Taking Next Steps with Jesus

Spiritual Abuse This is a good summary from another online article that describes Spiritual Abuse: What is Spiritual Abuse? First, let’s look at how some authors define spiritual abuse. Definitions for Spiritual Abuse Ronald Enroth defines spiritual and pastoral abuse this way: “Spiritual abuse takes place when leaders to whom people look for guidance and spiritual nurture use their positions of authority to manipulate, control, and dominate.” In the book Healing Spiritual Abuse, Ken Blue compares other types of abuse with spiritual abuse: “Abuse of any type occurs when someone has power over another and uses that power to hurt. Physical abuse means that someone exercises physical power over another, causing physical wounds. Sexual abuse means that someone exercises sexual power over another, resulting in sexual wound. And spiritual abuse happens when a leader with spiritual authority uses that authority to coerce, control or exploit a follower, thus causin...

Pocket knives I enjoy mine. I started carrying one in my pocket about 6 years ago.  I never realized how much I would use one.  Birthday presents needing the packaging cut, a rope cut when securing a post, plants pruned, wires separated, splinters removed.  It's become a a regular fixture in my wardrobe.  It's cool.  I've found that there are others like me who really enjoy carrying a pocket knife, and I have had some very interesting conversations with people about knives, steel, manufacturers, fav's.  It's fun.   It's also brought me some confidence and comfort. After experiencing a season of violence against me and my family during a ministry adventure, I decided that I needed to think more seriously about protecting myself and my family.  So, part of carrying a pocket knife was a detente between my sensibilities that were prayerfully wrestling with what this might mean.  There was a sobriety that came with a pocket knife.  A te...

 I met with a pastor this weekend and had a chance to talk about disciplemaking with him for a long time.  It was refreshing.  Not just to talk about how to live a disciplemaking life, but to actually talk about walking with each other, with Jesus, with others; and helping each other take next steps with Jesus together.  Ahhhh, mutual community. The surprise... Neither of us knew each other before this weekend. Through a mutual friend, I was told that this was someone I should say hello to as we were passing through.  I was invited out for coffee.  My family was then invited over for dinner, to hang out with the missional community group that they were having that evening.  It was great.  There were folks there from all different places in their walk with Jesus.  They knew their neighbors.  We were warmly welcomed, and their hospitality made us feel right at home. We laughed, talked about Jesus, talked about life, music, motorcycle...

Please take a prayerful deep breath and walk with me a moment. Matthew 28:18-20 is where we find the passage in the Bible that commissions us to live as disciplemakers. This is a process, and a lifelong walk with God. If you consider how you became a Christian I would assume that there was a process that God used to invite you to come and follow Him and see who He was, and what walking with Him was like.  I also assume that there was a time where you came to know Him as Lord and Savior by faith.  I also assume that this process has continued as a lifestyle where we have the privilege to follow Jesus and be apart of that process with others. Who did God use to help you along this process? What experiences did God use? How did He speak to you in this process? Jesus engaged people very differently, and used different approaches to meet them where they were at.  He did the same with us in our lives. So, I want us to take a look at the Gospels in th...

In an earlier post I asked you to pull together a list of people that are in your life, and then take a week to pray and ask God to give you the eyes to see, ears to hear, and the heart to respond to the Holy Spirit's leading and see who He has placed in your life and who you might be missing. Did your list grow? Who did God let you notice that you didn't notice before? What now? I am amazed that God came and lived among us.  As a matter of fact, the whole Bible tells the story of God pursuing us.  God is a relational God, and I believe that since we are created in God's image, we too are relational beings. We are created to be in relationship with God, and with each other.  As disciplemakers, we are invited to come and follow Jesus, in mutual community with God and each other, and help others to take next steps with Jesus. We also have been created now, and placed right where we are at today.  That was intentional.  And, if God knows all of our days...

All right; We talked about Josiah in 2 Kings, and now I want you to go find the story of Josiah in Chronicles.  Since God references Chronicles in 2 Kings, we should let the Bible inform us of God's thoughts on what He is saying to us.  Best to go to the source to understand what God is saying. Pray together asking God to open your hearts to His word, and His word to your hearts.  Then, read over the story of Josiah in Chronicles with someone else and talk about it together.  You may want to have the passage in 2 Kings open as well to compare. Ask; who, what, where, when, why, how?  Do you see God?  His rescue plan?  Anything new?  Anything you should obey? What was the same between the 2 passages?  Different? Why? How does the fact that Kings was written to Israel pre-exile, and Chronicles was written to Israel post-exile play into what God is sharing in these two accounts? What did your learn about God? What did you learn abou...

It's amazing to see that God's way with us has been consistent throughout the Bible.  To compare Deuteronomy to Matthew, to look at the way God walked with Israel in both seasons of their lives, to look at God's pursuit of Adam and Eve in the garden and to compare it to the hope God gives us for eternity with Him in Revelation...it's amazing. Is it any wonder that in God's invitation to follow Him that He would want our lives, our homes, our activities, etc., to be like His?  Not at all. Let's think through this lifestyle a bit more. How can we cultivate a disciplemaking way of life and intentionally lean in to Jesus together in mutual community? The first thing we need is a fresh walk with Jesus.  You certainly don't need any more of me, but rather, more Jesus flowing out of me; so that, when I bump into people "as I am going" Jesus splashes off on them. Bible:  This fresh walk is cultivated by spending time with Jesus, together.  It...