Conversations at the Ranch with Dudley Hall

As believers, we celebrate the finished work of Jesus, emphasizing that He initiated and carried out redemption through His incarnation, perfect obedience, sacrificial death, miraculous resurrection, and majestic exaltation. We rejoice that there is nothing we can do to add to the full salvation He purchased for us. It is indeed glorious to meditate on the redemption story carried out in the life of Jesus. However, some have concluded that since His ascension to Heaven, He has taken a break from or even permanently retired from His work on our behalf. That assumption is a huge mistake, for He is still at work: 

Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25 NRSV). 

The recent election has revealed a tension many Christians feel as citizens of both heaven and earth. Some have concluded that, since we are born from heaven, we have little or no business trying to influence such matters as politics and civil government. Others have felt so connected to our earthly responsibilities that they have put too much hope in the civil structures of society. In the middle of the confusion, we have been susceptible to defining our preferences by the reputation or disposition of the individual candidate. We long for a clear word from our Lord about living in two kingdoms at the same time. 

As Jesus came to save (heal) the brokenness of the fallen world, He released the power to accomplish His purpose and extended that mission through His corporate body. The doctrine of suffering has been neglected in understanding the Christian experience. Yet, sacrifice is the core expression of love that transforms. Having a consistent doctrine of the mission of the church, which includes suffering, is essential for our implementation of a community that extends Christ’s healing in the world.

We are designed to live in connection to a leader. As created beings, we properly respond to our Creator as One who is worthy of worship and trust. It was only when we bought into the lie that we can be our own leaders without submission to anyone that we as the human race lost our way. 

Scripture relates a time in Israel’s history when the people were doing what was right in their own eyes and feeling frustrated. Discontented with Yahweh as their king, they longed for a human leader...

2020 has certainly been surprising to us all, and that surprise has manifested in a lot of different ways: Angry people are shouting, fearful people are fretting, predators are pouncing, and almost everyone is scratching their heads, wondering what is really going on. All the while, it seems as though the wise and mature are ignored as they stand in the shadows, leery of offering what they know is not welcomed. Take a moment and listen to this dynamic message!

The awareness of the existence of something greater, just out of reach, plagues all of humanity. C.S. Lewis recognized this when he spoke of having desires that nothing in this world can satisfy. His conclusion was that these unmet desires are evidence that we are made for another world. This is why fantasies captivate us. To learn more, take a few minutes and listen to this exciting message.

It is universally common to want to have a better life. No one sets out to have a bad life or a lesser life. As we read the Bible, we find words and concepts that grab our attention because they seem to offer ways to find that place of blessing.
It has always been relatively easy to misinterpret what that means. We long for victory over our enemies both external and internal. We see promises of prosperity, and eagerly seek to find ways of having it. The apostle Paul speaks of “always being led in Christ’s triumphal procession” (see 2 Corinthians 2:14). We know from reading the Gospels that Jesus paid a supreme price to purchase for us a kind of life that is worthy of his payment. Surely, he didn’t purchase a life of subpar existence. It must be better than the “toil and struggle” perspective that seems all too common. All of this leads us to ask the important question: What can we expect now? 

Amid all the bad news and global disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen a surge of speculation about the “last days” and the end times. If you’re like me, you’ve heard and read numerous things in recent days comparing the current viral outbreak to the plagues mentioned in the book of Revelation, usually accompanied by a suggestion that we are living in the last few moments of history. So, are we really living in “the last hour”? The answer is, “yes” and “no.”

Throughout the years, biblical scholars and theologians have searched for the historical Jesus. They have sought to know all they can about Jesus in his historical context. While this can certainly be a worthwhile and profitable study, I contend that there is another search that is more universal: searching for the essential Jesus.

God’s purpose in creation is to rule through his human partners. Adam and Eve were designed to tend the garden with a view to tending the whole earth. They had everything they needed to do just that. Their fall into sin left them afraid of the God who loved them, ashamed of the bodies he gave them, and dismayed at the task he assigned them. The story of redemption is the answer to each of these problems and provides the means for God to again have a community on earth that will display his image accurately and co-rule with him.