OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me.”  (Revelation 3:20 NIV))

Loving God is different from loving doctrine. Doctrine (true ideas about God and His ways) is important. It is crucial that our minds are as soundly converted as our hearts. But in the end, ideas are just ideas; whereas God is alive -- a flame of love, a presence, a power, a reality, a person. Ideas can be embraced, but God can be loved. Once ideas are accepted and one’s life is conformed to them, the matter is over. But when God becomes the center of life, the story has just begun. How will it unfold, where you will be led, who will play a part in your life, what task you will be asked to undertake, where you will go -- all of that will emerge in the context of your relationship with God…

The Christian life is no static holding action; it is an amazing, serendipitous journey. To live it out is our calling in life. As we do so, we become what we are meant to be: whole people, holy people, conformed to the image of Christ. This is our great and wonderful task in life. 

-- Richard Peace in “Learning to Love God”

#5731

THE SAFETY NET

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”  (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV)

In his book “Falling Into Greatness,” Lloyd Ogilvie relates this story about the purpose of safety nets to trapeze artists: “A friend of mine, a high flier in the circus in his youth, tells me that the secret of becoming a successful trapeze artist is in overcoming the fear of falling. ‘Once you know that the net below will catch you, you stop worrying about falling,’ he said. ‘You actually learn to fall successfully! What I mean is, you can concentrate on catching the trapeze swinging toward you, and not on falling, because repeated falls in the past have convinced you that the net hurts only if you stiffen up and resist it. The result of falling and being caught by the net brings a mysterious confidence and daring on the trapeze. You fall less. Each fall makes you able to risk more!’”

For me faith-based small groups have been my safety net. They have encouraged me to take greater risks in my journey of following Christ, knowing that they are there to catch me if and when I fall. They have supported me in my calling to go into the ministry, throughout my years of serving Christ in the local church, and now in retirement. They have been there through the ups and downs of life, each time encouraging greater leaps of faith, and catching me when I do fall. At the same time, I have been part of that safety net for others as they live out their journey with Christ.

If you are not part of a Christ-centered small group, talk to your pastor or church leaders. They can help you get the support you need to fly high. 

– Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#5697

HOW TO FINISH WELL – Part 1 of 6

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”  (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV)

How then do we finish well?... What does it take? Let’s start with grace. We finish well by the grace of God. That is also how we start the race. That is what keeps us in the race. And that is what takes us to the end. As John Newton put it in his famous hymn, “Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.”

When all is said and done, grace is the ultimate explanation for why any of us make it. We are kept by the grace of God. It is then very appropriate to pray, “Lord, give me the grace to finish well.”

From this foundation, there is more to be said. We have observed six characteristics of those who finish well.

First, those who finish well have a Christ-centered life. They know they are saved by Him, and they never get over it. He is their life source. He is the center of their affections. As Graham Kendrick put it in a more recent hymn, they know “there is no greater joy” than knowing Him. Consequently, they focus more on loving Christ than avoiding sins. They know that a vibrant personal relationship with Jesus and a daily walk with Him are essential to everything. He is the spring from which comes all spiritual fruit. He is the vine; we draw our life from Him. When we plateau in our spiritual lives, we must come back to Him and seek renewal. Why? Because Christ is “author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). 

-- Adapted from Donald W. Sweeting and George Sweeting in “How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half”

#5618

A GOD-CENTERED LIFE

“Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.’” (Luke 9:23 NLT)

While the essence of sin is a shift from a God-centered to a self-centered life, the essence of salvation is a denial of self and a return to a God-centered outlook. We must come to a place where we renounce our self-focused approach to life and turn the attention and control over to God. When this happens, God orients us to Himself and to the purposes He is accomplishing around us…

God-centeredness requires a daily denial of self and a submission to God. 

-- Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby and Claude King in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”

#5415

GLORY AND MAJESTY

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.  (Jude 1:24-25 NKJ)

Christianity today is [human]-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of [humanity]. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Savior of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable. This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make [humanity] the star of the show. 

-- A.W. Tozer

#5374

CHRIST-CENTEREDNESS

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”  (Colossians 2:8 ESV)

Our journey toward balance and centeredness is a lifelong journey. While we may join others as we travel, and while fellow travelers may provide valuable support, our journey will belong to us and will be unlike any other person's. 

We will encounter obstacles, both from within ourselves and from the outside world. We will face forces that hinder our growth and seek to mold us into images that do not fit. 

But if we work to discover who we are, if we desire to come into relationship with God with our authentic selves, we can then find and live from Christ, our center. 

-- Kimberly Dunnam Reisman in “The Christ-Centered Woman” 

#5371

THAT ALL-TIME RELIGION

“Calling the crowd to Him with His disciples, Jesus said to them, ‘If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”  (Mark 8:34)

I am not here to please the dominant culture or to serve any all-show, no-go bureaucracies. I live to please my Lord and Savior. My spiritual taste buds have graduated from fizz and froth to Fire and Ice. Sometimes I’m called to sharpen the cutting edge, and sometimes to blunt the cutting edge. Don’t give me that old-time religion. Don’t give me that new-time religion. Give me that all-time religion that’s as hard as rock and soft as snow.

I’ve stopped trying to make life work, and started trying to make life sing. I’m finished with the secondhand sensations; third-rate dreams; low-risk, high-rise trades; and goose-stepping crusades. I no longer live by and for anything but everything God-breathed, Christ-centered, and Spirit-driven. 

-- Leonard Sweet, excerpted from his “Magna Carta of Trust” published in his book “A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Cafe”

THE CENTRALITY OF CHRIST

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”  (Colossians 1:15-20 NKJV)

The Cross of Christ is the heart of the Gospel. It takes the entire Bible to explain it. All our teaching must relate to that, like all the spokes and rim and tires of a wheel relate to the axis. Jesus is the center, the pivot. Everything else will fit into place around Jesus. Indeed the entire Word of God revolves around Him. If Christ is not the hub the wheel will wobble and break. 

-- Reinhard Bonnke in “Christ for All Nations”

#5336

JESUS CHRIST IS LORD

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (Philippians 2:9-11 NIV)

William Barclay has pointed out that “of all the titles of Jesus the title ‘Lord’ became by far the most commonly used, widespread, and theologically important. It would hardly be going too far to say that the word Lord became a synonym for the name, Jesus.” This sometimes neglected aspect of the Christian experience must be carefully considered by all men and women who want to be His disciples…

Jesus Christ, Lord of lords, has always existed and always will. Not all people allow Him to be center of their lives, but that does not alter the fact of His lordship. All will someday acknowledge Christ as Lord, but the privilege of acknowledging His lordship and allowing Him to be center of our lives is possible now. Allow Christ to be Lord of your life -- by a decision followed by daily practice.

-- from “Growing Strong in God’s Family”

#4698

DABBLING IN DISCIPLESHIP

“TO DABBLE: to undertake something superficially or without serious intent.” Most of us dabble at an endeavor from time to time. I used to dabble at stone polishing. I purchased rock tumblers and the various grits for each stage of the process. I polished batches of rocks for a couple of years. But over time, I lost interest. I could take it or leave it, and I pretty much left it. …. When we dabble, we spend time on something that really doesn’t affect or change us.

…Religious dabbling is alive and well among us. Some forms of church shopping today are little more than “dabbling” at discipleship. ‘Let’s see what this church can do for me and mine’ is not all that far removed from ‘let’s see whether Jesus will perform a sign for me’ [as Herod did in Luke 23:6-12]. Perhaps even more critical, some forms of faith involvement are little more than “dabbling” at discipleship. ‘As long as we don’t scratch beneath the surface of my life or the status quo around here, as long as all this “religious stuff” is not taken too seriously: everything will be all right.’

But will it? And will we?

Dabbling is all about keeping things on the surface. Discipleship goes deep into our world and into us. Dabbling is all about the momentary piquing of our curiosity before we move on to the next oddity that attracts -- or distracts -- our attention. Discipleship is all about fidelity that keeps faith with One whose presence is steady and whose call is demanding. Dabbling leaves us unaffected. Discipleship intends to change us at the core. Dabbling naturally leads to mocking the committed. Discipleship inevitably calls to living committed.

Which will it be for us? 

-- John Indermark in “Gospeled Lives”

#4550

GOD IS THE CENTER

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."  (Jeremiah 1:5)

Our lives are not puzzles to be figured out.  Rather, we come to God, who knows us and reveals to us the truth of our lives.  The fundamental mistake is to begin with ourselves and not God.  God is the center from which all life develops.  If we use our ego as the center from which to plot the geometry of our lives, we will live eccentrically.

-- Eugene H. Peterson in “Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at its Best”


#4152

REVERENCE, HONOR AND AWE

“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge.”  (Proverbs 14:26)

“The remarkable thing about fearing God,” said Oswald Chambers, “is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” In other words, when you give God the reverence, honor, and awe that He deserves as your First Love, then all of a sudden you realize that nobody -- and no circumstances -- can ultimately harm you. “The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?” asked King David. (Psalm 27:1) You’re reminded that God is in control and that your eternity is secure…

On the other hand, if you allow God to slip from preeminence in your life, you will find yourself afraid of every uncertain circumstance. Everything beyond your control will generate anxiety and fret within you. “When I set God at the center of my life I realize vast freedoms and surprising spontaneities,“ said Eugene Peterson. “When I center life in my own will, my freedom diminishes markedly. I live constricted and anxious.”

-- Leslie Strobel in Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage

#3934

THE LIVING CHRIST

"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life.'" (John 14:6a NIV)

In the two thousand years since the birth of Christ, men and women in all parts of the world have found that the key to the present and to the future has been centering their lives in Christ. They have sought to understand His unique life and death and discover what it means to follow Him in the circumstances of their lives.

In each of the twenty centuries since Christ's birth, people of faith have recorded rich and colorful images of Christ and His impact on their lives. Consider that the Epistle of Barnabus in the second century described Christ as the true and eternal milk and honey by which we will be fed and given understanding. John Climacus in the seventh century called Christ the Sun whose light we can see as we become accustomed to the light through meekness and humility... Catherine of Siena envisions Christ as the true bridge between humanity and God so that we might pass over the bitterness of the world and reach life. Each of these persons was seeking to express in simple, understandable language how his or her life had been reshaped and given new meaning through the presence of the living Christ. The language and the images are strikingly different, but each adds nuances of lived meaning as these persons try to capture the difference that Christ has made for them.

-- Janice T. Grana, adapted from 2000 Years Since Bethlehem


#3620

CHRIST ALONE

Some people, not content with Christ alone, are carried here and there from one hope to another; even if they concern themselves chiefly with Him, they nevertheless stray from the right way in turning some part of their thinking in another direction. Yet such distrust cannot creep in where people have once and for all truly known the abundance of Christ's blessings.

-- adapted from John Calvin in The Institutes of the Christian Religion


#2713

SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP BEGINS WITH CHRIST

"Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Eph. 3:14-21 NRSV)

To think rightly about spiritual leadership within the frame of Christian faith is to start not with ourselves but with Christ. Spiritual leadership does not issue primarily from our skills in persuasion, motivation, mediation, or administration. It does not come from gifts of passionate preaching, brilliant teaching, fine writing, or even effective action. It does not follow from mere individual vision or force of personality. Spiritual leadership begins with God. It issues from a living relationship with Christ, in which the purposes of God may be brought to light through our faithfulness.

-- Marjorie J. Thompson, excerpt from an article entitled “Rooted and Grounded in Christ,” in “Leading from the Center”


#2645

MERELY GOOD ADVICE?

Is not the popular idea of Christianity simply this, that Jesus Christ was a great moral teacher and that, if only we took His advice, we might be able to establish a better social order and avoid another war? Now, mind you, that is quite true; but it tells you much less than the whole truth about Christianity, and it has no practical importance at all. It is quite true that, if we took Christ's advice, we should soon be living in a happier world. You need not even go as far as Christ. If we did all that... Confucius told us, we should get on a great deal better than we do. And so what?... If Christianity only means one more bit of good advice, then Christianity is of no importance. There has been no lack of good advice for the last four thousand years. A bit more makes no difference.

-- C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity


#2597

BRINGING THE PEW TO CHRIST

The preaching for the present times, for all time, ought to be at once doctrinal and practical. Every sermon should have both these elements, well-balanced and aptly commingled. Above all, Christ is to be set forth in it as the grand idea and outcome of the whole. If the pulpit does not bring the pew to Him, it is recreant to its highest trust and fails in its chief value. Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon this thought. It must be present every moment, and uppermost as well as deepest in the mind, heart, and words of the preacher, if he would be a faithful and successful servant of his Lord.

-- Dr. James Strong, Drew Theological Seminary, in the Methodist Review, September 1890

CHRIST-FOCUSED NOT SELF-FOCUSED

You can never be perfectly free unless you completely renounce self, for all who seek their own interest and who love themselves are bound in fetters. They are unsettled by covetousness and curiosity, always searching for ease and not for the things of Christ, often devising and framing what will not last, for anything that is not of God will fail completely.

Hold to this short and perfect advice, therefore: give up your [selfish] desires and you will find rest. Think about it in your heart, and when you have put it into practice you will understand all things. This is not the work of one day, nor is it mere child's play. Indeed, in this brief sentence is included all the perfection of holy persons.

-- adapted from Thomas a' Kempis in A Pattern for Life


#2338