For Him Each Moment

For Him, Each Moment

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is Colossians 3.  Paul recognizes the dramatic change in the person because of Christ and then encourages that they should live out that change in every aspect of how they live. 

If it is true that we have been raised with Christ, i.e., that we have been transformed by his death and resurrection, then we are no longer the same person.  Therefore, our wants and desires should be different from when we did not know Christ.  In Colossians 3:1, Paul exhorts the believers to seek the things above, referring to that which builds the kingdom of God.  This is a pursuit of the heart that is continuous and active.  Our affections are to lie on what lies beyond the present and earthly.  Our thoughts are to be actively and constantly set heavenward rather than to the things on earth. 

The reason for this new pursuit is because we have died to our old ways and we are now hidden with Christ.  No longer is the world to see us, but rather they are to see Christ through us.  The result of us remaining hidden is that when Christ is glorified, we will be revealed in glory with him. 

I think many times, people forget that a commitment to Christ is a change in identity.  It is a dying to self and being united to Christ.  We try to compartmentalize religion to make it fit into what makes us feel comfortable rather than allow Christ to transform who we are from the inside out.  We feel good about ourselves if we give an hour to God on Sunday mornings.  Yet, we miss the point.  Christ wants every breath, every moment.  He must become greater and we must become less.

However, when we begin pursuing the things of this world instead of the things of God, we are not allowing ourselves to remain hidden.  We are not remaining united with Christ in his resurrection.  Instead, we are walking in the way we used to live.  Often, we think that this will lead to self-glorification, but that glory is futile and fades.  It does not satisfy. 

So how do we do CONTINUE to seek the things above, especially when our lives are so BUSY?  Do we clear out the schedules?  Do we incorporate Christ into them? How do we CONSTANTLY think about the things of heaven and not the things of earth when the demands of earth threaten to dictate our lives. 

I want to dialogue about this issue.  As women, how do we give each moment to Christ, while at the same time balancing the roles of career, girlfriend, wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, etc.?  Please comment.  In the following weeks, my desire is to tackle the issue of being whole-hearted devoted followers of Christ, as women, in a world that conflicts with this idea.  I ask that you join me in this endeavor of prayer, dialogue, and study as a woman, no matter where you are at relationally, spiritually, professionally, etc.  Will you join the journey?

Seeking Him,

Cortney

Is the Message of Foolishness Gaining Influence over the Power of God?

Is the Message of Foolishness Gaining Influence over the Power of God?

First Corinthians 1:18 ¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

There is a side to Christian Scholarship that seeks to prove the inconsistencies and fallacies of the claims of Scripture.  These scholars are professors of religion at some of the top institutions in the country.  They have written New York Times Bestselling books.  They lecture all over the world, giving “incite” about the “truth” of Jesus of Nazareth.  Their claims use textual, historical, and contextual criticism of the New Testament.  They list problem texts and give long arguments about why the manuscripts of the New Testament cannot be trusted.  And many evangelicals have no idea they are out there.

For example, UNC Professor Bart Ehrman, graduated from Moody Bible Institute and then Wheaton College (two of the most conservative evangelical Bible Colleges in the country).  He grew up a fundamentalist conservative.  However, throughout his doctoral studies, he denounced the faith he had previously claimed.  Now, as the head of the religion department at UNC, Ehrman seeks to enlighten young, impressionable students who simply want to learn more about the Bible.  Like a wolf in sheep’s clothes, he leads the class through “reasons” why Jesus was never meant to be seen as God. 

Ehrman is only one of many of these scholars around the country, proclaiming the foolishness of the message of the cross.  Yet, they are making a lasting impact on today’s college students.  The Church must be become proactive. 

For those being saved, the message of the cross is the power of God.  As Christians, we should not cower from hard discussions.  Rather, we need to become educated and teach the next generation to truly understand what the message of the cross is.  Television loves to promote the agenda of skeptics.  However, when an evangelical has something of substance to say, they are willing to listen.  I used to love to listen to my professors Darrell Bock, Daniel Wallace discuss these topics because they always noted that it was in the study of God’s Word that their faith was strengthened.  I believe that sometimes, we want to simply look to Scripture as our “How to” guide instead of looking at it for what it is: the revelation of God. We therefore neglect to see it in its original context.  Then, when critics come, we have no answers.

We cannot bury our heads in the sand any longer.  We must study the text of Scripture, with the historical setting in mind.  We must read the verses in their correct context.  We must become familiar with what opposing views are surrounding us and then come to an understanding about what the truth is.   

For an article about Bart Ehrman, please click the link below.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030401369.html

Encouraging Christ Confident Kids

Tonight, I asked my son who his best friend at school was.  He told me a name and then I proceeded to ask if they played together on the playground.  He said, "no, he already has friends."  I then began to pry a little farther and asked who he DID play with on the playground.  My kindergartner nonchalantly responded, "well, everyone already has someone to play with, so I play by myself."  In that moment, I felt a part of me wither inside.  I immediately started going into action mode, thinking of the letter I would write to the teacher, making sure that my son was included in activities.  I then stopped to pray.  I asked myself, "Is this really the crisis you are making it out to be?"  Your son is confident, happy, and feels secure in who he is. We have worked hard in our household to let our children be who they are and tell them to live as Christ wants them to live no matter what.  Yet, I was tempted to make sure that my son was popular. 

The more I thought about it, the more I realized we as parents WANT our kids to be popular.  We want them to be accepted and on the in crowd.  Mostly because, at some point in time, we experienced the pain of the outside.  However, what we want for our children is completely contrary to Scripture.  John 15:19 says, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

What we, as parents, need to learn to do is teach our children to find their confidence in their relationship with Christ.  We need to help them find avenues where they can find like-minded friends. We must also encourage and love them through the lonely times, especially as they grow older.  I remember one Saturday night as a teenager, hanging out with one of my friends and crying out to her saying that I simply wished to get drunk just so I could be like everyone else.  The moment passed, but it left an impact. 

As I pray for my children, my prayer is not that they will be accepted, but that they will find friends who will encourage them and will have the same beliefs they will have.  I pray that they will be strong in faith and that they will use adversity to cling to the cross. 

Christians and Controversy

Christians and Controversy

I was browsing some Christian blogs the other day and I noticed a trend among some of the blogs that receive high volume: many of their topics are controversial.  I began pondering this coincidence.  I have never considered myself a person who revels in controversy and I tend to minister with the same frame of mind.  I then began thinking about how Jesus dealt with controversy while He was here on earth.  

Jesus never directly confronted political or divisive issues.  The Pharisees contently tried to trap Jesus by forcing Him to give an opinion on controversial topics (Matthew 17:24:-27; 19:1-12; 22:15-22).  However, his responses were decisive, yet brief.  Jesus did not come into the world to debate the world, but to save the world.

Regarding social issues, Jesus’ philosophy was love the sinner, hate the sin.  He was notorious for dining with “sinners”, tax collectors, and other social misfits.  He was not afraid to speak with a Samaritan woman, which was the ultimate social taboo for a Jewish man. Jesus was not afraid to get involved.    

In Luke 5, Jesus calls Levi, the tax collector to be His disciple. At that time, a tax collector was one of the most hated people in Judea because they exploited their neighbors for personal gain.  However, Jesus approached him, and told him to follow.  The publican got up, left everything, and followed Jesus.  Later, Levi held a banquet for Jesus and His disciples at his home where other tax collectors and sinners were present.  When the Pharisees and teachers of the law confronted Jesus about his selection of table fellowship, Jesus responded, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32).
I think we can learn a lot from Jesus’ example in Luke 5.  Rather than debating how “tax collecting” infringes upon the commands of Scripture, we should be reaching out to the tax collectors.  Instead, we plaster our beliefs via a wall post on Facebook or a bumper sticker of a car as if a tag line will bring about repentance. 
I personally would have loved to have witnessed the exchange between Jesus and Levi.  The only words recorded in Levi’s calling are, “Follow Me.” It appears from the context that this is the first exchange that the two had ever had.  However, I would conjecture that the publican had seen the miracles Jesus had been performing in Capernaum and he recognized that there was something different about him.  The fact that Jesus approached him, spoke to him, and wanted him impacted him.  And the tax collector was forever changed.  If we could only think beyond ourselves and want to embrace the “un-embraceable,” we might actually have a chance to show them that there is such a thing as grace.  Yet, our approach is often to “save them from their SIN”, rather than to show them the love and grace of God.   Jesus confronted sin, but it was only AFTER He had shown love to the sinner.

We then immediately see Levi respond in hospitality.  Not only does He host His new Teacher, but he begins to reach out to others who need Jesus.  This is the first “evangelism meeting” recorded in Scripture.  Levi understands Jesus’ approach and begins to embrace it as his own.

When the scoffers denounce Jesus’ interaction with the sinners, Jesus is quick to correct their wrong thinking.  He had no intention of hanging out with the “religious elite.”  Rather, He knew his mission was to lead people to repentance. In thinking about this story and asking myself how much time I spend in the “Christian bubble” verses in the field, leading people to repentance, I am a bit disproportioned.  We often feel more comfortable being around people who are “like us” and simply talking about people who “do those other things.” Yet, this is not the Gospel.  We will never reach the world for Christ if we are not in the world, being salt and light.     

What the Church Can Learn from the Obama Campaign

This post is not political.  However, after reading up on how the Obama campaign won the election, I realized that there were a couple of tips that we as the Church could take from their strategy.

1. They had the desire to convert. Obama wanted to win.  He knew that every vote  counted and he went after it.

2. They went to the people.  I read in Time Magazine that Obama had a strategic ground formula that was unmatched by Romney. He utilized facebook in a way that will most likely change the game of politics from now on out.  All this being said, is that, as a Church, we must go to the people.  Isn't this what Jesus did?  :)

3. They did not rely on the rally.  Similar to point two, Obama did not rely on his rallies to get his message across.  If we as the Church relied solely on Sunday morning services to get the gospel out (which we tend to do), we are going to lose this race of building the Kingdom.

4. They told people what they could offer.  Again, this is not a political article, so I will not go into the details of whether they can do what is promised.  However, as Christians, we know GOD CAN DELIVER.  And people need to know that.  We have the greatest news and the greatest deal, yet we don't seem to want to share it with anyone.  However, if we communicated the life, joy, and hope Jesus brings, don't you think people would respond?

Whether you are an Obama fan or not, his strategy worked.  Don't you think it might be time that Evangelicals re-evaluated their own strategies of the "seeker" friendly model and adopt a ground game that might be a little more time consuming, a little more dirty, and a little more relational.  However, the effects could possibly be a little more eternal.

A Lesson from Starbucks

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

I went to a Starbucks the other day to find the slogan “Rekindle the Joy” emblazoned on their door. In July of this past year, their stocks fell due to a lowered projection in fourth quarter earnings.  Before the recession, a Starbucks cup was somewhat of a status symbol and brought with it a sense of well-being.  Now, the same cup seems to represent superfluous spending and a lack of priority.  In response, the company hopes to re-brand themselves by reminding people of the togetherness that happens over a cup of coffee.  

While this is a silly illustration, it makes me think of a much greater branding issue that we as Christians have.  As I was driving down the road the other day, a church’s billboard read “you may think someone is sweet until you sit in their pew.”  Somewhere, the church has gone from being the Body of Christ to a competitive bunch of social organizations.  We love those who are like us and judge those who are not. The name Jesus Christ no longer brings a sense of peace, hope, and joy to those but rather dread, condescension, and distrust. 

If we were to re-brand Christianity today perhaps a tag phrase could be: Truly Transformed.  You see, Starbucks began to lose business because people realized that the company was capitalizing on really expensive coffee. The product did not live up to the hype.  Unfortunately, for some cynics, they see Christianity the same way: a group of sugar-coated people on the outside that if you mess with them, watch out. Yet, these naysayers miss the ultimate picture of Christianity: Christ.  When Jesus was alive, people were attracted to him.  Today, the church constantly has to come up with catch slogans and programs to get people in the doors. Therefore, if we could re-brand ourselves, allowing Christ to truly transform us, the Church, and the way in which we relate to those around us, the world would have a completely different perception to Christianity.  Not only would it be different, it would be magnetic.

What are some practical ways you can “re-brand” yourself to where others see Christ in you?

Breaking the Cycle of "Normalcy"

Matthew 10:37-39  ³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

When Jesus called each of His disciples, there was nothing special about the moment to the call.  However, the events that transpired afterwards altered every moment for the rest of the follower’s life.  Discipleship was an epic journey marked by sacrifice, learning, and dependency on the Master.  Nothing about the disciple’s life was normal.  His schedule was made by his Teacher.   

We live in a world that loves schedules.  There are calendars, day planners, IPads, phones, computers, etc., that all have apps or programs that support the use of a schedule.  And most of us love to use these schedules.  The devout even schedule in their religious activities.  But what if we had the conviction and freedom to  where there was no schedule but to do what God asked of us?  What if we lived a life of such Epic proportion to where God’s Kingdom was so on the forefront of our mind that it dictated how our day was planned? 

Take a moment to re-read Matthew 10:37-39.  Now, insert what I like to call “Kingdom Wasters” (such as TV, Social Media, naps) into the blanks.  How many of these Kingdom Wasters can you think of?   

Matthew 10:37-39  ³⁷ “Anyone who loves their ____________more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their _________ more than me is not worthy of me.

³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

When Jesus taught these verses in Matthew, he was showing through hyperbole that love for Him must come before all else.  However, it seems that love for Jesus is no longer a close second to family if we used time to gauge our affections.  Work, school, friends, sports, entertainment, vacations, etc. The list keeps growing and growing.

If we as Christians want to effectively impact the world for Christ, we are going to have to break the cycle of doing what’s “normal” in our culture.  Some of these changes might seem drastic, but in case you haven’t noticed, we live in a desperate time.  This world needs Jesus and they need to see Him through us.  We need to step up and become the followers He has called us to be.