Letter 4/15

April 15, 2010
Pastor Steve Mathewson
  

Pastor Steve’s Weekly Letter For Thursday, April 15, 2010

Today I am enjoying a final day of fly-fishing in Montana. I sure look forward to returning home tomorrow evening, but I am hoping to make the most of this final day. It may seem like an odd time of year to do this, especially since the weather in Montana can be quite unpredictable. The late Ray Stedman, a long-time pastor and a former mentor of mine, grew up in Montana and used to call this time of year “sprinter.” He said that April was always a collision between winter and spring! But I have two reasons for fishing in Montana this time of year. First, flights are a lot cheaper than in the summer. I found a ticket out of Midway for just over $200.00! Second, some of the best trout fishing in Montana takes place in the spring when the rainbows are heading up the rivers to spawn. Rainy, snowy weather even makes the fishing better because it intensifies the insect hatches which send the fish into a feeding frenzy. Some of the best fishing I have experienced has been during spring snow storms!

Last week, I shared with you the first half of a list that I compiled on Good Friday. The list is “fifty reasons why Christ was raised from death.” I share this list because the sheer weight of these reasons compels us to exalt God and to make more effort to carry out the mission of God. Again, this list roughly followers the flow of the New Testament. Here, then, are the final twenty-five reasons which Scripture gives for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Read them and worship God!

26. To clothe us with immortality (1 Cor. 15:53)

27. To overcome the power of the law (1 Cor. 15:56)

28. To provide a reason for us to give ourselves fully to the Lord’s work (1 Cor. 15:58)                

29. To give us hope in hardship and trials (2 Cor. 1:8-10)

30. To enable us to live for someone greater than ourselves (2 Cor. 5:15)

31. To demonstrate God’s mighty power (Eph. 1:19-20)

32. To show us the incomparable riches of God’s grace (Eph. 2:7)

33. To enable us to know him and the power of his resurrection (Phil. 3:10-11; Rom. 6:5)

34. To make us full in him (Col. 2:9-12)

35. To cause you to set your hearts on things above (Col. 3:1-2)

36. To enable you to appear with him in glory (Col. 3:4)

37. To enable you to put to death the actions of the old life (Col. 3:5-10)

38. To enable him to rescue us from coming wrath (1 Thess. 1:10)

39. To give us a new birth into a living hope (1 Peter 1:3; Acts 23:6; 1 Thess. 4:13)

40. To glorify the Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:18-21)                                                                        

41. To show that God is the God of the living, not the dead (Matt. 22:30-32)

42. To confirm his words about being raised to life (Matt. 28:6)

43. To receive authority to continue the mission of God (Matt. 28:18-20)

44. To share his presence with his followers until his second coming (Matt. 28:20)

45. To give instructions and teach about the fulfillment of the mission of God (Acts 1:2-3)

46. To prove God’s intent to judge the world with justice (Acts 17:31; Rev. 19:11-21)

47. To provide for the resurrection of the wicked for their judgment (Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:11-15)

48. To give him preeminence as the firstborn from the dead (Rev. 1:5)

49. To enable him to serve as our eternal shepherd (Rev. 2:17)                                       

50. To give us life in the unfiltered presence of God on the new earth (Rev. 21:3-4, 22; 22:1)

Pastor Rick and I had breakfast last Thursday with Bill Hamel, the President of our denomination, the Evangelical Free Church of America. During our conversation, Bill talked about how some EFCA churches are struggling because they are too caught up in the past to embrace the mission that God has given to them. I pray that we will be mission-minded in light of what Jesus has done for us, knowing that “our labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). This Sunday, April 18, I look forward to handling the second myth in our series on “Parenting Myths.” Myth #2 is that good parents focus on making their children happy. We will look at Hebrews 12:4-11 to correct this idea. I’ll see you on Sunday!