Close
You who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:13 NIV
I read about the hanging of several Jews in a concentration camp during WWII. One of those being executed was a small boy. While facing the condemned; one of the prisoners said to another, "We have been abandoned. Where is God now?" The floor dropped and the weight of each man on the ropes caused them to expire quickly. The small child was not heavy enough for a quick execution. While he struggled and kicked wildly, the other prisoner answered and said, "God is here with us, hanging from a rope."
You might think that God has abandoned you because of your present hardships. Illness and loss scream in the face of faith. Pain preaches that God is far away or that He is nonexistent. But only the fool would say in his heart that there is no God (Psalm 14:1). One cannot distantly judge God solely on his or her present circumstance. But it is an up close and thriving experience of God that enables us to trust Him, whether we are in trials or triumph.
I would say that God is close to us, close to you. No matter if you are trouble free or dangling at the end of a rope, God is here. And this proximity of God is the direct result of the shed blood of Christ. Without Christ, all one can do is keep his or her chin up and face the afterlife with uncertainty. But if you accept the blood of Christ, you are never alone in this life and you go to the afterlife with assurance and maybe even some anticipation. Ultimately, Christ gives us the choice we never had, a choice to be close to the Father.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
KINGDOM COME
KINGDOM COME
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:44-46
Most people never think of the Kingdom among us, they envision a time when we will go off to Heaven. We imagine a far away place that has gates of pearl and streets of gold. But I don't think that is the Kingdom Come. As unlikely as it might sound, maybe the kingdom came in the form of a child? And this child would grow to be a man laden with sorrow and familiar with suffering (Isaiah 53:3). And his suffering would serve as a bridge between God and any man or woman looking for redemption.
The Kingdom came heavily on the shoulders of Christ, but to what end? Some might suppose Christ came for our comfort, don't think so. Some say Christ came for us to obtain riches, I doubt it. Some say he came to remove the suffering of this world, and I would beg to differ. If Christ came to be beaten, bruised, pierced and murdered for us to be comfortable and rich, it would be a sad and superficial thing indeed. I don't think the Kingdom has come among us for you to acquire stuff, but to bring you into the family of God. I would say that the Kingdom has come... for you.
Think of it this way, the sacrifice of Christ is like God's open hand, extended to you. It does not matter what you've done, where you've been or where you are now. The Sacrifice covers everything wrong with us if you will let the Kingdom Come into your heart.
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:44-46
Most people never think of the Kingdom among us, they envision a time when we will go off to Heaven. We imagine a far away place that has gates of pearl and streets of gold. But I don't think that is the Kingdom Come. As unlikely as it might sound, maybe the kingdom came in the form of a child? And this child would grow to be a man laden with sorrow and familiar with suffering (Isaiah 53:3). And his suffering would serve as a bridge between God and any man or woman looking for redemption.
The Kingdom came heavily on the shoulders of Christ, but to what end? Some might suppose Christ came for our comfort, don't think so. Some say Christ came for us to obtain riches, I doubt it. Some say he came to remove the suffering of this world, and I would beg to differ. If Christ came to be beaten, bruised, pierced and murdered for us to be comfortable and rich, it would be a sad and superficial thing indeed. I don't think the Kingdom has come among us for you to acquire stuff, but to bring you into the family of God. I would say that the Kingdom has come... for you.
Think of it this way, the sacrifice of Christ is like God's open hand, extended to you. It does not matter what you've done, where you've been or where you are now. The Sacrifice covers everything wrong with us if you will let the Kingdom Come into your heart.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Miracle
Miracle
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:1-3 NIV
I once asked my brother what he thought of when I said the word, “miracle.” Curtis said that a miracle is when, “human impossibility gives way to God's possibility.” I agree. We look for God's possibility when we face the fear of broken relationships, illness and loss. We want God to intervene on behalf of the unsaved and the hurting. And when the Father says yes, we get a boon to our faith! We give thanks for the one that remembered us in our pain.
As good as a "yes" moment feels, and God knows we need them; sometimes we need God to say "no". Without the refusal or delay, we won't grow. When God says "no" our perspective of Him is challenged, sort of stretched into more realistic proportions. If all we know of God is "yes", then we start to see Him as merely a genie. But a "no" answer forces us to either leave the faith or persevere and know God better than before.
When troubled times come upon us, it is important to remember that God might allow those times in order to reveal His purpose and power in our lives. I think true faith involves a willingness to cling to God even when we are disappointed. And I believe that is the miracle God wants to cultivate in us all.
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:1-3 NIV
I once asked my brother what he thought of when I said the word, “miracle.” Curtis said that a miracle is when, “human impossibility gives way to God's possibility.” I agree. We look for God's possibility when we face the fear of broken relationships, illness and loss. We want God to intervene on behalf of the unsaved and the hurting. And when the Father says yes, we get a boon to our faith! We give thanks for the one that remembered us in our pain.
As good as a "yes" moment feels, and God knows we need them; sometimes we need God to say "no". Without the refusal or delay, we won't grow. When God says "no" our perspective of Him is challenged, sort of stretched into more realistic proportions. If all we know of God is "yes", then we start to see Him as merely a genie. But a "no" answer forces us to either leave the faith or persevere and know God better than before.
When troubled times come upon us, it is important to remember that God might allow those times in order to reveal His purpose and power in our lives. I think true faith involves a willingness to cling to God even when we are disappointed. And I believe that is the miracle God wants to cultivate in us all.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Grace Alive
Grace Alive
For out of His abundance we have all received one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift.
John 1:16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
I bear in mind the grace of Christ so as to imitate the same quality in my own life. I do this by extending grace to all, no matter the size of the offense or whether they are deserving. And if I think I am a man after God’s own heart for these things, I am deceiving myself, for this sort of grace is dead.
I believe that a living grace goes after the lowest, and into places no one else will go. If your grace only leads you to point out a place of sin, then your grace is dead. If your grace would call you to go inside a place of sin to bring back your brother or sister, then your grace is merely alive. But if you can bring your brother or sister back from sin and spare them your judgment and criticism, then your grace is thriving like that of Christ himself.
No one gives away something they do not posses. No one extends grace without having received it from On High. Grace is something you cannot have until you know you need it. And maybe we won’t even know we have it until we try to extend it to others, and that is when we are alive in Christ, when grace comes alive.
For out of His abundance we have all received one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift heaped upon gift.
John 1:16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
I bear in mind the grace of Christ so as to imitate the same quality in my own life. I do this by extending grace to all, no matter the size of the offense or whether they are deserving. And if I think I am a man after God’s own heart for these things, I am deceiving myself, for this sort of grace is dead.
I believe that a living grace goes after the lowest, and into places no one else will go. If your grace only leads you to point out a place of sin, then your grace is dead. If your grace would call you to go inside a place of sin to bring back your brother or sister, then your grace is merely alive. But if you can bring your brother or sister back from sin and spare them your judgment and criticism, then your grace is thriving like that of Christ himself.
No one gives away something they do not posses. No one extends grace without having received it from On High. Grace is something you cannot have until you know you need it. And maybe we won’t even know we have it until we try to extend it to others, and that is when we are alive in Christ, when grace comes alive.
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