Ephesians 2:1-10

If you've got a minute, please read this whole passage. It's amazing.

I was dead. DEAD. And yet God gave me new life. This is such a big deal. Even in my sin, God loved me and showed me mercy. Jesus gave His very life to ransom me, a person dead in her sin. When I read this, the fact that I was dead in my trespasses, and the fact that we all are dead in our sin really hit me.

And it got me to thinking... no one is any more or less dead in sin than anyone else. It would sound totally illogical for someone to say "Oh, I was just 'sort of' dead in my sin, but those people, they are really dead." What? That seems so ignorant and ridiculous. Thinking like this just makes me want to show compassion towards people who don't yet know what I know about God and the gospel, not because I'm some nice compassionate person who does everything right, but because I was once dead, too. It's only by God's grace that I'm alive in Him today, and He offers that same grace to those who believe.

Isn't God's love and mercy in the cross so amazing? I love passages like Ephesians 2 that remind me of the gospel - because I can so often forget.

Who Jesus Is

I really like this article from Kevin DeYoung's blog. What a great reminder of the fact that Jesus "is not one of, but the one." Read the whole thing here, or an excerpt below:

Jesus is not one of; he is the One. Jesus is not a pointer like John, Elijah, or one of the prophets. He is the point. It sounds very lofty to call Jesus a prophet, or a popular teacher, or a wonder worker, or a good man, or a brilliant example, or part of a long line of enlightened figures. But all of these descriptions miss the point. Because in all of them you are saying Jesus is one of (see v. 28). And if you say Jesus is only one of and not the One, you haven’t understood him. You don’t see who He really is. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16)....

So away with all this nonsense that Jesus is like Mohammed or like the Buddha or like the Dali Lama or like Ghandi or like your saintly grandmother. He is not like anyone else. And so we will not pretend to be impressed when others call Jesus a good man or an enlightened figure or one of the prophets. He is not one of, He is the One.
- Kevin De Young

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, the day we remember Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for our sins. I thought it would be a good time to review the gospel. Some of you have heard this message thousands of times. Or maybe there are some of you who are not really sure what the gospel is or what it means to be a Christian. No matter which category you'd say you're in, or if you're somewhere in between, this message is for you. We are all sinners in need of a Savior and we never outgrow our need for the saving message of the gospel. So I thought I'd review just what the gospel is and what it means.

1. God is holy. He is perfect and completely righteous.
2. We are sinful. We can't live up to God's perfectly holy standard. We make mistakes and we fail.
3. We deserve God's wrath. Because God is holy, He must punish sin. Our rightful due is eternal punishment for our sins.
4. But God loved us. Even though we were far from Him and deserve His wrath, in His amazing mercy, He saw us in that state and provided a rescue.
5. Jesus came to save us. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, fully God and fully man. He came to earth and lived a perfectly life that completely kept God's standards. Then He died for us. On the cross, He bore all the wrath that we deserved. He took our punishment when He didn't deserve any punishment.
6. We must believe. If we believe that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and if we are willing to confess that Jesus is Lord and that He died on the cross for our sins, we can be saved.
7. God offers eternal life. If we believe the gospel, we can enjoy not only the most amazing joy possible here on earth, but eternity in Heaven instead of the punishment in Hell that we deserved.
8. This is the only way. I can speak from experience: nothing but Jesus gives true life or satisfaction. It was only when I turned to Him that I experienced true hope and peace. And what's more, there is no other way to salvation. Jesus Christ alone provides our salvation and hope.

This is a day when we get to remember all of this. But the good news is that Jesus didn't stay dead and in His tomb. That's what Easter is all about!

Jesus is alive!

We remember Jesus' death on Good Friday, but His death is not the end of the story. Three days later, he rose from the dead, and His resurrection is a symbol that His sacrifice was acceptable to God. Because Jesus is alive, we can be sure we have hope.

I hope this encourages you today, and I hope that you take the time to consider this message, whether it be for the millionth time or the first time. Whether you've been a Christian for decades or you're just recently starting to think about the gospel, the main point is the same: Jesus is the only way and He deserves all of our lives.

Our Great Savior

"The man who thinks lightly of Christ also has but poor comfort as to his own security. With a little Savior I am still in danger, but if he be the mighty God, able to save unto the uttermost, then am I safe in his protecting hand, and my consolations are rich and abounding. In these, and a thousand other ways, an unworthy estimate of our Lord will prove most solemnly injurious. The Lord deliver us from this evil.

If our conceptions of the Lord Jesus are very enlarged, they will only be his due. We cannot exaggerate here. He deserves higher praise than we can ever render to him. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high is he above our loftiest conceptions. Even when the angels strike their loudest notes, and chant his praises most exultingly on their highest festal days, the music falls far short of his excellence. He is higher than a seraph’s most soaring thought! Rise then, my brethren, as on eagle’s wings, and let your adoring souls magnify and extol the Lord your Savior."
- Charles Spurgeon

[Found quote here.]

_____________________________

I don't think like this often enough. I don't think about how Jesus' majesty and praiseworthiness are so great that my thanks could never be enough. My view of God is nowhere near big enough. He deserves praise with my every breath, word, though deed, action. He is fully worthy of it and even all of that could not come close to matching his worthiness.

Wow. This is an amazing truth, but it's something I forget and ignore. I need to be reminded.

Talking to Myself

Listen in if you like.
_______________________________
[Written on 3-6-11]
Jesus + Nothing = Everything
-Tullian Tchvidjian

Thinking about this statement today. And how Jesus is everything. So often I make other things too important and I'm sad and a little despairing when those things change or go. But it doesn't need to be that way. If all the other things I try to trust in fall away, that's okay. I have Jesus.

If I lose my health, I have everything.
If I find myself feeling alone, I have everything.
If my life doesn't turn out the way I want it to, I have everything.

None of those things have happened to me, at least not in major ways, but I have lost things. And I'm sure I will lose more things. But I know that I will not and cannot lose Jesus because He's holding on tight to me. He is enough even if everything else falls apart.

So it makes me want to trust Him more and trust other things less...love Him more and love other things less. While all the other things in my life are a blessing and I am grateful for them, they are not my hope. Sometimes I try to hope in them, but my true hope lies in Jesus. Anything else really is nothing in comparison.

Jesus is everything. He is my everything. The only reason I am alive and have an eternal future is because of His grace. So I want to live like it. Lord, help me to live like it.

God's Love

"Our love to him is like a trickling rill, speeding its way to the ocean because it first came from the ocean. All the rivers run into the sea, but their floods first arose from it: the clouds that were exhaled from the mighty main distilled in showers and filled the waterbrooks. Here was their first cause and prime origin; and, as if they recognised the obligation, they pay tribute in return to the parent source. The ocean love of God, so broad that even the wing of imagination could not traverse it, sends forth its treasures of the rain of grace, which drop upon our hearts, which are as the pastures of the wilderness; they make our hearts to overflow, and in streams of gratitude the life imparted flows back again to God. All good things are of thee, Great God; thy goodness creates our good; thine infinite love to us draws forth our love to thee."
- C.H. Spurgeon

found on The Daily Spurgeon

He Cares for You

I saw this quote on the blog Steadfast Love, and I thought I would post it because it is such an encouragement to remember how much God cares for us.  We really can cast all our cares on Him.

"Casting all your care upon Him–for He cares for you!" 1 Peter 5:7

Our cares must be cast upon our God, or they will prove a burden too heavy for us–they will depress, bewilder, and make us wretched!

WHO is it that cares for us? It is the Lord Almighty–the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy! It is He whom the angels obey, the seraphim adore, and all creation glorifies!

It is the Lord–who is so great, that we have no adequate conception of His greatness!
It is He who is so good–that it is impossible fully to set forth His goodness!
It is He who is so glorious–that no sinner can see His face and live!
It is He who created all things with His Word!
It is He who governs all things by His wisdom!
It is He who upholds all things by His power!
It is He whose resources are infinite!
It is He whose compassion is exquisite!
It is He whose patience is without limit!

But though He is so exalted, so happy, and so unspeakably great–He cares for you!

He cares for you–as base as you are.
He cares for you–as sinful as you are.
He cares for you–as depressed and discouraged as you are.
HE cares for YOU!

May I pass through the present world under the impression, "I am the object of God’s tender, perfect and ceaseless care!"

-James Smith

Assurance in the Journey

I saw this on GirlTalk today and wanted to share it with you all - a wonderful quote from Charles Spurgeon about how Jesus leads us and knows our paths.  Here's part of it.

Wherever Jesus may lead us, He goes before us. If we know not where we go, we know with whom we go. With such a companion, who will dread the perils of the road? The journey may be long, but His everlasting arms will carry us to the end. The presence of Jesus is the assurance of eternal salvation, because He lives, we shall live also.
- Charles Spurgeon

Read the rest here.

What Christmas Really Is

I wanted to be sure to take time this season to write a post about what Christmas really is.  I think everyone knows that it's not all about Christmas and presents and trees and tinsel and lights and silver and gold.  Or red and green.  But what is it about?

Now, that's a question that a lot of people have a lot of different answers to.  Some people say it's about generosity and doing good deeds towards others.  Other people think it's all about family togetherness.  Still others just like the way the happy holiday season makes them feel.  I know I have been prey to these mindsets sometimes.

For me, though, and for Christians around the world, Christmas isn't about the superficial, commercialized stuff, but it's also not about feeling good or even being nice to others.  For me, Christmas is about just one thing: Jesus Christ.

More than 2000 years ago, a baby was born in a stable in Bethlehem.  And he wasn't just a baby; He was the living Son of God.  And he came not only to be born, but to live a perfect life and to die for the sins of the world.

He came to die.


That's a big thought.  The reason Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago was because my sin, and yours, and the whole world's grieved God and caused us all to deserve His eternal wrath and judgment.  But that's not the end of the story!  God loved us so very much that He sent Jesus to be born as a baby and to grow up to die for us and appease God's wrath.  Because of the fact that Jesus died for our sins, we no longer have to bear God's wrath.  Jesus bore all of God's wrath in our place.  So instead of wrath, we get eternal life and blessing and love...and adoption into God's family as His children.  That's amazing, and that's why Christmas is so great.

Bethlehem points to Calvary.

Christmas is about Jesus, and not only about his birth, but about why He was born and what He did on the cross in our place.  Because of Jesus' sacrifice for us, we can have true and lasting satisfaction and peace.  As I was reading in Luke 2, I noticed this part specifically:

Glory to God in the highest,
        and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!
- Luke 2:14

In my ESV Study Bible, the note said something about the fact that the peace on earth that the angels proclaim in this passage is the gospel: that Jesus came to bring peace through His blood.  Because of Jesus' death, we can have peace in this season and always, and we can glorify God just as the angels did for all that He has done for us.  I'm so glad that God revealed this to me, because before, I had always thought of "peace on earth" as a nice, happy phrase you say at Christmastime.  But it's so much more than that.

Peace on earth means the gospel.

And what's amazing is that when Jesus died on the cross, he didn't stay in the grave.  He rose from the dead, and now he is seated at the right hand of God in Heaven.  And he's interceding for us before the Father!  Isn't that amazing?

So, this Christmas, will you join me in remembering what it really is?  Let's not buy into the lie that Christmas is just about presents or good feelings.  It's about a perfect, crucified, and risen Savior - Jesus Christ!

I hope you all have a great holiday tomorrow celebrating the birth of our Savior!

Thoughts

I know I've already got a post up today.  But I wanted to share something extra, something cool I've been learning lately.  In The Valley of Vision recently, I read a prayer called "Fullness in Christ," and this part especially stood out to me.  It's a short quote, but very profound.

O God,
Thou hast taught me
that Christ has all fullness and so all plentitude of the Spirit,
that all fullness I lack in myself is in him,
for his people, not for himself along,
he having perfect knowledge, grace, righteousness,
to make me see,
to make me righteous,
to give me fullness.

Wow.  I'm totally helpless and lacking, but all the fullness I need is in Jesus.  I don't need anything aside from Him.

This reminded me of a message I heard last week by Tullian Tchividjian.  It was called "Jesus + Nothing = Everything," and I really enjoyed it and benefited from it.  One of the big takeaway points for me was a quote something like this:

We are free to be weak because Christ is strong for us.  We are free to lose because Christ has won for us.

I love that quote because it reminds me that I can't do anything on my own, and it's not about what I do at all, or how strong or weak I feel, or about how often I feel like I'm winning versus losing.  I can lose and I can be weak, because Christ has won and Christ is strong!  It's all about Him.

So when I'm weak and when I lose, I don't have to wallow in that or become proud and self-righteous, saying "I shouldn't be weak like this!"  The reality is that I am weak.  I'm nothing without my Savior. 

In times of trouble, though trials may come
The rock of ages is standing strong
I'm fighting battles, but the war is won
So I'll run to you and surrender all
- "Holy Spirit Have Your Way" by Leeland

Weak.  That's a word I need to remember.  I am weak.  I need God desperately.  I'm totally dependent on Him.  And He is enough.  So I can run to Him.

If Jesus Speaks...

Hannah posted this and it was so encouraging to me that I thought I would copy it here.

One moment will suffice, if Jesus speaks, to make the despairing happy, and the unbelieving full of confidence... This is the standing miracle of the church, performed by Christ today even as aforetime. Paralysed souls who could neither do nor will, have been able to do valiantly, and to will with solemn resolution. The Lord has poured power into the faint, and to them that had no might he hath increased strength. He can do it still.  - C.H. Spurgeon

Thankful List

Today is a day that people all across the country stop to give thanks.  That's pretty neat.  God has blessed me in so many ways, most of all with the gospel, and I thought it would be appropriate to share a few of the things that I'm thankful for today.  Since it's the 25th, I'll share 25 things (in 5 categories).

I'm thankful for all God has given me.

I'm thankful for wonderful family and friends.

I'm thankful for things I enjoy doing.

I'm thankful for creativity in a variety of contexts.

I'm thankful for who God is and what I have in Jesus.

What are you thankful for?  I'd love to hear.

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The handkerchief and the flower charm are from Pugly Pixel.  The rest of the graphics are my own designs.

Charles Spurgeon on Contentment

One of my current favorite quotes.

"Believer...you should be satisfied with your earthly portion; for you may rest assured that it is the fittest for you.  Unerring wisdom ordained your lot, and selected for you the safest and best condition...Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have put you there.  You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances...Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good.  Take up your own daily cross; it is the burden best suited for your shoulder, and will prove most effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God.  Trials must and will befall--But with humble faith to see love inscribed upon them all; this is happiness to me."
- Charles Spurgeon in Morning and Evening

It's so comforting to remember that contentment isn't about me or what specific circumstances I'm in, but the fact that God is good and has sovereignly ordained each circumstance I'm in for His glory.

What to Prize

Another true gem from Grace Gems.

Diogenes noted the folly of the men of his time - that they undervalued the best things - but overvalued the worst things. Ah, that this were not the sin and shame of professors in these days!

God sometimes strips His people of their nearest and dearest earthly mercies - that they may the more prize, and the better taste - of spiritual and heavenly mercies!

God takes away uncertain riches - that His people may the more prize certain riches!

God takes away natural strength - that His people may the more prize spiritual strength!

God takes away the creature - that His people may more prize their Savior.

Spiritual and heavenly things can alone satisfy the soul. The language of a godly man is this, "Ah, Lord! the good earthly things which I have from You, though they may refresh me - yet they cannot satisfy me without Yourself!"

"Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail - but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever!" Psalm 73:25-26
 
- Thomas Brooks, "A Believer's Last Day, His Best Day"

Such a good reminder to prize what really matters.  I don't know about you, but so often, I don't prize Jesus enough.  I turn my attention to other things - myself, things I enjoy, worries, whatever it may be.  But the things of God are the things that are really worth prizing.  And isn't it true that, during trials, the things that are taken away point us to what we have in Christ and how good God is?  I know that has been the case for me.

Deal Much with Jesus

A little devotional by Octavius Winslow in Evening Thoughts:

"This is real love. It is not that we loved God - but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." 1 John 4:10

Deal much and closely with a crucified Savior! This is the grand secret of a constant ascending of the affections to God. If you find it difficult to comprehend the love of God towards you - then read it in the cross of His dear Son!

Dwell upon this amazing fact,
drink into this precious truth,
muse upon it,
ponder it,
search into it,
pray over it,
until your heart is melted down, and broken, and overwhelmed with God's wondrous love to you, in the gift of Jesus!

Oh, how will this rekindle the flame that is ready to die in your bosom! How it will draw you up in a holy and unreserved surrender of body, soul, and spirit!

Deal much with Jesus!

Whenever you detect . . . a waning of love,
a reluctance to take up the daily cross,
a shrinking from the precept
 - go immediately to Calvary!

Go simply and directly to Jesus!

Get your heart warmed with ardent love by contemplating Him upon the cross - and soon will the frosts that gather round it melt away, and the congealed current shall begin to flow!

"Who loved me - and gave Himself for me!" Galatians 2:20

This came in an email from Grace Gems this past week, and it was so good that I wanted to share it with you all.  I hope it encourages you.

Losing Control

One thing I desire is to know things, in fact, to know everything.  I want to know what is happening to me right now, and what will happen in the future.  I also want to control things...well, control everything.  I want my life and the whole world to go just the way I want it.

Functionally, I want to be God.

It's because of this that I constantly have to remember that I am not God, that only God is God, and that He has a better plan for my life than I could ever imagine, plan, know, or control.  He is in control; I'm not.

In a sense, I think wanting to control things is a common human tendency.  After all, popular culture tells us that the answers to all our problems lie within ourselves and our own "power"...in effect, popular culture tells us that our problems will go away when we take control of our lives.

Ultimately, though, taking control of my life like I think I want to won't bring me happiness.  In fact, it will draw me away from God and lead me to worship myself rather than Him.  I would never want to do that, and yet I'm very aware of my tendency to do it in practice.  I'm dependent on God's grace alone to fight the temptation to seek control.

Instead, I need to lose control.

Now, in normal life situations, losing control is viewed as a negative thing.  Why?  I think because, when we lose control of something, no one else is controlling it, either.  When you take your hands off the steering wheel of a car and take your foot off the brake, you'll probably go down the hill you're approaching at about 90 miles an hour and slam into a tree at the bottom.  Essentially, since you aren't controlling the car, no one is.

It's very different in life, though.  When we lose control of our lives, meaning that we lose the driving desire to control our lives ourselves, we don't have to leave them with someone in charge.  Really, you're not in control of your life to begin with.  God is the almighty, sovereign, all-knowing King who rules over everything and controls everything - including your life.  So, I guess what I mean by losing control isn't necessarily giving the right to control your life over to God (because he already has the right to control you and He does control you), but instead, surrendering all your desires to control your life over to God, and embracing His control.

This is something I need to do.  It's something I need to remind myself of.  It's something I need God's grace to accomplish.

And I know for a fact that surrendering my own desires to rule and embracing God's ultimate control over my life will lead to freedom and peace.  Because, if you think about it, thinking we're in control is a stressful thing, because we can't control our lives and we're constantly afraid of messing up.

But God never messes up.  He is holiness itself, and He does everything He pleases.

And what He pleases is good.

Let me leave you with two things, first, some of the lyrics to a song I've been enjoying recently, called "Let it Go" by Tenth Avenue North.  The chorus is particularly encouraging.

But You say let it go, You say let it go
You say life is waiting for the ones who lose control
You say you will be everything I need
You said if I lose my life, it's then I'll find my soul
You say let it go.

And the other thing I want to share with you is a Scripture verse that's one of my favorites:
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11

Usually when I think of that verse, I focus on the part about plans, and think about the fact that God has plans for my future.  But I've noticed lately that there's another part to the verse, too: God knows.  We can never know everything, but God does know.  He knows all.

God Is God

God is infinite.  I am finite.

God is all-powerful.  I can do nothing apart from His power.

God created the whole world out of nothing.  I am a created being, designed by Him.

God is in control of the universe and my life.  I cannot be in control.

God is perfectly holy.  I am sinful by nature.

God knows the thoughts in my mind and every hair on my head.  I know only what He reveals to me.

God is God.  I am not.

These truths are amazing, life-changing, unforgettable truths, and yet I so easily forget them as I run around making my own plans, getting frustrated when things don't go my way, and neglecting to take the time to stop and think about what an amazing Savior I serve.  And writing it down helps me remember: God is God.

Praising God

Last night, I read Psalm 147-150.  Those chapters talk a lot about praising God.  And what I noticed in the verses was that the commands to praise God are never conditional.  The psalmist never says, "praise the Lord when things are going well," or "praise the Lord when you have nothing to be sad about."  He just says "praise the Lord."  I think the reason for this is that God's worthiness of praise is unchanging, and it doesn't depend on our circumstances.  God is just as worthy of prasise, and just as good, when we're hurting as when we're rejoicing.  So we have reason to praise him when we're hurting as well as in the easy times.  This really encouraged me.

"Praise the Lord!  For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting."
- Psalm 147:1

"Praise the Lord!  Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!  Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!"
- Psalm 149:1-2

"Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!"
- Psalm 150: 2, 6

This also reminds me of a great song we've been singing at church lately, "Desert Song" by Brooke Fraser.  Here are some of the lyrics.

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness, or trial, or pain
There is a faith proved of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

All of my life in every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

I need to be reminded that I always have a reason to worship, no matter how I feel or what I'm going through.  God is good, and He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for my sins.  My greatest problem is taken care of and I'm a child of God.

Isn't that a good reason to praise Him?