Through the Eyes of Christ

This semester has been so busy.  I haven't had a lot of time to write blog posts, although I'm hoping I'll have more time once finals are past.  It has been the most difficult by far and it is easy to get worn out or discouraged when we have so much on our plate.  But this week, my faith has been so encouraged by the testimonies of others.  I am encouraged to see their faith and the way they rely on God's strength.  It reminds me that this same God is there to strengthen me in the tasks I face.  That is reason to rejoice.

There is a reason God calls us to fellowship with each other:

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." 

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)

"Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Hebrews 10:23-25

I hope these stories encourage and sharpen you in your faith this day as they have for me.  Let us press on, dear friends, seeing life through Christ's eyes as these dear people have.

Love - seeing marriage through the eyes of Christ

Beauty - seeing a child through the eyes of Christ

Family - seeing adoption and children from abusive families through the eyes of Christ

A Table for Nine

Living in His Life

As Easter - or "Resurrection Sunday" - comes around once again, people are thinking about Jesus, even those who are not Christians themselves.  They can hardly escape the (albeit commercialized) reminders of Jesus Christ as pictures of the cross, Christian books, and images of Christ risen from the grave plaster the store windows.


Perhaps it is coincidental, but I've found that people seem much more open to talking about the Gospel this week, perhaps because these questions are weighing on their minds.  Who was Jesus? Why did He die?  Did He really come back to life?  Today, it dawned on me that the reason they are asking these questions is because the reminders are all around them.

But why this holiday?  What is the purpose of it?  To celebrate Christ's resurrection and all that His life, death, and resurrection accomplished.  God became a man, took the death penalty we deserved for our sins, and justified us before God, sending His spirit to dwell within us, and setting our lives free from the power of sin.  That is not just good news.  That is awe-inspiring, praise-worthy, wondrous, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping INCREDIBLE news!

And that's when the next thing that hit me... why is it just this weekend?  With such awesome news, why are these reminders not inescapable every day?  Shouldn't our very lives proclaim it moment by moment?  In Jesus, there is life and hope and joy and peace and forgiveness and freedom!  This is the kind of news that should be shouted from the streets, proclaimed from the rooftops, broadcasted across the radios, and spread to all the earth.  It is the kind of news that should always be proclaimed daily with renewed passion because the depth of His glory is bottomless!

A conversation between a friend of mine and her young daughter exemplified this well: 

R: Mom! Easter is gonna be in a few days! That means Jesus is gonna be alive!

A: Jesus is already alive.  Easter is just so we can remember what He did for us on the cross

R: Oh, well that's awkward. I thought Easter meant Jesus was going to be alive again.

That confusion is cute coming from a young child, but how often do we as adults fall into the same pattern?  We can get so wrapped up in everything in front of us that we forget He is alive, right at this very minute and never slow down to remember it without a special holiday.  As Christians, we can become too comfortable with the Gospel when we've heard the message long enough.  But this is not a message to celebrate once a year or just on Sundays.  It is a celebration and a proclamation to be made in every day and in every minute of our very lives!  Our lives ought to be a joyful commemoration to this King of glory.

We do not live in His death, but by His death and in His life!  The grave is empty!  The cross stands as a sober reminder of our sins and a sign of His justice and forgiveness.  The grave, however, stands as a sign of His triumph.  Christ has won!  And we live in the hope of this - that our Lord is alive!  Not just this Easter weekend, but every. single. day.  Let's live lives of acceptable worship to God, as it describes in Romans 12:1-2 and make these short lives into a celebration of the One who is so worthy.

The holy God has given His life for us, set us free from bondage to sin, and now calls us His children.


I think that is news worth celebrating every day.

"I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations." - Psalm 89:1

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Here are a couple of things that encourage my heart to worship Him.  I hope they encourage you today too:

Eric Ludy - The Gospel

Some of my favorite worship songs:

Holy - Matt Redman
Glories of Calvary - Sovereign Grace Music
The Highest and Greatest
Before the Throne of God Above
In Christ Alone
Revelation Song
Take me In


The greatest love story ever told:


"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13


"...God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." - 1 John 3:16

"And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." - Ephesians 5:2

"For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." - 2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Only One Life

Little children exemplify something I've seen in my own heart.  When they feel their belongings are being threatened, they have a tendency to grab hold of them and refuse to let go.  I watched as one little girl took building bricks and raked them into her lap with her tiny hands, giving a dirty look to the other child.  She was determined to keep what she had deemed hers.

It's funny to watch kids act like that.  We shake our heads, discipline them, and laughingly say, "Oh, kids!  The things they do..."  But really, we can be much the same.  We don't like to have our belonging threatened. The idea of losing them makes us want to grasp them in our own little fists and fight to hold on.

Recently, I heard someone tell how a house burned to the ground.  The man who owned the house had worked on it for 20 years and I think he had even built the home himself.  Then, the whole thing was gone in just 20 minutes.

Wow, I thought, as I heard his story retold.  What would I do if I knew that everything I had was going to be burned and gone in 20 minutes?

My first response was, "I'd cling to it!"  An urge much like that little child to "rake" my belongings into my lap and run away with them rose up in my heart.  For a brief moment, I felt like I wanted to go grab my most precious belongings and bury them some place where they could never be destroyed.

And then, I remembered...

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."

Matthew 6:19-20

I remembered that this world is passing.  That some day, I'm going to lose it all anyway.  I remembered that nothing material matters.  And suddenly, the priorities of my heart shifted.  I knew I had to let go of the hold of "now" on my heart.  What I have "now."  What I'm doing "now."  I realized that one day those things would be gone.  Except for one thing, which the words of a CT Studd poem I can't get out of my mind express perfectly:

Only one life, 'twill soon be past, Only what's done for Christ will last.

Only one life. Only one. One.  This is the message that God has been drumming into my mind.  I can so easily get caught up in the day-to-day tasks and loose sight of this one thing: Only what's done for Christ will last.  Everything else ought to be counted as rubbish, as Paul wrote in Philippians 3:

"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ… forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus… our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…"

Time we waste is time we will never have back.  If only we would never forget that!  Yet we so easily get caught up in ourselves.  We want just a little bit of "me time" to relax and forget life.  Yet this life is the only one we have. We have been called to spend it for Christ, pressing on, not just towards what lies ahead, but Who:  Jesus.  This is what it's all about. Lifting the name of our King on high that He alone might be glorified in our lives.  We have to turn away from self and live for Him.  It's not about fulfilling another set of legalistic rules, but about living out the life He has put in us.  He has given us His life and heart and desires to make them our own that we might live for Him and in Him and His strength.  

Friends, as we move further into 2012, I hope and pray that each of us will press in to know Him more fully this year than we ever have before.  May this year be one that marks God's people pouring out their lives for His renown.

Why I'm concerned about the video "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus"

A couple of days ago, the below video went viral.  In less than 24 hours, it had 3.5 million views and the number has since doubled - and will probably be even higher by the time some of you are reading this.

The video is delivered powerfully with a sincere concern, but I was left unsatisfied.  Here's why:

He missed that Jesus came not only to save us from God's wrath, but to rescue us from sin itself.


First, let's take a step back and look at the Gospel.  Jesus came and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  That's the basic "Gospel-in-five-words" we all know: Christ died for my sins.  And what a glorious truth this is!  Christ has paid for our sins and the penalty has been removed for all who put their trust in Him.  We know it is through His righteousness alone and that it was a sacrifice offered once and for all (see Romans 3:20-26 and Hebrews 10:10-14).  It is a marvelous thing and certainly gives us reason to rejoice. Yet there is another thing He has done - He has removed the power of sin in our lives.  He has given us new life so that we would no longer live to sin.

In Romans 6, Paul starts with a question and then says precisely what is stirring in my heart: (I've put in bold some of the key phrases)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?  By no means!  How can we who died to sin still live in it?... We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.  For one who has died has been set free from sin... Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.  Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.  What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?  By no means!  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

Now, I am not after Jefferson Bethke and I'm not going to attack him.  But I bring it up because I think his video highlights something that I see as threat to our lives as Christians and I'm talking about it because it's more than just this video.  Often, it has come into our own hearts and churches.  That's why this is important to think about.

My biggest concern with this video is the "hug over sin" mentality being presented.  When talking about religion, judging, legalism, and self-righteouness, he seems to sometimes to be talking about righteousness itself.  Obedience to God is not legalism, judgmental, or self-righteouss unless we're doing it on our own strength to earn God's favor.  Instead, it is the response that follows faith and repentance.  As Christians, we are called to repent from our sins.  We are to recognize them, yes. But there must be more than just recognizing our sins.  We must see them, repent, and turn away from them.

My concern is that many people have come to what some have termed the "just be real" version of Christianity.  We "boast in our weakness" and use weakness to refer to our sins instead of our physical limitations.  But were we truly called to boast in our sin?  As Paul would say, by no means!  Rather we are to boast of the One who saves us from those sins.  The "hug over sin" mentality says, "Sure, I'm an alcoholic, but it's okay! Jesus still loves me!"  And it's true - Jesus does love us, no matter how far we've fallen.  But He loves us too much to let us remain in our sin.  He has redeemed us to transform us.

Jesus did say "done" but then He said "go and do."  Jesus bore The Cross, but He also calls us to take up our crosses, denying ourselves, and following Him (see Luke 9:23).  What I mean by that is He did once and for all what none of us could do, bringing salvation as a perfect sacrifice. But He has called us to follow in His pattern of holiness.  Again, this is not self-righteouness, but obedience.

Kevin DeYoung, in his response to this video, perfectly summarizes my thoughts on the topic:

One, we have to remember that the purpose of a hospital is to help sick people get better. I’m sure Bethke would agree with that. But there is no indication in this poem that the grace that forgives is also the grace that transforms. Following Jesus is more than keeping rules, but it’s not less. In one sense, loving Jesus is also all about keeping rules (John 14:15, 21,23-24). I’m not sure how the Jesus of John 14 fits in the world of Bethke’s poem. Two, there is no inherent dignity in being broken. Jesus likes the honesty that acknowledges sin, hates it and turns away, but he does not love authenticity for its own sake. 

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2012/01/13/does-jesus-hate-religion-kinda-sorta-not-really/

I agree whole-heartedly with DeYoung's above statement.  If we love Jesus, we will obey Him.  It is true that we each stumble and it is wonderful that God offers forgiveness when we confess it to Him (1 John 1:9), but that does not mean it's okay to go on sinning.

I think what made me highlight this particular video was his use of the Romans 4:5 verse at the end.  It makes it sound like you can become a Christian and then live in sin as much as you want and it doesn't matter because as long as you believe in Jesus, you're okay.  And while I will emphasize again and again that it is Christ alone who saves us, we must also remember the words of Hebrews 10:26-31 which says we must not go on deliberately sinning and if that is how we chose to live, we are at risk of the wrath of God.


Romans 12:1-2 says:

I appeal you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed, by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Sacrifice is not the stuff of lambs and goats, but obedience (1 Samuel 15:22).  That is something God has called each of us to as believers.  We are sons, but we are also slaves - to Christ. We have been purchased by the blood of Christ and are called to glorify Him in our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  

My prayer for this year, for myself and my Christian brothers and sisters, is that we would each grow to live more and more for Him, obeying Him alone as our only Master.

Update: Kevin DeYong and Jeff Bethke discussed his video via email.  Bethke's humble response is admirable and says a lot about his character.  It is worth reading here: Follow Up

Whom Shall I Fear?

A simple question to ponder:

Do I fear my God more than I fear my friends? 

My reputation?

My agenda?

My comfort?

What do I fear more than Him?

I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do.  But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Luke 12:4-5

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

Proverbs 29:5 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16

Dusty Desks and Disorderly Drawers

When you look at my side of the room, for the most part, it's pretty organized.  There are days books and clothes pile up and it looks a little disastrous, but that doesn't usually last long.  If you get really close to something, you'll probably notice some dust or crooked photos, but it's not too bad.  It's full of stuff, yet it adds a sort of depth of character to the room and it all has its proper place.  Even my closet is fairly decent most of the time.


But, open one of my drawers... eeeesh.  Papers, pens, pencils, notebooks, receipts, bills, scissors, notes, rubber bands, books, scarves, t-shirts, cables, random who-knows-what.  It's full of... stuff.  Stuff in a big jumbled mess that's all mixed up and only gets more mixed up when I have to rummage around to try and find the stuff buried under the stuff.  Yeah.... it's a mess. And not a pretty one.


So, last night, I settled down to start organizing my drawers and some of the other "hidden" areas of my room.  I cleaned up some of the surface dust too. I found quite a lot of messes that were hidden away, out of view.  It was quite the task and I still have work to do.


But as I dumped out all that stuff from one drawer and started going through what to keep and organize, or tear up and throw away, I realized something.  Isn't this how our lives can be?  On the surface, we don't look too bad.  Sure, we've got some "dusty" spots that could use some work and maybe a crooked picture or two... but doesn't everyone?  Nobody's perfect.  Besides, those things are hardly noticeable and, since it's not uncommon, we don't worry much.


But then we come to matters of the hearts.  We've all got our messy drawers, but hey!  Nobody sees that!  As long as I keep that inside me and don't let it come out, I'll be fine.  No worries.  This doesn't have to affect me.


But the truth is, it does come out.  And it does affect us.  Sometimes a friend would be over and ask to borrow scissors or a pen.  I'd tell them, "Sure!  Help yourself!  It's in the top drawer there."  Then, when they'd open it up and have to search for it, I would stand there apologizing for the mess they discovered.


Outside, it looked good.  But inside, it was a mess.


We act like everything's okay on the outside, but inside we're wrestling with pride, anger, jealousy, grief, fear, selfishness, laziness, guilt, or some combination of all of the above.  But what it all comes down to is self.  We want self ruling on the throne of our hearts while it looks like Christ is ruling our lives from the outside.  But no matter how good it looks on the outside, it is the heart that truly matters.  And the Bible has a lot to say about it: (the Proverbs one is my favorite)

You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. Matthew 23:26

As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. 

Proverbs 27:19


The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:45

When our heart's in the right place, what comes from it will naturally flow into the rest of our lives.  But when our heart's in the wrong place, that too will flow into our lives.  And, even if no one else ever notices, there is One who will.  God sees our hearts.  And He wants us to completely give them over to His control.  


And those things that sort of show on the outside, but they're subtle and others have them too so we say it's not really a big deal?  Jesus says otherwise:

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 

Matthew 7:5

As one pastor in a sermon I was listening to yesterday reminded me, we are to remove the logs (or specks) in our lives.  Not leave them there so we can all sit blindly together.  Our standard is Christ and not the people (even other Christians) around us.


No more disorganized drawers. No more dusty desks.  No more self.


We need to dump out the drawers in our lives and wipe down the desks.  Yet we cannot do this on our own strength.  We've got to ask God to come in and keep what He wants and throw out what He hates.  We need to open the drawers and let Him come in and do His work.  


Clear out the drawers, Lord Jesus.  

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. - Psalm 51:10

.... And I think I want to finish organizing my room.

To Know You...

Words from Casting Crowns - "To Know You"

I want to know Him more.

Follow the Leader

The other night, I was driving to my friend's house from her church. I had a vague idea of the way I should go and my friend's had advice for the easiest way to go: just go straight. Getting there would be no problem.  Her family was in three different cars and, as I passed her parents, they told me to follow them.  I knew following them would take me right to their house and there would be no room to err.  So, thinking they would go the way I was familiar with, I followed them.

Then, something changed.  They made a left turn.

Where are we going?  I wondered as the other two cars went past us.  What way are they going?  This wasn't what I was expecting.


Then, fears rising, I saw the way they were heading.  The highway.  THEY WERE GOING TO THE HIGHWAY!?  Fears were coming in stronger now.  I've been on this highway before.  And it never goes well.  I've gotten lost on it. Twice.  For an hour and a half and three hours respectively.

Just keep your eyes fixed on the car.  I told myself, trying to stay calm.  Getting on the highway doesn't automatically mean you'll get lost.  You know the way a little bit. And you know they wouldn't lead you astray... But what if it's the wrong car? What if I somehow started following the wrong van?  No, no, it's them, you know that.  Keep your eyes fixed on that van.  It will lead you where you need to go.  


To cut a not-very-long story even shorter, I made it to her house. No problems. No disasters. No adventures. No missed exits and driving around trying to figure out where in the scary highway world I was.

But it made me think about something.

Isn't this how we feel about God sometimes?  We know we should follow Him.  So we start following.  Things are going as we planned and then... they take a sudden turn.  Suddenly, the road is not so certain or familiar.  It may be even a little scary.  God doesn't seem to be leading the way we expected.  We start to doubt that we're on the right path.  The voices of friends pointing to another way seems like it would be better, easier, and more comfortable.

When I was on that highway, I was tempted to be afraid. I even prayed some, reminding myself that God was with me and that I didn't need to be afraid.  Maybe it sounds dramatic, but my latest "I am completely lost" experience on the highway was just a little too fresh in my mind.  

Maybe your "highway experience" is something different.  Past failures, friendships, family drama, sharing the Gospel, tests, missions work, decisions about work or school... whatever lies unknown in our future can be scary to us.  We all have unknowns.  Yet we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

And He always leads us home.

It makes me think of John 10:27

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

Even through places that are scary, unfamiliar, or uncomfortable, we have a Good Shepherd who will lead the way.  When we keep our gazes fixed on Him and ignore all the other voices that try to turn us down another path, He will always lead us home.  Always.

How good it is to trust Him.

More Than Conquerors

Last night, I had a rather strange dream.  I'm retelling it here because I love metaphors, and this certainly provided one. An allegory of sorts.  The details are elaborated here to fill in the gaps that dreams do tend to leave.  Other parts are left out because I can't remember them well enough to be worth mentioning.  My cry at the end certainly isn't what I said in my dream, but it's sort of the "feel" of what I said, since I can't remember.  So take that part as "inspired by" my dream instead of the dream itself (although it's close).  The whole thing's a little weird, but bear with me.  I'll explain what it taught me at the end.  And, without further ado (or disclaimers, for that matter), here it is...
_____________

Accompanied by two others, a man and a woman, I walked down the stairs into a dark basement.  It looked a bit more like a dungeon, with tall brick walls and hardly any light, except from a few torches on the wall.  There was dust everywhere and the signs that no one had been down here in ages.  The woman with me apologized, making some comment about how she really needed to clean out her basement.  Apparently, the basement really needed it because there was a skeleton hanging there.  Yeah, in the middle of the ceiling, hanging from a chain, was a skeleton.  Strangely, no one was too surprised to see it there.  Apparently, it had been there for quite some time.  They were used to it.

As we stood there, the skeleton suddenly dropped down and began talking to us.  I don't remember what he said, but I got the feeling of being in the presence of evil.  Then, out of nowhere (as often happens with dreams), he was no longer a skeleton, but a man.  He was a tall man with long hair and a beard, wearing a cloak and looked almost like he was ready for battle.  The thing that caught me though were his eyes.  There was a fire, and yet darkness, in his eyes that was frightening. The living dead.

Then, in the midst of his speech, he pointed at the man who he declared as his brother.  Out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning like a flame sprang from his hand and struck the man he claimed his brother.  The man cried out for mercy, but he refused to relent.  He grew bigger and bigger, feeding off the man's weakness, as though draining his life away.

Then, suddenly (things always happen suddenly in dreams), the scene shifted.  We were no longer in a dark dungeon, but out in the light.  Preparing for war.

He was coming.  That monster of a man, now big enough to crush a man beneath his feet, was coming to wage war against the people.

We armed ourselves as best as we could, but I knew there wasn't much we could do.  He was bigger, he was stronger, and he had a whole army of... erm, vikings? (I know, dreams are weird) coming behind him.

Oh, man.... We're all gonna die.

Then, suddenly, I knew where we would find strength in this moment.  There was only One who could defeat this giant.

"Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might!"

I told them to stand.  With boldness and courage, I told them to stand and fight in the strength of our King, to fight for His glory, that, whether in our lives or deaths, He would be honored in our bodies.  I told them to fight and not give way to fear.

I turned to my friends who didn't know this triumphant King, pleading with them to turn to Him.  The monster would crush them too if they did not know Him.  They could not fight this on their own.

And then, suddenly, I knew.  I knew we would win.  It didn't matter if we lived or died.  I knew my King was going to win that battle.  Some would live. Some or would.  But our King would win.

And then, I woke up.

_____________

Now, that might not need much elaboration, but I'm going to anyway.  

That monster?  The skeleton clothed in flesh?  He's no dream.  Apart from Christ, that's what every single one of us had living inside us.  We were dead in our transgressions and sin until Christ came in and brought life.  Sin was draining away our life, killing us.  We were the living dead with evil passions raging in our bodies and nothing to stop it.  We may not have looked dead.  We had flesh and blood.  We appeared to be very much alive. But there was a dead man inside us.  That monster called sin grew so big it was crushing us without us even being able to fight back.  Oh, we could try.  But were being crushed nevertheless.

Thing is, we like to pretend it's not there. It sits away in a basement and we try to ignore it or pretend it's normal and okay.  Until we can't control it anymore.  And then it's controlling us.

Like it or not, it's a battle each one of us enters into, simply by being born.  Trouble is, without Christ, it's a losing battle.

But, oh! When Christ is in us!  The triumph! The victory! The power! The strength!

Sin has no power over us.  Indeed, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:37).  Friends, the battle is already won!  Do not fear the power of the enemy or sin, for death was defeated at the cross!  That old man, as the KJV Bible refers to our old self, has been defeated.  Crucified with Christ. Dead. Buried. Done.  For those who are in Christ, it has no power.  If you are on the side of the King, you are on the side that wins. Every time.

So that begs the question:

Are you on the side of the King?  When the day comes and you are looking sin face to face, what will be your answer?  Will you stand cleansed by the blood of Christ, clothed in His righteousness, and filled with His strength?  Or will you try to face the giant alone, hoping your strength will be strong enough?

The battle lines have been drawn.  It's time to pick sides.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now in work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." 

- Ephesians 2:1-2 -

Hardcore Christians: Upward and Outward

In my communication class last semester, we learned a lot of different theories about people and what makes them work.  One interesting theory was the Spiral of Silence Theory.  Basically, it talks about the power of the majority in silencing the minority.  It talked about when people are in a large group, if a certain topic comes up and the majority of the group holds a certain opinion, the minority will either say they agree or just get quiet and say nothing, keeping their impressions to themselves.  The majority has a lot of power and control.  The idea is that the fear of being outcast or isolated drives people to conform.  Then, towards the end of the chapter, it introduces this odd group of people called the "hardcore."  These are the people who don't fear being outcast enough to stay silent.  They'll boldly speak of their opinions, even if they are the only one.  The hardcore goes against the crowd.

I brought this up in a discussion group at church the other night and someone posed a great question for each of us to ask ourselves:

Am I a hardcore Christian?

As Christians this is exactly the group we are called to belong to.  Romans 12:1 says,

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

We are not to be like this world.  We're called to throw comfort and reputation to the wind to stand for the name of Jesus Christ.  The Truth makes people uncomfortable.  The Truth is hard to hear.  Standing for the Truth means going against the flow.  Sticking out.  Being outcast.  It means being a member of the hardcore.

Friends, are we living as hardcore Christians?  Are we living in a way that is not conformed to this world, but so completely strange that it makes people wonder why we live that way? Are we giving in to the fear of being outcast and allowing ourselves to be silenced by the majority?  Or are we standing for Truth without fear of what anyone will speak?

When Athanasius stood up for his faith, he was told that the whole world was against him.  His reponse?  Athanasius contra mundum.  Athanasius against the world.  He was willing to stand, even if standing alone, because he knew that his God stood with him.

When we give in to temptation, guilt, fear, desires for comfort, or anything else, what is our focus?  Self.  How we feel.  What we want. Our needs.  Our comfort.  We turn inward.  But God calls us to turn to Him.  To fix our gaze on Him and live for Him every moment of the day.  My mantra this week has been "Upward and outward!"  When I am tempted to live for self and think of self, I remind myself to focus on Christ and live for Him, serving others in His name.  To turn upward and outward.  Not toward self.

We have an enemy and that is exactly what he wants: Self-focus  He wants to to think of ourselves and worry about ourselves. Anything to get our eyes away from our King and stop us from advancing His Kingdom.  The enemy will heap on condemnation, turning our eyes towards ourself so we think we need to take care of that issue - that we need to be 100% perfect - before we can really be ready to serve God.  It makes sense: take care of that issue and you'll be free to really bring God glory!  But the problem is, by focusing just on our own "issues" we turn completely in towards ourself.  If you're struggling with selfishness, the best way to fight it is not to focus on yourself, but to start serving others.  If you're struggling with loving someone, pray for them!  Not just for your heart toward them, but maybe for struggles they're facing, or thanking God for them, or praying for their salvation if they don't know Him.  If you're struggling with self-pity, pray for someone who is facing something even more difficult than you, or find a way to serve them.  If you're... you get the idea.  When we see that self-focus, we must not fall into the trap of panicking, "Oh no!  I'm living for self.  Now I've got to fix this too!"  No.  We repent, asking God for His forgiveness and turning another way.  Immediately.  Not after we've sat in guilt "long enough" or whatever excuses we can make. We ask for God's forgiveness (which He freely gives, by the way) and live for Him.  If we fall down, we stand right back up. We don't give in to the condemnation.  We are more than conquerors in Christ! (See Romans 8:37)

According to the dictionary, "hardcore" refers to the ones who are the most active and committed to a belief.  My prayer is that we will live completely committed, no longer to self and our desires, but that our heartbeat would be one with our King. That we would live for Him, serving Him and pouring our lives out for Him out of a great joy and love for Him.

It makes me think of the Chris Tomlin song "I Will Follow"

Where You go, I'll go

Where You stay, I'll stay

When You move, I'll move

I will follow You

Who You love, I'll love

How You serve, I'll serve

If this life I lose, I will follow You

I will follow You

Oh friends, may we ever live for Him alone!  No matter what the cost.  Even when it means standing alone, may we always take our eyes off of self and live only for Him!  Bring loss of comfort, reputation, and relationships, Lord, if that means You get the glory!  May Your great name and Yours alone be glorified.  We follow You.

Hardcore. For the glory of God alone.