by Craig Etheredge

Dietrich Bonhoeffer grew up in an upper-middle-class German family of doctors and scientists. So when he told his parents that he wanted to study theology, they were not that excited. Dietrich later became one of the world’s foremost theologians and thinkers of the 20th century. He is not remembered as much for his public sermons as he is for his courageous stand against the massive wave of evil that swept over his country. Bonhoeffer served churches in Germany during World War II, and he saw the struggle within the German church under the growing pressure of the surging Nazi regime.

As the German Church officially supported the Aryan agenda, Bonhoeffer separated himself and led out in the establishment of a new Confessing Church that stood on the Scriptures. He secretly joined a resistance movement and was later implicated in a failed plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Just a couple of months following his 39th birthday, he was hung in a concentration camp in Flossenburg. Dietrich was a man who understood, more than most, the cost of discipleship. He was a Christian surrounded by suffering, and yet he didn’t hide from it—he embraced it with devotion to God and to the people he loved. Below are some of the greatest quotes from his book, “The Cost of Discipleship”.

“To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance.”

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching

of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline,

Communion without confession… Cheap grace is grace without discipleship,

grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

“Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.”

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it, a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.”

“One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.”

Bonhoeffer communicated to his generation the simple truth that following Jesus requires sacrifice. This was the lesson Jesus taught his disciples as He moved into the final months of His earthly ministry. Jesus had taken His disciples up into the region of Caesarea Philippi in the northern part of Israel. It was a place filled with pagan idols and the worship of foreign gods. And in that hostile environment, Jesus declared that upon the declaration of the Gospel, He would build His church and the gates of Hades could not prevail against it. Jesus was saying, “No matter how dark this world becomes, nothing can put out the light of the Gospel.”

This was a pivotal time in Jesus’ life. It was there He gathered His disciples around Him and declared, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me,” (Luke 9:23 ESV). With only a few months left before He would face the cross, Jesus began to speak clearly, and often about the cost of being a disciple and building disciples makers. He said to come after Him required denying our own selfish interests every day and yielding to God’s Kingdom as a priority. He said following Him meant taking up our own cross – an instrument of suffering and death – and putting Him first no matter what. In short, Jesus was saying that following Him required suffering, sacrifice and self-denial. (Luke 9:51 ESV) says that Jesus “set his face toward Jerusalem.” The term “set his face” could be translated “determined”, “resolute”; “steadfast”. Jesus was focused on going up to Jerusalem.

At this time, He began to reveal to His disciples the death He would face there. “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised,” (Luke 9:22 ESV). This was the first of three clear predictions of His death, burial and resurrection (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18–19 ESV). What awaited Jesus in Jerusalem was suffering and sacrifice. It was also during this time that Jesus’ disciples began to multiply. The Twelve quickly multiplied to The Seventy-Two, and they were deployed by Jesus to go preach and perform miracles in His name (Luke 10:1 ESV). Before long, they came back rejoicing at the wonders they saw, and the people who had come to faith in Christ (Luke 10:17 ESV). The movement had now reached the fourth generation – Jesus, the disciples, the seventy-two and the new believers. Now the movement was unstoppable. And this reality caused Jesus to be filled with joy (Luke 10:21 ESV)! The vision was becoming a reality. But that reality would not happen apart from sacrifice. It would not happen apart from suffering and self-denial.

For you to multiply your life, it will require a paradigm shift. Instead of living your life to please yourself, and instead of living to accomplish your temporal goals, it will require that you set aside your self-centered interests and begin to live a life focused on others. It will require you to sacrifice at times your own comfort and convenience, so you can fully obey Jesus’ commission. Jesus said in (John 12:24 NLT),

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels–a plentiful harvest of new lives.”

It was through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross that many people were saved. In the same way, when you die to yourself and the plans you have for your life, only then can God truly multiply your life in a powerful way.

This was certainly the same mindset in the Apostle Paul who said: “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain,”(Philippians 1:21 ESV). He also said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me…”(Galatians 2:20 ESV). Paul had made up his mind, he was going to live for Jesus no matter what, and his life is still bearing fruit today. He single-handedly ignited a movement by taking the Gospel to the nations, How will you live your life? Will you live it for yourself or will you give your life away to something greater? You have no idea what God could do with your one single life if you lived it completely and passionately for Him. Don’t waste your life—multiply your life!

Used with permission.

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The post It’s Time to Pivot in Discipleship appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: It’s Time to Pivot in Discipleship

The post It’s Time to Pivot in Discipleship appeared first on Passion for Planting.

Today’s post is written by Mark Clark. Mark is Senior Pastor of Village Church in Vancouver, a close friend, and co-creator of our courses The Art of Better Reaching and The Art of Better Preaching.

By Mark Clark

Religious people live, on average, seven years longer than non-religious people.

“Hold on, what?” you might be saying.

Fair enough. Let’s back up.

In his book Think Again organizational psychologist Adam Grant says that we can’t be afraid to be influenced by actual data in forming ideas versus what we thought was the case, or what we feel is the case or what we would rather be the case, in any given scenario.

For example, would we be open to changing our views on something we really believe in if data arose that said our prior conclusions had been wrong? Oftentimes we reject such data for a plethora of reasons, the most powerful of which is that we have become comfortable in our beliefs about things, and contrary data messes with that.

“When it comes to our knowledge and opinions,” Grant says, “we often favor feeling right over being right… we favor the comfort of conviction over the discomfort of doubt.”

This is a scary thought, but is proven over and over again in the realm of psychology, and as a pastor, I have seen it over and over again in ministry – whether that be people who hold hard against a theological conclusion that the Bible is clearly laying out because they have prior ideas, or behaviors that don’t line up, or people who have an interpretation of a passage and can’t stand the thought that maybe that isn’t saying what they thought it was.

We see this right now in our political debates online, whether they be about actual politics or the downstream discussions popular right now about vaccines, COVID orders, church and state debates, etc.

People have their views and they believe and promote data and ‘facts’ that support those views and ignore contrary data. It’s true about all of us.

People have their views and they believe and promote data and ‘facts’ that support those views and ignore contrary data. – @markaclarkClick To Tweet

The lack of humility on one side or the other should be your first clue that maybe the person you are staring at isn’t open to think again or look at an issue from a different angle at all.

You know what they say: to a hammer everything is a nail.

To some people right now every idea, news story, piece of information they receive is only meant to fit into the narrative they have decided is true already, and that’s that. There is no convincing them otherwise. It’s a scary place to be, to be honest.

Jesus warned against people who aren’t so much deceived by others, though of course that is a part of this kind of person’s situation as well most times, but those who are self-deceived. And therein lies part of the problem: we don’t know what we don’t know.

Thus, I would say humility and open-mindedness to data and ideas is central to us as we find our way through this new world.

Which brings us to my point:

I want to turn this idea of ‘thinking again’ and aim it at an idea so rooted in the post-Christian west that I am sure it will mess with our brain a little. It is the idea that religion is good, indeed, great for society as a whole.

Of course the popular narrative of the western world over the last one hundred years or so, and especially the last 30 or 40 has been that religion is ‘poison’ as the famous atheist Christopher Hitchens used to argue. That religion creates war and atrocity, judgmentalism and racism, intolerance and ignorance, across the populace. Images of people denying science, hating others, doing violence against people, rule the day.

I grew up with this narrative. Not explicitly told me by people of course, but by osmosis. Through my education, reading, movies, television, the news, general conversations with friends.

This is the assumed truth of our western story. Atheism, or at least agnosticism, produces a better, more progressive society. Religion, a stunted or even backward trending society. So much so that in Universities and in the public square today it is just part of the unspoken story, and because it is thus, it also in some ways, goes unchallenged too.

This is the assumed truth of our western story. Atheism, or at least agnosticism, produces a better, more progressive society. – @markaclarkClick To Tweet

But what if the data said otherwise?

What if your anecdotal story of that one religious uncle you know, or that one group on Facebook that time, was all called into question by the facts? Would you be willing to change your mind?

I don’t imagine a short blog post like this will do that, but let’s at least start the conversation. I would like to think you are open to ‘think again’ when it comes to this question, and I think you should, and here’s why.

The data tells us we’ve been wrong all along, and that story of the triumph of secularization is just plain false when we ask the question: how religion impacts and affects the cities, neighborhoods, communities, nations and individuals it exists within.

More pointedly, when the question is: does it have a positive or a negative impact on culture, the overwhelming reality is that it has a positive, not a negative one. In fact, it isn’t even close. The atheists are wrong. And by a long shot.

A STARK CONTRAST (see what I did there?)

Rodney Stark is one of the most celebrated and respected sociologists of religion in the world. “He has written over 30 books, and more than 140 articles on subjects as diverse as prejudice, crime, suicide, and city life in ancient Rome, and has twice won the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.”

In one of his books which I read recently he sketched out some fascinating conclusions based on detailed sociological data that are so contrary to popular opinion and the assumed narrative of the post-christian west that most will greet them with a filter of suspicion, or outright disbelief, but as we said above, that doesn’t mean they aren’t true – only that we may be victims of our own self-selected confirmation biases, fooled by our own carefully curated news, opinions and information, if not about a number of things in our lives, certainly in regard to the areas Stark explores using America as a microcosm example of the west at large.

So what areas does he explore and what are his conclusions? And what does it mean for us?

HIS CONCLUSIONS

There are a hundred and one things his data concludes which you can read for yourself in more detail, but here are some of the more interesting ones. And again, let’s remind ourselves, his conclusions are based on actual research done by an actual sociologist and his colleagues, not what passes today as research – i.e. a google search, and a scroll of your Facebook feed, and that website which has those Youtube videos by that doctor.

In his rigorous and pointed style Stark shows that the academic literature routinely ignores evidence of religion’s beneficial social effects. He demonstrates that religious people:

Are the primary source of secular charitable funds that benefit victims of misfortune whatever their beliefs
Dominate the ranks of blood donors and other prosocial behaviors
Are much less likely to commit crimes
Far more likely to donate their money and time to socially beneficial programs and to be active in civic affairs. (The impact of religious people on volunteering alone is an estimated $47 billion annually in the United States alone!)
Enjoy superior mental health – are deemed happier, less neurotic, and far less likely to commit suicide
Enjoy superior physical health – have an average life expectancy more than seven years longer than that of the irreligious
Read more than their irreligious friends and neighbors
Are less likely to believe in the occult, UFO’s, Bigfoot, etc.
More apt to marry, less likely to divorce, and report higher degrees of satisfaction with their spouse.
Religious husbands are far less likely to abuse their wives or children. This is of course contrary to the story that religions create systems of oppression in the home because of ‘male patriarchy’.
Religious fathers are more likely to be involved in youth-related activities such as coaching sports teams or leading Scout troops, etc.
Religious couples enjoy their sex lives more, women are more likely to have regular orgasms, and sex happens more often.They are also far less likely to have an affair.
Religious students perform better on standardized achievement tests, are far less likely to drop out of school, obtain better jobs upon graduation, and are far less likely to be on unemployment (the studies for all of these and especially this one and all surrounding crime stats, etc., factor in races/geographies across the U.S.)
In 247 studies done between 1944 and 2010: religion has a positive effect on society in regard to crime, deviance and delinquency.
Crime rates in the US compared to the decidedly less religious countries of Western Europe are glaringly less in many categories, with the exception of homicide rates: Denmark has nearly two-and-a-half times as many burglaries per 100,000 people, and is exceeded by Austria, Switzerland, the U.K., Sweden, Belgium and the Netherlands. The same is true for theft, and assault rates.
Urban stats going from present-day back to the 1920s shows that the higher a city’s church membership rate, the lower its burglary, larceny, robbery, assault and homicide rates.

Stats going from present-day back to the 1920s shows that the higher a city’s church membership rate, the lower its burglary, larceny, robbery, assault and homicide rates. – @markaclarkClick To Tweet

I point all of this out to not only because it plays a fascinating role in forcing us as individuals to constantly be open to re-thinking what we thought was true and why we thought it was so (a much-needed posture of humility is needed in this regard on both sides of the political aisle), but also to challenge the powerful, overarching narrative of our time – that God and religion have no place in society and that the real hope for us is fill in the blank: education, technology, the arts, science – as if those are antithetical to religion.

Not only is that a simplistic, reductionist narrative to sell the public, it is blatantly wrong.

The data not only doesn’t back it up, it actually draws the opposite picture.

That without religious people and groups, society as a whole, including most importantly, the marginalized, would be far worse off.

Without religious people and groups, society as a whole, including most importantly, the marginalized, would be far worse off. – @markaclarkClick To Tweet

We see this reality play out over and over again. Nicholas Kristof, a columnist for the New York Times wrote an article years ago wherein he explored the work of an unknown evangelical Christian doctor who ran a hospital in Angola, where the child mortality rate was the highest in the world. He raised his family in one of the most dangerous places in the world.

Kristof writes:

“Most evangelicals are not, of course, following such a harrowing path, and it’s also true that there are plenty of secular doctors doing heroic work… But I must say that a disproportionate share of the aid workers I’ve met in the wildest places over the years, long after anyone sensible had evacuated, have been evangelicals, nuns or priests.”

That of course doesn’t mean that religion is true, that is for another day – but it is to say, importantly, that skeptics need to be careful in their argument against Christianity and religion based on a purely social argument.

They need to tread far more carefully when they want to argue that somehow religion is toxic to a culture. It is not. See even the latest arguments from thinkers like David Berlinski, in his The Devil’s Delusion, a secular philosopher /scientist who sees a connection between many of our social ills and atheism, especially in the realm of the question of meaning, and how people absorb suffering.

Sure, ‘this’ or ‘that’ version of religion could be toxic, admittedly, it could lead to racism, or oppressive attitudes toward women, or minorities, etc. That is still true, and something we need to always be fighting, especially given that the central story of Christianity in particular is its central figure, Jesus, dying and serving to raise others up, not being opposed to any, but loving all.

Bad versions and applications of religion are everywhere, and we need to be weary of them.

Stark’s point is not that we should ignore those proclivities, but that we do need to get a far clearer and fuller picture of the positives of religious impact on the west in a cultural moment when the narrative around it is almost exclusively negative.

Bad versions and applications of religion are everywhere, and we need to be weary of them. – @markaclarkClick To Tweet

CONCLUSION

I am not a sociologist, but I am a pastor which means I have a lot of conversations with people who are opposed to Christianity. A lot of them over the years point out how bad the idea of God is for the world.

That story is popular and well-told over and over again so much so that it lives in our consciousness as a fact.

I share this data to simply ask the skeptic to be willing to stop doing what they ask religious people to stop doing on the daily: spreading false-hood.

The idea that religion is bad for society simply isn’t true and it isn’t true in a hundred different ways. Are you willing to adjust your framework of the world and the question of God and the church around data versus what you have heard, or want to be true?

We all have to be willing to doubt our doubts and at least take a second or third look at the question of God as it relates to the experience of individuals, societies, cities, nations, towns, which of course, include your own communities, and be open to the idea that in the end the God hypothesis may prove to be harder to leave behind than we once thought, or, in the spirit of today’s arguments, we may not want to leave it behind at all, because it may be our only way to accomplish socially what we all desire.

You ever wonder why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., cited the prophets of the Bible in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, versus an atheist manifesto?

Because his larger vision, his dream, could only be accomplished by it being built on a foundation of transcendence.

That is what gave humankind it’s equality. The fact that it was made in the image of God. Not the state, or reasons of the social class, or because it was a more enlightened primate, or whatever other reasons for equality and justice we construct.

His argument, like Wilberforce and so many others before him, was that social good and flourishing was rooted in God. As others have pointed out, it wasn’t that America needed less religion, but better religion.

If we are going to reach the post-Christian west, we need to hold tightly to idea not that individuals alone need to come to know God, but that in knowing him there will be a horizontal impact on the world around it.

A good and flourishing impact that brings shalom even to people who don’t agree with it. Life-giving, not toxic. Serving, not taking. Loving, not judging.

Facts don’t adjust because we feel they should.

We are better to adjust in light of them instead of burying them beneath bias. The truth will set us free, Jesus said. Seems like it is setting others free as well.

Whether they appreciate it or not.

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Is Your Church Ready For Future Evangelism? Take The Free Church Outreach Assessment To Find Out.

Almost every church leader wants to grow their church by reaching more people.

As culture continues to change rapidly into a post-Christian era, though, itu2019s left many leaders feeling like theyu2019re not accomplishing their mission. For too many churches, things arenu2019t going as hoped.

After you complete the assessment, youu2019ll receive a detailed breakdown of your results and get access to a free teaching series that will help you take practical steps forward in each of the five areas.

When youu2019re done, youu2019ll be far more equipped to accomplish your mission.

Donu2019t be discouraged. You can still reach people.

Take the Church Outreach Assessment now!”,”container_class”:””,”element_class”:””,”wrap_styles_border”:0,”wrap_styles_width”:””,”wrap_styles_margin”:””,”wrap_styles_padding”:””,”wrap_styles_float”:””,”wrap_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”label_styles_border”:””,”label_styles_width”:””,”label_styles_font-size”:””,”label_styles_margin”:””,”label_styles_padding”:””,”label_styles_float”:””,”label_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”element_styles_border”:””,”element_styles_width”:””,”element_styles_font-size”:””,”element_styles_margin”:””,”element_styles_padding”:””,”element_styles_float”:””,”element_styles_show_advanced_css”:0,”cellcid”:”c8551″,”key”:”the_pivot_ready_cheat_sheet_1602862985838″,”drawerDisabled”:false,”wrap_styles_background-color”:””,”wrap_styles_border-style”:””,”wrap_styles_border-color”:””,”wrap_styles_display”:”block”,”field_label”:””,”field_key”:”the_pivot_ready_cheat_sheet_1602862985838″,”id”:”1023_1″,”beforeField”:””,”afterField”:””,”value”:”

Is Your Church Ready For Future Evangelism? Take The Free Church Outreach Assessment To Find Out.

Almost every church leader wants to grow their church by reaching more people.

As culture continues to change rapidly into a post-Christian era, though, itu2019s left many leaders feeling like theyu2019re not accomplishing their mission. For too many churches, things arenu2019t going as hoped.

After you complete the assessment, youu2019ll receive a detailed breakdown of your results and get access to a free teaching series that will help you take practical steps forward in each of the five areas.

When youu2019re done, youu2019ll be far more equipped to accomplish your mission.

Donu2019t be discouraged. You can still reach people.

Take the Church Outreach Assessment now!”,”label_pos”:”above”,”parentType”:”html”,”element_templates”:[“html”,”input”],”old_classname”:””,”wrap_template”:”wrap”}];nfForms.push(form);

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Want more?

For more on how to interact with the post-Christian west as a Christian leader see our upcoming course The Art of Better Reaching.

If you want more help responding to the skeptics, check out my book, The Problem of God: Answering a Skeptics Challenges to Christianity.

I’d love to hear about 1 thing you’ve had to ‘think again’ about in the last year. While you’re responding below, please be kind. This is no place for outrage or toxic behavior.

The post Think Again: Why Religion is Good for Us appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: Think Again: Why Religion is Good for Us

The post Think Again: Why Religion is Good for Us appeared first on Passion for Planting.

by Craig Etheredge

Jesus left no room for confusion.

Jesus clearly said that He is the only way to salvation and reconciliation with God. In (John 14:6 ESV) He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” on another occasion Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins,” (John 8:24 NLT).

Followers of Jesus hold steadfastly that Jesus is the only way. That exclusivity is what often gets pushback from people. The reason, “There are lots of religions in the world and many good, well-meaning people. How can Jesus be the only way?”

I remember sharing this truth with a woman several years ago. Growing up as a diplomat’s daughter, she had traveled all around the world and lived in several cultures. When I told her that Jesus was the only way, she retorted, “such a statement was hubris and arrogant.”

Why do followers of Jesus believe that He is the only way?

Jesus claimed to be God.

In John 10, Jesus is engaged in a heated exchange with the religious leaders of His day. Jesus had just healed a man who was born blind, but He did it on the Sabbath day of rest when work was prohibited. Thus, these leaders were concerned more with Jesus breaking a Sabbath law than the incredible miracle of this man’s healing.

During this discussion, Jesus said these words: “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly,” (John 10:7-10 ESV). Jesus was making a claim that He (and He alone) was the doorway, the pathway to God.

Jesus went on to say, “I am the good shepherd,” (John 10:11 ESV), “I give them eternal life and they will never perish,” (John 10:28 ESV), and “I and the Father are one,” (John 10:30 ESV). Jesus repeatedly claimed to be one with the Father and the exclusive giver of salvation and eternal life. And His enemies got the picture. They quickly picked up stones to kill Jesus on the spot. When Jesus asked why they were doing this, they said, “because you, being a man, make yourself God,” (John 10:33 ESV).

This wasn’t the first time Jesus had claimed to be the messiah, God in the flesh, and the only way to salvation. Jesus claimed to live before Abraham (John 8:58 ESV). Jesus claimed to exist with the Father in eternity past (John 17:5 ESV). Jesus claimed to be the First and the Last — a name for God (Revelation 1:17 ESV). Jesus claimed to be the judge of all the people(Matthew 25:31 ESV). Jesus claimed to forgive sin (Matthew 9:2-7 ESV). All the while, the religious leaders plotted to kill Jesus because he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God (John 5:18 ESV).

They wanted Jesus dead because He claimed to be God. But probably His most shocking claim came at His trial. When the high priest asked Jesus if He was the Christ, the Son of the Blessed, Jesus replied, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven,” (Mark 14:62 ESV). With that, they charged Jesus with blasphemy and sent Him to the cross.

Let me make this very clear… Jesus never claimed to be a good teacher, a moral leader, or a spiritual guru. Jesus made the audacious claim to be God in the flesh. That is why they killed Him! You might say, “Well, there have been many men who have made audacious claims to be God in the past. That doesn’t make it true!” And you would be right. So, is there any reason for us to believe what Jesus said is true?

Jesus fulfilled ancient prophecy.

In 1966, Barry Leventhal was on top of the world. As team captain, he led the UCLA football team to its first-ever Rose Bowl championship. He had it all — popularity, fame, success. Soon after the Rose Bowl victory, one of his closest friends became a follower of Jesus and introduced Barry to Hal, the director of Campus Crusade on the UCLA campus. Hal talked to Barry about the claim of Jesus to be the messiah. He even showed Barry prophecies about the coming messiah that Jesus fulfilled. In one of those discussions, Barry got angry! “You rewrote the Bible to make it look like Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. This can’t be true!” But several days later, Barry opened up his copy of the Scriptures and turned to Isaiah 53. He began to read about the messiah to come.

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6 ESV)

It seemed so clear that these verses were speaking about Jesus. But were these verses tampered with, to make it look like Jesus had fulfilled them?

In 1947, a young Arab boy playing around a cave just west of the dead Sea made the discovery of a lifetime — the “Dead Sea Scrolls.” Contained in the find was one complete copy of the book of Isaiah. This copy dated back before the life of Jesus. While the original is kept secure in Israel, a copy is on display at the “Shrine of the Book” wing of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Do you know what they discovered? That copy of Isaiah 53 reads just like the one in your Bible. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah wrote that the Messiah would be anointed by the Spirit, be driven by justice, have an international ministry, and be a gifted teacher. Coming from humble beginnings, He would be discouraged and rejected, suffer, die a substitutionary death, and later come back to life. That sounds a lot like Jesus!

But that is not the only prophecy that points to Jesus. Prophecies about the Messiah said that He would be of Jewish linage (Genesis 12:3 ESV), from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10 ESV), of the house of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6 ESV), born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14 ESV), and born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2 ESV). He would come out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1 ESV), live in Nazareth (Isaiah 11:1 ESV), and minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2 ESV). He would speak in parables (Psalm 78:2-4 ESV), be praised (Psalm8:2), and called King (Psalm 2:6 ESV). He would be betrayed by a friend and sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13 ESV), His hands and side would be pierced (Psalm 22:16 ESV), no bones would be broken (Psalm 22:17 ESV), and He would be forsaken by God (Psalm 22:1 ESV).

Throughout His life, Jesus fulfilled approximately 353 ancient prophecies written hundreds of years before His birth, identifying Him as the messiah.

Jesus died for our sin.

Jesus fulfilled prophecy and claimed to be the messiah for one reason: so He could suffer on the cross as a once and for all sacrifice for your sin and mine. Aside from Jesus, there is no such thing as a perfect person. We are all guilty of sin. No one is innocent, (1 John 1:8; Romans 3:10-18 ESV).

According to God’s law, our sin must be punished. No matter how good you try to be, you can never be good enough to erase the sins of your past, any more than your efforts to be a good parent can erase a speeding ticket. We are sinful! We are guilty! And the punishment is death and separation from God.

(Romans 6:23 ESV) says, “For the wages of sin is death…” What we need is forgiveness, but forgiveness isn’t possible unless someone pays sin’s penalty.

(Hebrews 9:22 ESV) states, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” This is what Jesus came to do. on the cross, Jesus absorbed the punishment for your sin so that you could be forgiven and made clean again.

(1 Peter 3:18 NLT) says, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time.” He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit. If there was another way to have our sins forgiven, then Jesus’ death would have been meaningless. He would have suffered for no reason, and He would have lied by telling people that He was the only way back to God.

The real question is not, “Why is Jesus the only way?” The real question is, “Why is there any way at all?” It is only by God’s mercy and grace that He has made a way for us to be right with Him, and that act of mercy is found in Jesus alone.

Jesus rose from the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus was also prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures. King David wrote under the leading of the Holy Spirit, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol [place of the dead], or let your holy one see corruption,” (Psalm 16:10 ESV).

Even the scroll of Isaiah predicts that the messiah, the Holy one, will be brought back to life (Isaiah 53:10-12, 52:13-15 ESV).

Jesus also said this would happen. “For this reason, the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again,” (John 10:17-18 ESV).

The facts concerning Jesus’ resurrection are irrevocable. Jesus died on the cross. Jesus’ body was placed under guard in a tomb. Three days later, Jesus’ body was missing and as many as 500 people at one time gave corroborated eyewitness testimony that they saw Jesus alive over a forty-day period. These facts were written down in some of the most ancient creeds we have that date back to just a few years after the death of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-7 ESV). The early Christians were so committed to the truth of these facts that they willingly gave up their lives rather than saying it wasn’t true. How do you explain that?

Jesus changed history.

Jesus has forever changed the world. millions of lives have been transformed by the power of the message of Jesus. Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, wrote: “Why did thousands suffer torture and death for this lie if they knew it was a lie? What force sent Christians to the lions’ den with hymns on their lips? What lie ever transformed the world like that?”

Millions of people have been radically changed by Jesus Christ. These people have been willing to live for Jesus, to share what Jesus has done for them with others, and even to suffer and die for His name. C.S. Lewis, the Oxford scholar, wrote:

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

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Used with permission.

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By Discipleship.org: Whenever someone says that they believe in Jesus, I always wonder to myself, Which Jesus?

What I call “Easy Jesus” is a common alternative to the real Jesus in my culture and context. Easy Jesus is, of course, easy to believe in because he only teaches what I already believe to be true. There are multiple versions of Easy Jesus. There is both a progressive Easy Jesus and a conservative Easy Jesus.

Here are four signs that you might believe in Easy Jesus:

1. Can’t admit that I could be wrong.

Easy Jesus tells me that I am right about everything because he believes and teaches everything that I already believe. This makes Jesus easy because he can never correct the areas in my life where I am not conformed to the real Jesus.

I grew up in a theologically conservative setting, where racism and discrimination against the poor were common. However, if you called out the racist or discriminating behavior, those responsible for the infractions would disagree—because they knew what the Bible says. They simply could not entertain the idea that they were wrong about something, even though their actions proved otherwise.

Therefore, if you cannot conceive that you could be wrong in how you are living out the words, teachings, commands, and example of Jesus in everyday life, then you really need to consider the possibility that you believe in Easy Jesus.

2. Holding an oversimplified understanding of evil.

Because Easy Jesus believers never challenge where others in the know might be wrong, the problem is always perceived to be with other people. The problem with the world is “the evil people, on the other side.”

But Paul wrote: “There is no one righteous, not even one . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:11, 23).

We only begin to escape being evil by submitting to Jesus, by imitating and obeying him as his disciple. But even then we realize that we are still at war with the residual evil of our fallen selves which has yet to completely die.

If I believe that the primary problem of evil in the world is “the evil people out there, doing evil things” and not the evil that still exists within me, then I really need to consider the possibility that I believe in Easy Jesus.

3. Playing the victim.

Because Easy Jesus always agrees with me and tells me that the problem in the world is “the evil people out there” instead of the “evil person inside,” Easy Jesus tells me that I am the victim.

Yet the real Jesus stated:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness. . . Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. . .” (Matt. 5:10-12).

And:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. . . Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. . . They will treat you this way because of my name. . . ” (John 15:18-21).

Paul also wrote:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:28-30).

Disciples of Jesus never play the victim. We only experience the sufferings of Jesus as God works in all circumstance and relationships in order to conform us into his image.

When I read Scripture, it seems to clearly state that all believers, in all places, at all times, will suffer for the sake of Jesus in order to be conformed into his image by being conformed to his suffering.

4. Looking for easy discipleship.

I have seen quite a few pastors, church leaders, and other believers in my culture and context accept the Scriptural arguments for being and making disciples of Jesus; only to then fail to implement true disciple making, because they try to make it easy.

Jesus said:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

What Easy Jesus offers is no yoke or burden at all. Yes, Jesus’ yoke and burden are easy and light in comparison to the burden and the yoke of the Jewish Law that his first century audience was under; but coming to him and learning from him is still a yoke and a burden that must be borne.

Easy Jesus teaches that we need not carry any burden, that following Jesus should cost us nothing, and that we need not suffer persecution for his sake. Easy Jesus deceives us by promising to allow us to follow Jesus without ever having to be corrected by Jesus, without ever having to deal with our own fallenness, without ever having to suffer for his sake, and by making discipleship easy and effortless.

The real Jesus promised:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24).

Will you follow the real Jesus by imitating and obeying him as his disciple?

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Source: Four Signs that You Might Believe in Easy Jesus

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By unSeminary: Thanks for joining in for this week’s unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Jenn Clauser, the Director of Communications at Coker United Methodist Church in San Antonio, Texas. She’s with us today to dig deeper into online church and how to integrate it as a core part of our mission to reaching people who are far from God.

Optimize your website. // Before COVID, Coker felt led to make their online presence more robust. They partnered with Missional Marketing who rebuilt the church’s website for search engine optimization. By paying attention to what people are looking for in keyword searches online from month to month, a website can be made to do outreach for you. Coker layers these words into their website in an authentic way by using them in sermon series. Divorce, for example, is a high search term in the month of January, so Coker tends to lead into the year with a series about families. They might use phrases on their website such as: How do you avoid divorce? How do you care for someone who has been divorced? How do we strengthen marriage? By developing a strong online presence, you will be easily found by your community in their time of need.Create connections. // As online viewership increased during COVID, Coker began to ask how they could see the analytics as faces. These are real people looking for guidance and connections. Feed them where they are and offer them help and services online even if you can’t see them. Coker did this by connecting their online audience to meaningful community. A few steps they took included setting up a way where online guests could register their attendance and let you know their names and email addresses. They created a place for online prayer requests and a team responds to these requests in real time. Coker also offered people a free book in exchange for their email address, as well as one-off courses, like a simple marriage class. Have a connections expert who is in charge of reaching out to them see where their needs are.Launch classes online. // Within their online campus, Coker listed all of their courses online. Allowing all of your classes to be attended in that format opens the door to a new audience who may never have attended your church before. Coker has their classes set up similar to Google Classroom. People can get the class content, a Facebook group where they can connect during the week, the Zoom link, and other resources for attendees. Online classes provide a way to reach people that won’t walk through the doors of your church right away, but they feel comfortable being present in an online Zoom classroom. It gives them the chance to know others’ faces, and provides a bridge where they could feel comfortable attending church in person down the road. Don’t miss this mission field opportunity.Brainstorm new ideas. // Recognizing the opportunities that are provided by mixing online and in-person, Coker is brainstorming a lot of possible ideas right now. In the fall they are launching an intentional discipleship program where people take an online assessment, get their results, and then meet with a spiritual director who will guide their next steps. Depending on what the spiritual director recommends, people may then get involved in online classes to help them study the Bible better or dig deeper into prayer. Another new thing Coker is trying is assembling five community groups. Four of these will be in-person and one will be online. Each group will meet quarterly as a community gathering for things such as a BBQ, a study group, a monthly dinner, etc. Coker will see what organically grows from there.Listen well. // During this transitional phase it’s important for churches to be listening to what their community needs as well as how they want to connect with your church. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas and offer a mix of online and in-person services or events. Most of all, make space to listen to God. During the pandemic, God has shown Jenn that she needs to be intentional about her connection with Him. Pay particular attention to your sabbath, your time with God alone, and time with other people and how God might be speaking through them. Commit everything to prayer, and know who your Spirit-led experts are. Talk decisions out with other leaders at the church, but also don’t be afraid to use Google to research and learn!

You can learn more about Coker United Methodist Church at www.coker.org and visit their online campus at Coker.org/cokeronline.

Thank You for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally!

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Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Carey Nieuwhof

Leadership has felt pretty uncertain and divisive this past year. How do you make decisions when the future isn’t predictable and your team has different opinions?Download the FREE Pivot Ready Cheat Sheet to get help making progress and gaining clarity through rapid change and disruption. It will give you a framework that effective and resilient leaders use to make decisions and take action.

Source: Applying Pandemic Learnings from Church Online to Post-Pandemic Church with Jenn Clauser

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Fear can hold you back, but the Spirit can make you bold.

Probably the biggest excuse that keeps us from talking about Jesus is fear. We are afraid to talk to someone we don’t know. We are afraid of how they will respond. We are afraid of looking foolish or saying the wrong thing. We are afraid of getting into a conversation that will go over our heads. Fear paralyzes.

While most experts say each of us when threatened, has a fight or flight instinct, the reality is we also have another instinct — freeze. It’s a fascinating study of why people freeze up and don’t respond even when facing a life-threatening situation. That’s because fear makes us freeze. It renders us powerless to move or even react appropriately.

Most of the time, we are afraid of sharing our faith because we think that means we are going to be forced to knock on doors, or preach on the street corners. Confrontational styles of evangelism may not fit your personality or gifting. That’s OK. But we can’t let fear keep us from sharing what Jesus has done for us. So how can we move past fear? Let me answer that question with a story.

In Acts 3-4, Peter and john were headed to the temple in Jerusalem to worship when they encountered a man who couldn’t walk. Sensing the prompting and power of the Holy Spirit, Peter reached out his hand to this man and miraculously healed him. While everyone saw this miracle as a mighty movement of God, the religious leaders were not so excited. Peter and John were quickly called before the high court and interrogated by the very men that had plotted the death of Jesus. You would think that in this intense and intimidating situation Peter and john would cower in fear — but they didn’t.

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4.8-13 NIV)

Far from being fearful or quiet, Peter and john became bold. They boldly spoke the name of Jesus. They declared that Jesus died and rose from the dead. They even radically proclaimed that Jesus is the only way to salvation. And their boldness was shockingly noticeable! Look again at verse 13:

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John … they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

Peter and John were common, ordinary men standing before the most learned and religious men of their day. They certainly didn’t have the education and knowledge that the Pharisees and religious leaders had, but they did have one thing — boldness. They were courageous and unafraid. That is what God wants from you and me — a courageous boldness to step into any situation and declare the hope we have in Jesus.

Afterward, Peter and John were warned and released. They quickly ran back to the other disciples and they all began to pray.

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness,” (acts 4.29 NIV).

Notice they didn’t pray, “Lord, protect us from these leaders,” or, “Lord, help us be wise in how we react to these threats.” They prayed for boldness to speak unashamedly and fearlessly.

What was the secret to their boldness? What made them step forward in courage instead of shrinking back in cowardice? The secret is found in verse 8:

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said…,”

Did you see that? It was the Holy Spirit who gave them boldness in that moment to speak what needed to be said.

In fact, all through this chapter you see both “boldness” and the “Holy Spirit” mentioned repeatedly. After the disciples prayed for boldness, look what happened…

“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly,” (Acts 4.31 NIV).

When you are filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, you will speak boldly for Jesus. He will empower you. He will give you the words to speak. Jesus promised His disciples,

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say,” (Luke 12.11-12 NIV).

That is exactly what happened! Peter and John stood before the rulers of Israel, and the Holy Spirit gave them the words and the boldness they needed. The same is true with you. If you will be faithful to make your “Top Five” list, look for opportunities to move conversations toward God, pray for your lost friends and intentionally speak about what Jesus has done for you, the Holy Spirit will give you the boldness and the words in the moment you need them. Don’t let fear hold you back anymore! Ask God to fill you with His Spirit and with great boldness!

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By Craig Etheredge. Used with permission.

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Source: Is Fear Holding You Back?

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By Justin Gravitt: Let’s take a moment to appreciate doctors. They really are amazing people. Whenever anything goes wrong with your body, they embark on a quest to diagnose, then treat the problem. They start by intently listening to your experience. They ask questions. They use instruments to poke, and to prod, and to see. Next, they often use tests such as an EEG, a MRI, a CT-scan, a GTT, a PFT, or any number of other tests that have three-letter acronyms. When it’s all said and done, they can tell you what’s going wrong and your best next step.

Much like a doctor works to diagnose what’s causing the patient’s problem, a skilled disciple maker should diagnose a disciple’s current obstacle to health. One common obstacle is stagnation.

Every relationship has an ebb and flow. The same is true of our relationship with God and in our disciple making relationships. Stagnation goes beyond that natural rhythm of ebb and flow; rather it’s the state of being stuck, of spinning your wheels, of an apparent inability to move forward toward becoming a fruitful disciple maker. In situations like these, disciple makers must do their best doctor impression.

One of the best tools disciple makers can use is the VHS (vision, heart, skill) tool. Used properly it helps a disciple maker understand what’s keeping a disciple from normal, healthy growth.

To use the tool a disciple maker must first recognize that healthy disciple making develops vision, heart, and skill in the disciple. These three areas must be nurtured if she is to become a well-rounded disciple maker who is committed to a lifestyle of reproduction. Let’s briefly define each area.

Vision

Vision answers the question, “How do I fit into what God is doing?” A disciple with vision doesn’t lose sight of the forest while he is planting, cultivating, and pruning the trees. He can clearly see the BIG story God writing and the task God has given him to do, but at the same time he also sees the LOCAL work he must do to help accomplish the global (& eternal) aspiration.

Heart

Heart answers the question, “Why do I care?” A disciple with heart is willing to sacrifice to do her part. It’s possible to see the vision, but still not want to participate in it. Understanding without doing is widespread in our culture and in the church. A disciple with heart emotionally understands that her work of disciple making has eternal consequences. When she wins and disciples a young mother she plays a big role in that mother’s eternal destination. When that young mother wins and disciples her children and other moms, the eternal impact is multiplied in a generational way. A disciple with heart not only sees the mission, but she feels the mission. She is compelled to do her part. Sitting on the sidelines is not an option.

Skill

 Skill answers the question, “How do I do it?” A skilled disciple maker has sufficient courage, competence, and confidence to disciple others. Disciple making is a spiritual endeavor, so he should never feel fully skilled. Yet he brings all of himself to the relationship and prayerfully trusts God to provide growth. At the same time, a disciple maker who has heart and vision is motivated to continually develop his disciple making skills.

Now that we understand each area let’s look at how to use the tool.

When you recognize that something just doesn’t feel right in your disciple making relationship, ask yourself, “Is the problem she’s having a result of a lack of vision, heart, or skill?”

“Is she having trouble seeing what to do? or Caring about why it should be done? Or is her problem the result of not knowing how to do it?

Vision problems need to be addressed with prayer, Scripture, and by passionately casting a clear vision while living it out. Problems of the heart need to be addressed with prayer, Scripture, and by helping the disciple align her expressed priorities to everyday life. Finally, problems of skill need to be addressed with prayer, Scripture, and through life-on-life equipping.

This tool should only be used in the hands of a disciple maker. If a disciple uses the tool for self-assessment, the results will likely be warped. For example, a disciple without vision or heart will wrongly believe that they aren’t discipling because they don’t have the skills they need. In reality, a disciple without vision will have trouble connecting to the big why (heart) of making disciples (isn’t disciple making God’s job?, won’t others in the congregation feel like I’m playing favorites?, I make disciples by serving and modeling, etc.), they are stuck, not because of their lack of skill, but because of their lack of vision and heart.

The VHS tool is one (but not the only) way to diagnose a disciple making relationship that is not quite right. Often it uncovers an area of need that the disciple maker can intentionally work to strengthen in the life of the disciple.

Now that you have this tool, when will you use it? When will you own it?

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By Justin Gravitt. Used with permission.

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Source: A Diagnostic Tool for Disciple Makers

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Will Mancini handed in the manuscript for his most recent book Future Church to his publisher on March 8th 2020. Several days later Covid-19 was declared a worldwide pandemic and pastors were forced to adapt their ministry efforts just to continue functioning as a church. Constrained by social-distancing guidelines, public fear, financial setbacks, and clashing of opinions from within the church about the virus, church leaders began to grapple with how to pursue the mission of Jesus in the midst of a pandemic. Written to shed light on the current struggles many churches are facing to produce reproducing disciples of Jesus, Future Church offers solutions on how churches can focus their ministry efforts towards multiplying followers of Jesus in a world that’s constantly in flux. 

Future Church will inspire and challenge you to make disciples within your church by following the example of Jesus himself. The book draws its insight directly from the gospels, helping church leaders see how Jesus’ method for making disciples can be applied to how we lead churches now and in the coming years. 

As this book makes clear, it’s time to shift the way we’re obeying Jesus’ Great Commission. It’s time to admit that most of our ministry activities are not producing fruitful disciples. Most of the time they’re producing faithful church members, and a smattering of infrequent church attenders. That’s because the average church is over-programed and under-discipled. It’s time to shift our focus and develop a new paradigm for how we think about the church and the mission God has given us to accomplish. 
While the mission Jesus entrusted to his church hasn’t changed, how we go about accomplishing it has and will. Those methods should always be rooted in scripture and guided by Jesus’ example and voice. Are you ready to start dreaming about how your church will continue making disciples today, tomorrow and into the future? If you are, it’s time to read Future Church. If you want a sneak peak inside the book review its free visual summary. We think you’ll be encouraged and challenged!

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By Craig Etheredge: In 1992, a book was published that took off like wildfire. To date, it has sold more than 10 million copies, has been translated into 50 different languages, and earned a spot on Amazon’s top 100 best seller’s list of all time. That book is “The 5 Love Languages”, by Dr. Gary Chapman.

A counselor and pastor, Dr. Chapman describes five ways through which people receive love — words of affirmation, touch, gifts, acts of service and quality time. I can remember this book having a powerful impact on my marriage as Liz and I tried to apply these principles to our relationship. What stood out most to us was the fact that every person has a primary love language. Every person has a unique way he or she receives love. The other ways are good — and we enjoy them — but there is one way that stands out above the rest that really touches our hearts.

Did you know that God also has a love language? There is one primary way He receives love from you, one way that touches His heart. On the night before His death, Jesus gathered with His men in an upper room. His heart was heavy because they would never meet like this again. In that darkened room, with shadows dancing on the ceiling, Jesus spoke about His love language. He said …

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” (John 14:15 ESV).
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is who loves me,” (John 14:21 ESV).
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word,” (John 14:23 ESV).

Did you see it? Three times Jesus said, “If you love me, you will do what I’m commanding you to do.”

I want you to notice what He did not say. He did not say:

“If you love me, you will worship me.”
“If you love me, you will serve me.”
“If you love me, you will read and know the Bible.”
“If you love me you will give financially.”
Are those things good? Yes. Does God receive those things as good? Yes. But if you do all of those things but not the primary thing, then it doesn’t matter to Him.

What shows Jesus that you truly love Him — what touches His heart more than anything else — is when you do what He has commanded you to do! One proves the other!

Your love for God and obedience to Jesus cannot be separated. I know people who say, “I love God,” but their lives are not lined up with what Jesus clearly teaches. They claim to love God, but they are harboring bitterness, they spew out anger, they are driven by greed, they ignore the Great Commission — you name it. There is very little obedience to King Jesus in their lives. There is something wrong with this picture.

Jesus is saying, “What’s wrong with the picture is a heart issue. They don’t really love me.” Over 28 times in the Gospels, Jesus commands His followers to listen to Him and do what He says. “Listen carefully.” “Hear my words.” “Do what I say.” “Obey my commands.” “Act on what I say.”

Obedience is a big deal to Jesus, but it’s seen as optional today. I believe that the heart of the problem of why so many Christians are not experiencing the abundant, overflowing, God-blessed, joyful life that Jesus wants to give them is because of this one problem. Many really do not love Him enough to obey Him.

In the upper room, Jesus was sharing His last words with the men He had loved and poured His life into for more than three years. Last words are really important. In that moment He said, “Men, it is really important that you live a life of obedience to me!”

You may ask “Why? Why should I alter my life to obey Jesus?” It’s like the conversation when a parent tells a child to do something and the kid asks, “Why?” Usually, the parent will say something like, “Because I told you so!” Well, Jesus could have said that. He could have said, “Obey me because I’m your King!” But He didn’t. In this passage, He actually says, “If you really love me and you alter your life to obey me, I will bless you.”

Through obedience, you experience the power of the Spirit (John 14:15-17 ESV), the love of the Father (John 14:21, 23 ESV), and the nearness of Christ in your life (John 14:21, 23 ESV). Do you want to experience all that God has for your life? You can, but these things come pouring into your life through the funnel of obedience. This week we are going to look at what it means to live a life of obedience to Jesus.

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By Craig Etheredge. Used with permission.

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Source: God’s Love Language

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Source: Prioritize Sharing the Gospel in Times of Crisis

The post Prioritize Sharing the Gospel in Times of Crisis appeared first on Passion for Planting.