Love: In, Between and Beyond the Gardens

Back in 2010 I took my family on a trip to Israel.  Our one-man tour guide/travel agent, and a college professor of mine planned our  entire time in the Holy Land: meals lodging, transportation, bookings…everything! All I had to do was get my family to Chicago and back from K.C.. So I had to plan out this part of our trip. In addition I acquired trip insurance and made sure everyone had a valid passport. .

A well-planned out trip is a very loving act that requires foresight, wisdom and knowledge.

After the fall of man into sin God’s plan of redemption becomes evident in the curse He placed on the serpent which He does in Hebrew poetry:

                                                                ^” And I will put enmity

                                                 Between you and the woman,

                                                And between your seed and her seed;

                                                He shall bruise you on the head,

                                                And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

                                                            Genesis 3:15 (NASB95)

Christ is the one who will crush Satan on the head. This plan of victory over Satan shows great foresight and wisdom.  It is a loving plan that is based on the knowledge of man’s greatest need; forgiveness of sin.

Commitment to this loving plan was finalized in another garden; the Garden of Gethsemane. There Jesus agonized, “Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, your will be done.”

Between the Gardens of Eden and Gethsemane and beyond at the cross is revealed a well thought out tour of God’s everlasting love for us! Enjoy the trip!

Submission

The bible has many themes: salvation, love, adoption, restoration, to name a few.  Modern readers have found two of these themes that seem to conflict with one another: the theme of equality and that of submission. Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Meanwhile, in Ephesians, Paul tells wives to submit, and slaves and children to obey. How can these two seemingly opposed ideas be practiced in conjunction with one another?

 

 

 

To answer this question, I think we should look at the submission of Christ. You see, Jesus was fully God. He gave up no part of His divinity when he put on flesh, but we see throughout the New Testament that during the incarnation, He submitted Himself to the Father. Though he was equal with God in essence and being, His submission shows a difference in function. 

 

 

 

When the Bible calls us to submit to the authority in our lives, it is not instituting a hierarchy of superiority, but merely a difference in function. We should respect everyone.  Some have been given to leadership, and that authority, under God, should be recognized and submitted to. Not because they are superior or greater in some way, but for the functionality of the advancement of the Kingdom. 

 

Faith and Submission

“Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) Mary’s response was amazingly remarkable when the angel Gabriel communicated the message of the Lord about her role as the mother of Jesus. Though she did not fully understand, she yielded her life in complete submission to the will of God.

 

 

 

“Submission” —- I wonder how often this word is used these days in our conversation in the western world. In fact I wonder how often the subject arises in the church. Submission is a key element of faith in God. We live in the aftermath of the 1960’s where the concept of authority was pushed aside by many. The winds of this mindset blow across our lives every day whereby people clamor for their rights, re-define what is right and wrong, and push God out of the public arena.  If a believer in Christ is not careful, he/she can embrace this way of thinking so that it affects how God is approached. Somewhere in the last decades the idea of submission has seemingly got lost in the shuffle of life. This may be the case in the church because of the desire of some to be relevant or to share a message that will not be offensive so as to turn someone away.

 

 

 

True faith and submission to God go hand-in-hand. Submission to the Lord is tested daily in how we relate to others, attitudes we have to the things of this world, the testimony we bear (or withhold), manner with which we work, etc. Mary’s attitude of being the Lord’s bondslave  and her immediate yielding to the Lord reveal both her proper understanding and belief that God is Sovereign Lord! God is at work even now to accomplish His purposes. What is your “submission” level? May it be true in our lives as it was in Mary’s response, “Be it done to me according to your word.”

 

Faith and Willingness

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

(Luke 1:38, ESV)

Utter willingness.  Here you have a young woman whose entire life is going to be forever changed.  She is going to bear a child who was conceived out of wedlock and this child is going to be the Son of the Most High God.  With an uncertain future, a betrothed husband who could put her to shame and even death, and the almost certain reality that she would be reviled by her neighbors and called every hateful name for someone who conceives outside wedlock  which I refuse to list here, she still is willing to submit herself to the will of God.

O what depth of faith in the Lord this child had.  With so much stacked against her she made the choice to be faithful.  She accepted the role that the Lord required of her and she did so joyfully.  In Luke 1:46-55 we read Mary’s prayer and song in which she rejoices and gives praise to God.  With humbleness and joy, she submitted herself to the Lord.  May we be willing to do the same.

Hope for a Contaminated Christmas (part 1)

What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? James 4:1

Do you dread getting together with certain members of your family at Christmas because of lingering past conflicts that are still smoldering?

Do you wish there was some other place to go for Christmas this year so that you can get some peace and quiet?

Or, if you’re the host, have you already decided those who are not invited. Or, if the unwanted person does show up have you plotted your strategy on how you’re going to avoid them?

There is nothing that can contaminate Christmas quicker then ill-will toward another family member with whom you have an unresolved conflict.

After all, you’ve tried to work out your differences but you feel you’re at a stalemate in your relationship. Now it’s time to have it your way. So you dig in and pursue your rights.

Yet, deep down inside you’re still bothered by the disharmony and wish there could be a resolution.

God prompts us to ask a fundament question on this issue: “What is the source of this conflict?” In response we might answer, “Even if I knew the source would it make any difference?’

God knows family relationships affect our lives forever.  He has given us the answer on how to de-contaminate Christmas. His answer will make a difference!

To be continued.

Hope vs. Hopes

Often times when we think of hopes, we think of fingers crossed, maybe this will happen; gosh it would be nice if, etc.  Hopes, to us, are uncertain, but much desired, outcomes of an unforetold future.  That is why some die, and that’s ok.  When the Bible talks about our hope, the word ἐλπίς, (elpis) is used.  This word is translated hope, but a better understanding might be “expectation” or “anticipation of what is sure.”

 

Paul, in his letter to Titus begins by telling his purpose for writing. Titus 1:1-2 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to build up the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to Godliness, in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

Our hope in God is not like our hopes in the Chiefs. As we’ve seen these last three weeks, our hopes in the Chiefs will be let down from time to time, but our hope, our ἐλπίς, in God is sure. It is an anticipation of things to come. It is an expectation of that which is sure. 

An Advent Devotion from Pastor Bob

Hope so – possibly – perchance-maybe-perhaps. When people today typically use the word “hope”, it communicates the possibility of an outcome that it may or may not happen. However it has an altogether different meaning when used in the Bible.

 

 Hope is the earnest, confident expectation that God will fulfill what He has promised. Christmas is a about hope. The Christmas season is about the promise of God being fulfilled in the birth of the Lord Jesus and what His birth would ultimately mean in His going to the cross to bear our sin. There are many uncertainties in our world. In fact, the Bible tells us this world is passing away. If a person rests his/her hope in this world then despair is a likely outcome.

 

Hope in Christ is the anchor of the soul. What is the earnest, confident expectation of every believer in Christ? Here are a few: the forgiveness of sin (as we will we all stand before God one day), His presence in our hearts, eternal life, wisdom for life’s decisions, His unconditional love, grace for every situation, opportunity to know the will of God and glorify Him thru service. God wants us to know eternal certainties – not to fill our hearts with pride but so we will humbly follow Him. Like the forefathers of old, we are to take hold of the promises of God by faith and thus know hope. What is one major message of Christmas? The message of the birth of Jesus is a message of hope for all mankind.

 

Simeon’s Hope

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and the Spirit was upon Him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

(Luke 2:25-26, ESV)

A realized hope.  We talk a great deal about hope and faith and how they are inextricably linked (Heb. 11:1), but what do we do with this hope?  For Simeon, he waited eagerly for the Christ.  Now, many in Israel waited for the coming Messiah (Christ) but this was something that had been promised to Simeon; that he would not die before seeing the Christ.  Because of this, his heart was prepared for the moment that God would fulfill His promise.  The apex, the single-greatest event of his life was about to take place and he was ready for it.

In this passage, we are able to see that Simeon’s entire life has led up to this singular moment.  And in a rather extreme and audacious move, Simeon holds Jesus who is only forty days old and begins to speak.  Please do not let the magnitude of this situation escape you… a complete stranger came to Joseph and Mary, and took their newborn child into his hands.  What comes next is a moment so beautiful and glorious; Simeon broke into song saying:

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel.”

(Luke 2:29-32, ESV)

As we continue through this season of Advent, let us remember the hope that we have.  God is always faithful to His word and His promises are always fulfilled.

“Where Now is My hope?” Job 17:15

. He was on his way back from the Philippines where he was leading an emergency response team helping victims of the typhoon.

Speaking from his iPhone with a weak internet connection at the airport in Siem Reap, Cambodia we talk for a few seconds about the virus he was recovering from when he abruptly announced, “We’re going to have a boy!” I responded, “Awesome, another great leader like you!” Then we lost connection and did’t get it back.

Every father wants a son who will give hope to a needy world.  Every grandfather-to-be wants the same for his grandson.  This hope has only one source.  It is not a false hope based on mere optimism or sentimental feeling.        It is a true hope anchored in the absolute bed-rock truth of Him whose word when obeyed is a foundation no storm can erode. He is the “resurrection and the life.” “In His name the people shall hope” (Matt. 12:17).

Many of those devastated by the life-robbing storm in the Philippines are asking the same question Job asked, “Where now is my hope?” The answer, the incarnate God, Jesus Christ.  Jesus indicated in John 10 that He did not come to “rob, kill and destroy.” He came that we might have life abundant and eternal. His life gives hope. He alone is THE HOPE for all generations!