by Chad Lewis on April 21, 2009
Brennan Manning writes about the end of death. “Death, you are a phantom, the bogeyman of little children! The only reason my Father allows you to exist is to usher me into the one experience deserving of the name Life.”
Surely our God has rescued us. He has brought us from death to life. Though the stage of the world looks bleak right now, it is only the backdrop of the work that God is doing. When Jesus breaks forth in glorious light into a person’s heart, He pokes a hole in the fabric of darkness and you can’t miss that point of light. One day, the fabric of darkness in this world will be put away for all eternity. But until that day, let’s seek to shine bright and truly believe that our God has already won. The victory was won on the cross and in the resurrection. And this was God’s plan before time began!
Matthew 5:14-16: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
by Chad Lewis on March 25, 2009
MSN Year in Review 2008 has a 75 picture slideshow of famous people who passed away in 2008. This past Monday I scrolled through the list and read about people I was both familiar and unfamiliar with.
Heath Ledger, Bernie Mac, Tim Russert, Paul Newman, and the list goes on. From this list of 75 people, some died from old age, some from health complications, some from drug abuse, and some from suicide. Many of them had reached the pinnacle of fame, prestige, and success. But they all have one thing in common now: they no longer make their home on this earth.
As I reflected on these stars’ lives, my spirit was really affected. I turned to Psalm 39 and read the following words of David:
4 “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.
5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath.
Selah
6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro:
He bustles about, but only in vain;
he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.
7 “But now, Lord, what do I look for?
My hope is in you.
Truly, our only hope is in the Lord. This life is but a breath and then eternity. I do not want to try to build up my own kingdom, reputation, or success. I truly long to point people to the God who created us and who longs to have a relationship with us. In the end, all that truly matters is what we did with Jesus. That will affect not only this life, but it affects all of eternity.
How do these thoughts from Psalm 39 stir your soul? How can reflecting on the brevity of life actually encourage us?
by Chad Lewis on December 24, 2008
This Christmas, Ginger, Thomas and I are making our usual rounds to Memphis and Knoxville to visit our families. As we go from home to home (and eventually back to our home in Louisville), I think about what makes a home. There is the old cliche’ “Home is where the heart is,” and in many ways, this could be true for all of us. I continually look at the struggles and heartaches of those in my world as well as the fading things that so many put hope in. We often find ourselves dreaming of some tomorrow that will never materialize. We end up blaming others or ourselves for our dissatisfaction.
C.S. Lewis wrote, “Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex.”3
So we all long for a home, but no one will be fully satisfied with any home or acceptance that is found on this earth. Even the best home cannot fill the gap of eternity because everything is fading away. So it does make sense that we are not truly home yet.
I’ve been meditating on 2 passages that point to this fact. Hebrews 11 is often called the “Hall of Faith” as it describes many of the Old Testament heroes who believed in God. It wasn’t that they were great, but rather, it was the God they were trusting in who is great. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them”(Hebrews 11:13-16). Later, Hebrews 13:14 says, “For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”
Many times, the greatest gift we can receive is a life of hardship like these Hebrew Christians. When all is going well, we can subtly be tricked into believing that this is as good as it gets. However, we are lulled to sleep and complacency when so much more is offered. When we are shaken to the core and things do not go our way, let it be a reminder that you are not yet home and this should not be a surprise to us. Our best life is not now, but our best life is to come. Let us continually look to the author and perfecter of our faith and hold fast to believing that His ways are always right and best. He is worthy of all trust and praise!
by Chad Lewis on August 14, 2008
Suffering with a 103.1 fever, I contemplated the brevity of life this week. Though the fever has passed and I am recovering, it is easy to be reminded how short life is and how weak we truly are. One of my spiritual heroes is Oswald Chambers. Though I differ with a few of his theological views, his writings and life have been an inspiration to me. Oswald lived a full life and died suddenly in his early 40’s from a ruptured appendix.
As I laid in bed, I thought about my life. What if I only lived until I was 40. The reality is, I am not guaranteed my next breath. James 4:13-16 says that we are a mist that appears for a little while and vanishes.
But, if I had but five and a half years to live, I wonder what I would do differently today? It doesn’t matter what I would do tomorrow, because my gift of procrastination allows me to always see tomorrow as a day away. So what would I do today?
Some things I wouldn’t change. I would still hug Ginger and Thomas everyday after work. I would still help out with the house chores and work on my house. I would still seek to know people and do my job well.
But some things would change. Slight as they might be, some things would change and I’m seeking to change them today.
I would pray a little more. I would print out some prayer requests and at down times, I would pray instead of catching a witty video on youtube. I would be more missionally minded concerning my neighborhood and what that will look like as we begin a missional community at our home next week. I would be more mindful of the brevity of life and seek God’s face with more fervency knowing that anything of eternal significance must come from His hand. I would be sad to leave my family, but I would begin longing for home a little more each day – my eternal home with my Savior and King.
All of these things have been slight changes for me today. I’m hoping to stay disciplined, by God’s grace, and see some of these stick with me for the long haul. What would change for you?
by Chad Lewis on March 3, 2006
Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens are declaring the glory of God. As I travel, I often show a slide show of universe slides in order to show the massiveness of God’s creation. Too often, we just look at our everyday world and fail to look up and imagine the awesome works of our Creator.
A few years ago, I began looking into how big our Universe actually is. As a former math teacher, I got my pencil and paper out and began crunching numbers. We know that most agree that we have 9 planets orbiting around the sun in elliptical paths. This is our Solar System. Scientists say that our sun is but one of between 100 billion and 300 billion other stars in our Milky Way galaxy.
If you looked at a diagram of the Milky Way, we would be on the outer portion of the swirl. I began wondering how long it would take to travel to the center of the Milky Way. I found it in light years but thought it would be interesting to see how long it would take if we could fly in a jet airplane going 600 mph. After some calculations, the numbers were astounding. I found that it would take approximately 40 trillion years to get to the Middle of the Milky Way from the outer rim.
If this was not mind boggling enough, the Milky Way is thought to be only one of 100 billion other galaxies.
When I consider the heavens declaring the glory of God, I rarely think of their vastness. I rarely remember that God spoke these things into existence. This is the same God who created physics and mathematics to explain our world and who created the beauty of the sunset. This is the same God who is in control of our eternal destiny and He bids us to know Him more.
In Isaiah, it talks of how God measures the universe with the span of His hand. As massive as it all is, it cannot contain our God. He is bigger and better than anything we can ever imagine.
Maybe you should jump on a NASA website and just marvel at our Universe and then remember that God did this to show His incredible glory and majesty. Let us remember that the God who thought all this up hears your prayers and knows you by name. Oh how wonderful and awesome is our God!
by Chad Lewis on February 23, 2006
As I was sitting in Dr. Ware’s theology class this week, he told a story from his youth that I would like to relay to you this week. On Thanksgiving each year, his family was allowed to eat breakfast, but they were required to skip lunch. Their mom’s thought process was that they would definitely be starving by the time dinner came around and they would be able to enjoy everything all the more.
Sometime during mid-afternoon, the young Bruce Ware would be smelling the incredible aroma of the feast and would be driven by his starvation to go into the kitchen and ask for something so he wouldn’t die. His mom would slice off some small portion of what she was working on to tide him over.
He compared this to us having the Holy Spirit as a pledge in our lives. For now, we can experience God in real ways as we daily worship Him and as we commune with other believers. If you can imagine a time in your life where you felt closest to God and the Spririt was welling up inside you, then you got a little scrap from the table. Our bodies groan for redemption and God is gracious enough to remind us that the best in this world is but a small nibble for the feast that is coming for all eternity. Hunger is a good thing because it reminds us that we need to eat. C.S. Lewis said it was a good thing that we have longings that cannot be filled by anything in this world. He said that it was a good sign that we were made for another world.
As we think of heaven and our brief time here on earth, let us strive to rest in Christ and abide in Him each day. We will have all eternity to enjoy God, but we must seek to enjoy Him now. As we are not guarenteed our next breath, let us strive to seek God’s face and show love to a world that is in desperate need of the truth of God’s amazing grace. Our home is coming, and it is a good thing to be encouraged by the thoughts of eternity. However, we must make the most of these moments and proclaim the truth of the gospel to a world in need so that they may hear how they too can join in on this amazing feast.
(I will post one more installment on Heaven next week concerning the massiveness of the Universe and some possible implications on our eternal dwelling place.)
by Chad Lewis on February 17, 2006
When I was a youth, I imagined heaven to be a big, golden box where everyone present sat around and sang from a Baptist hymnal. I probably would have tried to use some elevated descriptive terms to make it sound better but inside I was never truly excited about my eternal home.
As I have learned more about God and His amazing creation, my view of heaven has expanded greatly. I once secretly hoped that I would not die before I had experienced some of the best things this world has to offer. One of these areas was marriage. I recently got engaged to the most lovely creature imaginable. More excitement is welling up in me than ever before concerning this new chapter in my life, but it still cannot begin to compare to what heaven will be like.
Paul said, “for me to live is Christ but to die is gain.” If we can imagine the best this fallen world has to offer, it is only a mere taste of what eternity has for us. The most intimate relationships, the greatest excitement, the fullest joy, the least insecurity, or the greatest moment of spiritual bliss cannot compare to what we will find on the day we stand before our Father.
All sin, heartache, insecurity and selfishness will melt away like ice in the blazing, summer sun. Our greatest gift will be right before us, and that gift is God, Himself. It will not be a crown or room or street made of gold in which we will glory. We will glory at the majesty of our Creator and His amazing love for His children.
C.S. Lewis imagined that God will send us to and fro across this massive universe He created (I’ll talk more next week about the unbelievable dimensions of the universe.) We will no longer be bound by time or space so adventure is limitless. As we discover more of this infinite God who created all, we will find our greatest joy in knowing Him. So the parallel is complete – in this life the greatest gift we can have is God. In the life to come, the same will be true. Let us seek to know the One who rescued us from eternal punishment and has a place for us to call home for all eternity. There will be no more need for light for He will be our eternal light.
Meditate on Philippians 2 and ask yourself how important knowing Christ was to Paul.
by Chad Lewis on November 30, 2005
If one believes that the Bible is God’s Word, it is not an option to set parts of it’s contents to the side. Because of the stark teachings on hell in Scripture, many have done just that. The argument rings out, “How can an enlightened society believe in an eternal punishment described by fire and suffering?” And though many Christians sheepishly simply answer that it is in the Bible, they secretly agree with the skeptic.
It is not hard for me to understand why. As compassionate people, we cannot imagine the thought of some sweet old lady or some nice young man being punished for eternity for a few wrong things they did on earth. However, we are not even scratching the surface theologically by thinking such shallow thoughts concerning God, hell and the true state of our depravity. Let’s take a moment to go deeper and imagine some foundational truths concerning the true nature of humans.
As I type, I watch my morning apple turn brown as I take bites out of it. If left uneaten, it will soon shrivel up and will eventually rot. A person’s soul is not much different. Excuse the apple analogy, but I will take it a few steps further.
As the apple is covered with the skin, all humans experience God’s common grace (common to all living beings). This is not the grace that leads to salvation (special grace that awakens the dead heart and yields new life), this common grace is described in Matthew as Jesus challenges the people to love their neighbors. He says concerning the Father, “…for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matt 5:45-46 NASU)
This common grace allows all humans to be capable of loving others and receiving love. This common grace keeps us from killing each other and riots breaking out in the streets everyday. With the recent looting in New Orleans, we should stop and wonder why this doesn’t happen more often. The thought in Hebrews is that if God stopped speaking us into existance at any moment, we would cease to exist. The very thought that we can experience life, eat food, feel the warmth of the sun, and so many other things is based completely on the goodness of God.
So we return to the little old lady and the nice young man who are not believers. The destination of their souls, apart from coming to Christ, is eternal damnation. Why? Because all the good that exists in them is simply a gift from God. If God were to remove His common grace from their lives, their sin would instantly consume them and the results might be something worse than Hitler or Stalin.
The dish washing philosopher/theologian Brother Lawrence said that he was not shocked at how evil the world was. He was shocked that it was not worse. When we consider the total depravity of man and what we are all capable of apart from God’s grace, we should shudder at what the status of the world might really be.
So the older lady and young man live what seem to be good lives. However, at judgment, the truth is revealed and they have no ground to stand upon. Their goodness was like filthy rags and the sin compiled in one day would be enough for eternal punishment. They will see that any good they did was a gift from God while they are held accountable for all their wicked deeds.
It is my humble opinion that as sin takes complete control in hell, the end result will be something so hideous and wicked that the soul will look nothing like it did upon earth. I can imagine that these souls will appear like Satan himself in that they will be totally consumed with evil as eternity begins. The wickedness of Hitler on earth might not be able to match the tamest soul in hell as God’s grace is removed.
With all this said, how can we rejoice in the midst of such terrible and frightening thoughts? I will close with the words of the Apostle Paul. Read these words and know that we can rejoice for God has made a way!
Rom 5:6-11
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
NASU
by Chad Lewis on November 18, 2005
Bertrand Russell was a famous writer and thinker throughout the previous century. He was not a supporter of any religion as he felt they contributed to many ills in society. The following is an excerpt from an essay he wrote outlining the reasons he was not a Christian.
When considering the doctrine of hell preached by Jesus, Bertrand Russell states, “I must say that I think all this doctrine, that hell-fire is a punishment for sin, is a doctrine of cruelty. It is a doctrine that put cruelty into the world and gave the world generations of cruel torture; and the Christ of the Gospels, if you could take Him as His chroniclers represent Him, would certainly have to be considered partly responsible for that.”
Though I have many problems with the way Professor Russell draws his conclusions from Scripture, I will simply discuss the statement above.
Before Christ came into the world, did cruelty not already exist? People were so wicked that human sacrifices to pagan gods took place on a regular basis? Many temples were filled with forced prostitution for the purpose of worshiping other gods. Cruelty has existed since the Fall of humans. Sin and cruelty go hand in hand.
Since Russell holds to the presupposition that hell does not exist, his statements follow suit. If this is true and hell is not real, then Christ’s teachings are nothing more than spouted lies with horrible consequences. But if hell is reality, Jesus Christ would be the most unloving being in the universe to not declare this truth from the top of his lungs.
If a train were speeding towards a collapsed bridge, would a man be praised by keeping his mouth shut? If asked later why he did not speak, he might say, “I did not want to scare the conductor or the people in the train. Can you imagine the panic?”
Would we not call this man a fool and a murderer? The most loving thing possible would be to proclaim the reality of what is to come for the passengers unless the train stops and then hope they stop in time.
My presuppositions are clear. I do believe hell is a real place and that a divine Jesus Christ spoke truth in love. He came to make a way for this cruel world. He warned about impending judgment and then opened the closed door to be reconciled to a holy God.
He did not stop at saying hell is a real and miserable place. He came to suffer, bleed and die. He came to bear the wrath of God so we would not have to spend eternity in hell. Why did he do this? Because it was God’s perfect plan! It gave him pleasure to redeem a wayward people to himself. It is by his good graces that he calls us to come to him.
This is an excerpt from a song by Stuart Townend. It clearly depicts the Gospel message.
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
And the most gentle and kind Savior sings to us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Our postmodern generation gags on the doctrine of hell for many reasons. I would like to address some of these reasons next week. Thanks for reading and may you be blessed as you consider the marvelous grace that is so richly lavished on us each day.
Brennan Manning writes about the end of death. “Death, you are a phantom, the bogeyman of little children! The only reason my Father allows you to exist is to usher me into the one experience deserving of the name Life.”
