2 Timothy 2:11-14: "The saying is trustworthy, for: 'If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—' for he cannot deny himself."
The last couple weeks, we have looked a lot at grace, and we will continue that trend today. I do not think we fully understand God's grace. We might have a good head knowledge of it, but I think many times we wind up missing it's full impact on us. A lot of Christians have this misconception that when we do something wrong God is going to smite us. While there are consequences to our actions and sins, God's overarching plan does not end or change because we sinned. Want proof? Moses killed a man. Then, God called him back to Egypt to free the Israelites. Have you killed someone? Probably not. Hopefully not. Even if you have, take courage, because God used a murderer. That's funny because in our minds not much surpasses murder on the evil scale. David committed adultery. And then, had her husband killed. But God still used him to enlarge and prosper the kingdom. On and on, the examples go. The best example though is Abraham.
Abram and Sarai were seventy-five and sixty-five respectively and barren when God promised that they would have a son. As great as that would be, how much faith would it take to believe that they could have a son at that age? A lot. Why? Because they had to wait twenty-five years before God fulfilled his promise! Twenty-five years! Yet, as is so common to man, they couldn't remain faithful to his promise. Eleven years down the road, they take matters into their own hands. They get the great idea that Abram should sleep with the maid. She conceived a son, and now, today, we are reaping the consequences of Abram's sin. Nevertheless, despite Abram's sin, God remained faithful. Fourteen years later, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Now, the rest is history.
What a beautiful picture of grace! Sure, there were consequences to Abraham's faithlessness, or sin; however, God remained faithful and delivered on his promise. I don't know if there is anything specific God has promised you, but I do know a couple promises found in scripture. Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Romans 8:28: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
First, let me say what these verses do not mean. They do not mean that everything in your life is going to go great. They do not mean that you will be rich or win every game this season. Nor do they mean you'll have a big house, a fancy car, a 100k job, a hot spouse, perfect kids, fame, success, a 4.0 GPA, or a full ride to college. This was God's promise to people who were in exile. They were in captivity for seventy years. God was reminding them that he had not forgotten about them. God wants to remind us of the same thing. Do not take these verses to mean something they do not mean. These verses are true, but they were also true for Peter, who was crucified upside down; Paul, who was eaten by lions; and John, who was exiled to die on an island by himself. They were true for the early church fathers, many of whom were martyred. They are true for present day Christians in Asia, Africa, and South America, who are dying for their faith. For many people, the invitation to die to themselves and live for Christ includes having their head chopped off. That's not a gospel presentation you hear often: Accept Christ and you might get your head chopped off for it. But, those promises remain true. And God will remain faithful to those promises, even when we are lacking in faith, even when we stumble and sin.
What do these promises mean then? Joshua 1:5: "I will not leave you nor forsake you." God promises to be with us everywhere we go and in everything we do, whether that's ministering to orphans in a third-world country or being a celebrity living in Hollywood or living on a street corner barely making it through life. In the end, if you "delight yourself in the Lord, he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 34:7). When we do that, our desires change. Instead of being for material things, our heart begins to hunger for righteousness. We desire to be transformed into the image of his Son.
I don't know about you, but there are certain things that I feel like God has specifically promised me that I will get to do or experience in my life. But so many times, I feel disqualified. When I mess up and don't remain faithful to God (a.k.a. sin), he does remain faithful, because as Paul wrote "he cannot deny himself." Don't miss this! When we feel broken and unworthy of what God has in store for us, God doesn't change his plans for us. It is not like they are a carrot dangling in front of us bribing us to live correctly. Thank God for that. Thank God for his faithfulness. Now, this is not an excuse to fall short of God's standard. It's a reassurance and encouragement that when we do fail, he does not fail us. He does not leave us. He does not forsake us.
My prayer is that you really meditate on 2 Timothy 2:11-14. Spend time digesting it. Don't miss the grace that is revealed to us. My prayer is that we would always remain faithful to God. My prayer is that when we fail God in our relationship with him we would be able to draw on this verse and not let Satan discourage us and keep us wallowing in our failures. My prayer is that we would never forget that God is always faithful to his promises.
-Trace
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Way: 27
I love sports. They are my favorite thing to do, to watch, and to talk about. Hands down. I especially love football. It's my favorite sport. And nothing else is even close. But I also love baseball, basketball, and soccer (hockey not so much, or at all for that matter). With all that said, last night, the New York Yankees won their 27th World Series, seventeen more than the team with the second most World Series victories. Since I love all these sports, I have teams I root for and teams that I dislike very strongly (since Christians are not supposed to hate anybody). And there is no team in baseball that I dislike more than the Yankees; however, there is no player I like more than Alex Rodriguez, their third baseman. For my money, he is the greatest player of his generation, if not ever. Yet, that does not mean that it is always sunshine and roses for A-Rod. Throughout his entire career, he has been scrutinized, but never more intensely than this year. As A-Rod said last night, "2009 has been a year of ups and downs." The season started for him by a news story being leaked that he had used steroids during the 2003 season, which caused a huge scandal. Then, within the first couple weeks, he injured his hip to the point that he needed surgery and missed 1/5 of the season. This was followed by the Yankees going 90-44 when he was in the lineup. He capped off his season with winning his first World Series and putting up ridiculous numbers. This was a season of redemption for A-Rod. This was a season of condemnation for A-Rod. Condemnation from media. Condemnation from baseball purists. Condemnation from Yankee haters and A-Rod haters. This was a season filled with grace for A-Rod. Grace from Yankee fans. Grace from A-Rod fans. Grace from some baseball fans.
Humanity is much like A-Rod. We started off with so much potential. So much promise. So much greatness (after all, what else was created in God's own image?). Then, we fell. The innocence was lost. That potential ruptured. That greatness was wrested from us. We were stained by sin. We were under condemnation. Romans 5:16b, 18a: "For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation....Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men." We were slaves to sin, ruled by Satan. As Augustine said, we were "non posse non peccare" (which means, not able not to sin). We "were dead in our trespasses" (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13).
But....
Romans 5:6-11: "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" (bold added).
At just the right moment, God sent Christ to rescue humanity. And we have been. We have a new relationship with God. Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." This gives us cause to celebrate, because we are reconciled back to God. That original relationship is being restored. The "old self," which was not able not to sin, is gone. It is replaced by the new. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). The slavery to sin was broken through the cross, and now, we are slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:16-18:
But also like A-Rod, we still face criticism. Persecution. Hatred. Accusation. Revelation 12:10 speaks of Satan as "the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night." Satan continually reminds us of our sins, both past and present. Satan, our adversary, "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to keep us wallowing in our sin. He wants us to keep our mind on the sin we have committed. He even wants us to keep our mind on using our own willpower to overcome our sin. He wants us to keep our mind on anything but Jesus Christ, because it is then that we achieve victory and overcome sin. "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).
My prayer is that we would be like Paul. "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Paul knew that he was not perfect. He knew that he had not reached the point of full maturity in Christ. He knew that he still struggled with sin (check out Romans 7). But, he pressed on anyway. I pray that we would not fall prey to the schemes of the devil. I pray that we will embrace our forgiveness, which covers all our sins for all time and was given to us, not dependent on any merit of our own. I pray that we would truly walk as new creations, step in step with the Holy Spirit. And when we fail and fall and mess up because we are human, I pray that we would trust in that beautiful grace and mercy, which came to us on the cross, securing our salvation, our redemption, and our reconciliation. I pray that "when shadows fall on us, we will not fear, we will remember. When darkness falls on us, we will not fear, we will remember. When all seems lost and we're thrown and we're tossed, we remember the cost, we're resting in the shadow of the cross" (Shadows by David Crowder Band).
"Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible" (Eph. 6:23-24).
-Trace
Humanity is much like A-Rod. We started off with so much potential. So much promise. So much greatness (after all, what else was created in God's own image?). Then, we fell. The innocence was lost. That potential ruptured. That greatness was wrested from us. We were stained by sin. We were under condemnation. Romans 5:16b, 18a: "For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation....Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men." We were slaves to sin, ruled by Satan. As Augustine said, we were "non posse non peccare" (which means, not able not to sin). We "were dead in our trespasses" (Eph. 2:5; Col. 2:13).
But....
Romans 5:6-11: "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" (bold added).
At just the right moment, God sent Christ to rescue humanity. And we have been. We have a new relationship with God. Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." This gives us cause to celebrate, because we are reconciled back to God. That original relationship is being restored. The "old self," which was not able not to sin, is gone. It is replaced by the new. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17). The slavery to sin was broken through the cross, and now, we are slaves of righteousness. Romans 6:16-18:
"Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness."
Just like A-Rod, we have gone through our own season of redemption. "And [all] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7). "He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:12).Now, we are in the stage that Augustine called "posse non peccare" (which means able to not sin) thanks to the Holy Spirit "who guides us into all truth" (John 16:13), whose fruit there is no law against (Gal. 5:23). Now, we are alive in Christ. And Christ is alive in us. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20)
But also like A-Rod, we still face criticism. Persecution. Hatred. Accusation. Revelation 12:10 speaks of Satan as "the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night." Satan continually reminds us of our sins, both past and present. Satan, our adversary, "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). He wants to keep us wallowing in our sin. He wants us to keep our mind on the sin we have committed. He even wants us to keep our mind on using our own willpower to overcome our sin. He wants us to keep our mind on anything but Jesus Christ, because it is then that we achieve victory and overcome sin. "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).
My prayer is that we would be like Paul. "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Paul knew that he was not perfect. He knew that he had not reached the point of full maturity in Christ. He knew that he still struggled with sin (check out Romans 7). But, he pressed on anyway. I pray that we would not fall prey to the schemes of the devil. I pray that we will embrace our forgiveness, which covers all our sins for all time and was given to us, not dependent on any merit of our own. I pray that we would truly walk as new creations, step in step with the Holy Spirit. And when we fail and fall and mess up because we are human, I pray that we would trust in that beautiful grace and mercy, which came to us on the cross, securing our salvation, our redemption, and our reconciliation. I pray that "when shadows fall on us, we will not fear, we will remember. When darkness falls on us, we will not fear, we will remember. When all seems lost and we're thrown and we're tossed, we remember the cost, we're resting in the shadow of the cross" (Shadows by David Crowder Band).
"Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible" (Eph. 6:23-24).
-Trace
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Love God, Love People
If you are a Christian you love God. It is pretty easy to love him, he has given us everything for nothing. So most of us don't struggle with this, but what about loving people?
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
There are many different themes throughout the New Testament, but one that comes up quite a bit is love. But what is love? We tend to love many things. For example, how many times do you hear this, "I love this show" or "I love chicken fried steak"? We hear it constantly. People use love for everything. But what is Jesus talking about? What is he really telling us to do? To love people like we love chicken fried steak?
If I asked you if you love others what would you say? I think you would say yes of course I do. I love my mom, dad, brother, friend and family members. But what about the guy that is always picking on you or a friend of yours? Or the person that just gets on your nerves all the time? It is very hard sometimes to love everyone or people that you just don't like. As Christians we struggle with this. Many churches don't even have love for each other in the same church. We argue about pointless stuff or when someone enters our church we ask, "why is that person here?"
As Christians we are suppose to love everyone Christians, non-Christians, people you don't like, EVERYONE. It is funny to me when people judge non-Christians for their actions and just tell them everything they are doing wrong. Does that person think they are helping anything? If someone told me that I was doing all these wrong things and that I was going to Hell, I don't think I would respond very well. Yet, Christians all over this country do this every day. Loving others means genuinely caring about them and building relationships, not ignoring them and judging. Why should non-Christians have the same morals as Christians? It doesn't matter if a person that doesn't have Christ does a million good deeds or does zero that person is still going to hell. Instead of judging that person we should care about them so much that we don't want them to go to hell, so we do everything in our power to steer them in that direction.
Jesus wants us to love people because this is how the world will know that we follow him. If we love everyone and are ACTUALLY different than world, then the world will notice. I am sure it gets old to non-Christians to be told over and over again by Christians that they are going to hell or just flat out being ignored by people in the church. They are looking for something and we have what they are looking for. Why then do we act like we don't want them to know about it? We have the greatest news in the history of the world, we should constantly be sharing it and loving people like Jesus commanded us to do.
Jesus hung out with the people that Christians today turn their noses up to. If we are following Jesus shouldn't we act like him? He always showed love to everyone it didn't matter if they were high up in the religious system or prostitutes. Therefore we should do the same.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
Are you a disciple?
-Ryan
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
There are many different themes throughout the New Testament, but one that comes up quite a bit is love. But what is love? We tend to love many things. For example, how many times do you hear this, "I love this show" or "I love chicken fried steak"? We hear it constantly. People use love for everything. But what is Jesus talking about? What is he really telling us to do? To love people like we love chicken fried steak?
If I asked you if you love others what would you say? I think you would say yes of course I do. I love my mom, dad, brother, friend and family members. But what about the guy that is always picking on you or a friend of yours? Or the person that just gets on your nerves all the time? It is very hard sometimes to love everyone or people that you just don't like. As Christians we struggle with this. Many churches don't even have love for each other in the same church. We argue about pointless stuff or when someone enters our church we ask, "why is that person here?"
As Christians we are suppose to love everyone Christians, non-Christians, people you don't like, EVERYONE. It is funny to me when people judge non-Christians for their actions and just tell them everything they are doing wrong. Does that person think they are helping anything? If someone told me that I was doing all these wrong things and that I was going to Hell, I don't think I would respond very well. Yet, Christians all over this country do this every day. Loving others means genuinely caring about them and building relationships, not ignoring them and judging. Why should non-Christians have the same morals as Christians? It doesn't matter if a person that doesn't have Christ does a million good deeds or does zero that person is still going to hell. Instead of judging that person we should care about them so much that we don't want them to go to hell, so we do everything in our power to steer them in that direction.
Jesus wants us to love people because this is how the world will know that we follow him. If we love everyone and are ACTUALLY different than world, then the world will notice. I am sure it gets old to non-Christians to be told over and over again by Christians that they are going to hell or just flat out being ignored by people in the church. They are looking for something and we have what they are looking for. Why then do we act like we don't want them to know about it? We have the greatest news in the history of the world, we should constantly be sharing it and loving people like Jesus commanded us to do.
Jesus hung out with the people that Christians today turn their noses up to. If we are following Jesus shouldn't we act like him? He always showed love to everyone it didn't matter if they were high up in the religious system or prostitutes. Therefore we should do the same.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
Are you a disciple?
-Ryan
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