52 Weeks Of Gratefulness #4 – A Welcome Visit
In Week 4 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for a welcome visit.
Sunday night I receive a text, “Hey Uncle Paul, I was wondering if I can come over there tomorrow and we can watch the college football national championship together”
My nephew is a son to me. He is so dear to me. Of all the things he could be doing, to think he’d want to spend time with here with us…
It brings tears to my eyes, even now.
Because there’s no where I’d rather be.
I’m grateful.
#52WoG
Purge The Leaven
Christians, God hates how we’ve put politics at the center of our discourse. It is now something we have to get around to get to each other. It is an idol. It is a spot in our Love Feast. Get it out! REPENT!
How we voted for an earthly government does not inform how the Kingdom of God operates. God is sovereign.
The means (method) is as important as the ends (mission). Our attempt to achieve heavenly ends with the corrupt means of politics is one and the same as Jesus taking Satan’s offer to fall down and worship him as a way to get back “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” in Matthew 4:9. This is NOT The Way.
You are nearing destruction. Judgment begins at the house of God.
REPENT!
The Kingdom Of Heaven Is At Hand
How is the one sitting on the throne of your life doing? How is that government working for you?
If you’re weary of unjust, oppressive, and ineffective government, and are yearning for a better homeland—a government of righteousness, with the peace, harmony, and wellness that results—the good news is “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
My previous king constantly led me to death and disappointment. He was corrupt and an unwitting vassal of another kingdom.
I’m referring to my former self.
But now, I couldn’t be more pleased with Jesus, my Savior and King.
He leads me well.
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”
– 2 Corinthians 2:14
The triumph He always leads us to is experiencing the kingdom of God more.
I commend Him to you.
Denounce your government, and defect to Christ: Repent.
Know this: it’s not easy. It is the hardest thing you will ever do.
Defection will make you an enemy of the state. It costs everything, but His kingdom is unquestionably worth it.
52 Weeks Of Gratefulness #3 – Our Sons’ Honor
In Week 3 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for our sons’ honor.
This past week, we celebrated our queen’s birthday.
Without my prompting, knowledge, or involvement, our sons coordinated all the moving pieces that made for a beautiful weekend. They demonstrated attentiveness and a keen understanding of their mother by cooking meals she loved.
We talked, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company all weekend long, interspersed with delicious food lovingly prepared.
It was already a gift to have our loved ones with us, but to have them near and loving on each other as a celebration of a beloved’s life… well, there’s no greater honor.
Seeing the men our children have become, as evidenced by how they honored the first lady of their life, fills me with great joy and hope.
I’m grateful.
#52WoG
The Unwanted Cup
Jesus was not afraid of the cross, He resolutely accepted it.
It was the cup that gave Him pause.
“He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’”
— Matthew 26:39
The cup of wrath—the just penalty for all sin, incomprehensibly terrifying cosmic destruction—is poured out on a single point: the Lamb.
It is an event so massive, it reconstitutes time.
We observed the spectacle of the cross over two thousand years ago.
But, the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world.
And, it covers sin that will be committed any number of years from now, before His return.
The penalty is necessary because the Kingdom of God is perfect.
All sin must be negated. All corruption must be purged.
The equation is balanced. The problem is solved. His accounting is perfect.
Therefore, for our debts to be forgiven, someone has to pay them.
There is but one payment for sin: death. And, it is Jesus who pays it.
Who can withstand God’s wrath? Who else could die countless deaths in an instant and still survive?
God can.
It’s why a Jesus who’s just another man who had some good things to say, won’t do.
It has to be Jesus, the only begotten Son of God (begotten meaning having the same nature as whatever begot), who pays the debt. He has to be God, because God is the only one who can.
Which brings me to my ultimate point: my sin, even though it is forgiven, is not without cost.
Every sin I commit hurts Jesus. Every sin I will commit will hurt Jesus.
He dies for my sin. Every. Single. One.
No one who truly loves Him would wantonly add to His suffering.
On this point, I begin to realize the gravity of my sin.
I love Him. The last thing I want to do is hurt Him.
Help me, O God!
#gospel
52 Weeks Of Gratefulness #2 – A Walk With Mom
In Week 2 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for a walk with Mom.
We took a long, nice walk in the pasture.
Mom recounted where the family garden was, how much fun she and her brothers and sisters had in the loft of the barn, where she hopes to build one day.
We capped it off by visiting with my aunts and uncles who all shared their own stories. It was a stroll back to a beautiful time with the most beautiful soul I know.
The best things in life are free.
I’m grateful.
#52wog
Communion Is More Than A Meal
You can’t just have bits of food and call it communion.
Communion is more than a meal.
Jesus is Communion.
He is an active participant. It is not communion without Him.
We bring Him.
And we bring Him by sharing in a way that answer questions such as:
When was the last time you remember being in His presence? What did He say? What did He do? What was He like?
What part of Jesus are you bringing? His Love? His teaching? His prophecy? His wisdom? His healing? His service? His joy? (1 Corinthians 12:8-10,28 Romans 12:6-8, Galatians 5:22-23)
In addition to sharing sacrificially, we must come prepared to overcome whatever divides us to reveal His Oneness (1 Corinthians 11:17-27).
This shows forth His death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26).
That’s communion and is what I will make every effort to enjoy today.
#communionneverends
Saving Faith
There is a difference between our belief and the belief that saves.
The belief that results from human effort, such as that which comes from reason, argument or because we like an idea, is not the same belief that accompanies salvation.
The belief that accompanies salvation comes from seeing a Savior. Flesh and blood cannot reveal that to you. That only happens when God does you a great kindness and decides to introduce Himself, allowing you to see Him and making Himself known.
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’”
— Matthew 16:17
You know when the belief that comes from above happens as it always results in “falling down” and repentance because you’ll really see yourself in light of the woefully obvious contrast between Him and yourself.
“So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.’”
— Isaiah 6:5
And yet there’s another progression. Belief is not the same as faith.
Belief is a divine revelation of the Word received by a divinely prepared heart. Faith, the life that results and moves according to the Seed, is the fruit.
Life requires movement; it is the power of God, and the children of God born according to His seed is propelled by it.
“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
— Philippians 2:13
It’s all grace—the entire process from belief, to faith, to works, is God’s kindness, wisdom and working—removing any cause for boasting so the glory is His alone!
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8-9
If this has not happened in your life yet, this is not a condemnation but a kindness. You now know what to ask for, so you can humble yourself, ask, seek and knock (pray, read and actively wait in humility). (Luke 11:9-13)
The humility part is the most important. You can’t demand it any more than you can demand the reciprocation of a love interest. Your posture must be, ”You’re worth it Lord, as long as it takes”, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6)
#grace #savingfaith
The Purpose Of Communion
What purpose did I wake up for? What am I doing today and every day?
I’m ushering people into deeper communion with God through Christ by deepening my own communion with Him: lifting Christ up through taking up my cross, the fellowship of His suffering, by enjoying God and feasting on Christ that others may enjoy the Kingdom of God and feed on Christ through me. 🍞 👑
The measure of success is not increasing the number of those who claim Christianity and talk churchy but growing the family of God who exhibit the Kingdom of God in the way they live out communion together.
This work is also counterintuitive. Because my flesh is at play, I never feel like doing it. It seldom feels enjoyable, at least initially. But, I have to exercise myself unto godliness to (1 Timothy 4:7).
I have to prayerfully resist the flesh and yield to the Holy Spirit. I have to go when I don’t want to. I have to engage, call, visit and break bread with people when I’d rather not. I have to share when it seems better to keep it. I have to show up, and keep showing up when it feels safer to maintain my distance.
These things never seem to be the remedy to a downcast spirit but they always are, when I do it for the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34) The table He’s prepared often appears in the process of obedience (Psalm 23:4-5).
#communionneverends
Communion Never Ends
Oh! How beautiful!
“For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.”
—1 Corinthians 10:17
We are one bread.
Communion is more than eating bread and drinking wine.
When we participate in communion, we partake of the Bread of Life which is Christ (John 6:48) and we drink of the wine of His blood (John 6:55), then we BECOME communion—we become what we eat—Christ.
Our Catholic brothers and sisters are on the right track with transubstantiation, except what becomes the body of the Lord isn’t the bread or the wine, it’s us.
Hallelujah.
We are called to communion as a celebration and revelation of the oneness we have through Christ—through the consumption of His person: His body and His blood where we become one with Him so that we too are bread and wine that others can consume to be brought into communion.
What this practically looks like is us breaking bread as believers in remembrance of Him, with the expectation of union with Him and through Him.
Then we take it out, breaking bread with others: over breakfast, over lunch, over dinner, with the expectation of sharing Christ so that they may taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), with the hope to draw them into Holy Communion.
Let’s walk this out together. Let’s break bread with one another with the full expectation to share the Lord bodily.
And, let’s do as our Lord commands, let’s not fail to discern the Lord’s body by showing partiality—only inviting those from who we stand to benefit, but also invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and be blessed (Luke 14:12-14).
Communion never ends.
#communionneverends
*Art Copyright Mike Moyers. “Lenten Labyrinth”, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
See the full sermon, “Communion Never Ends” here: https://youtu.be/btUcr_DHL3E