Jesus. College. Me.

No other Gospel.

mcgillchris — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:42:07 +0000

I made several attempts to write a blog this morning, but couldn’t get across what I wanted, so I’m going to use bullet points. Or you can just skip the bullets and go read Galatians.

felt more sinful today than yesterday, even though I haven’t really done anything but wake up and go to class
it depressed me
Holy Spirit showed me that I was depressed about it because I was disbelieving the gospel
I don’t have to be good, Jesus was good for me. Through the cross his life was applied to mine.
I was depressed because I was viewing myself as my savior.
I will constantly be realizing more and more how sinful I am, but my hope is not in me, its in Christ, and as my sinfulness gets bigger and bigger, so does the cross. The more sinful I realize I am, the greater Jesus’ work on my behalf is.
I am sinful. Completely and in every way. But I was crucified with Christ and he now lives in me. The sinful Chris died on the cross with Christ, now I am a new creation walking out my new identity in Christ.
I will sin less and less as I grow, but that’s not my goal, my goal is to trust fully in Jesus’ work, not my own.

Sticky Gospel.

mcgillchris — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:51:14 +0000

One of the biggest things that’s changed in my life since this summer has been how I’ve come to see the gospel effect and inform my life. We never get past the gospel as Christians. We never move away from Jesus’s life/dead/resurrection to bigger and brighter things. The gospel is the center of our faith, and Jesus is the whole of our hope. I felt like this article on Resurgence did an excellent job of reminding us of the power of the gospel in our lives.

4 Ways to Pray the Gospel Over Your Life

JD Greear » God Prayer Heart Gospel

One of the revolutionary ideas of the gospel is that we begin to do what we ought for God as we are captivated by the story of what he has done for us.

Spiritual fruits do not develop in us as we focus on them; spiritual fruits come as we abide in Jesus (John 15:5). Spiritual “fruit” is much like physical “fruit.” When a husband and wife conceive physical “fruit” (i.e. a child), they are not thinking about the exact, scientific mechanics of making that child. They get caught up in a moment of loving intimacy with one another, and the fruit of that loving intimacy is a child. In the same way, spiritual fruits do not grow by focusing on fruit production, but by becoming intimate with the doctrines of the gospel.

Grow Your Fruit with the Gospel

Jesus said that saturating ourselves in the gospel, or “abiding” (lit., “making our home”) in it, is the way to abundant fruit. Sanctification is the daily process of pulling up the roots of our hearts from the flesh and grounding them in the soil of the gospel. Or, to change metaphors, we must send out missionaries to the unreached parts of our heart to preach the gospel and bring our heart under the subjugation of the gospel.

“Things like radical generosity and audacious faith are not produced when we focus on them, but when we focus on the gospel.”

A Prayer of God’s Righteousness

About four years ago, I wrote a prayer for our church to help to this end. We often talk about “preaching the gospel to ourselves daily,” but how can you do that? This four-part prayer confronts us with the reality of God’s gift-righteousness and love:

1. “In Christ, there is nothing I could do that would make you love me more, and nothing I have done that makes you love me less.”

Pray about this “gift righteousness” of the gospel (2 Cor. 5:21) and go to war against the incipient works- righteousness hardwired into our hearts.

2. “Your presence and approval are all I need today for everlasting joy.”

Pray about this value of God’s presence in our lives. It’s one thing to know that Jesus is your possession; it’s another for that approval to have such weightiness in our hearts that our captivity to other idols is snapped.

3. “As you have been to me, so I will be to others.”

Pray about and consider the extravagant generosity of God toward us. His generosity toward us leads us to radical generosity toward others.

4. “As I pray, I’ll measure your compassion by the cross and your power by the resurrection.”

Pray that God would help you view the world through the lens of the gospel. Seeing the compassion and power of God revealed in the gospel produces bold, audacious faith in our hearts.

Focus on What Jesus has Done For You

Things like radical generosity and audacious faith are not produced when we focus on them, but when we focus on the gospel. Focusing on what we ought to do for God creates only frustration and exhaustion; focusing on what Jesus has done for us produces abundant fruit. Resting in what Jesus has done for us releases the revolutionary power of the gospel.

Green Apple Man

mcgillchris — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:35:54 +0000

A vid that I made for Elevate:

Sexual Abuse.

mcgillchris — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:44:58 +0000

This is the power of the gospel to redeem:

People Are Getting on my Nerves.

mcgillchris — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 19:44:32 +0000

Ever have a day where people just frustrate you? When the things they do bother you more than they should? Enter today.

All day people have just been getting on my nerves. Not everyone, just the people who kinda get on my nerves already. You know who I’m talking about. The ones who rub you just the wrong way, and normally, you’re fine with it. You blow it off, scold yourself for being shallow, and proceed with a smile and an extra helping of friendliness. On a day like today however…

I’m tempted to just blow it off as tiredness. I got up early to study for a test (which turned out to be a fruitless endeavor) and didn’t get as much sleep as I needed, which means my social filters are not functioning as well as they normally do. Sometimes I wonder if the true McGill is the “I’m Hungry And Didn’t Get Enough Sleep Last Night So I’m Grumpy” McGill. I still struggle with the same thoughts when I’m not tired or hungry, I just have sense enough not to act upon those thoughts. But if I commit sin in my heart and not just by my hands, then I should take heed when God gives me the grace to see my sinfulness. And it is grace. Romans 1:28 tells us that God punishes by allowing people to remain in their sin, so conversely, if he’s not allowing you to remain in your sin, he is showing you grace.

Andy Stanley illustrates with a glass filled with blue beads. If someone bumps the glass, guess what comes out? So when someone bumps you, and you spill your beads everywhere, guess whose fault it is? You got it. They didn’t put the beads in you, they just bumped into you and got spilled on.

So, as I’ve been walking around spilling beads on people today, I need to stop and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me whats happening in my heart, because every action or emotion leads back to a heart belief.

So what has been happening? I think the Spirit’s showing me that the problem is grace, or the lack thereof. I’m struggling with having grace on other’s failures and shortcomings, so their actions are getting on my nerves. But I don’t think the answer lies there. It’s easy to see that I’m not having grace on others, what I need to know is how to start showing them grace. The Spirit also is showing me that I haven’t been giving grace to myself today. I’m not being the epitome of “christian maturity” that I’d like to be, and that frustrates me. We view everyone through the lens of how we view ourselves, so if I’m struggling to have grace on myself, who I love way too much, its gonna be a lot harder for me to have grace on others, who I don’t love enough.

So if the problem is a lack of grace, then the answer is grace. I need to see and understand the grace of God on me, because functionally I haven’t been believing it. How could I possibly show a lack of grace when I see how messed up I am and how much grace God shows me every moment of every day. He even has grace on me for how I haven’t been giving grace to others today. He has forgiven me of my gracelessness, and that I pointed my finger at him and said, “You’re not gracious.” My sinfulness today is not greater than the power of the cross. God has forgiven me and loves me the same as he would if I had responded perfectly to everyone.

The remedy? Well, I’m reading Romans 8 and I’m asking God to teach me about his grace and to help me believe it in my heart. I can’t do it on my own, and if I leave the power of the Spirit out of the equation, it looks helpless. But that’s my gospel need. If God doesn’t come through I’m screwed. My own strength is not enough. But his strength is made perfect in weakness. We see his strength for what it is when it accomplishes what we cannot.

It’s not perfect. People still get on my nerves, but not as bad. I still might spill some beads on you if you bump into me today, but I think I’ll be quick to apologize and genuinely sorry. That’s all I’ve got. Back to studying for my exam tomorrow.