Sunday
Oct112009
Sunday, October 11, 2009 « Paul – A Life of Gratitude »
Road Markers Series 5
Derrick Hamre
Paul understood that his conversion was an act of grace. His life changed completely to become a life of worship dedicated to the service of God. Paul's ever-present graditude toward God's grace is a model for us to follow.
[1 Timothy 1:12-14]
Emmanuel Business Group by Jennifer Long (1.4MB MP3)
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Reader Comments (1)
These are living "Inukshuk" of those who accept the Lordship of Jesus in their lives and submit in obedience to the discipleship of Jesus through the Holy Spirit in there lives. Since you have been speaking about the "male Inukshuk" I will provide an example of the female Inukshuk in todays society in conversation/dialoque with the women of the NT.
Being Male this journey has resulted in stepping outside of the box, dramaticly shipping my personal Biblical paradigms and schemas into a new reverence for the female "mathetes" disciple.
Anyway I digress,
He is my thoughts
The Living “Inukshuk” the “mathetes” Disciple of Christ
“The land mark that points the way in the barren land”
As disciples of Christ the power and intensity of the Early Christian witness to the great commission is seen in the conversation between Matthew 28:18b and Acts 2:36, 5:29; that All authority in heaven and on earth is given to Christ to disciple.
The Early Christians took this to heart and with an intense passion submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Today this same intense relationship and obedience to Jesus Christ’s Lordship can be seen in individuals such as Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30) to young Iranian women imprison in the notorious Evin prison in Iran because they converted from Islam to Christianity.
In the early Christians understanding of Matthew 28:18b as in Acts 2:36, 5:29 they believed Christ was resurrected from the dead and God had given him the authority to command and direct them for his purposes as Lord and King.
It was this Early Christian belief in Jesus as King that gave him the right to issue them orders to direct their time, talents, giftings, testimony and treasure for his purposes.
The Early Christians believed it was the right and moral thing for them to do by obeying the directions of Jesus even if it brought them into disfavour with civil and religious authorities. They chose to obey even at the risk of imprisonment, beatings and death.
Today his Lordship is still present; those Kingship rights of which we accept as inherent in Jesus Christ.
Western Christianity of today seems to have forgotten these early roots of faith and obedience and obedience does seem to have become optional in today’s society.
As Christians today we need to recapture this intense sense of duty, the desire to be obedient to the Lordship of Christ. This intense trust to the sense of duty and obedience propelled the Early Church forward to be Faithful Witness to their generation and so we should do the same thing for our generation.
If we truly believe in Jesus and consider ourselves his disciples it is not just the activity/church program that is part of the discipleship it is the personal relationship that makes the believer vibrant, full of hope and life even in circumstances of affliction and persecution.
I see in the actions of these two Iranian women Maryam Rustampoor (27) and Marzieh Amirizadeh (30) this same intense devotion to the Lordship of Christ. It has cost them dearly in their lives. They have been imprisoned, tortured, refused medical treatment and charged with crimes against the state and Islam for converting to Christianity.
Yet when in court they have steadfastly refused to recant their conversion. They have further stated that if they come out of prison they want to come out with honour. That honour of being steadfast in their faith and devotion to Christ.
By doing these actions they are being faithful to the women of the Bible in their relationship with Christ. As in women of the Gospels they have followed Christ and have not deserted him or fled they instead like the blind man in Mark 10:50 have jumped up and come to Jesus in faith.
This is the same intense and personal faith of the Early Christians.
They are demonstrating the faith that is found in the actions of Martha, Mary Magdalene and other women of the Bible. In John his understanding and use of the word “woman” is synonymous with symbolic imagery of the mark of the disciple, the one who bravely follows Jesus even to the foot of the cross which is his model of Faith. This faith is seen in actions of Mary Jesus's mother who is with Jesus through his journey from birth to the Cross. As she was with him in birth she is with him in death and his reserrection; a new birth for many from the womb of the Cross.
These young Iranian women like Martha (Jn 11: 21-27) believe in Jesus and his Lordship before the miracle is performed; the model of ideal faith. They like Mary Magdalene (the model of Christian Praxis) who becomes known as the Apostle to the Apostles because she is the first to see the risen Christ and to testify to this event to the Apostles (Mk 16:9-10; Jn 20:1) have also come to the foot of the cross and experience the resurrected living Christ in their lives. They attest to this living fact by refusing to recant their faith.
They have come to the well and have tasted the living water and as the brides of Christ their actions of faith in their circumstances of oppression will encourage others to come to Jesus as was in the case of the Samaritan Women at the well. (Jn 4:7-26; 39-40)
These two young women have been entrusted with the task of divine endorsement of who Jesus is. They believe in his Lordship/Kingship and share the Good News by their actions teaching others to obey Jesus commands despite and or inspite of their circumstances. They are fulfilling the obligations of true disciples as in Matthew 28:19-20.
The Gospels do not differentiate in the expectations for men or women in the life of discipleship. All are called to disciple the world and to put God’s Kingdom first and choose freely to committing themselves to hear and do the will of the Lord at what ever the cost. (Mt 6:33; Lk 8:19-21; 11:27-28; Acts 9:12).
By doing what they are doing in Iran they are exemplifying the True Heart of Discipleship.
Remember and Pray for them these “mathetes” disciples of Christ that the Grace, Peace and Love of our Father God, Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Immanuel) continue to fill these living temples in abundance to overflowing.
Their sacrifice is the light on the hill that can lead us back to the Lordship that is Christ in our lives. True evangelical revival will flow like living water in North America if we follow this living example.
May the Grace, Peace and Love of the Lord go with you also.
For this is another day to walk in his Mercy and Grace. Amen