Sackcloth and Ashes

Last Thursday night at The Rock we had an awesome night of worship. Instead of having a message, there was a lot of music and different stations where we could go and worship God in different ways. One of the stations was for repentance. The instructions were simple, put sackcloth on your head, take ashes and either wipe it on your arm or face and confess sins to God. This was something that was done in biblical times, although I am not clear on the specifics. The sackcloth is itchy and the ashes represent our sin.

After finishing the station, I went to another station and grabbed a sheet of paper. Immediately I realized that because my hands had ashes on them, everything that I touched became dirty. This is so true of our lives. We are sinful human beings, which means that even the things that we do that are the most glorifying to God still have our sinful fingerprints all over them. We are covered with the ashes of our sin.

The awesome thing is that Christ died to cleanse us of our sin. 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God's love for us is not dependent at all on our actions. In fact, the way to please God is to draw near to Him (Hebrews 11:6) The bible does not say that we must have a 2:1 righteous act to sin ratio for God to be pleased. It says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." God is pleased when we seek Him and He rewards us when we seek Him. That is such an awesome promise!

The Offensive

I am tired of the defensive. I am tired of reacting to my situations and just escaping by God's grace. It is awesome when God inserts Himself into my situation and gives me peace in the midst of the storms of life. However, we have been called to so much more than that! Who wants to finish their life and say, "Yup, I made it through. Every time there was trouble, God gave me peace and carried me through it." Wouldn't you rather say, "Yup, I lived my life for God. I attacked the gates of hell in the name of the Lord. The battle was the Lord's and He gave the enemy into my hand. I was obedient to Christ and He used me. God used me as He advanced His kingdom." We were not called to live a life of rolling with the punches. We are called to a life of not pulling any punches. Matthew 28:16-20

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.  17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.  18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

 In 1 Samuel 17, David comes to the battle line of Israel with the humbling duty of bringing rations to his brothers. When he gets there he sees Israel's whole army cowering in fear from Goliath. You could truthfully call him big or burly. He is calling out the army of Israel to send one man to fight him. It is apparent that anyone who goes out against Goliath alone is suicidal. Now that is true for any of the burly soldiers from Israel's army... and then there's David. Now David was just a teenager at this point. He probably has some muscle from his previous experiences of defeating lions and bears, but he was most likely puny compared to the the military men.

And then David sees Goliath. I am picturing this teenager running through the Israelite camp yelling, "I'll do it! Let me at him!"

26 And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

In response to the rejection of his request, David again truthfully calls Goliath what he is. An uncircumcised Philistine who has defied the armies of the Living God. After approving David's request, Saul tries to send David out with his personal armor, but David was wise enough to say no.

Let's take stock of the situation:
     We have Goliath: Big, burly giant with a huge spear and very large shield. And as David pointed out, an uncircumcised Philistine who is defying the armies of the living God.
     And then we have David: Puny teenager armed with a sling and a stone. Not a great outlook for David.
Oh, and then there is the fact that he has the living God on his side. This changes things just a tad bit.

David goes out to face Goliath and after a few pleasantries from Goliath, David pulls his ace card.

46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,  47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

 As The Israelite army was cowering in fear from a giant with a big spear and shield, David was defeating a puny man who was defying the armies of the living God.

The same is true today. The battle is the Lord's, and he will give the enemy into our hand. We just have to go out and fight the battles that God has put before us to fight. It seems like many of us, myself included, are the Israelite army. We are cowering in fear from the enemy with only enough faith to pray that God saves us from them. At our worst, we are like David's brothers, who discourage those who have enough faith to go out and take the victory that is being handed to us by God.


What battles are God calling you to face? Go attack the gates of hell and don't worry for a second about the fact that you are armed with a sling and some stones. You have the living God giving the battle into your hand.

Eternal Life, Idolizing the Bible and a relationship with Christ

John 5:39-40

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

I was reading my bible today because there were some verses that have intrigued me for a while now. As I continued to try and grasp the passage, I asked God to help me understand his word. At that point he convicted me that I was trying to get his life through reading his word and not by investing in my relationship with him. Now don't get me wrong, the bible is a good thing. We learn about God and how we should live, not to mention the fact that we are encouraged through it. The problem was that I had not talked to God all morning. To put it in perspective, if I were friends with Albert Einstein then it would be foolish for me to ignore him and just read what he wrote instead of talking to him directly.

John 10:10

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

If we could have life through the scriptures themselves, then Jesus came for nothing. It is through Him personally that we have life. Even many atheists know the scriptures. Even Satan knows the scriptures. (I am not comparing the previous two) It is through Jesus Christ alone that we receive life. I encourage you to invest in your relationship with your Heavenly Father the next time you are unsatisfied in your life or circumstances are bad. God's word is encouraging because it tells about Him, but we have a relationship with Him.

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

John 4:1-26 tells the story of Jesus having a conversation with a woman who not only was a Samaritan, but was an outcast among the Samaritans because of her lifestyle.

It seems like she believed that he was the Christ and chose to pursue Him as well as tell others about Him for two reasons.

1. Jesus told her everything that she had done
2. Jesus did not condemn her for anything that she had done.

I know that in my life, I choose to hide from God and not confess things to others because I have the mentality of, "If you knew what I did you would condemn me." and it seems like this is a huge thing that keeps people who haven't accepted Christ from approaching Him. It's really cool to see Jesus telling this woman everything that she had done and then show her that he does not condemn her. In fact, right after he tells her about her past and present relationships, Jesus tells her about true worship.

19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.  20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”  21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.  24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jesus is inviting this Outcast Samaritan woman to come worship His father in spirit and truth. He is saying to her, "I know every nitty gritty detail of every sin that you have committed and not only do I not condemn you, but I invite you to worship my father with me." That truth is for everyone if they should choose to accept it. Why is it so hard for us to accept this? Why do people who haven't accepted Christ not accept this?

I would make the argument that our condemnation towards others is a huge reason for people not accepting Christ. This morning after I thought about this passage, I was amazed and appalled at how often I condemn people. I condemn people for:

• Looking different than me
• Accidentally interfering with what I am doing
• Not slowing down to allow me to cross the street
• Crossing the street in front of me
• Being difficult to work with
• ...

 I call myself a Christian. If I remember correctly, Christian was derogatory term meaning "little Christ" and was used to describe someone who believed that Jesus had died on the cross for their sins and were attempting to live like Him. And I am condemning people for these little inconveniences! If these people told me their deepest darkest secrets I would surely condemn them. If I am like Christ and I condemn like this, then Christ was a liar. At least, that is what I am saying when I wear my Christian t-shirt, all the while glaring at someone for cutting me off.

We have the opportunity and the blessing to be able to show others a glimpse of what Christ is like. If you have not accepted Jesus' death and resurrection for your sins, or even if you have, Jesus has this to say to you.

I know every nitty gritty detail of every sin that you have committed and not only do I not condemn you, but I invite you to worship my father with me. You are forgiven.

A Response To The Death Of Osama Bin Laden

Unless you have been hiding under a rock at the bottom of the ocean of some far off planet for the last 48 hours, you know that Osama Bin Laden was killed by American troops yesterday. You also know some of the things that this murderer committed. What was your reaction? My first reaction was one of, "finally!" However, there is something that needs to be said that I am not so good at saying. The best response that I can give is to point you towards Jesus' words. Last week God gave me an insight that you can read about in Choose The Unfair. I think that post relates to this situation pretty well. Even better, I saw a post by The Resurgence linked on Facebook by one of my friends.

Love Your Enemies

"Love Your Enemies" is a post on the Resurgence blog. It is a very convicting and hard thing to accept, but I believe that it is spot on. Enjoy!

Scripture and a Thought For Today

Psalm 90:14-17

14 Satisfy us in the smorning with your steadfast love,

that we may trejoice and be glad all our days.

  15 Make us glad for as many days as you have uafflicted us,

and for as many years as we have seen evil.

  16 Let your vwork be shown to your servants,

and your glorious power to their children.

  17 Let the xfavor4 of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish ythe work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!

http://ref.ly/Ps90.14-17

Psalm 118:24-29

  24 This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

  25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!

O Lord, we pray, give us success!

  26 eBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We fbless you from the house of the Lord.

  27 The Lord is God,

and he has made ghis light to shine upon us.

Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,

up to hthe horns of the altar!

  28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my God; I will iextol you.

  29 jOh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever!

http://ref.ly/Ps118.24-29

It is better to suffer hardship for a long time while abiding in God and only receive His peace for a short while than to live an easy, mediocre, "happy" life without God's life and Joy.

Thoughts On Eternity

Matthew 11:30

My yoke is easy and my burden is light.

There are many other and "better" ways to receive the reward of happiness apart from Christ than to do what he calls easy and light. However, the joy and life that we are promised by Christ Jesus is not the "happiness" that we know of without him. Compared to the immeasurable joy that we receive from Christ, his yoke is easy and his burden is light. This is especially true when we realize that Christ Jesus is taking in excess of 99% of the burden. We are not called to follow Jesus on our own strength. We are encouraged and given strength by the Holy Spirit.

What do you think? I appreciate any constructive discussion on this matter.


God does what glorifies himself. If giving me life glorifies him, then he will give me life. The moment that my receiving his life no longer glorifies Him, I will stop receiving his life. The moment that my not receiving God's life is glorifying to Him then I will stop receiving God's life.


Our usefulness for God in a certain area is not dependent on our skill or preparedness. It is dependent on our dependence on God.

I am reading "In Our Joy" by John Piper. So far it has been amazing!!! Here is the description of it and the page where you can download the PDF for free.
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/online-books/in-our-joy

This pocket-sized discipleship book was designed to encourage and challenge professing Christians to truly and fully follow Christ. It is a selection of chapters from John Piper's book What Jesus Demands from the World.

What would compel a man to sell everything he has in order to buy an open field? An overwhelming joy arising from his knowing that treasure is buried in it.

Jesus compared his kingdom to these circumstances. When we face the hard road of suffering and sacrifice to which Jesus beckons us, we act just like the man who found a treasure hidden in a field. In our joy we are able to sell all that we have and walk with Jesus along the Calvary road.

Join John Piper as he describes the cost of following Jesus, and the supreme joy which sustains believers every step of the way.