Guest Blog - Why Did Jesus Leave?

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Monday, September 30, 2013
Guest  Blogger   Mary Watson

This is a great question. As I started to ponder Jesus staying and what that would look like, my thoughts turned to a couple things. First thought was that Jesus only left in His human form. The human form is a weaker form when you consider it being only temporal.  Jesus was transformed to a form which we do not fully understand yet. He was transformed to a stronger form which is eternal.  We believers living on this side of eternity have yet to experience this and do not fully understand it.  That day is to come when we fully know that which we only know in part in the here and now.  

Then my thoughts turned to the cross and Jesus's words to His Father in heaven, "It is finished." When we finish our work where we are employed, we go home to our loved ones. Well, that's what Jesus did. He completed the work that His Father asked of Him. Then He went home.   

Then my thoughts went to how much we would have missed out on if Jesus remained with us here. According to His Word, He returned to His Father in order for us to receive His Holy Spirit. Where would we be without Holy Spirit to guide us, counsel us, teach us and bring to mind all that we need while we wait for the world to catch up to the end of the story? We would not be able to do the work of the Father which Jesus has commissioned us to do without Holy Spirit.

My thoughts keep expanding on this so quickly. Surely Holy Spirit has much to say about this question. I will leave you here to go listen some more.   

I believe Holy Spirit spoke to me this morning and I will try to share in part from a morning devotion in the Discover The Bible, NKJV, with devotional by Dr. Tony Foglio. Dr. Tony Folgio shares from Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father"! Dr. Tony Foglio shares that we are more than what we see in the here and now. More than His creation, more than citizens, more than members of His body the church. Because He loved us, He has made us His sons and daughters. Sons and daughters of the Most High God! [WOW!] We can speak to God, call upon His name. [WOW!] We are adopted by God. [WOW!] We are wanted and loved much more than we can imagine. Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. [WOW!] [my expressions]  

My closing thoughts are simply this: I often think that I would love to have Jesus right here with me in His person as did His disciples. But think about it a little deeper. If Jesus stayed we would not have received His Holy Spirit. We would not have the fellowship and unity of the Body of Christ. We would not be able to cry out "Abba, Father" and have that love relationship with the Most High God. I won't even go into not being able to worship Him. We could not continue to do the work of the Father. It takes Spirit to spirit, and reverse, for all of these things and much, much more. Too much more to share as a blog. So, please, turn to your concordance and seek out the wealth of information in our favor that supports Jesus going home and how we can (and do) benefit from His selflessness. Yes, it would be great to have Jesus right here. Well, He is here, just not in our temporal form.

Wise men still seek Him.

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The Gospel Take 4: What Would You Say to . . . . .

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The Gospel Take 4
What Would You Say to . . . .  

Friday, September 27, 2013    Jeff Lampl

The Gospel is the Good and Relevant News that applies to every aspect of life and to every person.   Given this reality, after having taken the time to listen, care, believe in, encourage and perhaps in some way serve the following people, how would you verbalize the healing power of the Gospel to each of the following people?  

1.       A sixteen year old girl who has just had her heart broken by a boy.  

2.       A man who has lost his wife in a tragic car accident.  

3.       The man who comes to church to make his wife happy but hates being there
     and disbelieves everything he hears.

4.       The starving mother in Ethiopia who’s children will die in childhood.  

5.       The Syrian Christians, 100 of whose churches have been attacked in recent
     weeks and fear for their lives.  

6.       The family that is jobless and is facing home foreclosure.  

7.       The man who’s 29 year old son is home, emaciated, having been thru 4 rehabs
     for heroin addiction.  

8.       (add here your own “case”)

I would love to hear your responses.

 

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Why Did Jesus Leave and Not Stay on Earth?

Blog »  Why Did Jesus Leave and Not Stay on Earth?

September 26, 2013   Bill Baker

"He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid them from their sight."
Acts 1:9

If Jesus had already died for the sins of man and had been resurrected -what was stopping him from living on earth? You might have expected him to bring history to its conclusion.  He could have stayed living on Earth until the end of times, and then everyone would have had to believe in him; even if he performed no more miracles. It certainly would have saved us the trouble of fighting wars, the crusades, and all the other man made evil and suffering that has existed during human existence since Christ’s exit.  Or, how about the question of who's interpretation of the gospel was correct?  We would have had the author and source living right amongst us to put that question to rest.   So why did he leave?  Why not as Mr. Stearns puts it “tie it up in a neat bow and end it right then and there?”

In my mind this leads to the deeper question of why God continues to allow evil and suffering in the world.  Do we doubt for a moment that God could not have prevented evil? Do we doubt that he does not have the power? 

Perhaps there is something more.  Genesis tells us that God created us in his own image, with the ability to reason, with the ability to use imagination and create, to communicate with each other, to laugh, to cry, to share intimately.  But the greatest gift was probably the ability to love, and with that comes the package deal, the ability to reject or not love. To reject or not love opens the door to evil and suffering.   If you want a world where love is real, you have to allow each the freedom to choose.  Without that freedom to choose we become puppets, robots, or machines in essence.  Remember the movie, “The Matrix?”

By giving mankind the freedom of will, God has chosen to limit his own power.  He does not want to force the obedience of slaves.  He covets voluntary love and obedience.  God freely created us so that we might know, love, and serve him.  Power can do everything except the most important thing, it cannot control love.

This brings me full circle back to the original question of why did Jesus leave? 

Mr. Stearns writes “I believe Jesus left because there was something critical he intended for his disciples to do.  There was some unfinished business for his church to take care of. Jesus spoke about it constantly, and in his last days promised them that the Holy Spirit, a helper and comforter would come with the power to be their guide.”  (Acts 1:8) This is the “great commission” of spreading the good news so that everyone might know, love and serve God as well as loving others.  His disciples had a choice.  They could reject Jesus, or they could choose to accept, love, and be obedient to him.  The truth had implications.  They chose to be obedient.

The truth still has implications 2000 years later.  What do you choose?

 

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The Gospel Take 3

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Wednesday, September 25, 2013
 

                          What would it look like to share this Good News with other people?  

The first thing to remember is line 1.  Jesus came to earth.  He showed people what God was like.   He listened, cared, was among, was with, encouraged, believed that God was up to something good in the lives of everyone he encountered.    He believed God was on the move.   He would eat dinner with people, rich and poor, pompous and humble, righteous and sinful.   Key words: listen, be with, believe, be for people not against them, be in their corner.    The Gospels leave the impression that Jesus did all of this before he ever said a word.   He incarnated the Gospel.  

We can choose to go to people, often by simply walking across a room and saying hello.   Over time, during which we seek to listen, learn and care, others may actually inquire about your life at which time you can say something very simple but clear about this God who relentlessly seeks out every person on earth because they matter to him.  

Of course you could say something about their burning in hell if they reject him, but that not only doesn’t help the cause, it also misrepresents the heart of God.    God’s heart is not “if you don’t shape up, then I’ll . . . . ”, rather it is “since you left, I’ll never stop seeking you until in the end you allow yourself  to be found”.

 

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Guest Blog, WDJL

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Tuesday, September 24, 2013     Marianne Knox

For look, the kingdom of God is among you.  (Luke 17:21 NJB)  

In the 1990’s there was a catchy phrase spread by Christian youth groups, “What would Jesus do?”  “WWJD.”  The slogan was on bracelets, t-shirts, mugs.  It was a call to action reminding people that with every decision and every action, one could choose to act in a manner that reflected what Jesus taught us.  And, with each decision and action, we could choose to honor God.  

Chapter 3 of the book Unfinished is entitled Why did Jesus leave? “WDJL.”  Richard Stearns proposes the answer to this question impacts the mission and purpose of the church, and gives the purpose and meaning to each of our individual lives.  We Christians have unfinished business to take care of before Jesus returns.  We have homework to do while He’s gone.  What He wants us to do is to share and spread the good news of the gospel and to reach as many people as we can.  That’s part one of our homework.  How we treat each other as we go about sharing the gospel is just as important; that’s part two.  As we work to create God’s kingdom here on earth, we need to be mindful of restoring not only our relationship with God, but also our relationship with each other.    

Let us remember it’s not just what we need to do, it is also how we go about doing it.  How we interact with all God’s children matters.  In an interview published last week in Jesuit journals, Pope Francis shares this story:  "A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: 'Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?'" "We must always consider the person. In life, God accompanies persons, and we must accompany them, starting from their situation. It is necessary to accompany them with mercy. When that happens, the Holy Spirit inspires the priest to say the right thing."  

We can, with every decision and action that we take, make God’s kingdom “on earth as it is in Heaven” a little more tangible, a little more real, for each other.  So, as we think about “WDJL” and we work to establish and build God’s kingdom on earth, we should not forget that we must consider the person.  As believers, each one of us is privileged to be a priest (1Peter 2:9-12), and with that comes great responsibility to serve God and others.  Pope Francis said it well.  Let’s do it with love and mercy, and remember that the Holy Spirit will be there to help us along the way. 

A Potentially Life Altering Self Assessment

Blog »  A Potentially Life Altering Self Assessment  

Monday, September 23, 2013     Jeff Lampl

"In Jesus God came to earth"         Does knowing this affect your attitudes and behaviors?
                                                        Are you aware that God is actively engaged in bringing
                                                        your actual life into alignment the life he has planned for
                                                        you?  God is a Father who relentlessly pursues his
                                                        children.  Does this affect how you think and live? Does
                                                        this impact how you view others in measurable ways?

"died for our sins"                            Does this impact how you view others?  Do you believe
                                                        that God does not condemn you for your sins, rather
                                                        forgives you and accepts you in spite of your sin?  Does
                                                        this humble you, make you complacent or is it just a "ho
                                                        hum" fact?

"was raised from the dead"             Does knowing that God will bring life out of the worst
                                                        make you an optimist or are you still a pessimist?  How
                                                        does Romans 4:17 (God brings life from the dead and
                                                        calls into being that which does not exist) affect your
                                                        actual life? Do you believe this verse or doubt this
                                                        verse?  What prevents you from choosing the former?

"rules the Universe" (Ro 10:9)         What if anything does it actually mean to your actual day
                                                         to day living that Jesus is ruling everything on planet
                                                         earth from the most miniscule of things to the largest of
                                                         things?  God is Lord over every event, person, nation,
                                                         and circumstance.  What would/should actually
                                                         believing this do to how approach the actual things you
                                                         will do and encounter in your hour to hour life
                                                         tomorrow?

"is making all things new"                Jesus is at this very moment personally engaged, mostly
                                                         through believers, in the process of bringing heaven to
                                                         earth, and renewing and restoring all things that are
                                                         broken.  How should/could/would actually believing this
                                                         change how your actual attitudes and actions at home,
                                                         at work, and in interacting with other people?

Because we are unable to send attachments with these blogs, if you email me I will reply directly  to you with the choice of two different desktop backgrounds with the above Gospel summary.

It may also work for you to use your computer's snipping tool to snip the above graphic above, save it, then make it your desktop background that way.

 

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Guest Blog

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September 20, 2013    Chris Wolfe

 

In The Return of the King, the third book of Tolkien's Lord of the Ring trilogy, Sam says, " What a tale we've been in, Mr. Frodo, haven't we?... I wish I could hear it told!... And I wonder how it will go on after our part."  What a tale, indeed!  And that's the whole point: If I really open my eyes, I find myself in a much, much larger Story, which started at the beginning of time. Like Sam, I also wonder how it will go on after my part.   If the Book of Acts is simply the first chapter of the History of the Church (which is not the beginning of the Story), then we are about the 400^th chapter of Acts. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the petty details of my day-to-day living, that I lose sight of the bigger Story.

"In the beginning, God created the Heaven and Earth." Everything hinges on this.  Either God created everything, or He didn't.  If He created, He had a reason, and the Bible makes abundantly clear that God's reason for creating us was have a relationship with us.

Once upon a time, I was a Biology Major, steeped in the "Scientific Method", the objective inquiry into the world around us.  A fundamental tenet of the Scientific Method is the understanding that my conclusions can only be as accurate as my presuppositions.  In other words, if my presumptions that I bring to my "experiment" are wrong already, my conclusions will necessarily be in error.   

If I correctly understand and believe that I am living in a world created by God, and that I am created by God because He wants to draw me to Himself, that presupposition affects my conclusions, my behaviors, my relationships, my emotions, my values, my goals, my purpose, everything. It gives me a reason for being!  If, on the other hand, I incorrectly presuppose that there is no God, then there is no larger Story, because there is no Storyteller. All my actions will be based on a false understanding of my relationship to the world, and the whole concept of "purpose in life" evaporates. There is no purpose because there is no larger Story.  

Prayer:  "Lord, help me to understand Your larger Story and my part in it.  May I live the life You created me to live, so that Your kingdom may come and Your will be done on earth, as it already is in heaven.  Amen."

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In 144 Characters or Less

Blog »  In 144 Characters or Less  

Thursday, September 19, 2013

 

I have a dream.  

            It is that you (and every child, teen and adult) 

·         Know what the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ is.

·         Actually believe that the Gospel is the foundation for all joy, success,
    confidence, and human flourishing.

·         Know that this is true for yourself.

·         Are able to explain to another why and how this is true.

·         Actually do find ways to tell others this Good News. 

           After reflecting on the earliest (dating back to the 30’s AD) Gospel proclamations
           found in the Bible (1 Cor. 15:3-5, Rom. 10:9 and I added in Rev. 21:5) I took the
          challenge to tweet the Gospel in 144 characters or less.  Here’s my best shot and I
          did it with 17 characters left over!

                                     In Jesus God came to earth  
                                     Died for our sins
                                     Was raised from the dead
                                     Rules the universe and
                                     Is making all things new.

                  Now, here’s your assignment which is a great spiritual exercise!   One at a time
                  match each of the five beliefs/actions above to this Gospel summary.   I would
                  love to know how you do!!!!

 

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What's Your Position On . . . .

Blog »  What's Your Position On. . . .  

Wednesday, September 18, 2013   Guest Blog

 

 

Truth be told, I have a lot of pet peeves.  

I can’t stand when people slurp when they drink out of a cup (worse than nails on a chalkboard for me), snow (that’s not in the mountains when I’m skiing), and when I hear someone say “we let women lead” I go a little nuts inside. But my new #1 pet peeve at the moment is when people ask the question:  what’s your position on _________?  (homosexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, gun control, you name it). It’s the question of the moment not only for many church or ministry leaders but on Facebook, blogs, and in certain Christian circles.  

We all know what that really means.
          How can I determine whether I am aligned with you or not aligned with you?
          How can I know if you’re on our team or the other one?
          How can I sniff out whether I can trust you or not?  

Please know I am not saying we should never ask questions that help us understand where other people are coming from or share our perspectives freely.  It’s great to have deeper dignified dialogue despite our differences and own our opinions. However, my experience with the question “what’s your position on?” is that it usually ends up in a dead-end where things become black or white, on or off, in or out, I-still-respect-you or I-am-not-so-sure-I-can-anymore.  

There are many other better, more thoughtful questions that could be asked instead, like:
          How are you navigating some of these complicated issues in your own life and soul?
          In your community?
          How are you wrestling with Jesus’ ways through these tensions?
          What are you learning about yourself as you wrestle with them? About God? About
          others?
          How are you seeing God at work in your life, in the lives of those around you?
          How are you participating in bringing people together around hard topics and
         creating safe places to share?  

And most importantly:  how are you actually loving your neighbors these days? 

When I think of Jesus’ interactions with the Pharisees, I see them constantly chiding him with the same question:  ”what’s your position on?” over and over, they were trying to pin him down, and he did not give them the kind of black and white answer they anticipated. Instead, he kept reminding them that their addiction to the law was really a waste of time in a kingdom economy. He responded with better, deeper questions that were tough to answer and required hearts not minds.  

Our obsession with positions is a great distraction.  The world is crying out for hope while we’re talking about theology.  We are spending an awful lot of energy building camps and erecting walls, thinking unity is uniformity. It’s not.  

True unity is living in the tension of a lot of different positions and still loving each other. It’s standing shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart, and eye to eye in relationship with people who see important things differently but respecting their perspectives and theological conclusions.    It’s letting go of needing to control other people or work our agenda.  it’s remaining secure in what God is stirring up in our hearts and let others hold to what he’s stirring up in them. It’s owning and respecting that others can still be hearing from God in their way, even if it is on different sides of an issue. As parker palmer so wisely says, “The highest form of love is the love that allows for intimacy without the annihilation of difference.”  

When it’s all said and done, the question “what’s your position on _____?” will never get us anywhere.  It’ll keep us stuck. It’ll keep us divided. It’ll keep perpetuating homogeneous groups that swing to the left or to the right. It’ll keep killing off more & more people’s desire to even be part of Christianity anymore.  

My hope, my heart, is that we can individually and corporately ask better questions and have better conversations, that we can allow room for wide and beautiful differences but still live under the same tent. That we can clothe ourselves with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” and over all things “put on love, which binds us all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3: 12, 14).  

I’m so grateful to be part of a community that is trying to do this as best we can. It’s messy, it’s tricky, it’s uncomfortable, and all of the effort it takes kicks our butts some days more than others. But the more I see it in action, the more I know it’s the right direction for the future. There’s a whole new generation of men & women of all ages, shapes & sizes who aren’t looking for comfortable but are hoping to find spaces and places to wrestle with our personal views on tough issues and not be fed “right” answers.  

Uniformity might look stronger and cleaner on the surface, but its very foundation on rightness & pride is faulty.   Unity might look weird and tangled and confusing on the surface, but underneath it’s incredibly strong and powerful.  
Please, may we lay down our need to know people’s positions and instead find ways to know people’s hearts.
That’s worth fighting for.

 

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My Thoughts are not Your Thoughts

September 17, 2013
Kristen White

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.            Isaiah 55:8

 

Chapter 2 of Unfinished contains Stearns' overview of The Big Story - God's dealings with his wayward people; how He contends with us, loving us like a parent loves his children.  I have to confess right off, I'm not on solid ground here. I'm puzzled.  

Let me ask you, if YOU knew in advance that a huge project of yours would cause you so much heartache - that from the git-go you would have to have a plan B – and knowing that plan B would cause you even MORE heartache, would you go ahead with Plan A?  I think I know the answer.  God must have known that His creation wasn't going to begin at all well. Adam and Eve were HUMAN!  And throughout O.T. history, their progeny disappointed Him at almost every turn. He sent prophets to warn, and actually lost patience several times, nuking Sodom and Gomorrah and setting Noah and his family afloat while he destroyed everything else.  

He did go silent for 500 years though. I sort of wonder about the conversations in Heaven during that period.  But in the fullness of time. . . .  

God executed His plan B.  A baby is born. A new Adam with God's DNA. Continuing in the vein of head-scratching wonder, the entire New Testament testifies to a man, “Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2: 6-8  He did it.  He didn't have to, but He did.  

Now THIS is a God I can sink my teeth into. I know, that's a little crass. Let me try again.  Jesus is sooo compelling! He finally makes sense of this world, because He reveals another Kingdom that this world was intended to be like – with values that are the antithesis of this world's values. Love and justice are Jesus' prime movers. Before He left, He gave His followers their marching orders - to finish His Father's work until He returned to restore all things – as intended in Plan A, and He promised never to leave us or forsake us. His Holy Spirit is present, available... waiting on us!    

So! How could we have gotten it so wrong? And why do we still, when we say we know Jesus?   Stearns writes that, “After encountering Jesus you can't just go back to your old life. That is not an option. It changes everything.” Well . . . . does it? I know!. . . .I know the answer, because I know me!  But we HAVE HIS WORD, and by the grace of God that Word is sinking deeper into me and becoming so real, so pointed, so . . . . I don't know how to finish this except to ask, “Are you feeling anything akin?”              Kristen White

Wake up!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03YxgFrDreg

 

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How to Read the Bible Part 2

Blog »  How to Read the Bible  Part 2  

Monday, September 16, 2013   Jeff Lampl

 

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true “
2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)

 

I hope you take the time to watch this wonderful and important 12 minute video featuring a number of brilliant scholars (Theologians and Scientists) who speak about how to read the Bible as it was intended to be read.   I think it will help many of you find new life and depth as you read your Bible!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5bKa92eLkQM

 

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