OMS BLOG
CANADA
Have you ever been excited about something you heard someone say? Have you ever felt sad or angry about something someone said? Or maybe, words have left you unsure or even speechless? The truth is: there is great power in the words that we speak.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” This is so powerful. We can actually speak death or life from the words that come out of our mouths. It’s also important to note that words can bring about certain feelings and emotions and what comes out of our mouth is a pretty accurate indication of what we have in our hearts (Matthew 15:18).
I remember a few years ago, when my family was hoping to travel to Jamaica for a vacation but it just didn’t quite fit our budget at that particular time. We prayed about it and sensed that it would somehow work out. Some time passed by and I came across a contest which looked very interesting. You had to come up with a short video which had to include a Christmas jingle tune and some other requirements. What really caught my attention was the prize which was an all inclusive vacation for two to any resort in Jamaica. I immediately shared it with my spouse and said, WE CAN WIN THIS!
We got on it right away and came up with the video and waited a bit to submit it. I will never forget the moment on Christmas Day when they made the announcement on Facebook that we had won. What an amazing blessing it was and we definitely enjoyed the trip. You see, I spoke the words believing in the One who would bring it to pass. Power of Words The Bible is full of many verses that talks about words so today let’s look at 3 examples of what words can do: 1. Words can help accomplish a purpose. Psalm 33: 9 “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Here, we see a cross reference from Genesis 1:3 when God said, “let there be light” and there was light. God spoke and He accomplished a wonderful purpose here in the story of creation and of course we see many other examples throughout the Bible when God speaks to accomplish different purposes. 2. Words can bring comfort to others. Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” I don’t know about you, but I love sweets. They taste good, and give you a nice “pick up” when you need it. The words that we use can bring great comfort to others and make them feel better. This is so important especially in these times when many people are in isolation. Let us be encouraged to bring pleasant words to others to make their day. It is amazing how long of a way this can go. Just try it. 3. Words can allow us to grow and mature spiritually. Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” What a beautiful prayer we see here by David. When we ask God to look inward, He will change us from the inside out which will result in us using words that will allow us to grow and mature spiritually. Let us be encouraged to make this a daily check for us when we are praying. Prayer is Essential As children of God, we are constantly being renewed and transformed. It’s a process and it’s something that we experience each day. That’s why prayer is so important. It is a great way for us to ask God to search us, as David did often. At OMS Canada, prayer is essential to us and we believe in the power of praying. Would you consider using your words to pray with us? We pray together every Tuesday and Thursday through zoom. Please contact us to get more details. We would love to have you join us. What kind of words have you been using lately? Are they building up others? Let’s use this powerful tool that we have to praise God, build others up, and speak life into our lives and families. Speaking life is something we need to make a priority and practice in our lives daily. I once heard someone say that if we placed a live recorder in our homes for a full day, the interesting and maybe not so interesting things we would hear. Let’s be encouraged to speak life. In every challenge, in every situation, in every battle, and in every season. God is there through His Holy Spirit to comfort us, guide us, and encourage us when we need it. Speak Life!
0 Comments
Welcome back to the Commands of Christ blog series where we are examining together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus and which are essential for new disciples to understand and obey. If you missed the first seven posts in this series you can find them by clicking Repent and Believe, Be Baptized, Pray, Make Disciples, Love, Worship, and Observe the Lord’s Supper. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20). In this post, we will look at the eighth of nine foundational commands that Christ gave for disciples to obey. This command is to give and is found in Matthew 6:1-4. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Here Jesus is working on the assumption that disciples would be giving and goes deeper to the heart of how we give. We are to give as an act of righteousness and we are not to not use our giving as a way to practice this righteousness to be seen by others.
It is also worth noting that Jesus does seem to make some reference to a possible motivation for giving. “For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”
Think about it; we are often told that if we give with an eye on what we might receive from our giving, then our giving is tainted. To be charitable is to be free from self-interest. But Jesus seems to contradict this notion and encourages the desire to receive a reward from our Father who is in heaven. Very interesting, don’t you think? Nonetheless, there are some questions about giving that we would do well to consider. So here they are. What should we give to God? Each one of us has three resources that we should give to God. These are time, talent, and treasure. Time is one commodity you have that God can use for His purpose. But you might not have even thought about it. Your time is probably like a lot of people’s time…there is precious little of it, but if you are spending your time on the right things, then you are making good use of your time. You are being a good steward with what you have been given, and since none of us know when our last day will be, we must make the most of the time God has given us. Think of your time as an offering; unless we use our time wisely, we’ll spend it uselessly, like we tend to sometimes do with our money. Try to keep track of what you are using your time for. You might be surprised how little time you are spending for or with God. We are challenged to redeem the time because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:16). So let’s decide to do a better job with our time. Talent is another commodity we have that can be given for God’s use or not. I believe everyone has a talent of some kind. Many have several talents, but everyone has at least one talent. You have a God-given talent for something, perhaps something that can be useful for the Body of Christ (Matt 25:35-36). Whatever it is, you can use it for the glory of God and for Jesus Christ Himself (Matt 25:40). What is done for the least of those is done for Jesus, so what is your talent? I’m sure you have one. Maybe it’s your smile and positive attitude, and living a life of faith that others find attractive. Perhaps it’s a skill for listening and not judging, but just letting others talk. If could be in music, art, writing, plumbing, or just being a diligent person. These can all be used for the kingdom of God. Whatever talent you have, use it for the glory of God. Our treasure is usually where our heart is. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). This is why the Lord said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt 6:19-20). Whatever you store up here will do no good for God, but whatever you do for God on earth you are storing up treasure in heaven. You can’t take it with you, but you can forward them ahead. And it is no surprise that funds are usually necessary for ministry to happen, especially when that ministry takes place across the ocean, as is usually the case for missionaries. So let’s be generous with our time, talent, and treasure. Why should we give to God? The first answer to this question is that we are commanded to give. The second answer to this question is that giving changes us. God can do so much more through a wise, giving, mature person than a person who is overly concerned with possessions of this world. Our money and belongings can disappear or get destroyed at any time and if we place too much value on them, we will be devastated when they are gone. God wants our treasure and worth to be with those things that can never be destroyed or taken from us, namely Himself and the people He has put in our lives. “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (Matthew 6:19-21). As God changes our hearts to be more like Him we learn to focus on what is eternally important instead of on the temporal things of this world. Paul reminded the Corinthians to do this: “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (2nd Corinthians 4:18). By opening our eyes to what God may be doing behind the scenes, we can step out in faith, obey when He asks us to give, and rest in His plan in the midst of unknowns and seemingly scary circumstances. The third answer to why we should give is that our giving glorifies God. Giving simply is not part of our sinful human nature. We are born looking out for our own desires and comfort. As we grow up and learn values, especially as we get to know God and submit our lives to Him, He changes us to be others-minded and to trust in Him to meet our needs. The fact that selfish, sinful human hearts can be changed to put others first can only be attributed to God, thus our giving gives Him glory. And the fourth reason why we should give is the blessing that we will receive. Jesus said in Luke 6:38, “give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” There can be no mistaking what He says here. Give generously because the measure you use to give is the same measure that will be used back to you. How should we give to God? There are basically three things to consider when we ask how we should give to God. The first is that we should give generously. In Matthew 10:8 Jesus gives the principle that since you have received freely, you should give freely. Since you are the recipient of God’s lavish grace and His generous love in Jesus Christ, we should also be lavish and generous with the time, talent and treasure that we give as well. The second is that we should give cheerfully. 2 Corinthians 9:7 tells us that God loves someone who gives cheerfully. Period. And the third is referenced in the command of Matthew 6. We are told that our giving is to be done in secret, without any attempt to be seen by others. And the reason seems to be that there can only be one reward for our generosity. Either we receive a temporary reward from man or we receive an eternal reward from God. Who should we give to when we give to God? Acts 4:34-35 gives us a picture of who the early church gave to. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Their giving was directed to all who had need. This ought to be our pattern as well. So how are you doing with your giving? Do you consider your time and talent a resource to be given like your treasure? Is one of these three easier to give than the others? What change can you make this week to be more intentional about giving in one of these three areas? 
Welcome back to the Commands of Christ blog series where we are examining together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus and which are essential for new disciples to understand and obey. If you missed the first six posts in this series you can find them by clicking Repent and Believe, Be Baptized, Pray, Make Disciples,Love, and Worship. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20). In this post, we will look at the seventh of nine foundational commands that Christ gave for disciples to obey. This command is to observe the Lord’s Supper and is found in Luke 22:7-20. “And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” So Jesus made it clear that the disciples were to participate in this kind of ceremonial meal as a remembrance of Him, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” This is the command. But there are probably questions that arise from this command, perhaps even among Christians who have been observing the Lord’s supper in a fellowship. We are going to look at some of those questions and hopefully bring some clarity and understanding to the practice. What is the Lord’s Supper? It is significant that Jesus makes the connection to the Passover celebration. The Passover took place when the Jews were slaves in Egypt and God, through Moses, brought about the deliverance of His people after the plagues were unleashed against the Egyptians. The tenth plague was the one resulting in the death of every firstborn. And God gave very specific instructions to His people so that they might avoid having their firstborn killed. The instructions were very clear; they were to take a lamb for the household. The lamb had to be without blemish, a male a year old, taken from the sheep or the goats, and the lamb would be killed at twilight. Then some of the blood of the lamb was to be put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the house in which they ate it. The blood would be a sign for them, on the houses where they were. And when God saw the blood on the doorposts and lintel, He would ‘pass over’ them and the plague would not befall them to destroy them when God struck the land of Egypt. This celebration was a regular part of the Hebrew calendar on the fifteenth day of Nisan, which usually falls in March or April in our calendar. It is this celebration that Jesus was anxious to celebrate with His disciples. But they had no idea that this was going to be the institution of the new covenant. And this new covenant was something that the Jews had been anticipating for a long time. “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My rules and obey them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God,” (Ezekiel 11:19-20). (Ezekiel 36:26, Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10) Why do we observe the Lord’s Supper? The most straightforward reason we observe the Lord’s Supper is because we are commanded to do so. “Do this in remembrance of Me,” (1Cor 11:24-25). We are commanded, so we obey. But there are other reasons tied up in the command as well. The observance of the Lord’s Supper serves as a reminder of Jesus and what He accomplished for us in establishing the New Covenant. Jesus has become our Passover lamb, without blemish, at whose blood we are spared from the judgement. If this isn’t an event worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.
Observance of the Lord’s Supper also serves to proclaim the Lord’s death until He returns, (1 Corinthians 11:26).
It also serves to remind us that His body was broken and His blood was shed to secure our salvation. And observing the Lord’s Supper also indicates loyalty to Christ and not to idols. There can be no compromise. “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake at the table of the Lord and the table of demons,” (1 Corinthians 10:21-22). To eat at Jesus’ table is to be committed to Him, identified with His people, and dedicated to the service of His cause in the world. How do we receive the Lord’s Supper? This question of how and the next one of who are closely related to each other. When considering how we are to receive the Lord’s Supper, we need to look into 1 Corinthians 11:27-32. It is here that Paul makes it clear. We must receive the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner. Paul first says that whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup in an unworthy manner is guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. This is serious business with serious consequences. Verse 30 tells us that there were those who did eat and drink in an unworthy manner who died as a result. To come to the table, holding onto one’s sin does not only dishonour the ceremony, but it also dishonours His body and blood, treating lightly the sacrifice of Jesus for us. Doing so mocks the sacrifice for sin by holding on to sin. So Paul tells us that one must examine oneself before partaking of the Lord’s table and if there is unconfessed sin, one must make confession with a repentant heart. If the sin involves a brother or sister, one must seek forgiveness from the offended person. In this way we are able to ensure that the Lord’s Supper is observed in a manner worthy of the sacrifice. Who should receive the Lord’s Supper? It should be clear that only those who have been born again may receive the Lord’s Supper without fear. Only those who have been born again and have made sure that there is no unconfessed sin that remains. This is a command that we need to observe if we are to be disciples of Jesus. So how are you doing? Do you observe the Lord’s Supper? How have you been doing so during the lockdown? How often do you celebrate the Lord’s Supper? If you haven’t been doing this, when will you begin? 
Waiting in our “daily”
Today we are going to be talking about waiting. We will look at some examples of things we wait for, some reasons why God allows us to wait at times, and a story in the Bible that demonstrates the most important message about waiting. The average person on a daily basis spends approximately 2-3 hrs of waiting in a day. Now this is very approximate because our daily routines are all very different. But, we all do spend time everyday waiting for something. Some examples of things we wait for everyday are: -waiting for our food to cook or warm up -waiting for our coffee to brew -waiting for our phones and computers to load -waiting for someone to get back to us Now with most of these things we typically wait for on a daily basis, they end up turning out ok. We finally get to eat that delicious meal, the coffee finally brews, our computers load, etc. The truth is that even in these moments of waiting in our daily lives, most of us don't like to wait because it can generally make us feel frustrated, confused, impatient, and unsure. But what do we do with those feelings? This is a very important question we need to ask ourselves especially during times of waiting on the Lord. Purpose in Waiting Have you ever waited on God for something? Maybe right now you are in a season of waiting. Be encouraged today because God does often allow us to wait on Him because there is purpose in the waiting.
Let's look at 4 reasons today why God allows us to wait at times:
1- Waiting allows for God's perfect timing and will to be done. 2 Peter 3:8 "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." God is not limited by our time and schedules. He has all of the resources for every possible thing and we need to trust in His perfect timing in our lives. Abraham in the Bible was waiting for a son. God had made a promise to him (Genesis 15:5) and he had to wait. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born (Genesis 21:5). Isaac was the promise child that Abraham had to wait for. This was God’s perfect timing and will that was brought forth, as promised. 2- Waiting builds patience in our lives. Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." We've heard the saying, if we ask God for patience, He will allow us to be in situations that give us the opportunity to be patient. Waiting is one of those things that definitely allows us to build our patience. 3- Waiting transforms our character. James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." While waiting is often out of our control, we can choose to have a positive outlook and attitude in seasons of waiting. This process is important because it reveals what's inside of our hearts. It's certainly not easy to wait, but it can truly be transforming for us if we allow it to. 4- Waiting brings us closer to God and allows us to fully depend on Him. Isaiah 55:8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." When we are waiting on God for something, sometimes His answer is: Yes.. Not yet... And sometimes its: I have something better in mind for you. Just wait a little bit longer. What are you waiting on God for today? I want to encourage you today that God's got your back, He's got this. He's going to work it out. Not only that, but He's going to do beyond what you can imagine. That’s His Word. We need to wait well. We need to worship while we wait. We need to remain thankful while we wait. We need to remain faithful in prayer while we wait. These are very important and key. The Father is Waiting We've been looking at different examples of waiting and why God sometimes allows us to wait in situations. There is a well-known story in the Bible that demonstrates the most important message about waiting: The Prodigal Son Most of us know that story well and what a wonderful demonstration of the compassion and love a father has for his son. This story is an amazing demonstration of God's love for us and as much as we are all waiting for something, in the middle of it all, God our Father is waiting for us. He is waiting to hear from us, for us to spend time with Him. For us to share His love with others. The Father is waiting today... Why Missions? The Father’s will is that none would perish, but that all would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). People out there need to hear about Jesus and He can use simple people like you and me, if we are willing and obedient. Would you partner with us in prayer for those who have yet to hear about Jesus? The mission of advancing the gospel is the great work of the church, and prayer is the fuel that powers it. Would you pray for our missionaries as they wait on the Lord to return to their fields? Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” God bless you as you wait patiently on the Lord. 
In this week’s blog post, we are considering the habit or discipline of learning. In past posts, we have considered Bible intake, prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, stewardship as it relates to both time and finances, fasting, silence/solitude, and journaling.
If you have not seen these posts yet, go ahead and click on the links to catch yourself up. And remember that the primary motivation for these spiritual habits or disciplines is taken from Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7, where he says, exercise or discipline yourself toward godliness. This applies to us just the same today and he makes it clear that, if we wish to be godly, it will take work, discipline, and exercise. Just as an athlete, musician, or artist must exercise disciplined practice to become more proficient at their chosen field, so a disciple must exercise disciplined practice in these activities as means’ of grace to become more proficient at being godly. That is to say, as we become more disciplined in the practice of these habits, more of God’s grace is available to us which will change us. So what about learning? An examination of the New Testament word disciple shows that it means to not only be a “follower” of Jesus but also a “learner”. Are you a disciple of Jesus? To follow Jesus and become more like Him, we must engage in the spiritual discipline of learning.
The Wise Person
According to the book of the Bible written specifically to give us practical wisdom, one of the characteristics of a wise man or woman is a desire for learning. We read in Proverbs 9:9, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” Wise and righteous people can never get enough wisdom or knowledge. Unteachable people or those who are prideful about their learning only expose how shallow they are. The truly wise are humble because they know they still have so much to learn. And according to this verse, wise and righteous people remain teachable. They can learn from anybody, regardless of age or background. Give one of them instruction and he will be still wiser, he will increase in learning. The biblically wise are always looking to learn. In Proverbs 18:15 we read, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” A wise person not only acquires knowledge, but he or she also seeks it. Wise ones desire to learn and will discipline themselves to seek learning opportunities. One other verse in Proverbs deserves a look. Proverbs 23:12 commands us, “Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.” No matter how much previous instruction you have received or how extensive your knowledge - especially about God, Christ, the Bible, and the Christian life - and regardless of how intelligent or slow you consider yourself, you still need to apply your heart and ears to learn, because you haven’t learned it all. A strong yearning for learning characterizes all those who are truly wise. The Great Commandment Jesus said that part of God’s greatest commandment is, Love the Lord your God...with all your mind” (Mark 12:30). What God wants most from you is your love and one of the ways He wants you to show love and obedience to Him is by godly learning. God is glorified when we use the mind He made to learn of Him, His Word, His ways, and His world. Sadly, many Christians do not associate learning with loving God. In fact, we live in a quite anti-intellectual age. That may sound strange in light of the infinite storehouse of information accessible through the Internet; the widespread availability and growth of online education; the almost daily, dazzling advances in technology; and the fact that there are more advanced academic degrees being awarded today than ever before. Perhaps it is precisely because of such things that people - including Christian people - are more averse to things intellectual. Smart kids may be unpopular just because they are smart. They’re dismissed as nerds and the social attention goes to the underachievers. Our culture seems to glorify the physical much more than the mental. Nobody sells posters of the top software engineers or the most accomplished carpenter., much less the leading theologians. There may be an intellectualism that is wrong, but it is also wrong to be anti-intellectual. We should love God just as much with our mind as with our heart and soul and strength. How can it all fit together? RC Sproul wrote, “God has made us with a harmony of heart and head, of thought and action...The more we know Him the more we can love Him. The more we love Him the more we seek to know Him. To be central in our hearts He must be foremost in our minds. Religious thought is the prerequisite to religious affection and obedient action.” Unless we love God with a growing mind, we will be Christian versions of the Samaritans to whom Jesus said, “You worship what you do not know” (John 4:22). A Requirement for Increased Godliness The Christian life begins with learning - learning the gospel. Nobody is made right before the God about whom he knows nothing. Nobody is made right with God unless he or she learns about Him and His message to the world, a message of good news called the gospel. To know God, people must learn that there is a God (Hebrews 11:6), that they have broken His law (James 3:10, Romans 3:23), and that they need to be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). They must learn that Jesus, God’s Son, came to accomplish that reconciliation (Colossians 1:19-20) and that He did so through His sinless life and His death on the cross as a substitute for sinners (Romans 3:21-26). They must learn about His bodily resurrection and their need to repent of their sin and to believe in Jesus and what He has done (Acts 17:30). Because apart from people learning these things, how are they to believe in Him of whom they have not heard (Romans 10:14)? This is essentially what the apostle Paul is talking about in Romans 12 when he says, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Romans 12:2). Transformation of the heart and life - growth in godliness - involves a mental renewal that cannot happen without learning. If you know little about godliness, you will grow little in godliness. To know it requires the Habit of Learning. Learning is By Discipline, Not By Accident As every dust bunny gets bigger the longer it rolls around underneath the bed, so every mind picks up at least a little more knowledge the longer it rolls around the earth. But we must not assume that we have learned true wisdom just by growing older. Job 32:9 says, “It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right.” In other words, age and experience by themselves don’t increase your spiritual maturity. Becoming like Jesus doesn’t happen incidentally or automatically with the passing of birthdays. Godliness, as in 1 Timothy tells us, requires a deliberate discipline. Those who are not trying to learn will only get spiritual and biblical knowledge by accident or convenience. Occasionally they will hear a biblical fact or principle from someone else and profit from it. Once in a while, they may display a brief burst of interest in a subject. But this is not the way to godliness. The Habit of Learning transforms accidental learners into intentional learners. Now, it is a whole lot easier to be an accidental learner or a convenience learner than an intentional learner. We are born that way. And much of the technological advances of the last few years has served to entrench this accidental/convenience learning. Watching TV or video is so much easier than choosing a good book, reading words, creating your own mental images, and relating them to your own life. Television decides for you what will be presented, speaks the words to you, shows you its own images, and tells you what impact it wants to have on your life. Compared to that, books often appear too demanding for the contemporary mind. Honestly, it takes discipline to become an intentional learner. A Variety of Ways to Learn There are indeed people who have genuine difficulty reading, so there are methods of learning for these people, methods that learners who do thrive on learning will enjoy also. First, there is the option to listen to audiobooks. It’s so easy to listen and learn while getting ready for the day or while commuting, while driving around town or travelling long-distance, while exercising or working around the house. Much the same is true for audio or video recordings available on the Internet or through podcasts. Just make sure that you are listening to a reputable ministry, not just to someone whose speaking style you enjoy. If study guides are available, use them. Another way to learn without reading is to have meaningful conversations with spiritually mature Christians. This is a natural part of the discipling process. Those who are more mature than ourselves have much to teach us about godliness and obedience to the commands of Christ. While our attention is directed toward personal spiritual disciplines, we shouldn’t neglect the multiple opportunities for learning that are (hopefully) available to you through interpersonal spiritual disciplines in your local church. It is understood that COVID-19 restrictions have curtailed the face-to-face sort of learning opportunities at your church but these restrictions should be removed in time. If this post has triggered you to further discipline yourself in intentional learning, be sure to speak to your pastor about the role your church could play in helping you learn for the purpose of godliness. There you have it; learning as a discipline is a key component to increasing in godliness. Remember that learning has a goal. The goal is Christlikeness. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to Me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me”. There is a false or superficial knowledge that puffs up (1 Corinthians 8:1), but godly learning leads to godly living. John Milton, who wrote the poem Paradise Lost, wrote, “The end of learning is to know God, and out of that knowledge to love Him and to imitate Him.” Let’s pray that God would give us an unquenchable desire for the knowledge that leads us to love Him more and that makes us more like Jesus Christ. Will you develop the habit of learning? How will you start? When will you start? 
Welcome back to the Commands of Christ blog series where we are examining together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus and which are essential for new disciples to understand and obey. If you missed the first four posts in this series you can find them by clicking Repent and Believe, Be Baptized, Pray, Make Disciples, and Love. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20). In this post, we will look at the sixth of nine foundational commands that Christ gave for disciples to obey. This fifth command is to love and is found in Matthew 4:10. Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve." You are probably familiar with the context of this verse. Jesus has been baptized by John in the Jordan River. As He came up out of the water the Spirit descended on Him like a dove, and the voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Then the Spirit led Him out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He had been fasting for forty days when He was tempted and this verse is His response to the devil following the third of three temptations. Jesus had been taken to a high mountain, from which the devil showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and all their glory. He told Jesus, “All of these I will give to You if You will bow down and worship me.” Jesus responds to the devil by saying, “Be gone, Satan. For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” There is the command to worship God. But like many Christian ideas, concepts, and words, they are used by many without much real thought as to what they mean. So what is worship? Internal Essence of Worship We must understand at this point that there are two elements of worship. There is the inner essence of worship and the external expression of worship.
John Piper believes that such a distinction ought to be made because he believes that Jesus does the same in Matthew 15:8-9.
“This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me.” In this verse, the internal is the heart and the external is the lips. And when the lips say things that do not accord with what the heart believes, the worship is described as vain or empty. It is not worship. It is not worship if there is not the heart aspect to it. So, you can do as many deeds as you want and go to as many church events as you want and never be worshipping if it is all external and nothing is happening in your heart toward God. All true worship is, in essence, a matter of the heart. So what is that inner experience of the heart toward God that we call the experience of worship? Maybe Jesus was pointing us toward an answer in John 4: 23-23. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Note that worshipping in spirit is not contrasted with worshipping in the body or with the body. Instead, it is put alongside worshipping in truth. What is Jesus saying here? I think the point is that right worship, good worship, pleasing worship depends on the right grasp of the way God is – truth. If we worship an idol of our own making, we are not really worshipping God. An important implication or worshipping in spirit and truth – having a right grasp of the way God is – is coming to value Him as that which is most valuable. Worship depends on a correct spiritual or heart understanding of God’s supreme value. True worship depends on a right understanding of God’s nature and it is a right valuing of God’s worth. Of course, His worth is infinite. So, true worship is a valuing or a treasuring of God above all things. The inner essence of worship is the response of the heart when the mind is rightly understanding God and the heart is rightly valuing God. Or you could use words like treasuring or prizing God or delighting in God or reverencing God. All of these inner responses to God reflect His infinite worth and beauty. That is what worship was designed to do: put the supreme worth of God on display. External Acts of Worship So, we worship God truly when we know Him truly and treasure Him properly. Then the word worship refers to that inner valuing and treasuring becoming visible in the world in two basic ways in the New Testament. One is acts of the mouth; acts of praise (speaking or singing) and repentance in worship services or small group gatherings. The other is acts of love with the body and the hands and the feet, acts of love that show the supreme value of God by what we are willing to sacrifice for the good of others. We can see these two basic ways in Hebrews 13:15-16. Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. These verses begin and end with sacrifice. The idea of sacrifice is an echo from the Old Testament sacrifices which were at the centre of worship and were to display the value of God as we gave up a bull or a goat or some grain and showed that God is precious to us. We treasure His redemption that comes to us through Jesus Christ. So through Christ, two things become worshipful sacrifices in our life: first, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name (public and private singing and praying and repenting and confessing) and second, the fruit of deeds. Worship ought to be a part of our everyday life, not music that we listen to or how many church services or events we attend. Let’s worship God in spirit and truth. So offer to God the fruit of your lips in praise and worship. And don’t neglect to do good. Both are pleasing to God and both are necessary acts of worship. How has worshipping God helped you in your everyday life? What have you learned? How have you been encouraged or challenged? Please share in the comments, we would love to hear from you! 
In this week’s blog post, we are considering the habit or discipline of journaling. In past posts, we have considered Bible intake, prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, stewardship as it relates to both time and finances, fasting, and silence/solitude.
If you have not seen these posts yet, go ahead and click on the links to catch yourself up. And remember that the primary motivation for these spiritual habits or disciplines is taken from Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7, where he says, exercise or discipline yourself toward godliness. This applies to us just the same today and he makes it clear that, if we wish to be godly, it will take work, discipline, and exercise. Just as an athlete, musician, or artist must exercise disciplined practice to become more proficient at their chosen field, so a disciple must exercise disciplined practice in these activities as means’ of grace to become more proficient at being godly. That is to say, as we become more disciplined in the practice of these habits, more of God’s grace is available to us which will change us. So what about journaling? Let’s begin with an explanation. A journal is a place (physical or digital) in which a person records information important to him or her personally for the purpose of preservation and/or consideration. As a follower of Jesus your journal is a place to document the works and ways of God in your life. Your journal can also include an account of daily events, personal relationships, a notebook of insights into Scripture and/or a list of prayer requests and answers. A journal is one of the best places for tracking your progress in the other disciplines and for holding yourself accountable to your goals. The words ‘spiritual journal’ can sound quite exclusive – something artsy types do, not normal everyday disciples. Or they can sound quite old-fashioned and not something for twenty first-century disciples. But both of these impressions are unhelpful! A spiritual journal is an ordinary, honest record of what is going on in your life, how you feel about it, and your awareness of where God is in it all.
It needn’t be in good English; it’s not being handed in for marking! It needn’t be written in a fancy book. You can do it – and there are good reasons why you should consider it.
Why Keep a Spiritual Journal? A spiritual journal achieves three things: it is a record, which aids reflection and thus becomes a means of responding to God’s call to deepening discipleship.
How to Keep a Spiritual Journal You can breathe a sigh of relief: there are no rules to keeping a spiritual journal! Find a system that works for you and be willing to adapt it as you go, so that it keeps working. If it enables you to record your day, reflect on God’s involvement and respond in some way then it is working! Having said that, here are a few thoughts to help you think through your own approach.
One final thought: although the journal is a private document, it could help you develop this habit – and perhaps reflect on your journal entries – if you shared your ‘journal journey’ with a close spiritual friend. Keeping a spiritual journal in company with others allows you to learn from one another’s experience and to support one another in developing the practice. Do you currently have a spiritual journal? If so, please share how this has helped you in your spiritual growth and relationship with God? If you don’t have a spiritual journal, we hope that you have been encouraged to start one and we would love to hear all about it! 
At this time of year, many people find themselves thinking more about thankfulness. But a look at Scripture reminds us that being thankful needs to be a foundation of our lives every day.
In fact, having an “attitude of gratitude” adds to our spiritual and physical health all year round - and it’s a mindset we can cultivate. We can certainly express our appreciation to family and friends, for employment, fun times and new things. But the Bible clearly instructs Christians to fix our eyes on the Heavenly Father, the true source of every good thing in our lives. He is the One who graciously gives us “good things” of all kinds, and our natural response should be thanking Him specifically.
How Can We Express Thanksgiving? “Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise His name” (Psalm 100:4). We can express our thanks privately anytime. But there’s something very special about gathering together to express gratitude to God. I grew up in a church where opportunity was often given for testimonies. People were invited to stand and share something God had done in their lives, or how coming to know Jesus changed their lives. Listening to stories always led me to be more aware and grateful for God’s presence in my life. Verses all through the Bible point us back to God as our Creator and Sustainer, and how we are to be a thankful people. The list of things we could praise Him for is endless. But here are just a few reasons to give thanks to God all year long. Don't be surprised if more blessings come to your mind as you read these. “Let us come before Him with Thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:2-3). 1. His Love In 1 John, the disciple says straight out that, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). In Scripture, we see those that received and embraced His unconditional love for them humbly and joyfully thanked the Lord for it. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good” (1 Chronicles 16:34). “Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever” (Psalm 106:1). “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind” (Psalm 107:15). God’s love is just as strong for us today as it was for those in Scripture. He is still our Father, who seeks a relationship with us. His deep and abiding love should lead us to praise Him just like those we read about. How has God shown His love to you? 2. His Provision From the earliest days of the Israelite nation, God has delivered His people from, and led them through, all sorts of trials and hardships. So, many accounts tell of people responding with gratitude for how God watched over them in challenging times. Their trust grew stronger and led them to pray with expectation going forward. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy and with my song I praise Him” (Psalm 28:7). “I thank and praise You, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power” (Daniel 2:23). “Do not be anxious about anything, but by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19-20). It doesn’t take much thought for us to come up with our own testimonies of how God has carried us in hard times. He wants us to recognize that He, and no one else, is our Provider, and to hear our response. In what situation has God provided for you? 3. His Forgiveness King David and the disciple Peter are two examples in Scripture of men who were impacted by their sinful choices, and later received the forgiveness of God. Both were deeply changed in the process. Others join with them in Scripture to express thanks for such amazing grace. “I will praise You, Lord. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away and You have comforted me” (Isaiah 12:1). “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits - who forgives all your sins” (Psalm 103:2-3). Every believer throughout the ages has been able to hold onto the same promise of receiving God’s forgiveness for sin. We too can feel that lightening of our spirit and respond with gratitude. What sins has God forgiven you for? 4. His Word Even before the Bible we have today existed, its teachings and truths were shared. Sometimes it spread by word of mouth, other times in written form. But whatever way it reached people, the Word of God changed minds and hearts and inspired gratitude in those that heard it. “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16). “At midnight I rise to give You thanks for Your righteous laws” (Psalm 119:62). Today, most of us are immensely blessed to have access to the whole Bible. On any given day, we can be impacted by the life-renewing power within its pages. God is pleased when we use this gift and thank Him for it. What Bible verse has made a difference in your faith walk? 5. His Creation God created the earth for His pleasure and ours and took great care in the process of making it. Every detail was intentional. King David was one of many who delighted in nature, seeing evidence of the Master’s hand all around him. “Give thanks to the Lord of lords: to Him who alone does great wonders, who by His understanding made the heavens, who spread out the earth upon the waters, who made the great lights - the sun to govern the day, the moon and stars to govern the night” (Psalm 136:3-9). We have the opportunity to appreciate God's handiwork as well. Looking up into a bright blue sky, sitting on the beach or a walk in the woods is a way to find refreshment and calm. What is your favourite spot in nature to spend time? 6. His People The Apostle Paul often expressed gratitude for his fellow Christians and for the encouragement and support they gave. He recognized that God was ministering to him through those believers while giving them a chance to know the joy of serving the Lord. Feeling the power of community brought out praises. “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers” (1 Thessalonians 1:2). “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all His holy people and their faith in the Lord Jesus” (Philemon 1:4). “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your face is growing more and more and the love all of you have for one another is increasing” (2 Thessalonians 1:3). The church was part of God’s plan for His people. Most of us who belong to a local church family can agree that there is comfort and strength to be found in fellowship. We are given chances to serve each other and help each other grow closer to our Lord. The sound of thanks coming from a congregation sounds sweet to God. How has being in a church family made a difference in how you live? 7. His Plan for Us The Apostle Paul wrote repeatedly that the followers of Christ have been set apart by God. He taught that believers have the privilege and responsibility of growing in holiness and of joining the Lord in His mission. Paul also mentions God's plan for us to share in numerous blessings through what Jesus did on the cross: victory over the enemy, restoration with God and an eternal Kingdom to enjoy. And we know from the covenant God made with Abraham that we are blessed like this in order to be a blessing (Genesis 12). “But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire’” (Hebrews 12:28-29). “We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken your great power and have begun to reign” (Revelation 11:17). How has the knowledge of God’s plan for you now and in the future encouraged you? God Gladly Receives Our Praise In this age, we are even closer to seeing the return of Christ. That should awaken us to greater determination to be known as God’s children, and more gratitude for His wonderful promises. Saying “thank you” to God hardly seems like enough in light of all His blessings to us. But whenever we do that, He gladly receives our praises. Studying verses about thankfulness will bring us to a place of humility, and a place of joy, and that is how God wants us to live every day. “What shall I return to the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people” (Psalm 116:12-14). 
Have you ever planned a trip or special celebration that you had to end up cancelling? Maybe you had some personal goals that you were hoping to accomplish, but weren’t able to? Or maybe you had some great ideas for your business or ministry that you had to put on hold?
While our answers may vary, one thing most of us can agree on is that we didn’t see COVID-19 coming and all the effects that would follow. Many plans had to be changed, cancelled, and put on hold at this time. Its not easy when plans need to be changed because often there is some disappointment that comes with that. Today, we are going to look at 3 important truths to keep in mind when our plans don’t come together the way we had hoped for. 1. Our plans are not guaranteed. Proverbs 16:9 says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” This year, my family had 2 celebrations that we had made plans for. A 10-year Wedding Anniversary and a 40th Birthday. We had a special trip booked and we even had a hall booked to help make these days extra special. They all had to be cancelled. We need to remember that whatever we put on our calendar and plan for is not guaranteed. God knows everything and it is He that directs our steps, not our plans.
It doesn’t mean that the disappointment won’t be there because initially it will. It means that when our plans get ‟interrupted” its God allowing His plans to come to pass. And whatever we experience, God will use to build and develop our character to make us more like Jesus.
2. God is still in control. Psalm 47:8 says, “God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.” No matter what we go through, God is still on His throne. He is still in control. This is not only a great reminder but also a comfort to know that our Father in heaven is always in control. It reminds me of being a child and that safe feeling of being with our parents when we are afraid. God is always there for us no matter what we are feeling. Let us find encouragement in that today. 3. God’s plans are best for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” This is one of my favourite verses in the Bible. This promise assures us, encourages us, comforts us, gives us hope and peace, and so much more. When God called Jonah to go and preach in Nineveh, he decided to go the opposite way. Jonah tried to run away from God, but didn’t get very far only to be swallowed by a giant fish. Even though Jonah did not understand, the plans that God had for his life were best for him. We know what ends up happening- Jonah eventually obeys and does what God asked Him to do. God’s plans for us are best for us. During this season, it has been so wonderful to see the church step up and be in prayer and reading the Bible more. It has also been wonderful to see people who do not know Jesus ask questions. People are seeking and this is a good thing. Another thing I have seen are missionaries who are desperately waiting to get back on the field to serve God and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Their plans have been greatly changed, and they are trusting God for greater plans to come. Let’s continue to pray for our missionaries as they wait to be able to return to their fields. How have your plans changed this year? Have you had to cancel anything? What are some good things you have seen or experienced during this season? Please let us know in comments. We would love to hear from you. 
Welcome back to the Commands of Christ blog series where we are examining together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus and which are essential for new disciples understand and obey. If you missed the first four posts in this series, you can find them by clicking Repent and Believe, Be Baptized, Pray, and Make Disciples. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20). In this post, we will look at the fifth of nine foundational commands that Christ gave for disciples to obey. This fifth command is to love and is found in Matthew 22:37-39. And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. So it’s clear, then, that love is something that must be done as a disciple of Jesus who is intent upon obeying all of His commands. And there likely aren’t very many disciples who would deny this love imperative. But what does it mean to love? What does love look like? How do I know what love is and who to love?
What is love?
Ask 100 people on the street what love is and you will probably get 100 different answers. But there is only one answer that a disciple should seek and that is the one given by Jesus. In John 15:12-14, Jesus gives the sense of what love is. He says that there is no greater love than the willingness of one to lay down his life for another. This is the ultimate definition of what love is. And most of us in North America are pretty safe in saying that we love like that because the likelihood that I might be placed in the position of having to lay down my life for another is pretty remote. But is that the extent of what loving by laying down your life for another really means? Is it possible to lay down your life daily? I believe that love is laying down your own life, your plans, your schedule, your agenda for the sake of others. Kind of like the Good Samaritan that Jesus talked about in Luke 10:25-37. He set aside his plans and schedule to care for the person who had been attacked on the road and left for dead. The Samaritan invested his time, energy and resources to care for him. And Jesus held this Samaritan up as an example of love. Why do we love? In John 13:34-45 Jesus says to us, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” From this, we see three reasons why we are to love. First, because it is commanded; “A new commandment I give to you,”. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. We are commanded to love each other. Second, because Jesus loves us; “As I have loved you,”. And third, because this is the way the world will know that we are disciples of Jesus; “By this all people will know that you are My disciples.” Who do we love? In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus makes it clear who we are to love. “And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” These are also commandments. We are to love God and we are to love our neighbours. How do we love? John 14:15 tells us that we love Jesus by obeying Him. And so we are fond of saying to people, “Love Jesus and do what He says.” God has loved us with a love with the greatest love there is, the love that moves one to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). But this doesn’t mean that Jesus loved us, His friends, more than His Father. It means that Jesus loved us best because He loved His Father most (John 17:26; Mark 14:36). And “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). That means that we also ought to love with a love that moves us to lay down our lives for others, particularly those who do not know the good news that God loves them. So how are you doing with this command to love? Are you loving Jesus and doing what He says? How are you being a good neighbour like the Good Samaritan that Jesus spoke about? Let us know in the comments section. We would love to hear how you are doing and how we might support you in your desire to be a better disciple of Jesus. 
At One Mission Society we are excited when a congregation take steps to become more intentional about their involvement in cross-cultural missions work because we see this kind of world evangelization as the key to meeting the requirement Jesus gave in Matthew 24:14; “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” This is how we complete the Great Commission, preaching the gospel of the kingdom to all nations. And we know that nations does not refer to political entities like Canada or Cameroon or Croatia or Colombia. It means ethno-linguistic people groups like the Ansari in India, the Arain in Pakistan, the Uygher in China and the Fulani of Nigeria.
So we encourage congregations to develop a strategy to become more intentional about resourcing the cross-cultural work with funds and with people.
The strategy serves as the roadmap to get from where they are presently to that place of greater intentionality and impact.
However, in order for a map to be of any kind of a useful tool for charting a course, there are two critical pieces of knowledge that we must possess. The first is the knowledge of where we wish to go, that destination to which we wish to go. That’s usually quite obvious if we have taken the time to think it through. The second piece of knowledge that we must possess is perhaps less obvious and less simple to attain; where we are presently. Think about it. You cannot plot a course from point A to point B unless you can find both point A and point B on the map. And it’s been our experience that point A is the more difficult point to get correct. Perhaps you have had this experience. You are playing a round of golf and as occasionally happens, you hit your driver off the tee and lose sight of the ball. You have an idea of the general area where it landed. And so you strike out to where you think your ball should be. You look and look, gradually moving further and further away from the spot you thought it should be in ever widening circles until you find the ball much closer to the tee than you thought it went. You were sure it went 230 yards, but it actually only went 185. I think it is a universal principle that we estimate our progress to be further than it actually is, we estimate our drives to be longer than they are and we estimate our value to be greater than it really is. So how can we be more accurate in determining what our Point A actually is? What follows are 19 questions to help us determine where Point A really is. These questions are designed for Pastors and church leaders, but any church member can find the questions helpful. So give them a go.
So how did you do? We would love to hear from you. Leave us a comment below. And, if you feel it is appropriate, please share this blog post with your pastor and church leaders. We really do want to see congregations become more intentional about their role in world evangelization. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14 
Most of us have heard the saying, “The Struggle is Real” but what does this really mean for us as believers?
A struggle can be defined as: to contend with an adversary or opposing force or to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc. So, most would associate this saying with day-to-day challenges or the grind that we face such as: getting up early for work or school, doing laundry that has been piled up for days or even weeks, or having to cook a nice dinner after an exhausting day. While these challenges or grind can all be valid struggles at times, today we are going to talk about a very real struggle that we are constantly in and yet has been ignored by some. Ephesians 6:12 describes this struggle. It’s not a struggle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil. We need to be aware that there is an enemy and he is out there prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). This is very important for us to be aware of so that we don’t fall into temptation and sin. The struggle is real. God’s Resources God has provided us with some key resources which we must rely on as we face this struggle every day.
Let’s look at 4 of these today:
1. Prayer We need to constantly be in prayer alone and also with other believers. Having others to encourage and build us up through prayer is not only comforting but necessary. In 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3 Paul is asking for prayer to be rescued from evil people. There is power in prayer and God certainly hears our prayers, so let us come boldly before Him and ask for His protection and wisdom to get us through this constant struggle. 2. The Holy Spirit We must be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). As we are filled, we become more like Jesus and we are transformed in how we think and ultimately how we act. We cannot fight this struggle with our physical strength. We need the Holy Spirit to be in control and work in and through us. 3. God’s Word The Word of God is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12). When Jesus was being tempted by the devil in the desert, He responded with the Word of God and eventually, the devil left Him. The more we know God’s Word, the better we can respond when we are faced with challenging situations. 4. Jesus Jesus is our greatest example when facing any situation. Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that Jesus empathizes with us and He was tempted like we have been, yet He did not sin. Jesus demonstrated how we should deal with this real struggle in how He lived His life. Hebrews 7:25 also reminds us that Jesus always makes intercession for us. In times where we do not know what to pray for or how to pray, we can be assured that Jesus is praying on our behalf. I always find it so amazing that we have a God who truly understands us through every situation. It really brings such a peace and comfort to know this. So, the struggle is real isn’t it? Yes it is, but there is good news. We have been provided with the resources and tools that we need in order to overcome. Let’s tap into these like never before and we will grow in our faith like never before. There is some more good news for us. The victory has already been won! Jesus was victorious and as believers we are also victorious. Remembering this helps us to stay focused and allows us to move forward in all that God has for us. “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18) What struggle are you facing today? Remember that you are victorious through Jesus Christ, and God has provided some game changer resources and tools for us. I encourage you to go deeper into these. Feel free to check out our Blog and look out for a new blog that is posted every week. Our prayer is that you would be greatly encouraged to go deeper into what God has for your life. 
In this week’s blog post, we are considering the habit or discipline of silence/solitude. In past posts, we have considered Bible intake, prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, and stewardship as it relates to both time and finances, and fasting.
If you have not seen these posts yet, go ahead and click on the links to catch yourself up. And remember that the primary motivation for these spiritual habits or disciplines is taken from Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7, where he says, exercise or discipline yourself toward godliness. This applies to us just the same today and he makes it clear that, if we wish to be godly, it will take work, discipline, and exercise. Just as an athlete, musician, or artist must exercise disciplined practice to become more proficient at their chosen field, so a disciple must exercise disciplined practice in these activities as means’ of grace to become more proficient at being godly. That is to say, as we become more disciplined in the practice of these habits, more of God’s grace is available to us which will change us. So what about silence/solitude? Let’s begin with an explanation. The discipline/habit of silence is the voluntary and temporary abstention from speaking so that certain spiritual gifts might be sought. It is sometimes practised in order to read the Bible, meditate on Scripture, pray, journal, and so on. Though there is no audible speaking, there may be intentional, biblical self-talk or prayer to God. At other times you might choose not to talk at all but simply focus your mind upon God and to set your mind on things that are above (Colossians3:2), resting your soul in the love He displayed in Christ. The discipline/habit of solitude is the voluntary and temporary withdrawing to privacy for spiritual purposes. The length of the solitude may last only a few minutes or for days. As with silence, solitude may be pursued in order to participate without interruption in other disciplines or just to be alone with God and think. Three thoughts are helpful when thinking about silence and solitude. First, think of silence and solitude as complementary disciplines to fellowship. But don’t think of fellowship as those times when you simply socialize. Biblical fellowship involves talking about God and the things of God. It is probably true that we do much less of this than we think, even when we are at church. The emphasis here, though, is that fellowship requires interaction with other people, whereas silence and solitude do not. It seems that each of us is more inclined in one direction than the other. That is, we enjoy meaningful conversation with other Christians more than solitude or vice versa. But both have a place in the life of a biblically consistent believer. Without silence and solitude, we can be active but shallow. Without fellowship, we can be deep, but stagnant. Christlikeness requires both sides of the equation. Second, silence and solitude are often found together. Even though they can be distinguished as in the definitions above, we are referring to them as a pair. Third, recognize that our western culture conditions us to be comfortable with crowds and noise, not with silence and solitude, and to feel more comfortable at a mall than at a park. This is confirmed by the inability of many of us to ever be at home or in a car by ourselves without turning on some background noise. Technology now makes it possible for us to enjoy the benefits of news, music, educational content, and more whenever we want and wherever we are. More than any generation in history, we must discipline ourselves to enjoy the blessings of silence and solitude for the purpose of godliness.
Following are just a few of the reasons to pursue silence and solitude.
1- To follow Jesus' example Scripture teaches us that Jesus pursued periods of silence and solitude, some for only a few minutes or hours, and at least one for several days. Check out the following references: Matthew 4:1 - the primary purpose of this event was for Jesus to encounter and conquer the devil’s temptations. But it is worthy to note that the Holy Spirit led Jesus to this experience during a lengthy period of fasting and solitude. Matthew 14:23 - Here He sent the multitudes and His disciples away so He could be alone with the Father. Mark 1:35 - After a night of healing and casting out demons and before it was daylight again He went to spend time alone in prayer. Jesus knew that had He waited until after sunrise, He would have been surrounded again by the curious eyes and urgent voices of the whole city. Luke 4:42 - Imagine, people are clamouring for your help and have many real needs, and you are able to meet all those needs. Can you ever feel justified in pulling away to be alone? Jesus did. So, if it was necessary and possible for Jesus, how much more for us? The point should be obvious: To be more like Jesus we must discipline ourselves to find times of silence and solitude. Then through these habits or disciplines, we can pursue the many blessings that Jesus experienced through them. 2- To minimize distractions in prayer One of the more obvious reasons for getting away from the sounds and surroundings that divert our attention is to better focus the mind in prayer. In addition to the examples of Jesus in the previous section, other biblical examples of this might include Elijah going to Horeb, the mount of God (1 Kings 19:8) where he heard the low whisper of God (1 Kings 19:11-13). Consider Habakkuk entering a guard post and keeping watch to hear from and answer to God (Habakkuk 2:1). Or look to the apostle Paul going to Arabia after his conversion where he was presumably alone with God (Galatians 1:7). Many of us realize the addiction we have to noise. The portability and accessibility of technology is a mixed blessing. While we should be grateful for its massive benefits, we should also recognize its invasive and distracting tendencies. The more we use audio and video technology, the more we need to learn the discipline of silence and solitude. 3- To express faith in God The simple act of silence before God, as opposed to coming to Him in a wordy fret, can be a demonstration of faith in Him. Twice in Psalm 62 David displayed this kind of faith. In Psalm 62:1-2 he affirms that his soul waits in silence for God alone because he knows Him to be his rock, his salvation and his fortress. Then in Psalm 62:5-6 he challenges his soul to wait in silence for God alone, again because He is his rock, salvation and fortress. Sometimes, the prayers we speak can be filled more with fear and doubt than faith; silence before the Lord can sometimes express more faith and submission to God than words. 4- To regain a spiritual perspective One of the very best ways to step back and get a more balanced, less worldly perspective on matters is through the discipline of silence and solitude. When Zechariah was told by the angel that he and his elderly wife would have a son, he doubted. In response, the angel told him that he would be silent and unable to speak until the day the baby was born (Luke 1:20). During this time of silence and solitude, his perspective was changed and when the child was born, his mouth was opened again and he gave glory to God for what He had done (Luke 1:57-64). 5- To learn control of the tongue Learning to keep silent for short periods of time can help us better control our tongue all the time. There is little doubt that controlling our tongue is critical to Christlikeness. The Bible says that the religion of the person with no tongue control is worthless (James 1:26). Proverbs 17:27-28 connects the Christlike qualities of godly knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and discernment with the power to rein in one’s tongue. Ecclesiastes 3:7 refers to control of the tongue in two ways. One is the ability to restrain it and the other is the ability to use it. Godliness, therefore, involves learning whey you should not talk as well as when you should. James 1:9 also describes power over the tongue in terms of the ability to keep it in check. This applies to our online social media speaking as well as what is done with our lips. And remember that the great purpose for practising these habits or disciplines is godliness, that we might be more like Jesus, that we may be more holy. Austin Phelps, in his book The Still Hour wrote, “It has been said that no great work in literature or in science was ever wrought by a man who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often long alone with God." So let’s do it. Let’s spend time in silence and solitude with God for the purpose of godliness. 
Welcome back to the Commands of Christ blog series where we are examining together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus and which are essential for new disciples to understand and obey. If you missed the first three posts in this series you can find them by clicking Repent and Believe, Be Baptized and Pray. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20). In this post, we will look at the fourth of nine foundational commands that Christ gave for disciples to obey. This fourth command is to make disciples, and is found in Matthew 28:18-20 which is quoted above. 3 Reasons Why Being a Disciple Matters Why does discipleship matter? If we claim to be a Christian, then we are claiming to be a follower of Jesus and if we are a follower of Jesus, then we are one of His disciples. Here are 3 reasons why being a disciple matters: 1. Jesus Commands Us to Make Disciples When Jesus gave the disciples the Great Commission, He told them to make disciples of all nations. How can you make a disciple if you aren’t a disciple yourself? In order to make a disciple, you have to be a disciple of Jesus. If you are not strong in your faith, you wouldn’t be able to train and make disciples. No matter where you are or what profession you’re in, you’re called to be a disciple of Jesus. He will use you wherever you are, whoever you are. 2. A Disciple is a Doer of the Word Anyone can say they are a disciple of Jesus but are they obeying what Christ commanded? This is the difference between being a hearer of the word only and being a doer of the word. This is made clear in James 1:22-25. It says,“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” In order to live out your life as a disciple, you must be growing in your obedience to do what Jesus commands. 3. You Become More Conformed to the Image of Christ When you lay down your life for the sake of Christ, you are making a step towards becoming more Christ-like. Discipleship is a direct result of sanctification. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” We are made new when we repent and believe in Christ and allow Him to work in us. In order to become more like Jesus, we should surrender our lives daily and deny our flesh. We will never live a perfect life but we can walk in the Spirit, take up our cross daily, and quickly repent when we fail and then get back up and go again! The 3 Main Goals of Discipleship Once you have committed to being a disciple of Christ, there are three main goals of discipleship you should keep in mind: share the Gospel, make disciples, and glorify God. 1. Share the Gospel To be a disciple of Jesus, you must share the Gospel, this is what Jesus told His disciples to do before He left the earth. Put yourself in places where you will have the opportunity to share the Gospel. For example, volunteer at a homeless shelter or help your neighbour with a painting project. Not only are we to share the Gospel to those in our community but we are called to share with every nation. If you’re not called to be a full-time missionary, you can support missions from home with your finances and prayers. You can also pray for an unreached people group in the world (for more information on Unreached People Groups visit Joshua Project). Pray and ask God to guide you and provide you with opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus! 2. Make Disciples After sharing the Gospel, we are called to make disciples. This means teaching people how they can live out their faith and encouraging them in their walk with Jesus. You may consider volunteering at your church’s youth group or mentoring someone. Discipling people will look different for everyone depending on your age and how mature your walk with God is. Again, I would encourage you to pray and ask God who He has placed in your life for you to disciple. 3. Glorify God The most important part of being a disciple of Christ is to glorify God. Let all that you do be honouring and glorifying to Him. Do all things for His glory rather than your own. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10) We can show God glory by being responsible at work and complete tasks with diligence, by having healthy relationships and growing alongside each other, and by setting aside devotional time every day. We don’t just bring Him glory when we are at church; we can bring Him honour during our everyday tasks too. Lastly, we can give God glory by praise God throughout the way day. When you are working or running errands, tell Him how grateful you are for the blessings He has given to you! Now that you know your call as a disciple is to make disciples of all nations and teach them the ways of Jesus, it’s time for action. Pray and see how God wants to bring discipleship into your own life and how you can disciple others. Lastly, remember the most important part of being a disciple is to bring God honour and glory! If you want to know more about discipleship and making disciple-makers, contact us via the comments or by sending an email or giving us a call at 800-784-7077. 
Are you perfectly content where you are right now? Or are you the individual that is unsure about what they should do with their life? No matter which one you are, or if you are a mixture of both….You should consider being a missionary.
It may not be the path you thought you would take, and honestly, it’s not what a lot of people see themselves doing. You probably have a set picture in your mind of what you want your life to look like. Maybe getting married, kids on the way, the white picket fence, and a puppy running around? Or maybe there is another picture in place, either way, the truth is… being a missionary is more than just giving your life to God in order to see Him do amazing things. It’s a decision that every Christian should at least consider. God’s Heart Lies Amongst the Ruins Have you ever prayed this prayer: “God, break my heart for what breaks yours”? Well, let me tell you something, God’s heart breaks for those who are lost and hurting. His heart hurts for the ones that don’t know Him, and have no one to tell them the glorious truth. Jesus once said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40) The “least of these” are those who are alone; the ones that no one wants to be around. The ones that are still out there waiting for you to come and be their friend. Have you ever heard that song, “Do Something” by Matthew West? (I really encourage you to listen to it.) The song starts off with the things that are wrong with this world; it talks about the hurt, the pain, the disgusting attributes that give you a sick feeling in your stomach. Then a question is asked, probably one that we have all asked at one point in our lives: “God why don’t You do something?” The response? “I did… I created YOU.” There is a lot of hurt in this world, and we can’t go on believing that someone else will fix it, especially when God created you to be able to do amazing things. Being a missionary allows you to serve God while serving others. It’s an act of laying down our lives so that the Lord can work in us and through us. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. — John 15:13 Your Calling Awaits According to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), if you are a follower of Christ, you are called to go. How would life look if all Christians went like God commands us to? How amazing would it be to have Christians step out in faith and say, “God, I’m going to go unless You stop me”? So many people claim that God couldn’t want them to go because He blessed them right where they are, but that’s not always the case. Loren Cunningham once said, “You’re either a missionary or a mission field.” Although it seems like such a simple statement, there is so much weight in it. If you are a Christian, you’re called to being a missionary. If you are not, then you are the mission field that the missionaries should be pursuing.
There’s Still a Need For More Missionaries
Consider this assessment from the Traveling Team. “If everyone is obeying God’s “calling” to be a missionary wherever they are then God is calling 99.9995% of people to work among the 44.3% of the world population that already has the gospel, and calling virtually no one (.0005%) to relocate among the other 55.7% of the world population that are not Christian. You have a better chance of being in a plane crash than being one of the few missionaries to the unreached out of the total 2 billion Christians in the world. In light of God’s word, this seems unfathomable and it appears to be almost complete disobedience on the part of the Church worldwide to go make disciples of all the nations. Financially we are hoarding 99.99% of our income to ourselves and what little is given is mostly directed toward reached people groups. The current status quo is to do virtually nothing to reach the UPG’s of the world. The percentages of man-power and money focused on UPG’s are almost undetectable they are so small. The amount of resources that fall off the Christian table for unreached peoples is more comparable (I Googled it…) with the number of skin cells you lose over a month’s time: something hardly worth calling a sacrifice of the body.” God isn’t simply calling those who are on the field, now, but countless others that allow other things to get in the way of this call. Maybe it’s their job, or their family, or making money. There are so many people who allow the short time on earth to consume their eternity. Being a missionary is all about humbling yourself before God, offering Him your all, and surrendering your life to Him. Yes, it is a large sacrifice. Of course, it’s hard to do; but, think of all the things that God did for you. He made you. Loved you. Held you when you rejected Him. Died for you. Cared about you. God changed your life, isn’t the least you could do is allow Him to work through you to do that for others? “Any church not involved in the Great Commission has forfeited its biblical right to exist.” — Oswald J. Smith It’s NOT About You This life isn’t about you; you are simply the one who is living it. Max Lucado says it best when He says, “God does not exist to make a big deal out of us. We exist to make a big deal out of Him. It’s not about you. It’s not about me. It’s about Him.” So many people seem to believe that this life is a possession that belongs to them, but that’s not the truth. Your life belongs to God. He has a set path for you to follow, but a multitude of things have gotten in the way of this idea. Your life is not your own. It’s an instrument that God blessed you with. “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” — C.T. Studd Every aspect of your life points back to God—or at least it should. We live in a world that is doing a better job of loving people than the church is, and it’s up to you to change that. The best way to do that? Keep in mind that your life is not your own and be willing to give your life to the God who changes lives and people. I challenge you to consider being a missionary. It’s not all about what you end up doing as a missionary, or even how many people you reach, but it’s about Him and your obedience to Him. We are Christians, called to be God’s instruments, but it seems like a lot of us like to march to the beat of our own drums. The moment you gave your life to God, you gave Him rule over every aspect of you. Don’t think about what you could lose by being a missionary, think of everything you can gain for the kingdom. Isn’t that worth it? 
Welcome back to the Commands of Christ blog series where we are examining together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus which are essential for new disciples to understand and obey. If you missed the first two posts in this series, you can find them by clicking Repent and Believe and Be Baptized. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20). In this post, we will look at the third of nine foundational commands that Christ gave for disciples to obey. This third command is to pray. Most people have an idea of what praying is, but why is it so important? In Matthew 6:9-13, we find Jesus telling us how to pray, and every one of my generation can almost certainly recite this model prayer because when we were in elementary school, this prayer was recited every morning before school began. It is commonly called the Lord’s prayer. Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 5, 6 and 7 are referred to as the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus went up onto a mountain to teach the people. It is Jesus’ longest, most detailed teaching recorded in the Gospels. It contains some of the most essential principles for living a genuine Christian life. According to John R.W. Stott, “The Sermon on the Mount is probably the best-known part of the teaching of Jesus, though arguably it is the least understood, and certainly, it is the least obeyed” (The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, 1973, p. 15). So, as disciples who want to obey everything that Jesus commanded us, prayer is something that we must do.
The first reason we must pray is that, without God, we can do nothing (John 15:5). He is the Creator and sustainer of all things, including ourselves, so it makes sense that we would communicate with Him. Prayer is an indicator of the relationship and a way to develop that relationship.
The second reason is that He tells us that He will hear us when we pray. That’s an incredible thing. We have the ear of the Creator of all things, the King of kings. Nothing could be more compelling for prayer than this reality. There are many other reasons why we need to pray. Prayer will help us recognize and remember that we are not God. We realize that there is strength to be gained from God Himself. We will better understand that things do not begin and end with us. We learn how to surrender control to God, admitting that He is better in the driver’s seat than we. We are able to communicate our true feelings in a safe space. The more we come to trust that God hears our prayers, the more we come to trust Him with the outcomes. Through prayer, we can be encouraged to take steps of faith. And we have the assurance that God is waiting to act in response to prayer (John 15:7-8). So how should we pray? In the book of Matthew passage, Jesus gives a model for prayer and it is a good one. “Our Father in heaven...” - acknowledge who God is and who you are - Father, child. “hallowed be Your name...” - this is a request, not a statement of praise - asking that God’s name be hallowed means to ask that God would be glorified in my life and that men and women from every people group would also glorify God. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done…” - I must surrender to God’s kingdom and His will being done in and through my life. “Give us this day our daily bread…” - I must go to God to meet all of my needs. “Forgive us our debts…” ask for forgiveness of my sins and acknowledging the necessity of forgiving others. “Deliver us from evil…” - I must pray for deliverance when I face temptation. So how does this sound to you? Scary? Intriguing? Exciting? Or utterly confusing? All of those are natural responses. Prayer is a mysterious activity because, in prayer, you choose to humble yourself before someone you cannot literally see, hear or touch. Perhaps you could use some structure to get you started. There is an app that can offer a great deal of help with prayer. It is called “Try Praying.” It is available in Google Play, the Apple Store and the Windows Store. So, what now? Listen to Jesus and do what He says. Commit to pray daily. Pray for the lost and for more labourers (Matthew 9:37-38). 
You might be wondering about the title of this blog, so I would like to start by defining the two key words: maniac and missionary.
A maniac can be defined as: a person exhibiting extreme symptoms of wild behavior, especially when violent and dangerous. A missionary can be defined as: a person who crosses cultures to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. A person who is a maniac is very different from a person who is a missionary and today we are going to look at a story in the Bible that talks about a man who had this very experience of going from a maniac to a missionary. Jesus had come to the other side of the sea, to the country of Gadarenes and immediately after He got off the boat a man with an unclean spirit was there to meet Him (Mark 5:1-2). This man could not be controlled by anyone. He was bound with shackles and chains, and he was constantly crying out and cutting himself with stones (Mark 5:4-5). He was being tormented by demons, who even themselves acknowledged Jesus as the Son of the Most High God (Mark 5:7). What is interesting with this particular interaction of Jesus with someone who was demon possessed, was that Jesus actually had an extended conversation with the leader of the band of demons (Legion). Usually, Jesus would immediately cast out demons but we see some conversation here as they all beg Jesus to send them into the pigs (Mark 5:12). Jesus goes on to give permission for the demons to enter into the pigs and they run violently down the steep place into the sea, and they drowned (Mark 5:13). The man was now free, he was no longer bound, he was clothed, and in his right mind. After an encounter with Jesus, He went from being a maniac to a missionary (Mark 5:15).
Jesus instructed the man to go home and tell others the great things that the Lord had done for him (Mark 5:19) and as he began to proclaim all that Jesus had done, the people marveled at what they heard (Mark 5:20).
Let`s be encouraged by this story. God can take the worst situation and turn it into something that is so beautiful and meaningful. We can sometimes make excuses about why we don`t think God can use us for His purposes. Having this mentality can actually prevent us from becoming all that God has created us to be. It`s not about our qualifications or even our strengths. It`s about God working in and through us to accomplish His plans. He is God and only He can transform a person`s life radically. As Christians, spreading the good news of Jesus Christ is something we are all called to do (Matthew 28:18-20). Are you called to be a missionary? You can read this previous blog series to help answer that question in your own life. We also have some other great blogs to help you learn more about missions: Accessible Missions Education, Not Just an Ordinary Trip, Four Myths about Missions Strategy, and Missions Vision Near and Far. Why Missions? God is passionate about missions and He has a heart for missions. Jesus Himself came to teach us one of the most important things: to spread the gospel. And we are all called to do that. While you may not be able to go on a missions trip for one reason or another, there are other ways that you and I can help support missions. One very important way is to be praying for our missionaries. They need our constant prayer. Here is a guide to help you with some specific prayer points. Have you been on a missions trip? Please share your experience with us below. We would love to hear all about it. 
In this week’s blog post, we are considering the habit or discipline of fasting. In past posts, we have considered Bible intake, prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, and stewardship as it relates to both time and finances.
If you have not seen these posts yet, go ahead and click on the links to catch yourself up. And remember that the primary motivation for these spiritual habits or disciplines is taken from Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7, where he says, exercise or discipline yourself toward godliness. This applies to us just the same today and he makes it clear that, if we wish to be godly, it will take work, discipline, and exercise. Just as an athlete, musician, or artist must exercise disciplined practice to become more proficient at their chosen field, so a disciple must exercise disciplined practice in these activities as means’ of grace to become more proficient at being godly. That is to say, as we become more disciplined in the practice of these habits, more of God’s grace is available to us which will change us. So what about fasting? Most of us who have some experience in the church know what fasting is, even if we don’t really understand what it is. Is fasting so important that it should be considered a discipline or a habit that leads to godliness? Should I fast? What happens if I do fast? How does fasting accomplish its purpose for me? We will look at these questions in this post. What is fasting? Christian fasting is a believer’s voluntary abstinence from food for spiritual purposes. Other types of fasting - despite the benefits they may produce for the mind and body - could not be classified as Christian fasting, and fasting by a non-Christian obtains no eternal value. It is for believers in Christ because the habit or discipline must be rooted in a relationship with Christ and practised with the desire to become more like Christ. Believers should fast according to biblical teaching and according to the biblical teaching and purposes that are God-centred. It is voluntary in that fasting should not be imposed or coerced. And fasting is more than just the ultimate crash diet for the body; it is abstinence from food for spiritual purposes.
Fasting is expected
For those who may be unfamiliar with fasting, the most surprising part of this post may be the discovery that Jesus expected that His followers would fast. Look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:16-18: “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” So, by giving us instructions on what to do and what not to do when we fast, Jesus assumes that we will fast. This expectation is even more obvious when we compare these words with His statements in the same passage about prayer and giving. Matthew 6:2-3 - “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Matthew 6: 5-7 - “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Few of us doubt that Christians are to pray and to give. In fact, Christians often use this passage to teach Jesus’ principles and expectations about praying and giving. And since there is nothing here or elsewhere in Scripture to indicate that we no longer need to fast, and since we know that Christians in the Book of Acts fasted (Acts 9:9, 13:2, 14:23), we may conclude that Jesus still expects His followers to fast today. Fasting is to be done for a purpose There must be more to a biblical fast than simply abstaining from food. Without a spiritual purpose for your fast, it’s just a weight-loss fast. Without a purpose, fasting can be a miserable, self-centred experience about will power and endurance. Having a biblical purpose for your fast may be the single most important concept to take from this post. In real life, here’s how it works: As you are fasting and your head aches or your stomach growls and you think, I’m hungry! your next thought is likely to be something like, Oh, right - I’m hungry because I’m fasting today. Then your next thought should be, And I’m fasting for this purpose: (insert biblical purpose here) . Without a clear biblical purpose, fasting becomes an end in itself. Every hunger pang only makes you figure out the time left before you can eat. This kind of thinking disconnects the experience in your mind and heart from the gospel and descends into the deception that perhaps your suffering will earn God’s favour. The Bible shows us many purposes for fasting, but they can be pared down to 10 major categories. Notice that none of the purposes is to earn God’s favour. It is a fool’s errand to try to impress God and earn His acceptance. Fasting has no eternal benefit for us until we have come to God through repentance and faith (Ephesians2:1-10, Titus 3:5-7). Then, as a Christian, you should fast for at least one of these biblical purposes.
What has been your past experience with fasting? Why do you think that there is so little said about fasting? What will you do to incorporate fasting into your habits of grace? We would love to talk with you about this. Reply in the comments section or give us a call at 1-800-784-7077. Matthew 6:17-18 - “But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” 
In this week’s blog post, we are considering the habit or discipline of stewardship as it relates to money. In past posts, we have considered Bible intake, prayer, worship, evangelism, serving, and stewardship as it relates to time.
If you have not seen these posts yet, go ahead and click on the links to catch up. And remember that the primary motivation for these spiritual habits or disciplines is taken from Paul’s instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:7, where he says, exercise or discipline yourself toward godliness. This applies to us just the same today and Paul makes it clear that, if we wish to be godly, it will take work, discipline, and exercise. Just as an athlete, musician, or artist must exercise disciplined practice to become more proficient at their chosen field, so a disciple must exercise disciplined practice in these activities as means’ of grace to become more proficient at being godly. That is to say, as we become more disciplined in the practice of these habits, more of God’s grace is available to us which will change us. The previous post in this series was supposed to be about Stewardship generally, but there was so much material when considering both the time and money aspects that I decided to split it into two posts. So this is the second post, dealing with stewardship of money. Now, the Bible relates not only our use of time to our spiritual condition (that is to say that our spiritual condition is closely related to the use of our time) but also our use of money. The disciplined use of money requires that we manage it in such a way that our needs and those of our families are met. Actually, the Bible condemns as a hypocrite any professing Christian who fails to care for the physical needs of his family because of financial irresponsibility, slothful mismanagement, or waste. “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever,” 1 Timothy 5:8). So how we use our money for ourselves, for others, and especially for the sake of God’s kingdom is from first to last a spiritual issue. Now, why do you suppose that God would consider the biblical use of money and resources a crucial part of our growth in godliness? For one thing, it is a matter of pure obedience. There are a whole lot of verses in the Bible that speak about our use of wealth and possessions. If we ignore it or take it lightly, our ‘godliness’ will be a deception. But as much as anything else, the reason our use of money and the things it buys indicates our spiritual maturity and godliness is that we exchange such a large part of our lives for it. Because we invest most of our waking days working in exchange for money, in a very real sense our money represents us. Therefore, how we use it reveals who we are because it makes plain our priorities, our values and our heart. To the degree we use our money and resources Christianly, we prove our growth in Christlikeness.
Let’s consider how the Scriptures teach us to discipline ourselves ‘for the purpose of godliness’ in the specific area of using our money for the sake of Christ and His kingdom.
Ten New Testament Principles of Giving 1. God owns everything. 1 Corinthians 10:26 - For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” Exodus 19:5 – “…for all the earth is mine;” Job 41:11b – “Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.” God owns, everything, including everything you possess, because He created everything. This means that we are simply managers or, to use the biblical word, stewards of the things God gives to us. As a slave, Joseph became a steward when Potiphar placed him over his household (Genesis 39:5-6). Since slaves own nothing, Joseph owned nothing. But he managed everything Potiphar owned on his behalf. His management of Potiphar’s resources included the use of them to meet his own needs, but Joseph’s main responsibility was to use them for Potiphar’s interests. That is our task as stewards. God wants us to use and enjoy the things He permits us to have, but as stewards, we have to remember that they all belong to Him and should be used for His kingdom. God has specifically said that He owns not just the things we possess, but even the money under our name in the bank and the cash in our wallet or purse. He said in Haggai 2:8 that the silver is His and the gold is His. So the question is not, “How much of my money should I give to God?” but rather “How much of God’s money should I keep for now?” 2. Giving is worship. Philippians 4:18 – “I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” In this verse, Paul calls the money that the Philippians gave a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to the Lord. This is a comparison to an Old Testament sacrifice people gave in worship to God. In other words, Paul said their act of giving to the work of God was a way of worshipping God. Have you ever thought of giving as worship? You know that praying, singing praises, participating in the Lord’s Supper, thanksgiving, and listening to Him speak through His word are all worship, but did you realize that giving to God is one of the biblical and tangible ways of adoring and worshipping Him? Giving goes way beyond being a duty or an obligation. Biblical giving displays a heart worshipping God. 3. Giving demonstrates faith in God’s provision. Mark 12:42-44 - And He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And He called His disciples to Him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” This poor widow gave everything she had, all she had to live on because she believed God would provide for her. We, too, will give to the extent we believe God will provide for us. The greater our faith that God will provide for our needs, the greater will be our willingness to risk giving to Him. And the less we trust God, the less we will want to give to Him. Your giving is perhaps the most tangible indication of how much you believe that God will provide for your needs. Examine yourself and ask God how He thinks you are doing. 4. Giving should be sacrificial and generous 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 - We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints — and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Paul describes these Macedonians as people living in extreme poverty. And yet their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity. They gave not only according to their means but beyond their means. Like these people, our giving should be sacrificial and generous. Remember this; giving is not sacrificial if you don’t have to sacrifice something to do it. Many professing Christians give only token amounts to the work of God’s kingdom. A much smaller number gives well. Probably only a small few actually give sacrificially. 5. Giving reflects spiritual trustworthiness Luke 16:10-13 - “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” In these verses, Jesus reveals that your giving is a reflection of how trustworthy we are with spiritual resources. If we are not faithful with the money God entrusts to us (and that certainly includes the giving of money for Christ’s kingdom) the Bible says that God will not treat us as trustworthy to handle spiritual riches. This is why your financial records tell more about you than almost anything else. If after your death, to learn more about your commitment to Christ, a biographer or your children were to scan your financial record of what you did with your money, what would they conclude? Would your footprints prove your spiritual trustworthiness? 6. Giving – Love, not legalism God doesn’t send you a bill and your church doesn’t send you a monthly statement of your account to remind you to make the necessary payments as though you had an obligation. We don’t give to God and to support the work of His kingdom to fulfill some supposed ‘eleventh commandment’. Love to God should motivate giving to God. How much you give should reflect how much you love God (and it probably does). In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul reports to the Corinthians how some of their fellow Greeks in macedonia were such good and faithful givers. 2 Corinthians 8:7-8 - But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. Paul didn’t exercise his authority as an apostle of Jesus and command the Corinthians to give. No, instead of dictating a law of giving, he said that giving is a way of proving the genuineness of your love for God. God wants you to give, not as a formality or an obligation, but as the overflow of your love for Him. 7. Give willingly, thankfully and cheerfully 2 Corinthians 9:7 - Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. God doesn’t want you to give with a grudge – that is, you give, but you would rather not. He takes no pleasure in gifts presented resentfully, regardless of the amount involved. God is not a divine landlord, tapping a greedy, outstretched palm, demanding His due, having no concern for how you feel about it. God doesn’t want you to give to Him out of a reluctant compliance to the reality that He owns it all anyway. He wants you to give because you want to give. Somebody has said that there are three kinds of giving: grudge giving, duty giving and thanksgiving. Grudge giving says ‘I have to’; duty giving says ‘I ought to’; thanksgiving says ‘I want to’. Some give because they can’t keep it. Others give because they believe they owe it. And a happy few give because they can’t help it. God wants you to enjoy giving. 8. Giving – an appropriate response to those in need Acts 11:27-30 - Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. The Christians (disciples) in Antioch, some three hundred miles to the north of Jerusalem, gave money to help feed and meet other needs of their unknown, fellow Christians in Jerusalem. This example gives a biblical precedent for our taking special collections in church, such as collections for international and home missions, world hunger, disaster relief, and so on – even for taking a spontaneous offering for any appropriate need. Giving is an appropriate response when we become aware of those in need. 9. Giving should be planned and systematic 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 - Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. This collection for the saints was a special offering for the poor Christians suffering in Jerusalem because of a famine. But even though the collection targeted a specific need, Paul instructed the Corinthians to give toward that need on a weekly basis (a recurring gift) for some time in advance of his arrival to Corinth. He knew that in the long run, greater efficiency and effective results from giving in a planned and systematic way than haphazardly whenever a need arises. Since many needs are ongoing – like missions, feeding the hungry and maintaining the ministry of the local church – systematic giving will meet those needs more consistently than an unceasing series of special offerings. 10. Generous giving results in bountiful blessing Luke 6:35 - “…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 – “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” These verses are not an endorsement of the ‘prosperity gospel’ that teaches financial wealth here on earth as a result of your giving a lot to those ministries. “Prosperity preachers”, I believe, pervert the gospel, misrepresent God and mislead their listeners. But I do believe that these verses and others indicate that earthly blessings of an unspecified nature will be given to those who are faithful stewards of God’s money. Much of God’s blessing for our giving, however, will not come in this life. And it takes faith to believe that giving money here lays up treasure in heaven. It takes faith to believe Jesus correctly said that it’s more blessed to give than to receive. These passages are true and at a definite time in a real place God is actually going to reward us bountifully for what we have given generously and cheerfully. Regardless of your interpretation of these passages, regardless of how much God rewards you here for your giving and how much in heaven, the bottom line is clear: God will bless you bountifully if you give generously. If you want to know about the many opportunities to give at OMS Canada, please click here. 
Welcome to the Commands of Christ blog series where we will examine together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus and which are essential for new disciples to understand and obey. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20). In this post we will look at the second of nine foundational commands that Christ gave for disciples to obey. This second command is to be baptized. In the reference above, Jesus speaks to His disciples about baptizing new disciples in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. But what does baptism mean? Is it just dunking (or getting dunked) in water, or is there something more to it?
Four Questions to Answer
1.What is baptism? Let’s take a look at the biblical account of Phillip’s interaction with the Ethiopian official found in Acts 8:26-38. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep He was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opens not his mouth. In His humiliation justice was denied Him. Who can describe His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. The story begins with an angel of the Lord instructing Philip to run up to a chariot owned by an Ethiopian eunuch. Philip heard the eunuch reading the book of Isaiah, specifically a prophecy of Jesus’ death. Philip is able to explain the passage to the eunuch and tell him the good news about Jesus. And now a new believer, the eunuch, in faith, eagerly gets baptized as soon as he sees a body of water. In this story, we see that although baptism is done in water, it’s a symbol of something more. According to Romans 6:3-4, baptism is a symbol of Jesusʼ death, burial and resurrection. It means we have died to our old life and been raised to live a new life with Jesus. Matthew 3:13-15 depicts even a scene of Jesus receiving a water baptism, and so should we. Receiving baptism means we identify Jesus as our Lord. It’s something for new believers to do not out of tradition but out of a desire to solidify and symbolize their new life in Jesus. It really is an initiation rite into the church, the Body of Christ. 2.Why should we be baptized? There are a number of answers to the question of why we should be baptized. The first is that Jesus set for us an example in Matthew 3:13-15. Jesus received baptism and so should we. The second is that Jesus has commanded it. Matthew 28:19 is where we see it in the Great Commission, which we have already looked at. A third reason why we should be baptized is that it was taught and practiced by the early church. Throughout the book of Acts we see examples of new believers being taught to be baptized and actually being baptized. 3.Who should be baptized? In Acts 2:37-38, Peter responds to the crowd who had just listened to his sermon following the Pentecost events in the upper room. These people were cut to the heart by the sermon and knew that something had to be done. Peter answers them in this way. And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). It should also be noted that Luke records the response to the command of Peter. So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls (Acts 2:41). This specifies that baptism was administered only to those who “received his word” and therefore trusted in Christ for salvation (repentance and belief). As we saw in the first Command of Christ, repentance and belief are connected. Here Peter gives the process. Repentance and belief are prerequisites to baptism. Only those who have repented and believed should be baptized. Because of Paul’s teaching in Romans 6 that baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, that union, which happens through repentance and faith, must be a reality first which is then demonstrated by the ordinance of baptism. 4.How should we be baptized? The practice of baptism in the New Testament was carried out in one way: the person being baptized was immersed or put completely under water and then brought back up again. Baptism by immersion is therefore the mode of baptism or the way in which baptism was carried out in the New Testament. It is also evident in the Acts 8 and Romans 6 references above that immersion is in view when mentioned by Peter and Paul. So how are you doing with this command? Have you been obedient? Have you challenged those you are discipling to be baptized? Have you baptized anyone? We would love to get your comments. Just respond in the comment section below. Have a great and obedient day.  Dear Friends and Family,
We trust you are well and keeping safe during these challenging days. We have enjoyed our time in Sequim, Washington, and even though we have not been able travel and visit face to face with friends and family, we have been able to stay busy with joining Zoom prayer meetings, church services, and Bible studies. A few weeks ago, our church started a drive-in service in the church’s parking lot, and we are really enjoying that. We also helped with a painting project at the church for several weeks. During this time, we have been in touch with our field director in Mozambique and the regional director from the U.S. working on our assignments. We were waiting for Mozambique to open up, but to date, it remains closed to outside travelers. Another issue for us is that Larry needs to be able to get to his cardiologist in South Africa, and the borders remain closed to travel between the countries. It has been a challenging time for us as we have considered all our options. Our original plan to return to Mozambique does not seem possible now. Not knowing when the travel restrictions would be lifted, we started looking at other opportunities to serve. In late June, we were given the opportunity to finish up our last term with some new assignments, and we will be able to do them from OMS headquarters in Greenwood, Indiana. Susan has been offered the position of administrative assistant to the director of Dynamic Women. (This is the same organization that Susan went to India with.) The purpose of Dynamic Women is engaging, equipping, and mobilizing women to make disciples in all nations. This involves women in the U.S. as well as women around the world. Larry will be doing several jobs, all involving finances. 1) Mozambique: He will still be a consultant to the business manager in Mozambique and do budgeting and reports for the field. He will use Zoom to continue to teach the business manager how to do budgets and reports for the future. Our hope is to be able to go to Mozambique next March for a few weeks to finalize the plans for the celebration, pack up our belongings there, and say our goodbyes to our beloved team and Mozambican brothers and sisters in Christ. 2) Every Community for Christ: Larry will be taking on the budgeting and finances for ECC (OMS’ church planting ministry) around the world, except for Africa as there is someone already doing a great job of that. 3) Africa Regional Finance Director: Larry will be helping develop the financial aspects of this new global regional hub and provide financial leadership in the Africa region and be able to report financial information to the various Global Ministries leaders. This is an exciting development for us. We look forward to these new opportunities to serve the Lord in other countries even though we will be based at OMS headquarters in the U.S. We have packed and sent some things ahead to Indiana, and Lord willing, we will arrive in Indiana around the end of July. We will have a home on the One Mission Society campus, and it has a spare bedroom for those who want to come and visit us. Our hope is to be settled into life in Indiana and ready to assume these new responsibilities by the middle of August. Although we haven’t been able to travel or share in churches since March, we have been busy keeping in contact with the Mozambique team and working remotely using Zoom. We are also responsible for planning the 25th anniversary of OMS Mozambique for April 2021 and have begun the initial work to establish a CAM School (Christian Academy in Mozambique) Alumni association. Once the decision was made that we weren’t able to return to Mozambique and we would be moving to our One Mission Society headquarters in Indiana to take on new responsibilities, the big question is what do we take with us? After 24 years of storing things, we are now pulling out these things, mostly kitchen utensils, household items, and knickknacks. Why should we buy again when we have things we can use again … at least some of it? There were things that needed to be thrown away. But it has been fun to see what was in all those boxes and barrels and give it new life again. Once we get to Indiana, we will need to find furniture to fill our home. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV -Larry and Susan Weil 
Have you ever been in a race? If you have, you will remember that constant feeling of striving towards the finish line. It’s almost like that feeling would give that extra push to get through to the finish line.
If we were to have a conversation with a professional runner, we would probably learn that there is a lot more to running than just simply “running.” We would learn that there is a great deal of time, effort, discipline, and training that goes into it. It is important to know this because these are the things which help to develop and build those running skills physically. Today, we are going to talk about running, but in more of a spiritual sense. We will look at an example of running from God and running towards God. Let’s remember this very important point: No matter what situation we find ourselves in, let's not run from God but instead run towards God.
There is a well-known story in the Bible that most of us have heard before and that is the story of Jonah and the great fish.
God had called the prophet Jonah to preach to the people in Nineveh. Jonah decides that he doesn’t want to go to Nineveh and instead goes to Joppa and takes a ship to go towards Tarshish. Jonah had gone in the opposite direction of where God had told him to go. He was literally trying to run from God. While on the ship, God sends a great wind on the sea and everyone on board was afraid while Jonah was fast asleep in the lowest part of the ship. The captain goes to Jonah and asks him to call upon his God to save them from the danger they were in. We know what ends up happening next. Jonah gets thrown into the sea and gets swallowed by a great fish. Of course God had prepared the great fish to swallow Jonah and that is where he remained for three days and three nights. The time when Jonah is in the fish is very significant because he realizes that God was serious about him going to Nineveh and he must obey. He also realizes that it was wrong to try to run from God and so, he repents. God speaks to the fish and it throws up Jonah out onto dry land and he goes to Nineveh where God had originally told him to go. Let’s stop here and discuss 3 main points from this story: 1. We cannot run from God “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:7-10) As hard as we try to run from God, He is always there. God is omnipresent which means His divine presence is everywhere at the same time. 2. God corrects us when we need it “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son on whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:11-12) When God corrects us, we need to remember why He corrects us. God loves us and always has the best for us. It’s always for our good and to develop our character into the person that He intends us to be. 3. God is merciful towards us “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) God’s mercy for us is amazing and is new every day. What great hope and comfort this gives us each day, knowing that God is constantly extending to us what we do not deserve. He is an awesome God. Running towards God When it comes to running towards God, it can sometimes be a challenge for us to do this especially when we find ourselves in difficult situations. Just like a professional runner takes the time to train and be disciplined, we must also be intentional about running towards God no matter what situation we are facing. We must be reminded not to allow these difficult situations to make us run from God like Jonah, but instead run towards God like David did. The Bible says that David was a man after God’s heart. Despite his many flaws and failures, He was a man after God’s heart. He would run towards God. Have you ever tried to run from God? How did that turn out? What about running towards God? Please share your experience below. We would love to hear about it. At OMS Canada, we have a new blog each week which will encourage you to run towards God, grow in your faith, and share the Good News of Jesus with others who need to hear. Click here to check out our blog page and share it with others so that they may also be encouraged. May the Lord continue to equip us in every way as we run towards Him. 
Think for a moment: What events have produced the most stress in your life last week? Have they involved the feeling of being overloaded with responsibilities at home, work, school, church, or all of the above? How about stress related to paying bills? Running late for an appointment? Going with too little sleep? Juggling your finances? Waiting in a traffic jam on the highway or a runway? Facing unexpected car repair expenses? Running short of cash before payday?
Each one of these anxiety producers, like so many other daily issues, relate to either time or money. The clock and the dollar are such substantial factors in so many parts of life that we need to consider their role in any serious discussion of godly living. We will look at the stewardship of our time this week and at stewardship of our finances next time. The Disciplined Use of Time As we have discussed already, godliness is the result of a biblically disciplined spiritual life. But at the heart of a disciplined spiritual life is the disciplined use of time. To be like Jesus, we must see the use of our time as a spiritual discipline. Having so perfectly ordered His moments and His days, Jesus was able to pray to the Father at the end of His life, “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave me to do” (John 17:4). As with Jesus, God gives us both the gift of time and work to do during that time. The more we grow to be like Jesus, the more we understand why the disciplined use of the time God gives is so important.
So, here are ten biblical reasons to use time wisely:
1. Use time wisely because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16) Paul exhorts the Ephesians to ‘make the best use of time because the days are evil.’ This curious phrase may have been prompted by persecution or opposition that the Ephesian believers may have been facing (Acts 19:23-20:1). But even without the persecution known by believers of Paul’s day, the world we live in makes it difficult to use time wisely, especially for the purpose of godliness and biblical spirituality. Our days are days of active evil. Great time-thieves act as servants of the world, the flesh, and the devil. They may range in form from high-tech, socially acceptable preoccupations to simple, idle talk or uncontrolled thoughts. But the natural course of our minds, our bodies, our world and our days leads toward evil, not Christlikeness. The use of time is important because time is the stuff of which days are made. If we do not discipline our use of time for the purpose of godliness in these evil days, these evil days will keep us from becoming godly. 2. The wise use of time is preparation for eternity. You must prepare for eternity in time. That statement can be taken in two different ways. One means that during time (in this life) you must prepare for eternity because there will be no second chance once this life is over. Regardless of when or how death occurs, there is a specific day on the calendar when all my preparation for eternity will indeed be over. And since that day could be any day, I need to use my time wisely because it’s all the time I have to prepare for where I will endlessly live beyond the grave. The second meaning of the phrase “You must prepare for eternity in time,” is that you must prepare for eternity before it is too late. 2 Corinthians 6:2 is the spiritual alert that must be sounded at this point. “Behold, now is the favourable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Right now is the right time to prepare for where you will spend eternity. If that is an uncertain or unsettled matter for you, take the time to settle it now. You have no guarantee of any more time than this moment to prepare for eternity. 3. Time is short. The more scarce an item is, the more value is assigned to it. Gold and diamonds would be worthless if you could pick them up like gravel along the roadway. In just the same way, time would not be so precious if we never died. But since we never live more than one breath away from eternity, the way we use our time has eternal significance. Even though many years of life may remain for you, the fact remains, “You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Even the very longest life is short in comparison to eternity. You can probably remember a happy or tragic event from your childhood or teenage years as vividly as if it happened yesterday. The reason you can is that it simply hasn’t been that long ago. When you think that a decade as only 120 months, a great chunk of time suddenly seems much shorter. So, regardless of how much time remains for you to develop more Christlikeness, it really isn’t much. Use it well. 4. Time is passing. Not only is time short, but what does remain is passing. Time is not like a bag of ice in the freezer, from which you can take a little now and again as you need it and save the rest for later. Instead, time is really like the sand in an hourglass – what’s left is continuously slipping away. John put it very plainly: “The world is passing away along with its desires” (1 John 2:17). Passing along with the world is our time in it. As a child, time seemed to drag on. Now I find myself saying what I remember my parents saying: “I can’t believe another year is over! Where has the time gone?” It seems that the closer we get to the end, the faster it comes. If I don’t discipline myself for the purpose of godliness now, it won’t be any easier later. 5. The remaining time is uncertain. Not only is time short and passing, but we don’t even know how short it actually is nor how long before it does all pass away. That’s why the wisdom of Proverbs 27:1 tells us, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Thousands have died and gone into eternity today, including many much younger than you, who just hours ago had no idea that today was their last day. Had they known that, their use of time would have become far more important to them. Neither youth nor strength, stardom nor stature obligates God to give us one more hour of time. Regardless of how long we want to live or expect to live, our time is in His hands (Psalm 31:15). Obviously, we must make some types of plans as though many more years do remain for us. But a proper recognition of reality calls us to use our time for the purpose of godliness as though it were uncertain we would live tomorrow for that is a very certain uncertainty. 6. Lost time cannot be regained. Many things can be lost and then regained. Many men and women have declared bankruptcy only to amass an even greater fortune later. Time is different. Once it is gone, it is gone forever and can never be regained. God offers you this present time to discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. Jesus said in John 9:4, “We must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” The time for godly living is now while it is day. For each of us, night is coming and none of us can stop or slow the approach of that night. Despite how we may have squandered time in the past, the will of God for you is found in the words of Paul: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Through the work of Jesus to repentant believers, God will forgive every second of misused time. And it pleases Him for you to discipline the balance of your time for the purpose of godliness. 7. You are accountable to God for your time. There is hardly a more sobering statement in the Bible than Romans 14:12: “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” The words ‘each of us’ applies to Christians and non-Christians alike. And, even though believers will be saved by grace and not by works, once in heaven our reward there will be based on the basis of our works. The Lord will cause each one’s work to be ‘shown for what it really is,’ and for each, it will be either that he will receive a reward or he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved but only as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). Not only will we be held accountable for our use of time, but our eternal reward will be directly related to it. Hebrews 5:12 shows us something of how God will hold us accountable at the Judgement for our use of time in disciplining ourselves for the purpose of godliness. In these verses, God criticizes these Jewish Christians for failing to use their time in a way that develops spiritual maturity: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food.” If, as here, God holds believers still on earth responsible for not disciplining their time for Christlikeness, He will surely do at the Judgement in heaven. Deciding to discipline yourself to use your time for the purpose of godliness is not a matter for delay or deliberation. Each hour that passes is another for which you will give an account. 8. Time is so easily lost. Apart from the fool, there is no other character in the book of Proverbs that draws the scorn of Scripture like the slothful sluggard. The reason? His lazy and wasteful use of time. The sluggard never has time for the things that really matter, especially things that require discipline. And before he realizes it, his time and opportunities expire. “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man” (Proverbs 24:33-34). Notice that it’s just a ‘little’ sleep, a ‘little’ slumber, a ‘little’ folding of the hands that brought the ruin of lost time and opportunity. It’s so easy to lose so much, just a little at a time. You don’t have to do anything at all to lost time. 9. We value time at death. Just as the person without money values it most when it’s gone, so do we at death value time most when it is gone. Most pursue a course of life based more on pleasure than on the joy found in the way of God’s disciplines. God warns them through His Word of the regrets that will cut their hearts when their time runs out. “At the end of your life you groan when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.” (Proverbs 5:11-13). If, like this man, you suddenly understood you had no more time, would you also regret how you’ve spent your time in the past and present? The way you have used your time can instead provide great comfort to you in your last hour. Won’t you be glad then for every moment you spent reading Scripture, praying, worshipping, evangelizing, serving, fasting, and so on for the purpose of becoming like the One before whom you are about to stand in judgement? Why not do something about it while you still have time? 10. Time’s value in eternity. It is doubtful that in heaven we experience regret, but if we did it would be for not using our earthly time more for the glory of God and for growth in His grace. Hell, on the other hand, will howl forever with agonizing laments over time so foolishly squandered. Let us learn the true value of time by encountering the truth and discipline our time for the purpose of godliness. After all, if you have given your life to Christ, “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). “Your” life and “your” time belong to God now. The best and most joy-filled way to spend them is to use them the way God wants. So how are you doing with your time? We will all have some room for improvement. What can you do this week to make better use of your time for the purpose of becoming more Christ-like? Let us know in the comments. We would love to pray with you about this most important matter. 
Welcome to the Commands of Christ blog series where we will examine together the nine foundational commands given by Jesus which are essential for new disciples to understand and obey. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14-15). The first command of Jesus’ public ministry was to repent and believe. He spoke this command indiscriminately to all who would listen and it was a call for radical inward change toward God and man. When Jesus said “Repent,” He was talking about a change of heart toward sin, the world, and God; an inner change that gives rise to new ways of living that exalt Christ and give evidence of the truth of the gospel.
What does it mean to repent? The New Testament Greek word translated as “repent” is METANOEŌ. It has two parts: META and NOEŌ. The second part, NOEŌ, refers to the disposition of your inner self, your “default setting” toward reality. The first part, META, is a prefix that means movement or change. META, or “change,” plus NOEŌ, or “disposition” equals “to change your disposition towards life and reality, to have a transformed default setting about what’s important.”
Jesus explained that when our default setting is changed by the Holy Spirit, it shows, as we “bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8). Genuine repentance is an inner change of heart that produces the fruits of new behavior. Acting differently, speaking differently, and living differently (these are the fruits) are the inevitable outward result of being made completely different on the inside (that’s repentance). An excellent example of this inner change producing fruits of new behaviour is Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a chief tax-collector by profession. This was a job synonymous in people’s minds with deceit, theft and lies. At that time, the chief tax-collectors were reliable servants of Rome. While they ensured that taxes were paid, they managed to enrich themselves in a number of legal and illegal ways, at the expense of Jews who were poor. By this method, Zacchaeus became rich and acquired lots of material goods. He wasn’t a person for whom other people felt admiration, love and respect. He was someone who exploited his fellows. His relations with them were hypocritical and based on his own advantage. But something sparked inside of him when he heard that Jesus was coming to Jericho. Perhaps he was having a crisis of his soul, realizing that the riches and possessions did not lead to the happiness he so desperately wanted. Perhaps he had heard that Jesus had granted the wish of the blind beggar at the city gate and hoped that he might do the same for him. So he decided to see who this Jesus was. But the crowd was big and Zacchaeus was small and he couldn’t possibly see Jesus. So he climbed up into a sycamore tree near where Jesus would need to pass by. As He entered the town, Jesus saw the crowds of people with a look that was full of authority, yet loving and merciful. His eyes came to Zacchaeus, who was up the tree. The Lord called him by name. This personal call from Jesus to Zacchaeus indicates his personal preparation for salvation. He climbs down from the tree, full of happiness and joy, and welcomes Jesus into his home. He publicly acknowledged the sinfulness of his ways and began ‘bearing fruits in keeping with repentance’, by giving half his substance to the poor and restoring fourfold to anyone he had wronged. ‘Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of anything, I restore it fourfold’. This is what repentance and faith look like. Jesus made it clear that repentance and faith are like opposite sides of the same coin. Mark 1:15 records the inspired summary of Jesus’ message as He began His ministry: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Repentance and faith go together because if you believe that Jesus is the Lord Who saves (faith), you have a changed mind about your sin and your self (repentance); and if you repent, it’s because you trust that Jesus is the Lord Who saves. That’s because faith, as Scripture defines it, is trusting that Jesus is who He said He is and that He does what He said He would do. The important thing about this biblical definition of faith is that it focuses on who Jesus is, not on you or your efforts. Here’s what that means for you. Think of faith as having three parts: knowing, agreeing and relying. The knowing part of faith means that you learn from the Word of God Who Jesus is and what He has done to save sinners. That why the Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The agreeing part of faith comes as the Holy Spirit convinces you of the truth about Jesus. You agree with God’s testimony and admit, “What God says is true.” This is one of the primary ministries of the Holy Spirit. In John 16:13, Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth…” The relying part of faith means you stake your life on the truth you know and agree with. This is where faith becomes personal, as you entrust your eternal soul to Jesus only. The first two parts of faith — knowing and agreeing — are like going to an airport, watching people get on airplanes, and seeing the airplanes take off. By observation, you come to know that these big winged objects can carry people thousands of miles at amazing speeds; and you agree that it happens all the time. The third part of faith, relying, is like you boarding an airplane. It’s one thing to know and agree that planes can take people to faraway places. It’s another thing to get on a plane yourself. Biblical faith is just like that. You come to know from God’s Word the truth about Who Jesus is and what He has done for you. Then, the Holy Spirit convinces you of the truth of God’s Word, and you agree that the gospel is true. And then you take it personally: you renounce reliance on your own efforts to achieve salvation, and place your life in the hands of Jesus, trusting that Who He is and what He did are sufficient to save you. Romans 3:23-26 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God has passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Repentance and faith are absolutely essential for the disciple of Jesus. Have you repented? Have you placed your faith in the gospel, believing that what Jesus did in his death, burial and resurrection cleanses you from your sin and secures a relationship with the God who created you? If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Let’s be encouraged to come boldly before God not only to confess our sins, but also to repent and believe. 
Have you ever been asked to do something you felt you were not qualified or equipped to do?
I’m sure we have all felt like that at one point in life, so today we are going to talk about living our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s start by looking at God’s Word and see what the Bible says. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26) In this passage, Jesus is promising the disciples that the Holy Spirit will come. Jesus was also preparing His disciples for when He would no longer be with them physically. The Holy Spirit would come to teach and remind them about Jesus and everything He had taught them. This is a very important and significant promise for us today as well because we need to constantly be reminded about all that Jesus said. So what about living through the power of the Holy Spirit? What does that mean exactly? We must first realize that we cannot do anything through our own power or strength. We need to live our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)
Our might and our power gets weak and tired, so as children of God we need to remember that we cannot do it on our own strength. When we choose to be obedient to God’s Word, we start to see a wonderful move of God happening. Let’s look at 3 things that happen when we choose to be obedient and live our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit: 1. The Holy Spirit helps us Pray “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26) Many times we don’t know what to pray for or how to pray. Thank God for His Holy Spirit, who helps us pray. This is such an encouragement to know that no matter how we may feel at times, we always have the Holy Spirit to help us. 2. The Holy Spirit comforts us “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31) God comforts us through His Holy Spirit. We all go through different challenges and seasons in our lives and we need to be comforted. We can always be assured that God will never leave or forsake us, and that He will give us great comfort. Let us be encouraged by this today and let us also encourage someone else. 3. The Holy Spirit leads us to a life of righteousness “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25) The Holy Spirit sanctifies and enables us to bear good fruit. It’s a constant battle between our flesh and the Spirit, but as we surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow sanctification to occur, we begin to start bearing good fruit and our desires change, which then changes our behaviors and actions. Connection to Missions “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) It’s not by our own might or power, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need power from God especially when we are reaching out to others. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray for others, reminds us of God’s Word which is truth, and enables us to be patient with others, and to love, forgive, and be kind to them. These things are sometimes not easy to do with some people, but we need to remember that it’s not by our own doing and in our own strength; it’s through the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Let’s be encouraged to live our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. At OMS Canada, we have wonderful missionaries who have been obedient and committed to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. They need our constant prayers, encouragement, and support. Please click here to learn more about them and how you can offer your support. “May the Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26) |
Archives
June 2021
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed