within.the.story

Galatians 5:17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. [read chapter]

With the celebration of the cross and empty tomb behind us, it is time to turn our gaze inside our own hearts. In light of what Jesus has done on the cross in paying the penalty for our wrongness, our sin - those of you that call yourself “Christian” - how will you live? What desires really dictate the direction of your life: those of the sinful nature or those of the Holy Spirit?

Read over the list and invite God to search your heart today, this week - and see what attitudes and desires God may want to crucify and which fruit God may want to resurrect in your life.

Easter should be more than just a weekend…it should be the moment that shapes our lives and makes us new, free, fruitful people.

Galatians 4:4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. 5 God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 6 And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” 7 Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. [read chapter]

At the right time, nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus was crucified. The soldiers brutally beat and tortured him. His countrymen mocked and scoffed at him. Many of his closest companions deserted him. Tears, jeers, confusion, insults, and fear.

Come close listen to the story
About a love more faithful than the morning
The Father gave His only Son just to save us

The earth was shaking in the dark
All creation felt the Fathers Broken Heart
Tears were filling Heaven’s Eyes
The day that True Love died, the day that True Love died
When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn’t move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that True Love died, The day that True Love died
[Phil Wickham - True Love]

All this so that God could grow his family…so that the world would know how great, how glorious, how powerful, how loving He is.

These three days hold the most significant events, the most transformational power, the most significant love humanity has ever known. It is God’s call to the world, come back to Him…stop running away, stop living in your sins, stop seeking other ways…

“Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, the life. No one can be a child of the Father except through me.”

Believe that the result of the cross makes adoption possible.
Believe that the event of the tomb promises new life, new possibilities, new realities with God.
You don’t have to be a slave.
You don’t have to do this alone.
You are wrong to think you don’t need him.
Replace the desires you have of this world with Jesus.
Believe that Jesus is God’s demonstration of love.
Believe that Jesus is your only hope.
Your Father is waiting…call his name…
“Papa”

Galatians 3 ²⁴ Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. ²⁵ And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. ²⁶ For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. [Read Chapter]

The morning routine for me follows this pattern: wake up (slowly like a starting car in the cold of winter), shower, and then put on the outfit of the day. Fresh clothes…socks, boxers, pants, and the smell of new shirts. It is an especially clean feeling (when you are putting on fresh clean clothes). Have you ever, for whatever reason, had to put on an already worn pair of socks – or t-shirt. There is just something…well, just a little weird about it. The sock is already stretched out, it doesn’t fit the same.

Each year at this time we are invited back to the cross. It is there we face the horror of our sin, the devastation that it caused, the wrath that was required to be poured out, and the effects sin has. It should bring humility afresh – to know that we caused the cross. And yet, in the midst of the torture and excruciating nature of the cross – we are reminded of a relentless love. This compels us to worship, to serve, to proclaim.

Often times, what is neglected is the tomb. Oh, sure it is a happy ending to the story…and some people use it as a means of skipping the brutal nature and truth of the cross. However, it is the glorious and empty tomb that lead to new realities for those who have placed our faith in Christ. The cross where God’s wrath is poured for your sin, my sin upon Jesus is where we are forgiven. The empty tomb – that sin, death, and darkness have been defeated is the victory cry that we celebrate. Or as Paul says: “those who have been united with Christ in baptism (in his death…and resurrection) have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.”

It stirs these questions of myself:

Do I believe that? Or do I wear my past mistakes, current struggles, future fears like old dirty socks?

What are some old mindsets (old clothing) I need to let go of?

Since those who have placed faith in Christ are children of God, how can that set my motivation for life? For the attitude that defines my day?

When I am addressing issues and struggles in others, how can I point them towards this truth?

Galatians 2 ¹⁶ Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. [read on]

Justified - declared righteous.

It is the pursuit of humanity to be justified. We label it differently depending on the subculture we live in. However, we attempt to justify all we do. After all, the desire to be justified has been stitched into the fabric of our soul. For the business man, his actions are justified in growing back accounts and success among his comrades. For the mother, a justified life is found in kids who are safe, happy, and in friendship with her. For the student, the late night activity of a Friday night is justified as something fun and adventurous…carpe diem style living.

However, our hearts desire for justification are only temporarily filled with the things of this world. Our soul’s desire is to be at peace with God. So, some religious people spend their lives in rigorous religious activity to move the good-bad scales in a positive direction. They believe that if they do enough good, if they obey the prescription of works - then their life will count for something…that God will see their good work and declare them righteous.

What arrogance. What pure rebellion and belittling of God Almighty. To think that our feeble attempts to be good are impressive or noteworthy to God is almost blasphemy. What work does an ant do in its normal day that you take note of…that you are moved to declare worthy of your time. Even greater is the chasm between God and our minute lives.

No, we are but wretches in light of God. We have nothing to offer. We are incapable of doing the good that He requires. What hope do we have of being justified? Oh, the impossibilities we face in getting God’s favor - let alone being declared righteous by Him.

Romans 5 ⁶ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. ⁷ Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ⁹ And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. ¹¹ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

Justification is only found in the person and work of Jesus. No activity. No good intentions. No nice deeds or thoughts. Jesus, period! Do you believe that? Do I believe that? Do we depend on that? Or do we spend our days desperately trying various lesser means of justifying our lives?

What are some of the ways you seek justification in your life?

How do you justify your actions and passions?

What do you need to stop doing today?

As Good Friday approaches let us repent of the foolish ways we try to justify our life! and come back to the cross and believe upon Jesus to do what we cannot.

It is hard for me to believe that another Christmas is over. And this is that weird week, where I -as if under mind-melding compulsion- begin to reflect over the past year and make plans for the year ahead.
Strange how that works. Every year we enjoy the celebrations of Christmas…and now turn our minds to the new year.
This is the first year in my lifetime, where I look ahead with some reservation. Perhaps the beginning of 2002 -post 9/11- was another time I thought the coming year may present more challenge. As I look around and read the headlines and listen to my friends, this year will probably challenge all of us. For many, it already is challenging and it hasn’t even started yet.
It is in these seasons where our faith is tested not just in how we respond to difficulty - but also how we take care of one another.
Though it may be a tough year economically, it might be an amazing year for our relationship with Jesus. That is my hope…and almost scary prayer.

As I was scrolling through my Google Reader - and pondering what I would write about the events occuring in the next 48 hours I discovered this:

by Jonathon Dodson

This reflection on Christmas occurred after Bono had just returned home, to Dublin, from a long tour with U2. On Christmas Eve Bono went to the famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Jonathan Swift was once dean. Apparently he was given a really poor seat, one obstructed by a pillar, making it even more difficult for him to keep his eyes open…but it was there that the Christmas story struck him like never before.

He writes:

“The idea that God, if there is a force of Logic and Love in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty, in shit and straw . . . a child . . . I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry . . . Unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and it’s not that it hadn’t struck me before, but tears came streaming down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this.”

Isn’t it compelling? The logic and love of a personal God revealing himself, accounting for our personality, our propensity to love. And oh, the mercy of God, born in shit and straw, to rescue us from ourselves, our godless gift-giving, and our arrogant disregard for God and for others so that we might know and enjoy him and his new creation forever. And that he, the infinite God, would do it in Christ, in time, in space, in confounding condescension to pivot the course of the entire creation project from despair, destruction, and dereliction to a hopeful, whole, and happy future.

Will you ponder the poetry of Christmas this year, the genius of the incarnation?

I am surrounded by people who discover the most amazing sites, videos, pictures, software and then share it with me. It is these sorts of sharings that make my love of the internet possibilities grow. I mean, think about it. Before the web, they would have said something like…”I was at a concert and watched this cool video…” and gone on to describe something while you find yourself noticing a hair follicle in an unusual place on their face because you weren’t there and….   Yea, you know how it goes. Or perhaps, I will burn a cd, which you lose, forget about, or throw in the “when I have time pile” that usually ends up in the garbage at the end of the month.

Yet, the web allows for click, watch, experience - right now. [www.iamsecond.com]

Which sometimes leads to thought loops, other invites, and hopefully quality conversations.

Time for the holidays! Time for family. Time for presents. Time for food. Time for …whose kidding who? Every Christmas, the holiday music speaks of calm, joy, peace, and how “I’ll be home for Christmas” in smooth jazzy tones when the reality is we all spend our holiday frantic.

So, we live in a culture that runs this way. If you truly want to escape the “frantic” - move to cold winderness of Canada. Trying to exist in “frantic” and yet take in the calm, joy, peace is our challenge this year.

Here are a couple ways we are going to do this:

1. I am sick of trying to buy stuff for those family members who don’t need another thingy. So, I am going to write a few letters to family members (like grandparents) who don’t need another box of Tony Packo’s Pickles or some cheap trinket - sharing with them a favorite memory or moment of the past.

2. Now that my brother and sister have full time jobs…what can I buy (and afford) to get them that they want/need and haven’t already bought themselves. Right!? So, instead we will plan a family dinner out where my parents, my sibblings (and their spouces) head out to a nice dinner instead of buying more stuff for each other where we will spend 2-3 hours together enjoying good eat, good drink, and each other.

So, what will you do this holiday? Any other ideas?

“Time” Teaching Video from Verticallife.tv on Vimeo.