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Category: 2 Corinthians (Page 5 of 12)

One More Year

July 29, 2015 / / 0 Comments

“Leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit, fine! If not, then cut it down.” ~Luke 13:8-9

FigTreeCoupleThere is a time limit. The Master is not calling for the indefinite existence of a bad tree. It’s got one more year. The health of the vineyard is too important, the Master’s expectation for fruit is too strong to leave in place an unproductive, non-responsive tree taking up good ground. It’s got one more year. One more season. One more chance. And then, if it doesn’t respond to the patience and care of the Master? Then, cut it down.

There’s an urgency in this parable that we shouldn’t miss. The tree is going to be held accountable. And it’s only got a short time left to respond to the farmer’s patience. Something’s got to change. The coming judgment is real.

“We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” ~2 Corinthians 5:10

The holiness and righteousness of God demands justice and judgment. Romans says we will all stand before God’s judgment; every knee will bow and every tongue will confess; each of us will give an account of our lives to God. There is a judgment coming. God is going to judge the world. And it’s one of the best kept secrets in the Bible.

We don’t talk about it. Judgment sounds harsh or cruel. The idea of God’s divine judgment clashes with what works in our culture — even our church culture. We barely acknowledge it anymore. The only time we speak about God’s judgment is when we’re making fun of people who talk about God’s judgment. We don’t preach God’s judgment. I don’t. Not very much.

But this parable…

This tree’s got one year. That’s it. And then it’s over.

There’s a story about Satan meeting with his demons in hell, working on their strategies against us humans. The first demon said, “I’ll go tell people there’s no heaven.” The second demon said, “I’ll tell people there’s no hell.” The third demon said, “I’ll tell people there’s no hurry.” Satan said, “Yes! That’s the plan!”

No hurry? That tree’s got one year. That’s it. If it bears fruit next year, fine. If not, then cut it down.

There’s an urgency in Jesus’ story. But we don’t feel that urgency. We appreciate the manure of God’s great patience and his merciful restraint. But we don’t even think about that coming judgment. In this country, in this century, as our sense of self grows larger and larger and our sense of God becomes smaller and smaller, we fear God so little we don’t understand the seriousness of our sin. And we sense the seriousness of our sin so little, we very seldom fear God. That’s a bad place to be.

“Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” ~Romans 2:5-6

He gave the tree one more year. One more season. If it bears fruit, fine. If not, cut it down.

There’s an urgency here. It’s later than we think. One of the elders at the Legacy church, Kent Robinson, says every single day, “It’s later now than it’s ever been before!” He’s right. And the time to act is right now, during this season of God’s patience, during this time when God is holding back the ax and spreading the manure of his grace and forgiveness. Now is the time to respond, not tomorrow. Now is the time of God’s favor. Now is the day of salvation. God’s mercy is being extended now. The opportunity for a fruitful life is now.

I don’t know how much time we’ve got. I don’t know. Apparently, even Jesus isn’t sure. But that day’s coming for each of us. That tree’s got one more year. You might have longer. Maybe.

Peace,

Allan

For Parents of Teenagers

May 11, 2015 / / 2 Comments

Grace for ParentsYou can’t do anything right, can you? Every decision you make is wrong, every thing you say is wrong, every action you take is wrong. Nothing you do is right. Right? It can seem that way if you’re raising a teenager. The teenager will certainly make you feel that way. But, in your own mind, you know: I’m not a perfect parent.

The truth is, yeah, you’ve messed up plenty of things while parenting your teen. You’ve made mistakes. There are several decisions you’d like to do over. You’re too strict on some things and not strict enough on others. Raising teenagers is difficult at best, sometimes downright impossible. Nobody gets out of parenting teenagers without making lots of mistakes, some of them colossal.

But these mistakes are not what define you as a mother. Your mistakes do not characterize you as a father. Or as a child of our God. It’s God’s grace that defines you. It’s his grace that covers you. It’s his grace that enables you to keep parenting in the trust and faith that God is at work in you and in your children.

I like the Faith Ring of Honor in Hebrews 11. Everybody who’s anybody in the Bible is mentioned in Hebrews 11. And as I scan the names in the list, I don’t see any perfect people. Sarah had a laughing problem and a faith problem. Abraham had the same issues. And I seem to remember him lying about his wife a couple of times. Yet Abraham is not defined in Scripture by his mistakes. Sarah is not defined in the Bible by her poor choices. All the people in Hebrews 11 are defined by God’s grace and commended for their faith.

Just look at the names in Hebrews 11:32: Gideon? A spineless, wishy-washy doubter. Barak? A gutless coward. Samson? Arrogant and selfish. Jepthah? Thoughtless and stupid. David? An adulterer and murderer. Samuel? Maybe one of the worst parents in all of Scripture. But here they are in this list of heroes. With all their sins and all their flaws. These are the people who “through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword, whose weakness was turned to strength.”

“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” ~2 Corinthians 9:8Grace & Provision

Without the good news of the Gospel, being a parent is a weight that’s too tough to carry. Because you are going to make mistakes. You’re going to mess some stuff up. Your hope is that Christ Jesus died for those sins. He atones for those shortcomings. You know that. And by his grace, your kids will know it, too.

Being a parent should reveal to you just how badly you need Jesus. You need to acknowledge the depth of your brokenness and recognize how badly you need Christ. And you need to rest — rest! — in God’s grace and provision for you as a parent. What you do every day is good and noble and ought to be celebrated. But it needs to be viewed in the light of the cross or it’s too much to bear. More than anything, parents and their kids need the grace of the cross.

As a parent, your struggles are real. And they’re big. So are your mistakes. And your sins. But we serve a God whose grace abounds and whose love is lavished on us so those sins and struggles do not define us or condemn us or determine what God is doing in us and in our families.

Peace,

Allan

Desert Time

April 13, 2015 / / 0 Comments

“He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.” ~2 Corinthians 1:10

We view any hardships we encounter as unpleasant interruptions. Trials and tribulations are distractions that mess up our lives. It’s unfair when something bad happens to us. But Scripture paints things like this from the divine perspective of the Father. Paul says tough times come into our lives to teach us, to show us, not to rely on ourselves, but on God.

“This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” ~2 Corinthians 2:9

God’s people have always believed that if you want to hear the voice of God, you go to the desert. You are drawn to God in the desert. You’re brought closer to God in the desert. God is better able to mold you and shape you in the desert. Because in the desert, you can’t survive without God’s direct intervention. If doesn’t provide water, you die. If God doesn’t give you food, you die. If God doesn’t bless you with shade, you don’t survive. If you’re in the desert, you can’t live without God. And you realize it there more than at any other time in your life.

It’s hard in the desert. It’s tough. Hot. Dry. Barren. Very little sign of life anywhere. Surrounded by desolation. And most of the time you don’t know if you’re going to be able to take one more step.

Maybe you’re in the middle of a desert right now. Maybe. Are you? You feel isolated. Alone. Helpless. Something’s happened to get you in this place. A serious illness. A divorce. Somebody died. A job situation. Whatever it is, maybe you don’t know if you can even make it one more day.

I want you to know that this desert time is where our God shapes you. God trains you in the desert. He’s drawing you closer and causing you to depend more on him.

“I’m going to allure you. I will lead you into the desert and speak tenderly to you.” ~Hosea 2:14

Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they spent 40 years in the desert. God gave them manna and quail from heaven and water from a rock. And it changed them into the people he wanted them to be. David spent time in the desert, running for his life, hiding in caves. God protected him and provided for him in the oasis at En Gedi. And it changed him into the greatest king Israel’s ever known. Elijah was driven to the desert where God caused an angel from heaven to give him food and then spoke to him personally in that small, still voice. And it shaped him into the Lord’s greatest prophet. When Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit pushed him into the desert where he was tempted and tortured by Satan and protected and provided for by God.

It took Jesus 40 days. It took Moses 40 years.

God’s promise in Christ is that everything is going to be made right. All will be well. He proved his promise in the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus and in Jesus’ ascension to the place of ultimate power and authority at the right hand of God. Every single thing that’s wrong is being changed. And it’s all being made perfect to dwell forever in the presence of God.

So if things are not well with you today, it means it’s not over yet. It’s not done. And that’s good news! God is at work in you and through you. The Spirit says God will bring to completion that thing he’s started in you. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Amen. Maybe while you’re in the desert.

Peace,

Allan

Vision Statement: Part One

March 2, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Remember the Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff? Born and raised in Russia, Smirnoff lives in the U. S. now — Branson, I think. A lot of his comedy was based on comparing life in Russia to life in the United States. One of his funniest bits is about the first time he ever walked into an American grocery store. He says, “I walked in and one of the first things I saw was powdered milk. You just add water and, boom, you’ve got milk! A couple of aisles over I saw cans of powdered orange juice. You just add water and, boom, you’ve got orange juice. Then I saw a whole shelf of baby powder!”

“What a country!”

Wouldn’t it be great if we just added water to ourselves and became instantly just like Jesus? What if the waters of baptism didn’t only wash away our sins, fill us with God’s Holy Spirit, and connect us to the body of Christ? What if the moment we came up out of the water we were automatically perfect? We know it doesn’t work that way. Whatever you call it — sanctification, salvation, spiritual formation, transformation — it doesn’t happen overnight.

Becoming like Christ is a gradual thing. It’s a process. Scripture calls it “being saved.” The course of being made perfect, being changed into the image of Jesus is difficult and lengthy. But this is exactly what God is doing with those he’s calling and saving. He is forming us into the image of his Son.

“We all reflect the Lord’s glory and are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” ~2 Corinthians 3:18

Being saved means being changed: changed into the image of Jesus, shaped into his character, formed into his nature. It’s conducting ourselves every day in a manner worthy of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Paul tells the Galatians he’s agonizing until Christ is formed in them. He writes in Romans that we’re predestined by God to be conformed to the image of his Son. He writes to the Colossians and says the goal of everything God is doing with Jews and Gentiles alike is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

But it’s slow. It takes time.

That’s why the very first word in our vision statement is “Becoming.” We want to constantly remind ourselves and proclaim as loud as we can to anyone who’s listening that nobody at Central Church of Christ has arrived. Nobody here is perfect. Nobody here has it all figured out. We are becoming like Christ. It’s a process. You know, some people won’t give life in Christ a chance because there are so many church people out there who think they’ve got all the answers. We want it to be known up front that we’re still pretty much a mess. Yes, we’re on our way. But nobody’s there yet. It’s a journey of ups and downs, of thrilling victories and devastating setbacks. We still have a lot to learn, we still make terrible mistakes. There’s a place in our church for anybody who has questions or doubts, for anybody who still says or does the wrong thing from time to time, for anybody who doesn’t feel perfect. Because we’re all in that little boat, fighting the storm, straining at the oars. But in the middle of all that, God is making us more like Jesus. It’s slow, but he’s doing it.

 

Happy Texas Independence Day!

Allan

God’s Not Done

July 18, 2014 / / 0 Comments

So, you were baptized! Great news! Praise God! Hallelujah!

What happens between now and the time you’re saved?

Your salvation is a process, right? Lots of wonderful things happen at baptism: you confess that Jesus is Lord and you put all of your faith and trust in him to remove your sins; you commit to follow in Christ’s steps as a loyal disciple; you become one with Jesus as you die and are buried and are raised up with him in baptism; you receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit living inside you; you’re initiated into the Lord’s Body, the Church of Jesus Christ. All that happens at baptism. Justification. Reconciliation. A righteous standing before God. Peace. Joy.

But that’s not the last step. In as many ways as you can imagine, baptism has never been the last step.

We are being saved.

Being saved means being changed into the image of Jesus. It means being shaped into his character, being formed into his nature. It means we spend our lives “working out our salvation” (Philippians 2:12), we are predestined by God to be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29), we are to bear the likeness of the Christ from heaven (1 Corinthians 15:49). Paul says he agonizes and prays “until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). We are all

“being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

God is saving us by making us like Jesus. Being saved is becoming like Christ. Acting like Christ. Talking like Christ. Thinking and behaving like Christ. Sacrificing and serving like Christ. That’s our salvation. That’s God’s good purpose and what God is doing with us today.

And that takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s not an immediate thing.

None of us is done. Our salvation is not complete. None of us. There’s nobody alive God is finished with yet. Until the day you die or the day our Lord returns in glory — whichever comes first for you — until that last day, our God is working in you to give you more humility. He’s renewing your mind to make you more sacrificial for others. He’s transforming your attitude and your actions to better reflect the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

If we’re not careful, we can view our baptism as God’s completed work. We can think we’ve already arrived, that we’ve changed enough, that we’ve done enough, that we have nothing else to learn or do until we’re saved. We might think, “I’ve been baptized, so God’s done with me what he wanted to do.” Or, “I’ve been baptized, so God’s got me in his holy holding area until I die.” Or, “I’ve been baptized, so God’s put me in neutral here until I get to heaven.” It might be arrogance, it might be complacency, it might be ignorance — all three are killers!

You need to know that God is not done with you yet. You need to be aware that God is still working on you. I don’t care how long ago you were baptized or how many great things you’ve done in the name of Jesus, God still has things to teach you. He still has things to show you. He is still changing you and he is still very interested in seeing you grow and in using you for his good purposes.

Peace,

Allan

Holy Ministry

June 4, 2013 / / 1 Comment

From start to finish, the Scriptures call God’s people to be different from the rest of the world. We are called to be separate. To be distinct from the culture. The apostle Paul sets his argument up in 2 Corinthians with a series of five rhetorical questions in which the answers are all negative. The answers to his questions are either none or nothing.

What do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Nothing.

What fellowship can light have with darkness? None.

What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? None.

What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? Nothing.

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? None.

What true Texan roots for the New York Yankees? None.

Paul could have gone on and on. And he kinda does. But he’s making the point that this point doesn’t really need making. It’s obvious. The Kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world are at severe odds. They always have been. We are called to stand out to the world as being very different from the world.

Now, let’s be clear, Paul is not talking about Christians withdrawing from the world. He’s not saying that Christians should only do business with other Christians, that we should only live in Christian neighborhoods, and eat only with other Christians in Christian restaurants. He’s not saying we have to play on Christian sports teams and go to Christian schools and exercise with Christian yoga groups at Christian church buildings. Those kinds of things aren’t even options, and never have been, throughout most of the world throughout all of history. Being involved in and in community with non-Christians is not only unavoidable and necessary, it’s actually essential for the spread of the Gospel. Paul’s not talking about a church commune out on a big ranch somewhere or a Christian compound up in the mountains. He’s talking about purifying the Christian community in order to do ministry.

We will not be able to minister to the world and thus fulfill God’s purpose for his church unless we show the people of the world that we are different.

From Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon:

“The most interesting, creative, political solutions we Christians have to offer our troubled society are not new laws, advice to Congress, or increased funding for social programs. The most creative social strategy we have to offer is the church. Here we show the world a manner of life the world can never achieve through social coercion or governmental action. We serve the world by showing it something that it is not, namely, a place where God is forming a family out of strangers.

The world needs the church, not to help the world run more smoothly or to make the world a better and safer place for Christians to live. Rather, the world needs the church because, without the church, the world does not know who it is. The only way for the world to know that it needs redeeming is for the church to point to the Redeemer by being a redeemed people. The way for the world to know that it needs redeeming, that it is broken and fallen, is for the church to enable the world to strike hard against something which is an alternative to what the world offers.”

The ministry of the church is not just to spread a message. The goal of the ministry is not merely information. We don’t assemble together and live and die together like we’re students in a classroom taking notes on theology. We are a pocket of God’s presence in the world. And from this pocket of God’s presence we are taking his world back from enemy hands. We live in enemy occupied territory. And God uses our alternative faith community and our transformed ways of thinking and speaking and acting to win it back.

“God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” ~1 Thessalonians 4:7

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Speaking of Hauerwas, score another one for P-Grove! My great friend Jim Martin has been announced as the new vice-president at Harding School of Theology in Memphis. Jim is a godly man; beyond reproach; trustworthy and true. Our God speaks to Jim and I know that Jim listens. He is God’s dear friend. And I believe our God regards Jim as one of his greatest servants. And now our Lord has given him that next job.

If the people he leads at Harding receive just a tiny fraction of the blessings and strength and wisdom that Jim has given to me… Man, I can’t imagine the great impact this is going to have on God’s eternal Kingdom.

Peace,

Allan

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