What is Next After Conversion?

What is next after you have converted to Christianity? What does that even mean? 

There are many opinions. 

Jack Hibbs is a pastor from California who said the church is called to make disciples not converts.  I loved that so much. Why? It is not enough to convert. That is simply step one. We are to Grow Up. The last thing Jesus said before leaving his disciples on earth to start the Christian church was to go and make disciples, teaching them to obey all my commands. Conversion is just the start.

So, to begin with, let's clarify the bad news, good news, and the rest of the story. The bad news is the human condition, the church calls it the fall or sin. We are not able to make ourselves right with God which the church calls righteousness without His help. The good news is that He made a way to rectify this through receiving His Son, Jesus to be the payment we need to set things right and the church calls this justification and redemption. When we turn from our sin church calls this repentance and chose to go in the direction of our Creator, seeking Him and His guidance, accepting His solution for our condition the church calls that salvation. The rest of the story is where we live the rest of our saved, converted, Christian lives.

If we spend time learning what He commanded, we will begin to grow up in our relationship with God and others. This is a process the church calls sanctification. This is a lifelong process that will refine us. The great thing about that is it is with the help of the Holy Spirit. He doesn't save us so we will refine ourselves. He even sets us up in an imperfect family of believers who make up the church. We are not alone.

If you want to learn more about this process, Grow Up is a study intended for those seeking what is next after salvation. It is a companion and guide to encourage you to get into the Word of God so that the Word of God can get into you and transform you.

Are you ready to step into the "what's next" for your journey with God? Take the journey. Call others to join you. Doing it together is much better. Encourage a small group of family, friends or neighbors to do it with you.

Grow Up Website for details

Purchase Grow Up Study Use this link if you are interested in purchasing the study.

Grow Up Blog announcing the latest updates now available.

Is the Church for Discipleship or Disinfecting?

I listen to Radical on Moody Radio, and today I heard a message that totally set my thoughts on fire. I began to ponder, listen, tear up and ponder some more.  I just put on a pot of coffee and decided it was time to return to my keyboard for an update on where I have been.
I've been:
Reflecting!
Seeking!
Pondering!
Simplifying!

The devotion I ended 2014 with was all about entering into 2015 with a focus.  The devotion suggested that I seek to determine one word that God would lead me in for the year.  As I read, searched and pondered; the word "Simplify" came to my mind, my thoughts and even in everything I read.  So I posted the word around on sticky notes as a reminder. I even put it in my phone.  I also accepted the challenge to memorize a scripture every two weeks through a blog by Living Proof Ministries. Something that I have never, never, never been able to do, but so far I am two for two.  I have been simplifying my life, which includes saying NO alot more and not filling up my schedule as much.

However, today, I was walking my dog and listening to radio program mentioned above. The message grabbed me and the thoughts just started to run through my mind.

The message was in the Follow Me series, Serve the World, Part 2.  David Platt asked, "Is church a place for discipleship or disinfecting?" I started thinking on that question.  If we are setting ourselves apart to be disinfected from the world, to be disinfected is to KILL living organisms without discriminating good from bad. If we set ourselves apart to avoid looking like the world, we will become sterile. A sterile environment will not allow life of any kind. That just doesn't sound like what God sent His Son to earth to accomplish.

So the question remains: Is the church for discipleship or disinfecting?

God desires us to be set apart to do His work in the world, not to do His work in a sterile church building. I believe we come together as a body of believers to encourage and build up one another, and to spur one another on to works and good deeds. We come together to teach each other, and disciple one another within the walls of the church; but also to disciple as we go about our routine and daily lives, and as we serve the world.

Jesus died to rescue us from sin and death. If you have been saved from eternal death through accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you now need to grow in the knowledge of who He is, learn about His character, His love and then learn His commands. Seek to learn to hear His voice and gentle leading.  Once you have done this, simply OBEY. In doing this, He can then send you out into the world as His witness.

(If you were on trial for your life, would you want your attorney to use credible witnesses for your defense? Would you want them to be reliable and be of good reputation? Or would you be ok with someone who was a known liar, never reliable, and disrespected in the community?) So as Christ sends us out in the world to be His witnesses, we need to be credible witnesses. So that by our lives, others will know and believe He exists based on our testimonies. Based on their observation of our lives, they would desire what we have, become believers (rescued from Hell), and become disciples and credible witnesses for Christ to begin the cycle again.

What if we lived our lives in such a way that we wouldn't have to segregate ourselves from the world. We wouldn't live separately from the world, but we would instead be set apart (sanctified-consecrated) for God's use in the world for the sake of the world. We need to know when the world's corruption is infecting us and when we are affecting the world. As we see the decaying effects the world is having on our lives, we need to turn to the Father, in the name of Jesus and ask Him to fill us, equip us and minister to us. We are able to do all things through Christ. He will give us renewal and strength. He raises us back up and we can soar!

Jesus retreated from the world to have time alone with the Father. So we should do so as well.

He calls us to love Him and love others. Out of the love for Him, we will be prompted to obey Him. Out of that love, we will love others and by our love for the body of Christ, the world will know we belong to Him. Out of our love for the world, we will desire to live our lives in such a way that we are credible witnesses of Christ. As we live our lives NOT discrediting the good news of Jesus by living unholy lives, but instead living reliably, filled with the Holy Spirit; the world may become hungry for the good news, and turn to God for salvation. An entire generation may be saved from Hell just because the universal church decides to no longer live sterile lives (cleaned up like white washed tombs) where no real life exists; but instead lives authentic, biblical, reliable, credible lives where we make disciples who then make disciples.

We are called to make disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Teaching them to obey all Jesus' commands.  --  to clarify: Each one of us in the body of Christ is called to make disciples. We are to teach them who God the Father is, who the Son is and who the Holy Spirit is. As we are immersed in the character of the trinity, we grow in our love for Him. As we grow in our love, we desire to obey Him. Part of that obedience is to love God and love others, obey Him and make disciples.

How simple is that.  It is simple, it is just not easy!

Preparing for Flight

When we originally give birth to our children, we desire they be healthy.  Some may want the child to grow up and be an athlete, intelligent, very social, or outgoing.  But when it comes down to it, don't we want our children to learn from our mistakes, or lessons learned in life and our wisdom.  We want them to have a great life regardless of what they chose to do with their time.

I have been pondering these points as we are anticipating our oldest daughter heading to college in the fall of next year.  We are in the middle of looking at possible colleges, filling out applications for admission and scholarships.  Looking at what the universities offer in line with her pursuits.  So as this task is ever before us, I can't help but contemplate all that I would like for her to carry with her.

I think of the packing that will need to be done, but I am not talking about the physical packing.  I am referring to the "Lessons in life".  When we will no longer be there with her to navigate the storms and temptations that will come her way, I ponder all that I wished I had shared.  Did I tell her to...  when... happens.   Boy that luggage is overstuffed.

There was a realization that occurred to me that even though I will not be there, she will not be alone. There is one MUCH greater than me that will never leave her nor forsake her.  He is the one that loves her SO MUCH more than I can.  He hired me to prepare her for such a time as this, and now He is preparing her to fly from the nest.  I can pack the bag for her to take with her, but it will be up to her and the Holy Spirit to unpack it (or not).  Just like every single trip I ever take, I always over pack and take more than I need.  Perhaps, she will not need half of the "lessons learned" and the wisdom that I think she will need.  And perhaps, since she will have the Greater One with her, maybe she will not need as much in the luggage, because she will be able to get the stuff locally and that way it will be fresher and much more relevant to her.

So all in all, I need to worry less, trust more and sit back and watch my heavenly Father mold my daughter into the most beautiful masterpiece as I release this darling into His care.

My desire is to protect her from hurt/harm, sin, and all the consequences that come from each.  But sin is redeemable, harm is part of life and consequences teach us more in a few minutes than a thousand lectures ever will.  So as she launches out, my prayers go with her always.  My heart goes with her. But most of all, my heavenly Father goes with her.  That is where I get my greatest comfort.

Why is it parents desperately desire for their children to walk obediently?  Not because we do not want them to have fun.  Parents know the obedient path is always the better path.  Parents want obedience also because we have invested much of our time and effort in providing opportunities for our children's success, whether in sports, education or music etc.  We  invest time and or money in hopes that the endeavor will be worth it in the end to open up opportunities for their future.  We have laid the ground work for them to be successful.  Our fear is that the football player will no longer want to play, the straight A student decides not to go to college, or the musician burns out.

When opportunities to be successful get tossed aside, the investment is called into question.  We can set our children up for success, we can provide them with the opportunity, but in the end it will be up to them to either take advantage of it, or not. We all hope they will take full advantage of them all.  But no matter what, one way or another, they will fly.

Road Map to Freedom

God doesn't make us think like Jesus.  It is my responsibility to take all of my thoughts and make them obey (or line up with) Christ and what He says in the Word of God.

Jesus displayed in the Word a well laid out road map for life.  So if we study the Word of God and put it into action through our obeying the word (thoughts and actions); we will abide with Christ (Remain in Christ). We walk in the word or walk out the word.  We will do the will of God and not abide in our own fleshly desires, sin, and nature.  We will be free.  This will bring us peace with God!

We must be in the word to do this.  We also need to be studying the word so we will know the Father.  We need to know who He is, what He says He can do and what His will is.

When you have walked with God for a time, you find that the true evil that is overcome, is the evil within yourself.  The kingdom of God comes not through this world, but it comes within us, as we surrender to our heavenly Father.  Praise God!  I am ready to be set free from this body of sin and death.  (check out Romans chapter 7 and hear Paul's similar cry)

We cannot do the following list below in our own strength  (or if we can, it is only temporary)  We my allow God to do His work of Jesus Christ in us by surrendering to the leading of the Holy Spirit within us and by being in His word for guidance in obedience and surrender.  So we will recognize the Holy Spirit's leading and be able to test it.  The Holy Spirit will not lead you to act contrary to God's Word.

1. Walk in the light.
2. Love one another
3. Think Jesus' thoughts
4. Treat others as Jesus did
5. Embrace Jesus' desires
6. Depend on Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

Some of my thoughts are prompted by Oswald Chambers.

Simplicity of the Gospel

Gospel Simplified!?!?

According to the scripture, I am in right standing with God because I believe Him and accept what He says.  He is the creator, He made the rules, and He knows how His creation operates.  So if I believe Him, then I will obey Him by following His commands.  When I  follow His commands, I will be purified.  As I obey, I grow up, I mature in my spirit, and I love other believers; so that by that love, the world will know that I follow Christ.  As the body, we are joined together to become a place for the Lord to dwell in His Holy Temple.  This is true individually also.  We are able to go to war against the enemy of our soul.  We can even take our own thoughts captive and make those thoughts line up with what Christ says in the word.  We dress ourselves up in Christ with the full armor for our battle against the evil in this world, and we put on our shoes of peace so we can GO into the world that sees who we belong to by our love for each other, and draw them out of darkness(world) into the light(love/peace).  We then teach and immerse them in all that God is.  We teach them the commands and encourage them to obey them.  Then as they grow up in their faith, they will GO and draw others out of darkness to light and so on and so on….

See all the scriptures referenced below.

Belief >> Righteousness:  God decided to accept Abraham's belief as his righteousness. (Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Gen 15:6; Gal 3:6)

Belief >>  Salvation:  God decided even though we don't deserve it, to save us because we believe.  (We are saved by grace through faith. Eph 2:8)

• How can I let the word dwell in me?  By reading it. By obeying it, and obeying it is doing what it says. (Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Col 3:16a; Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says. Jas 1:22 If you Love me, you will obey me.  Jn 14:15)

Obedience >> Purification: We are able to be purified when we obey the truth/word.  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere...

When we obey the truth we will love one another.  ... Love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart...   We get rid of all the things that can hinder our purification.  Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.   And we are to grow up in our salvation.  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.  1Peter 1:22-23; 2:1-2

The world will be able to see we belong to Christ by our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  Jn 13:35

Christ is like the mortar that holds all the living stones together in a bond of unity.  In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.  Eph 2:21-22

Remember that the weapons are spiritual.  We are able to conquer our thoughts that pretend to be bigger than God by making our thoughts line up with the what Christ says.  We need to make our thoughts obey Christ.  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  2 Cor 10:3-5

Scripture tells us to put on love, put on Christ and put on armor of God etc. If we just deal with getting rid of our sinful behavior, yet do not take the time to put on all we are commanded, we will stand naked before our enemy and be very vulnerable. Therefore put on the full armor of God... with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Eph 6:13-17

As our feet are fitted and ready, we go to the world with our good news not just on our lips, but also demonstrated in our actions.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you... Matt 28:19-20

Abiding in Christ or Boot Strap Obedience?

Oh how we hear these churchy expressions and yet do we know what they mean or better yet, how to execute them or put feet to them.

I have been praying and pondering about some pretty heavy stuff.  Things like bad behavior in the Children of God, morality, bad choices, sin in the lives of the believer and the damage it does to our testimony, how many non believers are turned off to Christ (the one true hope) because of those of us unwilling to walk the path of righteousness; and then how we don't seem to be heartbroken and moved to change because we cause others to stumble.  We make excuses, justifiy and rationalize  our actions (Then we "yeah but" it to death).

So I kept asking the Lord about all of this.  I believe I am beginning to get a glimpse of His response.  One message after another keeps adding to His answer until it all seemed to come together in the last week or so.

I was listening to a message from James McDonald and then again the following day, "The Secret to a Joyful Life".  The message was playing in the car and I ended up downloading it and listening to it fully.

I will be referencing some of his message mixed with our Sunday School lesson, and my prayer time while listening through this message.

I began with the question "Lord why do we see so much world in the lives of believers?"  The believers of Christ should be going out into the world to affect it positively with the light and love of Jesus.  Instead we are going out and being infected by the world.  I asked God to open my eyes and my ears so I could see and hear His answer.  I believe He poured forth a fountain, and I will attempt to share what I believe He has shown me.

In John 15:1-17, we are told that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.  If we REMAIN in Him we will bear much fruit.  But that apart from Him we can do NO thing.  We are to REMAIN in Him and He will REMAIN in us.  WE cannot bear fruit by ourselves. So we must REMAIN in Him.  (Remain - abide, lean into, dwell.)  We are to FELLOWSHIP with Him.  Remain is to abide; to abide is to remain  

• to remain, abide
  • in reference to place
    • to sojourn, tarry
    • not to depart 1a
  • to continue to be present 1a
  • to be held, kept, continually
  • in reference to time
    • to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure 1b
  • of persons, to survive, live
  • in reference to state or condition
    • to remain as one, not to become another or different
• to wait for, await one

So I asked Him what does it look like to ABIDE or REMAIN in Him, and he quickly began to show me that it is abiding in His word and in His love.  We must rest with Him, live with Him.  The last words from Jesus before leaving this earth were this "go, and make disciples of every nation, and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach them to observe all I have commanded and I will be with you always, until the end of the age."  So if we are to go make disciples by immersing them not just in a one time water bath but immersing them in who the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are.  This is how we come to KNOW Him.  As we do this for ourselves first, and then to the nations, we are motivated by the love that will emerge within us to obey His commands.  The obedience will be an expression of fullness, gratitude and devotion.  It will spur us on!

As I was listening to the message, James McDonald said the secret to bearing fruit is to abide in Christ  (walking and living with Christ)
As he said that, I wrote down "Lord teach me to abide"  and the next thing in the message was this:
The secret to living is Joy.
The secret to joy is abiding in Christ
The secret to abiding (fruit bearing) is obeying
We are told in John 15:9 to remain in His love, but vs 10 says that if we obey His commands we will remain in His love.

I asked God why is it so hard to obey?  We cannot be good enough by shear determination, concentrating or focusing because it is just too much.  According to Romans 7 because of grace should we sin all the more so grace can be displayed even more so.  Paul said "heaven forbid".  I say of course not.  We are incapable of keeping the law, yes.  For apart from Christ we cannot do it.  But in Christ it is possible.  He said he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it.  If I am REMAINING in Him all day, I can obey.  His love will compel me to obey.  I will want to love my neighbor as myself and my heart will break if I have caused him to stumble.

So here's the thing.  Moses said if you will not go with me into the Promised land then I will not go.  He also said how will they know you sent me if you will not go with me.   This needs to be our cry as well.  (Lord I do not need to go into the world to represent YOU unless you go with me.)  We need to sit at the feet of Jesus long enough to be filled with His love, which will motivate us to love others, and obey His commands.  We will be a true walking testimony not misrepresenting Christ and causing others to turn away from Him.

The world doesn't need me to be obedient for the sake of rules, regulations and legalism.  According to McDonald, our passion and desire for obedience will come from love.  Obedience is not a to do list.  (or a to don't list)

In Jude 24 it says, "to HIM who is able to keep us from falling".    It is HE who keeps us from sinning.  It is HE who enables us to obey.

McDonald said that if we try to obey without abiding, we will fall short.  In order to keep blameless and not stumble, we must learn to lean into Jesus, listen to Him, fellowship with Him, ABIDE in Jesus.  Jesus in us is the power to obey and also the will to obey.    Jesus is the energy to obey.  Obedience without abiding is conformity. Abiding that leads to and motivates obedience will produce transformation.

The secret to obeying is LOVE

McDonald said that there are 3 false reasons we obey:
1. Ball and Chain -  I have to obey as if I am in a prison (this is considered the adolescent Christian)
2. Electric Shock- if I don't obey i will suffer (when we choose to sin we choose to suffer)  (this is the High School Christian)
3. Boomerang- if I obey I will get blessed

He said the one true reason to obey is in 2Cor 5:14 "the love of Christ compels me" (that is Christ's love for me)  McDonald said that all Christian failure is a failure to love, being motivated by self love above love for Christ and others.  He said that the secret to loving Christ is knowing Him.  The more we know Him the more we love Him.  As we get to know Him more, we must guard against allowing this knowledge to puff us up.  Instead as we grow in the knowledge of Him, we can grow in our love for Him and for others.  As we grow in our love for Him, we will grow in obedience.  

Galatians 5:19-21 is a list which is not exhaustive, of what we look like in sin, disobedience and apart from Christ; or at the least we see what flesh is capable of doing.  In contrast, we see in the next verses, a list of the FRUIT of the Spirit.  Verse 14 "the entire law is summed up in this, Love your neighbor as yourself."

If I see evidence of Galatians vs 19-21 in my life or in the lives of others, I need to not condemn myself or them, but use it as an indicator of the need to abide, lean into, live in Christ.  Just go spend time with Him.  Concentrate on His greatness.  Think on the price He paid for you and for me to have freedom FROM sin, a hope, a future and eternal life with God.

Lets stop trying to do bootstrap obedience where we just try to be good by our own strength.  We need obedience motivated by the Love of Christ.

If we see that a brother or sister in Christ is dwelling in the sin list of Galatians 5:19-21, according to Galatians 6:1 we are to restore them gently and warned to watch ourselves so we are not temtped or fall ourselves.  Ephesians 4:15 speak the truth in love Luke 17:3  So watch yourselves! "If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.
2 tim 4:2  Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.

To wrap this all up, I read my devotion this morning which was authored by Billy Graham.  I have included it below.  I was blown away by a NEW word for my vocabulary.  You will see ANTINOMIANISM is defined and then a link for you to read further on the matter.

Christianity is Serious

Jesus indicated that there will be a permissive society just before He comes back. “As in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the coming of the Son of man.” The world today is on an immoral binge such as has not been known since the days of Rome. We are in a hedonistic society, and what we are seeing is human nature expressing itself without God.

Many have fallen into an antinomianism in which they believe intellectually, and then go out and live like the devil, imagining that God will forgive them and take them to heaven. I believe there is an obedience to the Gospel, there is a self-denial and a bearing of the cross, if you are to be a follower of Christ. Being a Christian is a serious business.

Daily Prayer

Teach me to deny my selfish desires and obey Your commandments, Lord Jesus. Cleanse me so that I might be used to penetrate society deeply for You.

The word antinomianism comes from two Greek words,anti, meaning "against"; andnomos, meaning "law."Antinomianismmeans “against the law.” Theologically, antinomianism is the belief that there are no moral laws God expects Christians to obey. Antinomianism takes a biblical teaching to an unbiblical conclusion.
Antinomianism - Click on this link for more indepth study of this word

Read 1Jn 2:3-6  This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.”

Where is the Hope?

The weight of the current state of the world  is so heavy upon me.  I cannot fully get into words what heaviness I am feeling lately and why.  The words I share here may make little to no sense, but I am going to try to deliver this as clearly as I can.

There seems to be a hopelessness not just in the world but in the body of Christ as well.  I have had discussions about the seemingly ineffectiveness of the body.  Discussion of how children raised in the church are leaving it for the things of the world, and how what the world is selling is drawing many away.  Hypocrisy in the body is stated as the number one reason for the departure or the refusal to accept Christ, and how the  world is having such a decaying effect on the Christians.

So do we say " We should do nothing?"  Of course not.

So we say "How is it my fault that others are turned off by the gospel message?"

Maybe we need to ask "Are we just doing a religious activity, and are we just going thru the motions in hopes that the motions will be enough?"

What we need is to be growing in the knowledge of who God is and growing in our love for Him and others.  Lets do this thing called Christianity with the hope that it will grow us in relationship with God so we may know Him more and become His reflection to the world through the way we live our lives.

I believe we are responsible if we are causing others to stumble.  I think it ought to grieve our spirit if our actions cause another to look away from Jesus because of us saying we are Christian yet live however we want or even contrary to His Word.  The life we live is not our own.  We are to "go" and make disciples not turn people off from the message of the gospel.  I am not talking about perfection.  I am talking about living in a manner in which honors God so that when others observe our lives, they will grow in a desire for Him.  What if we lived in such a way that others became hungry and thirsty for Christ.

Shame on us if we do not care if we turn off others to the gospel message.  Will you join me today and say in as much as it is possible with me, I am going to live my life to honor God.  Not that it will be perfect, but that when you err, you go back and make it right.

Maybe if we will each do our part, the world will see the hope that is in the "Good News" by the way we live our lives.  The good news which is the gospel, and by this perhaps the depressing state of the world can change for the better.  Will you be part of that change?

Be blessed!

The Purpose of the Christian Journey

I have been reading the book "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction".  It is chalked full of things to ponder.   It is funny how things come about.  I had just finished a study on Real-Life Discipleship about making disciples who then make disciples who then make disciples, and so on and so on.... in other words the process should be repeatable.  Obviously it worked if you look from the first century church to now.

So all this reading, studying and pondering made me begin to do a word study of disciple.  As I did, I noticed how similar the word disciple is to the word discipline.  Have you ever noticed that?  So here is what I found:

Disciple and discipline come from the same root word discipulus (plural is discipuli)

Disciple  - pupil, student, learner

Discipline -  to train, systematic instruction intended to train a person,  training that corrects, molds, perfects the mental faculties or moral character.  Training to act in accordance with the rules.

I personally find this all very interesting.  

Why has the word discipline become such a negative term.  It is what it takes to become great at anything.  Discipline is what takes the potential talent or intellect of a musician, athlete or student of any kind and develop that talent or intellect into greatness and usefulness.  Without it there is so much loss of potential.

With that as the preface, in chapter one of the book by Eugene Peterson, he talks about the journey of discipleship.  He says the purpose of this journey is to mature in the faith (which takes discipline.)  It is a journey from the world toward God where we are led and taught by Christ because he is our road map on the journey.

The book is about the Songs of Ascent which are Psalms 120-134.  These are the songs that would have been sung by the Israelites on their long journey to Jerusalem to worship God three times per year.  It was their travel songs that they would carry with them as they went to remind them where they were going, why they were going and whose they were.  In the preface, Peterson notes that "these 15 songs of ascent provide the text here for developing "discipleship in an instant society""  He notes that "following Jesus could never develop into a "long obedience" without a deepening life of prayer and that the Psalms had always been the primary means by which Christians learned to pray everything they lived, and live everything they prayed over the long haul."  It made me think how great it would be if the essence of these Psalms could be set to modern day Christian travelling songs that would encourage us to remember whose we are, where we are going and why we are going; even help us remember where we have been and that which we have been rescued.  I do recognize some of these Psalms already partially are in songs.

The first chapter begins with a quote from Fredrich Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil" that I will summarize:  the essential thing in life is a long obedience in the same direction which makes life worth it.    In Long Obedience, the author notes that "the current spiritual atmosphere in which we live erodes faith, dissipates hope and corrupts love, but it is hard to put our finger on what is wrong."  OK ain't that the truth!!

So if this is the case, I believe if you are going to move forward in a journey of faith in Christ and travel in the way He has laid out for His people, it will have to be intentional and done with determination.  It will take DISCIPLINE.  It will require us to be discipled by the One that did it correctly and do it for a life time.  Peterson describes it as a Disciple and Pilgrim.  These are biblical descriptions for people of faith.  You see these are the things that will help us "recognize and resist the world's ways."

So as I have talked about the disciple, I have only touched on the pilgrim.  But anyone who is on a journey by definition is a pilgrim.  The answers to these questions determine your pilgrim type; why are you on the journey, where are you going, and who are you going to see?  In the case of the disciple of Christ, we are on the journey/pilgrimage to become more like Christ by following His road map in order to draw others to travel with us on our journey toward God.  So we are as Christ's Disciple a Christian Pilgrim.

However, it is noted by Peterson that until someone is enlightened to the corruption of this world and becomes dissatisfied with the world, they will not recognize the benefits of being on this journey of faith. However, we long for peace and truth, if and when we develop a dissatisfaction with the world, this longing can motivate us to get on the path with God.

So I wrap this first chapter up and leave you to ponder this:  If life is a journey and you are the pilgrim, what is your destination?  Most of your life is spent in transition from point A to point B.  Are you fixated on the destination so much that you are not enjoying the journey?  As summer is here and many will be going on a vacation, I want to challenge you to not only be excited about the destination but enjoy the journey there.  (as you go)

Be blessed today.