Christianity

Failing, Falling and Living for Jesus

/ Neal Embry

I’m a sucker for those motivational speeches in sports movies. As canned and cheesy as they may be, I love it. There’s power in speech to move us to action and keep us going in life, and every now and then, you just need to hear Sylvester Stallone say, “It ain’t about how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”

I have been hit since I moved to Jonesboro. While I love my job, and I’m enjoying this fine city, spiritually…I’ve been decimated by the change, and I have failed to live the godly life God has called me to. I have allowed my job to take God’s place. I have allowed trivial things like sports, Netflix, and just the stress of living on my own to keep me from God’s Word, prayer and evangelism. I have struggled with anger, laziness, irritability, among other besetting, annoying sins.

It has been an exciting two and a half months, but it has also been a very rough, very difficult two months. Up until today, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. I wasn’t sure I would be able to continue living a vibrant, successful Christian life here, because so much has changed, and I was struggling.

It was easy to spend a lot of time in the Word in college and working part-time. It was easy to spend time listening to sermons, reading Christian books and discussing theology and what it meant to follow Jesus with Christian brothers and sisters over the last few years, going back to when I was saved. I had more time. I didn’t have to worry about a full-time job. I didn’t have to worry about paying bills, getting groceries, etc.

I realize for those reading this that you may laugh, and say “Welcome to life,” but please understand and think back to when you first stepped out into “adulthood.” It’s not so much that doing those things is difficult. In fact, I haven’t been delinquent on any bills; I haven’t missed a meal, and I’m doing relatively well at my job for a rookie reporter. It’s not that it’s hard, so much as it is that it takes up more time, and it changes my schedule (which is bad because I’m schedule-oriented), it changes the focal points of my life, and my reality and context is totally different than what it was at Montevallo and during my time in retail. And all of a sudden, reading the Bible is more of a chore. Sharing the gospel becomes just another thing to do. Worshiping God doesn’t sound as nice as watching Netflix or listening to the Hamilton soundtrack for the millionth time. And because I’m so caught up in my job, and this new life, God is hardly ever on the forefront of my mind. This leads to all sorts of sin.

What has to happen? Learning to live for God in a strange new context. Learning to do that which helps me live life like Jesus, knowing Him, thinking of Him, being like Him and sharing Him with others, in a new land. Luckily, there’s a biblical example of someone, really, someones, who did that.

Daniel and his friends were taken by the Babylonians during the exile. The king, Nebuchadnezzar, took him and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, better known as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were told to eat the king’s food, drink the king’s wine, study Babylonian culture and ultimately, worship Babylonian “gods.”

Daniel and his friends said no. Chapter 1, verse 9 says, “And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.” Daniel feared God, trusting that God would take care of him, and God responded by doing so. Daniel did not earn God’s grace, but understanding it caused him to live a life that honored God, despite being far from Israel.

In the same way, we must realize as Christians we are in a foreign land. We are not yet home. And I have recently allowed this temporary place to become home, and abandoned the passionate Christian life I lived before. Tonight that changes. I go back to consistent, engaged Bible study, passionate prayer, a mind stayed on God and His Word, a heart seeking opportunities to share the gospel, and a lifestyle that worships God and glorifies Him. This can only be done by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, so that’s what I’m praying for.

Christian, your home is not here. Your home, your citizenship, is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Join me in returning to a life that looks like that. Abandon a life centered on careers and entertainment and let’s center our lives on the eternal King.

Lord, may we love you more than life. May we center our lives on you. May we, in failing and falling, get up and return to you. May we trust in your grace to restore us, and may we live lives that glorify you.

God bless,

Neal E.

I will return to writing regularly on Wednesday mornings at 10 a.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m. this week unless otherwise noted. Your readership is greatly appreciated.

The Grace of God Changes our Identity: Eph. 5:1-2

/ Neal Embry

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”–Eph. 5:1-2

Two weeks ago, we discussed how Paul shows the church how God’s grace enables and commands us to lead holy lives. He continues that thread into chapter five, but before he continues his description of what believers’ lives should look like, he reminds the church of their new identity in Christ and calls them to a new life in response to it.

When you put your faith in Jesus, you didn’t just get forgiveness and a spot in heaven, as remarkable as that is. You got adopted by the God of the universe! How often we forget in our struggles and our sufferings that we are children of God. We are not God’s employees or simply God’s servants…we are His children!

We who deserve hell not only receive pardon and right standing with God, but we actually get adopted. Matt Chandler has described it like this: When God justifies us, that is, He forgives our sin, clothes us in Christ’s righteousness, and takes over as our God, He is acting as a judge. It’s best analogy is that of an employer and employee. I have had a good relationship with my bosses. There is nothing between us, and I have not been written up. However, I am not necessarily going to talk to them very often outside of work; I’m not going to hang out with them or have a personal relationship with them outside of work. This is similar to how God would be if He stopped at forgiving us and not counting us guilty. As amazing as that is, the gospel goes further than that.

As Chandler describes, God, as He forgives us and declares us righteous in Christ, takes off the judge’s robes and takes the role, not just of judge, but of Father. Now, we don’t just have forgiveness, we have fellowship. We don’t just have eternal life, we have an eternal Father who has called us into a life-changing relationship with Him. That’s why the difference between Christianity and other religions is a personal, life-changing relationship with Jesus. I usually hate cheesy phrases, and sometimes that gets thrown in that mix, but it is absolutely true.

And this new relationship brings new responsibilities.

We are to be “imitators of God.” All of the descriptions Paul gives of holiness is not to be done as just a to-do list as we said two weeks ago, but in an attempt to be who we are in Christ and glorify our Father. We want to glorify God, and how do we do that? We imitate Him.

And we walk in love. Jesus talked about this when He said the law can be summed up by “loving God” and “loving others like yourself.”

When we love God, we want to do what pleases Him. When we love God, we love what He loves, and we want to be with Him, and we naturally do what He calls us to do.

When we love others, we want to do what helps them, and we put their needs above our own. This is what Jesus did for us by dying for us on the cross.

So, for us who know the love of the Father, we honor God by imitating Him and doing what He calls us to do. And we honor Him by loving others by serving their needs.

There’s no A-B-C list of how to meet others’ needs. We simply must look around and see needs and meet them.

Lord, may we remember that we have been adopted, not merely forgiven. May we rejoice and rest in your love. May we have eyes that see others’ needs and meet them, so we imitate and honor you.

God bless,

Neal E.