I was reading in my Bible the other day (always a good thing to do) and I ran across a note that I had written in the ledger reminding me of a time when I was struggling with the idea of grace. My buddy Dan and I headed to Northern Wisconsin to stay in a cabin for the weekend to attempt to wrap our minds around grace. That was a great weekend. So let me share with you a passage that helped me move forward in grace.
So much of my upbringing was about doing (or so it seemed), and grace really has not a lot to do with doing and a lot more to do with receiving and living in light of it. Romans 6:15-16 “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”
For so long keeping all the rules (don’t swear, read your Bible everyday, make sure you go to church as often as possible, help old ladies across the street, make sure to pray at every meal, make sure to pray before you go to ben, make sure your prayer sounds really holy, and so on and so forth) is what was master over me. I ate and drank regulations, attempting to please God and appease Him. The funny thing is it almost cost me my relationship with Him. Isn’t it interesting that the very thing that I was trying to impress God with, was the sin that was blinding me. I read a statement by John Calvin it said this “that until men have been shown their own emptiness, they are not prepared to receive the grace of God.” When we choose grace and obedience to God as a result of grace…we become free. We throw off the chains of doing and fall down on our faces with hearts of receiving, which in turn effects our living. Then and only then is when we receive God’s approval…empty and open ready to take on all He has for us. God bless you as you move forward in making this a reality in your life.
The Freedom of Grace
1000 for 1000
I have the amazing opportunity to lead a conference for 1000 pastors in Feb. These pastors are sharing God’s love in the midst of a culture that rejects the living God and accepts over 1,000,000 other gods. These men are being persecuted for their faith in a way that you and I will never understand. Read through the book of Acts and you will see what these men endure on a daily basis. So…Here is my plea, for $20 you can send one of these pastors for 3 days to a conference that will build them up, encourage them, and challenge them to continue the work the Lord has given to them. The $20 pays for their travel, food, lodging, and the conference. I challenge each and every person who reads this to send it to as many pastors, directors, volunteers, and individuals they know. We have an opportunity to make a Kingdom difference for just $20…come and help me, and Harvest India encourage these amazing men.
Details
harvestindia.org- This is the organization that we partner with at Cornerstone
Suresh Kumar- This a President of Harvest India and great brother in the fulfillment of the great commission
How to Give- Right now they are working on an online giving link to cschandler.com, but right now you can send it to the offices
When I’m weak, He is strong
I had an interesting conversation yesterday, the kind that makes you realize how stupid Christians can be sometime times, the kind that make me feel stupid. There are certain phrases that Christians say to each other that are suppose to comfort each other…”just trust God, he’s in control (proverbs 3:5-6)”-truth…”well, the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will (bad theology)”- not true. “God won’t give you more than you can handle (1Cor. 10:13)”- huh!!! I have said this to people over the years, and it is Biblically grounded, but We like to use this passage as a cop out. Christians use this card when they don’t know what answer to give to someone in pain.
Yesterday Patti and I were hanging out and ran into Holly McRea who’s 5 year old daughter Kate has been battling with brain cancer since late June. She is an amazing woman, and we have been so proud of her as a mother, and a believer, enduring this unbearable disaster. We talked a bit about her finally getting some time to herself before Kate heads back in to the Hospital and then started this discussion about silly things Christian say to each other in the midst of pain. She brought up this idea that “God will not give you more than you can handle,” and with fervor said…”I can’t handle watching my daughter go through this,” to which my wife nodded in total agreement. Her perspective, and i have to admit i’ve never really thought of it this way, was on the money. Holly said “i see it like this, God won’t give you more than He can handle.” So simple…takes the control away from me and gives it to God. Think about all the Bible stories you know and tell me that is not the truth. Imagine Moses facing the Red Sea with a million Jews…he couldn’t handle that (Exodus 14) Or what about Joshua at the wall of Jericho (Joshua 6:1-27), Daniel and the lions den (Daniel 6), shadrach meshach and abednego standing before the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), and so many more Gideon (Judges 6-8), Esther (Esther 4-5), and lastly Jesus (The whole Bible). These are people left to their own strength and “humanity” are in trouble, but because God give us more than HE can handle, we can rest in His strength and not our own. 1Corinthians 12:8-10 says it all “when i can’t handle it….He (Sovereign over all, The I AM, The Alpha an Omega) is strong.” Thank you Holly for reminding me of God’s greatness even in the midst of you and your families pain. I stand in awe of your trust and reliance upon God as your Jehovah Jireh. God won’t give you more than HE can handle….not the opposite; from the mouth of the enduring. Love you guys….God heal Kate
I’ve been there
Sometimes the most annoying thing someone can tell you is that they know where you have been and what you are going through. Our body language says thanks, while our internal voice says “shut up, you have know idea what I am going through.” We have this moment where we realize people say things like that because they don’t know what else to say. The only person that can truly say “I’ve been there” is Jesus. The journey of my life as I last blogged about is to find out who God is. One of the ways I am doing that is through really discovering who Jesus is. The whole Bible is about Jesus and every conclusion ends with Jesus. I’ve been studying in Hebrews and this morning in 4:15 I had this moment where i saw something that I knew, but it struck me in a whole new way. I know my wife loves me, but sometimes she will say, or do something that awakens me to the reality of the truth. Hebrew 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.” The commentary i was studying made a great point that because Jesus never sinned means he experienced with worst forms of temptation in every area…places you and I have never seen and He resisted it. So Jesus sympathizes with our struggle to peruse Him. I always imagined God shaking his head at me in disappointment, like a master who is looking at a puppy that just peed on the carpet. But the moment I had this morning, and what a wonderful moment it was, is that our High Priest (unlike those of old) sympathizes with our weakness and desires for us to experience the realities He did, as a life aligned with our Heavenly Father. Jesus can truly say “i know where you’ve been, hang in there.”
Just when you think you know somebody
My search to find God has been a journey astronomical proportions. I feel like it has been harder to find God as a result of coming from a very churched background. I have to sort through all the legalism to get to the truth, where for many meeting God is like going on a first date, it’s new and exciting…the sky’s the limit. I’m not saying my journey hasn’t been exciting, it just feels like i have to dig a little deeper. Dwell on this passage a bit….Romans 11:33-36
33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to give him advice?[a]
35 And who has given him so much
that he needs to pay it back?[b]
36 For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
I know this…I am an arrogant human being to think that I can comprehend the magnificence of God. I search God out to find significance and purpose in this life. I search God out of obedience and honor in hopes that I may be transformed by his character. At the end of the day…just when I think I have Him nailed down, he drops my mouth in wonder as if to say…”keep searching.”
Oh the Pain
My heart has been torn. I feel an incredible weight upon my chest. The heaviness of all that has happened to me and those around me has been overwhelming. I am clinging to the words of Paul in Philippians 1:23. I want to be with the Lord more than ever these last few days….where there is no pain, no death, no disease, no cancer, and no family problems, and yet I feel like my job here on earth is not done yet. The pain that I have in my heart for my dad, my best friend, and co-workers is a reminder that I am not in heaven yet and to not get comfortable here on earth. Sovereign God, be with those who are in pain right now, may they feel your presence more than ever. God I choose to be faithful with the time you have given me here on earth, but I long for the day when the “realities of heaven” become apparent.
Shot through the Heart
I’m preaching in a few weeks on the heart…I can’t wait. I’m discovering some interesting truths about the realities of this invisible guidance system we have. The passage that I will be heading to is Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart, for it effects everything you do.” Isn’t that so true…when we are bitter it doesn’t just effect one part of you but the whole. The word I have been focusing on is “guard.” If this thing we call our heart..ie our inner self, mind, will, on so and so forth effects everything, every part, than what do we do to make sure it is safe; we guard it. In the Hebrew the word guard is (mishmar) which speaks to a place of confinement, a prison guard, guard post, which is interesting; a prison guard is not all that concerned with what is going on outside the jail, but is very aware of what is happening inside. His entire job and livelihood depends on keeping the bad from coming outside to harm others. huh…We spend so much time making sure the bad doesn’t come in (which is biblical, and important, Phil. 4:8-9), but don’t spend much time making sure the inside is protected as well, through repentance and an intense focus on Christ. A Christ centered heart start first with the conviction and guidance of the Holy Spirit, which by the way if we are not n’sync (spelled it that way for a reason…i love you lance bass) with, will cause us not to be aware of all the harm that is coming in from the outside. The work of the heart starts first starts from within, and as we grow there we are able to decyfer all the negative influences that are attempting to steal our allegiance to Christ.
I’m still working and studying through it, let me know what you think?
To know the One I Love
I’ve known my wife Patti for 13 years now, of those 13 we have been married for 10. When we first meet I thought I really got her and she got me. After 10 years I am discovering that I am now just getting to know her. Weird for sure, but I think it really address the reason to why so many marriages fail in the first 5 years. It goes like this ( i had another word, but i must be spelling it so wrong that spell can’t figure it out)… two people meet and have a ton in common and so they get married, and then 5 years later they come to the conclusion that the person they married is different from the one they dated, and therefore the marriage is doomed. So couples go looking for that “right person” again, either subconsciously or consciously. And there it is…another married disaster, a family torn apart; sound familiar? Is this you or someone you know?
Today I was watching UP, the new Pixar movie. As I was watching I realized a difference in the way the characters (who were married) interacted with each other the longer they were together, and realized that’s how it has been for Patti and I. Really, I am just getting to know the real Patti; her heart, her passions, what really hurts her, her favorite things and so on. The process of marriage is patience and we as a culture and a people we are unlike that. Here is person that I have spent more time with than anyone, and I am now seeing things in her that blow me away. For those of you who are cynics…maybe you need to take a look at those who are closest to you and honestly evaluate if you really know them. If you say you know everything about that person be prepared to be proven wrong.
I am more excited about getting to know Patti now than I ever have…it’s like following a map for years and putting all the clues together in order to find that thing you most desire. That is why we call our relationship with Christ a “journey” the more time we spend getting to know Him the more we see who He really is. Patti is the love of my life, I’ve always loved her, but today I got a picture of what we would look like in 20 years…and it took my breath away. If it is this good now, imagine what it will look like next year and the years to come. Hang in there…really get to know your spouse, the best years are to come.
Like a Wave
So yeah, i cried last night. I hate to cry, I really do, there is something distinctly un-manly about it, and yet so Biblical. I found myself arm in arm with my Momentum leaders last night praying for our students to be all God has called them to be. There I was their “strong” leader deciding whether to allow myself to be authentic in a way my own wife has only seen a couple times. What would make me want to show this, believe me I didn’t want to, but like a wave…
I’ve been studying through Acts and have been in awe of the way they felt honored for being persecuted for Christ. They ran out of the towns rejoicing for being called worthy of their abuse. Man, all we ever do is complain…I don’t get paid enough, everyone always wants me to be 100%, I never have enough time in the week to get done all I have to do, and on and on and on. These people we so madly in love with Christ and so overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit that they celebrated when they got beat up for the Kingdom….wow!
Last night for the first time, I really felt honored to do what I do….I felt like I didn’t deserve it. I don’t deserve to see kids come to see Christ in a way that is tangible to them. I don’t deserve to see kids come to understand that God loves them and that they don’t have to search anymore for acceptance. I don’t deserve to see busy, busy adults give up their precious time to be obedient to the calling God has given them, and then to see them love helping students, I don’t deserve it. I don’t deserve to be apart of watching hurting families find healing, marriages be reconciled, addiction be broken, and the opportunity to mentor people through my mistakes and success….but God in his amazing grace, despite my my broken sinful nature….has seen me worthy of such a calling and so I cried.
Wake up
I have come to the realization that in the comfy American culture we live in that we don’t deal well with the realities of this world. A lot of us, myself included, would much rather walk around this world really not dealing with the absolute depravity of this world.
As a person who does a far share of counseling, I see the worst in people, and honestly it is easy to chalk it up as, “her dad didn’t spend enough time with her,” or “His dad never told him that he cared,” and really assume that is why people do what they do, and PS Freud would be pleased. BUT, Do you know what I am learning, and really do want to share this with you, it starts with giving over to our fleshly desires, never dealing with it, and then watching it spin out of control. At the end of the day, a person has given Satan control of a certain part of their lives. Ephesians 6:10-18 addresses the issue that the problems people have difficulties in this world are bigger than “well, that guy is just a bad seed,” it has to deal with a battle between God and Satan and ultimately the free will we have to choose which one we allow to control us. You may say “well, i would never let Satan control me,” really, because when you gossip about others you give control to Satan, and give him a foothold in your life. Really, because when you watch movies with sexual scenes and say that it’s how movies are these days, you are giving control to Satan, and a foothold in your life. I could go on and on, but i think you get it.
My encouragement is this, don’t ignore the real realities in this world. There is a battle for you and your soul, and the reasons that you do and don’t do things directly correlate to whom you are giving control too. The fact that you struggle to read your Bible, battle…the fact you can’t help but take a second look at beautiful women, battle…the fact you look at yourself in the mirror and are never satisfied…battle. Be aware of the areas that Satan will, and is attacking you and asked Christ to forgive you of that sin, and then “resist the devil” as James 4:7 says and “he will flee from you.”
God bless you all, fight the good fight and stop ignoring the realities of this world.
