tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46808687794798052302024-02-20T13:20:48.341-08:00alicefordFear not. Love wins.Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-22029519532841260892020-07-22T10:39:00.000-07:002020-07-22T10:39:05.450-07:00Hafiz: To Build a Swing<div style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkMQ2kIPHHGSsMJoxSJu6HE5dVcSytXczEtuXnU2keVpQlDKJW6IxtaQPNZCi9Or4s2cocSPIM5TJNNfmcH7PVIKBLpm1Swc08fGhRMje2un3Q3rDRttsgC8Y1_LhfACCy2-N0AhAFWQ/s320/Swing.jpg" width="320" /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You carry<br />All the ingredients<br />To turn your life into a nightmare-<br />Don’t mix them!<br /><br />You have all the genius<br />To build a swing in your backyard<br />For God.<br /><br />That sounds<br />Like a hell of a lot more fun.<br />Let’s start laughing, drawing blueprints,<br />Gathering our talented friends.<br /><br />I will help you<br />With my divine lyre and drum.<br /><br />Hafiz<br />Will sing a thousand words<br />You can take into your hands,<br />Like golden saws,<br />Sliver hammers,<br /><br />Polished teakwood,<br />Strong silk rope.<br /><br />You carry all the ingredients<br />To turn your existence into joy,<br />Mix them, mix<br />Them!</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">- Hafiz</span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Translated by Daniel Ladinsky</em></span></span></span></div></div>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-23269070180204644632013-03-12T12:26:00.001-07:002013-03-12T12:26:09.992-07:00<img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/devotional.upperroom.org/155475756.jpg" /><br />
<br />
Image from The Upper Room: http://devotional.upperroom.org/blog/2013/03/tftd3913<br />
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We are reminded that, like the barnacles that attach to the sea turtle, weighing him down, that sin attaches to us and weighs us down. Eventually, the weight of sin will cause our death.<br />
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There is a cure, however. Confession. Repentance. And the chains are gone.<br />
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Freedom.Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-58831961144259489682009-03-14T18:45:00.000-07:002009-03-14T19:07:15.387-07:00Turning TablesJohn 2 NRSV<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; "><b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">13</i></b> The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">14</i></b> In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">15</i></b> Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">16</i></b> He told those who were selling the doves, "Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!" <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">17</i></b> His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will consume me." <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">18</i></b> The Jews then said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">19</i></b> Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">20</i></b> The Jews then said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?" <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">21</i></b> But he was speaking of the temple of his body. <b style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><i style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; ">22</i></b> After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div></div>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-77568626979557353772009-01-17T09:48:00.000-08:002009-03-14T18:45:13.045-07:00Somewhere Only We Know<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(84, 84, 84); line-height: 17px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:11px;"><h3 class="post-title" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(62, 112, 15); font: normal normal normal 222%/normal Georgia, Times, serif; text-decoration: none; text-align: left; line-height: 1.6em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(62, 112, 15); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(84, 84, 84); line-height: 17px; font-family:Verdana;font-size:11px;"><h3 class="post-title" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; color: rgb(62, 112, 15); font: normal normal normal 222%/normal Georgia, Times, serif; text-decoration: none; text-align: left; line-height: 1.6em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(62, 112, 15); "><a href="http://nothingbuthats.blogspot.com/2009/01/somewhere-only-we-know.html" style="color: rgb(62, 112, 15); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Somewhere Only We Know</span></a></h3><div class="post-header-line-1"></div><div class="post-body"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; height: 1%; overflow-x: visible; overflow-y: visible; "><i>is this the place we used to love?<br />is this the place that i've been dreaming of?<br /><br />oh simple thing where have you gone? <br />i'm getting old and i need something to rely on<br />so tell me when you're gonna let me in<br />i'm getting tired and i need somewhere to begin<br /><br />this could be the end of everything<br />so why don't we go<br />somewhere only we know </i><br /><br />- Keane, <i>Hopes and Dreams</i></p></div></span></h3></span>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-27590180247645416362008-11-08T17:17:00.000-08:002008-11-09T17:17:58.927-08:00<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 33: Essential Characteristics</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Acts 2:42-43<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Can you imagine what it would have been like to be a member of the first church?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>According to Acts 2, sometimes in a single day, some three thousand people heard the gospel and were baptized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This was the beginning of the mighty church of Jesus Christ that would turn the world upside down.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie writes today about essential characteristics of the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To start with, a church must be able to learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“The early church was made up of people who had come to a sure knowledge of salvation through Christ’s death and resurrection and had received the living presence of his Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Those first Christians were sure of who they were, because they were sure of Christ.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were willing and able to learn, to follow the doctrine of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our faith must continually look forward and not remain static.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The riches of Christ grow going forward over time.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next essential characteristic of the church is that it prays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>An Acts 2 church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayers” (Acts 2:42).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Pentecost church “had the vibrant, vital presence of the Holy Spirit, and it invested their prayers with even deeper meaning.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie is convinced that the church is not as effective today as it could be if we would spend more time on our knees.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next essential characteristic of the church is that it shares.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The early church was a sharing church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“All the believers were together and had everything in common.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need “(Acts 2:44-45).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were radical people…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As we know, the system they put in place didn’t work, and they gave it up before the end of the 1<sup>st</sup> century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It failed, not because it wasn’t God’s way – but because of sin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The next essential characteristic of the church is that it is a fellowship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Almost everything that happened in the early church took place either within the fellowship or grew out of the direction and power received from the fellowship.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They gathered in homes, they broke bread, they shared about their lives and prayed together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We know it is true today: small group interactions change lives and change the way a church functions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“We all need a support system; without it, we can’t stay alive spiritually.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>When you hear stories about the couples who gave up the comforts of their suburban neighborhoods for the challenges of poverty-stricken communities, how does that make you feel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Inspired? Challenged?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Uneasy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why do you think that is?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Where do you personally find fellowship in the body of Christ?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>How is your congregation like/unlike the early church?</p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-87213627060095288262008-11-07T18:55:00.000-08:002008-11-09T18:55:38.573-08:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 32<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 32:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The People of God</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>1 Pet. 2:10<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We have just considered the “body of Christ” as a New Testament image for the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“The people of God is also one of the prominent images in Scripture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Listen to the words found in 1 Peter 2:9-10</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We, the church are the people of God called especially to fulfill God’s purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Peter applies all of the Old Testament images of the people of God to the New Testament church; “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These images ground the church in the history of Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Having heard the promises of God and knowing full well both the discipline of God and the great mercy of God, the people of God knew that that they had received a distinct calling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This calling, which we hear just as clearly today in the church, is to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">According to Dunnam, “when this image is alive in our congregations, we know we are a part of God’s history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When we are firmly grounded in that knowledge, our evangelism, mission, and worship become part of God’s working out his purpose in history.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then, we the local church become a kingdom community!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There are many important characteristics of “the people of God,” but the most important image is fellowship: “we belong.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We belong to Christ and we belong to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are part of a kingdom people with roots that stretch back to creation and whose ancestors include Abraham and Sara, and our hope lens forward to a time when all of God’s people will be gathered in the kingdom for a heavenly banquet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When this image comes alive in our congregations then we begin to look more like “the church.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It takes more than hearing the Word and participating in the sacraments for Christians to grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A deep fellowship for mutual encouragement, examination, accountability and service is essential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Effective evangelism happens when the congregation becomes a living witness, when we are moving from seeing evangelism as a special program, inspired preaching or individual Christian testimony to the church and its fellowship being evangelism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When the fellowship of the church comes alive by the presence of the Holy Spirit, inspiring and empowering people to care for one another, the fellowship is redemptive within itself, and it draws people in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our witness is in word and deed, in our speaking and in our actins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our witness is also the quality of our fellowship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The quality of our fellowship in the Christian community is a profound ingredient in proclaiming the wonderful deeds of the one who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There must be a quality about our life together that will reach out and invite – </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">--What has God taught you through the fellowship of other Christians?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">--Why might congregational evangelism – the idea of the church itself being the witness – be as important as individual evangelism?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">-- What does it mean to you to love your neighbor as yourself?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-39118768300306654602008-11-06T16:53:00.000-08:002008-11-09T16:54:46.715-08:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 31<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 31: What Defines Christian Community?</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. </i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>1 John 4:7<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What is it that makes a home be home for us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie Dunnam, on Day 31 quotes poet Robert Frost: “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So it is in our Christian churches, our families of faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We’ve already talked about church as being a home of grace, the place where wonder dwells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The only requirement for joining a church is that you are not worthy to be a member.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">God is gracious, in spite of our faults, and we have all been assigned a place in God’s family with a room in God’s home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s been God’s plan all along, for we need to be together receiving God’s grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once we are home, in our community, we find that we begin to trust people who are different from us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie likens this to the dynamic that occurs at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“In that setting, you’ll find people from many different ethnic groups: Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, Caucasians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There will be rich and poor folks, men and women, young and old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All have one thing in common: they are battling an addiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The primary dynamic of the meeting is humility and trust, expressed in statements like, “Hi, I’m Tom, and I’m an alcoholic.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That beginning point of humility and trust breaks the grip of alcoholism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If grace can happen in an arena like AA, it can certainly happen with the church, as well.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie goes on to talk about God Addiction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He asks what it takes to become a true Christian community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>His answer: “First, I believe, is a complete obsession with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If we are not completely obsessed with God, we fall short of what should define us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie knows some people will not appreciate that language, but he clarifies that “God should be so real to us that we pulsate with the unshakable conviction that <i>in God we live and move and have our being; that in God lies all truth, love, goodness, and beauty.</i>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In talking about the prophet Jeremiah, Maxie wrote that he was so “God-driven that he couldn’t break his fixation even when he wanted to.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Here is a verse from Jeremiah chapter 20: “But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot (v. 9).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In addition to being obsessed with God, Maxie writes that he also thinks a Christian community should be happy and holy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And holiness is not about rules and regulations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Holiness that centers on rigid rules and regulations turns us into ‘sour saints,’ .. constantly stressed out in seeking to keep the law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sour saints ain’t no saints at all.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For holiness to be happy, it must be connected with the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our strength comes from the Holy Spirit, and that holiness bring us happiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Holiness should also be contagious, like C.S. Lewis’ phrase: “the good infection.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Lewis used the phrase in his book <i>Mere Christianity</i> in talking about the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We should have a sense of the dance of the trinity, a dance that we participate in with them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When we come together as church, as Christian community, the New Testament makes it abundantly clear that the early Christians saw themselves as already part of a new creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie says that “by coming together, they were shaping a new pattern for the human community, a pattern of love and sharing which reflected the very life of the Trinity.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In his book <i>Christian Wholeness</i>, Tom Langford expressed it this way:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Our strength, as Christians, comes from our relation to God and to the people of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are directly related to God, and in that relationship we find our ability to move to action and to live for others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Indirectly we receive the strength of God through sharing in Christian community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is a sharing which empowers, guides, corrects, and renews our ability to be and to serve.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Emphasis upon Christian strength is often neglected for fear of abuse, and the strength given by community is often neglected because it is so meagerly realized in contemporary experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yet the church is the Body of Christ; it is the special embodiment of the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The church is the community graciously given by God to persons who need and who intensely seek community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Into our solitary, isolated style of living there comes a concrete community of persons who are willing to bear one another’s burdens, enhance one another’s living, to be together in joy and in sorrow, in hope and in hurt, at ordinary moments and in critical junctures of human experience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the context of the church, strength comes from lives which are bound together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The chief binding is not that of a desperate clinging to one another in a dangerous and frightening world. … The deeper truth, however, is that person in Christian community are bound together by a common love, by a common worship, and by a common mission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The church is the community of persons who are in community with Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is a community of persons precisely because there is a common center for their lives.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">The Heart of the Matter</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>On a scale of one to ten (ten being the highest), how “addicted’ would you say you are to God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why is that?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>In what ways could holiness be contagious?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What about joy?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Is your congregation bound by common love, common worship and common mission?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In what ways can you individually improve – or detract from – the situation?</p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-31343625667524611362008-11-05T17:05:00.000-08:002008-11-09T17:05:32.591-08:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 30<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 30:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Body of Christ</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>1 Cor. 12:27<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">On this day Maxie encourages us our role not as the dwelling place of wonder but at Christ’s body in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He writes; “As Christ is the Incarnation of God, so the church is to be the continuation of Christ’s presence in the world.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The most prominent image of the church in the New Testament is the body of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can think of Paul’s words to the church in Corinth, “you must show that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God…” (2Cor. 3:3)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We must remember who we are and whose we are, precisely the body of Christ through whom God intends to become the head over all there is, it is Christ whom every power in the universe must reckon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Those of us who make up the church operate not out of human wisdom and strength but out of Christ’s wisdom and strength and in so doing we are a new creation, a fellowship of Resurrection Life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This image of the church as Christ’s body in the world then is one that speaks primarily of serving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In order to be the body of Christ in the world is to truly be his presence in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What does that mean, it means for instance that we are the eyes of Christ in the world, and through the eyes of Christ there is nothing that can cause division, no East or West, no black or white, slave, free or male or female.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Through Christ’s eyes we see the dignity and worth of every human being and the churches job is to respond lovingly to the needs those individuals may bring, in Christ’s eyes every person is one for whom Christ died, no matter what.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In addition when the church speaks it speaks with the voice of Christ, speaking to people in all manner of human condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>War and peace, inflation and the national deficit, the spending of tax monies, where people live how they work, abortion, pornography, adultery, immigration, no matter the plight, it is of concern to the gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Nothing is off limits for Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The church must speak fearlessly and compassionately the Good News of God in Christ to every person, wherever he or she may be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But that is not enough the church must also heal with the hands of Christ, the ministry of the Church is a ministry of redemption and healing, as was Christ’s.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>--</b>What does it mean to you to be a part of the body of Christ?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">--In what ways has the church represented the body of Christ to you?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">--If you were to be honest, how do you do at seeing others through the eyes of Christ?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why do you think that is?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-1297973016646279322008-11-04T10:46:00.000-08:002008-11-04T10:49:22.313-08:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 29<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 29: The Dwelling Place of Wonder</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church. … Eph. 1:22<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie titles this day’s devotion, “The Dwelling Place of Wonder.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s an interesting title, difficult to grasp at first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The dwelling place of wonder…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The place where wonder dwells…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I wonder what you wonder about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Bills, maybe. Children’s education, maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Addicted loved ones, maybe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Struggling with an adulterous affair, maybe.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Using the word another way, I wonder what it is that you find <i>wondrous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Or, more specifically, what is it that is wondrous about the church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Does it seem wondrous to you to think that the church is the place where the gospel dwells?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Does it seem wondrous to you that the church – with all of it brokenness – is the body of Christ, that contains the heart and soul of the gospel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It does to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But it’s true.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As the dwelling place of the gospel, the church is also where grace abides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We use the word a lot: grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sometimes we feel it, experience it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s the cornerstone word of our faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And our churches are the homes of grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie Dunham shares a story that embodies the concept of grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He writes about an article printed in <i>Newsweek</i> many years ago.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“The article was about Hubert Humphrey’s memorial service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Hundreds of people came from all over the world to say good-bye to their old friend and colleague.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But one guest was shunned and ignored by virtually everyone there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That person was former President Richard Nixon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Not long before, Nixon had endured the shame and infamy of Watergate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Humphrey’s service brought Nixon back to Washington for the first time since he resigned from the presidency.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Before the service, people were avoiding Nixon like the plague – no one would talk to him or even acknowledge him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then, a very special thing happened, perhaps the only thing that could have broken the ice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jimmy Carter, who was president at that time, came into the room and was about to be seated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When he saw President Nixon standing against the wall, all by himself, Carter walked over to him as though he were going to greet a family member.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Nixon stuck out his hand to the president, but to the surprise of everyone there, the two of them embraced, and Carter said, “Welcome him, Mr. President!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Welcome back home again!”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Commenting on the scene, <i>Newsweek</i> reported, “If there was a turning point in Nixon’s long ordeal in the wilderness, it was at that moment in that gesture of love and compassion.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie asks us: “Isn’t that what the church is all about?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s that home of grace where we, too, can be greeted with an embrace and feel that we belong.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie wonders, and I along with him, what our churches would be like if we posted huge signs saying “Welcome to our home of grace.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who do you think would show up if we really could say and really did mean the following:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, you who are weary and heavy laden; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, you who are sinking under the onslaught of life; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, single mothers, forsaken by selfish men; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, young people who love rock music, whose body piercings say more about seeking and desire to belong than protest and rebellion; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, you who are poor, both the working poor and those who have given up altogether; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, you who have spent your life seeking success but have yet to find significance; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, you millions of baby boomers who are coming to retirement age but don’t know what to do with yourselves; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, immigrants – legal and illegal – who desperately need safety and a place to belong; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Welcome home, you who do not feel at home anywhere; welcome home!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie reminds us: “The church is meant to be the home of grace, a home for all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If it is not a home for all, it is not a home at all.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The dwelling place of wonder…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If we aren’t able to grasp this concept, then we may have lost our confidence in the gospel… because the wonder of it all “is that the gospel is still a saving, reconciling, healing power.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And before we think we can get safely out of this day’s devotion and back into the safety of our day, Maxie goes one step further.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Though we may think we’re doing a good job of letting our lights shine before others and offering a welcoming presence, consider this: larger national samples of unchurched people have indicated that most have never been invited to church by a Christian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Not only that, but most unchurched people have said that they’ve never been told by a Christian what it means to believe in Christ, and never been invited to embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Do we still have confidence in the gospel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“The good news is that through Christ, God has done for us what we could not do for ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our responsibility, now as much as ever, is to be Christ to others, to extend that sense of wonder, that hand of welcome, and that message of grace.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Be honest: how do you feel about the idea of the church as the home for all?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Is it difficult for you to share with others what God has done in your life or to invite them to church?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why do you think that is?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>How did you end up in your current congregation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Did you first come because you believed it could be a home of wonder or grace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If someone invited you, take a moment to thank God for that person now.</p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-31942145921578435422008-11-03T16:43:00.000-08:002008-11-03T16:47:11.151-08:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 28<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 28:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Choosing to be Whole</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ps 51:10-12</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Have you ever looked up the definition of integrity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>One definition is “the state of being complete or undivided.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>According to Dunham it is a challenge we all face in life and in our Christian journeys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Most of us, says Dunham find ways to divide ourselves but in truth our life in Christ calls us to wholeness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He reminds us of Maslow’s study of healthy people as the model of what people could be and notes that Jesus was indeed one of those healthy self-actualized people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In this light we can begin to understand what Jesus is all about, that in fact Jesus did not come to tear us up and scatter the pieces but to help us get it all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The purpose of Christ is to help us find our true self and celebrate it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sadly for many of us when we look in the mirror what we see is not all that we would hope to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The good news for each of us is that it doesn’t matter what is there, God offers forgiveness as well as the choice to put whatever it is in our past and not part of our future.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In those times when we find our days – or ourselves – to be meaningless, when we feel complacent, we have to remember that there really is more to life than we have known thus far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God – through Christ—frees us from meaninglessness by providing a sense of purpose, a sense of mission, a sense of responsibility, a feeling of self-worth a basis for relationships and a reason for being.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Christ frees us and fits us:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The full measure of Christ means that he comes to both free and fit us for kingdom living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The key is in giving ourselves to Jesus and allowing our sin to be taken away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the process, however, we are as holy as we want to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This week have you asked yourself: do you want to be holy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Are you willing to yield?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Claiming the promise:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Do you recall the grand promise?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s on worth committing to memory:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is so easy to settle for less than is promised and far less than is possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yes we can do even greater things, but only if we remember that we are more than we think we are and that there are things that we can do and be, but will never do and be apart form Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ha this study had an effect on your faith in any area?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If so how?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The surest path of all:</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal">Remember Paul’s one sentence autobiography?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“I have been crucified in Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This commitment to Christ shaped every decision Paul made and determined every step he took.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If we identify with Jesus in the same manner as Paul we must also identify with Jesus’ suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can’t sidestep challenges just because we serve Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However, we know that, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In what ways could Jesus e with you in a time of suffering?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>The hands and feet of Jesus:</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When the gift of the Holy Spirit fell upon the early followers it changed their lives forever, it has the very same effect today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Part of the maturation of our relationship with God calls us to disciple others with the help of the Holy Spirit and to be disciplined as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is there anyone in your life that you currently disciple?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is there anyone who disciples you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If the answer to either question is no, consider asking God to open your eyes to the people around you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Certainly there are both people who need your wisdom and people who have wisdom of their own to give you.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Communion through conversation:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">Prayer is not about telling God what to do; it’s about giving God the chance to meet our needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember that god really does want to give us good gifts and that one of those gifts is our relationship with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Have you been considering your prayer life a privilege or a duty?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Have you established a regular practice of coming before God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If not what’s keeping you from it and how can you overcome those challenges?</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Planted by water:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">We can know the will of God for our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We know it through Scripture, through wise counsel of godly people and through the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once we hear that direction we are obligated to follow in order to walk in the fullness of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How could/would your life be different if you sought consistent guidance from God? </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-89479314471683927542008-11-02T17:00:00.000-08:002008-11-02T17:01:34.069-08:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 27<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the <i>Extravagant</i> Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 27:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Planted by the Water</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>…in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>Prov. 3:6<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">There is no place in life’s journey’s where we need more light then at the fork in the road; in that place where we have to make a crucial decision about which direction we are going to take.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thankfully we are given the promise of God’s word, according to Psalm 119. God’s word is “a lamp to our feet and a light for our paths.” (v105)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">We do have the right to ask, seek, and know the will of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However once we know it, nothing but obedience will do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But how do we know God’s will?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The first and primary condition is complete surrender and obedience, which prepares us to receive instruction and guidance about the will God has for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>According to Dunham there are three seeds “which when planted in the soil of obedience and humility, produce the fruit of God’s will in or lives:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>1.) Scripture study, 2.) Christian conferencing, or deliberately and honestly sharing with godly persons for both instruction and discernment; and 3.) divine conviction brought by the Holy Spirit.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">As Christians, we believe that the Bible contains everything we need for salvation, for growth and discipleship, and for teaching, correction, and training in righteousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Scripture has everything we need to be equipped for every good work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">The second resource for knowing God’s will is Christian conferencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember that Jesus promised that wherever two or three are gathered in His name he will be there also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Therefore, gathering with people who believe in Jesus Christ and in God’s will for their lives and for ours is a dependable way to seek the will of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">There is a special application of God’s will for each and every one of us and gathering with fellow Christians to discern God’s will is indeed an important way to seek our that will but there is another powerful possibility that we must not over look and that is the guidance of the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On many occasions the Holy Spirit plants firmly in our minds and hearts certain convictions about the will of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Holy Spirit’s work may come in many different ways; it may be an intuition, an idea that seems to come out of nowhere, the word of a friend or a chance encounter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These possibilities happen in the context of our sincerely wanting to be in God’s will and we are willing to submit to His guidance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify">Remember, though, once we have discerned God’s will we are responsible for what we know - and knowing and doing God’s will help us to be like trees planted by water, producing fruit in due season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The good news is that God’s will for our lives is better than anything we can imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Its as if God flings down a bunch of keys in front of us and encourages us to open every door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Which one will you choose?</p> <h2> <o:p></o:p></h2> <h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal">--In what ways has God offered you guidance?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">--Do you relate more to the tree planted by the water or the bush in the wastelands?</p> <p class="MsoBodyText2"><span style="font-weight:normal">--Is there anything God has revealed to you about your life that you have yet to take hold of?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What’s standing in your way?<o:p></o:p></span></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-49922449353582832282008-11-01T15:42:00.001-07:002008-11-01T15:45:49.415-07:00Irresisitible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 26<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">Day 26: Communion Through Conversation</span></b></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">O</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ur Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Your kingdom come, your will be done</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">On earth as it is in heaven.</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Matt. 6:9-10</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;">Prayer: our communion with God; our opening our hearts and cares to one who cares more than life itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you’ve been on the receiving end of a multitude of prayers, you may have sensed the power it brings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you’ve been on the end of your desperate, heartfelt prayers not seeming to be answered, you may have felt a sense of futility about prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you’ve had miraculous prayers answered, then you may have felt that awkwardness – the desire to claim the miracle and the uncertainty of how to say so in front of those who haven’t found the miracle they prayed for.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As Maxie says in today’s devotion: “To be sure, there is mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Not all people for whom we pray are healed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What we need to claim is simply this: redemptive and wholeness-giving things happen when we pray that do not happen if we don’t pray.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When we view prayer as a mandatory discipline, a requirement to “check-in” with God, we have lost that sense of awe and wonder, that understanding that prayer is our chance to commune – regularly – with the divine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The one who created us and all that is.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie reminds us that we need to remember that Christian prayer is not about “telling God what to do.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Rather, it’s about sharing our needs, making our desires known.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And then it’s about surrender.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After we share our desires, we leave it up to the wisdom of God to decide what needs to be done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We let go of our will and rely wholly on the will of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Just because 21<sup>st</sup> century medicine and technology doesn’t always save our loved ones from struggle or death doesn’t mean we stop using it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Shouldn’t it be the same for prayer?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We pray because it we amazingly can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We pray because we can “actually talk with God” and because God hears, listens and responds to what we have to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Don’t miss the enormity of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The God of the universe is ready to commune with you, to communicate with you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Like a shepherd who misses even one lost sheep; like a homemaker who sweeps the house for one lost coin – “Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost” (Matthew 18:14).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Take a few minutes right now to think about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God cares for each one of us as individuals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is it hard for you to accept that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do you believe it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Have you been praying as though you believe it?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Remember the parable about the person who goes to the house of a friend at midnight and asks for bread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Here the ending of this parable: “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs” (Luke 11:7-8).</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We are to be bold, we are to be persistent, we are to know that we can call on God at any time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jesus wraps up the story in Luke with these words: “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9-10).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We must remember that prayer is a privilege and not a duty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“We are free to pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The privilege is open to all of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The privilege is communion with God, feeling God’s presence, and being aware of God’s guidance.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We need to always remember that “prayer is relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is being with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is meeting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is a personal relationship in which you and God move from a <i>hello</i> of politeness to an embrace of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is communion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All other dimensions of prayer must take second place to this.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And “relationship becomes meaningful and real the moment you being to single out a person from the crowd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Prayer becomes real when it is no longer a relationship in the third person but in the first and second persons, when God becomes more than the remote “Almighty,” and becomes the singular and unique ‘Thou’ or ‘You.’” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“When we discover a personal relationship with God, prayer goes beyond being a shop where we go to bargain and barter for the gifts of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It becomes the home of the Father with whom we live, where all the treasures of God’s love and concern are ours for the receiving.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>How would you describe your prayer life?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Describe a time that God directly answered a prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How did that make you feel?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>What steps could you take to make your prayer times even more personal and relevant to your life?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-19075857568511431652008-10-31T18:34:00.001-07:002008-10-31T18:34:55.552-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 25<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 25 The Hands and Feet of Jesus</span></h1> <p class="MsoBodyText"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(James 1:5)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dunham opens by recalling that throughout history a few people like Adam and Moses experienced God firsthand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A few others such as Mary, Martha, John, and Matthew knew Jesus as he walked amongst them on earth, the rest of us find our encounters with God through the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Imagine if you will the day of Pentecost, that time when the early followers of Jesus experienced the Holy Spirit for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jesus had promised his followers that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them and that they would be witnesses “to the ends of the earth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Notice that there is a series of events here, first the disciples were to wait for the Holy Spirit and then they would receive power and then they would be witnesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And we are told that this is exactly what happened to those early followers of Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There was one problem, they needed instructions as to how to be followers, how to be disciples of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The thing that is often most difficult about discipleship is that it often involves hearing things we really would rather not hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But if these messages are spoken in love and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit these difficult words can mean all the difference in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And as we are shaped and changed by these words we are called to witness to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>According to Dunham, “in a very real sense each of us in the Christian community is to be a priest who ministers to others.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are to be an affirming, loving, and forgiving presence to those whom we meet –openly accepting one another in Christ’s name.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Discipleship offers this enriching opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Being open to one another about our faults and our feelings and being humble enough to learn from others along the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To be a disciple means to be a learner and a follower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The word disciple has the same root as the word pupil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>An apostle on the other hands is a doer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>One who goes in to the world to act out what has been learned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Christians are at once disciples and apostles, “be-ers and do-ers.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is believed that 77% of persons who come into the faith do so because of the testimony, deeds and encouragement of someone they trust. That’s really what discipleship is all about, you see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Trust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We draw strength and courage from one another, we learn form one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So how are we all doing with sharing our faith journey with others and in letting someone share theirs with us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>According to Jesus, the cost of discipleship is losing our lives in order that we might find them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jesus knew that life is found by getting outside of ourselves.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Remember that serving Jesus means that we are to be his disciples, his learners and followers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And that may take us to many places we might rather not go, with people we’d rather not see and doing tasks we would rather not do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dunham closes with this story: “There was a well known war correspondent who paused long enough to watch a nun as she unwrapped a wounded soldier’s leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Gangrene had set in, and stench from the pus and blood was so repulsive that he turned away as he mumbled under his breath, ‘I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She glanced up and replied, ‘Neither would I.’”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Because of who she was there was no need to add “but for Christ sake…”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What are we willing to do out of love?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Who will we lead, and who will we follow?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal">--When you hear the word discipleship, what comes to mind?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is the term a positive, negative or mixture of both?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">--Does your family of faith have structured discipleship programs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And if so have you considered being involved?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why or why not?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">--How can discipling others help us grow?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-7983994787403268462008-10-30T16:19:00.001-07:002008-10-30T16:19:59.054-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 24<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 24:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Surest Path of All</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">When he had received the drink Jesus said, “It is finished.”</p> <p class="MsoBodyText">With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>John 19:30<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We are called to live in solidarity with our Lord and Savior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In so doing, we are called to meet him on the cross.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“If we are going to see Jesus, we have to see him on the cross—vulnerable and weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is our Lord.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is the One we follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In Romans 5:3-5, Maxie tells us we find a strange thought: “we are to rejoice in our sufferings.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It wasn’t easy to be a Christian in Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“In Rome, Christians were burned at the stake to provide light for the emperor’s sporting events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They were fed to hungry beasts to entertain the clamoring mobs.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Paul is so certain that we are to be in solidarity with the suffering of the one who suffered in our behalf that he tells us to rejoice in our suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And our strength in our suffering comes from Jesus, not our own strength.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As Maxie wrote: “We face situations differently according to the difference within us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If we’ve allowed ourselves to become weak when circumstances challenge us, if we whine and grovel under affliction, then when crisis comes, we can do nothing but despair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On the other hand, if we insist on meeting life with our heads up, determined to face and conquer obstacles, we can meet every situation with hope for victory.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We need to be very clear in understanding that our faith in Christ does not save us from suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our faith itself is one based upon a God who suffers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The cross of Jesus is how we are assured that we are not alone against the darkness of our life; no, God is with us indeed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It would have seemed that all hope for humanity was killed on the cross with Christ, but something happened that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“That which first seemed to be tragedy became the greatest triumph known to humanity.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God brings triumph out of darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Because of this truth, we are able to offer our own suffering to Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can believe “that God will not waste any of our suffering and struggle,” but that all will be redeemed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Martin Luther was clear: “He who does not bear the cross is no Christian, for he is not like his Master, Jesus Christ… The cross teaches us to believe in hope even when there is no hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The wisdom of the cross is deeply hidden in a profound mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact, there is no other way to heaven than taking up the cross of Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On account of this we must beware that the active life with its good works, and the contemplative life with its speculations, do not lead us astray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Both are most attractive and yield peace of mind, but for that very reason they hid real dangers, unless they are tempered by the cross and disturbed by adversaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The cross is the surest path of all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Blessed is the man who understand this truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is a matter of necessity that we be destroyed and rendered formless, so that Christ may be formed within us, and Christ alone be in us. … Real mortifications do not happen lonely places away from the society of other human beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They happen in the home, the market place, in secular life. … ‘Being conformed to Christ’ is not within our powers to achieve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is God’s gift, not our own work.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hear Luther’s warning clearly: In both our contemplative and active lives, we can be led astray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Both can be inviting and bring us peace of mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Yet, implicit in both is the danger of betraying our Christian vocation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Peace can be seductive and numb us to the need for a dynamic relationship and dependence on God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The cross is essential.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Keeping the cross at the center of our awareness always-just like Paul- forces us to asses the depth of our discipleship and the degree of our surrender to Christ.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>How do you think perseverance in suffering leads to character, and how do you think character leads to hope?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Have you experienced rebellion and / or resignation in your relationship with God?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Describe your experience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>What does “sharing in Christ’s sufferings” mean to you?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-26401266017864618142008-10-29T09:03:00.000-07:002008-10-29T09:05:28.980-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 23<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 23:</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Claiming the Promise</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12 </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is one of the most amazing and breathtaking statements in all of the new Testaments according to Dunnam.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do we believe that what this statement claims is even remotely possible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We must admit that all of us spend most of our time being satisfied with far less then God indicates is possible.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Consider the source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The one who came to save the world, the one who brought forgiveness and love, who made the lame walk, proclaims these words and the blind see, the one who now sits at the right hand of God the Father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Can you believe it, this is the one who says to you and to me that we will do even grater things than these!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dunnam brings to mind a <i>Peanuts</i> in which Snoopy claims that Woodstock is going to be a great eagle and soar to great heights, unfortunately no sooner does Woodstock take off then he falls in a lump to the ground, as Snoopy comments ‘well maybe he will be one of those eagles who just walks around!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Amazing, isn’t it how quickly we settle for less than is promised and far less than is possible.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is important to remember that you are more than you think you are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is at least part of the message of this scripture reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dunnam shares the story of an elderly bachelor and an old maid who began dating and after spending some time together the old gentleman decided to pop the question and blurted out “let’s get married” to which the response was a surprised “that’s a wonderful idea –but who would have us?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is so easy to slide into thinking so little of ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But these words of scripture of words like those of the 8th psalm tell us something different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Listen to what the psalmist writes:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>When I consider your heavens,<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>The work of your fingers,<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>The moon and the stars,<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>Which you have set in place,<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>What is man that you are mindful of him,<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>The son of man that you care for him,<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>You made him a little lower that the heavenly beings<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i>And crowned him with glory and honor (Ps. 8:3-5)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We must remember that we are important to God, that we are each unique and unrepeatable miracles of God and that even if we were the only one left on earth God would still send his Son to save us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And yet there is still another affirmation that we must consider, according to Dunnam, “there is something that we can be and do, but will never be and do apart from Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dunnam shares the story of Abel and Frieda Hendricks, Methodist clergy and educators in South Africa during the apartheid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abel fought against the established government and was jailed on several occasions for his opposition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>At one point government officials came to him and offered to buy this poor itinerant preacher a retirement home, something they knew he would never be able to afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But Abel refused saying “In my Father’s house there are many mansions, I dare not risk losing my house in heaven for anything you might offer me on earth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abel knew that he w knew that was living in to what God had called him to do and be and he believed what the apostle Paul had written “It is not I who live but Christ who lives in me…I can do all things through his strength.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Where does that kind of power come from?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Abel had discovered the source and claimed the promise of Jesus, “He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Heart of the Matter</span></h2> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>--</b>When you hear that you will do greater things than Jesus, how does that make you feel?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why do you think that is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What is your deepest desirer in that area?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">--Have you ever gone through the Bible in search of the promises God has made to you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If not, consider doing so now, and jotting down a few that you find.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You might also consider memorizing these scriptures, so you’ll have them immediately on hand in your times of need.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">--Are there any areas where it’s hard for you to completely trust Jesus?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What are they?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why do you think obstacles are present there?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-63644393242600412262008-10-28T08:27:00.000-07:002008-10-28T08:29:53.194-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 22<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 22: Christ Frees Us and Fits Us</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;">A<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">nd if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, </span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life </span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">to your mortal bodies through his Spirit. . . . Rom. 8:11</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Where are you in your Christian journey?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">In Day 22, Maxie talks about the difference between being freed by Christ and being made fit for the kingdom of God by and through Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They are two different and necessary things.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Maxie gives several examples of redemption, of being freed by Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He starts the day’s devotion with the following story:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">“Among Christians in Africa, the New Testament word for </span>redemption<span style="font-style:normal"> translates as ‘God took our heads out.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It’s a rather awkward phrase, but when you trace it back to the nineteenth century, when slave trading was practiced, the meaning becomes powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>White men invaded African villages and carried men, women, and children off into slavery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Each slave had an iron collar buckled around his or her neck, and the collar was attached to a chain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The chained slaves would be driven to the coastlines and shipped to England and the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">From time to time, as the chain of slaves would make its way to the coast, a relative, loved one, or friend would recognize someone who had been captured as a slave and would offer a ransom for the captors to remove the collar and free the person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thus the word for redemption:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘God took our heads out.’”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">No matter how you want to view it, it is absolutely necessary that we are freed by Christ … freed from whatever collars are around our necks, freed from whatever chains hold us back from Christian living.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie asks us: “What about you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What are the areas in which you haven’t yet found freedom?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What is holding you back from receiving it?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Do you fell burdened by guilt?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do you feel heaviness or pain in your heart because there is a severed relationship that needs reconciliation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do you feel helpless becaseu you are hold in the tenacious grip of a debilitating habit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is your energy drained because you live too close to the line of moral compromise, preoccupied with sexual lust or addiction to pornography?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In your heart of hearts, do you know that you are more than racially prejudiced and that your feelings verge on hatred?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Does your pride often put you in the position of thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to, looking down your nose at others?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We could go on and on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You may want to stop reading now and probe your own heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember that as you do, God will meet you wherever you are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The point I (Maxie) am underscoring, however, is that we all need deliverance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And the good news is that Christ delivers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He comes to free us – but that’s not all.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is not enough that we are redeemed from our sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We also need to be made fit for kingdom living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Through our own abilities and actions, we are not able to achieve kingdom living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember the words from Paul in Romans 7:19-20: “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Paul continues in that chapter to talk about “what a wretched man” he is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He is not able to live into kingdom life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But Paul continues in chapter 8: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Here is where we are made fit for kingdom living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By and through Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In Maxie’s words: “We can’t give our sins to Jesus; We give ourselves to Jesus and he takes away our sins.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maybe you’ve been told along the way – “give your sins to Jesus.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie reminds us that the point is that we give our compete selves to Jesus, sins and all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And Jesus takes away our sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Because of this, we are made fit for kingdom living.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie asks the question: “Do you want to be holy?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He asks, as it was once ask of him, because it is one we need to answer – over and over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can only be holy if we agree to be made whole.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie in his own life realized that he could be and would be as holy as he wanted to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Throughout his life, Maxie constantly asked himself, “Do I want to be holy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Am I willing to yield?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What about you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Christ still has the power to show up wherever we are and to offer us whatever we need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sometimes that means freeing us and sometimes that means fitting us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember though, that in the process of fitting us for his kingdom, God will put his ways into our hearts as well as write them on our minds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is, after all, the eternal mystery of grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Eventually we find that we want to do what pleases God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Heart of the Matter<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>If you didn’t actually stop to probe your heart regarding the questions in today’s lesson, please do so now. Pray for God’s revelation, rather than simply going by your own insights.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>How do you understand the process by which Christ “fits us” for kingdom living?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In what ways can we help – or hinder – that process?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>How has Christ been “fitting” you in your own life?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-69379075062718793032008-10-27T18:34:00.001-07:002008-10-27T18:34:59.299-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 21<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">Day 21: Dying and Rising with Christ</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Col. 3:4)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This week Maxie has been sharing with us what it means to be in and with Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“The Christian,” states Dunnam, “ is a new person united with Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The two overwhelming events through which Jesus passed into the power of endless life were death and Resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Those who are united to him must produce in their personal spiritual histories these two events.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Taking up the Cross:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How we look at the cross, and Christ on the cross is perhaps the biggest factor in determining how we live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our Christian faith journey begins with our acceptance of the incredible fact of our unconditional acceptance by God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Nothing we can do will earn God’s love or prove our worth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The value of each and every one of us has already been affirmed once and for all by the gift of Jesus the Son of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Essence of the Gospel:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The radiant glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ; we experience this in the incredibility of the Incarnation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And, this radiant glory has shined in our hearts as well and it is ours to share with those whom we meet in Christ’s name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is known as the Christian experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These three truths, the Incarnation of God, the presence of Christ in our hearts, and the witness of Christ to the world, define the Christian witness; define the essence of the gospel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Have this week’s readings given you a deeper understanding of who Christ is, what he has done and how this glory of God can be ours as well?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How have those revelations changed you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Alive in Christ:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We remember that Jesus came for only one purpose, to bring himself to us and to bring God to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Through Jesus Christ we are given full remission of sin and through the Holy Spirit we are given the abilities to become all that God created us and call s us to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In this week have you seen a new evidence of Christ being alive in you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In what ways?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Constantly Abiding:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We have the opportunity to constantly abide in Christ and the benefits are many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We gain the guidance of the Holy Spirit, through Christ continued presence we are renewed literally recreated, as God would have us be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Can you see evidence in your life of the places in which you have been able to “constantly abide” with Christ?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Humble and Available:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The person or people who are alive in Christ – the ones truly walking in meekness rather than pride – is the one who responds, “Here I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Send me!” whenever the Lord calls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God has great things for us to do as long as we remain willing and humble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What has this week taught you about the level of humility in your own life?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Shaping Power of the Indwelling Christ:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The presence of Christ in our lives is both and affirming and healing presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Through Christ we are assured that we have been given new life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember the story of the healing of the paralytic; how Jesus forgave first and healed second that the two events were inextricably linked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is the same today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Are there areas in your life where you have experienced healing and forgiveness?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What Christ has been and Done for Us:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We must always remember that what Christ has been and done for us we are required to be and do for others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In order to live Christ centered lives we must live compassionately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Direct action is one way of identifying with those who are suffering or are oppressed but another way to “be” with them is through prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Are there any areas in which God has pierced your heart, people or events that you feel compelled to pray for?</p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-43335911367257878372008-10-26T14:15:00.000-07:002008-10-26T14:16:21.039-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 20<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 20: What Christ Has Been and Done For Us</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">apart from me you can do nothing.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">John 15:5</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">What powerful words: apart from me you can do nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">The 15<sup>th</sup> chapter of John is about the grapevine and its branches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Visualize the imagery in your mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>A grapevine growing along the ground with little branches shooting out, clusters of grapes along those branches.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">The grapevine has long been a symbol for Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was carved into the temp, it was printed on coins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was an image of “hope that the people could be something fruitful for their God.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">But it was also a reminder of failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Branches that were not producing fruit, or were producing poor fruit, were obviously not connected to the main branch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“God’s people, by their own efforts, could not fulfill their task in the world.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Jesus brings this imagery to light on the night before the crucifixion is to take place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jesus was making it clear to his disciples that nothing they would do – nothing they would do – would amount to anything if ti were not grounded in Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our works must be “grounded in this essential order: not I, but Christ; not me for God, but God for and through me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie challenges us with this gospel message: “being alive in Christ means that </span>what Christ ahs been and done for us, we must be and do for others<span style="font-style:normal">.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">What is it that Christ has been and done for us?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Maxie starts to answer that question with the Hebrew word </span>chesed<span style="font-style:normal">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This Old Testament word is descriptive of God, and it is meant to be the primary characteristic of all of God’s people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span>Chesed<span style="font-style:normal">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In our narrow ability to translate this word, we sometimes translate it as “compassion,” or “mercy,” or “pity.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie points out that our one-word translations are greatly lacking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“What is missing in every one-word translation is the dimension of action that the Hebrew language implies.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span>Action<span style="font-style:normal">!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“The Hebrew talks of ‘<b>doing</b></span><b> </b>chesed<span style="font-style:normal"> with someone.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is often connected with </span>mishpat<span style="font-style:normal">, “the Hebrew word we translate as ‘right’ or justice.’”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So, Micah 6:8 reads, “What does the Lord require of you except to do </span>chesed<span style="font-style: normal"> and to love </span>mishpat<span style="font-style:normal">…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the NIV it reads: “And what does the Lord require of you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">“</span>Chesed<span style="font-style:normal"> is more than a sentiment of love and pity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It demands a ‘volitional attitude.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That is what distinguishes biblical love from current usage of the word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Biblical love includes justice and even judgment.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Maxie point out two explicit aspects of </span>chesed.<span style="font-style:normal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The first is solidarity with the poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As Matthew Fox said, “Compassion is not knowing </span>about<span style="font-style:normal"> the suffering and pain of others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is, in some way, knowing that pain, entering into it, sharing it, and tasting it in so far as possible.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are not simply called to know that others suffer: we are to feel their suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are to suffer with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And in so doing, we are truly able to act on behalf of that person’s suffering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Maxie talks about 3 (three) ports of entry into our solidarity with the poor and oppressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The first port is </span>direct action<span style="font-style:normal">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">James 2:15-17, 24: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. . . .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">The second port of entry into our solidarity with the poor and oppressed is “the stewardship of my money and other resources.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I control the way I spend my money and I make decisions as to how I will use the resources that are mine.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">The third port of entry is through prayer, particularly intercessory prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“In a mysterious way that we can never understand, prayer allows us to not only identify with, but alos take upon ourselves the suffering of others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So rather than being private, intercession is intensely social.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">The second explicit aspect of </span>chesed<span style="font-style: normal"> is also inherently social.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Alive in Christ, we are called to be instruments of blessing for those who Jesus said would be blessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“His beatitudes form the charter for the kingdom in which we dwell, living in him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These Beatitudes outline the core values that are to be incorporated into our lives, and for which we must contend on behalf of others.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Being Christ to others means we are instruments of blessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This “often calls for political action and social witness that expresses outrage against systems and institutions that take no account of the needs of the poor and oppressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We need to consider this call in a very specific way:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Symbol;font-style:normal">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span><span style="font-style:normal">As Christ has been a forgiving presence in our lives, we must be a forgiving presence in the lives of others.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Symbol;font-style:normal">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span><span style="font-style:normal">As Christ has been an affirming presence in our lives, we must be an affirming presence in the lives of others<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Symbol;font-style:normal">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span><span style="font-style:normal">As Christ has comforted us and given us hope, we must comfort and give hope to others.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Symbol;font-style:normal">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span><span style="font-style:normal">As Christ ministered to the ‘least of these’ and gave his life as a ransom for many, we must be his present to the poor, marginalized, and sexually broken; to the immigrant strangers in our midst, prisoners, homeless, the forgotten, and the forsaken.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="margin-left:.5in;text-align:left; text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo2;tab-stops:list .5in"><span style="font-family:Symbol;font-style:normal">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span><span style="font-style:normal">As Christ has been present with us in the valley of the shadow of death, in the agony of personal tragedy and loss, so we must be Christ’s presence for others when they are in the valley, and when hope has gone from their lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">This ministry is personal, like Jesus’ ministry to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He deals with each of us one by one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He meets us at the point of our deepest need, “perhaps at a point where we are embarrassed, feeling with us our estrangement and separation, our sense of despair and futility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Christ is for the world, but he is also for </span>me.<span style="font-style:normal">”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Maxie invites us to put our own name in this extravagant affirmation found in John 3:16 – “For God so loved ___________________ that he gave his one and only Son.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Let it sink in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Let it sink it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The deeper and deeper it sinks into our hearts, “the easier it is to pass it on.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Heart of the Matter<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>On a scale of one to ten (ten being the highest), how compassionate would you say you are?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Why do you think so?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>What does it mean to you to “be Christ to others?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is it difficult for you to do so? Why or why not?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Think now of a time that someone else showed the love of Christ to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How did that affect you?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-38984043774019496292008-10-25T14:13:00.000-07:002008-10-26T14:15:20.439-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 19<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Day 19: The Shaping Power of The Indwelling Christ</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:10)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Today we examine the Christ’s indwelling presence as a forgiving and healing one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There is no doubt that the relationship between the forgiving and healing ministries of Christ is a close one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Mark 2:1-12 tells us the story of the healing of the paralytic man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>You recall the story, in the beginning we are introduced to a man who we are told is immobilized on a mat, being carried around by his friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>His friends are so desperate to have there friend healed that they bring him to Jesus, so convinced that Christ can help them they break through the ceiling to get their friend into the hands of this healer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You may also recall that what happens next is rather astounding, rather than proclaim health to the young man Jesus, upon seeing the faith of the paralytic and his friends gives them absolution, proclaiming “Son, your sins are forgiven.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Mark 2:5)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The crowd, just like you and I must have wondered what was going on, they did not bring this paralytic there to be absolved of sin they brought him to be healed of his inability to walk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The truth is no one doubted what was going on, they questioned instead the one who was doing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Mark records for us Jesus’ reason for the healing; “He said to them, ‘Why are you thinking these things?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>‘Get up, take your mat and walk?’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(vv 8-11)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are told that the fellow sprang to his feet and walked away, leaving no doubt about the power of Jesus to both forgive and to heal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We can have no doubt as well that our response to God’s love is always a forgiving and healing experience; this is what grace is all about.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Heart of The Matter:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Has Jesus been an affirming presence in your life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Has he been a healing one?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Describe your experience of the indwelling Christ?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Think of a time in your life when you pursued something with all your energy, like the friends of the paralytic sought Christ for their comrade’s healing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What motivated your search?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How might your energies be focused more on seeking Jesus?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Why do you think Jesus so clearly connected physical healing and forgiveness?</p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-33578232287110840002008-10-24T14:11:00.000-07:002008-10-26T14:13:15.439-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 18<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Day 18: Humble and Available</span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; ">Matt. 5:7-8</span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Do you have any good stories about people who are walking a faithful walk in the Christian faith?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’m sure you do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>One of the dimensions Maxie Dunham paints for us for a person who is truly </span>alive in Christ<span style="font-style:normal"> is the dimension of “generosity of self.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Christians who are truly alive in Christ are generous in their giving of self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">In 1 John we read these words:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is how God showed his love among us:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is love:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No one has ever seen God: but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1 John 4:7-12).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Maxie tells us that John is saying that “God sent Jesus into the world to be the ultimate expression of himself, an expression of love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are to love in that same way, but we can’t do that if we’re so focused on ourselves .. that we miss the cries of the people around us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To get here, to be able to love in this way, we have to be able to let go of pride and instead put on humility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Humility is essential for our relationship with God to unfold.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">If you were asked to care for a baby - a newborn, AIDS infected baby born addicted to heroin.. If you were asked to take into your home a newborn baby, dying of AIDS and born addicted to heroin – would you, <b>could you</b> do so?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie tells a story of a community of Roman Catholic lay workers who did this for many babies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Baby after baby needing incredible care and patience, all of whom died or will die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When asked why they did this, the answer was: “So they will know there are people in this world who love them.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">We all need to know this, don’t we?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We all need to know there are people in this world who love us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And it is us, those of us on this Christian walk, who are to be the channels of this love – God’s love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And in doing so, it’s not going to be at our convenience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie says: “God is not in the habit of asking us to pick the best time in our schedules to be Christ’s love to others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That’s where humility comes in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The person alive in Christ – the person truly walking in meekness – is the one who responds, ‘Here I am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Send me!’ </span>whenever <span style="font-style:normal">the Lord calls.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While we are not to be doormats, while we are not called to let others walk on us at their will, we are to be available to follow the tugs provided by the Holy Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When we go and do as we are called by God, great blessings follow.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal">Maxie reminds us to not become smug in our following God’s leading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There are always those who are doing so much more than we are, giving so much more, risking so much more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie talks about times that he felt the need to run and hide from being with those who seemed to be so much holier than he.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“It doesn’t hurt us to be reminded of our weakness, does it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Though God has given us power, strength, and courage, we must always remember the source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We may believe we have a choice about whether we walk in humility, but for the person alive in Christ, </span>not doing so<span style="font-style:normal"> is not really an option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The more we see of God’s greatness, the more we realize who we are, in contrast, and the more we want to focus on God’s plans rather than our own.”<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoBodyText" align="left" style="text-align:left"><span style="font-style: normal"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Heart of the Matter<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Are there any obstacles that prevent you from being more humble or available in your own life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If so, what are they, and how can they be overcome?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Why is it so important for Christians to model humility to the world?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Recall a time when you chose to humble yourself rather than seek a reward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What happened next?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-51111123782373901442008-10-23T14:09:00.000-07:002008-10-26T14:11:26.928-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 17<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Day 17: Constantly Abiding</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now remain in my love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you obey my commandments, you will remain in my love…I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(John 15:9-11)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This day Maxie visits with us the theology in the claim that Jesus is mine, or the way her prefers to say it “I am his.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Whichever way we choose to speak this belief the fact remains that it’s all about constantly abiding.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">At the very core this is the message of the gospel; the life that comes to us as we allow the presence of Jesus to find expression through us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Jesus came for but one purpose to bring himself and thereby God to us and in so doing to give us the power to do and be all those things that God calls us to be and created us to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By seeing Jesus as a model for our lives and seeking to follow him, putting our lives alongside his we are reminded of all that is possible for our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On a very real and practical level constantly abiding in Christ means allowing both the guiding light of Christ and the creative energy of god to be active in our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So the Spirit of Life gives us constant guidance and it also allows us to be re-created in the image of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Paul reminds us in his Second letter to the Corinthians 5:17 “he is a new creation: the old has gone, the new has come!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This offer of life is central to the New Testament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>John tells us in no uncertain terms that the entire purpose for which Jesus came to us was to abolish death and to bring the possibility of abundant life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We have to remember that death does not mean non-existence and life existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Death is living without God and life is life with God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The radical claim of the New Testament is that the presence of God with humanity is a reality in Jesus Christ and that reality can be experienced by each of us every day.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The New Testament teaches us that we begin our relationship with God by grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are drawn through grace to Jesus Christ as our only and eternal hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is by grace, which we are renewed, transformed, forgiven, and recreated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In fact our entire lives are lived, according to Dunnam through grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can, he states, “try struggling and straining at righteousness, mustering all our strength and putting forth all our efforts to be Christlike….but it never works.” (Irresistible Invitation pg 119) We, of course live in a do-it-yourself society and therefore one of our most difficult lessons as Christians is that we must live by the Spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are reminded by Paul that our competence in doing God’s work comes only from God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This Dunnam refers to as “grace-full living.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Grade full living is based on being in a personal relationship with God, not on rules and regulations we can never follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The more we are able to abide in Christ the more the Holy Spirit within us produces abundantly.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To truly abide in Christ we must enter into a healthy dependence on Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is not enough to recognize the indwelling Christ; I have to depend on Christ, and to allow Christ to work in and through me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We must learn how to live in the now, listen to these words found in the gospel of Matthew; “therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? …See how the lilies of the field grow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They do not labor or spin…Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry a bout itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Each day has enough trouble of its own.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Matt. 6:25-34)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Once we realize this truth, that there is nothing we can do without Christ then we also realize that there is nowhere else to go but to Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And once we internalize this truth about the living God in our midst then we can rest and live in the moment, abiding in the now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And finally, once we master constantly abiding in Christ then we are freed to act boldly in the confidence of Christ’s strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can faithfully pray for God’s will in our lives with the intention of following that will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Continuing to abide then, gives us the ability to walk by faith, to rely on God and to live in the awareness of the constant presence of the Spirit in the way we live and move and have our being.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And the grace-full life begins!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Heart of The Matter:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What does abiding in Christ mean to you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In what ways do you practice abiding in him, and in what ways do you not?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Is worry a constant challenge for you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If so, what are some steps you can take to overcome it?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In what ways can we tap into the recreating force of the Spirit in our lives?</p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-37638434141484457492008-10-22T17:31:00.000-07:002008-10-22T16:40:51.343-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 16<p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <h1><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Day 16: Alive In Christ</span></h1> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoBodyText">To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Col. 1:27</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie points out an interesting scriptural observation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Paul, in all of his writings, never does tell about his Damascus Road experience in descriptive detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Paul never speaks about how and when he first knew Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Luke talks about it in the Acts of the Apostles, but not Paul himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What Paul does talk about in great detail are the results of that meeting with Christ, the meaning of that event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Quite an extravagant claim made by Paul – one we could easily brush off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“In Christ,” “in union with Christ,” “Christ in you” – hear the words of Paul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Extravagant, but these words are the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Jesus came for one purpose and one purpose alone: to bring himself to us, and while doing so, to bring God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While we often talk about our “becoming Christian” as having accepted Christ, our Christian walk is not about a one-time event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No, it is Christ in us, the Christ who dwells within us, that is the shaping power of our lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“To be a Christian is to change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is to become new.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is not simply a matter of choosing a new lifesytle, though there is a new style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It has to do with being a new person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The new person does not emerge full-blown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Conversion – passing from death to life – may be the miracle of a moment, but the making of a saint is the task of a lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The new process of saint-making is to work out in fact what is already dynamic in principle.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Paul says we are new creatures, perfect in Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is the Christ in us that is perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It doesn’t have to be a dramatic story, the story of our conversion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It doesn’t have to be a Damascus Road experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But it is the story of becoming more and more like the Christ living within us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Heart of the Matter<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>What does the phrase “hidden with Christ in God” mean to you?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Do you know anyone you would consider alive in Christ?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What characteristics make you think so?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>When you gain new life, what parts of your self were you able to bury with the old?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Take a moment now to thank God for that experience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-81335364077620306062008-10-21T17:14:00.000-07:002008-10-21T17:16:20.434-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 15<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Day 15: The Essence of the Gospel</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“<i>For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(2 Cor. 4:6)<o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i> <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Is there any other text that gathers up the essence of the gospel any better than that quotation?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The definition of “essence” is –that which makes something what it is—that which makes the gospel what it is is here in this text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Incredible isn’t it? The incredible glory of God shines through out all time in the face of Jesus the Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is the amazement of the Incarnation, and the fact that this radiance of Jesus Christ has shined in each of our hearts is the essence of the Christian experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And when we take that amazing experience of God’s presence through Christ in our lives and in our hearts to the world, we share powerful and incredible Christian witness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>All together this provides the essence of the gospel and it calls to each of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Maxie Dunnam speaks of the incarnation in this way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“The radiant glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ. God’s ultimate revelation is Jesus Christ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On that night when Jesus was born, in response to the cries of the righteous for an answer to the terrible silence of God, God sent and infant who, at that moment, could do little more than cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On that night, God stooped to our level, and bending over this violent playpen we call home, gave us troth in the only way we might possibly understand; a baby lying in a manger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>On that night, a world which couldn’t care less came face to face with a God who couldn’t care more.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Irresistible Invitation pg 103)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We find it said this way in the letter to the Hebrews, “ IN the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” (1:1-2)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We call the amazing experience of Gods radiance shining in our hearts, the Christian experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Some may call it conversion or salvation or being born again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If you have had this experience, no matter what you call if you are “alive in Christ.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Your life is changed and you want to talk about it and you have something to show for it!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This leads us to the amazing practice of Christian witness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The amazing experience of Jesus Christ shining in our lives is our to share, in fact we are obligated to share it with those who we meet in Christ’s name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Witness is the vocation of every Christian!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This vocation is defined and empowered by the facts of the Incarnation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Dunnam points out that “what we think about Jesus Christ and how we experience him determines the shape of our personal life and destiny.” (Irresistible Invitation pg 106)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And it determines the shape of the ministries we live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Heart of the Matter<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In what ways do you reflect the radiant glory of God in your life?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Are there areas where you feel a bit dim?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Are there certain things you think about Jesus that have shaped your life for the better?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How might some of your thoughts about Jesus be keeping you from experiencing the light of the knowledge of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ in your heart?</p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-76737469727300684082008-10-20T19:27:00.000-07:002008-10-20T19:31:11.818-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 14<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Irresistible Invitation<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Day 14: To Live in Joy</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Hallelujah!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. …</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Hallelujah!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">For our Lord God Almighty reigns.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Rev 19:1, 6-7</span></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Maxie shares with his readers a story about a butterfly found on a beach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Maxie was on a retreat, taking time to renew and replenish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>While walking on the beach, he found a beautiful velvet black butterfly, with bright yellow splotches and orange spot on the tips of its wings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was stuck on seaweed, and Maxie gently pulled it free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He looked at it briefly, while the fragile butterfly struggled to fly away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>When Maxie finally let it go, it didn’t have the strength to fly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It fell to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Maxie felt a moment of pain – and questioning: had he held it too long?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He looked at it closely, wishing he could perform some sort of miracle to help it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But he could not.<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">In that moment, full of disappointment, Maxie experienced a deeper understanding of our human condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We are made for meaningful life, yet most of us are stuck in “grueling circumstances.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Something clicked for him – the Holy Spirit – and he felt deep joy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">He heard a flood of words rush over him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>I have come that [you] may have life and have it to the full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(John 10:10)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Because I live, you also will live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(John 14:19)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(1 John 5:11-12)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2; tab-stops:list .5in">-<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span>Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">“Do you get it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>How can we miss it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But we have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Every day – <i>every day </i>– is a now day of Resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Easter is not an annual experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The living Christ is not to be experienced only on occasion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>His presence is to be the dominant reality continually shaping our lives.”<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Here are the lessons learned from this past week:<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">The Hint Half Guessed</span><br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We want instant gratification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We want quick, easy answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But that is not the way of God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God reveals slowly, through hints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And it’s easy to miss those hints in the midst of our everyday lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God coming to us in the form of Jesus is a mystery, but real and powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Have you reflected on the meaning of God’s real, living presence in Jesus?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Have you received any glimpses, any divine hints, into this eternal mystery?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">Why We Still Preach the Cross</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Can’t you do something about that dreadful cross?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><i>Yes</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can let it remind us of the beauty that lies within it, the truths it holds for us in our very real and personal lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Think on the fact – Jesus went to the cross and yet still lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is our Christian faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“In reading more about Jesus this week, has your perception of the cross changed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In what way?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">He Comes As He Came</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Remember Jesus on the donkey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember as he wept over Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He comes, even so today, showing us peace and power; kindness and compassion; and judging those who do not believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Have you considered in what ways you are like your Savior – and in what ways you are not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Take a moment to ask him now.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">A Love Like No Other</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Our most profound need is to be loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>God offers us the love that truly satisfies, that can be found nowhere else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember that the way “we feel about ourselves has a lot to do with the way we believe the most important people in our lives view us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can live with the confidence of the love of God, that unconditional love that we can neither earn nor justify.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Have you come across any areas of doubt of God’s great love for you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If so, take them to God in prayer, and ask God to show you just how precious you are to him.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">The Stone Was Rolled Away</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hard to imagine – that day the stone was rolled away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But, remember, this was not just a one-time occurrence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We can experience the joy and surprise as we allow Jesus to roll away our stones of sorrow, despair and death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And when the stones are gone, hope can come and fill our souls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As you have focused on Jesus this week, “has your level of hope increased?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Have you been able to rejoice at the now-empty tomb?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">The Gospel By Which We Are Saved</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Do you recall the vivid imagery of the jaws of death and hell?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Remember the story of the young lost man who came into all sorts of trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was God’s love that brought him home again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That same love seeks you out every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>“Is anything standing between you and God’s great generous gift?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If so, take it to the Lord in prayer.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4680868779479805230.post-87636680541264889272008-10-19T19:19:00.000-07:002008-10-20T19:25:26.079-07:00Irresistible Invitation by Maxie Dunham - Day 13<p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><b><p class="MsoNormal">Irresistible Invitation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Responding to the Extravagant Heart of God<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Day 13: The Gospel by Which We Are Saved</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">By this Gospel you are saved…</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">(1 Cor 15:2)</span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">Maxie opens this day by proclaiming that it is impossible to overestimate the importance of the death and Resurrection of Jesus.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">The bottom line of the gospel is the living Christ.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">We are reminded that Paul is the very first person to write about what had been preached for years.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">His account precedes by a number of years the accounts of the earliest Gospels.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">Just imagine what it must have been like when the story was only oral!</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">Imagine hearing the story of Jesus’’ birth to a virgin mother, his years as an itinerant preacher, and the stories about how he came from God and would return to God.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">Imagine listening, as he was condemned to death, accepted death, forgave his murderers and promised to come again.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; ">Imagine as you hear that low and behold God raised him from the dead and he was alive!</span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Let’s try to understand the full meaning of this good news by which you and I are saved.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">What would you think if a good friend told you one day that you were in the very jaws of sin and death?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">You might be a bit shocked if someone said that too you but truth be told sooner or later we all realize that the things we thought would set us free have not done so.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">We realize that we have not become the person we wanted to and we know we are not the people God has called us to be.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This is where faith kicks in, you see true faith is coming to Christ to be saved and delivered from our sinful nature.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">It is only faith in Christ that frees us from the jaws of death and hell.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The central fact of Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Had it all ended with the cross, there would be no good news to share, no community of faith to bear witness.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">But there was and is a resurrection, and there is as well as Christ who is alive in us today.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The fact that Christ chooses to be alive in any one of us today is surely a sing of the extravagant heart of God; it is also another example of God’s gifts, this time the gift of mercy.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Mercy is one of the great words of the Bible.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Jesus uses it to boldly declare an aspect of the new covenant, “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">According to Dunnam the mercy that Jesus speaks of “ and demonstrates is always active, it is sympathy in action as pity and compassion expressed in gracious deeds.”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Mercy is first an attribute of God; God’s mercy involves not only kindness but also forgiveness.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">God’s mercy is the act of wiping the slate clean separating us from our wrongdoings as far as the east is from the west.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">God’s mercy is enacted through Jesus and the cross.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The discovery of God’s mercy is always a transforming experience.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">To hear of God’s power and desire to cleanse us from our wrongdoings we truly receive good news, but is also often a painful experience, because in order to receive that gift we must first admit our wrongdoings.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This however, is the gospel by which we are saved and the gospel by which we live, in the shadow of his great mercy and grace.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The Heart of the Matter</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Have you ever felt that the things you wanted most and the things you thought would set you free have not done son?</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">How did you react to that awareness?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Have you ever visited the “far country?”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">What drew you back home?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Can you identify with Paul’s statement, “By the grace of God I am what I am?”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Why or why not?</span></p></b><p></p>Alice Fordhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09426749712294124553noreply@blogger.com0