Redeemed: How I Love to Proclaim It

There is power in stories. There is great power in great stories. The greatest story every told is that of Jesus. It is the redeemption story. It is THE story of all-time. The story of God’s action, interaction, presence and relationship across all of history with people and creation. What is this story exactly? What is redemption and why should I be proclaiming it? Redemption is:

God’s work to set things right again—to reverse the fall and bring all things back into harmony with his will; to defeat sin and Satan and restore us back to full relationship with him.

It is a vast, historic, all-encompassing story spanning millennia involving known and unknown events and people in all corners of the globe. It is also a living story—playing out contemporarily in all manner of ways in all number of lives. At the center of the story is Jesus, of course. Without him there would be no redemption story at all. So—think about—from before creation and throughout all of what we know as the OT, the story of redemption is evident—God working thru people, places, nations to make his presence known, call people to Him, proclaim his desire for relationship, while foreshadowing the crescendo of the story—Jesus. Then comes Christ who personified the story; living out the very meaning of redemption; personally, demonstrating God’s desire for full, restored relationship with us while paying the price for redemption on the cross and empowering us to live it out through the resurrection.

Read Ephesians 1:3-11 for the apostle Paul’s divine summary of this story.

Then that actually happened as Acts and the New Testament epistles chronicle. Exciting! They were singing redemption’s sweet song as they went into all the world and shared the Good News of the redeemer—Jesus Christ. The grand story of redemption being actualized as people from all lands, all ethnicity and all tongues came to Christ and changed the world. This is the power found in redemption—to renew and bring freshness, healing and new life.

And God continues to act to this day–still working out this eternal story to its ultimate completion when Jesus returns and brings complete redemption to all creation. Yes, it is a huge story, but is also not—for it is also a personal story. We are quite familiar with individuals in the story—Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Ruth, Saul, Hannah, David, Solomon, Daniel, Mary, Joseph, Peter and Paul. God called and worked through them and untold others to move the redemption story along. We remain in it—involved in this continual movement. It is critical that we believe and realize this truth. What God started, what Jesus delivered, and what remains yet completed but promised—the story of the redemption of the world; God wants to be our personal story as well just like as with those before us. They are the collection of witnesses surrounding us and urging us to complete our own redemption story—Hebrews 12. Redemption is to be what defines us; what drives us; what determines every aspect of our life. Redemption is to be that transformative. God did not work through history and send his Son to die for IT NOT TO BE. So, as we proclaim redemption throughout this year. Here is what I hope and pray will happen;

*We will more fully realize the depth and width of God’s love for us and we will more greatly appreciate the lengths Gods went to bring redemption about.

*We will become more aware of the ongoing work of God in Christ as the redemption story continues to play out now around us and in creation. It is about more than me.

*We will more clearly and precisely see ourselves in this story and better understand exactly what that means; and then allow that to finally, completely define us—to become fully integrated into God’s redemption. For us to fully own his story. It is not just a history lesson!

*We will then more completely realize that this changes everything—perhaps most importantly that fully embracing the redeemed identity will reframe how we view ourselves, our purpose and mission; understanding we are only resident aliens here, that this world and all it values is not our home.

*We will then be more encouraged and ready go and proclaim it—to actually share God’s story of redemption thru our story—for there is power in this telling: the power to bring blessed redemption to others. And I mean really tell it; to allow the Holy Spirit to empower our witness to those around us.

*We will then be more able to live in a greater sense of anticipation of Christ’s return and the full redemption of all—to the degree that allows us to frame life and all its challenges as just light and momentary bumps in the eternal road knowing we will be redeemed from them all when Jesus returns.

Why is all of this so significant? Well, it is the eternal movement of God in the world and it is still ongoing. Seeing ourselves firmly within this story and understanding this not just to be God’s will, but the most significant way we can live our life is a game changer. And because it is largely missing among us. That is evident with churches dying and shrinking with what is left of us competing for the same crowd. It is realized in that most in the world remain unconvinced that God really matters beyond perhaps helping us get what we want to keep up our lifestyle.  Fewer and fewer seem to know or care that he actually is active among us—the living God continuing to accomplish his will in difference-making ways in the world. We, the church are not acting as if the story of redemption is the single greatest story of all. Therefore, it does seem like a dusty old history lesson, rather than a continual, living, story of life, renewal and power among us. Yes, we may acknowledge that God is still here, still offers personal salvation and stands by on call when we need him, but we like to write our own stories, thank you very much, and quite frankly resist full integration into his story. Andrew Root in his book, Churches and the Crisis of Decline offers his thoughts on this:

We live in a secular age because we can imagine and at times do live, as though there is no transcendent quality to life at all. Most of us in the West can live our lives as though there is no living God who enters into history and speaks to persons. Westerners hold onto the idea of God (most of us “believe” in God, at least in America) but few of us are sure we can encounter this God.

So, how about it church? Who is up for changing that—for singing redemption’s sweet song? Who is ready for some radical renewal? Who is in need of transformative restoration? Who is sick and tired of the same ole, same ole? Who would like to see God break out boldly into the world around us? It is all about redemption! Redemption of hearts and souls; redemption of broken relationships; redemption from sin; addiction; fear; loneliness; anger; lostness. This Is the story; this Is the song.

Give thanks to the Lord, for his is good; his love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. (Psalms 107:1-3)

Wisdom from the Wilderness

Do you feel like you may be in the wilderness right now? Quarantines; viruses; isolation; uncertainty–all combined can certainly make us feel like we are on a wilderness wandering.

Of course, there was a group in history that actually was stuck in the wlderness. Scripture uses it as a watershed event–a crucial part of the biblical narrative and not just for Israel. Numerous wilderness lessons abound. Perhaps now is a perfect time to revisit some of them.

• The Call to Trust is Primary. From the start with their backs to the Red Sea, God called Israel to explicitly trust in him. Theirs was a journey to establish the kind of trust that would accomplish the task of nation-building. Israel was never more Israel when they actually processed, understood and acted in faith on this. Often though, they did not exhibit this kind of trust and suffered as a result. But God delivered them and delivered on his promises anyway. The call to trust is still primary. Christ’s ministry only reinforced this need (John 14:1). If we can learn to fully embrace trust then we can largely eliminate worry, doubt and everything else that robs us of the joy of God’s promises. Especially now–let’s trust God with all we are.
• God is Always Near. Israel had God in their sights–literally–both day and night (Exodus 13:21). They experienced Sinai first-hand. They witnessed Moses’s makeover after being with God. God was near. They saw it and felt it. We are equally assured that God is an “ever present help in our time of need’ (Psalm 46:1). The apostle Paul told a group of skeptics, that he is not far from any of us (Acts 17:27). This is why we can trust! Even if we are isolated in quarantine, we are never alone. Just as he saw Israel through, he will see us through as well.
• Always Push Toward the Promise. The wilderness was merely a temporary challenge. The Promise Land made every one of those challenges worth it. Some in Israel lost sight of this promise; lacked trust; forgot that God was near; grew faithless and stopped pushing toward that promise. This is one reason we know their story–why it is embedded in biblical narrative–so we can learn better. No matter what comes let’s “press on toward the goal” to borrow Paul’s phrase (Philippians 3:14). Let’s never allow whatever wilderness we face to defeat trust in us. We have our own promised place to realize (John 14 again).

No one wants to feel lost in a barren wilderness or face uncertain times, dealing with an unknown virus. If there is anything we can gain from the wilderness story, it is that no matter what looms ahead of us–it must be engaged with a ferocious sense of faith and trust. God will see us through.

Dreaming of Daniel

The book of Daniel is fascinating on many levels. It shares the compelling story of Daniel along with his friends as they overcome great obstacles to their faith in a strange and oppressive culture. It includes incredible stories of God’s rescue and of dreams and visions. It offers answers to some questions while leaving others open to a vast array of interpretations. Overall it presents a message of hope—to all generations—of God’s ultimate rescue for his people—things may seem hopeless, but better days are ahead.

Then and There

To understand Daniel, the book and the prophet must first be understood within the context that produced both. Daniel shared his prophecy primarily for his immediate audience—those in his time and place. Ripping the stories out of that context is not helpful to discovering their meaning.

Daniel’s story begins right after Babylon’s first attack on Jerusalem (see 2 Kings 24). Among those things seized in this attack were “some of the articles from the temple” (1:2) such as gold and silver cups (5:2). Also taken were people from the royal linage of David including Daniel and his three friends (known best by the names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) who play a significant role in the book. This was not an uncommon practice for conquering nations—take back the best the defeated country has to offer to serve the center of the empire at home.

The bigger picture in which Daniel was caught up was the fact that Judah was done. All of the previous prophecy and warning against impending doom was coming true. Because of their rebellion and sin, God’s people were being punished. Babylon was God’s chosen instrument. For the next seventy years, Judah as a viable nation would not exist. Many of her people would live in exile pushed to serve foreign gods in a strange land. What would become of these people? Did there remain a word from the Lord to them? This was the then and there. This is specifically what Daniel addresses. Everything that flows out of the book flows out of this context.

Faithfulness in Exile

Two of the most well-know Daniel stories focus on unwavering faith in the face of immense pressure. From the start Daniel and his friends established their commitment to remain true to the Torah (chapter 1) and as a result gained some favor. But this did not shield them from future pressure to compromise their faith. Both the fiery furnace (chapter 3) and the lion’s den (chapter 6) were the result of them not caving into pressure but rather remaining faithful to their God and his will. In both cases, God rescued them dramatically—sending a powerful message to the Babylon king and to anyone else who may have been listening.

God has not forgotten his people. God will reward faithfulness even in exile. God is not cowered or neutered by Babylonian might. The Babylonian king—regardless of how it may appear—is not the most powerful force in the world after all. God is still very much at work in the world to bring about his ultimate will.

One message is clear from these stories (and all of Daniel’s stories)—hope remains. Do not give up. Remain faithful. God is planning a rescue.

Dreaming of Better Days

King Nebuchadnezzar did not realize it but that is exactly what he was doing—not for himself and Babylon however, but for the people of God. His dreams (chapters 2 and 4) along with his son, Belshazzar’s “hand” written message (5) and Daniel’s own dreams and visions (7-11) all serve a similar purpose. While each contain different details, they all serve to further this story within the Story by proclaiming God’s ultimate deliverance of his people into a kingdom that far overshadows any that has come before it-including the mighty Babylonian empire

They all establish several significant truths:

• There is only one God and none of Babylon’s kings is it. Regardless of how exalted these kings thought they were—God was more so. It took Nebuchadnezzar some time in the pasture to discover this while his son, unfortunately for him, never discovered it.
• Human kingdoms will almost always turn beastly. Images of beasts and horns are aplenty in Daniel. Don’t get lost in them. They all signify human arrogance and abuse of power. Nothing about this has changed since Daniel’s day. Power continues to corrupt governments. Nations still arrogantly act as if all history depends upon them. If Daniel teaches us anything—it is that this is to be expected.
• No kingdom but God’s is forever, however. Human kingdoms come and go (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Roman—to name those covered by Daniel) but God’s kingdom outlasts them all—including whatever kingdoms exist now and in the future. God will tame all of these beasts.
• “The Story” remains God’s focus—and he is active in pursuing it. Daniel speaks of the “Son of Man,” “the Ancient of Days,” “Gabriel” and “Michael, the great prince” all participating in the story he was sharing. That story was about “The Story”—the coming kingdom of God in which true redemption would be found. It was the promise of those better days ahead in Christ Jesus. We should expect God continuing his work today among the nations to continue writing “The Story” in us.
• Like Daniel (chapter 9)—we must learn to be patient in the midst of our place in the story, and to trust God to ultimately bring full justice to this world—once for all establishing his eternal kingdom in his timing.

“A Pattern and a Promise”

This could be how best to consider Daniel’s story. Perhaps instead of trying to pinpoint each vision; each prophecy; and each dream to some point, place or person in history—maybe Daniel should be understood as a message for all of history as we find ourselves living it. Jesus referred to Daniel to address corruption in his day. John uses Daniel to confront the oppression in his time in the Revelation.

Daniel offers us a pattern, that is, as long as the earth stands, evil people will seize power, corrupt nations and oppress God’s people. He also offers us a promise—through this, God will never forget his people, always be working to finish The Story and ultimately one day slay all the beasts. Then his kingdom will flourish forever. Like Daniel and his contemporaries—we remain in the journey—as aliens and foreigners in this world. Again, like him, our call is to remain faithful in the exile.