How to Post a Response on This Blog Site

If you're new to blogging, here are some simple instructions.

At the end of a blog message there is a line, and below the line something like this:
"posted by Ron Goetz 1:16 PM 1 comments."

Click on the word "comments."

Then you'll get a message which reads:"If you're not a Blogger user, please sign up here."

Click on the phrase "please sign up here."

Fill out the required information: user name, password, display name, and e-mail address.

Be sure to click that you accept the terms of use.

Write down your user name and password.

The user name is just to get into the site.

The DISPLAY NAME is how your name will appear at the end or your messages.

You do not have to create your own blog site unless you want to. If you do not want to, just close the window you are in, and re-enter the site.

And post your replies.

How Can This Blog Site Work for You and for Our Fellowship?

Dear Family and Friends,

I started this blog site in order to create another space for us to share ideas.

While I prefer face-to-face situations, more and more people are using the net for more and more things. There are chatrooms, blog sites, web pages – loads of stuff.

Many Christian groups and churches are using the internet in creative ways. There is no reason why we can’t use the internet too.

I’d like you to think about how you can use this blog site. Be as random as you can – that’s where the best ideas come from.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Diane has suggested the following idea to me several times:

Take some time to share one of your favorite Bible verses, and tell us what it means to you.

Why is My Spiritual Life such a Struggle? -- Part Two

So what if you already have come to Jesus, and your spiritual life is still a wearisome burden to you? So far from being "easy and light," as Jesus said it would be, the yoke of being a "good Christian" is a colossal burden, perhaps a source of guilt and despair.

What's wrong with this picture?

One answer again comes from Jesus, and again is found in Matthew.

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money," (Matthew 6:24).

This is such a simple concept. But we find many ways to get around it, and thus our spiritual lives become conflicted. Instead of being a source of energy and joy, our life with God becomes an energy-draining chore.

You can't serve two masters. If you try, you will be conflicted, torn. It's like having two yokes on you, taking you in two different directions. Imagine you are an ox, and farmer John has his yoke on your shoulders, and farmer Bubba has his there, too. Poor ox. It is physically impossible for the ox to go in two directions simultaneously.

The problem: it is much, much easier to make the fact of the two yokes "magically disappear" when they are not physical. That's one of the unfortunate beauties of language. That's where self-serving excuses come in, rationalizations, and self-justification. As Christians, we convince ourselves that we are serving one Master, God, when in fact we are serving two or three masters.

Although there are many potential and actual masters, Money is the second master mentioned in this particular context. "You cannot serve both God and Money."

If you have ever said, "I don't want to be rich, I just want a comfortable life and a secure retirement," you need to be careful. This is materialistic thinking. It is making a distinction where none, IMHO, exists. It is a purely verbal distinction. If you are serious about your walk with God, don't con yourself into thinking "There is no conflict."

When Jesus says that we'll hate one master and love the other, or we'll be devoted to one master and despise the other, I think what he's describing is a love-hate relationship. This would go a long way in describing what a lot of us go through at times.

There are many other masters competing for our loyalty and allegiance. Life can be like a buffet, with many different dishes to choose from. And if we're dining out, a buffet is a good place to eat. But when it comes to a full and meaningful life, life is not a buffet.

"No one can serve two masters."

Why is My Spiritual Life Such a Struggle? -- Part One

"So why is my spiritual life such a struggle?" There are several answers, I think, but this first one is the most important. Your spiritual life will be a struggle for you if you have never come to Jesus Christ. [Your spiritual life may be a struggle even if you do follow Jesus--I'll get to that situation in my next blog.]

One of Jesus' most meaningful invitations to be his disciple is recorded in Matthew's gospel.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," (Matthew 11:28-30)

If you really have come to Jesus, one thing that is guaranteed to happen is that Jesus will give you rest. No more struggling, no more weariness. "You will find rest for your souls."

What does it mean to come to Jesus? Well, as Jesus explains it here, it means to take his yoke on your shoulders and learn from him. Some of you may not know that a yoke was a big wooden harness that farmers would put on their ox or oxen to pull a plow in their fields. The yoke is a farming metaphor (symbol). Jesus is the farmer, and we are his oxen. It sounds like hard, sweaty, dusty work, but really it isn't. Jesus promises to give you rest. Jesus says that his yoke is easy, that his burden is light.

Let me put it this way. The Christian life is not hard. The life tasks Jesus has for you and for me are easy and light. There is, of course, one qualification. We must have come to Jesus, really and truly come to Jesus, cross your heart and hope to die come to Jesus.

I can imagine someone saying, "Well, I've come to Jesus, and my life is a constant struggle. I am weary to death of the Christian life. Your interpretation of what Jesus said must obviously be wrong."

That may be. But I am simply reading what Jesus promised, and reasoning from his promise. If his promises don't apply to you, then I guess you'll need to deal with that. But if you have come to, Jesus promised that your life's task would be easy and light for you.

There is one thing I can say with confidence: If you feel burdened and weary, like you want to quit, like your life is too great a struggle, then in some sense or another, you need to come to Jesus. Maybe for the first time, or perhaps like the prodigal son, but you need to come to Jesus, put his yoke on, and learn from him.

Keep a Watchful Eye on People Who Cause Trouble

For Paul, one of the main problems facing Christian congregations are divisive people, people who selfishly disregard the unity of the Body of Christ for their own diseased (morbid) reasons. He repeatedly warns us to guard our fellowships against people who would cause trouble and division. One of his very clear warnings appears at the end of Romans. Here are several renditions of Romans 16:17.

"Mark them who cause divisions and offenses . . . and avoid them," (KJV).

"Take note of those who create dissensions and difficulties . . . avoid them," (RSV).

"Keep a watchful eye on those who cause trouble and make difficulties among you . . . steer clear of them," (Phillips).

"Keep an eye on those who cause dissensions . . . and turn away from them," NASB).

"Be on your guard against anybody who encourages trouble . . . Avoid them," (JB).

If you believe the Word of God, and want to obey its precepts and commands, then you have one here.

Avoid, steer clear of, and turn away from anyone who creates dissensioins and difficulties, who causes and encourages trouble in the congregation, who causes divisions between people.

Mark them in your mind, take note of who they are, be on your guard against them, keep an eye on them -- keep a watchful eye on them, and don't associate with them.

* * * * * * * *

The Apostle again zeroes in on people who love to disrupt congregational life again in his first letter to Timothy.

In the letter Paul emphasizes our toal to "live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." He says he wants people "everywhere to pray, lifting holy hands without anger or disputing." He writes that leaders must "not be violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome." He writes that Christians are "not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything."

Near the end of the letter Paul writes: "These are the things you are to teach and insist on. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and arguments that result in envy, quarreling, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction between people with corrupt minds," (TNIV).

Here follow several other translations of I Timothy 6:4,5:

"All that can come of this is jealousy, contention, abuse and wicked mistrust of one another; and unending disputes by people who are neither rational nor informed," (JB).

"He has a morbid interest" in controversy, "out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved minds and deprived of the truth," (NASB).

"His mind is a morbid jumble of disputation and argument, things which lead to nothing but jealousy, quarreling, insults and malicious innuendoes--continual wrangling, in fact, among men of warped minds who have lost their real hold on the truth," (Phillips).

"He is puffed up with conceit, he knows nothing; he has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes . . . which produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling among men who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, " (RSV).

"He is doting on questions and disputes . . . of which cometh envy, strife, railings, evil suspicions, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth . . . from such withdraw thyself," (KJV).

"From such withdraw thyself." That's pretty clear.

"These are the things you are to teach and insist on."

The Desire to Lead

It sometimes seems as if the world is filled with two kinds of people: those who actually want to follow, and people who actually want to lead. Followers frequently don't want the responsibility that comes with leadership, and would-be leaders can't bear the idea of being led like sheep: they need to be in control. There is nothing wrong with wanting, even needing, to be a leader.

"If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, uncontentious. . ." (I Timothy 3:1-3 NASB).

According to the dictionary, a pugnacious person is one who has a belligerent nature, who is truculent and combative. To be truculent is to be scathingly harsh and aggressively assertive.

Anyone who wants a leadership position in the church should not be pugnacious, but gentle. There are many reasons for this. The Christian community is supposed to be characterized by unity. Our unity is supposed to be like the unity in the Trinity. "That they may be one as we are one," Jesus prayed to the Father.

There is no harsh, combative, or aggressively assertive behavior within the Trinity. And leaders in the Body of Christ shouldn't be harsh, combative or aggressive, either. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have complete and perfect unity among themselves. And anyone--anyone--who wants to be a leader in the Body of Christ must have the same gentleness that Jesus exhibited with children, with women taken in adultery, and with all who are burdened and weighed down with heavy loads.

A people who are gentle are free from harshness, sternness, or violence; they are moderate. This certainly describes how Jesus deals with us. On the other hand, to be stern is to be expressive of severe displeasure. The Good Shepherd is not a God who habitually expresses his severe displeasure with us, but expresses of acceptance and his confidence in us.

This acceptance and confidence in one another is a quality of Christian leadership at every level of congregational life and activity. We all know what it is like to be bullied, to be pushed aside and made to feel like we don't count for spit, to be discouraged, to feel like you don't have any value or potential--even with Christ at your side. This will not happen among us.

Servant Ministry: Gentleness and Humility

"Our goal is to become more and more Christ-like." This is a very common statement. It's my guess that nearly all Christians would agree with it. There are certainly many aspects to being like Jesus. Jesus' invitation for us to come to him emphasize the qualities of gentleness and humility.

Our Captain, our Leader, invited us to follow him with these words: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV).

Why should we accept Jesus as our Master, as our Teacher? He answers the question like this, "for I am gentle and humble in heart." What do gentleness and humility have to do with leadership? We need to be open to God's Holy Spirit to receive everything He has for us, but the meanness and roughness of our friends and families teaches us not to trust anybody. If you want to lead people the way Jesus led people, you must be gentle and humble.

The lessons we learn in "the school of hard knocks" is that "life is tough, and then you die," "only the strong survive," and "do unto others before they do unto you." It is usually not safe to trust people. They will betray your trust. They will "thoughtlessly cut you and laugh while you're bleedin'." He'll say, "Jump and I'll catch you," let you fall on the floor, then say "Never trust anyone."

No, there's too much roughness in the world. Jesus needs us to be gentle with one another. We are God's hands and feet, we are His Body on the earth, we are Jesus to one another. But if we turn against one another and devour one another, none of us will get the care and nurture we all need. We'll be too busy protecting ourselves to let anyone get too close, lest someone else crush us with their words of criticism and rejection.

Gentleness and humility are essential qualities for Christian leaders for two reasons. First, people need some single place where they don't have to be afraid of having people hurt them and make fun of them--they need gentle people as friends. Second, people need to know that they aren't alone in feeling unworthy of God's affection because of how much they blow it--we need to be forthright and honest about our own failings. Otherwise people enter our fellowship thinking, "These people have their lives so together. Me? I'm just a miserable wreck."

"He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness," (Hebrews 5:2 NIV). Jesus felt his own sense of weakness when he was tempted. But instead of being afraid of admitting weakness, the experience of weakness gave him understanding and empathy. Instead of strutting around trying to impress everyone with his superiority, he loved people with sympathy. He didn't come trying to convince everyone that he was "Mr. Perfect" (which he was!), and thus make everyone feel like worthless scum in comparison.

"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him," (Isaiah 53:2). We need--I need--to stop trying to impress people, and take Christ's yoke on us and learn from him. Learn to love humbly, living to live in kindness and patience with one another.

Speaking the Truth in Love

If we were asked what we should do to grow spiritually, any of us might reply, "I need to pray more, I need to read my Bible more, I need to go to church more regularly." These are all good things to do, but they all neglect something the Apostle Paul describes to us.

"Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ," (Ephesians 4:15)

Here we see that growth is a community experience, and not exclusively individual. Paul says that "We will in all things grow up into him," not something like I will become more Christ-like. Spiritual growth is a community experience, and it comes about through our koinonia when we are "Speaking the truth in love."

Spiritual growth is not an exclusively individual experience. It is actually true to say that Christian growth is probably impossible apart from Christian community. And a big part of that growth comes about when we speak the truth to one another in love, as dangerous as that can be.