War Room

Good morning,

Last week, right in the middle of the play performances, I needed a break, lol!  The movie, "War Room", was in its opening weekend.  Because I had heard that it was a great movie with a Christian message, I asked Hubster to take me to see it Saturday night.  If it was "that good", I wanted to give my money on opening weekend.

I was not disappointed --- great movie.  If you have not seen it, and you are a Christian, go. (Even if you are not a believer, you will find it provocative.)

Why blog about this?

Yesterday, I mentioned that I'm preparing for a mission trip to Peru.  I've been asked to teach Bible to a group of Peruvian ladies in Cusco.  One of the topics I've been asked to teach on is how the women can lead in their churches.

The religious culture of Peru is highly Roman Catholic.  There are a few charismatic Christian churches there as well.  The group we will be working with is called Zona Zegura.  It seeks to make Christian converts and start home churches, of which, last I heard, they had about 12 active, vibrant home-churches established.

This is, of course, a very different model from what we have here in the States, for the most part. There are no huge Sunday School programs to oversee, no children's choirs, etc.

The movie, "War Room", dealt with relationships, specifically relational troubles between human and God, and between husband and wife.  Some of you may find this strange, but before women can minister effectively in the church, regardless of that church's design, first their relationships with God, and then with their husbands (and children) must be right.
That's where we will begin.

We have a mutt dog, named Charlie. He loves to go to the park, which is allowed by city law, as long as he stays on a leash.  However, my idea of walking in the park and his idea of the same are totally different.  Charlie's path is not linear.  It is zig-zaggy, wherever his nose leads him.  He smells everything, licks most things, pees on a few things to mark his territory and, yes, usually wants to make a big...."deposit" (which I, as a dutiful citizen, then clean up).

Let's consider Romans 8:14 (NIV).

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

We who are Christ-followers must allow the Holy Spirit of God to lead us.  We do not lead the Holy Spirit as Charlie wants to do at the park.

The Greek word for "are led" in Romans 8:14 is ἄγονται, , or "agontai".
The meaning or word picture is of an animal being led on a rope or bridle .... or leash.  We get an English word from this Greek word, and it is "agony".  Are you surprised?  Probably not.  Even for the transformed, redeemed soul, the human will does not want to be led.  It is an agonizing struggle. Yet, it is one we must face.

Before we can lead anyone else, we must allow ourselves to be led by God's Spirit.
Ok, so HOW do we do that?
The beautiful message of "War Room" showed us the way.  It's not "magic"; but, well, it IS supernatural.

We are led by the Holy Spirit when we can hear His voice and follow.  And, how do we hear it?  By immersing ourselves in prayer and in the Word of God daily.  (You knew that was coming, didn't you? Oh, I feel the tension in the rope.  The digging in of the heels has begun!  Beloved, I feel your agony because I resisted for over 50 years.)  This is where the battle begins, where leadership begins. If this is not right, none of the rest will be right.  This holy relationship is the foundation for all Christian leadership.  To lead well, we must first follow.

"Lord, I want to learn how to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. I know that You sent Him to be a Leader and a Guide for my life, so today I open my heart to Him. I ask You to help me learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice and to know what He is leading me to do. With all my heart, I request that You help me become sensitive to Him so that He can lead me in all the paths You have designed for my life".1  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:
1 http://www.renner.org/holy-spirit/learning-to-follow-the-leader/
2 http://biblehub.com/text/romans/8-14.htm

Churchy Stuff

Good morning!

As we move deeper into the book of Titus, we read that Paul left Titus in charge of the baby church in Crete. The bulk of this letter is to mentor Titus in how to pastor that church.

It must have frustrated Paul to move around that part of the world and then be called to another area, leaving things unfinished and in the hands of others.  Have you ever felt that way?  Felt God calling you to leave one thing and start another, when what you wanted to say was, "I'm not finished here yet!" In God's plan, you had finished the work He called you there to do, but you weren't feeling that yet.
God's perfect timing and His perfect way do not always seem right to us.
"We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps."  Proverbs 16:9
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is the way of death." Proverbs 16:25
"As for God, His way is perfect..." 2 Samuel 22:31
We have to trust God's promises when things don't go the way we think they should or when we don't understand God's timing.  (I never said this was easy...)

Paul goes on to warn Titus to appoint godly leaders in the church, and to beware of those who would stir up trouble and dissension by teaching false doctrine.
He then gives Titus advice about how to effectively lead groups of people in the church - - - older men, older women, younger women, young men, slaves.

Paul makes a powerful point in chapter 2, verse 7.  He emphasizes that Titus must show the Cretans how to live in Christ by living right himself...that this is the only way to be authentic and to win others for Christ, as well as to help new Christians grow in the faith.

Some of my favorite verses from Titus are at the end of chapter 2, verses 11-14.   Here they are in the NIV:
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Here, Paul is making the point that, although our eternal salvation is a certainty in Jesus Christ, we are learning as we grow in grace to say "no" to ungodliness. This is an ongoing, purifying process that the Holy Spirit will do in our lives, if we yield to Him and let him purify us.  I love the word for that process:  Sanctification!
Paul reminds us in verses 4-8 of chapter 3 that we had nothing to do with earning our salvation, that it was all God's doing, not ours.
As a saved people, though, a people that Jesus can be proud of, we must live as those who have been washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit.
Paul said something similar to the Philippians in 2:12 when he instructed them to "work out their salvation".

The final point Paul makes to Titus is to stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over "fine print in the law code" (Message version).  The major doctrines of our faith are worth fighting over, but all too often Christians harm their testimony in their communities by allowing their pride to lead to arguing over things that are much less important.  You know the things I'm talking about - - - whether the words to worship music are in a hymnbook or on a screen, whether the pastor should wear a jacket or a Hawaiian shirt, etc.  Satan loves to use these silly disagreements to disqualify the message of the gospel to unbelievers in our neighborhoods, when what we should be doing inside our churches is valuing others above ourselves.
Philippians 2:3 [Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves...{King James Version}
Love one another.

"By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

 (John 13:35)When we do that, we honor Christ.

Good morning, Father!  Thank you for the rain that is falling on us here this morning.  As the water cleanses the earth so your Holy Spirit waits to cleanse our hearts, minds and spirits by your amazing grace!  I am so grateful for that.  Lord, remind us to take to heart the admonitions you gave to Titus in this inspired book.  Some days we seem so surrounded by evil that we despair of seeing your glorious appearing, and maybe we won't see it in our earthly lifetimes.  But, that only goes to show that our plans are not your plans.  Work Your will in me today.  Be King over my life today.  In Jesus' name, Amen.