Build up (Words)

Paul says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Col. 4:6)...The Apostle Paul had much more in mind than curse words when he said, “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification, according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Eph. 4:29). “Paul is talking about words that tear people apart. Such speech consists of unkind words, words that cause and complicate problems rather than solve problems. These are words that cut and slice, the kinds of words that were natural to the former manner of life.... Instead of using unwholesome, rotten, cutting words, a Christian must speak words that ‘edify’ (build up). They should be constructive rather than destructive words; they should build up instead of tear down.... Wholesome words are those which are directed toward the problem that has arisen (literally, ‘the present need’) in order to help those who hear. If a brother has been doing something wrong he needs help. He doesn’t need tearing down, he needs building up.” When husbands and wives are honest, open and speak biblically, real communication occurs. The misunderstandings, irritations, sins and problems that occur in the marriage relationship are dealt with and eliminated daily, because couples are attacking problems—not each other.
 http://www.reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/Biblical%20Principles%20for%20Solving%20Problems%20in%20the%20Home.htm

The Risen Christ- His Peace, Power and Purpose, John Piper

Jesus Appears to the Disciples John 20:19-23
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, g“Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, m“Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

We're Never Alone

Proverbs 31 Ministries

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love." John 15:9-10 (NIV)
Miss Emma's wrinkled hands cupped my chin — her palm a reservoir for my tears. I walked down the hallways saying tearless goodbyes to 119 other residents, and yet my farewell with her released a levy of emotions.
The scattered pieces of my heart felt like they were blown about by the scurrying of nurses' footsteps and doctors' orders resounding off the walls of the nursing home.
I couldn't just abandon her. It felt utterly wrong to leave her alone, forsaken in this dark place.
Her family, or lack thereof, had rendered her anchorless; adrift in the lonely seas of a 120 bed facility. My first "real" job at "The Brick" would have been bleak if not for Miss Emma and a few others.
I didn't allow many details of this place further than the surface of my heart. Stories repeated ten times each day. Routines of medicine and meals and the meandering of hallways. Yet one name, one person chiseled deep into my heart: Miss Emma.
I perched on the edge of our goodbye, on the edge of her bed, hesitant to leave her. "Who'll sit in the sunshine with you? Who'll listen? Who'll sing hymns with you?"
Worry wrung my heart. Visions of Miss Emma, alone... lonely... made my jaw tense and ache with pain for her. A square punch by sadness will do that to a girl.
But not her. Beautiful brown saucers brimmed with confidence. I waded in the refreshing waters of her eyes, rich pools of wisdom.
"I'll be fine sugar ... I'm never alone. Don't you realize the One who created the sun sits with me? He listens always, hearing my prayers and needs. His presence is in the very words we sing to Him.
Child, we're never alone."
Tucked away from the world, Miss Emma changed mine. She lived tightly knit to the Vine. Abided in Jesus' love through His Word and worship and prayer. Miss Emma dwelled in this truth:
Christ beside me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me. ~St. Patrick
Though abandoned by her earthly family, she rested in the knowledge that her Heavenly Father never would leave her. Indeed, He made a home in her so she could nestle in Him.
Might we lay down in this comforting truth today as well? Curl up in His love by writing a Scripture verse on our heart. Lean into God's sure presence through lifting our voice in praise. Abide in His peace with a time of prayer ... sharing and listening.
Christ is within us, before us, behind us. And as Miss Emma so confidently knew, He will never leave or forsake us. We're never alone.
Dear Lord, thank You for calling us Your children. And for making a home within us, so we may rest secure in You. Because You are our dwelling place, we are never alone. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?
Visit Samantha's blog where she shares a memorable way for you to create a beautiful and easy visual of John 15:9-10, and enter to win her wonderful give-away, too!
Share this truth with a child in need through Compassion International.
Reflect and Respond:
Spend time today in our dwelling place, Jesus, through studying of the Bible, worship and prayer.
Let this truth fill your heart today, chasing away the loneliness, fear, and hurt:
Christ beside me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me. ~St. Patrick
Power Verses:
Deuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (NIV)
Matthew 28:20b, "...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (NAS)
© 2012 by Samantha Reed. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
616G MatthewsMint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org

The Great Imitation by Ray Stedman

Read the Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:14-6:13

His classmates called him "the Dumb Ox" because of he was heavyset, serious, and usually silent. Historians, however, call him "the Angelic Doctor," and Roman Catholics revere him as a saint. His name: Thomas Aquinas--the most influential theologian of the thirteenth century.
If the young scholar's mother could have had her way, the world would never have heard of Thomas Aquinas. She strongly opposed his wishes to study theology and join a priestly order. In fact, she even had him confined in a castle for over a year in an attempt to keep him from becoming a priest.
The life mission of Thomas Aquinas was to reconcile the Christian faith with human reason, and to intellectually prove the existence of God. Of the many theological books Aquinas wrote, his final work--the Summa Theologica or Summary Treatise of Theology (1265-73)--is considered his greatest and most important. Amazingly, Aquinas himself never finished the Summa Theologica. No, he didn't die before it could be completed. He simply lost interest and stopped writing!
What happened to Aquinas that made him abruptly abandon his lifelong pursuit of theology? We find a clue in the fact that his great unfinished work was composed of three parts: "On God," "The Moral Life of Man," and "On Christ." He had completed the first two sections and was deep into the writing of the final section on Christ that something happened to him--a profound and emotionally shattering spiritual experience. Aquinas himself was never able to put that life-changing experience into words, but many who have studied his life believe that, in the process of writing about Christ and meditating on our Lord's life and words, Aquinas experienced a vision in which he came face to face with the Savior.
Following his spiritual encounter with Jesus, Aquinas said, "I have seen that which makes all I have written and taught look small to me. My writing days are over." And with that, he simply stopped writing, leaving his theological masterpiece on Christ unfinished. All human pursuits--even the study of religion and theology--are mere pale imitations once we come into the presence of the Great Reality, Jesus Himself.
The Christian life begins with an encounter with Jesus Christ. It cannot be otherwise. "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:12). Many influences and experiences may lead us to an encounter with Jesus Christ. Those influences and experiences may even be intensely religious and theologically profound--but until a person responds to the promise of Christ and receives Him as Lord, there can be no spiritual reality, no eternal life.
The act of receiving Christ may be so effortless, gentle, and gradual that the person may not even be aware of the exact moment he or she passed from death into life. This is often the case with children who are raised from an early age to love God and to follow Jesus. In other cases, the moment of conversion is shattering and dramatic, as in the experience of Thomas Aquinas or the conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus. In still other cases, a specific moment of decision results in the conversion experience--yet it takes place without great drama, miracles, or visions; that is the conversion experience John Wesley describes when he says he felt "strangely warmed" when he gave his life to Christ.
In still other cases, conversion may actually be a tortuous, painful experience, accompanied with great resistance, almost as if the individual is "dragged kicking and screaming" into the Kingdom of God; such was the case with St. Augustine. He spent years seeking pleasure and exploring various worldly philosophies until one day he heard a voice, like that of a child, repeating, "Take up and read." Believing this to be a command from God to read the Bible, Augustine took up the book of Romans, opened it at random, and read, "clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Romans 13:14). Though he did not want to give up his sinful ways, though he resisted God's call upon his life, Augustine knew that he had at last discovered the truth--and he gave up the struggle and accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
A person's encounter with Jesus Christ--what we call "conversion"--may take place in any one of a number of ways. However the act of conversion occurs, it absolutely must take place before there can be any hope of living the authentic Christian life.
No other way
The experience of encountering Christ rests upon the written promises of the Bible. At least some knowledge of the truth of God's Word is essential to believing in or receiving Christ. It is the biblical account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus which gives us reason to believe that Jesus is alive and available to us; that Jesus can, by the Holy Spirit, actually come to live within a human being; and that He can so entwine His own life with our own so that, from then out, we and Christ can be essentially regarded as one. The biblical account of the life and character of Jesus gives us the basis for believing that Jesus is truly the Savior He claimed to be and that He has the power to set us free from bondage to sin. Our assurance as Christians rests upon such promises as, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28) and "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8: 12).
But no matter how clearly we may understand who Jesus is and what He can do in our lives, and even how He gives us eternal life (by His death and resurrection, God's plan of salvation), we cannot receive the gift of eternal life until we, in our human will, respond to the invitation of Jesus and choose to receive Him, obey Him, and follow Him. God's plan of salvation, as it is presented to us throughout the New Testament, is aimed squarely at our human will, our human decision-making ability. We must make a choice to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.
We cannot attain eternal life through a mere intellectual exercise. We do not become authentic Christians by intellectually comprehending and accepting the historical facts about Jesus. Nor do we become authentic Christians by grasping the theological implications of his death and resurrection. We do not become authentic Christians by adhering to certain moral and ethical standards which Jesus taught. Nor do we become authentic Christians by trying to relate to God apart from Jesus Christ. Our lives must be joined to His life. We become authentic Christians by asking Jesus to come in as Lord and Master, and by trusting Him to accomplish and fulfill His eternal life in us by means of the Holy Spirit. When that happens, a miracle takes place--even though that miracle may be of a quiet, almost invisible kind. A new quality of life-- eternal life--is imparted to us and we are "made alive in Christ." It is this divine action that makes us authentic Christians. Nothing else can do it. "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." It is that simple.
Signs of life
Conversion is just the beginning. A newborn baby, fresh from her mother's womb, is a complete, authentic person, a genuine human being, even though she is physically and mentally undeveloped. In the same way, a newborn Christian is a complete, authentic Christian and truly shares the life of Christ, even though he is spiritually undeveloped. There is much to be learned and experienced before this person achieves anything that can properly be called maturity. Happily, however, certain manifestations of the new life do quickly appear. Perhaps the easiest to recognize is a sense of peace and well-being, especially in terms of one's feelings about God. It is, as Paul tells us, the result of God's Spirit bearing witness with our human spirit that we are now the children of God (see Romans 8:16). And that sense of peace is made more intense and lasting as we come to realize the full implication of having our sin forgiven through our relationship with Christ. This release from guilt and shame is a large part of the peace Christians experience.
One of the joys of a new Christian is a new and exciting sense of belonging to a family. We discover we are not alone, but have become members of a large and ever-growing family. As members of that family, we have many brothers and sisters to relate to and enjoy, while having continual access to our heavenly Father through prayer and the presence of the Holy Spirit. For many, the most joyful aspect of this new life is release from the fear of death and what lies beyond. To have the certain hope of heaven rather than the fear of hell is a relief beyond our ability to express.
Because of these elements of the Christian life, many new Christians experience intense excitement and joy. The Bible becomes a fresh and exciting book, and meeting with other Christians is a continual joy. The change that comes over the outlook and emotions of the new Christian is obvious to everyone. Many new believers wonder, "Why did I wait so long to experience something so wonderful?"
Three possible choices
This initial state of euphoria may continue for weeks or even months. Inevitably, sooner or later, the old natural life begins to reassert itself. The glow begins to fade from Christian worship, and Bible reading becomes less and less rewarding. Christian fellowship in meetings and individual contact becomes dull and routine. Old patterns of thinking and behavior begin to reassert themselves. This is a critical time when one of three possibilities may occur.
First, the young Christian may continue his decline to the point of dropping out of all Christian relationships, neglecting the Bible, abandoning prayer, losing interest in spiritual things, and falling back into his pre-Christian lifestyle. This may be just a temporary period of "backsliding," one of several periods of remission before the person settles into a consistent Christian lifestyle. In the majority of cases, however, there is no return (at least for many years). The question naturally occurs: Was this person ever really a Christian at all?
Second, the young Christian may become aware of his cold and rebellious heart, become frightened by the thought of regressing to what he was before, and repentantly cast himself upon God's mercy, renewing his trust in God's promises. Such Christians often seek the help of older, more experienced Christians as mentors and prayer partners who encourage them and hold them accountable as they return to a state of obedience, peace, and joy. This cycle may be repeated many times until it becomes the pattern of his experience and he comes to think of it as normal Christianity. On the other hand he may, happily, learn something from each repeated cycle, so that his eyes are opened to the truth and he is able to leave his spiritual roller-coaster existence and become a stable, mature, Spirit-led Christian.
The third and most likely possibility is that the new Christian may discover what millions of others before him have learned: It is possible to avoid the pain and humiliation of these cycles of repentance and renewal by maintaining an outward facade of spiritual commitment, moral impeccability, and orthodox behavior. He can simply maintain an outward reputation for spiritual maturity that is satisfying to the ego, even though he is inwardly haunted by the fact that his "Christianity" is a hollow shell. Such an outwardly Christian life-style is so prevalent today that a new Christian can hardly be blamed for adopting it and regarding it as the expected thing. He drifts into it with only an occasional twinge of doubt or a rare, faint pang of conscience.
He is in denial, and would be deeply offended if anyone called him what he really is: a hypocrite. To him, the word "hypocrite" suggests something nasty and sinister, like the Pharisees of old. He sees himself as a "real Christian," even though his faith is only an inch deep. It is not the kind of rock-solid, deep-rooted relationship with Jesus that can carry him through any crisis. The fact is, the "peace" he claims to have is present only while his circumstances are untroubled; when his circumstances turn dark and troubling, his "peace" evaporates in an instant. The "joy" he sings about seldom shows on his face, and the "Christian love" he is talks about is reserved only for those who please him and get along with him. It is all a giant (though largely unconscious) sham. He may be a true Christian in whose heart Christ dwells, but he does not live the Christian life on a consistent basis. He may be a highly moral, highly religious, even a highly generous person--but the reality is that he is living pretty much as he did before his conversion, only now his speech and behavior are covered with a thin glaze of Christianity. That glaze is the first thing to crack and crumble when life becomes irritating, difficult, or threatening.
The phony and the genuine
You may think this is a harsh judgment. Many people think that the mark of an authentic Christian is doctrinal purity; if a person's beliefs are biblical and doctrinally orthodox, then he is a Christian. People who equate orthodoxy with authenticity find it hard to even consider the possibility that, despite the correctness of all their doctrinal positions, they may have missed the deepest reality of the authentic Christian life. But we must never forget that true Christianity is more than teaching--it is a way of life. In fact, it is life itself. "He who has the Son has life," remember? When we talk about life, we are talking about something that is far more than mere morality, far more than doctrinal accuracy. Life is a positive quality, not negative--a description of what we fundamentally are, not what we are not. The eternal life that Jesus brings to us is radical, not superficial. It is humble, not self-promoting. It is compassionate, not indifferent. It is courageous, not timid or retiring. It is a far cry indeed from the mild compatibility, agreeability, and affability that passes for Christianity in thousands of churches across the land. In fact, the Great Imitation is so widely accepted as genuine Christianity that the real thing is often regarded as a threat or a heresy whenever it appears.
Our purpose in this book is to trace the sharp distinctions between the phony and the genuine. We shall be guided entirely by the revelation of Scripture, for the Word of God is the only sufficient guide to distinguish truth from error. We shall explore together a major passage from Paul's epistles--2 Corinthians 2:14 to 6:13. In this passage Paul helps the Corinthians to distinguish between authentic Christianity, as he himself lived it, and the pale imitation that many of them had mistaken for the real thing. Then the apostle takes them on (and us with them), step by into an understanding of the enormous enrichment that awaits those who learn to live by the New Covenant, which gives life, rather than the Old Covenant, which kills. Our study of this passage will not be "theological" (that is, lofty, complicated, and technical), nor will it be "devotional" (horrible word). Rather, it will be intensely practical and straightforward. Our goal in this book is to rediscover the kind of genuine, workable Christianity that can be put to the test in the trenches of everyday living--that kind of Christianity that can bring you safely through any crisis, that will enable you to look back on your life and say, "I have truly known God."
If you are interested in that kind of real, radical, authentic Christianity, read on.
 http://www.raystedman.org/authentic-christianity

Strings of Scripture #1

10 Ways for Moms to Respect their Daughters

 http://theresurgence.com/2012/04/20/10-ways-for-moms-to-respect-their-daughters
 Jen Smidt
Respect for daughters has its roots in the same place respect for sons does: the image-bearing equality that both sexes reflect given at creation (Gen. 1:27). That said, respect just looks different in some ways for daughters who are growing into women than respect for sons who are growing into men.
Respect is a deep admiration for someone elicited by his or her abilities, qualities, or achievements. This honor is not shown because of gender or deservedness but because of love and grace, specifically, love and grace that find their origins and power in Jesus Christ. Treating daughters with respect trains them to be women who offer respect to others. It models for them that they have dignity, value, and worth because God created them. It urges them to grace others with respect because God loves and values his creation.

Similar and Different

Respecting daughters has some similarities with respecting sons. I have seen, however, in my daughter, a different core heart desire. She deeply desires to be loved and the deep admiration of respect is most profoundly felt for her in words and acts of love. She is comforted and secured by the knowledge that God and her parents love her.

Practically, here are 10 ways that respect can be lived out for your daughters:

1. Lavish Her with Love

That deep longing for love was designed for God to fill. Lavish your daughter with love while continually pointing out that her heavenly Father is the one where love originated. You love because he loves; she is loved because he loves her more than you ever could (1 John 4:10).

2. Help Her to Learn Submission

Submission isn’t just for wives. We are all called to submit our hearts and lives to God (James 4:7) and the earlier your daughter sees that in you, the sooner she will rest in the sweet protection of God’s will for her life.

3. Teach Her to Tame Her Emotions

Big feelings are hard to manage. The devastation over losing something, anything from a favorite earring to a dear friend, can be all-consuming. Daughters need to be instructed and discipled in expressing emotion without being owned and identified by those emotions.

4. Differentiate between Truth and Lies

In my own heart and my daughters, I have watched the battle play out time and time again. We are easily lured into the snare of unbelief. Urging your daughter to verbalize the thoughts in her head will allow you the opportunity to separate what is true and what is untrue with her. Apply the truth of Scripture to the distortions that your daughter may be believing about God, you, or herself.

5. Involve Dad

A daughter’s relationship with her dad is a source of great joy or heartache. He plays an integral part in treating her with respect and teaching her what respect from a man looks like. Regular daddy dates and heartfelt conversation with him helps her trust and respect a man. If Dad is not present or available, seek a godly man in your church who would give your daughter the respect of his time.

6. Emphasize Inner Beauty

While there are few more purely sweet moments in life than dressing your daughter in a frilly pink dress and putting her hair in pigtails, teach her that true beauty and respect come from a changed heart. Jesus transforms ugly hearts, emotions, and attitudes into beautiful reflections of himself.

7. Develop Her Voice

Our girls need to be given opportunities to grow into and speak about who they are and what they believe so they can articulate themselves to the world. Speak with her often about what the Bible has to say about her joy or crisis of the moment. Help her express herself clearly about what she is thinking or feeling.

8. Model Female Friendships

You are not her friend as an equal, but you can be friendly in a way that she trusts. Enjoy each other in a mother-daughter friendship. Give her plenty of opportunity to foster female friendships so she can experience being known, loved, and helped by godly women. This is an invaluable life experience that will serve her well.

9. Name Sin Biblically

These last two principles are no different for girls than boys. What may be different are the sins that your daughters are prone to, as their hearts may struggle in more feelings-oriented or relational ways. Differentiate between childish foolishness and downright rebellion. Instruct the former and correct the latter. Name their sin with accurate descriptions from Scripture so they can repent. Moodiness is vague, while demonstrating a quiet, gentle, spirit is specific and pleasing to God (1 Peter 3:4).

10. Name Character Biblically

Read to them and have them study passages of Scripture that speak to women (1 Peter 3 and Titus 2). Be careful not to turn passages of Scripture into to-do lists that your daughters strive to accomplish on their own. Have them memorize passages of Scripture that describes their identity and riches available to them in Christ (Ephesians 1) so they can rejoice.
Respecting our daughters will instill in them a respect for the cross as they receive grace and forgiveness from their sins and develop the capacity to offer that same respect to the men and women they are in relationship with. Deep respect for Christ is the well from which respect for and from our daughters will flow.

All of Life is Repentance by Tim Keller

http://download.redeemer.com/pdf/learn/resources/All_of_Life_Is_Repentance-Keller.pdf

Click the link above to see the pdf. 

The Fuel of Death-Defying Missions, David Platt

Wess Stafford: Compassion International

 Matthew 21
 ¹⁶ “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him.
   “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read,
   “‘From the lips of children and infants
   you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”
http://www.radical.net/media/series/view/162/wess-stafford-compassion-international/video?filter=series
Click the link to the Radical Website to watch the video.

Know that you Know by Tim Keller

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/knowing-we-know
Click the link above to hear the sermon. 
1 John is one of the greatest places in the Bible to test one’s assurance of salvation. John gives us three external tests and one internal test. The external tests are behavioral, relational, and doctrinal. The internal test is an experience of knowing God—with all the connotations of the Biblical word “know.”
Genesis 4:1; Matthew 7:22-23; Hebrews 11:2; Galatians 2:14.

Video : Together for the Gospel

Video : Together for the Gospel

False Conversions: The Suicide of the Church

Together for the Gospel Link:

http://t4g.org/

The Beauty of Low Self-Esteem

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/03/14/the-beauty-of-low-self-esteem/

by Ronnie Martin

I'm just going to say it: I love me. Go ahead and say it to yourself a few times. I love me. I don't know how it will make you feel, but I can guarantee that it won't make you a liar. Look in the mirror. Not bad, huh? No? Well, whether you love or hate what you see, chances are you'll keep on looking.
None of us has a problem with low self-esteem. Scripture tells us we were born with the opposite issue. We all think of ourselves as a little more pretty, a little more talented, a little more worthy, and a little more deserving of just about everything in this life. Far from having naturally broken hearts, our hearts are naturally bloated with the calories of self-consumption and filled with obscene levels of self-obsession. We've been taught that there's nothing more valuable than how much we value ourselves. Sometimes we like to doll it up with introspective words like self-realization or self-fulfillment, but it's all the same thing: egos the size of Kanye West performing with Jay Z on top of the Empire State Building. Yes, our esteem is that extreme.

Depths of Our Souls

The frightening thing about self esteem is the staggering lengths God goes to completely eradicate it from the depths of our souls, in order to produce depth in our souls. If the Lord loves a humble and contrite heart, it means that he equally abhors a prideful and defiant one. One of the prevailing themes of the Bible is how God makes nothing out of men by flipping the object of their esteem from themselves back to him. These stories play out like dark, epic, cinematic tragedies. We all hope our story doesn't.
In Moses we see a rich, short-tempered prep school kid who got embroiled in a racial murder scandal. Fleeing the scene into exile and obscurity, he gets a blue-collar gig tending sheep for 40 years. God eventually steps back into the picture and assigns him the CEO position of the world's largest relocation project. What he doesn't tell him is that the relocation's going to take another 40-plus years and that he's going to die right before the final move-in date. God spent a lot of years breaking down Moses. His whole life, actually.
Then there's Joseph, a spoiled, insensitive trust-fund baby, coddled by his Daddy until his brothers have finally had enough of his insufferable bragging and throw him in a hole while they discuss how to do away with him. They end up selling him into slavery instead, because you could do that back then. He lands a manager position for good behavior until he gets framed on rape charges. Dude ends up back in jail until a VP gig for the nation of Egypt opens up, and through some heartbreaking circumstances, he lands the job. God broke Joseph down during the prime years of his young adult life.
You see where I'm going here. God takes sometimes horrific, drastic measures to destroy our self-esteem. We're not told much about the personal pain Moses and Joseph experienced. We're not told of the sleepless nights spent in isolation, gripped by emotional despondency while grasping hopelessly in the dark, trying to fathom why God was doing this and whether he was even there. In hindsight, we tend to view these figures as emboldened, courageous, pillars of the faith, but it's foolishness to think that their responses were any less weak and human than ours would be. But we see a God that uses very human experiences to change the hearts of human vessels. And it hurts.

Call to Brokenness

The call to brokenness is a call to openness. It's an altered vision. It doesn't mean that our lives enter into a continuous state of disrepair so that God can use what "working" functions we have left for his glory. Brokenness is the gentrification of our hearts. It means that the heart we had was condemned and the only way for God to make it fit for use was to demolish it and rebuild it from the ground up. Same body, new heart. The reason it hurts so bad is that we all love our old hearts. We love the familiar pulse and well-worn rhythm that our old hearts provided for us. They filled us with adrenaline, pumping the blood of self-indulgence through our veins . . . until we remember that they didn't at all. We remember that they shut us into the cells of our own self-belief, closing us off from the liberation of godly self-denial.
The beauty of low self-esteem is that we finally have the hearts to highly esteem God. It's not that we all turn into Debbie Downers and drench ourselves in self-loathing and self-pity. No, there's no time for that when our eyes are fixed firmly on our Lord.
"You have said, 'Seek my face.' My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek' (Psalm 27:8).
Help us, O Lord, to see only you.

Ronnie Martin is a writer, speaker, recording artist, and worship leader at Ashland (OH) Grace Brethren Church. He also co-hosts The Reformatory, a radio talk show with Ted Kluck. You can visit his blog and follow him on Twitter.

Christ In You The Hope of Glory

15 Reasons To Keep Reaching out {Even When You’ve Been Hurt}

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/04/15-reasons-why-community-is-important-even-if-youve-been-hurt/ 
Ann Voskamp @ aholyexperience.com
1. Christ is the Body and He is Love and both can only exist in community

2. God’s people are given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5) and reconciliation begins first in our homes, down the street, in this pew, around the corner, in community — or we are ministers of misrepresentation.

3. It’s only when you reach out to community that your gifts can be used for the Kingdom.

4. Joining and participating in just one group or community this year cuts your odds of dying in half over the next year.

5. Community is only and always what people are: beautiful and broken and utterly redeemable.

6. There are no I-slands in the Kingdom, only His-lands, and the notion of lone rangers is purely bad fiction.

7. The wonder of this: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are the temple of the Holy Spirit? … God’s temple is sacred and you are that temple.” (1 Cor. 3) We are all the “living stones” of the temple of the Holy Spirit. But if one stone withdraws from the other stones?
The “you” in 1 Cor. 13 is plural. Y’all together are the temple of the Holy Spirit; we are a temple of the Holy Spirit together – in community. We need each other, all of us.
And believing is about belonging to a community. It’s when we are committed in community that we collectively live it before the world: God is among us.

8. 2000 years of Christianity is founded on the breathtaking living organism of community.

9. Community is healthy for us: “Those with strong social connections but poor health habits (eating, exercise, etc.) are just as healthy as those with good health habits but weak social connections.”

10. There are sisters in Christ who have died for gathering together with their sisters — how could I neglect so great a privilege?

11. “Dor” in Hebrew, it means generation. May we be the next generation to go next door — the generation who knows who lives next door, what they need next door, how they ache next door. The Next Christians need to be the generation of Next Door Christians.

12. The Christian life is the compassionate, crucified, cruciformed life. Not the comfortable life. Community is how God shapes His children into the image of Christ.

13. We love Him enough to meet Him where He is — “Where 2 or 3 are gathered there He is…”

14. Love is a tree, each person a branch. And a pile of cut off branches doesn’t make a tree. Love can only be comprehended in community.

15. Every chance I have to love imperfect people is another chance to perfect His love in me. . This is a way to soar.

I Am Barabbas

http://michaelkelleyministries.com/2012/04/i-am-barabbas/

Posted by Michael Kelley

He’s barely mentioned in the Bible, and yet his story, maybe more than any other, serves to explain the gospel. He is Barrabas.
Or rather, I am Barabbas.
Here is what we know about this man:
1. He was a rebel. One of his crimes was insurrection; he led a rebellion against the rulers of the land, the Romans.
I, too, am a rebel. Despite the benevolent rule of my King, I have both willingly and by my very nature participated in heinous acts of rebellion against the rightful rule of the God of the Universe.
2. He was a murderer. Apparently during his rebellion against the ruling authorities, someone died, perhaps at his very hand.
I, too, am a murderer. Not just of my fellow man, having wished them harm, but of Jesus Christ whose life I have chanted for through my varied and sundry acts of despicable sin. I have chanted along with the crowd, “Crucify! Crucify!” for I saw Him as a threat to my commitment to my own desires.
3. He, though guilty, was released and an innocent was punished in his stead. Barabbas was shocked to find that somehow, some way, all charges against Him had been dropped. Someone other than him was to die that day, though surely he deserved the punishment.
I, too, have been released. The punishment that was rightfully due to me has been handed down to another. Someone – an innocent man – has been crucified in my place.
I am Barabbas.
You, too, are Barrabas.
And now we stand with this man. Suddenly freed from condemnation. Blinking our prison-darkened eyes in the light of the sun of liberty. Facing the penalty of death, we now surprisingly stand free. Free to work. Free to enjoy. Free to live.
What will I do with this freedom?
And what will you?

Words

In the name of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, Our Strength and Our Redeemer. AMEN

Reflections on Power

 http://familyscholars.org/2011/11/20/reflections-on-power/

Amy Ziettlow 11.20.2011, 3:21 PM

This morning I had the privilege of preaching at Grace Lutheran in the Lakeview neighborhood of New Orleans.  My children love Grace because after Katrina they got to wear hard hats there.  Grace is situated beneath the 610 overpass and sustained 10 feet of water in its second story for weeks after the levees from Lake Ponchatrain were breached.  The whole place was gutted by the time my kids got to visit for a mission and planning meeting many months later, but the romance of hard hats in worship is hard for any 5 year old boy to deny.
Today’s text is the parable of the sheep and the goats from Matthew 25:31-46.  If you haven’t heard the Cake song, check it out—doesn’t really translate into a sermon but is catchy nonetheless.
This past week I thought a lot about power and as you’ll see I hit the refrain pretty hard: We are only as powerful as that which as power over us.  Enjoy”
In the name of the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight O Lord, Our Strength and Our Redeemer.  AMEN
Electricity, food, drink, keys, money, government, to do lists, calendars, ourselves, others, our faith—we exist and swim in a sea of POWER and sources of power that all clamor for our loyalty and allegiance.  But are we POWER-FUL?
For, we are only as powerful as that which has power over us.
Today is Christ the King Sunday which for Christians closes the church year and prepares us for the beginning of a new one in Advent by opening a place for us to reflect on POWER.  Each Sunday our Bishop, Bishop Mike Rienhart, sends out a lectionary reflection on the texts for the coming Sunday.  Even though I don’t preach every week I love reading his word studies and reflections on the next week’s texts and themes.  This last week he hit home how Christ the King Sunday challenges us to think about all that has power in our lives and to ask, “What is KING of my LIFE?”  He makes an organized list of what is NOT KING in our lives that we can work through, such as the government, our egos, our possessions, but three powerful things caught my attention: Other people, our money, and death.
First, other people. YOU are not KING of my life, you are not the ultimate authority and power in my life, which means that I must remember that I am not defined by what others think of me, how others treat me, or what others expect of me.
A wise mentor of mine once said, “Amy, never believe the best that anyone says of you or the worst—the truth is somewhere in the middle.”
When we allow the opinions, actions, and expectations of others to rule our lives, we lose ourselves.  Life becomes either a blissful delusion where we overvalue and overestimate our abilities and our worth, or we are CRUSHED.  Other people can disappoint you, betray you, lie to you, choose to define you in the worst possible light, dismiss you, forget you, break your heart and make you second guess everything you believe.
When we feel shame, fear, embarrassment, pride, contempt, or envy those emotions may be a symptom that other people have come to rule your life
You are only as powerful as that which has power over you.
Secondly, MONEY is not KING of my life—Saying this helps me take stock of what I really need to exist—food, shelter, fun, work.  Is my work a vocation or a paycheck?  Am I allowing stuff to fill a void in my life that only God can fill?  Am I working to make money or am I making money in order to serve?  Defining ourselves by what we have is dangerous because we can start to think that faith is like our money, our stuff.
Think of those foolish bridesmaids in last week’s parable from Matthew 25.  They run out of oil, which most biblical scholars equate to a depletion of spiritual resources or faith.  Thinking that oil is like money or a credit card that they can charge and pay back later, they beg for oil from the wise bridesmaids, but you can’t borrow other people’s faith.  I can’t see the peace and faith in your life and say, “Excuse, you are so faithful, could I have a cup of that? Just a cup…just pour it in…”  No?  Peace and faith and love are not commodities that can be borrowed, charged, or stolen from others, they are a way of life.  Remember that the bridesmaids with no oil are not called unfaithful, they are called foolish.
The faithful response would have been to stay and stand in the dark—I mean really, you don’t think God can find you in the dark?  The problem is that being in the dark is scary, not for God mind you…but it’s scary for us!  The light makes US more comfortable, makes us feel more in control.  We want the power to be comfortable, but power in faith demands that we let go of how we define power and all things we grasp for that make us feel powerful.  When our stuff runs out, or breaks, or is stolen, then so does our power.
We are only as powerful as that which has power over us.
And lastly, DEATH is not ruler or ultimate power over our lives.
I spend a lot of time thinking about death.  I’ve spent the majority of my ministry in hospice care, serving seriously ill individuals and their families, and recently I am working on a project called, “Homeward Bound: How We Live When A Parent Dies” and I am interviewing young to mid-life adults who have a parent who died last fall.
Philosopher Hans Jonas says that there are 3 things that distinguish human life from other animal experience: the tool, the image, and the grave.  The tool imposes man’s knowledge and will onto nature.  The image-our paintings and music and dance and other art-projects our imagination.  It implies a sense of beauty and memory, and a desire to express them.  But the greatest difference between humans and animals is the grave.  Only humans bury their dead.  Only humans know their own mortality.  And knowing that we will die, only humans ask were we came from, what our lives mean and what comes after it.
And so our Gospel lesson today.  Only humans ask, what is the point of life? What does God expect of us?  How are we to live?  Is there something more than this life?  What has power over us?  Other people? Our stuff? God?
We hear today that when God has power over our lives we are free from all other forms of power and are free to serve… for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.
The righteous don’t remember doing any of that for the Lord. And God says, Exactly!  Anyone can use their power for people who they think matter or for people who have power, but you used your power for all people, for the powerless, the locked out, the lonely, the empty, the wounded, the forgotten…Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it for me.”
With Christ as King of our lives we have gracious hope.  Christ sees us and knows us and loves us. But we also know what Christ expects of us.  To go to where there is suffering and treat those who are suffering like we would treat God in Christ.  This is exactly what God did for us as we hear in the Christ hymn in Philippians.  God became human and entered into our world and very being in order to redeem our brokenness and suffering and pain.  And God expects us to do the same for others.
I read several blogs of physicians who write about their day to day life as a doctor and this writing from Dr. Edwin Leap caught my eye and reminded me of our Gospel lesson today.  He writes of what it is like when a patient he serves dies.

“Love teaches us, I suppose, to expect loss. If we are wise, we all learn (physician or not) that pain, death, suffering and loss are things which have a prevalence of 100% in the human patient population. Some types are more common than others, and certain things strike at different ages, but none of us will avoid them in the end.
The terrible thing, the beautiful thing, is the way we can become better and more compassionate by our proximity to pain.
In those places, we are called to give the great gift of compassion, of love, that is developed as we use our knowledge and skills, but is not predicated upon them. It is the kind of love that sometimes can offer nothing more than presence. Or at least, the willingness, the courage, to be present with loss. It is what Paul meant in Romans 12:15 when he said ‘Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn.’ It is love, true love, to be there; just to be there.
We live in a world where many hold forth on issues, politics, philosophy and theology. But where precious few actually go into the places of suffering and meet the sufferers. But that is our job, that is our calling, that is our gift. Not the gift we give, brothers, sisters. It is the gift we receive.”

There is suffering all around us.  I am humbled by every grieving person I talk to.  I see that there are people all around us, in the line at the Wal-mart, in the car next to us, or two pews over, who may be carrying burdens, worries, grief that would astound you.  They keep walking and taking each day as it comes, but there are deeply wounded people all around us.  Now, you don’t need to save anyone—Jesus already did that for us.  We don’t need a savior, we need a friend.  Someone to give us a sweater when we’re shivering, treat us with dignity when we feel ashamed, give us a genuine smile when we feel down, listen when we feel lost and help us find our own way forward without pummeling us with advice, offer an invitation to a crawfish boil, asking, or ask “How are you?” and have the time and attention to really listen to the answer.
We have the power to serve because God in Christ is the ultimate power in our lives.
And, we are only as powerful as that which has power over us.

Come to Jesus, Chris Rice

From Kisses from Katie

“We bend. I bend to sweep crumbs and I bend to wipe vomit and I bend to pick up little ones and wipe away tears... And at the end of these days I bend next to the bed and I ask only that I could bend more, bend lower. Because I serve a Savior who came to be a servant. He lived bent low. And bent down here is where I see His face. He lived, only to die. Could I? Die to self and just break open for love. This Savior, His one purpose to spend Himself on behalf of messy us. Will I spend myself on behalf of those in front of me? And people say, “Don’t you get tired?” and yes, I do. But I’m face to face with Jesus in the dirt, and the more I bend the harder and better and fuller this life gets. And sure, we are tired, but oh we are happy. Because bent down low is where we find fullness of Joy.”
― Katie J. Davis

What is the Gospel? Paul Washer

   

What Would You Do If You Knew You Would Die On Friday

http://michaelkelleyministries.com/2012/04/what-would-you-do-if-you-knew-you-would-die-on-friday-2/

Posted by Michael Kelley

- Speak honestly about what angers you (Matthew 23:1-36).
- Provide perspective to those around you (Matthew 24).
- Reflect on what really matters (Matthew 25).
- Have dinner with friends (Matthew 26:26-30).
- Let those around know how much you love them (John 13:1-20).
- Comfort your friends with hope (John 14).
- Pray (Matthew 26:36-46).

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

http://reformedbaptistfellowship.org/2010/05/14/feeding-sheep-or-amusing-goats/

In Reformed Baptist Fellowship on Friday, May 14, 2010 at 5:39 pm
An evil resides in the professed camp of the Lord so gross in its imprudence that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate evil for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a more clever thing than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.
My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church. If it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ That is clear enough. So it would have been if He has added, ‘and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel’ No such words, however, are to be found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Then again, ‘He gave some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, for the work of the ministry.’ Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.
Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the Church to the world? ‘Ye are the salt,’ not sugar candy—something the world will spit out, not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance, ‘Let the dead bury their dead.’ He was in awful earnestness!
Had Christ introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His mission, He would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear Him say, ‘Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow, something short and attractive with little preaching. We will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!’ Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them. In vain will the Epistles be searched to find any trace of the gospel amusement. Their message is, ‘Come out, keep out, keep clean out!’ Anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon. After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, ‘Lord grant Thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are.’ If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments. Scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They ‘turned the world upside down.’ That is the difference! Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her and bring us back to apostolic methods. Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to affect the end desired. It works havoc among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the Church met them halfway, speak and testify. Let the heavy-laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment has been God’s link in the chain of their conversion, stand up! There are none to answer. The mission of amusement produces no converts. The need of the hour for today’s ministry is believing scholarship joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.
Charles H. Spurgeon