Blog with Matthew

Listen in Your Area!

I had a great time at the Moody Radio Network recording for Prime Time America for airing next week.  Greg Wheatley and I laughed,  cried (not really),  renewed connections and talked about mutual friends (notably Dr. Kent Hughes from the church where I was raised and ordained - and yes Pastor Hughes you still need to read FEEL!).  We did five segments, one for each day.  They will air around 4:45, before the 5:00 news CST. 

1) An overview of how we often think of emotion in our churches and an honest look at emotional maturity

2) Some thoughts on how emotions was viewed by different people in church history, and why we have often been confused about them

3) Emotion in the Bible, most notably the honesty and authenticity of the Psalms

4) How do you handle harmful emotions - getting to the why

5) Emotions in our relationships - how we handle our emotions and express them well or badly will either tear down or build up other people

If this has peaked your interest, find a station near you here or listen online.  By the way, what a voice Greg Wheatley has. Wouldn't it be great to be able to sound like that?  Will we get a better version of our own voice in heaven - having just published Heaven for Africa, I will have to ask Randy Alcorn. 

I can tell you one funny thing.  When we were talking about different personality types and Greg asked if Laura and I were opposites.  I said "Yes, we kinda are."  He said, "And I know who is the talkative outgoing one, that's you right."  Laura and I just cracked up and I replied, "No, I just love talking about this stuff."  Having seen my very emotive enthusiasm in the interview, Greg mistook this reserved, controlled, guy for the outgoing loud one.  Well, I guess by God's grace we can get out of our shell and go for it.  Especially if we really LOVE what we are talking about and can't wait to share the message.  So pray with me that many people listening next week, like me, will gain a new passion to express themselves and live the kind of vibrant life that God intended.

FEEL hits newstands!

We were very happy to see FEEL reviewed in the February 28 issue of World Magazine.  I have enjoyed reading WORLD over the years and getting a Christian perspective on news, views and issues - especially when they cover Africa.  Many of my friends are loyal readers.  World Magazine Online

People Matter (Faith Proved by Fact of Feelings #2)

In my devotions this morning I was struck by these words from 1 Corinthians 3:

The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you.  Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

Then I read this from EM Bounds, "The trend of the day has the tendency to loose sight of the individual, or to sink the individual in the plan or organization.  God's plan, however, is to make much of his people, far more of them than anything else.  People are God's method.  The church is looking for better methods, God is looking for better people."  (Power Through Prayer)

I am a plan guy, a build the organization guy, a strategic planning "Good to Great" guy.  That is not all bad, but it leads to a lot of unneeded stress and unmet expectations and is not the center.  To Paul, people are the center, and that is all to do with how we feel and treat others.  Paul was not into proofs and building organizations as much as was into changed lives.  That is the standard he lived by - "Is God using me to impact those I see and know and touch?"  That is what mattered to him.

So we go back to how we prove the gospel from my last post, by facts or feelings?  Paul argued strongly, he knew his Old Testament practically by heart.  God's word and proving truth mattered in every synagogue he visited.  But the proof to him that it was working, that it was worth it - changed hearts and transformed people.  People around us know that is true as well and they look to our feelings to see if we believe what we say we do.

Faith Proved by Facts or Feelings

I received this question from a FEEL reader and it was timely as I have been thinking about this very thing the last weeks.

I'm curious what implications this has for evangelism which seems to be mostly about apologetics and intellectual reasons for God and Jesus. My husband has not been walking with God for the past few years which is awfully sad to me. Well-meaning people keep giving him books that defend Christianity intellectually. I'm about through with this!  I have felt for a long time that the struggle is for his heart and emotions, which seems to confound other people. I have a sinking feeling that people would rather give him a book than engage him emotionally.  I read your book because of this statement, "The true health of our spiritual lives is measured by how we feel."  I know you meant this for Christians following Christ, but I suspect that emotional health is key for someone who is considering accepting Christ's unconditional love.

What a great question!  First off, let me say that there is a place for facts and proofs - more power to those defending a faith that is true and a God that is truth.  Hard searching for truth will lead people to God.  That said, God's proof is also written on our hearts - has God changed us?  Can people see that in our faces and love for others?  Do we feel it?

If emotions, show us truth, if they are all tied up with what we know and believe we can say all the words to prove God and Jesus but those people are looking to see if these things are true for us, do WE really believe what we say?  Do you love me?  It would be a good exercise to systematize these things in the Bible but some things that come to mind for me include the commands not to divorce an unbeliever, but to live in a way that brings them to God.  The strongest testimonies and proofs for God are written upon our hearts and people know that instinctively.  That is what brings them over the edge - "You will know them by their love."

While we are giving arguments those around us are asking, "do YOU really believe it, do you feel it?"  Emotions show the truth, and to listen to the proofs, people need to see that you believe it in a way that it naturally overflows in real emotions toward God and others.

So how you FEEL about God and others?  Does it line up with the truths you give lip-service to?  For me, all to often it does not and that is when we need to do some business with God to get feeling right.  When people and churches get feelings and proofs together, on the same page, that is when we see people drawn to Jesus.

Visit Central Peninsula Church

I had a great time speaking and interacting with members of Central Peninsula Church last week.  if you are in the San Francisco area I highly recommend you check it out.  You will find a great group of people who are serious about following Jesus!  Loved all your great questions guys - hope the answers were helpful.

A special thanks to Justin Buzzard of the Buzzard Blog for inviting me and caring about the message of FEEL.  It was a great opportunity to really think about how to get this message down to :40 in a compelling way.  I so enjoyed getting to know Justin and his heart for people.  May God bless all that you are doing in that great - and should I say - WARM city (from waking up to 0 degrees today).  And everybody should check out Justin's wise and thought provoking words on the web!

Every Day is a Gift

OK, see this picture to the right, unlike most of you, I no longer have one of these in my neck.  My thyroid had turned to an ugly bulgy cancer - a big tumor I am told - before they took it out.  Today I went to my yearly post-cancer check up and was reminded of God's grace and provision.

First off, I remain cancer free, with no sign of any new mass.  I read Psalm 139 this morning:

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
         as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
     You saw me before I was born.
         Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
     Every moment was laid out
         before a single day had passed.
      How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
         They cannot be numbered!
      I can’t even count them;
         they outnumber the grains of sand!
     And when I wake up,
         you are still with me!

But for a nagging thought that I needed to go to the Dr. four or so years ago after years of good health and no annual check ups, I might be very sick or even dead today.  But God was thinking of me in his provision and grace.  And the moment of salvation was laid out before I was even born.  So today, I will allow myself to run my fingers through Jackson's hair, to hug Cailin with great enthusiasm and enjoy a special celebration lunch with Laura.  I am here and I am well, and God is good!

I forget that every day is a gift - something I had learned from cancer just a few years ago - far too easily.  And I am thankful for the Dr.'s visit today as a good reminder to rejoice in the little things.  May I live in that truth more fully tomorrow.