No One Else (Nov 12)

He is
     "The stone you builders rejected,
           which has become the capstone."
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.
                                     Acts 4:11-12 NIV

Today's verse is from Peter speaking to the Sanhedrin.  Peter was seized, for by the Spirit, he was teaching the people about Jesus and the resurrection of the dead.  This was shortly after Peter, again by the Spirit, healed the lame man by the temple gate called Beautiful.

The Pharisees, keepers of the law, were upset because Jesus had stated he came to fulfill the law.  The Sadducees were upset, for they did not believe in eternal life.  Peter, when speaking to them, mentions them as "builders."  This provided more for the Jewish leaders, in their distress, to ponder.

Peter, led by the Spirit, was able to courageously proclaim that salvation is found only in the name of Jesus, and in no other name under heaven.  

In our daily lives, how do we proclaim his name and reflect Peter's statement to others today?  What kind of activities might one try to keep in darkness, away from the light, that would detract or divide from the unity of the salvation that Jesus provides?

Pray for the Spirit to shed light on the dark areas of our lives.

In Christ,

David P

Baptism

Mark 16:16 states:

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Let's ignore that little note stating that early manuscripts didn't contain this section of Mark--fine by me for the snake-handling and poison-swallowing parts, but this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible, because it does so much to explain something that can be considered complicated.

The core question we all have as Christians is "What do I need to do to be saved?" We have numerous other questions besides that, but most everything we're curious about boils down to that simple question. Leaving aside for the moment the pesky detail that we can't do ANYTHING to be saved, let's rephrase the question slightly and ask "How do I need to live in order to be saved?" The answer is right there in the verse--we need to believe and be baptized. But, what does believing and baptizing really mean?

Actually, forget that last question--we're pretty clear on what to believe (our salvation is through Christ's death and resurrection), and while different denominations quibble over the details of baptism (infant vs. adult, sprinkling vs. full immersion, etc.), we're all pretty clear on what it represents. The true question revolves around what we do with these gifts once bestowed upon us. In this verse, Christ didn't state that if we believeD or were baptizeD--he didn't use the past tense, because Christ was referring to present tense items. We need to believe each and every day, and renew our baptismal promise each and every day--we can't rest on our laurels and say "Well, I went to church a while back, I'm sure God remembers that" or "I was baptized as a kid--I'm good" because it simply doesn't work that way.

Christ is clear in his message--if we stop believing, we will be condemned. If we stop believing 5 seconds before he returns, we will be condemned, and our baptism will be useless, because we will have renounced it. Our belief and our baptism need to be constants in our lives, and we need to be reminding those around us who may have slipped away that they need to return as soon as possible. Baptism isn't an inoculation, given one time and conferring an eternity with the Lord, but instead a booster, one that needs to be refreshed each day.

Scott

Go! (Nov 11)

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to all the ends of the earth."
                                                  Acts 1:8 NIV

This verse today, in a sense, encapsulates the book of Acts: for the book of Acts, 1:1 to 8:3, deals with proclaiming the gospel in Jerusalem and to the Jews; Acts 8:4-12:23, deals with the spread of the gospel to Samaria, the coastal plain and Cesarea; Acts 12:24-28:31, deals with the spread of the gospel throughout the known world and to Rome.

This spread was carried out by human beings, but the spread of the gospel was planned by God.  On Nov. 14, we will read how persecution, the stoning of Stephen, caused the spread of the gospel message. 

In Acts, there is a reoccurring cycle from prayer to power to persecution to prayer...

One lesson we should learn is to stay in prayer, so that God's power can work through us and so that we can stand up to persecution.  Many people have taught us about prayer: Abraham, Moses, Jabez, David, others, and Jesus.

One effective way to pray is to find a location; under a tree, in a park, in a chair, and try to reserve that place for prayer.  In approaching God in prayer through the Son, with the Spirit, consider listing attributes of God, give Him respect for the awesome, incomparable God He is! Then give Him thanks for items; this day, blessings, challenges, struggles, family, growth, and other blessings.  After the thanks, then approach with petitions. 

I have found the method of praise, thanks, and petition allows me to perhaps consider the petitions and with the Spirit's guidance, perhaps, even change or decide not to approach God with certain petitions. 

How could a person develop a more effective prayer life?

How are you developing your own prayer life?

Just Pray!

In Christ,

David P

What Scripture Said About Jesus

Luke24:27 states:

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 

Jesus was talking with two men walking on the road to Emmaus, and imagine their surprise and luck to be able to be instructed on the prophecies of the Messiah. The part I find truly amazing is that their eyes were closed, so it wasn't their fault they didn't understand that they were speaking with Jesus. As I read these words, I reached for my NIV Study Bible, hoping it would give me a nice list of these prophecies--nope, not even a good note. So, being the diligent researcher I am, I went online to find some kind of compendium of Old Testament prophecy regarding Jesus and found this--I can't vouch for who these people are, but a list is a list. You'll have to scroll down a bit to reach the list, but when you do, you'll see around forty prophecies, which you can read for yourself. In fact, I'll go one better--I'll turn that list into a handout.

Imagine being those two men and essentially being told the entire history of the people of Israel by Jesus himself. I find that so enticing I almost ended that last statement with an exclamation point, but I didin't want to get carried away. The list as presented in that web site goes through the Bible in order as opposed to how the prophecies would be fulfilled, but either way, we're looking at items that not just Pharisees and other learned men knew, but that even common synagogue attendees were familiar with. To fulfill that list of prophecies that in many cases were extremely specific is far beyond coincidental--it is truly divine.

The famous last verse of John (21:25) states:

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. 

I for one wouldn't have minded if John HAD tried to write down more, but I understand his point--all the Gospel writers were able to provide was the barest of sketches of a man with whom they had spent the better part of three years, but it's enough for us today. Does it matter if Jesus did four miracles or four hundred? Both numbers are more than we can do. Does it matter how often he debated with the Pharisees and won, preached to crowds or any of those other items? Not in the least, because the most important thing he did, he did only once, but that once was enough to guarantee an eternity with him for all who believe in him.

Scott

Tell the Story (Nov 10)

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
                                         Matthew 28:19-20 NIV

The Great Comission is Jesus telling his disciples what to do and providing assurance of His fellowship.  These words from Jesus of guidance, instruction and assurance were given to the first disciples shortly before the ascention into heaven.  God's word is alive, and these words still apply today.

In our churches, how many of us take time by our actions, words, and showing of Christ's love to others are active in following this commission?  How many of us are spectators, or if we are enthusiastic; cheerleaders of our pastors and others in church leadership to carry out the guidance of spreading the word?

Think of how vibrant and growing our churches would be if rather than letting the leadership carry out the commission; we all took an active role by inviting others to church, participataing in mission trips, bible studies, community activities, and in various other ways. 

In what ways could a disciple of today live the great commission?

How could you go to "all nations"?

Pray to have your eyes open to opportunities to tell the story.

In Christ,

David P

The End of the Story

First, a minor note--anyone else notice that under the Mark passage on p1451, the writers of the Chronological Bible state that Easter Sunday was on April 5th, 30 AD. I have never seen any kind of certainty like that before and found it very interesting. In the end, it's not when Christ was resurrected, but THAT he was.

Yesterday, I posted my mosaic of the Stations of the Cross, but if we ended the story there, it would be just another sad tale. No, we read how the story ended today, and another picture from Loyola's chapel tells how the story ended.

Not reading Latin, I went online to try to translate the two statements. The first loosely means "the heart of Jesus open to us" (and that assumes I spelled the words correctly), and the bottom statement translates to "I am your salvation."

This is Christ victorious, victorious over sin, death and the power of the devil, to quote someone with which you may be familiar. This is Jesus conquering once and for all the grip that sin holds over us in our lives, and re-establishing the chasm that had existed between God and man. This is Jesus establishing his supremacy over Satan for all time. This is Jesus fulfilling thousands of years of prophecy, much of which was misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Nothing can withstand the power of Jesus, and with his resurrection, Jesus made clear to his disciples once and for all that while he was a man, he was also God. They certainly had many hints in the time they spent with him--I would think that the miracles and the Transfiguration might have been pretty good hints, but that's me using 20/20 hindsight. Now there are no more secrets.

This is the Jesus we worship today, the man who gave himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, the man who did for us what we ourselves were incapable of doing. Almost from the beginning of history, the gulf of sin has separated us from God, and Jesus' death and resurrection eliminated that gulf forever. We live with God in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, and when that blessed day comes when we're reunited with the Lord, we'll do it eternally. As such, no stained glass or any other depiction can give justice to the gift that Jesus obtained for us through his death, and no thanks can come close to expressing its importance. Feeble as it is, our thanksgiving is what we do to spread the comfort and joy that only Christ can give.

Scott

Lookng for Jesus (Nov 9)

The angel said to the woman, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified."
                                                    Matthew 28:5 NIV

Today's verse involves Jesus, a woman, an angel and relationships.  Let us look at the subjects. Have you considered angels, their servant roles and their function?

Angels have been mentioned many times in our reading.  Often they have the function of a messenger.  Consider the angel who stood blocking the passage of Balaam's donkey.  The angel who appeared to Gideon with the message to not fear, for the Lord was with him.  An angel gave the message to Elijah to meet the messengers of the King of Samaria with the question of why they were going off to consult Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron.  Angels presented themselves before the Lord just before Job's tests began.  An angel gave the message of Mary's pregnancy to Joseph.  An angel opened the doors where the apostles were imprisoned in Acts 5.  An angel told John in Revelation 22 that words were trustworthy and true.

The woman, a human, on her search for the crucified Jesus, certainly had many fears.  The angel provided encouragement.  Many followers of Christ at that time had fear, consider the disciples and how they kept a very low profile until Pentecost.  Like the woman, we to can have fears in life as we seek our Lord Jesus.  Our search for Jesus is now aided by the third being of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who points us to Christ and allows us to understand much.  Give thanks to God!

Angels do have an active servant role and are Spiritual beings with an attendant role to God.  They can help relieve our fears and as a result, encourage us on our path with and toward Jesus; however their activities should not take our focus, our eyes, our goal from Jesus. 

Where do you look when you have uncertainties, when you have fears?

In your daily life, how are you looking for the risen Lord?  Can others tell you are looking for Jesus?

Pray to keep your eyes open to Jesus in your daily life.

In Christ,

David P