Not worthy of the price paid!

It is passages like these, Revelation 19, that cause me to cringe when I read about how powerful Christ is and how wonderful His love is and how unworthy I am to receive that love. These verses describe a rescuer descending from Heaven with all the armies of Heaven following behind. The images of white horses and warriors clad in fine white linen makes for some pretty incredible imagery. I can’t help but thinking about Gandolf and his armies from Lord of the Rings, obviously on a much smaller scale but you get the idea. Just the idea that such a great price has already been paid, Christ’s death, and that He has secured such a wonderful victory already even though it has not yet happened I am embarrassed by the way I live this life.

I just gave my wife a Pandora bracelet, guys if you don’t know what this is you should so look it up, and two charms for her birthday. It was the really big birthday in between 20 and 40 but I will let you guess the exact number. It was not a huge gift by any means, but for me it was pretty big. She is totally excited about it right now, but how would I feel if in three weeks I find it laying around the house and she has tossed it aside for something else? Very angry I can promise you. I would probably take it away and sell it on E-Bay or something. Yet everyday I do things that must look the same way to Christ. I have received a wonderful gift, the most wonderful of all possible gifts, and yet it gets overlooked everyday. I recognize I can’t live perfectly, but there are so many areas I find lacking. And yet I read these passages and I see my Savior coming down again to receive His bride. He has rolled out all the stops. His love knows no bounds, His grace is unparalleled, His mercy unlimited. Just seeing how far He has gone to rescue fallen humanity is humbling because I am part of that group. This lesson is part of a cumulative effort lately but God is definitely drawing me into a deeper relationship with Him. He desires more than a passing fist bump and He deserves my entire life. Lessons like these definitely bring all these issues to life for me. They are tough to process and painful to study, but worth every moment. At the end of the day, are you living with the end in mind? Do you actively think about what Christ really did for you? What he really offers a dead and decaying corpse? Its not only life later on, its real life right now. Join me this week in examining your walk and relationship with the Rider on the Pale Horse, the Savior Warrior Jesus is. Where is your life not living up to the price paid for it? How can you live each day differently knowing the ending to the story, your story?

New study in LifeMatters

 

The Beast from the Sea. 666. The Antichrist. The Rider on the White Horse. That’s right – get ready for a series in Revelation. Though it might appear we saved our Revelation study for the summer months because the attendance is lower than at any other time, it’s not true – I promise! I do know that studying Revelation can be a daunting task but do not pass up this study in favor of a book study or something else just yet. While this study is not going to walk through the whole book (Revelation in four weeks?), we are going to hit a few hot areas throughout this book. The deal with the title is that we wanted to explore the end times(eschatology) and see what the Bible teaches and compare it with what we see around us presented by pop culture. On your drive to work alone you may run across one or all of the sayings we chose as lesson titles. I assure none were made up by us, they are all actual bumper stickers or billboards or slogans. The idea being that every day pop culture tries to teach us about the end times and often gets pieces of it right, but they miss so much of the story. So this month, fasten your seat-belt, ok I admit that was cheesy but I couldn’t help it, and lets take a look at what the Bible says about the end times.

This week we’re going to take a closer look at Jesus. Of all the titles this month, this one bothers me the most and also expresses how so many people truly feel. Guess what? Jesus is absolutely not the copilot. In our culture we’ve relegated Him to that seat, the seat where we ask Him to take over so we can take a bathroom break or grab a cup of coffee. Or maybe if things are going bad we may ask for a bit of help, but overall, we are OK if He just sits there until we need Him. It’s this view of Christ I don’t understand. If He is not THE pilot, we are all in trouble. The fact that He allows us into the cockpit at all is truly amazing. I remember my first time on a plane and the pilot letting me see the inside of the cockpit and then giving me those cheap plastic wings. I felt privileged that the pilot had let me in to see what the others were not allowed to see. How crazy would it have been for me to say, OK Capt. Bob, thanks for the tour. I think I can handle it now. I’ll let you know if I need anything. But how often do we see that taking place in our lives and in the lives of other Christians around us. I could teach a whole lesson just on the title alone!

These verses in Revelation show the glory and majesty of Christ. They depict thousands and thousands of thousands bowing before His throne worshiping Him. They reveal Him to be the only One worthy to open the scrolls and turn us, Christ followers, into royalty. He is the One who created the universe. He is the One who died and rose again, and He is the One who allows us to have life. Where in there did we get the idea that He would be OK with the copilot’s seat? I can only truthfully speak for myself, but as I survey the state of the church around the country, I don’t think I am wrong in this. We need to take our relationship with Christ very seriously. It is not a casual fling, a summer romance, or a childhood friend type relationship. It is the Creator and createe (I just made that word up), the King and the servant, the Father and the child type relationship. The imagery of Him being worshiped by “every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, on the sea, and everything in them” truly boggles my mind. And to think He, the One worshiped by everything, wants to know and relate to me—that’s a very humbling thought. It is even more humbling when I think of all the times I relegated Him to the passenger’s seat. This week just focus on the idea of Him being who these verses describe, because He is. It’s time we started responding accordingly. It may begin with a bowed knee and a quiet prayer, or it may be a beautiful song sung along with the countless choir in heaven. I’m not sure what the response will look like for you, I just know this lesson has definitely reminded me of who He really is and who I am, and I don’t want to fly the plane anymore!

Words are powerful little critters

Words have a very unique ability. Very few things have the power to immediately bring tears, laughter, anger, happiness, inspiration or discouragement like the use of words. As a famous masked philosopher once noted, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I have to admit here that I was smacked in the face this week as I studied through this lesson from LifeMatters(focusing on selected passages from Proverbs). It’s not that I use bad words in the sense of cussing or to intentionally destroy or anything, but I fail miserably at fully thinking through what I’m going to say before I say it. This flaw has the ability to get me in trouble from time to time. I also feel the need at times to say something that simply does not need to be said. I’m not sure if it is an attempt to impress someone or just an attempt to be liked, but very often I find myself thinking, “Why did I just tell that person that?” after a conversation. It’s like the conversation is going along just fine and an ending point is approaching but rather than taking the exit I decide to journey on. I then find myself lost and confused in a conversation I didn’t mean to have. I quickly take the first available exit, but then I beat myself for looking stupid. I’m learning several things in life right now, and this week’s study pointed very clearly at a few lessons:

Think through what you’re going to say before you say it. Sounds pretty simple, but many problems would be cut off before they happened if we made this a constant habit. Sometimes the thought is correct, but there’s a better way to express that thought.

Sometimes saying nothing makes you look smarter than anything you planned on saying. This also applies to ending a conversation at the appointed time. You know when that time approaches, so gather your bags and get ready to hop off.

Use words for good. This does not mean always saying the popular thing or the easiest thing. Sometimes tough things need to be said—just make sure you know how to tell the difference. I love Solomon’s picture here of words spoken at the right time being like golden apples or gold jewelry. This even applies to corrective words when spoken at the right time. So not only do we have to use the right words, but we have to use them at the right time. Man, I have lots of work to do!

Don’t join the wrong conversation. At the very moment when you recognize a conversation has turned onto Gossip Lane or Worthless Discussion Drive, make a turn and get out of there. This is one of those things I always know I should do, but too often I’m guilty of pulling up a chair rather than getting out.

Use good words. Don’t confuse this one for using words for good because it is different. Here, the words we use are actually examined. I know many people who choose their words poorly, especially when anger sets in. From a young age, my parents wouldn’t tolerate bad language, so I’ve had many years to perfect using words like “peanut butter” rather than cussing. There’s just something that bothers me about the use of generally accepted “bad words” by people who claim to follow Christ. There are simply too many words to use to choose ones that come with negative baggage.

I, by no means, have it all figured out. I’m just now seeing the exposed part of the iceberg, but lessons like this one really make it simple to see my shortcomings and the right answers. I’m quickly finding beauty and wisdom in being quiet. I’m also working on a look, possibly eyes squinted a bit with my hand on my chin, to use when I am being silent that will add to the effect. If you have any suggestions or comments, join the conversation.

A new Christianity?

As I look around the “Christian” landscape today, I see many very strange things. One of them is a form of Christianity I don’t find as I read the Bible. In the Bible, I see men either following God or not. Certainly men were not perfect, but in cases of personal failures you’ll find repentance and reconciliation. As I look around today, I see people claiming to follow Christ, but their lives show nothing to back up their claim. I am not talking about earning salvation, but I am talking about having fruit. I am talking about obedience to God’s Word. I am talking about living a kind of faith that matters. I am talking about following after a loving God who demands our devotion. I guess when I look around I seem to find many people who want salvation without lordship and entrance to heaven without devotion. I’m afraid that many who call themselves Christians are going to be painfully awakened to hear the words, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” It is scary and very distressing to me.

A few tough questions I wrestled with this week: 
Can I be a follower of Christ and not be devoted to His leadership? 
What is devotion and what does it look like? 
Can I be devoted without being obedient? 
Is devotion legalistic? 
Does a life devoted to following Christ look different than the life of a non-Christian?

These questions cause me a lot of concern, both personally and corporately. As I examine my own heart, what level of devotion does my life show? As I look around the church today, what level of devotion do I see being preached and lived? Our faith is not a faith of showing up on Sundays and placing a check mark in that box. Our faith is one of radical devotion to a radical God—the type of God who would miraculously give you a child, and then ask you to offer that child as a sacrifice, the type of God who would offer His only Son to reconcile sinful humanity to Himself, and the type of God who would offer you salvation and freedom and only require acceptance of that gift.

I have to think that acceptance of His gift will result in a life that displays true devotion to Him. As I look through the passages this week, I see an example of true devotion; one night, God tells Abraham to take Isaac, his only son, and offer him as a sacrifice. The next morning Abraham takes Isaac and heads out for the mountains. Wait! Did Abraham know what God was asking? What about the promise God made to Abraham and the miracle that Isaac was? Why didn’t he consult other people to get their opinion on what God had said? Why didn’t they call a committee meeting to see what other meaning God must have had? Why didn’t he do something more along those lines? The answer: He trusted God and lived a life fully devoted to Him. The answer does not make sense. The action does not make sense. But he obeys anyway. I can’t fathom making that decision, but he seems to not even pause. God told him to do something, so there was no other option.

Several thoughts I learn through this passage:(if you want to read the rest, and I know you do, click here to go to the Threads site where you will find the other half.)

Fragrant incense or rancid meat

Revelation has always been a mystery to me. I have sat in on many different studies and heard many explanations through the years, and yet this book remains very mysterious. I am OK with that. In fact, I love it. I love scratching my head and wondering what in the world God is up to. I find it offensive when people try so hard to figure God out and get frustrated when they can’t. If we could see the big picture, and by big picture I mean all of eternity, maybe then we could begin to grasp some of the mystery. We however, are much like my wonderful 2-year-old daughter, only fixed on our next hit of hot chocolate to understand the big picture. This is why I embrace the mystery. For me, there is peace found in understanding that I can’t know it all, and there is hope in the fact that I rest in the arms of the One who does.

As I studied this week and explored this section of Revelation, I saw my face every time Laodicea was mentioned. This week we are exploring passion for Christ. Is seems a bit silly that we would need a lesson on remaining passionate for Christ, but apparently that need has been around for quite a while.
Let’s examine briefly what Christ did for us:
He bridged the unbridgeable gap between God and us.
He left the beauty of heaven to walk in our dirt and suffer more than we could ever know.
He died the worst death I can imagine.
Even though He was sinless, He became sin.
He took on God’s wrath—which we deserved.
He freed us from the bonds of sin.
He rescued us from hell.
He offers us purpose, peace, hope, and freedom.
He loved us in our sin, and loves us still despite our sin.
He rescued us from a path of certain destruction.

The list could go one forever, but for the sake of this blog, I will end it there.

Is there any reason, knowing any of the things Jesus did for us, that our passion would not continue to grow each day? When you sit down and make a list like that, it seems ridiculous that apathy even exists, and even more ridiculous that we are so accustomed to it. But, such is the case today as it was 2,000 years ago with the church at Laodicea.

Why does Christ hate apathy so much?…the rest of this blog is located on my LifeMatters blog. Finish reading it by clicking here!