How does change happen?

 

If I am going to be transformed, I have to transform certain parts of me. If I am going to fail or be defeated in my walk with God it will be because I have failed to attend to the parts of me that need attended to.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. – Romans 12:1  ESV

Here is a call for me to be doing something with my body. As a disciple, I am called to live a fully surrendered and transformed life to Christ.

If I remember the mercies of God, I can approach Him with a genuine thirst to follow Him. For it is when I look into the mirror, I find that the Lord of my life is usually myself.

Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2  ESV

If I do not want to be conformed to the world, one of the main things I have to do is transform my mind. When my mind is transformed, it will transform the rest of me.

It is one of the most significant parts of spiritual growth – the renewal of the mind. It is the place where the Holy Spirit changes my thoughts and perspectives. The transformation allows me to discern the will of God and stop conforming to this world.

Whenever I ask God to search my heart and know my deepest thoughts so that I can submit my sins to Him, I find myself face to face with deception. I see myself living a self-serving life. Most of my life has to do with putting myself and my desires first. Unfortunately, a “personal relationship with Jesus” might even go so far as to redefine Jesus into my own image.

Hence, the process of mind-renewal can take a lifetime. As a disciple, I will be growing throughout my life, beginning each day learning to think with the mind of Christ. There comes the place where I can more clearly discern the will of God.

 

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Another look at the Great Commission

 

How Sweet and Aweful is the Place – Sovereign Grace

 

I am seemingly always looking at the Great Commission which spells out how I do what Jesus said and then what He did. He made disciples, and He brought them into trinitarian fellowship and He taught them to do everything He said. When He left, there was a lot to do and there was a lot of growing to take place. I pray that my Church will embrace discipleship evangelism for that is where the Church is called to take priority in.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:18-20  ESV

My task is to make disciples – my first take is that this implies that someone was not a disciple and now I am part of making them into one.  I love talking about pre-discipleship, conversion, and post discipleship.

“The task of the church is to make the invisible kingdom visible through faithful Christian living and witness-bearing.” – J.I. Packer

 “The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship and obey Jesus Christ now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father.” – Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert (What is the Mission of the Church?)

There is an outward relationship that express our call too as we minister to those with needs, love others as Jesus did, proclaim the good news of Christ, act with justice and mercy, teach, give and are part of the process of mulitplying disciples. It includes the awareness that there is a sacrifice when it comes to time as well as resources.

But going back to the quote from Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert – worship is the ultimate – where I gladly reflect back to Him all that He is worth. This has to be one of the greatest acts of my life. Funny how this one act will irritate some the most because it is exclusive.

At the end if the day, for me to be a disciple, it doesn not mean community involvement, or having a number of veneers like tolerance, it means that I find in me the priority to worship Him and bring others to a place where they can worship Him also.

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Fear God more

 

A Mighty Fortress is our God – (Choir) / Martin Luther

 

Jesus was the first preacher of the gospel, then He sent His disciples and apostles.

While God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. – Hebrews 2:4  ESV

I preached a sermon recently quoting the fact that Satan is no longer the king of hell and for sure He is not even if some of think so. He has no power of eternal punishment because he is the one who will be punished. Jesus Himself took some time to exhort His those who followed Him to fear God more than those who can kill the body.

 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. – Hebrews 2:14  ESV

In disciple-making, I cannot help another unless I stand by the side of and on the same level of the one I am discipling.

 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. – Hebrews 2:17  ESV

And if Jesus was tempted, why wouldn’t I be tempted. So I accept it, leave it in the Lord’s hand and I am in no way disgraced or dishonoured. In fact, I look for how He will set up an escape from said temptation.

 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. – Hebrews 2:18  ESV

 

 

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Changing how I think

 

These days I am becoming convinced, as a disciple, that I need to change how I think and act. I want to think and act as if I had the mind of Christ and it means I have a lot of change that needs to take place.  Paul challenges Philemon in the same way. Onesimus, a slave belonging to Philemon, had run away and somehow found himself to be a friend of Paul. The culture demanded severe punishment and even death. Paul is well aware of this and yet sends Onesimus back to Philemon. He challenges Philemon to see things differently, through the prism of being Christ’s disciple.

 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,  no longer as a bondservant[c] but more than a bondservant, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. – Philemon 1:15-16  ESV

I believe that Paul is challenging Philemon with the idea that there is a cost of being a disciple and that comes to us in the form of changed attitudes and actions.

What a tangible expression of discipleship.  Philemon was converted under Paul’s preaching and  then discipled by him. Onesimus was on the run from Philemon when he encountered Paul.  Paul then discipled Onesimus. He then sent Onesimus back to Philemon and expected Philemon to disciple Onesimus. I see that discipleship is intimate and deeply personal.

Maybe change comes in the form of detachment and even renunciation as I discover what being a disciple of Jesus looks like. Paul had to renounce the service of his new helper and return him to his master. As a new disciple, Onesimus had to leave Paul, face his owner and accept the consequences.

What I like about Paul modelling discipleship in relation to the one being discipled is how there needs to be behaviour representing a Christ-like manner, voluntarily doing the right thing.

 Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required,  yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you – Philemon 1:8-9  ESV

In other words, we are all in the family of Christ.

I am challenged today to seek the face of God and to seek His strength. I am never absent from the presence of Jesus – I live and move and have my being with Him. What I like about this verse in the Psalms is that while I am seeking God here, I am actually challenged to seek Him continually – in my devotions, day to day tasks, worship – everywhere.

Seek the Lord and his strength;
    seek his presence continually!
 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
 O offspring of Abraham, his servant,
    children of Jacob, his chosen ones! – Psalm 105:4-6  ESV

Let’s face it – I count my time and all of my opportunities for seeking God for one sole purpose – preparing me for the time I will be with Him forever.

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Burdened

 

Cast thy burdens – Don Moen

 

Is there a burden I face because of my religious upbringing? Probably. It is why sometimes I think I need to do everything on my own – it’s up to me. So Jesus tells me to do this and it makes sense.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28  ESV

I believe He is telling me to come to Him, accept my life with Him in the kingdom of God as a little child would accept it and just begin to live it.

The invitation is a gracious one and it is open to anyone who wants to experience relief,  joy and blessings that come through a grace/faith relationship with Him. It is aimed at all, but especially the curious, and it promises to take them into a deeper level of commitment where we can learn from Him.

 

 

 

 

 

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