Martin Luther: "This life therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness, not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished but it is going on; this is not the end but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified.”
Today is my last day of classes here at The Master's College in California. My cup is overflowing. I have pages and pages of notes, both academic and personal. The Lord has been good to me,beyond any expectations I ever had for my life! There is so much to share, and yet I still have a few hours of class to go, and an overnight flight back to Florida. In the days ahead, I hope to share a lot here on this site to encourage and instruct my own heart to carry out the things I have learned and desire to apply to myself. I am planning to overhaul the blog and Lord-willing, it will be a means of reaching out to others in a more personal way. But the primary goal, for myself and the benefit of others, will certainly be Christlikeness. I want to be like my Savior, more and more. May He conform us and restore us to His image by transforming our hearts and minds!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Weaknesses
I am weak. Anyone who knows me at all knows this. I am quick to judge. I am slow to see my sin sometimes. There are days when I sink under my fear of man. I have a lot of pride. I make assumptions about what people mean and then respond according to my assumptions instead of truth. I don’t love people enough. When I do love people, there are often still conditions attached to that love. I am self-pitying. I don’t always believe all that God is for me in Christ Jesus. I forget to crucify my flesh moment by moment and quickly become consumed with my perceived needs or rights. I think that bad circumstances are the result of my personal failure to pray rightly one morning or because I failed to have my quiet time that day. I am weak.
These weaknesses are rooted in my sinful heart and that has become more and more evident in recent weeks. Before I came to California I was praying specifically that the Lord would use this time away from my normal routines and responsibilities, asking Him do a work in my heart that would be lasting. The more we grow as Christians, it is natural to see more and more of our sin – not so much the behaviors anymore but the inner workings of the heart. If we don’t then we should take heed and examine our spiritual progress. God has definitely taught me many things this month here at school. I pray that my heart will be fervent and steadfast to persevere in imitating my great Savior. May the leaves of sin continually be pruned away and the righteous attitudes of Christ be cultivated deep within my heart.
So I am weak. But my Lord says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9,10). Obviously, this doesn’t mean that my sin is an unimportant issue. But it does mean that I have hope; hope that my weaknesses will point to the righteousness and power of my precious Jesus. Even my best deeds and most biblically sound thoughts are still infested with sinful meditations. So my only hope is to wait upon Him – “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my HOPE is from Him” (Psalm 62:5). My only hope to grow in Christlikeness and to overcome these weaknesses is to call upon the Lord for help! May His power then be the only thing that others can look to when they see my weaknesses fall away. My weaknesses reflect the power of God!
These weaknesses are rooted in my sinful heart and that has become more and more evident in recent weeks. Before I came to California I was praying specifically that the Lord would use this time away from my normal routines and responsibilities, asking Him do a work in my heart that would be lasting. The more we grow as Christians, it is natural to see more and more of our sin – not so much the behaviors anymore but the inner workings of the heart. If we don’t then we should take heed and examine our spiritual progress. God has definitely taught me many things this month here at school. I pray that my heart will be fervent and steadfast to persevere in imitating my great Savior. May the leaves of sin continually be pruned away and the righteous attitudes of Christ be cultivated deep within my heart.
So I am weak. But my Lord says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9,10). Obviously, this doesn’t mean that my sin is an unimportant issue. But it does mean that I have hope; hope that my weaknesses will point to the righteousness and power of my precious Jesus. Even my best deeds and most biblically sound thoughts are still infested with sinful meditations. So my only hope is to wait upon Him – “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my HOPE is from Him” (Psalm 62:5). My only hope to grow in Christlikeness and to overcome these weaknesses is to call upon the Lord for help! May His power then be the only thing that others can look to when they see my weaknesses fall away. My weaknesses reflect the power of God!
Friday, July 17, 2009
Holiness
The following are notes from a lesson I heard taught last Sunday at Grace Community Church in CA by Pastor Jim Pile. I have to say that it was one of the most encouraging and helpful lessons I have heard….here goes:
Opening Quote – “A holy person masters the world while the carnal person is mastered by it.”
Marks of True Practical Holiness:
1. Holiness is the practice of being of one mind with God, according to His revealed will found in Scripture. – Psalm 119:1
2. A Christian who pursues holiness will shun every known sin and keep God’s commandments. – Psalm 119:112, 128 – Do you truly hate your sin? Are you shunning it AND replacing it by putting on righteous behaviors and biblical thinking?
3. A Christian who pursues holiness will strive to be like Christ. – I Pt. 2:21 – Are you every day becoming more loving, more forgiving, more submissive, doing good to all people?
4. A Christian who pursues holiness will walk in gentleness and humility. – Mtt. 11:28-30 – Are you know to be this way, do these qualities characterize your life?
5. A Christian pursuing holiness will follow after purity of heart. – Rom. 13:14 and Mtt. 5:8 – You must hate all things that are filthy or would even draw you into sin – even things that are not beneficial for the sake of your weaker Christian brother.
6. A Christian pursuing holiness will follow after the fear of God. – Neh. 5:14,15 and Prv. 9:10 – Not as a slave who fears punishment, but out of love.
7. A Christian pursuing holiness will be faithful in all of one’s duties and relations in life. – Dan. 6:4,5 and Col. 3:23 – Holy people will aim at doing everything well!
8. A Christian who is pursuing holiness will focus on the things above. – Col. 3:2 – We are strangers in this land!
I will follow up with the second half of this lesson – the means of pursuing holiness – in the coming days. A lot to consider here!
Opening Quote – “A holy person masters the world while the carnal person is mastered by it.”
Marks of True Practical Holiness:
1. Holiness is the practice of being of one mind with God, according to His revealed will found in Scripture. – Psalm 119:1
2. A Christian who pursues holiness will shun every known sin and keep God’s commandments. – Psalm 119:112, 128 – Do you truly hate your sin? Are you shunning it AND replacing it by putting on righteous behaviors and biblical thinking?
3. A Christian who pursues holiness will strive to be like Christ. – I Pt. 2:21 – Are you every day becoming more loving, more forgiving, more submissive, doing good to all people?
4. A Christian who pursues holiness will walk in gentleness and humility. – Mtt. 11:28-30 – Are you know to be this way, do these qualities characterize your life?
5. A Christian pursuing holiness will follow after purity of heart. – Rom. 13:14 and Mtt. 5:8 – You must hate all things that are filthy or would even draw you into sin – even things that are not beneficial for the sake of your weaker Christian brother.
6. A Christian pursuing holiness will follow after the fear of God. – Neh. 5:14,15 and Prv. 9:10 – Not as a slave who fears punishment, but out of love.
7. A Christian pursuing holiness will be faithful in all of one’s duties and relations in life. – Dan. 6:4,5 and Col. 3:23 – Holy people will aim at doing everything well!
8. A Christian who is pursuing holiness will focus on the things above. – Col. 3:2 – We are strangers in this land!
I will follow up with the second half of this lesson – the means of pursuing holiness – in the coming days. A lot to consider here!
Friday, July 10, 2009
The Four C's of the Local Church
In my class, “Theological Basis of Biblical Counseling”, taught by Dr. Baker at The Master’s College, we have been studying the practices and purposes of the local body of Christ. We have spent over ten hours on this topic throughout this week, so consider the following points just a brief snippet of the whole. The point is that we must evaluate our churches in light of these four points and carefully examine how we are not balancing them properly in our own local body.
Content – Head:
This is the knowledge portion of church membership and participation. It is the preaching of the Word, the faithful exegesis of Scripture being proclaimed to God’s people on a regular basis. This is the necessary foundation for any other pursuits in the body of Christ. Eph. 4:11-13 – Saints mature by pastors equipping saints to do the work of the gospel. The end result is making a person like Christ. The pastor’s role is to unleash the potential of the church, getting the saints to do the work of the ministry and as they do so, they grow in the measure of Christ. This leads to the next “C” because it point to the fact that maturity is not knowledge, but knowledge and application!
Character – Heart
This is the “goodness” described in Ephesians 4. This refers to the workings of the inner person that have matured and been cultivated by the knowledge, or content. This is discipleship, which is not what we tend to typically think of when we say discipleship. It does not mean we meet every week and work through a book while enjoying some Starbucks. This means we are intentionally doing what we have learned by developing the inner person. Our character is the overflow of knowledge. This is obedience motivated by love for Christ. It is the unleashing of a desire to be Christlike in all ways!
Competence – Hands
This is the ability being described in Ephesians 4. Here is the outer manifestation of the knowledge and character being produced within. It is the acts of service and sacrificial ministry within the body. This is seizing every opportunity to live out visibly the changed person who has been transformed by the knowledge of God’s Word and ways. Paul worked with individuals. He discipled people and did it heartily – Col. 1:28,29 – He labored to the point of exhaustion. He was a public proclaimer, but also a person who cared deeply about others. Am I laboring to the point of exhaustion in developing a Christlike character? People talk about the things they find satisfying and the things they love. If people were more satisfied with Christ, we wouldn’t have to be placing guilt trips on people to get them on the mission field. Are you overwhelmed with God’s goodness and so satisfied with Him that He is all you can talk about? The tendency of man is to turn things into duty instead of delighting in obedience. What increases your love for the Lord?
Community – Home
This is the practicing of the “one anothers”. The phrase “one another” is used over 100 times in the New Testament. Obviously it was an integral part of the New Testament church and was intended to be part of our church today. I fear that many of us are well-equipped in the content and possibly even the character, but are failing miserably to exemplify competence. The warning here is that if we see that trend in our churches, then we should consider if the character we think we have is truly genuine or are we deceiving ourselves by our knowledge?
To make these four points come to life, consider this example (which my professor actually did in his church when he pastored for over twenty years):
A man comes in for counseling and you note a concern about his lack of leading his family in family worship. Instead of just telling him he needs to lead his family in worship, you invite him and his family for a meal, they join with you in your family worship, you discuss it at the next session, and then you take your family and go to their home so that he can lead in family worship with you observing. The goal is that the individual is no longer absorbing all the resources, but is being equipped to participate, and then is giving of himself to others.
I submit that as a local church we are too preoccupied with self, coming to the house of God on Sundays and even Wednesdays, studying the Word in personal time, and maybe even applying biblical principles in the raising of our children – but are we living in community with those in our local body? Would we be willing to do what this pastor did? To model a scriptural principle to another and his family, and then see it through by giving him the opportunity to learn it and apply it? It would seem that oftentimes we are only thoughtful to teach and hand out resources, but not so eager to dig into the trenches of each other’s daily lives. We want to give content, maybe take part in some ministry outreaches, yet live our own separate lives where we can hide away from God’s people and store up for ourselves the knowledge we have been so graciously given. Much to ponder in the days ahead…I pray that this time of equipping at school will not merely be content, but that I will seek to influence the body in whatever ways I am given opportunity. May I not soon forget these lessons!
Content – Head:
This is the knowledge portion of church membership and participation. It is the preaching of the Word, the faithful exegesis of Scripture being proclaimed to God’s people on a regular basis. This is the necessary foundation for any other pursuits in the body of Christ. Eph. 4:11-13 – Saints mature by pastors equipping saints to do the work of the gospel. The end result is making a person like Christ. The pastor’s role is to unleash the potential of the church, getting the saints to do the work of the ministry and as they do so, they grow in the measure of Christ. This leads to the next “C” because it point to the fact that maturity is not knowledge, but knowledge and application!
Character – Heart
This is the “goodness” described in Ephesians 4. This refers to the workings of the inner person that have matured and been cultivated by the knowledge, or content. This is discipleship, which is not what we tend to typically think of when we say discipleship. It does not mean we meet every week and work through a book while enjoying some Starbucks. This means we are intentionally doing what we have learned by developing the inner person. Our character is the overflow of knowledge. This is obedience motivated by love for Christ. It is the unleashing of a desire to be Christlike in all ways!
Competence – Hands
This is the ability being described in Ephesians 4. Here is the outer manifestation of the knowledge and character being produced within. It is the acts of service and sacrificial ministry within the body. This is seizing every opportunity to live out visibly the changed person who has been transformed by the knowledge of God’s Word and ways. Paul worked with individuals. He discipled people and did it heartily – Col. 1:28,29 – He labored to the point of exhaustion. He was a public proclaimer, but also a person who cared deeply about others. Am I laboring to the point of exhaustion in developing a Christlike character? People talk about the things they find satisfying and the things they love. If people were more satisfied with Christ, we wouldn’t have to be placing guilt trips on people to get them on the mission field. Are you overwhelmed with God’s goodness and so satisfied with Him that He is all you can talk about? The tendency of man is to turn things into duty instead of delighting in obedience. What increases your love for the Lord?
Community – Home
This is the practicing of the “one anothers”. The phrase “one another” is used over 100 times in the New Testament. Obviously it was an integral part of the New Testament church and was intended to be part of our church today. I fear that many of us are well-equipped in the content and possibly even the character, but are failing miserably to exemplify competence. The warning here is that if we see that trend in our churches, then we should consider if the character we think we have is truly genuine or are we deceiving ourselves by our knowledge?
To make these four points come to life, consider this example (which my professor actually did in his church when he pastored for over twenty years):
A man comes in for counseling and you note a concern about his lack of leading his family in family worship. Instead of just telling him he needs to lead his family in worship, you invite him and his family for a meal, they join with you in your family worship, you discuss it at the next session, and then you take your family and go to their home so that he can lead in family worship with you observing. The goal is that the individual is no longer absorbing all the resources, but is being equipped to participate, and then is giving of himself to others.
I submit that as a local church we are too preoccupied with self, coming to the house of God on Sundays and even Wednesdays, studying the Word in personal time, and maybe even applying biblical principles in the raising of our children – but are we living in community with those in our local body? Would we be willing to do what this pastor did? To model a scriptural principle to another and his family, and then see it through by giving him the opportunity to learn it and apply it? It would seem that oftentimes we are only thoughtful to teach and hand out resources, but not so eager to dig into the trenches of each other’s daily lives. We want to give content, maybe take part in some ministry outreaches, yet live our own separate lives where we can hide away from God’s people and store up for ourselves the knowledge we have been so graciously given. Much to ponder in the days ahead…I pray that this time of equipping at school will not merely be content, but that I will seek to influence the body in whatever ways I am given opportunity. May I not soon forget these lessons!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Learning a lot!!!
As I began my graduate school courses this week, I am already just overwhelmed with gratitude at the truth that is being expounded here. This morning we spent a good portion of time discussing counseling as related to parenting. While I am not a parent, many of my friends are, and with my previous teaching positions, I think this information is highly beneficial for either situation. I have not really spent time yet organizing these thoughts, so for right now I hope these bulleted points are an encouragement to some. They are taken from the course, Problems & Procedures (taught by Dr. John Street at The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, CA):
> An inattentive mind is often a lazy mind, which is actually selfishness! Call sin what it is in a child. It is not an inability to focus or keep attention, but a selfish heart!
> Use biblical terms when speaking with your child about their disobedience. The word "naughty" is not found anywhere in Scripture - if you want your child to think biblically about life, then you must teach them biblical language. The word "naughty" is primarily defined in the dictionary as "mischevious". This doesn't give a child an accurate picture of their sinfulness. It relates it to just one behavior, instead of revealing the entire picture of their heart, which is depraved and sinful in thought and deed. A child is not frustrated, they are not throwing a temper tantrum - they are angry! Anger is addressed consistently in the Bible, so by calling it by its true name, a parent can then teach the child that anger is a sin and what is to replace it - goodness and kindness.
> Failure to listen is selfishness and refusal to give honor (Rom. 12:10; Prv. 19:20, 27).
> The issue in child correction is not a lack of discipline, but a lack of dealing with the heart motives and intentions behind the sinful behavior. Even spanking can be akin to behavior therapy because without addressing the heart, you are merely training the child to be a Pharisee. There are twelve proverbs dealing with the heart before it even mentions the rod.
> It is absolutely essential to use the rod in disciplining a child, particularly in their youngest years; you will most certainly lose the battle if you don’t start out right. Furthermore, it is important to use a “rod” and not your hand when spanking; otherwise your hand becomes an instrument associated with punishment. Always take time to reevaluate your method of discipline. Using a paint stick or spoon on a young child can be helpful, but as the child moves through the toddler years, this will certainly not be as effective, particularly if you are only spanking the child lightly and leaving their diaper on, which provides a great deal of “padding”. A child is not going to tell you that it does not hurt any longer, in their deceptive hearts, they will desire to keep it the way it is and as easy as possible.
> Don’t treat every child the same. Some children may require a great deal more amount of time and attention, causing you to have to make choices and sacrifices to maintain their discipline and growth.
> Be intentional about having a plan for how others, including grandparents and family friends, can participate in the discipline and education of your child. It is imperative that your child knows that the righteousness you are trying to cultivate in him or her is going to be reinforced by those you entrust them to for care.
I hope to share more in the days to come!
> An inattentive mind is often a lazy mind, which is actually selfishness! Call sin what it is in a child. It is not an inability to focus or keep attention, but a selfish heart!
> Use biblical terms when speaking with your child about their disobedience. The word "naughty" is not found anywhere in Scripture - if you want your child to think biblically about life, then you must teach them biblical language. The word "naughty" is primarily defined in the dictionary as "mischevious". This doesn't give a child an accurate picture of their sinfulness. It relates it to just one behavior, instead of revealing the entire picture of their heart, which is depraved and sinful in thought and deed. A child is not frustrated, they are not throwing a temper tantrum - they are angry! Anger is addressed consistently in the Bible, so by calling it by its true name, a parent can then teach the child that anger is a sin and what is to replace it - goodness and kindness.
> Failure to listen is selfishness and refusal to give honor (Rom. 12:10; Prv. 19:20, 27).
> The issue in child correction is not a lack of discipline, but a lack of dealing with the heart motives and intentions behind the sinful behavior. Even spanking can be akin to behavior therapy because without addressing the heart, you are merely training the child to be a Pharisee. There are twelve proverbs dealing with the heart before it even mentions the rod.
> It is absolutely essential to use the rod in disciplining a child, particularly in their youngest years; you will most certainly lose the battle if you don’t start out right. Furthermore, it is important to use a “rod” and not your hand when spanking; otherwise your hand becomes an instrument associated with punishment. Always take time to reevaluate your method of discipline. Using a paint stick or spoon on a young child can be helpful, but as the child moves through the toddler years, this will certainly not be as effective, particularly if you are only spanking the child lightly and leaving their diaper on, which provides a great deal of “padding”. A child is not going to tell you that it does not hurt any longer, in their deceptive hearts, they will desire to keep it the way it is and as easy as possible.
> Don’t treat every child the same. Some children may require a great deal more amount of time and attention, causing you to have to make choices and sacrifices to maintain their discipline and growth.
> Be intentional about having a plan for how others, including grandparents and family friends, can participate in the discipline and education of your child. It is imperative that your child knows that the righteousness you are trying to cultivate in him or her is going to be reinforced by those you entrust them to for care.
I hope to share more in the days to come!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Reflections...
I don't know how often I will be posting throughout the month of July, due to the fact that I just arrived in California for three weeks of my graduate classes at The Master's College in Santa Clarita. I will be in school from 8am-5pm Monday through Friday, so needless to say my time for pondering my writing ideas will most likely be rather slim. But I wanted to share one brief thought as I settle in to my time here in CA. I know that the story of Rachel Barkey has made its way quickly around the Web. If you are not familiar with her, you can learn more by visiting this site:
http://deathisnotdying.com/
What you also may not have heard, is that on the morning of July 2nd, Rachel passed away after her long battle with terminal cancer. Even last night as I attended a small Bible study at which the discussion was focused on death, I was reminded of the brevity of this life. Rachel, in a testimony she gave before over 600 women, said that she is a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter...but that none of these things identify her. She said that she is identified by her relationship with Christ. How I long to cling to this truth much more. In a world where those of us who are single are frequently asked, "why aren't you married yet?" "oh, I have the perfect guy for you" or "you cannot possibly understand my life because you aren't married...you don't have kids"; I want to embrace all that Christ is for me and in me, not worrying about what others are thinking about my status. My title, my position in this life has no bearing on eternity. It is not my identity. Christ is!
Philippians 3 states:
7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
http://deathisnotdying.com/
What you also may not have heard, is that on the morning of July 2nd, Rachel passed away after her long battle with terminal cancer. Even last night as I attended a small Bible study at which the discussion was focused on death, I was reminded of the brevity of this life. Rachel, in a testimony she gave before over 600 women, said that she is a mother, a wife, a friend, a daughter...but that none of these things identify her. She said that she is identified by her relationship with Christ. How I long to cling to this truth much more. In a world where those of us who are single are frequently asked, "why aren't you married yet?" "oh, I have the perfect guy for you" or "you cannot possibly understand my life because you aren't married...you don't have kids"; I want to embrace all that Christ is for me and in me, not worrying about what others are thinking about my status. My title, my position in this life has no bearing on eternity. It is not my identity. Christ is!
Philippians 3 states:
7But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
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