Resurrection Reality
My last phone update something popped up about an AI feature. I think it was a message asking if I wanted to activate it or not. I just pressed “no.” Didn’t pay much attention to it. I’m not even sure if my phone is new enough to use a number of the AI tricks. Quick modifications of photos. More sophisticated suggestions on how to respond to messages. Detecting if you’re in a crash and calling for help. Even if I ignored AI in that moment, we know we’ll all have to pay more attention to it in the near future!
As AI grows, it will certainly become ever more difficult to determine reality. Is that a real photo? Did a real person send that message? Who really called me? It sounds like a voice I recognize, but I’m not sure.
Easter and the days that followed were real experiences with a person, Jesus Christ, who had died and was now alive. The women were the first to realize something very different and . . . . unexpected had happened that morning. 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him (Mark 16:4-6).
All those who saw Jesus that day and in the weeks leading up to his ascension knew that Jesus was truly alive. They talked to him. They ate with him. They touched the wound marks in his hands. He lived who once was dead!
We have God’s promises in Scripture. We have hundreds of eyewitnesses. It was a reality for Jesus. It will be our reality too when we rise to meet our Lord, forgiven and saved through faith in him.
 

There is a saying, “There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes.” Are there tasks or jobs we would never consider doing, just because of how it might look to others?

Especially as a person gains wealth, there may be more and more things that he or she considers “below their status.” There’s a personal assistant to take care of scheduling, a cleaner to clean the house and do the laundry, and a driver to transport them around. Of course, there are exceptions. Even though I’m sure they don’t live just like everyone else, . . . . apparently the family of Mark Cuban tries to do their own chores and live in a normal way as much as they can despite the billions in net worth.

There is nothing more “menial” than the cross, a way to torture criminals to death. Particularly if you are the Lord of all and true God. But Jesus, for the joy set before him … endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). This lowly task is truly glorious since Jesus went there to pioneer and perfect our faith.

You will have “menial” moments in life, not just because of jobs or chores you might rather not do, but because living for Christ is often not glorious according to many people’s attitudes. But when we fix our eyes on Jesus, who endured such opposition from sinners, we will not grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:3).

“Lord, Save Me From This Hour” or “Lord, Glorify Your Name!”?

One day there was a stir in the little town in Mexico where I was living and carrying out ministry. The news was that a small group of fishermen had not returned to shore at the expected time and were likely adrift in strong winds. It turned out their motor had failed and they had no way to keep their course. When they were finally rescued by the Coast Guard, they were many miles down the coastline.

When we feel we have a need to be rescued, there are different ways we can react. Complaining. Giving up. Trying to fix things ourselves. And, as many do when there doesn’t seem to be any other answer, praying to God to save us.

Doing what we can, and asking God for deliverance and guidance, will always . . . . be part of a Christian response to difficulties, challenges, and unpleasant situations. However, Jesus adds another layer. A deeper one.

As he announced to his disciples his death in the near future, he let them in on his thoughts:

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” (John 12:27-28).

Whatever else would happen, he wanted his Father’s name to be glorified.

We can’t always expect to be “rescued.” Sometimes we will have to walk right through dark valleys. Even when we’re not saved from unpleasantness in life, God’s glory will shine through.

For Jesus it was the glory of salvation. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. (John 12:32) For us it will be the glory of God’s strength upholding us and attracting others to the Word through God’s working in our lives.

Our greatest desire in trials is “Lord, glorify your name”!

One of the great advances of history is clean water. Knowing that the water you drink is free of harmful organisms and very likely will not get you sick or worse makes a huge difference in quality of life. Clean, safe water was not always a given in the past.
And it’s not always a given everywhere now either. In some places of the world families still need to purify the water themselves in some way before they are confident of putting it in their bodies. One way to do that is through ultraviolet light. On their own, traveling down the dark tubes of water supplies or directly from a dark well, all the little pathogens survive and thrive. But if they are forced to pass through an area of UV waves, the bacteria, viruses and other organisms are deactivated and become harmless to our digestive systems.
There are two ways to look at the light. For the pathogens, the light is not good. It spells the end of their limited function on earth. For the human being drinking the water, the light is a big blessing.

The gospel of John also brings out those two views on light and darkness. Those who prefer evil would much rather stay in the darkness.

19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)
 

If evil is generally our lifestyle, of course, we don’t want any light shone on our behavior. And even if we as Christians in weakness fall into temptation, often our first instinct is not to want our weakness to be seen.

In Christ we welcome the light! Although it does expose our sins, we are thankful that the Word convicts us. We can recognize our wrongs in the knowledge that our Savior still accepts us in our repentance and faith, and gives us forgiveness by his grace on the cross. And his light of salvation purifies us completely of all unrighteousness so we can live in the light of his glory in heaven.
Love the light! Celebrate the light that shines on you in Christ!

Occasionally you might see titles of books or articles concerned about the “anti-intellectualism” of America, or even of the Christian church in our country. Is that a fair criticism? Are we even worried about being “intellectual”?

The Apostle Paul was a very bright and educated person. He could speak Greek (Acts 21:37) and Hebrew/Aramaic (Acts 21:40). Possibly also Latin as a Roman citizen. His studies in the Jewish Scriptures were under Gamaliel, one of the greatest Jewish teachers of history. He was familiar with Greek and Roman knowledge and writing style. His learning helped give him the ability to . . . . hold a conversation with anyone, including the famous Greek Areopagus (something like the Supreme Court) in Athens, the Roman governor Festus and King Agrippa.

He also wrote, “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20), and “… the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom…” (1 Corinthians 1:25).

So no, a PhD doesn’t make us better in God’s kingdom. However, we are free to study and acquire knowledge about God’s world as much as we’d like as well. God uses everyone’s gifts in different ways.

We’re not so concerned about whether we’re being “intellectual” or not. It’s good to use the minds God gave us to look critically at different opinions we run into. It’s good to do everything as well as we can to God’s glory. But, of course, intelligence only in the things of this world will not bring us to faith or allow us to receive forgiveness and eternal life. There are many big questions that humans will never figure out on their own, and can only solved in the knowledge of God’s kingdom through the work of the Spirit. Paul mentions the teaching of Jesus crucified for our salvation as one of the main things we can know and believe only through God’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).

A better question for us would be “Are we wise?” Do we know the Scriptures? Are we humbly confident that only in Jesus’ death and resurrection do we have true life and hope?

We can be as smart as we’d like to be and the Lord gives us opportunity, as long as we remember God is infinitely wiser than we can ever get. Trust in his Word above all things!

23 …  but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:23-24)

A Hope That Will Never Leave Us Ashamed
We run on hope. We hope the store will be open by the time we get there. We hope the car won’t run out of gas even though it’s close to empty. We hope the Avalanche or Nuggets or ___________________ (insert your favorite team) win. We hope interest rates come down.
We may not always want to be too enthusiastic about our hopes and dreams, because they may not come true. They may let us down.
In some circles, following Christ means you really . . . . shouldn’t talk about the negative experiences of life. I’ve read about churches in which you don’t mention sicknesses, because it might mean revealing a weakness in your faith, or even bringing the sicknesses into existence because of the words you spoke. As if anything bad puts into question or diminishes our hope in the Lord and his blessing.
That’s not the Bible’s teaching. We don’t have to be “Debbie Downers,” but we understand the reality that we are not in paradise yet. This world does involve suffering. We don’t have to pretend it doesn’t.
The Apostle Paul in the fifth chapter of Romans takes it further. We not only recognize suffering, but also find a way to glory in it. … we also glory in our sufferings (Romans 5:3). The trials we have don’t diminish God or his care for us. They just happen. And when they do, God brings out in us perseverance, character and hope through them. We all could benefit from more perseverance, character and hope!
Don’t ever consider your sufferings – no matter how big or small – as something to be ashamed of. God is at work there. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Other hopes may let us down. Hope in the love of Christ who died for sinners is not one of them!

The use of the word “religion” has become a more negative thing recently. The secular world at times blames religion in general for conflict without really digging into the causes. There is a push for all religions being considered the same, although in reality that is not possible. Some Christians also strongly avoid the term “religion” in reference to their own beliefs because they . . . . associate it with routine and ritual, rather than a heart-felt practice.

True religion as believing and following Jesus is on clear display in Lent. Religion as disciples of Jesus Christ isn’t in any way about violence, the drudgery of following rules, or many confusing and contradictory paths to God. Lent takes us to the cross. Our religion is God’s grace and forgiveness, followed by our joyful response of holy living because as a new creation we want to live God’s way!

If anyone wants to know about our religion, bring them to the messages of Lent in Jesus’ passion for us.

32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:32-35)