Where is Jesus in the world today? It used to be clear where He was. People knew right where Jesus was when He walked the earth, talked to people, taught about the Kingdom of God, and performed miraculous wonders! Where is He today though? Is Jesus on Facebook and MySpace and Twitter? Or does He stand along the sidelines and simply observe the world passing by? Is He up in the clouds somewhere just waiting for that special day when He will return? Where in the world is Jesus today?
Jesus is God and can be anywhere and everywhere He wants! Facebook? MySpace? Twitter? You bet! But maybe not as you'd expect. I don't believe the Facebook profile of "Jesus Christ" is the "real Jesus". But where Jesus' followers are found, there Jesus is found! As followers of Christ interact with the world on Facebook and MySpace and Twitter, Jesus goes right along with them! In words of comfort and support when someone is feeling down, people get a glimpse of Jesus in the world today!
Where the followers of Jesus go, there Jesus goes with them! That's where in the world Jesus is found! Even more profoundly, Jesus is found where He promises to be! When His gospel of forgiveness and love is proclaimed, there is Jesus! When a newly baptized person is welcomed into the family of God Almighty, there is Jesus! When Jesus' followers gather at His altar and receive His body and blood in Holy Communion, there is Jesus. There in the world is Jesus today! Right where He promises to be. In the community of His faithful followers. In the bread and wine. In the water of baptism. In your words of comfort and hope! There in the world is Jesus today!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Maybe It's Just Me, but . . .
Every single day, I open up the Paducah Sun Newspaper and see new signs of economic trouble. Yesterday was no different. In an article reporting the income and expenditures of our great nation, it turns out we will have to borrow half of what we plan to spend! This equals some two trillion dollars! $2,000,000,000,000! Okay. So the theory must be "by borrow more money we will get out of debt". That's exactly the business model of an "Easy Money Lending" establishment. A little short on cash? No problem, just come on down and we'll advance you! People all over our nation have bought into this. The catch is that the money isn't free! These people who just needed a little extra to make ends meet are now struggling to get their heads back above water as they try to pay back astronomical amounts far greater than what they borrowed. On top of that, the threat and actuation of job loss is a very real danger.
Borrowing to get out of debt is a bad idea. It doesn't work. Borrowing by its very nature gets you further into debt. This is the exact mentality that got us in our current dire situation. It's time for each American to find where he or she can cut costs. It's time to save money and delay gratification. It's time to see the needs of those around us and sacrifice of ourselves to help. Our Lord has blessed each of us with various gifts- talents, friends and families, and money. None of these gifts should be hoarded away. Rather, it is time for us to share our gifts with each other. We do not need our government to take our money in taxes in order to give it to a less fortunate brother or sister. This is something we can do without the middle man!
It's time to take ownership of this problem and do what we can to make a difference!
Borrowing to get out of debt is a bad idea. It doesn't work. Borrowing by its very nature gets you further into debt. This is the exact mentality that got us in our current dire situation. It's time for each American to find where he or she can cut costs. It's time to save money and delay gratification. It's time to see the needs of those around us and sacrifice of ourselves to help. Our Lord has blessed each of us with various gifts- talents, friends and families, and money. None of these gifts should be hoarded away. Rather, it is time for us to share our gifts with each other. We do not need our government to take our money in taxes in order to give it to a less fortunate brother or sister. This is something we can do without the middle man!
It's time to take ownership of this problem and do what we can to make a difference!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Life After Death
In my Sunday Morning Bible Study, we are studying John's Revelation. This is a fascinating book of the Bible. The apocalyptic symbolism jumps off the page and you can't help but wonder about what is to come for us as you read through these challenging chapters of text. We begin each class with prayer and by reading Revelation 1:1-8 (in fact, this would be a good time to pause for prayer and read this passage in your Bible). These eight verses serve as John's introduction to the entire book. The "revelatory unveiling" of Jesus Christ by God the Father! Basically, John is letting the reader know ahead of time that the following pages are going to be loaded with meaning and they all have their origin in Christ!
This past Sunday, after we read John's introduction to Revelation, I asked the class what John meant by the words in verse 5, "the firstborn from the dead (NIV)". What an intriguing reference to Jesus! Firstborn, as if the tomb gave birth to Him! This Easter Sunday reference screams the refrain "He is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!" It defines what we mean to say Jesus is resurrected from the dead. He lives. He was dead. He is dead no more. He will not die again. He lives forever. Life after death.
But what about others who had been raised back to life? What about the widow's son raised back to life by Elijah OR the Shunamite woman's son restored by Elisha OR Lazarus brought back by Jesus OR Eutycus by Paul. What about all of these people? Were they not raised from the dead? Absolutely! And what a beautiful foreshadowing of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the widow's son, the Shunamite's son, Lazarus, and Eutycus all died again. They had not been raised to new life, but to the same old life. So they, like us, await life after death.
When I say "life after death", I'm not talking about what happens when we die. That's not life; it's just plain death. Our body is reverently laid to rest in the grave or tomb while or soul "goes to be with Jesus" (Philippians 1:23). This is the very definition of the state of being dead. This is the exact opposite of life. Thus, it is not life after death. Yet we believe in Jesus Christ's resurrection. We celebrate it like we celebrate few other events! We actually dare to find hope in Jesus' life after death. We take comfort because Jesus lives! He is not dead! He is alive - body and soul together - ALIVE!
This is what awaits each of us who trust Jesus! Life after death is what our friends and loved ones who died in faith are looking forward to! They certainly are "in a better place" because they are with Jesus! But they know, just as you and I know, there's much more still to come! The living Jesus Christ will soon return to bring back life to those who are dead! Life after death! Life that will never end! Life no longer threatened by death! Jesus is the firstborn from the dead! The grave has already given birth to life for Jesus. In the same way, the graves of those with faith in Jesus will give birth to new life for the saints! We will have life after death! (For further reading, check out Romans 6!)
This past Sunday, after we read John's introduction to Revelation, I asked the class what John meant by the words in verse 5, "the firstborn from the dead (NIV)". What an intriguing reference to Jesus! Firstborn, as if the tomb gave birth to Him! This Easter Sunday reference screams the refrain "He is risen! He is risen indeed, alleluia!" It defines what we mean to say Jesus is resurrected from the dead. He lives. He was dead. He is dead no more. He will not die again. He lives forever. Life after death.
But what about others who had been raised back to life? What about the widow's son raised back to life by Elijah OR the Shunamite woman's son restored by Elisha OR Lazarus brought back by Jesus OR Eutycus by Paul. What about all of these people? Were they not raised from the dead? Absolutely! And what a beautiful foreshadowing of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, the widow's son, the Shunamite's son, Lazarus, and Eutycus all died again. They had not been raised to new life, but to the same old life. So they, like us, await life after death.
When I say "life after death", I'm not talking about what happens when we die. That's not life; it's just plain death. Our body is reverently laid to rest in the grave or tomb while or soul "goes to be with Jesus" (Philippians 1:23). This is the very definition of the state of being dead. This is the exact opposite of life. Thus, it is not life after death. Yet we believe in Jesus Christ's resurrection. We celebrate it like we celebrate few other events! We actually dare to find hope in Jesus' life after death. We take comfort because Jesus lives! He is not dead! He is alive - body and soul together - ALIVE!
This is what awaits each of us who trust Jesus! Life after death is what our friends and loved ones who died in faith are looking forward to! They certainly are "in a better place" because they are with Jesus! But they know, just as you and I know, there's much more still to come! The living Jesus Christ will soon return to bring back life to those who are dead! Life after death! Life that will never end! Life no longer threatened by death! Jesus is the firstborn from the dead! The grave has already given birth to life for Jesus. In the same way, the graves of those with faith in Jesus will give birth to new life for the saints! We will have life after death! (For further reading, check out Romans 6!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)