The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

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Category: Promise (Page 10 of 11)

Their Deeds Will Follow Them

October 7, 2011 / / 0 Comments

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'” ~Revelation 14:13

It’s a promise from the future that impacts our every moment in the present. Your labor in the Lord is not in vain. Not at all. The things you’re doing right now for the Kingdom will last forever.

You know, salvation is not a private thing. God saves us to work through us to save others. And everything we contribute to the cause — everything! — is used by God toward that great and ultimate end. Just like the parables of the talents, what we use to his glory, whatever it is, will be multiplied and used by God for his purposes. Like the cup of cold water given in his name, it will be rewarded. Like the weekend food packed for needy school children. Like the check written for Breakthrough Sunday. Like the prayer lifted for the single mom and the errand run for the divorced dad. Our deeds will follow us into eternity. Our efforts for the Lord are going to last forever.

We are building for the Kingdom. All our work matters. Every minute is packed with heavenly potential. Every action is loaded with eternal consequences.

To his enduring praise and glory!

Peace,

Allan

The Active Life

October 5, 2011 / / 0 Comments

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.

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?

The Christian life is an active life. Our God calls us to give our whole selves to him. Brakes off; no looking back; full steam ahead! 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.

Peace,

Allan

Consider the Lilies

September 12, 2011 / / 1 Comment

Emily Dickinson once wrote that “Consider the lilies of the field” is the only commandment she never broke. I’m trying to do better and better about keeping that command.

This huge big sky in Amarillo makes the sunrises and sunsets seem so much more dramatic, more beautiful, than I remember. This sky with all its brilliant colors and shades that seems to go on forever was created by my Father to remind me of the boundless nature of his love. That love also manifests itself in many forms and hues and, like the expanse above me, has no end.

The butterfly that Carley can’t quite catch is sent by my God to make me smile. The chimpanzees at the zoo that make Valerie laugh are evidence of our Maker’s sense of humor. The thunder and lightning that make Whitney jump in my lap are proof of his great power.

Bluebonnets in the spring witness to God’s eye for beauty. An overdue rain shower in August testifies to his faithfulness. Falling leaves in October speak to our Father’s sovereignty. Little squirrels eating stored up nuts in the dead of winter remind us of God’s great provision. His concern for his creation. His care for the things and people he loves.

Even the wildfires that are ravaging parts of the state I love and profoundly impacting people I love remind me that our God is sovereign over his creation. He cleanses and restores, he purges and purifies. He destroys and makes new again. He does it to his world. And he does it in me.

Slow down. Look around. Spend some time today considering the lilies and the trees and the prarie dogs. Even the weeds growing up through the cracks in the sidewalk have something to say about the determination of our God to give life to what is dead, to bring light out of darkness.

I’m beginning to question the leadership capabilities of the shepherds here at Central. Why in the world would they schedule Jerry Taylor to preach here for a full month and a half before my first sermon? I told Jerry three weeks ago that if he really wanted to help me out, he could deliver a couple of real clunkers in his last few visits. Throwing out a real stink-o would be his last gracious act to me as Central’s new preacher. I’m afraid I’m going to get up there this Sunday and, after just five minutes or so, most of the church will be wondering, “When is Jerry coming back?”

My great friend David Byrnes emailed me this morning and, among other things, said, “May the Lord bless those poor people at Central this Sunday who will have to endure a preacher who’s been bottled up for over a month!”

I’ll be sure to include a couple of intermissions.

Peace,

Allan

Take Heart!

May 4, 2011 / / 1 Comment

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” ~John 16:33

Jesus tells us plainly — from the mountain, around the table, along the way — that this world is openly hostile to the things of God. For disciples to live in the world means we have to experience struggle and conflict and even battles. The world’s values and vision and morals and ethics are opposed to ours in Christ. And living here isn’t easy.

Not for Christians.

Living right here right now is hard.

I spent an hour with Quincy this morning in our prayer room, lifting up dozens of requests to our Father in Jesus’ name. The things my brothers and sisters have written on those requests tell me that we have struggles and battles. I’ve spent more than a few cumulative hours over the past four or five days in my study counseling with people, praying with people, crying and agonizing with people. There’s nothing easy about this.

Jesus never pretended that it would be. He knows it’s tough. He lived it, remember? And he reminds us that while we’re having this trouble, we can also be filled with courage and strength and hope because he has overcome all of it.

Jesus tells us, “I have faced your enemy and I have conquered him. I have fought your battles on the same fields of human experience where you fight, and I’ve won. I’ve already done it for you. And I’m doing it right now in you and for you.”

If we abide in him, if we stay connected to him, his eternal victory belongs to us.

Wow. That’s really good news.

Peace,

Allan

Correcting Our Views On Miracles

March 17, 2011 / / 3 Comments

Right after the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus preaches and teaches about turning the world upside down, he begins healing people. Right out of the gate. “When he came down from the mountainside…” (Matt. 8:1), the first thing he did was heal a man with leprosy. “Be clean!” The very next story has Jesus healing the Centurion’s servant. He heals Peter’s mother-in-law in the very next passage. And Matthew tells us, look, this is what God’s been building toward all along: “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases” (Matt. 8:17).

Still in the same chapter, Jesus calms the raging sea. The wind and the waves are tearing up the boat. The storm is threatening to destroy the people in it. And Jesus stops everything. With a word, all is calm. Peace is restored.

A few chapters later we find more than 5,000 hungry people out in the wilderness. No food. No Kroger. They’re going to starve. And Jesus provides the food. Fish and bread. Everybody eats until they’re full. They collected twelve baskets of leftovers.

We look at Jesus’ miracles and we think, wow, Jesus goes against the laws of nature! Jesus does the supernatural! He suspends reality! We say Jesus overrides the natural order. But that’s not correct. When Jesus does a miracle, he’s actually restoring the natural order. Jesus is restoring things to the way they were always created and intended to be.

The wind and the waves were not created by God to kill. People are not made to be sick or hungry.

We need to change the way we view Jesus’ miracles. He’s not going against the norm. He’s tapping into and restoring the norm. Calm seas are normal. Satisfied bellies are normal.

Jesus shows up and says, “I’m fixing things!” When Jesus finishes a miracle, I think he steps back and says, “Now that’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Jesus’ miracles are not abnormal. He’s just showing us and reminding us of what normal is. It’s been so long, a lot of us forget. We look around at all the problems in this world and we start to think that things have always been this way and they’re always going to be this way. No! That’s wrong on both counts!

I think this has a lot to say to God’s people groaning today in Japan. It’s a powerful message for God’s people groaning in India. And in North Texas.

Hunger and disease and divorce are not normal. They are abnormalities. Aberrations. Addiction and homelessness and broken families are not regular. They are irregular. Out of order. So are tsunamis and tornadoes and hurricanes. And nuclear meltdowns and crime and war. These are the very things our Lord came to fix. And, praise God, with his coming, the fixing’s already begun.

And if we really believe it…

…then we’ll jump into that exact same kind of “fixing” work with everything we have.

Jesus’ miracles are not abnormal. He’s just reminding us of what normal really is.

Peace,

Allan

Under Your Feet

February 22, 2011 / / 0 Comments

We were finishing up Romans in our men’s Bible study this morning when we came upon one of the most powerful verses in all of Scripture, Romans 16:20.

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Wow. How powerful. How empowering. I’m not sure any of the motivational speeches in the history of the silver screen, from Knute Rockne to Braveheart, ever inspired so much hope. From Washington to Bowie to Patton, no commander has ever spoken a more immortal truth to rally the troops. Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry combined could never touch the power of these motivational words.

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

If these words of Holy Scripture are true — and they are — then there’s nothing that can ever stop us. There is nothing to fear. There is nothing to doubt. Nobody can stand in our way. Satan can’t stop us. Satan can’t slow us down. He can’t scare us or intimidate us or trick us. His fate is sealed. His destiny is already being delivered. He will soon be completely crushed by God under our feet.

So, what are we afraid of? Why are we so slow to act? What are we waiting for?

With Satan out of the picture, we are liberated to do bold things, courageous things, great things for God’s Kingdom in the name of our Risen Lord. With no fear. No doubts. No hesitation.

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Cool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I just finished making our hotel reservations for the Tulsa Workshop. Carrie-Anne and I are really, really looking foward to this latest installment of our annual treks to the home of the Drillers. There are 67 speakers scheduled to present at Tulsa this year. Thirty-one of them are rookies to the Workshop, first-timers. So, we get to hear new ideas, new motivations to evangelize, new energies and new interests as we are equipped and empowered to proclaim the eternal Lordship of Jesus to the world.

Again, for the first time ever, there will also be specific lectures and tracks for church elders, preachers, children’s ministers, worship leaders, and more. They’ve radically expanded the teen and children’s programs for the four days. If you’ve never been to the Tulsa Workshop, I highly recommend it. You’ll come away energized, revived, and equipped to be a more effective follower of Christ. The worship will inspire you, the speakers will provoke you, and the fellowship will remind you that we are part of a Kingdom without borders, a big picture realm of the rule of our God in which we are called to minister and serve in his name.

Can’t wait.

Allan

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