A few weeks back a friend posted this video to his facebook. If you have never heard the song, it's worth a quick listen - Your Love Never Fails. Chris McClarney also shares the message behind the song here: Interview with Chris McClarney
I went for a run around the neighborhood yesterday and the live version of this song from Jesus Culture (about 7 min) was playing on my iPod and I was filled with a pure joy. You may have just listened to the song and though "it was ok," and that's alright because right now I probably wouldn't be filled with the same joy. God speaks to us where we are, but there is a timeless truth that I was reminded of after listening to this song: Christ has truly set us free.
Chris McClarney wrote this song mostly from Paul's message in Romans 8, that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and that in all things God is working for the good of those who love him. There is no circumstance that God has not seen coming or that he has not prepared our hearts to get through. His love will never fail us. There is a glorious freedom that comes with the knowledge that Christ loves us regardless of our circumstance and that when we accept Him in our hearts, there is nothing that can take that away from us.
Chris sings in the second verse: "The chasm is far too wide. I never thought I'd reach the other side. But Your love never fails." On our own strength we could never close the gap between our brokenness and God's holiness, but God reached down through His son and took hold of our lives. This song reminded me that God is never letting go. We don't have to be afraid of ever being alone or overcome by the world around us because our God is with us. He has set us free.
We know these truths and it takes time for us to internalize them and react. It's easy to talk about the love that God has and to be full of joy from time spent in His presence, but it's not always easy to see in our day to day or to remember this as we walk through the storms in our lives. I pray that God would lead you to the altar today and that you would be reminded of the freedom that he offers through His son. No matter where you are in your walk with Him, Christ has set you free and given you a love that will never fail. Go and live in this freedom.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Why be a Christian?
I have been pondering this question the last few days as I have been thinking about what it means to follow Christ and what the gift of eternal life really means for us. I believe that scripture answers this question clearly, but our own answers may differ.
Many of us who grew up in the church may not know anything else but to be in church on Sunday morning and the share the good news of who Christ is. Some of us can point to an instance in our lives and say "that's where God captured my heart." Some of us are going through the motions of prayer and Bible study or show up at Christmas and Easter but have nothing more than a foundational level of understanding when it comes to the Gospel message. Still many of us have never heard the message. What draws us to the Gospel? What makes following Christ not only the right decision, but the most important decision of our lives?The Testimony and the life of Jesus Christ provide us with the answer like this passage from John 5:36-40:
"I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me. And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
The testimony of Jesus is a testimony that brings eternal life. He is the one who is prophesied about in the Old Testament , the one whom about Isaiah is speaking when he says,
"Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan -- The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."(vv.9:1-2)
Jesus has come to bring eternal life, the Light of the world to all nations. We don't believe in Christ because we fear hell or death. We believe in Christ because he brings life to all who will kneel before Him. When you turn on the light in a dark room, it completely obliterates the darkness. It doesn't creep slowly out the door, the darkness disappears. When Christ shines his light into our life, the darkness is gone forever. The victory is won. Jesus says in John 17 that eternal life is simply "that [we] may know [God], the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [God has] sent" (v. 3). This verse rings throughout me heart and my life.
I grew up in the church going through the motions. God didn't mean anything to me. It was just what I had to do on Sundays. God captured my heart as a junior in high school and he wrecked my life. He made me reevaluate my career choice, my relationships, my attitudes, and he continues to chisel away at the pieces of me that aren't pleasing to him so that he can reveal himself in me. It's painful sometimes, but this is why I believe.
God has created me to live forever in His presence, but our Holy Father can't be in the presence of our sin. He hates being apart from us so he sends Jesus to die for our sins and the sins of the world so that this great chasm can be closed. He frees us from our sin, our burdens, and the bondage that society places on us to be beautiful, wealthy, independent, strong, popular, or whatever pressures we place on ourselves to fit the mold. God has called us to completion and to a higher purpose through His son. He frees us from ourselves and then he gives us a mission and a purpose. He tells us to go. He says I have loved you and have freed you, now let me use you to help free others.
This isn't just my conviction, it's the truth of the Gospel. God is the only one who can save the world. We are just pawns on the chess board, but he guided the hearts of others to reach out to you, to teach you, to live out the example of the life of Christ, so that you may be drawn to his heart and be freed by the power of the Gospel, that you would know His heart. This is eternal life, that we would know our Father and His son and that through them we are free. This is why we follow: it is what we were created to do.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Conversation with the Philosopher
As a youth director, ministry fills most of my time and it's one of the greatest rewards of the job, but when I get some time off, I like to read relax or watch a movie that takes me away from the daily grind and the emotional ride that ministry can take us on. Part of being called to ministry (which I remind you that each of us are) is that God is always speaking to us regardless of whether we are "on the clock." This past weekend I had some comp time to take, so I used it to head up to Philadelphia to see my fiance. Overall it was a great trip, but similar to my last experience outside of my bubble (Spit and Freddy), God put an opportunity in my path.
I noticed as we traveled around Philadelphia on public transportation that people like their own space, especially in the midst of people they don't know. Every train and bus that I rode on that weekend, I was looking for the open seat. As I looked down each car, I saw one person in every seat until the seats were "full" and I had to sit next to someone I didn't know. There is nothing terribly wrong with this picture except that we seem to have lost the sense of community and relationship that Christ has called us into. Society is a major factor in the way we interact with others. Technology has made communication and relationships terribly superficial, but we are just as responsible.
God drove this lesson in on my way home that night. When I arrived back in D.C., I was walking back to the parking garage where I parked my car when i passed a homeless man who was asking for money. I decided to give him some money, but I also chose to sit down and talk with him. Watching so many people sit alone on the bus and put their heads down as we walked past each other on the sidewalk, I was frustrated that we have gotten so far from even saying "hi" to someone that we don't know. I sat down and he said "you are talking to a smart man, an intoxicated man, but a smart man." Then he asked me a question I still don't have the answer to, "why did you sit down here?" I told him that I had watched a lot of people ignoring each other today and I believe we shouldn't be afraid of people, just because we don't know them. We are created for relationship and I wanted to have a conversation with him. He told me I was making an academic statement that I hadn't internalized. I told him that he was right, I haven't completely internalized that attitude but I try to. He eventually told me that I was not smarter than him and asked me not so kindly to leave. He thought I had a motive in speaking to him. It was strange to him that anyone would want to have a conversation with him just for the sake of conversation. Why does this matter?
I have been convicted about many of my faults and I believe as we draw closer to God, we begin to realize how many ways we have fallen short, but the Holy Spirit doesn't convict us of our sin so that we will feel guilty, he requires our response. He is opening our eyes and our hearts to see more of who He is. I haven't done all the math, but I am convinced that Jesus didn't know personally most of the people He ministered to. You could argue, since he is God and God knows all, that he knew everyone intimately, but the people he ministered to didn't know him. The disciples and Paul didn't know most the people they ministered to either.
Ministry begins with relationship, but we fear new relationship and rarely seek it out. I am a fairly outgoing person if you put me in a social context that is designed to meet new people (college, church, family gatherings, a new school, etc). Why is it so hard to create those situations on the train or in the grocery store. Do we fear that they won't understand us or do we fear that we might not understand them or when we are uncomfortable that we may have to respond to our understanding of their situation? What will they think of us? What if they get angry and tell us to go away?
Most of these thoughts are rooted in our own pride and fears. There were many who were hard-hearted towards the message that Jesus was bringing. He was rejected on a daily basis, probably by the majority of those he talked to and some who followed even left when they felt uncomfortable (John 6). We have a desire to be accepted not just by our peers but by the world and everyone that we come in to contact with. The truth is that all of us have that desire. We want to be known and loved, but the way to be known and loved isn't to avoid situations where we might be rejected, but to start getting to know and love others. We know that this is a basic human need and essentially what we are created for, but instead of seeking it out we wait for it to come to us. What if we started getting to know and love others.
As I am typing this, I've gotten news of a third suicide within three weeks of a student in one of the local school districts. After these things happen, there isn't anything we can do, but pray for the families and we can't carry the weight on our shoulders for another's decision, but being in true relationship with one another is so important. When we are hurting and broken we need face-to-face communication, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, but we walk by so many without eye contact or even to say "hi." We were created for relationship, true and intimate relationship with a God who loves us and cares about us unconditionally and he asks the same of us.
I noticed as we traveled around Philadelphia on public transportation that people like their own space, especially in the midst of people they don't know. Every train and bus that I rode on that weekend, I was looking for the open seat. As I looked down each car, I saw one person in every seat until the seats were "full" and I had to sit next to someone I didn't know. There is nothing terribly wrong with this picture except that we seem to have lost the sense of community and relationship that Christ has called us into. Society is a major factor in the way we interact with others. Technology has made communication and relationships terribly superficial, but we are just as responsible.
God drove this lesson in on my way home that night. When I arrived back in D.C., I was walking back to the parking garage where I parked my car when i passed a homeless man who was asking for money. I decided to give him some money, but I also chose to sit down and talk with him. Watching so many people sit alone on the bus and put their heads down as we walked past each other on the sidewalk, I was frustrated that we have gotten so far from even saying "hi" to someone that we don't know. I sat down and he said "you are talking to a smart man, an intoxicated man, but a smart man." Then he asked me a question I still don't have the answer to, "why did you sit down here?" I told him that I had watched a lot of people ignoring each other today and I believe we shouldn't be afraid of people, just because we don't know them. We are created for relationship and I wanted to have a conversation with him. He told me I was making an academic statement that I hadn't internalized. I told him that he was right, I haven't completely internalized that attitude but I try to. He eventually told me that I was not smarter than him and asked me not so kindly to leave. He thought I had a motive in speaking to him. It was strange to him that anyone would want to have a conversation with him just for the sake of conversation. Why does this matter?
I have been convicted about many of my faults and I believe as we draw closer to God, we begin to realize how many ways we have fallen short, but the Holy Spirit doesn't convict us of our sin so that we will feel guilty, he requires our response. He is opening our eyes and our hearts to see more of who He is. I haven't done all the math, but I am convinced that Jesus didn't know personally most of the people He ministered to. You could argue, since he is God and God knows all, that he knew everyone intimately, but the people he ministered to didn't know him. The disciples and Paul didn't know most the people they ministered to either.
Ministry begins with relationship, but we fear new relationship and rarely seek it out. I am a fairly outgoing person if you put me in a social context that is designed to meet new people (college, church, family gatherings, a new school, etc). Why is it so hard to create those situations on the train or in the grocery store. Do we fear that they won't understand us or do we fear that we might not understand them or when we are uncomfortable that we may have to respond to our understanding of their situation? What will they think of us? What if they get angry and tell us to go away?
Most of these thoughts are rooted in our own pride and fears. There were many who were hard-hearted towards the message that Jesus was bringing. He was rejected on a daily basis, probably by the majority of those he talked to and some who followed even left when they felt uncomfortable (John 6). We have a desire to be accepted not just by our peers but by the world and everyone that we come in to contact with. The truth is that all of us have that desire. We want to be known and loved, but the way to be known and loved isn't to avoid situations where we might be rejected, but to start getting to know and love others. We know that this is a basic human need and essentially what we are created for, but instead of seeking it out we wait for it to come to us. What if we started getting to know and love others.
As I am typing this, I've gotten news of a third suicide within three weeks of a student in one of the local school districts. After these things happen, there isn't anything we can do, but pray for the families and we can't carry the weight on our shoulders for another's decision, but being in true relationship with one another is so important. When we are hurting and broken we need face-to-face communication, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, but we walk by so many without eye contact or even to say "hi." We were created for relationship, true and intimate relationship with a God who loves us and cares about us unconditionally and he asks the same of us.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'The least of these may be the homeless man on the DC sidewalk, a stranger on the morning commute, someone in the grocery store, the "nerd" at school, or maybe just someone we never thought to talk to. Look into the eyes of the people you walk by and remember that God created them and Jesus is in them. They have a desire to be known and loved, just like you. Take the time to talk to people, to seek out relationship, to put aside your own schedule and ambitions for the sake of someone else. It's necessary for it is what Christ has called us to and the reward is eternal. Smile at someone you don't know today. If I don't know you here is a smile... : ).
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)