baldtheologian Christian Living, The Future

New Years 2017 – A Resolution worth Keeping

So 2017 is here (technically this is New Year’s Eve but since I plan to be sleeping when the new year begins I figured I’d post this now) and time to roll out the New Year’s Resolutions stuff.

Resolutions – you know, those things we resolve to accomplish to  do in the new year but never seem to do? Yeah, it is THAT time again. I’ve never been one to make a resolution at the new year. I may have done it a time or two but I never really meant it. But this year is different for me. I am going to make one resolution that I hope to keep throughout the year. I intend and will do my best to keep this resolution  in the coming years.

My resolution is not about weight loss, though I certainly be a pound or ten lighter. My resolution has nothing to do with saving money. In some ways my resolution may cause me to save less money. It doesn’t concern being kinder, gentler, or easing back on my conservative views. It isn’t about finally getting my book published or being a Pastor again. It has to do with something much more important than those temporal things. My resolution has eternal implications and eternal consequences.

So what is my resolution? Before I get to it, a particular passage of Scripture comes to mind:

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1-2 NASB

 

I resolve, beginning this year and continuing through the rest of my life to continually place myself on the altar for God to use as he sees fit. I will place all of me at His disposal.

 

But what does this mean?

Simply put, being a living sacrifice means that I sacrifice all in service to my King and God. But what is all? Well, it is everything. This includes my desires, the money I earn, the life I lead, the aspirations I have. It means every nook and cranny of my life is places on the altar as a living sacrifice.

The practical implications of this are numerous.

One thing that must occur as I do this is that I must dismiss my plans. That does not mean that I simply wander through life without  a plan. It doesn’t mean that I wait for God to miracle a direction for my life. It does mean that the ideas I have for my life come under the headship of Christ. I resolve no longer to ask God to bless my plans, I resolve to ask God to bless me with His plan for my life. So though I have one seemingly simply resolution of for this new year and for years to come, there are actually other resolutions that are contained within the simply one above.

As a part of my main resolution,

I resolve to place my desires and aspirations on the altar as a living sacrifice. This does not mean I do not have desires and aspirations. I certainly have them. For instance, I finally have the desire to pastor a church again. I desire to preach much more than the once a year I currently preach. I want to teach more. I want to disciple more. But those desires must be on the altar if I am to do things God’s way. I resolve to continue to prepare to be a pastor – with all that entails – as I wait on God to open a door somewhere to be that Pastor again. I may never be a pastor again. With that desire on the altar means that I’m OK with that outcome. And I am OK;

I resolve to reorder my life to study God’s word deeper and in a more meaningful way. I resolve to share the knowledge God has blessed me with. Anyone who desires to learn what I know is welcome to that knowledge;

I resolve to place my family, my church life, and my work life on the altar as a living sacrifice. Finding balance between many competing interests is difficult if not impossible. This is especially true for those of us with a large family. The demands of being the sole wage earner in a home to 10 folks is daunting even on a good day. Things are expensive these days. With 8 kids, a wife, two guinea pigs, two parakeets, two cats, a dog and many hens and many ducks puts a strain on the family budget;

I resolve to be spent by the time my body dies. I will not hold back but I will not simply do something for the sake of doing it. My activity shall be God-directed, not me directed. To be spent means I shall do all that God calls me to do. I shan’t do things in my own power. I shall do things under the direction and power of the Holy Spirit.

__________________

My life is not my own. I’ve known that for quite a while. Now I will continue to live like that. Everything I am, I hope to be, or hope to do is part of being a living sacrifice to God. It is part of renewing my mind. It is about living life in a God-honoring way. It is living a Christ-centered life rather than a self-centered life.

This is my resolution not just for this year, but for all years to follow.

So, help me God. I’m going to need Your help.

baldtheologian The Future

ch-ch-ch-Changes

In with a new year and out with the old. No this isn’t a list of new year’s resolutions that I have no intent on keeping. This is a discussion of some changes coming to this website. These changes will take time, effort and money. But, at some point in the future, they will happen. So, without further ado, here we go!

My next series of articles will be more thematic in nature. While I will be dealing with themes, each theme will be developed mostly from one area of Scripture and not cobbled together from a verse here and a verse or two there. The theme must be found in a section of Scripture in order to be included. If you have a particular subject you would like to see on the website, shoot me an email and I’ll do my best. For now, I plan to do a series on the vanishing disciplines of Christianity. Things like holiness, discipleship and other things that have faded in favor of the more emotional expressions of faith will be addressed. And yes, I do advocate a return to the fundamentals of the faith. I’m working on a title, but that series will start next week. I hope you profit from it.

This blog, which has been THE website for its life, will become PART of the website. It will still be a prominent part, but it will be only a part.

I will be offering downloads of equipping material. I am in the process of placing all the Nehemiah articles in book format, adding a little more content and getting it professionally edited. One all that is done, I will assemble the book and offer it as a download from the equipping section of my website. The price will be reasonable I think. It will be free to anyone who wants it. It will be copyrighted to protect its content but it will be distributed for free.

I am working on a seminar on the Bible. I have a tentative title and content outline. This will be presented to churches and groups who desire to acquire a fuller understanding of the origin, transmission and preservation of the words we call Scripture. When I present this, I plan to videotape it, edit it and offer it for streaming or downloading.

I am also converting a room in my house into a recording studio. I will be offering courses on everything that I have been blessed to learn. I will divide the course into bite-sized segments probably an hour long each. When a course is completed, it will be offered for streaming or download. I may add DVD’s as well. Along with these video lessons I will provide class notes in pdf format. It will be like a college class but you won’t get the college credit. But you will receive the equivalent instruction and knowledge.

I hope to recruit some who have also received an advanced education in the Bible/Theology to share their knowledge as well on my website. I trust, with God’s blessings, to offer courses to cover the entirety of the Bible and theology.

So why all this stuff for free? I have been disturbed about a trend in Christianity. It seems more and more Christians are about building their brand rather than building into the Body of Christ. This is especially true in the area of Christian websites. More and more Christians peddle useless junk and fritter their time away promoting themselves as the Church struggles to educate believers so they will be equipped to take on the day.

I have decided that, for my website and those who share their knowledge on my website, our focus will be the building of the Body not the building of our brand. All material will be copyrighted (mainly to protect the content) but it will all be offered without charge. I begrudge no one if they charge for their content. I simply won’t. I am convinced that for me to profit monetarily off the gift Christ has given me is wrong.

All this activity will cost money. But I’ll never ask for yours. I’ll never charge you to equip you. You see, this series on Nehemiah has convicted me. My fear has collided with my faith and my faith has won.

And now I am acting on my faith.

So I ask for your prayers as these changes occur. I ask that you pray as I transition to a 501 (c) 3 non profit corporation. I ask that you pray that God will bring multiple talented teachers, webmasters, graphic artists and editors to join me in this task. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about growing thebaldtheologian.com. This is about glorifying God with every fiber of my being.

 

Remember us, O God, for good.