Changed Pronouns For The Noun

"Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (comes from a Greek word meaning, 'preeminent') over all creation.  For by Jesus all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth....All things were created through Jesus and for Jesus.  And Jesus is before all things, and in Jesus all things consist (literally, 'hold together').  And Jesus is the head of the body, the Church, Jesus is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things Jesus may have the preeminence.  For it pleased the Father that in Jesus all the fullness should dwell...."  (Colossians 1:15-19, again, from one of today's readings)

Some have indicated to me over the years that giving so much "glory" to Jesus somehow takes away from the Glory of the Father.  Nonsense.  The Bible teaches, in fact, that when we affirm the Preeminence of Jesus Christ, we are giving Preeminence, Glory, Honor to Our Father.  Rather than attempting to "understand" the Blessed Trinity, just accept the fact, "....All should honor the Son just as they honor the Father." (John 5)

So back to why we should speak more and more of Jesus.  Well, for one thing, if political leaders, and anybody else, for that matter, would have a greater sense of Who Jesus Is, "....the Image of the Invisible God," they never would equate the god of Islam and, "Our Father Who is in Heaven."  I simply cannot say it emphatically enough.  If Jesus does not have the Preeminence in our lives, in our churches, our witness, books, our worship, our everything, the increasingly confused world will continue to think that the bumper stickers which give equality to all religions are cute, even admirable.  Do not be so anti-theological to believe that it does not matter "what you  believe."  What we believe determines our whole existence (I could elaborate).

I have said this (which to some is ad nauseam) many, many times: When we speak of "God" it can, and far too often does, give people the choice to create their own god, an "inclusive god," a "god" for everyone's liking, if you will.  This is a bigger problem in more local congregations than most believe.  When we speak of Jesus, those "options" are eliminated.  In Jesus there is no doubt as to Who God Is.  If we talk to someone about "God," they will be far more tolerant of us than if we speak to them about Jesus.  To the unregenerate minds, "god" is whatever their minds create, shear speculation.  To that same mind, Jesus eliminates the speculation.  And it is not the "what-would-Jesus-do" Jesus, which is usually code for, "What-I-would-want-Jesus-to-do.  It is the Jesus revealed in the Gospels, in the Epistles, yes, the entirety of the Bible. 

Jesus is, "....God with us."  Furthermore, the Bible tells us that mankind can only see, "God in the Face of Jesus Christ"; therefore, try an experiment for a while.  When you speak of God, instead, insert the Word, Jesus.  See what happens.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I, like so many others, really have wanted to know You.  Thank You that in Jesus You have made that a reality.  Amen.

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.'"

Hebrews 12:2

Not Learning, Receiving, Hearing, But Seeing

"Whatever you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:9)

Everyone has a private life which very few see.  Yet you and I both know; that is who we are.  Many people, over the 57 years from the time of my first sermon, "have learned and received and heard...."  The most important thing for me, not them, however, is what they, "saw in me."

Here is a confusing reality to many: The preacher may be an absolute reprobate, but if he preaches Jesus Christ and His Words, people will "get saved," see miracles, and their churches may even "grow" in great numbers.  Yet all of this will do him no good in the judgement.  My "reward" is not in people learning and receiving and hearing.  It is in what they, "saw in me."

Of course, this not only applies to preachers.  Our text is the litmus for approval from and in the Godhead, viz., "saw in me."  Our daily speech, our daily treatment of others, our daily everything is what our Lord Jesus is "after" in you and me.  The reason?  It is in the, "saw in me," where you and I can only have what the Holy Spirit tells us in an earlier verse, "....The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and you minds in Christ Jesus."  Someone who is a talker and not a doer may have a "peace," but it is of their own creation and will not stand the test of life.  It is hurting him/her more than anyone. 

It may sound simplistic to say that our Lord Jesus wants only the "best" for you and me, but it is truth, "I have come that [you] may have life, and that [you] may have it more abundantly."or, "have abundance."  People may "learn" from us, "receive" from us," and "hear" us.  But if in all the learning and receiving and hearing, I am not, "saw in me," with my family and my daily life in general, well, all is for naught.  Let us covenant to work mostly on the, "saw in me."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that I am a, "saw in me," person.  Amen.
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* Very sobering article on the fading of Western Civilization at:  jhs58.blogspot.com

* Berlin/Wittenberg Mission: October 28-November 15

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.'"

Hebrews 12:2

Choose Wisely

"In the beginning...God said...."  (Genesis 1)

The beginning of a new quarter came over the weekend.  The Bible reading began with, "In the beginning God...."  No mention here of a "big bang," just, "And God said...."  Before that first, "And God said...," of what we call "Creation," I wonder what He was "doing."

This is the Bible, "And God said...."  Someone once said that if you believe these first four words of the Bible, you can believe the rest.  It is true, even though one's delicate sensibilities may cause a moral judgment on the Creator with some of the ways He does things.  "How can you believe in a God who...?"  This is what rules in the agnostic, the "disillusioned" former "believer."  They look at wars, starvation, famine, children dying, etc., and hold God responsible.  If they choose a life which takes them "down that path," so be it.  I find it not a "dead end," just dead.

Following Jesus is not "blind obedience."  It is, "And God said...," obedience.  Faith in Jesus Christ is not "blind."  It is what the Bible calls, "the faith of Jesus," the faith, belief, obedience which is based in an absolute trusting in, relying on and believing in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, literally, taking Jesus at His Words.  As Romans 10 declares, "Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ."  We hear, read, "the Word of Christ," then have a choice, to accept His Word and build our lives upon His Words, or not obey and, as Ephesians says, be left, "having no hope and without God in the world." 

What we choose at that moment determines each day and the rest of our lives.  There will continually be those around us who ally with and affirm the the words of, "The Accuser of the Brethren."  It all comes back to what Joshua said to the Hebrews thousands of years ago, "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of [those] in whose land you dwell.  But as for me...."  Well, you know the rest.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I receive again this day, "And God said...."  Amen.
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Berlin/Wittenberg Mission:  October 28-November 15

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.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"Reserved...For You"

"And there will no longer be any night; and they do not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever." (Revelation 22:5, NASB)

Well, the end of another quarter.  It is interesting that a version of the NIV entitles Revelation 22 as, "Eden Restored."  I wonder.  Will it really be "Eden Restored," or will "it" be something new, totally new?

Chapter 21 tells us, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away....And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold I am making all things new.'"  Regardless of the "accurate theology" here, I remember well what my Grandpa Barnette said just as he was passing from this life, "The other side is looking better." 

Grandpa Barnette was the only person I was ever with when someone passed from this life to "the next."  I pray that you and I will see what he saw if we leave this life before the Trumpet sounds.  The last two chapters of Revelation are full of wonderful promises for what is yet to come.  We hear so little today and there are so few books written about "the life to come."  I wonder if this is a reason Christendom is so full of depressed, hopeless people, attempting to get more out of this life than possible.  Is it because they have so little "knowledge" and/or anticipation of "the other side?"  So many "ministries" propagate the promises which they think are for this life, because so many don't want talk of the future, just talk of the now and the must-have-it-now "promises." 

I bring us back to the Book of Revelation.  "The best is yet to come," is what a popular song of long ago declared.  Of course it declared that the "best" would still be in this life; it will not.  The best to come is what 1 Peter 1 speaks of, "....reserved in Heaven for you."  I share it with you in context.  "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you."  There; that should do it.

Father, in Jesus' Name, forgive me when I have attempted to get more from this life than You intended.  Amen."

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.'"