Tripp on the "Nowism of the Gospel"

This is a good, short little article that is well worth thinking upon.  What difference does the gospel of Jesus Christ make now in my life?  Tripp explains.

1.  Grace will decimate what you think of you, while it gives you a security of identity you've never had.

2.  Grace will expose your deepest sins of heart, while it covers every failure with the blood of Jesus.

3.  Grace will make you face how weak you are, while it blesses you with power beyond your ability to calculate.

4.  Grace will take control out of your hands, while it blesses you with the care of One whose plan is unshakable and perfect in every way.

Check it out here. 

Thankful that Grace is taking my breath away today....

I came across this quote today and liked it.

"Grace is getting what we do not deserve.  It is exorbitant, senseless, staggering.  Grace takes our breath away and leaves us gasping in stunned amazement....  It is one thing to acknowledge the theological reality that God is gracious.  It is another thing altogether to personally receive that grace and breath it into your soul each day.  " 

~ Kevin G. Harney , Organic Outreach

Living by the grace of God today.  Without it, I die & cynicism wins.

The Gospel Tells Us What Questions We Should Be Asking...

Trevin Wax nails it:

I am uneasy saying, “Answer the questions of the culture” and leaving it at that. Why? Because this impulse can reduce the gospel to a mere response to whatever questions our culture puts forth. In the end, we let others frame the question, while we seek to fit the gospel into that cultural framework.

But what if the culture isn’t asking the right questions?

What if the culture has so downplayed the idea of guilt that a biblical understanding of sin has all but disappeared?

What if the people in our society refuse to grapple with the fact of their own mortality?

The gospel does not just morph and adapt depending on the culture. Instead, the gospel is culture-creating. The gospel does not merely answer the culture’s questions. It includes those answers, yes. But it also creates a culture of its own… a culture that leads to other fundamental questions.

So the gospel provides us with not only the right answers to the world’s questions, but also the piercing questions the world does not want to deal with. The gospel tells us what the world should be asking.

As witnesses to the gospel, we can and should seek to answer the questions of the culture. But we must go further – pointing people to the right, biblical questions that they may not have thought to ask. We are called not to fit the gospel into our current cultural framework, but to challenge the cultural framework with the earth-shattering, death-defying news of a risen King.

Read more.

"If 19-year-old boys are ruining your day because of what they do with a ball, that's a problem."

JT linked to an interview with Matt Chandler of The Village. He asks two questions:

* What stirs your affections for Jesus Christ?

* And what robs you of those affections?

So far, so good. Then he gets to meddling, as they say.

Sanctification here at The Village begins by answering two questions. What stirs your affections for Jesus Christ? And what robs you of those affections? Many of the things that stifle growth are morally neutral. They're not bad things. Facebook is not bad. Television and movies are not bad. I enjoy TV, but it doesn't take long for me to begin to find humorous on TV what the Lord finds heartbreaking.

The same goes for following sports. It's not wrong, but if I start watching sports, I begin to care too much. I get stupid. If 19-year-old boys are ruining your day because of what they do with a ball, that's a problem. These things rob my affections for Christ. I want to fill my life with things that stir my affections for him. . . .

We want our people to think beyond simply what's right and wrong. We want them to fill their lives with things that stir their affections for Jesus Christ and, as best as they can, to walk away from things that rob those affections—even when they're not immoral.

Great words to remember. I have a few thoughts.

I love sports. I used to love them too much. I, along with any number of sports fanatics, would have my day--no, my week--ruined by a game. I had too much invested there. Thankfully, I've made some progress in this. My wife seems to think this is why the Aggies have stunk for so long, b/c God was dealing with my idol. If that's the case, sorry Ags. He has been messing with yours too!

Secondly, while fully agreeing that there are times when we simply need to "walk away" from those things that ruin our affections for Christ, we still need to work through them. For example, food can function this way. But we can't go cold turkey on food!

What we need to do is learn to use the gift of food for God's glory. Same thing with alcohol, sex, influence, tv, investing, shopping, parks, facebook, etc. No, I'm not saying everyone has to use each and every gift from God. But sometimes, I fear the impression is given that the answer to our struggles is simply to 'walk away' from 'the things of the world' instead of learning to engage them correctly.

The Christian life is then viewed merely as a strategy of keeping the corrupting influence of the world far away, rather than dealing with the corruption within my own heart that takes the good gifts of God and perverts them for my own selfish reasons. In other words, it's a problem when the problem is viewed 'out there' and not within the core of my being. If it is out there, I can manage the issue. If it's "in here", then I desperately need Christ.

The worst examples of this are people who say sports, drink, tv, etc., always ruin appetite for Christ. Therefore it is always wrong for everyone to participate in these activities. The word for this is legalism. [Disclaimer: No, I'm not saying this is what Chandler is saying.]

So how should a Christian view sports? Should s/he have nothing to do with it? I think that part of the solution is to bring our thinking under the lordship of Christ. Or another way to put it is, How should we think Christianly about sports? Is it possible that sports can actually increase my appetite for Christ? I believe so.

To that end, here's a good book that I would recommend as well: Game Day for the Glory of God: A Guide for Athletes, Fans, & Wannabes.

Says the author, a self avowed Christian who 'absolutely loves sports,'

"DO I ever thank god for the incredible amount of pleasure that I receive from sports...? Let us resolve from this point forward that we will not enjoy the gift of sports without giving thanks and honor to the Giver himself. Let us recognize that sports are indeed gifts from a generous God to undeserving sinners, and let our enjoyment of sports be marked by thankful hearts."

Simply put, yes, we can enjoy sports as a gift from God, but like any of His gifts, we value the gift over the Giver of the gift. That's where the trouble begins, and what I think Chandler is talking about.

This new one looks good too, though I haven't read it yet: The Reason for Sports: A Christian Fanifesto.

Here's a link to the whole Chandler interview.

Facing myself in order to know myself

Filed Under: I couldn't have said it better myself...
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I will never begin to know myself until I can face myself. I will never be able to begin to unscramble the web of interior contradiction unless I am confident that, no matter how scrambled and ugly things are inside, I am safe, loved, and on the road to full recovery. I will never be able to open myself to people, and I will never be able to take the risks of love (risks without which I will never discover who I am), until I no longer need people for my deepest validation. The gospel frees me from that need. Plenty about me may shock people, but nothing can shock God, and all of it has been covered by the cross.

Charles Drew, A Journey Worth Taking, p. 158.

At the Cross, Jesus met me at my very worst....

"With, and because of, Jesus the Redeemer I am both fully known and completely safe. At the cross, Jesus met me at my very worst. For at that mysterious moment all my toxic envy, all my deceit, all my secret sins, all my ingratitude, all my self-centered neglect and cruelty--everything that is corrupt and twisted about my attitudes and behavior--was exposed to the full heat of God's justice, attached to Jesus, and punished....By fully identifying with all our sin and then being punished for it, Jesus satisfied God's justice."

Charles Drew, A Journey Worth Taking, p. 154