The Gospel

Want a picture of God's Justice? Read Deuteronomy 28. God lays down what will happen to His people, Israel, if they disobey or obey His commandments. How great are the blessings and how horrible the curses. You have to read the entire chapter to fully realize the immense gap between these two actions. How serious God is about righteousness. Remember when you read that Jesus paid the price, He took that punishment. Because of our awesome Savior we are saved from the wrath of God. It is impossible for us to achieve God's law; Romans 8:6-8 says that "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, NOR CAN IT DO SO. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God". All humanity is destined to God's righteous wrath. Yet, as the hymn says, the wrath of God was satisfied. It is satisfied by the perfect blood of Jesus Christ. He took all that wrath upon Him; all He asks in return is for you to give Him your life. You will lose it anyway. That's what Jesus means when He says in Matthew 16:25 you must deny your life to gain it. For if you keep your life for yourself you will run into God's wrath. Read the second half of Dut. 28; the wrath of God is not a good place to be. Yet if you lose your life to Christ, your whole life, having faith that He will save you, you will gain life. He gave his life as your ransom: "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45). Doesn't it make sense now. So many people are confused with what Christianity is. Martin Luther calls it the Great Exchange: “This is that mystery which is rich in divine grace to sinners: wherein by a wonderful exchange our sins are no longer ours but Christ’s, and the righteousness of Christ not Christ’s but ours. He has emptied himself of his righteousness that he might clothe us with it and fill us with it; and he has taken our evils upon himself that he might deliver us from them.” (Matin Luther). Not only to do you gain the life you would have lost, but it is a far better life than you would have had. John 10:10 says "...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." We call this the Gospel. How is there any reason left to not have faith in Jesus? I beg you to come to Him, save yourself from the wrath of God, for it is just. Have faith in Jesus. Links are below for more information.

Deuteronomy 28
More about the Gospel

*If anyone has any question about anything on this article please leave a comment and your e-mail and I will be glad to talk to you about it.

Overcoming My Idol

My biggest struggle is acceptance. I love to be liked. I love to have friends and family who love me back. I love to be the center of conversation. I love to be the one that everyone loves. I have loved this love of like more than God, and that is my sin. Of course, with this sin came my other crowning sin, pride. I was proud of my Christian walk. I have never smoked a cigarette or drunk a beer. I never touched drugs and curses never flew from my mouth. I was proud of my “success” as a Christian. Yet I was sinner through and through. My life was based on acceptance. I would sometimes do my devotions purely so I could tell people I had done my devotions. I would sometimes tell jokes to friends that I knew I shouldn’t have for laughter. It is so funny how we chastise bible characters like Esau for doing something so stupid as selling his birthright for a bowl of soup, then we turn around and do the same thing. I would sell my birthright for a laugh. In fact, I would sell more, my very soul. Praise God he has redeemed and saved me from such a worthless trade. I now realize how foolish I was (and still am). I used God to feed my pride and need of acceptance. I turned the best good the world has ever known into an avenue to gain popularity and privilege. Jesus pinned me in Matthew 23:25: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean”. Francis Chan once said to his church: “God doesn’t want you hear singing ‘hallelujah’ if your life screams ‘crucify him!’”. I was a Pharisee. My cup was clean as could be on the outside, but filthy inside. I sang loud and well “Hallelujah!” on Sunday, yet deep in my heart I yelled “Crucify Him!”. Yet God forgives; even such evil as I have done. Finally broken by God, I laid all my life bare before Him (as if it all was not already). I surrendered everything. I prayed for the Holy Spirit’s help with my addiction to pride and people pleasing. I had to give up my ambition, my strength, and all the wisdom I thought I have. It was all God’s. I prayed that He might take my life and do with it what He will. Like the song says, I got to the point where it was well with my soul. Everything God could will was well with my soul. Whether I pastored a church of 40,000 or 4. Whether I married a beautiful wife or lived alone. Whether I was hated or loved. I realized God was the only one I needed to please. God is the only thing I must have pride in (Jer 9:23-24). I deny life that I may gain real life (Matt 16:25).
Let me be clear, I have not conquered my sin; yet with God’s help I am improving. I struggle daily with the reasons I do the things I do. Also, realize that I did not begin improving by praying and then going back to what I was doing before. One of my favorite verses is Exodus 14:15. The Israelites are trapped by the Red Sea and cry out to God, and He says to Moses “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” The Israelites knew God’s promises, they saw His power in Egypt with the plagues. They should have had hope and faith in God, prayed to Him for help, then moved on. We have God on our side, why are we afraid to do anything? Of course, God doesn’t need our help, but He wants us to truly love Him, so he gives us choices to make. In fact, trials and temptations are suppose to create perseverance in us (James 1:2-8).
So what did I do specifically to “move on”? I have to always ask myself if my reasons for doing anything is for man or God. Even while writing this article I asked God if I am writing this so others will think better of me, or if I am writing so others may avoid my mistakes. I don’t volunteer to pray aloud as much as I used to; to avoid the temptations of “babbling like the pagans” or praying “to be seen by men” (Matt 6:5-8). When I sing praises to God I do so softly, or sometimes don’t even sing, but listen to those around me, or pray. So that no one can praise my voice, for it does not deserve to be praised. I don’t raise my hands or kneel, so I do not draw anyone’s attention to myself. I praise my God silently. In theological discussions I listen more than I speak (although there is always a time to speak). I don’t ask questions I know the answers to. I have devotions in secret, so no one will find me. And I do not hope that someone finds me while in my quiet time with my Savior. Don’t misunderstand me, most of these things are not evil, it is simply that I have found that in my life these restrictions help me avoid temptation.
What are your struggles? What do you put above God? What can you do to truly put those idols behind you? Identifying your idol is the hardest part. Once you know your enemy, attack it. Take it fully from your life if you can, run like Joseph ran from Potiphar’s wife. Pray to God for help, He is faithful and will always give you a way out of your temptation (1 Cor 10:13). With God’s help, you can do it. You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength (Phil 4:13). You are never lost to God; He can bring you back from your sin. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt 19:26) Give up your life, that you might gain real life!

Hosea and Our Idols

So I have recently begun to read Hosea for devotions. This little book towards the back of the Old Testament is often swiftly read over by daily bible readers eager to get to the Gospels. Yet this little book has taught me so much in the past two days. The story is very simple; Israel has fallen away from the one true God and have replaced Him in their hearts with idols. The prophet Hosea, following God’s orders, then marries the prostitute Gomer to represent to Israel what they are doing to God. Gomer, after having three children with Hosea, gives in to her old temptations and returns to the brothel. God uses this illustration to pierce the hearts of the Israelites. In chapter 2 God tells Israel of their evil. He rebukes them and warns that, because they did not turn away He will make “her (Israel) as bare as on the day she was born, I will make her like a desert.” (Hosea 2:3). This chapter is perhaps one of the best pictures of how God works through the trials for “the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Of Israel God says “I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them...I will take away my grain when it ripens, and my new wine when it is ready. I will take back my wool and my linen, intended to cover her nakedness...I will ruin her vines and her fig trees, which she said were her pay from her lovers...I will punish her for the days she burned incense to the Baals...and went after lovers, but me she forgot” (Hosea 2:6-7, 9, 12-13). The first thought many Christians have when they read this is “I don’t worship any idols. I don’t have any wooden statues or incense to deities.” That thought is what many times keeps people from learning things for these Old Testament books. We still have plenty of idols in our day! They just changed their names. Mark Driscoll once said “Idols are normally good things, that we turn into god things, and that makes them bad things”. I’ll give you some examples: a young Christian man who wants to look for a good Christian wife. Obviously, that is not a bad thing, it is a very good thing. Yet if that becomes a quest, a life-consuming goal to the point where the young man loves the idea of this woman more than God, that is an idol. Same thing can happen in a marriage or friendship. Anything we place above God is an idol. Some other idols can include pleasure, pride, jealousy, jobs, family, Christian ministry, sex, people pleasing, knowledge, education, grades, perfection, being spiritual, recognition, leadership, and so many more. The root of all sins are idolatry! That’s why Hosea is such an amazing book; we all are like Israel. We all forget about God, we all cling to other lovers, we all burn incense to our own Baals. So God, in His all-knowing love, blocks our paths, unsatisfies us, punishes us. Takes away our comfort, our security, our money, our lovers. We are left naked like the desert. Yet this is not the end of the story. Gomer is saved by Hosea, who buys her back and brings her into his house and loves her. God uses an even better illustration. “I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her...I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness and you will acknowledge that I am God.”(Hosea 2:15, 19-20) This reunion is so wonderful that the Bible says, “‘In that day’, declares the Lord ‘you will call me “my husband”; you will no longer call me “my master”’”. (Hosea 2:16). This grace is so amazing that any anger or resentment or reluctance we feel melts away. The fear we had because of his punishment, that fear that makes us call him “master”, is gone when His embrace turns our fear into love as we utter through our tears “husband”. We change our name of God from a fearful name to one of affection. How amazing is God’s forgiveness. It changes fear to love, and turns a sinner into a saint. Turn from your idols, and run back to God!

Surrender

Lately I have had trouble singing in church without tears coming to my eyes. I know it sounds like I’m trying to be the “most spiritual”, being touched in a more sincere way than everyone else, but I’m not doing it for the gold metal in most sincere worship. The crux of the matter is simply that the words of these songs have taken on new meaning. I used to enjoy the music for it’s style and beat, but now I love it on a much deeper level. When an entire congregation sings the words “It is well with my soul”, and mean it, something unexplainable happens. Surrender. Together we cry out to God that we are helpless without Him and together throw our lives at His feet. Our hearts give up their futile struggle for joy apart from the all-loving God and beg Jesus for purpose. So when we sing “It is well with my soul” it is not a worthless verse put to music, but a joyous appreciation that God can do anything in our lives and we will hang on to this promise Jesus has given us. When we sing “Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee. How great Thou art!” we are not harmonizing to show our vocal range to the person in front of us, but acknowledging God as the amazing, loving, powerful and fearful God that He is. When I think of these emotions I just cry; softly and quietly so as not to disturb that beautiful song. Tears of joy and amazement, that I have received this gift which I oh so mightily do not deserve. Why it has taken me 18 years to understand worship I do not know, but now that I understand I can never enter into musical praise the same way again. I no longer sing, but simply surrender.

Memorizing Update

As I've said before I'm really working on memorizing more scripture this year. Here is my progress so far (I'm not looking at a Bible or anything to help me remember while I am writing this):

Psalm 103:1-4
"Bless the Lord, O my soul, all that is within me bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not His benefits. He who forgives all your iniquities, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from destruction, and crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies..."

Jeremiah 9:23-24
"'Let not the wise glory in their wisdom, let not the rich glory in their riches, let not the mighty glory in their might, but let him who glories glory in this, that he knows and understands Me. That I am the Lord, exercising judgement, righteousness, and loving kindness throughout the earth.' Thus says the Lord."

Romans 8:28
"For we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose."

and now I'm trying to memorize a large passage of scripture, Colossians 3:1-17. This is what I have so far:

"Therefore since you were raised with Christ set you hearts on thing above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will be raised with Him in Glory."
That's through verse 4. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

Robinson Crusoe's Text

I'm currently reading Desiring God, by John Piper. An excellent book on how to live life for the joy that comes from following Christ. A book of extreme power that will surely change the way you think about your life with Christ; a book I highly recommend you read. Here is a passage from the book where Piper talks about the two-way nature of prayer:

"Charles Spurgeon once preached a sermon on this very topic (prayer to glorify God) and called it 'Robinson Cursoe's Text.' He began like this:

'Robinson Crusoe has been wrecked. He is left on the desert island all alone. His case is a very pitiable one. He goes to bed, and he is smitten with fever. This fever lasts upon him long, and he has no one to wait upon him-none even to bring him a drink of cold water. He had been accustomed to sin, and had all the vices of a sailor; but his hard case brought him to think. he opens a Bible which he finds in his chest, and he lights upon this passage, "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." That night he prayed for the first time in his life, and ever after there was in hope in God, which marked the birth of the heavenly life.'*

Robinson Crusoe's text was Psalm 50:15. It is God's way of getting glory for Himself-Pray to Me! I will deliver you! And the result will be that you will glorify Me!
Spurgeon's explanation is penetrating:

'God and the praying man takes shares...First here is you share: "Call upon me in the day of trouble." Secondly, here is God's Share: "I will deliver thee." Again, you take a share-for you shall be delivered. And then again it is the Lord's turn-"Thou shalt glorify me." Here is a compact, a covenant that God enters into with you who pray to him, and whom he helps. He says, "You shall have the deliverance, but I must have the Glory..." Here is a delightful partnership: we obtain that which we so greatly need, and all that God getteth is the glory which is due unto his name.'

A delightful partnership indeed! Prayer is the very heart of Christian Hedonism. God gets the glory; we get delight. He gets the glory precisely because He shows Himself full and strong to deliver us into joy. And we attain fullness of joy precisely because He is the all-glorious source and goal of life.
Here is a great discovery: We do not glorify God by providing His needs, buy by praying that He would provide ours-and trusting Him to answer."**

Again, the book is "Desiring God", by John Piper. I highly, highly recommend it.

*Charles Spurgeon, Twelve Sermons on Prayer (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1971), 105.
**John Piper, Desiring God (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2003), 162-163.

Success in Ministry

I was recently driving and listening to a podcast (I'll be writing soon about podcasts I subscribe to) of a conversation between John Piper and John MacArthur. Something John MacArthur said really resonated with me, he said that in ministry, he only worries about the depth and not the breadth of his ministry. Now that you are all confused I will explain further. MacArthur explains it with some of my favorite illustrations, sports. In football, for instance, you cannot control the outcome of a game by yourself. There are eleven guys on the opposite side of the ball who are trying to stop you from doing what you want to do, and there are ten other guys on your side who have to do things right for you to be able to do the thing you want to do. You might have to read that sentence a few times to understand what I'm trying to say, but basically it is simply that all things are not always in your control. This is not a fun pill to swallow for some, but if your pride allows you to swallow it, then this fact is extremely freeing. God is in control of everything, you are not! MacArthur's specific application of this fact in ministry is that you cannot control your successes. You are not the one who is responsible for your success. All you can account for is effort; just like in sports. Just as in the middle of a football game all you can do is try your best to tackle the man with the ball, all you can do in ministry is do your best, and God takes care of the rest. This includes making sure you are close to God in you personal life, that you are following God in your family, in your marriage, that you are painstakingly checking your messages for truth. That you are giving the best effort, that you are putting yourself fully into ministry. The harvest of that effort is completely up to God. Worry about the depth, not the breadth of your ministry.