Jesus

We are a new creation.

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15He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 18And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:15-18 (NLT)

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life ha begun!” Wow! Some translations put it this way: 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (ESV) Having received this gift of forgiveness of sin, this gift of Jesus, the new life through Him, you are a new creation. God is doing a new work in you. God has given you the new nature of Christ Jesus. God is working for you to know Him and to live according to calling you have received.

I pray for you that you will recall throughout this day, “I am a new creation of God in Christ Jesus my Lord!” Why? Because He died for you to bring you back to God!

Our labour is not in vain.

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56For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.  1 Corinthians 15:56-58

Ever since the Great Catastrophe in the Garden of Eden, humanity has pressed against the infection of death — work is hard and often filled with thorns and thistles. Solomon called it, “Vanity, vanity, everything is vanity.” This cry against the despair and futility of life is sometimes translated “Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.” Sometimes life feels that way. But here’s the good news of Jesus and His Gospel: He gives us victory over sin and death. He makes use of our work and our faith in Him. Its never useless! Its never useless to live your life for Jesus!

We have wisdom from God.

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30God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:30-31

The Apostle Paul spent a lot of time among first century Greeks. They were keen to have wisdom. In fact they had competing “schools” of wisdom or systems of thought. People might appeal to one or the other for their “way of life.” In Christ, you too have wisdom. We all know the appeal of having a group, leader, or school that gives us a certain respect or prestige. But now, you have the very wisdom of God for us: Jesus Christ.

The writer of many Proverbs in the Old Testament declared that the beginning of wisdom is the fear/respect/love of God. So now, our boast isn’t that we are of a certain school of thought, or political party, or in a certain group of Christians. Now, our boast is that we are actually IN Christ Jesus. He is our wisdom.  May you value Jesus above all other relationships at the core of who you are.

We don’t like to think about this.

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August 2013 568

5This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.

6They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land.  Jeremiah 17:5-6

I appreciate the “people are awesome” line. People are awesome. It is incredible what people can do. I like the stories of hard, smart, persevering  work. However, the Scripture shows us we are always in danger of turning the blessings of strength into our own personal Babel. And that is grievous!

When Jeremiah expresses God’s view of the human situation we must remember, God is grieved by our situation. God is so grieved that He uses the word “cursed” or “under a curse” to describe the situation of living without Him. He uses the most dramatic images to capture the deathly impact of the evil seduction that limits our faith to just humanity and  that turns hearts away from the Lord.

People apart from a relationship with God are like stunted shrubs in the desert. God is grieved for these people who had such potential in Him for now they are living barren, lonely, hopeless lives. Ah you may say, “I know many people who seem to be doing well without God.” Jeremiah goes on to say that we do not yet see the whole story:

11Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are those who get their wealth by unjust means. At midlife they will lose their riches; in the end, they will become poor old fools.

12But we worship at your throne— eternal, high, and glorious!

13O  Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.  Jeremiah 17:11-13

The heralds of a DYI-life seduce people with stories of stuff, praise, and power. But life without the one true God — well we don’t like to think about like this — is empty. Only He is the “fountain of living water,” the hope of Israel and the blessing for all the nations.

So it is in the Gospel of Jesus that we enter into the restoration work of the  creation and the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Israel. Jesus says, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” 39(When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)  John 7:37-39

There is hope for those who are living under the curse! Though we all have a deceitful heart that turns from God, Jesus can transform the heart. Even Jeremiah knew God’s power to change the heart, so he prayed in response to this word from God, “O  Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly saved. My praises are for you alone!” Jeremiah 17:14

Let’s come to Jesus Christ the Lord, who entered the wasteland of death, bore our curse, and defeated sin. Let’s trust Him for life. Let’s ask Him to heal our hearts. May He quench your thirst!

The matters of giving and receiving.

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13For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.  Philippians 4:13-14

So many Christians have memorized Philippians 4:13. Especially in the West we seem to love this verse. It gives us hope. It calls us to persevere through difficulty with Jesus. And that is exactly what Paul has to say. Much of our obedience to Jesus as Christian leaders requires us to enter periods of plenty or periods of hardship with a sense that it is “me and Jesus.”

But this verse is not meant to be a triumphal declaration for individualistic Christianity. I’m afraid we may use the verse to condition a hyper-individualistic expression of the motto, “Its just me and Jesus.” Paul is actually setting his struggle in the context of community. He knows Jesus is sufficient. Paul also knows Jesus calls His people into a life of service to each other to share in the troubles of others. The NIV translates verse 14 this way, “Yet, it was good of you to share in my troubles.”

Our experience of pain is truly our own. Pain is subjective. However, while our experience of troubles may at times seem to be just about “me and Jesus,” we are still meant to be a person in community. Paul knows the Philippian congregation cares about him. In fact, he accounts in verses 15-16 that they were the first to support him financially when he set out to Macedonia. Support through difficulty can be received when you are a person in community. Paul describes it as the matters of “giving and receiving.” The exchange the Spirit of God brings to the community of Jesus is not just of money, but is also of encouragement, a listening ear, exhortation, prayer, prophetic words, comfort, songs, Scripture, and sacrificial service.

Are you taking the time to make connections in your church?
Are you entering into the graceful exchange of giving and receiving?