Romans 16:17-27 Inexpressible Joy!

Romans 16:17-27  I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.  Keep away from them.  For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.  By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.  Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.  I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.  Gains, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.  Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.  Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith—to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ!  Amen! 

Jesus warned the disciples about false prophets coming either to scatter or destroy the flock of believers.  Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  (Matthew 7:15)  Paul warns the elders at Ephesus of the coming of the wolves after he leaves them.  I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard!  Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.  (Acts 20:31)  Peter was even more direct, explicit in his description of the false prophets.  But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.  Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.  (2 Peter 1-3)  The energizing force behind every cult is the basic nature of man, his desire to be central in God’s plan of redemption.  Many cults or aberrations of the gospel hang onto the necessity of doing something to make a person acceptable to God.  For the wolves, salvation, rightness with God, must originate in man’s efforts, his works, not in God’s works.  The false prophet will say if man does not save himself through his own deeds, he is lost from God’s acceptance.  In the eyes of the wolves, man must prove his dedication to God by doing something worthwhile or make himself holy, honorable, righteous, God-like in nature.  Of course, this harkens back to the Garden when man attempted to improve God’s plan by eating of the Tree of Knowledge.  Man in that futile attempt to govern God and his creation brought on himself destruction, shame, and death.  From that time on mankind has been in a struggle with death itself, his dread of his finiteness walks with him daily.  Waywardness in the Christian faith does not usually start with a great bang, or with an entirely new revelation outside of the scriptures.  Normally, this kind of distortion of the truth starts with skewing the scriptures, placing an emphasis on a few scriptures and ignoring the whole context of the Bible.  By focusing on a few scriptures, placing them above all over scriptures, a division begins in a community of believers, creating a small tear in the fabric of the gospel.  This tear grows until it separates some believers from the others, and a cult is born.  No wonder Paul urged his brothers and sisters to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in their way that stray from the sound teaching they have learned.  The people who started this rift in the church will claim that those who serve God in faith, trusting in his grace and mercy of God, need more to fulfill their understanding of God.  The separatists have found a new secret, a more sure way of knowing God.  By removing themselves from the household of believers into a new community, they will know all the mysteries of God.  Paul is extremely sensitive to this kind of contrary division.  His whole message to the Romans centers on faith in God’s work and not man’s work.  He begins this book with the statement: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,  just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  (Romans 1:16-17)

Paul’s statement describing God’s righteousness is complete and correct: a righteousness that is by faith from first to last.  Otherwise, acceptance from God is assured, for we have a holy righteousness that comes from the hand of God through the works of Jesus Christ.  This is the whole story of the New Testament, from first to last.  The work has been completed; there are no other cards to lay on the table; we have the winning hand because of Jesus Christ’s work.  At his death on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished!”  (John 19:30)  The battle was over, Christ had won.  He had paid the price for sin and death.  This kind of talk is anathema to the cultish people.  They want an extra card thrown on the table to acquire the winning hand.  Of course, this card is their card, their input into winning God’s acceptance.  For two thousand years, individuals and groups have come to the table of life with a card in their hands with the inscription written on it: my works.  How satisfying for the carnal person to say I need to put “my works” on the table.  We deny the scriptures when we hold that idea in our hearts, that we could possibly add to God’s eternal plan.  For God gave his only Son that whosoever believes in him will have new life.  He, the Creator, creates new life.  He alone can place the DNA of God into our hearts.  This cannot be done by our own works.  Our DNA has been corrupted by sin.  Look at the history of mankind, look at the violence and corruption that has existed in every race, every ethnic group, in every place man has occupied.  Look at the rapes, pillaging, killing that every group of people has done.  This is mankind’s basic DNA, our innate nature.  The people who are participating in this breakfast today, have this damaged DNA code within them.  Their ancestors, their lineage have done these horrific acts of sin.  We cannot escape this truth.  When we try to sculpture a new man out of our own efforts, we are using crass material, material that will never stick together in righteousness.  Our sculpture will always crumble to the ground under pressure, for we are flawed.  The resultant acts of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  (Galatians 5:19-21)  Of course these acts lead to killing, rape, and pillaging; wars and holocausts of every kind.  Without God’s creation of righteousness within us, we are lost in our old nature; good for nothing but destruction.

But praise God, good news has come to the world: But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  (Luke 2:10-12)  The cults and aberrant messages will always follow behind the church of God, much like the prostitutes that follow the armies of the world. They will attempt to pick off a few, causing the deceived to go off in a wrong direction.  But the message of God is strong: He has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  (Hebrews 13:5)  If we stay firm in the faith, knowing that God is the Creator of all things and keeps his word, we will always be safe in the household of God.  The righteous will live by faith.  We, who are around this breakfast table will live by faith.  We will believe as Abraham believed: he believed in the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.  (Romans 4:17)  Otherwise, he believed in the resurrection and that God can make something out of nothing as the Creator of all things.  We who are alive IN CHRIST are new creatures.  He made something out of nothing, that which was destined for destruction.  We are NEW CREATURES, POSSESSED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT BECAUSE OUR TEMPLE IS CLEAN, PURIFIED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS.  Paul wrote, For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  (Ephesians 2:10)  Also, praise God, WE WILL BE RESURRECTED TO BE WITH GOD FOREVER.  This sums up Abraham’s faith—our faith.  All else, additions or subtractions from this faith, is cultish.  We will be forever with God because of God’s work in us.  We place our trust in God’s words, in his faithfulness, in his everlasting love.  As eternally damaged goods outside of God’s mercy and grace, we have been made new, forever pleasing to God.  We have been made acceptable by the work of the cross.  We died with him when Jesus went to the grave; we arose with him as He came out of the grave victorious.  As He is the first of many in the resurrection of the biological flesh, we follow him in our own resurrection to the household of God.  This is known as THE WAY in the New Testament or the GOOD NEWS.  Let us rejoice with the angel, good news has come to the earth that will cause great joy to the world.  God has come to abide with us for eternity.  We who are alive IN CHRIST have this hope for we have been empowered with the power of God for our resurrection: the Holy Spirit.  For all that Christ has done, we can say with Peter: Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.  (1 Peter 1:8-9)  Amen!       

Romans 16:1-16 Shine Like Stars!

Romans 16:1-16  I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae.  I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.  Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus.  They risked their lives for me.  Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.  Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.  Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.  Greet Andronicus and Junia my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me.  They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.  Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.  Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.  Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.  Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.  Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.  Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.  Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.  Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.  Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.  Greet Asyncritus, Phlegm  Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.  Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympus and all the Lord’s people who are with them.  Greet one another with a holy kiss. 

We see Paul at the ending of his letter to the Romans speaking about people he knows who should be praised and lifted up in this world.  These are individuals who should be recognized for the good things they have done for Paul and others.  Some have risked their lives for Paul and the church.  Some have been faithful ministers and servants to the body of Christ.  All of them served others for the purposes of Christ’s mission on Earth.  They were concerned about others, so their lives were disciplined to help others, to strengthen the faith of the others, to forward  the message of the Good News.  They helped Paul deliver this message of the victorious Messiah and his resurrection to the whole world.  Some of them were Jews, who helped the despised Gentiles know Christ.  Others were Gentiles, supporting Paul, who began his life as a Pharisee of Pharisees, one who never would have associated with the barbarians of the world.  They now loved Paul, the Jew, just as Paul loved them.  In Paul’s commendations at the end of Romans, we see the answer to the world’s self-centeredness, cliques, and divisions. We see Paul going out of his way to express his love for those who have helped him in his ministry, Jew, Gentile, women, and men.  All were treated in the same way in his expression of goodwill towards them: the same love, affection, and dedication.  None were considered less than the other persons in his concern and wishes for them.  Even when he comes to the end of his salutation, when linking several names together, along with all the Lord’s people who are with them, he does not imply that these people are less in importance than the ones he mentioned at the beginning of his greeting.  All people are equal in deserving Paul’s recognition and love: all are significant to Paul as all are important in the body of Christ.  Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.  (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)  For the sake of the church, the people he mentions have placed themselves in servitude of Jesus Christ.  He is first in their lives, even to the point of giving their biological lives up for the purposes of the church, for the expansion of the gospel.  Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  (Romans 1:1-2)
When we read Paul’s list, we might ask ourselves, how many of us in today’s church would give up our physical bodies for the sake of the cross?  How many of us would be commended by Paul if he saw our lives?  These are good questions to explore.  Would Paul see the same fervent dedication in us as he saw in the body of Christ two thousand years ago?  Or have we been conformed to the pattern of this world so much that there is little difference in how we live our lives compared to the world’s lifestyle?  Have we been co-opted by this world?  Do we see anything in Christ for which to lose our lives?  Undoubtedly, many of us would say that we would readily give our lives for Christ if He desired such an action.  But we can test the truth of this by asking if we are already living lives given over completely to Christ.  Is our commitment 100 percent or have we been immersed into the culture of this world to such a degree that we rationalize our worldly activities and thoughts as acceptable?  Our son, Jeff, wrote a song that asked, What would you die for?  What would you die for in your life?  Of course, we who are serving this breakfast wrestle with the same questions we present to you, dear breakfast companions.  Would Paul commend all of us for our service?  Are we hospitable, generous, kind, thoughtful, loving, caring, forgiving, and the like?  Or are we self-serving, demanding our own way, placing everyone’s needs behind ours?  Daily, how many prayers do we send up to the Lord, how many songs about God’s love escape our lips, how many acts of kindness do we perform, how many smiles and gentle words do people receive from us?  In other words, where are our lives centered: in Christ or in ourselves?  Christians need to monitor their lives continuously.  Are they more secular in orientation or more Christ-like?  Why should we honestly keep track of our motives, thoughts, and actions?  Are we not under the grace and the mercy of God?  Yes, we are!  But we also need to be good servants in the household of God.  We are sitting with him in the high places of servanthood, places where we are to institute God’s will, not ours—that is our prayer.  Our relationship with him should be so precious, so intimate, that we desire to do his will, for He is GOOD TO US.  He is not an ogre, ready to destroy or hurt us.  No, He is a tender, loving Father to his children.  But because of God’s nature of goodness, we should seek to do good to the world.  Is this day going to be lived for him or for ourselves?  Will the people we meet today know that there is something different about us or will they see us as just another human being walking the trail of life?  Will they know we are in Christ?  They should know that we have said with Paul, I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)  Christians should live differently, act and express themselves differently.  Our lives should be lived in a prosperous, joyful way for God has prospered us with his Holy Spirit.  Consequently, we should activate the Spirit of God in our lives.  When in the midst of the people of the land we should be as Paul wrote: Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.  (Philippians 2:14-16) 

How easy it is for any of us to point out what we should be like as Christians, but how hard it is for us to pick up the mantle of Christ.  He gave his life; we also should be ready to give our lives for God.  This idea of sacrificing our lives for God is easily understood, but hard to implement, for we are finite, caught in a biological existence.  Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.  (Matthew 10:37-39)  Today in some of our biggest churches, we hear the premise that we should be all that we can be in this world.  We should win the world for ourselves and of course in doing so manifest Christ and his goodness to the world.  Perhaps all of this can be good in the right context, but God called us to live not for this life but for the next life.  Is our primary desire to be the slave of everyone or is our number one goal to be the CEO of a large company, dictating what is right for everyone?  The latter sounds so good, and we tell ourselves, I will be a CEO who is a slave to everyone by being kind, generous, and understanding.  Then as a reward for my good life, I will live in the biggest house or houses, I will have the most material goods, I will receive honors from others, I will live with wonderful security and healthcare, I will have the best car or cars, and so on.  Sounds as if this kind of slavery is best for us.  This idea of being the master-slave is so much better than being the slave-slave.  The former has power, the latter has none.  As humans, even in the body of Christ, we would probably vote for the master/slave route—the benefit package is great.  Ministers have found it easy to gather a lot of people under the banner of being everything you want to be in this world, but it is hard to find a group of people who say, not my will, but yours be done: “I will lose my life for you.”  All eternal life begins with repentance, repenting of your old ways of thinking and acting.  Christ did not make you a new creature so that you can elevate yourself in this world.  You are a new person, born again, so that you can have an intimate relationship with God and DO HIS WILL.  Does this mean that none of us should be important or influential in this world?  No, of course not.  God, for his purposes will raise those He desires to places of imminency, but for most of the church, we will be much as when we were called.  Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.  Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”  (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)  We will boast only in the Lord.  Our mission is to do his will.  Will the world know or will others even in the church know how important we are to God and to the body of Christ?  Probably not.  But God knows, and as Paul commended the many who blessed his life, God will commend us and honor us with his name, as his children forever.  Amen!  

Romans 15:30-33 Peace Be with You All!

Romans 15:30-33  I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.  Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed.  The God of peace be with you all.  Amen.

As those who hear the most high, our spirits should be in a position of prayer, constantly communicating with God, for God has placed us in Christ as new creatures.  We are IN CHRIST and He is IN US.  Otherwise, we are never apart from the living God.  Our temples have been made holy; Christ in us has made us holy.  What prayers have we said today?  What songs have we sung?  What words have we expressed to God?  We are holy people, living in a holy place. The Bible says we are a peculiar people.  Every day we anticipate knowing God better, desiring to understand his heart because we are living as adopted children in the household of God.  However, often we do not recognize our privileged position before God, failing even to whisper a prayer to him in the course of a day.  Even though we are spiritually seated with God in heavenly places, we sometimes live as if this blessed existence with God is not ours.  Paul exhibits no other belief than he is a new creature presently alive with Christ in the heavenly realm.  Consequently, he talks about prayer repeatedly.   Prayer is a daily venue for him.  Just as Christ did with his disciples, Paul encourages believers to pray by the love of the Spirit, joining him in his struggle for God by praying for him and his safety.  Sometimes, prayer is lacking in us because the world and its circumstance do not change as we desire in our prayers.  We see continuous disruption and conflict around us.  We see sickness afflicting even the best Christians, some dying too young, according to our thinking.  We observe the sinful prospering, living long lives in good health.  We know many of the righteous live subsistent lives in a world of material abundance.  With all of this in mind, we hold back our prayers, for we do not see mountains moved or crooked roads straightened.  We do not see the people we know healed, or the poor prosper, or the disabled in mind at peace.  With this understanding, knowing the world seems to be going on as it has from the beginning of time, our prayers become fewer with less fervor and faith.  The Psalmist in Psalm 73 had this problem of viewing the world in a skewed manner.  His complaint is that the arrogant, boastful, antiGod elite of this world seem to have the best in this life; they are prosperous, healthy and secure.  But in viewing the world this way, he concludes that he was a fool in his thinking.  He was not looking at the world as God looks at it; with a determination of saving the righteous from destruction and bringing them into his household.  I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.  Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.  But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.  (Psalm 73:22-28)  The writer is saying, you, God, are my portion on this earth of the senses.  I know you have my right hand, that your counsel is always in my ears.  I will serve you; I will communicate with you; it is good to be near you.  This is what prayer is all about.  It is good to be near the Lord, to bring your petitions and desires before him.  He loves you—you are eternally dear to him.  Unbelievers in this world are living on a slippery slope.  Sooner or later, they will slide into oblivion.  Their lives will be measured in reference to God’s holiness, and they will be found wanting: destruction will be their destination.

Jesus desired us to pray.  Prayer is an act of faith.  Some people claim they have faith, but they do not pray or live lives of active faith.  We should live our lives with an understanding that we, as believers, are constantly in the presence of the Lord.  Therefore, we should desire to pray, to communicate to God our desires and needs.  We should know He hears us, and He is a good God, desiring the best for us.  Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  (Matthew 7:7-12)  God is in the business of doing good, giving you what he has: eternal life.  Doing to others what you want them to do to you is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  From the beginning of time, God is in the business of giving eternal life to all who would put their trust in him.  Jesus will open the door to those who knock just as He will give to all who ask.  The one who seeks God will find.  God will not give you less than what you deserve.  He will not give you a snake, or death, if you ask for a fish, or life.  He gives good gifts to his children, including the best gift: eternal life.  He wants to bring his family home into his kingdom.  How does all this fit in with praying daily, fervently?  Our lives are not our most precious possession: eternal life is the most precious possession that we hold in our being.  Jesus said, do not fear those who can take away your life of the flesh, for that is not what is most important; fear only God who can take away eternal life  As we now live in our earthly bodies, we should grasp the eternal nature of our existence.  Prayer is important for it allows us to speak with God, and it does move the hand of God.  And thinking of time as a clock, God is always moving the minute hand forward.  We might pray to stop that progression or to move it backward because of some good thing we have in mind.  Of course, when we pray that way, we should remember God’s eternal plan for our lives.  The hand of the clock moving forward signifies the will of God for our lives.  As Jesus spoke of prayer, He said let God’s will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.  God’s will is eternal life for us.  This is prayer: telling God our needs, asking him to intervene in our lives, and in everything allowing him to dictate how the clock’s hand of eternal life will move forward.  Paul asked for a specific prayer: Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed.  Yet we know the unbelievers in Jerusalem finally got Paul arrested.  Rather than go to Rome in peace, Paul went to Rome in chains, under the supervision of the Roman army.  The clock hand of eternal life was moving forward in Paul’s life.  He had to accept a greater plan than his own  All of us Gentiles are recipients of that hand moving forward in Paul’s teachings and in his life.

Dear friends, prayer is important!  Living for God in anticipation and hope of what He will do in our lives is important!  As we have already read, Paul wanted this hope for the church at Rome: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 15:13)  We need to live as new creatures in constant contact with our Maker.  We are not alone in this world of the senses.  God is with us every hour of every day of our lives.  He has not abandoned us, leaving us alone to struggle through life by ourselves.  The Holy Spirit came to abide in us, to guide, counsel, and teach us.  When Jesus was with his disciples in this world, He probably lay down at night to be near them, maybe to quell their uneasiness over their struggles in life.  He is also with us in the darkest of nights, when the pressures of life or the fears of the unknown grip our hearts, his presence is there to say, “I know this is hard, I am with you, do not be afraid.”  He knows every unanswerable question and unreasonable fear that goes through our minds.  He knows when the problems of life seem higher than our heads, but He is always near to calm down the mountains inside of us.  His presence will move the mountains of our lives to other places if only we trust and believe.  Our Christian lives are based on the foundation of his goodness and his nearness to us.  Breakfast companions, pray to the One who is always with you.  Pray to the God who understands your heart more than you understand yourselves.  As in Paul’s life, the activities and things of this world might not go the way you desire.  You might have wanted to walk a different path, one that looks much easier than the one you are walking on today.  If the path you are on this day seems rough and dark, know that there is a companion walking with you: Jesus Christ.  You would not have needed him as much on the easier path, but you will turn to him completely on this path.  Activate your prayers and dwell upon God’s Word.  Tell the Lord your fears, your misgivings, your mistakes.  He will listen; He will have your right hand.  As we read in the psalm above, I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.  No matter what path you are on, if you have placed your trust in him, he is moving you to eternal life.  The clock of your life is progressing towards everlasting life.  God has given to you what you should present to others, his very best gift: eternal life.  Live that life now in prayer, in song, in believing.  You will find your heart comforted by his presence in you, the peace of God that passes all understanding.     

Romans 15:23-29 Spiritual Blessings!

Romans 15:23-29  But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain.  I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.  Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there.  For Macedonia and Achaea were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.  They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them.  For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.  So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.  I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.

Paul, endangered every day by violence, not knowing from one day to the next if he would survive the next challenge from the Jews who hated his message of Christ and his resurrection, was still planning for future events.  No one really knows if Paul ever made it to Spain.  There is much speculation about whether he ever set foot in Spain, but we do know he made it to Rome.  We do know the Jews caught up with him in Jerusalem and brought him to Governor Felix with the intention of having the Romans kill Paul.  Paul spent two years in prison in Israel before they granted his appeal to Caesar to bring justice to him as a Roman citizen.  Hence, he was sent to Rome, there he died after spending two years ministering to the people while in custody of the Romans.  Paul received his desire of a new work, a new mission field, a land where the people had hardly heard of Jesus Christ and his resurrection.  They replied, “We have not received any letters from Judea concerning you, and none of our people who have come from there has reported or said anything bad about you.  But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect.”  (Acts 28:21-22)  Paul’s imprisonment in Jerusalem and his subsequent imprisonment in Rome consisted of four years of his life.  But in both places he did not stop ministering.  He never quit preaching the gospel, in person or in letters.  His desire of visiting Rome to tell the people there of the Good News was granted by God.  He received his wish, but probably not in the package he had desired.  Surely, he had never thought of going there as a prisoner, but God had other plans for him.  God knew, just as He knew about Joseph’s venture into Egypt as a slave, that Paul would continue to be faithful to him.  He knew Paul’s transformation from death to life was so ingrained into Paul very existence that he would not go back to the secular way of thinking.  Paul was a new creature.  As a new creature, born again, the light of God had entered into Paul’s temple.  The Spirit of God was abiding richly in Paul.  He was a fountain of the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Nothing could keep this fountain from flowing, not even imprisonment, not even the threat of death.  He would endure to the end, believing always that God was with him, that God would never abandon him.  He knew that his biological flesh was just a temporary tent.  He found no permanency in this tent, for someday it would be folded in the shroud of death: he would move on to a new, eternal existence with God himself. 

In the midst of our problems or in the mundaneness of living, do we believe that God and his existence is more real than anything we experience in this world?  Paul believed in God’s reality.  Even though, life in his last four years on Earth threw him a curve, one he did not anticipate, he did not give up his primary purpose for living: the spreading of the Good News to the lost.  He endured to the end in his commission of telling about Jesus and his resurrection.  Are we willing to endure to the end or do we let little things or maybe even big things such as illnesses or troubles detour us from our mission of carrying out the gospel in our lives?  Above all else, do we want to be the image of God on Earth?  Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  (Ephesians 5:1-2)  In today’s focus scripture, we see Paul’s thinking in his contemporary life was about others.  Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there.  For Macedonia and Achaea were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.  He lived for Christ every day.  Do we live for Christ every day or do little things, good and bad, get in our way and keep us from doing the will of God?  Are we letting God implement his will in our lives?  Faith is the belief that God is real and that He is real in our lives regardless of our circumstances.  His instructions, his directions, are more important than the will of the flesh.  Faith believes that nothing supersedes the will of the Father and the supernatural existence of our souls; nothing we experience by our senses is as real as God and eternal life.  Jesus emphasizes this when he talks about death and our importance to God.  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.   And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  (Matthew 10:28)  He is telling us that there is a more important existence than this biological one: a spiritual reality that comes from God.  Paul believed that truth so much that he allowed his physical body to be in dangerous places, where people wanted to hurt him.  They even tried to kill him several times.  But he was determined to do the will of the Father.  He was determined to carry out the purpose of his life: to live for God regardless of the threats on his life.  He constantly moved his tent from place to place to reach more people for God.  Our tents should be just as mobile.  Every day we should seek out the work God has for us, maybe a new work, a new person to tell of the mercy and grace of God.  We might not move to a different area or a different land as Paul did, but we can move from person to person in our lives, illustrating and telling of the goodness of God and of his salvation plan.

Paul tells the Romans that when he comes to them, he will come with the full measure of the blessing of Christ.  Otherwise, God’s blessing will be upon him so that he might bless the Romans with the same blessing.  We might say, how can Paul bless them with Christ’s blessing if he is in chains.  Would the Romans realize that Paul’s chains are really a blessing?  Of course, we understand two thousand years away from Paul’s life, that the chains he carried to Rome were an indication of God’s purpose in Paul’s life.  God wanted Paul in Rome, and He wanted Paul as a prisoner in Rome, a slave to him.  Paul carried the Good News to the Romans.  What Good News you might say, he is in chains!  But the Good News is that eternal life has come to all people who will place their trust and faith in Jesus Christ and his work on the cross.  The Good News was the resurrection!  The Good News was that God, the Creator of all things, wanted people to be part of his intimate family, known forever as children of God.  What a great message, beyond our finite awareness, beyond our wildest imaginations!  Paul wanted the people to know that God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  (Ephesians 2:6-7)  Paul was willing to be in chains for the dispersion of this message to the Romans.  Are we willing to endure hardships, to be in chains in our lives?  Will we agree to carrying out God’s purposes no matter how insignificant our lives seem to be, while we feel chained to the mundaneness of everyday pursuits, locked in our houses and jobs.  Yes, we have plans to carry out for God, no matter what we think about our lives, no matter how significant or insignificant they are.  We must remember we are his servants and we are precious to him.  Jesus says that God loves us so much that he has inventory of the hairs on our heads.  How many billions of hairs have fallen from people’s heads in the time it has taken you to read this breakfast.  Our God is that great, greater than any computer, greater than our ability to understand what we are reading about who He is.  He is the one who made the galaxies, the family of stars within each of the galaxies.  He is the one who keeps track of every sparrow that flies through the air.  His greatness, magnitude, eternalness is beyond our comprehension.  This God of magnificence wants you as his child.  Paul understood that message, gave his life for that message.  The message of love that God has for humanity, his plan, is far above our understanding.  He desires children; he desires to adopt us into his family.  We can only be part of his family if we are new creatures: holy, without fault, completely acceptable to a sinless God.  This position as new creatures comes about only through Christ’s work on the cross.  Jesus paid the price for our redemption from sin.  His holiness, his perfection are our holiness and perfection.  As the temple in Jerusalem was built with precise measurements so that God’s Spirit could enter that temple, we, too, because of Christ work in us, are just as precise.  We have the measurements within us that make it possible for God’s Holy Spirit to live in us.  Of course, this measurement is Christ, the perfect one.  God is at home in us, and we are at home with him.  As we read in the Word, For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  (Colossians 3:3)     

Romans 15:17-22 Good News!

Romans 15:17-22  Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.  I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done—by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God.  So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.  It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.  Rather, as it is written.  “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”  This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. 

Paul constantly and aggressively pushed out the gospel to areas that had not been evangelized.  He preached the gospel throughout Asia Minor and Macedonia and to the Greeks in Athens.  His message of Jesus the Messiah to the Jews who lived in those areas was not accepted well, but many of the Gentiles, or barbarians, as Paul would call them, readily received this message of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.  Now, Paul is telling the Roman Christians that he desires to come to them.  He wants to preach the Good News not only to them, to support their faith, but also to those Romans who had never heard about Jesus Christ, the resurrected One.  Paul’s life was given over to his Master on the road to Damascus.  The challenge of preaching the Good News to the world was always on his mind and heart.  He was definitely a slave for the Lord.  On the road to Damascus, Jesus stopped him in his tracks and gave him a mission that he would never forget.  As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”  “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.  “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.  “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”  (Acts 9:3-6)   Paul did what Jesus told him.  He was led to Damascus, for he was blind.  In Damascus, Ananias, a prophet, told him about God’s intentions for his life.   But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go!  This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.  I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”  (Acts 9:15-16)  Immediately, when the Jews realized Paul, the persecutors of Christians, had changed his allegiance to the Christians, they tried to kill him for his betrayal.  From that time on, Paul was in constant danger of being murdered by the Jews.  Throughout the area, including Jerusalem, he was never assured of another day of life.  In those days, traveling from one city to the next was a dangerous activity.  No highway patrol, no police to protect you from the marauders and thieves as you traveled from city to city.  Therefore, with a price on his head, Paul was not only in danger from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles.  Yet, he continued to push his ministry into the frontiers of godlessness.  Now, in this letter, he writes to tell the Romans that he intends to visit them on his way to Spain.  His next venture, his next field of ministry, will be Rome and Spain.  Paul’s commission from Christ still burns in his soul, no matter what the consequences for his biological life. In Paul, we find the consummate servant of the Lord.  But we, too, are to be his servants in everything we do. 

Every Christian has this dynamic commission on their lives: He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  (Mark 16:15-16)  The angels when announcing the birth of Christ said that this child would be a blessing to the whole world.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”  (Luke 2:10)  How can Jesus bless the whole world if the people of the world have not heard of him?  We have already read of Paul’s zeal for spreading the Good News:  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?  As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!  (Romans 10:14-15)  We who are alive today are to spread the Good News to the people with whom we come into contact or to the people with whom we associate.  We are to personify the Good News.  People should see the resurrected Lord in the way we act and live.  Our conversations should be righteous in nature, not dwelling excessively on the mundane, worldly things of this life.  People should know us as positive people of goodwill, people who are honest, upright in our interactions with them.  And when they find us as trustworthy and caring people, they will be more likely to allow us to minister in words the Good News to them.  In our prayers, we should ask God to strengthen our daily intentions to spread the gospel of Christ.  Many people and books tell us how to live: various doctrines, religions, philosophies, presentations, and the like try to help us make these few years of our brief existence meaningful.  Words upon words have been written, have been spoken, about the purpose of life.  However, most people are quite bogged down into just the process of living from day to day.  In their best of intentions, they try to incorporate into their lives some of these ideas about a purposeful life.  With the seeming confusion around us, some people have just given up in finding a deeper reason for their lives; they live only to eat, drink, and be merry.  Paul would have agreed with this choice if there were no resurrection.  He wrote: If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.  (1 Corinthians 15:19)   But as we all should know, Paul understood he had something precious to offer: he came into people’s lives with the Good News, the news of ETERNAL LIFE for anyone who would believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Paul brought eternal life everywhere he went.  We too are to bring this gospel message wherever we go.

How should we live then?  When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He gave us the answer: “It is written: ’Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  (Matthew 4:4)  We should seek God every day, read his Word.  We need to pay attention to the Holy Spirit inside of us, leading us on God’s paths.  Our lives should be full of faith rather than based on our senses.  As new creatures, transformed barbarians, we need to know the still, quiet voice within us saying lovingly, “Follow me and I will make your lives significant for others, for those in a dark, sinful world.  I will make you lights.  Through you, I will feed the poor, I will stroke the brow of the feverish, I will house the homeless, I will take care of the old, the helpless.”  We are to be the light of the world.  Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.  A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:14-16)  By being a light, we separate ourselves from those who live only for themselves.  So many doctrines, philosophies, and religions are attuned only to self, the bettering of self.  We, who are IN CHRIST, become people who love their neighbors as themselves.  The gift of the Spirit has been given to us to serve others.  He has come to set us free from the bondage to our wills of serving self, so we can accept the will of God, of serving others.  However, beware of the hardening of your hearts, beware of going back to the barbarian nature of serving ourselves first.  This nature originated from the very beginning in the Garden.  Adam and Eve felt they could make a better creation by having their own way, serving themselves.  Yes, they thought God’s plan of creation was good, but they could make it better by eating of the tree of knowledge.  They said, we will serve ourselves at that tree.  This placed man above God’s will.  From that time on, we have seen conflict, wars, killings; for self was placed above everything and everyone else.  But Paul and all believers are to bring the Good News of sacrificial love to others through words and actions.  We are to expound to the world that a new creature is needed within us, a new creature that can only be established by believing in Jesus Christ and his works.  As He was resurrected to a new life, we must also be resurrected with him to a new life that displays love for our neighbors, for the world.  Faith in Jesus makes us new creatures.  We will accept the purposes of God into our hearts.  We will become fully committed to the plan of God in this world.  Those who find themselves alive IN CHRIST, will have peace to bring to the world.  Their very words will be of peace, mercy, and grace.  This peace can bring harmony to families, to communities, to nations.  Paul is going to Rome to speak and act out that wonderful Good News.  Let us go to our communities to share and personify the Good News.  When we come to the end of life’s journey, may we all be able to say with our brother, Paul, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 

        

Romans 15:14-16 Full of Goodness!

Romans 15:14-16  I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.  Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles.  He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Dear friends who sit around this breakfast table, partaking of the Holy Spirit’s offering for this day, understand that Paul encourages you to be light in the communities where you live.  In today’s focus he calls you to action, saying, I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.  He affirms that you have the goodness of the Spirit in you and are filled with enough knowledge to teach each other.  How often do we seek more information from the Bible or from others such as our ministers merely to survive in this world.  This behavior is not necessarily bad, for we do gather together in our communities of worship to encourage each other, to hear more of the biblical account of God and his grace, but we also are competent in our daily walk to instruct one another.  Jesus said that He had to go away so He could send the Holy Spirit to the world; to abide in each believer; to make him or her a light in a dark and desperate world.  Jesus’ going away through his death and resurrection was for our redemption, but the coming of the Holy Spirit to us is for our renewal, our empowerment, to reveal Christ in our daily walk.  Paul tells the Roman Christians that they have plenty of knowledge, the capability to spread the light of God’s image to everyone inside and outside of the church.  He tells them they have sufficient  knowledge of God and his grace to be ambassadors of God’s will on Earth.  They may live in a foreign land, a spiritually sparse land, but the Spirit of God abides in this land within them with manna to help make them competent servants of the Most High. After consuming manna in this wilderness, Christians should not go back to rest in their tents; they are to move on, following the Spirit’s cloud by day and the pillar of fire at night.  God has a daily mission for us Christians.   Each day, the Spirit talks to us about how to live our lives.  As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.  (Ephesians 4:1-6)  As prisoners of the Lord, filled with the Spirit of God, we are to live according to his calling.  He died for the world because of his great love for all people.  Jesus died for others because of his desire to fulfill the will of the Father.  We are to die to this world because of Jesus, our Lord’s desire, not for the sake of death, but to rescue a world that is on the path of eternal death.  Jesus came that all who believe in him should live with the Father forever.  We who are alive IN CHRIST, ambassadors to his purposes, should so live that the people around us will come to the knowledge of knowing Christ and his eternal life.

Follow God’s example as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  (Ephesians 5:1-2)  We who are alive IN CHRIST are to walk in the way of love, proclaiming the gospel of God.  We are more than able to do that through the power of the resurrected Christ.  Paul says that we are competent to be ministers.  Not only should our words reveal Christ, but our actions also.  We are to leave behind the thinking and actions of this world: immorality, impurity, and greediness.  Every day, we are to step into the kingdom of love, grace, mercy and sacrifice.  Our lives should be filled with attempts to satisfy the needs of others more than our own.  Paul accentuates the sin of greed in his message to the Ephesians: For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.  (Ephesians 5:5)  The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines greed as “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (such as money) than is needed.”  This idolatrous behavior of desiring more of everything has infected our modern world; more always seems to be better, even if it is not needed.  But Christ has called believers to a higher standard than focusing on just more of everything.  He has called us to be servants of our loving Father, to serve the world as servants even as slaves for the purposes of revealing his love.  We should imitate our Father for we are his children.  As we read in Paul’s writing, So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.  (Ephesians 5:10)  Paul was given the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God.  He revealed God through his actions and words.  He exhibited grace and mercy.  He was beaten often, threatened by others, not assured of whether he would live another day.  Yet, he continued to serve God in his daily walk.  We, too, should serve God openly in our daily journey.  We are not anemic Christians, needing another sermon, another encouragement.  As Paul said, we are competent to do the will of the Father.  We have enough knowledge, enough understanding of God’s purposes to be his lights on this earth.  Even in the body of Christ, we often see inactivity rather than actions.  Sometimes, even the sinful attitude of self creeps into the demeanor and the behavior of the community of Christ.  Words that should not have been said, actions that should not have been displayed are sometimes present within the body of Christ.  But Paul says that God has given us his goodness, the ability to understand, and the competence to teach each other.  We should behave accordingly in and out of the church

We can best understand the body of Christ by looking at the behaviors and actions of a well-founded marriage for Jesus calls the church his bride.  The Bible says, Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.  (Ephesians 5:25)  Christ gave his life for the church.  Husbands are to be willing to give up their lives for their wives.  We see that a husband will leave his world for the benefit of his wife.  He will unite with his wife unreservedly.  A Christian will leave his old world and unite with the body of Christ with a fervency to protect everyone in the church.  By doing so, the man becomes one with the body.  He becomes one with the church, buried IN THE CHRIST.  We see in the Bible that the wife must respect her husband.  (Ephesians 5:33)  The wife must come along side her husband, keeping in step, in harmony.  They will live side-by-side, for the wife honors her husband by living in a state of closeness.  In the church, we not only become part of the body of Christ, we live in this world side-by-side with Christ.  We do not let anything come in between that intimate relationship.  If we do let some outside influence affect our love for God, such as loving the world more than Christ, we become adulterers.  Our intimate side-by-side relationship is no longer there for something or someone else becomes the love of our hearts.  This adulterous relationship will destroy our covenant relationship with God, a relationship based on faithfulness and intimacy and a commitment to sharing the gospel of God.  Consequently, we who are sitting around this breakfast table must never allow anything else to come between us and God, the Creator of all things.  He has made us to live with him eternally.  Eve was made out of Adam’s side.  We have been made in God’s image, out of his Being.  We are to live side-by-side with him forever.  We are to RESPECT his authority.  As Paul says we are filled with his goodness.  Let us live that way, let us cleave to his side.  Let us flee from our old lives, and live actively the life of a NEW CREATURE, made in God’s image.  Jesus prayed for his disciples and for those who would believe in the message, My prayer is not for them alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  (John 17:20-21)  

  

Romans 15:5-13 Called to Be Free!

Romans 15:5-13  May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.  For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.  As it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.”  Again, it says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”  And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him.”  And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.”  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Free in the Lord Jesus, we praise God for who He is and for what He has done in us.  No longer bound to sin and death, we are alive in Christ evermore.  Without Christ, the human specie is bound to eternal death because of the fall in the Garden.  We took the reigns for our existence from God, thinking we could run our lives better than God could direct them.  Humanity fell into such depravity that during Noah’s time, God elected to destroy all of humanity except for Noah’s family.  God repented of that action and has allowed humankind to exist from that time on, even though God said their wickedness is embedded in their very existence.  “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.  And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.”  (Genesis 8:21)  Man’s wicked nature remained in him without any control to alter or direct his behavior positively.  Eventually God chose a man to bless, Abram, from the land of the Chaldeans.  Because of Abram’s faith in what God said to him, God gave him a special mission.  Abram’s belief was accounted to him as righteousness, and He alone would be blessed by God in a mighty way.  The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”  (Genesis 12: 1-3)  God’s covenant with Abram made him Abraham: a father of many nations.  More than 400 years later under the tutelage of Moses in the wilderness, Abraham’s genetic people, the Jews, received the law to control their nature.  Obeying the words of God in the written law and making continuous offerings of sacrifices were to keep God’s judgement of sin away from the people.  As long as the people obediently followed God’s commandments, they were free from the judgment that was meted out in Noah’s time: death and destruction.  Of course this “experiment,” so to say, was in God’s eternal plan for bringing back his image into mankind, to make them new creatures.  Eventually, through the genealogy of the people of the law came the Messiah, the Christ.  The plan of salvation, establishing a new, righteous people for the whole world, would be initiated and implemented through the man, Jesus Christ.  The angels addressed God’s intention to restore all mankind to his image in their presentation to the shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  (Luke 2:9-12)  Jesus is the culmination of God’s plan to bring all people to himself, completing his promise to Abraham and the patriarchs.  As we read in today’s verses, Christ came to the Jews, fulfilling the promises of God for the Gentiles to glorify God for his mercy.  As the prophet foretold, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him.”

The blood of Jesus was shed for all people: the whole earth is covered by the blood of Jesus.  This covering is once and for all, given to free people from the sentence of sin and eternal judgment.  People who desire to know God and his righteousness must accept the Lord’s sacrifice for their sins.  Anyone from any country, any tribe, can find God through the name of Jesus Christ.  If anyone accepts Jesus Christ as Savior, a new creature will come alive, free from sin and death, never again bound by the shackles of Satan.  You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  (Galatians 5:14)  As new creatures we live for Christ.  His blood has freed us from judgment, made us righteous, and made us acceptable to the Creator of all things.  However, now as living Godly creatures, we should display God’s image here on Earth.  We should be doing God’s will joyfully, not our own.  If we are new creatures, the image of God in us should become clearer to those around us.  Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  (Philippians 2:1-4)  As today’s focus scripture reveals, we should be as God, filled with encouragement and help.  Our lives should be oriented towards his will at all times and not towards our own selfish inclinations.  May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.  As we overlook each other’s faults and weaknesses, we accept wholeheartedly the new creature God has established in our fellow brothers and sisters.  We are not to judge outward appearances, but accept what the Bible says about us: we are born again by the blood of Jesus Christ.  If we set ourselves up as judges of people rather than as healers of people’s hearts, we will once again become as those that God destroyed in Noah’s time.  We will be people of chaos rather than people of unity.  Chaos is the devil’s workshop.  He will exploit Christians, damage them, destroy their faith, especially the weak in the darkness of disruption and judgment.  Christ came to set everyone free from such judgement and hate.  He has come to give all an abundant life full of joy and peace in him.  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you is the key to living successfully in the community of God.  Without accepting others as brothers and sisters in Christ, we become sowers of discord, dissensions, factions, and jealousies.  These divisive spirits can lead to hatred, selfish ambition, envy, and even impurity in our spirit.  Accepting others because Christ has accepted them is essential to unity.  Without doing so, we stand aloof, believing we have the right to determine the validity of someone’s walk with Christ.  The Bible says for us not to judge someone else’s servant.  We know Christ is the master of each of us.  We are his servants.  Consequently, as God’s servant through Christ, we must be very careful about judging someone else in the body of Christ.  We are free indeed, but we still should feel a strong obligation to other believers.  Our actions and our thoughts should be positive toward others.  Others should feel confident they can come to us with their problems and weaknesses, finding someone who will pray with them for victory in Christ.  If someone’s weakness is detrimental to the body, we should go to our knees in prayer, believing for deliverance for that person. If things are not rectified, we should approach the fellow brother or sister, together with others, with sensitivity and tenderness, always seeking for unity and for love.  Nothing should be done out of selfish ambition or selfish motives.  Evident in every action with the church should be the fruit of the Spirit: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.  (Galatians 5:22-25)  God’s plan from the beginning of creation was to make humans in his image, not just to walk with them in the Garden, but to be with them as his children, in his likeness.  The body of Christ should reveal God’s nature, his will.  All people have this opportunity to know God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.  God is full of mercy; his plan of restoration has been carried out through the cross.  The world is blind, even dead in their sins, but Jesus is passing by in everyone’s life.  Each of us must cry out to him for mercy.  As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him.  Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”  The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.  “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”  Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes.  Immediately they received their sight and followed him.  (Matthew 20: 29-34)  When we cry out, his mercy is there for us.  We will receive the plan of God; we will see.  When the plan of God has come to us, when our eyes are restored to sight, we will also have mercy on others, we will treat them with compassion, and then the plan of God will be implemented in all the earth.  Amen!