Saturday, March 23, 2013
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Discipleship
...and Christ will be them, even TO THE END OF THE AGE – this is NOT exclusively for the original apostles.. 1) to the ENTIRE church historical, BECAUSE it is given to its FOUNDERS and clearly to be heard UNTIL the return of Christ, 2) to “sent ones” only?? We are ALL commanded to teach one another.. Ephesians 4.. we all take part. One must be CALLED to be an apostle, recognized to be a pastor.. each part functioning properly for the building up of itself in love. Should any member of the body of Christ view the instruction of our God and Lord as directed only to “leaders”? This would seem to be an erroneous view, a misunderstanding of what Christ has instructed before His ascension. So what does it mean? Each person’s regiment of ministry, taking others through a certain discipleship curriculum, meeting 1-1 on a regular basis, “hands-on ministry training”, always having the timely teaching and ever-ready piece of wisdom or doctrine (almost as if to visually picture Christ leading His disciples)..?? Is this the essential picture of discipleship? These are all WONDERFUL, and most are convicting. These are specific manifestations of what it seems the Scriptures teach that discipleship is concerned with: BEING a disciple yourself - a perfecting work of Christ, always seeking and being changed more into His likeness; under pastoral authority and teaching, and living in loving relationship in my local church family in such a way that the communal nature of NT teaching is ALIVE in our hearts; primary obedience to the law of Christ, foundationally to love God with all and to love others as Christ loved us; translating love into specific obedience, INCLUDING teaching and exhorting one another in the Word of Christ; loving Christ by using the spiritual gift(s) He’s given you in accordance with the ministries He’s given you for the building up of the body of Christ (teaching, ministry, helping, administration, leading, faith, wisdom, serving, giving, pasturing, tongues, prophecy, healings) and including the special call to serve God and personal desire and/or authoritative recognition for serving the local church as an elder or deacon; as we grow in grace, fight to believe and love our neighbor, we respond to the opportunities and burdens God brings as we walk in the good works He has planned for us, and we submit and ground our desires and ministries and plans in His word and sound doctrine and in the centrality of our call to be saints and our delight to obey the Lord, faithful in the command (outreaching and blessing work) of Christ AS we are a faithful disciples OF Christ. Notice, it IS significant that those younger in the faith (not necessarily in AGE) are impressionable and often seeking and always learning from the example of those who have gone before them. In discipleship, The NT seems to teach as equally valid that those of ALL ages (and both sexes) and places in their walk with Christ (ex - 25-yo who’s known the Lord for years longer than a 75-yo convert) are to submit to one another, teach and exhort (counsel) one another, and let the word of Christ abide richly, serve one another as better than themselves, be examples to one another of wisdom and in the Spirit, rebuke and correct one another speaking truth and love and in gentleness and humility. Father please teach us about what is this that has been given from the Lord Jesus. Please give us grace to be faithful to You oh God.
Remembering Singleness
There is a sense of loneliness and even feeling lost, when you live alone..
Since coming to Richmond I never thought I should truly “feel lonely” because there was always so much work to do.. so much to study, so many who need the Gospel, so many to teach and disciple.
Father thank You for companionship, thank You for my wife Vanesa.
There are MANY good things to DO.. but God has also made us to function in relationships. When there is companionship, there is a more natural joy rather than the peace and joy that is found when seeking the Lord out of loneliness. Are not both GOOD? I would be a proponent of the latter, and see God’s grace in it (in the seeking God which is required when one finds himself lonely).
Help me to understand as much as I need to, to know YOU better, to be more THANKFUL, to know man and to be able to counsel him, and to better thrive in the Gospel, making disciples.
Since being married there has rarely been the sense which was previously SOO inundating, of “being lost” and not knowing what to do.. especially during unscheduled time, after naps, etc. Overwhelming anxious feeling.
The constant presence of another soul, who has jointly committed herself to be with me, has been more of a blessing than I could ever know. Father, I am weak, and You know my needs.
Thank you for the personality of my wife, the beauty, the character. Thank you for Vanesa Father.
You HAVE ordained that I be married! Haha, I am married! Until death do us part. You have ordained my marriage with Vanesa for my good, and I thank You for it. For my good and Your glory!
Keep my heart worshipping and seeking Christ MORE than ever! Keep me sacrificially leading and serving and LOVING my wife, increasingly and in the example and power and transformation unto Christ! Keep me APPRECIATING, THANKFUL for our marriage! Even this talk of “we don’t need each other, but we want each other”.. it does feel like I need her, in the same way that I need air and food and rest.. my marriage with her is a gift from the giver of all good gifts.
If I would seek Your provision out of loneliness, BEFORE marriage, let me seek Your provision NOW to BE a godly husband, placing my wife before myself, giving up my life for her. Show me what that means, Father.
Your presence is always with me oh God.
More than that, You have shown your love for me on the cross of Jesus Christ, who gave His life to redeem my from my sin.
Much of what could be called “loneliness” is a sense of being “behind” others.. that while I am here in my house in this state of loneliness, others are busy in relationships, earning degrees and advancing in their careers. THIS is a dividing line. This is a clear identification of a consuming, besetting sin. A manifestation of unbelief in God’s perfect provision for Jordan, whom He has redeemed. At the worst, this sin has become so consuming that I wonder if I could be saved, to be so consumed.
IS this feeling covetousness??
This “lost” feeling.. does it dissipate when I stop thinking about others (in a “left out” way)?
.. yes. If I am simply here and now, and I am not thinking what others (usually SPECIFIC others.. perhaps needful to consider also.. WHO am I comparing myself to and WHY.. help for identifying idols..)
It used to be that I would think about the great lostness (in terms of salvation) in the world.. if I found myself with a spare moment, I would
COVETING YOUR NEIGHBORS WIFE.. is this the sin of the heart when lonely and thinking about the “prosperity” of others?
See, NOW I don’t feel “lonely” as I did before.. WHY? Confession of sin?
There were men, individuals, who played a huge part in God’s grace, my sanctification. Men like Jack Skiltus. They were there for me, and I was too beset to truly remember the part they played, in my thoughts and my life. Outside influencers of your thoughts.. it seems most often that you just REALIZE that you are thinking differently NOW than you were at a certain point in the past, AND you remember not where and how introduced the seeds of that change in thinking from the outside.
Father You have dealt bountifully with us. Please help me to identify and confess EVERY SIN oh God! YES covetousness, but ALL sin! The unbelief of anxiety! Oh to be reminded of Your truth, to KNOW how to deal with these sins of the heart. There is NO sense of IGNORING sins of the heart so that I can focus on “bigger things”. There are of course responsibilities and ministries and primary callings in life (marriage for example) that require the time and thought energy.. however as God provides the opportunity, we MUST take care to examine ourselves in the light of the Word of God, by the Holy Spirit, in the counsel and encouragement of others in the local church, in our moment by moment choices of thought.
Since coming to Richmond I never thought I should truly “feel lonely” because there was always so much work to do.. so much to study, so many who need the Gospel, so many to teach and disciple.
Father thank You for companionship, thank You for my wife Vanesa.
There are MANY good things to DO.. but God has also made us to function in relationships. When there is companionship, there is a more natural joy rather than the peace and joy that is found when seeking the Lord out of loneliness. Are not both GOOD? I would be a proponent of the latter, and see God’s grace in it (in the seeking God which is required when one finds himself lonely).
Help me to understand as much as I need to, to know YOU better, to be more THANKFUL, to know man and to be able to counsel him, and to better thrive in the Gospel, making disciples.
Since being married there has rarely been the sense which was previously SOO inundating, of “being lost” and not knowing what to do.. especially during unscheduled time, after naps, etc. Overwhelming anxious feeling.
The constant presence of another soul, who has jointly committed herself to be with me, has been more of a blessing than I could ever know. Father, I am weak, and You know my needs.
Thank you for the personality of my wife, the beauty, the character. Thank you for Vanesa Father.
You HAVE ordained that I be married! Haha, I am married! Until death do us part. You have ordained my marriage with Vanesa for my good, and I thank You for it. For my good and Your glory!
Keep my heart worshipping and seeking Christ MORE than ever! Keep me sacrificially leading and serving and LOVING my wife, increasingly and in the example and power and transformation unto Christ! Keep me APPRECIATING, THANKFUL for our marriage! Even this talk of “we don’t need each other, but we want each other”.. it does feel like I need her, in the same way that I need air and food and rest.. my marriage with her is a gift from the giver of all good gifts.
If I would seek Your provision out of loneliness, BEFORE marriage, let me seek Your provision NOW to BE a godly husband, placing my wife before myself, giving up my life for her. Show me what that means, Father.
Your presence is always with me oh God.
More than that, You have shown your love for me on the cross of Jesus Christ, who gave His life to redeem my from my sin.
Much of what could be called “loneliness” is a sense of being “behind” others.. that while I am here in my house in this state of loneliness, others are busy in relationships, earning degrees and advancing in their careers. THIS is a dividing line. This is a clear identification of a consuming, besetting sin. A manifestation of unbelief in God’s perfect provision for Jordan, whom He has redeemed. At the worst, this sin has become so consuming that I wonder if I could be saved, to be so consumed.
IS this feeling covetousness??
This “lost” feeling.. does it dissipate when I stop thinking about others (in a “left out” way)?
.. yes. If I am simply here and now, and I am not thinking what others (usually SPECIFIC others.. perhaps needful to consider also.. WHO am I comparing myself to and WHY.. help for identifying idols..)
It used to be that I would think about the great lostness (in terms of salvation) in the world.. if I found myself with a spare moment, I would
COVETING YOUR NEIGHBORS WIFE.. is this the sin of the heart when lonely and thinking about the “prosperity” of others?
See, NOW I don’t feel “lonely” as I did before.. WHY? Confession of sin?
There were men, individuals, who played a huge part in God’s grace, my sanctification. Men like Jack Skiltus. They were there for me, and I was too beset to truly remember the part they played, in my thoughts and my life. Outside influencers of your thoughts.. it seems most often that you just REALIZE that you are thinking differently NOW than you were at a certain point in the past, AND you remember not where and how introduced the seeds of that change in thinking from the outside.
Father You have dealt bountifully with us. Please help me to identify and confess EVERY SIN oh God! YES covetousness, but ALL sin! The unbelief of anxiety! Oh to be reminded of Your truth, to KNOW how to deal with these sins of the heart. There is NO sense of IGNORING sins of the heart so that I can focus on “bigger things”. There are of course responsibilities and ministries and primary callings in life (marriage for example) that require the time and thought energy.. however as God provides the opportunity, we MUST take care to examine ourselves in the light of the Word of God, by the Holy Spirit, in the counsel and encouragement of others in the local church, in our moment by moment choices of thought.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
We see the eternal weight of our sin in:
The sacrificial death of God the Son, the sinless Lamb of God (to Christians, who esteem God)
The existence of eternal, conscious judgment by God in Hell (to the unbelieving, whose life is their most prized possession)
Satan sinned, the angels sinned, once, and the King of Heaven judged them, allowing time for them to heap even more judgment on themselves.
God is being patient, not wishing that any perish.
Rejecting Christ is trampling on the sacrificial blood of Christ, counting as worthless the precious death of God the Son. This is the most heinous of sins. Oh to count as worthless the mercy of God in Christ His Son.
Repentance is obedience to God, initial obedience of turning from sin.
Is worldly enjoyment of your life your most prized possession? God made you, and He created the concept of enjoyment. He takes pleasure in what reflects His greatness. Taking pleasure in the creation MORE than the Creator is called idolatry. Your sin against God has ruined God’s pleasure in you. God has these rights, since He is God, the Creator, the Most High – God will judge every man. God is perfect. If found guilty of even one sin against God, the perfect and eternal God must judge us with a perfectly just and eternal punishment. There is ONE man whose life and character HAVE PERFECTLY pleased God. The decisions we’ve made have consequences. These consequences are God’s perfectly just and eternal judgment of us, who have chosen to violate our conscience by living for temporary pleasures, RATHER than recognizing God in our life. God does not WANT to punish sinners. Jesus Christ gave up His rights as the Son of God and laid down His life to pay the penalty for the decisions YOU AND I have made. This is the greatest way we can understand the perfection of God – that our rebellion as humans was so heinous..
The sacrificial death of God the Son, the sinless Lamb of God (to Christians, who esteem God)
The existence of eternal, conscious judgment by God in Hell (to the unbelieving, whose life is their most prized possession)
Satan sinned, the angels sinned, once, and the King of Heaven judged them, allowing time for them to heap even more judgment on themselves.
God is being patient, not wishing that any perish.
Rejecting Christ is trampling on the sacrificial blood of Christ, counting as worthless the precious death of God the Son. This is the most heinous of sins. Oh to count as worthless the mercy of God in Christ His Son.
Repentance is obedience to God, initial obedience of turning from sin.
Is worldly enjoyment of your life your most prized possession? God made you, and He created the concept of enjoyment. He takes pleasure in what reflects His greatness. Taking pleasure in the creation MORE than the Creator is called idolatry. Your sin against God has ruined God’s pleasure in you. God has these rights, since He is God, the Creator, the Most High – God will judge every man. God is perfect. If found guilty of even one sin against God, the perfect and eternal God must judge us with a perfectly just and eternal punishment. There is ONE man whose life and character HAVE PERFECTLY pleased God. The decisions we’ve made have consequences. These consequences are God’s perfectly just and eternal judgment of us, who have chosen to violate our conscience by living for temporary pleasures, RATHER than recognizing God in our life. God does not WANT to punish sinners. Jesus Christ gave up His rights as the Son of God and laid down His life to pay the penalty for the decisions YOU AND I have made. This is the greatest way we can understand the perfection of God – that our rebellion as humans was so heinous..
Monday, May 18, 2009
5-18-09
Tonight, some dear friends shared with me the story of their coming to America. She was a highly-sought child physician at the most prestigious hospital in the world, Beijing Children's Hospital. He decided he needed to take them to the United States for a superior education in Health Economics. How do I know such excellent people? In response to his leadership, she left a job that all of her med school classmates envied her over, at the most renown hospital in Asia, to accompany her husband to America, to a small city on the Eastern seaboard, at a school not many have heard of, and not even to work. She wont be able to regain her position if they were to return. This woman left the job of her dreams, and a presigious one by anyone's estimate, to follow her husband. I asked him what kind of pressure that laid on him, to guarantee that this was the right decision. He said it was immense. But she did this in love, without demanding an equitable return ("we'll have more wealth this way in the long run"), she loved him and would follow him wherever he went. Pressure should he feel not, but love. And his response to her will be in love, as they journey, as he labors at the new school, all in love. Were it in duty or even a spirit "needing to make it up", resentment and distance and death would have occured. For how could he put a price on her great sacrifice for him? His acting out of duty would and should be a grotesque offense to her, to attach that as the price of her sacrifice, doubly so, as she did it in love and not for repayment. Be this friend of mine YOU and me - all who are in Christ.. may we live out of love for what Jesus Christ did for us, and truly see the abomination we try to live in our hearts when we seek to live as repayment. We live as worship, as people ENABLED to worship, DESIRING to worship by the Holy Spirit, our eyes on Jesus. NOT as compelled to worship. Loving the God Who would send the Lamb to suffer the terrible wrath of God against sin, to reconcile us to Himself. Oh to know this love! Only in the cross! What did Christ do for me? Jesus - through whom the heavens and the earth and ages were made - came in the form of a sinful man and humbled Himself to the point of death? How could I ever rightly respond to that ?? Love. And love only possible by responding to the love of the sacrificial Giver for me. There is no other basis in the universe for such affection for anything.
As far as my friends, we are also the wife. Christ is leading us away from all we ever wanted in life, had invested in, and were capable of. He may be leading us to what seems so much less glorious, and we follow because we love Him.
Father thank You for this analogy, for Christ and the church and how marriage is a picture of it. Father oh for grace to love Jesus. Father oh for grace to behold His glory in the Gospel, more now than when I first beheld it in some way. I love you, please help me to love you. Oh for a mortal heart to love the immortal God.
As far as my friends, we are also the wife. Christ is leading us away from all we ever wanted in life, had invested in, and were capable of. He may be leading us to what seems so much less glorious, and we follow because we love Him.
Father thank You for this analogy, for Christ and the church and how marriage is a picture of it. Father oh for grace to love Jesus. Father oh for grace to behold His glory in the Gospel, more now than when I first beheld it in some way. I love you, please help me to love you. Oh for a mortal heart to love the immortal God.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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