I am a disciple ✝

Struggling with Prayer?

“This may be part of the discipline of what has come to be called ‘journalling’. At many periods in the history of the church, spiritually mature and disciplined Christians have kept what might be called spiritual journals. The real value of journalling, I think, is several- fold: (a) It enforces a change of pace, a slowing down. It ensures time for prayer. If you are writing your prayers, you are not daydreaming. (b) It fosters self-examination. It is an old truism that only the examined life is worth living. If you do not take time to examine your own heart, mind and conscience from time to time, in the light of God’s Word, and deal with what you find, you will become encrusted with the barnacles of destructive self-righteousness. (c) It ensures quiet articulation both of your spiritual direction and of your prayers, and this in turn fosters self-examination and therefore growth. Thus, journalling impedes mental drift.”

-Lessons from the school of prayer

by DA Carson 

Jesus = Prophet + Priest + King

(Taken from Steve Osborne and Mark Driscoll’s book - Vintage Jesus)

Jesus came to earth and revealed himself to us in each of these three ways; prophet, priest, and king. “As prophet, Jesus confronts us and calls us to repentance of sin. As priest, Jesus comforts us and comes to us to save us from sin and enable new life. As king, Jesus commands us to relinquish authority of our life so that every facet of our life is under constant sanctifying transformation.” Below are general statements about these categories taken from his book.

1. Prophet + King - Priest = Jesus of Fundamentalism. Its weakness is that Jesus is cold, distant, stern, harsh and even cruel. This lacks the peace, mercy, and forgiveness of sins.

2. Prophet + Priest - King = Jesus of Evangelicalism. Its weakness is that people call Jesus Lord, call his Word true, and then do whatever they want in their “personal life” (including sin) because they are king, not Jesus.

3. Priest + King - Prophet = Jesus of Liberalism. Its weakness is that Jesus is seen as someone who would never offend us, raise his voice, hurt our feelings, speak harshly, or command individuals to repent with a sense of urgency.

My question is, which one of these three categories do you find yourself in? 

Praise to the God of all comfort.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

I Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)