Discipleship Unveiled

Remember when you first heard the definition of love in the scriptures? A great way to understand love is understanding this; there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Jesus said it Himself! When we think of laying down our life we have a tendency to think in terms of jumping on a grenade or some similiar great sacrifice ending in our death. We sacrifice our life so that others may live. That truly is love. A single act of selflessness, demonstrates love and engenders a deep sense of gratitude and new found purpose in those who were preserved... i.e. loved. Our Lord and Savior did exactly that. He was on a mission to give His life so that all could be saved. Again, true love, and we are motivate through gratitude that could not be gained any other way. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. - 2 Corinthians 5:15 NLT...

Continued from, Take Away Their Argument . Things seemed to be off to a mundane start. The restaurant was set to open in an hour and there was much to do. Tables needed to be set. Glasses needed a polish. Everyone was busy scurrying about taking care of their assignments and teaming up to complete mutual tasks. Well... almost everyone. Mike was a good waiter. He was a smart kid and well liked by his guests. Once the night started he was attentive to his tables and a decent team player. However, the routine tasks of setting up the dining room did not play to his strengths. The Plot Unfolds While setting up it was not uncommon for ole Mike to disappear to the room service kitchen to chat with the young ladies. Sometimes it was a jaunt out to the resorts main pool, which the restaurant overlooked, to dream about the ladies there. Before taking his leave, Mike would ensure his section was set but then would quickly disappear avoiding the tasks that required the entire ...

Have you ever started a conversation about life and philosophy and it becomes apparent the other person is not listening? They seem to "talk through" or "talk around" your ideas, rather than thoughtfully considering them? I'm sure you have. The good news is, there are fantastic ways to steer a conversation back to the original topic. Stimulating The Thought Process We have described techniques such as staying on topic , setting the premise , asking questions , and others that are available for review at  ITCZ 101 . We use these techniques for clarity and to keep ourselves thinking through a complex conversion. Equally important, we are helping others to engage their thinking and remain thoughtful as well. Another technique to add to our arsenal is to take away their argument . So, what does that mean? The idea is to grant the other person a point that is true, yet it is irrelevant to the point you are making. In philosophical discussions we ca...

Let's rethink repentance. Clarifying terms is a great tool for improving communication. It allows us to not only look closely at a word or phrase but also let's us come at it from many angles. Let's define and simplify the word, repent/repentance . Repentance can be mistaken for sorrow or penance but that's not what it is. Repentance is not sorrow. Will sorrow lead you to repent? Sure it does. Yet it is a separate process. Repenting is commonly understood, as to turn away from sin. When we dig a little deeper we find that repentance is specifically to change your mind . It's that easy. When we fall into sin our Father tells us to change our mind about the sin we commited. Sin produces death and due to our new nature, we have a way to recover from it. We have the superpower to change our mind about following our old nature and set our thought process to think like the new person we are. We choose to think like Jesus thinks. Our thinking process is where Go...

Can you remember an argument you had where a person you were trying to correct refused to agree that they had done the thing you said they did? Even though there was no disputing the details? I have. In one particular encounter, when it happened, it took me by surprise. So much so, the entire encounter changed the way I think. Here's why: It didn't matter how clear the situation was, he was not going to agree that he had done anything wrong. Then the unexpected happened! Let's do this in story format for fun. The names and some details have been changed to protect... everybody! :-) Jack And Tom Jack was the manager of our team. One day a member, we'll call him Tom, was in a tough situation with a client where it was appropriate to refuse our services. It was a common practice to refuse service under these particular conditions. However, when Jack came over to back Tom, he put Tom in a terrible position. Instead of confirming the denial of service, he ...

It is appropriate that we are ready to answer questions from Believers and non-believers. However we do not need to accept the premise of a question. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. - 1 Peter 3:15 NLT Here is a fantastic definition of what a premise is: A premise is the assumption of an argument that is meant to justify the conclusion the one making the argument is hoping you’ll come to. If one fails to establish the premise to his argument, one almost always fails to convince others of his conclusion. On the other hand, if one establishes a premise one will more than likely get others to agree with his conclusion. - from the article, "Never Accept the Premise of Your Opponent’s Argument" by Steve Deace,   Townhall.com We want to do what Jesus did and change or correct the premise of questions we get asked, to what should have been asked to lead to salvation. Je...

You are a warrior! It is a part of your new nature in Christ. Whatever difficulties that lie before you, you are made for this moment. So let's take a daily approach where we are readying ourselves for the battles to come. Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. -  James 1:2-4 NLT Can you find this kind of fortitude right now? Maybe. For many of us we will need to grow into increasing levels of fortitude. This is the reason the Apostle Paul instructed us to put on the full armor of God. The first step is to think like Jesus thinks. I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." -  John 16:33 NLT You Wer...

Can you remember a time when things were difficult? It's likely something or several things are happening right now that are terrible. Do you remember thinking that, "if I could just *fill in the blank* I would be set? Once this is over with, life will be better." "If I could get that job or promotion, that's all I would need."  "If I could get that bill paid then I would be doing great."  "If I could just get some relief, I would be ok." Unfortunately, this kind of thinking sets us up for failure when the next challenge comes along. If we achieve a victory or good fortune overcoming a difficult situation, we want to make sure we do not disarm ourselves for the next encounter. Celebrate The Wins, Develop Fortitude For The Next Challenge Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. -  Ephesians 6:10 NLT Certainly, we want to celebrate every win. It is an integral part of laying a foundation of fortitude. Yet, instead of...

Have you ever wondered why children learn so fast? We have all observed enough to know that children are quick studies. They have the power of curiosity! That curiosity produces a million questions. We also can use questions to spur our curiosity and the curiosity in others. If I give you information that you are not interested in, you are going to forget it. Undesired information has little value. However, information that is provided in response to a question has ongoing value and activates our learning and reasoning. Walking In The Spirit You will find that questions are a powerful mechanism that God uses throughout the scriptures. Why? To activate our thinking. To reveal information that we would not otherwise discover or realize. Did you ever notice that Jesus answered questions with questions? It was to activate the other persons thinking. The Holy Spirit works in a similar way. Here's how. Have you ever had a question come to mind about something in the scriptures...

Have you ever been in a discussion/argument/debate where you were right but felt like you lost the argument? Well that shouldn't happen! As Christians we have the words of life and yet when we get in a philosophical discussion it can get muddled and confusing where all parties get lost in the semantics. This doesn't need to happen. If we learn to listen, we can become expert at planting and watering the Word of God. When we engage folks when we are out and about, it's fun to get to know people and share our lives with them. These moments can provide fantastic opportunities to deliver the Gospel. The scriptures tell us that we are to be  wise as serpents  and  harmless as doves . Paul reminded us that time is short and Jesus directed us to deliver the Gospel and make disciples . This all seems like our Father is telling us to go in with a strategy! Listening is a critical piece of our strategy for taking advantage of opportunities and creating opportunities ...