Hello, hello readers!
I just finished Tullian Tchividjian’s “Jesus + Nothing = Everything” & it is blowing up my faith. I have been learning through this & other books that we have to constantly remind ourselves of who Jesus is! We need to preach to ourselves constantly & remind our hearts/minds of what He has done for us.
We are certainly “prone to wander.” This is precisely what Tullian does in his book, he preaches the gospel over & over. He takes a page from Paul’s letters & preaches the gospel to people who already live under the weight of it. In each of Paul’s letters to the churches, he hits them over & over with the gospel. He stands on what Christ has done & what that means for us now.
One of the Bible's books that has completely reshaped my view of the gospel lately has been Colossians. I encourage you to read & dwell on this book. Christ’s supremacy & sovereignty is declared in such a beautiful fashion in this letter. Paul is completely soaked in the gospel, & it shows. I’m currently in Acts & Job, but Colossians consistently has been my go-to book. It’s always on my mind. For example, if you are looking to learn how to pray, chapter 1 has you covered. Paul teaches us how to sing out in praise to God for who He is by using his Word. Our prayers/praises are so Spirit-filled when our response to God is guided by His words about Himself!
Want to get rid of an old bad habit, or be done with habitual sin? Chapter 3 speaks on fixing your gaze upon Christ & setting your heart & mind completely upon Him, who is enthroned above. Paul tells us to fix our eyes upon Him & then to absolutely choke out & commit murder on your old nature! Don’t take this lightly, sense the urgency by which Paul is convicted. “Put to death that which is of your earthly nature,” that’s everything you used to be! You are being renewed day-by-day, so put to death that old life.
Dwell on Colossians for a month. Consistently read through the book every day & ask the Spirit to stir your affections for Jesus, the Father, & Himself… then brace yourself because He who called you is faithful, & He will do it!
That was my unplanned rant about Colossians.
Like all of Paul’s letters, he consistently reminds his readers of what Jesus has done. He draws them back to their first love, who is Jesus! He tells them about the gospel again & again because he knows the fragile nature of our hearts & how quickly we are to forget. We forget everything that Jesus has done on our behalf. He was obedient to the Father’s will, & that is what we confess & believe. And the only reason we confess & believe is simply because the Spirit has given us the faith & belief in the first place! It’s not our faith!
In Galatians, Paul again preaches the gospel to believers! Chapter 1: “Grace & peace to you from God our Father & the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of God our Father”
He is writing to believers, to followers of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. And Paul continues to preach the gospel to them! He doesn’t come at them with rules or commands to live better or ‘become a better you,’ Paul first reminds them of who they are by referencing what has been done for them in Jesus. He knows the all-encompassing power of the gospel. I think we all need to follow Paul’s lead to consistently preach the gospel not only to ourselves but also to our brothers & sisters around us.
Hebrews 10:23-25
“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love & good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another– and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
We need to stop adding to the gospel. Jesus + Nothing = Everything. We need to cling to Jesus & walk in faith that He has us, & that we are His. Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, & underneath are the everlasting arms.” What a beautiful declaration of God’s protection & love for His rebellious, prodigal children!
This particular section of Tullian’s book spoke to me so vividly:
“The gospel frees us from this pressure to perform, this slavish demand to “become.” The gospel liberatingly declares that in Christ “we already are.” If you’re a Christian, here’s the good news: who you really are has nothing to do with you- how much you can accomplish, who you can become, your behavior (good or bad), your strengths, your weaknesses, your sordid past, your family background, your education, your looks, and so on. Your identity is firmly anchored in Christ’s accomplishment, not yours; his victory, not yours. Your identity is steadfastly established in his substitution, not in your sin. As my friend Justin Buzzard recently said, “The gospel doesn’t just free you from what other people think about you; it frees you from what you think about yourself.” You’re free!… Here in Christ we have worth and purpose and security and significance that make utterly laughable all the transient things of this world that we’re so frequently tempted to identify ourselves by.” -pp.132-133
Brace yourself, I’m about to use Colossians again. I told you it’s my go-to!
Colossians 3 speaks about our new nature, which we are now that we believe who Jesus is.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
It’s no longer us who are living, but it is Jesus who is living in us because He indeed sustains all things, “in him all things hold together” (1:17). We are being renewed & made new every day into His likeness more & more! It’s all because of Him, through faith that isn’t even our doing, we have been given the faith to believe! It’s not about what we do, it’s about what God does & how we respond to Him.
The question now is how are we are going to respond? How are you going to respond to God?
Do you respond to Him in faith & in obedience, or in pride & rebellion?
We can’t do a thing to reach God. The only contribution we make to Christ’s saving work is our great need to be saved by His work on the cross! We bring sin & nothing more to the table. And He still loves us; while we were yet still sinners, Christ died for us!! Amazing grace indeed. It’s no wonder why even the angels long to look into these things (1 Peter 1:12).
For it is by grace that we have been saved, it is God’s gift! We are His workmanship, created by God in Christ Jesus to do good works. You are His. So now it is time to be who you are! You are called a “saint” over & over in the New Testament. We are no longer referred to as sinners, we are Saints, His Beloved, the Redeemed of the Lord, Children of God, & Sought After, Forgiven, Loved, the Apple of His Eye, just to name a few.
Jesus + Nothing = Everything. Nothing else matters when you understand that you have everything now that you will ever need because Christ has given you ALL THINGS! We are free to walk in obedience to the Father. We are free to savor the grace & the everything that has been lavished upon us. You are free to live in the Father’s love! “Now the lord is the Spirit, & where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom,” 2 Corinthians 3:17.
Rest in the things that Jesus has done on your behalf. Rest in God’s sustaining grace. Be still & know that He is God & that He is sovereign… especially when you have no idea what is going on. God is with us. His presence is never far from us because He indeed fills the heavens & the earth! Where you go, He is! Where you’ve been, He’s there now! YHWH-Shamah means the Lord is there! He is! Whether you "feel" His presence or not, God is right there.
I'm talking to myself now. I find it so hard to abide in Christ. I don't even know what that word means… "stay – stand – endure – reside – dwell – remain – bear," thanks dictionary.com.
I have to constantly remind myself of who God says that I am. That I am rescued, loved, redeemed, and sought after. When I forget, which is way too easy to do, I am not abiding in Christ. Now more than ever, I need to remind myself of who Jesus is & of who He says that I am. The enemy absolutely hates you because you love, accept and trust in Jesus. I've seen how he fights, and it isn't fair. I need the Spirit's help, I need the Father to remind me of His love, & I need Christ's blood to wash over all of me.
Jesus + Nothing = Everything. Everything – Jesus = less than Nothing.
Tullian's book opened up my eyes even more to the beauty of the gospel. Let the Spirit preach to you today. Ask Him to tell you about Jesus. He has not stopped revealing more and more to me. I only want more!!
Message me, or if you are comfortable enough with it, post a response at the bottom. I'd love to hear what are you learning about who God is. What is your understanding of the gospel? How has it completely changed your life? Or, how little does it affect you?
My prayer for us this week is that the God of our salvation would remind us that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit once we accept Christ as our Savior & Lord. That His presence would be acknowledged more this week even if we don't feel Him with us. That Jesus would reign in our minds and hearts and that we would surrender the thoughts and meditations of both to His sovereignty. And that God would enable us to fear Him. And through fear, that He would teach us more about His humbling, passionate, remarkable and gracious love that He has lavished on us in Christ's sacrifice.
The days are rolling by so quickly lately, but they don't seem to go by fast enough… That's good & bad. I still have a long way to go, roughly $13,000 left. Below are the deadlines that I have to hit. If you want to join with me in what God is doing in the world, please press the SUPPORT ME! tab on the left hand side. If you have any questions about support, message me through the Contact tab. I'm trusting in God to provide, and I'm so excited to see how He brings in all the finances that my squad and I need.
Support Deadlines:
- $3,500 Due 5/5/2012 (2 weeks before training camp)
- $6,500 Due 6/17/2012 (2 weeks prior to the trip)
- $11,000 Due 10/1/2012 (End of 3 months on the field)
- $15,500 Total Due 1/1/2013 (End of 6 months on the field)
He may be stirring in your heart to be a blessing to me, and you may be a means by which I can go and serve Him in the nations. So please, prayerfully consider becoming a supporter!
$1 a day is a great and easy way to start, that's $30 a month. Or, one-time donations help so much too!! If you are financially capable of helping me right now, please don't wait!
Thank you to all of my current supporters and to my wonderful and outstanding prayer team! I love you very much.
