Thy Kingdom Come

April 25, 2016April 25, 2016 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

Last week I had the privilege of teaching how God formed his family in the Exodus story and what it means to the Church today. We talked at length about how God has called His family to live as a distinct community within the pagan world. As soon as we get the audio you will be able to find the three sessions at porterbrookstl.com.

The Spirit has done an amazing amount of work on my heart in this area, pressing out what the distinct community actually looks like. It’s one thing to study, exegete and preach what a community is suppose to look like. It’s an entirely different exercise to pastor the local church to the same goal. After teaching Sunday on the Festival of Booths, the Lord continued to work on my heart. What does it look like to live dependent on God, faithful to His word and engaged in community? What does it look like to be called as an empowered community distinct in and with the pagan world?

It didn’t take long for the exercise to become a reality. How does the church engage the world with something like gender identity? It’s a hot button issue, now that Target has chosen to allow open restrooms to our friends that identify with a different gender. This of course has become a moral outrage in the Christian communities that I have the privileged of being involved it. Not that the communities as a whole are outwardly making statements, but as many things in the social ecosystem, one persons comments can be taken as the opinion of the majority.

I’ve seen the arguments, the Bible teaches that this is wrong. God made Adam and Eve, not Adam that identifies as Eve or even an Eve that identifies as Adam. It doesn’t take much to see that sexuality is something that is deeply important to God. So the question begs why?

I believe that we find at least a hint of why in the book of Ephesians.

Wives and Husbands Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Ephesians 5:22-33 ESV)

We clearly see here that Paul draws an analogy to relationship between a husband and a wife and Christ and the Church. There is an implicit sexual nature to the analogy because the one thing that a husband and a wife have that is explicit to the relationship is sex. Biblically, sex is for the marriage, a bond that is meant to be shared and nurtured through the physical act of consummation. As a Christian this teaching shouldn’t be new or anything ground breaking. I’m making the case for the moral outrage. The issue with attempting to draw the moral backlash from these verses is that God through Paul is speaking about the relationship between a man and a woman whom has been called by God to be in the family of God. Someone who’s heart has been changed by the super natural act of the Holy Spirit described in Ezekiel 36:

I Will Put My Spirit Within You “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. (Ezekiel 36:22-32 ESV)

So the question still begs, how does the Christian react? Again, the answer can be found in Ephesians 5.

Walk in Love Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Ephesians 5:1-5 ESV)

We are to walk in love and be imitators of God. The same God that came down and loved us when we were enemies of Him. When we hated Him to the point of death on a cross, He loved us. Our job as the church is not to make some moral outrage and boycott Target, that is the reaction of the world. That’s the reaction of a pagan nation when something doesn’t go politically the way that they feel is right. Do we boycott McDonalds because they help in the sin of gluttony? Do we boycott every business that hires people what are living together but are not married? Of course not, so the issue isn’t in fact a moral issue.

So what is the real issue? The real issue is our hearts, Christians. We only want to love, when it’s convenient and comfortable for us. Someone who looks very different or has a completely different world view causes tension in our hearts and it’s a tension that we want to avoid. How can I love this person whom looks and acts counter-cultural to my own beliefs? And in that statement lies the very insidious sin in our hearts. We still believe that the faith that was given to us was for us and in reality, the faith that was given to you as a gift from God is the faith causes you to engage a culture that is not like your own with the same love and grace that Christ engaged you with.

Or have we so quickly forgotten the Gospel that saved us, is saving us and propels us into the world?

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-7 ESV)

The First Year of Grace

September 22, 2015September 22, 2015 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

We made it, it being one year into marriage. We made it through some tough times. We lost some friends that honestly we thought were going to be “ride or dies.” It’s the natural rhythms of life it seems, as the Spirit moves and our sinful hearts pull things happen and it’s good.

So here are a few things that I have learned from our first year of marriage:

I am a terrible God. So is Taylor. Grace has to abound in marriage for it to be healthy and happy. Yes, you can stay together and be miserable for the rest of the days… but I’m not all about that. Call me a hedonist, I’m good with it. Marriage without grace is like playing wack-a-mole with your spouses heart. Every time that you feel offended, they get smashed. It’s literally our Jekyll and Hyde hearts, with deep repercussions for the entire family and it starts with a heart that is tuned and nurtured to be it’s own God. If your spouse is your God, you will murder them on the cross and without Jesus, they just stay dead.
Family worship is hard. I’ll admit and confess, I thought I had a plan for family worship. My plan sunk faster than the Cubs in October. Still working on it, still learning Taylor and how she worships best, still learning me… still learning. It’s apparent to me that learning each other continuously is key. If the Spirit is active, change is constant and you have to be willing to be quite and humble during the process.
Taylor is my best friend and because she is my best friend, she is not my sounding board for everything. If you love your wife, you protect her heart violently. We as men need to be at war with our sin natures, daily. Every time that you sound off on your wife about struggles with other people, you are setting the stage in her heart for resentment that can last much longer than yours. You don’t however start blasting co-workers, ministry leaders and your friends if you are walking in grace, with the Spirit as your guide.
If you aren’t visibly and audibly reliant on God, you can’t expect your wife to be.

My prayer is that this quick little list is just really a reminder of things that seem to fall in the cracks during the grind.

Redeeming Social Media – The Experiement

January 23, 2015January 24, 2015 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

So here is the deal. I’ve tried just about anything and everything to control the social media beast that consumes our time and energy. It’s the beast that maintains so much cognitive space in our minds that it actually is shaping who we think we are and how we engage the entire world. It shapes our communication, it runs businesses and it develops reality (true or not). The beast is real and there is nothing that we can do to stop it. Like all things, our sinful hearts have twisted something that was originally good and turned it bad. Luckily, we are loved by the Great Redeemer and we reflect that image to the world.

The question is really, how are we going to redeem social media?

I’ve seen it done in a few different ways. Prayer requests and organization seem to be a few of the things that people are using social media for. That’s in itself is dope. I love seeing people that I love, loving people on the mediums. There is more that we can do though. The “social” aspect of the mediums is a piece that I think that we are missing. The reason that I think we fail to engage the social part of social media is because we are inherently scared to socialize period. I think that as a culture we stand on one of two different sides. We either want to engage socially to the point that it’s a danger to our health, or we don’t want to engage period and it’s a danger to our health. In the culture that we live, excessive is the norm and having a decent balance is really more of an urban myth.

So here is the challenge: We are almost out of January, so for the month of February, what are you going to do to redeem social media? Who’s day can you touch and what encouraging things can you communicate to the people that you love? Make a commitment to loving people in and around social media, and don’t just consume it. If you see someone is having a rough time, reach out and go see them. Make the phone call, it will be vastly more edifying than the simple “like”.

What are some ideas that you have for redeeming social media? Share them out!

Come as you are

December 26, 2014December 26, 2014 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

Reading through the scriptures today and preparing for the Christmas Eve service has me spinning on an idea that is a familiar stream woven throughout scripture, the idea of coming as you are. The gravity of the Jesus’ ministry, the incarnation of God coming to people is nothing short of breath taking. It’s one of those themes that we can quickly gloss over, as we run to the more exhilarating passages of scripture. It’s one of those themes that should shape our ministries and our communities as we live life.

The commands of Scripture, as we should read it, are almost always plural. Set to be done by God’s people. Jesus’ ministry in a sense should always be considered in a communal state. Jesus, the lamb of God, came down to the earth so that he would reconcile His people to Himself. The miracles that he performed brought great glory to His Father, opening the eyes and the ears of some of the people around Him. The interesting part of this is that the people did not do anything to warrant forgiveness nor did they do anything to clean themselves up. Jesus called them “as they were.” If we take this theme and apply it to our communities, I think that what we will find is that we require people to act a certain way for us to welcome them in. We might mask our expectations with calls to the alter or charitable giving, but ultimately within the Church we expect that people will act a certain way. This way is vastly different among churches, some churches require that you keep your hands down while worshiping and yet others look down on outward worship. Regardless of the expectation, we as a church frown on and ultimately miss opportunities to engage one another because of our presupposed expectations. The most evil and dangerous part of these expectations is that they evolve within a community. As communities grow and become bonded, they develop their own expectations. When the expectations of the community are not met within the community, there is hostility and often shunning, until the expectations are met. This is not a hard and fast rule, just a simple observation.

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine recently and I made a statement similar to the one that I just wrote, and it made him angry. Angry at me and he was rightfully so. I joined in on the communal expectation, ultimately ostracizing my own because they failed to meet the standard that I had set for them. Of course, realizing my error, I apologized and repented for failing to see the error in my ways. The conversation didn’t end there. We talked and I pondered about what the implementations of my blindness has for the communities that I’m involved in. How had my worship slipped back into self righteousness? The question is answered in the beginning of this writing, it’s an indicative/imperative assessment.

I failed, and we fail because we do not allow people to come to us as they are. We suppose that they will act a certain way, react a certain way or at least pretend to act a certain way. This creates communities that are not built on trust, but rather behavior. It’s simply going back to behavior modification on a communal level. It’s an issue that stems from original sin, we want to be God, and in doing so we throw burdens on people that aren’t theirs to carry. We want the clean, and yet we are called into the dirty.

My prayer is that our hearts will be broken for the broken. As broken people we will realize our faults and repent of our sinful ways. That we will yearn to be in the front lines of ministry, open about our brokenness and always on guard for the sin that is crouching at the door. That we will be people that look more like Jesus and less like the religious leaders. That God will move people into our paths, to challenge the norm and to force us to see the log that is in our own eye. Let us not be a people that misses the point, that gathers around expectation and in doing so, fails to point people to the one that never failed. His name is Jesus.

Reconciliation From the Heart

December 23, 2014 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

There comes a time and a place where one must sit down and consider the past. For many, this comes during the end of a season or the end of a year. As I sit and think about the past year, I am baffled by all that has happened in my life. I think that sometimes we live our lives moment to moment, constantly driving towards the next accomplishment and goal. This rhythm produces a profound effect on our lives and the lives of the people around us. We become producers of content, from our 140 character tweets to our daily conversations and we become content in our lives of producing.

The good Lord has provided many opportunities to develop relationships, and in doing so, many opportunities to fail at developing relationships. It’s in that space, when we can quietly reflect on things that we could have done better, times where our worship went astray that we can learn from our mistakes. Time that we can repent, confess and return to worshiping the Creator. It amazes me that throughout my life, God continues to bring leaders that are patient enough to walk through the maturation process and loving enough to love, even when my heart is not in the right place. It amazes me that God was gracious enough to provide a wife for me that loves me regardless of how she feels about me in that moment. It amazes me that I have the family that I have, knowing that I don’t deserve that gift. There comes a time when you have to reflect on the gifts given.

The idea of radical reconciliation is so foreign to the world that we live in. The world that produces content at 140 character tweets and insta-everything. We take in and we push out more information than ever in the history of the world and in that process we lose part of the commitment that our words have had in the past. It seems to me that friendships and family are disposable terms in our current culture. That the words, “I love you” are little short of, “we are friends now, because you are doing what I want.” This systemic interaction produces the same level of commitment that our 140 words do. Approximately 7 minutes of life in the twittersphere. So the question begs, how do we radically reconcile our relationships and bring them to a point where they mean more than the tweet? It’s a complex problem, as all human interactions are. There are endless possibilities, more numerous than the sand of the sea. I don’t think that the solution is as complex. I think that the solution is rather simple, actually. The solution is found in our understanding of ourselves and the willingness to accept our condition.

In short, God has given us everything that we have. Our relationships, our material goods and the life that live. We manage to only bring destruction to the table. Our sin nature to put it simply. If this is true, the order of reconciliation should look something like, I have committed so much destruction and sin in my life that there is no room for me to judge you on any level. Therefore, because of my condition, I have no right to do anything except forgive and reconcile. In doing so, I will go out of my way to ensure that our relationship edifies the people around us.

The problem with radical reconciliation is that forces us to move from the field of competition, to the field of reconciliation. It forces us to put down our pride, our self righteous indignant flesh. We don’t live in a reconciled world, because we still want to live in the world of “me.” Unfortunately, the world of me creates destruction. The world of me wrecks lives and causes discontentment within our communities. The world of me rips through the relationships in our lives, producing communities that can’t trust and don’t want to live together. The world of me, disrupts and ruins the world that I live in.

There comes a time and a place that we have to reflect on the past, and my prayer is that as we look at the past, as we gaze into the future. A future where all things will be made new. A future that the brokenness of this world will be no more. In doing so, we gaze at the One who can change our hearts radically, so we might be able to reconcile our relationships.

The God Delusion – Riding the Curtails.

July 31, 2014July 31, 2014 ~ sloggett ~ 1 Comment

As I continue this wonderful journey of diving deeply into the writings of a man, who on the surface hates all that is religion I am met with a deeper understanding of why on an intellectual level, people hate religion as a whole. You don’t have to read but several pages into The God Delusion and you can find the premise behind the entirety of the work. Mr. Dawkings, in the preface presents his ultimate point, and something that we as Christians should consider.

Indoctrination of our children with religiosity, rather than grace is a grave mistake.

Richard would probably refute this as the premise to his work, and in some sense that is fine. His goal is to scientifically disprove the probability of a God and mine is to simply learn from his work. I’m sure that there are some that are reading this article and stopping at this point, with scripture flying through their well-trained brains to refute my point.

[6] Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6 ESV)

[6] And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. [7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV)

[14] But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15 ESV)

[19] For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18:19 ESV)

As you can see, the bible is very clear about the role of parents in the education of their children in the ways of the Lord.

I would humbly offer that the way of the Lord is grace. It’s not the tribal language, nor the traditions of your particular church. It’s assuredly not the ways of Christendom that have long failed in the desperate attempt to moralize and control society. Grace, given through faith, as a gift, undeserved, is the root in which the life of the Christian steams.

This is not to say that traditions are worthless, or inherently wrong. I personally believe that understanding the history of the Church is important, but it should not be the central teaching of parents to their children. Instead, the traditions that are taught should point to the giver of grace, the one that walked out grace through every minute of His life, Jesus. Central to all teaching, must be Jesus or we simply indoctrinate our children with religious idols, which will ultimately lead to destruction.

Dawkings’ point is very clear, and regrettably true. As a Church, we have failed in many cases to articulate the doctrine of grace in words that children understand. Admittedly, this is difficult to do especially after I offer that we should allow our children intellectually explore the world around them. I present this idea, with the caveat that the community of believers that is influential on the child can open discuss the ideas and wonders of not only science, but of other religions as well. We teach our children to engage the world, offering and understanding the prospective of grace.

The implications of the “Greats” in the bible ring so crystal clear here, it’s almost easy to miss. When Jesus says,

[37] And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40 ESV)

He’s giving us the teaching for our children. Mr. Dawkings has no need to make his continued point that “religion” indoctrinates children and is the cause of so much strife in the world (more to come on that) if the generations of children where discipled, rather than indoctrinated. If well-taught grace is the cornerstone of all teaching it should drive the Great Commission, out of love, not fear or religious duty.

[16] Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20 ESV)

In essence, we are fulfilling the Great Commission by teaching our children grace. We stop allowing our children to ride on our faith, but rather explore the deeper truths that will in time be revealed to them through the Holy Spirit.

We as Christians need to stop pretending as if we are God and we have the ability to change the hearts of anyone, especially our children. We need to model grace and teach the truths of the faith with razor sharp accuracy and undeniable meekness.

Loving Reactions to Modesty: Asking Not Telling

August 9, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

Modesty: Asking Not Telling

Jesus plus anything is busted

You can find Emily’s article here.

I was trolling twitter today and I found someone retweeting a blog post from the wonderful Emily Maynard which caught my attention. The Portland loving Emily has be wrestling with this idea of modesty and what women wear. Automatically, men are jacked in this converstation. A) Women rolling around in seductive clothing biologically and spiritually sends us spinning and B) the legalists come out screaming Romans 14:13.

13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

Unfortunately, the exegesis of that particular passage starts out with some judgement. This isn’t to say that the stumbling block shouldn’t be ignored, but rather to discuss this matter from both points of view.

Emily points out a perceived root of the Modesty Rule as a legalistic approach to controlling women:

I often hear the critique that my energy should be redirected to only the “legalistic” appropriation of these rules or that “modesty is important as long as it’s not legalistic” but I’m calling foul. There’s no such thing as a non-legalistic approach to Modesty Rules, and that’s not the point. Applications vary, but the root of the Modesty Rules is controlling women.

This is where I would cordially and lovingly disagree. Modesty at the root is not a control mechanism for the control of women, or is it a coup out for dudes not being responsible for their active response to the Gospel. Let’s dive into this argument on a biblical level and see if we can’t find the root of the Modesty Conundrum.

When we look at the exegesis of Romans 14:13 we are going to find that Paul is speaking out to his brothers in Rome. It is vastly important to look at one chapter back in Romans. Here we find Paul dropping any legalism arguments by pressing the new covenant (read Gospel) into the situation.

10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:10-14 ESV)

Let’s break that down, quickly. The Great Commandment reads:

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40, ESV)

On the fly lets roll this out into a nice fitting package. Romans 14:13 calls us not to pass judgement and to not cause our brothers to stumble. We do this because we love them, which is what the Great Commandment commands to do. Love your neighbor (not just brother or sister in Christ) like you love yourself. Romans 13 tells us that love is fulfillment of the Law, which presents the Gospel perfectly. Jesus’ substitutionary death was the perfect sacrifice for our sins, legally fulfilling God’s requirement for the wages of sin, because he loved. It’s the Gospel to love our neighbors and dressing modestly shows a level of commitment you have to the family. Truly loving your brothers should drive you to wanting them to succeed in growing and maturing as a Christian. Here’s the kicker Romans 14:10-12

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess[b] to God.”

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

The Holy Spirit will roll deep in your heart and make changes as He sees fit. You ultimately are responsible for the choices that you make. Grace covers all, Jesus’ blood is sufficient. It’s not a control mechanism at all. It’s a sign of love. Let’s continue….

1 Timothy 2:9 points out that women should wear (adorn) respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control.

9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire,

1 Peter 3:3-4 points to the key to this whole discussion.

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

If we can agree that our lives are paid for by the blood of Jesus and that they are no longer ours, it should be evident that we should strive to glorify God in everything that we do. What we wear, what we say, how we act are all encompassing in the Great Commandment.

This post is already rolling a bit long, Emily if you would like, I’d be more than happy to lace out men’s responsibilities in the Modesty Rule in a similar manner that I have here.

Facebook Prayer

April 27, 2013April 27, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

I think the more appropriate prayer looks something like this:

Dear God,

Thank you for all that you have done for my family, friends and loved ones. Please continue to give them the boldness to spread the gospel wherever you would have them go. Father, I pray that you will continue to purify them through the refiners fire so that they can look more like your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for your promise to always be with them thank you for continuing to bless them with the grace and mercy that they don’t deserve.

O and as for the blessings, thank you Father for blessing us with more of You.

We ask this in Your Son’s almighty name,

Amen.

There has been some questions to why I would repost a prayer that looks significantly different than the image that that was reposted. Comparing the prayers I think that you will find that the prayer I wrote really focuses on thanking God for all that he has done and asks him for more talent to complete the tasks that Jesus set forth before ascending back into heaven. Matthew records that Jesus commands us to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

The Great Commission

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

The first part of the prayer focuses on the Great Commision and asking Jesus to continue to provide boldness to teach all that Jesus commanded. I think that one of the best examples of boldness that we see in the bible is Stephen in Acts, proclaiming the Gospel to the Jewish leaders knowing that he was possibly signing his death warrant.

Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?” “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:48-50

For my family and friends, I want that kind of boldness. The boldness that makes a difference, the boldness to do what Jesus commanded. I know that this idea looks different from what has been taught before but it’s what Jesus wants. We find out more about what that boldness and life looks like in Luke 9.

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:23-27)

and

The Cost of Following Jesus

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)

Obviously, the scripture points out that the cost of following Jesus is high. You actually have to give up certain amenities (read everything) in order to make that commitment. Thats a far cry from the prayers that read something like, “God, I want, I want, I want, I want….”. The cost of following Jesus looks more like, “Jesus, here is what I have and it’s yours.” And the real kicker to this whole idea is that “In the beginning God, created…. “ so all that you have is not yours anyway.

The main point here is that it’s not what you can give, it’s what has been given to you. Jesus paid the ultimate price of being crushed on the cross.

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

He was crushed so that we can live, he died to save us from ourselves and our selfish desires.

The prayer doesn’t get any easier from here. It reads “Father, I pray that you will continue to purify them through the refiners fire so that they can look more like your Son Jesus Christ.”

But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord . (Malachi 3:2-3)

I pray that my friends and family go through the trials and the tribulations and have been set forth for them before the beginning of time. I pray that they go through them so that they can be refined, so that they can continue to become more like Jesus. I pray that they walk through them pressing deep in the gospel and trusting that Jesus will be with them through the entire journey, that they will glorify the one who deserves all glory. Psalms 23 reads:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Jesus didn’t say that it would be easy, He didn’t say you would get everything that you want. He said that he loves you. We see the Jesus, all man, all divine weeping for he loved his people so much.

Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” (John 11:35-36)

We see at the end of The Great Commision that Jesus will be with us always, to the end of the age. He’s with us now, the one who loves the world and loves you.

Paul lays out so clearly in Romans that grace is a gift from God. We can’t work our way to heaven. Jesus is the only way.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. (Romans 5:15-18)

My prayer reads a little different from most that you will read on Facebook. It’s deeper, it’s very real. When I pray for my friends in family, I pray for a deeper relationship with Jesus, whatever the cost. I know that regardless of what that looks like, the joy and happiness, the freedom and family is worth it. Its worth it because I love them enough to show them Jesus. I love them enough to trust that the Holy Spirit will change hearts that need to be changed and continue to provide the guidance that Jesus promised. Thats why I pray the way that I pray.

This Weeks Teachings

April 23, 2013 ~ sloggett ~ Leave a comment

Each week for The Crux Student Ministry I lay out some going deep questions for our “cell family” or small group teaching. This week is based on the Fellowship portion of Francis Chan’s Basic series.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Acts 4:32–35

All the believers were one in heart and mind.

This passage is loaded with Christ’s vision of the church. All the believers were one in heart and mind… Do we as a group have a gospel centered life? What does that look like? How can we center our lives around Jesus and what he said. How much easier would our life be without the drama of selfish desires? How much weight do you put in the things of this world and how does it effect your relationship with the Church? You know, the people we do life with…. or do we?

No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.

This passage started out discussing Christ’s vision of the church, that all the believers were one in heart and mind. The scripture then goes on to talk about our possessions and the things that we have. Do you think that the scripture is pointing us to something greater than our earthly possessions? What would you be more willing to give at this point, your TV or your talents and time? If the Holy Spirit truly empowers us to do all, then why as a family is it so hard to share our talents? Is it a pride issue? Are our talents and time our most prized possessions?

With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

The Church is suppose to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with power. Do our daily testimonies look powerful? Do we act out our testimonies daily? Do people see us differently? It’s said that the, “us against the world” mentality is the most dangerous and bonding mentality there is. As a Church, do we say, “it’s us against the things of this world?” How do you think that would play out in our daily walk and testimonies? Isn’t that the mentality that Christ calls us too?

And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.

Honestly, what are your needs? If we as a Church don’t know each others needs, than how can there be “no needy persons among them?” How vulnerable does it make you to lay out all of your needs? Would that force you to rely on Jesus for strength? Would that build a more intimate relationship with the Church? Wouldn’t that really focus our lives on the cross? How much more real would that make the Church?

I’m talking real, as in, in your face, true life on life family. You take the pretenses and the judgement and throw it out the window and trust that the people around you are walking in grace and therefore there is nothing that can’t be brought to the table. I’m talking about family. How do we get our fellowship to look more like that?