Striving to accept the Free Gift

The following questions were from a Lenten devotional I was reading today. The answers are my responses.


Why is it so hard for us to accept Christ's gift (of salvation)? 

We live in a world that shuns you if you don’t do enough. There are written and unwritten rules of this world that capture our time;  if you’re not doing something, it’s considered ‘laziness’. If you’re doing everything while neglecting yourself, family, friends, and other relationships, you’re considered ‘gifted’, ‘selfless’, and ‘worthy of promotion’. This world has little, if no, grace for those who try their best and then fail. If you fail at your job, you’re fired. If you fail in your marriage, you're forced into a divorce.

Whereas when we know and proclaim that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior; that He died for us and that we are called to live for Him, we feel like our relationship with Him has the same so-called rules as the ones we have here on earth. 

Wrong. The relationship Christ offers is full of forgiveness. Forgivefull. We live in this world, and therefore are easily conformed to the ways of it. Our senses are overwhelmed. However, Paul tells us to fix our eyes not on what is seen (or otherwise, “sensed” by our 5 senses by what is in the world) but to fix our eyes on what is unseen [2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV] (or otherwise, we shall focus on everything that is, and of, Christ--our focus should be heavenward). 

Is this a struggle for [me]?
Since I am of this world, yes, I do feel it is a struggle for me to continually and momentously accept Christ’s gift of salvation through the cross. This world tells and shows us that if we fail in this world, we gain nothing. Christ tells us that if we fail in this world, we gain everything; if we lose our lives for Him, we will find our lives in Him alone. 


Christ calls us to lose ourselves in His sacrifice; that we learn to love as He loved us. Our lives are to be a constant sacrifice to Him. In every activity we do, we are called to honor Him. “Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial…” and therefore we need to honor Him only in actions, words, and events that are holistically pleasing to Him. 

However, this world does not always approve of actions, words, and events that would be pleasing to Christ. But that shouldn’t matter. Christ is our treasure. HE. DIED. FOR. US. ALL.  “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him Who died for them and was raised again” [2 Corinthians 5:14-15].



How do we make it a non-struggle? 

My desire is to keep a constant relationship with Christ. By praying to Him; thanking Him for His sacrifice. “Pray without ceasing” [1 Thess. 5:17]. 

I desire to ask Him to reveal His Truth to His people. And “in your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:” [Ph. 2:5 NIV]. 

I desire to “[g]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” [1 Thess. 5:18 NIV].

And remember, Christ doesn’t look down on you if you fail. YOU. ARE. FORGIVEN. Our relationship with Christ is forgivefull; it is full of forgiveness. It is important to not become prideful of His grace, but to accept it as a gift; one that you never expected, but are overtly grateful to receive. For it is in Christ that we are saved. It is in Him through His sacrifice of love that we have the opportunity to be reconciled to God. 

Now all glory to God, Who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to Him Who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are His before all time, and in the present and beyond all time! Amen.

-Jude 1:24-25

Lent: Giving up, while keeping the focus

Today is the beginning of Lent. As it is a season of self-denial, fasting, Christian growth, and simplicity, many people are "giving something up" in recognition of this time set aside in the church calendar/year. It is also a time of remembrance and reverence and reflection of what Christ did in the desert. He fasted 40 days and 40 nights (Matt. 4; Luke 4). Even through His many struggles during those 40 days and 40 nights, He overcame them all. Since we are called to be like Jesus in modeling Him in His words and actions, we can do that in one way by giving something up for Him. Our act of giving something up for Christ's sake, also imperfectly mirrors (at best) Christ's loving sacrifice for us; by giving His very life for us on the cross.

Grace is freely offered over to us and has been readily available since before the beginning of time (2 Tim. 1:9). I still don't understand it fully, and I may never understand it. For if I were to fully understand God's grace, I may become prideful and desire to do nothing for His glory. I desire to learn from Him, by focusing on Who He is and what He has done for us, rather than focusing on myself. But sadly, I don't always do what I want to do (Rom. 7). It is with the word "focus" that I want to continue discussing the season of Lent. 

When Jesus was in the desert, He was fasting and He was also being tempted by Satan (Matt. 4; Luke 4). The entire span of the 40 day period, Jesus was focused on God. He gave up food for the sake of the glory of God. He desired to show dedication to His Father God by fasting and keeping mind and heart full of the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:1; Luke 4:1) in His act of worship to God. 

Jesus not only gave something up for those 40 days (what we now call "Lent"), but during Lent, He was completely and utterly focused on God's Word. He quotes Scripture to Satan in response to Satan's attempts to sway Jesus to worship him instead of God The Father. When Satan tries to use Scripture against Jesus, He knows Satan's usage is out of context, and wins the battle even again. And why? Granted, Jesus is part of the Trinity, and therefore in constant reciprocating relationship with the other members, but Jesus was able to win because He was completely centered on God. Being in the Trinity helps a bit.

So for the Lenten season, it's not just what you "give up", it's also about Who you choose as your focus. If you give up chocolate, will you be doing it for the glory of God; to honor Him?  Or will you be doing it for yourself?  If you give up chocolate, you could try to see how Jesus felt when He gave up food in order to bring glory to God during those 40 days and 40 nights. In the Lenten time period when you feel like you are tempted to eat chocolate (or whatever you decide to give up; if anything at all), you could ask God to have your eyes and heart opened more to see what He wants you to see and do for His glory.

Maybe you don't decide to give something up for Lent. Rather you decide to begin a new spiritual discipline that will grow your relationship with Christ in learning more of Him and His love. Since the season of Lent is garnered from Jesus' 40 days and 40 nights in the desert being constantly tempted by Satan to do the wrong thing (the worst thing), choosing to start a new discipline--a focus on a spiritual discipline--could be a way to observe it.

Whether or not you choose to observe Lent, I pray that during these 40 days and 40 nights that you are renewed by God's transforming love, grace, and mercy. I pray that you are not overcome by evil, but that any evil you encounter; that you overcome it with good (Rom. 12:21).

Thoughts on Lent 2011

I went into staff meeting today with some sacred space ideas for the five Sundays of Lent (March 13th, 20th, 27th, April 3rd, & April 10th). I came out of the meeting with a more refreshed, complex, and more concrete foundation on the meaning behind this season.

We're trying something different for Lent 2011. During the five Sundays listed above (not included Palm Sunday and Easter), we'll be having creative worship stations that emphasize themes such as thanksgiving, confession, yielding, and intercession. When a Sunday is the first Sunday of the a month during Lent, we'll partake in Communion in place of the stations.

The four of us sat around the Senior Pastor's office brainstorming about specific themes we could emphasize during Lent. We took a field trip (minor as it was) to the sanctuary for approximate measurements on what materials we might need and where they would be placed during the service. We finalized our field trip by discussing possible scriptures that could explanatorily epitomize each station.

I will be posting more on what we're doing for Lent.

Feel free to share what you have learned recently about this season!