The Vintage Cross

Today, I’d like to focus on something that we’ve been looking at in youth last week. I think it is almost essential for everyone as believers. We’re on a series called Vintage Jesus and it’s all about looking into some of the key views of what it means to be Christian. The point I want to focus on is the Cross. The main sign of the Christian Church American at least. Or is it? I mean, I thought it was until I saw a lot of people wearing it. Madonna wears it. Kanye West used an image of in his music video for Jesus Walks. There are many other people I know that have reduced the Cross to a small pendent, or a 10 inch tattoo on their body. The last time I read the scripture however, I found that the cross is way more than the “Main Sign of the Christian Church American.” Last time I looked it was a call to remembrance of what Christ did for us!

“23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS, 25whom God put forward as a PROPITIATION by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” ROMANS 3:23-25 

The Cross is a reminder of Christ’s Sacrifice. The word propitiation means the Sacrifice of Atonement. This sacrifice was one that was need for the sinner to be forgiven, and to have right relation with God the Father. Jesus is that Sacrifice. See the cross is even deeper than that! Think about it. Jesus, fully Man and fully God, Perfect and Holy, Humble in all his ways, and the best representation of how we as people are to live wasn’t just put on a cross. 

HE WAS NAILED TO IT, 

HE WAS HUNG UP IN THE AIR,

AND HE VICIOUSLY SUFFOCATED ON IT. 

HE DIDN’T DESERVE THAT DEATH.

WE DID!

We should have been on that cross! We should have had to carry the cross to Calvary. We should have had the Nails in our body. We should have been Mocked, Disrespected, and Put to Shame. He took it!

“We are saved from God’s wrath through Him (Jesus).” ROMANS 5:9

See God’s wrath was burning against mankind since the choice to follow the temptation in the Garden. The Jews had to do regular sacrifices to come to God. But they were constantly coming because God’s wrath was constantly growing against them, because they are sinners. Jesus took the Wrath of God, ALL

OF IT! This is the Good news, That when Jesus took the Wrath of God on the Cross, died, was buried, and in three days Rose Again that not only did he take our death, but WE GAINED HIS LIFE! HALLELUJAH!

This is what the Cross means. This is what it calls us to remember! If this is the case, then how does it apply to use as Followers, as Christians? If this is what we believe, then we act differently than what we used to! We are changed! We don’t have to follow after money, happiness, sex, drugs, or anything else that fills the unrest we all as people seem to have. We seek after Jesus! Because He is the one who can successfully and consistently fill the unrest! All our freedom from bondage, all our Joy, all our Love, everything we are comes from Jesus. To walk in these things though, you truly have to believe that this is true. Last question, do you really believe this is true if you are standing one foot in the world and one foot in Christ? No…. The Bible says you can’t. I’m ready to Go All In! It’s time to Let God renew our minds and for Him to let the meaning of the Cross be evident in our lives!

I write this because I love you Beloved!

Wash Your Robe

Happy New Year everyone! 2011 is going to be huge for the Kingdom of God, and in knowing this, I wanted to write this challenge to you. I recently read through the book of Revelation and found very good insights on things. Today I’m going to share one of them with you and hope it challenges your faith too.

“12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” REVELATION 22:12-15

First we must notice how the beginning of this passage starts out. This is Christ speaking here, and he is telling us that we must understand that he is coming soon! Now some would say, well this was written over 2000 years ago and he still isn’t here so why live like this is true. God’s been showing me that when we live with a sense of urgency of the 2^nd Coming of Christ that we tend to rely on him more. We tend to Seek him harder than we ever have before. 

 

Verse 14 and 15 is what beat me around the most. Blessed are they who was their robes… this can be take a few ways. First, I thought to myself that my robe is very gross and covered in nastiness. In the context of this scripture, I can’t simply take off my robe and throw it in some washing machine, I would have to had cleaned it by hand. In most cases I’m still wearing my robe of nastiness and telling everyone that my robe is washed compared to theirs. People actually buy the idea that mine is clean, so I really never clean it. That’s gross right? Jesus is the only person who has a clean robe. See this Christian walk is about comparing our life to Jesus, not comparing it to others. You know what else is scary, earlier in the book of Revelation we find out that the only way to wash our robes is to believe in Jesus and to serve him. By doing this, He is the one who washes our robe for us because of his death and resurrection from the grave. You see we don’t even have a way to clean our robe without Christ, and when He does come back He will be able to clearly tell who has a robe of nastiness and who has a cleaned robe!

Last little thing to show you is what verse 15 says. “15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” Now you may not think you fall into these categories but it think this sums up a lot of the worldly ways.  This verse is referring to the new Jerusalem.  The city that comes don’t from heaven where humans will live with God in the city for eternity. This is a reminder that if we don’t rest in Christ everyday to wash our robes, we will be outside of the new city. We will be away from God’s presence. We will pray and our prayers will be heard no more. This shouldn’t scare you if you are already resting in Jesus to wash your robe, if you have relationship with Him.  Let this be a call to you if you are trying to wash your robe, because guess what. 

YOU CAN’T

This New Year:

1.       Live like He’s coming soon.

2.       Rest in Jesus to wash your robe.

3.       Remember that the followers of verse 15 will be outside the walls.

I love you Beloved.

Unlock The Shackles

Today’s blog was something I needed to hear this weekend and I think it applies to a lot of others that read this! My pastor talked about a huge theme that goes throughout the entire book of Exodus and it’s something people tend to overlook. God’s will in this book is to take the Israelites out of Egypt and out of slavery, and everything he does in the desert is to reflect that He is God and He’s is faithful. As we know the Israelites were put into slavery after the death of Joseph in Egypt. God calls ordinary Moses to set his captives free. By following the will of the Lord and by God making the way for his people, Moses leads them out of Egypt and slavery. God then leads Him to walk the Israelites through the desert where God takes his time to show them a little bit about Him and how to trust him.

In the desert God does some awesome things. God gives them water when they are thirsty. He gives them Manna from heaven when they are hungry. He gives them everything they need for each day. Every time he does he repeats a common saying that is reflected in the following verse.

“2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” EXODUS 20:2

This verse has become huge to me! Don’t miss this! The God that talked to Moses in the burning bush, the God that made a promise to Abraham, the God the created the whole universe from nothing is the same God that brought you out of slavery. See this is a foreshadowing of what Christ did for us as his disciples. The slavery we go though may not be the physical type that the Israelites did, but we were in slavery! For some it you could be a slave to alcohol. To others it may be sexual impurity due to pornography or even the full physical type. To still others, it could be depression, anger, or stress. Whatever you WERE a slave to, let me remind you that God HAS SET YOU FREE from those.

You see the constant theme I’m talking about is a tough pill to swallow. Even though the Israelites saw the power and the faithfulness of God first hand, they sometimes wished they were back in Egypt. Back in slavery. In some points of their desert walk, slavery seemed more secure. Countless times they grumbled against Moses for leading them to their current place. A common saying we sometimes say today is, “If only I wasn't a Christian, so that I could…..” fill the blank. Or sometimes we grumble against God by flirting with our former way of living. It’s time we remember that our God sent his Son to die on a cross and raise to new life so that we can be set free! Set free here and now.

Let me challenge you with one more thought. There are times where we as Christians say that we are set free and yet we walk in our sin. Not only does Paul refute that thought in Romans 6, but it makes no sense. Since when did it ever make sense to call someone free when they are still standing in shackles? That’s an oxymoron! That’s hypocrisy!

“6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” ROMANS 6:6-7

It’s time to take hold of our freedom and rest in God so that he can show himself faithful as he did with the Israelites!

IT’S TIME TO LEAVE EGYPT

High Hopes This Christmas

It’s been a while again, but time for another thought to ponder. I did this for a part of a three week series and found it to be very applicable to my life recently. There is a term we use a lot this season, and some could argue it’s a term that used quite loosely in our culture. This Blog I want to focus on the idea of Hope.  This word is mentioned all throughout Christmas. I hope for a new iPod. I hope that there will snow on Christmas day. I hope that I don’t have to work Christmas Eve. In fact some people even hope that their Parents would be able to be in the same room and get along this Christmas. With all this Hoping going on, I figure it might me a relevant topic to focus on why this is a season of Hope.

Over 2000 years ago there were thousands of young Jewish women who were Hoping that their son would be the Messiah, the Anointed One who would come and save the Israelite people from their bondage under the Romans. In the past, God would send prophets to speak on his behalf, but God had been silent to them now for over 400 years. Mary, known now as Jesus’ mother, was one of those women. 

“28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”  34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” LUKE 1:28-34

This mighty angel shows up and tells Mary that she is highly favored and that the Lord is with her. Now I’m not here to elaborate on this, but I’m here to look at what happens next. Mary was afraid. We know this cause the angel asks her not to be. What he basically tells her next just blows her mind.  He tells her that out of all the women in the past generations, that she is going to give birth to the Son of the Most High. This seems almost foolish. First, Mary will give birth to God’s Son and on top of that, she is still a virgin. Mary questions God, but then is reassured by the word God speaks through the angel next.

“35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” LUKE 1:35

Now at this point if I’m Mary I would most likely begin to think about what could happen through it all. She was betrothed to Joseph, which means she has legally pledged to marry him and she is about to give birth to a Son that is not his. For this, she could be put to death. She’s got to explain this to Joseph! Think about that conversation for a second! Remember, she’s still a virgin!  To be honest, I think I would have told God that this was a little more than I was Hoping for. I would have opted out! However, Mary stood firm.

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. LUKE 1:38

So what’s this mean to us today, this year? See I find myself hoping for a lot of things. One thing I hoped for was that I would get this big scholarship for next semester and my financial life for school would be made easy. God had a different plan, He kept the door open for school but just not full time. It’s in times like these that we as people tend to OPT OUT! I was reminded however or Mary’s statement. I’m the Lord’s servant, and as such I will be humble to him. 

So this Christmas when you have that one family member that drives you crazy over at your place, simply love on them and hangout with them. When things don’t go to plan, rest in the Lord! Maybe you don’t have as many gifts under the tree this year, place your hope in Him! Remember Beloved, God Already Gave Us The Greatest Gift Of All This Christmas, so celebrate that! It’s time we remember the Reason for the Season. It’s time we place our hope in Christ. The child that was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, and died a brutal painful death that should have been ours. Remember this Christmas that when you place your hope in Jesus, you raise to new life with him!

Merry Christmas Beloved Brothers and Sisters

Dependable God

So it just so happens I have to write this post on a different computer than my own. That’s right, my computer has a virus! If you know anything about me, you know that for the past year my computer has caused me a lot of stress. I’m not here to start a debate about if Windows or a Mac is better, but I will say that my computer can be very unreliable at times. In fact so can all types of technology, all people, and basically anything of this world. Then God reminded me of something. He is always faithful and always with us as his Children.


“9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” JOSHUA 1:9


“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” JOHN 16:33


“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.” PSALM 46:1-3,7

He shows us and tells us all the time in our life and in his word that He has never left our side. We must seek to remain in Him, trusting in Jesus. If we focus on the outside or on our lives, we are surely seeking after the temporary.

God will never leave your side,

He has overcome the world in your life,

And he is our refuge!

He Will Rock You

So the other day I decided to go back through my Rocky DVD Set and watch them all again. I got to about Rocky 3 and didn’t have time to finish it yet. It’s funny how God moves and uses things you’d never think of. I was sitting with some friends talking about dying to the flesh and God spoke to me about something. In Rocky 3, if you can remember, Apollo decides he is going to train Rocky for his next fight with Mr. T. He takes Rocky back to his old gym and when he walks in the place he says something that struck me. he said, “Rocky, you see that look in their eyes. They’re hungry, Rock. That’s that look you had when you fought me. That’s the look we need to get back. That’s the eye of the tiger.” You see what I’m getting at here? There are people who are reading this blog today who have lost that Hunger, like Rocky did. That will to fight the fight.

Some of us need to ask god

To help us get back our

Spiritual eye of the tiger!

Get this, God’s Word says something amazing about this. Check it out!

“6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” MATTHEW 5:6

Did you catch that? When we Hunger for righteousness, we will be filled! When you ask God for that Eye Of The Tiger, JESUS WILL GIVE IT TO YOU AND FILL YOU WITH HIS HOLY SPIRIT! Think about that for a moment. We will be filled with His righteousness if we are truly hungry for it! WE WILL BE FILLED! I know there are some today that ask, “Bryan I want that, but I don’t know what steps to take. I don’t know what that looks like.” Let me show you something else.

“8 Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.” LUKE 7:8-9

This woman had ten coins. She lost one. Sounds kind of odd huh? She doesn’t want just Parts of her walk with the Lord, she wants every single bit of it! What does she do to get that, She does whatever it takes to find that coin. She does all she can in that moment to find it. Guess what? She finds it and SHE REJOICES AND SHARES IT WITH EVERYONE! She had that Spiritual Eye of the Tiger, and she found what was lost.

Let me challenge you today, if you have never realized the value of Christ in your life, take this moment to seek him with a sincere heart and you WILL find Him. If you have once had the Hunger for him, ask God to take you back to Your Spiritual roots and ask for that Eye Of The Tiger, that Hunger for righteousness! Today is the day that you don’t sit back and let The Kingdom pass you by!

I love you Beloved