By Art Toalston
Writer and retired editor, Nashville
Who do you think you are?” It’s a question that, for some reason, I’ve been asking myself in recent days.
And it has pushed me to other pointed questions during quiet moments away from the rush of life and sometimes in the midst of it.
Here are some that I’ve been grappling with:
“Are you nonchalant in the presence of the Creator of the universe? Do you ever ponder the intricacy of your soul and your body? Are you less than respectful of the greatest royalty ever known?”
It’s not a fire-and-brimstone inner interrogation, just a calm flow of weighty questions.
“Are you dismissive of the supernatural courage of Christ’s early followers? Are you dismissive of the martyrs’ faith through the ages, even today in lands of turmoil, repression and violence?
“Are you apathetic about the magnitude of Jesus’ call to love one another? Are you too sheepish to tell others about the transformative faith you’ve experienced time after time?
“Are you giving short shrift to God’s forgiveness through Christ’s death and resurrection? Are you too earthbound to ponder the prospect of heaven?”
There’s a wealth of Scripture that’s relevant to the questions I’ve been confronted with.
Here’s one, a prayer of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:18–19:
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what is the wealth of His glorious inheritance in the saints and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe … .”
Another is found in Ephesians 3:16–19:
“I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through His Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
‘Fullness of God’
“I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
So put me on your prayer list. And perhaps ask a friend or two to put you on theirs.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Art Toalston is based in Nashville, Tennessee. He retired in 2019 as senior editor of Baptist Press. His website is arttoalston.com.
Thoughts from the-scroll.com
There is an important secondary application for every believer here, regardless of giftedness in teaching: We must all be careful to speak truth in love. When the truth of God and love of God collide in the hearts of men, enemies dissolve and hearts are changed.
James Hammack
“Truth in love”
Find someone — a trustworthy friend, a Bible study leader, a sibling — and ask if they’d be willing for you to come alongside each other to grow a healthy habit in your spiritual journey.
Hannah Muñoz
“Accountability matters”
Faith is not telling God the outcome and trusting Him to do it. It is trusting God in the outcome and knowing He will walk us through it, whatever that may be.
Amy Hacker
“A mustard seed of faith”
What practice could you add … that would allow you to worship God in a way that is specific and meaningful for you?
Jessica Ingram
“What’s your worship language?”
Focus should be on making disciples
Recently I was once again challenged by the need to focus on making disciples.
If the gospel is planted in a community and disciples are grown in that context, there will be a new church.
Discipleship is an imperative. Yet many times the planter can get lost in the Sunday “affair” and programs without nurturing his soul and then helping a few others to grow with him as a Jesus follower.
Church planting can be complex, yet the Great Commission remains a simple mandate.
During my morning Bible study time, I was reading through 2 Timothy anew. The Word is an essential part of the life of every believer, and it is simple and true.
Paul is giving direction and guidance to Timothy. Paul says the Word is to be used in teaching, rebuking, correcting and equipping.
As I have been thinking through discipleship in the church, I once again was hit by the need to use the Word faithfully to not just preach and teach but to deal with conflict, character, wrong motives, broken relationships, etc.
The challenges and division in our churches are many times the direct results of the lack of biblical discipleship.
Followers of Jesus should be growing in Christlikeness, fruitfulness and servanthood. We are called to invest in the essential.
Who are you discipling and investing in so they can grow as a believer?
Where does your time in ministry go weekly? How much could you and your committed group give to making disciples?
What would you have to say no to?
Brian Harper, lead church planting strategist
Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions
“Nothing in the Bible promotes a quick fix. … There is nothing in the Bible that teaches you can fix your life by your own means,” said Eli Alexander, family pastor at The Church at Chelsea Westover in Harpersville.
Revival in your heart begins when you see God’s truth, His clear and plain truth, and wash off Satan’s lies that he bombards you with continually. A simple prayer can wash away the stress and the pain you have allowed to weigh you down.
Bill Brewster, author
“Revival: It’s Time to Live Again”
“I keep praying, You keep moving; I keep praising, You keep proving … there’s purpose in Your plan,” excerpt from the lyrics of “Honey in the Rock,” written by New Zealand singer-songwriter Brooke Ligertwood and American contemporary worship musician Brandon Lake.
“When Jesus comes on the scene and you’re amazed at His teaching, you’re amazed at His power, you’re amazed at who He is, you can’t help but talk about Him,” said Chuck Lawless, dean of doctoral studies and vice president of spiritual formation and ministry centers at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina.
“Every believer is called and commissioned to share the gospel with a lost world,” said Willie McLaurin, interim president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
“I’ve found that if you’ll just preach the gospel, people will get saved. They’re hungry for it. They want to know, ‘Is there something that can save me and fix me?’” said Mac Brunson, pastor of Valleydale Church in Birmingham.
“We are in what is now labeled, The Great Resignation. Americans, let alone pastors, are leaving their jobs in record numbers to find either new employment or no employment at all,” said Rick Harrington, pastor of First Baptist Church Haverhill in Massachusetts.
From the Twitterverse
@richardblackaby
You can come to God just as you are, but after the encounter, you should never be the same again.
@keahbone
Respectful dialogue is always a catalyst for change. Disrespectful dialogue is almost always ignored and becomes noise that is easily ignored. Choose wisely. The world needs more change, not more noise.
@SEBTS
“You cannot say that you are pro-life from the womb to the tomb if you are apathetic when the womb is a tomb.”
@williemclaurin
Asking the Lord to move me outside of my comfort zone so I can see the harvest the way He sees the harvest. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. (Matt. 9:37)
@SamRainer
Your church has to replace 32% of its attendance to stay even each year. For every 100 persons in attendance in your church, you will lose each year: one to death, nine to moving, seven to transfer to another church in the community and 15 to declining attendance frequency.
@ElyseFitz
He remembers your sin no more.
@philipnation
At the end of Jesus’ life, there were two bowls of water:
— One which Jesus used to wash feet & serve His friends.
— One which Pilate used to wash his hands & deny Jesus’ lordship.
Each morning, we must choose which bowl we will pick up to use during the day.
@haines_matt
Man’s greatest need in life is not spiritual validation, but spiritual regeneration.
@ronniep
Things I regularly remind myself of as a pastor:
- Giving is gaining.
- The way up is down.
- Doing less is doing more.
- Being faithful is success.
- Obedience takes faith, courage.
- The way forward is deeper intimacy with God.
- Bring on less of “me” in 2023.
Share with others: