MY SPIRITUAL GENEALOGY

“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.”  (2 Timothy 2:2 NLT)
 
Every family tree has branches, names, and stories that brought us to where we stand today. I have been working on my family tree, which now has over 2100 people in it, and in some cases goes back seven generations. And as I celebrate my 75^th birthday tomorrow, I am very appreciative of that lineage that has gotten me to this point.
 
But there is another lineage -- one not recorded in dusty archives or online databases. It is our spiritual genealogy, the sacred chain of grace that stretches from Christ Himself all the way to us.
 
It began with Jesus, who entrusted His gospel to a handful of ordinary men and women. They carried His message with trembling hands and burning hearts. They shared it with neighbors, strangers, and nations. One person told another. Parents told their children. A friend told a friend. A preacher proclaimed it to a crowd. A missionary whispered it on the other side of an ocean. A Sunday school teacher planted it in a young heart. A coworker shared it over lunch. A grandparent prayed it over a crib. A chaplain comforted a hospice patient.
 
Somewhere in that unbroken line of Christ’s faithful witnesses, someone told the person who told the person who eventually told me. There were actually many persons who showed me The Way.
 
I may never know all their names. I may never see their faces. But heaven knows every one of them and I hope to meet them there and thank them. God saw each conversation, each prayer, each act of courage that carried the gospel one link further down the chain until it reached my life.
 
And now, by grace, I am part of that lineage. The story didn’t end when the gospel reached me and I received it. It continues every time I share Christ’s love, speak His name, share a SOUND BITES quote, or live out His truth. I am both a recipient and a steward of a life-changing message that has traveled across centuries to find me.
 
My spiritual genealogy is a reminder that faith is never an accident. It is a gift, intentionally passed down through generations of faithful hearts, all rooted in the One who started it all -- Jesus Christ.
 
Lord, thank You for every person who carried Your gospel forward so it could reach me. Help me honor that legacy by sharing Your love with the next link in the sacred chain of grace. Let my life be part of someone else’s spiritual genealogy, pointing them back to You. 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry™

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THE CONVICTION OF THE SPIRIT

Jesus said, “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment… When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.”  (John 16:7,8,13 NLT)

Every year our entire church staff goes on a pilgrimage to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  During one of the sessions this past year, our team was sitting in the balcony of the Gwinnett Center listening to my friend and pastor of LifeChurch, Craig Groeschel.  And he asked this question: “Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God?”

I felt a tremendous sense of conviction when Craig asked that question.  As I sat in that balcony, surrounded by twelve thousand other leaders, I heard the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit said to my spirit in His kind yet convicting voice, Mark, what happened to the college kid who used to pace the chapel balcony seeking My face?

There are few things I hate more or appreciate more than the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  It is so painful.  But it is so necessary.  And I’m so grateful that God loves me enough to break me where I need to be broken.  Can I make an observation?  You cannot listen to just half of what the Holy Spirit has to say.  It’s a package deal.  If you aren’t willing to listen to everything He has to say, you won’t hear anything He has to say.  If you tune out His convicting voice, you won’t hear His comforting voice or guiding voice either.  As I was seated in the balcony, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the raw spiritual intensity I once had.  He revealed how calloused my heart had become.  And I realized that I had somehow lost my soul while serving God.  And it wrecked me.

Does your heart break for the things that break the heart of God?  

-- Mark Batterson in “PRIMAL: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity”

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THE COMING OF THE SPIRIT

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NIV)

The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost instilled in the church its mission and ministry. Our purpose is to be Christ’s witnesses -- beginning in our community and extending throughout all the world.

The continued growth of the church and proclamation of the gospel is dependent upon us. The gospel is no longer dependent upon Peter, James, John, Paul, and Silas, and all the early Christians. It is dependent upon each one of us in our life and witness. It is an awesome task and incredible responsibility, but remember we are not alone in this. The Spirit is always with us, and that’s what keeps us going.

Pentecost is about power, the coming of the Spirit to empower the church to fulfill its purpose and calling. 

-- Adapted  from James W. Moore and Bob J. Moore in “Lord, Give Me Patience!... And Give It to Me Right Now!”  

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BREAKING OUT

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”  (1 Peter 2:2-3 NIV)

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is -- His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  (Romans 12:2 NIV)

We must try to break out of our culture’s mindset and seek to discover “that good and perfect will of God.” In short, we must somehow get hold of “the pure spiritual milk” of the Word, as opposed to the diluted baby formula that has become the diet prescribed by society. We must escape the tendency to conform to society – even within our most crucial spiritual disciplines.

It seems to me that only a strong doctrine of the Holy Spirit offers us any hope of reading Scripture without being influenced by our culture. There has to be something of a miracle involved in true revelatory Bible reading. And the good news is that such miracles happen. As I read the Scriptures, without the help of commentaries or interpreter’s notes, more times than not, I am conscious of the Spirit’s presence. There is revelation, and in it the Spirit applies what I read to my life. I sense I am “breaking out” of culturally controlled modes of interpretation, even as I sense the “breaking in” of God. 

-- Adapted from an article by Tony Campolo (1935-2924) entitled “Getting Out of the World Alive” in Discipleship Journal, No. 86

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IN JARS OF CLAY

“We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”  (2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV)

In this passage, we find Paul trying to help his readers see the glory of our heavenly Father in the dust of everyday experience. That’s what makes a huge difference in this life: seeing things from God’s perspective. Paul was showing that it can be done because God has been revealed in human form through Jesus Christ, the ultimate Treasure in an earthly vessel -- flesh and blood. All the eternal and infinite glory of God shined through the humanity of His Son, who was fully human and yet fully divine. Jesus’ enemies saw Him as just another man, but behind those eyes dwelt the one true God… We have this treasure, the ministry of Christ, in our “earthly vessels,” our frail and imperfect human bodies.

This is a difficult concept to understand, but Paul always had a handy word picture available. This time he used the idea of a clay jar. If there was one absolutely ordinary, run-of-the-mill object that everyone in the Middle East could understand it was the clay jar. Cheap pottery was everywhere and used for everything. The jars were breakable, but it didn’t matter because it was so easy to get another one. Clay earthenware was as common as -- well, as the clay beneath one’s feet.

A clay pot had absolutely no value in itself. Everyone knew that. On the other hand, it could hold a priceless pearl, a gold piece, a bite of bread to fend of hunger, a day’s drink of water, a wedding ring… It wasn’t the jar but the treasure inside that counted. 

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down” 

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