3 G Theology

You’ve heard of 3 G technology. Let’s talk about 3 G Theology. I heard a teacher sharing that the message of the book of Romans could be broken down into 3 phases, and 3 G’s. They are GUILT, GRACE, and GRATITUDE.

Man was not supposed to live with guilt. But Romans lets us know that we are all guilty. “There’s none righteous, not even one.” “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Who hasn’t broken one of the 10 commandments: Never told a lie? Never taken something that hasn’t belonged to you? Not wanted something that rightfully belonged to someone else?

But Romans then tells us that we are saved, not by works, earning our way, but by GRACE. God’s unmerited favor. “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” Jesus did what we couldn’t: Live a sinless life. He paid a price we couldn’t, sacrificing a perfect life to take our punishment; then applying his work to our account, our sentence.

Once we accept that gift of grace, our adoption into God’s family, how do we then live: On our own power, in our own strength? No, we let Him live his life through us. We put off our nature, and put on His will and life. “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” And, we then live a life of GRATITUDE. “You yourselves are (now) full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able also to encourage one another.”

Live bravely in your 3 G Theology!

A Life Well Lived

The funeral director stopped counting after 1100 people passed through the visitation line at her visitation. Her oldest son said, we are losing another of our role models. When she went home to be with her Lord, she left a big hole in her husband’s, her four children’s, her seven grandchildren’s and four great grandchildren’s and hundreds of friend’s hearts.

She was a first grade and kindergarten teacher who taught dozens of children to read, hold their pencils correctly, and line up and behave. Another said, she raised the bar, on what it means to live a successful life, giving to others. Always with a gift for loving and comforting others, it was fitting that her funeral was on Mothers’ Day, 2010.

She reminded me of what’s important in life, the legacy one really wants to leave, of lives touched and love extended. We honored and celebrated her life. So for those special, godly women you know, I encourage you to provide for, protect, lift up and honor them while they are with us.

One of the two pastors who spoke about her and her love of her Savior quoted Proverbs 31:

An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.

The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.

She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight.

She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.

She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong.

She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.

She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.

She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.

She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

“Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.”

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.

Are you fat?

Since the New Year's Resolutions, many have been trying to drop a few pounds, and now that Spring Break season is here, and people are thinking about their swim suit body.... The last thing they want to do is be fat.

But you're suppose to be a FAT Christian!

(F)aithful - Believing God, His Son, and His WORD, and exercising your faith to do more...

(A)vailable - Are you available to God, or too busy on your own agenda?

(T)eachable - A most valuable trait in both the secular and spiritual world. Can the Holy Spirit move you up an onward.

Or are you stuck in old fleshy habits. Are you a good follower, are you open to being a Discipler? Your ID?

Are you FAT?

Ever been held captive?

Here’s an article from God’s Daily Promise I thought was interesting. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to save that which was lost (us), but that He would also lead the captives free from that which imprisons them.

Have you ever struggled with a sin that ensnared and held you captive?

Have you ever been imprisoned?

Don't forget about those in prison. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies.

Hebrews 13:3 NLT

Tell me how much you know of the suffering of your fellow men, and I will tell you how much you have loved them.

Helmut Thielicke

Solidarity in Suffering

At any given time, many of God's saints are in prison. The prison may be literal, or it may be a product of circumstances. It can be financial debt, a broken relationship, a physical ailment, or any other consuming situation.

A huge problem in the church is when Christians look at their imprisoned brothers and sisters and assume that God has not favored them. Paul probably experienced such a phenomenon. We read his prison epistles and marvel at his suffering for the cause. But many of his contemporaries may not have marveled. They may have seen his trouble as a sign of God's disfavor and wondered why someone with so much potential had fallen to such depths.

God's prisons are full of His loved ones. He uses those experiences mightily, as He did with Paul, Joseph, John the Baptist, John the disciple, and numerous other biblical examples. In fact, many of those whom He used in powerful ways have experienced an imprisonment, captivity, or loneliness ordained directly by Him.

Are you in prison? You are probably not literally behind bars, but your circumstances may make you feel as if you are. Don't despair; it will not last. It is ordained by God and is designed either for your current witness or future usefulness. He is refining you and molding you into His image, the exact likeness of His crucified Son.

Adapted from The One Year® Walk with God Devotionalby Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers (2004), entry for April 22.

Dead or Alive?

We know that when people told Jesus that He was too late, and that a girl was already dead, He told them that she was only asleep. Then they laughed at Him.

Then He raised her from the dead. And they stopped laughing, and started praising God.

God considers people who don't belong to Him through faith in Jesus as being already spiritually dead. But considers saints who have physically died to be alive to Him.

Here's some verses on the death of a believer.

Your ID and His Plan

Tony Twist, the president of TCM International , a teaching and discipling ministry to Eastern Europe wrote a neat article I wanted to share with you.

What to do? Powerless to change anything. Going in wrong directions. Corrupt government on the brink of destruction. Feeling abandoned.

People all over the world are feeling this way. And we always have. Just like the disciples hearing the Great Commission in the first century. This was exactly their circumstance! Betrayed by authorities, unable to change things, and not knowing what to do that would make a difference. In fact, just a few years later, their entire country was destroyed by Caesar.

But in His final words to us, Jesus gives the answer. It may seem counter-intuitive. But actually it’s brilliant. We simply forget that His command in the commission was given to keep us focused on what makes the difference. What has the power to turn our world right-side up.

Make Disciples of all the nations.

Why? Because International Disciplers are His PLAN. That’s it. And it’s brilliant! Because it is the only way to be part of real, lasting change. God knows that circumstances will not change if people don’t. But when people commit to His family PLAN, deep lasting change can result. ID’s Pray like Him, Live like Him, Allocate resources as He taught, and Network as He did.

When we reclaim our true ID (international disciplers), we “re-member” whose we are. In His power and presence, we are emboldened to join with brothers and sisters everywhere to honor our family name and promote our family values. Shuch a family brings order out of chaos by radically lighting up our world together with Him. When a family is so grounded, death can’t even stop it. In 2009, TCM committed to a vision for the future that focuses on develoing disciple makers to make a global impact by more effectively influencing churches, cultures, and countries for Christ. Now, in 2010, we want to be part of a global movement to call all of us back to this simple, powerful imperative. It’s time to reclaim our true ID. This is what we must do.

Guys, What do you think about that? Is your true identity ID an International Discipler, or at least an Indiana Discipler? What do you think of this description of the PLAN: Pray like Him, Live like Him, Allocate resources as He taught, and Network as He did.? Have you seen Networking for Christ as your duty?

You need a heart transplant!

“You got a bad ticker, and if you don’t get a new one, you’re gonna be a dead man. In fact for all practical purposes, you’re a walking dead man right now.”

How would you like to hear that rather frank diagnosis the next time you go into your doctor for a routine physical?

The Bible says that if we have not accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior and lord, that we are spiritually DEAD! It also says that from a Hebrew concept, we have a bad heart, the heart being our real selves, our center, our soul, not the muscle that pumps blood around. Here is some interesting information and bible verses on “The Heart:”

Ancient Hebrew Word Meanings Heart ~ lev By Jeff A. Benner

Here is an example of our modern western culture still using a concrete object to express an abstract idea. We often associate the heart with emotions such as love and kindness as in "He has a good heart". This is also true with the Hebrews who saw the heart as the seat of emotion. But unlike us they also saw the heart as the seat of thought whereas we see the brain as the seat of thought. To the ancient Hebrews the heart was the mind including all thoughts including emotions. When we are told to love God with all our heart (Deut 6:5) it is not speaking of an emotional love but to keep our emotions and all our thoughts working for him. The first picture in this Hebrew word is a shepherd staff and represents authority as the shepherd has authority over his flock. The second letter is the picture of the floor plan of the nomadic tent and represents the idea of being inside as the family resides within the tent. When combined they mean "the authority within".

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Psalm 44:21 Would not God find this out: For He knows the secrets of the heart.

Luke 16:15 And He (Jesus) said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

Ezekiel 36:26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Heart (Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary)

According to the Bible, the heart is the centre not only of spiritual activity, but of all the operations of human life. "Heart" and "soul" are often used interchangeably (Deut. 6:5; 26:16; comp. Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30, 33), but this is not generally the case. (The real you, your personhood)sb

The heart is the "home of the personal life," and hence a man is designated, according to his heart, wise (1 Kings 3:12, etc.), pure (Ps. 24:4; Matt. 5:8, etc.), upright and righteous (Gen. 20:5, 6; Ps. 11:2; 78:72), pious and good (Luke 8:15), etc. In these and such passages the word "soul" could not be substituted for "heart."

The heart is also the seat of the conscience (Rom. 2:15). It is naturally wicked (Gen. 8:21), and hence it contaminates the whole life and character (Matt. 12:34; 15:18; comp. Eccl. 8:11; Ps. 73:7). Hence the heart must be changed, regenerated (Ezek. 36:26; 11:19; Ps. 51:10-14), before a man can willingly obey God.

The process of salvation begins in the heart by the believing reception of the testimony of God, while the rejection of that testimony hardens the heart (Ps. 95:8; Prov. 28:14; 2 Chr. 36:13). "Hardness of heart evidences itself by light views of sin; partial acknowledgment and confession of it; pride and conceit; ingratitude; unconcern about the word and ordinances of God; inattention to divine providences; stifling convictions of conscience; shunning reproof; presumption, and general ignorance of divine things."