A Simple Reminder

If you had the power to write the story of your life and submit it to God for execution, I highly doubt you would script any trials, struggles, or pain. We are creatures of comfort. We don't want to hurt or experience suffering. We are as adverse to pain as Cousin Eddie is to a job or James Harden is to a razor.

In fact, this aversion to pain has led many to believe the blessing of God in our lives is incompatible with suffering or loss. The idea goes like this: God's blessing in my life equals relatively pain-free living and smooth sailing. Pain and struggle must mean God is displeased with me.

This could not be further from the truth. This false thinking has come into our minds from poor teaching in churches and pink-haired ladies on TV.

God's love for you is not measured in your level of pain.

God's blessing and favor is not determined by your trials.

I was reminded of this truth when reading from Genesis this week. In Genesis 35, we see God protects Jacob as he travels through rivaling cities who could try to plunder Jacob's possessions. Jacob does not fear and describes God as "the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone." (vs 3). This is an incredible promise and hope that Jacob clings to. And it was true.

But later in Genesis 35 we see that Jacob's wife, Rachel, is having their son Benjamin, Rachel dies in childbirth. In an instant, Jacob's wife is dead.

Though God's blessing and favor are clearly over Jacob, Rachel dies giving birth. Trials and tribulations are a part of life for all of us. Trials in our life and God's presence and favor in our life, are not two separate lives, but one.

I don't know what you are going through today or what trials are consuming your thoughts and emotions, but I know God wants you to seek Him in them. I don't know what hurt you are processing, but I know that Jesus wants you to process it at His feet. 

A simple reminder today: God's pleasure with you and His favor in your life is not indicated by the trials you suffer. When you face trials of many kinds, rejoice, for God is working in them to mature you and grow your faith (James 1:2-4). Remember that Jesus' grace is sufficient for you in all things (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Never mistake trials for God's abandonment or displeasure of you. The world is broken due to sin. In this world you will experience trials and tribulations. But take heart, Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Yes, Argue. But, Yes, Pray

The more I ponder the plight of our country the more I'm reminded that public square conversations are needed and defense of the Christian worldview from those who want to attack is necessary. There needs to be healthy arguments given in defense of the Christian position. However, I'm also reminded the only thing that will bring real and lasting change to our country is a revival of the gospel. For that we must pray.

In Colossians 1:3-6 Paul writes to the church there:

³ We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴ since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵ because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶ which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,

 A few points of observation for us to consider here:

1 . Paul calls the gospel "the word of truth." The gospel is the truth about God, us, the world, and reality. 

2. Paul states to the Colossian believers that the gospel is bearing fruit and increasing in the whole world. The gospel was going forth and bearing fruit. The influence of the gospel was spreading and growing. 

Friends, the God who brought the growth and increase from gospel seed planting is the same God we serve today. He can revive us again. He is the Sovereign Lord of the universe and of the harvest. We must pray for revival to burst forth on our land. Until then, may we be faithful seed planting and soil watering believers, who live with a fervency of prayer for God to cause the word of truth to increase throughout the world.

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To Pastors & Those They Preach To

In a culture increasingly slipping away from biblical truth, pastors must be voices in the wilderness crying out the gospel. But many have slipped into being just another voice in the crowd, another voice that echoes the culture's fall from truth. Christians need to learn how to discern those voices, and understand which are speaking God's truth. Not every person who stands on a stage and mentions Jesus is preaching the gospel. Not every person who reads from their Bible is properly teaching from it. Listen with discernment.

My encouragement to pastors, as you prepare your sermons each week, is make sure that the gospel is so prevalent in your messages, that your congregation is immediately alarmed in instances when they do not hear it. Be sure to saturate your folks with gospel-rich and Christ-centered preaching, so when they encounter false teachers and false teaching, they can spot it. The taste buds and palate of their hearts should be so used to hearing the gospel in sermons, that when they hear sermons missing the gospel or distorting the gospel, it does not sit right with them. It should immediately be a sour and bitter taste in their mouths. They should be instantly asking, "Where is Jesus?! Where is the Gospel?!"

I want desperately for my congregation to have this ability. I want TJC folks to be excellent at discerning a sermon that has the gospel and one that does not. 

My question for us pastors: is our preaching so saturated with the gospel and with Christ exalting truths that our congregations are being taught subconsciously to spot a fraud when they hear it?  

My encouragement to those who listen to sermons is simple: tune in to those who truly preach the gospel and tune out those who do not. Listen for the gospel. Listen for Christ as the centerpiece of the sermon, not a later add-on. Listen and ask yourself, "Is he sticking to the Bible and teaching from it or is he simply spouting off opinion as the Bible goes largely untouched?"

My questions to those who listen to preaching: are you able to discern biblical preaching from false teaching? Can you spot a gospel-less sermon? 

As the cultural war over truth rages on, Christians should be regularly arming themselves with the truth. If we are to stand in our society where truth is attacked, then we must continue to be engaged with the truth. This is why pastors must commit to preaching gospel-centered sermons. And it is why believers must place themselves under gospel-centered teaching. Anything less is compromise of the most destructive kind.

7 Gospel Resolutions

On Sunday at The Journey Church, we laid out 7 Gospel Resolutions for the Christian life. These are resolutions that should not only be adopted for 2012, but for a lifetime. They aim should be to read and reflect on them once a week. Many people wanted to know where they could get a copy, so here they are:

Gospel Resolutions:


I. Resolved, to do all things, whether eating, drinking, or whatever else it may be, all to the glory of God; recognizing all things come from Him and are to be received with gladness and thankfulness in our hearts.

II. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same faults or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

III. Resolved, to extend to others the same forgiveness which Christ extended to me when he shed his blood to offer reconciliation to the Father; committed to not only forgiving sins committed against me, but intent on restoring relationships that sin has attempted to ruin.

IV. Resolved, to spend scheduled, focused, time in the reading, meditating, and memorization of God’s Word and, to persevere in scheduled and spontaneous and fervent prayer.

V. Resolved, that the gospel of Jesus Christ would be spoken daily from my lips; first, to my own heart for its edification, and second, to others, for God’s glory and their good.

VI. Resolved, as an individual and with my church, to live as if I really believed that the gospel is the only hope for a world lost in their sin, heading to destruction and ruin; letting that fuel the urgency to share the gospel, live as salt and light, and welcome the outsider.

VII. Resolved, to commit myself to a local church by consistent attendance at worship gatherings, discipline to grow in faith through relationship with others, faithfulness in stewarding the finances God has provided, and sacrifice to others in the body with my spiritual gifts, time, and service, all for the purpose of God’s glory, my growth, and the church’s good.

Sharing the Gospel With One Another

There is a misconception among many Christians these days that the gospel is for unbelievers and that believers move on to more "profound" things. It is absolutely true that the gospel is for unbelievers. We are to preach the message of Christ's life that brings us righteousness and his death that brings us forgiveness. We should urge unbelievers to heed the gospel's message and repent of their sin and turn to Christ. However, we are to preach the gospel to one another as believers as well. We never graduate from the gospel, but continue forward in our education and strive to become "doctors" of the message of grace - experts.

Biblical evidence for this is found in Romans 1:15 as Paul is beginning his letter to the church in Rome. He tells these believers, "So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Paul had not been to see the Roman Chrisitians. They had been evangelized and formed as churches by Paul's understudies, Paul had not been there to evangelize or meet the believers. Paul longed to go see the believers and share in the fellowship of Jesus Christ with them. Part of that fellowship was to preach the gospel to them, not because they didn't have it or know it, but because it is a message, the message, that must be repeated over and over again. The gospel must be shared by believers, to believers.

What does that mean for us today? It means that as believers we should be preaching the gospel to ourselves daily. It means we should be sharing it with our brothers and sisters in Christ in our homes, churches, and other places. The reason we keep preaching the gospel is that it continues to ground us in the reality of God in His holiness, justice, and power. It grounds us in the reality of the sinfulness that marks our lives and our complete unworthiness. It grounds us in the life-giving sacrifice of Jesus Christ who atoned for our sin by his death and it is the basis of our hope in his resurrection. We are grounded in the reality that he who predestined us, called us, he who called us justified us, and he who justified us will glorify us (Rom. 8:29).

This is good news worth repeating every day, even with believers.

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Gospel-Centered Parenting

I am reading a book right now on parenting. I usually do not read books like this, not because I dislike learning about parenting, but because most of the books I have seen are flesh-driven, rule-driven books that fall short of sharing how to parent with a gospel-centered approach. My interest was captured recently when I learned about a book from Timmy Brister on how to parent with grace and the gospel driving your philosophy and approach. The name of the book is Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids With the Love of Jesus. It is a fast and easy read. This is a book that goes beyond giving parenting tips, it teaches you the gospel. Not only does it teach you the gospel, it shows you how to contextualize the gospel in different parenting situations.

Check out a few quotes from the book to get an idea:

In talking about the need for God to do a work in and through our children, instead of trusting that our "good parenting" can fix/change/save our kids: "There are no promises in the Bible that even our best parenting will produce good children. None." (59)

"We have far too high a view of our ability to shape our children and far too low a view of God's love and trustworthiness." (57)

"Raising good kids is utterly impossible unless they are drawn by the Holy Spirit to put their faith in the goodness of another. You cannot raise good kids, because you're not a good parent." (50)

On the encouragement and accolades we give our kids for "obeying the rules" or "being nice" they say, "Our encouragement should aways stimulate praise for God's grace rather than our goodness." (43)

"If a Mormon can parent the same way you do, then your parenting isn't Christian." (37)

On the issue of teaching our kids to flesh and fear-driven obedience, "Every way we try to make our kids good that isn't rooted in the good news of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ is damnable, crushing, despair-breeding, Pharisee-producing law." (36)

"Instead of the gospel of grace, we've given them daily baths in a "sea of narcissistic moralism."" (20)

You can tell from these quotes the tone and nature of the book. It gives lots of practice helps and examples to accompany the biblically-centered truths. At the end of the day, I want to be a parent that teaches my kids the gospel, through my parenting. I do not want to preach the gospel to them, only to then teach moralism and flesh-driven obedience. This book has sparked in me a desire for other parents to evaluate their parenting through the lenses of the gospel. This fall, I am considering doing a parenting seminar around this book. Let me know if this would interest you.

I would love to hear from you: Is your parenting grace-centered or law-centered? Are you teaching your children the gospel through your parenting or are you encouraging and celebrating the idea of their own efforts to "obey rules" and act like "good little boys and girls."

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The Gospel Still Works

I have been behind on blogging for the last week. I was speaking for Fuge Camps at Belmont and could not find the time needed to do it. This summer I had the opportunity to speak for three weeks at Fuge Camps, two in Missouri and one here in Nashville. I had insecurities going into this experience because I questioned whether the 31 year old pastor, who preaches for almost an hour, would be accepted. I had heard how some camp pastors approached their messages at these camps and I did not feel that is what God was calling me to do. I made the decision to approach camp like I approach preaching at church: being faithful to the Scriptures and preaching Jesus.

To my amazement, though I should not have been amazed - THE GOSPEL STILL WORKS.

The way God moved in the three weeks I had the opportunity to preach at Fuge just grounded me further in the fact that the preaching and teaching of God's Word is the key to seeing lives changed. Humor does not change lives. Sappy emotional stories do not change lives. These things are not bad things, but if they replace the gospel, they are. The good ole' fashion gospel message is still enough to change people; in fact, it is THE THING that changes people.

Instead of feeling like we need to make God more likable or Christianity more palatable, we should lay before people the unadjusted gospel message. We should be quick to communicate the truths of Scripture and call them to believe. I do not know the full impact of the three weeks I preached camp, but I do know that many students came to believe, an adult chaperone became a believer, and many youth pastors and leaders encouraged me that it was such a great week for them.

I praise God that He would use me to be a part of His great redemptive work. I am amazed that He would, but I should not be, because it is the gospel that holds the power, no matter who shares it, or how old they are.

What things do you feel we try to replace the gospel with in order to make God more likable to sinners or Christianity more palatable?

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What is the Gospel?

So many people talk about "the gospel" but so few define it the same way. There are many versions of the gospel that are not the gospel at all. There are distortions of the gospel which only set forward part of the truth, while neglecting other parts. An example of this would be a gospel that proclaims that God is love, which He certainly is, but neglects to speak about the wrath of God poured out on unrepentant sinners, which He absolutely will. If this is the gospel message shared, then it is not the gospel.

I cannot cover every aspect of the gospel, nor will I try, in one blog post. But what I do want to attempt to do is give you a skeleton for understanding and explaining the gospel. I did not create this; in fact, there have been great books written on the subject which go into incredible detail about this gospel skeleton and other facets (two of these would be What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert and Counterfeit Gospels by Trevin Wax). Here is one way to help remember and explain the gospel.

The Gospel:

1. God - the gospel message begins with God. The Bible tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God was here first. God is eternal. He is Creator of all things. God is Sovereign King over all things. The Bible describes Him as ruling and reigning the world. It is His sovereign plan that governs everything. In addition to being creator, God is holy. He is holy, more holy than any of us can fathom. He is perfect in all His ways. He cannot sin, nor can He put up with sin. Because of sin, God will also be Just Judge of the world. In His perfect righteousness He will judge the world according to His perfect standard. God created humanity to experience close and loving fellowship, to be His image-bearers in the world.

2. Man - man, who was created in the image of God, for fellowship and worship of God, has rebelled. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. We have chosen our own ways over God's ways. We are selfish at our core, and we willingly sin against His perfect standard. Our condition is a result of the fall of Adam in Genesis 3, yet all are guilty because sin is done willingly and often. In our fallen condition, man is separated from God and will one day suffer under His righteous and just judgment for sin. We must all stand before God and give an account for our lives. The Bible declares that all are guilty. In this state, man is without hope.

3. Christ - But God, being rich in mercy, showed His love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ Jesus died for us. God made him (Jesus) to be sin, who knew no sin, so that we might become His righteousness. The story of the gospel is the story of God's rescue and redemption of sinners through His one and only Son Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Godhead, has existed from the beginning of time. He willingly stepped out of heaven and into history, so that he could live a perfectly righteous and sinless life, accomplishing the demands of the law, and went to the cross, so that he could take upon himself the sin of his people. At the cross, Jesus Christ drank dry the cup of God's wrath reserved for sinners. He took what he did not deserve, so he could give what humanity did not deserve. He gave his life for sinners and was killed on the cross, but on the third day he rose again. He was raised in victory, conquering Satan, sin, and death, and ascended back to heaven where he sits ruling and reigning the world, awaiting the day he will return to bring judgement and the restoration of all things.

4. Response - the only thing that we as sinful humans can do in response to this good news is reject it or surrender to it. This news requires a response. We cannot simply agree with it, rather belief in it requires a surrender to God. Our response is faith and repentance. We turn our lives over completely to the will of God. We trust Jesus Christ and we follow him. Our lives are made new in response to this message. We are forgiven, saved, redeemed, restored, and made new in Christ. We are then called to live our lives for the glory of God in all things, seeking to love as He has loved, and to share this good news with others.

This is just one tool that can be helpful for remembering, reciting, and reflecting on the gospel. Take time to review this with yourself. Practice sharing it to yourself. Remember God, Man, Christ, Response and learn to take your faith and the gospel everywhere you go.

Have you found other tools that are helpful for sharing the gospel? What things about this method do you think can be helpful for you?


An older post similar to this topic: The Death of Orthodoxy


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Fighting With Your Spouse in Light of the Gospel

Every married couple will have arguments. It does not matter if you are Christian or not. There are several reasons why we fight with one another: 1. because the other one is always wrong (figured I would get that one out of the way), 2. because both people are sinners, 3. because both people are different from one another, and 4. because both people are sinners (did I mention this one already?).

As a couple, dating or married, you are different from one another. You have different backgrounds, different experiences, different personalities, different likes, different insecurities, different expectations, and the list goes one. The reason you will have arguments with one another is because you married someone different than you. The reason you married someone different from you is because you cannot marry yourself, because of this, you will have arguments.

The other big cause for trouble in our relationships is sin. In addition to marrying someone different than you, you married a sinner. Yep, that's right, they are a sinner. And so are you. Because we marry sinners, and our spouse's marry sinners, there will be clashes in the relationship. We will show a lack of self-control. We will fail at being slow to anger, as the Bible says, and instead, have outbursts of anger. We will lack patience, compassion, and at times, energy. Because we are sinners, we will have moments where we will fight to have our way, to advance our own personal kingdom and agendas. Because we are sinners, we will care more about trying to conform our spouse rather than focusing on transforming ourselves. Being sinners will cause fights within our marriage.

Are we left helpless? Does the gospel inform us on how to navigate this?

I want to list some ways that the gospel can help us as individuals, and as couples, to navigate the times when we are arguing or fighting with one another. I wish I could say I have mastered these and have no problem with them, but I cannot. This list goes out to broken people from a broken person. May we all learn to apply these.

1. Remember that it was God the Father's providence and plan that brought you together with your spouse. This is important to remember when you are thinking, "what the heck have I done in marrying this person?!?" You committed, before God, for the long-haul; that means the "d" word has no place in our vocabulary.

2. Understand that the purposes of marriage are to glorify God and to sanctify one another. What does this mean? It means that you are called to glorify God through your marriage, but it also means that God is sanctifying you (transforming your character) through your marriage. Sometimes sanctification hurts because it requires we die to selfish tendencies. Embrace it.

3. Communicate to your spouse in a way that acknowledges they are a child of God. It is okay to clearly tell how you feel to your spouse when upset, but do it with intent to communicate not instigate, condemn, or tear-down. We do not avoid having conversations about how we feel as Christian couples, but the way we communicate aims at seeing a productive result, not tearing the other down or creating a fight. We have to remember their value in the eyes of God before we sin against God in our communication to them.

4. Commit to only speaking to your spouse in such a way that is glorifying to God. In other words, make sure that the words, tone, and attitude behind your speech would be something glorifying and pleasing to God. The Bibles says in 1 Cor. 10:31 "so whether eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." This includes our communication with our spouse. If you are too angry to do this properly, then you should begin praying for God to help give you strength, self-control, and patience to only speak to them in a way that glorifies Him.

5. Extend grace & forgiveness to one another with the lavishness that God has extended it to you. God has given us (followers of Jesus) grace. This grace has forgiven us of our sins though we deserve the most severe of punishments. If you struggle to give grace and forgiveness to your spouse when they mess up, just ask yourself why you believe you deserve grace and forgiveness from God for your daily mess-ups.

6. Give love to one another unconditionally, even when it is undeserved. Why should we do this? God has loved us through Christ with unconditional love. We did not earn His love, we received it unconditionally. Even when we mess up, God does not take His love away from us. We cannot operate with a conditional love toward one another by only showing our love when the other has done something to merit it.

7. Trust Jesus Christ to be sufficient to meet our needs as we have struggles. We often run to a million other things when we are having problems. Jesus wants us to come to him. We must not see Jesus as someone we only run to when we have religious questions. He desires to be our strength in times of weakness. He desires to be the first one we turn to, not the last.

8. Look to the power of Holy Spirit to help you in the midst of your arguments. In the heat of the moment our flesh desires to be right, to get the last word, to hurt the other's feelings, and so on. We must instead ask prayerfully for the Holy Spirit to be our guide, to be the Great Helper He was promised to be in Scripture. The fruit of the Holy Spirit's work will include: patience, self-control, and selflessness. These things are needed in our marriages.

These are just a handful of ways that the gospel informs how we are navigate arguments with our spouse. In the end, Christians should be modeling a different way of approaching marriage, not mirroring everyone else in the world. The way we do this is looking to Christ and seeing how the Scriptures inform what the gospel requires of us in any situation. This includes how to fight in our marriages.

Leave a comment below: Which of these is the most helpful to you and why? Why do you feel we forget as Christians that the gospel speaks to how we should handle conflict with one another?


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Ambition: A Potential Enemy of Faith Alone in Christ Alone

I am a naturally ambitious person. This can be a very helpful quality and trait in our world today. Employers like to hire ambitious people for their companies. People like to be around ambitious people. People with ambition seem to be going after something, striving for great things. So ambition in our world today is celebrated and applauded, perhaps rightfully.

There is one major drawback, that I have experienced, to being full of ambition: when as a follower of Christ your ambition serves to create unreachable standards and unattainable goals over you, leading you to feel as though you have failed when you do not meet them. 

I fall victim to this trap ALL THE TIME!

Here is what it looks like for me: I will determine that I am going to begin reading, praying, and exercising for X amount of minutes per day. I get all of these things lined up and organized. Then I will also add some goals for other things I want to do: work on foreign language, disciple people, activities I want to do as a family, things I want to do at the church, and the list goes on. I get all these "good" things lined up in my mind that will 1. help me to grow in my walk with God and 2. serve the kingdom of God.

Then something happens...

I fail. 

I will fall short on one or more of all of the things I organized and set out to do. After failing I feel as though I have let God down. I get hard on myself and wonder if I am really the Christian I thought I was. The problem with ambition is that it can serve as a master over you. If you are not careful, you will find yourself turning away from faith alone in Christ, and turning to works of the flesh and law for your right-standing with God. The things I organize for myself to do are not things that God says I MUST do in order to be made right with Him. No, I am made right with Him through my faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ, who shed his blood to purchase my life. That is what makes me right with God, not my best efforts or accomplishments.

Ambition can cripple you as a believer when you do not meet your lofty goals. 

So am I wrong for wanting to read more or pray more or serve more? No.

Am I wrong for making reading more, praying more, and serving more my foundation for pleasing God or growing in my faith? Yes.

We may not wrestle over being circumcised or obeying the Jewish food laws today, but if you struggle with what I just described of myself, then you too are guilty of the sin of the Galatian Church: turning to things other than Christ for your justification and sanctification, and putting over your head an unattainable standard that will only leave you a slave to your weaknesses. 

We must look only to Christ, not our ambitious goals.

Leave a comment below to the follow questions: Do you struggle with this in your own life? If so, in what ways?

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My Struggles & the Gospel's Remedies (Part II)

Yesterday I talked about my struggles with anxiety and how the gospel helps me to get through it. I want to follow-up that post by talking more specifically about my struggles and how I have learned to deal it with it along the way.

One of the things I have learned about when my anxiety begins to intensify is that I am usually tired, stressed, not exercising properly, or dealing with a specific situation that is causing me to worry. I can go months without the least bit of a problem and then find my heart-rate rising in some weird random situation, and I immediately begin to examine my life to see where I am out-of-balance. An example of this is my plane ride home last week from Kansas City. Leading up to the flight home I found myself getting anxious about the flight. One of the things that often triggers my anxiety is the feeling of claustrophobia. The thought of being on a cramped airplane and unable to get off it for at least two hours started my mind and heart to racing. The interesting thing about this is that I had been on three flights in the previous two weeks that did not create this anxiety at all. My family and I flew to Orlando and back home. Then I flew to Kansas City to speak at a Youth Camp for two weeks. None of these flights created anxiety in me. But as I found myself heading to the airport to fly home, I already sensed the anxiety beginning. After two weeks of preaching, I was physically exhausted. I was tired. This was a trigger. As I boarded the plane my heart started pounding through my chest as I realized it was a jam-packed flight. I sat by the window with two other guys on the row with me. It was the definition of being trapped in a tight space.

As I sat in the seat of the airplane and watched person after person continue to board the flight, I had thoughts of getting off. I had thoughts of ordering some wine to knock the edge off. I had thoughts of going into a full board panic-attack. But as I sat in the seat, thinking all these thoughts, to the ignorance of everyone else on the flight, I started to pray. I started by telling God that I did not want to look to any other source of strength than Him. I shared honestly with God my fears, however irrational, and that I needed Him. I began reminding myself that even this struggle was part of my sanctification process. By being in a position where I could not control how I was feeling, I was forced to recognize my deep dependence on God. I was forced to remind myself of my lack of strength. It was a hard lesson to grasp, but I had to learn that God had me right where He wanted me, turning to Him, when I was tempted to turn toward something or someone else.

We need to understand something: our struggles and challenges, whether physical or emotional, can be used by God to teach us dependence and submission to Him. They teach us that we are still in process, we have not arrived. They teach us to look toward the day when these struggles will be no more. But while they still exists, they teach us that God works through them to work on us. I am going to say something that some of you may not agree with, but I am learning first hand to be true: the anxiety that I struggle with is a gift from God. It is a thorn in my flesh that I have prayed be removed and taken from me, but God continues to remind me that His grace is sufficient for me. His power is made perfect in my weakness. So I boast all the more in my weakness, for when I am weak, He shows Himself to be strong. My flight home became a moment of worship and communion with God, as He showed me that He is indeed enough.

Questions: What types of worries, struggles, or situations in your life are you trying to learn to apply the gospel to? Why is it that we often try to fix things ourselves or with methods other than applying the gospel?

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My Struggles & The Gospel's Remedies

I want to share something I have not told a lot of people. I struggle with anxiety. Different times and seasons bring differing levels of intensity, but it has been a continuous part of my life for the last 6+ years. It started soon after my son Kaleb had been through a lot of medical issues after birth. I think trying to be strong for the family without ever letting my own guard down took a toll on me emotionally. Out of the blue one day I had a major anxiety attack and thought I was having a heart-attack. I have struggled with anxiety in some shape or form ever since.

The reason I am writing about this today is because I want to show how the gospel of Jesus Christ is sufficient for dealing with anxiety or any other issue. We pigeon-hole the gospel as a "get out of hell free message," when in reality, the gospel is an all-consuming, life-transforming message in every area of our lives. The first several years I struggled with anxiety I did not realize this. I did not seek the gospel promises as my hope through times of anxiety, instead I looked to my own mental strategies to cope with it. I have never been on medicine for it (not that I am against that) because I have grown to realize that medicine cannot be my Christ. Either Jesus is enough through my anxiety or he is not. I do not want medicine to be my idol, the thing I run to to give me peace, contentment, self-control, comfort, and hope - the very things Jesus has promised to be for me.

Ways my anxiety and anxiety attacks have served in my sanctification process:

1. This body will one day be deceased. I am weak and fragile, despite how often my mind wants to think I am invincible. My body is broken and in need of ultimate redemption. In Christ I have a promise that it will be, in this my hope is secured.

2. My theology of who God is and His care for His children is put into action. When I am feeling anxiety rushing in and my heart-rate rising, I begin to quote Scriptures that remind me, "his grace is sufficient...his power is made perfect in weakness...he will not leave nor forsake me...I do not suffer alone." My faith in God's Word and His promises is put to the test when my flesh is seeking another relief from the anxiety. Instead of turning to something other than Christ, I throw myself at his feet and beg his grace and mercy over me. In him I am comforted.

3. People face things everyday that go unnoticed and undetected by others. Most of you probably did not know that I struggle with anxiety. How many people do we walk by and work beside everyday that have serious struggles and issues that we are unaware of? We have a gospel that speaks to the struggles of life, not just the problem of hell. We have a God who is more than enough for our struggles, not just enough to save us. Ask the Lord to help you to be more sensitive to those around you. Pray that He would give you the ability to speak the promises of His Word to them and minister to them.

Questions: What struggles do you have that need to be submitted to the gospel's promises? Do you find yourself turning to remedies other than Christ during your difficult times? Do you think taking medicine for issues like mine is wrong? Why or Why not? What can you do today to better trust Christ through all circumstances you may face or experience? 


Tomorrow I will share more about lessons I have learned as I have dealt with this issue.

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The Therapeutic Gospel

I read a great book recently by Trevin Wax entitled Counterfeit Gospels. I have had the privilege of getting to know Trevin recently and I am pleasantly struck by his deep love for the gospel and his belief in the local church. This book helps believers to know the true biblical gospel versus a counterfeit, because "even those of us who have walked with the Lord for many years may be inclined to accept cheap imitations of the truth."(13)* We live in a day where there are counterfeit gospels everywhere. The scary thing about a counterfeit gospel, as with counterfeit money, is that it can look authentic, which is often why it is believed to be real.

As followers of Jesus, we are carriers of the gospel message. We have been commissioned to go and tell (Matt. 28:18-20/Acts 1:8), but we must get what we are telling right or there can be devastating results.

Let's look at one of the counterfeit gospels we face so that we will be more prepared to stand firm. Let's look at "the therapeutic gospel." The therapeutic gospel completely changes the intent of the gospel because it attempts to diminish the effects of "the fall." Trevin writes, "We call this counterfeit "the therapeutic gospel" because it confuses our spiritual symptoms (a troubled marriage, anxiety, anger, addictions) with our spiritual disease (sin). Because the diagnosis is superficial, the treatment is also superficial."(44) There are many different ways in which the therapeutic gospel manifest itself.

Versions of the Counterfeit Gospel:

- The Happy Meal Gospel (45-46): This counterfeit distorts the gospel by making our lives all about the pursuit of happiness. When we make the central goal of life being happy, we will often use our happiness to trump Scriptural authority over our lives. Our gospel message becomes about how Jesus came to give you the happiness you are looking for.

- The Fill'er Up Gospel (46-48): This counterfeit distorts the gospel by posturing that people are really just "like a car running low on gasoline." We have bad self-images and self-esteem. What we need is to believe in ourselves. Sin in this gospel distortion is anything that would make us doubt our worth. The gospel prescription becomes a pep talk which champions a belief in yourself: you can do it, try harder, you are a winner, etc.

- The Paid Programming Gospel (48-50): This counterfeit distorts the gospel by treating the gospel as a commercial for a product that promises to make your life better. This gospel preaches to people that coming to Jesus will make your life better. The problem is we do not define what "better" means. For some, better means that some of your emotional or physical circumstances are going to improve. The problem though is that it does not get to the heart of our real problem: spiritual brokenness.

- God as the Vending Machine (51-52): This extreme counterfeit distorts the gospel by presenting God as the dispenser of blessings if you do your part. It is often called "the prosperity gospel." The ultimate problem with this false teaching is that it puts God in our debt, when in reality, God owes us nothing! As Trevin states, it "inverts our relationship to God, making him out to be a puppet whose strings are pulled by our actions."(52)

There is much more that could be said when describing these. The counterfeits are subtle and can be easily missed in the sermons we hear and books we read. The gospel message is not therapy to help us cope with our lives. The gospel is the awe-inspiring announcement that sinful, undeserving people are given the gift of grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who bore the wrath of God reserved for us. Yes, we deserve wrath and condemnation for our sin against a holy God. The gospel is about the rescue we experienced through Christ, not the help we were given to cope with life.

To conclude this discussion about this counterfeit gospel and the true gospel, Trevin captures it like this, "The therapeutic gospel makes grace expected. The biblical gospel makes grace amazing."(61)

Leaven a comment below around the following questions: in what ways have you seen these counterfeits in or around your life? Why do you think we are so quick to be drawn to these counterfeit versions of the gospel? What do you believe are protective measures we can take to prevent falling for a counterfeit in our own lives?

* All references from the book are in parenthesis

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What Happened At Your Conversion?

When you stop to ponder what happened at the moment of your conversion (new birth) it can be hard to find the right language to describe it. If you had to explain to someone else what took place could you put words and terms to it?

Today I want to give us a look at what happened at our conversion. This will be helpful not only for understanding your own conversion, but also knowing what needs to happen for those who have yet to trust Christ.

Here's what happens:

1. We HEAR THE GOSPEL. This could be through a sermon, evangelistic encounter, or just a personal relationship in which the gospel has been made known. (Romans 10:14-17)

2. Once we have heard, we believe by FAITH (which is a gift of God) the gospel message and surrender our whole lives to Jesus Christ. This surrender includes REPENTANCE of sins by turning from our wicked ways and turning to God. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 2:38; Matthew 4:17)

3A. At the moment of faith & repentance we are PARDONED of all our sin. This simply means that our record of debt has been canceled. We are forgiven. (Isaiah 55:7)

3B. At the moment of faith & repentance we are JUSTIFIED before God. While being pardoned cancels our record of sin, being justified restores us to relationship. So instead of only being without a sin-record before God, we are also given right-standing with Him. (Romans 3:21-26)

3C. At the moment of faith & repentance we are ADOPTED into the family of God. We are not born children of God, but children of wrath. In order for us to be made children of God, we must be adopted into God's family. He did this for us at our conversion. (Galatians 4:4-7; 1 John 3:9-10; Ephesians 2:3)

3D. At the moment of faith & repentance we are REGENERATED and are made new by the Holy Spirit. We are made new creatures in Christ, the old is gone and the new has come. (Ezekiel 36:24-27; 2 Corinthians 5:17)

This is what happened at our conversion. We HEARD THE GOSPEL, in some form, and we believe by FAITH (a gift from God) and REPENTED of our sins. At the moment of faith & repentance, God, in one simultaneous action, PARDONED us, JUSTIFIED us, ADOPTED us, and REGENERATED us. Praise be to His name!!

This is the order of salvation. It is what happened to you and to me. This teaches us as believers that we must be messengers of the gospel, since it is the catalyst for all of salvation. God saves sinners. He has done this great work in us. We should live to glorify Him in all we do, for how could we live for another?

Please leave a comment below based on the following questions: Is this something that helps you to understand the work of God's grace in your life? Does this finally help give some language and structure to your understanding of salvation? What was the most helpful for you?

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The Gospel of Sin Management

We cannot manage sin...

Sin is an ever-lurking, ever-consuming aspect of human existence. We sin as naturally as we breath. I am not applauding this fact, but merely stating the truth as it exists. We may want to sin less. In fact, if we are followers of Jesus, we should want to sin no more. But the way we view our sin will have a great deal to do with how we engage it.

There is a false gospel that circulates Christian thought and churches of all kinds. It is the gospel of sin management. The gospel of sin management encourages us to work hard at trying to subdue our sin. The gospel of sin management seeks to have us avoid our sin issues, perhaps even ignore them.

We cannot manage sin, we must kill it! Sin is not something to be managed, we must slay it. When I speak of "sin," I am not referring to a general concept of it, but actual sin in our lives, i.e. greed, lust, pride, anger, drunkenness, cheating, lying, laziness, deceptiveness, gossiping, slandering, etc. Rather than getting sin under control, we must kill it. We must aggressively go after sin issues in our lives because they will militantly come after us.

God warns Cain in Genesis 4:7 "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." God's words to Cain were a warning that sin was crouching, ready to pounce on him, if he did not slay it first. Sin's power is real. It is a beast that cannot be tamed. It must be killed.

If sin could be managed in an effort to overcome it, then Christ's death on the cross for sins was unneeded. If sin could be managed, then we have no need for a Savior that takes our sin, guilt, and shame upon himself so that we can be liberated. Remember this: the gospel of Jesus is about how Christ came into the world to take upon himself the sins of his people so that they would be liberated from the devastating effects of sin, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, able to slay it. If we come to Christ for salvation and justification before God, why would we then later attempt to manage the sin in our lives? 

Looking to Jesus Christ and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit is not just something we do to be justified before God and forgiven of our sins, it is what we continue doing in order to slay the ongoing assaults sin will wage against us. We never graduate from turning to Christ to conqueror sin. We MUST rule over it or it will rule over us.

What sins have you been trying to manage through your will power? What sins do you find yourself continue to struggle with? Turn today to Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, kill the sin in your life. Look to the Savior who says, "my grace is sufficient" (2 Cor. 12:9) and who Paul declared "I can do all things through him who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13) Through Christ alone can we overcome sin. We cannot fix our sin through our own fleshly efforts. No amount of will power will overcome the power of sin. We must fix our eyes on Jesus and go on the offensive against it. 

Answer one of these questions by commenting below: Why do you think we attempt to manage sin instead of killing it? In what ways have you found sin to be crouching at the door of your life?

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Living Through Gospel-Shaded Glasses

The gospel message is the foundation of the Christian faith. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a message that we know the world needs to hear. We know it is a message that served as the catalyst for our conversion and faith. We know the gospel is something that churches, and those who are a part of them, should proclaim with vigor.

With the gospel message serving such a place of importance and primacy in our faith, we must become skilled in it understanding it, seeing it, and explaining it. 

One of the ways that we can begin to grow in our gospel understanding is to live our lives through gospel-shaded glasses. What does that mean? It means that we begin to view all of life and the day-to-day events of our lives through the context of the gospel message. This will help us to see that the gospel message is always being told through the events and people that we encounter on a daily basis.

Let me give some examples of this. Yesterday my family and I flew to Orlando for a week vacation at Disney. We have been looking forward to this trip for months. There are several things just on a trip here that remind me that the gospel is always being proclaimed. First, the complete beauty and awe-inspiring view from thousands of feet above the ground is amazing. Even though flying is not new to me, I never cease to be captivated. The skies were breath-taking and the little white clouds hovered below us like cotton balls. It is in those moments that I am reminded that there is a majestic God whose beauty surpasses even what my eyes behold. I am struck by the fact that this beauty comes from the hand of the Master Artist who designed all the landscapes that I see below. Even in flying to Disney I am reminded that there is a God who is radiant and lovely. 

Second, the rebelliousness of my daughter. For the sake of being a loving father to my little baby girl, I am going to refrain from giving every example of her struggles yesterday. She was not able to get a nap after church because we went straight to the airport. She was incredibly tired and irritable. She did not enjoy taking off, riding in, or landing in the plane. If you're keeping up, that is the whole flight. She cried, even screamed a couple of times. She rolled around the floor and almost got into the next set of seats because she crawled away from us. She finally fell asleep in the rent-a-car in Orlando. I love my sweet girl, but I was reminded of the rebellious nature of man. My daughter may have been tired, but she did not listen and she was not interested in listening. I wish I could use being tired as an excuse for my own rebellious behavior on a daily basis, but I cannot. It was a snapshot of this reality of sin in our lives.

Lastly, once we got to the hotel and got settled, we finally got some peace. It had been a long day, one that caused us to question our method of travel choices. I was reminded that true and lasting peace only comes through Jesus Christ. Showers and beds may give some relaxation, but only Christ gives rest to the weary soul. He is the one we are to turn to in our weariness and unrest. 

Every day offers moments where the gospel is being told. It is learning to see these moments that will help us to become well-versed in the gospel. It is learning to see these moments that will help us to grow in our faith. We must live our lives through gospel-shaded glasses. 

What kind of moments have you had lately that tell the story of the gospel? What kind of reminders can you give yourself for living with this view? What kind of benefits do you think can come from viewing the world through the lenses?

Haiti, The Gospel, and God's Sovereignty

The tragic story of what has and is happening in Haiti is astounding. To think of thousands in a matter of moments being killed by such a unsuspecting event is horrifying. Yet in the midst of this tragedy and sorrow, we must be reminded that God is sovereign. Though we wish we could turn away and it disappear, we must be reminded that our world is broken and awaiting the return of its Savior to bring it to final redemption. And though we don't always understand why or how things like this can happen under God's watch, we are reminded that the people of Haiti need the gospel, and this tragedy will and can usher that in.

Unlike crazy Pat Robertson, who I can't believe I have to call a brother in Christ, I do not believe God was acting out some kind of judgment on Haiti. Instead, I believe it is a good reminder from God's Word (Romans 8) that all creation is moaning as in the pains of childbirth, awaiting the redemption of the sons and daughters of God. Awaiting the return of Christ. Awaiting final restoration.

As a church (The Journey), we are looking at ways that we can help bring relief to Haitian people. We will have updates to come soon on how you can get involved. In the mean time, here are several things we should partner together to pray for:

1. That the relief efforts and aid being sent and delivered would help relieve some of the physical suffering going on.

2. That the gospel of Jesus would come in power and that many would find hope and salvation.

3. That parents who lost children and children who lost parents would be comforted by the great Comforter.

4. That as a global community, God could use a tragedy of this nature, to remind us that the "betterment" of earth is not where our hope should lie. It is in Jesus Christ in whom we put our faith. We believe he is going to return to make right the wrongs that have occurred on earth. There will be final restoration. We look to that day.

Take some time today to pray for the country of Haiti. Pray for the people. Pray for the relief workers and missionaries who are hitting the ground. Pray for a mighty move of the Spirit of God there, that Jesus may be made known.

The Death of Orthodoxy Part 2

We are products of our culture. Regardless of how much you would like to think you have escaped the snare of the culture around you, you are immersed in something that has formed you. As Christians we know that our role in the culture is to be counter-culture, and live the ways of Jesus over and above the ways of this world. We are not supposed to be people who disconnect from the culture and try to hide from it in an effort to be holy. The Amish have attempted to do this. They don't live with electricity or phones and many other things we would consider normal because they are trying to live "set apart." The problem is this, the culture is so consuming that even the Amish can't escape it. You see, the Amish often have businesses in which they sell the goods they produce to the world outside of their farms. If you venture into an Amish dairy farm you will notice quickly just how difficult it is to escape culture. They have regulations they have to meet which requires them to conform to the rules. They have a phone located in the facility. They have particular equipment and machines. They follow the rules. Even the Amish, who try to live untainted by the culture, cannot escape the power of the culture around them.

So here's where I'm going with this. In my travels the last three weeks to other churches, I have seen many different styles, sizes, and types of churches. I have seen churches meeting in traditional buildings, warehouses, and schools. The one glaring thing that has stood out to me in my visits to these churches is the overwhelming, undeniable effect that culture has played on what the churches are doing. I'm not talking about the use of video, having heat and air, or sitting in chairs, rather, I'm talking about what seems to be a Bible anemic, commitment lacking, consumer product. At many of my visits I never heard the Bible preached. Often when it was used it was referenced to support the ideas and examples the pastor had mentioned, instead of the text of Scripture providing the points. I witnessed worship time that resembled concert performances more than participational worship. Communion was not served at any of the places that I visited, which has become something in the American church that seems to have been made into an "occasional" ordinance of the church, instead of what it was always viewed as by the apostles and early church: essential.

The culture has played an undeniable role in shaping our churches. Not all of this is bad, but not all of it is good. I believe it is okay to use and redeem some of cultures advancements and technology to allow the gospel message to be further spread; however, there are some things in the church that should be non-negotiable, unchanging, and staples of our gospel communities: participatory worship that brings glory to God through both its content and spirit, preaching of the Bible as the centerpiece of our messages and not man's wisdom or humor as the central component, the practice of taking Communion/Lord's Supper regularly (some churches perform more skits in a year than they take Communion), and a spirit of unity and community, not a feeling of attending a show, performance, or concert. Some of the things that separate churches who demonstrate these and those who don't are small and subtle things. At the end, we should be desirous of seeing our churches glorify our Father and His Son, as we carried by and united by the power of the Spirit. The design of a church is to never glorify a pastor, a worship leader, to impress or satisfy attendees, or to lift technology or creativity over and above Jesus. To bring glory to God and share His gospel is why gather and exist as churches.

These things, things I've mentioned before, and other things not wrote here are why I believe there has been a Death of Orthodoxy. I desire to lead the church I pastor and participate with to honor God in staying true to the things that are not on the table for debate and if needed, stand as a voice crying out in the wilderness for repentance.