My Utmost for His Highest: Becoming Closer to God Through Constant Stewardship (Chris)

Our recent classes in Open Door have addressed a general theme: "How do I transform spiritually by building a stronger and more personal relationship with Jesus Christ and by getting closer to God in the process?"  This entry from My Utmost for His Highest reflects on what it means to be a "vigorous saint" -- a faithful and effective Disciple.  The key is to recognize that our lives exist wholly in relationship to God.  There is no division or distinction between things that belong to God and things that do not.  Everything rightly is God's.  In the Wesleyan tradition, "stewardship" is the word used to explain this basic truth about our lives.  We will explore this concept and its potential to help us in our personal relationship with Christ.

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My Utmost for His Highest: My Brother and Sister's Keeper (Randy)

We have focused the past few weeks on our relationship with Jesus and what results from that.  In addition to the internal transformation, which I have covered in past weeks, and the supernatural peace "that surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7), which Chris covered last week, it also generates the power to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We are all on this journey together, and Christ calls us to love one another, but we cannot do that (very well) if we don’t focus on our love for Jesus first.  Oswald Chambers asks, “Are we our brother and sister’s keeper?” and, if so, what does that look like?  Where do we find the power to serve in that way?

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My Utmost for His Highest: The Gift of Peace (Chris)

Last week, we explored the truth that Discipleship is dedication to a person (Jesus Christ) and not to a cause (religion, morality, or anything else).  The result of this relationship with Christ is a supernatural peace "that surpasses all understanding" (Philippians 4:7).  This week, we are going to consider this marvelous and miraculous peace.  What is it, and how can we find it in a broken world that fights so hard to promote anxiety, doubt, and selfishness?

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My Utmost for His Highest: A Person, Not a Cause (Randy)

This week's lesson is called, "A Person, Not a Cause.”  Inspired by Oswald Chamber’s January 24^th entry and building on last week’s lesson, we will explore how our faith differs from other common worldviews. Most people feel a need to pursue a cause – some goal, some outcome, some change they want to see in the world – but they end up frustrated by their inability to achieve it.  If they are fortunate enough to succeed, they end up dissatisfied and want more anyway.  Meanwhile, Christians pursue a relationship with Jesus, not a cause (not even the Christian cause), and that makes all the difference in how we live.  Join us as we explore the difference between a life devoted to a Person rather than one focused on a cause.

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