The Central Moment

The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city, the city of God. And with that ending comes an altar call for the spiritually thirsty, for all who would believe in Jesus for salvation. Until he comes again, that invitation is still open!

Streets of gold; endless light; healing life; the presence of God -- those pictures of heaven speak of great hope ahead for those who know Christ. Jesus will come again, but the story is only beginning for those who serve him!

Genesis 1 will be revisited. The God who makes all things new will not only evict evil’s presence but recreate what was the domain of evil’s activity. The new heavens and earth will be the culmination of what our transformation in Christ is beginning now.

Before the new can come, the old must be put away. One day evil will be dealt with, justice will prevail, and Satan himself will be thrown into hell. Be sure you don’t end up on the wrong side and go with him!

We could use a HALLELUJAH! That word is used four times in the Bible, all of them during Heaven’s celebration over Jesus’ triumphant second coming. In the midst of trouble, hurt, and confusion until then, let’s lift a HALLELUJAH even now!

There is no future event that is more important to a Christian than the second coming of Christ. He will bring justice, victory, and the kind of peace that the world has strived for but has been unable to achieve. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

The second coming of Jesus to the earth is known as the “blessed hope.” It is “blessed” because it will be the final triumph of Jesus’ saving grace in the world. And it is “hope” because that future event strengthens our perseverance today with an anticipation of a better day tomorrow.

Things in this world will get worse before they get better. Satan will wield his power through the world-wide domination of the AntiChrist. But the true Christ who came once to save us is coming again to finish up what he started!

Some of us have been going to too many funerals. The pandemic has been taking an unprecedented toll on human life, not to mention accidents, violence, and sickness in general. Where do we look? Can anything help us to grieve and find hope?

Jesus is coming back, but he hasn’t told us when. So how do we live until then? Alertness, watchfulness, and faithfulness to what the Lord has called us to do are the keys that Jesus gave.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget how powerful our prayers are. We may get discouraged if we’ve prayed for someone and we didn’t see the answer that we had hoped for, but James encourages us that we have the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer on our side. God’s word gives us permission to boldly believe for healing to come.

It’s hard to never say anything that you shouldn’t. So, we must be doubly careful about what we email, tweet, or post. Jesus said that what comes out of our mouths is actually an overflow of what’s in our hearts. So we must guard our hearts.

As we’ve seen already this week, James is all about a faith that is accompanied by actions! No matter who you are and where you’ve come from, you can’t escape the principle that true faith must be demonstrated by your actions… in today’s language: “Put your money where your mouth is!”

In today’s look at the book of James, we’re once again confronted by his very direct teaching on how we should live. James reminds us that we have an opportunity and obligation to show compassion without favoritism to those in need… if we truly do believe in loving our neighbor as ourself, then we should live like that!

The book of James is a book of wisdom from the New Testament. In it, James gives very direct instruction on how to live our Christian lives. You might summarize it by saying "If you really believe it, you'd live it!"

The last letter that we have from the Apostle Paul was written to Timothy, his ‘son in the faith.’ Paul is in a Roman prison and knows he will die soon. What he writes gives us all hope that we, too, can end well.

Power, love and self-discipline -- these are the big three that mark a courageous, Spirit-filled life. In spite of all the things that can ‘in-TIMID-ate’ us these days, God’s Spirit takes us in the opposite direction. No more being timid!

“Controversial speculations” that do not advance God’s work continue to be a danger for the church today. Conspiracy theories, arguments over masks and vaccines and politics, social media battles -- they detract from God’s work to reach a spiritually lost world.

Are you a trustworthy person? Can people count on you?  Has your character been tested and proven? Or do you sell out for self-interest and let people down? Meet a young person who passed the character test.

There is a little Timothy in all of us. We all have strikes against us. But our deficiencies don’t need to limit our influence for Christ. Our deficiencies actually make room for God’s sufficiency.

The feeling of being confined is a hard one to cope with. The pandemic certainly underscored that. But God’s word and his work are never confined. Let him glorify himself wherever you find yourself today.

A storm, a shipwreck, and a snake -- the last two chapters of the book of Acts are among the most adventurous found anywhere in the Bible. Yet at the center of it all was a man of God who stayed on mission and depended on God.

When the Apostle Paul had private audiences with political leaders, what did he talk about? Would it have resembled contemporary preaching? Listen in--you may not have heard a sermon like this lately.

Our delays are not necessarily God’s delays. The interruptions that frustrate us don’t frustrate God. We may have our plans, but the Lord is always sovereignly working to position us for his purposes.

What is the primary passion of your life? What is the one thing you would never sell out for, no matter what? For Paul, that passion had others in mind and Jesus at the center!