Humility Before God

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.-- James 4:10

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.-- 1 Peter 5:6

These 2 verses come to mind when I think about being humble before the Lord. Living a life of humility is very though, but nonetheless humility is a vital trait that we as Christians must practice. We more so tend to be prideful in life, and think of ourselves more highly than we ought, which comes from our sinful nature. So for pretty much during our whole time in this life we'll be battling our pride, everyday, from sunrise to sunset.

Humility before God is so much more important than humility before other. Once we are born again we submit ourselves to the Lord, letting Him have our bodies, mind, and lives to use for His glory (for He is worthy of our humble submission to Him). The thing is though, we are not perfect and spot on for doing that daily. We tend to be prideful, and take the wheel of our lives to steer through life often times. In saying this I mean we want to be independent and take control of situations and circumstances that come up, so we can hopefully obtain the outcome we want. It like telling God, "Hey, let me handle this!" or "Step aside, I'll take care of it."
Here's what Jesus says to His disciples when they ask who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven in Matthew 18: "Whoever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." What Jesus means by saying this that children are definitely in a sense are dependent. Children rely on their parents for food, shelter, clothing, protection, a good education, and other essentials in life. In the same way, we as God's children are called to to be dependent on our Father for everything we need in the Christian life.
One way I humble myself before the Lord is meditating on the gospel. I remind myself of who I am a dirty, wretched, finite, sinner....saved by grace before an infinitely holy, righteous, just, powerful, all-knowing sovereign God. Then in light of that I remind myself of how I don't deserve anything except death, the Father's wrath, namely eternal damnation. God would be entirely just to rid this earth of me and cast me into hell at this very moment. Although God being rich in love and mercy toward me poured out His grace on me, and saved me from my sin and eternal punishment (which Christ took in my place on the cross). He did so that I may be forgiven, and reconciled to the Father, and......given a new heart with new desires. Which means that I will desire to live a life of humility, long for Christ increase, and myself decrease (John 3:30). Also that I may live to glorify, praise, exalt, and magnify above all things, especially myself.
Meditating and praying about this does help my to humble myself before the Lord. For He is oh so worthy of my sacrifice of my all to Him everyday!

Following Their Example

Dear Friends,


The past few weeks (including last month), have been quite a bit for me. A lot has happened in my life, and in the lives of some dear friends of mine during these past few weeks. I can go on listing out what has happened, but......I won't do that. Although I would see myself possibly sharing some of those things in future blog posts.

The one thing I will share is that God has reminded me of Philippians 3:17; in which Paul says, "Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us." This verse has come to mind when I spent time with some dear friends, brothers and sisters in the faith. This passages and others encourage us as Christians to imitate those who are basically imitating Christ in different areas of the faith. I can't begin to tell you the many ways I've seen my dear friends imitate Christ in many different ways. They have set an example before me to follow. It's such an encouragement for me!

Not only that, but I want to be sure that I set a Christlike example before them, and my family as well. That is my goal for this year. I want my character and conduct to be centered around Christ and the gospel, so that those whom I love friends and family alike can have an example they can follow.

Now I encourage you to aim on doing the same yourself my dear friend. Yea, we won't be perfect at doing so, but as long as our eyes are fixed on Christ, and our hearts rooted so deep in Him, then it can surely happen.

In Christ,
Joshua A. Taylor

The Battle for True Contentment

I'm currently at war against my selfish desires and God's sovereign will. I long for His will to be done. I want to content in His will. Thy way not mine own Lord; however hard, painful, and confusing it may be. Not just for this moment, but for my future; for every area of my life. I want to be like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane saying "Not as I will, but as you will."

Whether I get married or stay single

Whether I go to college, and perhaps seminary or not

Whether I actually am sent out onto the field or I send others out

Whether I stay in Indy or eventually move to a different state

Whether my voice gets fully restored or it stays gruff & rough

And in every other area of my life. Everything big, small, and inbetween.

I want to be content with Christ, abiding in Him above all else. Not having a care about the fleeting pleasures of sin, this world and my own selfish desires. Chasing after Him, and clinging to Him. This is my prayer. This my battle. If God is for me....then who can be against me? If I delight myself in Him, then He will give me the desires of my heart; namely Himself. I want my life to be all for Christ, and all about Christ. I want to disappear, so that Christ may shine ever so brightly and radiantly. To Him be all power, wisdom, honor, glory, and praise, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen.

Simple At Best

Making a resolution or two when the new year rolls around is just a part of American culture, and has been for some years now; whether it's wanting to stay fit or spending more time with the family, or even give as much as one can financially to good causes and charities. I know that I have made resolutions in the past (although I can't remember any of them). The funny thing is that we may commit ourselves to these resolutions for a good several week to maybe at best, two months into the new years, but then we always quit or end up forgetting about them.
This time around I'm taking it differently. I just wanna make it simple at best. What do I mean by that? Well what I mean is that I just want to keep chasing after Christ. Pretty darn simple right? Yes, it exactly is; yet at the same time isn't . The reason why it isn't simple is that I know for a fact that the Christian life is not an easy one to live. Matthew 7:14 comes to mind when I speak of this, which says; "For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few." So this verse says that the way is HARD that leads to life; not easy. So despite the fact that I'm excited about 2011 already because I already see God at work in my life, and in the lives of others around me, I do know that there will time of pain, tears, confusion, disappointment, and shame, and it won't be easy and joyful. Just the reminder, though, that God is sovereign over all things is oh so comforting.
So I'm ready for it all. The joy & sorrow, happiness & joy, smiles & tears, laughter & pain, sun & rain. I'm also ready to grow & learn in ways I never have before. Dig deeper in the faith, wrestle with biblical theology and doctrine, seek after God, to grow in the relationships I have with friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and savor and treasure Christ and the gospel more.
Aaaah Yeeeeeaaaaaaaa!

Where Do I Go From Here?

Right now I'm stuck, asking myself, "Where do I go from here?" Dropping the english class I was taking through Ivy Tech was not my plan a few weeks ago. Then, I had the mentality that I had to push myself to doing the work, the research and all for the paper I would be writing, but never followed through with acting upon it. Last night I came to the point where I had to write 2 drafts of a research and argument paper that was due today, I was having trouble starting it. So I gave into the choice of dropping it, and walking away from this class, well aware that I would fail. There was nothing I could do at that point. I look at it, seeing that I no one to blame but myself. There showed to be a lack of discipline and time management, with some laziness mixed in. So with that as evidence, I know I can only point the finger at myself. Those components that hurt me in highschool, stuck with through the attempt of taking this college level writing class, which have led me to fail. Ha! Then there is this fear of what people, particularly friends, will say or think when they read this post or when I tell them. There will be quite a bit of disappointment for sure.
There's also that question that I ask myself, "Where do I go from here?" I know for certain that the Lord is calling me out to the mission field to go preach to the gospel to the unreached , particularly to the muslims (unless He calls me elsewhere). I had the rough plan of taking a few classes at Crossroads, then Lord-willing go to Moody by the Fall '11 semester. Yet how can I do so if I couldn't even follow through all the way with the english class? How could it be possible that I bust out a semester at Crossroads and go onto Moody if I failed at this english class? I just wouldn't work out. There definitely needs to be a practice of discipline, time management, and the putting off of laziness and selfishness. I know the Lord will bring me to the mission field, but I know I have to do my part and work my tail off! I'm pretty sure that He's not saying, "Just sit back and relax, I'll get you through it." No! I know that He wants me to work like crazy!
As a christian I am to discipline myself in all aspects of the faith, like discipline in holiness, godliness, prayer, reading and studying the scriptures, and evangelism just to name a handful. How much more should I discipline myself with keeping my body healthy, managing my time day by day, and with my education. Discipline in the faith is crucial to the christian. Without, I believe, that there will be little growth, and open doors for sin to sneek in and attack.
So be praying for me my friends, my brothers and sisters; that I will practice discipline in every area of my life, especially in the faith. Also that the Lord will give me guidance and direction on where to go from here.

Thanks for reading. Keep chasing after Christ!

~Joshua A. Taylor

The Foolishness & Weakness of God.......?

Yesterday I shared a verse through a text to about 8 to 10 people. Something I do every now and again to encourage my friends and fellow saints in the faith. The verse I shared was 1 Corinthians 1:25 which says- "For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Now that is insane to think about! When I first read that verse, I didn't understand it, but even despite my lack of understanding of it still made my heart miss a beat. Now that I understand it though it just messes me up for a couple minutes after reading it. Think about it this way: The world's most smartest man's intellectual and wisdom-filled mind doesn't even come close to comparing to the "foolishness" of God, and the world's most powerful man's strength and power doesn't even come close to the "weakness" of God! Doesn't that just blow your mind!?
To me this verse is the most impactful verse that displays man's lowly, weak, wretched, and imperfect state, and God's infinitely righteous, holy, pure, and perfect state. Chapters 1-3 in Romans Paul goes in depth in displaying man's sinful, wretched, and imperfect. For example verses 29 to 31 in chapter 1 lists some of the fruit of man's sinful nature: "They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. This is only one of the few times the Paul lists of these fruits of our sinful nature through the epistles that he's written. Then take Romans 3 for example that states clearly that "None is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one (verses 10-12 in chapter 3).
The Old Testament also shows the comparison between imperfect, finite man and perfect infinite God. "for no one living is righteous before You." (Psalm 1432b). There's one verse for ya!
Take Moses's encounter with God on Mount Sinai in Exodus 33:12-23. The Lord allows Moses to see His back, but not His face, "But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." (vs. 20). Then we have Isaiah who says in Isaiah 6:5, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"
So as you can see the Bible is filled with stories like these. A sinful, wretched man cannot see the Lord and live. See that contrast between us and God!? Think about what happens though, when 1 Cor 1:25 collides with the Gospel! Wretched sinners who deserve hell for eternity, namely the wrath of God almighty, actually receive His grace and mercy through the blood of Christ! This is how God, the Father showed His infinitely great love toward us! Christ took our place on the cross, bearing our sins, and drinking the cup of the wrath of God. This was done so that we may be forgiven, and be reconciled to God. We don't deserve heaven, nor do we deserve to seek after Him in His Word, and in prayer. We only deserve hell for eternity! So here, in the gospel, we see God's great love displayed. Think about His love! Oh what a marvelous love! Here's how I can put His unfathomable love on display see: My love for my friends and family is like hatred compared to God's love for them! Wow!
There we have it! God's character and attributes are unfathomable compared to ours! We don't even come close actually! We not even close to be on the chart! From 1 Cor 1:25 I went stemmed it to many different directions. I challenge to to meditate upon that verse throughout the rest of the day. You might be like me, of how every time I read it I stop breathing for a second or 2, or my heart misses a beat, or....I get twitchy for a couple minutes. May every time we read 1 Corinthians 1:25 make us tremble in fear before the Lord, our God!

Dear X (You Don't Own Me) -From Slaves to sin to Slaves to Christ!

A while back I met up with a good friend to catch up. We had a good time with good discussion about a number of things. No sure how it came about, but we started to talk about slavery in the context of biblical times, and transitioned over to how we were once slaves to sin, but now are slaves to Christ.
This is something that I have recently been thinking about, and rejoicing over. I thank the Christian hard rock band Disciple for this! Their current single "Dear X (You Don't Own Me)" for their latest album talks about this very thing of going form being slaves to sin to being slaves to Christ.
The 1st verse I don't believe is relevant to the message the song is getting across. It talks about how were enslaved to shame and pain, which are effects of sin which we still experience to this day, but I don't believe the Bible talks about being slave to those things. Though there is the simple truth that even though we now belong to Christ, we will still experience the effects like pain, sorrow, and shame among others, till the day we die. This is what the 1st verse of song reminds me of, even though it's irrelavant to what the song is talking about.
The 2nd verse though hits home.It talk about hate and anger. Ha there we go! Both anger and hate go hand in hand in with the 6th commandment , you shall not murder. How? Well rember Jesus' word in Matthew 5. "You have heard it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to council; and whoever says,'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5:22). To me personally, anger was one of the big sins that owned me. I was selfish in my anger; wanting this or that, or wanting things to go my way. Yet, thankfully I am no longer a slave to anger, and to all the other sins the I was enslaved to.
The prechorus is short, yet rings true. "I've let you go, but you're still chasing!" The scripture that comes to mind is Genesis 4:7, which says, "And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It's desire is for you, but you must rule over it." So there is that truth that sin is still there. Just because we are no longer enslaved to sin, and now God's chosen, doesn't mean the sin can't touch us. It's not like once we become converted, we instantly become perfectly holy and righteous, with out sin. 1 John 1:8 makes it clear, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
Let me make it clear that even though we will still be sinning until the day we die, doesn't mean that we should be sinning of our own will. 1 john talks about this, in how if we keep on sinning then we don't abide in Him; and are of the devil (1 john 3:6; 8). This is what Paul says later in chapter 7, vs 24 of Romans "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death!" Of course that answer is Christ. Paul longs to be ridden of sin for good, as do all believers! Son until the Lord calls us home, or retuns to take His bride away; we'll still be at war against sin. In the words of a reformed rapper, "I aint gonna lie, I'll still be sinning until the day I die, but I'm also fighting like a titan trying to stay alive!"
Then there's the chorus. "Gonna ahead but you're never take me/You can bend, but you're never gonna break me/ I was yours, but I'm not yours anymore/Oh, you don't own me" This is pretty much God's chosen saying to sin, in the face go ahead try to take me back! Go ahead give it all you got! Yea, I may fall into your traps, but you don't own me anymore! I've been bough with a price, by the blood of Christ! I bleong to Him now!
Finally the bridge comes saying, "You're tempting me to look back, but everything we had together was a lie!" So true! Right!? Our relationship that we had with sin was nothing but a lie. It would only end us up in hell for eternity; drinking the cup of God's divine wrath forever and ever! Thanks be to God that by the death and resurrection of Christ we have been transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13. No longer having that relationship with sin that leads to death, but now have that relationship with Christ that leads to life! From being slaves to sin to being slave to righteousness. We are not our own, we have been brought with a price. That price was that in love Christ took our place on the cross, bearing our sin, taking the wrath of God that was reserved for us; then after being in the tomb for 3 days, resurrected defeating sin! In response we have given our live to Him. Dying to ourselves, to be found alive in Christ! To Him who has delivered us from the bondage of sin, be honor, majesty, and glory forever amen!