He's God!

The author of Hebrews began his book with these words, they are profound and demand our attention,

"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the 

prophets at many times and in various ways, but in 

these last days he has spoken to us by his 

Son,whom he appointed heir of all things, and 

through whom also he made the universe.  The Son 

is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact 

representation of his being, sustaining all things by 

his powerful word. After he had provided purification 

for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the 

Majesty in heaven." -Hebrews 1

This one, this Jesus Christ is 

Heir

Creator

Revealer

Reflection

Sustainer

Savior

and Sovereign

He is God in flesh.  He owns everything, it's all his! Why? Because he made it all.  And he reveals the nature of God to us. Want to know what God is like? Watch Jesus! And, while doing all of that he holds everything together. He's the only savior, the only sovereign.

He's God!

You can ignore him, dismiss him, deny him or claim he never existed, but you will one day deal with him because the one item I didn't list is this, He's also the judge!

One day we all, you and me and every human who has ever lived, will face this Jesus and he will judge us!

In fact, he's even the one who brings the dead back to life for that judgment!  Here's what Jesus said,

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear my voice  and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned."

Bold claim, isn't it?  While living here Jesus basically said this, "One day, when you are all dead, I won't be and when I call you all humanity will come back to life and then I will judge you."

Do you realize what he's claiming?  He is claiming to be GOD!  You can't ignore that, he won't let you.

One day you will see him.  Will you meet him as your judge or as your savior?

Impact

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. 

What is your life? 

You are a mist that appears for a little while 

and then vanishes." 

-James

As I read the news I'm bombarded by the claims that we are affecting the climate and must do something to fix it.  As if man can actually do anything!  I find myself amused at our self-importance, the idea that we caused this mess and it's our job to clean it up.

I think we see ourselves much bigger than we are.  In the Old Testament God declared that the nations are not enough to weigh in the scales, that the biggest forest are not enough for a good fire, that man in all his pomp is nothing.

Like the morning mist on a cool day which melts with the rise of the sun we too quickly pass and are forgotten.  So why do we worry about the things we cannot change and ignore the things we can change?

Why do we cry "the sky is falling" while we ignore the things we can change?

Why all the fuss about climate change as we let hungry children die?

Why wring our hands about ice melting as we kill each other in the streets?

What is wrong with us?  Have we gone insane?

Yes we have!

When we decided, as a race and culture, we no longer needed God we suddenly took responsibility for things we can't change while neglecting the things we should change.

Without God in the picture we have lost our way, lost our identity, and made much of nothing while making little of things that matter most.

Impact?  What's our impact on all of this?  Like the morning mist...none at all.

As I watch the media proclaim our destruction of the planet I see near me people who need love, food and God.  While they worry about the things they can't change I think I will focus on the things I can change.

At the center of this is a very simple guide-

Love God and love people.

All the rest is God's job.

If we only knew

If you only knew how God feels about you it would change everything about how you live, act and react. It would give you a peace you have never known. You would stand out as one of the happiest, calm, loving, sweet people to ever exist. 

If you only knew how God felt about you it would make you realize how silly you are to worry or complain about anything.

If you only knew....and that's what Paul prays for in Ephesians 3 for the church he wrote to and for us.  Slowly read the prayer in this passage and then let's talk.

Eph. 3:14 "When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen."

God wants you to know how much he loves you!  When you do, even a bit, it will calm you, focus you, clarify your vision, silence your fears and make  you more and more like Christ who understood the love of God like no one ever has.  

It's God's love that transforms me, that makes me trust him, that builds my faith in him.  When I grow in my knowledge of his love my faith grows as well.  A calm comes, a peace invades, a joy rises.  IF the sovereign creator God of the Universe loves me so completely how could I not trust him with everything?  How could I ever doubt him?  How could I ever worry again?

If we only knew it would change everything!

Quote of the day

"Lord, what will you have me do? Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God. Send forth your light, Lord, to guide me;

teach me to use the present time to your service. Forgive the

misuse of what is past, and may I never blindly count on an

uncertain future." -Francois Fenelon

Personal

There is a reason for my last post on "the guide."  I'm searching for paths in my own life.  It strikes me that it's not so much the path, although that's important, but who I am as I walk the path...whatever path I travel.  In other words I have to constantly revisit this issue-  it's not so much which way I go as it is the person I am as I go.  God's will for me, as I understand it better, is not about where I go, but about who I am as I go there...the kind of person I am as I encounter others.  Does my life draw them to God or make them think, "oh, there is another one of those pompous Christians."  My life, as I walk, is more important than where I walk.  Who I am is more important than where I am. As I watch Paul in the book of Acts and his letters I see a man not so concerned with where he is, but who he is while there. Whether in prison or on the road, whether floating in the ocean after a ship wreck or sitting by a fire to warm himself...for Paul it was who he was, not where he was.  More and more I'm looking at this as primary.  Some ask (a friend and I visited about this over coffee this morning) "what's God's will for my life?" I think now my response is simply this-  It's not a path or a plan, but a life lived by the Spirit of God regardless of where I am.  It's Christ in me, the hope of glory.  It's God loving others through me even when they mistreat me. It's trusting him even when I have no idea where we are going.  It's resting in him even when the storms are raging.  God's path is not a "somewhere" but a "someone."  His goal and plan for me is that moment by moment, day by day I become more like Christ.  That's God's plan!  And it's not about where you live or what you do or what car you buy, but it's about Christ....moment by moment, in every situation, you becoming more and more like HIM.  That is the path.  It's never a where. It's always a who. Christ.

The guide

It's easy to get lost

There are so many ways you can go

So many paths to take

So many voices saying,

"Go this way!"

and others,

"No, this is the way."

We need a guide

We need help

Which way lead to life?

Which path leads home?

Without a guide

we would be lost

Some say it doesn't matter,

every path leads home

But most of us

know that can't be true

How do I find the way?

Which path do I take?

How will I find the way?

David, the king of Israel,

wrote these words,

they help me,

comfort me,

give me hope...

Perhaps there is a guide

maybe there is someone 

who knows the way

"Who is the man who fears the Lord?

He will instruct him in the way he should choose."

There is a guide!

There is someone to show me the way

He's the God of creation

Who is my guide?

He's the God of glory!

Incomplete

It's hard to leave something incomplete, undone.  

When we know how a thing should look and it's not complete everyone knows it, we  know it.

And yet we live in a world of unfinished, 
incomplete people.  

People who aren't done yet.  Incomplete lives. Not quite finished.

That's why we fight with each other, struggle for power, and live in the midst of such chaos and conflict. 

We struggle to be complete, but refuse to let our designer complete us as he had planned. 

And so, we try to find completion our way....through power, relationships, money, success, fame, education.

But it doesn't work. The feeling that all is not right, that all is not done lingers.  We all know it, we all feel it and we each try to find a way to feel complete. 

Paul wrote about this dilemma in Colossians and said,

"For in Christ all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete."

Like an intricate lock, we are looking for the key that will open us, complete us, but according to Paul the only key for the human lock is Christ himself.  Only when we know him, have him, is a human complete.

And, honestly, without Christ we remain unfinished, incomplete.  The only key that works is Christ himself.  He is the only one who completes each human and makes him or her truly human for the first time.

Until we come to him and let him finish his work in us we will remain......incomplete.

  

Angry!

I have a dear friend I meet with regularly.  He's an adult dealing with severe mental illness.  It became a real problem for him after university and a degree in robotics.  Now he's living with elderly parents, trying to think well and live a normal life....but it's hard.

The little things we do naturally, the things we don't even think about are ongoing battles for him.

This morning I got this e-mail from him.  It's honest, but he's angry!  Here are his words,

"Mike, Thomas here...

Mom and dad have $25 in their checkbook...

Mom and dad refuse to let me ask family for the money we need...

and they refuse to ask from family money they need that mom and dad need badly..

I'm just plain angry about it...

God is forcing me to trust him like mom and dad trust God and it happens every month...

I'm just plain angry about it..."

Now that's honest!  I was humored that he's angry because God is making him trust.  None of us want to do that, do we?  We want bank accounts full of money, cabinets full of food.  We don't want to stretch our faith.  And when it happens we become angry at God.

At least Thomas is honest about it.  And yet, when we are forced to trust God with our lack we are so much richer for it.  Whether we have enough or not our faith grows and our eyes are on God for what we need.  

I wish we were as honest as Thomas when times like this happen for us.  To be able to say to God, "I'm mad at you because...." is the most wonderful place you could be.  In those moments you are forced to talk to him, trust him and let go of your own security.

Lord, first, take care of my friend and his parents. And then, in each of our lives, stretch us to trust you when all we have is a loaf of bread and one stick of butter in the cabinet.  

Gender

Last night, in our summer classes, I had the great privilege of talking about gender issues.  In these days this is a very emotional topic in all communities.  Christian or not, gender and identity is hotly debated.  And, last night was no exception!

We had great discussions about issues of gender identity, homosexuality and transgender lifestyles.  I must be honest that even some of the words we use as Christians are offensive to those who have these identities, but we did the best we could to navigate difficult topics.

Most of us don't reach out with love and grace to those in other communities.  Our fears keep us isolated.  But we desperately need to build bridges and relationships with others no matter their identity or faith.

When we put real faces and lives to these images of "gay" or "trans" it changes everything!  We then have people whose faces come to mind as this topic is discussed, friends we love, and when love enters the discussion it changes our rhetoric in a way that grace and truth can be heard.

Here's the goal for each of us, a goal that Paul described in 1 Corinthians 6,  

"Or pdo you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? qYou are not your own, 20 rfor you were bought with a price. sSo glorify God in your body."

When we encounter anyone outside of Christ don't forget that this is God's goal for them....that they and we might each glorify God in their bodies.

So, how did we finish last night?  I hope we finished with more questions than we started with.  I hope compassion was ignited.  I hope we began to see others through Christ's eyes.  I hope their walls were broken down and some were drawn to open their hearts to love and care for others no matter what their identity.

AND, I hope we more effectively share the only answer to the heart need of every man- Jesus Christ, God's solution to all of our sin problems.

Glorious explorers

Only those who have trusted Christ are living beyond their lifespan. 

They have chosen to go beyond death and live out into eternity. 

They are the bold ones, the explorers who are not afraid to live out into eternity. 

It might mean giving up a pleasure now for eternal pleasures later. It might mean giving up bread now for an eternal feast later. It may even mean giving up clothing for others to be eternally clothed in light. 

Only those who have trusted Christ are bold enough to live out into eternity, 

to live beyond this life. 

What glorious explorers they are!

The goal of my life

"The goal of my life is not to get to the end of it and compare my pile of ashes to your pile of ashes."  -Dr. Henry Brandt

There is so much more to this life than 70 or 80 years!  

In these few years we have each of us is making an investment in eternity, making a downpayment on the events that go beyond our lives.

Soon, far too soon each of us will come to the end

 But for many who are living beyond their lives into eternity their end is simply a glorious beginning.

How sad some believe that this life is all there is.  

When you die, you're dead.  

But how do they know that?  How are they so sure?

Did they explore eternity past and future, every dimension of space and time to discover that this is all there is?  Of course not!

Their dogmatic statements are made entirely in ignorance.  

They can't know this is all there is

And what if death isn't the end?

Their goals are not set high enough, far enough, broad enough.

If you are only living for a few years here to get all you can you're missing the best part!  Your goals are too small!  You are living a tiny life.  How sad.

Is death the end?  Oh no, it's only the beginning!

Soon you will see

Soon you will know

Are you ready?

Notes

I keep a box of notes and cards

Notes others have give me

Cards they have sent

Words of encouragement

Messages of thanks

They go back

into

the 

1970's

This evening I opened the box

and roamed through history

It's a history of lives

that our lives

have 

touched

It was encouraging

It refreshed me

In those cards were names

of people I don't even remember

but they describe

how

we 

encouraged them

and

helped them

and 

made it easier

to bear their struggles

That old cardboard box 

is rich with jewels and precious treasures

Not treasures of worth to anyone else

but

of great worth to me

I imagine the Bema will be like that

A day when we will discover 
the many lives our lives have touched

A day when we say over and over again, 

"Wow!  I never knew!"

A day when we all rejoice in what God did with those moments

when we asked him, 

"Lord, would you use my life today?"

Most of us never see the fruit

but there is always fruit when God is at work

One day we will open a box on the riches and lives we have touched and proclaim,

"Wow, Lord, I never knew!  

Thank you for using my life for your kingdom!"

Glorious words, cool water

Have you ever just needed a bit of encouragement?  A bit of cool water for your soul?  Have you ever felt dry, empty, discouraged?  

Then slowly read the words below....don't rush, take your time, and let them sink into your mind and heart.  These are glorious words, cool water for thirsty souls!

"We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.  What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?  Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.  Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?  (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.  And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I come to these words often to remember, to remind myself that there is a bigger picture, that I'm part of a grand plan by a sovereign God and that he has provided everything, literally everything I need for life and godliness!

And it's all in Jesus Christ!

Only in him can any of us find all we need, the cool water for a thirsty soul, glorious words for hopeless lives.  Only in Christ is all we need for now and eternity.

Feel better, don't you?

The fantasy of autonomy

I'm fascinated by a culture that thinks we are accountable to no one...that we can do as we please, live as we like, indulge any passion we have and then are angry at God for holding us accountable.

I think, in part, that's the heart of many atheists.  One leading atheist of the last generation said, "I refuse to believe in a god I have to be accountable to."  His honesty is to be applauded.  His reason for atheism is his unwillingness to answer to God in the end, but we all will.  We all must.  There is a day when justice will be done and the records made right.

But back to my topic.  Somehow man has deceived himself into thinking he is autonomous, that he needs or reports to no one, answers to no one, and is....in many ways....his own cute little god.

The truth is that none of us really are all alone and accountable to no one.  We all live with the knowledge that there is a God and he's in charge, that one day I will have to deal with him....and for many, understandably, that makes them furious.  How dare a god of any kind hold me accountable for my actions.  I'm my own man.  I can do as I please as long as I hurt no one else.  

A lengthy article can be written about all of this, but God sums it up very well, very simply by saying....the one who thinks he's autonomous is a fool.  End of sentence.  

Now, what do we do with this God who won't go away?

All SOULS matter!

This morning I'm thinking about the events of the last weeks. There are so many voices, so many emotions, so many fears and angers. In the middle of this mess we easily lose our way. Some are focused on "black lives matter", others on "all lives matter" and still more talking about "blue lives matter." All of those are true, all of the voices are passionate, all want life to be valued. We all want that, but do we remember that life is short and then we face eternity? Did we forget that above "all lives matter" is this- "all souls matter!" Voice your passions about the temporal, but never forget the eternal. That's the message of the cross....ALL SOULS MATTER TO GOD! And Christ came to give us the life that really matters...the life that will never end. May we be as passionate about the eternal as we are about the temporal.

God, me and sparrows revisited

I know why worship music is so powerful and important...it stays with you and sustains you through difficult days. This photo and the words of friends going through difficult days made me think of this old hymn and its words-

...

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
...

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, For His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.
“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear, And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears; Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
...

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise, When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies, I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.