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A New and Living Way
By Linda Rex
November 17, 2024, Proper 28 | After Pentecost—This year as we have walked through the Revised Common Lectionary passages, I have been mostly focusing on the New Testament passage, while drawing upon the other passages where they have been appropriate. Today, though, in the light of tomorrow being the 2024 election day here in America, I will begin with the Gospel passage, Mark 13:1–8. I will bring in the New Testament passage from Hebrews later in this blog.
In the gospel for this Sunday, Jesus was leaving the temple when one of his disciples began pointing out the architectural merits and wonders of the building. Jesus was not impressed. He immediately remarked that a time was coming when every stone would be leveled, a statement of hyperbole prophetically pointing to what would happen in 70 AD when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by the Romans.
Since the disciples, as usual, did not seem to get the point, they began asking about what the sign would be when all that was predicted would come to pass. Jesus turned their attention instead to what their motives were. They were looking for someone to save them from their Roman oppressors. They were looking for a messiah who would rescue them and make them an independent nation using violent means. But Jesus told them not to seek rescue and salvation from human saviors, for they will always end up misleading the people who follow them, using evil means to defeat evil. And Jesus told the disciples that wars, famines, international disputes were all part of the birth pangs leading up to the establishment of God’s new heaven and earth. They were not to be distressed by any of these things, but to understand that they were all part of the process of God’s redemption of his creation.
Jesus’ message is just as appropriate today as it was back then. Even to this day, there have been leaders who claimed that they would bring about a new world, a new government, and the salvation of their people. Some of these even led a military revolt, or the establishment of a new government. Many looked real good at the beginning, because they knew what things to tell people in order to get a following. But when they eventually began to run things their way, it soon became apparent that they were no savior or messiah—they were merely another faulty human who was leading everyone astray.
In the light of this reality, we are reminded of our New Testament passage, Hebrews 10:11–14, 19–25. In this the author contrasts the daily efforts of the Old Testament Aaronic priest, who, in spite of his diligent efforts, was never able to take away the sins of the people. In contrast, Jesus offered himself, once for all. By this self-offering, Jesus “perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
There is only one Person who is able to take away our sins and perfect us before God. There is only one Person who delivers us and frees us from the tyrannies of this world. There is only one Person who enables us, “by a new and living way,” through his flesh, to enter into God’s presence. Because of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done, we draw near to God in faith, cleansed and purified, and made whole.
We are reminded that though human kingdoms rise and fall, human leaders rise and fall, and the world seems to be falling into chaotic disarray at times, Jesus Christ does not change. He does not fail us. He is present now by his Spirit, and is interceding for us with his Father on our behalf. There is nothing that cannot be brought to Jesus, and through him to his Father in the Spirit. Whatever is happening in this world, no matter how the election turns out, we have hope that God is still at work bringing to pass his ends and purposes. He will, in time, defeat all his enemies, and they are as good as defeated even now, for he is taking all that is meant for evil and turning it to accomplish his perfect, good will in this world.
As we make our way to the voting booth, and as we work our way through this transition of government, there is one thing we can be sure of: When we go to God with humble hearts and ask him to rescue and save us, and to work all things for our good, he will hear us and respond. May we have the humility and grace to pray to God about all that is going on, and trust in the faithful love and grace of Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Heavenly Father, as we face significant changes in our world and our nation, we turn to you and ask you to take all things into your loving hands and to work them out for our good. Thank you, Jesus, that we can come to you in faith, and know you are interceding on our behalf. We are in need of your rescue and salvation in every moment. May your Spirit move in us, in our lives, and in our circumstances, to accomplish your perfect will, in Jesus name. Amen.
“Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, ‘sat down at the right hand of God,’ waiting from that time onward ‘until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.’ For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. … Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:11–14 (15–18) 19–25 NASB
“As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.’ As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and 1James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?’ And Jesus began to say to them, ‘See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, “I am He!” and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Mark 13:1–8 NASB
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By Grace Through Faith
By Linda Rex
March 10, 2024, 4th Sunday in Preparation for Easter or Lent—During this season as we prepare to celebrate the events of Holy Week, it seems at times as though I am experiencing afflictions and temptations similar to those Jesus experienced during his forty-day wilderness experience. Even though we know that Jesus arose triumphant from all that afflicted and crucified him, we often face events, circumstances, and sorrows in this life which challenge us, grieve us, and tempt us.
It is good to take some time to reflect on the spiritual realities which are true in Jesus Christ, as well as our deep need for all he has done, is doing, and will do in us and for us by the Holy Spirit. What a blessing that we have hope in him!
This is what the apostle Paul points out in our New Testament reading for this Sunday, Ephesians 2:1–10. There is incredibly good news in this passage, for Paul reminds his readers that every one of them, whether a Jew like himself or a non-Jew, had at one time, like each and every one of us, been dead in trespasses and sins, having fallen short of the mark of those who were meant to reflect the image of God we see in Jesus Christ. As a result, every human being was facing the consequence of God’s immeasurable love poured out in redemptive correction and restoration. Then he uses those two beautiful words which change everything: “But God…”
Here the apostle Paul reminds us of the nature and character of God. God is rich in mercy. God has great love towards humankind. God is gracious. And because this is who he is, he reaches down into the death in which we found ourselves to bring us up in his Son Jesus Christ, seating us with and in him in the heavenly places where our Lord now sits in face-to-face union and communion with his Father in the Spirit. Because of who God is, we have been saved by faith, are being saved, and will experience our full salvation when Jesus returns in glory.
We are reminded too that our efforts to do the right thing, our actions of service or helping, do not save us. We are only saved by grace through faith. And we discover in Jesus Christ that we as human beings have a way of being we were created to live into—the way of other-centered, self-sacrificial, giving love, the same kind of love that is essential to God’s being as Father, Son, and Spirit, three Persons in one Being. As his beloved, adopted children, we were meant to be loved by God, to love him in response, and to love one another. There is a way of being which is ours, which we were created to live out, which Jesus recreated in his incarnational, cruciform self-offering, resurrection and ascension. Our new life is in Christ, and reflects his own way of being, as he lives in us and through us by his Holy Spirit.
As God’s beautiful masterpieces, we daily bear witness to the transformational healing work of Jesus Christ as we live out the kingdom life given to us in him. This can be challenging in a world that is given over to the ways of God’s adversary and to the lusts and desires of our human flesh. And it can be difficult, for we are each easily tempted, distracted, and overwhelmed by what we face day by day as we go through life. What struggles are you facing right now? Is there something pulling you down? Are you finding yourself caught up in unbearable circumstances? Do you see everything that is wrong with the world, yourself, and/or others and wonder how anything will ever be any different?
Here it is important to humbly go before the throne of grace to find help in time of need (Heb. 4:16). We need to be reminded of who God is—the God who loves us so much that he gave us his Son. In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, John 3:14–21, we are reminded that God’s Son did not come into this world to condemn the world, but to save the world. God’s intention, his motivation, his driving force is love and grace. So, to go before Jesus in our humble need is the best possible thing we can do, for there is where God meets us to draw us to himself, to give us by his Spirit his healing, renewal and restoration. What is keeping you away? Why not stop right now and open yourself up to your heavenly Father’s love and grace, and simply trust in Christ. Let God be who God is—your Savior, your Redeemer, your Lord—the One who loves you, forgives and accepts you, and welcomes you back home.
Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us and for being so gracious toward us. No matter how hard we try, we cannot get it right. No, indeed, it seems that all we can offer you is our brokenness, sinfulness and falling short. Grant us anew your grace, and form Christ in us that we may effectively bear witness to your glory, love, and grace through Jesus by your Spirit. Amen.
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1–10 NASB
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Not Dead, But Asleep
by Linda Rex
June 11, 2023, Proper 5 | After Pentecost—Have you ever noticed how there are times when the people you love and care for are the ones who hurt you the most? Think about Hosea, the prophet who was invited by the Lord to marry and care for a woman who was inevitably unfaithful to him, as a witness to his nation’s repeated unfaithfulness to their covenant God. Deep in Hosea’s prophetic word, though, we are given a taste of the underlying theme of death and resurrection: “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him” (Hosea 6:2 NASB). Ultimately, the salvation of Hosea’s nation was solely dependent upon the goodness and faithfulness of their covenant God, the One who would come himself to redeem and save his people.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see brought forth this same theme of our human need for redemption, and Jesus’ descent into death, and his resurrection and ascension into glory, in order to raise us up into new life. In the gospel passage for this Sunday, Matthew 9:9–13, 18–26, Jesus engaged the religious leaders of his day in conversation regarding his relationships with those who were considered outcasts and sinners. He told these leaders, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. … for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (v. 12, 13b). His acceptance and calling of Matthew, the socially and religiously excluded tax collector was a case in point.
Jesus then went to a synagogue ruler’s home where he found a group of people loudly mourning the death of a young girl. He told them that she wasn’t dead, but was asleep. They scorned his hopeful assurance. After making the scoffers all leave, he and her parents entered the girl’s room to see her laying lifeless in her bed. Jairus’ daughter was beyond any human help. Nothing could be done anymore to save her. But then Jesus took her by the hand, and raised her up. This young girl had nothing to do with her healing and restoration to life. All she and her parents could do was respond in gratitude to the gift of new life which was given.
In the New Testament reading, Romans 4:13–25, the apostle Paul showed how Abraham and Sarah were given a promise of a son, but were powerless to bring the promise to pass. Abraham was too old and Sarah was incapable of bearing children. They believed, albeit faultily, that God would keep his word, but found themselves utterly dependent upon God’s love and grace for it to be fulfilled. Like the little girl in the story who lay lifeless in her bed, due to their barrenness their dreams of holding a son in their arms lay lifeless and empty in their hearts.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, he showed how Abraham did not receive his promised son because of anything he did, but simply because of his faith, because he trusted in the faithfulness of his loving God. lt is God’s goodness, God’s love, and God’s power which is important here. Abraham could only have hope because of the God of hope who had given him hope by giving him a promise—a promise God was well able and perfectly willing to keep. Abraham’s participation in the process was simply faith—believing in the goodness and faithfulness of his God and trusting him to keep his word.
In the same way, we receive our salvation, our new life, not because we do everything exactly right or obey every law perfectly. Rather, we recognize that we are powerless and unable to do what is needed, that only God can bring something into existence from nothing, and only God can raise up to life what is dead and lifeless. All of us, like the little girl in the story and like Abraham and Sarah facing their inability to have a child, are unable to save ourselves or restore our relationship with God on our own. But the Son of God came, took on our human flesh, to live our life, die our death, and rise again, so that we could have what we otherwise could not have—eternal life, life in face-to-face union with Father, Son, and Spirit, right relationship with God and one another.
When it comes to situations and relationships where there seems to be no hope, no life, no expectation of deliverance, we need to turn to Jesus. When it seems that the church today is dying and nothing we can do seems to be able to lift it out of that place, we need to turn to Jesus. When we are facing death and sickness in any form, we need to turn to Jesus. For he has entered and will enter into our place of residence here on earth, to take us by the hand, having become flesh like us and died as we die, in order to raise us up. God’s promise to us is sure—we see it fulfilled in Jesus. He calls us to trust him, to believe—to allow him to be the God he is, the One who is faithful, loving, and good, and who has and will heal us, reconcile us, restore us and bring us safely home.
It is significant that the sacraments which we practice in the church today point us to death and resurrection. Through baptism (a one-time event) and communion (an ongoing practice), we participate anew with Christ in his death and resurrection, being reminded both of our need for healing, rescue and deliverance, and of our gratitude for his finished work in our place and on our behalf. Together, as we are gathered at the table, we eat and drink anew of the divine gift, with humility, gratitude and praise. We celebrate the goodness, faithfulness, and love of our Triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit.
Holy God, thank you for your faithfulness, your goodness, and your love, expressed to us in the gift of your Son and your Spirit. Today, we see so many places where death, sin, and Satan seem to have the upper hand. We have no hope or life apart from you. Lord Jesus, turn us back to you. and by your heavenly Spirit, restore our faith. Fill our hearts and lives with your hope and love. In your name we pray, amen.
“For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, ‘I have made you the father of many nations’—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was ‘counted to him as righteousness.’ But the words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” Romans 4:13–25 ESV
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He is Among Us
By Linda Rex
December 13, 2020, ADVENT | JOY—As I was sitting and writing this blog today, I couldn’t help but gaze through the window at the dark, gloomy sky. The cold, damp grayness of this winter day is a good picture of what so many are experiencing right now in the midst of the pandemic and election limbo. Many of us have experienced 2020 as a year which brought us to the brink of disaster, and for some—tipped us on over into a pit of darkness, depression, and even despair.
Even as we wonder how much deeper we will go into this pit before things get better, we find ourselves moving on into Advent. We’ve celebrated hope and peace, and now we come upon a Sunday when we ponder the miracle of joy. How can one possibly feel any joy in the middle of all we are going through? How can God expect us to find joy when everything we are facing gives us anything but joy?
The spiritual gift of joy is something which isn’t based upon our circumstances. That feeling of happiness or gladness which is induced by positive, enjoyable circumstances and experiences is not the same as the joy that is spoken of by the apostle Paul. When he says to us, “Rejoice always,” it’s not because he is insane or unfeeling. It is because joy’s roots go much deeper than the everyday situations of life. It is God’s will that we always rejoice—he wants us to have a deeper inner joy which will carry us through the most difficult times of our lives, enabling us to bear up under unbearable struggles and losses.
One of the scriptures for this Sunday is Psalm 126. In verses 5 and 6, the psalmist says, “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting. | He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, | Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him” (NASB). Here we have a picture of a farmer who is weeping while he is spreading seed on the ground in the spring; but when the wheat is harvested, he shouts with the joy of it all.
Understand that the road Jesus, the Son of God, took for our salvation took him through death to resurrection. He was the Seed promised to Adam and Eve and then to Abraham as a solution for the evil, sin, and death we brought into this world. He was buried in the grave like a seed, but when he rose, like a fruit-bearing wheat stalk from the ground, he brought all humanity forth into new life. The author of Hebrews said that “Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2 NASB). Notice that Jesus endured all of the suffering of the cross “for the joy set before Him.” In Christ, God is harvesting many souls—something that brings him great joy even though it cost him a great deal in the suffering and death of his Son.
Jesus described his mission as the One anointed by the Holy Spirit using the prophetic word of Isaiah 61:1–2a: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, | Because the LORD has anointed me | To bring good news to the afflicted; | He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, | To proclaim liberty to captives | And freedom to prisoners; | To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD…” (Lk. 4:18-19 NASB) This passage in Isaiah goes on to describe the work of the Messiah in bringing about redemption to his creation. The purpose of the Word, the Son of God, coming into our humanity that we celebrate at Christmastime is to bring humanity out of the deep dark hole of evil, sin, and death in which we placed ourselves. Jesus, in his life, death, resurrection and ascension, brings all of us as we trust in him into a new place where we find healing, hope, freedom, and transformation.
In verse 10, Isaiah goes on to say, “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, | My soul will exult in my God; | For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, | He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, | As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, | And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (NASB). What Isaiah was describing was the day when God in Christ would do for us what we could not do—save us, bring us into right relationship with himself and one another.
This is why the apostle Paul so often uses the language of taking of old garments and putting on new clothing when speaking of the new life we have in Christ. God has already done for you and me all that is needed for our healing and renewal in giving us his Son for our salvation and sending his Spirit for our regeneration. Now we simply, by the Spirit, have to put on Christ the way in which a couple gets dressed up in a tux and gown for a wedding. We turn away from ourselves and our own way to doing things and our own ability to save ourselves, and we turn to Jesus Christ in faith.
This is why it is possible to rejoice in the midst of difficult and painful times. There is an underlying assurance that no matter what may happen, we are held. Christ has come, he is present by the Spirit, and he will come again, to do what only he can do in our situation. However bad it may get, we have the assurance that Christ is present with us and is standing in our place willing to do whatever is needed to carry us through to the other side. We simply need to trust him and continue to pray, to give thanks and to rejoice.
There is a story which children are often taught in Sunday school which comes to my mind in regards to this. It is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These three young Jewish men had been chosen to serve the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar while Judah was exiled to his kingdom. One day some of the Chaldeans told the king that these men refused to bow to the new idol the king had set up and they deserved to be thrown into the furnace. Now the king liked these men and he tried to talk them into simply bowing down to the idol so they wouldn’t die. Well, they chose not to, telling the king that God would save them, and even if God didn’t save them, they would still not bow the knee to another God but the God of Israel.
What captures my attention so often in this story is that God didn’t keep the men from being thrown in the fire. In fact, the king made the fire in the furnace seven times hotter before having them thrown in. And the fire was so hot that the people throwing in the men died. This is when the story becomes supernatural—when the king looked into the flames, he saw four men walking around, the three who had been tied up and thrown in, and another who looked like “a son of the gods.” The king finally called all of them to come out of the furnace. The three men did and there was no evidence on their bodies that they had ever been in the flames.
I hope you are grasping the point I am trying to make. We have to place our faith beyond our own ability to help ourselves and the ability of others or our government to help us, and to simply place our faith in the God who has done everything in Christ by the Spirit which is needed for us to be saved. This is the God who came into the flames of our human existence to walk and talk with us, and to bring us out with him into new life. Our joy in the midst of our struggles, suffering, and loss is based in the reality that God will bring us out of them to the other side, and that even if he doesn’t rescue us, he will be with us as we go through whatever may be required of us. We are not alone—he is Immanuel, “God with us” now and forever.
This is our hope, our peace, and it is also our joy. Whatever may happen, we are not alone. God is with us, working things out for our best and caring for us no matter how intense the flames of trial and struggle we are experiencing may get. God in Christ holds us. We trust in him, allowing his Spirit to dwell richly in our hearts, giving us the assurance that he is near, providing the guidance and direction we need, and reminding us of his promise of life eternal when this life is over.
Our ability to “rejoice always” is found in Christ’s joy, in his personal presence in us and with us by the Spirit, as we go through every circumstance of life. As we keep our eyes on the heavenly realities, on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, walking with us in the flames, we will be filled with an unexplainable joy that is grounded in the presence and person of God himself.
Holy Father, thank you for holding us in the midst of all our struggles and suffering. Thank you, Jesus, for being ever present by your Spirit and for filling our hearts with your joy. Enable us to rejoice always, remain constant in prayer, and be grateful in every circumstance, as we trust in you now and forever. In your name, we pray, amen.
“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16–24 NASB
Embraced by Our Unlimited God
By Linda Rex
If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit our God-concepts are at their best flawed and broken. We see God through the lenses of our past experiences, the misguided teachings we have embraced, and the hurt feelings we harbor toward others. These lenses may create within us a sense of anxiety and fear toward God when we suspect our behavior doesn’t measure up with what we believe God wants it to be.
What we believe about who God is and who we are in relationship with him often impacts us more than we realize. It becomes the underlying frame by which we measure ourselves and others, and we anticipate a just God giving us or others what is deserved—punishment, damnation, and hell.
We seem to set limits on what God will and can do in this world, whether now or in the future. We believe God is limited by a person’s sin in that God must punish a person for their evil thoughts and behavior, and their depravity. For God to not punish a person in this life or in the next, seems to us to be unjust or at the least, unfair, and certainly not something God would do.
But at the same time, isn’t this the reason Jesus Christ came? Isn’t this the reason Christ took on our humanity, lived the perfected life which is to be ours, and died our death in our place? Didn’t he take upon himself the punishment we all deserve? Then why must a person bear that punishment now or in the future? Why must they get what they deserve when it is God’s heart and will they get what they don’t deserve?
Yes, we are facing the whole issue of participation—of each and every person participating in the perfected life created for them in Jesus Christ in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and given to them in the Person and power of the Holy Spirit. This brings into the picture the critical issue of faith. What does a person believe about who God is, who they are, and who Christ is for them personally? This must be answered by each and every human being.
We believe God is limited by death in that God must save a person now before they die, or they are lost for all eternity. For God to work with someone beyond death is unthinkable, because death is the end—now is the time of salvation. A person must come to Christ now, or all is lost. Death in this case, is the winner.
But even the just, fair, holy God confesses in and through his Son Jesus Christ that these limits no longer exist. Death has been conquered by life in Christ Jesus. Salvation has been worked out in him for each and every human being. What they do with that is the question we must all wrestle with. But must this wrestling be completed before death? Or can it continue beyond death into the place where this person encounters the One who stood in their stead and on their behalf, and sees the true realities for the first time in his or her existence?
Such questions may make us very uncomfortable. These questions may even anger us. But I believe that, in wrestling with them, we are brought face to face with the current state of our own heart. We need to ask ourselves, why does this make us uncomfortable? Why does this anger us? Is there someone in our life or in our past whom we believe needs to experience the just deserts of their unbelief and disobedience? Is there someone in our life we feel does not deserve to be forgiven and to be embraced by God and given eternal life?
Whether we want to admit it or not, we like to determine for God whom he can and cannot welcome into his eternal embrace. We’re the ones who feel it is so important that the damnation, and ever-burning fire be a literal reality for every person who denies Christ. Whereas God’s heart is to make sure no human being is left out of his eternal embrace. God’s will is that every human being experience the blessed and glorious life held in the life and love of the Father, Son, and Spirit—the beautiful life in the presence of the true Light which enlightens every person.
And God is free to do this. His unlimited freedom to be as he really is and to do as he really does as our loving, gracious God, is what drives his passion to see that every human being shares in and is held in his loving embrace. God’s freedom to be as he truly is and to do what he purposes in his heart of overflowing love and grace, is not only beyond our comprehension, but also beyond the ability of any of us to resist.
The majesty of God’s love, though, also allows you and me the freedom to resist all of that which God pours out for us on our behalf. The question of whether or not we trust in Christ for salvation is settled on God’s side—but is still in abeyance on our side. Christ stepped up as God in human flesh, and did it on our behalf—he stood in our place. He said “Yes” to Abba in the place of our “No”. But there is still a work God is doing in and through the Holy Spirit to make Christ’s “Yes” a reality for each and every person in their own being and doing.
And this is where the whole issue of faith becomes critical. What is your faith in? Is it in your ability to make sure you say the right words, or do the right things? Is your faith in being a member of the “only” church who believes the correct doctrine? What are you counting on when you come face to face with the living Lord?
Ultimately, it will come down to what Jesus emphasized over and over during his ministry here on earth: It is not about what you have, what you’ve done or not done, or what others believe about what you’ve done or not done. It all boils down to putting your trust outside of yourself, and outside of anything in your life, and solely trusting in the grace of God demonstrated to us and given to us in his Son Jesus Christ.
In embracing Jesus Christ, we find we are embraced by the living God himself, and filled with his very presence by his blessed Spirit. In turning from ourselves to Christ, we discover God has been turned toward us the whole time. He never did leave us or forsake us, but has been drawing us steadily into his love and life, that perfected existence we were created for from before time began.
And in surrendering our life, our future, our will, and our very significance to Jesus Christ, we find our true life, a blessed hope, and a Divine Companionship which we will enjoy for all eternity. And this is what it means when Jesus says repent and believe, be baptized, and receive the gift of God Spirit.
This is what God meant for each and every one of us from the beginning. This is the whole reason Christ came, and the whole purpose for all God has done since he first got the idea to create human creatures who could and would share his life and love. We are held in his embrace, whether we like or not, whether we want to be held or not. All he wants is for us to turn around and embrace him as he is embracing us. So why wait? Why not do it right now?
Dear Abba, thank you for the gift of your Son and your Spirit. Today, this day, I turn away from my dependence upon anything or anyone but you, God, and I turn towards you. I embrace you, and your ways, and your blessed Spirit, and what your Son has done in my stead and on my behalf in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. I believe—Lord, please free me from my unbelief. Enable me to trust fully in you, and you alone, in every situation of life, no matter how hard things may get. Fill me afresh with your Spirit—make me new. My life is in you, through Jesus my Lord, and by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.” Revelation 22:12-14 NASB
“‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)” Revelation 19:6b-8 NASB
A Crisis of Faith
by Linda Rex
Is it possible for a human to do what only God can do?
What a question! But what if a person does not believe there is a God and believes it’s all up to us as humans to save ourselves? What if we do have to rescue ourselves from this mess we’ve created and there is no help to be expected from any other place?
I suppose too, if a person did perhaps believe there was a God, but believed this God was indifferent or condemning, we would still be in a very difficult position. After all, it has been our choices as humans which have brought us to the place we are facing ecological disaster and economic, immigration, racial, cultural issues—you name it, we are facing it, and it’s due to our decision to do things the way we see fit.
But it is interesting how people have responded during this election season to the question of who should lead our country. It seems on the one hand many people were happy to give the candidates the benefit of the doubt, but at the same time their supporters are expecting them to solve all the issues which face the American people. But can any human being actually do that?
Others are adamant we are just getting what we deserve as Americans because of our decadence, hedonism and greed. So they are assuming God is executing his judgment on our nation because of our sinfulness. But is that really the way God works? What kind God would act like that?
I was reading an article this morning which explained all the changes the president-elect promised to make once he was elected. In the article, it explained how difficult it would be to do any of these things due to the checks and balances in our government, the entrenched bureaucracy and not to mention the immense baggage created by all the leaders before him. No matter which person would have been elected, he or she would have faced this same problem, and would have struggled to bring about lasting change.
The thing is, all any human leader can hope to do is to temporarily alter the physical circumstances of the people in the nation he or she is leading. Bringing about real change requires so much more than just electing a human being to an office in a human government. Giving someone the position, and I suppose even the power, to lead and govern others does not guarantee all of the problems people are facing will be solved.
What is missing from this whole discussion, I believe, is some true introspection about the human heart and mind. Caught in our own humanity, we are blind to the spiritual realities. The best way to bring about change in a nation like ours is to begin with an internal change within ourselves. We need to come to the place in which we realize we are powerless to change and heal what needs to be changed and healed. We need to acknowledge the reality we are broken humans who cannot properly and effectively govern ourselves, much less others.
As long as we seek to be self-sustaining and self-governing, we end up in the same place. Our best efforts to govern ourselves and to discipline our human flesh keep bringing us to the place we are dependent or co-dependent when we seek to be independent. This is because we are missing the point of the whole process which is to live interdependently with God and each other in a relationship of love and grace. We need to understand we are only who we are because there is One Who is above and beyond us and Who has included us in his life and love.
It’s not about creating more rules or getting a bigger police group to enforce those rules. It’s not about punishing people whose race, religion, culture, life choices and life styles differ from our assumptions of what is good and what is evil. It’s about an internal transformation which happened over 2000 years ago in spite of us—a heart transplant given to every human being. Will we live in the truth of that new heart which was given us—the true spiritual reality of our identity as children who are persons in the divine Persons?
The real question is how can we? And that is a really good question—because we cannot. We need to realize we are the humans here, not the God. We need our Messiah to come even now. We need rescued. We need saved. But how? If Jesus isn’t going to return tomorrow, how are we able to go forward into an uncertain and maybe even dangerous future?
See, the thing is, we live as though we and God are separate. We think and act as though Jesus is off somewhere and we need him to come here to fix things. But that is not the case. It is my personal testimony, and the testimony of many others, that God is present here and now in you and in me, in us and among us by his Holy Spirit. He is at work in every situation, and acutely aware of every fear, every bit of guilt and shame which plagues us. Jesus is present, real and near to us—speaking to us his words of hope, encouragement and guidance to our hearts and minds.
We see people interceding for the oppressed and the needy, providing for the hungry, and healing the sick—God is at work in this world. He doesn’t always work the way we think he should work—after all, his perspective is eternal not temporal. But he is busy tending the garden, pulling weeds, tying up vines and trimming off branches, and is working in and through human beings in the process.
Yes, there is a lot more work to be done—so let’s get in the dance and start dancing! As we respond in faith to God’s Word to us in Christ and the inner promptings of the Spirit, we will find our world and ourselves being healed and transformed. We will begin to have a vision of life beyond this life, being able to accept the reality this world is passing away and our true life is waiting for us beyond the grave.
It is our response to the leadership of the Spirit which is the issue here rather than our need to find the perfect president for our country. Are we willing to trust God to do what we as humans cannot and have not done to heal our land and to heal us as human beings? Perhaps we cannot—but that’s okay. Because it is not our faith which saves us, it is the faith of the Faithful One Who did save us, Who is working to save us right now, and Who will save us in the future. He will finish what he has begun in us—growing us up into the fullness of our Christlikeness, the image of God we were created to reflect, as we respond to him with humility and love in gratitude.
Lord, we acknowledge we cannot save ourselves, we cannot keep ourselves safe, we cannot govern ourselves as we ought. We hurt and disrespect, abuse and misuse, ourselves, our earth and each other. Forgive us, Lord, and grant we may live according to the truth of our being and begin to reflect your image as we ought, through Jesus and by your Spirit. Amen.
“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; Who keeps faith forever; Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. the Lord sets the prisoners free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous; the Lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, but He thwarts the way of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever, Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!” Ps 146:1–10 NASB
Our Life in the Trinity 