Advent Series: Peace on Earth

There are a lot of phrases or words that are associated with Christmas

Joy. Peace. Merry. Cheer.

One phrase that I've been pondering lately is "Peace on Earth"

The reason this line has become a Christmas slogan is because of something the angels said when they appeared to the shepherds near Bethlehem.

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest

and on earth peace, goodwill toward men"

I began to wonder what kind of peace Jesus brought to the Earth in His first coming.

He didn't bring peace between Israel and Rome, or the rest of the nations.

He didn't bring peace between person to person (Matt 10:34-35 Luke 12:51 - Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.)

So what kind of peace did He bring?

He brought a peace that saved our everlasting souls

He made peace between God and man.

Colossians 1:19-20

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

Hallelujah! 

Jesus bore my sins inside His body and became accursed so that I would not be cut off from God's presence. He tore the veil and made a way for me to approach the Father.

Peace.

But, Jesus wasn't finished there.

He does plan to bring peace on Earth.

In fact, there will be a day when there is peace among the nations and wars cease to exist.

Everyone loves to quote Isaiah 9 in the Christmas season, but most of this section is about Jesus' second coming!

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

The people who walked in darkness

Have seen a great light;

Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

Upon them a light has shined...

For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given;

And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of His government and peace

There will be no end,

Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,

To order it and establish it with judgment and justice

From that time forward, even forever.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

There will be a day where Jesus sits on a real throne on Earth and rules over the nations.

On that day, His government and peace will know no end.

He will be the perfect leader. He will be the just judge. He will be our King of Kings.

I'm thankful that the Lord of hosts is zealous to be made one with His creation.

We wait for that day with expectancy. 

Come Lord Jesus!

((Just wanted to let you guys in on something awesome for this advent season. Jake and I are doing an "advent calendar" where you read scripture about Christ's first and second coming every day. We're loving it! I have to be honest and say that I'm behind already, but it's been super edifying for us to go through together. You can find it here))

Advent Series: Celebration of the First with Longing for the Second

Nothing makes me long for the second coming of Jesus Christ more than the celebration of His first.

Singing those hymns fills me with joy, gratitude, awe, but then also a nagging feeling in my belly.

It's the ache of missing someone.

I remember the first time I heard a song by Misty Edwards where she sings:

"We miss you Jesus, and we want you to return"

I remember thinking to myself:

"That seems strange to miss someone you've never been around or 'met.'"

Later, God convicted me of that sentiment, showing me that the reason I felt that way was because I didn't know what I was missing.

Meaning, I didn't know WHO I was missing.

Without a real revelation of Jesus (His thoughts, emotions, character, plans) we won't wish we were with Him.

Now of course every Christian would say they wish they were with Jesus, but do we miss Him?

Can we say that we long to be with Him?

I couldn't say that, and still without abiding in the vine I lose track of it.

The Spirit bears witness or testifies of Jesus (1 John 5:6)

When we talk with God, abide in the vine, and walk by the Spirit (all one in the same) we will inevitably desire to be one with Jesus.

At the end of the story, we see in Revelation 22:17 that the Bride will be in agreement with the Spirit in saying "Come Lord Jesus!"

I want to agree with the Spirit now.

I don't want to wait.

In so many of the old carols and hymns, the writer talks about the first and second coming of Jesus.

We were never meant to be satisfied with only the first. 

Let us be thankful and never forget how God took on flesh and humbled Himself, but let it ignite an insatiable desire to see Him come once again and make His home among men, forever.

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with men to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Maranatha Series

A few weeks ago I posted a blog about why the end times are important. I feel the need to continue writing about this topic, the blessed hope of Jesus' glorious appearing (Titus 2:13). I want to spark the interest of people who might not have thought about it before. My first point in that last post was about how the return of Jesus is how we finish the story, and is extremely important. I want to talk more about that, from the perspective of watching a drama unfold, either in a theater, a novel, or a movie. Have you ever watched a movie that leaves you with so many loose ends? I hate that. To me, that is a poorly written story. We want/need closure. Here are a few things to think about, maybe some 'loose ends' so to speak, that are yet to come in this unfolding drama.

1. Villain - we see throughout the Bible (and in our own lives today) that there is an enemy among us. He steals. He kills. He destroys. He did, however, suffer a major blow when Jesus rose from the dead, making a way for sinners to be atoned and receive eternal life (hallelujah!). But he knows his time is short, (Rev 12:12) and he is filled with a rage that wants to eliminate God's chosen people (Israel) and the grafted in olive branches (the Church) (Rev 12:17). Don't you want to know what will happen to him? Will he be successful in his mission? I'm anxious to see!

2. The enemy's puppet - There's a character that we have yet to see that the old testament prophets, the apostles, and Jesus all alluded to. The lawless one, the man of sin, the son of perdition (2 Thess 2) the beast, or, as he's more commonly known as, the anti-christ. This man will be a 'substitute anointed one' and will have far reaching power and authority politically, economically, militarily, and religiously. Daniel tells us he will have a 7 year reign, John tells us he will suffer a mortal wound, Jesus quotes Daniel in warning of this 'abomination of desolation' and that when you see it you should flee Jerusalem. There is so much to be understood about this evil man, and not for the sake of knowing facts, but because he will deceive many (Rev 13:14) and most of the inhabitants of the earth will worship him (Rev 13:8) and he will be Satan's puppet to conquer and kill the saints (Rev 13:7). He will seem very appealing, so we must be on guard and know what to look for! (Rev 13:3b-4)

3. Israel - the Lord's chosen people. The whole Bible is really about this group. Their devotion, their waywardness, their captivity, their freedom, their land, and their city, it's all so important to God. If we don't take the time to study the word, we're left thinking that God has most likely turned his back on them forever and that now the church is God's new chosen people. If that were true, it would be a contradiction of God's own character. He made a covenant with these people and He chose them, even with their hardened hearts (Gen 15:17-21) The end of the story for Israel is great and terrible (Joel 2:11). Jesus said He won't come back until they want Him (Matt 23:39) so that means something has to change. God also cares about the land and will set up a throne in Jerusalem for Jesus to reign on forever (Luke 1:32) If you have any understanding of what it's like in Jerusalem, and what currently sits on the temple mount, you'll know that there are some big plot twists coming to look forward to!

4. The Bride & Bridegroom - in an attempt to not join the blog world in criticizing the church, I will keep this brief. The bridegroom Jesus has left to prepare a place for His bride. He will come back for her, but will she be ready? Will she be blameless and without offense (Phil 1:10)? Will she have bright and clean garments to wear (this stands for the righteous acts of the saints) (Rev 19:7-8)? Will she be joining the Spirit in a unified cry for the return of her Bridegroom, King, and Judge (Rev 22:17)? Will she hasten His coming with a holy lifestyle (2 Peter 3:11-12)? What will it be like when they are united at last!? (Rev 19:9)

5. The vindication of the oppressed - like I said before, it's plain to see that there is an enemy among us. One thing that I believe most of the world is longing to see is justice for the oppressed. For those young and innocent ones who have been treated in the foulest ways, we wish to see the wrong things made right. Only one person can bring about true justice (Deut 32:35) (Rom 12:19) (Heb 10:30) Only one person can still be merciful in the midst of wrath. Only one person can release judgments and not harm man's free will. This man is Jesus, and He has it in His heart to do these things. (Revelation 6-19)

So, these are just a few things that I hope will 'whet your appetite' and point you to the scriptures. This is more than just a drama or a story. This is real life. These are real people and it's really going to happen here on earth. The more I dive into the Word of God with these things in mind, the more excited I get about my walk with the Lord. Feeling dull and complacent? Wishing you had that zeal and passion you had before? Search out God's plans to make all things beautiful in time. Dive into just how glorious His return will be. Meditate on the merciful gift of the resurrection of the body. Get excited about living with God on earth as a human without sin and with a perfect body. I can't wait! Love grows in my heart for God the more and more I anchor my hope in the age to come.

Come Lord Jesus!

Why the End Times are Important

About a year ago, Jake was in an interesting conversation that caused both of us to do some thinking and studying. He was talking with a guy who mentioned his frustration when people focus on the end times. This guy went on to say something along the lines of "Yeah, we all know the end times are going to be horrible, but I'm not going to go lock myself in a prayer room." Interesting thoughts. This conversation, and many like it, have caused us to be sure of why God has called us to have understanding about this particular topic.

I have no idea what kind of audience I have reading this blog, but I do know that there are many open doors for me to offend people when talking about this topic. I don't pretend to have it all together or to know all of the answers, nobody does (Matthew 24:36). But what I do know is that we don't have to be in the dark about this subject. Ignorance is not bliss when this all goes down. There are varying opinions on how much the church will be around during the last days. With that said, I strongly believe that the church will be present on the earth during the end times and will face immense hardship and trials including the greatest falling away in human history, coupled with the most revived church the world has ever seen. I know this is strong language, but it's a reality a lot of Christians choose not to grapple with. All this is just an intro as I share about what Jake and I concluded from his earlier conversation.

So, why put any focus at all on the end times? Why does it matter so much?

1. Because the end of this story is essential. The early church seemed to think it mattered a lot. In multiple gospel messages preached by the apostles, the return of Jesus was mentioned. Paul talks to the church in Thessalonica in his second letter and mentions that he had already spoken to them quite a bit about the end times and he had only been among them for a few weeks! (2 Thess 2) Now, some might argue that the early church was convinced that they themselves were going to see the return of Jesus, while this is true, there's more to it than that. The early church knew that the gospel message was not complete without the resurrection of the dead and the return of Jesus. You're missing the end of the story if your only hope is to live a some what moral life and then go to heaven after you die. Jesus isn't planning on staying in Heaven forever, and neither will any of us who are saved. His inheritance is the Earth and all of the inhabitants, and He plans to live here, as a man, and rule over all the nations. That's a pretty HUGE part of the plot that so often is left out. Jesus hasn't forgotten. He can't wait to be one with His bride.

2. Because in the last days the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:12) The church needs to know and understand what the Bible says about the end times so that we might not become offended and confused. Jesus is going to reveal His glory, leadership, jealousy, and justice in a way that many in the church are not prepared for. If we don't have revelation of the character of God, His plans, and His purposes, we may be among those who fall away because of the great delusion that will cover the earth.  Especially in the church in the west, who has little to no grid for suffering, we must be prepared so that we have unoffended hearts when trials and testings come. It is biblical for Christians to suffer, and I urge you to search that out for yourself if you feel bothered by me saying it. We must not be so foolish as to assume that our hearts will not grow cold. Our hearts are prone to this, and it takes extreme diligence to tend to the "garden of our heart" so that nothing chokes out life.

3. We are commanded to know the signs of the times so that we can keep watch and be ready. (Luke 21:29-36)(Matt 24:42-51)(1 Thess 5:1-8)
Many believers will throw away the study of the end times with this simple phrase; "No one can know the day or the hour, so why focus on it?" Many believe that Jesus could come back at any moment, maybe today, or tomorrow, or on Friday!! Jesus, Paul and Peter clearly state that this should not be the case for us as believers. Yes, we may not know the exact date or time that these things will happen, but we are commanded to know the season so that we will not be surprised. Jesus will see it as disobedience if we are surprised by His coming. I know that is strong language, but Jesus tells multiple parables (related to His coming) about a time of waiting and the punishment received for those not found ready (Parable of 10 virgins, parable of the talents, parable of the faithful servant to name a few). I can say with confidence that He's not coming back on Friday, and that confidence has come through the study of scripture and what has been said about His coming. Jesus, the apostles, and the old testament prophets have all given us signs to look for so that we can know we are in the last days. In fact, all 3 of those sources said more about the final generation than their own! The Bible talks more about Jesus' second coming than His first, because it is just that important! (over 150 chapters in the bible have a main focus on the end times)

These are only 3 reasons why it's so important to have a focus on the end times. Jake and I feel called to be messengers preparing the way for Jesus to come back. Do we believe we'll be alive when this all happens? Maybe. But it might happen when our children or grandchildren are on the earth and we will be held accountable for how we disciple them. There is so much in store for those who go on the journey of searching out the scriptures in regards to Jesus' return to the earth. Your confidence in God's sovereignty will grow, you'll feel more certain of the victory for the saints, and your fascination of Jesus will increase exponentially. It's all about this Man. It's way less about timelines and charts and figuring out all the intricate mysteries of the antichrist and the mark. The Father's desire is that our hope would be firmly anchored in the age to come where there will be no more crying or pain and He will dwell with man and remove everything that hinders love. That is something to rejoice in!

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!