Quick, what's the shortest verse in the Bible?
If you answered, "Jesus wept" (John 11:35), you got one of them. The question needs to be changed to: What are the shortest verses in the Bible? That's because 1 Thessalonians 5:16 reads, "Rejoice always." Also two words. So there is a two-way tie for the Bible's shortest verse!
Now isn't it something that the two shortest verses deal with the perfectly opposite things: weeping and rejoicing? And the lesson could be that as Christians we are called to do both, often at the same time.
Let us weep with Jesus and yet rejoice in Him always!
Understand that weeping is not a sign of a weak faith or hope. It is the sign of a strong love. Jesus wept because He loved Lazarus who had died (see John 11:36). One pastoral concern I have is that sometimes we are trying to turn off the tears God meant for us to shed. Weeping is a part of love, and a blessed, holy thing in Jesus. Tears then wash our eyes and help us to see more clearly.
And yet we rejoice even while we weep. "Rejoice always." That includes times of sorrow. The sorrow is real but so is the joy right there next to it. At the death of a loved one there is, and often remains, a sorrow beyond words. Somehow at the same time, there is a rejoicing, sometimes quietly, in the victory of Christ over death and His promise to be with us.
Or look out at the world. It won't take long to find a reason to weep. And we should. But all the while, we rejoice in a faith, hope, and love that cannot be taken away, in a death and resurrection that cannot be undone, and in the Lord who has done it!
To others, it must be one or the other (or more often, neither). But to us it is both: weeping and rejoicing on the way to Heaven.
Remember the two shortest verses in the Bible!
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Easter in February
"But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20).
Easter will be April 21 this year, or was it February 17? The earliest Easter can possibly be is March 22. It last happened in 1818, and won't happen again until 2285. But I still think Easter came this year on Sunday, February 17.
That's because Sunday's Epistle, read in thousands of churches, was from 1 Corinthians 15, including verse 20. On Sunday it felt like Easter! And I say it was.
The sermon presented three fundamental truths: Christ is risen, we too shall be raised, and therefore we don't need to be afraid.
And about that last one. What are the first words of the Easter angel in Matthew 28? "Do not be afraid." And what is the opposite of fear? Peace. And what are the first words of the risen Jesus to His disciples? "Peace be with you." And what are the last words of the pastor at Holy Communion? "Depart in peace." And what does that mean? That it's safe now to die. It's safe now to get older. It's safe now to get sick. And it's safe now to live. Because He lives!
Two months from today is Good Friday, followed by Easter. But you don't have to wait that long. The bright hope of the resurrection came in February this year, to encourage us through these last days of winter. To encourage us through all the days of this life!
Easter will be April 21 this year, or was it February 17? The earliest Easter can possibly be is March 22. It last happened in 1818, and won't happen again until 2285. But I still think Easter came this year on Sunday, February 17.
That's because Sunday's Epistle, read in thousands of churches, was from 1 Corinthians 15, including verse 20. On Sunday it felt like Easter! And I say it was.
The sermon presented three fundamental truths: Christ is risen, we too shall be raised, and therefore we don't need to be afraid.
And about that last one. What are the first words of the Easter angel in Matthew 28? "Do not be afraid." And what is the opposite of fear? Peace. And what are the first words of the risen Jesus to His disciples? "Peace be with you." And what are the last words of the pastor at Holy Communion? "Depart in peace." And what does that mean? That it's safe now to die. It's safe now to get older. It's safe now to get sick. And it's safe now to live. Because He lives!
Two months from today is Good Friday, followed by Easter. But you don't have to wait that long. The bright hope of the resurrection came in February this year, to encourage us through these last days of winter. To encourage us through all the days of this life!
Wednesday, February 6, 2019
The Author of Our Faith
"...Jesus, the Author and Completer of our faith" (Heb. 12:2).
The Letter to the Hebrews is the only New Testament book to assign no author. We don't know who wrote it. Guesses include Barnabas, Luke, Clement of Rome, and Aquila and Priscilla. Luther suggested Apollos, mentioned for the first time in Acts 18:24. "But who wrote the epistle," said Origen of Alexandria, "God only knows certainly." But from this, two things may be said.
One is, isn't it something that the only book not to say who its author is, is the one book to say who the Author of our faith is? That's the authorship that matters. "Let us, through endurance, go on running the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the Author and Completer of our faith." And for the perfect commentary on "Author and Completer," use Philippians 1:6: "He who began (authored) a good work in you will bring it to completion."
Two is, humility. Whoever wrote Hebrews had a lot to be proud of: understanding, eloquence, heart. It is said that the letter displays the finest Greek in the New Testament. And yet they wanted to remain anonymous. T.S. Eliot wrote: "Many are engaged in writing books and printing them. Many desire to see their names in print." When was the last time you saw the most beautiful book but without the author's name? Answer: The Letter to the Hebrews.
Seek to do beautiful and blessed things, but to receive no earthly credit.
The Letter to the Hebrews is the only New Testament book to assign no author. We don't know who wrote it. Guesses include Barnabas, Luke, Clement of Rome, and Aquila and Priscilla. Luther suggested Apollos, mentioned for the first time in Acts 18:24. "But who wrote the epistle," said Origen of Alexandria, "God only knows certainly." But from this, two things may be said.
One is, isn't it something that the only book not to say who its author is, is the one book to say who the Author of our faith is? That's the authorship that matters. "Let us, through endurance, go on running the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the Author and Completer of our faith." And for the perfect commentary on "Author and Completer," use Philippians 1:6: "He who began (authored) a good work in you will bring it to completion."
Two is, humility. Whoever wrote Hebrews had a lot to be proud of: understanding, eloquence, heart. It is said that the letter displays the finest Greek in the New Testament. And yet they wanted to remain anonymous. T.S. Eliot wrote: "Many are engaged in writing books and printing them. Many desire to see their names in print." When was the last time you saw the most beautiful book but without the author's name? Answer: The Letter to the Hebrews.
Seek to do beautiful and blessed things, but to receive no earthly credit.
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