It’s all about hope

I have finished reading Surprised By Hope by N. T. Wright.  I can’t recommend it enough.  There is so much that is not understood about what the Resurrection was, and what it is.  While there is a lot said that demands contemplation, I, personally, have been overwhelmed by the hope we have in the Resurrection of Jesus.  Last Sunday, I woke up to a single thought that has stayed with me since then.  Our job/mission as a believer in Jesus Christ is extremely simple.  All that is required of us is to tell the world that there is hope for them in Jesus and Jesus alone.  God is the creator.  This is His world, and one day He will restore it to the way He originally created it-  good- according to His goodness.  We, though caught up in our own way, can be a part of God’s restored creation, here on this Earth.  This “restored creation” is what is usually referred to as the “Kingdom of God.”  Being a part of this Kingdom ensures that one will not ever be apart from God–Ever!  While God’s Kingdom is the future, it is also the present.  We can be in  the Kingdom now, actively working and building for the Kingdom to come.  It is in this that we have hope.  Hope in knowing that God’s Kingdom will prevail, that eventually it will be all that is left.  Anything that is done apart from God’s Kingdom will not carry over when this world is restored.  Realizing this makes me more motivated to make decisions that will carry over to the restored world.  By the way, it is the Resurrection that will restore all creation.  It is the Resurrection that we wait for.  It is the Resurrection that will transform us, again -as well as all creation, to what scripture calls the glorified state where sin will no longer exist. 

So, while this may sound complicated, all we really have to do is let others know that the Kingdom of God is here and that they can be a part of it which will allow all residents of that Kingdom to be with God forever.  This and this only is hope for anyone.  If Believers understand this, we all will see the value in living holy, separate lives because we will understand that nothing offered by this corrupt world is worth having. With that understanding, believers should then understand the Scripture is  God’s way of letting us know what will be a part of His Kingdom and what will not.  Isn’t He a great God to be so generous to us?  While some see the Bible as a list of rules, God just wants us to know what counts and what doesn’t.

Hope is not in a party or president.  It is not in a thriving economy.  And it will never go away even in the worst of times.  When your hope is in God through Jesus, you won’t even be as concerned when things get rough.  Just think, God already resurrected Jesus, and one day, we will be resurrected like Jesus: we will have a renewed body like Jesus has, and nothing can take that away.  What more could one hope for?

The book, Surprised by Hope, says a lot more and really is worth reading.  I just wanted to share what it did for me.  The thing is that while what I shared here sounds basic and maybe cliche, it all means so much more than I have ever realized before.  Everybody wants and has to have hope whether they realize it or not.  Christians, you have within you knowledge to this gift God has granted to us.  Don’t just hoard it for yourself, share it.

Genesis 6/8

I cannot think of anything to add to the finale of this current series, for Tim pretty much covered it.  God’s Word really can solve all our problems.  It can straighten us out, heal our addictions, change our attitude and make us a better person.  However, it wont tell us how we should make the specific decisions that come our way i.e, who to marry, what career to pursue, where to live, etc. 

What Scripture does do is teach us about Our God–our creator–and how He created this good earth.  In learning about Him, we learn about ourselves.  The more we learn about Him and ourselves, the more we observe how the world actually is and how it is supposed to be.  We learn that life is not all about us.  We learn what our true priorities should be.  If we pursue this knowledge from our Creator, we are given widsom which allows us to make all decisions based on the wisdom and knowledge of God.  Our choices become healthier.  We choose a spouse for the right reasons and have a healthy and fulfilled marriage.  We recognize what our talent and skills are and choose a carrier based on those instead of how much we earn or what prestige may come from our occupation.  We realize that no matter where we live, we are still in the same world and have to be an advocate for God’s Kingdom to the people around us.  We learn that what really counts in this life is putting ourselves aside for the sake of others for the love of Jesus.  With that alone, our troubles go away.  We are filled with GodNot in the sense that they disappear, but we don’t see them as problems so much as they are just circumstances.  Chuck Swindoll said that a problem is 10% circumstance and 90% attitude.

May we all be constantly reminded that it is absolutly vital to take in God’s Word so that we may know Him and live as we were created to live.

Genesis 6/1: Memorizing Scripture

There was a lot given Sunday night about the importance of memorizing scripture. There is a thought I want to share what a message like that means to me. The word “memorize” is an intimidating word to me. When I think of memorization, I think of every sound and letter having to be perfect. Now that is not a bad thing, but, to me, the most important aspect of memorizing God’s Word is not the lines verbatim but what is being communicated. In other words, I may not know the exact phrase, where exactly the passage is, how each word is spelled, etc, but I make it a point to understand the message and know how it plays a part in my life. Once I get that, then I work to hone in on the specific nature of the passage itself because it is valuable to know Scripture to that level. Just remember, it is possible to be able to quote anything but not have any idea what it really means. And more sadly, there are those out there who can quote a lot, and they do, but the very words coming out of their lips are not being reflected in there lives. This leads me to my point.

How can anyone expect to know how to live if they don’t know what God says about living?

If people go on about their life without instruction, they don’t have the wisdom or knowledge to make good decisions. This leads to problems. Problems cause us to react. And the goal of our reactions are usually to nullify the immediate problem in which the problem is prolonged and not addressed. This is not living, and it sure isn’t Godly living. So do we, the church, really want to spend our lives just reacting (existing), or do we want to live: even live life to its fullest. Then WE MUST READ SO WE CAN KNOW GOD’S WORD AND IT MUST BE A PART OF US! There is no getting around this. It is everyone’s responsibility.

Tim mentioned Jeremiah where it says in chapter 1 that “the word of the Lord came to him.” this isn’t magic, Jeremiah read the Scriptures.

Paul was qualified to bring the Gospel to the gentiles because he was extremely versed in God’s Word. Because he knew the Scriptures so well (Old Testament), he was able to discern for the rest of the world what they were saying in light of Jesus. There again, Paul knew the Scriptures.

And who can over look all the times that Jesus himself used and referred to the Scriptures in his teaching.

We all are hungry. Hungry for knowledge and wisdom. God gives us His Word to fill that hunger. If we don’t eat of it, we will fill on something else. The junk food then spoils our appetite. Because we don’t eat healthy, we are weak or ill or both. Maybe the good food won’t taste that good at first, but the health and nourishment it brings will allow us to live a healthier life. Then we will want nothing else. So, go eat, go know, go memorize so then you can live.

As always, your comments and/or questions are welcome,

Jim