Christ Is Relevant to Crisis

The crisis is sacred. Crisis is God’s divine tool to bring us to desperate dependency on Him. Why then do we avoid the intended purpose of the crisis—bringing to fruition the good pleasure of God in our lives? Like a fly caught in a web, only after we have fought vigorously, do we resign to the inevitable fact that we are powerless and need the help of Christ.

The crisis is sanctified, set apart for the occasion of heralding forth to our souls the deeper need to draw more intimately to Jesus. Crisis is comprised of one being moved beyond their maturity to find Jesus relevant to a particular area of need.

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:2-4 ESV

Do you realize that to find Christ relevant to any struggle in your life, is to be connected to the fullness of all Biblical truth as set forth within the precepts, principles, and promises of Scripture?

“So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority” (Col. 2:10 NLT).

The resources of Heaven are embraced and experienced in the person of Jesus when we lean intimately upon Him, believing ultimately in Him.

Ephesians 1:3–14 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. 10 And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. 11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.

12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

The reality is that unless Christ is constantly putting into us the life giving resource of His grace, the world will soon deplete us with its many demands that take life from us, leaving death in its wake.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (NLT)
Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

Satan and his hordes of evil stand ready to take advantage of every available carnal vulnerability that we present within the course of our living and involvement with the world.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9a NLT).

Two things we need to do often: (1) acknowledge our struggles—they are a measure of our immaturity, (2) find Christ as relevant to our struggles—this is the measure of our maturity. The crisis is sacred to the end that we are brought to peace, which is the measure of our transformation.

Insight Journal
Are you willing to be transformed into the image of Christ by whatever sacred means He finds necessary?

Christ Is Relevant to MS

In chapter 1 of Desperate Dependency we introduced you to Shirley. Yes, she is a very real person. Her testimony started with “I used to live my life waiting to find a way to beat the system. (God was the system.)” These are a few other excerpts from her testimony: "I guess we all spend some time on the edge. I’ve sort of lived my life there.... But God brought me to the end of myself... what a liberating moment it was as God accepted me right where I was, asking nothing but that I put my complete trust in Him. Somewhere along the line I started to long for Jesus more than I was afraid of losing control..."

This week we received an update on Shirley and her continued desperate dependency on Christ.

Melanie, the health issues that I talked to Kirk about a few months ago and also the sudden depression and exhaustion, trouble walking, numbness and vision changes, finally has a diagnosis. I have Multiple Sclerosis. I'd appreciate your prayers. I knew something was wrong inside my body but I still looked the same on the outside so I discounted each issue until some just got very overwhelming and serious. I still have not had an MRI, I will the end of July when I see my Neurologist, but my doctor, Rheumatologist, and eye specialist all agree. I'm grateful though to just have a name put with what has been going on for a while now. As much as I do not want to have MS, I am glad to have a diagnosis so we can know what I am dealing with and how to move forward. Not knowing is much worse than having facts, even hard ones. I have times that I feel fearful but I am very aware that my Lord is not surprised by this diagnosis and it has not come to me before being sifted through his sovereign hands. I trust him. I have gone to the very depth of my fears and explored those possibilities... and found Christ relevant to even this situation. When I was reading in I Corinthians and got to the part where Paul had been sharing Christ and the Jewish people wanted to flog him when he said he was now going to share it with the Gentiles. Thankfully someone got him out of that crowd and to momentary safety. While he was standing there terrified, Christ came… and the Word says He stood very close to Paul and told him to "Be Courageous" and that they were now going to Rome to do this again. When I read that, I knew that God could have gotten that message to Paul in a myriad of ways but what He did was come to him personally and stood very close to his friend. I thought about how Paul must have felt the warmth from Jesus' body and felt a sense of safety and protection that no one else could have provided except for Jesus. He is a very personal, loving Savior and I am feeling Him stand very close to me through this. My doctor said the depression I have struggled with has been from the MS and thankfully it is much better.

I would appreciate your prayers. I am experiencing God's peace for the most part, and I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. I have known for months something was wrong, just did not have a name to put with it. Just wanted to let y'all know.

Insight Journal
Will you allow the Master to complete His self-portrait through your life by whatever means He sees as necessary?

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

Summertime Memories

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

One of my (Melanie) earliest summertime, childhood memories recalls pumping my legs passionately to swing to the clouds while singing, “Yes, Jesus Loves Me.” This elementary song saturated my soul, but even in adulthood it is difficult to comprehend the depths of that simple truth.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Rom. 5:6–8 NLT)

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? . . . No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8:35–39 NLT)

The truth of God’s love is not just a fact; it becomes a reality when we can recognize that because God loves us, He cares about every area of our lives. Not only does He care, but He also understands our deepest struggles, and He desires to be the solution for our every problem.

“This High Priest of ours [Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testing we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Heb. 4:15–16 NLT).

Erroneously we believe the deception that if God really does love us and really does care, He would make everything easy with smooth sailing. How can crisis and tribulation be evidence of a loving God? But even God’s gift of love to us required grief, agony, and despair. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).

On a particularly desperate day, the simple fact of God’s love for me (Kirk) became a powerful, relevant truth. Submitting to lifetime ministry did not isolate us from crisis and tribulation. The fiery darts of the wicked one inundated us with unrelenting force. The battle was fierce. It was the kind of spiritual warfare that challenged every fiber of my being.

As I was driving en route to pay a bill, I looked up and said to God in the privacy of my truck, “Lord, I’m at my end. I think I’m finished. There is nothing left in me to carry on. I don’t have anything else to give.” I was beaten. I had no more stamina. No more ability to endure. I was not depressed; I did not want to die. I was, however, pressed beyond my measure to continue the fight. I was exhausted.

“God, . . . I am finished! I don’t know what will become of me or how I will continue into tomorrow. God, unless You do something, it’s over for me.” My prayer to God was as tired and devoid of emotion as it could have ever been and still be articulated. All I could do was to look to God and say, “Please help me.”

God had me right where He wanted me. It was at this broken place I received from God the greatest gift I could ever have—His love! I have placed this event in the annals of the most significant experiences with God I have ever had.

God’s Spirit opened my mind that day to all verses of Scripture, sermons, and songs I have ever read, preached, heard preached, or sung, testifying to His great love for me. I began to be flooded with the love of Christ beyond anything I have ever known or thought was possible. His nurturing was powerful and tangible; I could feel His presence. As I was being cocooned within His love, the peace of God surpassed my understanding while I was serenaded by the very songs of how much He loves me. All my worries, my fears, my concerns for life, and how I would make it past today were enraptured in the vortex of His person. I was now strengthened with His might. It was at this moment that I wanted nothing more than what God wanted for me.

Immediately I began to sob from the depths of my soul, the apathy now vanquished. My tears flowed in praise to my God, my Deliverer, my Lord and Savior, who really, truly loves me. These tears of praise continued for hours. I sobbed until the sobbing could no longer be sustained. Then I would sob some more. That day I was rejuvenated by the hand of God and taught that I could live only through His power. It became clear to me: I must see Jesus as relevant to all areas of my life; I must understand that He cares about every area of my life. I have never forgotten this, nor have I ever been the same.

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light’” (Matt. 11:28–30 NLT).

“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob,
      all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
      Yes, I carried you before you were born.
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
      until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
      I will carry you along and save you.” (Isa. 46:3–4 NLT)

Insight Journal
Children see God as relevant because they can trust that there is someone bigger who knows the best way to make things work out. When did I lose that concept of God?

Great Summer Plans

(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

So if people, positions, or possessions do not offer freedom or the solution for enjoying a complete life, what is the solution? Galatians 5:16 (NIV) supplies the answer: “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” We are to conduct our lives “by the Spirit.” This requires a relationship with God’s Spirit in which we dependently trust Him with all our needs. The catch is that brokenness is a prerequisite: we cannot depend on God without first giving up our willfulness. We must give up the right to want what we want and trade it for wanting what God wants. “But I don’t want to give up what I want,” you may whine. Then you are not ready for a desperately dependent relationship on God that results in a life that is divinely enabled. This relationship begins by giving up our self-centered lives in exchange for Christ-centered lives that result from the forgiveness of sin. Without giving up our willfulness, we cannot know the heart of God and want what He wants.

Independent inclinations thrust individuals further into crisis, which perpetuates an unending cycle of futility. At best, self-effort can only temporarily affect the crisis of our lives; it can do nothing to address the deeper problem of sin. In fact, self-effort exacerbates the problem, actually increasing the intensity of the nature of sin’s impact on us. Now we have, as a result of our best solutions, even more guilt, shame, and fear. We are even more alienated from God than before. We only sink deeper into the bondage of our sinfulness. Because of humanity’s depravity, we are stuck in the unending, self-perpetuating cycle. Demoting God as the authority; promoting self as the authority; and exploiting people, positions, and possessions for personal empowerment.

The fallout from independently contrived solutions intensifies the symptoms of the sin nature, thereby provoking an even greater crisis. No matter what we do, we are still falling apart. We are still at the place of redemptive need. Only God can help us.
Christ’s redemptive process can only be participated in through the power of Christ as He addresses the nature of sin by bringing us to brokenness. The willingness to give up our willfulness to Christ in exchange for His enabling us to submit to His will, removes our resistance to entering into Christ’s redemptive process. Christ’s redemptive process is characterized by dependence on Him as we see ourselves in desperate need of Him.

Because of Christ’s satisfaction of the sin debt, He can redeem us from our sinful selves and all the crises we have created. He resolves the symptoms of the sin nature—guilt, shame, and fear—and reconciles us to fellowship with God, restoring love, joy, and peace. “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world” (1 John 2:2 NLT).

Unfortunately, we must still contend with the nature of sin resident within us. Self-sufficiency tempts us to reenter the futile cycle dominated by the nature of sin in our lives. But gratefully, at the point of salvation, we are blessed with a new set of options. No longer are we bound by the power of sin; we may now choose from His abundant resources and allow His divine enablement to personally empower us.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. (2 Peter 1:3–4 NLT)

God is extending deliverance to us as we rely on Him. “It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies” (Zech. 4:6 NLT). The question is, will you in your desperation depend on God? Will you respond to the invitation God gives to you? Will you continue in your self-effort? Will you believe the same lies? Will you commit the same sins? Will you experience the same problems over and over again? Or will you realize that you are a child of the King with an inheritance already in your possession?

God’s job is to bring us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, by whatever holy means are appropriate. God uses love to promote purity (1 John 3:1–3), goodness to promote repentance (Rom. 2:4), patience to promote redemption (Luke 8:4–15), discipline to produce maturity (Heb. 12:5–10), and pain to promote growth (Heb. 12:11). God uses trials to bring us to completion (James 1:2–4), tribulation to produce hope (Rom. 5:3–5), trauma of truth to produce brokenness (2 Cor. 7:8–11), and thorns in the flesh to produce dependency (2 Cor. 12:7–10). All His blessings are for achieving the one purpose of transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ. This endeavor is His most important task. All facets of God’s economy function to produce Jesus’ image within our souls, bringing glory to Him as we depend on Him. God produces His essence within us as we yield to Him.

God has no higher concern and espouses no greater agenda than to promote Jesus as preeminent within our lives. Thus His grace is dedicated to this mission. Grace cannot be manipulated or exploited to achieve our own selfish ambition, nor will it be subservient to our vain conceit. Grace resides securely within the heart and mind of God, having no other master, and can be wielded by none other than His hand.

Insight Journal
Which willful plan do you need to give up for a great summer with God?
Write a personal psalm to pour out your heart to God.