Christ says ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked – the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.’

– C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Upon the End of Four Years

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” -Philippians 1:6
It’s not very often I write anything remotely personal, but for some odd reason I feel like it could be encouraging here. The Christmas season for all its incarnational significance bears some additional meaning for me. Four years ago, some time this week, I was saved by the grace of God. And as anniversaries have a habit of doing, this fact got me thinking quite a bit.
Four years I have been with him, or rather, He with me. Four years, and He only good. Four years, and He only gracious to teach me whatever it is I know. Isn’t it laughable (or wouldn’t it be if it wasn’t pride), that so young I feign maturity? How silly it is to speak with betters and mistake grace for equality. Four years, that’s just the age of an infant, a toddler. In our college spheres we have such a distorted notion of maturity. Growth there is, but maturity? We’re all children. What do we know as we ought to know? But we will. He will finish his work.
Four years, so young I really hardly know a thing if I’m honest. But I can’t wait until 40. I can’t wait until 400. And that’s where it really is. Who are we here compared to what we will be there? How much do we know now compared to then? How much will we be transformed? Really that’s what every year of being with God has taught me, to long for more, to long for an eternity with him. To long for ever growing nearer to him without sin.
For you, reader, can you wait? Every year, doesn’t your heart teach you the same?
-djstevens
P.S. Please do not confuse a written honesty with an actual humility. After thinking a while and writing down the results you will either often sound better or worse than you are, but to change it would change the encouragement intended. Often, since I am learning as well, I do think myself mature, I do think myself wise or learned or whatnot.

Putting the Christ back in Christmas

Today I visited a church for Christmas sunday service. The decorations were beautiful, the singers excellent, the body worship and short drama equally moving. The congregation was packed far more the usual, bringing out the all the families who attended church on holidays because “it was the right thing to do.” It was an encouraging sight to see so many believers, and seekers gathered together to celebrate the beginning of humanity’s long awaited climax, the Gospel, the life and story of Jesus.

And yet, amidst all the glits and glamor of the service, there was one thing missing. The Gospel. The preacher went up to that pulpit amidst a crowd of handfulls of people, many of which, in a crowd this big had probably never heard the Gospel and began to teach. And it tore my soul, to see such a great opportunity wasted. The Bible was not opened, two Bible verses were mentioned briefly towards the end and the rest of his sermon was filled with funny stories of mild relevancy, and Christian cliches and other fluff. There was no invitation to salvation, no mention of Christ’s work on the cross, not even one mention of sin in even the remotes fashion, it was an empty Gospel and a Christ-less Christmas service. I went to a birthday party commemorating Jesus, but I think the attendees got so caught up in planning the party that I don’t think the man of honor was truly invited.

And I’m not here to discourage you, nor to bash on this pastor. We all sin, and we are all imperfect people. But something I want you to think about, as you spend this Christmas season, is to remember the Gospel, and make that the reason to celebrate this season. Don’t allow Christ to fall out of your Christmas season.

I recently read some online surveys, and as a huge fan of Christmas, it grieved me to see that a top question was, “Is Christmas still worth it?” And by the world’s standards, I don’t think Christmas is worth it, Santa seems too cheesy, theres too much stress involved in Christmas shopping, and who really likes nutmeg anyway? (haha only kidding here.) But from a Christian perspective, I hope we never ever think that Christmas isn’t worth it, because if Christmas commemorates the beginning of Jesus’ human work for the Gospel, we ought to celebrate Christmas all the time, all year long. (And even if Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25, do we really need an exact date to worship our savior?)

And so this year, I want to encourage all of you truly “remember the reason for the season.” And the reason is the Gospel, and the season of joy and celebration is yesterday, today and tomorrow. Don’t just make sure to invite Jesus to your Christmas celebration, make him the guest of honor, give him the full glory that he deserves, worship Christ this Christmas.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

God exalted Jesus, and we should do the same. So this Christmas my friends, don’t just remember the reason for the season, don’t just throw parties in the name of Jesus. Let us make Christ the sole object of our affections so that any material grace we receive in the form of wrapped boxes and decorated bags are gifts of mockery in comparison to the worth of knowing Christ. Let us have the attitude of Paul who considers all things rubbish compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Let us put the Christ back in Christmas and restore the holiness of this holiday.

For in all things, all circumstance is graced poured upon grace.

-rbchew

How to Be Who to Be

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:48.

This is a relentless command. This is a command that reaches into every aspect of our lives, lays hold on them and says, “This must change. This must be made better, brought higher, further, nearer.” This is a command that should never let us rest with how far we’ve come. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” makes us strain as hard as possible after personal holiness now, and to go into all the ramifications of this command would (and will) take an eternity.

But, as seems to be the rage in the Christian-blog-read-by-college-students circles (and as has been brought up to me as a question both in the fellowship and junior high group I serve in), I’m going to apply it to Biblical manhood and womanhood.

I’m not going to give any new list, I’m not going to make any real advance in what it is a real man or a real woman does. Instead, I’m going to write about how a real man does real man things, how a real woman does real woman things.

And my question is this: “Do you strive for this Matthew 5:48 level of Biblical Manhood/Womanhood, or do you just try to make the norm of the people (even the godly ones) around you?”

Do you live trying to be the most holy, of course not competitively, but devotionally? Do you try to be the most biblical man or woman you know? The most biblical that there is for the glory of God?

It’s all to easy to see these gendered commands as just a product of the Christian culture, and we can try to conform to them to fit in or even to garner the attention of another. And because of that, we can see them as secondary, as recommendations, and we only pursue biblical manhood or womanhood just enough to get to a good level. But the thing is, they’re not. They’re not the marks of a conservative culture, and they’re not lists of how to attract a date. They’re a call to holiness, a call to perfection where God comes and tells us who we should be based on what we are.

Things like Titus 2:1-8 and 1 Timothy 2:8-15 (whatever that last part means) are not preference statements we can follow as much as we please. No, they are calls, relentless calls, to glorify God in your gender. They are calls so see how the gospel plays out in every aspect of who and of what you are. They are a manifestation of the work of Christ in your life, and glimpses of who he is to the world around you.

So to the men:

Work to know the Word of God not just enough to gain the respect of those around you, but as much as possible so that your very blood would be the ink of the Bible.

Seek for wisdom not just enough so that you can lead in the situations around you, but so that you can come to know the infinite mind of the Father.

Be so pure, so adamant in fighting lust, not just so that you don’t have to feel guilty, but so you can honestly say with Job, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?”

Strive to be more humble, more kind, more sacrificial, more hard working, more Christ like than anyone else because the one who calls you is holy.

Now, to the women:

Cultivate the most gentle spirit possible, so that when people see how you act, they will know how the church should and will act in the presence of Christ.

Seek for wisdom and the Word of God not so that you can be accepted into the group of “godly girls” or live up to their standard, but so that your thoughts and words bring God into your groups.

Be not just fairly modest, not just as proper as those around you, but the most modest and the most concerned about your purity and that of those around you.

Strive to be more humble, more kind, more caring, more willing to submit, more Christ like than anyone else because the one who calls you is holy.

But remember, you are not on your own. Work, yes do work, but remember always it is He who works in you. He does not leave us on our own strength, but supplies grace enough to bring us to Him.

And one day, by His grace, we shall be before Him as all we ought to be.

-djstevens

Note: The italics are neither a quote nor an attempt at trying to make myself sound like someone else, they’re just the only way I could format WordPress to let me have them all without double spacing.