It all points to Jesus

I have read the Bible more than any other book and there is still so much of it I don't understand. Some passages I read over and over again and I am still confused on what it means. I find Revelation and many of the prophetic books to be beyond my understanding. Even if I can't understand all of the passages in these books I do know that they are all pointing to Jesus. I read passages like Isaiah 53 which I think is one of the most beautiful pictures of what Christ did on the cross. Or I read passages like Revelation 21 about the second coming of Christ which makes me excited every time I read it. In Luke 24:27 it says, "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." One day I believe Christ will explain to us what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself. Every part we don't understand, every part we disagree on, every part that we think we understand and He will show how it is all about Him. Until that day we hold firmly to the gospel and ask God as we read the word to open our eyes so we can understand. 

A Link That Can't Be Broken

Tebowmania and Linsanity are two phrases that have become ever popular over the past year. What is it about the two athletes that has captivated the news and fans all over the country? Is it there playing ability? Their faith? Or the combination of them both? There are many other Christian athletes in every sport who play very well, but they aren’t making the news like Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin. I believe it comes down to how both of these guys are living their lives when they are not playing. It is how they are treating others and spending their money. Their Christian faith is not just a title they carry around, but it is actually impacting their lives. The media hasn’t seen something like this in the world of sports in a number of years and it is fascinating them. The gospel is advancing in way that it hasn’t before. Ross Douthat wrote a very good article and I have included part of it below. 

Why is Tim Tebow such a fascinating and polarizing figure? Not just because he claims to be religious; that claim is commonplace among football stars and ordinary Americans alike. Rather, it’s because his conduct — kind, charitable, chaste, guileless — seems to actually vindicate his claim to be in possession of a life-altering truth.

Nothing discredits religion quite like the gap that often yawns between what believers profess and how they live. With Tebow, that gap seems so narrow as to be invisible. (“There’s not an ounce of artifice or phoniness or Hollywood in this kid Tebow,” ESPN’s Rick Reilly wrote last year of the quarterback’s charitable works, “and I’ve looked everywhere for it.”) He fascinates, in part, because he behaves — at least in public, and at least for now — the way one would expect more Christians to behave if their faith were really true.

But the fascination doesn’t end there. Tebow’s religion doesn’t just promise a path to personal transformation. It claims that every human life is actually a story with an Author, and that a genuinely Christian life should make that divine Authorship manifest.

So in Tebow’s case, the link between faith and football can’t actually be broken. The more that his professional career seems like, well, a storybook — with exciting up and downs, new opportunities and unexpected twists — the more credible his faith in providence becomes.

Just as Tebow’s link between football and faith can’t be broken the links in our lives should not be broken. The link between school and our faith, the link between work and faith, the link between friends and faith, or the link between our free time and our faith should always be evident and never broken. The gospel affects every area of our lives so why do we so many times live as if it only affects us on Sunday mornings? Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” and 1 Peter 2:12, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” The outpouring of preaching the gospel to ourselves daily is a life that is glorifying to God both inside and out. May we be people who live such good lives among the pagans that God would be glorified in whatever stage he has given us whether it be in front of thousands of people or in front of our neighbor next door. 

God, have mercy on me, a sinner

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

    “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”

This is the parable that Jesus tells his disciples in Luke 18. This is a beautiful picture of God’s unfailing grace. To begin off, the Pharisees were know as the rule keepers. They kept the mosaic law as perfectly as any human could. We can see just how much pride they took in this in the latter part of the Pharisee’s prayer. Because of this they viewed themselves holier than those around them. The tax collectors on the other hand were the worst of the worst. There are several times in scripture where Jesus would go and eat with the “tax collectors and sinners.” They were hated by most and considered as bad as adulterers and prostitutes. The parable begins with them both going to the temple to pray. 

Many books have been written on the subject of prayer and how to pray better. I have even written several posts about prayer Here, Here, and Here. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. In all of the searching on how to have a prayer life that is glorifying to God we must start with the attitude of our hearts. The pharisee’s heart attitude was, “God, look at me and all that I do for you. You should love me.” The tax collector’s heart attitude was, “God, you are holy and I am a guilty sinner. I am undeserving of Your love.” The passage says that the tax collector didn’t even look up to heaven. He was so aware of how unworthy he was in the sight of God. 

We live in a time where we hear how much God loves us left and right. We sing songs like “How He loves” and “Your love never fails.” Don’t get me wrong it is important to be reminded of the unfailing love of Christ, but we run into problems when we put God’s love above His holiness and justness. When this happens we are left with the question, “How can a loving God send people to Hell?” Rob Bell tried answering that question in “Love Wins” and even brought into question the very existence of hell itself. God is a loving God, but He is also a Just and Holy God. This brings us back to the prayer of the tax collector, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus concludes the parable by telling His disciples that this man left that day justified before God. Because of Christ’s finished work on the cross we can look up to heaven knowing we are now holy in His sight. When we preach the gospel to ourselves we realize that we are sinners in need of mercy from a holy God. We also know that our best human efforts, tithing, fasting, going to church, etc. can not justify us. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:13-16 “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”

In order to fully grasp how wonderful the gospel is we must fully grasp how real our sin is. I pray that each day you are living in light of the gospel and it’s life changing message. When we come before God let it not be with an attitude of “Here is what I have done” but rather “Here is what You have done.” I read a great article earlier this week about reminding ourselves of the gospel on a regular basis. I have included it below, and I hope you are encouraged as I was. Have a wonderful, gospel-filled week.

         Several years ago I worked at an investment broker dealer. It was at the tail end of the market’s ‘good days’ and during the subsequent ‘bad days’ that followed September 11th. As you might imagine there was a lot of chatter about the dissipation of folks’ investments. I remember over hearing the customer service reps repeatedly trying to calm people down. One particular strategy they employed was to tell the anxious callers to look at their investment summaries about as often as they look at their wedding pictures. In other words, don’t get too worked up day to day.

This worked because most people don’t look at their wedding pictures every year, let alone every month or every day.

I remember wondering, “What would happen if people did look at their wedding pictures every month?” Most certainly couples would be reminded of their love for one another, the beauty of their spouse, the changes over the years, and the love that they still have. It could be helpful. It could prevent ‘issues’.

DUST OFF THE GOSPEL SNAPSHOTS
Similarly, what would happen if the Christian looked at the snapshots of the gospel more regularly?

Too often we function like comfortable married couples that have been together for decades. Older ‘mature’ couples get comfortable. They are not as immature and ‘green’ as those young couples that are smiling at one another, thinking about one another, and bragging about one another.

May God forbid that we get over the gospel! If maturity means indifference and distant then give me another word!

Dust off those gospel snapshots and see the Savior, your Savior! Look at him bear up under the Law and fulfill it perfectly for you (John 4.34). Marvel at his resolve to go to the cross where he will pay your eternal sin debt (Matt. 16.21). Let your heart throb contemplating the truth of sovereign grace in electing, predestining, calling, adopting and regenerating you (Eph. 1.4-5, 2.4-9). Force yourself to wrestle with the simultaneously humiliating and joy producing reality of the cross; we killed Christ but God was pleased to crush him for us! (Is. 53.10) Let the personal love of Christ flood your minds and hearts as you consider him praying for you, and the joy and unity of all his followers (John 17.13, 20-21). Reassure yourself of his faithfulness to you as always lives to make intercession for you as the great High Priest (Heb. 7.25-27). Remind yourself that he is most certainly coming again, to return for you. In fact, he is standing right at the door, ready to kick it in and come back (James 5.9). As you look again at the gospel snapshots, observe that his righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and as true as he is the Son of God his righteousness is forever the basis of God’s pleasure with you. God will never be more happy with you than he is in Jesus.

This is a glorious album to explore.

If we are (and we are) forgetful, lethargic, unthankful, unmoved, unamazed Christians, then, by all means, pull out the gospel snapshots and sit and stare at the narrative. See the completed work of God in Christ for you. And, just like a good bride, don’t stop staring at the pictures until your heart is moved and you find yourself in love and happy in this marriage.

-Erik Raymond

You can find his blog at www.ordinarypastor.com

The Word Became Flesh.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14. To put it simply Christmas is about the Word becoming flesh. The event that had been prophesied for hundreds of years came about in the most humble of circumstances. The prophets foretold it, the world awaited it, and Jesus fulfilled it. There are so many things about the birth of Jesus that should leave us in amazement. From the virgin birth to angles appearing to shepherds. However, amongst all the nativity sets and “Little Drummer Boy” songs this Christmas season do we loose grasp on who that baby really was lying in the manger?  

The book of John begins this way, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The Word had become flesh. This baby lying in the manger was fully God and fully human. He who would later speak to storms and the storms stopped would have to learn how to talk. He who had to be nursed and fed by his mother would later feed five thousand with a few loaves and fish. He who would fall over and over again learning to walk would go on to walk on water. He who watched his father nailing tables together would thirty-three years later have his hands nailed to a cross. The long awaited Emmanuel had come.

John continues, “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”  Mary and Joseph’s frantic middle of the night escape to Egypt was only the beginning of the hostility that awaited our Savior. He would be eventually betrayed by one of his close friends. They rejected the one who had come to save them. But that is not the end of the story because John goes on and this is why we celebrate. “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” He was born so we could be born again. 

The story of Jesus birth is not a “cute” kids story, but a radical, earth shattering event that forever changed history. Jesus became a man and lived a human life. As Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” When we remember the gospel we find forgiveness at the cross, but we also find comfort in the life of Jesus Christ. We can fail because He did not. We can fall short because He paid it all. We will live eternally because He died and rose again. That is worth celebrating more than 25 days each year.  I love the song “Born to Die” by Bebo Norman because it beautifully describes why we celebrate. Take a moment to read through the lyrics and give thanks for who that baby was lying in a manger over two thousand years ago. Merry Christmas!

They never knew a dark night

always had the Son's light

on their face

Perfect in glory

Broken by the story

of untold grace...

come that day

Majesty had come down 

Glory had succumed now 

to flesh and bone

In the arms of a manger

In the hands of strangers

that could not know

Just who they hold

And the angels filled the sky 

All of heaven wondered why

Why their King would choose to be 

Be a baby born to die

And all fell silent 

For the cry of an infant,

the voice of God

Was dividing history

For those with eyes to see,

the Son would shine

From earth that night

To break the chains

Of guilt and sin

To find us here 

To pull us in 

So we can join in Heaven's song

And with one voice around the throne

All the Angels filled the sky

And I can't help but wonder why 

Why this King would choose to be

Be a baby born for me

Be a baby born 

Be a baby born to die

It is Finished

“It is finished.” ...... Mankind has never heard better words. Jesus Christ as he hung on the cross spoke these words as He breathed His last. The price had been paid. He had suffered the full wrath of a Holy God. No longer would anyone have to offer sacrifices, because the ultimate sacrifice had been made. The beautiful passage in Colossians 2 describes Christ’s work on the cross. “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,  having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”

It is hard for me to grasp what life was like for the Israelites before Christ. They were under the Mosaic Law. It was a list of do’s and don’ts to live by, and if these were broken then a sacrifice had to be made. Whenever I read through the old testament I am always grateful that I am not under the old covenant. We are no longer the law, and we are no longer required to make sacrifices. However, I think many Christians today still live under a law. It may not be the same do’s and don’t of the Mosaic Law, but there are still the rules to live by. If one of the laws/rules is broken they feel the need to make a “sacrifice”- a good work, to cover their mistake. This is legalism and moralism at their core. The mindset that in order to maintain a good standing before God we must make sure our good works outnumber the sin in our lives. The gospel frees us from thinking this way. When we can fully embrace the gospel we realize that nothing we can do will make God love us more, and nothing we can do will make God love us less. Think about that. 

Tullian Tchividjian in his great book “Jesus + Nothing = Everything” writes about how the  Gospel frees us from legalism and points us to Christ’s finished work on the cross. He writes, “Paul isn’t saying that our performance leads to our rescue; he’s saying that genuine rescue leads to our performance. Our improvement comes from God’s approval; God’s approval doesn’t come from our improvement.” If we truly understand God’s grace and what He did for us, it will lead to a life full of obedience out of love.” Jesus had harsh words for the Pharisees because their obedience to the law was not with the right motives. They kept the law as perfectly as any human could. However, it was not out of love for God, but rather their love of attention from others. A few pages later Tullian goes on to say, “As we continue working out our life of obedience in light of Christ’s obedience, one thing is clear: the issue is never whether or not to obey. We know the Bible has plenty to say about keeping God’s commands. That’s indisputable. But what motivates our obedience, what animates our obedience, and what prompts us to obey? Is it fear or faith? Is it guilt or gratitude?”

It was Paul’s prayer for the different churches he wrote to that they would be able to grasp that. To know the love of God. I believe one of the reasons many people struggle with legalism is because they translate how humans love each other to how God loves us. No one can love another person perfectly. If someone does something extremely hurtful to you, it is nearly impossible not to love them less. Christ’s love is unconditional and not based on how we did last week. In Ephesians 3:17-19 Paul writes, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” I encourage you to pray that not only for yourself but for your brothers and sisters in Christ. One final passage from Tullian’s book. “Most of us become guilty of this Christless Christianity because we look at the Bible and we see all of the imperatives without being washed by the indicatives. We spend more time asking what would Jesus do instead of what did Jesus do. We have to keep reminding ourselves of the difference between moralism and the gospel. We have to keep remembering that the reason Christ came was first of all not to make bad people good but to make dead people alive. If we forget that, our Christianity will turn out to be Christless.” 

“I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” - John 17:26

Behold, I am making all things new

Life is good. The last few months in my life have been excellent. I have been enjoying new learning experiences at school and a steady work schedule. New friendships have been formed and they are very encouraging to me. I began a relationship with a wonderful girl. Basically life is going very well for me. I admit there have been ups and downs, good and bad days, but overall a great few months. It is easy when things are going well on this earth to loose sight of heaven. When times are rough and we are in the valley of the shadow of death it is easy to long for heaven. But how about when things are going our way? Do we still long for heaven or do we become satisfied with the lesser things of earth? 

A few months ago I posted the prayer of Sir Francis Drake. Whenever I read it I am convicted and challenged all over again. I have it hanging up on my desk as a constant reminder. About half way through Sir Francis Drake prays, “Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; Having fallen in love with life, We have ceased to dream of eternity and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.”

Ceased to dream of eternity.... 

The other day I was reading through Revelation 21. As I read I began to dream again about eternity. Revelation 21:1-7 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

There are so many great truths in this passage. It says that God will dwell with man. We will dwell with God! There will no longer be separation from the King of Kings. We will be in His presence worshipping Him in His Holiness. It goes on to say that He will wipe away tears and death will be no more. We will not experience hurt, anger, sadness, frustration, or fear because there will be no more sin. No more living on an earth that is groaning as in the pains of childbirth. (Romans 8:22) But it does not stop there. The King says He is making all things new! There will be a new heaven and new earth.  The creator God who spoke and created this world. The creator God who made man in his image. The creator God who put the planets in orbit and stretched out the universe. This creator God is making all things new! It is beyond on our comprehension. The Alpha and the Omega who was before time and will forever reign calls us His children. He invites us to be with Him for all of eternity. Do we really grasp that? 

We hear phrases like “Preach the gospel to yourself daily.” The gospel is not just Christ’s work on the cross, but it is also His future kingdom. Because of imputation (Christ’s righteousness for our sin) we stand holy before God. Oh what a glorious day that will be. Paul understood what awaited him when he died. In Philippians 1:20-24 he says, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.”  Paul went through life with the end goal in sight. 

Are we torn like Paul or are we content with our life on earth? 

I want to live everyday of my life with the end goal in sight. When everything is going my way, I am eagerly awaiting Christ’s second coming. During life’s toughest times I am eagerly awaiting Christ’s second coming.  May we never cease to dream of eternity. 

Genuine Worship

Worship is probably on of the most controversial topics in the church. Everyone has their own opinion on how worship should be done. Everything from what songs to sing, how many to sing, which instruments to use, and how loud it should be played. I am afraid that when we get so caught up in having our favorite songs played each week that we can miss out on genuine worship. I have been to many different worship services from many different backgrounds, and I have watched many people worship. At any worship gathering there are always four different types of people.

1.  The Mumblers - These are the people who are not very interested in being there. They appear to be more concerned about what is happening after the service and they are happy when they can finally sit down after worship. They stand with their arms crossed sometimes barely singing along or not at all. I believe these people have never experienced true worship, because if they had they would be bursting with joy.

 2.  The Mindless - These are the people that are singing right along with the song. They know the songs because they listen to Christian radio all the time and they are regular attenders to church. However, they aren’t really thinking about the words they are singing. The songs have become so familiar that they don’t have to put any effort into singing them. They can sing along and be thinking about the football game later that day at the same time. 

3.   The Mimics - These people could also be compared to Pharisees. When they worship they may sing loud, jump up and down, raise their arms, or have their faces show many emotions. The problem is that it is a performance. They only want people to notice them and have a higher view of them. They are mimicking the truly genuine worshipers. 

4.  The Genuine - These people are in awe of God and love being in His presence. When they worship the words of the song draw them to reflect on the nature of God. They may be silent while they listen and pray. They may also be jumping up and down or raising their arms because they can not contain the joy inside of them. It is a natural outflowing of their heart. At times they forget there are other people around them because they are so focused on praising their King. 

If you are like me you can relate to all of these. I want my worship to be genuine and my motives to be right. Worship throughout our week in our daily lives leads to genuine, passionate worship on Sunday morning or any other time we worship. We can not expect to go through our week without reflecting on God’s grace and the gospel and then have a powerful worship experience on Sunday morning. 

Whenever I lead worship there is always that pressure to play the songs that I know will get reactions out of people. If I play “How He Loves” I will probably have at least half of the group raising their hands, but if I play “Holy, Holy, Holy” there probably will be a lot of mumbling. I want people to be able to genuinely worship on every song that we sing. I want people to experience the grace of God like never before and fall down in amazement. I cannot command someone to have genuine worship because it is a heart issue. What I can do is pray for them and encourage them to seek Him day after day. I can share with them what God has done in my life. I can show them the joy I have from being able to come and worship. 1 Corinthians 14:23-25 says “So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and some who do not understand or some unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?  But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’”  

Worship does not just happen at corporate services, it should be happening in our everyday lives. The way we live our lives should be an act of worship to our King.  I will end with a passage from Isaiah where we get a glimpse into the worship that is happening in heaven. It is a beautiful scene and I long for the day when I too can gather around the throne and sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.”

Isaiah 6:1-7

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

    "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."