After a while of having these thoughts and continuing to walk, he came up to a rest area where he met another hiker. He initiated conversation with this fellow nature lover, hoping that he might gain some wisdom from this man who looked as though he had hiked this and other trails a hundred times before. After listening for several minutes, the experienced hiker asked if he could join the young man on the remainder of his journey. Excited at the possibility, the young man accepted and they began to walk side by side down the trail. As they walked, the more experienced hiker asked questions such as, “Is this your first time on this trail?” “Do you hike often?” “What have you experienced so far?” and “What are you hoping to experience?” Throughout their conversation, the experienced hiker would point out things on the trail that the young man didn’t notice at first. Things like the calls of different birds and the names of flowers and trees. He didn’t talk much about his own experience hiking this trail, but he focused on helping the young man experience the hike in way he wouldn’t have on his own.

After a few hours of walking together, they came up to another rest area. Though the young man was eager to continue with his new hiking partner, the experienced hiker urged him to go on by himself. He reminded him of some of the wisdom for good hiking: keep your eyes open, pay attention to sounds, and take your time and enjoy the experience. The young man now had a renewed excitement about the unknown adventure that was ahead of him and went ahead on the trail no longer feeling as though he was missing something, but feeling like he was finally experiencing the trail the way it was meant to be experienced.

We all need someone in our life that will come alongside us as we move through our journey with Christ. Someone to help us see things in a new light and help us to experience the “with-God” life in greater depths. Perhaps you either feel like you need someone to come alongside you, or maybe you can be that person to someone else. The place to start is in your conversations. Every conversation can either help someone along the journey or hinder them.Similar Posts:

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Sometimes it helps to have some direction for how to help each other grow, so I’ve pulled together a simple list of accountability questions that can be used. Here they are:

PRAY
•    Have you spent time in focused prayer?
•    Have you cultivated an ongoing conversation with God?
•    Have you prayed for others?
•    What answers to pray have you received?

GROW
•    How have you experienced growth in your relationship with God?
•    What have you learned through Scripture?
•    What temptations have you faced and how did you respond?
•    In what areas of life do you desire to grow in?

SERVE
•    How have you served someone else with an attitude of love?
•    Have you shared the gospel with someone in either word or action?

You’ll notice that these questions are based around the themes Pray, Grow, Serve. This is similar to the Rule of Life rhythm that I wrote about here.

So, give it a try! Start getting together with one or two other people and start asking each other these questions of accountability (it’ll only be effective if you are open and honest!) and watch your faith begin to deepen and grow!

Bonus:

Many of these types of simple, small groups will also encorporate pray for pre-believers (people who are not Christians yet) into their time together. I think this is great and helps us to think and live outwardly. To do this, just think of one person and begin to pray for that person as a group. Church Multiplication Associates has put together these prayers based on Scripture to help:

1. Lord, I pray that you draw ________ to Yourself (John 6:44)

2. I pray that ______ will seek to know You. (Acts 17:27)

3. I pray that _______ will hear and believe the Word of God for what it really is.
(I Thess.2:3)

4. I ask You, Lord, to prevent Satan from blinding ________ to the truth. (II Cor. 4:4)

5. Holy Spirit, I ask you to convict ______ of his/her sin and need for Christ’s redemption. (John 16:7-14)

7. I ask that you give me the opportunity, the courage and the right words to share the truth with _____. (Col. 4:3-6; Eph. 6:19-20)

8. Lord, I pray that ______ turns from his/her sin and follows Christ. (Acts 17:30-31, I Thess. 1:9-10)

9. Lord, I pray that ____ would put all his/her trust in Christ. (John 1:12; 5:24)

10. Lord, I pray that _____ will confess Christ as Lord, take root and grow in faith and bear much fruit for your glory. (Rom. 10:9-10; Col. 2:6-7, Luke 8:15)

Helpful Links:

• 3 is enough groups
• Church Multiplication Associates

If you try it out, be sure to leave a comment and let us know how it’s working for you.Similar Posts:

• None Found

The first part of the book is spent dissecting what he sees as the shortcomings of the modern church. The second is spent setting a foundation of the church that Larry says he would go to. This kind of church is built on 4 things: Spiritual Theology, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Community, and Spiritual Mission.

Though this is a tough topic to write on, Crabb, who is known for his blatant honesty, does well. At times, it can seem like he is just complaining, but if you continue to read, you’ll find that he also offers ideas and possible solutions. You may get upset, or may get encouraged, but hopefully you’ll come out at the end with some ideas on how to build and restore the Church that Jesus envisions.

From the description:

What’s happening to the Church? Why are so many people who for decades have been faithful, steady churchgoers (and others who want to start going to church but can’t seem to find one that meets their needs) losing interest in even attending church, let alone getting involved? What is fundamentally wrong with the “types” of churches (Seeker, Bible, Emergent, Liberal, Evangelical) that dot the religious landscape? Larry Crabb believes it is time to rethink the entire foundation and focus of what we know today as church — everything we’re doing and are wanting to see happen. In his most honest and vulnerable book to date, the author reveals his own struggles in this area and then offers a compelling vision of why God designed us to live in community with Him and others, and what the church he wants to be a part of looks like.

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In this brief series, I’ve discussed what could be seen as a Rule of Life Tripod. Three simple things to build our daily life around: Prayer, Scripture, and Service. In this post, I’ll wrap it up by looking at the third leg: Service.

Service – following the example of Jesus, the one who came not to be served but to serve

I think that living a life of service is just as central to following Jesus as prayer and Scripture are. The example Jesus set for us was one of living for the sake of others. Consider these Scriptures that point the way to a life of service:

Mark 10:45 – For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Philippians 2:3-5 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

Ephesians 6:7 – Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,

If we are following Jesus, then we will naturally begin to look outside of ourselves and to how we can serve and help those around us. However, though this should begin to happen naturally, we also need to intentionally serve people. We can’t just wait until we want to serve, we have to learn to discipline our self and practice Christ-like service.

Just as we make prayer and Scripture a normal part of our daily rhythm, we ought to live each day with our eyes open and our hearts willing to serve those we come in contact with.

So, how can you live a life of service to those you work with, your neighbors, your family and friends? How can you serve with an attitude of love and as if you are serving God?

Here is a simple prayer to help us open our hearts to God in service:

“Lord Jesus, as it would please you bring me someone today whom I can serve.” from Celebration of Discipline

So, to recap our Simple Rule of Life:

I want to shape my daily life around the rhythms of

• Prayer – an ongoing relational conversation with God
• Scripture – a reading, studying, and meditation on the Message of God
• Service – living everyday with an open heart, eyes, and hands ready to serve and help others in the way of Jesus

порка секс фото Similar Posts:

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Check it out at LiveDeep.CalvaryDover.org

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The second leg of the Rule of Life Tripod is Scripture.

Scripture – not just a quick reading, but an immersion in Scripture that cleanses and transforms us as we read, study, meditate, memorize, and live it

We begin with prayer in which we learn to develop an ongoing conversation with God and now we move to Scripture in which God continues to speak to us and bring about the life transformation we need. In seeing Scripture as part of a rule of life (a rhythm for daily living) we need to go beyond just thinking in terms of a quick reading of a holy book to an understanding that Scripture is the God-breathed Word that is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

In order to give Scripture the “space” it needs in our life, we should learn to regularly read, study, meditate and memorize it. We do all of this in order that we might learn to live it out. James 1:22-25 tells us, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like.  But those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

But, we must also see that Scripture is not just another rule book with a list of commands we learn. Scripture is alive and through it, God speaks to us each individually and shaped us personally into the person He envisions us becoming. Therefore, we need to practice listening to the Bible as well.

As Christians, we need to become “People of the Book” – people who hold the Bible in the center of their lives. As George Mueller said…

The vigor of our spiritual life is in direct proportion to the place we hold the Bible in our thoughts.

Some Tips

• Start each and end each day with the Bible
• Learn to study the Bible in a more in depth way – our minds conform to what they study
• Learn to read slowly and try to memorize Scripture
• Write Scripture on a note card and take it with you so you can continually refer back to it throughout the day
• Talk about what God is teaching you – Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

детская киска

• порно фото рaбыни

What are some of your ideas of how you can make Scripture a central part of your daily life?

Check out these other posts about the Bible

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The Alpha Course at Calvary is right around the corner! Check out www.faith-journey.com/alpha for details.

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Prayer

We can think of prayer as an ongoing conversation with God that not only roots our day (by beginning and ending our day with him), but also weaves throughout it as we are in constant conversation with him. To make prayer a part of our rule of life, we need to learn to see prayer as more than just a few sporadic moments, but as a way of life. Prayer should involve devoted and specific times, but it should also be something we take with us throughout the day.

We can learn to pray as we work by continually turning our hearts and minds toward God and by doing our work as if we were doing it for the Lord. We can learn to weave simple prayers into our daily tasks by praying for God’s blessing on what we are doing, thanking God, and praying for others that are around us. We can be creative in our prayers as well since we each have unique ways in which our day unfolds – we can pray for family, coworkers, clients, customers, etc. We can also invite God into our day by having conversation with him about what we are doing – asking his opinion on things and listening for his leading at all times.

We can also practice what Frank Laubach called “flash prayers” – quick silent prayers for people that he saw and interacted with throughout the day, co-operating with the Holy Spirit to intercede on peoples behalf.

Prayer is central to the Christian faith, and it should be central to the life of every Christian. Prayer can sometimes be difficult, but we need to remember that prayer is something that we learn – it takes consistent practice. God wants to be an active part of our daily life, and by entering into an ongoing conversation with Him, we are opening up our life to his involvement. But, be forewarned when that happens, God just might start to speak to you and lead you in ways you’ve never experienced.

Here are a few recommended books for learning more about prayer:

Lastly, for discussion, how do you see prayer as a central part of your life with God? What are some creative prayer exercises that you can practice?Similar Posts:

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Don’t let the name “rule” throw you off though! This isn’t about being ritualistic and legalistic, but it is about living a disciplined life of training. Really, if we think about it, we all already live by a rule of life. We have those daily rhythms that determine how we spend our time, energy, and where we put our focus. So, the point of a Christian Rule of Life is to train us to not be “conformed to the pattern of this world”, but to be “conformed to Christ”.

As I’ve been thinking about this, the following three things have surfaced as a possible Rule of Life “tripod”:

1. Prayer – an ongoing conversation with God that not only roots our day (by beginning and ending our day with him), but also weaves throughout it as we are in constant conversation with him
2. Scripture – not just a quick reading, but an immersion in Scripture that cleanses and transforms us as we read, study, meditate, memorize, and live it
3. Service – following the example of Jesus, the one who came not to be served but to serve

What might our daily life look like if we built it on these three simple things? Is this tripod missing anything to you? How could you begin to shape your daily living around these three things?

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Mark 6:31

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

In a world in which we are constantly tempted to “log in”, we need to become even more intentional about “logging out”. Jesus taught us that in the midst of the busyness of life, we must intentionally get away to refocus, slow down, and be with God. When we make this a regular part of our routine, it helps to center us and give us clarity in life. And as we experience this rest in God, we learn to not be so attached to the many other things that grab for our attention.

Here are some practical ways we can intentionally unplug, so we can “plug in” to God.

• don’t check email after a certain time of day
• set a time limit for how long you spend online
• remember that you don’t always have to answer the cell phone
• do a “media fast” – turn off all media (TV, Internet, etc.) for a few days, learn to enjoy the silence
• when you go on vacation, go on a vacation from things like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace
• make one day a week a “log in free” day, when you don’t do things like check email, blogs, etc. – spend time engaging people face to face
• take a day and really get away with God – just you and Him
• let the last few moments of your day be spent in quietness and prayer, not in a noisy bombardment of television

These are just some ideas, they are not legalistic rules. However, there is discipline involved, we have to make a choice to go against our ingrained pattern and that can be difficult. But, remember that discipline brings freedom.

Jesus is inviting us to come away with him, to unplug and learn to rest in God’s presence.

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