Questions for Jesus

Do you have questions in 2020?  As we approach Christmastime this Advent season, it seems appropriate to turn to Questions for Jesus, another book by Tony Stolzfus—whose 2005 book, Leadership Coaching: The Disciplines, Skills, and Heart of a Christian Coach, was very helpful as I entered the world of Executive Coaching. 

As Stoltzfus notes, most of us as grew up learning to pray about the business of being a Christian. We ask for help to do the right thing, pray that our relatives will know God, or petition Him to bless what we are doing for Him.  Almost all of our prayers contain the word “do”—as in, “What do you want me to do?’ or ‘I did this wrong, I’m sorry’ or ‘Help me do better.’”

From his experience as a coach, Stoltzfus recognized that asking is more powerful than telling, and believing in someone’s ability to think for themselves produced more change and better results than giving them advice. But he recognized that he spent his life trying to get God to be a teller, and is learning that’s really not God’s style. 

The key is to engage Jesus on the level of your desires, instead of out of your head. Desires are in all of us. We were created as human beings with a built-in yearning for things like love, acceptance, freedom, security, or belonging.

Click here for more Questions for Jesus

I Will Dwell in the House of the Lord Forever

When I started 2020, I was convinced that the Lord was leading me to focus on Psalm 23 for the year (for more on that story, check out my post from January 1).  Throughout the year, the Psalm has been a source of encouragement.

Then, my father-in-law passed away in October.  At his memorial service, the pastor used Psalm 23 on the bulletin (pictured above)!  So, our focus on the final verse is especially encouraging, as I consider “Pop”—as our kids called him—“dwelling in the house of the Lord forever.”

As Dr. Robert McQuilkin wrote, “When a believer dies, his spirit is so instantaneously in the presence of the Lord that he may feel with Paul that he knows not whether he is in the body or out of the body” (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).

Click here for more on the last verse of Psalm 23 from Philip Keller, Robert Morgan, and Max Lucado