This is a guest post from Chris Weber. Chris is on staff at Monvee. Monvee is a ministry passionate about discipleship. After a recent blog post, Monvee agreed to let me give away 10 copies of their spiritual development software. This is an amazing opportunity!

Here is a guest post from Chris Weber of Monvee:

Recently, Ron wrote a post called “What is your one sin?” As I read that post from Ron, it was a sharp reminder of a conversation I had a couple years ago with two of my closest friends. I had just finished taking my MONVEE assessment and discovered though that tool the most likely spiritual inhibitor or “one sin” for me was Deception/Dishonesty.

I must say, I was a little frustrated when I first read that.

I did not see myself as a dishonest person at all.

Conversation with close friends, however, comforted me that “lying” wasn’t my issue. It was a different form of deception/dishonesty: IMAGE MANAGEMENT. For years, I had been managing my image and even my character depending on the crowd that I happened to be with at the time. I am a natural leader and had opportunity to lead, but my reputation grew tarnished as more people saw me as simply “playing the game.”

Looking back, I can clearly see the impact that conversation with some close friends has had on my life as I have strived to become a more consistent and authentic person.

Today I am on staff at MONVEE. My job is assisting people to come to the same sort of discovery about their “one sin.” MONVEE is an online tool designed to help people identify how they are wired by God, what’s in the way of maturing as a believer and build a plan to take next steps in their spiritual growth.

Scripture clearly tells us that this is a key step in the growth process-

Ephesians 4:21-24
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Galatians 5:16-17
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires.

Do YOU know what your primary spiritual inhibitor or “one sin” is?

We want to help you find out.

We are giving away the Monvee tool to 10 individuals who comment on this post. Winners will be randomly selected Monday.

(Also, if you are a senior leader at your church, let us know and we will send you 5 MONVEE Paks for you and your team to experience for FREE. Simply email me at chris.weber@monvee.com )

Chris Weber
Monvee
Twitter: thechrisweber

Thanks Chris! Comment now to be eligible to win a Monvee pack. Take responsibility for accelerating your spiritual growth now!

Please don’t comment just to win, but if you are serious about maturing as a believer this tool will help! Comment now for a chance to win!

If you choose to retweet or share this post in social media…Thank you! (not required to win…I just want to help encourage some spiritual growth)

Still want to know more…watch this quick video about Monvee:

…God’s people pray?

I’m giving away 3 copies of Hell is Real, but I Hate to Admit It by Brian Jones.

In case you’ve missed it, I’ve heard more talk of Hell this year than in recent years. That’s due in part by another book by Rob Bell’s book “Love Wins”. This book is NOT a reaction to that book. It’s actually a journal of sorts of one pastor’s journey on the issue of Hell. Jones believes that the reason most Christians don’t tell their friends about Jesus has nothing to do with not knowing how—it’s because they don’t think they need to. As Jones writes, the first four years he was a pastor, he didn’t believe in hell himself. He shares his story of discovering the truth that hell exists—and why many Christians are afraid to believe in it.

Hell Is Real motivates Christians who have grown complacent in their view of hell. Drawing on the teachings of Jesus, Jones leads readers into a head-on collision with apocalyptic urgency—the all-consuming, inspiring conviction that will overcome readers when they realize that hell is real and they can help save people from going there.

I found a great review of the book HERE.

If you’d like a win a copy of this book:

• Retweet on Twitter , share this post on Facebook, or reshare it on Google+
• Comment on this post with your name and/or Twitter name

I’ll choose 3 random winners sometime Monday.

Loaded question: Do you think Hell is Real?

This was a tough message, but as we have traced the steps of Jesus through the book of Mark this summer, we’ve seen Jesus go from a welcoming “follow me” to a challenging exit for His followers.

Here’s a message from Mark 16. I hope it challenges your own faith.

Disclaimer: This is an opinion post…not a doctrinal statement.

In my experience, many believers have one sin that causes the majority of problems in their life…

It could be:

• Pride
• Selfishness
• Lust
• Worry
• Fear
• Greed
• Stubbornness
• An unforgiving spirit

It’s not that they don’t struggle with other sins, but this one appears dominant in their life. I realize that ultimately our greatest sin is following our will over God’s will, but that one sin is at the center of many of the person’s problems. It keeps him or her from fully surrendering to God’s will for their life and from developing complete intimacy with others. It impacts their marriage and parenting, their work life, and their general attitude towards life.

Discovering that sin and dealing with it through discipline, repentance, and dependence on God, often helps a person move through much of the junk in their life.

Being totally transparent…I realized in my twenties, through some painful experiences, that my “one sin” was pride. I have MANY others, but if I’m not careful, pride can cause a multitude of problems in my life.

What’s yours?

(Keep in mind, I’m talking about believers in this post…for unbelievers the only sin to be concerned about is the sin of denying Christ in your life. If you need help working through that, please let me know.)

How do you actually know God is talking to you?

Every believer wants to hear from God. Why would you follow God closely if you didn’t want to know His voice or hear what He has to say? We want to know…Is this God?…Is this what He is telling me to do?…or…Am I being swayed by the circumstances of my life?

One thing I’ve observed is that we often listen for the grandiose voice of God. Sometimes God speaks that way, but many times God is more subtle than that. Often God speaks through those quiet moments, through other people, and through life’s circumstances. In a crowded world of noise and life distractions sometimes it’s hard to understand what God is saying. How do we take the circumstance of life, as mixed up and confusing as they can be, and figure out what God could be saying to us?

Here are some guidelines to hearing God speak through the circumstances of life:

Mirror your circumstances with the truth of God’s Word – God will never contradict Himself. He will never speak to us through our circumstances in a way that will contradict His written word. I hear people at times claim God is telling them to do something that is in violation with what God has already said. That’s never God.

God uses people to confirm His voice – God often sends people into our path to confirm His will for our life. People who attempt to follow God with their life can help us to hear from God. Every time God has called me to something, there have been others to confirm they are hearing the same calling. I’ve often had to cycle through the naysayers to hear them, but they are there.

Recognize that God operates from a plan – Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Rick Warren has sold millions of books telling us that we should live our life with a purpose…God’s purpose. Looking back over my life, I could never have scripted it, but I see how God has used me according to an overall plan. He’s used my life experiences to shape me for where I am today.

Examine your circumstances in light of God’s overall plan – When trying to hear from God through the circumstances of life, we should not try to make a decision on one event or set of circumstances. Circumstances may or may not be God speaking to us. We should look at our life over a span of months or years. Jeremiah 29:11 indicates that God has a definite plan to proper us and give us hope, but it would take the people 70 years to get there. When we look at our life over time we will be able to see what God has been doing. When the circumstances of life consistently line up over time with God’s overall plan it is possible that God is trying to speak through those circumstances. Before God called me into ministry the voices speaking into my life were many. I was available, there were tons of confirmations and signs, and I had to view my life in the context of God’s master plan.

Don’t allow circumstances to keep you from hearing or obeying God – Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:8-9 (NIV) “But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.” The common sense thing to do when everyone opposes you would be to leave, but Paul knew the circumstances were not indicative of God’s will for his life. Sometimes our circumstances may look gloomy, but we haven’t heard the truth of our circumstances until we have heard from God. God has typically spoken to me clearest during my darkest days. (Read THIS POST)

Ask God to show you His perspective on the circumstances – You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13 NIV) As followers of God we will spend our whole life trying to discern the will of God for our life; listening for His voice. If we desire to hear from God through our circumstances we must intently listen for the voice of God. Hearing from God is not always easy. When life is coming at us we cannot seem to understand what is going on, we shouldn’t be afraid to ask for clarification. We should feel free to ask, “God what did you mean by that?” Many times I think I know what God is saying, but it’s in the seasons of questioning that I am more intentional to go back to Him for clarification. I’ve even taken days away to intentionally listen during the confusing times.

Remember: God’s primary desire in speaking is for eternal purposes – We limit God to this finite world when we fail to remember He is an infinite God. When we are trying to discern God’s voice through the circumstances of life we should consider how what is happening around us fits into God’s eternal plan to save a lost world from destruction and to mold His children into the image of His Son. God’s primary activity will be in these areas of our life. I’ve always been able to see how God’s specific plan for me lined up with His desire to invite a world to know Him.

Hearing from God is critical for the children of God to know God’s will for our life.

Our mission is to learn how to hear His voice. We must listen intently and carefully for His voice through the crowd of noises in the world in which we live. Thankfully God has not given up on us, but is still speaking to His people today.

Are you in a season of trying to hear from God?

Share your story to help (This is a revised post from previous posts.

Sometimes God uses one situation to get my attention in another.

Let me explain.

Today at Grace Community Church we ordained Ben Reed to the ministry. Ben is community groups pastor at Grace. In our tradition, ordination is separate from licensing. We see licensing as the act of making Ben legal to perform marriages and meet state requirements as a minister. Ben has been licensed for several years. Ordination is a more symbolic act of a church body recognizing a person who is fit for ministry. It’s a ceremonial way of acknowledging Ben’s obvious calling.

Ben waited for ordination until he had served long enough with a church that could easily validate him and his calling. That would easy for us at Grace. Ben is one of the nicest guys I know. He’s mature, a great leader, and a wonderful husband and father. I consider Ben a close friend and I genuinely feel I could trust Ben with my life.

As the elders of Grace met with Ben recently, one piece of advice came to my mind for Ben. I believe it’s a sobering word for all of us.

I said to Ben:

Satan loves to mess with the good guys…

It’s true. It’s true of churches and individuals. If everything is going well for you, watch out, Satan will come trying to disrupt things. He loves to steal the good marriages. He loves to spread lies within the good churches. He loves to bring tension during times of triumph. Satan loves to destroy the work of God. If he can mess with a good marriage, for example, those outside the church are more likely to question God. (Surely you’ve seen this…)

Of course, Satan doesn’t limit his work to the times of plenty, but those times often distract us from our need to protect ourselves from the enemy. I’m thankful Ben’s ordination reminded me to stand guard.

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.
1 Corinthians 16:13

Have you noticed Satan seem to enjoy destroying the good guys?

Just because something is simple doesn’t mean it is easy

Simple directions to a gas grille…never easy…

Simplifying things for people…may make them easier to understand…

But won’t make them easy…

You can simplify the terms or the make the process seem easy to follow…

But nothing of any great quality is ever really easy…

You can have a simple diet plan, but following it won’t be easy…

You can simplify for someone how they should train to run a marathon, but it won’t be easy…

I can even give you some simple principles to improve your marriage, your parenting or your leadership, (I try to do that every day) but they won’t be easy…

Becoming a mature follower of Christ…a disciple…I can tell you how to do that in fairly simple terms…I try to do that when I preach and teach…

Just remember…

Simple doesn’t mean easy…

Help this post: Name one thing that sounds simple, but isn’t easy…

As we continue our Mark series this summer, recently I addressed the story of the rich young man…or as some call it…the rich young ruler. This story has always intrigued me, because Jesus says some things that stretch my mind.

Have you ever seen wealth cloud someone’s judgement?

…was not just about me?

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4

What if…

Instead of going to be encouraged…we went to encourage others…

Instead of hoping to sing my favorite song…we hoped to sing “their” favorite song…

Instead of looking to be served…we intentionally served others…

Instead of waiting to be welcomed…we welcomed others first…

Instead of asking to be prayed for…if we sought to pray for others…

Instead of going to receive a blessing…we went to be a blessing…

What difference would it make in our church experience? 

Of course, church is ultimately not about either of us…it’s about Jesus…

But, church is also where people who want to make much of Jesus gather to grow, fellowship and worship Jesus…

So, I wonder how our church experience would be made different, if we approached it considering the interest of others…

Just wondering…

What do you think?