Tag: Discipleship

Beyond Grateful Hearts

On By BrianIn Holidays, Virtue Miscellaneous1 Comment

In Luke 17:11-19, ten lepers come to Jesus to be healed.  Jesus tells them to go and show themesleves to the priests.  As they go, all ten are healed.  One turned back and “fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.”

Were the other nine glad to be healed?  Undoubtedly they were!  Leprosy was a horrible disease, and made one an outcast of society.  Certainly they were happy to be healed.  You might say they were thankful, that they had grateful hearts.  But they never came back to give thanks.

Many in America this week, will celebrate Thanksgiving.  They will have grateful hearts as they think of the good things in their lives.  But they will never come to the Lord who gave them every good thing, and give thanks to him.

As Christians, we too can fail to give thanks.  God answers a prayer, and we are very happy about it.  But we forget to thank the Lord.

This week and every day, may God help us to not only have grateful hearts like the nine, but to return to the Lord and give thanks to him.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts to read and ponder this weekend:

A great quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, speaking of revival through a more determined quest for Christ.

John Piper reminds us that Christ must be the center around which our entire lives revolve.

Matthew Wynne writes of the joyful path of the pilgrim.

Finally, as we prepare to gather in our local churches tomorrow, consider J. C. Ryle’s words on how we should approach the preaching of God’s Word.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping our great God with his people.

 

Trust, Blessing, and Prayer

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

Yesterday I asked two questions:

Where are you placing your trust?

Where are you seeking your blessing?

As I have been thinking about this, I would suggest that our prayer lives help us answer these questions.  If we trust in God in the midst of trials, we will look to him in prayer for those trials.  If we seek God for blessings, we will look to him in prayer for those blessings.  The more we trust God, the more we will pray.  The more we seek our blessings from him, the more we will pray.

On the other hand, if our prayer lives are small, I suspect our trust in God is likewise small.  If we pray only a little, we are seeking God for blessings only a little.  A small prayer life suggests that we may be trusting in something else, that we are seeking blessings somewhere else, that we are looking to an idol.

What does your prayer life reveal about you?

Trust and Blessing

On By BrianIn Idolatry

Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

O Israel, trust in the LORD!  He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!  He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!  He is their help and their shield.

The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron;
he will bless those who fear the LORD,
both the small and the great.
– Psalm 115:2-13

Where are you placing your trust?

Where are you seeking your blessing?

Gospel Quotes To Ponder

On By BrianIn PASSION Quotes

Remember what the gospel says about us:
we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe
but we are also more loved and welcomed than we ever dared hope.
– Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Dennis E. Johnson

So when the devil throws your sins in your face
and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this:
“I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it?
For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf.
His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where he is there I shall be also!”
– Martin Luther

I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior.
– John Newton

Two Necessary Ingredients for Prayer

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

The end of all things is at hand;
therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
– 1 Peter 4:7

This verse suggests two necessary ingredients for prayer. 

First, we must be self-controlled.  We must exercise the self-control to manage our time in such a way that we make much time for prayer.  Projects, chores, and obligations call to us constantly.  We have so much to do!  Only with self-control, will we take the time to pray.

Second, we need to be sober-minded.  We need to have clear minds to see things as they are.  The end is near.  Christ is coming back.  Some things have greater priority than others in our limited time.  What is more, we can do nothing on our own.  All those projects, chores, and obligations require God’s blessing, God’s enablement, God’s strength.  When we soberly recognize our necessary priorities and our need for help in all we do, we will take time to pray.

Loving the Lost

On By BrianIn All About Love

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
– Matthew 22:39

If we love our neighbor in this way,
we will want them to know Jesus as we do.
We will care about their spiritual condition.

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10

Jesus sought the lost.
He died to save the lost.

As we follow Jesus, we will share his heart.
We too will seek out the lost that they might be saved.
We will follow Christ’s call:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.
Matthew 28:19

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.
Acts 1:8

We do this not in our strength
but in the strength of the Spirit.
We begin where we live
and move out from there.
There are countless millions who need a Savior.

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest
to send out laborers into his harvest.
– Matthew 9:37-38

So let us pray.

And let us go.

With the heart of Christ.

With the power of the Spirit.

Father, grant us a growing burden for the lost.
Help us to seek opportunities to share our faith,
and use those opportunities we find.
May the gospel spread in our

families

places of employment

schools

neighborhoods

communities

and throughout the world

for your glory!  Amen.

Taking Hold of God

On By BrianIn Prayer Quotes

Here are a few helpful quotes on prayer from the book Taking Hold of God edited by Joel R. Beeke and Brian G. Najapfour:

You can do more than pray, after you have prayed,
but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.
– John Bunyan

How can we live to God outside the prayer closet
when we so seldom meet him in the closet?
– Joel R. Beeke

Pray often, for prayer is
a shield to the soul,
a sacrifice to God,
and a scourge for Satan.
– John Bunyan