Tag Archives: discipleship

Take Care Of The Home Front First (Christian Leadership In Today’s Culture Part 3)

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In this series we’ve been talking about what it looks like to lead in today’s culture.  We first said we need to check our own hearts.  Then we looked at the need to live out of and lead people within the correct narrative.

Today before we go further out so to speak, I want to talk about going further in.

What I mean is that along with the first battle, the one in our heart, we need to make sure that we fight for those right around us.  We need to make sure we take care of the home front so to speak.

The reality is that you are your own first responder.  This is true in general of course. For example if there is a medical emergency you are going to respond before the ambulance gets there.  If someone breaks into your home you will need to respond long before the police arrive.  Do you have a plan?  This is true for every area of life.

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Will We Be Equal In Heaven? (Bible Study The Rich Young Man Part 5)

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That last several bible study posts we have been looking at the story of the rich young man’s encounter with Jesus.  We started by looking at the original context and the most likely meaning.  Then we looked at two ways that Christians often get money wrong.  Next we looked at our own generosity and finally we talked about what I would consider the main point that we can apply; that is do we own our life or does God?

In this last post on this story I want to consider something that I think often gets lost when we read this.  And that is the last part where Peter and Jesus talk about the disciples and what they have left to follow Jesus.

Following Jesus’ teaching on how only God can let people in and that if you don’t surrender all to Him you won’t get in, Peter responds.  You can see the wheels turning in Peter’s head.  He says, “We have left everything to follow you.  What will there be for us?”

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Do You Own Your Life Or Does God (Bible Study The Rich Young Man Part 4)

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Over the course of several posts we’ve been looking at the story of the rich young man’s encounter with Jesus.  We looked at the original context, the two errors that we make about Christianity and money and the idea of starting with judging our own generosity before judging others.  Today I want to look at what it means to walk the line with wealth and the Kingdom and avoiding the fate of the rich young man.

The first thing I want to note is that the this man had it all.  He had prosperity by any standard.  He was not only in the top 1%.  In his day he was more likely in the top .01%.  Not only that but by all accounts he was a morally upstanding guy.  He kept the ten commandments at least generally.  Heck he probably tithed his 10% to the temple.

And yet, something was missing and he knew it.  Otherwise why would he have come to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”

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Christians Are The Ones Being Converted (Thoughts on Romans 12:2)

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I’ve had Romans 12:2 on my mind and heart a lot the last few weeks.  In the first eleven chapters Paul is basically laying out theological truth after truth for the Roman Christians.  He begins chapter with a transition of sorts.  He is about to share how to live this out and what it might look like.  But he starts with this in  12:1-2:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It’s the second part that has had my attention lately.  The idea of not being conformed to this world.  Not being conformed to this age.  In other words not being transformed away from Jesus but towards him.  Not following the fads, directions, lifestyles, or flow of the culture.  Really, we shouldn’t be following anyone but Jesus.  And we should be leading.  We can test what is happening around us and lead with what is good. We should be leading others towards Jesus, at least whoever might follow.

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Managing Your Soil – (The Parable of the Sower Part 3)

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I’m a big lawn guy.  I love a good looking yard and I work probably too hard to have one.  There are a lot of keys to a good lawn and I’ll come back to this analogy at another time.  But today I want to talk about preparing the soil for seeding.

If you want to have a good lawn you have to prepare the soil.  If you just throw seed on top of the bare spots nothing will happen.  You can water it and everything else, but it won’t matter much.  What you need to do is till up the soil.  Get at least three inches deep.  You need to get rid of anything else growing there as well as any sort of rocks or debris.  Then you rake it smooth and if you’re really into it, which I am, then you get a roller and roll it smooth.  Then and only then do you drop some seed, spread evenly of course.  Then you gently rake it in to the loose top soil.  Then I typically throw some straw on top of it to protect it from erosion and getting washed out.  Finally you water it . . . . for a while.  You have to keep it moist until it grows.  This is to say nothing of the maintenance of the yard to keep out weeds and encourage deep rooting.  It’s a continual process.

The same is true of our hearts when it comes to the soil we become for the word of God.

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