More Than Words...

The Bible tells a unified story of God’s plan to overcome evil and restore all of creation through Jesus, who died and rose again to build His redeemed family—the church and bring God’s good kingdom rule.  However, God’s kingdom is not coming all at once; we live in an overlap of time where God is rescuing people from the world’s kingdoms into His kingdom, which has already begun but will not be fully realized until Jesus returns.  As His kingdom people, we are called to live by the values and ways of his kingdom, yet we often adopt the world’s ways of thinking about success, life, and the church.  Paul warns us in Colossians 2:8 not to be taken captive by worldly philosophies. Yet, if we don’t put some effort into realigning our thinking with God’s kingdom, we risk embracing a version of Christianity that fits into cultural expectations but lacks the power to transform lives. The first section of Acts tells the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the very beg...

Jesus knew that the kingdom He was establishing would be so different from what people were accustomed to that He spent much of His ministry teaching about the Kingdom of God.  At times, He directly contrasted His kingdom with the ways of earthly kingdoms, as He does in Matthew 20:25-28. In this passage, Jesus explains to His disciples that the way authority is exercised in God’s kingdom is very different from the ways of earthly kingdoms.  Leadership in His kingdom is not about power and control but humility and service. The kingdoms of this world rely on power, force, wealth, and hierarchy. Success and greatness in leadership are seen as climbing up the ladder to a position of status where one can give executive orders from the top and enforce change on those below to control outcomes and make things happen. But Jesus tells His followers, “Not so with you.” God’s kingdom operates differently, and He points to Himself as the example.   So, how does Jesus exerci...

  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.  2 Timothy 2:15   We live in confusing times.  In our society, we are daily bombarded with information that claims to be accurate through television, radio, the internet, billboards, newspapers, magazines and more.  Throw in some  misinformation and a few conspiracy theroies and the 'information overload' is not only overwhelming but down right confusing.  The popular notion that truth is subjective, fluid, and ever-changing from situation to situation is an attractive concept when we are faced with so many claims of 'truth'.   Simply put, most people choose their truth from a buffet of 'true' claims that are often in stark contradiction of each other.  It is in the middle of this chaos that the followers of Jesus preach Jesus' claim that he is the way, the truth and the life. (...

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.    -   Ephesians 5:15–21 ESV What is the big purpose of your earthly life now that you belong to Jesus Christ?  The New Testament reveals that God's explicit will for your life involves serving Christ by pursuing his way of life and joining him in making disciples.  All of which brings glory to his name. (Col 2:6-8, 5:17, Matt 28:18-20, Acts 1:6-8) How are you going to do this? Well, that's the million-dollar questi...

I am grateful for the insights and gift of words God has blessed Charlotte with and the blessing she is to our family.   This short piece from her Instagram feed is a helpful reminder of the kind of 'countercultural' movement that characterized the early churches and turned the Roman Empire upside down.  There is s a great need for believers and churches to return to the way of Christ and his Apostles.       Something that has always struck me about the personhood of Jesus is how countercultural He is. Love your enemies. Forgive those who hurt you. Submit to governing authorities. Align yourself with the poor and oppressed. These are only a few of the controversial, yet beautiful teachings of Jesus. As followers of Christ, these are principles that we are called to mimic in our own lives. Yet, I find more and more that the focus of modern Western Christianity is to simply make being a Christian “look cool.” Not only does this come across a...

Dear Lucifer, I know you want me to be worried about what's happening in our country.  I know you want me to join in the protest but quite frankly, vaccines and mandates do not threaten my freedom because my freedom is not dependent on hanging on to my personal rights.  I know you want me to feel like I'm losing control of my life but even under pandemic mandates I never lost control of my life.  The truth is I  gave it over to Jesus a long time ago so that it wouldn't be about me being in control anymore.  My sinful nature and stubborn independence are my worst enemies.  I know you want me to be afraid but I have no fear of dying from COVID nor of taking vaccines.  I'm not afraid over where things are going in our country either because    my God is way bigger than COVID and way better than the political agendas of both the left and the right.   The God I serve gave up his rights to hang with sinners and show them the way.  My...