Quotes for the week of 4/15/18

Words To Live By

Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.
― John R.W. Stott (posted 4/15/18)

What a man is alone and on his knees before God, that he is, and no more.
― Robert Murray M'Cheyne (posted 4/14/18)​

The Cross is God exhibiting His nature. It is the gate through which any and every individual can enter into oneness with God. But it is not a gate we pass right through; it is one where we abide in the life that is found there.
― Oswald Chambers (posted 4/13/18)

You can shut Jesus up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
― C.S. Lewis (posted 4/12/18)

You don't realize God is all you need until God is all you have.
― Tim Keller (Posted 4/11/18)​

How unspeakably wonderful to know that all our concerns are held in the hands that bled for us.
― John Newton (posted 4/10/18)

The point of irresistible grace is not that we can’t resist. We can, and we do. The point is that when God chooses, he overcomes our resistance and restores a submissive spirit. He creates. He says, “Let there be light!” He heals. He leads. He restores. He comforts.

― John Piper (posted 4/9/18)

Christmas 2016

One great thing about Christmas is that it brings us back, year after year, to realities in our lives that can easily get lost throughout the remainder of the year. It's a reminder, via song and lights and activities and service and giving, that life is more than just the things we do, the stuff we collect and the size of our bank account. We are so easily distracted, but Christmas and the days leading up to it are an awesome time to tap into the fact that we need something more than we have or could ever obtain. The good news of Christmas is that God has given us more than we could ask or imagine. He has given us Jesus, not just the baby in the manger, but the Son of Man who lived for us, and the Son of God who died for us. Let's celebrate this Christmas with joy, knowing that Jesus is really the only gift we need and the best gift to be given.

John has a new exciting position at Dairyland Power where he has worked for over 30 years.  He is now the Director of Budget, Rates and Financial Forecasting.  He continues to lead the Elder board at our home church, La Crescent Free Church.  John continues to run year round and he and Sally took their Mondays off during the summer and biked various trails. J

Sally continues to work at Vernon Memorial in physical therapy.  She truly enjoys her time with patients and educating them about their diagnoses and helping them achieve their goals both on land and in the 93° therapy pool.  She loves part time so she can continue to accompany Jack and George (our new addition to our family last December) on their scheduled “Pet Therapy” visits.  She loves to hike, bike, and swim as often as she is able, and will have more time to do now that her busy schedule is lightening up. J

Jenni (27) works at Gundersen Health Systems where she continues to love the challenges and blessings it brings her.  She spends her time off being involved in ministry at Bethany, her church home, and works with kids of all ages leading and participating in bible studies and singing on the worship team.

Ashley (22) began 2016 traveling to Rwanda to film a documentary about the country and how it’s recovering from the 1994 Genocide. Check out her work at www.ashleymyoung18.wix.com/ashleyyoung.  She has won multiple awards (including a regional student Emmy) from her 2015 documentary titled, “When the Game Changes”.  She graduated from Taylor University with a B.A. degree in Film and Media Production in May and is in the job search.

Andrew (22) had fun taking the spring semester off and interned with the La Crosse Loggers baseball team this past spring and summer which related well with his marketing major.  He has also taken a growing interest in photography, an interest he and his roommate Tyler share.  He is planning to graduate in May of 2017 with a marketing degree.   He continues to be active with CRU and began leading 9th/10th grade boys youth group at his home church, First Free.

Jack (3.5) is our ball fetching sheep dog that also loves to play tug of war.  He now has a playmate, thanks to our Denver friends, who needed to find a home or their year old sheepdog.  George (2) and is inseparable to his brother Jack.  He is the polar opposite of Jack, very docile and loves to snuggle.  They are both Pet Therapy dogs, but George is a natural and continues to love on all he meets.

We hope you have Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

John, Sally, Jennifer, Ashley and Andrew

It's Ok to not be Ok

(audio can be found here)

Matthew 11:25-30

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Preaching is often a balancing act and it can be easy for any preacher to "bury the lead" in a sermon. It's easy to dive into the text or present wonderful illustrations or share challenging applications but neglect to emphasize the main point of the passage. I don't want to do that today. I believe the message of this text and the implications that flow from it are too important. So, I want to sum up this text and its implications with one phrase that you will hear me say multiple times this morning and I've been praying that it's truth will resonate in our hearts long after we've left this building. The phrase is this: "It's Ok to not be Ok"

My goal this morning is two fold. The first thing I'm trusting God to do in our time together is to establish the truth of the reality that it's Ok to not be Ok. We will look closely at Jesus' words recorded in Mt 11 to determine that Jesus invites us in, even when (or maybe especially when) we are not ok. It's important to see this directly in God's word so that you know that I'm not making this up. My second goal is to consider at least some of the implications of this truth. How does owning it affect our view of God, of Jesus and of ourselves? How do we relate within the body of Christ? How do we pray? And more.

Since our text this morning stands in the flow of a discourse Jesus is having with the people who have been following him around the Galilean countryside, it is important for us to know what has gone before. The chapter starts with an exchange between Jesus and some followers of John the Baptist. Jesus basic response is "Look at the prophecies in the Old Testament and look at me. What else would you expect from the Son of Man?" Then he compares the crowds to fickle children who ask for one thing but are then unhappy when they receive that thing. In turn they ask for exactly the opposite. Following this exchange he rebukes the Jewish cities where he has done a majority of his preaching and miracles. They have been blessed with the Old Testament scriptures plus the preaching and the miracles of Jesus. And yet they don't believe. 

This is the very point our text takes an amazing turn. The progression so far has been downward: questioning, followed by fickleness, followed by out right rejection. Can there possibly be any hope for any one of us? The answer lays in Jesus' response to this impossible dilemma. He doesn't call down fire from heaven nor does he walk away wringing his hands. Instead, he prays. 

Jesus thanks his Father (our Father) that he has hidden the truth of the reality of the gospel from wise and learned people and he's given that insight to people who have the faith of little children. In Jesus' culture, as well as our own, this statement is upside down. Children, especially little children, don't have any authority. Doesn't might make right? Aren't the smartest people usually CEOs and presidents? Aren't the wisest ones those who shape culture and aspire to the Supreme Court? How then can Jesus say the Father has decided to reveal his truth, The Truth, to those with a child like faith? Interestingly, Jesus doesn't defend his statement. Instead, as he does so often in the book of Matthew, he simply appeals to the authority that God has given him.

In fact, Jesus' divinely given authority is the point in the first part of verse 27. This one idea should both fill us with awe and draw us in like a magnet. Jesus is not just an ordinary carpenter. He is not simply a good, moral teacher. He has been given all things by God our Father. Because of this Jesus is worthy of our worship. In addition, since he has been given all things, he is able to hear and respond to our deepest needs. We don't (we can't) bring him anything. We come empty. And that's ok. 

Jesus' other point in this verse is less about his authority and more about his people. We are part of the all things that have been given to Jesus. And he is the one whom reveals the Father to us.  Consider this: any wisdom you have, any insight you may possess, and faith you lean upon, it all is a gracious gift of Jesus. It has been said we tremendously underestimate what Jesus does for us on a daily basis and simultaneously overestimate what we bring to the table. 

This leads Jesus to offer his stunning invitation in v28. "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." In one sense, this is just a continuation of Jesus' flow of upside down thought. Not the wise, but the child like; not the self sufficient, but those dependent on Christ. And now it is not those who have it all together but those who are toiling, and struggling that Jesus invites to find rest in Him.

What's stunning, at least to me, is the imagery of exchange. We understand and accept the idea of exchange when it comes to our sins: Jesus bearing our sins on the cross while giving us his own rigtheousness in which we can stand before our Father. However, here we have that idea laid before us with our burdens and struggles.  Jesus is inviting each of us to exchange the things that grip us, that weigh us down and exchange them for rest and refreshment.

The two descriptive words here may help us get the idea Jesus is trying to communicate. The word "labor" conveys the intensity of fatigue, laboring to exhaustion. Picture a marathoner who has run in high humidity, against the wind and up hill. This is not "I carried a box of books up a flight of stairs and I'm winded." Rather, this is "I can barely stand, every muscle is screaming, my mind is in a blind whirl, my emotions are all over the map and I simply want to quit." The other word is "heavy laden" This carries with it the idea of improper over loading.  Imagine a large pack loaded on your back that is too heavy for you and it unevenly packed so that you are constantly leaning to one side or another. Together we have the perfect storm for despair and disillusionment. 

What's interesting, encouraging and freeing is that Jesus doesn't look at our weariness and say try harder or call us wimps for being fatigued. He is not like the coaches at the Olympics. They are very much into and concerned for their athlete's performance, yet powerless to affect the outcome of the event. Nor does he condem us when we find ourselves in this state of exhaustion. Instead, he opens the floodgates of his mercy and invites everyone to come to him for rest. And the rest he offers is a rest that conveys both a break in the action but also a recharging and refreshing for the journey ahead.

Notice the rest and refuge that Jesus offers to his disciples is not completely unconditional. He is asking something of us in return. Now, I realize most of us are used a quid pro quo in our own personal relationships. A favor granted in expectation of a favor returned. But that's not how Jesus operates. As usual, Jesus' condition is paradoxical. He seeks out the weary and the burdened and offers them rest and a load that is light, which also fresh and nimble. Instead of a task master, he offers to teach us as one who is both gentle and humble.

And, there is one other item to point out. What Jesus is inviting us into is not simply physical rest or relief from our emotional loads. I think these are a part of what he is getting at, but in verse 29 he makes it clear that the main emphasis is a rest for our souls. Along the same lines as Heb 4:9-10, Jesus is offering us rest from the exhausting work of trying to save our souls. And in this setting, the soul is the essence of who we are. Jesus is saying that we can have rest physically, emotionally and spiritually when we allow him to carry the load we could never carry. 

So, here's the question that has been rolling around in my mind and pressing on my heart for the past several weeks as I've thought about the realities of this passage: What difference does it make? Just because we know a few more facts about Jesus and what he taught doesn't automatically mean that it will impact our lives. These truths and their implications need to sink from our heads to hearts. We need to own them and they need to own us. 

Let's look at the vertical implications first. If it's ok to not be ok and if Jesus is inviting us to come to him for rest and if everything has been given to Jesus by the Father, then how should this impact our relationship with God. First of all, it should impact how we pray. It means we can be honest and candid with God. If we're hurting, we can tell Him. If we're angry, we can let Him know. If we have deep, faith-testing questions, we can ask Him. Maybe all we can do is groan because we are too tired or stressed or guilt ridden to say or think anything. Then just groan. Nothing in your heart or mind is a surpirse to Jesus. He knows the blackest, bleakest corner of our hearts. And know this: he loves us anyway! Dear brother and sister in Christ, Rom 5:8 is always and forever true. "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

The next implication is that it should affect our worship. As the the song goes, oh the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free. Layered on top of saving us, layered on top of giving us his righteousness, layered on top of adopting us and bringing us back into the family of God, all of which are gracious gifts that defy our imaginations. Layered on top of all of that, these verses tell us that Jesus wants to give us even more. He wants to pile on and graciously give us the rest and relief we so desperately need. 

For a moment, for even a split second, have you considered what it cost Jesus to give us this rest? If we no longer need to bear the load, who's bearing it? If we no longer need to worry or fret, who's taking care of the issue? If we are allowed to sleep all night (either literally of figuratively), who is staying up all night? The answer to each of these questions is Jesus. What an additional cause for us to worhsip. To adore Christ our Savior and Lord, Redeemer and Friend. And to say thank you to our good, good Father who has given Jesus to us but has also given us to Jesus.

And, a third vertical implication is a deepening of our faith. Much, if not all, of Christian faith is paradoxical. For example: "the only way to save your life is to loose it". Or "what has happened to me (jail) has served to advance the gospel". Or "blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Each one of the statements and the myriads of others throughout God's word require faith. And so it is with the rest that Jesus provides. Will we trust him for it? Do we really believe that Jesus loves us that much and that his authority is so extensive that he can actually do what he promised he would do. This passage is calling us to exercise our faith and take Jesus at his word.

Now, I want to move to a few of the horizontal implications of our text. How do these verses impact our relationships within the church and our own families? The first implication that jumped out at me is that if we are all weak and wounded, sick and sore, then we are all equal in our need for the rest and relief that only Jesus can bring. And since we are all needy in some way or burdened in some way or just exhausted in some way, there is no ground for boasting. Instead, we are invited to see our brothers and sisters, each one of us, as people who need to pointed (or maybe carried) to Jesus.

Another horizontal implication is one of freedom. If it's ok to be not ok, if Jesus is really inviting us to come with our weariness and struggles and guilt and shame and we are all in this together, then we no longer need to pretend that we've got it altogether. Since we have been freed up to be honest with God, we are now freed up to be honest with each other. If our prayer life has become anemic, it's ok to share that. If our marriage has hit a prolonged dry patch, it's ok to admit it. If we are stressed at work or our kids are off the rails, we can be honest with each other. If our aging body or atrophying minds are causing anxiety, if doubts about our salvation plauge us, if we are sitting here and want to raise our fist to God, we can be open to these struggles. We really are in this together. Together as a body and together with our Savior. 

I want to pause here for just a moment to be really candid with you. You are my friends. You are my family. I want so much for this sermon to not simply be a theoretical exercise. I've prayed and pleaded that this sermon would be real for each one of you. As a result, the strong conviction I have is that if this sermon is going to be real for you, it has to be real for me. In other words, I need to be ok with not being ok.

So, I could spend the precious time we have together and say things like, I struggle just like you (which I do) or that I need the rest and relief only Jesus can provide just like you (which I do). But I don't think that models these implications very well. Instead, because Jesus is beckoning all of us, including me, to come to him for rest and because that rest and relief gives me the freedom to be open with God and with all of you, I want to share with you just one way the Spirit has brought the reality of this text home to me.

As many of you know, I have the honor as serving you as the Chairman of the Elder Council. In that role, I've come to the point where I've realized I'm weary, fatigued to the point of exhaustion and heavy laden, carrying too big of a load and doing so improperly. My response to date has been: try harder, do it differently, bury my head or simply get frustrated. And then along comes Mt 11:28 and Jesus' sweet invitation to come to him for rest. So there I was, less than a week ago, well into crafting this sermon and not really owning it for myself. The invitation is sitting right in front of me and I hesitate to take it. You see, there is a very proud man standing up here this morning. And sometimes instead of having childlike faith, I have childish tantrums. Like the proverbial two year old, I basically tell God: I can do it myself. 

But, this reality in me, and I think in some form, in each of us leads me to my final implication and it really ties this all together. Since Jesus is calling us to rest in him, to trust in him and take up his yoke and since we are now free to be honest with him and honest with each other, we have both the privilege and responsibility to pray for one another. You see, I don't simply need your high level, generic prayers. I also need street level, tear stained prayers. 

As we make use of our freedom to express when we are not ok, we have this privilege of  carrying each other's burdens before the throne of God's grace. Its a privilege because God has designed so much of the spiritual reality to work by the means of prayer. But it's a responsibility because we are family, true family. I've got your back. And you've mine. And it's a responsibility because we are all in this together. Our struggles may be different. What drags us down and burdens us may be a unique as our fingerprints, but each one of us is still battling against sin, battling against self and battling against an enemy that seeks to devour us.

Here at LEFC, we are attempting to put tools in place for us to fulfill this responsibility and to engage in this privilege.  The first tool, which has been around for nearly a year is our post service prayer right up front each week. We are here to pray with you, not as people who have figured it out, but as people who are also weary and are seeking find our rest in Jesus.

The second tool we inaurated a few months ago is our faith family prayer time. As the name implies, this is for us as a family. Brothers and sisters who are in the fight together and are desirous to lift each other and the needs of this body before the Father. On the 2nd Sunday of each month, including today, we can gather and pray of our common needs, both physical and spiritual 

The third tool that we are developing and refining in this regard is our small group ministry. Ryan will have much more to say about small groups in September. But one of the key components of our small groups will be a venue where we can share with a closer group of folks the deep aches of our hearts. In a small group is probably the best place to begin realizing and practicing that it is ok to not be ok.

So, as we prepare to continue to worship via music, I want you to consider what load you might be under. What spiritual weight are you struggling to carry all by yourself? I would ask you to take seriously the invitation of Jesus: Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. He will give you rest. I would encourage you to own the reality that the Father has given all things to Jesus and that includes each one of us. And I would invite you join us for prayer, whether at the end of service or at our faith family prayer time or in a small group. Worship. Trust. Pray. 

Remember

(preached 3/24/2016)

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

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


Introduction

What do you think is the most dangerous place for a Christian to be?

Perhaps it's in a country that's hostile to the gospel like North Korea or Iran. Yet, God's word encourages us to not fear man, even though they may seek to kill us.

Perhaps it's living in the midst of a sinful, immoral and amoral culture. But God's word is full of guidance on how to live in the midst of such a culture and the examples of both Jesus and the early church would actually encourage us go and seek this type of opportunity.

Perhaps it's living with our own sin and apathy. Even here, we are exhorted by Scripture to turn and find life. To return like the prodigal son. To plead for mercy like the tax collector. To say I'm undone like Isaiah.

I would submit to you that the most dangerous place for a Christian to be is in a religious system. Consider the Pharisees. They had Jesus killed to protect their system. Consider the parade of kings in Israel's history. How many started well, trusting in God yet to crash and burn as they began trusting in themselves? Consider Paul. Even he was given a thorn in the flesh to remind him that God's grace is made perfect in weakness.

And, consider the Corinthian church. They had it made. They were the mega church of their day. If they could have, they would have done multi site, written their own ciriculum, maybe hosted a pastors conference. They had everything a church of their day needed. Except they were in grave danger. They were in danger of loosing the gospel.
 
Tonight brothers and sisters we face a very similar danger. We are at the apex of the church calendar. Palm Sunday through Easter, Holy Week as it were, is the centerpiece of why any church exists. Christmas leads to Easter. Every Sunday service points to Jesus' death and resurrection. Communion proclaims what Jesus accomplished for us. All of this is designed to worship the God of glory and to remind us of who he is, what he's done and what he continues to do.

And yet, if we are not careful, we too could be in danger. We could be in the danger of familiarity. In the danger of "I've heard that, what's next". In danger of loosing the awe of Christ and the gospel. In danger of falling into the trap of thinking we're really not that bad, are we?

So, as Paul comes to the end of his first letter to the church in Corinth he sees this danger and he needs to remind them of what is truly important and essential as they continue to grow and serve the living God. He has written about leadership. He has written about wisdom. He written about giving up their rights for the sake of others. He has written about the grace gifts lavished on church by the Spirit. And, he has written about true, agape love. With all of that, he concludes by saying, I need you to focus on something really important. I need to remind you of the gospel.

What is the gospel?

Well, that begs a question, doesn't it? What exactly is the gospel? It seems we are all pretty good at throwing terms around without defining what we mean. We do this at work. We do this at home. We do this a lot on social media. And the result? There are a whole bunch of people talking past each other.

Now, we can't address every definitional problem tonight, be we can tackle one. What exactly is the gospel? Some of you might want to say "it's the good news", which in fact it is. But in reality, in doing that aren't we just trading one assumed term for another? So what is this gospel? What is this good news?

It starts with a couple of facts. The first is this: God created everything good. The plants and animals, mountains, rivers and oceans. Man and woman. Everything was good. And God and his people lived together, face to face.

The second fact is this: the first man, Adam, chose to disobey God in an attempt to be God himself. That disobedience fractured everything. Sin entered the world, and to make things even worse, because of this fracturing, everything in God's good, perfect world was now subject to decay and death. What was once a personal, intimate relationship with God was torn apart and ruined.

What makes this fractured and ruined relationship with God so incredibly tragic is that we each have faint memories of "the good old days". Something inside of us says this can't be all there is. But we are blind to the way out, of the way back. We are, in every sense of the word, lost.

But God decided, even before Adam rebelled and fractured all of creation, that out of the overflow of his love and grace and mercy he would rescue a people for himself. His dilemma, of course, was that the rebellion and sin, both conscious and subconscious really occurred and really needed to be paid for. It's like my Discover bill. Somebody simply saying "it's paid for" doesn't actually pay for it. Somebody has to write the check.

And it's more than that. Paying the bill is a huge thing, because our debt is infinite. But paying the bill doesn't fix the heart of the problem. How can I, a broken, rebellious sinner be reunited with my pure, holy, loving Father? Nothing can bridge that gap, can it?

Enter the hero: Jesus. He is our good news. He is our sin bearer. Whatever debt we owe God and whatever debt we continue to accumulate along the way, Jesus paid it all. And on top of that, he has restored us to a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. Each of us was at one time were far away from God. But through Jesus we have been brought near. Not only that, he has also begun repairing and restoring us, giving us a new heart, new motives and a new reason to live.

What is our hope?

Notice that Paul's emphasis on reminding the Corinthians of the gospel was not simply for a history lesson. He saw the danger we all face of isolating our salvation to a point in time event. Let me be clear, it is crucial that we remember and continue to praise God for what Jesus has done for us at Calvary two millennia ago. It is huge. It is significant. But it is not the complete picture. Our salvation is not simply a historic, point in time salvation. There is a future dimension to it as well.

Some day, each of us will stand before God. There will be no hiding on that day. As Moses got a glimpse, as Job got a glimpse, as Isaiah got a glimpse, as John got glimpse, standing before God is a terrifying thing. On that day, who will be your advocate? On that day, who will save you from the pure holiness of God? What hope, what confidence, what assurance do you have that you will be able to spend even a moment with God, much less an eternity?

Once again we look to our hero Jesus. As Paul says here and elsewhere, Jesus not only paid for all our sins, past, present and future. Not only did he destory the wall of hostility and alienation between us and God. But he also secured for us an eternal redemption. When he says in Rom 8:38-39 that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus, he's looking from today forward. Jesus will keep us. Jesus will save us. As the author of Jude says so eloquently: "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

What about today?

And that leaves us with today. March 24, 2016. Jesus has saved us from our sins. He has restored us to the family of God. He will deliver us safe into God's presence one day. But what about today? What about difficult marriages? What about cancer or Alzheimer's? What about job loss? What about wayward children or unsaved parents? What about terrorist attacks? What the loss of infant children? What about the next curve ball life throws at us? What then? Between trusting Christ and being ushered into God's presence are we left to ourselves?

The reason Paul wanted the Corinthians to remember the gospel is precisely for these questions. Since Jesus really is our hero, he is walking with us in the midst of each of these things. He walking with us in our marriages, in our health concerns, in our job situations, as we deal with children or parents or siblings, as we grieve for love ones who have died, whatever their age. And while we don't know what tomorrow holds, Jesus does. Even now he is preparing us for what's coming next. Jesus said that he would never leave us nor would he foresake us. Brothers and sisters hear me, Jesus keeps his promises.

In Romans 8, Paul states that Jesus is interceding for us. Think about that. Right now, whatever you may be dealing with, as big as it is, as bad as it is, Jesus knows, Jesus cares and Jesus is pleading for you personally before the throne of our Father. Think of Peter in the hours before the crucifixion. He boasted of his willingness to die with Jesus. Jesus told Peter that Satan had asked to sift Peter like wheat. (That's a scary thought). Jesus' reassurance to Peter was not that Jesus would forbid Satan, but rather that he had prayed for Peter. That is what delivered Peter through to the other side. Jesus prayed for him. And Jesus our hero, is personally praying for each one of his brothers and sisters, even now.

Conclusion

Since this is a message on remembering the gospel, I would like to conclude with just a couple of questions. The first one is this: what effect does the gospel have in your own life? Not the life of your spouse or your kids or your neighbors. What difference does Jesus make to you?  We all know that there are some things that have no affect, no pertinence to our lives. But the gospel is not one of those things. Gospel truths are make or break. Black or white. In or out. So for you, deep in your heart of hearts, what difference does any of this make to you?

My second question is this: how will you respond? Not to my words, but to God's Word. This is where the danger is. If we have enough religion, we can intellectually acknowledge everything that's been said and yet miss the point. The Pharisees were Old Testament experts, yet they missed the point. When God says come to me that you may have life, will you come? When Jesus says whoever believes in me will have eternal life, will you believe? When the Word says all those who seek me I will never cast our, will you seek Christ?

If you have trusted in Christ, this the gospel is an incredible picture of what Jesus did for you. But, if you have yet to take that step of faith, you are in the greatest danger. No ritual of this day or this weekend can rescue you. No amount of good works or wishful thinking can get you home again.  Only Jesus can do this. Only Jesus can save. What better day than today to trust in Jesus as your savior and begin to follow him as your Lord, to stop trying to save yourself or assuming your good works will outweigh your bad ones. Spiritually speaking, we are all in the same boat. We all desperately need a savior, a sustainer and someone to take us home. Jesus is the one who conquered sin, death and the grave. I plead with you, trust him today with your life.

Recommended Posts v4

Prayers For Christ's increase And Our decrease - Bloom - 2/4/2016

Fifteen Prayers For God's Power - Piper - 2/1/2016

Group Prayer Participants You Don't Want To Be - Burchett - 1/22/2016

When Abortion Suddenly Stopped Making Sense - Mathewes-Green - 1/22/2016

A Prayer For God's Blessing On Our Corporate Worship - S Smith - 1/10/2016

Three Questions To Ask Before Listening To Any Sermon - Reinke - 1/9/2016

What Are You Waiting For?

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing (Ezra 1:1)

It struck me as I read Ezra 1 that the exiles had been waiting a long time for the declaration that had just been uttered by Cyrus. Jeremiah's prophecy was that the exile would last 70 years. 70 years? There is nothing that I have waited for that has been delayed for 70 years. What was their mindset? What was the state of their faith?

But the question that is pressing on my heart and mind today is this: "What am I waiting for?" So much of life, so much of Bible study, so much of prayer is focused on here and now things. My perspective is rarely, if ever, focused on long range, big picture things. Thus my longing and expectation for what God's going to do is often muted, limited and perhaps short sighted.

Thankfully, the testimony of the Bible continually lifts my gaze, my hopes and my prayers toward what God has promised to accomplish through the work of his Spirit. What better to have goal for the new year than to look forward to what God will bring about and lean into that hope through devoted prayer and earnest expectation.

Christmas 2015

"Therefore, when the time came for the eternal Son of God to be sent by his Father into the world, the work of the Holy Spirit was a quiet, unobtrusive work in the service of the Father and the Son. Through him the Father caused the Son to be conceived in Mary the virgin. So from the very beginning of Christ’s incarnation the Holy Spirit was quietly doing what needed to be done to put forward Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of man." (John Piper)

"Infinite, and an infant.
Eternal, and yet born of a woman.
Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast.
Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms.
King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph.
Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son." (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

"How shall we deal with such a child? Have our hands, soiled with daily toil, become too hard and too proud to fold in prayer at the sight of this child? Has our head become too full of serious thoughts … that we cannot bow our head in humility at the wonder of this child? Can we not forget all our stress and struggles, our sense of importance, and for once worship the child, as did the shepherds and the wise men from the East, bowing before the divine child in the manger like children?" (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

"The enemy is not going to win. Christmas is but the beginning of the story. The baby brought light into the darkness, and He would break the back of the powers through His later death and resurrection. If you’re struggling this Christmas season, don’t forget the rest of the story!" (Thomas Rainer)

Prior posts:

Day 26 | Day 25 | Day 24 | Day 23 | Day 22 | Day 21 | Day 20 | Day 19 | Day 18 | Day 17 | Day 16 | Day 15
Day 14 | Day 13 | Day 12 | Day 11 | Day 10 | Day 9 | Day 8 | Day 7 | Day 6 | Day 5 | Day 4 | Day 3 | Day 2
Day 1