99% of the time I love my calling to serve as a local church's pastor. I believe in the Church, that she holds the key to making a better world and the answer to the spiritual need of every human being. I have a passion for the Gospel of Christ. Nobody has to bribe me to get me to work. No one has to threaten me to get me to produce. Why? Because my heart is in this; it's my life. If you talk with me for more than a few moments, you're going to hear about two things- my family and the church! Because those loves are deep in my heart, they surface quickly in my conversation. In contrast, I have a friend who hates his occupation. He dreads every morning, drags his feet all the way to where he works, and lives for the weekend. He will candidly tell you that he works just for the money! In conversation he seldom even mentions his occupation - except to complain about the 'idiots' he has to work around. I do hope that your daily work is about something you love and believe in, but that's not the main point of this TFTD.
Why are you a Christian?
How do you serve Christ and His kingdom?
Some people's Christianity is primarily focused on getting to Heaven and keeping out of trouble with God. They don't really love Him, nor do they really have a heart-deep conviction that the meaning of a joyous life is found in knowing Jesus. But they do believe that Eternity is real and that God exists so.... they participate at a minimal level that they hope will keep God satisfied. The tragic truth about this kind of spirituality is that it robs that person of joy in both worlds! They can't dive into making money, seeking pleasure, and feeding their sensual appetites because they have a certain kind of fear of God. And they don't enjoy the joy of a close walk with the Spirit of God because they keep Him at a distance, too!
I once counseled a man who was torn between his desire to do his own thing and his knowledge of God's way. He tried desperately to keep a foot in each world, living sinfully and sensually and then pleading with God for forgiveness. The roller coaster of guilt and relief nearly drove him mad! My advice to him was simple - "Choose!" That's what Joshua advised the nation of Israel, too. “Honor the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15, NLT)
This challenge to choose is one that recurs again and again in the Bible. Moses, in his final address to Israel, laid out the 'blessings' and 'curses.' That sermon which is recorded in the ending chapters of Deuteronomy are an interesting study in choice and consequence! Elijah stood before the king and leaders of Israel at Mt. Carmel and threw down this challenge - “How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it’s Baal (a god worshipped by the Canaanite people), follow him. Make up your minds!” (1 Kings 18:21, The Message)
Believer, get your heart into it. Choose God. Make Him first - in your affections, in your priorities of time use, in your finances. Love for God is not just about warm, fuzzy emotions that we feel in those occasional times of high worship, or at a beautiful sunset, or... whatever. Love for God is about our daily choices. Our hearts will follow our choice. IF we choose Him, place our affections on Him, we will find great joy in the offering of ourselves. His love will grow in us.
Here's a word from the Word to ponder today - Jesus says, “Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends." (Revelation 3:20, NLT) What's your choice?
__________________________
This is the air I breathe,
This is the air I breathe,
Your Holy Presence living in me.
This is my Daily Bread,
This is my Daily Bread,
Your very word spoken to me.
And I, I'm desp'rate for You.
And I, I'm lost without You.
© 1995 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Music Services) CCLI License No. 810055
Friday, April 21, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Who speaks for God?
Would you agree with me that God needs some really good ambassadors in this world, who represent His kingdom well?
It seems to me that too often only the hate-mongers like Fred Phelps get the headlines. He's the 'pastor' who leads "Christians" in marches at American soldiers funerals waving signs that read - "God hates fags!" and "God Hates Cripple Soldiers" and other slogans too vile to publish here.
Then, too, everybody knows about the TV preachers who preach the "health and wealth" Gospel that only feeds the selfishness and greed of listeners. They promise rich rewards to the gullible who send in generous offerings to buy God's favor. Oh, it hurts, doesn't it?
Less spectacular, but just as harmful are those religious zealots who represent God as an angry Father ready to knock down anyone who doesn't cower before Him. They focus on the sins and failures of their family and neighbors, criticizing and condemning, and threatening hellfire for all. If they mention Jesus at all, it isn't about His amazing love, but rather His Second Coming 'to set everything right!' - meaning, "He's gonna finally punish all you sinners!" Oh, it hurts my heart so badly! If I only knew God through the kinds of messengers I've just mentioned, I wouldn't want anything to do with Christianity and/or organized religion, either.
That's why God needs you and me to speak up!
The Bible says, "We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, “Be reconciled to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21, NLT) What a commission. We, who have experienced the favor of God through Christ Jesus, are able to freely offer it to people around us. That doesn't mean we have to 'go soft on sin.' We are privileged, instead, to build bridges into the lives of those who are isolated, offering them a way to know the God that will satisfy the hunger that they have for meaning, purpose, and wholeness.
The Holy Spirit divinely equips us to speak for God with an ability that the New Testament calls the gift of prophecy. Don't get scared! Paul talks at length about it in 1st Corinthians 14. We attach all kinds of mystical, spooky connotations to the word, but it's really a simple concept. Prophets represent God, bringing His words to others! They represent Him to the world. "Let love be your highest goal, but also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives, especially the gift of prophecy... one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them." (1 Corinthians 14:1, 3 NLT) We, that's right, you and me - are urged to pray for this gift to be active in us, so that we can speak God's message to the people around us in a way that is convincing and effective. That doesn't mean you have to work up a 30 minute sermon and take over the break room today to deliver a full attack on the sins of America! It means that we listen to the quiet voice of the Spirit, asking Him to give us words that people need to hear. And He will! They can be loving words, encouraging words, comforting words, inviting words. Prophets write short encouraging notes when they feel that the Lord is directing them to do that. Prophets gently tell the truth, accurately, and without a personal agenda.
Are you willing to speak for God? It takes a sensitive heart, a submitted spirit, and lots of courage. When you say "I've been praying and I believe that the Spirit wants me to share this with you..." you're going to get criticized, rejected, and marked as a nut case! But, if you're really hearing from God, you're going to also have opportunities to encourage, to help lost people find the Way.
Let's not let the noisy offensive religious nuts be the only voices that claim to speak for God.
Pray that God will speak to you so you can speak to others. Keep it real, keep it loving, keep it Christ-centered.
_________________
We are called to be prophets to this nation
To be the word of God in every situation
Change my heart - Change my heart today
Who'll be the salt if the salt should lose its flavor?
Who'll be the salt if the salt should lose its flavor?
Change my heart - Change my heart today
Lord, take all my lies and take all of my greed
Let me be a sacrifice to those who are in need
Change my heart - Change my heart today
Lord, without Your power it's all just good intentions
Lord, without Your grace who could find redemption?
Change my heart - Change my heart today
Lord, loose the chains of oppression
Lord, set the captives free
Lord, fill my heart with compassion
Shine Your light, Shine Your Light
Shine Your light thru me
Work a miracle in my heart
Work a miracle in my heart
Work a miracle in my heart, Oh Lord, today!
CCLI License No. 810055
It seems to me that too often only the hate-mongers like Fred Phelps get the headlines. He's the 'pastor' who leads "Christians" in marches at American soldiers funerals waving signs that read - "God hates fags!" and "God Hates Cripple Soldiers" and other slogans too vile to publish here.
Then, too, everybody knows about the TV preachers who preach the "health and wealth" Gospel that only feeds the selfishness and greed of listeners. They promise rich rewards to the gullible who send in generous offerings to buy God's favor. Oh, it hurts, doesn't it?
Less spectacular, but just as harmful are those religious zealots who represent God as an angry Father ready to knock down anyone who doesn't cower before Him. They focus on the sins and failures of their family and neighbors, criticizing and condemning, and threatening hellfire for all. If they mention Jesus at all, it isn't about His amazing love, but rather His Second Coming 'to set everything right!' - meaning, "He's gonna finally punish all you sinners!" Oh, it hurts my heart so badly! If I only knew God through the kinds of messengers I've just mentioned, I wouldn't want anything to do with Christianity and/or organized religion, either.
That's why God needs you and me to speak up!
The Bible says, "We are Christ’s ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, “Be reconciled to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21, NLT) What a commission. We, who have experienced the favor of God through Christ Jesus, are able to freely offer it to people around us. That doesn't mean we have to 'go soft on sin.' We are privileged, instead, to build bridges into the lives of those who are isolated, offering them a way to know the God that will satisfy the hunger that they have for meaning, purpose, and wholeness.
The Holy Spirit divinely equips us to speak for God with an ability that the New Testament calls the gift of prophecy. Don't get scared! Paul talks at length about it in 1st Corinthians 14. We attach all kinds of mystical, spooky connotations to the word, but it's really a simple concept. Prophets represent God, bringing His words to others! They represent Him to the world. "Let love be your highest goal, but also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives, especially the gift of prophecy... one who prophesies is helping others grow in the Lord, encouraging and comforting them." (1 Corinthians 14:1, 3 NLT) We, that's right, you and me - are urged to pray for this gift to be active in us, so that we can speak God's message to the people around us in a way that is convincing and effective. That doesn't mean you have to work up a 30 minute sermon and take over the break room today to deliver a full attack on the sins of America! It means that we listen to the quiet voice of the Spirit, asking Him to give us words that people need to hear. And He will! They can be loving words, encouraging words, comforting words, inviting words. Prophets write short encouraging notes when they feel that the Lord is directing them to do that. Prophets gently tell the truth, accurately, and without a personal agenda.
Are you willing to speak for God? It takes a sensitive heart, a submitted spirit, and lots of courage. When you say "I've been praying and I believe that the Spirit wants me to share this with you..." you're going to get criticized, rejected, and marked as a nut case! But, if you're really hearing from God, you're going to also have opportunities to encourage, to help lost people find the Way.
Let's not let the noisy offensive religious nuts be the only voices that claim to speak for God.
Pray that God will speak to you so you can speak to others. Keep it real, keep it loving, keep it Christ-centered.
_________________
We are called to be prophets to this nation
To be the word of God in every situation
Change my heart - Change my heart today
Who'll be the salt if the salt should lose its flavor?
Who'll be the salt if the salt should lose its flavor?
Change my heart - Change my heart today
Lord, take all my lies and take all of my greed
Let me be a sacrifice to those who are in need
Change my heart - Change my heart today
Lord, without Your power it's all just good intentions
Lord, without Your grace who could find redemption?
Change my heart - Change my heart today
Lord, loose the chains of oppression
Lord, set the captives free
Lord, fill my heart with compassion
Shine Your light, Shine Your Light
Shine Your light thru me
Work a miracle in my heart
Work a miracle in my heart
Work a miracle in my heart, Oh Lord, today!
CCLI License No. 810055
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Love - God's nature, God's gift
Our daughter, Maribel, got engaged this past weekend. Everything we hear about the young man who has stolen her heart delights us! Her email to us that told us about his romantic proposal, his desire to meld their lives in service to Christ, his respect and honor for us as her parents-- and the way he lights up her life - make us very glad. "Love is a many-splendored thing." Solomon's Song exults in it, "Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned." (Song of Solomon 8:7, NIV) God gave the gift of love to us. It reflects His very nature. John reminds us that "God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us." (1 John 4:16, The Message) Are you getting ready to object to my connection of my daughter's romance with God's love? Give me a couple of more moments before you do.
The truth is that real, deep marital love - the covenant commitment of a man and woman to each other- is the Biblical illustration of God's relationship to His Church. We are called the Bride of Christ! He wants to delight us, to captivate us, and to have us respond with intense desire for Him, the same kind of desire that is found in a couple in love! It is God's plan that our delight in Him never wanes, but only deepens over time like love deepens in a carefully tended marriage. Maribel and Dave have a new love, a love that has not yet been tested by trials, kids, sickness, bills, tempers, and all that stuff of real life. When they make the covenant commitment, before God, to love and to cherish, for better and worse; with the help of God they will build on their romantic attraction and create a life together marked by a quality of love that reflects God's own love for them.
Are you captivated by Christ?
Do you think of Him as you awaken, talk with Him as you begin your day, turn to Him through the day, and as the night closes around you, commit yourself to Him?
In my pastoral work, I am often asked to help couples who have 'fallen out of love,' whose marriages are in trouble. When one or both partners fail to care for the marriage or take advantage of their spouse, or break their vows; sorrow is inevitable. Then, too, there are those marriages that run headlong into terrible difficulties, things like huge life change or chronic illness. The restorative power of real love still amazes me! Sometimes I think to myself, "this marriage is beyond salvage, too wrecked to survive," but the couple works hard, digs deep, and draws on God's love and their love, emerging from the the awful pain of broken lives into a love that is stronger than before!
Some Christians have the same experience with the Divine Lover! They neglect Him, or they take advantage of Him, or they even betray Him! They wander from Him, chase after other loves, and feel the coldness of soul. They seem to die while they are still living. Then, when we might conclude that they are beyond hope, they turn in humble repentance, and their love for Him re-emerges deeper,s stronger than before. Others run into testing experiences that make the love of Christ seem like a joke. "How can You love me and let me go through this?" is the cry of their aching soul. Where have you gone? But, with patience and perseverance, they find that He is there, that He does care.
Paul tells us that it is the love of God that brings out the best in us! Take this passage with you today.
Let the image of a newly minted love fire your imagination and give you a renewed desire to know the Love of Christ. Take note what results from knowing His love....
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.
Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT
The truth is that real, deep marital love - the covenant commitment of a man and woman to each other- is the Biblical illustration of God's relationship to His Church. We are called the Bride of Christ! He wants to delight us, to captivate us, and to have us respond with intense desire for Him, the same kind of desire that is found in a couple in love! It is God's plan that our delight in Him never wanes, but only deepens over time like love deepens in a carefully tended marriage. Maribel and Dave have a new love, a love that has not yet been tested by trials, kids, sickness, bills, tempers, and all that stuff of real life. When they make the covenant commitment, before God, to love and to cherish, for better and worse; with the help of God they will build on their romantic attraction and create a life together marked by a quality of love that reflects God's own love for them.
Are you captivated by Christ?
Do you think of Him as you awaken, talk with Him as you begin your day, turn to Him through the day, and as the night closes around you, commit yourself to Him?
In my pastoral work, I am often asked to help couples who have 'fallen out of love,' whose marriages are in trouble. When one or both partners fail to care for the marriage or take advantage of their spouse, or break their vows; sorrow is inevitable. Then, too, there are those marriages that run headlong into terrible difficulties, things like huge life change or chronic illness. The restorative power of real love still amazes me! Sometimes I think to myself, "this marriage is beyond salvage, too wrecked to survive," but the couple works hard, digs deep, and draws on God's love and their love, emerging from the the awful pain of broken lives into a love that is stronger than before!
Some Christians have the same experience with the Divine Lover! They neglect Him, or they take advantage of Him, or they even betray Him! They wander from Him, chase after other loves, and feel the coldness of soul. They seem to die while they are still living. Then, when we might conclude that they are beyond hope, they turn in humble repentance, and their love for Him re-emerges deeper,s stronger than before. Others run into testing experiences that make the love of Christ seem like a joke. "How can You love me and let me go through this?" is the cry of their aching soul. Where have you gone? But, with patience and perseverance, they find that He is there, that He does care.
Paul tells us that it is the love of God that brings out the best in us! Take this passage with you today.
Let the image of a newly minted love fire your imagination and give you a renewed desire to know the Love of Christ. Take note what results from knowing His love....
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.
Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
It Can Never Be Yesterday Again
Nostalgia- what a powerful force it wields. I can hardly bear to page through our family picture albums or watch old family videos. Why? They stir up such memories, such longing for the happy moments when my kids were running through the house, that I feel down for hours! Interestingly, those same pictures that make me so morose make my wife thankful that our kids are all grown up. She was a full-time Mom and remembers that era in our family life quite differently than I do! Both of us agree about one thing, however; we can't relive those joys, so we'll find the joys that today offers!
Some people are attempting to navigate life while staring into the rear-view mirror! They are largely missing the present because they are remembering the happiness of another time in life. Every experience of the 'now' is evaluated in the light of 'then.' There's a big problem with living that way. Memory is highly selective. We rewrite history to fit our perceptions, our needs. So, as we remember the 'good old days,' we tend to forget the difficulties and recall the moments of joy. Try to think back to 1986 - just 20 years ago. The stuff you were dealing with on a daily basis is largely forgotten. Your recall is limited to big moments of joy - birthday celebrations, Christmas, family vacations. Of course the awful moments are prominent in memory, too. But the ordinary moments - the flat tires, broken appliances, frustrations, arguments... they have disappeared into the mist of memory recalled only with great effort!
I find that some Christians fall into the trap of nostalgia in the faith walk, too. They bemoan the state of the church, criticize the youth program, and/or long for the preaching of some pastor they knew years ago. "It's not the way it used to be," they say. They're right! Change is inevitable! Churches that work to stay exactly the same - and many do - become less and less effective in speaking to their community. They become ingrown, inbred, and irrelevant. Some of you are objecting, "Jerry, Christianity is ancient. Traditions are important." And you're right. The Bible assures us that "Jesus Christ is the same; yesterday, today, and forever." The celebrations of Communion, baptism, Christmas, and Easter are valuable traditions that preserve continuity in the Christian community. I would agree that some change is done for the sake of being 'cutting edge,' but not really all that helpful or necessary.
That said, we need to recognize that how the Gospel is communicated; the ways that we worship, the methods we use to observe the traditions and rites of our faith - will all change over time. Songs that moved us, that shaped our expressions, will be replaced by the songs of new artists who are expressing their love for Christ with new rhythms and melodies. Preachers whose methods were inspired by the Spirit for a window in time will pass on to their reward and new servants will emerge with innovative ways to share the authentic Message of Christ. (I won't take time to illustrate this point from history, but believe me - each generation's innovations in Christian worship has provoked the ire of the previous generation!)
Now, let me speak personally to you.
Are you missing out on what God wants to do in your life TODAY, because you're attempting to recreate the spiritual experiences of another time?
Do you fondly remember a decade when, in your memory anyway, God seemed so close to you? Rejoice in that! Don't try to erase yesterday. My great memories of family times with my kids are foundational to my love for them today. But, if I attempt to relate to my kids who are now adults like I did when they were pre-adolescents, I'll alienate them from me. So it is with the Lord. What He did for you and with you yesterday is foundational for your walk with Him today, but those things are past, and He's doing a new thing in you, in me!
Ask God to help you to see and appreciate what He's doing today. If you think the Church has gone a little 'off the rails,' pray for those who lead, asking the Spirit to make His Presence known - and be ready for God to do a new thing - in you, in your church, in this world!
Consider Jesus' parable - “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be torn, and the patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would burst the old skins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins." (Luke 5:36-37, NLT)
Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. He has won a mighty victory by his power and holiness. (Psalm 98:1, NLT)
Some people are attempting to navigate life while staring into the rear-view mirror! They are largely missing the present because they are remembering the happiness of another time in life. Every experience of the 'now' is evaluated in the light of 'then.' There's a big problem with living that way. Memory is highly selective. We rewrite history to fit our perceptions, our needs. So, as we remember the 'good old days,' we tend to forget the difficulties and recall the moments of joy. Try to think back to 1986 - just 20 years ago. The stuff you were dealing with on a daily basis is largely forgotten. Your recall is limited to big moments of joy - birthday celebrations, Christmas, family vacations. Of course the awful moments are prominent in memory, too. But the ordinary moments - the flat tires, broken appliances, frustrations, arguments... they have disappeared into the mist of memory recalled only with great effort!
I find that some Christians fall into the trap of nostalgia in the faith walk, too. They bemoan the state of the church, criticize the youth program, and/or long for the preaching of some pastor they knew years ago. "It's not the way it used to be," they say. They're right! Change is inevitable! Churches that work to stay exactly the same - and many do - become less and less effective in speaking to their community. They become ingrown, inbred, and irrelevant. Some of you are objecting, "Jerry, Christianity is ancient. Traditions are important." And you're right. The Bible assures us that "Jesus Christ is the same; yesterday, today, and forever." The celebrations of Communion, baptism, Christmas, and Easter are valuable traditions that preserve continuity in the Christian community. I would agree that some change is done for the sake of being 'cutting edge,' but not really all that helpful or necessary.
That said, we need to recognize that how the Gospel is communicated; the ways that we worship, the methods we use to observe the traditions and rites of our faith - will all change over time. Songs that moved us, that shaped our expressions, will be replaced by the songs of new artists who are expressing their love for Christ with new rhythms and melodies. Preachers whose methods were inspired by the Spirit for a window in time will pass on to their reward and new servants will emerge with innovative ways to share the authentic Message of Christ. (I won't take time to illustrate this point from history, but believe me - each generation's innovations in Christian worship has provoked the ire of the previous generation!)
Now, let me speak personally to you.
Are you missing out on what God wants to do in your life TODAY, because you're attempting to recreate the spiritual experiences of another time?
Do you fondly remember a decade when, in your memory anyway, God seemed so close to you? Rejoice in that! Don't try to erase yesterday. My great memories of family times with my kids are foundational to my love for them today. But, if I attempt to relate to my kids who are now adults like I did when they were pre-adolescents, I'll alienate them from me. So it is with the Lord. What He did for you and with you yesterday is foundational for your walk with Him today, but those things are past, and He's doing a new thing in you, in me!
Ask God to help you to see and appreciate what He's doing today. If you think the Church has gone a little 'off the rails,' pray for those who lead, asking the Spirit to make His Presence known - and be ready for God to do a new thing - in you, in your church, in this world!
Consider Jesus' parable - “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be torn, and the patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would burst the old skins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins." (Luke 5:36-37, NLT)
Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done wonderful deeds. He has won a mighty victory by his power and holiness. (Psalm 98:1, NLT)
Monday, April 17, 2006
So they changed the world...
It was a good Resurrection Sunday! At the sunrise, we sang in the chilly wind and remembered the women who went to the garden, only to discover that the stone was rolled away, the Lord risen from His grave. The church house was well-attended. There were beautiful songs and flowers; all the 'stuff' we associate with Easter time. The day has come and gone, now what? We can take some direction from those first followers.
Those first disciples needed some time to process the amazing things that happened. They had ridden an emotional roller-coaster! The sadness of the Passover meal with Jesus where He told them that He was about to die and that one of them would be the person who betrayed Him, turned into the horror of a trial and then, the Crucifixion. During those hours, they feared for their lives, huddled in the upper room behind closed doors, trying to make sense of their shattered dreams. Then came the morning announcement from the three women who brought the news - "He's alive!" Even for men who had seen him bring Lazarus from his grave, who had watched Him take a boy's lunch and feed 5,000, who had watched him walk across the lake towards their boat-- it was too much. Luke tells us that they 'thought the words sounded like nonsense, so they didn't believe it.' One by one they came to realize that their Lord lived. Thomas, the doubter, was one of the last to accept it and then only when he was face to face with Jesus. 50 days later, they were assembled again in Jerusalem and, just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit filled them with fervor. They went out to tell anyone who would listen that life was worth living, that God loved them, and that they, too, could live forever!
First, we need to bring the message of Easter to our lives! Are we living like people who have wrestled with the implications of having eternal life? Paul uses an interesting phrase for those who have not really understood the meaning of the Resurrection, who continue to live as 'natural' men and women. He says, They "make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites!" (Phil. 3.19)
If we believe the proclamation of Easter, it will change everything about us! "We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere." (Philippians 3:20-21, NLT) Resurrection life becomes about more than eating, drinking, paying the bills - the stuff of this life. An added dimension, the promise of eternal life, causes us to love others, to live purposefully and passionately about doing the work of our living Lord!
History tells us that those first "Jesus People" made a difference wherever they went. They changed the world, and history itself, with their selfless service done in the Name of Jesus, who lived in their hearts, whose words echoed in their minds, and who had prepared them a home in Heaven. That is our commission, too! Don't leave Easter at church. Let the message sink in - "because He lives, I will live also." Process it. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a personal Pentecost, an experience of the Spirit's empowerment. Then, go start to live a Resurrection life - NOW.
Here's a word from the Word to take with you today - "now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort. " (1 Corinthians 15:57-58, The Message)
Those first disciples needed some time to process the amazing things that happened. They had ridden an emotional roller-coaster! The sadness of the Passover meal with Jesus where He told them that He was about to die and that one of them would be the person who betrayed Him, turned into the horror of a trial and then, the Crucifixion. During those hours, they feared for their lives, huddled in the upper room behind closed doors, trying to make sense of their shattered dreams. Then came the morning announcement from the three women who brought the news - "He's alive!" Even for men who had seen him bring Lazarus from his grave, who had watched Him take a boy's lunch and feed 5,000, who had watched him walk across the lake towards their boat-- it was too much. Luke tells us that they 'thought the words sounded like nonsense, so they didn't believe it.' One by one they came to realize that their Lord lived. Thomas, the doubter, was one of the last to accept it and then only when he was face to face with Jesus. 50 days later, they were assembled again in Jerusalem and, just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit filled them with fervor. They went out to tell anyone who would listen that life was worth living, that God loved them, and that they, too, could live forever!
First, we need to bring the message of Easter to our lives! Are we living like people who have wrestled with the implications of having eternal life? Paul uses an interesting phrase for those who have not really understood the meaning of the Resurrection, who continue to live as 'natural' men and women. He says, They "make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites!" (Phil. 3.19)
If we believe the proclamation of Easter, it will change everything about us! "We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take these weak mortal bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer everything, everywhere." (Philippians 3:20-21, NLT) Resurrection life becomes about more than eating, drinking, paying the bills - the stuff of this life. An added dimension, the promise of eternal life, causes us to love others, to live purposefully and passionately about doing the work of our living Lord!
History tells us that those first "Jesus People" made a difference wherever they went. They changed the world, and history itself, with their selfless service done in the Name of Jesus, who lived in their hearts, whose words echoed in their minds, and who had prepared them a home in Heaven. That is our commission, too! Don't leave Easter at church. Let the message sink in - "because He lives, I will live also." Process it. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a personal Pentecost, an experience of the Spirit's empowerment. Then, go start to live a Resurrection life - NOW.
Here's a word from the Word to take with you today - "now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt, death—are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort. " (1 Corinthians 15:57-58, The Message)
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