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  • November 30, 1999

Archives For November 30, 1999

Dwelling in the Word

Charles Kiser —  August 13, 2015 — Leave a comment

pitcher-5

Dwelling in the Word is a spiritual practice of taking a text of Scripture and meditating on it over an extended period of time. Neil Cole observes that many Christians are “educated beyond obedience”. They know a lot about the Bible, but they actually practice a small percentage of what they know. Dwelling in the Word helps believers to simmer and stew and marinate in one section of Scripture in order to work out its implications in their lives — so that they begin to intentionally practice what they sense God saying in the text.

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In Discipleship, Scripture, Spiritual Formation
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Sometimes the Devil Sounds a lot Like Jesus

Charles Kiser —  August 5, 2015 — Leave a comment

Baby sleeping

I’ve been reflecting lately on the temptations of Jesus in Matthew 4. The temptation that grabs my attention right now is when the tempter takes Jesus to the highest point of the temple – the center of religious and spiritual life in Jesus’ day — and challenges him to jump off and let God’s angels catch him.

The devil even quotes Scripture to Jesus, from Psalm 91, about how God commands his angels to keep his chosen one from dashing his foot on a stone. Temptations wouldn’t be so significant if they didn’t sound good; if there wasn’t a dash of truth thrown in there. One of the lines in Ben Rector’s song “If You Can Hear Me” says: “Sometimes the devil sounds a lot like Jesus.”

The heart of this temptation for Jesus seems to be the invitation to prove himself. To show, in the middle of the crowds at the temple grounds, that he is someone special. To start his ministry off with a spectacular, miraculous bang. Who wouldn’t respect Jesus and listen to him if they saw angels rescue him in mid-air as he launched himself off the top of the temple?

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In Discipleship, Identity, Spiritual Formation
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3 Ways to Discover Your Calling

Charles Kiser —  June 17, 2015 — 2 Comments

Listening

Mack was a tall man – really tall. He had a deep echoing voice…Darth Vader material. And he was opinionated. The combination of these qualities made him quite intimidating, but they also helped me listen to him. Mack told me that he had been a successful businessman for several years but his heart wasn’t in it. His real passion was kids. So he quit his job and started working as a school administrator. What I won’t forget is what he said next. “Charles, don’t choose a job for the money. Do something that you love and the money will sort itself out.”

Do something that you love. That’s the stuff of calling. That’s what the word “vocation” actually means — hearing a call to do something you were meant to do. It’s not limited to what you get paid to do, though the two can overlap in different ways. Sometimes a paying job supports a broader calling beyond the job. Sometimes we get paid to pursue our calling. Sometimes it’s a combination of both over time.

For disciples of Jesus, regardless of compensation, calling always relates in some way with the mission of God to make all things new in the world that have been ruined by the reign of sin and death.

So how do you find your calling? Consider these three actions that I have found helpful in discovering mine.

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In Discipleship, Mission, Work
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Does God Punish Christians for Disobedience?

Charles Kiser —  June 5, 2015 — Leave a comment

Fix Original

Some friends and I have been having an interesting conversation this week. We’ve been discussing the question, “Does God punish Christians for disobedience?” Is there a connection between the struggles we encounter and God’s displeasure with our sin?

Particularly troubling is the story in 2 Samuel where the prophet Nathan informs King David that the child he had with Bathsheba would die. The reason: God was punishing David for murdering Bathsheba’s husband Uriah so that he could have her as his wife. Then 2 Samuel 12:15 says, “…the Lord struck the child….” Seven days later David’s son died.

Honestly, I’m not sure what to do with this story. I have so many questions and difficulties with it!

My questions notwithstanding, the issue that David’s story raises is: should we expect these kinds of things to happen to us? Does God still deal in one-to-one punishment? What exactly is God up to when we face hardship and suffering?

As I reflected, four texts came to mind.

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In Discipleship
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Everyday Discipleship

Charles Kiser —  January 18, 2015 — 7 Comments

Purpose

I began this blog in 2007 as my family was moving to Dallas to begin our church start-up work.

At that time, posting to a blog made sense because we had a number of supporters and friends (probably three) for whom reading a blog was an easy way to stay updated on our work.

When Storyline, the church we helped to start, became “self-sustaining” in 2013, the dynamics changed: we no longer needed to update our supporters as often, and so the blog sat on the shelf.

Since then I’ve been wondering: what will be the new purpose of this blog? Who do we want to read it?

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In Discipleship
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