The Effect of Jesus' Resurrection

            In this month, we typically celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It was this pinnacle act that forever changed the scope of human existence, if not the course of history. For in His resurrection, we see the Father’s vindication of the Son’s innocence and God’s intervention into the realm of man with overwhelming power such that even man’s enemies of death, hell and the grave are utterly defeated. Whereas the founders of the other world “religions” lie as but dust in their tombs, Jesus of Nazareth is very much alive and reigning from His throne, sitting next to His heavenly Father, awaiting His return to complete His mission of redemption.

            We believe, at least many of us do, that this is the end of the story of redemption. However, this is most certainly not the not the case at all. First of all, according to the Scriptures, Jesus’ resurrection was but the “first fruits” (I Cor. 15:23), the initial harvest of our own resurrection that will assuredly take place after our deaths one day of which we do not know the hour or the year. Yet, if we are “in Christ” (i.e. if we have a personal relationship with Him), then we have already experienced a resurrection. We were spiritually dead in our sins and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we were raised to new life in Christ (Eph. 2:1-10). Therefore, in this new resurrection power, He expects us to live out our lives in obedience and holiness as expressions of this change. This is what the apostle Paul means in being a “new creature in Christ” with “old things” having passed away, no longer having a bearing on our lives (II Cor. 5:17). By His resurrection power, we have the capacity and resources available and necessary to radically impact the people and community around us for the cause of Christ. The question is this: Are we willing to live as the followers of the risen Christ in which we profess to believe? If so, let’s do it and see all the good that we can accomplish in His Name and in the power of His resurrection!

Redemption Rather Than Escape

                  In the Lord I take refuge;

How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain;

                  For, behold, the wicked bend the bow,

They make ready their arrow upon the string

To shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

                  If the foundations are destroyed,

What can the righteous do?”

                  The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven;

His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

                  The Lord tests the righteous and ^the wicked,

And the one who loves violence His soul hates.

                  Upon the wicked He will rain snares;

Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.

For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness;

The upright will behold His face (Ps. 11, NASB).

            Much has taken place in our country to give Christians great pause as to the future of our nation. We have seen a surge of sin in the marketplace unprecedented in our time with little, if any, real outcry as to its appearance, much less to its growth. Some want to immediately run to an “end of the world” scenario, preparing for Jesus’ impending Second Coming. Unfortunately, they neglect the fact that the early Church lived and existed in much worse circumstances than that which present America is enduring. Jesus did not come to bail out those first century Christians from their sin-drenched muck and mire. What made their situation more dire than ours was that, in many parts of the Roman Empire, Christians were actually dying for their attachment to Christ and His Word, just as fellow believers in other parts of the world are doing even today. Yet, here we are in the American church wanting Jesus to return to deliver us from militant homosexuals, corrupt liberal politicians, and a president intent on destroying a system of living responsible for blessing many past generations. I dare say, if we are truly honest with ourselves and the Lord, the comparison between our situation and that of the early Church (not to mention the Christians in places like Indonesia and Egypt just to name a couple) would be unfair at best. If the Father has not sent the Son to return to get His Bride, the whole Church, not just the American branch, as of yet in almost twenty-one hundred years since the Lord exited to the right hand of Power, then we must be patient enough to know that it may yet be a long while before Jesus parts the eastern sky to wind up time and bring final judgment to mankind.

                              Now, having stated all of this, David’s words in Psalm 11 are very apropos to our subject. The gist of his meaning is this. When overwhelmed by the reality of evil, it is easy to feel like the best way of response is to escape, to flee, to run away and hide “until the storm passes by” or deliverance comes. This is to what David refers in vs. 1b-3. When “the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” betrays a question of hopelessness and fear. However, David’s response is telling—“The LORD”. He is basically reminding the reader that the Lord, Jehovah God, is sovereign over all and has not left the Throne of the universe. He will execute justice on evildoers without question. Those who have committed to do what is right according to God’s Word (i.e. the “righteous”) should focus on Him and their faith in Him, not on what evildoers are committing in terms of sin. The wicked are only setting themselves up for impending doom and judgment which the Lord Himself will dispense. When He does come in wrath against the wicked, He will act swiftly, precisely and definitively, leaving no question as to His motives and reasons. Why? Because “His soul hates” sin. Sin defiles His holy nature. Therefore, if repentance is not forthcoming from the evildoers, they will suffer His wrath in full—“Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.”

                              Rather than looking for a way out as American Christians tend to do (e.g. Jesus’ Second Coming), why don’t we start taking a different approach to the evil around us. First of all, for those we know that are personally caught up in known sin, let us start praying for them to be redeemed from whatever has them bound that they might be freed to live in the light of God’s salvation and favor. If enough Christians did this on an individual basis for the people they each knew, the kingdom of heaven would expand exponentially by leaps and bounds, impacting communities, cities, states, and, ultimately, the nation for the cause of Christ. Hordes of folks once enslaved to gross sin would be cleansed and made new in Jesus (I Cor. 6:9-11). Secondly, as difficult as it may be to do sometimes, pray for our leaders. We are commanded in Scripture to do so for the benefit and freedom of the Church as a whole (I Tim. 2:1-2). Pray specifically that all who are in authority in our nation would either come to know Christ as Lord and Savior, if they haven’t already, or, if they have, uphold God’s Word in the decisions they make as leaders of our country. Pray also that if they are in full rebellion against the Lord and refuse His Spirit and His wisdom that they be removed from office and replaced by those who would best serve His interests for the benefit of His people and the nation.

             Let us not fall prey to “giving up the ship” by pinning our hopes on an action that lies beyond our grasp of timing and control. Let us instead be proactive in showing the world that we will not be overwhelmed by evil, but, rather “overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21) and prayer.

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Pure Devotion

One of my favorite Christian songs from the 1980s is entitled “A Heart Like Mine” by Bryan Duncan. I had not heard it much over the years until recently when I tuned my car radio to one of the newest Christian stations in our area. Along with this track, this radio station is playing many of the songs I grew up with, selections whose focus is more God-centered than much of what is called Christian music today. It is a refreshing change to return to those days when music was intended for ministry rather than the marketing of new talent to make money for the industry. Forgive me for the digression.

            This particular song strikes a chord within me because of its inward call for one’s love for the Lord to be borne out of pure devotion. Indeed, the connection between love and devotion is a strand that has been cut in the minds of many in our time. It is the reason for the lack of longevity in marriages. It is in the background of couples who do not choose to solidify their relationships in marriage, who prefer to live in the sin of cohabitation, even siring and raising children who will not have the benefit of knowing parents who had a concrete, lifetime bond together. Then, to go one step further, this whole “love/devotion” concept is perverted by the Enemy who promotes abnormal relationships that are counter to the Creator’s original design of the male-female biological paradigm. The culture may teach that such associations are legitimate, but the Lord of Lords has deemed otherwise.

            This love-devotion link should be paramount within the marriage relationship so as to strengthen the ties between husband and wife, the man and the woman, for their benefit and their children’s, if God has provided any. It should also be the operational norm within our personal relationship with our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. We should not only love Him “with all of our heart, soul, and mind” (Matt. 22:37 New American Standard Version), but also be devoted to Him in all of our actions and attitudes. It is the combination of these two things that reveals to an unbelieving world that we are serious about our faith in Christ. We are not just Christians in name only; at least, that is not what we should be. Many are. Their supposed faith is only “skin deep”. Cut them and they will bleed cowardice. Persecute them and their supposed faith will run away like water in the desert heat, vanishing in a moment. This is one of the types of supposed faith to which Jesus was referring in His parable of the Sower and the Seed (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23). The true faith is the one that takes root and produces the fruit of devotion and love unto the Lord.

            As we look into the mirror of our lives and souls, we must ask ourselves these penetrating questions. Do I love the Lord “with all my heart, soul and mind”, with every ounce of my being? Does He have my total devotion as seen by the actions and attitudes I exhibit in my life daily? Or are my attentions focused elsewhere or on myself rather than on Him?

            At least, the Lord is merciful and gives us ample opportunity, not only for reflection, but also for repentance. If the questions and their answers have “pricked” our hearts, may we not shy away from the truth, but take the truth to Him immediately for reconciliation and forgiveness, knowing that we will always find Him ready to restore us to the place where we can begin again on a path of love and devotion for Him.

A Blessed New Year

As another year unfolds before us like a path in front of our feet, so we should view it as an opportunity to pause for a moment to review how far God has brought us along the route we have already come. For some of us, the walk has been treacherous and yet we still live and have breath to continue, leaving us very thankful for the treasure of being here. For others, it has been a blessed time, giving us hearts of gratitude since we know not how long the good times will last. The one thing that we can be assured of is that the Lord of Hosts goes before us, indeed, is already there, in the future to join us in the journey, to uphold and sustain us through whatever our destiny may take us. So, as we follow the steps of our Lord Jesus, may He grant us a very blessed New Year in His service and His love.

What Betokens the Shepherds’ Arrival (as based on Luke 2:8-18)

What Betokens the Shepherds’ Arrival

By Dr. Chris King

(as based on Luke 2:8-18)

On a quiet, mid-winter’s eve while dancing their shadow and amber reel

The light from wicks of olive oil lamps, hung and placed throughout the homes

Silhouetting the inhabitants of the house as they ended their day,

Preparing their twilight meal.

Outside darkness fell.

The sky blanketed in pitch, speckled only in dots of white.

The countryside mingled with the dimness, accenting the loneliness

Of the shepherds’ golden hillside fires.

As the blessing of thanksgiving was said, the bread was broken and conversation begun.

A familiar, yet untimely, smell entered the room, making the meal a most reprehensible feast.

A scent most unwelcome, early and inappropriate.

Yet, it was enough of a prompter to warrant an outside peek at the window

To see the source of this unseasonable visit.

The stench of sheep and their keepers who were normally prevented from entering the city

Until the time of shearing and the selling of their wares

Followed in the wake of their unexpected visit.

They passed house unto house through the village as if on mission

Speaking to none apart from among themselves.

Their search specific, their attention riveted on one focus.

Having taken their ill-favored smell with them,

The residents began again to settle down to their meal.

Their course of conversation steered to the shepherds

And then on to other subjects of the day as needed.

Yet, the odd behavior of these denizens of the field

Could not be forgotten—Why did they come to town tonight?

As the dishes of their evening repast were removed and washed,

In the distance was heard, of all things, singing, laughter, and…shouts.

Attention of all, thus captured, the residents rushed to window and door

To see and hear this disturbance that had overtaken their quiet hamlet.

To their surprise, none other than the previous inopportune shepherds

Returned in a state of uncharacteristic joy and abandonment, declaring…

“The angel spoke truth to us. We have seen it ourselves.

The long-awaited Messiah is here. God’s salvation has finally come.

He is born tonight among us in a stable on the other end of town.

Here, of all places, in our small village of Bethlehem.

The angel spoke to us and the host of heaven as well. Come and see!”

In their joy, the shepherds danced arm-in-arm

Overwhelmed by God’s blessing upon them

As they shouted to Bethlehem’s residents, young and old,

“Come and see. The long-awaited Messiah is here. God’s salvation has finally come.”

It is not known how those who heard the words of the shepherds

Responded to their acclamations or to the joy that drove them from the fields

To see if the angel’s declaration to them was, in fact, true.

It is, however, known that the same invitation

That the sheep keepers extended to those village inhabitants

Is the very same one the Scripture offers to everyone each Christmas and each day hence:

“Come and see. The long-awaited Messiah is here. God’s salvation has finally come.”

Thanksgiving in Worship

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless His name

For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting

And His faithfulness to all generations.

(Ps. 100:4-5, NASB)

            Modern worship, whether we realize it or not, tends to be focused on what we as spectators desire to get out of the experience. As I was traveling to meet one of my children for lunch recently, I was listening to a Christian radio station. My ear caught several advertisements by churches marketing themselves to the station’s audience by sharing all of the different ministries and programs they had to offer to each member of the family. For each person, he or she would have his or her own dynamic experience with God. On the surface that sounds exciting. However, we have become so accustomed to such consumer-based/market-driven moves within our culture that they do not seem at all out of place within the church any longer. To us, there appears to be absolutely nothing wrong with “shopping around” to find just the right church to fit our particular needs. Yet, this is not at all the perspective Scripture has of the Church or, more importantly, of the worship of Almighty God. Worship has nothing to do at all with what we want, desire, or need. It does not take into consideration what style of music we prefer or whether we feel more comfortable with traditional or contemporary, “high” or “low” church customs. To our possible dismay and definitely to our conviction, worship is directed toward and solely defined by God Himself.

            As the Psalmist plainly tells us, we are to have hearts full of thankfulness when we “enter into His gates” to worship Him. How can we do this if we are so concerned about what we want out of worship? If we think going to worship is about what we are to receive from it, our thankfulness is misplaced from the beginning. The psalmist is thankful because of who God is to him and for what God has done for Him. He is overwhelmed by the goodness and grandeur of God. Thus, he says, “Give thanks to Him, bless His name, for the LORD is good.” Not only does the psalmist know this personally, but he has seen the Lord’s grace operational in the lives of his forefathers for generations innumerable in the past. He knows that “His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness (is present) to all generations.” Thus, the psalmist can “enter His gates with thanksgiving” with a heart ready to authentically worship the Lord.

            When next you go to worship, I challenge you not to think of worship in a self-centered fashion, as if worship has anything to do with you, your wants, desires, preferences, or needs. Instead, I dare you to put all of these things in your past and remember the God who has saved you and called you into His “kingdom of light” by His grace alone, who has blessed you with much more than you ever deserve in this life. “Count your many blessings, name them one by one” and then “enter into His gates with thanksgiving”. Your worship of the Lord may never be the same again.

The Essential Nature of Forgiveness

            Having reached the age of fifty has me thinking of a number of things differently than I have in times past. I am marking milestones in life with much more importance than before, at least within my heart. I am beginning to realize with a greater clarity that I am not going to be passing by this way again. Thus, it is best to be making the most of these moments and relationships while one has them.

            It is in this spirit that I want to share this bit of encouragement with you. It is actually a direct reflection of what the Apostle Paul clearly states in his letter to the Ephesians toward the end of his epistle. He writes,

           

"…forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32, New American Standard Version).

            In spending so much time over the years with folks who have suffered damage to their hearts  caused by blocked arteries, I know what restricted blood flow can do to someone’s life,  overall well-being, and future prospects. A person so afflicted can find himself with a very limited existence because his choice of food intake over the years ended up caking the “pipes” that brought life-giving nutrients to his heart. Now, he cannot fully enjoy life or the blessings of his family. I have personally seen family members and friends in such situations.

            The same sad occurrence takes place even more frequently in the lives of many believers today. Many of you who are presently reading this edition of the newsletter are suffering from this malady even now. Yours, however, is not a physical condition, but a spiritual one. Yours is not a clogging of the arteries of your physical heart, but of your spiritual heart with the plaque of unforgiveness. You are holding on to offenses from time gone by. You have nursed these offenses like babies, so that now they have grown through childhood to adolescence unto adulthood, choking your heart, making it very hard for you to spiritually breathe. You try to have a relationship with God, but He continually seems to be distant from you. You endeavor to worship Him, but your worship has no depth to it. Your words of praise ring hollow; they bounce off the ceiling and ring accusingly in your own ears.

            What is one to do in such a situation? If your physical heart were being choked to death by plaque buildup, you would have by-pass surgery to provide new life to your heart. The same holds true for the spiritual heart. However, in this case, it takes a different type of surgery. Truth, honest truth, is the scalpel used. The Holy Spirit of God is the surgeon. You need to submit yourself completely to His surgical table for the operation. Let Him show you the areas of your life which you need to release to forgiveness and vulnerability. Once this ugly truth is revealed, you may need to then go to that person and ask their forgiveness for holding unforgiveness toward them for so long. Remove then the barrier of protection against them in your heart so that you may love them unconditionally. This is how you will know that your forgiveness is real. True forgiveness is not forgetting, but choosing to love the person unconditionally and allowing yourself to be open and vulnerable to be hurt again, even as Christ has forgiven us and has suffered pain over and over again by our failures toward Him (Eph. 4:32).

His is the standard of measurement we must use in terms of forgiveness one toward another. It is on this basis that our relationships are built, brother and sister in Christ, siblings, parent-child, husband-wife, etc. When we are able to forgive completely those who have hurt us in the past and cleanse our hearts of all past bitterness, then we can fulfill His desire for us to have hearts of kindness and tenderness one toward another as stated in the first part of Eph. 4:32. Then will the heart’s blood flow freely without any blockages and our spiritual lives will be renewed and powerful according to His desired will for His people.

Are you harboring ill will, unfulfilled expectations and bitterness toward anyone today? Is your spiritual life lacking? Is God distant from you no matter how hard you try to please Him by your actions? Search your heart with honesty to see if there is unforgiveness resting and rooted within you. If you find it, remove it no matter the pain. You will find the Holy Spirit ready and willing to assist you to the place of comfort, peace and love, wanting you to experience the blessed joy of true forgiveness.