Rebuke and Guide: Jesus on Disciples and Their Failures

"Jesus replied, 'You unbelieving and rebellious generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.' Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and from that moment the boy was healed.
Then the disciples approached Jesus privately and said, 'Why couldn’t we drive it out?'

'Because of your little faith,' He told them. 'For I assure you: If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" -Matthew 17:17-20, HCSB

Have you ever just wanted to smack a friend? They continue doing something dumb, and can't seem to get it. Finally, they act a fool one last time, and you tell them (rather bluntly) how they are screwing up.

Jesus had one of those moments here. Over and over He calls His disciples out for their faith, and over and over again His disciples show how little their faith is. This time, however, He goes a bit deeper.

Jesus proceeds to explain how their failure at driving out a demon is due to how little their faith is, but if they were to have greater faith, they would be able to do great things. Notice how Jesus handled His disciples in this scenario, and let's see if we can glean some guidance for our own discipleship efforts.

1. He wasn't afraid to rebuke them. How often have we wanted to say how a fellow Christ follower is not walking on the right path, but then chickened out and didn't tell them? Me too, but Jesus didn't chicken out. He saw His disciples failing in their spiritual growth, and He called them on it. We must also be willing to do this. If we are never willing to correct our disciples, then how will they ever grow?

2. He guided them closer to God. Jesus didn't stop with a rebuke, though. He followed up with spiritual guidance and pushed them closer to God. He explained why things weren't working, and helped them see how to do better.

We must be willing to do both of these steps with our disciples. We mustn't be afraid to call people on their shortcomings, but if we aren't willing to lovingly and calmly come alongside and guide them to a new understanding, what good does that do? They'll never know how to correct their actions!

Let us be willing to rebuke, and let us be willing to guide. Our disciples look to us for spiritual leadership; we must act our part.

He Didn't Ask Anything He Wouldn't Do Himself

"...and He went out, bearing His own cross." -John 19:17, ESV

The Christian walk is hard. No one every said this was easy, and if they did, they lied to you. As with growing in any relationship, our relationship with God also takes quite a bit of effort. When Jesus commanded His followers to "deny himself and take up his cross and follow me," He wasn't insinuating that to be a walk in the park.

To deny yourself means to put aside your desires. To pick up your cross means you must give yourself up, even be willing to die. To follow Jesus logically means that you aren't following anything else.

Money. Sex. Drugs. Power. Popularity. Spouse. Relationship. Grades. Success. Gossip. Work.

None of it but Jesus.

But here's the thing: He's not asking you to do anything He wouldn't do Himself.

He denied Himself, as Lord of the Universe, Creator God of all and Ruler of everything, to come to earth as a man. Not even an attractive or cool man, but as a servant, an average-appearing man.

He followed God, doing not His will, but that of the Father (Mark 14:36). He served and did whatever the Father asked of Him, following whatever He said.

And then He took up His cross. Literally. The ultimate giving up of Himself occurred on Calvary. He gave it all. He bore the cross across His bleeding, scourged back and was nailed to it.

Jesus was our ultimate example. If we are to follow Jesus, if we are truly Christians, we will look to His example. We will deny our "rights" and desires, in order to adjust to His. We will follow what God is leading to do, regardless of the other places we could go. And we will pick up our crosses, taking whatever punishment is needed in order to keep Christ first in our lives.

Jesus was the ultimate example. Will we follow suit?

Do You Want to Get Well?

"When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time, He said to him, 'Do you want to get well?'" -John 5:6, HCSB

I was reading John 5 this morning, and I came across this verse in my reading. It comes from a story about a man who was sick. This sick man was living in an area around a pool that moved every now and then when an angel made the water stir. This stirring of the water announced that the angel had been there, and the first person into the pool after the angel would be healed of their ailment.

Not surprisingly, this pool was constantly surrounded by sick people. I mean, think about it: if a pond could cure what ails ya, wouldn't this pond be constantly surrounded by people?

This man was one of those people. Yet, he was so sick that he couldn't get up and go to the pool when the angel came. Thus, for 30+ years, he remained sick. That's when Jesus walked up and asked him the question that I quoted at the top of the post: "do you want to get well?"

This got me to thinking: does Jesus ask everyone this? Everyone in the world is a sinner, and we are all sick with sin. We walk about in the world, sinning, and Jesus asks "do you want to get well?"

If you do not know Christ, you can get well. Your sin can be removed. Your addictions, your sins, your bad habits; they can all be removed by Christ. Put your faith in Christ, and accept the gift of grace!

And you, Christian, don't think you're out of the woods. How many Christians are battling with sins? How many Christians are hiding a porn addiction? How many Christians are gossips? How many Christians walk around arrogant, lying, hating, cheating and lusting after the world?

If you are a Christian, you should know that Christ has called you to a different life. Put away the life of the flesh and let the grace of God work in your heart. You may feel trapped in a cycle of sin, but He can heal you of that. The question is: do you want to get well, or are you content to lay around, sick in sin and worldly desires?

The Defeat of the Impossible

"For nothing is impossible with God." -Luke 1:37, HCSB

How many times have you heard that verse, right? It is a favorite verse of the underdog and athlete, the troubled and addicted.

 "There's nothing God can't help us achieve, and there is nothing that can stop us with Him at our side."

This is very true, but there is a definite asterisk next to this truth: nothing is impossible with God when He decides to do so. The passage that this verse comes from is the same passage in which the angel Gabriel is telling Mary that she will give birth to the Son of God. She is obviously flabbergasted and confused by this news, and so she asks (very humbly) how this could happen, considering that she was a virgin.

The angel proceeds to tell her of how her relative Elizabeth was currently preggo at an old age, and that "nothing is impossible with God." God is all powerful, but this verse is not meant purely to inspire us on fourth-and-goal with time expiring. It is showing that nothing will stop God on His mission. Nothing will prevent God from ruling the world, and nothing can stand in His way.

Old age? Nope.

Virgin? Not an issue.

Your past addictions? Nothing He can't overcome.

Your physical condition? Not a handicap in the working of God.

God can use whomever and whatever He so chooses to accomplish His plans. He's running the ship, and nothing can slow Him down.

You may wonder in this moment: "what role do I play in this? If God is in charge, and He is looking to accomplish His goals and plans, what do I do?" You do exactly what Mary did.

"'I am the Lord's slave,' said Mary. 'May it be done according to your word.'" -Luke 1:38, HCSB

We humbly accept God's power and lordship, and do as He says. We are His slaves, and He is our Good Master. He will accomplish great things through us, so long as we are humbly looking to accomplish His great things.

Perhaps God's purpose in your defeat of the impossible is to win a football game and give Him glory for it. Perhaps His purpose in your defeat of the impossible is to overcome your physical limitations to show the love of Christ to others. Perhaps His purpose in your defeat of the impossible is to share your story of addiction and redemption in order to help someone else see the love and freedom of life with Christ.

You never know what impossible task God may want to overcome through you, but He already did one. Your salvation through the blood and resurrection is a miracle in and of itself; who's to say He doesn't have something else for you? Humble yourself, and look to accomplish His plans with His power and might.

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 Four: Teaching

We have finally arrived at the fourth and final portion of discipleship: teaching. This is, interestingly, the aspect of discipleship that most people often think of first, and yet also feel the most incapable of done. Perhaps this is why there is a thorough lack of discipleship in the Church today. Today, we will briefly look at the teaching aspect of discipleship, and hopefully answer a few questions:

-How important is biblical training/truth?
-Can you be mature without knowledge?
-Can you be knowledgeable without maturity?


1. Knowledge is important, but not everything

The Bible is the Word of God. It is the most reliable and consistent way for us to know about Him and what He has to say. Thus, we absolutely must do everything we can to dive into His Word and learn, soaking up knowledge like a sponge. But...

"Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that 'We all possess knowledge.' But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know" -1 Corinthians 8:1-2, NIV

As we see here in 1 Corinthians, knowledge can only get you so far. If you know how to build an engine, that's great. But if you don't use this knowledge, what good does it do you? The same principle applies to biblical knowledge: you can be an authority on the life of Christ, but if you never live your live in a way that reflects that, then your knowledge is wasted.

We will look more into this next week in our Discipleship series conclusion, but I will just state a short preview: in discipleship, you must balance your teaching with the intangible, other three aspects.

2. Maturity comes through knowledge

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." -Ephesians 4:11-16, NIV

This passage begins by telling us that God gifts people with the ability to teach. This we know; some people are better teachers than others. Yet, did you catch why? Paul writes that the reasoning behind having teachers is so that the Church will become mature.

Think about it: if you don't know how to live like Christ, then how can you? It is through knowledge of God and His Word that we get to achieve a greater maturity in Him.


3. You can have knowledge that doesn't lead to maturity

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both nowand to the day of eternity. Amen" -2 Peter 3:18, HCSB

Knowledge isn't the only goal in our discipleship. Look at the Pharisees in Jesus' life: they were experts on the laws of God. They knew them in and out. Yet, Jesus blasted them regularly. Maybe the best example of this is in Matthew 5, where Jesus outlines multiple laws, and then takes them to a new, more internal, heart-based meaning.

You see, if we simply fill our disciples with knowledge, we are only making Pharisees: people that know about God, but not how to conform to Him (Romans 8:29) and live live like Him. Our goal is to lead people to be like Christ, not just know what he said. As Peter so eloquently said in the passage above, we are to grow in both grace and knowledge. Knowledge is good and important, I cannot underscore that enough. But without growing in grace, without growing in the love and joy and peace of Christ, we are not being disciples of Christ. We are merely reference machines. We must approach the knowledge of God like this, and likewise, lead our disciples down the same path.  

Discipleship, Part Three: Personal Attention

So far in our discipleship mission, we have looked at the commitment and modeling to disciple. Today, we look at a third component: personal attention.

"So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears." -Acts 20:31, NIV

We are briefly going to look at two lessons from this verse, as applies to discipleship:

1. "Each of you": Paul was talking to the Ephesian elders in this verse, and he reminded them that for three years, he constantly warned every single one of them against people with false teaching. This idea of warning and caring for each one shows that he didn't see the Ephesian church as just a body of believers, but as individual lives. Each one of these elders had Paul's attention, and he explicitly warned them against these things that could damage their walk with Jesus. We do the same; we don't get to just lump our disciples together as a group, and only address them as a group. Our disciples require individual care from us. Everyone has different needs in their walk with Christ, and must be treated as individuals in that walk. Your disciples will not all be at the same place in their walk, with the same level of growth. Everyone takes an individual focus from their discipler. Give it to them.

2. "Night and day with tears": Paul didn't just warn each of them, but he warned them at all times of the day, and with plenty of emotion. He maintained this emotional, personal care at all times, no matter the time of day. Every person we disciple will need our compassion and care at different times, just as the Ephesian elders did. We must be willing to give anyone our personal attention at anytime, and earnestly mean it. If your disciple needs you, you must genuinely give them your attention, no matter when. This isn't about when discipleship is convenient for you; Paul didn't mention his office hours with the Ephesian elders here. He didn't say "I warned all of you every other Tuesday, from 5-6 and at an occasional lunch meeting." No, he warned them all the time, as he was always looking out for each of his people at all times, all the while holding a passion for them and their well-being. People don't cry unless they care at a deep level.

Everyone is different. They have different lives, different problems, different sin struggles, different walks with God and different needs. The biblical discipler gives each of them the individual, personal attention that reflects this variation in needs and people.

Discipleship, Part Two: Modeling

Commitment to your discipleship of someone is vastly important, as the last two posts in this series have shown. Commitment is only a pierce of the puzzle, though. Today we will look into a second part: modeling.

"For you can have 10,000 instructors in Christ, but you can’t have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me... Imitate me, as I also imitate Christ... Join in imitating me, brothers, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us... Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you... and you became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia... For you yourselves know how you must imitate us: We were not irresponsible among you; we did not eat anyone’s food free of charge; instead, we labored and struggled, working night and day, so that we would not be a burden to any of you. It is not that we don’t have the right to support, but we did it to make ourselves an example to you so that you would imitate us." -1 Corinthians 4:15, 11:1; Philippians 3:17, 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 (HCSB)

Noticing a theme here? Paul really wanted his disciples to imitate him as he imitated Christ. He wanted them to look at him and mirror how he walked with God. But just what about our lives should we model for our disciples? I'm glad you asked, because Paul has that answer, too.

"Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love,  in faith, in purity." -1 Timothy 4:12, HCSB

So, basically, everything. Your words? Yep. The way you act with people and tasks? Yep. The amount you love God and people? Yep. The depth of your faith in the Lord? Yep. Your purity in your day-to-day life? Yep. All of it. Their eyes are on you, and you are to live in a way that they can reflect those things as they see them in you in their own lives. No pressure.

To close, I want to remind you: you will screw up. At some point, you will fail to be a perfect model. When you do, admit it. The apostle John did as much in 1 John 1:8, when he said that we deceive ourselves if we pretend we are perfect.

Your disciples need you to be real with them. I don't mean that you sin to relate or "increase your ability to disciple." We never sin for any kind of "good" reason (see Romans 6:15). Instead, be honest. You aren't perfect. Confess and repent, so your disciples can mirror that, too.

Discipleship, Part One: Commitment, Pt. 2 [More Than A Teacher]

Last time I had a Discipleship series post, I wrote about Paul's heart with the Thessalonian believers, and how he approached the discipleship concept of commitment. We talked about how he truly loved and cared for them, and therefore had a massive commitment. There's more to the commitment of a discipler, though. Today, we'll wrap up this commitment idea with a few more parts of Paul's life that pointed toward a committed approach to discipleship.

1. Be Concerned
"And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?" -2 Corinthians 11:28-29, ESV

If there was ever a group of believers that I wouldn't want to commit to, it would be the Corinthian church. These people were, for lack of a better description, a hot mess. Both of Paul's letters to this church were loaded with Paul saying, "what the crap are you doing?!" Yet, even with their consistent tendency to act stupid, Paul was genuinely concerned for their well-being. He was "daily" anxious for their well-being. Every day, Paul was thinking of them and how they were doing. When he found that they were weak, he felt weak. When they were treated badly, he was ticked off about it. This man was legitimately in-tune with their issues, and really cared about how they were.

We have to do this, too. If you are discipling someone and don't care about their day-to-day life, then I'd argue that you don't really care about them. You may care about their spiritual knowledge, which is commendable, but that isn't all there is. People have daily lives and struggles that need someone to walk them through. Your disciple is walking their first steps; don't leave them to fall on the concrete alone. Walk with them, guide them, and help soften their inevitable fall. That takes commitment.

2. Work Hard
"I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?" -2 Corinthians 12:15, HCSB

Paul gave himself to his disciples. He spent, be it money, time or energy, on them. He was spent on them. There was no part of Paul that he wouldn't give to his disciples. That's how committed he was to their lives and spiritual walks.

We should mirror this. A person's spiritual and physical needs should be met however possible. Don't be stingy toward your disciples; give any of you and/or your possessions toward their discipleship. Their walk with our Lord is worth that kind of commitment.

3. Deal With The Hard Stuff
"This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." -2 Timothy 2:10, HCSB

Paul endured for his disciples. The fact is that discipleship ain't always rainbows and sea otters; every now and then, it's going to suck. Your pursuit of their spiritual growth will have its difficult moments; ask any parent of a child if they ever endured an unpleasant time while raising their children. I promise you, it will happen. They will disappoint you, ask you difficult questions and may even rebel against you. That will be hard, and to endure through these trials will require a high level of commitment. The reward for that commitment is clear, though: "so that they may also obtain salvation...with eternal glory."

The salvation and eternal glory is the goal for every disciple that you have. Your job is to lead them to Christ and in Christ, walking alongside them as they grow in Christ. This will take commitment, but is there any reward better than their eternity with Christ?

Discipleship and Church Strategy: What Is Your Focus?

"Then Jesus came near and said to them, 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 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 everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." -Matthew 28:18-20, HCSB

This is the famous Great Commission passage, which happens to be the exact passage I opened up with my recent post, Discipleship: An Introduction, with. On Tuesday, I continued this series on discipleship, which is at the core of everything the Christian should be doing. Our primary concern should be to make disciples. It is the command Christ gave us to accomplish while waiting for His return (the end of the age).

This also applies to the Church as a whole. The mission of the Church should be discipleship. Not huddle groups and bible classes; discipleship is the job of every believer, not just a few "teachers." Every single Christian is to "go."

I've noticed an interesting thing, though. We almost always leave verse 18 off when we are talking about the Great Commission. If the last command of Christ is so important, why not include all of it? Sure, verse 18 isn't directly a command. However, it may be even more important, as it gives Christ's reasoning for verses 19-20.

The entire reason that Christians share the gospel, lead people to Christ and assist in the convert's journey into discipleship is because Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. He is the supreme Lord and King over all. Everything we do is to glorify this King. He runs the show, and we lift Him up the whole way.

We can disciple and strategize and teach all day, and never accomplish the Great Commission. You see, if we forget that the entire reason for discipleship and church growth is the glory of our Lord, we are nothing more than a group of pagan idol worshippers, recruiting people to worship ourselves and our ideas.

We keep God and His Word at the center of everything we do, and we especially keep the very focus of God's Word (the gospel) at the forefront of what we are doing. If we remove the bright torch that is the glorious gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from our focus, we will be left to be devoured by wolves and trip over our own feet in the darkness of this world.

The gospel, and the glory it brings God, is why we disciple. Without the gospel, you are simply leading people down a path of which even you cannot see. If you are leading people without a focus on their salvation in Christ and the glory of God in that, then you are leading people for an eternity away from God. That, my friends, is not a good direction to be headed.

God's Will: How to Find It

Getting ready to make an important decision? Maybe you're deciding whether or not to pop the question and propose to the girl of your dreams. Maybe you're trying to decide on a college or career. Maybe you are in the mood for both Chinese and Mexican food tonight. All in all, you just want the answer to one question: which choice is in God's will? Lucky for you, I can answer that.

Honestly, did that intro not sound like an infomercial? If I tacked on a price tag of $19.99 (plus shipping and handling), Billy Mays could have thrown that pitch. Yet, the idea of "finding God's will" in our decisions, both big and small, is a legitimate question that many Christians fret over regularly. I mean, we don't want to screw this thing up. What if God wanted me to go to Dartmouth instead of Ole Miss? What if God wanted me to marry another guy, who happens to live in Oregon, while I am a doctor in Miami?

These kind of questions frustrate many Christians, particularly the young 20 and 30 something crowd that I happen to fall in. We don't want to go against the grand scheme that God has laid out for us. Yet, the answer to finding God's will is much simpler than you may think.

"In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him." -Hebrews 1:2, HCSB

Here, the author of Hebrews makes it rather clear: if we want to hear God speak, we realize that He speaks through the Son. So, if we want to hear God tell us what to do, we find Jesus. Got it. Now, where is He, exactly? Oh, yeah. He ascended and went to the right hand of the Father. So... how it that we are to get direction from Him?

"In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God."

-John 1:1, HCSB

Jesus is the Word. Word meaning that He is found in Scripture, which means that the best way to communicate with God is to read His Word. I mean, we have 66 books worth of God speaking to us? If we are looking for God to help guide us through a decision, why wouldn't we start there? It only makes sense.

Here's the part where you say, "But Bryan, the Bible doesn't directly tell me what to do. I get that it's telling me a lot of things, but I still don't know whether to go to Dartmouth or Ole Miss." I get what you are saying, so let me give a few pointers:

1. Make sure both decisions are without sin. If your choosing of an option in a decision is directly sinful, or will easily lead to sin when the other option will not, I suggest avoiding the sinful/sin-leading option. The Bible is clear that we are to avoid sin at all costs.

2. Pick which one is the most God-glorifying. If both seem to be legitimately moral options, try to figure out which one helps you to take His name to the world the best. If one option seems to better allow you to spread the name of Jesus, then I'd be willing to bet that option is probably best. Acts 1:8 says that we are to be His witnesses; regardless of the option, will you be able to be His witness there?

3. Choose what you want. Yes, this seems crazy and strangely not spiritual, but think about it. After you know someone for a while, can't you start anticipating what their responses and decisions will be before they even make them? Of course you can; you've learned how their mind works. So if you are following Christ in your life, pursuing a life of godliness, praying and reading the Word, you are getting closer to God, correct? If you are getting closer to God, does that not make it easier to know what He would pick?

That fact is that the Bible never states that God will direct you in any other way than through His Word and you growing closer to Him. Yes, there are example of Him showing people His guidance in other ways, but they are almost always completely unexpected. Just pursue Him, weigh the options based on what His Word says, and you should see yourself making more and more decisions that are focused on God, and not on yourself. As long as the focus is on Him, you can't go wrong.

-Special thanks to Kevin DeYoung, whose book Just Do Something inspired this post and has helped my get a more biblical view of finding God's guidance-

Scar Tissue and Battle Wounds: When God Seems to Have Disappeared

Last week, I talked about how God is always with us, and how we are never alone. Yet, despite this, sometimes we still feel not just that we are alone, but that He has turned His back and done exactly what He said He wouldn't do in Joshua 1:9. Sometimes, we feel like God has dropped us off on a deserted island, and left us to fend for ourselves.

This is not an uncommon feeling. Even though we know that He loves us and saved us from our sins, and would never abandon us, we still feel this way. It's human nature. We are short-sighted and incapable of putting everything into perspective. Our problems we are having right now are always the "big one," the problem that's going to do us in. We won't ever recover from this one. We're forever doomed to sulk and weep, and it's all because God turned His back on us, right? I mean, He works for the good of His people, and this ain't good. Surely He has jumped ship!

No matter how spiritual you are, no matter how secure in your faith you are or how holy you think you are, you're going to have this feeling. I personally feel like this from time to time, and it is times like this where I cry out, "God, where are you?! I'm your child, heir and son. I'm saved by your grace, and I work for your good. Why won't you show me love?" This is why I love David.

David, the second king of Israel, slayer of giants and "man after God's own heart," was a lot like me in His approach to troubles. We both are/were emotional guys that wear our feelings on our sleeves. When things are great, David would sing a song (unfortunately, I cannot sing very well) and dance for joy. He loved worshipping the Lord. But when the crap hit the fan, David broke down. He'd scream and cry out and rip his clothes and fast and yell out to God, wondering why God would leave His side. Let's look at David's anguish in the 22nd Psalm:

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning? My God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest...

Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You rescued them. They cried to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disgraced...

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by people. Everyone who sees me mocks me; they sneer and shake their heads...

Do not be far from me, because distress is near and there is no one to help. Many bulls surround me...

They open their mouths against me— lions, mauling and roaring. I am poured out like water,and all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me. My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.You put me into the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; a gang of evildoers has closed in on me...

But You, LORD, don’t be far away. My strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword,my only life from the power of these dogs. Save me from the mouth of the lion!" -Psalm 22:1-2, 6-7, 11-16, 19-21a HCSB

These are the words of a broken, desperate man. Imagine mighty King David, no longer majestic, but crying. Imagine him screaming out to God. He feels like he is going to die, and that his end is near. He has been beaten, kicked and knocked down, and all the while, it feels like God is far, far away.

But guess what? God wasn't as far away as David thought. In fact, God was working for David's good all the while, as we see one of the quickest turnarounds in all of Scripture in the second half of verse 21. Check this out:

"You have rescued me
from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;
I will praise You in the congregation.

23 You who fear Yahweh, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
All you descendants of Israel, revere Him!

24 For He has not despised or detested
the torment of the afflicted.
He did not hide His face from him
but listened when he cried to Him for help."

-Psalm 22:21b-24, HCSB

You. Have. Rescued. Me. Those are four beautiful words. God. Has. Rescued. Us. We are no longer beaten. We are not alone. In fact, we never were. God was fighting for and alongside us the whole time. We're gunna make it out of this. Even if there is a permanent scar (as fighters and warriors often have), that doesn't mean we lost. A scar shows we made it through. When we die, we will all have lots of scars. We may be getting beat up over and over again, but God will keep saving us.

Kevin DeYoung once said that "Christians often forget that life is a pilgrimage, and we think Heaven is on Earth. If we are looking for Heaven on Earth, we will be consistently miserable and disappointed. If we remember that life is more similar to a desert, however, we not only will be less disappointed by our troubles, but will actually find ourselves more happy" (roughly quoted by memory from Just Do Something).

Life's a desert pilgrimage. We are marching forward towards the Kingdom. Things will trip us up, things will knock us down. We will be jumped by bandits and collapse of exhaustion. But I urge you: keep fighting. God is by your side and in your corner. If our God is for us, than what could stand against? And trust me, He is for us.

How Do You Pray?

FINALLY a day has come that I'm not too busy to write a blog post. Today's post is all about prayer. This a topic that is very dear to my heart, and one that I continue to pursue knowledge in.

Prayer can be tricky. In theory, it's a brilliant thought. Who doesn't want to talk to God? The problem arises for many, myself included, arises when God doesn't talk back. We pray and pray and pray and we receive a dial tone on the other end. This can be frustrating, and lead people to have difficulty in finding a purpose for prayer.

I personally found prayer particularly difficult and troublesome for many years, and still struggle to pray as I should. If everyone as an Achilles heel on the Christian journey, prayer may likely be one of mine. And that is a problem, because prayer is vitally important, and truthfully, indispensable.

I was recently asked by someone "how do you pray?" This question seems simple enough, but it really is a legitimately difficult question. How does one pray? Does it need to be aloud, or internally? Big words or not? Long or short? Must you gather together with others and hold hands, or do you have to kneel beside your bed? The four-letter question I was asked is really a massive, loaded question!

To start, let's look at what Christ says about prayer when He says "you should pray like this."

"9 "Therefore, you should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Your name be honored as holy.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.]"

-Matthew 6:9-13

OK, that's loaded. There's a lot of information in that prayer. Let's break it down a bit, because really this prayer can be cut into a few sections that are easily applicable to our lives.

V. 9: This prayer starts out by honoring God, coming humbly before Him. We are to acknowledge that God is holy, and because of His holiness, we should worship Him.

V. 10: Now we see Christ praying that God's kingdom would come and that His will would be done. God's kingdom has already come; He runs the universe. Everything from galaxies to atoms are in His kingdom. Instead, we are to pray that His kingdom to come more and more complete as we near the end times, when everything in His kingdom will be made perfect and untarnished again. Praying that His will would be done shows that we are following into His plan for His kingdom, and causes us to humbly follow Him.

V. 11: By asking for our daily bread, Christ means that we ask God for our needs. God will provide for us. Every day we should feel comfortable asking Him to sustain us and provide our needs for us.

V. 12: We ask for forgiveness. We sin constantly, like we are producing sin on an assembly line. We need to confess that sin to God and ask for Him to forgive us. The verse goes on to say that we ask for forgiveness, just like we forgive others. If we expect God to forgive us, it is only logical that we forgive others in the same way.

V. 13: We pray for God to keep us safe from temptation. We sin constantly, like I said above. We need to lean heavily on God to avoid falling deeper and deeper into sin and sinning more and more. Only God can help us overcome Satan and his temptations; we must rely on God to protect us from him.

Tell God He is awesome. Be excited about His plan for the world. Ask for what we need. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for protection. Those are some pretty straight-forward prayers to go after. But is that all?

-Matthew 6:5-7 says not to pray like a show-off. Long, lengthy, "babbling" prayers are not biblical and not what God wants. He wants gut-level honest prayers. Keep that long-winded, hypocritical, show-offy stuff outta here. God isn't impressed when you use big words (unless you naturally talk with big words. Then use them all over your prayers). Instead, we should just pray with whatever is on our hearts, alone if possible.

-The books of Job and Habakkuk have some prayers that are borderline crazy. These two guys got upset with God, and went off on Him. Guess what: you can too. If you feel like God has abandoned you, left you, and forgotten about you, tell Him that. Tell Him you're mad. He can handle it.

-1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 says to pray constantly. Pray all the time. In the bed, in the shower, in the bathroom, in the car, and in your football game. Pray at work, school, and home. Think of it as texting God. You don't usually send long texts, do you? Just quick little prayers like "thank you God," "help me God," or "you're awesome God" are fair game. Short and sweet works.

These are all things that have helped me in my prayer life, and I hope they help you, as well. Let's all try to follow these tips from God on how to talk to God. He wants to hear from us; don't leave Him waiting by the phone.

When God Looks Like Cousin Itt

Recently, I listened to a message by Won Kwak, lead pastor at Maranatha Grace Fort Lee in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In the message, he was talking about the part of the Trinity that we often forget: the Holy Spirit. As he was discussing the Spirit, he said that we often look at the Spirit as an "it" instead of what the Spirit of God is. Specifically, he said we think of the Spirit as Cousin Itt, and I love this analogy. So, let's watch Cousin Itt real quick, and then look into how we wrongfully view the Spirit as such (This is a 10-minute video, so feel free to watch from 2:26-4:52 just to get an idea of Itt).



Ok, so let's look at how Cousin Itt is like the Holy Spirit. First, we look at the Holy Spirit as an "it." We tend to think of the Spirit as a mystical wind that blows around and messes up our hair. Much like Cousin Itt, we don't know exactly what the Spirit is, really. We just look and stare, afraid to go near and discover the truth.

"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" -Matthew 28:19, HCSB

Here in Matthew, we see Jesus, the Son of God and part of the Trinity of God, referring to the Spirit as equal with the Father and Son. If the Father and Son are both God, and the Spirit is equal to them, then the logical conclusion is that they are all three God. The Spirit is not an it, but a He. He is as much God as the Father and Son. That makes a huge difference. No longer is the Spirit a tool of God, but He is God. That gives Him ultimate power and makes Him deserving of ultimate respect.

Second, the Spirit is heard as gibberish to the outsider, much like we can't understand Cousin Itt. Until you learn to speak the language of the Spirit, you cannot understand it. How do you learn the language of the Spirit? Just like Cousin Itt: you're part of His family.

The Sciptures are inspired by the Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), so therefore they are the Spirit's words, written by man. The only way that the Scriptures can be seen as the living, applicable life-changing Word of God is through the Spirit revealing the Truth to us (2 Corinthians 2:10-13). And who does the Spirit work through?

"14 All those who are led by God's Spirit are God's sons." -Romans 8:14, HCSB

Those who have the Spirit leading them are the family of God. Just like Cousin Itt, the family of God understands the Spirit through the Spirit helping us understand.

Finally, we view the Spirit as a moody visitor like Cousin Itt: sometimes helpful, sometimes complaining; sometimes here, sometimes gone. This couldn't be any different.

"19 God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?" -Numbers 23:19, HCSB

God is never changing, and the same applies to the Spirit. Once the Spirit is guiding you, you have a permanent guide. He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), and the Spirit will even live IN you (1 Corinthians 3:16). He won't change His mind about you. He won't just come for a visit. Once you have the Spirit of God, you always have Him.

Will you remember that, or just think of the Spirit as a foreign gust that doesn't consistently blow the same way?

For more on the Spirit and His awesomeness, check out Forgotten God by Francis Chan.

Thought From the Retro Bible: The Guide

"4 Show me your way, O Lord, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." -Psalm 25:4-5, NIV

David didn't straight up ask for a new brain. He wasn't like Veruca Salt, saying "Daddy, I want it right now!" No, David instead asked God to show him and guide him to more knowledge. He knew this was the correct way to become wise and mature (heavily modified from Revolution: The Bible from Teen Guys).