Grace of Humility

In Jeremy Taylor's work, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living, he explains the rules to understanding the humility that is much needed in our lives today which involves a realistic opinion about ourselves, doing good things in secret, never being ashamed of who we are, reflecting praises back to God, vanity and pride, the whispers of the Devil, the desire to disparage others, focus on strengths of others and yourself. Also not making excuses for our mistakes and imperfections, focus on what is most important to God, increased humility by exercising it, and confessing our sins often to God for increasing the grace of humility.

All of these rules are great exercises I believe that will help us reflect the community that God intends. Out of all of them, I believe the one rule that appears to come easier for me is to never be ashamed. Taylor states that we should never be ashamed of our birth, of our parents, our occupation, our employment, or the lowly status of any of them. He notes that when there is an occasion to speak about them to others, to not be shy but speak rapidly with an indifference to how others will regard to the news. The one rule that I believe comes harder to me is to not listen to the whispers of the Devil. Taylor warns not to entertain any of the devil’s whispers of pride. Sometimes I catch myself dreaming of greatness and imagining having great wealth, and Taylor writes, “Although there is nothing directly evil in it, it is the offspring of an inner evil and has nothing whatsoever to do with obtaining of humility.” My prayer is that God would give me the humility of his son, Jesus who had the kind of humility that he made himself obedient and made nothing of himself while taking the very nature of a servant.

-Kingsley

Let us Live and Die

From television, to the music we listen to, the things we read (even this), our relationships with friends, family, and the clothes we wear all are contributions to influence and shape the way we think, feel, and behave. Some are good influences (like this, I hope) while some are very disturbing; and there are probably a lot more to add to the list. The environment in which we live in expects us to act and think in a certain way, and with the media and its attempt to make everyone think and act the same, we have the assumption that we have to live like what we see and hear on the television. I know it may vary from person to person so I am going to reflect on how this world is trying to conform me to its attitudes and actions and the ways in which it has succeeded and hope that it would be both an encouragement to you and also to me as we walk together and draw nearer to the Lord. First, I would say that the television has had an influence on the way I think and behave. For example, (and this might be a small one) I remember when Randy Moss was on the Minnesota Vikings a few years back, and during a game against the Green Bay Packers he scored a touchdown and for his celebration he pretended to pull his pants down to show the crowd his behind. The next day at my football game, I thought it would be somewhat entertaining if I imitated him after a play so I did. 

Most of us find ourselves doing something we see on the television and we do not even notice it sometimes. There are lots of ways in which what we see on TV infiltrates our thoughts and actions. I was going to continue listing other ways in which this world has penetrated my behavior and mind but I think I’m going to leave it at that one example. Rather than to continue listing the world’s influences on me, I would like to reflect shortly on how our mindset ought to be as Christians. Paul writes to the church in Philippi to have an attitude the same as that of Christ Jesus (Phil 2:1-11). Jesus lived a life of humility and obedience to the Father, and he calls us to deny ourselves and pick up our cross daily (Luke 9:23). John Calvin writes in his work The Joy of Self Denial that, “If we are not our own, but the Lord’s, it is clear to what purpose all our deeds must be directed… We are God’s own; to him, therefore, let us live and die.” We must die to ourselves, forgetting our selfish interests, unrighteousness, ungodliness, disobedience, and vain desires. And we are to live to God, with righteousness and godliness, do all things for his glory, be obedient, and be full of humility like our Saviour  Christ Jesus. 

International Missions Board

I believe the importance of Baptists working together for the purpose of furthering God’s ministry is displayed this video because it illustrates how cooperation can be a constructive tool for missions and reaching out to the unbelievers of the world. Individually, there could not be a lot of work done, but together people are able and willing to go to villages in Africa, Asia and so on to share the good news of Christ Jesus.

 Here is the link to the video: http://www.gowestafrica.org/media/videos.php?mvid=4800&mvidext=flv

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Education & Discipleship

For this blog, I will be reflecting on various things I found on the Baptist General Convention of Texas website: Link is provided below.

The five main areas in which the Baptist General Convention of Texas operates is Evangelism/Missions, Education/Discipleship, Advocacy/Care, Executive Leadership, Partners in Ministry. The one area I specifically chose to reflect on is the Education and Discipleship part. The kind of ministries that are included in this branch include ministries that assist in church growth such as Baptist Way Press , bible study, discipleship, church administration and growth, educational institutes, music and worship, and various ministries that reach out to age groups, genders, and ethnicities. An example of some of these ministries and their purposes is how Baptist Way Press provides low-cost and no-cost Bible study materials. And also how the ministry of Bible Study provides a wide variety of online Bible-study tools and resources to assist in weekly preparation & study, and which can be shared with others to assist them in becoming discovery learners. What surprises and encourages me about the ministries included into the work of the Baptist General Convention of Texas is how they are attempting (and doing well) at all the aspects of the Christian life, whether it be missions, small group bible study, or church leadership, the BGCT has some sort of group established to help assist churches in whatever their needs may be.

http://texasbaptists.org/education-discipleship/

-Kingsley

Baptists Working for Peace in India

For this blog, I will be reflecting on an article. Link is provided below.        

The article begins with mentioning the calling of Baptist leaders all around the world for global prayer for peacemaking efforts and for churches and communities affected by ethnic strife in northeast India. This article was interesting to read because first of all, I have not heard at all about any conflicts in India and is apparent that this is a big issue as the story describes many villages being burned down and 12,500 people being homeless. This story is important because it informs us about our brothers and sisters in Christ in India who need our assistance. As a global community of Christians, I believe it is beneficial to be knowledgeable of the environment and condition of other believers around the world. That is also why I believe ministries like the Baptist Standard are relevant to our culture and context today; they keep us up to date on current news and events such as this around the globe.

http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12107&Itemid=53


-Kingsley