Praise God!

Psalm 149 KJV

Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;

To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;

To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;

To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord.

+++

Praise ye the Lord for He is an almighty God. He lifts up His children. He takes pleasure in them. Let all of the saints joyfully give thanks to God and give Him all glory for all that He has done and will do.

Trust that His promises are and have been fulfilled. He loves you now and will love you always. Rejoice in His glory!

God's Peace - Pr. J. 

Not I, but Christ

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20 KJV)

Before bed, I usually listen to some YouTube speakers or preachers on my phone. If they start off with long introductions and a litany of the preachers credentials, I usually find someone else to listen to. I do not care about their credentials. Credential are of no importance to me. What I want and need to hear is about who God is and what He has done and what He continues to do. All glory belongs to God!

Years ago my congregation hosted a Suomi Conference Word and Song Festival. As host, I was expected to greet everyone and according to the president introduce myself with some details of who I am, what I have done. Honestly, that makes me a whole lot uncomfortable. Because the only "I am" that is important is the one whose name is "I Am" and everything good that has been accomplished in my life has been done by Him. The glory goes to God!

So, instead of talking about the details of what I may or may not have done or where I come from or have been, I greeted everyone and introduced myself with: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20) All glory belongs to God!

What a relief it should be to hear these words: "I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."  He willingly took all of our sins to the cross. He lovingly bore our sins and the punishment for our sins on that cross. He suffered and died for us. He did this so that all who believe in him would be reconciled to our Father in heaven and live eternally in the presence of God. 

In baptism, we receive a new life in Christ. The old man and all of our sins are wiped out and we live, yet not we, but it is Christ who lives in us. 

Without the abiding presence of Christ, we can do no good thing. Jesus said, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:4-5)

All glory belongs to the one who loves us and died for us and yet lives. By the shedding of the blood of Jesus, you are forgiven your sins. May he live in you and you in him.

God's Peace - Pr. J                                                    

We Have Gone Astray

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV

Jesus took upon himself our pain and he bore our sufferings. He was crucified for our transgression and for our iniquities. It is by his wounds that we are healed. It is by his sacrifice that we are made whole!

I am reminded often that we are all, like sheep, gone astray. I am reminded of this whenever a secular event takes precedence over gathering as a community to worship. I am reminded that we have gone astray when I see the sanctuary less than half the normal attendance on Good Friday or Maundy Thursday. This seems to be the norm for a good many congregations. When I witness this during Holy Week, I am reminded of how the disciples fled in fear when Jesus was arrested on the night in which he was betrayed. When I witness the absence of his "followers" during Holy Week, I am reminded of how even Peter denied Jesus at his trial. It is all a reminder that the sheep continue to stray. We often prefer to go our own way and it's not only during Holy Week. Often, we find reasons to not gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ to thank the Lord for our salvation; for our healing, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I, like you, often act like a sheep that has gone astray. Whenever I mess up big time (that is sin), God's gentle Spirit reminds me why Jesus had to suffer persecution and such a cruel death. He died for you. He died for me. He died bearing our sins, those sins we commit today and will commit tomorrow.

This is a sad thing. It is a very sad thing that we should not take the time to gather together as he commanded us, to love one another, and to serve all people even as he served all people by dying for us. It is very sad that he should have to suffer and die for sheep that rarely even consider that they may have gone astray.

May God help us to be more faithful. May God help us to love even as He loves us.

God's Peace - Pr. J