christlikeness – Page 18 – Broken Believers

Putting It Simply

“But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴²but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41-42, ESV

I tend to over-think things a lot. Everything gets so darn complicated. Often there is ‘a paralysis of analysis’ that gels into something stagnant and murky. I am definitely not the decisive person I admire from a distance. My illness is such that I can easily become “immobilized” in making simple decisions.

But I am aware of my desperate need of Christ Himself. My many issues demand a ‘heavy duty’ Savior, one who is capable of handling them. I guess I have tried many ‘gods’ and I haven’t found any of them who can take the load like Jesus can.

All that He has done in the Gospels, and all that He does presently declares to me his trustworthiness and power. My admiration for Christ as my Savior and Deliverer is written on the pages of the Bible. His present day ministry to me (and many others) is consistent with what I read about him in the Word.

And it is amazingly simple, when you think it through. He lived, died, and rose again for those ‘rebels’ who deserve death. The simplicity is profound. I do not have to be a Nobel Prize winner to understand. Without cheapening ‘redemption’ He has reduced things to a straightforward idea. He dies in my place, and now gives me his life to live.

I want to listen to Him. I want to come so close that I can hear the very inflection of his voice when he does speak to me. You see, we are built as communicators, and that is the part that ‘small gods’ can’t provide. They’re merely ‘dead idols.’

I so want to please him, even if he corrects me.

I want to learn at his feet, just as Mary did at her home in Bethany. Often I feel like I will probably be ‘the least of all the disciples’, but I’m okay with that. After all, it’s all about Him.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Revelation 3:20

Interruptions: A Litmus Test for Disciples

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.”

1 Thessalonians 3:12

“Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays.”

Andrew Murray

There is an awesome need for Christians who can be interrupted. They have learned that their personal plans and agendas should be set aside for the acute need of the moment. People like that are becoming receptive people–people who have learned to submit their wills to the Lordship of Christ.

There seems to be a lot of believers who have isolated themselves in order to avoid ‘complications’ of the Spirit. Over the years they have cultivated a life without entanglements from others (at least, greatly reduced). The basic root of this is not sin, but it quickly slides into an isolation that is not just threatening, but dangerous.

We are built for fellowship. We need it— like my goldfish needs its water.

Our brothers and sisters need us, and we most definitely need them. In the Apostle’s Creed we read, ‘I believe in the Communion of the Saints’. This takes a supernatural faith. This dynamic of the Body calls us to fellowship with other believers, which is our desperate need of the moment. Deep within, we crave human contact. We need to touch someone else.

Being interruptible establishes several things. I think these questions are a simple starting point.

First, I have become approachable and tractable?
Second, is Jesus really Lord over my life? (Or do I have my ‘own thing’ going?)
Third, do I really believe ‘something’ is going to happen when I begin to fellowship?
Fourth, is it really worth it?
Fifth, what is more important: People or my schedule?

Years ago I learned that every servant who really excelled had become a man or woman that could be interrupted. And they respond in grace and kindness to every issue that came. You’ll never hear them get frustrated or even irritable over being disturbed. They simply have surrounded themselves in the will of God, and are His servants.

What is more important: a schedule or people?

There are ‘skills’ we need to learn for Christian community. We have touched on some as we have matured. We have practiced with this holy concept, and caught glimpses, many which translate into our present spiritual lives.

“Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God’s people.”

Charles Spurgeon

God’s great quest is to make those who have been redeemed into a cohesive body. He takes a special delight in the harmony of His Church. He is very passionate about this. His proclivity to unity must be noted. We must adjust and do all that is necessary to make it happen. This dear one, is His will.

Whose Example Do You Follow? (preacheroftruth.com)
Thank God for the Communion of Saints (revivalandreformation.wordpress.com)
Sisters (leaveyourbeautymark.com)

Praying Authentically

Prayer often can be just a nice religious duty, that makes us feel warm and fuzzy. But such prayer the does not suit a disciple who is tired of religion, and is seeking authenticity. There are few models who can be our guides.

That one of the reasons why we need elders in our fellowships; they have been through so much, they can anchor us to all that is real. As elderd they probably had lessons in prayer.

We often will theologically play on the periphery, and cleverly deceive others and ourselves. My own heart gets pretty creative as I display a self-righteousness. (I should win an Academy Award as ‘best actor.’) But Jesus insists on us becoming real. You might say that real is the prayer that touches his heart.

When you talk with Jesus, do you really talk to Him? Do you have a real awareness that you are really talking with Him?

Is it the real you that fellowships with the ‘real’ God?

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The following is an excerpt from A Diary of Private Prayer, by the Scottish theologian, John Baillie, 1886-1960:

Eternal Father of my soul, let my first thought today be of You, let my first impulse be to worship You, let my first speech be Your name, let my first action be to kneel before You in prayer.

For Your perfect wisdom and perfect goodness:

For the love with which You love mankind:

For the love with which You love me:

For the great and mysterious opportunity of my life:

For the indwelling of your Spirit in my heart:

For the sevenfold gifts of your Spirit:

I praise and worship You, O Lord.

Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said, think my worship ended and spend the day in forgetfulness of You. Rather from these moments of quietness let light go forth, and joy, and power, that will remain with me through all the hours of the day;

Keeping me chaste in thought:

Keeping me temperate and truthful in speech:

Keeping me faithful and diligent in my work:

Keeping me humble in my estimation of myself:

Keeping me honorable and generous in my dealings with others:

Keeping me loyal to every hallowed memory of the past:

Keeping me mindful of my eternal destiny as a child of Yours.

Through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.

(Taken from Richard Foster’s Devotional Classics, pp. 126-127.)

He Was at Home

“A few days later, when Jesus came back to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home.”

Mark 2:1

You can’t hide the presence of Jesus. There is a ‘built-in’ need for Him in the hearts of men and women. You can’t keep it quiet, it is an open secret. Believing people let it out in many ways. You can see it in their faces, and hear it in their voices. They become gentle and caring, where once was selfishness and anger. Peace is present, and a wonderful new thing called joy. They can’t help but share about their new guest, when they speak it spontaneously spills out.

Spring flowers can’t help their beautiful fragrance. There is a fragrance that announces that He is present. You might say that He takes over, just as a bright light takes over the darkness. When Jesus is present, His brightness pushes through the cracks and shines out every window. He cannot be contained or hidden. Love itself is invisible. But it has an effect on all who take it in. The very presence of Jesus transforms us.

My heart is now His home.

People travel and gather great works of art. They collect these things of beauty and culture. They will go out of their way to search for paintings and statues of grace and elegance, and finding them they will spend a great deal of money to obtain them. But no one or nothing can compare to having Christ as the honored guest. The poorest farmer can be the wealthiest man. No matter how quietly Jesus enters, His presence will soon make itself known. Where Christ truly abides, nothing but good will be observed.

“Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.”

Ephesians 3:17, NLT

Category: christlikeness