STONECALL

Jesus is the hope of mankind.  From the molding of Adam to the babies being born as I type this post, all hope of blessedness and eternal life is in Him. He is glorious. Today, Charles Spurgeon has encouraging words for us all regarding focusing and looking to Jesus.

“Looking unto Jesus.”—Hebrews 12:2.

It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, “Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.” All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that “Christ is all in all.” Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.

“My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”

What comes to mind when you think about the church? The answers are endless as much as they are myriad. How should the ‘church’ itself view the Church? From the perspective of those who are outside,  the church is a place of hypocrisy and in many cases we are guilty as charged. Why do we put up masks in a place where we are to be free (second only to our homes)? Chuck Swindoll has a great post on why the church should be a safe place to hurt. If we would practice genuine transparency and vulnerability in the church, one has to wonder how that would affect the world…

The Gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ took upon Himself the penalty of our sins by dying in our place thereby satisfying the just demands of God.  By placing our faith in Him and changing our ways, we have forgiveness of sins and by His resurrection we have the hope of eternal life in His Kingdom. All this is accomplished by the initiative of God because of His loving grace, so all we can do is receive it as a gift.  This news is for all mankind to hear regardless of ethnicity, gender, and social status and it is mankind’s only hope both in life and death.

One of the most crippling traits we have in the human experience is fear. I think it is safe to say that fear has the tendency to evoke a sense of paralysis in the human heart which produces a myriad of consequences, not only in our personal lives but in society at large. Jamie Munson, over at the Resurgence blog, has an insightful post on 8 snares set by fear of man.

When we think of Pentecost, usually what comes to mind is the Upper Room narrative in the Acts of the Apostles. As they were assembled (most likely in prayer), there was a sound of rushing wind and all who were there received the filling of Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). This particular event sets the tone for the rest of the stories laid out in Luke’s letter. It seems the intent of the letter is to display the continuation of the Lord’s work through His Spirit. The realization that it is the Lord who is at work should make us confident not only in His ability to complete said work, but also in giving us a sense of peace.  Charles Spurgeon, commenting on this topic, puts it like this:

It is the Lord who has begun the good work within us; it is He who has carried it on; and if He does not finish it, it never will be complete. If there be one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness which we are to insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence, the Lord who began will perfect. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do. – Morning and Evening

The Bible is not the easiest book to understand particularly some of the narratives in the Old Testament. Many feel more comfortable grounding themselves in the “gospeling” of the four evangelists and the teachings of Paul the Apostle rather than wrestling with the content of many of the Old Testament stories. I can remember hearing someone describe the Bible as the Old Testament being about a “mean” God and the New Testament about a “loving” God. Consequently, many who view the Bible with that framework usually have issues regarding evil and suffering as a case in point. When we segregate the Old Testament from the New Testament, we miss a rich and beautiful storyline woven by God to help us understand His plan in His Son.

The Old Testament is our “school master” (Galatians 3:24) in teaching and pointing us to the One whom it speaks of.  The writers of the New Testament frequently cite ‘Scripture’  indicating that the Bible of the Early Church was the Old Testament. All of Scripture speaks of Jesus and this is the focus of the teaching of Dr. Warren Gage, Professor of Old Testament at Knox Theological Seminary. I am currently taking his Old Testament Survey course and like the disciples of Emmaus, my heart  burns and my eyes are opening to seeing Jesus throughout the Old Testament narrative. The stories we read in the Old Testament wet our appetite for a greater prophet,  priest, and king. When we truly encounter Jesus in the Scriptures we are never the same!

I think it is safe to say that we are in a “now/not-yet” reality as it relates to our state of perfection and glorification as human beings. I say that because there are days when I feel that any mountain can be moved and no challenge is too difficult to overcome. In those moments prayer is effortless, joy is abounding, and all seems right in my spiritual walk and relationship with God. However, there are days when it feels like God is distant and faith is outside my reach. Dark clouds seem to hide the rays of the sun and the last thing I feel like is a child of God. This ebb and flow is the reality of every believer on this side of glory. All of the heroes of the faith throughout history have had moments of challenge and periods of great trial. One of the comforts we have as children of God is found in a letter written by Paul, the Apostle to a church in Philippi:

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:6

The Philippians participation in the gospel (which is the good work) prompted Paul to say that he was confident that the work of God in them individually as well as corporately would be brought to completion and perfection until the day of Christ Jesus. The ‘day of Christ Jesus’ that he refers to is the physical return of Jesus to the earth. In other words, the plan or work of God in us and for us will span our lives here on earth. We never get to a point where we can say “I have arrived”, as it were, between the advents of Jesus. Sanctification is usually the word used to describe this life-long journey of maturation wrought by God Himself. It is comforting to know that God is in it for the long haul. He never gives up or calls it quits and the work He does in us is a ‘good work’ that will only get perfected as we continue in life.

Over the last few months, I have be awakened to the reality of the Gospel in everyday life. Typically, when we think of the Gospel message it is something that a “sinner” or “unbeliever” must believe in order to be saved – which is true, but it doesn’t stop there. Believing the Gospel is one thing; living in it daily is another. Kevin DeYoung has a good post on why we need confession of sin even after we’ve been saved. Here is an excerpt that highlights how most of us feel from time to time:

Confession of sin is one of the missing ingredients in the life of today’s Christian. We feel bad all the time, but often it’s over the wrong things. And when we do feel sorry for our sin, we don’t know what to do with it. We feel like we would be cheapening the blood of Christ if we confessed again. So we hesitate to repent. We feel bad, but we don’t confess and enjoy a clean conscience.

Everyone wants to change in some way. The amount of self-help literature we have in our society is evidence to that fact, but how can a person really experience lasting change. Personally, this is a question I ask myself very often and at times the answers I entertain are insufficient. If we are honest, the majority of people who come to church week in and week out are looking for change; perhaps a change of attitude or a change in a troubling situation. Disillusionment sets in when the change sought for is non-existent. Over at the Resurgence blog, J.D. Greear has a very good post on why mere religious fervor can not bring real change. Read and re-read again.

The last few days and the next two are very significant in the lives of Christians (and Jews) the world over. The season of Passover and Easter are arguably the most important times of reflection and remembrance for those who believe in the God of the Bible. Easter is known to be one the few ‘holidays’ (the others being Christmas and Mother’s Day) that people who do not regularly attend church, dress their best and come to church. After the days go by and we go back to the normalcy of life, what will it all mean? Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Son of the only true and living  God:

• I have been forgiven of my sin by God
• I have peace with God
• I am reconciled to God
• I have been adopted by God as His child
• I am a citizen of God’s Kingdom with all necessary rights and privileges
• I have an inheritance, shared jointly with Jesus, to be given to me by God
• I am an heir of the promise given to Abraham
• I have perpetual access to the grace and mercy of God
• I am no longer in fear of death due to not knowing what comes after
• I have the promise of eternal life to be appropriated now, and fully realized later
• I have been given a down-payment of what is to come in the form of a bodily indwelling of Jesus’ Spirit
• I have the promise that Jesus, the resurrected God-man, will return for me
• Upon His return, I will be changed gloriously to look like Him and I will see Him as He is
• I will no longer have tears, sickness, pain, sorrow, or a sin-infected soul and body
• I will be in the presence of the Triune God full of light and love forever on a ‘heaven-earth’.