Works.

I pray for this simply to be an exposition of the emptiness of a works based system in which we attempt to EARN salvation through the things we accomplish. Some of this may sound a bit familiar if you have read my posts in the past, but I pray we arrive upon an enlightened conclusion which impulses us to truth by the grace of his Word.

Should there be an eternity, the perceptions of how to attain it are as numerous as the stars. However, one prevailing thought seems to rise to the top within the modernized worldview of our culture, being this: Be good. Do good things, and hopefully the righteous will outweigh the depravity enabling one's soul to be justified eternally.

"None is righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10 ESV)

We will return here later, but to avoid being misheard I must quickly state that there lies a stark juxtaposition between BEING righteous, and living within righteousness.

Recently I had two Mormon missionaries knock on my door. Since I had a pocket of time, I invited them into my apartment to spend some time in discussion. After spending sometime talking through the divinity of Christ, we arrived at the topic of salvation, to which I inquired of how it could be attained. "Salvation is from grace, through faith, by good works." This sounded close to my own theology, but with enough contrast to stand completely separate from it, so I asked them to clarify.

"So there are things that I must do, actions I must live within, and deeds that I must perform in order to obtain salvation?"

There response was a quick yes, confirming my question, and claiming that works are indeed necessary to gain eternal life. Therein, biblically, lies the problem.

"For by GRACE that you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God, NOT A RESULT OF WORKS, so that no man can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)

See: Titus 3:5

See: 1 Peter 1:8-9

See Galatians 2:21

Sitting in my dining room, the two missionaries and I walked through this:

I broke every single on of the ten commandments by the time I was nine years old. Kindergarten ethics failed. At the time of my speaking this, they both looked at me as if I was insane, to which we jumped to Matthew 5, where Jesus states that to hate is to have killed in your heart, and to lust is to commit adultery. With that understanding, they seemed to reach a point where they understood that they were in the same boat. As are you. We. All. Have. Failed. We fall much short of the cross, much short of glory, and grace, which is why all three of them had to be given through the man of Christ.

It must be further expounded upon that if we all have failed miserably, how then can any works save us? Works are immensely important, and are truly a mark of a true believer, but can they SAVE?

See: Ephesians 2:10

See: Titus 3:9

See: James 2:17

See: 1 John 5:3

See: 2nd Corinthians 5:15

If they can, and we fail so often, how can one be legitimately secure in their salvation? They can't. Grace MUST fill the void as the scriptures point to. This grace is not to be taken advantage of, or abused. See: Romans 6:1-4 But because of his great love, we are to love him in return through righteous action. See: 1 John 3:18. Though none of us are born righteous, once sanctified we are entitled to live in righteousness having become a new creation. See: 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Should you be a skeptic, perhaps you have viewed the church as a legalistic set of responsibilities of which you wanted nothing to do with. I pray you would understand that this truly is not the heart of faith, and that the failures of man have set it askew. You do not have to be good enough to be loved and accepted by the God of the universe. In fact, the cross came to abolish that very thing.

Should you be a believer. May you never forget that it is the immeasurable grace of the Savior that saved you. Not your church attendance, and not your good deeds. Please. Continue in action, but may it be impulsed by love and not legalism.

Today we end, standing upon the cornerstone of which Paul ended almost everyone of his letters:

"The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you." (1 Corinthians 16:23 ESV)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen." (Galatians 6:18)

"Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible." (Ephesians 6:24)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Philippians 4:23)

"Grace be with you." (Colossians 4:18)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." (1st Thessalonians 5:28)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all." (2nd Thessalonians 3:18)

"Grace be with you." (1st Timothy 6:21)

"The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you." (2nd Timothy 4:22)

"Grace be with you all." (Titus 3:15)

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Philemon 1:25)

Grace. It is all that saves. May we all accept it.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory.

-Matt Allen

Evil.

Terrible things happen. Everyday. This simply cannot be mistaken for sin’s ineluctable blemish upon our days is seen everywhere our eyes turn to. Amidst the glory of the world’s beauty lies the deterioration of it in every way. Whether this is unbelievable acts of nature, which destroy hundreds of thousands of lives, or men acting upon sinful impulses that not even the depraved world understands, evil often seems to prevail. How can this be so when a good, just, creator God fashioned the beginnings of everything? The following example most assuredly will not suffice for our finite thinking minds, and simply putting it into words doesn’t mean that it’s not something that I myself struggle with, but the Bible does seem to comprehensively present it to us

“And his disciples asked him ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents but that the work of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:2-3 ESV)

Here it is. Bad things happen for the same reason that good things happen: that in all things God, the creator, sustainer, whom is all-sufficient and good will be glorified. As stated earlier, this makes no sense to our humanistic, time bound, finite minds. The truth is that we fight this concept until we see the glory and redemption. For years I am sure that the blind man in John 9 searched for WHY he was born blind. Yet in the moment of his healing, grace and redemption shone through years of misunderstanding to bring forth the truth. All things, whether good or bad in the eyes of man occurs to bring God, good and true, glory.

See: Genesis 19:30-38

On the heels of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Lot’s daughters find themselves in an interesting situation. With no man to help them birth a child in order to continue their family decent, they decide the most appropriate decision is to get their father drunk, and rape him in order to impregnate themselves. Awful. Disgusting. Seemingly quite glory-less to say the very least. Yet each of these two daughters birthed a son, on of them being Moab, the father of the Moabites.

See: The book of Ruth.

Ruth was a Moabite. Who was Ruth? The wife of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse.

Jesse. The father of King David, and the bloodline to the man Christ.

We find this awful, terrible event in history which plays a part in the Messiah entering the planet, needing of salvation.

God. Will. Have. His Glory.

See: Psalms 46:10

See: Luke 19:40

See: Mark 4:35-41

“He said to them ‘Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40)

Truthfully, considering the prior circumstances the disciples found themselves in, I once found these words harsh. Should the wind be fierce enough to almost capsize a full sized boat, which was filling with water, and I found Jesus sleeping in the stern, I know I may have been a found bit doubtful myself. Yet growing up, and reading this story, I think I often missed the first words Jesus spoke in the passage.

“Let us go across to the other side.” (Mark 4:35)

Through the bad, through the good, mountain high or valley low, rain or shine, pain or contentment, I am, and we are, His. His glory will not always be evident, and our depravity often blurs his divinity. Yet, in all things, he stands alone good. May we be of those who live and love in his goodness, though it may not be seen.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and glory.” (1 Peter 1:8)

Should you be a skeptic, it may be due to an event. Something which happened in the storm, from which you have shook your finger at God in anger which has fed disbelief. To you, I am sorry, and am praying that his glory will be shown so that you, like the blind man may stand upon understanding and redemption within his unexplainable grace.

Should you be a believer, may we be of people who stand in faith in the storms. May we not forget his goodness and blame him for the repercussions of the fall. He is ever faithful, we are never faithful. May we sit in his goodness and inquire only of ourselves in regards to our faithfulness when we fail to see his.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory.

-Matt Allen

Movement.

Simply put, this post is going to take a brief departure from the route that I've been taking in my writing, and so I pray you will still find it appealing and enjoyable. I pray that, having read these words will impulse you to action, to steadfastness, and to love. Please give me your thoughts!

"What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice." (Philippians 1:17 ESV)

This past Monday night I made the hundred mile drive to Waco, Texas to attend Vertical Ministries led by Afshin Ziafat.

(See his story here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0XvEaVcf3A&feature=related)

I've known Afshin for a couple years, and am always absolutely moved by the words the Spirit leads him to, and couldn't miss the chance to worship with Shane and Shane.

Needless to say, I made the trek.

Upon realizing I needed gas, I pulled into the closest Chevron I saw and proceeded to run inside to make payment for the gas and to purchase a Five-Hour Energy for the ride home. As I was walking back to my car, a man driving an old beat up Ford Taurus drove in front of my car, perpendicular to it sitting at the pump. Being night, and traveling alone I was a bit wary as he called out:

"Hey... sir?"

His car was indeed old. Tan. And old. The driver side mirror was missing, and it seemed as if the vehicle had sat near one too many little league batting practices. As I approached the vehicle I saw not only a weary looking man in his mid-thirties or so, but also his three year old son, whom barely looked big enough to be sitting in the front seat. The back seat could not hold him though, for it was full of belongings.

"Hey man, what's going on?", I respond.

"Is there any way you can point us in the direction of Buda?"

Knowing all too well the drive from Dallas to San Antonio, I knew that Buda was a city south of Austin, to which I gave him brief directions continuing down I-35.

His next words have stayed with me, and still cut deep. Brian, the man's son, had sported an amazingly bright child-like smile until this point in our encounter. Often, as we meet others in this lifetime whom need a bit of help navigating through this world, we find it easy to question their motives. Often we are unsure of their integrity, or their story, or if we are truly being of assistance or funding a beer jar. The conviction on this three year olds face spoke to me of the validity of the story that his father proceeded to tell.

"Awesome! Thanks so much!... I hate to ask, but... See this is Brian, and within the past week or so, our home has become a dangerous place for us to be..."

At this point, Brian had stopped smiling, and with somber expression simply nodded...

Also, I think at this point I may have been so moved because, whether I remember it or not, at one point of my life, I was that little boy.

"My wife has been struggling with addiction problems, and we just needed to get out. We're headed to my parents house in Buda, but only have a quarter tank to get there... Do you think there is any way you could help us with some gas?"

I immediately told him to pull up to a pump before I changed my mind. His integrity was confirmed to me as his three year old boy gave me a high five and said thank you. He also stated:

"Please, we don't need a full tank. Just enough to get us there..."

At this point I was finally able to get a couple words in, and stated:

"I have been given much from a man named Jesus. And in Him I live, and love, and give. It's my joy to give to you because I've been given to, and in it I hope you are blessed."

I put $15 dollars in his tank and asked if I could pray over him and his boy. He said yes, and yes please. I spoke over them words of the scripture, and prayed for protection, and providence and peace. Above all, I prayed, that the Lord would be glorified and shown through the situation. Upon ending the prayer, I received one more high-five from Brian, and parted ways with the two as they headed down to Buda.

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Truth is, I may never truly know if the man was telling the truth. I may never know if they made it to Buda, or if Buda was ever truly the destination.

Above all, the gospel moved.

I was able to participate in an event in which the name Jesus was spoken, and his cross glorified. Therefore, it matters not what the grounds were, nor the reason spoken. The gospel MOVED, and in the end, I find this fulfilling.

Should you be a skeptic, I am not convinced that increased knowledge and understanding shall ever be enough of an eye opener to reveal your eyes to the gospel of grace. Until then, I will be praying fervently for people of faith full of love that care for you more then themselves. For Christ cared more for you more then he cared for himself, (

See: The cross)

and believe it or not, his church is supposed to do as he did.

Should you be a believer. Be an active catalyst in MOVING the gospel. For any and every reason. Under any circumstance, may his gift and grace be breathed from you in word and deed. May you seek to see from his eyes, and live in such a way that says: "Whatever, wherever, whenever. I want Jesus."

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." (Hebrews 13:2 ESV)

May the word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory,

-Matt Allen

People.

While the population of Earth can be broken down into many different groups, sections and subsections pertaining to race, religion, wealth brackets, belief systems, and genders, we're going to inspect four groups of people in regards to their relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Essentially, and many subsections and variations arise from these four main sections, you will fall into one of four categories. The first is complete separation from God. This takes upon many faces, but all hold the same outcome. Secondly, you believe that a prayer saved you at Vacation Bible School, and due to grace and freedom in Christ you find yourself living whatever life style you would like to. Thirdly, and this can be all of us at one time or another, you find yourself living within goodness and righteousness, but for all the wrong reasons. Whether it be legalism, to be seen by men, or for selfish gain, the God whom dwells in unapproachable light has nothing to do with your righteousness. Lastly, and greatest of all, are those whom accept the grace of our forgiving Savior, and worship him because of it through grace driven effort.

To the skeptic, who stands apart from the risen Christ, the charge is simple. Seek him. One day you will. In fact, one day you will worship him and bow at the very sound of his name. For your sake, with love as my charge, I pray it is sooner than later.

See: Philippians 2:9-10

Should you truly have never heard it before, the gospel is this:

We, in our flesh have fallen and are sinful.

See: Romans 3:23

See: Ephesians 2:1-3

See: Your (admit it) depraved thoughts and heart.

Our sin separates us from the perfect Lord, and the price for our failings is the eternal manifestation of the separation we exhibit here on earth in hell.

See: Romans 6:23

Because of his great love for us, even while we sinned and turned away from him, he sent his son to be the reconciliation and to bridge the gap between our depravity and his perfection by dying on the cross to be the sacrifice for our sins.

See: John 3:16

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 ESV)

While you sin, and while you have sinned, he still loves you and died for you. You have never fallen too far from the grace of Christ.

See: Ephesians 2:4-10

You are blemished, you are fallen, and should your life end, you know you would stand unjustified in front of the Lord. Please, I beg of you to see the cross and find in it your salvation. He wishes not for you to attempt to clean yourself up before coming to him, he simply wants you to come. Should you find yourself with any question, please shoot me a message on Facebook, or respond below in the comments section. The cross stands sufficient.

Secondly, and this burdens me much, I believe that we will find those everywhere whom truly believe their eternal security does not lie in the balance. Possibly you were saved as a five year old, as I was, and think that a prayer after running down the isle saved you. Yet, should you pursue the scriptures, we'll find that a prayer NEVER saved a soul. The genuine, veritable belief in the thoughts and words and faith spoken in the prayer do. Paul addresses this when he asks the Romans:

"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2 ESV)

While works do not participate in the salvation of one's soul, they are the outpouring of true salvation.

See: John 14:15

See: 1 John 5:3

Test yourself here, and seek the scriptures in these regards. Are you truly justified in the face of the Savior? Did a prayer long, long ago TRULY hold the power to save you, without yielding any fruit in your life? Pray. Seek. Ask. Repent. Bluntly, your seeking my prove that you never obtained the salvation of the Christ in the first place, which is an extremely perilous situation to sit within.

See: Matthew 7:21-23

Thirdly, you may understand the inner-workings of grace and are knowledgeable of the Word of God. Maybe you know that Ephesians 2:8-9, "for it is by grace that you have been saved..." is quickly followed by Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS." Maybe you are fully aware that Titus 3:5 is shortly followed by Titus 3:9. You know and have read that "faith without works is dead." (James 2:17) and that the love of God is to keep his commandments. (1 John 5:3) Yet. Potentially, and probably you miss the second half of 1 John 5:3, which states: "And his commandments are not burdensome."

There is no worship without love, and if you have somehow fallen into the trap of acting within righteousness simply because you know you "have to", I fear you will find your offerings rejected.

See: Cain and Able

See: Hosea 6:6

See: Amos 5:21-25

Think of the difference between the child whom cleans his room out of frustration and obligation juxtaposed to the child who cleans his room because he knows it will please his mother. While both children's rooms will be cleaned, who's mother will be happier while watching their child?

Do you work for God in order to please man? This is no service whatsoever.

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10 ESV)

See: John 12:43

There stands a middle ground between legalism and license named love.

The ground upon which we all, myself included should strive to stand is one upon which we examine the grace and love of Christ, and instead of misusing, and abusing the grace and freedom we have been given, we allow it to impulse us to love him more and act out that love through grace driven effort. In this we work, not because we have to, but because the cross births in us a desire to. Do you work out your salvation because you have gone to church, and been told it is what you are to do? Seek him, find him good, and worship him because of it through action.

"Little children, let us not love in word or in talk but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18 ESV)

Where do you stand?

Should you be a skeptic: I plead with you to seek the Christ. I have no gain whatsoever your pursuit of the Lord, but should you be wrong in your standings and belief of the Savior, the repercussions are catastrophic. Jesus is the answer, the cross is the bridge, and the answer is found in the Word. Feel free to ask any questions on anything left vague or insufficiently explained.

Should you be a believer. First and foremost; are you truly a believer? How do you know? Are you counting on your church attendance to fill the void between your depravity and Christ's divinity? Why do you act? Is it out of love, or to be seen by man? Is your "love" really love? Seek his word, ask questions in the comment box or Facebook if need be, be square away the validity of the salvation on which your soul rests. Nothing could be of greater importance.

May the word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory,

-Matt Allen

Running.

Here we go.

Before jumping to the Word I want to briefly touch on some quick housekeeping issues of which several of you have brought to my attention: "Matt, you challenge me as a skeptic, yet approaching the scriptures from an infallible perspective does little for me finding them contradictory and invalid." Fair. Extremely fair. As a large advocate for the pursuit of knowledge I would charge you two action steps. Check out "A Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel who came to the truth of Christ after years of atheism. He has an entire chapter devoted to the validity of scripture on a historical level outside of the church and the faith. More than that however, because love surpasses knowledge, I would encourage you simply to approach the gospel with an action based conviction. Meaning that if Christ spoke, and he did: "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.", then test those words. Judge the authoritativeness of the Word simply by testing what it says and assessing the outcome. Meaning that for me, simply, this blog is an outlet to bring forth his Word, and the truths found therein. I may or may not ever write of the validity of the Bible, for I am a passionate believer that Christ reveals HIMSELF through his Word, leaving me with no job except to proclaim it. I hope this comes across clear, for it was not a brief as I had hoped.

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It's inside of grace that I find my home.

"But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13b-14)

We'll start here. Typically I think I would choose to close with this statement, but today I think we will begin with the end and work our way backwards.

Biblically, we are to pursue Christ in holiness.

See: 2nd Corinthians 5:14-15

See: Ephesians 2:1-10

See: 1 Timothy 6:11-12

See: Colossians 3:1-18

See: 1 Peter 1:14-16

Yet, as products of the fall, we will often fail.

See: 1 John 1:8

See: Romans 7:18-20

See: Any Biblical character, excluding Jesus. Or any church staff member. Or... anyone.

The truth of the fall is that Christ came to restore, reconcile and empower. Moreover, we do nothing but prove that we don't understand the gospel, grace, or the cross when we, having fallen, run from the all-knowing God in an attempt to clean ourselves up before pursuing his goodness. The cross stands sufficient.

Currently my favorite biblical example of Christ's full circle restoration is found in the story of the disciple Peter. In John 13:38 Christ looks at Peter, who had just professed his devotion, and says: "Will you lay your life down for me? Truly, truly, I say to you the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times." We see this prophesy brought to life in John 18:15-27, when Peter is approached by three different people in regards to his connection with the imprisoned Christ, and three times he denied the Messiah.

Very quickly, and carefully I would like to state that while I hold a firm belief that any, and all sin will damn us to eternal separation from God, I do believe that on a humanistic level, the blatant denial of the physical manifestation of God incarnate is a greater err than I believe is possible. I say this simply because the point of sin is only the separation between God and man, and I don't find any other sin that produces this direct effect than the statement of: "I don't know the Christ."

You have never fallen or run too far from the grace and love and pursuit of Christ.

See: John 3:16

See: Romans 8:37-39

See: James 4:7-8

John 21:15-17 shows the reconciliation of the risen Christ and Peter as three times, which happens to be the same amount of times that Peter denied his Savior, Christ accepts Peter's love.

"Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"

He said to him, "Yes Lord; you know that I love you."

He said to him, "Feed my lambs." (John 21:15b)

Lastly, and much of the book of Acts is an example of this, but after the fall of Peter, after the restoration of Peter, came the empowerment of Peter. In the book of Acts we find Peter say things, do things, and be a part of a movement that is rarely seen in church history. Literally the man, being so full of the Holy Spirit, mimics the signs of Christ healing the lame.

See: Acts 3:6

See: Acts 2:14-47

Here we close. Should you be a skeptic, possibly it is because you simply think that the things you have done define you. With the places you've been, and the things you have seen, a God, should there be one, could never love you. I want to encourage you with the fact that the God of the universe came to abolish that. It is within grace that we find our home, and this world and it's pleasures will never fill you to the extent of the one who made, created, and loves you in your failure.

Should you be a believer, accept your insufficiencies, repent and stand upon the grace which first saved you. We are not to wallow and allow our sins and struggles to define us; for at the cross the great exchange was made in which Christ traded his righteousness for our sin. Run the race and strain towards the goal ahead in holiness and truth.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory,

Matt Allen

Things.

Before we get into this I must state that I pray this is not simply a blog for believers. While I do hope that believers will read and be encouraged by the living and abiding word of God, I also pray that as a skeptic, you read these words and test me on them as an intellectual. The things of eternity hold too much merit for any individual to remain uninformed. Even the choice to believe in nothing is to believe in something, and should the something you believe in truly be nothing, than upon further examination I think you’ll find yourself guiltier of intellectual apathy and cowardliness than anything else.

Also, I want to warn you from the onset of this post that it may be a bit lengthy, and somewhat dense if I’m not too careful, but by the end of the read I pray we’ll find ourselves, myself included, enlightened by the glory of the Word.

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“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)

“If then you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:1-2 ESV)

If we are completely and wholly honest with ourselves, I believe we’ll find that we fight these verses with every single bit of our flesh. We WANT things of the earth, and things of the flesh. Whether it be items that simply detract our eyes from his glory, things of this world that the God of the universe has distinctly sanctified us from, things that are good inside of boundaries of which we cross, or lastly good things that the Lord of creation wants to bless us with that we seek before seeking him.

“Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into this world, and we can bring nothing out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and found themselves pierced with many pangs.” (1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV)

In a society of things, we find our eyes allured by pretty things. Even more so, it becomes all the more difficult not to pursue nice things when our society tells us that our identity is defined by them. Yet, in my pursuit of what that world has to offer me, I have found nothing but disappointment. You may oppose me in this point, but I would argue that you simply haven’t felt true joy in light of the risen Son. Yes. The things of this world have enticed me, and have been pleasing. Yet: “The world is passing away along with it’s desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17 ESV) Outside of the God-man on the tree, and risen, this world will never fulfill us.

“Put to death therefore whatever is earthy in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)

Simply put, we desire things of which the Lord has simply stated that we are not to partake in. Sexual immorality. Lust. Passion. The world glistens and shines, and in it we think we find our joy. Yet if we examine the scriptures closer I believe we’ll find the point behind the tree in the Garden of Eden was simply an example of the Lord’s voice resonating: “Pure and total submission to me leads to pure joy.” I am happiest and most fulfilled when I sit in the center of his good and perfect will, and I charge all of us to pursue his will enough to test those words.

Speaking of the garden I think that it is important to state that at the fall, creation fractured. What was once meant to lead us to worship shifted and leads us to sin. The fall took God’s perfect creation and distorted its’ focus. In the garden sex, food, and wine led Adam and Eve to inspect the goodness of the gift and worship God because of it. Post-fall instead of leading us to worship, sex leads to lust, food leads to gluttony, and wine to drunkenness. We must stay within the boundaries marked by the fall.

“Truly, truly I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” (John 6:26 ESV)

I am convinced that many times we inspect the blessings of the Lord, and immediately start to worship the blessing. This becomes muddled in our mind, because we truly seek something that is good and praiseworthy, and clearly from the Lord. Yet anywhere, anytime, that an object of creation is worshiped over the creator, idolatry occurs. We see this perfectly displayed in the life of Abram in Genesis 15. The Lord says to Abram: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward will be very great.”

Abram’s first response? “Oh Lord God, what will you give me…” The things he has given us were not meant to be worshiped, but simply to lead back to the worship of the Father.

“…Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” (Exodus 16:18 ESV)

“But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33 ESV)

We want things. I must say that I find no fault in having nice things that the Lord was provident enough to bless us with. Yet, at the end of my days I do not want to have to look back upon my life and say: “I couldn’t give to others as much as I would have liked because I was too busy pursuing the things of the world.” I don’t want to have to say: “I sought the pleasures of the world, which stole my attention from the heart of God instead of seeking his goodness and finding him sufficient.” Or: “I pursued good things that the Lord desired to bless me with, and worshiped them instead of worshiping the sovereign Giver.”

May we, in all things, seek him first, and find ourselves complete. Should you be a skeptic, than test these words. Be true to yourself. Does this world TRULY fill you? Seek him, and find out. Should you be a believer, then may you pursue him in holiness and grace, and never allow his gifts to supercede him himself. Study the word, and in it find truth.

He is good. He is good. He is good.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory,

-Matt Alen

The Living and Abiding Word of God

Knowledge.

Growing up in the church, I am vehemently convinced we don't hold it. And should we grasp it, dare I say, it is most assuredly more times than not out of selfish legalism and a desire to look better than the guy sitting next to us in the pew.

Sure. We know the lyrics to our favorite songs, and the statistics inning by inning of the Ranger game from last night. We know who does what, who says what, and who is dating who according to Facebook. We know where the cheapest gas is, and we seek in all things to remain a knowledgeable, cognizant citizens of the world.

Yet.

Do we KNOW the Word?

"..you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the LIVING and ABIDING word of God." (1st Peter 1:23 ESV)

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." (Colossians 3:16 ESV)

We are advocates of education and academia. We pursue knowledge pertaining to self-improvement and a better home life. We want to learn the things of the world, while we ignore his book which gets some attention Sunday mornings, should we choose to bless him. How ignorant. How foolish. I can often fall into this category seeking the knowledge of the world and the things he has created before seeking the Creator himself.

"Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge..." (Isaiah 5:13 ESV)

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..." (Hosea 4:6 ESV)

"...and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19 ESV)

Should you be a skeptic, then my charge is to give the Word a chance. Most likely you've sought the things of the world for your answers, and found them lacking. You've bought things, and gone places, and sought the creation while the Creator stands with open hands. His Word holds your answers, and I dare you to have the intellectual integrity to test me. The book of John, in my humble opinion, is a fantastic place to start.

Should you be a believer, then know his word, and preach it through action. We see through his word that the lack of knowledge destroys nations, and that love surpasses knowledge. Knowledge was never meant to simply be held, but to be acted upon. Read, know, memorize and breathe the word of God in such a way that it's implications drive you to nothing less than a grace driven effort.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory,

-Matt Allen