Whose disciple are you?

I read earlier today that John Piper is a disciple of Jonathan Edwards. I’m not sure if that is true but I wondered why anyone would want to be a disciple of another man.

As Christians, we should be disciples of Jesus. There is nothing in Him that I wouldn’t want reproduced in my life. As far as other people go, they are all imperfect. Luke 6:40 says: A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. Do I want to be just like another person? A word of warning: watch out for the person who thinks you should be their disciple; they may have a too high view of themselves.

There does seem to be a long standing desire for Christian people to have a label. Lutherans, Wesleyans, Calvinists and Baptist are a few examples. In 1 Corinthians 1:12 Paul talks about the problem: I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas. He asks the question: has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you?

Maybe it’s easier to live under some of these labels than to live as a Christian. It may be easier to believe what your church or pastor believes than to take the time to find out what Jesus wants you to believe. Now I’m not saying that what these labels represent is completely wrong. What I am saying is that we need to follow Jesus first and be willing to dump anything that doesn’t line up with him. If we did that, it would spare us from so many of the faddish beliefs that infect the church so often.

To be specific, the word disciple in the New Testament means a pupil or learner. So in that sense anyone could be a disciple of another person if we are learning from them. My point is that ultimately we must be disciples of Jesus; we must be learning from Him and the Bible so we know if what other people are teaching us is true.

Discipleship is a lifelong process; it’s not easy and it takes a lot of effort. Here are a couple of verses that sum up the goal. John 13:35: By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 15:8: By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. So it’s not what I know that matters but if I have love and fruit. That both simplifies it and makes it harder.

Here is a list of the fruit of the spirit I should have: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Thankfully, my salvation is not determined by my possession of these attributes but my lack of them says something about what kind of disciple I am. May the image of God be perfected in me.

Philip

The Holy of Holies

Thoughts from my reading in Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy by Paul David Tripp.

I have formatted this with alternating color to break up the thoughts for easier reading. My thoughts are in blue.

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being. Psalm 51:6

In the holy of holies,
Where my deepest thought dwells.
In the secret place,
Of the heart,
Where no one sees,
And no one knows.

This is what I really am. When no one is around to see or hear.

In that place where worship,
Sets the course,
For all I say,
And all I do.

Of course, worship determines what I am. So just what do I worship?

In the holy of holies
Where thoughts,
Afraid to be verbal,
And desires,
Never quite spoken
Determine,
What I will seek,
And say,
And do.

In this private place, I ponder and dwell. What thoughts do I feed? Which ones are tended like a garden that will surely bear fruit?

In the holy of holies,
Where greed lurks dark,
And anger stands dangerous.

The battle rages. Good verses evil.

In the shadows,
Where lust captivates,
And envy enslaves.

Am I satisfied with what God has given or do I want something else? Do I trust Him to provide all I need or do I think He needs help from me?

In that sacred place,
Of the heart,
Where I plan what I will do,
And rehearse what I will say.

These deep thoughts are about to appear on the outside. Have I mastered them or will I blow it again?

In the holy of holies,
Where love is born,
Or succumbs to hate.
Where gentleness,
Falls to vengeance.

God is offering grace and strength. Will I accept it?

In that place where,
Thinking never ends,
And interpretations,
Become a way of seeing.

What is guiding my thinking? Does His Word become the filter?

In the holy of holies,
Where feelings grow in power,
And overwhelm,
What is sensible,
Good,
And true.

I don’t want this. I want good and truth to prevail.

In the holy of holies,
Where I stand naked,
All covering gone,
Before You,
What I am,
As I am,
Void of defense,
Stripped of excuse.
Nowhere to hide,
No reputation to polish.

You know the truth so well. You know when I really want help and when I am content to blunder along. You see me as I am.

In the place where You,
Can see,
And hear,
And know.
May you do there,
What I cannot do.
May you create there,
What only mercy can give.
May you hold back,
What I deserve,
And give what,
I could never earn.
May you create in me,
A clean heart.

I have failed. I need your help. Yes, I need mercy and forgiveness. Thank you that it comes freely and even more…a clean heart, a new beginning.

Take a Moment

Take time to celebrate God's jealous zeal to inhabit the holiest place in your heart without competition or challenge.

Thank you for pursuing me and for loving me when I didn’t care a bit about you. Thank you that you still do, every day as I stray, pulling me back on course without a hint of disgust.

Philip


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Sin is a Relationship

Thoughts from my reading in Whiter Than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy by Paul David Tripp. Devotional is indented.

Against you, you only, have I sinned. Psalm 51:4

Sin is much, much more than the violation of a set of rules. Sin is more profound than rebellion against a moral code. Sin is about something deeper than behaving inappropriately. It's deeper than bad actions and wrong words.

As we noted earlier, when you witness the body of an infant, who's not yet able to communicate with words, stiffen up in anger, you know you're dealing with something bigger, deeper, more fundamentally disturbing than a failure to observe a code of conduct. He wants to make up his own rules; rules that would, of course, follow the shape of what he wants, what he feels, and what he determines he needs.

As I read this I thought of how I act when I am in the place of this infant; when I don’t get what I want. I may not throw a tantrum like the baby but I accomplish the same thing in a more sophisticated way. I may close off to others; I may feel God isn’t taking care of me in the right way; I may become sullen.

The desire to be God rather than to serve God lies at the bottom of every sin that anyone has ever committed. Sin isn't first rooted in a philosophical debate of the appropriateness or healthiness of a certain ethic. No, sin is rooted in my unwillingness to find joy in living my life under the authority of, and for the glory of, Another. Sin is rooted in my desire to live for me. It's driven by my propensity to indulge my every feeling, satisfy my every desire, and meet my every need.

This is where I live when I don’t trust God to be the Sovereign. I think about what I want rather than living for Him and in the service of others. The focus of life is ME and what I don’t have.

This is why David says, "Against you, you only, have I sinned." He isn't denying the enormity of his sin against Bathsheba, his violation of his calling to the citizens of Israel, or his capital crimes against Uriah, Bathsheba's husband. What he's understanding in his confession is that every sin is against God. In his conviction, David under-stands that sin is an act of relationship or, better stated, a violation of the one relationship that's to be the shaping factor of everything I do or say. Every sin is vertical, no matter how thunderous the horizontal implications of it arc. It's God, for whom and through whom we were created to live, whose boundaries we step over, because we don't love him the way that we should.

Sin breaks my relationship with God and hurts other people. Because I did what I wanted, the pain is spread around. I hurt, God hurts and most of the time, others are hurt.

Because sin is about the breaking of relationship, restoration of relationship is the only hope for us in our struggle with sin. It's through the gift of adoption into relationship with him that we find what we need to gain power over sin. And what do we need? A greater love for him than we have for ourselves. His love for us is the only thing that has the power to produce in us that kind of love for him.

God’s amazing grace shines again. We love because He first loved us. We are able to love because He first loved us. And He keeps loving us even when we mess us.

Here is a question from the meditation:

Think about a place in your life where you tend to want to be God rather than wanting to serve God. What would change in your decisions, words, and actions if you intentionally sought to please God in this situation?

I like to control my own schedule. I can get bugged when people or things get in the way of my carefully laid plans. If I rested more in God’s schedule, I would be less irritated when plans need to change. As a result I would be more pleasant to be around.

Philip


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July 4 – Independence Day

I thought it was all about fireworks. What does Independence Day have to do with that? Oh, I thought that was a movie title.

The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, Christmas presents and fireworks are all things that divert our minds from what each day is all about.

I was reminded to read the Declaration of Independence (read it yourself here) in preparation of our July 4th celebration. Wow, the words came alive as I pondered the present government. For many people reading it, their minds would jump ahead to the thought of revolution and overthrowing the government. I thought how premature such thoughts would be. Most of us are hardly involved in making our government better by doing such a simple thing as voting.

Read the Declaration, ponder the present governmental injustices and commit to political involvement. If each of us would simply vote in accord with our beliefs there would be a radical change in the course of our country.

As you watch fireworks this weekend remember what those explosions symbolize. Get involved in changing our government for the better and pray that God will again shine His grace on this wonderful country.

Philip