Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’

The Word 5.22.11

I do not have a burning desire to say much about the Harold Camping rapture prediction at this moment. I may change my tune later in the week as I think about it more. A simple Google search will turn up plenty of reading material on the matter. Timothy Dalrymple has some thoughts on Harold Camping and his predictions. For now, I’ll simply leave you with this passage from Matthew about the end of the age and the return of Christ. Always be careful to test every teaching against the inspired word of Scripture.

Matthew 24:3-51 (ESV)

3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Resurrection – 4.24.11

We have life because He died and rose from the grave. He defeated death and judgment in our place so that we can be made new and live forever with Him. He is worthy of all our praise. That’s my king…do you know Him?

Luke 24:1-12 (ESV)

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.


The Word 4.17.11

For your reflection on Palm Sunday…the Triumphal Entry…

Luke 19:28-44 (ESV)

28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Silly Myths

“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” – 1 Timothy 4:7-8 (ESV)

These words from Paul to Timothy have been consistently running through my head over the past few days. Paul packs a lifetime of wisdom into two small sentences. These sentences sum up Timothy’s situation in Ephesus. Some people began teaching doctrine that was contrary to the gospel. Paul leaves Timothy in Ephesus to pastor and protect the fledgling church from “myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith” (1 Tim. 1:4). As he wraps up the letter, Paul warns Timothy not be caught up in the “silly myths” himself. Silly is a good word for some of the things we see put forth in our day. Most of the novelty items found in the average Christian bookstore is silly (cross shaped mints, “car will be unmanned in case of rapture” bumper stickers, the empty tomb paper weight, etc.). Relativism is a silly idea. Many people will argue that there is no absolute standard of truth until they have been wronged. I think it is more honest to say that there are competing claims of absolute truth. A person claiming to be both a Christian and a Muslim is silly. The two belief systems are fundamentally opposed to one another on the basis of Jesus Christ. A brief introduction to both religions will make that blatantly clear. And of course, I cannot talk about “silly myths” without touching on the health and wealth gospel.

The health and wealth “gospel” promises everyone exceedingly good health and more financial gain than a person can possibly handle for the relatively small price of greater expressions of faith found in lavish giving or showy trips down the “miraculous” aisle. Touch the screen with the freshly anointed prayer cloth that you received based on your generous donation and begin to experience healing for your (insert any and all ailments that exist in the world today that are now being called out specifically for you). Sound silly? Yes. Is there any truth to what is being said? Yes. The sliver of truth that exists throughout the prosperity teaching provides just enough connection to lull people into a position of trust. Can God heal your disease or ailment? If he can raise people from the dead then he is more than capable of healing your cancer. Is God pleased and honored by generosity and expressions of faith? Definitely. Christians are exhorted to extend hospitality liberally (Heb. 13:1) and give to all who have need (Acts 2 & 4). God is glorified and exemplified by such acts. However, Scripture does not say that greater faith and generosity will lead to greater finances and health. Paul warns about the deception that comes from the love and desire for money (1 Tim. 6:9-10). Jesus tells us to store up treasures in heaven and not on earth so that our efforts will be spent on eternal purposes that do not pass away. Furthermore, the prosperity teaching looks extremely silly in the face of centuries of Christian history where men and women lived in extreme states of poverty, ailment, and persecution despite tremendous faith in God (the Apostle Paul, Polycarp, John Huss, Jim Eliot, Joni Eareckson Tada, etc.). Did they not have enough faith to spare them death and disease as they experienced it? It is quite the opposite. Men and women who have battled through persecution, disease, and poverty tend to show greater maturity in faith as a result of such struggles. Their faith has been galvanized and refined by the fire of trials.

Trials test our faith and breed perseverance. They are a greater measuring stick for our faith than anticipated blessings of health and wealth. Earthly materials and personal health will eventually pass away but the benefits gained from the testing of our faith through trials of many kinds have benefits for this life as well as the life to come. The gospel proclaims the good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He paid the price for our sin by dying on the cross and defeated death by rising from the grave. No matter what happens in this life, Christians have hope in the accomplishments of Jesus. We will die sinners saved by grace through faith in Jesus and rise again to live eternally with him. Paul’s use of the word silly is appropriate for everything that takes precedence over Jesus in light of this good news. So…look to Christ and leave behind the silliness.

More to come on the latter part of the verse…

That’s My King!

I posted this video of Dr. S.M. Lockridge’s illustrated sermon last year about this time. Lockridge’s words and preaching stirs up the hearts affections for the Savior who bore the cross for our sins. I hope that it helps you fix your hearts and minds on all that Christ accomplished for us on the cross. He died and rose again so that we might not taste true defeat. We have been redeemed by the high cost of the blood of Jesus. That’s my King!



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