The bean counters write that only about 35% of us read some Scripture at least once a week. In order of reader preference the book of Galatians comes in at about #4. Paul’s fight to lift up the message as one of mercy and salvation for all people places him in the position of challenging the Jewish leaders and there is a subdued  anger as he declares  “If justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.” Paul  is facing two very real threats to the gospel. We see this same method at work in today’s world as social and cultural pressures come against the church and God’s word. They, the Jews, attacked Paul’s apostleship, many saying he was not an apostle at all, thus casting doubt on his gospel message. Personal attacks are a favorite tool of dissenters, they marginalize a person’s credibility and distract from their message. So as they sought to marginalize  Paul’s message they also attacked the gospel. This was the struggle that had become a battle, and Paul knew it had to be fought. One key fact was that even though there were Jews who had accepted Christianity they held to the belief that all God’s promises and gifts were for Jews alone and God’s promises were for them alone. Simply put, they were never meant to be for the Gentiles.

There are many things at play here in these verses but Paul is a great example of  a person who knows the glory and grace of God and add to that the fact that he knew we can never save ourselves. When his apostleship was questioned he did not present an argument to counter their statements, he simply stated that his authority and his calling had been given to him direct from God. He recalled that day on the Damascus Road when he had met Jesus Christ face to face. For many of us there have been times when we were unknowingly in the presence of God but the things of this life were stronger than our human ability to discern his presence. Paul was certain that God had spoken to him. It is not the vows we take to the church or organization within the church, nor the precepts of any chosen denomination that matters. The thing that matters is, have we come face to face with Jesus? This is critical to our christian faith. As with all things of such magnitude it always will depend on the certainty of the believer, the strength of their faith and then being able to discern God calling them to a specific task. The calling or task if you wish may seem huge and impossible, demanding of us the discipline of a Paul who saw every task as God given and worthy of our best effort. One truth of Christian faith is that we all have a God given task and it is our duty to see it through. Even the most simple of things becomes important to the faith when God calls his people to a task that serves the faith and his people. Paul’s God given task was to share the good news with the world. A large task indeed. Maybe for each of us it is to simply evangelize those around us as we go about our daily lives. It could well be that we are to live a holy life so that others might see Christ in us. Have you found your Damascus Road yet? We have a wonderful message to share. There is of course the undeserved gift in the generous love of God. Paul gave and suffered but for him the power and love of Jesus Christ overcame all and freed many from the bondage of sin. We have been called and chosen, will you answer?

Life is Good

jk

These verses are sometimes referred to as one of those enduring stories we find in the scripture and after a closer read we find some lessons we often overlook. Late in the day and on a long and dusty road toward Emmaus two men were discussing the events of the day.   Their grief and disappointment were so great that they failed to recognize their savior when he approached them. Do we not at times allow our sorrows in this life to hide God’s glory from us?  Focusing on their grief and feeling that their hopes died on that cross, they felt their lives had lost all meaning.‘We were hoping that he was the one who was going to rescue Israel.’ If we allow ourselves to ponder a moment here we can see what the followers of Jesus were failing to see. In bad times and when we are bewildered and lost, it is only through Jesus that we learn what life means. Our creator, our savior, our God, has given us the gift of free will and we can use it to invite Christ into our lives or pass him by. Another lesson hidden within this story is the power of the ordinary . The men had been walking and talking with Jesus for some distance and still did not realize it was the Lord. That realization came to them in a very ordinary situation. It was an ordinary meal in an ordinary house with an ordinary loaf of bread but it was as Jesus was breaking the bread that they suddenly realized who this stranger was. The Christian lives in a Christ filled world and with Christ our lives transcend the ordinary. We can also look to the behavior of these two men when they realized what had happened and who was speaking to them. They immediately started back to Jerusalem, seven miles away because they could not wait to share the good news with others. The good news of Jesus Christ is meant to be shared with everyone. The power of the message is released through sharing with others. One of the great glories of Christian fellowship is sharing our experiences with those of the faith.

One final word about these verses. These two men were blessed to be in the presence of the Lord and from this story we learned it all came about because they invited him into their home. What about you? Will you invite Christ into your home, your heart and your life?

Life is Good

jk

There are many things the church does right but there is as with all things those that are wrong. If I were to list my number one concern with the church right now, it would be the SIN of COMPLACENCY.  In chapters 5 and 6 of 1 Corinthians Paul deals with some very practical things that could create some very grave situations within the church.  Today we will ponder the message found in 1 Corinthians 5: 9-13. In the first eight verses of chapter 5 we see a practical truth. Discipline sometimes is necessary to maintain a healthy Church. To shut our eyes to the need for Christian discipline will most of the time result in damage to the church and its people. There are confusing elements involved and sometimes we Christians forget our place and calling, becoming  both judge and jury. Today’s verse’s 9-13, chapter 5, Paul deals with a couple of these situations. One thing is very evident, discipline must never be vengeful and should have as its goal  the purpose of reconciling  the person or persons to God, restoring them to the fellowship of the church and preventing such behavior in the future.

IT appears that Paul had already written a letter to the Corinthians in which he had urged them to avoid the company of all evil men and women. The problem as Paul sees it here is that it would be impossible to carry on a normal life without coming into contact with those  whom the Church would utterly condemn. This is also an impossibility because that would require our withdrawal from the world and that would not allow us to live out our calling and allow others to see Christ in us. It is always interesting to me how the scripture spans the centuries and has practical application in the world of today. Paul zeroes in on three sins which he sees typical in his day and they translate well into our world today and the people that we associate with them.

• fornicators, those guilty of lax morality

Paul has a very healthy dislike for a lack of moral grounding among God’s people. He sees people living to satisfy their physical needs and using each other or others to meet those desires. All Christians who considers themselves to be children of God should never seek to only satisfy their desires for they will  lose their souls in the process. We have a body and a spirit created by God. A lax attitude of those things God considers to be immoral could banish us from his saving grace.

-There are those who are greedy for this world’s goods.

I call it a get it syndrome. We judge the goodness of life on our ability to acquire stuff. We are slaves to a material standard, the more we have and acquire the better life is. A true christian values service to others and finds joy in giving not getting.

-There are the idolaters. Mortals have always had a need to worship something. It seems to be a natural thing and all through the ages man has had his good luck charms, idols, religions, and even closely followed the stars to plan the course of his life. When people turn from the true God and worship these god’s of luck, their faith and religion grow weak while superstition grows strong.

Within these three basic sins we can find three directions a person could be led.

-Fornication is a sin of personal degradation. It reduces the person to less than what they can be and is a moral condition which is unfavorable in God’s eyes. It allows the lower nature to rise above the higher and we become less than God created us to be.

-Greediness is a sin against our neighbors and our fellow men and women. When you exploit people or situations to feed the greed, so to speak, you ignore the fact we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. If you cannot love others you cannot love God.

-“Idolatry is a sin against God. It allows things to usurp God’s place. It is the failure to give God the first and only place in life.”  (Barclay DBS) No more needs to be added to this statement.

Paul seems to set forward the principle that we should not judge those outside the church. The Jewish meaning was anyone that was not a Jew, one of the chosen people. Paul felt that their judgement was to be left to God, as only God knows what is in the hearts of men and women. There is a reason for this view he had. Those in the church have special privileges. They have accepted Christ and therefor have special responsibilities and they will held accountable if they do not keep them.

Paul brings the letter to an end by alluding the following verses to command the people to drive out the wicked person among them.

Deuteronomy

17: 7  The hands of the witnesses shall be the first raised against the person to execute the death penalty, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Deuteronomy

24: 7 If someone is caught kidnaping another Israelite, enslaving or selling the Israelite, then that kidnaper shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

It should not be any Christians desire to hurt anyone, but we must put the evil among us out and preserve the purity of the faith. We must protect the Church from the threats of sinful behavior at work in the world today.

Remember….Ours is not a faith of condemnation but a faith of restoration and hope. Thanks for coming by this week, we hope to continue these as soon as we get to our new pew.

Life is Good

jk

A special note: I will be relocating the pew within the next two weeks. I hope to be able to continue the weekly schedule and if I miss a week the wagon hasn’t got there yet.

jk