Advent Hope

Christmas is upon us again. As Christ followers, this season is one filled with great hope. Not being pessimistic, but our selfish culture, our hedonistic world is fast coming apart at the seams. Gross selfishness abounds on every front. Greed, prejudice, lying, injustice, hatred-the kingdom of man is full of darkness and as Christ said, the last days will be marked by an increase of lawlessness. The last days continue as we move toward the great coming of Christ. Hope. Not in government, United Nations, supreme court, or any effort of man. Hope in the fact that Christ has come and is coming again. He came, not in selfishness, but in servanthood. He came not in greed but in graciousness. He came not in prejudice but in compassion for all. He came not in hatred but in sacrificial love. Because Christ came, there is hope for whosoever will. The kingdom of man offers no hope. The audacity of hope is not rooted in the resiliance of man, or the wisdom of man, but in the activity of the true and living God as revealed in Jesus Christ. We sing at this season of the year because there is hope. Reach up believer and take hold of the Holy One who is our HOPE. Come Thou long expected Jesus...we look forward with hope.

HIM

It seems so simple, but we are so distracted. It seems so easy but we are so worldly. Our one possession is Christ-his presence in us and with us. All else is chaff that will be burned up or blown away. When we circle the grave of a loved one we should know that the only thing that matters is the relationship with Christ and the relationships with family and friends. All the stuff is just that-we know it but the stuff is attractive, distracting. Achan picked up the spoils of Jericho and it only brought death to his family and others. When we pocket anything from this world, it will only bring death to us. Nothing in this world gives life, only Christ can and does. All the glory and luxury of the world system will be gone in one hour (Rev. 18). It is all gone in the moment we breathe our last breath. The church flounders in desperate need of His Presence. Our sin is that we have substituted programs, personalities and anything else we can come up with to replace His Presence. Getting His Presence back into the picture requires repentance, prayer, seeking His face. It invovles an energy and effort that we will not find entertaining or comforting. I believe Christ is standing at the door of His church, knocking, wanting to pour His glory on His body in America again. Who is going to get up and answer the door?

The Gap

The Old Testament prophet was notified by Almighty God that someone was needed to 'stand in the gap". A place to stand on behalf of God's holiness, seeking the face of God so God would be free to work His will in the midst of His people. Centuries rolled by and God Almighty stood in the gap himself through the life of Jesus Christ. Christ stood in that gap, hung in that gap on a cross, stands in that gap as the King of kings and the redeemer of the world. In other O.T. language, 'God's arm was not too short to save'. God was able and is able and Christ lives to bring a broken world and holy God together. While Christ was standing in the gap, He showed the method for this redeeming work and called His disciples to 'follow me.' Today the body of Christ, the church, stands in the gap. We are His presence on planet earth. We are the ones who have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5). We are God's arm in this world today. The gap is the church's responsiblity. The gap is our mission field, where we follow Christ and illustrate to the broken world that Christ is the answer. While we stand in the gap we proclaim a message of hope and victory, of freedom and fullness in and through Jesus Christ. Are we standing in the gap or sitting in the pew? Are we standing in the gap or looking for a church to meet our needs? Are we standing in the gap or drifting along with the world? Church, we must stand in the gap. We are His Presence on planet earth to proclaim the Great News. Let us stand strong in the strength of the Lord.

Christ Central

In a culture that has lost its 'moral knowledge', that has abandoned the Rock of Ages for the sand of men's wisdom, Christ still stands as the eternal One. Desire in our culture rules over truth, fact, reality. We have run hard after what makes us 'feel good.' This is an expensive choice, for our own eternal distiny, but also for the world that we leave our children and grandchildren. What we 'feel' outweighs what God says is right or wrong. No longer do our legal pundits look to the foundation of Christian ethics and morality to determine what is right or wrong. What the masses say, the broad way that leads to destruction, is the yellow brick road that our culture is travelling. God's voice is not only silenced and ignored, but rejected. Reality is, God is still God. Man comes and goes-like a vapor, another generation is gone and what we reject only stands to mock us for our ignorant selfishness. Truth may be trampled in the street as the Old Testament prophet proclaimed, but it is still truth. In this day of increasing darkness, may the body of Jesus Christ awaken from her slumber, repent, and begin to live and move in the power of the Holy Spirit. He will guide Christ's people in true holiness and righteousness so that we may shine like stars in this universe.

Consecration

Matthew 7:11 contrasts the Father in heaven with earthly parents. Parents give good gifts to their children. If the child's need is for bread, a snake is not provided. A contrast that seems absurd; however, Jesus is attempting to raise our level of trust in the Father and our consecration to the Father. The 'how much more' of the Father is what should liberate us to consecrate ourselves to the Lord. We dabble around the edges worried that the Father may demand something of us that we don't desire. Jesus says the good gifts the Father gives make the actions of responsible, loving parents seem trivial. When we give our all to the Father, when our consecration is complete and we have placed our life in His hands and becomme His living sacrifice, we begin to taste the divine gifts that can't be found from a source on earth. We have a tendency to ask for good gifts from the Father without first making our consecration complete. The enemy causes us to view this consecration as hard, unfair, life threatening. But this consecration is the doorway to the abundant life, the Spirit filled life of victory over sin, world and Satan. We must be all His. To restrict or rebel against the Father in heaven only plays into Satan's schemes and robs me of the abundant life. Each morning to awaken and say, "Father in heaven, Your kingdom come and Your will be done" is the threshold to a day of victory. When I am all His, I can rest in the 'how much more' of my Father in heaven. When my Edler brother, Jesus, lived out his consecration to the last breath hanging on a cross, the Father did the 'how much more' of resurrection and exalted the Son above all. Father in heaven, 'take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee'.

Speaking Out

The recent statement by the CEO of Chic filet and the backlash from the liberal media and the folks who are calling wrong right is interesting. The agenda of the present administration is to grant the homosexual minority status (which has to be an affront to true minorities) and to silence those who are willing to say that such lifestyle is sin. Our culture has made the choice to abandon the foundation of moral and ethical guidelines that are from God's Word. We have cut the ship loose from shore, thrown away the anchor, sail, steering wheel and rudder and are being carried along by the whims of this culture. Shipwreck will happen sooner or later. A refresher of the rise and fall of the Roman empire brings to our attention that immorality, sin, selfishness, eventually brings its own destruction. The wrath of God is not needed, the law of sin and death will bring its own result. We reap what we sow-when we think we can sow seeds of sin, immorality, greed, hatred, prejudice and still live the good life, we have moved into the ultimate delusion. In the midst of the chaos, may the body of Christ step forward to speak His truth in love and to live a different life, one of true righteousness and holiness that brings glory to Christ. May we, the followers of Jesus Christ, get serious about shining like stars in this dark world.

Freedom in Christ

I have been doing a series on celebrating freedom in Christ during July. How often we take any freedom we have for granted. I remember when doing a jail ministry in Houston at Harris County, one day a week I would spend five hours 'inside" the facility. It would always a joyous moment to hear the door shut behind me when I left the facility and reentered the world of the free. Our freedom in Christ is a precious gift, given to us not so we can do as we please, but so we can please Christ. A freedom from sin, condemnation, fear and doubt that privides the position to live in a manner worthy of Christ. My freedom in Christ is a freedom for Christ. I am now free to do His will, to follow in His steps and live to His praise. I am now free from the littleness of a selfish life, and am living in the vast ocean of His grace, for His glory. Some talk that our freedom in Christ is a freedom from responsibility, holiness, obedience, etc. The freedom in Christ is the freedom to be who I couldn't be without Christ and to do what I couldn't do until He set me free from the prison of sin and selfishness.