Blog Archives
Church Planting = Water for the Thirsty and A City for the Hungry #devo
Two of my favorite images of church planting are found in Psalm 107:35-38.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water,
dry land into springs of water.
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.
38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;
He does not let their livestock decrease.
In every city & community there are a dry desert places that need the living water of God’s presence. In every city & community God wants to gather the hungry people for the sake of establishing a fruitful multiplying community. This gives great purpose to the work of the church planter & church planting team: FINDING DRY, DESERT, PARCHED PLACES IN THE COMMUNITY. Settle there & establish a place for hungry people to gather, grow, & multiply.
Questions for planters:
- Are we planting for the purpose of seeing God water the dry places? or are we planting in places that are well watered?
- Are we establishing a place for the hungry or the already full?
- Are we ready to sweat & experience the difficulty of desert life as we plant in dry places?
- Are we ready to lay brick #1 in a million as we build a city for the hungry?
The Bane of Thankfulness #devo #wesley
You have abundant reason to praise God, both for spiritual and temporal blessings. Beware of indulging gloomy thoughts: they are the bane of thankfulness. You are encompassed with ten thousand mercies, let these sink you into humble thankfulness.
John Wesley, in a letter published in the Works of John Wesley
What Should I Wear? #devo
This is a key question to ask for those who want to be an effective witness for Christ. Are you serious? The clothes I wear impacts my impact on others? Well, maybe, but I’m talking about what ATTITUDE & DISPOSITION you wear everyday. In today’s world, your disposition & attitude are a tremendous opportunity for evangelism. People are so beat down & discouraged & negative. If they see the joy of the Lord in you, they’ll want to know what the heck happened to you. People of salvation should be the most joyful people around. We have ETERNAL LIFE! Direct access to the God of the universe! The promise that Jesus is living in us & is with us ALWAYS! & so much more. I’ve met a few people that have said to me “I’m a Christian” & I thought about responding to them with, “Well, you better tell your face about it.”
Colossians 3:12-13 says, “as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, PUT ON a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”
If you WEAR compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, forgiveness, you WILL stand out wherever you are today AND overtime someone will want to know how & why you’re different. (Check out THIS GREAT LIST of other things that the Bible says we should PUT OFF & PUT ON).
Even Christians who are experiencing less than joyful circumstances often will be recognized by the inner joy they carry. Joy is in believers, not because of what’s on the outside, but because of what’s on the inside. Like a bird that sings during a hurricane. His song reflects what’s inside, not what’s on the outside.
So, what are you wearing today? Put on Christ-like character & the joy of the Lord & get ready to make a difference!
This is a summary from part of Sunday’s message at Bridge Church. Get the audio here.
Glorious Contradictions #devo #Tozer
“God has revealed so many glorious contradictions in the lives and conduct of genuine Christian believers…”
- The Christian is dead and yet he lives forever.
- The Christian saves his own life by losing it, and he is in danger of losing it by trying to save it.
- the Christian is strongest when he is weakest and weakest when he is strongest.
- The Christian is in least danger when he is fearful and trusting God and in the most danger when he feels the most self-confident.
- The Christian actually has the most when he is giving away the most
Lord, help me be a glorious contradiction to this world.
http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=235
“A Prophet Not A Promoter”
A Church Leader’s Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I come to Thee for spiritual preparation. Lay Thy hand upon me, anoint me with the oil of the New Testament prophet. Save me from the error of judging a church by its size, its popularity or the amount of its yearly offering. Help me to remember that I am a prophet – not a promoter, not a religious manager. Let me never become a slave to crowds. Heal my soul of carnal ambitions and deliver me from the itch for publicity.
A.W. Tozer
One Christian Life
You say, “What can I do?” You can furnish one Christian life. You can furnish a life so faithful to every duty, so ready for every service, so determined not to commit every sin, that the great Christian Church shall be the stronger for your living in it, and the problem of the world be answered, and a certain great peace come into this poor, perplexed phase of our humanity as it sees that new revelation of what Christianity is.
Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Addresses, Philadelphia: Henry Altemus, 1895, p. 22
Unsplash.com / Dustin Scarpitti
Quotable: “When it comes to religion, the crowds are always wrong” #Tozer #devo
Timely:
History shows clearly enough that true spirituality has never at any time been the possession of the masses. Wherever Christianity becomes popular, it is not on its way to die–it has already died. Popular Judaism slew the prophets and crucified Christ. Popular Christianity killed the Reformers, jailed the Quakers and drove John Wesley into the streets. When it comes to religion, the crowds are always wrong. At any time there are a few who see, and the rest are blinded. To stand by the truth of God against the current religious vogue is always unpopular and may be downright dangerous. The historic church, while she was a hated minority group, had a moral power that made her terrible to evil and invincible before her foes. When the Roman masses, without change of heart, were made Christian by baptism, Christianity gained popularity and lost her spiritual glow. From there she went on to adopt the ways of Rome and to follow her pagan religions. The fish caught the fisherman, and what started out to be the conversion of Rome became finally the conversion of the church.
“It’s not what you do today, but what you do everyday that makes a difference” #newyears
Heard this a few years ago & it stuck with me. We are shaped & changed by those things we do over & over again. Thinking today about what I want to do everyday in 2015.
- Kiss my wife.
- Make my kids laugh.
- Read the Bible. (Read along with me here).
- Journal.
- Read. (One chapter per day as a goal. Should read 20 books per year).
- Exercise. (long shot)
- What if I shared the Gospel everyday?
- What if I encouraged someone, everyday?
- What if I gave of myself generously, everyday?
What are those things worth doing everyday? Today’s a great day to get started.
New Year’s #Devo: A Prayer for 2015
“His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.” Isaiah 9:7.
This comes along with the prophecy in Isaiah that a child would be born to us. I think of this verse every year at this time, reminding myself that the baby in the manger, became a man, conquered the greatest enemies of humanity in sin & death, & now rules as a King. And I have the opportunity to submit myself to his rule & experience his wholeness & peace. I also have the opportunity to rule my own heart, seek out a wholeness of my own design, & grow in my own temporal authority.
So a few prayerful questions I’m asking:
- Will I allow HIS RULING AUTHORITY to grow in my life in 2015?
- Will others experience HIS RULING AUTHORITY because of my life in 2015?
- What areas of my life need his wholeness & peace? How can I move them under His ruling authority?
- What areas of my life am I holding onto & keeping under MY authority? How can I work toward repentance & submission to him in these areas?
- How will I work for the increase of HIS rule in my family? in my church? in my community? in the world?
Lord, may Your ruling authority increase in & through my life this year.
Lane Corley 