Hold On to Christ!

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Praise God! We are already in the last third of the School of Discipleship year, which seems absolutely absurd! Truly, God continues to amaze me!!

We had the privilege of hearing our leader, Bro. KP, teach about depending on God. A few words he said caught me a bit in my tracks. He said, (in my summarization) “We must remember that God cannot fill His Spirit and blessings into hands that are already full.”

So often, I desire that God would fill me with His Spirit. I want to be full of Him. But I then question myself, Is God able to fill me with Himself, if I am already full of other things? Do I even possess the room? In absolutely everything that God gives, which far exceeds anything earthly, why do I still find it excruciating, to empty my hands of everything earthly, in order to hold on to Him?
Some of a quote that puts this well is in the journal of Jim Elliot. The quote reads,

“Father, let me be weak that I might lose my clutch of everything temporal. My life, my reputation, my possessions, Lord, let me loose the tension of the grasping hand. Rather, open my hand to receive the nail of Calvary, as Christ’s was opened, that I, releasing all, might be released, unleashed from all that binds me now. So let me release my grasp.”

Oh, that I would learn the blessedness of depending on Him, surrendering to Him, clinging to Him, and seeking Him! Only then, can I really be a true disciple of His, and discover His true worth!!

—School of Discipleship student

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Keeping From Discouragement

Keeping-from-discouragement-WP_20151108_018This past weekend I was able to go to a Women’s Conference. The theme of the conference was “Take your Jericho”. The Keynote speaker shared stories from her own experiences and testimony to demonstrate her points. The passage she shared from was Joshua 6-8; the Israelites had to keep walking and trusting God even when they were tired and wanted to give up. They wouldn’t have defeated Jericho after only six times around the wall, they had to walk the seventh time around. There are many times when I’ve wanted to give up the battle and go the easy way. How can we keep from the discouragement that causes us to give up?

The speaker shared three ways for us to fight our battle. The one I want to point out is the second one because it is the most important to me at this time. Self-confidence is a big way that causes us to lose our battles. In Joshua 7, Joshua is ready to fight another battle after watching God defeat Jericho before them. He doesn’t realize God isn’t with them anymore because of disobedience in their camp. They go up to battle against the smaller army of Ai and are defeated. Then Joshua falls on his knees and cries out to God.

Suddenly I realize I am like this so often. I go forward confident that I can do it and I will come through okay. Only to fall on my knees, moments later in complete defeat.

God commands Joshua to get up and cleanse the sin from their midst, only then will they have victory. It’s the areas where I am disobeying the command of God, that cause me to fall in defeat, but when I come before God asking Him to show me my sin and cleanse me from it, I then can go forward in His strength.

And the Israelites attacked again the city of Ai and this time they defeated it because they obeyed the command of God. It’s in obedience and humility that the toughest battles are won.

—School of Discipleship student

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Life in the Body

I am so blessed to serve with a Body of Believers who are really like the Church in Acts. We are all here for two purposes: to grow closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to proclaim His name and His glory to those millions who haven’t heard His name.

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The reason I write this post is because I have been struggling with headaches consistently everyday for the past… 7 months? And when I walked down the hallway today, someone stopped me to see how I’m doing. When I mentioned the headache, they stopped what they were doing and prayed for me right then and there. This is not an uncommon occurrence, actually it happens all the time. We are a people who pray together constantly, are transparent with one another as the Body should be, we are there to encourage and give of ourselves (out of the strength of God) to help others, we love others even when its hard to do. The staff here at Gospel for Asia are living out what it means to be the Body of Christ. And I am so encouraged by it.

I’m sure there are other places out there that are similar. But I am so blessed to be a part of this family. 🙂

—School of Discipleship Alumni

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Eternal Investments

Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:14

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

in·vest·ment = time, energy, or matter spent in the hope of future benefit.

The Lord has been challenging me in examining my heart for its true investment. These verses arouse a soberness that causes me to ask myself, what am I ultimately striving to treasure and invest in?

We have all heard the saying, “Life is precious”. Yes, without a shadow of a doubt, I believe it surely to be true. But what is it about life makes it to be so uniquely precious? The answer is Christ.

As a part of my curriculum this year, I have the great privilege to read the book Character of God’s Workman. Even though I am just a ways into it, this book has made me examine my own life in regards to God’s love for all humanity. There is a part in the book where Nee writes, “Many who would work for God have a serious deficiency, which is, that they are totally lacking in the love of humanity. They lack the proper respect towards men, and they lack as well knowledge of the value of man in God’s sight. Indeed, each and every life on earth has been uniquely designed and created by an absolute wonderful Creator. And in each life is a soul, a soul that needs to hear and know that Love Himself has come to give more than this life ever could provide–eternal life through Jesus Christ alone!

To invest in the lives and souls of others seems like the toughest, yet greatest possible investment on earth. To think about this investment forces me out of my comfort zone, yet it seems like the only possible and worthwhile investment when reflecting on the amazing redemptive plan that Christ has for all the world. Oh to simply invest in a precious soul! This is an eternal investment!  The benefits, being eternal ones, are of unimaginable value, as we anticipate to soon gather around the Lord’s Throne to worship Him forever and ever!

So, with life having that much of value, I pray the Lord would make me mindful of His love for all humanity. As we as God’s children,  have been huge beneficiaries of His amazing grace, may the Lord use us in the lives of others for whom He has also died and cherishes greatly.  As each life is compared to a mere vapor that disappears as quickly as it appears, I pray the Lord might continue to reveal the true purpose and meaning of life on earth. May our hearts be consumed with Christ Himself as our Treasure, and thus have an outflow of a love for mankind.

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GLORIFYING MY CREATOR

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It’s Saturday morning and I’m headed out the road with my friend to do some shopping. We get a weather advisory for a severe storm coming our direction. Heeding the warning, we go back to our houses and wait it out. I grab my Bible, journal and a fresh cup of French vanilla coffee. I make myself comfortable on the back porch and watch the sky. The clouds are getting darker and the thunder starts to roll. It’s incredible to watch! I ask the Lord to speak to my heart, to teach me from His word.

My mind immediately went to Psalm 19: “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” The skies are God’s creation. They glorify Him and reflect His majesty. You and I are also His creation – and far more amazing than a cloud or lightning bolt! Something I hear from a lot from folks who say they love Jesus is that their ultimate goal is to glorify their Creator, God. I’ve always felt that “glorifying God” is a wide and general statement. So how do I glorify God in my life? How do I reflect His glory daily? I started thinking about what I see in other believers that glorifies God and points me to Him. Here are a few simple ways I’ve seen God’s glory displayed through others: obedience, thankfulness and humility.

In a world where it is hard to differentiate between grace and tolerance, God’s word is true and perfect. Listen to what David says about God’s law: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned. In keeping them there is great reward.” Words like radiance, sweetness, wisdom and joy – he explains God’s law as something wonderful, not staunch or overbearing! We will bring glory to our Creator by obeying His commands.

In an average day, I see far more unhappy people than joyful people in the world. It’s far more likely to hear someone complain or grumble than to hear a genuine “thank you” or “wow, I am so blessed.” Regardless of our circumstances, any hardship or trial, there is always something to be thankful for. (I’m not talking about a hypocritical cheese festival where you say we are happy when we’re not. I’m talking about genuinely being grateful for God and what He has done for us!) And most often, sharing gratitude will encourage someone else as well, resulting in more glory to God! Remember He says thankfulness is a fruit of His spirit living inside of us. Having a heart of gratitude will glorify our Creator!

No one is perfect. David’s life was chock-full of mistakes. The amazing thing is that God often shows His glory the brightest through people’s failures. The Bible says “People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives. ” Proverbs 16:2 David asked forgiveness for hidden sins and willful sins, as well as asked God to keep him from walking into sin. Then he says “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, o Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” He humbled himself to please the Lord above anyone else. Life is full of hurts, misunderstandings, and mistakes – and life is far too short to dwell in those. We will glorify God by consistently asking Him to search our hearts and motives, and to purify us.

Just like the heavens declare the glory of their Creator through beautiful sunsets, sunrises and even storms, so you and I can declare His glory in many ways. Obedience to Gods word, thankfulness regardless of circumstances, and constant humility are three simple ways I have personally seen Christ glorified through the lives of Christians here at Gospel for Asia. Being a student in School of Discipleship has also given me ample opportunities to put these things into practice in my own life.

Now, I need another cup of coffee. (And hey, I am truly grateful for coffee! 😊)

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