Posted by Pastor Pat on June 8, 2009
Read Mark 5:25-34
This passage, and those surrounding it, has challenged me to continue thinking of the inter-play between faith, repentance, fellowship, and forgiveness. Personally, I desire to make each of these elements containable and connected. I want them “to fit” into a way of thinking that is understandable, tamable, and perhaps controllable. I want to be in control of what each of these elements look like. Yet it is impossible to fit the proverbial square peg into the round hole without doing damage to both the peg and the hole. Unfortunately, what I want and what is biblical are not always the same. You might wonder how the passages in Mark 4:35-6:6 evoke such thinking? Faith is “huge” in all of the stories noted in Mark’s gospel. Repentance is never stated, only assumed. As a consequence of faith, God works mighty miracles. In the absence of faith, established boundaries are honored and God chooses not to work. Much is assumed throughout. As I have meditated on these things I have tried to honor the biblical text without forcing many of my theological presuppositions into the text (i.e., “exegesis good, eisegesis bad”). Initially, if my ramblings appear disjointed and unconnected, please dismiss it and forgive me. However, there is a chance that it might jar you into greater clarity in these areas and thus I press ahead with my delineations.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on June 4, 2009
22 “One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him,
fell at His feet 23 and implored Him earnestly, saying,
‘My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her,
so that she will get well and live’” (Mark 5:22, 23).
This passage has a couple of dynamics within it. First, one can get lost in the debate as to whether or not God still heals as dramatically as we read in this passage. Whether or not we believe He heals in this fashion might have little immediate or direct impact on us if we are not facing the imminent death of a loved one. The second dynamic is immensely practical and strikes much closer to the heart – the humbling of the individual in his coming to Jesus. The description of this man’s humbling in his coming to Jesus continues to mark those who would come to Jesus. No one comes in any other way. The means our Lord employs to bring us to this point is varied, but the process is always the same. It is only when we come to the end of self that we find the Savior.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on March 7, 2009
Resurrection truth is a deep and settling expression of God’s richest grace. In the absence of such truth our own selfish desires and appetites would consume us. Life would cease having sunrises of hope
(1 Cor. 15). The despair would be oppressive and mankind would become more cannibalistic in their greed and self-indulgence.
Without a resurrection from the dead this life would be a “period” instead of a “line.”
It is all too easy to allow this truth to slip away from our psyche. In so doing, we are robbed of a compass in the midst of life’s storms. It is the resurrection from the dead that feeds the hungry and quenches the thirst of the parched. Hope . . . the word has lost much of its punch. What is hope? Hope is hearing the news of a child’s safety, of a positive doctor’s report, of a financial need being met. Jesus Christ is hope.
This hope was declared with an exclamation point in His resurrection from the dead. As we consider the resurrection there are several truths we need to be reminded of.
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 14, 2008
Do we really understand what we have in Christ? I know we are Christians, but do we really know what that means? To be sure we are not Buddhists or Muslims or Hindus, but do we know what it means to be Christian?
Unfortunately, Christianity is more noted for what we do or not do than for who He is, what He has done, and who His people now are because of it. Do we openly and regularly celebrate the nature of His cross-work and confirming resurrection?
Christians are different than non-Christians for the simple reason that we are forgiven of all our transgressions (Col. 2:13). As Christians we no longer carry the burden of guilt that daily and habitually grind the non-Christian into fine dust fragments of what it means to be made in His image. We no longer live with fear of the unknown or of God. We have a peace that passes all human understanding (Phil. 4:7). Christians are different because we live contented lives and die with hope (1 Thess. 4:13).
Christians do not live with the burden of trying to please their God and somehow in ways unknown they try to stumble into His favor and blessing (Eph. 1:3, 1 Thess. 5:23, 24). Christians do not carry grudges or judge people ruthlessly or live intolerant lives toward those who are different in culture, worship, or belief (Rom. 14). Christians love their enemies and do good to those who despitefully use them (Luke 6:27). Christians forgive even as they have been forgiven (Eph. 4:32).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 10, 2008
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Cor. 4:7
In today’s culture of glitz, glamour, and glory it is easy to forget that we are but “jars of clay” (NIV). We are clumps of clay waiting to be shaped under the Master’s touch. It is only as He moves in us and through us to those around us that we echo His voice to others. As I consider the infinity of God I am often staggered by our “puny” attempts to contain Him through our “monitoring” of other people’s spirituality. Spiritual fruit is as diversified as the Holy Spirit is immeasurable. Yet as I consider grace and its embodiment in “fleshly pots” I believe the following seven statements are the kinds of reflections we will see in us and through us by those around us.
1. We must never consider ourselves to be better than anyone else regardless as to where they were born, to whom they were born and to what they were born. In Christ’s Church, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).
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Posted by Pastor Pat on December 9, 2008
“But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.” Gal. 2:4
It is hard for us to imagine the abject horror of being awakened in the night by the screams of terror as men, women and children are carried off from knowing the joy of freedom into the chains of slavery. They were becoming the victims of the slave trader. Those people whose livelihood dealt with the cargo of humanity. Our nation poured out its lifeblood to resist and eventually overthrow slavery. Yet Paul continues to deal with spiritual slave traders, people whose intent is to make cargo of human souls. Their delight is found in bringing into captive those who were once free.
What appears to be the Galatian problem? Apparently the believers in Galatia were being “troubled” (Gal. 5:12) by “false brethren” (Gal. 2:4). The agitation created by them was real (Gal. 4:17). They were “bewitched” (Gal. 3:1) into leaving their position of liberty to be once more entangled with the yoke of bondage (Gal. 5:1). Paul saw such a move as shocking (Gal. 1:6). Why would anyone abandon a position of liberty for one of bondage? They were running well (Gal. 5:7), but now were being “hindered” and thus “overtaken in a fault” (Gal. 6:1). Those who turned back had “fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4) and needed to be “restored” (Gal. 6:1).
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