The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

AllanStanglin.com

Category: Salvation (Page 27 of 34)

Reserved Seats

February 8, 2011 / / 1 Comment

I feel sorry for those more than 400 people (even the Steelers fans) who spent thousands of dollars, paid for their Super Bowl seats, traveled hundreds of miles, booked hotel rooms, and otherwise rearranged their lives only to be denied access to the game. I hurt for those folks who lived and died with their teams every week — some of them putting in hard time for years and years — who were anticipating the thrills of cheering that team on in person at the ultimate game, and who did everything in their knowledge and power to insure it would happen only to be told, “We’re sorry. Your seats are not ready. You can’t go inside the stadium.”

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God… For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” ~Colossians 3:1-4

Praise God we are not dependent on ourselves or Jerry Jones or the NFL to hold our reservations. Praise God we are guaranteed to be clothed in the glory of our Lord on that blessed day. Thank God that the risen Son is holding our tickets, he’s keeping them in a safe place, right there at the right hand of the Father. And when it’s time, our seats will be waiting for us.

When Christ comes, when the renewal of all things is at last accomplished, when all of creation is finally restored, when heaven joins earth on that last day, when God’s will is ultimately fulfilled, we’ll be there. And we won’t just be in the front row on the 50-yard line. We’ll be on the field. Celebrating with our Lord. Making snow angels in the confetti. The trophy will be ours.

And that’s a holy promise that can never be taken away.

Peace,

Allan

A Table in the Desert

January 19, 2011 / / 0 Comments

“Can God spread a table in the desert?” ~Psalm 78:19

The psalmist asks if God can really provide a feast for his people out in the middle of the remote wilderness. Is it possible? Can provide nourishment and life where there is none?

The answer gushes from a rock. Streams flow abundantly. Water in the desert. Thirst-quenching life in the midst of certain death.

The psalmist sees the water. And he follows up with, “But can he also give us food? Can he supply meat for his people?” (Psalm 78:20)

And the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth opens up the skies to rain down manna and quail. The grain from heaven, the “bread of angels.” He “rained meat down on them.” They ate “till they had more than enough.”

“He sent them all the food they could eat” (Psalm 78:25).

Yes, our God can spread a table in the desert. He can open up a 24-hour-all-you-can-eat smorgasbord right in the middle of your desert. Right in the middle of your driest condition. Right in the darkest part of your worst night. Down in the depths of your deepest valley. He can shine light into your scariest situation. He can bring life from your dead-as-a-doornail, going-through-the-motions rut. Absolutely. Yes, he can.

My God prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. And I eat with God in complete communion and perfect peace. Protected. Provided for. Saved.

My God is sufficient. He is able. And he covers me with his tent and promises I will hunger and thirst no more.

Peace,

Allan

To Us A Child Is Born

December 25, 2010 / / 0 Comments

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.” ~Isaiah 9:6

Yeah, yeah, God is with us. I know he lives with us. But only metaphorically, right? God is with us in a spiritual kind of way, a mental or psychological way. There’s no way God can actually live with us on earth. I mean, God is perfectly perfect. Infinite. Transcendent. Holy. Divine. Eternal. Wholly other. The barriers of time and space and divinity are too great. God can’t actually live with us here. After all, we are human. And sinful. Finite. Physical beings with physical limitations and shortcomings. God with us isn’t really real.

Isaiah 9 says “Wrong!”

It says God came to us. It says the Incarnation of our great God is a real, physical, historical fact. God left the glory in heaven to come to us.

Now that would be a very horrible thing if God were a monster. If God were bent on destroying us or desired to torture us, his coming to us would be a terrifying thing.

But our God loves us. He is a loving God. He desires communion with us. He wants to be family with us. He calls us his children and wants us to call him our Father. He loves us so much that he determined a long time ago to do whatever it takes to get us out of the dark and into his eternal Kingdom of Light. Even leaving heaven. Even putting on our flesh and taking on our great burdens of suffering and sin and shame.

To save us.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” ~Isaiah 9:2

I pray that you have a great Christmas with your family and friends. I pray that you are blessed today with peace and good will. And I pray that you give thanks today for the incomprehensible gift of God’s coming to us in humility, in the form of a helpless newborn baby, to rescue us.

Merry Christmas,

Allan

Rejoicing With Gran Gran

November 30, 2010 / / 1 Comment

I had the great honor of planning and preaching yesterday’s funeral service for Carrie-Anne’s grandmother who died on Thanksgiving Day. Gran Gran was the center of that family’s life. Everything we did on Carrie-Anne’s side of the family revolved around Gran Gran. She was a rock of strength and a fountain of joy. She laughed loudly and often. She hugged fiercely. She loved everybody with everything she had. She was the kind of grandmother you wish all children had. She was the kind of grandparent I want to be someday.

One of Carrie-Anne’s younger cousins asked me after the service, “How in the world did you manage to keep your composure while you were talking about Gran Gran? How did you not start crying?”

“It’s easy,” I told her. “I really do believe the things I talked about.”

I really do believe that Gran Gran is in a much better place, the place she was created by our God to ultimately live. I really do believe that since Christ was raised from the dead, we are all going to be raised from the dead to live forever in the holy presence of the Creator of Heaven and Earth. I really do believe that she is experiencing now the culmination of all of God’s promises and guarantees, the fulfillment of all of God’s eternal plans, that she really does have a new body and a new mind, and that I really am going to see her again very soon.

It’s not just words. It’s indisputable truth. It’s undeniable fact. Death does not have the final word. Death is not the bottom line. Our risen Lord has all power and all authority and he always writes the last chapter.

So we don’t grieve as others grieve. We don’t mourn as others mourn. Yes, there is sadness in her leaving. Of course, there is a heavy sense of loss. Oh yeah, there are tears. But, seriously, it’s more like she’s taken off on another cruise somewhere and we are all going to see her again.

Actually, it’s much better than that. She’s a conqueror today. She’s a victor. The New Testament image of a funeral procession is one of great triumph, like a victorious general returning home to a huge parade of cheering witnesses, that great cloud of witnesses who’ve gone on before. Gran Gran is rejoicing today. And I rejoice with her.

May we always grieve in a way that brings glory to our Father. May our mourning accurately reflect the Good News of our guaranteed salvation from God in Christ. May our responses to the death of our loved ones bring our King, the Lord of Life, eternal honor and praise.

Peace,

Allan

You Are So Great!

November 23, 2010 / / 0 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 to do when you stumble as much as I do. It’s easy when the 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 to 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, 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?

Peace,

Allan

The Happiest Person

November 17, 2010 / / 0 Comments

One of my favorite authors, Dallas Willard, famously says, “The happiest person in the church ought to be the pastor.” I have that quote on the wall in my study, right there in eyesight above my computer. I read it several times a day. I’m looking at it right now as I type this post.

“The happiest person in the church ought to be the pastor.”

Why should the preacher be the happiest person? It’s not because everybody treats him so well. It’s not because he’s so highly paid. It’s not because his wife is perfect or his kids are straight-A students with boy scout medals and scholarships. It’s not because he only works one hour a week. It’s not because he wields any power or influence, is respected in his community, or owns a great haircut and fashionable wardrobe.

Willard explains that the preacher is the happiest person in the church because he understands. He gets it. He knows it better than anybody. He sees the big picture. He recognizes the Truth. He’s fully aware of the ultimate realities.

The preacher understands that our God is good and faithful. He knows that Christ has redeemed us and delivered us from sin and slavery to death. He sees that our Lord is sovereign and reigns over all our circumstances. He’s totally convinced that God’s Holy Spirit lives inside us and empowers us to do great things. He recognizes that we’re all destined for a glorious eternity in the loving presence of God. He’s aware that little petty things — most all things, actually — don’t really matter in light of our salvation from God in Christ.

Wait a second…

…that’s you, too. Right?

Peace,

Allan

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑