The Gate keeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice and come to him; and He calls his own sheep by name and Leads them out.
When I have sadly misunderstood Him? (John 20:17). it is possible to know all about doctrine and yet not know Jesus. The Soul is in danger when knowledge of doctrine out steps intimate touch with Jesus. Why was Mary weeping? Doctrine was no more to Mary then grass under her feet. Any Pharisee could have made a fool out of Mary doctrinally, but one thing they could not ridicule out of her was the fact that Jesus had cast seven- demons out of her; yet his blessings were nothing in comparison to Himself. Mary "saw Jesus standing and knew not whether it was Jesus...;" immediately she heard the voice,she knew she had a past history with the One who spoke, "Master!"
When have I stubbornly doubted? (John 20:27). Then He said to Thomas, " put your finger into my hands. Put your hand into my side. Don't be faithless any longer. BELIEVE!"
Have you been doubting something about Jesus- an experience to which others testify but which you have not had? The other disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus, but Thomas doubted- Except I shall see..., I will not believe." Thomas needed a personal touch of Jesus. When his touches come, or how they come, we do not know; but when they do come they are indescribably precious.
"My Lord my God!"
When have we selfishly denied Him? ( John 21; 15-17). After breakfast Jesus said to Simon Peter, " Simon, son of John, do you love me more then these others? "Yes," "Then feed my lambs",(children) Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: " Simon, son of John, do you really love me?"
"Yes Lord," Peter said, "You know I love you." " Then take care of my sheep," Jesus said.
Once more he asks him, " Simon,son of John, are you even my friend?"
Peter was grieved at the way Jesus asked this question for the third time. " Lord you know my heart; (all things)." Jesus said, then feed my little sheep."
Peter had denied Jesus with oaths and curses, and yet after the resurrection Jesus appeared to Peter alone. He restored him in private, the Jesus restored him before the others." Lord, thou knowest that I love thee."
Have you a personal history with Jesus Christ? The one sign of discipleship is intimate connection with him, a knowledge of Jesus Christ which nothing can shake.
Monday, August 15, 2016
Friday, August 12, 2016
Theology of Rest Matthew 8:26.
"Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith?"
When we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God, but our Lord has a right to expect those who name His name should have a understanding confidence in Him.
God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones. Our trust is in God up to a certain point, then we go back to the elementary panic prayers of those who don't know God. We get to our wit's end, showing that we have not the slightest confidence in Him.
and His government of the world. He seems to be asleep, and we see nothing but breakers ahead.
"O ye of little faith!" What a pang must have shot through the disciples-" Missed it again!"
And what a pang will go through us when we suddenly realize that we might have produced downright joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, no matter what was ahead.
There are stages in life when their is no storm, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him.
We have been talking a great deal about sanctification-what is it going to amount to? It should work out into rest in God which means oneness with God, a oneness which shall make us blameless in His sight, but a deep joy to him.
GOD EXPECTS HIS CHILDREN TO BE SO CONFIDENT
IN HIM THAT IN ANY CRISIS
THEY ARE THE RELIABLE ONES."
When we are in fear we can do nothing less than pray to God, but our Lord has a right to expect those who name His name should have a understanding confidence in Him.
God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the reliable ones. Our trust is in God up to a certain point, then we go back to the elementary panic prayers of those who don't know God. We get to our wit's end, showing that we have not the slightest confidence in Him.
and His government of the world. He seems to be asleep, and we see nothing but breakers ahead.
"O ye of little faith!" What a pang must have shot through the disciples-" Missed it again!"
And what a pang will go through us when we suddenly realize that we might have produced downright joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, no matter what was ahead.
There are stages in life when their is no storm, no crisis, when we do our human best; it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to trust Him, the crisis will reveal that we will go to the breaking point and not break in our confidence in Him.
We have been talking a great deal about sanctification-what is it going to amount to? It should work out into rest in God which means oneness with God, a oneness which shall make us blameless in His sight, but a deep joy to him.
GOD EXPECTS HIS CHILDREN TO BE SO CONFIDENT
IN HIM THAT IN ANY CRISIS
THEY ARE THE RELIABLE ONES."
Thursday, August 11, 2016
God revealed-in a Human Person!
Within the gospel reading's are the profound words, with the simple message that God is revealed in a human person. Though we might try to understand how the word existed with God, from the beginning of time, The wonder we celebrate at Christmas is that the word continues to dwell among us. Christ comes among us in the gathered assembly, the scriptures, the waters of new birth, and the bread and wine.
Few words in scripture have gripped the human mind with the power of the opening lines in the fourth gospel:
In the beginning was the word
And the word was God.
And the word was God...
The Western Church used these words for centuries as a blessing for the sick and for the newly baptized children. It was even placed in amulets and hung around the neck to protect one from sickness.
It's seductive, though, to be so entranced by the mysterious repetition and simplicity of these words,
that we forget their importance. Like all human words, they are meant to bear a message, and that message becomes clear only at the end of this passage:
No one has ever seen God:
It is God the only Son, ever at the father's side,
Who has revealed him.
Jesus Christ has solved this riddle of God.
Riddles are not simply childish jokes. They have a long history in humanity's quest to understand the world. Have you heard the " Riddle of Sphinx?"
The ancient Greeks told of a monster which came each year with a riddle. " What speaks with one voice, but walks on four legs, on two legs, and on three legs?" If no one could answer, the sphinx would capture the victim and carry him away for dinner. Finally Opedipus answered the riddle by saying that man crawls on all fours when he is small, walks on two legs when he is grown, and hobbles with a cane when he is old. By answering the riddle, he saved the city.
We still use the "riddle" in his serious sense when we talk about the "riddle of life." or the riddle of suffering."
For many people God is a riddle. They would pose a question like this: " If there is a God, why do the innocent suffer?
Why is there so much pain and suffering?
Why is there so much pain and sorrow in the world?" or they ask " Why does God demand so much of us, when he didn't create us perfect in the first place ?"
We ought to take these questions quite seriously, because they remind us that the existence of evil and imperfection becomes an acute problem when we dare to talk about a loving God. Even the church calendar poses this riddle when it places observance of St, Stephen's day and holy Innocents day right after Christmas Day. It's as though we barely have time to hear the angels sing about " peace on earth" before we are reminded that people were stoned for their Christian faith and that a King so feared the coming of Christ that he tried to kill all the children under two years of age.
For a Christian then, the riddle would be: What kind of a God would let himself and his followers be pushed around by a hard cruel world?"
We are not the first ones to puzzle over this question? The gospels reminds us that confusion and misunderstanding have clouded the good news of God from the beginning.
"He was in the world... yet the world knew him not, " He came to his own home and his own people received him not." The rest of gospel of John repeatedly calls attention to the fact that people misunderstood Jesus- from Nicodemus asking " How can a man be born again when he is old?"to Pilate impatiently snapping, What is truth?"
An yet the answer to the riddle was there. That's the way it is with good riddles, When you really understand the question, you already have the answer.
Do you remember that old favorite about " What is black and white and read all over?" The secret to that riddle was the sound of the word "read." " newspaper."
Once you understood that it did not refer to the color red, the answer to the riddle made sense. Or
take the one that went:
"Railway crossing, look out for the cars.
Can you spell it with out any R's
When you realize that the task is to spell " it" rather then Railroad crossing, the answer becomes self evident.
The riddle of God is like: "that Once we grasp the key word, questions about his power and his will can be answered". John says the key word for today's riddles, is " Word;" "And the word became flesh
and dwelt among us."When we try to solve a riddle of God from any other starting point, we run into a dead end.
That's what Jesus meant when he said, " No man comes to the Father but by me."
How does Jesus solve the riddle? He shows us how God's power differs from our usual concept of power. For us, power means strength to have it our way, no matter who opposes us .We use it in like
"power-play or power-hungry." Today in a community, the people who make decisions and can enforce them are called the Power structure!
No body would dare challenge us. Power is that ability to eliminate the opposition.
If that's what "power" means, then God should have the power to blot out evil, protect his followers, and eliminate suffering. Prisoners of war have testified that the best resource they had against torture
and abuse was the absence of fear. When they worried a bout their reactions, the enemy had them in their grip. Christ met human anger, betrayal and even death, not by becoming angry himself, but by accepting the worst we could dish out and proving it could not destroy him. His resurrection illustrated how God's power works. It does not eliminate death. It simply takes away death's finality.
Jesus spent much of his ministry urging people to see that suffering does not go unnoticed. God marks the fall of a sparrow and the plight of the leper.
So Jesus becomes the key to understand the riddle of how to deal with suffering in a sinful world.
,
Few words in scripture have gripped the human mind with the power of the opening lines in the fourth gospel:
In the beginning was the word
And the word was God.
And the word was God...
The Western Church used these words for centuries as a blessing for the sick and for the newly baptized children. It was even placed in amulets and hung around the neck to protect one from sickness.
It's seductive, though, to be so entranced by the mysterious repetition and simplicity of these words,
that we forget their importance. Like all human words, they are meant to bear a message, and that message becomes clear only at the end of this passage:
No one has ever seen God:
It is God the only Son, ever at the father's side,
Who has revealed him.
Jesus Christ has solved this riddle of God.
Riddles are not simply childish jokes. They have a long history in humanity's quest to understand the world. Have you heard the " Riddle of Sphinx?"
The ancient Greeks told of a monster which came each year with a riddle. " What speaks with one voice, but walks on four legs, on two legs, and on three legs?" If no one could answer, the sphinx would capture the victim and carry him away for dinner. Finally Opedipus answered the riddle by saying that man crawls on all fours when he is small, walks on two legs when he is grown, and hobbles with a cane when he is old. By answering the riddle, he saved the city.
We still use the "riddle" in his serious sense when we talk about the "riddle of life." or the riddle of suffering."
For many people God is a riddle. They would pose a question like this: " If there is a God, why do the innocent suffer?
Why is there so much pain and suffering?
Why is there so much pain and sorrow in the world?" or they ask " Why does God demand so much of us, when he didn't create us perfect in the first place ?"
We ought to take these questions quite seriously, because they remind us that the existence of evil and imperfection becomes an acute problem when we dare to talk about a loving God. Even the church calendar poses this riddle when it places observance of St, Stephen's day and holy Innocents day right after Christmas Day. It's as though we barely have time to hear the angels sing about " peace on earth" before we are reminded that people were stoned for their Christian faith and that a King so feared the coming of Christ that he tried to kill all the children under two years of age.
For a Christian then, the riddle would be: What kind of a God would let himself and his followers be pushed around by a hard cruel world?"
We are not the first ones to puzzle over this question? The gospels reminds us that confusion and misunderstanding have clouded the good news of God from the beginning.
"He was in the world... yet the world knew him not, " He came to his own home and his own people received him not." The rest of gospel of John repeatedly calls attention to the fact that people misunderstood Jesus- from Nicodemus asking " How can a man be born again when he is old?"to Pilate impatiently snapping, What is truth?"
An yet the answer to the riddle was there. That's the way it is with good riddles, When you really understand the question, you already have the answer.
Do you remember that old favorite about " What is black and white and read all over?" The secret to that riddle was the sound of the word "read." " newspaper."
Once you understood that it did not refer to the color red, the answer to the riddle made sense. Or
take the one that went:
"Railway crossing, look out for the cars.
Can you spell it with out any R's
When you realize that the task is to spell " it" rather then Railroad crossing, the answer becomes self evident.
The riddle of God is like: "that Once we grasp the key word, questions about his power and his will can be answered". John says the key word for today's riddles, is " Word;" "And the word became flesh
and dwelt among us."When we try to solve a riddle of God from any other starting point, we run into a dead end.
That's what Jesus meant when he said, " No man comes to the Father but by me."
How does Jesus solve the riddle? He shows us how God's power differs from our usual concept of power. For us, power means strength to have it our way, no matter who opposes us .We use it in like
"power-play or power-hungry." Today in a community, the people who make decisions and can enforce them are called the Power structure!
No body would dare challenge us. Power is that ability to eliminate the opposition.
If that's what "power" means, then God should have the power to blot out evil, protect his followers, and eliminate suffering. Prisoners of war have testified that the best resource they had against torture
and abuse was the absence of fear. When they worried a bout their reactions, the enemy had them in their grip. Christ met human anger, betrayal and even death, not by becoming angry himself, but by accepting the worst we could dish out and proving it could not destroy him. His resurrection illustrated how God's power works. It does not eliminate death. It simply takes away death's finality.
Jesus spent much of his ministry urging people to see that suffering does not go unnoticed. God marks the fall of a sparrow and the plight of the leper.
So Jesus becomes the key to understand the riddle of how to deal with suffering in a sinful world.
,
Monday, August 8, 2016
Going to Hell with Heaven on your mind! [ Mark 10: 17-22]
No matter how you approach the subject, Hell is an awful thought. Hell is a place where the eternal torment and pain in unquenchable fire. (flames). Hell is a terrible memories and horrible thirst. Hell is a place of eternal separation from everything of beauty that resides in this world. Hell is eternal separation from the presence of God. Hell is a place for Satan (Devil) and his angels., but all those who reject Jesus as Lord and Savior will go there for all eternity. Hell would be a horrible place to spend eternity. The only thing worst is to Go to hell with Heaven on your mind. Does that really happens?
Theses are the people and their rejection of the Savior.
Judas Iscariot- He kissed the gates of heaven and went to Hell- Matt. 26:49; Acts 1:25.
Felix- He looked into salvation, but he wanted to wait to a more convenient time. Acts 24:25.
Herod Agrippa- He steeped up to the very door of heaven and turned away- Acts 26:28.
Festus- He heard the claims of the Gospel and called them the ravings of a mad man-Acts 26:24.
The very same thing takes place in this text; this Rich man was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, " Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, " Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: " You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness, you shall not defraud; 'honor your Father and Mother. He replied and said to him, ' You are lacking one thing, " Go and sell what you have, and give to the [poor ] and you will have treasure in Heaven; then come, follow me. At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. "How hard it is for those who have wealth, to enter the "kingdom of God!" ( Their wealth was more important then the salvation of their Soul!)
People today come into our churches, ( they hear the gospel message, they are told to acknowledge and repent of their sins, and turn to Jesus for salvation, but many leave the church just like they came in, lost and still on their way to Hell, and to die, with Heaven on their mind.
Matthew tells us " the Rich Man" had his youth, (Matt. 19:22) He lived a life of Privilege. The world was his! Anything he wanted was well within his reach.
Luke tells us that this man was a "ruler", (Luke 18:18). This probably means that he was an influential leader local synagogue.
According to all the information we have about this man, it appears that he was very moral, (v.20.)
He lived a good life. People all over looked at this rich moral young man, as a religious leader. He was riding high on his success. Looking on his life, you might think, he had it all. But, appearances are deceiving! In spite of everything, He had one big "skeleton" in his closet! An itch he couldn't scratch! Even with his much, his swift climb of the ladder (Social), it failed to give him what he wanted most (peace with God). Maybe you are in this same situation?Maybe you are a church leader, teacher, and everybody thinks your life is complete. But you know something is missing. You know what it takes to live, but are unprepared to die. For you do not have spiritual peace with God.
He came running's to Jesus' to fulfill his needs that his senses and the urgency, requited, action and he was ashamed to admit he has a spiritual need. He wants to know how he might " inherit eternal life."
This young man has a lot going for him. He, has it all! Yet, with all his power, his possessions and privileges, he still does not know the answer to the greatest of all questions, He knows a lot of things, but he is forced to admit, that He doesn't know the way to Heaven! He comes to Jesus with thoughts of Heaven on his mind.
You don't find many people who are thinking about eternity! Most people are so wrapped up in themselves and their lives that they have no thoughts of God, Heaven, hell, or eternity. " We can go at anytime!
People know a lot about many things, but their thoughts hardly ever turn to matters of God! Man can split atoms, put a man on the moon, harness the power of the sun, wind and rain, but he doesn't know how to get to Heaven, and eventually takes the road to hell. Sad fact is, most people don't even care to know. You see, death is coming; ( Heb. 9:27). If we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins, but a fearful and flaming fire, that is going to consume the adversaries. In the days of Moses, if you rejected; evidently sin against the law, but not just any law, but idolaters, (Dt. 17,2:7). One day soon, we will leave this world forever, we don't know the exact date? When we do, we will either go to Heaven or Hell. When you die, it will be determined by what you do with Jesus, while you are alive. You see the young man's confusion in our text was this, he was concerned about the right issue, in the presence of the right person, John 14:6; Acts 4:12. He comes at the right time, Isa. 55:6; and he came the right way, 1 Peter 5;5. This man gets a lot of things right in his encounter with the Lord. But, it is the things he gets wrong that causes him trouble. (1, He thinks salvation can be earned. He's looking for the "Do" oriented salvation. He wants to have a hand in it. He wants to be involved in it. He wants to get his salvation like he's gotten everything else in life: He wants to earn it for himself. He seems to think that if he can do just enough good things, then God would reward him with eternal life: Salvation is not a reward for service, but it is the gift of Grace, JOHN 10:28!
THE BIBLE TELLS US IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THAT SALVATION IS NEVER ABOUT "DO" Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Salvation through Jesus Christ, is always about "Done!" When Jesus died on the cross, He said it is "finished!" He did it all and there is nothing you and I can do to add to it or get in on our own.
Salvation was achieved by Jesus when He died on the cross and rose again. It is received by us when we accepted what He did by faith! Salvation has never been about what we can do, but it has always been about what Jesus did!
Theses are the people and their rejection of the Savior.
Judas Iscariot- He kissed the gates of heaven and went to Hell- Matt. 26:49; Acts 1:25.
Felix- He looked into salvation, but he wanted to wait to a more convenient time. Acts 24:25.
Herod Agrippa- He steeped up to the very door of heaven and turned away- Acts 26:28.
Festus- He heard the claims of the Gospel and called them the ravings of a mad man-Acts 26:24.
The very same thing takes place in this text; this Rich man was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, " Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, " Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: " You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness, you shall not defraud; 'honor your Father and Mother. He replied and said to him, ' You are lacking one thing, " Go and sell what you have, and give to the [poor ] and you will have treasure in Heaven; then come, follow me. At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. "How hard it is for those who have wealth, to enter the "kingdom of God!" ( Their wealth was more important then the salvation of their Soul!)
People today come into our churches, ( they hear the gospel message, they are told to acknowledge and repent of their sins, and turn to Jesus for salvation, but many leave the church just like they came in, lost and still on their way to Hell, and to die, with Heaven on their mind.
Matthew tells us " the Rich Man" had his youth, (Matt. 19:22) He lived a life of Privilege. The world was his! Anything he wanted was well within his reach.
Luke tells us that this man was a "ruler", (Luke 18:18). This probably means that he was an influential leader local synagogue.
According to all the information we have about this man, it appears that he was very moral, (v.20.)
He lived a good life. People all over looked at this rich moral young man, as a religious leader. He was riding high on his success. Looking on his life, you might think, he had it all. But, appearances are deceiving! In spite of everything, He had one big "skeleton" in his closet! An itch he couldn't scratch! Even with his much, his swift climb of the ladder (Social), it failed to give him what he wanted most (peace with God). Maybe you are in this same situation?Maybe you are a church leader, teacher, and everybody thinks your life is complete. But you know something is missing. You know what it takes to live, but are unprepared to die. For you do not have spiritual peace with God.
He came running's to Jesus' to fulfill his needs that his senses and the urgency, requited, action and he was ashamed to admit he has a spiritual need. He wants to know how he might " inherit eternal life."
This young man has a lot going for him. He, has it all! Yet, with all his power, his possessions and privileges, he still does not know the answer to the greatest of all questions, He knows a lot of things, but he is forced to admit, that He doesn't know the way to Heaven! He comes to Jesus with thoughts of Heaven on his mind.
You don't find many people who are thinking about eternity! Most people are so wrapped up in themselves and their lives that they have no thoughts of God, Heaven, hell, or eternity. " We can go at anytime!
People know a lot about many things, but their thoughts hardly ever turn to matters of God! Man can split atoms, put a man on the moon, harness the power of the sun, wind and rain, but he doesn't know how to get to Heaven, and eventually takes the road to hell. Sad fact is, most people don't even care to know. You see, death is coming; ( Heb. 9:27). If we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins, but a fearful and flaming fire, that is going to consume the adversaries. In the days of Moses, if you rejected; evidently sin against the law, but not just any law, but idolaters, (Dt. 17,2:7). One day soon, we will leave this world forever, we don't know the exact date? When we do, we will either go to Heaven or Hell. When you die, it will be determined by what you do with Jesus, while you are alive. You see the young man's confusion in our text was this, he was concerned about the right issue, in the presence of the right person, John 14:6; Acts 4:12. He comes at the right time, Isa. 55:6; and he came the right way, 1 Peter 5;5. This man gets a lot of things right in his encounter with the Lord. But, it is the things he gets wrong that causes him trouble. (1, He thinks salvation can be earned. He's looking for the "Do" oriented salvation. He wants to have a hand in it. He wants to be involved in it. He wants to get his salvation like he's gotten everything else in life: He wants to earn it for himself. He seems to think that if he can do just enough good things, then God would reward him with eternal life: Salvation is not a reward for service, but it is the gift of Grace, JOHN 10:28!
THE BIBLE TELLS US IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THAT SALVATION IS NEVER ABOUT "DO" Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Salvation through Jesus Christ, is always about "Done!" When Jesus died on the cross, He said it is "finished!" He did it all and there is nothing you and I can do to add to it or get in on our own.
Salvation was achieved by Jesus when He died on the cross and rose again. It is received by us when we accepted what He did by faith! Salvation has never been about what we can do, but it has always been about what Jesus did!
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth. Luke 4: 14-21 Home at Last.
Then Jesus returned to Galilee, full of the Holy Spirit's power. Soon He became well known through out all that region, for his sermons in the synagogues, Every one praised him. when he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on Saturday, and stood up to read the scriptures.
The book of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he opened it to the place where it says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach the Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessing to all that come to him, ready to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He closed the book and handed it back to the attendant and sat down, while everyone in the synagogue gazed at him intently. " These Scriptures came true today!
Jesus was directed by the Holy Spirit to his contest with the devil. After his baptism in the Jordan river, he is led by the spirit into the desert, a location reminiscent of the wilderness through which Israel was guided by Moses. the temptation lasted forty days and; this again reminds one of the forty years Exodus from Egypt. the forty days which Jesus spent in the desert are the origin of the forty day period of lent. During these forty days Jesus fasted.; He ate nothing and so he was very hungry. The devil seizes on this situation by suggesting to Jesus: " If you are the Son-of God, tell this stone to become bread." The devil is not so much challenging Jesus to prove his divine Son-ship as to temp him to use the son-ship for his own selfish purpose: by providing bread for himself. Jesus responds by quoting a portion Deuteronomy 8:3: ( Yes he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to both you and your ancestors. he did it to help you realize that food isn't everything, that man does not live by bread alone, and that real life comes by obeying every command of God.)
These are the words Moses addressed to Israel.The next temptation is of a political in nature. The devil led Jesus to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. Then another test: " I will give you all the authority and splendor that you see if you worship me." As the Son-of God, Jesus had almighty power; And he overcomes the Satan with a quotation from Deut. 6:13. "Worship the Lord your God and him only." We are to use the word of God to be winners over the temptations which come from Satan. Jesus won victory over Satan by using the sword of the spirit,
( which is the of word of God) to resist temptation of the devil. The defeat of the devil in the desert is not the end of the story. But, the devil would continue various tests in his earthly ministry.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the spirit. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up and on the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue, as was his custom, and he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet "Isaiah" was handed to him, which we heard earlier in the text. Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. The first few verses of John are among the most popular in the Bible: In the beginning was the "Word", and the "Word" was with God, and the "Word" was God. The words fairly leap off the page. as you begin to read God's scriptures, you feel you have entered a new level of God's truth in Jesus Christ. In the beginning of Johns Gospel through the word (God) speaks of Heaven which is the popularity within detail about a life beyond the grave. The promise of Heaven as Christ promise in John 14:1-3.; " In my Father's house is many rooms, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; and when you are ready I will come and take you there." ( Jesus is no liar).Heaven is a glorious city, a country, God's kingdom, paradise. Because of the warm image that is found there: Heaven is a home. We need a home, instead of a picture of a cold grave. We Had a home in Eden. But "Sin" caused a loss of that home and ever since, the human race has wandering,. We think of Cain, who killed his brother and was condemned to a life drifting. He had no home. In Genesis 11, we find men trying to create a city in which homes could be established. But, the men of Babel were in opposition to God, and God scattered them.
With the coming of Abraham we find a new heartening element. To be sure, God's first dealings with Abraham, was to take him from his home.- it was a sinful place filled with Idols, and Idol worshipers. But in the place of the home he lost, God promised Abraham a new place.: The land I will show you (Gen. 12:1). But even though Abraham was brought into the promised land, even though his descendants settle in large numbers, it was ultimately inadequate, because he looked forward to a heavenly home.
We don't know much about heaven except that is where Jesus is, and we shall be with him. When we talk to children, they want to know where heaven fits in. Was it between the stars? Was it beyond them? The only valid answer, was that heaven is where God is, and Jesus went to prepare a place for us. ( plays right into John 14:3).
This is the focal point of Revelation 5. It speaks of four and twenty elders, the angels and a vast amount of other creatures from everywhere, in the universe These being mention, not for descriptive
purposes, but because each bore testimony to Christ. and thus served to show how he is prominent. The four and twenty elders praised him with song. " Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and by thy blood, didst ransom men for God. from every tribe and nation and tongue and, has made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.(vv 9-10). then the angels gave their testimony " Worthy is the lamb who was slain (Jesus), to receive power and might and glory and blessing (v 12). Last the remaining creature joined in: "To him who sits upon the throne and to the lamb be blessing honor and glory and might. For ever and ever!" That is a Christian destiny. Remember Heaven is where God is. It is his presence, and that's what makes it Heaven. The words of Jesus were a comfort to the disciples and are precious to us. They were going to lose Jesus for a time, but he told them one day they would be united in his father's house. Heaven would be their home because they will be with Jesus. Remember in heaven we will know our family and friends, relatives God was explicit, and those who died in the Lord before us, " and we are not afraid, but are content to die., For then we will be at home with the Lord. (2 Cor. 5:8). home at last
The book of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him, and he opened it to the place where it says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach the Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessing to all that come to him, ready to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. He closed the book and handed it back to the attendant and sat down, while everyone in the synagogue gazed at him intently. " These Scriptures came true today!
Jesus was directed by the Holy Spirit to his contest with the devil. After his baptism in the Jordan river, he is led by the spirit into the desert, a location reminiscent of the wilderness through which Israel was guided by Moses. the temptation lasted forty days and; this again reminds one of the forty years Exodus from Egypt. the forty days which Jesus spent in the desert are the origin of the forty day period of lent. During these forty days Jesus fasted.; He ate nothing and so he was very hungry. The devil seizes on this situation by suggesting to Jesus: " If you are the Son-of God, tell this stone to become bread." The devil is not so much challenging Jesus to prove his divine Son-ship as to temp him to use the son-ship for his own selfish purpose: by providing bread for himself. Jesus responds by quoting a portion Deuteronomy 8:3: ( Yes he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to both you and your ancestors. he did it to help you realize that food isn't everything, that man does not live by bread alone, and that real life comes by obeying every command of God.)
These are the words Moses addressed to Israel.The next temptation is of a political in nature. The devil led Jesus to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. Then another test: " I will give you all the authority and splendor that you see if you worship me." As the Son-of God, Jesus had almighty power; And he overcomes the Satan with a quotation from Deut. 6:13. "Worship the Lord your God and him only." We are to use the word of God to be winners over the temptations which come from Satan. Jesus won victory over Satan by using the sword of the spirit,
( which is the of word of God) to resist temptation of the devil. The defeat of the devil in the desert is not the end of the story. But, the devil would continue various tests in his earthly ministry.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the spirit. He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up and on the Sabbath day he went to the synagogue, as was his custom, and he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet "Isaiah" was handed to him, which we heard earlier in the text. Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. The first few verses of John are among the most popular in the Bible: In the beginning was the "Word", and the "Word" was with God, and the "Word" was God. The words fairly leap off the page. as you begin to read God's scriptures, you feel you have entered a new level of God's truth in Jesus Christ. In the beginning of Johns Gospel through the word (God) speaks of Heaven which is the popularity within detail about a life beyond the grave. The promise of Heaven as Christ promise in John 14:1-3.; " In my Father's house is many rooms, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you; and when you are ready I will come and take you there." ( Jesus is no liar).Heaven is a glorious city, a country, God's kingdom, paradise. Because of the warm image that is found there: Heaven is a home. We need a home, instead of a picture of a cold grave. We Had a home in Eden. But "Sin" caused a loss of that home and ever since, the human race has wandering,. We think of Cain, who killed his brother and was condemned to a life drifting. He had no home. In Genesis 11, we find men trying to create a city in which homes could be established. But, the men of Babel were in opposition to God, and God scattered them.
With the coming of Abraham we find a new heartening element. To be sure, God's first dealings with Abraham, was to take him from his home.- it was a sinful place filled with Idols, and Idol worshipers. But in the place of the home he lost, God promised Abraham a new place.: The land I will show you (Gen. 12:1). But even though Abraham was brought into the promised land, even though his descendants settle in large numbers, it was ultimately inadequate, because he looked forward to a heavenly home.
We don't know much about heaven except that is where Jesus is, and we shall be with him. When we talk to children, they want to know where heaven fits in. Was it between the stars? Was it beyond them? The only valid answer, was that heaven is where God is, and Jesus went to prepare a place for us. ( plays right into John 14:3).
This is the focal point of Revelation 5. It speaks of four and twenty elders, the angels and a vast amount of other creatures from everywhere, in the universe These being mention, not for descriptive
purposes, but because each bore testimony to Christ. and thus served to show how he is prominent. The four and twenty elders praised him with song. " Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and by thy blood, didst ransom men for God. from every tribe and nation and tongue and, has made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth.(vv 9-10). then the angels gave their testimony " Worthy is the lamb who was slain (Jesus), to receive power and might and glory and blessing (v 12). Last the remaining creature joined in: "To him who sits upon the throne and to the lamb be blessing honor and glory and might. For ever and ever!" That is a Christian destiny. Remember Heaven is where God is. It is his presence, and that's what makes it Heaven. The words of Jesus were a comfort to the disciples and are precious to us. They were going to lose Jesus for a time, but he told them one day they would be united in his father's house. Heaven would be their home because they will be with Jesus. Remember in heaven we will know our family and friends, relatives God was explicit, and those who died in the Lord before us, " and we are not afraid, but are content to die., For then we will be at home with the Lord. (2 Cor. 5:8). home at last
Friday, August 5, 2016
Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus was going on down the road, he saw a tax collector, Matthew, the same who wrote this gospel, sitting at a tax collection booth. " Come be my disciple," Jesus said to him, Matthew jumped up and went along with him. Later, as Jesus and his disciples were eating dinner at [ Matthews house], there were many notorious swindlers there a guests! The Pharisees were indignant. Why does your teacher associate with men like that? " Because people who are well don't need a doctor!
It's the sick people who do!" was Jesus reply. then he added, " Now go away and learn the meaning of this verse of scripture, ' It isn't your sacrifices and your
gifts I want- I want you to be merciful.
For I have come to urge sinners,
not the self righteous, back to God.
Jesus said to them, " Can the friends of the bridegroom (Christ) morn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom (Christ) will be taken from them< and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on a old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and the tear is made worst. Nor do they put new wine into old wine skins or else the wine skins will break, the wine is spilled, and the wine skins are ruined. but, they put new wine into new wine skins. God's mercy doesn't run from suffering, but rather embraces and transforms it.
Jesus call is to be committed to love even in the midst of suffering of others.When Jesus confronted the Pharisees it was not because of they weren't devout people who cared deeply about their relationship to God; It was that their devotion to God had separated them from the needs and suffering of others. They had become so focused on righteousness that the distance themselves from those in need of mercy. Jesus call to mercy is the call to be vulnerable, to be open to receiving mercy
and to welcome God by welcoming suffering people into our lives.
An African proverb puts it this way: " You cannot wipe another's tears away without getting wet yourself. Jesus comes to move the stones we can't budge. Stones are no match for God. Not then, Not now. He still moves stones.
It's the sick people who do!" was Jesus reply. then he added, " Now go away and learn the meaning of this verse of scripture, ' It isn't your sacrifices and your
gifts I want- I want you to be merciful.
For I have come to urge sinners,
not the self righteous, back to God.
Jesus said to them, " Can the friends of the bridegroom (Christ) morn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom (Christ) will be taken from them< and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on a old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and the tear is made worst. Nor do they put new wine into old wine skins or else the wine skins will break, the wine is spilled, and the wine skins are ruined. but, they put new wine into new wine skins. God's mercy doesn't run from suffering, but rather embraces and transforms it.
Jesus call is to be committed to love even in the midst of suffering of others.When Jesus confronted the Pharisees it was not because of they weren't devout people who cared deeply about their relationship to God; It was that their devotion to God had separated them from the needs and suffering of others. They had become so focused on righteousness that the distance themselves from those in need of mercy. Jesus call to mercy is the call to be vulnerable, to be open to receiving mercy
and to welcome God by welcoming suffering people into our lives.
An African proverb puts it this way: " You cannot wipe another's tears away without getting wet yourself. Jesus comes to move the stones we can't budge. Stones are no match for God. Not then, Not now. He still moves stones.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Finding Life while losing it. Mark 8:31-38
Then Jesus began to tell them about the terrible things he would have to suffer, and that he would be rejected by the elders and chief priests and other Jewish leaders, and be killed, and that after three days he would rise again. he talked about it frankly with them, So Peter took him aside and chided him. "You shouldn't say things like that," he told Jesus. Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then He turned toward Peter sternly, " Satan, Get behind me! You are looking at this only from a human point of view and not from God's. Then He called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. "If any of you want to be my followers," he told them, " You must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder your cross, and follow me closely. If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the good news, will ever know what it means to really live. How does a man benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process. For is anything worth more than his soul."ANYONE WHO IS ASHAMED OF ME AND MY MESSAGE IN THESES DAYS OF UNBELIEF AND SIN," I THE MESSIAH WILL BE ASHAMED OF HIM WHEN I RETURN IN THE GLORY OF MY FATHER, WITH THE HOLY ANGELS." As deep an insight into the meaning of life as has ever been spoken was given by Christ on his way to the cross. Around the destiny of his own life he wrapped a teaching for every life.
Concerning his own suffering death, the message reads: take the love He brought. Concerning the believer's life, it says: lead the life He taught.
"He began to teach him," Mark's gospel reads. It would be the hardest lesson they had ever learned.
After almost three years with him, the disciples were put to their most difficult test.
Could they discern the meaning of the cross? What Jesus was going to say would stagger them.
It would be absolutely mind-boggling. Therefore, well ahead of time, love was preparing the beloved. Jesus was always preparing his disciples for the next step. He only began to teach them here about his cross.
The teaching would never end. The Holy Spirit would continue long after Jesus departure from earth.
"He began to to teach them that the son-man must suffer may things." That the divine one could succumb to suffering was a foreign thought of the day. He would be a victor, not a victim The title "Son-of Man," meaning the God-sent messiah, guaranteed exception from suffering in popular thought. Yet Christ was saying here to his disciples that he was about to suffer terrible things as one translation renders it.He would experience excruciating agonies. This left the disciples speechless.
They just couldn't handle such a concept. Sometime after the event they would discover that " with his stripes we are healed." Through the suffering death of the Messiah, God would work out the world's reconciliation with the Father. On the way to Jerusalem, however, they were utterly baffled.
Jesus went on to share with his disciples that " the son- of man must... be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes." This, too, boggled the mind. Why go to Jerusalem if this was in store?
Head back to Galilee while there was time. Of all people the religious leaders should accept God's Messiah. This rejection was more than whips. "He came to his own home, his own people received
him not. " What a shudder must have shaken Christ's own heart as he foresaw the rejection he must experience!
He must be killed, Jesus told his disciples. The prediction was getting more fantastic every phrase. Here was the ultimate shocker. afterward they would learn to understand it as Paul interpreted, " God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." Gave His all! But now this never even dawned on them. They were appalled by what He was saying. When Jesus came to the climax... "and three days rise again" they were completely lost. that probably didn't even register because they were so bothered by what He was saying, their heads were going around in circles and he said this plainly, " Mark gospel records. This was no parable or allegory with hidden meaning. It was frank, open, devastating. At least they could never say he hadn't told them.
This was just the first time. Other times would follow. Jesus wanted them to have a solid basis for interpreting what was to follow. When would it happen? They might remember what He told them.
Mean while, they could start thinking about it in advance. During their whole lifetime they would not have anything more important to ponder. After the disciples would witness the suffering death and triumphant resurrection of their Lord, they would come to realize the earth shaking meaning of these events. God with a rapturous offer of mercy through Christ was embracing humankind. No person ever again need feel rejected or lost or hopeless. By His cross Christ drew the sting from life and death,for those who put their trust in what He did for them, there is peace with God for the sinner and indescribable joy now and forever. The secret hid from creation was now shouted over the earth. God totally loves every person. He did it all that was necessary to settle every ones account with him.
Even when it required torture,death, and resurrection of his only son, he didn't hesitate. Henceforth, no catastrophe or threat, even death itself of his only son, could ever terrorize a believer or give him an anxious day.God holds us to his heart in tender mercy and pardon for the sake of Christ. This is why Christ suffered, cruelty rejected by his own, was crucified like a criminal and was raised to life
on the third day.
All this, however, was not apparent in that plain talk on the way to Jerusalem, so Peter reacted to Jesus stabbing prediction of being put to death, and rise again in three days afterwards, Peter grabbed Jesus by the and began to rebuke him. Peter rejected the whole Idea out of hand. If even Peter completely missed the point after being with Jesus for three years, no one today ought to be overconfident about his understanding of the Gospel, but always praying for the light and leading of the Holy Spirit. Probably all the rest thought like Peter but didn't say it. Jesus shot back a stunning reply. First He looked into the disciples thoughts, found them confused and disbelieving, and the ordered, ' Get behind me Satan, not Peter was addressed, but Peter had allowed himself to become a mouth piece for Satan in what he said . Jesus is saying to Peter, you are not looking at this from God's point of view. It can save so much heartache to reflect first for a while on how God looks at the situation and what He can do with it. Jesus did not humiliated Peter in what he said. He was stern with Satan., but loving towards Peter. The temptation had to be rejected. " Let him take up his cross", Christ continued, this reference is to condemned criminal carrying his cross through the streets of Jerusalem up to the hill outside the city where He would be crucified. The cross is a burden taken upon one's self for the sake of others. It is assumed in love and carried without complaint. It may be a very heavy burden. Christ apparently staggered and stumbled under the weight of His cross up the slopes of Calvary. Today a cross might be a women doing the food shopping for a neighbor during her illness. There are many types of examples that represents a burden voluntary assumed in love for somebody else. " Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Then Jesus gave life's great master principle: " For who ever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel will save it." THIS IS, IN EFFECT, A SACRED PROMISE TO GOD. If one gives his life away upon others, he can't lose. He can only win. " For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" Jesus asked:" For what can a man give in return for his life?" Christ pressed further. What is a fair exchange? Would one trade a Diamond for dirt? Or gold for fools gold? There is no equal exchange when it comes to life., meaning life made up of inner peace, joy, fulfillment, and hope. Today's collect ( prayer of the day) prays: " Bring back all who have erred and gone astray from your word, and lead them again in faith to receive and hold fast to your truth. Jesus concluded, For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the son of man be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His father with the Holy angels. The way a Christian lives announces his shame or his pride regarding Christ. If such a one crumbles under the pressures of society and constantly compromises
Christian principles, he is ashamed of Christ. If however, that person holds fast through thick and thin because Christ's steadfastness toward him, then Christ is honored. When the Lord comes in all His glory, all will be revealed. Pray God for the courage to live for Christ in this day and toward that one. Take the love he brought. Lead the life he taught. The two are interwoven.Living solely in trust upon the radiant love for us., we can be motivated to live the life he taught. Living that life will turn us back time and again for strength to that love he brought.
I Christ, the Savior, we find the source of both.
Concerning his own suffering death, the message reads: take the love He brought. Concerning the believer's life, it says: lead the life He taught.
"He began to teach him," Mark's gospel reads. It would be the hardest lesson they had ever learned.
After almost three years with him, the disciples were put to their most difficult test.
Could they discern the meaning of the cross? What Jesus was going to say would stagger them.
It would be absolutely mind-boggling. Therefore, well ahead of time, love was preparing the beloved. Jesus was always preparing his disciples for the next step. He only began to teach them here about his cross.
The teaching would never end. The Holy Spirit would continue long after Jesus departure from earth.
"He began to to teach them that the son-man must suffer may things." That the divine one could succumb to suffering was a foreign thought of the day. He would be a victor, not a victim The title "Son-of Man," meaning the God-sent messiah, guaranteed exception from suffering in popular thought. Yet Christ was saying here to his disciples that he was about to suffer terrible things as one translation renders it.He would experience excruciating agonies. This left the disciples speechless.
They just couldn't handle such a concept. Sometime after the event they would discover that " with his stripes we are healed." Through the suffering death of the Messiah, God would work out the world's reconciliation with the Father. On the way to Jerusalem, however, they were utterly baffled.
Jesus went on to share with his disciples that " the son- of man must... be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes." This, too, boggled the mind. Why go to Jerusalem if this was in store?
Head back to Galilee while there was time. Of all people the religious leaders should accept God's Messiah. This rejection was more than whips. "He came to his own home, his own people received
him not. " What a shudder must have shaken Christ's own heart as he foresaw the rejection he must experience!
He must be killed, Jesus told his disciples. The prediction was getting more fantastic every phrase. Here was the ultimate shocker. afterward they would learn to understand it as Paul interpreted, " God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." Gave His all! But now this never even dawned on them. They were appalled by what He was saying. When Jesus came to the climax... "and three days rise again" they were completely lost. that probably didn't even register because they were so bothered by what He was saying, their heads were going around in circles and he said this plainly, " Mark gospel records. This was no parable or allegory with hidden meaning. It was frank, open, devastating. At least they could never say he hadn't told them.
This was just the first time. Other times would follow. Jesus wanted them to have a solid basis for interpreting what was to follow. When would it happen? They might remember what He told them.
Mean while, they could start thinking about it in advance. During their whole lifetime they would not have anything more important to ponder. After the disciples would witness the suffering death and triumphant resurrection of their Lord, they would come to realize the earth shaking meaning of these events. God with a rapturous offer of mercy through Christ was embracing humankind. No person ever again need feel rejected or lost or hopeless. By His cross Christ drew the sting from life and death,for those who put their trust in what He did for them, there is peace with God for the sinner and indescribable joy now and forever. The secret hid from creation was now shouted over the earth. God totally loves every person. He did it all that was necessary to settle every ones account with him.
Even when it required torture,death, and resurrection of his only son, he didn't hesitate. Henceforth, no catastrophe or threat, even death itself of his only son, could ever terrorize a believer or give him an anxious day.God holds us to his heart in tender mercy and pardon for the sake of Christ. This is why Christ suffered, cruelty rejected by his own, was crucified like a criminal and was raised to life
on the third day.
All this, however, was not apparent in that plain talk on the way to Jerusalem, so Peter reacted to Jesus stabbing prediction of being put to death, and rise again in three days afterwards, Peter grabbed Jesus by the and began to rebuke him. Peter rejected the whole Idea out of hand. If even Peter completely missed the point after being with Jesus for three years, no one today ought to be overconfident about his understanding of the Gospel, but always praying for the light and leading of the Holy Spirit. Probably all the rest thought like Peter but didn't say it. Jesus shot back a stunning reply. First He looked into the disciples thoughts, found them confused and disbelieving, and the ordered, ' Get behind me Satan, not Peter was addressed, but Peter had allowed himself to become a mouth piece for Satan in what he said . Jesus is saying to Peter, you are not looking at this from God's point of view. It can save so much heartache to reflect first for a while on how God looks at the situation and what He can do with it. Jesus did not humiliated Peter in what he said. He was stern with Satan., but loving towards Peter. The temptation had to be rejected. " Let him take up his cross", Christ continued, this reference is to condemned criminal carrying his cross through the streets of Jerusalem up to the hill outside the city where He would be crucified. The cross is a burden taken upon one's self for the sake of others. It is assumed in love and carried without complaint. It may be a very heavy burden. Christ apparently staggered and stumbled under the weight of His cross up the slopes of Calvary. Today a cross might be a women doing the food shopping for a neighbor during her illness. There are many types of examples that represents a burden voluntary assumed in love for somebody else. " Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Then Jesus gave life's great master principle: " For who ever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel will save it." THIS IS, IN EFFECT, A SACRED PROMISE TO GOD. If one gives his life away upon others, he can't lose. He can only win. " For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" Jesus asked:" For what can a man give in return for his life?" Christ pressed further. What is a fair exchange? Would one trade a Diamond for dirt? Or gold for fools gold? There is no equal exchange when it comes to life., meaning life made up of inner peace, joy, fulfillment, and hope. Today's collect ( prayer of the day) prays: " Bring back all who have erred and gone astray from your word, and lead them again in faith to receive and hold fast to your truth. Jesus concluded, For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the son of man be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His father with the Holy angels. The way a Christian lives announces his shame or his pride regarding Christ. If such a one crumbles under the pressures of society and constantly compromises
Christian principles, he is ashamed of Christ. If however, that person holds fast through thick and thin because Christ's steadfastness toward him, then Christ is honored. When the Lord comes in all His glory, all will be revealed. Pray God for the courage to live for Christ in this day and toward that one. Take the love he brought. Lead the life he taught. The two are interwoven.Living solely in trust upon the radiant love for us., we can be motivated to live the life he taught. Living that life will turn us back time and again for strength to that love he brought.
I Christ, the Savior, we find the source of both.
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