Colossians 2:6 As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
“Abounding in it with thanksgiving” When we receive something of great importance and value to us we cannot help but be appreciative. Appreciation is vocalized so that the one who has benefitted us knows their efforts were not in vain. This means that thanksgiving flows from faith. What we believe should be so real to us that we act in faith and give thanks.
Jesus modeled this activity for us.
Luke 10:21 At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.
Have you been shown and believed His goodness and His grace? Then what should prevent you from giving Him thanks today?
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Through Christ Alone
Blind to my sin I wandered through life, stumbling in darkness and filled with strife
Surrounded by conflict within and without, overwhelmed by my fears full of worry and doubt
Then His Spirit came and confronted my sin and I felt so unclean without and within
A heart full of evil is all I had known, not even the good I had done was worthy to own
Guilty and unworthy I was brought to the cross, and witnessed God’s justice for all who are lost
God’s wrath pouring out on His beloved only Son, the sin of the world the reason He was undone
All I could do was to kneel and confess, it was my sin bearing down on His chest
Helpless to help and humbled so completely, I surrendered my life and His grace entered sweetly
Cleansing my heart and opening my eyes, His Spirit entered me and I came alive
Now, as a new man no longer bound by the past, no longer dead and cold
I hear His voice so clear, “it is finished” He said, all things are new away with the old
He who knew no sin became sin on that day, not just for me but the whole human race
As many as believe can be made sons of God, brought into glory through faith now isn’t that odd
In the natural a mystery but by the Spirit so wise, that we could be righteous and holy in His eyes
Only through Christ can this be mine, no righteousness of my own at any time
But in Christ I’ve been the very righteousness of God, I know to the natural mind that all seems so odd
But it is true and it is sure and by it I will stand, having favor with God I am held in His hand
It is the work of the cross and the merit of Christ that has offered me freely this eternal life
I did nothing to earn it, so it wasn’t my works, it was by grace through faith despite all my quirks
Remembering His cross reminds of this, it is through Christ alone that I can be His.
By Tim Atchley
Surrounded by conflict within and without, overwhelmed by my fears full of worry and doubt
Then His Spirit came and confronted my sin and I felt so unclean without and within
A heart full of evil is all I had known, not even the good I had done was worthy to own
Guilty and unworthy I was brought to the cross, and witnessed God’s justice for all who are lost
God’s wrath pouring out on His beloved only Son, the sin of the world the reason He was undone
All I could do was to kneel and confess, it was my sin bearing down on His chest
Helpless to help and humbled so completely, I surrendered my life and His grace entered sweetly
Cleansing my heart and opening my eyes, His Spirit entered me and I came alive
Now, as a new man no longer bound by the past, no longer dead and cold
I hear His voice so clear, “it is finished” He said, all things are new away with the old
He who knew no sin became sin on that day, not just for me but the whole human race
As many as believe can be made sons of God, brought into glory through faith now isn’t that odd
In the natural a mystery but by the Spirit so wise, that we could be righteous and holy in His eyes
Only through Christ can this be mine, no righteousness of my own at any time
But in Christ I’ve been the very righteousness of God, I know to the natural mind that all seems so odd
But it is true and it is sure and by it I will stand, having favor with God I am held in His hand
It is the work of the cross and the merit of Christ that has offered me freely this eternal life
I did nothing to earn it, so it wasn’t my works, it was by grace through faith despite all my quirks
Remembering His cross reminds of this, it is through Christ alone that I can be His.
By Tim Atchley
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Just a Thought
I run into folks from time to time who would really enjoy sticking a label on my forehead as though I were a book in a library. That way someone can come around and, based on my label, know whether or not they want to check me out.
I have them say, you are Reformed, you are Charismatic, you are Armenian, you are Calvinist and on and on it goes.
Someone might say how can a man be confused as both a Calvinist and an Armenian?
Easy I am neither. I am a man who loves the New Covenant. I am a man who loves the Gospel as it is revealed in Scripture. I am a man who believes that Christ centered preaching is more than just merely throwing His name into a sermon much like putting sprinkles on an ice cream cone.
I believe in His finished work on the cross and all the glory that was released into the church once and for all when He ascended and sent forth the Holy Spirit in power to inhabit believers. I believe in an open heaven because His work is finished. there is nothing to add.
I believe faith is far more important than the attention it receives on any given Sunday. I believe that the glory of the New Covenant is not a fading glory like that of Moses, but that the word of God spoke the truth when it declared it to be an ever increasing glory in Christ.
I believe that all camps of thought have been guilty of constructing a belief based mainly on their experiences, or the lack thereof.
May the Holy Spirit breath fresh revelation and reform the modern church to walk in all that God has provided her through Jesus Christ.
I have them say, you are Reformed, you are Charismatic, you are Armenian, you are Calvinist and on and on it goes.
Someone might say how can a man be confused as both a Calvinist and an Armenian?
Easy I am neither. I am a man who loves the New Covenant. I am a man who loves the Gospel as it is revealed in Scripture. I am a man who believes that Christ centered preaching is more than just merely throwing His name into a sermon much like putting sprinkles on an ice cream cone.
I believe in His finished work on the cross and all the glory that was released into the church once and for all when He ascended and sent forth the Holy Spirit in power to inhabit believers. I believe in an open heaven because His work is finished. there is nothing to add.
I believe faith is far more important than the attention it receives on any given Sunday. I believe that the glory of the New Covenant is not a fading glory like that of Moses, but that the word of God spoke the truth when it declared it to be an ever increasing glory in Christ.
I believe that all camps of thought have been guilty of constructing a belief based mainly on their experiences, or the lack thereof.
May the Holy Spirit breath fresh revelation and reform the modern church to walk in all that God has provided her through Jesus Christ.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Seek First
Titus 3:4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
There is a righteousness of God that is only available to us through faith. It is only that righteousness that will please Him. There is none good but God. So believe, and receive His goodness on your behalf. Then change will come.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
There is a righteousness of God that is only available to us through faith. It is only that righteousness that will please Him. There is none good but God. So believe, and receive His goodness on your behalf. Then change will come.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Romans 10:1 ¶ Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them."6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’" (that is, to bring Christ down from above)7 or, "‘Who will descend into the abyss?’" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
The way of salvation has been set and made clear through the gospel. Only through faith in Christ can a person be saved. The gift of eternal life becomes ours when we put our faith in the finished work of Christ.
The three most powerful words evr spoken came from the cross when Jesus said, "it is finished."
The way of salvation has been set and made clear through the gospel. Only through faith in Christ can a person be saved. The gift of eternal life becomes ours when we put our faith in the finished work of Christ.
The three most powerful words evr spoken came from the cross when Jesus said, "it is finished."
Sunday, August 16, 2009
HYPOCRISY
Hypocrisy - is expecting from others what I am unwilling, or unable to do, or to give, myself.
To expect sinless perfection expressed outwardly in the flesh from others when I myself fail to meet it is hypocrisy. The Pharisees were called hypocrites by Jesus because they bound burdens to hard to bear on the backs of the people and were unwilling to remove them or help with them. They boldly declared the law to others while failing to keep it themselves and refused to acknowledge such.
If I offend in even the smallest part of the law I am guilty of breaking the whole of it. One lie can constitute the equivelent of being a murderer, and a God hater under the law. No one keeps the Law perfectly. It does wonderfully at convicting men as sinners because we have never kept it.
This is what makes justification through faith and grace through Jesus Christ of absolute importance. Without them we have no hope!
Having a standard that one can't even keep 100% themselves and then treating others badly for not keeping it is not so strange to the church. Performance Christianity is hypocrisy at work and even the world turns it's nose up at it.
Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. 10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” (NLT)
To expect sinless perfection expressed outwardly in the flesh from others when I myself fail to meet it is hypocrisy. The Pharisees were called hypocrites by Jesus because they bound burdens to hard to bear on the backs of the people and were unwilling to remove them or help with them. They boldly declared the law to others while failing to keep it themselves and refused to acknowledge such.
If I offend in even the smallest part of the law I am guilty of breaking the whole of it. One lie can constitute the equivelent of being a murderer, and a God hater under the law. No one keeps the Law perfectly. It does wonderfully at convicting men as sinners because we have never kept it.
This is what makes justification through faith and grace through Jesus Christ of absolute importance. Without them we have no hope!
Having a standard that one can't even keep 100% themselves and then treating others badly for not keeping it is not so strange to the church. Performance Christianity is hypocrisy at work and even the world turns it's nose up at it.
Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. 10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” (NLT)
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Gospel is Important and Needed
A good friend (Mark Freer) posted this recently on his blog (Bluesman) and I found it too good to pass up. His blog link is on my page.
To a group of pastors in London, Tim Keller explained the inner workings of an old Coke machine in his Manhattan apartment building. After inserting the proper coinage, Keller explained, you must pound the side of the machine with your fist. After a couple of smacks the coins can be heard trickling down into the heart of the machine. A Coke falls into the bottom tray. Without beating the side of the machine, the coins don’t settle and the Coke will not fall.
Keller takes this metaphor into the pulpit. While preaching, he thinks of his audience as an assembly of Coke machines. His audience needs a little pound on the side of the head to get the truth of the gospel to sink into the heart and to produce spiritual fruit. He laughs when he says this, but the point is true.
Luther knew this centuries ago. He wrote,
“Here I must take counsel of the gospel. I must hearken to the gospel, which teacheth me, not what I ought to do, (for that is the proper office of the law), but what Jesus Christ the Son of God hath done for me: to wit, that He suffered and died to deliver me from sin and death. The gospel willeth me to receive this, and to believe it. And this is the truth of the gospel. It is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consisteth. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.” *
I am thankful to God that I am surrounded by pastors, friends, and a wife who are skilled at swinging the gospel hammer. I’m always in need of it.
So who swings the gospel hammer in your life?
To a group of pastors in London, Tim Keller explained the inner workings of an old Coke machine in his Manhattan apartment building. After inserting the proper coinage, Keller explained, you must pound the side of the machine with your fist. After a couple of smacks the coins can be heard trickling down into the heart of the machine. A Coke falls into the bottom tray. Without beating the side of the machine, the coins don’t settle and the Coke will not fall.
Keller takes this metaphor into the pulpit. While preaching, he thinks of his audience as an assembly of Coke machines. His audience needs a little pound on the side of the head to get the truth of the gospel to sink into the heart and to produce spiritual fruit. He laughs when he says this, but the point is true.
Luther knew this centuries ago. He wrote,
“Here I must take counsel of the gospel. I must hearken to the gospel, which teacheth me, not what I ought to do, (for that is the proper office of the law), but what Jesus Christ the Son of God hath done for me: to wit, that He suffered and died to deliver me from sin and death. The gospel willeth me to receive this, and to believe it. And this is the truth of the gospel. It is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consisteth. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.” *
I am thankful to God that I am surrounded by pastors, friends, and a wife who are skilled at swinging the gospel hammer. I’m always in need of it.
So who swings the gospel hammer in your life?
Monday, August 10, 2009
Getting to the Root Issue
It would appear abundantly evident from Scripture that the way the Father works in His children is from the heart out.
When I came to Christ I had a very supernatural one on one encoutner in which I debated with the Lord on the basis of what I thought I could never live.
I told Him that I could never live like the Christians I had encountered seeing I was confident that most if not all were nothing more than hypocrites based on their outward imperfections. Even though I myself was a vile sinner, I still had the notion that I was in some condition to critique and criticize those who had receieved Christ.
From that basis I formed my argument against God's call to me to be saved thinking it was solid and could more than end His call to me that day. I argued with Him that whatever I did, I did all out. I sinned all out, all my vices were engaged with abandonement. I then gave Him the line of reasoning that I thought would forever quiet His voice.
I said to Him, "I could never see myself living the Christian life all out, I could never see myself being like the Christians I have encountered who say they believe in You but live what I think are messed up lives."
His answer to a chief of sinners such as myself was more powerful than I could resist. He said to me simply, "Tim, I have to change you, you cannot give me 50% at your best effort I must change you on the inside."
Well that ended my crafty argument and here I stand today in Christ held secure by His grace and love. I am so thankful God chose to bring me into His kingdom through the work of Christ and establish me as a son to Him on the merits of Christ' obedience.
That day, when I surrendered to His call to become His, my life forever changed. Mind you, I did not become outwardly perfect and am still not outwardly perfect. In my flesh dwells no good thing. But I am no longer characterized by the sin that once dominated me. I have the life of Christ and I am His because He has made it to be so.
Through the work of His Spirit in my heart I am ever growing and changing as He reveals Christ, to me, and in me, in order to bring me into conformity to His image. I can run the race He has given me in the confidence that He will see me through based on the promises He has made to Jesus who lives in me.
Though my outward man perishes, my inward man is being renewed day by day as I enjoy the sweet fellowship of God because of the grace that is mine through Christ!
When I came to Christ I had a very supernatural one on one encoutner in which I debated with the Lord on the basis of what I thought I could never live.
I told Him that I could never live like the Christians I had encountered seeing I was confident that most if not all were nothing more than hypocrites based on their outward imperfections. Even though I myself was a vile sinner, I still had the notion that I was in some condition to critique and criticize those who had receieved Christ.
From that basis I formed my argument against God's call to me to be saved thinking it was solid and could more than end His call to me that day. I argued with Him that whatever I did, I did all out. I sinned all out, all my vices were engaged with abandonement. I then gave Him the line of reasoning that I thought would forever quiet His voice.
I said to Him, "I could never see myself living the Christian life all out, I could never see myself being like the Christians I have encountered who say they believe in You but live what I think are messed up lives."
His answer to a chief of sinners such as myself was more powerful than I could resist. He said to me simply, "Tim, I have to change you, you cannot give me 50% at your best effort I must change you on the inside."
Well that ended my crafty argument and here I stand today in Christ held secure by His grace and love. I am so thankful God chose to bring me into His kingdom through the work of Christ and establish me as a son to Him on the merits of Christ' obedience.
That day, when I surrendered to His call to become His, my life forever changed. Mind you, I did not become outwardly perfect and am still not outwardly perfect. In my flesh dwells no good thing. But I am no longer characterized by the sin that once dominated me. I have the life of Christ and I am His because He has made it to be so.
Through the work of His Spirit in my heart I am ever growing and changing as He reveals Christ, to me, and in me, in order to bring me into conformity to His image. I can run the race He has given me in the confidence that He will see me through based on the promises He has made to Jesus who lives in me.
Though my outward man perishes, my inward man is being renewed day by day as I enjoy the sweet fellowship of God because of the grace that is mine through Christ!
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