Thursday, October 29, 2009

Missional Leadership

An excerpt below from a post by Ed Stetzer (Missional Leadership). In the post he shares a video from a recent conference where he spoke on missional leadership and his outline for an upcoming seminar.

Here is the outline that I used in the video and I will be using tomorrow:

Missional Leadership

1) Reconsideration of Leadership

a) From superman to everyone
b) From church to kingdom
c) From me to we
d) From personal power to people empowerment


2) Rejection of Clergification

a) From three tiers to one mission
b) From "called to the ministry" to "called to ministry"
c) From "called to missions" to "sent on mission"
d) From exceptional to ordinary
e) From "priests" to a "priesthood of believers"


3) Renewed focus on mission

a) From "full service" to "simple mission"
b) From "pay, pray, and get out of the way" to "join God on His mission"
c) From decisionism to disciple making
d) From "mission statement" to "Jesus mission"
Luke 4
Luke 19:10


4) Realignment of priorities

a) God is a missionary God
b) I personally join Him on mission - modeling
c) I lead others to join Him on mission - leadership
d) I equip others - multiplication

I hope that is helpful. Be sure to watch the video to get the context.

Liberating

Mark Batterson post: Fearlessness

According to psychologists we're only born with two fears: the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. That means that every other fear is learned. Which means that every other fear can be unlearned. Here's a definition of faith: the process of unlearning ungodly fears.

The enemy is a fear monger. He wants to scare the heaven out of you. But I John 4:18 says: "Perfect love casts out all fear." In other words, as we grow in a love relationship with God we unlearn our fears until the only fear we have is the only healthy and holy fear: the fear of God. And when you fear God you don't have to fear anything else! Perfect love results in fearlessness.

I think there are moments in life when we have to make major decisions that will determine our destiny. And we will spend the rest of our lives managing those major decisions. And if you let fear dictate your decision you'll end up with a ton of inaction regrets at the end of your life. Fear is a great friend, but it makes a terrible master! Don't let fear dictate your decisions. You have to face your fears. And what you'll find is this: the thing that scares you to death is very often the thing that brings you to life.

Here's another lesson learned: few things are as liberating as what you fear actually happening. You realize that God is still there and life goes on.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Boomeranging

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.

Matthew 7:1-5 [The Message]

Forgiveness

Neil Anderson Daily in Christ Devotional

LIVING WITH SIN'S CONSEQUENCES

Romans 12:19
Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord

Forgiveness does not mean that you must tolerate sin. Isabel, a young wife and mother attending one of my conferences, told me of her decision to forgive her mother for continually manipulating her for attention. But Isabel tearfully continued, "She is no different. Am I supposed to let her keep ruining my life?"

No, forgiving someone doesn't mean that you must be a doormat to their continual sin. I encouraged Isabel to confront her mother lovingly but firmly, and tell her that she would no longer tolerate destructive manipulation. It's okay to forgive another's past sins and, at the same time, take a stand against future sins. Forgiving is not a co-dependent activity.

Forgiveness does not demand revenge or repayment for offenses suffered. "You mean I'm just supposed to let them off the hook?" you may argue. Yes, you let them off your hook, realizing that they are not off God's hook. You may feel like exacting justice, but you are not an impartial judge. God is the just Judge who will make everything right (Romans 12:19). Your job is to extend the mercy of forgiveness and leave judgment up to God.

Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequences of another person's sin. Suppose that someone in your church says, "I have gossiped about you. Will you forgiven me?" You can't retract gossip any easier than you can put toothpaste back into the tube. You're going to live with the gossip this person spread about you no matter how you respond to the gossiper.

We are all living with the consequences of another person's sin: Adam's. The only real choice we have in the matter is to live in the bondage of bitterness or in the freedom of forgiveness.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I give up my right to seek revenge or harbor resentment. I want to enjoy the freedom which comes from forgiving others.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Set Free

Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
the LORD answered me and set me free.

Psalm 118:5

Time

Life Today Words of Life Weekly Devotional

How Much Time Do You Have?
by Edward John

"Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that
we may grow in wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)


Life can be like a boxing ring. We have to learn to "roll with the punches" by knowing when to duck, move to the side or throw a punch. It's a constant battle and one of our biggest opponents is time.

Everything seems to move at a faster pace today. Family, work, school, social activities and even church and demand our precious time. There does not seem to be enough hours of daylight to complete our daily chores. Our lives are dictated by a list of things to do. In order to rest, we have to put it on our schedule! We often find ourselves saying, "I need more time."

One would think that with all of our technology, we could save a little time. But it often adds to the load, as we e-mail people around the world, manage our Facebook account, Twitter our thoughts and emotions, and text each other on our cell phones (sometimes while driving!) It is ironic, because we think we're saving time when in reality we make it easier for the world to bombard our lives with more things to do and consume our precious time.

We need to ask ourselves, "Where has time gone? And what are we really here to accomplish?"

It is time to wake up and enter the real arena of battle. We must recognize our real enemy and understand his strategy. We need to reclaim our ground and regain our positions as leaders under the command of our King, Jesus Christ.

The first step towards doing this is realizing that busyness is not necessarily effectiveness. Our time may be consumed with activity, but that does not mean that we are accomplishing everything that God has planned for us. God wants us to be effective, fruitful and peaceful, not busy, stressed and annoyed. The Word of God is a double-edged sword and when we learn to live our lives by His word, we can cut, slice and divide our lives into proper portions and begin to effectively live for His Kingdom. When we live by His word, we are able to differentiate right from wrong, good from bad, wide from narrow, and straight from crooked.

This is where time is redeemed and effectiveness is achieved. Jesus holds time in his hands, so He is the master of making our lives effective. Jesus was never swayed by what men thought was right or wrong. Even well-meaning people sought to tell Him what to do, but He only did what He saw His Father doing. This is the key to life! We must learn how to operate by the same standard as Jesus. We must learn to say "yes" to God and "no" to everything else.

We tend to fight battles that are of no consequence, beating aimlessly into the air. We don't recognize our true enemies, so we don't know what battles to fight. We must learn to redeem our time on this earth by choosing to fight the right battles.

So how do we know which battles are ours? How do we know how to spend our precious time? The Psalmist heard the Lord say, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." (Psalm 32:8) We need wisdom to know how to use our time -- wisdom that can only come from above. Once again, the greatest source for wisdom is the Word of God. "Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life." (Proverbs 4:13)

Time is short. In fact, it's running out! But we can be Christians of excellence. We can be effective for his Kingdom. We can be consumed with a peace that passes understanding, instead of the stress of this world. Godly wisdom and direction will not only bring each of us more personal fulfillment, but it will help us better serve the Kingdom of God while making the most of our time.

This Week
Take stock of your days. What is consuming your time? Ask the Lord where you should increase your focus. Leave behind those things that needlessly bring you stress and rob you of your time.

Prayer
"Lord, help me spend more time in Your Word so that my life can be a double-edged sword. Divide those things that are essential from those that are not. Give me Your wisdom to make the most of the time You have given me here on earth."

God's Grace

John Piper post: One of the Most Important Principles in Reading the Bible

Sometimes readers of the Bible see the conditions that God lays down for his blessing and they conclude from these conditions that our action is first and decisive, then God responds to bless us.

That is not right.

There are indeed real conditions that God often commands. We must meet them for the promised blessing to come. But that does not mean that we are left to ourselves to meet the conditions or that our action is first and decisive.

Here is one example to show what I mean.

In Jeremiah 29:13 God says to the exiles in Babylon, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” So there is a condition: When you seek me with all your heart, then you will find me. So we must seek the Lord. That is the condition of finding him.

True.

But does that mean that we are left to ourselves to seek the Lord? Does it mean that our action of seeking him is first and decisive? Does it mean that God only acts after our seeking?

No.

Listen to what God says in Jeremiah 24:7 to those same exiles in Babylon: “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.”

So the people will meet the condition of returning to God with their whole heart. God will respond by being their God in the fullest blessing. But the reason they returned with their whole heart is that God gave them a heart to know him. His action was first and decisive.

So now connect that with Jeremiah 29:13. The condition there was that they seek the Lord with their whole heart. Then God will be found by them. But now we see that the promise in Jeremiah 24:7 is that God himself will give them such a heart so that they will return to him with their whole heart.

This is one of the most basic things people need to see about the Bible. It is full of conditions we must meet for God’s blessings. But God does not leave us to meet them on our own. The first and decisive work before and in our willing is God’s prior grace. Without this insight, hundreds of conditional statements in the Bible will lead us astray.

Let this be the key to all Biblical conditions and commands: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13). Yes, we work. But our work is not first or decisive. God’s is. “I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).


Monday, October 26, 2009

Three So's

From 2 Corinthians

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. [4:16]

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. [5:6-7]

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. [5:10]

No Such Thing

C.S. Lewis quote from Miscellanies No God = No Happiness post

“The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first—wanting to be the centre—wanting to be God, in fact. That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race. Some people think the fall of man had something to do with sex, but that is a mistake. (The story in the Book of Genesis rather suggests that some corruption in our sexual nature followed the fall and was its result, not its cause.) What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’—could set up on their own as if they had created themselves—be their own masters—invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.

The reason why it can never succeed is this. God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”

—C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (HarperOne, 1980), pp. 49–50.


Trusting

Mark Batterson post: 7 Tithing Tips

Continued our Ritual series this weekend. Talked about a 4000 year-old ritual called tithing that traces all the way back to Abraham. Honestly, I used to hate talking about money. Thought people would think it was a money grab so I was almost defensive about it. But the longer I tithe the more I love talking about it.

We need a paradigm shift. So many people perceive the tithe as an obligation. It's an opportunity! Yes, Malachi 3 says you are "under a curse" if you are not giving a tenth. But what a promise! God wants to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing on you that you cannot contain.

Here are a few principles I shared this weekend:

1) God can do more with 90% than I can do with 100%
2) U cannot out give God
3) 2 be blessed beyond your ability u need to give beyond your ability
4) When u start tithing, your financial problems become God's problem
5) The tithe keeps money from becoming your master
6) Tithing positions u 4 blessing
7) Tithing = Trusting

In my personal experience, tithing makes finances fun. It infuses me with economic optimism because I'm walking in obedience. I live in holy anticipation to see the way God is going to provide!

Friday, October 23, 2009

So That

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Cor 5:21

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Worthy

And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

"Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!"

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
"Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created."

Revelation 4:8-11






Tenth

Summary of Rob Bell's talk at Catalyst by Kent Shaffer

The Reward of the Tenth Commandment
Speaker Summary: Rob Bell

Rob Bell of Mars Hill Bible Church (Grandville, MI) discussed how to enjoy being where you are at during Catalyst Conference’s third session. Here is what he said:

I was recently talking to a pastor who said he wanted to quit. So I asked him to draw a pie chart of what he does every week. He had been a pastor for a year and wanted to quite every day. So I asked if he practiced Sabbath. [silence]

There are lots of concepts and truths that we would intellectually agree with, but we are made anxious by deep subterranean forces in our bones that drive us. We “believe” one thing but then do something else.

John 6 tells the story of Jesus giving expectations but the crowd thinning because they think they can’t do it. Sometimes the crowd thins. What would Jesus say to modern church growth experts that say if you do A then B then C, then there will be growth and numbers? Sometimes the crowd thins, and people leave, even ones who are close to you.

Luke 21 tells the story of the poor widow that gave “more” out of her poverty than what the rich gave. What we naturally think is an important measurement may not be how God measures things.

You are a living Eucharist. How can we break ourselves open and pour ourselves out, so that the people around us might experience God? The Eucharist is a sacred and holy thing. You surrender your agenda when you serve. But when you exploit the Eucharist and break it down and rank it, you destroy it.

In John 5:19, Jesus says, “the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing.” His work comes from a grounded, centered, calm place where He only has a few things to do, and He sets out to do it. He is not distracted. He is not stressed. There is a difference between something that is hard and difficult and something that is a burden. God will not give you a burden you can’t carry.

In Exodus 20, the first 9 commandments are external and measurable, but the last commandment about coveting is not externally observable. The “tenth” is considered a reward. Meaning if you follow the first 9 rules then you won’t have a problem with the 10th rule because you won’t want anyone else’s life.

If you have a burden of feeling like you have not accomplished enough, God wants to set you free from that. Jesus wants you to simply enjoy the place that you are at and the work that is in front of you.

Is there any way in your ministry that you have neglected to take care of yourself? You need to love your neighbor as yourself. You need to take care of yourself so that you can be energized. Which day do you take care of yourself, so that you can give during the other six days of the week?

Does your spouse get your very best, or does your spouse get what is left over from the church? Do your kids get your very best, or do they get the scraps? Our children pick up on what really matters to us without us saying a word.

If it is not going well at home, it will not go well at church. Jesus invites us into a peaceful, calm place in the center of his love.

Be Willing

Greg Laurie Daily Devotional

When You're Unwilling

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
—Matthew 5:44-45

My mother was married and divorced seven times. I had the privilege of sharing the gospel with several of my mother's husbands, including Oscar Laurie, the man who adopted me. He came to faith in Christ, and I was very thankful for that. However, there was another husband of hers whom I will call Eddie. He was an alcoholic and almost killed my mother one night when he was drunk.

After I became a Christian, I sensed that God wanted me to share the gospel with Eddie. But I didn't really want to. I thought, He is a bad man, and I don't want to talk to him again. I don't want to see him again. But I went anyway. And I would like to say that it was a glorious experience and that he got down on his knees and accepted Christ. But I can't say that. He listened to me. He was nice. He was pleasant about it and said, "Well, you know I am glad this has happened for you, Greg." I invited him to come and hear me preach, but he again said no.

There may be someone like that in your life who has hurt you, someone who has disappointed you. And you think because of that, you don't ever want to talk to them again, much less share the gospel with them. But as believers, we are to overcome our personal prejudice and hang-ups. And instead of saying, "Never, Lord," we need to say, "Yes, Lord!" Be willing. See what God will do. They may react like Eddie. Or they may react like Oscar.

Maybe there is even someone right now whom you regard as an enemy. What can you do? You can share the gospel—and leave the results in the hands of God.


Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Make A Show

But you, O God, are both tender and kind,
not easily angered, immense in love,
and you never, never quit.
So look me in the eye and show kindness,
give your servant the strength to go on,
save your dear, dear child!
Make a show of how much you love me
so the bullies who hate me will stand there slack-jawed,
As you, God, gently and powerfully
put me back on my feet.

Psalm 86:15-17 [The Message]

God's Power In Us and For Us

Excerpt from John Piper Taste & See article: Rebuilding Some Basics of Bethelehem: The Purifying Power of Living by Grace in Future Grace

Grace is not only God’s disposition to do good for us when we don’t deserve it. It is an actual power from God that acts and makes good things happen in us and for us. For example, Paul says,

By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

God’s grace was God’s acting in Paul to make Paul work hard. So when Paul says, “Work out your salvation,” he adds, “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Grace is power from God to do good things in us and for us.

This grace is past and it is future. It is ever cascading over the infinitesimal waterfall of the present from the inexhaustible river of grace coming to us from the future into the ever-increasing reservoir of grace in the past. In the next five minutes, you will receive sustaining grace flowing to you from the future, and you will accumulate another five minutes’ worth of grace in the reservoir of the past.

...

The way to understand the power of faith in future grace is to realize that this faith means being satisfied with all that God promises to be for us in Christ. When Paul says, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. . . . I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11, 13), he means that faith in the ever-arriving future grace of God in Christ gives him the contentment that conquers fear and greed.

One of the essential keys to a life purified from the sins of wanting what we shouldn’t want and fearing what we shouldn’t fear is faith in future grace. Consider some examples of how faith in future grace conquers fear and selfishness and makes people radically loving.

You had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. (Hebrews 10:34)

By faith Moses . . . chose to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. (Hebrews 11:24-26)

Jesus, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2)

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. (Matthew 5:11-12)

We heard of . . . the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:4-5)

But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. (Luke 14:13-14)

In other words, by profound satisfaction in all that God promises to be for us in the future (five minutes out—and five million ages out) we can conquer the cravings of selfish fear and greed that destroy love. Radical love is the fruit of faith in future grace.

...


Good Things Turned Into Ultimate Things

Tim Keller talking about his book Conterfeit Gods

Scripture

Excerpt from Ed Stetzer's post: Generational Perspectives on Scripture

"Kids these days."

The Barna Group has released a new study that explores the how different generations of American adults view and use the Bible. And guess what - it turns out perspectives are different!

Barna groups those surveyed into four generations, broken down as follows: the Mosaic generation refers to adults who are currently ages 18 to 25; Busters are those ages 26 to 44; Boomers are 45 to 63; and Elders are 64-plus.

Not everything is wildly different between these generations. In fact "a majority of each of the four generations believes that the Bible is a sacred or holy book." Shocking. Ok, not really. But another commonality is that "millions within each of the generations report reading the pages of Scripture in the last week." That is more interesting to me.

Similar proportions of the generations embrace the most conservative and most liberal views. For instance, the "highest" view of the Bible - that it is "the actual word of God and should be taken literally, word for word" - is embraced by one-quarter of Mosaics (27%), Busters (27%), and Boomers (23%), and one-third of Elders (34%). The extreme view on the other end - that the Bible is not inspired by God - is embraced by proportions that are also statistically close to one another, including Mosaics (25%), Busters (19%), Boomers (22%), and Elders (22%).


Of course there are significant differences between the generations and their perspectives on Scripture. The Barna Group summarizes that the younger generations show the following changes in thought as it relates to the Bible:

Less Sacred - While most Americans of all ages identify the Bible as sacred, the drop-off among the youngest adults is striking: 9 out of 10 Boomers and Elders described the Bible as sacred, which compares to 8 out of 10 Busters (81%) and just 2 out of 3 Mosaics (67%).


Less Accurate - Young adults are significantly less likely than older adults to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. Just 30% of Mosaics and 39% of Busters firmly embraced this view, compared with 46% of Boomers and 58% of Elders.

More Universalism - Among Mosaics, a majority (56%) believes the Bible teaches the same spiritual truths as other sacred texts, which compares with 4 out of 10 Busters and Boomers, and one-third of Elders.

Skepticism of Origins - Another generational difference is that young adults are more likely to express skepticism about the original manuscripts of the Bible than is true of older adults.

Less Engagement - While many young adults are active users of the Bible, the pattern shows a clear generational drop-off - the younger the person, the less likely then are to read the Bible. In particular, Busters and Mosaics are less likely than average to have spent time alone in the last week praying and reading the Bible for at least 15 minutes. Interestingly, none of the four generations were particularly likely to say they aspired to read the Bible more as a means of improving their spiritual lives.

Bible Appetite - Despite the generational decline in many Bible metrics, one departure from the typical pattern is the fact that younger adults, especially Mosaics (19%), express a slightly above-average interest in gaining additional Bible knowledge. This compares with 12% of Boomers and 9% of Elders.

...


Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Better

For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 84:10

Things

Cristine Wryzten Devotional

A DANGEROUS PRAYER

Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. Psalm 119:37

Do I really want the idols in my life exposed for what they are? Do I want their glitter removed?

I remember how eye-opening it was to sell our last house. While we lived there, the blessing of God was over our home. It felt like a haven of peace stepping into it. If there were cracks in the wall or peeling wallpaper, no one seemed to notice because of the pervasive sense of God's presence. Once everything was packed up and rooms were empty, I felt like the spiritual veneer peeled off the walls. What was left was a tired old house. It had no appeal. Some may argue that what I was viewing was the difference between a house with furniture and an empty one. I disagree. God's presence was simply moving with us to a new state and a new home. Our daughter was the one, on a last walkthrough the house, to point this out to our family. How spiritually intuitive she was.

This 'peeling away of the veneer' can happen to my idols too. If my desire is sincere for God to remove my appetite for worthless things, then He has a way of revealing their empty nature. I will wake up one day to the realization that what was life-giving to me no longer appears that way. It just doesn't satisfy anymore. It might even be repulsive.

I had a time in my life when God stripped me bare of all my props. One at a time, they were exposed, then removed. It felt cruel, like God was a withholding God. Yet, He was doing the kindest possible thing by removing the very things which were veiling His beauty and His worth. He wanted me to discover that He could, and should, be my treasure. All other people and things are a bonus.

I may be praying for loved ones today who are addicted to things which are destroying them. "God expose their idols. Show them truth. Peel away the enemy's makeup from their veneer." God honors that prayer.

Lord, I know that when I die, I will take two things with me. People and Your Word. Put everything in order in my heart. Amen

Wholeness

Neil Anderson Daily in Christ

THE EQUATION FOR WHOLENESS

1 Timothy 6:9
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction

In his book The Sensation of Being Somebody , Maurice Wagner expresses a false belief in simple equations we tend to accept. He says we mistakenly think that good appearance plus the admiration it brings equals a whole person. Or we feel that star performance plus accomplishments equals a whole person. Or we believe that a certain amount of status plus the recognition we accumulate equals a whole person. Not so. These equations are no more correct than two plus two equals six. Wagner says: "Try as we might by our appearance, performance, or social status to find self-verification for a sense of being somebody, we always come short of satisfaction. Whatever pinnacle of self-identity we achieve soon crumbles under the pressure of hostile rejection or criticism, introspection or guilt, fear or anxiety. We cannot do anything to qualify for the by-product of being loved unconditionally and voluntarily" (Maurice Wagner, The Sensation of Being Somebody , Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975, p. 163).

If these equations could work for anyone, they would have worked for King Solomon. He was the king of Israel during the greatest years in her history. If a meaningful life is the result of appearance, admiration, performance, accomplishments, status, or recognition, Solomon would have been the most together man who ever lived.

But God also gave the king an extra dose of wisdom to interpret his achievements. What was his commentary on it all? "Meaningless! Meaningless! . . . Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV ). Take the advice of the wise king: All the stuff and status you can acquire don't add up to personal wholeness. Millions of people climb those ladders to success, only to discover when they reach the top that they are leaning against the wrong wall! The only identity equation that works in God's kingdom is you plus Christ equals wholeness and meaning.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I affirm that nothing in this world can make me more complete than I already am in Christ.


Monday, October 19, 2009

Sing for Joy

... ; my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

Psalm 84:2b

Seek First .. Steep Your Life

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. [v. 31-33, ESV]

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. [v. 30-33, The Message]


Matthew 6


Daily Grace

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional

A PRAYER

Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. Psalm 119:17

Lord, forgive me for just assuming that another day will be mine. For years, I just expected that I would awaken as always; alive, healthy, and the world would be what it had always been. I did not see that it is your mercy that keeps the earth on its axis. If it were just one degree off course in its rotations, I would be burned alive or frozen to death.

You made my body to work miraculously; muscles, a complex web of nerve endings, an endocrine system that is held together by delicate balances of hormones. Sight, touch, hearing, all are a product of your handiwork. It takes something so little to shut down life. To get up in the morning and experience all of them working together is a gracious gift, daily.

I think of all the times in my life when I accused you of not having a heart for me, of not being good. Yet I recognize that you have dealt bountifully with me for the breadth of my lifetime. Because of your generous heart, I have lived, I have survived the valleys of my life, I have sought You, and I have a heart that longs to know You and keep Your Word.

I echo David's prayer today, Lord. Deal bountifully with me. I know the One from whom my very breath comes. I don't take it for granted. Since You have given me life, my life is yours.

Amen


Friday, October 16, 2009

Unseen and Eternal

as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Cor 4:18

Waiting and Watching

Excerpt from Tony Reinke (Miscellanies) post: Anxious Impatience

Craig M. Gay, in his book The Way of the (Modern) World: Or, Why It’s Tempting to Live As If God Doesn’t Exist (Eerdmans, 1998), seeks to expose the symptoms of worldliness in the postmodern world. The organization of the book is quite thoughtful and the author builds a new theme off the previously theme, eventually tying all the themes together.

In a very basic form, the book develops around five progressive building blocks:

(a) Control—Man seeks to control his world through technology and rationalism. By this he refers to the impulse in the postmodern heart to control every area of life through technology, not merely to improve certain areas of life.

(b) Secularity—The aspirations of the modern man to this techno-rational control of the world leave little room for any god, save the “self-defining self.” God—if ever referenced at all—becomes a “god of the gaps,” a god whose necessity is limited to the areas of life that are outside of our control. Think “acts of god.”

(c) Individualism—The forces of control and secularity combine to encourage individualization, a fix-it-yourself mentality that breaks apart personal relationships and community.

(d) Anxiety—Man becomes an individualized self. But “the assumption of godlike responsibilities has turned out to be a heavy burden and that we have become increasingly anxious beneath the weight of this burden” (p. 308).

(e) Impatience—Combine control, secularity, individualism, and the anxiety from these godlike responsibilities and you end up with “what is possibly the master theme of modernity, and now of ‘postmodernity’: that of impatience” (p. 308).

This progression is helpful. And when the author begins to weave together the anxious impatience of our world his work really proves practical. Because, as Christians, we are called to cultivate an eschatological worldview and the spiritual disciplines of waiting and watching, distinctives directly undermined by modern forms of worldliness. I will leave the topics of prayer and community is for another post altogether.

...

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Inward Condition

Neil Anderson Daily in Christ Devotional

CHANGING CHRISTIAN PRACTICES

Matthew 6:7
When you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words

Jesus taught that Christian practices should be consistent with the inward condition of the heart. Holding to external practices which no longer correlate with the heart is repugnant to God. Jesus railed against praying in vain repetitions and putting on a gloomy face while fasting. Consistency cries for an affirmative answer to the question, "Is it real?" The Christian community searches for truth while the world searches for reality. These are large, overlapping circles, but I'm convinced that we must be real in order to be right. Change is most needed when Christians sit stoically week after week reciting endless creeds in utter hypocrisy.

Tragically, those who are coming to a church simply to fulfill a religious obligation are the most resistant to change. They have resisted the need to change under the instruction of the Word and are in a state of carnality. They are not coming to the changeless Christ and saying, "Change me so I may be like You." Time-honored faith and long-established practices often become intertwined in their thinking. When you advocate a different practice, they think you are tinkering with their faith!

Paradoxically, the ones who have a real Christian experience are the ones who are free to change their Christian practices. They are committed to the substance of their faith, not the form. Form always follows function, but people have a tendency to fixate on the form.

Organizational renewal will not bring spiritual renewal. When the spiritual tide is out, every little tadpole wants his own little tide pool to swim in. When the spiritual tide is in, the fish swim in one big ocean where someone is synchronizing every move. When the Holy Spirit is leading, almost any organization will work. But when He isn't, it doesn't matter how good the program and organization is, it won't work.

Prayer:

Lord, I will not rest my faith on my Christian practice, but I will base my faith and practice on the truth of Your Word.



Wednesday, October 14, 2009

An Act of Courage

There is never an ideal time to do anything. We can wait forever if we think that ideal opportunities will present themselves for acts of kindness and deeds of love. We have to seize the day. Grasp the opportunity. Make the most of good times and bad times. There must be a certain reckless abandon about the way we act. We cannot always be careful and calculating. We must do what should be done, even when we don't have the time or when things are not convenient.

Nouwen captures these sentiments in the following prayer: "Let me have the courage to live fully even when it is risky, vibrantly even when it leads to pain, and spontaneously even when it leads to mistakes." [FN]

This attitude should characterize not only the way we live, but also the way we serve. Service is never safe. It is always risky. We never know how we will be received and what the outcomes will be. Service is also never perfect. We serve in spite of our mistakes and our weaknesses. And service also can lead to pain. It can lead to the server feeling empty after having given much. It can also result in a lack of appreciation. It usually involves carrying burdens that are not our own.

The more we think about all of this, the less we are likely to do. Thus service is an act of courage. It is an act of boldness. It is in some ways a foolhardy thing to do.

Courage to Act: Serving in the Face of Difficulty, Reflection 99, Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen by Charles Ringma.

[FN] A Cry for Mercy, p. 139.


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

It Is God

And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

2 Cor 1:21-22

Call to Ministry

Excerpt from Ed Stetzer's post: Discerning Your Church's Call to Ministry

...

Do I believe God reveals himself and gives us direction in life? Yes, absolutely. But I also believe he reveals himself more specifically as we obey the commands he has already given us. In other words, God will show us how he wants our church to minister to the community when we act on the directives he has already given us.

Four of the last things Jesus said to his disciples in his final days on earth are a good place for his followers and his churches to seek direction:

1. Jesus reminded his followers they have been sent just like he was: "As the Father sent me, I am sending you" (John 20:21). Now, if he stopped there, it could still be pretty confusing. He didn't specifically tell them where to go, what to do, what to say, or what to accomplish. He just told them they were being shipped out to serve in his spiritual army.

2. Jesus continues to clarify the vision and mission he has for his followers and churches: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt. 28:19-20). Going out to all the world and proclaiming the Good News was to result in new disciples among all people groups. After that, Christ's followers are supposed to baptize new disciples and teach them to follow everything he commanded.

3. Jesus isn't finished yet. Before he ascends, he tells them: "Thus it is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:46-49). This clarifies the Good News they are to announce: Jesus died in our place so we could repent and be forgiven of our sins, and he rose from the dead so we could live a victorious life. In order to be witnesses about these things, however, they needed one more thing: the power from on high promised by the Father.

4. The last thing Jesus communicated to his disciples picked up where his previous instructions ended. He laid out a strategy for things to move forward: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). A good place for his followers and churches to start is to be witnesses in their own communities and then move out from there, as he leads and opens doors for ministry.

As you begin to engage practically in fulfilling the mission and vision that God has already given us, he will begin to reveal where your church fits best in serving and witnessing to your community. Instead of sitting around, waiting to be hit by lightning, here are some practical ways you and your church can begin to discern your ministry call.

As you begin to engage practically in fulfilling the mission and vision that God has already given us, he will begin to reveal where your church fits best in serving and witnessing to your community. Instead of sitting around, waiting to be hit by lightning, here are some practical ways you and your church can begin to discern your ministry call.

Pray together for great boldness. The early believers followed Jesus' instructions and actively waited and prayed for what the Father promised. Assemble a group of people regularly and pray for your church to be filled and anointed with the Spirit. The believers joining constantly in prayer led to the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost.

Most people remember that prayer preceded Pentecost, but they may not remember that Jesus' followers kept praying after Pentecost. Acts 4:23-31 records believers gathering and raising their voices in prayer. They stood in prayer against the people who were persecuting them and the forces of evil, right? Wrong! They asked the Lord to enable them to speak his word with great boldness and prayed he would do wonderful things through the name of his holy servant, Jesus. What does the current prayer environment of our church look like? Are we praying those kinds of prayers? What steps will we take to change the environment?

Explore multiple ministry options in your community. As you pray, take action by serving your community and finding ways to be his witnesses. God will give your people new passion and direction for ministry as they engage their community. Jesus himself "saw the multitudes" and was "moved with compassion for them" (Matt. 9:35). Try some or all of these practical ideas:

• Set up a time each month to conduct servant evangelism projects like giving away free drinks (water, hot chocolate, coffee, pop, etc.) at a traffic intersection, cleaning local parks, raking leaves or mowing grass for elderly folks, giving away coupons for free stuff, etc.

• Involve your small groups or Sunday school classes in community service projects at least once a quarter so they aren't just fellowshipping and learning stuff.

• Start ongoing ministries by getting some of your members involved in things like Release Time (for public school kids), Hospice, Big Brother Big Sister, and City Mission. Intentionally train people to be better witnesses with materials like Sharing Jesus Without Fear or Just Walk Across the Room.

• Ask three people in your congregation to set up interviews with leaders of local service agencies to discover unmet needs your church family might be able to address.

...

Enlarge my Heart

Devotional post by Christine Wyrtzen

SOARING ON THE WINGS OF LOVE

I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart. Psalm 119:32

Plodding along, grinding out obedience to God is not any way to live. I did it for more than three decades. It's exhausting and it's hollow. One can sustain the pace for quite a while as long as life stays relatively trouble free. Let the trials come and things come crashing down pretty quickly.

Completely opposite of what I used to believe, soaring in this Christian life is not gained by knowing more, but by feeling more. An enlarged heart is what facilitates joyful obedience. The most important thing I can pray when studying the scriptures is, "Make my heart alive to You and Your Word." Loving God and the Word that reveals Him is my secret source of energy.

The biggest complaint of women I encounter is the sense of their heart being numb to the things of God. They know a lot but feel little. I sympathize with that, having lived that way so long. My advice ~ go back to where you lost your feelings. Some disappointment ran your heart underground. Some unexpressed grief cut the lines of emotion. Some lie, or series of lies, killed your trust in God. Ask God to help you find the root. Do this, while simultaneously, asking God to heal your heart and restore what you lost through the power of His Word.

The Word heals. The Word exposes the lies we embraced in our pain and disappointment. The Word tells us the truth and builds a new foundation of trust. And, the Word brings a once dormant heart to one capable of depth and feeling.

I am so grateful for my feelings of love for You. I love trembling at Your Word. Continue to enlarge my heart beyond what I even think possible. Amen

Monday, October 12, 2009

Mistake?

Mark Batterson post: Between an Egyptian Army and a Red Sea

Have you ever felt like God made a mistake?

That is how the Israelites felt with the Egyptian army breathing down their necks and the Red Sea staring them in the face. And here's the thing: God led them there. From a military standpoint, they should not have been there. They have no escape route. They couldn't retreat or advance. It seems like God has made a mistake. And the Israelites let Moses know about it. But God had them right where he wanted them.

Sometimes God leads us to a place where we have nowhere to turn but to Him. It's often the last place we want to be. But it's the best place to be. Here is the great irony: all of us want to experience a miracle. We just don't want to be in a situation that necessitates it. But sometimes you need to be between an Egyptian Army and a Red Sea so God can reveal more of His glory!

And just when you think God has made a mistake, He parts the Red Sea.

Friday, October 09, 2009

Your Strength

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,"In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength."


Isaiah 30:15

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Strength

Devotional from Christine Wyrtzen

NUGGETS FOR THE CHILD

My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word! Psalm 119:27

God's agenda for me is to strengthen my faith. Satan's agenda is to destroy my faith. He will do it by using pain and pleasure. The pleasures tempt me to believe that there is something more desirable than God. The pain lures me to believe that God is not good nor caring. I don't know which catalyst, pain or pleasure, is more dangerous to the Christian.

David knows that when he is grieving and about to break under the strain of something heartbreaking, his greatest need is a strength that comes from God's Word. The hug of a friend is nice, a good listening ear is valuable, a meal brought in when I'm too sick to make one for my family can be an overwhelming relief, but none will save my soul from melting away in the fire.

Most likely, for the majority of us today, there is something which threatens to break our heart in two. It is that issue where no words from others can dull the throbbing. It is all-consuming, bubbling beneath the surface of our smiles. Unless someone knows us well, they are impervious to the subtle sighs and far off look that tells the truth of our great heaviness.

God's Word comes to me in this helpless childlike state. I may be fifty five years old, but when hurting, I feel like a child. God's child. It is not the wordy discourse on pre-destination that will comfort me when I'm in great distress. It is the Word, whispering to me in bite-sized nuggets, that chips away at my fear and penetrates the darkness. "I know." "I care." "I wept with Mary and Martha." "Do not fear." "Rest in me." "Trust my heart." "I'm here, now."

Little nuggets for little children. With each one, a big hand takes a little hand and trust is momentarily restored. Grace for the moment. Undeserved, extravagant grace.

The strength I need can't depend on people only. I need You. Whisper to me like a child and I will be saved. Amen

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

We Are .. But Not

From 2 Corinthians 4

we are: ... but:
afflicted ... not crushed
perplexed ... not driven to despair
persecuted ... not forsaken
struck down ... not destroyed

[v. 8-9]

always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. [v. 10]

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [Romans 8:18]

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Plans

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Journey

My mom has started a blog to talk about her faith and her battle with cancer. Here is her first post:

In June of 2004, life was good, (still is) but less complicated then!! We mortals tend to just "bebop" our way thru the days, taking life itself for granted, enjoying the wonderful day after day, rarely thinking, REALLY thinking what a gift each day is. This was actually May 31 of that year, Memorial Day, fun with family at cook out and swim party, when that night a horrific backache took me to the Emergency Room....within several days the diagnosis was made, surgery was performed and the words, "It is cancer" forever changed my life, my husband's and all our extended family. The type of cancer was (and is) a very rare, Mixed Mullerian tumor, and so begins this journey to find a cure, and achieve a life of normalcy, with the very tiny voice back in my head, saying "is it back?". So, I will attempt to share what has occured these 5 1/2 years. I hope you will follow me and I hope Jeremiah 29:11-13 will give you the hope and promise it gives me.

Monday, October 05, 2009

For God

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Cor 4:6

Simple But Not Easy

Mark Batterson post: Difficult Things vs. Simple Things

"If the prophet had asked you to do something hard and heroic, wouldn't you have done it? So why not this simple "wash and clean"?

Remember the story of Naaman in II Kings 5? The prophet Elisha told him to dip in the Jordan river seven times in order to be healed of his leprosy. Naaman didn't want to do it because it was too simple. He wanted the prophet to wave his wand. And when it didn't happen the way he expected it to, he was about to walk away and forfeit the miracle when a wise and bold servant spoke truth into his life. He knew Naaman would do something difficult to get healed. But would he do something simple?

Can I make an observation? The reason why we don't see miracles ISN'T because we're not willing to do difficult things. It's because we're not willing to do simple things. It is good old-fashioned obedience that sets the stage for miracles. That is all God asks. If we do the simple things, like dipping in the Jordan river seven times, God will do the difficult things. If we do the natural things, God will do the supernatural things. If we do the obedient thing, God will do the miraculous thing.

In the world of athletics, you never outgrow the basics. You have to practice simple skills over and over again. Same is true spiritually. You never outgrow the basics! You have to be great at simple things--the spiritual disciplines.

Oswald Chambers said it this way: "It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional at ordinary things."

Grace

“Among all the realities of the invisible world, mediated to us by the disclosures and promises of God, and to which our faith responds, there is none that more strongly calls into action this faculty for grasping the unseen than the divine pronouncement through the Gospel, that, though sinners, we are righteous in the judgment of God. That is not only the invisible, it seems the impossible; it is the paradox of all paradoxes; it requires a unique energy of believing; it is the supreme victory of faith over the apparent reality of things; it credits God with calling the things that are not as though they were; it penetrates more deeply into the deity of God than any other act of faith.”

Geerhardus Vos, Grace and Glory: Sermons Preached in the Chapel of Princeton Theological Seminary (Solid Ground, 2007), p. 135.


[Post from Miscellanies]


Thursday, October 01, 2009

Counterfeit

Excerpt from Introduction to Tim Keller’s next book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters.

A counterfeit god is anything so central and essen-
tial to your life that, should you lose it, your life would
feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a control-
ling position in your heart that you can spend most of
your passion and energy, your emotional and financial
resources, on it without a second thought. It can be
family and children, or career and making money, or
achievement and critical acclaim, or saving “face” and
social standing. It can be a romantic relationship, peer
approval, competence and skill, secure and comfortable
circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a great po-
litical or social cause, your morality and virtue, or even
success in the Christian ministry. When your meaning
in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it “co-
dependency” but it is really idolatry. An idol is whatever
you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, “If I have
that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I
have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” There
are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to
something, but perhaps the best one is worship.

Majestic and Awesome

"Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?
Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Exodus 15:11 [Song of Moses]

Success

Mark Batterson post: Two Words

A few years ago an intern asked me this question: what is the key to success in ministry? And he qualified it: in two words. Nice! For the record, I see success and stewardship as synonymous. It's not about how big your church is. It's about doing the best you can with what you have where you are. It's about cultivating your God-given gifts and using them to glorify God.

Here are five "two word" answers:

1) Keep Learning

When you stop learning you stop leading. I never want to become a closed system. If you keep learning you cannot fail. Why? Because failure is not learning the lessons God is trying to teach you. If you learned something you did not fail.

2) Take Risks

Playing it safe is risky. I'm more afraid of missing opportunities than making mistakes. I think that is a leadership mindset. You obviously need to discern if they are God-ordained. But our greatest regrets will be the lions we did not chase!

3) Stay Humble

This one is huge. Don't let pride take root in your heart. I'm so grateful for a failed church plant on my resume because it's a constant reminder that "unless the Lord builds the house they who labor, labor in vain." If you stay humble there is nothing God cannot do in you and through you.

4) Dream Big

The size of your dream reveals the size of your faith. More faith = bigger dreams. I'm convinced that God-sized dreams are one key to spiritual growth. God-sized dreams force you to live on your knees in raw dependence upon God. Live your life in a way that requires divine intervention.

5) Be Yourself

You need to come to terms with who you are and who you aren't. Ten years ago I was trying to be a pastor. I'm now trying to be myself. And there is a difference. Life is too short and ministry is too hard to be in an environment where you can't give true expression to your unique gifts, personality, and calling.

I'm obviously making a lot of assumptions here. For example, spiritual growth is all about becoming more and more like Jesus. That's a given. And I'm assuming a strong devotional life that includes prayer and Bible study. So these five tips are "beyond basics" if you will.