Formation Friday: John Wesley

                John was born the 15^th of 19 children to Samuel and Susannah Wesley. Susannah bore all 19, and she was the epitome of loving, faithful mother. Every week she spent time with each child, teaching them the Bible and the basic tenets of the Christian faith.

                When John was 5 years old, a house fire nearly took his life. He was on the 2^nd floor, trapped between the flaming stairs and a roof that was about to collapse. Providence intervened that day when a neighbor, standing on the shoulders of another, grabbed John from the window and saved his life. From then on, John referred to himself as “a brand plucked from the fire,” sensing that God had saved him for something special.

                And he worked hard to be special. John attended Oxford, spending a great amount of time reading the early church fathers. When his brother Charles assembled a small band of students to take their faith seriously, John quickly became the leader. He directed the group with a plan of study and rules for prayer. As the group grew, and became the target of ridicule at the University, John took pride in his first experience of persecution.

                But even in this season of constantly trying to make his life conform to the Bible, John was restless. He had a profound lack of peace. He felt he needed something more.

                And that was what brought him to this voyage. General James Oglethorpe invited Charles to be his secretary and John to be the chaplain to the new colony of Savannah, Georgia. The two brothers quickly accepted and were soon aboard the Simmonds in October of 1735.

                However, just a few short days before they were to land in America, the ship ran into a violent storm. Suddenly, this 32 year-old Anglican Priest, this man who had worked so hard to serve God all his life, was filled with terror at the prospect of death.  

It was in that moment of crisis, when the only thing that John could see was death, that he looked across the deck and saw a group of men and women singing calmly. Some sang with their eyes closed, some looked out upon the waves, some looked up into the sky. In each face, John saw something. He saw… peace.

How to Make an Impact on America...Right Where You Are

Everything started that night. Everything began that night, on that hill.

The crowd stood, jeering. Mary knelt, weeping. John held her close. Peter hid alone. The hope of the world, breathed His last.
  

But everything changed within just 3 short days.

See, while Peter was still engulfed with shame, and the rest of the 11 were immobilized by fear, locked up in some room, Jesus suddenly stood before them! When they last saw him, he was dead on a cross. Here, death had lost its grip!

Though this small group of 11 likely didn’t realize it at that moment, this event completely altered the course of history.

For thousands of years, men had searched for some kind of salvation, some way to please God. For the first time in the history of the world, Salvation himself…stood before them.

For the first time in history, the Good News was finally clear: Jesus Christ is Lord.

Jesus. Yeshua. His very name means: God SAVES.

Wednesday Word: The One Truth that will Change Your Life

The infamous journey of 18 inches.

What am I talking about? You've heard it before. The journey of truth from the head to the heart. Getting things we KNOW to become things that affect the way we FEEL.

It is perhaps one of the most difficult things we ever try to do. I have so much that I know in my head, but I have never had it change the way I live. Why?

Exactly how do we make this journey happen?

It happens when we slow down enough to come face to face with the reality of truth. It happens when we allow ourselves to think about what it is we know, to mull over the implications of it.

The journey from the head to the heart happens when the heart is allowed to catch up with the head. 

So we come to our Wednesday Word. We can keep going with exegesis. Exegesis is incredibly helpful. However, I want us to take this week allow our hearts to catch up with our heads.

The Gospel is the most weighty truth in all of Scripture. The Gospel is the one truth that will truly change your life. If you let it.

So we collected 10 excerpts from Scripture to help us out. Take the time to read through each one of these. The repetition of truth will help you slow down to recognize the awe-inspiring reality of what Jesus has done for you.

Are you ready? Let's take that 18-inch journey.

Pursuing the Presence: Light a Fire

Have you ever built a fire from scratch?

If you have, you know how it goes. It's a pretty simple process. You forage through the woods for dry, dead wood. Once you collect all the wood you need, you stack it up in the fire pit and get ready for the fire. But with all the wood-stacking, all the pit digging, the fire will never start without a spark.

It's much the same with us. Our life in Christ can look a lot like building a fire. We gather the wood, we stack it up in the fire pit. But a fire will never start in our hearts without a spark from the Spirit of God.

You can stack all the kindling you want, but it's God who gives the fire. It's His presence, His Spirit, that lights our hearts with the flame of passion.

Most mornings when I wake up, I feel some kind of deadness. I often am spiritually dry, cold, unfeeling. But it's the most dead wood that burns the hottest.

When you come to the Word, as you approach your time of prayer, as you stack up that kindling around your heart, look to One who brings awakening to dead hearts.

Scripture

"Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence? 

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea, 

even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast."

Psalm 139:7-10

Prayer

"Weak. Dry. Hungry. Afraid. Nervous. Overwhelmed. Anxious.

          I cast these fears on You, my God.

How I need You, O God, to breathe life into this dry spirit of mine!

Awaken me, O Spirit. Let me hunger for You today.

          Capture me, Sweet Jesus. Show me Your glory.

                    Draw me, Father. Keep me running after You.

Shine the light of Your face.

          May each glimpse of You draw forth new praise from my heart.

Draw me near. Keep me close.

You are:

Faithful. Merciful. Glorious. Eternal. Love. Hope. True. Good. Holy. Kind. Awesome. Steadfast. Wise. Infinite. Ever-present.

You are...here.

Light a fire in my heart. Let me burn for You.

Amen."

Formation Friday: Polycarp of Smyrna

"Though you do not see Him, you believe, and in believing there is unspeakable joy."

This past week, Christians around the world remembered one of the great martyrs -- Polycarp of Smyrna (70–155 AD).

He was one of the earliest leaders of the church, having been a disciple of the Apostle John (as in the writer of "the Gospel of John, 1,2,3 John and Revelation" -- that John).

Polycarp is a celebrated figure in the history of Christianity. He is one of few men we have detailed accounts of that lived as connections to both the biblical apostles and the age of the early church fathers. Several ancient sources document the contributions of Polycarp to Christianity, including his letters written to the church at Philippi, in which he encourages the members to remain strong in their faith and to flee from materialism.

Wednesday Word: Psalm 63

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.

Do you hear the angst in his voice? This psalm was written by King David, probably while he was fleeing from Absalom, his son; certainly at the time he wrote it he was king (see verse 11), and hard pressed by those who sought his life.

My question for us to consider is, why don't we write like this anymore? Why don't we feel this angst, this desire, this
overwhelming need for more and more of God.

Why do we not "earnestly seek", "thirst for", "faint for" as David and so many other biblical authors did?

Is it because we are too easily satisfied?
Maybe because we "feel good" too easily about our spiritual life.
Maybe because we have no real needs, we have everything at our fingertips, we have... an app for that.

This week can I challenge you to analyze yourself and find what it is that keeps you from expressing (really feeling and desiring) your love for Christ the way David longed for God.

This week, join me in feeling the angst.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;your right hand upholds me.

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Nathan Bryant

is a pastor living in Phoenix, AZ. As a student at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri he majored in Biblical Leadership, New Testament Studies, and Missiology. Nathan has a combined passion for unity and discipleship in the global church.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our causes.

Christ's Kingdom is bigger than our boundaries.

Follow him on Twitter: Follow @nathanpbryant

Nathan's Website

Pursuing the Presence: A Rudder Prayer

Your first thoughts.

They set a precedent. The way you spend your first hour charts the course of the rest of your day.

Your first thoughts are like a rudder for the course of your day.

Start the day on your smartphone? You will likely be chained to it every spare second.

Spend the first hour worrying about work or school? You'll find yourself preoccupied with those tasks until you go to bed for the night.

Begin your morning seeking God? You'll find Him...and you'll see Him more in every single moment.

Seek Jesus, and He will take you where He wants you to go.

Let the words of this prayer act as a rudder, steering the direction of your day.

How You Can Reclaim Your Time

"Where did all the time go?"

Have you ever found yourself asking that question? It's always a question with at least a hint of regret. It's always accompanied with a wish that you had enjoyed the moments more fully.

Time.

It's the one thing we can't get back once it's gone.

Time is constantly moving, constantly going. Each moment is here briefly, and then is gone forever. Once a moment is gone, you can't get it back.

And as many blessings as they give us, there's nothing in our lives that wastes our time more than our gadgets.

How many hours have you wasted on your iPhone...on your Xbox...on Facebook...watching Netflix...playing games...browsing...doing everything you can to be distracted and not enjoy the present moment? I know I've done all those things.

Formation Friday: Checklist Christianity

This week we are taking a break from our traditional Formation Friday posts that usually center around a great christian from history and quotes from him/her and instead want to touch on the idea of spiritual formation itself.
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Spiritual Formation does not occur through a checklist.

That is to say, we do not become conformed to Christ simply because we spend an extra 5 minutes reading the Bible every morning.
We don't become more Christlike by fulfilling a check list of dos and don'ts.

• Went to church: Check!
• Shared the Jesus picture on facebook: Check!
• Had my quiet time: Check!
• Donated to the homeless guy on the street corner: Check!
• Put on Christian radio in the car: Check!

(Didn't go to the bar, didn't wear yoga pants outside, guarded my eyes from that TV commercial... etc.)

Spiritual Formation does not occur in a vacuum of independence. It doesn't happen in a space we carve out once a week to put our church face on and perk up our ears to listen to the preacher.


It just doesn't happen by anything we try to do.
Especially anything we try to do half-heartedly.

How to Defeat ISIS

How did God change the course of human history?

I like this question, because it makes me think.

I like this question because it makes everyone think, from the elementary aged kid learning how to subtract to the Bible scholar and world renowned theologian.

I like this question because it is not so easily answered. In fact, one would ask if it even can be answered…

Perhaps though, we need to ask a clarifying question:
Was there ever a time that God was not changing the course of human history?

For my purposes in this post, I want to answer it this way:

Through one person.

God can change history through one person.

God HAS changed history through just one person.

Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, Esther, Mary, and anyone ever hear of… Jesus?

Or a little more contemporary… George Washington, Amy Carmichael, Martin Luther, MLK Jr., Mother Teresa…

All of these are good answers, all of these are answers deep enough to expound upon in books, many, many books if we wanted to write them.

What about ISIS?

Is God changing the world through one group of terrorists/warriors/ Islamic militants ?