Discipleship

I cut and pasted my wifes homework assignment for today's blog post.  it blessed me much and hope it will you too- Stuart

I “CHRISTIAN SERVICE” study 31

Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost; He lives inside of you.

You have been bought with a price; your body is not your own. Therefore glorify God in

your body and spirit which are Godʼs. I Cor. 6: 19-20.  We arenʼt alive just to exist. We arenʼt saved just to make it into heaven. We are to work and work is fun, creative, fulfilling, and satisfying. Iʼm talking about spiritual work. Our tools for spiritual work are prayer, Holy Spirit, word of God, fellowship. Iʼve never thought of it this way. We have a PURPOSE FOR LIVING!!! That is so amazing. I take that for granted b/c most of mankind live purposeless lives. Sad.

My purpose keeps me going when Iʼm going through tough times.  God doesnʼt want me to serve Him out of fear or duty but out of LOVE FOR HIM!! Jesus came to seek and save the lost & I must do the same because He is my master and my example of whom I am to follow. Jn. 13: 12-17.  I never knew DISCIPLESHIP means service.  It really encourages me to be reminded that “whatever I do, I do it unto the Lord, heartily, not unto men” Col. 3:23-24. When those whom Iʼve labored for act stupid and drop out of the race, my efforts arenʼt in vain b/c what we do for the least of these weʼve done it unto the Lord. Also, itʼs not over till the fat lady sings (thatʼs not in the bible) and even though people seem to quit, talk trash, act a fool...the word of God does not return void, it will accomplish what it was sent to do. God is the God of the impossible. I must surrender these people to His miraculous working hands & never give up on them! I can

be a better servant by guarding my heart so that when people reject God I donʼt get angry with them & the enemy canʼt use that hurt to make me want to quit the race, thus Iʼll be able to continue serving with a right heart until Jesus comes back.

Confession for Community

A good friend of mine Caitlin, forwarded a sweet message from an awesome writer....Deitrich Bonhoffer.  He makes a quote about community and how to "realize it".  We often cry that fellowships of faith are so lame and lacking AUTHENTICITY.  Why this is so dear to my heart is because Christ has adopted His children into His family and calls us to learn how to cultivate community of faith.  This community is different than elks, kiwanis, rotary, alumni.  It is founded on the spilled blood of Jesus and if all it is, is a bunch of people we hang around with for an hour on Sunday, it is no wonder we are simply going through the motions while checking off our "to do boxes."  .  Read the excerpt from DB:

"In confession the break through to community takes place.  Sin demands to have a man by himself.  it withdraws him from the community.  The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation.  Sin wants to remain unknown.  It shuns the light.  In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person.  This can happen even in the midst of a pious community.  In confession the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart.  The sin must be brought into the light.  The unexpressed must be openly spoken and acknowledged.  All that is secret and hidden is made manifest.  It is a hard struggle until the sin is openly admitted.  But God breaks gates of brass and bars of iron (ps. 107:16).  Since the confession of sin is made in the presence of a Christian brother, the last stronghold of self-justification is abandoned.  The sinner surrenders, he gives up all his evil.  He gives his heart to God, and he finds the forgiveness of all his sin in the fellowship of Jesus Christ and his brother."

FOCUS

I am thinking today of a lot that is going on in my life.  Trying to keep a balance of the regular- like gathering together a sermon that will help build up the saints.  Always enjoying that.  Praying through developing our small group system for accountability and such, which sounds maybe easy, but can be tricky.  Continuing developing a youth ministry that needs to be in place by Sunday week and developing a dance team ministry this weekend.  Sometimes I think I am a glutten for punishment.  Why do I do this to myself? 

Taking JJ to football practice was rough too for me as his dad.  He was matched up against some beasts of boys and looking at it from the sideline it is easy to yell, "get em boy, press in there!"  But man, those boys were big and they looked like high school running backs (J is 9).  One kid got slammed and it wasn't but a couple of plays later that JJ was on the sideline with a leg bruise.  I asked him on the way home if he was scared (I knew I was).  He really got choked up but said yes.  I told him how in football, you really got to be bold and aggressive and how playing half way can only get you hurt.  We went home and I spent a lot of the night thinking how I could bulk his muscles up really quick without using hgh steroids.  I thought about taking him through a crash course on tackling and buying the big puffy "dummies" and pads...I thought about another knute Rockne speach about intensity and passion and giving your body for the team. 

A few minutes later I started to put in some praise music and faded in and out of sleep on the couch in the play room.  In the pitch dark the lyrics began to stir my spirit.... "Holiness, holiness, is what i long for....Lord, what can I give in return for all you've given me?"  I started to envision my son dancing with the dance team with his sisters and other kids from the church.  I thought eternally, what really mattered?  Tackling country bovine boys from the county seat or worshipping God and developing a love and passion for the Lord. 

Don't get me wrong, I am believer that we should be the best we can be in whatever we do, but in perspective.....ONLY what we do for Christ will last.  The Hall of Fame will not last the melt down of the earth, only the worship and love we show to God and each other.  Oh well, dance and football practices are both up on Saturday.  -   Stuart

A Matter of Perspective

I have had the privilege of spending a lot of time with my youngest daughter Syd lately.  JJ and Alex are both back to school.  Heather leads a Wed. a.m. community group meeting for our church and I spend pretty much every Wednesday for a few hours alone with her.  We also get time going to pick up the kids or watching her "bubba" play in his tackle football league.  Recently at Atlanta Bread restaurant I tried to "kill two birds with one stone."  I had a few minutes before I needed to be home with Syd and I convinced her (ok bribed) to go get a cookie so I could check my emails.  One of the joys of the financial crunch is lack of cable/internet at home!  So I am a wanderer now...a wi-fi signal junkie.  As Syd crunched on her cookie I was in a moment of bliss, replying to my 27 emails that piled up in a few days of no email exposure.  While we talked about barbies, our next daddy-daughter date, our dog Scooby, and the reality of how upset she was that although we went to the library and two parks, we went to the "wrong" ones...she demonstratively let me know that her cookie was not enough bribe to divert my half hearted replies.  As I looked down at her from our high raised table I noticed her looking up.  Not to be too much distracted by her inquisitive glances upward, I dove back into my final email, frantically replying so as to expedite my brief absence of total attention to Ms. Royall.  Then came the sentence of the week:

"Daddy, how come people put gum under the tables?"

Ok, so maybe that doesn't hit you like it did me, but what I got from that one statement:  PERSPECTIVE.  Frantically typing and trying my best at balancing relational devotions vs business responsibility (ok, ducking quality time is better).  That comment totally smacked me out of my unrealistic multi-media escapade.  The diverted Atlanta Bread trip was officially over.  I shut the computer and was totally amazed.  We walked out hand and hand, and got back to our "scooby" talk enjoying a ride of 7 minutes home through our neighborhood.  I was reminded while I was surrounded by unrealistic pressure to respond to emails, buy off kids with cookies and divert conversation with quick glances and one word "uh huh's"..... Syd sees gum underneath the table.  Perspective.  It is amazing what two people observe in the same setting.  For whatever it is worth, this is my inspiration so far this week.   - Stu

Sincere Love

"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.  Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible through the word of God which lives forever." 1 Peter 1:22-23.

This word is a good word.  The words that stick out to me are bolded for this discussion.  Sincere and fervent.  Going through some stuff and not really feeling loved you know, not valued and struggling with how to deal with a few bretherenses.  Trying to be a part of a company of people who are committed to Christ and each other.  So often, petty stuff just gets in the way.  To love sincerely....hmmmmm. What is that?  Sincere : not hypocritical or deceitful; open; genuine.  Well that is good.  We are to be open, not to pull punches.  Not to "act" like everything is ok and it isn't then go around with a mask on, acting like we are alright.  God tells us to love the brethren with sincerity.  I think I love loyalty so much because it is committed.  I know who I am with.  When relationally I come into a conflict with someone I fear that it all is going to get undone.  I am going to lose it.  So my fear naturally makes me put on a mask.  Act like it is ok.  Even if it isn't.  Man that is hypocritical.  God is wanting not just kindness love.  Not just patient love.  Not just forgiving love.  But sincere love.  You know when Jesus told Peter that he knew about Peter forsaking him.  When Jesus rebuked the religious Pharisees.  When Jesus spoke to the Father in agonizing pain, "Father, why have you forsaken me?"  I am longing today for sincerity.  God I want to be sincere.  With my brothers.  It is so hard.  You know, cause in yeilding to sincerity, it means to take off masks and take risks, but the reward is written in Peter's epistle as he says that we actually PURIFY our SOULS through obeying the word of truth  through the Spirit (of the Living God living in us as believers) by HAVING SINCERE LOVE- for our brothers.  So put it more directly....insincerity is not only falling short, it is DISOBEDIENCE.  That means impurity.  Wow.  Too often I think that if I am not truly true with my brothers and sisters in Christ it is a choice.  Just my choice, but in reality, witholding sincerity is wrong.  The last part here is fervent love.  You know as we grow in sincerity, we probably will lose some dear friendships cause truly many people can't handle candor.  Many people don't want sincerity, they want casuality and distance.  Well that is impossible in the Church of the living God.  When we take risks to love with sincerity, I have to believe that we will see solid friendships become more solid.  Through the fires of testing.  When that happens, loyalty is birthed.  Loyalty to our friends and brothers, and a redefined loyalty to our Christ.  That momentum is the birth of fervency in relationship.  How much ferver do you feel towards your church brethren?  Catch a fire and make our hearts sincere Lord!  - Stu

Too Much Free Time

Just happen to be in a new focus of study right now.  Reading a book that I have always wanted to read but never have made time for.  Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured for Christ.  Ok, if you have never read this book and are a Christian you probably need to repent now.  I know I am!  Wurmbrand lived through torture and imprisonment in the communist control of Romania.  I know little of his life, but I am seeking to learn more.  He is a true example of faith.  I am dealing with some stuff in the local church.  Thinking about how we as Christians often slip and slide around in sin and mediocre living.  After reading half of his book (Wurmbrand), I think "western Christianity" is so weak and anemic because we are simply bored.  We are not DOING ANYTHING.  I will leave you two excerpts of the book, examples of the suffering that his fellow underground church members endured during the harsh communistic rule....

"One of our workers in the Underground Church was a young girl.  The Communist police discovered that she secretly spread Gospels and taught children about Christ.  They decided to arrest her.  But to make the arrest as agonizing and painful as they could, they decided to delay her arrest a few weeks, until the day she was to be married.  On her wedding day, the girl was dressed as a bride- the most wonderful, joyous day in a girl's life!  Suddenly, the door burst open and the secret police rushed in.  When the bride saw the secret police, she held out her arms toward them to be handcuffed.  They roughly put the manacles on her wrists.  She looked toward her beloved, then kissed the chains and said, 'I thank my heavenly Bridegroom for this jewel He has presented to me on  my marriage day.  I thank Him that I am worthy to suffer for Him.'  She was dragged off, with weeping Christians and a weeping bridgroom left behind.  They knew what happens to young Christian girls in the hands of communist guards.  Her bridegroom faithfully waited for her.  After five years she was released- a destroyed, broken woman, looking thirty years older.  She said it was the least she could do for her Christ.  Such beautiful Christians are in the Underground Church." 

One final story to share: 

"It was strictly forbidden to preach to other prisoners, as it is in captive nations today.  It was understood that whoever was caught doing this received a severe beating.  A number of us decided to pay the price for the privilege of preaching, so we accepted their terms.  It was a deal; we preached and they beat us.  We were happy preaching; they were happy beating us- so everyone was happy.  The following scene happened more times than I can remember.  A brother was preaching to the other prisoners when the guards suddenly burst in, surprising him halfway through a phrase.  They hauled him down the corridor to their, 'beating room.'  After what seemed an endless beating, they brought him back and threw him- bloody and bruised- on the prison floor.  Slowly, he picked up his battered body, painfully straightened his clothing and said, 'Now, brethren, where did I leave off when I was interrupted?'  He continued his gospel message."

I think what is lacking in our Western church experience is too much freetime.  God emblazen us with a passion for the Christ, and not be satisfied with church attendance and simple Bible study.  Let us share the gospel even to the point of ridicule and shame.  -  Stuart

All That I Have ( a song by Niyoki) to the Lord

I'm making an assessment of what I have to offer You....and it falls so short of what You deserve.  I just want to show You, that I am thinking of You.  If only I could shout it throughout the earth.  Searched all over only to find there's nobody like You.  You have given me everything, can I give it back to You?  What can I render for all that You've given? I want to give more of myself to You. Hear my expression of love and fulfillment.  My soul does cry out, it's longing for You.  As a deer panteth for the water, so does my heart cry out for You.  And I just want to show You, that I enjoy You....I want to please You more, I really do.  I know you for just who You are.  I'm amazed You think of me.Your Omnipotent in all You do. So I will give worship at Your feet.What can I render for all that You've given? I want to give more of myself to You. Hear my expression of love and fulfillment. My soul does cry out, it's longing for You. As a deer panteth for the water, so does my heart cry out for You.  All that I have, is Yours.  And all of my praise is Yours.  All of my time and all of my service is Yours.  And I want to give you more....more, more.....more.  It's not enough what i give You.  Help me to give you MORE.