Abiding Grace

Monday, April 14, 2008

The Impact of Holiness

As we study on in Isaiah and really deal with these difficult passages of judgment, and not just gloss over them, I pray that we will allow God's Holiness to impact us. This might serve as a good time to remind ourselves of how we studied God's Holiness earlier in Isaiah. We noted that in His holiness God is lofty and exalted (Isaiah 6:1), that in His holiness God is glorious (Isaiah 6:3) and that in His holiness He is morally pure (Isaiah 6:5-7).

The power of a voice proclaiming God's glory can be quite threatening. God's own voice terrifies the Jewish people at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19.18,19; 20.18,19). Here in Isaiah 6.4, "At the sound of their voices the doorposts shook and the temple was filled with smoke". Hebrews 20.18-29 reminds us that even though we have the freedom to approach God we still do so with "reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire"". Finally, in the last days God's own glory and power are so overcoming that no one can be in His presence (Revelation 15.8).

To pray that we will allow God's Holiness to impact us is not a matter to be taken lightly. However, can we purse God in any other way? May Jesus change us to make us more like Him (2 Corinthians 3.18)!

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Getting Started in our Lent Study of Jesus in Isaiah

We have already seen Isaiah is so rich and wonderfully applicable to our lives today. As we journey together toward Easter consider Isaiah 56.1-8. Especially in light of hearing Bob and Nancy Haussler's presentation regarding Wycliffe work in the Solomon Islands—verse 7 ought to have a powerful impact in us, "for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations".

For those itching to get started in the devotional guide (which does not start until Ash Wednesday)…consider the use of this quote by Jesus in the gospels (Matthew 21.13; Mark 11.7 and Luke 19.46). Is our worship a place for singing and prayer, a place where the nations (or sojourners) experience Jesus? What are your thoughts regarding worship being a place to manifest social justice concerns (vs. 1)? Are there parallels to our culture regarding this language of eunuchs (vs. 4,5) or the language of foreigners (vs. 6-8)?

Let the conversation begin!

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Review of 2007 Looking Forward to 2008

A simple thought. As I anticipate 2008 at Windborn I am excited about how Jesus is leading us in sanctification and in discipleship. In sanctification there is a genuine excitement about the fact that Jesus is the one who makes us more like Himself and we simply need to hang out and cooperate with His leading. This is discipleship: and coordinating these thoughts into Listen, Adore and Cooperate seems to really be getting some traction.

This excitement for 2008 comes from the fact that He has worked in us (as I review 2007) to be aware of our need for training in the Word of God (to learn inductive Bible study and be equipped to read, understand and communicate to others the Scriptures, to not be Biblically Illiterate) and the need to raise up leaders (right now this is looking at how we train deacons and making leadership training available for the flock, in the future this will manifest itself in Spiritual gift assessments).

A simple thought. Hang out with Jesus, keeping our eyes on Him and He draws us to Himself. He works in and through us. He leads us. He teaches us what He wants to do and how He wants to do it!

Friday, December 28, 2007

Thoughts on Discipleship—Listen, Adore, Cooperate,

If our focus is to be on abiding and thus on being not on doing then it seems that the culturally accepted view of discipleship is wrong. Most American evangelical churches take the Great Commission and the Great Commandment and create some four or five action steps to indicate discipleship. Then the church leaders sit back and think up a quantifiable way to measure what a person looks like if they do those core priorities in their church. Such an approach puts the emphasis on doing and not on being, indirectly re-enforcing the idea that we are sanctified by our works.

In effort to not deconstruct alone, which is not very helpful in shepherding, I've been trying to think through a "grace" perspective. First the Great Commission and Great Commandment were not given to quantify the Christian life but be essential to our DNA. Therefore, they ought not be made into a checklist but rather be who we are: lovers of God and people on the sojourn of pointing people to Jesus in this life. Second if we understand that we are sanctified by grace (and not our checklist) then we must Listen, Adore and Cooperate with Jesus!

Listen: Jesus only did the will of the Father and went away to pray late at night, all night, early in the morning, on the lake, up on the mountain…you get the idea. So our part in abiding is to "be still and know", we listen. We listen, in our prayer time but also in the Word; thereby, not staying Biblically illiterate.

Adore: we love Jesus! We worship Him and keep our eyes on Him and present all that we are to Him. So in much more then singing on a Sunday morning we abide in conscience appreciation for His functional life source.

Cooperate: as Jesus listened to the Father, the Father had stuff for Him to do. This understanding of grace does not mean we live a monastic life of sitting on our hands. Rather, Jesus leads us to cooperate with Him in the tasks that He will do through us. In abiding we do not produce the fruit, He does; our role is to show it off, be the vessel of bearing the fruit.

I realize this incorporates some of the same elements of the checklisters, but again remember the Great Commission and Great Commandment are in our DNA. Still this is more than rehashing old ideas in new clothing because this is coming from a different theological and philosophy of ministry grid. Or at least it is coming from a shepherding perspective of "how can I communicate discipleship and not lead people into a sanctified by works paradigm"?