Monday, March 30, 2009

A Broken Upper Hand...

A Demon Conquered…

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross…”

-Colossians 2 v 13-15


For those of you who have read my blogs before, you’ll know that I tend to ask some of the biggest questions in the spiritual realm, and try to answer them within a single post. However, the question that I am asking now is so big that it would be impossible to answer it within one post…

“Who is Jesus, and what has he accomplished?”

Over the next 12 weeks or so, I plan on answering that very question. And today we’re going to begin by looking at a defeat…

Who really is to blame for all the evil in the world? Ambiguous question I know, but realistically there are two answers. The first is ourselves, human beings, and the selfishness and lust for control over our own lives. And all of this can be traced back to the very beginning of existence, right back to the Garden of Eden. But while I am not saying to negate ourselves as a cause of evil, there was one who gave us the temptation in the first place…

Satan…The Dragon…The Serpent…The Enemy…The Devil…The Tempter…The Murderer…The Father of Lies…The Adversary…The Accuser…The Destroyer…The Evil One…

All names that Satan has been called throughout the Bible. He seeks nothing but power over our lives, and our destruction. That is his reason for being, nothing more. When he rebelled against our Father, he turned his back on everything right in the world, and at the same time, turned his towards his own bloody judgement at our God’s hands.

But as in his nature, he knew that God loves us, and so wishes to break this bond between us and God, and so appointed two generals to take care of this; Death and Sin. And both have been working 24/7 in our lives, since Eve tasted the forbidden fruit.

At the sight of his beloved children turning away from their loving Father, God’s heart was broken. For thousands of years, God required the sacrifice of a lamb in order for us to atone for our sins against Him.

To all who saw, it seemed as if Satan had won.

Even seeing God’s rescue plan through Jesus, Satan scoffed at this, knowing that he would kill God’s last ditch attempt of rescuing His people, and that is exactly what happened…

The Cross…

What Satan thought would be his final victory…

Would turn out to be his greatest mistake…

“Seeing Jesus alive, the Great Dragon snatched you as his captive, drew his sword of the law, covered with the blood of your sin, and thrust its razor-sharp point at your head, naming every sin you have committed along with the name of every boy who ever touched you. Smiling, Jesus stepped forward and declared that he already paid the penalty for your sins on the cross, cancelled any right Satan had to hold you captive, and defeated your Enemy along with his servants and their works and effects in your life.”


We are finally known.
We are finally loved.
We are finally safe.
We are finally free.


Jesus, through his death, had broken the helm of Hell, and destroyed Satan’s chains holding us. Through his unparalleled love, he crushed the head of the Dragon underneath his feet, as he freed us from our chains… This is the first act of the cross, the death of Satan…

But there is more than that. Even though Jesus has won, Satan continues to work in this world. I think from previous blogs that we’ve explored this concept a number of times. I can personally speak of this scenario, that while we have victory in Christ, Satan continues to pull us away from God, drawing our love and mind to the things of this world…

His agents are still at work in this world. And while I’m not saying that every single sin is caused by the infestation of a demon, it does bear some thinking. The definition of a demon, or one of the definitions, is “an evil passion or influence.” And while this does hold truth, does it contain another layer? After all, sin is, at its root, an evil passion.

But we, who are in Christ, no longer need to fear the work of Satan, nor that of his agents;

“Then Jesus came up and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” – Matthew 28 v 18…

We who are by grace citizens of Jesus’ kingdom will never again have to obey the Dragon’s orders, satisfy his desires, or live as his captives. We are free. Finally, we can live as Colossians 1 v 10-14 says and;

“…live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins…” – Colossians 1 v 10-14

So how do we combat Satan in this spiritual war? Pray offensively, meet regularly with friends and talk about things going on in your lives, don’t be afraid of Satan and his lies to a degree where that fear is what is controlling your life…and finally;

Let Him be the Nexus in your Life…

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you…” – Romans 16 v 20



Excerpts taken from "Death By Love" by Mark Driscoll...

A Last Word Or Seven...

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” - Luke 23 v 24. Those who crucified Jesus were not aware of the full scope of what they were doing because they did not recognize Him as the Messiah. While their ignorance of divine truth did not mean they deserved forgiveness, Christ’s prayer in the midst of their mocking Him is an expression of the limitless compassion of divine grace..." Word of Forgiveness...

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" - Luke 23 v 43. In this passage, Jesus is assuring one of the criminals on the cross that when he died, he would be with Jesus in heaven. This was granted because even at the hour of his death, the criminal had expressed his faith in Jesus, recognizing Him for who He was... (Luke 23 v 42)" Word of Salvation...

“Dear Woman, here is your son!” and “Here is your mother!” When Jesus saw His mother standing near the cross with the Apostle John, whom He loved, He committed His mother’s care into John’s hands. And from that hour John took her unto his own home. (John 19 v 26-27) In this verse Jesus, ever the compassionate Son, is making sure His earthly mother is cared for after His death..." Word of Comfort...

“I am thirsty” - John 19 v 28. Jesus was here fulfilling the Messianic prophecy from Psalm 69 v 21: “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” By saying He was thirsty, He prompted the Roman guards to give Him vinegar, which was customary at a crucifixion, thereby fulfilling the prophecy..." Word of Humanity...

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” - Mathew 27 v 46. Here, Jesus was expressing His feelings of abandonment as God placed the sins of the world on Him – and because of that, God had to “turn away” from Jesus. As Jesus was feeling that weight of sin, He was experiencing a separation from God for the only time in all of eternity..." Word of Division...

“It is finished!” - John 19 v 30. Jesus’ last words meant that His suffering was over and the whole work His Father had given Him to do, which was to preach the Gospel, work miracles, and obtain eternal salvation for His people, was done, accomplished, fulfilled. The debt of sin was paid..." Word of Atonement...

“Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit” - Luke 23 v 46. Here, Jesus is willingly giving up His soul into the Father’s hands, indicating that He was about to die – and that God had accepted His sacrifice..." Word of Commitment...

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Slight Postponement...

Apologies, but my brain has shut down, and I can't write anything cohesive tonight...

Blame Damo, the Gospel of Mark, and the adventures of the manly Jack Bauer for keeping me up until 3 in the morning...

I promise the first post will be up tomorrow at some satge...

Ohh, and I plan on posting a video after each post with a similar sort of theme as the post...

Sunday, March 22, 2009

A Journey's Beginning...

As we grow up, we hear a lot of stories. Some that make us laugh, some that make us cringe, some that make us joyous, and some that make us saddened. I think the greatest story ever told, and many of you will agree, is that of Jesus. And nothing is as poignant than his death on the cross. Many of you have heard this story told time and time again, yet rarely do we hear it in its most defined detail.

Some of you may be familiar with crucifixion, and some of you may not. It is quite possibly the most horrid form of torture known to man. The sheer amount of energy need to lift the body up in order to breathe is humongous. And while that happens, the nails driven into the body begin to tear and rip the bones from ligaments, muscles and other body parts. In some instances, in order to speed up the process, the guards would break the victim's legs, giving him no way to push up to breathe. To be hung on a cross is said to be a curse from God...And even before the crucifixion, the torture that victims would sustain may have even been to great for them to even make it to the cross. The cat-o-nine-tails would rip, break and tear the skin away from the victims back, exposing vital organs and sensory nerves...

Why am I talking about this? Many people believe that the death of Jesus is the sugar-coated version we hear as a kid. Its not. Far from it. The death and execution of Jesus was the bloodiest, most grotesque sight and event in all of human history. So horrible, that because of the event, we now how the word "excruciating." And yet it is here that the greatest victory of all was won. Jesus defeated death, sin and Satan, all in one fell swoop.

But what exactly does the cross mean? We all know that because of Jesus' death, our sins are forgiven. But what were the actual consequences of the event? That's what I'm going to be exploring over the next 13 weeks. I'll be looking at what Jesus is to us, the average Joe, and how we can see and apply this in our lives. It's called "Death By Love." I hope you can join me for this journey. Its going to be one exciting journey.

Check this out weekly for the next installment.

Nexus

"Let Him be the Nexus in your Life..."

-Reference for the series is from the book "Death By Love: Letters From The Cross" by Mark Driscoll. I implore you to get this book...after the series is over of course!:P

Sunday, March 15, 2009

I'm Back...

I wanted to avoid the cliché "I'm Back" title, but it fits too perfectly here.

So yes, after a two month break, Nexus is back on the air! Or internet, or whatever. Tonight's post really is just to say I'm back. I still have to get into the routine of coming up with an idea of sorts. Sorry if you were expecting me back on my old form. Don't worry, next week, or maybe over the next couple days, I'll have something a bit longer.

I just want to say thanks to all of you who have supported me over the break I took. Most of you know that I was having a difficult time with my faith, and so I decided to take a break. However, while I'm still not quite who I once was, I do feel up to posting again. I really owe quite a lot to you, my friends for getting me through this difficult time. Thank you.

Posts should be on a weekly basis, but depending on how things go, I may resort to a bi-weekly posting schedule.

Well that's all for the moment. It's great to be back!

And remember;

Let Him be the Nexus of your life.

Ciao!