Tag Archives: bondservant of christ

Do You Believe in Destiny?

Do you believe in destiny? I do. I have often marveled at the fact that God chose you and me to live in this specific time in the history of the world. We could have been born in any century or any millennium, but He chose this amazing time; what we now know is the last of the last days before He returns, for you and me to be alive. It is not happenstance. It is not coincidence. We are here right now because we are destined to be.

How do I know that? Because the God I serve is the Alpha and the Omega – the God who knows the beginning and the end. He knew Adam and Abraham and Moses and David. He knew Eve and Deborah and Ruth and Esther. Each had a time and a purpose for their lives, and so do you and I. He knew you would read this very blog, and He came via Lori today to tell you that you are born with a purpose and a destiny unto Him! Continue reading →

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 6)

Part Six

“The Flesh is Weak”

In my last blog (#5) we talked about a good reputation being a requirement for a leader in the Church.  Now we’re going to examine what a good reputation means, and how one can achieve it.  Remembering again that the things of the Kingdom are usually just the opposite of how the world works.

Religion represents the appearance of things and the ‘form’.  Remember when Jesus called the Sadducees and Pharisees white-washed tombs?… full of every unclean thing.  He said they long to appear righteous and they make sure everybody sees them when they pray.  Yet Jesus called them out in their folly.  In today’s religion, we might know someone who loves to be seen and heard and thought of as super spiritual.

But Paul got real about his own flesh in this passage:  “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:14-25).

Religious people will often seek the squeaky clean looking, never sinned (or never got caught) and wouldn’t admit it if they did – crowd to represent them in a ‘church’.  What matters most is if they look good and if they have an unsoiled public reputation.

There are precious few truly discerning Christians out there, and even fewer who are mature enough to restore a God-ordained leader if he does sin, yet this is what the Bible says to do (Gal 6:1).

Some religious circles believe that if a leader is caught in a sin, (s)he can be forgiven and perhaps remain in the Body, but can never return to a leadership position.  If that were true, David would never have led the armies of Israel to victory, Peter would have never preached at Pentecost, and Paul wouldn’t need to talk about his ‘thorn’.

But a bondservant of Christ will never quit because he belongs to the One who chose him, called him, and ordained him.  Proverbs 24:16 says “A righteous person may fall seven times, but he gets up again. However, in a disaster wicked people fall.”

Should we be concerned about what others think of us?  Yes.  But if we sin and fall short, we have an advocate with God our Father, who is Jesus and He is interceding for us right now.  And guess what?  Other truly spiritual people will do the same thing.  They will pray for us, speak life to us and help to restore us to right standing with God.

Yet, more often, those who fall into sin are talked about, shunned, shamed, and shelved.  Some are even given the left foot of fellowship by religion.

We have already established that a leader in the Church in the Last Days must be a bondservant of Christ, giving up all of him or herself and laying down their lives in service to Jesus.  Can a leader and bondservant of Christ sin and still be a leader in the Church?  Certainly not willfully and using the grace of God as license to sin.  But leadership within God’s Church is not based on qualifications and a sinless track record.  As I’ve said before, God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

What God has ordained, let no man put asunder.  I love that line in the traditional marriage vows.  And here’s how it applies in the Church:  if you were conceived in the mind of God, birthed and brought forth in the Last Days for ministry in the Lord’s Church, and yet you have been buffeted by Satan and consequently failed in your flesh, even repeatedly, if you repent and receive God’s Amazing Grace – you are still who you are.  Your identity in Christ cannot be taken from you – and your gifts and callings are without repentance.  In other words, when God gave them to you, He was not and is not sorry He did so, and will not ‘take it back’, and neither can any man take it from you.

However, there were some things David could not do because of his sin.  The Bible says that God would not let David build the temple because he had innocent blood on his hands.  There are consequences to your sin that only God can administer.  But God loved David and never took back David’s anointing to lead Israel.

In the Last Days, the true bondservants of Christ will be distinguished by one characteristic:  THEY WILL NOT QUIT – THEY WILL NOT GIVE UP.  If they fail, they will get back up again and again like David did and seek God’s forgiveness.  That’s why David was described as a “man after God’s own heart”.  He knew how to repent… and he never, never, never gave up.

They lead because that’s who they are – and they are not under bondage to what others may think of them.  They play to an audience of One.  They go forward because they can do nothing else!  They are compelled by the Spirit of God within them to serve in the Kingdom – they are bondservants.

Let the reputation that we honor be the one of which we can say “They never gave up on God – and God never gave up on them.”

I promise we will get to Christ making Himself of no reputation.

(continued)

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 5)

Part Five

“Good Reputation a Qualification of Leaders”

When talking about being a “bondservant” of Christ, we have to take the Word of God and rightly divide it to come to the correct teaching about what it means to be a true bondservant.  Should we be concerned about our reputations?  Evidently so, because when Paul was instructing Timothy about the qualifications for a leader in the church, he said in 1 Timothy 3:7 AMP “Furthermore, he must have a good reputation and be well thought of by those outside [the church]…”  The entire chapter of 1 Timothy 3 instructs those who are leaders in varying capacities to be mindful of their behavior so that they will represent Christ Jesus in an honorable way.  The Bible even says that your children must behave well – Lord have mercy!

Have you ever seen the driver of a car with a religious bumper sticker exhibiting bad driving manners?  This example sounds a little foolish, but it’s true that those who are not Christians are always watching because they know a Christian is theoretically expected to be ‘Christ-like’.  Then, when they aren’t – it brings reproach not only on the person exhibiting the bad behavior, but also on Christ Jesus himself.  “Well, if that’s the way a Christian acts, I want no part of that. What a hypocrite!”  And that goes double if the person is the known leader of a Church.

Does being a bondservant of Christ mean that you will never behave badly, or that your flesh will never show up and show out, as they say?  Does it mean that we will never sin?

Does being a leader in the Body of Christ demand that all people everywhere think well of you?

I sure hope not – for if it does, I am completely undone.

But getting back to leaders:  Several of the Disciples of Christ described themselves as bondservants in the Bible.  Beginning as Disciples, and then later on, as Apostles – all of them were bondservants.   In the leadership of the Church as described in Ephesians 4:11,12 God gave Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry and to build up the Church.  Other leadership offices mentioned in the Bible were Deacon, Bishop and Elder.

For those who lead in the Church, a good reputation is a requirement.  But in our next conversation, we’ll balance the letter of the ‘law’ with the spiritual principles of  mercy, grace and love, remembering that Satan is the ‘accuser’ of the brethren.  We’re not going to excuse sin, but we will talk about how God’s chosen leaders struggled with their flesh.

And I promise you we will get to the topic of Christ making Himself of no reputation.

We will come back to this series “On Being a Bondservant of Christ” after this coming week’s program with Philip Cameron.  Be sure to tune in for a heart-stirring time with us on the show.

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 4)

Part Four

“No Reputation”

From a very young age, most of us have heard from our parents about having a “good reputation”, especially those of us who are girls.  It was not that long ago when it mattered.  People were concerned about their own morality and the morality of their children.  It was a different social atmosphere then – when integrity of heart and social behaviors really were the “stuff” of substance.

Businessmen were concerned about dealing fairly with their customers and their associates.  It was important to have a reputation of integrity in the community, and still is to some extent.  Without it, the business may suffer.  But big business has changed all that.  Why?  Because people are now concerned about only the short-term effects on their pocketbook instead of the long-term effects of moral, economic, and social corruption.  How else could a company like Enron manipulate so many people?

In the environment I grew up in, I was known as a “bad girl”.  My reputation was shot with those who still valued such things.  But I found acceptance and even admiration in a certain segment of the drug and alcohol culture.  Things were changing.  We were learning to value things that were worthless, and devalue those things that were priceless.  It was the age of drugs, sex and rock ‘n roll and those who were ‘hip’ redefined the culture.

Today, “reputation” is scoffed at as a social dinosaur.  Why?  Because we have seen in all too many headlines, the gap between how one is known by the public, and the reality of their true character when the intimate knowledge of hidden things are exposed.  Their “reputation” may have been excellent – their character just the opposite.

Remember when I said that “everything in the Kingdom of God is just exactly upside-down of what the world teaches?”  The world teaches us to guard our reputations – and the Bible teaches us to guard our hearts – for out of it flows the wellspring of life.

As a bondservant of Christ, we will give up worrying about what others think of us, especially in “church”.  In fact, we will surrender all that we are to the only One who deserves all our honor and praise.

In the next segment, we’re going to talk about how Jesus “made himself of no reputation”.

(continued)

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 3)

Part Three

Brokenness – A Prerequisite

I’ve often said that brokenness is a prerequisite for effective ministry.  Only through our own brokenness can we deliver the heart of God in ministry for others.  Why?  Because Jesus allowed Himself to be broken in every way, including His physical body and we are not above our Master.  But while we all honor Jesus for going to the Cross and allowing His body to be crucified so that we can have eternal life (John 3:16), we don’t often focus on His emotional brokenness which was so apparent in the Garden of Gethsemane and at other times in His life.

In the Garden, Jesus struggled with His friends.  He knew what was to come very shortly, that He would face the greatest trial of His life, and He wanted His friends to pray with Him.  That doesn’t sound like a tremendous request, does it?  Yet they could not even muster the commitment to pray – they chose to sleep instead.  Were they weak?  Oh yes they were.  But they failed even more in the hours ahead.  Some betrayed Jesus, one denied Him.  None stood with Him.  Jesus was alone, except for the Father, in Whom He trusted for His strength, emotional and physical.

Have you ever been through something and thought your friends had your back and that they would walk with you through it and support you, only to find that they would go with you a short distance – stand with you for a little while – pray with you for a short time – but in the end, you found yourself alone.  Not even Sister Super Saint would go the distance with you.  It was something you had to go through yourself in order to rely fully and wholly upon God alone, Who is the Only One who could sustain you.

Brokenness comes when everything and everyone around you fails you.  You prayed all your spiritual warfare prayers, and things just got worse.  Your called on your friends, but your friends couldn’t go the distance with you.  Religion fails you, even spiritual leaders sometimes fail you.  You come to the end of your reliance on anything that is earthly and you come to a surrender that you can survive with only one explanation – GRACE.  You now intimately know what it means when some other broken vessel says that God alone sustained them through something.

Jesus came to that place of brokenness and surrender – Job came as well.  David, Paul and John came too.  Mary Magdalene knew this place well – for she had found no greater love anywhere than at His feet.  When the pain and sorrow is so great that you can only whisper the Name – yet, you do – you do call out that Name Above All Names.  It is at that moment that God’s Amazing Grace sustains you and you have been given the honor of having your faith exercised by the trials you endure.

Up until now, you had thought you were a pretty good Christian.  But now you know that you can do nothing, absolutely nothing, in your own strength.  You can’t help others, though you thought you could, without being broken.  You can’t even walk the walk though you’ve talked the talk.  You have a new understanding that every step you take, every breath you inhale is dependent on Him.

Your reputation?  Ha!  Jesus made Himself of NO reputation.  We’ll discuss that next.

(continued)

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 2
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10

On Being a Bondservant of Christ (Pt. 2)

Part Two

Contrasts

Remembering that everything in the Kingdom of God is just exactly upside-down of what the world teaches, even our own churches tell on themselves by the messages they preach.  Are we raising up disciples or are we only another representation of a world system masquerading as a “church”?

The Gospel of Christ is referred to as a “mystery” in the Bible.  That’s because you can’t understand it at all unless God himself shows you by His Spirit, and you can’t fake it with real Christians who know what it means to be “saved”.  Christians know the Lord’s voice – and another they will not follow.  The Lord said that many will say to Him “Lord, Lord… didn’t we…” and with one of the most chilling responses I’ve ever read, Jesus answers “away from me, I NEVER KNEW YOU”.  You will never get to heaven by knowing how to maneuver within the Christian community.  You may fool a few naïve people, but you will never fool God.

When Paul came to the saving knowledge of Christ, he was completely undone.  Everything he had thought was right, was wrong.  The day Paul had held the garments of those who stoned Stephen (a true bondservant of Christ), he thought he was doing God a service.  But when God spoke to him, he said “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute ME?”  What Paul’s religion had taught him was wrong.  Paul had participated in killing the true bondservant of God because his religion blinded him to the truth and the saving knowledge of Christ.

It’s a scary thought, isn’t it?  Is it even possible to be that deceived today, that we would do diabolic things and think we are doing God a service?  It should be a lesson all of us apply to ourselves, yet we most often think of others when we hear it.

Dieing to self is a term that is tossed around all too easily in Christiandom.  Yet, dying to self is one of the requirements of being a bondservant of Christ.  In much of today’s modern Christianity, we hear so much about “fulfilling your purpose” and “how to live your best life now” and many other self-focused teachings.  Most of it stands in sharp contrast to what is really important in the Kingdom of God.

Modern Christianity wants you to have “self” esteem.  Jesus wants you to esteem others more highly than yourself.   Humility is not something that is valued in today’s society, even in churches.  The humble are considered weak and the mantra we have heard over and over is that only the strong survive.

Yet, Paul said “let the weak say I am strong.”

Paul, who was a true bondservant of Christ, when he wrote to the Galatians said:  “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Being crucified with Christ and dying to self are so comprehensive that it’s hard to talk about these topics without writing an entire book – and many people have.  But the point I want to make in this series “On Being a Bondservant of Christ” is that we must return to the teachings of Christ in His Word to make sure our hearts are right with God.  No longer can we afford to appease the flesh with easy things that sound spiritual, but aren’t.  The time is short.  Jesus is coming soon!  I want to be ready!

(to be continued)

Love,

Lori

On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 1
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 3
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 4
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 5
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 6
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 7
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 8
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 9
On Being a Bondservant of Christ – Part 10