Resurrection Sunday

Today we gather to remember and celebrate the most important event in human history: the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. It is the singular reason to have hope. It is the one cause that makes the future something we look forward to. It is the only thing that matters. It is the "because" and the "why" and the "what for" behind anything we could ever do that has any importance, meaning, or purpose. (1 Cor 15:3-4).

We gather today, as we do every week, to be reminded of the glory, honor, and power of our God who has so graciously gifted us with redemption, salvation, and sanctification. We were once a people lost, wandering, and ashamed. We were once a people without a God, without a Heavenly Father, and sheep without Shepherd (Mat. 9:36.)

In Christ, we can be more than we were. We can be more kind, show more compassion, and show others what it means to love and to be loved. In Him, we know more than ever the kind of person our God desires for us to be. Without Christ, without His gift of grace and His sacrificial offering, we remain separated from God and lost in our sins. (Heb 10:10).

It is by His blood our debts are paid, and it is by His new life, we have life eternal.

Some said, in the days of the early church, that life of Christ was only a specter. Some thought, He only appeared human. Some believed, the early church had been fooled by none other than God Himself. Others couldn’t imagine that God would defile Himself to take human form and likeness, to fully be human. Still others thought that Christ wouldn’t die, and He certainly would die on the cross, in a public spectacle full of shame.

But that is just what the “Word of God become flesh” means. (John 1:1-3, 14).

But that is just what “His body of flesh” means (Col 1:22).

But that is just what “He emptied himself” of the Divine means (Phil. 2:7).

But that is just what “Christ has been raised from the dead” means (1 Cor 15:12).

Sadly, many people had the wrong idea, and some to this day still do. But, if that is the case, and Christ is not the divine Son of God, if Christ is not human, if Christ did not lay down His life, if Christ was not raised again, then all this is just a waste of time. We have no future to look forward to. We have no hope. We have only sin, only death, only destruction. Paul says in his letter to the church in Corinth that if we are wrong about Jesus, if we are the fools, then how foolish it is to believe. He says, “we are the most to be pitied” if “only for this life we have hope in Christ” and not the next life. (1 Cor. 15:19).

Yes, to many these ideas sound quite strange. “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” (1 Cor 1:27-29).

Therefore, we come together today, not to boast in our triumph or in our greatness or in our wisdom or in our righteousness or in our glory, but we come together today to boast in the Lord. He has done all these things out of His great love for us. Let us remember each day and every day, to follow His example: to love.  

Faith & Trust

"Faith" can usually be understood well through the lens of "Trust". 

The faith of Jesus led Him to empty Himself of His divine nature (Phil. 2:7) and the faithfulness of Jesus led Him to submit in humble obedience to the commands of God, all without sin (IS 53:9). He trusted in the Father.

Jesus is our example, our guide, our Lord. He should do much more than influence us, but I thought this was a cute graphic anyway! Happy Monday!

1 Peter 2:21-23 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly."

Service

Just a snippet from our study from last night in case you missed it. A saving faith leads to a transformed heart that manifests itself not only in the obedience of coming to the cross in baptism, but also in living out the Gospel.

Do you live according to the rule of the Kingdom of God, or do the powers of this world rule in your heart?

Masks

I'm tired of the masks. Everywhere you turn, everywhere you go there are people in masks. I wish there was some way that a masks wouldn't be necessary, but for so many people they are just that. They make us feel safe, we feel comfortable, and we feel like we can fit in with the rest of the crowd. But masks can very easily be our undoing.

We see what sort of company we keep when we wear a mask:

"For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." (2 Cor 11:13-15)

Jesus accused the religious people of His day of wearing a mask. They would parade around in masks made of religiousness, pretending to care for the laws of God, for the poor, for the lost. But really, they didn't care much beyond making sure their religion was seen by others. They didn't put others' interests before their own. They didn't sacrificially love one another and give to those in need. They didn't let the law of God penetrate their hearts, melt that rough exterior, and really love people. Jesus called us to love and He showed us how to love in His life and in His words. 

The antidote to hypocrisy is authenticity.

Some people wear a mask because what they really think or how they really feel isn't acceptable in "polite society". Don't let society be the judge, for "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy." (James 4:12). No, society isn't our judge to tell us what is right is what is wrong. Instead, "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." (2 Pt 1:3). 

Therefore, judge "for yourselves what is right" (Luke 12:57) and if this judgement doesn't line up with what is revealed in God's word maybe it's time for a heart-check.

Ask yourself if you need to wear a mask to hide a sinful thought, wouldn't it be better to repent and to be authentic?

How are you showing the love of God to others?

Peace & Frustration

Colossians 3:15 (NIV) "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

This is a powerful statement to me. Negativity wants to rule in our hearts and minds. It wants us to feed our frustrations, stoke our anger, and succumb to our insecurities. Know that you are greater than all off these. God has made you in His image and brings you to glory. You are loved. You are valuable. You matter. Listen to what should rule us: the peace of God. How? It continues: be thankful.

I got pretty frustrated this morning. I missed my alarm because I didn't plug in my phone last night. Since I was later and it was raining, traffic was worse. There was construction all along the way with people that didn't want to slow down and look out for each other. But the extra time gave me the chance to clear my head and be thankful. I have a car that keeps me safe. I have a job to go to. I have a family that loves me and cares about me.

It took some doing, but when I prayed about it and thanked God for my blessings I really felt this sense of relief come over me. It felt like the peace of God was setting me free from a rough start to my day. Now I want to go out and accomplish what's before me. Now I can work towards my goals. It was like satan was there trying to drag me down but when I resisted and ran to God, I was freed.

Control

There's been a few scriptures on my mind this week, and I see a connection between the two of them.

First, there's Proverbs 4:23 -- "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

There's a lot going on in these few, simple words. Maybe the most obvious is helping me answer the question: "What am I even doing??!". Have you ever found yourself doing something or saying something that surprised you? If you could take a step back for a moment and hear the words coming out of your own mouth, would it be shocking? Christians are called to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). We are called to be encourages (Heb 10:24-25). We called to be peacemakers (Mat 5:9). And we are called to have a kind of speech that is kind and gracious (Col 4:6).

What am I even doing?!? Whatever my heart desires. 

Sometimes when we go through life, we just react. We act without thinking. We aren't deliberate in our choices of how to respond to someone, we just respond. That gut-level reaction, it comes from the heart and it's possible that can be a reflection of who we "really" are. Of course, that may not always be the case. There are times when we'd say something like, "I wasn't being myself; That wasn't me; or, I didn't really mean that." But the challenge from this passage asks us to be real with ourselves -- did what I just say reflect the kind of person I really am? Is that who I want to be?

Another thing that surprises me about this passage is the priority placed on this teaching. We are told that "everything we do" (or say?) "flows from [the heart]", so the most important thing we can do is guard our heart. Some of us might come up with a few different answers, if we had a room full of people and we asked the question, "What's the number one priority as a Christian." Maybe it's to "love God" (Mat 22:37), or maybe it's "Love each other" (Mat 22:39), or maybe it's to be humble (Micah 6:8). These are all really good answers. Maybe there's four or five number one's! Don't worry about making the list, just listen to what this passage has to say: "Above all, guard your heart." 

The second passage I had on my mind that I saw connected to the first was 2 Corinthians 10:5 -- " . . take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Going back to the first passage, we can again ask ourselves the same questions about our choices, actions, and words. If I could hear myself, would I be proud of the things I've said? Would God be pleased by my thoughts? 

Without these taking actions on these two ideas, we instead run the risk of ourselves being held captive by our thoughts. Thoughts of doubt, fear, anger, frustration, arrogance, pride, dismay, confusion want to control us. These thoughts want to hold us captive, poison our hearts, and control our will. Instead of speaking the truth in love for the building up of the Kingdom of God, we could find ourselves enemies of God because we have let our guard down and become captive in our own minds.

Jesus wants to free you. Jesus had freed you. But you can allow yourself to return again to that prison of the mind when we give Satan a foothold. Don't be led by sin, be led by the Spirit "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Rom 8:14-15).

Making the Most

Paul closes the letter to the church in Colosse with the encouragement to "make the most of every opportunity" -- now, I don't know about you, but that sounds like a pretty daunting task to me. It's easy to let so many other things distract us from our mission and detract from our message. We remember, however, that there just as there a time to laugh, there is a time to weep (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

So, how do make the most of every opportunity? And what is this opportunity anyway? Well, the opportunity is to share Jesus. Thing is, Jesus went through the trials of life just as we do (Hebrews 4:15) and there were times when Jesus cried, when Jesus was alone, when Jesus needed the quiet time with the Father. Do we not think that Jesus was able to make the most of every opportunity to teach, or lead, or share of the blessings of the Kingdom? I think He did, and we can look to these events in His life as examples.

"Making the most of every opportunity" may not mean what some people it means. Maybe it means we listen to others around us and hear their story and share in their suffering. Maybe it means we are in quiet communion with the Lord. Maybe it means we take a moment to be thankful for everything we have.

Look at the focus of the message in the few verses before this phrase. Paul gives us the keys to unlocking the mystery of how to "make the most of every opportunity": spend more time in prayer and thanking God. When we do this, then we will see God using us in powerful ways as we have opportunity to bring Jesus to others.