discipleship

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.”

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.”

 

 

Our Gospel Realizations: Devastation and Delight

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21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him… Colossians 1:21-22

For those who have received Jesus as Lord two states of mind are held in the same hand.

Once we were alienated from God, hostile in our thinking, and doing evil. That’s devastating!

But now through the very body of Jesus Christ and His crucifixion,

we are presented before Him, the King of Creation,

as reconciled to God, holy, blameless, and above accusation. That’s delightful!

Our motivations are to be progressively shaped by the truth and grace of the Gospel. God wants us to set aside the controlling condemnation that accompanies guilt, shame, and fear in order to live a life in the company of Jesus.

Self-righteousness self-justifies to convince us that we are doing pretty good on our own without God and of course that we are doing better than those “other” people. When this illusion is threatened we become caustic, prickly, and accusatory. Jesus’ righteousness ushers us into a confession of our common condition in sin’s brokenness and into a warm strong humility crafted by His love. Only Jesus’ Gospel-grace can keep devastation and delight together and create abundant life.

Three Virtues Nurtured in the Fellowship of the King

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3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.  Colossians 1:3-7

Often when the Apostle Paul uses the terms faith, hope, and love, he is using small words to gather up large amounts of information and cast a vision for the character of God’s people. Saved by grace we now are participatory creatures in God’s Kingdom and our growth. God wants us to become people of faith, hope, and love on the foundation of Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
Here are some questions to consider.

Faith: Who are you trusting?
Who do you know?
Who are you into?

Hope: What vision pulls you forward?
What promises create expectation?
What are you looking forward to?

Love: How are you adjusting your life to serve, honour,
and celebrate God and people?

Growth in faith, hope, and love is not automatic, nor is it quick and easy. Faith, hope, and love are not categories that can be divorced from Christ Jesus to serve as self-righteous forms of salvation and personal improvement. Christian faith has its object and the “object” is Jesus Christ our Lord. The Church is the fellowship of the King and we are nurturing and noticing Gospel-shaped growth as people of faith, hope, and love.

 

 

What to do with youthful passions contrary to God’s grace

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19But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” 20Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 22So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  2 Timothy 2:19-22

Knowing Jesus generates response and the desire to honour Him with our lives. But our passions may seem to get in the way of responding honourably to Jesus and the Gospel. We may be disappointed that passions, our desires, do not automatically align themselves with the purity of the Holy Spirit. This is where we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit for a lifetime.

We can lock onto God’s vision for our lives and return to Him over and over; set apart for Him; holy by His grace; useful to the Master of this house.

We can cleanse ourselves of what is dishonourable to Jesus through confession and deliberate gatekeeping. In His loving presence we learn to recognize our temptations drawing us away from the sincere satisfaction available in His grace and truth.

We can flee youthful passions, deciding not to feed and entertain them.

We can pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, redirecting the energy and youthfulness of our lives into participation in His work.

We can connect with the fellowship of Jesus’ followers who call on the Lord in the promise of a heart forgiven and cleansed by Jesus’ labour of love at the cross, for support and encouragement.