Watermark Blogs

Train yourself to be godly. ⁸ For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things,

holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

These verses of 1 Timothy 4 are a good plumb line in my life: Where does my time go outside of work?  Where am I putting the majority of my discresionary time?  I love to run and workout with others, and as I get older less and less by myself.  This verse is proving more and more true in my life as I watch the speed that the body de-trains.  As a runner, your system will De-train 2x the speed that it will train.  So, as far as your cardio system is concerned, if you run for 2 weeks and take off 1 week, you are back at the point you were before you started 3 weeks ago.  Make sense?  If my research is outdated, let me know.  Here’s two things I see: 1. we are called to take care of our temple (1 Cor 6) 2. training for godliness will always pay dividends, trust me.

Have you ever asked people in your community about what this verse looks like in their lives? The goal is not condemnation with these questions, but to find out how we can encourage each other to invest in the greater of the two.  What did physical training look like in your life last week?  How many hours/minutes?  What did training for godliness look like last week in your life?  How many hours/minutes?  How can I encourage you to train for godliness this week?  Peace, rb

Here the 2nd group of questions that are from J.P.’s sermon series: LED

-Do I provide an excellent service or product, one I would be proud to attach to the Gospel?

-Do I actively share my faith in our work environment?

-Furthermore, where could I improve at evangelism in the work place?

-Does everyone I work with know that I am a Christ-follower?

-Furthermore, how can I communicate this to those that may not be aware?

-Would those around me be more attracted to my God or less attracted to my God based on how I work?

-How are my priorities defined in my work?

-Has work caused me to compromise spiritual disciplines?

-Has work caused me to compromise the quality of husband that I am?

-Has work caused me to compromise the quality of father that I am?

If you haven’t read any of Randy Alcorn’s books and feel like having some paradigms blown up, go pick one up.  I’m having a Alcorn summer and plan on finishing three of his books, the first one of those dominoes just got knocked over Heaven.  It contains one of my favorite quotes in all of the books I’ve read, “Every person reading this book is dying” (p. 446).  How great is that!  Morbid, but great!  The scriptures call us to the following:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. – Colossians 3:1-2

Communities should always be pushing each other to be living for Heaven, the imperishable, where moth and rust will not decay.  Living in this way will always be worshipful, Christlike, and be the most loving way that we can live with others.  I think everything I just said is a “given”, so I’ll just get to the great questions that Randy Alcorn lists in his book that we should ask ourselves and one another (p. 454-455).  Thanks Randy.

1. Do I daily reflect on my own mortality?
2. Do I daily realize there are only two destinations-Heaven or Hell- and that I and every person I know will go to one or the other?
3. Do I daily remind myself that this world is not my home and that everything in it will burn, leaving only what’s eternal?
4. Do I daily recognize that my choices and actions have a direct influence on the world to come?
5. Do I daily realize that my life is being examined by God, the Audience of One, and that the only appraisal of my life that will ultimately matter is his?
6. Do I daily reflect on the fact that my ultimate home will be the New Earth, where I will see God and serve him as a resurrected being in a resurrected human society, where I will overflow with joy and delight in drawing nearer to God by studying him and his creation, and where I will exercise, to God’s glory, dominion over his creation.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. – Pr. 15:22

Solomon, who was at one point in his life the wisest man (1 kings 4:29-31), which meant that he offered something to people that is more valuable that any other resource on earth (Pr. 20:15).  Unfortunately, neither he, nor his son Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:8), put into practice the two communal invitations of proverbs 15.   As a result, the decline started for both men, families, and a nation.  The first communal invitation is being seeking correction (see earlier blog post).  The second invitation of people of people who demonstrate wisdom is seeking  counsel.

Dictionary.com defines counsel as:

1.  advice; opinion or instruction given in directing the judgment or conduct of another.

Application:

I’ve often thought the ultimate test of being in community is whether or not you are looking for correction from others around you.  Are you inviting it?  It’s the ultimate trust that communicates that you know that at the end of the day, we can’t trust our own hearts and that others can see us better than we can see ourselves.  Sit in Proverbs 15 for a while:

⁵ A fool spurns his father’s discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

¹⁰ Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die.

¹² A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise.

If people are God’s provision for us and a means of grace to conform us into his image (see 1 Cor 12; 1 Pet 4:10), how often are we inviting others to speak into our lives, with no defense on our part of our actions?

Ask someone this week, “what is something that you see in my life that is inconsistent with Scripture, that you have not told me about”?  Or, said in another way, “what have you seen in my life that dishonors Christ, but never had the courage to tell me?”

That’s community!  More to come on Pr. 15.  Happy Communing. rb

It’s been said around Watermark and within the scriptures that there are 3 ways to learn. 1. Through God’s Word (the least painful), 2. Through watching others make hurtful mistakes, 3. Personal Experience (the most painful).  This week was another week where I had to learn through option #3, which caused myself and others pain and frustration.

If you’ve been in community or real friendship for any amount of time, you have had conflict, disagreement, or division.  The problem is always where we start, the problem/sin with the other person which is not Christ-like.  Here’s first rule of the playbook, that we can memorize but is one if not  The Most Difficult verse to practice as a discipline.

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. – Matt. 7:5

Here’s the shift I needed this week and the shift we all need, which is the starting line.  Start with the assumption that you are at fault.

Here’s the excercize: think of your last/current conflict and write down the answers to these questions:

• How many examples did I come up with on how I could how I could have handled the process better?
• When did I not walk  in the Spirit overflowing with gentleness, kindness, patience, peacefully?
• Where along the way did I not put their needs first and wanted comfort for myself?
• How many people did I bring in specifically to help me see “my part”  or correct my actions in the conflict (without gossiping of course)?

Thanks to Jon Marshall for sharing the above image on Flickr.