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Faith in the Word
By Linda Rex
March 9, 2025, 1st Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—Often our daily tasks arise out of a simple faith and trust that things are the way they are supposed to be, that people have done what they are supposed to do. Think about how often we do things in our everyday lives which involve faith in others or faith in things that others or ourselves have made. That daily dose of vitamins—who made it? Is it really safe for me to take? Does it really have the nutritional value it says it does?
Last time we talked about Jesus’ transfiguration, and the hidden glory we have as those who are made in God’s image and redeemed by our Lord Jesus. In spite of our best human efforts to live in the truth of who we are in Christ, we so often fail. We cannot trust in ourselves, for we are untrustworthy and undependable when it comes to our walk of faith.
On Ash Wednesday, which in 2025 is celebrated on March 5th, we begin the season of preparation for Easter. As we look forward to the events of Holy Week, we contemplate the reality of our need for Jesus’ redemptive work. In this season, we do not need to grovel or lament our wickedness, but rather, assume a clearheaded, frank assessment of how far we have fallen from all that God meant us to be as those who were created to be image-bearers of the Triune God. At the same time, we rest in Jesus’ redemptive work, which we look forward to celebrating during Holy Week. And we seek to open ourselves more fully to the Spirit’s work in us and our world.
Our New Testament passage for the first Sunday in this season is Romans 10:8–13. In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul examines the human condition and sums this up by saying that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all, no matter our religious or cultural background, need salvation and redemption. We all need transformed, healed, and made whole. This is why Jesus came, to live our human life, die our human death, and rise again. And this is why Jesus sent the Spirit from the Father. The Spirit gives us all the graces of Jesus, the perfect human, so that we may live in right relationship with God and one another.
When we look at the human experience since the beginning of time through God’s eyes, we see that he has been reaching out to us and speaking to us in everyway possible. He has sought to tell us about and to show us his love. The divine Father, Son, and Spirit have spoken of their love and grace to us in many ways, including the glory of a double rainbow, spectacular sunsets, and the majesty of star-studded nebulae. But it is hard as humans to hear the voice of our God, for he doesn’t seem to speak our language.
In Hebrews 1:1–3, the author points out that God finally spoke to all of us through his Son, the One who is the exact representation of his nature—his true self. Jesus Christ is God’s final word to all of us as human beings. The apostle John uses the term “the Word” to describe Jesus in his divinity, long before he ever took on our humanity (John 1:1). Jesus, the Word of God, the wisdom of God—how profound is the realization that God would step into our world in the person of Jesus Christ to join us in our darkness, in order to bring us up into his divine light! Does this resonate in our soul? Do we hear God’s divine Word to us within? The Spirit resonates with our spirit, as the life of Christ within us, and enables us to hear the Word of our heavenly Father’s love and respond with Jesus’ own “Abba, Father.”
It is possible to read the Bible, hear the gospel stories, and memorize a zillion scriptures and still struggle to put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We may say that we believe in God, some sort of God—but do we believe this God cares enough about you and me and this crazy old world that he would actually join us in our broken sinful flesh, becoming sin for us, so that we may become like him in his righteousness? Have we woken up to the spiritual reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is the presence of the living Word, Jesus Christ, who lives in us?
When the Word of God, Jesus Christ, reveals himself to us by his Holy Spirit, we are never the same again. God’s Word to us about who we are, as the beloved children of our heavenly Father, and his Word to us about how we are to live, is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Faith, then becomes real, substantial, and life-changing, as we respond to and trust in this living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who lives in us by the Spirit. As we hear and respond to the inner direction of the Spirit, that living Word who dwells within, we are transformed and healed. And as we allow that living Word to move, guide, and direct us, our world is changed for the better.
Heavenly Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for all you have done to bring us up into life with you in the Spirit. Forgive us for refusing to believe or trust in you, for closing our hearts to your Spirit. Please remove our deafness and enable us to hear your Word, and to respond to your love and grace with faithful obedience in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ” Romans 10:8–13 NASB
“Faith-righteousness announces that every definition of distance in time, space, or hostility has been cancelled. Faith says, ‘The Word is near you. It is as close to you as your voice and the conviction of your heart.” We publicly announce this message. Now your salvation is realized! Your own words echo God’s voice. The unveiling of the masterful act of Jesus forms the words in your mouth, inspired by the conviction in your heart that God indeed raised him from the dead. Heart-faith confirms the fact of mankind’s righteousness and ignites the kind of conversation consistent with salvation. Scripture declares that whosoever believes in Christ will not be ashamed to announce it. Nothing distinguishes the Jew from the Greek when it comes to the generosity of God. He responds with equal benevolence to everyone who sees themselves identified in him. Salvation is to understand that every person’s true identity is revealed in Christ.” Romans 10:8–13 Mirror Bible
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Just Making Noise
By Linda Rex
February 2, 2025, 4th Sunday in Epiphany—During this season of Epiphany, we consider how Jesus Christ is revealed to us as being the Son of God in human flesh, and what that means for us as God’s children. Recently, we’ve looked at the way in which God has equipped his people with spiritual gifts, for the sake of the community of faith, so that we all may grow up in Christ, share the good news of Jesus, and serve others.
In our New Testament passage for this Sunday, 1 Corinthians 13:1–13, the apostle Paul uses a poetic summary of the love of God expressed to us in Christ, to enable the members in Corinth to see themselves in a new light. They believed that the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues was the supreme gift. They valued prophetic speaking and special knowledge, and miracles. But Paul says that apart from love or agapē (God and Christ’s self-giving love—Utley), a person speaking in tongues is just making a lot of noise. In the same way, a generous and sacrificial person, apart from agapē, has done nothing profitable. Paul says that person who is a great preacher and does a lot of miracles, apart from agapē, is nothing.
For those of us who are active in the Christian faith, and trying live lives that are full of service and sacrifice, these are powerful words. Just what are the motives which drive us? How do we express ourselves in our everyday lives? As I have gotten older, the Lord has shown me more and more how my motives for doing what I do are often mistaken. This is why it is all of grace. We need Christ in us, the hope of glory, for apart from his love at work in our hearts by his Holy Spirit, we are all just making a lot of noise.
The apostle Paul wanted the church at Corinth to realize that the Lord they said they worshipped was not at all like how they were living. He wanted them to grow up in Christ—to put on Christ in such a way that they were a true expression of humanity as God intended it to be. By looking into the mirror of their soul, Jesus Christ, they would see themselves as children who needed to grow up and put away the childish things which were keeping them from living in God’s love as they were created to live.
When reading this passage closely and with open hearts to the Spirit, we begin to realize that this is a description of Jesus, and of our Triune God. In his life here on earth, Jesus was patient, kind, and not jealous. He did not brag, but spoke truthfully about who he was and why he was here on earth, even though people did not believe him. He was never rude, though he was often straightforward and honest with the people he encountered. He did not take into account any wrong done to him, even those wrongs which placed him on the cross. We find Jesus, to the bitter end, loving all of us in spite of how we treated him, in such a way that he died a horrific death.
It is hard to look at ourselves sometimes, to see the truth about our motives and inclinations. We don’t like it when the Spirit gives us that gentle nudge which says, “That thing you are doing—it needs to stop,” or “To not do that when you could do it to help them—that’s sin.” When our hearts condemn us—and they do sometimes—God is greater and knows the truth. But he also knows what’s going on inside when we go through the motions of the Christian life without having our hearts in the right place. And he calls us to repent—to have a change of heart and mind which turns us around and gets us going in the right direction again.
It is God’s heart of love, given to us by his Spirit, which flowing into us and through us, enables us to love others as God does. It is Christ in us, living in and through us, who enables our everyday life to reflect the divine glory. We open ourselves up to the Spirit, welcoming the presence and power of God, flowing in and through us. And we respond to the Spirit’s lead in ways that express the love of God in Christ. As the apostle Paul shows us, these are ways grounded in the motive of agapē which reflect the very nature of God, and are an expression of spiritual maturity, a true reflection of our Lord Jesus Christ in this dark world. Apart from God’s grace, we are all just making a lot of noise. Thankfully, God is ever at work bringing us into the orchestrated wonder of his heavenly kingdom, and he will not quit until we are all singing his perfect song of agapē as his beloved children.
Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you that your motive in all that you do is genuine love. Fill us anew with your presence and power, that we may love as you do. May all we say and do come from your heart of love and grace, through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 NASB
“And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’ … And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way.” Luke 4:21–30 NASB
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Brought Together
By Linda Rex
July 21, 2024, Proper 11 | After Pentecost—I believe one of the most painful and difficult things a person can experience in their life is estrangement from other members of their family. Perhaps the reason this pain is so acute is because we were not created for estrangement, but for unity and oneness. At times, each one of us experiences this sense of separation or alienation from those who are meant to be close to us. Have you ever considered that this is the way God feels towards us when we push him away and refuse his offer of reconciliation and restoration?
In our New Testament reading for this Sunday, Ephesians 2:13-22, the apostle Paul talks about this very thing. Our Triune God created human beings to live in face-to-face relationship with himself and others. So often, our decision as humans is to live life in our own way, on our own terms, and under our own power. Even though we only exist because of God’s gracious creation and provision, and constant sustaining of our existence, we often choose to live as self-sustaining deities who set our own agenda and seek our own pleasure. But God created us for so much more than this. We were created to share in God’s love and life, to participate in all God is doing in this cosmos. We were created for close face-to-face relationship with God and one another. And this is why Jesus came—to ensure that nothing came in the way of us sharing in God’s life and love.
In Ephesians, the apostle Paul addresses the ongoing conflict between believers who were born as Jews, the ‘Circumcised’, and those who were born as non-Jews, ‘the Uncircumcised.’ The non-Jews had been excluded from fellowship within the people of God, and the apostle Paul was trying to help the church in Ephesia to see that all previous barriers between Jews and non-Jews had been eliminated in Jesus Christ. The rituals and traditions which held them apart had been fulfilled in Jesus and removed in his death on the cross. As God in human flesh, Jesus took the place of both Jew and non-Jew, offering himself in our place on our behalf.
Having assumed in his own human flesh all of our humanness, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, broke down all the artificial divisions we tend to place between one another—race, ethnicity, class, status, wealth, and so on. Jesus took all the distinctions we like to make to separate ourselves from one another, including our definitions of sin and evil, and in his human flesh, took them to the cross and crucified them. As God in human flesh, Jesus Christ brought each and every human into right relationship with his Father in the Spirit, creating the peace between God and man, and between humans, we so desperately need.
When we find ourselves at odds with those we are meant to be in close relationship with, we tend to focus on our differences and distinctions, and on the hurts we may have received from that person. We tend to take a very human-centered approach to our relational differences. Instead, Paul calls us to turn away from ourselves and our differences and to turn to our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who holds within himself our uniqueness, our distinctiveness, and our forgiveness. Jesus Christ has made himself the central meeting point between every person, no matter who they might be.
By the Spirit, we discover that Christ is real and present in and with each person, even though that person may not realize or believe in Jesus or what he has done on their behalf. Jesus is present by the Spirit, though hidden underneath layers of human frailty and sin. We must look beyond the surface to see Jesus is present. This is why Jesus can say to us, ‘love your enemies’ or ‘do good to those who abuse you.’ It’s not because he ignores sin and evil, but that he has triumphed over them in the cross and is working his life out in us by his heavenly Spirit. We are all brought together in Jesus, in his flesh, crucified on the cross, and brought up again in new life. Every human being has died in Christ and has risen in Christ—this is our union and communion with God and with one another. This is why we turn away from ourselves and put our faith in him and in his finished work, and allow him to live his life in and through us by his Holy Spirit.
In the midst of our divisions and disunity, Jesus calls us to himself, asking us to turn away from ourselves, our will, our ways, and to turn to him—the one who bought us relational peace in his own person. This is repentance. He calls us to trust in him and not in our own efforts. This is faith. He gives us his Spirit to bind us together with himself and with one another in unity. He gives us new life—life in the Spirit, rather than in our flesh.
When our relationships are hard and we can’t seem to find unity, this is when we are reminded to turn away from ourselves to Jesus Christ. When we place our faith in him and not in our human efforts, we will discover ourselves bound together with unbreakable cords of love which have their source in the Holy Spirit and not in ourselves. As we respond to the Spirit’s work in our hearts and lives, we will find ourselves swept up into the inner fellowship of our Father and his Son, Jesus, in the Spirit. And that is where we belong, and always will remain, as God’s dear children.
Dear Father, Jesus, Spirit, thank you for loving us so much that you never want anything to come between us and yourself. Thank you for your faithfulness and kindness to us, even when we are so undeserving. Please grant us the grace to turn to you and away from ourselves, to put our faith solely in you, and to warmly embrace your indwelling presence by your Spirit, through Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
“Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called ‘Uncircumcision’ by the so-called ‘Circumcision,’ which is performed in the flesh by human hands—remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into done new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. ‘and He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near;’ for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:11–22 NASB
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Beyond Knowledge
By Linda Rex
January 28, 2024, 4th Sunday | Epiphany—One of the things I had to learn early on as a fledgling pastor was the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. What I mean is, when speaking to the congregation, my purpose was not to inform them about a topic so much as it was to inspire them to follow Christ with greater depth and faithfulness. Fresh from my seminary classes, I was bubbling over with a lot of great information, but what was needed was not simply more theological information, but the living Word of God speaking a word through me that would touch the heart, that the Spirit could use to convict and transform the inner being of those who were listening.
In my family, as we grew up, one of the values that was important was knowing things or being well-informed on about every subject. This may be why I’ve always been fascinated by the newest discoveries in science, especially since reading Thomas F. Torrance’s books on the interrelation between science and theology. Science and theology, I once heard Dr. McKenna say, are intended to inform one another, to work together in unity for the betterment of humankind. Often, sad to say, this is not what happens.
Today, our scientific knowledge is constantly reaching new heights. I’m inevitably amazed by the new things we are finding out about our cosmos. Lately my interest has been in quantum theory—of which I know very little, but from what I can see, seems to echo the divine three-in-oneness of the Trinity. All this new science is fascinating and challenging, but from what I have seen historically, every advancement in science needs to be tempered by other-centered, self-giving love, or it presents the possibility for destruction and catastrophe.
This brings me to the passage for this Sunday, 1 Corinthians 8:1–13, in which the apostle Paul addresses some questions regarding whether believers should eat food offered to idols. Even though some believers knew and understood that idols had no real life in themselves, and meat offered to idols really was just, in the end, meat that could be eaten, there were believers who had, for many years, sacrificed meat to idols. Even though they had abandoned paganism and its practices when they came to faith in Christ, their conscience and understanding were not yet at the place where eating meat offered to idols was clearly okay. They still had questions and concerns, and were vulnerable to falling back into their old belief systems and practices.
So, the apostle Paul reminded believers that more important than the believers’ knowledge about meat offered to idols was their love and concern for their brothers and sisters. In other words, love trumps knowledge. Being knowledgeable can become a source of pride to us, and when we are not careful with it and insist on being able to do what we have a right to do or the freedom to do, we can severely injure others. Instead of trying to prove how knowledgeable we are or how free we are, Paul writes, we need to being concerned for the welfare of others, and do our best not to cause unnecessary harm.
Looking back over my brief years as a pastor, I see times when I was more interested in proving how much I knew and how right I was than I was concerned for the wellbeing of those I was ministering to. I was caught up in expressing my freedom in Christ—which is a good thing—but it was not always beneficial to those around me. If there are any who were wounded by this, I sincerely ask forgiveness, for I realize now that what I was doing was not always for the wellbeing of others.
Recently on Our Life in the Trinity, I talked about our sacred oneness, and my focus was on our human body, and the covenant relationship we have with God, and with our spouse. Our sacred oneness also involves our participation in the Body of Christ, the Church, for we are bound together by the Spirit to be of one mind and heart, for the sake of others. As brothers and sisters in Christ, united to God and one another by the Spirit, we are meant to live together, serve others, and testify to the love and grace of God in Christ, in sacred oneness.
Whatever the cost to ourselves today in caring for one another within and without the Body of Christ, it is nothing compared with the self-offering of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us that we may live. When any one of us insists upon our rights at the expense of others, or expressing our freedom in Christ in spite of its affect on others, we violate the sacred oneness of the Body of Christ. In fact, we violate Christ himself. We’re all on this journey together, growing up in Christ, but some of us are at different places along the journey. Rather than hindering one another’s progress, we want to be careful to edify or build up one another instead. Because, when all is said and done, what will last on into eternity won’t be “knowledge”, but other-centered, self-giving, serving love (1 Cor. 13).
Heavenly Father, you are the one from whom are all things and for whom we exist. Lord Jesus, you are the one by whom are all things and through whom we exist. Grant us the grace to always be careful not to injure or wound the conscience of others by our freedom in Christ. Fill us, by your Spirit, with other-centered self-giving love, and let it ever flow through us to others for their well-being, through Jesus our Lord. Amen.
“Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him. However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.” 1 Corinthians 8:1–13 NASB
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The Heart of a Shepherd
By Linda Rex
October 29, 2023, Proper 25 | After Pentecost—As October comes to an end, we celebrate our pastors and elders, and all those who serve in pastoral ministry. Last week in this blog, I wrote about how we participate in the kingdom of God, growing in our close fellowship with God and one another, living right now by the Spirit in the reality of all God has done for us in Jesus. On our spiritual journey, we are often accompanied by those who God has called and gifted to be shepherds, who point us to Christ and offer the Word of God and prayer to us in some way.
In our New Testament passage for this Sunday, 1 Thessalonians 2:1–8, the apostle Paul makes pains to clarify his motives and efforts in his ministry to the believers in the church in Thessalonica. Apparently, there were people who were accusing Paul of greed, impurity, deceit, and using flattery to win people over. Paul felt he needed to defend his position, emphasizing that he wasn’t like the shady traveling philosophers who commonly preyed upon unsuspecting followers. Rather he had the heart of a nursing mother—one who tenderly cared for her own.
In explaining himself, Paul revealed how he had come to have God’s heart for the members in Thessalonica. He could have insisted on being paid money for his upkeep, but instead, he often labored to pay his own way. He could have thrown around his apostolic authority (whatever that might have been), but he didn’t. Instead, he was gentle, and at the same time, firm about the good news or gospel. He did not falter when it came to Jesus and his message of the kingdom of God, even if it meant he had to go through suffering and mistreatment (like he had in Philippi).
Paul was manifesting in his life and ministry the heart of Jesus, who had been willing to stoop to the lowest level—our sin, evil, and death—to bring us up with him into his intimate fellowship with his Father in the Spirit. This is the heart of the Great Shepherd, who did not think that it was beneath him to set aside the privileges of his divinity to join us in our humanity, so that we could be set free to love God and love others as was always intended.
Being a pastor or spiritual shepherd can be a very lonely experience. Pastors and elders often have to make difficult decisions, tell painful truths, hear agonizing and traumatic stories, and pray for people when it seems all hope is lost. There are at times the joys of new birth, of new converts, of weddings and family celebrations. But when things go wrong, it is often the pastor who becomes the scapegoat, and it is often the long-suffering elder who takes the midnight call simply because he or she has the heart of Jesus for those in distress or need.
I have known and met some amazing people over the years who are pastors. It used to be that I didn’t feel safe to even talk to a pastor—but that has changed. And now that I have been one, I understand more of the journey that a person goes on when they respond to the call to pastoral ministry. A pastor is a brother or sister who has been given a unique calling and gifting to care for others as a shepherd, in union and communion with our Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ. They are people who often are just as weak, broken, and sinful as the rest of us, only perhaps a little more seasoned and road-weary, and a bit wiser, with a gift from God that enables them to share what they’ve been given with others.
First, I would like to thank every one of the men and women over the years who have invested in my life and have spoken truth and hope and life into me. I am also grateful for all the sermons I have heard and the lessons I have learned at seminary, and all the other ways in which spiritual shepherds have spoken into my life. And I am grateful for all of the church members who have shown me affection, blessed me, and included me in their lives over the years while I was their pastor. They touched my lives in many ways—more than I can name—and I’m a different person because of it.
In the few days left here in October, is there someone you may wish to thank or encourage or bless? It may be good to show appreciation to your pastor or someone who has cared for you spiritually. And it’s always good to give thanks to the Great Shepherd who endlessly, and gently cares for his sheep—all of us.
Great Shepherd of the Sheep, thank you for loving us so much that you would lay everything down for us so that we might be made free, well, and brought home with you to the Father. By your Spirit, we celebrate you in all your glory and goodness. Amen.
“For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain, but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts. For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness— nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority. But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:1–8 NASB
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A Shiny, Salty Heart
by Linda Rex
February 5, 2023, 5th Sunday in Epiphany—The two courses I am currently taking with Grace Communion Seminary are both related to the practice of ministry. The practice of ministry involves taking what I believe and applying it to what I do in my everyday life and activities in caring for others. For many people, practice of ministry comes instinctively and naturally because they are gifted and designed in that way, while for me it is a real challenge and requires intentionality and discipline, and a whole lot of the Spirit of God.
In the New Testament passage for today, 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, the apostle Paul tells his readers he didn’t come to them in superiority of speech or wisdom when he preached the gospel to them. If anything, he was weak and fearful, speaking solely what the Spirit gave him, rather than using rhetorical skills and persuasion. His point was that he wanted their faith to rest on something other than his ability to present the gospel in intriguing and captivating ways—he wanted it to rest on the power of God rather than the wisdom of men.
When it comes to the presentation of the good news, what do we rest on? A lot of times we get focused on the presentation itself, or on knowing the right information, or on being able to prove or explain what we believe to be true. The focus becomes ourselves, our own abilities (or lack thereof), and our effectiveness. In reality, it isn’t be about any of these things. Yes, I suppose it would be helpful to learn more or be more adept at expressing ourselves or demonstrating God’s love, but when it all comes down to what really matters, it comes down to Jesus Christ in us by the Holy Spirit.
What Paul had that was so persuasive to his hearers was the indwelling Holy Spirit, filling him and pouring out from him through his words and actions. This mystery, of Christ in us, was predestined by God, for he always intended us to live in oneness with him through his Son in the Spirit. Our ability to comprehend the things of God comes from God himself—the Spirit living in us and through us, simply because Jesus lived a truly human life, died a truly human death, and rose from the grave, bringing our human flesh home to Father in the Spirit.
What might this mean for us, then, as we live our everyday lives? Too often we live as orphans, believing it is all up to us. We live in our own strength, according to our own agenda and our own plans. When the world does not function according to our expectations, we become angry, frustrated, and/or depressed. What may not occur to us is that our rage against God and how he is running his world may look a lot like the rage which drove Saul to arrest and imprison the followers of Christ, believing they were unholy heretics which needed to be stopped.
What did it take for Saul to make the about-face transition to being a follower of Jesus Christ, the powerful advocate for the gospel, the apostle Paul? It took a personal encounter with our living Lord, Jesus Christ. It took the powerful healing and transformational work of the Holy Spirit. It took something, or Someone, beyond his physical self to bring about such a radical change. It took God himself, working in Saul/Paul’s life to move him from persecuting those who believed the gospel into believing and preaching it himself.
One of the phrases I often hear in modern literature and media is “you need to follow your heart.” Whenever I hear that, I often hear echoing in my mind what I was told as a child, a scripture I had to memorize, which said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9 KJV) Sadly, what I didn’t pay attention to in all those years is the context of that passage and what the entire Bible said about the human heart.
Before this, in verse 5, the prophet writes, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord.’” In verse 10 it says, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.” Then, in verse 14, Jeremiah says, “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, …” On the one hand, the prophet was talking about how wonderful it was when a person followed God, but on the other, he reminds his readers that going down a different path will end in destruction, and then states that we cannot be healed or saved unless God does the healing and saving.
Do you see how we can believe something about ourselves which isn’t really true and end up in a totally wrong place? What we forget is that God did not create us with a wicked, deceitful heart. God created our human flesh with a heart designed to love him and love others in a warm fellowship of other-centered love. God did not lose his desire for us to share in that relationship simply because we turned away from him. He began to work in human events and circumstances to bring about, in spite of our surrender to evil, sin, and death, what he always intended. What Jeremiah predicted in Jeremiah 31:31-34 was that God would give us a new covenant, writing his law on human hearts and minds. In other words, this heart which is “deceitful” and “desperately wicked” is not the truth about each of us. God knows our hearts and minds, and, in Christ, did what was necessary to heal and save us in his incarnation, crucifixion, and ascension, and in the giving of his Spirit. Jesus became a curse for us that we might be included in his own right relationship with God.
Jesus told his disciples they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13–20). They were not salt and light by their own efforts, but because of who he was—the Light of the world, the Creator of salt and the earth, present with them. It is his life in us by the Spirit who shines brightly in a dark world, adding flavor and zest to our mundane human existence and frantic struggles to survive. Notice that Jesus did not say in this particular place that we needed to find some way to make ourselves a light source. He simply said to put ourselves as a light in a place where we will shine brightly and provide illumination to a specific area. He quite clearly said we can’t make salt salty—but we can be the salt we are as God’s presence and power at work in and through us by the Spirit in a place which needs spiritual flavor.
God has given us Christ in the Spirit, living his life in and through us, in a dark world which desperately needs light and could really use some heavenly flavor. He has given us Jesus’ heart and mind by the Spirit. How do we express his heart and mind in and through our everyday lives as we walk and talk on this planet Earth? All of life is a participation in Christ’s life by the Spirit. Jesus told us he was in the Father, we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. That means our everyday life is Spirit-infused as we trust in Christ and walk hand-in-hand with Father through each situation and circumstance we face. This is the meaning of eternal life—and we participate in it right now, in this moment, through Jesus and by the Spirit who lives in us.
Thank you, Father, for giving us your heart and mind through Jesus in the Spirit. Grant us the grace to shine with your light, to salt this earth with the heavenly flavor of your eternal life of love and unity in this tasteless human existence. Amen.
“And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, ‘things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and’ which ‘have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, ….” 1 Corinthians 2:1–12 NASB
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Mirror of the Human Heart
By Linda Rex
August 29, 2021, PROPER 17—I have been in tears lately over the reality of the inhumanity with which we as human beings exist in this world. I am sick of the betrayals, the deceptions, and the manipulative messages meant control, use, and steal from innocent, trusting individuals. How low can we as humans go? Apparently, after all these millennia we still have not plumbed the depths of the human depravity we are capable of.
All of the evil I see around me right now is nothing new—we’ve been going at this inhumanity to humanity thing since we were first created. Perhaps our capacity to self-destruct and to destroy our planet is greater than it ever has been. But what we as humans do to one another that is evil and depraved is nothing new. It is birthed out of the heart of the evil one which we have too often given heed to and followed since the beginning of time.
Sadly, I find that we as followers of Jesus Christ can be just as bad or worse than those we like to point our fingers at and declare to be sinners. Too often, we are simply just more effective at disguising or hiding our failures to love God and others. In our gospel reading for this Sunday, we see Jesus taking some Pharisees and scribes to task for their hypocrisy. They may have been very religious, but their oral traditions actually enabled them to look like they were good people when in reality they were avoiding their responsibility to their fellow human beings.
Jesus was not unfamiliar with the depravity humans are capable of. His point was that it is not the external things which make us unclean or unacceptable to God. Not washing our hands a certain way or not doing a certain religious ritual correctly does not determine our uncleanness or unacceptability to God. It is the things that are birthed in our hearts and pour out from us which defile us. Jesus said things such as “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness” come from within and are what make us unclean (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21–23 NLT). Our only hope with regards to these things is for God to give us a new heart and mind.
When we focus on our failures as human beings to love one another as God meant us to, we can become very angry or depressed. Focusing on the evil human beings dump all over one another does not resolve the issue. We need to remember the admonition the apostle James gave us regarding looking into the mirror of the perfect law of liberty, Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who is the exact representation of the Father in human flesh, the perfect image-bearer of God each of us is created to be. He is the One we are to keep our eyes on, for he is the living Word of God present in our humanity by the Holy Spirit, ever at work transforming human hearts and minds.
In Christ we have been given a new heart and mind. When we look into the mirror who is Jesus Christ, the One who kept the law of liberty fully and completely as we should, do we see only the broken humanity which is caught in the cesspool of evil and sin? Or do we see the resurrected crucified Lord, who took all that evil and sin upon himself, died our death, and rose from the grave, ascending into the presence of the Father, bearing our glorified humanity now and forever. In the beloved Son of the Father, through whom we are forgiven, accepted and beloved children of God, we find our life is hidden with Christ in God.
As we gaze into the face of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we find we have a choice. We can refuse to believe and accept who he is for us and what he has done for us in giving us himself. We can walk away and resume our old ways of thinking and living. Or we can begin to live into the truth Jesus has revealed to us about who we are as the beloved, forgiven and accepted children of God. We can live and walk in truth, or we can continue in the self-deception, corruption and stubborn willfulness of our lives as disobedient children.
James reminds us that the superficial gloss of religiosity is valueless and is despised by God. Jesus, on many occasions, condemned hypocrisy in self-proclaimed religious people. Saying the right words, even getting the rituals right, is meaningless if it is not backed up by the evidence of our faith in Christ. True religion that is acceptable before God comes from a heart filled with the presence and power of Jesus by the Holy Spirit which is expressed in the care of those who are not able to care for themselves and a life lived out of the truth of who we are in Christ.
The struggle to be what we were meant to be rather than what we find ourselves so often being is a real one. In every moment of every day, we are called once again to turn away from ourselves and to turn to Christ. We are called again to lay down our lives, pick up our cross, and to follow him. We are reminded by the Spirit to gaze again into the mirror of the perfect law of liberty, Jesus, so we can remember whom we are and begin anew to live out the truth of whom we are in him by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.
Self-deception is easy. We can always find ways to excuse or rationalize our behavior or our failure to live as we know we ought to live. Those of us who share the good news of the gospel find it a tough challenge to really live out the good news of Jesus Christ in a world which is constantly tempting us to turn away from him, and is ever pulling us back into our old ways of thinking and living. It is so easy to put on the façade and never let anyone know how far we have fallen from the truth of who we are in Jesus Christ.
But that is why we are called into fellowship with other believers. The point of gathering with other believers is to grow in our relationship with God and one another, and to grow in Christlikeness. There are many ways in which we gather together—whether at church for worship and hearing the Word, or in a small group for learning and fellowship, or coming together for the simple purpose of praying together as brothers and sisters in Christ. In these spiritual communities, we are living in a small way the kingdom life we were each created for and in which we will live forever when Jesus returns in glory. We have the opportunity right now to express true religion day in and day out as we interact with the people God puts in our lives, offering kindness, service, and humble obedience to the will of God by genuinely loving and caring for them in the name of Jesus.
Sincere, heartfelt love and care for others is a reflection of the nature of Jesus Christ himself, as God in human flesh. He is the mirror we gaze into—and which we want to reflect as we live day by day in this world which has drifted so far from what God meant it to be. Not everyone appreciates a mirror, nor do they care to have reflected back to them how far they have fallen from what they were meant to be. There are places in this world today where people are suffering deeply from choosing Christ and living his way. When the time comes for us to make that same choice, what will we do? Are we willing to be true reflections of the mirror that is Christ, no matter the cost to ourselves?
Heavenly Father, how far we have fallen from all you meant us to be! Thank you so much for not leaving us here forsaken in our darkness. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to us and bringing us out into the light, and for sending your Spirit so we can share in your life now and forever. Grant us the grace to worship you, Father, in spirit and in truth, as accurate reflections of your glory and goodness, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” James 1:17–27 NASB
Not Under Our Own Power
By Linda Rex
April 18, 2021, 3rd SUNDAY IN EASTER—This morning my son was telling me about a volcano which is erupting right now in St. Vincent, Grenadines. Although I cannot imagine what it is like to live in a place that might at any moment be disrupted dramatically by the power of a volcano, I do know how frightening and powerful a violent earthquake can be. Watching a glass of water walk across the table or frantically trying to dive under the heavy desk in my room to protect myself are two of my own distinct memories that remind me of how small we are in comparison with these powerful natural forces.
What about the human heart? It seems that we as human beings underestimate the power of our own passions and drives. We find ourselves deeply moved by an event such as September 11, 2001—it brought me to my knees. We are devastated by the death of a loved one or a favorite pet. Little do we realize the power God has placed within us as human beings to impact ourselves, our world and the people around us. And so often we use this power in unhealthy and destructive ways. Sadly, there are times we neglect to control what in time begins to control us, and we become addicts to all types of substances, behaviors, and habits.
When Jesus showed up in the upper room, he made a point of showing the disciples that he was still very human, bearing the marks of the beating and crucifixion in his body. This image of Jesus testifying to his humanity after the resurrection reminds us that he understands the struggle we have in believing what makes absolutely no sense to the human mind. It also shows us the extent God is willing to go to in order to prove that he loves us and has made us his very own adopted children (1 John 3:1–7). One day, as loving children, we will look just like Jesus in glory—what tremendously wonderful things will we be capable of then?
This world is an amazing place in all its natural glory. God made all this beauty for our enjoyment and for our pleasure. And we are amazing creatures with all the human glory God has given us, with our ability to live in relationship and to think, create, and love. I believe this is why we as human beings often need to be reminded of the cost of idolatry in all of its forms. Too often we ignore the who while focusing on the what—ignoring the divine One while focusing on the physical, tangible reality of the world he gave us to enjoy and steward. Our tendency is to worship the creation and all of its benefits rather than the One who created and sustains it.
It is a shame that so often we (note, I said we) fritter away our power to affect change, to build relationships, to heal and transform with trivial pursuits that do nothing to make our world a better place. I find too often that it is easier to entertain myself than it is to invest my gifts and talents, to do something that will make our world a better place to live in, or to exert myself on behalf of another person who is in need. Isn’t it more comfortable and convenient to stay in our cocoon than it is to take a risk or do something challenging? How easy it is to pursue pleasure, rather than pursue what is eternal and lasting!
My point isn’t to be critical or to condemn but simply to remind us anew to turn away from ourselves and the distractions of this world and to turn to Christ. Following the crucifixion of Jesus came the miracle of the resurrection. This offers us such comfort when facing the reality of our weakness and sin. It is in repentance and turning back to Christ that we find renewal and refreshment.
Peter, when reminding the crowd of how they delivered Jesus up to death told them they acted in ignorance, not realizing that their offering up of Christ was part of God’s predetermined plan for the salvation of humanity. We don’t always understand God’s reasons or methods, but we certainly can trust his heart. While we live in a world which is in a constant state of flux or change, we have the bedrock of Jesus Christ to settle into, putting down deep roots into God himself by faith as we respond to the Spirit in trust and obedience.
In Christ we have been given the capacity for true relationship with God and one another that is other-centered and truly free. By the Spirit we have the power to take the risk to love boldly, to courageously stand against evil, and to endure hardship and the struggles of life. As Christ lives in our hearts by faith, we are empowered to reflect the divine glory of self-sacrifice, service, humility, generosity, and compassion. With God’s heart, we can tend the earth with respect, understanding, care, and responsible stewardship.
In Christ we have been given a new heart and mind on which God’s will and ways are written. We can participate by faith in Jesus’ work in this world to heal, transform and renew. There is great power given to God’s people in that they can appeal to the Father through Jesus in the Spirit for healing, change, and renewal, in themselves, their circumstances, their culture, and the world. What a gift we have been given, that we can participate in what Christ is doing to make all things new!
We do all of this in Jesus’ name. It is Christ in us, the hope of glory, who empowers us to bring his kingdom life to realization in a world that rejects Jesus as a myth or a fable. The Spirit of God at work in us and in this world enables us to live as citizens of heaven, when it is much easier to live as citizens of a world in which sin and lawlessness reign. Today, we can ask ourselves—what does the Spirit want us to do right now? What words would Jesus have us say in his name? What change is God is doing in the world that we will participate in by faith? How can we live more boldly in this world while not being a part of it? How can we tangibly offer God’s grace and love to this person right in front of us?
God of glory, you have given us such dignity and worth as those made in your image to bear your likeness and share your life as your beloved adopted children! Grant us the grace to refuse to waste the gifts you have given us and to embrace the challenges of living as image-bearers of Christ in today’s culture. May we fully participate in your kingdom work in this world, through Jesus our Lord and by your Spirit. Amen.
“And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them.” Luke 24:38–43 (36b–48) NASB
See also Acts 3:12–19.
Calling Us Home
By Linda Rex
SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2020, ASH WEDNESDAY/1ST SUNDAY IN EASTER PREP—Recently, I was chatting with someone about current events and they were telling me about a program they heard on the radio. The person they were listening to was saying that the current issue with child abuse imagery has multiplied into millions of cases worldwide since the time of Clinton’s presidency. The implication was that his moral failure with Monica Lewinsky was the root of this alarming increase in the use of pornography. Personally, I would be more inclined to believe that this extreme numerical increase is more directly related to the use the internet as well as the ability to track the use of pornographic material on the internet. But that is not the point I feel led to make.
Over the decades our nation has been at certain times more concerned with particular sins than with others. I was reading a historical novel the other day which was set in the time of this nation when temperance and prohibition were promoted as the solution to all of the ills besetting the nation. I agree that the misuse and abuse of alcohol and/or drugs leads to many other sins, but there is so much more at stake. It is a greater issue that we can become so obsessed with a certain sin that we lose sight of our proclivity for living as though we are in charge and able to decide for ourselves what is good and what is evil.
The story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden eating the forbidden fruit cuts down to the root of all human behavior from that time to today. We are all created for an intimate relationship with the God who made us and we can, at any time, walk and talk with God if we so desire. We may not experience this relationship with God in the same way they did, but it is what we were created for. However, we often trade this direct relationship with God we were given in Jesus Christ for a substitute relationship—dependency upon and reveling in the things of this human existence. Or as followers of Christ, we may even substitute church attendance, rule-keeping, moral purity, and community service for an intimate walk with our living Lord.
The truth is that we often are more concerned about repenting our mistakes or moral failures than we are repenting the bent we have toward rejecting God himself. What we need to do is to acknowledge the reality that we wish to live as though we are self-sustaining individuals, as little gods who run the universe the way we want it to be run. Let’s be honest with ourselves—we don’t want to have to answer to anyone for what we say or do—we want to create our own rules to live by and not have any consequences for our choices or behaviors.
So we come to the time on the Christian calendar called Lent (or Easter preparation) which begins on Ash Wednesday. This is the time when we honestly assess and confess our genuine and deep need for the Lord Jesus Christ. For, if he did not stand in our stead and on our behalf, we would have no interest in or desire for, nor the ability to have, a relationship with the God who made us and who cares for us. We don’t just draw up a list of sins and tell God about them. No, we go much deeper—down to the core of our being—down to the heart which turns away from God toward the things and people of this human existence.
God calls us to return to him. To return is to go back to the place where we started. We began at a place in which we were fully included in God’s life and love. And then we turned away. When God as the Word took on our humanity, he turned us back to his heavenly Father.
As Jesus stood in the waters of the Jordan River with the baptismal waters dripping off his frame, he heard the Father’s words of love—“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased (Matt. 3:17 NASB).” On the mountain where he was transfigured, we again hear the affirmation of his heavenly Father—“This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him (Matt. 17:5 NASB)!” In Christ, we are beloved children. We are God’s pleasure and joy. God calls us to rend our hearts—to quit with all the religious externals and to get down to the core of our being: What drives us? What is the focus of our inner conversation? What directs our decisions and choices? Where does God fit in our lives? Does he even have a place in our heart?
The process of examining our hearts is not meant to be discouraging or depressing. Rather, as we take God’s hand and walk down the corridors of our inner sanctuary, we begin to see in a greater way our need for deliverance, redemption, and forgiveness. We see our need for a Savior. We begin to put God back in his rightful place as Lord of our existence. And most of all, the closer we get to the heart, we discover that waiting there all this time has been Christ himself by the Spirit.
For Jesus came, not to condemn, but to save us. He entered our human existence, not to destroy us, but to reconstruct us back into the image-bearers of God we were created to be. We do not look to Maundy Thursday or Good Friday with dread or to Holy Saturday with sorrow, but to Resurrection Sunday with anticipation and joy. What was meant for our evil, the destruction of our souls, God turned to good—the deliverance of all people. Jesus came to live our life, die our death, and rise so that the Spirit would be sent—so we would receive the very life of God within ourselves.
When we are called to return—to turn about, we are called back into the relationship which was ours from before time began. God has always meant to include us in his life and love, and even though we managed to turn away from this to the things of this world and ourselves, God has in Christ turned us back to himself. Receive the gift which has been given. Come to yourself, your true self. For Abba loves you dearly and is pacing on the porch, looking down the road, anticipating your return. Run to him!
Dearest Abba, thank you for not rejecting us because of our rejection of you, but giving us your Son in our place and on our behalf. Turn our hearts back to you again. Renew in us a desire for your will and your ways, but more importantly, for your very presence—to affectionately tend to your heart as you tend to ours. We praise you that this is all possible through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“‘Yet even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘Return to Me with all your heart, | And with fasting, weeping and mourning; | And rend your heart and not your garments.’ | Now return to the LORD your God, |For He is gracious and compassionate, | Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness | And relenting of evil.” Joel 2:12-13 NASB
“For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:17-19 NASB
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