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  • Jesus Quest #4: Make a Genuine Sacrifice for Those with Less

    Jesus Quest #4: Make a Genuine Sacrifice for Those with Less
    2025/09/15
    Hi Disciple!Money. In 2 Corinthians 8-10 Paul spends three whole chapters just talking about giving money away. There's tipping, then there's truly sacrificing something you love to meet the true need of another person who is suffering and stuck.I was raised in an ascending lower middle class family. My dad's people were hard-working farmers and turpentine gatherers. Not much money in that. My dad's generation got more education and all of them left farming for factory and professional jobs. My dad became an accountant and rose to become the head of the entire international firm. That’s America. This journey took a lifetime.My generation across the extended family got the benefit of our parent’s steady rise. I think all of us got the education we wanted and with it all the opportunities we could pursue. Like all other families, we had times when money was short and we had to work harder to have the things we wanted.We always had food, shelter, and clothing, however. For this, I'm so grateful.For the past 35 years Sherry and I have lived in Southeast Asia and in the last 10 years we’ve been working closely with a ministry focused on trafficking which connects to the deepest kind of poverty. I sat at a table in a communist country with ministry friends talking to a young lady, modestly dressed, about her current work as a prostitute. She said she was from the mountains, doing this job to try and get the money to pay someone to take her to Malaysia so she could get a job in a factory. Poverty is complicated. I’m not sure there’s a clear formula for eradicating it. In general, good food and a chance to get an education seem to be a working prescription. This young lady’s entire life story could've been rewritten had she just been embraced by a local church that loved her and saw her potential and would help her find transformation through Jesus. There she could have put her chaotic childhood to good use as fuel for a determination to break the cycle in her own life and for her family members. She intended to send her factory wages home to them.The body of Christ is so powerful when it pulls together.At other times there’s a disaster and God’s people sacrifice and throw their tools and extra beddings and food in the backs of pickup trucks and fly out to give help in those crucial first hours after a tornado, flood or fire.We can feel God’s smile on us in those times.Paul’s Counsel to the CorinthiansIf you read 2 Corinthians 8-10 you'll find Paul telling the church that they need to put some system into their good intentions. Most people have good intentions. They sincerely want to be a blessing on the Earth.Paul reminds this gifted, wealthy church that good intentions are not enough. They need to make a plan as givers, set giving goals, and start pooling the money up, not waiting for a moment of inspiration.Sherry and I have been able to give every day of our lives to world evangelism and the training of a new generation of leaders because of a set of friends who emerged in the first ten years of our journey (you know who you are). These friends made a plan and told us, “You can count on us monthly for X amount. We won’t stop as long as we have jobs.” We’ve watched our friends return from the field year by year because they lacked a group of friends like ours. Systems matter. Systems make things happen.Maybe it’s an extra 5% set aside to create your giving pool. Maybe it’s that emergency $100 in your wallet. Some kind of plan so that when you see someone pumping gas into a milk jug to carry to their broke down car you can put some money in their hand and give them a ride back to their car.This Jesus Quest is about stepping up your level of sacrifice for those who are in trouble so you can be God’s hands extended to them.It’s a happy lesson, because it’s one of the big ways we can all fulfill our purpose as humans created to be the image of God.Hope you Enjoy this Quest and work on it daily!Every Blessing, ChuckPS: Your daily prompt questions are below the video for this week.Thanks for reading Grounded! This post is public so feel free to share it.Here are the prompts for your devotional time this week:## Jesus Quest Week 4: Making Genuine Sacrifice for the Poor### Day 1: Recognizing the Poor Among Us**Scripture Reference:** Deuteronomy 15:11> "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land."**Reflection:** This week Jesus Quest has us trying to decide how to rewrite the life story of other people by intervening in life conditions caused by poverty. For example, no little girl dreams of being a prostitute someday—that life generally comes to the poor. Some families suffer from generational poverty and they just can't reach high enough to unlock the door to a better life. God will bless us so we can be a blessing to them and boost them up through interventions so ...
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    8 分
  • Jesus Quest #3: Fixing Your Damaged Relationships by Apologizing

    Jesus Quest #3: Fixing Your Damaged Relationships by Apologizing
    2025/09/08
    Humans Need Community Humans require community in order to survive. We are not like sharks or some other solitary animal which can do just fine on their own. From the dawn of time, we survive because we build communities that develop into civilization. With that arrangement, there will be security from predators, more than enough food, and extra hands to help everyone survive. The greatest threat to human survival is not a T-Rex, it turns out. We have survived every apex predator that has walked the Earth in our time on the planet. The greatest threat to humans is simply the breakdown in their feelings for one another. Friends become enemies, and the love we felt before can become channeled into a murderous rage. Fixing damaged relationships matters to God.Jesus said that we should not bother to continue with our religious practices of church going and Bible study, making prayers, or offering sacrifices to God, until we have fixed our damaged relationships. He said just leave the gift at the altar and go fix it, then come back and God will want to be with you. He will even leave his blessing on the works of your hands, but only if you fix things. Fixing things often requires an apology on your part.How to Destroy an ApologyThere are two ways to torpedo an apology even after you gathered up the courage to face the problem with someone you’ve hurt. “But”—you can spend 20 minutes, apologizing with absolute sincerity, then, as you wipe your tears and blow your nose this one little word can undo everything you have said. Do not end an apology with the word “but”. You're gonna be so tempted to offer some kind of justification for what you have done so it won't be quite as bad on you but resist the temptation. Just put a period at the end of that apology and say, "So I hope you can forgive me for doing that” and then look at them until they speak. Probably it will get really easy at that point and you may have saved your friendship, working relationship or even your marriage.“If” —this is not quite as bad as the last word, but it is a form of equivocation, sort of like a plea bargain with the judge, when you are trying to get the crime down to a misdemeanor. “I'm sorry if I might've done something that might have contributed…” :-) that's a really cowardly way to start things off.By adding the word “if” to the apology, we muddy the water. Did you do something wrong or not? If you did not, then don't apologize. If you did, then toughen up and give a legitimate apology, admitting what you did. Even if you don’t feel that you did the wrong (and who does?) if you have a messed up relationship there’s probably something you could legitimately apologize for just to get the conversation started. Apologize for any little thing you have contributed, and then say something like, “I value our friendship and I really don't want anything to mess that up.” Smile and wait for them to speak.The point is that as far as Jesus is concerned, it's not OK to scratch off relationship after relationship because something went wrong and you are not willing to go face that person and try to save your relationship.So, if we want to be a disciple of his, we have to live by a higher standard than that. Here’s this week’s Jesus Quest challenge.Grounded is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.And here are this week’s prayer prompts:## Jesus Quest Week 3: Fixing Damaged Relationships - Apologizing and Making Restitution### Day 1: Examining Your Heart and Taking Responsibility**Scripture Reference:** Matthew 7:3-5> "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."Reflection: Before we can effectively repair damaged relationships, Jesus calls us to honest self-examination. This week we are going to do some amazing repair work on our relational network, but it begins with taking responsibility for our own contributions to relational damage. The Holy Spirit will guide us in strengthening these relationships and mitigating any pain being felt by others.Prompts:1. How does Jesus' teaching about removing the plank from your own eye apply to your damaged relationships?2. Have you done anything that contributed to the problems in your damaged relationships?3. What patterns do you see in your relational conflicts that might indicate areas where you need to grow?4. Are you willing to take responsibility for your part in relational damage, even when the other person was also wrong?5. What fears or pride might be preventing you from taking the first step toward reconciliation?6. Who is the Holy Spirit telling you ...
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    11 分
  • Jesus Quest #2: Forgive Everyone for Everything

    Jesus Quest #2: Forgive Everyone for Everything
    2025/09/01
    Hi! Hope you are having a great day today and also that last week’s focus on walking with Jesus as a true disciple has brought new growth into your life.Forgiveness WeekToday week 2 of our 7-week discipleship sprint begins! This week is about fixing our heart and cleaning out the hurts. In live we accumulate wounds. Some are suffered in our childhood. Others come through a failed romantic love. Probably the deepest and most abiding happen in our family. It could be from your extended family, or your mom and dad, your brothers, or even your children or grandchildren. There are betrayals in our career usually because money and position are involved. Then, there are those horrible hurts that occur in church. Usually we don't see these coming and they really hit us hard. Any of these that stick to us rob us of joy and interfere with the forgiveness Jesus wants to bring to us.So this week, we're gonna deal with all that stuff and get rid of it, OK? Here are your Prayer Prompts: Use one each day as your devotional time with the Lord. They are designed to unearth hidden hurts so you can follow the process of:1. Listing the person who did it2. Writing exactly what they did3. Describing how it affected you 4. Declaring them as released from all debt to youYou may think that you don’t need to do this because you did it once already, but let’s follow the program anyway and ask the Holy Spirit to do a deep healing this week in you. Long term marriage generally had lots of irritation under the skin as you repeat in your mind some well-worn criticisms of your partner. This is the week to let it all go and start living with more freedom. Prayer Prompts### Day 1: Wounds Received in Your Family**Scripture Reference:** Zechariah 13:6-7> "And they shall say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'"**Additional Reading:** Genesis 44-45 (Joseph's revelation of himself to his betraying brothers. You can tell he has long ago forgiven them and sees the sovereign purpose of God even in their treachery against him.)**Reflection:** Welcome to Forgiveness Week! Today we begin our journey into forgiveness by thinking about the wounds we have all suffered in our family and intimate friendship circle. Because family is supposed to be the safe place in our life, and the one place we would never expect to receive hurt, these wounds go the deepest. They also come the earliest in our life, and since we are still in formation, the impact of these wounds is generally felt for the rest of our lives.**Forgiveness Protocol:** This week we will begin a long time of soul cleansing. This will entail something of a ceremony of forgiveness. Forgiveness is the cancelling of a debt. In order to do this we must name the debtor, state exactly what they did to us, and explain how their actions affected us. That's the debt, our of our heart and now recorded officially on paper. The only remaining step is to go before the Lord and say, "I release you" to each debtor. They owe us nothing from this point on. We are free to move on in life with the matter at rest in the lap of the great Judge of the earth.Take a blank sheet of paper and make four columns for the following headings: Name, What they Did, How it Affected Me, I Forgive them. Day by day we will carefully examine the path of our lives to unearth buried hurts we have received and release these person and the wound they caused us.**Prompts:**1. Looking back at your early childhood, can you identify a hurt or rejection that still affects how you see yourself or trust others today?2. In your teen years or young adulthood, what wounds—whether from parents, siblings or extended relatives—still carry weight in your heart?3. Were you assaulted by a family member or close friend?4. Were you hurt by a system of favoritism within your family?5. Were you betrayed by anyone in your inner circle?6. Were you sexually wounded by someone you trusted?7. Were you physically or verbally abused by family members?8. Did someone in your family introduce you to dark or harmful things?Ask the Lord to help you surface wounds received in your family as a child, young person or even now. We praying for you this week to go through the deepest cleansing your heart has ever known.---### Day 2: Forgiving Wounds Received in Romantic Relationships**Scripture Reference:** 1 Peter 4:8> "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."**Reflection:** Romantic relationships, while often sources of joy and connection, can also lead to deep emotional, psychological, and spiritual wounds due to their intimate nature. Below is a detailed exploration of specific ways a person can be wounded in romantic relationships. As you survey your relational past, think on ways you might have been wounded and are just trying to ignore it instead of facing it and forgiving it.**Prompts:**1. How does Peter's teaching ...
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    6 分
  • Oh No! Only 18 Weeks Left in the Year!

    Oh No! Only 18 Weeks Left in the Year!
    2025/08/26
    OK, I just lifted my head from my work today (writing a book and putting the finishing touches on our two upcoming schools in Thailand (Photojournalism and Content Creation for missions) and realized there were only 18 week’s left in the entire year. This happens every year.I putt along being busy, always busy, then on some day about 2/3 through the year, I realize how short the time is if I want to make this one a “significant” year. (Mid life does the same thing in a much more scary way, right?)Jesus QuestJQ is the most amazing thing I’ve been involved with all year. We’ve seen “old time Christians” revived in their faith and newbies grounded on their journey with Jesus.So, I’d like to propose a challenge for you. I’m going to do a seven week Jesus Quest sprint via email blast and I really hope you’ll join and make it a priority. It may very well be the most important thing you’ll do all year.How it’s DifferentJesus Quest is not a Bible study. It’s a guided group experience in Action Discipleship. That means we actually DO, not talk about, one practice of Jesus each week. It becomes our focus all week in our devotions and it is the ONE item on our daily to do list. Hope you’re ready! When will it Start?More Good News! No waiting! Let’s start now.Click the Video Below. Check the CHAT below all week for our ongoing reports on what Jesus is teaching all of us as we do his teachings. We’re going to actually be disciples of Jesus, not just students of the Bible! Jesus Quest Week One: Master Your ThingsHere are the Prayer prompts for this week: Spend 15 minutes each day before the Lord working your way through an honest conversation with the Holy Spirit to answer these questions. Then get up from your prayer time and take action. The point is to do the teachings and practices of Jesus, not just study them. If you will dedicate yourself to applying the ways of God to your own life, you will see tremendous progress in your life in just seven weeks.---## Jesus Quest Week 1: Mastering Your Things - Let Jesus Help You Master Things### Day 1: Mastering Things We Ingest - Food, Drink, Medicines, and Stimulants**Scripture Reference:** 1 Corinthians 6:19-20> "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."**Reflection:** Our bodies are a gift from God, and what we choose to ingest impacts our health and well-being. Jesus invites us to trust Him for health and healing rather than relying excessively on substances or fearing unhealthiness. When we view our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, our consumption choices become acts of worship and stewardship.**Prompts:**1. How does viewing your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit change your perspective on what you choose to ingest?2. Are there unhealthy habits or fears controlling your choices about what you eat, drink, or consume?3. What substances—food, drink, medicines, or stimulants—might be hindering your physical health or spiritual well-being?4. Are there habits of hoarding, overeating, or over-relying on medications that may indicate a need to trust God more for your health and safety?5. Do you over-medicate? What does that say about you?6. Do you celebrate and honor your experience of eating good meals, savoring your meals and focusing on the power of a shared meal to build relationships?---### Day 2: Trust in God's Provision - Houses, Clothing, and Resources**Scripture Reference:** Matthew 6:25-26, 31-33> "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ... So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."**Reflection:** God provides all of us daily with all that we need—our homes, clothing, and resources. Today is an opportunity to release what no longer serves us, freeing our hearts and minds for the new days to come. It is also a time to celebrate the lifetime provision promised from our Father. We can live in peace, confident that our needs will always be met.**Prompts:**1. Despite all the blessings in your life, is there any poverty mindset still living in you that contradicts Jesus' teaching about God's provision?2. Is your space cluttered by too many possessions? Do you have an obsessive need to continually buy more things?3. Do you have expensive possessions that make you feel a trace of arrogance or superiority over others?4. Do you ...
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    8 分
  • Knowing Who You Really Are in Christ

    Knowing Who You Really Are in Christ
    2025/05/13
    Today, I want to talk about the importance of knowing who you really are.From the moment of birth we start trying to answer the questions: Who am I and why am I here? (e.g., Is there purpose in my life?) and I’m not sure most people ever fully answer it.The problem is what you use to identify yourself.Traditionally,1. Personal Characteristics and TraitsPersonality: “I’m introverted, creative, or compassionate.”Skills and Talents: Proficiency in areas like art, athletics, or intellectual pursuits can shape identity (e.g., "I am a writer" or "I am an athlete").Values and Beliefs: “I’m passionate about…”2. Cultural and Ethnic BackgroundEthnicity and Heritage: "I am Nigerian" or "I am Italian-American".Language: “I’m a native Spanish speaker…” The language(s) one speaks can be a strong marker of identity, connecting individuals to their community or diaspora.* Religion and Spirituality:Many people derive identity from their religious or spiritual beliefs (e.g., "I am a Christian," "I am a Buddhist").4. Family and Relationships:Lineage: Some find identity in their family history or legacy.Familial Roles: People often identify as a parent, sibling, or child, with family dynamics playing a significant role (e.g., "I am a mother").5. Occupation and Career: “I’m a sales rep for a northeastern paper company…”6. Social and Political Affiliations:Political Beliefs: People may identify with ideologies or movements, such as liberalism, conservatism, or environmentalism (e.g., "I am a feminist").Nationality: Citizenship or allegiance to a country often plays a role (e.g., "I am American").7. Hobbies and Interests:- Passions, such as gaming, music, or travel, can be central to identity (e.g., "I am a gamer" or "I am an adventurer").8. Nowadays we’re encouraged to identify ourselves by our traumas: “I’m a survivor of childhood abuse…” “I’m a breast cancer survivor,” OR by our victimhood in having a life condition we aren’t responsible for: “I’m bipolar, etc.”9. And the new idea that our entire identity is completely perceptual and fluid, such as Identifying as an animal or a mythical creature. (There’s a huge difference in saying, “I can identify with cats…” Vs “I identify as a cat.”The problem with all of this is that…It’s mostly external to us, just the random factors in our life (e.g., being born male).It may be dependent upon our performance and the acceptance of a social group to maintain this identity. (Nobody gets to be a pilot forever).As a Christian seeking a stable and meaningful identity you need to look no further than the first page of the Bible, the creation narrative.The Bible grounds human identity in a relationship with God, and our God-given role in this world.* Creatures made with special purpose by a loving God Psalm 139:13-14 “Fearfully and wonderfully made”* The Image of God on earth: - Genesis 1:26-27: “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness’… So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”This is God’s settled truth for every human being whether you love him, hate him or refuse to even accept His existence.But there’s more…Jesus takes our identity so much farther than the Genesis account alone.The Gospel declares that our identity can also become rooted in the Work of Christ—it’s our choice and depends upon our response to the finished work of Jesus for us.3. Jesus came to set us free from the bondage we have fallen into, a slavery to Sin and to Satan. If we will accept his gift and follow him as Lord, then we will feel the power of sin broken and the dominion of Satan voided.4. Purchased by blood. “I am redeemed, highly valued and deeply loved with unconditional love.”5. Re-created internally by Christ with the promise of being recreated physically after our death by resurrection into an eternal body.2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”6. Adopted into the family of God. Living forever as his child.7. Restored to dominion in life. With Satan’s rule over me ended I am again established with dominion and control over my own world.8. Authorized to use the name of Jesus to fight Satan and call down the resources I need.9. Provided with unbroken direct access to the Father. I am always connected to Him and welcomed to come before His throne.10. A member of the human family of God, surrounded by sweet people who are also walking in this light. I’m a part of the global body of Christ.11. A temple for the Holy Spirit, filled within by the mind and presence of God himself, led and empowered by the Spirit of God to do the works God has prepared for me.12. My life has a calling and a purpose as I work with my Father to invite humans to return to him and reclaim their high callingEphesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, ...
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    15 分
  • Why You Need an "If Not" clause in Your Covenant with God

    Why You Need an "If Not" clause in Your Covenant with God
    2025/03/18
    We demand a lot out of God.I don't know if you have any of those one-sided relationships, maybe with a relative or even a grown up kid who is always asking for money and others kinds of help. They get miffed if you don't come through for them every time.I think we treat God like that too often. We face a circumstance that seems hard so immediately we pass it to him for help because—well that's his job right? It’s like a contract with God. We agree to worship him and he does miracles. All our lives it’s on him to heal our diseases, provide finances, and occasionally stop rainy weather or keep airplanes from taking off on time so we don’t miss our flight. Concierge service. Whatever we might need from on high.Uncle Luther’s “If Not” SermonMy uncle Luther (Earnest Quinley to the rest of the world) is a huge influence in my life. He was the only preacher in our family before me. He has a great sermon on this aspect of our relationship with God. I heard it once and I have preached the idea so many times through the years. It’s so helpful that I want to share it with you too.It comes from the story of the fiery furnace and the three Hebrew boys in Babylon. I can't imagine a greater trial. Death by fire—so horrible.You probably know this story by heart. Shadrach, Mechach and Abed-nego have been ordered to bow down before the golden statue erected by King Nebuchadnezzar. Every one of their friends, and even their elders, has prostrated before the image immediately. The three of them alone remain standing. The king was humiliated because they were the three top leaders in his government after Daniel. He cannot allow this level of insubordination, especially from foreigners serving in government positions.The Bible says he was enraged. (You can read the story in Daniel chapter 3.) He orders a massive fire to be built with a large chimney over it. Just imagine watching this fire and knowing that you were about to be thrown into it. You know these three Jewish men were hard at prayer for God to help them escape the fire.When the fire is hot enough, Nebuchadnezzar stands them up in front of everyone and shouts at them that he will give them one last chance. The symphony is going to play music again and they had better bow down before his gods or they're going to be thrown into that big fire.In verse 16 they shock the king with these words: "O Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand O King.”On the One Hand, You Have to Have A Bold FaithFaith is really important when you are dealing with God. You have to have absolute confidence in his power and in his love and relationship with you. You have to claim the good things that you are praying for. These boys know that and they declare their faith in God's ability to deliver them even when there is no possibility of human intervention.So that's the first part of this message. God is our lifeline for everything we need. We rely on him for our planet’s survival every day when millions of asteroids come flying at us and the Sun's radiation tries to burn us up, and diseases try to kill all our bodies. He stands up for us every day and strengthens our immune system and gives the Earth a magnetic field that pushes away the radiation and an oxygen-rich environment that burns up the asteroids. It's really so wonderful. He is a present help to all. Anyone who walks with him in faith throughout life will be rescued time and time again.Most of the time God comes through for us just as we requested. It's really amazing. Maybe his reliability is one of the things that makes it feel like a contract. We do our part he does his. But God is GodIf we are really going to have a relationship with him, we have to acknowledge that he is God and that we cannot control him completely even with prayer and that sometimes we might not get the thing we are requesting. Even if we don't, he's still good. That's the second part of this lesson and these mature men of God fully understand it. Sometimes God is at work on something bigger than you and you may even have to be sacrificed for the greater good and you may never know the details in this life. If you're going to walk with God, love him and be loved by him then you just have to trust him for the things you do not understand and still serve him even if you don't get your miracle.The “If Not” ClauseAfter their first bold speech about trusting God, they add a PS. “but if not… let it be known to you or King that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”My uncle Luther said that we all need an “if not” clause in our walk with God. So many people give up on their relationship with God because they become disappointed over one event. (OK, maybe more than one.) God is God. He's not a big man. His plans are huge. We’re not...
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    13 分
  • Becoming Interruptible

    Becoming Interruptible
    2025/02/25
    Jesus seemed to consider interruption as a valuable opportunity. I wish I felt this way. I’m working on it. That’s what this newsletter is about.Whether they needed practical help, a word of encouragement, or physical healing, Jesus saw human interruptions as golden opportunity to add value to the lives of others. He lived an interruptible life.The Interruptible SamaritanLet’s zoom in today on the masterpiece story Jesus told in Luke 10:25-37. The Parable of the Good Samaritan.Jesus crafted this parable to drive home a point about what righteousness looks like in reality. The message of this story strikes such a deep chord in us that we’ve been retelling it for 2,000 years. The story is dramatic. A man is traveling alone by foot when he is ambushed by robbers who savagely beat him, steal his money and clothes, and leave him half-dead on the ground.Two religious leaders, a priest and a scholar, are shocked to discover this wounded man in the ditch. They know they should help, but they are busy and important and don’t really want to get involved so they walk on the other side of the road and leave their fellow man helpless and alone. Even as they hurry to their temple duties and Bible study it is assumed that they remain certain of their righteousness before God.Then a foreigner, an outcast, happens by. He’s someone from a group everyone thinks of as low, unrighteous people, so far from being like God. Yet, when the mongrel outcast sees this wounded man, he drops everything and rushes to help him. He gets blood all over himself, carries the man to safety, washes, and bandages the man's wounds, then transports him to an inn to rest. He recruits a caregiver for him. He even promises to pay any further costs to make sure this Jewish man (who might have despised him on any other day) recovers fully. He’s just doing what his heart tells him naturally to do. He is abundantly interruptible as a person. He reflects the nature of God. He is living as a man in God’s image. He is righteous.Our Samaritan OpportunitiesI bring up this story for myself as well as for you. We really need this teaching today because in our modern world we are just so busy. We’ve got a never-ending to-do list. Every moment counts, right?On our busiest days it still happens to us. Out of the corner of our eye we spot someone struggling. Maybe it's the old guy next door, his arms full of grocery bags, looking like he might drop them any second. Or someone who's clearly lost, looking around trying to find their way. Maybe it’s someone who gets emotional at work and clearly needs someone to talk to.There's this voice from our better self urging us, ”Go!, help out."But then there's the counterforceThe excuses:* I'm Too Busy to Stop: Helping would mean a delay, a disruption in my carefully planned day.* I'm Too Shy to Help: I have social anxiety. What if they don't want or need my help? What if it's awkward? Or Let's call it what it is -* I'm…just feeling selfish, because most times it’s not really about the time lost or any other factor. We just want to keep our bubble of comfort intact. We love our bubble more than we love others. May sound harsh, but it’s the fact with too many people. Jesus said that one of the signs of the last age was that the “love of many would grow cold.”Walking with Jesus isn't about doing grand acts of heroism; it's about responding to simple moments with the people he puts right in front of you.A Challenge for the WeekOur discipleship challenge for this week is to actually look forward to a miracle moment each day where God positions you to help someone in need. Just ask God to make it happen. Ask him to put you in position for a GSM (Good Samaritan Moment), when someone shows up with a need. Ask the Lord for the privilege of being interrupted so you can act as God’s own hands, his voice, his kind eyes. Pray it over and over till you mean it. That’s what I have to do to knock down resistance in my own mind.What an opportunity! A chance to work with God.The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us to be available for others, even when it's inconvenient. It’s a call to cultivate a lifestyle that considers interruption a golden opportunity to add value to another person’s life in the name of the Lord.So this week let’s embrace interruption. When you see a need, stop what you are doing and act on it, even if it disrupts your plans.I’m going to do it and I hope you will join me. Share the stories in the comments below or in the chat. It’s going to be amazing! (How cool if this became our actual lifestyle!)Walking With You in His Footsteps,CQ Get full access to Grounded at www.quinley.com/subscribe
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    5 分
  • How God Trains us to be the Kings of this World

    How God Trains us to be the Kings of this World
    2025/02/04

    Hi! Sherry and I just landed stateside again. It’s like shifting planets for me. We have an entire life in Thailand and SE Asia with a unique set of friends and daily occupation that goes on for months and months. Then the plane teleports us stateside and, Boom! we’re into an entirely different reality, complete with a different set of friends and family and different daily rhythms.

    All this to say that this will be a short writeup so I can get this post done on time this week. I put most of the work in the video version.

    In this episode of the podcast, I want to focus on the big picture of God's plan for your life and mine and the profound but simple training system that He has developed to help us grow into his image. You would think, that with Him being God, His training system for us would be very complex, but actually it has only one central element to it and if we can all focus on just this one thing every day we will become aligned with His heart.

    It's the same system, no matter where we fit in society’s hierarchy. Rich or poor, educated or illiterate, blue collar, or white collar work, every one of his children is destined to become a functioning member of God’s Royal family, extending his governance across the Earth. Our training starts now.

    Hope you enjoy the video and find it helpful in helping you grow into your life’s calling.

    Today’s discussion topic: What Bible story has had the most impact at shaping your life?

    Every Blessing!

    Chuck



    Get full access to Grounded at www.quinley.com/subscribe
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    28 分