The Real Temptation

December 28, 2011 by Katie Orr 3 Comments

Every temptation to sin is, in the moment, a temptation to disbelieve the gospel-the temptation to secure for ourselves in that moment something we think we need in order to be happy, something we don’t yet have: meaning, freedom, validation, and so on. Bad behavior happens when we fail to believe that everything we need, in Christ we already have; it happens when we fail to believe in the rich provisional resources that are already ours in the gospel. Conversely, good behavior happens when we daily rest in and receive the finished work of Christ in deeper and deeper ways, smashing any sense of need to secure for ourselves anything beyond what Christ has already secured for us.

-Tullian Tchividjian, Jesus + Nothing = Everything

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For the month of December we are sharing posts and quotes to help us escape the Cycle of Try Harder, through Believing Better.

Read more Believing Better posts here.

Bologna or steak?

December 27, 2011 by Lisa Burgess 2 Comments

The Word of God cuts through the fog of Satan’s lies and shows me where true and lasting happiness is to be found. And so the Word helps me stop trusting in the potential of sin to make me happy.

Instead the Word entices me to trust in God’s promises.

When faith has the upper hand in my heart I am satisfied with Christ and his promises. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “He who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

When my thirst for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken.

We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we can smell the steak sizzling on the grill.

~ John Piper, Future Grace

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For the month of December we are sharing posts and quotes to help us escape the Cycle of Try Harder, through Believing Better.

Read more Believing Better posts here.

Merry Christmas!

December 22, 2011 by Katie Orr 2 Comments

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

—In Christ Alone, Stuart Townend

Merry Christmas from the Do Not Depart team!

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How to Receive Forgiveness {Believing Better}

December 22, 2011 by Patti Brown 7 Comments

It happened again.

I woke up, put water on for tea, thought just while the water boils, sat down at the computer, and got lost.

When I found myself, the water had cooled down again and the children were awake. No quiet time for me. No bible reading, no scripture study, no singing or praying.

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:15

The small sins, they pile up. The selfishness, the letting things slide, the I’ll-just-have-one-more greed. But the Spirit convicts… I recognize my guilt. And then confession must come.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

Miraculously, there is no condemnation…

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

Because although I am convicted, I am not condemned. Freed because Jesus took the sentence for me. He paid the fine, served the time. Gave me the gift of forgiveness.

But… do I live it? Do I live free? He does forgive, when I confess.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:12

But do I accept His forgiveness? If I grieve over my sin and focus relentlessly on my own brokenness, what energy do I have left to look at Him?

Choosing to live burdened by guilt is wrong-headed. It is believing badly.

Of course I am guilty. But to wallow in the guilt? Who am I to reject that forgiveness? Who am I to put myself above God, to wear the mantle of accusation, to act as one condemned?

“I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.” C. S. Lewis

If a girl is paying attention to His Spirit she is convicted of her sin. But a girl who has asked for forgiveness has received it, and she is not condemned, thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice on her behalf.

But what of the girl who hangs her head and whispers, “What I have done is too bad for God to forgive.”

Believing better means understanding that it’s not about what you have done. It’s about Him. About His faithfulness, His righteousness. Not. Yours.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

He is faithful. He is righteous.

We confess… we are forgiven. No caveats or disclaimers or as-long-as-it-wasn’t-too-serious.

Forgiveness, grace… a gift from the Lord Jesus Christ to us each…

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

In humility, with thanksgiving, I receive the gift of forgiveness. I do not deserve it, which is why I must receive it as a gift. It is the gift that frees me to walk in love, joyfully living my days even seeing my own brokenness.

photo by asenat29

Little Faith, Big God {Believing Better}

December 21, 2011 by Kathy Howard 9 Comments

If you had to rate your faith on a scale of 1 to 10, how would your faith score? A “1” means your faith is hard to find. A “10” means your faith impacts everyone you encounter. If I am totally honest I would have to say it depends on the day.

If you had to describe your faith using adjectives, which ones would you use? I would love to say “strong, unwavering, passionate, and big.” And some days I could use those words to describe my faith. But there are other days. Days when I would have to say, “weak, shaky, dry, and small.”

Recently, God reminded me of something during my time with Him: The reality of my faith does not depend on feelings. My feelings fluctuate depending on my circumstances. Sometimes my faith feels weak because I’m battered by the world or I’ve yielded to temptation. But other times – like when I’ve witnessed God do something awesome – I feel like my faith can move mountains.

The truth is, the true quality of my faith depends on the Object of my faith. My faith may be small, but my God is infinitely big. My faith may be weak, but my God is stronger than I can comprehend. He is the Mountain-mover. Not me.

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Daily, I must remind myself that my faith does not depend on my feelings or my circumstances. Those things change constantly. My faith must be grounded in the Person of God. Who He is and what He does.

A big faith will not make me believe better. But faith in our Big God will. I cannot live a Christ-like life by depending on a big faith. But I can faithfully follow Christ and please the Father when my faith rests in my Big God.

Just how big is our God? He has all power. Scripture tells us He hung the moon and stars in the sky (Psalm 8:3). He marked off the heavens with the breadth of His hand and weighed the earth’s mountains on a scale (Isaiah 40:12). Nothing is too hard for Him (Jeremiah 32:17)!

God also has all authority. God not only has the power to do anything, He also has the right. He establishes kings and deposes them (Acts 17:25-27). He controls life, death, and eternity (Ephesians 1:20-22).

What matters most is not the size of our faith but the size of our God. It is not my faith that resists temptation, obeys God’s will, or moves mountains. It is the Object of my faith working in me.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Eph 3:20-21, ESV

How would you describe your faith today? Now, how would you describe your God?

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For the month of December we are sharing posts and quotes to help us escape the Cycle of Try Harder, through Believing Better.

Read more Believing Better posts here.

Facing Your Fears {Believing Better}

December 20, 2011 by Do Not Depart 6 Comments

My physical therapist asked me to list any injuries I’ve suffered requiring medical treatment. When I finished and looked up, her mouth hung open in disbelief. “It’s amazing you’re still alive; you must’ve lived in constant fear!” I hate it when people see through me like that.

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Legitimately labeled “accident prone” as a child, my mishaps left behind scars on my body and fears in my mind. I wondered if the PT also saw evidence of my deeper scars and fears, left behind by things not treated with splints or stitches. Unseen injuries heal reluctantly, often leaving us believing the worst, leaving us limping through life in fear.

Believing lies of fear leaves us with one hand on a life preserver or patching holes in our protective walls. Fear-lies are like that, robbing us of opportunity and joy. Unlike the pain of broken bones or cuts, some of life’s most painful scars can be passed on, unless we believe better. Until we put to death lies that give birth to fear and believe what’s true, we need rehab of the heart and mind.

To believe something better than fear is to believe God’s promises. His truth has power over fear.

He holds my hand, so I’m not thrown down (Psalm 37:24).
He keeps me, without even sleeping, and won’t let my foot be moved (Psalm 121).
His perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

The power of my God is better than my hazardous history on playgrounds and bikes and gyms and trails … and relationships and attempts and dreams. The truth is that He will not stop gripping my hand or let me be thrown down; He will hold me and steady me and keep watching over me. Believing that truth is better than believing the suggestions of the fear loving, reckless Enemy!

Truth sets me free from fear and gives me confidence. A man once believed better than the fears whispered to him as he approached the masses of India, believing he should “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” (William Carey)

For a gal with a long history of ER visits, it takes a lot to convince me that I’m secure. And when our hearts bear deep scars from life’s impact, it takes a lot to convince us that we’re secure. Do your scars keep you living in fear? In your church? In your friendships? With your family? In your marriage? In your career?

Our Keeper offers us healing to cover over each scar and give us confidence to carry into each new opportunity. Do you believe it? That’s so much better than fear.

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A guest post by:

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Julie Sanders is a Women’s Ministry leader who loves to share God’s word with women in her hometown and around the world in a way that shows truth applies to life. She keeps busy with her adventure loving Pastor-husband and two teenagers, and she tries not to be a helicopter mom, since she knows first-hand that accidents DO happen. Julie feels safe knowing God holds her hand and offers peace in every mishap of life. You can find her blogging at Come Have a Peace and on Twitter, and she’ll secretly like you more if you drink coffee.

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For the month of December we are sharing posts and quotes to help us escape the Cycle of Try Harder, through Believing Better.

Read more Believing Better posts here.

Abiding Fruit :: The Great Truths of Romans 6

December 19, 2011 by Katie Orr 8 Comments

I was a slave

Dominated. Defeated. Hopeless. I had no choice but to sin. It was my master.

I died

At the cross my iniquities—all of them—were placed on Jesus. When he was tortured and crucified on calvary a part of me died too. The part of me that could do no good. The part that separated me from a holy God. It was dealt a mortal wound.

I was baptized

When I acknowledge my separation from God, and asked Him to be Lord of this sinner’s heart, I was given the Holy Spirit—God came to live inside of me. He baptized me and sealed me as His own.

I was buried

It was in His burial and resurrection that Christ displayed His power over sin. Through the baptism of the Spirit, in that first moment of grace-led faith when I entered into the Kingdom of God, I was baptized into His death and burial.

I have been given new life!

I was joined with Christ not only in His death and burial, but also in His resurrection! I have been brought from death to life. I have been enabled to walk in newness of life.

I have been set free!

I have been set free from the slavery of sin. It no longer my ruler. My chains are gone. I now have a choice to walk in obedience.

I have been given a purpose!

I am to be a tool for righteousness, to bring glory to the one who holds me in His hands. I have been made alive to God.

Applying the truth

Romans 6:1-14 is filled with deep, deep truths. But these truths were not meant for us to read and nod in approval. They are to transform our living. It is in knowing who we are in Christ, and what we’ve been through with Him (burial, death, and resurrection) that we can begin to hope for any change in our lives.

Change comes only through the work of Christ on our behalf. The work we need to focus on is in believing:

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11

It is finished

With His dying breaths Christ said, “It is finished.” Do you believe that? That your sin nature is dead? That there is nothing left to do to obtain right-standing with God? That God sees you through the perfection and obedience of Christ?

It is in abiding—remaining in Christ and resting in His completed work on our behalf—that we experience fruit in our lives. It is not in trying harder, but through pursuing Jesus and allowing Him to bear fruit in us.

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised…Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 17 ESV)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24 ESV)

What did you see this week in Romans 6? Have you seen the fruit of the Spirit more evident in your life over the last few months, as you’ve leaned into Him as your source?

Faith that changes

December 17, 2011 by Lisa Burgess Leave a Comment

The majority defines faith as belief in the existence of God.

In earlier times, that was taken for granted. Rather, faith had to do with one’s relationship to God—whether one trusted in God.

The difference between faith as “belief in something that may or may not exist” and faith as “trusting in God” is enormous. The first a matter of the head, the second a matter of the heart.

The first can leave us unchanged, the second intrinsically brings change.

~ Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

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For the month of December we are sharing posts and quotes to help us escape the Cycle of Try Harder, through Believing Better.

Read more Believing Better posts here.

Finally!

December 16, 2011 by Kathy Howard Leave a Comment

Eager anticipation dominated the Christmases of my childhood. All the traditions of the season promised the arrival of the big day – the tree, the brightly wrapped packages, the lights, and the music. These things by themselves were not Christmas, but they signaled its coming. When I woke on the morning of December 25^th all these traditions found their full expression.

Although I loved all the Christmas activities, I did not appreciate their full meaning until years later. (If you’re interested, here’s a great article from the Crosswalk.com archives that gives the spiritual significance of many well-loved Christmas traditions.)

Like the Christmas activities point to Christmas, so the Old Testament points to Jesus.

The Law, the sacrificial system, the feasts, and prophecies all find their full expression in the person of Christ. The Old Covenant that God made with the Israelites anticipates the New Covenant found only in the Son.

For the last three weeks here at Scripture Dig we have been exploring the “I Came” statements of Jesus. As we celebrate His birth, we did not want to miss the reason Jesus came. Here is what we’ve discovered:

Today, on our final post of this series, we see that Jesus came to “fulfill” the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). Everything in the Old Testament pointed to Christ. Jesus was the goal, the purpose of the Law and the Prophets. Here are a few examples:

The Passover – Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
The Sacrificial System – Jesus, the “once for all” sacrifice, provided what the blood of bulls and goats never could (Hebrews 10:1-10).
The Day of Atonement – Jesus is our High Priest who enters the actual Holy of Holies on our behalf (Hebrews 9:11).
Manna, bread in the wilderness – Jesus is the Bread of Life, the true bread from heaven (John 6:30-32).

Jesus has always been God’s plan for establishing a relationship with His people. Jesus was not the backup plan when all else failed. Even before God created the world, He determined that Jesus would die to provide salvation for mankind (1 Peter 1:20). The Old Testament – the Law and the Prophets – anticipate the fulfillment of God’s plan. They find completion and full expression in Christ. Finally! He’s here!

What is your favorite picture of Christ in the Old Testament?

Hiding in Him

December 16, 2011 by Heather 2 Comments

When I don’t set my mind on truth, my mind automatically sinks into shame. And shame opens wide the door to fear. It is so crafty, this fear, that I take it on as my very identity: I am afraid, I hear myself say. And in the saying, I practice the presence of fear, rather than rest in the safety of God. I practice my identity as one who is afraid, rather than set my mind on the truth of my salvation, as one who has been given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. …

It takes work to set our minds on truth. It does not come naturally; it comes supernaturally as we depend on Christ to remind us of truth that is already true, to call to our minds the reality of the victory he has won…”For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). The mind set on fear, worry, anger, hurt, revenge, lust, jealousy, and shame is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.

What you believe about God and yourself and the world becomes your hiding place. If what you believe is true, then where you live and breathe is a safe place. But what if the things you believe about God and yourself and the world are untrue? Then the place where you hide is decidedly unsafe.

Just because we feel safe where we hide does not mean we are safe. I feel safe behind my mask, not because it’s always comfortable, but more because the alternative is unknown. To step out from behind that mask is to risk exposure and rejection. That is why I stay here.

It is only when the haven I thought my mask provided begins to crumble that I will be willing to consider the possibility that perhaps it isn’t as safe as I once believed. Our hiding places can be either our havens or our prisons. Setting our minds on the truth of God’s Word will ensure that we don’t stay captive behind those tattered, tired-out masks. And we will then say with confidence, “You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance” (Ps 32:7).

Emily P. Freeman, “Grace for the Good Girl”