As if Jesus cares…

I was driving on Wednesday when I heard two back to back radio ads.  The first reminded me that I only had a short time to buy flowers for Easter.  The second wanted to let me know that I needed to buy some new clothes so I could look my best on Easter morning.  As if Jesus cares whether I bought flowers or new clothes.  Many of His followers in the world can afford neither.  Do we really think that Jesus is more pleased with the man who has new clothes than He is with the the man who has ragged clothes? Of course not!  Jesus is primarily concerned with the heart, while the hearts of men and women are often concerned about what those around them will think.

The only things in the New Testament I read about clothes are that we should be modest (I Timothy 2) and that we should not play favorites based on attire (James 2).  On a related note, if we really wanted to be symobolic in our attire for Sunday then perhaps we should wear work clothes to remind us of the cost of following Jesus.  His road was a hard road of suffering.  Are we greater than He?  In fact Jesus instructs us to take up our cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9).

Jesus, please help us to keep everything in perspective of Your life, Your death, Your resurrection!  You are the glorious Lamb of God that was slain!  Help us to complain less and act in love more!

Advertisement

 

What happened to Jesus of Nazareth?

This post is an aberration from the travel log.  If you see on “Sundays Part 1” post a comment questioning/denying the death and resurrection of Jesus, it refers to the Swoon Theory put forth by the Muslim sect “Ahmadiyya”. For those of you who would like more of a scholarly approach to the subject you can download a pdf file I wrote on the subject a good number of years ago.  It discusses the 7 primary theories.

I hope you enjoy.  

resurrection

Love your neighbor by sharing the truth of the Risen Savior.

 

Sunday with the Lord’s people! – part 1

June 1, 2008 – Sunday

Today we had a wonderful time of worship.  Between the Lord’s Supper service, music, and preaching the time was from 10 AM to 1 PM.  As usual it was beautiful and sincere.  During the Lord’s supper service I had the privilege to share the Scriptures.  We talked about the past, present, and future in relation to remembering the Lord’s death and resurrection.  

The past – Jesus filled the Old Testament prophecies concerning His death and resurrection – see Isaiah 53. And we look back to what Jesus did on the cross as the substitute for our sin.  Our Savior the Righteous One who gave His life for sinful people like me and you.

The present – As the Apostle Paul instructs us, we examine our hearts and confess any sin – because sin hinders fellowship with God (I Corinthians 11:17-34).

The future – Our Savior is Risen, and He will return for us, and we will share the Cup with him in the New Kingdom (Matthew 26:26-30).  The certain hope of all true believers is this: Our future is with our King!

Pepe, Judy, and I went to lunch, and we had a good time and a profitable conversation about church life.

 

 

 

Jesus – we see Him!

As we read the Gospels we see Jesus in all His fullness. Jesus – the God-Man…fully God and fully human leaving His place of perfection in heaven and humbling Himself to put on human flesh in order to live with and serve fallen humans who were trapped slaves of sin. We see Him in power command the storm to stop, turn water to wine, and feed thousands with a meal for one. We see Him in compassion teach the multitudes, make the blind see, heal the paralyzed, comfort the sorrowing, and give hope to the poor. We see His righteous anger at those who would distort faith for personal gain… those who make God’s work into a lucrative business. We see His anger at false teachers who trap many with their lies. We see Him mourn the pain of death as He faces the consequences of a fallen world. We see Him put aside the easy road and walk the path to Golgotha – the hill of the skull. We see all creation tremble at His death, the bright sun even hidas Jesus paid for our sins. But on the third day, what a glorious morn, Christ risen indeed! Do you know Him? If you do, how will your participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus impact your life today?

You  can  visit  He Qi’s  gallery.