Post 8 – May 12, 2009
Breakfast with Kurt
I had coffee this morning with Kurt Sauder – one of my spiritual heros. We were discussing things related to life and the church. Our conversation, at one point, centered on the “politics” that can often come into play in any large organization – even in a church like ours. Kurt provided some helpful insights and told me about how he trys to avoid the politics and just focus on ministry. At one point during this conversation, Kurt said something that really resonated with me. As he was describing how some other people behave and play the politic game, he said, “you know, I JUST KEEP LOOKING AT JESUS…”. That’s when it hit me. Shouldn’t we all do this? Kurt’s point was that Jesus didn’t play politics. He was honest, direct, and loving, but never a politician. Consider the ways in which he interacted with the Pharisees (he called them a brood of vipers to their face). Hardly the way to play politics in that day and age. That would be like today calling the CEO of your company a piece of monkey dung. Hardly the way to impress the people that mattered most in society. Thank you, Kurt, for always reminding me to keep looking at Jesus. Most importantly, thanks for modeling this out in your life. P.S. Jesus was, in fact, a rebel in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes I see liberal-minded people use this as an excuse… for what, I wonder? Yes, Jesus was a liberal, however, keep in mind that he was also fully and totally surrendered to His Father’s Will. Are you? Or, are you just using the “Jesus was a liberal” mantra as an excuse to follow your sinfull desires? That certainly was not Jesus.
Post 7. May 8, 2009
In Love
“Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere…”
Have you ever been in love?
So much so, that you can’t stand to spend one day apart from that person?
You hear that person’s voice, and your heart leaps.
You desire to spend every waking moment with them.
“I don’t want to go through the motions; I don’t want to go one more day; without your all-consuming passion inside of me. I don’t want to spend my whole life asking, “what if I had given everything…” instead of going through the motions.”
Post Six. Thursday April 2, 2009
The Complete Man
Where is the complete man? We see ministers, and people in ministry, who are focused on their own little ministry world and the things that are done in “ministry”. On the other side, we see business men who are focused on worldly things. Where is the complete man? Where is the minister who has an accurate, first-hand, knowledge of the life of a business man? Where is the business man who is sold out to Christ… so much so that they seem to be uncomfortable the worldly things? Now that would be a whole, complete man. A businessman who measures success not by the size of their paycheck, or by their title, but through the impact that they have for Christ.
Beware of Backsliding – Mar 27
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! – I John 3:1
There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus;’ but if you cannot fall finally, you may fall foully, and may go with broken bones all your days. Take care of backslidings; for Jesus Christ’s sake, do not grieve the Holy Ghost. You may never recover your comfort while you live. I have paid dear for backsliding. Our hearts are so cursedly wicked, that if you take not care, if you do not keep up a constant watch, your wicked hearts will deceive you, and draw you aside. It will be sad to be under the scourge of a correcting Father… Let me, therefore, exhort you that have got peace to keep a close walk with Christ. I am grieved with the loose walk of those that are Christians, that have had discoveries of Jesus Christ; there is so little difference betwixt them and other people, that I scarce know which is the true Christian. Christians are afraid to speak of God, they run down the stream; if they come into worldly company, they will talk of the world as if they were in their element; this you would not do when you had the first discoveries of Christ’s love; you could talk then of Christ’s love for ever, when the candle of the Lord shined upon your soul.
– George Whitefield (1714-1770)
“Always the Christian must bear about in his body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” – Alan Redpath
“Prepared for Battle” (from Standing Firm on 3/11/09)
Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? – 1 John 5:4, 5 KJV
We can be so earthly minded, fighting our fight in the earthly realm, that we are of no value in the heavenly battle. We fire our cannons in the wrong realm. If we are not fighting in heavenly places, we will fight in earthly ones. If we are not doing battle with the powers of darkness, we will fight people instead. There is something within us that gets incensed at injustice, something that rises up in protest of wrongdoing. If we do not take that into the heavenly places, resist the enemy, and pray for a change, we will fight people. We should fight issues in society, but not people. Fighting people never advances the Kingdom of God, no matter how right the issues. God’s Kingdom is advanced through God and His response to our prayer, and through our Spirit-led actions. Every adversity is a prime opportunity for Christians to have a right reaction, to give glory to God, to uphold His character, and to defeat the devil. – Dean Sherman.
I saw, in my dream, that the Interpreter took Christian by the hand again, and led him into a very dark room, where there sat a man in an iron cage. Now the man seemed very sad. He sat with his eyes looking down to the ground, and his hands folded together, and he sighed as if his heart would break.
Then said Christian: “Who is this?”. “Talk with him and see”, said the Interpreter. “What used you to be?” asked Christian. “I was once a flourishing professor, both in my own eyes, and also in the eyes of others”, answered the man. “I was on my way, as I thought, to the Celestial City, and I was confident that I would get there.” “But what did you do to bring yourself to this condition?” Christian asked. “I failed to keep watch”, the man replied. “I followed the pleasures of this world, which promised me all manner of delights. But they proved to be an empty bubble. And now I am shut up in this iron cage – a man of despair, who can’t get out.”
No further explanations were given. No one said who put him there. But the Interpreter whispered to Christian: “Bear well in mind what ou have seen.”
– from the Dangerous Journey: The Story of Pilgrim’s Progress
Soli Deo Gloria – To God be the glory, and to Jesus Christ, His Son, my Lord and Saviour.
The world has yet to see what God can do through one who is completely and totally surrendered to Him.
Gabe Smith 