Life Path Multimedia Weekend Work

https://youtu.be/lDN40y0xw_o

For those who might have missed it, the Coffee & Chat with Rev Bruce live stream launch was a joy. The fruits of your labor are always sweetest when you have done the work long before others see any signs of sprouting. If I can help somebody, let me say it plainly: Keep pushing when it seems like quitting time.

Coffee & Chat with Rev Bruce Podcast

Part of the big deal is that the live stream allowed for the podcast upload and here is Part 1 of the initial episode of the podcast. Excuse the colorful language at the end but I believe where you can see the natural flow of this dialogue and discussion on purpose and pursuing a greater good for communities and its children.

Danger Ahead

Wherefore Christian was left to tumble in the Slough of Despond alone; but still he endeavored

to struggle to that side of the slough that was farthest from his own house, and next to the wicket-gate;

the which he did, but could not get out because of the burden that was upon his back: but I beheld
in my dream, that a man came to him, whose name was Help, and asked him what he did there.
. . .  Fear followed me so hard that I fled the next way, and fell in.
- Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan



Bunyan's protagonist is aptly named Christian.  He struggles with which way to go and who to listen to as he searches his way through life.  That may sound familiar to many of us as Christians.  We have spent some time trying to find our own way and the help of others have sometimes led us astray.  That appears to be nothing new.

Pilgrim's Progress is a book full of symbolism.  Yet, it is a tale that should resonate with most of us.  It should remind us of our constant struggle to stay on the right path.  Through this christian classic, we should remember that life is full of dangers ahead and just around the bend.  It may not simply be the things that we encounter upon the road itself.  It may be the danger of the very people who cross our path along the way.  We may do well to not listen to some of the folks who seem to know so much and cause us so much trouble as we follow their lead.



Paul wrote it this way: "Test everything. Hold on to the good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21, NIV).  Don't simply look into what people say and take it as gospel.  The Bible warns us of false teachers and their twisting of the Word of God for their own benefit and gain.  Learn to discern the truth based upon your understanding of the Word and the urging of the Holy Spirit. 

Even in his letters from prison, Paul is careful to state: "It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains" (Philippians 1:15-17, NIV).  Jude urged the believer to "contend for the faith," while John shared that we should imitate and do "what is good." We cannot spend a lot of time following behind this manipulators and workers of evil.  We have to focus on the good that comes from God that produces love and peace, even joy and forgiveness.  If we do as He has said for us to do, we will uphold the truth that comes from Him and he will destroy that which defies His Word.

Be careful to hold onto the Word of God as truth.  Otherwise, when you least expect it, you will find danger ahead.

Partners and Presenters for Bible Lessons

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. - Ecc. 4:9-10 (NASB)

Prayer partners work well.  Accountability partners keep you honest and on your toes. A teaching partner should do the job of both as well as help you lead the Bible lesson.

For those of you who teach the Bible, find you a partner.  Find you someone who can pray with you and for you as you prepare your Sunday school lesson.  If you lead a small group, let your partner know as you begin to prepare.  Invite your partner to check in with you or to study the Scriptures with you in preparation.  Let them share insights with you and hear your concerns about nervousness and issues.

You might need this same person to hold you accountable.  You may be ready to skip some tough issues that are in the Bible lesson.  Be sure that your partner is a person of conviction who will tell you to keep to the text and keep it real.  You need someone who will force you to cut it straight and ensuring that you are rightly dividing the word of truth.

Getting Good at Good Works

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. - Titus 2:11-14 (NKJV)

Good works are to be part of the Christian church's DNA.  Paul stressed that to Titus, his "true son" in the ministry of sharing the Good News, as he instructed him about establishing elders and setting things in order in Crete. Paul instructs Titus, as the appointed pastor over the Cretan believers, to show himself as a pattern of good works.  The people are to learn to become zealous for good works as the Lord's "special people" by following after the Lord's example and the example set by their spiritual leaders in the name of the Lord.  The people have to hear about it by sound doctrine and they have to see it by demonstration.  The church becomes more engaged with good works due to what the Lord showed and shared with the world over 2,000 years ago and what the pastor shows and shares with the congregation as the spiritual leader day by day.

We are not to simply sign up and show up for opportunities to do good works.  That's not the essence of the message from Paul to Titus.  We are to become "zealous for good works," according to Titus 2:14, demonstrating a fervent spirit for our calling to do good works in accordance with Ephesians 2:10.  Paul stresses that godly people should not only "be ready for every good work," as in Titus 3;1, but also learn to "maintain good works" in Titus 3:8, 14.  According to Titus 3:14, our good works lead to our fruitfulness as we meet urgent needs.

• Is your ministry demonstrating a "pattern of good works?"
• What sort of trail are you leaving behind? Good works and good fruit?
• Are others learning to minister to others based upon the example that you are providing?

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works - Hebrews 10:24 (ESV)

Never Stop

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. - Acts 5:42 (NIV)

Things go wrong. Things fall to pieces. People quit. Plans fail. It's inevitable. It comes along with being in ministry.

So what are you to do?

Keep going. Don't quit. Never stop.

Look at the early church. With no Facebook status updates or tweets on Twitter, they forged on through hard times. They kept teaching and preaching. Even after the persecution of the church, it says: Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. They shared the Good News that Jesus is the Christ. They lived and breathed for the sake of kingdom living.

"Nothing can stop the man who feels the presence of God in his life." - Robert h. Schuller

The World Uses the Word

...The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.- 1 John 3:1 (ESV)

...For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.- Luke 16:8 (NIV)

The world did not know him according to the first verse posted above. In fact, John wrote earlier in his gospel account: He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. Believe it or not, John also said that Jesus came to His own people and they did not even receive Him. Needless to say, Jesus was not received well by the world.

Yet, the world did something different with His Word. While many did not accept Jesus as the Messiah and the Anointed One, the world did take His Word to a totally different place. The world took His Word and did something different with it.

The world tainted His Word. It puts everything else alongside His Word and simply held the Word without reverence or much regard. The world twisted the Word. It bent the Word this way and that way to make it work for them. They use the Word in such a that makes the Word as more of a reference source than a relied-upon source. The world tweaked the Word. It added some here and removed some there, straying away from the truth of the Word.

Don't rely on the world. Rely on the Word. Put your full trust in the Word. As a Christian, the world does not understand you because the world does not understand Him. Stay with the Word.

Discipleship Inside Out

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.-1 Corinthians 11:1

Paul outlines the dynamics of discipleship that most church leaders should take today. He doesn't offer a do-as-I-say-not as-I-do leadership credo. He simply shares truth with a church that had numerous internal struggles a way for getting on the right track and simply following another follower of Christ. Such an approach echoes much of what Jesus shared after offering the parable of the Good Samaritan when He stated: "Go and do likewise."

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Church leaders have to see themselves leading others down the right path of Christian living. Just as Paul shared, an example of faithful Christian living should be provided to the Christian newcomer in the form of a living, breathing believer who can mentor others as the embark on their personal journey with Jesus. Every pastoral leader should have a body of people he has trained and taught for leadership roles that may or may not fit into the church's organizational chart. If you can't find anyone you have taught and trained for leadership, then your first move may be to pray to the Lord for insight and ideas on how to identify and start training others for future leadership roles. Here is where vision serves as a key ingredient. You'll have to see where you want to go and design a pathway for getting there.

Paul demonstrates another key component of discipleship. Discipleship is personal. You have to be willing to allow someone to examine you up close and personal as you seek to disciple them. They'll hear you more as they come to know and understand you more. They need to know that you are still flesh and blood behind all of that saintly speaking and righteous rhetoric.

Don't expect to be perfect. Try with all your might, but don't simply expect it. We are all imperfect people privileged to be working on God's perfect plan. The journey is worth telling others because they can look forward with hope to the joy that they will experience when their Bible students get a grasp of their weekly small group lesson on righteous redemption or when the man who struggled with his identity in Christ becomes at peace with striving to be more like Him. Discipleship is exactly that; a journey that you have agreed to go on with someone else as you serve as their tour guide. Yep. That's what it is.

Answering a Fool

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself.- Proverbs 26:4 (NIV)

Yes, it is true that Jesus said that we are not to call our brother a fool. The caveat to that teaching is a study of context that speaks about the anger in which we use such words rather than simply inserting some euphemism that says what we meant in code. Jesus was teaching about judgment and anger in Matthew 5:22. However, the Proverbs are clear about identifying the foolish actions that separate the fool from the wise and prudent. Obviously, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, we see it as a duck. If it acts foolish and sounds foolish... It is what it is.

The words of Solomon teach us that fools act differently. In fact, Solomon teaches us through Proverbs that a fool is wise in his own eyes. Answering a fool according to his folly requires you to get on that fool's level. In other words, what you are doing is addressing the fool by the same foolish ways that he uses. I picture it like this: a wise man and a fool get into a verbal argument, hurling insults at one another and calling each other fools. How do you identify the wise man from the fool? Exactly! The precise problem is what it projects to others, especially the fool himself. You just justified his argument to some degree by what you did in response to him. Such actions on our part kill the power of our witness.

With those who choose to go about things foolishly, I say simply show them another way by example. If they are foolish, they'll keep doing what they've always done just for the sake of it. If they have any degree of common sense, they'll see how you go about things differently and at least inquire of what makes you different. Keep in mind that you can win someone over by killing them with kindness, showering and smothering them with lovingkindness. Catch more flies with the sweet honey of your lips rather than poisoning them with the venomous vinegar.

From Rebuke to Rewards

8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. 12 "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.- Malachi 3:8-12(NIV)

Often as misunderstood as it has been misinterpreted, the words of God in the third chapter of Malachi have been used to convict and compel men, women and even children regarding tithes and offerings for years. Most of us, as believers, have heard some part of this passage utilize to manipulate and persuade people with the fear that they could be "cursed with a curse," as the King James Version reads, if they were to "rob God" in tithes and offerings per se. Yet, when we read this final prophecy of the Old Testament, we gain new insight to what the Lord offered His people through His words in the third chapter.

Malachi paints a picture of priestly corruption that leads to a very dark period in the history of the children of Israel. What was offered to God as a sacrifice and offering was not up to par. It got so bad that the people became reluctant to give at first, and then they refused to give at all. That's when God finally steps in and shares what he has to say about the entire matter. God offers a way to move from rebuke, being cursed with a curse, to rewards, receiving an outpouring from heaven's open window. The believer is offered a reward for his or her obedience. Disobedience leads to rebuke. God wants our faithful obedience, not our opinion about who shouldn't do what or who should be able to do this or that. He wants us to live lives full of obedience. Follow His Word and receive the rewards that He has for you.

Grow-Go-Glow

I believe that there is a way that we can develop people who can disseminate the gospel message to the uttermost parts of the world. Each believer can utilize his or her unique caling for specific purposes, but we all most follow the general plan, the big picture that is outlined for the body of Christ, the church. here is a sample of a simplistic view of how to get started in teaching and reaching with the Word and by the Word.

• Grow: We need a place where people can grow.
  *Teaching
  *Training
• Go: We need to develop people to go out into the world with the Word in word and deed
  *Equip
  *Educate
  *Empower
• Glow: Let your light shine before men. . . Our glow should allow others to see what God has done in our lives and the difference that He has made.

Putting Principles into Practice

The church has a duty to both God and its people. The church must honor and give glory to God. That is simple. Most people won't argue with that one. Yet, the church also has a duty to its people. The church must teach and train its people. Look at Ephesians 4:11-12, 13. we've been put into position for a distinct purpose,"for the perfecting of the saints."
We should teach and train our people. We need to teach our people the principles that come from the Word of God. Many will call them the statutes or tenets of our faith. however you would call or name them, these principles should be taught to the people by leaders and teachers within the church. Then, we must train our people in the practices of our faith. Teaching tends to fall by the wayside when we fail to follow it up with training. The teaching sounds good but does us no good because we have not applied it to our own lives through daily practices of life application. the two go hand in hand. wemust teach and train our people to put the principles into practice throughout their daily lives.

Stewardship 101

I am convinced that much of how we taught people in previous years transcended beyond the simple, especially in the church. Whatever happened between the old school and new school did a lot to get us away fom the basics of what the Bible teaches us about how we are to live in Christ. We soon discover all of these new terms like atonement, propitiation and reconciliation amid the countless treasures of biblical knowledge available to us. We need to learn about stewardship and that's real. Churches and pastors should teach from the broad spectrum of stewardship rather than Christian giving. Why? Well, let's identify the benefits that outweigh simply teaching about giving. Stewardship is a lifestyle, not a mere act. As stewards, our actions are driven based upon how God has positioned us in this life. We can become better parents, spouses, employees and even employers as we learn more about stewardship. Stewardship teaches us about accountability as well as responsibility. As we share more about wise stewardship, we will reveal more and more about our actions as a response to our relationship with God. Start with Stewardship 101 and we should see a change in the people and their actions. I believe that we can do this. Learn about giving and you can give an offering Sunday by Sunday; learn about stewardship and you can learn to take care of the kingdom business just as you would take care of your own.

Building Up Biblically Day to Day

". . . Exhort one another daily. . ."
-Hebrews 3:13

Exhortation has almost become a lost art. It is as if many are satisfied reading the Scriptures and not getting into depth to the point where many of these so-called theologians and Bible scholars are unable to share the story behind the text. Dumbing down the Word has become vogue when the Bible shares that we are to exhort one another daily. We have to take care of how we handle the Word and the "flock" under our watch and care. Let us be mindful of what we are called to do by God Himself.

• Deliver the truth with sincerity regarding your fellowman and the walk of life God has called you both to live out.
• Dedicate time throughout the day to read and reflect upon the Scriptures
• Discuss the Word with others in order to grow in knowledge and maturity
• Drop your preconceived notions of what the Word means and is trying to say to you

We have the power to accomplish what God has called us to do if we will do so by the means by which He provide to us. Let's not add to any confusion that already exists among believers. The strong should take care to uphold the weak, especially through the Word.

Back on Track

Hip-hop's Rakim made real noise when he would start out with the words: "It's been a long a time. . ." I felt the same way as I started on this blog entry. It seems as if I have neglected some sacred duty, but I have been very busy doing some productive work for both the church and community.

• I have really gotten into Twitter and at least hitting up an update daily if not more than once. Follow me tweet by tweet at www.twitter.com/lifepath01/
• I am preaching every Wednesday night at Bayview Bapttist Church for the month of June. I preached last week on "Being Blessed Beyond Belief" about Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. . .where is God sending you and to whom for your blessing? I've got two more to go. We crank it up at 7 PM.
  
• I've got to give all of those who preach and teach with the Good News, the Word of truth. This is no small thing. Preaching and teaching take a lot out of a person. Each requires a great amount of study and commitment. You are in my prayers daily.
• I am putting finishing touches on my latest book of inspirational poetry entitled Lamentations in the Storm. I am planning a few book-signings this summer for this and Words from the Underground.

What's next? I cannot say yet. The baby is keeping us on our toes and that's expected. I have a few plans underway for some new ventures in ministry and community services, so I stay prayerful. Andrew Murray said,"I pray, expecting an answer." Yes, and I pray for clarity and understanding to follow my obedience and acceptance of what God has to say. Amen.