Beyond My Ability

Mark Batterson post:  The Levite Blessing

I love the blessings in Deuteronomy 33. Moses blesses the different tribes of Israel in very unique and very specific ways. I love what could be called the Levite Blessing: "Bless all his skills, O Lord."

It doesn't matter whether you're an athlete, architect, teacher, entrepreneur, mother, doctor, or pastor. Our work takes on a supernatural dimension when God blesses the skills He gave us in the first place. I don't know about you, but I don't want to do what I do to the best of MY ability. I want God to do something in me and through me that is beyond my ability. And that is where the Levite blessing comes into play.

For what it's worth, the Levites were the priestly tribe and that's what YOU are if you are in Christ. You are a royal priesthood. I believe this blessing belongs to us as priests of God. All we have to do is stake claim to the blessing that God wants to give us! The blessing that Moses pronounced over the Levites was pronounced over us the moment we put our faith in Christ, our Great High Priest.

Not Forgotten

Energize the limp hands,
   strengthen the rubbery knees.
Tell fearful souls,
   "Courage! Take heart!
God is here, right here,
   on his way to put things right
And redress all wrongs.
   He's on his way! He'll save you!" 

Isaiah 35:3-4 [Message]

Mighty to Save

Scotty Smith post:  A Prayer About One Advent Blessing After Another

     The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “this was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:14-16

     Dear Jesus, I can understand why, of all the accounts of your birth, John’s is least often chosen as the script for Sunday-school Christmas pageants and programs. After all, what parts would the children play? What cute costumes could they wear? There’s no manger, no Joseph and Mary, no shepherds, angels and wise men and lowing cattle. But there certainly IS you. You’re are the only star on the horizon in this nativity scene, and how you shine.

     Jesus, I praise you for becoming “flesh” and “tabernacling” among us for just the right amount of time. Though equal to, yet distinct from the Father, you didn’t consider your glory something to be tightly grasped or held onto selfishly. Rather, you emptied yourself by becoming a man—but not just any ordinary man, a servant-man, the Servant of the Lord… the second Adam, our Savior… my Savior.

     In your thirty-three years of incarnate life, you accomplished everything necessary for the redemption of the people for whom you lived and died… but also for the restoration of the world you created and love. Be magnified, adored, regaled, worshiped and loved, Lord Jesus. What a wonderful merciful Savior you are! What a God who is so mighty to save!

      I cannot sing Isaac Watt’s great Advent hymn, “Joy to the Word,” without thinking of John’s telling of your birth narrative. For you are presently ruling the world with your grace and truth—the grace and truth with which you are full. You’re making the nations prove the wonders of your love… as the gospel runs from heart to heart, and nation to nation.

     From the fullness of your grace we keep receiving one blessing after another—one blessing on top of another. The blessings of your imputed righteousness… the blessings of perpetual favor with God… the blessings your intercession and advocacy… the blessings of your Spirit’s work in our lives… the blessings citizenship in heaven… the blessing of knowing the good work you have begun in us, and in the cosmos, will be brought to completion! Hail the incarnate deity! Joy to the world, and to us, indeed! So very Amen, we pray, in your most glorious name.

Serving

Kevin DeYoung post:  He Came to Serve

Imagine you are transported back to Bethlehem two thousand years ago.  There you are standing around the manger. The shepherds approach with a question.

“Do you know who this is?” they inquire.

“Actually I do,” you say, “his name his Jesus.”

“That’s right,” they tell you. “The angels told us to come and find him here. The whole night has been amazing. We can’t stop praising God for leading us to this special child.” But then they ask one more question. “Still, we aren’t entirely sure what is so special about him. He must be sent from God. But do you know why he was sent? What has this baby come to do?”

What would you answer the shepherds? “Well, he’s come to show us how to live.” Or, “He’s come to heal people.” Or, “He’s come to show God’s love to the world.” Or, “He’s come to meet people’s physical and spiritual needs.” All of those answers would have some truth to them. But there’s a better answer, more to the point, more to the heart of Jesus’ own mission. Jesus us tells us why he came in Mark 10:45.

Why did the Son of God come to earth? What was his one driving ambition that determined everything else he did? It was this: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus healed. Jesus cast out demons. Jesus taught about the kingdom. But all of that was to the end that he might serve his people by death and resurrection. Not just service broadly conceived as blessing people with his care and compassion, but service in the best way possible way, and in the way only Jesus could fulfill, service through suffering on a cross.

Other texts make the same point. Recall the angelic instructions for Joseph: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). That’s why Jesus came–not first of all to set a moral example or to make us feel special–but to save us from our sins. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost,” Jesus says in Luke 19:10. Elsewhere: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). That was his goal and it could only be accomplished through death. As R.T. France concludes in his commentary on Mark 10:45: “This, then, is the stated purpose of Jesus’ mission. His many acts of mercy, healing, teaching, challenging the norms of society, and all the other elements of Mark’s story must be seen in the light of this own purpose, to give his life as a ransom for many” (The Gospel of Mark, 421 [note: the last part of the sentence France leaves untranslated in Greek]).

Why did Jesus come? What was the baby sent here to accomplish? What was his mission? Quite simply, Jesus came to serve. And how did he serve? Mark 10 shows us how (full sermon here): He gave up his life (10:45, 32). He drank the cup (10:38). He paid the ransom (10:45). Thank God for the exalted Son of Man who, for our sakes, humbled himself to become our Suffering Servant.

Contentment

Life Today Devotional

Contentment
by Carol Kent

The dictionary defines contentment as “the quality or state of being contented,” and contented is defined as “feeling or showing satisfaction with one’s possessions, status, or situation.”1 One of the key ingredients of contentment is accepting the hand dealt to us in life, our place in this world, the people in our circle, and the resources we have. Frankly, if my level of contentment could be monitored on a meter that measures satisfaction and acceptance, I know there are days when neither attitude would even register. Instead, my dissatisfaction would be off the charts.

Paul’s example of dealing with adversity over more than three decades of his life as a Christ-follower encourages me, because throughout his writings Paul describes the inner peace we can learn to cultivate, regardless of circumstances. Even while imprisoned – again – by the Romans, he wrote:

Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.2

From a place of complete confidence in the God who transcends all human experiences, Paul urged the early Christians to be “content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.’”3

As parents of a lifer, Gene and I find ourselves wondering (and sometimes worrying!) about how prisoners, including our son, will be cared for as our country continues to experience a deep financial crisis that has negatively affected the lives of almost everybody in our society. As there is less and less money for the upkeep of prisons, the salaries of prison employees, the health care and meal quality of inmates, and the education of the incarcerated, how will the United States take care of nearly two-and-a-half-million inmates in our country?

Another thought that steals my contentment as a mom is wondering what will happen to our son after Gene and I get old and die. That may seem like a morbid thought, but the reality is in your face when you have a child with a life sentence. Younger family members will one day be responsible for making sure there is enough money in Jason’s account to cover his basic needs. J.P. once wrote to us about some of the added indignities inmates experience when they don’t have anyone looking out for them on the outside.

When prisoners have no family member who deposits money in their inmate account, they wear footwear provided by the Department of Corrections – little slip-on shoes called “bo-bos” (pronounced with long o’s) that are three sizes too small or three sizes too big. When a man’s shoes are too big, he looks like a little child wearing his father’s shoes – just shuffling along so they don’t fall off. When the footwear is too small, the inmates’ feet are cramped into little slippers that only cover their toes, with their heels hanging out over the backs of the shoes. Often, when a hole is worn through the sole of a bo-bo, a large piece of cloth tape is applied instead of having the shoe replaced.

The trousers we wear are often patched or extended with six or more inches of material to make them longer. Towels are sewn together from two, or sometimes three, pieces of old towels.

These little things take away part of our dignity – and if we let these common practices get to us, it produces discontent.

Any contentment I experience can go right through the window when I start dwelling on my concerns about who will provide and care deeply about my son for the rest of his life. I don’t have a chance for peace of mind unless I truly believe that my God – my son’s God – will never desert him. I must continually practice following more of Paul’s excellent advice:

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.4

The challenges my son is experiencing as a guilty man imprisoned for committing murder don’t compare to the extreme challenges Paul faced as a Christian unjustly persecuted in Roman society. But Jason, like Paul, is learning that contentment is not just a feeling, and it’s not dependent on his circumstances. Ironically, my incarcerated son is teaching me the true meaning of contentment.

I know there are days when Jason is tempted to give in to anger, bitterness and jealousy. I have those temptations, too. But I'm encouraged as I see him trying to internalize this truth from the New Testament: “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”5 When I choose to live one day at a time instead of trying to make it through my son’s entire life sentence, I'm surprised by contentment.



Adapted from Between a Rock and a Grace Place: Divine Surprises in the Tight Spots of Lifeby Carol Kent, © 2010 Carol Kent, Zondervan.

1 Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, eleventh edition
2 Philippians 4:11-13
3 Hebrews 13:5 NASB
4 Philippians 4:6-7
5 Matthew 6:34

Released

Ray Ortlund post:  We are delivered

“When Jesus judges our imperfection, he does it with such compassion that he releases us from the fear that we must pretend to be better than we are.  He assures us that if we will be honest with God, God will be gracious with us.  And the moment we enter into a gracious relationship with God, we not only fall heir to the promises of the gospel, but we are also ready to accept our present duties in the kingdom of love.

With pride dethroned, we are able to accept a much more modest concept of the self.  We are delivered from the error of thinking that we must prove ourselves all the time.  Kindness and truth become acceptable signs of status.  Destructive anxiety cannot overwhelm us, for we are content to leave the work of salvation to God.”

Edward John Carnell, The Kingdom of Love and the Pride of Life (Grand Rapids, 1960), pages 152-153.

Childlike Faith

Steven Furtick post:  Well, what if?

I was swimming with Elijah this past summer and he started getting really brave and jumping off the ledge of the pool. To make it safe, I would stand in the pool and catch him.

But then he got real cocky and started jumping before I was looking. There was no danger. I was right there to pick him up, which is why he was doing it in the first place. But still, it was the principle.

So I warned him, “Elijah, you’ve got to stop that. What if you fall in the water and daddy didn’t tell you to jump yet?” He looked straight at me and said, “well, what if?”

He had me. The truth is I wasn’t going to let him drown, and he knew it. His faith in my love and my ability to save him compelled him to be bold and take a risk. He wasn’t testing my willingness or power to save him. He was jumping because he knew they were already there.

This is the essence of childlike faith. It sets you free to risk, to say well, what if. Even to the point of coming off as cocky in your faith. You’re not testing God or trying to prove His power or love towards you. You’re taking bold steps because His power and love have already been proven.

Peter had well, what if faith.

What if you sink into the water when you try to walk on it? Well, what if? Jesus is there.

Peter’s faith wasn’t that he could walk on water. It was that Jesus could catch him if he fell. And so he became one of two men in history to walk on water. The other was God in the flesh. Not bad company.

Paul had well, what if faith.

What if you’re beaten and tortured for your faith? Well, what if? I consider that my present sufferings aren’t worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in me.

What if they kill you? Well what if? To die is gain.

What if they let you live and put you in prison? Well, what if? To live is Christ. I’ll convert the guards.
See why he turned the world upside down?

There is always going to be a what if standing in the way of your dream or your desire to radically obey God. Resolve yourself to respond with a well, what if of your own.

What if you’re wrong and you’re not supposed to take that risk for Christ? Well, what if? I think God would rather me take a sincere risk for Him and be wrong than sit safely in the comfort of my own complacency. 

What if you fail? Well, what if? As others have said before, I’m much more afraid of succeeding at something that really doesn’t matter.

What if you ruin your life? Well, what if I waste it?

What if… Well, what if?

Priorities

Mark Batterson post:  Default or Design

There are only two ways to live: by default or by design. I'm guessing that 90% of people live 90% of their lives by default. In other words, life happens to them. They live in reactive mode. The other option is to live in proactive mode. Living by design is establishing priorities and then living by them.

So what's the difference between default and design? Well, in financial terms, a budget may be the difference between default and design. In experiential terms, life goals may be the difference between default and design. In spiritual terms, a Bible reading plan may be the difference between default and design. And in relational terms, a scheduled date night may be the difference between default and design. The common denominator is a plan.

When I'm frustrated spiritually or relationally, it's often because I'm in reactive mode. I'm just reacting to the circumstances I find myself in. And that's when you default on life. When I'm feeling fulfilled, it's usually because I'm proactive. I'm going after goals or executing a plan or living out my priorities.

Through His Name Alone

Excerpt from Tullian Tchividjian post:  My Monday Morning Need Of The Gospel

Quoting Scotty Smith ..

Lord Jesus, though I’m never tempted to look to any other name for my justification, I am very tempted to look to other names and means for my transformation—worse of all, is when I look to me to be my own savior. But only you, Jesus, are able to save completely those who come to God through you, for you are always living to pray for us and to advocate for us (Heb 7:25). You are my righteousness, holiness and redemption, and that’s why I only boast in you today! (1 Cor. 1:30-31)

So I come to you today, Jesus, right now! Save me more fully from my fear of man, my need to be in control, my ticky-tacky pettiness. Save me from trying to be anybody’s savior. I want to get irritated far less often and to be spontaneous much more often. I want to “light up” more quickly when I hear your name, Jesus, and not be downcast, when I don’t hear my name.

That’s more than enough confession for one day… Indeed, Jesus, I must be saved, I am being saved, through your name alone. Hallelujah!

Persuaded

Ray Ortlund post:  These words

“Robert Bruce, the disciple of John Knox and Andrew Melville, died at Kinnaird on July 27th, 1631.  He had come to breakfast and his younger daughter sat by his side.  As he mused in silence, suddenly he cried, ‘Hold, daughter, hold; my Master calleth me.’  He asked that the Bible should be brought, but his sight failed him and he could not read.  ‘Cast me up the eighth of Romans,’ cried he, and he repeated much of the latter portion of this Scripture till he came to the last two verses: ‘I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’  ‘Set my finger on these words,’ said the blind, dying man; ‘God be with you, my children.   I have breakfasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus this night.   I die believing these words.’”

Marcus L. Loane, The Hope of Glory (Waco, 1968), page 160.

Good News

Kevin DeYoung post:  He Stopped Looking for the Ladder

Russell Moore has a way with words. I love the stirring conclusion to his chapter “Kingdom: Heaven after Earth, Heaven on Earth, or Something Else Entirely?” The chapter is part of the soon to be released book Don’t Call it a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day.

If evangelical Christianity is about anything, it ought to be about the gospel—that’s the meaning of the term evangelical itself. If so, we must recognize that our mission is to be found in what makes the good news good. We don’t have to be left to our own striving and clawing. And we don’t have to try to be emperor of our own lives, or of those around us. We point instead to a kingdom that overshadows—and knocks down—every rival rule, including our own.

This means our proclamation agrees with our non-Christian friends that something’s deeply wrong with the way things are, even as we show them how they’re not nearly outraged enough by the world the way it is. We tell them—and remind ourselves—of the good news of an invisible kingdom now in heaven, showing the pockets of the kingdom in our struggling little churches, and singing out for the glorious kingdom that will one day explode through the eastern skies. But, most importantly, we announce who is King in that kingdom: the One who joined us in our grave holes, even as we alternated between a hardened self-sufficiency and a screaming for the snake father we’d chosen for ourselves. Our Brother/Lord brought the kingdom in a way we’d never have thought of. He stopped looking for the ladder, and cried out to his Father.

And he was heard.

Power of God

Excerpt from post:  Report: TGC LA, Feat. Audio, Video by Carson

During the conference’s first hour, Carson provided a helpful exhortation:

In some of our circles, the gospel is a very small thing that tips us into the kingdom; it gets us “saved.” Then, after that, we have our discipleship courses, etc. . . . But when you look at how the gospel is used in the New Testament, it is not the little category that gets you in, it is the big category—focused on Jesus and what he has done—and does all the transforming work. It is the power of God unto salvation.

Each One Be Prepared

So here's what I want you to do. When you gather for worship, each one of you be prepared with something that will be useful for all: Sing a hymn, teach a lesson, tell a story, lead a prayer, provide an insight.

1 Cor 14:26 [Message]

Consecrate and Intercede

Thabiti Anyabwile post: Parenting Children Who May Have “Cursed God in Their Hearts”

“And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all.  For Job said, ‘It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.’  Thus Job did continually.” (Job 1:5)

It seems Job suffered for his children before he suffered for his children.  Before the calamitous news of their death, Job worried about an even greater potential tragedy–their spiritual death.

This righteous man longed for his children to love and honor God.  It’s the desire of all godly parents.
But Job lacked the one attribute most parents wish they had: omniscience.  How could he know what his adult sons and daughters did when he was not around?  How could he know what lie in the hearts of his children?  Had they “cursed God in their hearts”?  What a terrifying set of questions for any parent.  This is why we don’t sleep until all the children arrive home safely.  This is why we ask questions about friends we don’t know very well.  This is why we sometimes inspect their rooms or ask searching questions while hoping not to offend.  What if our children live double lives?  What if they curse God in their hearts?

How does this righteous man deal with the questions and worry?  how does he deal with not knowing?  He appeals to the One who does know, who sees all.  The very God Job feared His children might have cursed is Job’s Great Ally in the war for his children’s hearts.  Job wants what God wants–a godly offspring (Mal. 2:15).  God, then, is Job’s Warrior in this battle.

So, Job does two things.  First, he consecrates his children. He sets them apart for God.  His children do not belong to him; they belong to the Lord of life.  If children are arrows in a parent’s quiver, Job aims His directly at the courts of God.  One can only speculate about how much greater Job’s suffering and difficulty would have been if he maintained an idolatrous hold on his children.  Certainly losing all his children in one day was as unimaginable a disaster possible.  But would he have maintained faith and sanity had he prized his children above God, or built his life on his children, or found his ultimate joy in his children?  Consecrating his children was not only right and godly, ultimately it provided a measure of protection.  This is how Job could reply to his wife, “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (2:10)  Or, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Second, Job interceded for each of his children. Notice “he would rise early in the morning.”  The earliest business of day was prayer for Job.  He made his offerings to God on behalf of each child’s soul.  For if they cursed God in their hearts, only God could renew their hearts.  If their offense was against God, only God could relent and forgive them.  They needed help from God, and Job the faithful father went to God early, interceding for their deliverance.  Notice: “thus Job did continually.”  Here’s a portrait of a persistently pleading parent.  He conquers his helplessness by appealing to the Almighty.

These things are written for our instruction (1 Cor. 10:6).  How kind of God to leave us in His word such a compelling and clear example to follow.  Let us set apart our children to the Lord, and renew our prayers on their behalf.  Conquer parental anxiety with petitions to our covenant God who knows our children and renews the heart.

Life of Love

Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth. If you praise him in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him. But when you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, you're letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you. 

1 Cor 14:1-3 [Message]

Perfect Will

Steven Furtick post:  Perfect for you

Everyone desires to be in God’s will. Sometimes we even talk about wanting to be in the perfect will of God.

But God’s perfect will might not look like what you think it should. We need to clear up what we mean by perfect. Otherwise we could completely miss out on God’s will altogether because we’ll be too busy chasing daydreams.

Our idea of perfect is perfect to us.

A perfect day to you might mean everything is going the way you think it should go.

A perfect marriage to you might be one that’s easy and stress-free.

A perfect job to you might be one where you’re high on the leadership pyramid and banking loads of cash.

Those aren’t bad things, but they’re not necessarily perfect to God. That matters because what’s perfect to God is perfect for us. God’s will for you is to become everything He dreamed you to be so that you might glorify Him the way He deserves to be. And that doesn’t necessarily happen through easy circumstances or perfect conditions.

God’s will doesn’t have to be perfect to me to be perfect for me. 

If you need proof of this, just take a brief glance at the Bible:

God’s will for Job wasn’t perfect to him. He lost everything. But it was perfect for him. It brought him to a whole new level of faith and positioned him for a greater blessing later in his life.

God’s will for Joseph wasn’t perfect to him. He landed in slavery and prison for over a decade. But it was perfect for him. Through him, God saved his family and an entire nation.

God’s will for Paul probably didn’t seem perfect to a lot of people. Few men have ever suffered so much for the gospel. But it was perfect for him. Few men have ever spread the gospel spread so vastly in their lifetime.

God’s will for Jesus didn’t seem perfect to his disciples. In the garden of Gethsemane, even He didn’t want it. But it was perfect for him. He defeated and humiliated sin on the cross. Then conquered death in the resurrection. And thereby provided salvation to the whole world.

God’s will for you might not always seem perfect to you. But trust me, His will is perfect for you.

The job you hate right now might not seem perfect to you. But through it God is perfectly developing your character, patience, and faithfulness.

That relationship you just lost might not seem like God’s perfect will to you. But the person God is clearing space for and has been preparing you for your entire life is perfect for you.

The disease you’re battling right now might not seem perfect to you. But God could use your pain as a platform for the gospel to reach countless people. And He’s putting you in the perfect position to comfort others.

That doesn’t make it easy. But it does make it meaningful. Purposeful. Worth it.

It makes it perfect for you.

Prayers

Ray Ortlund post:  Upheld by the prayers of his people

“And who and what are ministers themselves?  Frail men, fallible, sinning men, exposed to every snare, to temptation in every form; and from the very post of observation they occupy, the fairer mark for the fiery darts of the foe.  They are no mean victims the great Adversary is seeking, when he would wound and cripple Christ’s ministers.  One such victim is worth more to the kingdom of darkness than a score of common men; and on this very account, the temptations are probably more subtle and severe than those encountered by ordinary Christians.  If this subtle Deceiver fails to destroy them, he artfully aims at neutralizing their influence by quenching the fervor of their piety, lulling them into negligence, and doing all in his power to render their work irksome.  How perilous the condition of that minister then, whose heart is not encouraged, whose hands are not strengthened, and who is not upheld by the prayers of his people!  It is not in his own closet and on his own knees alone that he finds security and comfort and ennobling, humbling and purifying thoughts and joys; but it is when his people also seek them in his behalf that he becomes a better and happier man and a more useful minister of the everlasting gospel.”

Gardiner Spring, The Power of the Pulpit (Edinburgh, 1986), pages 223-224.

If your pastor is struggling, and you are not praying for him, the failure is yours too.  If your pastor is succeeding, and you are praying for him, the victory is yours together.

Reigning King

LifeToday Devotional

Thy Kingdom Come
by James Robison

Years ago, just before my 18th birthday, I turned every part of my life over as completely as I knew how to the Lord Jesus. I answered His call to proclaim His truth, and He filled me to overflowing with His Spirit and supernaturally gifted me to communicate. I was carried by boldness and compassion beyond anything a shy, fatherless boy could have experienced apart from God. Without understanding fully what had happened, a teenager who had given his life to Christ at age 15 suddenly allowed King Jesus to take over. It is no exaggeration to say that in my mind and with all that I understood of a full surrender to the will of God, I had accepted His Kingdom in me as the now and new way to live. I had begun a life journey that has continued for 50 years. I really had lost my life in order to find it in His Kingdom purpose.

I have discovered, however, that on this journey there are many distractions and much deception and far too frequent moments of defeat. The subtle enemy continually assaults every one of us called to fulfill God’s kingdom purpose on this earth.

In recent years, I have recognized that the prayers of Jesus seemed to be unanswered, even in this day. The fact that believers are not truly one with the Father as Jesus desired for us, and we are not being perfected in love and spiritual unity, seems to be a clear indicator that our Savior’s prayers are unanswered. He actually taught His disciples, which includes us, to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

In the past two years, He has made it very clear to me that He did not pray amiss. It is not only important that God’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, but it is a command. This means it is more than possible, it is imperative!

As I have shared previously, I have been calling leaders together asking them to join me seeking to help bring about the answer to the prayers of Jesus. When I met in September with 40 major ministry leaders, I shared with them that I was convinced that we don’t know Him as well as we should because too often we refuse to know them – other ministers and believers. By cutting one another off, we have actually cut Him off. Unknowingly, we have contributed to dividing the Kingdom and diminishing its effect on earth.

Isaiah said that God’s own messengers are often blind. The Old Testament prophets, as well as Jesus, taught that we are dull of hearing. We hear, but we don’t hear clearly. We see, but we see through a glass darkly. Our vision is dim at best. God desires to open our ears and clear our vision if we will let Him.

In my pursuit of God and His will being accomplished in us now on this earth for His glory, I recently crossed paths ever so briefly with a minister friend who had impacted me greatly almost 30 years ago. I don’t think I had seen him for 15 years. Jim Hylton passed me at a friend’s house as I was leaving and he was coming in. Jim said, “James, everyone is praying for revival. That’s like asking God for a bailout. What we need is to recognize and receive the fullness and power of His Kingdom now.”

It was like a bolt of lightning from heaven when he said that! I knew I had heard very directly from God. In a conversational sense the Lord said to me, “You’ve been repeating the importance of ‘Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ and emphasizing the possibility and the necessity, but you have overlooked the first phrase preceding that statement – ‘Thy Kingdom come.’ The only way My will can be done on earth is by My Kingdom (which both John the Baptist and Jesus announced is at hand) being established within each believer. King Jesus must begin to reign and rule in every area of each believer’s life. The Kingdom must be fully received and freely released. This Kingdom, when recognized and expressed, cannot be ignored.”

Pastor Jim Hylton recognized that I had been impacted by what he said. He asked, “May I give you a book that I have written that was just recently released?” I said, “Certainly.” We went to his car and he handed me a book entitled The Supernatural Skyline: Where Heaven Touches Earth. I thanked him and over the coming days God specifically directed me to begin reading it.

It was as though my eyes and ears were opened to see and hear more clearly than perhaps I ever had. I recognized that Jim was right in what he shared throughout the book. Most believers and ministers are engaged in church and ministry building rather than Kingdom building! We get people to Christ in church, but never make them fully aware that they are now in Christ, Christ is in them to establish His Kingdom now. And it is within us to be released through us affecting everything and everyone around us! It is the light on the lamp stand illuminating the way, exposing darkness and evil, while providing the light necessary to walk the straight and narrow path with our eyes fixed on the one standard – Jesus! This Kingdom light must not and cannot be hidden when it’s recognized, received and freely released.

Jack Taylor is a friend who wrote the forward to the book and he said, “The Kingdom of God is everything, not a part of something else. It fits nothing, but everything of value fits into it.” The Kingdom way is God’s way for you! It is His answer to all that the kingdom of darkness hurls at believers, and which tragically blinds the eyes of unbelievers.

The Kingdom is each one of us allowing Jesus to be Lord of all, the reigning King. We are not perfect!  He is perfect and will perfect us as He is allowed to reign and rule in us! Remember, we are joint heirs with Him, but not joint kings. There is but one Lord! When His Kingdom is established in us and He lives His resurrected life through us, His will shall be done on earth. Everything will be affected. God’s truth will replace the traditions of men and the leaven of the Pharisees. We will cease our wineskin wars and throwing (as did Saul) spears and accusations at the spiritual Davids who are seeking to please the real King. We will become a family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, more than conquerors and overcomers in this life, ruling and reigning over the realm of darkness while freely sharing His love and His life.

We will inspire correction, repentance, and restoration on all fronts – in our own homes, local communities, and our nations. This will not be accomplished by organizing a power base, but by releasing the power of His Kingdom that affects all bases of power on planet Earth. We will help change the direction of our nations by embracing truth and unshakable principles, not by endorsing candidates or parties. If believers will yield to Kingdom power, no one will be elected if they don’t recognize eternal truth and the foundation necessary for life, liberty and the real pursuit of happiness.

His Kingdom in us enables us to become a city set on a hill. This will be the influence leading to spiritual awakening and the revelation of Creator God and our loving Father. Truly, His Kingdom is at hand and it is not of this world. When established in us, it will impact and even change the lives of those held captive by the spirit of this present world.

The following truths really jumped out at me in Jim Hylton’s book because this is what I had observed God doing in my life. But because I had dim vision and I was dull of hearing, I didn’t really recognize what was actually taking place and is important for all believers to understand:

In Christ every Christian is a king and a priest unto God… Just as Jesus was a priest who ministered with compassion and in humility, we are to humbly become debtors to all in need of His grace.

In order to build the Kingdom, we need to become Kingdom bearers, bearing in our hearts the Kingdom of God. Our role as members of God’s royal family is one in which His Kingdom is expressed through our lives. We are the material He uses to build the Kingdom…

There are some basic realities that must be remembered:

1) There is only room for one king to reign at a time. Our crowns must be placed at His feet daily. Though we reign as join heirs, we never rule as joint Lord. He is Lord of lords.

2) There are no quick cures to guarantee success in the Kingdom of King Jesus. Instead, a childlike heart and a lifetime of growing in grace await us.

3) Those who win in the Kingdom are willing to lose. They will lose all and count it as waste to gain the excellence of the knowledge of God. No defense is needed because the willingness to lose is the means by which they win.

4) Those who rule in this Kingdom are those who serve the most. Towels for washing feet as a servant are standard equipment.

5) The strength of these leaders may be best judged by how much they cry. They cry as Jesus did over cities that need to come to safe shelter. They cry as Jesus did…for others and with others.

6) The weapons that are mighty through God are gifts on deposit from God. These gifts are standard issue for destroying the works of the devil. Gifts lift up Jesus so that others may see the incomparable one we are seeing.

Without Kingdom expansion in our hearts, we cannot have Kingdom expression from our lives.



This great and necessary awakening begins when each one of us yields fully to Him crying out openly and unashamedly, “Come, King Jesus! Rule and reign in me now! ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!’”

Disciples

Excerpt from Multiplying small groups by developing leaders

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Small group systems consistently fail when their main purpose is not strategically connected to the church's overall process for making disciples. Here’s what that means. If groups just help people get connected, make friends, and do a little Bible study along the way, their momentum is limited. The energy of the group will rise & fall on the leader’s ability to motivate, plan & keep the group connected. BUT if the group leader & members see the group with a deeper purpose: as a way of life; as a way to practice the teachings they hear about on Sunday morning (which is a hugely important time as well); as a way to truly make disciples, then the group has a momentum that will live past the highs & lows of a single Bible study.

                When discipleship becomes the purpose of the group, leaders see the big picture & move past the successes & failures of a particular meeting. The hard work of weekly meetings in homes, caring for members, building trust, developing accountability, teaching members to pray, & spending time together outside of group fuels a much greater purpose than simply keeping a group alive. The leader sees his or her objective as making disciples. Not pulling off a meeting. There is a big difference. Group leaders & systems that prevail for the long haul understand that success is not measured in meetings but in multiplication.

...

Never Gets Old

I heard a sound like massed choirs in Heaven singing, Hallelujah!
   The salvation and glory and power are God's—
      his judgments true, his judgments just.
   He judged the great Whore
      who corrupted the earth with her lust.
   He avenged on her the blood of his servants.
Then, more singing:
   Hallelujah!
   The smoke from her burning billows up
      to high Heaven forever and ever and ever.

Rev 19:1-3 [Message]

One Savior and Lord

Excerpt from Tullian Tchividjian post:  Counterfeit Gospels

In his book How People Change (co-authored with Tim Lane), Paul Tripp identifies seven counterfeit gospels– ways we try and “justify” or “save” ourselves apart from the gospel of grace. I found these unbelievably helpful. Which one (or two, or three) of these do you tend to gravitate towards?

Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”

Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”

Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”

Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”

Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”

Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin—and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs.”

Social-ism. “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”

 ...

God's Assignment

Excerpts from John Piper:  Your Job as Ministry

The main point of my message this morning can be stated as a declaration and as a prayer. As a declaration it would be: How you fulfill the demands of your vocation is an essential part of Christian discipleship. Or to put it another way: How you do your job is a big part of your obedience to Jesus. Stated as a prayer, the main point today is: Father, grant to us all the grace to be conscious of your presence at our work and to obey your commands in all our vocational relationships. I believe this is the word of God for us today, and I would like to unfold it for a few minutes from 1 Corinthians 7:17–24.

 ...

Fourth, and finally, this text implies that the job you now have, as long as you are there, is God's assignment to you. Verse 17 says, "Let everyone lead the life which the Lord has assigned to him." God is sovereign. It is no accident that you are where you are. "A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established" (Proverbs 19:21). "The lot is cast in the lap, but the decision is wholly from the Lord" (Proverbs 16:33). You are where you are by divine assignment, even if you got there by fraud. Your job is your ministerial assignment, just as much as mine is. How you fulfill the demands of that job is just as essential in life as what you do here on Sunday. For many of us that may mean turning over a new leaf tomorrow morning. Let's all pray before we set out to work: "God, go with me today and keep me conscious of your presence. Encourage my heart when I tend to despair, and humble me when I tend to boast. O God, give me the grace to obey your commandments, which I know are all summed up in this, to love my neighbor as myself. Amen." 

Redeeming Art

Excerpt from Artists Build the Church

So in January 2009, Youngren, his wife, and three children moved from the Pacific Northwest to Chicago to plant The Line. One of Youngren’s hopes was that The Line could ask and then affirmatively answer the question: “Can the art that is present in the world be redeemed and be a part of the church?” By “redeemed,” Youngren doesn’t just mean hung up on the wall, but fundamentally changed from the core so that, as he said, “everyone can respect it and see it right alongside the rest of art and know that it’s different.”

Many churches in Youngren’s past had been aware enough to ask this question, but answered it negatively, believing refined art is not appropriate for a church setting. “In other words,” Youngren said, “We can turn the amps up, we can make it sound more modern, but when it comes to things like abstraction, impression, and subtlety, we think they are best left outside the corporate church setting.”

The poet Luci Shaw has also noticed this trend, and in her essay “Beauty and the Creative Impulse,” she expresses her concern:

The church has given considerable attention to Truth and Goodness, to theology and ethics. But too often beauty has escaped us, or we have tried to escape from it. This is partly because of its innovative, experimental aspect, its way of reaching for originality or a new way of expressing an old standard. In many Christian circles this is felt to be dangerous; the pursuit of beauty is seen merely as an option, and a seductive one at that, because beauty can be neither controlled nor programmed.

Despite many churches’ fear of artistic impression in a corporate context, impression is often how God works. At The Line, they look to Abraham for their theology of impression. When God called Abraham and first told him he was going to make him into a great nation, he didn’t sit him down and say, “Here are my promises 1-5, sign here.” Rather, God said, “Abraham, come outside. Look up.” Abraham gazed into the luminous Middle Eastern sky. As he was contemplating the stars, God continued, “See how amazing that is? That’s what I’m going to do with you.” God started with impression and then moved to propositions. He directed Abraham’s attention to his handiwork, and then asked him to imagine the impossible.

Inexpressible

Ray Ortlund post:  Mercy

God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  Romans 5:5

“The Comforter gives a sweet and plentiful evidence and persuasion of the love of God to us, such as the soul is taken, delighted, satiated withal.  This is his work, and he doth it effectually.  To give a poor sinful soul a comfortable persuasion, affecting it throughout, in all its faculties and affections, that God in Jesus Christ loves him, delights in him, is well pleased with him, hath thoughts of tenderness and kindness towards him; to give, I say, a soul an overflowing sense hereof, is an inexpressible mercy.”

John Owen, Works (Edinburgh, 1980), II:240.

Messiah

Excerpt from Miscellanies post:  Handel's Messiah

...


To enjoy Messiah is—in the words of one friend—to be washed with the Gospel.

The musical score was written, of course, by George Frideric Handel (1685–1759). The narrative (or libretto), is a carefully woven mix of biblical passages, the work of Charles Jennens (1700–1773). Stapert does a fine job explaining how these men worked together to produce the masterpiece. But here is what I find most interesting: Messiah, first performed in London on March 23, 1743, was intended to be something of an apologetic, according to Stapert. He explains on pages 75–76 in an excerpt worth quoting at length:

Messiah tells a deliverance story—the story of God’s ultimate deliverance of his people from bondage to sin and death. But it is a story that increasing numbers of Europeans were disbelieving, and therein lies the motivation behind Jennens’s compilation of the Scripture passages that constitute the libretto for Messiah.

The Enlightenment was in full swing, and the church was severely threatened by those who denied that Christ was the Son of God, the long-promised Messiah who would deliver his people from bondage to sin and death. Of course the church had always faced threats to the faith from unbelievers. But the number of unbelievers in Europe increased significantly during the Enlightenment, a movement that fostered “natural” religion that proclaimed a commonsense social morality and an optimistic view of human nature. Typically it took the form of Deism.

Deism did not deny the existence of a Supreme Being who created all things but claimed that after creation that Being left humans to themselves. According to Deists, humans had no need of a god because they were innately good and had the resources to solve their own problems. Human perfectibility could be achieved by human resources without divine intervention. Thus Deism was fundamentally at odds with Christian beliefs that humans are basically sinful, that they are incapable of saving themselves, and therefore that they need a Savior. In other words, Deists did not believe in the need for a Messiah.

Messiah was born into this world of growing Deistic threat to the church. It was not only that Deism added substantially to the number of Europeans who didn’t believe Jesus to be the Messiah, but also that unlike other disbelievers (Jews, Muslims, atheists), Deists were often within the church, even among the clergy—”profane scoffers among our selves,” as Richard Kidder called them. Committed orthodox Christians like Jennens had reason to be concerned, and that concern spawned an outpouring of works that reaffirmed the historic Christian beliefs, the chief among them being that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah. Jennens’s libretto for Messiah joined a host of writings on the subject. Treatises and tracts, poems and periodical articles were written to prove that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament.

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Note: you can listen to a recording of Messiah online via NPR here.

Note:  YouTube: Opera Company of Philadelphia

 

Conversations

Excerpts from Ed Stetzer post:  Multifaith and the Global Faith Forum, Part 3

The Global Faith Forum 2010 was an opportunity to move from a conversation about other faiths, to a conversation with one another. This was a gathering unlike most of you have ever been to, where leaders with different faiths and worldviews came together to talk about how we can better understand and communicate with one another in the 21st century. From the website,

The Global Faith Forum brings together distinct and conservative bodies of faith for greater understanding, while facing our differences with grace and humility. Muslims, Jews, and Christians hold different beliefs about who Jesus and God is.

...


Today I'd like us to work our way into the issue of coexisting with other religions while maintaining fidelity to the truth of God's word and his command to love our neighbors.

So, how do religions that are mutually exclusive exist side by side peacefully? In the spirit of multi-faith dialogue I would like to propose four foundational commitments that the followers of the world's religions could agree to make:

• We commit to letting each religion speak for itself;
• We commit to talking with and about individuals and not generic "faiths";
• We commit to mutually respect the sincerely held beliefs of people in other religions, and
• We commit to granting each person the freedom to make his or her own faith decisions.

What would that look like in practice? I would like to consider each proposal in depth. First, in order for there to be healthy multi-faith dialogue, we must allow the followers of each of the world's religions to speak for themselves. Otherwise we are not responding to the actual beliefs of people but to caricatures of those beliefs--and there are plenty of those.

A friend of mine living in India had an interesting conversation with a Hindu about Islamic faith and practice. In all sincerity the Hindu stated, "As you know, Hindus worship cows and therefore we do not eat beef. Similarly, Muslims do not eat pork because they worship pigs." All of us know how false--even offensive--that assertion was.

What happened? How did this man get it so wrong? His mistake was trying to interpret what he saw in Islam through his Hindu worldview and he missed the point entirely. By thinking he understood Islam, the Hindu had actually insulted Muslims. Had he understood his error he would have been horrified--he was not being malicious; he was just ill-informed.

When we assume that we understand the worldview of another better than they understand it themselves, we get into all kinds of trouble. The same problem often occurs when some Muslims have tried to explain the doctrine of the Trinity. Across the globe Christians are often accused of worshipping three gods--God the Father, God the Mother and God the Son. In reality the idea that God would have a physical relationship with a woman and produce a child is as offensive to Christians as it is to Muslims. But instead of asking Christians what they actually believe, many people are content to get their understandings from non-Christians rather than going to the source.

...

But getting the facts straight is not enough. We would all benefit from gaining an understanding of the basic principles of cross-cultural communication--not misunderstanding (or misrepresenting) what others mean and how they came to the decisions they have made.

We need to learn to see the world as followers of other religions do. This is not as easy. And it does not mean agreeing with them or adopting their religion. But judging another culture using one's own patterns of "good" and "bad" leads to all sorts of misunderstanding.

So, in summary, to engage in multi-faith conversation is that we learn about each person's religion and culture from original sources. We should not learn from people who speak as if they know but in reality do not.

Only By Grace

Christine Wyrtzen Devotional

TOLERANT OR RIGID?

Is God the God of Jews only?  Is God not the God of Gentiles also?  Yes - since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.  Romans 3:29-30

            The Jews believed that God was only their God.  That made them moral elitists, believing themselves to be better than anyone outside their race.
            The Gentiles believed that there were many gods.  That made them tolerant, encouraging an indulgence into all kinds of depravity.   Their numerous gods permitted wickedness and Greece was a cesspool. 
            Paul addressed the tension one faced when choosing whether or not he would align with the Jew or the Gentile.  Neither offered a righteous option.  One group was prideful and monotheistic.  The other was wicked and polytheistic.  How did God solve the dilemma between the two extremes?
            He sent His Son to die for all mankind; circumcised and uncircumcised.  Each needed to come through faith in Christ.  Each was unable to earn his salvation based on race and good works.  Paul made it clear that faith alone qualified a Jew and faith alone qualified a Gentile.
            Romans is cumbersome at times, I'll admit.  Studying it is a workout and many mornings I face a writing crisis!  God is helping me as I ask Him each day, "Please show me what difference this issue makes in my relationship with You!"  All truth must connect with my heart.
            So, why do these verses matter?  Because without this solid rudder, I will lose my way.  Let's face it.  There are denominations which boast in being right.  They believe they have a corner on truth and no one outside their box could possibly be saved.  They are like the Jews; elitist and exclusionary.
            We are also surrounded by unbelievers who are moral relativists.  They pride themselves in being tolerant.  They are very willing to let us talk about our faith but we better not tell them what to believe.  As soon as we do, we're seen as prideful and judgmental.
            I stand in the truth of Paul's writing today that all people must come to the cross empty handed.  Evangelicals, Charismatics, Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus.  We must come to God one way ~ through faith in Christ ~ plus nothing.  I do not have any advantage over another man or woman.  I must be firm but humble when sharing this truth with others.  I must not make them feel excluded not can I be tolerant for tolerance sake.  Jesus is not discriminating.  He calls all sinners to Himself and what each of us does with His invitation, Jew or Gentile, determines where we will spend eternity.

 If I'm your child, it's only because of Your grace.  If someone else is not yet your child, I invite them with urgency, conviction and humility.  Amen

God or Total Collapse

Ray Ortlund post:  True faith will take risks

“Pseudo-faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it.  Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes.  For true faith, it is either God or total collapse.  And not since Adam first stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted him.”

A. W. Tozer, “True Faith Brings Committal,” In The Root of the Righteous (Harrisburg, 1955), pages 49-50.

What are you doing, in obedience to the Word of God, that positions you for either God or total collapse?

Margin

Mark Batterson post:  When You Lose Margin

One of the hardest things for me to do right now is to maintain a margin. It's hard to keep up with email. I can't meet with everybody I'd like to meet with. It's tough to juggle pastoring and writing. And my kids need their dad more than ever. But for all of those reasons, maintaining margin is the key to maintaining everything else. Starting with sanity!

When you lose margin, you lose perspective.
When you lose margin, you lose creativity.
When you lose margin, you lose gratitude.
When you lose margin, you lose peace of mind.
When you lose margin, you lose sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
When you lose margin, you lose emotional reserves.

So how do you maintain margin? I think it comes down to time management. If you don't control your calendar, your calendar will control you. You've got to schedule time with God. And it probably needs to be a consistent time slot. You've got to schedule time for yourself. That includes days off, days without meetings, off site meetings, etc. If you need to, schedule reading time! Or just put a book in the bathroom! For me, Tuesdays and Thursdays are meeting days. Wednesday and Fridays are margin days.

Friends

Life Today Devotional

Real Friends
by Deanna Favre

Scripture:

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17, NIV)

Discover:

When I was informed that I had breast cancer, I remember the sensation of knowing that there was something inside of me that was doing harm to my body. It was like the cancer became its own living entity, the monster hiding under the bed. In fact, for a few days, it was all I could think about as I got my mind around what this meant for me, my family, and our future.

However, a friend of mine, who came by the house to drop off casseroles and “get well” notes and gifts, could tell that I was struggling with this newfound diagnosis. I shared with my friend my feelings of not being able to outrun whatever this was inside of me, and the fear and doubt it caused.

My friend said, “Sure, you have cancer inside your body, but you also have Christ.” I will never forget those words. They were simple, to the point, and incredibly true. To know that whatever we are facing inside our bodies, or our lives, God is right there living in us, too, ready to protect and care for us from the inside out.

My friend’s words were comforting because I had forgotten that I had someone much stronger and bigger than cancer living within me, and that would be my refuge and my source of strength. But it does not stop there. As John 14 states, the goal is to then share what God has placed inside you with those around you. This is one gift that you want to give away.

Disease and illness may permeate our bodies, but God promises that they cannot permeate our souls and spirits unless we let them. And to help in the fight, Scripture says that God has given us the Holy Spirit, a Friend, to go along on the journey with us and to help us help others make the steps as well.

Deepen:

John talks about a friend whom God has given to us. Who is that friend, and why does that gift mean so much to our relationship with God? God’s goal in this passage is to encourage us to live more like God and to share love with those around us. Why does God offer us a friend to assist us in the process and journey? When the Scripture says that “the godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him,” why is that important for us in drawing close to God through the Holy Spirit?

Deploy:

Make a list of some of your friends today. What qualities do you love most in them? How do you see those qualities in your relationship with God?

Discern:

Pray: Father and Friend, we cannot understand the grace we have been offered until we have been able to step out of our own shoes and walk in the shoes of others. Help us set down our struggles and take up the gift and blessing of what you offer in Christ. We love you. Amen.



Adapted from The Cure for the Chronic Life by Deanna Favre & Shane Stanford, © 2010 Abingdon Press.

Joyful Noise

From Kathryn's post:  Something Worth Sharing This Week

“WHERE DID I GET THE IDEA that worship must always
be restrained, quiet, and dignified?
Throughout my long life, you have showered me
with blessing upon blessing.
Today I will not withhold the praise you deserve.
Awaken the passion that I’ve kept tucked away for
a rainy day.
It’s all about you, Lord. Not me — but you.
Before I get out of this chair, I will lift my hands
and say aloud the Lord’s Prayer. Today I will
consider what all those words mean.
I will sing a hymn of praise while I comb my hair
and put on my socks.
I will not wait for another day.
I will make a joyful noise!”
- Missy Buchanan 

 

More Than We Have Apprehended

Ray Ortlund post:  Rich store of every kind of good abounds in him

“We see that our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ.  We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else.   If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it is of him.  If we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, they will be found in his anointing.  If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion; if purity, in his conception; if gentleness, it appears in his birth.  For by his birth he was made like us in all respects, that he might learn to feel our pain.  If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion; if acquittal, in his condemnation; if remission of the curse, in his cross; if satisfaction, in his sacrifice; if purification, in his blood; if reconciliation, in his descent into hell; if mortification of the flesh, in his tomb; if newness of life, in his resurrection; if immortality, in the same; if inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom, in his entrance into heaven; if protection, if security, if abundant supply of all blessings, in his Kingdom; if untroubled expectation of judgment, in the power given to him to judge.  In short, since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other.”

John Calvin, Institutes, 2.16.19.

This is the hyperfocus-on-Christ I cherish.  We will never exhaust him.  We have only begun to enter in.  There is more for us in Christ than we have yet apprehended.  So much more.  Faith in this great Christ creates an exploring openness, an adoring expectancy, an eager pursuit.

Star Player

LifeToday Devotional

The 12th Man
by Randy Robison

On January 2, 1922, the underdog Aggies of Texas A&M took to the field against mighty Centre College, the number one team in the country. Back then, the small agricultural school did not have an abundance of players on the team. As the hard-fought gridiron battle wore on, injuries and fatigue forced the Aggies to dig deeply into their limited reserves.

Sensing the possibility of running out of players, coach Dana Bible remembered a squad man who was not suited up for the championship game. His name was E. King Gill and he was up in the press box helping identify players for reporters. Gill had played football in the regular season, but was now only playing basketball.

Coach Bible sent for Gill. Gill suited up in an injured Aggie’s uniform and stood ready throughout the rest of the game. When the game finally ended, A&M had upset Centre College by a score of 22-14. On the sidelines, E. King Gill was the only man left standing. Gill was later quoted as saying, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me."

Gill’s enthusiasm and willingness to serve inspired a movement that lasts to this day. At all Texas A&M football games, the entire student body stands by as “the 12th man,” symbolizing their spirit and devotion. The slogan is plastered across their stadium and a bronze statue of Gill greets those attending the games.

The book of Daniel tells the well-known story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They chose to stand for God, instead of bowing down King Nebuchadnezzar. Consequently, they were condemned to death. But as the three faithful young men were thrown into a fiery pit, something miraculous happened.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

(Daniel 3:16-25, NIV)

God’s presence was there in the fire with those who stood firmly for Him. They trusted God, whether he chose to save their lives or not. In their case, they walked away unharmed.

However you count it – fourth man or 12th man – the principle remains the same. God wants to be a part of our lives. As we stand for Him, he will stand with us. Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32, NLT)

Here’s the critical point: we must ask God into our lives. The Bible says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in…” (Revelation 3:20, NIV) God has granted us the choice to live our lives without Him, trying to make it under our own power. Yet, like that willing athlete on the sidelines, He awaits our call.

Many of us go through our daily life trying to make decisions on our own. Sure, we call ourselves believers, but like the Aggies, we leave our “12th man” on the sideline. It may give us comfort to know that He is there, but we never really ask Him into the game.

What we fail to realize is that Jesus Christ is our star player. He’s the difference maker on every play! Once we start to ask Him to participate in our daily lives, even in the things we think are small or unimportant, we will find victory. Jesus will not force Himself on you. If you truly want God to bless your life, you must ask. If you really want to Jesus Christ to play a central role in your daily affairs, you must ask.

Don’t leave your “12th man” on the sidelines. Ask Him to join in today.

Faith and Grace, Not Fear and Guilt

Excerpts from Tullian Tchividjian post:  The Gospel And The Law

Back in May I posted an interview that my friend Justin Taylor did with me for my book Surprised by Grace. Since the book is (essentially) on the outworking of the gospel in the life of Christians, Justin asked me a few questions about the gospel and the law, especially as it relates to Christian motivation.
Even though I posted this only five and a half months ago, I thought it might answer questions that some have asked with regard to Sinclair Ferguson’s quote that I posted the other day on the Gospel and sanctification.

Is the gospel a middle ground between legalism and lawlessness?


This seems to be a common misunderstanding in the church today. I hear people say that there are two equal dangers Christians must avoid: legalism and lawlessness. Legalism, they say, happens when you focus too much on law, or rules. Lawlessness, they say, happens when you focus too much on grace.

Therefore, in order to maintain spiritual equilibrium, you have to balance law and grace. Legalism and lawlessness are typically presented as two ditches on either side of the Gospel that we must avoid. If you start getting too much law, you need to balance it with grace. Too much grace, you need to balance it with law. But I’ve come to believe that this “balanced” way of framing the issue can unwittingly keep us from really understanding the gospel of grace in all of its depth and beauty.

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So the choice is between submitting to the rule of Christ or submitting to self-rule?

Right. There are two “laws” we can choose to live by other than Christ: the law which says “I can find freedom and fullness of life if I keep the rules” or the law which says “I can find freedom and fullness of life if I break the rules.”

Both are legalistic in this sense: one “life rule” has as its goal the keeping of rules; the other “life rule” has as its goal the breaking of rules. But both are a rule of life you’re submitting to—a rule of life that is governing you—which is defined by you and your ability to perform. Success is determined by your capacity to break the rules or keep the rules. Either way you’re still trying to “save” yourself—which means both are legalistic because both are self-salvation projects.

If most people outside the church are guilty of “break the rules” legalism, most people inside the church are guilty of “keep the rules” legalism.


What do you say to folks who think we need to “keep grace in check” by giving out some law?

Doing so proves that we don’t understand grace and we violate gospel advancement in our lives and in the church. A “yes, grace…but” disposition is the kind of posture that keeps moralism swirling around in the church. Some of us think the only way to keep licentious people in line is by giving them the law. But the fact is, the only way licentious people start to obey is when they get a taste of God’s radical acceptance of sinners. The more Jesus is held up as being sufficient for our justification and sanctification, the more we begin to die to ourselves and live to God. Those who end up obeying more are those who increasingly understand that their standing with God is not based on their obedience, but Christ’s.


But don’t Christians need to be shaken out of their comfort zones?


Yes—but you don’t do it by giving them law; you do it by giving them gospel. The Apostle Paul never uses the law as a way to motivate obedience; he always uses the gospel. Paul always soaks gospel obligations in gospel declarations because God is not concerned with just any kind of obedience; he’s concerned with a certain kind of obedience (as Cain and Abel’s sacrifice illustrates). The obedience that pleases God is obedience that flows from faith—faith in what God has already done, and trust for what he will do in the future. And even though we need to obey even if we don’t feel like it, long-term, sustained, heart-felt, gospel motivated obedience can only come from faith and grace; not fear and guilt. Behavioral compliance without heart change, which only the gospel can do, will be shallow and short lived. Or, as I like to say, imperatives minus indicatives equal impossibilities.

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Classes

Excerpts from Ed Stetzer post:  Thursday Is for Thinkers: Trevin Wax

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Today, I am excited to have Trevin Wax here at the blog. As I explained when I blogged about him a few weeks ago, Trevin has just started here at LifeWay as editor of a new curriculum -- I will be serving as General Editor. I invited Trevin to write a post laying out his vision for this exciting venture.  ...

Here's what I envision (and I'd love to get your feedback!):

1. Deep, but not Dry - The term that has been used to describe this new curriculum is "theologically driven." That's not to say that other curriculum options aren't theological, only that these weekly lessons will be known primarily for digging deep into biblical theology.

I think it's best to expect a lot out of those who attend a small group or Sunday School class. We need not adopt a "No Child Left Behind" mentality, as if we can and should go only as deep as the least knowledgeable person in the group. We don't think this way in real life. When our son was still on baby food, we didn't stop eating steak and potatoes. Neither did we stop feeding our son solid food when our daughter came along. Instead, we gathered as a family and ate together (some of us more than others!).
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2. Christ-Centered. I don't want a week to go by without Jesus being present in our lesson. Jesus is the hero of every Bible story. He's present in all its pages. The Scriptures are His word to our churches.
Tying everything to the gospel doesn't mean that every lesson will end with a bullet-point presentation and the Sinner's Prayer. But a Christ-centered lesson is drenched in gospel truth. Everything revolves around Christ's death and resurrection and our need to repent and believe.

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3. Story-focused. Being Christ-centered naturally brings our focus to the overarching Story that the Bible tells in four parts:

• Creation
• Fall
• Redemption
• Restoration

In my experience teaching Christians in their twenties and thirties (some who grew up in church, and others who did not), I have discovered that though they may be familiar with certain Bible stories, they are not always sure how the stories fit together into the Bible as a whole. By focusing on the grand narrative of Scripture, I hope that our curriculum will help us connect the dots and think as Christians formed by the great Story that tells the truth about our world.

4. Mission-driven. Telling the story of the Bible is impossible without leading to mission, as the story of the gospel reveals the heart of our missionary God and his desire to save people of every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Too many of our Sunday School classes and small groups view our weekly meetings in terms of consumerist expectations. We come; we sit; we receive teaching; we leave. Even groups that prize participation can fall prey to the same temptation. We come; we sit; we talk; we leave.

A gospel-centered curriculum should be driven by the character of our missionary God seen most clearly in the person of Jesus Christ. Our weekly gatherings are not the goal of the mission; they are the means by which we connect with one another and learn God's Word in order that we might be equipped to love God and neighbor while spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.

The goal is not to fill our heads with theological truth but to fuel our hearts with passion to join God on his mission to bring people to himself. Keeping a focus on how the gospel leads us to mission is a crucial aspect of how we apply the Bible to our lives.

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One Thing

Perry Noble post:  What's The "One Thing" That Is Holding You Back?

The story of the Rich Young Ruler has always seized my attention.  (You can read it in Mark 10:17-22)  Jesus told him in verse Mark 10:21 that there was basically ONE THING that was holding him back from being His follower.  (And the guy was unwilling to give up that one thing!)

I’ve been in ministry for about 20 years now…and through my personal experiences and with what I’ve seen in others I’ve basically identified four “one things” that commonly hold people back.

#1 – Money – Jesus said that money is the number one competitor for our hearts.  (See Matthew 6:19-24)  Paul gave specific warnings regarding money (I Timothy 6:6-19).  And…we know from the story that this was the rich young rulers problem.  We cannot be fully committed followers of Christ if greed is the obsession of our hearts.  God is generous…His followers should be as well.

#2 – Anger/Unforgiveness – What Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15 does not get a lot of press, but the importance of His statement is VITAL and ESSENTIAL to you and I having a dynamic, victorious walk with Jesus.  He flat out said that if we do not forgive, we are not forgiven.  (Also see I John 2:9-11)  We cannot pursue Jesus with all our hearts if bitterness and unforgivness dominates our minds and hearts.  One of the things that we miss so often in reading the book of Job is that God DID bless Job and more than restore all that he had lost…but He did so AFTER Job forgave and prayed for his legalistic friends who had done nothing but tear him down for days!  (See Job 42:10).  MAYBE the reason you cannot move forward in your walk with Christ is because you are not willing to extend the same forgiveness you claim that God has given to you.

#3 – Unconfessed Sin – Is there an issue that God keeps coming after that you refuse to let go of.  Remember…He will RELENTLESSLY pursue your heart, not your behavior.  AND…to KNOW Him intimately is to obey Him immediately!! We’ve GOT to remember that “delayed obedience” is radical disobedience.  If He’s coming after something in your life it is only because He wants to replace it with something better.  (Read Mark 10:17 again and notice that the Bible specifically says that Jesus LOVED this guy…and out of that love He came after the idol in the guys life!)  My advice here would simply be to let go of whatever He’s after…AND…if He’s clearly spoken to you about an issue then just do what He says…He’s not changing His mind!

#4 – An Ungodly Relationship – You cannot pursue an affair and pursue Jesus.  You cannot have sex with someone you are not married to and pursue Jesus.  You cannot date someone that Jesus says not to date and be close to Him.  Some people have their identity in who they are dating (or having sex with) rather than Christ…and this ALWAYS destroys our fellowship with Him.

I am sure there are other things that we all deal with…but these are four things that so often hold us back from being who God wants us to be!