All Things New

 O the life of a thirty six year old youth pastor and father of three little ones. I feel the same as I did when I was younger but the guy in the mirror looks a little older. I find my self looking at the next picture or perhaps the previous one to find one that shows my "good side", seem like its getting harder and harder to find. So maybe it's time to accept the reality that time turns the page and these new lines on my face have become life long partners in my journey through life. Maybe the last trend that I took up was my last positive (or negative) move towards a youthful existence?

As the youth band played the song "Beautiful Things" last night in church, the message of the song hit me. "You make me new, You are making me new" is the line that really got my attention. Our number of days in life take us farther from new and often make us feel like we are old, out of date, useless, and worthless. The love of God in our life should be making us feel like we are new each day. In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we read: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit". With each passing day in the Lord we are to know more of Him. We become new in our lives as we are exposed to His glory in our lives. What an amazing blessing we have in Him, that He makes us new everyday! His love and grace towards us each new day should fill us with hope and purpose regardless of what the image in the mirror is screaming at us.

Lamentations 3:22-24

22The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases

his mercies never come to an end;

23they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

His mercies are new for you today. He is making you new today as He shines the light of His grace in your life. Get in the fight and do your part. Be encouraged today as He makes you new!!

Forward or Same?

In our going forward or staying the same

let us count the cost of realizing the glory of His name

What was and is and is to come in this world will not remain

but the things we did to bring you honor will forever sustain

Sustain the weight of eternal worth

occupy the truth of a 2nd birth

Change the world and the people that live in it

Change my heart and the creeds I've let win it

Going forward or staying the same is not a game to be played

It can be the difference between someone's eternity being lost or gained

It can be the difference between life and death

love and hate

now and then

how and when

To go forward means change

To stay the same brings thoughts of comfort and stability

What if the comfort and stability of a time in my life keep me from being a part of what God wants for me in another part of life?

What if God is saying the water will hold, because I hold the water?

The boat seems like the right place to be until you consider the alternative

In the boat you may live and you may die and the trip will be bumpy

Out in the water without Jesus you die

With Jesus just life

The only real place to be it the hardest to get to

You will be challenged, you will be afraid at times

The others will tell you that you are crazy to leave the comfort of the boat (even though it might be sinking)

In the end the crazy people are in the boat

Trusting in wood and it's ability to float

Place your trust in the one that created wood and water and weather

Step out of the boat the water will hold

Only things around you on the outside make you fear

The voice on the inside speaking is reassuring you that God is near

It will hold or so I've been told

Trust in things you cannot see

Like pathways in water

and visions and dreams

Follow His voice as it leads you

It is the only safe place to be in going forward or staying the same

Consider the cost of being found worthy to suffer for His name

Anarchy

Anarchy- a : absence of government b : a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority c : a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government-

From Webster's Dictionary

Deep within the heart of every man and woman lies the desire to live in the perpetual state of anarchy. The last thing that any of us want is someone telling us what we should do or how we should do it. We want what we want and we want it when we want it. This my friends is the human condition. Some of us fake it through life by following enough regulations that it keeps us from looking like one of the bad people. Some cannot hide their hatred for a governing body in their life. Their every move and word is lawless and a bite of the thumb to all in authority over them.

When Adam and Eve made the decision to disrespect the authority of God, they literally opened the door to lawlessness in the earth. That day Adam and Eve became the first anarchist or people to live without governmental authority. When they did the deed they gave up the right to live in a kingdom free from sin and confusion. They became what scripture calls "dead", God told our first parents that if they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would die (Gen 2:17). We know from scripture that they did not die physically. The death they encountered was a death that spread to every man, woman, boy and girl that would be born from that day forward. Paul said in Romans 7 that he recognized this death in his life even after he had become a Christian. Paul said, "But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" In our bodies when we are born we are spiritually dead. Sin that entered the world through lawlessness infiltrated the human race and became the new master. You see even the lawless have a master, most of them just do not know it.

I have been thinking a lot about this idea of lawlessness and anarchy. What I have discovered is there are many that attend our churches and claim to be Christians that live a life of anarchy. Outward appearance paints them as the redeemed of the Lord, but inwardly they try to maneuverer and manipulate their lives in a way that keeps them from having an authority outside of themselves. The message of John the Baptist was, "Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!" The message of Jesus was, "Seek first the Kingdom of God". Jesus saw it as His mission to establish the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom that Jesus established was the answer to the lawless kingdom of death that had reigned since the days of Adam and Eve. In every kingdom there must be a king, and God the Father is enthroned in Heaven as the righteous king of all kings. With every kingdom comes laws that govern that kingdom. Jesus made it clear that only those that follow the rules of the kingdom are actually part of the kingdom. Jesus said in John 14, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him". According to scripture, a person will be identifiable as a member of the Kingdom of God because of the activity of the Spirit in their live. 1 John 3:24 states, "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him, And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us". Do not hear me saying that works or anything we do makes us members of the Kingdom, the opposite is true, we do good works and are identified as Christians because we are members of the Kingdom. The evidence that we are members of the Kingdom of God is the renewed life that we live that is characterized by good works and love for others.

Jesus lived a radical life, he did radical things and spoke radical words. Even a cursory reading of the gospels might leave one wondering how we got to where we are in our approach to following Jesus today. Most evangelical churches today live and die by the: raise your hand, walk the isle, sign the card, and hang on for dear life approach. Jesus said things like sell everything you have and give it to the poor, take up your cross, if you love your family more than me you are not worthy of me, and many will say to me in that day..... and I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me , you who practice lawlessness.

In Matthew 5-7 Jesus drops the proverbial atom bomb on the theology of the day. In this portion of scripture, Jesus begins to pull back the curtain and give people a glimpse of what the Kingdom of God looks like. While the entirety of the sermon is worthy of further exploration, I would like to focus on the last four points Jesus makes in chapter 7. Jesus was speaking to an Old Testament audience about the Kingdom He was ushering in. The truths Jesus reveals in this portion of Scripture should be viewed as universal and not specific to a certain covenant. The Kingdom Jesus was talking about is the Kingdom that we as Christians live in today. To say Jesus was talking to them (the Jewish audience)and not us (mankind in 2011) would be a major oversight on our part. God's Kingdom is eternal and it is here. The realities of the Kingdom 2000 years ago have not changed over the years, nor will they ever change. Here are the points:

1. The way into the Kingdom is Narrow v13-14

2. You will know God's people by their fruits v15-20

3. There are many people that think they are part of the Kingdom of God that do not know Jesus. v21-23

4. If one takes the words of Jesus to heart, they will have a firm foundation that will not be deteriorated by the storms of life.

Anarchy in the heart will lead on to destruction. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus and live a life characterized by lawlessness and rebellion, do you really know Jesus? The way into the Kingdom of God is narrow and is reserved for those who have corresponding fruit with their claim of righteousness. A good tree only gives good fruit and a bad tree only gives bad fruit. Is the fruit in your life good or bad? Is the fruit in your life produced by instruction from God and to God or does it come from your will and accomplish your desires? I'm just asking. Jesus said those that practice lawlessness will be quickly removed from His presence for eternity. My hope is that this blog will encourage you to check your foundation. Is it truly built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ or is it built on the sinking sands of anarchy? You were created with the need for authority and God's desire is to fill that role for you. Just give up and give in to the Kingdom of God, it is the only way to know hope. You cannot find peace in the kingdoms of this world or in self rule, there is a kingdom in place that will meet your needs and change your life! The King is just and will do you no wrong, serve Him today and live.