It is quite easy to think of the Bible as a book of rules — things to DO. Yet, it is far greatest The Story of God, of His coming near to us, and in that way is not primarily about us. The Bible is about GOD. And not just facts, figures and fables — as if God were a science experiment, a idea to be calculated, quantified and categorized. In reality, God has acted in history — in this real world — and as we read Scripture we discover the stories are true, the characters are generally failures, and God is always faithful. That’s step one, reading the Bible as if it’s about God and not just “me.” Of course, it must be experienced, taken into our whole lives, if we are to learn what God says.

There’s another needed emphasis, more likened to a simple priority: know the WHOs before the DOs. Jesus came to show us the way by BEING the way. No five step (or 12) plan for salvation here. He’s the plan, the whole plan. So when we read, we see the what, why, how, and especially the Who of God’s Story.

This “happy tension” of sorts is recognizing the why the Bible is written. Take the New Testament, written in common day (Koine) Greek. The most common mood of the verbs is in what’s called the indicative mood. Stating facts, making declarations (e.g., “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…” John 3:16). Later, and less frequently we get into the imperative mood, of commands (”Do this … do that…”; e.g., “Be holy…,” or “forgive one another” Eph. 4:32). I say later because we must recognize that every command of Scripture is rooted in a promise, in the prior work of God with us and for us. A couple examples…

Ephesians 4:32:

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” // a very good command; do it!

But how and why?

“…as God in Christ forgave you.”

We can only forgive out of the resources of the self-sacrificing God who forgives sinners at the greatest sacrifice the world has ever known. We can think of the “other,” because God is all about the “other,” modeled in relationships among the Trinity. Furthermore, as an application, we can begin with forbearance, because Christ has gone before us — the WHO before our DO — throwing away His convenience to suffer as a servant in our place (Phil. 2:1-11).

Digging into the Word: Paul’s Letter to the Philippians

Another example of this indicative-imperative correlation is Philippians 4:1:

“Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”

(We just taught this passage to our high schoolers.) Do you see what Paul did there? He could have said it so simply, like: “just stand firm in the Lord. Do it!” Why does he wax eloquent — is it just poetic or is God doing something deep and meaningful here? He’s talking about identity… their true (and new) identity.

That’s the only way to be read the Bible as one alive, and to teach it to others for transformation. Every single command in Scripture is rooted in  God’s prior work, for His commands become His enablements. Just as Paul waited unto the twelfth chapter of Romans to give the very first command in that great letter (Romans 12:1-2), we recognize Christianity is far more about WHO Jesus is than what we DO. Plus, our doing comes out of our being, which comes from being remade into His image (Colossians 3:10) and embracing our new identity.

Below Darrin Patrick, summarizes this necessary approach to reading and teaching the Bible in a 9 minute video. He was asked to collaborate with about 80 other church leaders across the country on a day of training called “The Nines” (on 09.09.09), put on by the Leadership Network and Catalyst. Darrin serves as lead pastor of The Journey Church in St. Louis, a Gospel-centered missional church he and others founded less than a decade ago, and has become a catalyst for church planters and leaders globally.

We used this video to spark a discussion last week with high school leaders and students. Bits of it may have been over their head — there’s those happy tensions — as real growth comes from being challenged. This sparked a great discussion, and spiritual and mental lights were going on all over the place. So, that’s what it means to work from significance and not for it, according to the Gospel (as I seek to remind them).

He covers the ground quickly, so open your Bible to Luke 24, and grab something to take notes. Enjoy!

I say it will be The Triune Creator God. How so? As They work out the unified mission in this world, for our good and to the glory of God the Father, Son and Spirit. More and more people will take notice and be renewed to a saving knowledge in Jesus. It’s not trendy but will become more increasingly the trend as the future becomes the present.

This new year presents endless opportunities for good and bringing hope to a dark work. It will be quite an adventure. It’s always good to start new adventures with some essential theology:

Missio Dei is Latin for “mission of God” and captures the reality that God is the one who initiates and sustains His mission (restores His image marred by the fall and reclaims His kingdom marred by the kingdom of darkness).  God the Father sends the Son, God the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit; God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit send the Church. The church is being sent and sends itself into the world as God’s ambassadors to restore the image of God and recapture the ‘reign of God’ through God’s redemption and reconciliation in our Savior Jesus Christ.

—summarized from Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative (Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic, 2006), 5.

That’s why missional theologians can be quick to remind us that the Church doesn’t have a mission. Rather, God has a mission, and for that reason He created the church to participate in fulfilling it (Matt. 28:18-20).

Or, in simple terms, as Jesus prayed:

“As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” —John 17:18

By the way, Happy New Year!

“All of our personal & church problems come because we don’t come continually back to the gospel to work it in and live it out.” — Tim Keller, The Centrality of the Gospel

(We work out what God has first worked in — Philippians 2:12-13)

“Most necessary it is therefore that we should know the gospel well, teach it unto others, & beat it into their heads continually.” — Martin Luther

(Let’s beat it into our own heads first — Ephesians 3:14-21; Romans 12:1-2)

On Friday a new website launched:  rethinkmission.org. Team Rethink Mission, led by church planter and pastor Jonathan McIntosh, is all about “inspiring Gospel-centered missional churches.” I’ve been tracking Jonathan’s preaching and articles for a few years (he recently transitioned from the pastoral and teaching team of The Journey Church in St. Louis). His message is consistently about Jesus, and reaching people in our culture.

Jonathan notes the commitments of a Gospel-centered church:

1. Reading & teaching the entire Bible in light of the gospel.
2. Preaching the gospel to believers, not just unbelievers.
3. Leaders applying the gospel to themselves first; church leaders are the first repenters
4. Cultivating a leadership culture marked by ever increasing “gospel astonishment.”
5. Being known for an atmosphere of grace; gospel-centered churches are safe places for seekers, skeptics and those outside the faith.

Check out rethinkmission.org, perhaps starting with two key articles:

• What is a gospel-centered church?
• What is a missional church?

Team Rethink Mission writes that a missional church is committed to:

• Cultural exegesis – becoming humble students of the varied people & cultures surrounding the church.
• Faithful contextualization – communicating gospel truth in ways the culture understands.
• Producing missionaries instead of consumers – equipping people to live out the gospel through their daily lives and work.
• Building a great city, not just a good church – the goal being more than a full church, but a transformed city.
• Social justice – healing real wounds and righting injustices in the community around them.
• Church planting – multiplying to new towns, cities, states and countries by starting new local churches.

(If some interaction would help, then read an interview on Missional Preaching, an interview on suburban church planting, or a 3 min clip discussing “The Hipper Than Thou Church.”)

Another feature sticks out to me: the advisory board is a mixed bag of pastors and thinkers (at least Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist pastors). It seems each is committed to inspiring Gospel-centered missional churches—and committed to one another and the good of the Kingdom of God.

Looking forward to more challenging content from Team Rethink Mission.

—

For those in a suburban context (like me), see The Subtext (thesubtext.org) for similar Gospel-centered content and practical encouragement.

(Note: this isn’t a book built for just one person. You won’t be able to “fight” alone. So, send the link to a friend, read it together and fight for one another, together, through the Gospel.)

Here’s the table of contents of Fight Clubs:

Introduction

1. Why Fight?: The Call to Fight

2. Fighting for the Church: The Failure of Accountability

3. How to Fight: Motivations for Discipleship

4. Fighting with the Church: The Three Conversions of the Church

5. Fight Club: Practical Gospel-centered Discipleship

Appendix 1: Gospel-centered Questions to Ask

Appendix 2: Gospel-centered Resources

[bio from theResurgence]:

Who is Jonathan Dodson?

Jonathan Dodson is a former window washer from East Texas, happy husband to Robie, and proud father of two children, Owen and Ellie. He is also the lead pastor of Austin City Life church and directional leader for PlantR, an Austin-based church planting network. Jonathan holds a B.A. in Anthropology and M.Div and Th.M degrees in Theology, and has published articles in various journals and webzines such as The Journal of Biblical Counseling, Boundless, Next Wave, and The Resurgence. He blogs at Creation Project and Church Planting Novice. Jonathan likes listening to Midlake and M. Ward, reading, writing, watching sci-fi, and following Jesus.

What we often call peace with God , is really just a subjective sense in the mind that all is calm. It is a kind of peace, but is it really having peace WITH GOD? To be at peace with God demands the removal the the enmity we by default live in. Not only are we indifferent, we are at war (Romans 8:7-9), and probably in more passive-aggressive ways than even play out on human and family levels. If insanity is defined at doing the same things over and over yet expecting different results, then we are functionally insane if our thinking is "Hey, I had a good day, things are running smoothly … God and I must be cool."

One huge problem with this is with all our change in feeling and attitude about the situation, the one Person whose perspective matters — God the Creator — has been left out. Real barriers exist between us and Him, and these must be overcome. The barriers must be removed, which means our sins (acts) must be forgiven AND our sinful bent reversed. We are guilty of both breaking God’s laws, but more than that: we break them because we are selfish, sinful people. We prefer anything and everything over God and His best. So God must not only remove the barriers of our sinful actions, He must conquer our "old man" and remake us as new people (Colossians 3:1-11).

Okay, that was deep. How about a change-up real quick? This came in my email (from something who "never" sends forwards, which I also hardly ever read):

"By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed, ‘The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.’ So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn’t finished,and before the morning was over I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how good I feel right now."

That’s obviously a joke, but is that not how we think of true inner peace, and how so many seek it: by numbing ourselves from our real brokenness. It’s been noted that about 1 in 4 Americans are on tranquilizers of some kind — eradicating the natural alarms in our body that are there (pain!) to remind us that something is wrong. Some people would rather listen to

A short meditation for this morning:

With that in mind, we look at the previous couple verses:

I battle fear — a form of UNBELIEF — everyday, and must wage war in my mind and heart according to 2nd Corinthians 10:5, taking every though captive to the LORDSHIP and mind of Christ.

What an amazing dynamic to ENJOY (v. 4) God in the mundane details of life ("always"), to POUR OUR MY HEART to Him (v. 6), and to EXPERIENCE His peace. This peace is both an objective standing (having peace with God ), and subjective reality (peace from God , and here, the peace of God ). Startling to think we can enjoy the very peace God Himself enjoys. Wow. We can experience God’s peace daily because we live in God’s peace because of Jesus has unconditionally chosen and redeemed us.

First, a snippet of an old hymn:

Holy Father, holy Son,
Holy Spirit, three we name you,
though in essence only one;
undivided God, we claim you,
and, adoring, bend the knee
while we own the mystery.
(Holy God, We Praise Your Name ; Latin text, 4th century; English translation by Clarence A. Walwort)

“The Trinity isn’t a technicality but the central relationship of the Christian faith.” — J.I. Packer

Because God is a tri-unity of co-equal, co-eternal persons, we could rightly say They is one and He are three

He is a community of persons, which sets the Christian God of the Scriptures apart from any other deity in religion or elsewhere. The Trinity is the distinct and mysterious basis of all of our relationships. God is both knowable yet incomprehensible. He is bigger than us. We do not worship three gods, but one God who although He dwells in inapproachable light, has by His own initiative come near to us. God seeks to be known, as Father, Son and Spirit.

At this point it may be helpful to say that Christians have no need to apologize for the Trinity. In fact, it is a key feature of the self-revealing God that He let’s us relate to Him in all three Persons. Don’t apologize for the Trinity because you can’t understand it. I don’t understand the Gospel of grace; but that won’t keep me from exploring it and speaking of it always. The Trinity provides us the clue to all relationships. Don’t ignore the Trinity (as merely an idea); explore the Father, Son and Spirit!

God, a community of persons

Community as a divine-human phenomenon is traced back to the nature of God. God is not, as many assume, a disinterested Scientist, a removed Observer or an impersonal Energy. According to the Bible, God is three Persons in relationship—God the Father, Son and Spirit. God has always existed as a community of persons, self-sufficient, self-delighting, self-honoring, with no need of others. When He created the universe, he made man like Himself, “in His image.” This means many things. In particular, it means is that man was created with a need for community. This can be observed among abandoned children. Kids that are abandoned in the wild make friends with animals. We are social creatures.

The Trinity shows us that God existed before all things, in complete harmony with Himself (Themselves), and lacking nothing. Creation comes out of the overflow of His love and joy, rather than be necessary to meet one of His needs (or Their needs).

God is also purposeful. He designed the universe for redemption. New life comes out of dying stars. In a divine covenant, the Trinity agreed that Jesus would die to rescue the world that humankind would mar. Jesus died “before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). As a result, Jesus put the creation project back on track. He began restoring it right away. Healing lepers, stilling storms, balancing the unstable, drawing people back into community with God and with one another. God is missional; He sent Himself. One of His purposes is to redeem and restore community by saving humanity from their broken relationships with Him and with one another. Will you join in His/Their Story?

Read Jonathan Dodson’s excellent post, "Confessions of a Failing Disciple ." Here’s an excerpt from the middle:

The Gospel is for Disciples Not Just Sinners

Fortunately, Jesus is big enough for my misunderstanding of what it means to follow him. As I continued to “disciple” and read the Bible, I was struck by the fact that the disciples of Jesus were always attached to other disciples, that they lived in community. This community was authentic. They confessed their sins and struggles alongside their successes. But they also seemed to continually come back to Jesus, not merely as their example, but also as their identity, their entire sense of self. The New Testament is filled with exhortations to keep Christ at the center of our discipleship, not only for instruction but also for transformation. I began to realize that Jesus is not merely the start and standard for salvation, but that he is the beginning, middle, and end of my salvation. He is my salvation, not just when I was six, but every second of every day.

Contrary to the unforgiving demands of religion, Jesus forgives us when we fail. He doesn’t kick us when we are down, but dies to lift us up. Unlike the deception of worldly pleasure, Jesus offers true satisfaction and joy. Instead of wooing me into death, he leads me into life, his resurrection life. It slowly became apparent to me that the gospel of Christ was where I was meant to find my identity, not in impressing God or others. Refusing to share my life with others, especially my failures, was a refusal to allow the gospel of Christ to accomplish its full breadth of redemption in my life. Very simply, God was leading me into a kind of discipleship with the gospel at the center, a constant, gracious repetition of repentance and faith in Jesus, who is sufficient for my failures and strong for my successes. Jesus frees me from trying to impress God or others because he has impressed God on my behalf. I can tell people my sins because my identity doesn’t hang on what they think of me. I can be an imperfect Christian because I cling to a perfect Christ. As it turns out, the gospel is not just for sinners; it’s also for disciples, disciples who sin.

Re-read that last part (emphasis added):

Very simply, God was leading me into a kind of discipleship with the gospel at the center, a constant, gracious repetition of repentance and faith in Jesus , who is sufficient for my failures and strong for my successes. Jesus frees me from trying to impress God or others because he has impressed God on my behalf. I can tell people my sins because my identity doesn’t hang on what they think of me. I can be an imperfect Christian because I cling to a perfect Christ. As it turns out, the gospel is not just for sinners; it’s also for disciples, disciples who sin.

Former Portland Trailblazer Brian Grant — one of my favorite players from the teams of a decade ago — lives with early onset Parkinsons. He’s 37.

• Parkinson’s changes game plan for ex-Trail Blazer Brian Grant (The Oregonian frontpage, 5/21/09)

• Watch a clip of Brian Grant’s story on ESPN’s Outside the Lines

John 3:16 gives us a short-hand version of the Gospel. The Good News is made ours to experience and live in when we believe in Jesus. Consider these four observations about “believing in Him.”

Not everyone will be saved

Not everybody will benefit from what Jesus came to do. But “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The rest will perish—and not have eternal life. They won’t have eternal life, because they won’t have God – who offers Himself in this one way.

Embracing something (or Someone) as true

The word “believe” itself means to embrace something as true; and when it’s a person, it means to trust them to be what they are and do what they say.

“Receive” explains believe

Read John 1:11-12 together. There Jesus shows another concept He has in mind – to believe is to receive.

“[Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

So receiving Jesus and believing Jesus explain each other.

Receive Jesus as what?

Many people want to “receive” or “accept” Jesus into their lives, but only in a fringe role. Jesus becomes part of their lives, not the whole purpose and center of their lives (see Colossians 3:3-4). Perhaps an analogy would be helpful for teaching the small group.

There are many ways to receive someone into your home. Who comes into your home in a given month?

• When the roto-rooter or furnace repair technician come, what is your expectation of their stay? (Fix it and leave, please. That’s what I am paying you for.)
• How about a Comcast cable technician? (Can’t wait until you’re gone, so I can enjoy the fruit of your labor!)
• Your in-laws? (Just put up with them, and get back to ‘normal’ life when they leave.)
• Some people we don’t receive into our homes. We don’t have time for them, or we don’t know them. What about the person who is a dear friend? How do you receive that person into your home? They are an honored guest who you long to converse with and know deeply. Time flies because you love this person. You poor out your heart and life experiences to this person, trusting him or her to listen as your confidant. You share meals and life, swapping stories and you realize, “I can’t live without this person!”

Everyone should candidly ask themselves:

Do I treat Jesus like He is a Comcast cable guy, doing things for me so I can enjoy life without Him?

If we ask, “Receive Him as what?” the answer would be, “Receive Him as what He is.” He is Savior and King. We must receive Him as who He is. We see this type of discussion in Scripture with another analogy. Like when Jesus says in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” So here believing means coming to Jesus and receiving him as the food and drink that satisfies our souls. We need Him just as much as the basic food to sustain us. This is why faith is so transforming. Everything we receive changes us.

When we receive Jesus by faith, does He transform us, and nourishing us so we become different people?

Note: Saving faith always requires repentance from sin. Our response to the Gospel can be summarized in different ways. Sometimes faith alone is named as the one thing necessary for salvation (see John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9; Eph. 2:8–9), other times repentance alone is named (Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; 5:31; 17:30; 2 Cor. 7:10), and sometimes both are named (Acts 20:21), as they are one. Genuine faith always involves repentance, and vice versa. Repentance includes a change of mind that ends up trusting God (i.e., having faith).

(Many thanks to Pastor John Piper for illuminating these points.)

The root problem is that we see the source of our solution as in us. It’s not. It’s in Christ, who is God come to live and die in our place. When He is our motivation, and what He did becomes the basis of what we do , then life begins to make sense, and we will be transformed in the process. Consider this:

“All change comes from deepening your understanding of the salvation of Christ and living out of the changes that understanding creates in your heart. Faith in the gospel re-structures our motivations, our self-understanding, our identity, and our view of the world. Behavioral compliance to rules without heart-change will be superficial and fleeting.”
- Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith (New York: Dutton, 2008), 121.

"We wrestle with ‘making the gospel relevant.’ But God is about transforming the world to fit the shape of the Gospel." — Total Church

WHO is more relevant than GOD? Seriously, can there by anyone cooler than the Creator? We bore ourselves with second-rate nonsense, and then conclude that God is irrelevant.  In fact, it is you and I who are irrelevant. Only Christ gives us lasting value, for while we were yet sinners (our real identity), Christ died in our place (Romans 5:8). He made us relevant. Our new purpose becomes showing how relevant God truly is.

That is why I say it is a sin to bore people with the Bible. However, I pause at any methodology that is based on the assumption that we need to make Scripture relevant. It is the craziest, awesomest book ever. (Even deserving a new word like "awesomest.") We simply need to unleash it. Perhaps some (or many) of my students are not captivated when I teach them, and that is a mixture of my fault and theirs. (Junior highers don’t yet think abstractly, and I am a highly abstract thinker. So every word needs to be evaluated, illustrations that are, yes, relevant, employed, and my attitude and non-verbal language must exhibit the reality that I am very excited to speak about God.) Even still, it would be foolish to try so hard to sound smart or be cool that they don’t look past us to see God.

I say we quit tweaking His message to fit our tiny lives. Can we really improve on the greatest news ever? Our lives are meant to conform to His word and will (Romans 12:1-2). Unleash Christ and His Word, and let the Savior work. For that to happen, we need to be faithful to God’s truth, guard ourselves, and watch the Savior work (1 Timothy 4:11-16). Through the Gospel God will make us believers relevant in the eyes of the Father, Son and Spirit. We know They love us; and even like us. It feels great to be relevant.

• Update: speaking of Boring , Russell Moore has a great take on the topic .

The problem with such reasoning is three-fold (at least):

1. First, it makes Jesus merely a good person
2. Second, it rests on the notion that we are good people too
3. Third, it makes Jesus sacrifice in our place merely incidental

We must walk in Jesus’ steps (1 John 2:6), and abiding as God’s children (John 1:12) and Christ-followers is the pathway of a disciple. Because He suffered, we will too (John 16). We are not above our Master. This road will not be easy, even if His burden is light (eternally, Matthew 11:28-30). Following Him is a non-negotiable. He cannot be your Savior if He does not call the shots as your Master.

But Jesus did something you and I cannot do. He satisfied God’s wrath once-and-for-all. No other sacrifice is needed (Hebrews 10:30). In fact, if we come to God with our own good works in our hands we will leave rejected and condemned. We are not good enough, and our motives are mixed. It is not just a record of wrongs, it is a deeper issue. We prefer anything more than God. Our sin runs to the core of who we are. Only the One Son perfectly obeyed the Father and willingly died. Only Jesus was in perfect harmony with God. That is why His death was no accident, for He came for that very reason (Luke 9:51; Luke 18:31-33).

The cross was not a unique experience. Thousands of others have died as common criminals in the horrific Roman way of execution. Jesus’ physical pain in the flogging and scourging, the nails driven through His wrists and feet, was nothing compared the great anguish and pain He would experience from His Father (Matt. 26-37-38).

Today on Good Friday we consider a man who was the Good-est. He was the Best Man Ever. He was pure and innocent. Perfect. God came as a Man.

Our sin condemned Him. He willingly endured the rejection of His friends, the religious and government leaders, and the desertion of His closest followers. But the real pain He was to endure was the fierce cup of His Father’s wrath. This cup of wrath (Isaiah 51:17) was meant for us — disobedient, arrogance, anything-other-than-God-choosing, rebels — but willingly taken by Jesus Himself. It was my cup. It was yours. You killed Him. So did I.

But in the end, the Father crushed His Son. For our sake and for His. To welcome us enemies as friends, us strangers as family. In the Garden Jesus reversed the curse that came upon us in the first Garden. He not only made atonement for our sins (as acts), He made possible a reversal of our identity as sinners (our bent and depraved nature).

Jesus joyfully endured the cross, despised the shame and sat down victorious over sin, death and Satan. He rose again in triumph, the killer of all His enemies. The joy of His Father compelled Him to endure all things (Hebrews 12:1-2). To Him, it was worth everything. The joy of our Father must compel us too. Our good works must be rooted in The One Good Work. More than doing-what-Jesus-would-do, we need WHAT JESUS DID . He did it all, He paid the price. We cannot add to it. Any addition on our part would be subtraction, for we would be assuming that God needed our help to make all things right. Even in all our doing, we must never forget what He Did. We must never stop believing. Flee yourselves; trust in Him alone.

Jesus drank the cup we deserved, so we can freely drink the cup of salvation — offered free and all of grace. Drink His cup to the full. He drank yours, all of it.

He has done it. There was no other way (Mark 14:35).

"Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" (John 18:11)

"He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all …" (Romans 8:32)

"Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer." (Isaiah 53:10)

"God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

On this, John Calvin writes:

“Let us also remember that we are all in the same condition as Abraham. Our circumstances are all in opposition to the promises of God. He promises us immortality: yet we are surrounded by mortality and corruption. He declares that he accounts us just: yet we are covered with sins. He testifies that he is propitious and benevolent towards us: yet outward signs threaten his wrath. What then are we to do? We must close our eyes, disregard ourselves and all things connected with us, so that nothing may hinder or prevent us from believing that God is true."

Timmy Brister, a pastor at Grace Baptist Church pointed this out in a recent post . He notes that C.J. Mahaney, in the concluding chapter of his book, Living the Cross-Centered Life , talks about the centrality of the gospel and how you never move beyond your need for the gospel.  When asked, “But don’t I need more than the cross?” , Mahaney responds thus (emphasis mine):

“In one sense, the answer is no.  Nothing else is of equal importance.  The message of Christ and Him crucified is the Christian hope, confidence, and assurance.  Heaven will be spent marveling at the work of Christ, the God-Man who suffered in the place of us sinners.

In another sense, the answer’s yes.  You do need more.  You’ve been saved to grow, to serve in a local church, to do good works, and to glorify God.  But the ‘more’ you need as a follower of Christ won’t be found apart from the cross.  The gospel isn’t one class among many that you’ll attend during your life as a Christian–the gospel is the whole building where all the classes take place! Rightly approached, all the topics you’ll study and focus on as a believer will be offered to you ‘within the walls’ of the glorious gospel.

Name any area of the Christian life that you want to learn about or that you want to grow in.  The Old Testament? The end times?  Do you want to grow in holiness or the practice of prayer? To become a better husband, wife, or parent?  None of these can be rightly understood apart from God’s grace through Jesus’ death.  They, and indeed all topics, should be studied through the lens of the gospel .”

- C.J. Mahaney, Living the Cross-Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2006), 149-150.

In the morning when I put on my glasses — through which I see daily life and without which I cannot see much at all — I will again be reminded that to see the world in a way pleasing to God I must see all things through His Gospel. In fact, without that perspective I might as well be blind.

"Justification is being counted by God as righteous with the perfect obedience and righteousness of Jesus Christ credited to my account."
- 2006 Desiring God national conference, Tim Keller speaking on "The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel in a Postmodern World"

In asking whether his church could get too mature for community , he notes:

"The level of authentic confession of sin, persistent belief in the gospel, love for one another, and sharing of life and mission is remarkable. This is not naive community; it is redemptive community, a community of grace that holds in common brokenness and belief, failure and success, repentance and faith. As one of our people shared during our gathering on Sunday, “You are never too spiritually mature for community.”

Amen to that. Small/home/community/whatever-we-call-them groups should connect the weak and the strong, the mature and the newborn believer. In a very real sense, we’re all weak. Plus, I don’t think any of us really "get" the Gospel. We need it every single day, and we cannot be sanctified — changed into Christ’s image — without one another, and all that that entails.

Then Dodson asks if his church is too community-centered? He notes the happy tension:

Indeed, community should be common fare in the church, and I’m not talking about “fellowship”, just hanging out or feeling like you have friends. If we are not careful, our longing for and experience of community can subtly displace the gospel. Biblical community is much, much more than this. Biblical community is significant, not because it makes you feel significant but because it recognizes that Jesus is our common source of significance. The gospel, not people, becomes the means to the end of our identity. Our sense of acceptance flows from our relationship with Christ, which in turn frees us to love and serve one another, not secretly judge, demand or ostracize. We become a one anothering community, freed by the gospel, to love and serve each other. We are equally never too spiritually mature for the gospel.

I love it. Sweet highlights:

• "… Jesus is our common source of significance."
• "The gospel, not people, becomes the means to the end of our identity."
• "We become a one anothering community, freed by the gospel, to love and serve each other."
• "We are equally never too spiritually mature for the gospel."

As our church just focused on Colossians 3:12-17 last weekend, I resonate with the quote Dodson gives:

“We are to be teaching each other the gospel, to be correcting each other about the gospel with all wisdom, to be singing about the gospel with gratitude and so letting it dwell richly among us. When we come to church on a Sunday, or to our small group meeting during the week, we should come saying to ourselves, ‘I hope I will be reminded of the gospel in this meeting. I hope I will be taught about it and corrected in my understanding of it. I hope we will sing about it.” [Graham Beynon, God’s New Community , 119.]

That makes the Gospel central, really.

We would all do well to heed Dodson’s final exhortation:

"Does your church, your community, your small group, your missional community gather in anticipation of being reminded of the gospel, corrected in the gospel, motivated by the gospel, to sing of the gospel? If not, what can you do to reshape community expectations around the gospel, not community? Have you become too mature for community or too community centered for the gospel? Consider how to make the gospel central and community will follow."

• I encourage any leader to read Jonathan’s blog Church Planting Novice often

(These are not terms I’ve invented. Nor did Tim Keller, but he has been so instrumental in our day on reminding us that every problem in our lives is really a Gospel problem.)

In this audio message from the 2007 Gospel Coalition, Pastor Tim Keller speaks on "Gospel-centered ministry" from 1st Peter 1-2. Listen up, it’s well worth your time.

[download mp3]

In this message Keller points out that the Gospel is …
all about Jesus: Who He is, and What He has done
The Gospel also is:

1. Good News (not good advice)
2. Doxological — bring people to full-flourishing through glorious worship (which is our purpose)
3. Christocentric — it’s all about Him (see below)
4. Personal (individual) — we cannot make ourselves Christians; we must be converted & regenerated, each of us. Substitutional atonement and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. Jesus died the death we should have lived, and lived the life we should have lived. Thus, the Gospel is everything, from A-Z, our only basis of relationship with God.
5. Cultural — the Gospel creates a culture: the Church. It motivates by joy, and makes us as people relate to the culture around us. Creates a counter-culture that seeks the common good, loving people and the community (Jer. 29). It is so massively transformational that it produces a distinct worldview, through which we see everything.
6. Wonderful — the angels long to look into it — they love it — and never tire of it (1 Peter 1:12). The Gospel is not the ABC’s, it is the A-Z; it is everything. It must be at the heart of everything we do and think.

It’s All About Him

"Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures." Luke 24:27

"Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing wither he went to create a new people of God.

Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, “Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me,” now we can look at God taking his son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, “Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your son, your only son, whom you love from us.”

Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God’s justice, now gives us water in the desert.

Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people’s victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn’t just risk losing an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn’t just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.

Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

Jesus is the real Rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread.

The Bible’s really not about you — it’s about Him."

The band’s name Rend the Heavens comes from Isaiah 64:1:

"Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence"

It is an audacious prayer, asking to see and partake of God’s glory. Asking to participate with the Godhead is a deathwish, unless we are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus the Son. He had to come to us, and for that reason Christianity can never be rightly called a "religion" (as those are our attempts to gain God’s favor). He did it all. He is all.

Because God the Son has come, we can say that Love has come, with His eyes of fire, face of light, heart of love, throne of white, hands of pain and tears of blood. No description can do the One of infinite worth justice.

But to sing from the depths of our hearts and minds, is to echo the angelic chorus that Jesus Christ is everything, for all things come from Him, by Him, and exist for Him (Colossians 1:15-21). Some people probably think that Jesus fits into our tiny little lives, like the lucky rabbit feet us silly kids used to keep in our pockets. The opposite can only be true: we fit into His life and story, and nothing can contain His worth. As John’s Gospel notes in the epilogue, if we were to write down all the things He did while on earth it would fill all the books on the planet (John 21:25). And that was just three decades of earthly existence, and roughly three years of public ministry. He has forever been God, having no beginning and no end. Forever we will learn of the greatness of His worth and grace, never arriving at the end of exploring them (Eph. 2:7).

It is utterly amazing to me that God came as a Man. That He humbled Himself to our level, not striving for empty glory as we do, but rather emptying His glory to take the form of a willing servant, giving His life for us (Phil. 2:5-11). Does that not astonish you? If it doesn’t, then you’re not alive; even if you can feel the pulse in your arm, you’re still dead in your sins (Eph. 2:1-10). A heart and mind that can now seek God wants Him more. He came to purchase us back from sin, Satan and self, and with that comes a new identity and new affections. Since we’re His, we can seek Him. Since we are His, we want to seek Him. Come, enter in and enjoy God to the fullest. Forever we will sing of how great the Son is; let’s join in today. We have no idea what we’re missing.

Son of God (title track from their 2006 EP )

Love has come here
Lift up your hands, receive
Hope is free
Just believe
Eyes of fire, Face of light
Heart of love, Throne of white
Hands of pain, Tears of blood
Son of God

Love is in Your Eyes

Lift up my face to see
Hope is free
Just believe
Eyes of fire, Face of light
Heart of love, Throne of white
Hands of pain, Tears of blood
Son of God

Hallowed be Thy Name
Thy Kingdom come

Thy Will be done
Thy Kingdom come

You bore my pain, You wore my flesh
And in Your Eyes is nothing less

Than perfect Love, Tears of blood
Son of God

“The redeemed have all their objective good in God. God Himself is the great good which they are brought to posses and enjoy through redemption. He is the highest good and sum of all good which Christ purchased. God is the inheritance of the saints. He’s the portion of their souls. God is their wealth and treasure, their food, the tree of the paradise of God, their life, their dwelling place, their ornament, their diadem, their everlasting honor and glory. They have none in heaven but God. He is the great good which the redeemed are received to at death and which they are to rise to at the end of the world. The Lord God, He is the light of the heavenly Jerusalem, and is the river of the water of life that runs, and the tree of life that grows in the midst of the paradise of God. The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what forever entertains the minds of the saints and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will enjoy, will indeed enjoy other things. They will enjoy angels and will enjoy one another but that which they shall enjoy in angels or in each other or in anything else whatsoever that shall yield them delight and happiness will be what they see of God in them.”

- Jonathan Edwards

The Scottish Scougal (1650-1678) (whom I’ve mentioned before) died of tuberculosis at 28 years old, yet his enduring legacy through from his most well-known book: The Life of God in the Soul of Man. The book is a description of Christianity to a friend with additional spiritual counsel for daily life. The title alone — that God’s very life can live in us people — is the best summary I’ve found of what it means to be “in Christ.” Few books affected the Puritans like this one, and our generation deserves to mine the riches of what it means to experience God’s life at work in us. We settle for so little of Him and so much of ourselves.

Here’s another great quote from Scougal deep in theology, but practical enough to apply to daily life: “The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love.”

“In Christ” the change is so radical, for we are not just tweaking lives. We become enabled to love God first and completely. God doesn’t just do things for us (forgiveness), He actually shares with us His nature, residing in His Church (indwelling). In the process He “ruins” us for His glory. This change, though gradual, is God overwhelming our old nature with His, for we experience this:

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Or, as we will study this weekend in our church:

“8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” (Colossians 3:8-15).

We have been made alive, by God’s power, and live today in the energy of His glory (Col. 1:29).

The short video below beautifully illustrates life change — metamorphosis — from one form to another. In Christ we change from dead beings to completely alive, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.

Metamorphosis from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.

“As God, Christ is the destination to which we move; as man, the path by which we go.”

- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion , 3.2.1 (via OFI )

Missional is missionary used as an adverb — an adjective-verb. I believe it aims to connote the what, why and how of being the Church in our culture. (I like the word, although I don’t want to overuse it. Much like "love," we want to be wise with our words, for we should not "love" a hamburger as much as our child. Although, come to think of it, enjoying Burgerville with my son makes us both happy.) (grin)

The Scriptures are replete with God’s commands and enablements to be His sent people in His world, for the sake of show His worth, work, and ways. Open up a passage and if you read it in context, you will find the concept of being missional there. If not in our being sent at least in God sending Himself, the great Initiator and Lover of His people. God is the Hero of every text, revealing His promises and promise-keeping nature.

The mission of God (Missio Dei ) centers on Jesus Christ. He is not only the Example of how and what to be, He is the One who alone is able to show us God breaking into our world. All things will be put together in God-glorifying ways in Christ (Eph. 1:7-10; Eph 3:8-12). He is the Word, the Light, and of His fullness we have receive, grace and truth, grace upon grace (John 1:1-16 ). We will never exhaust exploring His worth, in this life or the ages to come. He is the fullness of God’s aims in the universe, and under Him all things will be brought together in the vastness of their expression.

Considering this great truth takes up much of my mental capacities, and while I won’t be able to blog for at least the next week (it’s finals in seminary), I’ll leave you with a some missional thoughts to ponder.

At our church we focus on "loving God, loving people and serving the world." We aim to be known as a caring community that embodies those three simple directions.

The first is vertical, the second two are horizontal, and while in mathematics the x- (horiz) and y- (vert) axis are each considered independent, in the real world our love for God is incomplete (in not absent) if do not love others (see 1 John for a healthy dose of this reality). We cannot claim to have the vertical without being diligent on the horizontal.

We are to be God-centered, Gospel-driven and people-directed. Those hyphens mean something significant, and figuring how the connecting in those coupled-words is now my life’s work.

1. To love God He must be first in our affections (which does not happen by default);
2. To love people we must relate to others on the basis of the Gospel, which involves being candid about our own weakness and shortcomings;
3. To serve the world our God-centeredness and Gospel-drivenness will take shape in intentional service and sacrificial giving (of our talents, treasure and time), directed towards meeting needs and redeeming circumstances. (In short, to merely talk about God and the Gospel is not enough.)

Are we doing this perfectly? No. Are we on a trajectory towards uniting these three? I believe so. This involves moving outside our comfort zones, relating to God on the basis of Christ’s work alone (always, continually), and adapting ministry by taking risks. In my first up-front interaction with our people I noted that I will probably sound like a broken record to some, because I will emphasize these core things over and over. We do not need to know and do everything. Rather, we must know a few things so deeply that we are gripped by them, send by God into action. I hope we sense a willingness to risk much (and probably fail a thousand different ways) rather than be content to "succeed" in things that don’t matter.

It is the lens through which we are to see, and the engine for what should drive us in life. We are far worse than we realize, yet, in Christ, far more loved than we every imagined. God relates to us totally on the basis of His free grace. We cannot earn, should not deceive ourselves into thinking we could or should, and God has designed that we can only relate to Him rightly on the basis of the finished work of His Son. He treated Jesus like He was us, so He could treat us who trust in Christ like we are Him (2 Cor. 5:21).

A friend recently noted — in speaking on the theme of thankfulness — that those who truly get the Gospel, are thankful people. Period. Contrastingly, those who are bitter and complaining, well, they don’t get "it." (See complaining Israel in the OT; cf. 1 Cor. 10.)

If we have tasted of Christ we become changed beings, transformed by grace and living in it. Oh how I want to get "it" today, all over again.

“Salvation is wholly of grace, not only undeserved but undesired by us until God is pleased to awaken us to a sense of our need of it. And then we find everything prepared that our wants require or our wishes conceive; yea, that He has done exceedingly beyond what we could either ask or think.

Salvation is wholly of the Lord and bears those signatures of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness which distinguish all His works from the puny imitations of men. It is every way worthy of Himself, a great, a free, a full, a sure salvation.

It is great whether we consider the objects (miserable, hell-deserving sinners), the end (the restoration of such alienated creatures to His image and favor, to immortal life and happiness) or the means (the incarnation, humiliation, sufferings and death of His beloved Son). It is free, without exception of persons or cases, without any conditions or qualifications, but such as He, Himself, performs in them and bestows upon them.”

- John Newton, “The Consolation”, Works of John Newton : Vol III (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1985), 32.

"Before you can ever make a clean and unamended confession of your sin, you have to first begin by confessing your righteousness. It’s not just your sin that separates you from God; your righteousness does as well. Because, when you are convinced you are righteous, you don’t seek the forgiving, rescuing, and restoring mercy that can be found only in Jesus Christ." (p. 22)

“Grace is for the willing and we only become willing when we confess not only the gravity of our sin, but our inability to deliver ourselves from it. Then our willingness opens to us all the sustenance of heart that can only be found in the Son.” (p. 24)
- Paul David Tripp, Whiter Than Snow (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2008), 22, 24.

"… give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." ( 1 Thess. 5:18 )

What is God’s will for my life? That has always been one of most frequent questions I’ve heard, and asked. How can I know what He wants me to do, who He designed me to be?

God’s will is multi-faceted, yet He is strangely easy to please, as our caring heavenly Father. He has given some specific instructions as to what His will for us is. Trusting wholly in His Son is His direct command for all of us ( Acts 17:30; 1 John 5:13 ). Abstaining from sexual impurity, keeping our bodies for His good pleasure alone is specifically His will for us ( 1 Thess. 4:3-4 ). Add to that the heralding of His Good News everywhere by the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-30), which of course is enabling power of God to obey the Great Commandment (love the Lord Thy God fully, more than anything else). And here in this passage we see it is God’s will that we being a praying people, continually pour out words from the depths of our being (we have incredible access!, v. 17).  Couple the next verse (v. 18): always being thankful , with always rejoicing ( Phil. 4:4 ), and we have a lifestyle that reveals God’s worth and can receive His grace.That is truly an others-directed (not me-first) Christianity.

When we think about it, that’s not too much for God to ask. In fact, He enables what He commands. This is not debtor’s ethic at play. For remember, His commandments are His enablements , just as they are not burdensome ( 1 John 5:3 ). As we continually trust in the Son, by the Spirit, we are changed into the kind of people who live out His will and purpose for us ( Phil. 2:12-13 ). We live in these commands as His people working from significance, not for it. Our performance is a measure of Christ’s ability to rescue and transform us, not something we simply have to do on our own.

Today, as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow, the will of God is for us to be thankful in all things . To specifically "give thanks" to God. Thanking Him for pain that proves we are alive, for His discipline which shows He cares as a Father, for happy times that are unearned, for frustrations and for triumphs. For a million seemingly little things. Can you join with me in doing today what — if we have been captivated by Jesus — we will love doing forever?

Our destiny is to say these small words forever

Related to giving thanks, this reminder from Of First Importance is worth re-posting…

“I have often wondered, perhaps in part simply because the term is so rarely used today, what it might mean to ‘glorify’ God forever. It will undoubtedly mean a great many things, but one of them surely must be that we will continually thank him.

We will thank him for his graciousness and goodness to us, and for inviting us into conversation. Along this line, I would think that we anticipate our ‘chief and highest end’ every time we behold something beautiful and find that after we have exclaimed, ‘Ah, how wonderful!’ we are almost compelled to say ‘Thank you!’

Our destiny is to say these small words forever and so experience the gratitude that is the perfection of happiness.”

—Craig M. Gay, Dialogue, Catalogue & Monologue (Vancouver, BC: Regent College Publishing, 2008), 48-49.

How simple, true, and profound.

Seeing that giving thanks will be our forever practice and joy for all eternity, how do we practically do that, on a day to day basis here and now?

As Warren Wiersbe reminds us:

"Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny!"

That is often thought of in a pejorative sense, as in what you sow you shall reap — badly! (see Gal. 6 ). But it also conversely true, for sowing a thought of thankfulness, does lead to action, which done repeatedly and intentionally forms a habit. This habit no longer remains merely "habitual," but becomes second nature — becoming part of our very character — and thus the trajectory we will live on. This is no positive-thinking mantra (always aimed at self). Rather, this is turning from self over and over again to see the beauty and grace of God, and reflecting his joy towards others.

(Please chime in on this…)

A few thoughts on cultivating thankfulness as a lifestyle:

• Sit down and think . We will not be grateful automatically (this depravity thing holds us back from looking outside ourselves).
  • Is there anything "big" that you’re thankful for?
  • Anything relatively "small"?
  • How do those "small" things add up — a lot of grace and undeserved kindness, huh?
• Ask someone else, "What are you thankful for?"
  • Gratitude and joy are contagious (as are negativity and self-absorption).
• Tell God what you are thankful for.
  • Go ahead, He’s listening! ( Eph. 3:13 )
• Preach the Gospel to yourself every day.
  • Can you articulate the grace of God in Christ, who is the substitution for Your sins and the only way to God?
  • We never outgrow our need for the Gospel. It is for Christians too .
• Tell someone why you are thankful for them .
  • We are each blind to our own fruit and daily need encouragement.
  • A hand-written note is a small item that can sustain a burdened soul through trying times. Take the time to show them you care, because you do. (see here )
  • God often puts different people on your heart to pray for and encourage – directly.
  • Call, write, even text (don’t "superpoke") others for to display God’s worth, their being made in His image, and for their good.
  • They might choose to return the favor, but who cares if they don’t. Be a free-grace-giver.
• Why are you/me/we generally un-thankful? (if you are not bent towards joy and gratitude, as a lifestyle or at this particular moment)
  • Remember that all problems are Gospel problems. They all stem from a lack of proper orientation to the Gospel. Put positively, the gospel transforms our hearts, our thinking and our approach to absolutely everything.
• Repeat…

Any to add?

Also read Al Mohler’s commentary, "Are We Promised Prosperity ." His is related to the U.S. economy (not Osteen), but the message is quite relevant for the times we find ourselves in. A concluding remark, Mohler writes:

"Perhaps we should remember our own history lesson — that far more believers in Christ have been and are now among the poor, rather than among the wealthy. We should hear Jesus warn against materialism and Paul remind us that we are to be content when we have plenty and when we have little. We should know that the Christian virtue of thrift is incompatible with the lies of those who push consumer credit.

We are not promised prosperity. When we do enjoy prosperity, we should be thankful stewards — not peddlers of our own prosperity theology."

I’ve been reading the book and am challenged on a number of levels. My soul and mind resonate with the subtitle: “A radical reshaping around Gospel and community.” 

A helpful quote from Chester:

One of our catchphrases is “ordinary people living ordinary life with gospel intentionality.” It means doing the chores, having meals, watching sports, and so on with an intention to talk about Jesus, to pastor one another with the gospel, and to share that gospel with unbelievers.

May God allow us to serve in the church with this trajectory.

What am I talked about? Visa, MasterCard, American Express?

Nope. You can live a whole life without those.

But, you cannot live a second of your life without the Gospel. That is because we need Jesus … always.

The more I talk with church leaders and people, the more I think we have largely missed the Gospel.

We think of it as the starting point, or the diving board (to use my favorite home-grown analogy). We don’t just start at the Good News of Jesus and then move onto maturity in the Christian life focusing on other things. We never, ever, ever outgrow our need for Jesus. He is everything, and whatever keeps you from Him is sin. Period.

Because you need Jesus every second, you need the Gospel every second. He is the one Mediator between God the Father and us sinners, and without Him we would be consumed in an instant.

Yet, how easy is it to leave the Gospel and start related to God on the basis of ___________? (Insert whatever you hope in by default.)

Some of us trust in the fact that we once trusted in Jesus. Like He is a ticket to heaven, and we can simply put Him (or our faith-in-Him) in our pocket to use later. No, no, no. HE is the good news of God’s glorious grace, for in Jesus we get God (1 Peter 3:18 ). Do you want Him?

Note how Paul ended his greatest letter, to the Romans: "Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ…" (Romans 16:25 ).

Who was he writing to? Christians (or at least mostly Christians), who still needed the Gospel daily to be strengthened, encouraged, and to persevere. We need outgrow our need for the Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus is not just for the unsaved. It is for everyone.

How do you get a daily reminder of the Gospel? Do you preach it to yourself? You should. Don’t wait until Sunday. You may not even here it then.

Take the Gospel with you. Don’t ever leave home without it.