The 180 Church Podcast with Dr. Sammy and Friends

New Creation in Christ: Leaving the Old Ways for the New

When we come across difficult times, most of us probably have one or two coping strategies that we rely on to provide some semblance of reprieve when dealing with the stress. Whether we’ve learned constructive methods of coping or have to unlearn destructive ones, we fall back on these strategies to get the tiniest bit of relief. To our dismay, the source of our stress doesn’t simply solve itself, and we can find ourselves stuck in the cycle of stress-coping and temporary relief. But in Christ, there is a new way of living; it’s a call to freedom, to leave behind our old ways of coping, through a relationship with Christ. We can take solace in the knowledge that we are new creations in Christ, that we are already freed from bondage, and encouraged to pursue the new self made in Christ’s image.

Joy (is Learned)

Not all joys are equal. When we look at Scripture to answer the question of which joys we should pursue, we see that God has commanded us to rejoice in Him to the utmost - and that to rejoice more greatly in other things is sin. It's not that other pleasures are inherently bad, or that our desires for them are too strong; it's that other pleasures are ultimately inferior to God, and our desires are too easily satisfied. The goal of our obedience to God is not to deny ourselves all pleasure, but to glorify God's name above all else by rejoicing in Him above all else. For while the things of this world can make us happy, the greatest and everlasting joy is found in Christ. 

The Surprising Difference Between Stewardship and Charity

Today’s American churches face a crisis that prevents financial sustainability. Many believers regard their resources as their own and are often resistant to giving back to the local churches that nourish their spiritual health. However, rather than viewing life’s blessings as our own, scripture teaches us that God is sovereign over everything in life, which means we are in fact, stewards of what God provides. When the question is not about how much we can give, but how much of God’s provision we should keep, our relationship with, say, our finances, careers, and opportunities, becomes about how we can glorify God with what we’re given.

 

A habit called Faith

Many of us wish to have stronger faith; faith that can move mountains and bless multiple generations. As faith is a measure of our spiritual habits, to get there, we must pick up good spiritual habits. This does not happen instantaneously, but requires deliberate action, because many of us rely on bad spiritual habits, such as venting our frustrations, to seek instantaneous relief rather than real change. However, in times of adversity, if we deliberately put our hearts into God's hands with all our mind and strength, then we will slowly but surely grow in faith. Indeed, we can do so even with little faith, as no matter how small our faith is, or how big our bad habits are, God will always be just a prayer away.

A New Creation in Christ: Embracing the New Identity Versus the Old

With the myriad ways we describe ourselves and define our identities, one voice tends to stand out above the rest: our past. How we perceive ourselves given our past mistakes, shortcomings, and histories seems to manifest in our behaviors, actions, and most evidently in how we treat ourselves. However, every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. Although it’s easy to believe that all we are stems from our past, as new creations in Christ and through our relationship with Him, we can find assurance in the promise that our identities are in the hands of the author and perfecter of our lives.

Just a glimpse of God, the Father’s heart.

In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus shares with us a glimpse of who God the Father is. The parable tells of a father whose son leaves with his inheritance, wastes it, and is insincere in repenting his sin. However, rather than punishing the son upon his return, the father unabashedly runs to embrace him. Thinking of ourselves as the prodigal son, we realize that the father's true heart is not in the inheritance given, but in the compassion in loving his son so mercifully. If we pay similarly close attention in our own lives, we see more than mere blessings and God's providence. We see the very heart of God, His deep thoughtfulness and perfect love for us.

The Foundation of Gospel Renewal

Sometimes we become too confident in our own abilities or our own morality and forget that we are saved by grace and not by good works. In Ephesians, Paul reminds us that we were, finally and unequivocally, dead in our sins with no hope of ever redeeming ourselves. It was in this direst of states that Jesus offered us the gift of salvation. Thus, we should not view the Gospel merely as advice to live our lives well, but embrace it and cling to it as our only hope and salvation. In addition, as Jesus gave us this gift out of His goodness rather than our own, we should feel justified to come to church as we are no matter the demons we're facing, and in turn welcome others to church as they are.

Martus: Witness

Martus is the Greek word for witness, and it is used in situations when a witness is called upon to serve as evidence of an event. More specifically, in scripture, God raises leaders and appoints them as chief witnesses to remind the Israelites of who God is through their testimony of God’s steadfast love. Just like the disciples and the pharisees who were in sight of the perfect witness of God in Jesus, we can also fail to understand God’s love. Our witness isn’t important because our experience or our words matter, but because through the process of sharing testimonies about God, we open ourselves to the possibility of being reminded of the hope and promises of God for us.

Ruthlessly Reveling in Unhurried Time

What are your values? It is this question that invites us into a deeper examination of our stated beliefs and intentions. We tend to take our claimed beliefs at face value. But beneath the surface of our words, our actions truly reveal what we believe. In the effort to love Christ and live as called by the gospel, we must honestly assess our thoughts and actions in order to challenge the insidious hustle culture that usurps intimacy in our relationships. As 1 John 4:19 states, “We love because He first loved us.” Actively bearing the values of the gospel we claim as our own requires the call to behold the beauty of Christ.

Ruthlessly Eliminating Hurry

We tend to hurry through life because we believe our hurriedness leads to greater productivity. But hurrying does not make us more efficient or effective in accomplishing things; nor are efficiency and efficacy what God calls us towards. In fact, hurrying often leads us to hurt people whom we mean to love. Just as Mary rested at Jesus' feet instead of stressing over peripheral details as Martha did, we are called to simply be present and not miss God's presence and movement in our lives.