Hello everyone! It is a good morning - but it is super cold in my office! Uffda! So, I'm drinking lots of coffee today!
But besides that, it is a great day to be alive! There is an abundance of grace that God is shedding on me and He is speaking very clearly! It is beautiful.
Okay, so on to what I'm here to do - share about this book I'm reading. It is very good, to start off with. There have been lines that Willard has written that I'm very convicted by and want to challenge people I lead with. And I am challenged to.
The name of the book is called "The Great Omission" and in the first two chapters, I've learned about the urgency to be disciples. God has called us out from the old life we lived, but many people are not. They are attached to their old lives, even though they've "prayed the prayer." "Omission" refers to the lives that so many American Christians have decided to follow, and how many have bought into it. When Jesus left us, His last words was that we would be in the world teaching and making disciples. Somehow, we've left this out, and just decided to make converts. There is such a drastic difference, and we've forgotten that we are to not only be justified, but to be sanctified. This means we become like Christ - and that only happens through discipleship, through disciple and dedication. We cannot continue this way.
There are a few quotes that Willard makes in the opening chapters that I have been blown away by, so I'll share them with you now:
"What the 'church' - the disciples gathered - really needs is not more people, more money, better buildings or programs, more education, or more prestige." (pg. xiv)
"The disciple is one who, intent upon becoming Christ-like and so dwelling in his 'faith and practice,' systematically and progressively rearranges his affairs to that end." (pg. 7)
"...there is absolutely nothing in what Jesus himself or his early followers taught that suggests you can decide just to enjoy forgiveness at Jesus's expense and have nothing more to do with him." (pg. 13)
I realize right now I'm only giving you a taste from this book, but I'm learning as well! I hope you are encouraged as we look to this book a little more. God bless you today as you work or do whatever you do! Hope to share more with you soon!
Love you all.
Brandon
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
New read - "The Great Omission"
Hello all! Just a quick note that I have started a new book and will have thoughts for you very soon. The book is titled "The Great Omission" by renowned author Dallas Willard. I think it will be another great read and will really challenge me in my job. I hope what I can share from the book also challenges you to become disciples, followers after the true heart of our Jesus. I was blessed last night to read the first chapter and I believe that Willard will have much to say to speak to the Christian church on God's plan for us to fully embrace our role as disciples of Jesus.
So, be on the lookout for words and I pray they encourage and bless you all! Hope you have a wonderful night on this snowy evening! Spend some time with a great Christian read! God bless you all!
Love you!
Brandon
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
"A Call to Prayer" (part 2)
Good afternoon! I'm excited to share with you how my heart has been challenged over the past few days as I finished reading J.C. Ryle's "A Call to Prayer."
First off, I did finish this short book! And it was excellent. Throughout the second half of the book, Ryle really gets down to the short end of prayer - it's all about communing with God and growing in our relationship with Him. If we are not praying, we are not really living as He wants us to. I was personally challenged to "present all requests to God." Ryle posed to his readers that we can be a little apathetic in asking God to strategically place us. I couldn't have read this at a better time. Currently, my fiance and I are looking for home, and we had not been praying about this as much as we really should be. Reading this changed us. Ryle asks followers of Jesus to be asking Him where we will best serve Him and to seek out that wisdom. We need to be presenting to God our questions of where we should live, what we should be doing as for vocation, and how we can be used. God wants to use us for His will, but He longs for us to be acting in response to His calling on our lives! He knows best where He wants us and we have to listen to Him! Otherwise, we can miss out on something great for His glory and God has to work longer with us to fulfill something that could have easily been done before. I was very challenged to be asking God for wisdom in all the situations and circumstances I'm in.
Ryle finishes his discourses on our prayer life, continuing to pose the question: DO YOU PRAY? This is still not a simple question to answer, but he ends his book with a discourse to all people on the importance of prayer.
He first address those who do not pray or know God at all. He challenges them to begin to do so and to want to know God. The only way we can receive the salvation God so freely gives to us is by asking Him in prayer. How can we trust without coming to God and asking for His forgiveness? We cannot. The first writing is a call to come to the Lord and trust Him as Savior.
His second address is to those who are saved but don't pray. He exposes the lies and deceptions Satan has used to separate the beloved from God by moving them to not pray. He shows the ineffectiveness we have in our physical lives because we do not take care of our spiritual lives. There is a rich amount of wisdom in the lesson that Ryle teaches to unprayerful believers.
Lastly, Ryle encourages and strengthens the body. He urges those who pray to continue to do so and let the peace and joy of Jesus Christ continue to fill them. He blesses them to not give up but press on after the heart of God. He shows us how prayer is our lifeline and we cannot go without it. We need prayer to draw us to the Father and to heal our broken hearts.
This was a wonderful little book that shows God's heart for us to be in constant communion with Him. We cannot neglect our prayer lives, but must be adamant in seeking after the one who loves us so ferociously. And He loves us immensely! Our return of love comes through our prayers, petitions, and praises to Him! To Him be the Glory forever!
Jesus, you are the restorer and healer. You have given us so much and you fill our hearts with love! Thank you for using my brother, J.C. Ryle, to speak truth to all believers to be seeking you out. We are called to be in communion with you, and we so often neglect it. I'm sorry Father for the way I've turned from you when I knew what I needed most was you. And thank you for not condemning me, but waiting patiently on me. Forgive my trespass against you Lord and fill me with your Holy Spirit. Apart from you there is no God. Apart from you, I can do nothing of worth or of value. Show me Lord how I may glorify you in my life. Lord, I want you. I want your ways and I want to shine your light so abundantly. Be near to us Lord, shine forth your great glory, and lead us to your mighty heart! I weep much Lord, because I am loved much. And that weeping is to your glory and praise! I love you Jesus! Amen.
First off, I did finish this short book! And it was excellent. Throughout the second half of the book, Ryle really gets down to the short end of prayer - it's all about communing with God and growing in our relationship with Him. If we are not praying, we are not really living as He wants us to. I was personally challenged to "present all requests to God." Ryle posed to his readers that we can be a little apathetic in asking God to strategically place us. I couldn't have read this at a better time. Currently, my fiance and I are looking for home, and we had not been praying about this as much as we really should be. Reading this changed us. Ryle asks followers of Jesus to be asking Him where we will best serve Him and to seek out that wisdom. We need to be presenting to God our questions of where we should live, what we should be doing as for vocation, and how we can be used. God wants to use us for His will, but He longs for us to be acting in response to His calling on our lives! He knows best where He wants us and we have to listen to Him! Otherwise, we can miss out on something great for His glory and God has to work longer with us to fulfill something that could have easily been done before. I was very challenged to be asking God for wisdom in all the situations and circumstances I'm in.
Ryle finishes his discourses on our prayer life, continuing to pose the question: DO YOU PRAY? This is still not a simple question to answer, but he ends his book with a discourse to all people on the importance of prayer.
He first address those who do not pray or know God at all. He challenges them to begin to do so and to want to know God. The only way we can receive the salvation God so freely gives to us is by asking Him in prayer. How can we trust without coming to God and asking for His forgiveness? We cannot. The first writing is a call to come to the Lord and trust Him as Savior.
His second address is to those who are saved but don't pray. He exposes the lies and deceptions Satan has used to separate the beloved from God by moving them to not pray. He shows the ineffectiveness we have in our physical lives because we do not take care of our spiritual lives. There is a rich amount of wisdom in the lesson that Ryle teaches to unprayerful believers.
Lastly, Ryle encourages and strengthens the body. He urges those who pray to continue to do so and let the peace and joy of Jesus Christ continue to fill them. He blesses them to not give up but press on after the heart of God. He shows us how prayer is our lifeline and we cannot go without it. We need prayer to draw us to the Father and to heal our broken hearts.
This was a wonderful little book that shows God's heart for us to be in constant communion with Him. We cannot neglect our prayer lives, but must be adamant in seeking after the one who loves us so ferociously. And He loves us immensely! Our return of love comes through our prayers, petitions, and praises to Him! To Him be the Glory forever!
Jesus, you are the restorer and healer. You have given us so much and you fill our hearts with love! Thank you for using my brother, J.C. Ryle, to speak truth to all believers to be seeking you out. We are called to be in communion with you, and we so often neglect it. I'm sorry Father for the way I've turned from you when I knew what I needed most was you. And thank you for not condemning me, but waiting patiently on me. Forgive my trespass against you Lord and fill me with your Holy Spirit. Apart from you there is no God. Apart from you, I can do nothing of worth or of value. Show me Lord how I may glorify you in my life. Lord, I want you. I want your ways and I want to shine your light so abundantly. Be near to us Lord, shine forth your great glory, and lead us to your mighty heart! I weep much Lord, because I am loved much. And that weeping is to your glory and praise! I love you Jesus! Amen.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
I'm reading (and writing about it) once again
Hello everyone!
It has been far too long since I last was on the blog to share about my personal growth and development through reading. To be honest, I haven't been the best at reading since I started seminary. Now, I have been reading, but those books probably would not perk your curiosity! So, I've been justifying my reasons for not sharing with you as I had wanted to.
But all that is changing! I am finding such a rich, new deep love for reading and it is inspiring! The last book I read, which was "Immanuel's Veins" by Ted Dekker (an absolutely brilliant fiction tale - go read it!), really enriched my view on how much God deeply loves us and longs for us! He is yearning for us and paid such a redemptive price to give us new life in His Son Jesus, and we are set free in a new and beautiful way! God is so good!
But I don't want to just sit there for now! As much as I loved "Immanuel's Veins," that is not the book I'm going to share about. The book I recently started reading is called "A Call to Prayer" by J.C. Ryle. J.C. Ryle was an English bishop in the second half of the 19th Century. He had passion for people to know and love Jesus Christ in an intimate and personal way, and then to share that passion with others! He had much fervor for the Kingdom and is an example for us currently in the 21st Century.
So, I have now begun this wonderful little book on prayer. Why do we pray? Why should we pray? Does prayer do anything? These are all questions Ryle lays before the reader and answers. He also encourages us to move beyond simple, common rituals of prayer, but to actually be in communion with God. Over and over, he asks the simple, yet difficult question - "Do you pray?"
I ask now - do you pray? Prayer is such a necessary, yet often forgot tool that Christians neglect. We cannot just let our hearts be satisfied to say an easy prayer in the morning, move on, and then come back at night to another ritualistic prayer. We must be constant in our prayer. We must cover our lives in prayer and saturate ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a tool to just be in the presence of God. When we pray, we truly worship.
All this is what Ryle expounds on in his book. Now, I know the book is very short. I also can tell you that I'm only half - way through. But I encourage you to look for the next half of the book, and to explore this book yourself. I also have found a wonderful new gadget! It's Kindle for your PC. For those of us who cannot afford a Kindle, or any other reader for that matter, we can still access a bevy of books for a reasonable cost, all on our computer. It's a great resource and is a wonderful tool for myself. Go check it out and get some of these wonderful classic books for a cheap price or for free!
Love you all - and so I do pray. And I pray for you.
Jesus, Lord and Savior, thank you so much for being a wonderful God - a God we can call on, a God we can trust, and a God who loves us so much in return. Jesus, you cover us and you long for us to just be with you. We often forget this. Yet, we need to be reminded. Jesus, you never leave, you never forsake, yet you give wisdom through your Holy Spirit. And your Spirit is what I long for. It is what I long for all the people of this world to know. Lord, there is such rich abundance and comfort in you. You give the peace that passes all understanding. Thank you. Lord, be with all those who read this - and those who don't. Please be revealing yourself in mighty strength and glory to us. We need to see you. Come Lord, and renew us. Lord Jesus, thank you also for the example of a saint - thank you for J.C. Ryle and his example of deep faith to us all. We rejoice today in You and in the day You have given us. Be near us now. In Jesus' name. Amen.
It has been far too long since I last was on the blog to share about my personal growth and development through reading. To be honest, I haven't been the best at reading since I started seminary. Now, I have been reading, but those books probably would not perk your curiosity! So, I've been justifying my reasons for not sharing with you as I had wanted to.
But all that is changing! I am finding such a rich, new deep love for reading and it is inspiring! The last book I read, which was "Immanuel's Veins" by Ted Dekker (an absolutely brilliant fiction tale - go read it!), really enriched my view on how much God deeply loves us and longs for us! He is yearning for us and paid such a redemptive price to give us new life in His Son Jesus, and we are set free in a new and beautiful way! God is so good!
But I don't want to just sit there for now! As much as I loved "Immanuel's Veins," that is not the book I'm going to share about. The book I recently started reading is called "A Call to Prayer" by J.C. Ryle. J.C. Ryle was an English bishop in the second half of the 19th Century. He had passion for people to know and love Jesus Christ in an intimate and personal way, and then to share that passion with others! He had much fervor for the Kingdom and is an example for us currently in the 21st Century.
So, I have now begun this wonderful little book on prayer. Why do we pray? Why should we pray? Does prayer do anything? These are all questions Ryle lays before the reader and answers. He also encourages us to move beyond simple, common rituals of prayer, but to actually be in communion with God. Over and over, he asks the simple, yet difficult question - "Do you pray?"
I ask now - do you pray? Prayer is such a necessary, yet often forgot tool that Christians neglect. We cannot just let our hearts be satisfied to say an easy prayer in the morning, move on, and then come back at night to another ritualistic prayer. We must be constant in our prayer. We must cover our lives in prayer and saturate ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Prayer is a tool to just be in the presence of God. When we pray, we truly worship.
All this is what Ryle expounds on in his book. Now, I know the book is very short. I also can tell you that I'm only half - way through. But I encourage you to look for the next half of the book, and to explore this book yourself. I also have found a wonderful new gadget! It's Kindle for your PC. For those of us who cannot afford a Kindle, or any other reader for that matter, we can still access a bevy of books for a reasonable cost, all on our computer. It's a great resource and is a wonderful tool for myself. Go check it out and get some of these wonderful classic books for a cheap price or for free!
Love you all - and so I do pray. And I pray for you.
Jesus, Lord and Savior, thank you so much for being a wonderful God - a God we can call on, a God we can trust, and a God who loves us so much in return. Jesus, you cover us and you long for us to just be with you. We often forget this. Yet, we need to be reminded. Jesus, you never leave, you never forsake, yet you give wisdom through your Holy Spirit. And your Spirit is what I long for. It is what I long for all the people of this world to know. Lord, there is such rich abundance and comfort in you. You give the peace that passes all understanding. Thank you. Lord, be with all those who read this - and those who don't. Please be revealing yourself in mighty strength and glory to us. We need to see you. Come Lord, and renew us. Lord Jesus, thank you also for the example of a saint - thank you for J.C. Ryle and his example of deep faith to us all. We rejoice today in You and in the day You have given us. Be near us now. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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