CCFW BLOG
Here’s an understatement: People are suffering from an identity crisis. Everywhere you turn, our culture is redefining everything: gender, sexuality, marriage, parenting, family, race, work, crime, policing, victims, you name it. No one seems to know who they really, are and we are watching the tragic results of this all around us.
There is no good reason why any follower of Jesus Christ should not know who they are. Here are a few things God tells us about ourselves.
Life can be so topsy turvy. One moment you feel good, the next moment you don’t. One day it’s sunny and warm, the next it’s rainy and cold. One minute life seems so peaceful, then your preschool grandkids show up and share their sense of fun and freedom around the house (love those stinkers). Whether it’s a sickness, stress, weather, loss, disappointment, struggle, conflict, temptation, burden, busyness, or any other adversity that likes to rear its ugly head, I recommend the 1212 plan.
The 1212 plan is very simple, but takes some sanctified empowerment (which all believers have) to practice. This plan has three parts to it and it has a way of keeping your head in the right place and life on the right track. It has worked for me over and over again simply because it is God’s plan.
One of the things we quickly learn about God is how unpredictable, uncharacteristic, and unorthodox He is. He is so superior and so unique; He refuses to be put in a box. God reminds us that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isa. 55:8), and “How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33b). One of His unorthodox ways is His use of the minority.
According to Wikipedia, majority rule is the principle that the group that has the most supporters gets its way. With God, a minority is a majority.
In 1991, Gatorade began a “Be Like Mike” campaign featuring Michael Jordan (the G.O.A.T. of the NBA, in my humble opinion). It was designed to use Jordan’s name to sell Gatorade and it showcased his relentless work ethic, his indomitable spirit, and his commitment to excellence as an athlete. It was a popular campaign, helped sell Gatorade, and became a catalyst to inspire athletes to push beyond their limits (and enriched Jordan with $13.5M). Still, it is nothing compared to being like Moses as we learned this past Sunday in our study of Hebrews 11.
Back in 2010, I read an article by Dane Ortlund (senior pastor of Naperville Presbyterian Church in Naperville, Illinois) who posed the following question, “What’s the Key to Healthy Christian Growth in Godliness?”
Pastor Dane asked various respondents to keep their answers to a single, short sentence. He then shared the purpose of the exercise: “The purpose of this exercise is not to provide an opportunity to nit-pick but to re-center, refresh, encourage, spur on, help one another.”
It is so easy to get sidetracked and forget what really matters in life. Our time and lives are full of activities, responsibilities, schedules, and the plethora of endless information that can distract and overwhelm us from staying centered on what keeps us centered.
The gospel of Jesus Christ keeps us centered. It is the good news about the Person and work of Jesus Christ on our behalf and how it transforms every aspect of our life.
I read a summary excerpt by Justin Taylor about J.I. Packer’s renowned chapter on adoption in his classic book, Knowing God. This is a book I read in high school that significantly opened my eyes to understanding the God I was learning to serve, love, and worship. I can’t recommend it enough as one of those classics that all believers should consider reading.
I am not aware of anyone normal who is amenable to being called a “fool” or “foolish.” Those words are offensive and pejorative terms that can easily trigger outrage and strife. But truthfully and sadly, all of us have acted like fools and displayed foolishness as sinners who needed and still need God’s saving wisdom in our lives.
Fools and foolishness seem to be multiplying at an unprecedented rate and our culture is suffering greatly because of it. Believers must avoid this lifestyle and display God’s wisdom (Jam. 3:13–18).
Feeling Inadequate?
Job said, “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes” (Job 3:26).
Moses said, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue” (Exodus 4:10).
Each month of the year has quite a variety of daily and monthly holidays and observances. June has a total of 264 holidays or celebrations observed for each day of the month (from Wear a Dress Day to National Food Truck Day) along with 8 additional monthly observances (ENTIRE LIST).
Many of these observances are odd (June 2: National Bubba Day), unnatural (June 4: National Hug Your Cat Day; June 19: National Take Your Cat to Work Day), tasty (June 11: National Corn on the Cob Day, lots of other food & drink days), strange (June 18: International Panic Day), positive (June 18: Father’s Day), self-centered (June 21: National Selfie Day), rare (June 22: Positive Media Day), and don't seem to have a point (June 24: Swim a Lap Day).
The word “amazing” is an adjective that we use to describe something we think is astonishing, astounding, eye-opening, jaw-dropping, stunning, or stupefying. The problem in our day and age is the effect of the law of diminishing returns…nothing really amazes us. We have been so over-exposed by instant access to everything “spectacular” that we shrug off the truly amazing as ordinary and commonplace.
Are you willing to do for the truth what the cults do for a lie?
Ever heard this question? Ever stopped to contemplate its implications for your life?
If we truly have the only gospel truth that can rescue us from eternal danger (and we do) and Satan is committed to spreading his damning lies through false religion (and he does), then what does that mean about our witness? Are we willing to allow Satan’s evangelists to out-share us?
Growing in our love, courage, and passion for the proclamation of God’s revolutionary gospel (the saving death, burial, and resurrection of His Son) needs regular attention and encouragement. Allow the following truths and quotes to impassion and motivate your heart to another level of gospel living and gospel sharing.
read Psalm 37 on Wednesday as part of my daily reading this week. Though I have read this psalm many times before, something was different this time. It came to life in a fresh way, perhaps due to how much of the news seems to progressively reveal the endless ways depravity is leaking out into our world.
Read a few of the Wednesday news headlines: Riley Gaines demolishes Biden after he vows to veto measure protecting women’s sports; Woman fatally shot by homeowner after car pulled into wrong driveway; Christian faces prison time for reading Bible outside of drag queen story time; Teen overdoses on common household drug in deadly TikTok challenge;
I re-read an excellent article written by pastor George Lawson entitled “50+ Results of Jesus’ Resurrection from the Dead” and thought it was a great follow-up to Easter weekend.
How blessed we are to serve a risen Savior, live by resurrection power, and look forward to being with and like Christ in our new resurrected bodies!!!
P-O-W-E-R! Three of the most powerful words in Scripture are “He is risen,” and the apostle Paul was driven to “know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).
Science has advanced in ways we never imagined, but science has never been able to overcome death. Only God has defeated death, and He displayed this powerful reality through the bodily resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, and this power is given to all His children.
What are some of the dimensions of resurrection power? Let me spell out five qualities of this P.O.W.E.R.
What’s the best diet on the market? That depends on who you ask. You will likely get as many answers as the person you ask. Wikipedia provides what appears to be an endless list of diets which they define as “the sum of food and drink that one habitually consumes.” They list various categories of diets like belief-based diets, calorie and weight control diets, crash diets, detox diets, diets followed for medical reasons, fad diets, vegetarian diets, and other diets. Check it out: List of Diets It’s exhausting just to peruse the list.
Jesus brought up the concept of diet when he quoted an Old Testament passage to ward off Satan’s first attack on Him after not eating for 40 days and 40 nights (Matt. 4:3–4; Luke 4:3–4). As a man, Jesus was physically hungry (Matt. 4:2), but instead of focusing on Satan’s temptation to miraculously give Himself some food from rocks, He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God,’” to highlight God’s best and most nutritious diet of all.
It seems we’ve all heard something like this: “perspective can make all the difference in the world.” Is this really true or just another one of those therapeutic clichés?
We can all agree that a person’s perspective does make a difference and many times a big difference. How you view yourself and the world around you will greatly influence the way you experience life. Are you a person who sees the glass half-empty or half-full? We know the sun never actually rises or sets, yet our perspective makes it appear to. Our sunset is another’s sunrise.
One of my favorite stories about perspective is this letter a college student wrote to her parents:
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word “faithful”? A person? A product? A pet? The sunrise or sunset? Rain in Washington?
Why is it we remember so little about the hand-picked tribal leaders of Israel: Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, or Geuel and remember so much about Joshua and Caleb? In a nutshell, the first ten were faithless and the last two were faithful.
