The Treasure Principle

I just recently finished reading a great book by Randy Alcorn titled “The Treasure Principle”. This little book is page after page of biblical truths and convicting arguments regarding personal finances, and the worshipful act of giving. I strongly believe that every Christian should read this book. That might seem a little presumptuous, but I believe I can make that claim for two reasons. First, it’s very short, and takes very little effort and time commitment to read. And second, it is deeply rooted in scripture. So, I strongly encourage you to give it a read on your own.
However, in case you don’t read it, or procrastinate reading it, I want to share the books main points with you now. Randy Alcorn outlines six main points which he calls the keys to the treasure principle. And they are these (descriptions mine):

1. God owns everything. I am His money manager.
   Here, the lesson is essentially what you will find in Luke 19:12-27. This is the parable that Jesus tells of the servants who were given money by their master, to be stewards over. Two of the men are good stewards and work hard with what they’ve been given, eventually multiplying their master’s money. The third, however, is lazy and unwise; instead deciding to horde his money, not using it for any good. For this misuse of his money, the master is very angry, and punishes his servant. The lesson is this: God, our Master, has blessed us with much so that we can use it for His kingdom and glory, not to keep to ourselves.
2. My heart always goes where I put God’s money.
   In a great video, Mark Driscoll explains this principle much better than I could here. The main point, in both book and video, is that your money and your heart are inherently and eternally linked. Your money will follow your heart, and (maybe more importantly) your heart will follow your money. (Click here to watch that video.)
3. Heaven, not earth, is my home.
   How many times have you heard someone say: “It’s all gonna burn”? I am blessed to have been raised by parents who are extremely generous. When my dad decided to give one of our vehicles away to someone in need, I remember my sisters objecting that he should charge something, if only a small amount, and that this was a very poor financial decision. He just responded with that age-old saying. 2 Peter 3:10-13 affirms this truth. The old heavens and the old earth are going to pass away, along with everything you ever owned. You are going to die, and you are (by Christ) going to spend eternity in your true home. Don’t get too attached to what you have here. It’s not yours anyways.
4. I should live not for the dot but for the line.
   This point closely relates to #3. Eternity is a long time. One analogy that I’ve always liked is this: Imagine if the entire Earth was made of steel, and in the entire world there was only one little ant. However, this ant was special in that it was indestructible and did not age. Now imagine how long it would take for that entire Earth made of metal to be eroded away, down to nothing just by the friction of that ant’s little legs on the Earth. That amount of time is just the beginning of eternity. A popular saying is that our lives are but a vapor (James 4:14). And it’s true. Imagine that our lives here on Earth and our lives in Heaven are a dot and a line. The line goes on for forever. So which one are we living for? When we give to God what is already His, we are saying in effect “I will live for the line”.
5. Giving is the only antidote to materialism.
   If you haven’t yet, now would a good time to watch that video I mentioned. Someone wiser than I once said: “Materialism uses people to get things. Christianity uses things to get people.” Your heart will follow your money. So pray that your money would follow God. If you have a desire for missions, but you want God to grow your heart in it, start by giving more to it. Think about this: Scripture teaches us that furthering the kingdom is more important that food, shelter, or comfort (Matthew 4:4, Luke 9:58, 2 Corinthians 11:24-29, etc…). Yet, scripture also exhorts us to take care of those in need (Luke 14:13, Acts 10:4, Galatians 2:10, 1 Timothy 5:3, etc…). These two lessons could seem contradictory. Does God want me to help the poor by giving to them, or by evangelizing to them? Maybe God commands us to do both because He knows that when we give to those in need, our heart for them will follow, as will the gospel.
6. God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.
   Seriously, watch the video. Matthew 6:19-21 tells us to store our treasures in Heaven, not Earth. This implies that there are situations where we have a choice. We are undoubtedly the richest people group to ever walk this earth. I once heard that if you were rich enough to afford college, you are in the top 1% of the richest people in the world. God has historically blessed people with the tools and abilities they need most in their time. I believe that in times of war, God has blessed His people with traits like strength and perseverance. Or that in times of disease God has blessed us with compassion and healing. Now imagine a time in history when the Gospel has its greatest potential to reach every corner of the globe. A time when information can travel at the speed of light, and people can be sent to the most remote locations. However, this massive venture isn’t cheap. What might God bless His people with?

Our Former Sins for His Glory

“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” 1 Timothy 1:12-15

Confessing our sin is indispensible to the Christian life.

I have found it interesting, yet unsurprising, how often the apostle Paul mentions his life prior to his experience on the road to Damascus. In addition to that which I quoted above, you can also see him make mention of it to the church of Corinth in his first epistle to them (1 Corinthians 15:9), he uses it as part of his defense before his accusers at the temple (Acts 22:4), in another defense he laid out before King Agrippa (Acts 26:9-11), again in his letter to the Galatian churches (Galatians 1:13), and in his letter to the Philippians (Philippians 3:6).

I find it interesting because this, for Paul, seems to be the one sin he mentions more than anything else. Undoubtedly there was still a sense of shame and an acknowledgment of his former waywardness that found its way into to his thinking on a regular basis. Or at least on a basis regular enough to cause him to write it to several churches and bring it up in several public addresses.

I say unsurprising, though, because we see this everywhere. Undoubtedly, the reason we know so much about Peter’s three-fold denial of the Lord was because he told people about it (Mark 14:66-72). Assuredly Thomas is known as the doubter today because he was known as the doubter among the apostles in his day (John 20:25). And we know that John and James themselves were arrogant (Mark 10:35-37) and violent men (Luke 9:52-55), and how could we find out unless they had shared these things?

In addition to that, though, my lack of surprise stems from the fact that we as Christians do the same thing today. There is not a true living saint who would not be able to disclose to you in some detail what his or her life was like before Jesus was first revealed to them in the beauty of the gospel. Even if that person attained a saving faith at a young age, the understanding of sin and its repercussions for a person’s life is indispensible to what the gospel is all about. It has been said that the only thing that we as Christians bring into our own salvation is the sin from which we need to be forgiven. It’s a striking way in which God makes for himself humble followers.

I get this sentiment from many places within the bible, but to keep it brief, just look how our opening passage ends, “The saying is trustworthy…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.” There are a handful of these “sayings” throughout the pastoral epistles, but suffice it to say, they are oftentimes proverbs, verses from hymns, and brief doctrinal statements. What we have here is likely a fantastic truth wrapped within a colloquialism of the early church. We can assume that most of the members of the early church (like most members of the current church) were not great orators, yet since they had been so radically changed by the gospel they needed and even desired some way to articulate the gospel to an unbelieving world. I can imagine this saying falling from the lips of an early saint when approached by a family member, or friend, or neighbor, or hostile questioner when asked, “What’s so great about this Jesus?” to which our Christian brother or sister would be able to reply “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.”

I bring these topics up because I have recently encountered a number of situations that have forced me to come face to face with a good deal of my own shameful and largely regrettable past.

These occasions have forced me to consider the way in which I lived before and even in the midst of a very messy conversion experience. I’ve often found myself becoming nervous before visiting friends and former relations in these situations not because I was ashamed of the gospel, but because these were people who knew my sin and knew it well. And because my own conversion occurred over a protracted period of time, they were also there to see the way in which I misused the gospel and oftentimes denied it in my actions.

Unlike Paul, I might end up writing pages upon pages about the various sins that marked life prior to my coming to faith. For Paul it was sufficient to remark that he was a persecutor and a blasphemer, and my aim is not to diminish that. However, do we not at times feel the utter sinfulness of our sin, both past and present? Do we not sometimes lament over the way in which we denied the Lord? And do we not feel grief over doing those things that are so offensive to a holy, heavenly, perfectly loving Father?

In a way, I hope we do. I trust that these oftentimes rough feelings are evidence of the new heart that we receive as new covenant believers (Jeremiah 31:33, cf. Ezekiel 11:19-20).

On the other hand, we need not be ashamed of these things any longer. It was Christ who came to die for sinners. It’s the Son of God who bore the wrath of God for our sins. He took upon himself all of those things that separated us from our heavenly Father and now he grants us access to him (Romans 5:1-2). And on top of all that, God even redeems our former waywardness and shows that he can be exalted not only in spite of it, but even through it, as was Paul’s case. As was mine. As I hope is yours.

Consider, for a moment, the grace that caused personal change in the restoration of Peter, the revelation to Thomas, the Lord’s adulation of John, the execution of James, and the obligation that was given to Paul (John 21:15-19, John 20:26-29, John 13:23, Acts 12:2, Acts 9:16). Yet it is God who restores and redeems the former brokenness and brings good out the evil (Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:28).

As for me, God has been so gracious time and time again to use the mess that I made of things in coming to faith to allow me to witness to his surpassing grace and kindness. I have shared my story so many times and been told by unbeliever and believer alike that they were deeply moved by the story of what God had done in my life, and so often what he did it in spite of myself. God uses our former sins and gains glory through them.

I trust this is one reason Paul talks about his former sins repeatedly, and so perhaps we ought to also. We need not glory in our sin. We talk about these things not to shine any light on ourselves, but if we have truly been struck by the power of the gospel, we do it to show the surpassing mercy and grace that are found in God our Savior. And when we have received it, we desire all others to see it as well, regardless of what they knew about us beforehand. So I pray you come, and behold the Lamb of God, who takes away and works redemption through the sins of the world.

Living the Contradiction

The Living Contradiction of Christ in the Upside Down Kingdom

He was the meekest and lowliest of all the sons of men, yet he spoke of coming on the clouds of heaven with the glory of God. He was so austere that evil spirits and demons cried out in terror at his coming, yet he was so genial and winsome and approachable that the children loved to play with him, and the little ones nestled in his arms. His presence at the innocent gaiety of a village wedding was like the presence of sunshine.

No one was half so compassionate to sinners, yet no one ever spoke such red-hot, scorching words about sin. A bruised reed he would not break. His whole life was love, yet on one occasion he demanded of the Pharisees how they ever expected to escape the damnation of hell. He was a dreamer of dreams and a seer of visions, yet for sheer stark realism he has all of our self-styled realists soundly beaten. He was the servant of all, washing the disciples’ feet, yet masterfully he strode into the temple, and the hucksters and moneychangers fell over one another from the mad rush and the fire they saw blazing in his eyes.

He saved others, yet at the last, himself he did not save. There is nothing in history like the union of contrasts that confronts us in the gospels. The mystery of Jesus is the mystery of divine personality.

James Stewart, quoted in Has Christianity Failed You? by Ravi Zacharias (p.28)

Established Worth Found in Christ

Previously, I had posted on Aaron’s sermon about the anointing of Jesus by the woman with the alabaster flask in Mark 14:3-9. It is a beautiful passage, and I hope the sermon and blog proved to be profitable for those who listened and read. One thing I had wanted to mention but did not, though, was Jesus’s response to this extravagant worship:

And truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she had done will be told in memory of her.
Mark 14:9

By way of preface, I should note two things: first, this will not be an exegetical study of the above text, and secondly, hardly anything I write below is a thought that is original to me, but comes from having my thoughts formed after hearing many, many sermons.

Ok, that’s out of the way.

The context of this story, if you recall, was in the midst of when Mary was being harangued for her worship. In the midst of such derision, though, Christ affirms the precious nature of this worship, and in so doing, validates her own personhood, for He says, “what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

This is an astonishing statement. The Lord of glory Himself not only took note of Mary’s action, but also affirmed her worth. And that’s what I’d like to focus on here.

One thing you may notice throughout the gospel accounts is that in the midst of preaching to the masses and roaming around the countryside with His band of disciples, Jesus repeatedly takes special time and care to stop and interact with broken, hurting, and curious individuals. Passages throughout the Bible that talk about these stories have grown increasingly precious to me.

Perhaps one of the most striking instances of this is the story of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well captured for us in John 4:1-45. In it we have the story of Jesus interacting with a racially discriminated against, morally rejected, profoundly confused woman. For Jesus to even speak with a woman (not to mention one of “ill-repute”) in that day would have been scandalous to the utmost! And yet we not only see Him speak to her, but He gives to her the most profound of self-disclosures when, after talking to her about the prophesied Messiah, He says to her, “I who speak to you am he,” (John 4:26).

I would love to mention some more of these stories, but for want of time and space I will forego them here. Rather, I would encourage you to open up to any page of the four gospels and see that there is more than likely a story involving Jesus spending time with an individual.

There is something worth pointing out here, and that is this: people have worth. There is something within a person that the Son of God Himself found so compelling that He took the time to interact with many of them on a one-on-one basis. However, this inherent worth in humanity, I believe, is established in something extraneous to itself.

Perhaps one of the more peculiar yet foundational claims made by the Judeo-Christian worldview is that men and women are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). That is to say, humans are created with inherent worth because they are made in the image of someone who is infinitely worthy. This is a compliment that I think far exceeds anything that we could possibly comprehend.

I freely admit that I lack a comprehensive knowledge of all the worldviews that find themselves in stark contradiction to the teachings of the Bible. As for what I do know, though, I believe that the way in which Jesus displays this fundamental truth makes for a profound distinction between Him and all the other leaders and pedagogues of all other major worldviews. From eastern pantheism to western atheism, I have a hard time imagining how any other worldview might argue for something that appears so self-evidently true.

Conclusion

Reasonably, you may well wonder why I bother bringing this up. Good question.

For starters, I think we must know this: that the image that God has stamped upon us has been marred by human sin. In all the honor into which God created us, we have all too readily given it up to go after our own sinful and selfish proclivities.

Secondly, though sin has separated us from God, in a sense it did not separate God from us. This is what I mean, “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,” (Romans 8:3-4). Know this: Christ Jesus came into the world to save individual sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). He came in the very likeness of man and died upon a cross in order to reconcile us to a most worthy, and good, and just, and holy, and loving God! Christ coming in this likeness tore down the veil that separated man from God (Matthew 27:51, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Hebrews 10:19-20).

Third, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,” (2 Corinthians 5:21). That is to say, if you are a believer in Christ, not only do you have the compliment of being made in God’s image, but you now have the utter privilege of being redeemed to conform to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Do not let this conformity confuse you, however, for in conformity to this Individual, we gain the truer and better expression of our own individuality.

Fourth, take the time to understand and love the way that Jesus does things. He loved people (John 3:16). He loves you (Ephesians 2:4-5). Rejoice in this love! And now show that love by following the example of Jesus. Understand that there is something very important about the individuals that God has placed in your life, both believing and unbelieving. Do not neglect this truth, for you would do so at your own peril and the peril of others. Like Mary, our response to Jesus, his love, and his salvation in our acts of worship and obedience toward God are precious in the sight of our Savior. As feeble and small as they are, like the destitute widow’s offering (Mark 12:41-44), or the handful of unbelieving individuals that you know, individual acts of obedience make for a powerful and lasting impact that leave impressions even upon Jesus.

Fifthly and lastly, this is how the Kingdom of God is built. It is built upon broken individuals being saved and then put together as wholesome stones into a temple (1 Peter 2:5). Yes, Jesus did speak to the crowds, but I’m sure it was not uncommon for them to leave after hearing His hard words (John 6:66). But in nearly all the examples of Jesus going to an individual, the change is drastic and effectual. Jesus did the hard thing by building His Kingdom from the bottom up, and not from the top down. He loves individuals into His Kingdom. This, again, distinguishes Jesus from all others.

We as the Crossing need to take this same approach. On several occasions I have heard Pastor Aaron say that we are planting a church in the most difficult way possible. That is to say, our “evangelism strategy” is simply to tell the church to love their neighbors, coworkers, and friends, to pray for them often and earnestly, and share the gospel in deed and truth (1 John 3:18), hoping that their hearts would be softened and they would come to know God in Christ.

Honestly, I can’t think of a better way to do it.

Catalyst - The Spark for Change

For those of you who were unaware, this previous weekend was marked by a gathering of pastors and other leaders involved in the Crossway Chapel church planting movement (http://www.crosswaychapel.org/) for the third annual Catalyst church planting conference. It was held in our sister church Windsor Community. Represented there were leaders from:

Fort Collins, Colorado (www.mvcchurch.org, www.thecrossingfc.org)

Windsor, Colorado (http://www.windsorchurch.org/home/)

Ault, Colorado (http://www.highplainsharvest.org/)

Wilmington, North Carolina (http://www.crosswaywilmington.org/)

McMinnville, Oregon (http://creeksidemac.com/default.aspx)

Toms River, New Jersey (http://remedynj.com/)

Vsetin, Czech Republic (http://cb.cz/vsetin.majak/)

From the get go, the Crossing has been part of this church planting movement. And by God’s grace we will continue take part in the process of replicating healthy, doctrinally sound, gospel centered local churches that strive to make Christ known as we endeavor to remain such a church ourselves.

For those who were not there, the basic layout of the conference revolved around a series of five messages that sought to understand the various ways in which the words of Jesus in Mark 8:34-35 applied to church planting. These messages were punctuated by Q&A sessions with a panel as well as table discussions. I will very briefly discuss some of these here, but the messages and panel questions will be available for download in the near future, and I’ll provide the link as soon as I have it.

Being a Catalyst for Change – Tom Harcus

In this message, Tom Harcus from Crossway Chapel of Wilmington challenged us to lay aside the “consumer culture” that has invaded much of the American church and instead pick up the cross of “Kingdom culture.” There are flagrant differences between the two, but those that Tom highlighted most vividly were those that demonstrated where consumer culture tends to be passive, safe, and look only to the temporal, Kingdom culture is rooted in a proactive and risky approach to a life that sets its hopes in eternity. If we are to see drastic change for the Kingdom of God, we must be willing to take up the cross of difficulty, but we will gain a crown of glory in the process. In other words, it will be well worth it.

Missional Living – Eric Loyer

Eric Loyer from New Jersey (who preached at the Crossing on Sunday) delivered a message that took a deep and discerning look at the heart that is behind missional living. The idea of missional living stems from the thought that we ought to be intentional for the mission of God in the redemption of lost souls within the areas that God has placed us. However, instead of giving us a “how to” message or berating us for not living missionally enough, Eric went to the heart of what is needed for every person who desires to live missionally, and that is a firm faith and standing in the gospel of Jesus. Apart from the gospel, our intentions to live missionally will be compromised by either discouragement (pending failure) or pride (pending success) and thus we run the risk of “losing our souls” in the process. However, if we are firmly rooted in the gospel, our life will be a cross bearing missional response to that very gospel as we strive forward in the love of Christ.

Serving in Plurality – Tom Harcus

Plurality in leadership is the portrait we gain from the New Testament as to how local churches ought to be led. In this message, Tom made the point several times over by highlighting different aspects of Paul and Barnabbas’s ministry. He also shared a lot of personal stories about how God brought along different leaders for the church in Wilmington to complement the areas where he needed more strength. In having a plurality of leadership, though, there is a significant amount of having to die to oneself in order to create a culture of trust, accountability and transparency. Most successful church plants need multiple leaders that can spearhead different tasks and keep one another accountable not only in their ministry but also in their personal lives, namely in their marriage and with their family.

It’s Warfare – Mark Hotaling

Mark Hotaling from High Planes Harvest in Ault spoke on the reality of the fact that as the Kingdom of God advances into the world through the local church, and there will be opposition and difficulties to be encountered. Mark reminded us that the battle belongs to the Lord (1 Samuel 17:47), that one must consider the cost to be a church planter because it will be difficult (Luke 14:31-33), that one cannot and should not try to do everything on their own (2 Timothy 2:3-4), and lastly, that prayer is an absolute necessity in all of this (1 Chronicles 5:20). There is a significant cross to bear in planting a new church in order to win over lost souls to the Kingdom of God, and the Lord has granted success to Mark and his flock in this endeavor so far. So let us strive to do the same, keeping a watchful eye, and continuing to pray for them and ourselves in the process.

Responding to the Call – Dan Harty

Windsor’s Dan Harty delivered the final message of the conference. In it, he challenged us to be watchful for any signs that we are not standing firm in the gospel; namely by worrying more about the temporal than the eternal, complaining about a lost world more than we’re praying for it, praying for ourselves more than we pray for the conversion of our neighbors, considering safety and comfort as more valuable than having an impact for the Kingdom, trusting in ourselves rather than God, and thinking more about what we want to get, rather than what we want to give.

We were then challenged to look for God’s call in our life to go on a church planting team. How do we know we’re called, though? Dan answered this by saying we must “hear” the call, and then have it confirmed through a season of both personal prayer and prayer from others. And we must remember a call is often to go towards something, rather than to run away from something (like a difficult situation at our current church).

Following this, we watched a video involving some of the key leaders from Windsor Community and their apparent call to plant a church in Loveland, Colorado. They have prayed for a number of years to plant a church in Loveland and continue to feel the need and the urge for a gospel centered church to start there. We were challenged (and I challenge you) to consider whether or not God might have us serving in a new church in Loveland in which we will experience all the challenges and difficulties mentioned above by bearing the cross involved in church planting, but thereby gaining (and seeing) much life.

Conclusion

God is on a mission to redeem a people for Himself who are zealous for His fame (Psalm 8:1) and zealous for good works in this world (Titus 2:14). In His wisdom, He is sending His bride, the church, into all of the world to proclaim His excellencies (1 Peter 2:9) and call people to know, love, and worship Him as they come to be known by Him (Galatians 4:9) and learn of His love for them (John 3:16). In order to take part in this great and wonderful and satisfying work, it will require us to die to ourselves, but we know that in all of these things we end up gaining our life, and much more than that, we gain Christ and the joy of seeing His glory spread through the proclamation of His gospel.

Sermon Notes – Valuing Jesus: Priceless

Note: “Sermon Notes” entries exist to help us as a church body gather around the faithful teaching and preaching of the Word of God. I pray they enhance our study and appreciation for the teaching we receive on a weekly basis.
The Scripture text from the sermon two weeks ago came from Mark 14:1-11. Pastor Aaron noted that within this text is a “sandwich story.” That is to say, one story sandwiched between two stories that are more closely related to each other than they are to the story in the middle. The “bread” of this passage includes stories of individuals who esteemed Jesus of very little (if any) worth. The chapter opens with the chief priests and scribes plotting how they might kill Jesus, and the passage ends with their opportunity realized when Judas Iscariot goes to them in order to betray his Teacher.

Aaron did an excellent job exposing the reality that there are many who esteem Jesus of very little worth both inside and outside of the church, so I’ll speak of it briefly here. One thought that came to mind was the depraved nature of the hearts of man. The religious establishment in being so zealous to maintain their codes and creeds were plotting to destroy the one who is the culmination of those very things (Matthew 5:17). And we see Judas, who even though he was in such close physical proximity to Christ, had a hard and bitter heart. If nothing else, this passage illuminates the vanity and perversity of religion which is entirely divorced from the truth and glory of Christ in the gospel.

What we have between these two passages, though, is the beautiful picture of a woman who understands the surpassing worth of Christ.

We learn from John’s gospel account that this woman was actually Mary, the sister of the very recently resurrected Lazarus (John 12:1-7). One can only imagine what was going through her head in everything that lead up to this event. Jesus had a peculiar and fond affection for Mary and her family (John 11:5), and we can assume the fondness was mutual. Mary had probably known the Man for years, and perhaps only recently came to discover that Jesus really was the Christ.

I like to think that Martha had told Mary about her interaction with the Lord when He came to see their (at the time) deceased brother. Perhaps Martha had shared those mysterious words of His, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

And now here He is, sitting in her house; sitting with her beloved brother in the house of a leper that we can likely assume Jesus had healed. He’s just sitting there, in the presence of those who were dead and had been made alive, and those who were unclean and have now been made clean. A house full of restored and redeemed people.

The relentless thoughts running through Mary’s head as she contemplated who it was that was sitting in her presence would have been astounding. The sheer amount of appreciation she had for what Jesus had done moved her to respond. And respond she did, perhaps somewhat brashly. She grabs the alabaster flask containing the most valuable thing she owned, and smashes it. Right there. In front of everyone. And she begins to rub it on His head (Mark 14:3) and wipe it on His feet with her hair (John 12:3).

This is a portrait of a person who understands that Christ is worth everything. He’s worth the embarrassment and scorn we might receive from friends, family, and outsiders. He’s worth the awkwardness that oftentimes accompanies genuine expressions of worship. And He’s certainly more than worth all of our material good.

The worth of Christ is a subject worthy of our contemplation.

We as believers must understand that Jesus is worthy of our worship. It may sound obvious to state it like that, but it’s a point that must be established repeatedly.

It is far too easy to give way to the thought that Jesus is worthy of worship because He has given us much in the way of material blessing, or because of the health of our bodies and our families, or because things in life have been going well, or even because we recognize the stunning amount of grace that accompanies the forgiveness of our sins. And He is worthy of worship for all of these things!

What I want to establish in our thinking, though, is that Christ is worthy of worship not primarily because of what He gives, but because of who He is.

This must be the posture of the church at all times, and there are many examples outside of Mary’s story demonstrating this.

It can be seen in the lives of His apostles. Paul stated, “Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ,” (Philippians 3:8).

The psalmist boldly states, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you,” (Psalm 73:25).

And in referring to the suffering, testing, and loss that come through faith in Christ, Peter said in 1 Peter 1:6-7 that our faith, which unites us to Christ, is of more value than any earthly good, and its result will be to the praise and glory of Jesus.

In contemplating the sheer worth of Christ, it taxes the mind and the imagination of man beyond its physical limits. But, as Aaron would say, it’s a beautiful thing.

However, even in Mary’s expressions of worship, there was still something lacking. And Jesus made sure they knew it when He said, “she has anointed my body beforehand for burial,” (Mark 14:8).

There was still something lacking in what needed to be accomplished through the suffering that He was soon to endure (Hebrews 2:10). And indeed, it is because of His sufferings that the entire host of heaven will cry out, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12). And it is His sufferings that have made it possible for us to enjoy Him.

Finally, as Pastor Aaron helped us to understand, we will fall short when it comes to our worship. And so I want to leave us with a thought from the pen of the great hymn writer John Newton:

Weak is the effort of my heart,
And cold my warmest thought;
But when I see Thee as Thou art,
I’ll praise Thee as I ought.

The gospel makes up for all of our shortcomings. Mary understood that. At the heart of every genuine believer is the desire to live and give oneself in such a way that reflects the true worth of Christ. We will fail in attempting to do this on our own, so let us first seek to see Christ for who He is (2 Corinthians 4:6). Because then, and only then, will the response of genuine worship be possible.

The Conundrum of Grace that Works

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:9-10)

I have always loved Christian biographies and autobiographies. I have unashamedly told many friends and relations that, outside of the Bible itself, I find more spiritual nourishment in the stories of these men—broken and marred by sin as they are, as they experience and proclaim the grace of God—than anywhere else. There is a lot of good that one could procure by reading stories about Hudson Taylor, George Müller, David Brainerd, Adoniram Judson, and hundreds of others within the cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1).

However, I recently found myself in a conversation with a dear friend when the subject of God’s grace and our efforts came up. We were both struggling with the thought that it seems as though, throughout history, God’s choicest saints were also those that tended to work the hardest in the work and proclamation of the gospel.

This thought seemed strange to both of us.

Yet somehow, as we can see above, Paul’s hard work did not diminish the glory and sovereignty and grace of God at all in his ministry. If anything, it amplified it. Paul bursts forth with praise and thanksgiving for God over and over for the works that are produced by the gospel.

In speaking about proclaiming the gospel, Paul declares, “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me,” (Colossians 1:29).

After Paul defends his ministry to the Corinthian church, setting forth the case that his sufferings have attested to his apostleship more than any of the “super-apostles” that are denouncing him, he sums up his defense by partially quoting Jeremiah 9:24 when he says, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord,” (2 Corinthians 10:17).

And in one of the most powerful passages that illuminates the saving grace of God that comes through faith in His Son, Paul culminates the passage with, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them,” (Ephesians 2:10).

So what are we to make of all of this?

For one, God’s saving grace is completely unmerited on the part of the believer. To think that one could act good enough or perform enough good works is a sentiment that has so many passages within the New Testament that denounce it that I would easily run out of room attempting to quote them here.

Secondly, throughout the Bible, laziness is deplorable, so the answer cannot be a simple “Let go and let God” sentiment that has unfortunately infiltrated into much of the church today. In terms of the work of the kingdom, one would be hard-pressed to find any scriptural warrant for this thought, but may rather find themselves taken aback by its condemnation (Matthew 25:26-30).

What I think that we can learn from these passages (and others like it) is that there is a sense in which working hard will expose us to the grace of God in ways that we would have previously thought impossible. And I think that it will come through seeing how insufficient our hard work actually is, and how reliant we really are on the grace of God for all things, both hard and easy, big and small.

So why bring this up to the church? For one, we have recently experienced a large amount of God’s grace in the joining of what were two separate local church bodies. The grace experienced in this conjoining is almost certainly achieved through the hard and faithful work of many. Yet who would have thought that God’s grace would manifest itself in this way?

Additionally, we are still living in a city within a world at a time when the need for the gospel is immense. We must work towards the display and proclamation of the gospel of God’s grace in the death and resurrection of His Son. And by His grace, we certainly will.

Brokenness is Where Healing Begins

All of us sin… I’m not saying that we have all sinned (though that is true, Romans 3:23), but we all—actively, persistently—sin. If we say otherwise, we lie, but if we confess our sins—if we agree with God that we have fallen short of His holy standard—He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9).
The Gospel—that Jesus died and rose again to forgive us, cleanse us, and cancel the record of debt that stood against us—should free us to humbly confess our sins to one another, knowing that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!

Confession is the response to true brokenness, and brokenness is the place where healing begins. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16).

The New Crossing

[nggallery id=10] 

"I Will Build My Church"

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus makes this incredible statement, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Over the past year, we have seen this promise working out in and through The Crossing. Jesus is at work, and nothing can stop Him!

We launched in March with about 25 people meeting in the Santini’s livingroom.

For the rest of the Spring we met at Registry Ridge Club House, and Jesus continued to build His Church through the Crossing.

Throughout the Summer, Fall and Winter, God continued to bless The Crossing with growing community of amazing people. This last picture is from last Sunday (February 27).

Join us in thanking God for the great things He has done and is doing for His Glory in and through The Crossing.

Driscoll on the Cost of Discipleship

Last Sunday, Mark Driscoll preached on Luke 14:25-35. The Sermon is called “The Cost of Discipleship.” For where I’m at, it is one of the best sermons I’ve heard in a while. Here’s the summary from the website:

Salvation costs you nothing, but discipleship will cost you everything. Salvation occurs in a moment, but discipleship takes a lifetime. Jesus asks whether or not you truly want to live a life of discipleship. If you are a disciple, do not quit. Everything that matters is hard. Everything that matters is costly. Do not quit. Don’t waste your life. Make your death count. Do not raise your hand unless you’re ready to see it through to the end.

And here’s the sermon from Jesus Himself (Luke 14:25-35):

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

“Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

When Humility is Pride

Some of us can tend to fall into the trap of overwhelming inward shame. For those who struggle with this, the remedy is not to hear the words of friends who would say, “Don’t be so hard on yourself.” The remedy is to look to Jesus and stop neglecting such a great salvation (Hebrews 2:3). The following is taken from Tony Reinke’s post, “When Humility is Pride” on CJ Mahaney’s blog:

Rev. Joshua Symonds (1739–1788) was the pastor of a church in Bedford, England who suffered from frequent afflictions, temptations, and what we might call depression—“family cares and severe bodily affliction sometimes cast a gloom over his spirit and led him to take desponding views of himself” [1]. Symonds’s despondency and sense of personal worthlessness engrossed his life, which is made clear in the letters he exchanged with his friend John Newton.

Symonds was aware of his own depravity and spiritual barrenness. But the bigger problem in Symonds’s life was not in thinking too lowly of himself, but in thinking too lowly of the Savior. He was sliding into legalism. He was aware of his own sinfulness, but unable to appreciate the all-sufficiency of the Savior.

Writes Newton,

You say, you find it hard to believe it compatible with the divine purity to embrace or employ such a monster as yourself. You express not only a low opinion of yourself, which is right, but too low an opinion of the person, work, and promises of the Redeemer; which is certainly wrong.

And therein is the danger of understanding total depravity without understanding the sufficiency of the Savior.

Satan’s School of Humility
So what went wrong in his friend’s thinking?

According to Newton, Symonds had been duped in Satan’s “school of humility,” where humility is twisted and distorted into prideful self-loathing that pushes the Savior away.

Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. He sometimes offers to teach us humility; but though I wish to be humble, I desire not to learn in this school. His premises perhaps are true, that we are vile, wretched creatures—but he then draws abominable conclusions from them; and would teach us, that, therefore, we ought to question either the power, or the willingness, or the faithfulness of Christ.

Indeed, though our complaints are good, so far as they spring from a dislike of sin; yet, when we come to examine them closely, there is often so much self-will, self-righteousness, unbelief, pride, and impatience mingled with them, that they are little better than the worst evils we can complain of.

Tim Keller quotes and explains the significance of Newton’s words in his forthcoming book King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus. Keller writes,

There are two ways to fail to let Jesus be your Savior. One is by being too proud, having a superiority complex—not to accept his challenge. But the other is through an inferiority complex—being so self-absorbed that you say, “I’m just so awful that God can’t love me.” That is, not to accept his offer.

And that is how Satan turns humility into false humility, false humility into despondency, and despondency into an inferiority complex that pushes away the gospel.

Looking Directly to Jesus
Newton was keenly aware that at the root of Symonds’s problems were his small thoughts about the Savior. Symonds was tempted to see himself as unworthy of the gospel, the very gospel that invites the most unworthy sinners.

Newton writes,

You have not, you cannot have, anything in the sight of God, but what you derive from the righteousness and atonement of Jesus. If you could keep him more constantly in view, you would be more comfortable. He would be more honored.…Let us pray that we may be enabled to follow the apostle’s, or rather the Lord’s command by him, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice [Philippians 4:4]. We have little to rejoice in ourselves, but we have right and reason to rejoice in him.

And in a later letter Newton writes,

The best evidence of faith is shutting our eyes equally upon our defects and our graces, and looking directly to Jesus as clothed with authority and power to save to the uttermost….Plead the Apostle’s argument (Romans 8:31–39) before the Lord and against Satan. [2]

We find no eternal hope within ourselves. Revisiting personal depravity is not the solution. Revisiting past periods of spiritual strength is not the solution. Prolonged introspection is not the solution. The solution is to look outside of ourselves, and to gaze again and again at the all-sufficient Savior who welcomes sinners, forgives sinners, and saves sinners to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25).

In other words, Christ is powerful to save, he is faithful to save, and he is willing to save even the most “monstrous” of sinners.

Primary source letter: John Newton, Works of John Newton (London: 1820), 6:185–187. Secondary sources: [1] Letters of John Newton (Edinburgh; Banner of Truth: 1869/2007), 167. [2] Letters, 173. [3] Letters, 168.

True Freedom

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”(Galatians 5:1 ESV)

From Tullian Tchividjian’s Blog:

In my book Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels, I make the point that “those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (Jonah 2:8). In other words, when we depend on anything smaller than Jesus for justification, love, mercy, cleansing, a new beginning, approval, acceptance, righteousness, and rescue we consign ourselves to “the restless futility of bewilderment” because nothing and no one but Jesus can provide those things we long for most.

I close the book with a story from Civil War days before America’s slaves were freed, about a northerner who went to a slave auction and purchased a young slave girl. As they walked away from the auction, the man turned to the girl and told her, “You’re free.”

With amazement she responded, “You mean, I’m free to do whatever I want?”

“Yes,” he said.

“And to say whatever I want to say?”

“Yes, anything.”

“And to be whatever I want to be?”

“Yep.”

“And even go wherever I want to go?”

“Yes,” he answered with a smile. “You’re free to go wherever you’d like.”

She looked at him intently and replied, “Then I will go with you.”

Jesus has come to the slave market. He came to us there because we could not go to him. He came and purchased us with his blood so we would no longer be a slave to sin but a slave to Christ—which is the essence of freedom. And now there’s no freer place to be in life than going with him—with the one who is himself our true liberty.

Remember: In the person of Jesus Christ, God came into this world, not to strip away our freedom, but to strip away our slavery to self so that we could be truly free.

Gospel Centered Marriage

We have talked a lot about what it means to live a Gospel centered life, but sometimes it’s difficult to understand what that looks like in day to day life. That’s why I treasure resources that help us work through the practical outworkings of the Gospel in our daily lives. The following is taken from a book that works out this “Gospel-centeredness” in the context of marriage. The book is gold.

Gary and Betsy Ricucci, Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace (Crossway, 2006), pp. 22-23:

• Because of the gospel, Christians have become new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Therefore, in our marriage, our past does not define us, confine us, or determine our future.
• Because of the gospel, we are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). Therefore we can live free of all guilt and condemnation for every sin, and we can trust that God, in his mercy, will be gracious to us.
• Because of the gospel, we can forgive, just as Christ forgave us (Ephesians 4:32). Nothing done against us compares to our sin against God. Therefore all offenses, hostility, and bitterness between Christians can be completely forgiven and removed.
• Because of the gospel, we are accepted by God (Romans 15:7). Therefore we are not dependent on a spouse for who we are or what we need.
• Because of the gospel, sin’s ruling power over us is broken (Romans 6:6, 14). Therefore we can truly obey all that God calls us to do in our marriage, regardless of any circumstance or situation.
• Because of the gospel, we have access to God through Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16). Therefore we can at any time take any need in our marriage to the One who can do all things.
• Because of the gospel, we have hope (Romans 5:1-4). Therefore we can endure any marital difficulty, hardship, or suffering, with the assurance that God is working all to our greatest good (Romans 8:28).
• Because of the gospel, Christ dwells in us by his Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:13-14). Therefore we are confident that God is always with us and is always at work in our marriage, even when progress is imperceptible (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24).
• Because of the gospel, we have power to fight and overcome remaining sin, which continues to dwell and war within us (Romans 7:19-21, 24-25; Galatians 5:16-17). This indwelling enemy represents the essence of what is called the doctrine of sin.

HT: JT

The State of the Crossing - Reflections

Reflection #1 – The LORD is building His Church through The Crossing, you!

Psalm 127:1 – Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain…

The meaning of Psalm 127 is that men and women by FAITH still draw up the plans, buy the resources, swing the hammer and paint the house. And as we build by faith, the Master Builder, the LORD, is using our faith and efforts to accomplish His plan in His way. He builds the house through His people so that He gets the glory of the finished product and the process while we receive the joys and benefits of the finished product and process.

If there is one thing you can take to the bank in a church plant, it is that things usually don’t go the way you plan them. When I was first planning the Crossing in my mind a couple years ago, I had the prefect plan mapped out (in my head anyway). Who was going to be coming, who the leaders were going to be, who was going to be supporting our work, where we were going to be meeting and on and on. And from the first day that I opened my mouth, He began to change the plans, literally.

Out of the first core of 25+ people, 3 are still with us today. I didn’t even know 5 of the 6 leaders of the Crossing 2 years ago. We have had Sunday Gatherings at 5 different locations in the past 8 months. These are just a few changes in “my plan” that the LORD has made since we began the Crossing.

We are working, but it is God who is working in us to will and work for His good pleasure!

The LORD gets the Glory and we get the Joy, here we come 2011.

State of The Crossing - Slide Show

Here is the slide show for anyone who missed our State of The Crossing service this last Sunday, or anyone who just wants to watch it again. Thank you all for being a part of this ministry and serving diligently. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that we are very thankful for what God is doing, and excited to see what He is going to do in 2011.

For the Ladies

In a world that is inundated with “worldly wisdom” for women, Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters provide “wisdom from above” in their blog “girltalk.” You can find the link at www.girltalkhome.com. Girltalk is a site devoted to “Conversations on biblical womanhood and other fun stuff.” Ladies, if you want to be encouraged and challenged as women of God, wives, mothers and friends this blog is for you. There are numerous resources that are there for your edification, enjoy.
Here is a taste of a daily devotional from girltalk.

Today was “one of those days.” I woke up late and could barely keep my eyes open as I began my morning routine. I was behind schedule. All of my well thought out plans for my morning seemed lost. On days like this, the temptation to live by my emotions looms large. Complaining and grumbling were on my tongue. And then I read this, “We are TODAY accepted in the Beloved, TODAY absolved from sin, TODAY acquitted at the bar of God. Oh! Soul-transporting thought.” Mr. Spurgeon strikes again. My grumbling heart stood rebuked. Today is one of those days—one of those amazing days, which find me standing before the bar of God acquitted from all of my sin because of the death of Jesus Christ on my behalf. Yes, Mr. Spurgeon, this is a “soul transporting” thought.

Regardless of what this day holds for you, may the truth of your acceptance in the Beloved reign first in your heart.

“One of Those Days”
by Janelle Bradshaw

Heidelberg Cat

I was telling a few friends about a book that I received as a Christmas (or birthday?) gift last week (that’s a subtle plug for my recent birthday in case you missed it… haha, but seriously).  Anyway… I mentioned my excitement for this book about the Heidelberg Catechism.  Yes, “my excitement.“ Without much goodwill, my friends (ehem Joey and Max) began to mock me and the book. I told them that they couldn’t hate on a book they had never read. So here is my attempt to defend the enjoyability, and devotional value of a book that I am VERY excited about (and so is my wife, who doesn’t put up with “boring” books).
The book is The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism, by Kevin DeYoung. Here is a plug from Kevin’s blog:

I’ve written before about how awkward it can feel to plug your own books. But I press on nonetheless, because you all are kind and I believe this book is important. My newest book, The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism will be available at the end of March. If the topic itself doesn’t thrill you, just look at the sweet picture of Ursinus. He’s part professor, part Santa Claus, part back-from-Davy-Jones’-Locker Pirate of the Caribbean.

Needless to say, I’m a huge fan of the Reformed confessional tradition in general and of the Heidelberg Catechism in particular. But even if you are not Reformed or have a “no creed but the Bible” aversion to catechisms and confessions I encourage you give the Heidelberg a try. It is better than you think.

And here’s a snippet from the intro:

If you’ve ever found understanding the Bible a bit like exploring America on foot, interesting but overwhelming and slow-going, why not use the Heidelberg Catechism as a map? The Catechism can help show you the main attractions others have discovered in the Bible and lead you to the best, most important truths of our faith. As the saying goes (to change our metaphors once again), you can see farther when standing on the shoulders of giants. And the Heidelberg Catechism is a giant of mind-sharpening, Christ-worshiping, soul-inspiring devotion. Stand on its shoulders and see more of Christ who saves us from our guilt by His grace and makes us, through His Spirit, wholeheartedly willing and ready to live for Him.

And last—for those of you who persevered through this post—here is a link to a rap song by Curtis Allen (aka Voice) about Kevin’s book: The First Ever Rap Song About the Heidelberg Catechism. Voice wrote the rap in response to a challenge by C.J. Mahaney at the 2010 NEXT Conference. Enjoy.

Bible Reading Plans

Ready or not, here it comes: 2011. Of all the things that you could commit to in 2011, spending time with God in His Word should be at the top of the list. Psalm 1:3 describes one who delights in and meditates on God’s Word day and night:

“He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.”

Maybe you have failed in past commitments to read the Bible daily… join the club. Don’t give up. Nothing worth doing comes easy, and spending time in God’s word is no different. There are tons of different plans and structures for daily time with God in His Word. Justin Taylor has compiled many of them in a recent post, and he provides links to access the Word in several different formats (online, text, audio, podcast, mobile, etc). If you don’t have a plan for reading the Word, I would suggest that you browse his post, and find a plan that will help you enjoy God and His Word in the year(s) to come.