Fighting or Loving

Fighting-Loving-20160604_204730Growing up I spent a lot of time reading about wars our country fought in history books and stories of soldiers who gave their all for their country.  The sacrifice that they showed for their country was a great influence on me, but I am afraid the concept of fighting for something no matter what it costs others also influenced me too greatly.  I saw the glory of being a hero, while ignoring how much it has the potential of hurting others.

Throughout Scripture we have many instances of the Christian life illustrated in a military manner. Such as: weapons of our warfare II Corinthians 10:4; Armour of God Ephesians 6:11-18; fighting the good fight of faith I Timothy 6:12, there are many other examples as well.  However while I emphasized in my mind this side of Christianity I ignored other Scriptures such as “Matthew 9:13 Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”, or Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”.

As a result of ignoring these verses as well as others, I have run roughshod over many people, far too many.  The result was that I hurt many people in my life that the Lord had placed there for me to minister to.  Because of this militaristic mindset, I began fighting for what I saw as the truth no matter who it hurt. The result of this was that I began alienating myself from many of my fellow believers.  In a conversation with someone about three years ago, he pointed out to me that I was not showing love in a particular situation, but rather I was being harsh on several individuals.  He was right, but I refused to receive what he was saying.  In fact I took it as a badge of honour that someone was criticizing me for doing what was “right”.

Recently God has been opening my eyes and showing me what it looks like to love.  For a long time, God has been teaching me how he loves me, but now he is instructing me in how to love others.  One of the major ways is by serving others as Galatians 5:13 instructs us.  Another is showing compassion on those who have not come to the same maturity as I believe I have in a certain area.  I have also come to realise that I cannot have my own personal interpretation of Scripture.  Many times I take how I understand Scripture as the standard and I get frustrated and judgemental if others do not see it the same way.  The Christian life does indeed have military parallels of fighting to the end.  However, in pursuing this end we must remember to have compassion, mercy and love for others.

—School of Discipleship student

School of Discipleship CA

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The Perfect Proposal

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While learning about the divine characteristics of God, I have grown to really appreciate the outdoors. Climbing up a high peak and glancing over the scenery has never gone short of leaving me in awe; the sunlit clouds moving across the clear blue sky, the different shades of colour in the trees, and the clear view of the horizon. As I take in the beautiful view, I am reminded that this is the same God who gave up His Son so that I can be reconciled to Him. I am reminded that as far as the east is from the west, God has removed my transgressions (Psalm 103:12). This is the God who is holy, eternal, and knows me deeply and specifically. He is the One who sought after my heart and asked for me to unite with Him in fulfilling His purpose for the world. The beauty of the whole universe is a reminder of His proposal to me. Before coming to School of Discipleship, I lived a life focused on gaining the approval from others. It was more important for me to be accepted by the people here on earth, than to live a life accepted and pleasing to God. Going through Crazy Love by Francis Chan, gave me a clear understanding of the love that God has for me. Francis Chan really emphasizes that even though I am a sinner who is prone to fail Him every day, He still chooses to love me regardless of my failures. He set me apart before I was born and chose for me to be a part of His glorious inheritance. How can I turn my eyes away from the God who offers the very thing that man cannot fulfill in my life? Does my life show that I have accepted His Love and His vision for the lost? Even as I write this, the feeling of guilt still overwhelms me.

In the book of Romans, God has a job description laid out for each one of His disciples. As a follower of Christ and a receiver of His love, I am called to go and preach the gospel so that those who hear will believe, call upon the Lord and be saved (Romans 10:14-15). If that is required of me, then I should not live a life staying idle and content with my bad work ethic. It reminds me of the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. Jesus tells the story of a master who went out to the market place and hired men who were standing there idle all day. When the master asked them “why do you stand here idle all day?” they said “because no one has hired us”. The master then gave them a job and sent them to go and work in his vineyard. This (according to Jesus) is exactly the perfect image of the kingdom of heaven. At one point in my life, I was standing idle, wasting my time and life. But God sought me out and hired me to be a worker for His kingdom and Romans 10:12-15 is the job description. This is what I’m required to do; it is why He has chosen to reveal His perfect love to me!

Father, thank you for offering me your perfect gift of salvation.

Thank you for choosing me to be your bride.

Thank you for surrounding me with your creation;

Never being able to forget your love and divine qualities.

Work in my heart and life so that I can be a vessel for your kingdom.

Give me the desire to draw others to say yes to your proposal

So that they can also bask in your unfailing love.

—School of Discipleship student

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A Man After God’s Own Heart

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Today, as I was praying, God reminded me of a phrase that was once quite special to me. The phrase is “a man after God’s own heart.” In my early teens, I spent a lot of time reading the books of Samuel and Kings. At the time I was looking for insights about faith and how people were demonstrating faith. I didn’t really understand faith so I ended up reading these books over and over and I became very familiar with the stories.  It was at this time that this phrase began meaning a lot to me.

In my early twenties God brought me to a place where I spent a lot of time in the gospels and the teachings of Jesus.  This concept of being a man after God’s own heart was kind of placed on the back burner for a time. Now God is bringing the two concepts together for me.

In class we have been learning about having a radical Christian lifestyle.  A lifestyle in which we renounce and hate everything, that would keep us from pursuing our Father with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  It is a lifestyle where we renounce everything as we pursue Christ.

What is it that enables us to do these things?  How do we get from knowing that these are the right things to do to the place where we are able to do it?  This is where I see being a man after God’s own heart fitting in.  It is when we have that heart that we are able to pursue Christ radically without worrying about what others will think.

What does it mean to have a heart after God?  I believe it means to be absolutely controlled by the Spirit of God.  When we are totally yielded to His Spirit, we can live the radical life.  The life and love of God will flow out of us.  It will no longer be a standard that we are attempting to attain to but it will be a lifestyle that naturally flows out from the Spirit within us.  This is having a heart after God.  This is being a radical disciple.  The life controlled by the Spirit is the life of True Discipleship.

—School of Discipleship student

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The Glories in Suffering!

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“For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for his sake.” Philippians 1:29

What a blessing to have studied the book of Philippians and “The Calvary Road” in class the past couple weeks. I certainly feel like I have a greater understanding of suffering and the glories thereof. Time and time again the Holy Spirit has brought me to a place of sweet brokenness, as I am reminded of my Lord Jesus Christ hanging on a cross for me. It remains a mystery to me that God would go about bringing redemption to the world, through the ultimate sacrifice, our Lord Jesus Christ. Seeing as though I will never figure out God or His ways with my mortal mind, I am coming to a place of acceptance and faith realizing that in suffering is a hidden fellowship with God that will not be experienced in any other manner. O WHAT GLORY! WORTHY IS THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN!

—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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