Hello again!
This morning, I found this devotion in my email inbox from Dale Meyer, former Lutheran Hour speaker and current president of Concordia Seminary. Perhaps it is one that you can relate to on a personal level. The Scriptures give us perspective to understand (at least in part) that God desires to use trials in our lives for our good, to refine us.
My friend Bill shared an e-mail about a woman who visited the shop of a silversmith. The silversmith held a piece of silver over the fire, explaining that the silver had to be held in the very middle of the fire to burn away any impurities. The woman, a Bible student, had thought of Malachi 3:3 God "will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
She asked the silversmith if he had to be there the whole time and he answered, yes. He had to hold and keep his eye on the silver. Otherwise the silver might be in the fire too long and be destroyed.
"How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" she asked. "Oh, that's easy," he answered, "when I see my image in it."
That anonymous e-mail helps us understand tough days. "The Lord watches over you" (Psalm 121:5). And the refining of Christians will achieve its goal. "He who has begun a good work in you will bring it to completion until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). On that day, fully refined, you'll see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12).
How else can we understand this strange statement of James, "Consider it pure joy...whenever you face trials of many kinds?" (James 1:2).
God grant us patience and grace to undergo trials with faith and to welcome His refining work in our lives.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
Are you really looking forward to heaven?
Romans 8 has come up in the LCMS lectionary recently, a portion of Scripture that I find to be very exciting. This week, as I prepare to preach on Romans 8:18-27, I've been thinking about the promise of resurrection and new creation - the glorious inheritance of the children of God. At the same time, I've been reading the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. I haven't gone too far into the book yet, but I can appreciate the argument he makes for why he wrote it in the first place.
Alcorn recounts that many Christians he has encountered simply do not have an accurate understanding of what heaven is like, especially after Christ's return on the Last Day. Many have been influenced by popular portrayals of heaven consisting of clouds and halos and harps and not much else. Others have heard heaven described as an eternal church service (which is hardly attractive to many who have a heard time sitting through 60-65 minutes on any given week). Still others have been told that we can't imagine what is in store, which is a well-meaning statement meant to communicate that heaven will be awesome, but which can often stop people from at least trying to imagine what God has in store. As a result, Alcorn argues that most people don't have a vision of heaven that inspires them to eagerly desire the day of its coming - in fact, for many, the prospect of spending an eternity in any given location (even a really nice one) seems tedious. "Won't we get bored after a while?" some ask.
I have to confess that I personally didn't know what to think about heaven growing up, either. Time spent in God's presence with friends and family sounded great, but I also had the "boredom" question. Of course, thoughts of spending eternity in hell, suffering and separated from God, scared the bejeezers (a technical theological term, of course) out of me, and I much preferred heaven, however it might turn out.
Alcorn sets out in his book to recapture a true biblical understanding of what heaven is. At the heart of his argument is God's affirmation of His creation, both in proclaiming it "good" in Genesis 1 and in declaring it "good" again by sending His Son to become a human being and redeem it. When Jesus comes again, he isn't coming to take us away from the earth. He is coming to finally free the earth from the Curse and restore it to be the ultimate home that He can share with His redeemed and resurrected brothers and sisters. Alcorn argues that the Scriptures give us a picture of heaven that we can legitimately long for and anticipate with great joy and excitement.
Is there a particular aspect of God's promised new creation that you find exciting? Please share in the comments.
Alcorn recounts that many Christians he has encountered simply do not have an accurate understanding of what heaven is like, especially after Christ's return on the Last Day. Many have been influenced by popular portrayals of heaven consisting of clouds and halos and harps and not much else. Others have heard heaven described as an eternal church service (which is hardly attractive to many who have a heard time sitting through 60-65 minutes on any given week). Still others have been told that we can't imagine what is in store, which is a well-meaning statement meant to communicate that heaven will be awesome, but which can often stop people from at least trying to imagine what God has in store. As a result, Alcorn argues that most people don't have a vision of heaven that inspires them to eagerly desire the day of its coming - in fact, for many, the prospect of spending an eternity in any given location (even a really nice one) seems tedious. "Won't we get bored after a while?" some ask.
I have to confess that I personally didn't know what to think about heaven growing up, either. Time spent in God's presence with friends and family sounded great, but I also had the "boredom" question. Of course, thoughts of spending eternity in hell, suffering and separated from God, scared the bejeezers (a technical theological term, of course) out of me, and I much preferred heaven, however it might turn out.
Alcorn sets out in his book to recapture a true biblical understanding of what heaven is. At the heart of his argument is God's affirmation of His creation, both in proclaiming it "good" in Genesis 1 and in declaring it "good" again by sending His Son to become a human being and redeem it. When Jesus comes again, he isn't coming to take us away from the earth. He is coming to finally free the earth from the Curse and restore it to be the ultimate home that He can share with His redeemed and resurrected brothers and sisters. Alcorn argues that the Scriptures give us a picture of heaven that we can legitimately long for and anticipate with great joy and excitement.
Is there a particular aspect of God's promised new creation that you find exciting? Please share in the comments.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
A Creation Groaning to Be Made New
Hello everyone!
Forgive my short absence, but a lot has happened since I last posted. On Friday, June 24, my wife and I welcomed our firstborn into the world - a daughter, Eliana Lois. She is a cutey who has stolen her daddy's heart and who has changed her parents' lives forever.
To be in that delivery room as my wife valiantly strained toward the birth of our little one was a humbling experience. Emotions are heightened. In one moment, there is pain, frustration, and exhaustion. I even caught myself thinking at one point, "What if birth doesn't happen? What if we can't make it to the finish?" Blessedly, that fleeting thought was not a premonition of things to come. Hard work, pushing, and pain intensified, and then in a moment it was done and seemingly forgotten as our little girl emerged into the arms of her mother.
Even though we have no evidence that Paul was ever married or a father, it seems that he is intimately knowledgeable about the process of childbirth as he writes Romans 8:22-23: "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." With every tornado, hurricane, wildfire, flood, drought, and earthquake, we experience a creation groaning toward a hoped-for finish. We experience in our own bodies the same phenomenon as we are given a front-row seat to our own frailty and mortality. We might be tempted to ask ourselves the question, "What if new birth never happens? What if we can't make it to the finish?" But just as such a fear didn't translate into reality in the delivery room, so God promises that it won't be reality for us either. Creation, groaning, will at last reach its fulfillment. We, presently falling apart, will reach our fulfillment. And in an instant, pain and frustration will give way to unspeakable joy and new creation. Consider the turn around from Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday...
As every mother knows, pregnancy and labor doesn't last forever, even if it feels like it at the time. Thanks be to God!
Forgive my short absence, but a lot has happened since I last posted. On Friday, June 24, my wife and I welcomed our firstborn into the world - a daughter, Eliana Lois. She is a cutey who has stolen her daddy's heart and who has changed her parents' lives forever.
To be in that delivery room as my wife valiantly strained toward the birth of our little one was a humbling experience. Emotions are heightened. In one moment, there is pain, frustration, and exhaustion. I even caught myself thinking at one point, "What if birth doesn't happen? What if we can't make it to the finish?" Blessedly, that fleeting thought was not a premonition of things to come. Hard work, pushing, and pain intensified, and then in a moment it was done and seemingly forgotten as our little girl emerged into the arms of her mother.
Even though we have no evidence that Paul was ever married or a father, it seems that he is intimately knowledgeable about the process of childbirth as he writes Romans 8:22-23: "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." With every tornado, hurricane, wildfire, flood, drought, and earthquake, we experience a creation groaning toward a hoped-for finish. We experience in our own bodies the same phenomenon as we are given a front-row seat to our own frailty and mortality. We might be tempted to ask ourselves the question, "What if new birth never happens? What if we can't make it to the finish?" But just as such a fear didn't translate into reality in the delivery room, so God promises that it won't be reality for us either. Creation, groaning, will at last reach its fulfillment. We, presently falling apart, will reach our fulfillment. And in an instant, pain and frustration will give way to unspeakable joy and new creation. Consider the turn around from Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday...
As every mother knows, pregnancy and labor doesn't last forever, even if it feels like it at the time. Thanks be to God!
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