End Times

A thoughtful view of God’s plan for the consummation of this era ought to infuse our hearts with ample amounts of hope and courage to face our daily challenges. Much like the despised but courageous ban of Israelites who rallied around God’s yet-to-be-enthroned “king” David in 1 Samuel 22, we can take heart that one day “every knee will bow” and “every tongue confess” that the King we now follow is the Lord of all (Philippians 2:9-11). More than that, we can be sure that his perfect governance will be firmly established and all the blessings he has promised for his followers will be fully realized (Revelation 11:17-18; Hebrews 1:8). So when life is tough, injustice prevails, the bad guys win and Christians are despised and maligned, take heart! Jesus has earned the right to take charge of this world and one day soon he certainly will. And when he does, his followers will bask in the joy and satisfaction of their King setting everything right and making all things new (Luke 3:5-6; Revelation 21:5)!

Worship

Real worship is not easy. The difficulty is usually commensurate with the amount of pride in our hearts. Worship is hard because it requires that we attribute to another what our flesh desires to receive – the credit! At the core of worship is the reverential attribution that God is the reason and cause of the good that we experience (James 1:16-17). Our flesh struggles to relinquish such praise. We would like to think we are the cause of the advantages we receive, but God says it’s not so. He clarifies, “You may say to yourself ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced wealth for me.’ But remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). Whether it’s a comfortable income, a capable mind, good health, loyal relationships or the forgiveness of our sins, the Bible is clear that God is the generous Benefactor who specifically chooses to grant such things. We are left with the humbling task of “remembering” and respectfully saying, “Thanks!” May our worship today be appropriate, sincere and well pleasing to him!

Transformation

Unwittingly we often come to church expecting to hear the preacher affirm what we already know and commend what we already practice. And for the growing Christian that is sometimes the case. But more times than not, the word of God forthrightly preached will in some way and to some extent work to adjust, reshape, modify or overturn our preexisting thoughts and behaviors. That is what God promised would happen when sincere and receptive hearts encounter the “sharp two-edged sword” as it is boldly wielded from faithful pulpits (Hebrews 4:12; James 1:23-25; Matthew 7:24-27). As one bygone theologian put it, “God speaks to us on his terms, invading and disrupting what we have known and taken for granted.” So when the proclamation of God’s word is internally disruptive or feels like an assault on your familiar preconceptions, that is a good time to gratefully realize that the Holy Spirit is using the Book he wrote to shape, mold and transform you into someone who is less like the old you and more like the holy Son of God.

Absolute Truth

Truth is always true. Even so, it is amazing how many people seem to think it’s up for grabs. While we can reasonably reach an impasse as to which restaurant has “the best” Mexican food, when it comes to what you had for lunch yesterday there is a right and wrong answer. That’s the thing about “truth” it’s not true unless it has a correspondence to reality. I may want to believe that I have a million dollars in my checking account and I owe nothing on my credit card, but the bank and MasterCard are always good at evaluating my beliefs against the objectivity of reality. Truth claims about God, Jesus and the afterlife are no different. Either there is a God or there isn’t. Either Jesus is able to take the debt of my sin away or he can’t. I will either cease to exist when I die or face my Maker on the other side. The reality of these truth claims is what matters, not my feelings about them. And that sends me down a different path than most prefer to travel. I must expend my efforts exploring the evidence, not my preferences. I have to investigate facts, not my feelings. It is our job to be truth-seekers not opinion-formulators. I trust that we will be up for the challenge of always seeking to know what’s true, not popular. And as a result I pray that the church will once again be known as the “pillar and foundation of the truth” (1Timothy 3:15).