Grace = Death?

Ever had a thought that just will not leave you alone? I'm having one of those now. I mean, this thing is relentless! I just can't get it out of my head, or heart, for that matter. It's something that I used to think was entirely too difficult to carry out, but the more life I live, the dearer it becomes to me.

It's the notion of death to self, particularly in the area of what I own, or what I think I have the "right" to own. I, like many others, have dealt with the struggles associated with trusting in money and possessions to make life live-able. However, we see countless instances in the New Testament where Christ tells us to chuck that theory out the window and to get down to a real, dirty life walk with Him.

The main text I'm talking about at this point is found in Mark 10:17-31. It's the story of the rich young ruler. You know it well, I think, but let's recap briefly: a rich young man runs to Jesus, bows at His feet, and asks what he can do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds that he must keep the commandments, which the young man says he has done since his youth. Then Jesus looks on him with love and tells him to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, store up treasure in heaven, and to follow Him. Sadly, the man walks away because of his love of and entanglement in his many costly things.

What's the deal here?! Why does this guy not just do what Jesus says? Well, hindsight is 20/20, right? And to be perfectly frank, those of us with cool stuff have a hard time trusting that God will give us what we need. If you think about it, there are a lot of "Christian" zombies out there...the kind who take the easiest step (that is, giving away our souls to Jesus for eternal life), but who have not done the harder thing (i.e., getting rid of our stuff so we aren't hampered down as we follow the path Christ laid out for us).

Don't be fooled, though. The problem is NOT in having the things. The problem is loving them. You see, Jesus knew (and still knows) that when we are surrounded by certain things/elements, we're likely to enjoy them for the sake of comfort or for the sake of mere survival. Humans are fickle. We see glittery objects (or in my case, guitars, amps, and pedals), and we tend to think "I've got to have that!" Snare #1. Then, we step right into the real deal Snare #2 by getting so involved with them (or money) that we can't see a reason to trust God first in our lives. I'll give you an example that recently took place with me and my band.

We just helped lead worship at an event called Momentum in Hickory, NC. We opened for some "big name" bands; Remedy Drive, Brandon Heath, Britt Nicole, and Third Day, as well as rockin' the stage with our good friends from The Outpouring and 7Miles. It was an awesome event and we felt the presence of God's Spirit hovering over the people. Amazing is a good word for it.

We were promised payment as a band. Keep in mind, we'd never been paid for this event in the past 3 years that we'd been on the lineup. However, this year looked hopeful, and we, as individuals in Elishah, had already budgeted according to what we were to be paid.

Momentum came...Momentum went. No money for Elishah. But check this out.

We had two options: get upset, which, sadly, most people in our position would have done, because, hey, we gots ta pay da bills, too, ya know? Or, we could take it in stride because God was not caught off guard by this instance, and since He is indeed in control of all things, He knows what we need and will provide it. HE IS OUR PROVIDER, NOT OUR PAYMENT! What a lovely truth to live by. When you grasp it, you understand that you're free to do WHATEVER God says, WHENEVER he says to do it, regardless of the cost.

So, God spoke, we listened, and we let go of the "right" we had to demand our payment that had been promised. I want to make it abundantly clear that this instance did not come about because of a man-made mistake. Rather, I believe in my heart of hearts that God initiated it to teach our band something valuable that we had to have as a core value before ever making this a full-time venture. And, in the end, God blessed us more than the mere money would have (because it would have been gone in less than a week anyway) by wiping clean our outstanding debt, and allowing us a free space to breathe in financially. We now have our own trailer, van, website, and all the things that make this ministry go, while we are able now to look forward feasibly at our new record.

Just an easy example, but it says what we all, as Christians, should say at the outset of ANY venture God is in: "I must decrease so He can increase."

I lost my rights to anything when I gave up my life to Christ. Now, to follow Him and be drawn up to the full stature of Jesus, I lay down my trust in the "horses and chariots" of my life, and give my trust wholeheartedly to Jesus.

Hebrews 2 says that Jesus tasted death for everyone BY GRACE. It was God's plan for Him to die so we could live. It's time to reciprocate. Let us die to ourselves, our trusts, our rights, our money, our ideas of success and comfort, and let us do it so Christ can truly live and accomplish in and through us.

And while we meditate on these things, let us remember the first verse of that same chapter, so as not to forget what Christ wants and is teaching us:

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

The Romantic Foolishness of God

I've been learning a lot lately, as undoubtedly, you have. God has a funny (and sometimes, downright frustrating) way of leading us away from those things we love to show us what we've been lacking, only to lead us back to them to show more clearly His amazing power, grace, mercy, and will.

This is one of those things for me. I love to expound on Scripture, but in order to do that, Christ showed me I have to be IN the Scriptures in order to have a firm foundation. Aren't you glad? It makes about as much sense as Oreos and milk, or a crowd smiling as they sing my band's song, We Are Happy. (sorry for the shameless plug....or am I?)

I've been wondering why we have lost our passion....maybe you haven't, but as a Church, let's face it. If we were truly passionate about Jesus, little things wouldn't halt us from screaming His name in a desperate attempt to show the dying world that they are indeed at death's door. And I don't just mean hell. I mean walking zombies....life is too GOOD with Christ to let everyone we meet walk through it without living it, ya dig?

Along that same line, we hear in so many songs and in so many Scriptures the awe-inspiring love Christ has for us, His bride. There is an unimaginable, and yet, unquestionable romantic love there. So why aren't we embracing it? I have a few things to add to this table.

First, especially where I live, men are only really men if they're manly. That seems funny at first glance, but you catch my drift. The minute you begin talking about the beauty of nature, poetry, reading books, and the wonder of your wife, you've lost points on the Men's Scale of Manliness. So to say that I'm in LOVE with Christ denotes a certain inferior, effeminate trait that most males do not want associated with their name. I'd even venture to say that we, as males, struggle with it because it seems homosexual.

But, here's the kicker. Christ set it up, so it's not like we see it. Remember, "my thoughts are higher than your thoughts, and my ways are higher than your ways." Sin is the only thing that distorts God's great plan for romance in each of our lives.

Read 1 Cor. 1:18-31.

We find here that it seems downright stupid to the world how a Christian is destined to act, speak, love, see, etc. In fact, God prefers this method of showing Himself, simply because it is so set apart, that is, sanctified, from the world's perspective.

Take faith, for instance. All "good" Christians say they have faith in Christ. But a large (more like enormous) majority of them only hold to that as far as eternal security is concerned. How about that abundant life that was promised by Jesus Himself? Why don't we trust Him with that?

Here are a few examples: the world says you should panic because of the economy...you should save, save, save, and the other person is on his/her own. What's the first thing we do? Stop giving "frivolously" to our neighbor in need (if we ever listened to the Holy Spirit enough to actually do something about it in the first place), put all the money back you can afford to, cut corners, and most times, the first thing off the list is the tithe. Now I'm no Biblical scholar, but I know the difference in the tone of a command and a suggestion. Christ's plan for tithe was that it be the first off your income, that it is mandatory as one who has been saved by God's grace, and that it helps sustain His lover, the Church. Seems absolutely foolish, right? That's how Jesus rolls.

What about jobs? The world says nobody has 'em, nobody's gettin' 'em, and the way they see it, if you have one, you're not gettin' paid enough. What happens when God wants you out of that job? Do you hold on tightly because it seems "logical" in your own mind, or do you jump ship when God says to, holding tightly to the confession of your faith in Christ?

You see, folks, we're so Greco-Jewish. That is, we are exactly what Paul describes in verse 22:

For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and a folly to Greeks...

How many times do we say, "I'll be a faithful follower when that trial comes my way, never doubt it!", but when that trial makes its way to our house, we fold? It happens all the time, and way TOO often in the Church.

To revisit Oswald Chambers, he says about the above quote that nearly all American Christians today share, "YOU WILL NOT unless you have risen to the occasion in the workshop, unless you have been the real thing before God there."

Remember the old phrase "Practice makes perfect?" Though not Scriptural, we can definitely apply it with God's stamp of approval to our prayer-closet times. Speak your faith and believe in the small things, be amazed, and watch the bigger things turn smaller before your eyes and the might of our incredible God. This only comes with submitting to His power and romance.

Be in love with Him; trust Him. These are the first steps to revitalizing the Church. Do the things, say the things, think the things that you know Christ is telling you to, no matter how foolish they seem, and you'll find that the next part in verse 24 is absolutely, unequivocally true:

...but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men, and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men.

Be bold in your faith. After all, God's bold in His.