Jun 10, 2014
On November 3, the church recognized International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. As I thought about and prayed for my brothers and sisters who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus, I also thought about being a martyr. I hear testimonies of people who have laid down their lives for the sake of the Gospel – and I think, “And that is worth it.”
I know that it is worth it to live for Jesus, and to lay down my life for His sake.
But why do I somehow think that living for Jesus is not worth losing sleep over, or is not worth being inconvenienced by? That being Jesus’ disciple is not worth giving up my comfortable life for?
I do believe that following Christ is worth giving my life and my everything for. But very often, the choices I make and the way I live my life do not reflect that.
Something is wrong here. Following Jesus IS worth everything. So I need to start living like it.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” – Matthew 16:24-25
Please like and share this post:
Dec 26, 2013
As School of Discipleship students we have a pretty packed schedule: class multiple times a week, doing assignments in the evenings, prayer meetings almost every day, working full time at Gospel For Asia, and then community service projects or evangelism on the weekends.
A few weeks ago my classmates and I also did some religion training sessions! We learned from people with Operation Mobilization about some different religions prevalent in Asia. We’re now better equipped to be witnesses for Christ here in North America, and also to better know how to pray.
Since we were learning about Asian culture and religion, we spent part of one Saturday afternoon visiting downtown Toronto’s Asian community town! We dressed in the cultural clothing, visited some different shops, and also enjoyed a delicious Asian meal.
Then we visited the CN Tower in Toronto!
We are both from Texas, so it was our first time visiting the CN Tower. Our group had a blast walking around downtown Toronto!
Please like and share this post:
Dec 23, 2013
“Jesus wept.”
– John 11:35
That’s the shortest verse in the Bible. And the only place in the Bible that it’s recorded that Jesus cried. Why? What was up? The verse is only a couple syllables long, but I believe these two words are there for us to learn from!
What’s the context of John 11:35? If you go ahead and read the other verses in John chapter 11, you’ll realize that Jesus was crying because His friend Lazarus had died. Lazarus had been sick; Jesus didn’t go to him right away; and Lazarus died.
You know what John 11:35 tells me? Jesus was human. Gayle Erwin’s book The Jesus Style explains this so clearly. Jesus was human – and understanding that can be revolutionary! (If you haven’t read The Jesus Style yet, go do it.) Jesus was 100% man, and 100% God. If you can’t fully comprehend that, that’s okay. Neither can I. It’s like trying to wrap your mind around the concept of infinity. But just because I don’t fully understand something, it doesn’t mean I can’t believe in it with all my heart!
“Jesus wept.” Jesus felt sorrow, he felt pain. He understands my emotions!!! And it’s okay to cry. (In class in School of Discipleship one morning, we were discussing if it was okay for guys to cry. That’s a controversial topic so I won’t get into it, but we came to the conclusion that is IS okay for guys to cry. John 11:35 tells us that Jesus did!) But one point that was brought up about this verse – Jesus didn’t remain in His sorrow. He wept, and then He moved on. He was sorrowful, and then He did something about it! Jesus was sad that Lazarus had died – and then He raised him from the dead.
So, emotions are okay. Just don’t let them rule you. Feelings come and go, but facts are what you can depend on. That sounds awfully pragmatic…but it’s true. Relying on the truth – on what God says – is so much better than relying on what I feel.
And when we feel sorrowful, that’s okay.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)
“There is a time for everything… a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4)
But don’t dwell in that sorrow, move on, learn from it, and do something about it. Cause that’s what Jesus did.
Please like and share this post:
Jun 18, 2013
Two questions that have challenged my heart recently are these:
- Do I try to please God by what I do for Him?
- Do I try to live my own life by my own power?
These were questions my pastor asked during the Easter Sunday service, but they are things that God has already started working on in my life.
I can get really preoccupied with shallow, surface things. How do I look, what food am I eating, what do people think of me? I can get so caught up in appearing to live the perfect Christian life – and I am trying to do it in my own fleshly strength. I guess that’s where those two questions begin to fit together.
During this year as a School of Discipleship student, God has been teaching me about what it means to live for Him. It’s about who I am. Living for Jesus starts first of all with knowing Jesus more fully. When that is the cornerstone my life is built upon, then living for Jesus will come naturally. The fruit of my life will show that I’m rooted and built upon Christ.
Trying to “do things for God” with my own effort will get me nowhere, like a car stuck in a rut spinning its wheels. If I just strive in my fleshly strength to live for God, I’ll never achieve it.
Being a Christian, a follower of Christ, starts with knowing and loving Jesus fully and intimately. Living for Him (and working, serving, discipling, and loving) needs to come out of that first love, and it can be done – through the power of the Holy Spirit.
These are the questions I need to ask myself now:
- Am I seeking to know Jesus intimately?
- Do I desire for Jesus to work in and through me, or am I still grasping for “control”?
- Is my focus on myself, or on Jesus?
As I learn more about Jesus, one thing is standing out to me especially. Taking on the nature of Jesus in my own life is impossible when I try to accomplish it in my own strength. It is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit! His work in my life and heart make this goal achievable – this goal of knowing Jesus more, being like Him, and living for Him.
“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6
When I started following Christ, God began to work in my life, transforming me more into the image of Christ. And God’s promise to me is that He is still at work in me, and He won’t stop working until He’s finished.
And it’s pretty cool to have one year set aside to get to know Jesus more, and to do it with awesome people like my School of Discipleship classmates.
Please like and share this post:
Jun 17, 2013
One of the most significant things I have been learning is about pursuing God. In class we recently studied through The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. He wrote the book in the 1940’s, but it’s still as relevant to our daily lives as if it had been written yesterday.
One theme that ties the whole book together is this: God is pursuing us first. He is seeking to reveal Himself to us! All that I do is simply to respond to that – yet we call it the pursuit of God! It is incredible how much God really loves me. It blows my mind every time I think about it. God wants me to seek Him, and He wants to reveal Himself to me!
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:13
Okay, this is cool: I am getting to learn a lot about communication and design this year in my ministry placement, and it’s awesome. So in learning about design, I made this picture with these lyrics from Movements by Rend Collective. But seeking after God – that’s what it’s about.
To get down to what I’m trying to say,
“The desire of my heart is to pursue God.”
Please like and share this post:
Recent Comments