Reigns – Submit to your King
Read Ephesians 1:19-23
Prayer: Father, by your great power that now works in me you raised Jesus from the dead, and have made him King over all and Head of your church. Help me to submit to my life to my Risen King. Amen.
Reflect/Discuss: What rule and authority and power and dominion do you see on this earth today? How does Jesus’ higher and greater reign encourage you?
Praise: Sing “All Hail The Power Of Jesus’ Name”
Raised – Live your New Life
Read Romans 6:1-4
Prayer: Father, as Christ died, so in Christ I too have died to sin. Help me to not live that way any longer. As Christ was raised, so you have raised me to a new life in Christ. Let me live this new life you have purchased for me through Jesus. Amen.
Reflect/Discuss: How has Jesus changed your life?
Praise: Sing “O To Be Like Thee”
Received – Embrace the Gospel
Read I Corinthians 15:1-7
Prayer: Father, thank you for the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ – that he died for my sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. Thank you that he demonstrated his resurrection by appearing to your early disciples. Thank you for the opportunity to receive this good news and have my sins forgiven. Amen.
Reflect/Discuss: What is the gospel? Have you received it? How do Christ’s many appearances encourage or strengthen faith?
Praise: Sing “One Day”
Easter Sunday: Rejoice – Celebrate His Resurrection
Read Luke 24
Prayer: Father, what glorious news! The tomb is empty! He is not here, but has risen! Let me join with your disciples in joyous worship and praise to you. Amen.
Reflect/Discuss: What evidence does Jesus give of his resurrection, and how does that strengthen your faith and joy?
Praise: Sing “Christ The Lord Is Risen Today”
For a poetic reminder of the deception of things and the true path to joy, visit here.
Yesterday, I mentioned the need to overcome our passion for things and replace it with a passion for God. At root is the question of what we value most and where we place our trust – in things or God. If the answer is things – then we commit idolatry. Consider the words of the Psalm 135:15-18:
“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but do not speak; they have eyes but do not see…. Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them.”
John Piper, in his book, When I Don’t Desire God, comments on these verses with insightful words:
“Make and trust a blind idol, and you become blind. Apply that principle to the modern world, and think of the idols of our own day. What do we make and what do we trust? Things. Toys. Technology. And so our hearts and affections are formed by these things. They compress the void in our hearts into shapes like toys. The result is that we are easily moved and excited by things….”
And yet these things never satisfy. For as Augustine wrote, speaking of God: “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” When we delight and trust in things, our hearts are formed towards those things, but are hearts remain restless. We need to redirect our gaze on Christ, reset our desire upon him, place our trust in him. If trusting in idols makes us like idols, if looking to things makes us like things, then looking to God will make us like him – and we will find rest for our souls. May God help us reset our gaze upon him.
One of the most provocative statements at the conference I attended Monday was the suggestion that within 15 years the church in America would face persecution. In a world with many ways to God, many “truths,” and many lifestyles, how long will our culture tolerate our message that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life? In many ways, we are back in the world of the early church with many gods, many spiritualities, and many ways of life. And when the early church’s message rubbed against another way of life (think of Paul in Ephesus in Acts 19), there was persecution. What to do?
One answer is simply to do what Jesus told us to do and “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). While persecution may come from our message, our actions of love may reduce that persecution. (I should stop here, and say that we should love others because they are made in the image of God and we were created to love. Receptivity to the gospel and possible lessening of persecution are primarily results.)
Another answer is to start seasoning our message with love. Not that we compromise the message, but too often our approach to speaking the message seems to be arrogant and in your face. There is a humble way to share the message, and this is the path of Jesus.
But what to do when persecution comes? Jim Grier, who suggested that persecution was coming, also suggested that the church wasn’t ready. To get ready, he said, we need to give up our addiction to material wealth, our idolatry to consumerism. It reminds me of Achan in Joshua 7 who by his testimony saw and coveted. And there is a lot to see today, and hence a lot to covet. And so we see, we covet, and we buy. This is the American way of life. But our desire is to be set on God and his Kingdom, not on material things. Again in the words of Jesus, we are to lay up treasure in heaven, not on earth. Ask yourself this question: if you had to choose between a comfortable life with your material things and a persecuted life with God, which would you choose? We know the right answer, but would we really make that choice? Now is the time to end our passion for things, and start living with a passion for God, so that if persecution comes, and that choice is forced upon us, our hearts will be bent to make the right choice.
On Monday, I attended a conference about doing ministry in a postmodern world. To say that we no longer live in a world where Christian values and morals are generally embraced would be an understatement. How do we reach out to a world that objects to our claim that Jesus is the only way to God? The answer that was suggested is simply to do what Jesus told us to do in Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” How do we let our light shine? By doing good works – helping and caring for people. Jesus calls us to love people. And it is that love of Jesus that will attract people to consider the message of Jesus. We need to get out of our “holy huddles” and reach out with love into our communities.
To think further about this, I invite you to check out a couple of posts from one of the presenters – here and here. To listen to the three presentations from the conference, click here.
In my last post I mentioned our president’s rash words comparing his bowling to the Special Olympics. Many, starting with our president, have condemned these words – and rightly so. Yet is there a sense of glee coming from conservative voices? Why did I smile rather than mourn at our president’s mistake? How is that we can respond to a lack of compassion with our own lack of compassion? Truly we are flawed beings in need of a Savior!
In the book of Judges, Jephthah rashly vows to offer up whatever first comes out of the door of his house if God will give him victory over Israel’s enemies. God gives the victory, and as Jephthah nears home, his daughter – his only child – comes out the door to greet him. Rash words.
My son has been using the word “never” a lot lately, like “I will never come to the table to eat again” – which of course isn’t true. Rash words.
Our president compared his bowling to that of the Special Olympics. Apparently the champion Special Olympics bowler has bowled 5 perfect games since 2005. Rash words.
I say something unkind to my wife or in an unkind tone. Rash words.
Bottom line: We can get on Jephthah’s case or the president’s case, but all of us are guilty at times of rash words. Oh, how we need to guard our tongues if we are going to live with compassion for people!
