I have read Rick Warren's Book: A Purpose Driven Life before but never managed to do all 40 days. Now is the time to reach that goal. So from today I am restarting that project.
I will be blogging on each chapter hopefully posting something every day. Actually I want to end this on Easter Sunday. 38 days away from today (including today). Thus I need to do 2 double stints along the way.
The first line of the first day states "It is not about You". This is both scary (at least to someone like me) and reassuring at the same time. If it was all about me, then I would have to work my way to the doors of heaven. Which is nigh on impossible. But now that it is about God, I can put all my trust in Him. Because He will not fail, even when (not if) I will fail, dishonor or abandon Him. He was here before me and will be with me, and he will be here, when my time is up.
The first post on chapter/day one will be published later today!
Friday, 26 February 2010
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
How do we keep our spiritual focus?
Recently I saw the following quote on a friends status message on Facebook:
"Do we see the members as necessary to retain the structure and ministry of the church, or do we see the church as a place for equipping its members to live authentic Christian lives in the world?"
A thought-provocing question that was further supported by some of the comments he received.
In the history of the early church, the Acts of the Apostles, the church was clearly the latter, in my opinion.
Before Pentecost the 11 stayed together in Jerusalem as they were told by Jesus after his ressurection (Acts 1:4-5). They lived and prayed together with the newly elected Matthias (1:26) and met daily with the earliest church (1:15).
After Pentecost they continued to meet daily in the temple court as a family. They shared everything even their personal property and they continued to add to their numbers.
So was the early church the necessary structure or was it a place of authentic Christian living? As 'the Lord added to their numbers daily' (2:47), I would image that the latter was the case.
In my view this 1st generation church, just as later 1st generation churches, seem to be focused on the service and equipping. They seem to have something at stake that 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc generation does not seem to have. To these new churches their (spiritual) lives are at stake.
The 'old' churches seem to have more and probably too much structure. It seems too easy to be part of the pew warmers either physically or spiritually. The comfort zone is too comfortable. And 'we've been here for generations, so we will still be here'. They may be very active in their community, helping and caring, but their eyes, their treasure might be in someone else than Jesus. Maybe not out of spite or lust. But they simply lost their focus by trying to be a copy of Christ, rather than having Christ as the head of their Body (Col 1:18).
So how do we as Xth generation church revive that sense of that our spiritual lives and the spiritual life of our familiy, our church is at stake? How do we make that Christ have Supremacy in and with our lives?
Curtious Comments are always welcomed and encouraged!
Thank You, Henrik Andersen, that you allowed my to use your statement as a start for this blog post!
"Do we see the members as necessary to retain the structure and ministry of the church, or do we see the church as a place for equipping its members to live authentic Christian lives in the world?"
A thought-provocing question that was further supported by some of the comments he received.
In the history of the early church, the Acts of the Apostles, the church was clearly the latter, in my opinion.
Before Pentecost the 11 stayed together in Jerusalem as they were told by Jesus after his ressurection (Acts 1:4-5). They lived and prayed together with the newly elected Matthias (1:26) and met daily with the earliest church (1:15).
After Pentecost they continued to meet daily in the temple court as a family. They shared everything even their personal property and they continued to add to their numbers.
So was the early church the necessary structure or was it a place of authentic Christian living? As 'the Lord added to their numbers daily' (2:47), I would image that the latter was the case.
In my view this 1st generation church, just as later 1st generation churches, seem to be focused on the service and equipping. They seem to have something at stake that 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc generation does not seem to have. To these new churches their (spiritual) lives are at stake.
The 'old' churches seem to have more and probably too much structure. It seems too easy to be part of the pew warmers either physically or spiritually. The comfort zone is too comfortable. And 'we've been here for generations, so we will still be here'. They may be very active in their community, helping and caring, but their eyes, their treasure might be in someone else than Jesus. Maybe not out of spite or lust. But they simply lost their focus by trying to be a copy of Christ, rather than having Christ as the head of their Body (Col 1:18).
So how do we as Xth generation church revive that sense of that our spiritual lives and the spiritual life of our familiy, our church is at stake? How do we make that Christ have Supremacy in and with our lives?
Curtious Comments are always welcomed and encouraged!
Thank You, Henrik Andersen, that you allowed my to use your statement as a start for this blog post!
Saturday, 2 January 2010
My name is NOT Muzungu!
Living in a village in Uganda for more than 8 months, everytime I went into or though that village either by car, by motorcycle or on foot the children would cry "Muzungu! Muzungu! Muzungu!"
That was nice the first couple of times but in the long run it became irritating. Not becuase of the attention but because of what was underneath that attention. And although the adults would often hush their children, they had a similar attitude.
'Muzungu' means 'The white man'. As a white man in Uganda at least but as far as I know all over Africa you are more or less a small 'Deity' because you have lots of money and power. Anybody associated with or working for a white man in himself gains importance just because of that.
This is regardless of who the white man is. You are just expected to have lots of money and power.
I am glad, that I had the experience of living in Africa and it brings a lot of good thoughts and feelings.
One thing I learnt is that it does matter, who I cling to. And how I present myself. I am a man, not a (semi-) God. I am imperfect, not perfect. Only Christ was and is perfect.
It is important that I accept that I strive to be the best person I can be, I am aware that I have to point to Jesus for the perfect example. Perfect Love, True in Nature and Thought, He gave his all by coming to us in a lowly setting and gave up his life to save us and cleanse us for our sins.
Paul says in Gal 6:14 "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
May I be a humble servant, fighting for Christ, my wife, my family and the town I live in. In that order!
That was nice the first couple of times but in the long run it became irritating. Not becuase of the attention but because of what was underneath that attention. And although the adults would often hush their children, they had a similar attitude.
'Muzungu' means 'The white man'. As a white man in Uganda at least but as far as I know all over Africa you are more or less a small 'Deity' because you have lots of money and power. Anybody associated with or working for a white man in himself gains importance just because of that.
This is regardless of who the white man is. You are just expected to have lots of money and power.
I am glad, that I had the experience of living in Africa and it brings a lot of good thoughts and feelings.
One thing I learnt is that it does matter, who I cling to. And how I present myself. I am a man, not a (semi-) God. I am imperfect, not perfect. Only Christ was and is perfect.
It is important that I accept that I strive to be the best person I can be, I am aware that I have to point to Jesus for the perfect example. Perfect Love, True in Nature and Thought, He gave his all by coming to us in a lowly setting and gave up his life to save us and cleanse us for our sins.
Paul says in Gal 6:14 "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
May I be a humble servant, fighting for Christ, my wife, my family and the town I live in. In that order!
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Christianity is ?
I have been a Christian all my life. I was born into a Christian family with both of my parents being active within the church.
As I grew up I learnt about being Christian, the morals and ethics of being a Christian, the actions and aspects of being a Christan and the promise of being a Christian.
Apart from my foolish ways of childhood and youth my religion was Christianity. I belived that God was out there and that He should be the center of my attention
But my parents and my church could not save me and make me. I was still my own lord choosing when to abide with the rules of my religion.
But even at the best of times when I was able to abide all of the rules I had learnt, I was not a Christian.
Because being a Christian is not going to church. Being a Christian is not doing good deeds. Being a Christian is not tithing.
Paul says in 1 Conrithians 13:3 'If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body tothe flames but have not love, I gain nothing.' (NIV)
Being Christian is nothing but a relationship between me and God. And a proper relationship is built on love from both sides.
God has already shown his love above and beyond anything I can do. »For God so loved that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.« (John 3:16, NIV)
My part is the second half of that verse : '... That whoever believes in him'. But believing in Jesus as my personal saviour is not something I can do from my couch.
It requires that I know Jesus personally and I can not get to know Jesus without experiencing him and his fulfilment of God's promise. And I can only really do that by trying out life and see if he makes a difference in it.
Now I have tried life just going through the motions without putting my entire trust in Him. Now in my adulthood I have put more trust in God and less self-reliance in my life.
And everytime I accepted to do God's will and to go where he wants me to go, even though it goes against what I think I know, God pulls me through and I get blessed with both wisdom and knowledge.
Seven or eight years ago I was a lonely man who had yet to know how it was to be in a relationship with a woman. My brother asked me a question if I could help him out. And this question was meant as a joke.
But I responded positively, going against my previous convictions about what I would do in my future.
I moved a mere 50 kilometer from my home town and served as a pastor for a year in a small, small local church with 6-8 elderly ladies and one likewise man.
Through this move I grew a lot spiritually and maturity although I did not give my all to this church, If I have to be totally honest.
But I did meet the lady who is now my wife. And that REALLY changed my life around.
I used to be a bachelor basically only concentrating on my own needs. I did provide for my little flock in the church but I feel that I could have given them and God more, and maybe have helped that church to grow new branches and thus survive. As it is now they are down to 3 or 4 old ladies.
But marrying my wife made me see that I need to depend on others and accept their help as well as I have to care for them and put them before me in my priorities.
And here I am now, serving God in Africa, more than 5000 kilometers from my home town.
I still battle with my self-reliance but I achieve more and more by simply letting go and give the control of my life into the hands of God. And everytime I do that he comes through and works miracles through my imperfectness
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