Celebrate Grace Series
When C.J. Mahaney was the pastor at Covenant Life Church, he would begin their staff meetings with one hour of pointing out grace in the lives of the people of the church! Spending time talking about seeing the Holy Spirit for an hour is the greatest accountability and motivator for any spiritual leader. It would help us all to get back to what we are called to do as ministers; help people to see and savor Jesus Christ. How can we do this if we aren’t looking for Him? How can I better see and celebrate Grace in my life and in the lives of those around me?
After listening to a podcast from Mahaney I was motivated to write the following entries on Celebrating Grace.
Celebrate Grace: Be Gospel Centered
Celebrate Grace: Practice Humility
Celebrate Grace: Remember Your Calling
Celebrate Grace: Have Fellowship
Celebrate Grace: Study Scripture
Celebrate Grace: Be Full of Faith
Celebrate Grace: Forgive and Be Forgiven
Read this book. Counterfeit Gods
I just finished reading Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller a few days ago and would highly recommend it to all believers. Keller uses his cultural understanding of many passages to show us how different people throughout the bible were enslaved to idols, set free by the gospel, and refocused on God. The much needed chapter on love is worth the price of the book. The final chapter reminded me that we are to be disciplined in the basics not out of mere duty, but because spiritual disciplines practiced in faith will help us to joyfully dig deeper into the glorious riches of our God, and in doing so usurp the counterfeit gods that seek to master and destroy us. As this continually happens we can truly love God and others.
enslaving idols
In his book Counterfeit Gods, Tim Keller strives to help us see the dangers of idols and the superior love, sacrifice, and worth of Jesus. After reading through the introduction and first chapter, I am seeing once again the sneaky power of "incomplete joy(s) of this world" that we try to build our lives on. Living in Thailand makes it very easy to think of idols as merely handcrafted statues that receive the worship of billions of people. However, there are deeper roots in idolatry that every soul on earth must recognize and sever. These idols receive God-status in our hearts in the form of money, sex, power, fame, status, family, ministry and many others. These things alone are neutral and even good gifts from God, it is when we love them more than God that they receive misplaced worship and begin to enslave us.
Introduction to Counterfeit Gods from Redeemer City to City on Vimeo.
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