Died

What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:1-11, NRSV)

Should we continue to sin simply because God is giving us grace?

No. We shouldn’t sin simply because we know that God will forgive us. If we continue to live in sin when we know better we are making the grace God has given us cheap.

It is not about us getting our way. It is about us being set free to live the life that God has called us to. One that is over and above society and one that leads others to see the life that God has given them.

Let us live in the freedom we have been given to follow after Christ and go where He leads us!

a way of life

“You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know—this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will live in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One experience corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ “Fellow Israelites, I may say to you confidently of our ancestor David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would put one of his descendants on his throne. Foreseeing this, David spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, saying, ‘He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh experience corruption.’ This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:22-42, NRSV)

After they heard what was going all.

After they heard the wonderful story of Jesus.

After they heard that their hero David was human and died, and heard that David’s master is the Lord of which they were speaking…

They had a change of heart.

They moved to a new way of life.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, and breaking bread and praying.

That is the way of life all of us should be devoted to.

Following the apostles’ teaching.

Being in fellowship with the apostles and each other.

Breaking bread, meaning communion and table fellowship of meals.

And praying…

So devote yourself and change your way of life!

a new heart

c71f0-templeofthelivinggodI will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Ezekiel 36:24-28, NRSV)

No matter where you are, or how dirty you are. When it is time, God will gather us together and make us clean.

He will put a new heart in us and fill us with His Spirit. Our hardened stone hearts will be smashed and replaced with His wonderful gift of life inside of each and every one of us.

Then we shall live together in the land which He has prepared for us.

And there together we will live as God intended us to by His law.

So hold tight and know He will complete what He has begun.

Faithfully bring forth justice

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. (Isaiah 42:1-9, NRSV)

Here is my servant. I have chosen Him and in Him my soul takes delight.

He has my spirit, and he will bring forth justice. He will faithfully bring forth justice and will stand in the face of oppression without a word until justice has come.

This begs what is justice? Is it getting our way?

Is it the murderer being killed?

Is it our way winning?

Justice is us being brought back to God.

And that is what Jesus did on the cross.

He faithfully brought forth Justice!

Washed in the waters

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:15-22, NRSV)

We talk about baptism as a washing away of our sins and making us right with God. But in the New Testament there are not many who are baptized, at least the stories of people being baptized are not that many. We have no written proof the disciples were baptized. But Jesus was.

Did Jesus need to be baptized?

In another gospel, John tries to get Jesus to baptize him, rather than John baptizing Jesus. But Jesus says it is better to be done this way for now.

Jesus did not have to have His sins washed away. He did not need to be cleansed from wrong doing.

So why?

There are a lot of reasons we could say Jesus needed to be baptized, and all the ones I can think of have reasons that just make them wrong. So why?

The best answer I have for why Jesus had to be baptized is He didn’t, but He was. So ask God when you get there.

He was washed in the water and publically claimed as God’s Son. So we would know He is God’s Son, the Messiah.

So wash in the waters, and allow the savior of the world to change your life.

Gifts

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service. For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live! May gold of Sheba be given to him. May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all day long. May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen. The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended. (Psalm 72, NRSV)

May the kings give Him tribute and bring Him gifts!

The psalmist predicted that wise men/kings would bring Him gifts and pay tribute to Him.

So now all kings should fall down before Him and worship Him and service Him.

We all should worship this King, the one who brings light to the world and makes a way for us to be in relationship with the creator of all!

Light of the world

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 8:12-20, NRSV)

Jesus is the light of the world!

If you follow Him you will not walk in darkness…

Now I actually walked in darkness just the other day. It was late at night and there were no lights on in my home and I walked from one room to another. So I walked in darkness, is that what He meant?

No that is not what Jesus meant here. Darkness is not necessarily the absence of light.

It is an emptiness of the soul. A missing of what is really important in life.

Darkness here is a void of life, the life that the Father has for you.

So know Jesus and walk in the light. The Light of Life, and allow the light of the world to light up your world.

Arise, Shine!

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.
(Isaiah 60:1-6, NRSV)

Arise and shine!

Our light has come! Let the Glory of the Lord shine and rise around us!

Nations shall see the light and be drawn to it. All will come to Jesus because of His light reflected in your life. So let His glory rise in you and show nations where their life really is.

Happy Epiphany!

In a small Southern town, there was a nativity scene that indicated great skill and talent in its creation. One small feature bothered me, though. The three wise men were wearing firemen’s helmets.

Totally unable to come up with a reason or explanation, I left. At a “Quik Stop” on the edge of town, I asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. She exploded into a rage, yelling at me, “You darn Yankees never do read the Bible!”

I assured her that I did, but simply couldn’t recall anything about firemen in the Bible. She jerked her Bible from behind the counter and ruffled through some pages, and finally jabbed her finger at a particular passage.

Sticking it in my face she said, “See, it says right here, ‘The three wise men came from afar.'”

wise men

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. (Matthew 2:1-12, NRSV)

How many of you have Wise Men or Magi in your nativity scenes for Christmas?

We have lumped the wise men into the Christmas scene because Jesus was young. There are however clues from the story above that should make us question the wise men arriving at the birth. And these are all aside from the fact that if the ones coming seeking were women, they would have arrived early, made a meal and helped with the birth! (The last part is from jokes I have heard about the wise men arriving 2 years later and not meant to be offensive.)

But the clues. The star comes when? When Jesus is born. Ok so if the star appeared at Jesus’ birth how could the wise men be there when He was born? Ok the reading doesn’t actually say when the star appeared, but they observed it at it’s rising, and it is true God could have made it rise in time for wise men to arrive.

But the biggest clues that this is different time than the birth is where the wise men see Jesus. In the reading above from Matthew the wise men saw the child with Mary, on entering the house. So they are in a house when the wise men arrive and Luke clearly says there was no room at the inn so the birth was in a manger. “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7, NRSV)

So the reading above is the celebration of Christ being made known to the world, or the Gentiles and is the Epiphany of Jesus!

Let us continue to make Him known to the world and to herald this story as one of great love being shared with all!