Posted by Pastor Pat on April 19, 2009
“Jesus said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” John 20:17
Often in reading the Scripture, we skim past great oceans of truth and thus fail to appreciate the height, depth, width, and breadth of what we just read. I believe John 20:17 is one of those untapped “oceans.”
In the words of our Lord, something powerful happened because of the cross. The alienated become brethren, the orphaned become adopted and the wayward become worshippers. Jesus uses an Old Testament formula to speak of the relationship His people have to their God, “My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (Ex. 6:7; Lev. 26:12 ['I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people']; Jer. 7:23; 30:22; Ezek. 36:28). “His words are reminiscent of Ruth’s words to Naomi: ‘your people shall be my people and your God my God’ (Ruth 1:16)” (F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, p.391). The language is that of the covenant made with Israel and promised to Israel. Let us not miss the slight alteration in our Lord’s expansion of this idea. Jesus identifies Himself with His people. Jesus includes us in His family. Let us for a moment recall the statement of our Lord in John 15:14-15.
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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 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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