• Our hope-filled future is bound up in sharing the story of Jesus, in discipling others, in bringing those disciples together into communities of believers, and in developing and releasing those believers to create other communities... till Jesus the King comes again!

The Gospel Responds to ALL our needs

Posted on June 10, 2020 by wtdavid

Day by day, as we listen to the news reports coming from around the world, we are further struck by the injustice, intolerance, hatred and anger that fills the hearts of people today.  Like the psalmist, we cry out: “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”  (10:1)

The damages caused by pandemic crises, inequality, racism, and a disregard for the lives of others made in the image of God make it hard to know where to begin to respond in the midst of this mess we call our world today.

Our “hope is built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness”.  It is the Gospel that responds to ALL our needs.  For we who trust in Jesus, it is self-evident that the only hope for this world is the Gospel of Christ.

Here’s the rub.  First, I misquoted the hymn above by Edward Mote (19th century).  It should read: our “hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”.  Jesus gave Himself up as a sacrifice for us: His blood was shed for us. He experienced discrimination, prejudice, evil intent, and even an unjust death in order to free us from the power of sin & evil to rule our lives.  Second, for the Gospel to be the answer to ALL the needs of this world, it needs to be the answer to ALL our needs as well.  As a friend once said to me: “If the Gospel is not good news for us each day, it will not be good news for others.” 

That same injustice, intolerance, hatred and anger that we deplore in our world today lurks (lies in wait) in each of our hearts.  The Gospel needs to search our hearts (Psalm 139.23-24) and put its searchlight of truth on those ways where we need repentance and faith.

We are no better than others, but we have a God who is capable of dismantling those ‘hurtful ways’ within us, and a God who continually builds into us the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience ….

I leave us with this prayer:  “We weep. We lament. We mourn. But not as those who have no hope.  May gospel beauty rise from these smoldering, literal ashes. May truth triumph over lies and grace conquer lawlessness. May your people be one as you, O Father, and your Son are one. May the church—the body of Christ, the bride of Christ—rise up as an example of love and with a message of salvation for a weary and war-torn world. Give us grace to serve you, O God, and, if necessary, grace to suffer for what is right. Give us the peace and health and safety we do not deserve. Give us the reformation and revival we need.  Lord have mercy.”

Filed under: Gospel, Repentance & faith, Sacrifice, Sin | Leave a comment »

Why is it so hard (again)?

Posted on February 28, 2017 by wtdavid

A friend and former prof, Jack, used to say that the evil one rubs your nose in your sin and drives you to discouragement and despair.  The Holy Spirit shows you your sin and drives you back to the cross for forgiveness.

When I wrote yesterday about how hard it is (or seems to be) to do partnership development, I trust you knew that was only a small tip of the iceberg.Tip of the Iceberg --- Image by © Ralph A. Clevenger/CORBIS

Why is life so hard?  Primarily because we struggle against sin, the flesh and the evil one.  The struggle is compounded by the fact that we can’t always distinguish which ‘one’ is working on us.

When our skirmish is against sin, we find ourselves face to face with that ‘law’ which works within us (Romans 7:23); that temptation when ‘fully grown brings forth death’ (James 1:15).  It is like running through a darkened hallway where you keep bumping into things, not knowing what they are, or what they might contain.

Those who went before us talked about ‘mortifying sin’ (see John Owens’ famous treatise, “The Mortification of Sin”).  Mortifying sin was the way people in those days talked about the need to deal with our heart (or our heart sins) in serious ways.

That sounds kind of rough, I know.  However, an Australian mate, Simon, made the comment over coffee today that he doesn’t often hear much talk about sin.  It’s more about the ‘help’ that Jesus can be to us.  Sin, in our lives, needs to be dealt with in serious ways in order for us to know more of the depth of the impact of the cross.

A Scottish pastor shared the following ideas as a way to practice ‘mortification’ of sin.  First, see sin for what it really is.  Self-deception keeps us from seeing a ‘struggle’ as idolatry.  Next, see sin for what it is in God’s presence.  “The masters of the spiritual life spoke of dragging our lusts to the cross (kick and scream, though they will), to a wrath-bearing Christ.”  Next, remember who you are.  You are no longer the ‘old’ man or ‘old’ woman, you are a new creation in Christ.   Finally, put sin to death.   “Refuse it, starve it, and reject it’.

None of this work can happen outside of the ‘great exchange’; outside of the Spirit of Christ at work in our hearts and giving us the grace to do the ‘hard work’.

Filed under: Gospel, Sin | Leave a comment »

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