Surrender
May we heed Your word, today, Father. It was straight and true…may we not let it slip through our minds and hearts like sand through our hands. Amen.
Romans 6:1-4 (<<click here to read the passage)
This is one of those days when part of today’s sermon connected with today’s blog. Romans 6 wasn’t even part of the sermon, though it could have been.
Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of] grace may increase and overflow? Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer? Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways]. AMP
Many know that I grew up in the church. I could not begin to count the number of men and women who came to accept Christ as their Savior during those years of my dad’s ministry. I witnessed time and time again a major life change in them. Their old lives of sin were abandoned, and new lives of righteousness, holiness, and pleasing God were adopted. They lived out the expectation that you quit the sin business when you accepted Christ. Now I would imagine that that was not the case in every circumstance, but all in all, it was.
It seems to have become a more prominent mindset today, that those who lay claim to salvation in Christ, continue to hang onto sin even after making a profession of faith. Is it ignorance? …stubbornness? Or have we bought into the notion that we’re just poor miserable sinners and have no hope of overcoming the addiction to sin in our lives?
If Jesus is going to forgive us no matter what we do, what’s the point? Wouldn’t it just be easier to continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of] grace may increase and overflow? v1 Should we just learn to live with sin, mastering sin management? And I reiterate Paul’s exclamation, “Certainly not!”
How tragic it would be if God only came to save us but not fix us…to give us tickets to heaven but leave us to wallow in our sinfulness and addictions?
Jesus enables us to overcome our bondage to sin. If we want to be set free, we can be. Our lifestyles and life choices matter to God and His standard has always been, and always will be, holiness.
Paul points out that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death. v3
There’s an interesting note in the Amplified Bible.
“Baptize” [here] means to submerge an object into liquid. In this passage, Christ becomes the liquid, metaphorically, and those who are baptized into Him remain in Him forever and benefit from His experiences, including His death. The best news is that Jesus was resurrected, so believers will also experience resurrection… But even now believers experience a kind of resurrection in that they live new lives (as Paul says, “walk in newness of life”) in a wonderful new relationship with God and their fellow believers.
God has miraculously transformed us. Our responsibility is to obey, and obedience means to surrender. The wonderful thing about that surrender is we lose only what is destroying us and we gain that which will bring us to heights and wonder of which we have never dreamed! Surrender allows us to become the person that God intended for us to be! Amen!
Dec 11th, 2022, Sun, 7:14 pm
The Man on the Middle Cross
(Biblical vector illustration series. Way of the Cross or Stations of the Cross, twelfth station.)
It was a whirlwind kind of day and though we were spread apart in our different areas, we all came back together with an enjoyable supper and now wrapping things up. May I hear You and put forth what You desire. Amen.
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When I traveled back and forth to Kohl’s all those years, I had a fair amount of time on my hands – it was about a 40-minute trip one way barring any traffic issues along the way. One thing I enjoyed doing was listening to Christian radio and at the time there was a station that aired a combo of music and speakers. One I enjoyed was Pastor Alistair Begg. He is a Scotsman by birth but has been the pastor of Cleveland’s Parkside Church here in Ohio since 1983. Based on what I heard, I always found him to be very solid doctrinally.
Anyway, the other day while on TikTok, I came across a portion of a sermon he delivered back in November 2019, entitled “The Power and Message of the Cross”. Here is the text of that segment.
If you were to die tonight and you were getting entry into heaven, what would you say? If [we] answered that in the first person we’ve immediately gone wrong.
Because I…because I believed…because I have faith…because I am continuing…
Loved ones, the only proper answer is in the third person, because He…because He…
Think about the thief on the cross…I can’t wait to find that fellow one day to ask him, “How did that shake out for you? Because you were cussing the guy out with your friend. You’ve never been in a Bible study, you never got baptized, you didn’t know a thing about church membership and yet you made it! How did you make it?”
That’s what the angel must have said… “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I don’t know…”
“What do you mean, you don’t know?”
“Well like because I don’t know!”
[The angel was at a total loss for words and stuttered around for a bit then said,] “Excuse me, let me get my supervisor.”
[The angelic supervisor said,] “So we have just a few questions for you. First of all, are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?”
He said, “I’ve never heard of it…”
“Let’s just go to the doctrine of Scripture immediately…” And the guy’s just staring… and eventually, [the supervisor] says, “On what basis are you here?”
And he said, “The Man on the middle cross said I can come.”
And that is the only answer!
Much too often, we as established believers make things too complicated! And we feel that we have to find into answer when Jesus is the only answer! We don’t fit into the answer part whatsoever. We didn’t provide that answer. We didn’t even think up the answer. We are only recipients of the Answer, and all we can say is thank You, Lord God Almighty! Where would we be without You?!
Nov 30th, 2022, Wed, 7:12 pm
Lifted Above the Ladder of the Law
Getting back in the swing of things today after our break. Thank You, Father, for the blessing of walking and conversing with a brother in Christ! Bless him, Father!
Romans 5:18-21 (<<click here to read the passage)
This last weekend, my goal was to begin getting our outside Christmas lights and decorations up. In the yard barn behind our house, I have a large tote full of those things. The tote is stored in the back end of the barn up on a loft of sorts (it’s not like a farm barn – it’s just a building to store the zero-turn, ladders, outdoor tools, etc.). Well the plan was to pull the tote off the loft (it wasn’t crazy heavy) and pivot to slide it over the back of the zero-turn, on which I was standing to get ahold of the tote. Everything was going fine until I went to pivot, for as I started to turn my center of gravity was a bit too much forward, so the tote was going to drop. Well, by the time I let go of the tote, I was no longer able to retain my balance so I toppled on top of the tote, which had fallen between the zero-turn and the hose cart and large trash receptacle. I wasn’t hurt but ended up in a really weird position. My left foot/leg was still in the seat of the mower and the rest of me was on the tote. I was able to free my foot/leg but there was nothing to grab hold of to get myself up. I had to text Massey for help getting up!
I wish I had been as quick to realize my predicament in my spiritual walk. I have shared before that I struggled for years. I would do OK for a while and then I would stumble…other times I would fall flat on my face! If I had been smart I would have gotten help to get the tote down but just as in my spiritual walk, I thought, “I can do this myself!” I don’t think I was being arrogant or overly prideful, I just figured I didn’t need help – plus I didn’t want to bother anybody.
Spiritually speaking that’s a terrible idea! After many stumbles and all-out face plants, I have learned that the only way to avoid those things is to not go it alone. I absolutely have to call on the Holy Spirit for help…many times to carry me! He is the only means for me to have victory!
I tell you study Bibles can be a great asset in our understanding of Scripture. As I read through the study notes on this passage, I was impacted by this one paragraph in particular. I truly believe it sums up my own life experiences! (I had to read it through twice for it to really sink in. 🙂)
As a sinner, separated from God, you see his law from below, as a ladder to be climbed to get to God. Perhaps you have repeatedly tried to climb it, only to fall to the ground every time you have advanced one or two rungs. Or perhaps the sheer height of the ladder seems so overwhelming that you have never even started up. In either case, what relief you should feel to see Jesus offering with open arms to lift you above the ladder of the law, to take you directly to God! Once Jesus lifts you into God’s presence, you are free to obey – out of love, not necessity, and through God’s power, not your own. You know that if you stumble, you will not fall back to the ground. Instead, you will be caught and held in Christ’s loving arms.*
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
Nov 29th, 2022, Tues, 12:38 pm
Who We Are vs. Who We Were Created to Be
It was so nice having a buffer break day! Thank You, Father, for the wherewithal to get so far on my preparation for Sunday. May our time together here and now be productive as well. Amen.
Romans 5:12-17 (<<click here to read the passage)
Doesn’t pretty much everyone struggle with not living up to the expectations of who we can be? Some of us strive to live up to the expectations of others. Many others find it hard enough to overcome their own expectations. They are driven from deep within, not without. Neither group has it easy. I really don’t know which is worse, to be driven by others or by ourselves. And when I think of “driven”, I think of someone driving a horse as hard as they can, to the point where the poor creature is driven to death.
Often the goals before us are attainable with hard practice, dedication, and hard work. But there are times when no amount of effort on our part can accomplish the end result we desire.
A friend of mine has a child who loves basketball. They have worked and worked to be able to play on a team, but despite all of their efforts and hours of practice, they just don’t have what it takes to play at the level they want to play. They still participate, but unfortunately, it is less of an experience than their heart desires.
This is a challenge to write because of the fine balance in the whole thing. Some simply don’t want to accomplish anything but the absolute bare minimum – and they are perfectly content with that. Being a “C” student is fine with them…”Just get me out of here!”
Looking at who we are from a spiritual perspective is a challenge as well. Many in the world are content with who they are. But I would dare say that when we enter a relationship with Christ, for those who pursue that relationship at least, we realize that there is much more! Sin blocks our potential on so many levels. It keeps us bound to the mundane, to the things of this world that are empty and void. Reaching for the things of Christ’s Kingdom opens up a vast realm of possibilities! My Life Application Study Bible states, “Sin is a deep discrepancy between who we are and who we were created to be.”
Creation is of God. It was perfect and whole when God brought it all into being from nothing. And Genesis 1 tells us that God saw that it was good. But we along with the sin that Adam invited into the world have tainted it. We have brought suffering and pain to all of Creation including ourselves…and we are slaves to it. We, of our own strength, cannot break free.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all people [no one being able to stop it or escape its power], because they all sinned. v12 AMP
We are who we are…but we all have the ability to become who we were created to be!
Adam is a type of Him (Christ) who was to come [but in reverse—Adam brought destruction, Christ brought salvation]. v14b AMP
Jesus Christ reversed, He undid, what Adam set into motion and that which we continue – every single one of us! – to perpetuate! Some of this world are who they are and they do whatever they want to do. But there are those whose heart’s desire is to follow and be and live like Jesus! That is what we all were created to be!
Lord Jesus, please show us what we can be. May we be set afire with enthusiasm to pursue limitless goals and reach the seemingly unreachable heights of Your glory. Amen and amen!
Nov 28th, 2022, Mon, 7:29 pm
Cat On a Railing
Well, Father, today’s been different – beyond church this morning, not my norm. But things were accomplished, and we had an enjoyable night of food and fellowship at the church decorating. Thank You for Your blessings!
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I often see cats sitting on railings along my bus route. On decks, on porches, they are just perched there eyeing the world around them. I’m sure they’re scoping out for mice or birds or some other tasty tidbit and the height gives them a distinct advantage. Believe it or not, I think we could learn something from that.
Oft times we develop tunnel vision. Or maybe we’re more like horses with blinders. All we see is what is right before us. We’re not very good at seeing anything beyond that. Granted many of us are doing good to keep just enough ahead of the things that clamor for our attention to retain our sanity. Anything else added to our load and we might just lose it!
But what if we changed our perspective? Instead of just focusing on our own lowly lives, and exclusively honing in on our interests, what if we took a higher road? What if we trained our hearts and minds to watch out for those in need? I’m not excluding those who obviously need help, but what if we began to notice the unnoticeable? …the wallflowers of our society?
Sometimes they deliberately set themselves apart. Remember, in school, those who never really sat with anyone but made a point of finding a seat in a far-off corner, alone and interacting with no one? The older we get the better they’ve become at blending in with the scenery. They don’t bother anyone and they, at least on the outside, don’t want anyone to bother them.
There are some out there that truly don’t want people to interact with them and work very hard at keeping it that way. But many people crave…they yearn for human interaction. They might freak out a bit if someone did speak with them, but they’d love to have a friend…someone to talk to and laugh with.
Interestingly enough, I believe that there are those with whom we interact on a regular basis who are social and interactive but they are hurting, they are lonely and nobody sees it.
Think about Zacchaeus. He buried himself so deeply in his chosen profession, that he became an outcast. Granted he wasn’t a nice person and took advantage of others, often taking far more than his fair share so as to line his own pockets… with an evil grin on his face to boot!
One day he heard that Jesus was in town and he so wanted to see Him. Being short in stature, he got creative and climbed a sycamore-fig tree which gave him the height advantage he desired. All he wanted was to see Jesus. I don’t think that in his wildest dreams he ever would’ve thought that Jesus would see him, much less call him down and want to eat with him, but that’s exactly what Jesus did!
Interestingly enough, Zacchaeus perched himself high in the tree but it was Jesus who saw to the heart of Zacchaeus’ issues. He saw his loneliness. There was probably nothing that Zacchaeus withheld from himself, but Jesus saw His need…his true need.
Jesus saw past exteriors and masks. And with the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can, too.
Lord Jesus, may we train ourselves to see the world around us with Your eyes. May we learn to be sensitive to Your leading and to be brave and strong enough to act upon it. Fill us, use us. Amen.
Nov 27th, 2022, Sun, 8:24 pm