The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Heaven (Page 4 of 5)

The Hold

January 4, 2012 / / 0 Comments

There’s a Season Three episode of Seinfeld in which Jerry and Elaine are attempting to pick up a rental car. Jerry has made a reservation for a mid-size and the lady behind the counter informs him that they don’t have a mid-size available at the moment.

Jerry says, “I don’t understand; I made a reservation. Do you have my reservation?”

“Yes, we do,” she answers. “But, unfortunately, we ran out of cars.”

Now Jerry’s really confused. And a little agitated. “But the reservation keeps the car here! That’s why you have the reservation!”

“I know why we have reservations.”

“I don’t think you do. If you did, I’d have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation. You just don’t know how to hold the reservation. And that’s really the most important part of the reservation: the hold.”

“…an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade — kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power.” ~1 Peter 1:4-5

The promise of eternal life is guaranteed and kept — held! — by the power of God for his children. And that guarantee inspires us. It moves us. It drives us.

Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, our God has made a reservation in heaven. And the treasures of heaven that are being held for us can never be taken away. They can’t rot or disappear. Nothing can ruin it. It can’t be cheapened or stained in any way. It’s guarded. It’s shielded. It’s protected by God’s power. We will never walk up to the counter and be disappointed because God didn’t know how to “hold.”

What a relief! What great assurance! How liberating! What a blessing to realize we are not kept by our own power. Our eternal destiny does not depend on our own abilities which do disappoint or our own merits which do come up short. We are kept — held! — by the power of the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth.

In this, as Peter writes, we greatly rejoice.

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I wanted to share a few snow pictures with you, especially if you’re reading this from somewhere outside our greater Amarillo area. It seems the Blizzard Warning on the 19th was six days early. We got just under seven inches of snow on Christmas Day and it was marvelous.

It was still coming down hard when we left our lunch at Steve and Connie’s to head back to town. The Woods live just west of town and we were warned that when they close I-40, they do it at Soncy Road. So we grabbed a handful of Connie’s fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies and followed Craig and Donna back to the highway.

Sunday afternoon, Greg and Mean Jean and I took our kids (all of his, one of mine) and the McNeil urchins out to MediPark Hill for some sledding. They call it MediPark Hill; I think it’s actually just a huge drainage ditch. First time sledding for me. Ever. Valerie accompanied me on the adventure while the other three women in my house stayed inside. High and dry. It’s a good thing that MediPark Hill is right in the middle of the hospital district. I was having to walk up and sled down while, at the same time, dodging Josh’s Kamikaze attacks from the side and Ethan’s slushballs aimed at my earhole. Mark my words: You little guys will get yours!

Here’s a shot of our new backyard on Roxton covered in snow:

We’ve had right at nine-and-a-half inches of snow so far this season. But since Christmas Day, we’ve been mostly sunny and in the 50s and 60s. If this is winter in Amarillo, it’s not nearly as bad as all of you made it out to be.

Peace,

Allan

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

May 26, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Jesus prays to our Father, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus preaches the Kingdom of God. Jesus declares the coming of the Kingdom of God. He proclaims, “It is at hand!” It’s here! The Kingdom! Look at it!

Jesus brings the Kingdom to earth. He does God’s will on earth just as it is in heaven.

Jesus casts out demons because there are no demons in heaven.
Jesus heals because there is no sickness in heaven.
Jesus feeds because there is no hunger in heaven.
Jesus raises the dead because there is no death in heaven.

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Are you praying this prayer? Jesus said it was a good idea to pray this prayer, to ask God to please do his will on earth just like it’s done in heaven. Are you bringing the Kingdom of God to your part of the earth? Are you obeying his will like the rocks and the trees and the oceans and the animals obey his will?

There is no revenge in heaven. There is no hate in heaven. There are no arguments in heaven. There are no disagreements in heaven. No suspicion. No politics. No war. No division of any kind. No violence, verbal or physical. No mistrust. No gossip. No complaining. You won’t find any of those things in heaven.

Is the will of God being obeyed in your church just like it is in heaven? In your elders’ meetings? In your congregational committees? In your marriage? In your family around your dinner table at night? Are you bringing the Kingdom of God to your workplace? To your school? To the Little League team you’re coaching or the civic club to which you belong?

If God has completely eradicated selfish behavior and gamesmanship and competition in heaven, if that is his holy will, why would you insist on bringing any of that into his Church? Or putting up with it?

The rivers and the trees and the squirrels and the fish all obey God’s will on earth just as it is in heaven. What’s wrong with us?

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Rodney Ashlock had just begun his Sermon Seminar session on the book of Esther Tuesday evening when the WeatherBug app on my laptop started chirping. I opened it up to learn that a tornado warning had been issued for parts of Tarrant County that included my home in North Richland Hills. A quick check of the radar revealed an ominous red and purple blob heading right for my neighborhood and a pretty impressive hook echo bearing down on my house.

I dashed outside the lecture hall there on the Austin Grad campus to check in by phone with Carrie-Anne and the girls. She answered her cell phone and her voice was almost drowned out by the sound of the sirens. Before I could get more than a couple of sentences out, I heard our house phone ring. She kept me on line as she answered it. It was the city, calling to warn residents of the coming tornado and to urge them to seek immediate shelter. I asked if she and our daughters were OK.

“Yeah, we’re hiding in the laundry room with the radio and the phone. We’ve got a couple of mattresses in here. The girls are a little nervous. And I’m putting clothes in the dryer.”

Now THAT is a wife of noble character! Protecting the children and doing the wash! Who can find a woman like that? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing.

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Too much Dirk last night for the Thunder. Too much Dirk. Here’s hoping Chicago can somehow force a couple of more games in the Eastern Conference series to wear out that unholy trio in Miami and buy the senior Mavs some much-needed down time.

Peace,

Allan

Who Stands Fast?

March 3, 2011 / / 2 Comments

“Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God — the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of God.” ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Christmas Eve 1942

The life of a disciple is active, not reactive. It has nothing to do with just talking about faith or teaching religious principles or believing theological ideas or keeping biblical rules. It has everything to do with living one’s whole life in obedience to God’s call through personal action. It doesn’t just require a mind. It requires a body, too.

Ours is a life given to us by God to be lived not in some kind of rigid, cramped, crowded, small, compromised, legalistic way but in a full, wild, joyful, exuberant, cheerful, celebratory way. A way that apprehends and assimilates and then radiates the freedom we have from God in Christ.

The way I see it, a full grasp of the freedom we have in Christ and the grace and mercy we’ve received from our God will come to mean, eventually,  that we are no longer afraid of sin. We’re not worried about messing up. We don’t hold back because of an anxiety over doing something that might displease our God. At the very least — stay with me here — avoiding sin will not be the main thing that drives us as we follow our Lord.

Our Father wants his beloved children to operate out of joy and freedom to do what is good and right, not out of fear of making a mistake. Isn’t that one of the great lessons in Jesus’ story about the servants and the talents in Matthew 25?

We must be more zealous to please God than to avoid sin. We must act in faith that our God who calls us to live boldly and outrageously for him also promises us that if and when we do mess up in enthusiastic service to our King, he promises forgiveness and consolation and salvation.

The Christian life is an active life. Our God calls us to give our whole selves to him. Brakes off. No looking back. Full speed ahead. He’s not going to punish us when, in pursuit of his will, we might mess up.

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Last Sunday’s sermon on Christ’s return from Revelation 21-22 prompted many, many kind comments and encouragements from dozens of my brothers and sisters here at Legacy. Many had never thought about heaven and earth and God’s ultimate mission in the ways Scripture so plainly paints it. Many seemed refreshed at the biblical promises that God’s will is ultimately going to be done on earth just as it is in heaven. That’s why we’re told to pray it, right? And that’s why we join it. The mission. The salvation objective. Those are the things we’re going to be considering together during Missions Month throughout March.

In a related item, Patrick Mead has posted a hilarious re-cap of all the individuals and groups throughout history who have predicted the return of Christ and the end of the world. Of course, mankind has a 100% fail rate in this useless undeavor. But the list is hilarious. I especially like the parenthetical comments in his list. One mentions the possibility that Van Halen may be the anti-Christ which may or may not, combined with Orwells’ vision, have led to the speculation about the year 1984. There’s a group called the Sword of God Brotherhood that is claiming the end of the world will come in 2017. They say that they alone will be spared and tasked to repopulate the earth. Here’s hoping there’s a Sword of God Sisterhood, too.

You can read the complete list by clicking here.

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I’m 24 hours away from my annual camping trip with my Four Horsemen friends. A weekend of encouragement, prayer, meditation, food, bonding, and at least one unforeseen near-catastophic incident to remember forever. These are the guys. These are the ones. They are my closest friends. They keep me going. They keep me accountable. They challenge me and they exhort me. They mature me in our faith. They inspire me to be a better man, a better husband and dad, a better preacher, a better disciple. Even while we’re throwing rocks at raccoons and making fun of Dan’s always-on survival mode, Jason’s tough guy facade (what a fake!), and Kevin’s wardrobe.

I can’t wait.

Peace,

Allan

Lord, Come Later

February 28, 2011 / / 3 Comments

The prayer of God’s Church, from very early on, has always been “Lord, come quickly.” Marana tha. These are the words Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 16. “Lord, come quickly.” These are the words historically and faithfully prayed around the communion table for centuries. “Lord, come quickly.”

And Jesus’ response to that prayer is found three times in the final 15 verses of Holy Scripture: “Behold! I am coming soon!”

Revelation begins with “the time is near” and ends with “I am coming soon.” And everywhere in between there’s this overwhelming sense of urgency and immediacy. Nearness. Soon-ness.

Lord, come quickly.

But our talk today sometimes betrays an un-Scriptural attitude. Our jokes and stories about heaven reveal what we really think and feel about eternal life after death in the presence of our loving Father. Our view seems to be that heaven will be fine once I die. But I don’t want to go there just yet. Not yet. Truth is, I’m doing OK here on earth. Things are pretty good. Instead of  “Lord, come quickly” it’s “Lord, come later.”

We sing it that way sometimes, too. “I’d like to stay here longer than man’s alloted days, and watch the fleeting changes of life’s uneven ways; but if my Savior calls me to that sweet home on high…”

No, no, no. Lord, come quickly!

Lord, come quickly and create that promised new heavens and new earth. Bring about that renewal of all things. Cleanse and purify the earth with that 2 Peter fire. Do that new thing. Reverse the curse. Banish Satan to hell forever. Make all of creation brand new again. Obliterate sin and death so thoroughly that we can’t even remember it anymore. May your holy will be done on earth just as it is in heaven. Bring it, Lord. The new Jerusalem. The new Garden of Eden. The new heaven and earth where everything that’s gone so horribly wrong is now finally made perfectly right!

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.

Amen.

Allan

Reserved Seats

February 8, 2011 / / 1 Comment

I feel sorry for those more than 400 people (even the Steelers fans) who spent thousands of dollars, paid for their Super Bowl seats, traveled hundreds of miles, booked hotel rooms, and otherwise rearranged their lives only to be denied access to the game. I hurt for those folks who lived and died with their teams every week — some of them putting in hard time for years and years — who were anticipating the thrills of cheering that team on in person at the ultimate game, and who did everything in their knowledge and power to insure it would happen only to be told, “We’re sorry. Your seats are not ready. You can’t go inside the stadium.”

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God… For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” ~Colossians 3:1-4

Praise God we are not dependent on ourselves or Jerry Jones or the NFL to hold our reservations. Praise God we are guaranteed to be clothed in the glory of our Lord on that blessed day. Thank God that the risen Son is holding our tickets, he’s keeping them in a safe place, right there at the right hand of the Father. And when it’s time, our seats will be waiting for us.

When Christ comes, when the renewal of all things is at last accomplished, when all of creation is finally restored, when heaven joins earth on that last day, when God’s will is ultimately fulfilled, we’ll be there. And we won’t just be in the front row on the 50-yard line. We’ll be on the field. Celebrating with our Lord. Making snow angels in the confetti. The trophy will be ours.

And that’s a holy promise that can never be taken away.

Peace,

Allan

Whereby Earth Imitates Heaven

January 18, 2011 / / 4 Comments

“The psalm blended all voices together, and caused one single fully harmonious chant to arise; young and old, rich and poor, women and men, slaves and free, all sang one single melody… All the inequalities of social life are here banished. Together we make up a single choir in perfect equality of rights and of expression whereby earth imitates heaven.” ~Ignatius, 110 AD

I had the most wonderful weekend singing with God’s children. You can’t believe all the singing.

Friday night and all day Saturday I was blessed to be able to sing praises to our Father with more than two thousand teenagers at WinterFest at the Arlington Convention Center. Over two thousand kids! Singing. Praising. Clapping. Stomping. Dancing. Twirling. Hand motions. Loud. Energetic. Enthusiastic. Singing of the very best kind. True offerings from the soul. Genuine praise and thanksgiving from the heart. The kind of singing that fosters Christian unity. The kind of singing that strengthens Christian bonds. The kind of singing that ushers one directly to the throne room of God.

I’ll bet we sang over a hundred different songs together at WinterFest Friday and Saturday. And not one of them — I promise — was written before 1980.

Sunday night, I was blessed to be able to sing praises to our Father with about two dozen of my Legacy brothers and sisters and another two dozen or so residents of the Sterling House Nursing Home in Richland Hills. As part of the NEXT challenge, our Small Group has teamed up with another to spend an hour with those sweet people at least once a month. About forty of us total Sunday evening. Singing. Praising. Toe tapping. Smiling. Head nodding. Amen-ing. Four part harmonies. Not too fast, not too slow. Just right. Singing of the very best kind. True offerings from the soul. Genuine praise and thanksgiving from the heart. The kind of singing that fosters Christian unity. The kind of singing that strengthens Christian bonds. The kind of singing that ushers one directly to the throne room of God.

I’ll bet we sang 25 different songs together at Sterling House Sunday night. And not one of them — I promise — was written after the Depression.

I want my children to take very seriously the words of Paul in Romans 12: In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. That’s why our girls were right there with Carrie-Anne and me all weekend, with the crazy teenagers at WinterFest and with the sweet old people at Sterling House. I want my kids to see what I see, I want them to feel what I feel, to truly know what I know: that The Old Rugged Cross means as much to that older woman in the wheelchair as You Have Turned (my mourning into dancing, whoop! whoop!) means to that 12-year-old-girl clapping in the aisle. That it is critically important for the younger people to join in the congregational singing of Blessed Assurance and Anywhere with Jesus. And that it is just as important for the older people to join in the congregational singing of Days of Elijah and Lord, I Lift Your Name on High.

Why do the teens at WinterFest smile? Why do they sing? Because they’re expressing themselves to God — they’re declaring his praises and experiencing his grace — in their own style, in their own language, in their native tongue. They are free.

Why do the older people at Sterling House smile? Why do they sing? Same reason.

Now, does it give you joy to encourage a teenager in the faith? Does it bring you godly pleasure to tell a child he is important to you or that she is vital to your church family? Then why don’t you unfold your arms and wipe off that scowl and join them with gusto the next time your worship leader starts Blessed Be Your Name! Or is it only about you?

Teenaged brother or sister in Christ, does it make you feel good to encourage an older person? Does it lift your spirits to tell a senior citizen that she is vital to your church family? That he matters to you? Then why don’t you put down the iPhone and wipe the frown off your face and join them with gusto the next time your worship leader starts How Great Thou Art! Or is it only about you?

A gathering of God’s people all truly giving themselves to God in song really is incredible. But it only imitates heaven when the congregants are giving themselves to each other as well. The greatest joy I received and the greatest blessing I encountered over this wonderful weekend was in watching a couple of people almost twice my age shout out Couldn’t Keep It To Myself Friday night and watching the teens in our Small Groups sing A Wonderful Saviour Sunday night.

Earth really imitating heaven.

Peace,

Allan

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