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Johnny Long - Recovering
Pharisee, author and
teacher of Grace4Life
Pharisee, author and
teacher of Grace4Life
GnomeSane Web Productions © Copyright 2008 by John Wade Long, Jr. - All Rights Reserved
Masthead photo: Mwnt, Wales on the Irish Sea
Yahoo! Web Hosting
Masthead photo: Mwnt, Wales on the Irish Sea
Yahoo! Web Hosting
| Quote of the Month - July 2008 |
Please,
sign our
GuestBook.
Thanks!
sign our
GuestBook.
Thanks!
Make some tracks!
_________________________
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NOTICE!
Grace4Life courses
are currently meeting
fortnightly at two
venues:
1. WEDNESDAYS
2:30 - 4:30 PM at St. John's
Wood Baptist Church. July
2, 16, 30 (break for August)
2. FRIDAYS 10:00 AM
to 12:00 Noon - London
Theological Seminary - Flat
No. 2. July 4, 18, 1 August
(then break for the month)
It's much too late to
play catch-up for this
round, of course, but...
if you would like to sit in on
a session to get a taste for
the future, zip me an e-mail
so I can print you an extras
set of notes for that day:
johnwadelong@gmail.com
______________
Malack & Caroline Airo
joined Becky and me for a long
lunch - great fellowship over
charcoal grilled ribeye steaks
(nyama choma) seasoned with
Becky's special marinade!
Makack was in our church
plant in Nairobi waaaay back
in 1976-77.
The Airos are now living and
working in London. Malack is
with DHL; Caroline is a nurse.
_____________
Grace4Life courses
are currently meeting
fortnightly at two
venues:
1. WEDNESDAYS
2:30 - 4:30 PM at St. John's
Wood Baptist Church. July
2, 16, 30 (break for August)
2. FRIDAYS 10:00 AM
to 12:00 Noon - London
Theological Seminary - Flat
No. 2. July 4, 18, 1 August
(then break for the month)
It's much too late to
play catch-up for this
round, of course, but...
if you would like to sit in on
a session to get a taste for
the future, zip me an e-mail
so I can print you an extras
set of notes for that day:
johnwadelong@gmail.com
______________
Malack & Caroline Airo
joined Becky and me for a long
lunch - great fellowship over
charcoal grilled ribeye steaks
(nyama choma) seasoned with
Becky's special marinade!
Makack was in our church
plant in Nairobi waaaay back
in 1976-77.
The Airos are now living and
working in London. Malack is
with DHL; Caroline is a nurse.
_____________
Welcome!
Come in, poke around, and listen to the "music" of the Gospel.
______________________________________________________________
What is "Grace4Life"? Grace4Life is a multi-faceted ministry of spiritual
mentoring designed to equip Christian workers and their congregations to lead lives
of fruitful service for the glory of God - AND - to do so motivated by love rather
than guilt, fear or a desire to gain acceptance with God and others.
___________________________________________
StraightTalk .....
TOWARD A SPIRITUAL PARADIGM SHIFT
Where do we get the power to change and help others change - I mean deeply change
- from the inside out rather by merely "rearranging the furniture" on the surface of our
lives? Power. Now there's the rub.
STRANGE as it may sound, the power to grow to be more like Jesus comes as we keep
believing in him in the same way we did at first. Paul called the Galatian Christians
"foolish" because they had moved away from a focus on Jesus's work for them to a
reliance on their attempts to make themselves pleasing to God. They were Christians
who had "forgotten" the Gospel! [Gal.3:1-5]
As one who traveled that sorry path for far too many years - flogging myself and others
with an endless list of obligations - I can tell you, it's pure misery for both the flogger and
the floggees.
JESUS REDUCED all of obedience to two simple commands: love God with all your heart;
love your neighbour as you love yourself." "On these two," he added, "hang all the law
and the prophets." (Matt. 22:34ff) That is a rather astounding bit of news - "love, and
you fulfill the whole law." Paul said the same thing (See Rom.13:8ff; Gal.5:6).
I know what it is to have all the right doctrine but to fail miserably at loving others well -
where Jesus said "the rubber meets the road". Even now, my sinful nature will be
pushing me to use rather than love God and others (viz. Rom.7). My pattern was - and
but for the grace of God will be - using people rather than loving them. Had you
suggested that my life needed a little tweaking here and there, I might have agreed -
with reluctance. I was blind to the fact that I needed a whole new life - a major paradigm
shift concerning what it meant to be "in Christ." When you have 20 minutes to spare,
read my sad-happy mini-novel, "The Gospel Lost & Found" on the ABOUT US link.
One thing for sure, I'm an expert at living the Christian life wrong (when you practise
anything for a quarter-Century, you get mighty good at it), so I'm eminently qualified to
help those who have fallen into the Galatian trap.
Aside from the outright heresies that are floating about in our day (questioning the
classic understanding of justification by faith being the most serious) , this loss of a
conscious confidence in what Francis Schaeffer called "the present value of the blood of
Jesus Christ for our lives" is the most deadly, joy-sapping, energy-robbing trap we can
fall into. [See the Schaeffer excerpt in SAMPLE LESSON BITS.]
THE PURPOSE OF OUR MINISTRY IS to awaken us - the Church - to the power God has
made available to us in the Gospel as we consciously clothe ourselves in the
righteousness of Jesus rather than trying to manufacture our own - like the Galatians.
TO THIS END, we offer several study courses, all aimed at training us in how to live and
minister using the energy the Holy Spirit supplies as we believe the Gospel (Gal. 3:5).
Please take a minute or two to read some of the TESTIMONIALS about how this ministry
has impacted people - pastors, missionaries and lay people.
________________________________________
Come in, poke around, and listen to the "music" of the Gospel.
______________________________________________________________
What is "Grace4Life"? Grace4Life is a multi-faceted ministry of spiritual
mentoring designed to equip Christian workers and their congregations to lead lives
of fruitful service for the glory of God - AND - to do so motivated by love rather
than guilt, fear or a desire to gain acceptance with God and others.
___________________________________________
StraightTalk .....
TOWARD A SPIRITUAL PARADIGM SHIFT
Where do we get the power to change and help others change - I mean deeply change
- from the inside out rather by merely "rearranging the furniture" on the surface of our
lives? Power. Now there's the rub.
STRANGE as it may sound, the power to grow to be more like Jesus comes as we keep
believing in him in the same way we did at first. Paul called the Galatian Christians
"foolish" because they had moved away from a focus on Jesus's work for them to a
reliance on their attempts to make themselves pleasing to God. They were Christians
who had "forgotten" the Gospel! [Gal.3:1-5]
As one who traveled that sorry path for far too many years - flogging myself and others
with an endless list of obligations - I can tell you, it's pure misery for both the flogger and
the floggees.
JESUS REDUCED all of obedience to two simple commands: love God with all your heart;
love your neighbour as you love yourself." "On these two," he added, "hang all the law
and the prophets." (Matt. 22:34ff) That is a rather astounding bit of news - "love, and
you fulfill the whole law." Paul said the same thing (See Rom.13:8ff; Gal.5:6).
I know what it is to have all the right doctrine but to fail miserably at loving others well -
where Jesus said "the rubber meets the road". Even now, my sinful nature will be
pushing me to use rather than love God and others (viz. Rom.7). My pattern was - and
but for the grace of God will be - using people rather than loving them. Had you
suggested that my life needed a little tweaking here and there, I might have agreed -
with reluctance. I was blind to the fact that I needed a whole new life - a major paradigm
shift concerning what it meant to be "in Christ." When you have 20 minutes to spare,
read my sad-happy mini-novel, "The Gospel Lost & Found" on the ABOUT US link.
One thing for sure, I'm an expert at living the Christian life wrong (when you practise
anything for a quarter-Century, you get mighty good at it), so I'm eminently qualified to
help those who have fallen into the Galatian trap.
Aside from the outright heresies that are floating about in our day (questioning the
classic understanding of justification by faith being the most serious) , this loss of a
conscious confidence in what Francis Schaeffer called "the present value of the blood of
Jesus Christ for our lives" is the most deadly, joy-sapping, energy-robbing trap we can
fall into. [See the Schaeffer excerpt in SAMPLE LESSON BITS.]
THE PURPOSE OF OUR MINISTRY IS to awaken us - the Church - to the power God has
made available to us in the Gospel as we consciously clothe ourselves in the
righteousness of Jesus rather than trying to manufacture our own - like the Galatians.
TO THIS END, we offer several study courses, all aimed at training us in how to live and
minister using the energy the Holy Spirit supplies as we believe the Gospel (Gal. 3:5).
Please take a minute or two to read some of the TESTIMONIALS about how this ministry
has impacted people - pastors, missionaries and lay people.
________________________________________
A WELCOME from me
to you:
PASTORS, PARENTS,
DISCIPLERS...
Do you have a tool in your kit that
can both change your heart and the
hearts of those God has entrusted to
your care?
Spiritually speaking, if you feel like you
have "hit a wall", we have some good
news for you. The key to deep and
ongoing spiritual growth is for us to
believe the Gospel! What?
True, that sounds simplistic, but rest
assured, we are not into spiritual
gimmickry or easy answers. No quick
fixes are on offer here.
What we do offer is a ministry and
ministry tools to help you rediscover
the power of the Gospel to change you
and those to whom God has called you
to minister.
So, come on in, grab a cuppa and
explore the site. Feel free to print out
and study the excerpts in the SAMPLE
LESSON BITS link, and, if you find your
heart "strangely warmed" and hungry
for more, do get in touch.
His servant & yours, Johnny
P.S. If you have a few spare minutes,
click the ABOUT US link in the sidebar
and read our tragic- happy tale - THE
GOSPEL LOST & FOUND.
_________________________
to you:
PASTORS, PARENTS,
DISCIPLERS...
Do you have a tool in your kit that
can both change your heart and the
hearts of those God has entrusted to
your care?
Spiritually speaking, if you feel like you
have "hit a wall", we have some good
news for you. The key to deep and
ongoing spiritual growth is for us to
believe the Gospel! What?
True, that sounds simplistic, but rest
assured, we are not into spiritual
gimmickry or easy answers. No quick
fixes are on offer here.
What we do offer is a ministry and
ministry tools to help you rediscover
the power of the Gospel to change you
and those to whom God has called you
to minister.
So, come on in, grab a cuppa and
explore the site. Feel free to print out
and study the excerpts in the SAMPLE
LESSON BITS link, and, if you find your
heart "strangely warmed" and hungry
for more, do get in touch.
His servant & yours, Johnny
P.S. If you have a few spare minutes,
click the ABOUT US link in the sidebar
and read our tragic- happy tale - THE
GOSPEL LOST & FOUND.
_________________________
ARE YOU STUCK on the
treadmill of repeatedly
telling people to do
what they already know
they should be doing
but aren't doing?
treadmill of repeatedly
telling people to do
what they already know
they should be doing
but aren't doing?
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"I became a Christian once for all upon the basis of the finished work of Christ through
faith; that is justification. The Christian life, sanctification, operates on the same basis, but
moment by moment. There is the same base (Christ's work) and the same instrument
(faith); the only difference is that one is once for all and the other is moment by moment...
If we try to live the Christian life in our own strength we will have sorrow, but if we live
in this way, we will not only serve the Lord, but in place of sorrow, He will be our song.
That is the difference. The 'how' of the Christian life is the power of the crucified and risen
Lord, through the agency of the indwelling Holy Spirit, by faith moment by moment."
- Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality (With thanks to Dr. McKay Caston)
faith; that is justification. The Christian life, sanctification, operates on the same basis, but
moment by moment. There is the same base (Christ's work) and the same instrument
(faith); the only difference is that one is once for all and the other is moment by moment...
If we try to live the Christian life in our own strength we will have sorrow, but if we live
in this way, we will not only serve the Lord, but in place of sorrow, He will be our song.
That is the difference. The 'how' of the Christian life is the power of the crucified and risen
Lord, through the agency of the indwelling Holy Spirit, by faith moment by moment."
- Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality (With thanks to Dr. McKay Caston)
