Psalms of Discipleship Principle #35 (Evangelism) December 29, 2013

Hello dear friends,

Today's Psalms of Discipleship is a good reminder on how important it is for us to keep our focus upon the Lord's character. When we do so, it changes us. When we are changed by Him, we are a much more effective witness for Him.

Learning with you,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #35

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

Key Scripture: 1 O Sing to the LORD a new song, For He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him. 2 The LORD has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Psalm 98:1-3

Core Value: Evangelism

From my perspective there is a lot of talking going on: talking about politics, talking about the economy, talking about the latest cultural fads, and a whole lot of talking about religion. But in the midst of all of this talking, is anyone connecting? There never has been a greater opportunity to connect the message of the Gospel (the Good News) to a world in desperate need of a clear path to supernatural peace.

We can debate the issues of right and wrong, good and bad, and left and right. We can even “win” the argument but lose the soul. The greatest impact for life change within the person who has yet to personally experience the love and forgiveness of God is made when we direct their focus upon the character of God. Our witness has to begin within our own heart first. We can experience the kind of life where we know that God is great, victorious, saving, righteous, and good. And by our experience, we can tell others too.

Principle #35 & Personal Application: Quality disciples speak and sing of the Lord’s mighty power and of His infinite goodness.

• Our God is a great God: He has done wonderful things

• Our God is a victorious God: His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him

• Our God is a saving God: The Lord has made known His salvation to the ends of the earth

• Our God is a righteous God: He has declared and revealed His perfect character to the nations

• Our God is a good God: He has remembered His lovingkindness (mercy) and faithfulness to us.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

In what ways does this passage of Scripture help me articulate my witness to the lost?

As I reflect upon the great truths of these verses, which one resonates the most within my heart? Why?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You are a great God who has done wonderful things for me. You are a victorious God, helping me live a victorious life. You are a saving God. Thank You for saving me. You are a righteous God. I rest in Your righteousness as I approach the Father’s Throne. You are a good God, always showing me infinite mercy and faithfulness.

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://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

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

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Psalms of Discipleship, Principle #22 (Grace) June 9, 2012

Hello my dear friends! Have you ever felt like you were grasping onto the last straw and when it breaks (and it most likely will) you will fall into an abyss of hopelessness and despair? If that resonates with you, you are not alone. Many believers today are facing challenging circumstances with frayed relationships, uncertain financial times, and an unending assault upon the truth. What is a disciple of Jesus to do? We can look to the example of the Psalmist and refocus our mind upon the Good Shepherd of the Psalms.

Clinging to Him,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #22

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

Key Scripture: 6 When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches, 7 For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:6-8

Core Value: Grace

One of the greatest challenges that face the disciple of Jesus is the battle that lies in the mind. It is in the mind where spiritual battles are either won or lost. There is always the constant tension to believe the truth and live it out or to embrace the lie and be bound up in it.

The best way, the only way, to win the battle for the mind is to focus it upon the Lord. This does not come easily. It takes a strong will. It requires a choice. But when we do make the choice to focus our thoughts upon the Lord, the truth of His promise becomes crystal clear: We see that He is our help. We will have a song of joy. And we will cling to Him as He holds us up.

Principle #22 & Personal Application: Quality disciples experience the mysterious tension of doing their part as God does His.

• Disciples of Jesus are to keep their focus upon the Lord: “When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches”

• Disciples of Jesus are to remember the faithfulness of God: “For You have been my help”

• Disciples of Jesus are to experience His presence and respond with joy: “And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy”

• Disciples of Jesus do their part and Jesus does His: “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me”

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

What kinds of spiritual disciplines (habits) I can practice that will cultivate a more focused meditation upon the Lord?

What circumstance am I facing today where I sense my soul is clinging to the Lord? How does this Scripture describe God’s part in helping me cope with my circumstance?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, may You always remind me of Your faithfulness to me. Help me remember those sweet times of when I experienced Your touch. May I always remember that You have been my help, even during the dark times. May I always be comforted by Your presence as I sing for joy to You. And may I remember to do my part (cling to You, by grace) as I behold Your keeping power of Your right hand.

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

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2012 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

Postscript:

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In order to gain a better understanding of what I am offering, you can check out my website at

http://www.johncmaxwellgroup.com/dennybates

Psalms of Discipleship. Principle #15 (Prayer). April 21, 2012

Hello my dear friends! Warm, grace-driven greetings to each of you. Like you, I am always grateful for grace. When it is rightly applied it draws us closer to the Lord in prayer. This week's Psalms of Discipleship is a wonderful illustration of the tension we experience between spiritual victory and spiritual defeat. In order to consistently win this battle, we need to learn the art of surrender . . . to the Lord.

The lyrics of this classic hymn remind us that surrender is always a choice.

All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

Refrain:
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

Learning to surrender,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #15

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

Key Scripture: 11 O give us help against the adversary, For deliverance by man is in vain. 12 Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries. Psalm 60:11-12

Core Value: Prayer

One of the greatest challenges that disciples of Jesus face is a strong tendency of misplaced trust. We tend to trust in the “tangible” (what is seen) instead of the tried and true (often unseen). We often default to our own strength and even the strength of others instead of resting in the strength of our God. We look to other people and other things to deliver us from trouble instead of fixing our gaze upon the only One who can deliver us. There are many life principles that we can learn and apply from the Psalmist. This principle is critical: before we can win, we must surrender to the Lord.

Principle #15 & Personal Application: Quality disciples live in the on-going tension between spiritual defeat and spiritual victory, knowing only a complete surrender to God will produce a great victory.

Some background: In this psalm David has responded in prayer after his nation has been attacked by the Edomites who inflicted great damage. This temporary setback is a lesson in perseverance and in prayer. For the disciple of Jesus there are many spiritual battles that must be fought, and some of these we will lose. The key is to learn from defeat and set out to win the next victory. This is done when we believe and turn to God. After a defeat . . .

• We need to cry out to God for help against our adversary.

• The worst place we can place our trust is in other people.

• We need to believe that through God we will do valiantly (mighty things).

• We need to yield our will to His will for it is God, and only God, who will defeat our foes.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

When I lose a spiritual battle what kind of steps do I take in order to fight another day?

The Bible teaches that “Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.” There is a part for me to play and there is a part that only God can play. What is my role and what is His promise to me?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, remind me to cry out to You when I find myself on the losing end of a spiritual battle. I look to You for help against my adversary. I know that looking to other people instead of You will never produce a good outcome for me. I thank You that through You I will do mighty things as I testify of Your deliverance of my life.

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

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2012 All rights reserved.

Are you interested in going deeper in your walk with Jesus? Check out my website for a list of resources that will help you become "A Quality Disciple."

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/

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Psalms of Discipleship--Principle #35--Worship--September 10, 2011

Hello my dear friends! Today's Psalms of Discipleship will be an encouragement to all of us, no matter our where we are (or have been) in our journey with the Shepherd of the Psalms. We all have experienced great times as well as having gone through the dark waters of discouragement and personal failure. Thankfully, the Lord is present in each and every circumstance.

Learning as I go,

Denny

Psalms of Discipleship—Principle #35

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

Key Scripture: Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. Psalm 42:5

Core Value: Worship

In his classic novel, A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens targeted the tension between good and evil when he wrote these famous words:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.”

Those same words could be written today as we seek to navigate dangerous waters. In our case, the tension is between trusting in the Lord or allowing fear of our circumstances take control of us. All that surrounded him disturbed the psalmist. Words like “despair” and “disturbed” had become a part of his vocabulary. Many people, even believers, fail to move on from these kinds of words. They surrender and settle for spiritual defeat. This was not the case with the psalmist. Instead, after showing his transparency and confessing his inner struggle, he made a choice to move on to a far healthier perspective. His circumstances, for the moment, had not changed but his vocabulary did. He goes from “despair” to “hope in God,” from “disturbed” to “I shall again praise Him.” He rests in the fact that the presence of the Lord will help him.

May we all be honest to God on how we really feel. But may we also, through grace, have the faith to hope in Him and praise Him, even in the most challenging of circumstances. For even in the worst of times we can experience the best of times if we are trusting Jesus to take care of us.

Principle #35 & Personal Application: The quality disciple has chosen to worship God even in the midst of challenging circumstances.

• Even when our soul is in despair and has become disturbed, worship of the Lord must be our first response.

• Our hope is not in our wisdom, nor in our human strength, and certainly it is not in the citadels of political power. Our hope must be in God.

• It requires faith, not faith in one’s self, but faith in God to praise and worship Him.

Reflect & Respond: Some Really Good Questions To Ponder…

How can I begin to make the transition in my spiritual journey where praise and worship of God becomes my default setting (in other words, “my habit”) as I respond to Him when I face difficult circumstances?

Everyone goes through difficult times. Have I ever had an experience where I sensed the presence of the Lord as I began to praise and worship Him?

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, there have been times in my life where my soul has been in despair and very disturbed. And yet, You have offered me grace. It is by Your grace that I can hope in my God. It is by faith where I can praise and worship You. May my life be marked as a disciple who has the habit of worshiping You.

PS. Thanks to all of you have given your input on a new project I am working on called Psalms of Discipleship: A One Year Journey With The Shepherd. I'm going to close out the survey on September 17. If you have not taken the opportunity to respond, please do so this week. It is ten questions in less than five minutes. This link will take you to the survey. Thanks again!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6HBT759

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

Denny Bates & Something New Christian Publishers © 2011 All rights reserved.

www.dennybates.com
http://thequalitydisciple.blogspot.com/