FRACTURED SAINTS - A Christian blog for the broken ones » cxlink

Chan, Driscoll & Harris

cxlink — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:00:44 +0000

Enjoy a surprisingly candid & authentic conversation with Mark Driscoll, Francis Chan & Joshua Harris on ministry & mostly what Francis is doing next & why. 15 minutes. From Catalysts Space.

How Great is Our God

cxlink — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:56:37 +0000

This morning sunrise was amazing on the way into work and I just had to agree with Chris Tomlin. How great is our God.

How Great is Our God

The splendor of a King,
clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice,
all the earth rejoice
He wraps himself in light,
and darkness tries to hide
it trembles at his voice,
trembles at his voice

CHORUS:
How great is our God,
sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great
How great is our God

And age to age He stands
and time is in His Hands
Beginning and the End,
Beginning and the End
The Godhead, three in one
Father, Spirit, Son
the Lion and the Lamb,
the Lion and the Lamb

CHORUS:
How great is our God,
sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great,
How great is our God

Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
how great is our God
Name above all names
you are worthy of all praise
and my heart will sing
how great is our God

CHORUS:
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great,
How great is our God

How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great,
How great is our God
How great is our God,
Sing with me
How great is our God,
and all will see
How great,
How great is our God

Where have you noticed God today?

Resources vs. Results

cxlink — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:04:02 +0000

As I ran at the gym this morning, I noticed advertisers must think 1 of 2 things about those people who are up at 5 in the morning. Either we need a better mattress or we need to get in shape. I have seen my share of workout and diet commercials, but no matter how many I see I know that having the resources doesn’t produce results, only using the resources you have will be of benefit.

Even though I know that is true I still buy things in hope that owning them will produce results. I wonder how many bowflexs and thigh masters are sitting in a closet gathering dust right now. I wonder what percentage of folks look like the guy in the bowflex commercials or have thighs off…..iron? And then there’s the shake weight, I’m sure that flew off the shelves for mothers day… never mind.

I feel the same way as a Christian here in America. I feel like we have the most Christian resources at our disposal between the book stores, tv & radio stations, and even our own music industry. But from what I hear we are also the most stagnant church, the slowest to help those in need, the slowest to love past our areas of comfort. So I guess my question is do we need more Christian resources or do we need less stuff and more Christ?

Defining Me: Faith

cxlink — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:34:22 +0000

Faith (Scripture)

Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good;his steadfast love endures forever,and his faithfulness to all generations.

Matthew 9:22
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.

Mark 2:5
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Mark 4:40
He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Acts 16:5
So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

Faith (definition)

–noun
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another’s ability.
2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3. belief in god or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one’s promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.
8. Christian Theology . the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.

—Idiom
9. in faith, in truth; indeed: In faith, he is a fine lad.

Faith (its personal meaning)

Faith is the belief in things unseen. It is provided by the Holy Spirit and is not something that we can control (basically I am saying that we cannot increase our own faith). In my life it has helped me to rely on the character of God when tough questions have come up that I didn’t find answers to. Faith is great at filling the gaps in our logic when our minds just can handle the jump.

What does faith mean to you? What effect does it have on you?

Sin Addiction

cxlink — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:00:16 +0000

Whether you struggle with lust, food, adrenalin, pride or coveting other peoples stuff, you know the addictive power of sin. You also know that if you have struggled with a particular sin in you life that it didn’t start where it is now. For example food, I haven’t always eaten a whole pizza when I went to CiCi’s (please note this is just an example…. I actually normally eat more then that). No I started eating less then a piece many many years ago but that’s the way sinful nature and addiction is. I start small and the more I live in the struggle the more I just accept the little sins. I down play the seriousness of the sin by saying hey its only one piece (I’ve moved on from pizza now), but these little sins hold me captive and keep me in the struggle. They keep my chained up in sin, right where Satan wants me to be and right where Jesus wants me to be set free from.

So I ask, What little sins do you allow to hold you captive? Even if you see no effects from them in your life, what do you allow yourself that you know you shouldn’t? Two of the main things that come to mind in my life is speeding and downloading things illegally. Now that I have said them maybe you can help me figure out how these sins affect my life.

Defining Me: Grace

cxlink — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 12:00:52 +0000

This past Sunday during the sermon our guest pastor, Hunter, said that a lot of people thing of different things when they think of the word “Grace”. So I thought it would be interesting to define this word and some others and get your thoughts on what they mean. Today we will talk about grace and later I will post some other words.

Grace (Scripture)

Proverbs 3:34
He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.

Isaiah 26:10
Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the LORD.

Jonah 2:8
Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.

John 1:16
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Grace (definition)

noun, verb, graced, grac·ing.

–noun
1. elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.
2. a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.
3. favor or good will.
4. a manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior: It was only through the dean’s grace that I wasn’t expelled from school.
5. mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.
6. favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.
7. an allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied: The life insurance premium is due today, but we have 31 days’ grace before the policy lapses. Compare grace period.
8. Theology .
a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of god.
b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.
d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God’s favor or one of the elect.
9. moral strength: the grace to perform a duty.
10. a short prayer before or after a meal, in which a blessing is asked and thanks are given.
11. ( usually initial capital letter ) a formal title used in addressing or mentioning a duke, duchess, or archbishop, and formerly also a sovereign (usually prec. by your, his, etc.).
12. Graces, Classical Mythology . the goddesses of beauty, daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, worshiped in Greece as the Charities and in Rome as the Gratiae.
13. Music . grace note.

–verb (used with object)
14. to lend or add grace to; adorn: Many fine paintings graced the rooms of the house.
15. to favor or honor: to grace an occasion with one’s presence.

—Idioms
16. fall from grace,
a. Theology . to relapse into sin or disfavor.
b. to lose favor; be discredited: He fell from grace when the boss found out he had lied.
17. have the grace to, to be so kind as to: Would you have the grace to help, please?
18. in someone’s good / badgraces, regarded with favor (or disfavor) by someone: It is a wonder that I have managed to stay in her good graces this long.
19. with bad grace, reluctantly; grudgingly: He apologized, but did so with bad grace. Also, with a bad grace.
20. with good grace, willingly; ungrudgingly: She took on the extra work with good grace.

Grace (its personal meaning)

I thought Hunter hit the nail on the head with his definition of Grace. It is the undeserved justification of our sin. Jesus taking our punishment and giving us his righteousness. But it doesn’t stop there, because once we realize the power of the grace given to us it produces a reaction in us to it. We act out the things we are called to do in the gospel not out of guilt or obligation, but because of the over whelming generosity and love of the provider.

What does grace mean to you? What effect does it have on you?

The Invisible War

cxlink — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:43:12 +0000

James 5:16

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

For Mantown, Friday night Q asked us to read 2 Kings 6:8-18. We have been discussing spiritual warfare and the importance of things unseen. While James 5:16 is definitely a verse that’s easy to understand in the physical world, I think it’s importance is more profound when thought about in the spiritual context.

In our spiritual fight, we cannot do it alone. We have to have people come along side us to fight with us and support and protect us when we are week. Without confession though our brothers do not know of our battles, we strip them of their ability to intercede for us and their ability to care for us.

We need to seek out the prayers of our brothers in this battle so that we can be healed. Don’t we all want rest, support, nurturing, and healing? Then what holds us back from open honest fellowship with our brothers, our family, our church? I think one thing that holds me back and pushes me to confession (yes I know its an odd combination) is trying to be the cool christian. What holds you back?

Faith is Tough

cxlink — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:00:14 +0000

The interesting thing about faith is that it is one of the areas in Christianity that we know that we cannot manifest or control. So when you are not “growing” at the rate that you think you should be, you cannot increase how much faith you have in God.

The realization that I came to today was all the other aspects that I try to control I shouldn’t. I should relinquish control and find comfort in my Savior’s control. Honestly though I’m not sure what that looks like, how that plays out. What does it look like to relinquish the controls in your life? What does it look like to rely on God for everything?

The Cool Christian

cxlink — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:27:21 +0000

I am a Christian. Sure I don’t wear the t shirts, have the bumper stickers, hand out traks, or tote a Bible under my arm all the time. I mean come on its a brown leather Bible and I normally wear black, you cant do brown and black leather everyone knows that. Oh no I drink beer, smoke every once in a while, and even say words that my parents said were bad.

Here’s the conundrum. I strive as a Christian to not fall into the mold of a stereotypical christian, but in doing so I loose the resemblances that people associate with Christianity. I have been struggling lately with understanding how to show my faith without falling into the mold and it is harder then I thought. I have come down to the only thing that can set me apart from others is my overwhelming love and care for people, that I feel the Bible calls us to. That scares me though that’s a really big investment. Are there some way to work around this that I’m not aware to show my Christianity (maybe with a little less investment)(and oh yeah stay cool)?

It’s All About Me

cxlink — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:14:51 +0000

It hit me today that everything America is selling me is to induce pride in me. I need a great job, so I can make a lot of money, so I can buy the nice car and build up the nice nest egg, all so I can improve my status, look better in front of others and rely only on myself. Check out what John says.

John 3:22-30

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison). 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Note verse 30. It’s tough for me to understand what is involved in my decreasing. What do you think it looks like? How do you counteract the constant influx of building up yourself, the world throws at you?