Life2gether

A good word here from Jonathan Dodson:

Many of us practice our faith like it’s a cafeteria food tray, with all the different compartments for the entrée, veggies, the roll, and dessert. When we do this, we restrict Jesus to just one of the compartments, the dessert section, or if we are really spiritual, maybe the entrée. Christ is not permitted in the other sections of our lives. Jesus isn’t allowed into work ethic, family dynamics, or our entertainment. We worship him on Sundays, but treat our families or free time without a thought of Christ.

Dessert-Sized Jesus at the Family Table

Men, in particular, need to rearrange their view of Christ. Are you feeding your family a dessert-sized Jesus? Your wife and kids don’t see you connecting Jesus to everyday life. You don’t pray with your spouse or kids, you don’t apply the gospel to your use of movies, TV, computers, video games, sports. You don’t lead your family in any kind of regular Bible reading or prayer. Hec, you think highly of yourself if you happen to read the Bible for yourself. You don’t serve your wife. You don’t have a clue the last time you bought her flowers and told her why you love her. You don’t lift a finger to cook or clean. You come home, plop down on the couch, flip on the TV or computer, and eat your little dessert Jesus, watching your stupid little TV shows while your wife lingers in loneliness and bitterness and your children run around like crazy.

What if Jesus is the Tray? (or holds it together)

Why? Because you have a desert-sized Jesus. Jesus doesn’t fit in the dessert tray, or even the entree section. He is the tray! He is Lord of all, holding everything together, calling us to worship him in every aspect of life. What if you resolved to follow the real Jesus, the one who holds your whole life together? How would that change your family, your work, your free time?

Adapted from sermon on Ezra 6 The Temple and the Cafeteria Tray Jesus

My friend, Jonathan Dodson, is getting ready to launch a new website with a wealth of gospel-centered resources for everyday disciples who are on mission to make, mature, and multiply more disciples of Jesus. I’m humbled to be one of the contributors.

Read more about the vision of GCD.com and register for email updates here.

Kent Carlson, from his thought provoking book, Renovation of the Church:

We should not assume that those people who are attracted to our church have been captivated by the message of Christ and his alternate view of life …. We should be more truthful with each other here. They come because their high school kid likes the youth program, or because their children don’t get bored, or because they like the music, or because the pastor preaches the Bible the way they believe it should be preached, or because they happened to be greeted by a smiling face one day, or because the worship leader looks like Brad Pitt.

This is the hard, raw reality of life in the North American church. The people who come to our churches have been formed into spiritual consumers. This is who we are. It is our most instinctive response to life. And you can hardly blame us. Almost everything in our culture shapes us in this direction. But we must become deeply convinced that this is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the one who invited us to deny ourselves and lose our lives in order to find them. If we do nothing to confront this is in our churches, we are merely putting a religious veneer over consumerism and nothing is changed. We offer no real, viable, attractive, alternative way of living. And what is worse, our churches become part of the problem. By harnessing the power of consumerism to grow our churches, we are more firmly forming our people into consumers. Pastors end up being as helpful as bartenders at an Alcoholics Anonymous convention. We do not offer what people really need (p. 68).

If this is the culture we live in, what are the implications for how we make disciples?

(HT: Brent Thomas)

Michael Wallenmeyer:

I have learned in my own life and by watching others that asking people to give up their idols without filling up on the life of Jesus Christ may make them religious but it will also make them miserable (and miserable to be around). Instead, the gospel is calling us to fill up our hearts, our lives with a passionate love for Jesus Christ and this in turn will minimize the power of lesser pleasures (idols) in our lives.

How does this impact the way we teach, preach, and do discipleship? How does this change the way we counsel one another? How does this change the way we disciple our own children? Your thoughts?

Here’s a helpful little devotion from the folks at Seeds Family Worship on being a servant of all.

I would venture to say that most readers of this blog have children under the age of 12. I’m in that boat too. And even though there are unique challenges that come with this stage of parenting, for the most part it’s a joyful time watching your children learn and grow. Some have called these years (especially around 7-11) the golden years of parenting. Dennis Rainey likens it to “a lazy boat ride down the river on a pleasant afternoon.” I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it is nice when your kids can finally dress and feed themselves and even have meaningful conversations with you.

But we know what’s coming. Adolescence – those awkward, in-between years that scare us as parents because everything starts changing. If preadolescence is a lazy boat ride on a pleasant afternoon, then adolescence is a white-water rapids on a rainy day. Paul Tripp writes,

The teen years are often cataclysmic years of conflict, struggle, and grief. They are years of new temptations, of trial and testing.

That part we understand. In fact most parents approach these years with fear and trepidation just hoping to get through it safely. But Tripp goes on to say:

Yet these very struggles, conflicts, trials, and tests are what produce such wonderful parental opportunities.

There it is. Tripp says we can view our children’s adolescence as either an “age of opportunity” or a “season of survival.” Instead of being scared we can be excited as we approach these important years with hope in God.

With that in mind, here are a few excellent resources for parents as they approach this age of opportunity. My advice: read these books before your child enters into this season, not during.

The Space Between by Dr. Walt Mueller – A very read-able book on the changes that happen during adolescence and how to better understand your child (and you) through these years.

Age of Opportunity by Paul Tripp – I always appreciate Tripp’s focus on how God parents us as we parent our kids. This is an excellent book on seizing the opportunity God has given us during these tough years.

Parenting Today’s Adolescent by Dennis and Barbara Rainey – This is a comprehensive guide for parents that explores the many traps of adolescence (like peer pressure and dating) and gives you creative ways you can talk about them with your child.

**Read this related post: When Should I Talk to My Kids About Sex?

This is a pretty cool website that “brings the Bible, design and technology together in a fresh and beautiful way.” Below might be just the gift you’re looking for with Valentine’s Day coming soon!

Song of Songs (Pomegranate)
A limited edition “Pomegranate” colored Song of Songs 11″ x 17″ poster is now available. Makes a perfect gift for that special someone.

(HT: Cam Potts)

Jim Luebe, a man who impacted me in college, recently wrote this helpful article on the subject of biblical love:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” –John 13:34,35

There’s a clear connection between unity in the body and the advancement of the Gospel. But this truth cuts both ways. A lack of love and unity can be a severe hindrance to the advancement of the Gospel.

Many of us are unaware of the main reason overseas missionaries return prematurely from the mission field. It’s not because of inadequate funding. It’s not due to challenges from hostile governments. The primary reason they return home is conflict on their teams!

Relational conflict and differences of opinion are inevitable when you live and work closely with people. You don’t have to be a missionary to experience this. In fact, you don’t have to look any further than your own marriage. How can it be that the person you love the most in the world is also the person you sin against most often and from whom you continually need to seek forgiveness?

Here are seven simple (but not easy) biblical steps that can help you foster love and unity in any relationship.

Be humble. (1 Peter 5:5,6)

Believe the best in people. (Philippians 4:8)

Keep short accounts and take pains to have a clear conscience with both God and people. (Acts 24:16)

Don’t let a root of bitterness grow in your heart. (Ephesians 4:31)

Overlook offenses when possible. (Proverbs 19:11)

Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (Romans 14:19)

Be controlled by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)

Search your heart and think about the close relationships you have. Ask God if there is anything you need to do to “have a clear conscience before God and man” (Acts 24:16). For the sake of the Gospel, let’s work at loving one another.

Jonathan Dodson:

1. Make your accountability partner drop ten bucks in the jar for that grievous sin.
2. Make your accountability a circle of cheap confession by which you obtain cheap peace for your troubled conscience.
3. Ask one another moralistic questions that reinforce moral performance.
4. Pilfer through God’s Word for an experiential buzz or life connection.
5. Go public with your respectable sins while cherishing your secret sins.
6. Know your partner’s sin better than you know your own.
7. Passively stand by as your sin slowly puts you to death.
8. Make accountability, not Jesus, central to your group.

Check out Jonathan Dodson’s chapter “Gospel-Centered Accountability” in the new eBook from Covenant Eyes, Internet Pornography: A Leaders Handbook.