#358 - HOW TO PUT INSECURITY TO DEATH PERMANATELY

For many of my teenage and young adult years, I found myself pondering upon the following questions for significant lengths of time.

Are my parents proud of me? Do my siblings look up to me? Do my old classmates perceive me as succesful? Do my current friends respect me? Do my mentors think I have what it takes? Do my peers take me seriously? Does my boss value me? Do my teachers believe in me?

The reason I spent so much time thinking about these things? Insecurity.

I was so unconfident in my abilities. I was so unsure of my calling. I was so uncomfortable with my lack of experience.

As a result of my insecurities, I found myself constantly trying to prove myself. To my friends. To my family members. To everyone.

Though I would have never admitted it, most of the motivation for doing the things I did came from my desire to gain the acceptance and approval of those around me.

And if you’ve ever been heavily motivated by the desire for affirmation from others, you know, it’s elusive and exhausting.

And then, I discovered the gospel.

More specifically, 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.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, His righteous record is my righteous record. His sinless life is my sinless life. His perfect performance is my perfect performance.

Through faith in Jesus Christ, his complete fulfillment of the righteous requirements of the law is credited to me!

This means, through my faith in Jesus Christ, I stand eternally justified before Almighty God. Eternally approved. Eternally accepted. Eternally affirmed.

There is no amount of good that I could do to make God love me any more and no amount of bad that I could do to make God love me any less!

When this all finally clicked, and I fully received the truth that Christ’s righteousness was my righteousness, insecurity no longer had any place in my life. 

When you know that the God of the universe accepts you, the affirmation and approval of everyone else really becomes a non-issue. And when your need to be accepted by others is put to death, true confidence can come to life.

#357 - MY FRUSTRATION AND MY HOPE

For far too long…

Our message has been unclear. 
Our mission has been unfocused. 
Our methods have been ineffective.

And the results are damning.

Oppression and control of insiders. 
Judgement and hate towards outsiders. 
Pressure and manipulation of inquirers.

Hope has been lost. 
Faith has been questioned.
Lives have been destroyed.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Abuse and misuse of finances. 
Waste and misappropriation of resources.
Lack of accountability and transparency with actions.

Too many people have been lied to.
Too many people have been been confused.
Too many people have been taken advantage of.

And as a result, our reputation has been smeared. By and large the people within the church of Jesus Christ are seen as…

Hypocrites. Holy Rollers. Haters. 
Judgers. Jesus Freaks. Kill-Joys. 
Legalists. Left-Wing opposers. Lovers of money.

My heart has been broken.

This is not the vision for which God created.
This is not the intent for which Jesus sacrificed.
This is not the outcome for which the Spirit was sent.

This is not how it was supposed to be.

But by the grace of God and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is not how things are going to stay!

The message will be clarified.
The mission will be focused.
The methods will be effective.

We will proclaim a Heavenly Father who loves and wonder will return. We will announce a Savior who sacrificed and gratitude will follow. We will declare a Spirit who empowers and amazement will ensue. We will describe a future when all things are made new and hope will live again.

Individual awe will be rescued. 
The church will be transformed.
And the world will never be the same again. 

#356 - HOW YOUR "SINGING TIME" CAN MOVE FROM DUTY TO JOY

For the longest time, I didn’t really understand why we sang songs during a church service. Because I grew up going to church and experienced this “song singing” from a very early age, the act was just second nature to me. I never really thought about whywe actually did it.

I guess I just figured, this is what Christians do. I guess I just assumed, this is how Christians show they love God. I guess I just determined, the music is the prelude to the message.

The problem with this type of thinking was that it lead me to connect very little to the “singing time” of a church service.

Instead of participating, I found myself watching those around me. Instead of enjoying, I found myself evaluating the band. Instead of wanting the singing to continue, many times, I couldn’t wait till it was over.

And then, I discovered the gospel.

Four aspects of the good news of Jesus Christ, in particular, had a profound impact on my view of “singing time.”

1. On the cross that Jesus died, the wrath I deserve is satisfied. (Propitiation)

2. On the cross that Jesus died, the stain of my sin is purified. (Expiation)

3. On the cross that Jesus died, my approval from God is solidified. (Justification)

4. On the cross that Jesus died, my place in God’s family is verified. (Adoption)

Wow! God loves me so much that He sent His one and only Son to achieve all of this on my behalf!

Because of propitiation, I can live with peace. Because of expiation, I can live with joy. Because of justification, I can live with confidence. Because of adoption, I can live with security.

Where else in the world can I find such great gifts? Who else in the world can be such a great Giver? How can I be chosen to receive these gifts when I feel like such an unworthy recipient?

It makes so much sense to me now.

Singing isn’t something I have to do to show God how much I love him. Singing is something I am compelled to do when I realize how much God loves me!

#355 - HOW TO STOP WASTING AWAY IN WORRY

So many waking hours of my life were wasted worrying.

And the area of my life that I was most proficient in worrying about was my finances.

What can I do to make more money? Where can I borrow money from next? When will my financial situation ever improve? Why did I make such foolish decisions? How can I explain to my wife that it’s not going to be like this forever?

These questions, in and of themselves, were not bad. What was most detrimenal was the stress and anxiety that came as a result of dwelling upon these questions for prolonged periods of time.

Allowing myself to be overly concerned with things that were not under my control was frustrating. Allowing myself to be overly anxious about the next source of provision was taxing. Allowing myself to feel overly guily for the past financial mistakes I had made was shameful.

But then, I discovered the gospel.

I discovered the good news about a provision that I could never obtain for a problem that I could never fix.

God has provided, a Savior for my sins.

A spotless life to earn my righteousness. A willing substitute to pay my penalty. God has provided a way for me to have a relationship with Him not on the merits of something I have yet to do, but on the merits of something Jesus Christ has already done.

God has provided a way for me to escape His punishment and, instead, enjoy His presence. God has provided a way for me to stop running from His wrath, and, instead, fall to my knees in worship. God has provided a way for me to avoid isolation from Him and, instead, experience intimacy with Him.

And it is when I am most aware of how God has already graciously provided for my greatest spiritual needs that a confidence rises up within me to trust Him to provide for my physical needs.

It is when I dwell upon God’s goodness in providing for me a Savior that my worries, anxieties, and fears fade away and make space for an experience that no amount of money can purchase…peace.

#354 - HOW YOU CAN KILL PRIDE BEFORE PRIDE KILLS YOU

I never wanted to be prideful, but it just came so easily to me.

Now, just to be clear, I’m not talking about the healthy type of pride that is key for maintaining a proper sense of confidence and morale. I’m talking about the unhealthy type of pride that overemphasizes your self-worth at the expense of the self-worth of another. I’m talking about the type of pride that drives one to believe that they are, in some way, inherently, “better” than someone else.

It came so easily to me to look down on those who didn’t have the financial resources, educational opportunities, and family structure that I had.

Scoffing at those who struggled with addiction, depression, and anxiety was second nature. Dismissing those without discipline, self-control, or drive was automatic. Being frustrated with people who didn’t “have it together” was the norm.

There’s no doubt about it, I was a prideful punk.

And then, I discovered the gospel.

I discovered good news which was only made better by the bad news that preceded it.

The bad news is, my inclination to turn my back on God through selfish behavior, sinful habits, and shameful thoughts, is deserving of God’s judgement and wrath. The bad news is, my propensity to fall short of God’s perfect standard has earned me eternal separation from God. The bad news is, my pride that I mentioned above is “cosmic treason” towards a holy and righteous God that must be punished.

And to make this bad news worse, there is no amount of good I can do to change this outcome. None.

The good news is, God did something good to change this outcome. The gospel declares that God gave, His one and only Son, Jesus Christ to live the life I could never live and die the death that I was supossed to die. The good news is, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, I can escape the wrath of God and enjoy perfect intimacy with my Heavenly Father.

But just in case you missed it, what makes this work of salvation possible is GOD, by GRACE, through FAITH, in CHRIST.

My name appears nowhere in that equation.

There is just no room for pride. As the old saying goes, “The ground is level at the foot of the cross.” I need God’s grace to rescue me from the same amount of sin as the least “put together” person that I have ever pridefully judged - all of it.

And it is when this truth sinks into our hearts, that only one thing should seep out of our lives…humility.

#353 - HOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR DISSATISFACTION DISAPPEAR

For the majority of my life, my attention and affection was given towards things that never had a chance of completely satisfying or fulfilling me. Pursuing and obtaining such things was never enough. They always left me wanting more.

If my team was winning, I wanted them to win more. If my yearly salary was growing, I wanted it to grow more. If my influence was expanding, I wanted it to expand more.

Attention from the opposite sex, I wanted more. Air Jordans, I wanted more. Approval from my parents, I wanted more.

I could go on and on about the various things I gave my energies to in hopes of them satisfying me, but the point is simply this, nothing truly satisfied me.

And then, I discovered the gospel.

I didn’t find church. I didn’t find religion. I didn’t find “God.”

Through a series of events, messages, people, books, and, most importantly, the power of the Holy Spirit, my eyes were opened to see and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The relieving declaration that God saves sinners. The glorious announcement that I could be reconciled to God through faith in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The beautiful proclamation that I could be seen as a just in the eyes of a Holy God. This is the gospel. This is the good news.

The encompassing pronouncement that through faith in Jesus Christ, the penalty of my sin could be paid, the stain of my sin could be cleansed and the righteous requirement of the law could be fulfilled. This is the gospel. This is the good news.

And as a result of my continual affirmation and reception of this good news, I now find myself living in a reality that had eluded me for over 25 years. I am content.