skip to main |
skip to sidebar
For the last few months, the Olympic torch has been travelling across Canada as it makes its way to British Columbia for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Torch bearers all across the country have carried the torch for a certain distance, and when they reach the end, they pass the torch on to the next person to continue carrying on the task.
It's like that for Christians as well, only we call it discipleship. A disciple is a follower of a person, and in Christianity, that person is Jesus Christ. It follows then, that Jesus was a disciple maker. Each of the 12 He handpicked, in turn, also became disciple makers. In order to become a disciple maker, we need to first be a disciple. We can see this in other ways in our lives as well: parent/children relationships, coach/players relationships, teacher/students relationships, and the list goes on. These disciple makers teach their disciples how to do what they need to do to fulfill certain roles. The disciple maker role in the previous examples would be the parent, coach, and teacher; the "disciples" would be children, players, and students.
In my small group/Bible study this week, we finished discussing 1 Kings 19. The verses we looked at were from 15 to 21, which talked about Elijah passing on the torch (so to speak) to Elisha. Elijah, the disciple maker, anointed Elisha, the disciple, to follow in his footsteps. Elisha would be anointed as prophet to carry on in Elijah's place (vs. 16).
Normally, when the Bible is talking about anointing, oil would be used; however, in this case, Elijah used his mantle, or cloak, as a means to anoint Elisha (vs. 19). By anointing, Elijah is giving authority to his successor. This does not mean that Elijah lost his authority, though. He was just elevated to another level.
By becoming Elijah's disciple, Elisha would be spending time with him, helping Elijah, or maybe doing things for the man (maybe he prepared Elijah's meals, for example). We don't know at this point exactly what Elisha was doing, but we do know that he followed Elijah and became his disciple. He would, afterall, replace Elijah as prophet.
The thing about being a disciple, is that it doesn't always look as though we are learning. A disciple spends time with his/her teacher, regardless of what is being done. In other words, it doesn't matter what you are doing. Remember the movie, The Karate Kid? There is a scene from it where the teacher has the student waxing his car (the "wax on, wax off" line is famous). The student thinks he is only waxing the car and doesn't understand that what the teacher is doing is preparing him.
When we are being discipled, it might not look like we are learning anything, but we are actually learning to be a disciple maker ourselves. We see this in the New Testament with Jesus and his 12 disciples. They spent time with their Disciple Maker, and by being with Him and doing what He asked, these men learned how to be disciple makers. Jesus commissioned them to go into the world and make disciples. However, if these men hadn't spent time with Jesus to learn how to make disciples, they probably wouldn't have succeeded in their commission.
It is like that with us today. We might be a Sunday school teacher, an elder or deacon, a mentor to a youth - there are any number of leadership roles in the church. In order for us to pass on the torch, we need to have our own disciples to teach so there will be someone to carry on the role, someone who knows what to do and how to do it.
Pastor J left us with two "questions with regard to being disciple makers, and I pose them to you as well. Let me know in the comments section.
1. Who are you learning from? If you are not learning from someone currently, who do you seek to be with (someone you don't need to make an appointment to see)?
2. Who are you going to "throw your cloak" over and let them be with you? In other words, who are you going to disciple?
If you are unsure of the answers to the above, be sure to pray and ask God to reveal people for you to disciple, or to learn from.
I've been meaning to update this blog since my last post on January 1st. However, it seemed like every time I sat down to write something somewhat meaningful, I couldn't find the words. The other day, I even began a post about something inspiring I had read; but the words just didn't want to flow. Hopefully, today's post will come without difficulty, and sound somewhat decent.
Monday nights I have Bible study. I joined this group a couple of months ago, and I must say that I do enjoy going; the people in attendance are awesome. At some point in December, we began a study on Elijah but had to stop after a couple of weeks due to the Christmas season. This past Monday was our second meeting since we started back up after Christmas/New Years, so we continued discussing Elijah.
We focused on 1 Kings 19 this week. Pastor J is in my Bible study group, and is leading this discussion. He began by asking us to recall what James 5:16 said (...The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.), and then asked someone to read verse 17: "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months."
The focus (in our study that is) of James 5:17 was placed on the first part: Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. It seems difficult to imagine Elijah being like us! Afterall, in 1 Kings 18 we read that Elijah called down fire from heaven during the competition with the prophets of Baal. Have we ever done an act such as this? More than likely, not. So, how then was Elijah like us?
In 1 Kings 19, we read that Jezebel sent an oath to Elijah stating that she was giving him one day and then she was going to kill him, just as he had killed her prophets. Elijah became afraid and fled quite a distance away, and came to rest under a Juniper tree (some versions say a broom tree) where an angel visited him and gave him food and water, and told him to rest. From there Elijah journied up Mount Horeb (Mount Sinai) were God visited him and asked him what he was doing there.
Elijah told God that he had been zealous for Him, and after all he (Elijah) had done, his life was in danger - that he was going to be killed. God then told him to go and stand on the mountain while He passed by. There was a great and strong wind, strong enough to cause the rocks to break off; there was an earthquake, and then a fire. The Lord was in none of these. After the fire, there was a gentle blowing. It was when Elijah heard the gentle blowing that he covered his face and went to the entrance of the cave he had been in.
God asked Elijah a second time what he was doing there. Elijah repeated what he had said to God the first time. It was then that God gave a set of instructions for Elijah, which he then set out to follow.
Pastor J asked us why God had asked Elijah the same question twice. One of the ladies replied that Elijah got the answer wrong the first time (and ultimately the second as well since it was the same answer). Pastor J agreed with this and said that far too often, we tend to put the focus on us (I did this or that for the Lord, God bless me, Lord give me that, etc.) and we don't put our focus on what God might have in store for us.
So, back to the statement of Elijah being just like us...there are times when we take our eyes off the Lord, there are times we put the focus on ourselves, we get afraid, and we run and hide like Elijah did. When Elijah got the message that Jezebel was going to kill him, Elijah took his eyes off the Lord and focused on himself. His reply to God's question of "What are you doing here?" was to answer with a selfish reply, making the answer about him (Elijah). However, Pastor J stated that when we make the answer about us, God reminds us that it's not - it's about Him. And that's what God was doing with Elijah - reminding him that it's not all about him (Elijah).
In my own walk, I find I am doing this very same thing a great deal lately. I am putting the focus on me, worrying about my job (not getting much work), my personal life, my dreams and desires. I'm not making it about God, but about me. I need to listen for the gentle blowing, for God's voice, and find out what He wants. Afterall, it is all about Him.
How do you make it about God and not about yourself? What are some things you do or don't do to put the focus on God and take it off yourself?
A brand new year is upon us. It's hard to believe that it's 2010 already! Where has the time gone?
Over the past few days, I've been thinking about resolutions. You know, the promises we make at the beginning of a new year of the things we want to change or accomplish? Well, I'm not overly keen on making new years resolutions. The reason is because I never stick with them. Yup, I'm one of those people. To be fair, I do work at things for awhile and then for whatever reason (usually lack of motivation or forgetfulness), I stop.
I do have some goals that I want to accomplish this coming year, though. So, I guess in a way, I will be setting some resolutions - no matter how I look at it. Here is a list of what I hope to accomplish this year:
1. Lose weight. This is something I've been meaning to do for awhile now, but I want to lose a lot of weight by the summer. I haven't set a goal of how many pounds yet, but that will be soon. I want to feel and look healthy this year.
2. Exercise. That dreaded eight letter word that so many people dislike, including me. However, since I want to become healthier (and lose weight), exercise is a key factor in accomplishing this. I don't want to overdo things, so I will start of slowly. I have an eliptical machine and will use that for the bulk of my winter exercise regime. I also have a couple of yoga DVDs (one is for weight loss and the other is for people who are unflexible - basically to help get you more capable of doing yoga, lol) which I plan to use as well. Once the weather gets better, and the days aren't too cold, I will add walking to the plan.
3. Jogging. I hear so many stories of how people ruin their knees from jogging, but I want to be able to jog long distances without fear of collapsing after 30 seconds. I think the longest I can jog for is about a minute, and then I need to stop and walk. That's not long, I know, but my goal is to increase that. However, because I'm not fond of running/jogging/walking on ice and falling and breaking a leg (or worse), this will probably only start in the spring after the ice and snow have melted enough.
4. Eat healthier. Again, this ties in with the first goal. I want to eat better foods - less of the fast food/junk food. Included with this, would be to decrease my portion sizes.
5. Drink water. I don't get nearly enough water consumption. I drink lots of pop, and I know that's not good. So, included in this goal is to wean out the pop so that I drink very little of it, and increase the amount of water I drink per day.
6. Write a novel. This is something I've been working at on and off for several years. This year I want to focus on getting it written. I will be tracking the progress for this over on my writing blog, Ink Scrawls.
7. Grow in my walk with the Lord. I want to get closer to God, to have a great relationship with Him and just do more for Him.
So, there you have it. Some of my goals for the upcoming year. I have a lot of changes for myself in store, and I need to keep motivated to accomplish things. I also need accountability so I'll be working at that as well. I've done these things before, in the past, and I know I can do them again. But, it's going to take time and I need to remember that it's a long, slow process and none of these things will be accomplished overnight.
What are your goals/new year's resolutions for 2010? Let me know in the comment section.
In keeping with some of the ways I've been reading about for improving a blog, I've decided to to try one out this morning - the "how to" type of post...
There are many ways we can draw closer to the Lord, but I am going to discuss three of the most common ways. As you know, by reading previous posts, I had/have been going through a dry spell where I seemed to have strayed of my path with the Lord. Oh, I still believed and all - didn't lose my faith - but I just couldn't seem to draw close to Him. These are ways I am using to get back on track and back on the path of my walk with the Lord.
Read the Bible: The Bible is God's Word. We read in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This is, of course, referring to Jesus. How do I know this? In verse 14, we read, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us."
As Christians, the Bible is very important to us; it is about Jesus (and it is Jesus), and it is a way to help guide us and our walk. God can still speak to us through His Word; therefore, we need to immerse ourselves in the Bible, and we need to set aside time every day to read it.
While I was struggling in my walk, I had talked with my pastor and he told me that it's OK to just sit and read it for the sake of reading. Every time we read, it doesn't have to be a time to study the Bible; sometimes we need to get back on track and just simply reading a chapter or two (or more) is enough to jump start our walk again. This worked for me. It has been over two months since I got back into reading my Bible every day, and may have only missed a reading once.
Studying the bible is important, but there are times when we find that we can't study it. At those times, we need to remember to not stop reading, to not get away from His Word. At those times, simply reading the Bible is OK. God can still speak to us through the Bible, even if we are just reading it.
Meditate: I am not talking about the Eastern tradition of meditating whereby one sits with legs crossed in the lotus position, hands turned upright, eyes closed, and saying "ohm" over and over. No, what I am referring to is simply thinking about what you have read. Taking our Bible reading a step further, we should meditate on the passages that speak to us, and think how it applies to our lives.
After reading your chapter(s) take some time to think over what you have read. How does what you have read speak to you? If you have been reading about repenting, is there anything you need to repent of? If you've been reading the Psalms where David is praising God about something, do you need to offer praise to God?
Pray: Prayer is key in a Christian's life. It's how we communicate with God. The different types of prayers is a whole other post, which I won't get into here. I just simply want to state that our God is a God with whom we can communicate. We can lay before Him our cares and concerns, our praises and thanks, and anything else in our hearts.
Prayer is communicating - it's talking with God. Don't worry if your prayers don't sound fancy; that's not what counts. What counts is that you talk to the Lord. Even though He knows everything, He still wants us to talk to Him and tell Him what we desire, what is troubling us, etc.
As with communicating to our family, friends, co-workers, and everyone, during prayer, we need to also listen. If we pray to God and simply do all the talking, and don't offer Him a chance to speak to us, it is like calling your best friend and spewing out all your news and information without giving him/her a chance to respond, and then hanging up. That's not communicating. Communicating is when all parties involved have a chance to speak.
There you have it - three little ways that can help you draw closer to God. By reading our Bibles, meditating on the Word, and praying, we can, and will, draw closer to the Lord. It is important to practice these things daily. It might take a little time to get to a point where we do things things on a daily basis, but don't be discouraged if you miss a day or two or more. Just start over and keep at it. And remember, if you are trying to draw closer to the Lord, the enemy will do what he can to prevent that from happening - be on your guard, and make sure to put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).
How do you draw closer to the Lord? Is Bible reading, meditation, and prayer a daily part of your life? Can you list other ways of drawing closer to the Lord?
Yesterday, Sunday, was our church's Sunday school concert. It isn't just for the little kids who attend Sunday school, but for the adults as well. While I thought this year's concert was OK, it wasn't as good as other years. Most of the concert involved singing - the kids up to grade five all sang some songs together, but each class had their own songs as well. The middle school kids did a bit of a play and sang a song, and the high school kids also did a little play and sang a song. For both of those, they had the audience sing as well. There was a husband and wife team who did a "debate" on the Christmas Jesus vs. the Easter Jesus, and three other adult classes performed little skits.
Unfortunately, throughout the entire evening, I was suffering from a headache which turned into a full blown migraine by the time I got home. Thankfully, I wasn't sick with it - but I nearly was once (I was at home at the time).
Today I was a little out of it. I find the day after I suffer a migrain I am tired (as though I didn't get enough rest, even though I did) and just not really myself. Therefore, today wasn't productive at all. I did go and mail some Christmas cards for my mom, and later on I went and got something for supper. Other than that I didn't do anything. I didn't have a migraine, but for most of the day it felt like there was one waiting in the wings to spring forth. Thankfully that didn't happen.
Last week, I got no calls at all to do any supply teaching. I also didn't get any calls today, and so far have none for tomorrow. I was talking (well, messaging on Facebook) with one of the girls who went to Australia when I did, and she said she didn't think that there would be much, if anything, for last week and this week - especially since this is the last week before Christmas holidays. School finishes on Friday. I hope and pray that the new year has more work for me.
I might look into teaching some ESL part time during the week, or after school. That way I could still have a couple of days (or all day if I do it after school) to teach during the day. I need to do something to get some money coming my way. I have to start paying my student loan back again in March. I don't particularly want to teach ESL, but I might have to do that until I can get more supply work, or my own classroom.
Not much in the way of news. I still haven't got my Christmas shopping started; yes, I'm one of those last minute people. I do know what I'm getting most everyone though, so it's just a matter of going and getting the stuff. One of the gifts, for my mom, I am going to chip in with my brothers and we are getting her something she has had her eye on. For that, all I need to do is get my share of the money over to one of my brothers. But, there isn't a lot of time left until Christmas. I should go and get my shopping done on a day when I'm not working, and hopefully the crowds won't be as bad as they would be in the evenings when people are off work, or on the weekends.
My question for you: Have you started your Christmas shopping? Have you finished your shopping, and if so, how long have you had it finished?
Lately I've been trying to work on writing the novel I've been working on. I enjoy writing, but will admit that I have a lot to learn on many different levels. It's the same with blogging. There are so many hints, tips, and ideas on creating blog posts that attract not only readers, but also comments. I am trying to keep these things in mind now as I create my posts. Like my writing, I have a lot to learn with blogging.
I started out with this blog to be a place to talk about myself - somewhat of an online journal to record my thoughts and feelings and day to day activities. I decided that I also wanted to create posts that help others learn about Christianity, about Christ, and to learn - a somewhat mini Bible study lesson or what have you.
That worked - for awhile. Somewhere along the line, I lost focus and created fewer and fewer posts. I lost the readership I had (which is understandable), and my posts didn't seem to have the content I wanted. I look back now on some of my earlier posts and wish I were creating the same kinds of posts now. I guess I need to sit down and write some good quality posts to publish on my blogs.
A new year is within arm's reach, and with it I hope to rearrange the way I post here. There are lots of topics and ideas that I want to explore in my blog posts, and a few of my goals for posting include:
* Thought provoking posts
* Bible based posts
* Mini Bible studies
* Character studies
* Spiritual growth discussions
* Topics posted on specific days (i.e. Mondays might be a character study, Wednesday might be about praying or Saturday might be about missionaries)
I won't promise that I will post every day, but I will try to post at least two or three times a week (maybe more), to be more consistant. I will try not to have extremely lengthy posts as I do sometimes now (which could come from big gaps between posts and feeling the need to fill in every detail since the previous post). And, I will try to have my posts more Christ-centered as opposed to me-centered - though that might creep in from time to time as well.
What do you look for in a blog? What type(s) of posts do you enjoy reading? What keeps you coming back to a particular blog you enjoy?
Yesterday, I went and got my H1N1 flu shot. Thankfully, lines aren't a problem at this point; I only had a total of about 20 minutes waiting, and that included the mandatory 15 minute wait time after getting the needle. I must have gone at a good time of day (a friend when the evening before and was there for about an hour in total). And, the actual shot didn't hurt. The pain came later.
By the time I went to bed last night, my arm was tender, sore, and stiff. It wasn't as painful as some people have said their arms have been. Never the less, it was still painful. I really don't like pain - but then I don't know too many people (if any one) who actually do like pain.
Pain is a part of our lives. It comes in many forms - physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. No matter what kind of pain we experience, it hurts. In my walk with the Lord, I have experienced lots of pain as well. Sometimes it is from something negative I have said or done, sometimes it is what someone else has said or done, and other times it is because I need to go through a particular experience in order to grow. The pain might not be immediate; sometimes it is delayed, but it will surface at some point.
Without pain in our walk with the Lord, we wouldn't have growth. We learn from our mistakes (which can often be extremely painful), and we grow. Most times, these mistakes help us grow closer to God and strive to be more like Jesus. If we lived pain-free/mistake-free lives, I doubt there would be any growth and we would end up becoming stagnant or worse.
When we are facing pain, struggle, hardship, etc., it is important that we turn to the Lord and rely on Him to bring us through. We need to trust that He knows what He is doing and use these times to grow in our relationship and walk. Sometimes we need to learn more trust, sometimes we may need to learn how to depend on Him. And sometimes, we just might need to learn a particular lesson.
How do you deal with the painful and hurtful situations in your life? How have you grown, or what have you gained, as the result of those situations?
Posts
