Following Jesus: Benefits in this Life, Too

The point of the Jesus-following life has always been and will always be love: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  (Luke 10:27)

 

Jesus constantly demonstrated love, even for undervalued women and children as shown here.  
He is portrayed here by Jonathon Roumie in the brilliant and sensitive series, "The Chosen".
See below for information about how to watch the series free.

 

While love is the point, there are undeniable benefits of following Him. Jesus told us, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

 

And in the two thousand years since He walked the Earth, "more abundantly" has been the reality for Christians, and even society at large. Social science confirms it.

 

John Stonestreet and Kasey Leander wrote recently about this in a recent blog article, Is Religion the Opium of the People, or the Ladder?

 

The wrote, in part,  "Regular attendance at religious services consistently correlates with longer life spans, stronger immune systems, and lower blood pressure, as well as decreased anxiety, depression, and suicide. Kids raised in religious households have a lower incidence of drug addiction, delinquency, and incarceration. They’re more likely to graduate high school. In short, the nearly unanimous scientific consensus is that religious belief is good for you."

 

And if that wasn't enough, Jesus also said "for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

 

In short: the Jesus-following life = better life + better life after life!

 

 

[You can watch the series The Chosen for free.  You will be invited to "pay it forward," but there is no obligation.]

Am I Wearing the Cross? Or Is It Wearing Me?

Am I wearing the cross,

or is it wearing me?

These words turned over and again in that semi-wakefulness before dawn. I have never worn a crucifix. It wasn’t about that.

I remember thinking as a ten-year-old self that I was “very religious.”  I was thinking that because I attended church with my family. While I no longer want to be religious, those days did set my feet on The Way.

Still, in those early days, I was wearing a cross. My outward behaviors were the crucifix I wore.  I wore it Sundays, and eventually throughout the week.

Today, decades later, the cross is wearing me. It is for me as Paul wrote: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Jesus has become my entire spiritual ecosystem.  It is in and for His Kingdom that I live. The Kingdom is the place where my hopes and dreams reside.  By His grace, I have been made a son of God (John 1:12) -- a son of the King of kings: a prince, you might say.

In recent years, I have realized that from my identity will flow my behaviors and even my thoughts.   If I wear a cross around my neck or on my lapel, that’s one thing. But if I am a prince in the Kingdom of God, that's another thing entirely.

If this sounds like boasting, it is. I am  boasting about the one who took a mess like me, and turned me into a prince.  

 

I know that my journey of faith is not complete.  However, I also know this: when my Father looks at me, he sees a prince of His Kingdom.  That is who I am and who I am becoming.

He is willing to do that for you, too.  

Train Up a Child in the Way She Should Go.....

Solomon was trained from childhood to choose wisdom above everything else. Is it possible that he was the only one God gave this choice of a lifetime to because he was the only one we know of who was trained to make the right decision? I think it is highly possible. If that is true, then what are the parallels for us as we teach the next generation? What are we drawing into the lives of our young people through our faith-filled training? In what manner are we raising the generation to come? Our prophetic decrees over them might actually attract opportunities from God. God is the ultimate steward, opening doors where they will be walked through the most.

When my children were growing up, I put them to bed by repeating these two charges night after night: `Remember, you are part of a team that is here to change the world,' and, `When you go to sleep tonight, ask God if there is anything that is impossible that He wants you to do.' It was my effort to raise children who know no limits.

This excerpt is from The Power that Changes the World: Creating Eternal Impact in the Here & Now a recent book by Bill Johnson.

Normally I quickly fall asleep. But, after reading those words last night, sleep came slowly. My heart was on fire with the implications of those words.

What if we trained our children from their earliest days that they are beloved sons and daughters of the King of Glory.....and that the King is in a good mood?

What if we trained them to believe they can have the righteous power of princesses and princes in the Kingdom of God?

What if we trained them to turn their ears to wisdom and apply their hearts to understanding as for hidden silver?

What if we trained them that it can be on Earth as it is in Heaven more than we have ever seen in the history of the Church?

And what if we trained them to believe they can be so very important in making that happen?

My heart is pumping hard with hope and expectation.

Serve Your Employers Wholeheartedly and with Love

Never saw it quite this way before....

"Serve your employers wholeheartedly and with love, as though you were serving Christ and not men. Be assured that anything you do that is beautiful and excellent will be repaid by our Lord, whether you are an employee or an employer."

This is Ephesians 6:7&8 from a recent translation of the earliest and best Greek and Aramaic texts of this letter from the Apostle Paul. As I read that this morning it spoke directly to me more clearly than ever before.

What I found as I compared it to a more familiar English version of the Bible is the words "slave" and "master". I have read this passage many times over the years, and I have always understood the point and tried to follow this instruction.

But I never felt it so directly pointed at me as I did today. Then it hit me: always in the past I have, at some level, seen this instruction as written to slaves. And while "slave" is the actual translation of the Greek word that Paul used, this instruction really applies to anyone working for someone else, as this translation points out.

Chalk up one more reason for reading the Bible in various translations!

A Christmas Story

"Mary, quite big in her last month of pregnancy  was accompanied by over a dozen aunts and female cousins.  Joseph walked alone in front, followed by all of these women  who were chatting and giggling merrily about babies and 'motherly' things.

Nativity scene

A few minutes later the noisy entourage arrived in Bethlehem and were directed to the "sheep pen," crowded with sheep. Soon Mary started labor. Joseph paced nervously back and forth in front of the stable, while the women, several of them midwives, crowded around Mary to help deliver the baby. A short labor ensued, and soon the women all gave a high shrill vibrating cry—the typical Ethiopian joy cry that announces the birth of every child in Ethiopia. The spectators cheered, and the women in the crowd joined in the joy cry with the actors. Hearing the cry, Joseph ran into the sheep pen to see the newborn baby. Later, of course, the familiar shepherds came, followed by the wise men."

Sound familiar, sort of?

The above is part of a story about how one Ethiopian church presented a Christmas pageant not long ago. The not-totally-familiar Christmas pageant story appears in a textbook (Grasping God's Word) we are using at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM).  

You may be wondering about all the extra women.  They aren't in the Christmas story, are they?  No....they are not mentioned in the Biblical text.  But that does not mean they were NOT there.

The point of telling the story in this textbook is to help us understand what WE bring to the Biblical text.  For example all of us come with some "cultural lenses" whenever we read the Bible.  

The Ethiopian culture suggests that of course there are other women along with Mary on the trip to Bethlehem.  After all, who could expect a young first time father to help successfully deliver a baby?  And who among women would not ululate with joy at the birth of a child?

Those of us who have seen many American Christmas pageants come to the Biblical text with the cultural understanding that it was just Joseph, Mary and the donkey on the road to Bethlehem.  But just as there are no extra women in the Biblical text, there is also no donkey.  

The image illustrating this post contributes to faulty understanding of the text.  In this case, "Mary" has a typically European face, wears clothing more typical of a few hundred years ago, there is a cow, and so forth.

The reality is that probably neither the Ethiopian nor the American perspective is totally accurate, but I wonder if those Ethiopian believers may have been closer to the mark.

We all bring our "stuff" along with us when we read the Bible.  Duvall and Hays suggest four influences we bring as we read:

• pre-understandings that come from experiences, hymns, art, literature, etc. that make us think we already understand the text
• pre-forumulated theological agendas that make us look at the text merely to fill in the details of what we already believe 
• familiarity that comes from reading the Bible often -- and makes us think we already understand the passages we read
• culture is almost transparent to us as water is to a fish -- the fish doesn't notice it, and neither do we notice how our culture is projected into the reading process.

I was both dismayed and delighted to study this.  I was dismayed because I realized that I have been guilty of all four of the above flaws in my own Bible reading.   But I was also delighted because knowing these reading traps can help any of us read the Bible without falling into them.  

How about you?  What does reading this do to your thinking about how you read the Bible?  You can post a reply below.

I Want My Mouth Guard Back

In the evening, as I sat on the bed to read before going to sleep, I saw Linda's mouth guard on the sheet at the foot of the bed between our two duvets. That would not be very exciting were it not for the events that led up to it.

On Tuesday evening, the 1st day of BSSM, Linda said her mouth guard was missing, and that was not good news. It helps her sleep, and it measurably increases her blood oxygenation. It is a custom-fitted appliance, and cost more than $2000 to study, design, build and fit. The story of the mouth guard is interesting in itself, but I'm going to stay on track.

We looked for it around the bed, in the duvets, and on the floor. I had washed clothes early the day of it's disappearance, and Linda wondered if she had put it in a pillowcase, as is her custom for keeping it safe when she takes it out. I even stopped by the apartment complex office to ask if it had been turned in from the laundry area.

We had heard the story from Bethel about the man who lost his knife (video below), and said to the Lord, "I want my knife back.". The knife mysteriously reappeared. Since then, others have prayed similarly and some have seen miraculous reappearances....like the man whose missing watch was on his thumb the next morning when he awoke!


Well, we prayed that, too. "Lord, we want that mouth guard back!" It is no stretch for the God who loves us to take care of the things that concern us, so we asked in faith for this small thing. Well......at $2000+ maybe it's more of a "medium thing". :)

And there it was....right in plain sight at the end of the day.

Some might scoff and say that it was tangled up in the bedding and it was just a coincidence that it appeared in that way. Maybe, but I have observed that we have more of these "coincidences" when we pray. From my perspective, it was a miracle.

So....we give praise to the God who loves us, and watches over our lives!

Buying the Pearl

I have always been fascinated by the Gospel of Matthew the tax collector.  I have read it many times, but for days recently I couldn't get past Matt 13:44-46.  Here's how it reads in N.T.Wright's excellent "Matthew for Everyone" version.

’The kingdom of heaven’, Jesus continued, ‘is like treasure hidden in a field. Someone found it and hid it, and in great delight went off and sold everything he possessed, and bought that field. ’Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who was looking for fine pearls, and who found one that was spectacularly valuable. He went off and sold everything he possessed, and bought it. 

Wright, N.T. (2011-05-31). Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (New Testament for Everyone) (pp. 174-175). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.  

I like to read the Bible in different English versions, and even in Swedish.  What happens is that I see things I have never seen before when the text is expressed in different ways.  That's what happened here.

So -- What does it mean "sold everything he had and bought it"?  I mean, what does it really mean "sold everything he had"?

A friend once told me that a way to really get inside the Bible is to engage the imagination with the text.  Picture yourself in the story, the friend said.  Imagine the pieces of it.  Really think deeply about it. 

I did that. I could see myself having found an incredible pearl that I knew I could sell for a great profit.  I did not have enough cash on hand, but by selling our house, our car, and all of our possessions, I knew I could afford it.  Then when I turn around and sell it, the profit would allow us to replace it all with newer and better.

That is a great picture of a person who has found Jesus and committed to following Him.  Particularly those of us who have made this decision as adults have "sold" all of our old ways so that we could "buy" better in the Kingdom of Heaven.  That is part of my life story.

But as I meditated on this, I see another level for me as a man who has walked the Jesus Way for 27 years now.  There is still more in my Christian life...I know there is more!  And so I am back in the market yet again looking for more magnificent pearls.  And I have found one.  

What will I have to sell this time to buy the pearl?  What among my activities and my possessions will I "sell" so that with my profit I can "buy" an even deeper relationship with Jesus?

How about you?  What are you willing to "sell" in order to purchase the pearl of great price?

The Immensity and Heritage of God's Love

Here I sit with tears in my eyes as a new understanding of the immensity and heritage of God's love permeates my thinking. I don't think that love was necessary......God surely could have made us without it. There must have been other ways for Him to accomplish His purposes, but He chose the way of love....because that is who He is.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. I Jn 4:16 ESV

I'm deeply grateful for the deep veins of love in my life: family, wife, children, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, even random strangers....all joined together and over arched by the eternal love of God.

And how do we respond to this great love? With love. Jesus said it this way: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matt 22:37b-39 ESV
I love you, Lord.

In the days after the Resurrection

In these days following Easter, I have been wondering what must have been going on in the minds of the disciples in those days right after Christ's resurrection.

Something powerful happened -- the echos of their transformation reverberate even after 20 centuries. We know they were filled with fear at first. The Gospels report that they were behind locked doors -- probably for fear that a similar fate to Jesus' awaited them. Crosses were much too common in first century Israel to be sanguine about them.

They were also confused. Acts records that the disciples asked the risen Jesus if was going to restore the Kingdom to Israel at that time. That says to me they were still trying to fit the mighty sign of resurrection into their grid of understanding.

Jesus gave them a hint of what was to come: wait in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit....and receive power to witness to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1) That is just what happened: the disciples who were sheep without a shepherd on Saturday turned into lions only seven weeks later.

But now, not even a week on after Jesus returned from the dead, the disciples were still trying to put all the pieces together.

That's not unlike us as we joyfully receive Jesus into the locked room of our hearts. It is wonderful to believe in His resurrection and to follow him as Lord. But, it takes the power of Pentecost; the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to receive all that God has for us as believers.

For the disciples in those days right after the resurrection, Pentecost was still weeks away.

Today, as I try to look through the veil of centuries to see into the events of those amazing days, I am reminded again that ordinary men became lions. I am reminded again that resurrection power and the power of Pentecost are available to us today as well.

Lord, let me be filled with that Power of Pentecost again and again so that I can labor faithfully as a witness wherever you call me.

Snatching men from the very jaws of hell

"Christ's call is to feed the hungry, not the full; to save the lost, not the stiff-necked; not to call the scoffers, but sinners to repentance; not to build and furnish comfortable chapels, churches, and cathedrals at home in which to rock Christian professors to sleep by means of clever essays, stereotyped prayers and artistic musical performances, but to raise living churches of souls among the destitute, to capture men from the devil's clutches and snatch them from the very jaws of hell, to enlist and train them for Jesus, and make them into an Almighty Army of God. But this can only be accomplished by a red-hot, unconventional, unfettered Holy Ghost religion, where neither Church nor State, neither man nor traditions are worshiped or preached, but only Christ and Him crucified. Not to confess Christ by fancy collars, church steeples or rich embroidered altar-cloths, but by reckless sacrifice and heroism in the foremost trenches..."

CT Studd, Missionary to China

Help and Hope for Haiti

It is good to provide help for hurting Haiti. But perhaps it is better to provide help and hope? World governments, aid agencies, the Red Cross, and many, many organizations are pouring help in the form of relief supplies and personnel into the disaster area. It is inspiring to see the world rushing to the aid of these stricken people, among the world's poorest.

For myself, I am sending aid to the church in Haiti. My money to a large international aid organization would be a good thing, but I am expecting with my money to contribute to a great thing!

I'm not so concerned that church buildings be rebuilt, although that will be helpful in the long run. My interest is that the churches, God's people, be strengthened and enabled to help those around them, and that leaders be trained and sent out across the nation. In addition to immediate needs, it is the hope of the Good News of Jesus that Haiti will need for the weeks, months and years ahead as people rebuild lives and communities. It is Christianity that can be the foundation for a stronger and more economically viable Haitian society.

I talked by phone yesterday to Darrell Damron, Vice President of Haiti Arise. Damron told me that the first priority for the organization is to provide immediate aid and medical care for those around them, and then rebuilding of the structures they are using for educating and training. Haiti Arise also sponsors a Bible School and for the third year year this year, sponsored a large conference of Haitian pastors.

A team from Ministers Fellowship International (MFI) had just returned to the USA from the 2010 conference at Haiti Arise when the quake struck. Hundreds of pastors had been together at Haiti Arise in Grand Goave for days of teaching and encouragement. MFI is the relational body of church leaders of which my community, Anchorage City Church, is a part.

MFI churches are being asked to support Haiti Arise because of this relational connection and because of its work to build the church in Haiti. Founders Marc and Lisa Honorat are MFI members.

Pastors Marc Driscoll (Mars Hill Church) and James McDonald (Harvest Bible Chapel) have established another great way to send hope to Haiti through a new organization, Churches Helping Churches. Driscoll and McDonald traveled to Haiti to better understand the situation and are asking their church families to contribute to rebuilding the church through this new organization.

McDonald puts it this way:

The waves of humanitarian aid are washing ashore in Haiti and beginning to meet this massive need but I can’t escape my sense that little if any of this medicine will soothe the sores of the suffering church. The country will be rebuilt in time, but so little of that aid will go to my brothers and sisters and I feel I must do what I can to help them. But I really have no idea what that help would or should entail.


Galatians 6:10 says, “and let us do good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of faith.”


Without question the priority of the ‘church helping the church’ is commanded by Paul in scripture and modeled by Paul in his crisis care for the Corinthians and the church in Jerusalem. If Paul were alive today there is no doubt his first concern as a church planter and leader in the body of Christ would be for the family of God in Haiti. How can the priority Paul lived and taught not be mine as a Bible believing Christian?

Please join me and others sending help and hope to the hurting Haitian church, so it can offer the great hope of Jesus to the hurting nation all around it.

Jesus' Revolutionary Treatment of Women

Jesus changed forever the way women are treated. He actually talked with women as equals and valued friends....something that no respectable religious leader would have done in those days.

At that time, women existed in roles of little authority, were largely confined to their husband's or father's home, and considered inferior to men. That situation exists even today for many women around the world, e.g. in some countries where sharia law is forced on the people.

John Piper recently spoke on John 4:27 (“They marveled that he was talking with a woman”) His words near the end of the talk captured my attention:

What that movie (The Stoning of Soraya M) is intended to do, and did, is give us a glimpse of the dismal plight of millions of women today, hidden away in cultures around the world where Jesus is not known, or trusted or followed. It is a horrific, dismal, plight.

Wherever His Gospel has gone, wherever His Word has gone, and taken root, and begun to hold sway, men treat women with respect. They take humble, courageous initiative to protect women. They create stable, loving families as leaders who love and are like Jesus, in which covenant faithfulness of husband and wife displays to the world the mystery of Christ and His Church.

I read CS Lewis two weeks ago who said, 'the ideal marriage is one that is most like a crucifixion' meaning the husband dies for her. That is unspeakably revolutionary in every culture, including ours.

Here is the entire video clip:

The Jesus Way

I originally delivered this as a sermon at Anchorage City Church on July 26, 2009. You can listen to this and other messages at the Anchorage City Church website.

Life can be lived in many ways. There is one way that is above every other, in my opinion. I have observed that it works better........and it ends better than any other way. It has been called “The Jesus Way" and that's what I'm calling it here.

Let me make an analogy. Popular culture offers a way of life that looks like a full banquet table, but often turns out to be more like white bread and water. The Jesus Way offers a life that many people outside the Church seem to think is just bread and water, but once we start down the way, it turns out to be a stacked high banquet table with food that provides real nourishment. And it ends well.

Jesus talked about this way of life. Let's take a look at two passages of scripture where Jesus talked about this, starting with John 8:12:

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

If we walk in a dark place, we're likely to trip over something, fall in a hole, or bang our heads. Jesus is saying we can avoid all those things by following him, because He will provide the light. The obstacles become clear and we can avoid them.

There's a interesting deeper shade of meaning to the Greek word we translate as "follows." We think first of "follow" as meaning to travel behind, or to come after. But the shade of meaning in this passage is "to be in the same way with, that is, to accompany, as a disciple". So Jesus was saying, “whoever walks along with me along the road of life like a disciple will never walk in darkness.” It’s not a one time event; it’s a process.

Now let's dig deeper into “following” and "being in the same way with." This is also in the Gospel of John, starting in chapter 13 verse 33. Here is the setting for this passage: Jesus is spending his last night with His disciples in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. It's their last night together, but the disciples don't know this yet. Jesus is packing a lot of information in their last few hours together.

Let's listen to the conversation:

"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

Now THAT must have riveted their attention. They have been almost everywhere with Jesus for the past three years. He is their leader, their friend, and probably most of them are thinking that any day now He is going to kick out the Roman occupation forces and restore the glory of Israel. What does he mean that he is going somewhere and they can't come???

Let’s skip ahead a few verses to 14:4

You know the way to the place where I am going."
Thomas said to him,"Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Let's stop here and focus on the last part of what Jesus said: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

First of all Jesus is talking about the Way to an Eternal life with the Father. He said so just a few words earlier: "You know the way to the place where I am going." Jesus knew He was going to the Father. He knew the disciples would eventually understand that He was on the way to Heaven, even if they didn't get it right then.

Jesus said what He did about being "the way" in an interesting and revealing manner. First He tells us what the Way is…..then He tells us what the Way isn't:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

These two readings from John make it crystal clear. Jesus is saying to us:

• I am the light (I will keep you from stumbling)
• I am the truth (my way is the true way)
• I am the life (the best way to live)
• Through me, and only through me, can you gain Eternal Life

Jesus is saying to you and me that it isn't possible to get to God the Father through Buddah. We can't get to God through Islam. As good as it is to be a Jew, God’s chosen people, that alone will not get us there either. Along with every other religion, Jesus statement also rules out Baha’i, Jainism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Shinto, Hinduism, American Indian religions, nature worship, Sikhism, ancestor worship, Confucianism, the old Norse religions, and an old American favorite, "being good.”

Wait a minute: Isn’t being good what most Americans believe will get them to Heaven? Actually, about 7 of 10 Americans believe it may be possible to “earn your wings” according to one statistic I read. Even some born again believers are not clear on this.

But let's hear again what Jesus said: "No one comes to the Father except through me." The New Testament is consistent on this subject: belief in Jesus is the one and only route to Heaven. Good deeds demonstrate our faith, but you and I can get to Heaven only through believing in Jesus with all that believing implies.

OK. Jesus is the only way to Heaven. But not only is The Jesus Way the only road to Heaven, it’s also the best and smoothest road getting there.

We’ll look more at the road getting there in part two of this series on The Jesus Way.

Between Passover and Pentecost

We are on May 17 in the days between Passover and Pentecost; between the Old Testament feast memorializing the passing over of the Jews by the Death Angel at the beginning of the Exodus, and the New Testament holy day memorializing the Fall of Holy Spirit in Jerusalem.

The Passover that was has for Christ followers become the Easter that is. At Passover, the blood of lambs smeared on the door frames of Israelite homes in Egypt purchased protection from the Death Angel. On that first Easter weekend, the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, purchased protection from death for all who following Him. Said another way, Christ's Good Friday sacrifice on Easter morning opened the doors of Heaven -- much like the blood of lambs at Passover opened the door to the Promised Land long before.

In the centuries before Pentecost the Holy Spirit was given to a few for specific purposes. At Pentecost, God fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31-34 and sent the Holy Spirit for the first time to all who believe.

Frank Bartleman observed that Pentecost opens a possibility to walk where the flesh no longer sets the agenda. The fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, etc....these are signs of Holy Spirit baptism. Walking in the Spirit is walking in the way of the cross with Holy Spirit leading.

But, will we arrive at the fullness of Pentecost where the fruits of the Spirit operate in us, or are we lingering at the glory of Easter? It is a good thing to believe in Jesus and to follow Him, but it is an even better thing to also have the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.

Let us press forward to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the supernatural power that comes with it to do the works of Christ !

The Book of books

Here's what showed up this week on the NY Times Best Seller list:

1. LIBERTY AND TYRANNY, by Mark R. Levin
2. OUTLIERS, by Malcolm Gladwell
3. COLUMBINE, by Dave Cullen
4. ALWAYS LOOKING UP, by Michael J. Fox
5. THE GIRLS FROM AMES, by Jeffrey Zaslow

Perhaps these are all good and worthwhile books, but none is familiar to me. Chances are very good in 50 years, they will be more or less unknown. In a 100 years, they will be antiques.

There's another book that isn't on the list. It's the best seller every week of every year. It is not listed because it would always be number one.

That book is the Bible. There have also been more Bibles printed than any other book; I've seen estimates ranging from 2.5 to about 6 billion since the invention of the printing press. It has been translated into over 2,000 languages, and more language versions are appearing every year.

At first it was copied letter by letter onto parchment or papyrus scrolls by scribes who went far beyond careful to insure there were not copying errors. The text we use today has an incredibly small number of differences from copies made almost 2,000 years ago.

The Bible is not just one book; it's 66 different books written over a span of around 1500 years. We believe the Bible was written by people inspired by God.

And what it really is is a love letter from God to man. When you look at it as a whole, what you see is this incomprehensible love of God for humanity. The story line throughout all these books is this: He made us, but we have often turned away from him, still he keeps pursuing us with a love that will not quit. That story continues even today. Here is a very small sample from the book of Jeremiah (29:11):

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This book of books; this Bible will open doorways for you, as it has me, into a life of connectedness with the God of the universe. All we have to do is read it and let these timeless truths change our hearts.

The Real Significance of Easter

Give or take a few years, today is the 1,982nd anniversary of THE pivotal event in human history. It is the one event that has shaped people and humanity more than any other before or since.

On one level, I have nothing new to tell you. This is an old, old story about a cross and an empty tomb and being saved from the wrath of God, and Satan and sin and Hell. A few billion people are hearing this basic story around the Earth on this day. Interestingly, our brothers and sisters in Eastern Orthodox Christianity celebrate Easter next weekend....but that's another story.

But what if this year there was a new wrinkle in the story? What if archaeologists had found the bones of a man they had identified as Jesus of Nazareth; a man crucified. And what if after months of study, archaeologists concluded that without a doubt this man had been the Jesus of the New Testament.

What would that do to your faith? Would you be able to soldier on as a Christian? I'll tell you what it would have done to my faith: I would cease being a Christian.

But I am here to tell you that the bones of Jesus will never be found on this planet. Let's review what happened on those three amazing spring days 2,000 years ago, and then I'm going to tell you why you and I can have unshakable confidence in Christ's resurrection and all that it means.

I am fascinated by how Isaiah 53 foretells the first part of the story with uncanny accuracy. The accuracy is particularly uncanny in that it was written 700 years before Christ.

The basics of the first part of the story – the Good Friday part – are well known. The Apostle John tells the story from his first-hand experience in John 19:16-42. Each of the Gospels have this basic story, but each approaches it a little differently.

From the viewpoint of the outside world looking into Jerusalem on that day, what happened must have not seemed very different than any other day. Here is the “10,000 foot view:”

• In late March or early April of about the year 27, a Jewish carpenter who was leading some kind of miracle movement was sentenced to death by crucifixion.
• His was not the only crucifixion that day, and probably not the only one that week.
• The Romans had perfected crucifixion. It was an exquisitely cruel method of using gravity and nails to slowly and agonizingly execute criminals, rebels, and others that got in their way. Swedes call Good Friday, the day of Jesus' death, Långfredag which means "long Friday" in memory of the suffering of Jesus over many hours.
• History tells us that crucifixion was commonly used from Rome to Persia for about 1,000 years. It was finally abolished out of veneration for Jesus about AD 300 by Constantine, the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire.
• The Jews were a particularly difficult-to-govern people in the Roman empire and the provincial governors must have thought crucifixion would help keep the population under their control.
  

Basically, the crucifixion of the Jewish carpenter was just one more in a long line of them. It wasn't big news....at least when the crucifixion got started. This crucifixion didn't follow the usual pattern, however.

First, and for no apparent reason, the curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place in the temple was torn from top to bottom. Second, there was a violent earthquake and the sun went dark. And even one of the soldiers recognized that this man he had helped to kill was special, and called him a son of God.

While it was still light, the soldiers gave Jesus body to Joseph and Nicodemus, and they prepared His body for burial and laid it in a tomb. The Chief Priest asked permission to seal the tomb, and guard it with soldiers, and that is what they did. That was the end of the first day.

Night fell, and it was the Sabbath. The Gospels are silent about the events of this day, but Jesus body lay in the tomb all day. The soldiers continued guarding his tomb. The disciples must have been in shock. What must have been going on in the minds of the disciples on this Sabbath day? Fear and doubt must have been right there at the top of their fevered imaginations. The Gospels record that they kept their doors locked for fear of the Jews. I doubt they slept much.

The religious elite must have been expecting to finally have been done with that troublesome Nazarene....but surely they were struggling on this Sabbath because the crucifixion did not go as they planned. And the people who had a week earlier cried Hosanna, Hosanna must have wondered what had happened to the man they hoped would be king.

But then night fell again, and it was the third day; the day we now call Easter Sunday. Let's pick up the story in John 20:1-19.

Most people, at least here in the West, whether Christ followers or not, have heard the story of Jesus' resurrection. Why do we still believe this incredible story after nearly 20 centuries have passed? Let's take a look at some of the proofs:

• First of all, the Bible tells us so. There are four separate accounts, essentially the same, by four different authors. Matthew and John witnessed the events first hand. Mark wrote down the words of Peter (according to Church tradition) and Luke interviewed eyewitnesses. There is general agreement in the stories, but not so much as to suggest collusion.
• Doubters suggest that Jesus didn't really die; that He just swooned. But the scourging was enough to kill some, and that combined with crucifixion was enough to kill the strongest. Even if He had survived that and the spear thrust to the heart, he would have suffocated in nearly 100 pounds of linen and burial spices.
• People of the first century world did not believe in life after death, with the exception of a few sects of Judaism, and they believed in an afterlife, not life on earth after death. That Jesus returned to actual living life on earth burst like a bombshell in the first century and that is why Christianity spread so quickly -- people rightly interpreted this as a powerful sign from Heaven, and they are still interpreting it that way today.
• Acts 6:7 records this astonishing statement: "So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith." I'll bet I read that a dozen times before the other shoe dropped. These priests were invested in the Jewish religious system: why would they lose it all by becoming disciples of Jesus? It's because the resurrection happened, and everyone in Jerusalem knew it.
• Peter turned from a coward to a bold lion. How did that happen? Because he had seen the resurrected Jesus. It was the same with the other disciples. Here were men who had fled in the night on Thursday who on Sunday suddenly had, and kept, courage to proclaim their faith even to the point of death. Will people die for a lie? If they had made up the story of Jesus resurrection, would they be willing to die for their fabrication?
• What would it take for you to worship your brother as God? In Jesus case, resurrection from the dead had that effect for His brothers. Two of Jesus' brothers were transformed from doubters to believers and became leaders in the early Church, and wrote books in the NT.
• Then there is the evidence of dramatic transformation in my own life and the lives of people around us, and men and women through history
  

There are many proofs that the resurrection of Jesus is really true. These are just a few.

The real significance of Easter is that the reality of Jesus as God burst into the minds of men and women. It is still bursting into our minds today almost 2000 years later.

If Jesus rose alive from the dead, then the Good News of the Kingdom of God is the best news of history. It is hope for you and it is hope for me and it is hope for every person who ever lives.

It is hope for a life without drama; hope for healing; for deliverance; hope for peace; hope for forgiveness of all that we have done wrong that separates us from God.

Jesus did not come to us as a mighty king, but humbly, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. He does not command us as a king, but as a suffering servant, He offers us entrance to his Kingdom. He does not call us servants, but friends.

The real significance of Easter is the same today as it was on that first Easter: Christ has purchased our pardon, and He has opened a way back to God. He has made possible eternal life with God instead of eternal separation and torment. We now have a true and living hope.

If today you are far from God, His kingdom is closer than you think. You need only repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you. In the Book of Romans, it is written that that if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Happy Easter!

You Cannot Lose...

"You cannot lose by bad deeds what you cannot gain by good deeds."

This is a thought provoking way of saying that you and I cannot make it to Heaven on account of our good deeds because becoming one of God's children is a free gift of grace:

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:21-24 NIV)

Just as we cannot pass the Heavenly gates with an impressive resume of good deeds, we are not barred on account of sin and evil deeds contritely confessed and repented of.

No matter how good I am, I am acceptable because of my belief in Jesus, not because of my good deeds.

No matter how evil I was before I repented of my sins and turned my life over to Jesus, I am acceptable. And so are you.

The Abundant Life

Jesus said "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10). I realized recently that I have what Jesus was talking about! I'm quite sure there is much more to it, but I am also quite sure that I have at least a small corner of it.

For one thing, I have increasingly understood the wealth that surrounds me: a loving wife, a happy marriage, amazing children that delight my heart, incomparable friends on multiple continents, a ministry that makes a difference in people's lives...the list goes on, but those are some of the best of just the natural blessings. If you knew me you would know that I'm not talking about everything being perfect or right....like everyone, I am not untouched by sickness, suffering and lack in myself or those close to me....but these things are nothing compared to the riches that have been given.

Abundant life is available to all. It will look different for each of us, but it is within reach for each of us. How does one attain it?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6). We follow the way.....His way. There is no other way I know of that provides this abundant life.

For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:25) We all have "strayed" but we can return! Jesus will take us back! There is no sin you or I can imagine that is stronger than His love.

If we get off "the way", we can return. There are many rewards of living in "the way", but one of them is the abundant life!

Four Lethal Misbeliefs that Minimize the Impact of Believers in the Workplace

Here is strong medicine from evangelist and missions strategist Ed Silvoso. These commonly held beliefs are like cold molasses around the feet of Christians who would do the work of the Kingdom in the marketplace:

1. There is a God-ordained division between clergy and laity
2. The Church is called to operate primarily inside a building often referred to as the temple.
3. People involved in business cannot be as spiritual as those serving in traditional Church ministry.
4. The primary role of marketplace Christians is to make money to support the vision of those "in ministry."
   

(From Ed Silvoso, Annointed for Business quoted in C. Peter Wagner, Changing Church)

How much have these non-Biblical attitudes cost in the growth of the Kingdom of God? I believe they have cost plenty.