Paragon Video Blog - April 27

G.O.S.P.E.L.

IN CHRIST...

We started our study of Ephesians last week... one phrase that is throughout Ephesians (and the rest of the New Testament) is IN CHRIST... but what are the blessings from being IN CHRIST important... and why do they matter.  Take a look...

Because I am IN CHRIST

I am faithful (Ephesians 1:1)

I am God’s child (John 1:12)

I have been justified (Romans 5:1)

I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15)

I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:20)

I am a member of Christ’s Body (1 Corinthians 12:27)

I am assured all things work together for good (Romans 8:28)

I have been established, anointed and sealed by God (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

I am confident that God will perfect the work He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6)

I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)

I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7)

I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)

I am blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)

I am chosen before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4, 11)

I am holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4)

I am adopted as his child (Ephesians 1:5)

I am given God’s glorious grace lavishly and without restriction (Ephesians 1:5,8)

I am in Him (Ephesians 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:30)

I have redemption (Ephesians 1:8)

I am forgiven (Ephesians 1:8; Colossians 1:14)

I have purpose (Ephesians 1:9 & 3:11)

I have hope (Ephesians 1:12)

I am included (Ephesians 1:13)

I am sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

I am a saint (Ephesians 1:18)

I am salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14)

I have been chosen and God desires me to bear fruit (John 15:1,5)

I am a personal witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8)

I am God’s coworker (2 Corinthians 6:1)

I am a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)

I am raised up with Christ (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 2:12)

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6)

I have been shown the incomparable riches of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:7)

God has expressed His kindness to me (Ephesians 2:7)

I am God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)

I have been brought near to God through Christ’s blood (Ephesians 2:13)

I have peace (Ephesians 2:14)

I have access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18)

I am a member of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19)

I am secure (Ephesians 2:20)

I am a holy temple (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Corinthians 6:19)

I am a dwelling for the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:22)

I share in the promise of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:6)

God’s power works through me (Ephesians 3:7)

I can approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12)

I know there is a purpose for my sufferings (Ephesians 3:13)

I can grasp how wide, long, high and deep Christ’s love is (Ephesians 3:18)

I am completed by God (Ephesians 3:19)

I can bring glory to God (Ephesians 3:21)

I have been called (Ephesians 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:9)

I can be humble, gentle, patient and lovingly tolerant of others (Ephesians 4:2)

I can mature spiritually (Ephesians 4:15)

I can be certain of God’s truths and the lifestyle which He has called me to (Ephesians 4:17)

I can have a new attitude and a new lifestyle (Ephesians 4:21-32)

I can be kind and compassionate to others (Ephesians 4:32)

I can forgive others (Ephesians 4:32)

I am a light to others, and can exhibit goodness, righteousness and truth (Ephesians 5:8-9)

I can understand what God’s will is (Ephesians 5:17)

I can give thanks for everything (Ephesians 5:20)

I don’t have to always have my own agenda (Ephesians 5:21)

I can honor God through marriage (Ephesians 5:22-33)

I can parent my children with composure (Ephesians 6:4)

I can be strong (Ephesians 6:10)

I have God’s power (Ephesians 6:10)

I can stand firm in the day of evil (Ephesians 6:13)

I am dead to sin (Romans 1:12)

I am not alone (Hebrews 13:5)

I am growing (Colossians 2:7)

I am His disciple (John 13:15)

I am prayed for by Jesus Christ (John 17:20-23)

I am united with other believers (John 17:20-23)

I am not in want (Philippians 4:19)

I possess the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16)

I am promised eternal life (John 6:47)

I am promised a full life (John 10:10)

I am victorious (I John 5:4)

My heart and mind is protected with God’s peace (Philippians 4:7)

I am chosen and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12)

I am blameless (I Corinthians 1:8)

I am set free (Romans 8:2; John 8:32)

I am crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)

I am a light in the world (Matthew 5:14)

I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)

I am the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)

I am safe (I John 5:18)

I am part of God’s kingdom (Revelation 1:6)

I am healed from sin (I Peter 2:24)

I am no longer condemned (Romans 8:1, 2)

I am not helpless (Philippians 4:13)

I am overcoming (I John 4:4)

I am persevering (Philippians 3:14)

I am protected (John 10:28)

I am born again (I Peter 1:23)

I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I am delivered (Colossians 1:13)

I am redeemed from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13)

I am qualified to share in His inheritance (Colossians 1:12)

I am victorious (1 Corinthians 15:57)

The Mystery of Life

Do you ever just want to scream out the question “why?” Maybe just yell at the top of your lungs in into the dark night sky? How about into a canyon and hear it’s echo? Maybe it is just a simple as in the middle of watching the news and a story breaks your heart. WHY? I have had a lot of extra time this week to ask the question “why” and even more time to try to figure out the answers.

I don’t know about you, but I like to plan and be prepared for what is to come. I don’t like to be unprepared and I don’t like looking as if I have no idea what is going on. At the very least, I like to have the appearance of being in control.

What I have been reminded of over the last weeks and months is this very simple reality… I am not in control. While I have the ability to make decisions and will get to experience most of the consequences, overall control is not in my grasp. None of us are in control.

I think about the people in Japan right now that thought they were in control just a few short weeks ago… now look at their lives – their houses – their investments – their everything. Everything changed in a matter of minutes. At this very moment, all of those people who thought they were in control are struggling to cope with a whole new way of life.

They may ask (and you may ask) “Why God?”

We need to remember that God is so much bigger than us and He is in control. It blows my mind to try to think outside of the human element for even a second and figure out what God is up to. Do you realize that He knew every little detail of our lives before we ever took our first breath? How is that possible? He knew that the earthquake would happen, the tsunami would happen, the cancer would happen, and the ________ would happen, and He is still able to work it all together for His glory… some how, some way.

There are times in life where life gets put into perspective. For me, one of those times is now.

James 4:14 tells us… Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

What is my life all about? How much longer will it go on? How much longer will I see family members on this Earth? Friends, neighbors, co workers… the list goes on. Who will go before us, who will bury us? We live as if we are never going to die but unfortunately, that is not the case. Death is a part of this life and it will come to each of us eventually.

Those wonderful thoughts that have flooded my mind have led me back to some other very basic questions…
Why are you here? Why am I here? What purpose are you and I supposed to have? How do we work into God’s overall plan? Am I doing anything to screw up His plan? Are we making the most of our time or are we wasting the opportunities that God has given us? What is really important?

Yeah. I know. Heavy thoughts. This is what happens when you lose control and all the pleasures of this world (our substitutes for real joy that are supposed to make you happy) fail at their job.

BUT… When you look at the questions above… when you come to realization that you were born to do more than just breathe and satisfy yourself, when you look to the true joy that is far beyond anything this world has to offer, life becomes a little more clear, even when you are not in control. Why? Because you know WHO is.

Video Blog - 3.10.11

God is the initiator, we are merely the responder.

The following blog post is a "re-post" from Perry Noble, the Pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina.  It goes very well with what I was talking about yesterday (Luke 5:1-11) and I thought it was something you too should read.


(Taken from perrynoble.com)
In my opinion some of the scariest verses in the Bible are…

• Hebrews 3:7-8
• Hebrews 3:15
• Hebrews 4:7

We are commanded by God in the Scriptures that, when we hear His voice to not harden our hearts.

How do we harden our hearts?

Simple…by KNOWING what God’s Word clearly says about something but refusing to obey because doing so might seriously interfere with the lifestyle that we are wanting to pursue.

• It happens when people know they should respond to the Gospel but keep finding reasons to say no.
• It happens when a person knows they are in an ungodly dating relationship but fears being alone more than they fear God.
• It happens when a person knows their life is out of control…but fears if they confess their sin and ask for help it may seriously damage their reputation.
• It happens when someone knows they should stop spending money the way they do…but have become dependent upon numbing their pain with the temporary satisfaction that trinkets bring.
• It happens when a church leaders knows the direction God is wanting him/her to take the ministry…but they refuse to do so because they fear being unpopular with the people.
• It happens when a person knows they should not continue to pursue the “innocent flirting” with someone at work…but…it feeds their ego or fulfills their emotions so they continue the practice.
• It happens when a person knows they should stop the intimate connections they are making online…but refuses to stop because of the pleasure it brings.
• It happens when we know we should invite someone to church and/or share Christ with them…but we convince ourselves that they would not be interested OR that we will simply do it later.

I could go on and on…but we all get the point.

When people harden their hearts in Scripture it just doesn’t go well for them.

My question is this…is there anything in your life that God seems to be relentless in coming after?

If so…are you repenting or defending?  Because, when you defend what you are doing in the face of a Holy and awesome God who wants nothing but the best for you…then you are actively hardening your heart.  AND…one day…you might not even be able to hear His voice anymore if you don’t deal with what He’s dealing with!

It’s not that most of us don’t hear the voice of God…it’s that we don’t like what we hear and so we either fight with Him or ask Him to tell us something else.  BUT…until we deal with what He’s dealing with we will NEVER get past where we are right now.  (See Ezekiel 14:1-6)

Today…if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart!

Don't waste your ________________

Don’t Waste your Cancer

(taken from a John Piper Blog)

A week ago today I received a call from my Dr. telling me that my biopsy came back as cancer.  It has been a whirlwind of a week since that phone call.  It has consisted of a handful of appointments, a PET scan and plenty of prayers and encouraging notes.

One encouraging note was a link to the blog of John Piper, a Christian theologian that was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2006.  I thought what he had to say in this blog was very interesting.  I have added some of my thoughts to each point (in italics).

1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.

It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, He permits for a reason. And that reason is his design. If God foresees molecular developments becoming cancer, He can stop it or not. If He does not, He has a purpose. Since He is infinitely wise, it is right to call this purpose a design.

MY THOUGHTS:  I know God has a plan for my life.  There are days it seems 100% clear and other days (like today) when I am not sure where this is going, but I do know He knows what He is doing.  He has made this cancer a part of me.  It is a part of my overall story.  Just like everything in my past, it makes me who I am.

2. You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). “There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel” (Numbers 23:23). “The Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 83:11).

MY THOUGHTS:  I love the song by Matt Redman – “Blessed Be Your Name.”  It talks about giving God the glory and praising His name in the good times as well as the bad times.  While “cancer is a gift” is a hard statement to comprehend, it really goes back to #1 – God having a plan for my life.  He can use this to reach others… what a gift that is.  He can open doors with this that I may never have been able to open otherwise.

3. You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.

The design of God in your cancer is not to train you in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds. The world gets comfort from their odds. Not Christians. Some count their chariots (percentages of survival) and some count their horses (side effects of treatment), but we trust in the name of the Lord our God (Psalm 20:7).

MY THOUGHTS:  This is something that I have not thought about.  Maybe it’s because there haven’t been any “odds” thrown my way or maybe it’s because I do trust in God, but thinking about some human calculation has never been something that has crossed my mind.

4. You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.

We will all die, if Jesus postpones his return. Not to think about what it will be like to leave this life and meet God is folly. Eccl. 7:2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning [a funeral] than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” How can you lay it to heart if you won’t think about it? Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Numbering your days means thinking about how few there are and that they will end. How will you get a heart of wisdom if you refuse to think about this? What a waste, if we do not think about death.

MY THOUGHTS:  Today I sat through a funeral.  I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that the thought of dying didn’t cross my mind.  As a matter of fact, I began planning a possible funeral in my head… right down to possibly video recording my own “final sermon.”  What to say, what to do… the reality is death is real for each and every one of us and when we face something like “cancer” our eyes are opened a little wider to what is to come.

5. You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.

Satan’s and God’s designs in your cancer are not the same. Satan designs to destroy your love for Christ. God designs to deepen your love for Christ. Cancer does not win if you die. It wins if you fail to cherish Christ.  “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)

MY THOUGHTS:  The first time I found out I had cancer, life changed for me.   My priorities changed, my thought process changed, my world view changed.  As I look at my life five years later, I have really changed and I feel like I have matured.  I don’t know what is to come five years from now, but I am hoping that I am closer to who God wants me to be.

6. You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.

It is not wrong to know about cancer. Ignorance is not a virtue. But the lure to know more and more and the lack of zeal to know God more and more is symptomatic of unbelief. Cancer is meant to waken us to the reality of God  It is meant to waken us to the truth of Daniel 11:32, “The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.”

MY THOUGHTS:  One area I saw my life change was in my “reading” about God and learning the realities of God.

7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.

This is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.

MY THOUGHTS:  I am an outgoing person, but in all reality, I didn’t want to tell anyone about what was going on.  Why?  Simply put, I don’t like it when people worry about me.  After reading this thought it hit me… this isn’t about what people feel for and about me – but instead how my feelings have changed towards others – and they really have.

8. You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.

Paul used this phrase in relation to those whose loved ones had died: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). There is a grief at death. Even for the believer who dies, there is temporary loss—loss of body, and loss of loved ones here, and loss of earthly ministry. But the grief is different—it is permeated with hope. “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Don’t waste your cancer grieving as those who don’t have this hope.

MY THOUGHTS:  I have hope.  PERIOD.

9. You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.

Are your besetting sins as attractive as they were before you had cancer? If so you are wasting your cancer. Cancer is designed to destroy the appetite for sin. Pride, greed, lust, hatred, unforgiveness, impatience, laziness, procrastination—all these are the adversaries that cancer is meant to attack. Don’t just think of battling against cancer. Also think of battling with cancer. All these things are worse enemies than cancer. Don’t waste the power of cancer to crush these foes. Let the presence of eternity make the sins of time look as futile as they really are.

MY THOUGHTS:  We waste our time and life on such stupid things… things that do not matter and things that are just plain selfish and wrong.  It really is amazing to look at my life through a new lens (again) and understand the trivial nature of some of the stupid things I do.

10. You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

Christians are never anywhere by divine accident. There are reasons for why we wind up where we do. Consider what Jesus said about painful, unplanned circumstances: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness” (Luke 22:12-13). So it is with cancer. This will be an opportunity to bear witness. Christ is infinitely worthy. Here is a golden opportunity to show that he is worth more than life. Don’t waste it.

MY THOUGHTS:  Like I said in #1 – God has a plan.  I want everyone to know that I am OK with where I am in life and what Christ is doing in me and through me.  My faith is strong and growing stronger.  God is going to use this for His glory and I am excited to see what that is going to be.

As you read this, you may not understand why God does some things whether in my life or in yours.  You may be battling with your own struggles that you can substitute for the word “cancer” throughout this blog.  Understand that God is in control of your life, just like mine.  Isaiah 55:8 tells us  "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”  Be open to what God can do, no matter the situation.