Stay hopeful!

A long conversation with a friend yesterday circled around a much misused and misunderstood core doctrine of Christianity – the Second Coming of Christ. When I was a child hearing of Jesus’ return was not so much a source of hope, but a reason for fear. What I heard was “you better be ready or you will get left behind.”  In that era, many Bible-believing Christians chose to retreat from ‘the world’ into their own isolated communities as they prepared for a Great Tribulation.

The book, The Late Great Planet Earth (Hal Lindsey), as well as the apocalyptic writing of a man named Salem Kirban fueled feverish visions of the judgment to come when Christians were caught up in the Rapture to be with Christ.

The tragedy for me at least was that when the hype faded and the fever cooled what should have been a doctrine of great hope was ignored and marginalized. The speculation of teachers mixed with the truth of Scripture diluted a key truth into a mere curiosity.

In the letter of 1 Thessalonians Paul urges us to take hope from the promise inspired make a difference here on earth for God's sake even as we are steadied by the sure promise of our King’s return! The Blessed Hope of Christ’s ‘Kingdom Come’ will infuse us with courage and gives us reason to serve and love in Christ's name through dark times and great difficulties. Why?

Because we know that even death itself cannot steal our reward. Our destiny is not a grave. Even if our voice falls silent here on this earth in death, we will shout with the saints when we are gathered 'round the Throne of God! Each chapter of 1 Thessalonians closes with a reference to the promise of Christ's return.

The apostle tells us to stay hopeful because our Lord has not left us to fate. He is working out His will in us, building His kingdom through us, and will come for us in the moment chosen in the will of God, the Father. Paul does not see the return of Christ as a reason for fear or dread at all! He takes great hope from that promise. "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, NLT)

Who among us has not felt a sense of despair at one time or another, when our lives seem to be without purpose, a random mix of good and bad days, victories and defeats?  We experience sorrow when we or a family member is laid low by disease, or when divorce destroys a marriage, or when economic security disappears because of circumstances beyond our control.

Sometimes the darkness is inside of us - a recurring depression, a sinful habit that threatens to overwhelm us, or fear of some undefined nature.

Paul reminds us multiple times in that letter of both the certainty of God’s justice and our own salvation.
1.  We “wait for His Son from Heaven… who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (1.10)
2. “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes?” (2.19)
3. “May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” (3.13)
4. “For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep (died) in Him.” (4.14)
5. “You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.” (5.2)

Paul encouraged those first century Believers as well as you and me by assuring us that our Lord has not left us to fate. He is working out His will in us, building His kingdom through us, and will come for us in the moment chosen in the will of God, the Father. Paul does not see the return of Christ as a reason for fear or dread at all! He takes great hope from that promise.

Christian friend don’t let foolish speculation, complex prophecy charts, or even the long delay of the Promise to rob you of your hope - a hope based not on wealth, health, or sunny days- but rather on the coming Kingdom of God.

Pray for wisdom in dealing with the challenges, for restored perspective on current events, for the power of the Spirit to overcome the Enemy, and for faith to remain faithful!

The word from the Word is a call to faith. Hear it. Live it. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3)

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Are You Afraid of Questions?

Would you be shocked if I told you that there are days when I question the goodness of God? Most of the time I live contently and with faith. From my childhood my day-to-day existence has been formed around the basic assumptions that there is a God Whom I can trust, Who is active in the world and to Whom my prayers are addressed with real expectation that He loves and cares for me.

Moments come when, for reasons I do not fully understand, that faith comes under assault, when I wonder if God is cruel or loving, if He is involved or aloof, if He is ready to save or destroy. In those moments, I call to mind the fact that perspective matters! Look at the ground, you see rocks. Lift your eyes, you see mountains! If I take only the short-term view, seeing God through the lens of the moment’s trouble or disappointment, I might conclude that He cannot be trusted. If I look at life over the long-term, if I consider the testimony of the saints of the ages, faith grows.

There is an ancient story in the Scripture from the life of Elisha. The elite soldiers of Israel’s enemy were chasing the prophet and his servant. Finally, they were surrounded in a little village named Dothan. When Elisha’s servant went out in the morning and realized they were trapped he panicked. Elisha ‘saw’ the situation differently. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6)

That story helps me to understand that I too am surrounded by the goodness of God, that despite situations that seem overwhelming or that invite me to fear, a change of perspective will bring new faith. I am not speaking of wishful thinking or escapism into an alternate reality created in my own mind. We should pray, as Paul does, for the Spirit’s work, that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1)

IF we judge God by the limited wisdom of the human mind we are exercising an awful arrogance. That does not mean that we will never question, nor does it mean that we will find every bump in life’s road smoothed away. In my 70 years, I have endured seasons of loss, of disappointment, of failure. There are things in my life for which I have no present explanation. I could accuse God of being uncaring or forgetful – except for the Truth that the eternal Word reveals to me.

So, even when I weep, I pray for eyes that see beyond the moment, that I will live in the ‘knowledge of God’s will’ so that my life will be worthy of the Lord, full of spiritual fruit of holy and good behavior. In the same letter of Ephesians Paul prays that Christians “may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3)  

When faith allows me to take hold of God’s love in a way that is beyond human reason, there is a visible result in life – I will overflow with God’s ‘fullness,’ living in a supernaturally charged way that is incomprehensible to those without the Holy Spirit living in them.

Are you accusing God of forgetting you, mistreating you, or of being unfair? Pray for a change of point of view, asking to see all the way to Heaven! God is not afraid of your questions so go ahead and ask them, but not with bitterness, nor in angry. Come to Him as a broken-hearted child takes the sorrow of life to a loving Dad. Rest in Him, realizing that some things are simply beyond our understanding in this moment but that He is a good, good Father.

Here’s the word from the Word. As you read it, give thanks that the Spirit calls you
from darkness to Light,
from mere religion to eternal glory, and
then with a perspective of eternity guiding your thoughts learn to live like a King’s kid today.

"This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone… to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing.

The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less."
(Colossians 1:26-30, The Message)

Amen!

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I’m right, you’re wrong!

The smug smile on the well-known Christian leader’s face made me angry. Without a hint of humility, he proclaimed his superior understanding of the Bible, dismissing all who thought differently from himself as ‘ignorant’ and ‘incapable of true study.’ 

Arrogance is a deadly sin and can creep up on any one of us. The moment we stop trusting the grace of God shown in Christ and begin to compare ourselves to others, measuring our ‘holiness’ against theirs, evil gains a hold in us. If we start to think that our knowledge is without error, that we have gained a kind of perfection, or that we enjoy some special status with God a stinking thing called ‘spiritual pride’ begins to grow!

Hubris is a point of vulnerability in many Christian lives. What’s hubris?

It is “excessive pride or self-confidence, arrogance.”  We want to believe the wonderful things about ourselves that others say. A great compliment is encouraging. Many of us are tempted by the same sin that plagued the Pharisee who saw the sinner standing to one side of the Temple and ‘prayed’ – “I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.”

Spiritual growth and victories should be celebrated, but only with thanksgiving to God. Paul bluntly warned the proud Believers in Corinth that they were in danger – “if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! “(2 Corinthians 10) This is a word worthy of our attention.

None of us has completely mastered sin or managed every challenge in life well. We all have blind spots, broken places, and unfinished business in life. Arrogance will blind us to our brokenness. Nothing has cost me more regret than becoming too confident in my own wisdom and failing to listen – to the Spirit of God and the wisdom of counselors!

The story of Rehoboam, son of King Solomon, who came to the throne from a prince’s privileged life is a lesson to us. Everybody admired him, told him he was wonderful- and he believed it! After his coronation, the citizens of Israel asked for relief from taxation. Solomon’s expansion of the kingdom was costly.

Knowing the young king did not have the affection of the people that his father enjoyed, older counselors told him to listen to the people "but he rejected the counsel of the elders and asked the young men he’d grown up with who were now currying his favor." (1 Kings 12:8) Stupidly he told the people “If you think life under my father was hard, you haven’t seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I’ll beat you bloody with chains!”  (1 Kings 12:14) A short time later the nation divided, with the northern half rebelling and appointing their own king!

Success carries danger spiritual danger than a string of failures. When we win plenty of people will remind us of our amazing talents. Governments, corporations, and even churches falter when those leading them start to believe in their own ‘exceptionalism.’

Yes, we should study to understand. We should apply ourselves to know the Word and will of God, but the moment we trust our own wisdom, we lose touch with the revelation of the Spirit!

Yes, we can and should rejoice when we do well, when our lives enjoy the fruits of our efforts, however, we should acknowledge grace and God’s gifts. "Whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. … yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace." (1 Corinthians 15:10, NLT) 

There is a choice to be made, Peter says. The bold fisherman turned apostle had stumbled over his excessive self-confidence in his early life. From those experiences he advises us to “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5, NIV) 

Paul asks us to remember God’s grace, too. “Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). A key principle should guide us. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3)

Are you walking pridefully, judging others lesser, believing in your own wisdom, filled with self-righteousness?

Go to Christ Jesus, who though Lord of Glory, choose the way of a Servant. Confess the sin of pride and be renewed in grace. True humility will make Him shine brighter through your life and will ultimately make you a much happier person.

Here’s a word from the Word. “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3-4, NIV)

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