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Christ in Your Christmas
Over the last ten or fifteen years, various Christian lobbying and activist groups have been notifying me of the reality that many companies are “taking Christ out of Christmas.” So with great enthusiasm, I filled out petitions to various stores in order to encourage them to “keep Christ in Christmas.” After all, what is Christmas without a hearty, “Merry Christmas?”
The dull, placid remark, “Happy Holidays,” holds about as much cheer as “Grandma got run over by a reindeer.” And the thin veneer hung over the commercialization of Christmas and other associated holidays has become ever more sheer, so much so that I’m afraid my 5-year-old son is about ready to notice the proverbial emperor is no longer wearing any clothes. All sincere meaning seems gone…
Expectations run high but emptiness often trickles into our Christmas scene. Behind all the bright red bows, sparkling Christmas trees, and neatly wrapped packages we see ahead to the morning after Christmas morning, the dead batteries, and fast approaching…the day after New Year’s.
So we may donate money to “Christmas-saving” groups and receive a pin to wear, notifying persons we speak with that, “I say Merry Christmas, and so it’s okay for you to say it, too!” But I wonder how many of us – my family included – focus on Jesus Christ in our Christmas season?
Now don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying that you’d be wrong to support these Christian organizations that lobby on behalf of Christmas. I love saying, “Merry Christmas!” to everyone I meet this time of year. My heart is warmed when I walk into a store and see the words “Merry Christmas” hung across the entrance. I am delighted when my children squeal with joy when they spot a Nativity scene displayed in a window, front yard, or city square.
Sure, we may say, “Merry Christmas” and donate $5 to receive a Christmas pin. We can energetically petition stores to put the name of Christ or the word “Christmas” back in their holiday displays.
But is Christ really in my Christmas?
How much is Christ in our Christmas? Historically, the word Christmas is an abbreviated form of Christ-mass, meaning the celebration of Christ – specifically in His first Advent. Yet is Christ actually remembered and in center-focus during our Christmas season?
Or is it really more about fulfilling everyone’s expectations for honey-baked ham, turkey, carols, presents, fruitcake, re-runs of Rudolph, and more? Are you stressed about your party schedule for work and extended family? Are you scrambling to figure out how you’re going to have enough money to buy the gifts your kids really want? Or do you feel lonely, even depressed about Christmas because a loved one is now gone, and they’ll never enjoy another Christmas with you?
Maybe during this Christmas season, what we need most is not a petition to Target or Wal-Mart to put the word Christmas back on display, but for you and I to fully receive Christ back into our Christmas. And maybe then, Jesus Christ, the source of true love, joy, peace, and hope will be on display in us.
When an angel of the Lord declared the most shocking message of all-time to a ragtag, outcast crew of shepherds on the fringes of society, it wasn’t a sermon of condemnation but a proclamation of joy:
“And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all people…” (Luke 2:9-10)
But how can these shepherds who were scared out of their pants (pardon the colloquial expression) have joy? And why does this angel have such good news that will result in great joy for everyone – even stinky, dirty shepherds?
One word: Christ.
Here’s the earth-turning, life-changing reason delivered from God’s holy messenger: “…for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior…” (Luke 2:11a)
A Savior – a Rescuer is here! And this Savior is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy: He was born in the city of David: Bethlehem. In Mathew’s account of the story, he recorded that King Herod – who was incredibly nervous and agitated about losing his throne – gathered all the chief priests and scribes together and asked them where the Christ, “the Messiah,” was to be born (Matt. 2:3-4). Their response unearthed an amazing parallel from a rather obscure Old Testament prophet named Micah. You might have to dust off the pages of your Bible as you look at this passage with me:
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity…” (Micah 5:2)
The entrance of Jesus the Christ into the world was not a random occurrence or like a lotto ball that just happened to drop down the right tube. The day Christ moved into the neighborhood of fallen, sinful humanity had been planned before the earth was formed and prophesied hundreds of years before the Great Arrival. All the pent-up anticipation broke out into a broken world and light spread through the darkness.
But look again, carefully: the angel said the Savior was born for them – to save the shepherds. He came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21) and God didn’t make an exclusion clause for those who didn’t have their act together or who weren’t accepted by the so-called righteous people.
The Baby born in Bethlehem is a Savior…
For those who don’t have their ears clean and haven’t bathed in weeks
For those who can’t afford expensive clothes, new cars, or a house of their own
For those who have a bad reputation and have done some time behind bars
For those who haven’t been to a church service in years
For those who the so-called religious elite ignore and sometimes despise
For those who have a dark past they’re too ashamed to talk about
For those who wonder if God really cares they exist out on the pastureland of earth
For those who everyone else thinks is unimportant or a liability
For those who might carry chronic diseases and infections
For those who feel like they wear a scarlet letter because of past sins
For those who are rejected or ridiculed by people who claim to follow God
For those who are worn out from trying to measure up to people’s expectations
For those who are filled with sadness and tears because they think they’ll never be close to God or never know real love…
And who is this Savior… this One born in the city of David? God’s angelic messenger finishes the sentence: “…for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11b)
One word again: Christ. The title “Christ” signifies this little newborn baby is the Messiah, the Anointed One who has come to save and rule and shepherd the flock of God, the One who will restore justice and righteousness, and reign with truth and grace. He is the One who Moses foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-19:
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him.” (Deut. 18:15; cf. Luke 24:27; John 5:46; Acts 3:22-23)
He is the One who Isaiah prophesied about in detail:
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” (Isa. 7:14)
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of Dave and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isa. 9:6-7)
He is the One who Jeremiah shouted about long before the Incarnation:
“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord our righteousness.’” (Jer. 23:5-6; see also Jer. 31:31-34)
Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, Zechariah (3:8-10) and others all pointed to the Messiah, the One who would come to save. Yet, we cannot overlook the already-but-not-yet tension in the prophetic thread running through the Old Testament to the birth of Christ in the New Testament. He is the Savior who is currently saving people from their sins and reconciling them with God. Yet He is also the Savior who will come and rescue, restore, and redeem all things to Himself at His Second Coming.
Already: Jesus Christ saves those who trust in Him for salvation, giving hope and joy for the unfolding of His future grace.
Not Yet: Jesus Christ will fully redeem us and rule over the renewed creation with justice and righteousness.
So look again at Luke 2:11: This Christ is the Lord. He won’t become the Lord over all when he returns to build His literal, physical kingdom on a renewed earth. He is already Lord over all and always has been. Right now, today, Jesus is the Christ and the Lord.
Back at the Ranch, i.e. Smelly Sheep Station
So this sweaty, tired crew of shepherds stands with eyes gawking, hands shaking, and hearts trembling. But the angel of the Lord isn’t finished with the message, he says:
“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’” (Luke 2:12-14)
They received an invitation to find and receive God’s gift, the gift of a Savior – Jesus the Christ. He is how these scared shepherds can receive joy. He is the reason why the angel’s message will result in great joy for everyone – even outcast shepherds.
And they immediately go find Him, look upon Him, and go tell everyone about Him (Luke 2:15-18).
The Gift For You
God sent His holy messenger to invite the shepherds to find His Son and receive His Gift – to receive His great joy – even in their sadness.
But Christ’s gift of joy is also for us. God invites us to receive the great joy of the Good News through Jesus the Savior. And in finding Him, we behold Him and receive Him as the only true Messiah who can save and bring joy in our sadness, grief, and tears. He, the only One who can wipe away your scarlet letter – never to be seen again, never to be talked about again, never to hold you back from His joy.
Here’s the amazing invitation at His incarnation: although He will one day return to restore all things, He – right now – offers to you and me and the shepherds, joy and peace with God through Him alone.
The Way Back to Christ in Your Christmas
The only way to find true love, joy, hope, and rest this Christmas (beyond the stress, emptiness, busyness, and negative cash flow) is for us to have Christ back in our Christmas. But how does this work? Is it putting up more overtly Christian decorations? Is it wearing more Christmas clothing? Does it mean singing more Christmas carols or reading more Christmas stories in the morning? Does it mean escaping the Christmas season altogether?
No, receiving Christ back into your Christmas (maybe for the first time) is not through something we do but through what He gives by what He has done.
Receiving Christ’s gift of joy in your sadness begins with hearing the message of great joy in Him, going to Him with all your sadness, brokenness, and tears, and then receiving Him in trust as the only One who can save, rescue, and give true, lasting joy.
And it is a gift, a gift only possible because of grace. Here’s how Romans 6:23 presented the Good News of great joy:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)
God offers you this gift through Christ not to declare condemnation but as a proclamation of joy: a Savior came for you and He’s inviting you to receive Him, be redeemed through Him, and rejoice in Him.
Christ is waiting to enter your Christmas. Will you receive Him and His joy… today?
Listen to the 4-part series of full audio messages below by clicking on the play buttons below or by subscribing to our iTunes podcast. These messages were originally delivered at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI, on Sunday mornings: PART 1 – Dec. 7th 2014: “Christ’s Joy in Our Sadness” (Luke 2:8-18), PART 2 – Dec. 14th 2014: “Christ’s Rest in Our Stress” (Gen. 2:1-3; Matt. 1:18-23; 11:25-30), PART 3 – Dec. 21st 2014: “Christ Love in Our Emptiness” (John 3:16-21), PART 4 – Dec. 28th 2014: “Christ Hope in Our Fear” (Romans 8:18-30).
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Love in Design
Amid the convoluted messages about sexuality and marriage across the news networks and social media feeds, it’s easy to wonder if there is any solution or resolution for the conversation. Has God provided a clear, navigable pattern to follow?
Do you wonder how Jesus Christ would respond to questions like:
- “Can I sleep with my girlfriend, just so long as she doesn’t get pregnant?”
- “Is marriage really only between one man and one woman for life?”
- “Isn’t lust and porn okay as long as nobody gets hurt?”
- “If someone has same-sex attraction, does that mean they’ve been made that way by God? Does God think it’s okay?”
A Pattern in Design
On Sunday, Nov. 9th (6pm service) we at North Park Baptist Church began journeying into a study of what God says about our sexuality and His design for marriage. Here’s a quick glance at the line-up (audio podcasts now posted for messages 1-3 at the bottom of this post):
- Nov. 9 – God’s Beautiful Blueprints – Pastor Michael Breznau
- Nov. 16 – Counterfeits? Jumping to Home Plate: Pre-Marital Sex – Pastor John Nixon
- Nov. 23 – Counterfeits? LGBTQ meets FHL (Faith, Hope, Love) – Dr. Bruce Kalish
- Nov. 30 – Panel Discussion on Cohabitation, Lust, Same-Sex Attraction, Q & A, etc. – Michael Breznau, John Nixon, Bruce Kalish, and Heather Saturley
Our series on these important questions relates to a proposed amendment [Update: voted into our constitution as of 4.26.15] to our church constitution, relating to “Position Clarifications” and a “Marriage and Sexuality Position Statement” appendix, on which we plan to hold a congregational vote (4/26/2015): click here to access this document as a PDF: Constitution Position Statement and Appendix
Also relating to our revised and expanded “Position Clarifications” on Christian Liberty and Ethics, please go here to access further resources and the audio messages from our series “Liberty or License: The Moral and Ethical Implications of the Gospel.”
God’s Beautiful Blueprints
I had a great time kicking-off the series with two key portions of God’s blueprints for marriage: Genesis 2-3 and Ephesians 5:17-33. Below is the audio podcast of my message (I will post the other messages in the series as they become available). As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Also, here’s a video from Dan Stevers we used as the opening for our series. He does an excellent job capturing the essence of “the Story of Sex” with clarity and creativity:
Going Deeper
We also want to provide you with materials to go beyond what can be accomplished in just 4 teaching sessions. Therefore, here are 4 key resources that I highly recommend purchasing for further study. If you swing by North Park Baptist for one of the the evening sessions listed above, we have all these books available in our foyer display for the cheapest prices we could scrounge up on the internet. Here you go:
Listen to the full audio messages below by simply clicking on the play button below or by subscribing to our iTunes podcast. These messages were originally delivered at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI,
Part 1 – Pastor Michael Breznau: “God’s Beautiful Blueprints” (Gen. 2-3; Eph. 5:17-33) on Sunday evening, November 9th, 2014.
Part 2 – Pastor John Nixon: “The Truth and the Grace” (1 Cor. 6:13-20), Sunday evening, November 16th, 2014.
Part 3 – Dr. Bruce Kalish: “LGBTQ meets FHL” (1 Cor. 6:9-11, and selected passages), Sunday evening, November 23rd, 2014.
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Talking with God
The action of praying was somewhat of an enigma to me when I was a child and teenager. Sometimes I would hear people pray in ways that sounded amazing, as if they were speaking directly to their Father and hearing His responses. Other times I heard people pray a thousand terms that all sounded the same – with dozens of little “filler words” like “Oh, God,” “just,” and “like” – I was often guilty of falling into this cycle myself. Prayers like these seemed to circle more around the individual than a direct line of communication with the transcendent, all-powerful God of the universe.
Occasionally I would hear people pray with lots of emotion – that meant they were really super-spiritual – in my estimation back then. Their faces would get red as they shouted up at God with hands raised and sweat pouring down their foreheads. Still others would simply sit or kneel quietly for what seemed like hours.
When I was in India I saw the most fervent prayer I had ever witnessed. Hundreds of men, women, and children would kneel down with their faces on the ground and pray and pray and pray, and find such joy in simply communing with God. And I wondered what I had missed all my life…
And then there was me… I had a little rehearsed prayer that I would recite before eating a meal, I would often pray during church services, and I would pray regularly before I went to sleep each night. Sometimes I tried to pray like men and women whom I respected – so I would attempt to pray with fervent, visible emotion – and there were times the Holy Spirit moved deeply in my heart when I prayed with this kind of fervency. On other occasions, I would find myself on my knees in my bedroom feeling the weight of conviction pour over me as I asked God to forgive me for the sins I committed earlier that day, and God worked in my life through those prayers, too.
A Gearshift
When I was about 15 or 16 years old I started running a lot – and I mean a lot – I always liked to run, but this was something different. I began running nearly every day and taking longer runs every weekend, as I prepared for the next distance race I had written into my calendar. Each morning I would get up before sunrise, have a light drink of water, eat 2 or 3 baby carrots, prepare, stretch-out, and then embark on a fast-paced run.
And here’s where something unusual happened: I began to communicate to God while I was running and He would communicate with me. Now, I didn’t hear audible voices or receive new revelation from God. Don’t worry, I won’t be writing my own addendums to the Bible. God has already uniquely revealed His direct will and plan in His Word.
But here’s what my communication with God did look like…
I silently praised Him for the bright sunrise coming over the gentle farm-laden hills of mid-Michigan. I quietly thanked Him for the cool, clear air that I could breathe through my lungs as I sprinted up a small knoll. I reveled in the changing seasons God had beautifully arranged for us to enjoy – and I told Him how much I delighted in Him and what He had made. I worshiped Christ for giving the sparrows and robins and cardinals charming songs to float through the trees. I declared God as holy as I ran past a bubbling stream and rapidly growing cornstalks. And I began to see foretastes of His coming kingdom as I took time to notice the scope and grace of His creation and His saving grace toward me.
The more I saw God through what He had made, the more I realized how small I was and how often I failed to put Him on display in my everyday life. And so I would humbly repent of my failings, faults, and sin as I jogged past homes, farms, and forests.
But it wasn’t just a one-way monologue from me to God. God would speak to me through His creation and His Word. By His merciful love, God would often bring to my mind a passage or phrase of Scripture that would inspire me to greater praise or deeper conviction. The Spirit would give me comfort and peace in times of turmoil and stress. Sometimes I would be reminded of someone with whom I had neglected to share the hope of Christ or how I’d failed to demonstrate genuine forgiveness. There were moments when the Spirit would suddenly “turn the light bulb on” in my understanding of a paragraph I was studying in God’s Word, and there were times when an idea for ministry or business would come to mind that I simple knew was not from my own intellect or creativity. God was communicating to me through the general revelation of His creation and the special revelation of His Word.
Here’s how King David described God’s amazing message through general or “natural” revelation
“The heavens are telling the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4a).
:: A pattern of reflection on God’s creation and power ::
And in the same Psalm, David continues with a beautiful sonnet on God’s special revelation, the Scriptures:
“The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.” (Psalm 19:7-10)
:: A pattern of remembering God’s character and will ::
Yet we then find that the essence of this famous Psalm is prayer – David is describing God’s communication in His creation (natural revelation) and through the Scriptures (special revelation), but he closes the poem with His response to God:
“Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of my hidden faults. Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
:: A pattern of repentance and response to God’s redeeming, forgiving grace ::
On my quick jaunts across the countryside, God was guiding me, comforting me, and reminding me of who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. He was drawing me to respond with prayer and praise through His beautiful creation and His inspired Word.
And that’s really what prayer is: communication. Praying is more than rubbing a Genie-bottle so we can get nice items from the Genie or some sort of divine fairy godmother. God is so much bigger and better than that and prayer is so much more important than developing a wish list that uses church-like terms or Christianized lingo.
Prayer is a divine gift we’ve received through redemption in Christ so that we can talk to the omnipotent Father who made us, knows everything about us, and yet still continues to love us. Pick-up the conversation today… He wants to hear from His children. You can talk to God. He’s ready to listen and respond.
I encourage you to take a moment to look up these other prayers to see God’s pattern for prayer: Matthew 6:5-15 and Ephesians 3:14-21
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Conspiracy, Fear, and God’s Sovereignty
“They are secretly taking over!”
“I think there is a hidden plan to outlaw Christianity…”
“The communists are leading the media to brainwash our populace!”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some behind-the-scenes group of wealthy leaders directing these wars in the Middle East… and they are all cashing in.”
If your environment is anything like mine, I would guess you’ve heard alarming statements like these more times than you can count. Conspiracy theories of all kinds seem to increasingly abound. Alarmist news reporters and columnists rapidly grow their readership through stories that invoke tremors of fear and outrage.
This short, fast-flash film summarizes the top 10 “disturbing conspiring theories” in the USA:
Statisticians claim a whopping 60% of the American population believes President JFK’s assassination was the work of some kind of conspiracy. Some people argue that the U.S. government secretly ordered the planes to fly into the World Trade Center towers on 9/11, perhaps to have an excuse for waging war against Iraq. While I happen to be incredulous to such hypotheses, some human conspiracies seem real and seem to work out… the ISIS group in Iraq obviously conspired to kill or drive out all the Christians in the city of Mosul and they largely succeeded. The self-identified anti-god, anti-Christian lobbying groups in the USA seem to be making a lot of headway in recent years in their attempt to choke out the Christian voice in our nation.
But to be honest, it’s very easy for American Christians to get caught up in fear for tomorrow and who might be conspiring against us. Remember the Y2K days? The church in which I grew up held special Sunday night meetings for months prior to that fateful New Year so that we could learn how to be prepared for the earth-shattering crash that was to come. The operative word was always “preparation” but as a teenager I knew the overall motivation in the room was fear. I knew people who bought multiple wood burning stoves, years of food supplies, piles of guns, the list goes on… I even heard of some families who sold everything and literally headed for the mountains to escape the impending chaos.
The Ultimate Conspiracy
Now I’m not saying it’s wrong to prepare for the unexpected, but our fear drives us to a deeper, ultimate question: In who or what are we hoping? Really.
In who or what are you hoping? America? The constitution? Your job? Your guns? Or…
Jesus and His followers faced the ultimate human conspiracy of all time: Kill Jesus Christ. And in the face of this conspiracy what did God want the followers of Jesus to know… and hope in? As the page turns toward the Cross and the ultimate human conspiracy, where does the Gospel of John takes us to hope?
Here’s a scene-by-scene flashback of where the apostle John leads us up to the half-way point in His gospel account:
Jesus. Man. God. The God-Man.
Word. The Word became flesh and moved-in to live among us.
Life. Light. In Him was Life and the Life was the Light of men.
John the Baptist took the witness stand and testified to the identity of Jesus. Lamb. Lamb of God. The One who would take away the sin of the world. And the story begins to unfold…
Jesus inaugurates his public ministry at a Wedding Celebration and turns water into the best wine. (Ch. 2)
Jesus walked the super-religious Nicodemus out of the darkness of spiritual ignorance and into the light of God’s Good News. (Ch. 3)
Jesus turned the sex-addict from Samaria into a Gospel-telling worshiper of God. (Ch. 4)
Jesus healed a Royal Official’s son, saving him from death’s door. (Ch. 4)
Jesus restored a man by the Pool of Bethesda, who had been disabled for 38 years. (Ch. 5)
Jesus fed 5,000+ people near the Sea of Galilee with a supply of just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. (Ch. 6)
Jesus walked on top of the water on the Sea of Galilee, showing His disciples His power over the elements of creation. (Ch. 6)
Through all of this, Jesus taught with authority and wisdom that amazed everyone – including the Pharisees and Chief Priests! (Ch. 6-8)
Jesus healed a man who had been blind from birth. (Ch. 9)
Jesus raised his close friend Lazarus from the dead, after he had been in the tomb 4 days! (Ch. 11)
But after all of this, the religious leaders threw up their arms and shouted, “What are we doing?” Jesus was doing many amazing miracles. But what were they doing? Sitting on their hands? No more! So with the cunning deceit of the high priest, Caiaphas, they devised a plan – a conspiracy was formulated. Why? Because they feared the loss of their position of power and temporary national peace.
The leaders shouted out: “If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (John 11:48)
Fear raced through the minds of the chief priests and Pharisees as they looked at the chessboard of their game with the Romans. If a gathering of zealots used Jesus’ popularity to create a civil insurrection, then the Roman authorities would no longer trust their leadership. They would lose everything that was theirs. So they conspired to take swift and final action. With a brash and arrogant tone, Caiaphas pronounced:
“You know nothing at all, nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” (John 11:50)
Overruled.
Yet with all their cunning conspiracy tactics, God’s sovereignty overruled the leaders’ plans for self-protection with His plan for redemption. God is the master of literary twist and beautifully choreographs the storyline of history to display His sovereignty.
God always writes the end of the story…
The first twist: The Sanhedrin sought to protect their “place” and their “nation” by killing Jesus. But soon after His crucifixion their system quickly unraveled and climaxed in the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. The family of Annas, the patriarch of the chief priests, lost all their wealth, prestige, and power. Gone.
The second twist: Everyone heard Caiaphas proclaim that it would be better for one man to die on behalf of the people so that the whole nation would not be destroyed. But Jesus would die not only on behalf of the people in Israel but also for the whole world, thus bringing the scattered together into the one family of God. One. (cf. John 11:51-52)
Jesus Himself would conquer death and rise as the Victor from the grave. Mouths could not be stopped. The mission would charge forward. The people of God would be purchased through the redemption payment at the Cross.
God always writes the final chapter to the story. Man’s plans fail. God’s plans always win. He always wins. And just as God’s sovereignty overruled man’s conspiracy in the first-century, so God will overrule human conspiracy every time… even today.
God’s sovereignty overrules human conspiracy…every time.
Unstoppable.
Mankind has tried to stop God’s mission from moving forward time and time again, but every scheme will always fail. Because God’s sovereign plan of redemption will always overrule any human conspiracy. How can I make such a bold claim? Take a glance at recent history…
China tried to stamp out Christianity through communism, but the Church only blossomed under persecution. The USSR tried to stamp out Christianity through atheism, but God’s work never ceased across Russia and Eastern Europe. Many South American countries tried to enforce Marxism, but Christianity is continuing to exponentially grow. India has tried to clamp down on national Christians evangelizing and foreign missionaries working among the people, but the Church is spreading at breakneck speed. And even here in the USA, religious liberalism has tried for more than a century to pacify and neuter the Christian faith but instead the mainline liberal denominations are emptying and many Gospel-preaching, Bible-believing churches are growing and spreading across the country. Why? Because God’s sovereignty always overrules any human conspiracy.
Does this mean our era will climax in some sort of utopian Christendom? Certainly not. Persecution will rise. Rejection will increase. Violence and immorality will spread. Remember… this world is fallen and faulty and broken. At the end of the age Satan and his cohorts may even think they’ve won, just like the religious rulers thought they’d won the day when Jesus was nailed to an old wooden cross on the outskirts of town. But God’s plan will not be thwarted, undermined, or brought to demise – because He is writing the story. And every page will turn to display the praise of His glory.
Hope.
So even though conspiracy theories are on the rise and evil seems to be triumphing, we can hope in God’s sovereign plan as each new chapter unfolds – even today.
Hope in God’s Sovereign Plan as each new chapter unfolds…even today.
Most every night, I tell our little guy, Hudson, homemade stories about Herman the Hermit, Rusty the Trusty Dog, Flapjack Frying-Pan…all characters my dad developed in his story time with my brother and I when we were kiddos. Hudson soaks up every detail and every turn in each vignette. His eyes brighten with wonder as his mind paints the plot across his imagination. But as is often the case, a tension is left unresolved (especially if I’m tired and want to end it for the night). So I declare with a gusto, “Until next time… we’ll find out what happens with…” Hudson will groan but then quickly bubble over with anticipation and ideas about how he thinks the story will end. His little mind races with anticipation… but I know how the story will end because I’m the author. So I just smile, give him a hug, and enjoy his delight in my story.
Sometimes we can be filled with fear about what conspiracy might be brewing to attack the Church, outlaw our faith, or seemingly stop God’s mission from going forward. But we can trust that God’s sovereign plan will win. He will be victorious. His plan of redemption could not be stopped and will not be stopped. Conspiracy? No conspiracy will ever thwart God’s sovereignty.
The Author knows how the story will begin and end. And our Triune God will win. His plan of redemption will not be thwarted. Hope today in the sovereign Lord because He owns the end of the story…
Listen to the full audio message entitled “Man’s Conspiracy vs. God’s Sovereignty” (John 11:47-57) by simply clicking on the play button below or by subscribing to our iTunes podcast. This message was originally delivered at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI, on Sunday morning, August 17th, 2014.
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Jesus is Coming for Dinner
Just the other afternoon, my son, Hudson, and I were driving along a roadway near our house in order to run a few errands. We were singing one of Hudson’s favorite songs… loudly, of course. Traffic was heavy, but the sun was shining brightly.
As we looked across the western horizon, a beautiful mosaic of multi-layered clouds quilted the sky. Rays of sunlight shot through the majestic frame, inciting bursts of vibrant color.
Suddenly Hudson shouted, “Look, Papa! It looks like Jesus is breaking through the clouds! Jesus is breaking through the clouds!”
Hudson has a way of commanding everyone’s attention within 100 feet at any given moment, and today was no exception. He could not live one more minute if his Papa did not see the view he was taking in.
“Loooook, Papa! See!!” Hudson yelled again. “See the clouds and the light shining…”
His voice dropped to a whisper, “wow… Jesus is breaking through the clouds…”
“Is He, Papa…right now?” he asked with a deep tone of anticipation.
Before I could get out a response to my little guy, he gripped me with a thought I may never forget: “I want Him to come right now. He is going to come to our house. And I want Jesus to eat dinner with us. Yep, Jesus is coming over for dinner. I want Him to come because I love Him so much….”
“Can He come right now?” Hudson asked again. “I want Him to come… and stay.”
I quickly glanced back to see his eyes sparkling with joy and delight. He was smiling from ear-to-ear with his gaze locked on the exquisite horizon.
Excitement coalesced with peace.
Hope joined with confidence.
Faith seemed on the brink of sight.
Anticipation and hope and love – all wrapped up in my little 5-year-old’s heart and mind.
“Wow, Hudson, it does look like Jesus is breaking through the clouds.” I replied, “But I don’t think He’s coming right now… not just yet.”
“But I want Him to come and have dinner.” Hudson replied through a pout.
“Oh but Hudson, there will be a day – soon – when Jesus will come. And one day He will make everything right. He will restore the earth and make all things new.” I said.
“But you know the best part of it all, Hudson?” I asked.
“What, Papa?” He quickly asked, jumping on my rhetorical question.
“Well, when Jesus comes back to the earth to make everything new and perfect again, we will have dinner with Him… and He will never leave. We will always be with Him – forever and ever.”
“Wow… I can’t wait for Him to come.” Hudson said quietly.
We both silently looked out across the sky – the radiant colors, hues, and textures captivated our attention. Our eyes squinted at the piercing light from the sun, which now fully announced its presence from behind the clouds.
Hope Beyond Hamburgers
And I wondered… do we live with this joy-filled anticipation or would we find Jesus’ return a disruption to our plans and goals? Do we deeply long to rejoice at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9) or are we more focused on grabbing a quick hamburger between meetings?
Do we end every prayer with the desire for Jesus to come today or do we tritely conclude our quiet times with a laundry list of “wants” for a better and happier life right now?
Have we functionally bought into a gospel that promises “stuff” or that which brings us to God…into a personal, real, eternal communion with the God of the universe?
To Christ-followers in a not-so-nice environment, the apostle Peter wrote:
“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18a)
The ultimate goal of the Gospel is not what we have right now. There is something more to come – because Someone is coming. And when He comes we will know and experience and rejoice in the final redemption as God’s sons and daughters. We already have a down-payment – the seal of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence within us, but we have not yet received what all creation is longing for: “the revealing of the sons of God…our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:19, 23)
Here’s how Paul described this anticipation-drenched hope:
“For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” (Romans 8:24-25)
Passionately. Eagerly. Captivated. Anticipating…
How we view God’s future plan will determine how we live out God’s will in the present. In other words, our perspective on the end frames how we live right now.
How we view God’s future plan will determine how we live out God’s will in the present.
But are we just preoccupied with the already that we forget about the not yet? I have to confess that I find myself in that disappointing sinkhole more times than I’d like to admit. I get so busy running errands for dinner today that I forget to look across the horizon and anticipate the day when we’ll have dinner with Jesus our Redeemer – face to face.
My little guy, Hudson, gripped me with his hope and longing for Jesus – not just for what Jesus Christ had done for him, but also in what Jesus will do when He comes. His simple longing to have dinner with the One who loves him with unending compassion and mercy is the sincere portrait of Christian hope.
“Yes, I am coming quickly.” – Jesus
I pray Hudson and I echo these words from now until we see our Redeemer: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20b).
Walk in Hope.
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From Terror to Hope: My Little Story
Hiding in Terror
Here I was again, cold, alone, and in the dark; trying to get away from the sound by plugging my ears from the banging of metal hitting human flesh. Even though I could not see anything from where I sat huddled underneath the kitchen table, I tightly closed my eyes with the echo of every pounding blow.
“Why would they be doing this?” I thought.
“Why would these people be so evil as to do something so terrible and gruesome to an innocent man? Oh please stop, please stop!”
In utter desperation to run far away from this terror I scurried out from underneath the dining table. But before I could leave the room something made me pause in my little tracks. Maybe it was simply my five-year-old curiosity that made me look, but quite possibly it was something more significant, for there He was nailed to a cross made out of old, splintered wood. He had been whipped, torn, beaten and even spit at!
I saw that He was wearing a crown, but even the crown was made out of thorns that had pierced His forehead and now blood freely ran down His face. As my eyes welled up with tears and stark fear, I hopped into the comfort of my mother’s lap. And, this time I did not once again jump under the table, but instead fixed my young eyes on the whole scene that was being depicted for us on our little television set.
In the Midst of Despair
As I continued to watch with a sense of despair, I could not help but ask my mother why they were doing something so awful. She explained to me that Jesus went through all this torture, shame, and ultimately death to save me and rest of the world from sin. As young as I was, I still knew I had done many bad things, in fact the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I “probably” sinned everyday.
The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that “we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And in Isaiah 53:6 it says, “all of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us turned to his own way.” In hearing this verse, it is clear we simply cannot measure up to God’s holiness, or in other words, perfect-ness. We all miss the mark. So I knew that I was a sinner but what was I supposed to do? If I tried to be really good, and not sin very much would that let me into Heaven?
As the movie on the crucifixion of Jesus came to a close, a man began to explain from the Bible that no matter if we have sinned just a couple of times, or if we did many evil and wicked things; we were all sinners in God’s eyes. In Romans 6:23a it says, “For the wages of sin is death…” So according to God’s Word the only thing you and I deserve is death… we’ve been separated from God by our sin – our rebellion in unbelief. Life beyond this life is doomed for a destiny of eternal, horrible separateness from God and His love. Hell.
Words of Safety, Words of Hope
But, then when all hope seemed lost for this little brown eyed five-year-old, I heard the words of grace and hope:
“But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8)
I found that salvation from the wrath and tears of hell is not obtained by doing good works, religious deeds, or any other thing except simply trusting in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. The Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2:8-9)
Salvation is a completely free gift directly from the hand of God.
But the good news does not end at the point of Christ’s death on the cross of Calvary. For Christ rose again after three days of being in the grave and now sits at the right hand of God (Eph 1:20).
That day in early April I found peace, power, and eternal life through trusting in Jesus Christ. He came into my life and has made me a brand new person who is no longer under the power of sin, but now empowered through the grace of God. And even more than being freed from the impending judgment of hell, Jesus the Rescuer brought me into a real, always-and-forever relationship with God the Father. I heard a pastor once say, “the great end of the Gospel is that we get God…” And it’s true. We are now His children and He is our Father. Forever.
The apostle Peter wrote, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18a)
Hope for You
If you have not already trusted in Christ as your personal Savior, you can do so right now! For it says in God’s Word, “that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:15-16)
Jesus Christ is the perfect and holy Son of God, and He alone could and has paid the penalty for your sin and for mine. Do you see the reality of your sin? Do you realize your need for God’s rescue plan: Jesus Christ? All you must do is believe in Christ as your personal Savior and you will receive the free gift of eternal life, and be forever free from the penalty of sin! You and I can know for certain that this is true because it is exactly what the Word of God teaches. In John 5:24, Christ reassures us by saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does come to judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Will you now believe?
If you have now made a decision to trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, would you like to simply tell Him so? Here is a prayer suggestion:
“Dear God, I have seen in Your Word that I am a sinner who is completely unable to measure up to Your holiness. I have also read that unless I am made perfect in Your sight I will not be allowed to live in Your perfect, holy Heaven with You. So, I have decided this day to trust in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior from the wrath and eternal sadness of hell. Thank you Jesus for dying for my sins and rising from the dead, so that I can spend eternity with you. I thank you, Jesus, for saving me, and I now welcome you as Lord of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
If you just took the life-changing step to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, I’d love to hear about!
In God’s Vineyard,
Michael
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Our Family Fight
Family fights run in my family tree. Yes, you heard that right. A schism runs in the veins of my family line.
Long, long ago… the fabled story is told, but tis’ true, the Brezina clan arrived in northern Michigan from the faraway province of Bohemia (now part of the present day Czech Republic). Near the turn of the 20th century a sizable group of Czechoslovakian farmers banded together and formed a small settlement outside of East Jordan, Michigan (now known for just about every sewer and drainage plate cover in the USA).
The tiny farming community busied herself by constructing a sturdy stone church and numerous brick farmhouses that still dot the hilly landscape. Winters were (and still are) brutally cold and snowy in northwest Lower Michigan. The hillsides were rocky and consisted of a sandy-loam type of soil that didn’t naturally burst with abundant crops. Established civilization would seem days away in an age predating the common use of automobile transportation. But these hard-working, disciplined, and sturdy Czechs kept plodding along in their newfound homeland.
But just when life’s horizon appeared to be brightening upon the little community, a cloud of dark emotions filled the sky. A feud, deep and fierce, broke out among the Brezina family. Perhaps the winter just wore on too long. Maybe the isolated atmosphere was going to everyone’s head. Whatever the case may be, a family fight opened up full-bore.
Specific details are scarce and likely inflated with creative imagination, but the core of the fight holds proof right down to the spelling of our name. The schism grew so hateful and embittered that half the family decided to change the spelling of their last name; hence, Brezina became “Breznau” in a split that carries on to this day. In fact, no one on my side of the family really knows anything about the other Brezina family members, besides a lonely cemetery that bears the names of our ancestors in the original spelling. They were gallant people and, no doubt, of some means to be able to traverse the Atlantic and settle together on their own land in Michigan. But somehow pride invaded the scene. Hate rose to the surface. Bitterness split open the love and divided the once tightly knit group that traveled more than 4,300 miles to make a community together. And now the one family is a distant two.
Open Wounds
When family fights break into the skin of our lives, our usual tendency is to make a grand attempt at escape. Ironically, that’s just the avenue my great-grandfather took when he picked up his family and moved to Detroit during the epicenter of the Industrial Revolution.
Some may want to stick it out and wade into the fight, hoping for peace to come. But most of us just put up our hands, step back, and ignore the center of the squabble. Sweeping the issues and symptoms under the rug of busyness seems very convenient. And slowly the gap widens between persons and families. Conversations skip along the surface between uncomfortable smiles and awkward chuckles, never achieving any depth or meaning. We look across the room and catch glances of the “other side,” but rarely cross the room for more than a casual greeting. We Band-Aid the deep fracture with the topical medicines of separation, ambivalence, and good ole’ American individualism. Yet the burning pain deep inside never goes away. The fighting and splitting is not what we really want, but somehow ends up being what we learn to tolerate… and live with for years and years.
Our modernized, technologized culture also provides easy ways to escape into the individualistic life of our own making and desire. Facebook recently advertised a new app first available on HTC phones simply called “Facebook Home.” The commercial is all too realistic of our escapist, individualistic culture. The implied message is clear: if you don’t like what’s going on around you, if people annoy you, bore you, or are simply uninteresting… then simply check out of the situation! And Facebook, with a virtual world of modified reality, is the perfect escape. You can watch the video here:
Being Human, Being One.
We can even spiritualize our coping mechanism with an emphasis on personal Bible study, personal response, personal prayer, individual devotions, etc. Yet while none of these practices are wrong (in fact, I encourage them), God is always pushing His people toward one another in community, not further away into isolation or individualism.
Jesus Christ leads the family of God, the Church, on a path together. Ouch. You mean we cannot escape from fights in the family of God, but should instead dive-in toward authentic, lasting reconciliation? Yes, in the power of God’s Good News.
Here’s how Milton Vincent reminds us of God’s reconciling power: “The gospel is not just a message of reconciliation with God, but it also heralds the reconciliation of all believers to one another in Christ. Through the death of Christ, God has brought peace where there was once hostility, and He has broken down the racial, economic, and social barriers that once divided us outside of Christ . . . when God saved us, He made us members of His household, and He gave us as gifts to one another.” (A Gospel Primer for Christians, pg. 23)
One Family.
God’s way for His people guides us to stick together, work together, and love one another through the raw difficulties of being human. God in Christ is continually gearing His Church to be together – not separate or individual – but one in Him.
Why is this so vital? Because being together in communion through Christ is how we become more like Christ. Becoming mature in Jesus Christ is impossible in isolation from the rest of Christ’s Body (cf. Eph. 4:13-16).
While there is some level of notable disagreement between the two or three major interpretations of sanctification (the process of becoming more like Jesus Christ),[1] none can argue the fact that the Bible places the corporate edification of the Body, the Church, as the locus from which sanctification flows (Eph. 1:4-12; 2:19-22; 4:1-16; 1 Cor. 12-14; Rom. 12:1-8). The place where sanctification occurs most explicitly is the Church – among the members of Christ’s Body. Even further, the corporate edification and spiritual growth of the Body is also the goal of sanctification.
Becoming mature in Jesus Christ is impossible in isolation from the rest of Christ’s Body.
This is precisely why God inspired the writers of the New Testament to paint pictures of His Church with terms like “household,” “holy temple,” “body,” and “family” (Eph. 2:19-22; 4:1-16; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Romans 12:1-8; cf. Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11; Rev. 5:9). Being individually different is part of the beautiful mosaic of God’s tapestry. Each member in God’s family is wonderfully diverse in role, function, and gifting. Yet every member is also united in the one family of God through the work of the Spirit and by the sacrifice of the Son.
The believers in ancient Corinth had all sorts of fights and problematic issues, but the root of the struggle was their disunity grown out of spiritual pride. They were splitting and dividing, as a result, they were not maturing together into the likeness of Christ. So the apostle Paul wrote these words, cutting to the heart of the fight:
“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).
The people of God are one body because God has drawn us together by one Spirit through the one Rescuer, Jesus the Son. Perfect unity within diversity…
With a good laugh, Paul continues:
“…If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member [one body part], where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body.” (1 Cor. 12:17-20)
God has sovereignly arranged His people in Jesus Christ to function as individual members united in one body. No one is more important than another. No family fights can flourish under the headship and humility of Christ. Perfect unity within diversity…
The apostle Paul then gives the purpose of the whole talk:
“…so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” (1 Cor. 12:25-27)
Why do we need to hear about being one body in Christ? Because division is not the way of God for the people of God in the kingdom of God. Oneness, together in humility and joy, is the announcement of our witness to the reconciling work of Jesus. The mission of Jesus moves forward when Jesus-followers operate as one.
…division is not the way of God for the people of God in the kingdom of God.
Two Superstars or One Team?
I remember watching the Detroit Pistons play against the Los Angeles Lakers for the NBA championship in 2004. The Lakers were banking on their two super-style rock stars: Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. These two guys dominated any court and had carried the Lakers to the playoffs again and again. Reporters also told us that these two spent most of the season feuding over who was the most valuable player for the Lakers. I suppose Sports Illustrated needed something to publish. 🙂
Enter the Detroit Pistons. The 2004 Pistons squad was comprised of a lot of great players – even well above average – but no real superstars like Kobe or Shaquille. But they were a team. They played with precision. Their ranks were deep. Their plays were seamless and full of energy – together. They rejoiced in each other’s successes. They loved their coach. And as one team with one goal they squarely beat the Lakers 4 games to 1. Al Michaels, the play-by-play announcer for the NBA on ABC during the finals, observed that even though the Lakers had Hall of Fame players, the Pistons beat L.A. by using players that nobody else wanted. I doubt there was ever a more stark contrast in all of NBA history. It sure was fun to watch, too.
God chose every single member of His family by the kindness of His will to the praise of His glorious grace. And no one is more or less important, valuable, or significant in the sight of God. God took the nobodies – you and me – and made us somebodies, together – His sons and daughters, His family.
Our mission hinges on our unity. The ultimate mission for the family of God is to glorify God, to make Him known. And the way we put God on display (glorify Him) is by living by His Spirit in unity within diversity because this is the picture of our Triune God.
God, as One in Three, displays perfect unity within diversity – the essence of team. The Father is not the Spirit, the Spirit is not the Son, nor is the Son the Father. Yet all three are equal in power and authority, and all Three are One in essence, together, One God.
In the New Covenant community of the Spirit, the Church, God has called us to be one in mind, action, and attitude. Inevitably, we will not always live in perfect harmony. But the goal is nevertheless the same: glorify God by living out unity within diversity. Step across the room. Clear the air by addressing that rift between a brother or sister in Jesus. Walk in grace towards one another knowing you, too, act in stupid and selfish ways (more than we’d like to admit). Speak with love. Be quick to forgive and show mercy. No family fights.
We are part of one family. Not two. Not three. Just one. This is the Trinitarian, God-glorifying, Christ-exalting lifestyle for which God has geared and chosen His sons and daughters: one family, on one mission, together for the glory of the one, true and living God. So together we gather in communion around our Lord’s one Table to celebrate His work of reconciliation that brought us to God and healed the deepest wounds of mankind’s fight.
[1] Undoubtedly, there are far more than just two or three views. However, it seems apparent that in a broad sense, only perhaps three “major” views undergird much of the arguments at hand. Sanctification is understood as a process, a one-time crisis event, or a series of crisis events. Still other interpretations could be raised here, but space does not allow for further elaboration. See further: Melvin Easterday Dieter, Five Views on Sanctification, Counterpoints, ed. Stanley N. Gundry (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996).
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Cross Hope
A Holy Week Reflection
Jesus took upon Himself what we deserved,
through the Cross that we ourselves had earned,
so we’d not dwell in a spiritual urn,
but have everlasting life in return…
He is the Message, He is the Mercy, He is the Hope that makes us alive and free.
We were without a thread of hope,
spinning through the cycle of our little god-less world,
when Light broke through the darkness…
and offered peace by His Cross to all bound in utter lost-ness.
He is the Message, He is the Mercy, He is the Hope that makes us alive and free.
Jesus rose in vic’try from the grave,
through the same Spirit that now dwells within my frame,
so we’d hope for the time when all will be remade,
and live right now to the praise of His great Name.
Death was swallowed up in Victory.
Fear was replaced with Hope.
Doubt was overcome by Grace.
Hate was conquered by Love.
Promise fulfilled.
Life given.
He Arose.
He is the Message, He is the Mercy, He is the Hope that makes us alive and free.
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Colossians 1:20)
“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14)
I’m trying out my poetic, or shall I say, rapping skills. 🙂 What do you think?
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Always Forgiven
The air was bone-chillingly cold and the wind might have bitten right through your knit hat, had you stepped outside. The winter season had stretched long and dark across West Michigan and Stephanie and I were beginning to sense the cabin fever syndrome setting in around our little bungalow.
Go outside and play? Well, it just was too bitterly cold today. And as any parent might expect, a direct symptom of cabin fever among small children is a varied assortment of antics that usually result in some kind of injury.
And today, our five-year-old son, Hudson (the usual creator and instigator of crazy and injurious antics), decided to try a little stunt: throw cars at his little sister’s head or better yet, begin a gallant sword fight against the young fair maiden who has no shield or sword with which to defend herself. With one bonk on the head and a well-timed sword swipe on the arm, our two-year-old girlie, Everlynn, had finally endured quite enough.
With a loud wail and a waterfall of tears, our daughter, who now lay crumpled up on the living room floor, quickly summoned Stephanie and me from the kitchen.
“Hudsy…ahuh…Hudson hit – he hit me!” sobbed Everlynn.
The offending knight-in-shining-armor had conveniently (and quite rapidly) darted across the room to his favorite hiding place behind a large stuffed armchair.
“Hudson, did you hit your sister?” we asked.
“No… I mean yes, yeah I hit Everlynn,” Hudson remarked with a pouty lower lip.
Stephanie leaned down to look our little guy in the eyes, “Hudson, you need to ask Everlynn for forgiveness and you need to ask Mommy and Papa for forgiveness, too, because you have disobeyed us by hurting your sister.
Hudson hemmed and hawed, desperately trying to change the subject. But finally the words slowly trickled out of his mouth with a great sigh, “I’mmmm soorrry, Everlynn, will you forgive me?” Our spunky little daughter gleefully soaked up his sign of remorse and gave Hudson a big hug around the neck.
Hudson then turned to look up at us with his glassy, puppy-dog eyes that were now brimming with tears and squeaked, “Mommy, Papa, will you forgive me for hurting Everlynn?
Stephanie and I immediately reached down to cover our munchkin in warm, reassuring hugs, and said, “Yes, Hudson, we forgive you. Thank you so much for apologizing to Everlynn. We love you so, so much.”
You could see a cheeky smile surprise his tears as they rolled down his face. Hudson reached out for another hug and wiped his tears away on my shoulder.
“I love you, Papa.”
“I love you, too, Hudson.”
Before Hudson ever confessed to hurting his sister we already knew what he had done and before he requested our forgiveness we had already forgiven him. The forgiveness was and is always and already present in our hearts for him. Why? Because he is our son and we love him! He is ours and we are his.
Our doctrine of salvation states that we believe God has already forgiven us of our sins: past, present, and future, through the completed work of Jesus Christ (cf. Col. 2:13; Psa. 103:12). Yet so often we think and act as if we need to earn his forgiveness – as if His love is conditioned by our words and actions. We so easily get caught into the trap of believing that God loves us more or less on the basis of what we do. And we get very busy performing, rather than growing in the hope of our believing.
But God says, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1)
The apostle Paul boldly declared, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
We wanted to hear Hudson admit to hurting his sister and to request our forgiveness. It’s incredibly important that he learns to recognize his failures and hurtful actions. He needs to admit, confess, repent, and receive mercy. However, the forgiveness was already given from the overflow of our love before he ever mouthed the words, “will you forgive me.”
God draws us to recognize and confess our sins, too. Knowing and expressing the depth of our sin-struggle draws us back to His unending mercy. Turning in humility to God is His Spirit-led path of changing us to becoming more like Jesus Christ.
So we repent.
We fall to our knees in desperate need.
Tears flow as we see our own inadequacy.
But in this Father-son-daughter relationship, His forgiveness is always and already present in His heart for us.
Pastor Milton Vincent wrote, “In justifying me, God declared me innocent of my sins and pronounced me righteous with the very righteousness of Jesus. God also allowed His future and present wrath against me to be completely propitiated by Jesus, who bore it upon Himself while on the cross (1 John 2:2). Consequently, God now has only love, compassion, and deepest affection for me, and this love is without any admixture of wrath whatsoever . . .
When I sin, God’s grace abounds to me all the more as He graciously maintains my justified status as described above (Romans 5:20-21). When I sin, God feels no wrath in His heart against me (1 Thess. 5:9-10; 1 John 2:2). His heart is filled with nothing but love for me, and He longs for me to repent and confess my sins to Him, so that He might show me the gracious and forgiving love that has been in His heart all along. (1 John 1:9).” From A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love, pg. 62-64.
God is ready and waiting with a never-ending, overflowing forgiveness for His children. And by His grace, we can turn to Him, look up into His glorious and loving face, and let our tears fall upon His shoulders. For those who are in God’s family through believing in Jesus Christ, the forgiveness never runs out. His love never stops.
We are always forgiven. Turn to Him today and receive His love and Life anew.
————–
I highly recommend Milton Vincent’s small yet profound book (quoted above). By purchasing his book through the Amazon link below you will partner with us in meeting the growing technology costs required to maintain www.GraceExposed.org:
Listen to the audio devotional “Always Forgiven” delivered at North Park Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI on Sunday evening, 4.6.2014 simply by clicking on the play button below:
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Life or Death?
Life or Death? I recently took a few moments to observe the mortality rates for the USA, which are charted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The most recent available data is for the calendar year 2010. Here’s what I found:
- Number of deaths: 2,468,435
- Death rate: 799.5 deaths per 100,000 population
- Life expectancy: 78.7 years
- Infant Mortality rate: 6.15 deaths per 1,000 live births
Number of deaths for leading causes of death:
- Heart disease: 597,689
- Cancer: 574,743
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 138,080
- Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 129,476
- Accidents (unintentional injuries): 120,859
- Alzheimer’s disease: 83,494
- Diabetes: 69,071
- Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 50,476
- Influenza and Pneumonia: 50,097
- Intentional self-harm (suicide): 38,364
Look at it this way: If the average annual death rate is essentially 800 people per 100,000 in population, then we can expect approximately 1,600 people to die within our city limits (Grand Rapids, MI) this year (population: 190,411 in 2012). The current metro-Grand Rapids population recently crested at 1 million, therefore, we could estimate that 8,000 people in our neighborhood will leave this life in 2014. These statistics should give us great pause.
I recognize and rejoice that God is sovereign in salvation. The apostle Paul reveled in God’s gracious election of His people in Ephesians 1:3-8a:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”
We praise our great God for choosing us, drawing us, and regenerating (bringing us to new life) us by the Spirit. We have been made alive together with Jesus Christ by the unmerited and unconditional favor of God! And yet, God has also commissioned us to go in the power of the Spirit to the ends of the earth with the Gospel, for the sake of His glory. Our purpose is clear and our mission simple.
But we tend to balk; don’t we? All-too-often we are sort of a like a baseball pitcher who winds up, steps forward, and forgets to throw the ball toward the plate. We rationalize. We complain. We get really “too” busy. Or even worse, we theologize our way out of following through on the mission of Jesus.
The great English Baptist missionary, William Carey, strongly believed in God’s sovereign grace in salvation. He firmly believed in God’s foreordained election of those whom He would call His own. Yet as a young man he attended a minister’s meeting and brought up the point that “it was the duty of all Christians to spread the Gospel throughout the world.” As the story is told, another minister in the meeting rebuked him with these chilling words:
“Young man, sit down; when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine.”
I’m quite thankful to God that William Carey bluntly disregarded this man’s unbiblical theologizing and went on to translate the Bible into the very language of the people I ministered to in Andhra Pradesh, India (the Telegu language). Carey would later respond at length with the now famous treatise for modern missions entitled, “An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens.”
In His sovereignty God has chosen you and me for the great mission of sharing the message and mercy of His Son Jesus Christ. Every day our neighbors, co-workers, and friends are heading toward death’s door without the hope of life forever with God. 8,000 people will face the cruelty and pain of death in my area of greater Grand Rapids this year. What about your city or locality? And so to echo Paul’s words, “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15a)
God’s good news for the world goes forth through His Church – and that includes you and me. Let’s go!
Steps We Can Take…
- Pray. Ask the Lord of the harvest. We cannot accomplish anything of eternal significance or value without the power and strength of God. God’s mission is God-initiated. Pray He guides your steps and opens opportunities for you to share the message and mercy of Jesus. But get ready…
- Invest. Build a relationship. Take a moment out of the day – everyday for the next week – to talk with someone who is living without the life and hope of Christ.
- Invite. Bring someone to church. You might be surprised that most people are open to attending a church service during the Easter Celebration season. So let’s take this opportunity to bring them to a church home where they’ll hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Thanks for listening! I can’t wait to see how God’s mission will go forward through His people.
