Comments on Eight Strings: Repentance and "Cultural Drek"

I took a second look at your last blog on "Repenta...

2006-02-13T19:17:00.000-08:00

I took a second look at your last blog on "Repentance and Cultural Drek" and appreciate the richness of the dialogue regarding grace vs. works orientation. The Cost of Discipleship is exactly that: costly. Just when we think we have sacrificed all we could, the Holy Spirit reminds us that there is more and calls us to more sacrifice.

I appreciate my friends who were believers behind the Iron Curtain - they understand the cost of discipleship. I am also reminded of meeting the Brazilian river people who think nothing of traveling hours down an Amazon river at night for a church service in a wood building standing on stilts. Then, meeting Nigerian believers here in the US who reported that it is nothing for Nigerians to carry a dead person for days to get to a major Christian gathering, believing God to raise their dead, and, then seeing the dead raised. Or, how about the families in End of the Spear?

While we in the US do have our different battles, and, everything is relative to our different cultures, God does call all of us to die to self, that He might live in us.

I ponder often that this will only actually be accomplished fully when we are at last home with Him eternally.

I am thankful for His Grace that covers a multitude of sin and for His patience with His church in America. He is indeed slow to anger, abounding in love...

If only all of us could grasp this and then dare to take it beyond ourselves and our church walls into the streets, into the cities, into the bars, into the crack houses, or any where God sends us.

His love knows no bounds. And, there is a world dying to have what we have, the total freedom that only Christ and his work on the cross can give.

I hope, Nate, that you keep on writing and nudging all of us closer to Him.

Rereading old posts, I now sympathize with those w...

2006-02-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

Rereading old posts, I now sympathize with those who perceived something I didn't necessarily mean to express- judgementalism, idealism, perhaps other things. I can't claim that judgementalism doesn't ever blur my vision, but I hope that I would never blog OUT OF that mindset. Having judgement for judgemental people is about as hypocritical as I can think of, that's why I'm careful A) to include myself in the Church that I express displeasure with and B) not to single out individuals(or groups, i.e. cessationists, charismatics, etc.) and claim to know what's best for their particular walk. If in anyone's eyes, I have violated either of these, I apologize for my delivery, and assure that it was unintentional. However, I stand by the principles expressed(that is until someone Biblically convinces me otherwise).

Repentance and grace are things that I feel I understand well(and wrestle with), and I would like to start posting more about these things put into action. I probably won't write anything that hasn't been written already, but it will be a fun challenge for me.

Nate

Amen! and Amen!An entire study could be done on wh...

2006-02-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Amen! and Amen!

An entire study could be done on what does He mean by: Seek You first the Kingdom of God...and all these things shall be added unto you (see the context of that passage: Matt. 6:32). I am not so sure any of us will fully understand the depth and scope of what Jesus was wanting us to grasp. But, the one thing is clear: have a heart to seek Him first.

So, to reiterate:

Just live the walk, seek Him - follow Him, yield to His rule and reign in your life, Do the "stuff" that Jesus did (Matt. 28:19-20) as best you can with His grace and His doing it through you, don't wait for a cosmic experience first or another revival - become the revival - become the renewal now - in your own life and seek ways and opportunities to bring His life and His message to others (the immense vastness of ways is unfathomable), seasoned with grace and mercy...don't wait for "perfection" - we will never be this side of heaven...step out in faith...and be amazed at what God will bring across your path...out of a love for Him and out of knowing His abundant love for you and for those who don't yet know His infinite splendor and love...walk the talk as best you can NOW. And, in the process of being willing to be and live as a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit himself will bring you into a deeper hunger to learn just how to simply rest in His grace and mercy, how to draw into deeper intimacy with the Heavenly Father, and so forth. Intimacy with Doing the will of God go hand in hand.

Nate, you articulate and address very well the more personal dimensions of an individuals walk with Jesus. Keep up the good work, keep on challenging all of us.

Amen!

Marian,Seeking first His Kingdom- what an elusive ...

2006-02-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

Marian,

Seeking first His Kingdom- what an elusive and hard to define thing, and one that's given a supreme emphasis (...ALL these things shall be added...)

In Maine, Christians are fond right now of saying that there will be a major revival or outpouring, beginning with the youth. My response to this and other like prophecies is the same as your exhortation at the women's retreat. Don't wait for it, DO it!The joy of the Lord can live in you whether there's revival or not.

By the way, I have forgiven those(in leadership and otherwise) that have disappointed me and fallen short. And frankly, that includes every Christian and every leader I've ever met...of course! Your experiences, however, probably outsrip mine by miles for heartbreak and wounding...and thus that much more of God's grace has been revealed to you. "I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and in difficulties, for when I am weak, then I am strong." 2Cor 12:11

I fully expect the Church to be a battered and bleeding marathon runner, limping for the finish line, but we will cross it!

First of all, Gnade, from New England – your comme...

2006-02-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

First of all, Gnade, from New England – your comments were excellent and brought balance to the discussion. Thank you! God loves the millionaires as much as he does the man in the streets. We forget that God made Abraham, David, and King Solomon very wealthy. Also, that Jesus’ best friend was very wealthy, Lazarus whom He even raised from the dead.

Nate – your writing (the psat several blogs) is with the passion and zeal that permeated the Jesus movement years. Many of us gave up jobs, careers, homes, families, churches, to pursue active ministry, including stateside and foreign missions. Much was accomplished, new movements started, many churches planted, many became
Wholehearted followers of Jesus because of those going out. Some of these small church plants from the 70’s became large movements of God, such as Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard movement. The time was exciting. For many of us, the passion has never died out…we may express it
differently, but it has never died out. Life might have taken its beating on us, but the faith remains ever strong, if not stronger. The more you grow in Christ, the more you become aware of how much of a sinner you really are and how much you need His grace. Once God grabs a hold of someone’s life and radically transforms them, and empowers them with His Holy Spirit, they cannot remain the same. The Holy Spirit seems to come in waves of revival – as church history documents. What is important, is that those in one wave don’t continue to look back, but seek God for ways to pass it on to those in the next wave, and, to join in with the new wave that is coming.

Perhaps God is stirring a wrestlessness in you, as He is in many across this nation, thus, preparing His Bride, the church, and the world, for the next wave. You are not the only one yearning for more of Jesus and yearning to have others desire more of Jesus. Right now, you are targeting materialism and outward signs of the need for more Of God in our lives – but in reality, what God calls us to do is to seek first His Kingdom. We can begin by praying and fasting, and, putting into action the words and works of Jesus on a daily basis in all of our own lives. We can learn to hear the Father’s voice and do what we hear the Father saying now. (Jesus only did what He saw and heard the Father say and do). We don’t have to wait for a cataclysmic outpouring like the 70’s. He will call all of us to surrender different things at different levels throughout our lives. God may be calling you to be a vegan, but he may be sending the next Christian to a place that eats only buffalo and alligator meat!

I recently spoke at a women’s retreat and challenged them not to look forward to
the next outpouring of the Holy Spirit, but that He resides right now with them. He has never left them nor forsaken them. All we need to do is to step out, listen to God’s still small voice, and allow ourselves to be used by Him wherever and whenever. I shared that, the advancement of the church and the Kingdom of God has not stopped, nor has it floundered, but that all God desires is His church to step up to the plate and swing the bat and jump in His plans and His purposes.

Last fall, we stepped out to hand out free apples and free carnations to hundreds at a local flea market (to show God’s love in a practical way), we witnessed first hand the softening of hearts to God. We had people dumbfounded that Christians weren’t lecturing them, weren’t expecting anything in return, and, this opened doors to even pray with some of them. This is just one example of stepping out. Stepping out could be sensing God is calling you to pay for the groceries for the person in front of you in the check out line, or, to pay for the person’s next meal behind you, or to wash your neighbor’s car for free, or whatever. Or, it could be God would reveal to you something about a person in
A crowd and he tells you to go and ask them something. This has happened to many of my friends, as well as to myself, over the years. The outcome is always that this miraculous intervention of God in their lives draws them one step closer to Jesus, if not into making full commitments to follow Him. Regardless, we all make fools of ourselves for the sake of Christ. And, it is fun to be a part of what God is doing in someone else’s life.

The church (meaning all the followers of Jesus) and its leaders will never be perfect this side of heaven. We, too, have had our share of disappointments many times over – we’ve disappointed others, and, we have been wounded by others, and, spiritual leaders. We’ve been betrayed, gossiped about, slandered, and falsely accused, and, falsely judged. This is what every pastor usually faces – why? Because we are living in a fallen world. Churches will always disappoint you. There is no perfect church. We are all broken, fragile, servants of God, desperately in need of the grace and mercy of God every day. I am sure we have disappointed you, and, if so, we humbly ask for forgiveness, and, ask for it on behalf of other church leaders who have for whatever reason not met your expectations or who have wounded you. Henry Nouwen has written an excellent book on the Wounded Healer. And, John Bevere has written an excellent book called the Bait of Satan.

So, we pray God’s blessing on your search for answers to life and walking out this thing we call a Christian walk. Knowing you, you already have a head start at such a young age and can glean from the many books and Christian writers that were not available when we were your age. Plus, the best source for guidance and knowing God more fully is the Word of God, which I need not tell you.

God is on the move – let’s bless what He is doing – let’s not wound His church anymore by railing or becoming God’s holy correctors [the world apart from Christ is puzzled by churches that devour one another, and by us attacking ourselves – its no wonder many have abandoned God] – and let’s instead embrace the fullness of all He has for all of us, running the race with perseverance, letting go of the sin that so easily entangles, and fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. (Heb. 12:1-2). He who has begun a good work in all of us shall complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Amen!

Outstanding. Beautiful. Powerful. Accurate. Candid...

2006-02-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Outstanding. Beautiful. Powerful. Accurate. Candid. In long, just plain wow (if we can say, "in short," why not "in long?").

Good for you. You deserve more than just one prize. (And thanks for the clarification.)

Peace and mirth,

Gnade

Hey Nate, this is Jeanette from "This Walk". I don...

2006-02-01T06:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Nate, this is Jeanette from "This Walk". I don't know if you noticed when you commented on my site but I was doing a giveaway, and, well. You won. Could you e-mail me so I can get & give some details? flyawaynet@hotmail.com
Also, feel free to delete this post, this was the only way I saw to contact you. :)