The Resurrection Will Not Wait

You will not be able to sit at home, sistahs and brothas. You will not be able to tune in to CNN, NBC or BET. You will not be able to run to the store real quick, or finish baking a cake for the church school picnic because the Resurrection will not wait. The Resurrection will not wait for you to go to the drive-thru at BK for a breakfast sandwich to go. It will not be delayed until Shaq and Kobe win another championship. The Resurrection will not make its worldwide comeback on Broadway or usher in the New Millennium on stage at the Kennedy Center. The Resurrection will not be broadcast on Oprah's OWN Ra-di-o. There will be no made for TV movie starring Denzel Washington as "Jesus". The Resurrection won't be televised on cable in three parts--- tivoed, DVR'ed or "On-Demand" for viewing at a later date because the Resurrection will not wait.

When the Resurrection comes, you will not be able to take a crash course in bible. The fact that you watched "The Passion" on DVD won't count as righteous living. Serving on the usher board, singing in the choir, teaching Sunday school is your reasonable service; but won't earn you bonus points for the trip home when the Resurrection comes. When the Resurrection comes, it won't be enough to have that "ole time" religion. You must be born again! The fact that you belonged to a church for umpteen years won't matter. You must be born again! What part of all have sinned don't you understand? You must be born again when the Resurrection comes.

Make no mistake the Resurrection is coming. No man knows the hour, day or year when the Lord will appear. So keep your lamp burning bright 'cause it could be tonight. Keep watch at all times and pray 'cause it could be today. Think you've got plenty of time? Think again, or you'll be left behind when the Resurrection comes. Make no mistake Jesus is coming back, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, to call the faithful from their graves. Then, the redeemed of the Lord, who are alive on the earth, will be caught up to meet Him in the air. There to be with the Lord forever. Every eye will see it. Every eye, everywhere will see Jesus when the Resurrection comes. When the Resurrection comes, it will not wait, it will not wait for you to get ready. When the Resurrection comes, it will be too late.

Jeopardy!

Jeopardy is a popular television game show that rewards contestants when they guess the right question for a given answer. I used to be a Jeopardy fanatic. For years, I played along from the comfort of my living room, often guessing more right "questions" than I did wrong. I used to brag that if I ever got a chance to play for real, I could become Jeopardy champ and win a lot of money doing it. Then one day, I heard that the Jeopardy tryouts were coming to my hometown. This was my chance to go to Hollywood I told myself. So I signed up and reported for my big day.

The room was filled with a hundred other Jeopardy wannabees like me--BRAINIACS all. The tryouts were a process of elimination to determine who would ultimately get a chance to appear on the "real" show. The rules were read, and the game began. All I can say is, it was brutal. The answers were more difficult than any I'd ever had to face on the TV version. I didn't have a clue as to what the questions were. But neither did most of my competition. After about an hour when the cerebral dust had settled, one guy was left standing; and he only made it into the "second" round. I was deflated. It took a long time before I ever watched an episode of Jeopardy again.


Which brings me to the reason for this blog. Its about questions of a different sort. Did you know that there will be questions to answer in heaven? The bible tells us that everyone will have to give an account of himself or herself to God for the deeds done while in the body (Rom 14:12, Heb 4:13, 1 Peter 4:5). There's no escaping it. Like in a courtroom, every one of us will stand before God, the righteous judge, to be questioned by Him about what we did with our lives. And what you say, as well as not having anything to say, could very well put you in jeopardy.


If I had been able to get a hold of those Jeopardy answers in advance, I would have been better prepared to give the right questions. Unlike Jeopardy, God has given us the answers in advance, as well as, a lifetime to prepare. And not only that, He gave us a sinless role model in Jesus Christ to pattern our lives after; an infallible study guide, the Holy Bible, to help us clean up our lives; and a patient teacher, the Holy Spirit, to direct us. So, "[We] have everything we need for life and godliness," (2 Peter 1:3). How about it? Will you have the right answers when your turn comes before the righteous Judge? That's the question. What's your answer? Post a comment to share your thoughts.

Drawing from the well within

I've seen a few dotting the landscape mostly rural communities, but I can't really say that I have ever drank from one---a well, that is. As a city dweller, I'm so used to getting water from a protected, chlorinated supply that is conveniently piped into my home. So glad I don't have to go outside in all kinds of weather to drop a bucket down a hole in the ground. As for which is better--well vs tap-- I've heard that well water tastes better; and may even be better for you. But regardless of where it comes from no one would argue that water is essential to life. Makes me wonder if that's what God had that in mind when he created the seas first and had them cover two-thirds of the earth's surface. And even though he created man from the dust, our bodies are composed of 60 per cent water; some organs, like the brain, are as much as 90 per cent water.

Besides being a necessity for life, water can kill. People have drowned in it. Whole communities like New Orleans, La. and Johnstown, Pa. have been flooded by it. Wars have been fought over it (water rights). The BP oil disaster demonstrated how reckless pollution of our waters can devastate both human and animal species. Our dependence on water for survival is universal for human and animal kind alike. Even if we journey into outer space to explore other life forms, the first thing that astronauts look for is whether there is a sustainable water source on the planet.

Jesus often used water as a metaphor for spiritual things. The Holy Spirit is often referred to as "living water" freely given to those who ask (John 4:10). The Bible speaks of water to illustrate the purifying effect of God's Word in making us holy "by the washing of water through the word (Eph 5:26). By contrast, a church that doesn't preach the Word of God, and a people that won't heed and obey God's Word are a dirty bunch---carnal and undisciplined. Who complains of thirst, and then, when a glass of water is set before him, just stares at it?  In the same way, Jesus offers sinners "living water" but to enjoy its benefits, we must come to the source and drink freely. Are you thirsty?

Its Harvest Time

One of the joys associated with summer is plentiful crops of fresh fruits and vegetables. They remind me of visits with my grandmother, watching her till the soil in the small vegetable garden in her backyard. Everything we ate came straight from her garden. In those days, we didn't know what processed food was because grandma cooked everything from scratch. From her garden, she picked vegetables the moment they were ripe on the vine because as any good farmer knows, when the crops are at their peak, its harvest time.

Grandma's garden provides a nice segue into the harvesting of souls that Jesus talks about in the book of John. Perhaps the most evangelistic book of the four Gospels, John provides a blueprint for leading others to Christ. My personal favorite is the story of the Samaritan woman found in John 4: 4-41. I like Jesus' low keyed approach as he engages the woman in a conversation about which she is concerned and obviously knows a lot about---water. This approach both gets her attention and piques her interest in him. The conversation turns to things spiritual as she begins to ask questions pertaining to the "living water" comment that Jesus makes. But my objective is not to dissect word for word, line by line the actual conversation between Jesus and the woman; but rather to use this story to illustrate how every day encounters and conversations with people can become evangelistic opportunities.

Someone once told me that each day God has a divine appointment (assignment) waiting for us. Jesus alludes to this in John 4:35 ---" You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest (NLT)." The will of God for his "then and now" disciples (every Christian) is to finish the work Christ started by harvesting the lost souls that God desires to bring into his Kingdom. They are already waiting, and they are ripe for the picking. We cannot say that we are truly doing God's work if we are not engaged in winning lost souls to Christ, whether through organized evangelistic efforts at church or personal evangelism on our own. Nothing that we do means more to God than this. After all, Christ gave his life that men might be saved. Its our job to take the gospel to them. The Bible says that there is joy in heaven when [even] one sinner repents (Luke 15:10). That's awesome to know that by leading another to Christ we make the angels in heaven rejoice. Its a high calling and a privilege that God reserves only for us. The fields are white already. Its harvest time.

The power of a prophetic church

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."--Luke 4:18-19 NIV

To paraphrase a familiar gospel song, "If we ever needed the Church before, we sure do need it now." Especially now, in the face of increasing wickedness, sin, hopelessness and peril. Have you taken a look at the world lately? The Church, which was founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, has a God-given mandate to be the difference maker in people's lives by telling them about Jesus. When Jesus walked the earth more than 2000 years ago, he put hurting, destitute and lost souls first on his agenda; and that agenda has never changed. In fact, he passed it on to his Church to fulfill in this age. As Christ's ambassadors, we represent him in the world (2 Cor 5:20). What's more, Christ gave power to the Church to finish the work he started: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father"--John 14:12.

But is the Church doing greater things to the extent that it should be? For example, in some neighborhoods, churches share the block with drug dealers, prostitutes and bars. Who do you think should have a greater influence on the community? One would hope the answer would be--the Church; but sadly that is not always the case. In spite of the Church's presence, many communities have become battlegrounds for good vs evil. So we ask, "What should be the Church's response?" Well, it would be foolish for the Church to engage in open confrontation with the criminal elements of our society. But neither should the Church yield its territory to them without a fight. When a Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, is active in its community that community should be noticeably different from all those around it. For example, when I was growing up in Baltimore, the local newspaper sponsored a "Clean Block" campaign to beautify inner-city neighborhoods by enlisting neighbors to keep sidewalks and streets free of trash and debris. Block captains were chosen to make sure each household kept their trash picked up and their white marble steps clean. Each week, a picture of the winning block was featured in the newspaper and a banner hung over the winning block so that everyone would know that this is a clean block and no trash is allowed.

Likewise, the Church must make its mark by using the transforming power of the gospel to clean up the streets, and bring life back into the communities it serves. This is not a monumental task considering our weapons (2 Cor 10:3-5). These weapons are faith, prayer and the word of our testimony (witness). The enemy cannot stand in their wake. So then, what's stopping the Church? The problem is TRADITION. Tradition says it is easier to drop money in the collection plate than to lace up our tennis shoes and hit the streets to witness to people where they are. We give monetary contributions to help fund God's work, but it takes hands and feet to accomplish it. And that is what's lacking in the Church today--sufficient hands and feet willing to go into the highways and byways after the lost. Jesus observed in Luke 10:12: " The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest. Ask him to send more workers into his fields."

We must rid the Church of its "If we build it, they will come" attitude. The Church cannot assume that the poor, who sleep within our gates against winter's cold or summer's heat, will one day walk through our doors unless we give them a compelling reason to come inside. In short, we must go out after them. Look at what radical extremism has produced in the Middle East--a kind of religious fervor that is spreading like wildfire. Imagine what the Church could accomplish if we would embrace the religious fervor of the early Christians and become radical extremists for Christ. With this attitude, the Church could win souls, change lives and transform whole communities. This kind of radical change starts with each one of us. What change do you want to see in your block? In your family? On your job? What are you doing, besides complaining, to bring about the changes you would like to see? Have you looked at the man or woman in your mirror lately? Before complaining about how bad things are getting ask what have I done to make things better? The Church needs every believer to help win  communities for Christ.

Is your head in the sand

People who act as if they are oblivious to the happenings around them are often characterized as behaving like an ostrich with its "head buried in sand." I don't know much about the habits of the ostrich bird but I can see the same analogy applying to the those who see wars, earthquakes, famine, pandemics, rampant crime, environmental upheavals, seasonal changes and the like; and yet fail to recognize these as signs of the end times (Matt. 16:2-3).

Catastrophic events like these are unfolding worldwide almost daily, even in our own country. The popular culture believes that the world will one day solve all its problems and be at peace with itself. But scripture warns us that nothing can be farther from the truth.

For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you brothers are not in darkness so this day should not surprise you like a thief (1Thessalonians 5: 2-4).

The word "should not" in that passage suggests that some brothers (and sisters) will be caught off guard, and hence totally unprepared for the Lord's return. Where do you stand? Are you prepared for the Lord's return?

In Matthew 25 tells the story of ten virgins— five wise ones and five foolish ones— who were warned to be ready when the bridegroom [Christ] comes for them. The five wise virgins were obedient and heeded the advice, keeping their lamps trimmed and with plenty of oil with them at all times. One day, when the bridegroom suddenly came unannounced, the five wise virgins were ready to go with him. But the five foolish virgins were caught off guard—their lamps had no oil. To their anguish, the bridegroom left them behind. The point of this parable is the importance of being prepared when he comes. Scripture warns, "we know not the day or the hour when [Christ] will return."

The first step in being prepared is making sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ or to put it another way, you must be born again. Just being a good person doesn't cut it. People often deceive themselves by thinking that because they are kind hearted, or attend church that this somehow means that makes them right with God. Not so. The Bible says in John 3:7 that you must be born again. Romans 10 spells out the conditions for salvation through Christ:

First, there must be a confession of sin with true repentance. Followed by acceptance of Jesus as God's son, who died on the cross for our sin and who was also raised from the dead. Next, an invitation to Christ to come into your heart; and finally, believing in faith that Jesus has done what you have asked. 

Here's the test. If you cannot specifically recall a date or time when you made this confession or similar to God in a prayer, you would be correct to question whether you are really in the family of God. If you are not sure, don't allow Satan to deceive you about your standing with God. Satan wants nothing more than for you to keep your head buried in the sand of "self-righteousness." Open your heart today, and allow Christ to change your life. The bridegroom is coming, and is even now knocking at the door.

Don't cry for Haiti

There is a God in Haiti. He's in the faces of the survivors who spent long days and nights pinned under unyielding slabs of concrete, wondering if they'd make it out alive. There is no doubt that God was with them. He's in the faces of the rescuers who worked tirelessly, searching amongst the rubble of toppled buildings for sights or sounds of life. He's guiding the hands of the doctors and nurses who are caring for the injured under unimaginably tough conditions. He's in the hearts of people the world over who are donating money and other goods to help ease the suffering of a grief stricken, weary nation. While some skeptics may question and even blame God for this tragedy, the Haitians who survived the earthquake's terrible destruction know better. They are the ones that we see on TV dancing and singing praises to God for having escaped from the valley of the shadow of death.

Oddly amazing. Or is it? A poem written by Annie Flint some years ago perhaps explains it:

He gives more grace when the burden grows greater.

He sends more strength when the labors increase.

To added affliction, he adds his mercy;

To multiplied trials, his multiplied peace.

To outsiders and onlookers, "it does not yet appear what [it] shall be" but with faith, Haiti will rise again to become a better nation, even a God fearing nation for having been through this incredible experience. Already, this once forgotten people now command center stage in the world's affairs. Isn't that just like our God.