turn and walk forward

to African friend: "What's the deal with Africa? Noth/South Axis, colonialism, bad luck, a curse…?"

"Nope" said African friend, "in Africa the back is to the future. Problems always seem to be a surprise from mysterious places."

A future worth facing, a hope, changes everything.

not shaped by:

a fear of spirits (what if I don't factor them right?),

or a fear of economics (what if I don't factor them right?),

but are centered on a fear of the LORD (what if I don't factor Him right?)

then there is a promise of a hopeful future. Right will be made complete. Today is a day to look toward the future with hope.

Proverbs 23:15-18

My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad

My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right

Let not your heart envy sinners,

but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.

Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Blessed Hope

Titus 2:11-15 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, (12) training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (13) waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (14) who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (15) Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

This week's reflection has been: God made good, it all went sad, Christ provided the comfort we needed and change became possible.

Now we have work to do. We have to articulate our rejection of meaningless despair and the unreliable satisfaction of lunged indulgences. There is a reason to get up, get focused and get to work: Jesus is the future.

He is coming back to follow through on why he saved us. He saved us to not be out of control and mucked up, he wants us sorted and unified and on task. We were created by the creator to rule over a good creation. Our excursus has been bizarre, and the fog is still there, but now we are on course to rule over renewed creation. The character we develop and deploy here and now will have carry over to then and here. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven… including through me!

A revealed hope

The voice of Solomon was one lamenting the limitations of understanding the ways of God. He knew that God was the source of life and the destiny we would face, but he was troubled about how to make sense out of the erratic way life so often unfolds. Good happens to bad people and bad happens to good people. Obvious principles of the benefit of diligence over indulgence have plenty of exceptions. How can anything be known about God????

Ultimately God reveals God. We receive to the degree we submit to what God is revealing. That revelation is encouraging. This crazy world where rebellion is definitive of our experiences will be replaced. Christ, the Lord of glory, died to put a death to rebellion and all that goes with it. The resurrection is the good news that there is a new order which has begun, on prepared by God for those who love him. It will be good and we are called to live out that hope now.

1 Corinthians 2:6-10 Yet among the mature (telos) we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. (7) But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. (8) None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (9) But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- (10) these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

Return of the King

http://www.zimbio.com/World+Politics/articles/2457/India+Pakistan+Ambassador+Munir+Akram+speech

Titus 2:13-14 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, (14) who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

What happens when the King returns? We were saved from lawlessness (no reason to do one thing over another) to be pure (clear and consistent, not muddled and mixed) so we have our identity in him and are really ready to do good any chance we get. So when he gets here will we have more work to do? It seems like it. Now we seem to be fighting on two fronts.

Front 1: all that random confusion and indulgence we are supposed to be saved from.

Lawlessness: I still like using randomness to whatever I want to do…. gotta fight that.

Purity: I still like a little of this AND that AND… gotta fight that.

Identity: I still like not having anyone tell me what to do… gotta fight that.

Works: I still get tired of being a "do-gooder" … gotta fight that.

Front 2: actually living out the faith for the King here and now.

    Gotta deal with everyone else's lawlessness, impurity, divisiveness and non-cooperation with the right stuff.

The hope is that when the King arrives I won't be fighting against myself, I will only be fighting towards some kind of goodness in the new creation. I honestly cannot imagine it, but the promise of having a focus that I love (zealous for) and am effectively led to pursue… that's hopeful.

Testing… 1..2..3…testing…check!

1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, (5) who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (8) Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, (9) obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

So if the Christian life is so great, why is it so hard? 

1. We seek to stand in a fallen world. "now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials". Our allegiance is not with the rulers of this world and their ways, so we are against the grain. The natural way to live in the world, managing ones image in order to get the most for one's own interests, is to be rejected. That is hard, especially when it seems to work for others. The idea of 'dying to self' and being alive to God is not normally reinforced in daily life. It makes us question ourselves and God.
   
2. We can't see the leader. "Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him". Those who are not loyal to Christ don't seem him either, and they don't mind pointing that out. "Have not and do not see him, huh? Well, that's… different."
   
3. Our joy is 'inexpressible'. "you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory". We tend to prefer expressible joy. It is easier to refer back to when we are between surges of joy and glory.
   

Is it worth it?

1. An inheritance that can't rot, be soiled, fade or be taken away = security
   
2. A salvation of the soul = the self fully fixed and alive
   

What is 'it'?

Even though I can't use the world's coping mechanisms like they do, and even though I can't see Jesus with my eyes, and even though my joys are not easily expressed (for refreshment as needed)…I am grateful for being brought to life through God as a son with a future. Growing in wisdom, day by day, loving the one who bought me…yeah… living in hope is worth 'it'.

Rebels turned triumphant royalists

Revelation 21:1-7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (5) And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." (6) And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. (7) The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Created to rule under God. Foolishly drawn into trying to rule apart from God. Graciously redeemed by God and given amnesty and adoption. Faithfully guided toward maturity, overcoming the rebellious spirit in the world and in one's heart. The result? A conqueror with a heritage.

Foolishness and struggle; that is what is familiar territory. Unblighted purity, conqueror of rebellion (inside and out)?? Wow. Sounds great; but so foreign. Shakespeare spoke an apparent truism by saying: "To err is human, to forgive is divine". At least from our perspective. But why are we more at ease with our errors and more content not to bother forgiving? Why do we care? The pure is what we were made for, and though we have grown accustomed to confusion, we are not truly at home with it. We were made for something better; we were made to actually be better. The gospel includes the promise that in Christ it is our future. Though it may stretch the imagination, it also tests the bonds of despair. Hope.

The World We All Want

This is a nicely concise telling of the Christian message of hope for the world at large. 

http://www.thecrowdedhouse.org/newtochristianity

The World We All Want: Course overview

We all dream of a better world - a world of security, plenty and friendship. Christians believe that God promises just such a new world. The Bible is the story of God making that promise and keeping it. The World We All Want is for people who are interested in the message of the Bible. Developed by the Crowded House, The World We All Want is an evangelistic Bible overview.

Buy it now from WesleyOwen.com or Amazon.co.uk.

Outline

One: God promises the world we all want

God promises the world we all want. We know this promise is real because there was a point in history when we glimpsed the world we all want.

Two: Jesus shows us God's new world

Jesus had the power to make God's new world. But Jesus said it was necessary for him to die so we could enjoy it.

Three: We have spoiled God's good world

	We have spoiled the good world that God made, but God promises someone who will put it right.

Four: God promises a new world

God promises a people who know God and a land of plenty and security.

Five: We cannot create the God's new world

God set his people free and gave them a land of plenty and security, but they could not create God's new world. God promises that he himself will put it right.

Six: We can enjoy God's new world because of Jesus

The death of Jesus deals with the problem of rebellion and judgment. The resurrection of Jesus is the promise and beginning of God's new world.

Seven: Christians are God's people waiting for God's new world

Christians are God's new people waiting for God's new world. We become God's people through faith and repentance.

 

1.2.3.4.5. - bless the baker!

The weekly cycle for devotion….

1. Monday


2. Tuesday


3. Wednesday


4. Thursday


5. Friday

Biblical Story

1. creation


2. fall


3. redemption


4. transformation


5. completion

personal awareness

1. notice good


2. notice bad


3. remember good overcame bad in Christ


4. focus on how good can overcome bad in me through Christ


5. trust the final result of good over bad is a completed creation.
   

A completed creation….

1. Dough is good


2. Yeast is added (don't eat it alive, it's bad for you)


3. Mix causes change


4. Change rises over time


5. Fiery completion kills the danger of the yeast but leaves the effects such that the final, completed loaf is even better than the lump of dough.

Bless the Baker, he didn't ruin the dough after all!

New Year New Creation

New is exciting; assuming there is hope. The hope of a new creation is that the goodness uncorrupted may just stay uncorrupted. That seems idealistic, really. New peanut butter is enticing, but it doesn't seem to last. It get's gunked up. This year is new, but I can foresee chunks and bits of stuff getting swirled in, and sooner than later. In fact, it's already started.

So what hope is there? The hope of the resurrection of Jesus was that life is overcome with death and that death (and the gunk that precedes it) will be no more. Well, that's something. 

Is it true? Has God sent a message that the momentary hopes we see rise and fall are sign posts to an actual hope that will rise and not fall? That is what the message bearers say. God sent the message in person:

 

1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-- (2) the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us-- (3) that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. (4) And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

 

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

 

God is the future. But when does the future get here? We don't know. So, we take moments of newness and hope and we attach them in our minds to the future hope which was displayed in Christ. There is a day coming…

Revelation 21:3-5 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (4) He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (5) And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

 

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