Resurrection and Rejoicing

 

Monday, April 5, 2021

The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.  This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.  This is the day the Lord has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:22-24

“Cornerstone” is used often in Scripture.  A cornerstone is the first building block for a foundation, that from which every other part of a building takes its reference. 

The cornerstone[1] of which Jesus spoke in the Gospel accounts (and later the apostles) is a reference to the Psalmist’s Messianic prophecy, a sign of how wrong humankind can get God’s plans.  Jesus, being born in a manger, living a perfect, sinless life, offering healing and help for all, was rejected by the powerful leaders of Israel, as well as the crowds.  He was nailed to a cross on Good Friday, tossed away like a misfit for the building.  On Sunday morning the entire meaning of life, death, and resurrection, along with every reason to rejoice, took on new significance when the women discovered the stone had been rolled away.  The builders of Israel’s earthly kingdom had failed miserably in recognizing the chief cornerstone, Christ, upon whom all of God’s eternal Kingdom, would depend.

Movements throughout the history of humankind always begin with an idea, often righteous and lofty.  Just as often they come unglued because selfish people snatch the momentum of a movement to turn a profit.  The old saying about the corrupting influence of power culminating in absolute corruption is never truer than in religion.  Steeped in mystery and fear, religious movements hold common sense prisoner.  But, just as the grave could not hold Jesus captive, neither can any human-constructed systems stand in the wake of God’s choosing.  Death had to flee for its existance in Jesus’ tomb; so the corruption of men’s plans.

There are many movements afoot today, along with knee-jerk counter movements.  (Black and Blue Lives Mattering, Gender line-crossing, Racial, ethnic, and women’s issues, just to skim the highlights.).  Among all of these are a germ of resusscitation for those on the margin who have been beaten-down, tossed-out, and forgotten.  There are also (as in every other human-driven movement) those willing to push an agenda that has nothing to do with righteousness.  If you look below the surface, past the silliness of self-aggrandizement, you will find the gold and control such hucksters really seek.  Every time there is a moment to be seized to further a “cause” the sharp-tongued manipulators can be found in front of a microphone.

That being a commentary on our time, or any other time in human history, consider the resurrection of Jesus.  His followers began announcing it to anyone who would listen.  Over the past two thousand years God’s fulfillment of his promise of restoration have caused untold millions to rejoice and turn to Christ for forgiveness and healing.  But the announcement has also been co-opted to fuel humankind lust for power in pseudo-righteous movements, crusades, and political manipulation.  This is the darkest of tragic evil which Jesus spoke concerning what man does with God’s light, tossing the cornerstone out with the bath water.  He also named the source of such evil:

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Ephesians 6:12

So…why rejoicing in the face of such evil times?  The short-answer is that it is a stark reminder of how our God is in control.  There is nothing happening, or that can happen, of which Jesus is not aware.  Neither is God worried; when the time is fully-ripened, this field of harvest will be reaped.

For You Today

There are many things going on in movements, disease, weather and climate worries, church numbers dwindling, culture wars, and the continuing madness of evil in our day.  But the resurrection promise still stands, no matter who or what attempts to manipulate its power. 

The one word about resurrection which can never be disingenuous is rejoice!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com      Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] There are 12 uses of this term in the New Living Translation…see them all HERE

When the Church Loses Its Way

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Monday, December 19, 2016

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist.  So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?    Galatians 4:8-9^(NLT)

A fellow UMC pastor, author and seminary professor, Alan Bevere recently posted a piece on the topic of faith and politics – here is an excerpt:

A favorite quote of mine from Stanley Hauerwas is It is God and not the nations who rules the world….I believe that while most Christians believe the truth of that claim, they do so only in the abstract.  Functionally, by the church's political engagements and by aligning themselves with the left and the right, Democrats and Republicans, Christians in actuality betray the unacknowledged belief that it is the nations that are indeed running the show.[ii]

There are so many ways to get off track, to lose your perspective and forget where you’re going.  The church, founded on freedom from the world of selfishness and evil, most easily (and most often) finds itself derailed at the intersection where the faith once delivered to the saints meets the power of political clout.

Indeed, whenever politics and religion meet up, it is invariably the ineffectiveness of weak faith that caves to the political structure.  I believe that is what Dr. Bevere was getting at; it’s not that faith cannot overcome the world; after all, Jesus overcame death and the grave!  For the church, conquering political evil should be a slam dunk.

The problem, as highlighted by Stanley Hauerwas, is that God indeed rules the world, but Christians only nod in that direction on Sunday morning and then go back to nursing at the breast of this world’s system for their daily bread.  The church has no further to look than its’ own pews for a mission field!

What to do, what to do?

Well, if Paul the apostle was right, that our very existence as Christians, as a church, is a fight against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places^{(Ephesians 6:12)}, we must once-again learn what it means to engage the enemy. 

And the first principle is remembering that we are to grow up into Christ, not grow strong in political clout.  If the church is ever going to cooperate with God, in God’s ways and timing to combat the evil forces of this world’s system, the church is going to have to be healthy! 

When is the last time you watched a boxing match, or wrestlers, or (heaven help me) an MMA slug-fest?  None of those contestants are anemic weaklings.  When they enter the ring they are strong and focused; they’ve been trained and tuned into a fighting machine. 

The church needs that; we need to stop guzzling smoothie theological red dye and sugar, and find our way again.  We need to begin to chew on some meat.  We need to become equipped disciples who will engage the political monster of this world’s evils and its systemic betrayal of ourj human heritage as images of the Creator. 

And we won’t do it without giving-up our comfortable avoidance of politics…or worse…our comfortable place in bed with politics.

For You Today

Somewhere between the political fringes of left and right is the center of God’s will – the place of doing right.  Are you going on to THAT perfection?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

NOTES

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[i] Title image: By KAMiKAZOW (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons (modified)

[ii] Alan Bevere.com

Understanding a Miracle

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                                                                                                 Wednesday, August 24, 2016

On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching.  The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely.  If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.  But Jesus knew their thoughts.  He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.”  So the man came forward.  Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you.  Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil?  Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”  He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.”  So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!  At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.   Luke 6:6-11^(NLT)  

A miracle, like a parable, is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  Miracles of healing, changing water into wine, or walking on water are no different; they teach principles and precepts of Who God is, and what He loves.  To miss this understanding of miracles is to miss an opportunity to know God more deeply. 

Over the years I’ve watched many “healers” on TV religious programming, and the theme-thread common to all of them is that the miracle is the centerpiece, and God is replaced by a snake-oil salesman thinly-disguised as a preacher.  There is little else important beside the miracle and, like an addict’s craving for heroin, the crowd sits on the edge of their seats waiting for more.

Jesus never intended his ministry to be a miniseries or a side-show.  In fact, more than not, people Jesus healed were instructed to simply give praise to God.  On more than one occasion He told the healed person to keep quiet about the whole event.

Fundamentally, the reason Jesus healed people was out of deep compassion for those who hurt.  But He took the moment to teach the crowd to recognize the difference between being a friend of God and an enemy.

So, what do we take away from seeing a withered hand restored?  Well, look at what Jesus did before the healing; He looked the bystanders in the eye…each and every one, one-by-one.  It was as if to say, you’re about to see the dividing line between faith and unbelief…get ready to make a choice.

The two sides of that dividing line became evident right away.  The followers of Jesus, including the inner circle (James, John, Peter) and the outer crust (Judas) became the flock.  But the religious leaders just got ripping mad and plotted to kill him.

And that is what healing will do, whether it is healing from the diseases of body, mind, soul, social injustice, greed, lust or any other tool of destruction.  There is a dividing line between heaven and hell, and when you toe that line, you’re going to make somebody better and somebody bitter.

This is the heavenly meaning, then – we do not wrestle so much against the flesh and blood of all the ills we see in the world – we are in a war that is much more ancient and ferocious; Paul put it this way:

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Ephesians 6:12^(NLT)

For You Today

Have you ever been witness to a miracle (I’d love to hear about it). 

I’d be willing to go out on a limb here and say that it woke you out of some complacency and made you aware of the mighty love, compassion and power of He who never sleeps!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

NOTES

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[i] Title Image:  James Tissot [No restrictions or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Fear Factor - Part 2

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Devotion VIDEO here

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.  2 Timothy 1:7^(NLT)

We are exploring fear this week, following a week of fearful events in France and Mali.  Today we begin to see how Nehemiah handled the fear factor. 

As a Jew born in Babylonian captivity Nehemiah had received permission from King Artaxerxes to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the city.  When he got there he found strong, political types posturing to undermine everything he did.  Their chief weapons were threatening intimidation…they were fear-mongers!

You have to Expect Fear

Problems never seem to come at a good time.  And often you're in the middle of trying to fix one problem when another problem comes.  When we are in a weakened condition because of the struggle enemies will try to make things even worse in hopes that we will give up.

It’s important to remember that our wrestling match in life is not with the bills, our health, the weather, or some English teacher that got up on the wrong side of the bed, but rather our battles are against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places ^{(Ephesians 6:12)}. 

Our fears do not come from facing the everyday cares of life – they come because there is a larger struggle going on in this fallen world. 

You can expect a struggle with fear because Satan’s main goal is to keep folks away from a relationship with our loving God.  He wants to keep you out of heaven. 

Now, if he has already failed at that because you’ve given your life to Jesus, and He has saved you…Satan’s next priority is to keep you from living a full life, a productive life.  In short, the devil wants to steal eternal life and the joy of abundant living here on earth. 

Expect fear to cross your pathway!  And, when it shows up…

You have to Expose Fear

Fear is contagious.  In Nehemiah’s case the job of rebuilding the walls seemed [and was] next to impossible.  The grumbling started when the long hours and hard work began to overwhelm some of the weaker builders.  That played right into the hand of the enemy.  They threatened constantly.  They began rumors; trash talkin’ was born! 

Dale Earnhardt was called “The Intimidator”.  With due apologies to race fans, Earnhardt isn’t even close…Satan is the original intimidator.

Stay alert!  Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.   1 Peter 5.8, 9a^(NLT)

Nehemiah dealt with the rumor mill in two ways. 

First, he prayed.  This is always priority and step #1 for a Christian who is serving his or her Lord.

In addition, Nehemiah gathered the people together for encouragement.  This exposes fear for what it is…unbelief that must be stopped. 

In your life there are fears that can cause you to come unglued.  That will not happen if you enlist your Christian family to pray.  One of the reasons you are encouraged to attend church often and to be involved in whatever happens there, is not to wear you out – it is to build you up! 

The terror events of the past several years are of the same source that Nehemiah faced - evil opposition to Godly mission.  Names, faces and dates change; Satan’s tactics haven’t changed since the Garden of Eden.

For You Today

If there are fear-provoking thoughts or circumstances going on in your life take time to pray and ask others to pray with you; that exposes fear for what it is – threat!  And, as Vance Havner used to say, when creepy crawly things are exposed to the light of day in prayer – they scatter like the bugs they are.

Think about that out on the Rocky Road today…and have a great day!

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[1] Title image:  By Spc. Megan Leuck, via Wikimedia Commons

Shield, Savior, Safety

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Thursday, April 16, 2015

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.  Psalm 18:2 (NLT)

The Psalmist uses three images to describe how protected and secure he is in God’s hands. 

My Rock is the immovable, omnipotent power of God to overcome any obstacle the child of God encounters.

My Fortress is the place of retreat.  Even the strongest army must rest and regroup in a safe place, and the safest place around is behind the shield of God’s protection. 

My Savior is the arms of safety, where, even when I mess up and wander, the Shepherd will find me and bring me back home.

King David often found himself engaged in bloody warfare; the culture back then was as out of its mind over conquest and power as ours is today.  The Bible’s account of rampant lawlessness and bloodshed throughout Israel’s struggle to become God’s messenger is frighteningly similar to the culture in which we now live. 

But, for followers of Jesus Christ there is another dimension to the wars we face; we must always remember that our lives are framed by the reality of spiritual warfare. 

Paul has this chilling reminder:

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)

In 35 years of ministry I have both experienced this battle with the unseen, and known plenty of believers going through the fires of spiritual warfare. 

What does this spiritual oppression by the enemy, and the battle lines look like?  You might be surprised, but it often looks like just normal stuff – financial burdens, a doctor’s report, court ruling, daily newspaper crime report.  It may be the breakup of a marriage, or the teenager who falls in with the wrong crowd; it may be news of your employer starting to cut back on the workforce.

These are like the spots that tell you a person has leprosy; the spots aren’t the disease, they are merely indicators that you have something wrong on the inside.

And that’s the way sin works!

Spiritual warfare may be the most neglected form of Christian living these days.  We spend so much time praying for the healing of our hangnails and other minor hurts, and beseeching God for an easier life, that we fail to engage in the real game – the war to which we’ve all been called – praying-up a hedge of protection for the next generation.

In a very engaging inaugural address, which everyone my age remembers, President John F. Kennedy said, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what YOU can do for your country.  That 17-word call to unity and unselfishness drew the citizens of this country into the kind of national pride and enthusiasm which spawned decades of involvement and unselfish investment of their lives for the preservation of the world and its resources.  And that by a generation of so-called “hippies” as a response to the call of Camelot! 

How I wish we could see that kind of passion to serve Christ in the citizens of our churches. 

Somehow, we have lost the focus on the battle which rages before us.  As a nation, and in churches (as the Body of `Christ), we don’t pray, seek the face of God, humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways, as 2 Chronicles 7:14 lays-out for the kind of revival we should be seeking.

May God forgive us and draw us back to Him.

For You Today

Two simple questions: 

1.  Will you pray today?

2.  If you do pray, will it be for your benefit…or the sake of His Kingdom?

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[1] Title Image: By Rod Waddington from Kergunyah, Australia, via Wikimedia Commons