Where Is Jesus To Be Found?

The church has always taught that Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection. Where then is He? In heaven? Yes. And everywhere else. But where may I find Him so that I too may speak with Him and hear Him speak to me? The specific answer to that question is where two or three are gathered together in Jesus' name. Let me explain.

As Jesus prepared to ascend to His rightful throne in heaven, He emphasized an important truth about Himself. He is both true Man, the Son of Man and He is LORD, the God who revealed Himself across the centuries to His people Israel. His is the Name revealed to Moses,

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" - Exd 3:14 ESV

A footnote translation reads: I am what I am, or I will be what I will be.

This is the Name of Jesus Christ. He is the ONE who revealed Himself to Moses and gave him the Name. This is the consistent witness of all true believers. As the Apostle Paul writes about true worshippers,

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Phl 2:9-11 ESV

To gather together in Jesus' name is therefore to gather together to worship, to praise and to pray to Him. Even before His ascension the LORD Jesus promised,

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." - Mat 18:20 ESV

Where is Jesus found? In His body, the assembly of the believers, the church among whom His Name is held sacred. There He is, teaching, warning, comforting, consoling and guiding. It need not be a great assembly of thousands—although it may well be. It can be two or three gathered to worship and praise. There He meets us. There He comes to speak to us through the mouths of our brothers and sisters. There is the power that only He can exert. There He speaks the word of forgiveness to the penitent. As Jesus said after His resurrection,

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." - Jhn 20:22-23 ESV

We all may at times have personal difficulties with the way our fellow Christians act. Even after baptism we believers retain our old Adam, our sinful natures. And we give into that nature. Indeed our life in Christ is a constant struggle, as Paul writes,

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. - Rom 7:18-20 ESV

And yet when we are assembled together in Jesus' Name He is among us, speaking His Word. The world around us does not see Him. But we do. And we rejoice in His Presence. He is what He is and He will be what He will be.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe. - Prov. 18:10

Healing And Growth In Our Families

We're continuing our discussion of the third purpose of marriage: restraint of sin. 


Have you ever asked a newly married couple if they plan to have children and they answer, "No! We have too many other things to do with our lives?" It happens, doesn't it? Couples reject the very thought of having kids in order to pursue their own self-centered plans.


But then the baby comes anyway, even at the most inconvenient time. And everything changes. I mean everything. This little person demands to be fed, have his diaper changed, put to bed, taught to walk, and on and on. The demands never end. And that is when marriage becomes a most wonderful place of learning, maturity and growth. In the family the children aren't the only ones to mature and grow up. Parents also learn to grow up and take on ever increasing responsibilities.


Of course we all know it doesn't always work that way. Our sinful nature does not disappear just because we have children. It asserts itself in endless ways. And here I'm talking to parents. Sadly some parents beat and whip their children into submission, ignore, neglect, shame, despise or force them into activities beyond their native abilities. They use their children to win their own glory, sexually abuse them, emotionally harass them and more—the list goes on and on.


Unless all in a family learn to control their self-interests—and the all includes both parents—everyone is hurt. How often have I seen that even in Christian homes, to say nothing about those families in which Christ is not present. This is why the larger Christian family, the church, emphasizes the importance of hearing God's Word, renewing our Baptism and eating and drinking at the Lord's Table week by week. These are the means by which our Lord continues the process that began with our rebirth, that moment when His Spirit gave us new life. When Jesus is present in our families to nourish our souls, guide our decisions, forgive our sins and heal our losses, we all grow together. That's a process that continues throughout our lives. It is a process that eventually includes all members of the extended family, grandparents, grandchildren, cousins, uncles, aunts and beyond. 


In this connection we must also speak about suffering, pain, separation and death. Strangely, even paradoxically, these times can even become opportunities to learn and grow. A soldier-husband is called to duty in a foreign country. Mom is left behind to raise and care for the children all by herself. A wife is suddenly afflicted with a mysterious disease that leaves her crippled and Dad is forced to work and make arrangements to care for Mom and the kids. Or even worse. Mom dies and Dad is now a single parent with three small children to raise. All this falls under the command of Jesus to take up our crosses and follow Him. And in those times He does not forsake us, but provides also His Spirit to strengthen and guide. Here is His promise: 

God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor. 10:13). 

Those of us who have been so tested look back upon and bear witness to the truth of His Word. He is ever with us as He promises and He does provide a way out of what at times seems to be impossible situations.


To sum up this part of our discussion, the third purpose of marriage is not merely to restrain and control sin. It is much more than that. It is an opportunity for both husband and wife to learn the meaning of Christ's love, that love He displayed when He gave Himself up for us all as a personal sacrifice on the cross (Ephesians 5:1-2). Sin in marriage is not only curbed and controlled, it is most especially forgiven in the name of Christ. Thus its destructive power is removed day by day. It loses the strength to tear apart our families. Christian couples and their families learn that this controlling principle of our new life in Christ works genuine healing in our marriages and families. We learn from the living Christ to be kind and how to forgive one another, even as God in Christ daily and richly forgives us (Ephesians 4:32). 

Dying to Live

Lent begins next week with Ash Wednesday. This year I am providing bulletin inserts explaining the meaning of Baptism in our lives. The first of these follows:

For 40 days, from Ash Wednesday to Palm or Passion Sunday and Holy Week, we prepare our hearts to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Easter). Since we never cease to celebrate His Resurrection on the first day of the week, Sundays are not numbered as part of the 40 days in Lent, this time of lengthening light. During these days we focus upon the daily task of dying with Christ so that we may rise with Him to a new life of faith and obedience.

Why 40 days? St. Matthew writes, “Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting 40 days and 40 nights.” Jesus chose not to eat for 40 days so that He might recall His forefathers’ 40 years of testing in the wild on their journey to Rest (Sabbath). They failed the Test. They never made it to the Promised Land. Jesus passed the Test for us all by humbling Himself and submitting to the will of His Father.

We too are tested—daily—to denounce our faith in our heavenly Father’s goodness, mercy and love. In our Baptism Christ calls us to follow Him by dying to the many ways we are tempted by the Devil, the surrounding world and our own sinful and rebellious nature to disobey God’s commands, to despair of His mercy and to bow before the empty idols of our culture. These 40 days are an opportunity to examine our hearts carefully, accept forgiveness for our sins, and rise with Christ to a new life. Dying and rising again with Christ is the daily life of a baptized believer.