“Yeah, I Could Use Some Purpose.” Part two

Chris Hughes did a great job last week. He asked me to resend this one as the original one was not correct. Thanks, Chris.

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of god, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)

Metamorphosis in the world of biology means there are marked changes in form and mode of life during development to maturity. But for the believer it should mean to have a change in character. In the “Purpose Driven Life” Pastor Warren references Ephesians 4:22-24 as a list of three responsibilities that Paul has written as a guideline to begin to develop a character that would be like Christ.

The first thing to do is to get rid of the old self. “That ye put off concerning the former manner of life, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” This is a “you have to do” thing. In some circles we call this move surrender but in others it is called death to self. I believe that death to self is a daily practice that I must do…uh, daily. If we look at the old man in “The Message” it say’s “It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it!” Guess that say’s it all.

The second thing is change the way we think. “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Now there was some fluff that went along with what I read in the book….caterpillars becoming butterflies in some beautiful picture of what happens to us spiritually etc…..definitely not me but I believe the idea is the same as saying retooling our interior principle’s of life. I’m talking getting in there with the Word of God, as our instrument, and stripping out the parts that have failed and revamping our whole thought process. Just as a side note…part of my background is working on machinery. There is not a “magical metamorphosis” in the renewing process just hard work.

The third thing is to put on the character of Christ. “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” This is where we put on some new habits. In this third chapter of “The Purpose Driven Life” Pastor Warren has written, “Your character is essentially the sum of your habits; it is how you habitually act.” Now I’ll tell you the truth I had gone to the dictionary on this one and didn’t find a definition that reflected this statement but I did go to my wife. I asked her if my character is the sum of my habits. Now after a brief smile she agreed that our character is essentially the sum of our habits. I think I have an idea where she was going with her brief smile too.

I have looked at this in Scripture many times before but didn’t break it down into a list of three responsibilities. I’ll agree with Pastor Warren that they are indispensable for Christ-like character development. But I still like keeping in the older translation. It gives God’s Word the punch it needs to get the truth out there. I think with “The Purpose Driven Life” use of the lighter translations it can get a bit squeamish but if we take an apologetic approach (being a good Berean that is) to reading it, God’s truth about His Son’s work comes through. After all, it is about knowing the truth. — Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent Freedom Fighter contributor

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 30; Isaiah 9-10; Ephesians 3

“Do you wonder that Paul could say with tingling joy and exultation, “To me to live is Christ”? He did not say, as I had mistakenly been supposing I must say, “To me to live is to be Christ-like,” nor, “To me to live is to have Christ’s help,” nor, “To me to live is to serve Christ.” No; He plunged through and beyond all that in the bold, glorious, mysterious claim, “To me to live is Christ.” I had never understood that verse before. Now, thanks to His gift of Himself, I am beginning to enter into a glimpse of its wonderful meaning.” The Life That Wins
Charles G. Trumbull

“Yeah, I Could Use Some Purpose.” Part 3

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NKJV)

“The truth transforms us.” This is how Day 24 in “The Purpose Driven Life” starts off. But I would have added “If we let it”. I like how Matthew Henry puts it when it wrote his commentary on the aforementioned verse. He wrote… ”Christ spoke of spiritual liberty; but carnal hearts feel no other grievances than those that molest the body, and distress their worldly affairs. Talk to them of their liberty and property, tell them of waste committed upon their lands, or damage done to their houses, and they understand you very well; but speak of the bondage of sin, captivity to Satan, and liberty by Christ; tell of wrong done to their precious souls, and the hazard of their eternal welfare, then you bring strange things to their ears.”

Well now comes the tough part, working on the three things (when we are abiding in His Word) that are meant to be day-to-day activities. The first one that Pastor Warren mentions is accept its authority. In many circles I have heard it said we need to use our Bibles as a moral compass. So when we use other unreliable sources for a compass, like the culture of our time, going with tradition, trying to use reason or going off our emotions we are using things that are flawed and can get us into trouble. So let us be reminded, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, [thoroughly] furnished unto all good works.”

The second thing is to assimilate its truth. Get ready to squirm on this one people. We must fill our minds with God’s Word so The Holy Spirit can transform us with the truth. Now there are five things listed here that remind of some other principle I’ve heard of and that is “Lecto Divina”. This list of five “to do’s” are receive, read, research, remember and reflect on God’s Word. Now I hope I am speaking to the choir on this part of the subject matter. So here is my take on Pastor Warrens list…listen to the boring Preacher, anyway. A humble spirit will receive. Read your Bible every day, anyway. Be a good Berean and research the Scripture’s and if need be write your thoughts down and come up with a Freedom Fighter. I spent four solid months at the Colony memorizing Scripture so yes remembering verse’s is a must. But then do take the time to reflect anytime, anywhere, anyway.

The last part is to apply its principles. “Therefore, whosoever hearth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock.” This is straight out of the mouth of the Savior Himself. As this parable goes on I believe Jesus is telling us point blank with what material to build on. This first step is built with obedience and this is a painful step for a few of…well some of…nah, most of us right? We tend to avoid the application step because it is difficult or at times even painful…but it is needful. When we come to Jesus it is because our actions have failed and we need change. That requires getting our faults pointed out, our sin rebuked and changing our center.

Jesus makes a promise to every real disciple that they will know the truth and the truth will set them free. The Jews of Jesus’ time were in the worst kind of bondage. They were in the bondage of legalism, ignorance, sin, error and superstition. They knew not the truth. If we are disciples indeed we will be committed to Jesus and have this characteristic, we will abide in His Word. And remember we are not saved by abiding in His Word, we will abide in His Word because we are saved. That’s Right!! SANTO!! — Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contibutor to Freedom Fighter

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 26; Isaiah 3-4; Galatians 6

Great Quote: “When our life is not only Christ’s but Christ, our life will be a winning life; for He cannot fail. And a winning life is a fruit-bearing life, a saving life. It is, after all, only a small part of life-and a wholly negative part-to overcome; we must also bear fruit in character and in service if Christ is our life.” The Life That Wins Charles G. Trumbull

“Yeah, I Could Use Some Purpose.” (Part 2)

“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.” Romans 8:29 (The Message)

How many of you remember a book written by Pastor Rick Warren called “The Purpose Driven Life”? I still have the copy I read while I was in the Colony. I have all kinds of statements highlighted and underlined. But in the part of the book known as “Purpose # 3” and titled “You were created to become like Christ” there wasn’t any colors or underlines. So I have gone back to re-read that part and see if there is anything I can highlight or underline for you as well as me.

Right from the start, Rick Warren makes the statement the “From the very beginning, God’s plan has been to make you like His Son, Jesus.” He also uses Genesis 1:26 as his Scripture reference to support this statement. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Matthew Henry in his commentary on this verse states; “God said, “Let us make man.” Man, when he was made, was to glorify the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Into that great name we are baptized, for to that great name we owe our being. It is the soul of man that especially bears God’s image.”I would have to say that both of these views are okay by me. I do like that Old Testament seriousness but I like the New Testament simplicity. I also keep in mind that Adams fails in the serenity of the Garden but Jesus prevails in the brutality of the desert.

And as this “Purpose” reading goes on I’ll underline the need to develop the character of Christ. There is quite a list of character traits as well. The one trait that is the toughest comes in Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” And to keep in theme with Matthew Henry, here is his take on this verse. “The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit to God; who can bear insult; are silent, or return a soft answer; who, in their patience, keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world. Meekness promotes wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world.” This is quite a goal to reach, don’t you think? I am not there…yet!

You see we are told to make every effort to grow in the character of Christ. The ESV version of 2 Peter 1:5-7 says, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”Now if we replace the word “virtue” with “excellence” it makes this verse all the more. Once again goals that seem hard to obtain but within its own command it encourages. One thing we are encouraged to do is not to sit around and wait for Jesus to happen, right?

I know there are many out there who do not like this “Purpose Driven” train of thought. And to be honest with you I, myself, have times where it feels uncomfortable when I bounce these ideas off what I have been taught but a glass of milk once in a while isn’t a bad thing. Over the next few days I am going to see if I can Grade A milk out of this “Purpose 3”. I ask you to consider pouring yourself a glass as well, after all as we grow in our relationship with Christ it is necessary to keep the foundation or the root work tended to. — Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 26; Isaiah 1-2; Galatians 5

Great Quote: “Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our life. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do His work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with- better still, using us as one of His fingers on His hand.” “The Life That Wins” Charles G. Trumbull

It is not to late to enjoy a day of golfing fun and fellowship at Hanover Golf Club on September 29, 2009 to benefit the Colony of Mercy Addiction Recovery Ministry of America’s Keswick. We will have a 7:30 AM and a 12:30 PM shotgun start. There are still some openings for either start time. Call Stan Marsh @ 1-800-453 7942 x 32 for info or to make your reservation.

“Yeah, I Could Use Some Purpose.” Part one

“God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of His Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.” Romans 8:29 (The Message)

How many of you remember a book written by Pastor Rick Warren called “The Purpose Driven Life”? I still have the copy I read while I was in the Colony. I have all kinds of statements highlighted and underlined. But in the part of the book known as “Purpose # 3” and titled “You were created to become like Christ” there wasn’t any colors or underlines. So I have gone back to re-read that part and see if there is anything I can highlight or underline for you as well as me.

Right from the start, Rick Warren makes the statement the “From the very beginning, God’s plan has been to make you like His Son, Jesus.” He also uses Genesis 1:26 as his Scripture reference to support this statement. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Matthew Henry in his commentary on this verse states; “God said, “Let us make man.” Man, when he was made, was to glorify the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Into that great name we are baptized, for to that great name we owe our being. It is the soul of man that especially bears God’s image.”I would have to say that both of these views are okay by me. I do like that Old Testament seriousness but I like the New Testament simplicity. I also keep in mind that Adams fails in the serenity of the Garden but Jesus prevails in the brutality of the desert.

And as this “Purpose” reading goes on I’ll underline the need to develop the character of Christ. There is quite a list of character traits as well. The one trait that is the toughest comes in Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” And to keep in theme with Matthew Henry, here is his take on this verse. “The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit to God; who can bear insult; are silent, or return a soft answer; who, in their patience, keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world. Meekness promotes wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world.” This is quite a goal to reach, don’t you think? I am not there…yet!

You see we are told to make every effort to grow in the character of Christ. The ESV version of 2 Peter 1:5-7 says, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.”Now if we replace the word “virtue” with “excellence” it makes this verse all the more. Once again goals that seem hard to obtain but within its own command it encourages. One thing we are encouraged to do is not to sit around and wait for Jesus to happen, right?

I know there are many out there who do not like this “Purpose Driven” train of thought. And to be honest with you I, myself, have times where it feels uncomfortable when I bounce these ideas off what I have been taught but a glass of milk once in a while isn’t a bad thing. Over the next few days I am going to see if I can Grade A milk out of this “Purpose 3”. I ask you to consider pouring yourself a glass as well, after all as we grow in our relationship with Christ it is necessary to keep the foundation or the root work tended to. — Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and a frequent contributor to Freedom Fighter

God’s WORD for YOU: Proverbs 24; Song of Solomon 4-5; Galatians 3

Great Quote: “Jesus Christ does not want to be our helper; He wants to be our life. He does not want us to work for Him. He wants us to let Him do His work through us, using us as we use a pencil to write with- better still, using us as one of His fingers on His hand.” “The Life That Wins” Charles G. Trumbull

It is not to late to enjoy a day of golfing fun and fellowship at Hanover Golf Club on September 29, 2009 to benefit the Colony of Mercy Addiction Recovery Ministry of America’s Keswick. We will have a 7:30 AM and a 12:30 PM shotgun start. There are still some openings for either start time. Call Stan Marsh @ 1-800-453 7942 x 32 for info or to make your reservation.