Short-Term Disciple

This week I began to read a book that is challenging me about my faith. The book is called Radical: Taking Your Faith Back From the American Dream by David Platt. He states, ”We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so what he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream.”

There was a book I read years ago that made me think about my faith, a book that made me feel uncomfortable in my plush comfortable church. The book was called Tortured for Christ, by Richard Wurmbrand. It was his life story of being persecuted for his faith, spending twelve years in a communist prison. As I went to church that Sunday I felt uncomfortable, not in a way when you fall into sin and don’t feel worthy, but uncomfortable with our comforts. I had to ask myself, “Is this what Jesus died for, so I could go to my suburban mega church, and enjoy all the comforts of home?” But this isn’t restricted to a mega church, it is true of a small church with only a few believers, because no matter where we attend church we need to ask, are we looking to our Americanized Jesus? Do we see Him as one who is there when we need Him, and wants us to be comfortable in our homes, jobs, and in our family? Does He want us to enjoy our TV programs, video games, and the internet? Is He one who doesn’t challenge us because we use our free time for ourselves, or because we don’t want to serve, or reach out to the lost? He wants us to be happy and healthy, but not so concerned about being holy. He doesn’t mind if we look down on those who don’t believe in Him, or avoid them altogether; a Jesus who looks past our self-righteousness when we says things that ridicule those who are different than us, even if that difference is a relationship with Him.

A question comes to my mind, “what were we saved for?” I hear a lot about what we have been saved from, but what was the purpose of salvation? Did Jesus die so He could have a personal relationship with us? Or is there more to the story? Jesus did die to have a personal relationship with us, but does He require something more? He died so we would be saved, but also to spread the message of the gospel to those who are lost. But when I look at the Christian world, I see Christians spending more time debating their beliefs with one another, than reaching out to the lost. Think about it for a moment, in the last month how many discussions have you had with other believers over doctrinal issues. I am not saying doctrine is not important, anyone who knows me knows I think they are very important, but what I am saying is do we spend all our time talking to others about our views over predestination, revelation, and other important issues, while leaving those who don’t know Christ in the dark? Satan has a plan for us; he wants to divide us, in doing so, we will spend time debating each other, verses seeking the lost. We as Christians do this in many areas of life, from politics, denominations, what church we attend, to all kinds of distractions to keep us from witnessing to those who don’t know Christ.

This brings me to the point of the book; which calls us to live radically different. It calls us to see if our view of Jesus is shaped by our American culture, or is he shaped by Scripture; if Jesus is shaped by Scripture than we would want to live radically different from our culture. But I think we live radically in the short-term. How many people do you know who have gone on short-term mission trips and say they have been changed? But months later they are still the same person, a person who only serves those in need when it is across the globe, but not across the city, over even the street? Or we go on a service project and feel we have given our time, or have we relieved our guilt? I am not saying that everyone who participated in these activities is guilty of this, but I am saying this to challenge your thoughts and motives about the issue of being radical. I know I am guilty of reading something or hearing a sermon and then being motivated to be radically different, well at least for a few weeks, and then fall back into my normal routine. Just like the book I am reading, I do hope it is not just something that challenges me to think differently for a while.

How about you, are you a short-term radical? Does your life as a believer change when you read something or listen to someone and then weeks later forget what you had learned? Falling back in to the norm of Christian living? Or maybe your one of those who tries to bring people back to a normal Christian existence when they are trying to live radically for Christ; for example, when I decided to go back to school, I had a few Christians do their best to talk me out of attending Bible College. The strange thing was that unbelievers who I knew thought it was a great idea; there is something very wrong with that picture, when unbelievers encourage me and believers discourage me. But that brings up a question for all of us, are we guilty of this, are we guilty of bring others back in line with a faith that is based on our American culture? I think the only way we can really answer this question is to ask the Holy Spirit to show us. We can be blinded by our own desires and ambitions and miss that we have manipulated Jesus into our image, instead of being transformed into his image. Reread the quote again and think about who Jesus is to you today.

”We are giving in to the dangerous temptation to take the Jesus of the Bible and twist him into a version of Jesus we are more comfortable with. A nice, middle class, American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and who would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who would not expect us to forsake our closest relationships so what he receives all our affection. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts, because, after all, he loves us just the way we are. A Jesus who wants us to be balanced, who wants us to avoid dangerous extremes, and who, for that matter, wants us to avoid danger altogether. A Jesus who brings us comfort and prosperity as we live out our Christian spin on the American dream.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26 

And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27 

In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:33  

Hungry or Satisfied?

What makes a great book? What comes to mind when you think about books you enjoy? Is it because it gives you some information you didn’t have, was it entertaining, or enjoyable? Or maybe because it is challenging, or made you feel satisfied? One night after reading a chapter of a book I was enjoying the answer came to me. A good book makes me hungry, not satisfied. A good book is like salt, which brings about a thirst for more. A good Christian book is one that gives me a hunger for God, not just satisfaction. Think about this, why is sin so appealing, or why do we desire it so much? Is it satisfying, no, matter of fact it is quite the opposite. Sin creates in us a hunger for more; a desire to seek out what craving it creates in us. While it satisfies for a moment, it hooks us for more because it brings about a hunger for more. The same is true about a good book, it shouldn’t satisfy us, because if it does than we will be filled by its content. What it should do is bring about a hunger and thirst for God. It should be like salt to our souls, showing us what we truly need, and that is God. It should develop a craving for God and His Word. So if you had to pick from one of the two when it comes to your relationship with God, which one would it be, hungry for God or satisfied?

Misunderstood, You’re Not Alone

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." … And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise." Mark 8:31-33, Mark 10:32-34

“This long journey to Jerusalem and the cross will apparently be a lonely one for the Savoir, for He’s making it without the full understanding and support of Hid disciples. They continue to be guided by selfish ambition, so He must continue to teach and instruct them and confront their arrogance.”
C J Mahaney – Humility: True Greatness

Have you even been misunderstood by those around you? Whether it is your family, friends, people you work with or know from church. You look to follow after God, and His leading, but others, even Christians, seem to want to contradict what God is calling you too. You’re not sure exactly where God is leading you too, but you know what He wants you to do today, or at least you believe you know what He is calling you too. Even though it is not absolutely clear, you know inside yourself that God is leading you, but not always in the ways of this world. Take Martin Luther for example, before his calling to reform the church, he promised to become a monk, but his father objected. He wanted him to become a lawyer, he had a sharp mind and could have been a great lawyer, but God had other plans, he was misunderstood. Or Dietrich Bonhoeffer, when visiting American, some asked him to stay till the war was over, but he said he had to return home to Germany, he couldn’t go back after the war and restore the church and its people if he was not willing to suffer with them during World War II, he was misunderstood.

Many have been called of God, or have a sense of His direction in their lives, but others try to redirect them. They try to move them in a way which seems right to man, a worldly wisdom, mixed with some Christianity, and common sense, to a place of safety. But we know God doesn’t work in these ways, He works according to His plan, which at times calls us to do things very contrary to what seems good and right to the human mind and spirit. Some people have become missionaries, preachers, made career changes, married, stayed single, or many other areas which God has moved them in, but those around them were like Peter, rebuking them, but in fact where fighting against God’s plan. Oh what a hard place to be in for the disciple, on one side, he or she has their friends, family and other Christians trying to convince them of a safer course, a saner path, or a what seems like a more painless direction. But in fact it is quite the opposite, for to oppose God’s leading is a dangerous place to be. Common sense is to be seen as the right thing to do when the mind set on the things of this world. To the disciple who sees a heavenly vision for their life, they see things quite different. Even though they don’t know what lies ahead, they do know what the wrong course of action is, even though they can’t explain it to others. Just as Jesus couldn’t bring His disciples in line with His Father’s plans for Him, so we have the same exact dilemma.

Sometimes we must go it alone when, we must follow God verses the wisdom of man. Jesus wasn’t swayed by His disciples when it came to His suffering and death, He set His face towards Jerusalem, the place where He would suffer greatly. The same was true for Paul, he had know when he went to Jerusalem he would suffer, he said in Acts 20:22-23, “And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.” But God’s leading is not always connected to suffering; He calls many of us today to do things that are contrary to the world’s wisdom which doesn’t include suffering. Jesus and Paul’s Jerusalem meant suffer, but a suffering to help others, to set them free. Your Jerusalem maybe a different type of experience, you may bring glory to God and help others which may be apart from suffering, not a part of suffering. I know a lady who has been prompted by God to take a sabbatical from group Bible studies and reading Christian books. A time to set aside to study and read God’s Word to come to a deeper knowledge of God, I can understand this because it happened to me a few years back. But others, who can’t understand such ideas, may try to persuade her not to follow such a course of action. They may try to attempt to bring her around to their thinking; a thinking that is focused on man’s view of faith. Or others may think it is strange or crazy thinking that God is speaking to her in such a way. But she knows what the right thing to do is, and she is following God, even when others may oppose her.

What about you, what is your Jerusalem? What is God calling you to do, or think differently about that others may see as strange, crazy, or even unwise? We as people want the safe way, we want a life free of emotional pain, stress, commitment and we think others should follow after such reasoning. So they try their best to convince us to do what they think is right, or what they would do if they were in our place. God may not be calling you to the mission field, or to preach His Word from the pulpit, but whatever He is leading you to, it is just as important.

How we respond is very important, we have two ways to choose from. We can play the victim, ”Oh I am so misunderstood, everyone is against me.” We can live in self-pity and try to convince others how hard we have it. We can look for others to feel sorry for us, or complain about them to ourselves or others. Or we can stay the course and look to God for direction and leading, going to His Word for wisdom and test what we think He is showing us. We must not be swayed by public opinion or the approval of others.  Think about Jesus who set His face towards Jerusalem, He knew He would not have the support of others when it came to His suffering and death on the cross, but He didn’t spend His time trying to convince them, He told them the truth and moved forward. He put His dependency upon God, not man. He had those closes to His oppose His mission. He was alone in this decision, and was left by His disciples when He suffered the pain of His plan. But… There is always a but… He was not total alone; His Father was with Him, even when others like Peter tried to move Him away from what lied ahead. And it is the same with us; we do not walk alone when others look to lead us in another way of thinking and acting. We have God working in us, and through us, keeping us in line with His plan with the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to stay the course, not being moved by the appeal of worldly wisdom, putting our trust in God’s plan, and not playing the victim, but move ahead with God’s leading, even when it is a lonely path. Just remember, Jesus walked this path before, and He walks it with us today.

William Carey was a man who started out as a shoe maker, and was turned into a missionary who changed the view of missions; he is called the father of modern missions. I am sure many during his time thought he was only to be a shoe maker, but God had other plans. As you read the following statement about him, think to yourself, what is God calling you out from and what is God calling you too. Will you be persuaded by the Voice of God, or the voice of man?

“William Cary was a shoe-maker, one of those common people, but he was not content to remain a common man. It was not an uneducated and untrained ministry that led the first great attack in Christ’s name on the ancient religions and superstitions of Bengal; but a man who was consecrated energy and capacity, as well as by devotion to the cause, was an instrument prepared for the great work to which he was called.”  -Sir Andrew Fraser

Midnight Train to...

"If we're not perfect, then our goals aren't perfect either. Sometimes we confuse our goals with God's will. We think they're the same thing. So an inevitable part of life is the frustration of at least some of our goals. We simply won't get everything we want or do everything we desire. God has a different plan than simply giving us the satisfaction of a to-do list. He frustrates us to change us - to turn our life in a different direction. But even more important, to bend our heart toward the habitual posture of submission and obedience. He gets us off our fast track and onto the lonely train at midnight to somewhere we didn't plan to go."

That was a quote from Dave Harvey's book Rescuing Ambition. It sounds like I am on the lonely train at midnight, so then the idea comes to my mind, what is God redirecting? I can think of a few things, but I think it is mostly the "habitual posture of submission and obedience." Slowing me down to take notice of what God is doing, instead of what I am doing or needing to do on my list. Is my to-do list that important? Most likely not, it is made of things which I think are important, but when God sees it, there isn't much there that is probably really important. What is God teaching us in the slow time is most likely very important, than what I think is important or what I think God's will might be. We look at accomplishing as much as possible throughout our days, as if busyness equals obedience. We live in a society which values being busy, more than being obedient. Think about those around you and how the idea of being busy is considered something good, and even holy. Being busy is good at times and producing fruit for the kingdom of God is important, but are we slowing down ever to listen to God's plan, instead of telling Him ours?