Jesus' Obedience

S:  “Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:47-52‬ ‭NIV‬‬

O:  I found these verses very interesting today.  Jesus was only 12 years old and was in Jerusalem with his parents for Passover.  They had completed all the rituals for the Passover and were returning home and Jesus was not with them.  He had gone into the temple courts and was speaking with the teachers of the law...listening and teaching them.  They were amazed at his words and the wisdom of his understanding.  When his parents find him, their comments were of concern as to why Jesus has left them.  Jesus gentle reminds them of his purpose, and even in though they did not understanding this completely, Jesus submits to their wishes and returns home with they.  

Then there is the statement that Jesus "was obedient to them."  The Son of God, who can incarnate to us on this earth lived in submission to his God's given earthly parents.  He could have stayed in Jerusalem and lived at the temple and continued his teaching ministry, it he chose to return home and live under the roof of this parents, loving them, learning from then and shaping his earthly character and rappor with those around him.  

A:  I never fully understanding the mind of God and the plans he has for me.  There are times when I am directed to do things that don't seem to make since (like Jesus leaving the temple has he was teaching and to go home with this parents).  But Jesus gave us an example to follow...to remain obedient to those in authority around us.  To live an upright and pure life before others.  

P:  Lord, give me the wisdom and grace to be obedient to you and see your plan in all things that are before me.  Help me to remains faithful to you in my dealings everyday wth people around me.  Amen

God's Redeeming Love

To say that I have not blogged in awhile is an understatement.  In the past few years, life has brought some ups and downs in life, but I am confident in one things...that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  That God is in the business of redeeming broken lives.  That God is more that I could ever ask or imagine.  I serve a faithful, loving, merciful God expresses his love to me every single day.  I am overwhelmed by God's love for me.  I read this Psalm recently and it really expressed what I feel...

“I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭116:1-2‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Thank you Lord, for your unending love.  For redeeming my life as you make me life an example for others.  I will call on your name as long as I live!  Amen

The Power of the Resurrection - Past, Present and Future

The resurrection is a powerful event…there is not an event in history that could surpass the greatness of the resurrection. But we must be careful to not just see the resurrection as an historical event. Yes, it did happen and when it did, the atoning work of Christ was complete for you and for me. And the centrality of the atonement must be taught and preached in the church, or we cannot call ourselves Christian. The resurrection has tremendous implications…

The Resurrection Saves You FROM…

• Saves us from the wrath to come – 1 Thess. 1: 10
• Saves us from the slavery to sin – Romans 7
• Saves us from the devil - John 8: 44
• Saves us from the power of darkness – Colossians 1: 13
• Saves us from the law – (law weakened by the flesh). He did what we could not do - Romans 7:1
• Saves us from the law of sin and death – Romans 8:2

However, an event like the resurrection should not just be views in history, but in the present and future as well. In the present, we must realize the power in the resurrection. Our lives are different as a result of the living Christ. The implications of the resurrection continue, but into our lives today…

The Resurrection Saves of TO…

• Saves us to union with Christ – John 6: 5
• Saves us to eternal life – John 3: 16
• Save us unto participation in the triune life of God – John 17
• Saved us for knowing God – John 17: 3
• Saves us for freedom - Galatians 5: 1
• Saved into community – 1 Corn. 12
• Saved into the Commission and Mission of God – Matthew 28: 18-20
• Saved into the Kingdom of God – made agents for reconciliation

Lastly, the resurrection gives us tremendous hope in the future. As a Christian, I know that my life on this earth will end some day, but I am also confident in the hope of eternal life found only in Jesus Christ. Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1: 3-5, ESV).

In the resurrection, Jesus overcame death and the grave…and He is still conquering the grave today. We have a living hope in Jesus Christ…so we can face death with a sense of loss and joy, knowing that we will be living eternal with Jesus Christ.

My heart is full today. I am awe filled with the wonder and love of my God. The resurrection makes all the difference to me…I pray that I will be able to continue to serve in the name of Jesus Christ…for His glory and for His honor. Have a Blessed Easter!

Good Friday is Not So Bad!

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46, ESV)

Today is a wonderful day for Christians around the world. It is the day that we remember the death of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I remember as a kid wondering way we called this "Good" Friday if it was the day that Jesus died. My reasoning...death is not good...it is sad and we lose a relationship. But through the years, I have grown to a greater understanding of Jesus death and the "good" that is brings.

It is good because we needed a blood sacrifice for our sins. The writer of Hebrews records:

"He (Jesus) entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:12-14, ESV)

It is good because through Jesus' death our sins have been removed and our life is fixed in Christ. Paul says in Galatians 2: 20:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

It is good because ultimately, Jesus conquered death and in so doing offers to us eternal life.

Jesus said:

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish,

and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

(John 10:28, ESV)

So on this day of remembering the death and burial of Jesus Christ, I am overwhelmed with the goodness of my God. He loved me more than life itself and continues to love me. I am so grateful for the life that is mine because of the death of Jesus. It is a "good" Friday. Thanks be to God!

Being the Gospel

I have been rereading the book "The Hole in our Gospel" by Richard Stearns. Stearns, the president of World Vision US, speaks of his journey to World Vision and then gives insightful words as to our call to participate with God being the gospel to the world around us. It is a very good book and I highly recommend that you read it. Read my earlier review http://gkclifejournal.blogspot.com/2010/08/hole-in-our-gospel.html

What has really been in my mind the past 12 hours is responsibility that I have as a Christian to be all that God has created me to be. It goes beyond just knowing the right things and even just 'saying' the right things...but becoming the person God intended and being God's hands and feet to the world. We can so easily go through the motions of being a Christian and acting in the right way and saying the right things at church, but then not carrying our Christian lives beyond the church and beyond our comfortable existence.

Isaiah confront the people of Israel with this problem. They are been offering God empty actions in worship and The prophet gives a message of what God wants from us:

“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Isaiah 58:6-8(ESV)

God is calling me to be his hands and feet. It is to put the gospel into action through our lives as we love and give and serve those around us. Stearns says it best..."any authentic and genuine commitment to Christ will be accompanied by demonstrable evidence of a transformed life." He later adds, "There is no 'whole gospel' without compassion and justice shown to the poor".

My life is to be marked in some way by demonstrations of Christ's love and grace in me.

My heart is stirred as I think about what God is calling me to be and do for Him. I want to have a genuine concern for the 'least of these' that fins tangible expression in my life through my words, thoughts and actions. I want the expression of the gospel be part of the very fibers of my being.

Lord, take my life and use it for your glory. Give me eyes to see the needs of people around me. I yield my life to you and ask that I be shaped with your heart.

Follow The Hole in Our Gospel Blog

God Revealed

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me;

Psalms 86:11-13a (ESV)

God has always promised that He would reveal Himself to me. As you read the scriptures, we see how many times in in various ways God reveals Himself. In creation God shows us His splendor, in the law, God reveals his true character, in His Son Jesus Christ God chose to reveal his very nature. The writer of Hebrews says, "He (Jesus) is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature," (1: 3a)...Paul stated, "For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell," (Colossians 1: 19). It is clear to me that God wanted me and you to know all about Himself, so He made sure to make it clear.

But I also believe that we must seek after God. He desires that we desire Him. In these verse above, the Psalmist is clearing opening his heart to God's presence and his great love. He asks for wisdom to walk in truth...he asks for an undivided heart that is fully and solely focused on the truth of God...and he rejoices in the fact that God's love and presence is found in him.

What a join to God wants for each of us to know Him. How great is the Father's love for us...and today I pray that I might be filled with rejoicing as God's love has filled me.

Loving God, you created me and love me, even when I don't give you first place in my life. Forgive me when I fail you...I receive you love and grace today and offer my life as a living sacrifice to you. Amen.

What I have Learned at PRBC! - Part 2

Here is an addition to my post from yesterday...

11. I can't count! Leigh Ann and I were sitting in the living room this morning and she said, "I read your post and we have been here 9 years." So like any smart person, I held up my hands and counted and sure enough...We have been at Pea Ridge for 9 years and are beginning our 10th year here!

This does not change anything I said yesterday...I am confident God has called me here and I am excited to continue in His work with the great people of Pea Ridge Baptist!