I Will Rise

Here is a great passage meant to remind us of our great and merciful God...

Micah 7:7-8 But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.

Trials and the Love of God

This morning I read this conclusion to 1 Peter chapter 4:

"Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good."

The fact is suffering is everywhere around me right now and this verse lovingly reminds us that we must entrust our suffering souls to God who is faithful and who has promised that our suffering is for our good and His glory. So with that in mind let me share with you a quote that has meant a lot to me and my wife over the past few days...

God's love is simply this: a passionate, unwavering, joyous determination to do us good and to bestow upon our souls eternal happiness, no matter what the cost.

Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Dennis E. Johnson, Counsel From the Cross, 60

Faithfulness

Luke 16:10 reads, "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much..."

So often I want more than God has given me. You know what I mean? I want more money, a larger ministry, more books on my shelf, a bigger house, etc. But Luke 16:10 graciously asks: "Josh, what are you doing with what you already have?"

The Cost of Discipleship

In Luke 14.25-33 Jesus provides three conditions for discipleship. In other words, if you want to follow Jesus here is what He requires:

1. Love your family less than you love Christ (26)
2. Bear your cross and follow Christ (27)
3. Renounce everything (33)

Growing in Christ - Romans 6

In Sunday's worship service we worked through 2 Peter 1.1-11 and talked about growing in Christ; or to use Peter's words "becoming partakers of the Divine nature." In the end we concluded that the goal is to live godly and Christ-like lives (see Romans 8:28-29). To be godly husbands & wives; to be godly parents & children; to be godly co-workers & friends; and yes, to even be godly while we are driving our cars! But as Peter explains this godliness grows in us as we grow in the knowledge of Christ. This isn't a reference to an intellectual knowledge, but a deep, intimate, and relational knowledge of Jesus (dependent on His Divine power and precious and very great promises - see verses 3,4).

I know from experience that growing in the knowledge of Christ can be a confusing concept, so this week i want to take some time to introduce a few more passages that help to paint a more full picture for us. Today i want to look at Romans 6.

Romans 6:1-14 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 ¶ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 ¶ Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

I know this is a big chunk to try to digest, but in order to understand it we have to see it all together.

Basically, Paul is arguing that those who have put their faith in Christ have died to sin and been made alive to righteousness. If we plugged Peter's terminology into Romans 6...he would be saying that we have escaped the corruption of this world and have been granted the power to live a godly life. But the key to our death and new life is found in Jesus death and resurrection (what we call the gospel). When Jesus died and was buried...I died with Him and my old sinful nature was buried with him. When Jesus rose from the dead...I rose with Him claiming a new power and a new life. It is because of this union with Jesus that we can say "No" to sin and choose to live a godly life; and it is this union with Jesus that Peter argues, we need to gain a deeper knowledge of. Because Peter knows that the deeper the knowledge of this gospel union with Christ, the more effective and fruitful we will be in the Christian life (vs. 8).

So instead of simply praying to be effective and fruitful, why not begin by praying for greater faith and greater knowledge of Christ and His gospel.

Worshiping God

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him" - John Piper, Desiring God

Is this your hearts prayer? "The LORD is my portion, therefore I will hope in him." (Lamentations 3:24)

Amos

This week I have been reading through the book of Amos and for those who know me you know I have a 4 year old ball of energy named Amos. My Amos gets his name from the Bible Amos. And this morning I would like to share why, but in order to do that I need to set the stage a bit...

The Bible Amos was a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam, and like most other prophets, no one wanted to hear what he had to say, especially the religious establishment of his day. In Amos 7:10, Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, had this to say to King Jeroboam, "Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words." Isn't that a great phrase, "The land is not able to bear all his words." (But I must stay focused!).

Amaziah then turns his attention to Amos saying, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom." Basically he says, "Get out of here, we do not want to hear any more from you!" (note the blatant absence of God in Amaziah's words)

What Amos says in the next 3 verses encourages my faith and provides the reason I chose to name my son after this obscure prophet. In verse 14, I can see Amos looking squarley at Amaziah and responding to his threat, "I was not prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' Now therefore hear the word of the LORD."

Did you get that? Did you catch the last phrase? It gives me goosebumps he says, "Now hear the word of the LORD..." These powerful men just told Amos to get out of town and stop prophesying and his answer to them, "Now hear the word of the LORD..."

It is that faith and boldness that I respect, but it is also important to note that his faith and boldness is clothed in humility. In his response Amos confesses his profession: herdsman and fig dresser (basically a confession of his poverty)...But the LORD took him and made him a prophet and he obviously takes his calling seriously. Amos admits that he is a nobody that God has chosen to use and because God has called him, he will not refuse, nor compromise...but he will, as he does, continue to speak the word of the LORD.

My hope is that I will model this faith and boldness, clothed in humility to my Amos and to the world around me.