Saturday, April 28, 2012

Time is brief; Words are few

O LORD, make me know my end 
and what is the measure of my days; 
let me know how fleeting I am! 
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, 
and my lifetime is as nothing before you. 
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah (Ps 37:4-5)

After a lengthy pause, I feel compelled to write again because I realize more than ever that my time and opportunities to exalt Jesus are short and few. The Spirit is pressing, always pressing, so I must avail myself of every outlet He places in my life. And, the events of the past week have cemented in my mind that waiting on or depending on others to carry the ball that God expects me to carry is foolish and sinful.

The ache of my heart is that we would all know and grasp (deep in our hearts) that the gospel must drive everything we do. And the gospel must be explicit (kudos to Matt Chandler Explicit Gospel). Jesus, fully God and fully man, perfect in every way and deserving only God's favor and blessing, took on our rebellion and sin and unrighteousness. He hung on the Cross. He absorbed God's just and holy wrath. He endured true separation from his infinitely loving Father. All of this was on our behalf. We, through no effort or merit of our own received forgiveness and peace and reconciliation. We are no longer rebels or traitors or slaves. We are sons and daughters because of the grace of God manifested in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. In short, Jesus died so that we might live.

Everything (no hyperbole here) hangs on this. How I think, how I act, how I love & treat Sally, how I parent my kids, how I do my job all need to flow from the truth and the reality of the gospel in my life. If it doesn't, its a game and a sham. The same goes for how we do church and how we approach ministry. Church is not an add on to the gospel. It must be an outflow and direct expression of the gospel. Our ministries should not be something we do simply because we know the gospel is true. They should be fed and fueled and be a profound picture of the grace of Christ and the mercy of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

I cannot promise the future frequency of these posts, simply because I want them to be prayerfully considered and Spirit driven. Above all, I want them to be gospel centered, Christ exalting, and God honoring. And, by God's grace, they will be a blessing to any who may read them.

To God Alone be the Glory

Sunday, April 8, 2012

He's Alive!

Take a moment to pause and consider how much of our faith and life depends on these two words:

He's Alive!

Have a great a glorious Easter!

To God Alone be the Glory.

-------------------------

Alive - Natalie Grant


Who but You, could breathe and leave a trail of galaxies and dream of me?
What kind of Love is writing my story till the end with Mercy’s pen?
Only You.
What kind of king would choose to wear a crown that bleeds and scars to win my heart?
What kind of Love tells me I’m the reason He can’t stay inside the grave?
You. Is it You? Standing here before my eyes, every part of my heart cries

Alive! Alive! Look what Mercy’s overcome; Death has lost and Love has won
Alive! Alive! Hallelujah, Risen Lord, the only One I fall before
I am His because He is alive.

Who could speak, and send the demons back from where they came with just one Name?
What other heart would let itself be broken every time till He healed mine?
You. Only You could turn my darkness into dawn; running right into Your arms

Alive! Alive! Look what Mercy’s overcome; Death has lost and Love has won
Alive! Alive! Hallelujah, Risen Lord, the only One I fall before
I am His because He is

Emmanuel, the promised King the baby who made angels sing
Son of Man who walked with us, healing, breathing in our dust
The author of all history, the answer to all mysteries
The Lamb of God who rolled away, the stone in front of every grave

Alive! Alive! Look what Mercy’s overcome; Death has lost and Love has won
Alive! I am His because He is alive.

Alive!