Deep Well Discipleship

Damaged Fruit Growing up in rural Shelby County Missouri meant spending lots of time on the farm, one of my favorite places to be.  We had a farm just north of Shelbina that my dad called Beulah land and it had a small fruit orchard on it.  I loved walking through and picking pears, apples, or plums then eating one after another.  Nothing beat the taste of freshly picked fruit off the tree.  One of the worst things though is picking a piece of fruit, taking a bite, then realizing it is rotten due to worms or birds eating on it.    We, the church, are to be an orchard for the LORD.   As we live out in the community, or gather together, we are to bear good fruit that others would know Christ.   Matthew 12:33 says “Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad; for a tree is known by it’s fruit.” (CSB)   When we live out gospel lives, we bear good fruit as we live out the great commandment and the great commissio...

HEAD, HEART, HANDS Have you ever met a know it all?  You know, the person that tends to know everything about everything.  They might even know about your life more than you do as well.  The problem I tend to see in the life of a know it all is that they often fail to live out some, if not all, of the knowledge they have.  They know what foods not to eat but they eat them anyway.  They know every call to make at a sporting event but they don't coach or officiate.  Know it all types tend to posses lots of knowledge but it never seems to move from their head to their hearts and from their hearts to their hands.  This is often true in the realm of Christians, more than many would ever admit. James writes that faith apart from works is foolish (Jas 2:20).  He is not saying works save you but if you indeed claim to have faith in Christ your works should express that faith.  Often as Christians we have lots of knowledge that we have garner...

I’m not racist but… For years the phrase that makes my skin crawl always starts the same way “I’m not racist, but…”  What follows is always a racist statement.  It is as if the first part of the statement clears the way for us to be horrible people and get away with it.  It is akin to “Don’t take offense to this, but…”  Like someone will say “Oh, since you said don’t be offended I guess I can’t be…”  Seriously, you are just looking for a way to be a not very nice person and have an avenue to justify yourself.  Racism is unfortunately still a problem in America and it is even more so unfortunately a problem in churches.  I have had more than one “Christian” come to me with the crushing and sinful statement “I’m not a racist, but…” and follow up with something that is racist yet they justify it as not racist because they said they weren’t racist.  The reality is we can say “I’m not a racist” but if our words speak in a racially demeaning way ...

Making the most of time In the movie "Alice Through the Looking Glass" Time makes the statement we all will one day face "Tick-Tock you time is up!"  This is a fearful statement for most because it is a stark reminder of what we know and see in the Bible that life is but a vapor, a mist.  James says "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (Jas 4:14b)  Time is something that we all desire to control yet truly have no control of for we cannot add a single moment, hour, day to our lives (Matt 6:27).  When we are young we often view time as our friend, days are long and go by so slowly, then as we age we begin to see time as our foe, time moves quickly and we do not have enough of it.  So what should our view of time be as Christians?  Paul writes in Ephesians "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of your time, because the days are evil." (Eph 4:15-16) Going throu...

L istening can be one of the most difficult tasks anyone has.  It takes a very special person to listen, to truly listen, to someone.  Often we find our listening more of a means of deciding what we are going to say, how we will respond, if we must defend, etc...  Listening is indeed a discipline that I know I have had to perfect over the years.  Often I found myself listening to someone but really I was already thinking about what I was going to say when they were finished.  When this is our attitude of listening much is missed in the conversation and even misinterpreted due to a desire to respond instead of understand.  The Bible calls us to be hearers, that is to be listeners longing to hear. J ames 1:19 says "My dear brothers, take note of this:  Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry..."  What a challenge this presents to us in todays modern world where the dilemma is that everyone is easily offended. ...

I once heard it said that worry was nothing more than making a down payment on something that you will never own.  Since I was a kid I was making those down payments.  Throughout my childhood and into adulthood I worried about this, that, and everything in between.  I was, have been, and must say that I am a recovering worrier.  In the last year God has taught, and continues to teach me to stop the worry.  I have learned through the battle of cancer that truly I have no control and all the worry in the world won't change the fact that as I go through scans and tests, God is ultimately in the know and in control.  Our worry, strife, and anxiety accomplishes nothing except to make us feel sick.  Let me share what God has been teaching me in the last year. Philippians 4:6 Paul writes "Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."  Paul tells the church in Phili...

PRESS ON Confession time, and this ones pretty obvious, my writing is sporadic at best.  I started blogging about my cancer last fall and when I started chemo I didn't feel like writing about it much less thinking about it.  I can honestly say that chemo is not only the most horrific thing I have experienced but it is the assuredly, at least at this time, the worst.  Throughout the process of treatment and feeling sick I found myself angry many times.  I cried out to God "Why me"?  I asked God why His intent was to kill me.  I was hurt, devastated, and lonely but God heard my cries and simply said "Why not you?"  I was shocked and stunned at this thought but I soon found my way into Philippians 4:11-14, that infamously misused passage of scripture.  It was there God spoke deeply into my pain and reminded me of His glory. Paul writes "...for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I...

Hospitals, mis-diagnoses, and the yo-yo effect On Tuesday April 22nd I found myself in the ER at Covenant Hospital in Lubbock Texas.  I was turning highlighter yellow and I felt less than chipper.  By midnight I was in my room on IV fluids only and already starting to do what I do best... worry!  Everybody has to be good at something and I do very well when it comes to overthinking things and worrying about what might be.  The GI doc on call came in to visit late that night and discussed the different tests they would perform the next day and what was going to occur.  I was still under the impression it was just my gall bladder...  Boy, what did I know.  I wasn't even worried about the right things. The next day a procedure known as an ERCP was performed to see what was going on with my gall bladder.  That was followed up with an MRI.  Let me pause here to say this.  I am slightly claustrophobic and I sinned when they took me to thi...

The Journey  Part 1 Beginnings I really don't know where to start but I suppose I will begin with two things, the verse that has been a foothold in what feels like shifting sands, and where the journey begins.  Psalm 55:22 has been the go to verse in my prayers and in my meditations so often recently.  David writes "Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you.  He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." What powerful words of encouragement and what an incredible reminder to stay focused on the LORD throughout this journey I have been set on.  As I begin to unfold this journey I want to be clear, there is no doubt that God's hand is, has been, and continues to be working in a powerful, sovereign way. In March of 2014 I began feeling very sick.  I had already felt that my energy was down and I wasn't functioning normally.  At first we thought it might just be a stomach bug that was lingering on much longer than usual.  We ...

WATCH YOUR STEP "Watch your step, there are land mines out here..." The words echoed in the mind of the Army Private. He had to be mindful of each and every move he made because one wrong step could be disastrous. As Christians Christ calls out to us "Watch your step, there are land mines out here..." His call is to another type of land mine, the land mine of sin and destruction of our testimony. Christ knows that as we walk in him there is one who looks to tempt us and destroy our testimony before others.  It is Satan's duty to "kill, steal, and destroy" (John 10:10). The desire of that serpent of old is to take our focus off of God and place it on ourselves, our circumstances, our situations, and keep us from focusing on Christ and our walk with him. This is the call of Christ to "watch your step... and be mindful of how we walk." Daily the danger exists of spiritual land mines and if we are not focused on Christ and walking with Him, ...

SEEKING SOLITUDE T he world is a very busy place.  It is full of noise, distraction, and competes for every moment of our time every moment of the day.  We are a busy people with something going on every second of the day.  We are hurried, harried, tired, ever moving, and getting busier by the moment.  Today's technology keeps us tightly knit to the world around us, we know at every moment who is happy, who is mad, who wished they were not at work, who wants to make something new, who is getting married, who just broke up, etc...  We can get calls, e-mails, texts, anywhere we go.  Truly finding a place of rest takes intentional focus. T his morning my wife called and asked me if I had ever noticed in Matthew 14:13 that prior to feeding the five thousand Jesus had withdrawn to a desolate place, a place of solitude.  She then prodded me further asking "Do we need to do this?  Do you need to do this?"  As a pastor and a lover of people ...

For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands." Nehemiah 6:9 (NASB) How often do we find ourselves discouraged, quitting the work we were called to because it seemed like the odds were against us? How often have we been distracted taking our eyes off of the divine call only to find ourselves trapped in the mundane busyness of the world? Our walk with Christ is often like Peters in Matthew 14:22-33, we start walking by faith and the fear creeps in, or the world whispers and we foolishly listen, and our footing fails because we take our eyes off of Christ. When God calls us He does so, not because we are the best or most perfect, but because He is. He calls us and equips us to do the work for His kingdom. When the work of Christ begins we find Satan, our flesh, the world all teaming up to spoil that calling. We start listening to all of the noise...

He is listening... Most of us know 2 Chronicles 7:14, but today as I was meditating on this chapter it struck me that 2 Chronicles 7:15 is equally as powerful in its position found in this text. 2 Chronicles 7:15 reads "Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place." Solomon had prayed and sacrificed prior when the temple was dedicated to the LORD. It was not the words nor the sacrifices of Solomon but the position of his heart that truly cried out to the LORD. His devotion and love that drew the attention and response found in verses 11-22. Verses that give conditional guidance and strict warning about spending time with the LORD. Warnings that clearly state even if great catastrophe comes, you must spend time with me, you must keep this very same heart you have today (1 Chr 7:13, 17-18) Many of us take prayer and time to read the Word as something we do when we have time. Our prayers are weak, given only at...

Praise and Prison "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." Acts 16:25 One of the commercials that I remember as a child is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial where two people accidentally bump into each other. One has chocolate and one has peanut butter and surprise - they find two great tastes that go great together. I submit to you that they are right, I love Reese's and yes chocolate & peanut butter are excellent together. In the book of Act's we find two things that shouldn't go together - praise and prison. Now praise is an incredible thing but prison, not so good. In Acts 16 we find Paul and Silas in prison (verse 24). They are locked up, not for some great crime, but for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We find them not merely locked up but the are chained up within the prison as well. Now for most of us we would be absolutely miserable. We ...

“I have been reading the Bible and recently I have found that there is more than one way to heaven.”  The man leading the Bible study at church smartly said to those that were listening.  “I have seen a greater way by which God saves and Jesus is just one of those ways by which God has ordained to save his creation.”  The class sat silently and in awe of this man who had taught them for many years.  The questions began “Did God really reveal this to him?”  “Is there really another way to God besides Jesus Christ?”  For years the class had been taught that Jesus was the only way and now one of their beloved teachers, along with a few others, was telling them that this was not the case.  They went home questioning and wondering about this new piece of evidence saying, “Can this really be true?” Today there is an outbreak of the above happening in churches across America and this is nothing new, this pitch is as old as satan.  It is...

MAN UP Part 3 of 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Why are there so few men left in the world?  As a culture the growth from boyhood to manhood has taken a detour through the maze of adolescence; adolescence (as a word or descriptive phrase) was not even heard of or used in the development of children until the twentieth century and at that time was used to describe a child between the ages of 13 and 19, presumably the age of one in high school.  Today, in stark contrast, some argue adolescence starts at the age of 10 and may not stop until the age of 24 or older.  Even more shocking is that today more women are in colleges then men and boys are staying longer and longer in an adolescent state and fewer men are emerging.  Perhaps today more than ever Christian young men need to be reminded to act like men, not boys, and certainly not adolescents, but men. Paul called out the men in church of Corinth and said ACT LIKE MEN.  The understanding of the word ...

STAND FIRM We began a study on 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 yesterday with the first part of the verse in focus, “be watchful”.  Today we move on to the next 5 words of the text, which are “stand firm in the faith.”  What does it mean to stand firm?  When I served in the military stand firm meant holding your ground against enemy attack.  When you were standing firm in the face of danger.  The text here is very much the same.  The greek word steko ( steko) literally means to stand firm in faith, to be constant, to persevere, to remain steadfast, to continue in a state, to be persistent . Paul gives a good antithesis to standing firm in 1 Corinthians 6:18 when he tells the church in Corinth to “Flee immorality” to literally continue to fun from it, and keep running from it.  As much as the word flee means to run as hard and fast as we can away from something steko, stand firm, means to be immovable.  Within the text of 1 Corinthians 16 Pau...

BE WATCHFUL I believe that Christ gives us tangible means through His word in which we are to walk in Him.  Over the next 5 days I am going to try and unravel 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 because I do believe it is a powerful verse in the life of the believer.  It is one that gives us direction, instruction, and truly sets a course for our lives.  It is practical theology that we can grab ahold of.  It is applicable to our lives on daily basis.  It is tangible and livable. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14."Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love."  As Christians, especially Christian men, we are to: Be Watchful Stand Firm In The Faith Act Like Men Be Strong  Let All You Do Be Done In Love Lets look closely at this verse and start with the beginning – Paul tells the church in Corinth to “Be watchful”.  What does that mean? L...