Dec. 4 – Thoughts on Ezek. 47-48 & 1 John 3

God is Pro-Life!  Yes, “them’s fightin’ words” in today’s culture, but I’m not stoking an abortion argument here.  I mean it in it’s truest form.  And I’m also reflecting on this beautiful image from the 47th chapter of Ezekiel.  There we find a river running east out of the temple.  From the threshold of the temple, it is merely a trickle, but as it flows east, it deepens from a trickle, to ankle deep, to knee, to waist, and finally to a river “no one could cross”.  But it’s not the miraculous flow of water that Ezekiel is pointing out.  It is the Life that flows with it!

Along the river, trees bloom in the wilderness and bear fruit every year.  At the end of the river, it flows into the Great Salt Sea, aka the Dead Sea.  This body of water has rivers and streams flowing into it, but nothing flowing out.  The only way water escapes is through evaporation.  And when salt water evaporates, it leaves it’s salt behind.  And nothing can live in that level of saltiness, hence the name Dead Sea.  Yet this sea, famous the world over for it’s lack of life, will have as many fish as the Mediterranean Sea, which is known for it’s plethora of sea life.  Because of this river flowing from the Temple, the dead will gain new life and all life will flourish.

This river flows not from the temple but from the God who dwells there.  From Him, streams of living water flow and bring life everywhere.  Death is no match for that which flows from God.  In fact, this is the very gospel in a nutshell – death has lost the battle and life in Christ has won for all eternity.  This is our message and this has to dominate our lives in every way.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to value, pursue, and fight for life everywhere we go because He does.

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Dec. 3 – Thoughts on Ezek. 45-46 & 1 John 2

I have had a thought for a while now.  It has to do with churches and church governance.

We all know people who are by nature Trustees.  These are the ones who look at the church as a whole and see mostly the building.  They see when things are broken and fix them without being asked.  They naturally know how things work, how they fit together, and use these gifts around the church, often without anyone knowing.

We all know people who are by nature Deacons.  These are the people who naturally introduce themselves to strangers, always check in on the needs of others, and are prayer warriors without anyone else knowing.  While the Trustees are off fixing the building, the Deacons are out visiting people and writing encouraging cards.

We all know people who are by nature treasurers, and worship leaders, and pray-ers.  The church is full of people who fill roles just by their very natures.  Yet every church feels the need to elect people to these positions, and not always people with these particular giftings.

So what if instead of identifying Deacons as those willing to attend Deacon meetings, we identified people by their giftings?  What if our Deacons were anyone with that inclination?  What if our Trustees weren’t a group who met to look over the finances but instead those who were fixing up the church all the time?  And what if we asked everyone to take a title at church given to them by others who know their personality, their activities, and their natural inclinations?  What if Deacon wasn’t a title to hold but a description of who you already were?

This is a little of what John is talking about when he says, “This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”  Identifying people by who they are rather than by who they claim to be.

So, if you were to take a real look at the behaviors and tendencies of your own life, what title would you have at church?  What title might others give you?

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Dec. 3 – Thoughts on Ezek. 45-46 & 1 John 2

I have had a thought for a while now.  It has to do with churches and church governance.

We all know people who are by nature Trustees.  These are the ones who look at the church as a whole and see mostly the building.  They see when things are broken and fix them without being asked.  They naturally know how things work, how they fit together, and use these gifts around the church, often without anyone knowing.

We all know people who are by nature Deacons.  These are the people who naturally introduce themselves to strangers, always check in on the needs of others, and are prayer warriors without anyone else knowing.  While the Trustees are off fixing the building, the Deacons are out visiting people and writing encouraging cards.

We all know people who are by nature treasurers, and worship leaders, and pray-ers.  The church is full of people who fill roles just by their very natures.  Yet every church feels the need to elect people to these positions, and not always people with these particular giftings.

So what if instead of identifying Deacons as those willing to attend Deacon meetings, we identified people by their giftings?  What if our Deacons were anyone with that inclination?  What if our Trustees weren’t a group who met to look over the finances but instead those who were fixing up the church all the time?  And what if we asked everyone to take a title at church given to them by others who know their personality, their activities, and their natural inclinations?  What if Deacon wasn’t a title to hold but a description of who you already were?

This is a little of what John is talking about when he says, “This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”  Identifying people by who they are rather than by who they claim to be.

So, if you were to take a real look at the behaviors and tendencies of your own life, what title would you have at church?  What title might others give you?

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Dec. 2– Thoughts on Ezek. 42-44 & 1 John 1

I praise God for Halloween!

As a child, our family did the whole “Halloween thing”.  While we didn’t decorate like the folks in our neighborhood today, with webs and tombstones and lights and skulls, we did make jack-o-lanters and dress up and pass out candy.  It was a fun night to get candy and hang out with friends.  My wife Heather, on the other hand, never celebrated it at all.  And once we had children, we had to have a serious heart-to-heart about whether our children would celebrate Halloween.  Our prayerful solution was to use the day for ministry.  When our kids’ schools had Halloween parties, we took the kids out and went to the pumpkin patch for the day, sparing no expense to make it a fun and memorable day with family.  We carved pumpkins as a parable (God grows us, takes the goop (sin) out of us through Jesus Christ, makes us a new creation, and puts His light inside us).  We gave out candy with an evangelistic bent (give out Reisen candies with a note saying “Jesus is the Reisen we love you guys.”  Or give out Lifesaver candies with a note saying, “Jesus was my Lifesaver.”  Corny, but we tried!)  And our kids didn’t dress up or go door to door until they were in Middle School at which point they were given the choice.  Most chose to continue our tradition rather than trick-or-treat.

And the reason for this counter-cultural stance was this verse from 1 John.  “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.”  Halloween celebrates the exact opposite of all we proclaim in our gospel.  We need look no further to find a clear way to live out our faith in a counter-cultural manner.  Is it sinful to celebrate Halloween?  That’s not the point.  The point is what better way to live in a way that opens conversation about our faith?  Our kids lost nothing because of this.  And we gained A LOT of opportunities to share our faith.

Is it any wondering why I praise God for Halloween?

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Dec. 1– Thoughts on Ezek. 40-41 & 2 Peter 3

It seems odd to use Creation as a proof of the second coming, but that is just what Peter does in this letter.  Those who question Jesus’ return due to His prolonged absence have forgotten the Power and Authority of God.  The God who with a word created all that is can bring about the Parousia whenever He chooses.  If He chooses to delay, even by a matter of millennia, He has that authority.  Jesus will return, but when that happens is God’s call, not ours, and we have no right to doubt its veracity.  In fact, Peter says, God’s delay is itself grace.  His patience is so that more and more people have the time to come to know Him.  He doesn’t want anyone to perish.  And after all, “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.”

Which brings me to one of my favorite jokes.  A man in prayer asks God if this is true.  “Is it true that with You a minute is like a thousand years?”  “Yes, this is true,” God responds.  “And is it also true that with You a dollar is like a billion dollars?”  “Yes, that’s true as well,” the Almighty replied.  “Well, then, God, can I have a dollar?”

“Sure,” God says, “give me a minute.”

 

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