ChristFit North Devotional – 8/24/2014

By Jordan Robison

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” – Romans 1:16

I first heard this story and what some refer to as the “Martyr’s Prayer” when we were over in Ethiopia and discussing how we would take the kingdom work we were doing over in Ethiopia and carry it back over into our lives in the states.  The following was also shared at the last Unashamed weekend that the Watermark young adults put on several times a year.  I took it as a challenge placed before me and wanted to share it with y’all today.

Dr. Robert Morehead tells the story of a young man from Rwanda who was forced by his tribe in 1980 to renounce Christ or face death.  He refused to renounce Christ, and he was murdered on the spot.

The night before he had written the following commitment which was found in his room.

“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. The decision has been made.  I have stepped over the line. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is in God’s hands. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, the bare minimum, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, frivolous living, selfish giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, applause, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, the best, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith.  I lean on Christ’s presence. I love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with the power of God’s grace.

My face is set, my gait is fast, and my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, and my mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ.

 I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give until I drop, speak out until all know, and work until He stops me.

 And, when He returns for His own, because He will return, He will have no difficulty recognizing me.  My colors will be clear.”

This was the statement of a man that was about to be killed for his beliefs, the faith of a man that was willing to die for what he knew was true.  Look around at the city and country we live in, the lives that God has blessed us with…we don’t face this type of persecution.  We don’t have to fear for our lives when we share our faith.  We are not told to renounce our faith or face certain death.  The only thing that’s stopping us is fear…fear of rejection, fear of being embarrassed, fear of not knowing how to respond.  I can say this because those fears are what consistently hold me back when it comes to sharing the most important message that was ever delivered to me.

Every time I read this man’s words I am both convicted and inspired to be bolder in my faith, to embody Christ in everything I do, to live unashamed of the gospel in all aspects of my life and I hope that it can do the same for you.

ChristFit North Devotional – 8/17/2014

In the first 3 parts of us going through Intimacy with the Almight by Charles Swindoll we looked at four different disciplines that help us to cultivate a close, personal, intimate relationship with our Father:

Reordering One’s Private World: The Discipline of Simplicity

Being Still: The Discipline of Silence

Cultivating Serenity: The Discipline of Solitude

Today we’ll look at the final discipline, “Trusting the Lord Completely: The Discipline of Surrender”

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

“Anyone whose determined purpose is to become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him cannot retain the rights to his own position or place…or be anxiously preoccupied with working out the details of his own life.  There must be complete and unqualified reliance on the Living Lord.  In other words, one must develop the discipline of surrender.  Now there’s an unpopular term for today’s generation!  I can just hear the frowning reaction. ‘Surrender? Get serious.’…We have reared a generation of strong-willed, belligerent, independent young men and women.  Surrender is not a word in their vocabulary.  Too bad, since it is the key that unlocks the vault of God’s best and deepest treasures.  He patiently waits for us to yield, to quit fighting Him, to allow His plan to run its course, to turn to Him for our security and significance.  As He witnesses our doing that, He begins to reveal Himself and His will in greater depth.”

“I’m finally learning that His sovereign plan is the best plan.  That whatever I entrust to Him, He can take care of better than I.  That nothing under His control can ever be out of control.  That everything I need, He knows about in every detail.  That He is able to supply, to guide, to start, to stop, to sustain, to change, and to correct in His time and for His purposes.  When I keep my hands out of things, His will is accomplished, His Name is exalted, and His glory is magnified…I am finally learning that surrendering to my sovereign Lord, leaving the details of my future in His hands, is the most responsible act of obedience I can do.  And, until I do it, becoming a deep person remains nothing more than a distant and pious dream.”

In conclusion of our four parts series these are the decision and the disciplines we have been considering:

1. To reorder our private world, we must learn to exercise the discipline of simplicity.
2. To be still, the discipline of silence must be valued.
3. To cultivate serenity, it is imperative that we guard the discipline of solitude.
4. To trust God completely requires the discipline of surrender.

Swindoll closes with words from V. Raymond Edman, from The Disciplines of Life.

In every life

                There’s a pause that is better than onward rush,

                Better than hewing or mightiest doing;

                ‘Tis the standing still at Sovereign will.

 

                There’s a hush that is better than ardent speech,

                Better than sighing or wilderness crying;

                ‘Tis the being still at Sovereign will.

 

                The pause and the hush sing a double song

                In unison low and for all time long.

                O human soul, God’s working plan

                Goes on, nor needs the aid of man!

                Stand still, and see!

                Be still, and know!

ChristFit North Devotional – 7/20/2014

“The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.  And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not have time to eat.)  They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

Cultivating Serenity: The Discipline of Solitude – from Intimacy with the Almighty by Charles Swindoll

While our Lord appreciated their hard work and faithful labors as they returned from ministry on their own, He saw their need for rest and reflection…Jesus saw the value of solitude…the need to escape from activity.

As invaluable and necessary as companionship is, enabling us to be encouraged, accountable, and challenged, there is an equally important segment of the spiritual life that is frequently ignored.  I’m referring to the discipline of solitude, where we cultivate serenity deep within ourselves.

Solitude has been called “the furnace of transformation”…it is an oasis of the soul where we see ourselves, others, and especially God in new ways.  It is where much of the “clutter” I mentioned earlier is identified and exterminated, thanks to the merciless heat of the “furnace.”  Soul surgery transpires as serenity replaces anxiety.  God who probes our deepest thoughts during protracted segments of solitude opens our eyes to things that need attention.  It is here He makes us aware of those things we try to hide from others.

“In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me – naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken – nothing.  It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that everything in me wants to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something.  But that is not all.  As soon as I decide to stay in my solitude, confusing ideas, disturbing images, wild fantasies, and weird associations jump about in my mind like monkeys in a banana tree.  Anger and greed begin to show their ugly faces…The task is to persevere in my solitude, to stay in my cell until all my seductive visitors get tired of pounding on my door and leave me alone.” – Henri Nouwen

If the truth were known, most of us resist that kind of soul searching because it seems to radical, too severe.  After all, time is short, and who needs all that kind of self-analysis?  The religious show must go on!  No, that’s just the point.  Through the discipline of solitude, we come to terms with the superficial, “show,” and we determine in our hearts that it will stop!

The psalmist realized the need for in-depth examination.  In fact, he invited God’s laserlike probe into the innermost chambers of his hear and thoughts.

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.  You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.  Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold O Lord, You know it all…Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.”

– Psalm 139:1-4, 23-24

An inner restlessness grows within us when we refuse to get alone and examine our own hearts, including our motives.  As our lives begin to pick up the debris that accompanies a lot of activities and involvements, we can train ourselves to go right on, to stay active, to be busy in the Lord’s work.  Unless we discipline ourselves to pull back, to get alone for the hard work of self-examination in times of solitude, serenity will remain only a distant dream.  How busy we can become…and as a result, how empty!  We mouth words, but they mean nothing.  We find ourselves trafficking in unlived truths.  We fake spirituality.

Going back to Jesus’ command to the apostles in our verses from Mark.  Clearly, Jesus saw the value of solitude…the need to escape from activity.  It was there that serenity could be cultivated.

ChristFit North Devotional – 6/22/2014

“Cease striving and know that I am God…” (NASB)
“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God…” (NIV)
“Be still, and know that I am God!…” (NLT)
“Step out of the traffic!  Take a long, loving look at me, your High God…” (MSG)

Being Still: The Discipline of Silence – from Intimacy with the Almighty by Charles Swindoll

“If you think it is a difficult test in our complicated, competitive world, to develop the discipline of simplicity, just imagine the challenge you face in this world of restlessness, noise, words, and relentless activity, to develop the discipline of silence.  Personally, I have found this to be an almost insurmountable challenge.  I’ve realized its magnitude more in the past two years than ever before in my life.  Yes, I am more convinced than ever that there is no way you and I can move toward a deeper, intimate relationship with our God without protracted times of silence, which includes one of the rarest of all experiences: absolute silence.”

Looking back at Psalm 46:10 “we are commanded to stop (literally)…rest, relax, let go, and make time for Him.  The scene is one of stillness and quietness, listening and waiting before Him.  Such foreign experiences in these busy times!  Nevertheless, knowing God deeply and intimately requires such a discipline.  Silence is indispensable if we hope to add depth to our spiritual life.  It ‘guards the fire within our souls.’”

“Do you find yourself victimized by the noisy, busy, overcrowded world in which you must spend many hours of your life?  Is it leaving you spiritually insensitive, sort of a business-as-usual attitude toward the church you attend of the Bible study you used to enjoy?  How about prayer?  Noise and crowds have a way of siphoning our energy and distracting our attention, making prayer an added chore rather than a comforting relief.  You may even feel a low-grade depression sweep over you as the absence of stillness and silence takes its toll.  If so, it is time for some straight talk.  Nobody can do anything about that dilemma but you!  Allow it to continue, and you will gravitate into one of two directions.  Either you will run through the motions and cultivate a hypocritical spirituality hidden behind the mask of phony enthusiasm, or you will simply fade from involvement and distance yourself from meaningful relationships with other Christians.  In both cases you will set yourself up for a fall.  I have seen it happen more often than I want to recall.”

“If the pace and push, the noise and the crowds are getting to you, its time to stop the nonsense and find a place of solace to refresh your spirit.  Deliberately say ‘no’ more often.  This will leave room for you to slow down, get alone, pour out your overburdened heart, and admit your desperate need for inner refreshment.  The good news is He will hear and He will help.  The bad news is this: If you wait for someone else to bring about a change, things will only deteriorate.  Your spiritual fervor will wane and you will be vulnerable to an adversarial assault, which will surely come.  Strengthening yourself before the Lord is your only hope.

“We yearn to restore our spirits to God, to simply let go in him and gain new strength to go on living.  But we fail to look for him where he is waiting for us, where he is to be found: in his Son, who is his Word…As all of us can testify, God does not speak to the hurried, worried mind.  It takes time along with Him and His Word before we can expect our spiritual strength to recover.”