Makes You Feel Warm Inside :)

 

Faith or Experience?

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Galatians 2:20

"We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption...” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief."

-Oswald Chambers

Primary Business

May 7, 1841. "The primary business I must attend to every day is to fellowship with the Lord. The first concern is not how much I might serve the Lord, but how my inner man might be nourished. I may share the truth with the unconverted; I may try to encourage believers; I may relieve the distressed; or I may, in other ways, seek to behave as a child of God; yet, not being happy in the Lord and not being nourished and strengthened in my inner man day by day, may result in this work being done in a wrong spirit.

The most important thing I had to do was to read the Word of God and to meditate on it. Thus my heart might be comforted, encouraged, warned, reproved, and instructed.

Formerly, when I rose, I began to pray as soon as possible. But I often spent a quarter of an hour to an hour on my knees struggling to pray while my mind wandered. Now I rarely have this problem. As my heart is nourished by the truth of the Word, I am brought into true fellowship with God. I speak to my Father and to my Friend (although I am unworthy) about the things that He has brought before me in His precious Word.

It often astonishes me that I did not see the importance of meditation upon Scripture earlier in my Christian life. As the outward man is not fit for work for any length of time unless he eats, so it is with the inner man. What is the food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God -- not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe. No, we must consider what we read, ponder over it, and apply it to our hearts.

When we pray, we speak to God. This exercise of the soul can be best performed after the inner man has been nourished by meditation on the Word of God. Through His Word, our Father speaks to us, encourages us, comforts us, instructs us, humbles us, and reproves us. We may profitably meditate, with God's blessing, although we are spiritually weak. The weaker we are, the more meditation we need to strengthen our inner man. Meditation on God's Word has given me the help and strength to pass peacefully through deep trials. What a difference there is when the soul is refreshed in fellowship with God early in the morning! Without spiritual preparation, the service, the trials, and the temptations of the day can be overwhelming."

-George Muller (The Autobiography of George Muller, pg. 138-140)

"Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk, for to You I lift up my soul."

Psalm 143:8

Gospel-Centered Thinking

"I can see in the near future hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands of people in my city of Sacramento, CA longing for God, his truth, his love, his gospel, and his mission.

I can see it.

It's beautiful ... it's authentic ... it's bold ... it's real ... it's raw ... it's risky ... it's costly ... it's breathtaking. It's big ... it's humble ... it's ingloriously glorious ... it's more grand than the grand canyon.

I can see people voraciously content to live on a different course of life, and entirely unashamed of the gospel of Jesus.

Could you imagine a group of people standing together in clear, anthemic, powerful, truthful, and truth-filled praise to God just like warriors on a battlefield bursting forth in excitement because of victory over the enemy?

They are not fools. They are not brainwashed. They are not mystics. They are not emotionalized energizer bunnies, mindlessly bouncing around others. They are not arrogant vikings. They are not disillusioned into loving princess bunnies on stages. They are not a clique of cool, hip, wealthy, poor, or anything else that is niche-centric. They are focused, clear, and confident in who they are, who God is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do. They are unswayed by tradition, culture, chaos, or comforts. They long to be made alive in Jesus instead of being made alive by music, concert, cool band, or motivational speech.

Could you also imagine that same group of people well beyond a Sunday gathering, on their knees, in quiet, and in their own homes praying fervently for their neighbors, relatives, co-workers, their city, and the nations to know, believe, and follow the Christ of Christianity?

Could you also imagine that same group of people honestly, boldly, and courageously loving each other? Could you also imagine them living not hypocritically but humbly? Could you imagine them covenanting with their spouses in word and deed, committed for the long haul of life, parenting, finances, and conviction of the gospel?

Could you imagine the young growing up in those households and maturing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus? Could you imagine the steadfastness, clarity, and drive of the young trained by gospel-centered parents? Could you imagine the young men raised by the older, gospel-centered, wise men who are willing to give up their life for Jesus?

Could you also image that same group of people standing around a funeral of one of our own who was unashamed of the gospel, and confidently grieve the loss but have deep seeded joy in knowing they are with God the Son Jesus as well as God the Father and God the Spirit?

Could you imagine that same group of people fervently studying scripture individually and corporately in order to love the author of the book and love those who have yet to know about the book of the Bible?

Could you imagine that same group of people unconcerned and unashamed to speak of the gospel? Speaking not in a weird, forced, or contrived way, but speaking sincerely out of love and rhythm of life. Speaking as if something is cooking in the heart ready to be served by the tongue to another.

Could you imagine that group of people unconcerned for the decor of a building, society, or people and able to worship the Lord with their life and not just with their mouth?

Could you also imagine that same group of people unconcerned for publicity or glory?

Could you imagine that same group of people becoming larger and larger because of one primary thing - the gospel?

We want to keep the primary thing the primary thing..."

-Pastor Nathan Gunter

TelosChurch.com

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How I long to see us all keep the primary thing - the Gospel - the primary focus of our lives. My prayers, my hope, my heart, is to see the Church, once again, fall in love with the Gospel. How I long to see us love to hear it, love to read it, love to speak it, and love to live it. I long to see us never tire of hearing it, but always hungering to hear it just one more time. I long to see us not being able to contain it within ourselves, but being painfully compelled to plead with the lost to repent and believe in Christ. I long to see it radically transform lives, maintain lives, and drastically turn the lives of Christians upside down. I long to see it drive our prayers and even make us mourners, because our suffering will be the haunting thoughts of the millions of souls who will eternally suffer. Still yet, I long to see it drastically increase our happiness because it will ever draw us into a closer, life-reviving, eternal relationship with Christ. I just long to see souls saved. I long to see the very way we think be entirely Gospel-centered. How I long, how I yearn in my prayers, alongside my friends Nate & Abby, to see this in Sacramento. Oh, to Him be all the glory in the Church forevermore.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." 

Romans 1:16

I have nothing to offer but Christ

I have nothing, apart from Christ.
I have no love, apart from Christ.
I have no joy, apart from Christ.
I have no peace, apart from Christ.
I have no patience, apart from Christ.
I have no kindness, apart from Christ.
I have no goodness, apart from Christ.
I have no faithfulness, apart from Christ.
I have no gentleness, apart from Christ.
I have no self-control, apart from Christ.

Apart from Christ, I have nothing to offer you.
Apart from Christ, I have no love of my own to give you, for my love will grow cold.

Apart from Christ, I have no joy to brighten you with, for my own joy will fade into darkness.

Apart from Christ, I have no peace to bring you, for my own peace will turn into war.

Apart from Christ, I have no patience to bear you with, for my own patience will collapse in its short-temper.

Apart from Christ, I have no kindness to bless you with, for my own kindness will become selfish.

Apart from Christ, I have no goodness to display for you, for my own goodness is self-righteousness and pride.

Apart from Christ, I have no faithfulness to promise you, for my own faithfulness, in time, will betray you.

Apart from Christ, I have no gentleness to comfort you with, for my own gentleness will eventually harden and fail you.

Apart from Christ, I have no self-control, for my own self-control will be overtaken by lust.
 

My hands are empty. I am a sinner. Yes, I have been saved by God's grace through faith, but I am still a sinner yet saved by His grace. I have absolutely nothing to offer you except for Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
 

Christ is offering you everything. Take His everything.
Christ is offering you love. Take His love.
Christ is offering you joy. Take His joy.
Christ is offering you peace. Take His peace.
Christ is offering you patience. Take His patience.
Christ is offering you kindness. Take His kindness.
Christ is offering you goodness. Take His goodness.
Christ is offering you faithfulness. Take His faithfulness.
Christ is offering you gentleness. Take His gentleness.
Christ is offering you self-control. Take His self-control.

Do not need me, need Christ. Do not follow me, follow Christ. Do not lift me up, lift up Christ. Do not look at me, look at Christ.

Together, let us need Him and Him alone! Together, let us follow Him and Him alone! Together, let us lift Him up and Him alone! Together, let us see Him and Him alone!

Oh, to be found in Him.

"God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-- that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.'"

1 Corinthians 1:27-31

East to West

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in Your sea of forgetfulness

The chains of yesterday surround me

I yearn for peace and rest

 I don't want to end up where You found me

And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight

I know You've cast my sin as far as the east if from the west

And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned

But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west

'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been, come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'Cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin

Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in

Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west

'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been, come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'Cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light

I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night

I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your Word reveals

I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me

You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west

I don't have to see the man I've been, come rising up in me again

In the arms of Your mercy I find rest

'Cause You know just how far the east is from the west

From one scarred hand to the other

From one scarred hand to the other

-Bernie Herms & John Mark Hall

"AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST, SO FAR HAS HE REMOVED OUR TRANSGRESSIONS FROM US." 

Psalm 103:12

Victory

"It is much more difficult to live Christ than it is to learn Christ. It is much more difficult to hear Christ than it is to speak Christ. It is much more difficult to remember Christ than it is to forget Him. 

To live Christ is beyond any human being…it is impossible to encapsulate the vast goodness of His character in our weak, earthly bodies. We utterly fail, time and time again. We are literally brought to our knees by the sheer weight of the task at hand, if we are in any way attempting to be like Him. 

And although we may sustain our noble efforts at first, ultimately the house that is not built upon Christ will fall. The house that doesn't allow Christ to dwell deep within will collapse; the innermost room of that house, if not locked with the word of God, if not adorned with the beautiful characteristics of Christ, if not supported by the endurance of His strength, will fall. And if that house is to be tested, it must be tested beyond its limits, or else it is no test at all. 

That being said, the strength of our “house” is determined by the strength of the storm to which it is being subjected. You may build yourself a castle, ironclad with the word of God, strengthened with His fortitude, and seemingly impervious to the naked eye, but if the storm to which it is being subjected knows how to rust iron, knows how to weaken the strongest of people, and knows how to penetrate to the deepest part of a person’s soul – this house too will fall. Our enemy is not a mindless, lifeless storm, and our test is not delivered from a foolish creature; Satan is capable of finding the cracks which will bring our house to ruin. 

So what is left for the hopeless, for the weak, for the strong, for the clever, for the wise? Our times are not in our hands. Our limits are set by God; by His word, by His grace, and by His command, are we saved. He provides escape when the test is too great to bear and prevents the ruin that so tauntingly hangs above our heads. 

All admiration goes to God. All glory goes to the One who is capable of fighting the battle, to the One who knows the tactics of the enemy and counters them, and to the One who owns the armor that protects the weakness of those who follow after Him. 

Humility brings us to our knees, and wisdom keeps us kneeling; there is no other stature that is more acquainted with victory."

-R. E. Harris, "The Nature of Victory"

In the midst of this spiritual warfare we are all fighting, I say a sorrowful yet hopeful AMEN. My hope, our hope, is in Christ alone. I am looking to Christ in each of my brothers and sisters, as that is where my hope and prayers lie: that HE will overcome in each of us and take the victory every day and in every battle.

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world...For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith."

1 John 4:4; 5:4

I Stood a Mendicant of God

For those who know Steve Saint, (the son of Nate Saint, the missionary in Ecuador who, along with 4 other men - Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, & Roger Youderian, died for the sake of bringing the Gospel to lost souls in the farthest reaches of Ecuador), know that he recently had an accident that left him partially paralyzed from the neck down. In the wisdom of God's purpose for Steve Saint, He has been healing him and has miraculously given him the ability to walk again. To Him be all the glory. This story has touched the deepest part of my heart...

"I stood, a mendicant of God, before His royal throne and begged Him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own. I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart I cried, 'But Lord, this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart. This is a strange and hurtful gift which Thou hast given me.' He said, 'My child, I give good gifts. I gave My best to thee.' I took it home. And though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore, as long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more. I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace: He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face."

The Thorn by Martha Snell Nicholson

I don't pretend to think I understand suffering, because I know I've never truly suffered before. Why this is so, I'm not sure. More often than not, I have looked at my life and wondered why the Lord has been so good to me, of all people. Often times I've felt that, as with Job, the Lord has placed a hedge around me. This doesn't mean life hasn't been without trials and tribulations, because it has, but those are the very things that have drawn me in closer to the Lord, so I don't regret them at all. In terms of earthly possessions, my riches are not great at all, but in terms of heavenly possessions, my riches are overflowing in Christ! In terms of my earthly career being a success, I have nothing to speak of, but in terms of living this life for the Lord, it has been a long struggle to learn how to quietly deny my will and, instead, submit to the will of my gentle Master and loving Friend, the Lord Jesus Christ, and willingly follow His lead wherever He takes me. 

Suffering, however, has never been a part of that. I have not known suffering. Suffering is one of those mysteries to me. People speak of the Trinity, or the Church, or eternity as a mystery, and although there may be an element of the unknown with those things, I can fully embrace them in faith because of the One I KNOW, the Lord Jesus Christ, but why is it that most people, even some Christians, consider suffering that has fallen upon a person to be equal to a curse? Would the Lord really give a curse to one of His children?  To me, the mystery in suffering is when a follower of Christ considers the awful pain that has fallen upon them as ultimately being a good thing. It is a mystery to me when they have lost so much, and yet claim to have gained infinitely more. All of this goes against everything that comes naturally to a human. The mystery lies in the fact that the very things we deem as bad, God deems as good and necessary, because He USES those very things to not only bring His servants intimately closer to Himself, but to also accomplish His beautiful work through us. That is a place I long to be in, no matter what the cost.

I've only begun to truly grasp this by seeing a living example of it through a friend and brother in Christ, David Hanson, (read his story here), and his lovely wife, Rachel. David survived a 50+ ft fall accident, and against all odds, he has been progressing since. Shortly after his fall, Rachel found out that they would be having their first child, and now they have a beautiful little baby girl! I've never seen a person go through so much suffering as David has. You might think it would make him an angry and bitter person towards God, but he has been the most extreme opposite of that. One day Rachel noted about David, "He's seemed real happy the last few days, smiling a lot," and she asked him, "Would you be content if you were in this condition the rest of your life and God chose not to give you any more healing?" and he answered "Yes" without hesitation. 

I've often wondered how that is possible for a person who has gone through what he has gone through to say that? It is so out of this world, there is no other explanation than that God Himself is dwelling in David's heart, which I already know is true, but have been freshly in awe of lately. I have no doubt that David is knowing God right now in a beautiful, wonderful, intimate way that he has never known God before, and in a way that most of us have never known God. Something that was so horrible, God has used for so much good, that David is even willing to live like this for the rest of his life. Not only that, Rachel is not a person who is defined by sorrow for her injured husband, but joy is what defines her! Joy for the deep and ever-growing love she has for her husband, joy for the overwhelming love she has for her little baby girl, and joy for the love of Christ she is sweetly abiding in. In the midst of this tragic accident, both David and Rachel's joy is full, which has challenged and humbled me more than I know how to say. It is LOVE that they dwell on, because it is Christ's LOVE that they abide in; not doubt, not anger, not bitterness, not resentment, not questioning, but the very love of God. It is the "joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess 1:6) that fills them.

"As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love...These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." 

John 15:9, 11

This made me realize that the degree of my happiness shouldn't rest on whether or not things go my way or if I get to live out the "ideal life" or not, but whether or not Christ is my absolute center where all my affections, all my love, and all my sight is set on His lovely face. David has taught us that we should not live in fear of what suffering may come upon us, but instead, live life fearlessly for Christ, holding back nothing, and giving our absolute all to Him who first gave us life!!! The more I thought about it, the more I realized it really doesn't matter if the unknown of suffering is a mystery to me or not, because my faith is not in the unknown, but in the One whom I KNOW...and I trust Him. Should suffering come upon me, and I expect it will, I'm not sure how I'll deal with it, but I know this: I serve a loving Father who has showed nothing but kindness, goodness, and faithfulness to me for as long as I have lived, and if He should allow suffering to come upon me, I'm not afraid of it, but I'm open to it, because I know His loving character and I peacefully rest in His promise, "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" (Ro 8:28).

I guess, in the end, we're all beggars of God, aren't we? For those who don't know Christ, they beg for mercy and forgiveness, and for those who do know Christ, we beg for daily spiritual bread and fountains of living water. The ironic thing, though, is that I think many followers of Christ have forgotten who we really are in Christ and how much access to God has already been given to us through Christ - we don't need to beg, we've only to ask in the name of Christ, and, according to His Word, God has said He will give to us! Though we live in a sinful, dark, and evil world, I know that God will work all things together for good for His beloved children, because He loves us with a love that is so far beyond what even our furthest dreams could imagine is possible. Of all Christians who has suffered, no one stands out in my mind more than the Apostle Paul, and yet, he is the one who proclaimed: "To live is Christ, and to die is gain!" I think Paul told us to imitate him because he merely imitated Christ, and he wants us to experience even a little of what Christ experienced, lest we forget that Christ suffered more than the whole of us, just for the sake of all of us.

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Romans 8:16-18

Did You Think to Pray?

Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?

In the name of Christ our Savior, did you sue for loving favor, as a shield today?

O how praying rests the weary!

Prayer will change the night to day;

So when life seems dark and dreary,

Don’t forget to pray

When you met with great temptation, did you think to pray?

By His dying love and merit, did you claim the Holy Spirit, as your guide and stay?

When your heart was filled with anger, did you think to pray?

Did you plead for grace, my brother, that you might forgive another, who had crossed your way?

When sore trials came upon you, did you think to pray?

When your soul was bowed in sorrow, Balm of Gilead did you borrow, at the gates of day?

O how praying rests the weary! Prayer will change the night to day; 

So when life seems dark and dreary, don’t forget to pray!

by Mary Kidder