Category: Discipleship

The Kind of Person God Uses

Posted in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens, PreachingLeave a comment

Have you ever wondered why God uses a particular person or a certain church?  Have you ever looked at them and wondered what they had that you did not have?  I believe there are at least four observations we can make about people or churches that God uses….

  • God uses the person who is following His mission. As Dr. Henry Blackaby said in Experiencing God, most of us pray “Lord, bless what I’m doing” when we should be praying “Lord, help me to do what you are blessing!”  God will bless those who are focusing on HIS mission instead of focusing on THEIR mission.
  • God uses the person who is willing to risk failure. Following Jesus is not for the faint at heart.  Acts 15:26 reminds us that Paul and Barnabus “risked their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  Erwin McManus says that we have become domesticated Christians, unwilling to risk anything for the cause of Christ.  The truth is, that our lifestyle is far-removed from the Book of Acts.  I’m not saying we should simply take foolish risks for no reason, but we should be willing to go anywhere God leads and attempt anything God says we should attempt, even if there’s no guarantee of success.
  • God uses the person who expects to be used. Jesus told the two blind men, “According to your faith will it be done to you”  (Matthew 9:29).  Rick Warren says that there is one consistent ingredient he sees in every church where God is working — people who are willing to believe God.  In other words, the faith factor.
  • God uses the person who never gives up. Paul reminds us to “not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).  Most people miss the harvest simply because they quit too soon.  The harvest takes time, but God’s timing is always perfect.  We should NEVER give up.  Sometimes the game is won on a last-second shot….on a two-out blast….on a hail-Mary heave.

This past week my mom’s youngest brother went home to be with the Lord.  As I sat and heard his children, my first cousins, talk about what a wonderful father he was and what a Godly example he was, I was reminded that we should serve God passionately.  We should serve Him daily.  We should serve Him to the very end of our life.  We should finish the course and keep the faith.  THAT is the kind of person God uses.

Honoring Our Military – “Raw Worship”

Posted in Discipleship, Life Happens, Worship2 Comments

(Written 10/23/2008)

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”John 4:24

Can you remember the most moving worship service you ever attended? I can, because it was only two days ago, on Easter Sunday.

My wife and I entered the Chapel Service at the Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas with our son wearing his sharp “dress blues.” Around us sat 1,000 young, uniformed men and women, at all stages of military basic training–“zero weekers” to “new airmen.”

Music videos played as we entered. Toward the beginning of the service, the worship leaders and band led some upbeat worship music along with a jazzed-up version of a moving hymn.

Then IT happened–the most powerful worship moment I can remember! The Mark Schultz video, Letters from War, began to play. In amazing unison, the soldiers leaped to their feet, let out a yell, and started passing around boxes of tissues. As the song began, every soldier was singing and every soldier was crying.

The moment was raw….the moment was real! They seemed to understand that God helped them through another week of “Hell on earth” as they prepared to serve our country. That week, the God of the Bible had been their God, their helper, their strength.

The most touching moment was the point in the video when the soldier came home. As his car turned down the lane to his farm on the video, the soldiers let out an enormous cheer. Wow! Patriotism and the Spirit of God was as powerful as any moment in my life.

Later, during the offering, I watched my son count out 10% of his small, military salary and place it in the basket as it passed. Words can never adequately describe how I felt at that moment!

The truth is, our churches are starving for that level of raw worship. Assimilation rates will dramatically improve if we achieve worship that is real….worship that is raw…worship that is relevant! Even though I have been a Christian for 34 years, I personally long for that kind of worship. I fear that we may have to experience a great trial in our lives, similar to these soldiers, if we ever hope to cling desperately to God again.

Prayer: “Lord, whatever it takes. Let us see You. Let us sense You. Let us experience You. Let us worship You in a way that is raw and real. Let us serve you with a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service because You are worthy!”

You Light My Path

Posted in Discipleship, Running2 Comments

I could hardly sleep last night because of the anticipation of trying out my new Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp at 5:30 am this morning.  I went with this particular model because it had great reviews and was very affordable.  Until this morning, I had never run with a headlamp.  On several recent morning runs, I ran along the unlit path blindly–hoping that I did not trip or step on something.

BUT….this morning, thanks to my Petzl Tikka Plus 2 Headlamp, that ALL CHANGED!  I could see!  I could see well!  Now, I couldn’t see everything because it was dark, but I could see the path well.

I was reminded of the fact that God’s Word is like a headlamp.  It lights our path so we can see where to take the next step.  God does not always show us the entire horizon in life, but He promises to “direct our steps” and He promises to “light our path.”  I have personally found God to be very faithful to those promises in my life.

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

“If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm.”  Psalm 37:23 (NIV)

Fights and Quarrels in the Church

Posted in Church Chat, Discipleship, Funny, Life Happens2 Comments

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.This week I’ve been reading from the New Testament written by James, the brother of Jesus.  In the passage above, James asks the question, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?”  Then he answers his own question by saying, “Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?”  James 4:1-3, NIV

This week I have been reading the New Testament book written by James, the brother of Jesus.  I love his letter written “To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (James 1:1) because it is very practical and very direct.  We need more preaching and teaching like that today.

In the above passage (4:1-3), James identifies the source of most “fights and quarrels” in the church–they derive from our selfish, personal desires.  The greek word for the term “desires” is the source of the word “hedonism.”  Dictionary.com defines “hedonism” as “the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good.”

We live in a day when many believe that the church exists to serve them, to entertain them, and to make them happy, but actually the opposite is true.  The Church does not exist to serve us; as Christians, we exist to serve the Church. 

May the Lord help every believer in every Christ-honoring church to set aside his or her personal desires for the church to pursue the desires that the Lord has for His church!  May it begin in me.

The “Skinny” on Spiritual Growth

Posted in Church Chat, Discipleship, Life Happens, Ministry1 Comment

The last few weeks at Shelbyville First Baptist Church, Pastor Andy McDonald and I have been teaching our second-level foundational class called Maturity 201.  The class includes some of the material written by Dr. Rick Warren as well as material I personally wrote for the class.

In Maturity 201 we discuss the important subject of spiritual maturity.  Here is a brief excerpt from the class:

FACTS ABOUT SPIRITUAL MATURITY

  • Spiritual maturity IS NOT automatic.  A Christian believer must be disciplined and work at achieving spiritual maturity.  We can’t just sit back and “hope” it happens.  We have to develop and practice the spiritual habits that lead us to spiritual maturity.  For more information on this topic, read my other entries under the “discipleship” category. 

“You have been Christians for a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others, but instead … you need someone to teach you … When a person is still living on milk, it shows he isn’t very far along in the Christian life … He’s still a baby Christian!”  Hebrews 5:12-13 (LB)

  • Spiritual maturity is a journey.  Ultimately, spiritual maturity will take a lifetime.  It is a process–a lifelong journey of becoming more and more like Christ.

“Learn to be mature.”  Proverbs 8:5 (GN)

“Continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our savior Jesus Christ.”  2 Peter 3:18 (GN)

  • Spiritual maturity takes discipline.  Spiritual maturity is not complicated, but it is not easy.  It takes discipline to be spiritually fit just like it takes discipline to be physically fit.

“Take the time and the trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit.”  1 Timothy 4:7b (Ph)

“Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.”  1 Timothy 4:7b (NASB)