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“When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near.”
— Andy Stanley

“Keeping Your Vision Out in Front”

The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

How can I be pure in spite of contact with ungodliness? That is the question that 2 Peter 1:1-11 answers.

And in answering the question it provides both encouragement and exhortation while balancing what God provides (the resources) and what our responsibility is in spiritual transformation.

The Resource

1:3  His divine power (unlimited) has granted to us–all we need for life and godliness

1:4 His glory and excellencies have granted us His promises through which we become partakers of His divine nature–renewing the image of God.

God provides salvation–an eternal relationship with Him, freely bestowed by grace on those who place their trust in Jesus Christ as their only means of salvation.  And having provided salvation, He then graciously provides the empowerment needed for us to live out that relationship with Him.  Wow!

Wow!

Our Responsibility

The natural response to all that God has done for us–whatever God wants!

1:5-9 give us the appropriate response.  Apply all diligence, make every effort–eager readiness to expend the energy and effort necessary.

God has provided the resources, we must provide full effort to respond.  This is not sanctification by works (Galatians 3:3) since it is based in God’s empowerment.  The effort is not to complete salvation, as though God provided part of our salvation and we are responsible to finish the process.  But seeking to live in a manner appropriate for the relationship we have with God.

The list of elements to make every effort to work on provides a wonderful means of self-evaluation.  Or proactively, a wonderful passage to meditate on with the goal of spiritual transformation.

Below you will find my musings on the passage.  You may want to pray through this passage.

Father, today I want to exalt you, help my eagerness and willingness to be evident by the appropriate effort and actions.

I desire to demonstrate faith today—a faith that trusts you completely, that is not negatively affected but positively affected by circumstances that will arise.  Help me, when I begin to forget and trust my self, to surrender to you.

May my commitment to virtue, to active goodness be evident in all my actions.  May I have the courage to do what is right regardless of the consequences.

I desire to know You more intimately at the end of this day than I do now.  May I not be satisfied with the depth of what I know—make Your Word come alive and may it reveal to me more about You. May what I know be evident in what I do.

I pray for self-control, may nothing but You be my Master.  I know I cannot, by trying harder, be more like You—so I surrender my control to You.

May I be steadfast and committed to each of these virtues, may I endure faithfully, may my commitment to godliness not waver in the face of temptation, may I be dedicated to knowing You more no matter the busyness of this day, may I not only hold up under pressure but shine, take this lump of coal and press it into a diamond.

I want to grow to be more like You and to do what pleases You.  May I make You smile today and may others exalt You because of me.

And show me someone who needs an act of kindness, a word that builds up, a touch that encourages or simply my time.  Use my attitudes, actions and words to be Your concrete evidences of love today.

And may I at the end of this day love You and others more deeply than I do right now.

This is a re-post from Justin Taylor’s blog Between to Worlds.

This is a must read and listen for all men.

A Biblical Strategy for Fighting Sexual Lust

Who should we as believers be reaching out to?

Many talk about outreach to the unsaved and unchurched.  Some churches make it their aim to position themselves to reach the unsaved and unchurched.  Some do it very effectively--praise the Lord.

Some individuals have a passion to reach those who seem out-of-reach.  The individuals who are part of another religion or cult.  This type of ministry requires wisdom and perseverance.  For the out-of-reach are exactly that, hard to reach. They usually are not simply disinterested as the unchurched often are, they are actively connected (even evangelistically active) in an institution that makes it almost  impossible--except for the grace of God--for them to see the truth.  Ministries focused on this group often use confrontational apologetics often target this group.

I have a real interest, partly due to the context I live in, to reach out to those who are de-churched or in the dead-churched.

The de-churched are disconnected from the church--often because of the behavior of the church.  They are disengaged from the life of the church often because the church they were a part of didn’t really have life--connection, community, compelling worship or clear teaching.

The dead-churched are those who are part of organized religion who are not hearing the message of the gospel or the glories of grace through the cross of Jesus.

These two groups, the de-churched and the dead-church leave me as a pastor with a need to focus in two directions.

First, inward--or within the church.

Are we doing anything that might cause some who are a part of our church to become de-churched?  Rather than simply condemning or becoming discouraged by those who disengage or disconnect, we must reach out in grace and love.  We must ask: Are we providing opportunities for individuals to truly

• connect with God
• to find a second family for fellowship--intentional relationships for growth
• interact in save environment where the truths of Scripture confront the chaos of life
• to serve in areas of passion

Second, outward--or within our community.

We need to seek out or reach out to those who have become disconnected and therefore de-churched and reengage them into the reality of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and His family.

I believe our church should seek to leverage itself to reach the de-church and dead-church by first ensuring we are intentionally and aggressively adapting our ministry to provide authentic compelling worship and teaching, authentic and compassionate fellowship (family) in order to keep our own from disconnecting.

How can we do this?  Please give me your thoughts.

For a brief explanation of why some become de-churched, watch this video by Matt Chandler of the Village Church.

Avoiding going through the motions of religion and ritual versus relationship and reality requires watchfulness over one’s heart.

Psalm 15 provides instruction or guidelines for self-examination, causing us to ask:  How do we maintain the right attitude and relationship with the Lord rather than ritual and religion?

Questions

What must we do in order to have a deep relationship with God?

What are the benefits of fellowship with God?

How can we live/abide in God’s presence?

Guidelines for self-examination

Is my walking upright?

• Have I been pure in my actions and motives?
• Does my walk live up to my talk/my claims?
• Does my walk draw attention to me or God?

Am I controlling my tongue?

• Have I been honest?
• Have I told the “complete” truth?
• Have I tried to make myself look better than I am?
• Have I spoken: harshly to or maliciously to others?
• Have I gossiped, slandered or in any way mistreated people with my words?
• Have I kept my word?

Am I being discerning?

• in how I use my time?
• in the activities I chose to involve myself?
• between good and evil?

Does money have control over me?

• Am I generous?
• Do I associate with the “lowly?”
• Do I change when I am with people of means?

Ritual or Reality?

Religion or Relationship?

It is easy to allow ritual to replace reality, religion to encroach on relationship.

How do we avoid ritual and maintain the reality of our relationship with the Lord?

Jesus addressed this in Luke 18. Take a look at the challenge that comes from Jesus’ parable.

(Part 2: Psalm 15 --Guidelines for self-examination)

Also enjoy  (you may have to click twice)

Good reading and listening.

How important proper perspective is–you don’t work at  the worst place.

Andy Stanley and Louie Giglio discussing ministry and church.

Taking control of social media.

Michael Svigel is starting a set of posts on the church.  The pillers of the church: Marks–orthodoxy, order, ordinances; Works–exultation, edification, evangelism.

The pillar of essential Marks includes Orthodoxy, Order, andOrdinances. Orthodox believers are those who hold to the essential truths of the Christian faith—those fundamentals of the faith that have been believed everywhere, always, and by all. It corresponds with the Protestant emphasis on the “Word of God purely preached and heard” (1 Tim 3:14–15; 2 Tim 1:13–14; 3:13–4:5). Orderemphasizes the necessity of trained, trusted, and tested pastors, teachers, and shepherds of the church, to whom the orthodox faith has been entrusted to pass on to the next generation (Eph 4:11–12; 2 Tim 2:2; 1 Tim 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9; Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 5:1–3). And the term Ordinances refers to the sacraments of the church, including baptism and the Lord’s Supper as closely associated with discipline and purity of the church’s members (Matt 28:18; 1 Cor 11:23–26; 1 Pet 3:21–22).

The pillar of essential Works includes Evangelism, Edification, andExultation. Evangelism is primarily world-focused, emphasizing local and global missions. It includes invitation and initiation into the church through the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in the person and work of Christ (Matt 28:18; Luke 24:46–49; John 20:30–31; Acts 1:8; Eph 2:8–9). Edification describes the church’s role of building up believers in love and good works through the participation of its various members in their Spirit-gifted ministries, resulting in unity and maturity (Matt 28:19–20; Rom 12:4–8; 1 Cor 3:10–17; Eph 2:19–22; 4:11–13; Heb 5:12–14; 10:23–25). Finally, Exultation refers to the purpose, goal, and focus of the church—to glorify God the Father, through the Son, and by the power of the Spirit. The church must exult God through corporate worship and prayer as well as by a God-glorifying presence in the world (Matt 5:16; 25:34–40; Rom 11:33–12:2; Gal 1:3–5; 1 Pet 4:8–11).

For those who like to stay connected in cyberspace.

I’ve been praying for a friend who is going through a very painful and difficult season so this song is for him--with the encouragement that our Savior never fails, He knows and cares, He sees and understands. And even when we don’t understand, we can trust Him.

So when we cry for mercy and feel like there is no hope left--hold on and keep trusting.

Always
Building 429

I was standing in the pouring rain one dark November night
Fighting off the bitter cold when she caught my eye
Her face was taught and her eyes were filled, and to my surprise
She pulled out a photograph and my heart just stopped inside
She said, “He would’ve been three today
I miss his smile, I miss his face”
What was I supposed to say, but

CHORUS
I believe always, always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and his promise remains
He will be with you always

He was living in a broken world, dreaming of a home
His heart was barely keeping pace when I found him all alone
Remembering the way he felt when his daddy said goodbye
Fighting just to keep the tears and the anger locked inside
He’s barely holding onto faith
But deliverance is on its way, cause

CHORUS
I believe always, always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and his promise remains
He will be with you always

Friend, I don’t know where you are and I don’t know where you’ve been
Maybe you’re fighting for your life or just about to throw the towel in
But if you’re crying out for mercy, if there’s no hope left at all
If you’ve given everything you’ve got and you’re still about to fall
Well hold on, hold on, hold on, cause

I believe always, always
Our savior never fails
Even when all faith is gone
God knows our pain and his promise remains
Always, always, He will be with you always

Jason Roy © 2008 Shadow of Angels Publishing (BMI)/admin by Simpleville Music, Inc.

Show this on Between two Worlds

How to Spark Substantive Conversations with Your Spouse

Tony Reinke:

[David] Powlison suggested three categories of questions to ask your husband or wife. Each of these categories can be asked on a daily basis. And each of these categories are simple and broad, but certainly provide helpful reminders. Here are the three:

1. What are your present burdens?

The Bible tells us that we are born for trouble (Job 5:7). So what is the trouble? A sin? A responsibility? An issue at work? A particular conflict? What weighs you down? What was your lowlight of this day? These burdens are the “heat of life.”

2. What are your present joys?

What were your highlights from the day? These joys are the “dew of blessing.”

3. What is your calling?

This could include the mundane tasks, or broader life-purpose questions. What are your duties for this day? What do you need to do? What are your goals for this day? For example, a parent could say, “Today, I don’t want to lose my temper with the kids.” It could be as simple as this.

For more on this, see Powlison’s very helpful little booklet on Renewing Marital Intimacy.