Here are some more of the devotions we were looking at in Ireland...
Study Four: Matthew 5.33-37 Speaking Truth.
Kingdom talk is honest talk. “Let your yes be yes
and your no be no.” Simple,
straightforward, authentic, and real. There
is no need to add to what you say with vows or promises. We quickly got off into a long talk about tattoos
and the question of whether a small cross tattoo would be OK. And whether it would make your faith
stronger. Or whether it was a surface substitute
for the inner faith that God wants. We talked
about jewelry and fashion.
We finished with part of St Patrick’s Breastplate,
a true Kingdom prayer…
Christ
with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I
arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the threeness,
Through confession of the oneness,
Of the Creator of Creation.
Study Five: Matthew 7.14-27; Matt
11.28-30 Being a Student of
Jesus.
Discipleship means following Jesus. It means doing what he tells us to do. That has to be our intention when we call
him, “Lord”. Not just at certain key
moments in life, but in all of life. In
dealing with a prickly co-worker, or demeaning thoughts, for our relationships,
for our careers, for our dreams and aspirations, for how we spend our money,
for our dress and eating habits, for our time off – for everything. It
means being his ‘intern’, his ‘student’, his ‘apprentice’, and taking him up on
his invitation to “learn from me” about how to live our lives. Not just at certain key moments in life, but
in all of life. The goal of discipleship
is living like Jesus would live if he were living the life he has given me to
live.
Study Six: Matthew
7.14-27 again. Christlikeness.
If being a disciple means following him, how are
we supposed to do that? Unless we become
like Jesus on the inside, we will never behave like him on the outside. The good tree produces good fruit, every time. So discipleship means becoming like him in
our thoughts and emotions and hearts so that we can act like him in our
deeds. Christlikeness is described in
the Sermon on the Mount, and it really is possible. Christlikeness = becoming like Jesus on the
inside so that we can act like him on the outside.
Study Seven: Matthew 5.48 What is the Gospel?
Is it “Repent and believe in Jesus and your sins
will be forgiven and you will have a place in heaven?” That is all true, and wonderful, but it
leaves out a large chuck of our lives – our day to day lives between now and
death, exactly where Jesus promises he will make life “abundant”. God does not leave out big chunks of our
lives. “Be perfect, therefore, as your
heavenly Father is perfect.” But it is
true that many people make a commitment to Christ and then go back to living
their day to day lives swimming right along with the culture. Then when the moments of crisis – or temptation
– come, their faith fails. The gospel is
good news for every part of our lives.
Geoff,
If you get a chance or one of the girls does...
there is a great worship CD by an Irishman and has a really cool "version" of St Patrick's Breastplate on it...
The CD is called "Powerscourt 2000" and it is out of the Core church in Dublin. You may be able to find it in a Christian bookstore (do they have those?) over there. I listen to this song often - and we actually listened to it as part of our home group meeting just the other week. You can find out more about the CD here - www.christiansongwriters.com/iccd45230.html
A question - Acts says that Jesus spoke to his disciples for 40 days "about the Kingdom" after his resurrection - why do you think he did this? what do you think he said? why is it not recorded in more detail?
God bless you all!
Posted by: Mark Steffey | July 12, 2005 at 10:01 AM
Geoff, thank you for all of your posts. I wish we lived closer to you all so that we could join in your bible studies. I really miss them!!! Was reading Oswald Chambers yesterday morning about our lives as soley to learn who Jesus Christ was and to realize him in every area of our lives...that is the life of a saint. Will send you the exact reading by email. It was great and reminded me of your Dallas Willard readings.
Love St. Patrick's Breastplate...I feel like I could read it over and over and it still calms my spirit.
Send my love to Hannah and Susannah!!!
Posted by: Elizabeth Chapman | July 12, 2005 at 08:58 AM