Posted on by intentional4christ

May we never lose the wonder!

Growing up I looked forward to Palm Sunday with so much excitement. I was excited about finding the perfect palm branch that would be woven by my uncle into an intricate pattern to prepare for our hosanna march through the streets. You see, on Palm Sunday, it was not uncommon to hear kids from every corner of the city singing songs of adoration and waving intricately woven palm branches to Jesus, our King and Saviour.

Over the past few years and particularly this year, Palm Sunday and the Easter season has caught me by surprise. This is not because I did not know it was coming, I just have not felt as prepared for it as I have in my younger years. Whether I chock it up to the busyness of this past couple weeks or the sheer familiarity of the season, I recognize that over time, the magnificence of the season has been lost on me. I have forgotten how truly deep and overwhelming the story behind Easter is. And I am not alone in this.

There are some people who attend Easter services as their once-a-year “fulfill all righteousness” obligation. There are still many others who attend because that is what they have done for many decades of their lives. You attend Easter service. period. no questions asked. Many Christians have heard the Easter story so many times that the novelty has worn off. They know what is coming next in the story and there are no surprises there. This reminds me of the two men on the road to Emmaus. Here is their story:

That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago…Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself… By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem… Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.

Luke 24: 13-21, 27-33a, 35 NLT

I intentionally did not paraphrase this story because there are a few things I want you to note. On the way to Emmaus, these two men rehashed the events that had happened over the past three days over and over again. They kept at this conversation for a while until Jesus disrupted the monotony of the narrative by explaining to them the significance of the three-day event. This ignited something within them that they had never experienced before. They described it as a “burning in their hearts” but I describe it as WONDER! They experienced the wonder and depth of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This story can be likened to many Christian traditions that will recount the events of those historic three-day period we have now come to know as Easter. And like those two men, perhaps many of us, even though we have heard the story over and over again, have never been caught up in the wonder and profoundness of it all. As we go into the Easter season this year, I pray that your eyes will be open to behold the beauty and the wonder of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I also pray that as you hear the same “old” story being re-told that something new will be (re)kindled in you. May your heart burn within you as your eyes are open to the wonder of it all. May we never lose the wonder of the Easter story.

Yours Truly.

 

Posted on by intentional4christ

Your Kingdom Come

Over the past month, I have been following the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised Land. And I have been intrigued and awestruck by God’s mighty power among the Israelites. From parting the Red Sea to opening up the earth to swallow up Korah, and everything and everyone associated with him, the Israelites experienced a raw demonstration of God’s power. This week, I am in the book of Deuteronomy and here, Moses is nearing the end of his tenure of leadership and time on earth. In one of his final speeches to the Israelites, he summarizes their experience of God’s rule and authority thus:

“Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes. “He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other. He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today. “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other… Deuteronomy 4: 32-39 NLT

If you rushed through reading these verses, I encourage you to go back and read slowly and picture what is happening in the texts. Allow yourself to be amazed by what these Israelites experienced with their own eyes! God demonstrated to the Israelites that He was truly a God both in heaven and on earth! Now lets fast forward to the New Testament where the disciples ask Jesus how to pray and make some connections. Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) to pray:

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 BSB

As the Israelites sojourned through the desert and into the Promised Land, they experienced the Kingdom of God among them. For them, the Kingdom of God may have looked like rolls of thunder, flashes of lightning, the voice of God amidst clouds of fire and billowing smoke- the sheer terror of it all! But they also experienced the providence and provision of God- food, water, shelter, protection from wild animals and other nations. More importantly, they had the tangible presence of God with them day and night. God sat as a cloud over the Tabernacle:

Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle…Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted. The cloud of the LORD hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys. Exodus 40: 34, 35-38 NLT

The Israelites were constantly reminded that God was with them and for as long as they let Him, He was their King and Captain of their army. His kingdom “had come” for them. In light of the experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness, I ask myself, “What does it mean for us today when we pray God’s Kingdom come?”

In the current dispensation in which we live, it is easy to forget that God is still as powerful as He was back then. We do not see Him like they did or hear Him amidst the billowing smoke like they did. In fact, for many of us, praying His Kingdom come is asking for something we presume to be metaphorical. But let me challenge this presumption: God’s Kingdom is not a metaphor.

He is still doing the miraculous among us on a daily basis, In fact, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and by the workings of His Holy Spirit, He is more accessible to us and even more so present with us than He was then. We seldom see his Kingdom here on earth not because it is not here, but because His Kingdom has been reduced to commonplace in our lives. Scientific and evidence-based discoveries have taken more pre-eminence in our world. The abilities that God gave humankind through the Adamic blessings in the garden of Eden- the ability to create and multiply knowledge, till the knowledge of God fills the whole earth have become perverted (then and even more so now), that we no longer see God’s Kingdom at work among us. The Kingdom of God is still manifest in the clouds, in the seas, in the mountains just as the Israelites experienced. We just do not see it anymore.

When we pray His Kingdom come, I believe we are asking to see manifestations of His power at work in our lives. We are asking for the intangible to be made tangible. We are asking for that which is hidden or has become taken-for-granted to be revealed in our everyday world. We are asking for the God of Heaven to be revealed on earth in palpable ways. We are asking to be awestruck by His power and presence among us. We are asking not just to be known by God but to know Him enough that we can see Him at work in the ordinary things as well as the complex ones. That is what I believe we pray for when we say “Your Kingdom come.” We are acknowledging that The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other (Deuteronomy 4: 39). God’s Kingdom is all around us, and more importantly in each of us who have come to know Him as our King (I will pick this up in another post soon).

I conclude with a hymn I learned as a child to remind us all of God’s kingdom among us (If you know this hymn belt it out as you reflect on God’s Kingdom come):

1. I sing the almighty power of God, that made the mountains rise, that spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; the moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.

2. I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food, who formed the creatures thru the Word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye, if I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.

3. There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes thy glories known, and clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from thy throne; while all that borrows life from thee is ever in thy care; and everywhere that we can be, thou, God, art present there.

Yours Truly.