The Power of Pumping Blood

 I hope you spend a lot of time thinking about the death of Jesus.  I hope you ponder the awesome sacrifice of Christ for us.  Some of you have taken communion recently and some haven't since the pandemic began, but this Christian rite is designed to help us remember the body broken for us and the blood shed for us.

But how much time do you spend thinking about the ascension of Jesus the Christ?  Probably not a lot.  I'm sure you spend ample time thinking about the resurrection of Jesus, as you should.  But Jesus did more than die and rise again.  He ascended.

We spend a lot of time drawing hope from the spilled blood of Jesus while largely ignoring the pumping blood of Jesus.

Jesus is a man with a heart pumping blood right now.  Jesus is still 100% God and 100% man.  His body is perfected, but He still is very much "God with skin on" today.  Remember, Jesus didn't disappear and vanish into Heaven; no, He ascended as a man up into Heaven and the angels declared to His disciples that He would come back the same way, and they didn't simply mean through the sky. (Acts 1:9-11)

So what?

1) Our Hope is Living.

"Praise be the the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade... kept in Heaven for you..." 1 Peter 1:3-4

Our hope is not chiefly living for ever in Heaven (it is that).  Our hope is the person Jesus.  Jesus lives.  When we believe the Gospel we get Jesus and therefore get the entire God-head.  Our hope is not dead and gone but is living and kept in Heaven for us.

2) His Ascension Proves Ours.

When we die our souls will go to the present Heaven while our bodies stay on the present earth.  On that day when the Gospel is completely culminated we will be like Jesus is now.  We will be fully human.  100% pure spirit with 100% pure body, just as Jesus is right now.  One of the great truths of the Bible, that we rehearse in immersive baptism, is that we get Christ's death, burial and bodily resurrection.

3) He's "God with Skin On" Interceding for us Right Now.

Jesus, the man, is our Great High Priest.  He represents us to God daily.  He speaks on our behalf as our praying lawyer every day.  He has this role as a perfect, eternal man.

"Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.  Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them." Hebrews 7:23-25 

4) His Reign as Our Savior King is Now.

I admit that sometimes it doesn't feel as though Jesus is reigning as King, but he certainly is.  Notice the tense in the passage below.  

"...Jesus Christ, who has gone into Heaven and is at God's right hand... with angels, authorities and powers in submission to Him." 1 Peter 3:21b-22

I'm not encouraging you to think of the spilled blood of Jesus any less.  I don't know a single person that spends too much time dwelling on that.  What I encourage you to do is to think about how Jesus the ascended man lives today and how He is for you.  

Let that be your living hope today.

4 Adjectives to Reach the World

 Beyond the dictionary definition, how would those outside the Church describe Christians?  How do they describe Christians?  What adjectives might they use?

Some describe Christians as a voting block.  Others as those who go to church on Sunday.  Others may say goody two shoes.  Some may say judgmental.  These are just a few ways I have seen Christians described.

Would the adjectives of joyful, hopeful, peaceful and glad be used the describe Christians?  Could they be used to describe you?

These four words should be hallmarks of the Christian's attitude.  We should not be sorrowful all the time, though we will have times of sorrow and are commanded to be always sorrowful and always joyful (2 Corinthians 6:10).  We should not be hopeless, we have the world's greatest hope.  We should not be dour, we are to be glad people.  We should not be anxious, we have sure promises for our well being.

A Christian is one who is saved by God and one who has a great future guaranteed and one who has constant guidance and assurance guaranteed in writing.  We should be hope filled, joyful, peaceful, glad individuals.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)

"On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare

a feast of rich food for all peoples,

a banquet of aged wine

the best of meats and the finest of wines.

On this mountain He will destroy

the shroud that enfolds all peoples,

the sheet that covers all nations;

He will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears

from all faces;

He will remove the disgrace of His people

from all the earth.

                                                                                                  The LORD has spoken.
In that day they will say,

Surely this is our God;

We trusted in Him, and He saved us.

This is the LORD, we have trusted in Him;

let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." 

Isaiah 25:6-9

God has promised to fill us with hope.  He has given us the peace that passes all understanding.  He has given us all sorts of reasons to be joyful and glad.  This doesn't mean we can't have emotional valleys.  This doesn't mean we live lives that ignore the pain around us.  But, Christians, what might happen to our witness if these four words became adjectives the unbelieving world associated strongly with us?

Be glad, peaceful, joyful, hopeful people, because of Christ, today.

My Beautiful, Smart, Nice, Brave Daughter's Birthday

 Just over a year ago Kobe Bryant, his daughter and their friends were killed in a helicopter crash.  Kobe accomplished a lot in his career.  He was one of the greatest basketball players ever: he won five NBA Finals, two Olympic gold medals and several individual awards.  He won an Oscar, had his own shoe and was known instantly without his last name being needed.

But Kobe's greatest legacy is that after his tragic death the #GirlDad movement began.  Across the globe men showed off their pride of being the father of daughters.  Across continents men were inspired to be great fathers for their daughters.  Many people imagine the political movements that can make a grand difference in this world, but the grassroots change made by fathers loving their daughters can be immense.

I am a proud #GirlDad.  

Two years ago on Groundhog's Day a little girl named Anna Kathleen first exited my wife's womb and entered my arms.  My love for Anna has grown so much since she hurried into our lives that Saturday morning.

I like to do some call and responses with my kids.  Anna's call and response with me is my blessing over her.

If you read the Old Testament you find the blessings given were often prophetic.  I don't claim to be a prophet, but I do want my daughter to know what I think she is now and what I know she can become.

"Anna are you beautiful? Yes.  

Are you smart? Yes.  

Are you nice? Yes.  

Are you brave? Yes."

I want Anna to know she's beautiful.  I want her to know she was knitted together in her mother's womb by God.  I don't want her to go through life questioning her physical loveliness.  I want her to be a girl and a woman that exudes inner and outer beauty with confidence.

I want Anna to know she can be an intelligent woman.  I don't want her to grow up with the false belief that men want dumb girls.  Perhaps boys might be intimidated by smart girls, but men aren't.  I want her to know that there's great reward in gaining wisdom and knowledge.

Love is kind and I want my little girl to be kind.  I say 'nice' now because she understands it, but I really want her to strive to be kind.  I hope Anna is a person with strong, well thought out beliefs that can be kind to those who agree with her and those who disagree with her.  I want her to be a refuge for the weak and disheartened.

I want my Anna to be brave.  I pray that Anna will be a woman of courage.  To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, courage is not a virtue in and of itself; courage is the virtues at the testing point.  I believe Anna can be brave enough to love, brave enough to be kind, brave enough to be right, brave enough to stand her ground, brave enough to be an outstanding woman that makes this world a better place.

Anna, you are beautiful, smart, nice and brave and I believe you will grow even more so and I implore you to invest in those qualities.

I wish I wasn't in self-isolation for your birthday.  I wish I could give you kisses.  But most of all, my wish is to get the honor in playing a role in the person God is still making you into today.