For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
God has given me a love for Muslim people that just isn't natural. It's weird even to me sometimes, but it's part of what compels me to carry the Gospel to their world. Yet, everything must be disciplined, as Paul taught us. He first taught us that our lives must be reinvented whenever the Gospel requires it.
I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
We are allowed only one true identity, one true culture, and that is the Kingdom of God. We can have only one nature, and that is the one designed for us by God for the good works he has prepared for us. New works may require us to be molded by God into a new creation, just as gold may be melted and poured into a new form.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Even these traits and talents that God gives us must be disciplined, bound to the work of the Holy Spirit. I had an interesting experience this week that helped me to understand and apply this scriptural truth.
My friend Adel, of whom I wrote in a previous blog, has recently found a love and devotion to Jesus that is truly inspiring to me. I almost missed it entirely. You see, I love Muslims, and Adel came from an Orthodox background. He was not my self-identified "target".
My wife wisely reminded me that I am supposed to follow the work of the Holy Spirit, instead of my own program. So, I committed to weekly Bible studies with Adel. We've had three in the last two weeks, in fact, since he's so eager to talk about Jesus.
He shares an apartment with another Iraqi who is Muslim. Let's call him Abdu. I'd been eagerly praying for a while for a chance to share the Gospel with Abdu, but we hadn't really connected. Now, I found myself in the apartment with Adel, having our Bible study in the same room with Abdu.
Adel, I discovered, is totally ignorant of the whole concept of reading the Bible. He grew up in the Orthodox Church, and not only has he not read the Bible, he doesn't even understand that he should. During my most recent visit he opened a notebook and began reading to me what he had written in a very shaky Arabic script. It was the story of the birth of Jesus, a narrative version, not the scriptural one. I stopped him after a while and asked him if he had copied that from an audio story. He told me that he had listened to it on youtube and wrote down what he heard.
I asked Adel if he had ever read about the birth of Jesus from the Bible, and he said that he had not. Adel was amazed to find the birth stories of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Rationally I had always known that many Arab Christian groups are largely cultural, but this really brought the point home. He couldn't seem to grasp that the Bible was more authoritative than the youtube videos. The discussion got even more confused when Adel started bringing in some local folk tales from his youth that had been presented to him as the words of God.
Then it all came together, God's way. Abdu had been listening to the whole thing. He was a bit embarrassed, I think, about Adel's ignorance of the significance of scriptures. Joining us at the table, he began discussing the Bible verses with us, trying to help Adel understand them. He kept telling Adel to read the Bible. Yes, the Muslim came over and started encouraging the new Christian to read his Bible, telling him how important it was.
This led to me being able to share with them both the story of creation, the nature of man, sin, and the fall of man. All the while the Muslim carefully discussed each scripture with his Christian friend, telling him to shut up and listen to the Holy Book.
There's no way I could have brought my Muslim friend into this Bible study in the way that God did -as an active helper. If I had not followed my wife's advice to discipline myself and follow the Holy Spirit, I would have missed the whole thing. In my Muslim-loving rush to share the Gospel with my Muslim friend, I almost rushed past the door that God was opening. Please Lord, help me to beat my body and make it a slave to your work.
God has given me a love for Muslim people that just isn't natural. It's weird even to me sometimes, but it's part of what compels me to carry the Gospel to their world. Yet, everything must be disciplined, as Paul taught us. He first taught us that our lives must be reinvented whenever the Gospel requires it.
I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
We are allowed only one true identity, one true culture, and that is the Kingdom of God. We can have only one nature, and that is the one designed for us by God for the good works he has prepared for us. New works may require us to be molded by God into a new creation, just as gold may be melted and poured into a new form.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Even these traits and talents that God gives us must be disciplined, bound to the work of the Holy Spirit. I had an interesting experience this week that helped me to understand and apply this scriptural truth.
My friend Adel, of whom I wrote in a previous blog, has recently found a love and devotion to Jesus that is truly inspiring to me. I almost missed it entirely. You see, I love Muslims, and Adel came from an Orthodox background. He was not my self-identified "target".
My wife wisely reminded me that I am supposed to follow the work of the Holy Spirit, instead of my own program. So, I committed to weekly Bible studies with Adel. We've had three in the last two weeks, in fact, since he's so eager to talk about Jesus.
He shares an apartment with another Iraqi who is Muslim. Let's call him Abdu. I'd been eagerly praying for a while for a chance to share the Gospel with Abdu, but we hadn't really connected. Now, I found myself in the apartment with Adel, having our Bible study in the same room with Abdu.
Adel, I discovered, is totally ignorant of the whole concept of reading the Bible. He grew up in the Orthodox Church, and not only has he not read the Bible, he doesn't even understand that he should. During my most recent visit he opened a notebook and began reading to me what he had written in a very shaky Arabic script. It was the story of the birth of Jesus, a narrative version, not the scriptural one. I stopped him after a while and asked him if he had copied that from an audio story. He told me that he had listened to it on youtube and wrote down what he heard.
I asked Adel if he had ever read about the birth of Jesus from the Bible, and he said that he had not. Adel was amazed to find the birth stories of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Rationally I had always known that many Arab Christian groups are largely cultural, but this really brought the point home. He couldn't seem to grasp that the Bible was more authoritative than the youtube videos. The discussion got even more confused when Adel started bringing in some local folk tales from his youth that had been presented to him as the words of God.
Then it all came together, God's way. Abdu had been listening to the whole thing. He was a bit embarrassed, I think, about Adel's ignorance of the significance of scriptures. Joining us at the table, he began discussing the Bible verses with us, trying to help Adel understand them. He kept telling Adel to read the Bible. Yes, the Muslim came over and started encouraging the new Christian to read his Bible, telling him how important it was.
This led to me being able to share with them both the story of creation, the nature of man, sin, and the fall of man. All the while the Muslim carefully discussed each scripture with his Christian friend, telling him to shut up and listen to the Holy Book.
There's no way I could have brought my Muslim friend into this Bible study in the way that God did -as an active helper. If I had not followed my wife's advice to discipline myself and follow the Holy Spirit, I would have missed the whole thing. In my Muslim-loving rush to share the Gospel with my Muslim friend, I almost rushed past the door that God was opening. Please Lord, help me to beat my body and make it a slave to your work.
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