Anchors Away

I recently went on vacation to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (which is why I haven’t posted for a few days, due to my lack of Wi-Fi available). It was a grand time with family and friends, and I feel well-rested. We spent quite a bit of time relaxing on the beach and beside the pool, soaking up the sun, sand and water of the coastal climate.

 One of the days that I was there, a few of us rented a boat and went fishing in the marsh. Our goal was, obviously, to catch fish. There was a problem, though; the bottom of the marshy waters had a very sandy bottom, and our anchor simply would not catch on anything. We spent much of our day drifting through the marsh, as a high wind blew us along, dragging our anchor the whole way.

 I think that many people are dragging their anchor. We all want to secure our hope, or our anchor, into something stable. Yet, time and time again, we toss it out only for our anchor to drag through the sand when the winds and currents of life send us into chaos. We are floating downstream, and can’t seem to stop it.

It wasn’t until, after hours or drifting, that we finally threw our anchor up into a bunch of weeds. Once our anchor got tangled into the roots of the marsh grass, we were able to feel secure. The same is true for us.

 There is only one place that we can firmly put our anchor of faith, and that is Christ. Check out Hebrews 6:19-20:

“We have this hope- like a sure and firm anchor of the soul- that enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain. Jesus has entered there on our behalf as a forerunner, because He has become a ‘high priest forever in the order of Melchizdek.’” –Hebrews 6:19-20, HCSB

 I urge you, please toss your anchor into Christ. Put your faith and hope into the only secure hold that is offered in this life. He is the only way to keep us from drifting along, and a life drifting is far better and far more rewarding than a life drifting.

How to Contain Your Inner Hulk

Bruce Banner has a problem. He is a brilliant scientist, and an overall good guy. However, he has another side that happens to be big, green and likes to smash things. We know his other side as the Hulk.

Many Christians can understand Dr. Banner's plight, whether they realize it or not. Just think: how many times have you been trying so hard to walk with God, thinking you were growing in your faith, only to totally screw up? Maybe it's a recurring temptation you keep falling for, or maybe it's an attitude that you just cannot shake. Regardless, you feel like you have a dark side that no matter how hard you try, it keeps on bursting forward like your own Hulk. The apostle Paul understands your struggles. Look at this:

"Therefore, did what is good cause my death? Absolutely not! On the contrary, sin, in order to be recognized as sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment, sin might become sinful beyond measure.  For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am made out of flesh, sold into sin’s power. For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me.  For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but it is the sin that lives in me. So I discover this principle: When I want to do what is good, evil is with me. For in my inner self I joyfully agree with God’s law. But I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body?" -Romans 7:13-24, HCSB

He gets us! The same guy who said "To live is Christ, to die is gain" was, in fact, a human that struggled with sin like we do! How comforting, first of all, is it to know that even the apostles struggled with sin, just like us?

The question we arrive at, however, is the same one Paul arrives at: who will rescue us from our sinful, wretched body that continues to strive for godlessness? The answer is in verse 25 of the same chapter:

"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with my mind I myself am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh, to the law of sin." -Romans 7:25, HCSB

Thanks to Christ's death and resurrection, and our subsequent salvation, we are no longer slaves to the sin that tortures us. Yes, we will still struggle, as our flesh remains a slave "to the law of sin." BUt our minds and souls are now bound to Christ, and we are being sanctified (made like God) through Him! Whoo!

I challenge you, Christian: remember you are no longer bound to sin, and look to the cross in times of temptation. I will try to do the same. If you aren't a Christian, or aren't sure, run from your sin and earthly desires! Run to Christ, and allow Him to free you from the bondage of this world. He is the only way for us to escape our inner Hulk. Let Him do it.

Pieces or Potato Head?

Have you ever wondered what you would say, if you had only one thing to say to a person you cared deeply about? What if you were allowed five minutes with them? What would you say?

Jesus had a moment like this. Moments before He was betrayed, arrested, beaten and killed, He was on His knees on a mountain, praying. First, He prayed for Himself. Then, for His twelve disciples. Finally, for all believers. The Book of John records this final portion of His prayer, focus on all of those who call on His Name, for only seven verses. I want to focus on the front four verses of this prayer:

I pray not only for these,
but also for those who believe in Me
through their message.
May they all be one,
as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be one in Us,
so the world may believe You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one.
I am in them and You are in Me.
May they be made completely one,
so the world may know You have sent Meand have loved them as You have loved Me.
-John 17:20-23, HCSB

He prays only seven verses worth about us, right before His arrest, and what does He spend four of those verses praying for? Unity. He prays that we would "all be one," as "You, Father are in Me and I am in You." He prays that we "also be one with Us [God]," "One as We are one," and that we may "be made completely one." I'm not sure, but I think Jesus wants us to be one.

It is said that the body of Christ is the Church (all Christians). Here's the thing: a finger, toe and ear are not a body. If you see a Mr. Potato Head's arm and teeth on the ground, you do not think that these pieces are the body of the toy. Instead, you see them as pieces of one structure.

The same is the case for the Church. We may have many pieces, with different functions, flavors and styles, but we are just that: a bunch of pieces. Apart, we are only able to accomplish so much, just as my eyeball could only do so much without the rest of me.

Christ intends for Christians of all kinds to unite under the commonality that we all find in Christ as our Savior, Lord and Treasure, rather than squabbling over differences. The quicker we quit our infighting and start uniting, the quicker the point of our unity will be realized: "so that the world may believe You sent Me (v.21)." We are on mission, Church, and a group on mission must be unified.

In Passionate Pursuit

Well, it's been a while since I wrote a piece for my blog. I appreciate those of you that continued to visit the page and read my posts while I was not writing; I only had 100 pagesviews less than a normal month with multiple posts. So, thanks and I hope to write more regularly in the month of June.

Today, I want to take a look at a warning from the past that applies well to today, so look at Hebrews 3:7-14 with me:

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:
Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
and saw My works 10 for 40 years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation
and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways.” So I swore in My anger,
“They will not enter My rest.” " -Hebrews 3:7-11, HCSB

This passage starts with a quote from Psalm 95:7-11, which talks about the failures of the Israelities in the desert (which you can read more of in the books of Leviticus and Numbers). We read that the Israelities hardened their hearts and turned away from God when they were in the desert, and so God didn't allow them to enter "the rest," which they were supposedly going to be able to receive once they made it to the promised land of Canaan.

So, how does is apply to us? Check out the next verses:

"Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. For we have become companions of the Messiah if we hold firmly until the end the reality that we had at the start." -Hebrews 3:12-14, HCSB

Christians, we must guard ourselves from this! We have to stay away from an evil heart that turns away from God. How do we do that? Two things:

1. Encourage each other. Encouraging fellow Christians, and being encouraged yourself, is a great way to keep yourself headed toward God. It's always easier to stay on target when ther people are helping you do so.

2. Hold firmly to God. Passionately follow after God, always looking to draw nearer to Him. Read His Word, pray and do His work.

Both of these things will help us to keep Him in our sights. The question is: will you harden your heart, turning away from God, or will you passionately pursue Him?