Category: Salvation (Page 16 of 34)

It Is Done

October 1, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

The magic number is two. If the Rangers win two of the four games against the Angels in the final regular season series that begins tonight in Arlington, they’ll win their first division title since 2011. They’ll also clinch the championship if they win only one and the Astros lose at least one of their three games in Arizona starting tomorrow.

This won’t be easy. The Halos are 10-5 against Texas this year. And, remember, Texas led the A.L. West by two games with four to play in 2012 and blew it, going 1-3 against Oakland and losing the division on the last day of the season.

The good news may be that LAA got seven of those ten wins against the Rangers before the All Star break. Texas was throwing guys like Ross Detwiler, Nick Martinez, Anthony Ranaudo, and Wandy Rodriguez at the Angels during the first half. Since then, the Rangers have added Derek Holland, Cole Hamels, Martin Perez, Jake Diekman, and Sam Dyson to the pitching staff and have gone 3-3 against the Halos. Colby Lewis is the only starter from the first half of the season who is still in the team’s rotation. And, if this thing is still undecided by Sunday, Texas will have Hamels up and ready against a team that’s never faced him.

Four games to play. The magic number is two.

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Act Six of the Story of God is not about getting a person’s individual sins forgiven so we can go to heaven when we die. Yes, that’s a very important means of God’s salvation, but that’s not the final end. That’s not the ultimate purpose. God is putting the whole world right. He’s renewing and restoring all of Creation. This is not salvation from the world; this is salvation of the world! Not just personal forgiveness and peace; this is justice and shalom/peace for the whole world. Not individual souls going to heaven; it’s the fullness of God coming here. The risen and reigning Jesus showed it to John. And he wants us to see it, too.

“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!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.'” ~Revelation 21:1-6

It is done. It is finished. The authoritative words of Jesus on the cross are repeated here by our risen and glorious Lord. It is done. It is completed. In the New Creation, all of God’s salvation purposes have come to their conclusion. This is the confirmation and the victory of what God did when he created the world way back in the beginning. This is the confirmation and victory of God accomplished in Christ Jesus two thousand years ago.

The most certain way to figure out what God is going to do in the future is to pay careful attention to what God has done in the past. This is Back to the Future… only without Biff and the cool DeLorean (Well, I don’t know… maybe there will be a cool DeLorean. There definitely won’t be anybody saddled with the last name of McFly). As God’s children and disciples of the Lord Jesus and we remember the future. What we look forward to is not the destruction of life and the planet but the renewal and restoration of God’s original and “very good” Creation.

The opposite of Yogi Berra’s famous line is true: The future is exactly what it used to be!

Peace,

Allan

Act Six – New Creation

September 30, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

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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“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:

“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

The Son of God!

September 18, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!'” ~Mark 15:37-39

I know this Roman military commander saw the sky turn dark. He felt the earth shake. Maybe he received reports from inside the city about the temple curtain. Maybe he heard about the dead people walking around. Of course, that had an impact on everybody who was there that day.

But I think the centurion was mainly focused on Jesus. He was watching this King. When they insulted Jesus, Jesus blessed them. When they beat him, Jesus loved them. And when they nailed him to the cross, Jesus forgave them. The soldier saw how Jesus died. And it changed him. I think it turned his whole world upside down. Jesus is a King who died like a criminal. He was rejected and killed by the very people he came to save. He’s the mighty Son of God, but he never used his power for himself. Everything’s been reversed. Weakness is a sign of strength. Death is the means to life.

Jesus’ sacrificial death means that Caesar and all the values that Caesar’s world is built on are in trouble. It shows us that faithful obedience unto death, not mighty works of power, can convert even the executioner. God’s people are going to change the world, not with violence, but with love and sacrifice. The centurion not only changed his mind about Jesus, he must have also changed his mind about what it means to be a son of God. Divinity is no longer tied to the splendor and military might of the Empire. Divinity, eternity, lives where it doesn’t look like there is any splendor or might.

The power of the Empire is coercive. It forces others to submit, or else. Jesus’ death shows us a different kind of power. The power the centurion served crushes and destroys and turns life into death. The power of the cross gives itself for the sake of others and turns death into life.

At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, at the waters of our LORD’s baptism, the heavens were torn apart and the Creator of Heaven and Earth declared, “This is my Son.” At his death on the cross, the temple veil ripped open and a representative of the most powerful nation in history made the same confession.

What set Jesus apart and what marks all disciples who follow him today is not his strength, but his weakness; not his majestic power, but his suffering; not his authority and rule, but his sacrifice and love.

Peace,

Allan

Torn in Two

September 17, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” ~Mark 15:37-38

The curtain of the temple was a beautiful and imposing barrier between the people of God and the visible, physical presence of God. The Creator lived in the temple’s Holy of Holies. His glory dwelled there, behind the veil. That’s where God was. And only the high priest of Israel could enter. And he could only go in there once a year, on behalf of the people.

The curtain is described by Josephus as being 80-feet tall, “…a Babylonian tapestry with embroidery of blue and fine linen, of scarlet also and purple, wrought with marvelous skill, woven with the whole panorama of the heavens.”

It was beautiful. Historical. Precious. It was a national treasure. But the curtain was a barrier that separated a holy God from an unholy people. Direct access to the presence of God, to his glory, had always been denied.

But not now. The curtain that shielded God’s glory is now ripped wide open at Jesus’ death. The veil is lifted and now everybody can see the face of God and bask in his glory and love. The barrier between the Creator and his created has been torn away. Religious leaders can’t rope God off from the people anymore. Everybody in the world now has direct access, “through a new and living way,” to a gracious God who has sacrificed so much for our salvation.

No more sacrifices: the Lamb of God has been offered. No more exclusive priests: now all of God’s people are priests and worship and serve together in his actual presence. Even Gentiles are allowed in now. Even women!

This “torn in two” curtain now lets people in. But it also lets something out. God’s glory can’t be confined anymore to a national shrine made of stone and brick. God’s glory now floods the earth. Just like the heavens were ripped apart at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, at his baptism, and the Holy Spirit descended on him, now the temple veil is torn open and the Holy Spirit of God is now freely available to all!

Peace,

Allan

The What, Not the Why

September 16, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

For the past two thousand years, we’ve developed dozens of theories as to why Jesus had to suffer and die on the cross to forgive our sins. The ransom theory says Jesus had to die to pay our debt of sin. The substitution theory is that Jesus took our rightful place on the cross. Propitiation says God’s wrath had to be satisfied so Jesus took the brunt of God’s holy anger instead of us. I could go on. There are lots of atonement theologies.

The New Testament itself uses legal language and sacrificial imagery, military terms and financial lingo, all kinds of different ways to try to explain what Jesus did on the cross. But in Scripture, in the Story, it’s not about what Jesus had to do, it’s only about what Jesus did. The Bible is not explaining what God had to do in order to save us, it’s interpreting what God did.

He died for us.

He died a terrible death.

He died.

What happened at the cross maybe shouldn’t be studied and discussed as much as meditated over and pondered. It should be absorbed, not just described.

“The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him…

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)… And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

It was 9:00 in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!’

In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.’ Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

At 12:00 noon darkness came over the whole land until 3:00. At 3:00 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ – which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he’s calling Elijah!’

One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ‘Now, leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,’ he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.” ~Mark 15:16-37

Remember, Jesus the Christ is God. This is God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. So, God doesn’t inflict pain on someone else to appease his wrath. God is on the cross, absorbing all the pain and violence and evil of the world into himself. He is becoming our sin for us. Our God is nothing like the pagan deities who demand human blood for their anger to be satisfied. No, our God becomes human so he can offer his own blood.

God died. He died for us. Scripture never says he had to die in order to forgive. But it makes a very big deal out of the fact that he did. Jesus didn’t die on the cross to change God’s mind about us; he died to express God’s heart for us.

This is how he saves us. This is how he loves us. He loves us all the way to the cross. Incessantly, purposefully, willfully, stubbornly, dying on the cross to destroy sin and death and Satan and everything that separates us from God.

Peace,

Allan

Act Four – Jesus

September 15, 2015 / Allan / 0 Comments

Act Four is where the Story of God just absolutely soars. It really takes off here and just zooms majestically into beautiful places we never anticipated.

God himself comes back to the earth he created to live with his people. But this time, he comes as a person. The Creator of Heaven and Earth puts on human flesh and blood to live with us and to once and for all save us. This time, God doesn’t send an angel or a prophet or some other representative. He leaves his home in eternal glory to live with us himself. This time, God is not forming man from the dust; God himself enters that dust, he becomes that clay. This is very personal God. After all, it’s his promise.

“‘She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the LORD had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ — which means ‘God with us.'” ~Matthew 1:21-23

“You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The LORD God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his Kingdom will never end.” ~Luke 1:31-33

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” ~John 1:29

Jesus says “I came to seek and save the lost.” “I came not to be served, but to serve and to give my life.” “I have come to proclaim the Kingdom of God.” “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

Jesus of Nazareth is a real flesh-and-blood man in the real history of time and space. But he is also God. “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” “I and the Father are one.” And God did not come just to save us from our sins, he came to save us to life: more abundant life, eternal life, life in union with God as true sons and daughters of God.

So God becomes flesh and makes his dwelling among us. And he immediately begins to overturn the effects of sin and death. He starts to change things back to the way they were in Act One. Jesus begins to reverse the curse of sin.

“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.” ~Matthew 4:23-24

Jesus heals the sick because there is no disease in the Garden of Eden. He feeds the hungry because there is no need in the Garden of Eden. Jesus raises the dead because there are no cemeteries in the beginning. He eats with Jews and Gentiles, he shares meals with religious leaders and sinners, because there were no distinctions in the Garden. He reaches out to women and elevates women, he calls and commissions women, because Adam and Eve were equals in the beginning. He calms the storms and stills the seas because earth and nature were created to cooperate with people, not destroy them. Jesus forgives sins because humans were created by God in the perfect image of God in order to live and reign with God in his presence forever.

Jesus is actively reversing the curse. He’s making all things right. And he is with us. Immanuel. God with us. Eating with us, worshiping with us, laughing and crying with us, blessing our children, living with us. Changing lives. Saving lives. Thousands of people traveled miles and days just to hear the words fall from his lips, just to feel the love in his gentle touch. Little kids were crawling all over him. People were climbing trees just to see him, ripping roofs off houses just to get to him.

And then Jesus did something only he could do. He did something to finally and ultimately and completely reverse the curse, to destroy the effects of sin and death forever.

He died.

He died on a cross.

On purpose.

Jesus resolutely set his face toward Jerusalem and walked to the cross. He allowed himself to be beaten and tortured. He allowed them to nail his hands and feet to the blood-soaked wood of a cross. He died willingly. He sacrificed himself. He could have called ten thousand angels. But he died alone. For you and me. It’s what Jesus came to do. The Lamb of God who dies to take away the sin of the world.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Salvation (Page 16 of 34)

It Is Done

Act Six – New Creation

The Son of God!

Torn in Two

The What, Not the Why

Act Four – Jesus

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