how true this is...

Image credit: http://www.theresurgence.com/

SET APART: Pacific Youth Summer Series

This summer at Pacific Youth, we are studying 1 Peter. Our theme is SET APART and we are seeking to learn and live out what it means to be set apart from the world as Christians. Our theme verse is 1 Peter 2:9:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

It has been a blast learning for myself what being set apart looks like in all areas of my life...and a challenge as well. A couple of things that have stood out are:

• I am set apart (this is part of the new identity God has given me), so I need to start acting like that in my day to day life.
• Owning the idea of being an alien or stranger in this world...and loving it because it means my true home is in heaven
• My life in Christ is imperishable, unfading, everlasting.

May the Lord bless our ministry this summer, change hearts and lives, and further his Kingdom with the Gospel!

Video Blog: Intro to Acts, Missio Dei

Acts Sermonette: Intro, "Missio Dei" from Josh Saenz on Vimeo.

How Does God Inspire Us Through the Cross?

This is an excerpt from Mask Driscoll's new book, Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe. I have read the chapter on the Resurrection, and it is good stuff!

I love this excerpt because it explains how practical and necessary the cross is for our Christian life. Discoll shows us how the Cross teaches us how to be like Jesus in suffering: not running to it, not running from it. I'll let his words speak for themselves.

Jesus died for our sins, thereby enabling us to experience new life. Jesus lived as our example showing us what it means to live a truly holy human life.

Throughout Jesus' life he repeatedly stated that the purpose of his life on earth was to glorify God the Father, or to make the Father's character visible. Jesus' glorifying God the Father included dying on the cross. Practically, this means that there is joy not only in our comfort and success, but also in our suffering and hardship, just as there was for Jesus.

At the cross of Jesus, we learn that to be like Jesus means that we pick up our cross and follow him as he commanded. Practically, this means that we glorify God by allowing hardship, pain, and loss to make us more and more like Jesus and give us a more credible witness for Jesus. As Christians we should neither run to suffering as the early Christian ascetics did, nor run from it as some modern Christians do. Instead, we receive suffering when it comes as an opportunity for God to do something good in us and through us. We rejoice not in the pain but rather in what it can accomplish for the gospel so that something as costly as suffering is not wasted but used for God's glory, our joy, and others' good. . . .

At the cross we see that the love of God is not merely sentimental but also efficacious. When people speak of love, they usually mean an emotional love that feels affectionate but may not do anything to help the beloved. Thankfully, God does not merely feel loving toward us; his love actually compels him to act on our behalf so that we can be changed by his love.

From Doctrine, Chapter 8. Cross: God Dies (pgs. 274–276).
Order Doctrine now.

Marriage as a Gospel Magnifying Glass

Beyond the books and conferences on theology and relationships is a seldom visited world called Reality. Unlike the television "genre" that hijacked the name, this place is real.

With marriage as my passport, I have traveled to this land many times and found my home there. This passport has forced me out of my neat theological ideas and cute, fantastical thoughts (the kinds where I picture myself as the greatest guy in the world, waxing eloquent and romantic words while I lovingly serve my wife as Christ did the Church).

Marriage magnifies the Gospel: I am a sinner. I need Jesus.

Marriage is like the red ink on a D+ paper. You are able to see your mistakes...a lot. Marriage shatters my rose-colored glass view of myself and I see my errors and inadequacies, which are usually fueled by my selfish motives/idolatry (Read Romans 1).

In this way, marriage is similar to the Gospel: our sin is exposed for what it is and we realize that there is absolutely no way that we can do this on our own. We cannot live righteously apart from Jesus Christ. His sacrifice and atonement on the cross is the only way possible for us to be forgiven, justified, and cleansed of all unrighteousness. In addition, we receive the righteousness of Christ instead!

Grace is poured out to the saints in the Lord Jesus Christ who cling to the cross as their only true means of life and right standing with God. In marriage, we can model the Gospel to the world and to one another. My wife is a gracious woman, especially when it comes to dealing with me. She forgives me and reminds me of the forgiveness I have received from God. She is hopeful for my life as a new man, rather than the old man (2 Corinthians 5:17). She even loves me enough to say the difficult truths so I can pursue holiness, rather than mere happiness. Together we can show the world that the cross of Jesus Christ is the only REAL way that messed up people can love each other for a lifetime! All of this grace poured out is the fuel for godly living. This grace-fuel precedes any hope of "[Loving my wife] as Christ loves the Church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25).

Reality is taking the theological ideas and living them out. You'll know it's happening when there is an appropriate and simultaneous amount of pain and joy!

Back-Dated

Okay, so a couple days ago I posted a blog on "the Gospel and Discipleship." Strange thing: it back-dated my post to a month ago and now it doesn't show up in the right time.

Here is the post:

http://paintinggalaxies.blogspot.com/2010/01/discipleship-and-gospel.html

It's worth checking out!

Painting Galaxies: Redeeming Culture with the Gospel

So for about two years, my blog has been named Painting Galaxies. I had no good reason for the title other than I thought it sounded cool and captured a creativity that I possess but have difficulty harnessing.

God, in his grace, has recently shown me a new aspect of the title, Painting Galaxies, which has set me a new direction for this blog*. It has to do with what the body of Christ should do to culture: Redeem it. This shows up in a powerful way in Acts 19 when the idol-makers of Ephesus are outraged that the truth of Jesus has shut down their business. CRAZY! Christians changed the economy!!!

This radical, Gospel-centered, Christ-exalting purpose for the Church has not changed. We need to be doing this in our jobs, with our marriages, with our investments, friendships, free time, Facebook accounts, and care for the poor.

Like the Church in Acts 19, saying "no" is only half the witness. In fact, the more powerful witness is what we say "yes" to.

Turn from the idols of culture and run to Jesus. He is the only King.

* Lord willing, I plan to blog a series on different ways we can redeem culture called, "REDEEM IT"

Jesus Wants the Rose