Our Constant Thirsting

John 7:37-39 (ESV)

³⁷On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" ³⁹Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This is probably a fairly familiar passage, but it's one of those that are always worth many looks. A few weeks ago I read this, and was confronted by the fact that "rivers of living water" flowing from my heart does not often describe my walk with God. Does it for you?

I can't say exactly what that would be, but I think I'd know it if I were experiencing it. And I know that there are times in my life when I do. But those often seem few and far between. Some of the things that I have experienced, or picture experiencing when I read the phrase "rivers of living water" are deep, unexplainable joy and peace, contentment in spite of any circumstance, zeal and passion to make Jesus known, a burden for the lost and for prayer, the security and love of a tangible, deep connection with God, conviction over my sin and brokenness. Now, I don't want to make you think that our walk is based on feelings or emotions - these are fleeting and it can be dangerous to base our connection with God on them. There are seasons when they are strong, and seasons when we feel dry or "in the wilderness", so to speak, but our standing before God doesn't change. Our relationship with Him is eternally secure in Christ, because of His finished work on the cross and the free gift of salvation He gives when we come to Him and believe. What this passage indicates though, is that as we run to Christ to have our thirsts satisfied, we will experience these "rivers of living water" produced by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus calls us to come to Him and drink when we thirst. I wrote this in my journal as I pondered this passage:

"I certainly thirst, but so often go to find water in empty or polluted places. Being a metaphor for our spiritual thirst - my thirsts are for significance, affirmation, assurance, rest, peace, joy, satisfaction, righteousness, confidence, courage, truth, knowledge. Everything I do is in some way tied to my thirsting for these things."

Maybe your thirsts are similar, maybe they are for other things. But we all thirst, and we all seek to quench those thirsts constantly. I try to be funny so people will laugh and I'll feel significant. I have quiet times and pray so I'll feel righteous before God. I do things I'm good at so I can brag about it and have affirmation about myself. Almost every action we do or motivation we have is tied to some thirst we have at our core. How often do we seek to have these thirsts quenched in places that won't ultimately quench them?

Sure, some of the things we do may give us a quick relief from thirst, but it always returns. When people laugh at me or notice something I do well, I feel good about it and a bit of that significance or affirmation I crave is felt, but it doesn't last. My heart just craves more of it. It's like drinking soda (pop) - it might quench our thirst at first but it somewhat dehydrates us and we soon just want more and more of it, when pure water is going to give us a more lasting relief from that thirst.

Jesus gives Himself as the answer - the only answer - to those deep thirsts in our heart. He alone can satisfy our deepest needs. He may sometimes use those things we run to to find thirst, like people affirming us for example, but when we skip over Him and run straight to them our thirst isn't ultimately met. We need to go to Him and allow Him to quench our thirst in whatever way He will.

Our hearts come with a natural thirst that we feel every day. Jesus is given as the perfect provision of that thirst. He frees us from sin, bestows on us righteousness, declares us significant and perfect, affirms us as His child, provides for our needs - both physical and spiritual, calls us to significant, eternally valuable work, leads us to life-giving community, strengthens us in our weakness, gives us courage to face our giants, gently and persistently transforms us into His likeness, gives rest for our souls, uses us to influence others toward Him, heals our deepest hurts, teaches us truth through His Word, brings us joy and peace that are impossible without Him, meets with us when we are alone, guides us when we need direction, and is constantly with us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. I've been so blessed to experience many of these things firsthand, and I'd bet that you have too if you've come to know and follow Him. Yet our hearts still run naturally and subtly to other things before Him! How fickle our hearts are - like the line in 'Come Thou Fount' - "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love". This just indicates that we constantly need Him, not just at the moment of our salvation. God knows this, and His Spirit is provision for that moment-by-moment need.

We need to continue to remind ourselves of this need, surround ourselves with people who will encourage us to run to Jesus, and redirect and train our hearts to go to Jesus to quench our thirsts. Otherwise they won't be met. I wrote this in my journal as well:

"And so where do I go? I don't think it's about eliminating external distractions - my heart will find something to be distracted by no matter what, even using good things like prayer. Discipline is needed, but carefully tied to and guarded by a continual reminder of the truth and of why the discipline is being pursued, lest discipline becomes duty or legalism. Hiding this Scripture in my heart will help, as a reminder of the ultimate provision - Jesus - for my need, and as an antidote to a legalistic mentality.

This is our continued struggle, to run to Jesus instead of the great many other things before us. It's just as real and difficult now as when we first came to Christ. Thankfully, Jesus promises to help, and given His Spirit as provision, as conviction, as counselor, as guide, and Jesus will Shepherd us beside quiet waters and restore our soul."

As I meditated on these things, I also realized how easy it can be to fall into the mentality that Jesus is the means to and end. That He's the means to giving us what we really need or want - those being significance or satisfaction or even salvation. We do have those thirsts and needs, but Jesus IS the end, not just a means for us to get them. Notice that Jesus doesn't say "come to me and I'll give you what you really need", He says "come to me and drink", and as a result these rivers of living water will start to flow. He's what our hearts really want, not the means to get there. HE is our significance, our confidence, our satisfaction. It's so easy to think along the lines of "I have Jesus so I can have salvation and eternal life". But in reality we are given eternal life and salvation so we can have Jesus. In John 17:3 Jesus defines eternal life as a relationship with God. He is who we all need. He is the end we are running after. And so all we do - things in our personal walk like spiritual disciplines, church, Cru, etc. - we do so to get more of Jesus. Not to get more satisfaction or significance or righteousness. Same with ministry - everything we do, we do so that the thirsty hearts of people on campus all around us can have Jesus. HE is the end. Everything we do ought to be solely about Him, glorifying Him and bringing ourselves, our friends, the lost souls on campus to Him, for He is all they need. He's the sole focus of our lives and our ministry.

So to bring this cross-country flight in for a landing, let me encourage you to be honest and identify what your thirsts are, and where you are running to have them met. Then confess that and repent of it before God - when we run to other things it's a form of idolatry - and ask Him to meet those needs, and continually guide you to run to Him and not those other things. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill you. And continue to examine your heart and where it's running moment-by-moment, to point it back to Jesus. Let Him be the sole focus of your life and ministry.

For more on this topic, find a copy of the "Satisfied" booklet. Ask me or another staff for it, or find an online version here. And if you're really curious, this article can help too.

Stay thirsty my friends,

Jason

Burned out? Time to walk.

Is the beginning of the school year stressful, or what? If you’re involved in Cru, you have not only the normal stressors – a new schedule, moving into a new place, re-entering the world of homework and papers (ugh) – but also you’re called upon to lead a Bible study, go to Cru meetings and events, work a Cru promotion table… where does it end?! Is there any way to survive such a chaotic, busy schedule?

Yes, there is, but the way might be a little counter-intuitive. It’s not by being really talented. It’s not by sucking it up and enduring two miserable weeks only to crash in blissful inactivity for the next month. And it’s not by refusing to serve in the fear of being “burned out.” The way to survive (and I’ll take it a step further – please God) in such exhausting circumstances is to walk in the Spirit.

When it comes to doing ministry, or for that matter living life, there are two major questions we constantly face: “what am I going to do?” and “how (i.e. by whose power) am I going to do it?” If we answer these questions selfishly, we basically doom ourselves to frustration and ultimately burnout. So, the formula for failure is: trying to set our own agendas, or to carry out our plans on our own strength and ability. The alternative, “walking in the Spirit,” means that we’re continually asking God what He would have us do, and then relying on His power to carry out those plans.

What does this look like on the most practical, paint-a-vivid-picture-for-me level? Well, remember back to when you put your faith in Christ for the first time. According to Scripture, at that time the Holy Spirit – God Himself!! – entered your life forever (Romans 8:9, John 7:37-39)! So now we who believe in Christ have this incredible power source inside us; the Holy Spirit dwells in us and offers guidance, teaching, conviction of sin, and comfort, among many other blessings.

So first, we as believers need to recognize that fact and turn over our whole lives to Him. Now surely we surrendered our lives over to God when we first came to know Christ, but like I mentioned earlier, we have the tendency over time to try to take back control. So we need to come to a point of strong resolution: God, I give you all my plans, my future, my gifts, my selfish desires and submit myself to the loving guidance and help of the Holy Spirit within me.

Then second, we need to stay on guard. Once we’ve made that pivotal decision to be filled (i.e. directed and empowered) by the Spirit, we’re still going to be in a raging battle! Paul writes to the Galatians that “the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” So every day (heck, every minute if we can manage it), we need to return to that prayer and mindset of surrender to the Spirit. As you become aware of sins in your life, confess them to Him, thank Him for His forgiveness, and ask for His power and deliverance from your struggles.

And this way of living, my friends, is what we call “walking in the Spirit.” Listen to how incredibly important this discipline is:

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience…” (Galatians 5:22)

Wow. So, if you want to overcome sin, or if you want to be energized in ministry rather than burned out, now you know God’s solution – He will overcome the sin in you, and He will give you the energy to minister. You just walk in the Spirit.

-- Jon

Easter Meditations

This weekend marks the most important celebration in the Christian calendar: the remembrance of Jesus death and celebration of His resurrection. Our entire faith rests on this, that Jesus took on death for us, and in paying for sin, gives us new life. Our sole response is faith, to believe in Him and accept His offer. We can't do anything to save ourselves, Jesus did it all.

I used to get confused as to why the resurrection was such a big deal, reasoning that it was because of the death of Christ that our sin was paid for and that we're saved. The resurrection seemed like almost an afterthought, just a validation of Jesus' claims of deity and ability to pay for sin. It is that, but it is so much more.

I thought I'd take a few moments to share some (emphasis on some - there are many more) of the reasons why the resurrection is so vital to our faith. Without it, our faith wouldn't exist (1 Cor 15:14). My prayer is that you'd have some of these things in mind this Sunday, as we celebrate the greatest victory in all of history, and the most significant day in our year.

1) In the resurrection, Jesus was the first to enter the glorified new life. (1 Cor 15:12-49)

Just as Adam was the first man to enter the life of sin and brokenness, Jesus (the "Second Adam") was the first to enter the glorified perfection that we'll inherit after we die. This isn't to say the Jesus wasn't always perfect, or glorified (He was, and is), but that as a man, Jesus was the "firstfruits", as it says in 1 Cor 15. His resurrected body is a model of the resurrected body that we'll one day have. We'll be raised from the dead with a new, glorified body upon Jesus return and the ushering in of a new Heaven and new earth. I could try to go on, but 1 Corinthians 15 pretty much says it all. Take a moment to read through it.

2) In the resurrection, Jesus defeated spiritual death. (1 Cor 15:50-58)

God gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus. Amazing! Once we trust in Jesus, we no longer have to fear or worry about spiritual death, separation from God. We can now live at peace with God because our sin is paid for and we have the confident hope of eternity with God.

3) Through the resurrection, Jesus remains alive to this day.

Our God is alive, present, always with us. There is no body in the tomb. When Jesus rose from the dead, He didn't live on earth for a time and then die again; He ascended into Heaven, where He remains at the right hand of the Father. Our relationship with Him is real because He's alive and active.

4) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus opened the door for us to freely approach the Father (John 16:26-27)

In the passage I listed, Jesus says an interesting statement, that He will not ask the Father on our behalf, instead that we will ask God directly in Jesus name. This is significant. Prior to Jesus death and resurrection, people were separated from God and He was unapproachable because of our sin. In the Old Testament, God dwelt in the Holy of Holies of the temple, shielded off by a thick curtain, and only once a year, one man - the high priest - could enter. And even then it was risky - a certain set of things needed to happen first to ensure his purity, and he entered with a chain tied to his ankle in the chance that he'd die in God's holy presence, and the other priests would have to drag him out of the Holy of Holies by his ankle. When Jesus dies, that curtain was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), showing that God was now approachable by all, but only through Christ. We, who are in Christ, have our sins paid for, and can now boldly and freely go to God and interact with Him, but we only go to Him in Jesus' name. This is why we pray in Jesus' name, He's the mediator through whom we are able to approach God. He also intercedes for us as He sits at God's right hand.

5) Through the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His ultimate power and authority over everything. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Think about it - what's the most powerful thing someone could do? What would most demonstrate their authority and power over all things? It would have to be to rise from the dead! What is more final in our world than death? And Jesus defeated it, showing the limitless power of God.

6) Through Jesus' resurrection, He raised us with Him. (Colossians 2:11-14)

Awesome.

7) Through Jesus' resurrection, that very same power dwells in us and works for us. (Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:15-23)

Read and think about what those passages say. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, and gives life to us! How crazy is that? How often do we forget that truth, or neglect to tap into that power? And in Ephesians Paul says that the power that God worked in raising Christ from the dead (the greatest power display ever, remember) is for us and working toward us. Wow! This gives us reason to trust God to fight our battles for us, rather than fight them on our own. He's powerful and more than able to fight for us and win. It also gives us a great truth to keep in mind when, later in Ephesians, Paul says that our battle isn't against flesh and blood but against forces of spiritual darkness. These are intimidating forces, but God's power that was displayed in the resurrection is on our side. We can go to Him and let Him fight Satan and all his schemes for us.

These are just a few of the many, many things we could say about the resurrection. Not to mention all the things that Jesus' death accomplished. We could go on for hours and days and years just proclaiming all that Jesus did through His death and resurrection. As you meditate and reflect on these things this weekend, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Let's praise and exalt Jesus together - He is so, so worthy! Praise Him always and forever for who He is and all He's done!!

--Jason

Beautiful Feet

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 (ESV)

"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

A few things stand out in this passage about Paul's proclamation of the Gospel in Corinth:

• He comes in a very ordinary way, not using eloquent language or philosophy or human wisdom
• His message was simple, sticking to Jesus and the cross
• He was weak and fearful (!) - Paul, probably the greatest missionary of all time, was fearful when it came to take the initiative to share his faith!  He doesn't say why exactly he was fearful - it could have been fear of what others would say or think or how he'd be perceived, or fear of rejection, or, more likely, fear of persecution and the threat of harm or death.  Maybe a combination of all of those, and a few other factors thrown in too.  Regardless, Paul admits his fear and weakness, something that encourages me very much: if Paul feared and felt weak, then my fear and weakness is made more normal and able to be persevered through.  I don't have to strive for fearlessness before taking the step to share my faith; instead I can take a step of faith in spite of my fear and weakness, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
• He was empowered by the Spirit to share the message, not relying on his own wisdom or persuasion
• Their salvation and faith was not a result of human wisdom but of the power of God and the Holy Spirit working.  Paul wasn't responsible for the results or their response, so there was no room for pride if they accepted Christ or for self-blame if they didn't.

Observing these things produces a sense of freedom from any pressure to perform.  A person's salvation and reception of the message aren't dependent on us, so it doesn't matter how ungainly our words are.  We don't have to have all the answers.  We can step out in faith in the power of the Holy Spirit and trust Him to speak through us and use us.  We also see that we don't have to share a complicated message - Paul simply focused on Jesus and the cross.  That's where the Gospel lies - God loved us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross as payment for our sins, and through faith in Him we can have relationship with Him and eternal life.

Campus Crusade has a definition for successful witnessing:

"Success in witnessing is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God."

This passage serves as a root of that definition.  Paul took the initiative (I came to you...proclaiming to you the testimony of God) to share Christ (to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified) in the power of the Holy Spirit (demonstration of the Spirit and of power) and left the results to God (your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God).

Let me encourage you to apply this in a few ways:

1. Make it a focus of your life to walk in the power of the Spirit.  Here is a great resource that can help you understand this concept better: http://www.godsquad.com/discipleship/satisfied.htm.  And pray that the Lord would empower you and use you when you find yourself with an opportunity to share your faith.  We want to rely on Him, not ourselves.  

2. Focus your conversations on Jesus.  He's the center of our faith and the message of salvation always goes back to Him.  Sure, people may have questions about lots of things, and those will often need to be addressed.  But we can try to guide the conversation back to Jesus, because we want people to be captivated by Him and they need to know about Him to have salvation!  

3. Take the initiative!  This could mean taking initiative to talk with a friend or family member, or a complete stranger.  We often want until it just "comes up" in conversation.  Or to live out our faith in such a way that people notice something - how nice we are, how we deal with pain or hardship, how we spend our time, etc. - and then talk about our faith when they ask about it.  But those things might never happen.  No matter how exemplary we are, we still have sin and ugliness in our lives, and even if someone notices something attractive in us, Jesus shining through (which we hope they will - I'm not saying that we shouldn't seek to magnify Christ through our actions), that doesn't guarantee they'll bring it up.  So we need to be taking the initiative and find ways to start those conversations.  We're naturally fearful, but we can trust in the Holy Spirit's empowerment and take those steps of faith, like Paul did.

One tangible way to take the initiative is by simply asking questions.  Our culture is so fast paced and technology has taken the place of authentic interaction in so many areas, that when we ask questions and genuinely listen to a person, it's like a breath of fresh air and shows tremendous love.  In your everyday interactions with people make it a point to ask questions and see where they lead.  Things like, "What was that experience like?"  Or "How did that make you feel?"  Or "What did you learn from that?"  And begin to look for potential doorways to spiritual conversation.  There are lots of conversations we have where we're realistically only a few questions away from the Gospel.  Conversations about the weekend, movies, hobbies, life experiences, summer plans, and current events are all places where we can ask a few good questions that could lead to much deeper, more meaningful discussion.  And you might be able to share the Gospel too.  Sweet!

Romans 10:13-15 says, "For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  How then will they call on him in whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!""  Let's be people who have beautiful feet.

- Jason

Holiness and Evangelism

"Christians need to be in the world, not of the world."

"Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words."

"We have to be culturally relevant."

We've all probably heard or used one, if not all, of these quotes before.  And they're good, true statements.  But I think sometimes we take them too far and use them as excuses.  Excuses not to take the uncomfortable step to share our faith, or to compromise our moral standards to watch a certain movie or TV show because lots of other people are, or to conform our behavior and speech to that of the people around us.  So what is often the result is that we end up not really appearing any different than the rest of the world around us, and the message of life change that we preach is not backed up with evidence in our lives.  I've certainly been guilty of these things before.

You may have heard me speak about the book unChristian, by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, and the findings of their research.  One of those findings is that people outside the church largely think Christians are hypocritical and judgmental.  I want to be a person, and for Cru to be a ministry, that helps to change those perceptions by not making some of the same mistakes the church has made in the past, and seeking fresh, new ways of sharing the Gospel.  We want to present a different and more Christlike picture of Christianity, while not altering or compromising the message of the Gospel.  This is why I bring up the subject of holiness.

One reason people see us as hypocritical and judgmental is because there is a disconnect between what we say and what we do.  Christians say that they are set apart and have a different moral standard, but our actions often fail to show it.  Here's some stats from the book:

• 84 percent of young people outside the church say they know at least one committed Christian, but only 15 percent thought the lifestyles of those Christians were significantly different from the norm (unChristian, pg. 48)
• According to countless surveys, born again Christians are just as likely as non-Christians to: gamble, visit a pornographic website, visit a psychic or medium, steal, get drunk, use illegal drugs, lie, take revenge, and talk bad about someone behind their back (unChristian, pg. 47)
• Christian adults identify "lifestyle" (being good, not sinning, doing the right thing) as the main priority of their faith (unChristian, pg. 48-49)

Taking those 3 results together, it's easy to see why those outside the church label us "hypocritical".  Morality is stated as a priority, but not actually pursued in practice.

I've been reading 2 Kings lately, and a number of times reference is made to the fact that Israel "walked in the customs of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel" (2 Kings 17:8), and "followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like them" (2 Kings 17:15).  God had called Israel to be set apart and different from the rest of the nations, worshipping Him alone and not engaging in the idolatry and wicked practices of the nations around them.  In this way they were to represent Him to those nations.  But they consistently failed, entering into idolatry and the very same wickedness and moral failure of the nations around them.

Do you see the parallel?  Christians are called to represent Christ to the people around us, living holy, set apart, changed lives.  But according to evidence that's not true of the church in general.  Just like in Israel, there are some who are living obediently, but apparently most are not.  And so our representation of Christ is poor.

That's why the call to holiness is so important.  If we are going to effectively reach people and reach culture for Christ, we must be living lives that are indeed different, transformed and set apart.  The New Testament repeatedly calls Christ-followers to be set apart, to put off the old self and put on the new.  As an example, look at this passage from Colossians:

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."   (Colossians 3:5-14)

Similar passages can be found in Ephesians 4:1-3, Ephesians 5:1-21, Galatians 5:16-26, and Romans 7:14-8:17, to name a few.  I strongly encourage you to take a look at these passages and spend some time thinking about them.

I'm not advocating the type of holiness that is just an outward action stuck on the exterior of our lives - that's not authentic life change.  Jesus spoke against that very trait of the Pharisees.  What we need is real holiness, authentic heart transformation, the kind performed by the Holy Spirit deep down in our hearts.  We ought to pray for it and seek it diligently, asking Jesus to remind us of inconsistent areas and places of sin, and praying for the power and discipline to escape those areas.  We need to surrender to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives - He is the one who sanctifies and changes us.  He convicts us of sin so we can confess and repent of it, and He produces the fruit of self-control, love, kindness, goodness, etc. in us.  And when those transformations are happening (because we'll never be perfect, our sanctification is ongoing), imagine how much more effective our evangelism will be!  Not because we pridefully pat ourselves on the back and say "look how moral and good I am", but demonstrating real work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the deep joy and satisfaction that life change brings.

Without this type of holiness, our hope of being "in the world, but not of the world", or of "preaching the Gospel without using words" will be nullified.  I pray that I can only practice what I preach!

Jason