The Spirit and Divine Likeness
The Holy Spirit comes primarily to reshape us in the divine likeness. He, being God, works to make us look like Jesus, who is “the visible image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus said that when the Spirit comes “He will testify of me”. He is not only witness to who Christ is
Living the Resurrection
The resurrection of Jesus is an historical fact authenticated by hundreds of witnesses. Resurrection is a present religious experience for followers of Christ. There is a future resurrection of our physical bodies, when the last trumpet sounds. Christian baptism preaches all three of these resurrections. To live for Christ, to be in Christ, to
What the Father Does
Jesus made it clear that He came to reveal the Father. He said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (John 14: 8-10). Even “I am the way” is in this context of the way to know what the Father is like (John 14:6-7 ff). Jesus said that He only did
The Fragrance of Christ
I love the fragrance of flowers in full bloom; some of those sweet smells you have to come near to experience, others saturate the deep woods. Jesus’ body was anointed by a woman who loved sweet fragrances and wanted to pour some on Him (Mark 14:3–9); the fragrance lingered on his body for
The Spirit of Our Lord
The ascending Christ promised the descending Holy Spirit. When He ascended to the Father, He poured out His Spirit, His very Self. According to Peter in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is poured out by the crucified, risen and exalted Christ. Jesus said, “I will not leave you, I will come to you.” The
Under Orders
The disciples were under orders to wait for the Spirit. Those who had been baptized with water were commanded to wait for the baptism of God’s Spirit. There is a waiting for the Spirit that we need, not just initially but in every moment of our lives. It is waiting for God’s power and
Not Abandoned
Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” John 14:18 (ESV). Our world is full of people who have been abandoned by someone, stuck on their own to fend for themselves. The Holy Spirit is the promise of God that He will never abandon nor forsake His own.
Radical Teaching
Jesus taught that service was the true measure of greatness. This was such a radical idea. This is world transforming when applied. It is how things are to work in the Kingdom of God. We know it was exactly what Jesus taught. Conveniently, we doubt it. We politic to get around it. We maneuver
The Physical and the Spiritual
Christians reject Gnosticism (the false dichotomy of spirit and body) for several reasons. God made the physical world and declared it good. Jesus came into the world as God incarnate, declaring again that the physical is good. Even the physicality of the Lord’s Supper declares Christ’s presence in the bread and wine. Not only
The Destination of the Way
When Jesus said, “I am the way,” He also said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” John 14:6. The destination of the Way is not Heaven, but the Father Himself. The Father is our Creator. We broke fellowship with Him in the garden and hid ourselves. He has been in quest
Joy and Sorrow
Joy and sorrow are not incompatible. Joy and sorrow may be present at the same time. Sometimes joy is to the front and sometimes sorrow. There can be a deep joy even in the midst of tribulation. Jesus admonished rejoicing even in persecution: In your sorrows, hold also to your joy. Jesus was a
Our Future
We cannot get through life without suffering and scars. For the Christian, these do not have the last word. There is future glory and restoration coming for the children of Abba. God has prepared our future and He is preparing us for it now, even as He walks with us. Our future is better
Do Not Lose Heart
“He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart” Luke 18:1 (NASB). We lose our greatest source of energy when we are not in constant contact with our Father. Paul said, “Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks.” We stagger under life’s
For the Sake of the Gospel
Jesus suggested the necessity of losing our lives for His sake and the sake of the good news. What cross have I born for the sake of the good news? What have I denied myself of for the sake of the gospel? What have I found for what I surrendered? What have I saved
Two Testimonies
There are two testimonies that the Christian can have. The first is, “Christ was crucified for me.” The second is, “I am crucified with Christ.” In the first, I see what Christ has done for me in His great redeeming work. In the second, I see what Christ is doing in me to shape
Opposition
Do not think for a moment that opportunities do not have opposition nor that favorable developments in your life will not also come with problems. It is the nature of life. It is fiber for character building. Timidity has caused many great things not to get accomplished. Nothing good gets accomplished without overcoming the
Ambassadors for Messiah
God is bringing about the reconciliation of the world to Himself through Messiah. This He accomplished by “not counting their transgressions against them.” He has committed to us this same ministry of reconciliation. It is not our business to hold the sins of persons against them whom God is in the process of reconciling.
The Tenses of the Cross
As you look back at the cross, you see that Christ was crucified for you and that your old self, the body of sin, “was crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6). So by faith you are now to “consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus” Romans 6:11 (NASB).
Expose the Idols
The gods of this world are present and active in our culture. They prefer to work anonymously, remaining unnamed. When named, identified and exposed, they lose their cloak of secrecy and most of all their deadly grip on us and the culture. The gods that have hidden themselves in your temple need to be
Embrace Discipline
People avoid discipline because it is not fun. Those who love ease and pleasure do not love discipline. Without discipline we can never grow nor develop. We start with an external discipline from our parents. Now we are to develop an internal discipline that marks us as adults. As Christians, we bring ourselves under
Let There Be Light
It is never healthy to define yourself by what you are against. This puts you in a combative mode. As disciples of Jesus Christ we have found our “Yes”. He is what we are for. His Light shined into our darkness. He broke our slave chains. Light has called us to be light. He
The False Self
Thomas Merton suggests that we have a false self that needs to die and a real self that needs to blossom in the likeness of the Son. The false self betrays God and me. It has a continuous inclination to evil. The false self must die, not so that I can say I have
Honored
Maybe instead of looking at our assignments as duties and obligations, we should look at them as privileges and blessings. It is a privilege to represent Christ, to serve Him, and live for Him. Just think, we are His ambassadors. It is an honor to give our all to the One who gave His
Ever Preparing
Our life in this world is a place of preparation. God is preparing us to serve both now and in the day when His Kingdom fully comes. He is now preparing the inner self to be clothed with a new, resurrected body. He makes us new creations for the New Creation: “new heavens and
Thorns And Suffering
Between Eden and New Creation, we still deal with thorns and suffering. It was no accident that our Lord wore a crown of thorns. The Eternal Son came into a world of suffering, both to express His solidarity with the suffering and to lay the foundation for the full restoration of all things. Meanwhile,