WAIT – power needed

Posted on 28 July, 2010 by Daniel

Where adequate power is present almost any means will suffice, but where the power is absent not all the means in the world can secure the desired end. The Spirit of God may use a song, a sermon, a good deed, a text or the mystery and majesty of nature, but always the final work will be done by the pressure of the inliving Spirit upon the human heart. – A.W.Tozer

The best disciple-maker ever has to be Jesus. He got hold of 12 ordinary young men, told them to follow him and they spent years with him being taught and trained.

After Jesus had died, and risen again he subsequently appeared to them loads more times and taught them some more, helping them to understand who they were called to be in Christ and all they were called to do.

However, just before going ascending to heaven he told his disciples to “wait in the city until they were clothed with power.” He knew that no matter how well trained they were, no matter how strong their faith or their disciple-making skills, they needed more than what they had already received:

They needed the life-changing, supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.

If Jesus told those disciples that they needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power, then surely the same holds true for us as well?

However you do it, whenever you do it, whoever you do it with. If you want to be transformed and see God do amazing things through you, then make sure you “wait in the city to be clothed with power from on high”

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8

For more on this you can check out the message I preached last Sunday on “God’s empowering” last Sunday.

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Seeking God or Seeking God-And

Posted on 13 July, 2010 by Daniel

Jesus promised his disciples that “the one who seeks finds” (Matthew 7:7). Why then, do many people seek God but struggle to experience his presence?

In many cases, this has a lot to do with it (from The Pursuit of God by A.W.Tozer):

When religion has said its last word, there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking “God-and” effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the “and” lies our great woe. If we omit the “and”, we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing.

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What is a Godly man? – part 1

Posted on 8 July, 2010 by Daniel

man_is_god_tshirt-p235609653100690177q6ws_400 The other week a friend asked me a fantastic, vitally important question. It’s a question which I’m sure every guy wonders about, but which I’ve never heard anyone ask straight out before. It was this:

“What is a Godly man, anyway?”

So today, while meeting with my men’s leadership group over lunch in the cafe, I asked them the same question, and we discussed “What does the Bible say it means to be a man of God”

Below are the notes I took while we talked (and some supporting bible references I’ve added).

1. You have your Identity in being a man of God.

You don’t have your identity in what you do and how you perform. You start by knowing that you are man of God and then – because of that – you go on to do great things. (1 Tim 6:11-12)

2. You are God’s.

He has ownership of you. You live your life knowing that it is his. (Gal 2:20, Romans 8:14-17)

3. You have Integrity

Wisdom, knowledge. Being truthful. Not swerving from doing what is right. Knowing what you believe and doing it without compromise – without changing in any circumstance. Being the same on the inside and outside and in every place. (1 John 1:6, Matthew 5:37, Ephesians 4:25)

4. You visibly belong to God

‘Being a man of the cloth’. Being on display and people seeing that you are His. What you do and how you present yourself demonstrates that you are a man of God / club member. The appearance and benefits that go with it. (Ephesians 5:1-20)

5. You are alive to God’s purpose for you.

Have revelation about what life is about, and are pursuing God’s calling on your life not just any old thing. (Ephesians 2:10, 1 Peter 2:9)

6. You are a man of faith

What is unseen and is true according to God’s word is more real to you than what you see around you, and you living accordingly (2 Corinthians 4:18, Hebrews 10:23, Hebrews 11:6)

7. You have Endurance

Not giving up or quitting, regardless of circumstance. Keeping going when it’s tought because of what you’re fighting for. Picking yourself up and getting going again when you fall or get it wrong. (James 1:2-4, Romans 15:4, Hebrews 10:35-36)

8. You take ownership

Taking responsibility for your life, your actions, your calling, relationships, family etc. Being able to carry responsibility faithfully – work life, personal life, ministry life. (Galatians 6:4, 2 Thessalonians 3:8-10)

9. You stand in authority

Knowing the authority you carry as a man of God and ambassador of Christ. (Luke 10:19, Ephesians 2:6)

10. You are bold and courageous

Not shrinking back from the tough situations, but stepping into them in God’s strength. (Proverbs 28:1, Joshua 1:9, Acts 4:31)

11. You are the head

Taking the lead and being the head. In family, guiding, nurturing + protecting your wife – not ruling harshly. Being like Christ in your household (Ephesians 5:21-33)

12. You sacrifice

Being willing to sacrifice and lay down your life – for God, for his mission, for your wife and family, for others. Laying down your life in a practical, everyday sense (e.g. your will, preferences, personal needs) not just being willing to die for someone. (Luke 9:23, 1 John 3:16)

13. You deal with conflict properly

Not shrinking back from conversations that need to be had, but confronting them head-on. Being willing to confess your faults and repent where necessary. Showing the initiative and making the first move. (Ephesians 4:15, Matthew 18:15-17)

14. You are fleeing sin and pursuing righteousness

Not pursuing sin or sinful desires. Seeking through God’s power to live a sanctified, holy life that is turning from sin and growing in godliness. (1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Timothy 6:11-12, 2 Timothy 2:22)

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Daydream believer

Posted on 28 April, 2010 by Daniel

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible” – T.E.Lawrence

When I was young I was often accused of being a daydreamer. I know I frustrated endless teachers with my daydreaming when they wanted me to get on and do stuff that I found boring and irrelevant.

My whole life I thought that daydreaming was a bad thing. It turns out it’s an essential part of who God made me to be.

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Get in the ring

Posted on 19 March, 2010 by Daniel

Have started reading “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge again. If you’ve never read this book then I’d highly recommend it. This has got to be on the “must read” list for every man. It has been life changing for so many men I know. Most women would also benefit from reading it as well in order to understand our species better :-)

Here’s a fantastic quote right from the start:

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly… who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who have never known neither victory nor defeat.                                     – TEDDY ROOSEVELT

Filed under: Christian Life, Discipleship, Men, Quotes | 1 Comment »

This world is broken

Posted on 1 February, 2010 by Daniel

Have you ever seen things, heard things, spent time with people and been left with an overwhelming sense that this world is broken? That’s because it is.

We live in a world that was made perfect…was broken by sin…was brought life through the perfect one…is one day to be made perfect again….when the perfect one returns and makes all things new.

That’s the gospel.

Promises shattered, answers don’t come
Friends say goodbye, plans come undone
Dreams get crushed, Lies get told
Words can turn cruel, Hearts can grow cold

In a broken world where we cry to feel
Some hope that helps these hearts to heal
You’re my strength, You’re my refuge
In a broken world, Jesus I’m holding to You

You make sense of the madness and You make darkness flee
You bring such a calm to the chaos in me
Show me life, tell me truth
Day after day I keep running to You

Long ago, we fell so far
Yet You came to where we are

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More than a band-aid for sin

Posted on 28 January, 2010 by Daniel

Band-aid I’m not a frequent reader of the Message version of the Bible, but now and again I give it a read and am always struck by how it conveys truth in a powerful way that grabs the heart and the imagination. How’s this for the author’s take on Romans 8:4

The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.

How often do we mess it up, or feel that we’re not good enough, need to do better, and respond by redoubling our own efforts? That is not the gospel.

The gospel says that the answer is not in our own effort. It is simply to embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.

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Who makes it right?

Posted on 27 January, 2010 by Daniel

punishment Theology sometimes reminds me of parts of my engineering degree. The basic aim of such disciplines seemed to be to take something amazing, wonderful, and interesting and find a way of turning into a set of dull, lifeless, rules and equations.

Take Substitionary Atonement for example.

Never was there a message which is more amazing, more life-giving, or more essential in every way.  Yet so many people don’t even know what it’s all about. Even people who say they’re Christian often show no real understanding of this simple principal. This leads them to strive to perform religiously or be left with a lingering uncertainty about whether they are ‘good enough’ in God’s book.

Here’s the 1 minute guide for non-theologians:

  • Atonement: A penalty or punishment that needs to be paid to satisfy the demands of the law.
  • Substitutionary: The place was filled by somebody or something other than the original person.

What’s the Bottom Line?

All sin has a penalty/punishment, which is death. Atonement is required to pay for that sin and there is a judgement day which will come where that penalty will be demanded. I can either atone for the sin myself (bad idea), or I can allow Jesus to atone for it – choosing to receive his death at the cross as my substitionary atonement.

All of us have sinned, and continue to sin in one way or another. Some of us are spectacular sinners. Others of us are boring sinners. That’s not really a question that’s up for debate, neither it is essentially relevant.

The only real relevant question is “Who is going to be punished to atone for my sin? Me or Jesus?”

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.                   - Romans 3:22-25

P.S. Inspired to write this after watching a Bill Hybels’ session “The Power of Clarity”

P.P.S. I’ve nothing against Theology. We need better theology in our churches, as long as we remember that theology – the study of God – is supposed to lead us to better understanding of who God is and produce a deeper, life-giving relationship with him.

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Who is Jesus – the word on the street

Posted on 21 January, 2010 by Daniel

I don’t know if you’ve ever had an experience where, in one swift moment, your thinking and your assumptions are completely changed forever. That happened to me several years ago when I saw a video put together by our campus team. They were interviewing people on Imperial College Campus and simply asking them “who is Jesus”. They interviewed a student who didn’t know who Jesus was.

I don’t mean this person didn’t believe he’d really existed or they they thought he was just a good man.

This person had never heard the name Jesus.

When I was growing up most people I met knew some basics about who Jesus was but had chosen to reject him – often unfortunately because of some church experience they had which was boring, irrelevant, or hypocritical. I realized that I used to assume people knew something about Jesus and have rejected Jesus. I discovered in that moment – and in many conversations since then – that most people I meet in London are not anti-Jesus. Most people just have no clue who he is.

If Jesus is really the most important thing in the world. If he is really the only way. If I love the people around me. Then my job has to be to tell them about him.

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How big is your dream

Posted on 1 October, 2009 by Daniel

Too many of us dream man-sized dreams. Things that could potentially be done if we really focused and put our skills to work. God doesn’t have man-sized dreams for us. He has God-sized ones. Dreams that are big and scary – terrifying even. Dreams that we can’t fulfil. Dreams that can only come to pass when it’s not just me pursuing them – but me pursuing God, in His power, along with those that I’m called to run together with.

“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we’ve dreamed too little. When we arrive safely because we’ve sailed too closely to the shore” – Jeanie Curry (Missionary) 

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What will you settle for?

Posted on 25 September, 2009 by Daniel

image Many people will know the story of Abram: How God came to him with a big promise of what God was going to do with him and his family, and then God asked him to leave where he was and to go to a place that God would show him. (You can check it out in Genesis 12 and see this post for more)

What’s interesting is what is written before this in Genesis 11:31

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

Terah, father of Abraham, sets out to the land of Canaan (which was actually promised to his great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Shem – see Gen 9:26) However, something happened along the way. They settled somewhere short of their destination.

The story doesn’t record why, or what happened. Maybe they encountered some opposition or hardship. Maybe they just lingered along the way a little bit too long and it became more comfortable to stay than to keep going. We don’t know. All we know is they set out for the land of promise but they settled on the way.

And that causes me to pause and ponder. Is there anything in me that’s settled where I am? Are there any areas of my life where I set out in pursuit of the promise, but I’ve settled along the way instead of persevering to the destination? Is there any part of me which is willing to settle for less than the fullness of God’s promise?

What about you? What will you settle for?

In Terah’s case he never makes it. He dies in that place, short of their intended destination, and God leaves him there and asks Abram to get moving instead.

The history of God’s people is full of those who set out in pursuit of God’s call but then settled on the way – requiring God to leave them there and call the next generation to follow him. My prayer today is that will never be the case for us who follow God today. I pray that we may never settle for anything short of what God has promised, but instead to press on in faith, and so receive all that he has promised.

13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:13

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Walk and talk

Posted on 22 September, 2009 by Daniel

There aren’t many things on TV these days that I wouldn’t be bothered about missing. However, one programme Amanda and I used to follow avidly was the West Wing. Probably the most famous story-telling technique used in this show was the “walk and talk”.

It seemed a lot of the real dialogue and decision making didn’t happen so much in quiet rooms, but in the in-between moments. Characters were on their way to do something, have a meeting, sit down in their office, do a briefing, whatever it might be. Yet an awful lot of the stuff that mattered was getting done as they walked and talked along the way.

When Jesus said things like “remain in me” and “rest in me”; and talked about the Holy Spirit (parakletos – literally “called alongside to help”) being with us to guide us, direct us, and help us; I think this is the kind of thing he had in mind.

Yes, we need to take time out, and set time aside to be alone with God to learn from him and be strengthened by him. It doesn’t end there, though.

God wants us to walk and talk: To experience fellowship and conversation with him as we go about our daily lives. It’s then that he’s able to use us, direct us, and provide the strength we need.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5

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Just one Step

Posted on 21 September, 2009 by Daniel

image

Preached yesterday at church on “Just one step – finding God’s way in the world today”, asking the question “If God has a plan and a purpose for me, then how do I find it and what do I do today?”

You can get it from our website, but here’s the summary:

God doesn’t ask us to take leap impossible distances, just to take one step at a time. We discover God’s path as we take one step of obedience out of our comfort zone that requires sacrifice.

And how do we find that one step? By taking that one step closer to God and learning to walk and talk with him.

Want to find God’s ways? Here are a few questions to ponder:

  • When was the last time I took time to have a conversation with God?
  • Do I have a routine of seeking God daily?
  • Is there one step has God asked me to take that I haven’t yet taken?
  • What should I do to take a step out my comfort zone today?

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Idolatry in the church

Posted on 8 July, 2009 by Daniel

No, I’m not talking about gold crosses, smells, bells, or icons of saints. I’m taking about the idolatry that is “Any time we take a GOOD thing and make it a GOD thing that’s a BAD thing”.

I was listening to a good message this morning by Mark Driscoll on Idolatry. He was speaking to pastors and church leaders but starts with some great foundation which applies to anyone who wants to follow God. You can get it here

It confirms my growing belief that the problem we face is not so much the sin and idolatry in the world, but the sin and idolatry in the church at large…. And the problem we face in our church is often not the sin and idolatry in the church people, but the sin and idolatry in ME. Can I get an Amen/Ouch to that?

For any leaders/aspiring leaders in the church, here’s a quick summary of some specific idols and related heart-questions he covers:

  1. Attendance: Does your joy change when attendance is up or down?
  2. Gift: Do you feel God needs you and uses you because you’re so skilled, thinking “God you’re so smart that you picked me and you use me because I’m a good tool in your hand”
  3. Truth: Do you think you’re more righteous than a simple Christian who doesn’t know or understand much. Reading books and overlooking humility.
  4. Fruit: Do you point to your success as evidence of God’s approval of you
  5. Tradition: What traditions are you upholding that are thwarting the forward progress of the gospel?
  6. Method: Do you worship your method as your mediator?
  7. Office: Are you motivated primarily by God’s glory or your title?
  8. Success: Is winning what motivates you at the deepest level?
  9. Ministry: Do you use the pressure of ministry to make you walk with God, or do you walk with God because you love him.
  10. Innovation: Does it matter to you that your ministry be considered unique?
  11. Leader: Who do you want to be like/your church to be like?

Filed under: Christian Life, Leadership, The Church, church | Leave a Comment »

What makes people successful?

Posted on 7 July, 2009 by Daniel

Really good, punchy 3 minutes of wisdom:

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