When the Oceans Roar

 God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.
 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
 though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Psalms 46:1-3

The Christian life has its ups and downs. There are successes and victories, and failures and losses. To be sure, there are times when everything goes well, but there are oftentimes many more periods of difficulties, struggles, trials, and pain and suffering. When these times come your way, or if there are times  of mourning , or times when you feel like giving up or in constant pain, and when life falls apart, what will you hold on to? What will give you hope to make it through?
Here are four things to remember in the midst of suffering.

1. Remember Who You Are and What You Have Been Given in Christ
Before coming to faith in Christ, we were enemies of God, dead in and slaves of our sins, deserving of His wrath and punishment(Eph. 2:1-3). But instead of condemning us, God condemned his Son and poured out all His wrath on Christ, so that anyone who calls on His name and believes in Him is free and declared righteous(Rom. 4:5, 8:1,2, 10:9,13). So if you place your faith in Christ, you are a child of God(1 John 3:1), you've been given new life(Eph. 2:4), .and been raised to a living hope(1 Pet. 1:3).
When you realize who you are through, and all that has been given to you in, Christ, it makes it possible to see that He is definitely for us, and any trial that He brings into our lives is not meant to punish, but to refine, and make us more dependent on Him, so that Christ's power can shine through, and rest on us.
 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.(2 Corinthians 4:7)
  But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.(2 Corinthians 12:9)
2. Remember what God has done for you
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
 I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds. 
(Psalm 77:11-12)
Remember prayers that have been answered in your life, and how you were lead to faith in Christ. But more than that, know that He created you, and the whole universe, and sustains and upholds everything by His word. Every heartbeat, every breath, every sunrise, every single minute detail of your life is another reason to thank God. Thinking about how God has helped you in the past, and of all the countless blessings that have been given anchors our faith more deeply in the bedrock of God's grace,
3. Remember what we have to look forward to
Looking back can  only do so much for someone's faith. We have to realize there is more than this life. No matter how difficult life can be, or how disappointing life is, for the one who has faith in Christ, all the miseries in this life are mere blips when conpared to the whole span of eternity. What awaits us is so much better than anything this world has to offer.
"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison'"(2 Corinthians 4:17)
4. Remember you are never alone
This is probably the most important point. Suffering and trials can be very isolating. It feels like nobody else knows or can understand what is happening to you. In Jesus, however, we have a God who took on flesh and became a man. As a man, he experienced sorrows and pain and hunger and thirst and temptation and even death. He also had all of God's wrath poured out on himself, and was utterly forsaken. He suffered more than any of us will know, making Him more equipped than anyone to understand what we go through. Also, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, speaking to us the love of Christ and the Father and listening to us and praying for us. Finally, we have the body of Christ. As believers, we know that Jesus loves us, is always there for us, and will never leave us, but this needs to be experienced, and this is best experienced as part of a body of believers. Sure, nobody is perfect. People fail us, hurt us, and can cause deep pain and lasting grief. But, remember that Jesus is most likely to show his love for us through his body, the church. Having people involved in your life, praying for you, and sacrificially laying down their lives for you can be and is a great comfort in the midst of suffering.

P. S. Some of what I have written was based on personal experience, but some was based off of Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller.

Keep Reading

I love books. I love getting lost in a story, or seeing the world from another person's perspective. There is one Book, though, that is living and active(Hebrews 4:12). A Book/Word that creates, and saves, and justifies, and redeems. A Word that gives life to the dead, written/inspired by and describing the one true God and his plan of salvation and justification by faith for all who believe(Romans 3:24, 25).

No other book comes close to the transformational power of the Bible, and nothing should take its place in the life of a Christian, but there are  some books that have impacted my life. I love being able to see other people's glimpses and perspectives of God. With that being said, what I want to do now is to share with my lovely audience some books that have really helped my life. These are not in any particular order.
                                          

The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel

This book takes an all-around glimpse of the universe to make a case for design. From the detailed precision of the universe and its beginning, to the complexity and orderliness of DNA and cells, to the uniqueness of our planet and its ideal location in the galaxy to support life. After reading this book and seeing the complexities and intricacies of the universe and how it works, I could not help but stand in awe of the Creator and just worship Him.




Crazy Love by Francis Chan

This book is so amazing and convicting. It gave such a great picture of God's love for us. He gives a quick glimpse of God's creation and describes Him on His throne in glory, and this same God loves us, and pursues us, and died for us, and yet we forget this and settle. If He did all this for us, how can we not help but pursue and love Him with reckless abandon? This book stirred and awakened me and my relationship with God went a little deeper because of it.




A Gospel Primer by Milton Vincent                                     

The idea of this book is that the gospel is meant for Christians, to meditate on it everyday. He covers every aspect of the Christian life, and shows how meditating on the gospel affects everything for the better, mainly because it takes away all pride. Two ideas that really stuck with me were: that we should consider prayer a privilege that Christ died for, and that we deserve a cup full of God's wrath, and yet, He offers a cup overflowing with blessings.

That is all I will say for now, but I will have a follow-up blog coming soon with more books that have had an impact on my life. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please leave a reply.

Just Pick One

Just decide already. What am I referring to? In the life of a Christian, apart from placing their faith in Christ, this decision is the most crucial, and for me, the most beneficial one that can be made. I am referring to choosing a body of believers or a church and committing to that church. This can be a difficult choice to make, especially in this age of independence, and in light of a general lack of trust in religious institutions and organized religion. To be sure, there are some leaders/churches/ministries that have made bad choices and decisions, failing miserably, and people have gotten hurt and felt or have been betrayed. I am not denying this or condoning whatever mistakes were committed, but the church is not perfect, nor will it ever be perfect. The church is full of sinful, imperfect, and dysfunctional humans living in a fallen world. 

Anyway, while being a part of a church can be difficult, it really is beneficial and necessary. Community is a vitally important part of a Christian's life. Without it, a believer's life is very lonely and depressing and unfulfilling. It can be extremely easy to stumble and fall back into sins and be carried away by various temptations and snares. I'm saying this from experience, because this was a picture of my life until I committed to the church body that I am currently a part of. I thought I could do it on my own and I was wrong. The Christian life is never meant to be lived alone. A Christian needs other believers in their lives to strengthen and encourage and teach and rebuke and to be accountable to and disciple. More than that, when a body of believers is giving and serving and sacrificing for each other, the love of Christ is made  more visible and tangible, and it proves we are His disciples.(John 13:35)

Finally, in this age of so many choices, it may be difficult to find a church, but as long as the church body is a Christ-centered, Bible-believing one, then you probably can't go wrong. Here's a glimpse at what a church body should look like:

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47 ESV

Stop Trying

Well, after a short break, I'm back. Do you ever feel like you need to get into or back into God's good graces? Or that you need to earn a right standing with Him, feeling like you need to work to get him to listen to you or even think that it is up to you to earn your salvation? It feels exhausting and even impossible. It's like running up an escalator that is going down. There is a reason it feels this way; it is not possible. God is not pleased with human efforts. Never.
Most people can see that something is wrong with the world, wrong with humanity. But, in our independence, we look for a way to fix it. We look for some moral code to follow. God gave this to us in the form of the Ten Commandments. The problem with this Code? It's a code meant to showcase God's perfect standards, and how far we fall short of His standards(Romans 3:23), not a code to follow and be saved by. The ancient Israelites and the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day thought that it was the law that did the saving, neglecting the Lawgiver, and forgetting that only God can save from and atone for sin. In fact, the law was meant to convict and condemn, not save or forgive.
 

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20

For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. Romans 4:15

for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Romans 5:13

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. ⁵ And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, ⁶ just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

⁷ “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;
⁸ blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Romans 4:4-8

 
Now what? Let me simply say: give up and stop trying to depend on your own efforts. Stop trying and rest in what Christ has done.

For there is no distinction: ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. Romans 3:22-25
 "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
      the Father almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth,
      of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only Son of God,
      begotten from the Father before all ages,
           God from God,
           Light from Light,
           true God from true God,
      begotten, not made;
      of the same essence as the Father.
      Through him all things were made.
      For us and for our salvation
           he came down from heaven;
           he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
           and was made human.
           He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
           he suffered and was buried.
           The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
           He ascended to heaven
           and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
           He will come again with glory
           to judge the living and the dead.
           His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord, the giver of life.
      He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
      and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
      He spoke through the prophets.
      We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
      We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
      We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
      and to life in the world to come. Amen.
 © 1987, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids MI. www.crcna.org. Reprinted with permission.

Worry Not

 

 

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:25-33

 

 This passage from the Sermon on the Mount has a lot in it, but the main idea is being anxious, or worry. To be anxious means to be uneasy or uncertain from fear of danger, or greatly worried. The first thing to notice is how God cares for all of creation. He takes time to feed the birds and He causes the flowers to bloom. Think about this: if God cares enough for ravens to make sure they are fed, how much more does He care for the only creature made in his likeness?

 

When we seek God first above all else, we will have or be given all that we NEED. When Jesus says all these things, He is referring to food, water, and clothing; basic necessities. Never does He mention riches or a lavish lifestyle or health, in fact in the same sermon this is what He says:

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13-14

Again, He never promised an easy life for those who follow Him, it's a narrow road, but He does promise to meet our needs. Our greatest need was taken care of on the cross when  Christ died and rose again to forgive our sins, and to give us life. Life is more than just food and physical needs, and our greatest need can only be found or fulfilled in Christ. He offers a deep, intimate, and eternal relationship that only He can give us. When we place our faith in Him, we trust in His provision as well, and we will not have to fret about our needs.

 And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

 

 

No Greater Love

What does love mean or look like? How do you explain love? The world sees love as some ethereal, mysterious feeling that is felt. Worldly love is very selfish and extremely dependent on circumstances. Worldly love is all about what's in it for me? Worldly love just takes from others. The world pictures love in a strictly romantic, or even in a more pleasurable or erotic sense. In this case, love just becomes some new drug to be taken,  always looking for the next high. Of course, I am referring to sex here, and when love is just some feeling that is meant to be experienced, and is equated to sex, problems will arise. While sex is not bad, like anything else in this world, it all too easily is corrupted. First of all, sex is a very precious and intimate thing, not meant to be abused, and not meant for just anybody. Just like marriage, sex should only be between a man and a woman, and only married couples should have sex. While sex is very intimate, the main purpose usually is procreation. Neglecting these facts has many consequences, the biggest being unwanted pregnancy, and in this culture of no responsibility, and of making problems go away, along with the moral decay of society, and no wonder so many abortions are happening in this country. I really wanted to talk about true love. TRUE love. Real love. Sacrificing love. This is what love looks like to the Christian:
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:12-13

For the Christian, love is not a vague, ethereal concept or some feeling. Love is very tangible, and can be seen in actions. Not just any ordinary action, but with sacrifice. Sacrificial love is the truest love possible.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ¹⁷ But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

As a verb, sacrifice means to make an offering of, or surrender or give up, or permit injury, for the sake of something else, and I would add, without expecting anything in return.
More than this, though, love is a Person. God is love and love is God and comes from God..In fact, we are only capable of love through Him, because of our fallen and sinful nature.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins….We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:7-10,18

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

This is the greatest love: that God sacrificed everything in the case of sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins, so that we could get everything, namely eternal life. This is really good news, because when we were unable to love Him, or give Him anything, and even though we did not  deserve anything but God’s wrath, He gave and loved us. So no matter how broken, or unworthy, or helpless, or sinful you are, He did it all for you. It is finished. Just turn from your sin and place your faith in Christ and what he did.