Self Righteousness

This morning, Jack Graham's Power Point touched on a variety of topics, but the one that resonated with me was on being righteous with God. He painted a picture of it as being pretty exclusive. That is, anything you do outside of God's righteousness is at least counter-productive, if not sinful.

I so often dwell in this place of sinfulness, it's pathetic. In my quiet moments, I'm consistently asking [myself] what have I done wrong? Why am I out of sorts with this person? What have I done or what can I do to make everyone from Jodi, to the kids, to friends to kid's friend's parents, workmates, etc. - ad nauseum - happier? more content? like me? what is it?

I think I also try to either by works gain the right place or perhaps, when I think I'm doing well, propose in my tiny brain that if I'm right with God, then those interactions in which I'm so insecure, will be mended.

Not the case. When Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 that when we seek first his Kingdom all the things will be added, he's talking specifically about things. He knows the material world rest clearly below the spiritual one. However, looking both explicitly and implicitly at relationships, we can expect righteousness with God and righteousness with people outside the Kingdom, and perhaps inside it, to be at odds.

The salve will be true righteousness and I expect it to be an excellent one, but a salve doesn't mean the wounds disappear it just mitigates the pain of the stripes.

Topical Memory System

http://www.navigators.org/us/resources/illustrations/items/Topical%20Memory%20System

http://discipleshiplibrary.com/pdfs/APP00162.pdf

http://turret2.discipleshiplibrary.com/APP00162.mp3

We Mean Business

Compadres -

"We Mean Business" is my company's [Chase Couriers] slogan.

It communicates that we treat our customers with a high degree of quality care and service.

So should it be with our lives as men of God. Like good businessmen, we need to be practical and principled in our approach to our lives and ministries.

To prepare for Friday morning (2/9) listen to the personal testimony of Daws Trotman gave in 1955.

http://turret2.discipleshiplibrary.com/J132.mp3

As you listen, answer the following questions:

1. Who was the person most instrumental in bringing Daws to Christ?

2. What two spiritual weapons were used to bring Daws to Christ?

3. What surprising observation did Daws make about the Christians in the Young People's Group he attended?

4. How did scripture memory help him battle sin in his life?

5. Considering I Corinthians 10:13, what does our disbelief in His promise of victory say about our opinion on the faithfulness of God?

6. Daws said, "The greatest waste of time is the time getting ___________."

7. What personal application can you draw from this testimony?

8. What ministry application can you draw from this testimony?

Please be prepared to quote a verse you are currently working on.

See you Friday.

- Bill

Character

FROM BILL

Have you read II Timothy 2:2 in the Amplified version? It packs a powerful punch:

"And the instructions which you have heard from me along with many witnesses, transmit and entrust as a deposit to reliable and faithful men who will be competent and qualified to teach others also." -- II Timothy 2:2 (Amplified)

Each of us has been given a valuable deposit which we are called to transmit to faithful men.

Are we faithful men?

To prepare for Friday morning (1/26) please listen to this 38 MINUTE message by Skip Gray on five attitudes of a serious follower of Christ:

Faithful
Available
Inter-dependent
Teachable
Holy

Message: http://turret2.discipleshiplibrary.com/G360.mp3

As always, listen with dual purpose:

(1) Intake -- How does this apply to me personally?
(2) Output -- How does this apply to my ministry?

LISTEN AND TAKE GOOD NOTES that you might strengthen the iron in your spirit so as to be able to sharpen the iron in my spirit.

Genesis 3 and Quantum Theory

Leroy Eims' Daily Walk message for today is not specifically related to the reading. However, Mr. Eims talks about seeing what you're looking for. A big reason folks say they don't get anything from a specific reading is that they're not looking for anything. Click the hypertext above to hear his 4-minute message.

He breaks out two areas that are helpful as he journeys through the Bible.

1. Topical reading -- Say your looking for better ways to witness or disciple. Go to the gospels and look specifically at how Christ witnesses the father or how he approached picking disciples.
2. Character reading -- Want to be a man after God's heart? Read stories of David. You get the idea.

The pay off for me was seeing separation or more accurately, dialectics, through new eyes. Oddly, unless you know me of course, is that the idea of quantum theory was actually the topic that got me there. Dialectics? Quantum theory?

What follows you may find on a variety of blogs, a relatively uncohesive mix of ideas that I'm assuming is harmless, humorous or provocative, as in, for words -- do you guys ever comment?

Basically, (if basic is even possible at this point), there's the idea that the tree of knowledge of good and evil is the tactical hiccup at the fall. Prior to that knowledge, there may not have been any separation that would have occured on this plane in Adam's or Eve's mind.

Good or evil may have been as God described the separations at the time of creation -- [all good]. This naivete ...naked and unashamed...wasn't sinful until it was coupled with a disobedience, a disobedience of interpretation and exaggeration. At this point, the basics of quantum mechanics arise.

Recent experiments have shown quanta (packets of matter) have behaviors as radical as being in two places at once, but only when they're observed. Descartes and Newton are among those who would flip out if they knew that mind were getting an edge over matter in this way. And it forces a philosophical issue on modern objectivists who must deal with the impact our consciousness has on their "facts."

I love it. Was God giving us an insight into this when the knowledge, of good and evil, and any other dialectic, was where our fall occured? In other words, God creates no evil, per se, rather our knowledge of evil creates it. Satan was surely in the garden, but wasn't cursed in Biblical accounts until after our ancestors changed their perception. Paul refers to the law making sin as it points it out. Wrap your head around that.

Christ refers to the Kingdom being like a mustard seed in 3 gospels. Is this a suggestion that you can observe the smallest objective to formulate conditions that occur on the grandest of scale? Sounds like string theory. Man, that Bible. What a book.

Amen Brother Linus

CB: Isn't there anyone who can tell what Christmas is all about?
LVP: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.

[Luke 2:8-14 (King James Version)]

8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

videophiles can find this greatest moment in the history of animation here.

A review.

and finally, from the expanded director cut.

Availability Discussion

We began with a discussion on the irony of Availability and Diligence studies garnering attendance of less the 1/3 and 1/2 of the invitees, respectfully. If there's an intention to be there, and you miss the mark, check out the Blog Archive for September, Week 3 and Week 4. It's a message worth repeating, especially in light of how it's a cyclical, if not consistent, challenge.

I. subject
Isaiah 6:5-8 Addresses how we fall woefully short of perfection, yet, by grace, can have a use in the kingdom. Here am I. Take me.

This is a great example of what Mr. Henrichson pointed out as factor one in availability;

1. The Volunteer Spirit.
followed by;
2. Free from Entanglement. See 2 Tim 2:3-4 and Proverbs 22:7
3. Freedom from Sin
4. Training. See 1 Chron 12 -- this is the book-end to the volunteer spirit. Eagerness doesn't equal availability. Your preparation, your equipping, is a key element.

II. object
To whom are we making ourselves available? Maybe it's obvious that it's to God -- to God's will. Maybe Paul had it easy. Acts 9, he's confronted. His subsequent submission seems like a pretty obvious choice.

But, how do you determine God's will for you? Of course, there's the Word. Firmly placed at the head, 1 Cor 12 , is Christ. Easy, right? But the reference isn't to a disembodied head. The head implies that the body of Christ and its various spiritual leads -- think fruit of the spirit to get a manifold view of the way of leadership -- manifest the will of God, too. The body's doing what the head wills.

2 Cor 8:5 and Acts 6 each present spirtual leaders as executors of God's will.

III. verb
So, what's up? Mr. Henrichson suggests that nothing erodes availability like a feeling of your own importance.

It's relatively simple to understand being God's servant. How are we doing at serving the body -- at our willingness to be treated like a servant, albeit not called one, when it's coming from the body and not the head?