Finding Power in Christ

God has a way of breaking down every sub-deity of our greatest idol - the false god of self-sufficiency. Every sin imaginable springs from this fount-head. Even pride, the great sin of the devil comes from a belief in self-sufficiency. This sin lurks in nearly every motive and thought of even the regenerate man! Every successful relationship is marked with the seal of ‘I’m such a nice guy people love me’, every paycheck is complemented with the smug feeling that ‘I am a satisfactory worker, able to make my own way in the world’, and more than often even our successful ministry endeavors are poisoned by that small whispering demon, ‘You and God sure did something amazing, didn’t you?’

And so our optimism and every positive emotion becomes inextricably linked to this mother weed of self-sufficiency that saps the true meaning out of life’s events (to glorify God) and transforms them into nutrients for its own destructive growth. When the weed dies, it wrenches the heart of any human to the breaking point. Thanks be to God who kills the weed!

When God begins to crush our own self-sufficiency, there are many ways to react. Most of us will sample them all in the period of His chastisement. The first is to imagine that this is just a tough spot in life and that with enough effort, I can push through it. Time frustrates this diversion. The second is to react with anger. God is unfair in not allowing me to demonstrate what I can do for myself! When God does not repent, the third reaction ensues, which unfortunately for some is often the last in the sequence. This is the reaction of anger and supposed disillusionment. Some walk away from Christianity, some become bitter and sour the lives of those around them, some commit suicide. But the man who is blessed by God turns about and sees the weed that has seized his life. He repents of his own self-sufficiency and cries out for mercy.

This process takes some weeks, others months, others years. For me it has been the journey of seven months in a long dark forest. I have alternated through all of the reactions, and only recently have my eyes been opened to the great sin that has infested my life. The Spirit gave me a golden lamp to find my way out, a single phrase that has lit my way, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The ability to find work, friendship and love, successful ministry and fulfillment comes only through Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Kingdom is Now

This morning, as I was doing some very preliminary preparation for a sermon, something directed me to Zechariah chapter 3. Brothers (and sisters), reading Christ’s instructions here to Joshua the high priest, I was overwhelmed again with the teaching from the Old Testament concerning the millennial kingdom.

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree." Zechariah 3:8-10 ESV

God says that in the day that he removes the iniquity of the land, the kingdom age will begin! In what day was the iniquity of the land removed? In the day of atonement - the day of Christ! The kingdom is now brothers! There is no future thousand year reign of Christ! Christ is ruling and reigning now!

Other passages to explore in this book: Zechariah 9:9-10