By Bill Loveless

A new phase of my spiritual journey began when the COVID virus shut down this country in March, 2020, (we will never forget that event, will we!). By the time that occurred, I had already made four out-of-state trips since January and had seven more trips planned through August. 

I had just returned from Memphis, TN when COVID stopped all my travel plans. I was very disappointed because I had some great trips planned to a number of churches. Little did I know that I was about to discover what I believe for me personally is the “pearl of great value” that Jesus talked about in Matthew 13:46. Unfortunately, it took a pandemic for me to discover it. 

Since I now had time on my hands, I began spending more time with the Lord. One morning when I was being still before the Lord, He sent this thought rolling across my mind that I knew was from the Him. He said, “Bill, when you get to heaven, I don’t want to hear these words, ‘Oh, so this is what intimacy is all about.’” 

Those words impacted me like a baseball bat across my face. What I didn’t realize at the time was how much of a divine wake-up call this was! The Lord was revealing to me that there was another part of my spiritual journey that I had yet to discover. 

One morning, I was reading a book that quoted Psalm 27:8 which says: 

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I shall seek.” Psalm 27:8 

Even though I had read this verse many times, this time I realized God was speaking to me personally. As I meditated on this verse, the Lord put these thoughts into my mind, “Bill, I want you to seek My face which means to seek Me for who I am, not for what I can do for you.” 

I must be honest with you. Before then I had never sought God for who He was. Don’t get me wrong. I would praise and thank Him for being God but it was always based on what He could do for me, for someone else or in some circumstance. I realized in that moment that God was calling me to know His heart. This revelation is what began my new journey to become a man after God’s own heart. 

While my journey is unique to me, I am convinced that God is constantly inviting each of us into a deeper personal relationship with Him. I pray that as I share my journey, it will encourage you to step onto the path of your own deeper journey with God. 

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This post is from Bill’s new book, After God’s Heart (pages 5,6) which is available in print, audio, or as a free PDF download at his ministry: www.christislifeministries.com/

by Dr. Lewis Gregory

THE WORD IS: “You therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, beware lest you also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To Him be glory both now and for ever.  Amen.” 2 Peter 3:17-18

THE POINT IS: Warning signs are everywhere. We need to know what the danger is, where it is, and how to avoid it. The Apostle Peter wrote 2 letters to prepare Christians for living in troubled times. He concluded his second letter by summarizing the main points. Peter gave a caution and a cure. The caution, beware! The cure, keep on growing in the Lord! The caution: beware of deceitful workers, false prophets, and false teaching. Don’t follow the bad leadership of the wicked—those lawless people who live an unbridled life, contrary to the nature and character of God. Such people are more attuned to the word of earthly leaders than to the Word of God. Therefore, they adhere to the doctrines and traditions of men, often using Scripture as a proof text. But such practices are not in accordance with the character of God, much less in keeping with the whole counsel of the Word of God. This does not honor God nor benefit humanity, regardless of how morally upright or religiously precise it appears to be.  

THE APPLICATION IS: Thanks to God you’ve been duly warned, not only by the Apostle Peter, but also by the Apostle Paul, and even by the Lord Jesus Himself. The warning is clear: beware and keep on growing! It’s much like riding a bicycle. You must keep moving forward or you’ll fall down. The same thing is true in your Christian walk. Just as your physical muscles must be continually exercised by proper use, your spiritual senses must be exercised. Otherwise, you will become easily shaken, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (false teaching). 

The antidote to this kind of deception is spiritual perception. As you grow spiritually, your spiritual senses will be kept sharp and alert. Then you will be spiritually perceptive: able to discern between good and evil. Therefore, you must continue to grow spiritually by growing in the grace and knowledge of your Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual growth has two components: you must grow in the grace of the Lord and in the knowledge of the Lord. True spiritual growth is only possible by the grace of God, which means God must do the work! He will work in you and through you by enlightening you, enabling you, and empowering you in your daily life. But in order to grow in the Lord, you must also know the Lord. It is not enough to know about the Lord Jesus Christ, you must know Him—personally, intimately, and experientially in the practical details of everyday life. As you begin to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, then God will be glorified in your life!
 
THE PRAYER: “Oh Lord, there is so much false information and everyone has an opinion. I feel like I am being pulled in many directions. But You, Lord Jesus, are the Truth. Your warning is clear: beware of falsehood. Cause me to grow in grace and the knowledge of You, so that I can know the difference between truth and error. Then, I will be able to remain steadfast in the truth.”

Courtesy of https://www.sourceministries.net/

World Magazine’s Dec 7, 2019 issue awards J-Curve: Dying and Rising With Jesus in Everyday Life, by Paul Miller “ACCESIBLE THEOLOGY BOOK OF THE YEAR.”

Marvin Olasky summarizes,

 

Paul Miller shows how the Bible teaches a pattern of dying and rising in the form of a J: We need to go down to come up. His message challenges the part of American evangelicalism that values winning and defines success much as the broader culture does, with adulation of celebrities and equation of suffering with failure. Miller shows through many examples that being born again often means the death of some previous ambitions, but the J-Curve is not a one-time experience: Miller calls the J-Curve “the spine of sanctification” and “dying and rising with Christ the normal Christian life.”

Miller is the son of seminary professor, Jack Miller who piloted The Sonship Course. That notebook and audio series was inspired by his grace awakeing through meditating on the Epistle to the Galatians, such as:

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Gal. 4:4-7)

The Sonship Course contains a helpful emphasis on grace, sanctification by faith and the believers identity in Christ. All of these themes are essential to revitalization.

World Magazine’s interview with Paul Miller is here: “Curving Heavenward.”

Pure Flix Alliance alert:
“The culture is changing rapidly – all you need to do is turn on the television during ‘family hour’ to see the major shift. Christians are called to be the salt and light of this ever-darkening world and how we respond to the shifts in culture – both in and through our family/community – will be our legacy.

“The Digital Revolution:What Leaders Must Know eBook is designed to equip the pastor, ministry leader and leaders of Christian-led organizations with solid insights on the media landscape. Just one asset is the chronology of the important events and significant studies that provide the backdrop to where we are today and how we can move forward with impact.”

Download a copy here: https://pureflixalliance.com/resources-alliances-2019/

One of the “wet blankets” that may hinder Pastoral Counseling and lay church-based Discipleship Counseling is the fear of a lawsuit. Although informal peer-to-peer ministry seems to avoid this stigma, when churches and parachurch helpers move into a more formal pastoral counseling role, the risk factor may come up. How can these fears be addressed? How can the counselor take wise precautions?

Adopt and ethics statement

Although professional code of ethics documents are more detailed than needed and are biased with secular values and professional policies, the Pastoral Counselor can adapt and use a policy document. Here is an audio lecture on ethics by Dr. Cry Lantz:

http://gfirecovery.com/MP3/Cary_Lantz_ETHICS.mp3

and a sample document: Ethics Policy

In formal personal ministry, have a second person present or nearby for accountability (for the benefit of the counselee and the counselor).

Use relevant forms

When forms such as Informed Consent and Waiver of Liability are used, this documents that the counselee agrees to non-professional, non-secular, Christian personal ministry sessions. These forms should be signed and kept with the client’s case notes. Here are sample documents that can be edited:
Informed Consent Form sample
Waiver of Liability sample

Get insurance coverage

If you’re doing formal ministry (appointments, goals, secure notes, donations received, etc.), a liability policy is reassuring and also affordable (relatively speaking). Consider this agency that covers pastoral/dicipleship counselors for about $100 or so per year. (800) 421-6694
https://www.americanprofessional.com/covered-professions/clergy-pastoral-counselors/

As the apostle Paul admonished Timothy, let’s minister with integrity and confidence:
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6,7).

by Dr. Lewis Gregory

We hear the phrase victorious Christian living often but I’m not sure very many people know what it really means, much less how to achieve it.

Raising the bar: I once thought the normal Christian life involved much failure and defeat. After all to err is human. And all God expects from us is to do the best we can, because He understands our weakness. But when we die and go to Heaven then everything will be OK. Wrong! It may sound nice, and even be comforting when we consider our future. But as one man said, “how does this help me in the ugly here and now?” It doesn’t!

THE SOURCE OF VICTORY

Such a life of failure and defeat is not indicative of God’s heavenly kingdom. And it’s certainly not victory. That is why Jesus told us to pray that His kingdom would come here on Earth as it is in Heaven. Once you receive Jesus Christ, God’s kingdom is within you, because the Kingdom of Heaven is the realm of God’s presence. But it is all in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the victor, He is the conqueror, and He is the triumphant victorious king. Hallelujah!

Heaven on Earth, that’s the life and the victory that Christ offers. We can live victorious because of the Victor Jesus Christ who has conquered Satan, death and hell. Jesus is victor over all things. Thus we can be victorious over all things through Christ Jesus our Lord-our indwelling king.

WHAT IS VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN LIVING?

Consider some biblical terms that describe victory in the NT:

Strong-in the Lord-Ephesians 6:10,
And yet we are told in Isaiah 33:23 that “The lame take to prey.” 2 Corinthians 12:10, Matthew 26:41, Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

courtesy of https://www.sourceministries.net/

Continue reading this article…

“But he [Elijah] himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:4).

In the pastorate, the fall is usually a busy season, which rolls into the joys and challenges of Christmas programs and activities. The holidays can also trigger some depression. Sometimes this is due to comparing our families and circumstances to the ideal, or maybe it’s due to exhaustion—physical and psychological.

Our devotional and biographical heritage reveals that burnout can also be an opportunity to discover–in a new and deeper way–how God’s strength can be perfected in our weakness. As the apostle Paul testified,

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead…” (2 Cor. 1:8,9 emphasis added).

For more on the “not I, but Christ” illumination, see Hudson Taylor’s testimonial letter here.

For an article that gleans practical suggestions from the account of the prophet Elijah, see “When You’re a Pastor Who Suffers from Depression: What the story of Elijah (and psychological research) tells us about how to cope.” By Stephanie Dyrness Lobdell. It’s at the CT blog here:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2017/december-web-exclusives/when-youre-pastor-who-suffers-from-depression.html?

by Chip Ingram  (reposted)

Whether we’re conscious of it or not, we all believe in someone or something to “hold us up” inside. When that person or thing comes through for us, then life is good! But when that person or thing doesn’t come through for us, then we experience a sense of anxiety, dissatisfaction, and ultimately despair.

But the truth is, there isn’t anyone or anything that will come through for us 24/7 – except for God Himself.

Continue reading and watch a video clip here.

by Chip Ingram  (reposted from LivingontheEdge.org)