On Christian Meekness

This is a blog I wrote in response to an excerpt from Friedrich Nietzsche's Antichrist, I posted it on my new blog: idlemumbling.tumblr.com, I hope you enjoy!

Christianity is called the religion of pity.—Pity stands in opposition to all the tonic passions that augment the energy of the feeling of aliveness: it is a depressant. A man loses power when he pities. Through pity that drain upon strength which suffering works is multiplied a thousandfold. Suffering is made contagious by pity; under certain circumstances it may lead to a total sacrifice of life and living energy—a loss out of all proportion to the magnitude of the cause (—the case of the death of the Nazarene)…. Nothing is more unhealthy, amid all our unhealthy modernism, than Christian pity. - Friedrich Nietzsche (The Antichrist-Section 7)

In the realm of postmodern philosophy (and general modern thought), the concept of religion is one that is looked upon with ill contempt. The quote above, from Nietzsche is meant to essentially summarize, probably more harshly than most would state it, the views on Christianity as many have come to know them. More specifically, what Nietzsche points out is that Christians are the weakest link in society due to our submissive nature to God, and recognition of our sinful, corrupt, and deficient human nature. Nietzsche claims that our praise of pity (which I will interchange with meekness), is the greatest of human flaws. To view mankind as anything other than the “alpha-species” in the universe, insofar as we know it, is a sign of weakness and waste. In the aforementioned quote, Nietzsche exclaims that their is nothing that weakens the human race more, inhibits our evolutionary processes, and essentially contorts human progress than the essential mindset of a modern Christian. Nietzsche even goes so far as to claim that Christ’s pity on mankind, and his general meek spirit are the cause of his own death. Had he been more bold, he would have experienced life to the fullest, and not been crucified at the hands of his enemies.
The flaw in Nietzsche view on Christians, our attitudes, and ultimately our meek, pitiful spirits is this: our meekness does not inhibit our progress, it permits it. Take for example this quote by Carl Sagan in The Varieties of Scientific Experience:

Consider how we bow our heads in prayer, making a gesture of submission that can be found in many other animals as they defer to the alpha male. We’re enjoined in the Bible not to look God in the face, or else we will die instantly. Submissive males of many species, including our own, avert their eyes before the alpha male.

Sagan, an agnostic, claims here that we have this attitude towards God that is submissive, drenched in fear, and we live daily unsure of whether or not our potential mistakes will lead to our termination from existence. Now, I do believe it is true and necessary to submit to the Father in fear, but that is not the only necessary reason to submit to the Father. A fear based faith is a faith half-lived. The significance of our existence is not to wander about in fear of death, our existence gains significance through the dispersion of truth. We rule in communion with the Father, through recognition of and submission to His sacrifice, and power to rise from death post-crucifixion. We lay down our lives in submission to the Father because we know they were given freely to us, we did nothing of our own accord to stimulate life among ourselves. It is through this recognition of our place in the universe, and amalgamation with God that we can progress past our fallen, broken knowledge. The claim that the meekness of Christians inhibits the progress of the human race is a fallacious claim on a principle that is misunderstood by the skeptic.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3: 12-18

We, as true believing Christians, through our faith and hope in Jesus Christ have attained a boldness, power, and love beyond all measure. The Christian “pity,” or meekness, has been horrifyingly misconstrued as a true recognition of our origin, fallen nature, and position in the universe. Man remains at the center of nothing but God’s grace. We achieve meaning, purpose, and truth through God. This is not a blind claim that man should shut his mind off to anything that is not within the pages of the Bible, because I am in no way claiming that (a topic for another post, I suppose). What I am claiming, however, is that the Christ found in the Bible provides grace, redemption, meaning, and power. Not power for the will of the individual (i.e. selfish intent), but power through and for His Spirit and will. To claim that Christians are weak, pitiful, meaningless inhibitors of human progress is without a shadow of a doubt a claim bred out of hatred bias, rooted in fallacious logic. This claim proves the ignorance not only of the scriptures, but Christ and his true followers. Friedrich Nietzsche, and those who think like him, make claims on that which they do not know, seething on prey they think an easy target. Throughout the scriptures we see acts of great courage, power, and boldness that contradict the claims made in The Antichrist. Those who are genuine followers of Christ fear nothing because to “live is Christ, and to die is gain.”  Whom shall we fear, and what earthly creature shall we bow down to? The answer is a resounding “NO ONE!”
In conclusion, the submissive, servant attitude of Christians stems not from an inability to rise to the true potential of mankind. It stems from a desire to live a life according to the Gospel, following Christ’s example, serving others while living boldly in the power provided to us by the Father. Meekness does not consent to suffering, but suffering is something that Christ warns will follow the believer. Meekness does, however, inherit the earth, and allow those who serve the Father and steward creation to dwell with God, ruling alongside Him. There is no greater power found than that which comes from man’s submissive heart and gentle spirit, a concept many brilliant minds cannot grasp.
 

A CALL TO ARMS

  “A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free…” – John Stuart Mill

Philosophical Side Note: As a beginning statement to this post, I would like to point out that John Stuart Mill did not intend this quote to have the meaning in which I am about to use it. The Utilitarian mindset, while being communally based, does not have the same focal point as Christianity. The communal aspect of Utilitarianism is based in the notion that we follow the desires of the community to increase pleasure for all people, not necessarily permitting the morally correct action (in “Christian” terms). Christianity disagrees with Utilitarianism on the basis that certain actions which mankind has an obligation morally to carry out, will not always provide pleasure to the individual (or community), but we are responsible for executing these actions simply because they are morally correct (Immanuel Kant/Kantianism).

The concept of using warfare or battle to protect and further a certain set of ideals have been installed in human behavior since the beginning of history (post-fall). Man, when possessing the notion that he has discovered a universal truth or ideology, will defend that set of beliefs with all the power and might he can possibly muster up. These views are held so strongly that certain individuals will risk, and ultimately lose, their lives in order to progress these unalienable truths forward to reach as many people as possible. This concept of defending truths is not intrinsic only to Christianity, but it is laden throughout history as a basic human nature for defending what is believed to be true and honorable. However, the Bible presents fighting and warfare in such a manner that is foreign to many nations and civilizations.

The Bible, while being filled with numerous amounts of valiant kings, soldiers, and warriors, does not only address fighting from a purely war-based mindset in the manner that mankind views war. The war of the Bible is a war based in the spiritual realm, it is a war with its origins found in God in Heaven, and only one theater of this war is found on the Earth, as we know it. This war is unlike any war mankind has or ever will face, and there is only one Victor that has been decided before the bounds of time ever fell upon us. This war includes servants, missionaries, martyrs, and those willing to stake their lives in Christ in order to see his glorious victory in the hearts of those willing to surrender. Those who are willing to surrender, according to God’s unending grace, are called to live a life worthy of His Gospel, and in turn lay down our lives for Him.

“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” -1 John 3: 16-18

In order for there to be progress, of any kind, in the war which plagues Christ-followers, we must surrender our entire lives to the one who gave His life to save us from the beginning. Without Jesus Christ, we would have no war to fight, we would be mindless, soulless, moral-less animals wandering this earth aimlessly, living out our meaningless existence in hopeless abandon, slowly waiting for death. Alas, we have a God, who loved us so much, that he defined love for us by dying on the cross, in the most excruciating manner, obliterating Death in this war, and giving all of His disciples our commandment as our faithful leader in this war. As soldiers, we now have a “Call to Arms” from Christ himself, to put on the Armor of God (Ephesians 6), fight the good fight (1 Timothy 6: 12), and to ultimately allow Christ to be our shield (Psalm 5:12) in order to extend His truth to the ends of the earth. We are called to be fearless followers of the Lamb, who sacrificed himself on the altar for atonement of all sins, and exert all our efforts to surrendering our lives to Him in order that He may work through us to reach all peoples and people-groups.

The failure of Christians, since the death and resurrection of Christ, is that we fail to surrender our fleshly desires, and we, therefore, do not allow Christ to abide in us. Christ, throughout his three-year ministry, presented His followers with every possible doctrine and truth that we would ever need to fight the war in a manner pleasing to Him. We, in turn, attempt to fight the battles in our own manner, and defeat our demons while excluding the Creator of the demons himself. Christ called us to love unselfishly, live for Him, and allow Him to live within us, causing us to do greater things on earth than even He did, through the working of the Holy Spirit (John 14). The ONLY way we can achieve success in our war to spread truth and defend our hearts and salvation, is to allow the one whom IS TRUTH and who created our hearts to dwell within us, and provide the salvation we so desperately long for.

A CODE TO LIVE BY: The Athenian Army, at the height of its power, enforced a code to fight by for the soldiers within its ranks. The desire was to instill in the minds of the soldiers that they were to fight at all costs to protect the City and the glory within it. For emphasis of my point, I am modifying the original to Code of Arms by replacing the term “City,” which is in the original transcript, with “Christ” because I believe this to be the Code of Arms for believers:

                  We will never bring disgrace on CHRIST by an act of dishonesty or cowardice.


                  We will fight for the ideals and Sacred Things of CHRIST both alone and with many.


                  We will revere and obey CHRIST’S laws, and will do our best
                  to incite a like reverence and respect in those above us
                  who are prone to annul them or set them at naught.


                  We will strive increasingly to quicken the FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST’S sense of duty to            
                  THE GOSPEL.


                  Thus in all these ways we will transmit this CHRIST, not only not less,
                  but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.

Martin Luther claimed, “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” We are called to have the mindset of the Athenian soldiers in our daily lives for Christ. We are called to be willing to stake our lives on the truth of the Gospel as many times as necessary to further His truth, and allow him to work in us. We must fight as a community of believers, defending truth at all costs, not fearing death or destruction, but trusting that Christ is within us and in control of all things. He will not allow you to fall away from Him if you are truly following after Him (John 10), but instead He will encourage you in Love and Truth, allowing you to complete on earth what He has already begun.

Christ loved us enough to descend from His Heavenly throne, take on the flesh of man, spend His entire life preparing and teaching his disciples, sentence Himself to mockery and ridicule, allow himself to be brutally murdered at the hands of His own people, allow himself to be buried, and three days after his excruciating murder, defeat Death and rise from the grave, granting salvation to all those who believe in Him. The war can only be fought and won by Christ, without Christ we are unarmed on the battlefield, awaiting death. Yet, with Christ, we become one well-armed, well-protected body of believers capable of incredible things through His power, and His power alone. Trust in His plan, fight His war, using His power and protection. Lean not on your own understanding and power, but delighting in His truth and Grace.

“But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
                my glory, and the lifter of my head.” – Psalms 3:3

God Bless,
Trip Starkey

The Prostitute and The Bridegroom

“We sin because in that moment we desire, treasure, delight in, long for, worship, glorify or want something more than we desire God.” –Anonymous

            In the beginning, when God created the Heavens and the earth, He created all things into perfection, without blemish. God meticulously crafted each being and object into His glory, to live in Eden (perfection) without evil or sin. He provided Adam and Eve with every necessity they could have imagined, and gave them reign over everything on earth. Unfortunately, as we know, Adam and Eve, for whatever reason, grew out of contentment, and became curious as to what was beyond Eden (beyond perfection). Stemming from this curiosity, and trickery by the Serpent, they ate of the forbidden fruit, thus causing the revelation of good and evil in their eyes. Coinciding with the knowledge of good and evil came sin, and likewise with sin came death. Before this, sin and death were of no issue to Adam and Eve; it was only when they knew the difference between good and evil that their eyes were open to a limitless array of disobedience to choose from. Post-banishment from Eden, sin grew ever present in human society apart from perfection in God, and mankind began to stray further and further away from God. As the nations began to grow, God’s people began to be referred to as the Lord’s Bride. With the expansion of nations, however, came the expansion of evil, and the growth of uninhibited sin. Mankind began to stray further from the will of God, and became the faithless Bride referred to in Ezekiel sixteen.

“And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head…And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord God. Buy you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.” –Ezekiel 16: 12, 14-15

            This stanza parodies the Eden story almost to perfection in the sense that God ordained and exalted man with everything he could have ever needed. He clothed us in His majesty, and we were made glorious because of Him. After this, mankind came along while recognizing our own free will, and rebelled against God, using his provisions to our own selfish advantage. We, the Lord’s Bride, exalted in perfection among all of the nations, realized our glory, mistook it somehow for glory of our own finding (ignoring God), and began to whore ourselves to all the nations. The Bride became a prostitute among nations, used for their selfish desires, and the entire time we, God’s people, believe we are gaining some sense of satisfaction from things outside of God, which ultimately leave us hollow and empty. As a community in God, we completely ignored everything He had provided us, and turned away from Him without a second thought. This sin nature was instilled in us during the Fall of Man, which prevents man from recognizing God’s providence in their lives, and turn to other humans for satisfaction and self-worth in our lives.

“How sick is your heart, declares the Lord God, because you did all these things, the deeds of a brazen prostitute…yet you were not like a prostitute, because you scorned payment…No one solicited you to play the whore, and you gave payment while no payment was given to you.”- Ezekiel 16: 30-31, 34

            The prostitution of the Lord’s bride, declares the Lord himself, goes even further than the sadistic acts of a standard prostitute because we do it so willingly and without purpose. A normal prostitute exchanges her body in return for some monetary or material gain, yet the Bride of the Lord whores itself out due to desire to sin. That’s how wicked of hearts mankind possesses, that we would deliberately turn away from the fold of God because we so selfishly desire the things of this world, which leave us empty, and ignore the adornments of God which are eternally satisfying. Our hearts are so incredibly broken that our instincts are opposite of God, and when he comes calling for our return we still resist everything He has to offer because we do not believe He ultimately provides everything necessary for our happiness. The Bride of the Lord has become the prostitute of mankind; tarnished with a loss of innocence and beauty by turning towards sin, thankfully for us the story does not end there. There is hope yet, and our hope is Jesus Christ.

“Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His Bride has made herself ready; it was granted to her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure…Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True…He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God…On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”- Revelation 19: 7-8, 11, 13, 16

            The Marriage Supper of the Lamb is where the story of the Bride of the Lord ultimately finds its summation. Throughout the history of His people, God has watched as we foolishly prostitute ourselves to evil and sin, completely ignoring Him and His will. God faithfully stood by His people, in the midst of our whorring, he sends his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, the Rider on a White Horse, whose robe was dipped in blood, the blood of the Lamb atoning for ALL sins, that the Prostitute, His people, may once again clothe herself in fine linen and reestablish herself as the Bride of the Lord. Without Christ, we would still be wandering in sin and prostituting ourselves to fleshly desires, but in Him, the desire to sin is banished completely, restoring us to perfection as His Bride. Christ is Faithful and True, the King of Kings, nothing can stand in His way. We must die to ourselves, such as Christ died FOR us, and we must give everything we have to follow Him in every aspect of our lives. Christ alone is the only way to avoid the prostitution of ourselves, without Him, we will wander aimlessly in our whorrings.

These passages of scripture remind me of lyrics from my favorite hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” which states:

“Jesus sought me when a stranger,


Wandering from the fold of God;


He, to rescue me from danger,


Interposed His precious blood…

O that day when freed from sinning,


I shall see Thy lovely face;


Clothed then in blood washed linen


How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace.”

Allow this message to stick with you: that Christ sought you when you were straying, when you were prostituting yourself, and He interposed His blood so that you could have everlasting life. One day, when we’re in the Kingdom, at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, we will see His glory shining on us because His blood was able to cleanse us of our sins. With everything I have, I pray that we turn away from our debauchery and sin, and recognize all that God has done for and provided to us. I pray that we see His glory and sing His praises for all He’s done. God is faithful; he never strays, and always protects us as long as we trust in Him.

He died for you, that you may have everlasting life. See his faithfulness and love, and embrace Him.

God Bless,

Trip Starkey 

The Law is Dead

“Is it not wonderful news to believe that salvation lies outside ourselves?”- Martin Luther

            Throughout the history of the church, there has been somewhat of a dispute between believers as to the true nature of an individual’s salvation in Christ, and ultimate route to the eternal kingdom in Heaven. There are those who claim that, while Christ sacrificed himself for us, it is still up to us to live good and pleasing lives here on earth in order to gain our salvation. This legalistic approach to the Gospel causes people to drive themselves crazy ensuring that at the appointed time when they go before of their Savior, He will tell them that they lived good enough lives to join Him in eternity forever. This point of view places salvation primarily on the individual, instead of on the Savior who already sacrificed His life for all mankind. The individual, therefore, takes away from the sacrifice of Christ by implying that Christ’s death only did half the job, the real task of salvation is up to each individual person pursuing it. This is an idea that Dietrich Bonheoffer, in The Cost of Discipleship, refers to as ‘Cheap Grace,’ because we ultimately take away from the costliness of Christ’s sacrifice.

            Opposite this view is one that places the salvation and sanctification of all who believe on the sacrifice that Christ made for all mankind. This view is one in which humans ultimately place all of their hope and faith in Christ, that through His death and resurrection we ultimately have no bonds or chains to sin, evil, or any ill-contempt that worldliness can throw our way. We are freed, wholly and completely, through Christ, and we have no need for anything else but Him. Christ died for us on the cross so that the weight upon our shoulders would be lifted, and the cup of wrath, which was meant for US, was poured out upon Him on Golgotha. Dietrich Bonheoffer refers to this type of salvation as ‘Costly Grace,’ because while it is free for anyone who chooses to believe in it fully, it cost Christ everything. The amazing thing about Costly Grace is that Christ genuinely and willfully desired to humble himself to death, that all of His creation may take solace in him, and be able to spend eternity with Him in Heaven. While it cost Him everything, there was nothing He would have rather done more than offer it to us.

            Now, we can listen to philosophers, biblical scholars, theologians, or even college students writing a blog, but what ultimately matters it the authority of Christ’s word and what the Bible says about the subject.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…. And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”- John 1: 14, 16-17

            What John is saying here is that, Christ became flesh, He made himself fully human (while remaining fully God), and dwelt among His creation full of grace and truth. John is saying that while Christ came down to the earth, His purpose was to spill out the grace and truth, which embodied Him, through the spilling of His own blood. To continue, John says that from the fullness of Christ’s sacrifice and ministry, we receive our grace through Him, not through anything else. We received the law through Moses, which once was necessary to abide by, but Christ has come to abolish the Law, and establish His Eternal Kingdom through His own sacrifice and outpouring of grace. He gives us the only truth we need, the truth of His sacrifice and grace. OUR SALVATION COMES THROUGH CHRIST, AND CHRIST ALONE, NOTHING ELSE.    

“For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”-Galatians 3: 10-14

            Paul is attempting to tell the Galatians, and all believers, that those who still rely on the Law after the Sacrifice of Christ are cursed and will surely circumvent the grace, which was meant for them. There are plenty of professing Christians who do not rely solely on the grace of God to attain their salvation, and who believe it is still their duty to somehow grasp it. What Paul wants believers to comprehend is that those who live under the Law can never fulfill it because we are all imperfect beings, but Christ became the curse for us, he removed our imperfections and defeated any lingering effects the curse may have on us so that we may be saved. The problem has now become that people still desire to live under the curse because they do not full trust that Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient. What Paul says here is that Christ’s sacrifice is beyond sufficient for anyone to receive Salvation, all we must do is believe, it’s that simple. BELIEVE AND YOU SHALL BE SAVED. Christ has taken care of everything, there is nothing left for you to do. Our chains are gone, our sins have been washed clean, and the Holy Spirit has come as our guide for all things.

            If you take anything from this blog this is what I pray it is: When you try to add to Christ’s sacrifice, you ultimately take away from it because you cheapen what it cost for Him to forgive you. You take away from His sacrifice by thinking there is anything you could possibly do to achieve something which is only possibly through Christ. All the work has been done, you just have to surrender to Christ, and His will. There is nothing else possible to do, so stop trying. The blood has been spilled, now all you must do is believe. That is the only action necessary.

            I pray that you begin to trust God completely, and let go of any self-reliance, which is unnecessary in life. The only reliance needed is total reliance on God, which is only attainable through belief in Him. Essentially, just believe.

God Bless,

Trip Starkey

The True Spirit of Christmas

“Christmas isn’t a season, it’s a feeling.”- Edna Ferber

            Now I know that the expectation of this blog most likely will be one that perceives an outright attack on the America mantra of “Christmas means Big Business,” and many other consumerist ideas of exploiting this Christian holiday as a means of highest profit. Let me begin by stating clearly that I am in no way attacking what Christmas has become in America and worldwide. My intention in this post is to reiterate the true meaning of this season, and to bring Christ to the forefront of all who read the post’s minds (including my own).

            Sadly, to many people around the world, Christmas has become a sensation, a feeling, and sadly a solace that many rely on, instead of relying on the One whom Christmas is about. When you hear Christmas mentioned in the average encounter with someone, it typically revolves around travels, gifts, money, or family. Now, again I am in no way condemning presents, travelling, family time, or even money, as none of these things are sins. What I am saying is that Christmas far exceeds anything that a person can gain from a materialistic standpoint, therefore our joyfulness in this season is not confided in those things. Somewhere, throughout the years, we have begun to idolize a man who is the “savior of Christmas,” and totally thrown the Savior of the World to the wayside. It seems so simple to say, “Well, we didn’t forget Jesus. His name is in the Holiday, how could we?” Again, recognizing that “Christ is in Christmas” in no way confirms the fact that you truly recognize Christ as being what Christmas is about. Jesus is not an accessory to Christmas; He is Christmas.

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

            “Glory to God in the highest,

                and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

            When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.”- Luke 2: 8-16

            A detail, which continuously distinguishes itself from the others in the Christmas story, is the humble origins with which Jesus proceeds from. The King of Glory, the Savior of all mankind arrives on the earth, which He molded, wrapped in deteriorating cloth, lying in a barn, and the announcement of His arrival was told to Shepherds in a field. This arrival was not exactly one many of us would deem worthy of a King. Yet, this is how we receive our Savior, God Himself in the flesh, arrives as a poor baby in a manger. The simple fact that evades people is this: the humble origins of Christ, the Christmas story, are the beginning of Christ’s ministry, and the Gospel that we now have of His life. Without the miraculous birth, we have no Gospel, and we have no Salvation. Christmas itself, the humble beginning of Christ’s life, is the humble beginning of God shedding his blood and mercy over his creation.

            Another outstanding quality of the birth of Christ is that even during His first day on earth, Christ automatically draws believers and followers to Him. The shepherds in the field, immediately following the Angel of the Lord’s message, began their trek to pay homage to the Savior of man. This is a testament to Christ, who He truly is (the Son of God), and ultimately Him fulfilling his purpose on this earth. Christmas is not just about peace on earth, and good will towards men, it is about the One who provides all of those things to men. You cannot have peace on earth, and good will without Christ and his life. Paul, in Romans, declares that “no one is good, not even one.” Luckily for us, there is One who was perfect and good, and He alone can restore His creation to its natural order.

“Surely he has borne our griefs

                        and carried our sorrows;

            yet we esteemed him stricken,

                        smitten by God, and afflicted.

            But he was wounded for our transgressions;

                        he was crushed for our iniquities;

            upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

                        and with his stripes we are healed.

            All we like sheep have gone astray;

                        we have turned—every one—to his own way;

            and the LORD has laid on him

                        the iniquity of us all.

            He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

                        yet he opened not his mouth;

            like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

                        and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

                        so he opened not his mouth….

            Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

                        and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

            because he poured out his soul to death

                        and was numbered with the transgressors;

            yet he bore the sin of many,

                        and makes intercession for the transgressors.”- Isaiah 53: 4-7; 12

            The verses in Isaiah 53 sum up the Christmas story to perfection, without missing a beat. The purpose of Christmas, the meaning behind it is simple, yet often forgotten. Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin with the purpose of living a sinless life, teaching and setting an example for His creation to follow. Ultimately He would be forsaken by creation and God, ridiculed and tortured by man, and finally He would suffer at the hands of Rome and the Jews, be sentenced to death by crucifixion, carry the wrath of God, die on the cross, three days later rise again, and through His resurrection, cleanse all who believe in Him from their iniquities, thus restoring life eternal to all who believe. That is the story of Christmas, and nothing else. Christmas is not about the bells and whistles of modern day life, it’s not about a jolly old man who gives children a decent day, and it certainly is not about consumerism. Christmas is about God being born a man, so that He may ultimately die, following a perfect life, rise from the grave, and give his believers true joy and peace for eternity following a life of belief and faith in Him.

            I pray that in this season you do not buy into the lie of modern society that peace and good will is the meaning of Christmas. The meaning of Christmas is Christ and His life, peace and good will are byproducts of true belief in Jesus and his sacrifice. Be like the Wise Men, follow the shining North Star that is Christ, and place Him at the forefront of your thoughts not only this season, but at all times. Trust completely and fully in Him, and know that He surrendered his life in obedience for you. No one is outside the reach of His sacrifice, the only way to not receive it, is to not accept it. He desires a relationship with you, and that is why we celebrate Christmas. Remember that this season.

Merry Christmas and God bless,

Trip Starkey

WHERE DID JESUS GO?

“By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4: 13-19

            In my last blog, I spoke on the idea of living “radical” daily lives centered on the notion of daily self-sacrifice (Romans 12:2, Luke 9:23), and rendering all of our lives and beings to Jesus. After a couple weeks of processing and growing, I realized even in my own writing on radical living I failed to emphasize the most important aspect to all of our lives, and the only way we can truly live radically, JESUS.

            Without Jesus, attempting to live radically is futile, and when you remove Him in the slightest bit from your life, you will be derailed in a way that will shipwreck you completely. The thing that strikes me as so painfully obvious and also the most difficult to comprehend is the fact that we have no relationship without Christ’s actions first. It has been so clear from the beginning of time, God created all things (including man), and after God creating, man was able to have a relationship with Him. The concept is no different in our daily lives, because of Christ’s sacrifice, we are now able to be smothered, undeservingly, in His grace and dwell in Him.

            The scriptures say that if we confess Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world, then He will abide in us and us in Him, but without Christ laying down His life for us, we have no reason to confess him as our Lord. Everyday, when you wake up in the morning, it is by His grace that you arise from sleep, and by no other reason than that. He is our sole purpose of life, for every action that we make, and for every single tiny, miniscule aspect of our lives. Without Him we literally are nothing and have nothing. Without Him we are but a speck of sand in the middle of the desert, but with Him we are able to live and experience life unlike anything we could ever imagine.

            In John 14, Jesus begins to tell his disciples that after He departs (due to His death and resurrection) we will receive a Great Helper (the Holy Spirit) that will dwell within us, and through the Great Helper, we will do greater things on this earth than even Jesus did.  The key to this passage that is skimmed is this: it is through GOD, and God alone, that we are able to do these greater things. Yes, it is us who are physically doing the actions, but it is God working in us that causes them to happen. Without Christ dwelling within us, we can do NOTHING.

            Now, in relation to radical living, this is what should be so encouraging to us in our everyday lives that we have no burden on ourselves thanks to Christ and the sacrifice that He made for us on Golgotha. He says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest….For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28,30). We have no reason to be worried, to fear, to be frustrated, because when we are in Christ and we surrender all to Him, He takes control and we experience His love. His love covers us completely, it surrounds us, and it exalts us beyond anything we can ever imagine. Realize this, however, we would have no ability to come to Him if it were not for His sacrifice for us. HE SACRIFICED HIS LIFE SO THAT WE MAY IN TURN SURRENDER EVERYTHING WE HAVE BACK TO HIM, AND DWELL IN HIS GRACE AND LOVE FOR ALL ETERNITY. IT ALL STARTS WITH CHRIST.

            The convicting part for me is this: I, along with many Christians, get wrapped up in Doctrine and Theology, we attach these man-made dogmas onto our beliefs (an idea Bonhoeffer refers to as “Cheap Grace”- Cost of Discipleship), and we completely forget Jesus and His sacrifice that gives us the ability to have doctrines in the first place. A lot of times we sit around and get wrapped up in certain “insignificant” (for lack of a better word) doctrines that we forget the sole purpose for us even having lives, JESUS. Then we get to a point where we sit and ask ourselves “WHERE DID JESUS GO?”

            When our lives come down to it, God created the Heavens and the earth and all things in between, and breathed life into man. Man rebelled, and sin entered the world. After years and years of sin, God sent His son, Jesus, fully God and fully man, to live a perfect life, have a ministry giving us his authoritative word, ultimately die at the hands of His own creation, three days later rise again, thus bridging the gap between sinful man and Holy God, and give us the Holy Spirit, our life force, and our only sustaining of a true purposeful life. WITHOUT GOD ACTING FIRST WE HAVE NOTHING. Doctrines and theologies apart from this perspective do not matter; Christ’s sacrifice for us should be enough for us to live the lives we are called to, nothing else.

            To live radically is to recognize ultimately that apart from the sacrifice of Christ, the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and causing us to act, we can do nothing to live radically. Christ loved us first, and because of that love we are able to go out and daily surrender ourselves to Him and His love, and go out and have the Holy Spirit intercede in our lives, and express the love of Christ to all people.

            Radical living is nothing that you can do, instead it what Christ can do through you. Surrender everything to Him, and allow Him to dwell in you, spreading His love to everyone you come into contact to. Do not get caught up in petty dogmas that will do nothing for you, live a life of love rooted solely in Christ.

God Bless,

Trip Starkey

My Radical Manifesto

“A genuine man goes to the roots. To be a radical is no more than that: to go to the roots.”- Jose Marti

       To live “radically” is an idea that many people fear, and many people tend to stay away from if they can. Radical living, especially when religion is involved, tends to bring to mind an idea of religious extremism, which involves people taking their beliefs to a rare level, and many times taking the role of God upon themselves. Much of the turmoil in which religion finds itself in the midst of, traces the roots of the problem back to extremists who believe it is their “duty” to purge the world of evil, and will take any means necessary to achieve retribution in the name of their God. Although this is not what many intend to convey when they speak of radical living, extremism has sadly become the face of radical living in most cases.

            While many believe extremism to be the only possible way to live a radical life, we are given a far more superior example of radical living throughout the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The perfect picture of a Radical that we have in history is found in Jesus, and every action that he did while on earth. Jesus came into this earth with a purpose, He lived continuously according to this purpose without fail, and He completely went against everything that worldly living calls us to (non-conforming, Romans 12:2). Not mention, he lived radically without even trying.

Here we are presented with our problem, and our initial error in attempting to live radically. People believe radical living is something that can be forced, something that can easily be conformed to, and something that takes no real effort on our part at all. Many people believe that they can live a truly radical life by just sitting back, living life normally, and expect something miraculous at some point to happen to prove that God is really there. People believe if they go to church on Sundays, read their Bibles every now and then, and try to live a decent life, they will be ok. The terrible misconception in that comes when Jesus is nowhere to be found in our lives, we have no genuine relationship, and we are basically walking billboards for “right-living” with no real substance in our hearts. We were never called to be perfect, to be a savior to all people, or to somehow think that we can live perfect lives. When you try to live that way, all you will find is yourself broken and alone.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” – John 5: 39-40

            Here is the danger that Christians will run into in their everyday life: we believe that just because we read the Bible, and talk about Jesus we are somehow doing everything right. That is the foothold we find ourselves in. It’s not about just reading the Bible for the sake of gaining knowledge, it’s not about talking about Jesus to build up your repertoire, and it’s not about praying to make ourselves feel better. Everything that we do in our lives should be rooted in the fact that we are placing ourselves in a position to be impacted by God, and have His Holy Spirit work within us. Too many people in our time do things to somehow boost their self-image or for selfish gain, and this is a trap we all fall into (myself especially).

            Jesus Tells us that we read the scriptures, which should lead us directly to Him based on their evidence of who He is, yet somehow we never actually go to Him so that we can truly live. We claim to desire to live radically, to be placing ourselves in a position to live radically, yet we somehow miss the only thing, which truly can allow us to live radically, Jesus. The only way to live a truly radical life is to be seeking Jesus himself daily, denying every fleshly impulse you have in your body, and desiring to have the will of God lived out through your daily life.

 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? – John 5: 44

            We, as humans, tend to find our worth in what the world thinks of us, and find our significance in the impact that we personally are having on other people. We judge how well we’re doing in our spiritual life by the impact we are making on those around us, and how they view us as spiritual beings. This is our flaw. We worry too much about our impact on others, and if we are truly being effective for God’s Kingdom. You will only make an impact in this life, if you first realize you have no ability to make an impact. All you can do is entrust everything to the Father, and allow Him to work through you.

            People never want to admit their imperfections, they never want people to know there’s something wrong with them, and they want to build up this image of themselves that everyone will somehow bow down to and recognize as worthy of the calling of God. The only time you can be worthy of the calling of God is if you have humbled yourself before him, and say, "the only way I can further the Kingdom is through God working in me."

            Which brings me back to my main and final point: Radical living comes only when you get to the heart of what it is you believe, Jesus, and live everyday for Him and Him alone. It’s not about what your church thinks of you, what your bible study thinks of you, what your friends think of you, what anyone thinks of you. It’s all about living for God, admitting you are imperfect and in need of His grace, and living every second according to the Grace which has been bestowed to you. Radical living has nothing to do with religious extremism, with purging the world of evil, with anything violent or crazy.

Radical living is actually quite simple, so simple most people miss it. To be truly radical, all you must do is let go of everything you are holding onto in this world, realize you are nothing without Christ, search for Him in everything, and continuously seek and live your life by Him working within you. That is the only way to be truly radical. Stop living for yourself and the people of this world, and live for Christ and Christ alone.

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”- Luke 9: 23

Live boldly this week, and live for Christ above all else.

God Bless,

Trip Starkey