paravanes:meditations

  " Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.   I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." --Revelation 21:1-3. (Image from calvarybaptist.org) Much of what we call "Christian service" involves struggle, challenge, and delayed gratification. For what and why are we delaying gratification?  We do this because we are waiting for "a new heaven and a new earth." Scripture doesn't give a lot of details about this place, and the information we are given in the Book of Revelation is sometimes complex, coded, and difficult for many to understand. Why is this? Why doesn't God sim...

 This line, "I am one less stone and I'm one more voice to praise" comes from one of my favorite recordings by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. The line originates in Jesus' comment from in Luke 19:39-41 when the religious leaders of His day told Jesus to make His disciples stop talking and "be quiet." Jesus replied "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Stones don't really have a voice, so is Jesus telling us if His followers refuse to speak for Him that nature will speak in our place? Is He telling us that it's impossible for those who really know Him to remain silent about who He is, what He means to them, and what He has done and continues to do in their lives? "I am one less stone." Because I am one less stone, I am not ashamed to pull out a Bible or religious book and read it during a lunch break at work or in a coffee shop. Because I am one less stone, I am not ashamed to pray openly and audibly when I ...

One of my favorite hymns begins with these words: "Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim..." How often do we use the cross as a weapon? How often do we use the symbol of Love in the Midst of Pain as a battering ram against those whose views we do not share? Do we believe Jesus and the cross can be mis-used in this way without consequence? If we do, we are wrong. The most important thing we can say about the cross is that it shows and symbolizes God's willingness to occupy a small space on our behalf, to suffer unimaginable pain for us, to seek us regardless of how wayward and rebellious we have become. This cross is a picture of outstretched arms (temporarily) at the mercy of spitters and scoffers. The only message of the cross is love. Love that is unending, love that does not leave us alone, love that challenges and corrects us, love that says and does what it hard, painful, and uncomfortable. I believe the church should challenge believers to holi...