One Another Scriptures from the New Testament

This is an infographic from
http://overviewbible.com/one-another-infographic/

I thought it did an excellent job of highlighting all the "One Another" scriptures in the New Testament. Thanks to Jerry Kranz for making this available.

Good News and Bad News

I have good news and bad news.  Which do you want first?  I have often heard that if you want to develop a new habit that it will take 21 days.  If I do this new pattern for that period of time it will become like second nature to me. I have also heard that the principle also applies to removing negative habits as well. If I remove a bad habit for 21 days, it will be permanently removed from my life.  The bad news is that it is not true.  There is no scientific evidence to back this up.  In Michael Hyatt's blog called "This is Your Life" in his post "How to Make a New Habit Stick" he says this:

It turns out the twenty-one day "rule" is a myth with practically no scientific basis.  If we're trying to do something simple and easy, it might work...acquiring complex of challenging habits will probably take us a lot longer.

How long? 

Researchers at University College tracked people attempting to form different types of new habits.  Instead of three or four weeks, they found it took an average of sixty-six days for new habits ti become automatic.  And they projected that some would take more than 250 days.  (For the rest of Michael Hyatt's article click on this link http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=52d5c7778a3adfda535c3b349&id=bd07e0be63&e=0852842c2a )

 Now, this stat, you are probably saying is two things: depressing and unspiritual.  The first one you are right, it can be a little discouraging.  Two months to almost a year seems like a long time to develop good habits, but I have found it to be generally true in my experience.  The second idea is the one we often struggle with.  It seems almost unspiritual to have to work for such an extended period of time to establish good spiritual habits so I can be a disciple of Christ.  Shouldn't I just be zapped from above with this noble desire?  In some areas of my spiritual journey I have been waiting for this divine zap for an extended period of time, and it hasn't come.  If it has happened to you, God has empowered you in this way, revel  in it.  Thank God for it. For the rest of us, the call will be to show discipline.  It's interesting that the word "disciple" and "discipline" come from the same root word.  Basically implying that being a disciple of Jesus requires discipline.  I shared this comic in my message, a couple weeks ago, because its message is poignant.

Being a disciple of Jesus requires discipline.  The bible uses another term for the ability to be able to discipline yourself on the spiritual journey.  It is self-control.  The Apostle Paul in his list of  characteristics that should be evidenced in the spiritual life, he calls them fruit of the Spirit, included self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23).  Self-control is the ability, by the help of the Spirit, to control or discipline ourselves so we can move towards maturity.

 We live in a very instant society.  We buy things and then we pay for them later. We wait impatiently for food to come out of a microwave. We are always trying to find ways of fast tracking everything.  The problem is spiritual maturity takes time, energy and self-control. In many regards I see self control as the "lost fruit" of our society.  We find it very difficult to wait for anything.  Especially in the areas of spirituality, when the rewards come slowly and are sometimes a little bit more ethereal.

Now, you are  probably thinking, you said there was good news...I don't see any good news yet.  The good news is that God wants us to move towards maturity and to become more like Christ. God is also faithful to complete the work that he begins in you. (Philippians 1:6)  You will develop and grow if you do not give up (Galatians 6:9).

 Let me give you a few baby steps that we can do in order to start growing in this area.

1. Write down your growth area and a goal that you like to move towards.  What area does God want you to grow and mature in? Let's say it's reading your Bible- that's your growth area.  The goal is that you will read your Bible for ten minutes while you drink your coffee in the morning. 

2. Pray something like this "God, I know you have called me to grow in (insert your area of growth) would you help me to have the self-control to do this."

3. Give Yourself Grace.  Don't beat yourself up if you mess up.  You are going to make mistakes, but the important thing is to keep trying and don't slip back in to old patterns

4. Don't Try to Do Too Much.  I started writing down all the growth areas and goals I wanted to accomplish and I just about wanted to quit.  I had to pull back and set some limits or I would have become overwhelmed and done nothing instead.  Small incremental change is what God wants us to move towards.

5. Keep Growing.  Keep moving ahead.  The temptation is to plateau and stop growing.  God always has new areas he wants us to mature in.

So, there it is!  The bad news is that change often takes longer than we would want.  The good news is that by God's help and the development of self control, change is possible.

pj

I Surrender 10%

If you go to the grocery store you will see a myriad of lite products.  Most of the products make promises that they will have all the flavour and half the calories or something to that extent.  Many times I have been disappointed with these products and they have not lived up to their billing.  I remember I once bought a lite margarine and tried making some grilled cheese sandwiches with it.  It just made the bread soggy and it stuck to the frying pan.  Now, I know not all these products are bad, but generally I have found them to be a pale substitute of the original.

  Sometimes, on my spiritual journey I have tried to live a lite version of faith in Jesus Christ.  All the benefits and rewards of being in a relationship with Him, without too much cost.  The theme song of this group would be "I Surrender 10%"

Ten Percent to Jesus I surrender.
A little bit I grudgingly give
I will sort of love and trust him,
In his presence, when I have time.

Ten Percent to Jesus I surrender.
Might give a Sunday all to Thee
Worldly pleasures partially forsaken
But, I want your blessings to fall on me.

I surrender ten percent
I surrender ten percent
Ten percent to Jesus I surrender
I surrender ten percent.

Jesus was pretty clear on the kind of commitment that he was looking for from his followers.  It was his radical call it this area that really thinned the ranks, because it was really a call to die.  The famous German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said it this way, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."

  The apostle Paul expressed this in Romans 6:11 when he says, "Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."  He goes on and reiterates the same thought in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

David Nasser in his book A Call to Die challenges his readers to answer this question, ""Will you make the effort to find your tailor-made call to die?"

  Listen to what he writes:

The call to die is open to all of us who believe, but few of us will follow when we know the real cost of discipline.  It's much easier to be a nice Christian than a radical one.  It's much more fun to be entertained by Jesus and the church than to struggle and strain in the pursuit of purity and the presence of God.  No, the call to die is not for everybody - only for those who are serious about experiencing the greatest adventure that life has to offer.  If you choose to answer that call, you will be in for some very hard moments, but take heart: it's well worth it in the end.  "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)*

We are trying to move as a church to be disciples who make disciples.  But I think the issue you and I need to confront if we want to do this is,  have I counted the cost (like Jesus asked us to do) and am I going to really be a disciple of Christ?

Jesus met a man who was keen on being a follower and he wanted to know what he had to do.  He wanted to know what he was signing up for - the bottom line.  Jesus knew his heart and saw that the number one thing that was going to hinder him in following Christ was his stuff.  So, he told the man - sell it all.  Scripture tells us that he left Jesus a sad man, because he couldn't do it.

Jesus meets us and the same way.  He looks at your heart and finds the one thing that is standing in the way of us being a fully-committed disciple of him.  He tells us to let that one thing go.  It may be the one thing from scripture, the letting go of our money and possessions, it may be our security, it may be our plans, it may be a relationship or it may be something else.  But Jesus knows what it is, and so do you.  He tells us to let it go and follow Him.  Could this be part of the reason depression is rampant in the church?  Could this be the reason we feel so unfulfilled in our activities?  We have been confronted with Jesus' call of discipleship and we have walked away sad.

Jesus will never be content with a lite-commitment to him.  He will never be satisfied with a 10% surrender to him.  He likes the original version of the song - ALL to Jesus I surrender.

John

* David Nasser; A Call to Die Copyright 2000 Redemptive Art Publishing pg.17
http://www.amazon.ca/Call-Die-Journey-Fasting-Feasting/dp/097924790X

The Rubik's Cube and the Bible

I got my first Rubik's cube when I was in Grade 8, way back in 1978.  They were all the rage back then. I played with it until it was stolen on a field trip in grade nine.  I find in interesting to see the resurgence of interest in these toys again.  I often see young people spinning this cubes gracefully in their hands, solving the 3D combination puzzle with what looks like the skill of a mathematician.  

 When they first came out there was really only a few ways to figure it out.  You worked at it till you got it, you bought a book to learn how or you found someone who had figured it out and they taught you. We had no Internet or you tube to help us solve this dilemma,  it took an investment of time.  I am embarrassed to say, it has been over 30 years since I got that first Rubik's cube and I have never, not once, solved the puzzle.  I toyed with this game, but I never became a master of it.  The question that I ask myself periodically is, "Could I have mastered this puzzle?"  I mean really master it, not taking the stickers off and putting them back on like some people did.  You know who you are and we know you cheated!  The answer I believe is a resounding yes.  My excuses are that I didn't have the proper tools, it was too hard, someone stole my cube (The fact that I mentioned this twice probably shows I'm still ticked off about this) and eventually I just lost interest.

  On Sunday, we talked about another one of the principles of the Way of Jesus, that we are to learning the teachings of Jesus,  The main place to be learning the teachings of Jesus is in God's Word: the Bible.  I sometimes see comparisons between my treatment of God's word and my Rubik's cube.  I have been reading my Bible since I was a teenager.  Even though I have attended Bible College, I feel like I have toyed with God's Word more than I have become a master.

 2 Timothy 2:15, known as the AWANA verse at our church, because it is that ministries theme verse and where it derives its name: Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed, encourages us to: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the truth."  If you have seen someone who is good at a Rubik's cube, you know they can correctly handle it.  The spin and turn with a confidence that is amazing to watch.  For those of us who are followers of Jesus, we should be handling God's word with the same kind or expertise and precision.  Or as the modern vernacular puts it,  "Handling it like a boss!"

  The writer of Hebrews tells us that the passage of time should be moving us deeper in our understanding of scripture, so much so that we should be teachers of this biblical knowledge to others. (See Hebrew 5:11-14).  The writer notes that often times though, we remain novices instead of moving towards maturity and mastery

  In order to move in that direction it is going to take a commitment of time, energy and application.  We are going to have to commit to daily getting in to God's Word.  We can not just merely toy with the Bible either, it is going to takes some dedicated effort on our behalf.  We also need to realize that studying God's word is not merely an academic, knowledge-based pursuit, it always needs to be working itself out in the context of real life.  Some of us through time have started to use my excuses that I used for not being good at the Rubik's cube and have lost interest in God's word.  Let's pray that God rekindles a new desire for learning the teachings of Jesus.

  Last week, a man set a new world record by solving 5 Rubik's cubes, with one hand in 1 minute.  You can check out the video at the following link

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-03/rubiks-cube-world-record/6278176

Just imagine what the church would be like if we could handle the Word of God with that same type of competency.

John