I post my blogs on Friday with the church newsletter, so I am way late to this party! First let me say I loved watching the SuperBowl! And the group I watched it with didn’t pay a lot of attention to the commercials. So while I did note a Jesus commercial, I didn’t note that it may have been implying some of the things I’m hearing…
So let’s just be clear. Jesus does say, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” He did offer living water to the Samaritan woman, who a man in His position would have normally shunned. He did the servant’s job and washed the dirt off of His disciple’s feet. He said, over and over, whoever believes in me has eternal life. (John 6:47 emphasis added) And He died for our sins; all of them.
It could be that’s all the commercial was saying; but based on the reaction I’m seeing I suspect that the message was from people encouraging folks to “hold to a form of godliness but deny its power” (2 Tim 3:5); rather than come to Jesus and be transformed!
“Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition)
Over and over again the leaders of the church In the New Testament talking to those in the church (the saved) say that groveling in sin was your old way of life! Once we have been bought by His blood, we aren’t supposed to live that way anymore!
“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him — a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:5-11 NASB1995 Cf. Titus 3:1-5; Rom 11:30; 1 Cor 6:9-11; Eph 2:1-4; 1 Peter 4:1-5)
The crowds always thin out when the truth is told — “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘You do not want to go away also, do you?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.’” (John 6:66-69)
Something to think about,
Pastor Scott
P.S. As I’m posting this I’m listening to a press conference on Thursday regarding the shooting on Wednesday. Pray for the wounded, pray for the fearful. The talk, of course, is about disarming the populace, and while I certainly understand that impulse, I’m preaching through the Old Testament and am particularly heighted to the fact that evil is in hearts no matter the weapon of choice. Pray for those hearts!
Grace Notes 