"The Mists of Tomorrow"

Scripture: Revelation 21:1-7

Mystics always seem to intrigue the people of this world. Even though scripture tells us to avoid these “false prophets”, there is still a great popularity with anything that involves the prediction of future events. Ouija boards, Nostradamus, the Baptist pastor who predicted Christ’s return several times (none successful!), the supposed prediction of the end by the Mayan calendar, Jean Dixon (remember her?), and many others. Some seem to come close to revealing an actual event, and others aren’t even in the ball park! But none of them have ever been able to accurately predict the arrival of Antichrist and the beginning of the End Times. Not One!
Why? Because, I believe, the Lord God Almighty won’t let them! He has told us what we need to know, and that’s enough. As much as we would like to get a glimpse into tomorrow, he tells us that if we just trust in our Lord Jesus Christ, there is no need to know what the future will bring.

And what does he tell us?

Read Revelation 21:1-4

We are told that tomorrow will bring a life that is totally new, in a place that is totally new, with a purpose and vision that is totally new. This glorious new place, the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, will come down to earth directly from heaven, and God will live there with his people. No more tears, no more crying, no more pain or death or suffering or fear. Every aspect and every thing of life will be new.

This “City of Tomorrow and Forever” will measure nearly 1,500 miles on a side, it will have 12 entrances, each named for one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and 12 foundations, each named after one of the 12 apostles. The city will be made of pure gold, the walls of pure jasper, the gates will each be a single pearl, and the foundations will be of precious stones, some of which no one has ever heard of before. And the one thing that will be absent in the city is the temple. No temple, no church, no house of worship, because the entire city will be the House of God.

There will be no sun or moon or stars, because the glory of God will shine continuously, just as it did at the beginning of creation. And even though there are gates at each of the entrances, they will never be closed. And who will live within this incredible city? Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life – anything or anyone who is impure or shameful or deceitful will be prohibited from entering. (Revelation 21:9-27)

Whew! Did you get all that? But we have to wonder why we never hear any of this from the mystics? Why are there only dire predictions of an end, and nothing else? Simple! It’s because no one would believe them! We all are accustomed to events coming to a close, so an ending to all that we know isn’t all that difficult to imagine. But eternity? It can’t be adequately described, and therefore, for most people, it is impossible and inconceivable.

And while some people can never imagine eternity, those who do believe are told not to boast that they understand eternity! James 4:13-17 warns us that this life is like a mist that appears and then disappears, and that we should simply say “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do [it].”. So why worry about these grand things of God?
Just rejoice in them!
Read Revelation 21:5-7

“I am making all things new.” The implication here is that the second death, as well as the second life, will be unlike anything we have ever experienced before. And I believe that this is why the tomorrows in this life and beyond are left unknown. If we knew, we wouldn’t be able to handle the knowledge, and we might not even believe it. So why know.

James advice is probably the best that we will get – “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live it and do it”. And this is, I believe, the focus of our living out our faithw, and this, and this alone, will see us through the unknown days ahead.

Happy New Year!

“Searching for Jesus”

Scripture: Luke 2:41-52

For all too many people, attention to the significance of Christmas and Easter seems to be sufficient for their faith. We celebrate the arrival of God in our world, and it is a wonderful day. The grand cry “Emmanuel”, “God is With Us”, is our confirmation that the Lord cares deeply for us, that he wants to be with us, and that is good. And Easter, the day of his resurrection from death in the world into a new and glorious life, is also a reason to worship Jesus. But what about everything in between? What about everything that came before? Everything that is yet to come?

How deep must our relationship with this God Incarnate be? The truth is that depth of faith isn’t really the question! The real issue is how authentic our faith in Christ is! A genuine and heart-felt faith is what the Lord is looking for. In Revelation 3:14-22, God tells us that he fears for us when we are only lukewarm to his grace. He is speaking to the church in Laodicea when he says that he knows their every deed, and knows that they rejoice in their own self sufficiency, and that this will be their downfall. And these same words must ring true in our lives as well.

Have each of us truly and honestly sought out the blessing of a life in Jesus Christ? Not just a day or two a year, not just a half hearted life in him that only looks good on the outside, not one that doesn’t interfere with the life we want to make for ourselves, but one that truly honors the Lord! Have you looked for him where he is, or are you still looking where you want him to be?

Read Luke 2:41-45

How in the world could a 12 year old boy get so lost? It’s easy. In those first dozen years of life, Mom & Dad are constantly nearby, and when they aren’t, somehow they are supposed to know exactly where you are. Every child knows this.
When our son Chris was 3 or 4, we took him to the mall in Western New York while we did some shopping. I think we were in a Sears store looking for some clothes, when all of a sudden, Chris was nowhere to be seen. Frantically, we called his name and began looking around all of the clothing racks. We quickly found him, and then realized, that even at that tender age, he was playing with us. But “Hide and Go Seek” is not the game to play in a store – or at least that was our opinion. And of course, it didn’t take very long before he was gone again. After we found him and warned him that he had to stop hiding and that he had to hold on to our hand, he laughed, and we knew that the game wasn’t over yet.
But this time we watched him closely, and when he got away from us and tried to hide a third time, we beat him at his own game - we hid first and then watched. Very quickly, he began to react to “no Mom & Dad”, and fear began to spread through his entire demeanor, so we stepped out of our hiding spot, and he came running. That ended the game.

Now, this story about Jesus wasn’t about his hiding from Mom and Dad. It wasn’t a vindictive act on his part – he just felt that he had to be somewhere other than with his parents. The time had come to head back home after Passover, and as was the custom in those days, the girls and younger boys would travel with the women in one group, and the older boys with the men in another. Jesus would have been right at the age when he could have been with either group, and as luck would have it, both parents thought that he was with the other. At the end of a day of travel, the truth was discovered, and panic set in. “Where could he be?” “Oh no! God trusted us with his gift to the world, and we’ve lost him!”
No one in the caravan had seen him, so it was back tracking all the way to Jerusalem to search for him there. Now understand that this was Passover, and literally tens, and even hundreds, of thousands of visitors were in the city. How do you find one small boy in the middle of all that?

Read Luke 2:46-52

After 3 days of frantically searching for Jesus, he was found in the most unusual place – the temple. And his explanation for this apparently thoughtless act? “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” Why didn’t you know where I would be?

Mary and Joseph had been looking for Jesus in all the wrong places. First, they assumed that he would be where they expected him to be, but he wasn’t. And you can almost hear the “blame game” start up between them – “Where’s Jesus? Isn’t he with you?” “No, I haven’t seen him all day. I thought he was with you!” “How could you let him out of your sight?” “How could you let him wander off?”
Second, when they arrived back in the city, they began looking for him in the places that they had gone, and not in the place where he would go. They looked in the house where they had stayed. No Jesus. They checked with the vendors who had sold them the sacrificial lamb. No Jesus. They traveled the streets they had walked, went to the merchants they had called on, went to the homes of friends they had visited. No Jesus. After 3 days of failure, they finally happened to go to the temple where the sacrifice had been made, and there he was.
But the Lord wasn’t just listening to the learned elders – he was asking pointed and profound questions of these men, he was responding to the opinions that they offered, and he was challenging the best scholarly minds of the day. Why would the Incarnate God be anywhere else?

Where do we look for Jesus? In the places where we want him to be, or in the places where he wants us to be? Do we want him to be part of our activities, or do we want to be involved in the things that reflect him? And that’s the problem today – all too often, we expect the Lord to come looking for us, to join us wherever we want to be, without thinking that maybe, just maybe, he wants us to be somewhere else, so that we can be doing something else!

The author Jim Stuart writes:
For many years, my approach to leadership [was “top down” – authoritative – demanding – self centered] . Then I was hit by a series of personal tragedies and professional setbacks. My wife died. A mail-order venture that I had started went bankrupt. The universe was working hard to bring a little humility into my life. Rather than launch another business, I accepted a friend's offer to head an aquarium project in Tampa.

I spent the next six years in a job that gave me no power, no money and no knowledge. That situation forced me to draw on a deeper part of myself. We ended up with a team of people who were so high-performing that they could almost walk through walls. Why, I wondered, was I suddenly able to lead a team that was so much more resilient and creative than any team that I had run before? The answer: Somewhere, amid all of my trials, I had begun to trust my colleagues as much as I trusted myself.
- Jim Stuart, Voices: The State of the New Economy, Fast Company, September 1999, 114.

And I believe that he had begun to trust God far more than he trusted himself. He had allowed himself to be put in a place where the Lord could begin to reshape him. And that’s the point of it all. Once we take that step in faith toward Christ, when we finally confess that our way just isn’t working, when we finally admit that we have been searching for Jesus in our places instead of his, it is then that our life in the Lord can truly begin.

Searching for Jesus is not a complicated process – but it does require that we look for him in his situation and his way. And it will most likely be in the last place you would expect to find him.
Mary and Joseph began the search for their lost boy in those places where they wanted him to be, but he wasn’t there. They had to walk many unnecessary miles, they lived 3 frustrating and fearful days that were filled with failure, and it wasn’t until they stumbled onto him in the temple that a faint glimmer of understanding could begin to creep into their hearts.
Jim Stuart thought that a successful life could be defined by strength and power and absolute authority, but began to discover a new and better way at an aquarium project in Tampa. And it was only then that he came to appreciate a totally different way of life because of it.
The Pharisee Saul thought that God should be in a rigid and spiteful faith, but instead, discovered Jesus on a dusty road between Jerusalem and Damascus, and when he did, everything, including his name, became new.
Peter should have already known Jesus, but on that lake shore the morning after a long and unsuccessful night of fishing, he discovered a depth in Christ that he could never have understood without the Lord’s forgiveness.
Nicodemus thought that God should be in the law, but instead discovered Jesus in unexpected steps – through a midnight encounter, a supportive comment at the Lord’s trial, and finally at the foot of the Cross.

Each of these people had begun by searching for Jesus on their own terms, and each had failed miserably. But when they finally set themselves aside and went to where Jesus was, when they let their failed practices fall away and let his truth begin to fill their hearts, when their search finally lead them in his path, it all began to come together for them.

And what came of the relationship between Jesus and his parents? Scripture tells us that he went home with them and was obedient – he began to understand the anguish that a parent has for their child when they fear for their safety. And Mary and Joseph? They still had a hard time understanding the boy, but we are told that Mary “treasured all these things in her heart”.

Where have you been searching for Jesus – in your way or his, in your place or his? Have you discovered treasure or only frustration? How has your search been working out for you?

“And It All Started with a Whisper”

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

Christmas Eve sermons tend to focus on the events and meanings of the day we celebrate. I have preached on topics such as the holy couple, the shepherds, the inn keeper, the message that the angels brought, the glory of the birth, the reason for the birth, and many others. I think that all of these thoughts have been important, but have you ever wondered about the divine events that lead up to that miraculous and wonderful night? Well, for some reason, I have, and tonight I’d like to share some thoughts that I’ve had regarding what happened in heaven in the eons leading up to the Holy Birth, and what they mean for us. Now this doesn’t mean that tonight’s message has any deep and previously unexplored theological significance, there is no recently discovered scriptural context involved, and as far as I know, there are no scholarly works surrounding these words – they are just some thoughtful reflections that have spoken to me, and hopefully, they will speak to you, too.

Read Luke 2:1-20

This is why we come together tonight – to rejoice in the birth of the Savior. But before we begin to consider the Holy Birth, let’s go back a few years – just a few - to the moment of creation.
Genesis 1 – “In the beginning, God created .. and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” This was the first “birth”, of sorts, and while it was a glorious undertaking, it was filled with as much throbbing and groaning as the second glorious birth would. There was nothing but formless matter, emptiness from eternity to eternity, and a darkness that was so deep that sight could never penetrate it.
But then, slowly, it all began to come together. First the glory of God began to shine in the darkness, and the blindness was overthrown. Then chaos was separated from the creative expanse, and within it forms began to take shape. Water and dry land were gathered into their proper places and vegetation began to thrive on the land and in the “glory light”. Sun and stars and moons came to be, living creatures were created in the waters and on the land and in the air, and humanity, the guardian and caretaker of creation was placed in the midst of it all.
There was blessing, and breath, and life, and the Creator God proclaimed it to be VERY good. Creation was a glorious shout that pushed back the darkness with its wonderful light; that brought form out of chaos; that brought life and breath to replace the emptiness of the deathly silence. The booming cry of Almighty God was heard throughout creation in both the physical realm and the spiritual. Splendor and wonder had been spoken.

But then something incredible began to happen – the Lord turned his attention away from the heavens and toward this new created order. The heaven and its beings would stand in amazement that the Father would apparently love this new place and new beings as much as he loved his Glory!
And then it began to happen – word began to spread among the angels that this wasn’t the end of the Father’s plan. It seemed that he had intentionally made the humans in an imperfect way and had given them a will of their own! They thought that this “will” thing had ended when so many had left to follow the bright and shining Lucifer! Why would God bring this idea back? None of them could fathom any reason for this, but slowly, the full plan began to be revealed and it filled their spirits, and whispered conversations began to take place all across the Glory.

“Did you hear what the Father is going to do for them?

“Well, I heard something, but it didn’t make much sense to me. What did you hear?”

“I heard that He is letting them decide for themselves whether they want to follow him or the other! And He knows that they are going to mess up all the time, but he’s going to forgive them, simply if they ask him for it honestly! Can you imagine?”

“It is odd, I have to admit!”

“And that’s not the strangest part – he knows that they will never be able to gain entry into the Glory – their perfection will be too far gone – so he is going to send the Son to be a way for them!”

“Why didn’t he just make them complete and perfect to begin with?”

‘Lord only knows!”

“So what’s this about the Son making a way for them. How is that going to happen? What’s he going to do?”

“You are NOT going to believe this – He’s going to leave his glory behind and take on a form that resembles theirs! Have you ever heard of such a thing? And then, when he begins to tell them that all they have to do is believe in him as the Godly way, they are going to kill him!”

“Oh no!” Not that! Why would he let them do that to him? Why would he suffer so for the likes of them?”

“I asked myself the same question, and the only thing I can think of is that he loves his creation so much he can’t bear to see any more of it die and leave him.”

And I think the whispering would have continued for millennia, and as the great day approached when the Almighty would set the plan into motion, the whispering increased.

“It’s almost time! Did you hear that Elohim is deciding on his new name and his new form, and I have to tell you - it is simply horrible! He’s going to look just like one of them! He should keep his glory!”

And so, Almighty God began to give them all reassurance that this was the only way to bring salvation to the world. He handed out assignments to all of his heavenly host, for there was much to do – the woman who would carry him had to be chosen, and she needed to have a man with her because the Son would not only be the Son of God, he would also have to be part of a human family – the Son of Man. Those who would be willing to honor him would have to be told, and a human must be chosen to remind others of the prophesy, that he would “make a new way in the wilderness”. And there would be countless other minute details that had to be cared for, and all of the heavenly host were to be involved. And from the grand archangel down to the smallest cherubim, heaven fell silent. This was their Lord’s will, and this is how it had to be.

Silence filled all of creation as heaven waited for the day, figuratively holding its collective breath,. And then the day arrived, and silence was thrown to the wind.
Glory would again shine on the earth, and the voices of heaven would thunder in jubilant praise! People from every walk of life would be told that the incredible plan of God’s had come to be – that salvation was now theirs by faith and faith alone!

The angel would tell the least of these “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” And a heavenly host appeared and joyfully began to proclaim “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all upon whom his favor rests!”

No more whispering, no more wondering, no more planning, no more preparation – the Savior had come to show us the way to Glory! And the plan would play out just the way the Master said it would – the message would, indeed, be hated, the Messenger would, indeed, be abused and killed, but no matter what the hatred of earth would do to him, he would not stay buried and neither will his message!

The whispering of heaven has ended, and the angelic host is singing the glory of Father, Son and Spirit. The message of hope and the promise of life has been delivered and proven, and now our whispering must end, too. Humanity has only heard bits and pieces of the truth of Jesus, and they don’t know his fullness. It is up to his faithful to begin singing our own praises of Glory. No more shrinking from intimidation; no more limiting our sharing with only those who already understand; no more of our going quietly into the night to avoid the animosity of the world; no more whispering behind turned backs.

It’s time that we stood up in the blessed name of Jesus and told others who he is and why he wants to be their Lord. Humble? Yes, but silent no longer. Gentle? Yes, but bold in our love of Christ.

It all started with the whispers of heaven, but it continues with our joyful praise of the Living Lord, Redeemer and Savior, the culmination and perfection of glory, the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, the Holy Light that dispels the darkness and heals our blindness, the blessed form that brings order to our chaotic lives, the Breath of Life that is breathed into lifeless souls, and it is all given for any who will believe and follow.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace.” Glory once again shines on creation. Do you really want to keep that truth quiet?

“The Promise of New from the Old”

Scripture: Micah 5:1-5a, 8-15

Today is our last look at God’s unusual ways – at least the last before Christmas comes. Over the past 3 weeks, we’ve discovered that the Lord never lets our experience with him become an expectation, nor a norm, nor a predictable occurrence. The prophet Isaiah (55:8-9) gave us this to think about: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” And God tends to prove that saying over and over again.

Why does he have to keep us guessing so much? Wouldn’t it be easier for us if he acted more like humans do? It would certainly make more sense to us, but then, with the way we usually mess things up royally when we use our own “common sense”, why would anyone want God to do anything our way?

Praise God that he doesn’t!

Read Micah 5:1-5a

The prophet offers several thoughts for the people to ponder – 1) A siege will be laid against the city of God, and the ruler will be struck down. This is prophesy regarding Assyria and Babylon. 2) A new “ruler” is on the way, and he will be coming out of the smallness of Bethlehem, and not the might of Jerusalem. And if that isn’t odd enough, 3) this man’s origins go back to ancient times. And until the time of this new / old one’s arrival, 4) Israel will be left to their own designs. And the oddities continue.

Babylon and Assyria would see to it that the royal line of Judah would be wiped out, but another would, one day, come to pick up the scepter of power. And who would it be? It would be someone new to the kingly line, but one who had origins that went back to ancient times. Does this make any sense to you? Don’t feel bad - it doesn’t to most people!
And then the prophet tells the people that until this new ruler is born, the nation will be abandoned, presumably by God. They will not receive any more help, they will not receive any more advice or protection - they will be totally on their own. The “chosen people” of God appear to have been disinherited by their Father.

Is it any wonder that the people didn’t care much for the message that the prophets brought to them? No longer favored, no longer blessed, no longer honored among all the peoples of earth? Would their Jehovah Jireh really do that? Could he do that? Would Yahweh no longer provide for them? But then …, a new ruler would, apparently, be coming to them, but how long would they have to wait? And would this new ruler be any better than the old ones?
You can see their dilemma - nothing seemed to make any sense anymore! Defeated, abandoned, leaderless, and the promise for their future wasn’t looking all that bright, either. The only ways they had ever known where the ones they had lived with for over 600 years, and it seemed as though they were all being taken away.

Read Micah 5:7-9

Some good news, and some not so good news. First the bad – when the nation is defeated, there will only be a remnant of people left! The once glorious Israel will be decimated, her people will be slaughtered, and their future appears to be laid in foreign lands.
But the good news is that they will be both a blessing and a curse on these new homes. They will be like the rain, nourishing the earth and blessing the people who have enslaved them. And they will be strong in these new settings – they will be like a lion that hunts and feeds wherever and whenever it wants. They will be unstoppable!

Well, maybe life won’t be so horrible after all. But the prophesy is finished yet.

Read Micah 5:7-15

You will remember that the downfall of Israel was in their turning to false gods – the gods that were brought to them from surrounding nations; and their power and prestige was seen in their military might and economic well being. But God seems to have a different plan for their lives – He is going to make all things new!

All materials of war will be taken away – they will no longer need them when they return to the Lord’s protective side.
Their cities and other strongholds will be torn down – likewise, there will be no need for fortresses. They can live in and on the land without fear.
Witchcraft, graven images, poles and altars – those things that had once been used to honor the false hopes in their lives would be destroyed. The one true God would be all that there is.
And anyone who tried to continue making their own way in the world would experience the absolute judgment of God.

That new ruler must be quite the guy to be able to bring all of this to fruition. From the smaller of the two nations, from a small town located within a small tribe, this new King was to bring them into absolute peace and perfect glory. He wouldn’t be a warrior king, he wouldn’t be a fallible and human king, he wouldn’t be a king who could only bring about this ultimate peace for a short time – this new ruler of all the nations would be Jesus. It is only in the Christ that this prophesy can make any sense. He is the new that would come from the ancient, he is the great that comes from the small, he is the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Glory.
But until that coming, Malachi would be the last prophet for 400 years - there would be no divine guidance, no Godly word for their lives, and the heavens would be closed up tighter than a drum. God would be silent before the people of Israel. Not even a still, small whisper to comfort them.
And then on a dark and lonely night, in a small town located within a small tribe, Peace and Glory would be born. The New Ruler of heaven and earth, whose origin is in the Ancients of Old, the one who would lead us and would “beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4-5; Micah 4:2-3), would be hated because his teaching didn’t fit our expectations. God’s voice would boom forth on that night, but the eyes and ears and hearts of Israel would remain closed, and they would miss Jehovah Jireh’s blessed provision once more.
And the perfect peace and glory would be put on hold again.

How long can the earth go on missing the promise of Almighty God? He has brought the “new day” right to our doorstep, and we refuse to open the door – not even a crack. He came into the lives of all on earth, and we killed him and forced him to leave us. He sent his blessed Spirit into our lives, and we laugh and loudly proclaim – “Ignore him. He’s drunk!”
The psalmists mourned over the delay just as we do – Psalm 4:2 “How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?” Psalm 6:3 “My soul is in anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?”
The prophets mourned over the delay - Habakkuk 1:2 “How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you ‘Violence!’, but you do not save?” And on through the Revelation, we see the cry repeated over and over – “How long, Lord? PLEASE come quickly!” This isn’t a recent plea – it’s been on the hearts and minds of God’s people for thousands of years, and the sure promise that he does hear and will do something soon is still with us.

You may have noticed by now that not only doesn’t God work in our ways, he doesn’t work in our time, either. But even as we wait, there is no reason for Christians to grieve; we are not alone and we have much to do. Christmas is the time for us to renew our commitment in his glorious promise. Isaiah 40:29 reassures us, in that “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
We are not left alone. In Micah’s prophesy, Israel would be abandoned to their own means, but those who are in Christ Jesus have received the promise of the Holy Spirit – “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5-6) Shouldn’t we trust that?

The point of the last 4 weeks is this – The Lord may not be working out his plan in a way that we can fully comprehend, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t appreciate the plan and rejoice in it. Christmas is the day when the plan began to take form, Easter is the day when the plan would be guaranteed, and Pentecost is the day when the plan would be proven. Never again will the earth have reason to feel abandoned, and Almighty God’s strange ways have every reason to be a comfort to our lives. From out of the ancient will come the new.

The 4th verse of Charles Wesley’s hymn tells us to “Rejoice in glorious hope! Jesus the Judge shall come, and take his servants up to their eternal home. We soon shall hear th’ arch angel’s voice; the trump of God shall sound, rejoice!” (“Rejoice, the Lord Is King”, Charles Wesley, 1746 (Words) and John Darwall, 1770 (Music), The United Methodist Hymnal, pg 715)

Rejoice! The strange plan that God is working for us is complete. Just wait - its coming!

“The Promise of Freedom”

Scripture: Zephaniah 3:14-20

We’ve been considering some of the strange words and concepts that always seem to surround Jesus. His words and calls that were given to the disciples at the Last Supper, the strangeness and abnormal issues related to John the Baptist’s birth. Today, some interesting prophesy from the Old Testament, and now we begin to put them all together as the nature of God revealed in Christ Jesus.
Does that mean that God is strange? Not at all. Strange is always defined by some reference, and unfortunately, we tend to judge the Lord with humanity as the reference. I think that we need to make the Lord our reference, and in that context, it will be us who will be judged as strange!

But the other issue that surrounds “strange” is that it almost always involves a lack of understanding. And when we make every attempt to understand what and who and why God is, I believe that “strangeness” will begin to dissipate.

Read Zephaniah 3:14-17

The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been taken into captivity by Assyria nearly 100 years before the prophet wrote these words to Judah, and while the Southern Kingdom had been quite faithful through many years, they were rapidly going the way of their brothers to the north. King Josiah was trying his best to renew the faith of his people, but things weren’t going all that well. The prophet Zephaniah was called to remind the nation that God was still with them, and that they had to return to his ways.
As we read these words, they almost sound as though their captivity is nearly over, but the truth is that trip to Babylon hadn’t even begun. The first chapter of this book is about condemnation for their sins and the guilt that was obvious in all of the people. And it is also about God’s judgment on them all.
But the last half of chapter 3 is about hope beyond punishment. The prophet proclaims that the sentence has been commuted – it has been taken away – and the nation has been restored in Jehovah’s joy. He writes “The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.” (v.15b) Not only has the sentence been overturned, but the arm of God is no longer raised against Judah - it is now lovingly wrapped around them, embracing them, protecting them.
Captivity doesn’t always involve doors with bars – sometimes it is within our own soul. And freedom isn’t always given by turning a lock – sometimes it is through loving forgiveness.

And the last verse of this passage is an even stronger indication of forgiveness and restoration. The prophet reminds the people that their Lord is not only with them, but he is able to save them from any calamity. And were they facing one now? They certainly were, and it would be the greatest of their lives! They had seen their neighbors to the north begin worshiping false gods, how they would come under attack from the East, that they had been decisively defeated, and lead away into slavery. And they had begun to journey down that same destructive path. Failure in faith is always the beginning of tragedy.
And what must the nation do to avoid the pitfalls that face them? Simple. Just turn back to their Lord and his ways. They are told that the Lord is waiting anxiously and eagerly for their return. “He will take great delight in you”. And when they do, he will rejoice in them once more, and God’s promise of freedom from sin will become a reality.

A bishop by the name of Joseph Ratzinger writes:
The loss of joy does not make the world better - and, conversely, refusing joy for the sake of suffering does not help those who suffer. The contrary is true. The world needs people who discover the good, who rejoice in it and thereby derive the courage and impetus to do good.

We have a new need for that primordial trust which ultimately faith can give. That the world is basically good, that God is there and is good. That it is good to live and be a human being. This results, then, in the courage to rejoice, which in turn becomes commitment to making sure that other people, too, can rejoice and receive good news.

-Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Salt of the Earth (Ft. Collins, Colo.: Ignatius Press, 1997), 36-37.

To put this into one short sentence - the Lord’s joy in us gives us reason to be joyful in him!

Read Zephaniah 3:18-20

The first verse of this passage is interesting, isn’t it? It speaks of “sorrows for the appointed feasts”. The feast days were an obligation to reflect and reminisce on a number of great acts of God’s. Zephaniah doesn’t say that the feasts are going to end, but rather that the burdens that come with these days will be removed. All too often, when we remember a time of “release”, we focus on the mess that began our captivity. But when we take time to remember what the Lord has done for us, isn’t that a reason to rejoice? Isn’t that a cause to celebrate and cheer and raise praises to the Almighty? And the prophet tells them of even more things that the Great Jehovah will do for them, and that they should be joyful over these things, too.
He will release the oppressed and deal harshly with their oppressors. He will free the lame from their infirmities, and will bring all who will follow him back together again. He will be a uniting force for his people, and will heap praises and glory on them all. And if I can borrow the concluding praise from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" That, my friends, is the joy that comes in freedom!

This ending to the book of Zephaniah is a glorious call for all to return to the true King of Israel, and as we read it, it is just about as close to a Messianic message as we see anywhere in the Hebrew texts. But we also have to understand the surprises and strangeness that it holds.
For a number of years, the people had been putting more and more distance between themselves and their God. They didn’t see any problem in that, because they were the “chosen” and they could do anything that they wanted. Whatever they did, God would love them just the same. And while that may be true, he was not going to love the things that they continued to do that heaped dis-honor to him. And the prophets had been telling the people in many different ways and for many, many years that he would continue to be patient only a little longer.

People don’t want to hear that message. For thousands of years, humanity has demanded that they have control over their own lives, and that everyone, including the Creator of the heavens and the earth, had better respect their decisions. That is their reference, and the fact that God has a better way just doesn’t make any sense to them. The attitude that predominated the culture 2,500 years ago said that every way was just as good as any other, and just who were these prophets to tell them any different! “The law is obsolete! The prophets were whack jobs! We have a better way!” Sound familiar? Proclaiming that you aren’t a captive, even at the top of your lungs, doesn’t make it so!

Jesus would hear the same things 600 years later, and in his Sermon on the Mount, he tells the people “Blessed are you when people persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12) The early apostles, like Peter, James, John, Paul and many others, would come to know this truth; the reformers of the 15th and 16th century, like Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and others, would come to experience this truth; the evangelists in the 17th and 18th centuries, like the Wesleys, would discover this truth all over again; and the 20th and 21st century churches, such as those in India and China and Russia and other places, would have to live this truth, too. People never have, and never will, be happy when confronted with the plain truth of God, especially when that truth contradicts their own sense of right and wrong, of freedom and imprisonment. And when they are told that the path that they are on will only lead them to failure, they fight against this message to the extent that they will even deny the existence of the Ultimate Giver of Truth and Life, thinking that this will serve to justify their position.

But regardless of how strongly and how vehemently the lies of darkness are proclaimed, the Hope and Freedom that is in Christ is still with us. And the prophet’s words still ring true today. “The Lord, the King of heaven and earth, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.” But before the fear leaves us, we must first acknowledge that this King is truly the King over all! We must confess that the Lord is Lord of all! We must surrender our lives to his way and his plan for all! There is no other option!

And we also have to live and carry the fullness of Christ’s message to the world. We can’t sit back and expect that someone else will do it. We can’t let his message take a back seat to the message of the world because someone won’t like it, and therefore won’t like us! And we can’t let the message of glory be watered down to the point that it becomes meaningless.

Christmas is the time when the church must become bold again. And isn’t that odd – the most humble and submissive Servant of all time is calling us to a boldness that contradicts the concept of servanthood. But ask yourself “Servant of whom?” And the answer must be “To the meek and beautiful Child of Bethlehem, and all who he leads us to love.”

Strangeness and surprise, and FREEDOM, is the glory of Christmas. Don’t’ miss it.

“The Promise of Hope”

Scripture: Luke 1:67-79

We continue with some more of the strange happenings and strange people that surrounded Jesus’ birth and life, and today, they are in regards to the prophesy that involved Jesus’ cousin, John. But first, a refresher on his family.

As you will remember, John’s parents were Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were both descendents of Aaron, and were, therefore, a priestly family. Luke 1:6 tells us that they both were “upright in the sight of God”, and were faithful in the way they lived their lives. As the Gospel of Luke opens, Zechariah is serving as a temple priest, and was chosen this day as the one who would burn the incense. And, to condense the story, he meets the Lord, who tells him that he and his wife, both of who are rather advanced in years, will have a son whose name is to be John. Zechariah doubts the word, and is struck mute until the day the baby is born. (Luke 1:5-25)
And when the child is born and is named John (which, incidentally, was not a family name for Zechariah, and therefore was not a normal choice for his son), Zechariah’s voice is restored, he is filled with the Holy Spirit, and he begins praising God.

Read Luke 1:67-75

John could have grown up to become a priest in the house of Aaron, with all of the many honors and benefits that this could bring to him. But from the moment that he was given a name that was totally unusual, unexpected and unconventional; from the moment that his life was dedicated in service to Jehovah God in a new way; from the moment that the angel Gabriel announced that he would be great in the sight of the Lord and would be filled with the Holy Spirit; from the moment that it was revealed that he would be carrying the word and truth of God to all the people; life for this child would begin to move in marvelous and mysterious ways - ways that would bless many and confound many others.

And his father, who had been rendered speechless for 9 months because of his understandable doubt, offers nothing but praise for his Lord. And even though he had been a faithful member of the nation for many years, he had finally come to the understanding of just how great and full the glory of Almighty God truly is. Consider some of the aspects of his prophesy – v. 68 – “the God of Israel … has come and redeemed his people.” He didn’t say “will come”, he didn’t say “can come” – he said “has come”! The Redeemer for the nations had yet to be born, but he had truly come and was growing within his mother.
Zechariah didn’t know the baby yet, but just as the unborn John leapt within his mother’s womb at just the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1:39-45), Zechariah’s heart swelled and his voice rejoiced with the great news that the Savior, who had been proclaimed by the saints for so many years, had finally come to earth. The people would be released from the hatred and oppression that had plagued them for hundreds upon hundreds of years (v.71), but it wouldn’t come that day. The Savior would bring the long needed mercy for all who lived within his covenant (v. 72), but it wasn’t to be just yet. This Incarnate God would free the people to serve him, through the power of the Holy Spirit, without fear and doubt, and in holiness and righteousness (v. 74-75), for all their days.
And the word of God that was being revealed through Zechariah wasn’t finished yet.

Read Luke 1:76-79

The first part of Zechariah’s prophesy was about the newly arrived Redeemer, and the second part was about this new prophet who had come to trumpet the Lord’s arrival.
His child would prepare the way for this Savior to bring his message to the hearts and minds of countless seekers. He would bring knowledge and wisdom regarding this new message of salvation. He would announce the hope that comes in the Lord’s mercy. He would lead the people into the dawn of a new light, and the promise of a new life, and the glory of a new day. And this prophet of the Most High would be the most unusual, unconventional, strangest man who had ever been called into service for the Lord.

And you think that the Lord’s call on your life is strange! The truth is that it is no more strange than all of his works and calls. As we saw last week, Jesus’ ministry was all about strange. It is about the new, the unconventional, the previously un-done. You’ve heard the old saying about insanity - that it is defined as the act of doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different results each time. Why would God call us to do the same thing that others have done? It’s been tried and worked until it is no longer effective. So now he calls us to share the same wonderful message in a new, previously untried way. The “old” only works for so long, and then it’s time to be trusting and excited about the “new”.

It’s the Holy Spirit who fills us with the strangeness of “new”. The unborn John was so filled with the Spirit of strangeness that he leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. And in this act, Elizabeth was also filled with that same Spirit to the point that she pronounced a blessing on this young girl before she was told why – “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? .. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (Luke 1:39-46), and now Zechariah was filled with that same strange Spirit, to prophesy to the glory of God that would soon be proclaimed by his child. Think about it – an unborn child, an elderly woman, and an doubting priest – if these aren’t all very strange folks to receive the Holy Spirit, then “strange” doesn’t exist!

Do you still think that it’s strange that God would call you? Let me tell you about some other strange folks who the Lord has brought into my life to share his promise and hope for a new life in him.

His name is Bill. Bill was a very “worldly” guy – some would call him a “free spirit”, a “flower child”, a “hippy”. And then one day, the Lord got his attention, and his life completely changed. His outward appearance wouldn’t change all that much - he still acts a little different than the rest of us, but the reasons for his life have become completely new. “Shy Billy” has become anything but shy when it comes to sharing the grace and mercy of his Lord Jesus Christ, and he joyfully does that with anyone who will stand still long enough to hear. His Spirit-filled soul loves the people in every way that he possibly can - in word, in prayer, in music, and in the very life that was saved by his renewed faith in Jesus Christ.
Several years ago, Bill & I had the opportunity to be prayer partners one afternoon, and while I still don’t know how long we prayed, I can tell you that we both wished that it could have been longer. Prayer bounced back and forth between us for a long time, blessing us, blessing those we prayed for, blessing our Lord who had brought us together, both years before and on that day.

Her name is Bonnie. She was much younger than I was, and she was a very reserved, almost shy, young woman. We had been friends for several years, but had never experienced a faith connection. Then one day, she took a very risky step in faith, and encouraged me to move in a new direction in my faith walk. It lead me to a prayer group; which lead me into nursing home and prison ministry; which lead me deeper into my examination of this life in faith; which lead me into pastoral ministry. Over the years, our paths have crossed a couple of times, usually only for a few moments, but the impact that she has had on my life is constantly before me. But, as Paul Harvey would say, that isn’t the end of the story.
I felt the need to write a letter of encouragement to her father who I had met on a faith retreat. He had left his family to start a new life, and had caused them a lot of pain in doing so. I had delayed writing the letter for a week or two, but finally did. But I didn’t have his address. I ran into Bonnie at church on that Sunday, and mentioned the letter. She paled, and then told me that she had felt the need to write to him also, to offer him forgiveness for the hurt he had brought to the family. I gave her my letter to add to hers.
I never heard back, but I know that it wasn’t my letter that he had to read – it was hers.

And the last “strange” person that I want to mention today is me. I may not have been the “chief of sinners”, but suffice it to say I was bad enough. I have told many that even though I was in the church throughout my life, the “Church” just wasn’t in me. For many years, I had searched for the truth of what God wanted me to do, but I never received an answer, so I just made my own way in the world. Then one night, I discovered that the only thing he really wanted from me to do was to give him my trust. “Trust me” was what I heard, and after I processed those words, and began to understand that he wasn’t going to give me any specifics, we began to have a marvelous walk together. And it continues to get better every day.
And why am I one of the “strange”? As an introvert who wants to plan out every detail to the nth degree, I should be the last person that God would call to be a pastor who doesn’t have all the details!

The truth is that the Lord’s Promise of Hope for the world needs to be carried by someone who is just like the people who need to hear it. The “hippys”, the “shy”, the “introverts”, and all of the other inadequate people who think that other people, the “normal” people, are the ones who God wants. But the truth is that we are the normal ones, whatever that may mean. We are the ones who God wants to proclaim that Jesus has come to redeem us from our sins, to save us from death, to show mercy to all who will honor his covenant, to rescue us from the enemy of the world, to take our fear away and change it into holiness and righteousness.
Was John a strange choice to fill with the Holy Spirit? He sure was! But no stranger than the Lord’s choice of you and me! Receive his Spirit today, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ, his message of Hope and the promise of New Life with all who will stand still long enough to hear it.
Be blessed, that you might be a blessing to the world.

"Glory Is On the Way!"

Scripture: Luke 22:20-38

Jesus’ teaching was anything but straight forward - but, I imagine you already knew that! We know that he spoke in parables; he taught things that were in direct contrast to the Law of Moses; his message was seldom understood, even by those who were closest to him; and many times, his preaching left people scratching their heads in complete confusion. People, in particular, many who are living today, aren’t comfortable with this “Jesus” approach to faith. It doesn’t make sense to them, and they have a confessed desire to rewrite scripture to make it more acceptable, more politically and socially correct.
But even though Jesus made his words intentionally difficult, it was never his intention to make faith difficult. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) The way to faith, however, isn’t quite as straightforward. It was the Father’s plan that the Son would come to clarify divine law and to correct false teaching, so that the world could know the better way to salvation and eternal life, and that goes against all human reason.
During this season of Advent, this time of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth, we will consider some of the strange words that come from God, and what they are really telling us. And as we take this 4 week journey together, remember that the Lord’s word is always true and reliable – it is only our lack of understanding that will be a failure!

Today, we join the Lord Jesus Christ and his 12 in the Upper Room.

Read Luke 22:20-30

Greatest or least, master or servant, betrayer or faithful, server or served – before Jesus spoke the words, these men were certain as to which was the preferred position, but afterward, they weren’t quite so sure!

One was going to betray him – so why not identify the traitor? Why just condemn him in words, and not deal with him right now? And if he knew who and what was to happen, why didn’t he take steps to stop it – or least let them stop it? And the men began to doubt their own faith. Was this Jesus’ intention – to bring all of this confusion and uncertainty and doubt into their lives?
Hardly. He simply wanted them to know what was coming to them all, and that these tragic events would be God’s will and Jesus’ purpose. And if the Divine Plan for this created order was to play out to its completion, betrayal of the Son of Man not only had to be, but it had to be by one of his closest followers. Talk about strange! But the Perfect Wisdom knew that this was the only way to glory.

And if this issue of betrayal wasn’t enough, they almost immediately began debating, not only who was worst, but who was the greatest! Each of them wanted to be known as “great”, because that one could never be the one who will betray! And Jesus tells them to be careful what they wish for! He tells them that characteristics like true greatness and leadership can’t be defined in human terms. All too often, human leaders want you to think that they are beneficial to the lives they rule, even though they aren’t; that those in authority have nothing but the best at heart for their subjects, even though they don’t; that they should be honored and envied, even though they don’t deserve it. That was how the Romans and Jewish authorities ruled – trust us to know what is best for you, because you don’t really know! Jesus tells us that this type of greatness is not what we should aspire to.
God sees greatness as gentleness and submissiveness. He wants those who profess him to put the needs and desires of others first, and for those who would lead and rule to have the heart of a servant. Why? Because that is how and who Jesus is – he is not only our God, he is also our example.

God is not careful. Theology is careful, and it ought to be; but God is not careful, is not bound by rules. This double-dealing, magic-weaving, careless God, this God of strange codes and complex twistings of imagery and power, this God whose sense of humor so often seems to outweigh any sense of ethical propriety, this playful God: This is the God of the artists.
--Sara Maitland, A Big-Enough God, (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1995).

The Almighty plays by Divine rules and brings Divine glory, not human ones, and he wants us to know and live by his ways, too.

Read Luke 22:31-34

And the strangeness only gets more intense. In Matthew 16:17-20, Jesus gives Simon the name Peter, which means “rock”. The faith that this disciple had shown would be the foundation of faith, and that would be the “rock” – the underpinning of the Church. Jesus would refer to Simon by this new name until this very moment, and now, as he pronounces the fact of this “Petra” will be part of Satan’s attack on the Christ, he reverts to the disciple’s earthly name. But when Simon Peter replies that he would rather die as one of Jesus’ own than live as a servant of the Accuser, His name, once again, becomes Peter.

As I read and considered the impact of this passage, I have to come to the realization that it is both a prophesy and a promise for each of us. In our Christian walk, we, too, will fail our Lord, and in doing so, we become servants of Satan. But when we repent in faith, when we re-acknowledge who the true Lord is, we, too, will be returned in service to Christ. That doesn’t mean that we can go our own merry way whenever we want to because Jesus will always welcome us back. It means that when we do fall for Satan’s lies and deceits and innuendos, when we do fall away from the Lord, we will never be counted out as long as we get back on our feet and back on the path that Jesus has created for us.

From a Christmas card:
When time was full and human longing at a strange new height, God came to us to make the wrong, the right.
Immanuel, God is with us in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
--1992 Christmas card composed by Bishop James S. Thomas, Atlanta, Georgia.

Peter would discover the truth of Jesus’ words of failure, and he would have to live with the Lord’s judgment. But in a few short weeks, he would also experience the grace and mercy of his Lord and Savior, as his “wrong” would be destroyed, and God’s “right” would take its place. Jesus would never give up on Peter – not during the previous years of his “foot in mouth” life, and not on this night of tragic happenings. The disciple wouldn’t pass the test that night, but glory would be his one day soon. And so will it be for us.

Read Luke 22:35-38

In Luke 10:1-4, Jesus sent 72 followers out to minister to the world, and he commanded them to go without any provision. They were to simply trust that God would provide through the generosity of those who would be touched by the word they brought. Now, he changes the message, and not only are they to take provisions, but they hear that they are also to take a sword with them.
Will the Lord no longer be providing for them? Will they have to begin fending for themselves? As we read Acts and the various epistles, we know that this isn’t true – that God will go with them, all the way. So what did Jesus mean?
I believe that the message is that in ministry, we have to be prepared not only in faith, but in worldly ways, too. Think of it this way – just because we submit our lives to God’s will and call, does that mean that we can quit our jobs? That we can stop making payments on our house mortgage and apartment rental? That we no longer have to go to the store and buy food? That our clothes will be provided by someone else? That we don’t need medical insurance because we will never again get sick?
Of course it doesn’t! As followers of Jesus Christ, we not only make a commitment to follow and serve him, but that we also have an obligation to our physical needs. And the meaning of the “sword”? He isn’t saying that his people are to start killing those who oppose them, but rather that the world will be bringing everything that they have against them, and that they must be prepared in an emotional and faith filled way. They don’t need a metal sword for protection – they need the sword of faith. In Ephesians 6:10-18, we read that we need to “put on the full armor of God”, and one part of the divine armament is “the sword of the Spirit” (v.6), and this sword doesn’t attack, it reclaims.

Jesus life among us was filled with truths and Godly fact, and it was equally filled with the tragedy and failings of those closest to him. God’s will is never a simple thing to understand – it never was and it never will be. But for all who would claim the name of Christ for their own, we must give our all. Faith isn’t complicated, but it still requires study and examination and commitment.
During this Advent season, study his word to know his truth; examine your life to see if it is in harmony with that word; and commit to follow, regardless of what that may mean or require.

Christmas reminds us that life, now and for eternity, is by God’s plan and his rule, and never by ours, and that the glory of God, while seemingly obscured right now, is on the way!