Category: 1 John (Page 1 of 7)

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

The Other Question

Charles Sheldon wrote a book in 1896 entitled, “In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?” The book proved to be very popular and was widely read. It questioned the thought processes and actions of Christians as they lived their lives at the turn of that century. Now, 128 years later, we express that same wonder in T-shirts and bracelets and bumper stickers:

What Would Jesus Do?

It’s a good question. But if another question isn’t given equal billing alongside it, we wind up with answers that are only half true. As we walk, we must also ask:

What Is God Doing?

Jesus tells us and shows us what to do and how to do it–and how not to do it. At the same time, he tells us and shows us what God is doing.

Jesus is God in action. Jesus is God incarnate. Jesus is God speaking. Jesus is God hugging lepers. Jesus is God forgiving sinners. Jesus is God protecting an adulterous woman who’s about to be killed. Jesus is God blessing little children. Jesus is God giving sight to Bartimaeus and giving life to Lazarus. Jesus is God calling down judgment on religious posturing. Jesus is God weeping over Jerusalem. Jesus is God living among us and showing us how to join him in living that life.

The other question reminds us that God’s Kingdom is present tense, God’s eternal will is unfolding around us in the present, God’s love and mercy, his forgiveness and grace are being poured out presently. In and through his Son Jesus. And in and through his children and followers of Christ.

What would Jesus do? What is God doing? What would we do? What am I doing?

“Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” ~ 1 John 2:6

Peace,

Allan

Love at Advent

This Sunday is the fourth and final Sunday of the Advent season. This is the liturgy we are using at GCR to acknowledge the event and light the fourth candle, the candle representing love. Please use these readings and passages during this week to bolster your time with the Lord in Word and Prayer. Feel free to use this at your own church or small group this Sunday.

When the angel Gabriel visited Mary, announcing God’s plan for her to conceive and give birth to the Messiah, Mary said to the angel, “How can this be?” And yet, only a few months later, Mary sings praise to the Lord as she holds his salvation in her arms.

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me–holy is his name!
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
~ Luke 1:46-50

We, like Mary, hear God’s call to participate in making God’s plan for our salvation a reality. We are gracious recipients of God’s gifts and his great love that transforms us into bearers of the Good News. As the apostle reminds us in 1 John 4:

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
~ 1 John 4:9-11

Congregation: We wait as people who have encountered our God’s divine love that disrupts the status quo and ushers us into abundant life, together, marked by mutual love and peace.

We light this candle as a reminder of the love of Christ that transforms us. May his love grow within us, changing us into bold proclaimers of God’s salvation with our voices and our lives. Amen.

Leading Lavishly

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” ~1 John 3:1

Our God does not measure his love out to us. He doesn’t weigh it on scales or scoop it out with a spoon. He doesn’t give just enough of his love to get us by or just as much of his love as we might deserve. He floods us with his love. We have more of his love than we could ever ask for or imagine. That’s the one thing you can ask God to do that’s impossible: God, will you love me more? Nope. Can’t. Impossible. He lavishes us with his love. We are his children. That is what we are.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” ~Ephesians 1:7-8

Our Father lavishes us with his grace. We sing about it. God’s amazing grace. Matchless grace. God’s grace that reaches even me! God’s forgiveness is over the top. It’s not that you’re forgiven of some of your sins or most of your sins or all the little sins or every sin except that one sin. It’s not that you’re forgiven is you do this one thing or keep this set of rules or follow this particular creed. In Jesus Christ, every single one of your sins — all of ’em; name em! — are all gone forever! God’s forgiveness is total and complete! Your sins are removed from you as far as the east is from the west! They are all hurled to the bottom of the sea, never to be dredged up again! God doesn’t put your sins up on the top shelf in the corner of a dark closet just so he can pull them out again and hold them against you at the worst possible time. God’s grace is lavish and complete.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” ~John 10:10

This is not an incidental or isolated remark from our Lord. This comes right between “I am the gate” and “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus is our doorway to salvation and the shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. And in the middle is the key contrast between his purpose and mission and that of the thieves and robbers: They come to take, Jesus comes to give. They seek destruction, Jesus seeks abundance.

From the fullness of his grace we have all  received one blessing after another. God gives the Spirit without limit. The water he gives will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Rivers of living water for all to drink. You will bear much fruit and your joy will be made complete. You will  do greater works than me. The Gospels are full of Jesus’ lavish life-giving abundance. If we wrote them all down, all the books in the world wouldn’t hold them!

The apostle Peter says we shepherd like our Chief Shepherd. We treat those in our flocks the same way Jesus does. With lavish love. With limitless grace. With inexhaustible forgiveness. With unmerited favor. We give everybody in our church life to the full.

Peace,

Allan

Extravagant Worship

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy, and dearly loved…” ~Colossians 3:12

We’re not chosen because we’re good. We’re not holy because we act like it. We’re not dearly loved because we deserve it. It’s all because of God. Who we are as chosen, holy, and dearly loved is strictly and totally about God. Not us. God’s love for you is eternal, his commitment to you has no limits, and his grace toward you is undefeated. Blessing after blessing after unmerited blessing! And our response to all that divine love and blessing is worship. We pour our hearts and our lives out to our Father in worship because he loves us more infinitely and blesses us more abundantly than we could ever dream.

Some people talk about church like it’s a gym. We go to church to get stronger, to build up our spiritual muscles. But I don’t think it’s like the runners I see around my neighborhood at 6:30 in the morning. Those folks are out there early every morning with their grim, sweaty faces, just trudging up and down the streets, laboring, grunting, stumbling, struggling – I guess so they can live longer. That’s not worship! Worship is the young lady running to meet her fiance! It’s the kids dancing wildly and shrieking loudly when they find out we’re going to Disney World! That’s Sunday! We’re expressing our gratitude and love!

And, yes, it’s extravagant. It’s over the top. We dress up nice for church, we get to the building early so we can have the best seats. We put our best singers on microphone and they practice – it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve sung “O Worship the King,” the worship minister makes you practice! Some of the songs make you cry, some of them make you clap your hands and dance. Some of the readings make you shout “Amen!” Some of the prayers change the course of your week. We spend hours every week changing light bulbs and polishing the pews and setting up banners and planning the order. We’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars in the sanctuary over the years and we’re going to spend more. Yes, there’s a lot of material, emotional, and spiritual extravagance in the worship center.

But, that’s love. Extravagant. People who are in love act extravagantly. They’re over the top. They sing songs and write poems and make mix tapes and videos. They buy new clothes and get new hairstyles. They cry and shout and dance. That’s the way love is – it’s excessive. Think about the twitterpated teenager. The dozen red roses – crazy expensive and what good does it do? Kissing in public – yuk! Get a room! What is all that? It’s loving excess.

If you ask people in love why they act that way, what good does it do, what does it accomplish, they’ll laugh at you. Those are the wrong questions. You’re on the wrong track. They’ll think you don’t know what it’s like to be in love. They’ll think you’ve never been in love. Or you’ve forgotten how.

The Bible says we love because we have been loved. And that is the source and the reason for the Church’s extravagant, excessive, over-the-top worship.

Peace,

Allan

Lavish

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” ~1 John 3:1

Our God does not measure his love to us. He doesn’t weigh it on the scales or scoop it out with a spoon. He doesn’t give us just enough of his love to get us by or just as much of his love as we might deserve. He floods us with his love! We have more of his love than we could ever ask for or imagine! That’s the one thing you can ask God to do that’s just impossible – God, will you love me more? Nope. Can’t. Impossible. He lavishes us with his love.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.” ~Ephesians 1:7-8

Our Father lavishes us with his grace. We sing about it. God’s amazing grace. God’s matchless grace. God’s grace that reaches even me!

God’s forgiveness is over the top. It’s not that you’re forgiven of some of your sins or you’re forgiven of most of your sins or all the little sins or every sin except that one sin. It’s not that you’re forgiven if you do this one thing or keep these sets of rules or say this particular creed. In Jesus Christ, God’s forgiveness is total and complete and forever! In Jesus, every single one of your sins – all of ’em, name ’em! – are all gone forever. They are removed from you as far as the east is from the west. They are hurled to the bottom of the sea, never to be dredged up again. God doesn’t put your sins up on the top shelf in the corner of a dark closet just so he can pull them out and hold them against you at the worst possible time. God’s forgiveness is lavish and complete.

Lavish love. Limitless grace. Inexhaustible forgiveness. Unmerited favor. Eternal glory. Our God is passionate about you and me. And he holds nothing back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I’m not writing anything here today about the Mavericks. I don’t want to jinx it.

Peace,

Allan

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