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Act Six – New Creation

September 30, 2015 / / 0 Comments

FourFingers

Drew Stubbs’ running, leaping catch of Ian Kinsler’s drive to the center field wall with runners on the corners in the 9th inning snapped the Rangers’ three game skid and increased their lead in the A.L. West to two games now over the Angels. The magic number is four now, instead of three, because the Halos have moved past the ‘Stros for second place in the division. The rubber match with the Tigers is tonight, but then L.A. comes into Arlington for a season-ending four game series that will determine the division champion and the playoff seedings. What looked like a sure thing one week ago now comes down to every inning in these last five games.

Is there a way to leave Josh Hamilton out of the lineup? Even as a pinch hitter?

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NewHeaven&Earth“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’

He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!'” ~Revelation 21:1-5

As the great Yogi Berra once said, “This is deja vu all over again!”

A new creation. A new heavens and earth. The sea that separates the heavens from the earth is no more. Heaven and earth become one, just as intimately and beautifully as a new husband and his lovely bride become one. God is living again with the humans. Men and women are living again in the immediate presence of God. No more sorrow, no more heartache, no more death. Everything that’s gone wrong has now been fixed. The old order of things has passed away. I am making everything new!

I am making everything new!

And we’re so worn out with “new.” We don’t even know what “new” means anymore. They say it’s a new cereal, but it’s not. It’s the old cereal, but instead of yellow marshmallow stars they have blue marshmallow hearts and a different stripe on a smaller box that costs more money. They say it’s a new detergent, but it’s not. It’s the old detergent with a few added purple cleaning crystals and the words “maximum power” on a smaller box that costs more money. They say it’s a new iPhone, but it’s not. It’s the old iPhone with two features removed and three features added that costs more money and will be obsolete in three to six months. We’re so worn out with “new.”

But the Creator of Heaven and Earth says, “I am making everything new!” This is not a different label or a brighter color. This is not about a longer lasting battery.

The last act of the Story of God is not about people’s souls escaping from their bodies and rising up above the earth to go to heaven. What we see is heaven descending to the earth. This is not “I’ll Fly Away!” It’s not “This World is Not My Home.” God shows us the final act, the end of the Story, and it’s heaven coming down into the world, uniting with the world to purify it of its brokenness. This is what the prophets talked about:

NewH&E

“Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create… the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more… The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy… says the Lord.” ~Isaiah 65

This is the new Garden of Eden. Men and women living in perfect relationship with each other together in the holy presence of God. Absolute peace and harmony with nature. No more injury or disease or death. No more hatred or violence or war. No more poor or needy or slaves or criminals. Everything is new. Everything is perfect. Everything is fixed.

Jesus predicted this in Matthew 19 when he spoke of “the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne.” The apostle is given credit for this same vision in 2 Peter 3: “In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” Paul foresees the same thing in Romans 8: “The creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God!”

The whole world will be healed as it is drawn into the fullness of God’s glory. Evil will be finally, ultimately destroyed. And all the potential of creation will explode in glorious fullness and beauty.

Peace,

Allan

Concerning Cats in Heaven

September 29, 2015 / / 1 Comment

CatsAreEvil2

I believe the line a little over halfway through our sermon Sunday went something like this:

“Our God is making everything right. He’s making everything perfect. Yes, there will be Oreos in heaven; but they won’t have any calories. Yes, there will be lawns to mow in heaven; but there won’t be any grass burrs or dandelions. Yes, there will be puppy dogs in heaven; but they won’t chew on the couch or wet the carpet.

No, there won’t be any cats in heaven. Are you kidding me? Cats are reserved for the fiery lake of burning sulfur; that’s where cats are going.”

So…

CatsAreEvilDarkNot everybody thought that was funny. When I said it, it certainly sounded like everybody thought it was funny. But more than a couple of good, faithful Christians here at Central took issue with my comment about cats. A few mentioned it to me after the assembly. A few of you sent me emails yesterday questioning my theology and my character. And one very sweet and kind dear sister told me yesterday she had planned to make a banana pudding for my birthday but, after Sunday’s comment about cats, has decided against it.

Look, my Lord has promised me that proclaiming the truth won’t always be easy. There will come a time, he says, when even those who refuse to cook for me will think they’re doing the will of God. That’s OK. I’m at peace with that.

For those of you who want to argue for a feline-friendly afterlife, consider first what we know about salvation.

Heaven is not for the unrepentant. It’s not for the arrogant or the stubbornly-disobedient. Heaven is reserved for those who turn their lives toward God and submit to his authority. You ever seen a repentant cat?!? You walk in on any dog doing something he’s not supposed to be doing, and he immediately gets that look of shame. He’s been caught, he’s clearly in the wrong, and he knows it. He’s sorrowful — a godly sorrow, I would argue. Like Adam and Eve in the garden who were ashamed from the moment they sinned, so a dog puts his tail between his legs and will barely look at you when he knows he’s done something against your will. Cats? Yeah, right! You walk in on a cat doing something wrong, he barely even looks up. He keeps right on sinning, too, with no regard for the threads on your couch or your feelings.

Heaven is for living in perfect community. It’s not for loners, for those who want to do their own thing by themselves. Dogs are made for relationship. They run to you as soon as you enter their field of vision. They follow you around everywhere you go. They’re loyal to a fault. They’re content just to be in your presence. Cats? They couldn’t care less about you or anybody you know. Oh, sure, they’ll come running when they hear the can opener working to unleash some foul-smelling feline food. They’ll rub up against you and purr when they need something. But that’s it. They’d much rather be alone. And if you call a cat, he’ll just roll his eyes. CatsAreEvil

I’m only just scratching the surface here. We could go on about the evil hisses and demonic guttural sounds that come from the inner core of a cat’s very being. The pointy ears. The scary eyes. Their proclivity toward darkness and appetite for activities of the night.

It seems very logical: there won’t be any cats in heaven.

Peace,

Allan

Proclaiming the Kingdom of God

September 28, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Megaphone2

The Good News is that Jesus is the new King. With the resurrection and ascension of our Christ, all the kingdoms and nations of the world are claimed under his Lordship. That’s what we proclaim. That’s what the Christians were doing in Thessalonica; and it got them in trouble.

“They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” ~ Acts 17:7

Paul goes to Rome, right under the nose of Caesar himself, right in the middle of the Empire’s capital city and “preached the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ boldly and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31).

The whole point is that the world has turned a new corner. A new age has arrived. The entire earth has a new King and people have to be told about it. Because not everybody knows.

Most people today, in a world where Jesus is Lord, are still serving the old kings. And there’s no hope in that. No hope. Most people place their trust and faith in the old kings and old governments, old political systems and old rulers. And there’s no hope.

You see it in the Middle East where dictators rule unjustly and people are treated unfairly. You see it in Africa and parts of Europe where the government refuses to meet the basic needs of their people. No grace. No mercy. No salvation. You see it in the United States where the political system is a gigantic mess. Every politician on both ends of the spectrum and at every position in between says, “Vote for me! Vote for us and everything will be better!” But we don’t believe any of them anymore so they have to dress it up with more hype and noise and spin.

We are sent, each of us, by the authority of Christ Jesus and by the power of his Spirit to spread the news of his good and righteous rule. By our calling as his ambassadors and emissaries, it is our duty and command, all of us, to tell the nations they have a new King. By virtue of his resurrection and our own participation in the new eternal life, it is our great privilege to shout from the rooftops the dawning of the age of the Kingdom of God.

And by the power of the Holy Spirit, we’re up for it. We experience God’s restoration every day. We have received his grace and peace. We can speak of a new creation and we can live a new life because our Lord has already won the war and reigns right now today and forever at God’s right hand.

“Now to him who is able to establish you by the Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ… so that all nations might believe and obey him — to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” ~Romans 16:25-27

Peace,

Allan

Holy Spirit Lives

September 26, 2015 / / 0 Comments

WTHomecoming15West Texas A&M is celebrating its Homecoming this weekend, which means we wound up at the WT Homecoming Parade in Canyon this morning supporting our Little Middle and her Zeta sisters and cheering for their float. The whole week has been hippie-themed: “Peace, Love, and Buffs!” Perfect for Valerie. She’s always been our flower child.

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The faithful proclamation of the Kingdom of God springs from the experience of a changed life. Transformed lives just explode with Christian testimony.

HolySpiritFilled“Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” ~Galatians 5:16-25

Our lives will not be changed without the Holy Spirit. I mean changed, radically transformed. Our lives must be different, obviously different, if we’re going to effectively proclaim the Lordship of Jesus.

But I’m not sure about the Holy Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit do in our lives? I have a lot of questions about the Holy Spirit. I don’t feel the Holy Spirit. Are we even sure about the Holy Spirit?

Part of the disconnect for us with the Spirit is our nominal discipleship, our Sundays only Christianity. You don’t need the Holy Spirit to achieve a comfortable lifestyle. Our problem is that our churches are only asking you to come to serves, write a check, be friendly, don’t go to R-rated movies, and don’t cuss.

Well, I don’t need the Holy Spirit to do that.

Listen, you don’t need to be a Christian to do that! If you won’t get out of your comfort zone, why would you need the Comforter?

A changed life is the loudest and clearest declaration that Jesus really is who he says he is and he is really doing what he said he would do. But your life won’t be changed until you submit and start paying attention to God’s Spirit.

Peace,

Allan

Holy Spirit Community

September 25, 2015 / / 0 Comments

Spirit-ArtThe proclamation of the inaugurated Kingdom of God is expressed through Holy Spirit community. Following the Resurrection of Jesus, God’s Spirit creates a brand new community of all people, all nations, all languages, all brought to perfect unity under the Lordship of the Messiah. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter quotes the prophet Joel:

“I will pour out my Spirit on all people… Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved… Repent and be baptized, every one of you… The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.” ~Acts 2:17-39

The Holy Spirit breaks down barriers between people, he destroys the walls between all people and brings us together in Christ.

“Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace… [he] has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… his purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” ~Ephesians 2:13-18

HolySpiritThe Berlin wall was erected by the Soviets to separate East and West Berlin. In Bethlehem today, there’s a 27-foot wall that divides the Palestinians from the Israelis. We know all about dividing walls. Not all of them are physical. There are social and racial barriers. There are gender and economic walls. We’re divided by language and ethnicity and education and politics. But the blood of Jesus brings all of us together and the Spirit of God holds us together so that our unity in diversity becomes an unmistakable testimony to the true Prince of Peace!

We have to practice this tearing down of walls, we have to be committed to demolishing the things that separate us. We must do the very, very, very hard work of reconciliation because it is such a vital component to the Christian witness.

Peter slipped up in Antioch. He was under some social pressures there and he stopped eating with Gentiles. He wouldn’t associate with them in public. And Paul called him on it. He told Peter he wasn’t acting “in line with the truth of the Gospel.”

“You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” ~Galatians 3:26-28

If these barriers have been set aside by Christ — the walls between Jew and Gentile, slave and free, men and women — if these distinctions have been abolished at the cross, then what other barrier can be justified? If God does not show favoritism, if all people are created by God in the holy image of God, if God’s great purpose and goal is unity in his Son, if we are to love even our enemies, if Jesus took the hostility into himself to destroy it forever, on what grounds can we justify keeping in place any barriers?!?

Peace,

Allan

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