Just Some Thoughts...

You know... there are some times when I feel completely inadequate for any task. Do you know that feeling? I hope not...

There is something so "real" feeling about inadequacy, sometimes... but you know what... it's these feelings, when I listen and obey them, which cause me to be completely ineffective for the kingdom. So, then it comes down to a couple of questions which I must ask myself in order to determine the validity of my concerns.

1. Am I strong? Not, am I physically strong, but am I a strong-willed, confident person?
Well, I'm just going to come out and admit right now that I'm not a very confident person. In fact, my track record is so full of passed-up opportunities because of my deep fear of failure! What a shame! I have left alone so many opportunities for sharing the gospel because of my lack of confidence! Why???
Well, here's the deal... I care waaaaaaaay too much what other people think about me. You see, when I care more about what someone might think of me than how desperately that person's soul needs salvation... I revert to a selfish withholding of the life-giving message of Christ's atoning work! (actually, I'm making myself sick thinking about the Silence which has so often molested the opportunities I've had for sharing the Gospel...)
Consider this... If I have an opportunity to share Salvation with a friend and I don't say a word about Christ... I have become an ineffective Christian and, more or less, an agent of damnation to that person's soul! Now, is that person's soul my responsibility? Directly, I would probably say "no." But, indirectly, this friend's soul is under my gaze as we speak, and by not caring enough to offer the Way at some point in the conversation... I have indeed lost all effectiveness as a disciple of Christ.
So, to answer question 1... I am not strong! However, I have Christ! He is my strength! 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 says:

"And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

That's awesome! If only I could remember these words of encouragement when I am tempted to remain silent, for fear of man... Would I still consider the rejections of men to be such a great burden to bear if I allowed Christ to be my strength? And not only my strength, but if He was my only focus, my only love... this indeed would free me from much of my self-induced fear and ineffectiveness!
Alrighty then! Answering question 1, once and for all: "I am not strong, in-and-of myself, but I have Christ. He is my strength when I am weak, and His power is perfected in my weakness. Therefore, my feelings of inadequacy, because of fear, are invalid and should not hold sway or command over my words and actions."

2. Am I necessary? Does anyone really need me or am I just tolerated?
This question is so self-centered and prideful that I'm ashamed to admit it's presence in my life. However, for the sake of honesty, it remains a question I must ask when these feelings of inadequacy arise.
Okay, well let me clear this up at the beginning... this is not a question that we MUST ask ourselves, except if it is something that you actually struggle with. For me, my deep-rooted desires of acceptance do affect my effectiveness as a Christ-follower, therefore this IS a necessary inspection.
The answer to this question is two-fold. First, am I necessary in the sense of "Does God need me?" NO! He doesn't need me, but that's the beauty of our serving God! He doesn't NEED any of us! But He allows us to bring what little we have to offer and uses us in spite of our failures and shortcomings. However, if I come with pride in my service, thinking that I have something to offer God... I am approaching this service in a very wrong way! I have to remind myself, constantly, that God can work quite effectively without me being present. How comical is that??? How prideful is that??? That I would even begin to worry that the Holy Spirit would somehow be less able to move and work if I'm not there to help. Clearly I think WAY too highly of the value of my service!
So, to answer part one of question two... I am not necessary! However, God has promised to work, in and through me, for the spreading of His fame. The requirements for me are:
A. That I serve with humility.
B. That I serve UNDER the Christ who's name I carry, and not attempt to make my own name greater! (okay, so A and B are pretty much the same thing...)
C. That I serve with ALL my strength, and that strength not being my own, but Christ's power in me.
D. That all of my service be done in an effort to show the love of Christ to others in whatever I'm doing. (This includes that all service be done to the glory of God, whom I serve)

So, the second part of this question is this: "Does anybody care about me?" or "Am I necessary in people's lives or am I just a tolerated presence in the room?"
Wow! Talk about a self-centered, prideful question to have to ask yourself! And I'm going to answer this one very quickly because I feel gross just examining this part of the question! How highly do I consider myself, if I am asking this internal question of other's affections?
The answer to this question is: "It shouldn't matter ONE BIT what other people think of me!"

This may sound kind of cold and unfeeling, but my prayer has been "Lord, please help me to not care at all what other people think of me!" Please understand the gravity of this prayer and do not take it lightly... There is such a deep-seated desire in me for acceptance and approval that I cannot rightly examine how I appear in other people's eyes until I have completely deconstructed my current self-examination, in this respect. So, I'm not asking that God would allow me to be completely unaffected by the concerns other might have about any wrong behavior I might exhibit, but that I quite simply no longer let my fears and desires of approval and acceptance rule my actions and, again, cause ineffectiveness for His name's sake.

Do you feel this very same weight? Perhaps some of you do not... but maybe some of you do. Maybe you, just like me, need to be freed from the weight of approval. Friends, wait not a moment longer! This SIN, for sin is what it is, causes the soul to rot while the ego grows roots deep within the heart! There is not a moment to lose in uprooting this barrier which so quickly strips the wandering, searching, perhaps well-meaning Christian of any usefulness.

"Do people need me?" There is NO ROOM for this question in our hearts! There are many other, much more important, questions that we should be asking ourselves!

So, a wrap-up of question 2... Recognize, in humility, that we are not NEEDED, but that God has chosen to use us, to His glory and for His purposes! There is no greater cause to which we might play a role or in which we might find meaning!
Secondly, LET GO of the desire for approval and acceptance by other sinners! We are acceptable in the sight of the only One whom it really matters that we might be found acceptable by! Because of the blood of Christ, we are acceptable in the sight of God, by His grace and mercy! Praise be to God! There is indeed acceptance for the longing heart... we just have to look in the right place.

3. Who am I serving?
This question makes me reconsider whether or not my focus has shifted off of Christ, as my center focus.
Am I now serving myself, my desires, etc...? If I become more focused on my own desires, I very quickly fall into the traps we discussed in questions 1 and 2. Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters..." (Matt. 6:24a) And He meant it! You cannot serve the God of heaven if you are serving your own agenda.
So, how do we avoid this trap? We conform our agenda to the agenda of Christ! We no longer look at our own desires but, instead, follow the example of Christ in glorifying our Father in heaven in EVERY aspect of our lives!

Another important consideration is this: "Am I serving the affections of others?" This is easy to do! It is very easy for me to make an idol of other people... to set them in front of Christ and to make them a higher priority than Him. What a sad day... the day when you awake to realize that your Savior is calling out to you from the back of a crowd... a crowd which you have placed in-between yourself and your true Master. This is a hauntingly familiar situation...

Serve God alone! This is my only exhortation and encouragement for this final question. If you are serving God, then you will find yourself serving others, but it will be service which points all glory to God and not a self-seeking, approval-hunting type of service. By making God the sole focus of your service, you will glorify Him even in your service to others!

To bring this all back together... What are the results of these feelings of inadequacy which tend to arise when I'm off focus? Well... depression, ineffectiveness for the kingdom, fear of man, failure to share the Gospel and ultimately you get the life sucked out of you! There is a loss of all vitality when I do not live missionally! Seriously! If you want your "Best Life Now" then forget about yourself and live for the glory of God!!! There is no other way to a fully satisfied life! The greatest and only true joy to be found is a life that is fully devoted to Christ.

Do I say all of this because I have triumphed in this area? No! But I say these things because of my repeated failures in these areas... and because of the repeated grace of God over my soul! If ever there was one upon whom the well of grace might run dry... it is I! But thanks be to God, that His faithfulness, grace and mercy FAR EXCEED my failures towards Him! I am a grateful wretch... unworthy, but doubly blessed! All praise and glory to God!

Is there anyone who has experienced the depression I speak of? Is there one who has known the desperate longing for acceptance and approval? Friends... beloved friends... All is found when we lose ourselves in the love of Christ! There is no greater satisfaction for the longing of your soul! Please... hear these words, not of mine, but of Christ... "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Our Lord does not desire to burden us down with cares, but rather to give us lasting peace. Rest for the weary, wandering soul can ONLY be found in Christ alone!

Grace and Peace to you, my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ!

Questions or Comments? Please e-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com.

What Faith Looks Like: A Brief Glimpse

"But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." - 1 Corinthians 15:13-20

So, here's a little something that is extremely pertinent to the faith I've been touching in on the past few blogs... the resurrection of Christ, from the dead, is the only thing that makes our faith worth anything. Without the resurrection of Christ, our faith does nothing and we are to be pitied above all others. What would a live of sacrifice and devotion to a cause be, if the cause was not legitimate? The same is true of our relationship with Christ and the faith that we put in Him.

If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then our faith is useless!

If Christ has not been raised from the dead, then those who have historically placed their lives on the line and sacrificed comfort and pleasure for His sake, have done such commendable acts in vain!

HOWEVER... since Christ HAS BEEN RAISED... we have a faith that saves and Savior who is interceding, on our behalf, before the throne of God!

So, who or what then is the object of our faith? Is it not Christ? The only One who can save! Yes! Indeed Christ is the the ONLY way, as is seen in John 14 where Christ says, "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (Jn. 14:6) Faith in Christ, faith in His atoning work on our behalf is our only hope for redemption from our sins. Now, this requires that you actually see and recognize your sin for what it is... that it is the separating factor between you and God. If you do not see your sin and understand it's effect on your relationship with God, then you will not understand or appreciate the altering affect of Christ's death on your behalf.

However, assuming that you do in fact recognize the fact that YOU are a SINNER in need of saving grace and that Christ has paid the penalty for your sins... and not only did He pay them, but He paid them in FULL... then there is nothing left for you to pay! God no longer has a bill with your name on it, if in fact you have put your life in the hands of Christ, and have put your faith in Him. That's why the Scriptures say, "...if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom. 10:9)

It's the faith in Christ and His resurrection that makes all the difference!

I know this is short, but that's all I've got for right now!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com.

God Justifies Through FAITH

"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law." -Romans 3:28-31

These few verses bring a lot of hope to those of us that live in the Western world... If justification of sins came through the Jewish Law... we would have no means of justification. However, since faith is the concept by which we are saved, there is hope for those who are not of Jewish origin and have not grown up in Jewish society.

I can tell you right now, without hesitation, that we would all be in trouble if we were justified through the Law! There is no doubt in my mind that we would all fail, miserably, in our attempts to uphold the Law. You see, as we've studied in the past, the purpose of the Law is to reveal sin. It convicts, by it's higher standard, the fallen nature that resides within us. Even in Jewish society the Pharisees and Sadducees would uphold the Letter of the Law, but not necessarily the Spirit of the Law.

What do I mean? I mean that they would outwardly comply with what the Law commanded them to do, but would not do it out of a heart that desired to please God... they were more concerned with their appearance before men. Actually, when Christ would call them hypocrites, a term that literally means "one who wears a mask," He was specifically calling them out on their false appearances. Rather than seeing the Law as a basic guideline of life, with plenty of room for upward progress, it was often viewed by many as the highest standard to be reached and most would try to get by with the bare minimum that was required of them.

All of that to say, "Thanks be to God that it is through faith in Christ by which we are saved!" And not only that it is Christ who saves, but that He is the Savior of the Gentiles as well as the Jews! This is really the only point I have to make this morning...

I am so thankful that faith in Christ is the prerequisite for a relationship with God the Father. If we were measured according to the Law then I would fall so short that there would be no hope of recovering... But God justifies us by faith!

What is this faith? Perhaps you are very familiar with what it means to have faith in Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior... but then again, perhaps not. If this is a new concept for you and you are curious to learn more, please e-mail me at the e-mail address below. Faith in Christ is the total dependence on His death, burial, and resurrection, as your only hope for reconciliation with God. It is the understanding that we are not, and could never be, good enough for God, in our own strength. Faith is the confession of sins, repenting (turning away) from your sin and no longer living in it, and trusting Jesus' blood to pay God's demanded penalty for your sins. This is a very simplistic, introductory look at what it means to have faith in Christ. For a more in-depth understanding, please e-mail me with specific questions or talk to a pastor or elder in your church or a trusted Christian friend. Ask them to show you, in Scripture, what faith looks like.

I don't want to make this blog so long today that we lose the simplicity of this concept of faith being our only hope of redemption.

Well... I'm probably going to have to jump back into this same thought, the next time around, because I'm out of time this morning!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

No Room For Boasting!

"Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law." -Romans 3:27-28

In contrast to yesterday's blog... this is going to be amazingly short!

Faith in Christ trumps works! A million to one, you cannot out"do" the grace of God, through Christ Jesus' death on the cross. Since there is nothing we can "do" to be justified, by obeying and observing the Law, we see that faith is the requirement of justification.

Don't understand this to mean that we should not do good works, since we have been saved through faith in Christ. Rather, as a result of having been saved through faith in Christ, we should live as God has commanded us to live -to help the poor, the orphan, the widow- all the while understanding that NONE OF THIS will save or justify us before Him. It is only the atoning work of Christ which will redeem us, but it is the ministry of Christ which we are called to, so that "they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16)

Basically, it is the privilege of the one who's faith has been placed in Christ, to then do good works for the glory of God. AND... in all of this, our boasting is eliminated because it is by the very act of God that we receive the faith to believe in Christ in the first place! So, works won't save us, which means no boasting there. Faith in Christ is the ONLY thing that can save us, which is from God so that boasting in ourselves is excluded! The only thing left to boast in is the One who had mercy on your soul!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .