There Is No Half-way With God
Dad was from a military background. He was very disciplined and taught discipline to his children. He would tell us, “If you’re going to do a job, do it right.”
We all had chores. It wasn’t enough for us to just do our chores – my dad would check our work. If it wasn’t right – do over until it was.
Ø Work ethic was important.
Ø Don’t start something if you’re not going to finish it.
Ø Whatever you do, do it with excellence.
Ø Quitting was not an option.
Midwest folks are like that. Being an Airforce brat I’ve lived across the United States. Not to slight those from other areas of the country, but I appreciate the rugged, hard-nosed work ethic that is bred into people in this part of the country.
The God we serve is also like that! There is no halfway with God.
He never leaves a job half done and when He’s finished with a job He declares, “It is good!” He said it after creation and any thing God puts His hand to receives that same stamp of approval. “It IS good!”
There is no halfway with God. God is a God of absolutes. God’s word reveals to us that there is right and there is wrong.
There is:
Ø Good and evil
Ø Righteousness and unrighteousness
Ø Holiness and debauchery
Ø Morality and immorality
Ø Purity and impurity
Ø Reward and punishment.
Society today wants to do away with God’s absolutes. We have become a culture of tolerance, i.e. accepting whatever depraved behavior any individual may deem appropriate for his or her life.
Certain absolutes in life cannot be ignored. You can’t be a little:
Ø Married
Ø Pregnant
Ø Dead
Ø Lost (physically) – men, STOP the car and ASK for directions.
Ø Lost (spiritually)
Absolutes exist – ignoring them does not make them go away – ignoring God’s absolutes or being ignorant of them does not make one less guilty – if one is operating outside the will of God he or she must still answer to God for the violation.
There is no halfway with God. Our God of absolutes, our God of doing a job and doing it right absolutely took care of the problem for those outside His will. God made it possible for lost sinners to be absolutely saved – to be set free from the bondage of sin. He did it through the sacrifice of His one and only Son Jesus.
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30)
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. (Matthew 27:50)
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. (Mark 15:37)
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)
These parallel passages reveal Jesus most likely declared, “It is finished” and then just prior to relinquishing his earthly body cried out, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.”
These last two statements that Jesus made were not the feeble gasps of a man who was breathing his last, but rather scripture implies they were triumphant shouts from the Savior of mankind who had just completed his mission here on earth.
Focusing on the statement, “It is finished”, Jesus absolutely accomplished what he came to earth to do. Nothing was left unfinished.
Ø Jesus became the Lamb of God that took away the sins of humanity. He is our Retribution.
Ø Jesus paid the price that was necessary to appease the justice and righteousness of God. He is our Redemption.
Ø Jesus bridged the gap and restored the broken relationship between God and His creation. He is our Reconciliation.
Scripture speaks of how prior to Jesus’ death the Old Testament High Priests had to annually enter into the Holy of Holies to offer the sacrifice of Atonement for the sins of the people.
But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. (Hebrews 9:7)
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. (Hebrews 10:11)
The blood of goats and heifers was not sufficient and had to continuously be offered. The futility of the sacrificial system was obvious in its inability to completely remove mankind’s sin.
However, we serve the God of absolutes! There is no halfway with God. It is finished! The one and only Son of God became the final sacrifice of Atonement.
When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. 23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:11-14; 22-28)
There is no halfway with God. It is finished! Once for all!
Jesus suffered and died; taking our place his sacrifice absolutely saved us.
One might question what “once for all” encompasses.
One man brought sin and death into the world – Adam
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12)
Only a perfect, spotless sacrifice could erase the curse that sin brought upon mankind.
But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! (Romans 5:15)
No other sacrifice needs to be made – the only requirement for forgiveness and eternal life.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be [have the opportunity to be] made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
There is no halfway with God. It is finished! Once for all! Jesus has done all that Jesus needs to do for humanity to be saved; to be restored to that relationship with God that God willingly sacrificed His one and only Son to achieve.
The only requirement on the part of every individual to receive this priceless gift of salvation is that he or she calls on the name of the Lord.
There is no halfway with God. It is finished! Once for all! Jesus does not have to pay that awful price of torture and death ever again! Now the responsibility is upon every person who hears this good news of Jesus Christ.
Jesus paid the price for your sins and my sins – the only thing that will keep you from receiving eternal life with your heavenly Father is rejecting the grace of God – that free, undeserved gift that Jesus extends to every person.
Some misconception people think will allow them to receive salvation:
Ø An intellectual understanding of God
Ø Church membership
Ø Family history
Ø Good works
Our part:
Ø Believing by faith that God has done all of this because He loves you.
Ø Repentance – turn from going away from God and begin to go toward Him.
Ø Commitment – Promising God that if He will forgive you and allow you to spend eternity with Him in heaven, you will follow and serve Him the rest of your life on earth.
There is no halfway with God. It is finished! Once for all!
Once a person becomes a believer – a follower – a disciple of Jesus Christ – God knew we would need help here on earth before we leave for heaven. He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell those who believe.
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17)
The Holy Spirit:
Ø Convicts
Ø Teaches
Ø Empowers
Ø Enables
He produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in us. Everything we need to live an abundant life now, Jesus accomplished it when he died on the cross and then sent us His Holy Spirit. There is no halfway with God. It is finished! Once for all!
As we consider Good Friday and what it means to us as believers, we rejoice that God loved humanity enough to allow His Son Jesus to die for us. The torture, the ridicule, the pain and ultimately the death that Jesus endured was an awful price to pay, but we are so grateful that He was willing and that His mercy enabled Him to achieve that task. There is no halfway with God. It is finished! Once for all!
God could not just let Jesus die and remain in the grave – in three days we will celebrate the culmination of God’s plan – Jesus arose and is alive.
Knowing that we serve a God that doesn’t do anything halfway, why don’t you as believers examine your life. Are you following through with your commitment to God like you said you would? Have you been living the holy lifestyle that God requires from his children? Have you been setting a Godly example with your life? Have you been busy sharing your faith and making disciples like God would have you do?
What about you who have never willfully accepted the free gift of salvation that God has prepared? The work is done – the sacrifice has been made – you simply need to accept if by faith. Begin a new life with Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord. Pray a simple prayer asking God to forgive you of your sins. If you will do that and then get active in a local church, you will see miraculous changes in your life and life will be better than you’ve ever experienced before. Why?
There is no halfway with God. It is finished! Once for all! And God always does what He says He will do!
RETURNING TO LEARNING
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Vacation Bible School is over, and our kids will soon be going back to the books. They will be bringing home assignments, doing lessons, reading books, writing reports. In other words, it is time for "returning to learning."
I have noticed over the years, as both a teacher and a student, that kids have several methods that they employ in doing book work: [1] One can be called the "guess" method. The idea is to read the title, scan the table of contents, think about it a bit, and spin off some wild guess about what it is all about. The idea is to sound so intellectual that the teacher is snowed and doesn't realize you don't know what you are talking about. [2] Another may be called the "borrow" method. The student finds someone else old report on the same study - maybe scanning Cliff's Notes or the comic book version - signs his name and passes it in as the result of his own toil and study. [3] Some students take a really radical approach. They actually read the selection, reflect on what it says, draw their own conclusions.
Whichever method you may have used, most of us would agree that the first 2 methods are not completely honest. And while at times they might succeed, the student himself benefits very little. Only the one who reads and examines the contents receives any real benefit.
Many people contend the Bible is the inspired word of God. No doubt you agree. How did you come to that conclusion? Did you [1] guess? Are you one who reads the cover - "B-I-B-L-E, yes that's the book for me," and that's good enough? Do you [2] borrow? Preacher so-and-so believes it, and scholar whats-iz-name accepts it, so who am I to disagree? Or do you actually [3] read it? More than anything else, I would like to see you as those who "search the Scriptures to see if these things [your preacher says] are so."
How many times have I heard people say, "I wish I knew what God's will is" in such and such a case. But the fact is, God has already revealed His will on many issues of life, and in principle on every issue of life. There is a bumper sticker/slogan that says, "Jesus is the answer - what's the question?" It is a fact that the Bible has answers to questions and problems we haven't had to face yet. Christians often avoid severe problems because they have been obedient to the instructions of the word of God. We are taught to avoid evil before we are involved in it.
Which is better - to teach a young woman "thou shalt not commit adultery," or to try to convert her as a prostitute?
Which is better - to teach a young man "to attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you," or to try to get him, as a young father, off the welfare rolls?
The cure for lying, and cheating, and unruliness, and immorality, and a host of other societal ills, is found in the cleansing power of the word of God.
The Bible is not "Words only" (see verse 5.) We make a serious mistake when we approach the Bible as we would any other book. 1 Thessalonians 1:13 says, "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe." The Bible, unlike any other book, produces something of value in the believing reader. Reading the Bible is not just an intellectual exercise, but an encounter with God!
Paul begins in verse 2 with thanksgiving to God and prayers in their behalf, because, he says in verse 5, "our gospel did not come to you in word only." It produced something in those believers. There was a drawing power there - it was a spiritual event - it produced full conviction of its truth.
Can you remember when God's word got hold of your mind and heart? Was it, as you recall, a mere intellectual event? Did someone talk you into accepting its message? Or did something within you insist - demand - that you respond to the call of the eternal Word of God on your life? The Bible, if we take it seriously, demands a response! Yours was no unique experience. It happens to all who receive the word with gladness. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, working through the living Word.
Part of Paul's thanksgiving was that, having heard, they "became imitators of us [Paul] and of the Lord, having received the Word" (see verse 6). When we receive the Word, we become imitators of the conduct of the great people of God. Response is a necessary sequel to having received the Word.
This letter to the Thessalonians is likely a response to the their request for more information regarding their Christian walk. In Acts 17, Paul had brought them the gospel, but had been driven out prematurely by his enemies. They had only brief instruction in the application of the Gospel to their lives. Later he sent Timothy back for a few weeks, but they needed more. How should they conduct themselves sexually as believers? How do they act toward their unsaved neighbors? What happens to those believers who die before Jesus returns - will they miss out on heaven? When is Jesus coming back? They wanted to understand. They wanted to be free of the anxieties that had plagued their lives. Paul was able to write them, and show them the inner piece that comes only as we align ourselves with the will of our Creator as found in the Word. The imitation of Christ - and of the great saints of the ages - grows out of a commitment to His Word. Before you can help anyone else to Christ, you must be secure in Him yourself.
Then the Word of the Lord can "sound forth," or "ring out" from you as it did from the brethren of Thessalonica (see verse 8). Christian ethics is based on the foundation fact that man's highest good is to will - to desire and do - the will of God. It is not God's will that any should perish. It is God's will that all should come to repentance. Therefore, this should be our will, too. Having received all that God has for us, it becomes our duty to "ring out" His praises to those around us.
Strangely, having received good things from God, enjoyed it, been satisfied in it, we seem extraordinarily quiet about it. do we have an illusion that, even though we need the word, others don't? Do we have the illusion that there are some who do not need Jesus? That there are some who are "too" something to be interested? Too rich or too poor, too sick or too healthy, too powerful or too downtrodden, too sinful or too good?
Or do we have the illusion that it is good enough for us to just be here and generally invite everybody, without making the personal effort to "ring out" the Word?
That is simply not enough! We found value in imitating the lives of faithful believers. Others will be imitators of us if we sound forth the Word day by day in our walk and in our talk.
Consider, is not the outline from verses 5-8 of our text an outline of your spiritual pilgrimage? Somehow the Word came to you; you became an imitator of those who were strong in the Word; and as you became strong, you "rang forth" the Word and others became and imitator of you. That's how the Gospel came to us over the span of 2000 years. May it ever increase for thousands to come until Jesus comes again.
Rev. Daryl Fansler - Petersburg United Methodist Church - Petersburg, IL.
A Holy Nation That is Wholly Yours, 0 Lord
Exodus 19:5-6
I have always been hesitant to identify the United States as a "holy nation." It isn't that I seek to deny the presence and prominence of God within our nation's history. That is undeniable!
What bothers me is that instead of seeing our status as a "holy nation" as a grave responsibility, we have understood it to be an endorsement of every action. We have justified the most blatant grabs for political power by clothing them in religious language.
All too often, God has been an afterthought to put a divine stamp of approval upon what we wanted to do anyway. In the past, we have used the Christian faith to support the institution of slavery and to cheat Native Americans out of their birthright.
On July 4, 1852, abolitionist Frederick Douglass revealed the hypocrisy in our claim to be a holy nation. He issued this challenge:
"WHAT TO THE AMERICAN SLAVE IS YOUR FOURTH OF JULY? I ANSWER A DAY THAT REVEALS TO HIM MORE THAN ALL OTHER DAYS OF THE YEAR THE GROSS INJUSTICE AND CRUELTY TO WHICH HE IS THE CONSTANT VICTIM.
TO HIM YOUR CELEBRATION IS A SHAM; YOUR BOASTED LIBERTY AN UNHOLY LICENSE; YOUR NATIONAL GREATNESS, SWELLING VANITY; YOUR SOUND OF REJOICING ARE EMPTY AND HEARTLESS; YOUR DENUNCIATION OF TYRANTS, BRASS-FRONTED IMPUDENCE; YOUR SHOUTS OF LIBERTY AND EQUALITY, HOLLOW AND MOCKERY;
YOUR PRAYERS AND YOUR HYMNS, YOUR SERMONS AND THANKSGIVINGS, WITH ALL YOUR RELIGIOUS PARADE AND SOLEMNITY ARE TO HIM MERE BOMBAST, FRAUD, DECEPTION, IMPIETY AND HYPOCRISY-- A THIN VEIL TO COVER UP CRIMES WHICH WOULD DISGRACE A NATION OF SAVAGES."
lnspite of this stinging indictment, I am not willing to see us as a totally secular nation, devoid of all references to God within our public life. This secular approach ignores the beliefs of the early settlers who thought of themselves as part of a New Exodus led by God.
In their preaching, the ministers of the colonial period use the Exodus story of Israel to explain our nation's story. In sermon after sermon, they proclaim that like the Israelites, God had led them from the bondage of poverty and religious oppression in Europe to freedom within this promised land of America.
Most of our founding fathers would have no problem using these words from Exodus to describe our destiny among the nations of the world:
"ALTHOUGH THE WHOLE EARTH IS MINE, YOU WILL BE FOR ME A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS AND A HOLY NATION."
Our ancestors inscribed the great seal of the U.S. with these words: "a new order for the ages. " They envisioned America as a new beginning, not only for their families, but all humanity. Their goal was to construct a holy nation that would be an example of godliness for all others to follow.
What does it mean to be a "'holy nation?" Is it merely a license to trample upon those less fortunate nations who do not enjoy this special relationship with God? Or does it mean something more is required of us than those who do not have this status?
Let us return to the Bible to capture the true meaning of holiness.
These verses come out of the relationship that God establishes with Israel. It has been three months since Moses has led the people out of Egyptian slavery. Again and again, God has demonstrated his love for these people. He has carried them "'on eagles' wings" by providing food and water in the wilderness.
On a mountaintop, God pledges to be their God and, in turn, Moses, on behalf of the nation, promises to worship God alone.
This whole relationship depends upon this great IF. "IF YOU OBEY ME FULLY AND KEEP MY COVENANT, THEN OUT OF ALL NATONS YOU WILL BE MY TREASURED POSSESSION."
Sometimes this critical understanding escapes us. The nation of Israel itself: its leaders and its system of government-- is not holy. God alone is holy.
Israel misunderstood this promise believing that their status as a "holy nation" provided a magical barrier against the destruction of their land. When the Babylonians threatened the nation, they did not fear because God would take care of his people.
The Israelites didn't understand that their worship of other gods and their disobedience of God's laws had destroyed this relationship which made them a holy nation. When the Babylonians swept into Jerusalem, destroying the temple and carrying the elite of society into captivity, they wondered aloud "Why God had left them."
The truth was that long ago they had left God.
May we learn from the mistakes of the Israelites. As a holy nation, our holiness flows from our relationship with a holy God. We are not holy in ourselves, but only channels through which God's holiness flows.
One of our most spiritually insightful presidents understood this. In the midst of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln said in his Second Inaugural Address:
"GOD IS ABOVE MANIPULATION BY ONE NATION OR GROUP OF PEOPLE. ISAIAH RECORDS THE LORD SAYING, "FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE MY WAYS YOUR WAYS." ALL NATIONS AND PERSONS ARE UNDER THE GOVERNANCE AND JUDGMENT OF GOD."
Although Lincoln was convinced of the justness of his cause, the preservation of the Union, he did not presume that every one of his actions as President was untinged by sin and should be identified with the will of God.
Instead, in a war where both North and South claimed that God was on their side, Lincoln believed that God stood over both as the judge of all nations.
Lincoln understood that holiness doesn't mean that God is on our side, but rather that we are on God's side. This is what it means to be a holy nation.
Our founding fathers recognized that nations, as well as people, fail to fulfill the call to holiness. Perfection escapes all of us this side of heaven.
That's why we like Israel need the prophets: to point out the injustice and hypocrisy that remains within our nation. The prophets keep before us what it is that God requires of us: to obey him and to honor this relationship that we have established.
The prophets remind us that we are not only under God's judgment, but also under his grace. The prophets never pronounce judgment without also promising grace. If we will only repent and turn back to God we can be a holy nation once more.
My prayer is that we will be honest with ourselves as a nation. Let us gather in celebrations throughout this land, telling our history, warts and all. Let us tell of those times when we have championed the ideals of liberty and justice throughout the world as well as those times when we have denied these same rights to some of our own citizens.
Let us remember those wars which have united us in common purpose as well as those which have nearly destroyed our union. Let us tell our history honestly in all its beauty and all its ugliness, for it is ours.
We are Christian realists who know the depth of sin and the promise of God's grace. Our nation may fail in living up to its ideal, but out of its repentance, holiness shall rise anew.
For we stand not only under God judgment, but thankfully under his grace. This means that God isn't finished with us yet: as people or as a nation.
We may still be holy if only we stand on the Lord's side. Amen.
Rev. Gerald Boutelle - Central Presbyterian Church - Petersburg, IL.
Ananius' Annunciation
Acts 9:1-20 Rev. 5:11-14
We usually focus on Saul's conversion, with our lesson from Acts, but I was no less impressed with the change in heart Ananius had to experience.
Have you ever had to "come to terms" with a person who was determined to destroy you?
This is the position Ananius was in. This is what God asked him to overcome.
I. Let's look at what Ananius knew about Saul. As a member of the fledgling Church in the main city north of Jerusalem, Ananius had seen some of the refugees from Saul's wrath.
A. He had been shocked when he heard that zealous Jews had in stoned Stephen. This had been the first blow for a wave of persecution that scattered Jesus' followers.
B. Saul of Tarsus emerged as the radical spokesman inciting violent protests and riots against any suspected followers of Jesus. He -vowed to pursue and hunt down any adherents of the new faith wherever they tried to escape.
C. The latest word from Jerusalem indicated this same Saul had received official authorization from High Priest, with letters of introduction, to pursue and persecute the followers of Jesus in Damascus.
II. Why Damascus? It was the devout Jew's dream and obligation to visit the Temple at least once in his life time. For those who had been dispersed to the North, the official pilgrimage began in Damascus. It was a check-in, information center. When it was heard that there was a fledgling community of Jewish followers of the Nazarene operating in Damascus, it was feared they would corrupt and infiltrate the establishedpilgrimage. The reason for having an outlying posts like Alexandria to the South and Damascus to the North was to help insure the purity of the Temple, not introduce and encourage its defilement. This rival sect must be stamped out!
III. Let's try to put ourselves in Ananius' place -- - - - - - - - - - - -
"I was not the leader of the congregation. I was just an average merchant with connections in Israel. I had followed with great interest the miracles and teachings of Jesus. I was appalled when the Jewish authorities had conspired for his death, but rejoiced when I heard it was not the end. His followers witnessed his resurrection appearances many times over. I appearances many times over. I was proud to be a part of a group that celebrated Jesus' on-going victory in Diaspora.
A. "Then one night I was singled out by God himself for a direct revelation! Jesus called to me by name. At first I thought it was just a dream, but the voice persisted while I gathered my wits. When I answered, 'Yes, I hear you,' the Lord asked me to go look for Saul of Tarsus in the middle of the market district of Damascus.
"God was only asking me to face my greatest fear--to approach my sworn enemy and certain death. Of all the things I had hoped God would reveal to me--this was not on my list! This was very disturbing. Yes, I know that Jesus was crucified for us, and we were called to take up our crosses and follow--but literally?!
B. "While I was mulling over this terrible request, God added that Saul was in a vulnerable condition...and needed my help. You can imagine the thoughts that raced through my mind in that instant. one moment I was trembling with fear for my very life, and in the next I was standing over my adversary—'GOTCHA!' But God's message dashed those thoughts too. I was not to take advantage of his helplessness I was supposed to go and lay hands on him and in the name of Jesus heal his blindness. That was asking almost more than to just approach a mortal enemy.
C. "When I regained my wits the second time, I found the courage to question God, 'Lord, are we talking about the same Saul I have been hearing about? I have seen his victims! You would not believe the terrible things he has said about anyone associated with you. People have died at his hands and he has sworn he will hunt us down to the ends of the earth. Now he has official papers to pursue his vendetta right here in Damsacus!'
D. "The Lord did not directly address my fears and apprehensions, but instead gave me a glimpse of his plan. 'You must go to him because he is to be my special instrument. He will become the greatest missionary of all time, making my name known to hosts of gentiles, even kings of foreign lands as well as all Israel.. And, yes, like me, I will show him that he must suffer for my sake.'
E. "So I was to be the human connection to God's newest and greatest Apostle. My mind was still not comprehending. Why me? This was not foolish-it was suicide. And if indeed he was helpless - why not seize the opportunity to remove this threat? But God had spoken to me. And approached this wretched, tormented shell of a man (he had not eaten for 3 days), I put my arms around him and spontaneously said 'Brother Saul?' He looked up questioningly with unseeing eyes. Later he told me that he had a parallel vision--he even knew my name. In one act I gently placed my hands on his eyes and said, 'The Lord Jesus has sent me--the same One who met you on the road--he sent me so that you might receive your sight and the Holy Spirit.' In an instant matter fell from his eyes and he could see again--at first the light was too bright. He stood up and returned with me to the other followers, and then requested baptism in the name of Jesus. After that we had a meal together and he was able to eat and his strength returned. We all marveled--was this the same man we had so feared from a distance?"
IV. It's easy for us to live only in the realm of our own ideas and efforts. We make up our mind about what we want and scheme about what we want others to do for us. But others often frustrate us because they have their own ideas and plans about what they want out of life and their job.
This (and the experience of Ananius and Saul) should bring us back to God in Prayer!
Do you believe that (If we are truly open to God's plan and the active working of the Holy Spirit) even our worst tormentor and detractor can be transformed into our loving partner in something greater than we can even imagine?
This is more than a wistful Hope. This is seeking the kingdom of God and God's glory while still living in the here-and-now. The only thing keeping us from experiencing this "resurrection power" is our lack of faith and prayer.
Easter Devotional Message - Eddie Bratton - Petersburg Church of Christ
BOUND BY HONOR
Isaiah 53:6
When he would return from his days, weeks, or months long journeys, he walked in the door as if he had been to the neighbors, or down to the mill. "Well with thee, Betsy." If Betsy was surprised to see him, she didn't show it. She simply put another dipper of cracked corn in the pot for supper.
Simon Kenton was famous for all his wanderings and exploits in many ways. So when he returned, the word got around to the surveyors, the saddler's shop, the smithy, the tavern "Simon Kenton is back." He had been a leader in fighting, then making peace with the Indian tribes. To them, "Cutta-ho-tha is back." To the Springfield based 3rd Brigade of the 1st division of the Ohio Militia, "General Kenton is back."
To a lawyer in Springfield, it meant time to go see the Sheriff. Simon Kenton had signed his name to another man's debt. The debt was long overdue, and if Simon had no lands, or money, or property to settle the debt, "The law," said the lawyer, "would have his body."
The town of Urbana had just built a new jail, but as yet they had no jailor to take charge of their first prisoner, Simon Kenton. So the people of the town promptly called a meeting to name Simon Kenton for its jailor. So Simon Kenton moved his family into the jailors lodging, and took possession of the body of his prisoner, Simon Kenton.
But he did not have to spend his time in a jail cell. A provision of Ohio law permitted a prisoner "town bounds" if he had a proper bondsman. So three of "his boys" from the militia put up bond, and the prisoner walked "town bounds," back and forth, as a man might pace a cell.
Often his youngest, little 'Lizbeth, would walk with him. When she got tired she would cry, "High up." And the big frontiersman would hoist her up on his shoulders and carry her back to the jail. She was the shining spot of joy in his confinement.
One night he woke out of a dead sleep with a sense of danger he had not felt since his days on the trail. His wife was gone from beside him, and a candle flickered from the next room. Betsy was kneeling by the bed of little 'Lizbeth - she was glassy eyed and breathing hard, hot with fever. Simon Kenton brought her water she could not swallow, and finally had to look into those blue eyes, empty in death.
After a funeral reading in the crowded jail house, Simon Kenton raised the small casket to his shoulder, heading down Locust Street to the cemetery. At Ward Street the big man stopped. He had reached town limit. He dropped the box from his shoulders and others took it from him. He watched the procession move on without him.
All his life he had been free with a freedom his townspeople could never know. Even his temporary, year long confinement had seemed only an inconvenience. Now he realized entirely his imprisonment, and the cost of taking another mans debt. He could not stand at the grave of his beloved daughter 'Lizbeth. In the integrity of his character, jailor Simon Kenton could not break the bond for prisoner, Simon Kenton - even for the burial of his own small child.
A long time ago, God bound Himself How can that be? If God be God, how can He be limited in any way? According to the Bible, He bound Himself in a special covenant with sinful humanity, that He would do whatever it took to save mankind from itself He took upon Himself the responsibility for our debt of sin. It was not forced upon Him. He did it out of the integrity of His character.
Through the seed of Abraham, all the now cursed nations of the earth would be blessed. In spite of the rejection and the rebellion and the blasphemies, God remained true to His covenant. He would fulfill His covenant, while remaining true to His justice - which declared "the wages of sin is death"; and His mercy, for "God is not willing that any should perish."
When the fullness of time demanded that He deliver His Son, Jesus, to make good on His promise, God had to turn Mm over to those who would mistreat Him and abuse Him to the point of death. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." God had to stand aside and withhold His wrath, while His Son died. Even when Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me," God could only turn off the sun and let it happen.
Surely God felt then the full weight of His self imposed confinement, and the cost of taking on our debt of sin. "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." (Isaiah 53:6)
How we need to heed the words of the apostle Paul, who five times called himself "the prisoner of Christ." "You are not your own. You have been bought with a price." (I Corinthians 19b, 20)
No one remembers the one whose default on his debt sent Simon Kenton to jail. Whoever it was, he could never repay Simon for the terrible price paid for taking on the debt. But we know who paid the price for our sin-debt. Nor can we ever repay Him for the price He paid. It was God's own Son. We are eternally in His debt. "Therefor glorify God in your body." (I Corinthians 6:20)