How Does the Gospel Impact My Daily Life?

I was recently challenged by a conversation I had with a good friend. He was reflecting on how the gospel affects us in the daily details of life. I'm used to thinking that "the gospel" is a message we share with others. It's the message I believed and as a result, I am "saved." Back in November of 2011, I posted a short entry trying to define the gospel. Simply put, the content of the gospel message is: Jesus Christ became a man, lived a perfect life, died, was buried, and three days later he rose from the dead.  okay... but SO WHAT?

I've believed the gospel message. I know Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and my God. I have been rescued from God's wrath through Him(1 Thess 1:10.) There is now no condemnation for me because I am IN Christ(Rom 8:1.) But is that all the gospel does- is it only fire insurance? Do I only have to believe once and I'm "in?" The Bible tells us that we must live holy lives as well as have faith. We are to strive for peace with others and to live holy lives (Heb 12:14.) We were saved by grace and God gave us the gift of faith (Eph 2:8-9), but this was in order for us to walk in the good works that God has prepared for us (Eph 2:10.)

So, I ask the question, "How does the gospel impact my daily life?" How does it impact YOUR daily life? When things aren't going well at work, does the gospel help you? When a dear loved one has received a dreaded diagnosis, can the gospel affect how you deal with it? When your "enemy" does all he can to harm you, how do you respond? Friends, in any of these circumstances, I want the gospel to be REAL and to have an impact on how I respond. For example, I work with the public. Often times people can be rude, insensitive, demanding, and I must be gracious and polite and winning in my response to them. This is beyond difficult sometimes. Can the gospel help me at work? Absolutely! I need to remember that Christ died for sinners-> I am a sinner-> the person I'm dealing with is a sinner....I need to remember that Christ was unjustly treated; He had never done wrong or sinned against ANYONE -> I, on the other hand, sin with every breath and deserve unjust treatment in general; and yet I am SOO OFFENDED when someone is unkind to me. And to top it off, at work, I am not preaching the gospel to people and and I am being mistreated (at times)- I'm not saying I SHOULD be mistreated, I'm just saying that when I am mistreated, it's not directly for the cause of Christ. The Bible tells me to "endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as children." Heb 12:7NIV. So God loves me and through hardship He is teaching me discipline. Understanding the gospel helps me endure because the gospel is TRUE. Jesus really lived a perfect life. He really died. He really rose from the dead. He really is with me until the end of the age- even when a customer is angry and in my face. He really inspired the Scriptures that give me so much rich instruction. And the "sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Rom 8:18 ESV. <-That is really TRUE. It's all true because the gospel is true.

I hope that you can start to see how the gospel can impact even the minutest detail of you life. I'm trying to see how this is so and it is truly helping me to respond to situations in a more godly manner. I know I won't be perfect until Glory, but by God's grace you and I can continue this journey- we can continue to progress in our sanctification.  Remember, God is all sovereign...

A Letter to those in Milford

I know I posted a letter to you already, but I felt like I have more to say.

You are where I trained as a manager in the first place. Many of you were still there when I returned. Hopefully I was able to teach you something, but please know that YOU TAUGHT ME!  From you I learned:

• patience
• problem-solving
• how to treat people
• how to discipline
• how to work AND have fun!
• God's creative diversity- you are all so wonderfully different!
• I became a better cook than I was before

I know there's more. I guess I just want to say that it's been just over a week, and I miss you! I'll NEVER forget you! You'll always be my home. I am excited to be at my new restaurant and I'm already feeling welcome.  But I just wanted to restate my love for Team Milford. You guys ROCK! Keep up the great work and make me proud! I know you can continue to be excellent!

with much love and mushiness,

rAy

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

"9For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come."
1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

 Last time we saw that the reputation of the Thessalonians had spread to the region beyond Thessalonica itself.  They had become an example to all of the believers in Macedonia and Achaia (v.7-8). Now Paul adds more to the story of these believers  by telling what he had heard from others. The Thessalonians had given Paul and his fellow missionaries a warm reception and much more. In fact, it was evident to all who knew these believers that something had happened to them. There was a change in them.

But what exactly did they notice? There were three things in particular:  they had turned away from idols, they turned to God, and were now eagerly awaiting Christ's return. Is there anything that WE can learn from their example? Absolutely:

1)When Christ truly saves a person, others will notice a change. You can't stay in your sinful lifestyle. You won't want to. I'm not saying that Christians never stumble into sin that they never wrestle with temptation- we most certainly DO stumble and wrestle!!! But the overriding desire is to leave those things behind.

2)Not only do we begin to hate our sin, but we also begin to love God! Before we were saved, we did NOT love God. After He saved us, we find ourselves turning to Him more and more every day. We grow closer to Him through prayer and studying the Bible and spending time with other believers regularly.

3)As part of this turning away from sin and turning toward all things that please God, believers begin to long for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said he would return and we believe Him. We can't wait to see Him face-to-face!

Are these things true of you? If you have believed in the Lord Jesus, they should be. They should be true of ME. I won't pretend that I don't struggle with sin. Those who know me best would probably laugh at me if I tried to say I didn't. Yet, He still loves me. He will never reject me. I never want Him to. Brothers and Sisters in Christ, don't give up. You will struggle with temptation and sin for the rest of your lives. But He still loves you. He will never reject you. Hebrews 13:5-6 reminds us:

"Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content

with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor

forsake you.' So we can confidently say,   'The Lord is my helper;

I will not fear; what can man do to me?' "

Christ changes us from the inside out and draws us closer to Himself. Paul also emphasizes that Jesus, God's son, was raised from the dead. This is part of the message that we believe. Jesus died. Jesus was buried. Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus ascended to Heaven. Jesus is alive NOW. We await His return from heaven.

Paul highlights another important facet of Christ's work on our behalf: He rescues us from the wrath to come. What does that mean? Remember, all humans are born as "children of wrath"(Eph 2:3). We sin because we were born sinners. And once we are able to choose it,  we also sin because we want to. We deserve God's judgement, anger, and wrath. As we saw in an earlier post, He chose to save some of us and now we do not need to fear this wrath! What GOOD NEWS!!! Jesus, the One who rose from the dead rescues us from the wrath to come! And do not be deceived, God's wrath is coming. Christians hold many views regarding what will happen before Christ returns, but all agree that He is returning and that there will be a final judgment of both the righteous and the unrighteous- the righteous will receive eternal life and the unrighteous will receive eternal punishment.

To sum up: When a person  believes in the Gospel of God, that person is changed. Others notice this change. The believer desires to put away sinful living and desires to put on Godly living. The believer longs for the return of Christ, who rescues us from His coming wrath.

If you want more information on the work of Jesus and how He changes lives, please contact me!!

Remember, God is all Sovereign and stuff...

Life, Death, and the Sovereignty of God (R.I.P. Amber Fields)

I just got back from the funeral of a 26 year old mother and wife. She was killed in a car accident less than a week ago. I knew her because she used to work for me in Louisville. Amber Fields truly was all of those nice things they said about her in the funeral service. One of my fondest memories of her is the way she spoke. She spoke with a sweet, country accent. She always had a smile. She was kind to everyone. Now, truth be told, I hadn't seen Amber much during these past couple of years. She had worked in our restaurant in Louisville for a year or so. Then she worked at our Lexington restaurant, so I had less contact with her. But, working for the same company still, we would occasionally see each other at company events. And she always had a big hug and smile for me when she saw me. She always made me feel welcomed and respected.

Because we hadn't been in contact as much, I was surprised by how hard the news of her death hit me. I am genuinely sad. I feel a sense of loss. This tells me how much of an impact she had on me. And by the two overflowing rooms of mourners at the funeral, she had that same kind of impact on many others.

I went into the viewing and service feeling rather numb. After seeing her and greeting her husband, I felt extremely sorrowful and could only cry. But during the service, the pastor quoted a Bible verse that changed my sorrow into something different. The verse:  Revelation 14:13,

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write,

'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!'"

"Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors,

for their deeds follow with them." (NIV)

The pastor explained that Amber believed in the Lord Jesus and was therefore "in the Lord." She died "in the Lord" and was blessed. This verse and short explanation reminded me that even though Amber's death seems only tragic, the truth is not only tragic. There is HOPE! Yes, we mourn the loss of a truly wonderful person, but we have hope because Amber is BLESSED! We mourn, but she is worshiping God Almighty before His holy throne!    Now, I won't try to pretend that this truth will make Amber's husband and son feel no pain. Of course they will. But that is not the end of the story! Her husband and son can someday have hope knowing that their loved one IS BLESSED.

And guess what? This little verse reminds me that I have HOPE for other loved ones who have "died in the Lord!" It is less than a month from the 28th anniversary of my own mother's death. She was a young mom, too. She was 32. My mother loved the Lord Jesus and served Him the best she knew how... She died "in the Lord" and I am wonderfully reminded that she IS BLESSED!

The Lord is sovereign over all of the affairs of men. Even the events that seem to make no sense, like Amber's death. But in the midst of these dark Providences, we have hope. God, who brings darkness out of light, life out of death, order out of chaos- God gives us hope. He's the only One who can give us hope in life's seemingly hopeless events.

Remember, God's all sovereign and stuff....