-------------------------<BrethrenVoice>------------------------- [which seeks to be guided solely by the NT Biblical pattern, facilitates free flow of Christian info. To God be the glory!] [eMail Moderator: brethrenvoice-owner@...] [<GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> archives/read online: http://associate.com/groups/brethrenvoice/ezmlm.cgi] <GLEANINGS-FOR-THE-DAY> <28 December 2002> Contents: ------------ 1) <Devotional> "Unwarranted disappointment" - M.J.Stanford 2) <Christian-life> "Disciplined life of a Christian" (Pt-2/2) -V. John 3) <Evangelism> "Building bridges for the Gospel" (Pt 3/5) - J.Studebaker 1) <DEVOTIONAL> "UNWARRANTED DISAPPOINTMENT" M.J.Stanford "Oh, wretched man that I am!" (Romans 7:24). The result of, and penalty for, reliance upon the flesh, is Romans Seven. The result of, and reward for, dependence upon the Holy Spirit, is Romans Eight."Self-disappointment is a very different thing from self-judgment. Indeed, if there were true self-judgment there would never have to be self-disappointment. If in honesty and sobriety of heart I have judged 'that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing,' I shall certainly not expect anything from myself, and it has been well said that where there is no expectation there can be no disappointment. "But I feel sure that many young believers, and I dare say some old ones too, are very familiar with the wretched and depressing experience of self-disappointment. They have made many fresh starts; they have often been stirred up, and have made up their minds to be more for Christ; they have thought, 'I shall do better now; I am more earnest about it than I was before'; but it has all ended in disappointment. "They have no idea that they are trying to improve themselves; they would repudiate such a thought; they suppose that they know better than to look for good in themselves. And yet their disappointment is the plain proof that, in spite of all their knowledge of Scripture, they have expected to make themselves different, for they are disappointed because they have not succeeded in doing so." -C.A.C. "The soul that turns back upon itself to learn God's judgment about it, and what His dealings with it are likely to be, is not leaning upon what the Father is; is not standing in grace. Neither our joy nor our peace is dependent on what we are to Him, but on what He is to us; and this is grace." -J.N.D. "My soul wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him" (Psalm 62:5). . _______________________________________________________________________ 2) <CHRISTIAN-LIFE> "DISCIPLINED LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN" (PART-2 OF 2) Varghese John ... MENTAL DISCIPLINES 1. Thoughts Our heart (mind) is the source of all kinds of evil. The Bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9). The lust or evil desires of the heart when entertained produce sins (see James 1:14,15). Therefore, our thoughts must be controlled or disciplined to keep our heart pure. Effective control of thoughts involves both negative and positive actions. Negatively, we ought to guard our eyes and ears zealously because they are the gates of our mind through which all kinds of evil information and influences creep in. All kinds of information whether good or bad once they get into our minds will create certain permanent impressions there and they can never be erased. Therefore, beware of what we read, watch, and hear! Positively, we have to think or meditate on good things. Paul gives a list of things that we must meditate on (see Phil. 4:8). Remember offense is the best defense. 2. Spiritual gifts and Talents A Spiritual Gift is an ability, which God gives His children to serve Him. Every Christian has at least one gift (see 1 Pet. 4:10). Though the gifts are bestowed on a believer supernaturally, the development of the same is a natural process. Only through discipline and determination they can be developed. Paul exhorts young Timothy to stir up the gift of God, which is in him (2 Tim. 1:6). How shall we stir the spiritual gifts up? It is by constant practice. Practice alone makes perfection. SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES 1. The Quiet Time It is the time taken daily by a child of God to have fellowship with God through His word and prayer. It is the regular practice of spending a few moments of each new day alone with God, praying and reading the Bible. To take the Quiet Time effectively it is necessary to set apart a fixed place and time. If you fail occasionally, don’t get discouraged and give up. Make sure that you are taking it on the next day and go ahead. 2. Private Prayer Secret of praying is praying in secret. Secret of all our failures is our failure in secret prayer. Our Lord by His life and lips taught the importance of secret prayer or praying in private. (See Luke 5:16,17; Matt. 6:6). Like the Quiet Time, we have to fix up a definite place and time for prayer also. Make it a Daily habit. 3. Occasional fasting Though the New Testament never commands us to do fasting, it assumes that we will do so, (See Matt. 6:16). Start practising fasting by skipping one meal occasionally and separating a few hours for intensive prayer. The time can be increased later to more hours or days. Fasting shows how much we are sincere and serious in our prayers. REWARD OF PERSONAL DISCIPLINES God expects us to grow spiritually. When we grow, our lives will be more and more conformed to that of Christ. That is the greatest reward of disciplined life. We also will get an imperishable crown in eternity for the disciplined life we lead in this world (see 1Cor. 9:25). The spiritual disciplines are not an end in them but they are the sure means for achieving an end, that is, spiritual growth or Christlikeness. [Concluded] --- (Mr. Varghese John is an Engineering Professor turned Bible Teacher based at Trivandrum, Kerala, India). [Reproduced by permission] _______________________________________________________________________ 3) <EVANGELISM> "BUILDING BRIDGES FOR THE GOSPEL" (PART 3 OF 5)* CHRIST'S MODEL OF CONTEXTUALIZATION John Studebaker … The model is based on the character of God. The Bible presents to us a God who continually seeks man by entering into man's cultural context. In the New Testament we first find God seeking man by taking on a "contextualized" form--that of a man. Contextualization means becoming identified with the opposing party and requires breaking through cultural barriers in order to establish communication. Through the incarnation of Christ, God crossed a rather large "cultural gap" to seek man, and identify with man, by actually becoming a man. God took on our context, and in doing so, He broke through two barriers that kept man from having a relationship with Him. What were these two barriers? First Christ broke through our humanity barrier. Christ took on the flesh, cultural patterns, thought patterns, practices, and frailty associated with humanity. He left His world and entered into our world. And then second, Christ broke through the sin barrier. He went to the cross and became sin on our behalf so we could be forgiven of our sins and come to know God personally. Not only did God seek man by becoming a man, His commitment to seek man continued after Christ's death and resurrection, but took on a different form. His communication model, one still involving contextualization, continues through His people. In 2 Corinthians 5:20 we see that God has called every believer to be an ambassador for Christ. How do we go about this task? By following Christ's model, and breaking through the same two barriers He did. First, we need to break through the humanity barrier. Motivated by His love, we also need to enter into the world of nonbelievers, seeking to understand their context, and finding areas of common ground. This means that, without compromising, we are to get involved with real people and their needs, struggles, and intellectual doubts. Second, we need to help people overcome the sin barrier. We do this by sharing the gospel within their context, in a way that "makes sense" within another person's cultural and intellectual makeup. According to Francis Schaeffer, "[A foreign missionary] must learn the language of the thought-forms of the people to whom one speaks. So it is with the Christian Church. Its responsibility is not only to hold to the basic, scriptural principles of the Christian faith, but to communicate these unchanging truths `into' the generation in which one is living."(4) Now let's turn our attention to how to use this model of building bridges for the gospel that Christ has given us. [To be concluded] ---- * [This data file/document is the sole property of Probe Ministries. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file and/or document must contain the copyright notice (i.e., Copyright (C) 1995-1997 Probe Ministries) and this Copyright/Reproduction Limitations notice.] . ---------------------------<BrethrenVoice>--------------------------- Subscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-subscribe@...> Unsubscribe, eMail:<brethrenvoice-unsubscribe@...> FAQs/Faith Statement, eMail: <brethrenvoice-faq@...> <BrethrenVoice> Home: www.brethrenvoice.com <eFellowship> Home: http://groups.msn.com/BrethrenChristiansForum/ "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith." 2 Cor 13:5