Category Archives: Kingdom of Heaven

Unlikely but Certain

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Shepherds near here live in rustic, tiny wagons with rounded tops.  Pretty shabby accomodations but then shepherds are on the bottom of the food chain; they don’t command per diem expense accounts in fancy hotels.  Same thing was true in biblical days: shepherds were considered to be a pretty low and sleazy lot. 

Kings, on the other hand, jet around the world in private, posh comfort and command the highest respect and fanciest privileges.  As they have for thousands of years.  (Ok, they didn’t have Lear Jets back in the Bible days, but you get the idea…)

These days, the nations surrounding Israel want to wipe her off the map and take her land for themselves.  As was also the case a few hundred years before Christ.  And, just as they were about to conquer Israel, God made this astonishing promise:

“Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us;
with a rod they strike the judge of Israel
on the cheek. But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old,
from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
And he shall be their peace.  (Micah 5:1-5a)

Quick paraphrase.  God said, You, Israel, are about to get wiped out by your pagan neighbors.  But after you have been destroyed and things look hopeless, I will send you a King Who will be a Shepherd to His people.  His mother will give birth to Him in Bethlehem, the least likely of places.  But eventually, His reign will be accomplished by My unlimited power.  He will incorporate people from every nation into His flock and His reign will be supreme even to the ends of the earth.  He will bring peace because He will be peace. This may seem unlikely, but it is going to happen, because I planned and ordained His coming from ancient days past.

His birth was extremely unlikely.  But it happened, just as God said it would.

His dual role as Shepherd/King seemed like a ridiculous oxymoron.  And yet He affirmed both.

Perhaps least likely of all, that anyone one man could reign supreme to the ends of the earth and bring peace.  But His reign is already being established, growing and spreading around the globe.   Unlikely, but certain. 

The Day Will Come

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My brother and I would blast out the bedroom door, take a quick left and a right, and then tumble down the stairs, barely touching them.  The long wait was over; Christmas morning had finally come!  How well I can remember the excruciating wait for Christmas.  The days dragged by.  It seemed Christmas would never arrive. And when it did, we couldn’t get out of bed and downstairs fast enough. 

These days I feel a similar sense of anticipation, not for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but to get the party started celebrating His second coming. 
There were 400 years of darkness and confusion for God’s people, leading up to the birth of our Savior.  How they yearned for God to fulfill His promise. 
True, when He came, not everyone could see Jesus for Who He was.  But when they did (and when they still do!) their darkness was overcome by His great light, their despair was swallowed up by deep joy.

As we wait for Jesus’ return, once again there is darkness and confusion running loose on the planet.  I don’t need to list the examples; you watch the news, too.  Once again, we yearn for Christ to come.  It seems as though the day will never arrive.  But God is faithful and that day will surely come. 

For some, His coming will bring complete destruction as He sweeps away the wickedness and darkness. 

“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.”  (Malachi 4:1-2)

Just like my brother and me on Christmas morning…

Happy + Thanks + Giving Part 3

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Jesus talked about being “rich with respect to God.”  Intriguing phrase, but what did He mean?  This is the final segment of a Thanksgiving message.  If you missed them, you can find the first section posted HERE .  The second section is HERE.

Before I go fix a leftover turkey sandwich, I thought I’d let you know I’m thankful for YOU and all the others who regularly read this blog.  And I hope you had a great Thanksgiving Day.

Happy + Thanks + Giving Part 2

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What do many rich guys have in common with toddlers?  You can find out in this continuation of the Thanksgiving message posted last time (See Happy + Thanks + Giving).

Have a great Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.  I’ll post the conclusion to this message on Friday.

Running the Rapids with Jesus

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Before you even get in the raft, the white water guide begins to establish his or her authority and control.  In the early stages of the float trip they work hard to make sure everyone knows what to do, practicing the commands over and over.  “Back-paddle!”  “Right turn!”  “Let’s do it again!”  Why?  White water!  There’s rapids downstream and, when they get to them, it’s too late to begin figuring out what to do.  The idea is for everyone to be alert, trained and ready to respond quickly, without panic.  Even if the raft seems about to flip.

Jesus told the folks in His raft they would eventually confront dangerous rapids.  When they asked how they could know the end of the age was approaching, He didn’t mince words.  Instead, He prepared them (and us).   You can read what He told them in the 24th Chapter of Matthew, but here are some excepts of what He said:

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

In other words, “When things get dicey, make sure you listen to my commands and not anyone else.”

“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 

In other words, “When you hear the roar of the rapids, don’t freak out;  I have told you this trip winds up in white water so keep your heads.”

“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.   –  (Matthew 24:4–13 Excerpts – NIV84)

In other words, “Don’t be surprised at how violent the rapids will seem.  You may even get tossed out of the raft.  But remember to trust me.  Do what I say and you will come through just fine.”

Human history is filled with failed attempts to make our world better as we strive for utopia.  People even held the hope that World War I would serve to end all future wars.  No matter how or what we try, we have not succeeded in eradicating evil.  As we see the rise of ISIS, Russia’s alliances with wicked dictators and nations who pledge the destruction of Israel, it might seem discouraging and frightening.

But these kinds of events have been foretold in Scripture.  Jesus never whitewashed the truth: wickedness will increase as the age continues toward the end.  But He also said,  “see to it you are not alarmed.”  And, “don’t listen to others who will lead you astray.”  And, “stand firm in your faith and you will be saved.”

Powered Up by Hope

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Why is it that some people complain all the time, while others seem to boost the spirits of those around them?  Why are some folks suspicious and grumpy and others just seem happier on the inside?  One of the differences is an attitude of hope, a joyful, optimistic expectation of good things coming. 

But what is the best object of hope?  I’d say it’s heaven.  Paul once told some people he had heard about their “…faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel.  –  (Colossians 1:5)

Don’t misunderstand: these were no Pollyanna types with saccharin-sweet, vapid smiles, aimlessly drifting through life by pretending things would be better in heaven.  This was no “pie in the sky, by and by” crowd.  These were people bearing up under the harsh realities of vicious persecution.  But with hope from which their faith and love sprang forth!

So, how could they, or we, know that hope for heaven is anything more than wishful thinking?  Jesus tells us, in the strongest and simplest terms, that’s how..  Speaking of heaven, He said,

“…if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”  –  (John 14:2b)

That is my favorite line in the Bible.  Jesus didn’t lie to people, fostering false hopes.  One of His trademark expressions was, “I tell you the truth!”  Following Jesus comes with real hope, hope for eternal life in heaven.  If it wasn’t so he would have told us.  And hope just makes everything else better.

Are You Ready? – Part 3

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When punters are called into a game, it is usually an emergency.  The outcome of the game will likely be determined by how well the punter does what he is meant to do.  Therefore, the stakes are high for punters: those who consistently do well will celebrate with the rest of the team; those who do not will lose their place on the team.  The same is true for those who follow Jesus, who are meant to serve as His witnesses in an attitude of readiness for His return.

This is the concluding section of a message on being ready for Jesus’ return.  In Jesus’ parable about being ready (Luke 12:36 – 48), He said, those whose actions demonstrated their readiness, who were doing what He assigned us to do would be really glad.  He concluded His parable by talking about how devastating it would be for those who were not ready:

 

If  you haven’t already listened to the first two parts, you can hear them here: )   

Are You Ready? – Part 2

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At my grandson’s T-ball game, some little kid smacked a long hit, way out into the outfield.  Everybody went chasing after the ball, everybody on both teams, – even the base runners and several of those waiting to bat!  T-ball is a riot.  Another time, one of the youngsters was so intent on being in the “ready position” – knees slightly bent, hands forward, eyes fixed on the batter – that when the ball came his way it sailed right past him.  Readiness doesn’t amount to much unless you can translate an attitude or mindset of readiness into actions of readiness.  When we are truly ready, we do what we are meant to do.

As we continue a study of Jesus’ parable about being ready for His return (Luke 12:36 – 48), how we can maintain an attitude of readiness and translate that readiness into action – the right kind of action?  What is the right kind of action?

If  you haven’t already listened to the first part, you can hear it here: )

The conclusion of this message will be posted on Friday.

Are You Ready? Part 1

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One of the hassles of selling your home is that you have to keep that place ready for folks to come to see it, for them to come at any time of day without much notice.  It’s stressful to stay ready for an inspection at all times.  But Jesus tells His followers to be ready for His return, which will come when we least expect it.  You have probably spotted a crucial distinction: the difference between getting ready to look perfect in an artificial way and being ready because that is how you naturally live.  The first kind of readiness is stressful; the second is not.

But what does it mean to be ready?  Jesus told a parable about what it means, recorded in the 12th chapter of Luke, starting at verse 35.  Let’s take a close look at what that parable means and consider how it applies to our lives today, once again by means of a recorded message.  If you have been following these blog posts you know I’m experimenting with this format.  I really appreciate your feedback on what works and what does not.  This week, I’m going to break the message up into three sections but post them separately, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  (That is, if Jesus hasn’t come back before Friday!)

What does it mean to be ready?  Let’s begin with a mindset of readiness, something NFL punters know a lot about:

Next time we’ll talk about turning the mindset of readiness into action.

Dealing with the Truth

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How do you respond to criticism?  My first reaction isn’t constructive, I must confess.  I want to argue or fight back.  But after letting my negativity subside, I’ve discovered it often helps to ask pertinent questions, to let the truth soak in deeper and have its way with me.

If you haven’t already listened to the short audio messages I posted earlier in the week, here are the links again.  They are about how Jesus used parables to sneak past our defenses with  tough truth:

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To let this parable have its way with you, here are some of the kinds of questions you might  ask:

  • In what sense is teaching from God like a seed?
  • What influences in our world tend to make our “soil” hard, so that His truth bounces off?
  • What is the danger of religion that focuses mostly on drumming up emotional fervor?
  • How much hard work does a seed expend in order to be fruitful?
  • If none, then what does it do?  How is the fruit produced?
  • How are your eyes and ears; do you have defenses to shield you from God’s dangerous truth?
  • If so, what will you do about those defenses?