Are we shying away from the message of the one true gospel…
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of UNDESERVED privilege where we now stand….” (Rom. 5: 1-2).
We look and see that the privilege to dwell with God wasn’t possible because of sin, it was an undeserved privilege. Only because of Christ and his obedience to the father can we come and stand, but what does that show me on what I need to give up? Today the false promise that you can find eternal life but still continue to live in rebellion against God, claim Jesus as Savior and wait till later to commit to him and obey him as your Lord, a belief that your behavior has no correlation with spiritual status, or the option of obedience…..This is not the Gospel of Jesus.
“But he was pierced for OUR rebellion, crushed for OUR sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” …’He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. NO ONE cared that his life was cut short in mid stream. But he was struck down for the REBELLION OF PEOPLE.” (Isaiah 53) This chapter in Isaiah is huge! Christ gave up his life for people who never would or never cared to. In Christ’s obedience he gave us the example….the example to follow just as Christ was obedient until death. So what does this say about the false claim to live in rebellion against God. You can read through John and see Jesus’ life. We say that we are Christians, but that saying that “I am a Christian” is sloshed around and the meaning of a true follower of Christ is being blurred by the false claims of the world that we ourselves our creating or we are sitting back and letting them become what people believe.
“The belief that someone could be a true Christian while that person’s whole lifestyle, value and speech, and attitude are marked by stubborn refusal to surrender to Christ as Lord is a notion that shouldn’t even need to be refuted.”—John MacArthur.
Jesus’ teaching and ministry always kept the issue of his Lordship at the center! You can not separate Jesus as your savior with out seeing him as your Lord. It is a two for one….Lord + Savior= Christ! He demands unconditional surrender. So the true message of Jesus CANNOT be divorced from the reality of his Lordship over your life. As Christians we are not sidekicks or admires who he can entertain…he called us to be followers.
As followers our foundation is build on Christ. “Anyone who listens to my teaching and FOLLOWS it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” (Matt 7:24). Jesus calls out to everyone to follow him, but for a majority, we aren’t willing to count the cost and see that through his submission to God in his death that is the call for us to die to ourselves and submit to God. We need to understand that Christ died, because he wanted to please God and the shedding of blood was the only way to punish our sins. Everything that Jesus ever did in his life was pleasing to the father. Christ’s motive wasn’t just to please the father, but his death was because of LOVE!...”And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.” (John 17:19). Christ gave himself up so that we could be made holy and righteous before God, because if we look and began to question our purpose, I think you will come to find that it is to know and bring Glory to the one true God! “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive Glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”
If you know the one true God and the true Gospel that he sent forth through Jesus. Your life would change radically. You would no longer want to live in rebellion against God….”So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.You won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the spirit wants. The spirit gives us the desires that are the opposites of what the sinful nature desires…..” (Gal. 5:16-17)
Who are you living for and how are you living? Are you living in light of the false claims that says your actions and your attitude has no relationship with your spiritual life or are you trying to separate Christ as Savior and ignore his Lordship over your life?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The Joy of the Family
Better Late than Never
I thought I should share a little about my Christmas Break, yes I do know that we are coming upon the end of January and this post is late, but better late than never. Christmas break was extremely relaxing, but going home always is. I was able to hang out with a few old friends, which is always great when you can get your old crew together. It is amazing to think about how even through the years of having to move on or things in your life change....having a baby, getting married, working non stop....even though all of this you can still go back to your roots and it seems like your friendship never changes. You can look back on your past and what seems like forever ago, a little part of you wishes you could go back, but these you can laugh because those experiences of stupidity and spontaneity have shaped who you are. I am so grateful for them, for those same girls who have been there and continue to be there.
Being with Family is always great. There is absolutely nothing normal about my family. Christmas Eve was spent a the grandparents house. Entertainment came from my brother, Christopher, who did wheelies in a wheel chair and told his ever exciting trips to Wal-mart and the salvation army acting like a cripple. As you may be able to figure out....we don't need much to be entertained!
I spent a week in Nashville attending the New Years Conference. You can not go to a conference like this not go away changed. I have learned in the past that in order for God to release and give more of his knowledge, it is you that has to be willing to seek. I went to a seminar about prayer and intimacy with Christ. One of the things Kenny shared with us was the higher you are trying to grow and get that higher level the deeper the foundation has to be. In order for me to grow in Christ there has to be a foundation....a foundation for getting in the word, for prayer, for fellowship. I saw that all these different things that were once projected to me as things on a wheel. If there were areas that i wasn't getting enough of or spending as much time doing, my wheel would not spine properly or even be able to pick up speed. For a year i had been driving on a newly pathed road, but each day air was beginning to escape from the tire. As the days went on of choosing not to get in the word or going before the Lord....my perspective on my life and the perspective of others began to change..I became the victim, I began to wallow in sin and being able to find joy in my life here in Jonesboro was nonexistent. My life became something I walked through day end and day out, i was driven by my circumstances...there would be good days, but they never steamed from Christ.
The intimacy with Christ had stopped, my obedience in some aspects had stopped. I no longer respected authority, I became my own Lord and the opinions and directions of others went in one ear and out the other.....It is amazing how easy it is to put on a mask and act like everything is okay, because I'll tell you that I am really good at hiding. It is still hard to believe that even through all of this, God still wants me! He calls me to be intimate with him..... Which takes me praying through Psalm 63, that I would EARNESTLY be seeking God, my soul would be thirsting for him gazing upon his power and majesty and experiencing his love in its full capacity---> Viewing his Love better than Life.
Building a Foundation that is build around Christ....brings me to my Faith! During NYC and even now a verse that is really hitting home is Luke 9:23-24. Faith will and always cost you something. So right now,I am asking God to show me what my life is costing me and recognizing his authority over my flesh.
As we deny ourselves we recognize the authority that Christ has over our lives. Christ is far above any ruler, all things have been placed under his authority (Eph. 1:21-23). As I submit to Christ's authority HE makes me full and complete......This is just some of things God revealed to me over the Conference....I can't say that it is a summary or even half. Below are some Photos from the Conference.
Being with Family is always great. There is absolutely nothing normal about my family. Christmas Eve was spent a the grandparents house. Entertainment came from my brother, Christopher, who did wheelies in a wheel chair and told his ever exciting trips to Wal-mart and the salvation army acting like a cripple. As you may be able to figure out....we don't need much to be entertained!
I spent a week in Nashville attending the New Years Conference. You can not go to a conference like this not go away changed. I have learned in the past that in order for God to release and give more of his knowledge, it is you that has to be willing to seek. I went to a seminar about prayer and intimacy with Christ. One of the things Kenny shared with us was the higher you are trying to grow and get that higher level the deeper the foundation has to be. In order for me to grow in Christ there has to be a foundation....a foundation for getting in the word, for prayer, for fellowship. I saw that all these different things that were once projected to me as things on a wheel. If there were areas that i wasn't getting enough of or spending as much time doing, my wheel would not spine properly or even be able to pick up speed. For a year i had been driving on a newly pathed road, but each day air was beginning to escape from the tire. As the days went on of choosing not to get in the word or going before the Lord....my perspective on my life and the perspective of others began to change..I became the victim, I began to wallow in sin and being able to find joy in my life here in Jonesboro was nonexistent. My life became something I walked through day end and day out, i was driven by my circumstances...there would be good days, but they never steamed from Christ.
The intimacy with Christ had stopped, my obedience in some aspects had stopped. I no longer respected authority, I became my own Lord and the opinions and directions of others went in one ear and out the other.....It is amazing how easy it is to put on a mask and act like everything is okay, because I'll tell you that I am really good at hiding. It is still hard to believe that even through all of this, God still wants me! He calls me to be intimate with him..... Which takes me praying through Psalm 63, that I would EARNESTLY be seeking God, my soul would be thirsting for him gazing upon his power and majesty and experiencing his love in its full capacity---> Viewing his Love better than Life.
Building a Foundation that is build around Christ....brings me to my Faith! During NYC and even now a verse that is really hitting home is Luke 9:23-24. Faith will and always cost you something. So right now,I am asking God to show me what my life is costing me and recognizing his authority over my flesh.
"If any of you want to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give your life up for my sake, you will save it."
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