Ending Well: from 7/19/08

As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 1 Kings 11:4

Observations: Well, what starts well doesn’t always end well. Solomon was once the man of God’s choosing with a passion for God and wisdom like none other. But disobedience (becoming wise in his own eyes) caught up with him. He acted as though he was an exception to God’s command not to intermarry with foreign women because (and there’s always a “because”) they will “turn your hearts after their gods” (v.2). But, “nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love” (v.2). This resulted in God’s judgment on his kingdom and the end of peace with his adversaries. God raised up adversaries from without and rebellion from within.

Application: Just because I start well doesn’t mean I’ll end well. When it’s all said and done, ending well depends on walking in faithful obedience to God’s direction. My human, sinful nature always questions God’s “restrictions.” Truth be told, there are times when I do not stop long enough to remember that there’s always a very good reason why God restricts. It’s always for my long-term good. Just as the LORD wanted to protect Solomon’s heart from turning away from Him, so He wants to protect me and provide for my long-term spiritual well-being. The LORD, my Heavenly Father, delights in me and desires only the very best of His life for me. And the path there is so simple: walk in full devotion to the LORD my God.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace that saves, keeps and teaches me to live a self-controlled, upright and godly life in this present age while I wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of my great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:11-13). Stir me to obedience and full devotion any and every time my sinful nature seeks to draw me into any way that dishonors You and turns my heart from You.

"The Divine Menor" by Wayne Cordeiro

This is a terrific resource for anyone looking for ideas to cultivate or enhance your Habit of Time Alone with God. It's simple and profound at the same time. Best of all, it's full of illustrations from a pastor/discipler/leader who practices what he preaches/writes. Thanks, David Sheppard, for giving me my own copy.

Fried Egg Sandwich: from 7/16/08

Background
This week I spent 24 hours away for prayer and planning. There’s a gracious family who makes a lodge on their hill country ranch available to me for such getaways. One of the “extras”: the fresh eggs. I always look forward to cooking up a fried egg sandwich for breakfast. And this time I had some fresh tomatoes to go with it! Yummy!! However, something happened. Read on.

And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. 1 Kings 8:11

Observations: As Solomon dedicated the temple, bringing up the ark of the covenant and all the furnishings, the presence of God manifested itself in the form of a thick cloud. “The glory of the LORD filled His temple” and brought all activity to a halt.

Application: What would it be like to be so aware of the presence of the LORD that all activity ceased? Nothing could and nothing needed to take place. In the words of Bob Roberts, “Jesus would be enough.” Man, that’s where I want to be. But how to get there? I’m not always where I need to be to experience that. To stay before God long enough to empty me of me in order to experience the fullness of Him, that’s another step higher (or lower) on my spiritual journey. And then to experience that as a church—what would that be like? Powerful. Humbling. Life-changing.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, bring about the life-change in me that needs to happen for me to be aware of the fullness of your presence. Let me start by simply giving up that fried egg breakfast sandwich that I’ve really been looking forward to eating this morning.

Note: By God’s grace, I went without food for the morning. It was a great morning of fellowship. And it was a good lunch, too.

Focus for the Week of 7/21-7/27

In your LOL Relationships during the week of July 21-27, share your answers to the following questions regarding your recent experiences with the habits of (1) Time Alone with God Using the Bible and Prayer and, (2) Scripture Memory and Meditation for Character Transformation.


1. What's the essence of the best time alone with God you had this week?

2. What new insights or principles did you glean from memorizing or meditating on a passage of scripture that's strategic to the life-change you desire to experience?


3. Where are you seeing life-change as a result of exercising these habits? Where do you continue to struggle to see life-change? Decide on one step you can take this week to make progress toward the life-change you desire (examples: memorizing and meditating on a specific passage of scripture that addresses the issue; taking a specific action step each day to establish a new pattern of behavior; keeping a journal of your experiences with this issue between now and your next meeting; checking in with someone or having someone check in with you each day for accountability, etc.).


4. What seems to help you be consistent or hinder your consistent exercise of these habits? In the case of inconsistency, how can you help each other be more consistent?

An Overview: LOL 101

What if you were parachuted into an Unreached People Group with the task of reaching the entire group with the message of the gospel and helping them become more like Jesus (“make disciples of all nations”—Matthew 28:18-20)? How would you go about it? How would you go about it if all you had—and all you would ever have—is a copy of the Bible in their language?

After multiple conversations with a number of friends and colleagues discussing a strategy for fulfilling the Great Commission, what emerged was a pattern of discipleship that can be reproduced in any culture throughout the culture to reach the culture. It’s called “Life-on-Life Discipleship.”

The good news is that biblical principles transcend cultures. What would work in the scenario described above will also work right where you are.

Here is an overview of what Life-on-Life Discipleship and this website are all about.

DEFINITION
Life-on-Life Discipleship: Modeling and Reproducing the Relationships and Habits that Help Us Become More Like Jesus.

RELATIONSHIPS – 2 Timothy 3:16-17; John 1:14, 16:13; Ephesians 4:15
It happens in the context of relationships where people value:
· God’s Word: the Bible is our source of truth.
· God’s Spirit: the Holy Spirit facilitates heart-change and life-change.
· God’s People: his people provide an accountable environment of grace and truth where you can open up your life to another person and invite their biblical feedback on your life and motives.
HABITS – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Timothy 4:7b-8
It happens as individuals regularly engage in a handful of habits that are foundational for personal growth and kingdom expansion:
· Time Alone with God Using the Bible & Prayer
· Scripture Memory and Meditation for Character Transformation
· Sharing Your Faith through Intentional Relationships
· Serving in Ministry
· Faithful Giving through the Grid of Ownership, Stewardship, and Citizenship

CONTEXT – Hebrews 3:13, 10:23-25
It happens as people who are practicing these spiritual habits meet in a relational environment to discuss what God’s teaching them as they engage in these habits; where they share how they see themselves becoming more like Jesus, and where they are struggling to see such life-changing.

MODELING – 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Philippians 3:17
It happens as people who are doing the above begin modeling for others how to engage in the relationships and habits that will help them become more like Jesus.

REPRODUCING – 1 Corinthians 4:16-17; 2 Timothy 2:2
It happens when those who are the beneficiaries of such modeling begin experiencing their own life-change and start the process of modeling for others how they can begin to engage in the same relationships and habits for personal transformation. And so on.

BECOME MORE LIKE JESUS – Romans 8:29; Galatians 4:19; 1 John 3:1-3
It happens when becoming more like Jesus is the goal. It’s not about a check list. It’s about loving Jesus and loving people enough to get into one another’s lives in simple and intentional ways that will help each of us become more like Jesus.

COMMENTS
Please utilize the “comment” link below to share with us your additional thoughts, ideas, resources or questions. And be sure to add the site to you favorites and check back weekly for updates and suggestions for maximizing the multiplication of disciples.

A Few Good Men

So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD. 2 Samuel 23:16

BACKGROUND
2 Samuel 23:8-17 is one of those cool stories in the Old Testament that opens the Bible up as a book of real people for real people. Read the story of how three of King David’s “Mighty Men” served their leader and how he responded to their service. You’ll love it…especially if you’re a man!

MY JOURNAL ENTRY on July 7, 2008
Observations: Alongside every great leader there are others who serve sacrificially and seldom receive the recognition they deserve for their enormous contributions. This passage highlights a few of the great warriors who served under David’s command. They would do anything for David, including risking their lives so that David could have a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem (v.16) – (Sounds like they were adrenaline too—special forces types!). What loyalty and devotion. However, David refused to take advantage of such commitment to himself and turned their act of sacrifice into a sacrificial drink offering to the LORD (v.17).

Application: I have some great servants around me as well, beginning with the three mighty men who serve with me as elders of Hill Country Bible Church Leander. Much of their sacrificial service goes unnoticed by many. However, I see it and benefit from it almost daily. O that I would be on my guard never to take advantage of their loyalty, service, commitment and sacrifice to use it for my own advantage. May I always turn their service to me into an offering of praise to the LORD, thus giving it eternal honor on their behalf.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the men who serve with me these days: Mark Lumpkin, Donn Long, Mark Kincaid. Each deserves to be named alongside any praise that comes my way, and even more. For without them, as without You, I could do nothing. Help me to constantly look for ways to honor their service.

No Assumptions

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."
So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, "As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me." So that place was called Baal Perazim. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. 2 Samuel 5:17-25

JOURNAL ENTRY
Observations: David was a man of spiritual discipline, not just military discipline. Here we see him praying for spiritual guidance. What strikes me as admirable is that, unlike me at times, David prayed about the same situation—the Philistines “spread out in the Valley of Rephaim (vs. 18, 23)—both times. The first time they did so, David prayed and God said, “Go…” (v.19). The second time they gathered in the same place for the same reason, David did what often I don’t. He “inquired of the LORD” (v.23) a second time. He didn’t assume that God wants things to go the same way every time as He directed them to go one time. And so David prayed, and sure enough, God redirected his steps by answering, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind…” (v.23). Both times David prayed. Both occasions ended in victory. But how God directed was different both times.

Application: There really is no substitute for an interactive relationship with God. And prayer—consistently spending time alone in conversation with God—is indispensible when it comes to life and leadership. I need to always be on my guard against assumption. I need to make sure that I don’t assume that how God directed the first time a situation arose will be the same way He directs the next time it arises. Each time is an invitation to pray for direction, even if the situations are the same. Who’s to tell but that the purpose of both is to help me learn what it means to always listen to God and obey.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thanks for reminding me that You are a God of variety as well as consistency. You don’t always repeat Yourself. And in Your variety You test me. You give me opportunities to trust in You and seek Your guidance, or to set out on my own path in a mode of assumption that fails to inquire of You again and thus miss out on Your wisdom, protection and provision.