Kiss the Son...

"Blessed are those who put their trust in Him..."
Psalm 2:12
NKJV

I am reading a wonderful little book right now by Janet Davis, entitled My Own Worst Enemy.  Janet is a spiritual mentor who focuses primarily on women's issues and growth in their relationship with the Lord.  Her books are very insightful and easy to read - always very rich in application to our lives. 

One of the issues that she explores is the difference between following Jesus out of a sense of duty versus following Jesus out of a passionate, all consuming love for Him - the difference between night and day!  We are so often taught to follow him methodically, ritualistically, out of a sense of duty, as if "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength" is a recipe we are following - 3 cups of heart, 1/2 cup of soul and a pinch of strength equals the exact right ingredients needed to bake up a nice warm batch of love of God!  It is dry and boring and something we will gladly postpone until whenever we get around to it.

Contrast that with so many pictures we see in the Word of God describing an extravagant display of unabashed, passionate love of God. Consider Mary breaking the alabaster jar to anoint Jesus with the precious oil she had saved drop by drop over her lifetime.

Mary doesn't tiptoe into the center of the Pharisees and ask if she might be able to put a drop of two of ointment on Jesus - but only if it's OK with them!  No - she runs to the Savior, weeping and making a scene which would embarrass most of us with her uninhibited display of love for Jesus.  She makes a royal mess of it all by breaking a beautiful, expensive jar and pouring the contents all over the head of this One she adores.  There is oil everywhere, broken pieces mixed in with her tears, because, of course, she cannot stop crying at the feet of Jesus.  She seems to be lost in the moment.  She doesn't even realize everyone is staring at her.  The religious leaders in the room are disdaining her reckless abandonment to the moment.  She is in love with her God.  She doesn't care who's watching.  She is out of her mind with love for this One she has found that is worth it all.  She is sold out to Him.  He owns her.  She belongs to Him.  Let everything else be lost.  She has found the Pearl of Great Price.  The Living, Breathing God of her desire.

Have you ever had such a moment of sold out love for God?  I did.  I remember the exact moment I was "born again" an overused term that often fails to capture the miracle of birth that takes place in a new believer's life. 

I had gone to visit a little church in the new neighborhood I was living in and "just happened" to be there at the end of a time of revival, when the Spirit was flowing unhindred by religious ritual.  I responded to an invitation to come to the altar for prayer.  I was one of many people who went to the altar that day.  The strange thing was, I had been raised in a denomination that never did this kind of thing, so it was brand new to me.  Not one to put myself on display, I did not plan on doing anything but praying quietly at the altar.  But, as I knelt to pray that day, the Spirit of the Lord fell on me with such power that I crumbled weeping uncontrollaby to the floor of the sanctuary.  In that moment, I know I had met my Saviour.  I could not stop crying.  The reality of my sin and my need for a Savior overwhelmed me.  I lost track of everyone around me and stayed at the altar long past the time that was "appropriate".  I finally looked up to see the Pastor kneeling beside me, calling to me, trying to bring me "back" from the edge I had apparently fallen over.  I have no idea how long I was weeping at that altar.  I didn't even care.  I had met my Savior and I didn't even want to come back.

From that day on, I have tried to follow Jesus.  I haven't always succeeded.  I am not a follower of His because I do it so well.  I am because He is faithful.  He holds onto me.  He sustains me.  He loves me.  With all my heart, I hope you find Him as I did.  Fall in love with Jesus.  You will never be the same...

Fear and Trembling...

Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear!"
Isaiah 35:4

Review of Half the Sky, Chapter 3: Learning to Speak Up

By: Shannon Walls

Fear. It is a powerful enemy to our souls that can cause paralysis, loss of hope, and capitulation. Victims of sex slavery are well acquainted with the tactic of fear used by their perpetrators. In the scope of this chapter, the concept of empowerment offers a possible solution to minimize victimization.  A delicate line separates the reality of two opposing harmful practices young girls/women are subjected to in this business. In one sense, complete surrender to the brothel manager’s instructions reaps repeated involuntary sexual acts with paying customers and the physical/emotional/mental damage that accompanies such acts. On the other hand, continual defiance leads to brutal repercussions in the form of beatings, mutilation, and other physical torture. What, if anything, can these victims do to break the chains of bondage?

Usha, a resident of one of India’s slum areas, offers one such solution: standing up to the bully. Instead of cowering, she reacts to the terrorists in such a radical way, which results in a small victory over victimization. The beautiful thing produced by this act of courage comes in the form of hope. Her bravery stirs something in the fearful hearts of her neighbors which leads to unity. They began to come out from the woodwork, so to speak, in order to rally behind Usha. I wonder if their thinking went something like this, “If Usha can stand up to the bully and make a difference, then I will stand with her. After all, there is safety in numbers.”

I am hard-pressed to think of many things that trump unity, especially if forged on the “rock of God.” Just like fear, it possesses much power. However, instead of negative impacts, it can release hope, courage, strength, and change. And, it begins with one. One person courageous enough to believe in the possibility of victory over the darkness. One person brave enough to take that first step of faith towards liberation for those enslaved and pray others follow.  One person like Zach Hunter, Sunitha, or the late Martin Luther King Jr. Sunitha, a petite woman in India, attacks sex trafficking fearlessly. And, because she has, others have joined her. By providing rehabilitation to rescued and former slaves, women are able to learn new skills that will empower and enable them to earn a living with dignity and freedom. So far, “85% of the women have been able to stay out of prostitution, while 15% have returned” (pg. 59). What an amazing number representing women’s lives changed. And, it began with one.

Questions to ponder:

1. In light of Akku Yadav’s repeat offenses towards those living in Usha’s district, do you believe it was justifiable for the women to attack and murder him in the courtroom? (detailed account found on pgs 51-52)

2. Imagine yourself in Usha’s shoes? What might you have done if Akku Yadav and his cohorts threatened you from the other side of your front door? (pgs 50-51)

3. Since this can be considered a war of sorts, do you feel that the casualties of war eliminate the necessity to engage in battle?

Note to My Readers:  It tickles me considerably to be able to introduce to all of you, the author of today's review, my friend, Shannon Walls.  Shannon is a gifted writer who hopes to write professionally someday after she completes her studies for her Bachelor's Degree in English.  Shannon and I met while we were attending church together in the Chicago area, some years ago.  But it was only recently that I discovered what a gifted writer she is.  I decided to invite her to "guest blog" for me and she so generously agreed!  Shannon will be reviewing every third chapter of the book, Half the Sky, so you will get a good introduction to this aspiring author.  Remember her name.  You just might see her on the New York Times Best Seller list sometime in the future! You can follow Shannon on her blog "The Main Thing" at http://shannonwalls.blogspot.com

"Strengthen the weak hands,

And make firm the feeble knees.

Say to; those who are fearful-hearted,

"Be strong, do not fear!"

Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

With the recompense of God;

He will come and save you."  Isaiah 35: 3.4

Book Review: Half the Sky - Intro and Chapter One

"You may choose to look the other way

but you can never say again that you did not know."

                                                       William Wilberforce

The authors don't waste any time attempting to soft-peddle the subject of their book: the brutalization of women around the globe. They take the reader immediately to the story of a young Cambodian teenager, tricked into sexual slavery with the promise of a good job to help her family who were struggling to survive. They present her story in gruesome detail as an example of what is happening to young girls and women who are sold into sexual slavery. The horrors faced by this segment of the population, simply because of their gender, are outlined briefly as a springboard for understanding the reason this book was so important to the authors to write and so important for us to read.

From the first page on, the reader is introduced to the harsh realities of life, and, all too often, the premature death, of these women and girls. I definitely found myself hesitating to want to go past the first page. One example that I found stunning, and that I had never heard before, was that “five thousand women and girls have been doused in kerosene and set alight by family members...for perceived disobedience, just in the past nine years.” p. xiv The authors maintain that there would be an enormous protest if the governments were involved in this type of crimes against women. But, since they are not “directly involved, people shrug.” p. xiv

The authors describe this book as their own awakening to the issues of oppression of women. They didn't start out there, but, once confronted with the evidence before their own eyes, they found they could not turn away. Their book details the harrowing and life threatening conditions of women and girls trapped in a culture that takes away their dignity and reduces them to chattel to be used and abused at the whim of their captors. The positive part of the book is the dawning awareness, in the global community, of the epidemic proportions of the problem and, with that awareness, the development of opportunities to help rescue these women and restore them to dignity and a future. The book is a call to arms for the rest of the world to wake up and care enough to do something about the problem, instead of choosing to pretend it doesn't exist.

Some Questions for Discussion:

What surprised you the most about the stories in the Intro and Chapter One?

What was the most positive thing you took away from reading through Chapter One?

Do you find the material so disturbing that you would prefer not to read it? Did you have an emotional response to what the authors describe?

The authors mention the fight to free African slaves, led by William Wilberforce. What do you think of this comparison – is it valid? Should the Church become more actively involved in this battle, just as Wilberforce did in the eighteenth century? Or is this a “political hot potato” that the Church should stay out of?

The authors state that: “...at any one time there are over 12.3 million people engaged in forced labor of all kinds, not just sexual servitude... And, The Lancet, a prominent medical journal in Britain, calculated that 'one million children are forced into prostitution every year and the total number of prostituted children could be as high as 10 million.” Do you wonder why, as I do, if the problem has reached these proportions, we hear so little about it from the press? I can't remember the last time I heard a news story about this issue...

Note to the Reader: Please feel free to comment on any of the questions above, or, offer your own question or comment on this material.

We will cover Chapter Two next Friday. Hope you can join us.

Book Club Read: Half the Sky

"Women Hold Up Half the Sky" Chinese Proverb

We will delve into this highly acclaimed, New York Times Bestseller, authored by Nicholas D. Kristof and his wife, Sheryl Wudunn, beginning on Friday, 3/9/12.  This is not an easy read, by any means.  It is challenging, shocking and heartbreaking at the same time.  The authors give us an unblinking and deeply compassionate look at the subject of the brutalization and oppression of women throughout the world and the international community's disinterest in doing anything about it, for the most part.  


I believe this is an important topic for all of us to become informed about, particularly as Christians. 


As difficult as it is to face the nightmare that so many women today are living through, we, as mothers, daughters, sisters, and grandmothers, as well as the men who love them, have a responsibility to look into the faces of the women who are being neglected, abused, forgotten and left to die and ask ourselves what can we do about it?  It could be our daughter, our sister, our granddaughter, who becomes the next victim.  We might like to live under the illusion that this is not a problem that is happening in America, but that would be a mistake. The sexual exploitation of women and young girls in America is growing...

We will cover the Introduction and Chapter One next Friday.  I don't want anyone to feel too overwhelmed either with the subject matter or the amount of reading to do in a week!    



I will do a short review and then invite reader's comments from all who want to participate.  All comments are welcome, with the caveat that, of course, we will treat each other with respect, even if and when we may strongly disagree with another's point of view.  Insults or slurs, so common on the Internet today, will not be allowed and will be deleted promptly, should they occur.  This is a blog that is dedicated to the Lord, and as such, please remember to "speak the truth, in LOVE"!


The plan is to cover a new chapter or two each week, on Fridays, unless something comes up that interferes.  Your input, comments, suggestions, ideas are all welcome.  Hope you can join us!

                                                                    

It's All Such a Blur!

This is the week I have been both waiting for and anxiously dreading, all at the same time!  I'm feeling a little schizophrenic!  I am having surgery a week from tomorrow and cannot wait to have that behind me and on to a speedy (let's hope!) recovery.  I am also in the process of moving this weekend!  I am nothing if not a Master of Perfect Timing!  Oh, well, try as I did, I could not arrange it otherwise, so this is the way it's all shaking out.  I am hyperventilating at the thought of it all, even as we speak!

I tell you this to -

(1) Explain to you that I will be Missing In Action for about a week, maybe a little longer, until the fog clears and I am able to put my thoughts together in a reasonably rational way. Yes, I cherish the thought that I am rational, even if my kids would make a strong case to the contrary!

There's lots of old posts here for anyone who wants to peruse them in a moment of mind boggling boredom that may overcome you!  For any of you who are interested in the book club, we will be reading "Half The Sky," which was requested by Shannon to be our next book.  When I get back, I will finish the review of "The Weight of Your Words" since I believe we have spent enough time on this book and its time to move on.  I sincerely hope many of you are able to get the book, "Half the Sky" and read it with us.  I have not read it yet and am very much looking forward to reading it with you.  We should be into that book by the middle of February, God willing and the creek don't rise!

(2)  Please keep me in your prayers for a successful surgery, move, and recovery.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it all!  See you soon!

Maureen

I Cannot Tell a Lie!

Is there anybody out there?!

We are at Chapter 2 of Dr. Stowell's Book, The Weight of Your Words.  This second chapter deals with the many ways we find to twist the truth, to protect ourselves, our public image before others, or to rob someone else of their good name by bearing false witness.  Pretty dangerous stuff, but things that we are tempted to do everyday.  

Most of us can recall situations when we were caught red-handed in telling 'little white lies'.  I remember a time when I was about 8 years old and was fighting the temptation to cut into a delicious looking cake that my mother had sitting on the kitchen counter for desert that night.  I very cleverly (I thought) cut a very small piece and then pushed the rest of the cake together to close the gap, thinking nobody would notice!  Of course, it was obvious to most eyes that the cake had been compromised!  Walking nonchalantly into the room where my mother was sitting, I thought I had pulled it off.  When she asked me if I had eaten a piece of the cake, I strongly denied any involvement in the "crime"!  She smiled, suppressing a laugh, as she asked me if I knew how the frosting had gotten on my face!  Caught red- handed with the evidence smeared all over my face! Sometimes, the Lord allows us to wallow in the misery of our own sin for awhile to teach us a lesson!

Of course, it isn't only kids that are guilty of being less than honest.  Adults are very prone in this direction, as well.  I will never forget the time my mother, not wanting to talk with a person she saw through the window, knocking at the front door, hurriedly insisted I answer the door (I must have been about 9 or 10 years old).  She gave me strict instructions to tell the unwelcome visitor that she was not home.

Answering the door, aware of my mother's listening ears in the next room, I loudly announced to the intruder who asked if my mother was home: "No, she told me to tell you she's not home!"

Needless to say, my mother was not pleased with my naive honesty!  She was caught in the lie by the complete innocence of my answer!  I guess we can't teach our children to be honest and then turn around and ask them to lie for us when we decide it's ok!

This is a great chapter on the many ways we find to stretch the truth and the many ways we harm ourselves and our neighbor by splitting hairs with the truth.  

How about you?  Do you struggle with telling "little white lies" that you think are harmless?  Did this chapter raise any red flags for you in this area?  What steps can you take to improve in this area in your christian walk?

NOTE:  I cannot tell a lie!  I am wondering if there is anyone out there who wants to be involved in this book club or am I just talking to myself?  Don't really want to waste my time, if that's the case.  

The whole idea here is to encourage one another to grow in our christian walk while reading some good books, but also to build community through an interactive, on-line discussion of the books.  We can have that interaction through the comment and reply section below this post.  

If you are interested in the book club, I definitely need your feedback.  If I do not receive any input, I must assume there is no interest.  In that case, I won't do any further writing on this book and will discontinue the book club.  If you do have an interest, please let me know.  

A blog is an interesting thing.  If it's not interactive, it's a bit like throwing a party and then, on the day of the party, discovering you are the only one that showed up!  Not much fun, at all!

It can VERY lonely out here, all alone in the big, bad, blogoshere...!  Again, I ask - "Is anybody out there?!"

Speak No Evil...

Book Club Discussion: Chapter One: The Weight of Your Words, by Joseph M. Stowell

In Chapter One, Stowell sets the stage for understanding the power of our words to build up or destroy when he re-tells the poignant true story of a high school student who really wants to sing in the school musical but is convinced he can't hold a candle to the other kids. His music teacher, Mrs. Wilson, sensitive to the need to encourage her student, convinces him to try out and then rewards his efforts with a resounding affirmation of his talent, telling him “You are JUST RIGHT for the part!”

Unfortunately, as the student grows and begins to believe in himself, the following year, Mrs. Wilson is replaced. The newly confident student, beginning to believe in his talent after a year of affirmation from Mrs. Wilson, tries out for another singing part in front of 150 of his peers. The new teacher speaks only six words to his student, following his audition. “Who told you, you can sing?”

The student, now a grown man, recounts this story with the pain of that memory still in tact. The insensitive words of this teacher destroyed the boy's self-confidence and set him up for years of self-rejection as he replayed the tape of those words over and over again in his head. By the student's own re-counting of this experience, it took him eight years before he would even try to sing again...

Can you relate?! Do you remember some unkind, even cruel, words that somebody felt free to spew in your direction as a child or teenager? Maybe a nickname that you were saddled with that makes you flinch even as an adult? Sticks and stones can break our bones, and words can deeply hurt us!

The thought of having a stick of dynamite in our mouths is unpleasant, but that is exactly how Dr. Stowell describes the power of the tongue. Amen! He concludes with five principles for taming the tongue, found in the book of James. Basically, they boil down to these:

• Spiritual maturity requires us to control our tongue! (requires!)
• The tongue is small, but mighty (loose lips sink ships)
• Our words are potentially combustible (so don't flip the switch)
• The tongue is like a wild beast! (ever ride a tiger?)
• The tongue tends to promote a double standard (do not speak with forked tongue)

Stowell gets right in our faces when he talks about our tendency to excuse our tongues from the call to spiritual maturity. He makes his case citing our lame rationalizations such as 'we need to pray about this' or 'my sources are reliable or I wouldn't say anything'! Darn. I think he knows us too well!

I found Chapter One of this book to be extremely convicting! Not sure I want to read any more! But, in the end, I went on and read Chapter Two. I'm still recovering! It definitely deserves a place of its own! If you haven't read it yet, that gives you another week to jump in and join us. If you dare!

Definitely, not for the faint of heart. Looking in the mirror, sans makeup, can be very scary, indeed!

Questions: Ever been on the receiving end of a cutting tongue? How did it affect you?

Ever been involved in a christian group that excused unkind or out of control speech?

Ever struggled with a damaged self-image as a result of careless words?

Note: This discussion is a part of the “Even My Dog Likes to Read” Book Club series. You can find all book reviews by clicking on either label at the bottom of the page, right side. Hope you join us next week!

Even the Dog Likes to Read!

That's right! At my house, even the dog likes a good book! Well, not really, but, if I had a dog, I'm sure he would be a voracious reader!

What's the big deal about books, anyway? Maybe we should ask God, for God Himself has created in us a deep, deep need to read and ingest His Word. John opens his gospel message by saying: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”John 1:1 What an amazing description of Jesus Christ – He is the “Living Word!” Ever wonder why John used this description of Jesus? He could have called Him many things but, “The Word”?!

Later, we see a tired and hungry Jesus, rebuking Satan's temptation to turn stones into bread, saying: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every WORD that comes forth from the mouth of God.”Matthew 4:4 That's an incredible endorsement by God of the power of the written word collected in a thing we call a book!

It is in this spirit of great respect for the power of books to communicate that I invite you to join me in choosing to read a few “good books” this year!” Selecting a few is a challenge but here is my short list to get us started. These are some books that I have a passing acquaintance with through radio interviews with the authors who always left me hungry for more. If you have read any of these and want to give us a little review, please jump in. I will give my opinion, but I value yours, so please do contribute your comments!

We will focus on one book at a time and take it slowly since everyone is juggling a lot of balls in the air at one time these days! Fridays will be the day for Book Club discussion and comments from you. Right now, we are reading, The Weight of Your Words, by Joseph M. Stowell. All books that will be a part of the Book Club reading series can be found by highlighting the label “Book Club” from the list of labels in the lower right corner of the home page. This will bring up the whole series in case you want to revisit a particular book we have read.

Make yourself a cup of tea and snuggle by the fire (or under the blankets) and enjoy the journey!

Suggested Books for 2012 (in no particular order!) If you have a preference for what you want to read, let me know and we can plan on reading that one next!

The Weight of Your Words by Joseph M. Stowell

A Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp

Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

When Hell Was in Session by Ravi Zacharias

Twilight's Last Gleaming by Dr. Robert Jeffress

Made to Crave by Lysa Turkeurst

An Unmerited Mercy by Marvin Olasky

All In by Mike Guzzardo

Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn

Half the Church by Carolyn Custus James
Out of a Far Country by Christopher and Angela Yuan
While the World Watched by Carolyn Mall McKinstry
Small Things With Great Love by Margo Starbuck

Sticks and Stones

With the coming of the New Year, many of us feel challenged to make some changes, especially if we have been paying attention at all to the nudging of the Holy Spirit as we try to follow Christ.


In keeping with that spirit, I mentioned at the end of last year that I would like to start a book club on this blog.  I will go into more detail regarding that on a separate post, but, for now, I would like to invite any of you who are interested to come along with me on a journey through the world of words, where there are so many gifted teachers and authors who have written books to stimulate growth in our walk with Christ.


The themes of growth, maturity in Christ, "pressing on", facing shortcomings, pruning away the dead branches, are very loud in my life right now.  Such is the nature of walking with Christ - He doesn't expect us to stagnate, but to grow and bear fruit.  "I am the true vine, and My Father is the Vine-dresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit." John 15: 1,3  Looks to me like, much as we may like to avoid the pruning shears of the Lord, we cannot and call ourselves real followers of Christ.


With all of this in mind, the first book I am reading this year is The Weight of Your Words by Joseph M. Stowell, former President of The Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.  I will be reading this book for the first time, along with any of you who choose to join me, and, of course, I hope there are lots of you who decide to come along with me and 'see what we can see'!


As the title of the book suggests, this book explores the power of our words, for good or for evil, in our relationships with family, friends, children who look up to us, coworkers, and others.  The list is practically endless when we think of how many people we impact with our words.  Of course, the issue of gossip is one that is often (sometimes unfairly) associated with those of us of the female persuasion. But, men can be just as guilty of undercutting a coworker or slashing the self esteem of a partner or a child through the careless, even cruel, words they throw on the ears of their victims.  This sinful use of the tongue as a weapon can cripple a person for a lifetime.


Obviously, this is not an issue to be blown off lightly.  Excusing gossip and bullying speech is a dangerous and irresponsible past-time.  While I would like to think I am above this kind of thing, I know I am just as capable as the next guy of sharpening my tongue for the ready the next time somebody gets in my way.  This is the kind of thing that God calls us to take deadly aim at and kill before it kills us.  "And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell."  Matthew 5:29  He is telling us not to lightly dismiss any area of sin in our lives. Because He takes it seriously, so should we.


With bullying tearing through the playground like wild fire, we have to ask ourselves, where are our children learning this behavior, if not at the knee of the adults in their lives?  As Christians, what are we going to do about it?  If we are to be 'salt and light' what must change in us for us to have that effect on our culture in this area?


If you think this is an area you would like to grow in, please pick up this book and lets do a little exploring of what God has to say to us on the topic of our words.  This book is available on Amazon for under $13 and if you are lucky enough to have a Kindle (I'm jealous!) it is under $10.  I believe there are also used copies available at even lower prices.  I plan to set aside Fridays to have a little book discussion with you about whatever book we are reading. I know everyone is very busy, so we will take our time and try not to be too overwhelming.  No tests or grades assigned!  Just friends helping friends grow in the Lord!


If you choose to participate, please get the book and read at least the first two chapters by next Friday.  I know God will join us in this effort to be open to where He wants to shine His light, where He is pleased and where He wants to change us in 2012.  Have your own way, Lord.  Have your own way!


"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless."  James 1: 26

Follow Thee More Nearly

I'm reading a little book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg. I commend this book highly to any of you who love to read and are looking for a book (short read) that will spur you on in your walk with Christ.

I have always been fascinated by Jewish culture and heritage, especially as the origins of Christianity. I did not realize, however, until I read this book, how different is the Western culture from the Jewish culture that Jesus lived in. You might be inclined to ask yourself, as I did, why is that significant? Because our interpretation of the biblical stories about Jesus, the parables that Jesus spoke, the expectations that He laid down for His disciples, grew out of the Jewish faith that Jesus learned and practiced throughout His lifetime. I have found a deeper understanding of why Jesus said this or that, what Jesus was calling His disciples to, and subsequently, what He is calling me to as a servant of Christ, called to follow my Master.

In some ways, this little book has awakened a much deeper understanding in me of what it means to be a “disciple” of Jesus Christ. The lights have suddenly come on, highlighting areas in my life that are not at all pleasing to my Lord and Savior, and then, to do something about them!  I will admit, I didn't expect this when I started reading the book!  Before I read this book, I was quite comfortable in my ignorance, thank you very much! But, now, I cannot put the toothpaste back in the tube! So be forewarned, if you do decide to read this book, you might just have to face the man (or woman) in the mirror and make some attitude and behavior adjustments! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Here's a few quotes from the book that I found very challenging!

“Sometimes, we hear the word 'disciple' and conclude that it is too hard to become one. But think of the alternative. To refuse to become Jesus' disciples is to consign ourselves to perpetual childhood and condemn ourselves to a wasted, frustrating life... It may not always be easy, but it will certainly be good, and, as we follow Him, we will find ourselves living with greater passion and purpose, experiencing a life of greater fulfillment.” (P. 64)

Suggestions for growth at the end of Chapter Four:

1. Discipleship involves gradual change over a period of years. Ask a friend who knows you well to comment on changes he or she has observed in you as you have matured as Christ's disciple. (risky, I know!)
2. What of your parents' traits, even those you dislike (!), are evident in your own life? Ask God to show you how to improve the example you are to others.
3. Who are you being discipled by? Who are you discipling?

This is not a hugely difficult book to read, but it is for serious followers of Jesus who want to grow in that relationship. If that's you, I hope you check it out. Let me know what you think!

I'm considering starting an online book club on this blog. Let me know if you are interested!  I'm open to suggestions on books, etc.  This might be something fun to do for the New Year!

Scripture Reference: Mark 8:34 NKJV

“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me...”