1 Corinthians 9:7-12 Give Cheerfully!

1 Corinthians 9:7-12  Who serves as a soldier at his own expense?  Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes?  Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?  Do I say this merely from a human point of view?  Doesn’t the Law say the same thing?  For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”  Is it about oxen that God is concerned?  Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he?  Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.  If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?  If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

Paul reminds the Corinthian church that he brought them the gospel; because of that fact, he should have the right to expect financial support from them.  He brought them life in Christ, eternal truth that will deliver them from eternal death.  He planted the vineyard of the Lord in Corinth; why should he not partake of the fruit of this truth by receiving support from the Corinthians?  Of course, Paul's issue with the believers in Corinth has little to do with him actually desiring to reap a material harvest from them, and has much more to do with their unwillingness to bless him when he has sown spiritual seed in their church.  This lack of support for the ministry of the gospel can be endemic to all Christians's lives if we are not fully committed to the Lord.  Often we are very self-centered and self-absorbed when it comes to how we spend our money.  Unless we truly understand and value what has happened to us spiritually, turning from death to life, we will not appreciate the marvelous work of the ministry.  We will not be giving our means to support the propagation of the "Good News."  We surely will not have embraced what Paul wrote in his second letter to Corinth: Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  (2 Corinthians 9:7)  We see in Jesus' ministry some women with such hearts supporting Jesus and his disciples.  Jesus dramatically impacted their lives.  They understood that a powerful new reality had come to their troubled, dead-end lives; therefore, they willingly contributed their time and means to further the ministry of Christ.  After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.  The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others.  These women were helping to support them out of their own means.  (Luke 8:1-3)  Their generosity offers an example of what occurs when believers KNOW THEY HAVE BEEN CHANGED: they joyfully supported the gospel through their lives and by their gifts of money. 

The Lord showed distain for those who did not support the work of the gospel.  When He sent out the disciples in the power of the Holy Spirit, He gave them these instructions: “Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave.  As you enter the home, give it your greeting.  If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you.  If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.  I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town."  (Matthew 10:11-15)  Jesus sent his disciples to the lost sheep of Israel without any means of supporting themselves.  (See Matthew 10:6)  He asked them to be completely dependent on the support of the Israelites to take care of their needs.  Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep. (Matthew 10:9-10)  The worker is worth his keep is Jesus' message to the disciples and to the Israelites.  A person who believes in God will support the one who brings God's message.  Of course, the passage from Matthew primarily focuses on the reaction of villages and towns, but individuals had to open up their doors to the disciples and to accept them into their households.  Individuals are the ones who are accountable to God to offer hospitality and care in his name.  If no one in a village was willing to receive the disciples, judgment would fall on the whole village.  If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet, for judgment worse than what fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah will fall upon these people.  These are harsh words; but praise God, we now live in a time of mercy and grace under the blood of Christ as his chosen ones.  But Christ still had serious words for the Israelites, God's chosen people, if they failed to support his ministering followers.  

Today, some Christians support God's church meagerly or not at all.  They seem to think their efforts and finances are not needed.  They would turn the disciples from their doors.  Jesus said great love comes from understanding how desperately lost and wicked we were before He redeemed us.  Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.  When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.  Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. (Luke 7:36-38)  Simon, the Pharisee, complained to Jesus about letting this sinful woman touch him.  Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”  “Tell me, teacher,” he said.  “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender.  One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both.  Now which of them will love him more?”  Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”  “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. . .Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little loves little."  (Luke7:40-43 & 47)  She loved much for her many sins were forgiven.  Some of us have forgotten how much God has done for us.  We were once dead as a burnt corpse, no hope of life, just the charcoal remains.  How can these charcoal remains come back to life.  Our lives had been consumed by the fires of sin, nothing of worth remained, good only for the dumpster.  But Jesus, the King of Kings, brought everlasting life to this heap of ashes.  The impossible became possible through the blood of Jesus Christ, through the propagation of the Good News.  Hear the words of the Lord: the worker is worth his keep.  She loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little loves little.  Salvation is not a vaccination against sin, received by saying a few magic words of incantation.  Salvation is a complete renewal, a new creation.  If you understand you were lost in your sins, you will love much; but if you cannot understand your former sinful state, you will love little.  The sins of the woman were forgiven because she knew she was hopelessly lost when Jesus found her.  She poured costly perfume over Jesus.  What costly perfume do you bring to your Savior's feet?  Paul asks the Corinthians, "Do you not know I deserve your support?  I have shown you the way to life eternal."  Are you blessing those who show you the way?     

1 Corinthians 1-6 Bless God's Servants!

1 Corinthians 1-6  Am I not free?  Am I not an apostle?  Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?  Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?  Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you!  For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.  This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me.  Don’t we have the right to food and drink?  Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?  Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? 

Jesus Christ commissioned Paul as an apostle, the father of many churches.  Paul's commission was so phenomenal, so supernatural, that for many people his account seemed hard to believe.  About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.  I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied.  My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.  “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.  “‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’  My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me."  (Acts:6-11)  The doubters questioned Paul's account of his conversion and his mission in life.  To his critics, maybe this was just a story, catching the wind of a popular, new doctrine, a new way of making a living, similar to a hocker at the fair, introducing and selling a new gadget for his own benefit.  Paul addresses this concern at the beginning of this letter:  Is Christ divided?  Was Paul crucified for you?  Were you baptized into the name of Paul?  I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.  (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  (1 Corinthians 1:13-17)  Paul tells them he did not come to them to impress them with himself or his calling.  He came to preach the gospel of Christ with power.  In other places in his letters to the Corinthians, he relates his personal sufferings and persecutions to bring them the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Others questioned how legitimate and pure his message was about Christ and his works, for obviously, he was not a member of the original cast of Jesus Christ's apostles.  Because of this, they wondered if Paul was creating a new doctrine, skewing the message in some way.  Some chose messengers other than Paul to hear about Christ.  My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”  (1 Corinthians 1:11-12)  But Paul knew his commission came directly from Christ's mouth, and in this letter, he emphatically defends that reality.  

Paul's preaching came not only through words but also through the demonstration of power in the Holy Spirit.  He wrote this message to the church in Thessalonica: For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.  You know how we lived among you for your sake.  You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.  (Thessalonians 1:6)  He confirmed his authority as an apostle in every place he ministered by performing many miracles by the power of God, even bringing some people back to life.  He based his claim as an apostle in the Corinthian church on the changed lives of those under his ministry.  The reality of their new lives in Christ validated Paul's message about Christ and Christ's transformational power.  God's work through Paul in Corinth and elsewhere allowed him to say, you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.  In today's verses, Paul says that he too should have the right to claim financial support from the church.  Don’t we have the right to food and drink?  Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?  Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?  Paul beseeches the Corinthians to understand that his teaching and his work have helped them become new creatures in Christ, acceptable to God, right with God.  Because of the message of salvation and the transformational power in people's lives, Paul should be worthy of financial support.  Since he claimed equal status with the original apostles and knew the church would support a member of the twelve, he argued that He and Barnabas stood worthy of the same support they would give an apostle.  Even though Paul knew they should provide for him, he supported himself by working outside of the church.  He did not want Christ's message to be shunned because of his demand for support from the people of Corinth.  

Today, some people would hold back support for their ministers based on a variety of reasons.  We hear people say ministers have an easy job because they work only one day a week and receive a full salary or they do not have to do anything except talk to people.  We could add other foolish statements to those.  We also hear pastors say, "If all I had to do was preach a sermon on Sunday, my job would be easy."  As with a mother, a pastor's job is never done.  Just ask a minister's wife about her husband's work.  She will open your eyes to the realities of ministry.  A pastor answers the Lord's call to shepherd the sheep.  Jesus saw the people's needs and his heart was deeply moved: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  (Matthew 9:36-38)  As shepherds, ministers follow the Lord to enter the harvest field and to minister to the sheep in the fold while bringing in the lost sheep.  This calling represents full-time work for the man or woman of God who steps into the field.  A minister prays for the needs of the congregation, their friends, and their families.  A man or woman of God visits the sick and the emotionally and mentally ill.  He or she studies the word and increases his or her knowledge through perusal of religious texts and revelations from God.  A pastor calls on new people or people who want a visit.  While doing all of this, the minister writes a sermon, seeking the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  The minister tries to have a family life, taking an interest in his or her children's activities and spending time with them.  We have touched on some of the duties of a pastor, but our description offers a limited picture of a pastor's reality.  Give your minister a big thank-you.  Bless him or her and do not find fault, not because October is pastor appreciation month but because of the love of Jesus in your heart.  Do not begrudge your pastor his or her wages.  When Jesus sent out the seventy-two to minister, He said the harvest was plentiful, and He gave them instructions.  They were not to take any money and to follow these instructions: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’  If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.  Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages."  (Luke 10:5-7)  Your minister is a man or woman of God, working for the Lord, deserving of blessing and thanks, and deserving of wages.  Thank you, Lord, for our pastors!  

1 Corinthians 8:9-13 Let the Strong Serve the Weak!

1 Corinthians 8:9-13  Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.  For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?  So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.  When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.  Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

Our acceptance into the household of God comes wholly through the blood of Jesus Christ and his righteousness.  Because Jesus is acceptable, we are acceptable.  He alone made us right with God.  With that position in him, we are completely free as Jesus Christ is free to do what He wishes.  We hold the card: Jesus Christ, our gate to freedom.  Jesus said, I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.  (John 10:7)  Because of Jesus and his works, we can leave the land of slavery and captivity to sin.  We can walk into a lifestyle not ruled by laws and regulations, but by the grace and mercy of God.  We no longer live by restrictions; we live by the Spirit of God who abides in us richly.  His voice is our voice; his purposes are our purposes.  As Paul said, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  (Galatians 2:20)  The terrain around us is new.  We leave the familiar haunts of our former lives behind us.  This new realm is the life of the Spirit.  Although we now have the promise of eternal life, our earthly minds are still with us.  None of us are completely free from the emotional and psychological imprints of what we have experienced in the past and will continue to experience in the present and the future.  These thoughts and introspections are part of our lives.  In today's focus, Paul addresses the dichotomous life we live in the Spirit: on one side, we stand completely free in Christ, as free as Christ himself; yet on the other side, we remain tied to the limitations of our biological existence.  In our earthly state, we must consider the impact of our behaviors on others.  In the body of Christ, we find strong brethren and weaker brethren.   In some areas we consider ourselves strong: on other issues we have to classify ourselves as weak.  Whether strong or weak, we must consider others and not become a stumbling block as we travel this earthly journey.

When Paul reminds the believers in Galatia of their heavenly calling, he says, You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.  (Galatians 5:13-15)  Yes, we are free in Christ, free from the land of slavery.  We are no longer subject to the consequence of sin, eternal death away from God.  In the land of the free, love remains our governing agent.  Love gives us a sensitivity to all people: the strong, the weak, or any combination of strength or weakness.  As Christians we will seek to serve others rather being lords over them.  Freedom in Christ produces servants, not dictators, rulers, and controllers.  Christ said servants are considered the most respected in the kingdom of God to the extent that they will be first in his kingdom.  Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”  He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”  (Mark 9:35-37)  Children are weak, deserving of loving care and protection.  People who have a weak conscience are not mature in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his saving works, but we must welcome the weak into our lives.  We must be tender towards them, loving and compassionate, considering their needs before our needs or our freedom.  A servant works for the Lord as he or she is working for the weak, the destitute, the poor, the infirm, the disabled, the old.  The is the word of the Lord for THE STRONG.    

Now we must also consider, the strong are not to use their strength to continue in sin.  They must not go back into the land of the slaves to participate with them in their lostness, their slavery.  The freedom card, Jesus Christ and his works, set us free to abide in a better land, but we can always go back to our former lives.  We can always enter a domain that does not feed our souls, that literally takes away our joy and freedom in Christ.  We can begin to serve our old idols, believing they will help us survive in this land of living for the self instead of for others.  The so-familiar vices of this world can grip our souls again if we allow them to do so, if we open ourselves up to temptation and embrace worldly behaviors.  

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: 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.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  (Galatians 5:19-21)  The card that set us free, Jesus Christ and his righteousness, can also be used wrongly to justify our freedom to go back into the land of slavery.  Rather than experiencing freedom, once again we will become fettered by our fleshly desires and appetites.  Rather than living by the Spirit of God, we will live by the nature of man.  Paul continually warned believers to remain in Christ: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  (Colossians 3:5-8)  We pray that every breakfast companion will use the card of Jesus Christ and his work to forever set you free from the land of slavery.  He desires to motivate your life through love.  His love, his caring nature, his servanthood will set you free forever in the land of peace and joy.  Your life will be worthwhile, a place of healing others, restoring the weak, and caring for those in pain.  Let us who have tasted the freedom of God place ourselves under his authority for the benefit of all and for the GLORY OF GOD.  Amen!  Love, Dad and Mom 

1 Corinthians 8:7-8 Use Your Freedom Wisely!

1 Corinthians 8:7-8  But not everyone knows this.  Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.  

Paul beseeches the strong Christians in the Corinthian church to be careful how they use their freedom IN CHRIST.  Specifically, he wants them to beware how they use their freedom in eating food served to idols.  Some Christians in Corinth were weaker in their knowledge of who God is and who Christ is.  The Corinthians had come out of a heathen culture of worshipping idols, so some of them still gave credence to the existence of other gods.  Because of this idea of the existence of multiple gods, some of the people had a difficult time understanding how Christians could eat food given to these lesser gods when they had committed themselves to Jesus, their Lord.  When they saw Christians still eating food given to idols, the weaker brethrens' consciences were defiled.  As we saw last week, Paul knew that the weaker brethren did not fully understand that there is one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. (vs. 6)  The stronger Christians understood that we live IN CHRIST at all times that He is our righteousness, our perfection.  Eating of food given to idols does not defile us, for we live by the grace and mercy of God.  The heart is what is important.  Once Jesus called a crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.  What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’”  (Matthew 15:10-11)   IN CHRIST we are cleansed and made holy.  Nothing but Jesus makes us worthy to be accepted by God.  We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.  Only Christ brings us close to God through his shed blood.   

The Corinthians came out of centuries of serving idols.  Their culture, their society, even their calendar was organized around serving these false gods.  All they knew about life was serving idols made by man.  They were slaves to these idols because that was all they had known for their entire lives.  Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.  But now that you know God — or rather are known by God — how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles?  Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?  You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!  I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. (Galatians 4:8-10)  Paul implores the people from this culture of idol worship to separate themselves completely.  Yet as they are learning to walk in Christ, he does not want the stronger Christians' actions to hurt the weaker believers' faith.  Paul teaches that righteousness comes through Christ alone.  He fears that because of their past idol worshipping practices, some will distill the Christian experience into a way of serving God rather than accepting their complete dependence on God's grace and mercy.  He is concerned they will regress into manmade religion: serving God by how they dress, eat, act, think: serving God through ceremonies and rituals they believe will please God.  Sadly, he knows there is a tendency for human beings to adopt or to adapt the practices that they previously followed into their Christian experience.  When the Galatians turned back to weak and miserable principles, Paul expressed his concern for them as we noted above.  He knew they could not mix the old with the new and remain faithful to Christ.  He has this concern for the church in Corinth.  Rather than remain in the freedom God has given them, they were making themselves slaves again to false religions.  He wanted the weak and the strong to realize nothing but Christ brings us closer to God: no food, no way of living, no ceremonies, no rituals, no sacrifices, no philosophy, no idea: nothing can make us right with God other than the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord. 

How foolish we have become when we set standards for ourselves to please God, when we think we are more reverent if we perform certain rituals or act in a certain way, when we think our service to God has to be clothed in the trappings of religion.  We have lost our way when we believe God comes closer to us only at church, especially if we dress in certain clothes, sing in a certain way, perform certain holy acts.  Do we not know that the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit is in us?  As Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthian church: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.  (2 Corinthians 4:7)  To be honest, God is as close to us when we are shopping in a grocery store, when we are eating in a restaurant, when we are taking a shower in our bathrooms or when we are in our beds asleep as He is when we are praying at the altar at church.  He is also with us at our worst moments of weakness and sin, for He promises, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.  (Hebrews 13:5)  God is inside us when we commit to Jesus Christ as Lord: this is the salvation experience.  He has made us new creatures out of his great love for us.  His love causes him to be with us at all times.  He desires us to worship him by communing with him continually, praising his holy name, and singing our songs of joy because of his love for us.  He wants to hear our words of endearment to him.  Breakfast companions, do not push him to some corner in your life.  Do not make him meet you at some designated time or place, such as church on Sunday.  Do not think that you are only close to him when you are on your knees at an altar.  GOD IS CLOSE TO YOU AT ALL TIMES.  Paul quoted the Old Testament when he told the Romans, The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.  (Romans 10:8)  Open your ears, hear him, lift up your heads, for He is with you.  You are not in a religion, you are IN CHRIST.  HE IS ALIVE IN YOU.  No eating, no drinking, no act of living will bring you closer to God than Christ IN YOU.  He has made you acceptable to the living God.  He is the God who cannot be put into temples made by hands, but He now resides in your temple because of the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen!  

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 One God Who Lives In Us!

1 Corinthians 8:4-6  So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.  For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),  yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 

In the above scriptures, Paul restates that there is only one God, even though some people entertain the idea of other gods, other divine beings, worthy of worship.  The belief that God created all that is in existence, even life itself, remains the essence of Christianity.  God spoke everything into being through the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Of course the understanding of the creation of all that is through the Word of God goes beyond man's human knowledge, understanding, and even imagination.  The Bible says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.  (John 1:1-5)  Without Christ, we humans are in the dark, determining what is real and what is not real by using our senses.  Paul talks about an existence beyond our senses with one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came.  With our senses, our understanding, and our knowledge, we can easily evaluate idols made of wood and stone and declare them as false images, not real gods.  However, our same human gifts and abilities cannot determine, evaluate, and measure the Creator of heaven and of Earth and his domain.  The Word of God tells us Jesus knew the Father.  When Jesus told his disciples He was going to prepare a place for them, Thomas said he did not know where Jesus was going or the way.  Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7)  This same Jesus did miracles that no man from the beginning of time had performed.  Throughout his life, people saw a man not with extraordinary ability but with miraculous ability: healing the lame, the blind, the leper, and the demon possessed; raising the dead; feeding thousands with a small amount of food; and even controlling nature.  Most importantly, by paying the price for mankind's sin and waywardness, He brought a lost creation back into right relationship with its Creator.  Because God is just and the payment for sin was death, Jesus went to the cross to pay that debt.  Because of Christ's shed blood, all who place their faith in Jesus' righteousness and not their own will receive eternal life.  Paul writes about the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations . . . which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  (Colossians 1:26-27)  Christ alone is our hope, our everything.

The Bible speaks clearly about finding eternal life with harmony and peace that will never end.  This life comes through the Creator of all things, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.  Eternal life comes through no other name, idea, or philosophy.  “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  (Romans 10:8-13)  By believing in Jesus Christ, your faith in him will give you life.  There are many supposed gods, but there is only one true God, and He is the God of all things.  And we who are his are called Christians.  But we cannot be Christians in name only.  Even children understand the idea that our words must mean something.  When our children were young, they liked to play school, but as is often the case, the oldest ran the classroom, and she was the "teacher."  One day, our son, Jeff, came in and said, "Christine always gets to be the teacher, and I want to teach sometimes."  I said, "Well, she probably thinks because she is older, she has more to teach the rest of you."  (This group of "students" included several younger neighborhood children as well.)  Jeff looked me straight in the eye and said, "Don't you think if she was a real Christian, she would let me teach sometimes?"  What could I say to that?  I said, "I am sure, if we talk this over, that Christine will give you a turn?"  And she did.  Christians take turns after all.  We know the words of Jesus, By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  (John 13:34)

As Christians with an eternal view and with our hope placed in Christ Jesus alone, we want to live our lives for the Lord.  We dedicate ourselves to his life, to reflecting his image to the world.  We know whether we are alive or dead, we are his forever, forever to be in his presence.  We know we will never be alone again, lost in our finite existence, destined for dust.  Living for Christ brings an eternal reality to our lives.  For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.  If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.  So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.  For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.  (Romans 14:7-9)  Even though we exist with this hope as our salvation, a hope that goes beyond reasoning, we are not left with hope alone.  No, Jesus said, I want you to tarry in Jerusalem before you do anything for me.  I want you to wait for the Comforter, the Advocate, the Counselor.  I want you to wait for the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  No wood, no stone, no graven image can give you this Spirit of truth and light.  We who are Christians are living out the Book of Acts.  This Book is ongoing, extending into the Twenty-first Century as the Holy Spirit continues to change people's lives.  Paul describes the life of the Spirit: But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.  And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.  (Romans 8:10-11)   We who are alive IN CHRIST through faith are literally alive IN THE SPIRIT OF GOD.  He who raised Christ from the dead will raise each of us from the dead.  We will meet Christ in the shadow of death someday, not in the infiniteness of death.  Jesus will greet us, welcome us.  He comes back for each of us.  The Holy Spirit, the Power of God, will resurrect us TO CHRIST.  THERE, IN HIS PRESENCE, WE WILL LIVE FOREVERMORE in the place prepared for us.  There is but one God, the Father, Creator of heaven and Earth for WHOM WE LIVE; there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and THROUGH WHOM WE LIVE; and there is but one Holy Spirit who guides us each day and teaches us all things pertaining to righteousness and truth.  Amen!