Biblical Discipleship

I'll be honest when I say that I absolutely love it when people are held captive to the Scriptures and to God. I mean, what is more exciting than knowing the LORD and seeing Him work in yourself and in others? And this week, I've seen this twice with some of my dearest friends.
A few months ago, Hulk Hagan and I decided that we would meet together for discipleship, accountability, and prayer. About a month ago, he told me that he wanted to disciple another buddy of his and do a Bible study with him great commission (Biblical) style. Now his buddy got so excited that he invited a ton of his friends, lost and saved, to the Bible study to hear of Jesus, just like they did in the Bible. As a result, there were about 15 people at the Bible study, both lost and saved. My friends, that excites me cause that is biblical. We have to be reaching out to the lost and helping the saved. That what Christ did, and that, in a smaller but similiar fashion, is what Hagan is doing with this Bible study. Seeing Hagan become more like Christ in His thoughts, words, and actions makes me praise the Lord.
Secondly, I found out that two of our college ladies, Morgan and Tracy, decided they were going to have middle school girls over and do a sleepover Bible study. Again, the Lord is working in them and convicting them to invest their time in other people, highly impressionable middle school girls, that they could teach them about being a biblical woman in Christ. Instead of watching tv or being with their usual friends, they have decided to spend their time this weekend helping others grow to Christ, and that is sacrificial love that comes from the Lord. It excites me.
Man, the LORD is good, and he is so faithful. I'm so thankful for what He has done, and I'm so excited for what He's going to do through those that are held captive to Him and His word. Praise be to God alone.

Thieves and Sluts and Liars

Last night I was talking with Hagan York, and we somehow came across a topic that led us to talking about the song "My Jesus" by Todd Agnew. We listened to the song, but the rest of the people we were hanging out with wanted to hear the song. So, I played the song for them too.

www.myspace.com/toddagnew

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ,
Why do you look so much like the world?

Chorus:
Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
do we pray to be blessed with the
Wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Chorus:

And who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side
Or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes, curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we’d recognize Him

Chorus:

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reached for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He’d prefer Beal St. to the stained glass crowd
But I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus
Can I be like You
I want to be like my Jesus

But, we never even finished the song. We got hung up on whether "sluts" was an appropriate word. My arguument was that it was fine. It describes prostitutes, whores, the unfaithful in general. Sure there is shock value, but it is not unbiblical. Others argued that they had total disrespect for Todd Agnew and this song now because he used the word "slut" in a Christian song. To each his own/her own I guess.
Let me tell you the real problem here. The real problem is that we had the wrong perspective. We focused on the insignificance of one word and missed the main point of the song. The song talks about our view of Jesus compared with what the Scripture says about Him. He spent time with the poor, tax collectors, dregs of society, and even the prostitutes because HE LOVED THEM. He humbled himself to live among the most sinful people. The challenge of this song is for us to attain that same mindset. Are we willing to love others? Are we willing to sacrifice as Jesus did? The true issue is being Christ-like when it's hard for us, not whether or not "sluts" is the best use of a word.
I fell asleeping thinking about this, and it hit me about 1230 this morning that I do this all the time. How many times has Christ spoken and I missed the point? How many times have I prided myself on theology thinking that theology is what is needed to reach lost people only to know that Christ tells us that love lets the world know we are Christians, not theology though theology isn't bad. How many times have I missed the point?

The Luckiest

Monday the first of May was perhaps one of the greatest days of my life. One event happened that made me the luckiest person that day: I got to pray with and for Brother Jack Neal for one solid hour.
Most people probably have no clue who this wise old man is, but he is one of my heroes. I stand amazed to see his joy in the Lord each time I'm around him. I am blessed by his faithfulness to fight the good fight and run the race each day, even in old age. Most importantly, I know that I am ushered into the presence of God by Jesus Christ when this man prays. His prayers are so heart-felt, so passionate, so honest, and so powerful before the throne that I know God hears this man when he speaks. This man, though we barely know each other, encourages me tremendously each time I see him and each time he prays. I wish to have a prayer life and a relationship with God that this man has.
Because of his character and because of how the Lord blesses this wonderful man, I consider it a blessing, privilege, and honor to be able to beseech, entreat, intercede, and pray with him. For one hour, I knew that I was immersed in the full and glorious presence of our Lord. For that, I am the luckiest.