Rotten Flesh

No Confidence in this Flesh

Watch out for our society. They want you to think that flesh is the best. Look at our media, look at our advertisements, and look at everything thrown at us. It is no secret this world serves the body and not the spirit. Our surroundings are shouting: Eat this. Drink that. Do this. Take that. Go there. Come here. Trust us. We know what will satisfy you (as if they even cared). This world puts so much confidence in the earthly bodies and impulses. But Christians are different. We serve God by his Spirit, not by our flesh.

Rotten Flesh

I could list accomplishment after accomplishment. I could go on and on about how I helped so and so or gave my money to this cause or sacrificed my OWN time and money. But all of my righteous acts are like dirty dish towels used to clean up the dog’s vomit. What used to be a gain to me—fame, fortune, money, respect, power, knowledge, the right clothes, the right jokes, the right girl—I now count as nothing compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus. For Christ’s sake, I have lost all things; they have no place in my heart. The beauty is this: because Christ was the Someone, I am free to be no one. I consider all accomplishments and riches pure poop, such that I might gain more of Christ and be found in him. My righteousness is not my own, but Jesus’. I have accomplished everything I need only because Christ accomplished everything I need. Now, when I fail, it’s not even noticed, because Jesus has already succeeded. I put no confidence in this flesh because my skin is rotting. I put all my confidence in Jesus.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection. I want to participate in his sufferings and die to myself only because, by doing so, I am mysteriously attaining the resurrection from the dead. That is the mystery of the gospel. Though outwardly I am wasting away, inwardly I am being resurrected day by day.

Run that Zombie Race

I have not yet attained all that Christ has to do in me. Instead, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Jesus. I know that God will continue his work in me till the end. I know that I am invincible until He is done with me, like a zombie with a bulletproof head. Everything I face in this life is meant for the glory for God. While it is true that God is for me, it is really only because God is for God. He is the one worthy of praise. It is not how much I worship him, but instead how much he deserves worship.

Straight Crooked

In a crooked world, those who live straight lives are going to be accused of being crooked. Without out something straight, you can’t determine if something is crooked; we have the word of God to show us what is straight. This crooked world is tirelessly adjusting their lines because they have no straight edges to compare. It is a shame that many live as an enemy of the cross; I mourn it almost every day. I cry out: “Why does the road have to be so narrow?” not realizing that it will be no other way. The destiny of this crooked world is destruction. The god of this crooked world is their stomach. The only glory this world has is their shame. This earthly place is set on earthly things. But we have the citizenship of heaven. This is not our home. Though the straight road to our home disappears in the horizon of time, we do not lose hope. Jesus has the power to bring everything under his control and he will transform our lowly, dying bodies in to something glorious like His.

Let’s be straight lines showing a crooked world what is true. Christ is the way.

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Pride and Insecurity

We are selfish creatures. Plain and simple. For example, whenever I go on a trip, there are inevitably photos taken of me and my friends doing fun stuff. When I go back to look at the album, all I look at is myself and whether I look good or bad. It is comical really. Rachel and I will be going through an album of us, and one photo I’ll say “I look fat in that picture” and the next she’ll say “ewww, I don’t look good in that picture.” The funny thing is, in my insecurity, she thinks nothing is wrong with me—in fact quite the opposite—and in her self-image, I think she is gorgeous when she thinks she looks like she crawled out of the bottom of a Port-O-Pot. Pride and insecurity are two sides of the same coin. When it comes to our bodies, we have been so bombarded by culture that all of us worry about the flab around our waist and the acne on our face—even more so for those who are the prettiest of the pretty. When it comes to our personality, we all think we are right and good while everyone else is doing something wrong. We are so consumed by all of our good qualities and so obsessed with all of our unimportant qualities.

Girls, your mind is so filled with insecurities about who likes you, who likes your body, and who you like, that you are reduced to worry-warts and gossipers. The vanity of our culture has taught the girls that putting other people down is the key to success, that gossiping is nothing but a hobby, that makeup is needed in every circumstance, and that the clothes you wear will determine your worth. Girls, hear my plea that the guys that are worth your time care about your character and not your body while the guys that aren’t worth your time care about your body and not your character. Moreover, you don’t need the approval of men. In fact, Jesus came so that you can live without it.

 Guys (myself included), you are so full of competition and pride. You see everyone by what they can offer you and if someone doesn’t do it your way, they are doing it wrong. Guys, we think that women want us to be macho and sensitive, an Abercrombie model and a poet, when really what they need is a spiritual leader that will stand up in this pride-plagued society and lead in servant hood. Guys, we are so selfish that if we like a girl and someone else does as well, they are our enemy. Look at our disease! We argue and fight with each other for days over stupid things like whether Qdoba or Chipotle is better when we don’t even take two seconds to consider or pray for one another. If we could just think before we speak and pray before we act, we would know peace with everyone.

                                                                                                                            

Pride and insecurity are spiritual cancer. Pride and insecurity keep us from loving God because we are blinded by our self. It keeps us from loving our self as God loves us. That said, I think the full realization and experience of God’s love and grace is the cure. Similarly, the pain and trials we go through are the chemotherapy. We need God’s love to take our eyes off ourselves and others and place it on someone worthwhile. Let’s stop comparing ourselves and look to the incomparable one. When we have encountered the love of God, we no longer need the approval of others, we no longer need to be right, and we no longer need to think about ourselves.

Imitating the Humility of Christ

We need to instead have that same mindset of Christ. Jesus did not be prideful in his power and smite us all to smithereens. No. Instead, Jesus deserted his comfortable and honorable throne to become human. We cannot fathom how dishonoring it is to go from God to man. Imagine how much you would like to be a barnacle bottom feeder. But not only did he become human, he became a human servant. He made himself nothing. He sacrificed his personal comfort to spend over 3 decades on this painful and fallen planet serving the lowest in society. But hold on, he went even further than servanthood! Jesus humbled himself, even to death on a cross: the most despicable and dishonorable death imagined. Jesus lived a life of getting lower. When we get lower and lower and give up more and more of our self, we are becoming more like Jesus. Inversely, when we try to strive to advance our self and continue to reach higher and higher, we are being just like the enemy!

Because of Jesus’ great sacrifice, God the Father exalted him higher than anything and everything. Jesus went to lowest only to be exalted to the highest. If we will just humble our foolish and unworthy selves, God will exalt us into glorious and joyful purpose. It is not about getting everything we desire, it is about giving God everything He deserves.

If you have any encouragement for knowing Jesus or any comfort from his love, or any experience with the Spirit, or any tenderness and compassion, then pass on what you have been given and be at peace with everyone. Share God’s love with them. Do nothing out of selfish ambition. This is the ultimate goal. If we can just separate our selfishness from our actions, we will find an uncommon joy. Only the humble are used by God. It doesn’t matter if you are black or white, healthy or hurt, intelligent or stupid… what matters is whether you are humble or not..

We must identify the pride in ourselves by the Holy Spirit and root it out. I have written so much more about that here: Your Kingdom Come, My Kingdom Gone

Do Everything without Complaining

We complain so much. I complain so much. My worst cause of complain is food. I complain so much about food and when I am hungry. But I get food whenever I want it and I have a million varieties to choose from. How can I complain when so many people that God loves just as much as me are starving? I simply sit back and laugh at my Hangry-ness (hungry + angry) because I am about as mature as a little child. Fortunately, there is grace for me (and you). Therefore, my dear blog readers, in response to God’s incredible patience and grace with our complaining, let’s continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. God will work through us and fulfill his purpose through us if we will only be humble—delightfully humble. Once we become humble, we find that we have gotten ridden of our self: the very thing that was making us unhappy all of our lives. Let’s stop grumbling and arguing with each other; let’s stop gossiping and thinking of ourselves first so we can become “blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” We will shine like stars as we hold firmly to the word of life. Then we can boast when Jesus comes back that we did not run or labor in vain.

Even if we are in trials and pain for the rest of our lives, I will gladly be poured out and rejoice with all of you. So let’s rejoice together.

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Circumstances

Dear blog reader, I thank God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I pray with joy and humility because of your willingness to seek God and the strange fact that you could find anything worthwhile in something I write. I know God has begun a good work in you and He will carry it on to completion until Jesus returns. Until then, keep on going!

My prayer for you now is that your love would grow more and more with knowledge and insight so that you can tell what is best, what is pure, what is blameless, and what is right. I pray that you are filled with the righteousness that comes from Jesus alone—to the glory and praise of God.

Circumstances

Our life is made of up certain circumstances. But too often we get caught up in thinking our circumstances can prevent us from doing something worthwhile. “I can’t do this. I don’t have enough money.” “I am not married.” “I am married” “I’m not smart enough” “I can’t change. I have always been this way” “My parents aren’t here” "I am too young” “I am too old”…

But Paul shows us that our circumstances don’t matter. Paul, who was locked away in one of the most painful prisons in the land (Philippi) rejoiced in his affliction. He didn’t write to his brothers and sisters and Christ to say “I am stuck here. You better pray that I get out. I can’t spread the gospel until I get out of here. These circumstances aren’t right.” Nope. Instead he said this:

 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

   Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. ²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

Paul cries out that his circumstances don’t matter. God is not limited by circumstances. It’s the old mantra: Don’t tell God how big your problems are. Tell your problems how big your God is. Because of Christ, everything that happens to us is meant for His glory AND our good. Although it's true that God's plans do not always work out in the ways we would prefer, it is amazing how often we focus on the relatively few difficult circumstances of our lives and tend to forget his repeated, loving acts of deliverance that occur so regularly. God is in control. Nothing will enter your life that God does not either decree or allow. And nothing will ever enter your life that, if you are willing to trust him, he cannot work out for your good. He is all-knowing, all-wise, infinite in his love. He's the king, and you're his child. God is doing things that you don't understand, things that are deeper and better and more wonderful than you imagined, but you must believe! Absolutely refuse to worry. Whatever it means to be filled to the brim with goodness and life, that's what God wants for you. He wants that for you now, in this life, and he wants that for you forever. When pleasures will move us toward that kind of life, that's what he gives. When pain moves us toward it, that's what he gives. God stands ready with whatever it takes to provide his children with abundant life. 

Life a Life Worthy of the Gospel

Whatever happens, whatever circumstances face you, act in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. Though saved, we are still sinners until He comes and completes His work. Therefore, we need the Gospel everyday! We need meditate on what God has DONE not what we have done. So don’t be frightened in any way by those who oppose you. If you are living the gospel people will oppose you. Suffering and pain and opposition are granted to you on behalf of Christ not only so you believe in Him, but also that you might reveal His glory in the pain.

Have joy in the struggle

And

Always preach the gospel to yourself

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