Discipleship (Page 9)
‘Being’ the Lights
“God is light” (1 John 1:5). “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:4-9). Think about light again. God is light and, in Jesus, the true light, which gives light to everyone, came into the world. “And,” John wrote, “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus made it clear: “I…
‘Seeing’ the Light
“God is light” (1 John 1:5). “In Him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John [the Baptist]. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about…
Wise Words to a Stubborn Ox
Do you know the old hymn, “I Love to Tell the Story”? It’s just great. I love to tell the story of unseen things above, Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love; I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true, It satisfies my longings as nothing else would do. Refrain: I love to tell the story, ’Twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story Of Jesus and…
‘Father, How Do You Want to Use Me?’
God not only has a general will for our lives, but He has a specific will for us too. God’s general will is found in Scripture: don’t steal, don’t lie or be dishonest, speak gracious words, be filled with the Spirit and walk in His light, bear witness to all of God’s goodness, put on the Lord Jesus and make no provision for the flesh, let your reasonableness, your…
Are We Too Easy on Our Flesh?
It’s not a message we hear too often from Christian pulpits today: You have to be harder on yourself! But, here’s what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27: “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” Now, I’m not loving this translation! It’s TOO soft! I think the problem is that the translators aren’t sure…
You Gotta Serve Somebody, Yes Indeedy Doo
Bob Dylan wrote some really great songs during his so-called ‘born-again’ period. Perhaps the most famous was, You Gotta Serve Somebody. The lyrics are pure gold: You may be an ambassador to England or France You may like to gamble, you might like to dance You may be the heavyweight champion of the world You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls. But you’re…
You Are a Gift From God
One of the greatest longings in life is to have a purpose, a reason for living. This is true for every human being, saved or unsaved. Read what Marianna Pogosyan, Ph.D. writes, “Belonging can also contribute to a meaningful life, since being a part of a group connotes being a part of something larger, something that expands beyond the boundaries of our own self, thus…
Together, We Reflect the Glory of God
We forget, don’t we? Life has a way of doing that to us. The old cliché that ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ may or may not be true, but, there’s no doubt that familiarity breeds forgetfulness. We can easily forget how much we need and love those closest to us. The relationship we have with our parents and other older family members is a good example of this. We have a…
Prayer – Life’s Anchor
I have to say, I, like many of you, struggled with prayer. First, you wonder, why should I pray, God knows everything. Second, you might say, He never seems to answer my prayers so what’s the sense. Third, I can never stay focused. I am always distracted. Fourth, I feel weird when I pray. We can go on and on with reasons or excuses not to pray. It seems strange…
A Divided Life vs. A Life of Prayer
The Three Elements of Faith
They committed themselves to the Apostle’s teaching. When I think of this I think of Romans when Paul wrote, “Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God”. We as believers are to, “Live by faith” as it says in Hebrews. However, the concept of faith can be misleading. Most people, when you talk about faith, think it means a wishful thought, a hope of some…
“Fun, Fun, Fun on Der Autobahn”
You might know the song Autobahn from the band Kraftwerk. It’s a quick little 23 -minute (!) toe-tapper in which they sing in German, “We’re driving, driving, driving on the Autobahn” over and over again to a wash of electronic music. It’s a krautrock classic. To my American ear, it always sounded like they’re singing, “Fun, fun, fun on the Autobahn,” which made for a…
What Do We Remember
As we read 1 Cor 11:23-26 we notice what our Lord said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” What is it we are to remember? Could it be the incarnation? That God took upon flesh? That He inhabited a body like ours, frail weak and destined for the grave? Or could it be that He came from glory into this, comparatively speaking, pigpen of a place called earth. An earth,…
Worship & Sacrifice
It’s impossible to ‘sanitize’ what God asked Abraham to do that day. “He said, ‘Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you’” (Genesis 22:5). Abraham knew what this meant. After all, this was not his first offering. There were the material items…