Hearing the Music

in gospel rest

Promises

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As we have navigated Second Timothy, Paul has been insistent that Timothy remain rooted in the promises of the Gospel. The truth that Jesus entered this world and, though he was sinless, died a death of atonement on behalf of all those who would acknowledge their sin and need and surrender to him as Lord and Savior. It is an amazing truth filled with amazing promises. Promises that whisper to us that we are beloved in Christ (Is. 43:4).  Promises that shout to us his abiding presence with us (Matt. 28:20). Promises that reason with us that though all the evidence seems to show that we have blown it, our sins have been forgiven (Eph. 1:7).

Jack Miller, late theologian and pastor, recounts his own journey of finding his footing in the promises of God:
“Back in 1970, my life seemed to me just to fall apart: nothing seemed to be right; everything went wrong. I was so disgusted with everybody else, that I resigned from Westminster Seminary, and I did it with enough of a splash that the word got around. I was mad. And I resigned from Mechanicsville Chapel. I made a bit of a splash there too. And it was a difficult time for me. Terrible time. Seemed like the end of the world, but out of that darkness I began to study the promises of God. 

Now what I’d intended, was to see everybody as the problem. I didn't necessarily see myself as the solution, but I saw everybody else as the problem. And during that time, for several months I just studied the promises of God. And those promises made me a different person, but God had to break me. And out of it came the tremendous awareness of the power of the Gospel.

At that point I began to see that when God promised something He really meant it, and the gospel was the cutting edge by which that was realized. ... God breaks in order that He may build. 

Both Paul and Timothy know what it is to be broken and to be living in a broken world. Whether you discern your current struggle with brokenness as emanating from without or from within, you will find rest for your soul in the promises of the Gospel.

Posted by Andrew VanderMaas
in belonging, Holy Spirit, kingdom of heaven, beauty

Beautiful

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Art begins with noticing. Perhaps the colors of the leaves catch your eye, as they vary their glow from tree to tree, their intensity changing with the weather, and with the light. Maybe you catch the scent of the outdoor air when your children come indoors, or notice the frosty crisp smell of hunting season. The wrinkles in a face you hold dear, the sound of a beloved voice, the roughness of firewood, the bracing cold of a fall breeze, all of these things and many more create a vision of the beautiful, the sense of loveliness, a recognition of the things created that God called good. A true student studies this vision, pursues it, and eliminates anything that would detract from its beauty.

I admit that at first I did not see any connection between Art and the passage being preached this coming Sunday. But truly, both art and II Timothy 2:22-26 are about seeing a vision of the Good, a vision of the Good news that can re-shape our perspective of how the Christian sees himself, and of how he views those who do not know the Gospel.

Paul not only gives Timothy a vision for his own life, through righteousness, faith, love and peace, but also a vision for life in community with the saints. When these beautiful traits characterize the palette of a healthy believer, the power of God works through them to lead others to the truth. Could there be a more beautiful expression of the Good News? 

Tags: good news, power of god, beauty of christian life, beauty in community
in unity in Christ, kingdom of heaven

The Right Politics

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You may have already heard, but in roughly five weeks our country will hold an election that will put men and women into offices ranging from the President of the United States to township commissioners. While I do not talk a lot about politics per se from the pulpit or in other public forums, I do have thoughts on the political process and on how particular policies impact our life together. But what I am more concerned about as your pastor is the place that our American politics has come to occupy, either intentionally or by default, in the hearts of Jesus' people.

Our current cultural moment would have us believe that everything that happens in our world is downstream of politics. That whoever gets elected in November will determine the course of the future.  That if you do not vote this way, or if you do not vote that way you will be letting down yourself, your children, and your nation. Now, we all should participate, as much as we feel called, in our nations' politics. It is a gift for us to be part of this republic and I would encourage you to engage the processess around you. Vote. Support specific candidates. Trumpet causes that you believe in and reflect Christian commitments. Run for office if you feel so called. These are good endeavors for believers to throw themselves into, as Christians, operating out of the mind of Christ (cf. Phil 2:5), bearing the fruit of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22ff). But....

But what we can never forget, is that our ultimate politics are not of this world (cf. Jn. 18:36). While in America we may belong to a Republic, as Christians we serve a King. We serve a King whose Kingdom is the cosmos. Our geographic and historical presence in this Kingdom is tiny against its immensity. The power and absolute sway of our King puts all other rulers to flight. He does reign and his purposes will come to be. Nothing that popes, peasants, princes or politicians conjure can thwart the coming of his Kingdom in his time and in his way. If we believe the above is an accurate transmission of the truths of scripture, then I would posit to you that the most important political thing we do each week is go to public worship on the Lord's Day, submit to our King, and proclaim his Kingdom as he leads us in worship. As we participate in the liturgy, pray for our enemies, confess our sins, join with Christians throughout the ages in confessing the creeds, pray the Lord's Prayer ("Thy kingdom come"), sit under the authority of the Word, partake of the Lord's Supper, and remember our baptisms; we are engaging in the politics of THE one Kingdom that truly matters. As we plant ourselves in the Gospel, things that might otherwise take hold in our lives - fearful anger, anxiety, depression, pride, disdain for others who think differently than us - begin to lose their power.

So read your Bibles. Pray. Examine your hearts. Examine the candidates. Vote. But remember, there are some ways in which the election in five weeks matters. But in most of the things that are most important, its outcome doesn’t really matter at all.

And one final thing, regardless of who you might vote for, regardless of what happens on November 5; my call to you as as your pastor on November 6, my care for you all as this particular flock of Jesus, will still be the same: let’s keep following Jesus together.

Posted by Andrew VanderMaas
Tags: place for politics, ultimate politics, the one kingdom

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