It's Not Too Late

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” Luke 24:1–6

“He is not here, he has risen.” Six simple words directed to a few broken and disillusioned people; six shocking and confusing words that altered the course of the universe itself. Death seems to be the final act, yet Jesus conquered death and lives in power. In his last moments with the disciples, recorded in Matthew 28, he told them (and us) that all of the power contained in heaven and all of the power contained in earth was his -- all known and unknown power, everywhere. He concludes, “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:19)

Resurrection of Jesus is not just a religious tenet, it’s the proof that it’s not too late:

- for God
- for your marriage
- for your kids
- for your job
- for your dream
- for your community
- for you

What if there really is hope for that very thing you had lost hope in? The resurrection says that there is.

Peace, hope and love

Doug

Despair, Hope, and a Seemingly Impossible Future

I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’” Ezekiel 37:2–6

That, my friends, is one crazy, amazing story. The prophet Ezekiel paints a picture of a macabre, genocidally decorated desert restored to fields teaming with life; bones, dead dry bones encountering the word of the LORD, rattling and moving, each one finding its complimentary part – along with connective tissues, flesh, skin and finally the very breath of God, and with that life.

For you and for me, it might seem just a colorful scene or an odd Biblical passage that we do not know what to do with. But for oppressed people the world over Ezekiel’s picture is a very real reminder that no matter how bad things are, no matter how much death seems to reigns, hope does not die. When American slaves were brutalized, ripped from family, beaten, raped and killed, hope came to them like the flickering light of a candle as they sang:

Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk around;
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk around;
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk around;
Now hear the word of the Lord.

The words of Ezekiel are the cry and the hope of oppressed people everywhere. The reality (though we might try to convince ourselves otherwise) is that there is nowhere you can flee where you will not be able to see the dry bones of oppression. The bones are everywhere; if you look you will see them; God calls you to look and to see and to heal. As followers of Jesus, we are called to simultaneously be broken by a world filled with despair, yet believe in and become agents of hope for a seemingly impossible future.

Where are the dry bones that God wants you to see?

Maybe they are in your neighborhood, maybe they are across town, maybe they are in your house, maybe they are your own bones.

Do you see the valley of dry bones? Do you believe these bones can live? How does God want you and those around you to be agents of hope to make a seemingly impossible future move from a possibility to a reality?

I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Peace, hope and love

Doug

What, Me Evangelize?

One time, Jesus healed a man blind from birth. The man was called before the religious leaders to explain what happened: A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,’” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” - John 9:24–25

Evangelism. The word evokes immediate thoughts and emotions. For some it is passion, for some it is a fear, even guilt. If you have grown up in the Church, you have been told that evangelism is a necessary part of being a Christian – one of the descriptions of the job. Yet most people do not do it.

I think the reason most people don’t do it is because most of us are not “in sales.” You see, somewhere along the line we have set up a false definition of evangelism as essentially learning a pitch, coming up with the courage to deliver the pitch and then looking for folks to deliver it to – neighbors, co-workers, even strangers. For most of us this does not click, it is just, frankly, weird. And so we don’t “do” it, and we feel guilty because we are all supposed to evangelize.

So, what do we do?

First, we need to ditch our preconceived notions of what it means to be an evangelist, and replace it with what I believe is a more accurate one; simply someone who tells good news; someone who tells their story (I am not here speaking of the specific office of evangelist in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, but rather the call for every Christian to be an evangelist). Everybody has a story, and if you are a follower of Jesus, you have instances where God’s story and your story merge. We need to tell our stories.

But evangelism does not start with telling our stories. It starts with listening to others. Do you know the story of your neighbor or co-worker or friend? What if you asked them, with real curiosity and interest, about their story? I think your relationship would deepen, your care for them would deepen, you would find out you have more in common than you thought – with everybody – because everybody has a story. And in the midst of sharing stories, you will get a chance share how you have experienced God, to share about the times that you struggled, and to share about the victories, about the reality of the good news that you have experienced.

Share your thoughts with others and share them with me. If you are interested in exploring this further, one resource is Doable Evangelism.

Peace, hope and love

Doug