I recently read through the gospel of Matthew to once again see how Jesus went about making disciples for the three years before his death and resurrection. One of the main lessons I learned was the importance of obedience; he taught through practical application rather than simply by explaining. E.g. even before the Spirit has been poured out on them, He already sent first the 12 (Matt.10, Luk.9) and then the 72 (Luk.10) out to proclaim the Good News. It is by doing that we learn to understand why and how.
However, recently I am starting to understand that I might have missed the most important method used by Jesus. He lived what He taught (e.g. John 5:19 and John 15:5). Paul used the same method when He said (1 Cor.11:1): "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ". We need to live a life of following Jesus before we can call others to do the same. The streams of living waters flowing from within us is what will make others thirsty for the One we know and in whom we live. Experiencing God daily in our life is what will enable us to introduce others to Him. Confessing and repenting from our sin and being cleansed (1 John.1:7-9), is what will enable us to call others to repentance without being hypocritical.
How can you tell somebody about the Source of living water if you have forgotten what it tastes like to drink from it? We need the heartbeat of Jesus. To hear His heartbeat, but also for it to become our heartbeat as we share in His love for both God and a lost world.
Monday, 29 October 2012
What should church be?
http://michaelwallenmeyer.com/2012/08/22/from-traditional-to-missional-church-part-one-a-pastors-personal-story-of-conversion-to-missional/
The first in a whole series on missional church. It is always amazing to me how God tend to confirm the same idea from different sides... maybe because I tend to be too "thick" to hear Him the first time?
The first in a whole series on missional church. It is always amazing to me how God tend to confirm the same idea from different sides... maybe because I tend to be too "thick" to hear Him the first time?
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Which kind of software company do you want? Farmer vs Miner If you are a Christian, which kind of company do you think God would want? Do you think He actually cares? (I can think of a number of Scriptures that show that He does).
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Saturday, 3 December 2011
Sanctification (2)
While cleaning the pool again this morning the thought came to me: Why am I cleaning this pool? Obviously because I hope to swim in it some time soon. Then the next thought came to me: why is the Lord cleaning us continuously in the same way (cf. previous post)? Because He is holy and wants us to be holy so that He can have fellowship with us and us with Him.
Rev.3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have a feast with him, and he with me."
Rev.3:20 - "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have a feast with him, and he with me."
Sanctification (1)
I stay on a farm with only sun panels for electricity currently. I also have a small pool outside the house that needs a diesel generator to drive its pump (the sun panels do not provide enough power). The generator is still being fixed with the result that the pool became very dirty with leaves, sticks and other dirt sinking right to the bottom.
As summer started, I started cleaning the pool with a net as far as possible. While doing this, the Spirit showed me that this is the way He cleanse us as Christians. If I just skimmed the surface of the pool, it looks fairly clean, but all the muck still lies at the bottom. When I actually scraped along the bottom with the net, all the muck came up and dirtied the water and I needed to skim the surface again to get rid of the "new" leaves. In the same way He sometimes need to reach down into the insides of our heart to "stir things up" so that the deep sin lying there can come to the surface, be confessed and cleansed by the blood of Messiah (1 John 1:7-9). But, over the days the whole pool, including the bottom, was becoming clean.
Jer. 17:9-10 - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
As summer started, I started cleaning the pool with a net as far as possible. While doing this, the Spirit showed me that this is the way He cleanse us as Christians. If I just skimmed the surface of the pool, it looks fairly clean, but all the muck still lies at the bottom. When I actually scraped along the bottom with the net, all the muck came up and dirtied the water and I needed to skim the surface again to get rid of the "new" leaves. In the same way He sometimes need to reach down into the insides of our heart to "stir things up" so that the deep sin lying there can come to the surface, be confessed and cleansed by the blood of Messiah (1 John 1:7-9). But, over the days the whole pool, including the bottom, was becoming clean.
Jer. 17:9-10 - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
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