Filed under: disequilibrium | Tags: craving, kingdom, longing, pursue, seek, transform
Perspective. If there is any on thing Jesus tried to show us, it was to “see” the truth. So much is wrapped up in that word, “see”. In fact seeing Jesus is seeing the exact representation of God the Father (hebrews 1:3). Jesus taught us about seeing the Kingdom of God at hand; in fact he stated that the Kingdom of God is within us. What? It is a perspective shift, or even better stated, a new paradigm. Time and time again we read the urgency in Scripture to “consider”, or to “fix your eyes…” or “fix your thoughts…” and so on. The apostle Paul taught us about a worldly and a spiritual point of view (2 Cor. 5:14-16). He also taught us that believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior means that we are a new creation! Talk about getting a new perspective (or life…)! (more…)
Filed under: simple things | Tags: addicted, craving, dangerous, kingdom, pursue, seek
I have been musing over discipleship. what does that look like? what does it feel like? how does it start? what all goes into it? i mean, christians flippantly use that word time and time again without understanding its deep implications. at least that is what i observe from the gospels and how discipleship looked like there. not just in the gospels, but also in all of the bible. this has lead me to some unrest and a thirst to learn what it means to follow Jesus, to be where He is (John 12), to feel what he feels, and to think how God thinks. to imitate our Master, for that is what discipleship is.
i found a good starting point for understanding discipleship. it can be seen in the Shema. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…” (Mark 12:29-30).
that is alot of alls. all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. sounds like that should be one’s whole life. but when this is unpacked, you can see a holistic picture of discipleship, at least from a Hebraic stand point. (more…)
Filed under: simple things | Tags: craving, dangerous, experiment, kingdom, pursue, seek
Jesus once said, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.” that sounds rather simple, but we also know that it sounds difficult. i often feel this tension with what Jesus says. it’s easy. i get it. but i struggle doing it.
but here in this verse, it’s simple. whoever serves Jesus MUST follow him. this speaks of urgency. speaks of movement. speaks of direction, of vocation, of action, of discipleship, of worship (what?), it speaks of love. how can we serve if we don’t follow? where Jesus is, we should be. i can’t read this and think that following Jesus is what we think it is. i hear often that phrase, following Jesus, but i wonder if we know or understand what that is. it is often equated as an Christian ethical behavior. where if I follow Jesus, i no longer act a (more…)
Filed under: disequilibrium, simple things | Tags: addicted, craving, holy spirit, kingdom, pursue, transform
perspective.::the state of one’s ideas, the facts known to one, etc., in having a meaningful interrelationship::the faculty of seeing all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship::a mental view or prospect
i have realized that having the right perspective is crucial. in relationships, in teamwork, at work, at life, and especially with faith. so often, especially in relationships our perspective is what blindsides us into conflict with another. we just have a difficult time seeing things from their side or perspective. we don’t just naturally possess the skill to understand all sides of a story. it takes time. and unfortunately, probably some conflict to teach us to be slow to speak and slow to act on things when we insufficient information. (more…)
Filed under: searching, simple things | Tags: addicted, craving, kingdom, pursue, searching, seek, story, transform
Transformation.::change in form, appearance, nature, or character::to change in condition, nature, or character; convert::The Gospel, the good news of God, namely Jesus, transforms. changes people in nature, in character, in condition, converts. this is the beating heart of God. to redeem what once was, to renew what could be once again, to reconcile, to blossom onto the scene. this has been the story, His story, since the beginning of whatever was or could be.
in a previous post, i wrote about the authorship of God (who wrote this), and how it is attributed to Him as the author of life, the author of salvation, the author of our faith, but within the same line in hebrews 12, it is said that he is also the perfector of our faith. authorship::his story::his origination::his idea::his soverignty::his way::his timing::his heart…all exposed within this story. the story of the kingdom of God redeeming what was made for him, to introduce us to the King and to see his heart. during this process, things transform. his presence transforms people, communities, towns, cities, hearts, souls, maybe, just even maybe, the whole world…
the good news :: God wrote our stories. He makes a way. He can change and transform your nature, your character, your situations, in fact he desires to. he is the relentless hero. never stopping. never quitting. always pursuing. (more…)
This morning I read in mark when you tell the young rich man to sell all he has to the poor. I feel like that has been referenced so much, and used so often that it loses its meaning. Here a man comes to You, asking for salvation. And You ask what he wants to hear. “You know the commandments, a-z. Have you kept them?” “Of course I have”. Then You look with love and say, “sell everything you own.” This is the Kingdom of God. This kingdom does not look like what we have seen before. It is something completely different. You tell the young ruler, “you want to be a part of my kingdom? Forget everything the World has taught you. Start over. And throw yourself completely unto Me.” And I have the guts to view the young ruler with judgment. We are all a ruler, we come to Jesus with our accomplishments and expect him to validate us and to tell us,” well done good and faithful servant.” But that’s not what He says. He says with a face full of love, “You do not understand.” The advice that I hear in this story is, “abandon yourself completely to Me. Give up everything you are holding on to, let go and trust in Me.”
Lord, these are tough words that you say. Help me to live this Father, help me to live in the light of this and not forget this. Your kingdom is so big, You are so big. Teach me how to live a life that enters into this kingdom.
