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The Grace of Giving Generously

“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now may He who supplies seed to the Sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:6-15 NKJV)

Giving because God gave is the greatest expression of our faith, love, and gratitude toward God. In giving, we reflect the generous heart of our Creator, who has given us the greatest gift of all: His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The passage before us is often used in a sermon to promote tithing in the church.

Most people understand tithing as a demanded duty rather than a voluntary expression of gratitude and worship to our most Holy God.

In my younger days, I delivered papers for three local newspaper outlets, mowed lawns in the summer, and shoveled snow from driveways every winter – this was how I earned money. When the holidays came around, it became my greatest joy to spend the money I made on gifts for the people I loved – especially my mom. My mom was a generous woman. She went out of her way to make birthdays and holidays special for our family. My mom deserved to be showered with gifts. She did so much to care for us all. But during the holidays, it was not her worthiness that drove me with joy to find the best gift for her – it was my love. She did not demand my gift, nor did my dad insist that I have one for her – I did it from a happy and generous heart of love and appreciation for her.

In my mind, our giving to God ought to be just as sincere, voluntary, generous, and joyful as that of a loving child for his or her parents.

The Grace of Giving

(2 Cor. 8:2,7) “Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality…But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.”

The church in Macedonia was a general term for an association of three churches in the region: The Berean church, the church at Philippi, and the church at Thessalonica. Their “trial of affliction” was the persecution that they were suffering for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Despite their hardship and “deep poverty,” the believers in this region joyfully expressed the grace of God through their own generous gift of grace to a group of people whom they had never met.

The Corinthian church along with the other gentile churches which Paul had established throughout the Graeco-Roman empire were made aware of the needs of the church at Jerusalem by the apostle. “The ministering to the saints” (2 Cor. 9:1) referred to a collection Paul had commanded in (1 Cor. 16:1-4) to be set aside in every church (in Galatia, Macedonia, and Corinth) on the Lord’s day and dispensed annually for (Romans 15:26) “the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.”

Paul’s concern in the first five verses about the readiness of the offering at Corinth serves as a reminder that we too should always be ready and willing to give.

Generosity Begins in the Heart

(vv.6-7) “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

In (v.6-7) Paul seems to be drawing from (Prov. 11:24-26) to appeal to the Corinthians:

“There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.”

Paul and the writer of Proverbs used agricultural terms to say that “the size of the harvest corresponds to the scope of the sowing.”  Another way to put it positively is this: sow a blessing, reap a blessing. Consider these words from (Deut.15:7, 10-11):

“If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother…you shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.  For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’”

It is worth noting that with the words “so let each one give,” Paul sets an expectation for those who have received grace from the Lord to give. While this is a command, Paul tempers it by saying, “as he purposes in his heart.” This phrase might be better communicated as: “let each one give as he is CONVICTED in his heart.” Paul’s intention was for the believers in Corinth to experience blessings through their generosity (Prov. 19:17; 22:9); blessings “which would not occur if they gave reluctantly or under compulsion because God loves a cheerful giver.”[i] Like our obedience to every other command of Jesus, giving must be a volitional response to God’s grace and command. The phrase “for God loves a cheerful giver” certainly suggests that good works done in Jesus’ name please God (Matt. 5:16, Acts 20:35), but it seems more accurate to associate generosity with one of the identifying traits of the Christian.

The Blessings of Giving: The Giver is Blessed with More to Give

(vv.8-11a) “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now may He who supplies seed to the Sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality.”

You have no doubt heard the expression “you can’t outgive God.” For clarity, the phrase should read, “you can’t outgive God’s SUPPLY.” Generous giving is derived from the grace of God, who makes His gracious supply of all needed things super-abound toward us so that every generous giver would super-abound for every good work or charitable deed.

Consider the giving of the poor widow of whom Jesus took note in (Mark 12:41-44), she put into the offering all that she had. Likewise, the widow of Zarephath who having only (1 Kings 17:12) “a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar” made a cake from it for the prophet Elijah believing the promise He spoke from the Lord (v.14): “The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.” Both of these women believed that God’s grace would supply their need because they held His gifts with an open hand. Paul taught as much to the church at Philippi when he wrote (Phil. 4:19): “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” As that congregation continued to generously give to the needs of others, Paul was confident, as he was in Corinth, that God would graciously “fill them up again.” Not only does God bless the giver with more to give in (v.9) but Paul’s invocation in (v.10) entreats God to “multiply the seed which these believers have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” That phrase implies that material seed – like these shoe boxes, may reap a spiritual harvest. Such is the goal of all giving in the church – whether a tithe or a grace-gift, whether an act of kindness, a word of encouragement, or a moment of vulnerability as you bear witness to another person about the gift of God available to all through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Blessings of Giving: Needs are Met and God is Glorified

(vv.11b-15) “…while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

Paul had a dual motive in taking up the “collection for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” On the one hand he says in (v. 11b) that it supplies the needs of the saints, and with his words in (v.10) the needs of potential saints as well but on the other hand, the “administration of this service” was to validate and serve as proof (v.13) to the Jewish believers at Jerusalem of Paul’s God given ministry to the Gentiles and to their conversion and confession of faith in the Lord Jesus.

The gratitude which generous giving produces is profound.

The recipients of the grace of giving pray down God’s blessing on those who had generously and sacrificially given for their needs (v.14). More importantly, since it is God who is ministering through the giver, super-abundant thanksgivings are lifted up to God. The final, celebratory phrase of (v.15) simply declares that no man has dived to the depths of the fullness of God’ grace – the half has yet to be told! “One cannot read these two chapters of Pauls’ second letter to Corinth without gaining a new attitude toward giving. In the Christian life, there is no such thing as “material” and “spiritual.” All that we have comes from God, and all that we have must be used for spiritual ends. Paul teaches that giving is not a burden but a blessing. He shows us that true Christian giving enriches the life and opens the fountains of God’s blessings. Giving is a grace (8:1, 6–7, 9, 19; 9:8 and 14), and the Christian who understands something of grace will understand how to give.”[ii]

[i] Beal, M. S. (2016). Corinth. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, L. Wentz, E. Ritzema, & W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.

[ii] Wiersbe, W. W. (1992). Wiersbe’s expository outlines on the New Testament (p. 501). Victor Books.

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The Wonders of a Winter Walk

When I was in my teens, I loved to walk alone. It didn’t matter where I walked, but My favorite places were along quiet roads, in the woods, or along the railroad tracks.

I recall many instances of getting onto the tracks near my grandparents house in Tonawanda NY and walking as far as I wanted either southwest towards Buffalo or north towards Wheatfield. My favorite times for these walks was in the dead of winter: Gray skies, snow covered ground, a slight wind blowing the cold air into my face.

I loved the solitude of those walks when all that I could hear was the song of the Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, and other winter-tough song birds along with the crunch of the snow with each step I took. I cannot recall all that went through my mind in those days. What I do recall is a certain fearlessness. It never crossed my mind that it might be dangerous to walk alone in those places, to be frank, it rarely crosses my mind today when I take an opportunity presented by my location at the time, to go for a walk.

It may seem silly to the reader but my favorite walks were (and still are) taken on very cold days when I had to bundle up to stay warm. The reason for this may be stated by one word – home. Whether my walk began at my childhood home in Getzville, my grandparents house in Tonawanda, or my home today it always ended at a place where I was welcomed and loved, where it was warm and safe, and where I felt secure and at peace.

In a way, my whole life has been one great journey from home and to home. My life began as all life does, God brought me into this world by way of my parents. And while I didn’t really know it during those days, I was never really alone as I walked – never really alone; I would not be here today otherwise. While in those days my roaming may have been aimless wanderings, today I HAVE a destination: home. Not to Altair drive but nevertheless, a place where I am welcome and loved, a place of comfort and safety and a place of perfect peace and rest beside my Savior.

One day my journey will end and what a day that will be! I extend my hand to you….do you want join me? Care to go for a walk? By faith in Him, His home, my home can be your home too.

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Spotlight on The Risen Lamb of God – My Hero is Jesus

 “And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.” (Revelation 5:1–3)

Everyone at one time or another looks “for a hero to ride in and save the day.” Our favorite movies be they apocalyptic – end of the world scenarios, or set on some foreign field of battle, thrive on the hunger of our hearts for a hero.

Our heroes are larger than life – men and women of great courage, outstanding achievement or possessing some noble quality. My heroes run into burning buildings. My heroes ran into the towers on 9/11 or were victims on the inside whose focus was on the others victims in the building rather than upon themselves. They have a quality of selflessness which, under the pressure of a hopeless situation emerges from them in incredible acts of courage.

The most pivotal question in Revelation comes at arguably the second most pivotal moments in human history (v.2):

“Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”

Note it was not God, “Him who sat upon the throne” with a scroll in His hand asking this question. We are not told whether the “strong angel” was Michael the arch angel or Gabriel; what we are told is that this angel announced, he proclaimed with his question a challenge to the host of heaven and to men – produce if you can one who is worthy to open the scroll.

Our Champion

How long did the search take before it became clear that none of the elders, beasts, or representatives of men contained one so worthy; we cannot say. But that there was a dramatic pause in heaven is clear in John’s response in (v.4):

“So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.”

Could it truly be that John, the beloved apostle did not know the only one worthy to take the scroll?

Go back with me for a moment in your thoughts to the other pivotal moment in human history – the first one; the moment Jesus Christ made it possible for sinners to be forgiven, restored, and redeemed by God through His own precious blood.

Jesus did not shrink back from what His mission on our behalf would require of Him (John 12:27). Ours was a situation of absolute hopelessness. Consider the view from (Ephesians 2:1): we “were dead in trespasses and sins.”We were doomed to eternal destruction (John 3:18) because of our sin and unbelief but Jesus stepped into human history (Gal. 4:4-5): “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

Jesus made war with Satan from the cross (John 12:31-32) “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”

I love the song by Carmen called The Champion; the first time I heard it, I was on the road, headed towards Denver with a heavy load of steel.

At first, I was upset by what I was hearing, the song, more like a dramatic dialogue involves the scorn of Satan, demons as well as the humans who were present to see Jesus nailed to and hanging on the cross. But then, in much the same way as a boxer is counted out after being knocked to the ground by his opponent, the “referee” in the song began to apparently count someone out as well; and as he began with 10, 9, 8, 7, 6….I began to weep. This was not the counting out of my Savior – this was His victory!!!! Satan, that deceiver of men and enemy of God was being counted out as the countdown continued – the demons couldn’t believe it, they were out of their minds as the Savior of man overcame the “odds’ and defeated their leader.

What does it say in (Eph 2:1)? “And you He made alive!” (Eph.2 12-13):

“…at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

Worthy is the Lamb

In light of the victory which the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus gained for you and I, it should come as no surprise to us that He alone is worthy! He has prevailed over sin, over Satan and over death!

“Do not weep” declared one of the elders to John in (v.5), “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.””

These two titles point to Jesus deity as the “Root of David” and to His humanity as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.” As the “Root of David,” Jesus Christ is according to Paul in (Romans 15:12) quoting (Isaiah 11:1,10) “He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.””  

It is His blood which the Elders sing about in (v.9) – Jesus’ sacrifice for the sins of man. His selfless obedience to the will of His Father seems to be the greatest reason for His worthiness to take the scroll. The price He paid; the suffering which He endured – all that our redemption cost Him make Jesus Christ the ONLY ONE WORTHY to take the scroll.

But to me, He is worthy because of His courage and love for me. He did what I could not do – I was dead in trespasses and sins yet He ran into my life to rescue and redeem me.

Take note: it was not the Lion standing before the throne. Not a figure of power or might. Consider what the spotlight of heaven landed on in this moment (Re. 5:6-7):

“And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.”

There, before the throne stood a lamb, blood stains still apparent upon Him who had been slain.

Worshipping Our Hero and Great King

Note the response of the “four living creatures and twenty four elders” in (v.8); as soon as the Lamb took the scroll, and before He opened it, they all fell down in worship before Him:

“Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

Much has been said about the prayers of the saints because many prayers have been prayed and all prayer is seen as a sweet smelling aroma to God offered by His people – prayers of worship, praise, and adoration; prayers of dependance and of surrender. But considering what is happening in the moment depicted in (v.5), it seems as if the prayer Jesus taught men in (Matt. 6) is the specific “prayers of the saints” in mind here; do you remember it?

“In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9–13, NKJV)

As the light shines on Him who has the scroll – just then His kingdom was coming! Just then, His will was about to be done on earth as it was already in heaven.

I cannot imagine that worship in heaven is ever lack luster, is ever less than over the top, full blown, heartfelt, worship and yet the moment before us here depicts even GREATER worship! The elders and creatures “sang a new song” (v.9-10) to the Lamb:

“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

Beginning with their new song, praise rippled out from before the throne of God to the corners of heaven. A numberless assembly of angels joined their voices to the worship saying (v.12):

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

Finally all of creation – every created, living thing with a voice in heaven and on earth joins in the refrain of the new song, saying (v13): “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Eternal praise to the eternal God and His Son Jesus Christ is the theme of heaven’s worship.

Wrapping up, I have to say that in my life, I have looked up to a scant few people, but I have only ever had one true hero.

Jesus Christ is my hero.

I picture the moment highlighting Jesus amid all the host of heaven, spotlight on Him alone as I worship. I see Him with all the filth and evidence of the battle He fought for me still upon Him. I see Him who went to such incredible lengths to set me free. His blood is certainly NOT a common thing!

Can I challenge you to fix your minds eye and heart of worship on Jesus as you live, as you praise and as you worship Him? Our worship in prayer and in song is fueled by our knowledge that we are both known (1 Cor. 8:3) and also (Eph.1:6) “accepted in the beloved.” One day, we will be a part of the group singing that new song (this is prophecy after all) of the redeemed in the very presence of the Lamb of God who took away our sin!!!

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain; worthy is the King who conquered the grave!!!

May we ever worship Him in deepest devotion – even now, for all He is and all He has done for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Promise to be Kept

Last week, we sang the familiar Christmas time carol at church – O Come All Ye Faithful. The end of the Carol we sang added a musical bridge which celebrated the Lord by the words of Isaiah in (Isaiah 9:6-7):

“For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
and the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,


Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”

I love this section for many reasons the greatest of which is the fact that Jesus Christ IS the fulfillment of the words of the prophet. At Christmas time we celebrate the birth, not because we KNOW that He was born on December the 25th (we are not certain of that) but because we KNOW that Jesus Christ the eternal “took upon Himself flesh” (John 1:14, Phil. 2:7) and that He was sent, literally given (John 3:16) by God (Luke 1:34-35) to Israel and through them to us to “save” those who would believe (Matt1:21).

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies calling for a Savior to come from God not only in the first advent but also in the second. The FACT that “His name shall be ‘Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace;'” points to His return reminds us that Jesus is coming again not to die or resurrect from the dead but to reign as King. As (Revelation 5) shines the spotlight on Jesus so the prophet Isaiah points to and celebrates the FACT that hope is found in Christ alone!

The section is punctuated by the words: “The ZEAL of the Lord of hosts WILL perform this!” (all emphasis mine) Jesus HAS come and Jesus will come again. Hope is with Him. Forgiveness is with Him. Peace with God is with Him. Joy is with Him. The undeserved mercy and grace of God toward us is with Him! God always keeps His promises – He alone is truly most faithful!

“O come, let us adore Him! O come, let us adore Him! O come let us adore Him – Christ the Lord!“

Celebrating His coming and looking forward to His return, I wish you a Merry Christmas and pray that you receive God’s greatest gift today.

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A Reflection on Thanksgiving

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”  (Philippians 4:8–9)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! This morning, I’d like to share a brief reflection on thanksgiving.

When I think about gratitude – when I think about being thankful, I always find myself thinking of the converse of thankfulness as well because we are naturally prone to complain.  Being thankful or unthankful seems to depend on what our minds are focused on.  If we focus on what we lack, we’re going to be ungrateful. If we focus on what we have, we’re going to be grateful. That’s why I think Paul is on to something with that statement that he made to the Philippian church quoted above.  If there is anything praiseworthy, think on – “meditate (reflect) on these things.” In fact, he goes further. He says, “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, lovely, and of good report – meditate on these things.”

Today, you may come to the Thanksgiving table with many grievances. I dare say all of us can think of some things to complain about. And yet, for the cancer patient who has come into remission – I’m sure that gratitude rather than complaint fills their heart today; they would give thanks for their recovery. For many of us today, layoffs have either come or are on our horizon and even with pay increases, its been hard to make ends meet. The state of the economy has wreaked havoc on us; focusing on these things however will not lead to our gratitude, but to complaint.  However, when we focus on the fact that we still have a home, we still have a family, we still have a job, and above all believer: we are still recipients of the grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ, then we have SO MUCH to be grateful for. I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of ingratitude; however, while humbling, I don’t think that pointing to the fact that others may have it worse than you is the best way to inspire a heart of gratitude. It is true, it is always true that someone else has it worse than you or I but there must be something more that drives our gratitude than the fact that we have it better than the other guy. 

As I write, I wonder if you and I, under the poorest and saddest of circumstances could be grateful If all we had in this life was a relationship with Jesus – would that be enough? Would you agree that if we have Jesus, we always have something for which to be grateful to God about?

Paul himself said a few verses later in the above passage: (v.11) “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” He learned how to be content with a little or a lot; in either case he was grateful because Jesus was enough.  Frankly, many Christ followers could take a lesson from Paul on what it is to be grateful simply because what we have begins with Jesus: Eternal life, salvation, grace mercy, forgiveness; if Jesus isn’t enough, we’ll always be complaining. I know this too, that nothing in this world can truly satisfy – whatever you have of it, you’re always going to want more of. It’s difficult to be thankful when you’re always chasing after more. So, as we sit down to our Thanksgiving meal, whatever it might be, however much or however little, is there something you can be thankful for today?

One parting thought: Our gratitude should be our life song. We praise God from a heart of gratitude; we obey God from a heart of gratitude; we serve God from a heart of gratitude, and we love God from a heart of gratitude; not just on Thanksgiving; not just one day a year or every Sunday – gratitude is to be the pattern of our lives, our hearts song. Our life song. I’m grateful for the God who saved and is always patient with me. What are you grateful for today?

Happy Thanksgiving.

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Identifying Our Enemies – Consider the Heart

““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43–48)

Who is my enemy? That is the question of the day right; or is it? For people, identifying our enemy is simple as evaluating a person’s intentions toward us. If a person is running toward you with a gun or knife, he is your enemy right? Well, maybe; their intent depends on how they are holding the weapon and what they are saying too. They may be running past you and away from an attacking enemy; on the other hand, they may be pointing the gun or knife at you as they are running toward you – usually, it’s not hard to ascertain their intent. An invading army is a more obvious enemy while a sinister group of leaders may veil their true intent to harm you with deceptive words and promises. If they intend to harm our peace, our families, our livelihoods or our future we usually deem them to be enemies.

But are they really?

In the quoted section of His sermon on the mount, Jesus pointed the listener to a problem not in the scriptures but in the way the listener interprets them. When we read the Bible context is important, often people pull verses out of the context into which they’ve been nested and develop a doctrine, belief or principal which is not biblical; but the local context is not always the only one to consider. For example, Jesus begins this teaching with a quote from (Lev.19:18), “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord;” and contrasts it with another quote from Moses in (Deut. 23:3-6) where the Israelites were commanded to never seek the peace or prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites because of the way they treated them as they journeyed through the wilderness away from Egypt and towards the land of promise. The people apparently interpreted those commands to mean love those who agree with you or are like you in terms of national and religious identity and hate or despise those who do not. In (v.46-47) Jesus makes it clear to His audience (then and now) that it is no great act of love to love those who love you rather, to truly offer neighborly love, love those who curse, hate, use, persecute and despise you.

That’s what Jesus did!

Lately, I have been struggling with the question of how to handle my perceived enemies maybe you have been struggling similarly. To be honest, my eyes and ears inform me that I live in a world void of justice, sense, decency, morality – void of everything but hope in Jesus. The world seems to have declared the right to be wrong and the wrong to be right or, put another way – good to be evil and evil to be good. Trust me, I could list my grievances here and chances are that many of you would see it the same as I do but to do so would only fan the flame without arriving at an answer to my question: who is my (our) enemy?

The best way to get to the answer is to consider the question from Jesus’ perspective and to get that, I would direct your attention to the words He spoke just before He was persecuted and killed – “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”” (John 12:31–32) Satan, is the one Jesus called “the ruler of this world.”

Satan is the great deceiver who darkens the minds of people like Judas which betrayed the Lord for worthless coin. Through His Son, God has “delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (Colossians 1:13) As the apostle Paul made clear in (Ephesians 6:12): “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Taken with what we read in (Romans 5:10) “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life;” we get an understanding that the enemy of Christ was and is the prince of darkness.

Unpacking (Romans 5:10) we see that when we were literally hateful adversaries of Jesus Christ and captive servants of Satan (John 8:43-44) Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). Jesus died for people conducting themselves as His enemies. Why? Because He did not perceive people to be the enemy to be defeated rather, His war was against the enemy within us – the darkness of the deceiver and knowing that Jesus came to set the captive free should change the way we see those who are adversarial, hateful and worse to us.

The answer to a world full of people who seem to hate God, His word, His people and His church is to love them anyway – not to agree with their foibles or join them in those activities which oppose God; nor to compromise for the sake of our own peace or shrink back from our mission of preaching the gospel and discipling the believer. In order to be effective in evangelizing we must do what God did when He chose David to be king of Israel – “look upon the(ir) hearts.” (1 Sam. 16:7) It’s a common saying but we need to remember that every person is someone for whom Christ Jesus died and if we can see them for their need rather than for what they’ve done we have a chance of reaching them. Above all, we have a chance of sidestepping the bitterness which will no doubt fill our hearts if we let the iniquity abounding in the world today cause our hearts to grow cold (Matt. 24:12).

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You-Turn: An Imperative for New Life in Christ

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying,  “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”  Mark 1:14–15

In my life time, I have changed my mind many times about many things (I changed my mind about how to begin this post at least 10 times). Changing ones mind about anything requires an investment of thought and time far greater than what is necessary to change an opinion; especially when the issue at hand and the conclusion you come to about it may radically change the course of your life. The word often present in the New Testament when a person is presented with the facts concerning Jesus Christ is Metanoia (gk) which is defined as “a call to think differently; to reconsider” which will, I believe result in a change in the way one lives. I submit that apart from a change of mind about Jesus Christ no one can be saved.

Among Christians, men like Lee Strobel and C. S. Lewis (1) stand out to me as men who after great thought changed their minds about things that until that moment were nonsensical to them as former atheists. This is not to say that the conclusions of their research led to their petition for salvation rather, it lead to them receiving the salvation which had already been offered to them by God through Jesus Christ.  They changed their minds about Jesus and ultimately, all who will ever have the eternal life which they received through faith in Jesus Christ will have to do the same.

Some will say that, regarding eternal life, one need not come to repentance but only believe the gospel of Jesus Christ but this statement does NOT seem to agree with Jesus’ words in (Mark 1:15), there the Lord said “repent and believe the gospel.” I think that His words point to things which happen together, namely that faith and metanoia or a changed mind go hand in hand and can not happen apart from each other. In other words, repentance IS essential for salvation. In fact, God’ s drawing (John 6:44) us to Himself along with the Holy Spirits convicting us of sin (John 16:5-11) and our response to those interactions, first in our heads and then in our hearts are all required if anyone would be redeemed or born again.

To my point, I’d like to identify at least six notions which I believe a person will have to reconsider in the process of their becoming a Christian.

• The notion that death is the end. The Apostle Paul wrote in (Romans 6:23) “The wages of sin is death.”  We’ll talk about sin in a few moments but what about death? None of us have ever known life apart from the fact that everyone dies. In fact the writer of Hebrews declares that ” it is appointed to men once to die and then the judgment.” Only Adam and Eve knew of life apart from death, not simply because they were the first of us and the was no one before them to die but because death in the sense that Paul and the writer of Hebrews (arguably Barnabas) spoke of it was a consequence of their sin. As a result of their sin, death became a reality in two areas of human existence: First, it was a physical death. We all die because of Adam’s sin but it is also the death of relationship with God; in that sense death is an eternal lifetime seperated from God in hell. This is the point that we need to get: Death is a portal or doorway into either eternal life with God or eternal separation from God. We will ALL live forever in one of these two states.

• The notion that living is all about you. We all have one life on this planet right? But to what end? What is the purpose of life? To be happy? To find fulfillment? Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that man fills his life with endless futility if in fact we live simply to these ends. But His final words bring even the fatalistic views of Ecclesiastes to a powerful conclusion; He wrote

“Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing,whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14)

Looking to the New Testament, we discover that life is about coming to know the Savior and then declaring him to the world around us.  Jesus said, “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24–26) You might say that we have been given life to come to a decision about Jesus but in (1Cor. 5:9-10) Paul gives indication that the reason we have breath is to declare Jesus to the world and in the larger Westminster Chatechism we read, “The chief end of man is to glorify God.” Life is about more than “eating drinking and being merry for tomorrow we die” its about a choice that involves faith in the Son of God.

• The notion that the Bible and specifically the Gospel of Christ is fable, myth or a product of man’s imagination. Let’s be honest, no sensible person would change their lives over fiction or fantasy. With regard to the Bible, if it is simply fable why should we accept its teachings and live by them? To address ALL the ways that the Bible proves itself to be the word of God and worthy of both our attention and acceptance would take a lot of writing; instead let me position the entire argument on one point: the ends to which the original writers went to get the message out.

First consider that the gospel is the good news concerning the kingdom of God and the way which Jesus made to enter into it. The message hinges on three things: the everlasting Son of God came into the world in bodily form (John 1:14-18), suffered and ultimately died on a Roman cross (Luke 18:33, John 19:17-18) and then three days later rose again from the dead (1Cor. 15:3-8). The why that Jesus Christ endured what He did is also important – namely He died to save His people (by extention us as well) from their (our) sin. But what of those closest to Him who declared these things first and issued what we hold today as the word of God? Those men all risked and ultimately gave their lives to declare this message. Flesh it out. Would you die for a lie? All who declared the message that Jesus died and rose again as Messiah died for doing it and many still do today and their message still rings out 2000 years after it was first uttered. It is my belief that no one will believe in Jesus Christ apart from coming to accept the Bible as truth rather than fiction.

• The notion that Jesus Christ was merely a man. How much theology must one grasp before they can be born again? There is much to know about Jesus but to be saved we need know only a few things: He has the power and authority to save sinners (Luke 5:21-24) and that by faith in Him we find forgivness of sins:

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.” Ephesians 1:7–10

This is the message they preached in the days of the early church and which we declare today:

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:31

Paul said in (Romans 10:17) “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” This is where the Holy Spirit comes in as well to lead us in all truth. As I write, I’m waiting for a flight. I don’t know the people who built the plane. I don’t understand the science of aerodynamics.  I don’t know the pilots. But I see the plane and have a destination in mind so I’m going to board the plane, buckle in and trust. Likewise, we won’t know all that we can know about Jesus when we first believe but we will know that He died for our sins (personally) and that through Him alone eternal life is promised.

• The notion that we are good enough for the kingdom of God/ an acknowledgement of our sinful condition. By now you probably have recognized that the Holy Spirit is the primary vehicle to changing a person’s mind about the things we’ve mentioned (1Cor.2:10-12). Of course people play a part but if God doesn’t draw them via His Holy Spirit, they will NEVER hear us. The convicting of sin likewise is one of those areas where the Holy Spirit must work in the hearts of those who are coming to faith.

What is sin? Sin by its simplest definition is rebellion or disobedience against God. In our natural condition,  we recognize right from wrong in two ways: the inner voice of conscience which in turn is influenced by the mores of the world around us. As our world continues to “call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20) upsetting the moral fabric of the world through media and the indoctrination of the youngest among us, more and more of what God deems rebellion will be entrenched as “the way we do life” making it more challenging for us to reach the world but not more challenging for the Spirit of God.

By the word of God and the leading of His Holy Spirit a person will change his or her mind about themselves as a part of their coming to Jesus. A person who sees themselves as generally good, summarizing their goodness with phrases like: “I’ve never killed anyone” or “I’m a good person, I think” will not see their need for a Savior. Jesus Himself said to some self-righteous men,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Mark 2:17) Our self estimation will change as a part of our conversion experience. Words like the ones we find in (Rev. 21:8):  “…all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death,” really get to the point; you might not have stolen, killed or commited adultery but who among us has NEVER lied? Its not up to any man to convince another about sin, God’s Holy Spirit does that but statements like the one above along with this one in (1 John 1:8): If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us;” and (Romans 3:23) “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” make it clear that no one can claim sinlessness but Jesus Christ alone (Heb.4:15).

• The notion that God doesn’t exist. It all sort of begins and ends with this question. If God does not exist then the words of the Bible are not authoritative and the promises contained within the word are moot. Thus this question will be answered before a person can respond to faith in Jesus Christ. So, how do we know that God is alive AND actively involved in the lives of people today? For the academic and skeptic among us, using the Bible to defend the assertion might be questionable and to that end we have other proofs. Take for instance, biology. The complexities of the human body and how it functions in perfect harmony speaks loudly for an intelligent designer. ” The heavens declare,” Paul said, “the glory of God.” In fact Romans 1 and 2 speak to the proof creation itself offers for an intelligent Creator but again, some rebuff any attempt to prove God from the Bible.

It was God who loved us, and God who sent His Son (John 3:16). It was God by whom, for whom and to whom all things were made (Col.1:15). While I would not argue as Pascal did for the “vacuum or void in our hearts which can only be filled by God” I would say that many people seem driven with a desire to interact with or to worship some deity but God is not one of many, He is God alone. He interacts with both the redeemed and those yet to be redeemed through the small voice of His Spirit, through His word and through myriads of other voices and circumstances in our lives. I would say that God reveals Himself to those He is drawing but the bottom line is, in order to make that life altering decision to trust in Jesus Christ a person who has previously denied the existence of God will have changed their mind about God.

This post has been long but certainly NOT exhaustive regarding just how essential repentance is for salvation. I suppose that many apply the concept of repentance to a turning away from all sin and while turning from sin is part of it, that all begins and continues as a part of the process of sanctification.

When I became a Christian, the Holy Spirit had already been convicting me of a particular sin which I did repent of however, sin is so invasive and we are so thoroughly immersed in it, leaving them will take a life time. Nevertheless, repentance in the sense that we will have to change our minds about some key issues as a part of turning to Christ is an essential aspect to the process of believing in Jesus Christ.

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Breaking the Bread of Life

The part of our worship of the Lord Jesus Christ which we know as the communion service usually involves a calling to mind of the suffering of Jesus. It was during the Jewish feast of Passover when Jesus sat with His closest disciples and said:

“With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:14-15)

It is fitting to call to mind all that Jesus endured for our sakes in order to usher into our lives the grace and forgiveness of God but when Jesus says to all present “do this in remembrance of me” (v. 19b), I think that He was pointing at the result of His sufferings as well as the price He paid to aquire the result. Look at the entire verse:

“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19

Often in our remembrances we quote the Apostle Paul from (1Cor. 11:24):

“…and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

But Jesus’ body was NOT broken in the physical sense. It was typical in crucifixion to break the legs of the crucified to increase the stress on their lungs and ultimately suffocate them. But the Apostle John tells us:

“Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” (John 19:32 -33,36)

What then IS being emphasized by Jesus upon the breaking of the bread? To get to it we must first call to mind a reference that Jesus made of Himself in (John 6:48-51):

“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”

Jesus is the Bread of Life! At the Passover, Jesus broke ONE loaf of unleavened bread and distributed it piece by piece to those present, symbolizing not His suffering (though His suffering bought the privilege) but a unity. He gives to every one who believes in Him a piece of Himself making every believer a part of His body. What then IS He calling us to remember if not this unity which he brings to believers from every race and tribe, tongue and gender on the basis of His shared body and shed blood!?! What Paul was calling us to in 1 Cor.11 was to remember our connection to each other and to God through the body and blood of Jesus; a fact which is made more evident in his ongoing treatment of the subject in (1 Cor 11:17-34).

While a focus on Christ’s suffering is very important, could it be that the fact that darkness covered the earth for three hours of His suffering on the cross (see Luke 23:44-46) indicate that the Lord’s intention for the Lord’s Supper was to draw our attention to what His suffering produced; namely, a unified, justified, sanctified and one day glorified body of believers having one mission – to make disciples; abiding in one Spirit and living for one purpose and that being to glorify Him? I think so.

I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel here, but I do think that we ought to think more carefully on the fellowship of the saints during the Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s intention for this most important act of worship in His church.

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God’s Whisper – The Conversation Continues

“Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying,
“This is the way, walk in it,”
Whenever you turn to the right hand
Or whenever you turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21

I had a moment of clarity today after reading a Facebook post from a friend concerning the question of whether or not God still speaks today. As I thought about it, my thoughts turned to a recent conversation with my son-in-law concerning the word of God which, at the time upset me a little. He insisted that the Bible is not a “text-book” and that even without it people will come to faith. I took issue with him because the word of God declares in (Roman’s 10:17) that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Which is to say that salvation involves hearing the written word of God. I believe that word is spoken both in our ears by the witnessing disciple and into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The word the disciple shares comes from the written word and along with it the drawing word of God’s Spirit speaks from God’s heart into our own. These together work to bring a person to Jesus for salvation. My moment of clarity was in realizing that the Lord was using my son-in-law to remind me that God is still speaking today. But now, rather than a “thus says the Lord” to the masses its a “thus says the Lord ” to me.

To regard the Bible merely as a text-book is to view it on an gnostic or intellectual level only. But as I see it, the Bible is, among other things, a record of God’s interactions with mankind. The Bible itself is an authoritative record but it does not conclude the conversation. God still speaks today. His word, far from being a text book serves not only as a record but also as a proof text. As an authoritative record of what God DID say it serves as an indicator of what God WOULD say. You can be sure that any communication between you and the Lord today will NOT contradict what He has already said.

There was a time in the Biblical record when God was apparently silent, we call that time the Intertestimental Period. The 400 years between His concluding words to and through the prophet Malachi and the words spoken by the angel Gabriel to Zachariah and Mary mark a time when no word came from God.

But we insist that God still speaks today – 2022 years after Jesus walked among us; how can that be? The answer is simple, in the days of the prophets, the Holy Spirit did not indwell people; He abided ON rather than IN them. God gave and recalled His Spirit at a time of His choosing (for an example see 1 Sam. 16:14-15) but not so today. Since the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus the Holy Spirit is made a permanent resident in every believer (John 14:17). The indwelling Spirit of God serves as the guarantor of our inheritance with Jesus (2 Cor. 1:22, 5:5 and Eph. 1:14) as well as spiritual teacher, mentor and enabler. About the Spirit, Jesus said:

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:25–26

It is by the Holy Spirit that God speaks and His conversation continues with us to this day. As I awakened to this day, a point was immediately impressed upon my spirit from God. What I heard this morning was this: you can go out and cut your lawn today and continue to maintain that which will eventually belong to someone else or you can set your mind on My kingdom and its priorities. That this was not my flesh or conscience talking is clear as my flesh is not going to demand that I share the gospel with others. Without a doubt the Spirit of the Lord was speaking.

God still speaks to us today. Through others led by His Spirit, through His word, through music and through the created world around us – God still speaks. The psalmist wrote in (Psalm 19:1-4):

“The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.“

Paul also pointed to the natural created world in (Romans 1) when he wrote that man will have no excuse with regard to knowing or turning to the Lord because everything He has made directs our attention toward the Creator. The wind, the waves, the hammering thunder of Niagara, a babies heartbeat, bird songs, whale calls, dolphins chatter, thunder; these are some of the voices God uses to get our attention. He is still calling, still speaking and still trying to get our attention today and His purpose in speaking to us is to call the lost to Jesus Christ- to salvation in His name and after that, to develop and sanctify the believer.

Can you hear Him? Are you listening?

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Holy Intoxication

Summertime in South Texas is notoriously hot and humid, to compensate, residents of the region gravitate to anything cold and wet: a favorite watering hole, beach or ice cold beverage always hit the spot.

In my younger days, my go to used to be ice cold beer, wine-coolers and other alcoholic beverages. But it was so hot that (in my effort to stay cool) I would routinely drink too much too fast and end up drunk. Overtime (though I did not perceive myself as an alcoholic) I came under conviction about drinking alcohol at all. One Sunday, a day after the 4th of July, upon hearing the pastor preach about drunkenness, I came home and dumped it all: wine-coolers, beer, tequila, rum…..everything and to this day some 30 years later, never picked alcohol up again.

The pastor drilled down on this text:

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit…” (Eph. 5:18)

Of course he also shared from Proverbs 20:1, 23:31; Romans 13:13 and 1 Cor. 5:11 but I have a purpose in sharing the focal passage above along with a portion of my testimony. There is a lesson to be learned in this verse concerning spiritual life and it revolves around the words “drunk” and “filled.”

My testimony identifies a commonality for us concerning drunkenness and it boils down to this: We pour alcohol down our throats and it’s effects begin to take hold, slowly changing us, loosening us up and ultimately, for a time taking control of us. The result is termed”dissipation” by Paul: That is, excessive or “riotous” behavior. The Apostle exhorts (literally commands), don’t live this way, suggesting that he was speaking of a lifestyle of drunkenness. Then, right on the heals of the prohibition he connects the dots saying, “But be filled with the Spirit.” In other words, become so immersed in the Spirit of God that His presence and power within you control your attitudes, actions, thoughts and words. Consider the disciples on the day of Pentecost for instance: the Spirit of God fell on and filled them to such a degree that the people thought they were drunk; a supposition which led to an opportunity for Peter to explain what had happened to them in (Acts 2:13-21) and to go on and preach to them the gospel as well.

A person can become spiritually intoxicated in much the same way as they get drunk; only rather than wine it’s the word of God that such a person consumes. Jesus said in (Matt. 5:6) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Just as I chased cold drink to quench my thirst and refresh my body on a hot day one’s thirst for spiritual refreshment will lead them to immerse themselves in the Word of the Lord and avail themselves to the Spirit of God to such a degree that they become spiritually inebriated. In the best case, every word such a person would say, every action they take and attitude they express then would be informed by the word of God and His Spirit – they would be “holy, as I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16; Lev. 20:7)

I write this because I don’t know too many Christians if any who are as I described above and also because it’s not for lack of instruction that we are not. Just as drunkenness is a choice so too is holy intoxication, both the wine and the word are available to us for consumption, it is up to us to choose wisely and be filled with that which can make us more like Jesus.

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