Resurrection? Really necessary?

It’s like a light coming on in a dark room!  There is a problem that we study. We think about it, dream about it, talk it over. Then, there the answer comes – often in a most unexpected moment. It works, problem solved.  On Sunday we celebrate that kind of moment, the Great Resolve of humanity’s question. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ makes all the rest of life make sense. Christianity, is sometimes practiced as a set of rules to live by taught by a good Man who lived long ago. His idealism got Him killed. Game over. His nobility is inspiring, but impractical. The miracles, including His resurrection, are relegated to the status of misguided myth.  Is that what you think?

Christianity without the Resurrection just does not work.  If there is no eternal justice, why would anyone turn the other cheek to someone who is hurting him?  Forgiveness, sacrifice, service – they do not make much sense apart from the assurance of a reward in heaven. Paul knew the foolishness of Christianity without the promise! He tells us that "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Corinthians 15:17-19, NIV)

If we do not live beyond the grave, then the only rational way to live is to grab the brass ring – chasing every experience that can satisfy every desire because life is short.  If Heaven is a mirage, then we would be wise to work at making a life that presents us with the most comfort- right now. And, isn't that exactly how most people live?

But, we know that there is a Heaven to gain because Christ did rise from the dead. Life does not end when our body ceases to function! This is the testimony about the true nature of our existence which is demonstrated by Jesus Christ. He came to restore our God-given destiny, to build a bridge back to our Creator/Father, and to point the Way across the abyss of death to our eternal home. The whole of the life He calls us to live - a life of love, a life of holiness, a life that says 'yes' to God and 'no' to Self; is completely rational when viewed with eyes that are open to the reality of Eternity. Our small sacrifices now are nothing compared to the glory of the commendation of God and the joy of His Heavenly reward!

Bev was relatively young, a bright and beautiful woman, who found herself facing death two years ago.  Last Fall, as it became increasingly apparent that her journey here was drawing to a close, I held onto the Truth of the Resurrection tightly.  3 months ago, as one light faded another Light dawned. In the middle of all the sorrow, I find a serenity that comes from the Promise made secure by Christ's own death and Resurrection.  Do not think that having a heavenly mind makes one live a grim existence.  Those who know Heaven in their heart are rich with a kind of abundance that comes from another world.

Sure, there is plenty of mystery in all of this. There are a lot of questions that find few answers on this side of Eternity.

But there is one Answer that anchors us - Christ died, Christ lives- I will die, I will live!

The word from the Word speaks to our reconciliation with the Father, to our guilt that is removed, to our relationship fully restored. But, do not forget the Empty Tomb, for that is moment of our assurance of final victory.  "Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." (1 Corinthians 15:54-58, NLT)

Celebrate the Resurrection!  I will, with tears, with hope, with renewed pursuit of His holy will.  “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.”
_________________

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say: Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens and earth reply: Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Dying once He all doth save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Hallelujah!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Hallelujah!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Hallelujah!
Christ hath opened paradise, Hallelujah!

Christ, the Lord, is Risen Today
Charles Wesley© Public Domain

I Sold Out!

What’s your price? How much would it require to get you to sell out, to compromise your integrity? Before you raise an objection, insisting you’re beyond that, that you cannot be bought, have a little humility, please!  The holy Book tells us that some godly people ‘sold out’ when pressed, that it was not just weak or foolish men that gave in. Soup, sex, and selfishness trump honor and integrity in the lives of some of the best and brightest men in the Bible!

• The story of Holy Week includes the infamous compromise of Judas Iscariot. He sold himself for 30 pieces of silver. With a kiss, he betrayed the Man he had hoped would bring the Kingdom of God. Remember the tragic story of his remorse? That silver became a terrible weight until he threw it back at the feet of those who conspired with him in the death of Jesus. His guilt drove him to suicide.
  
• Esau (Genesis) made the choice to trade away his place of honor as the family's firstborn son for a bowl of lentil soup! This terse comment sums up the transaction: "Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright." (Genesis 25:34 NLT) His remorse caused him to hate his brother so intensely that the family was divided for nearly two decades.
  
• David sold himself for another man’s wife, the gorgeous Bathsheba! He invited her for dinner, found her enchanting, and got her pregnant. His scheme to hide his sin culminated in the murder of his faithful servant, Uriah. The sordid tale is found in 2 Samuel 11. This breach of integrity brought God's judgment on David and he reaped the consequences of his sin for the rest of his life.
  
• Moses broke under the stress of leadership and threw a temper tantrum that cost him dearly! After leading Israel for months and listening to their complaints, he decided that he could let himself go. One day when water was in short supply, God promised meet that need. He directed Moses to speak to a rock for a miraculous provision. Instead, he blew up. “Listen, rebels! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?” With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock—once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank. God said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t trust me, didn’t treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren’t going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them.” (Numbers 20:10-12, The Message)

Those stories make me shudder! Judas walked with Jesus every day for 3 years and still failed.  David was the Psalmist, the warrior hero, yet testosterone got the best of him! Moses experienced the Presence of God face to face and yet, in the critical moment, dishonored God! I tremble for the knowledge of my own sinful nature reminds me that, apart from the empowering Presence of the Spirit of God, I am equally prone to greed, sensuality, and self-will. But, I have a Redeemer who loves me and who restores me when I fall, who for His own sake, forgives my sins. I was once hopelessly held in the grip of the sinful nature, glory gone, honor lost, and death was my destiny. "But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms—all because we are one with Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-6, NLT)

I am so glad that you and I live in the era of GRACE.  Truth be told, I have been bought, too.  Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, stepped down to stand next to me, let His blood be spilled for me, forgave me my dishonor and sin, and restored me my honorable place in the family of God. I join the song of gratitude, praising Him: "And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”(Revelation 5:9-10, NIV)

The Word urges us to realize that with the privilege of redemption comes a responsibility to serve God. "God purchased you at a high price. Don’t be enslaved by the world." (1 Corinthians 7:23, NLT) Sell out, not to sin, Self, or Satan, but to the Lord who loves you to life! 

Here is a word from the Word for this Maundy Thursday. 
"Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness." (Romans 6:16-19, NIV)
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Jesus! What a friend for sinners!
Jesus lover of my soul!
Friends may fail me, foes assail me;
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Jesus! What a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him;
Tempted tried and sometimes failing,
He, my strength my victory wins.

Jesus! I do now receive Him;
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness;
I am His and He is mine.

Hallelujah what a Savior.
Hallelujah what a Friend.
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

-Copyright  Public Domain

A World on Fire

When All is dark, what then?

This day dawned with personal sorrow.  Today is Bev’s birthday, but she is no longer celebrating them, having joined the saints of all the ages in the home of our Eternal Father a few weeks ago. Obviously, much of my sadness is related to that loss. I am also feeling the pain of my broken world. The problems in the world are multiplying like rabbits!

·         Since January, ISIS has brought terrorism and death to multiple locations, bringing down an airliner over the Sinai, bombing in cities from Turkey to Kenya to France to this US of A; and just yesterday, in Belgium. Their brand of religion creates a fanaticism that defies our imagination, attracting thousands zealots ready to die for the cause.

·         Old racial tensions have rekindled in America stoked by politics of fear and division. In my entire life I have never observed the kind of hatred and anger that is simmering in this nation. It does not bode well for the future that so many are ready to choose a leader who specializes hate, who acts like a spoiled boy, who threatens those who criticize him.

·         Americans are accustomed to a lifestyle that simply cannot be sustained as our economy flattens and our population ages, growing less productive. Our health care system, our justice system, and our educational systems are collapsing before our eyes under the weight of entitlement, thoughtless policies, and unrestrained selfishness.  And, there is no real leadership in sight to help us re-chart our course.

·         Our culture is a cesspool of filth, injustice, greed, and unfaithfulness. Porn merchants fill the Internet with sexual perversion, produced by men who destroy lives with no remorse.  Wall Street grows richer at the expense of a growing underclass.  Political power is largely used protect the privileged, with no discernable real concern for change.  Families are devastated by failure of to keep the covenant.

Through it all, Christ’s Church is fumbling to find her voice, to find words that people can understand.  She has become more interested in maintaining social position than with speaking truth and is taken up with trivialities nobody cares about. The very Body that is entrusted with the Spirit and the Gospel, is mostly self-absorbed, talking about traditions of little consequence. The Gospel is often twisted into a recreation of the “American dream,” more about personal fulfillment and prosperity than finding delight in the love of Christ.

With a broken heart, struggling with personal sorrow, I feel the weight of the world today.  I would love to say that I face these things with great courage and optimism, but that would be a lie. Yet . . .

Despite these things and more, I have hope! Why?

Because I know that God reigns; that the Empty Tomb is on the far side of the Blood-stained Cross!  Our Christian hope is found in our secure place in the Kingdom of God, a place from which we reach into the troubled world to minister God's grace, to speak His wisdom, and to offer His salvation. We realize that even death itself cannot destroy us because it did not destroy our Lord, who died and lives again.

Walking with Jesus through Jerusalem, during what we call the Passion week, the disciples pointed out the grand buildings, admiring them as symbols of what they thought was an indestructible city. Jesus brought them to reality. His words probably frightened them. He was not wildly optimistic. He told the truth about the toll of evil! “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world. But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. "Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:4-13, NLT) Jesus was telling His disciples that this world would go off the rails again and again. This is the way of evil and sin. Nothing of this world - governments, social systems, or grand buildings - can resist the inevitable advance of decay. False religions, wars, and natural disasters will be cyclic, throughout history, He warned, "but the end won't follow immediately."

Some Christians see the sin-sickness of their world as reason to withdraw from it, to abandon it to evil, and/or to create escapist prophetic scenarios.  But, what does Jesus ask of us? "Stand steady against the onslaught of evil! Don't compromise and slide into spiritual apathy." Those of us who know the Eternal God, who live in His purposes, who have accepted the promise of Resurrection Life are equipped to wage war against the evil around us - a war of love that holds out the hope of redemption and salvation to all who believe in the One who came to 'save us from our sins.'

Difficult times provide great opportunities for the advance of the Gospel of Christ. The cost is high, the reward inestimable.

Here's a word from the Word to take to heart today. "So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.  In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. " (Ephesians 6:11-18, The Message)

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Happy Birthday in Heaven, sweet Bev.
You now know the promise that we long for – peace and joy in the Father’s house.

Recognized or Known? A real question for you

Acquaintance, friend, confidante, partner, lover – there are so many ways to know others. One of the joys of life is forming a friendship that matures into a deep, lasting bond. But, those kinds of relationships do not ‘just happen.’ We must invest ourselves in that person, asking questions, listening, living through ups and downs, forgiving, adapting, learning. Among my richest blessings are those in my life of whom I can say- "I really ‘know’ him."  Those people share more than recognition of name or face!

On this Tuesday of Holy Week, let me ask you to think about this question: Who is Jesus to you?  “When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."  (Matthew 21:11, NIV) The crowds of pilgrims in Jerusalem for the Passover feast saw Jesus and they recognized Him. It is likely that many remembered Zechariah’s prophecy about the Messiah’s arrival on a donkey! (9.9) Still Jerusalem’s subsequent actions reveal an ignorance of His true identity. He had fed thousands with a boy's lunch. He preached the Kingdom come in their synagogues. He performed astonishing miracles. Yet, when asked who He was, they said, "Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth." He was their Messiah, God's Anointed One, sent to save them from their sins, but they could not or would not see that transforming truth.  Yes, they recognized Him, but yet did not know Him.

On Easter Sunday, people will stream into churches to recognize our Risen Lord, but will they know Him? 

• Who is Jesus to you, friend?
• It He "my wife's Savior" or "my parent's Lord"?
• Is He the "great Teacher"?
• Or, is He your Savior, Lord, Hope, and King?

You can know Him. When we seek Him, we find Him. When we hunger for Him, He satisfies us. When we follow Him, we become “friends of God!” He says, "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." (Revelation 3:20, NLT) One of the delights of life is discovering that Jesus is so much more than we imagine, at first. He will challenge us to examine our lives, disturb our assumptions, change us with His Presence. And, we will find, in Him, a richness of life that is simply not found in any other place.

Ponder this word from the Word today. "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." (Philippians 3:8-12, NKJV)

Don’t settle for a mere acquaintance with Jesus. Know Him, growing deeper in your love for Him, starting today.

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All I once held dear, 
Built my life upon,
 All this world reveres,
 And wars to own, 
All I once thought gain
 I have counted loss;
 Spent and worthless now,
 Compared to this.

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You,
There is no greater thing.You're my all, You're the best,
You're my joy, my righteousness,And I love You, Lord.

 Now my heart's desire 
Is to know You more,
 To be found in You,
 And known as Yours,
 To possess by faith
 What I could not earn; 
All surpassing gift of righteousness.

 Oh to know the power of Your risen life, 
And to know You in Your sufferings,
 To become like You 
In Your death, my Lord; 
So with You to live, and never die.

 Knowing You
Kendrick, Graham © 1993 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services)
CCLI License No. 810055