BJ Armstrong

Daily Grind

Business People Commuting Rush Hour Concept

1 Kings 9; Ephesians 6; Ezekiel 39; Psalm 90

What does your relationship with work look like? Do you love going to the office every day, or do you arrive moaning and complaining about the daily grind? If you don’t know, listen carefully to the words in your thoughts and prayers. Your attitude about work comes out through them. When we are focused on our surroundings and situations, we besiege God with questions about why we are here. Rather than listen for answers, we pester God for intervention, assuming that His blessing will fully eradicate our problems. God doesn’t work that way for me. In fact, when I focus and concentrate on my problems, cursing my work, I am generally spiraling downward.

How do we avoid this spiral? According to Ephesians 6:7 (ESV) we are to, “render service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.” In short, stop looking to work for what it will gain you. Instead, start thinking about work as an opportunity to serve and praise God. To be honest, I have to be careful not to dismiss those answers as simplistic and trite. Instead, if I stop and look carefully, my heart reveals that I really do want to serve and praise God through my work. To do so, I must first replace the adverse effects of discouragement with life and energy, which require that we adopt new behaviors. Let’s start today with the shape of our prayer. Instead of asking God to resolve specific problems at the office, ask Him to fix your inner world. Specifically, ask Him:

Reveal to me where you are working today
Reveal to me how my words and actions at work are affecting others
Reveal to me how my words and actions are affecting my psyche
When you show me these things, Father, will you also present me with alternatives that will bring you glory?

Remember, God is not asking us to endure our days. He created us so that we can embrace them, joyfully. It is only possible when He is the center and subject of our work.

Trusted Advisors

Photo of man with depression talking with counselor

1 Kings 1; Galatians 5; Ezekiel 32; Psalm 80

I have many good friends. Even so, there are only a few that I also call trusted advisors. One of these trusted advisors recently noticed my life accelerating into high gear. He sent me a simple email asking, “Are you ready for me to begin meeting with you regularly to ask good questions, think outside the box & keep you oriented towards Jesus, your wife, and kiddos?” When first read it, I wasn’t thrilled with the implications. Today, however, I have a new perspective. It comes from watching the Prophet Nathan. His relationship with David was not simply friendship, he was a trusted advisor. What are the characteristics of a trusted advisor?

Trusted advisors encourage us to lean into our dreams and vision

In 2 Sam 7:3 Nathan encourages David to run with his dream of building a Temple for God. He says, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.”

Trusted advisors help us align our activities with God’s will

In 2 Samuel 7:8-17, Nathan discerns the full will of God. Once he understands that David is not the one to build his Temple, he immediately relays the information accurately and rigorously to David. His willingness to speak truthfully to David fosters alignment with God’s will, so that God can receive full glory

Trusted advisors hold us accountable

In 2 Samuel 12:1-31, Nathan learned that David caused Uriah’s death. Cunningly, he led David to self-discover the truth of his actions. The result was David’s complete surrender to God, which paved the way for reconciliation.

Trusted advisors wake us up from our malaise

In 1 Kings 1:22-27, Nathan illustrates to an elderly King David the effects of his failure to name a successor. This wake-up-call causes David to reaffirm his commitment to Solomon. Realizing the indiscretion, David stepped up, announcing, “as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.”

God has blessed me with several “Nathan’s.” My guess is that you can name them in your life too. Maybe it’s time to reconnect with them. When we do, like King David, we are better able to focus our activities so that God receives all the glory.

Your Eulogy

Angel on top of gravestone in the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn - Black & White

2 Samuel 18; 2 Corinthians 11; Ezekiel 25; Psalm 73

I was recently asked to write my eulogy. No, nothing is wrong. Writing your own eulogy is an exercise that prompts focus. It allows us to envision our lives complete and accomplished, thereby giving us the ability prioritize today. Have you ever thought about your own? What would it say? What will you be remembered for?

As I think about it, I am tempted to write about all of my accomplishments. Maybe I want everyone to think of the beautiful homes that I built, my beautiful wife or the amazing kids that I raised. Today, as I listen to Paul boasting of his accomplishment’s, I am reconsidering. According to 2 Corinthians 11:22-28, Paul’s eulogy would include

He was a Hebrew
He was an Israelite
He is the offspring of Abraham
He was a hardworking servant of Christ
For Christ, he endured prison with countless beatings, often near death
He was whipped, stoned and beaten with rods
He lived in danger of being robbed, everywhere he went
He was often hungry, cold and endured sleepless nights without protection

I don’t know about you but reading that list does not fill me with warm fuzzies. Even so, it’s exactly the list that Paul is most proud of. Why? They were the periods of his greatest weakness. What Paul had figured out is that when he was at his weakest, he was at his best because he was fully reliant on Christ. Ironically, we are taught to avoid our weaknesses. Instead of weaknesses we are taught to find our strengths. Once we do, we are told to exploit them. Paul warns us against such philosophies in verse 3. He says, “I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.” (NLT). He continues to explain that our adoption of such success strategies are really our acceptance of “different gospels.” In other words, they literally steer us away from the King and Christ, Jesus. Paul continues to explain that our adoption of these teachings will affect our eternity. Hear his words in verse 15. “It is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

If you die today, what will your eulogy say? God willing, we all have many years ahead of us. Remember, you get to choose, today and every day, whether it will be an account of your worldly accomplishments or your ridiculous love and dangerous witness.

Jars of Clay

Young plant - "Ficus" in a broken flower pot — Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 11; 2 Corinthians 4; Ezekiel 18; Psalms 62–63

I was recently asked about what I do to stay motivated. I offered the stock answers, explaining how I spend time every morning studying and praying. I exercise and eat right (sometimes). I read a lot and am careful of how much sleep I get. Sounds like a 10-step plan, doesn’t it. In fact, you could get similar advice from any self-help book ever written. Don’t get me wrong, there is some truth in those answers. The problem with them is that they don’t get to the Truth.

The Truth is that no matter how much you exercise, eat right or study and pray, you are going to have hard days. Maybe not only days, but weeks, months and years! Our lives are, in fact, fragile. In every moment, we are vulnerable physically and mentally to the forces of nature, illness, economics, character assassination, and defamation. The Apostle Paul calls us “jars of clay.” It is a fitting metaphor. You see, anything made of clay is rigid and strong enough to contain precious things. Even so, it is brittle and fragile. It reminds me of our clay flower pots. When that clay pot makes sharp contact with the corner of your table or the wind blows it over onto your concrete patio, watch out! We encounter these same dangers in our everyday lives. So, if we are so fragile, how is it that we are to live fearlessly? How will we stay motivated to press on?

The answer those questions lie in your “big why.” I learned about this from the founder of Keller Williams Realty, Gary Keller. He writes, “The Big Why is about having a purpose, a mission, or a need, that in turn gives you focus. High achievers always have a Big Why powering their actions.” This statement is spot on. In fact, we can look throughout history and see where many people put their very lives on the line to achieve their singular purpose. To illustrate this further, I could cite men like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King. No person stands out to me more than the Apostle Paul. He endured one painful day after another. Amazingly, Paul didn’t just endure the suffering of his life he thrived in it. So, how did Paul stay motivated? Simple, he had a really big why.

as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. (2 Corinthians 4:15, NLT)

That’s it! Paul was so enamored with God that he became laser focused on Him. His sole purpose, his Big Why, in this life was to “reach more and more people so that there would be great thanksgiving and God would receive more and more glory.” Wow! I am immediately and deeply humbled by the purity and righteousness of Paul’s motives. Truly, I want to be “sold out” like that. I want to be fully aware that the dangers to my “earthen vessel” are nothing. As Paul says, “our present troubles are small and will not last very long.” (2 Corinthians 4:17, NLT) That mindset is only possible when we “fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NLT). When we do, God will remove the cares of our temporary, earthly minds and bodies, replacing them with His “surpassing power,” (2 Corinthians 4:7, ESV) which becomes our motivation. What is your Big Why?

Works Cited:
Keller, Gary; Jenks, Dave; Jay Papasan; Gary Keller; Dave Jenks; Jay Papasan (2004-03-11). The Millionaire Real Estate Agent (Kindle Location 1163). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.

The Way of Love

Happy loving family. Father and his daughter child girl playing and hugging outdoors. Cute little girl and daddy. Concept of Father's day. — 2 Samuel 2; 1 Corinthians 13; Ezekiel 11; Psalm 50

Living in America, we are presented with endless opportunities. From birth, we are taught that we can be anything we want to be and that we can do anything we set our minds on. I believe this. In fact, it fuels my desire, causing me to seek greater knowledge, wisdom, and skills so that I can attain them. It’s a good thing. In fact, I want my kids to recognize that they have the same opportunities. I, like you, tell them that they can be President. I encourage them to reach high, to develop knowledge, wisdom, and skills. As I teach them, I hope that they will do well. Today, however, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 forced me to evaluate how I am conditioning them.

I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging symbol. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

Do you see it? When I read those three verses, I cannot help but look evaluate how I am developing my kids. My determination is that I am very good at teaching them about worldly things like acquiring knowledge and Godly things like having faith. They are on my short list. Unfortunately, according to Paul, these things alone are worthless and nothing. One thing is needed to make it all worthwhile; love. This begs the question, how am I teaching my kids to love? That question strikes terror in my heart. The truth is that my kids, like your kids, learn love the way that we love them. Additionally, they are learning how to love their future spouses by the way that we love ours. Why does it strike terror in my heart? I am very aware of my shortcomings both as a father and a husband. Seriously, both are far from God’s design. Thankfully, this is not the end of the story!

This is the beginning of the story. When I recognize that my love falls short of what God created it to be, I need to look no further than Jesus. His perfect love and his perfect sacrifice fill the gap. My acceptance of His perfection establishes and strengthens my bond of love with Jesus. His love, now in me, enables me to grow in love as both a husband and a father. The love of Jesus is not just for me. It is for you too.

Justice

Scales_of_justice 1 Samuel 25; 1 Corinthians 6; Ezekiel 4; Psalms 40–41

I recently had a real estate transaction fall apart. As best as I can tell, the buyer simply decided he didn’t want to buy the property anymore. This happened despite our legally binding contract. There are plenty more details to the story, but they are not important. What I really want to know is, what would you do? More importantly, what is the right thing to do? Most of the time, we consider things in terms of right and wrong relative to ourselves. For example, think for a second about how many inconveniences my seller endured. A willing and able buyer comes along to buy his house and, in good faith, he signed a contract stating the terms. Once signed, he got about the business of securing another residence, organizing and managing movers, utilities, insurance and the like. His whole life is in upheaval. This is the context from which we base our decisions. So, what would you do?

One option is to forgive the buyer and simply walk away. Sadly, I am confronted with an internal conflict. The voice in my head says, “hey, wait a minute! You cannot just let people walk away from a contract. If everyone did this, our whole world would collapse.” My position is even supported by the founders of this country. John Adams, for example, said that “we are a government of laws, not men.” So clearly, I should let the law dictate my next action.

So why, if the law supports my position should I turn aside and move on? In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul rightly directs the thoughts of Christians toward Jesus. He reminds us that we too were once deceived by the practices of this world. However, the cleansing blood of Jesus allows us to be washed clean, justified and sanctified. My reflection upon Jesus immediately reshaped my thoughts. His power, working inside me, allows me to evaluate my decisions differently. Instead of thinking in terms of right and wrong, the Holy Spirit gets me thinking in terms of glory. The new question I ask is, “what action will cause the other party to take notice of Jesus?”

When we finally get it right, our decisions will always point to Jesus. Then, He will be glorified and his kingdom will be established here on earth.

Mission Statement

misison 1 Samuel 17 – Romans 15 – Lamentations 2 – Psalm 33

It’s likely that the company you own, or work for, has a mission/vision statement. Good mission statements inspire people. More so, effective mission statements have the power to identify and establish the priorities that yield powerful results. Did you know that Paul had one too? Read it with me. Romans 15:18-21 says,

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written,

“Those who have never been told of him will see,and those who have never heard will understand.”

Did you hear it? If I were to format it in today’s corporate or church language, it would sound something like this.

To bring all people from Jerusalem to Illyricum to understanding of the Gospel, through preaching, utilizing signs and wonders from the Holy Spirit and by my own example.

Pretty powerful, right? Can you imagine having a statement like that for your own life? What does your mission statement say? More importantly, what do your priorities say that your mission statement is? That is what impresses me the most about Paul. He lived it! The evidence is well documented. In fact, he lived it so well that in 2 Timothy 4, as he nears the end of his life, he says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Mission Accomplished.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Recycling ideas and environmental garbage management solutions and creative ways to reuse waste as old paper glass metal and plastic bottles shaped as a human head as a symbol for reusable thinking and conservation advice.

1 Samuel 10; Romans 8; Jeremiah 47; Psalms 23–24

I want to piggy back on Mike Somer’s post, Deadly Thoughts, from yesterday. Mike helps us to discover that the objects of our desire are often of a worldly nature. Today, I want to talk about another component to our wanting which is why we want the things we want. Seriously, when was the last time you stopped to consider why you want a new, car, camera, phone, or a sweater? The answer is found in a simple test of our focus.

Think back to yesterday. Starting from the time that you woke up, to the time that you went to bed, make a list of all the things that you did. In order to maximize the results, be detailed about it. For example, if you watched TV in the morning, what show did you watch? If you surfed the NET, what websites did you visit, if you read a book, what book did you read? The point is to understand the kinds and quality of information that we are putting into our minds. As a participant in this exercise, I viewed my web browser’s history. It reveals that I visited my email and business sites the most and often interrupted them with Pinterest, facebook, HOUZZ, Amazon, Pantagraph and Atlas Obscura. I want to give you a golden opportunity to do the judging for me. Do you think these moments in my day qualify as Godly, or worldly? Wait, before you answer that, let’s get a true test from the Apostle Paul. He says, “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5). Now what do you think? The answer I came up with stings a bit.

The part of the test that stings is that it reveals my focus. I spend much of my time filling my mind with worldly things. To be fair, some of this is important. It helps me run my business and communicate with people. I will not, however, allow those things to become an excuse. I must consider the alternative use of my time. What if, instead of retreating to Facebook and Amazon, I reflected instead on God’s word? How would it change my attitude? Would it change the things that I want? According to Paul, the answer is yes. He equates living according to the Spirit with setting our minds on the Spirit. The end result of this thinking is Life and Peace. Galatians 5:22 expands that list to include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

To be sure, this BibleJournal project is a good start for setting our minds on the Spirit. I don’t know about you, but I can feel the Holy Spirit nudging me, ever so kindly, gently and lovingly to allow him into my mind more often. I intend to do just that. Will you?

If you would like to learn more about how we can allow God into our minds, I recommend reading A Mind For God, by James Emery White. In it, he discusses the consequences of Christianity’s passive role in learning and building strong, Godly minds. He explains his “mission to prepare [his] mind to not simply understand the ideas of the world but to engage the ideas of the world.” The simple truth is that until we engage His word in more intellectual ways, we will never be able to fulfill His great calling on our lives.

Desert Places

Crack soil on dry season Global warming / cracked dried mud / Dry cracked earth background / The cracked ground Ground in drought Soil texture and dry mud Dry land.

1 Samuel 1; Romans 1; Jeremiah 39; Psalms 13–14

When was the last time you felt like you just couldn’t win? Did you face reality head on or did you run from it? For me, the answer to that question can often be found in my activity level. If you catch me running, scattered from task to task, without a minute to spare, it’s likely that I am avoiding some reality of my life. A second indicator that exposes my avoidance of reality shows up when I am reading. I love to read. Reading helps me think and process the events of my life. I can do it in almost any environment. That is, unless, I have something weighing heavy on my heart. In these times, I cannot focus on reading. Sure, I might go through the motions, but I cannot hear the words. Nothing gets through. My general reaction is to go, busying myself with things that do not need thought or thinking. This avoidance leads me right back to the first scenario. I am not unique. I am sure that you have a coping mechanism as well. According to today’s reading, Hannah had one too.

Elkanah’s wife, Hannah, did not have any children. As a result, she was given one portion of meat to worship with as a sacrifice to God at the Temple. Elkanah’s second wife Peninnah, however, had two children and, therefore, received three portions with which to worship and sacrifice. For Hannah, this time of annual worship and sacrifice served as a cruel reminder that God had not given her any children. To make matters worse, Peninnah made fun of her for it, continuously deepening Hannah’s wound. Her reaction, year after year was to cry. In fact, she would make herself so upset, that she couldn’t even stand to eat.

We all get to choose how we respond to life’s circumstances. Whether your reaction is more like Hannah’s or mine is irrelevant. In the end, they both lead to the same place. Nowhere good. Hannah finally figured this out. Eventually, she looked to God. As she offered her sacrifice, she looked to the Lord, and through her deep anguish and bitter weeping, she prayed and with all of her heart and laid her cares upon God. Similarly, David’s heavy heart pours out through prayer in Psalm 14. In these moments, Hannah and David both relinquish their futile attempts to change their own reality and instead, depend on God.

Have you ever prayed like that? Seriously, consider for a moment, right now, what it would feel like to spend a few minutes, a few hours, or a whole day, detaching yourself from the activity and crying so that you can give it to God. Why not? Are you afraid of what you might hear? I am here to tell you that the best time to do this is right now, in the midst of the current gridlock in your calendar and in the middle of your deep anguish. If you are praying to the same God that I am, He promises to give us an answer.

My rumination on Hannah and David pouring out their hearts to the Lord has encouraged me to pray similarly. I’m also praying that God urges you to do so as well. As you do, I will be praying for you, as Eli did, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.”

Vacation

long lake Judges 18; Acts 22; Jeremiah 32; Psalms 1–2

Today, I sit atop a hill overlooking a beautiful lake in Northern Minnesota. Despite my surroundings, there is a risk that I waste my vacation. You see, I have a tendency to bury myself in activities that occupy my mind and consume my time. Ironically, these are the same distractions that I find at home. In the end, they are pointless and unfulfilling. How then, do I overcome my tendency to escape life and replace it with a fruitful vacation? Today’s scripture provides the answer. Psalm 1 invites me to spend my time pursuing God. One step in doing so is to,

delight in the law of the Lord, and on his law, meditate day and night. (Psalms 1:2)

Instead of using my week to escape reality through books, television and the internet, I am choosing to spend some time delighting in the laws of the Lord.

Reflection

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation,my stronghold and my refuge,my savior; you save me from violence.I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,and I am saved from my enemies. (2 Samuel 22:2-4)

Beauty

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

Silence

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psalms 46:10)

Gratitude

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

As I connect deeper with the word of God, I find refreshment, restoration, and, yes, vacation.