Do you believe you are justified before God?
His word says that if we believe, we are justified. And this is not because of ourselves but as a result of God's grace. The Lord continues to work salvation in me but I have to confess that this is a way that I have failed to believe and live out the true gospel. I have discovered that I seek justification from others through my ability to verbally explain my perspective to them. If I can make them understand then I'm good and justified in doing whatever I do. It has made me self righteous, not really righteous as a result of His work, just plain, old, false gospel, self righteous. I hate apologizing and I am starting to see that at the root, apologies are so difficult for me because I have believed that I can explain anything away and in the end be justified and if I am justified there is no need for forgiveness. Oh this is so wrong!
Romans 5:1-2 says "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Ephesians 2:8 says "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God," Justification comes from faith. Faith comes from God, as a gift. And not just any gift. The best kind of gift. The one you did nothing to deserve!
God is the one who accomplishes our justification. He did it through what many people call the great exchange from 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus took on our sinfulness and gave to us his righteousness. Because of this those who believe can stand before God in confidence, knowing that God sees Christ gleamingly white righteousness instead of our dirty sinful pride, selfishness etc. God accomplished this out of his love for us and his natural goodness. Thinking we can accomplish justification on our own is just silly. We can't. But he offers it to us anyway. Therefore, out of gratitude that God has made me justified, I should seek repentance and forgiveness. Not because it gets me anything of value but because God has already given me everything I need
Friday, July 6, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
False Gospel Fridays 1.0 Intro
I've been hearing a lot of people talk about false gospels lately. Many are examining how in their own lives they have come to believe false gospels. In our sin we have masterfully designed new ways to feel saved and we live out what we believe. We so desperately need to take the time to learn what the True Gospel is as laid out for us in God's Word. We need to repent when we fail to believe the truth, we need to search God's word for truth to believe, we need to speak truth to others so they to can believe the true gospel.
God's true gospel is this...
Romans 5:8 says "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." I just love that verse! I love this one too from 1 John 4:19, "We love because he first loved us." The Gospel is about God. It is about what He did and when He chose to do it. He loved us. AND he chose to love us before we did anything to make ourselves lovable AND without any guarantee that we would love him back. That's awesome! So how do we receive this love? Listen carefully because this is where it gets even harder to believe...(cue loud speaker) ITS FREE! Check out Ephesians 2:8 that says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God," Anyone else think that that is just incredibly good news?! I get all excited thinking about it!
And yet, In my own life I live out false gospels every single day. This series is going to be my attempt to repent and reveal my false gospels. My prayer is that the Lord would use this series to teach me the truth to undo the lies that I believe.
God's true gospel is this...
Romans 5:8 says "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." I just love that verse! I love this one too from 1 John 4:19, "We love because he first loved us." The Gospel is about God. It is about what He did and when He chose to do it. He loved us. AND he chose to love us before we did anything to make ourselves lovable AND without any guarantee that we would love him back. That's awesome! So how do we receive this love? Listen carefully because this is where it gets even harder to believe...(cue loud speaker) ITS FREE! Check out Ephesians 2:8 that says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God," Anyone else think that that is just incredibly good news?! I get all excited thinking about it!
And yet, In my own life I live out false gospels every single day. This series is going to be my attempt to repent and reveal my false gospels. My prayer is that the Lord would use this series to teach me the truth to undo the lies that I believe.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Examine Yourselves, A Follow Up
Recently, I wrote about a youth group teaching on 2 Corinthians 13:5 which reads "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus
Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!". You can read that post here. These are some follow up thoughts to that post and that teaching.
Examination can be a very scary thing. Most of us can remember waking up in a cold sweat the night before an important exam convinced that we have overslept and missed it. But as I spent some time reflecting on this verse I felt the Lord reminding me that examination is not for my condemnation but it is for my restoration.
Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." O how I need to remember this verse when I feel convicted of my sin. The Holy Spirit convicts me so that I may repent and find forgiveness. So that I may have a restored relationship with Christ. He does not convict me to condemn me. Because of God's gift of grace in Christ I have already passed from the condemnation that my sin deserves into new life with him!
In the end, what have we to fear?! God is gracious and patient. We can trust him to finish the work he has started in each of us! Philippians 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." And so, I will go on examining myself...even when it hurts...confident that God's grace is enough for me and that his power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Examination can be a very scary thing. Most of us can remember waking up in a cold sweat the night before an important exam convinced that we have overslept and missed it. But as I spent some time reflecting on this verse I felt the Lord reminding me that examination is not for my condemnation but it is for my restoration.
Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." O how I need to remember this verse when I feel convicted of my sin. The Holy Spirit convicts me so that I may repent and find forgiveness. So that I may have a restored relationship with Christ. He does not convict me to condemn me. Because of God's gift of grace in Christ I have already passed from the condemnation that my sin deserves into new life with him!
In the end, what have we to fear?! God is gracious and patient. We can trust him to finish the work he has started in each of us! Philippians 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." And so, I will go on examining myself...even when it hurts...confident that God's grace is enough for me and that his power is made perfect in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Monday, May 14, 2012
Baby Signs
A friend of mine recently asked if I could put together some tips from our personal experience teaching our kids sign language as infants. This is for her!
Baby sign language is a fairly new trend in the parenting world. Using signs with your baby is a great way to help him or her begin communicating with you while its still too difficult for him or her to verbally put sounds and words together. There are a variety of online resources and studies that you can peruse. Start with a google search and go from there!
We started using signs with our twin boys when they were somewhere between 6adn 9 months old. We modeled the sign for "more" during meal times until they began to see a connection with our hands, our words, and the actions we took directly following. We also modeled the sign for "all done" to signal the end of meal time. When they began to imitate our signs, we encouraged them with all kinds of yeahs, clapping, and other such positive affirmations. At first, their signs were sloppy and didn't look too much like our own but with our help they began to improve. After learning "more" and "all done," we taught the twins to say "please" and "thank you." As their signing improved and as they began to mature verbally we continued using signs while speaking. Once they were able to talk it was important to us to be sure that signs were paired with words so that the boys didn't become to dependent on the signs themselves and remembered to use their words.
With our next baby, we started signing a little earlier. Again, we chose to teach her "more" and "all done" first. As soon as she had "more" down, we added "please" and "thank you." Other early signs that we chose for her were "diaper" and "milk." She has done great with them all! She is more verbal (as were her brothers) than most of her peers. I do not believe she would be as verbally advanced had we not used sign language early on.
So here are some of our practical tips:
Baby sign language is a fairly new trend in the parenting world. Using signs with your baby is a great way to help him or her begin communicating with you while its still too difficult for him or her to verbally put sounds and words together. There are a variety of online resources and studies that you can peruse. Start with a google search and go from there!
We started using signs with our twin boys when they were somewhere between 6adn 9 months old. We modeled the sign for "more" during meal times until they began to see a connection with our hands, our words, and the actions we took directly following. We also modeled the sign for "all done" to signal the end of meal time. When they began to imitate our signs, we encouraged them with all kinds of yeahs, clapping, and other such positive affirmations. At first, their signs were sloppy and didn't look too much like our own but with our help they began to improve. After learning "more" and "all done," we taught the twins to say "please" and "thank you." As their signing improved and as they began to mature verbally we continued using signs while speaking. Once they were able to talk it was important to us to be sure that signs were paired with words so that the boys didn't become to dependent on the signs themselves and remembered to use their words.
With our next baby, we started signing a little earlier. Again, we chose to teach her "more" and "all done" first. As soon as she had "more" down, we added "please" and "thank you." Other early signs that we chose for her were "diaper" and "milk." She has done great with them all! She is more verbal (as were her brothers) than most of her peers. I do not believe she would be as verbally advanced had we not used sign language early on.
So here are some of our practical tips:
- Choose simple signs to introduce consistently
- Don't introduce more than 3 signs at a time
- Remember to give lots of positive encouragement even if signs seem sloppy at first but don't be afraid to help your baby learn how to sign correctly as he or she progresses.
- If you have older children, teach them to sign too and encourage them to use signs with the baby also.
- We love baby sign language books by Annie Kubler, they make signing fun for the whole family!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Prom 2012
Its that special time of year again and I wanted to take a chance to remind all of my prom going friends to be cautious and careful with their choices. I recently read a post from an AIM World Racer that I believe is a relevant read for all young people. Please take the time to read her story before hearing some of my thoughts on the oh-so-popular topic of sex before marriage or the oh-so-even-more-popular topic of how far is too far.
Stephanie shares from her personal experience of telling thousands of students in Uganda about her regret over not waiting until marriage to have sex. In 2004, I had a similar opportunity to share with students in Botswana, who also struggle to understand how AIDS is transmitted and how to express love for one another without having sex. At that time, I was already dating Sean (he actually proposed to me at the airport as I returned from this trip) and I had the blessing of using my personal experience of being in love with him and not needing to have sex with him to show it. I remember standing in front of class room full of students saying, "I have a boyfriend at home in the US and I love him very much but I don't have to sex with him to show it." The students were astounded, just as I am sure that Doreen was to hear this same message from Stephanie.
But here is the really important thing that I want to say to you all. Please read carefully. You don't have to have sex before marriage to learn some of the same painful lessons about sex, your body, your value etc that Stephanie mentions in her blog post. I may have made it to my wedding day with my virginity intact but there are plenty of mistakes that I made that left me (and consequently, my spouse) with the same kinds of wounds.
The Lord is faithful to heal. And he makes good on all his promises, including the one Stephanie mentioned about working everything together for good (see Romans 8:28). If you're already bearing wounds and scars, please allow the Lord to heal you before inflicting any further damage. If you're struggling to hold on to your virginity by throwing everything else to the wind, please hear me when I tell you that there is a better way. If you feel like the only who isn't having sex or isn't messing around, don't let other people make this important decision for you by pressuring you because of their foolishness, sometimes it good to be the only one ;)
1 Thessalonians 5:23 "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Stephanie shares from her personal experience of telling thousands of students in Uganda about her regret over not waiting until marriage to have sex. In 2004, I had a similar opportunity to share with students in Botswana, who also struggle to understand how AIDS is transmitted and how to express love for one another without having sex. At that time, I was already dating Sean (he actually proposed to me at the airport as I returned from this trip) and I had the blessing of using my personal experience of being in love with him and not needing to have sex with him to show it. I remember standing in front of class room full of students saying, "I have a boyfriend at home in the US and I love him very much but I don't have to sex with him to show it." The students were astounded, just as I am sure that Doreen was to hear this same message from Stephanie.
But here is the really important thing that I want to say to you all. Please read carefully. You don't have to have sex before marriage to learn some of the same painful lessons about sex, your body, your value etc that Stephanie mentions in her blog post. I may have made it to my wedding day with my virginity intact but there are plenty of mistakes that I made that left me (and consequently, my spouse) with the same kinds of wounds.
The Lord is faithful to heal. And he makes good on all his promises, including the one Stephanie mentioned about working everything together for good (see Romans 8:28). If you're already bearing wounds and scars, please allow the Lord to heal you before inflicting any further damage. If you're struggling to hold on to your virginity by throwing everything else to the wind, please hear me when I tell you that there is a better way. If you feel like the only who isn't having sex or isn't messing around, don't let other people make this important decision for you by pressuring you because of their foolishness, sometimes it good to be the only one ;)
1 Thessalonians 5:23 "Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Friday, March 23, 2012
Examine yourself...
This is from a recent teaching at youth group in response to chapter 4 of Francis Chan's book Crazy Love.
In Matthew 13, Jesus teaches the parable of the sower. This parable gives us a picture of the differing responses people have to the gospel. In chapter 4 of Crazy Love, Francis challenges his readers by saying "Don't assume you're the good soil." Check out Jesus' words from Matthew 13.
In Matthew 13, Jesus teaches the parable of the sower. This parable gives us a picture of the differing responses people have to the gospel. In chapter 4 of Crazy Love, Francis challenges his readers by saying "Don't assume you're the good soil." Check out Jesus' words from Matthew 13.
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
2And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.
3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
5Other
seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and
immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
6but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9He who has ears,a let him hear.”
18“Hear then the parable of the sower:
19When
anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the
evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This
is what was sown along the path.
20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
21yet
he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when
tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he
falls away.b
22As
for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but
the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word,
and it proves unfruitful.
23As
for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and
understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a
hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
In 2 Corinthians 13:5 believers are challenged to examine themselves, "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test
yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus
Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" Honestly, I think we (Christians) test ourselves all the time. We are constantly looking at others in the church or our peers in the world and comparing ourselves to them. When we do this, we inevitably find people on either side of us. Some that make us feel really lousy about ourselves and some that in turn make us feel down right awesome about ourselves. This is not the kind of test that will leave us with an accurate understanding of our personal salvation. If we truly want to examine and test ourselves to see if we are in the faith we must use scripture to do so.
Jesus said "If you love me you will obey my commands." (John 14:15). Notice how the love comes first. Obedience is simply a response to that love. It is not how we earn or attain it. Its just what you do if you truly love Him. Its the natural response to His love. At youth group this last week, we took a tour of 1 John and examined our own hearts. I encourage you to do the same. Here are some of the key verses we looked at.
1 John 1:5-9
5This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 2:4-6
4Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 2:15-17
15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 3:4-5
4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
1John 3:16-18
16By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 John 4:19-21
19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Those verses are incredibly convicting and can be even more incredibly defeating without a proper understanding of the gospel. Jesus lived the perfect life that we cannot live and died the death that our sins deserve allowing us the opportunity to accept God's gift of grace and mercy where we get to exchange our sinfulness for his righteousness. So what is this test to see if we are in the faith? Its an examination of your heart. When you read these verses do you find that you have calloused yourself to seeing your own sinfulness? or that you have plenty of great excuses why you don't love your brother, walk in the light, or keep his commands? or are you willing to confess your failure to live up to God's standard and repent in order to receive not only his forgiveness but the power to overcome the sin in your life through him for his glory?
Jesus said "If you love me you will obey my commands." (John 14:15). Notice how the love comes first. Obedience is simply a response to that love. It is not how we earn or attain it. Its just what you do if you truly love Him. Its the natural response to His love. At youth group this last week, we took a tour of 1 John and examined our own hearts. I encourage you to do the same. Here are some of the key verses we looked at.
1 John 1:5-9
5This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 2:4-6
4Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 2:15-17
15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 3:4-5
4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
1John 3:16-18
16By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 John 4:19-21
19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Those verses are incredibly convicting and can be even more incredibly defeating without a proper understanding of the gospel. Jesus lived the perfect life that we cannot live and died the death that our sins deserve allowing us the opportunity to accept God's gift of grace and mercy where we get to exchange our sinfulness for his righteousness. So what is this test to see if we are in the faith? Its an examination of your heart. When you read these verses do you find that you have calloused yourself to seeing your own sinfulness? or that you have plenty of great excuses why you don't love your brother, walk in the light, or keep his commands? or are you willing to confess your failure to live up to God's standard and repent in order to receive not only his forgiveness but the power to overcome the sin in your life through him for his glory?
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine's Day
Many of our friends have tried to come up with a good spin on Valentine's Day for their whole families to celebrate. This year we are trying one of our own!
We decided to think of Valentine's Day this year as an opportunity to encourage the ones we love by thanking God and them for the example of Godly character that they live out each day. We thank God and Pops for his example of service and leadership. He is very committed to his job because he knows that it is a way that God has called him to serve our family by providing financially for us. He is equally committed to spending time reading the Bible with us and practicing Bible memory verses with us. We thank God and Meme for her generosity. She loves to give us special treats and take us out to eat. We thank God and Nana and Poppy for investing time in us. They love to read to us and play with us at their house. We thank God and Abby for her hospitality because she lets us play with her in her room. We are thankful for many other special people in our lives. God has really and truly blessed us.
Happy Valentine's day to all our loved ones!
We decided to think of Valentine's Day this year as an opportunity to encourage the ones we love by thanking God and them for the example of Godly character that they live out each day. We thank God and Pops for his example of service and leadership. He is very committed to his job because he knows that it is a way that God has called him to serve our family by providing financially for us. He is equally committed to spending time reading the Bible with us and practicing Bible memory verses with us. We thank God and Meme for her generosity. She loves to give us special treats and take us out to eat. We thank God and Nana and Poppy for investing time in us. They love to read to us and play with us at their house. We thank God and Abby for her hospitality because she lets us play with her in her room. We are thankful for many other special people in our lives. God has really and truly blessed us.
Happy Valentine's day to all our loved ones!
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