Sunday night was recovery time from a hard week end—Friday night-dinner with friends; Saturday afternoon- Fort Worth Stock Show; in the evening- the rodeo; Sunday morning- church, afternoon- homework with three kids. At 10:30 Robert, an executive in the rocket-paced world of High Tech Entertainment and Devices, tried to climb into bed to get some sleep before his alarm went off at four o’clock. His flight to Seattle left at 7:05am. His meeting for lunch and a 1:30pm business session with J. Allard, Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President for Design and Development, took him six months to set up. It meant millions or bust for the development group Robert was leading.
He set his alarm, rolled over, and was gone into dreamland.
“Honey, what are you doing? Why are you still in bed?”
Robert loved his wife, but her words hit his growing consciousness like a death sentence. His plane left at 7:05 and the digital numbers on his bedside clock read 7:30 as he grabbed it and frantically checked to see why it had failed to sound the alarm. A missed flight, a missed appointment with a Microsoft Vice President—his career was over.
Sleep is one of life’s sweetest delicacies—except when you’re supposed to be wide awake.
In Romans 13:11-14 the Apostle Paul sounds the alarm for the Roman believers to wake up. Jesus died in AD 33. It is now twenty four years later. For Paul this meant it was no time to be asleep. Christ could come at any second. For us it is now one thousand nine hundred and seventy five years later. Was the 1st Century Apostle naive about history and foolish to think that Christ’s return was imminent in AD 57? What should we believe about the nearness of Jesus Christ’s return today and what should we do about it?
When I was a kid, the European Common Market was the harbinger of the Ten Toes of Daniel's image. Now some of my prophetic colleagues tell me that Baghdad will soon be the world capital and the Ten Toes are ten Islamic nations already challenging Western power. Then I open up to Jonathan Edwards in the Colonial days and I discover that he believed that the French were the forces of Antichrist. All this guessing causes many believers to deconstruct the coming of Jesus and His promise loses its power over our daily lives.
Before you throw out the immanency of the Bridegroom's return for His Bride, read what Paul had to say to your family in AD 57 about the closeness of the parousia, and don't neglect to listen to Paul's advice about how we need to get serious about this.
He doesn't ask you to go to another prophetic congress. He asks the folks that I work with here in Texas not to go boozin and womanizing on Friday or Saturday night. Instead, he challenges them to allow the Light to radiate their unbelieving friends as they see the concrete ethical changes in their character because they know Jesus. Instead of getting drunk, they are to be full of the Spirit. Instead of fighting and dividing over music, styles of liturgy, and what they do or do not eat and drink, they are to be united in loving care for one another.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Rollin With The Flow
Once was a thought inside my head before I’d reach thirty, I’d be dead.
Some how on and on I go. I keep on rollin with the flow
Folks said that I would change my mind. I’d straighten up and do just fine.
Oh, But I still love Rock and Roll. So I keep rollin with the flow.
While guys my age are raisin kids, I’m raisin hell just like I did.
I’ve got a lot of crazy friends. They forgive me of my sins.
Some might be callin me a bum, But I’m still out here havin fun
Jesus loves me yes I know. So I keep on rollin with the flow
You can’t take it with you when you're gone, But I want enough to get there on.
And I ain't never growin old if I keep on rollin with the flow.
No I ain't ever growin old if I keep on rollin with the flow
I keep on rollin with the flow.
Mark Chestnut
We like this guy. He’s like Peter Pan in Justins-- still boot skootin, boozin, and breakin hearts. He raises hell on Saturday night, but he does remember the children’s song “Jesus Loves Me” on Sunday. And of course, he has a lot of “crazy friends” who forgive him. He’s made it past thirty but doubts his life style will get him much farther--although with luck who knows. Mick Jagger is pushing 65. He ain’t groin old, but when he’s gone, he “wants enough to get there on.”
What is enough for us to get there on? Can we wait till we’re gone to find out? Does the fact that Jesus loves us mean that He simply forgives us and lets us continue to keep on rollin with the flow? Many today think so. The Apostle Paul does not.
He is the Apostle of Grace. More than any other writer in the New Testament he declares that we stand right before God in the end is by depending only on Christ—His death and His resurrection. Many accuse Paul of shattering the Tablets of Moses and throwing open the doors to the kind of behavior Mark Chestnut sings about. Why not take a look for yourself at what the Apostle does say about the Grace --Law connection in Romans 13:8-10 and then check out my thoughts about this issue on our Truth Encounter audio this week titled "The Unpayable Debt."
I would love to hear your thoughts about this strategic issue that has been debated since the Reformation, and most of all I would covet your prayers so that in my personal life I will allow the Spirit of Jesus to daily help me not to be like the priest who walked right by the wounded man in Jesus powerful story about the Good Samaritan.
Some how on and on I go. I keep on rollin with the flow
Folks said that I would change my mind. I’d straighten up and do just fine.
Oh, But I still love Rock and Roll. So I keep rollin with the flow.
While guys my age are raisin kids, I’m raisin hell just like I did.
I’ve got a lot of crazy friends. They forgive me of my sins.
Some might be callin me a bum, But I’m still out here havin fun
Jesus loves me yes I know. So I keep on rollin with the flow
You can’t take it with you when you're gone, But I want enough to get there on.
And I ain't never growin old if I keep on rollin with the flow.
No I ain't ever growin old if I keep on rollin with the flow
I keep on rollin with the flow.
Mark Chestnut
We like this guy. He’s like Peter Pan in Justins-- still boot skootin, boozin, and breakin hearts. He raises hell on Saturday night, but he does remember the children’s song “Jesus Loves Me” on Sunday. And of course, he has a lot of “crazy friends” who forgive him. He’s made it past thirty but doubts his life style will get him much farther--although with luck who knows. Mick Jagger is pushing 65. He ain’t groin old, but when he’s gone, he “wants enough to get there on.”
What is enough for us to get there on? Can we wait till we’re gone to find out? Does the fact that Jesus loves us mean that He simply forgives us and lets us continue to keep on rollin with the flow? Many today think so. The Apostle Paul does not.
He is the Apostle of Grace. More than any other writer in the New Testament he declares that we stand right before God in the end is by depending only on Christ—His death and His resurrection. Many accuse Paul of shattering the Tablets of Moses and throwing open the doors to the kind of behavior Mark Chestnut sings about. Why not take a look for yourself at what the Apostle does say about the Grace --Law connection in Romans 13:8-10 and then check out my thoughts about this issue on our Truth Encounter audio this week titled "The Unpayable Debt."
I would love to hear your thoughts about this strategic issue that has been debated since the Reformation, and most of all I would covet your prayers so that in my personal life I will allow the Spirit of Jesus to daily help me not to be like the priest who walked right by the wounded man in Jesus powerful story about the Good Samaritan.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
2008 Resolutions
We live in a world where a salesman gives us tickets to the Mavericks and after the game invites us to finish off the evening at a strip bar. With a few drinks he swears that he is our long lost brother and proceeds with a tirade against the Maverick management because the valet took too long getting his SUV. This present world is full of feigned love, jokes about sex, and biting disrespect for all in authority. It’s 2008 and the world hasn’t changed, but have we?
The question I'm asking myself as I begin 2008 is --What does it look like for a believer in Christ to live as a living sacrifice? What concrete actions result when believers are renewed in their core values by the Holy Spirit?
I'm making the Apostle Paul's exhortations in Romans 12:9-21 my New Year’s resolution list. Here they are:
Be authentic, genuine in agape love.
Be repulsed by evil, Stick like glue to the good.
Be openly affectionate and devoted to my brothers and sisters in Christ
Outdo my brothers and sisters in giving them honor and respect
Get going quickly. Don’t be lazy.
Be on fire with the Holy Spirit serving the Lord.
Rejoice because Christ will certainly fulfill his promises. My Hope in Jesus will not be disappointed.
Endure hard times.
Persist constantly in prayer.
Give generously to my fellow believers just like they were members of my own family.
Seek out even those who are strangers to me and show them hospitality.
Bless, don’t curse those who persecute you.
Rejoice with those who rejoice.
Weep with those who weep.
Be unified with my fellow believers because I'm committed to the message of Romans—Jesus Christ has given me the gift of forgiveness and right standing before God through His death and resurrection.
Don’t be prideful and hang out with the high and mighty. Hang out with those who are downhearted, going through hard times—those who don’t have status.
Don’t think of myself as smarter than I am.
Don’t pay back evil for evil.
Give careful consideration to what is good for all.
As much as possible, live at peace with others.
Remember I am loved by God (Beloved);therefore don’t take revenge.
22. Don’t just refrain from punching out my enemy. Give them food and drink and anything else they need. Do positive good things for them.
(Vengeance is my divine Father’s responsibility. Give space and time for Him to deal with the wrongs done to me. I will pray for my enemies. What a miracle if they become my friends or even my brothers in His time.
It will take the power of Jesus' Spirit flowing through my spiritual veins every second of 2008 to actually live out these qualities, but what a difference it would make in my unbelieving friends' understanding of an "Evangelical" if these were the actions they thought of instead of the bigotry, pride, power, and narrow mindedness that they so often conjure up now.
Let me challenge you to carefully listen to how the Apostle applies his message of faith in Jesus in Romans 12-16. If we truly believe this letter is inerrant, we will get serious about how we relate to one another and to those who have not yet come to faith in the Savior.
Mary and I had an incredible gift over the Holidays as all seven of our grand children came and lived with us for a good amount of time. What a special time of life to have our adult kids bringing their kids to Ami and Papa's house for Christmas.
Mary and I look forward to this new challenging you as we seek to be used of the Spirit to help you encounter Jesus.
How do you over come evil in a dark world? Obviously, doing evil in return for evil will only add to the darkness. You turn on the light by doing the good things the Holy Spirit prompts you to do because Christ gave His life for us when we were His enemies. When He lives inside of us, we do the same.
The question I'm asking myself as I begin 2008 is --What does it look like for a believer in Christ to live as a living sacrifice? What concrete actions result when believers are renewed in their core values by the Holy Spirit?
I'm making the Apostle Paul's exhortations in Romans 12:9-21 my New Year’s resolution list. Here they are:
Be authentic, genuine in agape love.
Be repulsed by evil, Stick like glue to the good.
Be openly affectionate and devoted to my brothers and sisters in Christ
Outdo my brothers and sisters in giving them honor and respect
Get going quickly. Don’t be lazy.
Be on fire with the Holy Spirit serving the Lord.
Rejoice because Christ will certainly fulfill his promises. My Hope in Jesus will not be disappointed.
Endure hard times.
Persist constantly in prayer.
Give generously to my fellow believers just like they were members of my own family.
Seek out even those who are strangers to me and show them hospitality.
Bless, don’t curse those who persecute you.
Rejoice with those who rejoice.
Weep with those who weep.
Be unified with my fellow believers because I'm committed to the message of Romans—Jesus Christ has given me the gift of forgiveness and right standing before God through His death and resurrection.
Don’t be prideful and hang out with the high and mighty. Hang out with those who are downhearted, going through hard times—those who don’t have status.
Don’t think of myself as smarter than I am.
Don’t pay back evil for evil.
Give careful consideration to what is good for all.
As much as possible, live at peace with others.
Remember I am loved by God (Beloved);therefore don’t take revenge.
22. Don’t just refrain from punching out my enemy. Give them food and drink and anything else they need. Do positive good things for them.
(Vengeance is my divine Father’s responsibility. Give space and time for Him to deal with the wrongs done to me. I will pray for my enemies. What a miracle if they become my friends or even my brothers in His time.
It will take the power of Jesus' Spirit flowing through my spiritual veins every second of 2008 to actually live out these qualities, but what a difference it would make in my unbelieving friends' understanding of an "Evangelical" if these were the actions they thought of instead of the bigotry, pride, power, and narrow mindedness that they so often conjure up now.
Let me challenge you to carefully listen to how the Apostle applies his message of faith in Jesus in Romans 12-16. If we truly believe this letter is inerrant, we will get serious about how we relate to one another and to those who have not yet come to faith in the Savior.
Mary and I had an incredible gift over the Holidays as all seven of our grand children came and lived with us for a good amount of time. What a special time of life to have our adult kids bringing their kids to Ami and Papa's house for Christmas.
Mary and I look forward to this new challenging you as we seek to be used of the Spirit to help you encounter Jesus.
How do you over come evil in a dark world? Obviously, doing evil in return for evil will only add to the darkness. You turn on the light by doing the good things the Holy Spirit prompts you to do because Christ gave His life for us when we were His enemies. When He lives inside of us, we do the same.
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