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Audiobook: provided for review from www.christianaudio.com

A Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper

I was recently invited to join the Christianaudio.com reviewer’s program. I was delighted to join them as I have been listening to their audiobooks for over a year now. One of the first titles offered for review (to me) was A Sweet & Bitter Providence by John Piper.  This volume is narrated by Grover Gardner, who must narrate on a regular basis, I recognized him from the spiritual theology series by Eugene Peterson that I listened to last spring among other titles as well. Speaking of the narration, Gardner is rapidly becoming to me as Morgan Freeman is becoming the next James Earl Jones for the Madison Avenue crowd. Grover Gardner’s voice is very easy to listen to and he is very capable of reading the written story in an audible form that invites you into the story…very conversational and engaging.

The work itself, A Sweet & Bitter Providence, is a wonderful story from the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament Scriptures. I enjoyed the exegetical and expository style of writing from Dr. Piper as he shared his insight to this great teaching about the character and providence of God. As “providence” would have it, I happened to have just finished reading the Genesis story of Joseph and was three-quarters finished with the story of Job at the time of my listening to A Sweet & Bitter Providence. These three great Bible stories together complimented one another in a beautiful way and helped me to solidify what John Piper was trying to get across to his audience.

From a technical standpoint, I appreciate the context of the MP3 files (my preferred medium). They are clearly titled and tagged for my audio player (iPod). This is important to me for filing and categorizing on my player as well as being able to have logical starting and stopping points for the chapters.

Personally, I recommend audiobooks for people who have super busy lifestyles, spend a lot of time over the road in travel, or folks who might be looking for a change from the written word. I enjoy the break in my routine and find this to be an excellent way to continue on the path of my education and make the most use of my time; I also listen to the books while dong my workouts at the gym. Thank you to Christianaudio.com for very affordable titles and a rapidly growing selection.

Summary:

Sex. Race. Scripture. Sovereignty. Read the rest of this entry »

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Installment #4 was my assignment for this weekend’s worship services. My title for this message was “Rules of the Road: God’s Way of Loving Ourselves and Loving Others.” As is my custom, I have included the manuscript, sermon outline, and small group discussion questions along with the audio file. I am always interested in constructive critique and feedback.

download manuscript (.pdf file)

download outline and sm.grp. discussion (.pdf file)

2010JAN24 ChristianJourney 4jb by valleychapel

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As I spend time in Scripture reading and prayerful meditation this morning, I am moved to pray for Haiti this passage from the writings of the Prophet Isaiah (chapter 62). God has promised healing and blessing to the nations from Abraham through Messiah Jesus. May it be so for our brothers and sisters in Haiti as the world watches. Spirit of the Most High God, help us to be revealing Light to the world for the glory of Your Name and Kingdom. Amen.

¹ Because I love Zion (Haiti),
I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem (Haiti),
I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
² The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth.
³ The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
a splendid crown in the hand of God.
⁴ Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
and “The Bride of God,”
for the Lord delights in you
and will claim you as his bride.
⁵ Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem (Haiti),
just as a young man commits himself to his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

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It’s always a joy to share God’s Word…

It was my privilege to “kick off” the first message in our new series The Christian Journey this past Sunday. My message topic was to share the goal of the Christian Journey and to set the stage for the remaining eight weeks of this study. My manuscript can be downloaded here and I’ve included a link to the small group discussion and sermon outline here. As is my practice, I am including the audio file here for streaming or for download.

2010JAN03 ChristianJourney 1jb by valleychapel

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Meditation #8  December 21, 2009

Advent Reflections: Reconciliation, Restoration, and Joy…

“Then I witnessed in Heaven an event of great significance… It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ.” (Revelation 12:1-10)

“Don’t be afraid…I bring you Good News that will bring Great Joy to all people. The Savior—Yes the Messiah, the Lord has been born today.” (Luke 2:10-11)

Reconciliation is here… Restoration beckons us to come. What was broken does not have to remain broken any longer. Reconciliation and restoration are here; the timeless Lord, and Savior of men, King Jesus is here. Salvation has come. How can we ignore or take for granted such a great and significant event? John the Revelator exclaimed; “I witnessed in Heaven an event of great significance… It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ.” Hallelujah! The threshold of reconciliation has been breached! We have life-giving relationship restored with Creator God! This is the Good News! This is the great Joy of the hallelujah chorus sung by the angels of Heaven’s armies.

Let us meditate on the following prayer compiled from an ancient Christian prayer, Psalm 80:1-7, and writings from the book Living the Christian Year.

O God, enthroned above the cherubim, display Your radiant glory. Show us Your mighty power come to rescue us! Turn us again to Yourself, O God. Make Your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.

We praise You, Father, invisible, Giver of immortality. You are the Source of Life and Light, the Source of all Grace and Truth; You love us all, and You love the poor, You seek reconciliation with all and draw them all to You by sending Your dear Son to visit them, who now lives and reigns with You, Father, and Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever.

Therefore, we ask You; turn us again to Yourself, O God of heaven’s armies. Make Your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.

O Mighty One, You have done great things and Holy is Your Name; Your mercy is for those who fear You from generation to generation. May my heart and my life be that as the blessed virgin…here I am, O Lord, Your servant; let it be with me according to Your word. Come Holy Spirit enlarge Your presence in me this day, that I may bring into the world more of Your life and more of Your love. Amen

Reconciliation is here…Restoration beckons us to come – “it has come at last!!!—Salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ.” (Revelation 12:10)

Joan Chittister writes in her book, The Liturgical Year: the Spiraling Adventure of the Spiritual Life; “We come to Christmas looking for the signs of Jesus’ presence manifested in our own life and age, in us and in the world around us. Christmas is not about a baby, not about sentimental piety, not about Christian fantasy. Christ is a very adult feast. It stretches us far beyond a manger in Bethlehem. It brings us to recognize who ti is that we, like the people of Jesus’ own time, will, in everything we do in life this year, either accept or reject.”

Reconciliation is here…Restoration beckons us to come – “Don’t be afraid…I bring you Good News that will bring Great Joy to all people. The Savior—Yes the Messiah—The Lord has been born today.” (Luke 2:10-11)

On the day that God became flesh in the child named Jesus, Eternity was healed…time became no more. The rip in Creator God’s cosmic tapestry caused by the sin of one man was sewn together through the act of humble submission and eternal love by one man—the God-man—Jesus.

“Then I witnessed in Heaven an event of Great Significance…” Reconciliation is here…Restoration beckons us to come

Christmas is not merely a day like every other day. It is a day made holy and special by a sacred mystery. It is not merely another day in the weary round of time. Today, eternity enters into time and time, sanctified, is caught up into Eternity.

—Thomas Merton

Good News, Great Joy, Reconciliation, and Restoration — an event of Great Significance indeed. Praise You, Lord Jesus. Maranatha — even so, come now, Lord Jesus, come.

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Here is an embedded player that has all the audio files updated into a single player. Scroll through the list to select the sermon/message you’d like to hear.

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Yesterday was my rotation for leading the congregation in hearing the Word of God. I felt strongly inclined to “do something different.” Something in my deepest self feels a sense of remorse over the lack of attentive reverence given to Scripture. I’m not an advocate of Bibliolatry…pushing for the worship of God’s Word; however, it seems to me that since the Holy Scriptures are a primary means that God speaks to humanity, we should give more attention to it…reverence, awe, and worship for the Giver of the Word. It is for this reason that I do not care of the typical (at least what I am used to) contemporary worship service…if you can call it that. It seems almost sacrilegious to call it “worship.” Sorry…it’s a pet peeve, but I take it as an affront to Christ for people professing to “love him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength” to give Him such little attention. Here’s an example; the typical modern service lasts approximately 1 – 1.5 hours in length. This service will generally consist of a welcome, announcements, a few hymns/choruses, and a brief reading of the Word and sermon. The sermon, most often, is more of a devotional thought (at least in the contemporary setting) with a few “relevant” points and a “what I’m supposed to do with this” to do list for good Christian boys and girls. I know I’m sounding cynical…but we’re talking about the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE here! I hear of people sitting down and watching an entire DVD series of a TV show at one time, playing console games for hours straight, and/or waiting in traffic jams and long lines for a sporting event and then sitting through inclement weather for hours to watch said event. Conversely, we are told repeatedly that people don’t have the attention spans to sit through much more than a 25 minute sermonette in a worship service. Baloney; people will sit through what they want to sit through provided they find there is value in it. Personally, I cannot find anything of more value than hearing the words of my God…He is indeed, the Pearl of great price.

Enough of my rant…

So, yesterday I read a letter, a letter to the church. This letter was compiled by me from eleven of the church letters and epistles comprising the New Testament Scriptures. There were thirty-four passages of Scripture taken from the letters each annotated and foot-noted in my manuscript. I believe the letter is contextually true and is as relevant for us today as it was when it was originally written/read.

I shared with the congregation that the ancient church would often go months or longer before they might hear from one of the apostles and when they did it would be with great excitement they would gather to hear the reading of the letter. This is the letter I read to my church family yesterday. A copy of the letter (here) and small group discussion points (here) are included  for download.

My thinking for this letter was to simply let the Word of God do what it does; teach, inspire, challenge, rebuke, correct, and convict. I assumed that God did not need me to tell the people what to think on this occasion. I know this is a lot of information in one letter, but I am under the conviction that people would walk away hearing only what God the Holy Spirit wanted them to hear. Time will tell; feedback from this Sunday was rather sparse…dunno what to make of that, but I feel I was true to what the Spirit laid on my heart. Amen.

2009NOV29 DearChurch jborden by icrucified

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“Before we can conquer the world, we must first conquer the self.” Oswald Sanders; Spiritual Discipleship

The LORD is our righteousness… (Jeremiah 33:16)

I’ve been spending extended time in the writings of the prophet Jeremiah as I meditate and study through other passages of the Bible… sort of like examining all of the Scriptures through Jeremiah’s eyes. Today as I was doing this, I returned to Jeremiah (chapters 2-3) and noticed a disturbing parallel between the retelling of Israel’s and Judah’s unfaithful relationship with God and modern Christianity; specifically, the North American Church. Painting with a broad brush, we are no different. Here’s what I found that led me to this conclusion. I’ll start with a passage from 2 Timothy 3:1-9 – my recap follows:

• People love themselves (2 Timothy 3:2)
• People are ungrateful (2 Timothy 3:2)
• People love pleasure/comfort more than God (2 Timothy 3:4)
• People act religious but reject the power of God to live godly lives (2 Timothy 3:5)
• People have a counterfeit faith (2 Timothy 3:8)

Now, back to Jeremiah and my comparison/parallel observation…

• We feel shame only when we’re caught… (Jeremiah 2:26)
• We keep our back turned to God most of the time, but in times of trouble, we are quick to turn to Him (Jeremiah 2:27)
• We accuse God of wrongdoing (“why would a good God let _______ happen?”), but we are the ones in rebellion and solely responsible for evil in the world (Jeremiah 2:29)
• We like to profess our innocence before God and pretend that He is okay with everything (Jeremiah 2:35)
• We claim to be children of God and profess Him as our Guide, but continue to live our lives on our own terms (Jeremiah 3:4-5)

All of this looks, to me, uncannily like the American church.  It doesn’t have to be this way…and the apostle Paul (speaking under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says it won’t stay this way (2 Timothy 3:9). I continue to pray and teach that we embrace fully the teachings of Jesus and become fully devoted subjects to His Kingdom. It will take first, our determination to overthrow the kingdom of self; a feat that requires a radical faith… This is the essence of what it means to be born again; dying to self in order to be reborn into the Kingdom of God. If we continue to serve self, we are not His disciples and not part of the kingdom. “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in You.” (Psalm 25:4-5)

Incline, O Lord, thy merciful ears, and illuminate the darkness of our hearts by the light of thy visitation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Gelasian Sacramentary)

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I begin with part one of my Reveille series although it might serve more as an extended introduction; I’m calling it part one anyway. Please feel free to share comments in the comments section of this post or you can send them to me through email. I am interested in any thoughts, comments, and discussion.

“Lord, make me see thy glory in every place.”
— Michelangelo

“Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I accomplish.”
— Michelangelo

I continue to sense a discontent in my spirit. I am not downcast, I am not discouraged, but I am not satisfied. I read the pages of God’s Word and see people invited into something miraculous and divine and I want it. I sense the Spirit of God alive in me; hungering for community with similarly awakened souls. I feel the unction and commission of God to spread this Good News; that God has invited us to share His Spirit…He desires to dwell within us, and give us resurrected life in the present and in the now. I speak these words to people today and hear them affirm the words, but discern doubt in their heart. While this may sound judgmental, I am inclined to examine the fruit…and where there is none or there is little, I question the veracity of the root system and the soil of that individual’s life.

I am determined to live the life taught in the gospels. I am determined to build upon the foundations and teaching of the apostle-disciples and I will not be quieted. A curious phenomenon has emerged during this season of my life; when I talk or share my thoughts about this brooding of my spirit, the most common response from others is to encourage me or try to “fix” me. The problem is I don’t see myself as the one needing “fixed” or “encouraged.” You see, I know it is God, The Holy Spirit, who has “broken” me and I don’t want this brokenness to be fixed. God has placed a hunger for Himself in my soul and nothing less than overflowing portions of HIM satisfies. For this reason, I am mystified when I encounter others who profess love for and relationship with Jesus, but seek their satisfaction from worldly endeavors. I don’t get it.

I know the call to follow Christ is one that demands everything. I know that once we have given our life to Christ, we are given to the mission of Christ. Therefore, any agenda other than the mission of God is anti-Christ (see Matthew 12:30).

I am just ending a 60-day meditation in the Gospel of Matthew. Some things I take away from it are (1) the incredible life that Jesus offers to us; both on this earth and in this physical life and the immortal-eternal life spent (physically) with Him in the new heaven and new earth, and (2) the incredibly narrow path and high bar that life calls us to be accountable to until Christ returns or our physical life ends.

Highlighting the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus begins to teach the precepts of His Kingdom; for living now and tomorrow-eternal. I believe, in my own words, the Beatitudes, which depict true followers of Christ, can be summarized as follows:

1. True disciples are dependent upon God
2. True disciples are discontent with the sin nature
3. True disciples are confident in their Christian position
4. True disciples  desire to reconcile and restore God’s Kingdom
5. True disciples are compassionate, patient, forgiving, and merciful
6. True disciples are innocent and childlike in their purity of heart, not cynical, skeptical, doubting, flippant, and/or selfish
7. True disciples are “reconcilers” (and this should not be confused with compromiser)
8. True disciples willingly release their rights and/or lives for the sake of and salvation of others

Indeed, Jesus raises the bar for those who answer the call to “follow him.” Jesus makes it very clear (Matthew 5:13-16) that our Christian faith and our ability to reflect the image of God (Imago Dei) is a non-negotiable. Jesus says we will truly reflect His glory, or we will be “thrown out.” He says our acts of mercy, justice, healing, and righteousness should illuminate our world (community). He goes on to make clear (Matthew 5:17-20) that we “do not misunderstand why he has come…” Jesus says; “Unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Ouch. If these words do not convey accurately his intent; I find these closing words difficult to argue with; “You are to be perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

I have been reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians and from the prophet Jeremiah this morning. The following passages captured my attention:

Colossians chapter one –

• vs 1: “…chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.”
• vs 6: “This good news is bearing fruit everywhere changing lives…”
• vs 9-10: “…God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.”
• vs 25: “God has given me the responsibility of serving His church by proclaiming His entire message to you…”
• vs 27: “The message; CHRIST LIVES IN YOU!”
• vs 28: “…so we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect (mature) in their relationship to Christ.”
• vs 29: “That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.”

Jeremiah chapter one –

• vs 7: “You must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you…”
• vs 9-10: “Look I have put my words in your mouth! Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.”
• vs 17: “…Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them.

I do not know what this next season is on the horizon and I’m not sure when it will fully break into the “now,” but I am very aware that God has been stirring me for a long time and the next season will bring change. I vow faithfulness to Jesus, my Savior, my God. I know, in my heart, I trust Him implicitly.

“The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
— Michelangelo

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Simple; not Easy…

For the past several months, I have been “meditating” (opposed to quickly reading) my way through several books. I don’t approach all books in the same way. Some books I breeze through, others I read more intentionally, and some I spend months chewing on them. Occasionally, two or more books will align in a delightful way such that they complement one another far beyond mere chance or coincidence. Presently, Deep-Rooted in Christ by Joshua Choonmin Kang, The Contemplative Pastor by Eugene Peterson, Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ancient Christian Devotional: A Year of Weekly Readings edited by Thomas Oden, and my Bible are working together in concert to sing a most divine song to my heart.

What is at the core of my post title, Simple; not Easy…? As the list of books above implies, a number of things are at the core…but when these are distilled down to the most common denominator and all the questions are asked and answered, what is left standing is one response; “simple.” What is simple? The answer is simple; the answer to every question and every challenge of life… and that answer is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength…then, love your neighbor as yourself. I’m sure there are detractors that say that is not the answer at all, and if it were the answer, it certainly is not simple, but I disagree. It is simple; we choose to put God first and then exercise with deliberate actions and intent to make it so in every facet of life. On the other hand, and as my title infers, it is not easy; not by a long shot.

Reading from The Contemplative Pastor Eugene Peterson writes; “Gabriel Marcel wrote that life is not so much a problem to be solved as a mystery to be explored. That is certainly the biblical stance: life is not something we manage to hammer together and keep in repair by our wits; it is an unfathomable gift. We are immersed in mysteries: incredible love, confounding evil, the creation, the cross, grace, God.” How true; life is a mystery…one we are all trying to figure out. The problem is that we are not equipped to figure it out on our own. There are simply way too many variables and complexities that make the equation unfathomable for us. Not the least of which, in this equation, is the deceptive heart; “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Here God tells us that without Him, we are not able to even know ourselves. How then, can we hope to make it through life? It seems to me that without putting God first (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Mark 12:28-31), our existence is only as sure as the next roll of the dice…not a very comforting thought.

I often listen to men and women express their discontent, confusion, and uncertainty about life; this isn’t new, unexpected, or abnormal. What perplexes me about this phenomenon of confusion and uncertainty is the amount of pastors, clergy, and spiritual leaders who are bound by it. I meet regularly with men who share a similar calling as I; we help to guide people in the ways of Jesus and faith. This is no easy task. As has already been mentioned, there are great complexities and challenges when human beings are involved…in anything. I am often perplexed and mildly disappointed when I meet with my peers. Many times I will meet with folks from different faith traditions and often I will meet with gentlemen of my own tribe; in either gathering I will frequently hear confessions and professions of faith that seem weak if not entirely contrary to the teachings of Jesus. My words should not be misunderstood; my intent is not criticism, or to judge someone’s faith, but as it relates to the leading of people or teaching the Word of God…it is most assuredly a matter that causes me great concern. Therefore, I am trying to understand why there is disparity between our views, opinions, and methods of counsel. Sorry for dropping off task for a moment, but I like to clarify and qualify my words. Back to my original thought now…

Recently I heard several leaders express their fears about the state of America (political and policy changes), the economy of our nation, and leading people through these times of transition and change. I heard them express uncertainty about knowing God’s direction for them as leaders in His Church and His direction for them as shepherds of His local flock…their home church. At the risk of sounding trite, I don’t get it. I don’t get the fear, I don’t get the uncertainty, and I don’t get the confusion. I understand there are ebbs and flows of our faith, especially so with concession given to physical, emotional, and outside-of-our-control circumstances; however, I think these are exceptions to our “normal” walk with God as opposed to the “natural” order of our faith journey. Yes, life can be difficult and in some cases it can be exceedingly difficult to the level of horrific proportion. It is not easy. The solution; however, is simple. Believe Jesus; take Him at His Word. Put God first in everything that we do; as He has said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” When we live with this as our primary directive, things change.

Problem: Things aren’t changing.

Why aren’t things changing? Why aren’t our church leaders, our spiritual guides, leading with confident trust in God? Why is it that so many of our professed teachers of Christian spirituality seem to have an uncertainty about God’s direction and will for His people? Once again, I think the will of God is pretty obvious (if we are open to the idea of reading the Bible). Jesus taught us what the will of the Father was during His time teaching the Twelve. Jesus shared repeatedly through His public teaching what the essence of God’s Kingdom was. He also told us to pray, teach, and live for the Kingdom of God at every single opportunity. We are to be Kingdom people. The command is simple; implementation and execution are not easy.

Why aren’t we living in compliance with the prayer and instruction of Jesus?

Generally speaking, I believe we have not become disciples. Oh, we profess to know Jesus and we claim to believe “in” him. We call ourselves followers and disciples, but we live frightfully similar lives in terms of those who openly reject Jesus and his teaching. We are easily offended by each other, we strive to purpose our personal agendas, we live immoderately and wasteful with regard to our personal resources, we are more concerned about individual comfort over the plight of the impoverished and marginalized citizens of earth, and we repeatedly rob God of the first fruits of His blessing to us (first fruits extends to every facet of our life: skills and gifting, time, talents, finances, etc.). I ask again, what is the reason for this offensive representation of Christianity? I believe the answer is; we have not become disciples. Jesus said, no one could be his disciple unless he was first willing to deny himself. He went on to clarify that statement to include “being willing to give up everything” to follow him (Luke 14:25-35). Jesus made a number of similar statements to these in other narrative accounts in the gospels; the point being, we must first be willing to die to self in order to become his disciple. This was the heart of his exposition to Nicodemus (John 3); “you must be born again.” One cannot be born again unless he first suffers some form of death whether it is literal or figurative… And again, on yet other occasions, Jesus spent considerable energy trying to explain the “first and last” concept along with the “lose your life to find your life” concept (see Matthew 10:32-39; 16:24-26; Luke 9:23-25). Could it be that our failure in becoming disciples is directly related to the fact we have not first “died to self?” I think this is the problem exactly and I think it is as prevalent among the Five-fold ministry (Eph. 4:11) as it is among those who are not. Yes, evidence indicates there is a large number of people professing to be teachers and leaders who have never become disciples. This is a tragedy. These “would be” teachers are in seriously dangerous territory (see Matthew 23 and James 3:1).

What is the answer; what is the takeaway?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the takeaway is simple, but not easy. The “Sign of Christ” only comes to those who are first willing to deny (die to) self. The sign of Christ is the transformed heart… without it there is no real evidence of a Christ-filled life.

“The sign of Christ drives the destroyer away from us insofar as our heart receives the Savior.” Augustine

In Deep-Rooted in Christ, Joshua Choonmin Kang reminds his readers of Jesus’ words from John’s Gospel… Jesus portrays his life with rich comparison to seed and fruit (John 12:24-25). “A seed that falls to the ground but doesn’t die won’t produce new life. Only when that seed is broken will the new life begin.” Pastor Kang also asks; “How can we let the life of God flow free? As the Lord said, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me’ (Luke 9:23).” Paul also discovered that the power of God flowed without limits when his self was broken. “I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you—a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:31).

“If we say ‘I believe in Jesus’ but it doesn’t affect the way we live, the answer is not that now we need to add hard work to our faith so much as that we haven’t truly understood or believed in Jesus at all.” Timothy Keller

I would add to Dr. Keller’s thought; we have not started down the path of discipleship…I am not following Jesus. My belief only trickles down from my brain to my lips. My belief has not consumed me to the point that it has affected the death of my Adamic nature and put to rest the cold, stony heart of this self-made-man…allowing the reconciling resurrection and restoration of the God-heart (Ezekiel 11:19 and Ezekiel 36:26) evidencing the transformational work of the Holy Spirit. This is the true sign of a disciple and how it begins to affect the way we live.

Simple; not easy.

The result of disciple-flavored leadership is confidence in the face of adversity, joy even in seasons of grief, gentle calmness of soul even when chaos surrounds, discernment, knowledge, and wisdom…yes, the very mind of Christ in a world that reeks of uncertainty. He has given us everything we need to live a godly life; even to sharing in the divine nature (2 Peter 1:2-4). How do we do this; what is our part? Our part is to trust, obey, die to self and follow. It isn’t easy, but it is simple.

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