30 for 30 (#3)

30 for 30 

3. Nothing is bigger than the cross. 

Your past, your sin, your failures do not define you. God redeems ALL. For us to say that God couldn't possibly forgive something is to say the cross wasn't enough. It is to say that Jesus died for nothing. There is no sin bigger than the cross. That is the Good News, that is the Gospel. When God looks at you, as a believer, He sees His Son Jesus, not your sin. Be forgiven, be set free.

Psalm 103:1-12

Praise the Lord, my soul;

    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul,

    and forget not all his benefits—

who forgives ALL your sins

    and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

    and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things

    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness

    and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,

    his deeds to the people of Israel:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

    slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,

    nor will he harbor his anger forever;

 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

    or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Are You Waiting for a Miracle?

What are you waiting for God to do?

John 4 is one of my favorite chapters in the bible. I love the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, and the way Christ pursues her. I think though that I've gotten caught up in that story, and that I've missed the second half of this chapter, the story of a royal official who's son was dying. I think this story is so relevant and convicting to our own lives and how we are waiting for God to do some miracle in order to believe in Him. Read this short passage and I'll explain...

When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there. Once more he visited Cana in Galilee, where he had turned the water into wine. And there was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, he went to him and begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death. 

"Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders," Jesus told him, "you will never believe."

The royal official said, "Sir, come down before my child dies."

Jesus replied, "You may go. Your son will live."

The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, "The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour."

Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, "Your son will live." So he and all his household believed. 

Jesus is returning to where he performed His first miracle of turning the water into wine, and when the man approached Him he says in verse 48, "Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders...you will never believe." I've heard it said many times that people love the gift and not the Gift Giver, Jesus. 

What's sad to me is I think God has been so faithful in our past, and we seem to forget not only the greatest gift of Him dying on the cross for our sins, but also his faithfulness of things he has gotten us through already. We quickly forget his previous miracles, and almost look at Him and say, "alright one more miracle, one more blessing, and I'll see I can trust you". How quickly we forget what God has done for us, and so often ask for more.

What is it in your life that you are waiting for God to do before you will believe? 

I love what John Piper has to say about the royal official's response:
"'The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.' What is remarkable about this is that the man had asked Jesus to come with him. But when Jesus simply spoke, 'Go; your son will live," the man obeyed without a question. He believed and went. He did not insist on seeing the miracle. He did not complain that Jesus would not come with him. And amazingly, he simply left, John says, believing. I'm inclined to think that in that moment of seeing Jesus speak so sovereignly in spite of his accusations, something awakened in the man. he saw something more than a miracle-worker."

The man believed in Jesus and trusted His word without knowing the outcome. Are you trusting in Jesus and his sovereignty? While we are waiting for God to do something He is already at work. He is doing more in our lives than we can possibly imagine (Ephesians 3:20). We have to see Christ as more than a miracle-worker. He is our Savior, our Messiah. He is faithful and good. 

I pray that we don't forget the miracles God has already done in our lives. His promises to walk with us through the fires and storms with us (Isaiah 43). I pray that like the royal official, we would take God at His word, trusting in the truth and promises found in the bible. Ultimately that we will never forget the greatest gift (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9) He has already given us in the cross. He came from heaven down to earth for us. To live a perfect life, die on the cross, and rise again defeating death that we may have eternal life, and life abundantly through Jesus Christ. That is the greatest miracle. Jesus is all we need. What's amazing is we get to know the outcome. We have assurance of Salvation as believers (John 5:24). We know how this story ends. Trust in Him. 

Tossed in the Waves...

A conversation with my friend Cheryl Boyd got me thinking a couple weeks ago...

-Photo By Austin Walker on our Brazil trip 2010

You see in my life I am often tossed around with the waves. The little and big things in life that just kind of throw you off. My boyfriend has helped me realize too that when something comes my way I don't always initially react the way I would like to. I land in the safe place, in the calm waters, but sometimes have been tossed about before I get there. The only way to not get tossed about in the waves is to be anchored. Think of the waves and how they move about, and then picture the water down towards the bottom of the ocean near the anchor. There is a calmness near the anchor even when the waves are crashing down. When you are not connected to the anchor you are surely to be tossed about wherever the current takes you. I would love to be in the calm place, the place closest to the anchor where when the storms of life come my way, or even something small... I would love to not be moved. I would maintain that sense of peace, of calmness. I think we are all somewhere between up on the crest of the waves being tossed about, and all the way down at the anchor.

Looking at scripture we can find God teaching us about this...

"God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an ANCHOR for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf..." -Hebrews 6:18-20a

"Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ." - Ephesians 4:14-15

If you actually take time to read more of Hebrews 6 you'll see that verses 13-18 remind us to not be discouraged. God is our refuge and hope, and his promises are reliable. We see this in his promises to Abraham. The two unchangeable things are God's promises and his oath. I love knowing that my God is faithful and does not lie. Then in verses 19-20 we see the we have this hope as an anchor for the soul. The anchor actually used to be a common figure for hope, and hope is the opposite of discouragement. We should not be discouraged by things, but trust in the Lord. This verse also reminds us that we are anchored to something firm, but unseen. Our hope will see us into the very presence of God. Jesus Christ has assured us of this access into the presence of God because he has gone before us.

As we are anchored, as we mature in our faith, we are no longer infants being tossed about in the waves, and blown here and there by every wind. We will be more like Christ, and marked by the fruits of the spirit. There will be a sense of peace with us even in the storms of life. 

Are you blown here and there by every wind?
Are you tossed about by the waves?
Or are you anchored securely and resting in the calmness, peace, and hope in Christ Jesus?