Life This Side of Heaven

Does the Church seem weak and disappointing? Is your pastor less than movie-star material? Don’t worry. Chances are good, as God’s Word points out, that even if you had Paul as your preacher, or a congregation as gifted as the one in Corinth, many folks would be still be unimpressed. But, as the apostle reminds us, that's not by accident.

Have a rest! That's easier said than done. We have an urge to fill up our free time with work. Sometimes that work can even crowd out the opportunity to worship if we're not careful. In order not to sip into this trap, God has given us a remarkable command and invitation.

When folks first look at Christianity, they tend to look for things that will make life good – handy bits of advice to make life easier, tips for getting richer, life coaching ideas and things like that. However, it's worth noting that on the evening when Nicodemus came to Jesus instead of our Savior giving him a list of things he must do to make life good, Jesus told him that what he actually needed – life itself. Take a closer look at the remarkable gift our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, gives to us through faith.

Are you and I no better than a rusty old mower that gets rolled out to the curb and winds up in a landfill?  Hardly!  And as Christians, it would be terrible if we let ourselves fall prey, with the world, to this way of thinking.  God has so much more in mind for you and me. Listen to the confidence that David held in the Old Testament. It was the confidence that comes as we look ahead to the resurrection. This was not simply David’s hope in his final hours, but a joyful assurance that gave him strength throughout his life. We share this same hope and joy this day.

Have you ever tried to take a photograph and the brightness of the sun make it impossible? Timothy explains why this is the case when it comes to God. In his first letter, he tells us about our God who “alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.” However, now that Christ has come and redeemed us, you and I can now approach Him with confidence.

It’s worth knowing that shortly before His ascension took place, Jesus assured the disciples that He wouldn’t leave them to wander aimlessly on their own. He promised them the Holy Spirit and said, “He will guide you into all truth.” And what a great blessing this is for you and me. Jesus’ promise of the resurrection and everlasting life with Him is our unchanging destination. Here's how the Holy Spirit keeps us oriented on the trip so that we don’t get lost along the way. Like a compass that points steadily north, the Holy Spirit keeps our focus on Christ.

In many cases, the maps at the back of your Bible included one showing how people converged in Jerusalem for Pentecost.  It may even have arrows from the locations listed in Acts all pointing to Jerusalem. But take another look at that map.  Reverse those directional arrows and what you see is an explosion of people who then returned home – north, south east and west – telling everyone what they had seen and heard.  That ongoing eruption of Good News continues to this day and this Good News has now traveled all the way to you. The Holy Spirit made sure of it.

Impressive! You can’t help but marvel when you hear about the events that took place at Pentecost! Whenever we describe something as impressive, we usually mean that it was amazing, astonishing, and incredible to behold. Pentecost was all this an more. And in celebrating this event, yesterday in church, we may have found ourselves thinking, “Wow, I’ll bet that was impressive!” But that word “impressive” refers to much more than just razzle-dazzle. In fact, the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit continues to have an impact and leave a mark this day!

You and I live a world which embraces lies. That’s not surprising since our Savior describes the adversary as the father of lies. In John, Jesus prayed that the Father would protect us from the evil one. And Jesus tells us the manner in which God does this. Praying for the disciples, and all who would follow, He asked the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth.”

Why am I here?  It’s one of the great existential questions that folks find themselves asking from time-to-time. With the work of salvation complete, and our risen Savior's assurance of forgiveness and everlasting life, have you ever wondered why you woke up today on this side of heaven? Jesus answers that question!

When folks are asked, “Are you sure that you have eternal life,” a response frequently given is: “I hope so.” Sometimes, the answer given is, “I’m not sure.  I don’t know.” However, in Christ you can know that you have eternal life. In fact, you can be absolutely sure of it. 100% sure. Here's why!

I love how Luke describes the scene that takes place at our Savior’s ascension.  I imagine them all staring at the clouds as they happen to notice two angels standing next to them.  And they ask the same question you might expect:  “Why do you stand here looking into the sky?” However, their question doesn’t arise from curiosity. Instead, it sets the stage for the wonderful announcement which comes next.

Following our Lord's ascension into heaven, Luke tells us that the disciples "returned to Jerusalem with great joy.  And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." Wow, that last verse is worth repeating. That’s because for many, the Ascension of our Lord, is a largely misunderstood event in the life of our Savior. However, take a moment to hear what Scripture says took place that day. I suspect that if more of us realized how monumental this was, we’d be banging down the doors at church with excitement for the opportunity to gather and praise God for what has taken place!

When you share what God has done, you too get to be "witnesses" of these things. You and I were not eyewitnesses to the events of the resurrection. However, in Scripture, you and I have the testimony of those who were. We get to testify to truth of what those eyewitnesses saw, heard and touched over those forty days following Easter. We bear witness to Jesus and the significance of what His suffering, death and resurrection means not only for us, but for our friends, our loved ones, and for the world.

In Acts, Luke describes how Philip was led meet a government official from Ethiopia who was reading God's Word on the way home from worship in Jerusalem. As they discussed a passage the man was reading from Isaiah, he asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”  And what comes next is what always makes me smile.  Luke says that “Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”  It's a remarkable passage as we'll hear. But I suspect that Philip could have begun with any passage of Scripture and shared the Good News of our Savior’s rescue.  That’s_ because _all of Scripture points to our Savior and the salvation God prepared for us in Him.

It may sound like little more than semantics to hear John tell us in that when it comes to God, “We love because He first loved us.” However, knowing this makes all the difference in the world.

It’s the pipe dream that we, and our faith, can flourish apart from Christ. Jesus used the example of branches on a grapevine. He said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. ” And then He points out, “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.”  Why? Because God is the source of our life and salvation. In these weeks following Easter, it’s good for us to hear these words. Abiding in Christ, or remaining Christ, reminds us that we can never “go it alone” when it comes to our new life in Him. Episode artwork in Public Domain.

In Psalm 27, David says that the one thing he seeks in this life is to spend all his days in the presence of God. Why? "To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” Consider for a moment what that means. Like David, this is true for us, not simply as a future longing, but also as a present reality. And here's why.

When John tells us of God’s incredible love we may hang our heads in shame and fail to hear what comes next.  We recognize how stingy we are at sharing love. To overcome this discomfort we may find ourselves putting these words out of our mind and trying to think of something else. It doesn’t help.  We may mistakenly double down and try even harder to show our love. But that’s like trying to rinse the water out of a dirty dish cloth. John does something else and invites us to do the same.

Is it arrogant to say that Jesus is the only way to eternal life?  Wouldn’t it be more loving, instead, to teach that all religious paths lead to the same God?  Wouldn’t this be a more tolerant, a more educated or more enlighten approach?  After all, we live in a pluralistic society today and things have changed. If that’s the case, then what Peter said here in these words might sound out-of-step with the times, hurtful or even intolerant.  And this might explain why a growing number of Christians are shying away from making this claim. But in the interest of love, lets’s take a closer look at this verse and these assumptions.