Unabashed and Unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
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If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
(1 Corinthians 13:1-7 ESV)
Walking through some teaching last night with a few of people made me realize that there is a disconnect, a misguided nature to the way that we teach Biblical truths to the people that God has placed in our paths. This disconnect isn’t inherently wrong, nor does it present itself as a heart issue per se, but it opens up conversation and teaching at a much deeper level. The issue is not with the curriculum that we are teaching but how we apply the teaching and the response to the truths that we are hearing.
Let’s flesh this out a bit. Last night we are working through the advanced year for Porterbrook. If you aren’t engaged in Porterbrook, find a learning site and go. We are talking about the Cross and the theological beauty of the scandal. The depth of the teaching is unreal. The implications are mind boggling and irrational, counter intuitive to the progressive society that we live in. As a group we can clearly define what grace is, and the happenings of the cross and this is where we find the disconnect. With all the teachings that we went over, we as a group struggled to be able to reteach or reframe all the teaching in language that mattered in our culture. We essentially have been taking great theological teaching and letting it die on our own domes (that’s brains in an urban culture).
Questions like; “How can you translate this for the people in your culture?” and “Can you explain this to me if I’m struggling with the nature of the cross?” turned out to be very pressing. Our group, had a difficult time breaking down the knowledge of the Gospel and turning it inside out. If we are going to fulfill the Great Commission we are going to have to turn the teaching inside out.
I love the phrase “turning the teaching inside out,” because it conveys the nature of the Gospel in a way that people can understand. As we peer into the Word, the Gospel infects our hearts, it changes us. We learn the deep truths, as we engage not only the Word but teachings from the word. It goes inside us. To develop disciples that internal engagement has to reflect and turn outward. It’s the nature of the Gospel. So our teaching has engage that reflection, it has to engage the mind and the heart. Our focus cannot be simply on learning, but on the teaching aspect as well. It’s in the nature of a disciple to teach, and reproduce.
Here are a few things to ponder before your teaching, regardless of the medium.
These are just a few of the questions that we should be asking ourselves as we are preparing to teach. The glory of the Gospel is that we can’t add anything to it, to make it work. We can however teach it in ways that press our people deeper in to mission, deeper into community and just plain deeper in.
How are you getting the Gospel to your streets?
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31)
As I sit on a plane headed to Denver to spend sometime with my family, I ran right across this verse. lt was not particularly what “I” planned to contemplate as I’m in the middle of some theological writings, but alas l keep coming back to with a yearning heart.
What are the implications in our daily lives if we take this verse literally? (I read this as a prescription)
The first implication that immediately jumps out at me is the fact that my life is not my own. We can see this weaved in and out of the NT, the idea of complete sacrifice to God, our lives. Paul points out that your life is not your own, but to be used to preach the Gospel.
(1 Cor 10:31)
Has the gospel gripped you to the point that you will do whatever it takes (short of sin) to spread the good news?
What situations do you find yourself in, where you don’t glorify God? What about when you do? What in the circumstance changes?
Do you feel like you glorify God in your daily life? If not, are you trying to earn God’s favor or are you worshiping?
Just some thoughts at 10,000 ft. in a tuna can.
I know that I haven’t been writing a lot on this little bit of web space that I can call my own. It’s a habit that I would like to cultivate again, but it seems that the myriad of life events has taken my focus off of blogging and into the culture as I know it. It’s not a bad place to be, but there is something to putting thoughts on paper and sharing them with the culture of the web that is unique in a sense and allows for deeper introspection.
As I sit down to write a sort of introduction to a series of writing, I’m pressed to pray for the hurt and the sufferings of the people that I would call my family. Death, sickness, abuse, complacency and a host of other griefs continually plague society, causing pain both physical and emotional. My prayer is that we as Christians are pressed deeper into the gospel as we joyfully engage life’s events, whether its in a time of suffering or abundance.
Father,
We know that you are the great I AM, the immutable definition of love.
You are the giver of grace and the faith that justifies and sanctifies,
and we at times forget our place in this fallen world.Father, forgive us of our trespasses, our feeble attempts to be you.
Break us free from the bondage of slavery that is our flesh, and shower your grace upon us.
Focus our eyes on our Redeemer and Hope, the Guide through the valley’s and the mountains.
Let us not forget that we are never alone, that the great Shepard is always watching, feeding and tending to His flock.
We are but children to the Father, dependent in all aspects of our lives.
Glorify yourself through us Lord, providing the strength that we need in times of desperation and the strength that we need in times blessing.
Point our hearts towards the Gate, who is the Provider and the ultimate Comforter.
Amen
As I was sitting, looking through my Amazon account for the next piece of literature that I might consume, I stumbled across this book placed interestingly enough in the “religion” section. It’s an interesting experience when you come across a piece of literature that is diametrically opposed to your beliefs and you have the strongest of sensations to engage it. Admittedly, there was a part of me that wanted to interact with the material to develop an argument, a counter point to Mr. Dawkins work. Briefly, I imagined writing a book, similar to the point/counter-point literature that has fueled much of the academic work throughout history. My mind quickly snapped back into whatever reality I was in and refocused on the why I would read this particular book. After some prayer and thought, here is why I will engage this text.
So my prayer as I start this journey is that my biases are placed on the cross and that the Holy Spirit works deeply within my heart to show me what he has for me. It will be an interesting journey, considering I’ve already started to repent of the pride that is being sanctified in my heart.
I see a generation rising up to take their place,
With selfless faith, with selfless faith,
I see a near revival, stirring as we pray and seek,
We’re on our knees, we’re on our knees.
Have loved me
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Hosanna, hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Boom. It hit me like a MAC truck. The Holy Spirit hit me like Ed Reed from 15 yards out. I don’t pray for a generation rising up to take their place… I don’t know if I press the generation to seek and pray for a near revival, and I’m not sure if we as a Church could honestly say that we do either. I would say that we press good programming, fun activities and Gospel connections that draw on Mommy and Daddy’s faith. Daddy is ultimately responsible for his child’s growth but what am I doing as a youth leader to press that personal faith and growth in the students and parents I engage?
These are my thoughts as I worshiped the one true God. The Creator of all, the King of Kings, the Father. What am I going to do with the ministry that you have entrusted me with. Am I going to get on my knees and pray for this generation? A generation that needs more prayer and more intercession. A generation that needs MEN to boldly proclaim the gospel to their offspring and not shy away from spirituality like it’s some effeminate quality that ranks right up with going to the mall. Than it came again, Ed Reed style… A deep feeling like we as a Church don’t ask the right questions. Tim (the Lead pastor) starts his blow up about asking the right questions. Not forcing my contextualization, allowing them to teach me what they need.
So I prayed and much like Isaiah in Isaiah 6 it hit me:
Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory!”4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people:“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’10 Make the heart of this people dull,and their ears heavy,and blind their eyes;lest they see with their eyes,and hear with their ears,and understand with their hearts,and turn and be healed.”11T hen I said, “How long, O Lord?”And he said:“Until cities lie wastewithout inhabitant,and houses without people,and the land is a desolate waste,12 and the Lord removes people far away,and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.13 And though a tenth remain in it,it will be burned again,like a terebinth or an oak,whose stump remainswhen it is felled.”The holy seed is its stump.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heavenand do not return there but water the earth,making it bring forth and sprout,giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;it shall not return to me empty,but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isa 55:10-11 ESV)
So praying has been the the thing that has been on my mind the most as of late…. My conversations with God, my pleading with him for the things of my heart and my asking Him to change my heart so that it matches His.
Prayer changes things…
We’ve heard the adage, it’s on posters, wall hangings and decorations but do we really believe it? Is it the thing that we fall back on when there. Is another option to us? When there is still some futile effort that we can exercise?
That’s the rough side of contemplating our relationship with God, focusing in and leaning on His strength and His wisdom. I decided to write this post today after reading a tweet from someone who I have never met and probably never will. I reads:
This is my mom.My mom committed suicide today.I miss her so much.I love her so much.Everyone please pray.Im not ok.
I took out the picture and the name because its extremely important but not needed for the post. My question is, how many “believers” read that tweet and skipped over it because it wasn’t important to them. It was retweeted a few times but the truth of the matter is that a believer reached out for prayer for something so tragic as a suicide and I think that we can agree that we blow it off as non essential.
praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, (Ephesians 6:18 ESV)
Paul says it all. Sometimes I think we miss golden opportunities to cry out to the Creator of all things, to be that intercessor for those whom we don’t know. What could bring God more glory than to open our hearts, drop to our knees and pray because one of our brothers or sisters is struggling?
What are some of the ways that you can be praying at all times? Using discernment to pray about events in the news? Focused prayer on a specific people group? Local or global area? How much do we make God small by praying small? It’s. A. Heart. Check.
My prayer is that the Holy Spirit is working deeply in your heart, pressing the evil out and stirring the Holiness that is Jesus inside you.
I think the more appropriate prayer looks something like this:
Dear God,
Thank you for all that you have done for my family, friends and loved ones. Please continue to give them the boldness to spread the gospel wherever you would have them go. Father, I pray that you will continue to purify them through the refiners fire so that they can look more like your Son Jesus Christ. Thank you for your promise to always be with them thank you for continuing to bless them with the grace and mercy that they don’t deserve.
O and as for the blessings, thank you Father for blessing us with more of You.
We ask this in Your Son’s almighty name,
Amen.
There has been some questions to why I would repost a prayer that looks significantly different than the image that that was reposted. Comparing the prayers I think that you will find that the prayer I wrote really focuses on thanking God for all that he has done and asks him for more talent to complete the tasks that Jesus set forth before ascending back into heaven. Matthew records that Jesus commands us to, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20
The first part of the prayer focuses on the Great Commision and asking Jesus to continue to provide boldness to teach all that Jesus commanded. I think that one of the best examples of boldness that we see in the bible is Stephen in Acts, proclaiming the Gospel to the Jewish leaders knowing that he was possibly signing his death warrant.
Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things?” “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7:48-50
For my family and friends, I want that kind of boldness. The boldness that makes a difference, the boldness to do what Jesus commanded. I know that this idea looks different from what has been taught before but it’s what Jesus wants. We find out more about what that boldness and life looks like in Luke 9.
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:23-27)
and
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:57-62)
Obviously, the scripture points out that the cost of following Jesus is high. You actually have to give up certain amenities (read everything) in order to make that commitment. Thats a far cry from the prayers that read something like, “God, I want, I want, I want, I want….”. The cost of following Jesus looks more like, “Jesus, here is what I have and it’s yours.” And the real kicker to this whole idea is that “In the beginning God, created…. “ so all that you have is not yours anyway.
The main point here is that it’s not what you can give, it’s what has been given to you. Jesus paid the ultimate price of being crushed on the cross.
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)
He was crushed so that we can live, he died to save us from ourselves and our selfish desires.
The prayer doesn’t get any easier from here. It reads “Father, I pray that you will continue to purify them through the refiners fire so that they can look more like your Son Jesus Christ.”
But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord . (Malachi 3:2-3)
I pray that my friends and family go through the trials and the tribulations and have been set forth for them before the beginning of time. I pray that they go through them so that they can be refined, so that they can continue to become more like Jesus. I pray that they walk through them pressing deep in the gospel and trusting that Jesus will be with them through the entire journey, that they will glorify the one who deserves all glory. Psalms 23 reads:
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Jesus didn’t say that it would be easy, He didn’t say you would get everything that you want. He said that he loves you. We see the Jesus, all man, all divine weeping for he loved his people so much.
Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” (John 11:35-36)
We see at the end of The Great Commision that Jesus will be with us always, to the end of the age. He’s with us now, the one who loves the world and loves you.
Paul lays out so clearly in Romans that grace is a gift from God. We can’t work our way to heaven. Jesus is the only way.
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. (Romans 5:15-18)
My prayer reads a little different from most that you will read on Facebook. It’s deeper, it’s very real. When I pray for my friends in family, I pray for a deeper relationship with Jesus, whatever the cost. I know that regardless of what that looks like, the joy and happiness, the freedom and family is worth it. Its worth it because I love them enough to show them Jesus. I love them enough to trust that the Holy Spirit will change hearts that need to be changed and continue to provide the guidance that Jesus promised. Thats why I pray the way that I pray.
The Safeties Off 