hot mess

They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

Revelation 16:9

Humanity, bent on sinful autonomy and hatred of God, will never accept that God will use His sovereign control over the natural world to judge us. Time and again in the “bowl” judgments of the book of Revelation, God brings natural disaster to the earth. First there was a universal skin disease causing boils and excruciating pain. Then the seas turned to blood and all marine life is made extinct. Then the same thing happens in fresh water. This is followed by an atmospheric solar discharge that scorches the whole planet. Survivors among the fires just keep cursing God. They will not even entertain that He has power to unleash these disasters. Humanity is naturally resistant to humble repentance.

I’m no prophet of doom, but I do know that I am living in increasingly more difficult days. After nearly six decades on this earth, our world is a different place than it was in my youth. I do not doubt that. Society has been on a downhill run against God’s rule for several generations now. And I am not at all surprised that our smug confidence in “human achievement” has only worsened the world. At this point humans are poisoning the planet, killing each other with malice in record numbers, suffering a disease pandemic on a worldwide scale that shows no sign of ending, and coping with regular ecological challenges and disasters. It’s a sin-ravaged world out there, and we are to blame! I am certain we aren’t even in book of Revelation territory yet! But it sure feels close to getting there.

So I am not shocked it is as bad as it is. This is what I expect when humans defy their Creator. I will commit to doubling down on the comfort and call of the gospel to repent, believe, and live in Jesus with a firm future hope that is much better than the hot mess that our world is right now!

worship prayer

Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;

his understanding is beyond measure.

Psalm 147:5

O Lord,

You are indeed great. You are so far above me that when I pause to contemplate Your power and wisdom, I am immediately, staggeringly humbled. I live in a universe that You created that in itself is so vast, that uncountable years would be needed for light to travel across its breadth. And you simply spoke all that vast universe into being! All of that is just ONE of Your thoughts! The word “great” may be forever an understatement of just how immensely different You are from Your creation. Still, I know that You are certainly my great God!

You are a God abundant in power. You can do anything, all things, really everything You desire. I live in a world that has its share of powerless and what feels like rolling global crisis after crisis… raging wars, ethnic strife, burning forests, threatened climate, fierce disease pandemics, and most tragically — souls that You created for eternity with You in Christ are dying daily — many having never heard the good news about Jesus. Your power is what keeps the people of planet earth from complete annihilation so that Your people can make gospel proclamation so that in grace You will lead people to find Your salvation. And that is the ultimate display of Your power — people becoming a New Creation, living in a better kingdom, focused on a bright future, in Jesus!

I cannot fathom what You know. A worm, as a blind creature of mere instinct, cannot comprehend the thoughts of a neuroscientist. So I cannot begin to understand Your mind. But I CAN know Your most important revealed thoughts for me as I read Your Word, talk with You in prayer, trust the movement of Your Spirit in my life, and walk with You as You lead this life! And an intimacy with the Almighty kindles my heart into a flame of worship as I realize all of this. Great are You, Lord! Abundant is Your power to lead, comfort, and change my life. Your wisdom is more than I can ever measure. Forever I will be captivated by Your greatness and wonder, O Lord!

Amen

Trust God in the unknown.

And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Esther 4:3

When it seems darkest, it really isn’t because God is in control! In a world where human wickedness runs freely, there will be times of extreme peril. It can get dark. This is exactly what happened as Haman’s plot to eradicate the Jews in Persia was made public. Official government policy was set by the king himself to see the end of the Jewish minority in Persia. It looked impossibly final. But God’s people brought their fear and pain to God. And God had already, well in advance of all this, strategically and sovereignly taken steps to ensure a deliverer was in place.

The reminder of this truth puts perspective on all uncertainty. Nothing is ever uncertain with God. Nothing surprises Him. No action of any human institution will overrule the complete, sovereign purposes of Almighty God! Haman may have hatched a conspiracy of hate. But God already had a secret victory in place to destroy what seemed inevitable.

And so we trust God in all that is unknown to us. Just as Esther was already placed to be the bold deliverer of the Jews in Persia at an awful moment, so Jesus is already here to keep His kingdom advancing despite cultural moves against God’s people. We may grieve over our painful experiences and mourn what looks like loss to us, but we can trust that absolutely nothing will prevail against our King!

always with us

It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8

There are three ways God cares for His own that protect those who trust in Him. First, the LORD goes before us. In the case of Israel on the cusp of the Promised Land, they faced the challenge of military conquest. A nation of nomads was commanded to become an army of obedient soldiers. And God went before them, preparing the way in advance for them through Canaan to claim their promised inheritance. Nothing they would face would be new to the God Who went before them.

God promised to be with them. In the moment, God was there. In the battle, God was there. In the victory, God was there. In the difficulty, the call to courage, and in the hard work, God was right there with them. He is always present with His people, a constant source of courage, strength, and power as they believed in Him.

God would not forsake or leave His faithful people. They might be fearful or tempted to retreat. God would not do so. He would be faithful. And we know that He is faithful even when our faith ebbs and flows. His great faithfulness becomes an anchor when our own capacity for staying true to Him wants to falter.

Jesus goes before us. He is preparing a place for us even now. Jesus is Emmanuel: God with us. He promised to be with us always as we faithfully proclaim Him even to the very end of this age. Jesus will not forsake us. He has promised to not leave us as orphans.

And the God Who goes before us, who is with us, who never leaves us, is our strength. We take courage when tempted to be afraid. We strengthen our hearts in faith in the God Who is and always will be with us.

Mission: hospitality

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.

3 John 5-6

The kingdom of Christ

spans the continents

the gospel goes

to each people group sent

We cooperate

with the call of God

to perpetuate

this kingdom of God

Our vision is

to preach it global

it is the highest task

for the most humble

We must receive

those God has sent 

invest in their call

as time and money well spent

Welcome kingdom builders

with open hearts

every church of believers must

do their part

No strangers

in Jesus are known

hospitality to family

is readily shown

The gospel advances

in community and grace

because Jesus loves

the whole human race

Receive them like Jesus

when they come our way

send them refreshed, equipped

worthy of God today!

Don’t be tempted by shortcuts.

Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

Acts 24:23

As persecutions go, Paul was in an amazing opportunity. Taken to Caesarea for Roman judgment at the court of Felix the governor, Paul was protected from his enemies who had sworn together to kill him, regardless of Rome’s decision in his case.

Paul now had direct contact and personal ministry to the governor of Judea who detained the apostle for two years. Felix regularly listened to Paul’s teaching, secretly holding out for a bribe in order to release him with a “not guilty” verdict. But Paul stayed true to the gospel and to his personal integrity. He stayed faithful to the Lord, trusted for deliverance, and patiently kept preaching the gospel to Felix even though it kept him detained.

The gospel must be preached with integrity. It isn’t for the gain of the preacher! Paying the bribe would have been an easy way to make the “problem” go away. But Paul modeled faithfulness, and God kept him safe. Plus God had prepared a bigger audience yet to come. Eventually Rome would be the city of destination and Caesar himself would hear from Paul. Integrity took Paul further, with more influence, than cheating shortcuts ever would!

after it burns

The nations raged,

but your wrath came,

and the time for the dead to be judged,

and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,

and those who fear your name,

both small and great,

and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.

Revelation 11:18

Wicked humanity will be called into account for all the evil done by the people of the earth to one another. They will be destroyed for being destroyers of the earth. The whole planet is headed for a fiery finale - a meltdown fueled by hatred against God that will end in the cosmic justice of the wrath of God. But the people of God will be spared.

Millennia of faithfulness will ensure that Christ’s servants, prophets, and saints as well as all those who fear His name regardless of station or fame will be rewarded — spared from God’s hand of destruction while witness to this future day of wrath.

It doesn’t surprise me to see evil people thrive in evil times. It no longer surprises me to see so much confusion caused by sin… such evil confusion that a worldwide pandemic just ratchets up chaos and does not bring humans together. People distrust each other, their own institutions, their own science, and all human attempts at achievement have actually created these conditions. All our wisdom cannot save us— it is seen as the meager help it has always been. And as the world turns and burns, through the smoke and tears, Christians look solidly to our Savior! Destroyers may be destroying this world, but there is a Lord Who saves us, as we faithfully serve Him now. And He will, through His justice, bring an end to all this evil.

In a new heavens and a new earth we will know the home of all righteousness. Our future perspective will be much different. The nations once raged, but His wrath came. His judgment was final. His saints were rewarded. The destroyers were destroyed. And all will be made right again in the blessed hope and power of Jesus!