Every wind of doctrine
The idea of running after every wind of doctrine is a sympton of not growing up in the Lord, and of the lack of foundational planting in our lives.
Every wind of doctrine must be understood as not just strange or weird teachings about Christ, but also many of the obsessive meanderings the world always pursues and partakes in; most of the time expressed in the endless number of causes always brought up as vital to the continued existence of the human race, or other such drivel.
You know, things like the global warming or climate change hoax, saving the whales, or the evil of capitalism, etc.; none of which the eternal purpose of God has anything to do with.
Anyway, the reason I included this video is to show the principle behind living quiet and peaceable lives and not looking to be someone in this world.
I like the fact that this young man anonymously played this song, which as of this writing has enjoyed being viewed over 61,000,000 times on YouTube.
You don't get the feeling when watchin him play that he's doing it for the purpose of showing off or trying to garner attention, rather he's simply expressing something of what he has and sharing it with the rest of us.
He was so anonymous that the New York Times attempted to find him at one time, and it took their people and resources 8 months to do it. This young man didn't do this for the purpose of being found or discovered.
The point is we in our lives in the Lord also must come to the place of simply living from and unto Jesus Christ. There is no other purpose we were made for, and anything that distracts from that should be considered something that must be dealt with.
Don't be deceived by the endless do-gooders that claim the thing they're promoting is a must if we want to survive, or needs to be done or millions will perish.
Many times, if not most the time in history, those attempting to do good end up doing more harm because of their intervention, having no idea about cause and effect, and destroy in some cases, millions of lives.
What we must embrace and understand is that Jesus Christ isn't moved by need, and He wants our undivided and devoted attention as we walk daily in the everyday aspects of our lives in Him.
For the most part Christ isn't interested in our becoming known in this world, rather He's interested in us responding to Him in the little things of life, and considering them as vitally important to Him, whether anyone else in the world is aware of it or not.
That's why I brought up this young man in the video. He's touched millions of lives with his music without attempting to be known or without a known purpose other than sharing it with those watching it.
Whether anyone sees us or not in our fellowship with Christ and the little things we daily do unto Him doesn't matter, we just continue on faithfully serving and living from and unto Him regardless.
We're simply called to be ordinary people fellowshipping with an extraordinary Jesus Christ.
Every wind of doctrine
Showing posts with label Obscurity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obscurity. Show all posts
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Most believers don't know that Oswald Chambers, who wrote the most popular devotional of all time named "My Utmost for His Highest," was highly influenced by the writings of Jeanne Guyon and Fenelon.
In the June 16 entry in the devotional, he comments on a couple of things that are very insightful and needful for the times we live in.
Commenting on laying down our lives, he correctly identifies the difference between that "heroic" dying that everyone remembers, and the day-to-day laying down of our lives in the quiet obscurity, which most of our lives are.
What Oswald Chambers says is it's far easier to die in that heroic way than to walk the daily path of life in this way before the Lord and toward our brethren.
Chambers adds, "We are not made for brilliant moments, but we have to walk in the light of them in ordinary ways." He refers to Jesus not having these types of moments, other than possibly the transfiguration, which was only witnessed by three men.
I might add when he came in riding on the donkey and was hailed as the King, may have been another moment, but even there strong opposition happened as He humbly rode in the midst of the people. It wasn't exactly the things made of kings which the world would have wanted.
When John said "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren," he wasn't speaking of that very public and heroic way that disciples like Peter envisioned, but rather, again, the daily laying down of our lives for one another.
This reminds me of the very godly sister named Margaret Barber, who had a profound effect on Watchman Nee, and by extension, an untold number of Chinese believers of that day, and many more long past her and Watchman Nees deaths.
Barber was stationed at one town in China, and opposition from Christians arose, and she refused to harm Christ and His testimony in any way, so she moved to a tiny little village, where she worked unto the Lord in obscurity, although many of those used by the Lord would travel there to get her input and insights.
There she battled for Watchmen Nee and others having an impact on China for Christ by pushing them to knowing Christ experienctially, rather than primarily as an intellectual knowing and understanding.
She didn't attempt to gain attention, and other than maybe a dozen pages of writing about her, there is almost nothing known of her life on earth for the Lord, yet she had an extraordinary spiritual impact - the only one that really counts.
You can only have that by laying you life down for others and not looking for the attention so many others crave when they're working and living unto Christ.
Remarkably, very few believers are willing to walk this quiet way before the Lord, simply living unto Him and pouring themselves out daily for their brethren.
We need far more of this among believers today, and hopefully those that may discover this little encouragement will find it within themselves to lay down their lives for one another on a daily basis and in a way that desires no attention or need for being acknowledged.
Being known is overrated, and it's far better to live before the Lord in a quiet, peaceful and unpretentious way, than to attempt to be noticed.
Very few people can successfully live in the public eye while maintaining their walk in Christ. And even if they find themselves able to keep away from falling, there is, for the most part, an almost impossible challenge of maintaining a close walk with the Lord, laying down of their lives, and not thinking of themselves as more important than they really are.
Paul was exasperated by this when he wrote letters to the churches, reminding them that men are nothing and Christ is everything. Those with reputations didn't impress Paul, and neither should it impress us - nor should we seek for it.
Far too many believers think of the "ministry" as some type of extra thing they go out and do outside the body of Christ, while in practice it was meant to be a daily sharing of the life of Christ together, where people simply talked about Christ and what He was doing in their lives.
That was really what was ministry, which today has become the disastrous idea of professionalism and being special, rather than being a part of daily laying down of our lives unto the Lord and for one another.
In the June 16 entry in the devotional, he comments on a couple of things that are very insightful and needful for the times we live in.
Commenting on laying down our lives, he correctly identifies the difference between that "heroic" dying that everyone remembers, and the day-to-day laying down of our lives in the quiet obscurity, which most of our lives are.
What Oswald Chambers says is it's far easier to die in that heroic way than to walk the daily path of life in this way before the Lord and toward our brethren.
Chambers adds, "We are not made for brilliant moments, but we have to walk in the light of them in ordinary ways." He refers to Jesus not having these types of moments, other than possibly the transfiguration, which was only witnessed by three men.
I might add when he came in riding on the donkey and was hailed as the King, may have been another moment, but even there strong opposition happened as He humbly rode in the midst of the people. It wasn't exactly the things made of kings which the world would have wanted.
When John said "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren," he wasn't speaking of that very public and heroic way that disciples like Peter envisioned, but rather, again, the daily laying down of our lives for one another.
This reminds me of the very godly sister named Margaret Barber, who had a profound effect on Watchman Nee, and by extension, an untold number of Chinese believers of that day, and many more long past her and Watchman Nees deaths.
Barber was stationed at one town in China, and opposition from Christians arose, and she refused to harm Christ and His testimony in any way, so she moved to a tiny little village, where she worked unto the Lord in obscurity, although many of those used by the Lord would travel there to get her input and insights.
There she battled for Watchmen Nee and others having an impact on China for Christ by pushing them to knowing Christ experienctially, rather than primarily as an intellectual knowing and understanding.
She didn't attempt to gain attention, and other than maybe a dozen pages of writing about her, there is almost nothing known of her life on earth for the Lord, yet she had an extraordinary spiritual impact - the only one that really counts.
You can only have that by laying you life down for others and not looking for the attention so many others crave when they're working and living unto Christ.
Remarkably, very few believers are willing to walk this quiet way before the Lord, simply living unto Him and pouring themselves out daily for their brethren.
We need far more of this among believers today, and hopefully those that may discover this little encouragement will find it within themselves to lay down their lives for one another on a daily basis and in a way that desires no attention or need for being acknowledged.
Being known is overrated, and it's far better to live before the Lord in a quiet, peaceful and unpretentious way, than to attempt to be noticed.
Very few people can successfully live in the public eye while maintaining their walk in Christ. And even if they find themselves able to keep away from falling, there is, for the most part, an almost impossible challenge of maintaining a close walk with the Lord, laying down of their lives, and not thinking of themselves as more important than they really are.
Paul was exasperated by this when he wrote letters to the churches, reminding them that men are nothing and Christ is everything. Those with reputations didn't impress Paul, and neither should it impress us - nor should we seek for it.
Far too many believers think of the "ministry" as some type of extra thing they go out and do outside the body of Christ, while in practice it was meant to be a daily sharing of the life of Christ together, where people simply talked about Christ and what He was doing in their lives.
That was really what was ministry, which today has become the disastrous idea of professionalism and being special, rather than being a part of daily laying down of our lives unto the Lord and for one another.
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