To move forward we need to take steps forward. The enemy of our soul tries to keep us living in the past. Jesus has come to free us to move forward into God’s glorious design and destiny. We were made to live in community. God lives in perfect community: Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit. He has called us into that community as we grow in community as the body of Christ – the Church.

What steps are you taking toward being part of church community?

What steps are you taking toward being discipled and making disciples?

Two critical things to a healthy church community are discipleship and community. Sadly, the American church has been anemic in developing these two areas and we are seeing much of the fall out currently in our churches and nation.

The Church began by Jesus discipling a few followers to be the leaders of His Church. The Upper Room Gathering of 120 people, found in the beginning of Acts, represents the core community of Christ followers after Jesus’ ascension following His resurrection. It was this small community that the Holy Spirit empowered to become the Church, the Body of Christ, since Jesus was now in heaven at the right hand of the Father. The shift from the 120 to 1000s in a short period of time threatened the health and mission of the Church, which was to make disciples and build healthy community.

When people are added to the Church community through faith and baptism it is truly exciting. However, once a church grows larger the mission of discipleship and community are threatened. This is because it becomes more difficult to keep people feeling vitally connected and needed. They can easily start to feel neglected and feel they are not needed regardless of their attending.

We know life without community is dangerous. We all have bought into the false promises of worldly systems of community represented in things like superficial clubs, teams and social media. What steps can you take toward biblical community? Remember, isolation kills. Community builds. Ask your church’s leadership about the different community possibilities.

The Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 is a command of the Lord to the church. But how is it that the majority of people in church today have never been discipled? One reason for this is that we have so broadened the definition of discipleship that many think that if they go to church and bible studies that that is discipleship.

Discipleship is simply but profoundly doing what Jesus did with the 12 apostles.

Healthy community is not possible without discipleship at the core of the community.

Healthy discipleship will result in healthy community building.

What steps can you take to move toward discipleship? Some of us need to be discipled by a more mature believer. Some of us have plenty of discipleship experience and need to pray about who the Lord would have us disciple. Ask your church’s leadership about discipleship opportunities.

Community and discipleship are intimately connected and are at the core of what Church is. Every individual needs community and discipleship to grow in God’s design and destiny for them as children of God.

The post Take A Step appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

Do you have a vision for aging? Maybe you are like most people and know that aging is inevitable, but don’t want to think about it. Some are in denial and even try to fight it.

My hair started turning gray early. I am pretty much fully gray now at almost 54. I recently told someone that I had salt and pepper hair and my wife said, “Not much pepper among the salt.” I also had someone even recently suggest I color my hair. But, I am no longer bothered by my gray hair and beard. I actually am learning to embrace it!

One of the big missing pieces of discipleship within the Church has been the lack of equipping in the area of aging. We have not adequately taught or modeled how a follower of Jesus should grow old. Sadly, many believers are handling aging no differently than those who do not have a strong faith.

I had the opportunity this summer to speak at the Summit Aspen event and my title was “Older and Bolder.” I talked about Caleb being 85 years old and still ready to go to war against giants. Caleb’s words in Joshua 14:11-12 are part of my vision for aging:

“I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”

Another key verse for my vision for aging is Deuteronomy 34:7, which states:

“Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed and his vigor unabated.”

I do not plan to live 120 years. I am not real concerned honestly in how many more years I have as much as how I am living now and how I will be living when I do finally die. We do not know when we will die, but we do have a say on how we live now and up to when we die. Both Caleb and Moses’ vision for aging flowed from lives that had surrendered to God’s grand purposes in the world. As they grew older they grew more in their passion for God’s grand purposes and surrendered more of their time and resources to those purposes. Is this modeled within the Christian community in America? For both Caleb and Moses as they grew older they grew bolder for God. They did not let their age make them play it safe and comfortable. They kept stepping out in faith and taking risks for the Kingdom. The Deuteronomy passage says that Moses’ “eye was undimmed and that his vigor was unabated.” I pray this verse regularly, that God would allow me to never have my eyes dimmed or for me never to lose my vigor for His kingdom. Our eyes are windows into our souls. If you have been with dying people or animals their eyes go dim as they come close to death. Sadly, for many their eyes go dim well before they die as a result of a lack of purpose and hope deep in their soul. Jesus says in Matthew 6:22, “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” It seems that today too often Christians as they age they lose their vigor for God’s kingdom and their willingness to step out of comfort for God’s grand purposes. Physical aging does take a toll, but we can pray for divine health. It was a promise for the Israelites and in the New Testament we do not see sickness or disease completely sidetracking the early believers from serving the Lord.

Another passage that is part of my vision for aging is Philippians 1:20-21, “…with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” For Paul his vision of aging was that whether in his life or in his death that Christ would be glorified. Do we think about our death as an opportunity for God to get glory? Do we ask God that we might die for Him? Obviously, not all of us will be martyrs, but we can ask to have our death bring Him glory. But this is a result of living now for His glory. We can’t truly see death as gain unless we are learning to live today as Christ.

What do we have to fear? Jesus has conquered death for us! The day we met Jesus was the day we truly started to live and we will never die – for all eternity. So, old folks – why not grow older and bolder? Why not take more risk the older we get? Why not take on bigger giants the older we get? The younger generations are waiting to see us live like this.

The post A Vision for Aging appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

So, for the next 5 weeks we will be talking about Building the Healthiest People Possible by looking at 5 biblical truths:

1.) A Healthy Person prioritizes interior life over exterior life

2.) A Healthy Person stewards time rather than uses time

3.) A Healthy Person embraces sacrifice over selfishness

4.) A Healthy Person works for the greater good of others

5.) A Healthy Person hangs around other healthy persons

One of the ways we are able to prioritize our interior life over our exterior life and build our interior life is by learning to pray New Testament soul-awakening prayers. Most of the prayers in the N.T. are prayers concerning the interior life not the exterior life. One easy way to determine if we are prioritizing our internal life over our exterior life is by evaluating our prayer life. Are we praying for ourselves and others primarily for internal spiritual awakening and blessing or are we primarily praying for external material things?

A Call to Prayer Leading Up to Resurrection Sunday:

Please join the Crossroads family by praying the soul-awakening prayer found in Colossians 1:9-12. We are committing to pray this prayer for ourselves, our family, and whoever else the Lord puts on our heart everyday leading up until Easter Sunday.

⁹ And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you (______), asking that you (______)may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you (______) be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you (_______) to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (Colossians 1:9-12)

We are expecting to hear about the great things God has done as a result of His people joining together to pray that we may become the Healthiest People Possible and help others become the Healthiest People Possible.

The post Building the Healthiest People Possible appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

Do we want to live like Jesus?

To follow Jesus was never just to believe in Jesus, but to learn to live like Jesus. This is why Jesus and the Father sent forth the Holy Spirit into our hearts. But are we willing to do what Jesus did so we can live and be like Jesus?

“We cannot behave ‘on the spot’ as he (Jesus) did and taught if in the rest of our time we live as everybody else does.” -Dallas Willard

1 Timothy 4:7-8

⁷ … Rather train yourself for godliness; ⁸ for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

We are excelling in so many different areas of training and discipline today but not in the areas of character formation, sanctification and the pursuit of holiness. Why is the pursuit not exciting to people? Why do we not see righteousness, holiness and godliness as things to be pursued? Maybe we do not see them as attainable. Maybe we have a wrong or skewed idea of what that kind of person is like. Maybe we are holding onto a lie that we are just human. We must hold fast to the truth that we are a new creation and the Spirit of God is inside our soul. We have not taken Jesus’ words and promises seriously. For we can be like Him and we are suppose to be like Him. We cannot be salt and light to the watching world without radical character transformation. It is possible because Jesus did the impossible for us and sent forth the Spirit to make this new life happen inside us and through us. So, how did Jesus train Himself in godliness? The scriptures tell us that he grew up in the wisdom of both man and God. I believe most, if not all, of the spiritual disciplines, which Jesus practiced fit into one of these three categories.

Word Time

Worship Time

Works Time

Jesus from the age of 5 until He started His public ministry at 30 was a student of the Torah and submitted Himself to intense study in preparation for His public ministry. Jesus modeled “worship time” by regularly spending time alone in prayer with the Father. All of His preparation in “word time” and “worship time” prepared Him for His “works time”. His works time was His public ministry to the disciples, the crowds and ultimately His death, burial and resurrection.

The Spiritual disciplines are not about working harder, they are about making space for God to move and speak into our lives.

Here is a list of some of the more important spiritual disciplines that we should be practicing so we can be training for godliness to become more like Jesus:

Word Time

Reading Scripture

Memorizing Scripture

Praying Scripture

Studying Scripture

Discussing Scripture

Journaling with the Scriptures

Worship Time

Solitude with God

Praising God

Thanking God

Listening to God

Silence before God

Asking God

Interceding for others in prayer

Worshiping with the Church family

Praying with others

Fasting

Works Time

Sharing our faith with others

Ministering to others

Teaching others

Using spiritual gifts to bless others

Serving others

Celebrating with others

Mourning with others

Praying with others

Making disciples

It is our Word and Worship Time that prepare us for our Works Time. This is what Jesus modeled for the disciples and for us. Word, Worship and Works Time are primarily developed in the context of regular deep discipleship not reading on our own, not regularly attending church, not going to seminars or conferences and not even going to seminary. Jesus modeled and taught His disciples the disciplines of Word Time, Worship Time and Works Time. And He commanded them to model and teach others to do the same.

Discipleship is doing what Jesus did with His disciples.

Discipleship has two key components. First, we must be discipled ourselves before we are ready to make disciples. The goal of discipleship is that we would encourage each other to become more like Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit as we train in godliness through the spiritual disciplines. This deeply relational process is the primary avenue for character formation and clarity on our purpose in life. Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples right before He ascended back into heaven.

Matthew 28:18-20

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Are we preparing for Greater Things?

It is amazing to think that God has prepared “Good Works” for us to walk in. (Ephesians 2:8-10) And Jesus even says that we will do even “Greater Works” than He! So, the question we all have to ask:

Are we making space for LIFE?

The post Making Space for LIFE appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

How did you learn how to pray?

For some of us we learned how to pray from our parents as they prayed for us at bedtime and said the grace over the meal. Some of us grew up going to Sunday School and learned how to talk with God there. But for many of us, no one has ever really taught us how to talk with God. We have maybe picked up a few things from church, but most of the time we shy away from talking with God unless we are in a desperate situation. And praying in public is just out of the question for most.

Christianity is about following Jesus and growing in relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. How can we grow in relationship if we are not growing in our ability to talk with God? I encourage you to take some time to evaluate how your communication with God has developed over time.

Here are some things that have helped me develop my communication with God:

• Confidence in Jesus: 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us, “there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” We cannot have confidence to talk with God if we are not confident that we are reconciled to God through Jesus.
• Study/pray the prayers in scripture: Study the Psalms and see how the people of God talked openly and honestly with God
• Pray out loud: Biblical prayer was out loud. Find a place that you can pray openly and out loud.
• Be honest: Be honest with God, He knows your heart and thoughts, so don’t get all religious and formal.
• Learn how to pray for yourself and others: Again, study the scriptures and see how Paul and others prayed for themselves and how they prayed for others. Take hold of the promises of God for your life and for others.
• Start praying with your family: Have special times of family meeting and prayer not just a quick blessing over the meal.
• Find others to pray with: Get into a discipleship group where you will study, grow and encourage each other as you pray together
• Pray during Worship: While you are singing with others at church talk to God, pray the words of the songs, make it personal.
• Keep the conversation going: Talk to God throughout the day. Bring Him into your everyday routine and it will become more than a routine.

How did you learn how to worship?

I must first confess, when it comes to learning about the wondrous, beautiful and glorious characteristics of the Godhead, which cause us to worship, I feel I have a very long way to go. My soul has tasted and seen that the Lord is good; however, He is infinitely greater than all we could hope for or imagine. That being said, I have learned a few things about worship from various sources that have become anchors for my daily life with God. I will share a few simple details for the sake of brevity.

First, there was my grandfather, Louis Brown, singing out among the saints at Crawford Baptist Church with such a deep, loud voice that it seemed to reverberate in every corner of my little five-year old frame. He seemed so free and joyful. I knew that freedom and joy must be an important part of worship and fellowship with the Lord. Then there was Gary Elmore, the man who first “officially” discipled me in the ways of the Lord. Gary always wanted to bless the Lord, to minister to the Lord, to hear from Him. From Gary I learned to wait before Him, to meditate on His word and to simply enjoy His presence. Gary and I would split up for hours in the wilderness just to be with the Lord. Mark Weber, a close friend I met here in Aspen almost 25 years ago, challenged me to seek the presence of the Lord and to seek His will. Mike Taylor, a long-time mentor and dear friend, taught me to bless my family, to serve them well and to love my neighbor. He taught me to lead (and worship) by serving others and helped me see how this blesses God. Steve Woodrow, my senior pastor, and also close friend and mentor for 15 years now, encourages me to move forward boldly in faith and worship. Steve also challenges me to remember that God can reveal still other dimensions and aspects of worship that may be previously unknown to me. And woven throughout this journey has been the harmonizing power of the Word and the Spirit. When I became a disciple of Christ in 1991, I devoured the Word of God for three straight years. As I read and studied the Bible daily the Holy Spirit revealed deep and simple truths of God that caused me to worship. These truths revealed and exposed my heart with all its weaknesses and shortcomings and sin. These revelations of the flaws of my heart were somehow juxtaposed to the power, wisdom and mercy of our Lord Jesus and therefore magnified my affections for Him. The more I drew near to Him the more I worshipped. Not only did the corporate experience of worship become more meaningful but I also began to see the activities of my daily life as opportunities to worship. The very definition of worship began to expand in my heart. I now had some understanding of Paul’s words in Colossians 3:17; “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

So my journey of learning how to worship has been grounded in two things; 1.) deep and committed Christian fellowship, even discipleship, and 2.) a process of getting to know the object of our worship. This Christian fellowship/discipleship will be worked out a little differently in each of our lives; however, it seems to me that one of the most important aspects of Christian community is the necessity of jumping in with both feet. Don’t hold back. We must be committed, truthful, and willing to be known. Proverbs 27:17 reveals one of the great benefits of community. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” In other words, iron can’t be sharpened unless it makes contact with other iron. Find other disciples (followers of Christ) who will sharpen you. Be fully committed to life together with other followers and very soon the Lord will reveal new dimensions of fellowship with his people and with Himself. There is an old adage we all use from time to time, ‘You just had to be there.’ We use this phrase ultimately because of an inner awareness that the experience itself is truly greater than any story about the experience. I believe we Christians spend too much of our time recounting the story of God rather than experiencing the reality of God. I would encourage us to draw near to the object of our worship, to experience Him firsthand, to experience the attributes of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Cry out to God even as Moses did; ‘Lord, show me your glory!’ Read the scriptures and pray for revelation as you do. Jesus instructed the Pharisees, saying; “These are the very scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.”(John 5:39-40) To state the obvious, we must spend time with Him in order to get to know Him. As we read the word of God (for the right reasons) we are coming to Him. Our spirits are awakened, even renewed and we begin to long for God himself. We begin to truly worship Him.

Here are some practical suggestions that may help you worship the Lord:

• Find a place where no one can see you or hear you…and worship. (Matthew 6:5-6) Plan your personal worship of God.
• Change your posture; kneel, bow, or prostrate yourself before the Lord. He lifts up those who are bowed down. (Psalm 145:14)
• Write a Psalm of praise of your own and then sing that to the Lord. If you’re not a great singer don’t worry. Go to a place where no one will hear you. If you persevere you will experience your soul awakening. It’s what we were made for.
• Meditate on God’s Word. We can’t just read it and forget it. Hold God’s Word in your mind, turn it over and over, think on it, and there will be an effect on your life and your worship experience. (Psalm 1:2-3)
• Steve already mentioned this, but worship with the Psalms. Read them aloud to the Lord (even to your own spirit) until the Palmist’s thoughts become your own.
• Design a personal worship service. Yes, make up a worship service that you alone can offer to the Lord as an act of worship. But don’t make rituals and traditions for yourself. God is not looking for right forms of worship. He is looking for right hearts that are fully devoted to Him.
• Forget your problems. Focusing on our problems can prevent the spark of worship. Ask the Lord to take your troubles and trials. Lay them aside and worship the one who is sovereign over all things. You will feel differently about the difficulties of life when you have truly worshipped.
• Check your heart when participating in corporate worship. Focus on the Lord and His church. Corporate worship means we are worshipping in community. We are together to honor the Lord and edify each other. (1 Corinthians 12:12-26)
• Keep Christ at the center of worship. Be aware that forms of worship can become the object of our worship. Sometimes we may pursue a particular form of worship (or way of worshipping) because it satisfies our own desires.   Our purpose is to worship and bless the Lord.
• Ask the Lord to renew your heart for worship. If you feel empty the Lord wants to restore your soul. However, sometimes we strive for things that can only be accomplished by the Almighty. Ask the Lord to fill you with His spirit and create a right heart within you. Read Psalm 51 and then ask of the Lord. Remember, He gives rest to the weary and lifts up those who are bowed down.

(by Steve Woodrow and Derek Brown)

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