I had the privilege of attending the Resolved Conference once again this year (resolved.org). As I sat and thought about the weekend, and what really impacted my personal growth the most, two thoughts continued to swarm in my mind...
(1) Because of His love He called me before the foundation of time
(2) He will be faithful to keep me until He brings me home in glory
No matter how many times I have studied the doctrines of grace, or how much I can attest to believing in them, I needed this reminder, and often do. The tendency my pride has to usurp the glory of God and to question His faithfulness is quite frightening. Although I KNOW He is the one who called me from before the foundation of time, do I always behave that way? The answer sadly is no. So often I look to myself for personal holiness and think that I can somehow merit more of His love and favor with more of a righteous and obedient life. Now although holiness and obedience are fruits of salvation, they are only by the grace of God through the sanctifying power of the Spirit within us. God's love for us was not, is not, and never will be conditional; based on some obedience we do or do not possess. That is a powerful Truth to lay hold of. To see and know and live reminded of your calling as a child of God is life changing, humbling, awe-inspiring. The holy God of the universe, from BEFORE time even existed, chose me. Not because I was some super amazingly spiritual individual, not because He saw that one day I would choose Him...no, He chose me simply because He chose to love me. Why me? I have no idea, but the reality of this calling leaves me speechless. The weight of this calling leaves me transformed. The power of this calling leaves me purposed to live for Him. You see the Christian brings nothing to their salvation apart from the sin that was nailed to Christ on the cross as His blood was shed for you and for me. How can we not cast our crowns and rejoice.
Back to the "KNOWING" of these Truths versus the actual living them out: you see, the moment I take my eyes off the cross and start looking at myself I am discouraged. Why? Because wretched I am. Apart from the redeemed nature within me, I am still encased in a fleshly body that has yet to be fully glorified, therefore I still sin, and that is heartbreaking. Untrue thoughts of why would God love me if I keep sinning at times flood my heart and mind. But the reality goes back to the cross, it has NOTHING to do with me. Just as He is the one who did the calling, He is the one who has promised to do the keeping until the end. That means that from before the foundation of time, my name was written, and it will never be removed. The hand that plucked me from the pit of hell is the same hand that will guide me in this life and never let me go. He is the one who will call me into glory and perfect me on that Day. The One who called is the one who will keep me, there is nothing to fear because it is not dependent upon me! Praise God for that Truth.
The more I think about it, the more I am amazed. If you are a child of God you should be too. My prayer is that we, as His beloved, would never become numb to these radical Truths but rather that they would transform our worship, our living...all of us. How could I not fall face down in worship realizing that He called ME...a wretched, vile, worm of a sinner, simply because He loved me, and that no matter what He will keep me forever. All I can say is "thank you, Jesus".
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
God's "Good" Gifts
"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." -James 1:17
This past weekend Pastor Philip De Courcy (Kindred Community Church) was talking about the goodness of our heavenly Father. I was challenged and encouraged as the Truth was proclaimed from the Word with regards to what His goodness looks like. You see, often we think of "good" or "perfect" from the world's perspective; maybe that means a new career that we've been praying for, a spouse, or an amazingly successful ministry. Each one of these things, good in and of themselves, yes, but maybe not good and perfect for each and every person.
Our heavenly Father is working in our lives with one purpose, our Christlikeness (aka our sanctification). To become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ is not a process that comes without pain, suffering, trial, and tribulation. Without these precious gifts, yes gifts, we cannot become more like Jesus. It is in the darkest moments of our lives, when we truly cling to our Father in heaven, when we see our dependence upon Him for what it truly is, and when we are humbled to the foot of the cross with no where else to turn. How sweet are those times. I know I can look back on my life and see that in those dark moments, God was at work in a way only time would reveal.
When God promises to give His children "GOOD" gifts, he promises just that, gifts that are for our good and of course as a direct result, for His glory. The problem lies within us. In our flesh, we don't see certain "gifts" as being good. We question, wonder, and beg God to bring us to the top of the mountain when we are in the deepest valley. And yet God reminds us in those times to wait, to trust, to hope and to remember that He is working everything, yes even the pain, together for our good. How incredible is that?! Only a Soveriegn God could turn ashes into beauty.
And isn't it true that those valleys prepare us to appreciate the mountain tops? The sweet blessings that come in triumph and happiness are gifts we appreciate so much more once we have experienced the good gifts in trial. We are able to look back and see how those valleys prepared us for the mountain tops.
How truly precious are the GOOD gifts our heavenly Father gives us, no matter in what form or shape they may come.
"How can all things be worked together by God for good? The answer is at hand. It is because God's ultimate purpose is to make us like Christ. His goal is the complete restoration of the image of God in His child! So great a work demands all the resources which God finds throughout the universe, and He ransacks the possibilities of joys and sorrows in order to reproduce in us the character of Jesus." -Sinclair Ferguson
This past weekend Pastor Philip De Courcy (Kindred Community Church) was talking about the goodness of our heavenly Father. I was challenged and encouraged as the Truth was proclaimed from the Word with regards to what His goodness looks like. You see, often we think of "good" or "perfect" from the world's perspective; maybe that means a new career that we've been praying for, a spouse, or an amazingly successful ministry. Each one of these things, good in and of themselves, yes, but maybe not good and perfect for each and every person.
Our heavenly Father is working in our lives with one purpose, our Christlikeness (aka our sanctification). To become conformed to the image of Jesus Christ is not a process that comes without pain, suffering, trial, and tribulation. Without these precious gifts, yes gifts, we cannot become more like Jesus. It is in the darkest moments of our lives, when we truly cling to our Father in heaven, when we see our dependence upon Him for what it truly is, and when we are humbled to the foot of the cross with no where else to turn. How sweet are those times. I know I can look back on my life and see that in those dark moments, God was at work in a way only time would reveal.
When God promises to give His children "GOOD" gifts, he promises just that, gifts that are for our good and of course as a direct result, for His glory. The problem lies within us. In our flesh, we don't see certain "gifts" as being good. We question, wonder, and beg God to bring us to the top of the mountain when we are in the deepest valley. And yet God reminds us in those times to wait, to trust, to hope and to remember that He is working everything, yes even the pain, together for our good. How incredible is that?! Only a Soveriegn God could turn ashes into beauty.
And isn't it true that those valleys prepare us to appreciate the mountain tops? The sweet blessings that come in triumph and happiness are gifts we appreciate so much more once we have experienced the good gifts in trial. We are able to look back and see how those valleys prepared us for the mountain tops.
How truly precious are the GOOD gifts our heavenly Father gives us, no matter in what form or shape they may come.
"How can all things be worked together by God for good? The answer is at hand. It is because God's ultimate purpose is to make us like Christ. His goal is the complete restoration of the image of God in His child! So great a work demands all the resources which God finds throughout the universe, and He ransacks the possibilities of joys and sorrows in order to reproduce in us the character of Jesus." -Sinclair Ferguson
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Rest
"If you look at the world you'll be distressed, if you look within you'll be depressed, but if you look to God you'll be at rest!" -Corrie TenBoom
The reality of Corrie's quote above is powerful. When I think about the changing world around us, both here in our backyard we call America, as well as across the rest of the planet, I see despair. A world that is seeking to be self-sufficient, a world that has taken its eyes of its Maker, a world that is experiencing chaos...and why? Because the eyes of its people are fixed on the wrong thing. Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us to FIX OUR EYES on the author and perfector of our faith. To fix your eyes on something means that they DO NOT move! I looked up the word fixed in the dictionary and loved this definition, "to become stable OR permanent". Think about that for a moment, to fix your eyes on Jesus PERMANENTLY. How radically would our thoughts, our behavior, our very lives change.
Robert McCheyene said, "For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ". I know that I often struggle with this. I so often tend to look at my performance, at how I am doing as a "Christian" and become discouraged and depressed knowing I am far from perfect despite my being redeemed. It is not God's intention for us to scrutinize our every thought and action, instead He wants us to admit to our sin, repent of it and then LOOK AT HIM. Look at who He is, what He has done and rest in the precious grace and mercy that a child of God has. This brings Him ultimate glory.
May our hearts be refreshed by these truths and may it spur us on to looking PERMANENTLY at Jesus so that we may rest.
"Be still (Cease Striving) and know that I am God." -Psalm 46:10
The reality of Corrie's quote above is powerful. When I think about the changing world around us, both here in our backyard we call America, as well as across the rest of the planet, I see despair. A world that is seeking to be self-sufficient, a world that has taken its eyes of its Maker, a world that is experiencing chaos...and why? Because the eyes of its people are fixed on the wrong thing. Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us to FIX OUR EYES on the author and perfector of our faith. To fix your eyes on something means that they DO NOT move! I looked up the word fixed in the dictionary and loved this definition, "to become stable OR permanent". Think about that for a moment, to fix your eyes on Jesus PERMANENTLY. How radically would our thoughts, our behavior, our very lives change.
Robert McCheyene said, "For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ". I know that I often struggle with this. I so often tend to look at my performance, at how I am doing as a "Christian" and become discouraged and depressed knowing I am far from perfect despite my being redeemed. It is not God's intention for us to scrutinize our every thought and action, instead He wants us to admit to our sin, repent of it and then LOOK AT HIM. Look at who He is, what He has done and rest in the precious grace and mercy that a child of God has. This brings Him ultimate glory.
May our hearts be refreshed by these truths and may it spur us on to looking PERMANENTLY at Jesus so that we may rest.
"Be still (Cease Striving) and know that I am God." -Psalm 46:10
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Two is Better than One
Being that I am getting married in about a month, marriage is heavy on my heart and my mind...in fact it consumes much of my prayers, thoughts, and energy. I am more than excited to marry the love of my life and my best friend, and yet at the same time realizing more than ever the weight of the calling that I am stepping into. It is a time of much anticipation, great joy, and eager expectation as we walk into marriage together.
During the past 9 months of our engagement we have went through a handful of Christian books speaking to marriage and the pursuit of holiness in our lives individually and together. During that time we have also spent countless hours with married men and women who have offered counsel, wisdom, encouragement and exhortation with regards to marriage. As with any season there will be new excitements, triumphs, and blessings, and of course much sanctification. I am more than eager and beyond excited for it all. The greatest part about this new journey, is that I won't be at it alone; I will have my best friend right by my side, running along the way with me. What a powerful Truth and a precious provision from our good God.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reads,
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
Although this passage could be applied to many facets of life, looking at it from a marriage stand point brings much encouragement. Here Solomon is exhorting us all that two is better than one in life. In fact, think about the practical illustrations he provides and you can't get around the fact that two (or more) is truly better than one. And that is exactly where I am at. I get the privilege (in a months time), to walk hand in hand in with the most Godly man I know, for the rest of our earthly lives. We together will be a tool used by the hand of God to bring glory to Him. We together will be the hand that reaches down when the other falls, the exhortation and wisdom when faced with satan's schemes, the precious companion to alleviate one's loneliness, and the greatest tool of sanctification in this life for the other. What an amazing concept, what an exciting journey!
During the past 9 months of our engagement we have went through a handful of Christian books speaking to marriage and the pursuit of holiness in our lives individually and together. During that time we have also spent countless hours with married men and women who have offered counsel, wisdom, encouragement and exhortation with regards to marriage. As with any season there will be new excitements, triumphs, and blessings, and of course much sanctification. I am more than eager and beyond excited for it all. The greatest part about this new journey, is that I won't be at it alone; I will have my best friend right by my side, running along the way with me. What a powerful Truth and a precious provision from our good God.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reads,
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
Although this passage could be applied to many facets of life, looking at it from a marriage stand point brings much encouragement. Here Solomon is exhorting us all that two is better than one in life. In fact, think about the practical illustrations he provides and you can't get around the fact that two (or more) is truly better than one. And that is exactly where I am at. I get the privilege (in a months time), to walk hand in hand in with the most Godly man I know, for the rest of our earthly lives. We together will be a tool used by the hand of God to bring glory to Him. We together will be the hand that reaches down when the other falls, the exhortation and wisdom when faced with satan's schemes, the precious companion to alleviate one's loneliness, and the greatest tool of sanctification in this life for the other. What an amazing concept, what an exciting journey!
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Disciplined by Grace
"God's blessing does not depend on our performance. " -Jerry Bridges
In His acclaimed book, The Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges attempts to compel the true believer to relying more on grace (the reality of it) and showing that it is that grace that spurs on discipline in holiness. Two things that same to be so far from one another are grace and discipline. One is a gift and requires nothing, the other is a pursuit, a practice and requires every ounce of strength and energy. As a believer, I have struggled through the years to resolve the two. I have found myself at times erring on one side; either trusting too much in my own pursuit of holiness and forgetting my utter dependence on HIS grace, or negating my responsibility to pursue holiness while using grace as an excuse for laziness in that area. It is a battle I find myself in consistently, and yet a battle we are called to fight.
In Romans 7, Paul talks about his own struggle with sin. The reality that he has died to sin, as all believers have, and has the power of the Spirit to live a holy life, doesn't negate the fact that there is still a war waging within his flesh daily, one that requires vigilance and attack. I too see this often. I find myself wondering why I am doing the very things I hate, the very things Jesus Christ paid for. And yet, in those moments what do I do? Where do I turn? Bridges' quote at the beginning of this post was powerful for me. God's blessings DO NOT depend on my performance. Now before I address that, please don't hear me wrong, I am not negating my responsibility, or using grace to sin, but simply reminding myself, and you as well, of the Gospel and the power therein.
Bridges goes on to explain this idea of "good day" and "bad day". When we have had a "good day", or so we would say, having had a good quiet time, a purposeful prayer time etc., we somehow think God loves us more and we are more deserving of His blessings. And the opposite with a "bad day". Regardless of our performance, we are always dependent on God's grace, His undeserved favor to those who deserve His wrath. There is no good day/bad day, we are always in need of grace.
With that said, we must not believe or think that our performance allows us to have a better standing with God. We must instead return daily to the Gospel. "We need to continue to hear the gospel every day of our Christian lives. Only a continuous reminder of the gospel of God's grace through Christ will keep us from falling into good-day-bad-day thinking, wherein we think our daily relationship with God is based on how good we've been. " When we remind ourselves of the Gospel, we remind ourselves of reality; that we have been redeemed, purchased, and are being made more and more into the likeness of Christ. Through the Gospel we are humbled, brought back down to reality, and propelled to live a life set apart for Him and His glory. We will find ourselves desiring to honor Him, to discipline ourselves in holiness, to glorify Him...not because we are so disciplined, but rather because His grace working within us is disciplining us in holiness. We can now see that it is all of grace, and nothing of ourselves.
In the end it comes to beholding the glory of Christ in the Gospel that will radically and continually change us and our lives for the glory of His name.
In His acclaimed book, The Discipline of Grace, Jerry Bridges attempts to compel the true believer to relying more on grace (the reality of it) and showing that it is that grace that spurs on discipline in holiness. Two things that same to be so far from one another are grace and discipline. One is a gift and requires nothing, the other is a pursuit, a practice and requires every ounce of strength and energy. As a believer, I have struggled through the years to resolve the two. I have found myself at times erring on one side; either trusting too much in my own pursuit of holiness and forgetting my utter dependence on HIS grace, or negating my responsibility to pursue holiness while using grace as an excuse for laziness in that area. It is a battle I find myself in consistently, and yet a battle we are called to fight.
In Romans 7, Paul talks about his own struggle with sin. The reality that he has died to sin, as all believers have, and has the power of the Spirit to live a holy life, doesn't negate the fact that there is still a war waging within his flesh daily, one that requires vigilance and attack. I too see this often. I find myself wondering why I am doing the very things I hate, the very things Jesus Christ paid for. And yet, in those moments what do I do? Where do I turn? Bridges' quote at the beginning of this post was powerful for me. God's blessings DO NOT depend on my performance. Now before I address that, please don't hear me wrong, I am not negating my responsibility, or using grace to sin, but simply reminding myself, and you as well, of the Gospel and the power therein.
Bridges goes on to explain this idea of "good day" and "bad day". When we have had a "good day", or so we would say, having had a good quiet time, a purposeful prayer time etc., we somehow think God loves us more and we are more deserving of His blessings. And the opposite with a "bad day". Regardless of our performance, we are always dependent on God's grace, His undeserved favor to those who deserve His wrath. There is no good day/bad day, we are always in need of grace.
With that said, we must not believe or think that our performance allows us to have a better standing with God. We must instead return daily to the Gospel. "We need to continue to hear the gospel every day of our Christian lives. Only a continuous reminder of the gospel of God's grace through Christ will keep us from falling into good-day-bad-day thinking, wherein we think our daily relationship with God is based on how good we've been. " When we remind ourselves of the Gospel, we remind ourselves of reality; that we have been redeemed, purchased, and are being made more and more into the likeness of Christ. Through the Gospel we are humbled, brought back down to reality, and propelled to live a life set apart for Him and His glory. We will find ourselves desiring to honor Him, to discipline ourselves in holiness, to glorify Him...not because we are so disciplined, but rather because His grace working within us is disciplining us in holiness. We can now see that it is all of grace, and nothing of ourselves.
In the end it comes to beholding the glory of Christ in the Gospel that will radically and continually change us and our lives for the glory of His name.
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