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Category: Holy Spirit (Page 11 of 14)

Peace, Perfect Peace

September 14, 2012 / / 0 Comments

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” ~John 14:27

As children of God and followers of his Christ, we have access to a peace that is unlike any kind of peace the world might promise or provide. The peace of Jesus really is an inner peace that surpasses all understanding. And it’s in us. It’s best described by using the Hebrew idea of shalom: the perfect, harmonious interdependence among all the parts of creation. This kind of peace, which I believe is exactly what Jesus promises to his disciples, is never defined negatively by Jews. Peace is not the absence of trouble or hostility. It means absolute wholeness. It’s physical, psychological, mental, emotional, spiritual wholeness. Completeness. Head to toe, inside and out. Wholeness in our relationships with God and man, in our families and neighborhoods, in our jobs and recreation, with our health and finances. That’s true peace. A full, harmonious, joyful, flourishing life.

The world’s expression of peace is a wish or a longing. The peace of Christ is real and present. And we possess that peace today.

It’s not a self-satisfied peace that ignores suffering. It’s a compassionate peace that longs for God’s shalom to be present with everyone and works hard to bring that about.

Christ leaves us to be with the Father and sends us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. And that constant presence of God, that guidance and comfort, direction and conviction, allows us to be at perfect peace with our Lord and his creation any place at any time. It doesn’t matter if we’re locked in a prison cell or in a frustrating marriage, whether we’re trapped in a bad job or a sick body. Jesus promises us that we are not alone. He is continually with us by his Spirit. And the everlasting gift of his Spirit that we experience even today is peace. Perfect peace.

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After winning their first two games by a combined score of 104-15, our Amarillo High School Sandies football team is ranked #6 in the state of Texas by the AP poll this week and #11 by the Harris. It’s the first time in twenty years AHS has been rated this high and everybody around here’s got a little touch of the Sandies Fever.

A true measure of the potential of this year’s team comes tonight in Wichita Falls against the Raiders of Rider High. Rider is ranked #5 in the Harris Poll and #1 in the state in PigskinPrep. They’re coming off a very impressive road win over Denton Ryan. They’ve got a running back who’s already committed to Ohio State. And they also throw the ball all over the place to five very talented receivers.

Last year’s game, here at Bivins Stadium, went down to the wire. Ryan Sluder caught a four-yard touchdown pass on fourth and goal with just over a minute to play to beat the Raiders 27-24. And Sluder has picked up right where he left off, already catching eight balls for three scores in the Sandies’ first two games this season.

In the interest of full disclosure, I actually worked in Wichita Falls for six months in 1999, during our painful, but necessary, transition from Memphis sports radio to Dallas sports radio. One of my many jobs at 990AM in Wichita Falls was play-by-play for the Rider Raiders football team. So, I’m familiar with Memorial Stadium. I know what “ROHO” stands for. And I know how to spell Rhudy Maskew.

This is going to be fun.

FYI: if you’re arriving late to the game or leaving early, the Sandies and Raiders will be broadcast in Wichita Falls on 103.9 FM. 990AM bit the dust a long time ago.

Blow, Sand, Blow!

Allan

We’re Not Alone

September 13, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Since our sins first separated us from our God, he has longed to live with us again. His covenant with us communicates our Father’s desire for intimate relationship with his people. From the Law (“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” Leviticus 26:12) and the Prophets (“My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God and they will be my people.” Ezekiel 37:27) to the New Testament (“I will live with them and walk among them.” 2 Corinthians 6:16) through the end of time (“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.” Revelation 21:3),  the promise is that God will live with us.

The gift of God’s Holy Spirit is the ultimate fulfillment of those great covenant promises. God not only lives with his children, he actually dwells inside us! It doesn’t get any more intimate than that!

It’s Christ’s greatest gift to us as we wait for his triumphant return: the power of his actual presence inside us. God’s Holy Spirit is alive and powerful and real. He’s very real. And he lives inside all of us who confess Jesus as Lord and put our faith for salvation in God through Christ. The Holy Spirit lives within and moves about and works through the Church. And that actually scares some of us. That makes some of us nervous. Some of us might think we talk too much about the Holy Spirit or we rely too much on the Holy Spirit. Some of us are leery of that.

But those worries are unfounded. There is no need to be concerned. This is our heavenly Father we’re talking about. The One who is motivated solely by his great love for us. The One who acts only in our best interests.

Jesus promises around the dinner table on that last night to send the Spirit of Truth. And that is a wonderful blessing! Christ gives us the actual presence of God. He gives us unbridled access to the Father. For us, the presence of God is not an elusive thing way off in the clouds somewhere. It’s not to be sought at the top of a shaking and smoking mountain. It’s not hiding away in a faraway chapel or ancient church building on the other side of the world. God’s Spirit is not above us or beside us. He’s within us. He lives inside us. It doesn’t get any more relational or personal than that.

Peace,

Allan

 

You Make Me Great

September 12, 2012 / / 2 Comments

“You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.”
~Psalm 18:35

I get disappointed in myself pretty often. It’s easy when you stumble as much as I do. It’s easy when things you say and do and think don’t always reflect the glory of God. I feel overwhelmed at times. It’s easy when you’re the preacher for a huge church and feel the weight of others’ expectations which, by the way, aren’t nearly as heavy as the expectations I have for myself. I can experience real periods of self doubt. It’s easy when you’re criticized by others. It’s easy when your plans and strategies don’t work out the way you envision.

I don’t always feel great. Maybe you don’t, either.

But, we are great. We are VERY great!

The Creator of Heaven and Earth has condescended to us. He’s come down to us. He put on our flesh and he took on our sin. He has chosen to live inside us. He makes us great!

We are great because we are chosen by God to belong to him and to be his children. We are great because we are empowered by his Spirit to stand strong and be victorious in our battles against Satan. We are great because we wear his name. We live in a righteous relationship with him. Because of Christ’s work on the cross and the Spirit’s work at that garden tomb, we are seen by our Father as perfect. Perfect! Great!

God stoops down to make us great.

So, go do something great today. Do something really great. Something big. Something powerful. Something that reflects the glory of God and his Kingdom. Something that matters, that will really matter for all eternity. It’s in you. You’re great, you know?

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I was amused a couple of weeks ago when the local television station here aired a story previewing the Amarillo City Commission’s consideration of a city wide ban on driving while talking on a hand-held phone. The recommendation had been made by the city traffic commission and the city council was prepared to approve it. Pretty soon, the reporter predicted, we won’t be able to hold a phone and drive on any Amarillo streets or highways. And the notion of such a ban was lauded, not only by those quoted in the story, but by the reporter herself. That story was followed immediately by news that concealed handgun permits are easier to get in Texas than in any other state and that permit holders in Texas can get handgum permits from other states just by going on-line and answering a couple of questions.

Priorities, huh?

The Amarillo city commission made it official last night, voting 4-1 to approve a city wide ban on cell phone use while driving.

Most researchers will tell you that tuning the car stereo or changing out a CD is much more dangerous than talking on a phone. Eating while driving and having conversations with other people in the same vehicle are also higher up on the lists of driving distractions that cause accidents than cell phone use. I was on my way to Whataburger this afternoon, reading the article on the front page of today’s newspaper, while driving, when a police officer pulled up beside me. And the absurdity of the whole situation struck me: it’s OK for me to read the paper while I drive, but not OK to talk on the phone. It’s fine for me to eat a loaded cheeseburger while driving, balancing the ketchup on my knee and the 44-ounce drink between my legs, steering with my elbows while playing UNO with my kids in the backseat; but it’s against the law for me to talk on the phone.

There’s not much logic involved with this decision, right?

Even the city leaders who are voting on this aren’t certain as to why they’re approving the ban. A city traffic commissioner is quoted in today’s article as admitting that studies on driving with hand-held devices are inconclusive. “It’s very difficult to prove,” he says. “What we see day to day… that’s what I’m basing my thinking on.” A city council member is quoted in the same story as admitting that there’s no way to test whether bans on texting or talking while driving will have any impact on roadway safety. But she voted for the ban anyway. Mayor Harpole has attempted to restore sanity to the process by pressing for a ban on texting but letting city residents decide the talking issue at the ballot box in May. But it got nowhere. There’s way too much publicity right now, way too much hype, too much pressure to outlaw cell phones.

Doing something — anything! — even if it’s the wrong thing seems to be preferable to doing nothing.

The mandatory second reading of the ordinance and vote, which is only a formality now, will take place next Tuesday. The signs will go up and the $500 fine will go into effect before the end of the year.

Go ahead and put on your makeup! Shave your beard! Eat your lunch! Read your horoscope! Pop in a CD and light up another cigarette! Most researchers say all those things are much more dangerous behind the wheel than talking on the phone. But those researchers don’t have the vote.

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On a much more positive note, the Texas Rangers magic number is 19! The Rangers are any combination of Texas wins and Oakland losses that equals 19 away from their third consecutive AL West title. The division lead is down to just three games over the A’s, the slimmist margin they’ve held since before the All Star break. And the Rangers do play the A’s seven times in the last ten days of the season. So, unlike the past two years, this one is definitely going to still be up for grabs heading into the season’s final week. But, I’m confident enough to start an official countdown to the crown without worrying about jinxing the team. The number is 19! And counting!

Peace,

Allan

Listen to Barton Stone

May 10, 2012 / / 0 Comments

As we review and reflect together on Leroy Garrett’s book, “What Must the Church of Christ Do to Be Saved?” we arrive today at the author’s 17th suggestion for avoiding “obscurantism, obsolescence, and irrelevance” in this increasingly post-denominational, post-Christian world. In order for us to remain a viable voice for Christ, in order to retain any credibility as a faithful witness to his redemption work, Garrett says we must appeal to the wisdom and insights of those who went before us.

Heed the principles set forth by Barton W. Stone.

Alexander Campbell’s group of restoration churches and the restoration churches that followed the teachings of Stone realized fairly early on that they had enough in common by the blood of Christ and by their devotion to our Lord’s plea for the unity of all God’s children that they should join together as one movement. So these Churches of Christ, Christian Churches, and Disciples of Christ Churches — nobody was worried about the actual name of the congregations at this early point — officially came together to worship, to work, and to spread the Good News. It eventually became known as the Stone-Campbell Movement. And it was during this time of coming together, in 1832, in the midst of the drama and trauma of the official union, that Stone wrote his “An Address to the Churches of Christ.” Stone’s purpose in writing this document was to head off at the pass a few problems that were already impacting this infant coalition of congregations. And Garrett says we should look back to that document for wisdom as we deal with our own doctrinal and unity differences today.

Early on in the Address [Stone] warned against unwritten creeds, which he considered more dangerous than written ones. The purpose of both, he noted, “is to exclude from fellowship the man who dissents from them.” He observes that there are those who clamor against (written) creeds and yet have creeds (unwritten) of their own, and they are as intolerant toward those who dissent from their creeds as those who make written creeds are toward their dissenters.

What pain we would have avoided had the wisdom of this pioneer reached our ears. With ne’er a (written) creed in sight we have been creed-makers, and, like Stone said, we have used them to draw lines on each other and to exclude one another from fellowship. We have made creeds of our opinions, whether in reference to theories like millennialism, questions such as marriage and divorce, or methods like instrumental music or Sunday schools. It is of course appropriate for each of us to follow his own conviction in reference to any of these, but it is not all right to make a creed out of them. Creed-making makes parties, whether they be written or unwritten creeds, and that is what lies behind all our divisions.

Garrett points to Stone’s conviction that the gift of God’s Holy Spirit is “the crowning blessing of all blessings” and the most important part of being a Christian. Stone wrote that the gift of the Spirit is “more necessary” than faith, reformation, and immersion. And he did not emphasize the importance of a particular method of baptism. It’s easy enough to admit that both of these ideas seem to fly in the face of where we are now as Churches of Christ. Honestly, we probably under-emphasize the Holy Spirit and over-emphasize the method of baptism.

But that’s probably OK. The point Stone was trying to make then and that Garrett is trying to make now is that Christians may differ on any number of things without dividing. Stone and Campbell managed it quite well for more than two generations.

[Stone] referred to two differences  between their churches at this time, which troubled people on both sides. The Campbell people placed greater emphasis upon immersion for remission of sins than the Stone churches, and the Campbell churches broke bread every first day while the Stone people didn’t.

This diversity of doctrine and practice led Stone to emphasize what had characterized the Movement from the outset: “We who profess to stand upon the Bible alone, and contend that opinions of truth should not be made terms of fellowship — shall we be intolerant towards each other because we may differ in our opinions? Forbid it, Heaven!”

Here Stone is telling us what we must do to be saved. We must cease and desist from making our own interpretation of what we believe to be truth (an opinion, Stone calls it) a test of fellowshipo. And he says this includes such matters as the design of baptism and the frequency of the Lord’s Supper.

Stone went on to say what should be proclaimed in every Church of Christ in the land today: “If you think your brother in error, labor in the spirit of love and meekness to convince him; but imposing zeal against him will only harden him against any good impression you would make. It will probably stir up strife and ultimately destroy love, the bond of union.”

We must repent of our ugly, sectarian past and resolve to follow Stone’s  advice when he went on to say in his Address to us, the Churches of Christ: “A little longer forbearance with each others’ weakness, and truth will triumph!”

I would personally point to Romans 14:1-15:7 here to remind you of the Biblical foundation for everything Stone wrote on the matter of differing opinions and unity and everything Garrett writes against imposing on other Christians the lines we draw for ourselves. But there’s no need. You already know what the passage says, right?

Peace,

Allan

Not the First Century Church

May 1, 2012 / / 1 Comment

In Leroy Garrett’s “What Must the Church of Christ Do to Be Saved?”  the author makes twenty suggestions for our faith heritage if we are to remain a viable voice for the Kingdom in our increasingly post-modern, post-denominational, post-Christian world. The numbers don’t lie. We’re losing our people left and right. And some things need to change. As Churches of Christ, some things we have refused to change over the years are now coming to roost. It can no longer be ignored.

Garrett’s eleventh suggestion is that we shed ourselves of the tremendous and unnecessary burden of trying to become an exact replica of the Church of the New Testament. Not only does Garrett say it could never be accomplished; it should never be tried.

Recognize that we can’t be a first century church.

Garrett writes that a lot of our people have for decades understood the Churches of Christ to be a complete restoration of the New Testament Church in name, in belief and practice, in leadership structure and worship. Frankly, while being raised in and by the Church of Christ I, too, was taught this very idea.

It is a fiction grounded on false assumptions, such as the church of the apostles having a particular name, which it did not, and that it had a uniform organization and clearly-defined “acts” of worship, which it did not.

There is no ground for supposing that God ever intended for his Church in each succeeding century over the past 2,000 years to be a first century church, even if it were possible, which it isn’t. The evidence rather suggests that God calls us to do for our generation what the primitive church did for its generation. Nothing in Scripture indicates that the earliest congregations were intended to be models for all time to come or even in their own time for that matter. The facts of history, culture, and civilization demand that the Church of Christ of the second century would be a second century church and that the church of the sixteenth century would be a sixteenth century church. Each generation of Christians is to serve its own time, drawing upon both Holy Scripture and the experience of the Church (tradition) for its direction.

A lot of this, of course, is predicated upon the ways we view and interpret the Bible. Those who see the Scriptures as a rule book and a list of guidelines and commands to follow in order to be “right” with God will seek those patterns and regulations and strive to be “right.” Those who understand the Scriptures to be the Spirit-inspired accounts of real people being impacted by a real God and the very real ways it’s all worked out in real life will look for something else. In considering church beliefs and practices, structure and worship, those brothers and sisters look for whether those things are in tune with God’s Spirit, whether they genuinely reflect the Gospel, and whether they bring glory to God.

Instead of searching the Bible and asking the question, “Is this what the first church did?” we should be asking, “Is this consistent with the person of Jesus?” The “pattern” for the Church — and this “pattern” will never change — is the person of Christ Jesus, our risen Lord. It’s his image we see in the mirror. It’s his likeness into which we are being transformed by God’s Holy Spirit. It’s his death, burial, and resurrection that should be modeled and proclaimed and upheld in every one of our beliefs and practices. The Good News should be the lens through which we view our church beliefs and practices. Jesus’ sacrificial service should be the spirit with which we enter every elders meeting and committee hearing. Our faith is in a person, not a policy; the Church is built on a relationship, not regulations.

No one congregation in the New Testament therefore can be viewed as our pattern, nor all of them together, but out of their experiences, their strengths and weaknesses, we learn how to be his Church.

Peace,

Allan

Everybody’s in the Youth Group

January 27, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I’m driving down to Henrietta, Texas this Sunday afternoon for an area youth rally thing — they call it “Sunday Night Live! — at the Henrietta Church of Christ. I don’t know anybody at the Henrietta Church of Christ other than two really good, really old friends.

Brad Yurcho and I played football together at Dallas Christian High School. And we both wanted Brad Sham’s job calling Cowboys games on KRLD. Yurcho and I would sometimes sit on the very top row of the bleachers at DC during Junior High and, later, JV football games and do the play-by-play. Out loud. To each other. With each other. Seems strange now. But we both thought we were pretty good and, someday, would make a pretty good broadcast team.

Scott Williams and I were Delta brothers at Oklahoma Christian. We made road trips together. We cruised the streets of Edmond together. We went shopping for pumpkins together during the holidays. We went on disciplinary probation together at OC. Ah, yes; great times.

Scott and Brad and their families are in Henrietta now, good friends themselves, working with the young people there, teaching and mentoring and passing on the faith to those coming up after us. It’s really quite special. I hadn’t seen Scott in years when he walked up to me a couple of months ago here at Central, just minutes before our Sunday morning assembly was to begin. I remember thinking, “Man, if he’s come to confess sin, we’re going to be here a while.” What a terrific surprise! Brad called me the very next morning and made the invitation to speak at their church official. And I’m really looking forward to Sunday.

I love speaking to young people. I love being with teenagers. When you’re in a room full of teens, you’re surrounded by unlimited potential. The possibilities are countless. It’s unimaginable all the wonderful things these young men and women are going to do in God’s Kingdom. They’re all so talented and passionate, so full of life and energy, so emotional and “all-in” to whatever they’re doing.

And they all love to learn brand new things. They want to be taught. They want to be shown something they’ve never seen before. They want to know something new. They all want to experiment. They want to push the envelope. They’re bold. They want to do something for Christ that’s never been done before. They want to be a real part of something bigger than themselves. They don’t have a whole lot of patience for doing church; they want to be church. And I love that.

And most of us say, yeah, that’s just the way young people are. They’re teenagers. They won’t always be that way. They’ll grow out of it.

Most of us say that because most of us have grown out of it.

And that’s a shame.

Scripture says, inwardly, we are being renewed day by day. We’re being refreshed by God’s Holy Spirit. We’re being revived every day, re-energized, re-booted, re-newed day by day. That means we’re all in the youth group! Yes, you! You’re in the youth group at your church. Everybody’s in the youth group!

Isn’t that fantastic news? All of us are being made younger and fresher and newer every day. All of us should be acting like our teenagers. I should be more bold and imaginative. You should be more passionate and hungry for new truths about our Lord and his plans for your life. We all should be pushing the envelope when it comes to sacrificial service in the name and manner of Jesus. We all should be so brakes-off, no-looking-back, full-steam-ahead in our discipleship to our Christ. We should sing louder, laugh harder, dance wilder, love more, try different; we should stop hesitating, stop flinching, stop negotiating, stop settling. Our young people are on to something!

Jesus says you’ve got to be a little kid to inherit his Kingdom.

You’re being renewed every day. By God’s grace and the transforming power of his Spirit, you’re getting younger, not older! You’re in the youth group.

So go get a two-liter of Mountain Dew and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. I’ll see you at the lock-in!

Peace,

Allan

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