect” (finished) but that we were a work in process, intended for “perfection” (completion) and that we must submit ourselves to that process.

Our daughter, Angie, is a potter. She sculpts bowls, vases, and other works of art from clay. When she throws a lump of gray, wet clay on her wheel, she has a finished piece in mind. In her hand she holds a lump of unformed clay; in her mind she holds the finished product. As the wheel turns and the clay submits itself to her hands it begins to take the shape of the finished (perfected) product.

Angie’s intention for that lump of clay was never for it to remain a lump of clay, but to become a finished work of art. In the mind of the potter the clay and the work of art are the same material. As a lump of clay, its potential for becoming a finished (perfected) work of art already exists, but is only evident in the mind of the potter. In its completed form, its potential has been brought to the surface and the world can see the finished (perfected) product that was in the mind of the potter all along.
It’s interesting that in the Bible’s creation account all things were spoken into existence but man. God formed man from the dust of the earth; literally He made man from a lump of clay. Throughout the Bible the analogy of God being the potter and man being the clay is made.

“Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8).

*****

We’re not “good.” We’re not as we should be - not needing any change or alteration. But we are “perfect”; already complete – in the mind of the Potter. Our command to be “perfect” is our command to be clay; to submit ourselves to the hand of the Potter, to become in reality what we are already in His mind.

We know this. Inside we all know that we are incomplete. Our souls cry out for completion - for perfection. We’re clay, but we weren’t made to stay clay. We were made to become works of art, vessels made for the use of the Potter.

That’s why I make resolutions each year. I sense the finished product. Even though I fail at keeping most of my resolutions, the wheel is turning and I’m being shaped. Each year I become a little more the finished product and a little less the lump of clay. And there will come a day when He is finished with me. A day when the lump has been transformed into the finished product, just as it was in the mind of its Creator when He began. On that day I will see myself as He sees me and I will know myself as I am known by Him (I Corinthians 13:12).

The apostle Paul understood the shaping process. He understood how he could be “perfect” in the mind of his Creator while he was still being transformed from a lump of clay.

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

*****

You’re not “good.” Not in His eyes. You’re not without the need for change or alteration. But you are “perfect” in His eyes. You are already the finished product in His mind. You just need a little more time on the wheel.

Go ahead and make your New Years resolutions. They’re a sign that you can sense yourself being completed and perfected, becoming that finished vessel that exists already in the mind of the Potter.