"I resolved"

"For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ...and Him crucified."  (1 Corinthians 2:2)

Some of the things which I have been sharing recently about Dietrich Bonhoeffer are from my reading of Eric Mataxas' biography of his life.  While spending a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York, he made observations of the students there.  "They become intoxicated with liberal and humanistic phrases, laugh at the fundamentalists, and yet basically are not even up to their level."  What he observed was the plight of the mainline denominations in early twentieth century America.  The man touted as the greatest preacher among them in those days was Harry Emerson Fosdick (I had to listen to one of his sermons in my graduate school homiletics class).  In 1922, while pastor of New York's First Presbyterian Church, he had pushed the session to its limit by expressing his doubts about the virgin birth, the resurrection, the divinity of Christ, and the atonement (cross), among other things.  Fosdick took preemptive action and left the church.  The Rockefeller Foundation, "seeing an opportunity to knock out fundamentalism in New York, funded the construction of a church for Fosdick," the famous Riverside Church.  The battle was escalating in America. 

Yet such is the draw of a religion devoid of the Cross of Jesus Christ.  Now while to you and me this is no religion at all, but a sham of personal gratifying, self realization, anything-goes-and-believed mockery of the, "faith of Jesus," it nevertheless dominates the American and European landscapes.  And do not be fooled!  A large, growing, local church does not necessarily equate with Biblical Christianity and "anointing."  By this standard, our Lord Jesus was a failure!

That which equates with the message of the Bible is centered in our text today.  While it must be clear that Paul does not advocate the repetition of the same words and messages, the foundation of Genesis- to-Revelation Theology is the Cross.  Some people try to separate Jesus' teaching and miracles and contemporary feel-good religion from the Cross.  That is like trying to separate Hydrogen and Oxygen and still have water.  The teachings of Jesus center in His Cross; the miracles center in His Cross; the prophetic utterings center in His Cross; the deliverance from sin, death, and Hell are only in the Cross of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.  That joy and peace to which so many of us give witness is because of Calvary, of which there can be "no more"-------------------------  and certainly "no less."

Father, in Jesus' Name, grant me the discipline in the midst of pop culture religion to, "know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."  Amen.
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* I am preaching the next two weekends in the CCE meetings. 
* No devotional tomorrow
* News, Commentary:     www.apf327.blogspot.com

  When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"Lord, You Have Been Our Dwelling Place"----- Forever

"Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations....Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." (Psalm 90)

 

This is a grand worship.  He who Is, "from everlasting to everlasting," Is the Very One Who Is, "our dwelling place."  This is not some place as a chapel, church building, or great worship gathering.  This, "place," is none other than a Person, the only Visible Person of the Godhead, "the Man Christ Jesus."

 

The Eternal Living Triune God, He Who is "our dwelling place," made a marvelous invitation to continue in, "our dwelling place," centuries later.  "Abide in Me, and My words abide in you."  This is not some swooning abiding, some reeling back and forth "worship" posture.  This abiding, "our dwelling place," is a very objective abiding, "My words abide in you."  This is "guaranteed" abiding, not a feeling, which, as you know all too well, can just come and go at will.  This, "My words abide in you," abiding will keep us where we cannot keep ourselves.  This, "My words abide in you," abiding sustains during the darkest "night of the soul." 

 

This abiding saved my life 40 years ago, and continues to save me, because it is the abiding of the Savior, our Lord and King Jesus Christ, breathing on me the "God-Breathed" Word, the very Breath of the Holy Spirit.  According to the Bible, bread sustains a person physically, but "every word" which, "proceeds from the mouth of God," keeps me now and , "from everlasting to everlasting," in Him Who is, "our dwelling place."  This is guaranteed housing.

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I just what to confess with Moses, "from everlasting to everlasting You are God."  And thank You for the invitation to share the, "dwelling place."  Amen.  

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New video post of the true face of Islam at: www.apf327.blogspot.com 

 

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"There is None Other"

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby which we must be saved."  (Acts 4:12, KJV)

 

The Greek word translated, "Neither," here is an "absolute negative."  There is no room for "multiculturalism" in the Church, only the Culture of Jesus Christ and His "Law-Word."  There is just, "none other name under heaven given among men...."  The only "freedom of choice" here is to choose forgiveness or condemnation, life or death, Heaven or Hell. 

 

If anyone takes the Bible seriously, he soon discovers that Christianity is an exclusive, intolerant religion.  So is Islam.  The difference, however, is that the rogue elements of Christianity which engaged in inquisitions, forced baptisms, burnings at the stake, finally gave them up.  Inquisitions and the murder of those who refused to receive Him was never once sanctioned by Jesus Christ.  You simply cannot say this about Muhammad, the Koran, and true Koran believing Muslims.  Regardless, all throughout the Bible the, "neither," and, "none other," reality is fundamental to the decrees of God.  They are not "The Ten Alternatives."  Furthermore, you never find Jesus saying, "I am a;" It is always, "I am the...."

 

In the early 1930s, Inge Karding, a student in one of Bonhoeffer's lectures wrote the following comment about the mood in Germany after the rise of Adolph Hitler.  "Among the public there spread the expectation that the salvation of the German people would now come from Hitler.  But in the lectures we were told that salvation comes only from Jesus Christ."  Most Americans and the nations of the world are still is in search of other "saviors."  The rebellious will continue this pursuit until the culmination of the age in the ultimate "savior" of deception, the Anti-Christ.  But, "Then comes the end, when [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power," and, "the kingdoms of this world"---------------------------- are no more. 

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, keep me ever vigilant.  Amen.

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Prophetic Video:                www.antipasprayerforce2.blogspot.com

News, Commentary:          www.apf327.blogspot.com

 

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

War is Not the Battle of Guns-- War is the Battle of Troubled Hearts

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand...." (Romans 5:1, 2a)

 

---"Through Whom," we have everything God has for us.  Nothing of eternal value is had apart from Jesus Christ, "through Whom," we are, "accepted in the beloved," and, "through Whom we have now received the reconciliation," and, "through whom are all things, and through whom we live," and, "through Whom He also made the worlds." 

 

Our text also speaks of, "peace with God," which is only in Jesus Christ.  And one could correctly say that without, "peace with God, " there is no peace with anyone, anywhere.  Someone once described peace as the opposite of chaos.  It is certainly the opposite of war, but chaos and war are not just outward realities.  They are inward realities of the soul without Jesus Christ.  I read an article on Tolstoy's War and Peace which asserted, "The reader discovers early on that many of the principle characters in the novel are as much at war with themselves as they are with Napoleon."

 

Colossians 1:20 says of Jesus that He, "made peace through the blood of His cross."  Ephesians 2:14 says that Jesus, "Himself is our peace",.. and that one of the effects of the Cross of Jesus Christ is, "that He might reconcile them both (Jew and Gentile) to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity."  Maybe if we concentrated more on the finished work of Jesus at the Cross, we might see more peace in the hearts and minds of men, more peace between people, and the rule of peace among nations.  It is for certain, when the, "Prince of Peace," returns in His Glorious Resurrection Body, and after His war against His enemies, there will be, "peace on earth."  A "Thought for the Day:"  When the angels announced to the shepherds, "peace on earth," it was not the absence of war between nations or individuals.  It was a road map to the manger. 

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to keep seeing every day just how much life itself affirms Your Words.  Amen.

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www.antipasprayerforce2.blogspot.com

www.apf327.blogspot.com

 

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking Unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2