Karen Lee-Thorp - A Compact Guide to the Christian Life

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ISBN-13: 978-1-61291-413-8

Cover design by Arvid Wallen
Cover images by Shutterstock

Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.

Unless otherwise identified, all Scripture quotations in this publication are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ( NIV ). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Other versions used include: the New American Standard Bible ( NASB ), Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; The Living Bible ( TLB ), copyright 1971, used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189, all rights reserved; the Holy Bible , New Living Translation ( NLT ), copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved; and the King James Version ( KJV ).

Lee-Thorp, Karen.

A compact guide to the Christian life / Karen Lee-Thorp.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-61291-413-8

1. Christian life. I. Title.

BV4501.3.L44 2013

248.4dc23

2012050144

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 / 18 17 16 15 14 13

Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?

The Sovereign L ORD has given me an instructed tongue,

to know the word that sustains the weary.

He wakens me morning by morning,

wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. (Isaiah 50:4)

The word disciple means learner. In Jesus day, a person who wanted to learn wisdom would follow a teacher around, listen to him teach, and watch him live. The disciples goal was not just to learn facts from his master but to become like him in every aspect. Thus, a disciple of Jesus is someone who follows Him in order to become just like Him. Discipleship is a matter of being with and being like more than a matter of following rules. But in addition, the disciple is:

Under Jesus authority in every area

Actively seeking to learn His teaching

Actively seeking to do what He does

Learning and obeying are essential, but they must flow from a growing, intimate relationship with the Master.

In the following pages, youll find that being with and being like Jesus involves:

Talking to Him in prayer

Listening to Him in the Bible

Reaching out to those He wants to touch

Sharing your life with His other disciples

Entrusting every area of your life to His guidance

HOW DO I USE THIS BOOK?

Each of the first four sections of this book deals with one of the four crucial dimensions of the Christian life. The main topics listed in the table of contents are from Beating the Churchgoing Blahs by Robert Thornton Henderson (InterVarsity). They are the same basics of the Christian life that Christs disciples have been pursuing for centuries.

Knowing the King is what an old saint named Benedict called spiritual formation; it chiefly involves prayer and also constant dependence on God amid the trials of life. Knowing the Faith comes from studying the Bible and hearing it taught (Benedicts theological formation). The topics Called to Be Sent and The Body of Christ involve reaching outward to the unbelieving world and to Christian brothers and sisters. (Some Christians call these two areas evangelism and fellowship.)

No matter which term is used, these four critical pursuits depend on each other for real fruitfulness. Your faith will be much more rich and stable if you start getting your feet wet in all of these crucial areas of the Christian life.

The fifth section of this book, Life in the World, might be called The Christian in Action. Life in the World deals with practical life issues: how being a Christian affects your ways of making decisions, your work, your relationships with people, and your use of money. Youll find that functioning as a dynamic Christian in these areas depends on the quality of your prayer life, Bible study, and relationships with believers and unbelievers. Youll also find that, far from making your life more burdened, approaching the Christian life Gods way will free you from much of the anxiety that issues such as money, work, and relationships produce. Weve tried to make it easy for you to find what you want to read about. You can skim the table of contents for questions that interest you.

If you are new to the Christian faith, we suggest you begin with What does it mean to call God Father? (page 20), What does it mean to depend on God in daily life? (pages 6566), What is the gospel? (pages 6970), and Who am I? (pages 9799). When you grasp these basics, you can approach the rest of discipleship knowing that the Father loves you and the Spirit empowers you to become what Jesus died for you to be.

KNOWING THE KING

The world becomes a strange mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul.

J . I. P ACKER, K NOWING G OD

KNOWING THE FAITH

Faith is that attitude in which, acknowledging our complete insufficiency for any of the high ends of life, we rely utterly on the sufficiency of God. It is an act which is the negation of all activity, a moment of passivity out of which the strength for action comes, because in it God acts.

C . H . D ODD, T HE M OFFATT N EW T ESTAMENT C OMMENTARY

CALLED TO BE SENT

The evangelistic harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is strategic. We are not responsible for the past generation, and we cannot bear the full responsibility for the next one; but we do have our generation. God will hold us responsible as to how well we fulfill our responsibilities to this age and take advantage of our opportunities.

B ILLY G RAHAM

THE BODY OF CHRIST

The holiest moment of the church service is the moment when Gods people strengthened by preaching and sacrament go out of the church door into the world to be the church. We dont go to church; we are the church.