"Be Bold"

According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE), boldness was "one of the results of discipleship" and was "a necessary qualification for the work assigned to them [disciples of Christ]." ISBE lists as synonyms the words "confidence" and "fearlessness." The word "bold" comes from an Anglican word meaning "brave, confident, strong" according to www.etymonline.com.

Boldness is certainly a Biblical quality which one can find repeatedly in Scripture, especially when reading the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles. I agree with the ISBE that we need boldness for discipleship. In the face of persecution and fear, we could use a good dose of fearless faith. Even Paul needed more boldness, as evidenced by his request to the believers in Ephesus that they would pray on his behalf that he would have boldness in his preaching of the good news (Ephesians 6:19). It seems logical then that we, as followers of Christ, can also pray for boldness. 

In his second letter to Timothy, Paul gives some encouragement about boldness:

"For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7 NASB).

We can be encouraged that when we ask for boldness, God will provide. When we seek, He tells us that we will find (Matthew 7:7). Remember last weeks post about peace? When we cease striving and focus on God, we find peace. I believe the same principle can apply to boldness. When we take our eyes off of our circumstances, the people around us, and the world, we can focus on God. When our eyes are on God, everything else fades and our boldness increases because in light of God, nothing else compares. 

Take courage and be bold this week. Speak the Gospel with boldness and seek the Lord in every situation. Don't look around you so as to become discouraged, but rather, look to our heavenly Father and His might that you may take courage and stand firm!

Peace

What is Peace?
- A common way to say a kindly 'goodbye' on the internet, or in person?
- The hippie-catchphrase during periods of war and turmoil?
- An ideal too high? A dream to big? An impossibility in the modern world?

As usual, I'll turn to Webster's dictionary for the definition:

(n). a state of tranquillity or quiet

(n). freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions

The first definition reminds me of a very simple but very powerful verse of Scripture:

"Cease striving and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10 NASB)

Other translations say "be still," but I like the way the NASB translates this verse. Striving keeps us in a state of unrest, not tranquility. In this verse, God exhorts us to stop our unrest and let ourselves believe the simple truth that He is God. This action is one of the most peaceful acts of Worship that a child of God can perform. Isaiah 26 verse 3 says:

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You."

When we stop our unrest and "stay" our minds on God, He gives us peace. I suppose this is in part because if our mind is stayed upon the LORD, then we have no room for "disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions." My encouragement for this week (and today) is that you Pray for the Discipline to 'be still,' 'cease striving,' and keep your mind stayed upon God.

When you fall, and when trials and tribulations abound, seek the "peace of God which passes understanding" (Philippians 4:7 ESV) and cling to it. Peace can help calm a restless soul, and anchor it to the Vine.

Motivational / 'Devotional' poster for this week:

Worship

Have you ever been stopped to think 'what is worship?' I have. And I've found it difficult to define because in this day and age, the word "worship" is so often associated with one particular act of worship. The worship act of singing praises to God has, in many cases, come to define worship in today's church culture. While the worship act of singing (contemporary, hymns, etc). certainly brings glory to God, it does not encompass the full magnitude of worship.

According to the dictionary, worship is defined as:

(n). reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power; 

also: an act of expressing such reverence.

Worship is both a reverence and any action that expresses this reverence. I like to think that worship is a 'state of heart'. When the heart of a person is reverent before the Creator, they cannot help but worship Him. In a similar manner, the creatures mentioned in Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 can do nothing but worship God when they are in His awesome presence. I think that the 'heart of worship' looks like a person consumed by their love and reverence for God. All they want to talk about is God, and He makes His way into every conversation (sports, movies, philosophy, science, history, etc). Something else to consider is what Paul says of worship in Romans 12:

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

Two quick things:
1) not once does he mention the worship act of singing praises to God and
2) in the context, being a 'living sacrifice' is related to not conforming to this world.
In a little more detail, our spiritual worship is related to being a 'living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.' I take this to mean set apart for God alone. This makes sense in that the next verse tells us to not conform to the world (which is certainly not set apart for God). Paul also states that we are transformed, so that we 'may discern what the will of God is,' by the the renewing of our minds. Sounds like Discipline again, huh? I've heard many things on the renewal of the mind, but I think it boils down to reading the Word of God, Praying, and performing spiritual disciplines. This prepares the mind to be aligned with the heart for the worship of God. If God is central to our mind and our heart, how could we do anything but worship Him?

The other day, a friend said to me: "we don't worship God because of what He's done for us (that falls more into giving thanks) nor because we have the ability to worship. Rather, we worship God because He is so glorious and holy and awesome that He is worthy of glory and honor and praise and worship forever and ever." It's so simple, yet we so often miss this truth: "Give God the Glory because He deserves it!"

With that, here's the motivational poster I made up for worship, featuring the verse Revelation 4:11:

Pray

In light of the last post about Discipline, I figured I'd talk about an important and difficult Spiritual discipline: PRAYER. It sounds crazy, but think about it; what is harder than genuinely praying before a God that you can't see/hear/touch/etc? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing I want more than to be in fellowship with my heavenly Father, I'm just being honest about the fact that it's not easy.


The WORK of prayer is, perhaps, the most difficult spiritual discipline because the adversary, the world, and our sin natures are all working against us connecting to our source of Life and Peace. And for that reason, it's so very important that we take time and do the spiritual work of prayer. If we don't pray and keep ourselves connected to the vine, how will we ever rise when we fall?
By the same token, prayer helps us to keep our mind "stayed on the LORD," and therefore, God will keep us in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). Even through hard times, through struggles and temptations, and more. When we fall, our immediate reaction should not be self-pity or fear, but it should be prayer. Adam and Eve hid from God after they sinned, we should not follow their example. After falling, our first reaction should be prayer and that way we can Rise again.
The humility of coming to God in prayer is implied in the very definition of the word; again from Websters:

(v). to make a request in a humble manner

       

(v). to address God or a god with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving

'Adoration, confession, supplication, thanksgiving' in a 'humble manner.' Consider how you pray. As the Preacher warns us in Ecclesiastes  - 

"Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few." 
(Ecclesiastes 5:2 ESV)

All this considered, I've made another motivational poster-this one's about "Pray"ing. This time, with a quote from Oswald Chambers, the author of the devotional "My Utmost For His Highest" (which I am reading through this year).

Discipline

As the school year gets rolling, I'm finding myself in need of a simple, yet challenging concept: Discipline. There's so much in this word, but I'll start with what Webster's says:

(n.) "Training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character."

This is one of several definitions, but I think it's interesting that discipline is a training. It does not happen over night. And it's not just for the physical, it also applies to the mind and the "moral character." There's so many areas of my life where I know discipline would be helpful. I'm fairly good at physical discipline (i.e. wake up/go to sleep/workout/good physical form/etc), and I'm getting better and disciplining my time management. But, discipline in relationships with people is a different matter. You can't just do X amount of push ups to get stronger here. You need to pray and seek God's help big time. Disciplining oneself in this area is difficult. 

It's hard to spend time with someone you don't really want to be around, but Jesus tells us to love. He even goes so far as to command us to love our enemies! On the flip side, it is a real challenge to limit your time with people you care about. Seeking God for balance in this area is key. Speaking of which, another area of Discipline that I have found challenging is spending time with God. This should be easy, right? Wrong. Jesus tells us that it will be hard. The world, the devil, and our own sin nature are going to do everything they can to prevent us from praying, reading Scripture, evangelizing, praising, etc. We must RENEW our minds, as Romans 12 tells us, so that we can be disciplined unto Godliness.

So, my prayer for this week is DISCIPLINE: Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. (Mark 12:30 - Love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength) 

That said, I love the following quote by President Truman, so I put it on a motivational poster -  go figure. Enjoy!

Why do we fall?

Since I saw "The Dark Knight Rises," I've been drawing a lot on this whole "Rise" theme. "Rise" is a very spiritually-charged word. It's implications are wide-ranging and powerful. This theme can be seen in Scripture, from Christ literally being raised from the dead to the saints "rising" from their sins/situations. Proverbs 24:16 expresses this truth in a few short, good words. The second part of the verse indicates that the wicked will not rise, but the first half shows that the righteous will.

Here's two definitions from Webster's:

(v). to return from death

(v). to exert oneself to meet a challenge

Interesting, huh? The first has obvious connections to Jesus' resurrection and to the new life that Jesus' sacrifice brings about in those who follow him. The second definition echoes the walk of a Christian and the work that it takes. It is not easy, but it's well worthwhile.

As a Christian, this word means quite a lot to me. It is an encouragement that falling is not the end. A reminder that Christ's sacrifice and God's grace make it possible for me to rise again and keep walking the walk of faith. Or as a friend of mine told me, keep running the race of faith.

Much like in "The Dark Knight Rises," Christians (like Batman, I know it's cheesy - bare with me), must face adversity and decide whether to rise again or not. Jesus made a way for us to stand again and holds out his hand to us, all we have to do is choose to take the hand or not. If we humble ourselves and seek his help, we will rise again and "get back in the game."

So, here's a motivational poster I made which connects the powerful theme "Rise" with the Word.