Hope | Discipleship at Messiah

Easter Is Forever

Posted on 4/27/19 by On the road with Jesus.

I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. – Rev. 1:18 (NIV)

If you are a western Christian, you probably celebrated Easter last Sunday. On Monday, Easter was over. Unless you live in certain places (such as North Carolina) where “Easter Monday” was a public holiday until 1987. Other places, such as the White House (White House egg roll) and other countries it is observed in various ways. And this fits in quite well with the thinking of most people who think of Easter as an event or a short season of the year. In western cultures it is a season that lasts for seven weeks (until the 50^th day, Pentecost). For many eastern Christians it lasts until the 40^th day after or Ascension.

However, the early Christians and the New Testament understood it quite differently. They knew that the resurrection of Jesus was the beginning of an eternal reality.

“The key to understanding all of this for the early followers of Jesus was not just their knowledge of God himself, which we have so heavily emphasized, or their knowledge of the multitudes of non-physical beings or angels that serve him. The absolute bedrock of their confidence concerning their future was, rather, in their experience of the postresurrection Jesus.” (Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, 395)

They knew Jesus is alive and that Easter is forever. And that being a Christian is a faith relationship with the living Jesus. It is expressed in at least three very important ways. Jesus is our companion. He is with us (“I am with you always.”-Matt. 28:20). He works through us, enabling us to bear fruit for the kingdom. He is in us (Jn 14:17- with you will be in you.) shaping us so that we will ultimately be like Him.

Tomorrow, Sunday (the day of resurrection) is a reminder that Easter is forever. Hope you celebrate it tomorrow and every Sunday by worshiping with your Christian community.

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Great Expectations

Posted on 1/1/19 by On the road with Jesus.

The people were waiting expectantly… -Luke 3:15

“Great Expectations”

I read about a man who left a relative $1 million. In return, the relative thoroughly cursed the man. The reason—the man was Andrew Carnegie and he left $365 million to public charities.
This was a problem of expectations—he expected more.

One day a father told his son,
“Don’t swim in that canal.”
“O.K. Dad”
That evening he came home caring a wet bathing suit.
“Where have you been?” demanded the father.
“Swimming in the canal,” answered the boy.
“Didn’t I tell you not to swim there?” asked the father.
“Yes, sir.”
“Why did you?”
“Well, Dad,” he explained, “I had my bathing suit with me and I couldn’t resist the temptation.”
“Why did you take your bathing suit with you?” he asked.
“So I’d be prepared to swim, in case I was tempted,”…

To a great extent, our actions are determined by expectations.
So, our expectations affect our satisfaction with life and with people and how we act. Therefore it should not surprise us that expectations play a large role in our lives—spiritually. Notice the words of our text, “As the people were in expectation.”

It is no accident that promises play such a large role in God’s dealings with people and his plan. Every major event in the history of God’s redemptive action is preceded by a promise. People were told over and over to expect certain actions on God’s part—at times against overwhelming odds.

God is THE God of Promise,
His People, THE people of Expectancy

The expectation often had bearing on the event. Expectation has a close relationship to desire and is an element of faith. How much do we want God? What do we expect from him are important factors in our spiritual health.
It is of course true that what happened was different from the details of what was expected—God’s surprises—but it was believing God would, as we say, “do God’s thing.”

As we have already seen, there are good and bad expectations—we might say holy and unholy ones. The unholy ones when frustrated can cause bitterness, disappointment, frustration, and anger. Perhaps the most common form of unholy expectation is worry. Robert Frost once said, “The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.”

But there are the holy ones—the real “Great Expectations” and they make a profound difference in our lives. Here are some of the most basic for the believer:

EXPECT TO BE RID OF YOUR SINS. That is God’s ultimate goal for you. The angel said to Joseph, “you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
EXPECT RESISTANCE/OPPOSITION (In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”-John 16:33)
EXPECT TO GROW (Romans 5:3-5) God will take you to another stage in your journey.
EXPECT TO SEE GOD WORK. He promises daily renewal and final victory.

So in 2019, worship God with heart and mind, and spirit. Tell Him you love him. Praise His glory, His goodness. Keep on singing, praying and listening. Do all of this with Great Expectations.

Filed under: belief, Discipleship, Faith, Hope | Tagged: anticipation, Discipleship, encouragement, expectancy, hope | Comments Off on Great Expectations

It Couldn’t Be Done. But God Did It.

Posted on 12/27/17 by On the road with Jesus.

“I bring you good news of great joy….a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10, 11

I know. I know. We’re two days past Christmas. Many people have already put away Christmas decorations or trying to figure out when they will have time to do it. There is a weariness that comes from the commercial push that started, to some extent, after Halloween and left many of us breathless. Whew! It’s all over except for maybe returning unwanted gifts and taking advantage of the after-Christmas sales.

But just maybe for those of us who have been fretting about taking Christ out of Christmas, the days after December 25^th are the best time to make sure we really keep Christ in Christmas. Maybe we can find time to really listen to the story.

I have been thinking about those words of the angel to Mary, For with God nothing will be impossible.

Everything about the Christmas story is impossible! From every important avenue, from every means of knowing, it is unbelievable, impossible. It could not happen—but it did! Even the little angel in JB Phillips’ story couldn’t believe it. But the senior angle said, “But that he really went [to earth] I know, and all of us in Heaven who know anything know that.” The reaction to the words of shepherds was, “All who heard it wondered [were amazed] at what the shepherds told them.

I wonder if there has ever been a time when those words needed to be heard more than today—with God nothing will be impossible. What are the implications for our world? What are the implications for you personally? What are the implications for our praying, our hope, our expectations? Most of all what does it mean for the way we live?

My challenge to myself, and to you, for 2018, is to live on the basis of the truth of those words. Whatever I face, whatever you face, God help us to remember with you “nothing will be impossible.”

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His Eye Is on the Sparrow

Posted on 8/31/17 by On the road with Jesus.

With some slight changes this was originally posted in 2010. I though it worth repeating in light of what’s happening in the Gulf Coast region.

In the midst of Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath we have heard (and will hear) so many words–sorrow, anger, courage, hero, fear, weary, shock, miracle, unbelievable. We have heard explanations, promises, assurances, warnings. Some of them have been wise, some foolish, some sinful and evil. In these words there have the words from God, but also from fallible humans, and some straight out of the mouth of Satan himself. Sometimes it is hard to know which are which.

The Bible helps us put things in perspective.

First, we are reminded that we cannot rid the world of suffering. Someone has said, “This is a world where robins die, and sparrows, and people: the ones we love, the ones Jesus loves.” The Peanuts characters put it this way:

Charlie Brown: “I have a new philosophy…’Life is like a golf course.’
Snoopy: “And ‘a sand trap runs through it.'”

The Biblical view says that God’s original creation has been damaged. It is defaced, messed up. Hurricanes and floods happen. We can endlessly debate the philosophical and theological issues here, but the reality is clear. This is a world where people, innocent people, get hurt.

However, in the midst of this, God is paying attention. God listens, God sees, but most importantly God cares. In the Old Testament God promises Soloman and the people just that–My eyes and my heart will always be here. (II Chron 7:16b-NLT) Jesus says that even the fate of sparrows is not lost on God (Matt. 10:29). And in the defining text of the Bible He says, For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only son. (John 3:16)

God is not just an observer, but, in fact, is in the midst of all this—in the Salvation Army relief worker, World Vision, UMCOR and scores of other Christian groups and individuals. But, also in secular groups—the Red Cross, Chinese disaster teams, American military units—any one there with the will to help is doing God’s work whether they know it or not.

Finally, hope is intrinsic to the Christian message. Along with faith and love, hope makes up the triangle of the Christian’s attitude. A pastor dying of cancer took a leave from his church. He was able to return and in a sermon he said, “We want to worship God in this church, and for our worship to be real, it doesn’t have to be fun, and it doesn’t have to be guilt-ridden. But it does have to be honest, and it does have to hope in God.”

Hope is the future tense of faith. Though we cannot deny what God has done and is doing, we must keep our perspective. In our lives and those around us, much of the Gospel is promise of what is yet to be. But God is here, God is at work and is preparing a better place for us. It is called heaven and without it, disasters/tragedies cannot be reconciled with a loving God.

Sisters, brothers keep the faith.

Filed under: Faith, Hope, News | Tagged: God, Harvey, hope | Comments Off on His Eye Is on the Sparrow

“Things To Come”

Posted on 3/10/16 by On the road with Jesus.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. -Jeremiah 29:11-NRSV

These days we hear a lot about living in the present—“go with the flow,” “seize the day,” “enjoy the moment,” “have it now.” And while, in the right context, these ideas have merit, they also can muddy our efforts to live full lives.

It is not without significance that when God reveals his plan for our life, an inescapable characteristic is that much of it is about the future. It is promise. So, much of the experience is anticipation. Anticipation is a powerful thing. Looking ahead to some desired event, a trip, a family get together can bring as much or more pleasure than the actual event. Negative anticipation can create dread, fear that is worse than what we actually encounter.

God has done a lot to help us have a holy anticipation. And if we don’t pay attention, we can really get in trouble with false assumptions and expectations about what God is doing in our lives and the world.

Joel Barker in his book, Future Edge tells about a man driving on a curvey, dangerous mountain road. As he comes around a curve, he sees this red convertible, careening back and forth across the road. The driver is a pretty, young, blond woman.
He slams on the brakes, and heads for the shoulder to avoid her. At the last minute she swerves and narrowly misses him. As she passes, the woman driver screams at him, PIG!
His face red with anger, he yells back at her, WENCH!” Muttering to himself he steps on the accelerator hits the curve at full speed and crashes into the biggest pig he has ever seen standing in the middle of the road. (as told by Maxi Dunnam)

Anticipation lets us risk as we break out of such assumptions to see a new vision of the world and the future. It will enable us to see beyond ourselves and beyond the obstacles.

God’s word to us warns us that things are not always what they seem to be. Looking around us doesn’t give us a whole lot of evidence for what we are told the final outcome will be.

In Birmingham, England, there is a store called Louis’. It’s a great chain store in one of the main streets, and it wanted to expand. But a little chapel of Quakers, a Friends Meeting House stood in the way. The store sent a letter to the leaders of this Friends Meeting house:

“Dear Sirs,
We wish to extend our premises. We see that your building is right in the way. We wish therefore to buy your building and demolish it so that we might expand our store. We will pay you any price you care to name. If you will name a price we will settle the matter as quickly as possible.
Yours, Sincerely.

They got this letter back:

Dear Sirs:
We in the Friends Meeting House note the desire of Louis’ to extend. We observe that our building is right in your way. We would point out, however, that we have been on our site longer than you’ve been on yours, and we are so determined to stay where we are that we will happily buy Louis’. If therefore you would like to name a suitable price we will settle the matter as quickly as possible. –by Donald English

Can you imagine how the person from Lewis who read that letter must have been laughing? A little Quaker Meeting House will buy Lewis’! All of that would change when they saw, “Signed, Cadbury.”

Yep. Cadbury, as in England’s Cadbury chocolate candy. They are Quakers. Who signs the letter makes all the difference.

The promise of heaven, eternal life is signed by God.

Filed under: Discipleship, Faith, Heaven, Hope, Obstacles, The Journey | Tagged: anticipation, Christian, discouragement, expectancy, Faith, hope | 1 Comment »

What God Offers That No One Wants

Posted on 2/18/16 by On the road with Jesus.

For you have been given…the privilege…of suffering. –Phillipians 1:29

Last week a young man in our community in his mid-twenties died suddenly and unexpectedly. Something like that raises questions which we can’t answer. But, for most people death, however untimely, can be accepted as part of the order of things.

Something much more problematic for those who believe in God is suffering. In fact we often try to deal with a loved one’s death by saying, “She/He doesn’t have to suffer any more. It has been said that Americans know only one stance toward suffering—“get rid of it.” Dr. Jack Kervorkian, who assisted dozens to die, said that he was helping end suffering.

Carmen Benson, in the midst of a long struggle said, “I can bear suffering for a little while, but after years of it—pain heaped upon pain, with never a day of respite—I find it just too much! Surely that cannot be God’s will for anyone!”

Is it just possible that our preoccupation with escaping pain, suffering run counter to God’s working in our lives and thus prevents us from maturing spiritually?

This is a delicate matter, a holy matter and we need to enter only in humility and caution. Benson wrote “Our minister spoke glowingly of all that suffering does to refine the character…. tender… compassionate. The only thing lacking was that he doesn’t do much suffering.”

No one in their right mind wants suffering. To seek it, for its own sake, a martyr’s complex is a sickness itself.

That being said, suffering is a part of life, even a Christian’s life. Oswald Chambers once wrote, “An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble, which is very different.”

There is, of course, needless suffering—humanly caused, or that can be avoided, or healed by God’s grace. But the Biblical message is that suffering is a means of grace when faced in trusting obedience to God. Benson is right—“It is always God’s will to make us whole, but not to heal us physically [or to rescue us from suffering] —it is to cure us.”

Dave Dravecky was a young baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. A cancerous tumor was discovered in Dave’s pitching arm. After a lengthy battle his arm had to be amputated. Dave and his wife, are Christians. He said, “Looking back, [my wife] Jan and I have learned that the wilderness is part of the landscape of faith, and every bit as essential as the mountaintop….Both places should bring us to our knees: the one in utter awe; the other, in utter dependence.”

Jesus attained His goal by suffering. Likewise, it may be said that our goal of spiritual maturity does not come without suffering. But suffering is not eternal. It does end. That is God’s promise to us.

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Jesus Wants To Make His Home With You

Posted on 5/27/15 by On the road with Jesus.

The fourteenth chapter of John is one of the best known and loved passages in the Bible. It has been one of the standard passages read at funerals. I don’t know that I ever did a funeral with reading from it.
The emphasis is usually on the comfort God provides and the promise of a home in heaven (“I go to prepare a place for you.“)

These are certainly wonderful promises. But, I am intrigued by this statement: “We (My Father and I) will come to him and make our home with him.” What a “breath-taking” idea. Someone has said, “There is no more precious verse in the whole Bible.” We can host God, not just as a visitor but living with us.
He knocks at the door, waiting for us to open it and invite Him in. And He will only stay as He is loved as demonstrated by our obedience to his word.

When someone lives with you, you really get to know them. You share the “nitty-gritty” of your life: the heat/cold, the sparse furnishings, whatever. In return, we have direct and familiar access to the creator’s power, and the redeemer’s love, forgiveness and companionship.

Who wouldn’t want to share your home with some one like that?

Filed under: belief, Discipleship, Faith, Hope, How to start, Humor, Jesus' invitation, The Destination, The Journey | Comments Off on Jesus Wants To Make His Home With You

He Promised

Posted on 4/11/15 by On the road with Jesus.

Matthew 28:6b- he has risen, just as he said.

A one time popular Christian TV personality once told a TV audience: “The Christian life is just so great that I think I would become a Christian even if it wasn’t true!”1 Tim Keller says, “As a young Christian, I had come up through mainline churches, I was a religion major at a secular university. The common message he got about the stories of the resurrection was that they “were literalistic, symbolic representations of these higher spiritual truths.”

And then I read what the Apostle Paul wrote: “If Christ is not risen…your faith is useless.” The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is greatest event in human history. It is in fact the hinge; it is the pillar on which our faith stands. Continue reading →

Filed under: belief, Cross, Discipleship, Easter, Faith, Hope, Jesus, The Journey | Tagged: Christian, Easter, hope | 2 Comments »

Hang in there.

Posted on 5/19/14 by On the road with Jesus.

Stand firm, and you will win life.-Luke 21:19

One day Jesus is talking with some people who are admiring the beauty and permanence of the temple. Jesus shocks them by declaring that even the temple won’t last. Then he uses this opening to warn about threats to life: fear, being led astray, self-indulgence. He urges his followers to “stand firm,” “Hold on” (Phillips). The Bible is clear. Endurance is crucial to reaching God’s destination for us. The text in The Message puts it this way “Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry; you’ll be saved.”

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Hope Reborn

Posted on 5/6/14 by On the road with Jesus.

“we had hoped”-Luke 24:21a

What a sad text. To loose hope is the bottom of the human spirit. Two followers of Jesus, distraught over his death and confused by reports, had lost hope. And they represent most of Jesus’ followers at that point. They were not gullible, ignorant people as critics suggest but hard-headed realists who needed to be convinced. Even as the risen Jesus walked with them, they did not recognize who he was. Then, gathered with flawed but like-minded followers, Jesus convinced them.

Discouraged, struggling, hurting, at wits end? Join other lovers of Jesus and look for him to show up.

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