Blessed To Be A Blessing

Having returned from an amazing first semester at Eternity Bible College, I am overwhelmed with God's grace and blessings. John 1:16 has become one of my favorite verses: "From the fulness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another" (NIV).  In looking back at the ways God provided for me, sustained me, and gave me joy in serving, God's blessings can be clearly seen.

 A major truth I have learned during my time at EBC is that God's people are blessed to be a blessing. God tells Abraham in Genesis 12:2, "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing" (ESV).  Throughout the biblical history of God's chosen nation Israel, this verse was their main calling. God blessed Israel so that other nations would know that God is LORD. This calling continues from the Old Testament into the New Testament; followers of Jesus have been transformed by a relationship with God for the purpose of making His name known to others (Ezekiel 36:22ff, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

One of the greatest parts of my first semester at EBC was being able to live out this calling and have this mindset of being blessed to be a blessing in a secular workplace. During my time working at a McDonalds in Simi, I prayed that God would bless my work so that I would be a blessing to the restaurant.  And that prayer was answered.  I continually had a joy while working there because I knew I was serving God and being a blessing to those around me.  This mindset is completely strange to those who don't know God, but it is completely in agreement with biblical truth.

Looking ahead, I still do not know what I will be doing after my time at Eternity Bible College. However, I do know that I am where God wants me, that God is gracious and that he is blessing me to be a blessing. Being able to live this calling out during the past few months was amazing, fulfilling, and life-giving.  As I continue to learn at EBC, I know that this season in life will be preparation for a life characterized by being blessed to be a blessing.

Living With A Mission

I have been in California for a little over two weeks now. One thing I have been told several times is that there is much diversity here. I have been able to observe this, mainly among the believers. There are many different walks of life, which is a beautiful thing because we have all been adopted into God's family.

But one thing that has been bothering me is the same thing I wrote about in the spring. If someone who didn't know Christ sat in on my roomies' and my typical conversation, he probably wouldn't know that we claim to be ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20).

I have been studying Colossians 2 and 3. Take a look at Colossians 3:1-3:

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things 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."

 Is this something that we as believers should occasionally do, or is this a daily charge? Shouldn't we always live like we are strangers to this world? The apostle Peter says that we should live like this because we have been redeemed "not with perishable things such as silver or gold...but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect" (1 Peter 1:18-19). This redemption should transform the way we think, speak, and live.

To put this in other terms, there is no such thing as a part-time Christian. Followers of Jesus are full-time ambassadors of Christ to the lost and broken. We need to view other believers as brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to daily encourage each other (Hebrews 3:13) and remind each other that we're living with a mission. Jesus should permeate through our thoughts and conversations.

I am not exempt from my frustration; I am in need of God's grace in this area. Christians, let's live as the Body of Christ. Let's live with a mission. 

What SoCal And Milton's McDonalds Have In Common

This is something that I've been wanting to communicate for a while now but haven't had a chance. As most of you know, I am about to leave central PA and move to Southern California for college. The response I usually receive from people is excitement about me moving to SoCal. While Southern California is an exciting place to move, I haven't been sucked in to the hype of moving there.

The reason for that is because my motives for going there are the same as my motives for working at my town's McDonalds: God told me to go there. There weren't many people excited about my choice to work at the local McDonalds instead of a higher paying summer job. But I decided, with joy, to apply and work there because I knew that that is where God wanted me and that he was with me while I worked there. Most people would probably become sick of working at a McDonalds, but I find myself wishing I could stay and work longer there because I don't think God's work there is done.

So it's due to my motives for going that I am not filled with the hype of going to Southern California, although I am excited to be going where God has called me. The verse that comes to mind is Colossians 3:15, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." The word "rule" is a strong word, literally meaning to let Christ's peace govern your life. To let God be the Lord of your life. God has been the Lord of my life, and the same God who called me to Southern California to attend Eternity Bible College called me to work at Milton's McDonalds. God filled me with peace and joy (Romans 15:13) as I worked there, and I know he will fill me with that peace and joy as I move to California. So know that I am excited not to be moving to SoCal for it's location and popularity and fame, but to be going (again) where God has called me.

Strangers

I've been meditating (a fancy way of saying I've only been reading one thing over and over) on 1 Peter for the most part of this summer. Reading it several times has reminded me of one of my least favorite aspects of my eight months in Albania, which I will now share.

While Albania was a great experience, the one thing that always bothered me was how my team and I stuck out in the village and received a lot of attention, mostly unflattering. I loved it when we made trips to the city because I did not stick out as much. I like fitting in, but in the village there was no way I could fit in, even if I dressed like an Albanian or spoke in Albanian (both of which I did). I was a stranger to that village in Albania, and I couldn't change that because I couldn't change the fact that I was an American. I'm sure missionaries to Asia or Africa can relate even more to this aspect of mission life.

I also think followers of Jesus can relate to this aspect of life.

Two themes of 1 Peter are suffering for doing good and being strangers to the world. The verse that has stuck out to me is 1:17, "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear." Peter calls the believers, in light of their salvation, to live like strangers, since they have become strangers to the world, "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (2:9).

Since followers of Jesus are "aliens and strangers in the world" (2:11), they will stand out, and it won't be easy for them (though it will be worth it). The world will press them to look like itself. I watched a Cornerstone podcast last night in which the pastor preached on Romans 12:1-2, and I felt that it fit well with the themes of 1 Peter. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing, and perfect will."

The world wants believers to be pressed into its mold, to look like itself. But those who have turned to Jesus are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We must, on a daily basis, recognize the war we are in and choose to die to ourselves and live for Jesus (Romans 6). We need people around us who are also new creations. We must remember Jesus' words in Matthew 16:25, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it," and that "in his great mercy he (God) has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Peter 1:3).

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 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." -1 Peter 2:11-12

Viewing God And Yourself

When spirituality becomes focused on feeling and experience rather than truth, everyone's view of God becomes valid. Sadly, we see this in our culture. Everyone has a view of who God is, but many have an inaccurate view. In America, many people have the viewpoint called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: there is a god who just wants you to be nice and will help you out when you need it but is ok with you being distant from him and living your own life. With this view of God, it's understandable why many Americans don't fear God. This was my viewpoint for most of my life.

Obviously, our view of God will impact how we respond to God. When I started following Jesus, the changes that took place were brought about from an accurate view of God. My view of God (and myself) changed, and I started changing. God used certain people and the Bible to give me an accurate view of God. The following is one of the things that got me to view God, and myself, more accurately.

A great teacher and pastor (Francis Chan) talks about how when people were (and will be) in the presence of God and his glory, they were terrified. In Isaiah 6, Isaiah sees the Lord on his throne and angelic beings who never stop praising God, and his response was utter terror. He says in verse 5, "'Woe to me!' I cried. 'I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.'"

It's interesting that Isaiah's response is, "I'm going to die, because I am unclean and I have seen God." It's a response we don't often see when talking about God. But that makes sense. If God really is like that (read Isaiah 6:1-7), then our response wouldn't be mere acknowledgement. If we compare ourselves with something that awesome and holy, we recognize our shortcomings and our unworthiness to be in his presence (Romans 3:23). This is what happened when I started following Jesus; I began seeing God for who he really is, and God used that to show me how hypocritical I was for saying that I knew God and was a Christian.

This should also happen when people interact with Christians. Our lives, which are shaped by knowing, loving, and following Christ, should point people to an accurate view of God and should cause them to question their inaccurate view of God.

People will not seek after God if they don't have an accurate view of him. They need Jesus followers around them, showing them God's love, giving them an accurate view of God (Romans 10:14-15), and then praying that God will show himself to them and draw them to himself. Getting an accurate view of God will change people, as it did me, because God is not the god of Monotheistic Therapeutic Deism, and Jesus was not just a good teacher or a prophet. Christians are Christians because they have an accurate view of God, which by God's grace moves them to trust in Christ and truly know and follow him.

Seeking God

This morning I commented to my sister about how Islam treats reading the Quran as a religious activity/duty (some professing Christians treat the Bible in this way too), whereas I genuinely desire to read the Bible so I can learn more about God, not to check it off a religious to-do list. I love God because he first loved me (1 John 4:19).  Reading more about this God who loves me increases my knowledge of him, and this has been changing my life considerably.

God says in Jeremiah, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). We know that God exists (the universe and the moral law that exists within us point to this), and the great thing is that he is not distant (it may feel like he is at points, but that's another topic) and that we can learn more about God.

A very important thing to note on seeking God is the attitude in which we seek him. We should not approach or seek God in arrogance or pride. Pride was what first separated us from God. God is not unapproachable, but we must remember who God is and who we are when seeking him. We cannot think that we know better than God. This is what Job thought, and after he was finished asking his questions to God, God responded by "putting him in his place." God humbled Job by reminding him that he is not God. 

In Isaiah, God says, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). When seeking God, we can't assume that we are above God and know better than him. Remember that God created billions of galaxies, that he holds everything together (Colossians 1:17), and that he is Lord (ruler/king) of everything. 

Strangely enough, we will only seek God after we fear him, about which I will write more in my next post.

Remain Or Live

I have been following Jesus for about two and a half years now. Best two and a half years of my life. God doesn't speak just through the Bible, but He has been teaching me many things through it. Here's something that he showed me last week.

Don't read this post for the sake of entertainment, especially if you don't know Jesus.

While reading through John, I was struck again by a misconception people have about our natural standing with God since the Fall. I'll mention two passages that reminded me of this. The first verse really stuck out to me; It's from John the Baptist's Testimony about Jesus:

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." -John 3:36

The last part struck me: "God's wrath remains on him." That means that from birth, God's wrath is on us until we give our lives to Jesus. God, our Creator, gave mankind the choice to remain or die, and we chose to die. We chose life apart from God, which is death compared to life with God. Disobeying a perfect, holy God resulted in God's wrath, the consequence of sin: eternal death apart from him.

But the whole point of Jesus coming to earth was to provide a way back from death to life. Take a look at what Jesus says in John 5:24:

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

 Through Jesus we can cross from death to life. The only way to get back to God is through Jesus (John 14:6).

Now here is the misconception: Many people think that we start out innocent, or neutral. John Piper explained it with the analogy of the pendulum of a metronome. Many people think that we begin at the center, and we can swing toward the good side or the bad side. The truth, however, is that we are all completely on the bad side from the start, and there is no way we can change that or earn our way to the good side. Here is the Good News, from Romans 3:23-24:

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

Through Jesus alone, we can cross over from death to life. But the fact of the matter is this: we all are facing eternal death if we aren't living for Jesus. We have the choice to remain where we are, on the road to death, or to turn to Jesus (called repenting).

If you aren't living with Jesus, you are not on a good path. Don't read this passively. When we stand before our Creator, we won't have an excuse for not following Jesus. He has lovingly and graciously given us a way back to him, and to reject him is foolish and eternally costly.

 Looking back to my life before knowing Jesus, I can see that I was not innocent at all, even though for a long time I appeared to be a Christian, and I would have said I was. No matter how good we appear to be, we know how bent toward evil we are on the inside. We need to be fixed, to be changed, to return to God, and Jesus is the only one who can do it. Our choice is to remain or live. Repent and turn to Jesus, and live.

Changed And Changing

Last week was my final week at the Harrisburg Discipleship Center. I have been processing my time there since my return home, and one thing is certain: I have changed and I am continuing to change.

No, I am not talking about puberty; I am talking about Jesus' work in my life.

Since being back, a couple of people have told me that I have changed so much these past two years. When I hear people say this, I think of 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Now, the changes that have been happening are not surface level; they happen inwardly and work their way out. This, I suppose, is how Jesus works. People may want surface-level change, but Jesus starts at the inward-most point, the heart/spirit (see Ezekiel 36:26). So for me, this change first happened during my senior year of high school. Jesus gave me a new heart and his Spirit.

Looking back at the past two years, I have definitely been changing. The big word for this occurrence is sanctification. It means that Jesus' living in you causes noticeable changes in your life. Jesus has never been such a focus in my life as He has been these past two years, and the changes in my life have come from that focus, or that relationship, or that Jesus. Some things that I have learned from this past year are grace, the importance of John 15, the sovereignty of Jesus, and my passion for discipleship.

So as one season ends and a new one begins, I am excited to see how God will continue to change me, deepen my relationship with Him, and how He will impact others through me.

Christian Fragrance

This is a continuation of my thoughts from my previous post, so if you haven't read it, you should check it out.

A mission re-entry is taking place here at the Harrisburg Discipleship Center, and we have morning devotionals together. Yesterday morning I talked about the picture I took (shown right). Today I brought it up again and we expounded more on my third point. What we discussed is this:

Our attitudes affect our fragrance.

I mentioned how last night I thought about my life apart from Christ, and how there was great evidence I wasn't in a relationship with him. The part of my past life that stuck out was my relationship with my family. I was extremely self-centered back then, and family life was affected from this. I didn't have good interactions with them, and they often got upset with me (understandably so). I treated my sisters terribly and didn't care what they thought of me. We never talked about God or Christianity (at least with me), and I probably would not have had much to say anyway.

But now, having a relationship with God, my family life has changed for the better. I have great times with all my sisters and no longer treat them poorly. We also naturally talk about our relationships with God, something of which we all share.

Thinking back on this change (and others) allowed me to see how God has changed my life by being in relationship with me. This is what our fragrance should be: an overflowing love of God for who he is and for his grace given to us. God gives us this fragrance by making us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) and giving us a new heart and his Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

This is crazy love! We can't forget that we were once "cigarette butts." Our new identity in Christ should never get old. His grace in our daily lives continues to give us the "fragrance of the knowledge of [Christ]" (2 Corinthians 2:14). This overflow of love (the fragrance of Christ) is what gets the attention of "cigarette butts." People know crazy love when they see it. When "roses" show love to "cigarette butts," they notice something is different, in a good way.

A friend of mine, who doesn't yet know Jesus relationally, noticed this in my life (remember, by the grace of God). I'll never forget what my friend said after visiting me one weekend: "You make me want to be a better person." My friend could smell the fragrance of Christ in me and my family.  This is how God spreads his love and "fragrance:" through changed "roses."

But back to the point: Our attitudes affect our fragrance. Our motivation for our interactions with those who don't know Christ should never be obligation. You are not indebted to Christ. You could never pay him back if you were, because he gives us his grace in our lives every day. We depend on his love, faithfulness, and character daily. We need to remain in the Living Water (John 4:10, 15:4) to have the fragrance of Christ. If we don't do this, we will start smelling like a "cigarette" again.

So in summation, stay in the Living Water and remember that you once were a "cigarette butt," but now God has given you a new identity. And spread the fragrance of Christ!

A Rose Among Cigarettes

On my way to McBIC this morning, I saw a peculiar thing while waiting for a green light: a rose was on the side of the road among cigarette butts. It caught me and my friends off guard; you usually don't see a rose on the side of the road. It seemed out of place. I had to take a picture of it because it was so peculiar.

My friends and I agreed that this would be good imagery for something. I soon thought of the phrase "aroma of Christ," and  it seemed to fit very well. So after we returned from McBIC, I looked up the passage. Here it is:

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." -2 Corinthians 2:14-15

 A couple things from this image. First, we are like cigarette butts, but God came to us anyway. I think cigarettes are gross, while roses are lovely things. One has a foul fragrance, the other has a pleasant fragrance. Jesus went to those whom people considered "sinners." He didn't mind hanging out with the "unclean" people. When questioned about this, Jesus said in Luke 5:31, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."

And we we need to realize that we are all "unclean." Paul told the church in Rome, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) We all are separated from God (at one time, for Jesus followers) and in need of someone to save us from sin and death. "Self-righteous" should be equated with "self-deceived." No one has the capability to be righteous in his own strength. We all are (or were) cigarette butts, and we can't change that reality by ourselves.

Second, God, through a relationship with him, makes us a new creation. Imagine transforming from a cigarette butt to a rose. Talk about an entirely new identity! When we have a relationship with God, we become noticeably different. We have "life to the full." (John 10:10) Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Cigarettes are known to cause death, while roses signify love and life. The difference is significant.

Third, the roses (those with a relationship with God) are to "spread the fragrance of the knowledge of him [Christ]" to the cigarette butts. Roses are fragrant, and fragrance spreads. If you are a follower of Jesus, you can remember those "roses" in your life who spread the fragrance of Christ to you. We need to have "cigarette butts" in our lives so they can smell the fragrance of Christ in our lives.

In summation, the 2 Corinthians 2 passage fits well with this picture. Christ is leading our lives, we are confident and joyful from the transformation in Christ, and we spread the fragrance of Christ to others.

Refocus

During this past winter training at the Harrisburg Discipleship Center, I would, every now and then, remind the team of the reason they were there. In essence, I would remind them of the Good News; that God, through Jesus, reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

I was reminded of our need for focus while reading 2 Timothy. I would encourage you to read through it. Paul writes to Timothy in an almost militaristic style. There are many charges throughout the book. But you can see that Paul is not being heartless (he addresses Timothy as "my dear son") but is lovingly stressing the importance of these commands. He is stressing Timothy's need to persevere, stay focused, stand on sound doctrine, and not be distracted or deceived.

(If you aren't a follower of Jesus, I encourage you to examine your life.)

I found myself going back to 2 Corinthians 5 after reading 2 Timothy. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 is an excellent summation of our purpose, our mission. Here's a part of it:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." -2 Corinthians 5:17-19

 God brought us back into a right relationship with him through Jesus' atonement of sins on the cross. We have new life in God. It's so encouraging for me to look back to where I was a couple years ago and see how much has changed through a relationship with God. It really is a Jesus Story; it's not a self-help story. God brings a genuine newness to our lives.

But notice that Paul doesn't stop there while writing to the believers in Corinth; he goes on to say that God "gave us the ministry of reconciliation." God has shown me this truth in recent months: the Good News doesn't end at us. Christianity is not about ourselves; it's about sharing the love and grace that God has given us. It's about God. This is hard to see in America, a place being choked by the thorns of materialism and consumerism, but it's clear to see in places like Asia, where the majority of Christians are. The persecution there forces them to be focused; they need to have the truth constantly on their minds.

This takes us back to 2 Timothy, with Paul telling Timothy to stay focused and not be distracted. His reason for these encouragements is the message of reconciliation that we've received. We're supposed to be sharing this amazing love that we've been given and showing others the new life that's been given to us; because, again, Christianity is about God, not us. It doesn't end with us. We have the joy of sharing to those in our lives this Good News.

But isn't it easy to get distracted? There is an enemy in this world who is perfectly content with us Christians wasting time on Facebook, at the mall, on the computer, in front of the TV, etc. Frankly, we aren't being very effective sharers of God's love when we do stuff that is only temporally significant. But it seems lately that I have been distracted by many little things that aren't terribly important in the long run. By God's grace, he has been refocusing me.

So how about you? Does your life need some more focus (like mine)? Remember the new life that has been given to you, and remember your God-given ministry (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

Examine Your Life

"Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." -Lamentations 3:40

God showed this verse to me yesterday during a prayer retreat, and it spoke volumes to me. It's a short verse, but full of truth.

We need to slow down our life and take a look at it.  It's so easy to get caught up in daily routine; it's definitely something that's happened to me lately. For the past few weeks, my time spent with God was becoming more and more irregular. This was bugging me; I knew something wasn't right. Then God showed me this verse and the importance of examining life.

An important aspect of this life examination is holding it up to eternity. Do the parts of your life have eternal value, or are they merely temporal and not worthwhile? God has been showing areas in my life that don't have eternal value, one of those areas being my conversations. (Did you know the top conversation topic is sports? How temporal and trivial in light of eternity!) God has shown me that my conversations are mostly about temporal things (a predicament I wrote about in a previous post) instead of the stuff that really matters.

A good question to ask yourself if you're not yet a follower of Jesus (or even if you are) is, "Is what I'm doing really worthwhile?" What do you pursue in life? To what end? Do you pursue things because the world tells you it's worthwhile? What has history shown the outcome of these pursuits to be? Life is so short; there's no guarantee we're going to live till we're 80. We need to examine our ways and test them, because wouldn't it be terrible to live this short life only to find out that you've squandered it on trivial things that, in the end, didn't satisfy? Wealth is so uncertain, so why put your hope in it? (see history and 1 Timothy 6:17) What are your ways, and do they amount to anything? What is temporal and what is eternal?

The second part of the verse is the greatest encouragement: "let us return to the Lord." When you truly examine your ways and test them, it's very possible you will find your life lacking in some way. If you are pursuing something in life, that shows that you need something, but what is it? God shows in this verse that the thing that is missing in our lives is himself, and that we can return to him.

We were made to be in relationship with him. God made the whole universe, galaxies and all, but he only gave one thing the choice to obey him: us! He did this because he wants a genuine relationship with us; it wouldn't be real if it were forced. But isn't it terrifying that we have the ability to say no to an infinite God? All of creation completely obeys God without question, except for us. We are the only ones with the audacity to look in the face of the Creator of the universe and say, "No, your way is not as good as my way." This rebellion is evil in God's sight and deserves just punishment: death. An eternal death without God.
But God provided a way back to him. Jesus bore the punishment and eternal wrath due us on the cross. Through Jesus we can "return to the Lord." The Lord of heaven and earth. We can only have a right relationship with God if we turn to Jesus.

So, having examined your life, what will you do? What needs to change? Is something lacking in your life? I submit to you that what your life needs is the Lord. If you never have done it yet, turn to the Lord. If you have wandered from him (which I have, lately), return to the Lord.

Citizens Of Heaven, Ambassadors Of Christ

Here at the Harrisburg Discipleship Center, we have a devotional every morning, called Start of Mornings. I led today's Start of Morning, and I thought I'd share what we talked about.

Last night, several HDC alumni visited, and we hung out for a good bit. Afterwards, though, it struck me that we did not, as a group, talk about God or anything spiritual-related. Now, I'm not saying that that's a horrible thing, and I'm not condemning us for not talking about God in a group setting; I know that the majority of the group had talked about our spiritual lives in one-on-one settings that evening. But what struck me was the thought, "If an unbeliever were sitting in on our conversation, would he know that we are Christians?"

The passages I brought up this morning were Philippians 3:18-20a, Colossians 3:1-2, and 2 Corinthians 5:20a. Here's the Philippians 3 passage:

"18For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven."

 What sticks out to me in this passage is the last part of verse 19: "Their mind is on earthly things." The enemies of Christ (everyone without a relationship with him) have their mind on earthly things, mind being singular. So their communal mind is on earthly things; that's what they talk about when they're together. "But our citizenship is in heaven." Paul says this shouldn't be the case for Christians, because our citizenship is no longer in the world, but in heaven. We've been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), so we are now partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and no longer find our identity in the world but in Christ (Colossians 3:3).

So now we come to the Colossians 3 passage:

"1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

 Because we have been brought to life through Jesus and now have a relationship with God, our hearts and minds should be set on him, not on earthly things. This makes sense, doesn't it? Wouldn't it be strange if you were married but never thought about your spouse or were never compelled to do something for your spouse to show that you love her? Would that relationship be genuine? In the same way, our relationship with Christ affects what our hearts and minds are set on.

And, finally, the passage from 2 Corinthians 5:20a "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." Our role on earth is ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18), ambassadors of Christ. The Good News doesn't end with us; we now have the privilege of partaking in God's mission by spreading the Good News to others. This is now what our life on earth is all about.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are an ambassador of Christ. How are you living as an ambassador? How am I living as an ambassador? Are our lives, even our conversations, showing that we belong to God, that we are no longer citizens of the world, but citizens of heaven? Do our lives show enemies of the cross of Christ (unbelievers) that we are a new creation, that the old has gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17)? Thank God for his grace that we need every day! May his love compel us to be noticeable citizens of heaven and ambassadors of Christ.

The False Hope Of A Holy "Friend With Benefits"

It has taken me a while to decide to write this, because the issue I will be talking about is deep. It has required me to study the Bible considerably, because I didn't want to overlook God's character concerning this. I don't have all the answers; I am a mere jar of clay graced with a relationship with the Creator. But I have observed something that many people do, apply a concept from our culture to spiritual life, which contradicts truth and doesn't line up with God's character.

What I am talking about is the concept of "friends with benefits." This is something our culture (and others, I'm sure) accepts: two strangers will "hook up" and decide that they like each other enough to continue their sexual relationship, but that is the basis for their relationship. It is "casual." The movie Up in the Air conveys this concept well; A frequent flyer for business, played by George Clooney, meets a fellow frequent flyer who shares the same high status as he, and the relationship quickly becomes sexual. Throughout the movie, they find times when their schedules line up and continue their "casual" relationship. George Clooney's character becomes attached to the lady, but at the end of the movie he discovers that the lady is married and has a family. The lady calls her relationship with him a "parenthesis." Strictly casual. An escape from real life. A friend with benefits.

I'm not going discuss why physical friends with benefits aren't a good idea, though it wouldn't take a long look at our society to discover that it doesn't really work in the long run. 

The concept of a friend with benefits has now moved beyond the physical; it has been applied to the spiritual. People now treat God as their holy friend with benefits. They don't have the relationship with Him, but they go to Him in times of trouble or when they need strength or encouragement. Now, the issue is not that they go to God in times of trouble; in fact, He is the best person to go to during those times. The issue is that they don't have the relationship with God, but they think they can still partake in His blessings, provisions, strength, etc.

This concept isn't too far-fetched in light of our culture; I can see how they've taken the concept of a physical "friend with benefits" and applied it to God. But although it is accepted in the world, it is not accepted by God when people just want a "casual" relationship with Him.  Going through the Bible, I found some passages that show why God doesn't allow for this kind of relationship. The first is Matthew 22:11-13:

"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. The the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

Jesus is telling a parable about the kingdom of heaven, describing the kingdom of heaven as a wedding banquet thrown by a king. One of the guests "was not wearing wedding clothes." As a result, he was thrown into the darkness, also known as hell. Why did the king react like that? Because the man wasn't clothed with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27 says, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." 

Here is the truth: in order to partake of the wedding banquet of heaven, and in order to receive the blessings of God, we must be clothed with Christ. The greatest encouragement to be found in the Bible is that Christ died for our sins so that we can enter into a relationship with God. The greatest blessing is that we can be clothed with Christ, that "a righteousness from God has been revealed" (Romans 1:17). This means that we don't have to muster up a righteousness to present to God; anything we do to earn God's acceptance would fall severely short. But redemption is attainable through Jesus alone (Romans 3:23ff). 

So why doesn't God allow us to have a "casual" relationship with him, a holy "friend with benefits"? His reason is love. He offers a relationship with himself, but he requires that people trade in their lives for his. This is an act of love because our lives apart from him will result in damnation. Jesus says in Luke 9:23-24: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." Jesus wasn't afraid to lay out what it costs people to have a relationship with him; it costs their entire life. Having a relationship with Christ is transforming; you're not the same afterwards (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

God doesn't bless ones who aren't clothed in Christ because he doesn't want to give them false hope. The gospels make it clear that God wants all or nothing; He wasn't afraid to tell people the cost of not following him. It's because Jesus loves everyone that he doesn't give unbelievers the false hope that they can partake in the blessings of a relationship with Him. He offers himself, nothing less.

For those who are not followers of Christ, take comfort in knowing that God loves you so much that not only did he remove the sin-barrier between him and you, but he also refuses to give you false hope. He knows what you truly need, and that is himself; he offers no less. The cross is the ultimate hope. For those who are followers of Christ, we cannot convey our relationship with God as a "casual" relationship.  We must live out Matthew 5:14-16:

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

All Eyes On Him

A couple of the folks here at HDC were fasting and praying during lunch time. We were reading over a passage in Numbers (chapters 13-14) about the nation of Israel about to enter the Promised Land. Twelve guys had scouted the land and were giving a report. Although they all agreed that it was good land, most of them gave a bad report, saying that the inhabitants were too big and strong for Israel to conquer. But Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, disagreed and said that Israel would be able to overcome them because the Lord would be with them. They were so certain of the Lord's faithfulness that they tore their clothes (a sign of serious grief in that day) in front of the entire Israelite assembly and pleaded with them not to rebel against the Lord.

Imagine the courage that Caleb and Joshua had. They were convinced the land of Canaan was conquerable despite the fact that the majority of the scouts were saying the opposite. What stood out to us was that Caleb and Joshua had their eyes on God, while the others had their eyes on the seemingly indomitable inhabitants of Canaan. They were so quick to doubt God because they weren't focusing on God, they were focusing on the seemingly impossible task at hand.

This brought to our minds several other passages from the Bible. We were reminded of how God told Ezekiel to prophecy to a valley of dry bones, telling them to have life, and God did it (Ezekiel 37). We were also reminded of when Peter began to sink while walking on the water towards Jesus because he had taken his eyes off Jesus and became afraid when he saw the wind (Matthew 14:22ff). And we were reminded of when Jesus told his disciples that if they had faith as small as a mustard seed, they could move mountains. In fact, Jesus even said that if they had mustard seed faith, "Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20).

All this to say, we were reminded that if we are brave and trust in God with the little faith we have, God will show his glory and further his kingdom. Joshua and Caleb said that the Lord would lead them and be with them (Numbers 14:8-9). Jesus said he'd be with us always (Matthew 28:20). God is with his followers, and He's given us a task: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations," (Matthew 28:19). God has done so much for us and has given us a relationship with him, and we are to spread that love and give him glory in everything we do (1 Corinthians 10:31). Nothing will be impossible for us if we trust in Him, and even the gates of hell won't overcome the church he's building (Matthew 16:18).

Like Caleb, Joshua, and Peter, we need to keep our eyes on God. We need to trust in Him to do the impossible. Only our unbelief and fear get in the way. If we take what the Bible says literally, it should be very encouraging to us, because it's God who gives us the strength and works through us (Philippians 2:13). Take God at his word. Keep your eyes on him as you follow him out on the stormy water, as you walk into the indomitable lands, as you speak to a valley of dry bones.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." -Joshua 1:9

PASSION'S REFLECTIONS: Church, 24/7

This is, most likely, my final reflection on the Passion Conference of 2012. This reflection is about the community groups of Passion. The 45,000 people who attended Passion were split up into smaller groups, and those groups were split into groups of eight people. These were our family groups; everyone was with people from all over the country (sometimes the world). We didn't have much time to get to know each other, but we all had that spiritual connection that comes with having a relationship with Jesus, "having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose" (Philippians 2:2). It was a very encouraging time.

But the encouragement didn't end there. Since Passion, my family group occasionally sends Bible verses to each other via text messages to encourage each other. This continual encouragement has been so amazing, and I've been realizing that it should be a normal part of being a followers of Jesus. And I've been finding passages in the Bible that support my realization, mostly in Hebrews. Here's Hebrews 3:12-14:

"12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first."

And later on in chapter 10:

"23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

I think this kind of continual encouragement is imperative for believers to "fix our eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:2). Once a week isn't enough, but this is what our Christian culture in America has limited our spiritual encouragement to: A short, sub-hour sermon that's supposed to help us get through the week. Since Passion, I've be noticing the affects of keeping our eyes on Jesus through the encouragement of others. A healthy prayer life and staying in the Word are necessary for us to keep our focus, but church fellowship and encouragement are also necessary. And Hebrews 10:24 tells us we can choose how to encourage each other. It doesn't have to be only through texts or blogs.
We aren't going through this life alone when it comes to Monday through Saturday. The Church is a body of believers, and it should function 24/7.

PASSION'S REFLECTIONS: True Faith, True Christianity

This final reflection from the sessions of Passion comes largely from John Piper's session. I was expecting it to be very hard to follow him, but he was actually very clear in his session and didn't unnecessarily repeat himself (which if you know anything about him he tends to be the opposite of that).

The topic of his session was on faith in Jesus. It was so clear and simple and Biblically sound that it seemed radical for our culture, especially among professing Christians. So this post will have plenty of Bible references so you can look it up for yourself and not just take my word for it.

The seemingly radical point that Piper made was that there is no in-between ground for people in a spiritual sense; there is either dead or alive. But what our culture has done is created a comfortable gray area that people can spiritually reside, an area that says they can choose to be good or bad. He related this to the pendulum of a metronome. We've put ourselves in the middle and told ourselves that we can choose to go towards one side or another (good or evil). But the Bible makes it clear that it's not our choice to make. We all are born on the evil side of the pendulum, because we all have a sinful desire right from the start (Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:1-3). But even worse than starting on the wrong side of the pendulum is the fact that we can't get ourselves to the other side of the pendulum on our own. We were "without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12). We are in a hopeless estate at the start.

Yes, it's uncomfortable; yes, it goes against our culture's belief that we can better ourselves and be successful on our own, pulling ourselves up from our bootstraps; but yes, it's Biblically sound. Salvation is a gift from God (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8). It's God's sovereign choice (Romans 9:16ff). Here is what God says to His people in Ezekiel 36:25-27:

"25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."

Reading this and Ephesians 2 should convince you that God is the one who establishes this relationship with Him, not us. So God puts His Spirit in us, and because the Spirit lives in us, we can live for Him instead of us (Romans 8:9ff). Or, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 puts it:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

This is good news and all (THE Good News, in fact), but is this what we see in America? More often than not, it seems that the majority of people in churches I attend are convinced that they are in that gray area of the pendulum. They say they believe in Jesus and the Good News, and that they are Christians, but they don't have a hunger for Jesus; in fact, they don't look much different from everyone else. So here's some Scripture to help you discern who is really a follower of Jesus and who is just a faker.

First, Jesus makes it clear that people who truly believe in Him seek him for satisfaction. Here's John 6:35:

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.'"

You can see that Jesus pairs the words "comes" and "believes" together. So those who believe in Him come to Him for life, and in Him we are truly satisfied. Peter also refers to this in 1 Peter 2:2-3:

"2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."

Once we get a taste of the Lord, we get a craving for more of Him. We desire Him.

Second, a true follower of Jesus still struggles with sin (Romans 7:7ff), but he doesn't remain in his sin (1 John 3:6).  As long as we are in this world, we will battle against sin until, at the end, our bodies are redeemed (Romans 8:19-23). But when we find ourselves in sin, we don't remain in it. The Holy Spirit is what draws us back to Jesus (John 16:8, Ezekiel 36:27). The true followers of Jesus don't remain in sin; they remain in Him (John 15:4ff).

Third, a true follower of Jesus does the will of God. Here is a true but scary verse:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." -Matthew 7:21

And again from 1 John 2:4-6:

"4 The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

The whole book of 1 John describes this difference very well. People who live in Jesus walk in the light; people who don't live for Jesus continue to walk in the darkness (1 John 1:6-7).  If you don't see any fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) in a person, then the person doesn't have the Spirit living in him and therefore doesn't have a relationship with God. You can tell whether or not a person is a true follower of Jesus by the fruit of their lives (Matthew 7:17-20, 12:33-35). This is not to say that Christians have perfect lives; as I've already mentioned, we still struggle with sin, and in this world, trouble is guaranteed (John 16:33). But a person with a relationship with Jesus should be noticeable.

So the radical part of all this is that if you see someone who talks the Christian talk but denies God by his lifestyle (Titus 1:16), he truly is not a follower of Jesus. And the uncomfortable thing about this is that that someone could be you, if you say you are a Christian. An examination of your life is imperative.

Now, I say all this from experience. I am not exempt from all this. I was once one of the fakers. I looked good on the outside. I could say the right things. I was in that comfortable gray area, thinking I could choose to follow God whenever I wanted to. But it wasn't until my senior year in high school that God opened my eyes to how I had been living. Here's my Jesus Story if you want the longer version of that. But the point is that it was a JESUS story, not a Samuel story of how I overcame my spiritual emptiness. God came into my life, and now I have a relationship with Him. So as raw as this all is, I speak as one who was in that nonexistent "gray area." But now I can relate to 1 Peter 1:3-5:

"3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is read to be revealed in the last time."

This is true faith, and this is true Christianity.

PASSION'S REFLECTIONS: Word!

This reflection largely comes from Francis Chan's session during Passion. Again, the sessions weren't complex at all, just pure truth.

Chan's main point was that we as Christians need to be studying the Word for ourselves and to know it well, because there are many people who question Biblical truth and twist passages from the Bible to justify actions or beliefs that aren't Biblically true. He referenced the first part of 1 Timothy 4 and several stories from the Old Testament that show the importance of knowing and trusting in God and His Word. Here is 1 Timothy 4:3-4:

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

One of the stories from the Old Testament is of the prophet who was killed because he listened to another prophet who was lying (claiming to have a word from the Lord) instead of trusting what God had already told him. Another story he used is of the one king of Judah who was lied to by 400 prophets but told a true prophecy by one prophet. The 400 prophets were telling the king what he wanted to hear, but it wasn't from God.

1 Timothy 4:3-4 is true today in our culture. If you want to justify something using Scripture, there is most likely a book out there that has already done it. Homosexuality, materialism, the nonexistence of hell, etc. There are books and people that justify things like these; they have turned away from the truth and sound doctrine. In our culture, we need to have sound doctrine, and that comes from reading the Bible for yourself.

Francis Chan also mentioned the story in 1 Samuel 14 of how Jonathan and his armor-bearer trusted God and attacked the Philistines when the entire Israelite army was hiding in fear. Knowing the Bible for yourself will increase your trust in God to provide for you in whatever situation. Reading all the stories of how He's provided for His people and all the encouragements and promises He gives us in the Bible will increase your faith in Him. We need to take the Word for what it is: truth. It will give us sure footing in the midst of a culture ridden with slippery paths.

PASSION'S REFLECTIONS: Simply The Good News

You would expect a conference like Passion to have some great speakers and good sessions. Well, it did, but the thing that really stuck with me is the simplicity and beauty of the Gospel. They stressed the fact that the Passion Conference was, at its core, about Jesus. The Gospel was preached by every speaker, among other things, and they made sure to note that the Good News is not complex.

Louie Giglio was the speaker for the first session, and he talked on Luke 7:11-17. The story is of Jesus going up to a funeral procession and raising a dead man. That passage is an accurate portrayal of the Good News. We all are that dead man, heading toward the grave. We aren't partially alive or kind of dead; we are completely dead and fully heading to the grave because we were born into sin, and our sinful nature leads us there.
But then Jesus shows up. In that day, priests and rabbi wouldn't dare approach a funeral procession because they would be at risk of becoming unclean. But Jesus didn't care about getting unclean by touching us. He loves us so much that it doesn't matter. He comes to us, and He gives us life. And here is the people's response to Jesus' miracle:

They were all filled with awe and praised God. "A great prophet has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people." (Luke 7:16)

 The Message translates that last part to, "God is back, looking to the needs of his people!" Jesus started his ministry after several hundreds of years of silence from God to his people. No prophets. No words from the Lord. Nothing. But when people see a life touched by God, they can't help giving the glory to God, because there's no other explanation for a fully dead man becoming fully alive.
And that, quite simply, is Good News.

PASSION'S REFLECTIONS: Taste Of Heaven

This past week I attended the 2012 Passion Conference in Atlanta. As I process my experience, I will be posting various reflections.

My first reflection is that the conference felt like a small taste of heaven. There was something about worshiping Jesus with over 45,00 college-aged students. There was something about meeting bothers and sisters in Christ from all over the country and having a spiritual connection with them. There was something about worshiping with people from different countries and in different languages at once. There was something about talking with people about Jesus and processing what we were learning about Him.

It felt global, national, communal, and personal at the same time. You could feel the Spirit's presence. In fact, a worker from one of the buildings being used was led to Christ just from feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in her chest. It was a powerful week, and I hope to post more about it soon.