Journey to The Journey

The greatest need for idolatrous man is the Gospel. However, far too often, the true Gospel that they need is replaced with some other false gospel. In churches, on the street corner, and in "Christian" books, false gospels like easy-believism, the prosperity gospel, the self-help gospel, and other distortions of the Christian faith are being proclaimed and heralded. Instead of helping, these erroneous and, dare I say, heretical, "re-imaginings" of the true teaching of scripture and our Lord Jesus Christ are selling their followers on a hope that doesn't deliver.

If you have questions about the Church, the best place to look for answers is within God's word. Jesus himself clearly and definitively establishes the marching orders for the Church just before his ascension when he delivers his Great Commission, which is recorded in the Gospels of Matthew (chapter 28), Mark (chapter 16), and Luke (chapter 24). The mission of the young Church (and to the Church today), according to Jesus, was to go and proclaim the Gospel (which literally means "good news") about him to all nations. Here the term "nations" doesn't refer to sociopolitical governments, but rather unique ethnic people groups.

In the midst of his desperate brokenness, David see's things clearly. Rather than attempting to fix things himself (and inevitably adding sin upon sin), he seeks God. Likewise, rather than fleeing from God, he runs to him. In both cases, David is changing direction. This is the definition of repentance. He was formerly moving away from God, but now is drawing closer to him. When we respond to God with genuine contrition, he is faithful to respond to us with grace and mercy.

One of the most indisputable truth claims in all of scripture is that of the absolute sovereignty of God. That the Lord is indeed almighty and sits enthroned at the apex of all creation is a fact worthy of affirmation, if ever indeed there were such a thing. However, while few would attempt to argue against the sovereignty of God, knowing the futility of doing so, we often are guilty of incorrectly and inaccurately applying that truth to our daily lives. Let's look at a few examples:

Worship is in our DNA, it is part of who we are and who we were created by God to be. Because we were designed to worship, yet live as sinners in a broken and fallen world, our worship often gets misdirected. We tend to, if we are being honest, worship the wrong things. Moreover, even when the object of our intended worship is correct (God), we struggle to worship rightly. These two errors are equally destructive to our spiritual vitality.

Perhaps the greatest example for us of a vibrant and effective prayer life is found in our Lord Jesus. Jesus put his prayer time - his quiet and personal time with his Father - above everything else. He would often retreat away from the crowds, and the distractions and demands of his earthly ministry, to be alone in prayer. In public, before he would teach important truths or perform miraculous signs and wonders, Jesus would take time to give thanks to God in prayer. Prayer marked the life of Jesus, and it was through prayer that he was blessed, encouraged, and strengthened by his Father.