The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Jesus (Page 60 of 61)

Plunder Taken, Captives Rescued

August 28, 2008 / / 3 Comments

“Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce?
This is what the Lord says:
‘Yes, captives will be taken from the warriors,
and plunder retrieved from the fierce;
I will contend with those who contend with you,
and your children I will save.'” ~Isaiah 49:24-25

“No one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.” ~Mark 3:27

PlunderTakenCaptivesRescuedAs Jesus teaches and loves and heals and drives out demons in Mark 3, he’s accused by religious leaders and his own family of being possessed by Satan. But Jesus makes it clear: what’s happening is not the result of some civil war within Satan’s ranks. This is a direct frontal assault from the outside. The strong man is Satan. His house, his domain, is this world which he’s trying desperately to secure and hold on to. His possessions are his victims, these people he’s taken captive. He’s trapped these victims. He’s imprisoned them with sin and fear and death and disease and demons. He’s holding them with divorce and crime and addiction and unemployment and cancer. He’s got ’em. But then along comes the stronger one, Jesus. He comes from God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to cross the barriers of time and space, to smash through the walls of the devil’s house, to tie Satan up and carry off his precious possessions. To free the captives. To rescue the prisoners.

God himself overcomes the mighty one. He destroys forever the destroyer.

Satan uses our fears of the awful things we see all around us. Hebrews 2 says Satan holds the power of death and holds us in slavery, keeps us paralyzed, holds us in prison, by our fear of it. And then God himself breaks through, as the divine Son of Man. Jesus comes to earth, right into the middle of Satan’s house. He walks our streets. He teaches our people. He hugs our kids. He eats with us. He touches us. And he brings with him the eternal Kingdom of God! He wages war—not against the petty tyrants and selfish leaders and evil empires. He comes here intent on destroying THE Kingdom of Satan which has enslaved all of humanity. Christ Jesus, by his birth and life and teachings and ministry and death and burial and resurrection and exaltation, takes Satan’s plunder and rescues Satan’s captives and he ties Satan up and makes him watch.

We are that plunder taken. We are the captives rescued. This is us. We were the ones imprisoned by Satan. We were the ones held in slavery by our sins and paralyzed by our fears. We were the ones stuck, doomed, distressed, condemned. We were the hostages. We were the sentenced prisoners. We were headed to an eternity of death and despair. Damned by our own selfishness and sin. We were hopeless. We were already given up for gone.

But now we are rescued. We’re freed. We’re liberated.

We’re not just rescued from ourselves and our sins, we’re snatched from the life-choking clutches of Satan himself! We’re freed from the Kingdom of Darkness to walk eternally in newness of life.

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” ~Colossians 1:13-14.

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Several of you have been asking about Debbie Miller, the wife of one of the Four Horsemen, one of my dearest friends. Her surgery was yesterday. And it couldn’t have been more successful. It couldn’t have gone any better. And our Father couldn’t have answered our prayers in any more of an amazing way. All the cancer is totally gone! 100% gone! There wasn’t any in her muscle tissue. There’s not any in her lymph nodes. It was all contained in the tumors and the tumors are gone! Praise God!

I talked to Dan last night. He told me it was the greatest and happiest day he’s had since….and then he said it’s the greatest and happiest day of his entire life. Our God is great. He answers prayer. And he delivers his people. And we rejoice today with Dan and Debbie.

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We’re leaving Friday for Searcy, Arkansas to spend about 24 hours with my brother, Keith, and his wonderful family. And then it’s off to Benton, Arkansas to hook up with Jimmy Mitchell and the Benton Church of Christ. Jimmy was our Youth Minister in Marble Falls when we were there from ’05-’07. I’ll be preaching for them in Benton on Sunday. Please keep our family in your prayers. And ask God to bless our time with great family and great friends.

Peace,

Allan

Carry Each Other's Burdens

May 15, 2008 / / 0 Comments

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” ~Galatians 6:2

CarryingCrossIt’s clear that the fourth Servant Song in the book of Isaiah (52:13-53:12) points forward to Christ Jesus. The passage carries the theme of the other three songs (42:1-9, 49:1-7, & 50:4-11) that the servant of God is chosen by God, equipped by God, and assigned by God to fulfill God’s mission of bringing salvation to the world. The servant belongs to God. He’s ordained by God to bring justice and salvation to God’s people. And all four songs express guarantees from God that God’s chosen way of the servant will not fail. It will succeed. God will make sure of it.

As children of God and as followers of the Christ, we are also the servant described in the four songs. We are also chosen by God, called and equipped and empowered and ordained by God to be his vehicle of bringing justice and salvation to a sin-broken world. And it’s easy to draw the comparisons and parallels in the first three songs. The identification of the servant is ambiguous. Generic. It’s simple to say and believe that we’re able to live into the servant of those first three passages.

But what about the fourth?

Most of us know a lot of the fourth song by memory. The words and the rhythms of the verses almost soothe us with their familiarity.

Despised and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions. Crushed for our iniquities. He bore the sin of many.

So the servant bore our sufferings. It’s for our transgressions, for our iniquities, that he suffered. The servant suffered in our place. The servant serves God in serving the sinner by taking the sinner’s place, by doing for the sinner what the sinner can’t do for himself.

That’s Jesus, not me.

Yes. And No.

Yes, that’s Jesus. But as a child of God and a follower of his Son, it’s you, too. And it’s me.

Yes, the suffering and death of Jesus is definitive and complete. But there’s more. And the more has to do with our participation in that suffering and death. The cross at Calvary where all the Isaiah 53 imagery really comes into focus is unrepeatable. But cross-bearing is not.

The servant in Isaiah—and Jesus as the ideal servant—willingly gives up his rights, willfully gives up his life so that others might have life. As his followers, as his imitators, we’re called to walk down the same road. Isn’t that what we do when we offer our bodies as living sacrifices? Isn’t this what Paul meant in Galatians 6:2?

It’s much easier to tell people where to get relief from their burdens. It’s easier to point people to help, to write a check, to make a call, to drive somebody somewhere and drop them off. That way, we don’t become involved with them. There’s no pain. No risk. No chance of suffering.

But that’s not the way of the Isaiah servant. That’s not the way of our Lord. Jesus didn’t tell us where to take our burdens. He took them.

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” ~1 Peter 2:21

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Check out this 30-second video. It’s a quick little news story about a softball game last month between Western Oregon University and Central Washington State. I think it has meaning to this idea of bearing each other’s burdens. Even if it doesn’t relate perfectly, it’s a really cool story. Just click here to get the video. It’s on Jeff Christian’s blog from the Glenwood Church in Tyler.

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RangersPlayoffLogoThe Rangers have won six series in a row. The last time that happened was in ’99. A playoff year. A Johnnie Oates year. Could it be…?

I think the Stars have a better chance of beating Detroit in four straight.

Peace,

Allan

Christ As Savior & Judge

March 12, 2008 / / 2 Comments

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” ~2 Corinthians 5:10

Christ’s love compels us. It overrules us. It dominates us. It completely controls us. The apostle Paul makes it clear in most of his letters that the love of Jesus drives every bit of what he’s all about. Christ’s love grabs him and shakes him and won’t let him go.

And I’d like to just end it there. In fact, that is where I normally end it. Christ’s love compels me. Christ loves us and he’s good to us, so let’s go love others and be good to others. Ready, break!

Paul is motivated by Christ as Savior. Paul does what he does for the Kingdom because Jesus sacrificially died for Paul’s sins. But Paul is also just as clearly motivated by Christ as Judge.

He spends a lot of ink in Romans telling us that “God will give to each person according to what he has done” and that “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” He lets us know in a couple of other letters that God doesn’t show favoritism, he’s no respecter of persons. “We know what it is to fear the Lord,” he says in 2 Corinthians 5:11. And that’s why we “try to persuade men.” We “make it our goal to please him,” Paul writes, BECAUSE “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”

The love of God is real. Salvation from our Lord in Christ Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is real. But there is no salvation if there’s no judgment. There’s no grace without punishment. And we must be aware that Paul’s fear of the Lord drove his ministry and message even as Christ’s love compelled it. In our churches today we gravitate quickly and fiercely to Christ’s love. Yet the magnitude of Christ’s love in the 2 Corinthians 5 passage only comes out against the realities of God’s judgment.

It is both responsible to the Scriptures and relevant to the message of the Church to frame the Gospel within BOTH the fear of God as holy and righteous Judge AND the love of Christ as gracious and blessed Redeemer.

 Peace,

Allan

Unveiled Partakers In Glory

February 8, 2008 / / 4 Comments

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory are being transfigured into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” ~Romans 3:18

 Moses’ presence with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration takes the disciple right back to the revelation of God’s glory to Moses in Exodus 34. The people were terrified by the sight of Moses’ radiant face. They were afraid to come near him. They were afraid of the glory of the Lord. So Moses wore a veil until it faded away.

 It’s different now.

The veils are off.

As a result of Jesus’ suffering and death and resurrection, because of his saving work that reconciles man back to the Father, we’re not afraid. God’s glory doesn’t blind us, it doesn’s scare us. In fact, it’s being given to us, it’s being shared with us, it’s changing us. As we are transfigured into the image of the Christ, as we become more and more like him, as we deny ourselves and take up our crosses and follow in his footsteps the path of sacrifice and service, we become partakers in that heavenly glory.

That is our hope. That is our promise. In our sufferings and service here in the world, by the One who was crucified in weakness yet lives today in power, we are being transfigured into the glorious likeness of the Son of God.

In glory. With the same glory. With unveiled faces.

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I’m going into Advance Mode right now. The Legacy Men’s Advance, “In The Trenches,” begins in nine hours. So from now until late Saturday afternoon, you must refer to me by my paintball-soldier-warrior name.

“The Pastor of Disaster”

Thank you.

Trust Me

January 25, 2008 / / 0 Comments

I’m ashamed to admit, more than a couple of times in my life I’ve been suckered into the “Buy 14 CDs for a penny and never have to buy anything else ever again!” It took a few times, but I don’t trust those offers anymore. I don’t trust Joe Isuzu. I have a hard time trusting politicians, lawyers, used-car salesmen, and college football coaches.

Jesus is no used-car salesman. He doesn’t hold out his hand and call me friend so he can take what’s mine and make it his. He seeks me out to save me and to enjoin me in an eternal relationship.

The apostles trusted him. They left homes and families and jobs and security in exchange for ridicule and rejection and suffering and instability. They followed him all the way to Jerusalem knowing they were heading straight into the teeth of big trouble.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.”

Is Jesus trustworthy?

Look back over your own life and your own experiences with Jesus. Every single time he’s warned me, by calling it sin, that some action will be harmful he’s been exactly right. Every time his teachings tell me to make the tougher and better choice, he’s been right. When he promises to take care of me, he’s always right. He’s never been wrong. He’s never failed me or forsaken me. Sometimes it takes a while — sometimes years — for me to see it and understand it. But his track record with me is spotless. It’s perfect because his motivation is perfect.

“Trust me.” The apostles did. I do. And you can, too.

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Pal&CookieValerie didn’t get a lizard yesterday. It was a gerbil. She named it Cookie.

I just don’t want to see a bunch of little chocolate chips all over her bedroom carpet.

Peace,

Allan

Straining At The Oars

January 21, 2008 / / 6 Comments

“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat…After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was against them.” ~Mark 6:45-48

The disciples are in the deep water. Right where Jesus pushed them. He’s on the mountain. Praying. And he’s watching them.

He’s watching them as they strain at the oars because the wind is against them. They’re struggling. They’re troubled. They’re working, toiling, laboring against the wind. They’re disturbed inside, upset, as they battle the wind that’s keeping them from fulfilling Jesus’ command. Despite their best efforts, they’re actually being blown off course.

I feel that way all the time. Do you?

In my intense desire to follow Jesus’ will for my life, in my best and greatest efforts to obey my God, I feel like sometimes I’m beating my brains out against the wind. I’m rowing and rowing and rowing and not going anywhere. Or worse, I’m being blown off course.

And you feel it. I know you do, because there are so many things that fight against us, so many things that oppose us. Just living in the chaos of life in this godless culture. In this place, this world, where Jesus has set us, in the middle of crime and cancer and illness and death. We fight failure and rejection and ridicule and judgment. We’re distressed by division in the Church. We’re in turmoil over circumstances with our children or our grandchildren. We’re struggling with our jobs. We’re battling with our marriages. Temptation and sin and dishonesty and abuse. Vengeance and greed. Selfishness and lust.

And we strain at the oars.

Please take comfort today in the fact that Jesus is watching you strain at the oars. He sees you. And he’s so very proud of you. You’re in the middle of the lake. You’re four miles out. But it’s Jesus who sent you there. And he’s watching you. He knows. He’s aware of every struggle. He’s aware of every battle. He knows the things that are causing you distress and heartache. Be comforted in knowing that Jesus, the Christ, the Savior of the World, is interceding for you right now as he reigns at the right hand of our Father in Heaven. Hebrews 7 says he lives to intercede for those who come to God. It’s what he does.

He watches the apostles and he prays.

He’s watching you. And he’s praying.

Be encouraged by that today.

It’s Jesus’ mission. It’s his deal. And he’s going to make sure nothing stops it. Paul tells us in Philippians 1, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Take joy in that.

Have no fear. We do live in a very windy world. But, by the grace of God in Christ, we will reach the shore.

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The thing I like most about sports is the unpredictability. I like the surprises. I like the out-of-nowhere shockers. I enjoy the unexpected. Eli Manning and the Giants going into sub-zero conditions at Lambeau, kicking a field goal in overtime to reach the Super Bowl was not even a possibility three days ago, certainly not three weeks ago. That’s what I love about sports.

And that’s why I’m rooting hard against the Patriots.

I don’t like something to be universally predicted and expected and then for it to happen exactly the way everyone thought. I hate that. Where’s the thrill in that? Where’s the excitement? Why watch?

The national media and most every football fan in the country has been predicting 19-0 for Belichick’s boys since early September. The Patriots were dubbed perfect and the greatest team in the history of the NFL before the season was half over. And now they’re one win away from fulfilling all the predictions and robbing us of any sense of mystery or wonder about this 2007 season.

Admit it. You loved it when the Chargers beat the Colts last week because you didn’t see it coming. It’s why we love the NCAA basketball tournament, because you-didn’t-see-it-coming happens every day.

I understand, I suppose, wanting to see history being made. I get it, I guess, wanting to watch a flawless machine of a team execute at the highest level. That’s all OK. Whatever.

Give me an upset instead. I’ll take a shocker over the favorite winning every time.

I don’t know if the Giants can beat New England. It doesn’t seem likely. I like New York’s run game. Manning’s playing with tons of confidence. And the Giants defense may be capable of pressuring Tom Brady and covering his receivers. Maybe. I’m more concerned with Tom Coughlin’s face. He’s going to need about a jar and a half of Vaseline to take care of that freezer burn.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

Peace,

Allan

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