My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
What greater advocacy could be portrayed than that which is made available to sinning believers through Jesus? As a result of His sacrifice, Jesus is able to communicate with His Father on our behalf and restore us into proper fellowship. Without our advocate Jesus in His place of intercession, our sins would separate us from the Father. Jesus, in His position of mediator, reveals the greatest picture of our need for forgiveness. In turn, we too, as we strive to be like Him, must forgive others who have inflicted wrongdoing and hurt on us. This truth is brought to greater light in Matthew 6:14-15: For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Unforgiveness can indeed be "rubble" that hinders our Christian progress. Pastor John
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Romans 12:3
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower once rebuked one of his generals for referring to a soldier as "just a private." He reminded him that the Army could function better without its generals than it could without its food soldiers. "If this war is won," he said, "it will be won by privates." In the same way, the common and ordinary Christians are the backbone of the Church. God's Church has great evangelists, super congregations led by dynamic ministers, and wealthy brethren who are able to finance great works, but if the work of the Lord is to be done - if the gospel is to be taken to the lost - it will be the "ordinary" Christian, made extraordinary by the Holy Spirit, who will do it.
Pastor John
General Dwight D. Eisenhower once rebuked one of his generals for referring to a soldier as "just a private." He reminded him that the Army could function better without its generals than it could without its food soldiers. "If this war is won," he said, "it will be won by privates." In the same way, the common and ordinary Christians are the backbone of the Church. God's Church has great evangelists, super congregations led by dynamic ministers, and wealthy brethren who are able to finance great works, but if the work of the Lord is to be done - if the gospel is to be taken to the lost - it will be the "ordinary" Christian, made extraordinary by the Holy Spirit, who will do it.
Pastor John
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Galatians 5:1a
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free.
As we celebrate Independence Day this past week, I hope we thought about the personal freedoms that being Americans gives us. However, one of the myths circulating today is that Christianity stifles personal freedom. Even though scripture speaks of the liberty that Christ offers, some people resist Christianity as an obstacle to freedom. These people base their feelings on the problem of legalism in the church (a list of "dos and don'ts" rather than a relationship of love and grace) and their own desire for pure autonomy (the right to do whatever they want with no accountability). Both of these ideas are wrong. True Christian freedom is Christ-like freedom. Christ based His behavior on what His Father wanted Him to do (John 8:29). His freedom has no hint of legalism, but is centered around the absolute standards of God the Father. Let's enjoy our freedom as Americans and Christians, taking inspiration from the most liberated being who ever lived, Jesus Christ!
Sharon Armstrong
As we celebrate Independence Day this past week, I hope we thought about the personal freedoms that being Americans gives us. However, one of the myths circulating today is that Christianity stifles personal freedom. Even though scripture speaks of the liberty that Christ offers, some people resist Christianity as an obstacle to freedom. These people base their feelings on the problem of legalism in the church (a list of "dos and don'ts" rather than a relationship of love and grace) and their own desire for pure autonomy (the right to do whatever they want with no accountability). Both of these ideas are wrong. True Christian freedom is Christ-like freedom. Christ based His behavior on what His Father wanted Him to do (John 8:29). His freedom has no hint of legalism, but is centered around the absolute standards of God the Father. Let's enjoy our freedom as Americans and Christians, taking inspiration from the most liberated being who ever lived, Jesus Christ!
Sharon Armstrong
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