"For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength."
-Philippians 4:11-13
How did Paul do it?? He was content in the WORST of circumstances....what?? I wish I could honestly say this is true for me right now. But it is NOT. I want to be content in "any and every situation". I want to say that HE is enough for me. I want to say that I am completely satisfied with HIM alone. I know that ultimately nothing in this world will bring me the joy & peace that He can, but at times it's hard to remember that. Especially when the things that I want are genuinely "good" things. But if I want these "good" things more that I want my Savior, I've got it backwards and those things will never be "good" if I put them before Him. So, I'm praying. Praying for contentment. Praying that I seek the Lord for himself and not for his benefits. Praying that I'm satisfied in just knowing Him. Praying for a heart of gratitude for His MANY blessings & provisions. And believing that "I can do all this through him who gives me strength".
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Angels Rejoice
Tonight Richard and the SOG guys headed to a juvenile detention center here in Lubbock to put on a show for the kids out there and to share a message of hope to them. When it was over, Richard called me and was so excited to tell me how great it went. He just felt like the Holy Spirit led him and a couple of the SOG guys to use their time to share their testimonies rather than mainly songs. Two guys and one girl at the detention center made the decision to place their faith in Christ tonight b/c of Richard's and SOG's obedience to be ministers of the gospel. Is it ironic that today Richard was supposed to be in Hartford, Connecticut for his tryout? If this is why the Lord kept Richard here, then praise Him. We can celebrate the lives of 3 new creations today! God is good. His plan is better than ours. Everything is for HIS glory and HIS kingdom. Gotta keep that perspective. :)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
New Creations
For the past couple of months I have been going through a Bible Study called Experiencing Christ Within. It's been one of the most enlightening Bible Studies I've EVER gone through. One thing in particular that has really stuck out to me is that as believers under the new covenant we are ALL new creations in Christ. Therefore, we ALL have a new nature desire to glorify God...even if our lives don't reflect that. We ALL have the Holy Spirit and therefore have the power to fulfill the desire of our new nature but we don't always appropriate that power.
I know that I can't paraphrase all that I've taken from this study but I do want to share with you what I studied tonight.
From Experiencing Christ Within:
New Covenant ministry is based upon positive, God-given assumptions about every believer. A New Covenant approach to ministry views all believers through fundamentally optimistic lenses. "From now on," Paul said, "we regard no one according to the flesh....If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:16,17). Or to put it another way, we no longer view believers primarily in light of their problems but in light of their potential because of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.
What You Can Know For Certain
What are the positive assumptions you can be certain of for every believer?
First, every Christian you encounter is of immense value and importance. Not only did Christ die for them, but God also has uniquely designed them to be an exhibition of the supernatural - a reflection of His craftsmanship. This is true for every believer; there are no disposable saints. We're all "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).
With every believer you encounter, we can also assume this person will never be fully satisfied until his or her life is fully aligned with God's uniquely designed purposes. No matter how content he may look on the outside, there will be some measure of internal restlessness if this believer's life is out of alignment with God's purposes.
We can also assume that every believer we encounter has divinely implanted resources that are pressing outward for release. Jesus made this promise for every believer: "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). The waters of the life of Christ relentlessly push forward for expression from within all of us. Some believers may not be aware of this, but they cannot thwart its reality. If the waters aren't making their way past the surface, it's not because they've stopped pressing, but because the believer has shut the floodgates of his life for one reason or another.
The Messages You Convey
Christlike love is the lifeblood of our ministry, for Christ's New Covenant command is to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34). As we seek to love other believers in this way, what messages will our love convey?
The first is this: I'm relentlessly and unconditionally for you. You can never extinguish my love for you.
Our love is to be like Christ, who loved His disciples "to the end" (John 13:1), even as they denied and deserted Him. It's a love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things," a love that "never fails" (1 Cor. 13:7,8). This love communicates loudly and clearly, "You do not have to change in order to maintain my love for you."
At times it may need to be a tough love. It might even require, if absolutely necessary, breaking fellowship with the loved one, though this is always to be done out of love and never for lack of it. The key issue is that our ministry be bathed in a supernatural, relentless love for the ones God has privileged us to influence.
Another message our love should communicate is this: I see your potential for the kingdom of God and it excites me. I'll do all that I can to help see this purpose realized. New Covenant love is as purposeful as it is unconditional.
A final message our love should send is this: I'll do all I can to help inflame your new nature. I"ll also stand against your flesh when necessary. Again, both aspects are critical. True love requires that we be wise physicians, knowing when to nourish the healthy tissue and when to do battle against the cancer.
God: Present or Absent?
New Covenant ministry is, above all else, working with God - not working for God, but with Him. The distinction between these two is literally the difference between the presence or absence of God in our ministry.
New Covenant ministry is working with God to help others fulfill their whole potential in Christ (Col. 1:28,29). This is done in large measure by (1) nourishing and stimulating the new nature, (2) exposing the perversity and foolishness of living by the flesh, and (3) beckoning to a more God-honoring and personally satisfying plane of living.
A New Covenant Prayer
May the beauty of Christ be my focus...
the strength of Christ my dependency...
the approval of Christ my contentment...
the word of Christ my meditation...
the leading of Christ my agenda...
the presence of Christ my feast...
and the glory of Christ my mission.
We are all called to New Covenant ministry. I pray this is as enlightening for someone else as it was for me.
I know that I can't paraphrase all that I've taken from this study but I do want to share with you what I studied tonight.
From Experiencing Christ Within:
New Covenant ministry is based upon positive, God-given assumptions about every believer. A New Covenant approach to ministry views all believers through fundamentally optimistic lenses. "From now on," Paul said, "we regard no one according to the flesh....If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:16,17). Or to put it another way, we no longer view believers primarily in light of their problems but in light of their potential because of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.
What You Can Know For Certain
What are the positive assumptions you can be certain of for every believer?
First, every Christian you encounter is of immense value and importance. Not only did Christ die for them, but God also has uniquely designed them to be an exhibition of the supernatural - a reflection of His craftsmanship. This is true for every believer; there are no disposable saints. We're all "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).
With every believer you encounter, we can also assume this person will never be fully satisfied until his or her life is fully aligned with God's uniquely designed purposes. No matter how content he may look on the outside, there will be some measure of internal restlessness if this believer's life is out of alignment with God's purposes.
We can also assume that every believer we encounter has divinely implanted resources that are pressing outward for release. Jesus made this promise for every believer: "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). The waters of the life of Christ relentlessly push forward for expression from within all of us. Some believers may not be aware of this, but they cannot thwart its reality. If the waters aren't making their way past the surface, it's not because they've stopped pressing, but because the believer has shut the floodgates of his life for one reason or another.
The Messages You Convey
Christlike love is the lifeblood of our ministry, for Christ's New Covenant command is to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34). As we seek to love other believers in this way, what messages will our love convey?
The first is this: I'm relentlessly and unconditionally for you. You can never extinguish my love for you.
Our love is to be like Christ, who loved His disciples "to the end" (John 13:1), even as they denied and deserted Him. It's a love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things," a love that "never fails" (1 Cor. 13:7,8). This love communicates loudly and clearly, "You do not have to change in order to maintain my love for you."
At times it may need to be a tough love. It might even require, if absolutely necessary, breaking fellowship with the loved one, though this is always to be done out of love and never for lack of it. The key issue is that our ministry be bathed in a supernatural, relentless love for the ones God has privileged us to influence.
Another message our love should communicate is this: I see your potential for the kingdom of God and it excites me. I'll do all that I can to help see this purpose realized. New Covenant love is as purposeful as it is unconditional.
A final message our love should send is this: I'll do all I can to help inflame your new nature. I"ll also stand against your flesh when necessary. Again, both aspects are critical. True love requires that we be wise physicians, knowing when to nourish the healthy tissue and when to do battle against the cancer.
God: Present or Absent?
New Covenant ministry is, above all else, working with God - not working for God, but with Him. The distinction between these two is literally the difference between the presence or absence of God in our ministry.
New Covenant ministry is working with God to help others fulfill their whole potential in Christ (Col. 1:28,29). This is done in large measure by (1) nourishing and stimulating the new nature, (2) exposing the perversity and foolishness of living by the flesh, and (3) beckoning to a more God-honoring and personally satisfying plane of living.
A New Covenant Prayer
May the beauty of Christ be my focus...
the strength of Christ my dependency...
the approval of Christ my contentment...
the word of Christ my meditation...
the leading of Christ my agenda...
the presence of Christ my feast...
and the glory of Christ my mission.
We are all called to New Covenant ministry. I pray this is as enlightening for someone else as it was for me.
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