Why?

Do you ever wonder why Satan is around on this earth? Why he is able to torment and tempt? Why God allows him to devour and destroy? Why doesn’t God just do away with Him once and for all anyway? He doesn’t do it for one main reason, and it’s the reason He does everything He does. He wants the greatest glory. For one thing, He wants to get the glory when a sinner is taken from the devil’s power. When “the sting of death [ends in] victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Satan is a disarmed foe when an unsaved person is converted. God wins. But, not only that, God wants to be glorified when we choose His will over Satan’s will in time of temptation. God’s purpose for every situation in your life is completely opposite to Satan’s purpose for your life--God’s always being good, and Satan’s always being evil. God wants your heart. Satan wants your heart to focus on anything but God. Therefore the battle in temptation is God’s glory or Satan’s. But, think of how bright God’s glory shines when we choose to renounce the promises of Satan and to trust in the gospel’s power, taking pleasure in the greater glory of Christ over Satan. Your fight against sin is a fight to show off the glory of God. Take up arms. Struggle. Endure. Fight the good fight for God’s glory.

@ War thought

Let us settle it in our minds that the Christian fight is a good fight—really good, truly good, emphatically good. We see only part of it yet. We see the struggle, but not the end; we see the campaign, but not the reward; we see the cross, but not the crown. We see a few humble, broken-spirited, penitent, praying people, enduring hardships and despised by the world; but we see not the hand of God over them, the face of God smiling on them, the kingdom of glory prepared for them. These things are yet to be revealed. Let us not judge by appearances. There are more good things about the Christian warfare than we see (J.C. Ryle - Holiness [Hertfordshire, England: Evangelical Press, 1989], p. 62).

@WAR

You are at war...whether you know it or not. There is a real enemy fighting an intense battle, and you are the target. Come learn defensive manuevers, battle tactics, boot camp strategies, and how to win the fight. Be here every week and come ready to challenge the way you live your life.

He is enough

Come learn with the Colossians that for the Christian life, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ and Him alone! Find out that we need this letter just as much as the original audience did. What do you try and add to your Christian life? Your own abilities? Your personal preferences? Pulling out of the world? Living however you want? None of that makes you spiritual. Christ makes you spiritual. Christ is all and in all. He is God, Creator, Savior, and Head of the church.

How to Enjoy Reading Your Bible

I have always been burdened to share with you all a solid way to read and enjoy studying your Bible. I came across a great help in the basics of getting in and soaking up the Bible. Take the next 5 minutes and read through this article and apply a few principles to your next quiet times with God. It will be worth it, I assure you. Any time you apply to seeking Your God is always worth it!

Don't just meander in your time with God. Really dig in and seek Him with all your heart. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

The points I would definitely recommend are 1. READ YOUR BIBLE. And also, the questions to ask yourself after you read at the end of your time with God.

After you read it, share what helped you in the comments section. Lets get a conversation going on this...

(By John MacArthur)

There’s nothing I enjoy more than studying the Bible. Yet it has not always been that way. My real passion for studying Scripture began when as a college student, I made a commitment to explore the Bible in earnest. I found that the more I studied, the more my hunger for Scripture grew.

Here are three simple guidelines that have helped me to make the most of my study time.

1. READ THE BIBLE

First, begin with reading the Bible. That seems obvious, but quite frankly, it’s where many people fail. Too many Christians are content with a second-hand knowledge of Scripture. They read books about the Bible instead of studying the Bible for themselves. Books are good, but collateral reading can never replace the Bible itself.

There are many good Bible reading plans available, but here is one I’ve found most helpful. I read through the Old Testament at least once a year. As I read, I note in the margins any truths I particularly want to remember, and I write down separately anything I don’t immediately understand. Often I find that as I read, my questions are answered by the text itself. The questions to which I can’t find answers become the starting points for more in-depth study using commentaries or other reference tools.

I follow a different plan for reading the New Testament. I read one book at a time repetitiously for a month or more. I began doing this when I was in seminary, because I wanted to retain what was in the New Testament and not always have to depend on a concordance to find things. If you want to try this, begin with a short book, such as 1 John, and read it through in one sitting every day for 30 days. At the end of that time, you will know what’s in that book. Write on index cards the major theme of each chapter. By referring to the cards as you do your daily reading, you’ll begin to remember the content of each chapter. In fact, you’ll develop a visual perception of the book in your mind.

Divide longer books into short sections and read each section daily for thirty days. For example, the gospel of John contains 21 chapters. Divide it into 3 sections of 7 chapters. At the end of 90 days, you’ll finish John. For variety, alternate short and long books, and in less than 3 years you will have finished the entire New Testament—and you’ll really know it!

2. INTERPRET THE BIBLE

As I read Scripture, I always keep in mind one simple question: “What does this mean?” It’s not enough to read the text and jump directly t the application; we must first determine what it means, otherwise the application may be incorrect.

Gaps to Bridge

The first step in interpreting the Bible is to recognize the four gaps we have to bridge: language, culture, geography, and history.

1. Language

The Bible was originally written in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Often, understanding the meaning of a word or phrase in the original language can be the key to correctly interpreting a passage of Scripture. Two books that will help you close the language gap are An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, by W. E. Vince, and Nelson’s Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament, by Merrill F. Unger and William White, Jr. You don’t need to know Greek or Hebrew to use these books effectively.

2. Culture

The culture gap can be tricky. Some people try to use cultural differences to explain away the more difficult biblical commands. Don’t fall into that trap, but realize that we must first view Scripture in the context of the culture in which it was written. Without an understanding of first-century Jewish culture, it is difficult to understand the gospels. Acts and the epistles must be read in light of the Greek and Roman cultures. The following books will help you understand the cultural background of the Bible: The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, by Alfred Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life, also by Edersheim, and Manners and Customs of Bible Lands, by Fred H. Wight.

3. Geography

A third gap that needs to be closed is the geography gap. Biblical geography makes the Bible come alive. A good Bible atlas is an invaluable reference tool that can help you comprehend the geography of the Holy Land. Of course, nothing helps like seeing the land firsthand on a tour.

4. History

We must also bridge the history gap. Unlike the scriptures of most other world religions, the Bible contains the records of actual historical persons and events. An understanding of Bible history will help us place the people and events in it in their proper historical perspective. A good Bible dictionary or Bible encyclopedia is useful here, as are basic historical studies.

Principles to Understand

Four principles should guide us as we interpret the Bible: literal, historical, grammatical, and synthesis.

1. The Literal Principle

Scripture should be understood in its literal, normal, and natural sense. While the Bible does contain figures of speech and symbols, they were intended to convey literal truth. In general, however, the Bible speaks in literal terms, and we must allow it to speak for itself.

2. The Historical Principle

This means that we interpret Scripture in its historical context. We must ask what the text meant to the people to whom it was first written. In this way we can develop a proper contextual understanding of the original intent of scripture.

3. The Grammatical Principle

This requires that we understand the basic grammatical structure of each sentence in the original language. To whom do the pronouns refer? What is the tense of the main verb? You’ll find that when you ask some simple questions like those, the meaning of the text immediately becomes clear.

4. The Synthesis Principle

This is what the Reformers called the analogia scriptura. It means that the Bible doesn’t contradict itself. If we arrive at an interpretation of a passage that contradicts a truth taught elsewhere in the Scriptures, our interpretation cannot be correct. Scripture must be compared with Scripture to discover its full meaning.

3. APPLY THE BIBLE

Having read and interpreted the Bible, you should have a basic understanding of what the Bible says, and what it means by what it says. But my Bible study doesn’t stop there. I never study God’s Word just to get a sermon. My ultimate goal is to let it speak to me and enable me to grow spiritually. That requires personal application.

Bible study is not complete until we ask ourselves, “What does this mean for my life and how can I practically apply it?” We must take the knowledge we’ve gained from our reading and interpretation and draw out the practical principles that apply to our personal lives.

If there is a command to be obeyed, we obey it. If there is a promise to be embraced, we claim it. If there is a warning to be followed, we heed it. This is the ultimate step: we submit to Scripture and let it transform our lives. If you skip this step, you will never enjoy your Bible study and the Bible will never change your life.

Bible study is not optional in the Christian life. It is both the obligation and the privilege of all believers. If you are not involved in regular systematic Bible study, you are missing one of the primary means God uses to bring us to maturity (1 Peter 2:2).

Moving on up...

I wanna say a big hearty Welcome to the newest members of CrossTraining--our 7th grade upgraders. It is so exciting to see all of you, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for you in the years to come. Make yourself at home, get to know everybody and have a great time as we learn to take up our crosses together. God has big plans for your junior-high and high school years. Submit to His ways and learn to be an active alive Christian ready to obey!

Changes seem to happen fast, don't they? Before you know it college will be starting then a family. God wants us to see life as fleeting but never to waste a second. He says that our life is but a vapor that appeareth for a little while then vanisheth away. So, redeem the time, for the days are evil! Make every moment of your life count. Live life for eternity not for this puff of smoke we call life. God wants you to do BIG things, but you'll never do the big things living your life for today. Life is short. Eternity is long. Live like it.

Successful Summer. Wasted Summer.

Successful summer or wasted summer? What is going to be God's assessment of your 2006 summer vacation? Is this the summer you are going to dive in and really seek God for eternity's sake, or is this going to be just another summer where you soak up whatever, and waste precious months on the trivial and passing. Now is the time to ask those questions, and now is the time to set some serious convictions on what you are going to do for your God this summer. Think about what you want the review of your summer to look like, and make some choices to do what it takes to get there. Work hard at it. It won't be easy, but it will always be worth it! The joy and satisfaction of a fulfilled life in God is worth more than anything! I beg you to say with the psalmist, "I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." (Psalm 101:2)

Choices

His name was Dylan Klebold. He may have been kind to his friends in pre-school. He worked hard in school, and he was even in Cub Scouts where he probably did nice things for people. But one day, things started to change. He started making decisions that would change who he was for the rest of his life. Little things, friends, video games, attitudes about others, and today, Dylan Klebold only means one thing to people. Columbine High School. What do you want to be remembered for? I think most of us, if we really thought about it, would probably not be caught saying, I want people to remember me as really, really selfish…or really impatient, or the most unhappy person anyone has ever met. Down deep inside, we want to be remembered as someone who made a difference, as someone who cared and showed it. We have been discussing what makes up your life on Wednesday nights. Your life is made up of a hundred different choices everyday. Paul says, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also Walk by the Spirit." (Gal. 5:23) In other words, you are a believer--a person who is in the Spirit. So, make your choices according to the Spirit’s commands. You will be remembered for your choices. And we know that if you sow to your "flesh, [you] shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." As a believer, your life will be decided by whether you listen to the flesh or the spirit. It takes making choices to the Spirit to build a life of the Spirit. Choose the Spirit, today.

Prep Talk

Getting ready for big games in college carry a lot of memories for me. It all would start in a small room to stretch and get ready. It was normally really quiet in the room. Guys stretching out. Others wrapping ankles. Concentration. The sound of chalk scratching the line up on the green chalkboard board up front. It was intense. Our coach was a pretty quiet guy. He was amazing at soccer, probably one of the best in the school, but he just didn't say much. His pre-game speeches were usually a mere two or three sentences. But everyone listened. They listened, because it was exactly what we needed to prep us to give it all on the field. I can think of no better pep talk for us for the start of a year than a week of revival. What a way to remind us of God’s work in our lives! A week-long concentration of heart-focused preaching. Ask yourself a couple of questions. Are you broken over your sinful condition? You can’t fix yourself, you know. It is Christ’s work alone on the cross that changes us, but do you realize and trust in that? Are you ready to serve God with your life? God’s gospel saved us to be obedient servants. Can you honestly say, “God, I’ll do whatever you have for me”? And, are you bringing souls to Christ? The gospel ought to be your every word with those you come into contact with. Is it that wonderful to you? Those three questions lay out our Christian life. Broken Obedient Evangelizers. Where do you need God to work in your life? If you are like me, it’s probably all three. Use the next few weeks to get honest and open your eyes to God’s grace in saving you. Take the step of obedience in response to that grace, and share that grace with others.

Happy Thanksgiving

Click here for the Crosstraining Thanksgiving Greeting

Today, I am thankful for you guys! Thanks for your friendships, honesty, and spirit. You are a joy to serve!

Hope you enjoy the laughs from this card, but most of all, I hope you remember why we celebreate thanksgiving.

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!...For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

It all comes from Him!

second best

"A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts." - Malachi 1:6-8

Second best. Those two words sting when it applies to a "special" gift for someone, doesn't it? Think of it. "Well, I baked you a cake, but instead of the good ingredients I used old, stale ones that I found on the floor. You know the leftovers. Enjoy!" Nice. That is no gift. It's an insult, isn't it? I don’t know about you, but my thoughts would definitely be, "Wow. Umm, thanks?" I read today in my devotions of the indictment God spoke through Malachi to the priests of his day. God said, "O preists that despise my name…you offer polluted bread upon mine altar" and then you ask "Where have we despised thy name?...Where have we polluted thee?" They were offering second-best animals--the blind lame or sick ones to God in sacrifice. God then goes on to say, in effect, you wouldn’t give that to another man you respected, would you? Your governor would reject that kind of an offer. Why do you give it to Me?

Why do we give second best to our God? In our obedience or service to God, why do we treat ourselves to what we want or feel like and ignore what God desires? Our time and talents we give to God seem to fall into a certain ranking order behind what we want and feel like. If it doesn’t fit into what we already have going, it just gets second best. The first thing to get cut is the opportunity to fellowship at church or the discipleship Bible Study. When our schedules get tight, we skimp on the stuff that doesn’t “scream” at us, like our devotions and prayer. Why do we give God what’s left of our day after we have done what we want to do? Why is it that when it comes to an opportunity at church, it has to fit into what we have going on? I guess we just do what we want to do, don’t we? We do what is easiest, what is comfortable, and what feels good. God demands the best, our everything. He is worth it, yes, but most importantly, He demands it. What are you giving God? A polluted offering of what is left of your time and energy or your best? Give Him your best in your life, your heart, and in your time. It is time to start doing what we know is best, even if its hard or uncomfortable, because God demands it. Search this truth out for yourself: In your difficulty and sacrifice to give God the best, joy and satisfaction in God speaks loudest.

Am I judgmental? by beth

Although, these posts can be read by anyone....I am writing this for our female readers. =)

Daniel 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

I just started reading Daniel in my devotions. The verse quoted above comes after Nebuchadnezzar had spent seven years in a pasture as a beast. Nebchadnezzar had come to the shocking reality that what our God promises will come true. You see Nebchadnezzar had a dream that prophecied his fate, yet he truly thought he was invincible. I have to say that the Lord has been challenging my heart in this very area. We have actually been given the same warning.

We are told that "pride comes before destruction" (Prov 16:18), that God hates a proud look (Prov. 6:17), that God resists the proud but gives grace to thh humble (James 4:6), etc... Like Nebuchadnezzar, we don't think that God truly means what He says.

One area of pride that the Lord has been showing in my life is in the area of being judgmental. We catagorize sins, don't we? I tend to categorize sins and judge the seriousness of the sin based on whether or not I had ever committed such an act. Oh, how my heart began to seep with conviction as I realized how unlike Christ my spirit is. Christ Himself when faced with an adulterous woman said, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” Each one of has a besetting sin, and who are we to determine if someone else's constant sin struggle is greater than mine.

In the book Boy Meets Girl by Josh Harris, he takes an excerpt from a book entitled When God Weeps by Steven Estes and Joni Eareckson Tada. This is a very sobering look at the cross that maybe you've never thought of before. I know this is a little long, but please keep reading....

Somewhere during this day [while Christ was on the cross] an uneartly foul odor began to waft, not around His nose, but His heart. He feels dirty. Human wickedness starts to crawl upon His spotless being - the living excrement from our souls. The apple of His Father's eye.

His Father! He must face His Father like this!

From heaven the Father now rouses Himself like a lion disturbed, shakes His name, and roars against the shriveling remant of a man hanging on a cross. Never has the Son seen the Father look at Him so, never felt even the least of His hot breath. But the roar shakes the unseen world and darkens the visible sky. The Son does not recognize these eyes.

"Son of Man! Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped - murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten - fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and blasphemed. Oh, the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled My name? Have you ever held your razor tongue? What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk - you, who...peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents... Does the list never end! Splittling families...You have burned down buildings, perfected terrorist tactics, founded false religions, traded in slaves - relishing each morsel and bragging about it all. I hate, loathe these things in You! Disgust for everything about You consumes me! Can You not feel my wrath?

Of course the Son is innocent. He is blamelessness itself. The Father knows this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the unthinkable must now take place. Jesus will be treated as if personally responsible for every sin ever committed.

The Father watches as his heart's treasure, the mirror-image of Himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin. Jehovah's stored rage against humankind from every century explodes in a single direction.

"Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!"

But heaven stops its ears. The Son stares up a the One who cannot, who will not, reach down or reply.
The Trinity had planned it. The Son endured it. The Spirit enabled Him. The Father rejected the Son whom He loved. Jesus, the God-man from Nazareth, perished. The Father accepted His sacrifice for sin and was satisfied. The Rescue was accomplished.

Joshua Harris, Boy Meets Girl(Sisters, OR.: Multnomah, 2000). p.174-176

After reading this, do you think while Christ was on the cross He made a distinction between sin catagories? He was there for one reason, sin! Let this be a challenge for you today to live as if all sin is equal in God's eyes. When we live with this mentality, our spirit begins to deflate of ourselves and becomes inflated with Christ!

I Call You to Discomfort

Man, I am comfortable. I'm sitting at my desk in my heated office. My wife just called and informed me that soup is on the stove, even though I'm still a little full from lunch. My car runs quite well. I have a paycheck coming every two weeks. My health is great. I have enough outfits in my wardrobe to last me for quite a few days in between laundry loads.

What a Disneyland America is.

It is comfortable, isn't it? We are so "blessed." God has been working me over about this recently. I am so comfortable, yes. But, what risks am I taking for His kingdom? I am preaching a series on Matthew 5-7, and I am laying out the ways to be truly blessed. More and more I find, that we are most blessed when we are most uncomfortable on earth for Christ's name sake. Think about it, when I am uncomfortable with my sinful wicked condition (poor in spirit), I am blessed. When I am so uncomfortable I weep (mourn), I am blessed. When I am uncomfortable with my strength, living in God's infinite ability (meek), I am blessed. When I am uncomfortable with what I can get from the world, and I hunger and thirst after righteousness, I am blessed. The list goes on in the same pattern. It closes with, when I am in the most uncomfortable place for my faith, persecution, I am happy, blissful, blessed. Wow.

I need some education on what a comfortable Christian is. I need some serious learning on what God expects of my life. It's time to take up my cross. God has called us to a life of denying our comfort for His Name's sake. Of course, it is totally worth it. The pleasures of living in the presence of God are fullness of joy forevermore! The joys are the kingdom of heaven! The life that is uncomfortable here on earth longs for the hope of glory!

What discomfort are you allowing yourself to be vulnerable to for the gospel sake? Are you sharing your faith and opening yourself up to mockery and shame or even pain? Are you sacrificially giving to others not knowing what may happen to God's money? Are you opening your life in hospitality not knowing if the carpet will get stained and the dishes chipped? Is your life transparent enough for you to show that you struggle and depend on God, or is your fascad up and running, decieving others into a high view of you? God calls us to a life of risk for His sake. But the joy is that in that discomfort there is a great comfort. The hope of glory. Fellowship with our Savior.

So, God, I throw my emotions and pride and self-reliance onto the cross and take it up. For it is there that I see you. And in that I hope to say with Paul . . . I rejoice . . . for I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. (Colossians 1:24)

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If you are interested in more along this line, I came across this Fresh Words by John Piper. He says it much better than I could...and in a different way.

Call for Christian Risk
John Piper
The Original Article

By removing eternal risk, Christ calls his people to continual temporal risk.

For the followers of Jesus the final risk is gone. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). "Neither death nor life . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 3:38-39). "Some of you they will put to death. . . . But not a hair of your head will perish" (Luke 21:16, 18). "Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).

When the threat of death becomes a door to paradise the final barrier to temporal risk is broken. When a Christian says from the heart, "To live is Christ and to die is gain," he is free to love no matter what. Some forms of radical Islam may entice martyr-murderers with similar dreams, but Christian hope is the power to love, not kill. Christian hope produces life-givers, not life-takers. The crucified Christ calls his people to live and die for their enemies, as he did. The only risks permitted by Christ are the perils of love. "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you" (Luke 6:27-28).

With staggering promises of everlasting joy, Jesus unleashed a movement of radical, loving risk-takers. "You will be delivered up even by parents . . . and some of you they will put to death" (Luke 21:16). Only some. Which means it might be you and it might not. That's what risk means. It is not risky to shoot yourself in the head. The outcome is certain. It is risky to serve Christ in a war zone. You might get shot. You might not.

Christ calls us to take risks for kingdom purposes. Almost every message of American consumerism says the opposite: Maximize comfort and security - now, not in heaven. Christ does not join that chorus. To every timid saint, wavering on the edge of some dangerous gospel venture, he says, "Fear not, you can only be killed" (Luke 12:4). Yes, by all means maximize your joy! How? For the sake of love, risk being reviled and persecuted and lied about, "for your reward is great in heaven" (Matthew 5:11-12).

There is a great biblical legacy of loving risk-takers. Joab, facing the Syrians on one side and the Ammonites on the other, said to his brother Abishai, "Let us be courageous for our people . . . and may the LORD do what seems good to him" (2 Samuel 10:12). Esther broke the royal law to save her people and said, "If I perish, I perish" (Esther 4:16). Shadrach and his comrades refused to bow down to the king's idol and said, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us . . . But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods" (Daniel 3:16-18). And when the Holy Spirit told Paul that in every city imprisonment and afflictions await him, he said, "I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course" (Acts 20:24).

"Every Christian," said Stephen Neil about the early church, "knew that sooner or later he might have to testify to his faith at the cost of his life" (A History of Christian Missions, Penguin, 1964, p. 43). This was normal. To become a Christian was to risk your life. Tens of thousands did it. Why? Because to do it was to gain Christ, and not to was to lose your soul. "Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 16:25).

In America and around the world the price of being a real Christian is rising. Things are getting back to normal in "this present evil age." Increasingly 2 Timothy 3:12 will make sense: "All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." Those who've made gospel-risk a voluntary life-style will be most ready when we have no choice. Therefore I urge you, in the words of the early church, "Let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come" (Hebrews 13:13-14). When God removed all risk above / He loosed a thousand risks of love.

Pastor John
The Original Article
©Desiring God

Gospel-Centered Teens

Gospel-Centered Teens by Jason Cornwell

Being a teenager is tough. I remember, even though it’s almost been 10 years ago. You’ve got to deal w/ school, clothes, facial blemishes, girls, high school sports, girls, learning to drive, girls, uncontrollable appetites for junk food, & then to top it all off, you have to worry about dating girls. Oh, and there’s one other thing: Parents (rents for short).

Does the Gospel relate to how a teenager deals with his parents? You better believe it! You’ve heard the typical complaints from teens about their parents. They’re too old, too strict, too slow, too hard & they just don’t get it. Well, since the Gospel speaks so much to our identity, I think it would be good to see a couple of areas where the Gospel affects teens and their relationship with their parents.

a) The Gospel allows me to forgive. Let’s face it. We’ve all been wronged by our parents at some point. They’ve gotten angry or been unjust or just been, well, human. But the Gospel speaks to that. The Gospel says that I’ve been forgiven infinite sin against an infinite God. Why? Because the wrath for me has been spent on Jesus & His blood is cleansing me from sin. My record is now clean because of Christ. The cross is where “Your boundless love conquered my boundless sin.” So since I’ve been forgiven infinitely, I can forgive a finite sin against me. And I can do it again & again because, NEWS FLASH…parents are flesh & blood & they’ll keep sinning. So forgive because you’ve been forgiven much.

b) The Gospel allows me to submit. We all know that we’ve each had the meanest parents in the world. And soon we’ll grow to be the meanest parents in the world. We all remember rebelling against our parents. But the reason I rebel is because I think, “I’m my own person; my identity is wrapped up in what I want to do.” This could be clothes, music, attitude, standards, etc. But the Gospel says that my identity is secure in Christ. Because of Christ, I’m accepted and loved forever. I don’t have to buy into the world’s philosophy that says I must rebel against my parents to be my own person. I can submit just like God intends because my identity is not wrapped up in being my own person apart from my godly submission to my parents.

So the Gospel is that great! It transforms relationships w/ parents!

Jason Cornwell is a friend of mine from college. He is currently finishing up his Master of Divinity Degree in North Carolina.

God's Multiplying Power

I must learn never to measure God’s resources by mine. Someone has said. "Little is much when God is in it." One of Elisha's friends, a widow, had only one jar of oil (2 Kings 4:1-7). Instead of telling her to conserve it, he ordered her to do exactly the opposite: pour it out.

Instead of coming to the end of her supply, she continued to pour out a multiplying stream of oil until at last she ran out of containers. Then it stopped! How God enabled that oil to multiply is beyond me, but so is much that exists in the spiritual world. This much is true: how long would the small jar have lasted if left to itself. How long would the widow have lived, left to herself? How long would any of us last spiritually, left to ourselves? I think this is where I so often fail. I pit myself against the massive needs all around me, and without the multiplying grace of God, I end up broken.

God begins with my small jar, but He does not stop there. He adds His amazing multiplying power to my words, thoughts, prayers, and service until I can hardly recognize myself in them. As with the widow’s oil, someone has taken over and the cup has become a barrel. And is this not the story of scripture? Abraham’s “dead” body--and God; Moses’ shepherd crook—and God; David’s sling- and God; the boy’s small lunch—and God; the twelve disciples—and God. It is the “and God” that makes all the difference!

If there is any failure, it is in this: I do not give God a chance with what He gave me. But, I if I do, God becomes my great enhancer and multiplier. My anchor is God’s own promise: “The smallest one will become a clan, and the least one a mighty nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time." (Isaiah 60:22.)

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. - Isaiah 54:2

Taken from Daily with my Lord, by W. Glyn Evans.