God's Glory Found in Language

purify--> remove contamination from

Pure--> not mixed or adulterated with any other substance/material

Purity--> freedom from contamination/adulteration

To be pure is not a one time thing, it is not something we are. Not one of these things says that, "once you've messed up...sorry." They are all referring to a separation or removal of contamination.

Purify--> our salvation as believers through Christ and the cross and His resurrection. By His death, He took upon Himself my sins and your sins, taking them to the grave and conquering death by His resurrection. This "removed contamination from" us. That does not mean that we are perfect, but when God the Father looks at us, He does not see our sin, but sees our purify selves through Christ's death.

Pure--> it is present tense, here-now. "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

(Philippians 2:12-13 ESV)

Justification (the act of being made pure in the sight of God through Christ's death/resurrection) is a one time thing. This is when our new life begins, but does not stop there. That is where sanctification comes into play. Sanctification is a continually, slow process of becoming more and more in the image of Christ. It never stops, but it is continually, moment by moment surrendering to God and walking in the Spirit so that we may "not be mixed... with any other substance" because He should be our soul's sole love and desire.

Purity--> freedom from contamination. This is ongoing. Freedom. The chains of sin have been broken! This is a cause, an occasion for rejoicing!! For believers in Christ, we are free. We are not free on our own, but free through Christ, His blood, His wounds, His glorious resurrection.

This is all very random and short for my usual post, I know, but I was reading from 2 Cor 6 this morning and just started looking deeper into purity and thought this was pretty cool. I mean, God has interwoven even the definition of words and all the different languages of the world to point back to Him. That's just stickin' awesome.

Tis all! Have a great Monday, friends and rejoice in your freedom through Christ today!

p.s. sorry if there are a lot of mistakes in grammar, ect. I may or may notttt have written this during class.

Blurring the Lines of the Gospel/Grace and Fear/Complacency

What does it mean to really live above reproach?
Is it just not partying? Or does it mean you can "socially drink" (whatever that means) and it be okay still.. just as long as you won't get as drunk as some other girls and become a skank right? I mean, seriously, who would want to be called that? I mean, I'm sure it's okay if I listen to this one song. I mean, sure, it talks about things that I don't do, but since I am not actually doing them, it's fine.

The Lord has been teaching me a lot about living above reproach, and more than what our suburban lifestyles have called above "reproach." Let's think about how we, as southern American Christians define living in such a way: not drinking (too much at least), not having sex (but everything else is okay, right? I mean, I'm still pure and still a virgin technically), not cussing (but there are those special times that only one word can fit there!), not dirty dancing (but, everyone else is doing it...so what else am I supposed to do? stand there awkwardly on the side?), and some how i feel like getting a college degree has been thrown into this mix as well.

All I see when I think and read about that is a list of things not to do, which leaves us with a big question of, "So...What do we do then?"
And trust me, I am far from spotlessness when it comes to that list...I listen to songs that are not healthy for my soul. I judge girls by their looks. I cuss in frustration...or just because I can. I am far from purity and living above reproach.

But why do I let myself think these things are okay just because I don't have sex, I don't drink, and I watch my tongue for the most part. This is dumb and foolish and childish.

This would be like little Timmy Joe being rebuked by his parents because he stuck his hand in the wall socket when his mom told him not to versus him sticking a pencil in the socket. His mom is still going to tell him not touch the socket, but little Timmy will only reply, "you only told me not to stick my hand in the socket! I put a pencil in the socket! AND!!! I picked up my toys earlier." That excuse will not get Timmy by. He will still be in trouble for sticking his hand/pencil in the socket, but out of love because the parent doesn't want the child to be hurt. Both are equally dangerous for Timmy, both will hurt him, he just doesn't realize it. He only justifies his actions because he wants to continue them, but just finds a "less dangerous" path to reach his intended goal.

"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel." Philippians 1:27 ESV

"let our manner of life be worth of the Gospel of Christ." What does that mean? What is the Gospel, specifically the Gospel of Christ?

For the majority of us, I'm assuming that we have all grown up in church, heard the Gospel and Jesus' story and all of the other stories in the Bible countless times; in fact, we've heard them so many times, they've lost their flavor and life. All we think of them as is stories. The people in them are no longer real people, but stories to make us feel better and to tell our children.

Let's recap the Gospel real quick:

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me." 1 Corinthians 1: 3-9 ESV

Let's think about this...CHRIST. DIED. for YOUR sins. Yes. Mine, yours, hers and his. Died. For the bulk of us, I am going to say we are probably afraid of death and probably can't think of one person we would die for this instant if they could live longer, not even our loved ones. And especially those who are rude to us. (Rude being a light term in comparison to the "rudeness" to those who killed Christ). The death Christ died was not a typical death. We aren't talking car crash, drowning, natural causes. We are talking the most brutal death ever imaginable.

"Nail pierced hands, bleeding side, His body bruised. My God crucified.

Crown of thorns, dying cries, His flesh was torn.

My God crucified. Hallelujah! What a Savior!" -- The Village Church- In My Place (song)

Let that weight sit on you for a bit. Don't just skim over it. Sit in that.

But his death didn't end there. "Death couldn't hold You down!" (Hillsong United)

He conquered death! Not only rose from the dead, but over 500 people saw Him living. Physically saw Him in the flesh after His death and resurrection. Do you feel the impact of that.

This is a mighty God we serve.

This is glory of the Gospel. That Christ came to save sinners who mocked Him, spitted on Him. We were the one's who hung Him there, and He died regardless for God's glory and our salvation and reconciliation.

How easily we forget what we are called to though. Who we are called to.

We are not just called away from something (sin), but we are called to Someone. A Great Someone. The Creator of the Universe.

Disregarding who He is and not taking advantage of who He is is like someone handing you the keys to Disney World. You have the entire park to yourself: rides, food, shows, etc. Yet, you walk in and sit on a bench all day. And you return the next day and do the same. You don't take advantage of the gift someone's given you.

Are we living a life that is worthy of this life? This Gospel? Can people reallllyyy tell that we are different? Especially on the campus of Texas A&M when probably 70% of the campus would at least call themselves "Christians," or at the least say they are a "good" person and believe in God. On a campus that is already highly morale, we must step out and be above reproach. Truly.

Who did Christ hang out with? We all know the answer: The prostitutes. The drunkards. The tax collectors (probably would have been like ex felons to us). But what does that look like here? What would Christ be doing if He was a student at A&M? (Yes, I know. I'm pulling the W.W.J.D. card.)

Today, as most of you know I am sure, an article was written about students who are strippers at our school who have used strip dancing to pay their way through schools. Most of the reactions I heard across campus were: "Oh my gosh! Students at our campus?! Can you believe it?! Crazy! I can't believe they would do something like that! Gross!

When I read the paper, I couldn't honestly put my feelings into words. I was shocked because it is just not something we usually think about; however, mostly, I just fell compassion and hurt for these girls that feel they must put their minds and bodies through this kind of work to reach their goals. The mind games and broken hearts they must feel. No paper can give us true sentiments of what they go through. And all though the paper gave a slightly more positive light on the paper, I very much appreciated that the paper did not once condemn the girls, but simply told their story. These girls need Christ too. These girls are loved by Christ too. And I am not saying this because the girls are terrible people and we must go on some Christian riot to try to save all the strippers. Far from it. I am trying to just simply point out that we are lacking compassion and perspective. These girls are in need. Just like kids in Africa are in need. Just like we are in need. We are all in need of a Great Savior. We are so quick to simply think globally though because it is the new trendy Christian thing (which is not bad at all to think globally, it is very important too), but often, we forget to look locally. We forget where God has placed us, and placed us for a reason.

The reactions I heard today broke me. I didn't know why at first either. But then the Spirit convicted. Not one person even cared to know these girls' hearts or love on them. Not one. And yet, for the most part, they all claimed Christ. If we are claiming Christ, what are we doing to hold strongly to His name and represent His name well?

"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ESV

We are his ambassadors, His representatives. We want to represent our organizations well, our schools, our families, but do we have this same desire for Christ? This same passion for reconciliation of others? Please do not view this post of me wagging my finger at the world. This is simply my plea to my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ because I saw such a wicked sin in my own life today that broke me. I am crying for us to step up to the plate the Bible so clearly lays out is what the true Christian life is to look like. We need to be a people of love and truth. A people of grace and wisdom. A people worthy of Christ's name and reconciliation.

May we live in the weight and glory of the Gospel of Christ