Growth

What are you willing to walk away from?

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32Remember Lot’s wife. 33Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.   Luke 17:32-33

Yes that’s right. Jesus told His disciples to remember Lot’s wife!

In your journey with Jesus, what’s holding you back from fully yielding your life to Him? What has a grip on you? That’s what idolatry does. It holds us back from what Jesus would by promising security, respect, and likability. God’s promise for Lot and his family lay before them not behind them. But Lot’s wife looked back longingly. Her heart was back there…; rather than valuing the treasure of her life hidden in God’s rescue… she looked back  (Genesis 19).

The Lord has brought these words to mind many times in the last five years. Perhaps I’ve collected more that shimmers and shines with false promise. Oh Lord have mercy! Jesus is my life!

What are you not willing to walk away from with Jesus? What competes for your allegiance to Jesus?

As Jesus leads you into His way, His love, His Gospel mission of grace, what are you willing to walk away from?
Count the cost. Jesus is worth it!

This week basketball fans have marvelled at Larry Sanders’ “walk away from the NBA.”

Collegiate Day of Prayer — Canada

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“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I out to speak.” Colossians 4:2-4

I’m thankful for the window Scripture gives us to see into the hearts of God’s servants when we hear their requests for prayer. Whether its Jesus asking his disciples to accompany Him in His distress and time of prayer or its Paul requesting intercession for the mission to which God had called him, these records of their requests make me bolder.

Many in our network are praying today for university and college students on campuses across North America.  Its the 200th anniversary of a commitment to pray for students and campuses.

Our friend Mark, shares the following requests:

We are praying for students to come to know God through a relationship with Jesus.

We are praying for students to engage their campuses with the Gospel.

We are praying for students to be called to serve the nations and take the Gospel around the world.

We are praying for a spiritual awakening on our campuses.

Vancouver Requests

UBC and two other schools are on my heart today in Vancouver. I invite you to join us in praying for students and staff at:

The University of British Columbia

Langara College

Emily Carr University of Art and Design

Simon Fraser University

Douglas College

As well please pray for the leaders and ministry teams on campuses across Canada. Ask the Lord to open a door for the Gospel of Jesus, and to anoint them with His Spirit that they may communicate clearly and compassionately.

Campuses in Canada:

98 Universities in Canada.

190 Colleges in Canada.

With Jesus for the long-haul

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6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.  Colossians 2:6-7

In a short track race the way you start really matters. Its over in seconds and if you miss the start, stumble, or fall, the race will finish without you. Fortunately the Christian life is not that way!

The Christian life is not run in seconds. Its a lifetime and none of us start our life of faith with Jesus perfectly. In fact, we may begin with a limp, with the odds stacked against us, and as seemingly unlikely candidates for the family of God.

Paul’s vision of the Christian life is one in which we are living in Jesus’ grace by faith and for the long-haul. It begins with the work of God through the Gospel of Jesus and has a simple confession: Jesus Christ is Lord. But, it also has a vision of discipleship that might go like this:

“I’m so thankful! I have received a gift — Jesus Himself; Christ Jesus the Lord is the gift. He has firmly rooted me in His family; its done! Now there’s a lifetime of knowing Him available to me. I want to walk with Him daily and trust He will build me up with His church, establishing us in the faith so we are able to make Him known and enjoy God.”

 

 

Let love be genuine.

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9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.   Romans 12:9-10

Love must be sincere.

Love must be without hypocrisy.

Love must be without a mask to hide behind.

Are you willing to love with your cracks showing?

Are you willing to sit long with Jesus till your view of a difficult  person is formed by love?

When there are cracks in your capacity to love will you meet Jesus for the grace to grow in love?

Life together with anyone has a way of revealing my incompetence at love. Scary as it is I’m finding this awareness of my love deficit is a gift. Must of us think we are pretty good at love and naturally deflect responsibility for our inadequacies. Our denial is expense and works to the detriment of ourselves, our families, our churches, our friends, and our communities.

If I hate the pain my deficiencies may cause another then I may choose humility and the reckless love of Christ at the Cross. Then I can invite all to dive deeper into His grace with me. But if I deny and refuse to acknowledge when I acted  without love or with a false love, then I perpetuate the deception ruling this world and actually join in — purposefully excluding God from my relationships.

Who cares for the church?

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…the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

24Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.  Colossians 1:23-29
I have a friend who says, “Disciple-making is largely unappreciated at the time.” The Apostle Paul knew what it was like to be unappreciated. Yet, Paul says he has joy in his assignment from Jesus. Joy! But, its not been easy. Following Jesus has brought him into:

Sufferings.

Stewardship.

Struggle.

Sufferings. There are seasons in which Paul suffered physically and psychologically for the advancement of Jesus’ church.

Stewardship. Paul had a persistent sense of responsibility to proclaim the word of God to people, making Jesus known through the Gospel.

Struggle. Paul tapped into all the resources of mind, body, and soul that the Lord made available to him so that people would grow up as Jesus’ disciples.

There is nothing like the Gospel ministry to which we have been called. It has its highs and its lows. It’s rich! It’s glorious! It’s messy! No one else but the church is promised the incredible hope of glory: Christ in you!  Disciple-making is not an easy journey, but it has its joys! There is nothing like being in the company of Jesus, the King of Creation, when He touches the life of a brother or sister.

These joys can be ours when we lean into Jesus with His people and willingly accept some measure of sufferings, stewardship, and struggle for the sake of Jesus and His church. Gospel ministry is not a matter of full-time or part-time vocation. Instead its a relationship and a labour of love. Will you venture into relationship with at least one other person to flame the hope of our glory—Christ in us?