A Year Goes By...

Today, I felt like posting something on my blog, which I called "Equipped for Battle."

Oh the irony of life sometimes.

This past year was full of many ups and downs. I saw myself succeed and thrive in my internship at Bearden High School, and I finished my Master's degree with flying colors. At the same time, I succeeded in treating a whole lot of people poorly on account of a few trouble makers. I saw myself change from a happy and thankful person to a sarcastic complainer.

And before I make you think I'm here to beat myself up or tell you all my dirt from the past year, let me begin to change directions with some short confessions.

Yeah, I wasn't the normal Justin I was used to being all my life. Big whoop. I was a royal jerk on more occasions than I'd care to admit. La-ti-freaking-da. I could go on, but the big deal is, I've learned somethings about myself.

Here's my big news... I'm hopeless without Christ in my life. I did a lot of this year "on my own." I wasn't actively pursuing him; I wasn't beholding him, and wasn't being changed. I didn't stagnate, rather, I saw myself get mean and angry and bitter and thankless and blah blah blah...

Nevertheless, God blessed me with favor. I succeeded at everything I put my hands to, and he never held it over my head that I was a "less devoted Christian." I changed, but he didn't. He loves me and has yet to stop pursuing me.

So, that "irony" I mentioned before... I feel more equipped for battle. And the battle isn't some showdown with guns and knives, but it's doing life with people you love. It's doing life pursuing the One you love: the One who loved me and gave Himself for me.

I never imagined this year would have revealed my potential to treat people so poorly. But I'm learning... pride comes before a fall. I'm not immune to my sin nature. I am in need of God's grace to cover me. I am in need of God's grace to sustain me. I am in need of God's grace to live day by day.

Equipped for battle, to live for God's Kingdom, with a ministry of reconciliation.

It's getting late, and I should probably head to bed. My thoughts and energy are dwindling, along with my ability to keep a coherent train of thought. Who knows, maybe this blog of mine will start keeping a few more posts?

Concerning Grace

Ephesians 2:1-10
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

The new life in Christ is a work of grace - once we were dead in our sins, and operating in the same rebellious spirit as the world does, but we were made alive in Christ Jesus by his grace, even when we were dead. A dead man has nothing to offer; we had nothing to offer, but he revealed the majesty of his love and mercy by offering his own life as they payment for our sins.

And not only that, but upon placing our faith on him, we have received his own righteousness. Not of works, but by faith alone (Romans 9:30-33). Not only that, but he gave his Spirit as a seal of all that he has promised us (Ephesians 1:13-14). Having been made co-heirs with Christ, we now are guaranteed to share in Christ's inheritance from God the Father (Galatians 3:16-4:7).

We have passed from death to life, from being the object of God's wrath and justice to the object of his love and affection. As Zephaniah 3:17 declares,
"The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

To those who are in Christ, the old self has been buried in Christ's death and the new man has been raised in the likeness of Christ. As II Corinthians 5:17 tell us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

All this is a work of his grace. It is a free gift given to us. As unworthy as we are, Christ has called us worthy. As sinful as we are, God called us holy, and replaced our heart and gave us his spirit (Ezekiel 11:19). All this is done through the work of Christ, which is given by his grace and activated by faith.

The new life we live in the body is lived by faith in the Son of God and what he has accomplished for us. We have his Spirit (who was given to us as a free gift), and we know that fellowship with the Spirit of God produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Ephesians 5:22-23). As we proceed in our journey, we are confident in our standing with God. What does 2 Timothy 2:14 tell us? "if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

God's commitment and devotion to us is amazing! He saved us by his grace, and keeps us by his grace. And even if we are faithless, he will not disown us. He has identified us with his own righteousness, and he will not change his mind. This is the grace in which we stand. That is why Paul was able to say, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Nothing of ourselves or outside of ourselves can change the nature of the relationship that we have with God. This is the security in which we stand.

Therefore, we can be strong and courageous in the Lord, in the strength of His might. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." The Spirit he gave us was one of power. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. Not only has he given us this security and assurance, but he has equipped us by giving us his Spirit and his Word. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. We can stand in this world with confidence and proclaim Christ crucified.

Romans 3:23-24 "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

The Christian life is a work of grace, given and powered by Jesus Christ. In his power we can be strong and courageous.

The Spirit Within

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20corinthians%202&version=NIV

Here is what I've been reading and thinking about the last few days. I've been hanging out in 1 Corinthians chapter 2, and I don't believe I've been disappointed. More and more, I find out how little I really know the Bible. I know much about the Bible. I know many, or most, of the stories. I know what most of the books of the Bible are about, or I feel that way sometimes. But I'm finding my knowledge is not coupled with understanding. I know what it says, but do I really know what it means? Do I know what a scripture looks like with flesh on it? Not really. I've been a puffed-up and prideful young Christian, with a long way to go. That being said, here is what I have been looking at...

"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him?"

I've been married for almost a year now. The scriptures describes marriage as two becoming one flesh; two separate identities are joined in such a way that they cannot be identified without the other. They are one. While I've not yet been married a full year, more and more Hannah and I find we know each other more. I know her thoughts, she knows mine. We are moving towards a better picture of two becoming one. We know each others' desires and hopes without having ask one another, because we are inseparably joined together.

What does this have anything to do with that scripture above? "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him?" Before marriage, I did not know Hannah as well as I do now. But now, the two have become one. While this is still a work in progress, I see this at work. The two have become one, and I have a closer and deeper connection to her heart. I relate to her at an intimate level. I don't know what's going on inside her heart and head like she does, but I know better than anyone else. Here is where we make our transition to understanding the spiritual realities being presented here by the Holy Spirit.

"In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."

In order to understand the thoughts of God, we must have his Spirit. It is his Spirit that reveals the love and mercy of God to us. It is his Spirit that reveals what God has freely given us. Without the revelation of the Spirit, the natural mind perceives God incorrectly. For instance, this scripture tells us we have received the Spirit of God so that we may understand what God has freely given us. Yet, most of Christianity is works-based. Much of Christianity relates to God based upon how well they are able to walk a straight line and be "righteous" before God.

But the scriptures teach us plainly that "it is by grace, through faith, that we are saved. Not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not of works, so that no man can boast."

Even more so, God withholds no good gift His children. To the man needing wisdom He says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." He is generous, and gives it out to his children unbiased and unashamedly.

Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, we are adopted as sons and daughters of the Almighty. As it says in Galatians, "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." And God's promises are faithful.

This is why it is so important to "live by the Spirit." Walking with the Spirit really means to stay close to the heart of God, to know his thoughts and desires, and to know "what God has freely given us." Through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, God makes himself totally available to us. Because Jesus Christ paid the penalty of our sin, we can have an intimate relationship with God. He freely gives us His Spirit, freely clothes us in the righteousness of Christ (even though we are unrighteous), and freely calls us his children. This can only be realized through the Holy Spirit. For who knows the mind of God except His Spirit? Through faith in Jesus Christ, we who believe are being made one with Christ, sealed by the Spirit, guaranteed of the promises of God. Every promise is "yes and amen" in Jesus Christ, and by faith we receive all that God has promised.

If I examine myself, I have not been walking by the Spirit as I could. Even that is a free opportunity. There are no works, no way to merit the Holy Spirit. Jesus said ask and you will receive. So the only thing we can do is by faith believe his promises, and receive from God what he has freely given us in Christ Jesus.

From Sunday School - Good Stuff!

Here are the scriptures we talked about in our Middle School Sunday School class. They were a blast, and I figured it'd be fun to share what we talked about. Here is this blog's layout. First, scriptures we talked about. Secondly, a song we sung during worship. Last, a discussion of some of what we talked about. Enjoy!

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Isaiah 53:5-6 "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities (sins); the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all."

Romans 5:1-2 "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we hace peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 3:10-12 "As it is written: 'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.' "

Romans 3:23-24 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."

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Sunday we sang "By His Wounds" by Glory Revealed, which really gave the class something to talk about. Here are the lyrics...

(Verse)
He was pierced for our transgressions
He was crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

(Chorus)
We are healed by Your sacrifice
And the life that You gave
We are healed for You paid the price
By Your grace we are saved
We are saved

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All that being said, God is amazing. That verse in Isaiah is what we were going to discuss, and singing it during worship really gave the students a place to start from. So I asked them, "What does it mean? We were all singing it this morning; what were we singing about?" And then we were able to see how very specifically it is about Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross.

The Lord had revealed something to the prophet Isaiah; Isaiah was looking ahead to a suffering servant. Isaiah wrote "he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that was our peace was upon him." Here Jesus' death and suffering is revealed, ahead of time. And not only do we see His suffering, but "the punishment that was our peace was upon him." That punishment that he bore has become our peace. Look at what the Holy Spirit reveals through Paul in Romans.

"since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Peace with God is established through Jesus Christ alone, by grace through faith. The punishment that Jesus Christ bore on the cross, that has become our peace; by his wounds we are healed of sin and oppression by Satanic forces (yes, demonic activity is still going on. People are still bound and need to be released). Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me." He is the only means by which we can obtain peace with God and approach the Father.

Can we be good enough on our own? What does scripture testify about man? "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." How did Isaiah describe it? "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all." Once more, just to make sure it is clear, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." By ourselves, God clearly shows that we fall short of His perfection and holiness. Rather than obeying God's ways and adhering to God's standards, everyone of us "have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way."

But here's the good news. God knew that was mankind's condition a long time ago, and provided a means by which we could have peace with Him. The prophet Isaiah testified, "and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity (sin) of us all." What is he saying? Here is the wonder of God's love. "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." When we were undeserving, He took the punishment of our sins upon Himself so that we could have peace with God. Even more so, by the punishment he bore, we can be healed.

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Not one of us measures up to God's standards, but in His love He gave His Son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. Now, through Jesus Christ, we can be made right with God. And here is where good news gets better. We are justified freely. Justified simply means that God has declared someone innocent and guiltless; it means to absolve us of all the charges that were against us. God, who is rich in mercy, justifies us at no cost to us. The only thing he requires is that we believe on Jesus - to trust Jesus Christ for our righteousness. Jesus paid it all so that it could be free for us.

While Jesus was walking the earth, some people wanted to follow Jesus and asked "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." That is all God requires. Will you put your trust in Him for the forgiveness of your sins? There is no other way we can be saved; there is no other way to have peace with God. God showed us His love by laying down His life for us. He is trustworthy; you can trust Him. To the one who believes in Him, he says "never will I leave you, nor will I forsake you," and His promises are true.

Trust Him, believe Him. There is peace for you.

The Religious Part In Me That Still Lingers...

This is a confession of sorts - a confession of what I still find going on in me from time to time. When I read this passage of scripture, what I found was incriminating. It marked out something in me that is not of God, and drew me closer to Him that I might be changed more into His image. This is what I read... John 5

Here's the story, short and sweet. A little time after Jesus healed a man's son who was close to death, Jesus went to Jerusalem. There was a pool there, where the disabled would lie and wait. They would wait there because from time to time an Angel of the Lord would stir the waters, and the first one in the pool would be healed. Among the disabled people was an invalid who had been there for thirty-eight years, unable to make it into the pool before anyone else. Yet, he still waited there hoping to be the first one day and be healed.

Jesus saw him lying there, and learned how long he had been there, and told the man "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." Immediately he was healed, so he picked up his mat and walked.

But! This took place on the Sabbath, and the Jews told the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, the law forbids you to carry your mat." Yet, the man simply told them, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.'"

...

Here I will stop the summary, and let you in on what was going on in my heart. Here we see the power of God, taking pity on a man and healing Him, and all the Jews can do is focus on one detail and ignore the big picture. The Jews were too concerned about doing no "work" on the Sabbath and were unable to grasp what God was doing. They couldn't rejoice with the man, who after thirty-eight years of lying by a pool, had finally received from God what he had been hoping for. They couldn't recognize God at work, all because of one detail.

And I find that I too have this religious part in me, that can take hold of one thing and cling to it, ignoring the beauty of what is happening around me. I am too proud and confident in my own knowledge and discernment too often, and when I am invited to partake of the glory of God and to rejoice in what He is doing, it is the small things that I can get hung up on.

So here I am, finding myself falling short of the glory and righteousness of God... kind of.

But here is the beauty of this place. I am unworthy, and if I look at my ability, I fall short every time. I cannot achieve His perfection. But yet, I am not condemned, for Jesus is my righteousness. His blood has cleansed my heart and covered my sin, and God looks at me and sees the righteousness of His Son, His own righteousness. Even when I disagree with someone on just one point, and for that reason shut myself off from what God is doing, He still looks on me with love and full acceptance because my hope is not in what I can do. My hope is set fully on the blood of Jesus.

And that religious part in me, that plagues me and becomes a hindrance, will be fully put to death one day. Until then, it is the mercy and kindness of the Lord that draws me to Himself, that allows me to "boldly approach the throne of grace, that I might find mercy and help in my time of need." And I am very needy - in need of Him. I know that in this body of flesh still dwells a sin nature, and am in need of His grace day by day that I may come boldly into His presence, to see Him and be changed.

This is where I am, and I know there are many other issues to be dealt with in my flesh. While He takes care of those impurities, I will continue in the things He has given me to do, for by His grace I have been made righteous and am not declared guilty for my shortcomings. Thank you Jesus!

Fast Food and Faith

I work at Chick-fil-a, and we call ourselves a quick-service restaurant (same as fast food, just cleverly disguised under a fancier description). We serve chicken filets, chicken nuggets, chicken strips, chicken salad, chicken salad sandwiches, and sometime this year we will be getting a spicy chicken sandwich! What I find interesting, though, isn't the food we serve, but rather the people who serve it.

During my time at Chick-fil-a, there has always been employees who waltz right in the door and start barking orders as if they're somebody special. How does everyone else respond? They hate him/her (in my store, it's generally been a guy). They ignore that individual because even though he/she may have great ideas, he/she does not understand how authority has been structured at Chick-fil-a. In short, these bossy butts (yes, I actually used "bossy butt" in a sentence...) have no right to say half of the things they say, yet they try to act as if they are some sort of authority figure.

What does this have to do with faith? Everything.

In Romans 14, believers are instructed to "accept him whose faith is weak without passing judgment." If someone believes it is wrong to eat meat, one who eats meat should not judge the other man/woman. What rights do we have to pass judgment on a child of God, who He has called righteous in His sight? They are His servant, not ours. They answer to Him, as will we. We'd do better to make sure we are walking in a manner pleasing to our Master.

Also, think about this. It is also written that "Christ died and returned to life that He may be the Lord of both the living and the dead." In other words, Jesus Christ is Lord of ALL. He reigns over every person who exists, existed, and will exist. All will be held accountable to Him, and no other. So why judge your brother for their weak faith, for whom Christ died? You will answer to the same Master as they.

Therefore, we need a shift in our mindset. It says in the same chapter that "the kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit," and all of these things come by faith. Further, "anything that does not come from faith is sin." Recall, "without faith it is impossible to please God." The issue is not whether eating meat or drinking wine is wrong - the issue is about the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is by faith that we received the righteousness of God; it is by faith that we have peace, in our position in Christ Jesus. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and that joy is found in Christ Jesus, received by faith. And this is what pleases the Lord - that which comes from faith.

So let's try our hardest to do what builds up and encourages everyone. But if we think we are in a place where we can judge others, that is what we will do. Yet the scriptures are clear - that place belongs to Jesus Christ alone, and we serve Him. Our faith, and the faith of our brothers and sisters is what matters.

So just like a store with people who do not understand the structuring of authority destroys working relationships, the same happens in the church, in families, anywhere. We do not need more people who think highly of themselves. We need to know Christ; I need to know Christ. Only then can we really know our lowly position, how imperfect we are and unable to judge another, how Jesus Christ is Lord of ALL. People, relationships, these are valuable to us and before God. Faith is what matters to God, not our ability to be "better" than the next man.

Praise God for sending us His Son! And for the freedom that comes from knowing Him, for righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. I pray that I might know Him more, and to know more fully what I have written, and that you too may know Him.

A (Busy) Blessed First Thanksgiving

Hannah and I have now been married for six and a half months, and just enjoyed one of many "firsts" together this week: our first thanksgiving together. Since "the two have become one," we also began to figure out how this Thanksgiving would work... Would we spend it with her family? Would we spend it with my familiy? What about Christmas? How are we going to rotate? The list goes on....


What I found to be so great was that we ended up being able to see both sides of the family. Hannah was able to convince my parents and brother to drive out to Deer Lodge, TN to have Thanksgiving lunch with her side of the family. Then after that, we all would head to Jonesborough for Thanksgiving dinner with my side of the family.


Since Deer Lodge is way out there, Dad, David, and I loaded up some guns to shoot once we got there. Once we had filled up our bellies on turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the other goodies, the men headed outside to shoot paper plates and playing cards. The only problem was that as soon as we stepped outside, the temperature dramatically dropped - and within half an hour we even saw a small snow flurry - but that didn't stop us. We shot our .22 Remington lever action, Smith and Wesson .22, my Ruger, and even got to burn some rounds with a Glock 9mm. Once we cleaned up our mess, our hands were frozen, but it was fun letting my brothers in law shoot my Ruger.


Then, we had to rush off to head to Jonesborough to make it for Thanksgiving dinner. The only problem was... we didn't know there was a time difference when we made it to Deer Lodge. Thus, we showed up an hour late to Thanksgiving with my family. But that was okay - we quickly ate and sat down to enjoy some time with aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents - the whole lot. It has been a few Thanksgivings since we have been able to make it, so I really enjoyed getting to see everyone.


We hung out and talked and talked, and (regrettably) had to head back home to Knoxville as it got late. But it was such a blessing to be able to make it out to both Deer Lodge and Jonesborough. I was so blessed this Thanksgiving. Sure, we spend many hours driving, but it was worth it to spend that time with family. Wouldn't trade it for anything.


So now that we've enjoyed our first Thanksgiving together, next month will bring the first Christmas together! And I must say, I'm very, very excited.