The Bridge Chicago

"Rather than hiding and repressing these emotions, we are meant to give them to God. The right place..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:02:02 -0500

“Rather than hiding and repressing these emotions, we are meant to give them to God. The right place for these overwhelming emotions is not under the rug, it’s on the altar of God. We all have that internal barometer, where, when the emotions get to be too much, something will kick in to deal with that. It’s just a matter of training ourselves to
give those emotions to God, rather than avoid them through alcohol, drugs, lust, money, or any of a thousand distractions available to us.”

- from the May Bridge Box Devotional

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Christianity is Not a Comeptition

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:01:20 -0500

Do you ever feel like you are losing church? It seems like everybody else has a big smile, and more energy, and a family that is all there and perfectly behaved. They are singing with abandon and have that “mmm I totally get that” look on their face through the whole sermon. Here you are, on the other hand, just barely dragging your rear end into that pew on your absolute last ounce of sanctification.

Let’s not speculate about whether those perpetually shiny happy church folk are faking it (they are). Let’s so your fear was true and everyone in that room’s walk was going “better” than yours, whatever that means. So what?

In Hebrews 12:1, the writer exhorts their reader to “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” We are meant to be doing this together, not kicking each other’s heels together at the start line to try and get ahead. This race is not one of speed or strategy, but of endurance.

Verse 2 tells us another reason that comparison doesn’t get us anywhere.”Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” It is a long road and it does not help you get where you are going to be looking around all the time. Fix your eyes on the goal. No matter how perfect someone’s life looks, they should not be your goal. The life you want is the one Jesus has uniquely for you, and you can only find that in Him.

-Matt from The Bridge

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"The only thing that will change you is love. And the only thing that will keep you changed is..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:01:28 -0500

“The only thing that will change you is love. And the only thing that will keep you changed is thankfulness. Fear, guilt, rules, and legalism cannot do either of those.”

- Jed Brewer on episode 68 of the Say That podcast

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"The Bible says that our spirit and our flesh war against each other. Our minds and emotions are that..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:01:49 -0500

“The Bible says that our spirit and our flesh war against each other. Our minds and emotions are that battleground. How we manage our thought process and emotional lives goes a long way in deciding who is going to win those battles.”

- Unka Glen in his May Bridge Box sermon

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Why are Glen and Matt wearing those outfits, those expression...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:02:18 -0500

Why are Glen and Matt wearing those outfits, those expression and those bracelets? Stay tuned to Say That to find out.*

*podcast will not explain goofy expressions, they are inexplicable

"There is only one you in the universe. No one can compete with you at being you. There are things to..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:01:38 -0500

“There is only one you in the universe. No one can compete with you at being you. There are things to do and people to reach for the kingdom that God created you to do. We need you to be who you are.”

- Unka Glen Fitzjerrell on episode 68 of the Say That podcast.

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"“Jesus wept.” -John 11:35 Dealing with emotions does not mean shutting them down. Emotions were an..."

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:02:02 -0500

“

“Jesus wept.” -John 11:35

Dealing with emotions does not mean shutting them down. Emotions were an important part of Jesus’s life. He knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He could have just skipped to being okay, but Jesus felt the emotion of that moment. He let emotion be a healthy part of His life and that situation

”

- from the May Bridge Box Bible Study

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Come In Weakness

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:52:00 -0500

When He was walking the planet, Jesus was consistently at odds with one group of people: religious people who thought they had all the answers. With a few notable exceptions, they refused to believe that He knew better then they did. They were educated and religious after all.

Yet so often we wish that we could act like we have it all together like they do. We believe the lie that Jesus wants only the most squared away (looking) people. But Jesus referred to them as whitewashed tombs and snakes.

We actively try to not be like the woman who had been bleeding in Mark chapter 5. She had big, embarrassing problems and she was desperate. She didn’t know the Bible forward and backward. She didn’t know any fancy prayers. Her best plan was just to get close to Jesus and grab His cloak. It was not an elegant plan. A religious person may have chastised her for bad doctrine of cloak grabbing.

Jesus called her “daughter”, healed her, and praised her faith. Her honesty and desperation didn’t creep Him out. He didn’t quiz her about obscure books of the Bible to make sure she knew enough. She knew what was important, that Jesus was who He claimed to be.

Jesus does not want us to come to Him in our own strength and wisdom. That would be faking it anyway. It takes faith and courage to admit your brokenness, but that is where healing begins.

-Matt from The Bridge

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"You are the most important person in the world to Jesus. Somehow, in the infinite heart of God, that..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:01:28 -0500

“You are the most important person in the world to Jesus. Somehow, in the infinite heart of God, that is true for each of us. You are infinitely important to God.”

- Lee Younger on episode 68 of the Say That podcast

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"So let’s look at repression. It’s a lot like living in the attic of a house while there’s a fire in..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:01:52 -0500

“

So let’s look at repression. It’s a lot like living in the attic of a house while there’s a fire in the basement. It doesn’t appear to have any bearing on the current situation, but believe me, it will eventually become a problem. When you repress emotions, make no mistake, they still exist on a subconscious level.

The spiritual problem with repression is that these are strong feelings that aren’t being dealt with. Instead, they’re being swept under the rug. And once they’re under that rug, in the dark, the enemy can tell us lies that pertain to those emotions. Since we won’t face the emotion, we can’t break down the lies that are being told to us about those
emotions.

”

- from the May Bridge Box devotional

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Am I Radical Enough?

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:01:20 -0500

Anonymous asked:

Are we called to be radical? I feel bad because my friends around me are seeking to go overseas and be missionaries or have homeless people live in their houses, or only live off of bread and water so they can give their money to the poor. I don’t feel called to do any of this but at times it feels like this is what it means to give up everything for God? I feel like I’m a bad Christian cuz I’m not radical enough. Should I make a huge change in my life to reach the lost for Jesus?

I answered:

Things like forgiving your enemies, loving your neighbor as yourself, and caring for the least of these are things that are radical by worldly standards. There can hardly be a more radical statement than 1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or anything in the world.”

Doing those things is radical. What is not radical is talking about those things. There was a book a few years ago that swept through the Christian world about this very subject. I have nothing against that book. I’ve never read it to be perfectly honest. What I do know, because I witnessed it, is that a whole lot of church people where talking about being totally radical, and then went on to do…the exact same thing they had been doing.

I mention that because I don’t think you should feel bad that you aren’t planning to intentionally live in abject poverty in the name of being extreme. I don’t think your friends are planning on doing that either. I’m not saying that they are bad people or being fake. Part of thinking about the future when you are young is talking about out there stuff.

We are called to follow what Jesus calls us to do. If Jesus calls you to be a missionary overseas, great. If He calls you to work a job, provide for a family, and volunteer at church, that’s great too. Neither one is inherently more holy than the other.

Sometimes people get so into the idea of finding the most hardcore thing they can do for the Lord, that they stop listening to the Lord about it. That’s just as bad as not listening to the Lord in search of comfort. If someone just likes the idea of being the most radical Christian they know, it is no longer about Jesus. It has become about their ego, and serving your ego is definitely not a radical act.

Christianity is not a competitive activity. It is a personal relationship with God that comes with a personal calling. There is no such thing as doing it more hardcore than the next person. Hearing from the Lord and following His call despite your own ego is as radical as it gets.

-Matt from The Bridge

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"Jealousy gives you a false narrative that you have no control over your own life. Jealousy wants to..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:01:18 -0500

“Jealousy gives you a false narrative that you have no control over your own life. Jealousy wants to keep you sitting at home doing nothing, because all that time spent being mad that they have it and you don’t is time you are not spending on your helping your own situation.”

- Jed Brewer on episode 68 of the Say That podcast

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"Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:01:39 -0500

“

Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Even when your emotions feel like a tangled mess, God knows what they are and where they are coming from. The final step of investigating emotions is listening to God about their proportion, origin, validity, etc. Listening to the Lord is a skill that you get better at over time. Asking God into your deepest emotional places can be a scary thing at first, but it pays big dividends. He already knows your deep and messy places, and He loves you still. Don’t be afraid to share them with Him.

”

- from the May Bridge Box Bible Study

Get songs, sermons, studies, and much more for only $8/month. Sign up at missionusa.com/bridgebox.

No Seriously: Is There An Unforgivable Sin?

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:01:13 -0500

Anonymous asked:

This is a follow-up to the May 9th question about “unforgivable sin”. Isn’t that talking about blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-29)? And what exactly does that mean? If it isn’t unforgivable, why is it in there?

I answered:

“Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” -Mark 3:28-29 (NIV)

That is a very scary little statement tucked into the scriptures right there. Here is what we can absolutely tell for sure for that passage: if you are an eye witness to Jesus healing someone, do not accuse Him of being possessed by Satan. He does not appreciate that. Verse 30 says explicitly “He said this because they were saying, ‘He has an impure spirit.’” So that’s an important safety tip.

That gospel story strikes me as a statement on people whose hearts are hardened toward the message of Jesus. It reminds me of Matthew 11 where Jesus tells a crowd that Sodom would have believed if they had seen the miracles shown to that town. This guy plainly saw Jesus work a miracle and just had to come up with a reason for Jesus to not be who He claimed to be. So maybe blaspheming the Holy Spirit has something to do with resisting His call on your heart.

As to what that story means for us, to be totally honest I don’t really know. Here Is what I do know, that one verse does not undo the rest of the New Testament. The gospel is not that Jesus took all your sins on the cross, unless you say that wrong combination of words about the Holy Spirit.

If you have believed in Jesus, all your sins are forgiven. That is written all over the New Testament. This one verse does not undo that. It is important to keep that perspective on things like this. In 1 Corinthians 2:2 says “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Whatever you read in the Bible serves the narrative of grace being free for those who accept it because of the work of Jesus on the cross.

It is important remember that foundational aspect so you don’t get pulled in a weird direction. I’ll tell you what I mean. If someone says “blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. Blaspheme the Holy Spirit and you go to Hell!”, you might buy that. That opens the door to “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, so masturbating is blaspheming against that, so you will go to hell for masturbating.” Now someone has taken to disparate and isolated, yet technically correct biblical points and twisted them to say whatever they want.

It is good to look into all aspects of what the Bible has to tell us, but you have to be careful to keep your feet on the solid ground of what we know the Bible says about who we are. God created you, He loves you, and because He sacrificed His son, forgiveness is free for all who accept it.

-Matt from The Bridge

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The 20s Christian Singleness Panic

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:01:39 -0500

Anonymous asked:

When talking about singleness, you guys often imply that a dating relationship is just around the corner or that marriage is pretty much guaranteed eventually. What about those people who actually will remain single their whole lives? How does one live out their sexuality in a godly way if they remain single/celibate indefinitely? Also, how do you explain your singleness to inquisitive outsiders who imply there’s something wrong with you if you’re not in a relationship?

I answered:

The number of Christians who never get married is extremely small. On the other hand, the number of Christians who assume they will never be married if they aren’t by age 23 is massively high. In that disconnect lies a lot of panic and self loathing that is in no way healthy and a lot of which could be avoided by taking a time out and breathing deep. Now let’s take a look at the individual parts of your question.

The easiest part to address is the bit about inquisitive outsiders. There are a number of good options in such situations: leave the room, kick them in the shins, loudly attempt to exorcise the rudeness demons out of them. These are all fine choices.

The reason someone asking you why you aren’t in a relationship bothers you is because you think it is an indication that something is wrong with you. You think you are too weird, or too nerdy, or have too much baggage, or too whatever to be loved. And the real sting is if you are convinced that all that is your fault. Like if you just worked out twice a day and made more money and didn’t care quite so much about Doctor Who then you would totally be married to the perfect person by now.

That is of course ridiculous when it is said out loud. Everybody is attracted to a different body type, no amount of money makes up for a bad personality fit over the long haul, and there is no such thing as caring too much about Doctor Who.

You don’t earn a relationship. A relationship is a gift of God in the way that every other good thing is a gift from Him. We do not earn our gifts from God. We need to be prepared to receive them by doing things like dealing with insecurities and getting your walk on solid footing, but that is not earning it.

In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul refers to be married or single as gifts saying “But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.” Singleness is not a punishment, it is (very special, relatively rare) calling. As with all of God’s callings, if He calls you, He will give you the tools to do it. If you are called to be single, God will give you the strength and tools to live that out.

If you just happen to be in that early to mid-20s panic zone, don’t start looking up monasteries quite yet. It is perfectly possible to have a healthy relational life when you don’t start dating until late in life, granted that it is not ideal. If you feel like you are crawling out of you skin because you are not in a relationship, time to start taking some steps beyond just worrying. Ask someone out for coffee, sign up for a dating site. Taking an active part in your own dating life will go a long way towards keeping down that panic.

-Matt from The Bridge

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The Acoustic version of “Cast My Cares” from...

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:01:57 -0500

The Acoustic version of “Cast My Cares” from May’s Bridge Box. An intimate, introspective look at our need for God’s tenderness in the midst of our weakness.

Get songs, sermons, studies, and much more for only $8/month. Sign up at missionusa.com/bridgebox.

Episode 68 of the Say That podcast is up! How to combat...

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:01:05 -0500

Episode 68 of the Say That podcast is up!

How to combat jealousy. Is there such a thing as overemphasizing God’s love? How to fight back when depression is kicking your butt.

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"‘Gospel’ means ‘good news.’ That is what the word means. Yet there are..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:01:23 -0500

“‘Gospel’ means ‘good news.’ That is what the word means. Yet there are religious people who are determined to add guilt, and rules, and punishment on top of it until it isn’t good news anymore. Those people are not preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

- Jed Brewer on episode 67 of the Say That podcast

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"You aren’t asking for a show Where I make believe I’ve made it on my own You..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:01:42 -0500

“

You aren’t asking for a show
Where I make believe I’ve made it on my own
You aren’t waiting for big words
Where I sound smart enough that now I think I’m heard

You’re just looking for Your child
To be with you by Your side
And to tell You how I feel
And discover once again Your love is real

”

- lyrics from “Cast My Cares”, the featured worship song in May’s Bridge Box.

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You Are Not A Defective Person

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:01:04 -0500

God did not have a lapse in concentration that lead to a mistake while making you. He wasn’t running low on an ingredient that you were supposed to have.

If God wanted to make a more extroverted you, a less emotional you, a you without whatever you think your deficiencies are, He could have. He made you because you are the perfect version of His divine vision for you.

You have some things you need to work on sure, but that work is an important part of His design as well.

God does not wish that you were a different version of yourself, neither should you.

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