One

“There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – on Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

Ephesians 4:4-6

It seems as though the early church clearly saw, that we, as believers, are a part of one body, of which Christ is the head. We are one family; I believe there is a deep truth here that we miss. So often it is that I am just one individual and I have my relationship with Christ, and you are just yourself in a relationship with Christ. But reading God’s Word there seems to be more to it.

As christian brothers and sisters, it is not just that we have a common interest in Christ. We are actually, literally, spiritually connected to each other. There is a deep connection the same way your body is connected. Deeper than the physical family you even know (who did Jesus say were his brothers and mother?). As believers we are one, and each one of us affects all of us.

We should let this knowledge completely affect the way we treat each other. Let love come from this place. The way that you grow closer to God literally affects me and our body. I should spur on the members of my body to grow and strengthen continually, daily. I believe this is a fundamentally different point of view than what we are used to. Of course the enemy doesn’t want us to see this. We must fight and pray for this view.

We are all equals under our head/mind, that is Jesus Christ. It is crucial for the body that we are all continually sanctified. I pray that you are growing as you are hopefully praying the same for me. As members of one body.

Reality is….

…we are in a war. And not America and the war with Iraq or the war on terror. I am saying that those of us who are children of God are fighting in a war today. This might seem surprising, because if soldiers on earth who are fighting in war right now, acted the way we act in the middle of a battle zone, they would be dead by lunch time. Here is what I am trying to say…

Throughout the new testament you see that the early church constantly had a wartime mentality. They saw that they were in a very real war with a very real enemy, and they had to fight. Now I know in practical (don’t believe it if you can’t see it) America, it seems crazy to talk about a spiritual war going on with demons and an enemy we can’t see. Only crazy people really believe that right? Well if we truly believe that God is real and the Bible is true (it is!), then this spiritual war is a greater reality than any war that has ever physically been fought.

So here is the problem. We try to act like there is no war going on. There is no spiritual attack and no enemy against us. We are just practical christians right? Imagine a soldier acting like that in the warzone right now. Just acting like there is no battle, they have no weapons or armor and are surrounded by the enemy. They would swiftly be overcome and defeated. When we walk around without arming ourselves with the Word, without any armor — we are quickly and easily overcome and defeated. It happens all the time, everyday. Christians overcome by the world. You see huge moral breakdowns and failures. We are not fighting.

We must fight. We are in a war. We must ascribe glory to God. We must be saturated with his word if we are to endure. If you chose to act like there is no enemy that is fine with him, it will be a one sided battle and you will lose.

pray always.

Reading through the apostle’s letters in the new testament, it is evident how important prayer was to the early church. They seemingly prayed constantly over everything, and though I pray often it is not with that kind of fervor.

In fact, I would argue that the christian community as a whole has lost this. How often do we pray together for anything, as though God is our only hope of accomplishing anything at all. Why is prayer not primary? I would say that it is because somewhere inside we don’t have faith in it. We don’t really believe that it is our only hope. Here is an example….

I truly believe that a revolution can start at NewSpring Church. I truly believe it can start in the student ministry here. I know that God doing this is the only chance of it happening. But how do I live? Honestly, I probably spend more time thinking about what I can do to make this happen than I do pleading with God for this to happen. So in reality, somewhere inside of me, I think that I have more control over this than God does. I want to fight this.

Of course in my mind I know this is completely in God’s control, but I am tired of defining what I believe by what I say, and ready to start defining what I believe by the way I live. Because somewhere inside that is what I really believe anyway.

God change my heart. Show me that you are the only hope of anything good. Show me that prayer is reality and my only hope in any circumstance is to pray to you.

somethings missing…

So I have been reading through the new testament the past couple of weeks, and to say it has been great would be an understatement. To keep this short there are some elements of the early church that I think we often miss today for specific reasons I’ll probably talk to later. But just for the sake of the list here are six things that I have seen over and over through each letter in the new testament:

1. Prayer over EVERYTHING
2. There is a “wartime mentality”
3. Emphasis on church being a unified body
4. Rejoicing through suffering
5. Living out the Gospel/Word
6. Longed to see Jesus return

Many times these things get lost into a system of values and beliefs that are more traditional than biblical. I will probably take the next several days and talk about the reasons for many of these things individually though I truly believe most of the lack of these things now come from the same place.

PS – Weekend was great. Robbie Cobb (my step-brother) is now a married man.

what is your goal?

Listened to some Matt Chandler this morning and he definitely blew me up with some good stuff…..

What is ultimate to you? Safety, Comfort, Wealth, Acceptance? Whatever we hold as ultimate dictates every other area of life. We all know this right? Here is where it gets good:

In christianity in America Christ is not ultimate, but He is the way we can get to what is ultimate. We live like these are the things we deserve for Him to give us and so many preachers preach this gospel which is not THE gospel.

Christ has never been means by which we receive the reward, He is the reward.

Gauntlet Promo Video

a little suggestion

So it’s definitely that time of year where driving with the windows down and radio up is a must. That means that you gotta have some top quality music to provide a soundtrack to perfect days like today. For anyone out there that is willing to take some suggestions here are two bands that get the job done on days like this:

1. All Time Low – So Wrong, It’s Right
2. Forever the Sickest Kids – Underdog Alma Mater (download “Hey Brittany” on iTunes and you’ll be hooked)

All or Nothing

So this got me yesterday:

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

2 Corinthians 15:14

Here is where this falls on me. Reading Philippians, it is clear that Paul is living for one thing. For the day when he stands before Christ. If then Christ has truly risen from the dead, that day is a reality and therefore the only thing that matters. So often, however, I don’t live as though this is reality. I mean, do we really believe this will happen if we don’t live like it. Here is what I am saying: So often I say that Christ has been raised from the dead and I will stand before him one day, and I live like He didn’t.

And the in between is what is bogus. Because if Christ didn’t raise from the dead and is still dead somewhere then our faith is in vain. What then would be the point of confessing with our mouths? If He did raise, what then would be the point of living like we will never be held accountable in His presence? Every second should be for Him. This life for Christ cannot just be our hobby. It is everything or it is nothing, and I am tired of living in the in between.

Christ did rise from the dead. He is currently sitting at the right hand of the Father. We will all stand before Him. May I proclaim this with my mouth and my life.

Do What?

How often does our faith become about things not to do. The task list of sins to avoid is so huge in Christianity to us that we so often miss what we should do. Reading Romans 12 this weekend, I felt like Paul punched me in the teeth between verses 9-13. Notice how many of the commands are things we should do, and how many are things to abstain from. How different would our churches and communities be if we tried to live like this every single day…..

• Don’t pretend to love others. Really love them.
• Hate what is wrong.
• Hold tightly to what is good.
• Love each other with genuine affection.
• Take delight in honoring each other.
• Never be lazy.
• Work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.
• Rejoice in our confident hope.
• Be patient in trouble.
• Keep on praying.
• When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.
• Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Ouch

Kanye

Saw Kanye the other night. Pretty much amazing. Great stage design, the entire feeling/mood was controlled through the staging and lights the entire night. Also, the concert/production had a plotline. Pretty cool stuff.