Resurrection!

Once a year many Christians all over the world pause in order to commemorate Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. The early Christians also celebrated during this time calling their festival Pascha (from the Hebrew Passover). The Passover was a reminder of God’s liberation of His people from bondage to freedom through a series of miraculous events (plagues) that showed His absolute power over any of the idol gods that humans can devise. The final act was memorialized by the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, painting its life-blood on the doorframes of their houses, and feasting on the meat while eating bitter herbs and unleavened bread. That night, the angel of death saw the blood and “passed over” that house sparing all inside.

The prophetic lesson of this ritual meal was fulfilled in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross: He was our Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Peter 1:19), His blood is applied to our hearts at baptism (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:26-27), now when the death angel appears he will “pass over” those who belong to Him (Rev. 7:1-3) and they will live with Him forever. Jesus fulfilled all of this imagery perfectly by willingly going to the cross and paying our debt of sin, and (the most important part of the event) raising from the dead three days later as prophesied and as He promised.

So all throughout the church age, resurrection has been the central element of the faith. In fact, without resurrection Christianity has no meaning, no basis, no significance (1 Corinthians 15:12-18). God’s work of redemption is founded upon Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. It was the means by which God proved His victory over sin. And our hope of resurrection to new life, eternal life with God, is now guaranteed to all of those who through baptism have died to sin, been buried with Christ and raised to new life. As Paul says, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead was “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Resurrection for those clothed with Christ, then, is a certainty (Romans 6:5; 8:11).

In our fellowship, the resurrection of Christ is so fundamental to our faith, thinking, behavior, and practice that each week we commemorate this great event by eating the Lord’s Supper together. Jesus established this meal on the night He was betrayed to be a constant reminder and proclamation of His sacrifice and resurrection. We partake of it in order to identify with His life of holiness (what the bread symbolizes) and with His total commitment to God’s will (what the wine represents). And we eat it together to proclaim our unity in His body, the church. This is also the basis for the Great Commission that Jesus assigned for His disciples to engage in: He wants to provide resurrection to as many souls as He possibly can.

So in this season of resurrection, consider these few things;

1. Are you prepared to experience the ultimate blessed event (Php. 3:10)? If not, put on Christ now in baptism so you can be guaranteed of resurrection to new life (Eph. 1:13-14).

2. Are you walking in the light with God’s Spirit (1 John 1:7-8)? If not, rid yourself of sin and its damaging effects and know God’s love and peace for all eternity.

3. Are you maturing your faith (2 Pet. 1:5-9)? If not, get back in touch with your Father who is longing to welcome you home where you really belong.

4. Are you a beacon of light for those seeking a return to the Father (Matt. 5:14-16)? If not, consider those around you and their need to know and practice the truth.

Doug

Humble and Consistent Service

             God’s specially chosen corps of spokesmen (the prophets) were an amazing breed of people.  They came from all walks of life (upper-class, lower-class, royalty, priests, farmers, nomads); common, ordinary folk.  Some wrote inspired Scripture, some didn’t.  Some were honored for their work, some severely persecuted.  Some bore famous names and some remain unnamed.  Yet all of them were empowered by God’s Spirit to proclaim His word and are remembered because of their willingness to do God’s bidding regardless of the cost (physically, financially, reputation, etc.).

            Two that seem to stand out the most are Elijah and Elisha.  These two are amazing for completely different reasons.  While neither wrote anything inspired in Scripture, what is told about their ministries inspires God’s people and causes even the modern reader to notice God’s work among them.  Elijah is best known by his strange lifestyle and fiery personality; Elisha by his humble and consistent service to both friend and enemy alike.  They are a great study in contrasts.  It’s most unusual when you consider that they were co-workers laboring for God’s cause side-by-side.

            One can easily see how these two prophets, with all their different personalities and styles of ministry, foreshadowed many great missionary teams in the Bible (John the Baptist and Jesus, Barnabas and Paul, Paul and Timothy).  They were so opposite in many ways, but were perfectly matched by their faith in God and their willingness to bring Him the glory instead of seeking fame or honor for themselves.  Elijah and Elisha are a great example of unity.

            We can follow their example today during this last dispensation.  As Paul makes plain, the church is made up of a wide variety of personalities, opinions, viewpoints, gifts and abilities.  We can (and are expected to) work together in unity in order to build the body of Christ and keep it growing spiritually until Jesus comes again.  The only way this mission will be accomplished though is if each one of us is dedicated to providing humble and consistent service for Christ. 

            Reflect daily on your commitment to Christ:

            1. Ensure that it is focused on showing the meaning of humble and consistent service. 

            2. Be sure that your good deeds are done to help supply the needs of others and to bring God glory. 

            3. Understand your purpose in the kingdom and the work God has equipped you for. 

Doug

Ready At All Times

            Being a student of history, I’m always impressed how the great leaders of the past showed up just at the right time and were so perfectly fitted to the part they would play.  Is it possible the Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, George Washington, Albert Einstein, U.S. Grant and others were specifically placed into their respective time periods just so that they would be able to deliver when the world needed them most?  Or is it possible that God empowered seemingly ordinary men to rise up the challenge of the hour and be willing to expend themselves at a moment’s notice?  A study of Scripture seems to say the latter is the real case.

            Joseph was in Egypt ready to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams and save many lives from a severe famine (Gen. 41).  Moses was ready for the position to intercede for the Israelites – though he didn’t think he was (Exod. 3; Heb. 11).  Gideon’s faith empowered him and a handful of courageous fighters to stand by and watch a vast enemy army kill themselves (Judges 6, 7, 8). God heard blind Samson’s prayer and strengthened him one last time to work against a godless foe. Samuel was filled with God’s Spirit from a young age and served faithfully all of his life. Isaiah volunteered to be God’s spokesman when called (Isa. 6).  Philip willingly baptized an Ethiopian Eunuch as he was traveling along the road (Acts 8).  Ananias agreed to help Saul of Tarsus complete his conversion to Christ (Acts 9).  And Paul later taught and baptized his captor, jailer and his family though he was unjustly imprisoned (Acts 16).

            These were just ordinary folk.  The honor we afford to them came after their time of selfless service; after they overcame their fear of what the future would bring; after laying it all on the line and trusting God with the outcome.  What they teach us today is that God is ready and able to do the same for us if we, like them, are willing to put our faith in the only One that could turn them into heroes.  The Holy Spirit has a long track record of perfectly fitting and enabling ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

            Simon Peter, a simple fisherman turned outstanding apostle of Christ, encourages those filled with God’s Spirit to: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.  It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:15-17).  And who would know better how to encourage others to be empowered with God’s Spirit at all times and to stand firm in your faith than the one who denied Christ, but then determined never to make that same mistake again? 

            God promises to enable, empower, and to prepare us to succeed and be victorious through any challenge that comes our way (Rom. 8:18, 28); and He has never failed on a promise.

            So, will your faith in God allow you to complain, or to sing (Acts 16:25)?

            When things go wrong, do you know who to call on for help?

            Are you ready to serve Him faithfully should He call for you – at this very moment?

            Trust Him to take control of your life; He has a perfect track record on making ordinary people extra-ordinarily great.

Doug

The Great Escape

            One of my favorite movies made in the 60s is called The Great Escape.  It was based on a true story of WWII prisoners of war that planned and executed a brilliant and daring escape.  What intrigued me most about this story was the way the men worked together and patiently did their own personal part in order to accomplish their plan. And most of them did it for the benefit of others; many were not able physically to participate.

            The Bible also tells of a great escape.  It is probably the greatest breakout attempt of all human history.  Commonly known as the Exodus, the Israelites escaped from Egypt (the most powerful nation in the world) in a very daring way. 

            What a grand sight it must have been to see that mass of people walking away from 400+ years of slavery!  How excited they must have been to finally be free.  What a tremendous victory their God had just provided for them at the hands of the greatest nation on earth.  Through His Spirit, God proved beyond any doubt who the greatest force in the universe really was.

            But it wasn’t long until the people lost patience (and faith) and fear took over:

               Trapped between the Sea and Pharaoh's army!  Now how were they to escape?                  Thirsty in a barren land! Did God forget to have them bring water?

               No food! Hungry people get mean don’t they?

               The mountain is on fire! What’s become of our leader?

               Those people are BIG! We’re not strong enough to face them!

            Yet God, through His Spirit, delivered them from all of their problems:

               Crossing the Sea on dry ground!

               Water from a rock!

               What’s Manna? And all I have to do is pick it up off the ground?

               Moses shows up and we need God to forgive us!

               Forty years of wandering, yet God routed our enemies before us!

            The Exodus event was a foreshadowing of the next Great Escape: the liberation of souls from their bondage to sin. Jesus began the opening salvos of this epic battle by His sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection three days later. And God’s Spirit is leading, and guiding the souls that have been redeemed by His blood to finish their quest with ultimate victory.

            So how do you think this great escape will turn out?  How many do you think are going to make it to the next Promised Land (Heaven)? Sadly, we’re told that only a few will follow the Spirit to the end. Most will lose faith and be too discouraged to continue on.  Don’t let that happen to you: don’t die in this earthly wilderness.

            The God who orchestrated the first Great Escape is also orchestrating the next and ultimate one. His Spirit has provided the sacrifice and power of resurrection from death in Jesus, and promises to do the same for you (Romans 8:12). There’s no need to guess, and wonder, and fret, and worry. God guarantees that you have been justified freely by Jesus’ blood (Romans 3:24) through your baptism into Him (Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:26-27), that you have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13), and that His Spirit is within you to guide you to the ultimate victory – eternal life with Him.

            So hold on. Persevere. Take courage and fear not. Follow the Spirit and be assured of a blessed life both now and forever more in God’s holy and loving presence.

Doug

Religious Celebration

I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."  (Ps 122:1)

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. . . . Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.   (Ps 84:1-2, 10)

            I was saddened to hear from a well-meaning colleague of mine that if anyone enjoyed their worship experience then it was a sin.  “Joy has no place in the worship of the church,” he said.  “What we do here is dead serious.  It’s supposed to be a sacrifice and you’re not supposed to enjoy sacrificing.  If you’re enjoying it (your worship experience), then you haven’t sacrificed enough.”  I hope that his reaction was in response to the attitude that many have where they want to be served and pleased; when they “shop around” for a group whose Sunday performance appeals to them and makes them “feel” spiritual and fulfilled.

            Yet, all too often I sense this attitude among too many in our assemblies.  Our long history of practicing our worship rituals in the atmosphere of solemn silence – afraid to “offend” God if we aren’t reverent enough; terrified that God will revoke our place in the family if we don’t show up often enough or if we don’t show the adequate amount of seriousness when we practice our acts of worship – may have influenced this sad attitude towards the purpose we meet together.

            I hope you can see from the words of the Psalms above that God is looking for quite a different sentiment about the time we spend with Him and each other.  The Psalmists were constantly calling for the people to praise God with joyous hearts; to look forward to the time when they could be in His presence; to feel the wonder and awe associated with worshiping in the midst of multiple believers.

            Just consider for a moment, the holy days that God called for His people to observe (Passover; Pentecost (Weeks); Day of Atonement; Unleavened Bread) and the sacrifices they were required to present at His altar:  they were times of feasting and celebration!  Notice the festive atmosphere when the Passover was celebrated (Hezekiah – 2 Chronicles 29-31 & Josiah – 2 Chronicles 34).  They didn’t even follow the regulations right (2 Chron. 30:18-20), but God overlooked that in favor of the joy and love brought on by their fellowship and celebration.  And Nehemiah forbade any sadness when the people reinstituted the covenant (Neh. 8:10) reminding them that the joy of the LORD would be their strength.

            So why can’t we allow our worship times to be times of joy and celebration?  Why must we stress the guilt of our sin and the terribleness of Jesus’ sacrifice and lose all sense of the joy of our salvation that He freely and gladly bestows?  Do we really think that Jesus is still on the cross – still in the tomb?  Is true worship supposed to be a “funeral home” atmosphere?

            Let’s change our thinking so that we want to be in attendance on the Lord’s Day to encourage and to be encouraged.  Let’s find ways that we can use our talents to serve without having to be asked, or be prodded to be part of an organized program.  Let’s see the Lord’s Supper as a time to rejoice that, though Jesus suffered and died to pay for our sins, He rose from the dead defeating Satan once and for all – and that He lives forevermore!  Let’s learn to be anxious to give our money, time, energy, talents, etc.  Let’s sing with heart-felt devotion to God and to one another. 

            God has given us of His Holy Spirit so that we have a constant and near divine presence guiding us in continuous religious celebration to God. Let’s take advantage of this blessing daily so that we will look forward to the times that we spend with His people in His holy presence.

Doug

Trust And Obey

    “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”                                   Hebrews 11:1

     Don’t you wish that God was a little bit more detailed on His definition of faith?  Couldn’t an all-powerful, creator God put the concept of faith in more manageable terms?

     The answer is obviously “yes.”  So why didn’t the Father make it easier for us?  Well, He did.  If a human had decided to make this concept up it might be worded something like:

     “Faith is like . . . Noah - who was motivated to erect a huge never-before-seen box, and collect all of the different kinds of animals in the world in pairs, and house them and his family inside this box to be spared from a never-before-experienced catastrophe.”  OR . . .

     “Faith is like . . . Abraham - who listened to a never-before-known deity, and packed up his family and all of his earthly belongings to go to a never-before-seen land in order to receive the promise of numberless descendants – even though he and his wife Sarah were childless.” 

OR . . .

        “Faith is like . . . Moses - who saw a never-before-seen bush, listened to a never-before-heard voice inside of it, watched 10 never-before-imagined acts of power, led a multitude of murmuring ingrates along a never-before-experienced pathway, ate a never-before-eaten kind of bread, drank from a never-before-known kind of rock, and received 10 never-before-published laws.” 

OR . . .

     God could have just listed their accomplishments briefly as He did in the first place and allow us to digest the information while learning through our own experiences with Him how to follow their example.

     You’ll have to admit by providing the highlights of what motivated these people to trust God’s promises and obey accordingly shows that they had to deal with a lot more than anything we are faced with.  And yet even though they did not understand (1) why God had them do something strange or (2) what the outcome would be, they matured a small amount of faith into huge successes in their experience with God. In other words, their faith was made manifest to countless generations because they trusted and obeyed.   

     So I’ve come to realize that my struggle isn’t with a definition of a theological term (faith) as much as it is with my own desire and commitment to trust God and then obey without questioning. The legacy I leave in this life will be largely based on the outcome of what my faith in God produces; not necessarily with the details of the events that the Holy Spirit has guided me through. So I hope and pray that will be enough for others who follow to be encouraged to trust God, obey Him and establish their own legacy of faith to bless and pass on to successive generations on into eternity.

Doug

Something To Boast About

People boast about a lot of things: their physical appearance, their intelligence, an athletic performance, singing ability, the amount of money they make, the escapades they get away with, the list is practically endless.  Yet most of us can see right through most of the big talk we hear.  It becomes obvious that the person is either trying to impress others or they’re attempting to compensate for a lack of self-esteem.  Sometimes it appears that the boasting is meant as a means to control a situation and/or to assert authority.  Whatever the case, these rants usually result in a shouting match with one party demanding proof and both sides going separate ways.

If only we could learn not to boast; or better yet, learn to boast about something that really matters.  Does such a topic exist?  Is there really something substantial to boast about that we can continually proclaim and effectively embolden others to join us in bragging about?   Is there an achievement worth boasting about openly and honestly that won’t make us look shallow or arrogant?  God says there is; check out Jeremiah 9:23-24.

This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

It’s not wise to boast about wisdom because there is always more to learn and apply. And physical strength doesn’t last; just ask anyone experiencing old age.  And riches don’t last either; this latest recession (depression?) is proof of that. 

No, the only thing worth boasting about is in our understanding and knowing God.  That’s something to boast about because our relationship with Him is the only thing that lasts.  For if we truly understand Him, we will be striving to act as He does (notice the list of attributes that He delights in: “exercising” kindness, justice, righteousness – meaning that our actions will be loving, merciful, forgiving, serving, patient, trustworthy & honest, selfless, etc.).  And since He is infinite in all characteristics there will always be more to learn and know and to put into practice.

So, evidently it isn’t wrong to boast – as long as we boast about a subject that really matters.  And the only thing that EVER matters is God Himself.  It would be nice if our world considered this something to boast about.  But that won’t be happening any time soon.  So make this something you commit to on your own:

1.      Ask God to reveal Himself to you and grow to understand your loving Creator in the most intimate way. 

2.      Hunger and thirst to know Him more passionately by striving to be like Him in every way. 

3.      And go ahead and boast about your personal encounters with Him.  This will encourage the others around you to do the same. And then, what a wonderful would this will be.

Doug