This is the Day

As Jesus hung from a Roman execution stake, He endured the insults of the crowd gathered around Him.  Additionally Matthew’s Gospel records that He was verbally abused by the two criminals who had been pegged up on either side, who also “heaped insults on him” (Matthew 27:44).  But then something happened to one of those men.

 

As he watched Jesus endure the suffering, praying for persecutors, showing compassion for loved ones, the man was touched.  The reality of his own guilt and the innocence of Jesus pressed on him and his tongue fell silent as through his own pain he reflected on these things.  He could hear the man on the far side continuing to berate Jesus: “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Luke 23:39)  He raised his head and called out to his fellow criminal: “Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:40-41).  Then looking at Jesus he made a request: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42)

Wracked with excruciating pain of His own, Jesus turned to him and answered: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Jesus’ comment has long been pondered and puzzled over. 

By one theological camp these words are put forth as definite evidence that when a believer dies they are ushered immediately into the presence of God.  The emphasis of the verse is “…today you will be with Me in paradise.”

According to other groups the words emphasize Jesus' truthfulness in that moment and the surety of a future promise.  They emphasize “I tell you the truth today…”

What if both miss the point? 

What if Jesus’ words have absolutely nothing to do with either ‘immediate ascension’ or ‘resurrection hope’?

In the course of my general reading I came across a thought which struck me as very profound, yet very simple.  What if Jesus was directing His thoughts to something from the past being fulfilled in the present moment?  What if Jesus was drawing attention to something about the event itself?

“Jesus, having compassion on [the repentant criminal] said: ‘I say unto thee to-day,’ –this day, above all others, –this day, when my prospects for a kingdom are apparently blasted, even ‘to-day,’ – under these most trying circumstances, – ‘I say unto thee…thou shalt be with me in Paradise.’”*

What a different lens through which to view these things!  Jesus declares to the man that on ‘this day’ when all seems lost, salvation is secured!   

While Jesus most likely spoke these words in Aramaic, Luke utilizes the Greek adverb semeron which can mean ‘today’ or ‘this day’.  Where else do we find the day of Jesus’ crucifixion spoken of as ‘this day’? 

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.  This is Yahweh's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day that Yahweh has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:22-24)

In the Hebrew the phrase is zeh ha’yom (‘this the day’) and in the Greek Old Testament hautay hey haymera (‘this the day’) using the same root word as in Luke 23.

Rather than Jesus making a singular promise to one man, Jesus is making a declaration to all men: ‘This is the promised and long awaited Day!  God has ordained this day that through Me, the rejected stone, Paradise is reopened!  Rejoice and be glad!” 

What He said to the thief, He says to us all: “At this present hour, though all the evidence would witness to the contrary, I am the victor and you indeed will share in My victory when My Kingdom comes.”

The discussion will continue on those other theological points but no matter which side of that debate you are on, I hope that all of us can step back and read this passage with fresh eyes.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they were cast out of Paradise with a mighty angel to bar the way back.  Now, because of the Day of the cross, Jesus has reopened Paradise that all who believe may enter in!  Rejoice and be glad!

Amen!

*McKinstry, M. The World’s Great Empires. Advent Christian Publications, Inc. & The Delmar Companies: Charlotte NC, 1973.  Print. p519

It’s About God

In 1636, amid the darkness of the Thirty Years' War, a German pastor, Martin Rinkart, is said to have buried five thousand of his parishioners in one year, an average of fifteen a day.  His parish was ravaged by war, death, and economic disaster.  In the heart of that darkness, with the cries of fear outside his window, he sat down and wrote this prayer for his children:

“Now thank we all, our God; with heart and hands and voices; Who wondrous things hath done; In whom His world rejoices.  Who, from our mother's arms; Hath led us on our way; with countless gifts of love; and still is ours today.”

As we approach our celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, I would like to reflect on one statement: My ability to give thanks is not conditioned by my circumstances; it is rooted in God’s character.  In other words, it’s not about how I feel; it’s about Who God is.

When we face trials in our lives, we naturally look at the circumstances surrounding us and feel overwhelmed.  The more we dwell on our situation the more our abilities to praise and thank God are diminished.

At sometime prior to 605bc God raised up a prophet named Habakkuk to speak to the Jewish people in the Kingdom of Judah, who had largely turned away from God.  As Habakkuk observed the wickedness of the people, he wondered about God’s justice.  How long could this evil go unpunished?  What would God do about it?

The answer was sobering: God informed Habakkuk that He was bringing the Babylonians to punish Judah.  If Habakkuk thought times were bad now, all he had to do was wait; things were about to get much worse.  Even more troubling was that the remnant of faithful people was likely to be caught up in the coming judgment.  Habakkuk had every reason to despair, but see how he responded:

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in Yahweh, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18 niv)

The situation can get as bad as it can possibly be, yet the prophet will “rejoice” in God.  The Hebrew word used for rejoice (alaz) means ‘to jump for joy’.  No matter how bad things are, Habakkuk will jump for joy because of Who God is; the Savior, the Source of strength, and the Victor; He is just and loving, faithful and merciful.  Habakkuk’s ability to give thanks was not conditioned by circumstances; it was rooted in God’s character. 

In writing the hymn, Now Thank We All Our God, Pastor Rinkart had it right!  This is what it is to know with certainty that thanksgiving comes from knowing Who God is, not from outward circumstances. 

Through Jesus Christ, a merciful and loving God has blessed us beyond all measure, we are saved from eternal destruction and have been made a part of His kingdom.  There is nothing that can happen, no situation or circumstance that is greater than that blessing.  It is only through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, that we may know what true thanksgiving is all about.

Christian, your ability to give thanks is not determined by circumstances; it is rooted in God’s character.  Whether you feel it or not, you are blessed.  Stop looking around and look up, because it’s not about how we feel, it’s about Who God is.

         

Be blessed. 

Overcoming the Christian Identity Crisis

⁹Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  ¹¹And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

The letter we call 1 Corinthians was written by Paul to correct some major problems affecting the congregation in the Greek city of Corinth.  Every problem was rooted in the fact that the believers in Corinth had no idea who or what they were.  Paul wanted them to be mature (see 3:1-2) and to this end he needed them to know who they were.

 

There are two types of people in the Scripture: the unrighteous (or the ‘wicked’)- those who live by the principles of the world to the exclusion of the Living God; and the righteous- those who seek to walk by faith in the way of Christ. 

In the above passage, Paul makes it plain that the wicked have no inheritance in God’s Kingdom, and then he details nine behaviors that are readily practiced by those outside of God’s way.

The key verse however is that which follows this list: and such were some of you…but…

The Corinthian Christians had been practitioners of these behaviors.  They were drunkards, sexually immoral and deviant, greedy, etc.  But now, through Christ, they are no longer consumed or controlled by the passions and principles of the world.  They have been “washed”, “sanctified” and “justified” by the atoning work of Christ and the real power of the Holy Spirit.  As such, they are not to live by worldly standards any longer; nor are they to think of themselves in these terms.  They are no longer ‘sinners’, but redeemed saints of God.

Christians continue to struggle with an identity crisis, and a subsequent inferiority complex.  Like the Corinthians, we all were once counted among the unrighteous, living by “the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3).  But, like the Corinthians, we are such no longer!

A born again believer in Jesus is a child of God- no longer under the controlling influence of sin.  Surely each Christian faces temptation to stick our toe into the pool of sin; and sometimes we do fail to live out our Christian commitment, but that does not alter our true identity. 

Christians falsely label themselves: ‘worm’, ‘beggar’, ‘sinner’.  These terms do an injustice to the sacrifice of Christ Who died and rose again to make us, as Israel of old, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9).  Through Jesus we are “beloved” (Jude 1) and “called to be saints” (1 Corinthians 1:2).

Dear friends, for Jesus’ sake, may we see ourselves as He sees us: “washed”- cleansed from sin by His blood; “sanctified”- made holy by the Spirit of God and proclaimed through the waters of baptism; “justified”- right with God by our faith in Jesus’ perfect faithfulness.

True we are not yet what we are intended fully to be (see 1 John 3:2), but equally as true, we are no longer what we once were!  So by His Word you can lose the inferiority complex as you overcome the identity crisis.  You are His beloved saint! 

I pray we may all come to rejoice in this truth as we await the soon and certain Coming of our Lord to make us finally and fully what we know we already are.

Putting Political Correctness in its Place

Think of an insult, epithet or slur; got one in mind?  That was easy wasn’t it?  We humans are exceptional at tearing one another down, inventing all types of ways to debase our fellow humans.  We have abusive slang based on race, economics, culture, style of dress, religion, mental aptitude, sexuality, physical stature or traits…you get the picture. 

The social forces of the past 50 years have led to a philosophy designed to do away with such negative appellations; we call it ‘political correctness’, PC for short.  We can no longer call someone who cannot see ‘blind’ but must refer to them as ‘a person with vision challenges’.  Someone who we might have once referred to as ‘retarded’ we now are told is ‘developmentally delayed’.  This movement leaves many people perplexed, and sadly others deliberately increase their use of degrading terms as a direct challenge to the forces of political correctness.

As I randomly reflected on this the other day, I wondered: Have I misjudged the PC movement?  As a social-political conservative, my initial response to PC is negative resistance, but shouldn’t I instead, as a professing Christian, stand shoulder to shoulder with such a movement?

No. 

I should be better.

Here is the problem with political correctness.  It sets itself up as its own subjective moral standard, a humanist creation, which demands adherence for its own sake.  Political correctness is a self appointed judge, jury and executioner, the goal of which is not to lift people up, but to drag them down; restricting the voice of any who do not think or feel the way they determine to be ‘right’.  Its desire is submission to its own rule; its method is fear and intimidation.  Ultimately the underlying principle is control, which lies at the heart of all human systems.     

As a Christian, I look at these matters from a different perspective- the fundamental dignity of a human being; a person as a person with no thought to their color, gender, ‘handicap’, sexual choices (gasp!) or any other attribute or trait.  To see a person as a person and therefore to extend to them the elemental respect to which personhood entitles them.

There should be no debate over what makes a person a ‘person’.  All those belonging to this species we classify as ‘human being’ is a person- period.  From conception to end of life, this ‘human being’ is a full person.  The only reason we debate this is to gain our own selfish ends (i.e. abortion, euthanasia, etc.).

Humankind was uniquely created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27).  I am not going to debate what this entails, the prime importance lies in the fact (the ‘what’) not necessarily in the details (the ‘how’).  But of greater importance is the ‘why’.  We human beings are created in the image of God in order that we, among all the creatures of the earth, may relate to and communicate with our Creator in a unique way.  The ‘fall’ of the first parents into sin marred that image and ability (see the wording of Genesis 5:3) but it did not eradicate it.  Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, reveals the full and true image of God (Colossians 1:15) and in Him the way is thrown open for that image to be renewed in human beings (Ephesians 4:24).

The well known story of the ‘Good Samaritan’ (found in Luke 10:30-37) is told in response to the question, ‘who is my neighbor?’ (see Luke 10:29).  In the story the religious personages debase the needy man by ignoring him.  The Samaritan acts for the well being of the man in need, not out of ‘political correctness’ but because it was the right thing to do!  The man in need was a fellow human being- period.  That’s the answer to the question.

Only through Jesus do we recognize that other people are my neighbors.  I would like to quote at length from Malcolm Muggeridge:

“Jesus…provides the possibility of loving God through, and in, Him, and, as part of the same process, of loving other men, our neighbors, through, and in, Him.  Thus the two commandments become one; to be celebrated in a Man –Jesus– Who dies, and sanctified in a Man –also Jesus– Who goes on living.  As out of Jesus’ affliction came a new sense of God’s love, and a new basis for love between men, so out of our affliction we may grasp the splendor of God’s love and how to love one another.  Thus the consummation of the two commandments was on Golgotha; and the Cross is, at once, their image and their fulfillment…[and] at last, triumphantly, we know what it is to love God, and looking outwards from within this love, we see our fellow men, all of them…every variety of human kind; see them all as brothers and sisters, members of one family, at once enfolded in God’s love and chained together by it…” (Malcolm Muggeridge ‘Jesus: the Man Who Lives’ Fontana 1976 p132-133)

PC does not seek for me to love my neighbor.  It rather demands I keep my mouth shut, my opinions to myself and my nose in my own business.  It tells me what I can or cannot call someone else, but isn’t that simply a continuation of the problem of assigning labels?  God, through Jesus, demonstrates a compassion and respect for the full dignity of a human being as a human being; a Christian dare do no less.         

As a Christian I roundly reject the presuppositions, assumptions, motives and humanistic underpinnings of political correctness.  Instead, I challenge Christians to step out in front, to take the lead in recasting the discussion.  It is about the fundamental dignity of a person as a person, something that should be upheld by every Christian, demanded by every Christian.  We refrain from insulting people, not because we are told to by the priests of political correctness; we treat people with dignity and respect because it is the right thing to do!  

When we hear slurs or derogatory comments, can we be bold in challenging those actions and attitudes not with the bullying threats of the PC philosophy, but in the compassionate and well articulated presentation of truth?  Not that we may exercise control over others, but that we might be agents through which the Lord may redeem a small piece of this fallen world. 

Go to Galilee

It’s been a busy summer for us so far.  My parents have made their move to Florida.  This entailed mom moving in for a month, a late night flight to New Hampshire and a two day drive back with my dad; then heading back to New Hampshire for a 13 day visit.  The day after arriving home I helped my folks unload their moving container (knocked it out in under 4 hours!)  Plus I am preparing to guest preach over the next two Sundays AND trying to get prepped for our house church meeting…

So you will I hope excuse the delay in posts

I spent the better part of a year journaling through Matthew (I think I logged 128 entries between June 2014-June 2015).  I’ve been in the Word of God fairly consistently for over 30 years and it’s amazing to me how I still see things I never saw before.  I read a passage which I have certainly read before and it’s like I’ve never seen it.  Or something I had read so casually in the past suddenly jumps out at me, waving its arms, calling out, ‘I’m here!  Don’t miss me!’  

That’s how it was with a few lines near the end of Matthew’s Gospel.

Jesus has been raised from the grave.  The angel announces the Jesus’ victory over death to the women who had come to the tomb.  Then the angel gives a message for the eleven disciples: “…go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him. See, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:7)

Moments later, Jesus Himself appears to the women, giving them a command to pass on: Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” (Matthew 28:10)

The women report back to the eleven disciples who obey the command: Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. (Matthew 28:16)

In Galilee the disciples see Jesus, as He promised, and receive His command to take the Gospel into the world.

Good things happen in Galilee.  Following His resurrection, Jesus does not summon the disciples to Golgotha, nor does He call them to the mouth of the empty tomb.  Instead He calls them out, away from Jerusalem.  He calls them back to Galilee; back to where it all began (see Matthew 4:11). 

For the disciples, the literal land of Galilee was the place where they met Jesus; where He called them to follow; where they saw miracles and believed in Him as the Messiah and their Lord.  Where the ‘movement’ began is where it is renewed.

Is there still a call to ‘go to Galilee’?  To return to some place– maybe a physical location, maybe a spiritual condition, maybe a life situation –a place at which we might be renewed and refreshed; re-commissioned?

  

I asked myself where my ‘Galilee’ might be.  I was astounded how suddenly the answer came.  I realized that in coming to Florida, I might have ‘gone to Galilee’ without even knowing.  My call to ministry came in the context of a house church group of which I was a part after stepping out of the traditional church ‘structure’.  Now here I am, having once again moved out of that structure, dreaming of and working to establish a house church network.    

When the disciples went to Galilee, the Lord Jesus set them a new mission- to carry the Gospel into the world.  When we go to our Galilee, we should be expectant that the Lord is about to say something, do something, show something.  When we go to our Galilee we should be hopeful that the Lord is renewing our call.  When we go to our Galilee we go to see Jesus.      

Where is your Galilee?  

Stick To It

It’s been a while since I’ve had opportunity to share (and I hear some of my friends at Hope Community are getting antsy).  I finally find myself with a few moments and something ‘share worthy’ on my mind.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 ESV)

When we made our move to Florida, it was with a vision for an interconnected network of home based gatherings.  In that initial vision I determined that it would take six months for us to meet people in our community to be able to invite them to join with us.  As those of you who have followed these blogs may remember, the Lord connected us with two couples in the first month.  One could have made an assumption that within the six month time frame the group would have continued to grow- and it did in a sense with my parents joining in via internet from NH.  But as far as the number of folks around the table, we remain at the same number (mom has since moved down with us and dad will follow soon).

Sometimes there are family commitments which prevent us from being together.  Sadly, one sister lost her dad and needed time away to grieve.  People go on vacation.  Sometimes we ourselves are out of town and as I am currently the sole facilitator on those weeks there is no gathering.  In a group of twenty or more the absence of four or five people is certainly noticed but the meeting goes on.  In a gathering of seven, the same number missing brings the group to a halt.

As the establishing of the network was ‘my vision’ this challenge of consistency brings me a sense of discouragement and causes me to question whether it was in fact my vision rather than the Lord’s.  There is the temptation to, in Paul’s words above, “grow weary” and “give up”. 

All work poses its challenges and difficulties and no matter what field it is in, the work of every Christian is important and is to be done “as to the Lord” (Colossians 3:23).  Even so, we know that the output of the occupations we find ourselves in are temporary and will not last.  The roof put on by the Christian roofer will wear out.  The heart which the Christian doctor labors to save will eventually fail.  The funds kept track of by a Christian accountant will be spent.  I have been working to break into the Real Estate Photography business and while I do my best to present quality photographs, I know those houses will probably not even exist in 100 years.  

By contrast, those in formal Christian ministry are under the conviction that they labor for eternal things.  There is a sense of a higher degree of importance and therefore a greater level of discouragement when things go in directions or at tempos which are unexpected and unplanned.

But we cannot let that discouragement win.

Paul certainly experienced this trend to despair in his own life and must have sensed something in the Galatian churches.  In Galatians 6, he writes to urge the believers to continue on in loving one another (6:1-2), in growing spiritually (6:3-4) and in following the leading of the Holy Spirit to greater life (6:7-8). 

Perhaps they weren’t seeing any results, or the results were too slow.  Perhaps they were wondering if it was worth it.  So he tells them not to “grow weary of doing good”.  To ‘grow weary’ is a Greek word meaning ‘to despair of’ or ‘lose heart’ or ‘become discouraged’.  Christians are not to let such weariness enter in.  Our labor is worth it.  God is at work doing something which may or may not line up with our expectations and “in due season we will reap, if we do not give up”.  In this sentence to ‘give up’ means to ‘relax’ or to ‘release from’.  Paul tells the Galatians, do not ease up for at the proper time, that specific time fixed by God, there will be a parting of the clouds and they will see what the Lord is up to.

We’ve got to stick to it.  

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

May God richly bless you, beloved friends. 

By What Right?

I was reading in Romans the other day and was struck anew by the opening lines of the second chapter:

“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things” (2:1). 

Those who have read Romans are familiar with the first chapter, particularly the portion beginning in verse 18 which speaks of the wrath of God for the grievous sins of mankind.  This section contains verses which are usually the first ponies trotted out in the arguments against a homosexual lifestyle (see 1:26-27).  While it seems likely that this is what Paul was writing about when he spoke of ‘unnatural relations’ there is a more definite word he could have chosen which he uses is 1 Corinthians 6:9 & 1 Timothy 1:10.  But I digress slightly. 

My point is that far too many read this portion of Romans 1 with this extremely limited view, seeing homosexuality as the main focus.  It’s not.  To find the main point of this section, you need to expand your view beyond one sin and consider them all.  Romans 1:18 is clear that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (my emphasis).  God’s problem is not one particular sin, but SIN- the “ungodliness and unrighteousness” present in the hearts of ALL people. 

If we were forced to identify one sin which stood out as the most heinous, a deeper reading of the chapter leads to the only conclusion- idolatry.  Verses 19-23 are evidence that mankind abandoned the plain knowledge of its Creator for worship of the creation.  The invective against same-sex relations must be read in light of this, for all sexual sin is a form of, some might say the highest form of, idolatry; worship of the self.  This self focused idolatry is not however limited to sexual sin, as in verses 28-31, Paul lays out a sweeping condemnation of all mankind for sins ranging from envy to pride to deceit and, for good measure, is keen to point out that it is not only practitioners of these deeds who are guilty, but those who whether by their assent or their silence, allow them to continue.  And since “none is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10; Psalm 14:1-3), there exists not one man, woman or child who can wriggle their way off this list!

So then, by what right do we condemn others for their sin? 

Please do not misunderstand me here, I am not excusing sin nor do I intend to minimize its destructive force.  I am simply asking, if we cannot avoid facing ourselves in the list of 1:28-31, by what right do we take the role of judge and jury upon ourselves?  Isn’t that exactly what Paul is stating in 2:1-3?  Yes it is!  Beware O Christian, the self righteous attitude which uses portions of God’s Word, such as Romans 1:26-27 to condemn the ‘sinner’, when we ourselves are classed along with them.

Now, though, we are presented with the great news that through the mercy of God, Jesus Christ was given to be the sinner’s substitute and that through faith in His death and resurrection I stand before Him, no longer condemned but acquitted.  No longer am I under wrath for the ungodliness and unrighteousness of mankind, but live with the reality of forgiveness. 

But this new standing before God does not confer upon me some divine right to sit in judgment on my fellow men; that is the province of the Lord alone.  I certainly am called to speak about sin, but ever and always it is to point to its universal stranglehold on humanity and the freedom offered to all in Jesus Christ.  My calling is to preach His redemptive gift and to teach those who have been redeemed how to live a life under the leading of the grace of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.          

So, you “who were dead in your trespasses” but now whom “God [has] made alive…having forgiven [you] all [your] trespasses” (Colossians 2:13), no longer seek a false right to condemn others, but take hold of the calling of God to proclaim to all that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2)

May you find blessing in the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus, may He ever be praised!