Many people are worrying frantic over this tough economy in our nation today. Jobs are becoming less and less available, the value of the dollar is dropping worldwide, while we hold every penny in our pockets with precious value. The recent inauguration of Barack Obama has lead many to believe the economy is back on the rise, while leaving many others including myself worried that this is only the beginning.
But perhaps what we need is a tough economy. While we have been so blessed for so long (and while even this economic downturn is not yet disastrous), it is good to be reminded of our fortune. The love of money is the root of all evil, and America has lived through several generations that have adored money.
Having riches is a good thing, so long as they are earned and used wisely. But not everyone in America earns their money in the way they should. Some are given riches by the government, some by theft, and some from their rich old man. Moreover, not everyone is rightfully thankful and content for what they have; some beg the government, the banks, or their parents for more. Meanwhile, these people learn nothing about the value of work, honesty, and a free market.
With this said, I welcome any economic downturn with optimism, an optimism that when we wake up and grow up, we will turn it back around. Perhaps we need a few tough years – or decades – to wake consumers and spoiled kids up and let them realize what they have. Then we can put higher value in things like family, friendship, education, love, hobbies, God-given talents, church, etc., instead of material wealth. In short, we can be content with what we have, but not in what we have given. We cannot serve two masters. We can serve only God or money. And if the money is not readily available to us, it may leave us with just one choice. And if that is the case, then I welcome any economic woes with full heart.
What do you think?
God bless America
Pray for our Troops
January 27, 2009
Ryan Hampton
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Our Hope and Community: The Story of the Bible
What is the story of the Bible? Is it a book of virtues? Is it a book of nice fables? Is it a book of law? It may be a book of virtues, filled with many stories, but the story of the Bible is much deeper than this.
All of history is one story. That is how we must look at all of history. The Bible is a historical book that gives us the history of what has happened, and a foreshadowing of what is to come. All of history is one giant myth made fact. It captures the essence of human desire, emotion, and longing through God’s eternal sovereign plan.
When we look at the beauty of this eternal sovereign plan, we see great similarity in many stories, myths, and fables we hold today. These stories we love so much, such as the Chronicals of Narnia, Harry Potter, Cinderella, etc., are all loved by us because they give us a story of hope, meaning, purpose, love, etc. But all of these stories find their fulfillment in God’s story, as captured to us in the Bible.
In Scripture, we see a pattern of one overall theme, and many mini-versions of that throughout. This is called typology. For instance, we see the overall theme that Adam sinned, and Jesus is the second Adam who comes to save us from our inherited sin in Adam. Along the way, we see people who point us back to Adam, or perhaps point us ahead to Christ. Noah points us to Christ in that he begins the world anew, as Christ comes to make us new. Noah is like a new Adam, and a picture of what the ultimate new Adam will be like. Moses reminds of Noah by being saved through the “ark,” the basket, over water, and then points us ahead to a deliverer by saving his people from Pharoah. There is the theme in Scripture, of being saved by water, wood, bread, etc., which point us to being saved by the waters of baptism and the tree that Christ was nailed to, and at the Lord’s table. There are many women who point us to Eve, or the new Eve, the Church. All in all, Scripture is about a man who comes to save His Bride, but in order to do so He must die for her. This man, the new Adam, is also God, and this Bride, the new Eve, is made of men and women of all generations and races. Simply an amazing story, and yet it is one-hundred percent true!
With this in mind, let’s take a brief look at Scripture. Scripture begins with creation, and God giving us a pattern. He created the world in six days, and rested on the Seventh. He then gave the chief of His creation, Adam, a task. His task would image what God had done: he would subdue the earth, and rest every seventh day. God saw it was not good for man to be alone, so He created a community for Adam, imaging God Himself, Who is a community of three persons. Now there is a community between all persons of God, and Adam, Eve, and all future generations. The community is found primarily in the Garden of Eden, and man is to complete his task through the land of Eden and in the outer lands.
But man fell and broke community with God, and was thus kicked out of the Garden, the central place of community. God kicked man out of the Garden, but did not give up on man, promising a new Adam. For the next some four thousand years, God used prophets to prepare the way for this new Adam, ultimately culminating in John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ. God kept some community with His People by making covenant with certain men. The new Garden was the Tabernacle, you could say, but only certain people could go inside, and only at certain times. The community was now just for God’s chosen People, the Israelites. God would show Himself to certain people in voice or even appearance, but the overall community that was present in the Garden was broken.
When Christ came, He restored some of that community. We now have church to go to weekly, on the Sabbath, the Day of Rest. We have the communion of the Saints. We have Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, etc. And now this community is for all people who chose Christ, and the Church is not only for Priests, or “super-holy” people. The Church is the new Israel, but not just for one nation. Our corporate church worship is a new picture of Adam’s community in the Garden of Eden with God.
There are those who have died, and have gone to Heaven. There is community there as well. And as we worship God in corporate worship, we worship with all Saints, and with all the company of Heaven. We get to take part in a meal, the Lord’s Supper, in which we eat with Christ. We have much more Christian community with God then we realize. This is why going to church is important. It is where we keep covenant with God, share in His blessings, eat the daily bread He gives us, give our tithes and offerings to Him, etc. It is where we weekly renew covenant with God. This is where God first and foremost makes Himself known to us, so that we may go out and complete our tasks the rest of the week in our day-to-day lives.
Still, this is not the final goal. Nor is Heaven even the final goal. We still have our sinful nature. Heaven and earth may come together weekly. But even yet, there is still something missing. Although we come into Heaven’s presence, we do not see God, the angels, or the souls of those who have gone into Heaven. Heaven and earth are still two separate things. We have great community, but this, nor even Heaven, is our final hope.
Our final hope is in Final Resurrection glory. Heaven and earth will be one. Jesus will be King. There will not be a disconnect between our bodies and souls. We will have one good nature, and not our sinful nature. As many people in the Old Covenant prepared the way for Christ, so now we must prepare the way for the Final Resurrection. We do this by obeying the Great Commission, taking part in the community God has given us (which is the church), and preaching the Good News to all, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One day our community with God will be completely restored, and it will be even better than before the Fall. And we will have all of this forever!
But the first and foremost way to wait upon this final glory and community is to be thankful and partake in the glory and community we have now in Christ. Going to church is not something we do to win brownie points with God. It is where God makes Himself known. And if we forsake the assembly of the Saints now, then how do we expect God to let us into final glory? We must appreciate the story of the Bible more. Appreciate that we are God’s chosen People Who have been saved because our Groom, the Son of God Himself, died the death that the worst of sinners die. The Bible begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve, and ends with the marriage of Christ and His Bride. This story should fill our hearts and minds with wonder, and cause us to look ahead, and prepare the way for Christ’s second coming.
What do you think?
God bless America
God bless His Church
January 8, 2009
Ryan Hampton
All of history is one story. That is how we must look at all of history. The Bible is a historical book that gives us the history of what has happened, and a foreshadowing of what is to come. All of history is one giant myth made fact. It captures the essence of human desire, emotion, and longing through God’s eternal sovereign plan.
When we look at the beauty of this eternal sovereign plan, we see great similarity in many stories, myths, and fables we hold today. These stories we love so much, such as the Chronicals of Narnia, Harry Potter, Cinderella, etc., are all loved by us because they give us a story of hope, meaning, purpose, love, etc. But all of these stories find their fulfillment in God’s story, as captured to us in the Bible.
In Scripture, we see a pattern of one overall theme, and many mini-versions of that throughout. This is called typology. For instance, we see the overall theme that Adam sinned, and Jesus is the second Adam who comes to save us from our inherited sin in Adam. Along the way, we see people who point us back to Adam, or perhaps point us ahead to Christ. Noah points us to Christ in that he begins the world anew, as Christ comes to make us new. Noah is like a new Adam, and a picture of what the ultimate new Adam will be like. Moses reminds of Noah by being saved through the “ark,” the basket, over water, and then points us ahead to a deliverer by saving his people from Pharoah. There is the theme in Scripture, of being saved by water, wood, bread, etc., which point us to being saved by the waters of baptism and the tree that Christ was nailed to, and at the Lord’s table. There are many women who point us to Eve, or the new Eve, the Church. All in all, Scripture is about a man who comes to save His Bride, but in order to do so He must die for her. This man, the new Adam, is also God, and this Bride, the new Eve, is made of men and women of all generations and races. Simply an amazing story, and yet it is one-hundred percent true!
With this in mind, let’s take a brief look at Scripture. Scripture begins with creation, and God giving us a pattern. He created the world in six days, and rested on the Seventh. He then gave the chief of His creation, Adam, a task. His task would image what God had done: he would subdue the earth, and rest every seventh day. God saw it was not good for man to be alone, so He created a community for Adam, imaging God Himself, Who is a community of three persons. Now there is a community between all persons of God, and Adam, Eve, and all future generations. The community is found primarily in the Garden of Eden, and man is to complete his task through the land of Eden and in the outer lands.
But man fell and broke community with God, and was thus kicked out of the Garden, the central place of community. God kicked man out of the Garden, but did not give up on man, promising a new Adam. For the next some four thousand years, God used prophets to prepare the way for this new Adam, ultimately culminating in John the Baptist preparing the way for Christ. God kept some community with His People by making covenant with certain men. The new Garden was the Tabernacle, you could say, but only certain people could go inside, and only at certain times. The community was now just for God’s chosen People, the Israelites. God would show Himself to certain people in voice or even appearance, but the overall community that was present in the Garden was broken.
When Christ came, He restored some of that community. We now have church to go to weekly, on the Sabbath, the Day of Rest. We have the communion of the Saints. We have Jesus Christ, the Scriptures, etc. And now this community is for all people who chose Christ, and the Church is not only for Priests, or “super-holy” people. The Church is the new Israel, but not just for one nation. Our corporate church worship is a new picture of Adam’s community in the Garden of Eden with God.
There are those who have died, and have gone to Heaven. There is community there as well. And as we worship God in corporate worship, we worship with all Saints, and with all the company of Heaven. We get to take part in a meal, the Lord’s Supper, in which we eat with Christ. We have much more Christian community with God then we realize. This is why going to church is important. It is where we keep covenant with God, share in His blessings, eat the daily bread He gives us, give our tithes and offerings to Him, etc. It is where we weekly renew covenant with God. This is where God first and foremost makes Himself known to us, so that we may go out and complete our tasks the rest of the week in our day-to-day lives.
Still, this is not the final goal. Nor is Heaven even the final goal. We still have our sinful nature. Heaven and earth may come together weekly. But even yet, there is still something missing. Although we come into Heaven’s presence, we do not see God, the angels, or the souls of those who have gone into Heaven. Heaven and earth are still two separate things. We have great community, but this, nor even Heaven, is our final hope.
Our final hope is in Final Resurrection glory. Heaven and earth will be one. Jesus will be King. There will not be a disconnect between our bodies and souls. We will have one good nature, and not our sinful nature. As many people in the Old Covenant prepared the way for Christ, so now we must prepare the way for the Final Resurrection. We do this by obeying the Great Commission, taking part in the community God has given us (which is the church), and preaching the Good News to all, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One day our community with God will be completely restored, and it will be even better than before the Fall. And we will have all of this forever!
But the first and foremost way to wait upon this final glory and community is to be thankful and partake in the glory and community we have now in Christ. Going to church is not something we do to win brownie points with God. It is where God makes Himself known. And if we forsake the assembly of the Saints now, then how do we expect God to let us into final glory? We must appreciate the story of the Bible more. Appreciate that we are God’s chosen People Who have been saved because our Groom, the Son of God Himself, died the death that the worst of sinners die. The Bible begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve, and ends with the marriage of Christ and His Bride. This story should fill our hearts and minds with wonder, and cause us to look ahead, and prepare the way for Christ’s second coming.
What do you think?
God bless America
God bless His Church
January 8, 2009
Ryan Hampton
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