Contentment

This week at my local church and throughout the week at our community groups we are studying commitment.  This webpage discusses 'unshakable Christian contentment' based on a passage from Philippians.  Or, check out this web page for an additional study on being content as a Christian.

Poverty

I've just read a compelling article on living out the first beatitude: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:3)
The author, Jamie Arpin-Ricci, suggests that we should take another look at how we view poverty, and what we are doing about it.  Do we ignore the plight of the poor?
"The way we live in relation to both poverty and wealth must suffer the intense scrutiny Scripture demands, and then we must make the necessary changes to our lives. After all, when God said to his people that "there need be no poor among you" (Deuteronomy 15:4), he wasn't suggesting segregation."
That's all I'll leave you with at the moment, but if you want to read the entire article, check it out here.

The secret about spiritual growth

I've had a slow epiphany... although that's really an oxymoron.  But I've been gradually coming to a new point of view, and today I think it suddenly solidified in my mind, hence the epiphany.   Although, now that I'm trying to write about it, the idea isn't as clear to me as it was a few seconds ago.  But bear with me.
Spiritual growth.  We all need to grow and become more like Christ.  That journey is never done.  But what's the point?  I always thought that I needed to grow spiritually in order to just become a better person.  Personal growth will make you a better person, but as a Christian, that shouldn't be the end goal.  We shouldn't be concerned with how God will improve my life for me.  That's rather self-centred, isn't it?  My focus should be on how spiritual formation in my life will help other people come to God and extend God's kingdom on earth.  After all, if God is truly in me, I won't be focused on my own spiritual skills but rather on how God's Spirit in me can flow through to help others.
Jesus spent his entire life helping other people.  He didn't go to church to memorize scripture and sit there and look amazing.  He was out on the front lines, using his knowledge and gifts to show people the way to enter the kingdom of God.
That's what I'm going to be thinking about more this week - how can I grow spiritually in order to benefit the people around me?

Perseverance

My local church is going through a series on Philippians, and this week we discussed Philippians 3:12-21, where Paul talks about pressing on to reach the goal.  I'd like to point your attention to a blog about perseverance.  You can find it here.  I don't have much to add at this point, since you can really read all about it at that post.

Our yoke

I was just listening to a sermon by Bruxy Cavey and he made reference to that verse in Matthew where Jesus says 'My yoke is easy and my burden is light'. He urges us to take it upon ourselves. What is this yoke? Bruxy suggests that Jesus is talking about taking on a new way of life that is different from the old covenant which was burdensome. Jesus' way of life is easier because it is not based on a list of rules but on a change of heart. It's not that Jesus was giving us a time to sleep or rest physically, but he was showing us that the way forward under him would be easy because the work we would be doing would be restful. As we partner with him and become more like him, we find that his work is easy and wonderful.
This way of looking at this passage really opened my eyes because previously I had a more works oriented view. How could Jesus' yoke be easy when it still required work? But we need a change of heart. That's what Christianity is all about - transformation.

40 Days in the Word

So, it's been a while since we've talked about studying the bible in depth on this blog, hasn't it?  I hope you haven't given up studying your bible even though the 9 month reading plan is over.  To be honest, I find it easier to study the bible in a group, probably because of the accountability aspect.  I'm looking forward to community groups starting up again for the fall semester.  You should consider plugging into one wherever you are.
If you are looking for a way to dive deeper into God's word, consider going through Rick Warren's '40 Days in the Word' study campaign.  Rick Warren provides great study methods for how to get more out of your bible reading.  They are a lot of work, but they're easy to follow and will certainly improve the quality of information you can get out of reading your bible.

Dallas Willard's book... again

I'm posting again on Dallas Willard's book "Hearing God".  I'll probably end up posting on it again before I'm done, because I'm only partway through the book, and I'm finding it really interesting.  It speaks about how to talk and listen to God, but in ways that make sense.  Willard is basically putting into words a lot of the experiences I've either had or heard about, and he gives a bit more explanation about hearing God and provides scripture verses to back up his point of view.
The next idea of his that I'd like to mention is the fact that we can't just rely on blind faith (knowing that God is working in our lives but having no clue what exactly he's doing), miraculous acts of God, or just a 'sense' that he is guiding us.  We have to commune with him through reasonable, intelligent conversation.  Why?  Willard mentions Psalm 32:9 - "Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding, whose temper must be curbed with a bit and bridle."  Willard goes on to say "We are to be led by - guided by - reasonable intelligible communication, not by blind impulse, force, or sensation alone."

Hearing God

I'm reading a book by Dallas Willard titled 'Hearing God'. I'd like to share with you something he says about recognizing God's presence in our lives.
Willard reminds us that many people can often sense when someone else is looking at them without even knowing it. For example, someone is sitting on one side of the room but may have a sense that someone on the other side is looking at them; we later learn that they were looking at them.
Why then should we be surprised when we get a sense that God is with us? I've experienced both secular and spiritual experiences like this but had never linked the two together. Have you had a similar experience?

Another book

I'm currently reading through Who Speaks for God? by Charles Colson. It is a collection of very short essays regarding a variety of issues pertaining to Christianity. If you want to read a book that makes you think, you should check this one out. Although it is from the 1980s, it still discusses issues relevant for today's world.
One topic I found particularly useful was titled "In Search of Self". Basically, some people decide to abandon their commitments, such as spouses, jobs, friends, or churches, and decide to run off and try to find themselves by running a candy shop in Hawaii. Following some haphazard dream may sound great but as Christians we can't just dig deeper within ourselves to find the way. Our identity is in God and we need to seek after him wholeheartedly. Only in losing ourselves in God will we truly find ourselves.
That's just one of the topics Colson touches on in the book. Feel free to read further.

More blessings take 2

I'm going to revise my position from the previous post. There's a verse somewhere in the bible that says that God sends rain on the good and bad alike. Rain is a blessing (when needed for crops).
I think that regardless of what you do, you will experience God's blessing in your life. Blessings are just one example of God's love that he bestows freely.

More blessings?

I'm currently reading a book by John MacArthur titled The Body Dynamic. In it, he says that no matter what we do, God will not love us more or less. I agree with this idea, but how about this - Will God bless you more if you do good things, like reading the Bible or helping others out?
I think so. Perhaps not because you're being a goody two shoes, but because living the way God planned for you to live IS such a blessing. Granted, evil always seems to get in the way and bad things do happen to good people, and those bad things certainly don't seem like blessings. So in the end, does God bless you more the more good things you do?

The sons of God

'Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God.'
These words from that old tune came back to me today as I was reading 1 John chapter 3. The NIV reads "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"
In his book titled 'Be Real' Warren Wiersbe highlights the importance of this verse by linking it back to the passage in Ephesians that says that while we were still his enemies, God, through Christ Jesus, brought us near himself (Eph 2:12-13).

God is a surgeon

I was just listening to a seminar by Steve Gladen, and he made a comment that I thought I would pass along to you.  "God is a surgeon, not an assassin."
Let me explain.
Have you ever felt like God was taking a knife to you, trying to cut away the bad things in your life?  Well, here's the thing, we don't have to be afraid of him wielding the knife!  He's not out to kill us or condemn us.  He's trying to bring us closer to perfection.  So the next time you sense that you're on the operating table, don't freak out!  God's not going to mess up.  If you adhere to his guidance, you'll end up a lot healthier.

Prayer

Here's a prayer opportunity I heard about recently.  Even if you aren't a pastor or lay leader in your church, consider praying through your church's directory every week (or two weeks, etc. depending on the size of your church).  I think the time and commitment it takes to pray for the people in your church will draw you closer to God, as you ask him to work in their lives.  Moreover, I think this prayer 'task' will also bring you into further fellowship and communion with your church family.  Praying for people has a miraculous way of getting you to take a deeper interest in them!

Reading Plans

I hope you have all been able to find new reading plans or other methods for staying on top of your bible reading.  The YouVersion bible app for the iPhone and iPad has been very useful for me because it has a large selection of reading plans that you can choose from and it will track your progress on each plan you start.  If you haven't used this app yet, you should check it out.  It will certainly help you stay on top of your bible reading!

Further discussion on community

For those of you interested in following this discussion on community, check out my latest blog at experiencingcommunity.blogspot.com.

Learning more about community

In my search to find out more about what 'community' is and how to foster it, I found a sermon that Bill Clem from Mars Hill Church in Seattle preached about community.  It's all about Jesus.  Click here to be redirected to the sermon web page.

Experiencing community

I've started looking into more and more about what it means to be in community within the church (both local and worldwide).  Community and small groups seem to be real buzz words in church circles still today, even though this new phenomenon started back around the 1970s and 1980s. Why is that? Are community groups really important? What is it about today's culture that we're still intent on establishing community groups?