Down with "Have-it-togetherness"

From Andrew Peterson:

Jesus is making us into something. C. S. Lewis wrote that God is making us into “little Christs.” We all ache for the day when we’ll be free of our sins, our bad habits, our bitterness, the things about us that we think ugly or undesirable. But perhaps the road of sanctification will be an easier one when we recognize in ourselves the sin of self-consciousness, the sin of reputation management, the sin of lying to ourselves. To live our lives with a pretense of self-sufficiency, strength, and have-it-togetherness is to diminish the visible work of God’s grace. One of your greatest blessings to the community around you may be your utter brokenness, it may be something about yourself that you loathe, but which Christ will use for his glory. When Jesus is Lord of our brokenness we are free to rejoice in the mighty work he has yet to do in us. We are free to enter the stage in the face of the devil’s accusation, “You’re not good enough.”

No Not One!

Sung this hymn in church on Sunday. Music to the sinners ears!

1. There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,
   No, not one! No, not one!
   None else could heal all our soul’s diseases,
   No, not one! No, not one!
2. 
   
3. Refrain:
4. Jesus knows all about our struggles,
5. He will guide till the day is done;
6. There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,
7. No, not one! No, not one!
8. No friend like Him is so high and holy,
   No, not one! No, not one!
   And yet no friend is so meek and lowly,
   No, not one! No, not one!
9. There’s not an hour that He is not near us,
   No, not one! No, not one!
   No night so dark but His love can cheer us,
   No, not one! No, not one!
10. Did ever saint find this Friend forsake him?
    No, not one! No, not one!
    Or sinner find that He would not take him?
    No, not one! No, not one!
11. Was e’er a gift like the Savior given?
    No, not one! No, not one!
    Will He refuse us a home in heaven?
    No, not one! No, not one!

Why Does God Allow Suffering

What is the purpose of suffering? If God is a good God, why do bad things happen to good people? For an honest man, these are fair and common questions. I've been reading through the book of Job recently (part of a chronological Bible reading plan for the new year), and was struck by Elihu's (one of Job's friends) response to Job's suffering and subsequent questioning of God's justice in it all. Elihu is realistic about the pain, brokenness and suffering that is present in all of our lives. Yet, he offers us a hopeful response as to why a sovereign God allows such brokenness and pain. Please read:

"Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones, 

so that his life loathes bread, and his appetite the choicest food. 

His flesh is so wasted away that is cannot be seen, and his bones that were not seen stick out. 

His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death. 

If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him,

and he is merciful to him, and says,

'Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom;

let his flesh become flesh with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor'

then man prays to God, and he accepts him; he sees his face with a shout of joy,

and he restores to man his righteousness.

He sings before men and says:

'I sinned and perverted what was right, and it was not repaid to me. 

He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,

and my life shall look upon light.'"

Job 33:19-28

A couple things stick out to me as I read this. 

• First, God allows brokenness, pain, and suffering to happen, even to those pursuing Him, because it allows us to experience his salvation. As this passage points out, we can't experience redemption from the pit, unless we ourselves are in the pit. We can't experience the joy of a ransom, unless we are first held captive. In other words, we can not rightly taste and experience the salvation of the Lord, unless we first know, understand, and experience the plight of sin in the world. Healing is sweet when we know we are broken. 
• Second, God allows brokenness, pain, and suffering to happen because it serves as a testimony to the Lord. Notice in this passage, the man who is restored and ransomed from the pit "sings before men and says.....He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit."God's redemptive grace  amidst our brokenness and pain serves to glorify God and point to his Sovereign goodness. 
• Lastly, reading this passage, it is clear that all of these things are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is the one who redeemed our lives when we were in the pit. He is our ransom. He is the merciful one. Let us turn to, and accept this God. 

Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being

Check out this interview with Zach Eswine, author of Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being. A few months back, I had the privilege to hear Zach speak at Covenant Theological Seminary. Zach is one of those rare people who you hear or meet, and they just ooze with gospel grace.

Checking Yourself In

Then David confessed to Nathan, 

"I have sinned against the LORD."
2 Samuel 12:13

These are David's words following his horrendous actions in committing adultery with Bathsheba and then essentially killing her husband. To top it off, David lied and tried to cover the whole thing up before coming clean. 

This verse is also a bite-size preview of Psalm 51, wherein David confesses and repents to the LORD. The reason I love this story is because I think it gives a good snapshot of what Christianity is really about. This story shows one of the Bible's most Godly characters (David) fall into complete and utter sin and despair. It shows a hero of the faith fall.

But herein lies the beauty of the gospel. Where the seeming "hero" falls (David), the true Hero of the story is brought to center stage. The gospel is not about cleaning yourself up, hiding your sin, covering up your brokenness, or your own personal spiritual strength. Quite the opposite actually. It is about how we are all like David; ruined, broken, weak sinners who are in need of a divine act of grace on our behalf. The gospel is about us being honest with our sickness, sin, evil, and brokenness, and then turning and clinging to the only one who can actually save us. It is about looking to the true Hero for forgiveness and new life.

Think about it terms of a drug addict. It would simply be stupid for a drug addict,who is obviously addicted to keep living their lives as if they don't have a problem. It would be futile for them to attempt to clean themselves up on the outside, so they appear to be 'clean', but on the inside, they are still sick and addicted. The only solution is for them to ditch their delusion, be honest with themselves and realize they are jacked up and desperately need help. The solution is to check themselves in to rehab. Likewise, we are addicted to sin. We might not have killed anyone of committed adultery as David had, but I have absolutely no doubt, that if you look at your life honestly, and compare it to God's standard of love, truthfulness, compassion, and justice, you will cringe at your sickness. Like a delusional drug addict, our tendency is to live our lives as one big cover up. We try so hard to hide the inner sickness of sin that is ruining our lives. We try to cover up our inner brokenness with big houses, fashionable clothes, successful careers, relationships, alcohol, sports, the latest gadgets, and the list goes on and on. Our tendency is to cover ourselves up and save face, rather than be real with the situation.

The beauty of the gospel is that we no longer have to save face. You no longer have to cover up all the crap in your life. There is healing. There is redemption from this addiction and enslavement of sin. There is a solution. The solution is Jesus. Christ's death and resurrection on our behalf is the only solution.  All it takes is being honest with yourself, and checking yourself into rehab (yes that's a Lecrae reference :). All it takes is knowing your absolute need for him. Like David, when he was finally honest with himself, and turned and confessed to God, it was there he experienced what Christianity is really about.

Justification by Faith and Justice

"Justification by faith alone and working for justice in this broken world have EVERYTHING to do with one another. Faith working itself out in love is what matters most."

Tim Keller

Jesus Transforms

From Erik Most:

Sin deforms. Advice reforms. Jesus transforms. 

God created us for himself. We are made in His image. We were made to know and be known by God. Sin deforms this image. It deforms the entirety of our being. It severs the intended Creator/creation relationship we were made for. It causes us to hide rather than be known. A great reminder that the only remedy for this deformation is not moral reformation or behavior modification. We don't need an external band-aid or a temporary fix-up. We don't need a mask to where, so as to deceive everyone into thinking that we really aren't broken creatures; we aren't really deformed. What we do need is the gospel. What we need is to be re-made. What we need is new birth. The only remedy for sin is to be transformed by Jesus. We need new hearts. Only Jesus can re-make us as God's image bearers. Only the one who is in fact the perfection of God's image can transform us and bring us back to what we were created for. Good advice isn't good enough. We need new life. We need Jesus. 

Parent Me

A song by Json called 'Parent Me'. Worth listening to and reading the lyrics. A very powerful look at the relational brokenness that exists in all families. 


Look at my life
Look at my pain
Look at my tears
These tears I shed
I feel so alone, with nobody to talk to
Cuz of the days that I spend without you
It's like you're here, but you're gone (but you're gone)
You're here, but you're gone (but you're gone)
It's like you're here, but you're gone (but you're gone)
And you're gone, gone, gone, gone away
[Verse 1] 
I know you're working, I appreciate your grind
You give me everything I need, but I really want your time (I want your time)
I must confess, it's hard to express how I'm feeling
But I'm growing blocks of bitterness, quickly becoming buildings
Listen, you're never home
To the point to that I don't notice when you're gone
I'm getting older, but I'm growing all alone (I'm all alone)
How can you raise me, without even knowing me?
Everything I do, is just to get you to notice me (I miss you)
Realize, you're the great influence in my life
And you're absence just might be what's ruining my life (you're ruing my life)
I got questions, but we don't talk on the usual
My friends are having sex, and I'm wondering, should I do it too? (What should I do?)
Who should I go to, if you are never there? (Where?)
And if you never ask, will you ever be aware? (Be aware)
You say you care for me, you don't get it apparently!
I'm young and just a child, I need my parent to parent me!

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]  
I know you're hustling (I know), I see you on your grind
You give me everything I need, but I really want your time (I want your time)
I stay in fresh J's, laced in new gear
But I would trade it all, if I'd only have you here
I smell the dough that you blowing, cuz it be so potent
Oh yeah, I notice, but you don't think I'ma wanna smoke it? (I wanna blow)
I see your love for the streets, and I want that love too
You taught me to be hard, but you rarely tell me, "I love you" (I love you)(Please love me)
Moms be mad, she always be talking bad about you
But honestly, Dad, I don't think I'll become a man without you
And she be gone, matter of fact she never home
She come into work, and I'm living like I'm already grown
I gotta place to stay, then get ta shop at the mall
But I'll honestly say, I don't have no guidance at all
You say you care for me, but don't know I can barely read
I'm young and just a child, I need my parents to parent me!

[Chorus]

[Verse 3] 
I know you're in Church, I see your love for God (I do)
You give me everything I need, but I really need your time (I need your time)
Your godly life and love for people amazes me
But tell me should the Church take my mom and my dad away from me?
I say this simply, you know a lot spiritually
Involved in ministry, but often, you don't remember me (Remember me?)
You teach the Youth and show them how to model and live (Yep)
But at home you've never shown me what the Gospel is (Father I need you)
How can you share with those seem direly hopeless?
Inside I cry, cuz we've never cracked the Bible open
And I'm dealing with pressure, and don't know what to do
Know what it's like to be the only Christian in your school?
I bump that 1-1-6, they tell me to live unashamed (I'm ashamed)
But that's hard when those around you are on another thing
You study thoroughly, but don't get it apparently!
I'm a babe in the faith, I need my parents to parent me! 

What Kind Of Pastors Do Sinners Need?

Here is a blog post from Tullian Tchividjian's blog in which he quotes Sinclair Ferguson. This was brought to my attention by Danny Hindman.

What kind of pastor do sinners need?

 

Sinclair Ferguson answers this question from his Marrow Controversy Lectures:

But when your people come and have been broken by sin and have fallen into temptation and are ashamed to confess the awful mess they have made of their life, it is not a Calvinistic pastor who has been sanctified by vinegar that they need. It is a pastor that has been mastered by the unconditional, free grace of God. It is a pastor from whom ironclad orthodoxy has been torn away and the whole armor of a gracious God has been placed upon his soul–the armor of one who would not break the bruised reed or quench the dimly burning wick.
You see, my friends, as we think together in these days about a Godly pastor we have to ask, what is a Godly pastor? A Godly pastor is one who is like God, who has a heart of free grace running after sinners. The Godly pastor is the one who sees the prodigal and runs and falls on his neck and weeps and kisses him and says, “This my son was dead, he was lost and now he is alive and found.”

Pastors, when sinners are drowning, don’t tell them to paddle harder and kick faster. Throw them the life-line of amazing grace.

Positioning

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18:9-14

....

This passage gets me every time. I am so similar to the Pharisee Jesus describes. I often find myself too concerned with the spiritual resume I'm building in my heart. If I only really grasped my appropriate position before my Almighty and Holy Lord, like the tax collector. He had nothing of his own to claim. He knew he was scum. He was ashamed to enter fully into the temple, as he stood far off, and he knew he was far from worthy to even raise his eyes to heaven. His only words in prayer were a simple plea, claiming God's mercy! The text is clear. Jesus welcomes this plea. In fact, that is exactly what He desires for us. Period.

My prayer for renewal in this comes from an excerpt from Whiter than Snow by Paul Tripp:

"So I am hoping for wise eyes that are able to see through the cloud of self-righteousness and see myself as I actually am. I am praying for wise ears that are able to hear through the background noise of well-used platitudes and hear myself with clarity. And I am longing for a humble spirit that is willing to accept and confess what you reveal as You break through my defenses and show me to me. I am hoping for a broken heart."

Psalm 51:17 "A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Praise the Lord for His love for prodigal love for sinners!

Taste and See that the Lord is Good

Psalm 34 Promises

Vs. 4 "I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears."

Vs. 6 "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles."

Vs. 7 "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them."

Vs. 18 "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit."

Vs. 19 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."

Vs. 22 "The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned."

....

The good news of the gospel is that Jesus Christ came to save sinners.

He came to rescue the SCARED, the POOR, the TROUBLED, the HUMILIATED, the BROKENHEARTED, the CRUSHED, the AFFLICTED and those LOW IN STATURE.

Gospel promises are made manifest in the lives of repentant sinners. Sinners who claim nothing of their own, but simply claim Jesus Christ. He is the power and perfect fulfillment of every saving promise. Because of his life, death, resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God, we are united to Him by grace through faith, and are promised the gift of being raised from our lowly state to His TRIUMPHANT state in eternal glory. If that isn't freeing, I don't know what is.

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!" Psalm 34:8

My Everything or My Nothing

Motivational football clips like this may seem kinda corny, but I love them. I particularly like this one because I think it is pertinent to the Church.

When I played football, before every game, my position coach would hand out a 'tip sheet'. This tip sheet usually included the plays we were going to run for the game, different looks the opposing defense was going to throw against us and things we had learned from watching film. It also usually had some kind of motivational quote. One week, the tip sheet included 1 John 3:16,

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."

What a great verse. That's why I love football. Because, at its core, it is a team of individuals, who are forced to rely on their teammates. It's 11 guys collectively laying themselves down for their teammates, for the greater cause. The team fails if it's 10 out of 11. It has to be 11 guys giving everything, sacrificing for the need of the team. It is 11 guys fighting together no matter the circumstance, whether things have gone to hell or things are fine and dandy. It is a team of guys picking up where other guys lack. When someone gets knocked down, their teammates pick them back up and keep on fighting together. It's a team of guys giving their everything because they know at the end of the day, that the guy next to him would do the same for him.

I wish the Church was more like that. I love the picture in the video with the team linked together, arm and arm, with Tashard Choice saying, "It's my everything or my nothing". I think the Church should look very similar. It's a team of sinners who have been loved by God, who are now called to collectively glorify him. I have such an individualistic view of Church and of Christianity in general. I view church as a place to be served rather than a place where I can joyfully give myself and sacrifice my time, money, comfort and gifts. I think it should look a lot more like the team in this video. A group of people passionately laying down their lives for each other because they know they have been loved by Christ. A group of people fighting sin together and encouraging each other with the Gospel. And when we fall, we are surrounded by our brothers and sisters to pick us up, and help us keep fighting. Just like a football game can be compared to a battle, even more so, the Christian life is a battle. The Church should be people doing battle together. We are fighting sin, we are fighting for our joy, we are fighting for the Gospel! And in battle, people receive wounds. The Church should be people who are heavily invested in each others lives. A place where wounds are openly shown and where Gospel healing takes place. The Church is on mission together. It should be a group of sinners sacrificially loving each other and loving the world because they know they are loved of God.

But, we can only do this when we come to a clearer understanding of Christ's finished work. When are living in the knowledge of God's ridiculous grace shown to rebellious sinners, when we know that Christ accomplished Redemption and that we have gone from fatherless slaves to adopted children, when we are secure in this, only then, will we be able to lay down our lives for each other as 1 John 3:16 tells us to do. As Christians, our commitment to Jesus' bride aka the Church should very much be "My everything, or my nothing".

Where Sin is Hidden, There is No Healing

Gospel community: The type of community where you can bring the full weight of who you are (sins, struggles, burdens, joys, failures, brokenness, issues, addictions, hidden sin, etc...) and be loved unconditionally

Now, I'm not one to quote secular rappers, but listening to this song by Kid Cudi reminded me of the universal nature of shame and our tendency to hide the darkest part of our souls by putting on a mask or putting up a persona. But in the end, we all know that deep down we are messed up.

"But they all didn't see, the little bit of sadness in me,

I've got some issues that nobody can see,

And all of these emotions are pouring out of me

I bring them to the light for you,

it's only right" ---Kid Cudi

Where sin is hidden, there is no healing. In Christ, we are unconditionally loved. He knows our deepest darkest thoughts, he knows our hidden sin, He knows who we are underneath our coverup. The more we realize this on an individual level, the more Gospel community will be cultivated. When we know we are jacked up sinners, it frees us from having to go out into the world and prove ourselves. More so, it allows those around us to take their masks off as well. It frees us to be open. It frees us to be real with sin. And when we are open with each other about our sin, when we are real with our brokenness, the grace, mercy and restoration will start to pour out. We will taste redemption in a whole new way. Healing happens where sin is fully disclosed.

In the end, I think it's what we all long for. For someone to see us for who we really are (sin, failures, struggles, issues and all) and love us. The Gospel says Jesus fulfills that. Gospel community calls us to live this out by being real with each other and to love each other unconditionally in a way that reflects God's unconditional love for messed up sinners. Let's bring the full weight of who we are to Christ, and experience the marvelous healing that is in Christ. Let's cultivate a community of grace that encourages each other as fellow sinners to fully disclose our sin to the Light of the World.

Jesus Wants the Rose

I've watched this video a million times and it never gets old. If you haven't seen it, please watch. It is awesome.

Shai Linne - Alone

Please listen to the third verse. It is one of the best things I've ever heard.