Psalm 9:10

Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You.

books on the nightstand

Here are some books I’m reading or planning to read soon.  Have you read any of these?  What did you think?

Sit, Walk, Stand, by Watchman Nee:  A beautiful and penetrating explanation of the book of Ephesians.  Really good stuff.  Nee was a church leader in China in the 1930′s until he was arrested in the 50′s and died in jail in 1972.  I recently finished his book The Normal Christian Life, which is a masterful look at Romans 1 – 8.  I highly recommend both books.  (Sit, Walk, Stand is a very short book.)

Invitation to Solitude and Silence, by Ruth Barton:  A journal like book into Barton’s journey to rediscover the practice of connecting with and hearing God through solitude and silence.  Barton is a minister at a large church and with three kids was desperate to slow down and hear God’s voice.  It’s a fairly short book and a great read.  Barton’s style is open and transparent.  I’ve started using these practices and already feel the benefit in my life.  Each chapter has practice exercises to develop these skills yourself.  If you are like me (super busy and needing to connect to God), this book may be for you.

ReJesus, A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church, by Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost:   This book tackles the need for the church to rediscover the full person of Jesus Christ as its founder, foundation, and leader.  The aim of reJesusing the church is to recover the essence of what it means as Christians to be like Christ, both individually and corporately.  I’m only about 50 pages into this one, but it is really good stuff so far.  It is very focused on recalibrating the church to the mission of God.  If you are frustrated with just “doing church”, this book may give you some hope and a glimpse of Jesus intended the “church” to be.

Primal Leadership, Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman:  I just got this today at a used bookstore.  I don’t buy a lot of leadership books because, well, a lot of them are just hokey.  I typically don’t agree with a lot of “here’s how to climb the ladder” leadership books.  This book is different, though.  It really focuses on the emotional side of leadership and that leadership (like everything else in life in my opinion) is about relationships.  It focuses on respecting and building up people and teams that you work with (or work for you).  Looks like a great book.

Sub-merge, Living Deep in a Shallow World: Service, Justice and Contemplation Among the World’s Poor: by John B. Hayes:  This book is also in the on-deck circle.  Obviously, it’s about serving the poverty stricken people in our world.  Our country and our churches have lost much of its compassion for the poor.  For the church to recapture its place in society, we need to recover our compassion to the poor and anyone else in need of God’s touch.

Peace,
Mark

Video: The Leslie Project

Joshua 1:8 – The Secret to Spiritual Success

Joshua 1:8 (NASB)
^{8 “}This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

How can we achieve success in God’s eyes as His disciples?  This verse sheds light on that.  If we break it down, we can see the cause/effect relationship in this verse.

This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth,  <– God’s command

but you shall meditate on it day and night,  <– God’s method

so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it;  <– Our response

for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.  <– The result!!!

Meditating on God’s Word is so important as His disciple.  Learning and applying God’s Word to our life will lead you to experience spiritual success.  

How often do you read the Bible?  Is it a priority in your life?  I have honestly never seen more dramatic life change than when a person commits to knowing God through the Scriptures.

Peace,
Mark

He felt compassion

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” 
Matthew 9:35-37 (NASB)

You can’t be a disciple of Jesus without compassion, because He was full of compassion for people!  The greek for “felt compassion” is one word, “splancthna”, and literally means “bowels”.  As Jesus moved around and interacted with people, He was overcome with compassion for them - so much that he felt it in his gut. 

As a father, I often have a similar feeling when I see a TV show, movie ad, or news story about a child being abducted or abused.  Thinking of that happening to one of my children literally makes me feel sick in my gut.  This is what Jesus felt when he looked at people.  Not just an intellectual feeling or emotion, but an actual physical reaction.  Think about something that makes your gut churn – that’s what Jesus felt.  That is how he loves each one of us.

Jesus felt compassion because the people were “distressed” and “dispirited”.  The word for distressed means harrassed or even molested.  Dispirited can be used as a wrestling term, as being pinned down by force.

So, Jesus sees people as being harrassed and oppressed and it’s like a punch in His gut.  This is why Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10, NIV).  Jesus wants us to have a full life, and it overwhelmed Him when He saw those without it.

Does it overwhelm you?  How often does another’s pain turn your gut inside out?

If you are distressed and dispirited, Jesus feels that compassion for you.  Seek Him.

what makes a good disciple?

What do you think it takes to become a good disciple?

How would you recognize someone today as a disciple?

Use the comment option to leave your thoughts…

an interesting connection

I read a book a few months ago by a pastor in Washington, D.C., Mark Batterson, called “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day”.  It’s a great book and I have sort of followed him a bit on his blog.  Anyway, he was asked to come and speak to the Jacksonville Jaguars this week before their preseason game with the Washington Redskins.

You can read about the experience here.  The author mentions that he sensed a real spiritual hunger among the Jags.  As role models for so many in Jacksonville, I’m adding the team to my prayer list.

He also has a new book titled Wild Goose Chase.  I haven’t read it yet, but here is a video intro by the author (filmed in Scotland) if you’re interested.

Mark