Growing in Christ

Wanted to point out that I added a person to my blogroll, Devyn Smith. She just started blogging and has written a beautiful piece about growing in Christ.

I hope it encourages you. Click on her name and it should take you there!

Book Club Update

A few weeks ago I announced that I would be starting a book club. I love reading and I love to discuss what I am reading with other people. I have wanted to be a part of a reading club for years; however, there were several red flags to starting one right now. (I was in denial of that for a while but as the date approached, I realized that I was not going to be able to add it to my plate.) It was not going to be wise for me to facilitate another monthly meeting. In addition to that I found out that my husband’s leadership team is beginning some type of reading event as well so that will be an opportunity for reading too.

In the meantime I have morphed my own reading club into a blogging exercise. This blog was originally created to encourage the women that I meet with on a monthly basis for accountability. We are going to start a reading project inspired by the sermon series at FBC, Norco. The sermon series is based on Titus. Consistently we have been exhorted to think about the necessity of sound doctrine in our lives. Sound doctrine keeps us from making decisions based on our culture, our emotions, pressure from others, our own selfish flesh etc., but instead gives us the ability to live life and make decisions based on the safety and strength afforded by God’s Word.

With that in mind we are going to be reading Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem and responding to it on my blog. Our goal will be attainable which might make it look like a small goal but it will be definitely better than nothing! We will read 5 pages a week.

This reading exercise will start on February 19. On that day the pages for the next week will be assigned as a post for which anyone who is reading can comment on during that week. I will write at the end of the week and then will assign the pages for the next week! Thanks to all who commented at our last meeting that they were excited about doing this. I think it will be fun and challenging at points.

Meeting with Sisters

Last night I spent about 2 hours with sisters in Christ sharing life, sharing goals, being encouraged, and just enjoying them. I count myself as blessed, very blessed to have these women in my life. I need them. Their love and presence in my life reminds me that I need them every time we meet.

I need them to gently press me and encourage me to do the things that I know will put me in the path of God’s grace. They help me to think about my life in light of eternity rather than just for the moment. (Sometimes “the moment” can wrongly inform my view of what’s important.) They help me to plan do the things that I know are pleasing to God and good for my soul. They make me laugh, cry, and enjoy God’s goodness.

Thank-you Norco ladies.

And for those of you who have not yet joined our accountability meetings, plan to join us next time, which is February 4. I don’t think you will regret it!

Don’t Waste Your Life inspired a rap song

I am not much of a rap fan. However, I am a fan of thinking about this life….all the ends and outs with the cross as a filter. Just about finished reading Don’t Waste Your Life with my accountability friends and ran across this video on youtube.  Decided to share because in some way it gives a good synopsis of all the ways that Christians can get side-tracked from the Christian life.  (Of course I am including me as the primary person here.) 

I am here to declare His excellencies in everything I do and say and in every attitude that I wear.  That should be the focus of my life……

“….a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness in to his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9

www.bondedtogether.wordpress.com

Accountability

On September 3, my friends to whom I am accountable for spiritual disciplines, (and who were the inspiration for this blog) met again. As always the meeting was filled with laughter, a few tears, joy, serious conversations, contemplation about God’s work in our lives, goal-setting, and most of all encouragement.  I am amazed at how much these women press me to live what I profess to believe.  It’s not a “checklist” mentality but a “putting yourself in the path of His commands” mentality in order to live for Him.  And it’s not easy. 

It’s not easy for a couple of reasons.  I don’t like to set a goal and not meet it.  And if I don’t meet my goals, I don’t like to admit it, but if I don’t, then I excuse myself quietly and I don’t repent of unwise choices/attitudes/etc. AND THEN, it’s not easy because the “mechanics” of the goal could be met but not the spirit of the goal…..learning from God’s Word and being changed by Him. 

So accountability is difficult because it requires vulnerability, repentance, and true growth, but the benefits outweigh the difficulty.  I have been reminded of my frailty.  I have been checked on attitudes like self-pity, self-indulgence, discontentment, and “light-headed living.”  (“Light-headed living” is my term for not taking life seriously!   These things weigh me down and keep me from enjoying what God has richly blessed me with….HIMSELF!! 

So when these precious ladies gather with their smiles, their lives, their pain, their goals, they bless me and they bless each other.  Accountability is beautiful.  Conviction and repentance are the things of life!!!

Sisters in Christ Pacing Together

This past Thursday was time again for my friends and I to gather and encourage each other in our pursuits of Christ. It is always a sweet time. I was so encouraged by my sisters as they shared their new goals and how their previous goals had placed them in position to hear from God. All of us are working on being diligent in daily Bible reading, in Bible study, memorization and meditation. We are also all trying to be intentional about how we hear the word and how we share the word. We all come with some shortcoming, things that we have been convicted of and things we need to repent from, but even when we have to speak of those things, it is not without hope, without desire to keep running, to find refreshment in the strength afforded to us by the grace given by what was accomplished at the cross.

We only get so many times around the sun, and then we are headed to eternity. God help us to accomplish things that are eternally valuable.

www.bondedtogether.wordpress.com

Wasting Life By Not Risking For the Sake of the Gospel

Last night the ladies to whom I am accountable for spiritual disciplines and who are seeking accountability for discipline met again to encourage each other, “check in,” and discuss Piper’s book, Don’t Waste Your Life. As usual it was an uplifting time for me and I hope for them.  I really like having to answer to them because it reminds me constantly of how important it is for me to walk in the things that I believe to be important and worthy of time.  It amazes me how easy it can be to get distracted from eternal things….even doing mundane things like cleaning house, which while is important, is not more important than time in the Word.

My favorite thought for reflection last night was the idea that sometimes I can blend in to the values of the world if I am not taking risks that set me apart for Christ.  The risk we were talking about is the risk to invest in people, to give to the poor, to spend time caring and noticing that there are people around me that I can serve and that serving them with the love that Christ has rather than out of selfish ambition stands out because that’s not exactly “natural.”  There are kind people in the world that do not love Christ, but the motivation for their kindness is what sets them apart.  How much will I give to make someone else happy, happy in such a way that they look to CHRIST, not me as the source of the blessings?  And at the same time, how much am I willing to serve others by speaking the truth even if it means rejection of me…something I am not fond of at all.  It’s challenging and it’s so good for me to be urged to seek Christ in cleansing my heart and helping me to think Biblically, eternally.

Repairing Fractured Friendships

Is it necessary for us to repair fractured friendships?

The following verses answer this question very decisively.
Matt 5:23-24, Hebrews 12:14-15, Romans 12:18-19, Eph. 4:30-32, and Col. 3: 12-17

And the answer is yes, we must strive for reconciliation. It is not easy for several reasons. It requires confrontation, talking about something that was painful, and possibly saying those difficult words of “I’m sorry” and not attaching the word “but” to them.

While there is not an easy way to do this, here are some thoughts to consider when having to deal with a fractured friendship.

Analyze the Situation
1. Do I need to seek forgiveness….EVEN if I didn’t start it?!
2. Is my friend going through a difficult time and “taking things out” on me, therefore I need to exercise patience and forgiveness (even if she is not realizing what’s happening)?
3. Is my friend in sin and thereby has turned a deaf ear to me so I need to pray for her and not vent my anger, resentment, or pain.
4. Do my friend and I need to agree not to see this situation the same?
5. Did I confront my friend without love and genuine concern and thereby injury her?
6. Am I in sin or do I have a “blind spot” that is offending my friend.

Be proactive!
1. If, after analyzing, I figure out that it would be helpful to talk about the problem, I need to confront her. I choose to do so face to face and ONLY after I know that my heart is not set on “setting her straight” but truly is set on reconciling and beginning again. At this point I am prepared to take her criticism of me and truly consider it, regardless of how it is packaged. (Now here our selfishness will need to be dealt with again because it is our human nature to want to be RIGHT! We must get passed that for sake of Christ!)
2. After analyzing, I realize that I was being overly sensitive, my friend did not intentionally hurt me, and with a clear conscience, I can move on and love her just the same, I do not confront.

In either situation, it is ONLY appropriate to speak to another friend about the problem if the friend is able to advise you and help you analyze with both good intentions for the person with whom you are at odds and you. This well-chosen friend has to be able to point out your fault or maybe your lack of communication that could have caused the problem. Otherwise, it is only gossip. Gossip is sin and it is extremely destructive in a church. The root of gossip is NOT reconciliation but self-preservation. (It makes us feel so good for someone to see OUR WAY!) Women who do not reconcile but gather up “support” for their anger by getting women “on their side” destroy unity in churches and prevent the work of the Spirit (which is an anti-Christ spirit….serious business).

This ends the retreat material. At the retreat, I took some questions and we talked about some specific scenarios. If you want to ask me a question, it would probably be best to do so through email. You can email me privately at mooney_david@msn.com

I hope that God’s word has blessed you (and maybe even convicted you as it has me) and encouraged you to live as a true friend who is able to demonstrate to the world that you love Christ supremely because you love His church.

Recap of Retreat Introduction

I mentioned to some of the ladies that I thought I would do a recap of the things we talked about at the retreat. There are a couple of reasons for doing so:
1. Not everyone was able to attend.
2. It’s good to remember as we get back to living in these relationships.

So, I will be posting this material in a series because I can’t sit down and get it all done at one time.  Here is a recap of the introduction.

INTRODUCTION

The Goal: To seek to participate in healthy friendships with believers for the purpose of living in harmony with each other so that we can with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and to befriend unbelievers for the sake of the gospel.

Theme Verse: May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:4-5

Thought-provoking Questions:
1. Do I understand the need for difference in friendships with believers and unbelievers?
2. Have I put undue strain on a friendship because I have expected from my friend what I should rely mostly on Christ for (like identity, significance, acceptance, and confidence).
3. Am I jealous of my friends’ other relationships? Why?
4. Do I struggle with gossip? Why?
5. Do I have trouble making friends with new people and thereby make others feel left out?
6. Have I intentionally avoided friendship for selfish reasons or because of fear or because of age differences?
7. Do I expect more from a friendships than I give to  it? (In other words do I care little for what is happening in my friend’s life…I just want to tell her my news?)
8. Do I seek reconciliation with humility when a friendship has trouble?
9. Am I able to receive constructive criticism and rebuke or do I get angry and justify myself?
10. Do I enjoy making others feel left out? If so, why do I enjoy that?
11. Do I struggle with what I think I deserve in a friendship?
12. Am I intentional about friendships while at the same time leaving room for whom God may bring to my life?

The above questions were for personal evaluation as we prepared to be taught from the Scripture what God has to say about relationships.

Will you pray?

This weekend, Feb. 7-8, several ladies from our church, First Baptist Church of Norco, of which most of you reading this are a part, are headed to the beach to spend some time together. We will be examining what the Scripture has to say about friendship. In so doing, we will ask God to shape and change us by His Spirit to be more Christ-like in our relationships within the Body of Christ. We will reject our culture’s way of “thinking” when it comes to feminine friendships because too often the model is stained with selfishness which leads to so many problems. It will ONLY be by grace that we will be motivated and able to think differently about how we set Christ on display in this area of our lives.

Will you join me in praying for God’s Spirit to move among us?