Category — Discipleship

“But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” 2 Corinthians 8:7 Wow! We’re to excel at giving!

 To excel means to be good at, master, be proficient, skillful, talented, be the best, improve upon, outdo, outshine, outstrip, shine, surpass, transcend—at this grace of giving! When it comes to giving, we’re to be the best we can be!

To excel at giving means we’ve got to engage in it intentionally. Skillful giving doesn’t just happen. We need to deliberately set out to master this grace of giving! To excel at giving is not an after-thought or the “seventh level” of following Jesus. To excel at giving is right there with excelling in faith, love, and following Jesus. [Read more →]

Was Jesus ever taken advantage of?

This may seem like an odd question, but it’s one I’m wrestling with in a very personal and practical way. You see, I just learned that I’ve been taken advantage of by someone. This person had been posing as someone with a chronic illness and in dire financial need. I and others rose to their alleged need by paying some of their bills, serving them and praying for them. This has gone on for a couple years. Now that their deceit has been exposed I feel violated, foolish and a tremendous sense of grief for them.

What should I have done differently? Did anything like this ever happen to Jesus? If so, how did he respond? How does he want me to respond? How do I guard myself in the future—or, should I? [Read more →]

If we ask a total stranger, “Are you a Christian?” that person’s response tells us nothing about their actual relationship with Christ.

The term Christian has come to mean everything and nothing in our day. The Barna Group reports that four out of ten Americans claim to be born-again Christians. Can that be so? What does that mean? Wouldn’t it follow that if forty percent of the population were following Jesus Christ our nation would be radically impacted for the better?

There is a serious gap between the terms Christian and follower of Christ in our day!

Jesus’ challenge both then and now is “Follow me!” The questions we need to be asking each other are, “Are you following Jesus? Is he your Leader? Do others see Jesus in you?” Because following Jesus is life changing! We cannot draw near to God and remain unchanged. How is he changing you? In what ways are you becoming more like him? What’s an area in your life that he wants to change?

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.” 2 Peter 1:3 NLT

© 2010 Rob Fischer

Five Tips to Get the Most from Reading the Bible

1. Always read God’s Word expecting to meet with him. Approach God’s Word relationally. Listen for his voice. What is he saying to you personally? What do you see from his Word that reveals God’s character and ways? Where do you need to align your life with his character and ways?

2. Set aside a regular time to read God’s Word. I don’t know about you, but I need the discipline of a schedule. It helps knowing that I always spend this time listening to and conversing with God. Self-discipline is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We do not cultivate self-discipline by always being spontaneous or only reading and conversing with him when we feel like it. [Read more →]

Recently we challenged the men of our church to a New Testament read-thru using the schedule below. The point of the challenge is to get to know God better by spending time with him in his Word. And as we draw near to him and get to know him better, we cannot remain unchanged!

Already, men are reporting how God is meeting with them and changing them as they spend time with him in his Word!

Let me challenge you too, to draw near to God and deepen your relationship with him as you simply read his Word. If you’re not a reader or simply prefer another alternative to reading, check out the free tools for listening to the New Testament on your iPhone, Blackberry or MP3 player: www.sccprimed.org. [Read more →]

A few years ago a friend of mine and I were hiking in the woods near Anchorage, Alaska. It was fall and therefore mating season for moose. At one point on our hike we heard a crashing through the brush and out trotted a large cow moose with a bull hot in pursuit. The cow was irritated by the bull already and seeing us on the trail only worsened her mood. So Ed and I veered off onto another trail to avoid this testy cow.

About 20 minutes later, Ed I were just cresting the top of a hill when here came that same cow up the other side of the hill toward us. In angry moose fashion, she laid her ears back, dropped her head, the hair on the back of her neck bristled and she began stomping the ground. Ed and knew she was not happy about sharing the trail with us and we were about to be chased! [Read more →]

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)

We have adopted a culture in which we all find ourselves victims. We are told that we are victims of our upbringing, victims of our environment and even victims of our own emotions. We hear a husband lament, “I can’t help it if I don’t love her anymore.” Or after a serious burst of anger the angry individual excuses his behavior with, “It’s just the way I am!” Perhaps a wife threatens, “I could never forgive him for what he did.” And a child is heard to say, “I didn’t feel like studying.” Or, “I don’t feel like sharing.”

Don’t believe this victim mentality for a moment! Know this, a victim never wins! Never! [Read more →]

A while back I was reading the account of Abraham again in Genesis. God appeared to him in his homeland and told him to leave and go to a land that he would reveal to him when he got there. Think of setting out on a thousand mile journey with your household, livestock and belongings on wheeled carts not knowing where you were going! I couldn’t help but see his walk with God as one big adventure. Paul calls Abraham the man of faith and I realized that a life of faith really is a life of adventure.

Webster defines adventure as “an undertaking or experience that involves hazard and requires courage.” My mind went to Luke 9:22-23 where Jesus called disciples, “And he said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’ Then he said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” [Read more →]

A core teaching of biblical Christianity is the fact that our salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22). We understand that we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ and his finished work through his death, burial and resurrection. An equally important truth is not so well known, or at least understood. For not only are we saved by grace through faith, but our sanctification is also a work of God’s grace by faith.

In Romans, chapters 6, 7 and 8, Paul explains that in Christ we can now “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4); we are “no longer enslaved to sin” (6:6); we are to present the members of our body as instruments of righteousness to God (6:13); God’s plan for us in Christ is “that we may bear fruit for God” (7:4); and God’s design for us is “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (8:29). [Read more →]

“Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces.” (Proverbs 3:9 NLT) To honor God is to show our regard, esteem, value, respect, and prizing of him. When we give to the Lord, we demonstrate to him, to others, and to ourselves that he is supreme in our lives.  When we give, we attest that he is our most valued treasure. Giving shows that our hearts are set on him and not on our money or belongings. Giving honors God as supreme. Giving to him is an act of worship.

But there is both a non-giving and a giving that dishonors God. Not giving simply fails to honor God. Not giving demonstrates that we treasure our wealth and possessions above God. Not giving to God withholds honor from him and hoards that honor for us. By not giving we deny that all we have comes from God and belongs to him. Not giving also fails to show gratitude and thanksgiving for all God has blessed us with. So, not giving dishonors God. [Read more →]