Despite any impressions to the contrary, the nature of the story that we’re all part of is one of God coming here, not us going somewhere else.

In the beginning, God sets things up and comes here.

In the middle, God becomes man and comes here so that the Holy Spirit can stay here indwelling us.

In the end, God comes to dwell here forever.

In the meantime, Jesus gave us this prayer to keep on praying…

May [God’s] kingdom come and will be done on earth as in heaven.

So there’s the story. There you have it. We may face some challenges in the meantime while we pray and anticipate God’s coming, but he is coming.

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Eternal life does NOT = eternal death

Let’s dive headfirst into pointing out the obvious: life isn’t death isn’t life. It’s important to note this, however, because oftentimes Christians talk about life and death and the after life as if “eternal life” is actually fancy religious speak for being eternally dead…but in a good way. Let’s just point that out for what it really is – nonsense. If Jesus meant to say we’d be eternally dead, he surely could have. But he didn’t. He promised eternal life. So whatever he was talking about, the mental picture we should have is one of being alive.

Eternal life is a present reality.

Now we get a really crazy, but very cool observation. When Jesus speaks of eternal life, he speaks of it as a present reality. It’s not something promised for later, but now. Obviously anything that lasts forever is equally significant for later. The significant point here is when this eternal kind of life begins. And according to Jesus, it’s now.

Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life (John 5:24)

Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood (participating in my life) has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:54)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand (John 10:27-28)

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die (John 11:25-26)

An interesting paradoxical picture emerges surrounding eternal life. It’s consistently taught by Jesus as present reality. It’s also consistently contrasted with the alternative – death. But in two of the references, Jesus also notes the paradox of the in-between. We know from experience that these corruptible bodies don’t last forever. We know from experience that Christians die. We know by faith that dead Christians are already resting in the presence of Jesus in a place he once called “paradise.” But let’s please not forget what the New Testament so frequently insists upon – death isn’t going to be any more effective on Jesus’ people than it was on him.

In Christ, it’s probably helpful to remember that death is a bit like taking a nap. Then we wake up, stretch, and keep right on going – except in a resurrected body that will never again know sin, decay, disease, pain, tears, or death. You’ll still be you. I’ll still be me. We’ll pick up where we left off, except having been renewed with all Creation and under the fully manifested reign of Jesus Christ.

It’s gonna be great. I sincerely hope to see all of you there!

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If you hear and obey, Jesus said, you’re like a person who builds their house on a solid foundation. The storms come, the rain falls, the wind blows, and the house stands strong. If you only hear, you’re like a person who builds their house on the sand. The storms come, the rain falls, the wind blows, and down goes the house.

The main point of the story is that hearing doesn’t really help. It’s hearing and then obeying that makes the difference in our lives.

Here’s why that matters so much. The storm comes either way.

If you’ve ever heard a “preacher” on tv, you might get the idea that if you keep listening (and sending them money), you’ll be saved from the storm. But that’s not really how God’s story goes. The storm comes to us all. The only questions for us is whether or not we’ll be left standing when it does.

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I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we’re talking about is Christ’s body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn’t amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren’t.

If you preach, just preach God’s Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody. Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do. “I’ll do the judging,” says God. “I’ll take care of it.”

Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

(Literally Romans 12 MSG word for word. Worth reading and letting it shape our thinking and our living.)

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Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Most research in America indicates that people (especially younger people) are moving away from “church”. It was a long standing trend that college kids would fade out before maturing into adults and then returning to church. But according to an article I read recently, the latest generation of young adults has broken this pattern and are not coming back.

The significance of this trend, however, may or may not be cause for alarm. In actuality, it is a very nuanced issue. There are numerous cultural and religious issues that are converging at the intersection of “young people are leaving the church”. There’s no time or space to dive into all that today.

As a dad and pastor and Christian, my concern is that young people don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. There’s a lot of murky bathwater associated with the American church. If it’s time to sort out which is baby and which is bathwater, that’s fine. It needs to happen from time to time. So if this process is being forced upon us church folks and if we start stripping things away, what is absolutely essential that we must retain? What’s the baby in this metaphor?

Here’s my simple list. the Church absolutely cannot be the Church without these things:

1. We hold to Jesus’ message. We live by it. We proclaim it. In short, that message is a headline of good news: “Jesus is King and he’s bringing about the redemption and renewal of all creation.”
2. We align our lives with Jesus’ priorities and continue his mission as best we know how. First, to love God and people with everything we’ve got. Second, we give our absolute best effort to live and say and act like Jesus would if he were living in our circumstances.
3. We open ourselves and welcome Jesus’ ongoing ministry in our lives. We embrace the outworking of our salvation. We embrace healing. We embrace his work of setting us apart as his unique and peculiar people in this world. Finally, we increasingly submit to his reign over every aspect of our lives.
4. We imitate Jesus’ way of life. Imagine that Jesus is the great marathon runner of life. It’s nothing but lazy silliness to imagine ourselves running the race alongside Jesus while disregarding his example of daily training. His habits and rhythms of life must inform ours.
5. Finally, we submit ourselves to Jesus’ method – transformational relationships. When it comes down to it, cool worship services, organizational dynamics, etc. have to be bathwater when compared to good ‘ole fashioned relationships with lovely but imperfect people. That means if we’re too busy for regular, transformational relationships, we’re too busy.

So in a very short word, there it is. The baby vs. the bathwater. If God has put lovely people in your life that are suspicious or reluctant to come to a corporate worship gathering, that’s ok. Hopefully they’ll experience some healing along the way and get past of lot of their reluctance, but it’s ok either way. In the meantime, cultivate the baby. Follow Jesus together.

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Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

From there he moved to the hill country on the east side of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.

And Abram journeyed on…

It’s been a while since I’ve reflected on these two wonderful verses. I love them because of their simplicity. God speaks to Abram, and Abram builds an altar – he turns to God in submission and worship. One verse later, Abram wants to hear from God and builds another altar – he turns to God in submission and worship.

The context of these verses is also amazing. Just a few verses earlier, Abram receives the promises from God that will define a whole nation and come to fulfillment in Jesus. But on the heels of these promises, what do we see? Abram didn’t have it all figured out. He got confused. He made mistakes. But he had one very important, defining trait. He was the kind of guy who turned to God. He had faith that God was God and it shaped his life. So when God speaks, Abram trusts it to be so. Perhaps Abram could turn to God in the big moments because he was already well trained in that posture and habit.

I also love these two verses because they’re so simple. God speaks. Does Abram do something profound? Not really. He just does the best he knows to do. He sets up a little pile of rocks and honors God. When he needs to hear from God – another little pile of rocks to posture himself in worship and surrender. It seems so menial and insignificant. But it was what Abram had to offer and he was willing to offer it. And it was enough.

Our Little Altars
The question I’d like to pose for all of us today is how we might adopt the same habit and posture of turning to God. Instead of waiting until the catastrophic moments when it’s do or die, can we practice turning to God and submitting ourselves to his reign over us day to day. Can we build up our capacity for humility and submission to him before the big moments come?

Let’s start here and now. If God has spoken to you recently, take some time today to reflect. Humble yourself in thankfulness and submission. Make your “altar” in whatever seems appropriate. And if you’re just seeking God today, needing to hear from him, do the same thing.

May worship and humility and submission come to define your journey day by day. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need to be perfect. But you need to become the kind of person who is always turning to God. He’ll take it from there the same as he did for Abram and so many others.

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1. the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought.”interfaith dialogue can easily slip into syncretism”
2. the merging of different inflectional varieties of a word during the development of a language.

Syncretism isn’t a word most of us probably use on a regular basis, but it’s something Christians should be aware of every single day. Syncretism is what has happened when people can no longer discern the difference between what it means to be a good American (or republican, or democrat, or social activist, or capitalist) and a Christian. It is evident when people no longer accurately discern a difference in values, agendas, priorities, and perspectives. Syncretism reminds me of a timeless quote from an old movie, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” That’s syncretism. Genuine Christians are absorbed by their surrounding cultures. They fade away and they don’t even know it.

The Solution
There’s a simple solution to this problem. The Bible. Not the Bible as a superstitious or nostalgic relic to be placed on end tables and bookshelves. Not the Bible as a source for fuzzy-feeling quotes to hang on the wall and affirm whatever we already desire and think. The solution is the Bible as the long story of what God is up to in this world. If we will actually read it, it provides everything we need to untangle ourselves from the patterns, perspectives, and priorities of the world around us.

When Jesus kicked off his ministry, the first words Mark records for us are every bit as crucial for us today as they were in the first century:

“God’s reign is unfolding and Jesus is becoming King. You’re going to have to rethink everything and learn how to live in response to the circumstances in which you now find yourself” (Mark 1:15).

Let’s do it. Let’s turn away from old thinking and old ways of living. Let’s live like people who understand that Jesus is King and that we’re already determining our places in his kingdom by our everyday lives here and now.

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When Jesus’ ministry reached its climax at his death and resurrection, it was during the celebration of this national Jewish holiday that he was crucified. God’s people were busy sacrificing a lamb and eating a sacred meal in remembrance of their deliverance from Egypt. And at the same time, Jesus was celebrating the same meal with his disciples and reinventing it for his followers forever: “Take this bread…it is my body. Take this cup…it is my blood.” And then Jesus was crucified. He was buried. He rose again.

A Sin Story??
Sometimes Christians talk as if the primary thing Jesus does is deal with sin. People who like big religious words call this dealing with sin “atonement.” And while this is certainly part of what Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplish, it’s not the main thing.

There’s actually a Jewish holiday specifically for that purpose. Conveniently enough, it’s called the “Day of Atonement.” Like Passover, sacrifices were made by the priests and the sins of the people were taken care of year by year. Jesus certainly could have died and been resurrected surrounding the Day of Atonement if he wanted us to understand his significance primarily in terms of his dealing with our sin. But he didn’t.

Restoration
Instead, Jesus chose the Passover. Jesus wanted us to understand that through him, people would be set free from oppression and slavery in all its nefarious forms. And not for nothing. The whole point is that through Jesus, all is restored. We step under the reign of a rightful and good King. And in doing so, we begin a journey back into all of God’s promises and purposes.

Finally, let’s connect this back to the bigger story. God didn’t create people to be religious. He created people to be instruments of blessing throughout creation. He created us to reflect his goodness and likeness everywhere. He created us to govern creation on his behalf, to bring order from chaos, and to make creation fruitful.

In the big picture, Jesus’ story isn’t about sin or religion. It’s about setting everything right. It’s about freeing us to be truly human just like he was. Freedom from the kingdoms of darkness for life in the kingdom of God. That’s the good news. That’s the main thing.

The post The Main Thing appeared first on Hope Church.

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.

I went on a nice run yesterday and found myself returning to these foundational words of Jesus that kick off Mark’s account of the gospel (the story of Jesus). I think they are of critical importance if we are to make sense of either the New Testament or our own lives of faith. These opening words are the backbone of Jesus’ message and they reveal Jesus’ perspective on what’s taking place in the world.

Unfortunately, Jesus’ perspective and message have largely been lost. This loss has resulted in a loss of understanding and meaning. Today, a religious person might be inclined to think that repentance is the rough equivalent of being sorry for doing the wrong things. Perhaps it is regret for immoral thoughts or behaviors. This doesn’t at all fit what Jesus is talking about.

What Jesus is saying here is that something has happened in the world and that we’re going to have to rethink everything we thought we knew about the world in light of what has happened. And because of what has happened, we are going to have to live differently in response to the new circumstances in which we now find ourselves.

Repentance isn’t about being sorry for some moral failure as we’re going about our 21st century American lives. It is about recognizing that God’s redemptive mission for all of creation is underway. It is about recognizing that we are living in the midst of this story – that God’s story is our story, too. It’s about recognizing that we’re RIGHT NOW taking our places in an eternal story just like all those people we read about in the Bible. It’s about recognizing that WE are the servants in Jesus’ parable (Luke 19) who are deciding their fate in his eternal kingdom by how we live in response to the fact that Jesus is King.

If we want to make sense of the Bible and if we want to make sense of our own lives, this is the place we’re going to have to start (just like Jesus said). We’re not Americans sorting out jobs and finances and family dynamics. Those details will all blow away like smoke in the wind. Every single person you know is living before God within an eternal story. Every single person you know is ALREADY taking their place in God’s eternal story.

So yes. We need to rethink some things. We need to start living in light of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Sure, let’s try to be nice and moral along the way, but what we’re really talking about is how we’re taking our places before the King of all creation.

Once we get this right and in view, the New Testament will come to life like never before. Our lives will make sense. We’ll see this world clearly enough to live well for all the days that God gives us until we stand before him.

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Jesus promises something different. He said that another Kingdom was at hand. This Kingdom (for which the world was originally created) is marked by goodness, life, freedom, and blessing. And this Kingdom is within reach because of all that Jesus has done. Even now, Jesus continues inviting people to exit the kingdom of darkness, to embrace his work on their behalves, to submit to his reign over them, and to become citizens of his Kingdom of goodness and life.

One way to understand Jesus’ ongoing ministry in our lives is as a corresponding process of naturalization. He saves us from the dark kingdom (and all it represents). He heals us from all the ways that we’ve been afflicted and wounded as people living amidst the dark kingdom. He sets us apart – out of the dark kingdom and into the Kingdom of life. He transforms us so that we increasingly think and act like people of his Kingdom. Finally, his reign increasingly comes to bear in our lives as we let go of our own control in order to embrace the priorities, purposes and ways of Jesus in our lives.

We become citizens of the new Kingdom the moment we turn to Jesus, receive his work on our behalf, and embrace him as our King. That makes us Kingdom people. But we come out of the old kingdom needing a lot of work. So Jesus keeps working in us. By his grace, we increasingly become a naturalized people. Jesus’ Kingdom – in all its ways and perspectives of new life – increasingly become what is most natural for us.

This is some really good news. Most of us don’t want to be the same old wretches we used to be. We want to be made new. We want a new kind of life. And this is exactly what we experience in Jesus:
Jesus saves. Jesus heals. Jesus sets us apart as a people fit for his Kingdom. Jesus reigns.

This process begins when we turn away from our old life toward Jesus. It continues working itself out over the course of our lives. And it will be completed one day when we stand before Jesus face-to-face, when the dark kingdom is done away with for good, and the whole creation (the heavens and the earth together) is renewed and restored to its rightful place in God.

King Jesus, thank you. Continue your good work in us and through us. Make us a people fit for your Kingdom. May we be your ambassadors every single day, inviting all those we encounter to join us in this new life we have in you. Amen.

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