"Are we there yet?" "When will we get there?" Every parent has heard these questions. Guess what -- God hears this kind of question from his children all the time! I used to be told that I was waiting for something called "the Kingdom of God" and until that "came" I just had to wait for anything really good to happen. I hear people say "Oh, I just can't wait to get to heaven" and they seem to be simply gritting their teeth and enduring physical life so they can be blessed by God after they die.
Here's the truth: in many ways we've already arrived! When the Son of God took on human flesh (John 1:14) and made his home among us, the universe changed. Instead of being distant from God, as we have perceived ourselves since the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-11) the entire human race, indeed the whole of creation, was joined to God as the Son of God entered the physical world. The whole universe is now contained in Christ and is sustained by him -- and if it weren't, it would cease to exist! (Col. 1:17, Heb. 1:3 etc). Because of the self-sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and because he was raised from the dead and because he returned, in his human body, to the Father, people are no longer cut off from God, but all of us are brought to God through Jesus: "through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross" (Col. 1:20). And Jesus says "I am with you always" in Mat. 28:20 -- not "will be with you" if we pray hard enough, but is with us now.
In Eph. 1:3, Paul says we have been given "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms." Note the past tense -- we have been given those gifts already. But what if we don't perceive the blessings God has already given us? If we live as if those blessings don't exist, how much are we missing out on? Yet, sadly, that's how a lot of Christians live -- sadly, as if they are poverty-stricken children of the Most High -- a contradiction in itself! (No, we're not talking about health-and-wealth, as though Christians are never supposed to have any wants in this life. Instead, we learn how to take all our wants to Jesus.) The difference is, we have been given spiritual blessings, and they are spiritually perceived -- not physically, although they do impact our physical lives as a result.
Paying attention spiritually is the key, then. Since you are a disciple of Jesus, then it's important to focus on that reality. How do we do that? We'll talk about that next time. Here's a hint: it's something 'spiritual.'
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Jesus Is on Time
I'm enrolled in a Master's program, and I'm behind in my class work. Last semester was supposed to be over around the first of December, but I didn't finish the papers I was to write, and now I'm having to do those papers plus all the other stuff I'm supposed to be doing now. I may procrastinate, but God is never late. His timing is always "just right."
We Christians have been hoping for the full, visible establishment of Jesus' kingdom for almost 2,000 years now. His disciples thought it would be right away after his resurrection: “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” (Acts 1:6), but Jesus ascended to heaven instead. Hundreds of people over the centuries have calculated or guessed at the date of his return, and they've all been wrong, (including the ones on television who move the date forward every time the last one passes.) In Springs of Grace, and Living Grace Christian Fellowship, we'll get to hear a sermon this weekend, going over some of the detail in Matthew 24 that I think will help with some of those concerns.
The pressing question is, since we're still here, what we do while we're still here? One thing we don't want to do is forget that God is with us, and Jesus is continuing to work out his will through us, individually and as his Body, the Church universal. He encourages us in Matt. 24:45-46, "A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward." Our job is to continue doing whatever part of that work God has given each of us to do.
The warning Jesus gives next, in Mat. 24:48-50 is the reverse: "But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected" (and this guy is not rewarded). Why is the master's "return" unexpected? Because that servant focuses on physical pleasures instead of the joy of serving his master faithfully. We don't want to make the same mistake.
We have plenty of distractions in this life, but serving our Lord brings the most joy of all. And when Jesus appears -- at just the right time -- the reward of having served faithfully will be worth the wait. He's already promised us that. What exactly has God given you to do? Whatever it is, today is a good day to be doing it!
We Christians have been hoping for the full, visible establishment of Jesus' kingdom for almost 2,000 years now. His disciples thought it would be right away after his resurrection: “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” (Acts 1:6), but Jesus ascended to heaven instead. Hundreds of people over the centuries have calculated or guessed at the date of his return, and they've all been wrong, (including the ones on television who move the date forward every time the last one passes.) In Springs of Grace, and Living Grace Christian Fellowship, we'll get to hear a sermon this weekend, going over some of the detail in Matthew 24 that I think will help with some of those concerns.
The pressing question is, since we're still here, what we do while we're still here? One thing we don't want to do is forget that God is with us, and Jesus is continuing to work out his will through us, individually and as his Body, the Church universal. He encourages us in Matt. 24:45-46, "A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward." Our job is to continue doing whatever part of that work God has given each of us to do.
The warning Jesus gives next, in Mat. 24:48-50 is the reverse: "But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? The master will return unannounced and unexpected" (and this guy is not rewarded). Why is the master's "return" unexpected? Because that servant focuses on physical pleasures instead of the joy of serving his master faithfully. We don't want to make the same mistake.
We have plenty of distractions in this life, but serving our Lord brings the most joy of all. And when Jesus appears -- at just the right time -- the reward of having served faithfully will be worth the wait. He's already promised us that. What exactly has God given you to do? Whatever it is, today is a good day to be doing it!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
How to Please God
I've spent most of my life trying to please God, working harder and studying more, beating myself up for my failings -- and only recently starting to find out what really does please him. It's much simpler than I used to think!
My wife, The Amazing Joanne, puts it this way: God can do anything he wants for fun, and he decided to adopt us! That's a paraphrase of Eph. 1:5, which says "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." (See Genesis 1:31, where God calls us, as part of his creation, "very good.") So in that broader sense, you have already pleased God, just by existing! But how do you know what to do after that?
Imagine you were an orphan living on the streets in the wrong part of town, hungry and dirty and sick and alone, sleeping in your rags at night. One day an incredibly rich family sees you, loves you that instant, and takes you home to their mansion, where you have more food, clothing and love that you ever imagined existed in the whole world together. How could you show that family appreciation for their love and generosity? Would you reject their gifts and insist on earning them first? You would be wise to decide that, since they've been so good to you, then you should learn their values and ways, and find how to be good to others also.
After describing who we are -- being securely "in Christ"-- in Ephesians 1-3, Paul finally gives us something to do in the latter chapters. He says in 5:1-2, "Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ." In verses 8-9, "For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true." And in verse 10, "Carefully determine what pleases the Lord." There are other commands and cautions in these verses too, but the core is this: we are God's children -- adopted through Jesus Christ -- so our new family values are love and generosity and light.
What pleases God? That, since we are "in Christ," we live by our new family values of light and love and acceptance, loving others as generously as we've been loved by God, and by following the Holy Spirit's lead, "carefully determine what pleases the Lord." That's enough to keep us fully occupied the rest of our lives until we see God -- when we will finally start to understand just how much he really loves us.
My wife, The Amazing Joanne, puts it this way: God can do anything he wants for fun, and he decided to adopt us! That's a paraphrase of Eph. 1:5, which says "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure." (See Genesis 1:31, where God calls us, as part of his creation, "very good.") So in that broader sense, you have already pleased God, just by existing! But how do you know what to do after that?
Imagine you were an orphan living on the streets in the wrong part of town, hungry and dirty and sick and alone, sleeping in your rags at night. One day an incredibly rich family sees you, loves you that instant, and takes you home to their mansion, where you have more food, clothing and love that you ever imagined existed in the whole world together. How could you show that family appreciation for their love and generosity? Would you reject their gifts and insist on earning them first? You would be wise to decide that, since they've been so good to you, then you should learn their values and ways, and find how to be good to others also.
After describing who we are -- being securely "in Christ"-- in Ephesians 1-3, Paul finally gives us something to do in the latter chapters. He says in 5:1-2, "Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ." In verses 8-9, "For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true." And in verse 10, "Carefully determine what pleases the Lord." There are other commands and cautions in these verses too, but the core is this: we are God's children -- adopted through Jesus Christ -- so our new family values are love and generosity and light.
What pleases God? That, since we are "in Christ," we live by our new family values of light and love and acceptance, loving others as generously as we've been loved by God, and by following the Holy Spirit's lead, "carefully determine what pleases the Lord." That's enough to keep us fully occupied the rest of our lives until we see God -- when we will finally start to understand just how much he really loves us.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
What Now?
Christmas is a time of tremendous joy for the McCulleys, as we look at the Son of God, who took on human flesh (that's the Incarnation) to join us to God and give us eternal life. Sharing that joy with others is our main focus during this time. But, we just finished putting away all the Christmas decorations and took the tree out to be turned into compost. So, what now? Mild depression? Back to business-as-usual?
What now? What is our response to the great gift of God for us, his only Son, Jesus the Christ? There should be only one response, if we consider carefully: to live out, in every possible way, our true being and purpose in life as God has revealed it. Here's a prayer from the journal of Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley, who grounded them in God in their youth: "Help me, Lord, to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church, or [prayer] closet, nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that everywhere I am in Thy presence. So may my every word and action have a moral content...May all the happenings of my life prove useful and beneficial to me. May all things instruct me and afford me an opportunity of exercising some virtue and daily learning and growing toward Thy likeness...Amen." (Quoted by Richard Foster in Streams of Living Water, from Donald L. Kline's book, Susanna Wesley: God's Catalyst for Revival.)
What now? God has called us with a holy calling as his dear children (Eph 1:4) and is blessing us spiritually (Eph. 1:3). He is everywhere, at every second, so we know God is in every moment of our lives. We don't have to "bring God along" as we go somewhere; he is already with us. But if we're not aware of God's presence and power, we end up stumbling around in life, being aware only of our own strength, and tripped up by our weaknesses.
Let me suggest a simple prayer to remind us of God's presence in every second of our daily living: "Lord God, help me see you in everything and hear your direction for me. Let your love fill me so I can love everyone in your name. Amen." That's a place to begin.
What now? Live every moment of every day being fully aware of God's love and purpose for you.
What now? What is our response to the great gift of God for us, his only Son, Jesus the Christ? There should be only one response, if we consider carefully: to live out, in every possible way, our true being and purpose in life as God has revealed it. Here's a prayer from the journal of Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley, who grounded them in God in their youth: "Help me, Lord, to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church, or [prayer] closet, nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that everywhere I am in Thy presence. So may my every word and action have a moral content...May all the happenings of my life prove useful and beneficial to me. May all things instruct me and afford me an opportunity of exercising some virtue and daily learning and growing toward Thy likeness...Amen." (Quoted by Richard Foster in Streams of Living Water, from Donald L. Kline's book, Susanna Wesley: God's Catalyst for Revival.)
What now? God has called us with a holy calling as his dear children (Eph 1:4) and is blessing us spiritually (Eph. 1:3). He is everywhere, at every second, so we know God is in every moment of our lives. We don't have to "bring God along" as we go somewhere; he is already with us. But if we're not aware of God's presence and power, we end up stumbling around in life, being aware only of our own strength, and tripped up by our weaknesses.
Let me suggest a simple prayer to remind us of God's presence in every second of our daily living: "Lord God, help me see you in everything and hear your direction for me. Let your love fill me so I can love everyone in your name. Amen." That's a place to begin.
What now? Live every moment of every day being fully aware of God's love and purpose for you.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Whole Story, Briefly
The last several weeks, during the Advent and Christmas seasons, I've tried to show from scripture who God is and how he has chosen to relate to us humans. To begin 2012, I'm writing the same things in summary, with a few supporting scriptures (you can click on the reference to read the scripture online, or look it up yourself):
1. It was God's purpose from the first, as part of creation itself, to adopt humanity into a relationship of closeness and love (Eph. 1:3-6). His plan is to be with us forever in a life of never-ending joy (Rev. 21:1-4). Why? Because God is love (1 John 4:8) and so he loves us now (John 17:23) as he has from the first.
2. God's plan for humanity included, from the beginning, a way to bring us imperfect humans into his embrace. (Gen. 3:15, Isa. 7:14, Isa. 9:6-7, Isa. 11, Isa. 53, etc). The nation of Israel set up a 'vocabulary of salvation' with sacrifices, a priesthood, and so forth, to prepare us for the Messiah.
3. The eternal Son of God was born into human flesh as Jesus (Matthew 1, Luke 1, Luke 2, John 1:1-18, John 4:21-26, etc). His purpose was to fulfill the Father's plan, (John 4:31-34, John 5:35-40) and he was successful (John 17:1-8, John 19:30). He brought everything to God in a relationship of peace (Col. 1:19-20) including you and me! The work of Jesus Christ, in his life and on the cross and in his resurrection, has already removed all sin. There is no longer anything standing between you and God!
4. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, has the task of inviting us into the loving embrace of the Father (John 16:8-15) and he continues to draw people to believe (Acts 16:13-15).
So where does that leave you, dear reader? To believe and accept what is already true about you, according to the word of God, and respond to him in that belief. Our lives now, yours and mine, are about giving glory to the God who has loved us this much (Eph 2:10) and living a life of love (Eph. 5:2) as our response to him. And if you haven't yet believed that, isn't the start of a new year a good time to begin?
1. It was God's purpose from the first, as part of creation itself, to adopt humanity into a relationship of closeness and love (Eph. 1:3-6). His plan is to be with us forever in a life of never-ending joy (Rev. 21:1-4). Why? Because God is love (1 John 4:8) and so he loves us now (John 17:23) as he has from the first.
2. God's plan for humanity included, from the beginning, a way to bring us imperfect humans into his embrace. (Gen. 3:15, Isa. 7:14, Isa. 9:6-7, Isa. 11, Isa. 53, etc). The nation of Israel set up a 'vocabulary of salvation' with sacrifices, a priesthood, and so forth, to prepare us for the Messiah.
3. The eternal Son of God was born into human flesh as Jesus (Matthew 1, Luke 1, Luke 2, John 1:1-18, John 4:21-26, etc). His purpose was to fulfill the Father's plan, (John 4:31-34, John 5:35-40) and he was successful (John 17:1-8, John 19:30). He brought everything to God in a relationship of peace (Col. 1:19-20) including you and me! The work of Jesus Christ, in his life and on the cross and in his resurrection, has already removed all sin. There is no longer anything standing between you and God!
4. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, has the task of inviting us into the loving embrace of the Father (John 16:8-15) and he continues to draw people to believe (Acts 16:13-15).
So where does that leave you, dear reader? To believe and accept what is already true about you, according to the word of God, and respond to him in that belief. Our lives now, yours and mine, are about giving glory to the God who has loved us this much (Eph 2:10) and living a life of love (Eph. 5:2) as our response to him. And if you haven't yet believed that, isn't the start of a new year a good time to begin?
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Immanu-El, Part 3: Let God love you!
The last two weeks I've written about "Immanuel" (also spelled "Emmanuel" meaning "God with us") as the explanation of why and how Jesus, the Son of God, became flesh. Essentially, God became one with us so we could become one with God. --Well, at least, all the good people, right? So some believe we're good enough to have God smile on us, but those of us who still struggle with sin -- at least, what we understand to be sin -- continue to feel unworthy and left out.
Not so fast...in fact, not at all! "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" says Paul in 1 Tim. 1:15; and even Paul's own history as a strict Pharisee still didn't let him claim to be good. He continues, "and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners" (the rest of verse 15, and verse 16). Here we see two great truths: first, nobody is so bad that God doesn't show mercy through Jesus, because that's why Jesus came; and also, that there aren't any people who are good enough to claim God's favor by their own works.
Does that acceptance only apply to people who have repented of all those specific sins and then been baptized? Does God, after this enormous gift to us of his Son becoming flesh, living a perfect life, dying as a perfect sacrifice, and then being raised from the dead, throw the task of completing our salvation back on our incompetent shoulders? Paul continues in 1 Tim. 1 "others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life" -- but where does the belief come from? In verse 14, he exclaims "Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus." And let's understand, that is the perfect faith Jesus displayed during his earthly ministry, the complete trust that the Son has had in the Father from eternity, as part of their Triune relationship. Jesus has believed for you, obeyed for you, and died for you, as a complete gift, because neither you nor I can do any of it well enough for a perfect God.
The whole universe has been united with the Father through the Son: "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross" (Col. 1:19-20). I looked up the word "everything" in the Greek. Guess what? It means "everything." So unless you're not in heaven or on earth, it means you, dear reader, are also "reconciled" or made at peace, with God. No matter what you've already done, or not done yet. Because of Jesus Christ, we are already fully accepted by the Father.
So if it's all been done by Jesus Christ, Immanu-El, and even our belief doesn't earn our place with God, what's the point in believing? Because that's how God becomes real to us, so we'll begin to participate in the relationship he established for us in Jesus. So, we Gospel preachers say, renounce your self-reliance, let go your efforts to clean yourself up, and simply let God love you.
Not so fast...in fact, not at all! "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" says Paul in 1 Tim. 1:15; and even Paul's own history as a strict Pharisee still didn't let him claim to be good. He continues, "and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners" (the rest of verse 15, and verse 16). Here we see two great truths: first, nobody is so bad that God doesn't show mercy through Jesus, because that's why Jesus came; and also, that there aren't any people who are good enough to claim God's favor by their own works.
Does that acceptance only apply to people who have repented of all those specific sins and then been baptized? Does God, after this enormous gift to us of his Son becoming flesh, living a perfect life, dying as a perfect sacrifice, and then being raised from the dead, throw the task of completing our salvation back on our incompetent shoulders? Paul continues in 1 Tim. 1 "others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life" -- but where does the belief come from? In verse 14, he exclaims "Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus." And let's understand, that is the perfect faith Jesus displayed during his earthly ministry, the complete trust that the Son has had in the Father from eternity, as part of their Triune relationship. Jesus has believed for you, obeyed for you, and died for you, as a complete gift, because neither you nor I can do any of it well enough for a perfect God.
The whole universe has been united with the Father through the Son: "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross" (Col. 1:19-20). I looked up the word "everything" in the Greek. Guess what? It means "everything." So unless you're not in heaven or on earth, it means you, dear reader, are also "reconciled" or made at peace, with God. No matter what you've already done, or not done yet. Because of Jesus Christ, we are already fully accepted by the Father.
So if it's all been done by Jesus Christ, Immanu-El, and even our belief doesn't earn our place with God, what's the point in believing? Because that's how God becomes real to us, so we'll begin to participate in the relationship he established for us in Jesus. So, we Gospel preachers say, renounce your self-reliance, let go your efforts to clean yourself up, and simply let God love you.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Immanu-El, Part 2
Last week I wrote about the 'big background story' of humanity and salvation: Adam and Eve, the Fall, and the nation of Israel as the foundation of what God would reveal in the Messiah. Now we move to the actuality: how God came to be among us, "God with us" as Isaiah 7:14 says. If God is perfect and we most emphatically are not, how can the two come together?
It's simple, yet profound and earth-changing: The two come together in Jesus, Immanu-el or "God-with-us," the Son of God born into human flesh as the firstborn son of a peasant girl. Luke 1:26-38 says that Mary's womb became the growing place for a child who would be called the Son of the Most High. Matthew's gospel records the angel telling her specifically that this child was fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy, in Mat. 1:18-23. What a strange event: God, the Creator, coming into his creation to become a human, just like his other human creations! For the first time, the Almighty God became limited by being part of his creation. God, who had sent prophets and leaders to speak for him, this time came to speak for himself (Heb. 1:1-3).
When God came into human flesh, he joined himself completely with humanity (Heb. 2:14-18)! Jesus (whose name means "Yahweh saves") was both fully human (he was able to experience all our human life, Heb. 4:15) and he was fully God (Heb. 1:3). So when he died on the cross, Jesus the man was able to die just like all humans; but when Jesus the Son of God died, he died for your sins and mine, not his own (Heb 2:14-15). To put it another way, God became one with humans, so that humans could become one with God.
It was God's plan before time began to adopt us, to give us his nature (Eph. 1:3-6) which is a completely free gift (Eph. 2:8-9) and cannot ever be earned. It was through Jesus, who was the perfect human and is the only human ever to be perfectly accepted by God, "When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven" (Heb. 1:3).
Because of Immanu-El -- Jesus -- all of us can come to God completely without fear (Heb 4:16) any time. We are fully accepted and loved by God (John 17:23) because of his Son. Even when we've made a mess of our lives, even when we look more like the Three Stooges than anything else, even when we're ashamed of our own behavior, we are still fully loved by God, because of Immanu-El, God with us, Jesus the Christ.
And that's the meaning of Christmas!
It's simple, yet profound and earth-changing: The two come together in Jesus, Immanu-el or "God-with-us," the Son of God born into human flesh as the firstborn son of a peasant girl. Luke 1:26-38 says that Mary's womb became the growing place for a child who would be called the Son of the Most High. Matthew's gospel records the angel telling her specifically that this child was fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy, in Mat. 1:18-23. What a strange event: God, the Creator, coming into his creation to become a human, just like his other human creations! For the first time, the Almighty God became limited by being part of his creation. God, who had sent prophets and leaders to speak for him, this time came to speak for himself (Heb. 1:1-3).
When God came into human flesh, he joined himself completely with humanity (Heb. 2:14-18)! Jesus (whose name means "Yahweh saves") was both fully human (he was able to experience all our human life, Heb. 4:15) and he was fully God (Heb. 1:3). So when he died on the cross, Jesus the man was able to die just like all humans; but when Jesus the Son of God died, he died for your sins and mine, not his own (Heb 2:14-15). To put it another way, God became one with humans, so that humans could become one with God.
It was God's plan before time began to adopt us, to give us his nature (Eph. 1:3-6) which is a completely free gift (Eph. 2:8-9) and cannot ever be earned. It was through Jesus, who was the perfect human and is the only human ever to be perfectly accepted by God, "When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven" (Heb. 1:3).
Because of Immanu-El -- Jesus -- all of us can come to God completely without fear (Heb 4:16) any time. We are fully accepted and loved by God (John 17:23) because of his Son. Even when we've made a mess of our lives, even when we look more like the Three Stooges than anything else, even when we're ashamed of our own behavior, we are still fully loved by God, because of Immanu-El, God with us, Jesus the Christ.
And that's the meaning of Christmas!
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