I apologize for the lateness of this post...it has been a little busy
We are in a battle. This is not a time of peace, waiting for Christ to return. We are in the middle of an epic battle for ownership of the soul; one that has gone on since the Garden. A battle between two kingdoms: The Kingdom of Light, God's eternal Kingdom, and the kingdom of darkness.
Now I have to admit that as a guy, this is exciting. I guess, as a guy, I have this deep, innate desire to stand up and fight for my King and Kingdom. While it is "exciting" for me, it is also serious stuff. The truth is, all of us, guys and girls, need to take a stand in this battle.
To take a stand means you need to be fully on one side or another. Either your all in or you are not in at all. We need to decide.
Our self fights against us. Historically, our self, our flesh, our sin nature, fights against the things of God. Our self doesn't want us to be all in, placing our all on the line for our King and His Kingdom. It resists a life of submitting everything to Christ, because it knows that giving our all for Christ, going completely on His side, means to deny self and its desires.
Our self, or flesh, will do any thing to stop us from giving our all to Christ. It will try and distract us, attack we least expect. It enjoys being comfortable, coddled. We need to realize that in order to be all in for our King, to be a servant of His Kingdom fully means to deny self, showing no quarter to the flesh, putting to death our sin nature.
The problem is that it is easier to say than to do it. Humanly speaking, we are stuck under sin's control, under the thumb of self. It seems that when we try to throw off the old self or deepen our relationship with Christ, our self goes into overdrive. It fights even harder, it seems. It is time to dig in our boots and decide to fight for our King and Kingdom.
There is a line in the sand. We have to decide to either be king of our lives and consequently be an ally of the kingdom of darkness, or to submit to the King, and His rule and ultimately let Him be in charge, making us a citizen of the Kingdom of Light.
Our self doesn't want to submit. It enjoys calling the shots. Even when we start to cede more to our King, it tries to sneak back onto the thrones of our lives. I know from experience. This past month, I have been wrestling with my self, and more times than not, it has come on top. We are in a battle. A battle of ownership.
It seems that when the harder we try, the harder it fights. It gets so frustrating...you try your hardest, commit your self to His Kingdom.....and you fall on your face. Your flesh manages to squeeze itself in, trips you up, pushes you back to that line in the sand...trying to get you on the other side, let it rule you.
But, through Christ, we are "more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37)We need to rely on Him, His strength, His grace. It's when we realize that we can't kick our flesh out on our own, and yield to His power, and Authority. Only He can fully, by His grace, give a holy kick to the pants of our self, booting it out of our soul, and allowing Him to fully establish His Kingship in our soul.
Now this isn't as easy as it sounds. It hurts. It is almost as if the flesh digs in its claws as Christ removes it. But, it is only through Christ that we can throw off our old self, and fully commit ourselves for our King, and Kingdom!
For King and Kingdom!
Thoughts and musings on following Christ, becoming a Warrior Poet, and living as a Disciple.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Fools for Christ...
Fanatics. They're everywhere. Football fanatics, car fanatics, hunting fanatics (At least in my area!), sports fanatics, video game fanatics...etc. We see them in the grocery store, we see them in town, we see them pass us on the highway (Mostly the car fanatics), we see them in school. We even see them in church, and sometimes, we even see them in ourselves.
We all know what they look like: Obsessed with a certain thing, almost always wearing some type of paraphernalia or hat that shouts their devotion to their obsession. They talk about it all the time, are consumed by it. They are not ashamed (mostly) of their obsession; instead they wear or drive or read or talk whatever they are fanatical about. They are not afraid to be a fool for the object of their obsession.
Even many in the church are fanatics like this. They are Christians, but are quiet about it 6 days of the week, and are not quiet about the things they love for more than an 6 hours a day (Okay so I am exaggerating... a little)
The point is that most of us don't give a second thought about our obsession for things. We aren't ashamed of it and will share it. If our favorite team wins the Super Bowl, or the World Series, we are screaming and jumping up and down, and are proudly announcing to the world that our favorite team has won! Or, we buy and conquer the latest video game, and go crazy over it and tell everyone how great the game was. Or, we buy the newest of the new cars, or restore an old classic car, and we tell everyone about it, and drive the metal monstrosity down main street.
The point is that we can get so excited and fanatical for stuff...and we aren't ashamed of it Why don't we have this mindset for Christ? Now, please understand that I am not promoting being fanatical to stuff...not at all! (I've talked on that before: http://becomingawarriorpoet.blogspot.com/2009/04/garbage-everywhere.html) Instead I am suggesting that we take that mindset of being unashamed and absolutely fanatical and apply it to our spiritual walk.
How many of us are willing to be a fool for Christ? How many of us are willing to lay it all on the line, be made fun of, mocked, scorned persecuted, rejected? How many of us are willing to appear foolish? Are we ashamed of the Gospel?
Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16), but preached to everyone, and devoted his life to it. He was fanatical for Christ's Glory, Kingdom, and Gospel! How many of us can say that?
We should not be afraid of looking the fool. God isn't.
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. " (1 Corinthians 1:18-25, NIV)
The Church tries to dress up the Gospel, make it "culturally relevant". This should not be. God's message will appear to be foolishness, and we should be willing to appear as fools for Him so that He may be glorified and seen all the more.
Though the world may mock us and the gospel, because it appears to be foolishness, we should not waver. Because, God's "foolishness" is greater than man's wisdom. The foolishness of the Cross puts the attention fully on God, and not on us, because we all know that it were about us, or it was our message, we would not make it appear "foolish" in man's eyes. The "foolishness" of the Gospel showcases God's greatness. Instead of focusing on pleasing the world, we should focus on pleasing God, even if it makes us appear to be a fool before the world
I don't know about you, but I would rather be seen as a fool for my King, than a fool before Him.
For Christ's Glory!
We all know what they look like: Obsessed with a certain thing, almost always wearing some type of paraphernalia or hat that shouts their devotion to their obsession. They talk about it all the time, are consumed by it. They are not ashamed (mostly) of their obsession; instead they wear or drive or read or talk whatever they are fanatical about. They are not afraid to be a fool for the object of their obsession.
Even many in the church are fanatics like this. They are Christians, but are quiet about it 6 days of the week, and are not quiet about the things they love for more than an 6 hours a day (Okay so I am exaggerating... a little)
The point is that most of us don't give a second thought about our obsession for things. We aren't ashamed of it and will share it. If our favorite team wins the Super Bowl, or the World Series, we are screaming and jumping up and down, and are proudly announcing to the world that our favorite team has won! Or, we buy and conquer the latest video game, and go crazy over it and tell everyone how great the game was. Or, we buy the newest of the new cars, or restore an old classic car, and we tell everyone about it, and drive the metal monstrosity down main street.
The point is that we can get so excited and fanatical for stuff...and we aren't ashamed of it Why don't we have this mindset for Christ? Now, please understand that I am not promoting being fanatical to stuff...not at all! (I've talked on that before: http://becomingawarriorpoet.blogspot.com/2009/04/garbage-everywhere.html) Instead I am suggesting that we take that mindset of being unashamed and absolutely fanatical and apply it to our spiritual walk.
How many of us are willing to be a fool for Christ? How many of us are willing to lay it all on the line, be made fun of, mocked, scorned persecuted, rejected? How many of us are willing to appear foolish? Are we ashamed of the Gospel?
Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16), but preached to everyone, and devoted his life to it. He was fanatical for Christ's Glory, Kingdom, and Gospel! How many of us can say that?
We should not be afraid of looking the fool. God isn't.
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. " (1 Corinthians 1:18-25, NIV)
The Church tries to dress up the Gospel, make it "culturally relevant". This should not be. God's message will appear to be foolishness, and we should be willing to appear as fools for Him so that He may be glorified and seen all the more.
Though the world may mock us and the gospel, because it appears to be foolishness, we should not waver. Because, God's "foolishness" is greater than man's wisdom. The foolishness of the Cross puts the attention fully on God, and not on us, because we all know that it were about us, or it was our message, we would not make it appear "foolish" in man's eyes. The "foolishness" of the Gospel showcases God's greatness. Instead of focusing on pleasing the world, we should focus on pleasing God, even if it makes us appear to be a fool before the world
I don't know about you, but I would rather be seen as a fool for my King, than a fool before Him.
For Christ's Glory!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Amazing Grace...(More thoughts on Acts...)
Most of you are familiar with the old hymn Amazing Grace. Some of you might even be humming it to yourself as you read this...and some of you might be wondering what grace has to do with Acts, or why talk about it....After all, don't we all know what Grace is and that we have been saved by Grace? Why revisit something we all know and hold dear? What more could be said? With all due respect, quite a bit more needs said and hasn't been said much, if at all.
Most of us would define grace as "unmerited favor", and most see it as more or less the same thing as mercy. While this is definitely a big part of grace, and certainly the most well known, it is not the whole picture.
Most of you might be thinking "what does he mean?", "What does this have to do with Acts?", and some of you just might be still humming that old hymn and might be wondering why you still are!
All questions and jokes aside, let's take a look at Acts 4:33..."With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all." (NIV)
Also in Ephesians 3:7, it says "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power."(NIV)
Most of us would define grace as "unmerited favor", and most see it as more or less the same thing as mercy. While this is definitely a big part of grace, and certainly the most well known, it is not the whole picture.
Most of you might be thinking "what does he mean?", "What does this have to do with Acts?", and some of you just might be still humming that old hymn and might be wondering why you still are!
All questions and jokes aside, let's take a look at Acts 4:33..."With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all." (NIV)
Also in Ephesians 3:7, it says "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of his power."(NIV)
In Romans 15:15 it says "I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me"(NIV)
John 1:16 says "From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another."(NIV)
It becomes obvious that grace as mentioned here means more than just mercy or unmerited favor. It is the very power of God to shape and move us. It is God's power to use us. It is not us, but Him.
Part of this is realizing that we can't, but He can. We on our own can not be perfect or holy. We are a mess, despite our best efforts. Don't think I am excluding myself from this. I am all too aware of my own failings. I am a mess on my own spiritually, bogged down in sin. When I try and do my own thing or get in front of God and try and do things my way, I fall and fail terribly. Even when I try and do great things for God, and do my best for Him and rely on my efforts and still during it rely on me, I find that I fall, and even fall into sin, into pride.
In Romans 7, Paul had a similar problem as I do, and as all of us do. "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing." (Romans 7:18-19, NIV)
How many of us can join with Paul in saying that? How many hands raised? I find that even when I desire to do what is good, I end up in sin, and hurting others. Our sin nature is pretty tricky...
But, Paul continues: (Verse 22, 24) "For my inner being, I delight in God's law...." but then he says "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Verse 25: "Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!" And then He continues in chapter 8 by saying that "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, who do not live according to the sin nature but according to the Spirit. because through Christ Jesus the law of Christ set me free from the law of sin and death." (8:1-2, NIV)
Now many in our modern church take a look at this passage, particularly in chapter 7 and conclude that it provides evidence that we can never truly be living holy lives, that we will be stuck in sin until Christ comes again. We use this scripture to justify being stuck in sin.
That is not what Paul is saying here. He is telling of how sin reigned in his body, and he was powerless to fight it...until he has set free by the Grace of God. (I talk more on this in a previous post: http://becomingawarriorpoet.blogspot.com/2009/05/time-to-kill-horse.html)
Here is the point that I am trying to make. We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8), but Grace is so much more than that. It is more than unmerited favor; it is God's power. We are wretched and sinful. We've established that. I, my sinful, selfish self can never accomplish any thing for God, nor have victory over sin (Romans 6:4-11). It is only by the power of His Grace that we can do anything. We can't do anything on our own, Only God can through us.
To live by Grace means to submit everything to Him, and rely on Him. His grace is more than mercy...it is the power to overcome sin, to be a follower for Him, the power to be bold for Him, and to have words to defend the gospel...that is what His grace does. By the power of His Grace we have victory over sin. By His Grace and the power of it, can we dare to live as He did. It is by His grace that we can be holy.
We can't do it on our own. We need His Grace. Jesus lived just as we did, but by God's grace, lived such a life that the world has been turned upside down, and we have been offered forgiveness and Grace. Jesus lived the ultimate life by and of Grace, and He beckons us to come and follow. It is only by His Grace that we can dare try.
I've only scratched the surface on God's Grace; none of us can ever truly comprehend all that it is and its power. The early church in Acts lived by Grace. I mentioned in the my title that I would dig a little deeper in Acts, and so I shall, before I forget! (I have a tendency to get carried away when I write and I don't always finish all that I mean to say.)
When we look at Acts and see how the church was and how we are now, we see a big difference. I had mentioned this earlier. One other thing that the Early church did that we don't is live by Grace. They lived by the power of God's Grace. It was by His grace that they did what they did and had the impact that they had.
Nowadays, Grace is seen as mercy. We are "just forgiven". We are stuck in the mire of sin and self. We don't realize the power of God's grace. We try and do things on our own. We see God's Grace as a "get out of jail free card". We are under God's grace; we can do what we want.
This is not how it is supposed to be! God's Grace can and will deliver us from that, if we let Him. We can't...But He can. We need more of that powerful side of Grace in the church. For more on this, check out this site: http://www.ericludy.com/ericludy.com/What_is_Grace.html.
To conclude this rather lengthy post, let me say that I have decided to live by His Grace. I can't do it on my own. I do not want to be mired in my sin and selfishness. I've seen what it has done to my life. It is only by His Grace that I can follow Him, and be holy. That is why His Grace is so Amazing!
For Christ's Glory!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Podcast 1: Digging Deeper into Purity
After some thought, I have to decided to add a podcast to the blog. So, welcome to my first Podcast! Some of you will recognize what is being said from one of mt first posts, "Protecting Purity". I felt that it was time to revisit it and add a little bit more! (I apologize if it isn't the greatest quality!)
For Christ's Glory!
Cheap Love
"Love". It's a word thrown around rather lightly these days. We love our family, we love steak, we love football, we love our cars, we love movies....etc. The definition of Love appears to be cheapened. It doesn't mean much any more.
We forget how special love is. God loved us and died for us. That is true love. Love means more than a like or an affection. To help describe love, allow me to share a poem/writing I did several months ago on the subject, and is based off 1 Corinthians 13:
Love,
It's such an intangible concept.
What is Love?
Is it "mushy stuff",
Attraction,
A desire to be filled,
A desire to fill good,
or is it something more?
Fairy tales tell of "true love",
And love that "lasts forever",
"And they lived happily ever after."
But, one wonders,
What is it?
What is true love?
What does it mean?
Could it be,
That true love goes beyond one's self?
That it is more than personal fulfillment?
That there is more to it,
Than our sex-crazed culture sees?
True love is not selfish,
It is, rather,
Selfless,
Putting others ahead of one's self,
And, even,
Laying down your life for someone.
True love is putting the one you love ahead of yourself,
Their needs,
Their wants,
Being selfless.
True love is not rude,
Or crude,
Or cruel.
Love is patient,
It waits until the right time.
True love does wait.
Love is kind,
It is gentle,
And nurturing.
Love is not jealous,
Or brags,
And is not filled with pride.
Love is not selfish.
It puts others' needs first.
Love does not delight in evil,
Or keep track of them.
Love always trusts,
Always hopes,
Always endures.
Love never ends.
Love is sacrifice,
Respect and trust.
It never fails.
True love is pure,
It never loses hope,
Always cherishes.
It never fails.
That is true love. It is not the love of this world, but of eternity. If we loved like this, there would be fewer divorces, fewer conflicts, fewer marriage problems. We are commanded over and over in the Bible to love others, love~ "agape"; that is, unconditional love. More than that, we must first love God, because He loved us first. He is love! When we love Him, unconditionally, giving Him all that we are, then we can truly love, and live out 1 Corinthians 13.
This is True Love, however it is not enough to read it; the challenge is to do it. Will you truly love?
For Christ's Glory!
We forget how special love is. God loved us and died for us. That is true love. Love means more than a like or an affection. To help describe love, allow me to share a poem/writing I did several months ago on the subject, and is based off 1 Corinthians 13:
Love,
It's such an intangible concept.
What is Love?
Is it "mushy stuff",
Attraction,
A desire to be filled,
A desire to fill good,
or is it something more?
Fairy tales tell of "true love",
And love that "lasts forever",
"And they lived happily ever after."
But, one wonders,
What is it?
What is true love?
What does it mean?
Could it be,
That true love goes beyond one's self?
That it is more than personal fulfillment?
That there is more to it,
Than our sex-crazed culture sees?
True love is not selfish,
It is, rather,
Selfless,
Putting others ahead of one's self,
And, even,
Laying down your life for someone.
True love is putting the one you love ahead of yourself,
Their needs,
Their wants,
Being selfless.
True love is not rude,
Or crude,
Or cruel.
Love is patient,
It waits until the right time.
True love does wait.
Love is kind,
It is gentle,
And nurturing.
Love is not jealous,
Or brags,
And is not filled with pride.
Love is not selfish.
It puts others' needs first.
Love does not delight in evil,
Or keep track of them.
Love always trusts,
Always hopes,
Always endures.
Love never ends.
Love is sacrifice,
Respect and trust.
It never fails.
True love is pure,
It never loses hope,
Always cherishes.
It never fails.
That is true love. It is not the love of this world, but of eternity. If we loved like this, there would be fewer divorces, fewer conflicts, fewer marriage problems. We are commanded over and over in the Bible to love others, love~ "agape"; that is, unconditional love. More than that, we must first love God, because He loved us first. He is love! When we love Him, unconditionally, giving Him all that we are, then we can truly love, and live out 1 Corinthians 13.
This is True Love, however it is not enough to read it; the challenge is to do it. Will you truly love?
For Christ's Glory!
Monday, May 4, 2009
Mighty Acts
I recently read through the book of Acts and am currently doing a Bible study with a very good friend of mine through the above said book. As I read (and re-read) it, I am continually amazed at the boldness of the Church, and their faith, and how powerfully God's Spirit moved through them. And it has caused me to ask: What has happened to our church?
How have we dropped from such a great beginning to today? As I look around, our church is very different from the original church. What has happened?
I think the best way to address this is to first look at the way the Church used to be and what we can learn from that, and then compare it to our church of today, and see how they line up. Believe me, we need more followers of Christ who are willing to live as those early believers did.
So, let's take a look:
The first think to note about the Church is that it was filled with the Spirit. ("And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you..." Acts 1:8A, NIV) In Acts 2, we see the apostles filled with the Spirit, and they boldly proclaim Christ to every one. It is interesting to note that the apostles didn't ever dress up the Gospel, or make it "culturally relevant"; they preached the Gospel as it was, straight out, not dressing it up or softening any of it's blows, or making it more approachable. They were bold and preached the Word as it was, not holding anything back. Now that is the stuff that make a warrior poet!
All through out Acts, we see the great faith and great works done by the Church...through the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Spirit, and as a result, were powerfully effective of reaching others. The Spirit took "ordinary, unschooled men...." filled them with power and courage, and others were "astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13, NIV)
Another characteristic of the early church was that they devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42, 4:24-31) It is interesting to note how they were "joined together constantly in prayer..." (Acts 1:14A, NIV) How many of us can say the same of us and our churches?
There is so much that I could go into....when I read Acts, I am deeply moved. I see the examples of those who went before me, those great warrior poets: Paul, Peter, James, Philip...and I deeply desire to join their ranks. I read Acts, and I greatly desire to live as they lived, forsaking all else, following Christ, even to death and boldly proclaiming His Word, without watering it down, not being ashamed of the Gospel, being willing to be hated and despised, just like Christ, and being filled with power in the Holy Spirit. This is what it means to be a Warrior Poet!
You'll notice that I've barely scratched the surface...and there is a reason. The topic of Acts is just too big and great to be contained in one little blog post. Therefore, I will be saying quite a bit more on this in future posts! Reading Acts is so moving and challenging! I hope to challenge and move you through this look into God's Word. Further up and further in!
For Christ's Glory!
How have we dropped from such a great beginning to today? As I look around, our church is very different from the original church. What has happened?
I think the best way to address this is to first look at the way the Church used to be and what we can learn from that, and then compare it to our church of today, and see how they line up. Believe me, we need more followers of Christ who are willing to live as those early believers did.
So, let's take a look:
The first think to note about the Church is that it was filled with the Spirit. ("And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you..." Acts 1:8A, NIV) In Acts 2, we see the apostles filled with the Spirit, and they boldly proclaim Christ to every one. It is interesting to note that the apostles didn't ever dress up the Gospel, or make it "culturally relevant"; they preached the Gospel as it was, straight out, not dressing it up or softening any of it's blows, or making it more approachable. They were bold and preached the Word as it was, not holding anything back. Now that is the stuff that make a warrior poet!
All through out Acts, we see the great faith and great works done by the Church...through the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Spirit, and as a result, were powerfully effective of reaching others. The Spirit took "ordinary, unschooled men...." filled them with power and courage, and others were "astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13, NIV)
Another characteristic of the early church was that they devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42, 4:24-31) It is interesting to note how they were "joined together constantly in prayer..." (Acts 1:14A, NIV) How many of us can say the same of us and our churches?
There is so much that I could go into....when I read Acts, I am deeply moved. I see the examples of those who went before me, those great warrior poets: Paul, Peter, James, Philip...and I deeply desire to join their ranks. I read Acts, and I greatly desire to live as they lived, forsaking all else, following Christ, even to death and boldly proclaiming His Word, without watering it down, not being ashamed of the Gospel, being willing to be hated and despised, just like Christ, and being filled with power in the Holy Spirit. This is what it means to be a Warrior Poet!
You'll notice that I've barely scratched the surface...and there is a reason. The topic of Acts is just too big and great to be contained in one little blog post. Therefore, I will be saying quite a bit more on this in future posts! Reading Acts is so moving and challenging! I hope to challenge and move you through this look into God's Word. Further up and further in!
For Christ's Glory!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Well, No one is perfect...
I have been learning and teaching about holiness lately, and I have been a bit bold in sharing, though not as bold as I should. One common response I get in response to what people thought of being holy (1 Peter 1:15-16) is "well, no one is perfect."
This is an excuse made by the self, desperately trying to protect it's self from the conviction of God's word. No one is perfect. We can't reach that standard, so why try? We are saved; that's all we need, right? Holiness is something that none of us can attain; God didn't really mean it, did he?
While it is true that none of us are perfect, and that none of us can attain holiness....on our own, we are commanded to be holy as He is holy! It is through Christ that we can be holy for Him, set apart for Him.
I am willing to be radically set apart for Him. While I am wrestling with figuring out what that looks like and what will bring Him glory, I believe that it is our duty to be set apart for Him, in the world, but not of the World. In James 4:4, it says that "... the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (KJV)
However, our self fights against the things of God, and it desires to be comfortable. It doesn't want to be challenged, and is more concerned about "me" than God. However, we need to instead, "since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3:1-2)
We need to deny self, and pursue holiness, through Christ's strength. While none of us are perfect, Christ is, and we need to follow Him, and strive for holiness none the less, even though we can't truly achieve it, but because He commands us to be holy for Him. May we give more up for Him instead of more for ourselves....may we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him, and strive to be Holy. We may not be holy, or perfect, but He is, and we must follow after Him!
For Christ's Glory!
This is an excuse made by the self, desperately trying to protect it's self from the conviction of God's word. No one is perfect. We can't reach that standard, so why try? We are saved; that's all we need, right? Holiness is something that none of us can attain; God didn't really mean it, did he?
While it is true that none of us are perfect, and that none of us can attain holiness....on our own, we are commanded to be holy as He is holy! It is through Christ that we can be holy for Him, set apart for Him.
I am willing to be radically set apart for Him. While I am wrestling with figuring out what that looks like and what will bring Him glory, I believe that it is our duty to be set apart for Him, in the world, but not of the World. In James 4:4, it says that "... the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (KJV)
However, our self fights against the things of God, and it desires to be comfortable. It doesn't want to be challenged, and is more concerned about "me" than God. However, we need to instead, "since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3:1-2)
We need to deny self, and pursue holiness, through Christ's strength. While none of us are perfect, Christ is, and we need to follow Him, and strive for holiness none the less, even though we can't truly achieve it, but because He commands us to be holy for Him. May we give more up for Him instead of more for ourselves....may we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him, and strive to be Holy. We may not be holy, or perfect, but He is, and we must follow after Him!
For Christ's Glory!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Time to kill the horse
Some of you are probably looking at the title and are wondering "what horse?"...."Why kill it?" "What is this about?" Well, let me explain.
To some of you, this title might sound a little familiar...because I am borrowing a concept from Eric Ludy's book, Bravehearted Gospel...sort of. In Eric's book, he refers to the phrase of "killing the horse" as a part of mindset we need in the church; namely that we need to take care of things for the best of everyone. In other words, being "man" enough to stand up for the Gospel.
I would like to suggest another connotation for that phrase, in addition to Eric's. Namely, it is time to kill the horse of our Sin nature, our flesh.
In Romans 8:13, we are told "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." (NIV) Over and over we are told in Romans that if we were raised with Christ, and alive in the spirit, we should be dead to our sin nature. Our sin nature needs to be put down. Instead of killing the horse, putting it out of its misery, I think it more akin to killing a snake to keep it from harming or killing.
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2, NIV) When I read Romans, particularly 6-8, I am deeply moved and challenged. Since we are saved, we should not be slaves to our sin nature. It is time to kill the horse/ snake of our sin nature.
In Romans 8:37, it says "Nay,in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (KJV) In Philippians 4:13, it says that "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (KJV) It is through Christ and his power, which makes us dead in our sin, that we can put to death our sin nature. "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11, NIV)
How many of us struggle with sin, and we don't really fight it. We think that we can get free from our sin, that we must try to avoid our sin nature, but it will trap us time and time again all the same. We forget that "...sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14, NIV)
Is God's Word not True? Does Christ not have power over sin? Did He not conquer sin, and beckons us to "come and follow"? We need to throw off our doubt and put our full faith in God, and put to death our sin nature. We have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? It is time to kill the horse, put down our sin nature....through Christ's power, and His alone!
For Christ's Glory!
To some of you, this title might sound a little familiar...because I am borrowing a concept from Eric Ludy's book, Bravehearted Gospel...sort of. In Eric's book, he refers to the phrase of "killing the horse" as a part of mindset we need in the church; namely that we need to take care of things for the best of everyone. In other words, being "man" enough to stand up for the Gospel.
I would like to suggest another connotation for that phrase, in addition to Eric's. Namely, it is time to kill the horse of our Sin nature, our flesh.
In Romans 8:13, we are told "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." (NIV) Over and over we are told in Romans that if we were raised with Christ, and alive in the spirit, we should be dead to our sin nature. Our sin nature needs to be put down. Instead of killing the horse, putting it out of its misery, I think it more akin to killing a snake to keep it from harming or killing.
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2, NIV) When I read Romans, particularly 6-8, I am deeply moved and challenged. Since we are saved, we should not be slaves to our sin nature. It is time to kill the horse/ snake of our sin nature.
In Romans 8:37, it says "Nay,in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (KJV) In Philippians 4:13, it says that "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (KJV) It is through Christ and his power, which makes us dead in our sin, that we can put to death our sin nature. "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11, NIV)
How many of us struggle with sin, and we don't really fight it. We think that we can get free from our sin, that we must try to avoid our sin nature, but it will trap us time and time again all the same. We forget that "...sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14, NIV)
Is God's Word not True? Does Christ not have power over sin? Did He not conquer sin, and beckons us to "come and follow"? We need to throw off our doubt and put our full faith in God, and put to death our sin nature. We have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? It is time to kill the horse, put down our sin nature....through Christ's power, and His alone!
For Christ's Glory!
For Better and for Worse...
Some of you are probably wondering what I am planning to talk about. Well, let me give a little history, and then I'll explain!
As some of you know, my dad had a skiing accident and surgery recently and has been home for a long recovery. Through all this time, I have watched my mom sacrifice for him, and that has been really encouraging to me. My hat is off to you, Mom for your commitment!
You see, my mom has been demonstrating sacrificial love to her husband, and loving him and caring for him no matter what. That type of commitment is seriously lacking in many marriages. Have we forgotten the words of John 15:13, "greater love has no one than this, that he lays down his life for his friends. "? (NIV)
I desire to have that same love for my future wife...and I challenge you to love your spouse the same way. In a typical marriage vow, the husband and wife both promise to care for each other in sickness and in health, for better or for worse. We need more people to love as described in 1 Corinthians 13.
This mindset is seriously lacking in our culture. Divorce is everywhere. As Paul said, "my brothers, this should not be!" I personally deeply desire to love my future wife as put forth in 1 Corinthians 13, and with the same commitment as my mom has for her husband...in fact, nothing against my mom, but I desire to go even deeper. I desire to love and be committed even more than my mom. Thanks Mom for inspiring me!
I know this is a little different than what I usually post, but I think this is something that need addressed. In our age of cheap love, we need more people to love each other with the same intensity as set forth in 1 Corinthians 13, and with the same commitment as what they promised, "for better or for worse."
For Christ's Glory!
As some of you know, my dad had a skiing accident and surgery recently and has been home for a long recovery. Through all this time, I have watched my mom sacrifice for him, and that has been really encouraging to me. My hat is off to you, Mom for your commitment!
You see, my mom has been demonstrating sacrificial love to her husband, and loving him and caring for him no matter what. That type of commitment is seriously lacking in many marriages. Have we forgotten the words of John 15:13, "greater love has no one than this, that he lays down his life for his friends. "? (NIV)
I desire to have that same love for my future wife...and I challenge you to love your spouse the same way. In a typical marriage vow, the husband and wife both promise to care for each other in sickness and in health, for better or for worse. We need more people to love as described in 1 Corinthians 13.
This mindset is seriously lacking in our culture. Divorce is everywhere. As Paul said, "my brothers, this should not be!" I personally deeply desire to love my future wife as put forth in 1 Corinthians 13, and with the same commitment as my mom has for her husband...in fact, nothing against my mom, but I desire to go even deeper. I desire to love and be committed even more than my mom. Thanks Mom for inspiring me!
I know this is a little different than what I usually post, but I think this is something that need addressed. In our age of cheap love, we need more people to love each other with the same intensity as set forth in 1 Corinthians 13, and with the same commitment as what they promised, "for better or for worse."
For Christ's Glory!
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