Picking up from where we were last week, let’s go through these verses from Hebrews 10:19-25

Jesus is the living way to the presence of God.  In front of the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle hung the veil to screen off the presence of God. Jesus on the cross, the blood and torn flesh of our savior tore that veil apart. We are able to see the love of God for us by his giving his son so that the sins of this world might be forgiven. We also can see the full greatness and love of Christ for the Father and for us, all God’s people, lost in sin.

It was when the flesh of Christ was torn upon the cross that people really saw God. All his life showed God; but it was on the cross that God’s love really was revealed. As the tearing of the tabernacle veil opened the way to the presence of God, so the tearing of that flesh of Christ revealed the full greatness of his love and opened up the way to him.

Jesus is the high priest over God’s house in the heavens. Just as it was the function of the High Priests of old to be a bridge between the people and God, we now have a High Priest who not only guides us but takes us into the very presence of God. 

Jesus is the one person who can really cleanse. The Priests had their way of blood sacrifice and then washing their hands in a brass basin of clear water, but only Jesus can clean us completely. He cleans our innermost thoughts and desires and makes us a much better person, new in his grace and forgiveness of our sins.

And What About Us……After the Cross?

For us there is an after the cross also. What are our responsibilities to this new covenant? How do we move beyond the words to living as one who is committed to the precepts of this new salvation?

Let us approach the presence of God. There are those things of the eternal world and then those things of this world. We must learn to put aside the things of this world and make time to enter into God’s presence, in worship, prayer and living our faith so others might see what we have and want it also.

Let us hold fast to our creed. There will be those who will tempt us with the material things of this life, those who will attack our faith in an attempt to cause doubt or uncertainty, there will be events in this life that will shake our faith. We must never allow these things to marginalize what we believe.

Let us put our minds to having a genuine concern for others. While our personal salvation is of course important we must not forget our calling to bring people to repentance and salvation through the good news of Jesus Christ.

We must encourage each other to set a good example by living a Holy Life. We can do that by keeping to our traditions and responsibilities, never putting them aside for an easier way. We must encourage others to do good they must see Christ in us. We must Do all the good we can, whenever we can, wherever we can.

We must work to remove the barriers that encourage others to seek a kind of Christian Isolation. This habit of no longer worshiping with God’s people, in God’s house on God’s day. Moffatt gives us three reasons why this might be happening.

–They may not go to church because of fear. Simply put there may be friends or family or people they work with that don’t go to church and tend to laugh at those who do. They may be trying to avoid their criticism and contempt and in doing so they become silent or secret disciples. They may be trying to hide where their loyalty lies. Truth is it won’t work. True Disciples can’t hide. God’s love will always shine through by the way we live and treat others.

-For some people it is a matter of being uncomfortable around others that are not like them. I might add as a personal observation that some churches can seem like a club and as Moffatt wrote “There may be congregations where a form of social snobbery is practiced.” Christ died for all and there is no such thing as a socially acceptable class of people. In the eyes of God there are no common people. Christ died for all people.

-They may not go because of conceit. There are many people who feel they do not need the church and even worse is the idea that they are intellectually beyond the standard of preaching there. You can not live a christian life and neglect the fellowship of the church. We must remember that while it is true we go to church to receive, it is also important to give of ourselves in worship and praise. Being in God’s house with his people is not a matter of intellect but one of obedience and respect.

-We must encourage one another. The early church lived in the expectation that Christ would soon return. One thing we must realize is that we are in the position of not knowing when the call will come, for us each day is one of expectation.We must never cease to encourage others with a smile, a kind word, prayers of support and as was written earlier it is our duty to do all the good we can to all the people we can in all the ways we can.

Thanks for coming by the Pew this week.

jk

Life is Good

Here is Friday, Good Friday to be exact. There has been much written about this day, “Good Friday” and the heartrending events of it. The brutality, the pain, the single-minded purpose of the Jewish leaders and even the Roman government’s representatives who tried to avoid this crucifixion of Jesus.  The endless speculations, brought forth in commentaries as to who and how many were present at the cross. The intriguing debate about  if  there were three women or four there and of course John, the beloved disciple and Jesus’ calling out to him. Another aspect that is sometimes overlooked is the fact that the soldiers Jesus was turned over to at the cross were more that just ordinary soldiers, they were hired killers and given the abuse to Jesus prior to the crucifixion and what we know of  Jesus being put on the cross, they had to be men of little remorse and no empathy for others. Good Friday, followed by a day of silence and then the glory of the risen Christ. Hope renewed, victory over death and the salvation of the resurrection.  He is Risen!!

I would like to look at Hebrews 10: 11-18. In these verses the writer to Hebrews points out some things we should be mindful of this resurrection day. He points to the achievement of Jesus. The priest’s sacrifices are made over and over again and yet they seem to not be effective.

–Every day, as long as the Temple stood, the following sacrifices had to be carried out (Numbers 28:3–8). There was a burnt offering, along with it a food offering and there was also a drink offering. Also added to these was an incense offering. Added to all that was the daily food offering of the high priest. It was a treadmill of required practices that had to be kept up day in and day out. There was no end to this process.

–Jesus made a sacrifice that never could or would be needed to be repeated. Jesus’s life was a perfect example of obedience, even to the cross. We miss the point if we do not realize that the only sacrifice God desires is obedience. Jesus was not a martyr, his life and death exalts him above all others. While the priests stood and presented offerings, and act of servitude, Christ sits on the right hand of God, a position of a monarch and awaits the finial triumph over his enemies. Of course there is the power of God, but the writer of Hebrews leaves us to see that it is the love of God that will conquer in the end. We are left with a quote from Jeremiah 31:34

“…..For I will forgive their wickedness

    and will remember their sins no more.”

“Because of Jesus, the barrier of sin is taken away forever.” (Quoted from DBS, William Barclay)

Easter Sunday, a day of celebration and hope, He is alive, the Risen Christ. No more needs to be said……..

jk

Next week join me here in the pew as we return to Hebrews 10:19-25.

The Apostle Paul might take issue with that statement. His extraordinary ability to adapt without marginalizing his faith or mission can be found in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. As if sewing a design in a motif of life, to win people to Christ becomes a recurring pattern at least five times in these verses and is the growing focus of his life in response to his call. He writes to have freely chosen to enslave himself to all people and that means to accommodate all people just as they are and where he finds them. In Paul’s day there were those who lived under the law and Paul became one of them but did not consider himself as living under the law. To those outside the law he became one of them, not free of God’s law but under Christ’s law. Paul continues on to write I became to the weak as a weak person, so that I might win the weak. Some commentaries say the meaning here refers to Paul’s calling to win them to Christ. Paul strove to find common ground with the believers in Corinth and did not conform to their beliefs to gain acceptance. He preached a gospel of transforming power. He recognized that there were those in all these diverse groups that do not have the knowledge that idols have no real permanence and there is only one true God. Because of his claim to Apostleship he believes people will recognize that it makes him even more determined and strengthens his call to bring all people to Christ. They must hear the good news! If no one shares the good news, how will they ever know? There is much the church this day can learn from this man humbled by God, raised up by Christ to serve and his indomitable spirit fortified by the Holy Spirit. Paul was a free man. Paul (Saul) was both a Jew and a citizen of Rome. We, the church today, are struggling to remain true to the good news and find ways to reach those “under the law, living outside the law as well as those weak and burdened by life’s demands to the point they have forgotten or never heard of Christ and the forgiveness that is theirs. There are also those who miss-construe  the scripture so as to fall prey to the sins of this day.”

We have embraced words such as tolerance, inclusiveness and need to reach out, to open our doors, our minds and our hearts, to cite just a few. All have value and worth and are introduced with the best of intentions. Paul in these verses introduces us to a new word and a new way…….Accommodation…. Paul’s ministry can teach us the value of accommodating other people. Being kind, helpful, obliging, or just being considerate of all people and their place in life at the moment you meet them or in Paul’s case, go among them. All of this hangs on understanding Paul’s conception of being accommodating to people. As Christians we have free will but we are also slaves to God, he who has renewed our minds body and souls. What does this mean? We have the freedom to chose not to do those things that are a hindrance  to the gospel, or harm anyone whom Christ died for. At this point you might want to ask who did Christ die for? If you answered for everyone, for all sinners, you are halfway there. If you are wondering what the other half is, well you have to live and treat others like you believe that. So, let’s wrap this up. Paul was able to adapt and accommodate because he believed that the gospel, the power of God always encounters and engages people where they are, where they live and within their social and cultural environments. The gospel has the power to move them and change them wherever they are and at whatever point they are in their lives. Preach the gospel without condemnation and let God do the rest.

Life is Good

jk

Reference Material NIB

 

Big word but a harsh reality.

( sub·ju·ga·tion the action of bringing someone or something under domination or control.) We are seeing  more and more the subjugation of God’s word and the, to be nice, the re-thinking of God’s word to fit the needs of societies various agendas. I am one who considers the issues of same-sex and other gender related issues to be more of a social issue and best kept in that arena. I know of no other issue that in my life time has held so the many different denominations hostage than that of same-sex and other related gender issues. There is no compromise, well there is if you accept their premise that scripture has been interpreted incorrectly or the meaning not clearly understood. There is the doctrine of inclusiveness which choses to ignore behavior or agendas that are contrary to current practices in order to remain relevant to a changing world. It is not as if we were kept in the dark or unable to think about these issues when seeking to follow God’s will in our lives. There is the bible, bible studies, denominational doctrines and much more that speak to living a christian life. Should you wish to go even farther there are always a large number of commentaries to read.  Commentaries are a systematic series of explanations or interpretations (as of a writing) and are quite common and have been present for, well for ever. With the rise of the Internet, many Public Domain or otherwise free-use Bible commentaries have become available online. With that in mind, I go to the very beginning.

Genesis 1  KJV

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

There is the The Simple Truth, that starts here and is strengthened by all Scripture to follow. You will not find in God’s word any positive comments or approval of any number of same-sex occurrences in the Bible. We live in a world where people have for as long as I can remember pulled part of a scripture verse to boost their perspective and we can often find that when taken in full context it will not fly. This by the way, goes both ways. The truth can be controversial and sometimes it can hurt but at anytime it is necessary. I have always believed that the breath of life and this gift as given is to me the very soul of our being. Our bodies being only a vessel in which God has placed this wonderful creation of life. Our soul, our very being belongs to God and nothing or no one can take us from him. (from a recent post this past March) The simple truth is that what God has created cannot be taken from his hand (your soul) nor can it be changed. Sex in humans is usually determined by four factors and not all of these factors can be changed. Chromosomes cannot be changed. It was God’s intent, to put it in a secular tone, that there be male and female and all of scripture confirms that. Man cannot change what God has created. So to wrap this up…….another simple truth that is hard for most christians to accept. 

God’s love, mercy and grace is for all people. No one should be turned away from the table, even those who would be guilty of sin in God’s eye. Jesus Christ died that we might all be forgiven of our sins. The hard part is forgiveness requires repentance of our sins and judgement belongs to God. 

The other simple truth is that, Subjugation Of God’s Word to fit an agenda or changing social norms is not acceptable. It is not my intention to hurt anyone but the simple truth is found through prayer and in the word of God. Amen

Life is Good

jk