Excellence in Christianity

A few months back, the Christian rapper/poet Propaganda released a new album under the title "Excellent." The title track discusses what it is like to do things with excellence, based largely on Colossians 3:23, which says:

"Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men.." -Colossians 3:23, HCSB

OK, so... how does this play out practically? Lemme tell ya. Hang tight.

1. Work hard. This passage says to do everything "enthusiastically," like we're doing it all for Jesus. That means your homework, your work, your lawn mowing, your everything... is done for God's glory. Not easy, huh? I mean, if you're giving your all in all of this stuff, how can you keep from being exhausted? I don't know, but I know what will help.

2. Rely on His strength, not yours. If we rely on ourselves, we will burn out and be exhausted. Habakkuk 3:19 discusses how the Sovereign Lord is our strength. Christian, the Spirit of God lives in you! The Lord over all, the God that runs this show, is in you! He will give you the strength to do His work. If He wants you to accomplish something, He will give you the ability to do so. He's sovereign over all; do you think he can't handle giving you the strength to do His will?

3. Rest. There's a reason that the Sabbath day existed in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). God's example in Genesis 1 of a day of rest is intentional; He didn't need to rest, but He was showing us that we do. I know this is hard, and I don't even do this. If you are reading this in the United States, in particular, then you know how our culture is. We are constantly on the go, and the idea of going all out for God sounds like just amping up our already psychotic business. We hardly have the energy to do our jobs halfway, much less with a Colossians 3:23 level of excellence. Yet, we must find a way to rest. I was recently told to get a hobby, in order to avoid burning out. We must all find some sort of Sabbath day, and rest. If we don't we'll fall over under the work.

4. Realize that you will fail. Hey, guess what? Even if you follow steps 1, 2, and 3 above, you will not  work at a Col. 3:23 level at all times. We are in a broken world, and we will stumble. That's a fact, Jack. I was recently encouraged with this word: "we will fail." I know, right? Not very encouraging on the surface, yet I'd like you to ponder on this. In Philippians 3:13, the apostle Paul mentions that he was not fully mature in Christ. This seems obvious. Of course he wasn't. He's mortal, Bryan. Yet, think: this man was in prison for sharing his faith. He was leading guards and prisoners alike to faith in Christ. Does this seem like an immature believer? Of course not! Yet even this man admitted that, at times, he failed and didn't live up to his calling. He didn't meet the level of Colossians 3:23 at all times, either. Paul understood that, and we must to. We must not be afraid to fail. We must do what we can to follow Christ, and then rely on His strength to pick ourselves up off of the ground when we fail.

I know this is hard. I struggle with this as much as (or more than!) you. Trust me. But we're in this together, gang. Let's push forward and live a life of excellence. Our reputation as believers must stand out, and living according to this passage in Colossians is a great way to do so. Let's do it. Be excellent, and understand when you aren't.

Are You a Doulos?

After taking a bit of a break from blogging over the Thanksgiving holiday (hope yours was great!), I'm back this week to focus in on a single word that appears over and over in the New Testament: slave. More specifically, the word we are looking at is the Greek word "doulos." Now, I've been told that since I haven't formally studied Greek, that I should refrain from talking about it. Yet, I was listening to a sermon preached by Louie Giglio (pastor, Passion City Church, Atlanta, GA) on November 15, 2012, and one of his points from James 1:1 was about being a doulos for Christ, and I just really loved what he said. So, without further ado, I'm going to go against what I've been told at times and share a bit about what I've learned about this word.

Doulos is featured in the New Testament 120 times, most notably a combined 57 times in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Also, almost every Pauline epistle includes the word (all except the two Thessalonian letters). The word is typically translated into English as slave or bond-servant. The implication of the word is not necessarily one of just servitude. Often, the word is referring to a person who has voluntarily gone into the service of an individual.

This person may have had a debt or a some need, and the only way that they were able to get rid of their debt was to give themselves into another's will. Christians, this is us! We had a massive debt: our sin put us so far into the red that we'd never be able to work our way out. We could never receive enough wages for our good, as we aren't naturally good. We are, according to Romans 3, "unrighteous...no one understands...no one seeks God...all have turned away." It goes on to say even more, but the point has been made: we were born into a God-hating, sin-loving flesh that, as Romans 3:23 makes clear, was heading for death. Not even physical death, but eternal death. We had no hope.

Our only way to avoid this fate is to give ourselves up to God and His will, becoming slaves to the Lord of the universe. And yet, through this servitude, we will find ourselves free. We are now free from sin, free from death and free from and eternity of punishment. Our servitude and giving in to the Lord God is precisely the way to become free.

Jesus says, in Matthew 6, that no one can be a servant of two masters. He says that you'll either love one and hate the other, or vice-versa. I would even argue, based on the book of Romans, that all of us are slaves to something. We are either slaves to sin, or slaves of God. Will you give yourself as a doulos to Christ and His will, or are you going to stay underneath the heaping trap of sin's slavery?

Be freed, and join the household of God, where it is better to be an outside doorholder than to be in the house of anyone else (Psalm 84:10)!

Ya Scared, Homie?

"And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." -Matthew 22:39, ESV

How often do you want to do something nice, but back out due to fear? Here's an embarrassing story from a few weeks ago...

I was riding the bus, en route to one of my classes. I was sitting near the back of the bus, wearing a flat-billed trucker hat. A girl was sitting behind me. Now, as I was sitting in my seat, I realized that a yellow jacket was buzzing around the window that our two seats shared. It kept going back and forth between her seat and my own. She was obviously frightened of the stinging insect. So, what did I, manly man of God, do in this scenario?

I backed away from the window, also scared. Yep, that was my move. Kids, don't follow that example.

You see, I had a hat on that was more than capable of killing the wasp, all without putting myself in considerable danger. Alas, I was too afraid over potential danger to pull the trigger and do the heroic (and loving) thing to do.

Loving people often goes like this. We think about saying something nice, or sharing the gospel, or offering to help, and then we hold back. We think, "what if they reject my offer?" or "what if they get offended by a compliment?" or "what if they think I'm being pushy with my religion?" To compare it to my yellow jacket story, we are too afraid of being stung to act on our "love."

Yet, 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." We have a spirit of love and power, not fear. We must remember that when we go through life, or the adversary will keep us afraid of as many loving acts as he can.

Fishing: A Weirdly Fitting Verb

"Follow Me," He told them, "and I will make you fishers of people!" -Matthew 4:19, HCSB

Jesus called the first disciples to be fishers of men, and the same calling exists for today's followers of Christ. Has anyone ever felt like this is kind of a strange thing to say?

I mean, we all take it for granted, since Jesus was talking to fishermen, but think about the statement. He is essentially saying, "hey, you people. Come follow me, and I'll make you into people that throw nets at people and bring them into the boat." Is that not weird?

Yet, when you think about it, fishing is the perfect verb for going out in the manner that the Great Commission requires. Let's look at this...

I like to fish on occasion, but my brother absolutely loves it. When it isn't hunting season, he is typically at the pond or lake "rippin' lips" (or as the average human calls it, fishing). Two distinct aspects of this match up with making disciples of all nations:

1. My brother doesn't fish at home. Sure, there's a X Box game that he plays from time to time, but if he wants to literally catch a fish, it ain't happening in his room. Instead, he has to go to where the fish live. He must leave the house and go to the pond. In the same way, we must escape this Churchianity approach to fishing that involves us sitting in a sanctuary or bible study and assuming that a nonbeliever will stumble in. Sure, this happens more often in this scenario than in literal fishing; I'm pretty sure a fish has never flopped through my front door. Yet, if we really wanted to fish for men, we must get out of our comfort zones, get out of our little Christian bubbles and get in the world. Sure, the pond is dirtier than the house; that's just something we'll have to get over. If our Savior left Heaven for Earth, we can get out there and get in the world.

2. Fishing is an action. Not only must my brother go to a pond to catch fish, but he must physically do something. He has to cast his line, select baits, avoid sticks when reeling, and set the hook when he gets a bite. Similarly, simply being in the world doesn't equate to fishing; you're just enjoying an afternoon at the pond. A great deal of work must be done in order to be a true fisher of men. You must be willing to tell the gospel to any that hear it (like casting a bait), and you must disciple once that person is a believer (reel them in toward a closer relationship with God). Sure, your lines will get tangled. Fishing isn't always easy (in my experience, it can be hot, laborious work that often leaves you out of bait and no fish in the bucket). Your Savior will prepare you to this work, though. His Spirit is inside of you, Christian, and you are more than capable of fishing. So get out there and get fishin'. You never know when your last day at the pond will come.

Dear Mr. President

Dear President Obama,

Congrats on your victory! It was a close, hard-fought race, and you prevailed. I cannot imagine the grind that is the life of an American presidential candidate. If I had to guess, you are probably very tired and relieved. If I had to guess, you're probably just glad the election is over. I know I would be.

Yet, the rest will not be long (if you're even able to breathe for a day or two). Before you know it, your second term will start, and all eyes will be on you to move "forward," as your campaign stated the goal is. The American economy is still sputtering, with 7.1% of the nation unemployed and 48% considering themselves to be either "struggling" or "suffering," according to Gallup. The national debt is over sixteen trillion dollars, and climbing. Iran is regularly threatening us, and the Middle East continues to be consumed with war.

Our schools are struggling to keep extracurriculars, and college tuition is rising as jobs for these college grads are disappearing. Global temperatures are rising and ice caps are melting. Gay rights, abortion and marijuana use are among the social issues that our nation is currently divided over.

Not only is our nation divided, but our Congress is, as well. The Senate is controlled by your Democratic party, while the House belongs to the Republicans. This election, each part of Congress only fell under a stronger majority. Thus, our legislative branch is likely to be even more gridlocked now than during your first term.

This is just a snapshot of what awaits your second term. The American people want you to "fix" all of this, and more. Sure, you're not super-human. It would be hard for you to do even half of that, much less all of it. Yet, the expectations will be there.

As you look to move forward, we will all either agree or disagree with you and your decisions. You'll do some things I agree with, and you'll do some things I disagree with. Yet, regardless of your decisions or political party or how liberal or conservative you are, I will pray for you. In fact, Mr. President, I'll be praying for you a lot.

I'll be praying for you as you face expectations. I'll pray that you are able to manage the pressure and stress, and I'll pray for you to make decisions based on what needs to happen, and not based on other people's expectations.

I'll be praying for your family. I'll pray that they are also able to handle pressure and expectations. People say some cruel things, so I'll pray that they (and you, as well) are shielded as much as possible from the hateful, awful venom that people will spew.

I'll be praying for you to have wisdom. I'll pray that Ecclesiastes 7:25 would apply, and that you'll "[turn your] heart to know and search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things." 

I'll be praying that you are able to rally this nation and lead us to unity with each other. I'll be praying that our nation would be able to look to you as our leader, our face and our voice to the rest of the world.

I'll be praying that you would be honest and truthful, straight-forward and direct with us. We need a leader that will be real with us right now, not a guy that beats around the bush.

Most importantly, I'll be praying for your heart, Mr. President. Ultimately, this next term will end in four years and then you will never be president again. Therefore, I will pray most of all for something that will affect your life now and for eternity. I do not know if you are a Christian; some people say you are, some say you aren't. Therefore, I'll simply pray for your heart to be drawn closer and closer to God's. If you are already a follower of our God, then I pray that you continue growing closer to Him. If you aren't already saved by the grace of God, then I pray that you would be, and that our God would wrap you in His arms, making you into the man of God you need to be.

This country needs you, Mr. President. Since we're both basketball fans, I'll lay it out like this: it's the fourth quarter. The Lakers are trailing to the Heat, 99-101, with 0:50 left. Kobe has the ball. He needs to lead his team down the court and be the leader to get them to overtime, or better, the win. Mr. President, we're losing in the fourth. We need you to be our Kobe, and I pray that you lean on God to give you the strength to do just that.

 

Praying for you,
Bryan Watts
Jesus Follower and American with a keyboard

"First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity."



-1 Timothy 2:1-2, HCSB

Discipleship, Part Five: Conclusion

So, this is the fifth part and seventh post in my Discipleship series. If you've stayed with me the whole way through, congrats! I'm not positive I'd read seven posts that some goober on the Internet machine wrote, regardless of topic. Alas, today we draw to a close on this series. Our final topic for the series feeds off of my post from last week, Discipleship, Part Four: Teaching. We will look briefly at one question today: how do you balance teaching with the other three aspects of discipleship? As a refresher, let's re-cap the four elements of discipleship, then we'll dive in.

4 Elements of Discipleship

1. Commitment: be personally invested in your disciple
2. Modeling: you set a good example for your disciple
3. Personal Attention: you pay direct attention and care to your disciple
4. Teaching: teaching biblical knowledge, doctrine and life to your disciple

OK, so how does one balance these? We learned that both are necessary to discipleship last week, so we have to have both. But just how important are they? A few points to close out the series:

-Biblical knowledge isn't the key to spirituality: We looked at this last week. You have to do more discipling than just teaching; if knowledge-giving was the key to discipleship, then the best advice I could give would be to send my disciple to [insert your local Christian book store] to get a few commentaries and such, then watch 'em go. Obviously, the first three elements are needed along with the fourth.

Additionally, the personal side of discipleship is needed, as one can teach without discipling. When I preach on occasion, I may have 150-200 people listening to me. I am not discipling 150 people. I may be teaching, as well as aiding their spiritual walk, but that is not direct discipleship. Jesus preached to a lot of people in His ministry, but had a significantly smaller amount of disciples.

-Non-teaching isn't good enough to stand alone: Ponder with me for a moment. If I wanted to be a doctor, how would I go about it? What if I had a skilled doctor that cared about me, was dedicated to leading me, showed me how he does his job, and kept up with me on a day-to-day basis? Am I any closer to being a doctor? Of course. In my time watching and being around this doctor, I have gotten glimpses of what being a doctor is all about. I've learned some things, and probably have a pretty good idea of what this whole doctor lifestyle looks like.

Yet, what happens if I take that and try to become a practicing doctor? Will I be able to be licenced? The obvious answer is no. Why is that? I have no medical school diploma, which would be the evidence that I have knowledge in the area of medicine. I would be familiar with things I had seen with my doctor-mentor, and I would have a general idea of some different things. But what happens when I run into a disease I have never seen, or I need to prescribe a medicine that I have never heard of? The results would be disastrous.

The same goes for discipleship. Our disciples can learn by watching and being with us, no doubt, but a lack of real, intense teaching will prove disasturous for them in their walk. We won't always be their for them when they run into something they've never learned about. Also, guess what: we may model something contrary to God's Word. Even with the best intentions, we are still imperfect, sin-scarred beings that will be that way until we die and resurrect to be with God. We will mess up, and we will show them the wrong thing to do at some point.

There must be teaching, as the Word of God is essential to discipleship, and you are not capable of true discipleship without it.

-A balance must be found: In our very first post in this series, I referred to discipleship as spiritual parenting. A good parent will have commitment to their child, will model how to live life to their child, show their child personal attention and have concern for their child learning about life. Think about a parent that does the first three without teaching: the child will not survive once it moves out, as the parent never told it how to live. If the parent teaches, but never shows love or commitment or care, the child may go on to physically live, but it will be a socially warped human, having never seen how someone shows commitment, love and compassion for another human.

We must have a healthy balance. Nutritionists suggest a balanced meal; too much bread will leave you with a protein deficiency, while too much meat will leave you with no energy from carbohydrates (yes, I simplified all of that a lot. Bear with me, science geeks.). The ideal meal features elements of both, and so should discipleship. Keep the Gospel/Great Commission as the focus, apply the Scripture that went along with each element of discipleship as needed, and you are on your way to spiritual parenting.

Being a parent is never easy, and you'll mess up along the way (and like biological kids, they may very well tell you so). Don't let that scare you; you've got the Spirit of God inside you, and He will make sure you are capable to do this work. He wouldn't have sent us on this mission otherwise.