The Call & The Drive

We can learn a lot from the attitude of John the Baptist. So let me ask you, are you called or driven? Confident in Christ or confident in yourself?

There's a difference. Here are four characteristics of a called man/woman of God. They:

1. Understand Stewardship: The crowds, followers, disciples and attention...they were not his to keep.'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' John 1:15. What are you holding to that isn't actually yours to keep?
2. Know their identity: 'I am not the Christ' John 1:20. Know who you aren't, namely the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, and you will begin to understand who you are, created and sustained by God. Reflect on this reality, it will impact you beyond compare.
3. Know their Purpose: He knew his role in being the forerunner to the Messiah, 'I am the voice of the one calling in the desert, "Make straight the way for the Lord."' John 1:23. Is your purpose to make your name great...or is it to make His Name Great?
4. Understand Commitment: John knew he was called by God. He knew his role, he knew his purpose, he knew who Jesus was and held fast to his own beheading. 'He must become greater, I must become less.' John 3:30. What or whom are you committed to? If it's anything or anyone other than Christ first and foremost...reflect once again on your role as a steward, your identity, your purpose in life.

Knowing that we are called (to follow Christ) fosters joy. Within this joy we find peace in our position in Christ as forgiven and sent on mission. Are you living a called life as a disciple of Christ or a driven life as a disciple of ________?

Read Johns Gospel chapters 1-3. Adapted from Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald. 

How's Your Community Group: Part 3

Fellowship. Sharing authentic life with a community of people. "He went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where the many people had gathered and were praying" (Acts 12:12).

When Peter escaped from prison, again (4:3, 5:17-42), where Herod had been keeping him to put him on murderous display as a Jewish rebel of this New Way simply because it pleased an audience, he went directly to the local oikos, household of believers. Why did he go there? How did he know he would be safe there? How did he know he could send a dispatch to James (Jesus' half-brother) at that hour of the night? Who would be up?

Fellowship is much more than time spent once a week discussing ancient biblical truths.

Fellowship, Christian fellowship, is that which goes on daily. Praying together, dining together, raising our kids together, studying the word deeply and intentionally, discipling one another, carrying burdens on every level, sharpening one another, sharing Jesus in your neighborhood together...as a body is together always, so is the church (1 Cor. 12).

Do you know if your oikos would so devoutly seek Jesus on your behalf? Are others in your group pondering the same questions about authentic commitment? You be this committed, you be focused and you be intentional about being in life together, being on mission together and inviting others into the Kingdom together.

Read Acts 2-12 and discover the explosion and dedication of the Jerusalem Church.

How's Your Community Group: Servanthood

Servanthood.

When we act like servants, people notice. A church had a "helping hands" ministry. Six men from the church were cleaning an elderly man's rain gutters. His curious and somewhat amazed neighbor asked, "who are these guys? Why are they doing this?" The neighbor was even more amazed when the six men proceeded to climb on his roof and clean his gutters. Servanthood matters, it opens hearts. Here are some suggestions:

1. Do menial tasks. This is one of the hardest things to teach in Western society. Even the well-educated and successful should learn to serve at a practical level.
2. Be available. A household servant must be available when the master calls. The Christian servant must also be available - to God, his/her family and others.
3. Be observant. A servant is alert to the needs of others and takes initiative to do whatever needs to be done.
4. Do more than you're asked. In our clock-watching society, people do just what they are asked to do, nothing more. A true servant does what he is supposed to do - and more. What is your 'more' in this season?

Adapted from a note by Pastor Jed Haas of Mercy Road Church - Appleton, WI. Find him on FaceBook