Tag: blessing

Because we can…

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messy small.001A camper gave me the pout lip and stated clearly for all that I was only doing this because I was getting paid. Upon informing him that I had to actually pay to work at the particular camp and had to work through some inconveniences to be there, he softened. We had a great conversation and week at camp. People are skeptical of good actions.

The beauty of the Gospel.
In the Gospel, we don’t have to good things. (Ducking under my virtual desk for things thrown at me.) We don’t have to earn a relationship with God. We don’t have to do good things so keep God happy with us. We don’t have to do good things because we are obligated to. (By this time some yeah, but seminary types are pulling out the long knives.) The beauty of the Gospel is that God is full satisfied with us because he is fully satisfied in the finish work of Jesus!

Because he could…
Let that sink in for a moment! Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross. God could have easily let the Earth just end in misery and not redemption. The beauty of the Gospel is God acted cause he could. We often coldly say that God’s character required it. This is one of the ways the Gospel is profoundly mysterious because it contains the interplay of perfect justice and perfect love. “Tear down this temple and I’ll rebuild it in three days!”

Because we can!
Why do we serve, because we can! We can serve because we don’t have to worry about what God thinks of us. We can serve because we’re free from the bondage of selfishness. Because of our security in Christ, Jesus enables us to serve. That is the power of the resurrection. As Paul puts it: “To live is Christ, but to die is gain.” When our identity and our security is in Christ it profoundly frees us to be a blessing to others.

The bottom line:
Nothing can separate us from the love of God. This core doctrine frees us to serve and be there for others.

The Tyranny of God’s Blessing

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God’s blessing is not fragile. Too often we view God’s blessing as some delicate mist. If we make the slightest wrong move *p o o f* it vanishes away. Preachers and churches often craft statements like If you don’t do [insert topic de jour here] then you won’t get God’s blessing. Another way we see this tyranny is when making decisions. We struggle to figure out which choice God will bless. Why? Cause if we choose wrongly, *p o o f*… This view treats God’s blessing as a form of tyranny. This misses the point of the Gospel, and misunderstands God’s love.

The Rock
The last few weeks I’ve been reflecting on the life of Peter. Peter and I both have what I like to call “hoof in mouth disease.” Peter was passionate and full of life. This often got him into trouble. Yet, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment to say that God blessed Peter and his ministry. Peter denied Jesus. Three times, actually. This same Peter preached the first sermon of the church. Peter reached out to gentiles (Acts 10), was care-fronted by Paul for hypocrisy (Gal 2) and yet wrote to prolific letters (1&2 Peter). Peter died upside down on a cross. God blessed his ministry.

A Prostitute, A Foreigner, An Adulteress
Rahab was a prostitute. She’s in Jesus’ genealogy of Matthew. Hebrews 11 lists her as a women of faith. Ruth acted in faith and married Boaz. She’s also in Jesus genealogy. A book written about her faithfulness in pursuing God stands in contrast to the time of Judges when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” Israel did not view foreigner’s well at that time. Bathsheba committed adultery with King David. She’s also in Jesus’ genealogy. David was still considered a man after God’s own heart. Glaring issues, still blessed by God.

The Gospel
God’s blessings is not fragile because the Gospel is not fragile! The grace and mercy of the Gospel overcomes the fragility of God’s blessings. To treat God’s blessing as something delicate is to fundamentally misunderstand the Gospel. Jesus died ONCE of ALL our sin. Jesus rose again, defeating sin and death. While we were yet sinners Christ died for the ungodly. Jesus acted before we were worthy of being blessed. God’s blessing isn’t connected to our actions as much as its connected to the Gospel.

Wisdom & Faith
Act based on wisdom and faith. Being in Christ doesn’t mean we should do anything what we want. Does God bless sin? No. Bible makes that pretty clear. Two key themes in Scripture point to how God desires for us to act: 1) acting based on wisdom and 2) acting based on faith. They are tired together. Make the best informed choice you can make and step out on faith. Seek wise counsel, search the Scripture, pray throughout the process and act in faith. That makes God happy.

What if I choose wrong?
John says that if we confess our sins Jesus is faithful and just to forgive. Why? The Gospel is the foundation of God blessings us. God even uses our mistakes to conform and sharpen us into the image of Christ. Be less worried about error and more concerned about gaining wisdom and acting in faith. God’s blessing isn’t that fragile. In fact, it’s His desire to bless those who are in Christ. Yes, we can squander God’s blessing. But, look at Peter, God can bless big messes. Some trophies of Grace just take more polishing than others.

The bottom line:
We shouldn’t use “God’s blessing” as a form of tyranny. Rather, God’s blessing should point us to the Gospel. God’s blessing and love are not fragile things. They produced for us a unwaivering relationship with Him through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. If we make mistakes, the Cross covers it. Focus on gaining wisdom and walking in faith. God even uses our mistakes to form us more into

Manic Monday: Be real & listen

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I watched a video with Fancis Chan, Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris. I’m not quite sure what the discussion was about, but Mark switched the topic to what Francis is doing. The conversation exemplified speaking the truth in love, asking hard questions, and theology. I encourage you to take the time to watch and listen here. It’s about 15 min.

Note these things:

1) A concern and valuing of a brother takes precedent over the agenda.

2) The issue was discussed in community at Francis Chan’s church.

3) The Bible and the Gospel drove the conversation and issue.

4) The spirit of love, concern and truth.

We need to be real with each other in a way that is gracious and loving while also being truthful and discerning. We also need to have theology be a driving force in our discussion processes. Too often we assume the theology and disguise our conversations as “general revelation” or “it’s not an “un-biblical” issue, just a “non-biblical” one. We act based on what we believe. This conversation is an example of that. We need more of this kind of talk in churches.

(especially on Monday)

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2010/08/30/what%E2%80%99s-next-for-francis-chan/