Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing by Ted Slater on 05/19/2008 at 12:53 PM

I enjoy lively discussions about global warming and evolution and chicken wings as much as the next guy. Perhaps more. Ultimately, though, these things are trivialities.

And so I found myself over the weekend mulling over what the main thing truly is, the thing that should daily fuel my imagination.

And what is this main thing? Paul declared that the thing of "first importance" was this: "that Christ died for our sins." Elsewhere he identified the main thing about which he would boast: the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the end, there was but one thing that Paul wanted to know and make known: "Jesus Christ and him crucified." The death of Christ will continue being a focus of our worship even in heaven, where the heavenly beings are even now proclaiming, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain."

How easily I forget. How easily I find myself entangled in mere novelties. And so I find myself reflecting on the crucial words of a sermon given by C.J. Mahaney:

Ought not the patient to be familiar with the physician? Ought not the bride to be familiar with the bridegroom? Ought not the sinner to be familiar with the Savior? Beyond doubt it ought to be so. Surely we can not know this Christ too well. Surely there is not a word, nor a deed, nor a day, nor a step, nor a thought in the record of His life which ought not to be precious to us.

Father, saying that we are doing better than we deserve is one serious understatement. In light of your Holiness and our sinfulness, what we deserve is your judgment, your wrath, hell, and yet, because You are rich in mercy, we have become objects of Your mercy and no longer objects of Your wrath as we trust in Your Son and His finished work on our behalf for our sins. We come to you tonight clothed in the righteousness of another, clothed in the righteousness of Your Son in whom is all Your delight.

The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled. We have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us.

My sins have been great, but what was accomplished through the cross of Christ is greater. I'm a great sinner, but He is a greater Savior. Today may I draw near enough to Christ's cross that its sparks fall on me, setting my love aflame. Today may I boast in Christ and him crucified. Today may I keep the main thing the main thing: Christ died for my sins.

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing by Ted Slater on 05/19/2008 at 12:53 PM

I enjoy lively discussions about global warming and evolution and chicken wings as much as the next guy. Perhaps more. Ultimately, though, these things are trivialities.

And so I found myself over the weekend mulling over what the main thing truly is, the thing that should daily fuel my imagination.

And what is this main thing? Paul declared that the thing of "first importance" was this: "that Christ died for our sins." Elsewhere he identified the main thing about which he would boast: the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the end, there was but one thing that Paul wanted to know and make known: "Jesus Christ and him crucified." The death of Christ will continue being a focus of our worship even in heaven, where the heavenly beings are even now proclaiming, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain."

How easily I forget. How easily I find myself entangled in mere novelties. And so I find myself reflecting on the crucial words of a sermon given by C.J. Mahaney:

Ought not the patient to be familiar with the physician? Ought not the bride to be familiar with the bridegroom? Ought not the sinner to be familiar with the Savior? Beyond doubt it ought to be so. Surely we can not know this Christ too well. Surely there is not a word, nor a deed, nor a day, nor a step, nor a thought in the record of His life which ought not to be precious to us.

Father, saying that we are doing better than we deserve is one serious understatement. In light of your Holiness and our sinfulness, what we deserve is your judgment, your wrath, hell, and yet, because You are rich in mercy, we have become objects of Your mercy and no longer objects of Your wrath as we trust in Your Son and His finished work on our behalf for our sins. We come to you tonight clothed in the righteousness of another, clothed in the righteousness of Your Son in whom is all Your delight.

The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled. We have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us.

My sins have been great, but what was accomplished through the cross of Christ is greater. I'm a great sinner, but He is a greater Savior. Today may I draw near enough to Christ's cross that its sparks fall on me, setting my love aflame. Today may I boast in Christ and him crucified. Today may I keep the main thing the main thing: Christ died for my sins.

Comments

[1. Christina (in green) said the following at 12:58 PM on May 19:]

1

My bible reading this morning included Philippians 3:8

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

So yeah...I know what you mean :)

[2. Apryl said the following at 1:54 PM on May 19:]

2

Ted,

Thanks for this reminder. I am currently halfway through Mahaney's book "Living the Cross Centered Life." I would definitely recommend it to all.

[3. brx said the following at 1:55 PM on May 19:]

3

And the reason it's the Main Thing is because of all it implies. If Christ crucified then... wow!

Love, grace, healing, peace, freedom, adventure!

[4. (Canadian) Andrew R. said the following at 4:24 PM on May 19:]

4

Fully agree, Ted (finally!).

[5. Rachael said the following at 6:28 PM on May 19:]

5

"The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled. We have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us."

-->Nice..thank you for this. I still need to focus on the cross and make it a regular, conscious part of my thinking. I need to figure how to let that guide my thinking through the day in and day out...either figure it out or just let it guide my thinking or something...

[6. Rachael said the following at 6:33 PM on May 19:]

6

P.S. Ashleigh had recommended some links for preaching the gospel to yourself here on the Fresh Brew blog.

[7. J.T. said the following at 8:31 PM on May 19:]

7

You're missing the other half of the main thing: Yes, Christ died for the forgivness of our sins, AND Christ rose from the tomb and sent his Holy Spirit to live inside me to be victory over that sin. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ, and yet I live; not I, but Christ within me." Don't short the other half.

[8. Nicole said the following at 9:52 PM on May 19:]

8

God was impressing this upon me yesterday very loudly, thanks for further reminding me of this today. Good reinforcement of what I was hearing from God through church yesterday. I get distracted by everything else going on... politics (which I admittedly love), huge exams, housing situations, and job searches... and I forget what's most important.

It makes me think of Martha and Mary. It is so much easier for me to be a Martha than to be a Mary. But Jesus says that Mary has chosen better. So I am reminded that I need to take time to just sit at His feet sometimes.

"But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Luke 10:41-42

[9. Taffy said the following at 3:02 AM on May 20:]

9

Well said...its very easy to get side tracked and focus on other things. With all this hype about the new wave and the supernatural one can easily lose focus of the giver of the gifts.May Jesus always be the centre of it all

[10. Matthew said the following at 8:51 AM on May 20:]

10

I appreciate this post a lot and I can say that I had some similar thoughts this weekend. I ended up realizing that Boundless Line and the discussions here (as much as I enjoy them) were taking too much of my time and energy and distracting me from worshipping God and working out my salvation with fear and trembling. So I'm glad that we're all on the same page with "the Main Thing."

[11. Marisa said the following at 1:41 PM on May 20:]

11

Yes! Thank you for a "devotional" type post, in addition to the provocative or entertaining ones. :)

Christ Our Mediator is an extremely encouraging, Cross-gazing book by C J Mahaney. I'd heartily recommend it as an aid to keeping the main thing the main thing.

[12. niki said the following at 7:40 AM on May 21:]

12

After and through it all, Christ's sacrifice and resurrection is truly what *matters*.
Thank you for gently refocusing Boundless readers to the "main thing"; for when our focus strays, any and all of our words are in danger of being irrelevant.
So, thank you for encouraging relevance in this community!

[1. Christina (in green) said the following at 12:58 PM on May 19:]

1

My bible reading this morning included Philippians 3:8

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ

So yeah...I know what you mean :)

[2. Apryl said the following at 1:54 PM on May 19:]

2

Ted,

Thanks for this reminder. I am currently halfway through Mahaney's book "Living the Cross Centered Life." I would definitely recommend it to all.

[3. brx said the following at 1:55 PM on May 19:]

3

And the reason it's the Main Thing is because of all it implies. If Christ crucified then... wow!

Love, grace, healing, peace, freedom, adventure!

[4. (Canadian) Andrew R. said the following at 4:24 PM on May 19:]

4

Fully agree, Ted (finally!).

[5. Rachael said the following at 6:28 PM on May 19:]

5

"The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled. We have to get near enough to it for its sparks to fall on us."

-->Nice..thank you for this. I still need to focus on the cross and make it a regular, conscious part of my thinking. I need to figure how to let that guide my thinking through the day in and day out...either figure it out or just let it guide my thinking or something...

[6. Rachael said the following at 6:33 PM on May 19:]

6

P.S. Ashleigh had recommended some links for preaching the gospel to yourself here on the Fresh Brew blog.

[7. J.T. said the following at 8:31 PM on May 19:]

7

You're missing the other half of the main thing: Yes, Christ died for the forgivness of our sins, AND Christ rose from the tomb and sent his Holy Spirit to live inside me to be victory over that sin. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ, and yet I live; not I, but Christ within me." Don't short the other half.

[8. Nicole said the following at 9:52 PM on May 19:]

8

God was impressing this upon me yesterday very loudly, thanks for further reminding me of this today. Good reinforcement of what I was hearing from God through church yesterday. I get distracted by everything else going on... politics (which I admittedly love), huge exams, housing situations, and job searches... and I forget what's most important.

It makes me think of Martha and Mary. It is so much easier for me to be a Martha than to be a Mary. But Jesus says that Mary has chosen better. So I am reminded that I need to take time to just sit at His feet sometimes.

"But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
Luke 10:41-42

[9. Taffy said the following at 3:02 AM on May 20:]

9

Well said...its very easy to get side tracked and focus on other things. With all this hype about the new wave and the supernatural one can easily lose focus of the giver of the gifts.May Jesus always be the centre of it all

[10. Matthew said the following at 8:51 AM on May 20:]

10

I appreciate this post a lot and I can say that I had some similar thoughts this weekend. I ended up realizing that Boundless Line and the discussions here (as much as I enjoy them) were taking too much of my time and energy and distracting me from worshipping God and working out my salvation with fear and trembling. So I'm glad that we're all on the same page with "the Main Thing."

[11. Marisa said the following at 1:41 PM on May 20:]

11

Yes! Thank you for a "devotional" type post, in addition to the provocative or entertaining ones. :)

Christ Our Mediator is an extremely encouraging, Cross-gazing book by C J Mahaney. I'd heartily recommend it as an aid to keeping the main thing the main thing.

[12. niki said the following at 7:40 AM on May 21:]

12

After and through it all, Christ's sacrifice and resurrection is truly what *matters*.
Thank you for gently refocusing Boundless readers to the "main thing"; for when our focus strays, any and all of our words are in danger of being irrelevant.
So, thank you for encouraging relevance in this community!