 Surprised
Do you like surprises? Some people love the exhilaration of experiences that are completely unexpected. Other people hate surprises. This could be because they simply don’t like the feeling of panic or fear created by the sudden surprise, but it could reveal a more serious issue. Many people don’t like surprises because it reveals that they are not really in control of their environment. It can become very easy for us to convince ourselves that we have managed to manipulate the many variables in our lives such that we think all our plans must happen according to our will. But when a sudden component is out of place and our agenda is compromised this reveals that our confidence is actually in ourselves and not in the Lord. Expectations are incredibly important because in many ways our expectations define the boundaries of what we consider good or bad, acceptable or rejected, righteous or evil. But if our expectations are derived from our own preferences then we are bound to be disappointed. Instead we must base our expectations on a view of reality and existence that is based on the truth of God revealed in the scriptures. Along with this worldview we must believe the hopeful promises of God that are for His people and according to His grace that is revealed through the Lord Jesus Christ. Concerned Some surprises ought not to be enjoyable. Concern is a legitimate response to tragic news. The surprise of a devastating or fatal diagnosis is not something that will bring about encouragement. But concern that drives us to look to the Lord and seek to honor Him in our distress and trust in Him for the accomplishment of His perfect will is an appropriate way to respond to difficult news. However, this is not the same thing as the faithless worrying of a person who does not trust God’s will or His grace to be sufficient in light of their tragic circumstances. God is explicit that we must not worry but rather we ought to rejoice in all things (Philippians 4:4-7). We also need to realize the danger of panic. If you are driving in hazardous icy conditions and you begin to slide, you must not panic. Rather, you must react carefully and deliberately to safely regain control. Excited On the other hand, we must have our eyes open to see the many unexpected and sometimes subtle surprises that God puts into our lives for our joy. The giggles of small children playing and the ambition of zealous teenagers to accomplish their dreams ought to cause us to rejoice in the good things that God is bringing about all around us. We must allow ourselves to be encouraged and energized by the blessings of God. As the old hymn exhorts us, we must count our many blessings. We also ought to be excited about the promises that God has made to us. God has good things in store for His people who rely on Him. Our concern or excitement is profoundly affected by our own attitude and disposition. Even the falling snow will for some people be a source of great anxiety and worry about the struggles and difficulties that may accompany the winter precipitation. But many others will be excited to see the beautiful winter wonderland, enjoy an adventurous sled ride, or taste the first batch of snow ice cream. The weather will be the same either way but the difference is found in our attitude and perspective. So let us receive the will of the Lord with faith and find the blessing even in our hardships (James 1:2-4).
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 In the Beginning
The Scripture begins by taking the reader back to the beginning. It really is funny how we all seem to want to know the back story. Many myths and fictions have been imagined by people considering the past before Genesis 1:1. But consider this, there is no past before Genesis 1:1. What I mean is that to speak of the past is to use time to define the existence before the Lord created time as dimension of reality. Even me using before in the previous sentence really doesn’t work because of this concept. We use this language because our existence is tied to the concept of time in such a comprehensive way that we are not at all capable of contemplating a timeless existence. Human language also fails us because our words and verbal structures are bound to time and space distinctions. Since this is the case what should we do with our thinking about eternal things whether in reference to what we would think of from our time bound vantage point as past or future? Options As I see it, we have three options. First, we could just ignore the difficulty and impose our time bound ideas on the realm of timeless eternity. This will inevitably mean that we are building an understanding of heaven or our future eternal existence that is simply wrong. In this scenario it is not a matter of it possibly being right it is simply a sentimental perspective for the purpose of making us feel better but without any basis in reality. Option two would be that we use our understanding of reason and logic to ponder the metaphysical realities of God and His existence outside of the dimensions we exist in so as to come to conclusions about these things that have not been revealed by God explicitly. However, I hope you already see the flaw in this logic. Our understanding of reason and logic are as bound to time and space as everything else that we encounter and so these tools are simply insufficient to answer these impossible questions. So what's the third option? As I see it the third option is to believe God and take Him at His word. The secret things belong to God only the revealed things belong to us (Deuteronomy 29:29). Since this is true we must not speculate beyond what God has revealed in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 4:6). This is not the same as ignoring the realities that are beyond our understanding because we are trusting God with what we cannot know instead of dreaming up sentimental fables. But this is also not the same as the hubris of employing intellect beyond the scope of God’s revelation. We are simply going to seek to understand everything God has shown us and stop where the illumination ends. A New Beginning As we begin a new year most of us are probably pondering what will be coming our way. In our world and in our own personal lives many unexpected things will happen over the next 12 months. So today we should go ahead and set our minds not on the things we don’t know such as our temporal future or the things we can’t know such as the internal nature of timeless existence but rather what God has called us to know which is Himself. The Lord taught us that knowing God means knowing Jesus Christ! Jesus came to give eternal life to all whom the Father had given to Him but notice that eternal life was not defined by Jesus as some abstract metaphysical concept based on pondering timelessness but rather Jesus defined eternal life as having a relational knowledge of the one true God and Jesus Christ the One sent from the Father (John 17:1-5)! So let us spend the forthcoming year knowing Jesus through the word of God, the blessing of prayer and the fellowship of the saints!  Reflections
This is the time of year when we are all given to the idea of reflecting on the things that have happened in the last year. Some are perpetually locked into thinking about the guilt and shame of the past remembering all the flaws and failures of the past year or years. Others may be looking back nostalgically on the fun and freedom of days gone by. Still some are only glancing back to make some needed evaluations so that they can pivot quickly to focus on the days ahead. As I think about the year that is now nearly completely passed I am struck by the reality of what does and does not really matter. One year ago there were things that I was concerned about and praying about that today seem so insignificant. There are also other things that I didn’t realize were going to be important but actually have proved to be weighty matters. Finally as I ponder these things I feel the need to be careful and even slow to presume that I am grasping clearly what are the real priorities. But I do think that King Jesus has some instruction for us in these matters. With the rest of this post I would like to consider two important commands given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ! Don’t Worry In Matthew 6 and Luke 12, Jesus teaches us how we are to relate to the many things that we encounter in the world. The first lesson I would like to remind us of from these parallel teachings of our Lord is that we must not be worried or anxious. I know for many people that seems impossible. The chaos and stress that may be surrounding us at the moment may make us think that a command to not be anxious is unreasonable. This will be especially true of us if we have been convinced of the lie perpetuated by worldly philosophy and psychology that anxiety is a mental illness and not a sin to repent of and mortify. But Jesus commands us in (Matt 6:25), “do not be anxious about your life.” If this was not something that we with new hearts could do, Jesus would not have commanded us to obey in this way. Jesus goes on in this text to give us examples in the birds and flowers of the enduring providence of God over His creation. The implication of these examples is that God is so meticulous in the care of even these things that we must know He will not fail to care for us also. Jesus points us to the reality that we can trust our Father in heaven who knows our needs and what is truly best for us. However, in each of these examples there is also a warning against thinking that our worry is actually accomplishing something. Jesus warns us not to be faithless. In this passage the Bible uses a word which is rendered as “little faith” but it conveys the idea of such little faith that it is indistinguishable from having no faith at all. So Jesus is saying don’t be anxious and faithless but instead trust your God. Be Motivated It may, at this point, sound like I am saying that Jesus told us to just “don’t worry, be happy.” But Jesus was not saying that we should be flaky or purposeless. Instead Jesus said that we should prioritize the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). I do not think Jesus was simply saying make sure God is first. He was saying make sure God is your life. In this way of thinking every part of our lives becomes concerned with knowing God and obeying Him with hearts full of love and gratitude. As we close the chapter on the year of our Lord 2024 and we begin the new year 2025, let us resolve to do everything for the glory of our great God (1 Corinthians 10:31)!  Shopping
So have you bought all your Christmas gifts yet? Just a few days remain for the shopping season leading up to the Christmas holiday. I have heard of more and more people who are choosing to celebrate at different times in the year, maybe before Thanksgiving or in the new year so that they can avoid the hectic schedule, chaotic crowds, and inflated prices that come along with the holiday season. Maybe your family or group of friends have chosen to forego the gift giving part of the holiday tradition. I have often heard other believers complain that the emphasis shouldn’t be on the gifts but on the celebration of God’s gift to us in Christ. I myself just the other day told my wife that I would be just fine if at our extended family gatherings we just brought gifts for the kids and enjoyed good food, games, and fellowship. Sometimes I think that we may be tempted to think that this kind of non materialistic way of thinking is more spiritual, but I would like to explore some reasons why we can view our modern practices of gift giving as biblical, faithful, and meaningful. Biblical Precedent In the book of Esther, we are told that after the young woman, Esther, is chosen to become the queen, the King gives a great feast and gives gifts to the provinces with royal generosity (Esther 2:16-18). Someone may respond with the question, “Should we be following the pattern established by a pagan king?” The answer to that would be no. However, we can establish here that even among the pagans the practice of great generosity motivated by an important celebration is common to humanity. There is another reason to take into account the events of Esther when considering how we will understand our holiday celebrations and festive generosity. At the end of the miraculous story of God’s gracious salvation of the Jews which He provided through the means of Mordecai and Esther we are told that the Jews celebrated with days of feasting and gladness. The text even says that they had it as a holiday (Esther 9:17-19). From these initial days of celebration the Jews established a obligatory holiday for their people when they would enjoy feasting and gladness and sending gifts of food to one another and to the poor. This holiday is called Purim. Doesn’t this sound very similar to the traditions that we have established around celebrating Christmas? Again someone might point out that this is in the Old Testament and we are not under that covenant anymore. Of course that is true. We are not those people and we do not celebrate their holidays. Actually even for them the Lord did not establish Purim, they did (Esther 9:20-28). God is not mentioned in the book of Esther. God did not command His people to keep these days like He did the sabbaths or the covenantal feast days that He gave to Israel. But that is exactly why it is so instructive for us! Just like they were free even under the Old Covenant law to celebrate the great things God did for them, beyond just what He had commanded, how much more are we under the New Covenant and the freedom we have in Christ free to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Lord, and King! My point is simply that while we are not obligated by a command of God to celebrate Christmas or any holy day under the New Covenant, we do have a real biblical precedent for joyfully celebrating the amazing salvation we have from God as much as we want. We also need not keep this celebration to some kind of hyper pietistic inner tranquility, we can feast and give gifts with exercises in hospitality and generosity for everyone. So let me leave you with this thought for Christmas: if we are celebrating the birth of our King who came so that we could be made citizens in His kingdom and siblings in His royal majestic family then let us celebrate with lavish, extravagant, royal generosity and gladness!  Colorful Traditions
So what are the things that really seem to support the holiday mood for you? You may be thinking about certain tastes or smells that are a part of your holiday experience. Maybe you think about the changing of the season and the chill in the winter air. Possibly it is the decorations and hustle and bustle associated with this time of year. Because of the different traditions and practices that we have developed, even certain colors have become associated with the season. In this post, I would like to consider how these colors can be used to remind us of the true reason for the season found in the incarnation of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. Garden Green Green is one of the colors considered a Christmas color. This probably stems from the practice of bringing in the evergreen tree to be decorated in celebration of the coming of new life. Of course there are many various claims and legends surrounding the origination of the phenomenon of the Christmas tree. Some argue that it is a pagan symbol and a direct violation of the prohibition given by God to the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:1-5). I would like to say two things regarding this view. First, if you are convinced that this is evil you should not just go ahead with it because so many other Christians seem to enjoy this tradition. However, since this is not something that is clear and there is not a consensus among other believers, I would say that we should treat this as a category of Christian liberty (Romans 14). This would mean that while you may choose to not celebrate the birth of Christ with a Christmas tree or to celebrate at all, you should not judge your brother for you each are seeking to obey Christ according to your own conscience informed by Scripture. Secondly, the text in Jeremiah seems to me to clearly refer to fashioning an idol. We should not be making an idol out of our Christmas tree. The passage is not prophecy about our future celebration of the birth of the Messiah but rather the ancient practice of idolatry taking place in Jeremiah’s time. So it is not a prohibition on our current practices and traditions at all. But maybe we could reimagine the use of the color green to remind us about the garden of perfection into which God placed our first parents. This lush and fruitful paradise is the portrait that God has given us of our being in close connection with God. Of course, they sinned and the peace and tranquility was lost, but Jesus came to bring us back into the right covenantal relationship to God. Thinking about the garden should give us hope as we remember that God through Jesus has promised us a future paradise where we will dwell with Him forever (Revelation 22:1-5)! Blood Red The other color, probably on the same Christmas status level as green, is red. Red is ubiquitous from the suit worn by that famous but fictitious jolly old elf to the glowing nose of his magically reindeer. Red is everywhere this time of year. I know that I am not really reaching creatively to point you to see the association between red and blood of Christ shed for us at the cross. As we see all of this red used to celebrate the birth Jesus let it also be a reminder that this baby was born to die as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29-34)! Pure White The other color I would point out to you is pure white. Everyone may be dreaming of a snowy white Christmas but the white that we should most of all be celebrating is the white robes of righteousness provided by Jesus for all His people (Isaiah 61:10-11). It is an interesting thing to ponder that our robes are washed white in the red blood of Christ! So when we see the white and red of a candy cane we should think of the amazing gift of God’s grace given to us by Christ. Maybe one more way that white reminds of the true meaning of Christmas is the pure light coming from the star that proclaimed the birth of the newborn King (Matthew 2:1-12). We should also point everyone we can to the fact that unto us a Savior and King has been born, but even more than that He has died for our sins and been resurrected for our justification. So brothers and sisters, let's celebrate our Savior's birth!  Promise
Throughout the Old Testament, the Lord is continually pointing to His promise to save His people. This salvation is specifically referred to as the time when God will dwell with them. He says you will be my people and I will be your God (Ezekiel 37:26). The hope of man is not to simply escape the torments and punishments of God but to actually live with God and at peace. I think that the sense we have of dwelling with God is enhanced as we meditate on God being with us or us being with God. The more we ponder the reality of eternity and what the scripture reveals about that eternal condition the more we are filled with awe and wonder. Also, when we are focusing on the simplicity and humility of God invading our current condition we are filled with astonishing amazement. Of course, many are captured more by nostalgia than Christ this time of year, but for us believers I think that as we are more given to think about the beauty and glory of the incarnation we are prone to experience more deeply the profound reality of God coming to dwell with us. Remember, the name prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 7:10-14) and proclaimed to be fulfilled by Matthew – Immanuel, means God with us (Matthew 1:18-25). Even in John’s gospel we are told that the Word of God became flesh so that He could dwell among us (John 1:14-18). Of course, Jesus had to have a body like ours to take our guilt and shame on Himself on the cross but He also came to live with us and know us (Hebrews 10:1-14). But Jesus came to bring us to God and fulfill the promise of us living with God. Jesus came to live with us so that in the eternal state of His kingdom we will reside with Him forever (1 Peter 3:18; 2 Peter 3:13)! Peace In the Ezekiel passage mentioned above, the prophet proclaims a coming reunification of the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. However, as we examine the text it seems that this extends to people from all the nations. The meaning of the prophecy is that God is promising a better covenant than the one He had formerly made with the physical descendants of Abraham. This is the new and better covenant that comes through the blood and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:22-28). However, Ezekiel does not call it the new covenant in this passage but rather the covenant of peace (Ezekiel 37:24-28). The Old Covenant with its conditions and stipulations could not because of the sin and failure of the people bring true peace but only enmity between God and the people because of their sin. Rather mankind both Jew and gentile need a covenant that can forgive our sin and make peace with God. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he teaches them and us that the righteousness of God going all the way back to Abraham was received by faith. So that, by faith in Jesus who was offered for our sins and resurrected for our justification, we could receive His righteousness credited to our account (Romans 4:3-9;16-25). Paul then writes in Romans 5 that the result of being justified by faith is that we are now at peace with God. Through Jesus, the promise of the covenant of peace prophesied by Ezekiel has been granted to us. Since this is true, that we now have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, we can also see the definitive fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy that He would be called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7). Our prince will reign forever and of the increase of His peace there will be no end. Come to this great prince, King Jesus by trusting in Him completely and you also will enjoy this eternal happiness and peace with God!  Happy Thanksgiving
I’m sure you are very full from the feast and probably a little worn out from the festivities. The holiday season is in full swing now. This past Sunday evening we were studying in Colossians 3 and Paul urges the believers to be thankful (Colossians 3:15-17). He is specifically encouraging the cultivation of thankful hearts among the assembled saints. Even emphasizing that this gratitude should motivate everything that we do as we act in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But what does it mean to be thankful? The words being translated as “thankful” in the ESV translation are from the root word that means grace. Even our English terminology coming to us from the Latin has this connection to grace. I think that the point is that thankfulness proceeds from a recognition that we are recipients of grace. This means that we have received good things that we do not deserve. In this post, I do not intend to remind you of the reason to be thankful but rather to identify how many of our practices are a celebration of grace. The Feast You may think that the food gets too much of the attention when it comes to Thanksgiving. I mean shouldn’t we be thankful whether we have a big meal or just a simple sandwich? But the meal is an expression or celebration of all that we have been given. When the Pilgrims and Indians gathered for the first Thanksgiving the meal was a celebration. Of course we would still have much to be thankful for without all this delicious food but the great extravagance of the food is symbolic of all the lavish ways that we have received more than we could ever deserve. That’s the grace of God on display even in His common grace toward many who do not trust in Him! The Fellowship As we enjoy our time spent lingering in lively conversations or playing games with family and friends this also is a celebration of God’s grace. He has blessed us with these people and the relational capacity to know and be known. In the text mentioned earlier, Paul is recognizing the importance of the harmony that is produced by the bonds of love given to us by God (Colossians 3:14). Remember the exhortation that God is love is given to us so that we would love one another (1 John 4:7-21). We cannot truly know God and His love without loving our brothers and sisters in the church. It is important to note that for this to be Christ honoring and God glorifying fellowship it is not required that every moment be spent in deep theological discussion or reflections on complex interpretations of Scripture. God is glorified in the gladness and joy of His people. Rejoice Christians, we have some many blessings for which to be thankful. The Future Not only do we have all these past and present reasons to be thankful but we have even great promises coming in the future. His mercies are new every morning and that is a reason to rejoice (Lamentations 3:22-24). The security of our future under God's providential plan is a genuine reason for rest with thankful hearts. Even if many details and a full understanding of the future that awaits us (both in this age and in the age to come) may be unclear, we still know that it is according to His purposes and in this we can be thankful. So your post-dinner nap is not necessarily succumbing to the sin of laziness but rather a celebration of the gift of rest. This rest is not only the rest from difficult and stressful circumstances, or hard demanding labor; but the greater rest from striving for your own record of righteousness. There does remain a rest for the people of God and that rest is found today in Christ (Hebrews 4:1-13)! I urge you beloved, to fill your hearts with the thankfulness produced by the recognition of God’s free grace.  Family Ties
As we are approaching not only Thanksgiving but the many gatherings of the holiday season, for many people these settings are not all joyous and harmonious. Some of this is because we are maybe more likely on these occasions to gather with people who we share some kind of familial connection with but with whom we do not share values and maybe don’t really have an active ongoing relationship. Others may be thrown together into social settings with coworkers with whom their only connection is the company or career. Even still the differences in political views, religious beliefs, and lifestyle habits can contribute to very contentious gatherings. In many cases I think that what we probably really want is to be welcomed and accepted by these other people. This is especially true when these are people whom we care about deeply, such as family. The issue really does come down to the fact that most of us do not want to be rejected by our friends, family, or community. I believe that this resistance to being rejected is a part of the image of God in us. God has made us to be communal beings and to have relationships and fellowship with one another. The reality is that sin is not a basis for building true relationships but only a basis for the destruction of a true covenantal community. Church Splits The New Testament is very clear that it is the will of God and of the head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we as His people are bound together in genuine unity. Jesus Himself taught this to His disciples with some of His final words before the cross (John 15:1-17). He also prayed to the Father for the unity that we should have in His final prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 17). The point is that Jesus wants for his people to be united. I do not believe that the real problem today is different denominations or theological camps. Rather, it is the weakness of our covenantal bonds to our own local churches. As a pastor, I am glad to see strong bonds of love and fellowship even in church with which I do not agree theologically. Assuming that the churches are orthodox and they are truly worshiping God and proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ, I want to see them have unity and peace because that is what Jesus wants. If the Holy Spirit chooses to bring theological reformation to those churches praise the Lord but it may be our churches (like minded) that need a practical reformation and greater love for one another. The Apostle Paul in dealing with the factious problems in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:10-17) acknowledges that the practical problems in their fellowship were actually evidence of much deeper spiritual problems in their membership (1 Corinthians 18-19). On a personal note, when people think of church splits they probably think of the major blowup where some large portion of the church leaves to start their own competing meeting. But as a pastor, I must admit that it hurts deeply every time someone leaves the fellowship. Of course there are cases when someone moves away and the separation is not based on them “leaving” the church. But whenever someone chooses to leave it feels like a rejection which cuts deeply and emotionally. Spousal Separation Another area of life where this kind of sharp rejection is often encountered is in marriage. Husbands and wives have made covenantal promises to one another and when those promises seem to be broken it brings about deep feelings of rejection. This does not have to be infidelity. It could be rejection of a spouse in favor of a job, hobby, or even some unknown or uncommunicated reason. But the outcome is the same, the rejection results in pain and damage to the covenantal relationship. Ultimate Rejection I mentioned earlier that our longing for connection, community, relationship, and fellowship is a part of the image of God in us. I think that this is the case because throughout the Scripture the most prevalent way that God shows us the idolatrous sin of His people is to compare it with the adulterous sin of rejecting one’s spouse. I believe that God shares with us in some way an understanding of how evil and heinous it is to choose our idols over Him (Ezekiel 23). Just as we may experience pain when we have been rejected and especially when rejected by those who have covenantally committed themselves to us, just imagine when God is rejected in favor of some puny, powerless idol. Idolatry is the most grave and serious of sins not only because the practice may be disgusting and reprehensible, but because idolatry is the blatant rejection of God! So what can you do if you have become trapped in idolatry? If you have been enticed to love something else more than Christ? The only answer is to repent and flee to your first love! Fly to Jesus for He will receive you (Revelation 2:1-7)!  Scandal
Several weeks ago it was revealed that Dr. Steve Lawson, a well known preacher in reformed baptist and presbyterian circles was being relieved of his “ministry activities” at the church where he was regularly speaking because of an inappropriate relationship with a woman who was not his wife. Now that was a bombshell for many because Dr. Lawson has always preached and taught a very conservative and orthodox brand of Christianity. But, of course, anyone can sin and anyone could prove to be a hypocrite. So I think most people assumed that Lawson simply fell into this sin. I did see some discussion around his schedule and his practice of often traveling alone. Many people seemed to think that better accountability practices might have kept this fall from happening. But just this past week some new information has been reported that could shed light on how this happened. But even more interesting for all of us is the lesson of the importance of covenant relationships found in this unfortunate tale. We should not concern ourselves with sordid or unnecessary details about the things that happened simply to entertain our selfish imaginations. However, in this situation, we should seek to learn the cautionary tale that could save both ourselves and those near us enormous pain and hardship. So what is the new information that has been reported? It is that Dr. Steve Lawson was not a pastor. Claims were also made that he was not even a church member but Dr. Josh Buice of G3 ministries issued a statement confirming that Steve Lawson and his wife were members of Trinity Bible Church (G3 statement). If you notice the language I used in the opening paragraph it sounds like a strange way to say those things. He was relieved of his “ministry activities” as opposed to being removed from his role as a pastor or elder because he was not a pastor or elder. I referenced the church as being where he was “regularly speaking” because he was essentially the weekly guest preacher, not one of the men pastoring that congregation. One other thing about this situation is that Dr. Lawson seems to have not wanted to be a pastor. He wanted to just be a guest preacher and teacher. Dr. Lawson held a teaching fellowship with Ligonier, was a professor with the Master’s Seminary, and a speaker with G3 ministries, as well as his own One Passion ministries. The problem in all of this is that without covenant commitment to pastor the local congregation, all of these ministries simply become opportunities for Lawson to preach and teach but without the responsibility and accountability of the church. Seduction Many of you reading this may not understand why this would have been so tempting for a person who felt called to ministry, so let me give you an analogy that may be more broadly relevant. Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live the van life? By van life I’m referring to a subculture of people who mostly derive their income from working online so they can work from anywhere that they can get a reliable signal. These people live in a modified van. This of course requires very intentional minimizing of possessions. Just imagine all the advantages! You could travel and see new places. You could just up and go where the weather was warmer in the winter or cooler in the summer. You wouldn’t have many of the normal expenses of life such as a mortgage, water bill, or electric bill. You could basically live your life on a contentious and epic vacation! Sounds great, well maybe. Some of you have already started mentally noting the problems. You don’t have a house payment but you may have a hefty car payment especially if you bought a newer van with all the additions that would make living in the van more appealing. Also after a while even if it's just one person or a couple that van might begin to feel quite small. You don't have the normal chores that come with a home or apartment but instead you have the ones that come with a camper and the chores you still must do such as laundry and bathing become more complicated. My point is not that it’s all bad but what could begin with seeming like an escape from the tedious and mundane could become its own kind of trap. The worst and most subtle danger of van life would be loneliness and isolation. Nomadic life sings the song of freedom but it also frees you of the bonds of covenantal connection and fondness cultivated through real fellowship. As a teacher who does get the opportunity to teach regularly to those outside of our own local assembly I will admit that it is easier than the work of pastoring our own congregation. When my only responsibility is to show up and teach the Bible I am unburdened of the responsibility for other things that take place in these ministries. This type of arrangement also tends to shield a person from criticism. This is because when pastoring and leading a church people are being affected in a more profound way by both the teaching and the decisions that we are making. When a person is basically an itinerant preacher or teacher they can just ignore what I have to say if they don’t agree. The point is that there is simply less investment from both the teacher and the students. It’s kind of like watching a ball game between two teams that you do not follow. You may enjoy the game and the skill but you don’t have the thrill as if one of the teams was your favorite. Society Sometimes it can be tempting to just want to escape the challenges and stresses of social media, small town drama, or even family strife, but we must guard ourselves from the danger of isolationism. We need community! The Scripture is clear that it is not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18-25). We are made by God to be communal beings. Living is not simply a luxury but a necessity. We are stronger and better when we are in likeminded, loving, and committed relationships with other image bearers of God (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). This importance is especially true in the church. The word that we translate as church in the Bible means assembly. The communal nature of our calling as those with a personal faith in Jesus Christ is essential to the Bible definition of our Christian faith (Ephesians 4:1-16).  Results
Today, I had the privilege of hearing the testimony of someone, who is going through one of the most difficult struggles in life. They shared with me the high value of hope. By referring to the word “hope” I want to be clear that I do not mean the kind of wishful thinking expressed in the phrase, “I hope so.” This is not real hope! True hope has a basis in some reason for the trust and faith which is at the heart of all real hope. Hope that is not founded on any evidence or promise is just self delusion. One of the reasons that our Christian faith is not a “hope so” kind of faith is because it is based on the promises and power of God. Without the promises that the Lord has made to us and the assurance which we have from His faithfulness, we would not have a reason for hope at all. But because the Lord cannot and does not lie and based on His precious and great promises, we can have hope. Slogans Sixteen years ago a rather youthful candidate ran for the highest office in the land on the promise of bringing hope and change. Whether or not President Obama succeeded probably depends on the judgment of the individual. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, this is what candidates are always trying to communicate to the voters. Namely, that their administration will lead the country to a more advantageous and prosperous future. The job of every person running for election to any office is to give hope that they will be able to do the job. Even President Trump’s now famous slogan “Make America Great Again” is conveying the hope that better days are ahead for the country under his leadership. This slogan also reminds the hearer of the nostalgic feelings associated with the good old days which increases both the desire for a return to those good times and a belief that this hope is truly possible. Now What? So what should we do now? The votes have been cast and the contest is settled. First, we should pray (1 Timothy 2:1-4)! We should pray to our God acknowledging that our hope is not found in any government or political leader but the providential and sovereign reign of our true King the Lord Jesus Christ! We should pray to thank God for bringing about His will and ask that He would use the outcomes of these races for our blessing. We should ask that the Lord would give us peaceful and quiet lives from which to seek His glory through the proclamation of the gospel and the building of His church. We should pray for the end of wicked and unjust practices and laws. We should intercede for the salvation of our leaders. We should pray for the promotion of humility and wisdom among our leaders. We should pray for the physical protection of our leaders and the peace and unity of our citizens. When we have prayed then we should get about the business of living lives of holiness and godliness (2 Peter 2:11-13). After we have prayed for the advance of the gospel and blessing of our homes, churches, communities and nation then we should live for those ends that we have sought from the Lord. Expecting that God is pleased to answer the prayers that He has instructed us to pray in the Scriptures (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). We should be people full of hope for what God is doing in advancing His kingdom. Remembering that we also have an eternal hope of everlasting life based on the sure promises of our Savior and King (Titus 3:4-7)! |