The Power of Hope

Readings for today: 1 Thessalonians 3-4, Psalms 16

Hope is a superpower. The ancients told stories about hope and how it fueled the rise of the human species. Against all odds. Overcoming incredible obstacles. Succeeding despite all kinds of disadvantages. What kept human beings going over the centuries? Hope. Hope that things could get better. Hope that hard work would lead to success. Hope that together, we could accomplish great things. There is nothing quite like hope. Of course, the flip side is also true. There is nothing quite so devastating as the loss of hope. The loss of hope makes it almost impossible to rise above our struggles, face our fears, and overcome our failures. The loss of hope makes all of life meaningless on some level. It’s why it’s so important that our hope is grounded on something real, something certain, something true. Hope is not wishful thinking. Hope is not a fantasy. It is not something we dream up or imagine. Perhaps that’s why I love what the Apostle Paul tells his Thessalonian friends in today’s reading…

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬-‭18‬ ‭CSB)

For most of human history, people have died tragic deaths. Most have died in infancy. Many more when they were young. The select few who made it to adulthood were then subject to all kinds of natural disasters, wars, plagues, disease, etc. Only a tiny majority lived to an old age before dying peacefully in their sleep. The Thessalonian Christians would have been well-acquainted with death. They knew death was the great enemy. They knew death was undefeated. They knew death and they feared death so Paul writes them this letter to remind them that they have a hope that transcends this life. Their hope is in Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who was executed on a Roman cross. The same Jesus who rose again from a Jewish tomb. The same Jesus who appeared bodily to hundreds of witnesses. This same Jesus is coming again. He’s coming back with all the saints who have died. Their souls will join their bodies and they will be raised to new life. And the reason we can be sure this is true is because Jesus Himself went through it. His death and resurrection are a matter of historical record. This is no legend. This is no myth or fairy tale. Jesus Christ lived. Jesus Christ died. Jesus Christ rose again. On these three real life events rests the hope of the Christian faith.

Sadly, too many Christians have let go of this hope. They have exchanged the hope of the resurrection for the hope of some kind of disembodied afterlife. They have exchanged real hope for false hope. Hope that is grounded in real life events for hope in a Platonic fantasy about the eternal nature of the soul. Our hope is not that our souls fly away to be with Jesus after we die. Our hope is that our souls one day return to our physical bodies and we are raised from the dead! Only then will death be defeated. Only then will our victory be complete. Until that day comes, yes, when we die, our souls are hid with Christ. But that is only temporary until Jesus comes again to raise us all from the dead and give us eternal life with Him.

Readings for tomorrow: 1 Thessalonians 5, Psalms 17

Resurrection = Life without Fear

Readings for today: Acts 24-26

Everything for Paul hinges on the resurrection. When he met the Risen Christ outside of Damascus, a door opened in his heart that could never be closed. He was transformed. Suddenly all his zeal and passion for the Law was re-focused as he realized everything the prophets foretold had come true in Christ. His hope as a Pharisee for the eventual resurrection of the dead had actually taken place in his lifetime. Jesus was the firstfruits. He was the forerunner. He was the Messiah whom God had sent. And with this knowledge, all the tumblers fall into place. Jesus is the key that makes sense of the Law and Prophets. Jesus is the filter now through which all of Scripture should be read and understood. The Risen Christ brings new life and new meaning to everything Paul had learned over the course of his lifetime. And with this knowledge Paul is transformed from a violent, raging Pharisee intent on destroying Christianity to its foremost evangelist, pastor, and theologian. 

Of course, wrapping your life around the resurrection will not make you popular. Paul found himself at odds with the Romans who believed he was nuts. Paul found himself at odds with his former friends and colleagues in Judaism who tried to have him killed. Paul even found himself at odds - as we have already seen - with some of his fellow Christians who could not grasp the depths of his message of unconditional love and grace. Living the resurrection life will certainly make you strange. Weird. Odd. Because your values and priorities and thoughts and attitudes and actions are shaped by another Kingdom. A Kingdom not of this world. Ruled by a King who is not of this world. Submitting your life to Him means living an “other-worldly” life. A life not ruled by fear. A life not centered around self. A life untangled and unecumbered by the cares and worries of this world. 

Can you imagine living a life without fear? That’s the life Jesus offers. The resurrection life. Resurrection places us beyond the fears of this world. No longer do we fear death. No longer do we fear danger. No longer do we fear hunger or nakedness or prison or sickness. No longer do we fear the loss of possessions, reputation, position and privilege. No longer do we fear failure or pain or suffering. These “fears” are what the world uses to keep us in line. Squeeze us into its mold. Shape us into its corrupt image. But the resurrection sets us free from all of that! Now we are transformed as our hearts and minds are renewed by the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead now lives in us and is at work through us! This is what Paul understood. This is what Peter understood. This is what millions of Christians have understood throughout history and it is why the Kingdom of God continues to move with power on the earth. 

Readings for tomorrow: None

Resurrection

Readings for today: 1 Corinthians 15-16

Boil the Christian faith down and what do you get? A man hanging on a cross, buried in a tomb, rising from the grave three days later. This is the heart of our faith. Without it, we preach in vain. We pray in vain. We live in vain. Without the death and resurrection of Christ, we are fools. We would be better off to eat and drink and party and make the most out of life because death wins. Literally everything rests on this fundamental truth...Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.  

This is what sets Christianity apart from all other religions on the face of the earth. It’s what makes us unique. It’s what makes us different. It’s what makes Christianity true. We preach a crucified Lord and a Risen Savior. No other faith tradition makes anything close to the same truth claim. Sure, we might share the same moral code. Their gods might have some of the same attributes as our God. Their worship might look strikingly similar in terms of music and prayer. They might be good people with great families who live wholesome lives. They might make positive contributions to our society. But if they do not believe in the literal, historical, bodily death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; then their preaching is in vain. Their faith is in vain. They are still enslaved to their sins. Their dead are eternally lost. All because they are found to be misrepresenting God by denying the glory of His one and only Son. 

Paul is very clear. The physical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is THE essential cog in our faith. It is the key to unlocking saving faith. It is the lens through which we now see all of life. It is the cipher that cracks the code of the Bible. Christ has been raised as the firstfruits of the resurrection. He is the foretaste. The forerunner. The first to be raised so that He can go before us and prepare the way. His physical body was laid into the ground perishable, dishonored, and weak. It was raised imperishable, glorious, and in power! He is the first to be changed. The first to be transformed. The first to be raised. By His resurrection, we know death has lost! Sin has been defeated! The works of the evil one destroyed! The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is nothing short of the total and complete victory of God! 

And it is God’s victory that makes us immovable. Steadfast. Always abounding in His work. It is God’s victory that makes us watchful. Firm and strong in the faith. Persistent in love. It is his complete confidence in God’s victory that gives Paul courage to face everything he has to face. He considers all of it nothing compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. What about you? Do you believe in the resurrection?

Readings for tomorrow: 2 Corinthians 1-4

Resurrection

Readings for today: Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20-21

Resurrection. It is the reason why I believe in Jesus Christ. It is what makes Him unique among the world’s great religious leaders. All of the rest of them died. He remains alive. The empty tomb cannot be explained away. It cannot be dismissed. It cannot be ignored. I know many people who still want God to “prove” Himself. Prove He exists. Prove He is who He says He is. My answer to them is what more can you want? He literally came to earth, died on a cross, and rose again from the grave. What other proof do you need? What other evidence could God possibly present to convince you? He rose bodily from the grave, showing us the wounds in His hands, His feet, and His sides. Again, what more do you want?

The resurrection of Jesus Christ stands as the seminal event in human history. It demands attention. It requires reflection. One simply cannot pretend it didn’t happen. If Jesus was raised from the dead then we have to take Him seriously. We have to consider every word that He said. We have to grapple with the truth He proclaimed about a Kingdom not of this world ruled by a God who loves the world despite it’s sin and who promises to come again to judge in righteousness. We have to wrestle with what He has to say about the human condition. The sinful state of our hearts and our desperate need for forgiveness and grace. We have to listen to Him when He tells us how to repent of our stubborn, prideful, selfish ways. The resurrection validates everything about Jesus. His life. His teaching. His miracles. His suffering. His death. It is God’s stamp of approval on the unique identity Jesus claimed for Himself as the Son of God. 

Because Jesus rose from the dead, everything He says about the world is true. Everything He says about humanity is true. Everything He says about heaven and hell is true. Everything He says about life and death is true. Everything He says about good and evil is true. Everything He says about me is true. I am loved and I am broken. I am accepted and I am convicted. I am a saint and I am a sinner. I am justified and I am being sanctified. God embraces me as I am but doesn’t leave me there. He has set me free from the power of sin and death and He is still setting me free each and every day. This is what it means to believe in and to follow the Risen Christ.

Readings for tomorrow: Acts 1-4, Psalm 110

Live Again!

Readings for today: Ezekiel 37-40

The valley of dry bones is one of my favorite passages in all the Bible. I love how God uses Ezekiel to literally raise the dead to new life. In a sense, every time I get up to preach this is my prayer. I ask God to awaken hearts that may have become dry and stale and bring new life through the preaching of His Word and the movement of His Spirit. 

Of course, the power to raise the dead to new life doesn’t come from me. And this is of great comfort! Ezekiel was simply called to prophesy. To speak the words God gave him. This was his act of faith. To declare the goodness and glory of God to a valley full of scattered bones. We never know what season we will find ourselves in. Some are born into seasons of revival where the church is vibrant and growing and seeking the Lord with all its heart. Some are born into seasons where the church is dying and struggling and enslaved to fear and sin. Ezekiel was called to be a prophet in exile. At a time in Israel’s life where it seemed all hope had been lost. Their beautiful city had been destroyed. Their Temple razed to the ground. Their land conquered and occupied by foreign invaders. All the promises of God seemed to have come to an end. But in the midst of this national catastrophe, God brings a word of hope through His prophet. Ezekiel prophecies to the dry bones of Israel and a great “rattling” is heard. The scattered bones come together. Muscles and tissue and sinews form. The bodies rise. A great multitude as far as the eye could see. So Ezekiel prophecies again and the Spirit of God begins to blow. The dead bodies come alive! And why does God perform such a miracle? What is His primary aim and goal? Listen to what He tells Ezekiel. “I’ll dig up your graves and bring you out alive—O my people! Then I’ll take you straight to the land of Israel. When I dig up graves and bring you out as my people, you’ll realize that I am God. I’ll breathe my life into you and you’ll live. Then I’ll lead you straight back to your land and you’ll realize that I am God. I’ve said it and I’ll do it. God’s Decree.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭37‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭MSG‬‬‬)

Now consider our own spiritual condition. The church in Europe and America is dying. For far too long, it has tolerated sin. Think of the scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church or the number of influential Protestant pastors whose moral failings have been exposed. Think of the number of churches who have lost sight of their mission in their arguments over styles of church music or the color of the carpet in the sanctuary. Think of the number of churches who have exchanged the truth of the gospel for the lies of our culture. Think of the number of churches who are closing their doors every day in communities across our country. It is heartbreaking. It can seem hopeless. I close my eyes and it’s almost like I can picture the valley filling up with the bones of these formerly great congregations. 

Now let’s make it personal. As a pastor, I meet so many Christians who are struggling. Suffering. Dying spiritually. Their connection to God is tenuous at best. They’ve made choices and those choices have taken them far from God. They no longer spend time in His Word. No longer spend time with Him in prayer. No longer gather to worship with His people. Their everyday lives are filled with sinful pursuits they don’t even recognize because they do not give God a second thought. Their hearts are not broken by the things that break God’s heart. Instead, they spend their lives chasing their own happiness. Fulfilling their own wants and desires. They jump from church to church, never really putting down roots. Never really building authentic community because to do so would require them to die to themselves. It would require them to forgive past hurts. Look past the sins of others. Endure the heartache and pain that is part and parcel of the journey of building deep friendships. The end result of all this is spiritual death. This way of life ends in a valley of dry bones. But thankfully, even there, there is hope! For God can meet us in our valleys just as surely as He met Ezekiel! God can raise us to new life in these valleys just as surely as He did the people of Israel! With God, hope is never completely lost! 

Readings for tomorrow: None

Mortality

Readings for today: Job 14-17

Years ago, I was helping lead a service on Ash Wednesday. For those who may not be familiar with the Christian liturgical tradition, Ash Wednesday signifies the beginning of a season called Lent. Lent is a time when Christians contemplate their mortality. They spend intentional time reflecting on the brevity and fragility of life. It is a time of preparation as we get ready to celebrate the glorious promise of resurrection on Easter. After the service, a man approached me to let me know how much he didn’t like the service. It was way too scary and somber and depressing. His daughter was disturbed by the imposition of ashes and the words “from dust you came and to dust you shall return.” He argued that such services were inappropriate, especially for minors, and we should never do anything like them again but instead focus our efforts on being positive and affirming. I have to admit there’s a part of me that wishes I could agree with him but God’s Word and the human experience requires us to face our own mortality.

“We’re all adrift in the same boat: too few days, too many troubles. We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt, transient as the shadow of a cloud…mortals have such a limited life span…men and women die and stay dead. They breathe their last and that’s it. Like lakes and rivers that have dried up, parched reminders of what once was, so mortals lie down and never get up, never wake up again - never.” (Job 14:1-2, 5, 10-12) Job is honest before God. He has come to grips with his own mortality. He recognizes the limits God has set. He acknowledges that he is without hope apart from God. Our lives - at their best - are but a shadow. They are here today and gone tomorrow. We are forgotten within a generation or two. Our impact is minimal. Our influence is fleeting. There is very little that we work for that endures. Remember, Job was the wealthiest man in the world. He had all he wanted and more and it was taken from him in an instant. How many of us have faced a similar circumstance in our own lives?

So where do we find hope? What good is all this reflection on death and mortality and the transient nature of life? Where does it all lead? I’m glad you asked! ;-) Listen to where it leads Job, “O Earth, don’t cover up the wrong done to me! Don’t muffle my cry! There must be Someone in heaven who knows the truth about me, in highest heaven, some Attorney who can clear my name - my Champion, my Friend, while I’m weeping my eyes out before God. I appeal to the One who represents mortals before God as a neighbor stands up for a neighbor.” (Job 16:18-21) Though Job doesn’t know Christ, he points us to Christ. Though Job has not seen the hope of the resurrection and knows nothing about the One Mediator whom God has established, he believes in Him. It’s a striking passage that demonstrates from the earliest writings of God’s people, there was the hope of a Redeemer. A heavenly being who would take up our case before the throne of God. One who would represent us and ultimately save us by taking our place. This is why it is good to reflect on death for it points us to our ultimate need for Jesus.

Readings for tomorrow: Job 18-21