Who is in Christ?

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:1-11 ESV)

I love Romans because it really makes you think. You have to wrestle with Paul and your intellect and really chew on what is written to try to get it in you so you can integrate it into your life. But it raises just as many questions as it answers…

You see this passage for instance says that he who lives in the Spirit and not the flesh has been found to be in Christ and there for there is no condemnation for them. But who is living in the Spirit? And who is living in the flesh? Who is in Christ?

Those who set their minds on things of the flesh follow the flesh. But what does that mean? Because this person and their mind is hostile towards God. But what does it mean to follow the flesh or dwell in the flesh? We are not thinking about God or what is best for the other. And that does not mean that we are forcing the other to conform to some code that we ourselves do not follow. The law of the Israelites is not what gets us to heaven and is not what we need to force others to follow when we do not follow and when Jesus and his disciples did not follow it. They broke the oral law that was transmitted and was thought to be just as important as the rest of the written law. This code is not what saves us and makes us right with God. Only Jesus does this. So if you think you are right with God, please remove the log from your own eye, before helping me remove the plank from mine. Yes I know that I have sinned and continue to do so even though I do not want to. We do the things we do not want and can not follow after Jesus… Jesus asks us to follow Him and to be like Him. Not judge but accept the other where they are and love them as they are. Knowing that the relationship will make them to be who they need to be. Change is not necessary before coming to Jesus  Jesus will do it all. We can not expect people to be perfect or not sinful before they come to Jesus, other wise we all would have to leave.

So to live in the Spirit is to think of the other, before yourself.

What are you?

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8 ESV)

How majestic is the creator of everything? That the hosts of heaven worship and adore Him every second of every minute of every hour of every day…

Yet He is still concerned with you! He cares for you and wonders about you. He plans your days, and has counted every hair on your head. (which for me would really not take that long!) He knows the intimate details of your life and He still wants to be in a relationship with you. He knows your deepest darkest secrets and He still picks you to be on His team. He has made us a little lower than Himself, or the angels or heaven. We are His creation and therefore He loves us and wants what is best for us. Even with everything else in creation He cares for you and wants to spend time with you.

So next time you think no one cares, think again, because the creator of the universe cars for you and wants to be with you. You are His creation and therefore you are loved by Him!

So what are you? You are loved. By God!

Make straight the path…

Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God, for to you do I pray. O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house.
I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.
Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me. For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue. Make them bear their guilt, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out, for they have rebelled against you. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield. (Psalm 5 ESV)

Make the path straight is something when I hear it I think of John the Baptist, quoting the prophet to make the path straight because the Messiah is coming. It is something we do. We make the path straight to prepare for the coming of the lord… but that is not the same here…

You notice above I have verse 3 and 8 in red… Verse 3 says O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch or some ancient texts read O LORD, in the morning I direct my prayer to you; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch. So does the Lord hear your voice in the morning, or do you direct your prayers to Him? The one action in this psalm that we do is speak aloud to our creator. The psalmist says that every morning they prepare their heart by going before the Lord in prayer. They go to Him in conversation, laying before Him the wants, the trials, the daily grind stuff. They lay it our there, and do you?

The psalm says that only the righteous will stand, and we will enter His house through the abundance of His steadfast love. But in order to remain with Him, we must know the path to follow, so rather than trust on his own judgement the psalmist asks God in His righteousness because of the forces around him that will pull him away, to make His path clear before him. Verse 8 “Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.” It is God who makes the way clear, and we are the ones who muck it up, with our broken relationships, our need for power and notoriety, our desire to make ourselves known and more liked… We look for our own uplifting, when God wants us to humble ourselves and rely on Him.

So each morning, carve out the time you need to go to God, in the sunrise and give Him everything and ask Him to help you through the day. He will not let you down, and the path will become clear!

Come to or come too…

And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.’ Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” (Zechariah 8:18-23 ESV)

Many are going to come. And all people will stream to God, or as it says in this passage, “People will grab hold of the robes of a Jew.” They want to be with God so much that they are finding a way, even making a way to get to Him. People are drawn to Him…

Yet when they drawn to Him do they find Him or do they find us…

Many are coming and going just as fast. It is described as the back door. We are so concerned as followers of the way that people come to know God, but we are pushing them away just as fast as they are coming to us, because we try to make them look and act like us. If they do not conform to the way we all act in this gathering they are shunned and no one notices as the slip out the back door, because we are worried about assimilating the new people that are showing up… The is a place where the Borg got it wrong, resistance is not futile, and resistance is exactly what Jesus gave us, and showed us. Resistance of religious norms and following the rules and looking good in the eyes of others, and being far from where God has called us and wants us to be.

Why do people come to your place of worship? Is it something you did? Something your pastor did? Some program you have? The bible tells us that God is the only one that brings people to Him, and He adds to the numbers of the gathered… We can take no credit for anyone coming to worship. God might have used us or worked through us, but God did it… And when they get to our place of worship are we helping them connect with God, or are we pushing them further away… Maybe the Borg need to teach us in the church that we need to loosen up, and allow the people that God is bringing to be a part of us to be the part that God has brought them there to be. Maybe we aren’t suppose to conform them to our ways, but we are to conform to them…

Everyone will come… Because God caused it to happen. So allow what God has brought to you to help you grow closer to Him, rather than trying to change what was brought into your image. Maybe this new person is here so that you can come to God too…

grieved by various trials

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. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9 ESV)

Is your life perfect?

Do you have things in your life you wish you could change?

Do you have circumstances in your life you wish you did not have to go through?

I know of no person who thinks their life is grand and could use no changes. I do know some people who think the littlest thing is going to completely destroy their life. And some peopled who have been nearly to hell and back and have not even batted an eye…

Why do some people seem to handle the stress of the situation of life better than others?

Maybe it it perseverance and a knowledge that things could be worse…

Maybe it is what Peter talks to us about today in the reading…

Maybe it is a little of both…

Peter tells us we have been “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.” We are born anew to a living hope of a world that is to come, being kept pure and holy for us by God. It will be revealed to us.

No where in scripture does it promise once who start following after Jesus that your life will be perfect, in fact I would argue that the Bible tells us we will face trials because of following Jesus. In a few Sundays we will read of James and John asking Jesus to sit at His left and right hands in His glory. Jesus asks if they can drink of the cup and partake in the baptism that He does, and they say they can and Jesus tells them they will, the cup and baptism represent Jesus’ death. We will all face death because of following Jesus, He was beaten and bruised and He told His followers what they do to me they will do to you… Rest assured my brothers and sisters, none of us will make it out of here alive, in order to have resurrection, we must have death…

But Peter tells us after he reminds us of the glorious day that awaits that we will face trials, and some of us are in them now. These are to see how genuine we are in our following, in our trusting in God. Are we really following after God, or do we give Him lip service so we can get an easy fix, turning God into the cosmic vending machine where we show Him a little love and He gets us out of our current situation…

We need to trust that God is walking with and cling to the promises of His book. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death I will fear no evil, for you are with me… God is walking with us and holding our hands as we face this life. Do you trust Him with your life, then know that He will see you through. He will never give up on you, do not give Him lip service and follow Him.

It may not be an easy ride, but the fringe benefits are completely out of this world!

no cement shoes a millstone will have to do…

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:42-50 ESV)

Is that not an image and a verse to keep you on your toes…

I remember having many discussions on this verse or its companions in the synoptic gospels. It is better for a person to tie a millstone around their neck and throw themselves into the sea than to lead one of these little ones away…

I always thought of the millstone as a good size rock, but this picture gives a different view to me. A large rock indeed, and maybe this was the way early mobsters took care of their hits. They couldn’t do cement shoes, so a millstone will have to do…

But is this not a little harsh? We read here about all the ways we should be maiming ourselves to keep ourselves able to get into the kingdom. But does it really have anything to do with us? And who is taking this literally? I know I have joked about this section of scripture, if the males of the human race took this literally and seriously, we would all have no hands or eyes… We are always sinning it is in our nature.

Now do not get me wrong, I am in no way condoning sinful behavior. My pastor this morning told us that God gives us rules to follow so that we will be safe. Our parents don’t give us rules and make us eat healthy because they are mean, but because they love us. God gave us rules to follow because He loves us. He is trying to help protect us. There is a reason our parents told us to look both ways before we cross the road…

But really we can not keep ourselves from sinning, and we can not get into heaven by trying. Jesus did it for us! And the thing we miss in the above verse is this little gem stuck right there in the middle: “For everyone will be salted with fire” Everyone will be salted with fire… You see you will not miss the fire, for we all will see it, and it will be something that is unavoidable. We must go into the fire, but how? This morning I was told it was with the knowledge that our sin has been dealt with by Jesus, and we do not need it to weigh us down, we can give it up to Him. That is cutting off the hand, and plucking out the eye, we are giving up the sin, confessing it and letting it go. We are then able to go into the fire with the ever fireproof Jesus wrapped around us. You see it is not up to us alone to face the temptation, Jesus is there to do it with us and help us through the fire that is coming, for all of us.

So give it up to Jesus and let Him walk with you in the fire!