Have you ever forgotten your Wedding Anniversary? How’d that work out for you? :) Some things are just too precious to forget, and a wedding anniversary might be fairly high up on that list. Just ask any husband who has forgotten one. But some anniversaries are even more significant than others. For example, we mark 25 years with the title “Silver Anniversary” and a 50th with “Golden”. These are particularly significant milestones that we keep watch for. Jesus promised that He would return for His Bride (John 14:1-4), which is to say for all those who have responded in faith to Him and His gracious, reconciling life, death and resurrection for us. He also told us we are to watch expectantly for His imminent return. “… Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matt 24:42). “What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!'" (Mark 13:37). Whilst every day is a day to “watch”, some days present more significant milestones than others. Like a “Golden Anniversary”, they should heighten our awareness of His promised return. 2017 is particularly full of some days and seasons where our “watching” should be roused to a keen focus. Consider the following:
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Readings: Psalm 16 / Luke 24:1-12 / 1 Cor. 15:12-58
In the minds of most of us western Christians, Easter Sunday and the Resurrection often take a back seat to other holidays or theologically significant events in the life of Jesus. For example, Christmas is a much more “popular” Holy day than is Easter. Similarly the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ upon the Cross takes precedence for most over the meaning of His Resurrection. And yet, without the Resurrection both His Birth and His Death are no more significant than any other birth or death. They fail to achieve their end without the Resurrection. Importantly, they fail to reach us if there is no Resurrection. This morning I want us to be reminded of three aspects, past, present and future, of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and what it means to us. In the past aspect we see the Vindication of the Son and the Verification of the Father. In the present aspect, how the Resurrection frees us from our fear of death. And in the future aspect, how His resurrection is the guarantee of our own resurrection. I. Vindication of the Son/ Verification of the Father. When we look at the Resurrection from the past tense aspect we see the vindication of the Son and the Verification of the Father. The fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead is proof that the Son lived a sinless life of dependence and verifies the Father’s approval that the curse of death incurred by the Fall of Adam has been fully born and overcome for us by Jesus Christ. When God explained to Adam and Eve in the Garden that they would die if they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil, He was not so much erecting a legal/penal framework as He was declaring the state of reality. In other words, if Adam and Eve sought to live independent of Him they would die. That’s just reality. It’s the way the universe is wired. For example, if a fish tries to live independent of water, it will die. Not as a penalty, but because it was not created to live outside the environment of water. Or take for example what happens if you jump out of an airplane, independent of a parachute; you will die. Yes, you have broken a law, but would your death be a penalty? Would your violation of the law result in you being judged, sentenced and executed in a “jurisprudence” penal framework? Would not your death rather be the result of having violated a basic Law of the universe…the Law of Gravity? God warned Adam and Eve that they would die, not that he would kill them. This is very important, for the notion that the atoning death of Jesus Christ was to... On an autumn afternoon walk with my wife and resident artist, our conversation turned to the last 10 years since Trinitarian Theology dawned on our understanding in a meaningful way. Every layer of thought, realized nuance and experience over the last decade has helped us unpack a little more of the stunning reality of our adoption and participation in the Triune Life of God. "We're Flemish paintings, not Alla Prima." she said. My “colour-blind” response prompted her further explanation: "Alla Prima paintings are usually created in one sitting, wet paint into wet paint, fresh colour laid down all at once for a beautiful, immediate finished work. Flemish paintings are the opposite. They require a series of careful, patient layers, each building on the last. A detailed drawing goes down first, then an under painting, a complete grey layer and finally colour. Colour may include many transparent layers before the final varnish is applied. Each stage must dry carefully for several days before the next and then months of drying are needed before the varnish. The result is a depth of jewel-like colour that is just stunning. A glorious luminosity is achieved with this layering process over time." She went on to say, “So, most of us are Flemish paintings. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit also do stunning ‘Alla Prima’ work with glorious results and sudden transformation. But they are always patiently at work on the ‘Flemish layers’ of our heart's understanding.” This metaphor beautifully captures the fact that God, in the ‘artistic recovery’ of His marred image in us, is not in a hurry. And neither should we be. His masterpiece requires our free participation. And that participation involves the healing of our sight through a believing heart and a renewed mind, both of which simply take time.
A compilation of 8 songs has now been added to the Listen page that echo the Trinitarian themes of Discovery, Simplicity, Zeal, Joy, Commitment, Sacrament, Vision and Contemplation. A half hour concert awaits you. Enjoy!
Where am I going when I die? How do I know what’s true? Is the geo-political world in a death spiral? In a day when truth has been thrown to the ground, and lies and “false news” are the norm, these questions, and many others, are impossible to answer objectively. That is, unless one has an internal compass that is calibrated to Prophetic Truth. One of the most important reasons for studying and understanding Biblical prophecy, is not so we can predict specific times of events. Rather, in knowing how things have been prophesied and fulfilled in the past, we can have a certain hope of God’s faithfulness to fulfil future events with the same exactness. This certainty and hope not only pegs our place on the time line but also informs us of what God is doing and what we need to be doing in response and participation with His plan and will. Approximately one third of the entire Bible is prophetic in nature. Some have suggested there are as many as 2500 specific prophecies, 300-350 of which have reference to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. To help us grasp the certainty of future prophetic events, and dispel any notion of mere coincidence, we need only look back at the way in which once future prophesied events have been fulfilled. In the Old Testament there are 61 major messianic prophecies fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. If we were to take just 8 of those and ask “What are the statistical chances of these 8 events being fulfilled in one man?” we would find the scientific and statically calculated number to be 1 in 10 to the 17th. That’s right…1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. For one man to be born in Bethlehem; be proceeded by a messenger; to enter Jerusalem on a donkey; be betrayed by a friend; sold for 30 pieces of silver; have money be thrown into God’s house; be silent before his accusers; and to be crucified with thieves having his hands and feet pierced…for just these eight to be fulfilled by one man would be equivalent to covering the entire state of Victoria (or Texas for our US friends) in fifty cent pieces two feet deep, hiding just one marked coin amongst them, then blindfolding a man and sending him out to pick up that one coin on his first attempt. Impossible…for just 8 prophecies. We cannot even comprehend the astronomical improbability of 48 prophecies which is 1 in 10 to the 157th. Yet this is exactly what has happened, and will happen in the future. Many times "A picture is worth a thousand words" and the pre-millennial, dispensational prophetic charts of Clarence Larkin (1850-1924) are no exception. In an age before computers, Larkin used his draftsman's skills to consolidate vast landscapes of prophetic scripture into over 90 charts. Six of these key charts can be viewed and downloaded along with his entire book "Dispensational Truth" on the Read page. Blessings as you re-calibrate your internal compass. Fortunately by 10:00 pm last night it would appear as if some “sobriety” has returned to the Bible Society Australia in regard to their ill advised marketing campaign which our previous post titled "Beer, Bible and Same Sex Marriage...really?" challenged.
The original video has been removed from their website along with the original text and references to “…how a drop of Coppers Premium Light doesn’t hurt…” in helping us obey the scriptural command to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry. Also removed is the ungodly attribution “of a good beer being on the table” alongside the Bible as a reason why perhaps these politicians, and presumably the rest of us, were able to “thoroughly enjoy their profound disagreement”. Whilst they may "have started a national conversation", it is rather unfortunate that it had to be this one. To celebrate its 200th anniversary, the Bible Society Australia has teamed up with Coopers Premium Light. The brewery has created a special batch of “light beer” which features the Bible Society's logo, and has Bible verses on the cases. This new brew is coupled with a video campaign showing a Gay Victorian MP Tim Wilson and conservative Christian MP Andrew Hastie discussing their views of Same Sex Marriage. The video includes several lingering shots of the beer bottles, and a rather comedic host who is clearly trying to “keep it light”. It ends with both parties toasting to the Bible Society with their Coopers Premium Light and congratulate it on its bicentennial. The expressed purpose of this campaign, according to Bible Society Australia, is to reach more Australians with God’s word by specifically asking: “…Australians to try “Keeping it Light”. Let me say, I have great admiration for any organization that has committed itself to making the Bible available around the world for 200 years. Let me also hasten to say that few things go down better than a cold beer after a hot days work in the Australian sun. But “Keeping it Light”? Really? Promoting “Christianity light” through a comedian host and beer drinking politicians presenting “their views” is the very thing that inoculates many people from hearing and taking God and His Word seriously. Is “Keeping it Light” really what God has asked of us, particularly when it comes to the cultural moment’s trajectory regarding Same Sex Marriage? How about “Keeping it True”? A lost world does not need “Christianity light”. God’s view is the one that matters. The world needs to hear and know the undiluted Truth. That Truth is in the person of Jesus Christ, apostolically disclosed and discovered in the Bible. A lost world does not need gimmicks, and the Bible needs no defence or shameful marketing campaigns masquerading under the guise of creativity. As C.H. Spurgeon said, “Defend the Bible? I would as soon defend a lion! Unchain it and it will defend itself ”. That “unchained lion” roars: “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord…” (2 Cor. 4:2-5) May both the Bible Society Australia and Coopers Brewery re-think what they are asking Australians to do. For some of my longest known friends, and for many others, this image will no doubt resonate the truth which Major General William Tecumseh Sherman, leader of Union forces during the US Civil War, famously declared in an 1879 address to the Michigan Military Academy, when he said,
“War is Hell”. There is hell in war and too often that hell remains in the soul long after the war is over. That hell is like “a river of toxic waste” flowing through one’s inner being and emotions. It seems to taint everything, even when it is against the will to do so. This is a reality many returning veterans face. It is also the reality that Jesus Christ has assumed in his humanity, taken down into death, and left behind in His resurrection. In His ascension and out pouring of the Holy Spirit, he is able to share with each one of us His Spirit; the Spirit of a man who has literally gone to Hell and back. There is no depression so deep, no darkness so black that Jesus Christ cannot enter into it and there share with us the experience of His communion and love of His Father. He has been there and knows it as a man. Our personal experience of sharing in this eternal love and fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is what we were all predestined to and what the bible calls our adoption as sons (Eph.1:3-14). When the light begins to dawn on us that God has not begrudgingly done this, but rather according to the pleasure of will, has from all eternity, determined to lavishly include us in Christ and thus in Himself, the “river of toxic waste” begins to flow clear. We find rest for our souls as living water wells up and overflows. May you know today that you are included, and respond with “Amen” to God’s eternal “Yes” to you in Jesus Christ. He’s had your back soldier…from all eternity. Some of you may recognize the banner photo on this page as the New Mexico plateau on which the little town of Los Alamos is situated. It is known as the “Atomic City”, for it was here in the 1940’s that the first atomic bomb was designed and built. It is also known as home for me, (though I am no longer there) the third generation of my family to live in its spectacular beauty. The main street through Los Alamos is called Trinity Drive. “Trinity” was the secret code name that Robert Oppenheimer chose for the first atomic explosion test at 5:29 am on July 16, 1945. It’s ironic that the word Trinity, a descriptive word of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, would be used for something that was to unleash unimaginable power and destruction. Today it is estimated that there are 15,000 such weapons around the world, most of which are many times more powerful than the first atomic bombs, and enough to utterly destroy this planet many times over. We are living on a powder keg. Perhaps more ironic is the fact that that the real Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit has told us clearly in 2 Peter chapter 3 that He will come again. This coming “Day of the Lord” looks very much like that powder keg going off. It is a day in which the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire and when the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare; that day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. Interestingly, the Greek word used to describe the elements being destroyed is λυθήσεται, which means “to loose” or “untie” the elements. Loosing and untying the elements at the atomic level produces an atomic explosion of intense fire that melts everything in its heat, exactly as described in v-12. God’s word asks: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” Why? Because “in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”. We must also remember that “in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed”. The great comfort we have is that Jesus Christ himself has promised to deliver all those who have placed their faith and life in his exclusive hands (1Thes. 4:15-18). Jesus Christ alone “saves us from the coming wrath” (1Thes. 1:10) for “God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him” (1Thes. 5:9-10). Far better to have the power of the Trinity unleashed within you now, than to have the power of the Trinity unleashed upon you then.
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