All posts tagged: Discipleship

10 Promises that godliness holds for this Life and the life to come

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1 Timothy 4:8 Godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. What is godliness? Godliness is active obedience to God. It springs not from works, legalism or a religious spirit, but from a reverent awe or fear of God. There are a few things in this world that bring value and enrichment to our lives. Godliness is at the top of that list. Godliness holds promises for all areas of life. It releases incredible blessings when possessed in increasing measures in areas of the family, business, relationships, finances and leisure. By it (godliness), God raises nations to greatness (Prov. 14:34). In this post I want to share with you the value, the power and the promise that godliness holds for this life and the life to come. A godly person: 1. Will Attract Strong Help from God For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward …

7 Signs of Authentic ongoing transformation

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1. Getting Better When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that’s left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. C. S. Lewis 2. Obedience not Sacrifice When a man makes obedience, not the lifting up of sacrifices, the thing to pursue – he is on the path to transformation. “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. John 14:23 3. Uses Grace as Empowerment When a man no longer sees grace as a big cover up, he is on the path to transformation. ”Grace  is not to cover up our weaknesses but to empower us to lead a life pleasing to God.” John Bevere 4. Feeds the Spirit and not the Flesh When a man spends all his energies not on activities to feed the flesh, but on spiritual disciplines that edify, built up, encourage and sanctify, he is on the path to transformation. ”For if you live according …

3 Signs of a Revived Christian Life

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Jesus Christ came so that we can have life and have to the full. To be truly alive to Christ means, we must have his life flowing within our hearts. If you are like me, you’ll admit, that life leaks. Sometimes I am truly on fire and full of spiritual vitality, but other times I experience seasons of dryness. The question is how do I get my spiritual life revived again? An Abiding Presence The first sign of a revived christian life is a life that enjoys the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. He possesses a fullness that is ever-increasing – from glory to glory. In the words of a famous preacher, it is “something that you don’t have to stir up, crank up, work up.” Too often, revival is about how loud and emotional people can get in a meeting. Don’t get me wrong, I think, when God shows in our meetings it is going to get loud. But too often, people try to reproduce something God did before and act as if …

Beyond Information to Transformation

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Let me begin with a status update from my spiritual father’s Facebook page. He wrote: Reading through Jeremiah and Lamentations in the One Year Bible [really gasping for air].  GOD’s tolerance for dirty living was at “0.”  And my “take away?” 1.  Clean living is valuable. 2.  Clean living’s got to be “on our radar.” 3.  Clean living has to be a from the “inside–out” deal. GOD — please — take GT beyond information to transformation. In this Facebook status update I would like for you to notice just one phrase. Forrest says, “Take GT beyond information to transformation.” For those of you who do not know Pastor Beiser, he is my spiritual father. And he leads a thriving church in San Francisco. This phrase, “beyond information to transformation,” has been one of the driving forces of his life and ministry, at least since I’ve known him. Making disciples  is what he lives for. So, how do you lead people beyond information to transformation? Here are a few suggestions: 1. Pioneer a yearning lifestyle Let your people see your devotion. Don’t …

How about a list of Dos and Don’ts?

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You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires Romans 13:9-14 I often hear people say, “christianity is not a list of do’s and don’ts – it’s all about one’s relationship with God.” I agree. I agree …

What is the single most Important need in the American Church?

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Caution: This is tough read! For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 A few prominent church leaders were asked the following question in this short video clip:  “What is the single most important need in the American Church?” After the third pastor said discipleship, I was hoping that the last one will say something different. Here is what I think and I’ll tell you why. We are generally skeptical to anything supernatural. We’re encapsulated in a worldview that is materialistic. In other words, if I can’t feel it, touch it or wrap my brain around it, than I don’t want to come anywhere close to it. We usually write it off and condemn. Even some of our brothers and sisters in Christ, have a difficult time accepting what the bible teaches about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Healing, prophecy etc… God is Supernatural. Everything He does is supernatural: The creation The New Birth of Salvation Regeneration Everything God does is supernatural. So it’s not very strange to me that He wants …

Chariots of Firing you up for God/ Part 1

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With the London Olympic Games approaching, Chariots of Fire, the 1981 Best Picture Oscar-winner and perennial family favorite, is back. I read somewhere that the movie is being shown all over london in order to put people in the spirit of the Olympics and recapturing their imagination. I thought it was a brilliant idea, so I too am going to be watching the movie at least once a week for the duration of the Olympics. My motivation is of course is to improve my spiritual skills to compete in this race that I am in. I want to fire myself up, bringing my running to a whole new level. For those of you unfamiliar with or have forgotten the story, Harold Abrahams was an English Jew who overcame the ingrained anti-Semitism of the British establishment, while Eric Liddell was a committed Scottish Christian and son of missionaries to China who refused to run the 100 meter sprint – because it fell on a Sunday. He however went on to win gold in the 400 meters. …