Tag: maturity

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Christian Living

The Christian Life is not a Private Matter. It is Life Lived Together.

Many people think that their spiritual beliefs and the way they live out the Christian life is a private matter that no one else has a right to speak into.
photo of a chain with the word "private" to keep people off the property, symbolizing our Christian life is not a private matter
I’ve heard people say things such as, “I go to church, but in regard to how I run my business, the church has no right to say anything.” I’ve also heard, “Well, what he does in his private time is between him and God. That’s not a matter for the church.”

Completely false. Church is a family. And what you do matters to your family. Being a Christian gives you a new name and a new Father. And your actions either glorify His Name or dishonor Him. And the Church family that you have committed to has a responsibility to hold you accountable to glorify His Name. When you join a church family, you are indicating to them that you are willing to be held accountable for your behavior.

I’ve been encouraging you to be in a Discipleship Group. And maybe you were even thinking: “But isn’t my faith a private matter?” And as I just said – Actually it is not.

But don’t take my word for it. Instead, take God’s Word. The Bible gives us many verses about how the Christian life is life lived for Christ together. Look at the list that Robbie Gallaty points out:

    • Love one another. (John 13:34)
    • Be in agreement with one another. (Rom.12:16)
    • Accept one another. (Rom. 15:7)
    • Instruct one another. (Rom. 15:14)
    • Greet one another. (Rom. 16:16)
    • Serve one another. (Gal. 5:13)
    • Be kind and compassionate to one another. (Eph. 4:32)
    • Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Eph. 5:21)
    • Admonish one another with all wisdom. (Col. 3:16)
    • Encourage one another and build each other up. (1 Thess. 5:11)
    • Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another. (James 5:16)
    • Be hospitable to one another. (1 Pet. 4-:9)

Gallaty explains:

    While some of this can be practiced on a Sunday morning, in reality, a D-Group is an ideal setting for living out many of these commands. For example, consider confessing your sins. Larger contexts such as Sunday school or small groups aren’t well-suited for this. But it’s something we need to do regularly, since sin festers and grows in isolation. A d-Group is significantly less threatening for addressing sins, and believers may be more apt to open up about present struggles in this context.
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer emphasizes the dangers of isolation: “Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive the power of sin over him.” This is why participation in a group is essential.
    The concept of a “passive participant” doesn’t make sense either. Everyone comes prepared to contribute. Through community with like-minded brothers and sisters in a discipleship setting modeled by the Master, spiritual growth is made possible, but only insofar as it is based on the firm foundation of God’s Word.

Your Christian faith and your Christian growth and your Christian life is not a private matter. Your Christian life is about being together with others who will help you walk the narrow road well.
Get in a group!
Get growing!

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Categories
Christian Living

Embracing a Discipleship Commitment for Your Spiritual Growth

Part of the reason that I struggled with writing for my website in 2017 was my involvement in several discipleship groups during the year. At FBC Newton, we have been focused on developing these groups (D-Groups), and they have been my priority, so anything extra was relegated to the back-burner. But as the original groups have now split into multiple new groups, my time commitments are not quite as taxing as they were, and so I now have a bit more time to write. These D-groups have been a blessing to me, and I wanted to share with you the commitments of the groups, because I think they are important commitments for every Christian to embrace.

Each group consist of 3-5 people of the same gender who meet together regularly to

  • Pray for one another.
  • Discuss how to live out the teachings of Jesus.
  • Sharpen one another in Christian living.
  • Hold each other accountable in their Christian walk.

    • Don’t each of us need these things in our lives to aid us in our Christian discipleship?

    “But that means you are asking me to add something extra to my schedule. Do you know how busy I am?”

    I know, we are all extremely busy. But…

    Do you not have time for something extra if it will help you grow significantly with Jesus Christ?
    If your answer is “No, I do not,” then that may mean that you need to give something else up.

    a pocketwatch to symbolize the need to make time for discipleship
    Will You Make Time For Discipleship This Year?

    Commitments to one of our Discipleship Group Include:

  • Meeting with your group regularly.
  • Reading at least 1 chapter of the Bible each day, Monday thru Friday.
  • Writing down what God is teaching you through your reading.
  • Sharing during the group.
  • And the final commitment is that at the end of no more than 2 years, the group will divide to start at least one additional group to do the same thing again with more people.


    • That’s It. Pretty simple commitments. Read God’s Word every day and get together with others to tell them how God is transforming you through it.

    So, if you know that the Great Commission of Jesus commands you to “Go and Make Disciples,” then how are you being obedient to His command?
            Who is discipling you?
            Who are you discipling?

    If you do not have a clear answer to these final questions, then something needs to change in your life to make space for obedience to a key command of Jesus!

    And let me just say… You can do this!

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    Categories
    Christian Living

    Getting Into A Muddle

    “Getting Into A Muddle”
      by brian rushing

    confusing road sign symbolizing the concept of a muddle
    photo source: whoisbillbailey.info/picture-good-luck/

    Many of us often wonder: “How in the world has this world gotten in such a mess?”
    We might also ask: “How in the world has my family gotten into such a mess?”
    And even more personally, at some point we will probably all ask: “How has my personal life gotten into such a mess?” I like the way J. I. Packer asks it: “How on earth have people got into such a muddle?”
    His answer?

    One is that people have gotten into the practice of following private religious hunches rather than learning of God from his own Word; we have to try to help them unlearn the pride and, in some cases, the misconceptions about Scripture which gave rise to this attitude and to base their convictions henceforth not on what they feel but on what the Bible says.

    A second answer is that modern people think of all religions as equal and equivalent—they draw their ideas about God from pagan as well as Christian sources; we have to try to show people the uniqueness and finality of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s last word to man.

    A third answer is that people have ceased to recognize the reality of their own sinfulness, which imparts a degree of perversity and enmity against God to all that they think and do; it is our task to try to introduce people to this fact about themselves and so make them self-distrustful and open to correction by the word of Christ.

    Do you see yourself holding to any of these misconceptions? Have you ever found yourself in a muddle?

    Too often we want to “feel” that God should be a certain way, when the Bible presents Him in another light. Too often we want to think that there are many ways to God, when the Bible is clear that Jesus is the only Way. And too often we want to think that we are good enough on our own, when the Bible tells us that our righteousness is worthless in God’s eyes and that we must take the righteousness of Jesus to be made holy.

    To get out of our mess… our muddle… we have to decide to “grow up” and look at things from God’s perspective, instead of demanding that things always be our way.


            (Quotes in today’s post are from Knowing God by J. I. Packer)


    Categories
    Christian Living

    Good Things vs. God Things

    How do you tell the difference between something good and something of God?
    Are they always one and the same?

    I get involved in plenty of good stuff. In fact, a lot of the things I do could be considered good things. You too.
    But if they aren’t the things that God wants me to do, is it the right use of my time?

    I remember a discussion in seminary class about whether we should pray about every single thing. Some students argued that we should pray about every single decision. Others said not every decision is one that God cares about. The example given was in regard to the purchase of a vehicle and that God probably doesn’t care whether you purchase the yellow or the blue car. That God allows us to make some decisions on our own and doesn’t really care one way or another about some of the small things.

    Maybe.

    But I sure like this explanation on how to determine the difference between good things and God things:

    “One of the ways I can tell if something is a good thing or a God thing is very simple. Did I pray about it? Did I even take the time to reflect on this purchase or that conversation, accepting this job, or deciding to watch that movie? If I haven’t prayed, then I may not have brought God into the decision-making process at all. No, the possession or activity may not be evil, wrong, or destructive, but if I’m not even aware of how I can use it to honor God, I’ll probably miss the opportunity.

    “In the church today, many of us are preoccupied with “good things.” We want God to make us feel good, and we want to be entertained by the services. If one church doesn’t make us feel just right, we go somewhere else. God wants us to grow beyond the infant stage of thinking that all of life is about us. As we mature, we learn that God has a purpose for us that is far bigger, far grander, far more meaningful than anything we can imagine.

    …“Many of us need to stop doing some of the good things we’re doing right now so we can focus more of our time, energy, and passion on Christ. I know men who have chosen to go fishing less often, women who resign from a club or organization that was absorbing their time, and students who dropped out of cheerleading or a sport because they realized these activities stole their hearts away from Jesus” (Thomas Young – “Do You Want to Go to the Mountain?”).

    Are you possibly involved in some good things that aren’t God things?
    It sure is easy to do.

    How do you determine the difference between a good thing and a God thing?

    …a true Christian must be willing to sacrifice everything in this life for the sake of the next. – Bruce Shelley, Church History in Plain Language

    Categories
    Jesus

    Wanting Jesus To Grant My Three Wishes

    Jesus says to ask, seek, and knock. He says that whatever I ask in His Name, I will receive.
    Awesome! All I have to do is tell Him what I want from Him, throw in the phrase “In Jesus’ Name” at the end of the prayer, and God will give me whatever I’m asking for… right? a genie's lamp that might be used to grant three wishes

    OK, maybe not. But then, what did Jesus mean? Does His statement have something to do with my motives? What if I am asking for the wrong things or with the wrong motives? What if my wishes are not His wishes?

    According to Jesus, God is ready to give us even greater gifts than our earthly fathers. But the example Jesus gives is a son asking for a loaf of bread or a fish – for nourishing, healthy food. I don’t remember too many times when I asked for nourishing food. Instead, I was always asking for an extra serving of dessert!

    When a child asks a parent for good, beneficial, healthy things, parents are quick to say “Yes.” On the other hand, when we continued to ask for the wrong things we’d get Dad’s furrowed brow, Mom’s long “sighs,” and a “No, I am not going to get that for you.” And while a temper tantrum on the floor of the grocery store might work on some parents, it certainly didn’t work on mine and it certainly won’t work on God.

    So maybe the asking, seeking, and knocking in His Name is not a description of how to force Jesus to do our bidding like some genie in a bottle. Maybe it has to do with right motives. Maybe it has to do with our maturity and knowing what God wants, and therefore knowing what is good and healthy for us and for others.

    As we grow in maturity in our relationship with God, He wants to have us talk to Him about mature things. Parents love to talk to their children, but they expect as they age to have more mature conversations. God wants us to talk to Him about all things, but it really pleases Him when we talk to Him about the things that are in His will – spiritually focused things. Praying for the things that break His heart.

    What are some of the things that you think are most near & dear to His heart?
    What are some of the spiritually-focused things that we ought to be praying to Him about?