Let Your ‘In Christ’ Be at Work

February 3, 2025February 3, 2025Leave a comment

Last December, I was taking inventory of my New Years goals and resolutions when the following revelation occurred to me: Why is it we’re more comfortable being for Christ than in Christ? Why does the thought of ‘in Christ’ intimidate us?

For many of us, we trust God and His Word as irrefutable truth, our belief a banner we wave and a root system anchoring our thoughts and behaviors. Like many Christians, we can wrap our minds around Christ in us by way of salvation and sanctification. Yet, even though we know God is infinitely greater, even though we can generally comprehend the life He facilitates, we sometimes struggle to grasp our lives 24/7/365 in Him and accordingly struggle to scale the challenges in front of us.

Often, we settle into rhythms, patterns, and mindsets where faith exists at their core. Still, I can’t help but wonder how they would change if we saw the ‘abiding in Christ’ potential in them. As to how we connect the dots, I submit we start by considering not only what does it mean to be ‘in Christ’ but how do we let our ‘in Christ’ be at work?

First, we must discern what it means to be ‘in Christ’. To be in Christ means we’re unified with Him personally and corporately. In Galatians, Paul talks about our new ‘in Christ’ identity by way of putting our hope and faith in Him. For many, we hear the phrase during baptisms and communions when we identify with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. Where the Cross has power, there we can abide in Christ as we walk in the newness of life (Romans 6:4-5), which defined one way, is resurrection applied to every thought, pattern, belief, decision, temptation, all facets and modes of life.

While ‘newness of life’ can seem like a lofty phrase, one can always translate this to the surface through basic affirmations, saying ‘yes’ to ‘I’m loved by God’, ‘yes’ to the Cross and Jesus purchasing us at a price, ‘yes’ to leaving our sinful pasts behind, to ‘It is finished’, if you will. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, we embrace a new identity as children reconciled to God and our part of one body, the family of God, in which we abide from victory, not for it. 

In Christ we find deliverance and healing, victory and life, goodness and godliness. Colossians 3:3 says we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ, notable as this also reflects how we’re to store His Word after spiritually ingesting it.

Effectively, to be ‘in Christ’ means God sees the righteousness of His Son operating in and through us.
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But how do we exactly walk in this? For starters, we must position ourselves to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. While many recognize this opportunity as a gift of accepting Christ’s sacrifice as payment for our rap sheets, unfortunately, not all believers allow their minds to be renewed as spiritual walks fatigue and, in some cases, become compartmentalized. Sometimes, the hindrance is due to offenses that have matured to doubts, fears, bitterness, and resentments. When we tolerate these love-forsaken realities, our spiritual accounting becomes off-balance, where the cost of following Christ becomes almost equal to not following Him; hence, why many grow weary and stagnant. Over time, we become like vehicles wanting to hit the road yet are too scared about the fluids required to get there. Eventually, we stomach enough to reset and ramp onto new pathways, but with limited containers of health.

This leads me to another critical point…

When we take stock of our walk every new year, we must understand ‘reset’ and ‘renew’ are not the same.
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With a reset, you take your plate to God where grace is received through humility and rest is received by the surrendering of your will in the moment, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, one must be daily dying in the context of vertical intimacy. Take it from one who’s failed in this time and time again: It doesn’t make sense to reset our walks, and by proxy, our vocational and spiritual trajectories, if we don’t intend to renew our minds, respond to conviction, and invite God into our brokenness.

Again, the obstacles are many but with them comes a challenge we must relish: In our aims to be equipped and effective, from knowledge base to spiritual growth, in our desire to experience greater wholeness, we must open ourselves up to be healed in our emotions. How we tend our broken hearts corporately cannot be swept under the carpet of mission, in the call we have to lay groundwork for holy repair. In the context of heaven meets earth, we may genuinely desire effectiveness; however, if we’re not acknowledging God in all our ways, if we’re not grasping our ‘loved-by-God, in-Christ identity’, our reach, the authenticity of our influence, will be capped.

So, my hope for us this year is at the least two-fold:

That we release any inhibitions in fully surrendering our lives to God.
That we give God more room to invade our space in all areas of life.

Not just at church, on Sundays, in our quiet times, but in our offices, the phone lines, conversations, yes, even the secret thoughts we have about each other. For if we’re not committed to being in-Christ, then our pride, anger, fear, self-centeredness will remain relevant, hinder our transformation, and prevent our minds from being renewed as God intended.

In summary, to be ‘in Christ’ is more than being content under the shadow of His wings, more than being grateful on account of sovereignty and grace, even more than our redemption. To be ‘in Christ’ is to be so united to Jesus by faith, so in awe of the Cross and the ministry of reconciliation that our dependence detaches from anything that could make it conditional and the transformation by the renewal of our minds become an overflow of discovering God as He pursues us.

May our ‘in Christ’ be at work, always and forever, even as we heal, even as we’re desperate, on and off the clock.

Cover graphic creds: Ligonier

A ❤️ of Thanksgiving: Why Gratitude is Best Expressed in Full

November 28, 2024Leave a comment

This Thanksgiving, don’t just express gratitude over what you have but also what you don’t have. Often, we celebrate the providence and faithfulness of God during this time of year; however, are we acknowledging what God has saved us from and/or what He may be withholding to mature us in season?

Some thoughts to consider…

Supporting Bible verses:

Philippians 4:1
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Jonah 2:9
“But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”

Psalm 103:2-5
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

2 Corinthians 9:10
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”

Isaiah 9:3
“You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as soldiers rejoice when dividing the plunder.“

Graphic creds: Jacob Abshire

The Adamant Fig Tree: A SOAP Study on Mark 11

September 13, 2024Leave a comment

Scripture: Mark 11

Question: Why did Jesus curse the fig tree post-triumphal entry in Mark 11?

A few nuggets for thought…

Observations: Like other instances in the Gospels, the account of Jesus scolding the fig tree appears random at first until we consider the context. Let’s break the chapter’s first segment into three layers:

Layer 1: v. 2-6 – Jesus enters Jerusalem on a virgin colt a week ahead of His death and resurrection. 
Layer 2: v. 7-10, Jesus hears ‘Hosannas’ from the crowd, many of who misappropriate His identity.
Layer 3: v. 11, Jesus travels to the temple for His first of two cameos.

All layers applied, we can see how Christ metaphorically entered the future home of His bride to love and purify her with holy intent. 

Yet, as the scene changes in v. 12, so does the tone. On route to Bethany, Jesus notices a fig tree in leaf and after searching for fruit to no avail, He curses the tree: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.”

Again, this seems harsh, albeit justified considering His rumblings. Still, the ‘outburst’ is necessary. Here’s why…

Jesus, being the Master of big picture symbolism, rebukes the tree, not so much for the lack of fruit, but because His created failed to recognize His identity in the construct of its original design. Although the season isn’t conducive for figs (v. 13), the tree should have produced sustenance for Him prior to His temple return. No wonder Jesus responds in hangry fashion! 

After cleansing the temple (v. 15-19), Jesus and the disciples return to the fig tree where Peter observes the tree has withered to the root. Factoring in the temple’s distance from the tree and the likely duration of their temple stint, one can deduce a 24-hour decay, not as swift as Matthew’s account (21:19b), but impressive nonetheless.

This miraculous transformation highlights three tactics of Jesus in the moment:

He empowered the disciples to believe in greater measure, to have faith in anything being possible in His name (v. 23 – “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”)
He encouraged the disciples to know the authority they carried within on account of such faith.
He associated the power of prayer and forgiveness to knowing Him with expectant hope (v. 25 – “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”)

Application: Zooming out, we find some powerful connections. Within the passage, the adamant tree represents the people of Israel, specifically those who cried out “Hosanna” yet failed to recognize His Messiahship; however, closer to home, the fig tree emphasizes the value of staying connected to Jesus as branches to the vine. Without Him, there is no original design or ability to yield fruit. Thus, it does not make sense to live as if Jesus doesn’t exist when the universe’s pulse is to the contrary.

The cautionary tale of Mark 11 is simple: If we live a life cut off from the root of faith, the cornerstone Himself, we will deprive ourselves of bearing fruit and witness alike. May we be a body who not only discovers and references God in all seasons, but stays in position to give what He asks us so the world may be blessed by the fullness of life we carry.

Selah.

Prayer:

Cover photo creds: Heartlight.org

Hidden Glory: The Beauty of God’s Wrath

September 8, 2024September 8, 2024Leave a comment

Written 1/20/15; revised 9/8/24

Recently, during a discussion with a local pastor, the following question came up: How would you explain God’s anger and jealousy to a junior higher?

A fair inquiry since teaching these attributes of God’s character can feel like threading a needle at times. Fortunately, there are practical truths and illustrations ministers can use to teach these qualities.

For instance, before tackling God’s wrath and jealousy head on, we must define love and God’s identity as love (1 John 4:8). Once this relationship has been established, a young person will understand not only their ‘loved-and-valued-by-God’ identity, but also how love and wrath are not emotions as much as they are choices!

This in mind, we can…

Emphasize the fact when God gets angry, He gets angry for us, not at us!
Associate free will and eternal separation to God’s respect for human freedom.
Explain anger and jealousy in the context of being the objects of God’s love.

Once the difference between the “self-ed” individual and the “loved” person has been specified, we can start to cover related topics such as…

The connection between freedom and relationships
The connection between freedom and God’s authority
How God’s authority is another word for His love
The danger of independence
The insanity of sin
The importance of the cross
How there can be no love without justice since justice validates love

Furthermore, if we’re to successfully educate students on this subject, we must contract the wrath of God versus the wrath of man.

While man’s wrath is emotional and indefensible, God’s wrath is holy and justifiable.
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Often times, when the hearts of men harden, we demand justice as a response to offense; however, when God’s heart hardens, He desires offense to be righted as an overflow of His original design being known. Accordingly, it could be said that within His wrath, He wants us to be free from His wrath!

For those who give glory and honor to ‘other gods’, the Bible says He feels a divine jealousy for them (2 Corinthians 11:2). What is this exactly? For starters, let’s consider the rest of 2 Corinthians 11 and how it breaks down. In summary,

All glory and honor belong to God and God alone.
Although man’s jealousy is often sinful as a function of entitlement, God’s jealousy is upright since it centers on communion with His beloved.

In conclusion, addressing the theme of God’s wrath, especially with students, requires precision and order. In this age, many family and academic structures are broken and lack empathy. As pastors, we must understand enemy ploys as any stake where love and wrath are separated and twisted with the tapestry of performance, reciprocity, and tolerance. While the task may be difficult, the freedom we can facilitate is worth the undertaking.

Biblical example: Exodus 11 (Moses & the burning bush – when God says, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I?”

Real-life example: A God who is rightfully angry can be compared to an athletic coach who is leading an underachieving team loaded with potential. A good coach doesn’t get angry at the players for losing the game. Rather he is jealous for them because he knows they are better than the outcome – that their talent level is better than what’s being realized. He doesn’t give up on his players, but instead pushes them harder and keeps working with them on an individual/team basis.

Cover graphic creds: Peakpx

The Endure Cure: A Word on Corporate Suffering

June 23, 2024Leave a comment

On Monday, I had the privilege of leading devos at Mercy Multiplied’s weekly meeting. Here’s a cut from my share which includes a slice of recent testimony… #lordhavemercy 🦋

…Still, I wonder about those among us, even under our care who are suffering, in full on survival mode. How do we cope as we hope? How do we trust when internally we’re about to bust? How do we endure and suffer the way God intended?

Whatever the answers are, both at the 20,000-foot level and at the surface, the truth is: Suffering is part of our divine call, not just individually but corporately. Often, we take a head-down approach to perseverance. We sense a challenging situation and tackle it through our ‘more than conqueror’ identity. Granted, there is nothing wrong with that in a vacuum; however, the potential problems I see are at least two-fold:

1) In the day-to-day grind, we individualize and compartmentalize our endurance.
2) In the day-to-day chaos, we fail to consider the beauty in our suffering.

The premise of this devo is a charge for us to view perseverance as more than enduring with character but also embracing the beauty in suffering. Are we pausing each day to be still with God, to receive His grace and smiles in the personal and corporate challenges we’re walking in?

I’m reminded of a Point of Grace song from their All the World album. Does anyone remember ‘Heal the Wound’ co-written by Nicole Nordeman? Here is an excerpt from the song:

I have not lived a life that boasts of anything
I don’t take pride in what I bring
But I’ll build an altar with the rubble that You’ve found me in
And every stone will sing of what You can redeem.

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart, take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar.

Don’t let me forget
Everything You’ve done for me
Don’t let me forget
The beauty in the suffering!

This song is music to the ears, inspiration to the heart, and emphasizes certain realities of Scripture.

Jesus, the one we can boast in, has carried our greatest burden (Isaiah 53:3-5) and out of that, still helps us with our sorrows and burdens to this day. Accordingly, we don’t have to strive to ‘make it through’ or ‘get to the other side/the finish line’. We don’t have to carry the burden of making sense of our struggles (as I like to call them – “victories in progress”). Rather, we can lean on Jesus who felt the demands of ministry, who knows what it’s like to feel drained, yet with the joy set before Him, referenced the Father, the ultimate source of His power. Like Him, we’ve been given what we need for goodness and godliness but can still ask for wisdom, help, strength, grace, etc. as paupers in Spirit (Oswald Chambers).
As co-sufferers in Christ (Romans 8:17), we can help others endure through suffering and share with them the comfort we’ve received from God (2 Corinthians 1:3-6) as we bear our own crosses (Matthew 16:24, 1 Peter 2:19-21, Romans 8:16-18). We may feel compromised on account of our weakness, but this can allow the Father’s heart to resonate in realness with people assuming our abiding in Christ is in rhythm.
Difficult circumstances outside of our control can be prompts to remain vertically reliant, to seek first God and His Kingdom. Without adversity, we cannot live as tested, faithful, and dependent vessels. The beauty of suffering is that it gives us the opportunity to become like Jesus, to see our redemption as secure, and our victory as imminent even if the pathway doesn’t make sense, even if the breakthrough and miracles we crave don’t happen the way we anticipated.

Why are these points important? Because they confirm how God works! Specifically, the breakthrough we need, the challenges we endure in Jesus’ name, and the miracles we’re contending for aren’t limited to timely answered prayers (or even answered prayers at all). As Paul writes in his letters, finding freedom isn’t confined to what we get over but what we get through. Put another way, God doesn’t promise us we’ll get over everything, but He does promise we’ll get through anything.

For my wife, Lys, and I, we’ve learned and re-learned this truth many times during our 11-year marriage. Yet, by far, the greatest challenge for us came in August 2021 when our daughter, Jubilee, was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction four months ahead of her due date. While Lys and I did everything we could to stay healthy, the combination of Juju’s growth environment and Lys’ preeclampsia proved too much. Only 18 days post-diagnosis, our small Fry would make her worldly debut as a micro preemie coming in at 25 weeks, 10 inches, 1.2 pounds, chronic-lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, less than a <10% of living past day 1, and less than 5% of making it past the first week.

Thankfully, God had other plans and proved Himself mighty as we clung to hope at the end of our rope. While our prayers for Juju to survive the NICU and make it home did not materialize, as our hearts healed, we learned to see her miracle as the impact she made on the thousands of lives, including us, shattering medical expectations and probabilities along the way.

In hindsight, Lys and I know the miracle of Juju’s life would have still been clinched even if she hadn’t lived past the first day. For even as we contended with God in our pain and despair, He was faithful to enlarge our capacity to sense His sovereignty and the sweetness of His nearness, His tender hand holding ours.

Now, were we beyond angry and tempted to fold on certain days? Absolutely! I remember in the weeks following Juju’s death, wrestling intensely with God, asking Him why He would let her overcome her greatest afflictions only to succumb to a freak bout of sepsis. God, why wouldn’t you keep the miracle going having sustained it this long?

Having successfully stiff-armed the why’s (I.e. those subtle entitlements that tempt you to think you must have it all together or understand why you’re going through what you’re going through), throughout Juju’s life, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by them in the aftermath. The mental torment was off the charts and on the precipice of depression, I was in desperate need of a spark heading into the last quarter of 2022.

That spark would manifest as a dream right before Juju’s Celebration of Life. In the dream, I’m thrust back in time storybook style. A dusty road, a mass of people, and one Jesus walking in front of me. In a unique role reversal, I’m the woman with the bleeding problem trying to keep pace with Jesus yet unable to do so. Desperate to touch Jesus’ robe, I cry out: ‘Jesus, can you please slow down? I’m trying to get to you. If I can just touch a piece of your robe, I know you can heal Juju!’

Suddenly, I’m on my knees with a warm hand on my shoulder. I can’t make out the face in front of me, but I know such a presence could only be Jesus. As I ponder how He jettisoned a football field in a millisecond, I hear Him speak to me: “You were never meant to touch my robe. You were meant to believe in and follow me. Now, look behind you and see how many are following me because you kept going.”

I look back and see a new body of people who weren’t there before. Picking up steam, I turn my head back to where the voice came from only to wake up…with a fresh understanding of the miracle Jesus accomplished during Juju’s life and how it would continue.

As for us in this room, I share this testimony to remind us how God is faithful to give purpose to suffering and anoint our steps as we walk through adversity…with Him. Sometimes, it takes seasons of discomfort and/or dislodging for a worldview or perspective to reset. Sometimes, it takes a walk through fire for us to see how God can redeem fallenness and fallen spirits alike.

My final encouragement to you is to not view your weaknesses, your limitations, your incompleteness, as something to ‘get through’ or stitch together. Don’t stiff-upper lip and head-down the challenges in front of you, blindly trusting they’ll blow over. Rather persevere in hope…with character…and with your heads up. After all, how can we be still and know He is God if we’re not postured as such? Position yourself to see God’s goodness within the grander scheme unfolding. If you come face to face with what makes you feel uncomfortable, rejoice! If you confront a situation that makes you feel unsettled…rejoice! If you’re reminded of something in your past or hit the wall of your finiteness and feel incomplete…rejoice…knowing we were never created to be completed in this life anyway.

And so, take joy and heart together. Embrace childlikeness in the sense you don’t need to make sense of your circumstances to reference and follow Jesus. Despite what others may say, you can be earnest and eager simultaneously and find peace in times when the lights of life turn off. As long as you let your light shine before men and stiff-arm those why’s, you will reach a promised land with rebuilt temple walls…in the name and wake of Christ.

Those, my friends, are just a few of the many beauties in suffering the way God intended. Again, the why’s, the how to’s, the hurdles we clear may vary, but the nature of God in the presence of our distress is absolute and a foundation for us to walk confidently on.

Selah.