Tag Archives: making disciples

Spiritual Genealogies

1 Chronicles 1-7

Be honest. When you read these chapters, do you carefully read every name, even those you struggle to pronounce? Or do you skim over the “begats” when your eyes start to glaze over? Why on earth would God think it important to include this long… LONG… list of names of people that have nothing to do with life in the 21st Century? Why was genealogy such a big thing back in the day?

I don’t know. But I know God wants to say something to me as I consider these chapters in His Word. The question is what.

Most of us can probably name a handful of people we have prayed with as they gave their lives to Jesus. We might refer to them as our spiritual children because we have played a part in their “born again” experiences. Just like the biological children of the Israelites, we read about today, we have (or should have) spiritual children, too.

But here’s what occurred to me today as I read about the biological children of Israel: having a child isn’t simply giving birth. Each of the parents in these chapters cared for, nourished, protected, taught, disciplined their children until – and maybe after – those children grew up and had children of their own.

You don’t just birth a baby, then walk away and hope he makes it on his own. The same can be said of our spiritual children.

I hear God asking us today how we are doing as spiritual parents to those whom we’ve led to the Savior. Are we satisfied simply to pray the prayer with them, then walk away and hope they make it on their own, hope they find a good church, hope they open their Bibles and understand what they read, hope they grow into strong, faithful believers without any help from us, their spiritual parents?

Some people believe that if we get someone to pray the prayer, that’s the most important thing. After all, once saved always saved, right? I led them in prayer so therefore I have a spiritual child! Put that name down in my spiritual genealogy.

Is getting someone to pray the prayer all there is, or is the care we give to that new-born Christian even more important? We don’t expect a biological baby to fend for himself. Why should we expect a baby believer to fend for himself?

If someone were to do an ancestry.com search for my spiritual children, what would they find? A few first generation Christians? Some weak and dying believers I’ve left to their own devices? Or would they find a list of believers who were raised by me to love God, to know Him according to His Word, to obey and trust God alone so that they are then able to birth some spiritual children of their own?

I’m afraid my spiritual ancestry might die with me for lack of proper care of my spiritual offspring. I’m reminded Jesus told us to go and make disciples, not go and make believers. Making a disciple requires nourishing, protecting, teaching, disciplining the new believer until they are able to do the same for their own offspring.

Praying with a stranger on a park bench is one thing. But it’s not the only thing. You don’t expect a newborn baby to figure out where to get his next meal. We shouldn’t expect a newborn believer to figure that out, either.

Reading these genealogies today has convicted me. God thought it was important to name all the generations. It started with a dad who had sons who had sons who had sons who had sons. I believe He’s asking me how far my own spiritual genealogy reaches, and if I have done my part in making the next spiritual generations strong and obedient.

Let’s be good spiritual parents and give our spiritual children what they need to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus. Let’s be good spiritual grandparents and stand alongside the spiritual children of our spiritual children and help them grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus.

God told his children to be fruitful and multiply, and they did! Read these chapters in 1 Chronicles and try to number the Israelites listed there. God is telling us to be fruitful and multiply, too.

One more thought: 1 Chronicles 4:24-27 tells us about Shimei who is reported to have had sixteen sons and six daughters. “But his brothers did not have many children, nor did all their clan multiply like the men of Judah.” I don’t want that said of me.

“Yeah, Connie was a Christian. But she had no offspring to carry on the Name.”

Like I said, reading these chapters in 1 Chronicles has convicted me today.

Let’s Call It What It Is

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Psalms 17, 35, 54

These psalms seem to support the idea that seeking revenge on someone who has wronged us is acceptable. David is asking God to “get” his enemies, to pay them back with the same treatment they have treated him. Is that the pattern we should be taking? Of course not!

If you are a Christian, you know how Jesus wants us to treat our “enemies.” Love them. Do nice things for them. Pray for them. Turn the other cheek. I’m afraid that philosophy is lost on our narcissistic, feelings-driven, reactionary society these days. People who are offended by someone’s opinions (or pronouns) feel justified in attacking the supposed offender both verbally and physically.

Christian – do we need to be reminded our enemies are not people? We do not war against flesh and blood but against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Let’s call it what it is – SIN.

I think we all ought to pray like David prayed: God, destroy Satan’s influence on this world, annihilate evil forces, put to death the influences of self, of hate, of perversion, of lies, and save those who are caught in the web of sin.

We cannot win this war if we are fighting the wrong enemy.

It’s not the homosexual we should be rallying against, but the sin of homosexuality (a sin Jesus died to forgive). Not the transgender person, but the perversion that has entangled them. Not the woke millennial, but the lies. Not the atheist, but the lack of understanding of who God is.

Let’s quit fighting windmills and turn our efforts toward defeating the real enemy. Let’s call it what it is. It’s not a war against those on the other side of the aisle, or those outside the Church. It’s a spiritual war against Satan.

Let’s put on the whole armor of God, pray for those who need the Savior, and go and make disciples like Jesus commanded. Our world will not survive, and people will spend eternity in hell, if we don’t.

(2 Chronicles 28-31) It’s Just The Beginning

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The Jewish people had just participated in a worship service beyond imagination. There were sacrifices for days, songs, trumpets, praises.

“There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this was known since the days of Solomon son of David, king of Israel.” (29:26)

But it’s what happened after the benediction that spoke to me today.

“When all this was completed, all Israel who had attended went out to the cities of Judah and broke up the sacred pillars, chopped down the Asherah poles, and tore down the high places and altars throughout Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, to the last one. “ (31:1a)

We have put so much emphasis on the experience of worship we neglect why we worship. If attending church on Sunday doesn’t inspire and equip and encourage us to get out there and confront sin, if we don’t leave the sanctuary like people shot out of a canon eager to go and make disciples, to be salt and light, fishers of men, why do we bother getting out of bed on Sunday morning?

I believe Scripture tells us the evidence of true worship is what happens next.

And pastors: If your goal isn’t to inspire your congregation to use their worship of God as a catalyst to share the Gospel, why do you bother getting out of bed on Sunday?

Worship isn’t the all to end all. It’s just the beginning.

A Season For War (2 Samuel 11-12; I Chronicles 20)

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There is a phrase in both 2 Samuel and I Chronicles that caught my attention this morning: “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war…”

Why spring? It sounds like the start of baseball season or something. I did some research and this is what I found:

Spring was the ideal time for going to war because, first, the rains were over which meant the soldiers could march on solid and dry ground. There was grass in the fields, fruit on trees, and ripe corn, food for both soldiers and horses. There was wisdom in the timing.

Now, soldiers could suit up at any time of the year. Not all battles were fought in the best circumstances. But if a king could wait until spring before going into battle, he had a better chance of success because his soldiers didn’t have to fight the enemy AND the elements.

I am reminded of Paul’s second letter to Timothy when he told the young preacher to “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season…”

We, like the Old Testament soldiers can suit up at any time. In fact, we are told to put on the armor of God every day. We are instructed to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have in Jesus. Our battles, and our opportunities to share the Gospel, don’t just come at prime time. We are told to be prepared to preach the Word at all times.

But I am challenged today to plan my battle strategy, to look for the signs that tell me the time is right to go to that person God has laid on my heart to confront their sin in order to lead them to their Savior. Sometimes we might be tempted to barge in when it’s convenient for us, only to be met with the challenge of fighting the elements of distractions or resistance or misunderstandings while we are trying to fight the battle against sin.

I want to wait for God’s timing, because He is preparing the ground for battle. I want to recognize His season for war against Satan, and be prepared to fight the fight He is leading. Not my season. But His.

May I be prepared every day by putting on the whole armor of God, by being ready to give an answer, to share the Gospel whenever the opportunity presents itself. May I be sensitive to God’s timing. And may I be a faithful and obedient soldier so that when God says, “Charge!” I’m the first to go.

Shepherds and Warriors (Numbers 27)

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Oh, for more leaders like the one Moses prayed would succeed him. A shepherd. A warrior.

I know I’m cynical, but I think too many leaders in our churches are businessmen, entertainers, and followers. So much focus is on making their churches look like everyone else’s church, I wonder how much real shepherding is going on.

I don’t know of any warrior who invites the enemy into camp in order to fight a battle. Yet the emphasis in many churches today is to make worship inviting, to bring people in to hear the Word and be saved. I wonder how many pastors are truly leading their people into battle, going into the neighborhoods and towns to make disciples. Too many are focused on fighting the battle within the safety of their church walls.

That was never part of Jesus’ plan according to Scripture.

I pray God will raise up more leaders in our churches whose focus is in being the shepherds and the warriors God needs for His Church. Maybe God is calling you.

If You Build It… (Exodus 25-27)

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Sometimes when I read the intricate details of God’s plan for the sanctuary, my eyes glaze over. That happened today, and I was finding it hard to hear what God would say to me about these chapters. As I was praying, I felt God nudge me to take a look at what Warren Wiersbe had to say (With The Word; Oliver Nelson Books; 1991). Here’s what struck me this morning page 61:

“God could have made the whole tabernacle in an instant of creative power, but instead He asked the people to bring Him their offerings. They were privileged to make a sanctuary for God.”

I hadn’t thought about that. If God was so insistent on having the tabernacle done in such specific details, why didn’t He just do it Himself? He certainly had the power. Well, maybe He wanted His children to obey Him, to be a part of the process, to take ownership of God’s House.

The same is true today. God could build His Church today by miraculously changing the hearts of men, by using His power to force people into believing. But instead, He has asked us to go and make disciples. We have the privilege to make a Church for God, to obey Him, to be a part of the process, to take ownership of God’s Church.

Now, I’m not saying we have any power on our own. But God is asking us to be a conduit for His power to change lives, to save souls. That’s His plan. Yes, it takes time, effort, inconvenience at times. But God’s plan for building His Church includes you!

And sometimes the building of God’s church (small “c”) includes you, too. For instance, our church is in the middle of a building project. We have the land, we have readied the land, but we are a few hundred thousand dollars short of being able to break ground. Now, some of us are praying that God would move in the heart of a rich benefactor, that by some miracle the money will come so He can build His church on this island. We would absolutely give God all the glory! That’s not a bad prayer. And God is certainly able to answer that prayer today.

But God is asking us to build that church. It might require sacrificial giving, effort, inconvenience in the lives of we who are part of this fellowship of believers. But we have the privilege of building a church for God.

I think God’s plan is a good one, not that He’s looking for my approval. And I love the example the Jewish people lived, as they gave, and worked, and obeyed God in the making of what must have been a beautiful sanctuary there in the desert. Their obedience must have spoken to the pagan people around them, it certainly speaks to me today.

May I buy into God’s plan, and be a faithful worker in the building of His beautiful Church in 2020. As I think about it, I want to be faithful in contributing to the building of His spiritual Church, AND the church building that will house Frederica Baptist Church on the north end of Saint Simons Island.

Because I believe if we are faithful, obedient workers in God’s Kingdom, if we build what He has asked us to build, people will notice. If we build it… they will come.

November 27; It’s Not Right

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I Corinthians 8:1-11:1

Our society is obsessed with “rights,” aren’t we? The right to an abortion. The right to marry who I want to marry. The right not to look at a Confederate flag or a caricature of a smiling Indian on a baseball cap. We are so determined to exercise our “rights” we don’t care who we have to step on to get them.

Paul says if anyone has “rights” it’s a Christian. In 10:23 he tells us that for those of us redeemed by the blood of Jesus, “everything is permissible – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible – but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”

The apostle tells us he willingly gives up his “rights” for the good of others. He gives example after example of this in the chapters we read today. He goes as far as to say, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” (22b)

Not long ago I heard a preacher use that verse to promote contemporary worship. That is a twisting of this Scripture that makes me so angry. Paul is NOT talking about worship at all. What Paul is talking about is much harder than rocking to a few repetitive phrases in order to “experience worship,” or even to entice people into attending the service on Sunday.

Paul is talking about what you are going to do today to reach someone for Jesus’ sake. Paul is talking about investing yourself in the life of a non-believer, spending time talking about and doing the things that person enjoys. Paul is talking about giving up some of your rights in order to put that eternal soul ahead of your own comfort or desires

I don’t know where we got the idea that Jesus wants us to invite unsaved people to church. He never said that. In fact if you read the Bible you’ll see that the church needs to be restricted to believers for a very good reason.

What Jesus told us, and what Paul is demonstrating, is to get off the couch, let go of what you think you deserve, and BE the person that will make that non-believer want what you have in Jesus. Go, Jesus said. Make disciples. Think of others more important than yourself.

I know that takes effort and energy. It takes time and it’s not always convenient. But it’s not right for a Christian NOT to.

October 13; You Talking’ To Me?

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Mark 14:29-44; Matthew 14:1-21; Luke 9:7-17; John 6:1-15

What did Jesus mean by telling the disciples to feed the five thousand men (plus women and children) that day they were on that remote hill? The disciples suggested the people leave to go find food for themselves. There weren’t exactly Walmart stores around the corner. The people had been there all day, some had come from great distances. They were hungry. And Jesus said, “Feed them.”

You talkin’ to me, Lord?

The disciples found a few loaves of bread and some fish and brought it to Jesus. “This is all we have,” they told Him. And it was enough.

What did Jesus mean by telling us to go and make disciples?

You talkin’ to me, Lord? I didn’t go to seminary. I’m not great with words. I’m shy. I’m just a regular guy, no Billy Graham here. I wouldn’t know what to say. Send them to the preacher, or the Sunday School teacher. Or let them figure things out for themselves. I don’t have what it takes to make disciples.

In the feeding of the 5000 Jesus didn’t expect his disciples to scrounge up enough food for everyone. He asked them to give Him everything they had. They did, and the people were fed – with plenty of food left over!

Who is Jesus telling you to feed today? Are you going to let them fend for themselves, or will you expect them to go somewhere else to hear about the Savior because you are looking at your meager abilities?

Hear Jesus tell you to give Him what you have, and let Him take those meager abilities and turn you into a disciple-maker.

Yes. He’s talking to you!

Zephaniah; Complacent

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I don’t think we fully understand the length to which God goes to address sin in our individual lives, and in the world. This God, who is not willing that anyone die without Him, who went to the cross so no one has to, is actively working in all our lives to get our attention, to draw us to Himself, to hear us confess our sin so He can shower us with His amazing grace. But some of us are so stubborn.

Chapter 3 talks about the lack of morality, how brazen people can be in their depravity. Verses 6-7 tells us God disciplines sin with the intent people will recognize their need of Him and repent, so that He can remove His hand of judgment, and bless them. “But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.” (Emphasis mine)

Now, before we get too comfortable thinking, “I’m not committing any brazen acts of disobedience, or living a sinful lifestyle,” let’s back up to Chapter 1:12. God says He will punish complacency, those who think, “God won’t do anything either good or bad, so I’ll just sit here in the comfort of my pew.”

Look at 2:15.

This is the carefree city that lived in safety. She said to herself, “I am, and there is none besides me.” What a ruin she has become, a lair for wild beasts! All who pass by her scoff and shake their fists.”

Does that sound like 21st Century USA? I think it does. But the bigger question is: does that sound like any of us? Are we banking on that day when we accepted Jesus as our Savior, thinking we’ve got it made-in-the-shade because well, once saved always saved. But we don’t make an attempt to “grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus,” and we don’t live lives that look different from the world, and we certainly don’t share Jesus with anyone else for whatever reason. Oh, we go to church most of the time. And we even keep our Bible on the table next to our beds. We pray before we eat when we remember to. And we recognized how blessed we are to live where we live, to be able to pay our bills, and see the doctor only at our yearly exam. Life is good. And we’re a bit smug about it all. Isn’t that the definition of “complacency?”

Dear one, Zephaniah tells us God punishes “complacency.” If you think you can be described as “complacent,” ask God to forgive you. It is a sin. Then get out there and get busy making disciples.

I am reminded, through Zephaniah, that God does and will continue to punish sin (including complacency), until we repent or He comes again. And His discipline will only continue to hurt more and more as long as people continue to act corruptly. I’m also reminded God WANTS to stop the hand of judgment, and He will, if we turn to Him.

“But they were still eager to act (complacently) in all they did.” (paraphrase mine)

May no one ever have a reason to call you or me complacent. May we be busy doing the will of God, growing in our relationship with Him by studying His Word and praying. May we be actively leading people to their Savior, so that God can forgive and bless us, our land, and the world for Jesus’ sake and for His glory.

alighttomyway

LOVING God's Word, LISTENING to God's voice, LEADING others to God's Son, Jesus Christ

Tag Archives: making disciples

Let’s Call It What It Is

Shepherds and Warriors (Numbers 27)

If You Build It… (Exodus 25-27)

November 27; It’s Not Right

October 13; You Talking’ To Me?