Because of the Ascension

Without exception every single person was staring into the sky.  This was yet another oddity in a long list of oddities – disappearances and appearances, angel pronouncements, darkness at mid-day, a temple curtain torn in half.  Just moments earlier the central figure, the one blessing them with raised hands, began to rise from the ground.  First a few feet then further and higher he ascended until he disappeared into a cloud.   

Then there came an unexpected announcement.  “The very Jesus who was taken up from among you to heaven will come as certainly–and mysteriously–as he left.”  Bursting with joy they left the mountain, walked back to Jerusalem and awaited the promise Jesus made to them. 

While routinely overlooked the ascension turns out to be a strategic moment.  It marks the beginning of an exciting expansion that exalts Christ and pulls us in its wake.   

Because of the ascension Christ assumes an exalted position at the right hand of the Father.  It’s a place of distinction, authority and power.  We now live under the rule of Christ our King who trumps all principalities, thrones and powers.  Robust worship becomes our distinctive.     

Because of the ascension we have been given the Holy Spirit to fill us and direct us.  Jesus said in anticipation, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you.”  The Spirit’s coming multiplies the ministry of Christ among us.  It’s universal.  It’s personal. 

Because of the ascension Christ takes up His ministry as High Priest.  His priestly ministry is empathic.  He understands our weaknesses and the sin tainted reality in which we live.  Jesus compassionately prays for us, our advocate in the presence of the Father. 

Because of the ascension preparation is being made for our future dwelling place.  It’s a place where we are welcomed into His presence and receive the full privileges of our redemption.  There awaits an inheritance beyond change or decay.   It is unimaginable.  

The Body Works

He slipped out of Hospice room number 11 to clear his thoughts and send a few text messages.  In the lounge, doors were being locked and drapes pulled for the 8 o’clock closing time.  He spoke to the nurse briefly, crossed the room and found a seat on a comfortable couch.  The atmosphere was as peaceful as the mountain brook painting on the wall.  Without much time for his thoughts to wander, his eyes were drawn to a Guidepost on the coffee table in front of him.   On the front cover was a photo of Max Lucado. 

“It would be just like God to put something timely in my path,” he thought.  Scanning through the magazine he quickly found the article by Lucado and began reading.

“God is at his best when our life is at its worst.  We learn much more from our trials than from periods of happiness.

“Years ago my wife, Denalyn, was fighting depression.  Depression can buckle the knees of the best of us, it can be especially difficult for the wife of a pastor.  Congregants expect her to radiate joy.  They want her to be super human.  But Denalyn, to her credit, has never been one to play games.

“One Sunday when the depression was suffocating, when she could barely drag herself and the kids to church, she armed herself with honesty.  If people ask me now I am doing, I’m going to tell them, she thought.  Friends, acquaintances, church members she hardly knew, came up to her and said, ‘Good to see you.  How are you doing?’

“She didn’t hedge.  To every questioner she was candid.  ‘Not well,’ she said.  ‘I’m depressed.  Feeling overwhelmed.  Will you pray for me?’

“Obligatory chats became conversations.  Brief hellos became heartfelt moments.  By the time she left that day she had enlisted dozens of people to hold her up in prayer and to look out for her.  She was not alone.  Denalyn traces the healing of her depression to that Sunday morning service.  On her darkest day she found God’s presence among God’s people.” 

He slowly closed the magazine and placed it down on the couch beside him just as a text message beeped in.  “You all are in our prayers and we love you…we are here for you.” 

Already the body was at work.  

(Mountian Brook by Tonie Garrett)

Mother’s Day Appreciation

Helpful, vibrant and outgoing are three descriptive words for my mother.  I view them with a mixture of amazement and gratitude.  They just as easily could have been disheartening descriptions.  Mom was born the sixth child of Lloyd and Lora in the mountains of Tennessee.  She grew with the memories of poverty and hardship. 

Thankfully my childhood memories are quite different.  I remember mom playing Frisbee, croquet and badminton with me in the front yard, taking a friend and I to Sugar Shack for burgers after our team won a 17 inning game that went way past midnight, rubbing the cramps out of my legs in the middle of the night, making fluffy mashed potatoes almost every single day and flying off the snow embankment on our sled ride together.  She was loving and kind always giving herself and her resources sacrificially.

Family is extremely important to mom.  It has rubbed off on me.  I too carry a fierce commitment to family.  I guess it’s the Appalachian way.  I know it is mom’s way.  She loves son and nieces, sister and grandchildren, distant cousins and husband.  Mom is the one who is sitting up at the hospital, hemming a pair of jeans or calling to see how someone’s doing.  It is from the heart.  She is loved for it.

Mom has an open friendliness that causes others to warm up to her. She is naturally interested in people, another thing that has rubbed off on me.  There are no pretenses with her; she is comfortable in her own skin and unconcerned about status.  Unencumbered, humble, genuine. 

Mom, thanks for making my path easier.  Thanks for the song in your voice when I call.  Thanks for loving me.  I’m proud of you.  Happy Mother’s Day.  

Triage Tirade

This isn’t really a tirade, but I was intrigued by the title.  Here are some continuing thoughts from last week’s triage post. 

Imagine two different stings of pearls.  The first has each pearl individually knotted in order to preserve the strand if the necklace breaks.  It allows for a single pearl to be taken off and examined.  The second has more pearls and is knotted only on the ends.  If there is a break in the strand, they can all go.   

Some Christians’ doctrines are individually knotted for protection and to preserve an essential order.  They allow for a doctrine to be taken out and considered more closely if needed.  Other Christians incorporate more doctrines but only have them knotted on the ends.  Each doctrine is of equal importance which puts the entirety at risk if broken.  

That’s an insightful analogy.  Thanks again, Nate. 

I learned later that the theological triage ideas came from Al Mohler, so I looked up the article for clearer understanding and found these helpful comments too:

“Christians across a vast denominational range can stand together on the first-order doctrines and recognize each other as authentic Christians, while understanding that the existence of second-order disagreements prevents the closeness of fellowship we would otherwise enjoy… Many of the most heated disagreements among serious believers take place at the second-order level, for these issues frame our understanding of the church and its ordering by the Word of God.

“The mark of true liberalism is the refusal to admit that first-order theological issues even exist. Liberals treat first-order doctrines as if they were merely third-order in importance, and doctrinal ambiguity is the inevitable result.  Fundamentalism, on the other hand, tends toward the opposite error. The misjudgment of true fundamentalism is the belief that all disagreements concern first-order doctrines. Thus, third-order issues are raised to a first-order importance, and Christians are wrongly and harmfully divided.”

So let’s practice the three level triage.  I’ll give a list of doctrines; you place them on the triage: Women pastors, resurrection, authority of Scripture, version of Scripture, role of Israel, Trinity, style of music, justification by faith, placement of rapture, mode of baptism, remarriage, deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, sign gifts, order of service. 

Have fun on your triage.