The Old Becomes Brand New
Earlier this week I had an opportunity to spend some quality time with a close friend of mine fishing in beautiful northern Wisconsin. Although our time together seemed to fly by, the conversations we had while in the boat only added to the excitement of actually catching fish and lots of them!
Soldiers of the Cross – part 2
What will you do with your one and only life? I’m sure you’re thinking along the lines of, “This a Church question so I’ll say, ‘I’ll follow Jesus with my life. I’ll help others with my life. I’ll live a good life so God will be happy with me.’ ” The problem is, that’s not good enough. Nothing we do will ever be good enough. In the movie, Capt. Miller was urging Private Ryan to make his life worthy of the sacrifice. And those words probably haunted Private Ryan for the rest of his days. Why? Because if we’re honest, what can we ever do that makes us worthy enough for someone to lay down his life? Deep down, I think the older Private Ryan knew there was nothing he could have done to earn that gift of life. There was nothing in him that made him worthwhile.
Soldiers of the Cross
As Capt. John H. Miller lays dying of a gunshot wound at the end of Steven Spielberg’s World War II movie, he grabs the hand of Private James Ryan and whispers, “Earn this…earn it.” Miller’s words-and his sacrifice-stay with Private Ryan for the rest of his days. What will you do with the one and only life that God has given you? What will you do with the freedom Jesus won for you on the cross? Will you remain on the sidelines? Will you be content merely to live a “good” life? Or are you ready to charge into the spiritual battle raging against mankind? Will you join in god’s great mission to see and save the lost?
Bible Chapters for July 26 -August 1
- Joshua 1
- Ephesians 6
- Romans 5
- 2 Corinthinas 10
Joy in Suffering
Reading through the four passages, the one that really stood out to me was Philippians 1. I’ve read this through many times and am always encouraged by Paul’s hope, faithfulness, willingness and joy as he sat in prison.
“Vampire” Christians?
With the popularity of vampire stories these days. I thought the headline would get some attention, but seriously I found the following quote from Dallas Willard to be thought provoking. It ties into the theme of this weekend’s message about true devotion. Read more
Sacrificial Devotion
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” [John 12:23–24 (NIV)] Jesus description of a germinating seed of wheat is not scientific but serves as powerful metaphor for his mission and ours. For wheat to germinate, there must be sufficient water to soak into the seed which leads to a swelling and breaking open of the seed coat. The food reserve in the seed then allows for the initial growth of the embryonic plant. Finally when the seed is used up, the seedling will then draw in nourishment from roots and stem. Or as Jesus puts it, the seed must “die” … be opened and used up … so that there can be growth and fruitfulness.
Bible Chapters for July 5 – 11
- I Chronicles 29:1-30
- Matthew 16:1-28
- John 12:1-50
- Philippians 1:1-30
Eternal Life Now
Here is a great quote from Dallas Willard on the life that we already have in Jesus Christ.
Passing from Death to Life
In this age of modern medical advances, it seems to me, that we all start to expect miracles. What I mean is everyone expects that whatever our ailments might be and no matter how dire our physical circumstances might be somehow the medical community will have a trick up the sleeve to heal us, to save us. And when that doesn’t happen, we get a painful dose of reality. We are reminded that when it comes down to it, only God really does miracles. Left to human intelligence and skill we can only get so far.
