ECIPLESHIP for Passionate Christ-Followers

Recent research has revealed that the majority of young adults, age 18 to 29, don’t pray, don’t worship and don’t read the Bible.

The research, conducted by LifeWay Christian Resources, revealed that:

• Sixty-five percent identify themselves as Christian, while 14 percent say they are atheist or agnostic, 14 percent list no religious preference, and 8 percent claim other religions.
• Sixty-five percent rarely or never pray with others, and 38 percent almost never pray by themselves either.
• Sixty-five percent rarely or never attend worship services.
• Sixty-seven percent don’t read the Bible or sacred texts.
• Seventy-two percent say they’re “really more spiritual than religious.”
• Many are unsure Jesus is the only path to heaven: Half say, yes — half say, no.

Focus on the Family Action has a new outreach to 20-somethings which encourages Millennials to live out their faith by getting involved in issues they care about. It can be found at www.RisingVoice.com.

This is just one of the reasons that we have changed some things at Edinbrook. Until a couple of years ago, we were losing our younger population in mass. Very few (if any) millenials and high-schoolers were staying because of some very critical flaws in our ministry approach. We desperately needed to remedy these weaknesses. We are still working at it, but we have come a long way. I am profoundly blessed each week by the quality and quantity of younger people committed to the Lord and Edinbrook. Even our current QUAKE initiative is part of that equation — seeing us become more and more effective in ministering to and reaching those that have a lifetime to live for God.

If we lose our young men and women, we have lost the battle. We MUST do whatever it takes to get this important segment of Christ’s Body excited about the Lord, church, ministry, and impact.

The QUAKE continues!

Someone very close to me messed up. He took his focus off of his wife and eventually turned it toward another woman. His heart followed. Very very sad.

My Babe with me on a recent excursion to Florida. I needed to work there--she just wanted to be with me. A free miles-ticket and we had some quality time together...and an adventure!

It reminded me again of what a treasure I have in my wife, Susan. Still–no matter how wonderful our partner may be, if we fail to make this person our focus, our target of attention and investment, our heart will grow cold and our passions turn in other directions.

I have been “accused” occasionally that the week Susan and I take together (alone) each year is frivolous — a mere luxury. For many years, I have seen the power of this — how our love is rebirthed, our joy for one another is ratcheted up, and our passion reignited. It’s not frivolous...it’s priceless!

A few months ago, while going through intense schedules, pressing demands, and heavy stress, Susan and I took one day and night — ONE – and stayed in a hotel near the Mall of America and pretended we were on vacation. What a treasure that was! I’m still living in its glow. One day.

We invest into our treasured things. What are your treasures? What is it that you for sure do not want to lose? Let me share a few from my life:

• My love for God and his rule in my life
• My wife and family
• God’s purpose and potential for my life

These need to be my focus. I MUST invest in these treasures in my life, or my heart will stray to other things that work their way in.

Jesus said it well: “Where you treasure is, there will you heart be also.”

Here’s a wonderful verse from my personal devotional times this morning:

The Lord is king!
Let the nations tremble!
He sits on his throne between the cherubim.
Let the whole earth quake! Psalm 99:1

There is to be a trembling and quaking in our lives simply because God is infinitely great and awesome. When we truly come to an awareness of the majesty of God, we will be overwhelmed at who He is.

There are numerous “motifs” of God presented in scripture…and some are more prevalent in our Christian community today than others. Some of these are:

• God as Father: This emphasizes His care, tenderness, and compassion toward us.
• God as Friend: This highlights the comradery, closeness, and partnership we can have with God.
• God as Love: We see God as sacrificial on our behalf, ready to forgive, longing for relationship.
• God as Provider: We trust in Him for all that we need — physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
• God as Creator: This reminds us of His hand in all things past and present, the all-knowing nature of God, His ability to do all things.

There are more, of course, but one motif we often overlook is that of King. As we are reminded in the passage above, a King is supreme in power and authority, His will can be executed upon His whim, and His presence demands reverential awe and respect. When God speaks, we must listen with trembling in our bones. His Word cannot be overlooked or forgotten or dismissed. He holds the power of life and death.

As you read His word today, realize that He longs to give you life. But also remember that as King, His Word must not be dismissed. He means what He says and He says what He means.

Let the whole earth QUAKE before Him…

Jesus came to earth on a mission. He was not on vacation. He entered our world to profoundly impact our world. In no way was Jesus here to get what He could out of it. With that in mind, be reminded of what Philippians 2 commands of every Christ-follower: “Have this attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” The passage goes on, of course, to describe the stunning sacrifice and selflessness demonstrated in the pursuit of Jesus fulfilling His designated purpose.

So, what’s your designated purpose? What is it specifically that God wants you to accomplish? If you have not discovered that yet, it’s time. One thing is for sure — you are to be on a mission rather than a vacation while here on planet Earth.

Let’s draw a contrast.

When you are on a mission:

• Little details that don’t suit your tastes do not matter at all. Your life is about so much more in the “fox hole” than whether you like chicken noodle more than split pea soup. In the Christian’s life, too, when we’re really on a mission, the things like personal preferences in music, worship styles, color of decorations, and style of teaching and preaching mean nothing. We’ll take what we get with joy while we pursue the mission God has given to us.
• When you’re on a mission, pain and sacrifice are expected. Our current soldiers in Iraq and Afganistan are not shocked when they are shot at, when they need to sleep on the ground, or when their food rations arrive late. Sacrifice is expected when you’re on a mission.

When you’re on vacation:

• You are in the “give me some enjoyment” mode. You look for what can bring enjoyment, peace, relaxation, and pleasure. These seasons are good for us, but only for a time. If vacations last too long, we get self-centered and infatuated with meaningless things and activity.
• While on vacation, you spend money on things you wouldn’t normally spend your hard-earned income on. We are ready to splurge and spoil ourselves more than we would in the normal course of life.

A vast majority of Christians spend their lives in vacation mode. We fail to be on a mission. As a result, we’re way too concerned about our personal preferences that mean nothing in the larger scheme of things. We tend to forget that the resources entrusted to us by God are to be used primarily to accomplish His mission. So, we end up spending like crazy to bring pleasure and enjoyment to our lives while we overlook the critical and strategic opportunities around us to accomplish mission. We get tied up in knots over little things like worship styles and program changes because they don’t fit our tastes, while we overlook the critical nature of what it takes to reach our world with the gospel.

This is an issue of generosity. This is an issue of the heart. As scripture states, “Have this attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Are you on a mission? Really?

For those that are in our Edinbrook Church community, we are beginning a 28 day journey called QUAKE. We will experience the POWER of GENEROSITY!

Generosity is severely overlooked in the believer’s life. This is a heart issue. In order for the Christ-follower to “be like Jesus all aspects”, generosity is critical. As Philippians 2 states, “Have this attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” What does this passage go on to say? It proclaims the extreme generosity of Jesus lived out to the ultimate degree — that He gave His very life in order to give all of us life. He held on to nothing…not even the things He could have clung to. He gave it all up. Have this kind of attitude, scripture commands. This is not to be optional for the believer.

Sometimes when we think of generosity, we immediately think of money. Oh yes — this is an important part of the equation. But biblical generosity goes so much deeper than money. It addresses to deepest issues of the heart in such a way that it reveals the true reality of our innermost being. Yes–how easy it would have been for Jesus to affirm the rich young ruler, who was filthy rich, but modeled integrity, obedience, values, and true spirituality as it was understood in that day. Instead, Jesus revealed the true nature of his heart. There was something standing in the way of being sold-out to God. It was his materialistic heart. Unwilling to part with the wealth he had acquired, and all that came with it, he walked away very despondent because, for the first time in his life, he realized he was not right with God. He was not generous at all. He was greedy, though he looked like a model “Christian” on the outside.

I’m afraid this is where many 21st century American believers live, too. We play games with how spiritual we are. Instead, God wants us to boldly and honestly face the truth about our innermost being in these 28 days of QUAKE.

This is not about money so much as it is about us all aquiring a generous heart…and then actually living that out. Indeed, we want to have this attitude in us that was also in Christ Jesus. There is no other way to be like Christ…and to be the presence of Jesus in our world.

God bless you as the QUAKE begins!

The spring season is upon in full bloom! Especially in Minnesota, spring is a welcomed friend. It brings new life, the promise of warmth, and fresh beauty every where.

God often works in our personal lives through seasons…and does so with churches too. I’m excited about the season that God has been preparing for Edinbrook Church. This will be a season of hope, new life, fresh starts, and meaningful commitments. We are awaiting a QUAKE of life-rattling proportions.

The golden voiced preacher of Great Britain’s  1800’s, Charles Spurgeon, has talked about new beginnings and fresh commitments. Read it carefully…

We should not only let our troubles confirm our dedication to God, but our prosperity should do the same. If we ever meet with occasions which deserve to be called “crowning mercies” then, surely, if he hath crowned us, we ought also to crown our God; let us bring forth anew all the jewels of the divine regalia which have been stored in the jewel-closet of our heart, and let our God sit upon the throne of our love, arrayed in royal apparel.

If we would learn to profit by our prosperity, we should not need so much adversity. If we would gather from a kiss all the good it might confer upon us, we should not so often smart under the rod. Have we lately received some blessing which we little expected? Has the Lord put our feet in a large room? Can we sing of mercies multiplied? Then this is the day to put our hand upon the horns of the altar, and say, “Bind me here, my God; bind me here with cords, even for ever.”

QUAKE, which begins this coming Monday, has the potential to draw us to God’s altar with new commitments and fresh resolve. If you have still not signed up for a QUAKE Group, so so today at https://edinbrook.ccbchurch.com/app/w_form_response.php?form_id=146

Let the QUAKE begin!

The selfless nature of Jesus is to also characterize the the Christ-follower.  Consider Philippians 2:

³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges

Since the “greatest commandment” is to love God and love people, we must make sure that this “love” we are living is not a phantom love. We tend to love God in our heads…that is, we believe that God is, that He loves us, that He cares for us — you know, all the stuff that church-going people believe. We have these feelings of love, but lack the proof in our actions and lifestyles. We can live in the realm of selfish love (which isn’t love at all) and think we’re A-OK.

I’m convinced that this is one of the reasons Jesus talked about money so often. As Mark Batterson has stated, “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” True “agapeeseis”, which was presented yesterday, is demonstrated through selfless and generous action.

How can we honestly claim to love the Lord when we are unwilling to give Him a portion back of what He has given us? How can we say, “You’re number one, God!” if we are unwilling to slaughter the god of materialism or greed on the altar of generosity?

We choose to love or not love God and people every day by the choices we make — even in the grocery store, department store, venues of entertainment and decisions we make about our resources. Jesus doesn’t want us to live google-eyed in a world of phantom love.

Be like Jesus. Be generous. That’s the kind of love God is looking for.

“Agapeeseis” is the greek word used for love when Jesus talks about loving God and loving people. This is the verb form of “agape” love — God-kind of love. It’s the love explained in 1Corinthians 13, the Love Chapter, when it lists some of its most outstanding characteristics:

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

“Agapeeseis”, however, emphasizes a love of action, decision, sacrifice, intentionality, and selflessness. This kind of love goes far beyond the nice feelings one may have about another. This love kicks into action simply because another human being is present. As a result, Jesus tells us on numerous occasions to “love our enemy”. This is ludicrous unless God enables us with some kind of super-human divinely infused love. Yes, through God’s presence in us, we become the very presence of Jesus in our world as we let Him live His life through us! That’s what it means to walk in the Spirit. This is one of the results of being filled with the Spirit. We agapeeseis others.

Remember now — Jesus didn’t say this is important, or something we need to work at, or something that would be a good idea. Scripture tells us that this is THE most important thing we MUST do. We must selflessly and sacrificially love God — and we do this by selflessly and sacrificially loving others…whether they deserve it or not.

Can you imagine the impact, just in your little corner of the world, if you actually began living this way?

Oh why not? Let’s just do it! Infuse us, LORD…

Jesus stated that when you interact and minister to others, you are doing it to Him – ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”

Is this really what it means? Does the very essence of God reside in the presence of each individual?

A critical element of the gospel has been lost over the years of Christendom. In current Christianity, we tend to see fallen people as completely sinful. In other words, if they are not believers, they are wretched, fallen, dirty, unholy, and of the world. As a result, we have a whole stream of Christians who separate themselves from the world and the very ones who desperately need God’s holy salt and light. These sin-entities in fallen people are totally true, but we unfortunately overlook a very essential other truth — that every individual is created in the image of God! This means that no matter how depraved, sinful, despicable, or distant from God, a person is still precious and highly valued because they are the height of God’s creation — and created in Jehovah’s very image. The Creator-Artist has carefully fashioned each person to His desired design, investing His creative energies…and love (because God IS love) into the very essence of each person.

The human race, and with that, every single human being, is an extension of God somehow. This is true so much that scripture repeatedly tells us that “as we have done it to the least of these, we have done it to God.”

So–if you really want to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, you better learn how to love your neighbor. Now if that doesn’t bring it right down to real life, I don’t know what does.

Go ahead — love God today in some very practical ways…

To love God with all that you are (heart, soul, mind), you must love your neighbor — referring to those that are close around you. To love your neighbor, you must love God.

How can this be?

Stick with me this week. What a fascinating study to see how God is found in people – that when we love people, we are loving God. Just to get you started thinking on this track, let Matthew 25:37-40 sink in…

“Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?”

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.”