Psalms of Discipleship. Principle #8 (Grace) March 2, 2013

Hello my dear friends! There are many days I come to the end of my strength. Some call this experience "running on fumes." Jackson Browne wrote about it when he said,

Running on-running on empty
Running on-running blind
Running on-running into the sun
But I'm running behind

Here is what I am suggesting we need to consider. When we are running on empty, running in our own strength, we need to "run into the Son."

Just sayin,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #8

Life Principles For Those Who Choose To Follow Jesus And Live The Discipled Life

Key Scripture: 5 How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! 6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. 7 They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion. Psalm 84:5-7

Core Value: Grace

Life can be hard, challenging, overwhelming, exhausting, and impossible to bear. And sometimes, it can seem to get even worse. During stressful times, the human response is most always to trust in our own strength, our own way of thinking, our own way, our own will. And for a season, it may even appear that we are succeeding in winning the game of life. But no one can sustain this approach for long. After awhile, we will give in, we will give up, and we will be even worse off than where we started. Works will always produce exhausted people. A works-driven mindset will never work for the disciple of Jesus.

On the other hand, the grace-driven mindset discovers a strength that is from the Lord. The believer who lives by grace experiences the blessing of being on God’s path for them. And even during our times in the valley, a place of spiritual dryness and fatigue, grace leads us through the valley into an oasis of His love that quenches our thirst. And here is the best part: when Jesus fills our tank with His grace, we are empowered, “we go from strength to strength,” to live in victory. Escorted, empowered by grace, we find ourselves in the presence of the One who makes our strength, our victory, possible because of the Cross.

Principle #8 & Personal Application: Quality disciples express a deep gratitude for God's sustaining strength.

• The disciple is blessed with God's sustaining strength: How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion!

• The disciple finds a spiritual oasis during the driest of times: Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings.

• The disciple lives out a habit of living in God's strength: They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

In what ways can I make it a habit to trust in the Lord's strength when I want to trust in mine?

For me, what does it look like in my life when I go from strength to strength?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I am blessed because my strength is in You. When I experience spiritual dryness, may I be satisfied in the waters of Your blessing. And may I live my life, going from strength to strength.

The Essential Core Values Of The Quality Disciple Are…
Grace—Worship—Bible Study—Prayer—Community—Service—Evangelism

Dr. Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2013 All rights reserved.

You can learn how to live as a Quality Disciple and a DiscipleMaker4Jesus by visiting my website at www.dennybates.com and my teaching blog at http://www.dennybates.com/#!blog/c1a4e