Savior-seeker

Excerpt from John Piper Sermon: Go, Your Son Will Live

Text: John 4: 43-54

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Sign-Seeker or Savior-Seeker?

Jesus does not address the man only. He addresses the whole group he has been talking about—the whole region of his own hometown. And now he says explicitly what we’ve been arguing. Verse 48: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” You are sign-seekers. You are “wonder-worshipers.” You say you believe, but your belief—like those folks in Jerusalem in John 2:23 and like his brothers in John 7:5—is not real belief that honors me. We can call it belief, but it’s not the kind that unites you to me as one who sees and treasures me as the Son of God full of grace and truth. In fact, it dishonors me. So verse 48 is the most explicit indictment of all along with verse 44 that a prophet has no honor in his own home area.

But now what about this official? Was he in that crowd who believed but didn’t believe? Believed as a sign-seeker, but not as a Savior-seeker? A lover of Jesus’ power, but not a lover of his person?

Jesus Tests Him

It seems to me that Jesus is testing him. The official is asking for a miracle for his dying son in a milieu where people love to see miracles. And he seems to be asking for the same reason any unbelieving person would love to see a miracle—I have a health need, fix it. Not: I have sin, forgive it, and give me power to live for you. Unbelievers don’t love God; they use God. So Jesus bluntly says to the man—it says that Jesus said “to him” (verse 48)—that he and the other Galileans are sign-seekers: “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

I take it to be a test, like the time a Syrophoenician woman pleaded for help for her daughter, and Jesus at first rebuffed her, but it turned out to be a test (Mark 7:27). How does the official respond to Jesus’ rebuff?

“Go, Your Son Will Live”

He doesn’t even comment on it. He simply repeats his request. Verse 49, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” Neither Jesus nor John comments on the man’s sincerity. Jesus simply gives him a gift. Verse 50: Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.”

John says (still in verse 50), “The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.” What is remarkable about this is that the man had asked Jesus to come with him. But when Jesus simply spoke, “Go; your son will live,” the man obeyed without a question. He believed and went. He did not insist on seeing the miracle. He did not complain that Jesus would not come with him. And amazingly, he simply left, John says, believing. I’m inclined to think that in that moment of seeing Jesus speak so sovereignly in spite of his accusations, something awakened in the man. He saw something more than a miracle-worker.

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Dynamic Movements

Excerpt from Ed Stetzer interview with Steve Addison is the Director of Church Resource Ministries (CRM) Australia, and the author of a new book, Movements That Change The World.

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You've identified the characteristics of dynamic movements. Tell us about them.

The five characteristics are: white-hot faith, commitment to a cause, contagious relationships, rapid mobilization and adaptive methods.

White-hot faith is the engine room of a dynamic movement. The apostle Paul was not converted by clever arguments but through a powerful encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road. We would not have had the Reformation without Martin Luther's struggle with the question of, "How can a holy God forgive a sinner like me?"

The secret of Jesus' life and ministry was his relationship of loving obedience to the Father and dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. He drew his disciples into the same relationship and sent them out with no other resources.

A white-hot faith provides the motivation, energy and legitimacy to go change the world.

Next is commitment to a cause. For good or for evil, history is made by people committed to a common purpose. Nothing changes unless people care deeply and are willing take action. Jesus had high expectations of his followers. So high, that some of them walked away.

John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement. On one occasion he visited Bristol. When he arrived there were 900 people in the local Society. When he left 143 of them had been removed for various reasons: among them wife-beating, smuggling, and drunkenness. Wesley led a disciplined movement that changed the world.

The third characteristic of movements is contagious relationships. We are all just six handshakes away from everyone on the planet. Ideas, like viruses, spread from person to person and from group to group. In the age of the internet, contagious relationships are still the most important form of communication.

The most responsive people to the gospel are those who have recently seen someone in their world come to faith.

Whenever we see the Christian faith expanding exponentially, it's traveling across networks of preexisting relationships. We tend to focus on building quality relationships with a few. Jesus focused on connecting broadly and then through one responsive person, reaching households and villages. That's how we see the gospel spreading in Acts.

The fourth characteristic is rapid mobilization. Movements don't abolish the clergy, they just ordain everyone for ministry. What did Jesus do? He went after ordinary people and trained them on-the-job. His lecture on the nature of faith was conducted on a sinking boat in the midst of a storm. There was theological content integrated with life and ministry. Jesus grew leaders and released them to go and change the world.

You don't get dramatic expansion of a movement if everyone is a paid professional. If anyone is paid, they are paid to pioneer new fields and mobilize others. Whether they are in New York or New Delhi, that's what missionaries do.

The last characteristic is adaptive methods. The best illustration of an adaptive method I can think of is the game of soccer. Soccer is the world's game played by hundreds of millions and watched by billions. Why? I think it's because you can drop a ball at the feet of a three year old and she can start playing. It may take a lifetime of practice to master the game, but only an instant to begin enjoying it. Try doing that with American or Australian football.

Adaptive methods are simple, flexible and transferable. That's one reason why Jesus taught by telling stories. A good story, like the prodigal son, can be told by anyone to anyone, even across the boundaries of culture and time.

Movements are unchanging when it comes to their core message and beliefs. At the same time they are willing to change everything else to get that message out and get the job done. Unfortunately we have churches that are unwilling to change their methods, but quite happy to change the heart of the gospel. They have the worst of both worlds and the fruit is clear to see.

Where are the current examples of dynamic movements today?

The exciting news is they are mostly in the developing world--Africa, Asia, Latin America. These are also the regions of greatest population growth. Today, over 90% of new Christians will come from these regions. Expect that trend to continue.

In the US I've been encouraged by leaders such as Neil Cole, Bob Roberts, Ralph Moore, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Jimmy Seibert who emphasize multiplication of disciples, workers and churches rather than just growth. A growing band of leaders are seeing the church as a movement.

The whole missional/emerging discussion has helped unfreeze us all in our understanding of church. If that is combined with a commitment to the Gospel and a passion to multiply disciples it could be quite fruitful.

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Alive

Perry Noble post: What Makes A Church Come Alive

Was thinking the other day about this…what makes a church come alive?

• CHANGED LIVES…when dead people are being brought to life a church cannot remain on life support. Changed lives change a community!
• THE GOSPEL…when the Gospel is THE agenda instead of some ridiculous issue that happens to be the “fad of the year.”
• HIS PRESENCE…when He becomes UNDENIABLE!
• WORSHIP…when the goal isn’t to see how little of the song we can sing but rather to sing with everything we’ve got.
• GIVING…when God is honored because Christians don’t just trust Him with what they can’t see…but are willing to trust Him with what they can see.
• SERVICE…when believers are unleashed to serve Christ by using their spiritual gifts rather than depending on the “paid professionals” to do it all.
• DEDICATION…when people in the church are way more passionate about pursuing Christ daily rather than showing up on Sunday and getting their attendance star on their chart.
• PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY…when people in the church begin to accept responsibility for where they are in their spiritual journey…and then are willing to do something about it.
• LEADERS WHO FEAR GOD, NOT MAN…leaders who know that God called them and will take care of them…and refuse to let the threat of not getting a paycheck stop them from doing what God has called them to do.
• UNITY…when a church can truly celebrate when a church…ANY CHURCH…sees something great happen for the Kingdom.
• BAPTISM…it’s NEVER a bad thing to see hundreds of people go public with their faith.
• SINCERITY…when people show up with hearts ready to hear, repent and be brough near rather that people checking out the fashions of others.
• DESPERATION…for Jesus to show up and make Himself known.
• EXCELLENCE…for people to be willing to give their very best effort to honor the God who saved them.
• TECHNOLOGY…embracing it and using it rather than fighting it. (Find it funny and sad that there are churches who say that using lights and video is “not in the Bible,” yet those same churches use air conditioner and heaters…which are not in the Bible either!)

Those are just some thoughts I had on it…praying that NewSpring Church is always a church fully alive.

Mentors

Excerpt from Mark Batterson post:

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As I look back, I'm so grateful for a God send. God provided a mentor named Dick Foth. Dick was a former pastor and college president. At the time he was working with a para-church ministry in DC and felt led to attend NCC. In fact, He and Ruth were part of NCC when we numbered 25 people on a good Sunday.

Everybody needs a Dick Foth. You need a sounding board. You need someone who will speak into your life. You need someone who is further down the path you want want to travel. At critical times in my life, Dick has been a voice of encouragement, a voice of wisdom, and a voice of concern.

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Blessed

³"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

⁴"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

⁵"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

⁶"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

⁷"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

Matthew 5 [The Message]

Believing

Devotional from Christine Wyrtzen

BELIEVING

"And, who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?" Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you." He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped him. John 9:36-38

True believing in Jesus is to see His glory, repent, and worship Him above all else and all others. It is to make Him my supreme treasure. To sin is to value something above the value I place on Jesus.

The blind man that Jesus healed didn't worship Jesus because He had healed him. He worshipped Him when Jesus revealed Himself and he understood the identity of the person with whom he was speaking.

The word 'believe' can trip many people up. If asked if they believe in Jesus, they quickly say yes. They believe that He was God's Son, even that He was God. But it's admitted with a casual shrug of the shoulders. Has that intellectual assent changed their lives? In many cases, no. Is that true belief? Probably not. Satan knew who Jesus was, even knew scripture well enough to quote major sections of it, yet he was an enemy of King Jesus. He had long stopped worshipping God and exalted Himself.

The conversation with the blind man happened just after the man had stood up for Jesus in the temple. He had been so bold in his testimonial that he was excommunicated. Cast out of the temple, Jesus went looking for him and found him.

Nothing can separate me from Christ's love. Not a person, not a government, not a church, not a clergyman. When I cling to Christ and wrap my arms tightly around my Savior, I am never cast out. I may be shunned by men, but Jesus will always receive me. When I pay a price for love and commitment, the Spirit of Jesus seeks me out as He did the blind man. Though, at times, I will be asked to pay dearly for my faith, I am never without comfort and companionship. Jesus sees me when I'm spurned and is right there to minister to the wound.

If I'm off the beaten path, trying to recover from the hurts others inflict, Jesus is a friend to the friendless.

I am Yours, You are mine. When I'm feeling forgotten, You are right there. I'm never out of Your sight and I rest in Your caring ways. Amen

The Great Congregation

When Jesus said "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22), he said it to the assembled community. When St. Luke described the descent of the Holy Spirit it was upon the community, one hundred twenty (at least) praying and waiting followers of Jesus "together in one place" (Acts 2:1).

We are a community. We are not ourselves by ourselves. We are born into communities, we live in communities, we die in communities. Human beings are not solitary, self-sufficient creatures. As we realize both the necessity and the nature of our lives in community, we also become aware of the difficulty, the complexity, and, as Christians who are following Jesus, the seductions all around us to find an easier way, a modified community, a reduced community customized to my preferences, a "gated community."

Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

God-colors

^14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Matthew 5 (The Message)

Contextualization

Ed Stetzer post on What Questions Are People Asking?

For decades, the phrase, "If you were to die today, do you know for sure you would go to heaven?" was associated with evangelical attempts at sharing their faith. My guess is that millions of people have been asked that question over the last few decades-- and I would not be surprised if God used such a conversation and question and many many became followers of Christ.

But, the question itself always intrigued me. And, one of the great things about my job (as a researcher), is I get to say, "I wonder..."

And, in this case, I wondered how many people really ask that question. In other words, how often to people wonder if they were to die today would they go to heaven. My first assumption was that only a few people really would think about their eternal destiny and, thus, thought the question might be less helpful today if few asked that question.

So, to test my informal hypothesis, we commissioned a poll.

About three years ago, while I was serving at the North American Mission Board's Center for Missional Research (now led by my friend Richie Stanley), Richie and I did a poll on that very subject.

Interestingly, "Will I go to heaven when I die?" is not a question most Americans ask themselves with much frequency. The North American Mission Board's Center for Missional Research conducted a survey that give some insight into what Americans are really thinking.

There are a good number of people who ask that question and do so frequently, but most do not.

Perhaps in previous generations people were asking questions about life after death, and so evangelistic approaches that focused on that issue were contextually appropriate. But the times - they are a-changing.

It appears that more people are thinking about meaning and purpose than life after death. (And it is important to note that the Bible provides the answers to all these questions.)

More people are thinking about is the purpose of life. People are looking for and thinking about purpose: perhaps one of the reasons that Purpose Driven Life has been such a best seller.

Why are we here? How can my life have meaning, value and significance? Explaining what the gospel says to these questions will more readily demonstrate just how relevant the gospel is to their lives. What happens after death is eternally important, but the world isn't always ready to see that. But they are somewhat prepared to consider that because we are made in God's image we have infinite value and dignity; that sin is what robs us of experiencing the reason for which we have been made - to glorify God and enjoy him forever; that Jesus alone is our only hope of redemption - that in him our sins are forgiven, the image of God is restored in us and by him we can glorify God and enjoy him now and forever.

This is the work of contextualization. Answering the questions the world is asking from God's word, pointing them back to the gospel. This is why I value research (asking questions, and really listening). Let's be about the business of making the gospel clear. To do that you will have to do more than speak. You'll need to do some listening as well.

Refuge

Psalm 28: 6-9 [ESV]

⁶Blessed be the LORD!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
⁷The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

⁸The LORD is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Hiding Place - Shelter - Streams of Water

Isaiah 32: 1-4

¹Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule in justice.
² Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,
a shelter from the storm,
like streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
³ Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,
and the ears of those who hear will give attention.
⁴The heart of the hasty will understand and know,
and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.

[ESV]


¹BEHOLD, A King will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.

²And each one of them shall be like a hiding place from the wind and a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land [to those who turn to them].

³Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed or dimmed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.

⁴And the mind of the rash will understand knowledge and have good judgment, and the tongue of the stammerers will speak readily and plainly.

[Amplified]

^1-8 But look! A king will rule in the right way, and his leaders will carry out justice.
Each one will stand as a shelter from high winds,
provide safe cover in stormy weather.
Each will be cool running water in parched land,
a huge granite outcrop giving shade in the desert.
Anyone who looks will see,
anyone who listens will hear.
The impulsive will make sound decisions,
the tongue-tied will speak with eloquence.
No more will fools become celebrities,
nor crooks be rewarded with fame.
For fools are fools and that's that,
thinking up new ways to do mischief.
They leave a wake of wrecked lives
and lies about God,
Turning their backs on the homeless hungry,
ignoring those dying of thirst in the streets.
And the crooks? Underhanded sneaks they are,
inventive in sin and scandal,
Exploiting the poor with scams and lies,
unmoved by the victimized poor.
But those who are noble make noble plans,
and stand for what is noble.

[The Message]

He Will

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. [ESV]

Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. [The Message]

James 4: 8b

Now

Pastors .. Church Leaders .. If I May post by Perry Noble

I read II Corinthians 6:1-2 the other day and nearly came out of my skin!

We can’t receive His grace in vain…we cannot pretend that what we do doesn’t matter…because…

NOW is the time of HIS FAVOR!!! The church has more potential right now than ever before in the history of the world! God has set the church up for MAJOR success…when you combine the potential of technology WITH THE SUPERNATURAL HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD…DANG!!! We need to be OBSESSED with this…HIS FAVOR is ON THE CHURCH. Which leads to…

NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION! TODAY!!! God wants to save people…to DRAW them TO HIM through the church! Don’t be afraid to give an invitation…to share the Gospel…to challenge people to respond!

Don’t wait–NOW!!!

• You’ve been putting off that ministry idea…do it NOW!
• You’ve been holding off on that sermon…do it NOW!
• You’ve been too scared to launch that church…do it NOW!
• You’ve been too fearful to confront certain things…do it NOW!

NOW is the time! Let’s stop the foolishness of saying “one day/some day!” Life is too short to wish it away!

Favor and Salvation…the time is NOW! You say you’re “waiting on God,” but is that a cop out…is it the other way around…that God is waiting on you to take a step of faith and trust Him?

II Corinthians 5:7 = the time is now!

Guidance

Neil Anderson Daily in Christ

LIVING ABOVE LIFE'S CIRCUMSTANCES

Philippians 4:11
I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am

Some of us tend to assume that it is God's will if the circumstances are favorable and it isn't God's will if the circumstances are unfavorable. Next to the Bible, I would guess that more Christians are "guided" by this means than any other. Yet of all the possible means of guidance, this is the least authoritative and trustworthy.

I had the privilege of pastoring a church that purchased new property and went through a building program. Through most of the process the circumstances didn't seem favorable. Twice I sat with the mayor, who was also a local real estate agent, and asked him if he thought our plans were feasible. He advised us not to make the land trade, and he didn't think the city would allow us to build. He knew the real estate and the political climate better than anyone in the city. But the land swap increased our assets by millions and the city planning commission voted 7-0 in favor of our building plans.

You may have to set sail by the tide, but you'd better be guided by the stars or you're going to end up on the wrong shore. Circumstances may have their effect on your plans, but you have a far greater accountability to God. Make sure you follow Him, not the tide of circumstances.

I heard a motivational speaker say, "I don't like to recruit Christians because when the going gets tough they quit, concluding that it must not be God's will." Generally speaking, I believe that Christians should live above life's circumstances and not be guided by them.

Also be careful about applying too much significance to unusual circumstances or coincidences. "It must be God's will. Why else would that book by lying there!" It could be God's will, but I would never take that kind of a sign on its own merit. I have helped many people in occultic bondage who have made bizarre associations or attached far too much significance to irrelevant events.

Prayer:

Lord, I determine to test all guidance by Your Word and not to be swayed away from Your will by circumstances or popular opinion.

Resurrection Life

... The way we live our lives, the impulses and desires we have to get in on what God is doing in the wonders of creations and the mess of history, is activated now by Jesus' resurrection. There is no living worth its salt that is not the consequence of the action of God in Jesus through the Holy Spirit: "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you" (Rom. 8:11). ...

Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

Self-Feeder

Excerpt from Dan Kimball post

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We are spending 5 weeks teaching about biblical hermeneutics and the importance of becoming a "self-feeder" of Scripture. Starting next Sunday we are going through the letter of Philemon verse by verse. Becky wrote a study guide for the three weeks so she walked everyone through the heart of how it was written and how to use it.

Becky quoted Bill Hybels as part of her point on the importance of people not depending on their Sunday worship gathering to be "fed" each week - but how church leaders should be setting a culture for teaching people how to be studying and learning from Scripture on their own through the week. Bill Hybels said in retrospect about Willow Creek: “We should have taught people how to read their Bible between services, how to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.”

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Presence of Him

“The Indwelling of Christ by faith…is to have Jesus Christ continually in one’s eye, a habitual sight of Him. I call it so because a man actually does not always think of Christ; but as a man does not look up to the sun continually, yet he sees the light of it…. So you should carry along and bear along in your eye the sight and knowledge of Christ, so that at least a presence of Him accompanies you, which faith makes.”

—Thomas Goodwin (1600—1679), The Works of Thomas Goodwin (RHB), 2:411.

Source

His Kitchen

Christ plays in the community of people with whom we live, and we want to get in on the play. We see what Christ does in creation and history and we want in on it, firsthand with our families and friends and neighbors. But difficulties arrive. Soon or late those of us who follow Jesus find ourselves in the company of men and women who also want to get in on it. It doesn't take us long to realize that many of these fellow volunteers and workers aren't much to our liking, and some of them we actively dislike -- a mixed bag of saints and sinners, the saints sometimes harder to put with than the sinners. Jesus doesn't seem to be very discriminating in the children he lets into his kitchen to help with the cooking.

Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

Reading Time

Excerpt from interview with Andrew Peterson

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RES: You have three children. Please tell us about your family devotions—is there anything specific that you try to do, and anything that you want to avoid?

AP: After the kitchen is clean and the jammies are on, we read a Bible story (we love The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones), then we read the next chapter in whatever book we’re working through (right now we’re enjoying 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson). Then we pray. We don’t call it “devotions.” Reading time is just as much a part of our day as throwing the Frisbee or watching the “Twilight Zone.”

RES: Why are you writing books for children? Please tell us about On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and the forthcoming novel, North! Or Be Eaten.

AP: As for why I’m writing books for children, allow me to quote myself (from a Rabbit Room blog last week): “Those of us who write, who sing, who paint, must remember that to a child a song may glow like a nightlight in a scary bedroom. It may be the only thing holding back the monsters. That story may be the only beautiful, true thing that makes it through all the ugliness of a little girl’s world to rest in her secret heart. May we take that seriously. It is our job, it is our ministry, it is the sword we swing in the Kingdom, to remind children that the good guys win, that the stories are true, and that a fool’s hope may be the best kind.”

These books follow the adventures of twelve-year-old Janner Igiby and his brother and sister. In the first book they discover that their quiet little town is anything but quiet, and that their lives are more important than they could ever imagine. In the second book they’re running for their lives, and learning to live with the truth of who they are. Of course, there are swords, sea dragons, toothy cows (the horror!) and bumpy digtoads (which are too loathsome to describe in this esteemed blog).

The Wingfeather Saga is my attempt to tell a great story, one that children and adults alike will enjoy and be comforted by. North! Or Be Eaten, as the title implies, isn’t a safe story. There’s quite a bit of danger and darkness, but I hope it only serves to make the beauty shine brighter.

RES: Which musicians do you think really “get it,” and why?

AP: I’m truly a fan of every member of the Square Peg Alliance (Ben Shive, Andy Gullahorn, Jill Phillips, Eric Peters, Jeremy Casella, Randall Goodgame, Andrew Osenga, and Derek Webb). Other than that, I’d suggest Pierce Pettis, Jason Gray, and of course the late, great Rich Mullins. What I love about these artists is their commitment to excellence, and to telling the truth well, regardless of what's driving the market.

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Come As You Are

Excerpt from "Perfect People" by Natalie Grant

There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are, broken and scarred
Lift up your heart and be amazed
And be changed by a perfect God

Suddenly it's like a weight is lifted
When you hear the words that you are loved
He knows where you are and where you've been
And you never have to go there again

Even Though

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

Manner of Walk

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4: 1-3 [ESV]

In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

Ephesians 4: 1-3 [The Message]

Risking Totally

These verses (16-17, The Message) are just before the Great Commission [Matthew 28]

Meanwhile, the eleven disciples were on their way to Galilee, headed for the mountain Jesus had set for their reunion. The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally.

What struck me about these verses is the idea that some held back from worship because they were not willing to totally risk themselves. So, in my mind, I have rearranged these concepts (but hopefully not the meaning) to state it this way:

Worship is not holding back, but totally risking yourself in believing God is God.

Community

Excerpt from Ed Stetzer interview with John Avant and his new book If God Were Real

You talk a lot about "transformation." What should that look like in the Church and what does it look like in yours?

As evangelicals when we read the Bible we get very excited about the Philippian jailer getting saved. But we forget that Philippi itself was transformed! Think of how much of the New Testament is about what God was doing in the cities of their day. I am as committed as ever to the salvation of every soul. But it bothers me that even in the case of many of our largest churches, there is not a lot of evidence that the community around them is being transformed.

I have only been at my church, First West in West Monroe, La for a few years but I believe we are going to be a lab for what it would look like if the churches of a community lived together like God is real. We already have over 100 churches committed to the same vision: "to see the spiritual, cultural and physical transformation of our community so visible it can't be missed." We are working together with city leaders, business leaders, education leaders, and churches to bring the transformative power of the Gospel into the real issues of our community. I could write forever about this. We are committed together to break down barriers that have divided us and see with our eyes what a city can become. We are changing the metrics of the way we measure success as a church to reflect this vision. If we have more butts in the seats but more drugs on the streets we have failed.

His Charge -- This Way of Life

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

Matthew 28: 18-20 [The Message]

In Christ

Neil Anderson Daily in Christ

OUR ACCESS TO CHRIST'S AUTHORITY

Ephesians 1:18
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened

Do we enjoy the same claim to Christ's authority in the spiritual realm as those who were personally sent out by Him? Absolutely! In fact, because of the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we have an even greater advantage in spiritual warfare than the first disciples did. They were with Christ (Mark 3:14, 15), but we are in Christ. That was Paul's great news in the opening lines of his letter to the church at Ephesus. Ten times in the first 13 verses he reminded us that everything we have is the result of our intimate, personal relationship with the resurrected Christ and His indwelling Spirit.

Having firmly established the reality of our position in Christ, Paul expressed his heart's desire for Spirit-filled believers in this prayer:

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:18-20).

Our problem with identity and self-perception as Christians is not that we aren't in Christ; it's that we don't see it or perceive it; we're just not conscious of it. We are not supposed to pursue power because we already have it in Christ. We are to pursue truth and pray that our eyes will be opened to our rich inheritance in Christ.

As long as we fail to perceive our access to Christ's authority over the kingdom of darkness, we will fail to exercise that authority in our lives, and we may live in bondage.

Prayer:

Open my eyes, Lord; I want to see Jesus. Open my ears and help me listen, abide in You, and draw strength moment by moment.

True Worship

Excerpt from Not in This or That Mount, but in Spirit and Truth (John Piper)

[based on John 4: 16-30]

...

When it says that this true worship happens in spirit and truth, it means at least this: you must be born of the Spirit in order to worship God, and you must come to him through the truth, that is, through Jesus, who said, “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6).

Remember, Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” To worship God in spirit means to be born of the Spirit and therefore to be a living spirit. Before the new birth all we do is go to church or go to the synagogue or go to the mosque or the temple and act in the flesh. Whether we call ourselves Christians or Jews or Muslims or Hindus or Buddhists, we have no living spirit. We are dead and we don’t know God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.”

But when through faith in Jesus the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual life, we are born again. We have a living spirit. We can worship in spirit; our spirits are alive and we have God’s Spirit within. And now we can see and embrace truth—the Truth, Jesus Christ. Now we worship the Father in spirit—our Spirit-given, living spirit—and in truth—God’s supreme Truth, Jesus Christ the sum of all truth.

...

Every Detail Worked

²⁶Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ²⁷And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. ²⁹ foreknew he alsoFor those whom he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

[ESV]

Footnotes:

1. Romans 8:28 Some manuscripts God works all things together for good, or God works in all things for the good
   

Cross references:

1. Romans 8:28 : Ezra 8:22; Eccles 8:12
   
2. Romans 8:28 : Romans 9:24; 1 Cor 1:9; 7:15, 17; Gal 1:15; 5:8; Eph 4:1, 4; 2 Tim 1:9
   
3. Romans 8:29 : Romans 11:2; 1 Pet 1:2
   
4. Romans 8:29 : 1 Cor 2:7; Eph 1:5, 11; Romans 9:23
   
5. Romans 8:29 : Phil 3:21; 1 Cor 15:49; Col 3:10; 1 John 3:2
   
6. Romans 8:29 : Col 1:15, 18; Heb 1:6; Rev 1:5
   
7. Romans 8:30 : 1 Cor 6:11
   
8. Romans 8:30 : John 17:22; Heb 2:10
   

^26-28Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

^29-30God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

[The Message]

Romans 8

Hands and Feet of Jesus

Excerpt from interview by Ed Stetzer with Geoff Surratt. author of Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing: How Leaders Can Overcome Costly Mistakes.

You mention in your book that "in spite of the megachurch movement of the last twenty years, more and more Americans are walking away from church and away from a relationship with Jesus." Besides your idea of strategic partnerships between churches, what are some other ideas you have for increasing the fruit of the local church and not just the growth?

First, I think that every pastor, whether they are leading a church of 50, 500 or 5000, should constantly re-evaluate how they can better lead through others. A church built around the personality or skills of just one leader may attract large crowds, but the fruit of that ministry will be short-lived. Every pastor should be giving away ministry on a daily basis. From decision making, to weekend preaching, to oversight of major ministries I believe pastors need to be looking at how they can develop new leaders to carry on the vision of the church. one of Jesus' main focuses while he was on earth was giving away ministry to his 12 disciples. If he had not trained those leaders and entrusted them with ministry Christianity might never have taken off. Nothing will increase the fruit of the local church like investing in the lives of leaders to do the work of the ministry.

The second thing I believe that churches need to do is to get people focused on mission. For too long the church has been about people learning and growing and experiencing. Without mission there is no point in growing disciples. My question when I hear about people being equipped is "What are they being equipped to do?" If there is no mission there is no reason to be equipped.

I believe we need to cancel Bible studies, discipleship courses and training events that aren't directly tied to people on being mission in the world to bring the Good News to a dying generation.

Finally, fruit will be increased when churches lower their force shields and begin to work together. At one of our Seacoast locations we go out into the very tough neighborhood once a month to be a blessing to people who have very little in life. We take them clothes, food, work in their yards, pick up their trash, anything that will show the love of Jesus in a tangible way. The cool part of the deal is that we have several churches who join together every month to minister to this neighborhood. We aren't worried about where the people go to church or if we can win them for our scorecard; we're all just trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus. There is powerful fruit in dropping our defenses and joining hands to make Jesus famous.

Pseudo Faith

"The man of pseudo faith will fight for his verbal creed but refuse flatly to allow himself to get into a predicament where his future must depend upon that creed being true. He always provides himself with secondary ways of escape so he will have a way out if the roof caves in. What we need very badly these days is a company of Christians who are prepared to trust God as completely now as they know they must do at the last day."

A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous

Moving Rhythmically in Response to Jesus

Permeated with Oneness (yesterday's Eph 4: 4-6 post), yet unique:

But that doesn't mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. The text for this is,

He climbed the high mountain,
He captured the enemy and seized the booty,
He handed it all out in gifts to the people.
Is it not true that the One who climbed up also climbed down, down to the valley of earth? And the One who climbed down is the One who climbed back up, up to highest heaven. He handed out gifts above and below, filled heaven with his gifts, filled earth with his gifts. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ.

Ephesians 4: 7-13 [The Message]

I'm All Yours

What you say goes, God,
and stays, as permanent as the heavens.
Your truth never goes out of fashion;
it's as up-to-date as the earth when the sun comes up.
Your Word and truth are dependable as ever;
that's what you ordered—you set the earth going.
If your revelation hadn't delighted me so,
I would have given up when the hard times came.
But I'll never forget the advice you gave me;
you saved my life with those wise words.
Save me! I'm all yours.
I look high and low for your words of wisdom.
The wicked lie in ambush to destroy me,
but I'm only concerned with your plans for me.
I see the limits to everything human,
but the horizons can't contain your commands!

Psalm 119: 89-96 [The Message]

Permeated

A good prayer from Ephesians 4: 4-6 for our body of believers: permeated with Oneness

You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

[The Message]

Reflection

As in water face reflects face,
so the heart of man reflects the man.

Proverbs 27: 19

God-Pleaser

Neil Anderson Daily in Christ

THE FEAR OF MAN

Psalm 118:6-8
The LORD is for me; I will not fear; what can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; therefore I shall look with satisfaction on those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man

David's question in Psalm 118:6 introduces a common fear among Christians: the fear of man. The timid man is quick to respond to the question, "I'll tell you what man can do to me. He can abuse me, he can fire me from my job, and he can even kill me."

True, but Jesus tells us to lay those fears aside: "Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). If you fail to take God as your refuge, the fear of man will control your life.

God appointed Saul to be the first king of Israel and commanded him to utterly destroy Amalek, along with all of his family, followers and possessions. Unfortunately, Saul didn't completely obey. Samuel confronted Saul, and after Saul's excuses ran out, he confessed, "I have sinned . . . because I feared the people and listened to their voice" (1 Samuel 15:24). Then the Lord rejected Saul as king of Israel. More than one king has fallen for fearing man more than God.

Suppose you are intimidated by your boss. You work in fear of him from eight to five. What power does he have over you? He could fire you! How could you overcome that power? You could quit or be willing to quit. By not allowing your boss to hold the job over your head, you would free yourself from his intimidations. God's Word says, "Do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts" (1 Peter 3:14, 15).

I'm not suggesting that you rebel against your boss or become irresponsible. Servants are to obey their masters, and we are to work heartily as for the Lord rather than men (Colossians 3:22, 23). However, when you make God your sanctuary, you free yourself to live a responsible life. If you lose your job in the process, you have the assurance that God will meet all your needs.

Prayer:

Lord, I want to be a God-pleaser, not a people-pleaser. Give me strength to stand up for the truth no matter what the cost.

Truly Love Them

More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn't be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.

Henri Nouwen

Too Safe?

Excerpt from interview by Ed Stetzer with Jared Wilson, author of Your Jesus Is Too Safe

...

ES: You cite N.T. Wright and John Piper pretty much equally. There has obviously been tension there. Fill us in.

JW: I know, I know. I'm supposed to pick a team.

And honestly, if I'm picking a team for the atonement wars, I'm probably with Piper. I talk about that a bit in the book, but I am a fan of a symphonic view of the different biblical emphases on the atonement with penal substitution as sort of the sharp, leading edge of gospel understanding and proclamation.

I love both men and their work. They are the two most formative influences on my understanding of Jesus. And the book is sort of a literary mashup of Wright's (and others') historical Jesus scholarship and Piper's (and others') passionate proclamation of the glories of Christ.

ES: I know Element bills itself a missional community, and I know you've blogged extensively on the missional church. How does the book fit in or apply to the missional conversation? Or does it?

JW: I think it's human nature to favor one extreme over another. We like life on the pendulum. So in the missional church movement, if we can call it that, we find big bold preachers of Jesus' awesomeness who are very little action and we find folks who are big on action but downplay gospel proclamation. (And there's great folks who do both.) This isn't new and it isn't limited to missional Christianity. It's fundamentalist reductionism versus social gospel all over again.

I think what the book could do - and I don't talk about the missional church in the book; it's just not in the book's view - is push us to ponder if maybe we have a Preacher Jesus on one hand or a Activist Jesus on the other, and the corrective is not to trade one for the other but to look at who Jesus was and what he did. He preached and taught that the kingdom revolved around himself, and he healed, fed, clothed, raised, exorcised, etc. as if that were true. The closer we get to the biblical Jesus, the better our missiology and ecclesiology will be. I think that's a fairly obvious point nobody really needs me to point out. But the book, I hope, will help people get closer to the biblical Jesus.

...

Nothing

Excerpt from Perry Noble's NOTHING Is Impossible With God

I began reading through the Gospel of Luke this week…and Luke 1:37 always captivates me,

“For nothing is impossible with God.”

This verse is the response of the angel Gabriel when asked by Mary, the mother of Jesus, how she was going to have a child since she was a virgin.

“For nothing is impossible with God.”

God is SO MUCH HIGHER than our problems, pain and perceived impossibilities that NOTHING is impossible with Him.

Mary’s question got her an answer that forced her to focus on the greatness of who God is…and the “impossibilties” that He can accomplish rather than depending on her own strength and wisdom.

“For nothing is impossible with God.”

SO…how about you…are you facing a seemingly impossible situation?

Maybe it’s your marriage…you’ve tried everything you know how to do and it looks like this is the week where you guys are going to hit the proverbial wall and it is all going to fall apart. You see no signs of things turning around and are tempted to give up…

...

Live in Dependence

Neil Anderson Daily in Christ

THE POWER TO CHOOSE

Joshua 24:15
Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. . . . As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD

Adam and Eve's sin also affected the area of their will. Do you realize that in the Garden of Eden they could only make one wrong choice? Everything they wanted to do was okay except eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16, 17). They had the possibility of making a myriad of good choices and only one bad choice-- only one !

Eventually, however, they made that one bad choice. As a result, you and I are confronted every day with a myriad of good and bad choices. You can choose to pray or not pray, read your Bible or not read your Bible, go to church or not go to church. You can choose to walk according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. You and I face countless choices like that every day, and we eventually make some bad ones.

Other than the Holy Spirit in your life, the greatest power you possess is the power to choose. Someone has said that pure Christianity lies in the exercise of the will. The animal kingdom operates out of divine instinct. But we are created in the image of God, which means we have a self-operated, independent will. The essence of temptation is to function independently of God. The basis for temptation is legitimate needs.

Sinful behavior is often a wrong attempt at meeting your basic needs. The real issue here is are you going to get your needs met by the world, the flesh and the devil, or are you going to allow God to meet your needs "according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19)? It's an issue of identity and maturity. The more you understand your identity in Christ, the more you will grow in maturity. And the more mature you become, the easier it will be for you to choose to live your life in dependence on your heavenly Father.

Prayer:

Lord, I determine to exercise my great power of choice to live in moment-by-moment dependence on You today.

Wells vs. Springs

Adam preached Sunday from John 4: 1-42. As I listened to the familiar story of the woman at the well I was struck by how God wants to give us things that are beyond our imagination or wildest dreams. I think it is illustrated by the difference between a well and a spring. The woman wanted to get water without trips to the well, but Jesus wanted to give her something she had never seen before that is so much better than a well.

¹¹The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? ¹² Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." ¹³Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." ¹⁵The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." [John 4]

The sad thing is that we have a tendency to not only prefer wells rather than springs but we also want to dig the well, even when it is not really "working for us".

¹²Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the LORD, ¹³for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water. [Jeremiah 2]

If you have a well you have to go back every day to get water. Springs just flow and they are "fresh" water. That's what God wants to give us:

³⁷ On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" [John 7]

Knowing God

Chip Ingram writes in God As He Longs for You to See Him:

In his classic Knowing God, J. I. Packer uses a study in Daniel to identify four measurements that help determine whether we actually know God (see appendix). These by-products of godly vision can be measured on four scales:

Amount of energy for God. Those who really know God have great energy for him. How much energy do you have for him?

Greatness of thoughts about God. Those who really know God have great thoughts about him. What are our thoughts about God like?

Degree of boldness for God. Those who really know God demonstrate boldness for him. How bold are you?

Level of contentment in God. Those who really know God find great contentment in him. How content does your relationship with God make you?

He'll Calm You and Delight You

Jerusalem will be told:
"Don't be afraid.
Dear Zion,
don't despair.
Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love
and delight you with his songs.

Zephaniah 3: 16-17 (The Message)

More and more abandoning themselves to God

Psalm 40: 1-3

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.

[ESV]


I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn't slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.

[The Message]

His Vision

Perry Noble post on Jesus Is A Micromanager

Guess what–Jesus is a micromanager…and I AM SO THANKFUL!!!

Contrary to the belief of some people…Jesus didn’t come to “unleash” us to live the life we’ve always wanted (SERIOUSLY…that would get bad VERY quick!) But rather He came and gave His life that we might LIVE for Him daily…and…

He knew we would completely screw this up…so…He sent us His Holy Spirit to fill us, to remind us, to guide us and to teach us HIS truth!

He didn’t leave us alone…and He didn’t tell us, “get a vision and go fulfill it”…He said, “I am ALMIGHTY GOD, I don’t need to hear your vision, you need to hear mine…it is good, pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2) and I am going to equip and empower you to fulfill what I have called you to do!”

Jesus didn’t give us His Holy Spirit so that we can manage Him…but rather so He can manage us!!!

I am so glad I am not alone!!! John 16:12-14

Thinking

"What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

A Diet Suggestion

Excerpts from Mark Batterson's interview in Catalyst: The Best Decision I Made This Year

If you asked me: what is the best decision you made this year? The answer is easy. The hands-down best decision was the decision to read through a one-year Bible.

Let me come clean. I didn’t read the Bible nearly as much as I could have or should have last year. This is embarrassing to admit, but Bible reading had become synonymous with sermon prep. I was reading it professionally instead of devotionally. I was reading it for what God wanted to say through me instead of reading it for what God wanted to say to me. And it took its toll.

Then at the end of last year I stumbled across an interview with J.I. Packer, the renowned author and theologian. He said, “Any Christian worth his salt ought to read the Bible from cover-to-cover every year.” It stung at first. But it made sense, so much sense that I decided to do it. And it has proved to be the best decision I made this year. Long story short, I’ve fallen in love with the Bible all over again.

If you want to grow spiritually, you need a consistent diet of Scripture. In fact, you will never outgrow your consumption of Scripture. There is no substitute. There is no supplement. The poet, T.S. Eliot, once observed: “Everything we eat has some effect upon us. It affects us during the process of assimilation and digestion; and I believe exactly the same is true of anything we read.” In other words, you are what you read.

I have a saying that I repeat to our congregation frequently: reading without meditating is like eating without digesting. If you want to absorb the nutrients, you can’t just read it. You’ve got to chew on it. You’ve got to digest it. Meditation is the way we metabolize Scripture.

...

One of the common complaints people make when leaving a church is this: I’m not being fed. As a preacher, my goal is to nourish our congregation via a well-rounded diet of sermons. And I try to preach every sermon like it’s my last, but let me push back. My kids learned to feed themselves when they were toddlers. If you’re not being fed, that’s your fault. I’m afraid we’ve unintentionally fostered a subtle form of spiritual codependency in our churches. It is so easy to let others take responsibility for what should be our responsibility. So we let our pastors study the Bible for us. Here’s a news flash: the Bible was unchained from the pulpit nearly five hundred years ago during an era of history called the Middle Ages.

If you are relying on a preacher to be fed, I fear for you. Listening to a sermon is second-hand knowledge. It is learning based on someone else’s words or experiences. A sermon is no replacement for first-hand knowledge. You’ve got to see it and hear it and experience it for yourself. It’s not enough to hear the truth. You have to own it. Or more accurately, it has to own you. Honestly, I’d rather have people hear one word from the Lord than a thousand of my sermons. And that happens when you open your Bible and start reading.

Landscape You WIth the Word

In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.

James 1:21 (The Message)

How Good God Is

I bless God every chance I get; my lungs expand with his praise. I live and breathe God; if things aren't going well, hear this and be happy: Join me in spreading the news; together let's get the word out. God met me more than halfway, he freed me from my anxious fears. Look at him; give him your warmest smile. Never hide your feelings from him. When I was desperate, I called out, and God got me out of a tight spot. God's angel sets up a circle of protection around us while we pray. Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him.

Psalm 34: 1-8 (The Message)

Always and All the Time

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. [ESV]

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. [The Message]

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

Wonderful What Happens

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Philippians 4: 6-7 (The Message)

Focus

Neil Anderson Daily in Christ

THE SOURCE OF ALL HOPE

Psalm 43:5
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance, and my God

Sometimes the depression resulting from a seemingly impossible situation is related to a wrong concept of God. David wrote: "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? . . . How long will my enemy triumph over me?" (Psalm 13:1, 2 NIV). Had God really forgotten David? Was He actually hiding from David? Of course not. David had a wrong concept of God, feeling that He had abandoned him to the enemy. David believed a lie about God, and consequently he lost his focus. His situation seemed hopeless, and hopelessness is the basis for all depression.

But the remarkable thing about David is that he didn't stay in the dumps. He evaluated his situation and realized, "Hey, I'm a child of God. I'm going to focus on what I know about Him, not on my negative feelings." From the pit of his depression, he wrote: "I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation" (Psalm 13:5 NIV). Then he decided to make a positive expression of his will: "I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me" (verse 6). He willfully moved away from his wrong concept and its accompanying depression and returned to the source of his hope.

If Satan can destroy your belief in God, you will lose your source of hope. But with God, all things are possible. He is the source of all hope. You need to learn to respond to hopeless-appearing situations as David did: "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance, and my God" (Psalm 43:5).

If Satan can't destroy your concept of God, then he will seek to destroy your concept of who you are as a child of God. He can't do anything about your position in Christ, but if he can get you to believe it's not true, you will live as if it's not, even though it is. The two most important beliefs you possess are who God is and who you are as His child.

Prayer:

Above all, Father, help me focus continually on who You are and who I am in Christ, and to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Be - And Experience - A Blessing

Then he turned to the host. "The next time you put on a dinner, don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You'll be—and experience—a blessing. They won't be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God's people."

Luke 14: 12-14 (The Messsage)

Knowing

Larry Crabb quote

I know you well enough to know that you are all I have, but not well enough to know that you are all that I need.

Community

Excerpts from Modeling Community: An Interview with Mark Batterson | Neue Ministry

In your latest book, Wild Goose Chase, you hold the view that our lives with God should be an adventure. What part does community within the Body play in this adventure?

Well, I think life by yourself isn’t much of an adventure. I’m going to preface this by saying this: I would like to think that when I pronounce the Benediction at the end of our services, I am sending dangerous people back into their natural habitats to wreak havoc on the enemy. That really is the DNA of the book—that we’re about being on mission, and that’s part of the adventure of living for Christ. To me, the greatest adventure is God inviting us into this thing called the Great Commission—how He didn’t call us to do something on our own. God loves the adventure of doing things together, and in the same sense, the greatest joys in life are things that bring us closer together with one another. For example, I’ve got 100 life goals, and a lot of those goals involve other people. I want to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, but I don’t want to do it by myself; I want to do it with one of my kids. Or, I want to run a triathlon with one of my kids—there’s something about doing something together that synergizes the entire experience and makes it more adventurous.

...

Can you talk a little bit about the idea behind your unconventional church locations?

I went into church planting with a traditional mindset: meet and rent a facility so we can buy or build a church building. And then we started meeting in Union Station and realized that you can’t build a Union Station. I mean, 25 million people pass through Union Station every year; it’s the most visited destination in D.C. We have food-court restaurants, great movie theater screens—and not too many churches have their own subway system. It is the perfect set-up. At some point, doing church in the marketplace became part of our DNA, so movie theaters are not short-term rental options for us. They’re our long-term strategy. Our vision is to meet in movie theaters and Metro stops around the D.C. area. That’s kind of the theater side. We also own and operate the largest coffeehouse in Capitol Hill, and we get asked a lot, “Why would a church build a coffeehouse?” The reason behind it is that Jesus didn’t just hang out at the synagogue; Jesus hung out at wells. Wells were not just a place to draw water; they were natural gathering places in ancient culture. Coffeehouses are our postmodern wells.

We wanted to create a place where church and community could cross paths. If we would have built a church, I don’t know how many people in our neighborhood would have gotten excited. When we said we were going to build a coffeehouse, we became heroes in our neighborhood. We have free Wi-Fi; we have a place where people can hang out, have a conversation and get a great cup of coffee. And, hopefully, they’ll land at one of our Saturday night services or one of our events, and we’re finding that that’s exactly what’s happening. It is really cool being in the marketplace and feeling like the message is getting out because we’re rubbing shoulders with people every day.

...

Anything More?

Post from Perry Noble: 10 Questions Church Leaders Should Ask Themselves

#1 - Am I loving “social networking” more than Jesus?

#2 - Am I loving my particular brand of theology more than Jesus?

#3 - Am I loving my particular worship style more than Jesus?

#4 - Am I loving my platform more than Jesus?

#5 - Am I loving attention more than Jesus?

#6 - Am I loving facilities more than Jesus?

#7 - Am I loving opportunities more than Jesus?

#8 - Am I loving ritual more than Jesus?

#9 - Am I loving success more than Jesus?

#10 - Am I loving the ministry more than Jesus?

Basically…am I loving ANYONE or ANYTHING more than Jesus!

Prayer

David Jeremiah: The Warrior's Prayer (based on Ephesians 6)

The Warrior's Prayer

Heavenly Father
Your Warrior prepares for battle!
Today I claim victory over Satan by putting on
The Whole Armor of God!

I put on the girdle of Truth!
May I stand firm in the truth of Your WORD.
So I will not be a victim of Satan's lies.

I put on the Breastplate of Righteousness!
May it guard my heart from evil
So I will remain pure and holy.
Protected under the Blood of Jesus Christ.

I put on the shoes of peace!
May I stand firm in the Good News of the Gospel
so Your peace will shine through me
And be a light to all I encounter.

I take the shield of Faith!
May I be ready for Satan's fiery darts of
doubt, denial and deceit
So I will not be vulnerable to spiritual defeat.

I put on the Helmet of Salvation!
May I keep my mind focused on You
so Satan will not have a stronghold on my throughts.

I take the Sword of the Spirit!
May the two-edged sword of Your WORD
be ready in my hands so I can expose
the temtping world of Satan.

By faith your warrior has put on the
Whole Armor of God!

I am prepared to live this day in
SPIRITUAL VICTORY!

Amen!

Provide a Glimpse

What I'm getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you've done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I'm separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing.

Even if I am executed here and now, I'll rejoice in being an element in the offering of your faith that you make on Christ's altar, a part of your rejoicing. But turnabout's fair play—you must join me in my rejoicing. Whatever you do, don't feel sorry for me.

Philippians 2: 12-18 (The Message)

Life of Jesus

More from ReThink

Rethink Monthly: What topics/scripture has God been speaking to you, causing you to rethink lately?

Margaret Feinberg: On a recent trip to Israel, we visited the Garden where Jesus’ resurrection may have taken place. As I walked inside the tomb, I was once again reminded of the resurrecting power of Jesus, just the fact that our God is a God of life, who gives life; who brings back to life. Sometimes it’s easy to fall into the trap of sorting through culture wars, keeping a list of do’s and don’ts, or even who’s stacking up the best ammo when it comes to arguing a hot topic of faith. But when Jesus boldly proclaimed, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” He didn’t just say those words, He lived them. The word “life” was never meant to be interpreted as number 3 on the list…something we’ll get to. Life flowed out of Jesus everywhere He went—healing, giving hope, challenging, and even resurrecting. All of this has made me question how much of the life of Jesus I really have. How much do I give that life to others? This thinking and rethinking makes me want to experience more of the life of Christ, and allow it to flow out of me like living waters.

Will Be Exalted!

Come, behold the works of the LORD,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!"
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

Psalm 46: 8-11

A Very Present Help

Sometimes, especially in these troubling times, I need to be reminded that I will not fear even if the earth gives way because God is with me.

Psalm 46: 1-3

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him.
We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
courageous in seastorm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of oceans,
the tremors that shift mountains.

Jacob-wrestling God fights for us,
God-of-Angel-Armies protects us.

[The Message]

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
Selah

[ESV]