Advent 1: Anticipation

This week's reading focus is the book of ISAIAH, chapters 40-49 (NLT)

Text related to the sermon/discussion at The River:   40:1-15 & 49:1-7

(Heard spoken by a first century Jew): 

The Lord is going to return... right? But how do we know he's really coming back to rescue and redeem us from all the evil forces in this world? Hasn't he said that before? Weren't we Israelites stuck in Egypt for 400 years as slaves? And when Moses led us out of Egypt, weren't we stuck in the desert for 40 years? And now we're in the "promised" land of Canaan, but everyone from the Medes to the Persians to the Greeks to the Romans have held the nation of Israel under their collective thumbs for hundreds and hundreds of years! God even allowed us to be taken from our homeland to be stuck for 70 years in Babylon to rot away as we awaited God's "rescue." Hmmmmph, that never happened... at least not in the way we had hoped... but at least we were eventually allowed to return to Israel. Nevertheless, I have a question: if Yaweh is so darn willing to rescue his people from oppression, how come we constantly keep getting oppressed by each and every superpower that emerges in the world?! If our God so good and powerful and gracious... then why doesn't he DO something already? If we're really his chosen people... why doesn't he treat us better? Doesn't he care?

Have you ever asked a question like that? "Don't you care, Lord"? "Why won't you  just return already... and rescue us from this evil world?"

Long before we came along... heck, for that matter, long before Jesus came along, Jews had been asking those kinds of questions for many centuries. I don't even pretend to have the answers... but contemplating this whole idea as to why God waits to return to this world in the fullness of his power and glory has brought to light a few things for me:

1. Like it or not... we (all humans) are an active part of the "evil" in the world. Perhaps it's not easy to swallow, but we have all fallen short of the glory of God... and therefore deserve death according to his law. Perhaps he's waiting to return as destroyer of evil because he loves us and wants to give us more time to repent?

2. God has returned - through the promised Messiah Jesus Christ. Though surprising and not exactly what we were hoping for... God gave us a new revelation of Himself by directly participating in humanity. Perhaps he's waiting to return as a warrior because we first needed to understand that God is willing to fully identify with us in our frail humanity?

3. Since we Christians have been called into relationship with God through Christ - and since we have been forgiven and redeemed - we are now His ambassadors commanded to share the good news of God's willingness to renew and restore everyone who humbles themselves and embraces His gracious authority. Perhaps he's waiting to return in full revelation to give us time to take His commandments seriously?

4. Though completely forgiven... many Christ-followers nevertheless chase after a multitude of false gods, and have grown weary in their wait for His return. Living in a wealthy, busy, and godless culture tend to take their toll on well-meaning Christians who believe in Christ... and yet find themselves giving in to all kinds of temptations that do not honor Christ. Perhaps he's waiting to return to give his followers time to decide whether or not they are willing to discipline themselves to constantly listen for the voice of God in their lives?

Hmmmmm.... I dunno why God keeps us waiting, but in some ways I'm glad he does. Though often frustrating... I like my life here on earth. I love my job, my family, and my friends. I love living near the mountains and beautiful bodies of water in this part of the world. But mostly, I love that God "comes" to those of us who will tune our ears to hear him... and adjust our eyes to see him. He is subtle... but nevertheless, he is powerful. He is unpredictable and impossible to control... but nevertheless, he is good and kind and gracious.

He is the Lord... and he is returning someday. Not as a babe in Bethlehem, but as a conquering king... the King of all Kings. Quick... everyone look busy!

May your Christmas season be filled with wonder and beauty... and the joy of knowing and following Christ our king.

Serious Faith

This week's Bible Focus: Paul's Epistle to the ROMANS


Text related to the sermon/discussion at The River: Romans 5:6-11 (NLT)


"Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners" (vv. 7-8).


Hmmmm... so, what would you do?


If someone broke into your home this very evening, put a gun to your head, and threatened to kill you if you didn't deny that Jesus Christ is Lord... what would you say to that person?


Recently, I read about two Catholic martyrs from the middle ages: Jan Hus (1372-1415), and Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556). You can read about both of them at Wikipedia.com.


Here is an excerpt about the death of Jan (John) Hus:

...He was enrobed in priestly vestments and again asked to recant; again he refused. With curses his ornaments were taken from him, his priestly tonsure was destroyed, and the sentence was pronounced that the Church had deprived him of all rights and delivered him to the secular powers. Then a high paper hat was put upon his head, with the inscription "Haeresiarcha" (meaning the leader of a heretical movement). Hus was led away to the stake under a strong guard of armed men. At the place of execution he knelt down, spread out his hands, and prayed aloud.

Wild, huh? This guy was burnt at the stake for has stand against the (at the time) thoroughly corrupt and wholly unbiblical doctrines of the Catholic Church. But did he recant his beliefs when the going got rough? No way, Jose. Here's how life on this earth ended for Mr. Hus:

At the last moment, the imperial marshal, Von Pappenheim, in the presence of the Count Palatine, asked him to recant and thus save his own life, but Hus declined with the words "God is my witness that the things charged against me I never preached. In the same truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, drawing upon the sayings and positions of the holy doctors, I am ready to die today." He was then burned at the stake.

Can you identify with Jan Hus? Man, I want to... I really do. But quite honestly, I wonder if I wouldn't more likely respond like Thomas Cranmer when the heat of the fire - and the threat of death - was causing me to sweat profusely:

In his final days Cranmer's circumstances changed, which led to several recantations. On 11 December, Cranmer was taken out of Bocardo and placed in the house of the Dean of Christ Church. This new environment was very different from that of his two years in prison. He was in an academic community and treated as a guest. Approached by a Dominican friar, Juan de Villagarcia, he debated the issues of papal supremacy and purgatory. In his first four recantations, produced between the end of January and mid-February, Cranmer submitted himself to the authority of the king and queen and recognised the pope as head of the church.

Now, please keep in mind... Thomas Cranmer, like Jan Hus, was caught in a huge, ugly and violent web of corruption that defined the Catholic Church in those dark years. And like Hus, Cranmer (mostly) stood for the truth of God's sovereign grace in the face of all this persecution. However, it also seems clear that when the chips were down, he changed teams pretty decisively! 


Frankly, I hope never to know for certain what I would do if faced with that kind of challenge to my faith. But nevertheless, it is a good question for self-reflection and discussion, don't you think? Assuming we're a disciple of Jesus... do we love him as much as he loved us? Would we be willing to die for what we believe? Or... as Cole challenged us last Sunday in his sermon about the book of Acts, would we be willing to live for that same reason?


Okay... history lesson almost over. There is good news and bad news from Mr. Cranmer's story. The bad news? He did indeed die a horrible death in spite of his heavy-duty backtracking. The good news? In a prepared last speech, he sort of went off script, which really ticked off the religious authorities:

He renounced the recantations that he had written or signed with his own hand since his degradation and as such he stated his hand would be punished by being burnt first. He then said, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine." He was pulled from the pulpit and taken to where Latimer and Ridley had been burnt six months before. As the flames drew around him, he fulfilled his promise by placing his right hand into the heart of the fire and his dying words were, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit... I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

Wow... now that is an awesome last minute save! What kind of faith stands up to that kind of torture so powerfully... so confidently? Whatever kind of pressure we're facing today... I'm pretty sure it's not as intense as what these men faced. Perhaps God can get us through our difficulties too, huh?


Anyway, hope to see some of you Ellensburgers this Sunday!