wisdom

The Revelation

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The Book of Revelation is weird. It can be intimidating. A lot of people don’t like it because it gives them anxiety. Usually, that’s because they were taught to focus on the wrong things. Like what does this symbol mean? Are there tanks and atom bombs in this book? Are Russia and the United States in there somewhere, and when does World War III start?

But the book is not primarily about warfare. It’s about worship. It all centers around the throne room in heaven where all the saints and angels are gathered around the Ancient of Days. So much of the dialogue is familiar to a lot of people, especially if they’ve ever listened to Handel’s Messiah.

Once you understand that the main theme is Jesus ruling and reigning in victory, the rest makes a little more sense. At least I’m not nearly as concerned about what this dragon means or that woman giving birth. All of it points to how evil is finally getting its comeuppance. All the injustice in the world is finally vindicated. There is a battle, but it’s over before it even begins. Spoiler alert: Jesus wins.

I saw a quote a while back that sums it up perfectly: Revelation wasn’t written so that we’d build bigger bomb shelters in the back yard but so we’d build bigger tables and invite our friends over for meals and tell them about Jesus. John Piper says that missions exists because there are places in the world where worship of the one true God doesn’t exist yet. Missions leads to worship when everyone on earth has heard the good news.

Revelation is a celebration of the victory that is now and not yet. It’s about a Kingdom and a rule that is now and not yet. We see it in part and in certain places, but one day everyone will see it and every eye will see Jesus whom they pierced with the nails to put Him on the cross. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, whether in worship or under duress when they realize it’s too late to choose.

The enemy is a defeated foe, but he’s lashing out in his death throes, trying to take as many with him in his downfall as possible. But his time is short. All pain and suffering has an expiration date, and that date is getting closer and closer. And one day it will end. Death will end. And then real eternal life will truly start.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly.

Wanted: Prophetic Voices

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Thanks to Audible, I’m revisiting No Compromise, the biography of the late Keith Green written by his wife Melody Green. From the beginning, it’s clear that Keith saw the world very much in a black and white kind of way. That means for him there were no grey areas. He could be a bit harsh at times, but he was always zealous for the truth.

It occurred to me that we could use a few prophetic voices like his in this day and age. We need those who will stand up to the culture and proclaim thus says the Lord, no matter the cost. We could definitely use some prophetic voices in Christian music who will guide us back to a biblical view of sacrifice and holiness.

I find it interesting that he had an idea that he wouldn’t live a long time. Toward the end, he mentioned how he was ready to meet Jesus face to face. Little did he know that his wish would come true sooner than anybody realized when he was killed in a plane crash on July 28, 1982 at the age of 28. He accomplished more in that short amount of time than many who live into their 80s and 90s because he made himself available for God to use.

Usually, those who speak prophetically aren’t very popular. Look at practically all the prophets in the Bible, many of whom were despised and rejected by the majority of those they tried to reach for God. It was not a calling that any of them chose willingly.

Lord, raise up those who will speak with a prophet’s voice to this generation. We are no better than those to whom you sent your prophets in days of old with a message of return and repentance. Help us always to be faithful and obedient to You in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, no matter the cost. Amen.

We Need to be Needy

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“The disciples are needy in every way. They are simply ‘poor’ (Luke 6:20). They have no security, no property to call their own, no piece of earth they could call their home, no earthly community to which they might fully belong. But they also have neither spiritual power of their own, nor experience or knowledge they can refer to and which could comfort them. For his sake they have lost all that. When they followed him, they lost themselves and everything else which could have made them rich. Now they are so poor, so inexperienced, so foolish that they cannot hope for anything except him who called them” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

We need to be needy. I think American Christianity has made it to where the idea of a life of faith is one where you gradually become more and more self-sufficient, where God is great in theory but you get to where you can handle just about anything on your own.

Then I look at those ragtag disciples of Jesus. I remember how the religious leaders who tried to shut them up recognized two things right away about these men: 1) they were unlearned and ignorant about a lot of things, probably uncouth and uncivilized, and 2) they had been with Jesus.

That was what being a disciple meant back then. Your whole life revolved around your rabbi. You ate when he ate, slept when he slept, moved when he moved. You learned to quote the rabbi in all matters of conversation. You eventually got to where you spoke and acted just like your rabbi.

We’ve made discipleship into head knowledge where having a head full of Bible facts means that you’re mature. But then why are so many older believers still acting like spiritual infants and still ignorant when it comes to what they believe and how to live it out? Why do so many Christians not look very much like their Christ?

The key is obedience. We don’t need new information as much as we need to live what we’ve already learned and obey what we already know. We need to get back to being children when it comes to faith (as opposed to being childish) and be willing to look foolish and needy in the sight of others so they can see how much we rely on Jesus for everything.

Lord, help us to be wise and childlike, willing to appear ignorant in the eyes of the world but identified as those who have been around Jesus a whole lot. Amen.

We Wrestle Not

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I’ve been thinking a lot about what the late John MacArthur said. When it comes to those who are holding views that don’t align with the Bible, we must not view them as enemies but as our mission field.

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph, 6:12. NLT).

In other words, people are not the enemy. The real enemy is the spiritual deception behind the lies. The prince of the power of the air is the enemy. And he is a defeated foe.

The best way to deal with those who wish to undermine biblical principles is to pray for their salvation. Pray that God leads them to the truth — not my truth or their truth or anyone else’s truth but THE truth that is personified in Jesus Christ.

Perhaps the best example of someone being loved into truth is the Apostle Paul. He was an enemy of the Church. He persecuted and hated everything that the early believers stood for. Yet it was their prayers and an encounter with Jesus that led him to the light — in this case a literal blinding light on the road to Damascus. From there, this Paul became the most stout defender and proponent of the faith.

How cool would it be if some of the people who currently malign or twist Scripture eventually became the biggest apologists for the Bible? How amazing would it be if they were the ones pointing people to Jesus instead of to false doctrine or false worldviews?

Obviously, we should defend gospel truth. We should never stand by when people are being lied to and deceived. But we should also remember that those on the other side are just as much people that Christ died for as we were. They’re not the enemy. They’re the mission field, as we once were.

Grieving a Pet

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“I will never laugh at anyone for grieving over a loved beast. I think God wants us to love Him more, not to love creatures (even animals) less. We love everything in one way too much (i.e., at the expense of our love for Him), but in another way we love everything too little.

No person, animal, flower, or even pebble has ever been loved too much—i.e., more than every one of God’s works deserves” (C. S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume III),

Thankfully, I haven’t lost a pet in a while, but I remember how much I grieved. My first cat Lucy was such a steady little presence in my life, and it broke my heart when she wasn’t there anymore.

No, I don’t think there’s any shame in grieving the loss of a pet. Absolutely not. There’s not a scale of acceptability over what kinds of loss are okay to cry over. It’s loss. It hurts.

Yout pets are constants in your life. They love you without conditions and without reserve. Even when you accidentally step on a tail or knock them on the noggin, they still love you. Even when you’re gone for days, they’re still just as happy to see you the next time.

And there’s a noticeable absence when they’re gone — a kind of void. The best way to celebrate the life of aa pet you’ve lost is to find another to love, preferably from a shelter or a place that rescues animals. Those are the kinds that need your love the most and will love you back the most.

But it’s okay to cry for a cat or a dog . . . or even a hamster or a parakeet. It doesn’t matter as long as they brought joy into your life and made your world better.

Not the End of the World

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I don’t know if you’ve ever done something incredibly stupid that you instantly regret. I mean the very instant you realize what you’ve done you’re hoping for one of those supernatural remote controls that let you rewind 30 second and replay the scene. Just me? Cool.

I know I’m not alone. I’ve had plenty of those moments where I still have no explanation for what I was thinking or why I did what I did, but so far in every single case up to this point, the world has not stopped turning. Civilization as we know it did not come to a screeching halt. We are all still here.

I love the fact that God, to put it bluntly, factored in our stupidity into His plans. The fact that over and over again the Bible refers to us as sheep isn’t because they’re cute and cuddly. It’s not because of their warm and gentle nature or their great personalities. They’re kinda dumb, to put it mildly.

But they have a great Shepherd. That’s what we also have in common. We have a God who is able to take our worst moments and mistakes and work even those into good. Somehow, those memories you wish you could erase forever become part of your testimony and the very means God uses to fulfill His purposes.

So remember that the planet looks exactly the same before and after your colossal blunder. God is not reacting out of shock or surprise. He knew before you were born not only your name and the number of hairs on your head but also how many dumb things you would do and say in your lifetime. And not one of them ended up screwing up His plan or ending the world.

Think about that as you lay your head on your pillow tonight, and sleep well. God is still in control.

Missing the Awe of God

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“I came to see that I was wired for awe, that awe of something sits at the bottom of everything I say and do. But I wasn’t just wired for awe. I was wired for awe of God. No other awe satisfies the soul. No other awe can give my heart the peace, rest, and security that it seeks. I came to see that I needed to trace awe of God down to the most mundane of human decisions and activities” (Paul David Tripp, Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do).

I was inspired by today’s sermon on this one. Basically, my pastor said that many of us are missing the awe of God in our daily lives. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

The way I understand it, fear isn’t me quaking in my boots, afraid to go near God. It’s a reverential awe where I recognize that God isn’t a bigger, faster, stronger version of me, but something other and something completely unknowable to me apart from divine revelation.

I know that reverential awe is missing if all my prayers start out with a wishlist to God of all the things I need and want. If God is my Cosmic Santa, then I don’t fear God or give Him the respect that’s due Him. I need to remember that God owes me nothing, but I owe Him everything.

According to Solomon, that kind of fear is the beginning of wisdom, which is knowing who I am and who God is. As I get older, I realize that wisdom isn’t always a reward for growing older. Some younger people have way more wisdom than those who have been around way longer.

True wisdom comes from a complete surrender and submission to God’s will out of a holy and reverent awe of who He is and what He’s done for us. I still love the analogy of the fear of God being like watching a storm from a safe place. You can witness the might and majesty of it while being safe from the dangers of it.

Lord, help me to love You well by learning to develop a healthy and reverent awe of You, remembering that You owe me nothing and I owe You absolutely everything. Thank You for loving me and saving me. Amen.

Hey June

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Admit it. You didn’t just read those words. You sang them. I know I did (at least in my head). But can anyone pinch me because when did June get here and where did April and May go?

In less than three weeks, we’ll hit the day with the most daylight in it (which also happens to be the official first day of summer). After that, the countdown to Christmas is on. Well, at least for me it is. Most of you have other anniversaries and holidays on your radar, but since I am afflicted with Obsessive Christmas Disorder, then that’s where I’m focusing.

I keep thinking a lot about what my boss at my old job used to say: any day without a toe tag is a good day. I like it, but I think it’s not necessarily all good. For those who belong to Jesus, to live is Christ and to die is gain. It’s a win-win. So while not having a toe tag is a good day, maybe the day you and I get our toe tags might be sad for some, but it will be our best day ever.

Also, I want to apologize to any olden people for making fun of you when I was a kid when you said that time flies. I get it now. It does. The older I get, the faster it goes. At the same time, the older I get, the more I realize the less I need to be content. You know the old saying that you can’t take your toys and possessions with you when you die. There are no hearses pulling U-Hauls that I’ve seen lately.

Hello, June! Try not to be too hot and humid right away. I like to dip my foot in the shallow end of summer before I jump in. Send more breezes because it helps me sweat less and everyone around me in the vicinity of my armpits appreciates that. Oh, and less bugs this year would be great. Thanks!

Sunday Blessings

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“O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of your people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calls us each by name, and follow where he leads; who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

I’m still processing a lot of what happened today.

My church met at the Fisher Center today while our sanctuary is being renovated. It was a bit like having church at Carnegie Hall or at The Met. It was a different kind of Sunday, but I believe God still knew where to find us. He still showed up as always.

I’m still so thankful to be a part of an amazing congregation that is growing not only numerically but spiritually as well. I love how so many of our members have such a willingness to serve and to be flexible to do whatever God asks, whenever God asks.

Ultimately, that’s the only fulfillment. Learning to discern the voice of Jesus and to follow where He leads is the only pathway to joy. Any other voice that promises joy only delivers disappointment.

Jesus spoke about how He knows His own sheep and calls them by name. Each one of them. He knows the very number of hairs on our heads and cares for each one of us. He said that we in turn are learning to recognize His voice and only heed His voice above all others. We know that where He leads is better than any other way that promises fame or wealth or power.

Lord, we are Your sheep. We don’t always know where to go. We recognize that without You, we are lost and helpless as any other sheep would be without a shepherd. Teach us more and more to know and love Your voice. Teach us to follow You as You lead and never doubt that they way You lead us is the only way that leads to life everlasting. Grant us to lead others to follow as You lead us in paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Amen.

Faux Omniscience

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“The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil” (Genesis 3:4-5, The Message).

The lie from the garden was that if Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they’d have the knowledge of good and evil. They’d be like God. The serpent told them the truth — mostly. And it’s that 2% lie mixed in with the 98% truth that got them in trouble and caused them to rebel against God.

Maybe one way that knowledge of good and evil has expressed itself is that we’re currently in an age of information overload. I recently ran across a statement that we consume in 30 minutes the same amount of content that our grandparents got in a month. That floored me.

Having social media and 24-hour news channels has created an unlimited access to everything happening around the world. I heard it referred to as a faux omniscience. We end up being burdened with all the tragedy from all around the world, somehow feeling like we’re supposed to do something to fix it.

Knowing more doesn’t automatically make you wiser. Sometimes, we can know more than our capacity to process it all in a healthy way. Spiritually, sometimes we can be informed and educated past our capacity for obedience. We become consumed by fear and rage and try to take the place of God in figuring our the solutions to all the world’s problems when in spite of all our learning, we’re still quite finite and limited in our understanding.

Only God has the capacity to know everything plus the wisdom to know what to do about it. Only God is in control and sees everything in the world with perfect clarity. Only God is the one who can fix it. And God has already provided the solution through the cross in Christ Jesus. His victory is already assured and all the evil in the world is from a defeated foe.

Perhaps we need less doomscrolling and news bingeing and more time spent with God. Maybe we need less consuming information, especially from secular sources, and more time spent learning the heart of God through the Bible and prayer. I heard once that the antidote to anxiety is always adoration and worship. That’s the best way.