Religion --> Resurrection --> Relationship

Before I really begin, I just wanted to give a few words that pretty much summarize this whole post. I have been both resting and wrestling with these simple but powerful concepts. Having said that, here we go:

Sacrifice --> Death --> Life

Religion --> Resurrection --> Relationship

Chances are, that doesn't entirely make sense yet, so please allow me to share what I have come up with thus far.

Sacrifice --> Death --> Life

As a Christian in America, I can honestly say I am blessed but also cursed because I have not endured significant suffering. Please understand that I am not wishing that I would suffer greatly, however. I just hope and pray that whatever I face, I would remember that I am frail, but my God is faithful, that though I am weak, He is strong. What never ceases to blow my mind is the knowledge that though I fail, His love never fails. Nowhere is that more brutally but beautifully demonstrated than through the Cross and Resurrection. As Paul would write:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

-I Corinthians 15:3-4

As believers, we are made disciples. By definition, we are learning and following Christ, which means His example is the path we pursue. What does this look like?

In the OT, God's people had to have faith in what was to come, namely Christ as Messiah who would rescue and redeem His people. For us the foundation is faith, but not in what is to come, though we do and should look forward to the rewards that are ours in Christ Jesus. While the people of the OT primarily looked forward in faith for Jesus, we are to primarily look back in faith that the prophecies were fulfilled by Christ.

I say all that to say that in the same way the OT had a sacrificial system, Christ sacrificed Himself to God's glory for His own Name's sake despite our sinful state. Sacrifices are necessary to appease God's Wrath, but Christ's sacrifice absolutely absorbed God's Wrath, ending the OT sacrificial system. Still, there is a word for us as believers about sacrifice.

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the Will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

Remember that Sacrifice --> Death but Death --> Life.

Religion --> Resurrection --> Relationship

As Jesus Himself preached:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

-Matthew 5:17-18

The OT sacrifices served as a foreshadowing of how they would be fulfilled by Christ because He is perfect. Through His sacrificial death, sins are completely atoned for and access to God is available. Therein lies the comfort but also the call to salvation and sanctification. Our bodies are where God dwells because Christ tore the curtain in two making it possible to enter into the very presence of God the Father Almighty, an honor not granted to men of faith prior to Christ, except for the High Priest, and one that we take for granted and abuse all too often.

Nonetheless, because Christ came, died, and is alive and ascended to God the Father Almighty, we not only have access, but Jesus gave us His Spirit to intercede for us (Romans 8:26-27), and Himself makes intercession on our behalf (Romans 8:33-34, Hebrews 7:25). So because of Christ's sacrifice, death and resurrection, when He calls us to salvation, our old selves are sacrificed, crucified with Christ, and dead. But the good news is when we sacrifice and die to ourselves, we experience a foretaste of the Resurrection, because as surely as Christ was raised, so will we be raised with Him forevermore.

What sets Christianity apart is not Christians themselves but Christ Himself. Religion is a great start, but if there is no relationship, it is entirely useless. Religion is all about details and duty, but the major deal with Christianity is that the details and the duty are already done by Christ. If you follow the Christian religion, it will lead you to the Resurrection and if you follow the Resurrection, it will lead you back to the Cross where the relationship with Father and Son was temporarily broken so that it could be permanently ours. Where religion failed, Christ fulfilled through the Resurrection. He was broken for us so that our broken relationship could be restored. Now, through Christ alone, we have a religion and a relationship that is all possible because of the Resurrection.

This is why I say Religion --> Resurrection and the Resurrection --> Relationship

Since then we have a Great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

-Hebrews 4:14-16

Qualified: Strengthening and Stretching

I know no other way to say things sometimes than just to say it, so here goes: The basic thesis for this is that we have been qualified, which is refreshing but also stretching. If you are not stretching, you are not fully enjoying the refreshment. Having said that, the question becomes, what is the source that refreshes and stretches?

Saul was a man who experienced the light of Christ, the love of the Father, and the boldness of the Spirit. From that encounter, everything about him changed-including his name. Saul saw God (though he was blinded physically) and by the power of God became known as Paul. By the same power, Paul journeyed and preached against Saul and for salvation. To me, his life is convicting for so many reasons.

Perhaps the most powerful though is his example of dedication and devotion. He was devoted to God's Word because God spoke to Him. His life was special, not because of himself, but despite himself. In his own power, he persecuted Christians and the church. In God's power, he proclaimed and preached for the sake of the church.

Paul was always praying and preaching because of the power He encountered and the problems he faced. We have been refreshed by Christ but are we being stretched by Christ?

"May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
-Colossians 1:11-14

When the Spirit speaks through Scripture it is heart-breaking but humility-building. It is self-executing, because it is Christ-exalting. God's Word is the sole source of strength over self but it also stretches self. Still, there is the offer of being refreshed that comes with the call to follow Christ. With that, here is a song that puts into perspective the work that is yet to be done in light of the work that Christ finished.

Called to: Eternal Home, Endure Hardships

Those of you who know me know that I am a little short-handed but love it! That being said, I remember 3 important things:

1 - God is Three in One. (Thankfully though, He is the perfection of truth while I am still tainted by the perversion of truth).
2 - Jesus is the 2nd person of the Trinity
   - My hand is a failed analogy of the Trinity but God uses imperfect things to reveal Himself.
3 - Grace (God's gift of salvation and sanctification through suffering)
   - My weakness (I still struggle with sin and the pain of pride-ask me about trucks)
   - Christ's Strength (Despite my sin, Christ suffered and saves)

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(II Corinthians 12:8-10)

Freedom to Follow

I am blessed beyond my belief because my faith is small. Here I am claiming to follow Christ who is fully faithful and forgiving, but I am lacking in both areas all the time. I profess faith in a Father who possesses all things and gives generously, but I limit myself to myself. I still struggle with the flesh because of the Fall, failing to react to the fact that I am called to share the same faithfulness to God that He showed me-that I am commanded to forgive others as I have been forgiven.

Growing up in church, I have gained knowledge, but still lack wisdom. Allow me to attempt to explain: Knowledge is what you know while wisdom is what you do with that knowledge. In other words, wisdom is the application of knowledge. I am known by God and commanded to communicate that knowledge to others. Wisdom is the communication of knowledge, you might say. But lest you or I speak too much, here are just a couple of Scriptures that speak to this issue:

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
All those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
-Psalm 111:10

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
-Proverbs 9:10

Thomas Jefferson was a brilliant mind who had a gift for writing and shared this bit of wisdom with Nathaniel Macon, "Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom." Whether or not Jefferson knew Jesus, his saying is supported by Scripture because we have to be honest that we are sinful before we can be saved; we were lost and liked it. But God (those two words are absolutely incredible) loved us while we were lost because He is faithful and forgiving.

Our fortune is not in goods but in grace. God is not faithful to us because we are perfect. Instead, He is making us perfect because He is faithful. We were freed from sin by grace and that same grace continues to free us from sin. God's saving grace rescued us from rebellion and daily delivers us from the slavery of sin. We are saved, being sanctified, but still struggling with slavery. But as Tenth Avenue North likes to say and sing:

Hallelujah! 
We are free to struggle
We're not struggling to be free

The most important thing about us is not about us; it is about Christ and our identity "In Christ."

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
-John 8:36

For freedom's sake!

P.S. GREEN=GROWTH, RED=BLOOD, BLUE=FREEDOM

St. Patrick's Day

So today is St. Patrick's Day. My last name happens to be Patrick and I do have some Irish blood in me (maybe that explains why I have such a temper at times). Anyway, Saint Patrick himself was a pretty cool guy and we can and should learn some things from him. I just wanted to highlight 3 of his quotes and make some comments about how they apply, so here goes:

(Conviction)

"The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelieving heart, so that I should recall my sins."

This quote really gets to the heart of salvation. Our hearts are naturally selfish and even in our best attempts to become less selfish, our motives are selfish, showing our sinfulness. God acted as Savior while we were still selfish and sinful (Romans 5:8).

However, God doesn't just leave us in the slavery of our sin; He frees us and sanctifies us. For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1). 

To use more Biblical terms, God convicts us of our sin and shows Himself to be Savior. Once saved, though, we sanctified. In other words, the conviction leads us to the challenge.

(Challenge)

"If I be worthy, I live for my God to teach the heathen, even though the may despise me."

Likewise, this quote also reveals the heart of the Gospel. We are not worthy, but we know Christ, who is infinitely worthy, so despite being despised, we should "live in a manner worthy of the Gospel" as Paul puts it (Philippians 1:27). This challenge is included in salvation and involves sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel.

God spoke to us who believe through the message of His Word and the moving of His Spirit. God values communication. After all, He spoke the world into existence. But God doesn't just speak to us; He desires to speak in us and through us daily.

God's glorious grace reached toward us while we were still slaves to sin and freed us to become freedom fighters for the sake of the Gospel. Many more than 27 million slaves fall into this kind of slavery and the punishment is far worse than the horrors of human trafficking.

His grace was powerful to save us, but we are not the end-God wants us to share His Story with those we come into contact with. No believer is excluded, but the challenge leads to a comfort and that is extended to all believers as well.

(Comfort)

"Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me

Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise."

We cannot forget that the conviction that leads to the challenge, but neither can we forget the comfort that accompanies the challenge to make disciples. Christ Himself put it this way as part of the Great Commission, "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!