The Character of His Kingdom

This Sunday we enter Holy Week with our celebration of Palm Sunday.  In his Sermon for Palm Sunday of 1534, Martin Luther said: “This is the reason why Christ entered Jerusalem as He did ¼ to point out the manner and character of His kingdom.”  The manner and character of the Kingdom of God is not embarrassing humiliation, but humble service. The manner and character of the Kingdom of God is not bold demonstrations of weapons and war, but everlasting peace. The manner and character of the Kingdom of God is not pride, but grace.

The Old Testament prophet Zechariah knew it well: “Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” As Jesus actually did what Zechariah had prophesied all those years ago, He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey demonstrating that this King and His kingdom were different. He came to bring peace. But that peace would come at a price.

It all started with what theologians call the humiliation of Jesus. That is, that He took on human flesh and though He was still God He did not always or fully use His Godly powers. Wrapping Himself in the fleshly clothing of a human being was Jesus’ first step toward the cross. Moving from the glory of heaven to the humility of earth meant that Jesus would ultimately do what He was called by His Father to do. Though He could have waved away the devil or produced miracles that would have taken Him off of the path to our salvation, He set His face to Jerusalem.

This humiliation is described for us in Philippians 2: “¼though (Jesus) was in the form of God, He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  There is no greater humility than God dying a criminal’s death on a cross.

That’s why He starts holy week on a donkey. He comes in peace to fight a war with every evil that would try to win us over. He comes in peace to fight a war with all the spiritual forces that attempt to take us down. He comes in peace to make His way to death on a cross where He wins the war over sin, death, the grave and the devil. He clothes Himself in flesh, death and the ultimate humility to exalt us into the space of the Father’s grace. His humility means that we are forgiven and free. It means that the war has been won for us. It means that though we don’t deserve it, in due time we will be exalted to the heavenly places according to the mercy of our loving God.

Our King, indeed, comes to us, in the greatest humility of all, to take our sin and have it placed on Himself.   Each of us earned the punishment that Christ humbly and willingly accepted on our behalf.

We earn it every time we put someone or something else before God, every time we take His name in vain, every time we fail to keep the Sabbath holy, every time we dishonor authority, fail to love as we have been loved, every time we gossip, slander or tear others down to make ourselves look good, every time we lust or covet.  How many times is that?  If you’re like me, you’ve lost count.  But losing count doesn’t change the fact that each and every sin earns the Cross, the punishment and the shame that we can’t pay.  Thus our cry of Hosanna - Lord, save us.

Don’t ever lost sight of your humble King, His love and His care for you because Jesus never lost sight of you and the Cross He would climb - for you - where He would pay the price to earn you the peace and forgiveness that you and I rely upon every day. 

In Jesus Christ, you now have everything - the forgiveness of sin, adoption as God’s children, and are heirs to the riches of heaven for eternity.  You stand firm in this humility because it is the mind of Christ, your Lord and King, now and forever.

Palm Sunday we are reminded that as Jesus humbly rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, He humbly rode into our lives on the waves of water and the Word. He came that day to deliver to us the forgiveness He had won on the cross. When He made us His own with simple water and God’s own Word, we too were clothed in Godly humility. We were made to be the ones in the world who help, serve, comfort, care, give and love.

            With the grace and strength of God alone, may all of our lives bear witness to stand in the humility of Christ for the sake of sharing His Kingdom that mends broken lives, forgives guilty hearts and makes a difference in the world around us for eternity.

What's Real?

What is real?  When it comes to college basketball, may say that “March Madness” is when the REAL season begins - all that has gone on since November has just been a prelude.  Opening Day is when the REAL baseball season begins and the seven weeks of Spring Training are just a warm up.  Sometimes we live out our discipleship in the same way - as if our lives now are some sort of false reality - but some day in heaven - that will be reality.  Or more commonly, just the opposite - as if the lives we are living now are the reality and life beyond the grave is the reality that’s a bit fuzzy.

           

On this day in the church year, we end the season of Epiphany and begin the transition into the season of Lent - Transfiguration Sunday.  “Trans” means “change”.  The definition of a real disciple of Jesus could be stated as the one who is changed by what they learn and believe and then look to share the same Christ who has changed them.

           

Reality is where we come into contact with Jesus.  We need to see and hear Jesus, only Jesus, in order to bring our lives into a sharp focus where we can discern reality from myth.  Our lives here on earth and our eternal lives are both real, and both NOW.

           

Jesus took three disciples up the mountain and there the disciples were made eyewitnesses to Jesus “Transfigured” into all His majesty and glory.  They were able to see Moses and Elijah in glory - just as their Old Testament Scriptures had said - confirming that God’s Word alone is real.  They heard from the voice of God that reality was found in listening to Jesus, God’s Son.  And then Jesus led them down the mountain with the instruction not to tell anyone until His resurrection - because the reality of the mountain of transfiguration FOR THEM would not occur until Jesus visited another mountain - Mt. Calvary - where the glory of God is revealed in the salvation of His people through the death of His Son in our place.

           

In God’s plan for His saving glory, we are changed form dead in sin to alive in Christ, from enemy of God to child of God.  We were changed through the reality of Baptism.  And yet, the Church, the collection of believers and disciples of Jesus Christ, continues to be under attack that we are “out of touch” with reality.  The world wants to speak FOR God rather than listen to Him; the world gives you discipleship YOUR way rather than following Jesus alone.  The period of time that we are living is called “postmodern” and one of the premises is that REALITY no longer can be determined.  There is a sudden fascination with the para-normal, with forces of evil, and in turn, the claim that there is no absolute truth or reality.  God’s Word is clear - there is a spiritual battle at work where satan is looking to make his own disciples.  He is busy in this postmodern era proclaiming and even rebuking the Church when it comes to God, His Word, His Commandments, and His work.

           

Satan can’t handle the real truth because he is a liar.  In the beloved hymn of Luther, “A Mighty Fortress”, he talks about one little word can fell satan.  What is that word?  Some say Jesus or grace, or faith, Cross, love, life - these are all great words - but not the “little” word that Luther had in mind.  The little word Luther intended was “liar”.  The devil knows truth, but he cannot speak the truth.  All he speaks is lies.  And this world in which we live has exchanged the truth for a lie.  So let’s not talk about God’s commands - putting God first, holding God’s name sacred, worshiping God every single week, honoring those in authority, no murder, adultery, stealing, dishonoring others, coveting - the commandments of God cause tension.  Let’s not confront the sin we see in others - that makes us look righteous and judgmental; lets not hold up a high standard of discipleship - because no one else is doing it.  These are all lies of satan.

           

That’s why God thunders from heaven - “This is My beloved Son - listen to Him!”  The Church beats to a different drum because we are listening to a different voice.  Jesus is our reality and the change He has brought to our lives is the reality we live by and in, now and for eternity.

           

How do we grow as disciples?  Disciples are not made in a day.  It’s a life-long process.  While we may experience our ups and downs, God is present with us in both.  We are in a process - growing up in Christ.  So often we hear, “Grow up”, to mean something we need to do.  But hear it in the real sense today - “Grow up in Christ” means remaining in the hands of God where we become His disciples disciplining the world in the midst of all that we face always pointing to Jesus.  Reality is where we come into contact with Jesus.  Daily listening to Him in His Word and living in His promises of grace, forgiveness, life and salvation.  When the world says, “Get real”, may your thought, words, and deeds point to Jesus.  And rather than accept the lies of the devil and this world, rest in the hands of Jesus where you are transformed and grow up into Him as real disciples.

           

Each disciple is different by the grace of God.  How you are formed and grow is as unique as you are individually.  But what we all have in common as disciples is Jesus.  We are told to listen to Him and block out the lies of this world that offer a false reality that is here today and gone tomorrow.  WE are disciples in process - growing up in Christ and being fed in our discipleship.  Not that’s real!

Rejoice and Be Glad

This is the day that the Lord has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Psalm 118:24

There is an interesting story about world-class violinist Joshua Bell from January 2007.  A couple days after playing to a packed house where people paid up to $200 for a ticket, Bell changed venues.  He put on street clothes and played outside the L’Efant Plaza Metro station. Bell was taking place in an experiment from the Washington Post.  During Bell’s 45 minute performance outside the metro station, only 7 people stopped to listen.  A stampede of tourists passed by in that time frame, but only 7 had stopped to listen to this world-class performer play the violin.

The point of the story is that a lot of times we miss the blessings that God gives us each day! Part of it could be that we don’t notice them or that we simply take them for granted.  Thanks be to God – for He still daily showers us with His grace…even when we don’t notice or acknowledge it.

Every day we can say along with the Psalmist – “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!”.  Each and every day we can rejoice that we are children of God – His beloved!  We can rejoice in God’s promises to take care of our every need of both body and soul.  And we can rejoice in the accomplished fact of our salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!"

What's In a Name?

“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.”  Luke 1:31

What’s in a name?  Do you know what your name means?  We live in a society in which parents select names for their children mostly because of how they sound rather than because of what they mean.  The significance of a name was especially true in Biblical times.  In the Old and New Testaments, names that were given reflected personal experience or expressed character.

We look ahead these days of Advent to the birthday of the One whose parents were told by an angel messenger what to name Him.  “You shall call His name Jesus,” the angel said to both Mary and Joseph.  The name Jesus was probably pronounced “Yeshua” in their language.  It means “Yahweh saves” or “The Lord saves”.  While many Hebrew men bore the name Yeshua or Joshua, Jesus was the only one who would fulfill its meaning.  His name still has life-giving meaning for us.

His name still has life-giving meaning for us because our Lord, Jesus Christ, still saves.  We constantly fall short of God’s Law.  Our sinfulness far outweighs any good we do.  Yet each and every time we repent of our sin, the nail-marked hands of Jesus are evidence that we are saved – we are forgiven!  Our sin and failures have been washed away by the blood of Christ – truly, He still saves!

What’s in a name?  When it comes to the name of Jesus the answer is – EVERYTHING.  For as Acts 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Attitude of Gratitude

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  Philippians 4:4-6

One night on his way home, the Bible commentator Matthew Henry was robbed.  After this unfortunate incident he recorded this prayer in his journal: “I thank thee that I have never been robbed before.  I thank thee that even though they took my wallet, they did not take my life.  I thank thee that though they took my all, it was not much.  I thank thee that it was I who WAS robbed, and not I who robbed.”

This almost unbelievable prayer reminds us that we always have something for which to thank our Lord.  As Matthew Henry’s words demonstrate, thanksgiving is an attitude, an attitude of the heart.  It is something that is brought about inside of us because of all the wonderful things God has done for us.

On Thanksgiving, we certainly have many things to be thankful for – like family, turkey, and football – just to name a few.  But what about the times when it feels like we have nothing to be thankful for.  When the economy is bad and jobs are hard to find, heath problems or illnesses come, and family problems seem to keep growing.  Sometimes there seems to be more things to worry about than things to be thankful for.  Paul though, reminds us that we are not to worry about anything.  Our Lord’s teaching in Matthew chapter 6 also shows this.  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body; what you will put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing…Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  Instead of becoming anxious about all the troubles and cares over which we have no control, Paul tells us to present our requests to God. 

Even though our Heavenly Father knows our thoughts, needs, and desires even before we ask Him, He still wants us to bring our requests before the throne of Grace.  One of the greatest joys and blessings we have as Children of God is the invitation to cast all our anxieties on God - because He cares for us.  What God is saying is that there is nothing to worry about because in everything, no matter what the concern, the request may be brought before Him.

All of us can think of times when we don’t feel much like giving thanks.  God’s promise to us is this – nothing can separate us from Him and His love and His Salvation won through Christ!  Since we have this fantastic promise, we can thank God even for life’s hardest times, knowing that he is at work in them – for us – for our good!  When we give thanks, even when we don’t feel especially thankful, hope and encouragement begin to grow in our hearts.  Thankfulness will then follow.  We live in a negative, ungrateful world.  But in the midst of all the pessimism, God calls us to exercise thanksgiving.  He is faithful to bless His people with reasons to be thankful no matter what situations we face in life.

Once again this Thanksgiving - God’s Word directs us to be thankful – not for His benefit, but for ours – because it will change our lives for the better.  When we’re not at our best, we give thanks that God always is.  When we are unmerciful, we thank God for his unconditional mercy.  When we tell or spread lies, we are thankful that we can turn to the one who always leads us in truth.  When life’s circumstances leave us in a cloud of anxiety, God meets our prayers and words of thankfulness with peace in Jesus.  Even when life threatens to crush us, we have God’s promise to work in the worst of circumstances for our good!  What great reasons to be thankful!

Scary Without Christ

With October in full swing, we are now seeing some of the highlights of the season.  Some of the mainstays that come into mind in October are pumpkin spice latte’s, football, playoff baseball, the leaves changing colors, and so much more.

Of all the things that October brings, most people thoughts immediately go to the end of the month and the celebration of Halloween.  Yards are starting to be decorated with spooky decorations.  Many people love the scary costumes, movies, and so forth.  Sometimes it can be fun to be scared, but something truly scary has nothing to do with Halloween.

You see, it would truly be scary for us all if we didn’t have Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  If not for the perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ we would be dead in our sins – a scary thought indeed.  If it weren’t for Jesus we would have no peace or comfort in the face of death.  There is nothing scarier than the thought of what we would face without Christ with us!

Thanks be to God – for we have Christ as our Lord and Savior!  And with Jesus as our Lord and Savior we have nothing to fear.  Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.  No matter what you face, always remember that you face it with your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ – therefore you have nothing to fear…not even on Halloween.

Identity in Christ

“By the grace of God I am what I am”

1 Corinthians 15:10a

How secure is your identity?  Identity theft is a growing problem in our country.  It is important to be on guard and be protected from identity theft.

When we look at Jesus’ Baptism in Scripture, we also look to our Baptism and the identity we were given at our Baptism.  Our identity is with God, who came to identify Himself with us.  Baptism is at the heart of the Christian faith because it is God pursuing us for life - finding us in the midst of sin and death to give us life through His name.  We no longer bear our name, we bear the name of God’s beloved sons and daughters with whom God is well pleased.  God gives us a daily identity - so that no matter what temptation, burden, or challenge which tears at the very core of our being and identity - we hear those wonderful words from God, “You are Mine!”

Baptism is not merely a one-time affirmation that melts away over time.  It is an all-time affirmation that grows over time.  It changes our very being, not just our temporary self-image.  As a result of Baptism’s grace, we are empowered to do things we couldn’t do - forgiving, giving, interrupting our own schedule to help someone else, spending our energies on others rather than ourselves, healing through loving, loving despite not liking, being able to enjoy the blessings of God and being connected to His presence, now and for eternity.  With that affirmation, we know that who we are is really whose we are.

Like a professional scam-artist, the devil will try to steal away your identity as a child of God.  The devil will point to your sins and failures as evidence that you aren’t really a child of God.  He will point to illness and disasters that plague our lives and say, “you can’t really be a child of God!”

But thanks be to God – your identity as a child of God cannot be stolen or taken away from you!  The promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation that God gave you at your Baptism ring true each and every day for all eternity!

How secure is your identity?  Your identity as a child of God rests secure in the precious promises of your Baptism!