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  3. <channel><title>Latest Articles from Heartlight</title>
  4. <description>The latest articles from Heartlight.org.  Ⓒ 1996-2024 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent.</description>
  5. <link>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/</link>
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  11. <author>phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware)</author>
  12. <title>Eating and Leftovers</title>
  13. <link>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201706/20170603_leftovers.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</link>
  14. <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201706/20170603_leftovers.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</guid>
  15. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 02:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
  16. <comments>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201706/20170603_leftovers.html#author</comments>
  17. <source url="https://www.heartlight.org/articles/jesushaped/">JESUShaped from Heartlight</source>
  18. <description>&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/articles/3575-large.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;em&gt;Why the connection between Jesus and &#039;the leftovers&#039; and why does the modern church not have the same relationships?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  19. &lt;p&gt;&lt;u&gt;Scripture&lt;/u&gt;:
  20. &lt;p&gt;
  21. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector&#039;s booth. &quot;Follow me,&quot; Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
  22. &lt;p&gt;
  23. &lt;p&gt;While Jesus was having dinner at Levi&#039;s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: &quot;Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?&quot;
  24. &lt;p&gt;
  25. &lt;p&gt;On hearing this, Jesus said to them, &quot;It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners&quot;&lt;/i&gt; (Mark 2:13-17).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  26. &lt;p&gt;
  27. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  28. &lt;p&gt;
  29. &lt;p&gt;&lt;u&gt;Reflection&lt;/u&gt;:
  30. &lt;p&gt;
  31. &lt;p&gt;Jesus irritated the religious gatekeepers repeatedly because he fellowshipped (Mark 2:13-17), ate (Luke 19:1-10), and drank (Matthew 11:18-19) with those they considered marginal, unworthy, and sinful. They were the unwanted and undeserving leftovers of their religious society. These leftovers, however, were precious to Jesus. Jesus called them the last, the lost, and the least, who in his kingdom are now the first, the found, and the greatest (Matthew 25:40, 45; Luke 9:48; Luke 19:10).
  32. &lt;p&gt;
  33. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;//img.heartlight.org/in_articles/critical_religiousleaders.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  34. &lt;p&gt;
  35. &lt;p&gt;Let&#039;s take a moment and look around the Lord&#039;s Table that we now share. Do you see many of the last, the lost, and the least? How many of the leftovers do you find at your holy meal?
  36. &lt;p&gt;
  37. &lt;p&gt;If you have a few of these precious leftovers, then give thanks. Many of our churches, small groups, and missional communities have people that look like us.  We don&#039;t see many we might call the loose lug nuts and leftovers of society.
  38. &lt;p&gt;
  39. &lt;p&gt;Why not?
  40. &lt;p&gt;
  41. &lt;p&gt;Have you ever wondered why the people who crowded around Jesus in his day are not the people we generally see in our communion services?
  42. &lt;p&gt;
  43. &lt;p&gt;Why the connection between Jesus and &quot;the leftovers&quot; and the disconnect between them and our churches?
  44. &lt;p&gt;
  45. &lt;p&gt;After all, when we take The Supper, aren&#039;t we recognizing that we are formed by grace into his bodily presence in the word? Paul said it this way:
  46. &lt;p&gt;
  47. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread &lt;/i&gt; (1 Corinthians 10:17 ESV).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  48. &lt;p&gt;When we read the story of Jesus, he repeatedly placed himself at a meal with these people. Do we? Do we invite our lost friends to share The Table with Jesus like Levi invited his friends?
  49. &lt;p&gt;
  50. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;//img.heartlight.org/in_articles/levi_taxcollecting.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  51. &lt;p&gt;
  52. &lt;p&gt;
  53. &lt;p&gt;As we share in this bread and wine today, we want them to call us to something &lt;b&gt;beyond bread and wine&lt;/b&gt;. We want this meal to call us into the lives of the last, the lost, and the least. We want our next celebration of this simple feast to be a celebration of Jesus&#039; redeeming love for leftovers and loose lugs.
  54. &lt;p&gt;
  55. &lt;p&gt;Why?
  56. &lt;p&gt;
  57. &lt;p&gt;Because we&#039;ve been sent to reach and include the same folks at his Table in our day as he did in his day (Luke 19:10; John 20:21). The Lord wants his eternal banquet to be filled with people such as these:
  58. &lt;p&gt;
  59. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, &quot;Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!&quot; But he said to him, &quot;A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, &#039;Come, for everything is now ready.&#039; But they all alike began to make excuses. ... So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, &#039;Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.&#039; And the servant said, &#039;Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.&#039; And the master said to the servant, &#039;Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled&#039;&quot;&lt;/i&gt; (Luke 14:15-23 ESV).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  60. &lt;p&gt;
  61. &lt;p&gt;The Lord wants his banquet hall to be filled with the last, lost, and least of us and our friends!
  62. &lt;p&gt;
  63. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  64. &lt;p&gt;
  65. &lt;p&gt;&lt;u&gt;Prayer for the Bread&lt;/u&gt;:
  66. &lt;p&gt;
  67. &lt;p&gt;Almighty God who became human flesh in Jesus, we recognize that as we share this bread, we are Jesus&#039; body &amp;#8212; his physical presence in the world. We know he gave his body, enduring suffering and death so that your banquet hall of grace would be filled. We now ask that you awaken us and convict us of our need to be your Son&#039;s presence in our world so that the last, the least, and the lost will want to join us at his Table of grace. In Jesus&#039; name, we pray. Amen.
  68. &lt;p&gt;
  69. &lt;p&gt;&lt;u&gt;Prayer for the Cup&lt;/u&gt;:
  70. &lt;p&gt;
  71. &lt;p&gt;Loving Father, we know that Jesus purchased the church &amp;#8212; all of us, his followers &amp;#8212; at the cost of his own blood. We now stand before you clean and pure at his expense and because of his gracious love. Thank you for making such a gift possible for all of us who in our heart of hearts know that we are part of the last, the least, and the lost. Because of his intercession and grace, we pray in Jesus&#039; name. Amen.
  72. &lt;p&gt;
  73. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;//img.heartlight.org/in_articles/jesus_serves_wine.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  74. &lt;p&gt;
  75. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  76. &lt;p&gt;
  77. &lt;p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;article-credit&quot;&gt;Special thanks for the use of images related to Jesus&#039; ministry from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lumoproject.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Lumo Project&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.freebibleimages.org&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Free Bible Images&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  78. &lt;p&gt;
  79. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  80. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;em&gt;About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including &lt;a herf=&quot;http://www.verseoftheday.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VerseoftheDay.com&lt;/a&gt;, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.interimministrypartners.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Interim Ministry Partners&lt;/a&gt; and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.verseoftheday.com?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VerseoftheDay.com&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/godsholyfire.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;God&#039;s Holy Fire&lt;/a&gt; (on the Holy Spirit), and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ayearwithJesus.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;aYearwithJesus.com&lt;/a&gt;. Phil has also authored &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=Phil+Ware+gospel&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;</description>
  81.  
  82.  
  83. </item>
  84. <item>
  85. <author>phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware)</author>
  86. <title>What Is CORE? Jesus!</title>
  87. <link>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202009/20200923_jesus.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</link>
  88. <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202009/20200923_jesus.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</guid>
  89. <pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 02:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
  90. <comments>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202009/20200923_jesus.html#author</comments>
  91. <source url="https://www.heartlight.org/articles/jesushaped/">JESUShaped from Heartlight</source>
  92. <description>&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/articles/3966-large.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;em&gt;How do we know what passages of Scripture are most essential?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  93. &lt;p&gt;
  94. &lt;p&gt;How do we know what passages of Scripture are most important? We know that our favorites are not necessarily the most important because we tend to leave out the demanding and challenging passages. We tend to choose those passages we simply like. So, how do we know what is most important? How do we know which passages of Scripture are what is CORE to our faith and following Jesus?
  95. &lt;p&gt;
  96. &lt;p&gt;For our focus in this upcoming series,&lt;sup&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;#series&quot;&gt;[NOTE]&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/sup&gt; we are using two guiding principles:
  97. &lt;p&gt;
  98. &lt;p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;
  99. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;CORE Scriptures must center on what Jesus did to bring salvation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  100. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;CORE Scriptures must center on what Jesus taught as essential.&lt;/li&gt;
  101. &lt;p&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  102. &lt;p&gt;
  103. &lt;p&gt;While John 3:16-17 are certainly key verses talking about God&#039;s love, they point us to &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt;. &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; is our center. While Matthew 22:34-40 are important truths for us about our responsibility to love, &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; is the one who taught these truths. While Matthew 28:18-20 are important reminders about our mission in the world, &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; gave his Great Commission to us.
  104. &lt;p&gt;
  105. &lt;p&gt;&lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; is the foundation of &quot;What Is CORE!&quot; After all, God loved us so much that he sent &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; to save us. God did not send a book or a committee, or an idea. He came in human flesh and lived among us. The Son of God showed us God&#039;s truth and demonstrated God&#039;s love to us and grace for us as &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; of Nazareth (John 1:14-18). As God in human flesh (Hebrews 1:1-3), &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; taught us the two great commands and gave us his Great Commission. Jesus is at the center of what is important to us as disciples!
  106. &lt;p&gt;
  107. &lt;p&gt;&lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; is God&#039;s ultimate and most unmistakable message (John 1:1-18). So, when Paul set out to teach the embattled, selfish, and immature Christians of Corinth what was &lt;i&gt;&quot;of first importance,&quot;&lt;/i&gt; he pointed them to Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:19-20). Paul specifically emphasized what the four gospels &amp;#8212; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the stories of &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt;&#039; life &amp;#8212; spent the most time emphasizing: &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt;&#039; death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-7).
  108. &lt;p&gt;
  109. &lt;p&gt;For our series of messages on &quot;What Is CORE?&quot; we begin with &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt;! He is the center of everything that is CORE to our faith and discipleship. He is the center of everything vital, meaningful, lasting, central, essential, and saving. What &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; did for us and how we connect to those saving events in faith are also CORE. They enable us to experience the saving work of &lt;u&gt;Jesus&lt;/u&gt; personally and as a family of Jesus&#039; brothers and sisters.
  110. &lt;p&gt;
  111. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/cross_resurrection-sm.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  112. &lt;p&gt;
  113. &lt;p&gt;When asked, Jesus pointed to two love commands as the most important commands of Scripture. We must love God with everything we are and must love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:34-40). Jesus further emphasized the importance of a specific category of neighbor: other disciples &amp;#8212; those who are our brothers and sisters in faith (John 13:24-25). The apostle John emphasized this theme repeatedly as he talked about our life as disciples (1 John 3:16-18, 4:7-12). The apostle Paul also stressed how central, how CORE, love must be in our lives as Jesus&#039; followers (Romans 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Galatians 5:14). Loving God, each other, and our neighbors are part of &quot;What Is CORE&quot; to our faith as followers of Jesus.
  114. &lt;p&gt;
  115. &lt;p&gt;The Lord&#039;s Supper &amp;#8212; what is sometimes called the Eucharist &amp;#8212; is also a part of &quot;What Is CORE.&quot; The Supper, Communion, invites us to participate in Jesus&#039; body and blood while remembering what he did for us through the cross, burial, and resurrection. The early church often focused on The Supper on the day of resurrection, Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7), and this &quot;breaking of bread&quot; was central to their lives as Jesus&#039; followers (Acts 2:42). They remembered his victory and recounted his first appearances to his disciples on consecutive Sundays (John 20:1, 19-22, 26-28). We share The Supper anticipating Jesus&#039; return when we will be fully united with him and all who are his (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The Supper not only declares the central CORE message of Jesus&#039; saving work, but as disciples, we actually participate in those saving events by sharing in the Supper together and declaring what Jesus did to save us (1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-26). The Supper is both personal and communal. Disciples believe we participated in the events of first importance, the CORE events of salvation. We share The Supper as a community of disciples &amp;#8212; people committed to loving each other as well as the lost people of our world as our Lord did. As we share The Supper, we also pledged to follow the way of the cross in our relationships with each other and their neighbors (Luke 22:20).
  116. &lt;p&gt;
  117. &lt;p&gt;Once again, we are brought back to the fundamental reality of our faith: Jesus is central; Jesus is CORE to our faith!
  118. &lt;p&gt;
  119. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/1corinthians11_26-core.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  120. &lt;p&gt;
  121. &lt;p&gt;Is there anything else that should lie at the CORE of our faith?
  122. &lt;p&gt;
  123. &lt;p&gt;Jesus, having all authority on earth and also spiritually, gave a set of related CORE principles in his Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). He emphasized his right to give these commands because he had all authority. He emphasized the importance of this command because it was his final command to them before ascending to the Father.
  124. &lt;p&gt;
  125. &lt;p&gt;The Lord also tied his Great Commission to the things of first importance that Paul later emphasized &amp;#8212; Jesus&#039; death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-7). The principles of the Great Commission were also integral to loving God, each other, and our neighbors (1 John 3:16-18). The commands came with the powerful promise that Jesus, our Lord, would be with his disciples always, to the end of this age, as the Spirit empowered them to be witnesses to the world.
  126. &lt;p&gt;
  127. &lt;p&gt;Luke complements Jesus&#039; Great Commission with his account of the Lord&#039;s ascension (Acts 1:8-10). Jesus focused his last words on his disciples being disciple-makers. Jesus defined true disciple-making as going, baptizing, and teaching others to obey him. He promised his presence and the power of the Holy Spirit as they obeyed him &amp;#8212; the Holy Spirit Jesus pours out on us when we are born into Jesus&#039; family (Titus 3:3-7).
  128. &lt;p&gt;
  129. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  130. &lt;p&gt;
  131. &lt;p&gt;Let&#039;s conclude by looking at why the commands and promise of the Great Commission are so essential by highlighting three truths connecting us to Jesus:
  132. &lt;p&gt;
  133. &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Truth 1: Jesus Commanded His Followers to Make Disciples&lt;/b&gt;:
  134. &lt;p&gt;
  135. &lt;p&gt;Jesus &amp;#8212; as the resurrected Son of God, Savior, and Messiah &amp;#8212; claims that he has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18). God had previously demonstrated his approval and authority over the Law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah) to Jesus&#039; inner three apostles &amp;#8212; Peter, James, and John. Jesus&#039; superiority and authority were God&#039;s message to the inner three apostles at Jesus&#039; Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8). God had previously declared something similar from the heavens when Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17).
  136. &lt;p&gt;
  137. &lt;p&gt;Jesus had also previously claimed that he was the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. He then demonstrated this authority by repeating a similar formula, &quot;You have heard that our ancestors were told… But I say…&quot; (Matthew 5:17-48). In his ministry and through his miracles, Jesus demonstrated his authority to liberate people from the power of demons, death, disease, and disasters (Acts 10:36-38; cf. Mark 5:35-43). Jesus&#039; prediction of his rejection, crucifixion, and resurrection before they happened also emphasized his authority. The Lord then endured crucifixion and burial before triumphing through his resurrection from the dead, proving his identity and demonstrating his right to use his power as Lord (Romans 1:1-4).
  138. &lt;p&gt;
  139. &lt;p&gt;We shouldn&#039;t be surprised that Jesus rightly claimed his authority before ascending back to the Father. He gave his last command to the disciples exercising this authority. His final words sizzled with significance as well as revealed what he wanted most from his disciples. Jesus authoritatively commanded them:
  140. &lt;p&gt;
  141. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Then Jesus came to them and said, &quot;All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age&quot;&lt;/i&gt; (Matthew 28:18-20).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  142. &lt;p&gt;
  143. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/sent_commision.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  144. &lt;p&gt;
  145. &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Truth Two: Jesus&#039; Followers Were to Make Disciples by Going, Baptizing, and Training&lt;/b&gt;:
  146. &lt;p&gt;
  147. &lt;p&gt;Three connected actions &amp;#8212; going, baptizing, and teaching to obey (training) &amp;#8212; were essential to obey Jesus&#039; central command to make disciples. They were to &lt;b&gt;go&lt;/b&gt; to all people. Just as the Father had been Jesus, Jesus was now sending them (John 20:19-21). God had sent Jesus because he loved lost people (John 3:16-17). In the Great Commission, Jesus sent his disciples to reach lost people with the good news of God&#039;s love and grace (Acts 2:33-41).
  148. &lt;p&gt;
  149. &lt;p&gt;He commanded his disciples to baptize people as they called on Jesus as Savior and Lord wanting to be saved (Acts 22:16; Romans 9:9-13). They shared with Jesus in his saving death, burial, and resurrection in baptism (Romans 6:3-7; Acts 2:38-41). By faith and through the power of the Holy Spirit, they were born of God (John 1:10-12, 3:3-7). They received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39) as Jesus poured out the Spirit upon them (Titus 3:3-7). The Spirit made each new believer a part of Jesus&#039; bodily presence on the earth, the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
  150. &lt;p&gt;
  151. &lt;p&gt;Jesus&#039; goal for early believers wasn&#039;t just to get them to make a decision about him but for them to become his disciple &amp;#8212; someone who would become like their Teacher (Luke 6:40). The command was to make disciples. A disciple is more than someone believing facts about Jesus; they were people who submitted to the lordship of Jesus while being trained to obey all that Jesus had taught them by his words and his example. Paul emphasized that all believers needed to grow into the likeness of Jesus (Colossians 1:28-29; Galatians 4:19; 1 Corinthians 11:1). He expended his energy to help each person he led to Jesus to become mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28-29). He also stressed that the Holy Spirit would help them gradually transform to become increasingly like Jesus as they focused upon their Lord (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). Paul then taught those he led to Christ to help others grow to maturity as disciples as well (2 Timothy 2:1-2).
  152. &lt;p&gt;
  153. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/acts2_41-core.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  154. &lt;p&gt;
  155. &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Truth Three: The Power to Make and Become Mature Disciples Is the work of the Holy Spirit&lt;/b&gt;:
  156. &lt;p&gt;
  157. &lt;p&gt;From the beginning, when people believed in Jesus as Christ and Lord, turned their lives around to follow him, and submitted to baptism, they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:36-41). Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would empower his followers to make disciples of all nations as they were witnesses to all that they had heard and seen (Acts 1:8). The Spirit within them empowered them to be able to do more than they could ask or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21), the Spirit would transform them to become like Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).
  158. &lt;p&gt;
  159. &lt;p&gt;Paul prayed that new disciples would be strengthened and enlightened in their inner being so that they could know the power available to them from the Holy Spirit within them (Ephesians 1:16-19, 3:14-16). The Spirit grew them together to become a living temple where God lived through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 2:19-22). The Holy Spirit interceded for them (Romans 8:26-27; Ephesians 2:18), making their prayers powerful and effective (Ephesians 6:18; Jude 20). The Holy Spirit made each follower of Jesus a holy place, bought by Jesus&#039; sacrifice and filled by God&#039;s presence (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The Spirit gave them the power to persevere under challenging circumstances and poured God&#039;s love into their hearts to help them endure (Romans 5:1-5). The Spirit was the promised reservoir of Jesus&#039; strength and presence, alive in his disciples in response to their prayers (Luke 11:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:8).
  160. &lt;p&gt;
  161. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  162. &lt;p&gt;
  163. &lt;p&gt;Let&#039;s summarize our introduction to &quot;What is CORE&quot; as we begin our ten-week series of messages:
  164. &lt;p&gt;
  165. &lt;p&gt;Jesus is the center, and the central focus, of &quot;What is Core&quot; to our faith &amp;#8212; especially Jesus&#039; saving death, burial, and resurrection.
  166. &lt;p&gt;
  167. &lt;p&gt;Jesus taught us that loving God, each other, and our neighbor were the most important commandments.
  168. &lt;p&gt;
  169. &lt;p&gt;Jesus gave one clear command to his followers before he ascended back to the Father. He told us to &lt;i&gt;make disciples&lt;/i&gt;:
  170. &lt;p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;i&gt;Going&lt;/i&gt; to all nations.&lt;/li&gt;
  171. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;i&gt;Baptizing&lt;/i&gt; in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.&lt;/li&gt;
  172. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;i&gt;Training&lt;/i&gt; new disciples to obey all that Jesus had taught.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
  173. &lt;p&gt;
  174. &lt;p&gt;Jesus promised to provide the power for them to do all of this and more. Our power comes from the Holy Spirit, who is alive inside us and will work to transform us to become like Christ.
  175. &lt;p&gt;
  176. &lt;p&gt;Which brings us back to three questions we will be asking each week:
  177. &lt;p&gt;
  178. &lt;p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;Do I believe this?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Do I let this change who I am?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Do I let this guide me to what is important in life, in fellowship, in worship, and in doctrine?&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  179. &lt;p&gt;
  180. &lt;p&gt;
  181. &lt;p&gt;How can we not?
  182. &lt;p&gt;
  183. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;series&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  184. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt; &lt;br /&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/core_logo_small.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  185. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div&gt;  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  186. &lt;p&gt;
  187. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Articles in our series entitled: What is CORE?&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  188. &lt;p&gt;
  189. &lt;p&gt;
  190. &lt;p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;
  191. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202009/20200923_jesus.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Jesus!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  192. &lt;p&gt;
  193. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202009/20200902_coare-Jesus.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Believing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  194. &lt;p&gt;
  195. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202009/20200930_disciple-making.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Disciple-making&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  196. &lt;p&gt;
  197. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202010/20201007_core_going.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Going&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  198. &lt;p&gt;
  199. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202011/20201104_core_baptism.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Baptizing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  200. &lt;p&gt;
  201. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202011/20201111_training.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Training&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  202. &lt;p&gt;
  203. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202009/20200909_core_love.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Loving&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  204. &lt;p&gt;
  205. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202009/20200916_core_communing.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Communing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  206. &lt;p&gt;
  207. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201302/20130210_worship.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Worshiping&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  208. &lt;p&gt;
  209. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202011/20201118_finishing.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Finishing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  210. &lt;p&gt;
  211. &lt;p&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
  212. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  213. &lt;p&gt;
  214. &lt;p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;article-credit&quot;&gt;Special thanks for the use of images related to Jesus&#039; ministry from &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lumoproject.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Lumo Project&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.freebibleimages.org&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Free Bible Images&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  215. &lt;p&gt;
  216. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https:www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;em&gt;About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including &lt;a herf=&quot;http://www.verseoftheday.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VerseoftheDay.com&lt;/a&gt;, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.interimministrypartners.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Interim Ministry Partners&lt;/a&gt; and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.verseoftheday.com?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VerseoftheDay.com&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/godsholyfire.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;God&#039;s Holy Fire&lt;/a&gt; (on the Holy Spirit), and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ayearwithJesus.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;aYearwithJesus.com&lt;/a&gt;. Phil has also authored &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=Phil+Ware+gospel&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;</description>
  217.  
  218.  
  219. </item>
  220. <item>
  221. <author>Not Applicable (Paul Faulkner)</author>
  222. <title>Vulnerable God</title>
  223. <link>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/200712/20071214_vulnerable.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</link>
  224. <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.heartlight.org/articles/200712/20071214_vulnerable.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</guid>
  225. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 02:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
  226. <comments>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/200712/20071214_vulnerable.html#author</comments>
  227. <source url="https://www.heartlight.org/articles/family/">Making Life Work for Your Family from Heartlight</source>
  228. <description>&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/articles/1551-large.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;em&gt;What touches you most about Jesus?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  229. &lt;p&gt;
  230. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;
  231. &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;No one has ever seen God. But his only Son, who is himself God, is near to the Father&#039;s heart; he has told us about him&lt;/i&gt; (John 1:18 NLT).
  232. &lt;p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  233. &lt;p&gt;
  234. &lt;p&gt;I guess one of the things I love most about the God I read about in the Bible is his vulnerability. He is a God who can roar, who can order armies and empires like pawns. Yet he willingly comes near to man.
  235. &lt;p&gt;
  236. &lt;p&gt;This God emerged in Palestine as a little baby who couldn&#039;t speak, couldn&#039;t eat solid food, couldn&#039;t control his bladder; he depended on a poor young couple for shelter.
  237. &lt;p&gt;
  238. &lt;p&gt;And at least three times he cried in front of his disciples. He didn&#039;t hide his fears or hesitate to ask for help. He said, &quot;My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.&quot; And at Gethsemane he said, &quot;Stay here and watch with me.&quot; How many strong leaders today would make themselves so vulnerable?
  239. &lt;p&gt;
  240. &lt;p&gt;And this is what draws us to him. He absolutely understands us, and he still loves us! It&#039;s remarkable!
  241. &lt;p&gt;
  242. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;em&gt;About the author: Dr. Faulkner was the very first person of note and influence who shared his content with us at &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.heartlight.org/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;HEARTLIGHT.org&lt;/a&gt; beginning in 1996.&lt;br /&gt; &amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;Paul Faulkner taught on the Abilene Christian University campus full-time for 35 years. He was honored in 1982 as the university’s Teacher of the Year. He has written several books and was a much sought-after speaker and seminar leader along with his Marriage Enrichment partner, Dr. Carl Brecheen. Dr. Faulkner mentored many ministers and church leaders, shared his loving homespun humor and wisdom through many channels, and endeared himself to thousands. Our dear friend and mentor went to be with the Lord in 2022, but his legacy lives on in the lives of those he touched and made better.&lt;/em&gt;</description>
  243.  
  244.  
  245. </item>
  246. <item>
  247. <author>phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware)</author>
  248. <title>Cruciformed Disciple</title>
  249. <link>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160816_cruciformed.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</link>
  250. <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160816_cruciformed.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</guid>
  251. <pubDate>Thu, 18 Apr 2024 02:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
  252. <comments>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160816_cruciformed.html#author</comments>
  253. <source url="https://www.heartlight.org/articles/jesushaped/">JESUShaped from Heartlight</source>
  254. <description>&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/articles/3462-large.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;em&gt;If the Lord can transform Peter with his failures, imagine what the Lord can do with you.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  255. &lt;p&gt;
  256. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;top&quot; id=&quot;top&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  257. &lt;p&gt;Years ago as a boy, one of the greatest birthday gifts I ever received was a VAC-U-FORM &lt;sup&gt;[&lt;a href=&quot;#video&quot;&gt;VID&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/sup&gt; by Mattel. You would heat up a piece of plastic to make it pliable, then quickly press that piece of plastic over a &lt;b&gt;desired form&lt;/b&gt; while pushing down a lever that vacuumed all the air out around the object. When you were done, you had a piece of plastic formed into the image of an object. The warmer the plastic became, the more pliable and ready to be &quot;VAC-U-FORMed&quot; into the new shape it became. However, there was a point where the plastic became too hot and burned up and was unusable. Knowing how hot to get the plastic to make it pliable without ruining it was always the challenge.
  258. &lt;p&gt;
  259. &lt;p&gt;The Holy Spirit is at work to transform us to become more fully JESUShaped. To use more Jesus-focused language, the Holy Spirit was at work to &quot;cruciform&quot; us into the image of Christ:
  260. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord&#039;s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit&lt;/i&gt; (2 Corinthians 3:18; cf. Romans 8:28-29).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  261. &lt;p&gt;
  262. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  263. &lt;p&gt;
  264. &lt;p&gt;But, how do hardened hearts become pliable?
  265. &lt;p&gt;
  266. &lt;p&gt;How do old habits of self-will and old patterns of egotism and selfishness become open to change?
  267. &lt;p&gt;
  268. &lt;p&gt;The cross of Jesus changes everything about us if we let it. The cross becomes our template, our &lt;b&gt;&quot;desired form&quot;&lt;/b&gt; over which our pliable will is stretched, and we are transformed (Philippians 2:5-11). Jesus&#039; crucifixion is a triumph of love, obedience, and service over hate, selfishness, and evil. Through all of Jesus&#039; work in Peter&#039;s life, the Lord had the transformation of the cross as the goal. To be a disciple, a true follower of Jesus, Peter had to be willing to see Jesus&#039; example as his transformation&#039;s &lt;b&gt;desired destination&lt;/b&gt; (Luke 9:23-26).
  269. &lt;p&gt;
  270. &lt;p&gt;Peter met the resurrected Lord one morning by the Sea of Galilee and was &quot;cruciformed&quot; by the Lord&#039;s grace into the servant leader he became.
  271. &lt;p&gt;
  272. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;&quot;Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?&quot;&lt;/i&gt; (John 21:15).
  273. &lt;p&gt;
  274. &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&quot;Simon son of John, do you love me?&quot;&lt;/i&gt; (John 21:16).
  275. &lt;p&gt;
  276. &lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&quot;Simon son of John, do you love me?&quot;&lt;/i&gt; (John 21:17).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  277. &lt;p&gt;
  278. &lt;p&gt;Peter was deeply pained because Jesus asked him this simple question... three times! Just as Peter had denied his Lord... three times!
  279. &lt;p&gt;
  280. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;//img.heartlight.org/in_articles/john_21-17.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  281. &lt;p&gt;
  282. &lt;p&gt;Peter had spent much of his time with Jesus over-promising and under-delivering.
  283. &lt;p&gt;
  284. &lt;p&gt;Despite Peter&#039;s promise that he would not abandon Jesus even if all of the other apostles did (Mark 14:29), Peter denied the Lord three times.
  285. &lt;p&gt;
  286. &lt;p&gt;Despite Peter&#039;s promise that he would lay down his life for his Lord (John 13:37), Peter denied ever knowing Jesus.
  287. &lt;p&gt;
  288. &lt;p&gt;Now, in the presence of all the other apostles, Jesus made Peter face his failure of faithfulness. Peter&#039;s brashness needed to be transformed into boldness to proclaim the good news of Jesus. His impetuousness needed to be converted to a passion for reaching the lost. His desire to be seen as important desperately needed to be changed into a heart that would sacrifice everything to follow Jesus and shepherd Jesus&#039; followers. Peter needed to be &quot;cruciformed&quot;; he needed to be molded into the Lord&#039;s &lt;b&gt;&quot;desired form&quot;&lt;/b&gt;. He needed to be JESUShaped!
  289. &lt;p&gt;
  290. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  291. &lt;p&gt;
  292. &lt;p&gt;So, with every question challenging Peter&#039;s claim to love faithfully, the Lord also responded with an affirmation of Peter&#039;s call to minister as a shepherd to Jesus&#039; followers:
  293. &lt;p&gt;
  294. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&quot;Feed my lambs&quot; (John 21:15).
  295. &lt;p&gt;
  296. &lt;p&gt;&quot;Take care of my sheep&quot; (John 21:16).
  297. &lt;p&gt;
  298. &lt;p&gt;&quot;Feed my sheep&quot; (John 21:17).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  299. &lt;p&gt;
  300. &lt;p&gt;Jesus was not only affirming Peter&#039;s forgiveness and his ability to minister, but he was also calling Peter back to shepherd (&quot;take care of&quot; and &quot;feed&quot;) Jesus&#039; sheep! More than just forgiveness, Jesus was bringing restoration and renewal of purpose to Peter.
  301. &lt;p&gt;
  302. &lt;p&gt;If you are like most of us seeking to live for Jesus, you&#039;ve had your meltdown moment over your own unfaithfulness to the Lord. You&#039;ve been broken by your sin, shocked by your hypocrisy, frustrated by your weakness, or disappointed in your lukewarm faith. So let Peter&#039;s restoration by Jesus be your turning point. You see, the Lord didn&#039;t confront Peter to destroy him, but to make him pliable. Peter needed his will to be conformed to the cross &amp;#8212; to be &quot;cruciformed&quot;! Once transformed, Peter&#039;s outlook was changed. All that he once failed to achieve by ego, the Lord accomplished through him by grace.
  303. &lt;p&gt;
  304. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;//img.heartlight.org/in_articles/john_21-17b.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  305. &lt;p&gt;
  306. &lt;p&gt;If the Lord can transform Peter with all of his failures, imagine what he can do with you! Don&#039;t let your failures make you despondent, bitter, or fatalistic about your sin. Instead, ask the Holy Spirit to use your failures to make you pliable. See the cross for what it is &amp;#8212; the place the Lord meets us in our most flawed moments, forgives us, and calls us back to be used as his &quot;cruciformed&quot; disciples.
  307. &lt;p&gt;
  308. &lt;p&gt;Peter reminded us:
  309. &lt;p&gt;
  310. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;He himself [Jesus Christ] bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls&lt;/i&gt; (1 Peter 2:24-25).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  311. &lt;p&gt;
  312. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  313. &lt;p&gt;
  314. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  315. &lt;p&gt;
  316. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  317. &lt;p&gt;
  318. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
  319. &lt;p&gt;Here&#039;s a classic commercial for a VAC-U-FORM!
  320. &lt;p&gt;
  321. &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width=&quot;420&quot; height=&quot;350&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/lCvgvWiZNe8&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
  322. &lt;p&gt;
  323. &lt;p&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[&lt;a href=&quot;#top&quot;&gt;TOP&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/sup&gt;
  324. &lt;p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  325. &lt;p&gt;
  326. &lt;p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;article-credit&quot;&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;text&quot; id=&quot;text&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  327. &lt;p&gt;
  328. &lt;p&gt;This is the last of four devotional posts on the apostle Peter,  challenging us to authentically follow Jesus on the Lord&#039;s terms, and not our own:
  329. &lt;p&gt;
  330. &lt;p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://heartlight.org/articles/201607/20160726_thequestion01.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Question&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  331. &lt;p&gt;
  332. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160802_heavenswindow.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Heaven&#039;s Window&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  333. &lt;p&gt;
  334. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160809_misunderstanding.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Misunderstanding&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  335. &lt;p&gt;
  336. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160816_cruciformed.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cruciformed Disciples&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  337. &lt;p&gt;
  338. &lt;p&gt;The focus of these four articles will be Matthew 16:13-27 (ESV) &amp;#8212; today&#039;s emphasis in bold:
  339. &lt;p&gt;
  340. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, &quot;Who do people say that the Son of Man is?&quot;
  341. &lt;p&gt;
  342. &lt;p&gt;And they said, &quot;Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.&quot;
  343. &lt;p&gt;
  344. &lt;p&gt;He said to them, &quot;But who do you say that I am?&quot;
  345. &lt;p&gt;
  346. &lt;p&gt;Simon Peter replied, &quot;You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.&quot;
  347. &lt;p&gt;
  348. &lt;p&gt;And Jesus answered him, &quot;Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.&quot; Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
  349. &lt;p&gt;
  350. &lt;p&gt;From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
  351. &lt;p&gt;
  352. &lt;p&gt;And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, &quot;Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.&quot;
  353. &lt;p&gt;
  354. &lt;p&gt;But he turned and said to Peter, &quot;Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.&quot;
  355. &lt;p&gt;
  356. &lt;p&gt;Then Jesus told his disciples, &lt;b&gt;&quot;If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.&lt;/b&gt; For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.&quot;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  357. &lt;p&gt;
  358. &lt;p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;article-credit&quot;&gt;Emphasis added by bold text to highlight key focus.&lt;/p&gt;
  359. &lt;p&gt;
  360. &lt;p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;article-credit&quot;&gt;Jesus images used courtesy of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.freebibleimages.org&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Free Bible Images&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://lumoproject.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Lumo Project&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  361. &lt;p&gt;
  362. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  363. &lt;p&gt;
  364. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;em&gt;About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including &lt;a herf=&quot;http://www.verseoftheday.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VerseoftheDay.com&lt;/a&gt;, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.interimministrypartners.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Interim Ministry Partners&lt;/a&gt; and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.verseoftheday.com?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VerseoftheDay.com&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/godsholyfire.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;God&#039;s Holy Fire&lt;/a&gt; (on the Holy Spirit), and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ayearwithJesus.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;aYearwithJesus.com&lt;/a&gt;. Phil has also authored &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=Phil+Ware+gospel&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;</description>
  365.  
  366.  
  367. </item>
  368. <item>
  369. <author>editor@heartlight.org (Kristi Powers)</author>
  370. <title>Tough Decisions and God&#039;s Precious Gift</title>
  371. <link>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/200605/20060511_toughdecisions.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</link>
  372. <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.heartlight.org/articles/200605/20060511_toughdecisions.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</guid>
  373. <pubDate>Tue, 16 Apr 2024 02:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
  374. <comments>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/200605/20060511_toughdecisions.html#author</comments>
  375. <source url="https://www.heartlight.org/articles/home/">A Taste of Home from Heartlight</source>
  376. <description>&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/articles/969-large.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;em&gt;What would you have done?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  377. &lt;p&gt;
  378. &lt;p&gt;It is that time of year again ... the time for rainy spring days, the smell of budding flowers, and the sound of chatter on the softball field.
  379. &lt;p&gt;
  380. &lt;p&gt;As I watch the tear-stained eighteen-year-old, I want to hug out all of the sadness and frustration she is feeling and tell her how much I love her. Tonight may be the last softball game of her high school career. A career cut short because a nagging knee injury needs surgery so that she can be ready to fulfill her athletic scholarship at college. As I gaze upon her face, I cannot help but think of how fortunate I have been to know this beautiful young lady. However, I know how easily her song could have been one that was unsung.
  381. &lt;p&gt;
  382. &lt;p&gt;It was almost nineteen years ago that a teenager trembled as she tearfully said to her mother and father the words that every parent dreads ... &quot;Mom, Dad, I’m pregnant.&quot;
  383. &lt;p&gt;
  384. &lt;p&gt;What a frightening time for a nineteen-year-old as she is just starting her adult life and already facing an uncertain future. What devastation for the parents as this is the last thing they would have chosen for their daughter. Thoughts of &quot;we have failed her&quot; to &quot;I am too young to be a grandparent&quot; fill their minds. In a heartbeat, the atmosphere in the house becomes strained and the following nights are long for the teen as she drenches her pillow with tears. Tears that come only when she thinks no one can see or hear her.
  385. &lt;p&gt;
  386. &lt;p&gt;Many try to persuade her to keep her options open, but there is only one choice for this determined teen. The little life within her has now become her responsibility, and she will sacrifice all she has to see that this precious being grows to be the young man or woman God intended him/her to be. She is at peace with herself and the choice she has made.
  387. &lt;p&gt;
  388. &lt;p&gt;A baby’s first cries fill the air and an exhausted, but proud, teenage mom holds her young daughter for the first time. She is inexperienced, but is determined to provide for her priceless daughter the best way that she can. If the first few days are any indication, she has a tough hill to climb. Because of no insurance, she leaves the hospital early and takes her daughter home, but the baby girl develops jaundice and they are forced back to the hospital. Her pediatrician tells her to leave the baby in their care and to go home and rest.
  389. &lt;p&gt;
  390. &lt;p&gt;&quot;You have got to be kidding me!&quot; she exclaims, refusing to leave her baby girl for even a moment. Something inside her clicks, and with a determination that surpasses anything she has felt up to this point, she comes to grips with the situation. &quot;You are a mom now. Deal with it,&quot; she quietly tells herself.
  391. &lt;p&gt;
  392. &lt;p&gt;Life is not easy and many hopes and plans for the future are set aside. The early years are filled with tests and trials, but it is a time in her life that she wouldn’t trade for anything. During those rough days and nights, she need only look at this tender creation God has given her to realize that the best things in life are right before her in the smile, the coo, and the laugh of this darling baby girl.
  393. &lt;p&gt;
  394. &lt;p&gt;Those eighteen years have flown by, and I ponder all of these things as we slowly walk away from the softball diamond today. I think about all the joy this baby girl (who is now a young woman herself), has brought into my life and to those around her. I remember all the basketball and softball games that we as her family have sat through, proudly cheering her on. Not only is she the best all-around female athlete I have ever seen, she is also one of the classiest and I am most proud of who she is off the court. She conducts herself with grace and humility and shows kindness to all who cross her path. I cannot imagine life without my Jen, my darling eighteen-year-old niece.
  395. &lt;p&gt;
  396. &lt;p&gt;Tonight my heart is bursting with pride, love, and joy for this remarkable being that came into our lives. I shudder to think if she had not been born. How different our family would have been, not to mention the lives of an untold number of people whom she has touched in her everyday life.
  397. &lt;p&gt;
  398. &lt;p&gt;A scared but determined teenage mom made a tough decision all those years ago, and through it, gave us all the gift of Jen.</description>
  399.  
  400.  
  401. </item>
  402. <item>
  403. <author>phil@heartlight.org (Phil Ware)</author>
  404. <title>The Misunderstanding</title>
  405. <link>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160809_misunderstanding.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</link>
  406. <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160809_misunderstanding.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</guid>
  407. <pubDate>Thu, 11 Apr 2024 02:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
  408. <comments>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160809_misunderstanding.html#author</comments>
  409. <source url="https://www.heartlight.org/articles/jesushaped/">JESUShaped from Heartlight</source>
  410. <description>&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/articles/3459-large.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;em&gt;Without understanding the cross, we turn Christianity into another human contest about self-importance.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  411. &lt;p&gt;
  412. &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;A fellow apostle to Peter behind locked doors after Jesus&#039; crucifixion:&lt;/b&gt;
  413. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&quot;Where were you? You were supposed to be His rock?&quot;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  414. &lt;p&gt;
  415. &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Peter&#039;s reply:&lt;/b&gt;
  416. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&quot;I failed him. Now, I can&#039;t ask him to forgive me.&quot;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  417. &lt;p&gt;
  418. &lt;p&gt;This imagined dialogue from the movie, &lt;i&gt;The Bible&lt;/i&gt;,&lt;sup&gt;[&lt;a href=&quot;#vid&quot;&gt;VID&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/sup&gt; reflects the heart of Peter&#039;s struggle to be faithful to his Lord and to understand the centrality of the cross.
  419. &lt;p&gt;
  420. &lt;p&gt;Peter&#039;s rebuke of the Lord for talking about dying on a cross shows Peter&#039;s deeply flawed understanding of what Jesus was doing in his ministry as Messiah, and specifically in his dying on a cross. Peter had just confessed that Jesus is &lt;i&gt;&quot;the Messiah, [the Christ,] the Son of the living God&quot;&lt;/i&gt; (Matthew 16:16). However, when Jesus begins to talk about going to Jerusalem and dying and then being raised from the dead, Peter pulled Jesus aside and rebuked him: &lt;i&gt;&quot;Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.&quot;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;sup&gt;[&lt;a href=&quot;#text&quot;&gt;TXT&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/sup&gt; Peter&#039;s answer shows how far he was from truly being JESUShaped!
  421. &lt;p&gt;
  422. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  423. &lt;p&gt;
  424. &lt;p&gt;Heaven had revealed to Peter the truth about Jesus&#039; identity. However, Peter had to be broken of his unwarranted confidence in himself and his desire to be important. In addition, Peter&#039;s understanding of what it meant for Jesus to be the Christ, the Messiah of Israel, was deeply flawed.
  425. &lt;p&gt;
  426. &lt;p&gt;Like so many others, Peter wanted Jesus to be the powerful leader who threw off the power of Rome that subjugated the children of Israel. Six centuries of being a conquered and abused people had led God&#039;s people to hope for a deliverer &amp;#8212; a warrior who could be a conquering king like David. Over the centuries of being a conquered people, Jews prayed, yearned, and came to expect the coming of this conquering king, the Messiah, the Christ of God, who would bring them deliverance.
  427. &lt;p&gt;
  428. &lt;p&gt;When Jesus began to do his mighty miracles, many who saw them wanted to make Jesus king (John 6:14-15). As Jesus began his journey to Jerusalem on his way to the cross, anticipation was high. Talk about the coming of the kingdom intensified as the Lord journeyed to Jerusalem (Luke 17:20; Luke 19:11). Jesus had taught about the kingdom of God, often using parables (Matthew 13:1-53). He had taught his disciples to pray for the kingdom of God to come (Matthew 6:9-10). So expecting Jesus to be the conquering hero, the Messiah the people had longed and prayed for God to send, was natural.
  429. &lt;p&gt;
  430. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;//img.heartlight.org/in_articles/peter_sword.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  431. &lt;p&gt;
  432. &lt;p&gt;Peter not only lived in a world of such kingdom expectations, but he also had an overblown sense of his own significance. This sense of self-importance got him in trouble repeatedly. Peter was hoping to be one of Jesus&#039; important leaders in the coming of the kingdom. He was, after all, in Jesus inner three apostles (Mark 5:37; Luke 9:28; Matthew 17:1). Despite needing to be rescued in the end, Peter walked on the water to Jesus while the other apostles cowered in fear (Mark 14:25-33). He was the one who confessed Christ and was told he would be Jesus&#039; &quot;Rock&quot; (Matthew 16:18-19).
  433. &lt;p&gt;
  434. &lt;p&gt;This sense of self-importance and overconfidence in himself came to a crashing end with Jesus&#039; arrest. During the Last Supper, Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet, then went overboard, asking to be completely washed (John 13:2-9). This one-upmanship of the other apostles occurred as Jesus was trying to communicate what was about to happen over the next night and day of hell&#039;s fury. A little later in the evening, Jesus warned that all of them would abandon him and that one of them would betray him. Peter once again showed up his fellow apostles and overstated his commitment to the Lord:
  435. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Simon Peter asked him, &quot;Lord, where are you going?&quot;
  436. &lt;p&gt;
  437. &lt;p&gt;Jesus replied, &quot;Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.&quot;
  438. &lt;p&gt;
  439. &lt;p&gt;Peter asked, &quot;Lord, why can&#039;t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.&quot;
  440. &lt;p&gt;
  441. &lt;p&gt;Then Jesus answered, &quot;Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!&quot;&lt;/i&gt;(John 13:36-38; also see Matthew 26:33-35)&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  442. &lt;p&gt;
  443. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  444. &lt;p&gt;
  445. &lt;p&gt;Peter and his fellow apostles were far from being JESUShaped disciples at this point. Peter and the others couldn&#039;t even stay awake and pray for their Lord during his most trying moments in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). Trying to be true to his word, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter did draw a sword and sought to defend his Lord (John 18:1-11). When Jesus emphasized that he would not resist his arrest with force, that he must fulfill the will of God, Peter and the other apostles deserted Jesus and ran away (Mark 14:48-50).
  446. &lt;p&gt;
  447. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;//img.heartlight.org/in_articles/jesus_across_courtyard.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  448. &lt;p&gt;
  449. &lt;p&gt;Peter did follow Jesus at a distance and came into the courtyard of the High Priest where Jesus was being illegally tried (Luke 22:54). It was here that Peter&#039;s sense of self-importance and desire to be first was broken. Near a charcoal fire, Peter denied Jesus three times, heard the rooster crow, and went away to weep bitterly after looking into his Savior&#039;s eyes (Luke 22:55-62). The Lord Jesus would endure his horrific ordeal of false trials, beating, mockery, rejection, walk to Golgotha, and crucifixion alone.
  450. &lt;p&gt;
  451. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  452. &lt;p&gt;
  453. &lt;p&gt;So, while the words and conversation are imagined, the sentiments are true:
  454. &lt;p&gt;
  455. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&quot;Where were you? You were supposed to be His rock?&quot;
  456. &lt;p&gt;
  457. &lt;p&gt;&quot;I failed him. Now, I can&#039;t ask him to forgive me.&quot;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  458. &lt;p&gt;
  459. &lt;p&gt;Except...
  460. &lt;p&gt;
  461. &lt;p&gt;The story doesn&#039;t end behind locked doors with fearful and defeated disciples after the death of their Messiah. Jesus was raised from the dead. After confronting Peter three times about his failure, the risen Jesus restored the broken Peter to ministry (John 21:15-17). Peter would go on to become the rock Jesus promised he would be. He was the key communicator on the day of Pentecost when the church was born (Acts 2:1-14). He was the key apostle who advanced the gospel among Jews in the earliest days of the church (Acts chapters 3-7). He was chosen by God to confirm taking the gospel to both Samaritans and Gentiles (Acts chapters 8-10). He went on missionary journeys and wrote churches to guide them through their own trials and impending persecution (see 1 Peter).
  462. &lt;p&gt;
  463. &lt;p&gt;As A.W. Tozer said many years ago, &quot;It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.&quot; The issue is not God&#039;s desire to break us, but our human tendency to want to be important, to be regarded as significant, and to be put in a place of honor. Peter&#039;s life shows us the ultimate failure of this self-seeking approach to life, fame, and faith.
  464. &lt;p&gt;
  465. &lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;//img.heartlight.org/in_articles/peter_broken.jpg&quot; /&gt;
  466. &lt;p&gt;
  467. &lt;p&gt;Peter&#039;s failure, brokenness, and restoration are part of the gospel story of Jesus. This example is good news for us who secretly identify with the flawed man who was redeemed and made so useful to the Lord and his church. Peter&#039;s misunderstanding of Jesus was rooted in his flawed human understanding of importance. Jesus had told him:
  468. &lt;p&gt;
  469. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns&lt;/i&gt; (Matthew 16:23).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  470. &lt;p&gt;
  471. &lt;p&gt;This human tendency is where we fail, too. We want to be important because we see importance as status, achievement, notoriety, recognition, and reputation. Jesus, however, taught that the greatest is a servant who followed their Lord&#039;s mission for life.
  472. &lt;p&gt;
  473. &lt;p&gt;When Jesus rebuked Peter for wanting to be important in the Messiah&#039;s coming kingdom, this is what he said to Peter and to all his disciples &amp;#8212; including us who overhear his words two thousand years later:
  474. &lt;p&gt;
  475. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave &amp;#8212; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many&lt;/i&gt; (Matthew 20:25-28).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  476. &lt;p&gt;
  477. &lt;p&gt;The cross of Jesus changed Peter. The cross of Jesus exposed the way God values importance. The misunderstanding Peter had about the role of the Messiah distorted his own sense of what mattered. After the cross and resurrection, he was changed &amp;#8212; not just his thinking, but his attitude, his goals, and the trajectory of his life and leadership. The same must happen to us. We meet the Messiah at the cross of Golgotha. That cruel instrument of torture and humiliation must rewire our thinking about importance, significance, and ministry. Like Peter, we can truly embrace the truth of God, and say:
  478. &lt;p&gt;
  479. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Since you call on a Father who judges each person&#039;s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God&lt;/i&gt; (1 Peter 1:17-21).&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  480. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;vid&quot; id=&quot;vid&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  481. &lt;p&gt;
  482. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  483. &lt;p&gt;
  484. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
  485. &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene after the Resurrection &amp;#8212; from &lt;i&gt;THE BIBLE&lt;/i&gt; Movie&lt;/b&gt;
  486. &lt;p&gt;
  487. &lt;p&gt;&lt;iframe width=&quot;640&quot; height=&quot;360&quot; src=&quot;https://www.youtube.com/embed/aGqA-vpegus&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; allowfullscreen&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br&gt;
  488. &lt;p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  489. &lt;p&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;text&quot; id=&quot;text&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  490. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  491. &lt;p&gt;
  492. &lt;p&gt;
  493. &lt;p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;article-credit&quot;&gt;&lt;a name=&quot;text&quot; id=&quot;text&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
  494. &lt;p&gt;This is the third of four devotional posts on &quot;The Question&quot; &amp;#8212; challenging us to authentically answer the most important question of our lives:
  495. &lt;p&gt;&lt;ol&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://heartlight.org/articles/201607/20160726_thequestion01.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Question&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  496. &lt;p&gt;
  497. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160802_heavenswindow.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Heaven&#039;s Window&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  498. &lt;p&gt;
  499. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160809_misunderstanding.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Misunderstanding&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;
  500. &lt;p&gt;
  501. &lt;p&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.heartlight.org/articles/201608/20160816_cruciformed.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Cruciformed Disciples&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ol&gt;
  502. &lt;p&gt;The focus of these four articles will be Matthew 16:13-27 (ESV) &amp;#8212; today&#039;s emphasis in bold:
  503. &lt;p&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;i&gt;Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, &quot;Who do people say that the Son of Man is?&quot;
  504. &lt;p&gt;
  505. &lt;p&gt;And they said, &quot;Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.&quot;
  506. &lt;p&gt;
  507. &lt;p&gt;He said to them, &quot;But who do you say that I am?&quot;
  508. &lt;p&gt;
  509. &lt;p&gt;Simon Peter replied, &quot;You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.&quot;
  510. &lt;p&gt;
  511. &lt;p&gt;And Jesus answered him, &quot;Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.&quot; Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
  512. &lt;p&gt;
  513. &lt;p&gt;From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
  514. &lt;p&gt;
  515. &lt;p&gt;And &lt;b&gt;Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him&lt;/b&gt;, saying, &quot;Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.&quot;
  516. &lt;p&gt;
  517. &lt;p&gt;But he turned and said to Peter, &lt;b&gt;&quot;Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.&quot;&lt;/b&gt;
  518. &lt;p&gt;
  519. &lt;p&gt;Then Jesus told his disciples, &quot;If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.&quot;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  520. &lt;p&gt;
  521. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  522. &lt;p&gt;
  523. &lt;p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;article-credit&quot;&gt;Emphasis added by bold text to highlight key focus.&lt;/p&gt;
  524. &lt;p&gt;
  525. &lt;p&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;article-credit&quot;&gt;Jesus images used courtesy of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.freebibleimages.org&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Free Bible Images&lt;/a&gt; and &lt;a href=&quot;http://lumoproject.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Lumo Project&lt;/a&gt;.
  526. &lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  527. &lt;p&gt;
  528. &lt;p&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.jesushaped.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/JesuShaped-tiny_logo.png&quot; width=&quot;180&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  529. &lt;p&gt;
  530. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;em&gt;About the author: Phil Ware has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including &lt;a herf=&quot;http://www.verseoftheday.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VerseoftheDay.com&lt;/a&gt;, read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.interimministrypartners.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Interim Ministry Partners&lt;/a&gt; and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.verseoftheday.com?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;VerseoftheDay.com&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://img.heartlight.org/in_articles/godsholyfire.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;God&#039;s Holy Fire&lt;/a&gt; (on the Holy Spirit), and &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ayearwithJesus.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;aYearwithJesus.com&lt;/a&gt;. Phil has also authored &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=Phil+Ware+gospel&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/em&gt;</description>
  531.  
  532.  
  533. </item>
  534. <item>
  535. <author><shirley@caring.com> (Shirley Turner)</author>
  536. <title>A Journey of Love and Care</title>
  537. <link>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202404/20240409_journey.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</link>
  538. <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202404/20240409_journey.html?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_content=all&amp;utm_term=en</guid>
  539. <pubDate>Tue, 09 Apr 2024 02:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
  540. <comments>https://www.heartlight.org/articles/202404/20240409_journey.html#author</comments>
  541. <source url="https://www.heartlight.org/articles/features/">Special Features from Heartlight</source>
  542. <description>&lt;img src=&quot;https://img.heartlight.org/articles/4366-large.jpg&quot;&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;em&gt;Finding Hope and Support in Times of Need!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;HR&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  543. &lt;p&gt;
  544. &lt;p&gt;Amid life&#039;s challenges, the strength of community and the power of love often guide us through our darkest moments. Imagine the journey of a devoted husband, a dedicated brother-in-law, and a compassionate board member, each facing the daunting reality of caring for a loved one battling a debilitating illness like Alzheimer&#039;s or ALS. Their stories are testimonies of resilience, faith, and unwavering commitment to providing compassionate care, even in the face of uncertainty and heartbreak.
  545. &lt;p&gt;
  546. &lt;p&gt;Meet John, a faithful board member of a nearby community church whose beloved wife has been diagnosed with Alzheimer&#039;s disease. The journey began years ago when signs of forgetfulness and confusion slowly crept into their lives, casting a shadow of uncertainty over their once-vibrant household. John&#039;s heart ached as he witnessed his wife&#039;s gradual decline, feeling lost and overwhelmed by the challenges and decisions that lay ahead.
  547. &lt;p&gt;
  548. &lt;p&gt;Similarly, let&#039;s introduce Mark, a devoted brother-in-law whose wife is battling ALS. This relentless neurological disease gradually robs individuals of their ability to move, speak, and even breathe. Mark and his wife embarked on this journey together, facing each day with courage and resilience, but the road ahead seemed daunting, filled with countless hurdles and uncertainties.
  549. &lt;p&gt;
  550. &lt;p&gt;In the face of these challenges, both John and Mark embarked on a journey to find qualified and helpful support and guidance. They looked for solutions to provide the best care for their loved ones. They tried various approaches, consulted with medical professionals, and sought advice from friends and family, yet the journey seemed fraught with confusion and despair.
  551. &lt;p&gt;
  552. &lt;p&gt;It was during these trying times that they discovered a beacon of hope and support &amp;#8212; an organization focused on providing resources and care to our ever more vulnerable adults with memory, mobility, and aging challenges. The group they found was&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.caring.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Caring.com&lt;/a&gt;. There are others that you can probably find in your area. With their wealth of resources, compassionate community, and invaluable guidance, these resources and organizations can become a lifeline for you as you seek to navigate the complexities of caregiving. Please don&#039;t give in to despair, help is available for you! You do not have to face these trying times alone.
  553. &lt;p&gt;
  554. &lt;p&gt;Through comprehensive guides on nutrition, sleep management, and holistic care, such organizations can empower caregivers &amp;#8212; as they did with John and Mark &amp;#8212; to provide your loved ones with the compassionate support they deserve. Armed with knowledge, faith, and an unwavering commitment to love, they embarked on a transformative journey of care, witnessing helpful impacts and increased resilience and hope in their loved ones.
  555. &lt;p&gt;
  556. &lt;p&gt;Today, as their wives continue to live meaningful lives against all odds, the stories of John and Mark serve as a testament to the power of love, faith, and community. Though marked by very real and inescapable challenges, their journey is an important ray of hope for those facing similar struggles. Their journeys remind us that hard realities are navigatable with the proper support, genuine faith, determined commitment, community of support, and good resources to help us care properly for those we love.
  557. &lt;p&gt;
  558. &lt;p&gt;You will want to find a community deeply rooted in faith and compassion that will stand in solidarity with you as a caregiver, offering you faithful support and prayers as you continue your journey of love and care. Such a group will help you embrace the power of community, share hope, partner with kindness, and offer compassion without pity.
  559. &lt;p&gt;
  560. &lt;p&gt;In times of uncertainty, let us find solace in the strength of community, the power of love, and the faithful support of organizations like &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.caring.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Caring.com&lt;/a&gt;. Don&#039;t try to navigate these hard life&#039;s challenges alone. Find a qualified group to help you in this journey of faith, resilience, and compassion so you and your loved ones can find a shining light of hope in even the darkest times.
  561. &lt;p&gt;
  562. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;
  563. &lt;p&gt;
  564. &lt;p&gt;To learn more about the invaluable resources offered by Caring.com and how they can support you on your caregiving journey, please visit these caring resources: &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.caring.com/resources/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Caring.com/resources/&lt;/a&gt;
  565. &lt;p&gt;
  566. &lt;p&gt;&lt;hr /&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;em&gt;About the author: Shirley Turner is a dedicated senior advocate with a passion for empowering older adults and their caregivers. Shirley serves as the Senior Advocate at Caring.com, a leading resource for senior care and support. With a deep commitment to improving the lives of seniors, she loves to provide valuable information and resources to help families navigate the complexities of aging and caregiving while championing the rights and well-being of seniors and their caregivers.&lt;/em&gt;</description>
  567.  
  568.  
  569. </item>
  570.  </channel>
  571. </rss>

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