love

The Gift of Unimaginable Price

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

The first Good Friday felt anything but good.

I try to imagine it, but I can’t. Any one of the events Jesus faced in the 24 hours before His death would have been too much for me. Betrayed. Abandoned. Humiliated. Arrested. Unfairly tried and convicted.

The torture Jesus endured at the hands of the Romans… I won’t recount it here. The fact that Jesus even made it to Golgotha alive is astounding. The brutality of it all is too much to even imagine. The pain Jesus – perfectly Holy Jesus Christ, untouched by sin – went through to take on my sin…

But the worst had to be the feeling of being abandoned by His Father.

Put it all together and you have the reward of sin. Unimaginable pain. Loneliness beyond belief. Humiliation. Sorrow. Death.

But when you look at Jesus taking all of that sin for us.

For me.

For you.

That is the reward of love. We don’t deserve it. But it is a gift. We can’t earn love. But Jesus gave us the gift of love on that cross. It is free, yet far more precious than anything on earth. It is a gift beyond price.

I cannot imagine how Jesus felt on that first Good Friday. But I have to try, so I can understand the great price of His gift. Jesus Christ – God incarnate – gave us Himself. Willingly. Without a second thought. He took on the unimaginable, so we don’t have to. He made a way for us that would be otherwise utterly impossible.

The first Good Friday felt anything but good. But just wait until the third day.

Family Affair

/ Chris Courtney / 1 Comment

By National Cancer Institute – This image was released by the National Cancer Institute, an agency part of the National Institutes of Health, with the ID 2716 (image) (next)., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24036618

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:12-15 (ESV)

A dear friend of mine once shared with me something his great-grandmother used to say: “Family should live far enough away that they need to dress up to see each other.” While I can’t tell you I exactly agree with her sentiment, it still makes me chuckle.

Family politics can be tough waters to navigate. Nothing stings like familial strife, disagreement, disappointment, insults or ill-treatment. As family, we should always have each other’s backs. It’s hard to do that when one feels that’s where a loved one has stuck the knife.

Squabbles and quibbles are commonplace in many families. Just because people share DNA doesn’t necessarily mean they always share values, worldviews, ideas, ideals… If anyone believes the Cleavers, Bradys or Waltons exemplify real family life, they are sorely misled and naive.

Here’s the thing, friends: we are called to forgive. We are called to love. Which means we need to remember what love is:

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a (ESV)

We cannot control how other people (re)act. We can’t control their feelings. We can’t manage their beliefs. We cannot undo what’s been done or said.

But we can control our (re)actions. We can choose to love despite feeling hurt or disappointed. We can opt to forgive instead of bearing a grudge. We can try to empathize and understand instead of responding with our own hurtful or spiteful words and deeds. We can reject the notion that we are right to not forgive. We can walk through life refusing to feel slighted, or cheated, or unappreciated, or ignored, or jealous, or vengeful, or __________________ (fill in the blank with any negative emotion you feel).

We can choose to love even if we’re not feeling the love. Even if forgiveness is never asked for or offered. Even if we feel so wronged that those who hurt us are undeserving of forgiveness.

Don’t take the enemy’s bait. He loves seeing families divided and destroyed by bitterness and hurt. Choose the better path: walk in love and forgiveness, as Jesus did. If you can mend the hurts, do so. If you can’t, you can still love and forgive and refuse to be led by unforgiving emotions. Unforgiveness only hurts the one refusing to let go of the grudge, not the offender.

Some hurts are too big to heal quickly. Some relationships may never be the same again. But remember… we – you – are loved by God to a degree no human – relative or not – could ever love anyone. It is impossible to earn love. And, thank the Lord for that because, if anyone ever had a right to not forgive, it’s Jesus. And yet He loves, forgives and restores us fully, despite our sins and failures.

Today, if you are holding on to bitterness or hurt or unforgiveness, please let it go. Make the choice to follow Christ and forgive. Love.

After all, as H.I. McDonnough (from the movie Raising Arizona) quipped in response to his wife’s complaint about their dysfunctional home life: “Well… it ain’t Ozzie and Harriet!”

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:14-21 (ESV)

I Hear the Train A-Comin’

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
It will be healing to your flesh
    and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:5-8 (ESV)

I think this picture is a fair representation of the world today. Don’t you?

Life can feel so out of control.

Troubles all around the world (Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Russia, China, Taiwan, Iran, etc. etc.),

AI.

Political shenanigans (on all sides – no finger pointing).

Violence on the rise.

People divided by racism, by religion, by politics, by economic status, by social status…

Noisy protests, counterprotests, protests against protests…

A Frasier reboot without Niles Crane.

The world has become such a scary place that one major online news outlet has a special link to stories about “extreme weather”.

Doom and gloom abound.

But, read this: we have no reason to fear.

Let me repeat: we have no reason to fear.

Why is that? Only God is sovereign.

What does that mean? It means God is in full control, and we are not.

It means “our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases” (Psalm 115:3, ESV).

It means “the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9, ESV).

It means God knows what He’s doing, and who are we to question His wisdom and ways. Romans 9 lays this out for us.

We are not in control. And that’s good news because it appears the engineer has jumped off the screaming disaster-bound locomotive.

We are not omniscient. We don’t know all the facts, nor do we know what’s going to happen in five seconds, let alone tomorrow. Nor are we omnipotent. We cannot thwart God’s will. Likewise, we are not omnipresent. We are bound by physical limitations, whereas God sees everything, everywhere, at all times past, present and future, laid out before Him. He is absolutely boundless and beyond our comprehension.

God is in control. We need to trust Him in all things great and small, personal and worldwide, for everything is in His hands. No matter how dire circumstances may seem. No matter how hopeless it all appears.

And God loves us. He offers us forgiveness, strength, peace, grace, hope, direction… everything we need. Don’t trust in what you feel. Don’t let fear, anxiety or worry grab hold of you. Pray with expectancy, thanksgiving and faith. Trust in God. Focus on Him and know it’s all OK.

Knowing God

/ Chris Courtney / 2 Comments

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
   and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
   and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

For Christmas, my parents got me a copy of J.I. Packer’s Knowing God – a book I would heartily recommend to anybody seeking to deepen their study of God and His Word.  As I was reading this morning, I stopped to ponder a question he posses: why do I study the Bible?  And what do I intend to do with what I learn?  I must admit, there is a temptation for me to learn simply for the sake of feeling smarter.  But, really, where is the benefit in being a theological Cliff Claven?

Packer writes, “If we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us.  It will make us proud and conceited.”  I pray that is not me.  While the temptation exists, my reasons for studying theology is two-fold: one, to be equipped to be a better teacher of the Gospel, for I am very aware of the warning of James 3:1.  The other is to know God better.  Not simply to know Him, but to develop a deeper relationship with my Creator and Savior.

It is truly amazing that we are able to have a personal relationship with the One True God and Creator of All.  It’s why we do not worship idols made for God (well, we’re not supposed to anyway).  We do not need an idol representative of God.  We can approach God Himself, for He approaches us.  We can have a relationship with God.

We can have a relationship with GOD.  God.  Think about that for just a moment.  Anything that exists, has ever existed, or ever will exist is from God.  Every human being in history existed because of God.  Every planet is aligned where it is because of God.  Every snowflake owes its intricacy to God.  There is absolutely nothing created that does not owe its creation to the Lord God, Creator of all.

But, He didn’t just create it all and abandon creation.  God is our sustainer as well.  He is active in every aspect, no matter how big, no matter how detailed.  This God, whose immenseness is far beyond our grasp, whose magnitude (which, when pondered, is a sure cure for human ego), desires to have a relationship with us.

With me.

With you.

And relationships require trust.  In order to trust someone, you need to know them.  And how do we get to know God?  By studying His Word.

Today, I want to encourage you to develop the habit of prayerfully getting to know God a little better each day.  Spend five minutes in the Bible every day.  You will find that you crave that time, and five minutes will become ten, then twenty…. and you will notice your trust in God, your relationship with the Trinity, growing deeper ad strengthening daily.

Now… what are you waiting for??  Go grab that Bible and prayerfully get to know our Creator better!

A Simple Antidote for the Wintertime Blues

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

Winter days get me down.  It’s cold and nasty out.  The walls of our little townhouse start to close in.  Even the dog and cats are little crabbier during these cold winter evenings.  If I allow it, life can easily get me down this time of year.

What I have to do is remind myself of this simple fact:

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. “ – Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

Being self-absorbed in our troubles is a dangerous place to hang out.  Boredom doesn’t help.  But the truth of our situations is simply that, despite how we feel, no matter how things look, we have cause to celebrate.  And, if we look hard enough, we can see that our blessings truly outweigh the negative in our lives. 

I look across the room at my beautiful wife, smiling and lovely, who loves me and supports me and takes such good care of me.  I would not be the man I am were it not for her.  I love her so much.

I look on the floor of our living at my beautiful four-year-old son, chatting away with his mother as he busily tends to his train set.  I think of the difficulties we endured to get him, and the great blessing that he is, and the faithfulness and grace and mercy of our loving Heavenly Father who saw us through the process, and blessed us with Austin.  He is the light in his mother and I’s life.

I look at the walls and give thanks that I have walls, and heat, and all of the comforts we take for granted.  I am sure I wouldn’t have to drive very far to find someone who does not have the basics of a home, let alone all these creature comforts.

I look at my feet, wrapped in the Indianapolis Colts / IU blanket my mother made for me two Christmases ago, and I think of my family and how blessed I am to be so loved, and how much I love all of them.

I realize how blessed I am and am amazed because, as blessed as I am, all of this pales in comparison to the great gift of God through Jesus Christ.  I am saved, and bathed in love, grace and mercy because of God’s great love for me.  I can trust the Lord with my very life.  He will never fail.  He will never abandon me.  He is all we truly need, for all good things are through Him, our Heavenly Father.

I can sit here and grumble about the cold, about my circumstances, about grievances or hurts or troubles or fears.  Or, I can look at the reality of my situation through the eyes of Truth:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” – Philippians 4:8 (ESV).

Blessed…

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

“And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed…’” – Matthew 5:2 (and the first word of 3) (ESV)

I am so excited!  This Saturday I will begin an earnest, long, deep study of the Sermon on the Mount.  I am gathering research material and preparing my heart to hear what God has to say in these three amazing chapters of Matthew.  The fact is that the core – the very heart and definition – of Christianity is contained in these passages.  I have always been intrigued by the structure of these chapters, how they build in blocks on one another (the Beatitudes forming a foundation to build upon).  I am quite eager to dig deeper.

Tonight, as I was reading John Wesley’s notes on the gospel of Matthew, something struck me.  He writes that “to bless men, to make men happy, was the great business for which our Lord came into the world” (Wesley’s Notes on the Bible, p.17).  In 1755, when Wesley wrote this, I’m not sure that happiness meant quite the same thing it does today, with our modern preoccupation with comfort. 

But Christ surely came to bless us with unspeakable joy and amazing grace and boundless love.  It is beautiful to find that Jesus began laying out the foundation of what it means to be a Christian by teaching us who is blessed (and, by implication, who is not – even though, by the world’s terms, it would appear Christ got it backwards).

Blessed indeed we all are who follow Jesus Christ.  Blessed in ways we cannot even imagine.  Blessed in ways the world cannot see.  Blessed in the truest sense of the word.

Sing to the LORD, all the earth!
   Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations,
   his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
   and he is to be held in awe above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
   but the LORD made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him;
   strength and joy are in his place. – 1 Chronicles 16:23-27 (ESV)

Here… have some poison…

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32 (ESV)

If I offered you a bowl full of poison and a spoon, would you sit down and eat it?  Of course not!!  But, consider this… every grudge we hold, every ounce of unforgiveness, every little drop of bitterness is poison.  It rots our souls and kills us spiritually. 

Here is the problem, at it’s heart.  We have a relationship with God because Jesus came to earth to act as the propitiation for our sins.  Propitiation is a big word – a legal term – that means, through the act of forgiveness performed by Jesus Christ on the cross for all of us, our status is changed from utterly guilty to innocent.  Not only forgiven, but cleansed.  Our record is expunged in God’s eyes.  The Lord holds no grudge, bears no memory of the wrongs each of His children has committed against Him.

When we refuse to forgive somebody, when we choose to bear a grudge, we are not walking in the light of Christ.  In fact, we are doing just the opposite.  We are choosing to walk away from Jesus.  Every act of revenge – even what we think is the smallest word of unkindness uttered about somebody we feel bitterness toward – takes us farther from God. 

Don’t think God takes (un)forgiveness this seriously?  Think again.  Think back to the Lord’s Prayer, which you have probably repeated, and truly think about this one line:

“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).  (Or, if you’re more comfortable, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”)

Jesus goes on to explain, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15, ESV).  That’s pretty serious stuff.  That means our forgiveness hinges on whether we choose to begrudge others and harbor bitterness.  Is it worth it?

Unforgiveness does more harm to the one holding the grudge than the object of the anger.  It blocks us from giving and receiving love and grace. If we think about people we have known in our lives, who were the most miserable?  Those who couldn’t let go of the wrongs they felt had been committed against them.  Letting go can be tough.  But forgiveness isn’t merely a matter of passively saying, “OK, I forgive you.”  True forgiveness is a willful act of not only forgiving the debt, but forgetting that it is owed to you.  Forgiveness is choosing to put down the bitterness that poisons your spirit – indeed, your very being.

We are called to be “rooted and grounded in love” (Ephesians 3:14, ESV).  This leaves no room for bitterness and unforgiveness.  Jesus equates hatred with murder – says they are one and the same.  In Christ, there is life.  If you are feeling unforgiveness toward anybody, go to the Lord.  Ask for strength and grace to help you through, and revel in the sweet release of forgiveness.  Feel love and mercy swell up in your soul and bask in the joy of the glory of the Lord!

Watch Out For That Car!

/ Chris Courtney / Leave a comment

 “ ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything.” – 1 Corinthians 6:12 (ESV).

“ ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.  Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” – 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (ESV).

Grace frees us from the Law, but that doesn’t mean we are free to sin.  Grace frees us by changing our view from feeling compelled to follow the letter of the Law to wanting to love others and naturally following the Law thusly.  We are no longer motivated to simply avoid punishment.  Love now guides us to grace, because our minds and hearts are set on Jesus Christ and following the entirely selfless model He presented us. The Law (as laid out in the Old Testament) is a set of precepts designed to guide and teach us right from wrong.  Grace (as presented throughout the New Testament) is more a natural law – God’s non-legalistic way of doing things.

Not only that, but when we follow God’s precepts in love, we walk in wisdom.  Living a wisely-guided life benefits not only us, but others in our lives.  Wisdom and love equip us in our walk with Christ, enabling us to set a Godly example for others.

Look at it like this.  By law, pedestrians have the right-of-way.  However, one would not want to intentionally step out in front of a moving vehicle.  Why?  Even though it was permissible, walking into the path of a speeding car is definitely not “helpful” – to the pedestrian or the motorist.  The “natural law” of physics trumps the traffic regulations. 

By acting in wisdom and love, we put the betterment of others before ourselves.  It is important that we set the right example – for others and ourselves.  We never want to lead someone astray by our actions.  For example: you’re going out to eat with a friend.  You order a beer with your dinner.  Did you just sin by drinking one beer?  Not necessarily.  However, what effect is that one beverage having on your witness?  What if your friend interprets your actions as a green-light to overindulge?  It is far better to do without the indulgence that to risk leading someone to harm or offense.  Your witness as a Christian and your love walk are far more important.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.” – 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (ESV).