Live A New Life

Romans 6: 3-7 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

         How many routes can you think of to go from your house to your church? Is there only one route, or are there multiple routes? Are you locked into following the same route all the way, or can you find alternatives? Most likely there are a myriad of paths to follow to arrive at the same destination.

         I am so very thankful that in spite of the path I chose early in my life, I have arrived at where I am today. The detours were entertaining, scary at times, off the beaten path for sure. But, at long last I have found the path to stay on. There are temptations to jump off the path are go back to that past. But, there is one very important difference between then and now. It boils down to knowing  that I am no longer a slave to sin. Embracing the baptism I have in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:3-7 is so comforting. Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. That is the good news that everyone should be given. It is also the good news that Satan and our sinful world wants to hide and suppress. For in the ignorance of the world rests the despair of failure. And Satan feeds on despair. Despair is the foot in the door he so relentlessly seeks out. When the good news of the Gospel is suppressed, then the despair gospel lives and thrives.

         What are you and I to do? For starters we can consider the words of 2 Timothy 4:2-5 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.  When we encounter messages that run counter to the Gospel we can speak up and speak out. We can use our voice, offer in love to share the Gospel. We can remain engaged in the world. We can take ownership of our role. We can preach the word in season or out of season. We can be prepared in prayer and study to offer up a cogent, loving message that shares the Real Love of God. We can look at how others are sharing that message and if we find instances where the message is not shared in the spirit of love, we can encourage a change. We can stay involved. Some will say a boycott gains attention. My thought is that in a boycott you find hate and disdain. Those are qualities far removed from love. If we stay in conversation, we gain much. If we adopt a regime of silence, then we all lose. The loss takes place because no one is sharing the message of the Gospel. We pitch Jesus because that is the armor we are given in our fight against all that is wrong. We take on this challenge full in the knowledge that it is Jesus and only Jesus, who is the atoning sacrifice. He fought the battle and won. Satan was forever conquered. Satan only gains when that important lesson is forgotten.

         Dear friends, each of us arrives at our destination in our faith walk in our own way. There is no one path followed by all. Elements of your journey may be similar to that taken by others. Each is a unique journey. Along our path we are given the opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesu Christ. Of all the lessons to take away from the Phil Robertson episode, the biggest is to share the complete message personally. You are a witness to what happens when someone else is left to deliver the message of the Gospel. The results of the message delivery may be inconsistent at best, wrong at the worst. Friends, it is time to take a lesson and make the delivery of the Gospel a personal task. Share the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others when ever and where ever you can. Share the Real Love of God. Share Jesus.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for the blessing of Advent. Thank You for Your Son. Thank You for your Holy Spirit that gives the faith we desperately need to stand strong for You when our world shouts You down. Thank You for Your Word that comforts and guides us in our life. Thank You for the gift of discernment that allows us to see the real truth when a fake truth is offered by our world. All these blessings we give thanks for in the strong name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

He Is The Atoning Sacrifice

1 John 2:1-2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

         Communicating in a marriage, relationship, or friendship is an ongoing effort. Some experts will tell you to over communicate to prevent alienating. Others will tell you to not share too much. What I have learned is there is never enough communications in life. The important thing to remember is to communicate the whole message, and not just a sound bite of information.

         Have you ever been given only one side of a story by the media? Maybe you have found that in a friendship or relationship you were being given half the story. The disappointment can be pretty big. You may never know the reason for not having the whole story. We are just left disappointed. Now can you imagine how someone would feel if the message they were given regarding sin was they were not going to heaven. Despair would be one emotion that comes to mind.  I cannot imagine how bad that would feel. You may have a problem imagining how it feels if you have been a Christian most of your life. But there are people out there who have no idea that Jesus Christ was in fact the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Imagine how uplifting that news would be. Instead of the fear of an eternity in hell, hope would rest in the promise of eternity in heaven. The prisoner has been set free.

         We do not always here that whole message from our world today. We are given easily digestible sound bites that are crafted to send the message our world wants us to hear. Often that message is lacking in thoroughness and in some cases the truth. The truth can be inconvenient, especially when it does not support the message crafter’s agenda. The whole story of sin is that for the sinner there is hope. 1 John 2:1-2 fills us with that very hope. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. That is the whole message that needs to be loudly proclaimed to the whole world. Look at the message being sent out in our modern media. Is that message of hope being shared? If not, then ask why not? When we do not hold those who deliver the message accountable, we acquiesce to some other standard of truth. Speak out for the whole truth, and speak out in love.

PRAYER: Father, there are those in our world who have an agenda that is counter to sharing the Gospel. We know all to well the reason for this failing. Help us to speak out in love and insist that Your truth is told. Give us the wisdom to discern truth from half-truth. These things we ask in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Love One Another

John 13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

         I have a list of movies that make up my pre-Christmas Day must watch list. Some of the movies are classics, some at contemporary. The Hallmark network is running a series of Christmas themed movies. Some have been added to my list of Christmas favorites. And some are just not making that list. One theme that runs through a good Christmas movie is the hope that is in Christmas. Miracles happen in many of the Christmas movies. But none of the miracles envisioned by the movie screenwriters comes close to the miracle of the birth of the Christ Child.

         One of the most interesting aspects to the ruckus created by the Phil Robertson controversy is a statement attributed to Phil Robertson. “Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear of hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.” Our world today has bought into these two lies and seems incapable of accepting that there can be a difference of opinion and a civil dialogue resulting in agreeing to disagree. You are considered unloving if you do not accept the principles of others as valid and right. How unfortunate for our society. The truth, the real truth, is that while we do not agree with the choice of living a life devoted to sin we still love the person. We as Christians embrace the sinner, but not the sin. If we fail to embrace the sinner, we are missing one of the biggest lessons from Christ. His command from John 13:34-35 transcends loving others as we love ourselves. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." This new command raises the bar to a new and higher level.  We are given the love Christ shows to us as our new standard. We who are slow to change, quick to condemn, and hesitant to love have a challenge. Jesus is a polar opposite. He loves us in spite of ourselves. We are not asked to compromise our convictions by loving someone we disagree with. We keep loving the sinner, just as God loves us. To do otherwise is disingenuous and does not honor Christ. We share the Gospel in the fervent hope that the sinner will chose to repent and turn away from their old life. We do this because we have chosen to walk in the light and wish all mankind to be in the light with us. That is what love is all about. It’s called Real Love.

PRAYER: Father, we frequently find ourselves at odds with the world around us. We who chose to walk in the light are often ridiculed and called unloving. Help us Father with the right words at the right time to be loving. Give us through Your Holy Spirit the faith and conviction to love in words and deeds. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

This Is The Message

1 John 1: 5-9 (ESV) This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Have you ever heard someone ask a law enforcement official how many miles an hour over the speed limit they can drive without having to worry about a ticket? My favorite answer given to that question is “Zero, that’s why it’s a limit, not a guide.”

What is a sin? This seems like a simple question with an equally simple answer. But all to often the answer is not one which people want to hear. The question is often phrased in the form of “I am not sinning very much by doing (fill in the blank.) Or better yet, society does not think it is wrong, so how can that be a sin? With those two examples we have the collective effort to justify sinning in most of the world. Think about it. Those are the two biggest cop-outs. 1) It’s not a big sin, and 2) others think it is okay. The difficulty rests in how the standards of man for what constitutes sin compare with the standards God has set. They are definitely not the same.  It really boils down to who is in charge of your life? Are you in charge, or is God in charge. If God is in charge, we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  And conversely, If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

In the final analysis, we need to consider and act on what verses 8 &9 of 1 John 1 tells us. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Do you know someone, or are you the sinner that tries to minimize or justify sinful behavior. Confession is good for the soul. It reminds us that we are forgiven, and that God is in charge, not us. Let’s use the words from the Lutheran Worship Service to confess our sins.

PRAYER: Almighty God, we confess that we are by nature sinful and unclean. We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart. We justly deserve Your present and eternal punishment. For the sake of Your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your Holy name. Amen.