Sleeping…….(ZZZZZ)

I remember in seminary a short time ago, I had classes all day on Monday’s.  Sometimes we had to drive from Bonham early in the morning to catch the 8:00 AM in south Fort Worth.  Then, we moved to Tecumseh where the drive was even longer and had to stay the night on Sunday night.  Needless to say, if the professor was not excited about his or her topic, I would dare to doze off a little in class.  I usually never sat in the front because of this reason, even though my good buddy JY liked to do so and urged me to do the same.

It seems as a society we are tired.  We cant sit still for a moment, otherwise, we will fall asleep.  I get to where I don’t even care to watch TV anymore because when I sit in that chair, it seems that the button has been activated.  With more technology at our fingertips, we do more and more in a day because of it.  And we are exhausted.

Where is our attention to the Lord in our sleepy slumber?  On a daily basis and/or when we meet the Lord in corporate worship with the saints?  Our attention spans are shortened these days and even having spent 5 to 10 minutes with God each day is stretching it for most believers I would “reckon”. 

In our stewardship of life on earth, TIME is one of the blessings that God has given us to manage.  How we spend our time and manage it each day.  Will the Lord be happy with our management?

How did the Lord Jesus spend His time (a few examples):
”It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.”  (Luke 6:12)
”At that very time He cured many people of diseases and afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.” (Luke 7:21)
”From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  (Matthew 4:17)

It’s not the fact that each of these verses have the word time in them, it’s that Christ was about His Father’s business and we should follow His example of setting priorities with our time including time to worship, to minister, and to teach the gospel.
Make the time now…..(Matthew 6:33-34)  God Bless, Brian

Fellowship of Believers

I am just now listening to John Maxwell’s Audio CD’s from Christmas of 2009 that my wife gave me.  They have been on the shelf for quite some time and I haven’t had time to.  He spoke of key principles that are good for teaching discipleship and in mentoring relationships in the church as we read Scripture:
1.  Relationships
2.  Attitude (Luke 9:23, Romans 12:1-2, John 15, etc.)
3.  Equipping (Eph. 4)
4.  Leadership (1 Timothy, Titus, Eph. 4)

I want to pick on relationships today.  Many people in Fannin County you will find claim to have a relationship with the Lord but do not have relationships with other believers or a body of Christ.  We find a picture of the early church in Acts:  “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  (Acts 2:42)

The New Testament Greek word for fellowship is “koinonia” and it would mean “living together in community".  It seems as I read this there were relationships built with other believers as they gathered together as ‘community.’  In 1 Corinthians 12:24-25 Paul writes to the church in Corinth that “its parts should have equal concern for one another.”  In Romans 12:10 Paul writes to the church in Rome, “Be devoted to one another with mutual affection.  Honor one another above yourselves.”
How can we do these things as believers when we don’t gather with the saints (our brother and sisters in the Lord) as community?

In may cases in the New Testament, believers are urged to EXERCISE their spiritual gifts with one another.  In Hebrews 10:24-25 the writer says “and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  This is to serve and minister to one another as we live together in community.   

Don’t take this “gathering as community” for granted.  God did not desire for any of His children to be “orphans” in His family.  He desires for us to be together and to worship Him with love and devotion as children to a loving and gracious Father who has a plan of salvation by grace through faith through His Son, Jesus Christ…Sleepy Disciple

Joshua’s Leadership Lessons

I have been reading Joshua in my quiet time and thought I would share some interesting things I found to be leadership nuggets…some I dare say I could work on in my life.

1.  ”I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5)  We read the same promise in Hebrews 13:5 which is a paraphrase of the same principle.  Even though the Hebrews verse talks about money, the point is that God keeps his covenant to provide for His people.  How does that build your confidence that you serve a God that cares about your well-being?

2.  “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6).  Even though this message is for Joshua in its context, we can take comfort in knowing that God is our strength today.  He is our Refuge where we can get strength from in times of trouble.  Paul writes to the Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”  It is by God’s strength that we can endure each with the things that need to get done for His glory.  Whose strength are you relying on?

3.  “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.”  (Joshua 1:7)  Mankind has a messed up definition of success and Christians have a skewed view of it as well.  God grants success to those who are doing His will.  Luke 9:23 writes about being a disciple you have to “deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me (Jesus).”  We are so selfish and greedy with things in our life, we get on God’s success program which includes following HIs will today.  Whose will are you following…..yours or God’s?

The final principle will be in Joshua 1:8:  “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.”  We must be in God’s Word, reading, meditating, pondering how to do God’s will.  If we handle God’s Word with great care and ask for wisdom from the Lord, we would be more careful with our actions and attitudes in the “doing” aspect of our lives.  Does it align with God’s will?

-Ponderings from the Sleepy Disciple

INTERCEDE: PART 2 of the 4 x 4 Challenge

What do you think when we read in the Gospel of John about “ABIDE“??

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”  (John 15:4)

I would answer that a large part of ABIDE (a vital connection with the Lord Jesus) is Prayer…simple prayer.  Prayer is communicating with God.  It is our direct response to what understand and know about God, Jesus and Holy Spirit.  It is also communion with God…..it’s one of the ways we deepen our relationship with God.  Why?  We are expressing our love to God.

My son and daughters love to talk right after school.  They tell me about their day and the fun they had with friends and teachers learning and playing.  They can’t wait to get off the bus to tell me.  We have learned to take turns.  God offers believers His ears when we talk to Him and we should be eager to spend time with the Lord in prayer every day.

WHY?  1.  God desires that we pray.  Prayer offers the opportunity to glorify God, to magnify His attributes, and to thank Him for every provision of life (Model Prayer taught by Jesus in Luke 11)
2.  Second, we need prayer.  Our communion with God is both the reason for our being and the source of ministry.  Through prayer we ask God to act in our lives and intercede in the lives of others.  Prayer should change us!!
3.  The world needs prayer.  The Father has called us to minister to and on behalf of others.  We should be concerned with God’s kingdom in this world.

All ministry to the lost is motivated, empowered, and accomplished through prayer.  (come to think about it so is our ministry to God and to believers)  Pray for the 4 people you have on your list.  Remember the four people you have been thinking about this next week when you meet with the Lord in prayer daily.  Make it a great concern to INTERCEDE on their behalf to the Almighty Father.
See you Sunday….Brian
(parts of this article taken from “THE JOURNEY” discipleship course from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Spiritual Life of the Minister Course)

4 X 4 Challenge

This month, Telephone Baptist will start a four week emphasis on sharing the gospel with others.

The main point of doing this is to follow the Great Commission…Matthew 28:19-20.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

I was curious to look up the word “commission” in the dictionary: 
a formal written warrant granting the power to perform various acts or duties.  The believer has been given authority and power to complete this Great Commission and we have been commanded to “make disciples” at all costs.  Jesus has given the believer the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower us as His witnesses of who the Lord is and how He saves us through our own salvation.

Preacher Paul Washer asked in a sermon “What has the Great Commission cost you?”  If the believer in Jesus Christ has been fulfilling the Great Commission then it costs you for spreading the gospel message such as persecution and suffering.  You are working directly against the gates of hell and the author of confusion to increase the kingdom of heaven.  It will cost us but it is what the Messiah desires of His servants of the kingdom.

I want to encourage you to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leadership in your life to spread the gospel message.  Dig into the Scriptures to read about salvation and the book of Romans to understand the details of this great salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit.  Pray that your heart will be broken for those that are lost in your offices and neighborhoods.  People that you are around all the time that you already have a relationship with. 

We will continue this journey for the month of January and walk through this challenge together.  God Bless, Sleepy Disciple