Deep Rooted in Christ

Last Christmas I received a book called Deep Rooted in Christ: The Way of Transformation by Joshua Choonmin Kang. I was excited to read it after Richard Foster recommended it so heartily. Upon opening the book, I noticed that it had 52 chapters, so I decided to read a chapter a week and just kind of "live" with the book for a year. I started out reading the same chapter each day for seven days so the words could really sink into my soul. And they did. I didn't maintain that dedication (especially during December), but I have soaked in the book somewhat and been blessed.

In this entry, I'm going to post quotes that capture the essence of each chapter. For me, it's just kind of a way to end the year by looking back at what I learned from this Korean pastor.

BEGINNING
1) For the sake of eternal blessings, we must give up earthly things.
2) True ministry begins not with giving but with receiving. We need to be filled up before we have anyting to give to others.
3) Emptying and filling, that was the rhythm of Jesus' life, and so it should be ours. In a very real sense the Christian life is like a pitcher; it's not something in which to store blessings up; it's a vessel out of which to pour blessings from.
BECOMING ROOTED IN JESUS
4) Life's problems are best solved at the root level; that's where we care for our souls; that's where the medicine is spiritual discipline.
5) Spiritual formation isn't like a quickly spreading fire; it's like a tree with deeply descending roots, establishing a foundation for future growth and fruitfulness.
6) Jesus is our foundation in the Christian life.
Seeking spiritual formation is like taking hold of the eternal foundation, seeing everything in the light of eternity.
Where we begin is vital. It's better to build correctly than to build quickly.
We must invest time and energy to build a solid foundation for living.
7) In short, spiritual formation is about cultivating the inner world...cultivating the heart.
Without it we cannot present pure hearts to God.
8) A deep well is untouched by changes of climate.
When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, our inner world is stable in spite of the shifting world outside.
GROWING IN GRACE
9)Deep people are those who practice spiritual disciplines in depth.
What brings us into depth and maturity?
1. the Word
2. the Holy Spirit
Unless we abide in the Word and under the power of the Holy Spirit, we can't know the depths that God intends for us.
10) Apart from the grace of God spiritual growth is simply impossible.
11) The understanding and insight to distinguish good from evil come through meditating on the Word.
When our eyes are fixed on the Lord Jesus and we trust in his Word, we will be steadfast and mature.
12) We can experience God only to the degree to which he makes himself known to us. He reveals himself through his Word and by his Holy Spirit. We'll experience and know God when we read the Word under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
13) Before we can obey God's Word, we have to understand it.
14) Competitive athletes must train their physical bodies; serious Christian thinkers must rigorously train their minds.
For disciplined training of our thoughts, constant study and reading are our greatest tools.
15) Before God, we need to be like lambs. In our relationship to other believers, we must act with sacrificial love. But against sin, the world and Satan, we have to be like valiant lions.
16) God not only implants the desire for transformation into our lives but also supplies the strength to make transformation a reality.
In reality, we can't separate grace and disciplines; they're deeply intertwined.
Followers of Jesus Christ are supposed to be disciplined people. They're supposed to discipline themselves under the grace of God.
WILDERNESS--A PREPARATION
17) A man or woman of God isn't made in palaces, in comfortable classes or quiet dormitories.
Men and women of God get their spiritual training in the wilderness.
18) One way we are trained in the desert is by waiting.
While a servant of God waits, he or she has a chance to anticipate and look forward to what God has planned.
19) Every spiritual leader needs discernment about God's time...one of the fruits of desert education.
An impatient person is unwilling to wait upon God.
20) We need to make time to be alone with God.
God seeks those who like to be alone with him.
21) Servants of God aren't controlled by what they hear from fellow human beings; they are controlled by the voice of God.
To be a servant of God we must sharpen our hearing.
22) ...prayer time is never wasted time.
Before trying to move the hearts of other people, we should try to move the heart of God.
23) God won't consider using someone who trusts only in himself.
Our own meager strength isn't enough to do the work God wants. The great tasks are possible only through his power.
24) The power of God becomes a reality in our lives when we deny our nature; this is a basic principle of ministry.
25) It was the good shepherd who knew the value of each member of his flock.
26) Those who uphold the kingdom of God have to become servants.
27) Those who are especially chosen by God have one common experience, a special anointing by the Holy Spirit.
SOUL CARING
28) The most important task for true servants of God is to take time off to look at one's inner life, to care for one's own soul.
Taking a step back, spending some time together with our Creator, is a small but critical move.
29) To keep in top spiritual condition, our souls need daily devotional time.
Early morning devotions help us tune our will to God.
30) The discipline of silence can still the noise of the world.
Silence is a friend of God.
31) In the garden of our hearts, we want splendid fruit-bearing trees.
Meditate and pray, plant the Word, and there will be good and beautiful fruit.
32) Spiritual disciplines will make us more like Jesus; they'll make our lips and heart become one. Being like Jesus, avoiding hypocrisy, is all about taking care of our souls.
WAYS TO FRUITFULNESS
33) God didn't tell us to become beautiful flowers. Instead, he commanded us to bear fruit.
34) Can we come down from our own high places to serve others? Only then will we really be following our Lord Jesus. And we'll bear splendid fruit when we do.
35) Let God do the publicizing.
Self-promotion isn't what pleases God.
36) When our walls of self are shattered, this life in us pours out.
How can we let the let the life of God flow free? One way is to deny ourselves.
37) God...wants a close friendship.
Without a close friendship with Jesus, our ministries won't count. Working hard is only the half of it. Friendship is the other half.
RIGHTEOUSNESS HAS A HEART
38) What kind of person does God work through? Not a person who boasts about his or her own competence. Instead, God looks for someone who maintains power inwardly.
39) God sets a great value on those who endure great trials. He purifies his servants through suffering and readies them for his ministries.
40) Holiness is having a heart for God.
What's the secret of having such a heart for God?
We must decide to please God only.
41) God is looking for just one person who hates sin, fears God and is willing to lay his or her life aside to fulfill God's mission.
Because of one righteous person, a blessing will come to our own place and time.
God wants to find those who aren't seeking popularity and fame but are looking for genuine holiness, and we are the ones.
42) Righteous influence can be corrupted by sin.
Those who long for righteousness imitate Jesus.
43) Is righteousness a gift, or must we cultivate it? Righteousness comes as part of the gift of faith--when we first believe in Jesus. But to complete that righteousness is a lifetime process. God did not give us a short cut.
44) Understand our true identities...our ugly side...our splendid, unlimited potential.
Those with deep spirituality have a strong conviction about their sinful natures.
Sometimes, as we grow in grace, we get the feeling that we're growing in sin.
45) Patience is the essence of love.
Let's have patience. Let's think about Jesus and endure.
46) Self-control is the height of spiritual discipline.
First, it comes through the Holy Spirit.
Second, self-control comes about through all the spiritual disciplines.
47) Jesus possessed the word power to move human souls.
His words spoke to the people. His words revealed his own spirituality.
Once we are filled with the Holy Spirit our language will change.
48) What distinguishes mature servants of God? They're content with what they have.
Believers don't have to look far for happiness; they find it in Jesus who makes his home right here with us. Let's gaze on him, the source of all satisfaction.
49) How do true servants of God behave?
For the sake of the gospel, they embrace everyone; they open their hearts to receive one and all.
50) The heart of Jesus is gentle and humble.
It embraces everyone.
51) The abundant life Jesus was talking about is the happy life.
It's the life filled with spiritual meaning and worthwhile tasks.
An uncomfortable life isn't necessarily a miserable life. On the other hand, a comfortable life doesn't guarantee a happy life.
The abundant life comes when we live a life of mission (Acts 20:24); a life that serves others has meaning and purpose.
52) What then is the prescription for maintaining exceptional spirituality?
1. We must learn to walk the straight path.
2. We must abide in Jesus always.
3. We must have a Sprit-filled life.
4. To follow Jesus we must deny ourselves daily.
5. To do battle against Satan, we must try to be always awake and on guard.
6. Our love of God in Jesus compels us to serve others.
7. Our ministry calls for a balance in spirituality and the Word.
Because human character is so limited, we must always trust and lean on the working of the Holy Spirit, the blood of Jesus and his righteousness. We must attend to the work of the ministry in the power and authority of Jesus' name.
The life of a Christlike person...sets a goal and imitates Jesus in a lifelong process by and in the grace of God.

If anyone has actually read all of this, you are obviously concerned about spiritual transformation and should buy the book!

Happy New Year everybody!

Stefanovden

(This entry was obviously started on the day after Christmas...)

December 26th, Saint Stephen's Day.
Also, my Grandmother's birthday.
It has always been overshadowed by Christmas...an afterthought of sorts.

Saint Stephen's day gets overlooked, too.
Obviously, the first Christian martyr is not on par with the incarnation, but Stephen's death did set major events in motion. "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church," after all.

My friend Joseph reminds me that martyrdom is not a thing of the ancient past. Members of his Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt are still being persecuted and killed today. In muslim Egypt, Joseph explains, Christian parents are told that their child has "converted to Islam," and they never see the child again. In actuality, the child has more likely been abducted and sold into slavery (as was St. Patrick).

Such persecution has increased in recent years in Egypt, and Joseph tells me that believers there have recently been comforted and encouraged by appearances from the Virgin Mary, seen worshiping before the cross.

Another Josef was also born on Saint Stephen's Day, 2007. He was born prematurely, but the Lord has brought him through many ordeals. His family is preparing to go to Ethiopia to serve homeless and oppressed children. Ethiopia is another nation in conflict. So please pray for the Gross family, for Ethiopia, for Egypt, and for all who are persecuted for the sake of Christ Jesus.

And let us also live up to these words from 2 Corinthians 4 (a very appropriate Stefanovden meditation):

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

New Living Translation

Flesh and Bone

In college, I sang in a quartet. One of the songs we sang was a Michael Card song called Flesh of His Flesh. The chorus goes like this:

We are flesh of His flesh
Bone of His bone
His Spirit has brought us
Together as one
Though we may be separate
We're one perfect whole
For we are His body
And He is our soul

The song combines elements of Romans 12:5 and Genesis 2:23.

I was reading some commentary a few days ago on Genesis 2:23 and I discovered something interesting. This phrase "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" may mean more than one thinks. Victor Hamilton suggests that "flesh" often symbolizes weakness in the Old Testament. "Bone," on the other hand, may be seen as a symbol of strength. The phrase "my/your bone and flesh" also connotes relationship. Walter Brueggemann argues that this phrase is used as a covenental formula--a pledge of mutual loyalty.

So, in this first instance of direct human discourse, Adam may be stating much more than the fact that he and the woman are made of the same stuff. It could very well be a statement of commitment.

Thus it would serve as the biblical counterpart to the modern marriage ceremony, "in weakness [i.e., flesh] and in strength [i.e., bone]."

Wow, can you believe this may have been Adam & Eve's way of marrying, becoming "one flesh" with her? Makes sense in context...

I read this on my anniversary. Darina is my bone and my flesh. We share in each others' strengths and weaknesses, and the Lord is there with us through it all.

What a nice anniversary present. Thank you, Lord.

--Brueggemann, Walter, "Of the Same Flesh and Bone (GN 2,23a)," CBQ 32 (1970) 532-42
--Hamilton, Victor P., The Book of Genesis: Chapters 1-17, The New International Commentary on the New Testament

The Brothers Karamazov

This classic work is being offered as a free audiobook download until the end of 2009.

If you haven't read The Brothers Karamazov (or listened to it), you really should.

I think it's my all-time favorite novel!

Hallelujah Chorus -- Performed by Silent "Monks"

I thought this video was really enjoyable.