Uncertain, Uninformed, Unconcerned, Unprepared - The Return of Christ

Uncertain, Uninformed, Unconcerned, Unprepared(Caution, you might not like this pastor’s note very much)

• You will most likely die.
• Jesus Christ will return.
• Everyone, living or dead, will face the judgment of God.
• Only those found in Christ will go to heaven and live eternally with Christ/God.
• Most people will be totally unprepared for all of the above.

I am not making this up, the Bible (God’s written word/revelation) states this in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5-11. And, as always, I encourage you to look this up and read it for yourself, so you will not be uncertain, uninformed, unconcerned, and unprepared.Throughout my 40 years of life in Christian ministry, I have been asked, “You think we are living in the end times?” Often followed by, “I sure think so.” When I ask, “Why?” the usual answers cite evidence of the country going to pot (no pun intended), signs such as more natural disasters, and Christians losing influence and respect. I am always taken back by this response because it sounds spoiled to me. Just because things are getting more difficult for us does not mean Jesus will come back to bail us out. Strange how we are okay with Jesus waiting a bit when everything is going the way we like it, regardless of the fact that Christian brothers and sisters are suffering terribly around the world.Few things lend themselves better to mislead people than eschatology (the study of end times). Jesus, speaking of these matters (Mark 13) warned his disciples, who wanted answers as to the when, what signs, and how, not to be misled and deceived. Instead of constantly looking for signs He directed them to be vigilant about daily living holy lives that are about doing God’s will. Of course, it is much easier to speculate about the future and mistake supposed informedness with actual active readiness. The clear fact, stated by Jesus himself (Mark 13:32), is no one knows when except God alone.Paul writes to the Thessalonians because somebody came along and was teaching them shoddy eschatology. So, Paul reminded them of the facts regarding Jesus return and the end of time:

• Jesus will return! In Glory, in power, in judgment, and no one will miss it. But no one knows or can predict when. He will come like a “thief in the night,” think unannounced and unexpected. He will come with 100% certainty, like a pregnant woman will give birth, it is not a matter of if but when.
• To be prepared for Christ’s return one has to be “in Christ,” (think saved, born again, having confessed Christ as Lord and Savior), and daily live like a fully committed follower of Jesus.
• Tragically, there will be those who dismiss, even mock, the reality of Jesus return and the coming judgment, telling themselves and others that there is nothing to worry about, that believing in and following Jesus is not important, that somehow everyone’s personal beliefs are sufficient preparation, that things are fine and will continue as always. The result will be total unpreparedness for the eternal wrath and judgment of God.
• Christians need to live in the light of Jesus’ promise to return and be committed to daily “sober,” holy, faithful, living concerned with the will, the ways, and the purposes of God.

Jesus has not returned in 2000 years. You and I do not know if He will return in our lifetime or wait another 2000 years (which would be 2000 years of mercy and opportunity for sinners to repent and follow Him). Chances are high that your and my life will end long before Jesus comes back, our personal end will come all too soon, and we get this one lifetime to prepare for Jesus’s return and the final judgment of God.If you read this far, you are no longer uninformed, you should not be unconcerned about where you stand with Christ and God’s judgment, you have an opportunity to remove all uncertainty by coming to Christ, you have no excuse to be unprepared.To God be all glory. Love you, Pastor Hans    

The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave - A Word for 4th of July

My Father-in-law used to ask me, “Do they have 4th of July in Germany?” The answer is yes and no. Yes, Germans do have July 4th on their calendar. No, there is no celebration of the birth of a new nation, of stripping off the shackles of the British crown. It was a gutsy move, declaring independence from the superpower known as the British Empire. It has always taken great courage to demand and declare freedom, especially from tyranny.

Remember Moses' words echoing in Pharaoh’s hall, “Let my people go!” Or the famous words “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness” that the signers of the Declaration of Independence announced to King George III, who like Pharaoh, had no intention to yield to their cry for freedom.

Gaining freedom, securing independence is the first struggle, but it is not the last. What you do with the newfound liberty will determine both who will benefit from it and how long it will last. Bold, idealistic, and good words, “all men are created equal.” But even while the ink was drying on their signatures their present reality did not include Blacks, Native Americans, women, and others in this equal.

To this day it has been a very slow and arduous struggle extend the full measure of “inalienable rights” to all. We must ask ourselves why humanity has struggled with liberty throughout history? The answer is twofold, the first being pragmatic the second spiritual. It is very inconvenient for those in power to grant rights and liberties to all. Power loves power far more than freedom. Freedom of speech, of assembly, of the press, of religion, of bearing arms, of economics doesn’t lend itself to governmental control. Granting personal rights like privacy, due process, owning property, trial by peers, voting, etc. is just too messy and allows for too much opposition, just ask Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, Nicolas Maduro, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mohammad Bin Salman, Ali Khamenei…

The root of humankind’s struggle with liberty, however, is spiritual, the reality of human depravity/sinfulness, and the existence of evil and the Evil One/Satan. Neither one of these realities is popular today, in fact, more often than not they are scoffed at and dismissed as being out of touch. But doing so puts one at odds with our country’s Founding Fathers, who were thoroughly steeped in Protestant theology and did not think that Biblical anthropology was anything to be sneered at. It was these spiritual realities that fueled their distrust of power and influenced them to design a governmental system of divided powers and rights codified in law, striving to protect them from the whims of leaders and the power of the majority.

They didn’t like what Jesus told them, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They basically replied with, “We are free! We are part of the free and the brave! We don’t need anyone to liberate us - to set us free!” Jesus didn’t back down, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” John 8:31-36 (NIV).
They didn’t care for that truth at all, because human depravity despises God, looks to free itself from God, “The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the LORD and against his anointed one (Jesus Christ). ‘Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from slavery to God’” Psalm 2:2-3 (NLT2, parenthesis mine).

As we find ourselves in very tumultuous times this 4th of July, as we celebrate our incredible gift of liberty, we will do well to remember that to both navigate through these times, and to preserve precious liberties we are wise to draw to God collectively and address our own depravity personally through Jesus Christ, because no one is really free unless “The Son sets you free.” May we thank and glorify God this 4th of July.

Love you, Pastor Hans           

Don't Get Spiritually Infected

But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 2 Peter 2:1-2 (NLT2)

Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Coronavirus, … COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19, …Social distancing, shelter-in-place, wash your hands, sanitize, …Respirators, masks, PPE, hospital beds, shortages, …Infection totals, death tolls, …Shutdown, …Crisis…

Daily we are bombarded with Coronavirus news, facts, statistics, changing predictions, revised timelines, official guidelines and orders. Mix that with our own worries, fears, anxieties, economic and existential threats, and it leaves you feeling confused, unsure, powerless, and vulnerable. Christians should be uniquely equipped to navigate in, even thrive trying times and circumstances. Not because we, in ourselves, are somehow better than everyone else, but because the life of Christ and the Spirit of God indwells us, and because true and well-taught followers of Jesus have a theology that incorporates and embraces suffering.Satan also thrives in chaos and crisis, he is the master of instigating and using them for his godless, evil, and destructive purposes (John 10:10).

It should come as no surprise that he will fan the flames of the current massive fire, not only in the world at large but also within the church. Much of the New Testament is devoted to warning believers against devil’s attack on the Body of Christ, the church, specifically against:
-Gutting the Gospel – faulty theology (Galatians, 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 1-11)
-Behaving badly – faulty ethics (1 Corinthians, Galatians 5-6, Romans 12-16)
-False teachers – faulty discernment (2 Peter 2, Jude)

It should not surprise us that with the current crisis and chaos there will be a spike in false teachers, conspiracy pundits, and eschatology (end times) wizards raising their voices, claiming new prophetic insight, personal expertise, miracle cures, proposing unbiblical means of harnessing and unleashing the power of God, contradicting sound science, dressing forms of presumption in so-called faith teachings, twisting the scriptures while trying to sound like theological experts.Now, with our world, including the church, almost exclusively relying on electronic media false preachers and teachers have a platform as never before.

Here in the United States the purveyors of the prosperity gospel, health and wealth pundits, word of faith charlatans already dominate the airwaves. Sadly, too many believers are tuning in to them, give them a hearing, lack the discernment skills, and don’t take time to check out both their life and teaching. Satan knows that a gutted, watered down, twisted, added-onto Gospel leaves the church without a message, perverts the church’s mission, and rips the Messiah/Christ out of its center. Satan loves for Christians to behave badly, unholy, hypocritically, loud, proud, fearfully, cowardly, selfishly, soft, and spoiled, indistinguishable from the world around them.

Christians behaving badly discredit the beauty of the Christ-life and the changing power of the Gospel. Christians behaving badly may talk a big game but bring shame to Jesus’ name. Christians behaving badly are vulnerable to all kinds of theological cockamamie and extremes.Satan is not ignorant of the word of God (Luke 4:9-11), he knows how to quote it, misquote it, divorce it from its context, twist its intentions, selectively apply it, and rearrange it to make the weird and perverted seem plausible. False teachers may be using the “Good Book” (the Bible) but they use it according to the devil’s playbook. If he/they can get you to accept faulty theology, it will sooner than later affect your behavior, conversely, if he/they can get you to legitimize bad behavior it will affect your theology,  both will rob you of the ability to discern. Time for a self-check:

• How theologically sound are you? Are you making an effort to be so?

• How Christ-like is your behavior? What needs to change?

• Who do you watch, listen to, read? Should you? Why or why not?

 To God be all glory.
Love you, Pastor Hans