Deepest Law of Acceptance

"In the cross God demonstrates the deepest law of acceptance. For to be convinced that I have been accepted, I must be convinced that I have been accepted at my worst. This is the greatest gift an intimate relationship can offer — to know that we have been accepted and forgiven in the full knowledge of who we are, an even greater knowledge than we have about ourselves. This is what the cross offers."

— Rebecca Pippert, Hope Has Its Reasons  San Francisco, Ca.: Harper & Row, 1989), page 105

HT: Of First Importance

Free To Be Me

The Freedom that Comes from Grace (Scotty Smith by way of Darryl Dash)

Grace is the end of all posturing and pretending.

• Because of grace, I no longer have to pretend to be someone different than I am. Grace meets me right where I am.

• Because of grace, I don’t have to measure up, because I couldn’t anyway. Jesus has measured up on my behalf, and it is enough.

• Because of grace, I can accept the harshest criticism, knowing that even worse is true of me than they know, but it’s all been dealt with by Jesus.

• Because of grace, I can be free from needing the approval of others, knowing that I already have the only approval that really matters.

• Because of grace, I can lean into honest relationships with others, knowing that I don’t have to fear being exposed when I’m dressed in the righteousness of Christ.

Finding a Safe Place in Grace

Great piece by Justin Buzzard on grace creating safety- places where people can be real and be accepted.

We’ve all experienced (and contributed to) this dynamic: You are afraid to share what you’re really thinking and what’s really going on in your life with your spouse/friend/parent/church leader because you fear they will use this information against you. You’re afraid that sharing reality will result in being challenged, fixed, or judged, instead of being known, understood, and loved. This dynamic creates unhealthy cultures in marriages, friendships, churches, and workplaces–people never share what’s really going on because they’re afraid, and this stunts both intimacy and growth.

Fortunately, this unhealthy dynamic can be replaced with a healthy dynamic: grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love. When an individual embraces a grace-based identity (instead of a performance-based identity) and standing with God, he or she becomes capable of extending grace (undeserved love) to other people. This individual becomes secure, and safe. This individual now has the ability to truly listen to what another person is really thinking, to what is really going on, without attempting to immediately use that information against the person.

See, grace creates safety. Grace creates a culture of safety where people can face and talk about reality. And, lest any of you think I’m being soft on sin, change, or sanctification, the crazy truth is that this grace-soaked culture of safety is what finally results in people changing.

Think about it. Environments and relationships that approximate unconditional love are what resulted in true, deep change and healing in your own life. When you experienced grace and felt safe, you finally opened up. And then you finally began to get help where you most needed it.Grace creates safety, which creates change.

How can you be such a person to others? How can you use your leadership to create such environments?

“‘I will place him in the safety for which he longs.’”-Psalm 12:5

Things Jesus Will Never Say to You

Love this! "Things Jesus Will Never Say to You " by Jared Wilson:

To those who trust in him for salvation, Jesus will never say:

“Go play somewhere; I’m busy.”

“Fake it til you make it.”

“I just don’t think it’s gonna work out between us.”

“I knew you were a screw-up, but this one really surprised me.”

“It’s too late.”

“I don’t care.”

“My assistant will get back to you on that.”

“We’re through.”

“I need some ‘me time’ right now.”

“I just ‘can’t’ right now.”

“I feel like I’m doing all the giving; what have you done for me lately?”

“Yeah, good job on ___________, but what about ____________?”

“I’ll be glad to help if you’ll ‘let’ me.”

“I can’t bless you until you release my power with positive words.”

“Who are you, again?”

“Beat it.”

Our Skewed Misunderstandings

How do you see God? How does God see you? Read this great piece by Sean Norris at Liberate

What is our “view” of God?  What do we think about him?  The flipside of that is: How do you think he views you?  What does God think about you?  The more I talk to people where I am and listen to what is said at our Bible studies and our 12 Step meetings the more I am convinced: a completely skewed view of God is at the center of so much of our struggle as humans. We simply do not see him correctly, and as a result we have no idea how he sees us.  Our skewed view of God has completely messed up both our view of each other and of ourselves.

More often than not I hear people describe God in one of two ways.  First, I hear that he is distant.  He is hard to get in touch with.  I have heard statements like, “I don’t even know if he is listening.”  Or, “I pray and pray, but he does not answer.”  So, he’s hard to reach and he’s kind of inactive, at least insofar as it affects my actual life.  He’s probably doing something, but he is certainly not doing anything for me.

The interesting contradictory view that is often held simultaneously is that God is actually very active and involved when it comes to punishment. I’ll often hear things like, “What have I done to deserve this?” So, the implication is that when we need him to help or to answer our pleas he’s passive, but when we screw up he’s right there to let me have it, to judge me and punish me.

These two somewhat contradictory views form the foundation of our skewed understanding of God.  I don’t think you have to work too hard, either, to see the implicit declaration about how we think God sees us within these views.  He doesn’t care about me when I need him, but when I screw up he sure seems to care: he’s happy to judge me and punish me.  He mildly tolerates us until we really mess up, then it’s curtains.  I wonder if you have ever thought this way about God.  I wonder if there is something in your life right now that you wish he would help you with.  I wonder if there is something in your life right now that has gone wrong that you attribute to his judgment of you......

.....Judgment for sin is real.  It is tragic and uncompromising.  That is the nature of the law.  It is unflinching and absolute…until Jesus.  The law sees sin and condemns it.  In Judah they broke the covenant, so they are sinners and deserve punishment.  But God breaks that ever-so-tight formula in the work of Jesus.  Jesus becomes our sin for us.  He comes down to earth and takes on our frail humanity and says, “Your sin is mine.  Your guilt is mine.  I am going to the cross to deal with the condemnation of the law against your sin once and for all.  I am going to suffer the exile from God for you, so that you don’t ever have to.  I am going to finish the work that is required to set you free forever.”  And he does, and he did.  With his last breaths on the cross he proclaimed, “It is finished.”  Then on the third day he rose from the dead, showing us that the final exile of death will be brought to an end, and we will live forever.

You are loved beyond your own comprehension.  Jesus Christ has called you His own and has bought you with his own blood.  You are worth dying for.  This is who God really is, and this is how he really sees you.

He Earned It All

"We do not have to make ourselves suffer in order to merit forgiveness. We simply receive the forgiveness earned by Christ. 1 John 1:8 says that God forgives us because He is ‘just.’ That is a remarkable statement. It would be unjust of God to ever deny us forgiveness, because Jesus earned our acceptance! In religion we earn our forgiveness with our repentance, but in the gospel we just receive it. "

             — Tim Keller

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

My Friend Jesus

Love this! - Can I Tell You About My Friend Jesus? by Jared Wilson:

I love my friend Jesus because he knows everything I’ve ever thought and still doesn’t cross the street to avoid me when he sees me coming.

I love my friend Jesus because the blood of his sacrifice speaks a better word than the sweat of my effort, and he shouts it triumphantly.

I love my friend Jesus because he chased after me when I ran away and he didn’t stop til I was found and tackled.

My friend Jesus? He’s a storm-hushing, tomb-busting, dragon-crushing brother.

I love my friend Jesus because he took my death, even though he had plenty of time to think it over and every reason to say no.

I love my friend Jesus because he’s never left me and won’t ever leave me, even when I’m most leave-able.

I love my friend Jesus because even when he’s laughing at me, he’s laughing with me. There is no guile in him, no mockery.

I love my friend Jesus because even when he calls me on my bull he doesn’t nag or shame me.

I love my friend Jesus because he never checks his watch while I’m talking to him.

I love my friend Jesus because he never brings up my old stuff.

I love my friend Jesus because, while the crowd gathers with their stones on that side, he stands on this side of the line with me.

I love my friend Jesus because he keeps the devil on a leash like a dog but will throw him into the lake of fire like he’s a cat. #dogperson

I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t nitpick.

I love my friend Jesus because he never leaves me behind.

I love my friend Jesus because he waits unhurried with me.

I love my friend Jesus because when I enter the room, he doesn’t shake his head & mutter “This guy” but smiles and shouts “This guy!”

I love my friend Jesus because, though he has every right to be, he is nevertheless not ashamed to call me his brother.

I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t “get upset” with me.

I love my friend Jesus because he is forgiver, healer, conqueror, king, God.

I love my friend Jesus because he uses the dirt of my sermons to open blind eyes. What a powerful, gracious friend.

I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t just erase the records against me, he burns the record book and scatters the ashes to nothing.

I love my friend Jesus because when he sees me shuffling in, tail between my legs, he runs to meet me in welcome.

I love my friend Jesus because he doesn’t pass on false reports about me but is glad to be my eternal advocate.

I love my friend Jesus because he upholds the universe by the word of his power. I am in good with the boss of existence.

I love my friend Jesus because he just straight-up — no hesitations, no qualifications, no ifs ands or buts — loves me.

I love my friend Jesus because while many give me trouble, he gives me rest.

I love my friend Jesus because when all around my soul gives way, he is all my hope and stay.

I love my friend Jesus because he always lives to intercede for me.

I love my friend Jesus because I can just be myself with him.

I love my friend Jesus because he is infinitely rich with grace and a big spender.

I love my friend Jesus because he makes me feel like a conqueror but he does it without feeding my ego.

All of these sayings previously appeared as Tweets by @jaredwilson. I'd suggest you follow him!

Joyfully Welcoming Sinners

"Here I need to address in detail one of the issues that many Christians reading this book will find most challenging. We are to imitate Jesus by being intentional about developing intimate fellowship with sinners. This means that we are to make the effort to build such close relationships with unbelievers, regardless of their beliefs or way of life, that we delight to eat and drink at one another’s tables and visit joyfully in one another’s homes. This will mean that we are going to get to know people who are considered by some of our churches to be sinners—the kind of people that God-fearing people should despise.

Why should we welcome sinners and unbelievers joyfully, and why should they welcome us joyfully? Every day of our lives Jesus comes to each of us in our rebellion, moral failures, lack of love, and our reluctance to honor him. Even though we have cold hearts, every day he asks us to welcome him into our lives and into our homes. Every day he says to each one of us:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev. 3:20) \

How poorly we understand the gospel and the grace of God to us when we think we ought not to have “sinners” in our homes, or that we ought to keep ourselves and our children away from the homes of obvious sinners. Fellowship with sinners is the gospel. There is no other gospel of Christ."

- Jerram Barrs, Learning Evangelism from Jesus, p. 92, 93

Hat Tip: Vitamin Z

Jesus' Upside Down World

"Many of us in our churches think of ourselves as living upright and outstanding lives as faithful Christian women and solid Christian men, and that, therefore, God is going to accept us. He will not! All of us need to hear the law of God, taught frequently and powerfully, so that we may be convicted of sin and come to understand our continuing need for Christ.
Jesus preaches the gospel of forgiveness to those who seem farthest away from God: the prostitutes, sinners, tax collectors, and Samaritans. Today, our equivalent would be perhaps prostitutes, drug addicts, gang members, homosexuals, adulterers, corrupt business people and politicians, and any others whom we think of as being hopelessly wrong in their beliefs and lifestyles. These people have already graduated from the school of sin, and are often deeply aware of their need and shame. It is to the people who seem farthest from truth and righteousness that Jesus preaches the good news of salvation with the utmost grace and gentleness.

This may seem completely wrong to us, a kind of upside-down world. Think of attitudes in our society as well as our attitudes often found within the church: “Condemn the poor, the weak, the sinners! Commend the rich, the powerful, the upright!” Jesus, however, does precisely the opposite."
                      - Jerram Barrs, Learning Evangelism from Jesus, p. 146

But Jesus was a different kind of holy man and teacher. We have already seen that Jesus did not seek to keep apart from sinners. He also did not turn sinners away. Jesus did not abuse sinners, single them out for condemnation, or avoid them. Rather, he was a teacher who spoke words of comfort and grace to them, a teacher who showed them such respect, honor, and love that many of them responded by happily turning away from their sin. This, of course, was what happened in the life of Zacchaeus. Grace and mercy are a far more effective means of creating love and devotion than condemnation. A new affection for Christ has a much greater power to drive out sin and bring lasting repentance than any sermon on moral improvement, or any program for straightening out one’s life.

                    - Jerram Barrs, Learning Evangelism from Jesus, p. 10

Hat Tip: Vitamin Z

Our Identity Foundation

"The Christian life is built upon the foundation of (1) facing who you really are and (2) trusting who Christ truly is. Everything you do will be shaped by the degree to which you act on the blessings that are yours in Christ.

If you only look at yourself and carry around a load of guilt, you will hide, excuse, blame, rationalize, and cover up your shame rather than enjoy the freedom of confession and the joy of forgiveness. You will not enjoy the lasting fruit that comes from following the wisdom that is already yours in Christ! Instead, you will reduce the Christian life to a simplistic list of rules and behaviors that never touch the real problems, and you will be blind to the gaps in your relationship to Christ. "

— Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp, How People Change,, page 65

Hat Tip: Of First Importance

Like Moths to a Flame

"..its seems as if everywhere Jesus went, the same people showed up: those who had no where else to go and nothing better to  do. In the Gospels, Jesus is called the light of the world. Apparently, whores and thieves and the sick and the demon-possessed are the moths He attracts."

Prototype: What Happens When You Discover That You Are More Like Jesus Than You Think, by Jonathan Martin, page 69

Living in His Pleasure

"His [God's] voice of affirmation is not the least bit contingent on how we perform in any of our tasks, whether we are good at our jobs or even at spiritual practices. That's why it's so significant that God the Father spoke into His Son's identity before Jesus did any of the miracles or good works among the poor and marginalized. The Father's voice of love was the source from which the work of the Son would come - loving and accepting others as a natural extension of the love and blessing He had received. It could not work the other way around. He was the beloved Son in whom God was well pleased, not by whom He  was well please. That distinction is critical"

-Jonathan Martin, Prototype: What Happens When You Discover That You Are More Like Jesus Than You Think, page 49

In the Proper Order

"That is the order of the gospel: God accepts us, and then we follow Him."

 "..if you add anything to Christ as a requirement for acceptance with God - if you start to say: To be saved I need the grace of Christ plus something else- you completely reverse the 'order' of the gospel and make it null and void. Any revision of the gospel reverses it...."

"To change the gospel the tiniest bit is to lose it so completely that the new teaching has no right to be called 'a gospel'.'"

        - Timothy Keller, Galatians For You, page 38

Quitting Religion Cold Turkey

"I think good preachers should be like bad kids. They ought to be naughty enough to tiptoe up on dozing congregations, steal their bottles of religion pills…and flush them all down the drain. The church, by and large, has drugged itself into thinking that proper human behavior is the key to its relationship with God. What preachers need to do is force it to go cold turkey with nothing but the word of the cross–and then be brave enough to stick around while [the congregation] goes through the inevitable withdrawal symptoms. But preachers can’t be that naughty or brave unless they’re free from their own need for the dope of acceptance. And they wont be free of their need until they can trust the God who has already accepted them, in advance and dead as door-nails, in Jesus. Ergo, the absolute indispensability of trust in Jesus’ passion. Unless the faith of preachers is in that alone–and not in any other person, ecclesiastical institution, theological system, moral prescription, or master recipe for human loveliness–they will be of very little use in the pulpit."

          -Robert Farrar Capon Quoted by Tullian Tchvidjian

Outflanked

"The power of the gospel comes in two movements. It first says, “I am more sinful and flawed than I ever dared believe,” but then quickly follows with, “I am more accepted and loved than I ever dared hope.” The former outflanks antinomianism, while the latter staves off legalism. One of the greatest challenges is to be vigilant in both directions at once. Whenever we find ourselves fighting against one of these errors, it is extraordinarily easy to combat it by slipping into the other. Here’s a test: if you think one of these errors is much more dangerous than the other, you are probably partially participating in the one you fear less."

    - Tim Keller in Center Church, page 48 (Kindle)

Hat Tip: Reformissionary

Unshakable Position

I'm enjoying Pete Wilson's newest book. Here's some good stuff!

""..my goal these days...is to transition from a success-based identity to a position-based identity.

What is a position-based identity? It means that instead of gathering self-worth externally - from achievement - we try to receive it internally. We begin to understand that self-worth comes from who we are in Christ, not what we accomplish in this world...

...Positional-based identity doesn't come from your performance or from anyone else's evaluation of your performance. Rather, positional-based identity comes from how you feel about your position in Christ...

...Is the root of your identity in the truth that right now you are loved?
 
Do you believe that right now you are accepted, that right now you are enough because you are the beloved child of the King?

Basing your identity on that reality is the only way to treat an achievement addiction. It's the only way to tear down the ladder and destroy the treadmill of achievement and success. Because if you do that, your life will be rooted in something that cannot be shaken."

 - Pete Wilson, Empty Promises: The Truth About You, Your Desires, and the Lies You're Believing, pages 42-45

Twitter Harvests

RT @PastorMark: “A saint is not someone who is good but who experiences the goodness of God.” –Thomas Merton

 RT @DailyKeller The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me.

 RT @theidshift: Because of Jesus we don’t have to be afraid to die, and we don’t have to be afraid to live.

 I wrap up this work day moved to tears over Scripture. Only 1 book can hold our fascination for decades. Only 1 glorious word-breathing God. @BethMooreLPM

RT @bcloritts: Some people come in your life as blessings, others come as lessons.

Sometimes people come into your life as a blessings ... and some come into your life as lessons @Self24

 RT @PastorTullian: The very thing that makes a Christian—namely, the Gospel—is the same thing that grows a Christian. http://bit.ly/P31hip

RT @JeffersonBethke: When you realize your acceptance is because of Someone else's achievement you are free to fail.


RT @PassionNetwork: You will never forgive anyone more than God has forgiven you

Jesus doesn’t come like the false god-men of this age and say, “bow to me!” Jesus comes as the true God-Man and says, “dance with me.”  @BrianZahnd

Everything You Need, You Already Have

From an interview by Timothy Dalrymple with Tullian Tchvidjian regarding approval and acceptance.

When you realize that you already possess everything you need in Christ, you recognize that you don’t actually need anything from anybody.  Everything you need, you already have in Christ — you don’t need anything more, so now you can now spend your life giving yourself away.  That invests your life as a leader with unbounded courage.

Now, I can walk into a meeting to announce an important decision and not be worried that some in the room might not like it, and fight against it.  I can live my life with unfettered sacrifice because I don’t need to win.  I’m free to lose, and that’s something leaders face all the time.  So much of their own sense of value and worth and identity is wrapped up in success as the world defines it.

But when you realize that because Jesus won for me, I’m free to lose, because Jesus succeeded for me I’m free to fail, that makes you a powerful leader.  You can live your life with reckless abandon, realizing on the one hand that, like Paul said, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  Everything I need I already have.  There is nothing anyone can strip away from me that I actually need.  I’m free to be unpopular, free to make tough decisions, free to stand on principle and do what’s right even if people will resist it.

It changed me as a leader.  I have more courage.  I’m able to lead more boldly.  I’m able to lose and not have to walk out of a meeting getting my way.  I can be sacrificial.  I can give myself away, because all I need is Christ.  I don’t need anything else.  I’m now free to give everything I have without needing anything in return.  I can love those who hate me, I can turn the other cheek when I’m slapped in the face, because my dignity and my sense of value is not wrapped up in what I have in this person or this project.  It’s wrapped up in Jesus.

That changes everything.

 BTW, I highly recommend Tullian's book Jesus + Nothing = Everything.

The Lord's Sigh and Face Palm

I'm certain he frequently feels this way about me, but I'm so glad he loves me anyway!

The Bottom Line of Grace

"The bottom line is this, Christian: because of Christ's work on your behalf, God doesn't dwell on your sin the way you do. So, relax, and rejoice, and you'll actually start to get better. The irony, of course, is that it's only when we stop obsessing over our own need to be holy and focus instead on the beauty of Christ's holiness that we actually become more holy! Not to mention that we also start to become a lot easier to live with."

- Tullian Tchvidjian, Jesus + Nothing = Everything, page 184

(Have I mentioned lately that this is a really GREAT book!)