marturia

The Greatest Day of My Life.

So I’ve decided that the greatest day of my life will be my last day on earth. The day of my salvation can sit closely behind at number two.

When I’m on my deathbed or wherever, it means that Christ is right there, on the other side! And so, on that day, I’m going to be beaming with joy, celebrating, while everyone else around me will probably be sad. I’m going to throw myself a party, and be like, PEACE OUT KIDDOS, I’m going to see Jesus. Ya’ll gotta wait longer, suckas.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly looking forward to death itself or anything morbid of that nature. My heart is more along the lines of what Paul says in Philippians, that “my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” I simply want to be with my Maker, my Savior, my Lover, my Lord. I honestly could care less about missing out on the riches of the world, on marriage, on sex, or whatever else I have yet to experience. I don’t want to wait. If He wants to take me home now, may it be so. The sooner, the better. 

It is kind of absurd to talk like this though. How truly outrageous is it that the believer can talk in such terms? It’s only because Christ has overcome death completely. Death was supposed to be the end for man, the wages of sin, and Satan’s ultimate victory for God’s creation. However, now through Christ Jesus, death on earth is simply the start of Paradise. As God always does, He’s reversed what was a victory for Satan and what he meant for evil into a complete and overwhelming victory through Christ, for the joy of His people and for the glory of His name. PTL.

Eagerly awaiting that day…

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HOWEVER, HOLD ON NOW. That claim will hold true, EXCEPT, if Jesus returns during my lifetime.

And I say that with all seriousness. That’s a big “if.” I am not only hopeful, but also fully convinced, that I will see the Great Commission fulfilled in my lifetime, based on the way the Gospel is advancing today in a way unlike any other moment in history.

So if that happens, then duh, the best day will be the day of Christ’s return.

Ha. But either way, both scenarios are pretty good. Praise the Lord.

Whatcha got, death?

” ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Go Big or Go Home.

There really is no other way. Jesus calls us to everything.

We are to take up our cross and follow him. We are to lose our life, to hate our mother and father, to die to ourselves every single day. These are not the requirements for the super-christian or for the radical believer we only read about in the Bible.

No, this is simply the bottom line for basic Christianity. It’s Christianity 101; it’s what we do if we call ourselves a Christian.

Jesus doesn’t want just a portion of us - He wants all of us. This means that we give all of ourselves to him. We are to go all-in for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of his glory in all that we do. Give everything, every single day.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we work harder or that we aspire to legalism as the Pharisees did. It simply means that we surrender more of ourselves to the influence of the Holy Spirit and more of our lives to the lordship of King Jesus.

Jesus gave everything for us. He went all-in for sinners like us. How can we not, then, give everything for the King of Glory?

There is no other option. It’s all or nothing. This is what His glory demands.

There is no “nominal Christian,” no grey area. It’s black and white. You’re either a disciple of Jesus or not.

If Christ is not all to you, He is nothing to you. But if He is all to you, then you must give all to Him.

So, go big or go home. Or, just go big.

SMH.

I don’t understand this thing with the Cross.

Trying to wrap my head around the absolute foolishness of Christ’s death and I’m just like, in pain because my head is blown and my heart feels as though it’s being ripped out of my chest. I can’t comprehend the downright foolishness of this Gospel I’ve given my life over to.

What a foolish story. Absolutely mind-boggling. The ridiculousness of it all is almost humorous. It’s way beyond me, this Cross business.

“Yet, it was the Lord’s will to crush him.”

Isaiah 53:10

What.

As I’m sitting here trying to soak in the fullness of Good Friday, I find myself fighting back tears, not simply out of gratitude for what Christ did on the cross, but perhaps more so because of the fact that my Jesus, my Love, my beloved Lord was unjustly slaughtered on a Tree, in what was, is, and forever will be the greatest injustice in the history of everything.

My only response right now, really, is just SMH. Gosh.

It’s so absurd. I don’t even understand. God exchanged the righteousness of Christ for my sin, my brokenness, my whoredom? Seriously? God is crazy.

Who is this Jesus. Who is this God. Unbelievable.

SMH.

RezWeek 2012: Divine Momentum

I believe that God wants to move like never before.

I believe that our God is on the go at UT, and He desires to do greater and mightier things. We are on the verge of revival. If the body of Christ at UT is willing to simply step up in faith and obey Jesus, I believe we will witness the greatest movement of God this city has ever seen.

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All throughout the book of Acts, we see the first church move forward with divine momentum.  The mission of God of is unstoppable, as the disciples, under the power of the Holy Spirit, proclaim the Gospel in word and deed with such authority that nothing could stop them, not imprisonment nor even death [Acts 21:13].

And now for us, as the church of UT, the church of Austin, and as the Church of Christ, it is time to rise up as his hands and feet to complete the work of the Great Commission.

We simply need to say yes to his commands. We need to jump in and join with what He is already doing on this campus, in this city, and to the ends of the earth. As we do what He calls, there is absolutely nothing that can prevail against the light - neither man nor darkness nor anything else [Romans 8:28]. We are called to be people of power…people who change everything around us - our friends, our communities, our entire culture - after all, we have all the fullness of God in us [Eph 3:19].

We must not be a people that quench the Holy Spirit, that accepts the status quo instead of constantly pushing back the forces of darkness [Eph 6:12]. We forget that He has gifted us with the Spirit, just as the first church had, and as a result, we are called to do the same things they did. Even more, we are given the same spirit that rose Christ from the dead, and we are now called to do even greater things than he did [John 14:12].

May we never attempt to do anything without the covering of the Holy Spirit, because we are utterly powerless on our own. Without His anointed, living breath, we might as well stay home and give up. But, if the Spirit is fully present, divine transformation can happen without even a word spoken from our lips.

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And so, through RezWeek2012, may we arise and go all in for the sake of the Gospel. Let us give absolutely everything for the One who sacrificed everything. His name, his glory, and his holiness demands all of us. There is no other option.

May we invite the Holy Spirit to take greater control over our minds, bodies, souls, and hearts as we fall desperately on our knees every day. May we learn to obey the simple teachings of his Scriptures. And may we make disciples, every day, among everyone around us, because we are jealous for his glory and so desperate for his glorious name to be worshipped among every nation, tribe, and tongue.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.”

Isaiah 60:1-2