Now, let me ask you this...

I went to college in the south. I'm from southern California, born and raised. One of the things that people from the south do is when they are going to ask you a question they often say, "Now let me ask you this, " before they actually ask you something.  I always wondered why they didn't just ask? It's just part of the southern culture. Asking questions is also how we naturally learn.

As I said yesterday I have been teaching a class on how to study the Bible using a plan I have used and been developing. When we read something or interact with information our minds naturally ask questions in order to understand what we are interacting with. Asking questions is what I like to focus on for the second step or second day of study. The point is not necessarily to ask and answer every question. The point is to use questions to help us understand what the author wants us to know. 

This week we are looking at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,^d that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.

So, let me ask you a few questions:
Are you informed about those who sleep?
Is your belief system aligned with the Biblical teaching on death?
Are you encouraged by the truth that we will be with the Lord forever?

That Reminds Me Of...

I am having a great time teaching a study plan based upon  a combination of how I think we naturally learn and basic old school hermeneutical methods. My thought is that very few of us think like old school theologians. Not that I have a problem with what they come up with it's just that not many of us think that way. It's just like most educational systems are actually only designed for a very small group of people (in my opinion). The rest of us have to just sort of muddle our way through trying to figure out what we are supposed to learn and what the teacher/professor is trying to say and how they want us to communicate to them what we think we learned. 

That said, I have broken down a process that takes advantage of the way most people naturally learn. The first thing we do is connect to what ever we are reading. We are reminded of things we read, we did, or we heard about (or saw like a TV show or movie). For example last week we studied 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. 

13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,^d that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.

When I read these verses verse 17 Reminds me of John 14:2, My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you. 

The whole section reminds me of the world today in that I have heard many different views about what happens to people when the die. From when you die you die and no longer exist to when you die you become one with the cosmos. 

But Paul wants us to know, to be assured that death, as a Christian, is more like falling asleep. In that we have hope because we will meet the Lord and those who have already fallen asleep in him. The truth that we will be with the Lord forever, with every tear wiped away and knowing fullness and completeness, being how we were created to be is real hope, real encouragement. 

Vow Up

I am under vows to you, my God;

   I will present my thank offerings to you.

For you have delivered me from death 
   and my feet from stumbling,

that I may walk before God

   in the light of life.

Psalms 56:12-13 NIV

On Bob Dylan's Slow Train Coming album there is a song titled "Gotta Serve Somebody". I remember watching him perform the tune on Saturday Night Live. The reality of life is that you are either serving God or you're a slave to sin. There is no other option.

Today is a good day to remember that we belong to Christ. We thank him because he has delivered us from death, eternal death, which is eternity without God and without hope. That is the good news for the future. Someday we will be with him in paradise.

In his amazing grace he also keeps our feet from stumbling in the present. Remember that David wrote this about a time when he was escaping the Philistines by acting like a mad man while running from Saul, who was trying to kill him. If you have ever run from someone you know that if you stumble and fall, your done. The Spirit of God is there to help us as fight the good fight on a daily basis. 

The end that God has in mind for us is that we walk before him in the light of life. Get it? God delivers us so that we, by faith, may enjoy his presence now. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12b). Thank God that he sent his Son to die for us, that his Spirit may indwell us and light the path he puts before us. 

In a sense, what we must do is vow up. Remember we gave our selves to Christ and promised to follow him. Vow up, brothers and sisters in the Lord!

Just Believe

Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

Mark 5:36 NIV

I get it. I would be afraid to believe. I would worry about getting my hopes up. Think about it. From the moment the bearer of bad news came to him until Jesus took the synagogue ruler and his wife and went into the room with their daughter, everyone around them was telling them it was hopeless, don't expect Jesus to do anything. 

Jesus only told him to not be afraid, only believe. 

I'm going to ask you a question that I want you to take a moment to wait upon the Lord for the answer. What have you been told is dead in your life, that Jesus wants to say, "Arise"?

Have You Sinned Too Much?

We know that anyone born of God does not continue in sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

I John 5:18

Sin. Everyone deals with it. I think we would all like to find a way to not have to deal with sin, to overcome all possible temptation and automatically steer clear of any situation that might allow sin to have its way in our lives. But John already told us that if we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 

In my experience condemnation comes when we are confronted with our own sinfulness as repeat offenders. What did Paul do when he was confronted with his own sinfulness? In II Corinthians 12:7-10 Paul discusses his thorn in the flesh. In the end God's message was that his grace was sufficient for Paul. God did not remove it, he just promised that his grace was sufficient. God kept Paul safe, in his grace. 

What about our struggle with sin, our thorns in the flesh? God's message remains the same. The one who was born of God keeps us safe. His grace is sufficient. I don't know what the sin that leads to death is, but, I do know that if the Spirit of God is working in me in such a way that makes me think of turning to God in any way (even questioning if his grace is sufficient) then God is still working in my life and his grace is sufficient. 

The evil one will seek to condemn us, telling us that if we are truly born of God that we won't keep struggling with the same temptations and the same sins. That is a lie from the father of all lies. Like Paul we cry out and accept that God's grace is sufficient. 

Father, thank you that we are kept safe in Christ. Forgive us our sins. Thank you and praise be to you in us today!

HE'S BEEN THERE

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death, he might destroy him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." Hebrews 2:14-15

I just got back from a week of summer Boy Scout camp with my son and his Troop. One thing I noticed was how the boys whose parents came up acted when their parents were there. They were a little more confident, a little more focused. 

I also watched some boys playing some basketball and there was a boy taller than most of the other boys. When he was on the team, those boys around him were pretty confident. He blocked shot after shot. In a similar way, we should know that since Christ is for us, it does not matter that the devil is against us, because Christ defeated death and the devil at the cross. 

When you are struggling with something remember that Christ became human to know and understand perfectly what we go through. Christ knows. Christ understands. He shares your struggles. If he dealt with death, the greatest of problems, he can surely deal with anything else.

Father, thank for sending Jesus to share in our humanity to rescue us completely! Open our eyes to see you in our lives. Praise be to you in us today!

GOD GUIDES, TO THE END

"For this God is our God for ever and ever; 
     he will be our guide even to the end." 
 Psalm 48:14

In Hebrews chapter 2 we read about Christ become our perfect High Priest by becoming like us. Christ, became a man and experienced life as we know it so that he might save us completely. Jesus knows what it feels like to be a human. Christ even experienced and defeated death on our behalf. 

Whatever you are going through, God knows the way. Wherever you are, God knows the way. God will make a way. 

Father, help us to follow you as you lead us through our lives. Praise be to you in us today! 

A TASTE OF DEATH FOR YOU

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels,   now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:9

Here's the deal: Jesus was made like us to die for us. Get it? Jesus didn't come into the world to become God, he always has been, and he always will be God. He came to provide redemption, salvation, forgiveness and the deliverance from death.  

When Christ was on the cross just before he died he cried out, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). The pain of separation from the Father shook the earth and spit the temple curtain in two (Matthew 27:51-52). The sting of death, is eternal separation from God. Physical death is only a part of death. Spiritual death is the other. Death, is actually eternal aloneness. Alone from hope, alone from peace, alone from God. 

When Christ died on the cross, he experienced death for us. The superiority of Christ is demonstrated in the completeness of the salvation he provides for us. 

The moments of aloneness we experience on here on earth are to remind us that Christ took that upon himself so that we do not have to die apart from God, but, we can live forever with him in paradise. 

Jesus, thank you for tasting death for us. Praise be to you in us today!

GOD'S LOVE, DAY OR NIGHT: Psalm 42:8

"By day the LORD directs his love,

     at night his song is with me - 
     a prayer to the God of my life."
 Psalm 42:8  

In the middle of a prayer of longing comes a reminder of the truth: God is directing his love toward you. It is so easy to focus on the feeling of aloneness, isn't it? That is the result of sin, being without hope and without God in this world. 

A very good friend of mine had a very difficult time dealing with the death of his mother. For years he struggled with it. I tried to be empathetic. My biological father had died just after my aunt. My buddy was angry with God for taking his mom. It was hard because he just wouldn't come to grips that everyone dies. In his mind if God loved him he would not have let his mother die. Finally, he came to the place where he could grieve and move on in the knowledge that God loved him.

Sometimes we are in the midst of a "Where are you God?" time. If you are remember that it is not about your feelings, it is about the truth of God's love. The truth is that God directs his love toward us and day or night his Presence is with us. 

Father, thank you that by day you direct you love toward me and at night you put a song in my heart. Help me to live by faith in that truth. Praise be to you in us today!