If there was something that I could point out to our believing youth of today it would be that there is too much "us" in Christianity and not enough Jesus. It is sometimes a hard thing for us to understand how it is that we are suppose to live and operate under grace. We are a people who are fiercely independent and prefer to do things for ourselves. It is so ingrained in us that we do not even realize we are doing it and it permeates the Church of this age. Our attitude is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in word and song but it is me, me, me in action.
As a young person, how do you stop the habit of sin? Is it any different when one get's older? Too often we do not know how to allow the Spirit to work in us so we treat sin like a bad habit. We change our behaviour, turn our back on our action, clean house and think we are okay. But in truth, if it were possible to do this, to turn our back on sin, Jesus would not have had to go to the cross for us. It is the difference between every self-help book on the shelf and the work of the cross.
A powerful thing happened on that cross. The slavery to sin came to an end. Where there was no way, Jesus made a way. What Jesus did on the cross enabled God to enter in and transform us and by returning to the Father, Jesus was able to send the Spirit to enter into the children of God, allowing for the work of transformation. The whole thing is the work of God, and all we do is receive. It is a powerful work of grace, done by the love of the Father.
When we treat sin as a bad habit we are saying to our Father, "It's okay, I've got this one". We are telling him we don't need his help. We may pray the prayer and sing the songs but we are still trying to do the work. There is a big problem with this and Jesus warned us about it:
When an evil spirit leaves a person, it travels through the desert, looking for a place to rest. But when the demon doesn’t find a place, it says, “I will go back to the home I left.” When it gets there and finds the place empty, clean, and fixed up, it goes off and finds seven other evil spirits even worse than itself. They all come and make their home there, and the person ends up in worse shape than before. (Matthew 12:43-45)
Sin is not a bad habit; it is a very powerful, destructive nature that we have no power over except through Jesus Christ. If we treat it as a habit we will see no need for any help against it. The fact is that sin no longer has any power over us due to the power of Jesus in us but we need to allow that power to fully transform our hearts in order to see sin destroyed in us.
The way to beat sin is to allow Jesus to have full occupancy. Don't clean house, leave it empty and allow it to return with friends. Every day surrender all of the control to Jesus. Make it your heart's desire to know him more, to love him more, to walk in obedience more. As you do there is a displacement that happens. Because of the cross sin has no power over us and as we allow God to fill our house with the Spirit there is no place for that sin to remain or to move back in.
Getting rid of sin is often treated like how we try to get rid of fat. We try the latest diet and at first it works but our old habits are hard to break. The only way to deal with our health is a complete transformation of our lifestyle. It doesn't mean diet but a complete change of eating habits. It also includes a healthy, active lifestyle, less television and video games and more walking, cycling, hiking and any other activity we enjoy. Our spiritual transformation is the same way. It is not a conforming of behaviour that flip flops but a complete re-birth transformation into something new.
You speak to anyone of any maturity and they will tell you that the times they have failed are the times when they became selfish and self-centered, when they returned to the old nature. We cannot afford to be self-centered because, as followers of Jesus, warriors of the Kingdom, servant's of the King of glory, all we can afford to be is Christ-centered.
That is what it comes down to as a young person or a person of many years; what do I want today? Do I want to feed myself on my selfish desires or do I want to love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul and all my strength? Do we hear Jesus' words when he said, "If you love me you will do what I have asked"? It is hard every day, no matter your age, to set aside the attractive desires of this world and to choose Jesus over everything else, but that is how you beat sin, by loving Jesus more than everything else in your life. Then there is no room for sin.
Recognize that you have no power in yourself and that you are totally dependent on the power of God in you. It doesn't mean you are powerless; far from it. It means you are more powerful than you can possibly understand at this moment. When you are operating in the power God has given you, his power, nothing is impossible. It is why you are more than a conqueror; you are an overcomer, because Jesus has overcome. Let's set aside our feeble attempts at self-improvement and allow Jesus to complete the work he has begun in us. Let's get Jesus back into everything to do with Christianity. To God be the glory!
Showing posts with label redemption. Show all posts
Showing posts with label redemption. Show all posts
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
It Was All For You
It is finished!
Done.
Completed.
Over with.
The nails have pierced his skin.
The last words were spoken.
The last taunts were offered up.
Forgiveness was given.
The last breaths were breathed.
The side was pierced.
The blood has flowed.
The tears have been cried.
The rain has fallen.
The earth has shook.
The curtain torn.
Everything changed.
The Creator died.
Everything changed.
The power of sin is broken.
Everything changed.
Redemption has been won.
By Jesus.
For us.
But the cost ...
The body is perfumed.
The tomb is sealed.
Hearts are broken.
Reality beckons.
Despair sets in.
Alone.
Lost.
Confused.
Forgotten.
Separated.
Now we wait.
Behind closed doors.
A blanket of fear pulled tight.
Will it happen?
Will we see the sign of Jonah?
Was this more than a day off for you?
Don`t you get it?
It's all about you!
It was all for you.
Done.
Completed.
Over with.
The nails have pierced his skin.
The last words were spoken.
The last taunts were offered up.
Forgiveness was given.
The last breaths were breathed.
The side was pierced.
The blood has flowed.
The tears have been cried.
The rain has fallen.
The earth has shook.
The curtain torn.
Everything changed.
The Creator died.
Everything changed.
The power of sin is broken.
Everything changed.
Redemption has been won.
By Jesus.
For us.
But the cost ...
The body is perfumed.
The tomb is sealed.
Hearts are broken.
Reality beckons.
Despair sets in.
Alone.
Lost.
Confused.
Forgotten.
Separated.
Now we wait.
Behind closed doors.
A blanket of fear pulled tight.
Will it happen?
Will we see the sign of Jonah?
Was this more than a day off for you?
Don`t you get it?
It's all about you!
It was all for you.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Who Do You Worship During Christmas?
It's Christmas season and those who still remember what Christmas is about are teaching everyone about baby Jesus. The only thing is, we need to make sure we are not worshipping baby Jesus. We like to be sentimental about the circumstances of Jesus' birth and we like to think of that little baby, watched over by his loving parents. We will attend plays about this birth. We will create manger scenes. Children will colour pictures of it. People will attend church for their annual visit and they will hear about the baby again. But we don't worship a baby. Jesus is not a baby. We need to remind ourselves who Jesus is this Christmas.
Over the next few days I am going to use Colossians to remind us of who Jesus is, of his supremacy over all creation and I am going to do it in bite sized morsels. Smaller bite sizes are better for digestion. Let's start off with this:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Colossians 1:15)
If you want to know who God is look to Jesus. God took on physical shape and revealed his heart to us. He demonstrated his compassion, mercy and grace while being one of us. He lived and demonstrated how we are to live, under the control of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit came on Jesus at the baptism, it wasn't symbolic, it was necessary. Jesus had set aside his divine nature to become one of us so he needed the Spirit to do what would follow in his three years of ministry. This is the same life he has called us into and he has filled us with the same Spirit.
Jesus came as a seed. He had to be first so we could follow. He was creating something new so that we could become a new creation. When Jesus came as one of us, everything was changed forever. There would be no going back to what he was. He has been changed for all eternity.
When Jesus was raised from the grave it was as a new creation. Something like that had never existed before. Even now he sits at the right hand of the Father in a resurrected body, which he did not have before. He sits there representing us and what we will be. He is the first born of this new creation and because he was born this way the rest of us can follow.
We have to learn from Jesus what it is to live in this place, under the restrictions of this body but filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.We have to look to Jesus' example and understand that he spent three years setting an example for us. If you want to know how to live a life that glorifies God look to how Jesus lived, under the control of the Holy Spirit.
We also get our hope from him. If you want to know what is in store for us, look to see what happened at the resurrection. Understand that our bodies are the last thing to be redeemed. Our minds and hearts have already been redeemed and on the day we are called home our bodies will be redeemed as well. No more illness, weakness or suffering. The work of redemption will be made complete, all because Jesus went first.
This is who we are celebrating this Christmas. We do not worship a baby in a manger but instead the first born of all creation, the risen Lord, Christ Jesus. To him I bow my knee. To him I pour out my adoration. To him I sing songs of thanksgiving. Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord! And let us give him all the glory.
Over the next few days I am going to use Colossians to remind us of who Jesus is, of his supremacy over all creation and I am going to do it in bite sized morsels. Smaller bite sizes are better for digestion. Let's start off with this:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Colossians 1:15)
If you want to know who God is look to Jesus. God took on physical shape and revealed his heart to us. He demonstrated his compassion, mercy and grace while being one of us. He lived and demonstrated how we are to live, under the control of the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit came on Jesus at the baptism, it wasn't symbolic, it was necessary. Jesus had set aside his divine nature to become one of us so he needed the Spirit to do what would follow in his three years of ministry. This is the same life he has called us into and he has filled us with the same Spirit.
Jesus came as a seed. He had to be first so we could follow. He was creating something new so that we could become a new creation. When Jesus came as one of us, everything was changed forever. There would be no going back to what he was. He has been changed for all eternity.
When Jesus was raised from the grave it was as a new creation. Something like that had never existed before. Even now he sits at the right hand of the Father in a resurrected body, which he did not have before. He sits there representing us and what we will be. He is the first born of this new creation and because he was born this way the rest of us can follow.
We have to learn from Jesus what it is to live in this place, under the restrictions of this body but filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.We have to look to Jesus' example and understand that he spent three years setting an example for us. If you want to know how to live a life that glorifies God look to how Jesus lived, under the control of the Holy Spirit.
We also get our hope from him. If you want to know what is in store for us, look to see what happened at the resurrection. Understand that our bodies are the last thing to be redeemed. Our minds and hearts have already been redeemed and on the day we are called home our bodies will be redeemed as well. No more illness, weakness or suffering. The work of redemption will be made complete, all because Jesus went first.
This is who we are celebrating this Christmas. We do not worship a baby in a manger but instead the first born of all creation, the risen Lord, Christ Jesus. To him I bow my knee. To him I pour out my adoration. To him I sing songs of thanksgiving. Come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord! And let us give him all the glory.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The Lies Of Our Heart Are Re-enforced By The Lies Of Our Enemy
I really hate the enemy of our soul for what he has done to mankind. I know it was Adam's choice at the beginning that threw the whole race into rebellion against God, but it is the enemy who has kept us here. Satan hates God. He hates him with a passion and he wants to hurt God by robbing God of the object of his affection, us. He hates us too because God loves us, but his real purpose in the lies he convinces us are truths is because he wants to keep us separated from God to hurt God. This is the reason he works so hard to keep us in the dark and tries to keep blinders on us so we can't see God.
In order for us to be saved from this sin nature and from the enemy we have to get to the point of understanding and accepting the truth that:
... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... (Romans 8:23)
Maybe you think there are a lot of good people out there, and, compared to some people who commit murder, they appear good, but the fact is we all sin. Paul told Timothy:
The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. (1 Timothy 5:24)
In other words, some sins are obvious and the whole world can see, whereas others are hidden but will still be revealed in time.
All of us. Every single person ever born was born with this sin nature and have given into it, except the one who came to save us by defeating this sin nature, Jesus Christ. This sin nature will try to convince us of a lot of lies and the enemy is there to re-enforce them but sin still comes down to us and that is why we will be held accountable for it. God has given us enough revelation in nature itself to know there is a God, and he has given us his Word and the Holy Spirit to convict us of our need to be rescued from this sin nature. He has also sent Jesus as our rescuer, the one who can set us free. Romans 8 is a great chapter to read to give better insight into the power of this nature and the power of Jesus to break it's grip on us. Read this:
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5)
When we turn our back on this sin nature by accepting the gift of freedom from Jesus and we dedicate our lives to him, he gives us another gift, the Holy Spirit, who is the power of God in us. The Spirit guides us away from sin and into all the wonderful blessings of God. He gives us the power to live godly lives to the honour and glory of God.
Jesus Christ is the only one who can save us from this nature we were born with. He is the only one who can reconcile us to God. He is the only one who can free us from our slavery. He is the only way we can come to the Father; there is no other way. We can't live a good life and earn our way. We can lie to ourselves and convince ourselves that God's love will save us even though we persist in our sins. We can convince ourselves that the Bible is outdated and God understands the current age in which we live. God understands alright, he understands that sin separates us from him. It always has and always will. We were given the Law so that sin would be defined, so that we could understand the difference between right and wrong, so that we would be convicted of our actions and the nature of our heart. Then he gave us Jesus to pay the price of our sin and set us free. Calling evil good and good evil will not save you. It is God who makes these definitions and we will be judged according to them, unless we have been set free from them by Jesus.
Do yourself a big favour today, set aside your opinions and thinking, set aside the lies of the enemy, set aside the blinders and let Jesus remove the scales from your eyes. Be willing to see the truth and then allow Jesus to rescue you from the slavery you were born in to. God created you but he did not create you to be like this. He has something better planned for you and you will find it in Jesus.
In order for us to be saved from this sin nature and from the enemy we have to get to the point of understanding and accepting the truth that:
... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God... (Romans 8:23)
Maybe you think there are a lot of good people out there, and, compared to some people who commit murder, they appear good, but the fact is we all sin. Paul told Timothy:
The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. (1 Timothy 5:24)
In other words, some sins are obvious and the whole world can see, whereas others are hidden but will still be revealed in time.
All of us. Every single person ever born was born with this sin nature and have given into it, except the one who came to save us by defeating this sin nature, Jesus Christ. This sin nature will try to convince us of a lot of lies and the enemy is there to re-enforce them but sin still comes down to us and that is why we will be held accountable for it. God has given us enough revelation in nature itself to know there is a God, and he has given us his Word and the Holy Spirit to convict us of our need to be rescued from this sin nature. He has also sent Jesus as our rescuer, the one who can set us free. Romans 8 is a great chapter to read to give better insight into the power of this nature and the power of Jesus to break it's grip on us. Read this:
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Romans 8:5)
When we turn our back on this sin nature by accepting the gift of freedom from Jesus and we dedicate our lives to him, he gives us another gift, the Holy Spirit, who is the power of God in us. The Spirit guides us away from sin and into all the wonderful blessings of God. He gives us the power to live godly lives to the honour and glory of God.
Jesus Christ is the only one who can save us from this nature we were born with. He is the only one who can reconcile us to God. He is the only one who can free us from our slavery. He is the only way we can come to the Father; there is no other way. We can't live a good life and earn our way. We can lie to ourselves and convince ourselves that God's love will save us even though we persist in our sins. We can convince ourselves that the Bible is outdated and God understands the current age in which we live. God understands alright, he understands that sin separates us from him. It always has and always will. We were given the Law so that sin would be defined, so that we could understand the difference between right and wrong, so that we would be convicted of our actions and the nature of our heart. Then he gave us Jesus to pay the price of our sin and set us free. Calling evil good and good evil will not save you. It is God who makes these definitions and we will be judged according to them, unless we have been set free from them by Jesus.
Do yourself a big favour today, set aside your opinions and thinking, set aside the lies of the enemy, set aside the blinders and let Jesus remove the scales from your eyes. Be willing to see the truth and then allow Jesus to rescue you from the slavery you were born in to. God created you but he did not create you to be like this. He has something better planned for you and you will find it in Jesus.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Did Judas Have A Choice? Do You?
To be truthful I am not sure how to start this blog this morning because the subject is a difficult one. It has to do with free will; the ability God has given us to make decisions independent from him. This has led to much misunderstanding and a lot of blame levelled at God. People may say things like, "Why didn't God stop me from doing that?" or "Why did God allow such a thing to happen?" I can only imagine how often we break his heart when we choose against him and end up hurting ourselves and others. Do not be mistaken, God grieves over the great pain and suffering in this world but he made the decision from the beginning to allow us to make our own choices, good and bad, which leads to a lot of pain but to great victories as well. It is thinking about Judas that has provoked this subject this morning.
Some people may tell you that Judas was locked into the role that he played in the history of Jesus, that he had no choice. But if he had no choice it means that God is a liar. For a person to be born for the purpose of a single evil act and to be condemned to eternal torment would be cruel beyond imagining and our God is opposite to cruel. No, we are born to a life of choices, to millions of possibilities and God sees every single one of them for every single human being living today. It boggles the mind to realize how many outcomes today could have depending on who makes what decisions, but what is truly amazing is that God has laid down his plans for every one of them. Nothing surprises God.
In the case of Judas we hold to the understanding that he made a choice. It was his choice born out of whatever motivation pushed him in that direction. Only one thing was certain in those days and that was the cross to which Jesus was heading. The cross was certain but the path to it did not need to include Judas' betrayal. It could have been anyone or it could have been in a different manner but it did not have to be Judas. Jesus declared to his disciples:
The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. (Matthew 26:24)
The cross was a definite but Jesus also knew that Judas had made his decision, that he had already taken action. Jesus knew and he also knew what the outcome would be:
But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born. (Matthew 26:24)
This was not a curse as some have seen it but a simple statement of fact. Jesus knew the condition of Judas' heart, he knew the actions he had already taken and he knew the despair that would destroy him. Some may question why he did not make a final plea with Judas, but that is the same as asking why God doesn't prevent us from doing wrong. Judas had spent three years with Jesus, watching, listening, learning and participating. If he did not understand after three years how would any plea from Jesus change things now. God has given his all to us. He speaks to us in everything around us. He speaks clearly through his Word. We are possessed by the Spirit who teaches us. What more can he do besides taking our free will away from us?
The words Jesus spoke about the cross and his betrayer are similar to what Jesus said about sin and the world:
Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! (Matthew 18:7)
Just because sin and evil are a common thing in this world is no excuse for it happening. Just because it is a natural product of a fallen creation does not mean we get to claim innocence. We cannot turn around and say it is God's fault because he did not stop us. We cannot say that he created us this way so we are only doing what comes natural. Jesus made it clear that we are to blame for any sin we bring into this world. We stand fully condemned by the decisions and choices we make:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18)
Judas should not be pitied as a pawn in God's plan. He had a choice and he made his choice. God simply did what he always does; he used what the dark powers intend as bad to bring about good. The truly sad thing about Judas, the thing for which we can have pity, is that he removed the possibility of repentance and restoration by giving into his despair and ending his life. Our own story does not end with our act of evil, with our act of sin because our Jesus is all about redemption and restoration. Jesus knew the outcome for Judas because he could see the condition of Judas' hardened heart but that does not have to be our outcome:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
That is God's plan and always has been. He has no desire to see us destroyed but instead has given everything he has to see us forgiven, renewed and restored to him. Before we sin we have a choice but praise be to God for his great grace, even after we sin we have a choice. Woe to the man through whom sin comes into this world but double woe to the man who remains unrepentant of that fact. We are not locked into some course that we have been given. The sins of our past, the mistakes we have made, do not have to define who we are today. It is amazing how God is able to work good out of those sins when we allow him to do his thing in our life. He offers us a rebirth if we are willing to trust him, a new future, a better course to take, a greater destiny. It is our choice what decisions we make:
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:19-21)
You are not locked into the sin of your past. Not even Judas was locked in. Leave your poor choices, your mistakes and your sins behind and allow Jesus Christ to bring you into the light of the greater destiny he has planned for you.
Some people may tell you that Judas was locked into the role that he played in the history of Jesus, that he had no choice. But if he had no choice it means that God is a liar. For a person to be born for the purpose of a single evil act and to be condemned to eternal torment would be cruel beyond imagining and our God is opposite to cruel. No, we are born to a life of choices, to millions of possibilities and God sees every single one of them for every single human being living today. It boggles the mind to realize how many outcomes today could have depending on who makes what decisions, but what is truly amazing is that God has laid down his plans for every one of them. Nothing surprises God.
In the case of Judas we hold to the understanding that he made a choice. It was his choice born out of whatever motivation pushed him in that direction. Only one thing was certain in those days and that was the cross to which Jesus was heading. The cross was certain but the path to it did not need to include Judas' betrayal. It could have been anyone or it could have been in a different manner but it did not have to be Judas. Jesus declared to his disciples:
The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. (Matthew 26:24)
The cross was a definite but Jesus also knew that Judas had made his decision, that he had already taken action. Jesus knew and he also knew what the outcome would be:
But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born. (Matthew 26:24)
This was not a curse as some have seen it but a simple statement of fact. Jesus knew the condition of Judas' heart, he knew the actions he had already taken and he knew the despair that would destroy him. Some may question why he did not make a final plea with Judas, but that is the same as asking why God doesn't prevent us from doing wrong. Judas had spent three years with Jesus, watching, listening, learning and participating. If he did not understand after three years how would any plea from Jesus change things now. God has given his all to us. He speaks to us in everything around us. He speaks clearly through his Word. We are possessed by the Spirit who teaches us. What more can he do besides taking our free will away from us?
The words Jesus spoke about the cross and his betrayer are similar to what Jesus said about sin and the world:
Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! (Matthew 18:7)
Just because sin and evil are a common thing in this world is no excuse for it happening. Just because it is a natural product of a fallen creation does not mean we get to claim innocence. We cannot turn around and say it is God's fault because he did not stop us. We cannot say that he created us this way so we are only doing what comes natural. Jesus made it clear that we are to blame for any sin we bring into this world. We stand fully condemned by the decisions and choices we make:
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:18)
Judas should not be pitied as a pawn in God's plan. He had a choice and he made his choice. God simply did what he always does; he used what the dark powers intend as bad to bring about good. The truly sad thing about Judas, the thing for which we can have pity, is that he removed the possibility of repentance and restoration by giving into his despair and ending his life. Our own story does not end with our act of evil, with our act of sin because our Jesus is all about redemption and restoration. Jesus knew the outcome for Judas because he could see the condition of Judas' hardened heart but that does not have to be our outcome:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
That is God's plan and always has been. He has no desire to see us destroyed but instead has given everything he has to see us forgiven, renewed and restored to him. Before we sin we have a choice but praise be to God for his great grace, even after we sin we have a choice. Woe to the man through whom sin comes into this world but double woe to the man who remains unrepentant of that fact. We are not locked into some course that we have been given. The sins of our past, the mistakes we have made, do not have to define who we are today. It is amazing how God is able to work good out of those sins when we allow him to do his thing in our life. He offers us a rebirth if we are willing to trust him, a new future, a better course to take, a greater destiny. It is our choice what decisions we make:
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:19-21)
You are not locked into the sin of your past. Not even Judas was locked in. Leave your poor choices, your mistakes and your sins behind and allow Jesus Christ to bring you into the light of the greater destiny he has planned for you.
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