Where is my mind today on Good Friday?

A quote by Paul David Tripp from page 104 in his book "A Quest For More":

"You cannot be Christ-centered with out becoming cross-centered. The crucified Christ is to be the center of everything I know about myself and my world. You cannot have any real hope for flawed people in a fallen world unless there is a Redeemer to rescue us from the evil that resides both inside and outside of us. Real restoration to God's created design requires the cross. It is the cross of Christ that alone will restore my allegiance to Christ and his rightful place at the center of everything in my life."

If Jesus wasn't crucified, if Jesus did not choose death on a cross, if Jesus instead chose pride instead of humility, there would be no ultimate meaning and purpose to life. But, because of His work on the cross, everything has meaning. Everything! There is not one square inch of human existence that can not be fully redeemed. But its only because of His death on a cross. The necessity of the cross is that it restored the ability to be back in relationship with God our creator. The veil has been torn in two (Matthew 27:51). Man can now approach the loving God. This may be an oversimplification but its what I am thinking about this Good Friday.

Grand Themes

Here it comes...might as well get back into blogging with a pour-out-your-heart post. This is one of those "Burn the Ships" kind of posts.

Life for me over the last two years has been different. Its been a mixture of blessing and failure. Some things have stabilized, somethings are new, somethings are still a struggle. To summarize the time, I'd have to say I think all my spiritual beliefs have been thoroughly tested. I've concluded that the gap between what I know in my head and what I believe in my heart (i.e. how I live out my beliefs in daily life) is much much larger than I've ever wanted to admit. Not only that, but the most troubling part is that it seems the gap has grown larger at a faster pace in the last nine months. I do not like the direction things have been heading and I am taking charge and doing something about it.

I am not trying to mix up anything that hasn't already been written or said by another human being. I am not very creative or original. But I am a "redoer", a "recycler" of ideas. I take what I learn in life and try to make sense of it and try to "reframe" it so that it speaks to both my head and my heart...so that it inspires me to live better. Recently I stepped back from daily life and considered what I know to be true. The following are what I call grand themes in life:

1. God's Sovereign Rule - The creator God rules everything.
   
2. Grace - The love of God is beyond belief.
   
3. Truth - It exists and is contained in the authority of the Bible.
   
4. New Life - It is exists in the Spirit of God.
   
5. Change - New Life itself is really about becoming who you already are.
   
6. Surrender - Humble giving up of prideful self.
7. Live - For another by faith.
   

I hope to blog through my thoughts and life experiences regarding these themes. It is a practice that keeps me focused on them (and hopefully is helpful to some one else.)

A Story of Real Freedom

Real freedom in Jesus

A Suffering Poem

I wrote a quick poem this morning in the midst of feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and sinfully fearful. I wrote it in an instant message to my wife about us:

our pain is real

our lives are tough

our wounds stay fresh

our weaknesses glare

our hearts ache

but

God

Jesus

is at work

we suffer because He is at work in us

it is contrary to what the world tells us is life
Christ in us
real life

I think it is a poem at least.

The idea is that all the crap in my life begs to be called mine. It wants me to own it. If I take ownership, then I become responsible for all of it too. If I do that, then I take hold of the pride of ownership as well. If I do that, then pride rules all my life and I become convinced that I am living life because I am dealing with all my problems. Until the next set of pressures, the next hurt, the next sinful action. I am really tired. The remedy is Christ in me. I am learning through experience what this mystery (Collosians 1:27) really means - how profound it is. It means that I am much more hopeless than I ever imagined and that Jesus is so much more of a glorious Saviour than I ever dared to trust in.

Faith That Saves

An elderly woman gets robbed and lives out her faith with amazing grace!



(HT: Challies.com)

The Altar of Cynicism

I've posted numerous times on my hearts stickiness to cynicism. Ever since that one day when someone got in my face and called me a cynical S.O.B. I took it seriously and decided to get to the bottom of it.

What have I discovered? This fantastic article: The Altar of Cynicism clearly points to the central issue.

I define my cynicism as: discovering, in the end, that all of life is meaningless without God and willfully choosing to live as if it is true. Another way to look at it is that cynicism is a perseverating choice not to love and apply by faith the remedy - The real Gospel of Jesus Christ - to all of life.

The following quote displays the remedy:

In our bitterness and resentment we go to the temple of cynicism. But there is a gospel for cynics. There is a gospel that says to us, “Of course, all of these will fail you. Of course, they are unfaithful and untrustworthy, and so are you.” So, in the words of Solomon, let’s hear “the conclusion of the matter.”

Don’t give up; there is one more temple. It is the temple that welcomes the unfaithful and untrustworthy. Above the door are words of grace: “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isa. 55:1–2).

The cynic comes to this temple and finally finds One who will not betray him and who will never fail him.

Cynicism is day-to-day faithlessness in the true and living God. Yet, cynicism is faith in my own made up unfaithful god. Cynicism says "Of course there is something deeply wrong with everything in this world. Of course. It also says "I MUST DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!"

The gospel says "You can't. It's been done. Rest."

All Things New

I've posted before about the prep work I've been engaged in for a class I will be teaching starting in January. Frankly, the work has had a major impact on my heart. I've found myself thinking many, many times "Pat, what gospel have you actually been living out the last few years of your life." That question alone provides great insight into where I've been in my heart. I believe I've been a lone wolf when it comes to my understanding of what God wants to do to me. In other words, I felt as though God left me alone for a bit to fend for myself, to teach me more. Oh boy, was I dead wrong!! He never left my side. Proof? I've been given some great gifts in the way of repentance and forgiveness, for the purpose of stripping away yet more deep sinful attitudes I've held on to, toward life in general and God himself.

These last few years have been an internal battle, with the last year or so showing external signs of the struggle. I write this post today because I have been humbled and I just want to express my deep (grace produced) gratefulness for the work of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Unlike 2006 and 2007, I am looking forward to 2008 - for what God has in store for our lives! May you know him more!

I found the following poem at Shepard Press and it seems to speak to my anticipation for God-glorifying times in 2008:

God's Resolution (for any year)

New.
New Year.
New toys.
New gadgets to play with.
New things to do.
New things to tantalize.
But what happens to the old?
Thrown away, trashed, burned.
"But it's broken, worn out, used up; it's...it's old!"

And into this world that prizes new things,
which has junk heaps for mountains,
come the words from the One who sits on the throne:
"Behold, I am making all things new."

And that's what he does, doesn’t he?

He takes old things - like you and me,

things that are broken with sin,

things that are used in the ways of selfishness,

things that are tired because of vain pursuits...

And instead of holding us at arm's length

with disdain - over the trash can - saying:
"It's ...it's old!"

He says, "Behold, I am making all things new."

And then He does it.
He takes on body to experience getting older.
He endures the older-than-time taunts of the one
who delights in destroying, in tearing apart.
He knows the age-old temptations to sin.
He hangs on old wood.
Why this throne-leaving to intimately know "old"?
So He can take old hearts and transform them.
So He can make old, sad hearts dance with new joy.
So He can make guilty hearts
know newness of starting over again.
So He can make all of us old sinners
(well practiced in old paths of sin)
know new life.
So He can make all things new.

©Kelly Knowlden

Jacob and Jesus

I've been preparing diligently for a class I'll be teaching coming up here in January. For lack of more profound prose, I am having a blast!

God is on the move in my own heart and I can't wait to teach this class. I've been listening to a fantastic series from Tim Keller on evangelism and I'd like to share a little gem I wrestled with this morning. I love working through links between the Old Testament and New Testament - especially how the Old Testament stories all have something to do with pointing forward to Jesus.

Genesis 32 tells the story of Jacob wrestling with God. At first he's not sure who it is but when Jacob discovers its God he holds on and will not let go - Jacob has finally found the source of the blessing he's been striving for his entire life. God tells Jacob he needs to go because the sun is coming up. Jacob knows if he doesn't let go soon he will die at sunrise, because everybody knows no one can see God in the light of day without being killed. Jacob clings to God, continues to wrestle with Him, about to be killed willingly, because God is his life and he wants Him more than anything. What does God do? God blesses Jacob, and renames him Israel.

During the match, God touches (that's touches, not punches or kicks) Jacob's hip and blows it out of socket. Jacob realizes there is much more power in the "man" he is in combat with and the man is holding back, and yet Jacob holds on and keeps wrestling. This is amazing because it seems like any reasoning man would let go if he thinks he is about to die, right?

Now here is where this whole story gets really interesting.

Verse 28 says,

Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."

First off the blessing is wrapped up in Jacob's new name, but look at the reason God provides for giving the blessing - Jacob prevailed over man and God!

Jacob prevailed? God lost? Here is the amazing part. Of course God did not lose. God held back. As Keller says "God feigned weakness". In other words, God faked being weak so that Jacob could get a blessing.

What makes this very significant is that this wrestling match foreshadows what Christ did in his life and death - but there is one major difference that adds perspective to what Christ accomplished.

Philippians 2 talks about Jesus humbling himself by becoming a man, then even more, by dieing cursed on a tree. Furthermore, in all of his other writings, Paul's relates what Jesus did to his own life of suffering and is content with being weak so that God's power can be perfected.

Here's the crest of the wave I've been trying to ride...

In Jesus, God became weak, and died, he held on and suffered all of God's wrath and judgment - all of it. Jacob's hip was disabled but Christ's life was taken, smeared and crushed. God did not pretend with weakness this time. God did not hold back. Jesus became weak so that we can receive a blessing we do not deserve - God's love.

Of First Importance

Each new day.
Every hour.
Every Minute.
Remind Me.
Why?
The reason for everything.
Why?
What's of first importance?
What am I to do?
Be reminded.
Of first importance.
The Gospel.
The real Gospel.
Only that.
Always that.
Be reminded.

To help with the reminding, be sure to add this site to your rss feed reader and/or daily blog reading: Of First Importance

Which Gospel Is My Master?

***WARNING***
First, this is a long post.
Second, it is a personal post.
Third, my purpose is to tell a part of my story to help - no one in particular, but in humble worship of Christ, everyone in general.
Fourth, to some it will read as a typical conversion to Jesus story. I confess it has some of those elements, but that is why I am telling the story - because there is so much more to it! If you choose to read to the end I am confident you will understand.
Fifth, you must promise me you will read the corresponding link I show at the end of this post.
Sixth, enough with the disclosures...

Thirteen years ago, about this time of year, I was desperate. I had a plan for my life but things were so messed up. I was messed up. Even at age 24 I felt I needed to be so much more in control of my life than I was - but all these bad things kept happening to me (I reasoned). Drinking and doing drugs was the only activity that kept my dreams alive. When I drank I could "see" my grand future and my problems did not seem so insurmountable. When I drank I really was the person I wanted to be and I accessed an illusionary power inside of me that convinced me I could "make it all happen"! In the bar, as the drunken haze warmed my tongue and dulled my fear, I'd tell myself that tomorrow I'd start working on what I really wanted in life. I'd go after what's been missing all these years (I was 24).

But I had a problem thirteen years ago. The power of vision I got from drinking was turning on me. I started to see a gap between my dreams and real life. I started to notice that I was getting no where with my plan. Even though drinking was still fun I began to see it had much more power on me than I thought. Drinking was keeping me from my plan. Drinking became my enemy. I killed the intense drinking-to-get-drunk almost immediately. How? I turned to Jesus to help me. Instead of the grandiose visions produced by drinking, I saw now how belief in Jesus would not only straighten me up, but He would help me achieve my goals. I heard from others how my life would be much better if I had Jesus. I accepted that and took on a new attitude toward my goals. I never let my goals go. I still had a wonderful plan for my life and Jesus was going to help me.

For the next eight years I soaked it all up, responded to the calls of right living through Christianity, and fashioned a belief of how God works. Life was remarkably different for sure! Life was better. I no longer had problems outside of myself. I was saved! But, soon enough though I could see my attempts to achieve my life goals were still falling short. The harder I tried the more elusive were my goals. I became aware of a crisis! My whole live I've been characterized as melancholy but this crisis pinned me down into some very dark corners for roughly three years. I wrestled with despair realizing that Jesus was not helping me with my life goals. I struggled yes, but to cut to the chase, in the end I wanted to die and suicide was a logical option at the time. I faced the reality that from a young age I thought death would be better than life. Sometime, early on in my life, I committed myself to whatever it took to save myself from myself. I had remedies to my biggest problem. I thought my biggest problem was that life wasn't working the way I thought it should - there should be only happiness, achievement, and easy fixes for suffering and pain.

Another crisis entered my life. I did sincerely believe I was a Christian, chosen by God for life. But I could not act on my desire to die as there would be dire consequences. I began to realize I've always held an Ace card in the hole. If things ever got bad enough I could quit life. With this card I still retained control of my life. Oh, I've since ripped the card up and so it has no ultimate power. I still carry the card but only to keep tearing it into smaller pieces.

For the last five years I've been rethinking this gospel of Jesus - the gospel I had put together with the support of emotionally charged evangelicalism. It is a therapeutic gospel. Have I been believing the wrong gospel? Do people I know believe in the wrong gospel? NO. This is not a matter of who is really saved and who is lost (ultimately I suppose it is, but my aim is not the enter that debate with this post.) It all comes down to the matter of which gospel will master me! The therapeutic gospel can bring someone to see their need for Jesus but it has no real power to change a person's heart. The real Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives by changing all the inclinations of the heart so that Christ is sufficient and THAT is what I am after in my life and yours.

P.S. For more understanding of the therapeutic gospel please read this article by David Powlison. Let me encourage you...you must read it and wrestle with it!

Do I Get It? The Gospel?

This quote helps me be reminded that I don't always "get it" (the Gospel)in real life. If I am not practicing my knowledge of the Gospel in real life and wrestling with the profound truths I am just, once again, looking to some other savior that will never save.

“Christians come to see that both their sins and their best deeds have all really been ways of avoiding Jesus as savior. They come to see that Christianity is not fundamentally an invitation to get more religious. A Christian comes to say: “Though I have often failed to obey the moral law, the deeper problem was why I was trying to obey it! Even my efforts to obey it has been just a way of seeking to be my own savior. In that mindset, even if I obey or ask for forgiveness, I am really resisting the gospel and setting myself up as Savior.”

To “get the gospel” is turn from self-justification and rely on Jesus’ record for a relationship with God. The irreligious don’t repent at all, and the religious only repent of sins. But Christians also repent of their righteousness. That is the distinction between the three groups–Christian, moralists (religious), and pragmatists (irreligious).”

The quote comes from Tim Keller's paper The Centrality of the Gospel.

Do you get it?