Got Fruit ?

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled,and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
Luke 14:11

There are two ways to attain high esteem. One is the world’s method: Take every opportunity to promote yourself before others; seize occasions for recognition and manipulate your way into the center of attention. The other way is God’s way: Humble yourself. Rather than striving for recognition and influential positions, seek to put others first. Cultivate humility, for it does not come naturally. One of the many paradoxes of the Christian life is that when God sees your genuine humility, He exalts you.

Proverbs 16:18 warns that if we put our efforts into promoting ourselves, we will be brought down. Jesus told of a man who tried to enhance his own image (Luke 14:7-ll). While attending a banquet, he immediately claimed the seat of honor. When the host saw this, he humiliated this man by asking him to move to the least honorable place to make room for a more distinguished guest. Jesus said the wise thing to do is to seek the lowest position and allow others to exalt you as they feel you are worthy.

There is an enormous difference between the way the world honors you and the way God does. Proverbs 25:27 indicates that glory is not legitimate if you seek it yourself. When the world exalts you, you are the one who receives the credit. When God exalts you, others will praise Him for what He has done in your life. If you honor God, He will honor you (1 Sam. 2:30). Strive to humble yourself and bring glory to God. Allow Him to be the One to honor you in the way that pleases Him!

Experiencing God Day-by-Day
Henry T. and Richard Blackaby

I found these motivational posters from a blog called Team Pyro last night and laughed my butt off!

Before anyone goes off on a rant, I’m laughing at how the creators point out the "characterizations" (all real or not) of this movement.  False teachings and spiritual deceit however, is no laughing matter.

Grace and peace be with you.

I need a break from the study and research I’m prepping for Wednesday night’s class over discernment, so I thought I’d just comment a bit on what’s going on with the preparation (not H) process plus whatever else comes to mind from the past few days.

I had a chance to chat briefly with a friend this weekend and I was sharing with my friend about the "teaching" opportunities put before me; and about how for the past few months I really felt this urging to address the young adults group about discernment.  My friend who serves in a ministry capacity informed me that discernment is a big subject but gave encouragement.

Well let me tell you, I can definitely appreciate my friends outlook.  I must have spent at least 3 hours yesterday evening just trying to weed through notes and information gathered to come up with an outline of the materiel to be presented.   Keep in mind this is a subject that I hope will cover the next 6 to 8 weeks of 1 hour Bible Study/discussion.

Initially my ideas were born more out of concern to specifically inform the young adults about some of the teachings and movements that are Biblically unsound or at least cause me to look on them with a skeptical eye.  Thankfully, I quickly realized (thank you Lord, for your wisdom) that unless approached systematically, there was the potential for any study and or discussion to turn into several non-constructive and distracting practices such as:

• joy derived from witch hunting versus truth seeking
• us vs. them mentality
• an hour of self-righteousness and haughtiness
• discussion of a word with no weight to it (because no one understands from a Biblical perspective what, discernment is)

The last bullet is therefore going to be the base, with everything else discussed in the weeks to come originating from principles disclosed in that base topic (Discernment: What is it?).  Below is an outline (for the curious or for anyone else considering engaging a similar study time)… for what it’s worth.  This is simply a skeleton view of general ideas and questions to develop a broader study upon as it relates to defining discernment before jumping into examining doctrines and beliefs.

 Discernment: What is it?

• What is discernment
• What is the purpose of discernment
• Why study the subject of discernment
• How does one become a discerning Christian

The Gospel and Christian Doctrines defined (via CARM resources)

• Essentials
• Secondary Essentials

Comparison of doctrines (not all inclusive nor exhaustive)

• Prosperity Gospel (Name it Claim It):
• Emergent Church/Social Gospel:
• New Age mysticism/spirituality/Contemplative prayer:
• Humanism
• Charismatic Movement
• Classic cults: Mormonism, Catholicism, Jehovah’s Witnesses

Anywho…  just a few thoughts and ideas being kicked around the ‘ole noodle that I felt like sharing.

Proverbs 15:14
14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge,
       but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

folly:
1: lack of good sense or normal prudence and foresight
2 a: criminally or tragically foolish actions or conduct obsolete : evil, wickedness; especially : lewd behavior
3: a foolish act or idea
4: an excessively costly or unprofitable undertaking
5: an often extravagant picturesque building erected to suit a fanciful taste

Grace and peace be with you.