Tag: Savior and Lord

MIRACLE OF ALL MIRACLES

As Christians we are supernaturalists. We acknowledge that there are dimensions of reality that transcend the material universe. In fact, it may perhaps be that the “dark matter” and “dark energy” of modern quantum physics and cosmology are indications of what ancient people simply referred to as the “spirit domain” or the “heavenly realm.” In any case, Christians hold to the reality of the Spirit of the Eternal and Almighty God who transcends and infuses all that is, both seen and unseen. Therefore, we profess and assert that our existence is simultaneously natural and supernatural, material and ethereal, physical and metaphysical.

In his book Miracles, C.S. Lewis wrote the following: “The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this.” In other words, the Eternal became temporal; the Heavenly became earthly; the Immortal became mortal; the Imperishable One became perishable for a time for our sake. That is, God the Son became a man so that we might become sons and daughters of God. Such a mystery of mysteries! A wonder of wonders! The miracle of all miracles!

Thanks be to God we are heading into the time of year when we commemorate the birth of the One: the Messiah of God who is our peace, and who inspires and empowers our ‘grace-fullness’ and ‘peace-fullness’ in the world. It is the commemoration of the First Advent of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ) over two thousand years ago; the One who is Yeshua Ben David (Jesus the Son of David), Yeshua Ben Miriam (Jesus the Son of Mary), and Yeshua Ben Elohim (Jesus the Son of God)…

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David [Bethlehem] a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

(Luke 2:10-14)

This is GOOD NEWS indeed! It fuels true joy and peace, just like Simeon of Jerusalem, who was devout and looked forward to the consolation and restoration of Israel. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that “he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.” So, guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the Jerusalem Temple, and when Joseph and Mary brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the biblical law of the Torah, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God…

“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

(Luke 2:29-32)

Like Simeon, may we also be filled with this inner peace and joy as we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the perfect Almighty God redeems an imperfect humanity. For we have forgiveness of sins and life everlasting in, with and through Jesus our Savior! He is our salvation, the Light of the World (John 8:12), so let us pray and seek and work for a more peaceable world in the name of our Lord Yeshua.

Good Advent & Merry Christmas!!! Pastor Tim

OUR BLESSED ASSURANCE

Our human sinfulness alienates us from God our Creator, but the wonderful and amazing good news is that Jesus Christ gives us everlasting salvation from this self-imposed alienation, granting us reconciliation with God and eternal heavenly life. This is our blessed assurance in Christ! Thanks be to God!

This blessed assurance of God’s grace through Jesus Christ is not merely some broad, uncertain appeal to the generic mercy of God. Rather, through the compassionate life, sacrificial death and redemptive resurrection of Jesus our Lord, we have absolute assurance of our atonement and salvation with God. What good news indeed! What amazing grace this is!

Fully acknowledging and confessing that we are sinners who have alienated ourselves from God, we believe and trust that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised for our redemption. Therefore, by the power of his Holy Spirit, we profess him as our Savior who gives us renewal of life here and heavenly life hereafter. So now, in thanksgiving and praise for Christ’s gospel of salvation and eternal life, I would like to simply bless you with the following Bible quotations:

ROMANS 10:9-13

For if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

SECOND CORINTHIANS 4:16-17

So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure…

Brothers and sisters, this life is so brief, and, compared to a heavenly eternity with God, this life is really a fleeting bubble in a stream or flash of lightning in a cloud. And in response to the faith and hope and eternal salvation we have received through Jesus Christ our Lord, we seek to live this present mortal life in light of these great gifts, looking forward to the ultimate fulfillment of God’s Kingdom at the great Second Advent of Christ. With that in mind, I conclude this brief article with the words of the timeless hymn, Blessed Assurance:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Happy & Blessed Eastertide!!!  Pastor Tim

LAVISHLY MANAGING GOD’S RICHES OF GRACE

In my sermon on Sunday, September 22nd, I discussed The Parable of the Dishonest Manager from Jesus’ discourse in chapter 16 of the Gospel of Luke. In this sermon, I stated that this is arguably Jesus’ most provocative parable, ranking right up there with The Parable of the Day Laborers.

In his shockingly backwards Parable of the Dishonest Manager, Jesus tells a story about a man who scams his employer and is then commended for it by that same employer. In this parable, we hear about a dishonest financial manager who knew that he was going to be dismissed by his employer, so he began to slash the debts of his employer’s debtors in order to make some friends for himself and secure his future. If it had not been bad enough that the manager had cheated his rich employer for some period of time, the manager then proceeded to cheat him even more by destroying the old bills and writing ones for lesser amounts for the employer’s debtors. The manager reasoned that, when he left the rich employer’s service, he just might secure a position in one or more of the households whose bills he had altered. Then to conclude this parable, Jesus completely throws us a curveball with the most bizarre twist. Very strangely, the manager in this parable is lauded and commended by his employer for being so shrewd and resourceful.

On a fundamental level, this seemingly crazy Parable of the Dishonest Manager simply does not make sense to us at all. It seems to go in stark contradiction to our basic sense of what’s right and just and true. Of course, it really is upside down, unrighteous and unjust if we literally apply this parable to our financial matters and business practices. However, if we understand this parable in a strictly spiritual sense, then it makes abundant sense.

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the perfect and ultimate offering for our sins, in order to redeem us and restore us to full fellowship with God. Through his perfect compassionate life and his ultimate sacrificial love, our debt to God is completely canceled! PAID IN FULL. No cosmic bills hanging over our heads. No spiritual shut-off notices to worry about.

So the great question is the following: What can we give back to The One who loves us and forgives all our sins, who continually gives new life in Christ, who imbues inner peace and joy, and who grants eternal hope?

On the one hand, we cannot give anything — for anything we could give is as nothing compared to so much infinite divine grace. But on the other hand, we give absolutely everything. In response to the complete self-giving of God to us through Christ our Savior, God wants our whole being (heart and soul) in return.

Very truly, our beloved Lord desires our whole being in return for the infinite-all that he gives to us. And according to his Parable of the Dishonest Manager, God wants us to be as shrewd, clever, resourceful and urgent in spiritual matters as are secular people in financial matters. This is what Jesus means when he says in Luke 16: “For the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes” (verses 8-9). In other words, Jesus stresses the urgency to be shrewd and resourceful in our management of the spiritual riches of God’s grace, and to do this by lavishly disseminating and extravagantly disbursing the great riches of his grace.

Almighty God passionately desires us to shrewdly, resourcefully and urgently share the riches of his grace and truth with everyone everywhere! And God promises that we will be commended for it and welcomed into our eternal home through this very same grace and truth that we’ve so lavishly shared with others.

Together in Christ’s Mission! Pastor Tim