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Showing posts from July, 2013

Launch Out - Be Transformed

One month of blog posts complete! Its been challenging, but worth the effort. Luke 5:4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” We talked about the cause and effect pattern that when Peter

Launch Out - Patterns

Luke 5:3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. Another thing to look for when studying a passage of scripture is patterns. One example is in Luke 6:12-13 where Jesus goes to the mountain to pray through the night. Then in the morning He chooses the twelve disciples. We can learn from the patterns of Jesus life to pray then make important decisions. We see a pattern with Peter in Luke 5.First Peter responds to Jesus request to put out a little from shore. Then Jesus instructs Peter to launch out into the deep and let down His nets. Peter responds

Launch Out - Pressing In

Luke 5:1 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3  Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  This passage Luke 5:1-17 is  so packed with truth. It is important when doing exegesis on the Scriptures that you take out meaning and not put it in. It is tempting to say - the boat means this and the fish mean this and Peter represents this, ect. That's man making the Word conform to his life instead of man himself being conformed by the Word. I'd suggest two things to help you get the right interpretation. One is to do your homework. Know how to study the scriptures and give them some time and effort. Two, learn how to allow the Holy Spirit to teach you. Let Him guide you and open t

Launch Out

This is post #401. Can't believe I've written that much over the years. Three more post for July after tonight. Sometimes its hard to know what God wants us to do in a particular situation. So many things get in the way, least of all our own pride and self will. Seth and I were talking tonight and He said God works in steps. He gives you one thing to do and then that leads to the next thing. I told him he is exactly right. We have to learn how to obey at each step and then the next step is often revealed. That can be difficult for us because we like to see the whole thing before we say yes. I can imagine this being the case with many encounters Jesus had with followers in the Gospels. They wanted to follow Him so He gave them the first step, like sell all you have or leave your fishing nets or leave your family and your business. You can almost hear people thinking "OK, well let me think about this a little more". Like Seth said "I don't think it works th

Waiting Upon God - Part 7

Part 7 of Waiting Upon God from Broken Bread by John Write Follette. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, ESV).  The final two blessings as a result of waiting are to r un and not grow weary and to walk and not faint . Follette suggest that while this may seem anticlimactic after Issiah's reference to mounting up, it's really a logical result of waiting on the Lord. Soaring in the heavens is our promised hope for the future, but before that we must learn to walk, then run, then fly. As I've said before, the exchange of natural for spiritual strength changes things. We may think we're walking, moving forward, getting stuff done for the kingdom, but when we spend time waiting in God's presence, we may find we've been standing still. Jesus said "Without me you can do nothing" (Jn. 15:5). When

Waiting Upon God - Part 6

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Part 6 of Waiting Upon God from Broken Bread by John Write Follette. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, ESV).  The results of having renewed strength is to mount up with wings as eagles. Follette believes this is a great analogy because the eagle can not only fly at high altitudes, but sustains its flight for long periods of time. God has called us to live in the heavens sustained by His strength. Follette writes "Let us trust the Spirit to hold us in our lofty place. While there, our vision of things is vastly different." Our focus is no longer on the overwhelming problems or the seeming impossibility of our circumstances. From this height we see with God strength and with God possibilities. Its vital that we learn to wait upon the Lord, exchange our strength for His, and reach the heights of a new spiritu

Waiting Upon God - Part 5

Part 5 of Waiting Upon God from Broken Bread by John Write Follette. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, ESV). Isaiah 40:31 says those who learn to wait on the Lord, will receive the resulting four blessings. The first blessing is that their strength shall be renewed. The phrase 'renew their strength" means to 'change strength'. It is an exchange of our self strength for the Lord's strength. This is the result of waiting on God.  So often we don't wait. We come to God in our own way, maybe with passion and sincerity, but still in our own way. The results are no exchange of strength. We think God doesn't answer our prayers or that He doesn't care. We think if He really cared, He would intervene in our situation, but He already has intervened. He sent His Son, His Word, and His Spirit. He

Waiting Upon God - Part 4

Part 4 of Waiting Upon God from Broken Bread by John Write Follette. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, ESV). The final meaning for the word Wait that Follette shares is to serve, or minister and closely follows the third meaning of watching expectantly. We see this kind of love and service from David's mighty men who broke through the enemy lines just to get David a drink of cool water from the well at Bethlehem. He did not command them, but they acted out of love with a desire to serve David. Follette says "They were near enough and still enough to hear David's sigh, and that sigh was to them a command." Are we near enough to God to hear His heart? Are we willing to wait in the Lord's presence until we are sent out to serve? This is what waiting upon the Lord is about. Follette brings these four

Waiting Upon God - Part 3

Part 3 of Waiting Upon God from Broken Bread by John Write Follette. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, ESV). The third meaning of the word Wait is to watch, observe, take notice . Follette says this means "all our spiritual senses must be alive, alert, and expectant." This indicate a nearness to God, a leaning in to catch every whisper from the Holy Spirit not wanting to miss a word from the Father. This is like the servant in Prov. 8:34 who waits by the gates and the door post for his master to return home. He is always vigilant, watching the road, listening closely for the sounds of travelers. He is ready to greet his master when he arrives. Are we hungry to serve the Lord in this way, ready and attentive in case He asks something of us or desires to share His heart with us? To watch and wait like this we n

Waiting Upon God - Part 2

Part 2 of Waiting Upon God from Broken Bread by John Write Follette. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, ESV). The second meaning of the word Wait is the idea of expectation and hope .This implies a "waiting meeting". Its placing ourselves in a state of dependance understanding how important it is that we receive something when we meet with God. We tend to be self-sufficient and rely too much on other natural resources. We give up too soon and go back to familiar natural methods trying to make things happen.. This requires patience, hanging in there to wait with expectancy. Jesus Himself knew He needed to find time alone with the Father to wait in expectancy to receive strength. David understood this hope of receiving from the Lord when he said " Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthe

Waiting Upon God - Part 1

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I'm reading Broken Bread (free download) from one of my favorite Bible teachers John Write Follette. In Ch.6 he discusses Is. 40:31 "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, ESV). Follette writes that all too often we find these blessings missing in our lives. We run and grow weary, we walk and do faint. There is only one condition to receive these blessings - to wait on the Lord. Everything hinges upon us knowing what it means to wait on God. Follette warns us that waiting is not prayer, but waiting follows prayer. "They are inseparable". He gives four definitions of the word waiting found in the Scriptures to help us understand this spiritual discipline. The first meaning is Silence . This is a waiting quietly for God to respond to our prayers. We live in a busy and active culture and we have not condition

Thoughts on Prayer

I had a chance to do a 7 mile hike this morning. I started at 6:45 AM to beat the heat. I hiked up to the Washington Monument on the AT. I was alone for a while leaning against the stone wall watching the clouds go by. Its in peaceful times like that when you expect to hear God's voice, but it doesn't always work that way. Prayer happens through relationship not necessarily through our circumstances or quiet of the environment. If we don't take time to develop a discipline of prayer, then we can't just show up and expect God to speak. I thought about this dynamic while hiking some hills on the AT. When I was only hiking under 4 mile hikes, the hills were a lot tougher, but since I've increased my miles, I have more stamina to attack the hills. Prayer is the same way. We need to work at it, allow the Holy Spirit to develop our discernment, focus our ability to hear God clearly, and discipline our mind. Then when we're alone with God, we'll already be prepared

The Demands of Discipleship

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The Demands of Discipleship I've posted this sermon before, but its worth re-posting. This is possibly my favorite sermon. Stephen Olford is one of those great men of God who my mom would say has "eternity in their voice". Olford uses Luke 14:25 to share three demands of discipleship which are (1) No Rival to Christ in our life. (2) No Refusal as we surrender our will fully for Him, and (3) No retreat , no turning back as we follow Jesus. Olford says "The Christian life is an eternal no to (insert your name here) and an eternal yes to Jesus Christ". He also says "Never looking back, never going back, but going on and on, not for a week or a month or a year, but for ever." Olfords words are more true now than ever. Olford speaks to the crowds of nominal believers just as Jesus did and challenges them to have the courage to "Step out of line from the crowd" and stand with Jesus. I encourage you to find a quiet place to prayerfully lis

Exercises for Discernment

Henri Nouwen shares four exercises for deeper discernment. As I stated before it can be difficult for us to honestly face our own inner self. We keep things hidden there that must be exposed if we are to move forward with discernment. Nouwen's first exercise deals with us allowing God to see all our inner thoughts. Nouwen recommends we "Write a personal letter to God openly and honestly looking at the areas of life you are not sure you want God to investigate." This will help us identify some of the areas of our life that we want to keep hidden. Self doesn't like to be exposed and to be made subject to the Holy Spirit. The second recommendation is to make a list of activities and desires in our life that would be pleasing to the Lord. As God continues to transform our lives, these are the activities we want to pursue. Obedience in these things will bring opportunity to hear God more clearly. The third exercise involves our spiritual community. We need other people

Denying Self

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Next to John 3:16, I think Jesus' call for disciples (Mat. 16:24, Mark, 8:34, Luke 9:23) for me is the heart of the Gospel. There is nothing else in all the universe more important that this decision given to every human who ever lived (sorry Calvinists). Jesus Christ is the central Truth of all things and this one decision, made again and again, day after day, gives us the right to join with Him, to be one with Him, and to know Him. In Christ we receive and experience the fullness of all that God intends for our lives. Jesus already paid the price for this great and precious gift, this eternity of gifts. All we need to do is say no to self and yes to Jesus. As I have often said, "Its the simplest thing in the world, and its also the hardest thing in the world." Its as easy as living and as hard as dying. The death to self is difficult, but there's peace in it and the expectancy of new life. Even as our own life falls like a seed into the ground to die, we sens

Seeing Myself

One of the difficulties with solitude and spiritual reflection is that we see our own self reflected in the silence. We tend to build identities and facades around our lives which become meaningless in God's presence. Henry Nouwen says discernment is relational and its a two way street. If we want to see God and know His will, then we must be willing to be seen by God and have our own will exposed. Its strange how God knows all things, yet like Adam we try to hide our pride, fears, and insecurities when God is near. Nouwen says in times of solitude his own anger and desire to be special and admired would come to the surface. He says "I began to see how in so many ways I had been living for my own glory rather than for the greater glory of God". I have found God's very presence will bring transformation. We may want to return to our life with our self delusions in tact, but once they are exposed to the truth we are not the same. Continuing to live for our own glory wil

More on Discernment

Discernment by Henry Nouwen is one of those books that I never finish because I stop to take notes after every page. The following paragraph expresses some of the things God has been teaching me this year. I find it difficult to be alone with the Lord for an expended period of time. Stopping all the activity and facing the emptiness can be very difficult. When we put ourselves in a still, quiet place, God will speak and we don't always like what He says. I once decided to rent a small cottage to fast and pray for three days. A few hours after being there I was panicking because I was not used to the silence. I struggled to find peace long enough to hear from God. One thing I learned is that growth in this area will not happen overnight. It takes work and discipline overtime to develop these listening skills. Many of us have grown accustomed to only hearing God as a faint whisper through the noise of ministry and life. What would our life be like if we learned to hear Him clearly an

A Long Obedience

Pastor Patrick reminded us today that being faithful is a long obedience in the same direction. I love this book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson.  Peterson makes the point that our society is looking for shortcuts to the religious life. He points out that many claim to be born again, but there is little evidence of mature disciples. I believe this statement is more accurate now than it ever has been. The Christian market is flooded with more and more preaching, teaching, and media materials available to give people a quick religious experience without true discipleship. Peterson says "There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness." Peterson says we have a tourist mindset where we come to visit the sites and hear the latest good word then we hurry back to our lives. That's not the gospel message where Jesus invites His

Righteous Thinking

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One of my favorite things is to listen to the Psalms while hiking. Today Psalms 15 stood out to me. David asks "Who shall abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?" The Psalms repeatedly describe the characteristics of the righteous along with the blessings and promises for those who walk in righteousness. I often feel the need to bring myself into alignment with these characteristics. The Holy Spirit is always at work to transform us according to the truth of the Word. When our hearts are open, we should feel conviction and a desire to please the Lord and walk in His ways. So today I heard "He does not slander with his tongue" (Ps. 15:3). I was thinking about how hard this can be. I'm the kind of person who says few things, but thinks a ton of things. I do need to work on speaking slanderous things, but my big challenge is to not think slanderous things. A righteous life requires righteous thinking and a disciplined thought life. I need to bring

Family

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Had a great week with the family. Spent a few days at the beach. The weather wasn't the greatest, but we still had fun. My kids are the best and I'm so proud of them. Seth and I had some fun flying kites.

Hearing a Different Drummer

More on Discernment from Henri Nouwen... Nouwen talks about how discernment is like hearing the beat of a different drummer. This analogy hits home for me. Listening for the Holy Spirit's voice can separate us from the crowd. Its amazing how deep inside we want to hear this different beat, yet we try so hard to fit in with others. We can easily substitute the religious life for true discernment. Again, spiritual disciplines help bring the need for discernment back into focus.  I love Nouwen's definition of this movement toward discernment. "The great movement of the spiritual life is from deaf, nonhearing life to a life of listening. From a life in which we experience ourselves as separated, isolated, and lonely to a life in which we hear the guiding and healing voice of God."

Discernment

Today I started reading Discernment by Henri Nouwen. "The premise of this book is that God is always speaking to us - individually and as the people of God- at different times and in many ways..." The author goes on to say "When we are rooted in prayer and solitude and form part of a community of faith, certain signs are given to us in daily life as we struggle for answers to spiritual questions. The books we read, the nature we enjoy, the people we meet, and the events we experience contain within themselves signs of God's presence and guidance day by day."  I agree. I think many people have difficulty maintaining the spiritual disciplines like prayer, solitude, ect. These things condition our heart to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading. Our hearts and mind become aligned with God's heart and we begin to discern His voice in daily life. We cannot neglect these disciplines if we hope to practice discernment.

Pack Less, Be More

I read this phrase "Pack Less, Be More" on the Backpacking Light blog site . The idea is to do more with less. I find it interesting how hard it is for people (me included) to let go of things that make us comfortable. When my kids pack for vacation, they want to take all their stuff, toys, games, ect. What ever happened to getting away from the normal routine life for a while? When I hike I tend to over pack because I like to be prepared for any contingency. Its difficult for me to let go and just take the bare minimum. I can't help thinking life is the same way. We want to be a disciple of Christ, but we want to be comfortable doing it. We want to give of our time and money, but we hold back some just in case we need it for ourselves. Just like the man Jesus spoke to in Mat. 8:21. This man wanted to follow Jesus, but asked if he could go back and bury his father first. In other words, he wanted to go back and claim his inheritance, gain financial security and a fall b

Manifestations

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One thing I like about God's Word is its amazing consistency. The theme of sowing, reaping, and fruitfulness can be found throughout the Word. God intends for seeds to bear fruit, for His Word to bring transformation, and for His disciples to be fruitful learners. Isaiah 55:10-11 tells us that God's Word will not return void and that He has sent the rain and snow with the purpose of watering the earth to produce seed and food. Another example I was reminded of tonight is that the power of the Holy Spirit will manifest the gifts of the Spirit and bear witness to Christ. We are quick to point out that over the years the Pentecostal movement has wrongly placed an emphasis on the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit and I agree many have done that, but no manifestations means no empowerment. Just like the seed that falls into good soil must manifest a harvest, so the empowerment of the Holy Spirit that falls into a yielded life must manifest the gifts of the Spirit. That wi

Hearing Other Voices

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I remember teaching a class on hearing God's voice and we discussed how hard it can be to discern God's voice with all the other competing voices in our life. There are actually three additional "voices" we hear speaking to us. It's important that we learn to distinguish each one so we're able to discern the true voice of God. (1) Self - Perhaps the voice that we hear the most is our own. God has given us a mind to think and reason, but often the logical, common-sense voice of self can be in conflict with God's voice. The self voice must be disciplined and surrendered to the will of the Spirit.(2) Others - The voices of other people can have a powerful influence in our life. God can can use others to speak to us. The wisdom and guidance of trusted advisers can be valuable, but we need to be sure the voice of others aligns with the Word and with what God has spoken to us in the past. (3) The enemy - The enemy is always seeking to tear down and destroy

Obeying God's Voice

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Image source The Bible makes no distinction between hearing and obeying God's voice. Hearing Him is the first step, but hearing requires us to obey. The writer of Hebrews warns us to not harden our hearts if today we hear God's voice (Heb. 3:15). There is no rest or peace in disobedience to His voice. When we harden our hearts to His voice, we reject the life that He is offering. I like to think of these times of obedience as continual alignment of my life with God's Word. As the Holy Spirit speaks we obey by yielding our will to His. Obedience brings transformation which makes us more and more like Christ. Doesn't a student who continues to yield themselves to the process of learning soon experiences changes in their thinking and behavior as a result? So a disciple (a learner) becomes more and more like the Master as they yield to His teaching. God's Word and His voice cannot be separated. God's voice, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Biblical messag

Hearing God's Voice

Seth and I were talking today about how to hear God's voice. How do you explain something that you just know? I really need to thank my Dad for  an example that always helps me explain this. I remember all the times we would cut wood and Dad would teach us safety. Later in life when I was cutting wood, I would somehow always hear his voice in my head. When we spend time with God and take time to grow in our relationship with Him, we begin to just know His will. The more we spend time in prayer and meditate on the Word, the more God's voice will become clear.

Being Different

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  Love this article I read today Why You Don’t Have to Be Radical, Just a Little Different . Justin Zoradi describes how those of us looking for meaning in our lives feel we always need to blaze new trails. We get tired of the same old things day after day, but most of us will never be the people who chart new territories. Zoradi says "I believe much of this thinking is what paralyzes everyday people, keeping them complacent, discontent, and stuck in lives and careers they don’t love." So we get frustrated and settle for the same old well worn paths. His answer is to start running along the edges of existing paths. Aspire to do things differently and eventually the less traveled paths will lead to new pathways. I've discovered the best way to get somewhere different is to start taking those steps. Be willing to make little changes, begin to do things differently, be determined to take more challenging paths.Overtime as the miles go by, things change and you become

Indoctrination

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Image source Indoctrination - T o teach (a person or group of people) systematically to accept doctrines, esp uncritically (dictionary.com) The word indoctrination often has a negative connotation. No matter what you're beliefs or religious background we tend to think of indoctrination as something other religions do. In reality, I see indoctrination often in Christian churches and it bothers me. We have generations of people who have adopted the Christian church-goer lifestyle yet they're biblically illiterate. How can someone be a disciple, a Christ follower, and not know the Word? It's critical for us to know the theology and doctrines of our faith, but they should not replace true relationship with Jesus Christ. Indoctrination is teaching someone to live according to a doctrine alone. We do not confess faith in the doctrines of the church, but rather in Christ Himself. Understanding the doctrinal statement of our faith is only one component in the li

Hold Fast

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Sunday Pastor Ron Wienke shared about praying with confidence from Heb. 4:14-16. This is such a powerful passage of scripture. Pastor Ron mentioned that we have a small, limited conception of God and we do not account for a life that fits our God. We tend to limit what God can do in and through our lives because of our limited perception of Him. That self-oriented human thinking works its way into our thoughts without us even realizing it. The Holy Spirit will help us believe that God will accomplish great things in our life. We need to immerse ourselves in the Word to know who God is and know what He will do. The Word and prayer will reinforces our faith and strengthens our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. We have a Great High Priest who has all authority in heaven and earth and sympathizes with our weaknesses. We must host fast, and cling to our faith in Jesus Christ. He will bring us through our times of need and accomplish His will by His great power. I have found ho

Commitments

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I finished two books last week and both authors referenced times when they made a personal commitment of discipline in some area of their life. I decided I needed to do the same. When we take time to examine our lives, we'll find areas that need some work. How many times have you felt you needed to pray more, spend more time in the Word, be more generous, eat healthier and exercise, or watch less TV? We know these things be a blessing and draw us closer to God, but we often become complacent and fail to act. Somehow we've forgoten that the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ demands the denial of self (Mt. 16:24). Makeing a personal committment to areas of discipline will help bring an awareness of this process back into your life. That doesn't mean next week you need to live like the Apostle Paul, but it does mean you need to start where you're at. In Seeing through the Fog: Hope When Your World Falls Apart , Ed Dobson made a radical committment to live like Jesus f