You will be blessed with this up-to-date testimony of Pete McJunkin.
sitting in traffic
I saw a bum, a panhandler
on his staked out corner
pleading with the stopped cars
"Will you help me please,
... will you help me please?"
over and over again.
the light would change,
more cars would come -
again and again, all day long.
He stumbled and fumbled
up and down the sidewalk
suffering from some
debilitating affliction
with nothing to offer anyone -
no talents, no song and dance -
just his pleas for help
some people gave money
some turned their heads away
again and again, all day long.
and as I watched
I heard a quiet voice inside -
"that's you, that's you..."
"ME??" I cried, "ME??" - But it is true.
I have nothing to offer my Creator,
that is of any value whatsoever
only my desperate pleas for His assistance.
no song and dance, no magic tricks -
just myself, my thanks, and my love.
God doesn't turn His head and drive away,
He's always there with His open arms
"I love you, it's all yours"
Friday, September 23, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Eph. 2:20a
Please note, the most recent one is on the top. They then appear in reverse order.
2:20a Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Paul adds a metaphor to describe our position in Christ Jesus, parts of a building in which each item plays a part in the edifice, God’s house, the Kingdom of Christ Jesus.
Every building needs a foundation, so it is in this building. The Apostles and Prophets are foundational. They have been used by God to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christian theology is not an eclectic bundle of the ideas of philosophers an kings. The Gospel explains what God has done to redeem mankind and how that redemption is received and lived by people.
Paul contended against Judaizers. John contended against Gnostics. All the New Testament writers encouraged the believers to return, again and again, to the histological facts of Jesus’ work and the core beliefs around which any Christ-honoring theology may be constructed.
2:20a Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Paul adds a metaphor to describe our position in Christ Jesus, parts of a building in which each item plays a part in the edifice, God’s house, the Kingdom of Christ Jesus.
Every building needs a foundation, so it is in this building. The Apostles and Prophets are foundational. They have been used by God to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christian theology is not an eclectic bundle of the ideas of philosophers an kings. The Gospel explains what God has done to redeem mankind and how that redemption is received and lived by people.
Paul contended against Judaizers. John contended against Gnostics. All the New Testament writers encouraged the believers to return, again and again, to the histological facts of Jesus’ work and the core beliefs around which any Christ-honoring theology may be constructed.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Eph. 2:19
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,
Because we all “died” to any loyalty other than loyalty to Jesus Christ, we, through the death of Jesus, are made sons and daughters of God and fellow citizens in his Kingdom.
As I consider the word “consequently,” I am pushed back again, to the unfathomable love of God. God was moved by his love! Not pity. He so loved the world that he took the initiative to save us. That is love incarnate.
A lot had to happen before I could be reborn into my new universal family. I had absolutely nothing to do with that! I just believe it and live by faith as I find it enlightening my way. To unpack all that is in that package of grace would take a lifetime, and more. I know it is complete because it witnesses to my spirit. As I live, I believe.
Paul is saying, you had nothing to do with the preparing of your salvation, nor in choosing your new brothers and sisters. All of that is in the hands of God. Now, however, as redeemed people, you have become a new family. Now, choose to live peaceably in your new family.
I need to keep in mind that in the Kingdom there are no foreigners or aliens, just blood-bought and blood-washed adopted children whose delight is in the Lord. I must be careful that I do not stand above others, feeling that I deserve to be here. I am a saved alien, a welcomed foreigner.
Thinking out loud; I wonder if the members of our local congregation here feel like they are “home bodies,” not foreigners or strangers. I fear that at times our customs and habits reflect our thinking that “the real citizens or birth-children” do it a certain way. May the Lord of this universal Kingdom give us grace to make everyone feel “at home.”
Fellow citizens sounds wonderful. Members of God’s household is even better! Both pictures say the same thing – in the Body of Christ every person has full access to the fullness of God in Jesus Christ.
Because we all “died” to any loyalty other than loyalty to Jesus Christ, we, through the death of Jesus, are made sons and daughters of God and fellow citizens in his Kingdom.
As I consider the word “consequently,” I am pushed back again, to the unfathomable love of God. God was moved by his love! Not pity. He so loved the world that he took the initiative to save us. That is love incarnate.
A lot had to happen before I could be reborn into my new universal family. I had absolutely nothing to do with that! I just believe it and live by faith as I find it enlightening my way. To unpack all that is in that package of grace would take a lifetime, and more. I know it is complete because it witnesses to my spirit. As I live, I believe.
Paul is saying, you had nothing to do with the preparing of your salvation, nor in choosing your new brothers and sisters. All of that is in the hands of God. Now, however, as redeemed people, you have become a new family. Now, choose to live peaceably in your new family.
I need to keep in mind that in the Kingdom there are no foreigners or aliens, just blood-bought and blood-washed adopted children whose delight is in the Lord. I must be careful that I do not stand above others, feeling that I deserve to be here. I am a saved alien, a welcomed foreigner.
Thinking out loud; I wonder if the members of our local congregation here feel like they are “home bodies,” not foreigners or strangers. I fear that at times our customs and habits reflect our thinking that “the real citizens or birth-children” do it a certain way. May the Lord of this universal Kingdom give us grace to make everyone feel “at home.”
Fellow citizens sounds wonderful. Members of God’s household is even better! Both pictures say the same thing – in the Body of Christ every person has full access to the fullness of God in Jesus Christ.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Eph. 2:18
18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
We both, Paul says. He was near and the Gentiles were far away but both, in the church at Ephesus, have believed in Jesus Christ, there they have equal access to the riches of the Father. If both came through the one lowly door, Jesus, then in Jesus Christ, they are changed and redeemed, in precisely the same way.
Jesus’ body, his Kingdom, does not have two doors of entrance, one for Jews, another for Gentiles. The door is one and it is open to all at the foot of the Cross. We can restate this for our times by posing two very diverse groups, like Tanzanians and the Pennsylvania Dutch who, if they are believers, have equal access to all there is in God.
Through Him. The way to God is through the Cross of Christ. If another way is possible, the incarnation/atonement events in Jesus Christ are not at all necessary. The Gospel story has no meaning, whatsoever.
We are not dealing with a capricious God but an honest, faithful, trustworthy God who makes a way for us. He does not close false doors. That is not his design. No, he is Lord because he has made a door, his own body, by which all enter.
People find it difficult to rest on the fact that the door to God is there, and open. As Jesus said, “I am the door of the sheep.” Others who try to get into the riches of God in a way of their own making will always be frustrated because God made one door, not many.
As I read, I hear people saying, “There must be many ways to enter the place of God’s fullness.” Behold, there is no other way. Jesus is the way. What he did can not be duplicated or replicated.
By one Spirit. Behind everything is the Holy Spirit of God. He is the guide, the “convictor,” the instigator, the ever-present Spirit of God who yearns that all people might come to Jesus, the door that opens people to God’s fullness. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in their ministry of grace. All of those who are led by that Holy Spirit are one in that same Spirit who guides each life.
We both, Paul says. He was near and the Gentiles were far away but both, in the church at Ephesus, have believed in Jesus Christ, there they have equal access to the riches of the Father. If both came through the one lowly door, Jesus, then in Jesus Christ, they are changed and redeemed, in precisely the same way.
Jesus’ body, his Kingdom, does not have two doors of entrance, one for Jews, another for Gentiles. The door is one and it is open to all at the foot of the Cross. We can restate this for our times by posing two very diverse groups, like Tanzanians and the Pennsylvania Dutch who, if they are believers, have equal access to all there is in God.
Through Him. The way to God is through the Cross of Christ. If another way is possible, the incarnation/atonement events in Jesus Christ are not at all necessary. The Gospel story has no meaning, whatsoever.
We are not dealing with a capricious God but an honest, faithful, trustworthy God who makes a way for us. He does not close false doors. That is not his design. No, he is Lord because he has made a door, his own body, by which all enter.
People find it difficult to rest on the fact that the door to God is there, and open. As Jesus said, “I am the door of the sheep.” Others who try to get into the riches of God in a way of their own making will always be frustrated because God made one door, not many.
As I read, I hear people saying, “There must be many ways to enter the place of God’s fullness.” Behold, there is no other way. Jesus is the way. What he did can not be duplicated or replicated.
By one Spirit. Behind everything is the Holy Spirit of God. He is the guide, the “convictor,” the instigator, the ever-present Spirit of God who yearns that all people might come to Jesus, the door that opens people to God’s fullness. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one in their ministry of grace. All of those who are led by that Holy Spirit are one in that same Spirit who guides each life.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Eph. 2:17
2:17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
He came. This must be one of the greatest announcements to reach human ears. God came to earth in Jesus Christ! This is startling news. When human beings think about the supernatural, about God, they generally assume that he has little personal interest in us and must be persuaded to turn his face in our direction. Religions are based on the belief that we must get God's attention in some way or another, if not through giving expensive gifts, then through presenting him with our list of charities and good deeds. In shore, religions are based on the assumption that we must do something to earn the benefits of a God who is somewhere, certainly not here, on the earth, among us. He is far off somewhere, with little interest in what is happening here and now. In that case religion is mankind’s way of reaching out to God.
The Gospel is Good News in that God came to us! We did not woo or compel him to do so. He came voluntarily in order to break the bondage of sin so that we can live in fellowship with him.
Jesus came preaching peace, that is, that the Triune God is doing everything necessary to bring us into his Kingdom, the Kingdom of Peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. His reign is the reign of eternal peace.
To you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
If I read this correctly, Paul believes that the Jews are near while the Gentiles are far off. What does he mean? I believe that Jesus promised peace to the Jews who were in a Covenant relationship with God as outlined in the Old Testament. That placed them near to the Gospel. Not that the Jews opened their hearts en mass to Jesus, but, as the Old Testament states again and again, it is the Jews that God chose to receive special favors promised in the Covenant he made to Abraham and his followers.
Those special favors did not bring the Jews into Christ but they brought the Jews very near to Christ – blood relatives, so to speak. But they, like Gentiles, had to actually enter into Jesus by believing in him. So, no matter who was near and who was far, all go through the same small door, Jesus Christ.
He came. This must be one of the greatest announcements to reach human ears. God came to earth in Jesus Christ! This is startling news. When human beings think about the supernatural, about God, they generally assume that he has little personal interest in us and must be persuaded to turn his face in our direction. Religions are based on the belief that we must get God's attention in some way or another, if not through giving expensive gifts, then through presenting him with our list of charities and good deeds. In shore, religions are based on the assumption that we must do something to earn the benefits of a God who is somewhere, certainly not here, on the earth, among us. He is far off somewhere, with little interest in what is happening here and now. In that case religion is mankind’s way of reaching out to God.
The Gospel is Good News in that God came to us! We did not woo or compel him to do so. He came voluntarily in order to break the bondage of sin so that we can live in fellowship with him.
Jesus came preaching peace, that is, that the Triune God is doing everything necessary to bring us into his Kingdom, the Kingdom of Peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. His reign is the reign of eternal peace.
To you who were far away and peace to those who were near.
If I read this correctly, Paul believes that the Jews are near while the Gentiles are far off. What does he mean? I believe that Jesus promised peace to the Jews who were in a Covenant relationship with God as outlined in the Old Testament. That placed them near to the Gospel. Not that the Jews opened their hearts en mass to Jesus, but, as the Old Testament states again and again, it is the Jews that God chose to receive special favors promised in the Covenant he made to Abraham and his followers.
Those special favors did not bring the Jews into Christ but they brought the Jews very near to Christ – blood relatives, so to speak. But they, like Gentiles, had to actually enter into Jesus by believing in him. So, no matter who was near and who was far, all go through the same small door, Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
2:16b
2:16b Through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
How is hostility put to death, killed outright, crucified as on a cross?
This world is full of hostility. I see hostility in politics, in the church, in families, in homes, in business, in tribes and clans – hostility everywhere. The prisons are overflowing and the courts can not keep pace with trying to resolve conflict.
Can it be that there is a conclusive cure for hostility, for conflict? Paul declares that people who identify with the crucified Son of God/Son of Man, die to hostility because Jesus died to hostility in his own body on Calvary. Or we might say, hostility was put to death in that Body. Our hostility is, there, put to death, killed!
I think this is one of the neglected benefits of the atoning work of Jesus. If I am like others, I want to protect myself, my family, my group, my nation, my culture. I am expected to do so and when I do, I am applauded. The world pronounces such hostility to be good. Jesus wants to slay it, crucify it in his body.
Jesus laid down his rights, nailing them to his cross for all to see. The Son gave himself to be the Lamb slain for sin. Is that what I must do? Lay down my rights and die to them in Jesus Christ? The answer is clear and compelling, there is no other way to have peace with Almighty God and certainly no other way to live with hostility toward none.
How is hostility put to death, killed outright, crucified as on a cross?
This world is full of hostility. I see hostility in politics, in the church, in families, in homes, in business, in tribes and clans – hostility everywhere. The prisons are overflowing and the courts can not keep pace with trying to resolve conflict.
Can it be that there is a conclusive cure for hostility, for conflict? Paul declares that people who identify with the crucified Son of God/Son of Man, die to hostility because Jesus died to hostility in his own body on Calvary. Or we might say, hostility was put to death in that Body. Our hostility is, there, put to death, killed!
I think this is one of the neglected benefits of the atoning work of Jesus. If I am like others, I want to protect myself, my family, my group, my nation, my culture. I am expected to do so and when I do, I am applauded. The world pronounces such hostility to be good. Jesus wants to slay it, crucify it in his body.
Jesus laid down his rights, nailing them to his cross for all to see. The Son gave himself to be the Lamb slain for sin. Is that what I must do? Lay down my rights and die to them in Jesus Christ? The answer is clear and compelling, there is no other way to have peace with Almighty God and certainly no other way to live with hostility toward none.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Eph. 2:16a
2:16a And in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross.
The one body is Jesus, of course. This takes me into a zone of thinking that I can scarcely understand. Why should one body be even thought about when considering the topic of unity? I need a new way of thinking and perceiving at this point.
My first thought is that to get peace we should recognize the fact that we came from the same mother. Being born of the same mother would surely help, I suppose. But, then, as I reflect, I see that this is not what Paul is getting at. Being born of the same mother guarantees nothing as far as unity is concerned. In fact siblings sometimes become the worst of enemies. A common mother is not the answer and it is not what Paul has in mind, either.
Paul does not use the picture of being born by Jesus. He never appeals to the motherhood of Jesus, in that sense, at all. No, we are not “one” because we are born out of the body of Christ as a child is born from the mother. We are “one” because (and this comes as a surprise) because we are crucified with him in his death. In the body of Christ I died! In the body of Christ my brothers and sisters in Christ have died! Our unity is not the unity of siblings from the same mother, but our unity is the unity of those who have died in Christ!
I never thought about that but the more I think about it, it is undoubtedly the truth, a most compelling truth. My spiritual siblings are not similarly born but similarly crucified! We are all dead to self – alive to God. We are sons and daughters by death and resurrection! We become truly reconciled to one another as we experience death to self in the body of Jesus. This way of looking at the Cross of Calvary opens a way that makes it possible for us to be reconciled to every person who has experienced death to self in Christ Jesus. As Jesus died to self on the Cross (remember his words, “Not my will but yours be done,”) so we lay down our rights to ourselves and die to them in Christ Jesus, just like he did.
I note that Paul insists that all true Christian unity is built on the foundation of the fact that we have died and have been reconciled to God. In other words, it all begins with getting reconciled to God. If I seek reconciliation with a person simply in order to be more fully human, true spiritual unity will escape me because any peace made outside the Cross is good but temporary and temporal. Peace in Jesus is eternal.
I am consoled by the fact that I am at peace with God because I am a forgiven sinner. That is where peace begins. Then, another person has a similar experience of death to self in Jesus, and God places us in proximity to one another. We are duty bound to reach out to one another, in the name of Jesus, as true eternal siblings, adopted into the family of God. This unity is heaven-made and still startles the world.
The one body is Jesus, of course. This takes me into a zone of thinking that I can scarcely understand. Why should one body be even thought about when considering the topic of unity? I need a new way of thinking and perceiving at this point.
My first thought is that to get peace we should recognize the fact that we came from the same mother. Being born of the same mother would surely help, I suppose. But, then, as I reflect, I see that this is not what Paul is getting at. Being born of the same mother guarantees nothing as far as unity is concerned. In fact siblings sometimes become the worst of enemies. A common mother is not the answer and it is not what Paul has in mind, either.
Paul does not use the picture of being born by Jesus. He never appeals to the motherhood of Jesus, in that sense, at all. No, we are not “one” because we are born out of the body of Christ as a child is born from the mother. We are “one” because (and this comes as a surprise) because we are crucified with him in his death. In the body of Christ I died! In the body of Christ my brothers and sisters in Christ have died! Our unity is not the unity of siblings from the same mother, but our unity is the unity of those who have died in Christ!
I never thought about that but the more I think about it, it is undoubtedly the truth, a most compelling truth. My spiritual siblings are not similarly born but similarly crucified! We are all dead to self – alive to God. We are sons and daughters by death and resurrection! We become truly reconciled to one another as we experience death to self in the body of Jesus. This way of looking at the Cross of Calvary opens a way that makes it possible for us to be reconciled to every person who has experienced death to self in Christ Jesus. As Jesus died to self on the Cross (remember his words, “Not my will but yours be done,”) so we lay down our rights to ourselves and die to them in Christ Jesus, just like he did.
I note that Paul insists that all true Christian unity is built on the foundation of the fact that we have died and have been reconciled to God. In other words, it all begins with getting reconciled to God. If I seek reconciliation with a person simply in order to be more fully human, true spiritual unity will escape me because any peace made outside the Cross is good but temporary and temporal. Peace in Jesus is eternal.
I am consoled by the fact that I am at peace with God because I am a forgiven sinner. That is where peace begins. Then, another person has a similar experience of death to self in Jesus, and God places us in proximity to one another. We are duty bound to reach out to one another, in the name of Jesus, as true eternal siblings, adopted into the family of God. This unity is heaven-made and still startles the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)