The Righteous Branch

I had the opportunity of speaking yesterday at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Jeremiah 23:5-6.  The passage speaks about the coming Messiah Jesus, the “Righteous Branch” who will reign as King and be called by the name “The LORD our Righteousness.”  It was such a delight to my heart to speak about Jesus from this OT passage.

Anyway, some have requested copies of 2 of the slides I used.  They are here: Jeremiah 23 The Righteous Branch    One slide shows the OT references to Jesus being the branch/shoot/roots from David/Jesse.  The second slide shows the side-by-side reality that the Messiah is both God and Man at the same time (as even the OT predicted, with Zechariah 6:12 calling him a “Man” and Jeremiah 23:6 calling him “God” by using Hebrew YHWH/”LORD”).  The dual natures of Jesus the Messiah!  Awesome.  I love it.

Jesus, my righteousness!  Being forgiven of sin is awesome, and it means that God says to me, “Dan, you are free from liability; you may go.”  But even further, Jesus’ righteousness has now been credited to my account, and God essentially says, “Dan, all the awards and honors that Jesus deserves now hang around your neck like a congressional Medal of Honor, and all the universe salutes!   Dan, you may come (into my presence)!”  That is way more than forgiveness!    (Thoughts borrowed from Tim Keller, but owned by me).

Have a great day with the Righteous Branch!  He came.  He will come again.  Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Steve Jobs, Jesus, and Eternity

I think enough time has passed for me to comment on the death of Steve Jobs.

First, let me say (along with everyone else):  I love the products that Steve Jobs helped create.  I’m typing this on my MacBook Pro, and I love my new iPhone 4s.  But I could easily live without either.  In fact, I would gladly do so, for the chance to have talked to Steve Jobs about Jesus.

When Jobs died last month, I noticed the accolades and well-wishes for him.  People felt close to Jobs via his products, and they felt pain at his death … though they didn’t really know him.  (Such are the strange consequences of worshipping “celebrities” in our culture today.)

However, what I didn’t observe was far more telling, especially among those who claim that Jesus is essential to real Life.  What I didn’t see was any reflection on this question: “what’s next for Steve Jobs?”   The elephant in the room, which no Christians seemed willing to talk about, was that Steve Jobs had no saving interest in Jesus.

So, what do we do with that?  One thing is sure: if we do nothing, if we draw no conclusions, we tacitly admit that whatever our culture imagines to be true about afterlife is a better explanation than what God has declared to be true about afterlife in His Word, the Bible.  That last sentence was long, but important.  Re-read it.

What I mean is this — Jesus said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?   For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?“   (Mark 8:36-37)      When Jesus said that, He meant it.  People die every day, including famous ones like Steve Jobs.  Famous people who make cool tech products are not immune from Jesus’ words.  Steve Jobs wasted his life, because Steve Jobs ignored Jesus.  Squandered, wasted, forfeited.   What no one is saying, because it seems harsh and judgmental and inappropriate, is that Steve Jobs utterly wasted his life and will experience the consequences of that forever.

Not a pleasant blog post, eh?  No, it’s not.  But is the goal Pleasantness, or following Jesus?  I’m afraid my 21st Century Christian culture has chosen Pleasantness above Jesus.  ”Don’t say anything at all that will rock the boat, that will appear intolerant” …. even if you end up saying something that is untrue and anti-Jesus.

The Bible says that God takes no delight in people’s death, not even in the death of the wicked.  But death is in each of our futures.  My question: what are you going to do with Jesus?  He is the fork in the road.  You can’t stay neutral about him.  It’s either Left or Right.  Steve Jobs, it seems, remained neutral … which is to say, he chose poorly.

What a sad life.  Not one to be admired, but pitied.  It makes me sad.

Virginia Tech Cru/Western PA Cru: Fall Retreat Notes

Below is a PDF with some of the notes from my 4 talks on “Living a Life of Faith.”  Hope they are helpful for you!

Dan

VT WPA Fall Retreat Notes, 2011

Master –> Mission –> Mate

So many collegians are ****-bent on finding the right mate, that they get clouded in their minds about what really matters.  Let me offer some fast advice.

While in college, you’ll negotiate the 3 Big M’s of your life:  Master, Mission, Mate.  Who will be your Master (you or Jesus)?  What will be your life’s Mission (God’s plan or your plan)?  And, the one you really want to know: Who will be your Mate?

I recommend you tackle the 3 M’s in that order:  Master  –> Mission –> Mate.

Re: Mate.  How many do you want to marry in your lifetime?  I’ve never heard anyone say anything except, “JUST ONE!”  Ok, then let’s make this clear: it is not more difficult for God to find that “one” from a group of 10 than from a college campus of 10,000.  Your odds don’t decrease when you leave college, just because the sheer number of possible mates declines.  Why?  Simply, because odds don’t mean anything to an omnipotent God.

So, instead of going crazy trying to find the right mate before graduation, I have another idea: why not try becoming the right kind of person who will one day be able to bless your spouse and marriage?  In other words, Men, if you want to marry a Queen someday, that means you’ll need to become a King.  Start working on becoming a King in college.  Ladies, do you want to marry a King?  You’d better start becoming a Queen.  It’s all about becoming the right kind of person.  College is perfect time for that!

Finally, I leave you with the wisdom of John Piper on this subject, and it’s a piece of gold:

Before you marry, you must look them in the eye and say, “You are ^#2.”  If that is not sweet joy to them, then don’t marry them.                    –John Piper

The secret: Jesus must be #1.  Mate is #2.

The 5 Senses: Now and Later

Recently, I ranked the 5 senses in (my) priority order.  Though there’s more to explore in this thought, my order came out like this:  (1 = most important, 5 = least important)

5.  Smell (I could live without it.  In fact, maybe I already do?)

4.  Taste (I’d miss it, especially the taste of Raspberry Ice Cream from Klines.)

3.  Touch (If only fingertips were affected, I could endure it;  but if the entire skin surface was affected, never to feel again….)

2.  Hearing (As awful as this would be — and it would be — we all know of very successful hearing-impaired people who’ve succeeded well.  It would be real hardship, but perhaps not as altering as ….)

1.  Sight  (I’m more dependent on this sense than any other, I think).

I was tempted to put Touch as #1, since the thought of the skin feeling absolutely nothing (no hugs, no touch, no heat, no pain, no loving caress) was unthinkable.  Your whole body “asleep.”  There is a disease which mimics the absence of Feeling (Hansen’s disease/leprosy), where numbness can be acute.

• If God created these 5 senses, is it plausible to consider that one day, on the New Earth, we might experience …

… Heightened perception for each of the 5 senses? Instead of 10,000 taste buds, why not a million or a billion?  Instead of seeing in conventional color (ROYGBIV), why not in previously unknown colors, currently indiscernible to the human eye?

… The inauguration of a new set of senses entirely? What might they be like?  I don’t know.  But, why not?

Who knows?   Maybe the currently useless appendix will finally have a discernible purpose?  If so, I hope I get mine back.  Maybe it will be the activating organ for a 6th or 7th sense?

Will The Truth Really Set You Free? South Hall Cornerstone, UW

I used to walk past South Hall daily at UW during my college days

Years ago, as an undergrad at the University of Wisconsin, I would trudge up Bascom Hill to my classes.  En route, I would pass by South Hall, where every time I read it’s “cornerstone plaque,” inscribed with these famous words:

You shall know the truth,

and the truth shall set you free.

12 powerful words.  The implication seems clear:     “Dear UW undergraduate, as you grind gloriously through your years at this fine academic institution, know that in your pursuit of knowledge, you are on the path toward discovering Truth — that will make you free.”

Nice words.  No attribution was given on the cornerstone, that I recall.  But I recognized the author: Jesus.  He said those words in John 8:32.

However, the wider context of His words give quite a different meaning.  Read Jesus’ words in their context:

IF you hold to my teaching,

you are really my disciples.

THEN you shall know the truth,

and the truth shall set you free.

The dreaded “IF-THEN” clause.  The simple word “IF” makes all of the difference.  (Tangent: currently, in a different context, Maya Angelou is arguing that the omission of the word “IF” from a famous quotation on the new MLK, Jr. Memorial in Washington DC makes the great civil rights leader appear arrogant.  She is correct, in my opinion, and his quotation should be amended on the monument).

If…. If…. If…

The simple logic of Jesus is: If you want to be Free, you must Hold To His Teaching.  No easy deal, if I read His teachings correctly.  But a necessity, nonetheless.

Let’s not harbor the false hope (or promulgate the false wisdom) that University-level education is The Truth that shall set you free.  It is not.  Only holding to the teachings of Jesus will free the heart and mind and soul of enslaved peoples at universities, and in the wider world.

The Offensive, Politically Incorrect, Socially Incorrect Sayings of Jesus

Jesus wasn’t mamby-pamby.  He was downright offensive in the Gospel of John.  I’ve been reading it, and am struck by how harsh he was to those who didn’t recognize Him as the Messiah.  Listen to the words He pummels His opponents with:

1.  ”You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.”  John 8:44

2.  ”The reason you do not hear (or understand my words) is that you do not belong to God.”  John 8:47

3.  I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.”  John 5:42

4.  Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set … since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?”  John 5:45-47

5.  (to Nicodemus):  ”You are Israel’s teacher, and do you not understand these things?”  (imagine saying that to your professor)  John 3:10

6.  ”[The Father's] word does not dwell in you, for you do not believe the One he sent.”  John 5:38

7.  ”If you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”  John 8:24

8.  ”My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the One who glorifies me.  Though you do not know him, I do…”  John 8:54

9.  ”If I said I did not (know Him), I would be a Liar, like you.”   Zing!

Well, there you have it.  The “Jesus” you don’t want to invite over to your dinner party.  Frankly, I like Him.  He speaks the truth, no matter how offensive it may be to His audience.  It got Him killed.  But He was right, wasn’t He?

I wish I could convince our 20-something generation of college students that it’s right to speak the truth, and it’s wrong to avoid saying hard things to their peers…