Victory!

I hope you all had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday! Over the past few days, I have attended a few services centered around Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. There are two things that I want share based on what the Lord spoke through those pastors. 


Número Uno: I bring to you verses that were used during our Easter Service. 

"But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if

Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For is the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in yours sings. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of al people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep"

-- 1 Corinthians 15: 12-20 (ESV)

One thing that was very poignant with this sermon was the importance of the resurrection. Christ was born free of sin. He became sin, endured the wrath of God, and died because of that sin. He conquered sin, by being raised from the dead! In the same way that a raised flag denotes victory, our risen savior denotes a victory over sin! Here is some paraphrasing of a John MacArthur quote that was used:

"If Christ did not raise from the dead, then sin conquered Christ and still reigns over us. Nothing was brought. No hope, no salvation, no forgiveness, nothing."

"O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?"

-- 1 Corinth 15: 55 (ESV)

It's gone! Christ won! He was raised from the dead! There is our hope, our future, our everything! He's no longer in the burial chamber, he lives in us! He walks with us! He's CHRIST! 

"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

-- 1 Corinth 15: 57 (ESV)

Número dos: Basically some food for thought. I encourage you to meditate and pray over this. 

                      They are inspired by a service centered around the last supper and "doing this in remembrance of me (Jesus)"

1. What does the cross mean to you?

     2.  What has Christ conquered for you? 

     3.  What sin has Christ's blood washed over for you?

     4.  What sin in your life caused Jesus' body to be broken?

     5.  What has the Lord blessed you with? Family? Friends? 

Rejoice in the Lord! Rejoice for the greatest sacrifice made out of love for us! Every time we partake in communion we must remember not only why Christ had to die for us, but what we have been given as well! 

Christ Is Risen

Happy Resurrection Day! What a glorious day it is! Christ has won! We song this song at church today and I had to share it! Hear the words, and rejoice! 

"Our God is not dead he's alive, he's alive!"

Working for Christ

           A few weeks ago, I was blessed to go on a mission trip with awesome brothers and sisters in Christ. We went to Promise Village (PV) just outside of Detroit, Michigan. This home, not really a village, is a place for troubled and at risk youth to come and meet Jesus. Through equine therapy, wonderful Godly men serving as life coaches, these boys come to know Jesus and learn how His everlasting love will heal them of their affliction. We were able to have an intimate evening where the boys shared their testimonies of what the Lord has brought them from. The oldest boy there just turned 16 the Tuesday we were there and some of the issues these boys have dealt with include:


       Alcohol and drug addiction
       Anger
       Abuse
       Loss of support (both parents passing away)


As I sat and listened to their stories, I felt my heart break and naturally tears flooded my seating area, not because of sole pity for the boys, because of overwhelming love for my Savior. To see these young men stand up and boldly profess how the Lord has blessed them and brought them out of darkness just made me want to praise the Lord so much!


Coming home that Saturday and the week that proceeded, proved to be more difficult than I was anticipating. The mission trip left me unsettled, I felt a deep desire to be back at the village, helping those boys. It was more or less a "spiritual high." I realize now, that it was partly due to it being my first extended mission trip. However, it was also because I had begun to feel a calling in my life. Working as a substitute teacher, I realize how much of me gravitates towards wanting to help the boys in the school that I am at. Even before Promise Village, I found myself wanting to learn more about how to handle behaviors and just the mindset of an elementary school boy. Pair this with knowledge of tragic home lives and I have myself a dilemma:

Should I stop substitute teaching and look for an opportunity to serve at a place like Promise Village?

DING! Let the wrestling match commence. This was three weeks ago almost, and currently I am still fighting off headlocks, but I have to say I am able to discern more of the Lord's calling for me. My biggest struggle has been that I feel like I should be at a place like PV where I can verbally talk about Christ to people, specifically boys. I want to invest my life in raising up Godly men. That's why I have been struggling with leaving substitute teaching is because in public school, I cannot verbally preach Christ. However, thanks to my mentor Stephen, and the worldliness book I have come to terms with things. 


Two quotes from Worldliness, which directed my thoughts more towards God:

"Far from being a necessary evil, work -- which preceeded the fall (Gen 2:15)-- is part 

of God's good creation, a noble calling that reflects the dignity of bearing 

the image of the Creator." (pg. 157)

"So don't just "go to work" and "do your job" -- see your job as a way to imitate God, 

serve God, and love others." (pg. 158)

--Jeff Purswell "How to Love the World"

"Worldliness" edited by, C.J. Mahaney

Essentially, I thought that I could only truly be serving Christ, if I was in a place where his name was being said from my mouth. My pastor and mentor Stephen, challenged me with the thought that I am clearly serving Christ by being in the school and modeling a Godly man. Whomever I interact with may not know it now, but will come to realize that there is something that sets me apart from other teachers, and other men, and that something is Christ! I am still serving Christ by being a vessel for Him to work through in the school he has placed me in. All glory to Him! 

So, I challenge you to look at your own occupation. Are there opportunities to serve? Are you set apart in your workplace? Is God being glorified? Since everything is created by God, He can use all things, including our workplace for His glory! 

Worldliness

So, I am not much of a book reviewer. It is not something I have had a lot of experience in. With that said, I wanted to present some of my thoughts on a book a recent finished reading. It was a great book centered around, well, as the titles says, worldliness. With a subtitle of "Resisiting the Seduction of a Fallen World, I think it is safe to assume that this book speaks of the world and the materialistic values we can often become trapped under. It is edited by C.J. Mahaney, because it is actually a compilation of discussions by other authors. It is now my attempt to at least break down the book and offer any sort of a review. 

If you don't count the foreword and appendixes as sections, there are 6 chapters in this book. Each chapter is broken up into segments relating to certain practices or ideas. The chapters are (with authors):

1. "Is this verse in your Bible?: -- C.J. Mahaney

2. "God, my heart, and Media" -- Craig Cabaniss

3. "God, my heart, and Music" -- Bob Kauflin

4. "God, my heart, and Stuff" -- Dave Harvey

5. "God, my heart, and Clothes" -- C.J. Mahaney

6. "How to love the world" -- Jeff Purswell

      The first chapter in the book starts off with a shocking story about one of our nation's heroes, who made his "own Bible" by cutting out only the verses he liked. Mahaney then relates it to our own lives, and how we tend to ignore some parts of the Bible, because it does not fit us. Also, how we ignore it, because we do not want to have to give up a love for something. Clearly our only love should by in the Lord, so that's the segue way into defining worldliness and thus setting the tone of the book. Mahaney defines worldliness as "love for this fallen world... to gratify and exalt oneself to the exclusion of God" (pg 27) Where do we place our hearts? What gives us security and a sense of belonging? Hopefully it's the Lord, if not, then we are drifting towards the world. Remember 1 John 2:15, Mahaney even quotes it "Do not love the world, or anything in the world."

       From there, the book goes depth with various things that we can fall in love with, and that can seduce us and lead us away from God. I could go into detail about each chapter, but I think I am going to refrain. Generally, in each chapter, the authors go into detail about how we fall for the temptations of our clothing, or music etc. They give real life examples of fallen hearts, scripture to revoke any justification for a love of anything material, and questions for examination of one's heart. Also, there are practical applications for accountability among other things to aid us in our defense against the seductions. It it without a doubt convicting and thought provoking. 

        The final chapter begins to help us put into perspective how to love the world, without being a part of it. For me, it is seeing the world as God's creation and wanting to love everything God has created, knowing, though, that everything belongs to our creator. "...there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'" - Abraham Kuyper. This goes into further discussion with using every aspect of your life to glorify God. 

       To end, here is a quote from John Piper, in the foreword of the book: 

"In the end, the sum of all beauty is Christ, and the sin of all worldliness is to diminish our capacity to see him and be satisfied in him and show him compellingly to a perishing world"(pg 13).

St. Patrick's Breastplate pt. II

I know that this post is only going to scratch the surface of the most recent post. As I keep reading through the words, I can't help but notice how deep the lyrics go. There is so much God, Bible, Jesus, Holiness, in this hymn it sometimes just overwhelms me. That previous sentence is even just a minor description of the complexity of the words. It is an attempt in the next few moments, to reflect on a few lines of the hymn.

"Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in 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,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me."

I absolutely love the way he speaks about Christ here. In simple turns, St. Patrick wants Christ everywhere! Christ will lead him, and Christ will follow. Christ will be his earth and Christ will be his sky. His escort will be Christ. He does not stop just in positioning Christ, he continues on to say that when people speak of me, they will speak of Christ. If they see me, they will see Christ and if they hear me, they will hear Christ. This could serve as a fantastic prayer, and also serve as a way for us to examine Christ in our own lives. 

"I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of devils,

From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and near,

Alone and in multitude."

In the same way that St. Patrick wants to place Christ in all aspects of his life, here I feel he wants to draw upon nature of God. Alone, we stand no chance again "the snares of the devils" and "temptations of vices," but God grants us the power to do so.  Through God's wisdom, way, ear, etc. we receive a protection from such things.