2020
Resting in the Arms of Jesus
pg. 2
My Beautiful Undoing pg. 4
Is Suffering Spiritual? pg. 9
Somewhere Between Home & New Jersey pg. 10
KeyLife.org
Resting in the Arms of Jesus by Steve Brown
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Why does religion make us so weird? It's because we really think that what we do is important...and even more important than what God has already done. Émile Durkheim, who was often called the father of modern sociology, defined religion as collective religious doctrines, beliefs, and rituals organized around sacred objects. They are universally obligatory, and define who is “in” and who is “out.” It has often been noted that Judaism in Jesus’ time took the 613 laws given in Torah...and then added hundreds of others to them. For instance, you could only travel so far on the Sabbath from your property. So many Jews, before the Sabbath, would place pieces of their property, their belongings, in the direction in which they wanted to travel on the Sabbath...thus remaining faithful to the law. We do the same thing. A friend once said to me, “I just can’t do this Christian thing anymore. It’s true, but it’s too hard.” But what if there was nothing to do? What if God already did it all? There isn’t... and he did. Let’s listen in as Jesus teaches in Luke 18:9-30.
The Pharisee who went to the temple to pray thought he was saved...and he was wrong. Now don’t misunderstand me here. The Pharisee was all that he said he was. He was good and righteous. He was a very religious man. Jesus made an amazing statement in Matthew 5:20, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Frankly, there’s a narcissist streak in Christians that makes everything about us, what we do, and how good we are. And it’s the fastest way to miss the kingdom. That is a radical statement and far more radical than any of us think it is. People sometimes wonder why Jesus was so hard on the Pharisees. It is because you don’t kick a dead horse. The Pharisees in the first century were as close as one can get to born again Christians (that would be us) today. They believed in the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture, in miracles, and in eternal life. In fact, they were very close to the truth... but missed it.
awakening, a revival. What stands in the way? It’s when we take the lyrics of that hymn and add to it. The Gospel is simply, “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me...and you too, if you ask.” But we add verses. And people leave the church. If I had been there when the rich young ruler asked his question and left sorrowful, I would have grabbed him on the way out and said, “Don’t miss what Jesus is saying. He’s saying that you’re not good enough and you will never be. So, for God’s sake, give it up. The infant got it right. The infant didn’t think anything or do anything. The infant just rested, probably asleep, in the arms of Jesus. The two major metaphors in the New Testament for salvation are dead people and infants. As for that first metaphor, Paul wrote, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). And Romans 6:11 put it this way, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” The other metaphor, that of an infant, is from Jesus who calls us to be like little children. The Greek here in Luke 18 doesn’t mean a child or a toddler...but an infant. Jesus, with the infant in his arms, is trying to teach us that we are helpless. The Christian faith isn’t what we do. It is what God has already done for us. Martin Luther had a wonderful definition of “sanctification.” “Sanctification is getting used to your justification.” An infant can’t make an impact on the world or even lead a Bible study. An infant can’t obey the commandments. An infant, in total self-centeredness, breaks several of them. An infant can’t be a witness, disciple others, or even “give answer to the hope” that is in him or her. All an infant can do is rest in the arms of Jesus. And that’s enough. That’s more than enough.
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They missed it because they thought they were right on the mark. Frankly, there’s a narcissist streak in Christians that makes everything about us, what we do, and how good we are. And it’s the fastest way to miss the kingdom. The tax collector who went to the temple to pray thought he wasn’t saved...and he was wrong. Jesus said that he went away “justified.” I loved my father, but he had nothing to do with the church. That wasn’t because of the church. (I never heard him utter even a word of criticism.) It was because of what he thought about himself. My father didn’t think he was good enough. In fact, he didn’t become a Christian until the last three months of his life when a doctor led him to Christ...because he didn’t think he was good enough. People lied to him about that, and he believed their lies. Someone once asked a pastor, “Do you think there will be liars, adulterers, thieves, and murderers in heaven?” The pastor’s response was classic, “You don’t have to worry about it because you won’t be there.” That’s a bit harsh because Jesus has mercy on the self-righteous and those who are self-righteous about the selfrighteous too, but it’s a good point. Everybody in heaven is surprised that he or she is there. Don’t let anybody kid you. The tax collector was a bad person and maybe didn’t get much better after his season of prayer in the temple. Yet he was saved because he didn’t deserve to be saved. I don’t care who you are, what you’ve done, the people you’ve hurt, or what you drink or smoke. Run to Jesus. You’ll be surprised too. The rich young ruler thought he wanted to be saved...and he was wrong. He asked the wrong question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Do you know the most recorded song in all of human history? It’s the hymn, “Amazing Grace.” I believe that we’re sitting on top of another great
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My Beautiful Undoing "Early one morning as I was reading through the Gospels, this thought occurred to me: 'God knew all about my sexual addiction and my seven affairs when he saved me.'"
by Traylor Lovvorn
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“I can be in Birmingham tonight if you want me to be.” Ten months later, I sat staring at those words on my screen…watching the cursor blink…knowing she was waiting for a response. I typed “Ok” and, after what seemed like forever, finally hit “send”. At that moment, paralyzing fear and intense excitement rushed through me simultaneously. Terrifying fear because I knew what she was coming for and I knew that I would cross that final line and go there, if for no other reason than because she had driven all the way from Kentucky and I felt some twisted sense of obligation. The excitement flowed from play-
ing with the forbidden. I think a needy and desperate part of me also relished the fact that someone was willing to drive over 350 miles to meet me. I crossed the line that night and never even got her last name. Today I can’t even remember her first name. I never spoke to her again, but the damage had been done. I had added physical adultery to my secret life of pornography and chat rooms. I crossed a line that I never imagined crossing. The lies I had fed myself for years about pornography being innocent and “something men do” and “not a big deal” mocked me as I drove home that fateful Saturday night. One word consumed my thoughts.
“God knew all about my sexual addiction and my seven affairs when he saved me.” That was the day I began to understand just how amazing and scandalous and wonderful God’s grace is. I began to uncover layers of unbelief that skewed my view of God and His tender mercies toward me. I ran to promises like Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;
"I spent years delicately managing my personal reputation and He showed me His love and favor when I doubted it the most." he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” I chose to believe that God saved me because He loved me and because He delighted in me and not because of anything I could offer Him. I spent years delicately managing my personal reputation and He showed me His love and favor when I doubted it the most. No matter what you have done or how far you have strayed, God is right now singing over you. You can surrender…and stop…and rest… and listen to the beautiful song or you can choose not to believe it and go on with your efforts of self-righteousness. My prayer is that you will stop and listen sooner than I did. That it won’t take as much pain and heartache in your life. He is singing over me… He is singing over you… Do you believe it?
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Adulterer. The shame I felt and the contempt I had for myself was suffocating. Oh how far I had drifted. What I thought was innocent and “not a big deal” had been literally sucking the life out of me. I was a shell of a man completely checked out…thinking only about the next alone opportunity I would have for my fix. And then I thought about my precious wife and my kids. Telling Melody what I had done was not even remotely on my radar. I vowed this was the last time and was successful in white-knuckling it for another nine months. Nine months later it happened again. And again. And again. And, again. By the time my secrets came out, it had happened seven times. Seven times over a three year period. Secrets. Lies. Cover-up. I was a desperate, conflicted, empty shell. And then my two worlds collided and I was exposed. It was a beautiful undoing. Pain and relief rushed into my empty soul at the same time. Witnessing the heartache and anguish that Melody went through was unbearable. Melody’s deep, anguishing wail from behind our locked bedroom door will forever haunt me. I went to an intensive in Minnesota and began to understand sexual addiction and my own woundedness and started the journey of recovery. It took much more pain before I finally reached my bottom in 2002. I knew that recovery was worth it so that I would not hurt Melody and the kids, but that was not enough. I had to get to the place where I believed in the core of my being that Tray Lovvorn was worth recovery. Early one morning as I was reading through the Gospels, this thought occurred to me:
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KEY LIFE
35 35 YEARS, AND ONE MESSAGE
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The late George Beverly Shea used to sing the hymn, “The Wonder of It All,” at the old Billy Graham crusades. The hymn describes a wondrous God and lists all that he’s done, but the “wonder of wonders” is “just to think that God loves me.” I was thinking about that hymn this morning when I realized we are celebrating the 35th anniversary of Key Life. Lots of people respond to the question of “How are you doing?” with “A lot better than I deserve.” In the case of Key Life that’s true in spades... and certainly true of me. Now that I think about it, that’s the point and central focus of Key Life and our mission of “Getting you and those you love home with radical freedom, infectious joy, and surprising faithfulness as your crowning achievement.” The operative word is “surprising.” It started out with a few cassette tapes and even fewer radio stations. I remember when our first director, David Horner, came into my office and said, “They’re writing to us as if Key Life is a gigantic ministry, and it’s only you and me.” Actually, it wasn’t just us. It was Jesus and that’s always been apparent. Not only apparent, it was also amazing. Several times I thought God was shutting this ministry down and each time I was surprised by God’s intervention. So often I thought that we would do better if we knew more, loved deeper, and served a lot. Sometimes I was tempted to talk about Key Life’s faithfulness and how God had honored it. But of course I couldn’t
do that because it simply wasn’t true. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world...so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). Later he put legs on that by writing, “God’s power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Thirty-five years is a long time. Frankly, I’m tempted to brag a little, to list the achievements of Key Life, and to say to the multitude of critics, “So there! Put that in your pipe and smoke it!” Then I have an attack of sanity. And I think of the woodpecker pecking on a tree when lightning struck. He brought all of his friends to come and see the shattered tree, and to brag on his pecking prowess. For 35 years our message has been simple: God isn’t mad at his people! God willing, this will always be our message because all of us at Key Life are committed to the radical freedom of those who have nothing to lose and nothing to protect, the infectious joy and laughter of those who are loved by a God who loves us when we know we don’t deserve it, and the surprising faithfulness that comes when we never expected it. Thanks for standing with us. That means you’re as weird as we are and you’ve discovered with us the amazing grace of a surprising God!
The Christian faith is true, and while we may be right on issues of salvation and theology, we may miss the less articulated truths of humility, love, and forgiveness… • Take a step back and look at others' perceptions. • Explore the tools necessary to accomplish an attitude change of confidence and humility, repentance, and truth. • Share the message of Christ without distorting it. • Speak confidently without being cold. By operating out of humble gratitude for the gospel, begin to talk the walk of Christian faith, reflecting the love and truth of Jesus, the one who first loved us.
"Steve is a wise and gentle pastor and he’ll help you (as he has me) feel the pinch of truth while he pours in the gentle love of the Christ who knows you. Get this book. Your unbelieving friends will thank you.” -Elyse Fitzpatrick “Steve Brown’s brilliant new book is a life-giving, irenic call to speak truth with the playful, kind ferocity of Jesus. Reading this book felt like taking a warm shower to rinse off the vitriol of ugly truthtellers and cleanse me of my own self-righteousness. This is a desperately needed book for a bitter and angry age.” —Dan B. Allender “I’ve always appreciated Steve’s ability to hold close to his convictions while simultaneously avoiding the need to police others’ behavior. In our highly divided times, we need voices like Steve’s…” -Matt Johnson
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Whoa... Key Life , Values: "irreverent , We’ve made it through most of 2020, but the but orthodox", "real" remaining months still loom and the question "vulnerable", "not of whether or not Key Life can stay operational taking ourselves too remains. seriously"...
SMH... Grace > Guilt
In the midst of these uncertain times, we count on your generosity all the more. And when you think of all that Jesus has done for you, surely giving to Key Life is a small thing in comparison.
Nice try- 2020 is Key Life's 35th Anniversary
Even after 50 years, Key Life is as committed as ever to "getting you and those you love Home with radical freedom, infectious joy and surprising faithfulness to Christ as your crowning achievement."
Thank you for standing with Key Life through your generosity, encouragement and prayers. As always, we are grateful for you and your faithfulness. KeyLife.org/give
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YES!
by Chad West Don’t get me wrong, God says he cares when a single bird falls out of the sky, so don’t think I’m saying he doesn’t care about your suffering. As our Father, I promise you He cares deeply. What I’m saying is that our suffering isn’t religious. It’s the inevitability of life. Joy is nigh inevitable as well, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a pessimist (well, not completely). But we mustn’t overspiritualize everything. When temptation falls like a redwood on my soul, threatening to crush it, and I endure by faith, I might call that suffering for God. When the government threw Christians to wild dogs and lions, I’d say that was safe to say. But pain in and of itself is neither spiritual nor not. It just is. It’s not something you need feel guilty for, nor is it something you should take spiritual pride in. But it is certainly something God cares about.
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We Christians have a weird relationship with suffering. We, whether we would be able to admit or not, see it as something associated with sin. If a parent dies, I receive a Cancer diagnosis, or my car won’t start when I have an important meeting, I scour my conscience for why God might be punishing me. If I can figure it out, perhaps I can make amends and the flow of good things will rush back into my life. But, living in a broken world, physical and psychological suffering is a given. You can’t even be a name-it-and-claimit theologian with a million dollar jet and two houses and not suffer. You have to carry around a foxhole to duck into when bad things happen. “I had a moment of weakness in my faith. That’s all it was.” I avoided (still do, I’m just aware of my avoidance) suffering as best I could for years. I was tired of suffering. I’d done quite enough of it, thank you very much. And I’d kept it to myself, not burdening anyone else with it, and that had to count for something, right? But all that did was make me angry at God. If any suffering were a form of punishment, then God was obviously one mean sucker. Arrogant SOB I was, I even turned my suffering into a way to glorify myself. Every stubbed toe, psychological breakdown, and personal loss was filed under suffering for God. I don’t now see how my personal suffering was in any way theological in nature, but there was a part of me that related suffering to my faith instead of the result of living in a world broken by sin.
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by Jenni Young
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Somewhere between home and New Jersey I realized that I had no idea where I was, and it wasn’t the least bit distressing. My dad had offered to drive me to my friend’s wedding. He loved road trips, and I loved his company. He loved to spend money on me, and I loved to not stress about money. (I was a broke college student back then.) It was an ideal arrangement for us both. There was no GPS, but my dad was a crazy-talented mapper in his day. I handed him the wedding invitation, packed my suitcase, and got in the car. Then somewhere between home and New Jersey… well, you read the first sentence. When you have a dad who is willing and able to provide for all of your needs AND get you where you need to go, all you have to do is get in the car. Then you’re free to jam out together to ‘60s music and hotly discuss your philosophy professor and that thing he said that you thought was profound but your dad thought was nuts. You’re free to eat too many SunChips and laugh and cry about all the things that are mattering to you both – because when you have a dad like that, you’re going to end up making it to New Jersey on time. You probably already know the point I’m about to make – that we who have been washed clean in the blood of Christ have a Heavenly Father Who has the resources and ability to get us where we need to go. That means that we don’t have to. That means that
most of the time we spend worrying and planning, trying so hard to drum up the wisdom of the ages to somehow slug ourselves another miniscule inch further – most of the time we do that, we could have just been listening to ‘60s music and eating SunChips. More importantly, we could have been listening to His opinions about the philosophies of the day and laughing and crying about all the things that matter together. We who have been washed clean in the blood of Christ have a Heavenly Father Who has the resources and ability to get us where we need to go. That means that we don’t have to. This week I saw the gap between where I am and where I need to be to do the task God has put in front of me – and it’s really big, that gap. It made me cry. “The problem isn’t that I don’t understand what I’ve got to be,” I told Him. “I see that pretty clearly. The problem is that I’m not that, and I don’t know how to get there.” Maybe you relate? Well, if you do, you should know that when I said that, He first reminded me of all the ways He – not I – got me to where I am now. Then I almost heard Him laughing, and I remembered Who was driving. So how do we get where we need to go? I discovered the answer to that long ago, somewhere between home and New Jersey.
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The Key Life 35th Anniversary Collection
2020 marks Key Life’s 35th anniversary. To say thank you for your continued support, we’ve assembled a special three-product collection. With FREE SHIPPING, it’s a $39 value for $35...
Talk the Walk: How To Be Right Without Being Insufferable
This attitude-altering book invites Christians to cultivate boldness and humility in communicating gospel truth. By uncovering self-righteousness and spiritual arrogance, Talk the Walk shatters stereotypes and helps believers consider how they present the good news without watering it down. Steve’s Latest Book.
God, Are You There?
Honest, Bible-based help and hope for anyone who wonders how difficult events in life are related to God's purposes. Biblical Comfort from Steve.
The Boy Who Loved Music
Recognizing that stories can carry powerful messages, Steve has told this powerful modern parable to thousands of people. The response has been both emotional and overwhelming. This story of a boy who wants to play the piano reaches deep to encourage and challenge. Includes a CD and Minibook — Supplies Limited.
To order, call 1-800-KEYLIFE, write to steve@keylife.org, or order online at KeyLife.org/store
The New KeyLife.org An interview with Key Life's Director of Technology, John Myers. Key Life Magazine: Congrats on the launch of the new KeyLife.org. It looks great. John Myers: Thanks. Two and a half years in development, but here we are. Key Life Magazine: This is the first large-scale overhaul of the site since…? John Myers: 2014. Key Life Magazine: Wow. Let’s go from the most obvious changes to the least obvious. I like the new color scheme. What’s the story there? John Myers: The colors and the textures and the photos are all designed to match Key Life’s style. So hopefully it all feels warm, comfortable, genuine, a little messy, and hopeful. Key Life Magazine: I noticed every channel of content Key Life produces -- the daily Key Life episodes, Steve Brown, Etc., You Think About That, and Pastors’ Chat -- has its own identifying color. That’s a nice touch. John Myers: Thanks. Key Life Magazine: What’s the driving idea behind the new layout? John Myers: Overall, we made the interface cleaner and more streamlined. The idea is to help you find what you want quicker than ever, but also present you with articles and videos and other content that will feel very relevant based on what you’re looking for. Key Life Magazine: Okay, so what’s under the hood? What are the brand new first-time-ever features on KeyLife.org that you’re excited about? John Myers: A lot of things. First, we now have transcripts of Key Life episodes, so everything you hear Steve teach, you also have it in print. We also have a better user experience in our new donation tool, which is at the bottomright of many pages. Actually, if you’re reading this, try donating $100 right now to help us test that out. [laughs] Also check out ‘Stations’ on the left-hand menu. That will take you to our new station finder tool. You just enter in your ZIP code and boom - the site tells you the radio stations nearby where you can hear Key Life and Steve Brown, Etc.
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