Godgrown

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  Mark 7:40 am on February 1, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

  The Last Chapter and the One After That 

  The final chapter of Isaiah is an exciting and harrowing chapter of God speaking over his brand new nation – Israel 2.0.  This picture of Israel will be based on a people who love and listen to a God “who is always broadcasting” and marks the citizens as his people who will be a blessing to every nation on earth.   He gets the final soliloquy, the final act – no one else gets a word in edge-wise throughout the chapter!  God himself defines his people through the vision he has for them, and what a picture he paints…

  God’s people are one of unity, peace, justice and harmony.  They are a people that attract every nation on the earth and who listen intently to their loving God.

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  It has been a joy reading through the book of Isaiah and theo-blogging each chapter!  I didn’t know if I could do it starting out, but each day was truly an exercise in writing, an exercise in learning about the text – and in learning more about this great and mysterious God we love!

  I’d like to continue a daily blog post of some sort.  It may go into different series, or there may be more Bible-based chapter-by-chapter studies I’ll follow.  My Micro I’m a part of will be diving into Zachariah next, but I’ll spare you a blog series on another prophet for the time being.

  For over 5 years now, it has been my joy and privilege to write to you through this blog.  Here’s to another 5 years!

  
   

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  Mark 5:17 pm on December 12, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  What Eternity Tastes Like! 

  

  Sometimes reading through the prophets of the Bible can be a little awkward, and not a little depressing.  No doubt as we’ve been carving a path through Isaiah the last few weeks, there has been plenty of scandalous material to consider – some of which I never really stopped to think about before.  I hope it has been enlightening and encouraging for you too.

  But here’s where its all headed.

  Some say that the biggest problem with the church today is not compromised morals, or a leadership crisis, or secularism…but a real loss of focus of where things are headed.  When you know where you’re headed, you’ll work together to get there – when you disagree about the end game, bickering and meandering ensues.

  Chapter 25 is Isaiah’s best look at the final scene for all humanity – a climax in the prophecy and a reminder of what we can look forward to and passionately pursue together:

  First, there will be judgment of all the earth, not out of pure wrath and anger, but out of a desire to create a new community built on faithfulness.  (verse 1)  This is a community that is all-inclusive; including all nations, and all peoples! (v 3, 6-7, see also Revelation 7:9 for a great picture of this last scene in future-prophecy!)

  Yahweh God is seen toppling the self-centered cities, and establishing a new kind of city, centered on God himself and welcoming the refugees from across the globe.  At first, this dismantling of human civilization will terrorize people of the earth, but then they will see the beauty of God’s new creation!

  In his incredible new civilization, God will prepare a banquet table on his mountain – where all people are welcome. And as part of the dinner’s entertainment, the whole earth will watch as Yahweh slays death, and then “swallow it up forever!”  Death is for dessert! The dining crowd will shout in celebration and God will wipe every tear from all faces.

  This is where things are headed: A new kind of civilization, God-centered – with representatives from every “tongue, tribe, and nation” giving praise to the God who conquers death and invites us into table fellowship with him and each other!

  But the surprise is, you have the chance to live that amazing future is now! Why wait until the end of the book – God invites you to try out this incredible life today.  Its better than the cynicism or fear you’ve been taught to expect out of life.  This is a new way to be human – a way emerges out of faithfulness rather than fear.

  Give it a try – experience table fellowship and reconciliation with a few others.  Start communities of faith among every tongue, tribe and nation represented in your city!  Cultivate God-centered community as you wait for the new Jerusalem to come in full.  See what is possible with God.  See what eternity tastes like!

  

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  Mark 8:24 am on November 30, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Dallas Theological Seminary, History Channel, Left Behind books   

  “Life After People,” or “The Hanging Gardens of NYC” 

  Look around you – literally look up from your computer and examine your surroundings.  You’re likely indoors (outside?  BRR!), possibly at work, home, or at a coffeehouse.  If you can see other people, watch how they are using the space.  Think about the intent of the builder – what was this space designed for?

  Now imagine your space with no people at all.  Imagine it goes a week without a soul walking in – what has happened?  Any plants that need watering?  Next, imagine what would happen if it was 1 month and no one had entered the space… 2 months… 6 months… a year… 10 years… 100 years… 1000 years!

  That is the premise of an intriguing (and slightly silly) History Channel documentary, Life After People. Without dealing with the question of how every human on earth disappears (has someone from Dallas Theological Seminary or the Left Behind books become a producer at the History Channel?!?) they look at the effects of planet earth reclaiming the spaces we’ve designed for human civilization.  First the tunnels and subways would fill with seawater, next, power stations would begin to shut down…over time, wild and domesticated animals would reclaim downtown spaces – turning each crumbling high rise into a vertical jungle.  If zoo animals escaped their pens – there could be tigers and rhinoceros roaming the streets of NYC or the great Midwestern plains.  Without humanity, the world would look very different.

  Isaiah takes a stab at this too – as he foretells the fall of the mighty Babylonian Empire.  At the time, the most prominent empire on the planet, Isaiah doesn’t even blink as he portrays the violent overthrow of the fortified capital and the Babylonian region.

  20 Babylon will never be inhabited again.

  It will remain empty for generation after generation.

  Nomads will refuse to camp there,

  and shepherds will not bed down their sheep.

  21 Desert animals will move into the ruined city,

  and the houses will be haunted by howling creatures.

  Owls will live among the ruins,

  and wild goats will go there to dance.

  22 Hyenas will howl in its fortresses,

  and jackals will make dens in its luxurious palaces.

  Babylon’s days are numbered;

  its time of destruction will soon arrive.

  We tend to assume that the world as it is today is a “given,” when in fact we are always just a few short hours away from a complete natural disaster waiting to overtake us – bringing us “back to nature,” (as if we could ever leave it).  

  Babylon was known for its power and might – conquering even the mighty power of nature with its hanging gardens, and hydro-power.  But even before the time of Christ the city had been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self.  The gardens had overrun the city, and now plants once again controlled the once-powerful city.

  The next time you find yourself walking in a major metropolis, or driving down a freeway, look around and consider for a moment “life after people,” and