MIND OF TRUTH

Easter is always a good time for reflection and examination. The thought of what Jesus Christ has done for me is overwhelming and brings me ultimately to the foot of the cross. What more can be done in the face of such holiness and great sacrifice? All I can do is lay my life down there as well, surrender myself, my life, all I have, and all I am or ever will be. There can be no fruitfulness or fulfillment of our purpose until we lay our life down unto death. We spend so much time striving, building ministries, making better plans, and working harder. We don’t see that from Jesus. In his essay In Him and Over Him: The Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus John O’Donnell says Jesus had to accept the failure of His human mission. He says “Jesus who came in the power of the Spirit to proclaim the Good News had to accept that because of the hardness of hearts of His people the kingdom could only come through the cross. And so Jesus goes to His death, tested to the utterness of His obedience,...

This weeks message is "Turning Cash Into Kingdom Currency" by Glenn Sheppard. Great message, but it takes a willingness to die to self and allow God to have control of every area of our lives. A great line from the message is "We give to get, to give to get, to give..." I have learned there is no greater investment that the Kingdom of God.

Have you ever had a moment when God gives you a brief glimpse of your future? Its like an image frozen in time full of purpose, full of hope and possibility. Its like a brief flash then its gone, and its a little frightening when you replay it in your mind. For that one brief moment all rational thought is suspended, our natural mind disengages and we are free to believe in the impossible. Too often our own thoughts are restrictive, liner, and full of doubt. We see obstacles and God sees Himself. When God speaks, His voice carries with it the fullness of all His power, desire, and will. Sometimes all that can't be communicated in words, but in images or flashes of decades compressed into seconds. His voice also reaches to every part of our being and we feel whole and complete as we were created to be. We need to hold on to those moments and learn to live in the possibility of the indescribably wonderful plans that God has prepared for us all.

This weeks message is "Don't Be Dismayed" by Carter Conlon who is the pastor of Time Square Church in New York. This is a convicting message. Too many believers are dismayed when God stands ready to to fulfill all His promises. The Battle is His.  He will not forsake us! He will not fail us!

If found a great review by Calvin Miller on the book " Jesus Manifesto " by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola. I love this quote from the book and wholeheartedly agree. Jesus fill my and surround me with Yourself. “Jesus Christ is like a vast ocean. He is too immense to fully explore, and too rich to fathom, and I am like a bottle. The wonder of his gospel is that the bottle is in the ocean and the ocean is in the bottle.” (page 34)

This weeks message is "Knowing God by Experience" by Charles Price. He is the pastor of People's Church in Toronto. This is a timely message for God's people.

Rob Bell has always intreguiged me and I've found his teaching somewhat refreshing. This month he releases his new book Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived . Controversy is already stirring about his theology. I look forward to reading it for myself. I'm sure it will cause Christians to think and openly evaluate how they respond to a world that needs the love of Jesus.

Here is a new sermon of the week. Major Ian Thomas shares some testimonies about the Torchbearers Ministry, and then shares an excellent message about being obedient to Christ. This week is "The Church in Action" by Major Ian Thomas.

Les Disciples  by artist Eugene Burnand I have enjoyed Greg Ogden’s book Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministry to the People of God. I felt as if he was giving words to the needs I’ve been sensing in the body of Christ. What would the body of Christ or a local gathering of believers look like if we were all committed to do our part and be ministers to our Lord Jesus Christ? I for one want to be a part of such an experience. I’ll share some thoughts from chapter 10 concerning God’s calling in our life. Ogden shares three forms of a calling. (1) The primary call to Christ, community, and transformation to all who are in Christ. (2) The secondary call , which is the application of the primary call into all spheres of life. And (3) an individual heart or purpose call that is the particular reason God has placed us on this planet (Ogden, 2003, 243). We all experience these calls and I believe we can only come into God’s full purpose for our lives when we align ourselves wit...

Adding a new side bar link to my blog Mind of Truth called "Sermon of the Week". These are excellent message that I recommend. I hope to be adding a new message each week. This week is "Rediscovering Christ" by Major Ian Thomas. I highly recommend this one.

I wanted to share this quote from Eugene Peterson's book Traveling Light. "I, for one, do not underestimate the difficulties in living free for all, of traveling light: it is persistently hard. Nor can I do it on my own: I need Christ and a community of faith. But there is nothing more worthwhile doing. Many Christians today have to all appearances ceased to be what Jacques Ellul calls 'unconscious revolutionaries.' It is necessary to rouse awareness, to waken the spirit, because freedom is essential if all would be truly human. I am convinced that people settle for far too little in matters of freedom. Christians, in touch with the God who grants us a freedom far richer that its political and cultural versions, are in the privileged but awesomely responsible position of pioneers of the free spirit, the free life. Nicholas Berdyaev insists: 'God has laid upon man the duty of being free, no matter how difficult that may be, or how much sacrifice and suffer...

I'd like to here your thoughts on this excerpt... "America has seen an explosion in the number of Mega churches over the past three decades. They are growing bigger, faster, and stronger and are thriving in nearly every state in the nation and in much smaller communities than was previously believed possible. A few have grown to hold more people than the town in which they reside. If all the people who are members of megachurches were combined, they would be the third largest religious group in the united States. Their combined annual income is well over $7 billion. Yet these megachurches account for only one-half of 1 percent of all the religious congregations in the nation." Beyond Megachurch Myths - By Scott Thumma and Dave Travis (pg.1)

I am grateful that Jesus has given Himself for me and that He lives. I am grateful that I have yet to discover the limitless possibilities of His greatness and His power. I am grateful for His Holy Spirit who is always working on my behalf, interceding for me, and helping me even when I hide myself overwhelmed with fear and anxiety about what life may bring. He is still there, still speaking, still leading me, and still forming wonderful plans for my wellbeing and future. I am grateful that He holds my family in His hands and that He will take my children beyond my talents and abilities, beyond my life, and far far beyond my own contribution to this world and the next. I am grateful He loves my wife, watches over her, and that He comes into the midst of our relationship to make it wondrous and eternal. I am grateful for the opportunity to stand in the presence of my King and serve His will and His desires, to be at His beckon call, to see His glor...

Great challenging message by David Platt

What are you committed to? Are you committed to Jesus Christ and His desire to live through you? Are you committed to God having His way and His will in you? Some may say I’m committed to the plan God has for me, I’m committed to this mission, this church, this ministry, this task or need. That’s wrong and if you are committed to that then all your efforts will accomplish nothing. I think many would be shocked to see how little of what they are committed to is what God is committed to. Be committed to Jesus and to Him having His way. In John 14:10 Jesus said “I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” We need to be confident in God’s confidence, in His own commitment to us, and in His own ability to fulfill His will and His Word.

What a great lesson and reminder for all of us to practice the principle of edification.  Edification is the act of restoring or building a structure. God has given us the privilege and the opportunity to build each other up in the body of Christ. I confess that edifying others can be difficult. I often find myself engaging in thoughts or conversations that do not work to build up others. We must be vigilant that the old self doesn’t try to resurrect itself and have its way once again. Self seeks to promote itself, but Jesus living through our lives will seek to promote others. The key is to focus ourselves on Jesus so that He can live selflessly through us. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:11-13 that God has given us the five-fold ministry gifts to equip the saints, build up the body of Christ, and to bring us all into a place of maturity and fullness in Jesus. As we exercise our gifts in ministry our goal should be to build up the lives of others, to come alongside them and help th...

Major Ian Thomas Please take a minute to listen to this message by Major Ian Thomas. Dedicated to God Not Man "What qualifies a man to be used by God? ... I f only you recognize the principle that it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do His good pleasure and that the only source of divine activity of all spiritual life is God himself ...  All God demands of man is to be available so that God might be Himself in and through our lives."  - Major Ian Thomas

More notes from my module this week on the church. Church statistics from George Barna ... A. No growth in Christian church in America since 1980, despite:      1. billions of dollars on evangelism      2. over 10,000 hours of Christian television      3. over 1,000 Christian radio stations      4. over 5,000 new Christian books published B. No change in proportion of adults who attend church services since 1970. C. Average Protestant congregation in United States has only 60 - 65 adults who  regularly attend D. Fastest growing churches in America today are cults E. Throughout the United States, growing number of adults are not aware of the  churches or particular church ministries in their community Maybe we should just keep doing the same thing for a few more decades and see if something change.

Starting to get into the swing of things with my new classes "Church & Ministry" and "Systematic Theology". You have to be motivated and schedule your time well to do online classes. I have weekly deadlines, but its still easy to skip a few nights and get behind. I have to write a 500 word blog every week for the Church & Ministry class so I may not be posting here as much, or I may post my class blog here as well. My blog topic for this week is "B iblical descriptions of a healthy church today". Here are some highlights to digest. The Central vision and the primary purpose of the church should be "Ministry to the Lord", and the secondary purpose being ministry to people. (Can't stress this one enough) A Victorious, militant church - Mt. 16:18-19 A Unified church - John 17, Acts 2 A Glorious Church - Eph. 5:27 6 essential qualities from "Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churche...