Tag Archives: Christ Jesus

To the Journey

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We have a tendency to trivialize everything.  But we come to own this tendency with good reason.  Absolutely everything we know deteriorates.  Even the compassion of Man is in a state of flux; needs come and go, the sick get better or die, poverty evaporates at the end of its work, hatred goes to sleep when it is tired of destroying.  So even Man’s compassion (what is considered the best Man can offer) rests from its work.

We strive hard, but at the end of the day everything we know is trivial.  Everything we know is in a constant state of repair or deterioration.  Isn’t that why we sleep?

Most people, including myself, tend to apply this trivial mindset to the gospel of Christ.  We can’t help it, it’s in our nature to perceive things as if they are passing.  And without the constant help of the eternal Living God’s Holy Son we would never perceive the gospel as eternal.  It would remain in a mode of choice.  And isn’t that what we see when we look at those who call themselves Christians; constantly making the choice to do (or not to do) Christ-like things.

We need to be reminded that his promises last forever and never change.  That’s why we read the Bible often; to renew our decaying mind.  That’s why we pray, with whatever earnest soul we can muster.  Isn’t that why we are told to encourage one another?

Connected to this is an understanding that has come again to me this morning.  Everything we do is manufactured.  It’s in a constant state of repair.  But a love for righteousness cannot be in a state of repair.  For whatever constantly needs repair is also constantly deteriorating.  Love does not deteriorate, and eternal Righteousness does not fall into the realm of choice.  Let’s be honest, we either love righteousness or we don’t. 

What an amazing place God has created; it is not a place of deterioration, it is a place of potential eternal life.  There can be no better testing of a man’s heart than the state of affairs I have spoken of here.  On top of that, God knows the difference between a manufactured love of righteousness and one that is ingrained and sincere.

This is the nature of salvation.  It is not something that will be.  It is something that IS.  Christ has come, as the great power of God, to redeem the humble of heart.  He has come to teach us eternity.  Imagine that!  The sum of what we know about eternity is the simple word itself.  And without the presence of God, that’s where our knowledge remains.

Every man is encouraged to begin the journey of truth.  The journey is called Christianity.

What Was, Still Is.

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Why do we do the things we do?  Why have we learn to love what we love?  What causes a man to gravitate toward one sin or another?  Why is ignorance so beloved while wisdom and sobriety wander like orphaned children?  It is impossible that any man should answer these things.  At best they can only say, “It is the way of Man”.

Centuries ago (Pick a moment in time.) one man made a choice.  He agreed with wickedness; to perform and action of death.  Once the deed was done, the ripple effect into future days has not ceased.  No, it is carried in the soul of those who came from his day.  It is carried like a disease to the generations that follow.

As it is so with one man, centuries ago, so it is with all the men who lived in his day.  The laws they made, the words they spoke, the perceptions they held so dearly, the deviceiveness they encouraged without end, the judgments they made, the dress codes they approved or disapproved, how they segregated one man from another by language, color of skin, or other cultural differences, what lies were considered innocent, what does were considered necessity, didn’t all these things shape the mind of those to come?

Certain wickedness is adored, while holiness is forgotten.  Protections are made for certain wicked people, while the righteous go abandoned.  And haven’t we inherited all these things?

Add to this, our own imaginations.  Look around and see what we adore.  Aren’t we shaping the inheritance of those who will come after us?  And how will they know what they believe?  How will they be able to divide between what is necessary and what is inherited from the wicked who came before them?

Such is the plight of man to suffer in his own vile filth.  Yet the good news of God remains.  If we will humble ourselves and call out to him for help, he will give us what we never had.  The more diligent the soul, the more God will give.  In Christ Jesus, he will save us from our ignorance.

Is it any wonder that so few find “The Way?

Now?

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Billions will bow and give glory to God for the Beautiful Regal Majesty of His Holy and Righteous Son on the day he is fully revealed.

Who will do so now?

The Real Thing

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Temptation is the Christian’s opportunity for glory. 

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If you fall, get up in “The Faith” of Christ and try it again.

Consider it your opportunity to face the wild animals in the Colosseum.  Rise from the dust by the power of Christ!

Nothing

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In a fancy room, removed from the prying eyes of the general public, debate has taken place.  All members of the conversation emerged.  Each one went to his expected place. 

As if rising to crescendo from the stillness of breath, the leader begins to speak.  With great confidence of his unalterable position, the Pope has declared that Jesus is no better and no worse than any other version of God on the face of this planet.

I look around and I see no change to the grass.  It is still green.  I look around and I see that all the buildings are still on their foundations.  I woke from sleep and took note that my eyelids functioned just fine.  Even my cell phone obeys my command to write.

See, the Pope’s power to bring Christ down is of no effect at all.  But I do wonder what the response of Islam might be.  I wonder how Islam feels about having their God brought level in a mud puddle with the Christ.

Any man can say anything he wants to say, it does not make his words true.  Any man can fill himself with truth for the grace of God abounds.  Or any man can revert from speaking the truth and become a blatant liar, for free will abounds in this place of shadows.

The world will be a buzz.  Heaven does not even notice.

Join Us!

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They have hated us for no reason; we who receive forgiveness of our sins, and the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus the Holy Son of God.  They look on us with hatred for we say we are free.  They refer to us as self righteous fools.  All the while, as they look in the mirror of their soul, they see an endless loss.

I was one of those who hated the people of Christ.  But God has had endless mercy on me to open my eyes of understanding.

If he can do this for me, he can do it for any man.

There is no need for jealousy.  There is no need for slanderous accusations.  We do not ask for pity.  We ask that you should join us.

1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
(Psalm 103)

By His Grace