Listening All the Time

The original 12 disciples had it easy. Jesus walked along and talked, and all they had to do was

It's Not Over Yet

This past Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection from the dead, to new life, of our Lord Jesus Christ. That event changed

How to Get Empty, or Full

This weekend I preached from Mark 16:1-8, about the empty tomb, and the state of mind of the first witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, women who were so "shocked ...trembling ...bewildered...frightened" that they couldn't tell anyone, at first, what they had seen.  I compared that to how unstoppable all the disciples of Jesus were, after they had seen the risen Lord and were absolutely sure of his resurrection and filled with the Holy Spirit.  The early church was unstoppable because the people were full of their Savior, and empty of anything else.  Then I challenged everyone to ask God to help them surrender whatever was making them feel empty, or not letting them be emptied of their burdens.  But how do you surrender all that?  Here are a few tools.

1.  Confess it to someone else and ask him or her to pray with you.  James 5:16 tells us "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."  Sin and doubt only have power over you if you keep them secret.  When a loving brother or sister in Christ is praying with you, and encouraging you in times of weakness, the power of the old habit will be broken.  (Simply asking someone to "pray for me" isn't going to get very far, though, because that's still not admitting that you're not perfect, is it?  You'll probably have to get pretty specific.) 

2.  Ask God for clarity on why this doubt, sin, worry, unforgiveness -- or whatever -- has persisted.  (Your prayer partner may be of help here.)  Sometimes we find a false validation of our existence by holding on to anger at someone who has hurt us in the past.  Sometimes we don't want to let go of control because we don't see how much God has provided for us, so we don't trust him to continue to work out the problems in our lives (you know, those problems you can't resolve anyway...).  Clarity helps us let go.   

3.  Forgive other people, and yourself.  Sometimes I "kick myself around the block" because of something I said or did forty years ago -- and God forgave it, in Christ, long ago!  I can't go back and make it right, and I now have a loving relationship with the other person, so what's the point?  And God has forgiven the other person, so as Paul writes, "Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others" (Col. 3:13). Forgiving is a daily, sometimes a moment-by-moment choice, to release the other person to God, who alone can heal and help them; and it frees us to live in God's love. 

4.  Accept God's forgiveness and peace.  This is a form of surrender too.  It includes all the above, plus a deliberate decision to believe that what God has said and done for us is absolutely true, which means all our ideas to the contrary are false.  It can help to keep a list of scriptures that remind you who you truly are in Christ, such as John 1:12, 2 Cor 5:17-19, Eph. 2:10, Eph. 4:24, Col. 1:22, Col. 3:3, 1 Thess. 1:4, 1 Pet. 2:9-10, 1 John 5:18 etc. 

If you're struggling with doubt, fear or any other sin, try using these tools -- with all your might -- for 30 days and see what difference God's power makes.   And let me know how it goes.  I'll be praying for you!

Full, or Empty?

Yesterday, Easter Sunday, many of us celebrated the resurrection of Jesus.  We saw that the empty tomb proved Jesus had told the truth about himself and that he was, truly, alive forever (Rev. 1:18).  The tomb being empty, that was good!  If Jesus' body had been found there, still dead, it would have been the end of the story.  He would have been, as some claim today, "just a great teacher."  But it was empty, and that gives us the positive assurance of eternal life -- and even more, a great life right now.  Why? 

The story of the women visiting the tomb early on Sunday morning to find the tomb empty and Jesus resurrected, according to the testimony of the angel (Mark 16:1-8) showed them "shocked ...trembling ...bewildered...frightened."  They were "full" of fear, anxiety and doubt.  They were also "empty" of faith, assurance and the power of God.

Sometimes we are just like them.  We feel empty, but Jesus tells us that he is the source of true food (John 6:32-35) and living water (John 4:10-14).  So why, then, do we spend so much time trying to fill ourselves up with other things?  We use food, alcohol, drugs, entertainment, books, video games, sports, power and prestige, sex, porn, or just busyness, to try fill the void that is inside us.  We try to numb the feelings of emptiness and uselessness, so we don't have to admit how empty we feel.

Or we are full of anxiety and pain that we don't want to let go of.  We gain some perverse sort of identity from being angry at someone for an offense from years ago, or from the way our parents treated us.  We are so worried about how life is going to turn out, and trying to control everything so that life will look like we think it should, that we can't let go our fears.  But Jesus tells us not to be afraid -- that was one of his most frequent commands -- and simply to believe (Mark 5:36).  He tells us to come and give all our junk to him, to stop carrying it around and find rest  (Mat. 11:28-30) by trusting him to take care of it all.

So, dear reader, what's it going to be?  Empty or full?  Continue the frustration of attempting solutions on your own, or giving up and letting Jesus provide every thing you need?  Holding on to pain, guilt, anger and blame, or forgiving and letting love from Jesus flow through you?  He's already cleared the way for you.  Your sins no longer hang over your head (or the heads of those you refuse to forgive...) but it's still your choice whether to live in peace or in pain.  Give up, surrender to his grace, and you'll be filled with overflowing joy and peace.

Joyce Powell, 1933-2011

  

My dear mother-in-law, Joyce Powell, recently passed from this life into eternity in God's arms, after a long and fruitful life and a long struggle with several different physical ailments.  We will all miss her terribly. 

Here are two photos of Joyce from several years ago, enjoying The Lovely Joanne's birthday party on the beach -- a favorite place for them both.  She took great joy in seeing her daughter's happiness.  Joyce and Stuart, her husband of 55 years, often traveled to America on business and to see their beloved Joanne (and to give their son-in-law a hard time).  After Stuart retired, and Joyce became unable to travel, Joanne did the traveling for the business.  The advantage in that was that the travel included visiting clients in England, then spending time with her parents in the north.  I got to go too, from time to time, as we tried to honor them by spending time with them.

Joyce was known by many for her practical wisdom.  Her daughter says she had more common sense in her pinky finger than most people possess altogether, and I think she's right.  Joyce could take just about any stain out of just about any fabric, and could pack a suitcase so when you took the clothes out, there were no wrinkles.  She had a system and a reason for just about everything. 

Many people found Joyce's wisdom about life -- not just laundry -- helpful and encouraging.  She always had a kind word for everyone.  And her humility, her clear understanding of her own strengths and weaknesses, helped create that wisdom and a gentleness with others who were struggling.  She often reminded people of the blessings they had from God which we so often overlook in our trials, as a way to help gain perspective and keep a balance. 

Joyce was always good for a laugh.  One of our funniest memories of her, was her inability to choose just one item in an unfamiliar restaurant menu, since they all sounded so good.  After finally ordering and being served, she always thought your plate looked better than what she had ordered!  One year, Joanne and I found an extension fork (for toasting marshmallows in a fireplace, I think) and gave it to her for Christmas as a "tithing fork" so it was more convenient for her to get a bit of what was on your plate too.  She laughed uproariously -- and never used it.  But she was always up for preparing food for us and anyone else who happened by.  One had to be persistent to get away from their home and still be hungry!  

For some reason, she took a shine to me the first time we met, and it wasn't long before she was suggesting, in her own quiet way, that her daughter pay more attention to me.  I never really felt worthy of her approval or affection, but it was one of my great joys that she had given it. 

It's a comfort for Joanne and me, as well as Stuart, to be absolutely sure we will see her again.  She is secure with her Savior, awaiting the resurrection of the body (1 Cor. 15) -- of which Jesus is the Pioneer, the first of "a great harvest" (verse 20).  But to be honest, we miss her something awful, and the days just aren't the same without her.  It will be wonderful to see her again, along with my own mother, who died in 1975, and a whole lot of others we all miss.  Until then, we wait, with our hope in Jesus, for his return in glory.  God speed that day!

The Resurrection Body

I'm becoming very thankful that one day, this body will be changed to a more glorious form that will be suitable for eternity.  I think a lot of those I love and serve in the church, along with The Lovely Joanne, feel the same way.  The last six months or so, we've all been assaulted by a myriad of aches and pains, and medical treatments for various body parts that have quit working up to the original specification.  We've been poked and prodded, stabbed with needles and shot with various kinds of rays, given exercises to do and pills to take, in an attempt to get the engine going again.  And in June, of course, Joanne and her father and I said goodbye to her mother, Joyce, as this mortal life ended for her. 

This physical body is not designed to last forever.  David said famously in Psa. 90:10, "Seventy years are given to us!  Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away."   Paul follows up on that in the "resurrection chapter," 1 Cor. 15.  Let's look at v. 53:  "For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies."  The earthly body, not suited to eternity because it decays, "cannot inherit what will last forever" (v. 50).  So God will give us a body, "the new body he wants [us] to have" similar to the way a seed planted in the ground sprouts in a new form (v. 38). 

We received our human body because of Adam, and will receive our spiritual body because of Jesus Christ (v. 45-49).  We will not be disembodied spirits, but will have bodies made for us by God: "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies" (2 Cor. 5:1-3).  Jesus, after his resurrection, still looked like himself, including the wounds he had suffered on the cross.  He ate and drank with his disciples -- but he could also appear and disappear at will, and travel somehow.  And we will be given bodies like his (Phil. 3:21) so it follows that we, like Jesus, will look much the same as we have before.  (Now, there's a big debate about whether we'll get our hair back, or how much we will weigh -- the Bible doesn't say, and I'm not going there either!  You'll just have to find out later.)

What a relief that will be!  No more doctor visits or hospital stays, blood tests or mammograms.  Proctologists and gynecologists alike will be out of work (not that they'll mind, I'm sure!).  Joints and muscles will work properly again, and we won't be bothered with psoriasis, cancer or Crohn's disease.

What do we do in the meantime, while we suffer from these things?  We deal with what we have patiently, and look out for one another.  "Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" (James 5:16).  And with hope in our hearts, let's look forward to the end, when even death will be destroyed completely by Jesus (1 Cor. 15:26).  Amen to that!

Life and Death...and Life

This time of year, everything is growing.  Fast!  The lawn is trying to get ahead of me again, and the weeds are growing faster than the veggies in the garden.  God created the spring of the year, I think, to give us hope not only of physical life and health from eating the great foods that are available to us right now, but to remind us of the new life, a forever-life, that he has prepared for us through his Son, whom we know as Jesus. 

We also face death in this physical life today.  Just last week, one of my friends lost his mother to suicide, a sad and regrettable result of hopelessness.  My mom died 36 years ago, and I still miss her.  Death came into the world, according to Genesis 3, because of humanity's rebellion against God; our first parents didn't fully believe that God was providing completely for them, so they listened to a talking snake instead (how much sense does THAT make??).  Death, in this physical world, is the ultimate result of the choices we've all made, and it's the end of the line as far as we can tell with our five senses; but God has promised us more.

John 3:16 says "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."   Jesus says further in John's gospel, in chapter 5, "I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life" (verse 24).  Whoa, "already passed"?  What's up with that?  The next few verses explain that the "new life" starts with belief, but is made full at a future resurrection:  "And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live...Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son, and they will rise again" (vs 25, 28).  Why is it already true?  Because "The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son" (v. 26) and those who chose then -- and choose now -- to believe in Jesus, are already living in that new kind of life, the life that will last forever. 

So why the future resurrection?  So that everything will finally be set right -- back the way it was before that first rebellion, and in fact even better.  The Bible ends the same way it begins:  in a garden.  "Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. No longer will there be a curse upon anything" (Rev. 22:1-3) And all the hurt will be gone from this new life:  “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." (Rev. 21:3-4). Human bodies will be changed to eternal, glorified bodies with no more aches and pains:  "Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies...It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies."  (1 Cor. 15:42-53).

I'm looking forward to that for a lot of reasons.  Are you? 

Cats and God, part 2

If you don't know, the McCulleys recently adopted two kittens.  It's been a lot of fun to see them learn their way around the house and create toys out of all kinds of things I didn't expect.

When we got them, they both had colds so we had to take them to the vet. The vet assured us that humans and cats don't infect each other, because we are different kinds of beings.  That was helpful, because I was concerned we would catch what they had.

In somewhat the same way, God is a completely different being from us -- completely 'other' than we are. He is the Creator, but he is uncreated, and outside of his creation. We can never be 'god,' because we are created beings, utterly distinct from him.

But by the incarnation of the Son as Jesus, God entered the creation, and our state of being! The uniqueness of Jesus Christ is that, although the Son of God (uncreated and eternal) he also took on the same flesh that we have.  By doing that, his unique union of God and flesh enables us to become children of the Father. Jesus Christ is the Father's Son by nature as God; and because of his birth into human flesh, we are the children of the Father by adoption through Jesus.

We read this in Ephesians 1:3-5 "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.  Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 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."  Because of what the Son did by becoming flesh, due to God's decision before time and creation began, we are His.  And although we will never be God as God is God, we are adopted into the circle of love that exists within the Trinity, and we will experience that love forever.

We can't cure our kitties' colds; we have to give them medicine and wait.  But because the Son entered our world, our humanity and our mortality is cured forever:  As Hebrews 2:14 says:  "Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death."  

Our death is swallowed up in Jesus' death, and his resurrection ensures our future life.  What a wonderful life we will have forever with God, because of his Son! 

Resurrection Life

The celebration of Easter (see footnote) is behind us by a couple of days now. Once more we've lived through what many Christians call Holy Week -- the time from Palm Sunday, remembering Jesus' entry into Jerusalem with the crowds waving palm fronds, through the events of Thursday night, commemorated by footwashing and partaking of the bread and wine, to Good Friday and its solemn remembrance of the Lord's death on the cross; all the way to the victorious excitement of the resurrection on Sunday morning.

Now what? Back to the same old drudgery of working and paying taxes? Is that all? Nope -- Paul said we are "raised with Christ" (Colossians 3:1) and we have a whole new life with him (Romans 6:4). Paul says we are "in Christ" over 80 times in his epistles, not counting other phrases like "alive with Christ" or "raised with him". That means it was important to him, and it has a lot of meaning for us as Christ-followers.

Being "in Christ" basically means:
--Our sins are now wiped away because of his death on the cross
--Our old lives no longer matter to God, because the Father accepts us through Jesus
--Since he was resurrected, we too are as good as resurrected also
--We live in two worlds -- the current physical existence we see, and the spiritual life we experience through Jesus (this is the hardest one to understand)

How do we experience being "in Christ"? The best analogy I can come up with so far is being "in marriage." My old single life is gone, my wife accepts and loves me, and I get to spend the rest of my days exploring my relationship with her. I get to know her better, love her more, be loved by her, and learn to please her. By following that process, she and I are bound together in love more and more. We are secure in each other's love, and participate in each other's lives in multiple ways. We don't have any desire to go back to being single, and we live together more fully and intimately because we know and love each other so well.

In our new life "in Jesus Christ," we have at least one advantage that marriage doesn't give: at the end of physical life, we get transported into an eternity of ever-growing closeness with God. So, being "in Christ" is truly something wonderful and blessed. Even if we can't completely understand it, we can enjoy it. My life "in Christ" is a lot richer and deeper than it was ten years ago, and I hope yours continues to grow too.

*Contrary to popular myth, the name Easter is not linked to any pagan goddess. The best historical information gives a different story. For more, follow this link, or ask me about it:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/bytopic/holidays/easterborrowedholiday.html

Four Reasons to Celebrate the Resurrection

The death of our Lord was important. He was the perfect atonement for all our sins, so they are no longer a barrier between us and God. But lest we get wrapped up only in his death, we need to remember that we are also saved by his life:
Romans 5:8-10 says: ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ⁹ And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

Why should we celebrate the resurrection? Here are four basic reasons:

1. His resurrection proves he was the Messiah, that he did die for our sins and was raised from the dead to make us whole.
1 Cor. 15:17-18 says: ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!

2. His resurrection gives us our hope for a future life with God, beyond this physical life with all its troubles and brevity.
1 Cor. 15:19-22 says: ¹⁹ And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.²⁰ But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. ²¹ So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. ²² Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

3. By faith we understand that the risen Jesus Christ lives in us, and we have new life already because of him.
Galatians 2:20 says: ²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

4. The risen Jesus Christ is now with the Father, and is our advocate at the Father's throne. We are wrapped up in him and included with him, fully accepted and loved by God.
Ephesians 2:4-6 says: ⁴ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, ⁵ that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) ⁶ For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.

Wow! What a series of blessings and gifts we have been given by this amazing act of God through his Son! These should give us every possible reason to rejoice this meaningful season. May you have a blessed week of celebration!

Life Goes On -- Sometimes

My dear mother-in-law, Joyce, ("Mummy" to The Amazing Joanne) has been ill with heart problems for years, and it's finally catching up with her. Given the seriousness of her condition, I'm a little less cheerful than normal, and so can't write something fun and playful as I sometimes do. The best I can do today is reflect on life and the fact that we eventually transition from this life to the next.

Some Christians call this transition "going home" based on 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 -- "So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him." (New Living Translation)

We Christians know that this physical life, as much fun as it seems sometimes, is only the beginning. When that ends, we move to a totally different realm, one of peace and lack of pain or physical need (Revelation 21:4). And then, we will come face to face with our Creator and Savior (1 John 3:1-2). The 'walk' we get to have with the Father through Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, as good as that can be, is only a tiny, flimsy representation of the real thing we will experience one day. I wonder if we'll get to walk 'in the garden, in the cool of the day' (Gen. 3:9) again?

Whatever it is, it will be fabulous (1 Cor 2:9). Let's look forward to it together.