Author: Allan (Page 1 of 440)

Resurrection Power

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.” ~ Philippians 3:10

The power of the resurrection of Jesus is the Gospel. Jesus lives! Jesus reigns! It’s great news! It’s the best news you’ve ever heard! The resurrection of Jesus proves the universal and eternal power of our God. Earth-shattering, history-changing, mind-blowing power. And to all of us who belong to God in Christ, that exact same power belongs to us.

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know… his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” ~Ephesians 1:18-21

Scripture goes out of its way to explain to us disciples just how much power we have in Christ. Eternal power. Dynamic power. It’s like the apostle Paul pulls out his college Thesaurus and conjures up every possible word for power: rule, authority, power, dominion, title. And he says Christ is more powerful than all of it. Every power that’s ever been and ever will be, every title that’s ever been given and ever will be given, every government, every political structure, every economic system, every industrial complex, every biological reality, every financial authority, every historical rule–Christ Jesus dominates all of it by the power of his resurrection!

That’s what changes everything. If you are connected to God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the most powerful power in the history of the universe is inside you. You’ve got resurrection power.

You’ve got it. But you don’t get it.

We just don’t get it. If we do get it, it only seems to be in the abstract logical sense, not in the practical, real, living every moment of every day application sense. We’ve got God’s resurrection power inside us. But we don’t get it. How do I know?

Because I see us all over the place chasing after different kinds of power. The wrong kind of power. A far inferior power. Some of us are losing our minds chasing after regional and national power. We’re throwing our money and our energy into political party platforms and putting our names and our reputations behind elderly men in suits so they can appoint other people in robes to reach decisions that make things worse instead of better.

Some of us have bought into the fear and anxiety. We worry about not having control or losing our influence. And when we’re told that if we don’t vote for the right guy or support the right agenda the Church of Jesus Christ will be in big trouble, we swallow it hook, line, and sinker like Jesus Christ is somehow still in the grave! He isn’t! He is risen! And he is our King! And if his resurrection power is more than enough to destroy forever the forces of sin and death and Satan, why in the world would any of us think for a second that his eternal Kingdom could ever be impacted by whether there’s a Democrat or a Republican living on Pennsylvania Avenue?

No wonder this is the focus of Paul’s great prayer: I want you to know the power. I want you to understand it. To grasp it. To own the staggering truth that the same Holy Spirit power that brought Jesus out of the grave to reign supreme forever at the right hand of God is the exact same power we have in us and at our disposal as his disciples.

What might happen if we really believed that? Oh, man. Everything would change. Everything!

Peace,

Allan

Spring Break in Marfa

Carrie-Anne and I both grew up in North Texas, lived for nine years in the Hill Country of Central Texas, and spent ten years in the Panhandle. We’ve done just about everything there is to do in Texas. We’ve lived in the big cities and the tiny towns. We’ve spent time doing some of the coolest things in the neatest places from Dalhart to Brownsville and Texarkana to Midland, from the Gulf Coast to the Piney Woods to Palo Duro Canyon. Somehow, though, we have managed to live our lives as proud Texans and have never visited the Big Bend. Until now.

Like most things we do, this happened at the last second. Carrie-Anne booked the Thunderbird Hotel in Marfa Monday morning while I was in my church staff meeting, telling my co-workers it looked like we were staying in town for the Break. By Monday night, we were eating a wonderful Mexican food dinner at Angel’s and heading out to the shoulder of Highway 90 on the east side of town in search of the fabled Marfa Mystery Lights.

We didn’t see them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent all day Tuesday in quirky Marfa, taking in the art scene at most of the galleries scattered all over town, and even some of the strange outdoor art installations you can find here and there. We climbed the old rickety wooden stairs to the very top of the historic Presidio County courthouse and took lots of pictures of old hotels and the water tower. Then we hoofed it over to Alpine for the Museum of the Big Bend on the campus of Sul Ross University. From there it was to Fort Davis where we hiked all over the restorations and ruins of that pre-Civil War era army base in the shadows of the Davis Mountains. We ended our first full day by taking in the Karaoke at Planet Marfa, a wonderfully weird bar and grill a few blocks from our hotel. We were thoroughly entertained by one guy named Dustin who thought he was Garth Brooks and a filming crew from London who were in Marfa doing a documentary about something and kept singing British Punk and the Beatles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, we got up early and drove to Big Bend. Wow. When you’ve only got one day at the largest national park in the U.S., we did it right. The Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive wound up and down and around the most beautiful vistas highlighting the grandeur of the Big Bend, from the park entrance all the way to the mouth of the massive Santa Elena Canyon. You get an idea of the scale of the canyon by noticing Carrie-Anne on the trail in the lower right hand part of this picture. And, yes, I had to climb over the safety rail at one point to take a picture on the edge of a ledge about 70-feet above the river.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hiked way up and then way down the rim of the canyon, engaging fellow Texas Rangers fans who were sporting World Series gear and exchanging pleasantries with some students and alumni from Fort Worth Paschall High School, where Carrie-Anne graduated a few years ago. Then we drove over to the Big Bend State Park for a three-hour canoeing trip down the Rio Grande through Dark Canyon. Due to the 20-year drought and the rapidly decreasing river levels, I think we did as much pushing and pulling as rowing. But it was a beautiful and mostly relaxing trip through some of the most breathtakingly glorious scenes I’ve ever encountered in our Lone Star State.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most people don’t realize that the world-famous, world’s smallest Prada store, Prada Marfa, is not really in Marfa. It’s a half-hour drive away on the western outskirts of a little town called Valentine. So that’s what we did first thing Thursday morning–an hour-long round-trip drive to take some pictures in front of a disorienting art installation, an exclusive luxury brand store in the middle of nowhere. Nowhere. So weird. And kinda cool. We took pictures with a couple from Vancouver who have been traveling the U.S. in their camper since October. They take pictures of their adventures and their kids post them under Boomers Gone Wild. The high heeled shoes and purses in the store are genuine articles from Prada’s 2005 line, the year the Prada Marfa store went up. There is also a can of glass cleaner on the back windowsill that somebody should have been using.

 

 

 

 

 

We saw a couple more museums in Marfa Thursday, including the Ballroom Marfa which is featuring an exhibit by Guadalupe Maravilla, who came to the U.S. border in the 1980s in the first wave of unaccompanied and undocumented children to show up in Texas as a result of the Salvadoran Civil War. His bus, complete with grasshopper legs, giant gongs, stock pots, statues, and cooking utensils, tells the story of his hard life. Fascinating. And really strange.

 

 

 

 

 

A little more sightseeing and shopping in Alpine on the way home–three books for me, one silver ring for C-A–and our Marfa/Big Bend Spring Break is in the books. Yes, we do plan to return to the area soon, maybe even next Spring Break. We want to spend another day or two in Big Bend and we are determined to see those blasted Marfa Lights. Our canoe guide told us those lights appear 16% of the time. He claims he’s been there more than 90-times and he’s personally seen them twice. He told us about those two times. He described in detail what he saw. We want to see it, too. So, here’s the heads-up for our family and our co-workers. I’m giving you a year’s notice instead of a two-minute warning. We’re going back to Big Bend for Spring Break 2025.

Peace,

Allan

Resurrection Revival

We live differently when we live in the risen Lord of Heaven and Earth. We act differently. And it’s obvious to those around us. Things of this world don’t matter as much. The fact that Jesus is alive today and reigning in all power and authority at the right hand of God guarantees that we will defeat death, too. And it changes everything. Everything.

“The Resurrection addresses those who insist on protection and security of the individual, institutions, and country. Such persons set up mechanisms of defense along economic, racial, and national lines. In sharp contrast, the life of the Spirit, with its hope in the Resurrection, does not, indeed cannot dwell on preservation of the flesh–personhood, institutions, nations. Rather, the corporate life of the Christian becomes one of risk. A Christian hospital can accept more welfare patients than economically advisable because it knows God’s love for the poor does not depend on its continued existence. Christians can call for total disarmament in the middle of a cold war because they know the future of the world does not depend on the survival of their nation. A Christian can risk his or her life because a Christian knows this life is not the end.” ~ Graydon Snyder, 1992

If we’re promised by God to be raised like Jesus, then we can live like Jesus. You’ve got resurrection power! It’s in you, empowering you to teach, to help others, to encourage, to forgive, to make peace, to sacrifice and serve and love. If you’ve got resurrection power–and you do!–you can be bold and risky in inviting your neighbors to church. You can be bold and risky in giving to Family Promise and volunteering at Mission Agape. You can be bold and risky in denying self and sacrificing self, knowing that the salvation of your soul and the salvation of the whole world is safe in the powerful arms of our God who promises and delivers resurrection.

The resurrection of Jesus is a big deal in the Bible. And it’s a big deal today.

If we’ll embrace the resurrection, if you’ll claim the power of the resurrection as your own, it will change everything. We won’t think twice about our feelings or our fate. You won’t blink when something threatens your reputation or your rights, your status or your popularity. Resurrection power strengthens you to live like our King, to live with our King, and to live in our King, right now today and forever.

May our God overwhelm you today with the peace and grace that comes from our risen Lord. And may he grant you the blessings of an eternal perspective grounded in the resurrection.

Peace,

Allan

Prayer for the Future

I want to share with you a prayer we looked at together at our monthly ministers retreat this week. I’m not sure if this is really a prayer–it seems more like a poem. We prayed it to the Lord, we talked about it, we identified with some of the lines and affirmed all the others. It’s good. It’s very good. I hope it will be a blessing for you.

Prayer for the Future
Written by Ken Untener for Cardinal Dearden
(commonly known as “The Prayer for St. Oscar Romero”)

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water the seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that provides far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Amen.

Our Only King

“The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” ~ Matthew 4:8-10

It’s election season in the United States–tomorrow is Super Tuesday here in Texas–and a whole lot of Christians are losing their minds. And their hearts. And maybe more. I appeal to all followers of Jesus everywhere to remember that we already have a King, he has already come and defeated all our enemies, and he is reigning in all power and glory at the right hand of God. Not only is Christ Jesus our King, but he is our only King. We only have one. And he has made it unmistakably clear how we are to behave. If we act in ways he never acted, if we say things he never said, if we seek power when he never did, if we fight for perceived rights while he willingly laid his down–he’s not really our King. Not really.

“This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” ~ 1 John 2:6

I see Christians struggling mightily against flesh and blood, their eyes fixed on the here and now, desperate for worldly power so they can rule an earthly kingdom. I see Christian churches hosting political rallies and selling t-shirts in the lobby proclaiming, “Let’s go, Brandon,” the well-known euphemism for a vulgar and violent profanity aimed at the sitting President.

You know, the same President the Bible tells us to honor. And respect.

Most Christians I know would never stand for that kind of vulgarity to be displayed inside their homes, shared around their workplace, or shouted at a ballgame. But increasingly more Christians are just fine with spewing and promoting and wearing that kind of filth in the context of national politics. To get their guy elected, to get their platforms approved and their laws passed, lots of Christians are using decidedly un-Christian tactics. And they are openly eschewing the ethics of our King Jesus. I used to worry when it was subtle and under the table. Today, though, Christians and Christian leaders are publicly declaring they don’t believe in Jesus or his Way.

The pastor of the biggest Southern Baptist Church in Texas says, “I don’t want somebody who’s going to turn the other cheek. I want the meanest SOB I can find to protect this nation.” In other words, I don’t want Jesus. Salvation for this country has got to come from someone else. And Christians are applauding. If it’s about national politics and “saving” the nation, they’re happy to compartmentalize their discipleship, to fight and cheat, to insult and lie, oblivious to or apathetic toward the obvious hypocrisy that is destroying our Christian witness to the world.

“My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight.” ~ John 18:36

It’s not that we don’t know the Scriptures–of course, we do! It’s not that we’re ignorant of who Jesus is and what he came to do and how he came to do it. We all know he came not to condemn the world, but so the world would be saved through him. And we know he did it with love and sacrifice and service, he did it with forgiveness and mercy and peace. Why are the ways of Christ Jesus adequate for destroying the powers of sin and death and Satan for all eternity, but they are not enough to protect us from political opponents?

Christian brothers and sisters, let us all reflect carefully and prayerfully about the ways we are representing our Lord during this election season and what we are communicating about Christianity to a watching world. Many of our loves are disordered. Many of our priorities are misplaced. These things shape us. These actions carry far-reaching consequences. We already have a King. And he has already shown us his Way.

As the ancient baptismal confession states, let us renounce the ways of the world and of the devil, and embrace the Way of our Lord Jesus.

Peace,

Allan

Thanking Rick Ross

Dear Rick Ross,

Congratulations on your retirement yesterday after 36-years of congregational ministry, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, mainly at the Mesquite Church of Christ and the Decatur Church of Christ. Whatever good things happen for you this week, whatever nice things are said about you–you deserve them all, and more.

I’ve told you before, but I want to put it in writing: I was born and raised in and by the Church–I’ve been listening to sermons since I was nine days old–and you are the very first preacher I ever really HEARD. You are the first preacher I ever truly listened to. The way you connect the dots from Old Testament to New Testament, the way you preach the Bible as the beautiful Story of God and not a book of rules, the way you shape your congregation by focusing on God’s love and mercy, and the way you tenderly bring us along when we need correcting or when the truth is hard to hear–all that had a tremendous impact on me when we moved to Mesquite in the Fall of 1999. You opened my eyes and my heart for the first time to the Good News I thought I already knew.

Everybody has that one preacher they name when they remember the first time they really heard about “grace.” Rick, you are that preacher for me. I thank God for you.

I have many memories of those incredibly formative years at that Mesquite church. That was such an important time for Carrie-Anne and me and directly led to our decision to leave radio and enter full-time congregational ministry. All that started in Mesquite, taking my faith in Christ and my discipleship to him seriously, and your preaching was the catalyst. But, just as important, and inseparable from that, is your life as a follower of Jesus. I know I said some bone-headed things to you back then and did a few bone-headed things. And you showed me such grace and understanding. Over time I learned to pick up on when you were being mistreated by the people you were serving with your heart and soul, which meant I also picked up on how you continued to treat those people with grace and forgiveness and stay faithful to your calling to preach and pastor and lead with love. There were times when it looked like being the preacher at Mesquite was a hard thing to do. And you kept doing it. And you kept loving us and faithfully leading our church. I think about you often and how you showed me and Jason Reeves and countless others how to do this difficult thing. I’m so grateful.

One of my earliest and most vivid memories of you, Rick, is worshiping together on the floor of the convention center at the annual Tulsa Workshop. I think it was the very first Workshop Carrie-Anne and I attended. I don’t know if it was Free Indeed or Keith Lancaster, but we were all singing “You Will Turn.” You and Beverly were one row in front of us and to the left. And when we sang, “You will turn…” you turned! Literally! You spun around! Physically! Your finger was in the air and your were singing and turning with great enthusiasm. When we sang, “…my mourning into dancing,” you danced! Kinda. If that’s what you call it. I was really surprised. Maybe even shocked. After the second time through, I looked back at Jenny who was behind us and to the right, and I pointed at you with my eyes wide open. She raised both eyebrows and smiled real big and nodded and said, “I know!”

I thought, “Who is this guy?” Who is this preacher who is so serious about his faith, so devoted to his walk with Christ, so careful and deliberate with his preaching, but at the same time clapping and singing and dancing during worship?”

That’s Rick Ross. I remember thinking in that moment and all through that weekend that if I were ever dumb enough to go into preaching, that’s exactly the kind of preacher I would want to be. Praise God for Rick Ross.

Well done, brother. You are God’s good and faithful servant. I feel like John Chrysostom when he lamented that his words couldn’t live up to what’s in his heart. I don’t know how to say it, Rick. Your preaching and your life have impacted me and countless others in profound ways for eternity. I wish you the very best of God’s richest blessings of joy and peace. And I pray that you know and feel our Father’s presence with you. And his very good pleasure.

Peace,

Allan

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