Thursday Thoughts-GOD DID!!

There are certain truths in Scripture that when we understand them, even just a little bit they erupt in our hearts a zeal for the name of Christ, one on those truths is found in one of my favorite songs of all time, God Did by Shane and Shane, this song describes for us that which our Savior has done for us and what He then has called us to, I think that we would do well to meditate on these words, to let the truth of the message saturate our hearts and produce in us a zeal to see His name lifted up, no matter the cost.

Growin’ up I overheard All the grown ups sayin’ You better be prayin’ And sayin’

All the right little things At the right little times And I had it down At least on the outside
I’d put my best side forward I could smile with the best And dress like the rest
Of the messed up church folk singin’ a song

Are you sitting down With all your sin and shame all stored up Are you ready to live
For what the law could not do God did

Could it be that morality Got the best of you and me Got us thinking That we’re on the brink Of a drink of the cup that’s all filled up With the cross havin’ even a little to do with us
It was His day It was His way To the glory of His grace Took our disease Enough to please The Father of lights To bruise Jesus

Maybe do’s and don’ts Were made to show How much we do And don’t ever make it

I hope that today this resonates with our soul, that He is our hope, because of what He did, that maybe today we lay down our pride, and embrace what He has saved us from and saved us to. Let these words read you, may they push you deeper into His Word, that you may serve Him deeper, and love others stronger.

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon

Thursday Thoughts-Pursuit of Holiness

If you are like me there are certain things in your life that are there that you hate, whether it is the way that you react in a tough situation, or how you react to someone cutting you off on the Loop, or that you find yourself not leaning on the Lord as often or as well as you should. The reality is that most of us today find ourselves in these positions, but the sad fact is that for most of us this has just become a way of life. We say things like; "I know that I shouldn't react that way but it's just who I am." or worst we compare ourselves to others, "I know I struggle here, but at least I'm not as bad as he is." And sin has just become something that has lost it's weight and has left many believers feeling far from the Lord, unable to figure out why the Bible doesn't speak to them or why they are in a "desert" season. And for some of us it's because we have walked out of the oasis and into the barren wasteland. Now I know that there are certain times that God leads us into the desert seasons to grow us and refine our walk, but a lot of times we walk ourselves there and then wonder why we can hear the voice of the Lord clearly.

We have a saying here at the church, actually it was stolen from a friend of mine who is also a pastor, "We want this to be a place where it is ok to not be ok, it's just not ok to stay there."

The truth of this statement is that it is ok to have struggles and doubts and sin that keeps coming back, and YES, it's even ok to be open and honest that we struggle, the only thing is that some of us believe that it stops there. The second half is the important part!! As we see our sin and recognize those blind spots, we must war against that sin. In 2 Cor. 7:1-Paul speaks to the church and he admonishes us here, "Since we have these promises (6:16-18) let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, brining holiness to completion in the fear of God."

I love this verse because it tells us to war over sin and violently pursue holiness. To not sit back and go, "oh well, I just guess this is my cross." But rather we wage war by the grace of God on those things that steal our affections for Him. This is the weight of the Christian walk, God has made us alive and calls us from death to life and therefore has called us to action.

Are you taking action today? What are you doing today to put to death the desires of the flesh and allow the Spirit to overwhelm every area of you life? That is the question, are you pursuing Christ in all that you say and do?

The answer is not always easy, but the great news is that we are not alone, we have a body that is here to wage war TOGETHER, and bring about holiness. That is awesome news !!!

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon

Thursday Thoughts-Lessons Learned From John Owen

John Owen is one of my favorite Puritans, ok I only have read like 3, but he is my favorite. His all consuming passion was the glory of God and his life was marked by that pursuit. Owen was a pastor in the 1600's, yet his life calls out to us today to take seriously the pursuit of our Heavenly Father. The following are quotes from this incredible man of faith:What amazed me about this man is that in the midst of all his activity his passion was not public performance, but personal holiness. He said,

My heart’s desire unto God, and the chief design of my life ... are that ... universal holiness may be promoted in my own and in the hearts and ways of others.

What better preparation can there be for [our future enjoyment of the glory of Christ] than in a constant previous contemplation of that glory in the revelation that is made in the Gospel.

For Owen the pursuit was for what God was doing in his life, what the Lord was stripping away, and what he was becoming, that he may pursue the Lord and call others to do the same. His passion for the supremacy of God is something that we all can learn from. I would challenge you today to think hard and think often of those areas where the Lord is asking you to wage war against and be sensitive to what He is doing in your heart. My experience is that when the Lord confronts you on areas for sin, and take a step to the left you have two choices:

1. You make a deal and say no I really don't want to deal with that, or let that go, and so you say instead I will run as fast as you can to the right. And so we busy ourselves with anything and everything deceiving ourselves into thinking we are following the Lord, because of all the stuff that we are doing, all the while we are growing further away from Him.

2. We take the step to the left, we engage our sin, we wage war over it. We call on friends to help us, by prayer, encouragement, and accountability, and we seek with all that we are, leaning on the strength of our holy God who conquered sin and death on the cross.

Today may we not be passive with our pursuit, but may we wage war that His name may be lifted high.

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon

Thursday Thoughts-What is the Gospel?

There are certain things that we take for granted so often in life, air, food, simple necessities, etc. As a pastor one of those areas was the Gospel, you just assume so often that men and women living in the Bible Belt know and then can communicate the Gospel message, that message that has brought us from death to life, that message that changed our very nature. But this is something that I no longer am taking for granted, the attack on the gospel has been around for thousands of years, even in the Bible we see men enter the church at Galatia and begin to distort the Gospel, combining faith and works. To our own day where it has become less about the personal effect, that we are sinners and more about a broad, non-offensive creator. When you lose the message of personal repentance, based on the cross of Christ, you lose the Gospel.

So my goal is to help us here, to inform us, to give you confidence that when the Lord grants you the opportunity to share the powerful message you are ready. Here it is:

Jesus Christ is the Gospel!!! The good news of His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of God the Father. The cross of Christ stands at the center of our faith. It is His substitutionary and atoning death on the cross that satisfies the wrath of a just and holy God, toward a sinner like me. He is the great mediator, it is by His work done on the cross that clothes believers in righteousness. His death empowers the believer now to good works, until the consummation of all things when He one day returns again. The gospel, this message centered around the cross, is available to those who in true repentance place their faith and complete trust in the saving message of Jesus Christ on the cross.

There it is the message is centered around the cross and nothing else. It is about Christ and no one else, and it is for His glory alone. So today may the Lord open your eyes to see His gospel and open doors to share this message of hope and salvation.

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon