Val

Yesterday, a dear family friend went home to be with Jesus.  Val was very special to us – oftentimes the way to a parent’s heart is thru their children and “Miss Val” loved children, she loved our children, both Mikey and Morgan had her in Sunday School.  She was a source of light and joy to all who knew her.

I was thankful that last night in our family reading and study of the book of John, we were up to John 5.  Jesus is again tangling with the Jewish Pharisees who are more worried about the tiny infractions than keeping the whole spirit and purpose of the Law.  Jesus finally just lays it down for them and essentially says…”Guys, seriously, look…(John 5:23b-24)

Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

There are some really important things in those verses.  First of all, Jesus inextricably links himself with the Father. If you were to back up farther in verses 19-23 you’d see he expands further on this. Jesus is from the Father, he really can’t say it any more clearly than that.  I’m it guys.  Hello?  Do you not get it yet?  Your whole religious lives are set up to honor God but you are failing to see that God sent me, and so you really aren’t honoring him then, are you?

Second, he explains the way of salvation and guaranteed eternal life. 

“Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life.”

If anyone hears what Jesus is saying, and you believe he is from the Father – he “has” eternal life.  Not “will have” eternal life. Not “could have” eternal life if you keep all the crazy laws about not carrying your mat on the Sabbath…”has”.  As in already has it.  Already obtained. A present reality.  This means there is no gap in our life if we understand who Jesus was and believe.  This means that moment Miss Val closed her eyes and breathed her last breath here on Earth, she opened her eyes in the presence of Jesus.  Think about that for a minute.

Third, those who believe Jesus “will not come into judgement.”  Why?  Well, a clue is back in verse 22 – “the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son.” If we understand who Jesus was where then was this judgement of our sins? On the cross.  That’s where Jesus, the Son, paid for all the sins of the “whole world” (1 John 1:22).  We all have a choice, God has offered his Son Jesus for the payment of the sins of the whole world – however if we do not come to understand that, we cannot then have our sins judged on the cross – our sins are still ‘on us.’ (John 3:36).   When Jesus returns, he will be returning to judge the sins of those who have not come to faith in Him, and that is place no one wants to be. Is God trying to get your attention? Is he stirring up your heart to know more about this?  Is he beginning to open your eyes so that you understand this?

Fourth, if you believe, if God has opened your eyes and given you understanding of this message – look at the end of v24- ”has passed from death to life.”  Now it’s past tense, like ’already happened.’  “Passed.” Our names are already written in the book of life, our sins are judged on the cross and we have assurance of eternal life.

Colossians 1:13-14 helps us out here too — (notice the use of more past tense!)

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

  As I was talking and praying with Val’s husband on the phone last night, a part of us was rejoicing in the assurance of knowing that Val is already with the Father, already praising Jesus – she is receiving the benefits now of these wonderful words on John, and the rock solid promises that will get their family thru these coming days and years.

We love you, Val.  Can’t wait to worship with you again.

Reflections from Sunday

I really enjoyed today, though the worship time was a bit shorter than usual, I really enjoyed the songs – if you are only going to do a few songs…make them powerful, weighty songs rich in truth, eh?  It was also a communion Sunday which is always special!

1. I Exalt Thee (Sanchez)
2. You are Holy (MWS Smith)
3. Come Thou Fount (custom version)
4. Power of the Cross (Getty/Townend)

Today, after we hear from the Word, we will be celebrating Communion together.  We will be remembering the sacrifice that our Lord Jesus made on the cross to pay the penalty, the price, the cost of our sin – not only our sins, but the sins of the whole world.

 Pastor has been preaching on the coming of Christ and the life in Heaven that we will enjoy if we have put our faith in Jesus and that sacrifice.  It would be good to pause before we sing this next song to realize that we will never forget the sacrifice on the cross Jesus did when we get to heaven.  He is both the means and the end for us in Heaven.  He is the only way we can get to heaven, and he is the main object in heaven – we will forever worship this sacrificial “lamb” – here listen to what Revelation Chap 5:11-14 says:

 11Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering(S) myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice,(T) “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13And I heard(U) every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14And the four living creatures(V) said, “Amen!” and the elders(W) fell down and worshiped.

JC Ryle says that one day preaching and praying will cease, but praise will never die.

 We will forever praise Jesus for his work on the cross. This next song explains the power of the cross – Christ became sin for us, took the blame, bore the wrath – and we – we stand forgiven at the cross.

 If you have faith in Jesus Christ – today – you are forgiven because of the cross – you stand justified before God because of the power of that sacrifice that Jesus made for you.

 Let’s sing and praise him, as we will do forever, for the Power of the Cross.

 

…but my rights?! 1 Cor 9

Click here to read 1 Corinthians Chapter 9 online.

We are continuing in our expositional study of 1 Corinthians – somebody remind me what expositional means?

Tonight we are up to Chap 9. And we see this section is mostly about Paul talking about his rights…my section heading says “Paul Surrenders His Rights”

Verses 1-12 he basically gives evidence for why he “deserves” his rights. He talks about being an apostle – what does apostle mean? According to the ESV Study Bible:

Apostles (plural of Gk. apostolos; used only here in Matthew; see note on Rom. 1:1) describes those commissioned to be Jesus’ special representatives, while “disciples” (Matt. 10:1) was also used more broadly to refer to anyone who believed in Jesus

He says look even oxen get to eat while they work! (Don’t muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain…Deut 25:4)

Then we see a turning point in v13. A big word, a word used to show a shifting of thought – “Nevertheless”

Nevertheless we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ

Here we have Paul’s main thought to this chapter – hear this – the gospel is more important than anything…even my own rights and I will not put anything in the way of it.

Paul is mainly talking about money. Getting paid to preach or getting support from local churches to continue his ministry. Did he have a right to? Absolutely, but he didn’t want that to get in the way of the gospel. He would rather not get paid at all than get paid and have that get in the way of the gospel – he didn’t want any suspicion of his motives.

1-The Gospel is the most important thing

So here we see the first thing I want you to walk away with tonight – the gospel is really really really important, in fact there is nothing more important. Look at verse 16 “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! More than anything. In one of my favorite verses 1 Cor 15:3 Paul says that the gospel is of first importance. What do we mean by “the gospel” Why is the gospel so important? It is the message of Jesus Christ it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes (Rom 1:16). It is the main storyline of the whole Bible. Did you know that? Everything written in the OT points to Jesus Christ and his message. Points to the coming of the Messiah, shows God’s sovereign hand as he carves out a Jewish nation from which the Messiah (Jesus) will come. As a church, the gospel and message and work of Jesus, needs to direct everything we do.

Can we really get in the way of that? Well, sort of. The bible is very clear that if the gospel is being preached in purity not even the gates of Hell can stand against it, (Matt 16:18) but we in our own foolishness and selfishness can put stumbling blocks in the way of our brothers and sisters to obscure it.

When I preached on Sunday morning a few weeks back, I had a minor dilemma. It was more of a fashion crisis actually. I hate wearing suits. I really do. Sometimes I just have to, as an Elder, or at work for a meeting or a wedding or what have you…but I really would rather not. Plus I felt that I really wanted to express some freedom in Christ and wear jeans when I preached that Sunday morning. I mean it was my right, wasn’t it? Show me in the bible where it says “Thou shalt not weareth denim to bring the word.” I was bound and determined. I made a side comment to my good friend and trusted brother Tim Witten, he replied with a very simple but very profound sentence. “Do you want them to hear the word of God, or do you want them to look at your jeans?” Ouch. He was right. So, I wore a suit. I wanted to not distract anyone from hearing the word of God with anything I was wearing.

Do we distract or hinder people from seeing the Gospel? Maybe people who know we are Christians and we do things that are a bit “non-Christian?” Small stuff — like curse or go to a party or what have you. Aren’t you really clouding their view of Christ?

2-All Things to All People, with a purpose

Paul goes on to say in v19-23 that he makes himself a servant to all that I might win more of them. Paul was a pharisee, a Jewish religious leader, his job before apostle was living to kill and persecute Christians, he hated them – but he in fact was stopped in his tracks by the Lord and his life was changed forever. So Paul knows all about the Jewish religion – he knows all about feast and rituals, circumcision and traditions…does he have to follow any of that any more? NO, he is free in Christ. Christ came to set us from the old covenant with a new covenant, but catch what Paul is saying here – this is the 2nd thing I want you to walk away with, Paul purposefully related to people to win them to Christ. Notice the last part of that statement – there was a purpose to this – he wanted to win them to Christ – again it was for the gospel. v23 says “I do it all for the sake of the gospel.” He ‘became all things to all people” This is one of the most misunderstood, taken out of context verses in the Bible. Have you ever heard someone quote “I am all things to all men.” or “I became like all things to all men.” I was watching Larry King on TV, don’t ask me why and he had on Dog the Bounty Hunter…you know that dude, the burly blonde haired dude that goes and catches bail jumpers. He also calls himself a born again Christian. Is he? He claims to be, we learned from the last time I spoke to you all about Chap 5 that it’s not up to us, if someone claims to be a believer we treat them as one and judge their actions accordingly – we don’t know his heart! He said on Larry King, ‘There’s a verse in the Bible – that says I’m all things to all people, and that’s really what I am.” He totally missed the point – Paul was saying he is all things to all people so that he might win them to Christ!

Are you purposefully relating to people to share the gospel with them? Maybe it’s that chick or dude you kinda know from like 4th period health or something…he is into some stuff you like, some stuff you don’t — are you blowing him off? or are you purposefully trying to relate to him in order to expose him to the gospel? Paul did.

So we’ve seen so far that the gospel is the most important thing, even more important than our own “rights”; we’ve seen that Paul purposefully related to people to expose them to the Gospel, now lest look at the last part of the chapter.

3- It Takes Work

The last thing I want you to take home tonight is that it takes a four letter word – WORK. In fact, Paul mentions an even worse word “self-control”. We must master our own bodies, minds, thoughts actions. We must have self-discipline.

v24-26 say….

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

What is the goal of our Christian life here on earth? Our “internal” goal -

BBW (Big Bible Word): sanctification. We are supposed to look like, sound like, smell like Jesus. Another word for it – Holiness.

Our “outward” goal is to go and make disciples (Matt 28:19), but I would argue that to do that most effectively, we need to be growing in personal character like that of Jesus.   We need to make sanctification our goal!  (1 Thess 4:3a)

A great book for you guys to read…it’s not big…it’s small…and it’s very helpful is Jeff Bridges “The Pursuit of Holiness.” In it he has a chapter called “The Place of Personal Discipline”

Here is a great quote:

“Jay Adams puts his finger on the problem when he says “you may have sought and tried to obtain instant godliness. There is no such thing. WE want somebody to give us three easy steps to godliness, and we’ll take them next Friday and be godly. The trouble is, godliness doesn’t come that way.”

God is not in the microwave business, he is in the crock pot business. As cross movement says – he slow roasts a brother, it takes T-I-M-E.

So, how is your discipline coming? Are you, as Paul says, running in such a way to obtain the prize? The prize here being sanctification, the prize after we pass away being glorification – finishing the race well, being in heaven with Jesus. Are you disciplining yourself to live well, to not put a stumbling block in the way of the gospel? To purposefully relate to people to bring them to Christ? Are you being diligent in your work as studying to show yourselves as one approved before God? Are you in the word, faithfully? Regularly…is it changing you? Are you praying faithfully, regularly are you growing closer to God in prayer? Is Christ changing your life? If not, I recommend a few things – 1…a smaller bible word – repent. Tell God that you are sorry for not giving this Christian life thing the best effort and then do it. Knuckle down. Find someone to disciple you, read the word every day, read great books like the Pursuit of Holiness. Train. Discipline. Self control.The Gospel is too important for us to get in the way of others seeing it.

Can We Sing in the Same Room?

This was amazing live…and a great point.

You can’t (and shouldn’t) always get what you want

As Mick Jagger says…you can’t always get what you want…

So, how do we react when the things we pray for intensely get answered with a big fat NO?

Have you ever experienced that?   In my daily reading today,  in the Valley of Vision I came across this wonderful little paragraph:

I thank thee for the many prayers that have been refused
I have asked amiss and do not have,
I have prayed from lusts and been rejected,
I have longed for Egypt and been given a wilderness.

About a year and a half ago I was inches away from relocating to take a job.  I prayed intensely about this, Melanie was on board, I had gone thru 5 (count ‘em) FIVE interviews, we were really starting to get excited.

Then I get a cold, cruel e-mail from the admin simply saying, in form-letter-like fashion – “Thanks for your interests, but we are pursuing other candidates.”

In a word – I was near devastation. I was looking for the quickest route up to the roof in order to jump off.  I recall reading the e-mail out of the corner of my eye, and having someone come in my office to ask me a question and I didn’t hear a word they said.  I just needed to go and call my wife and start the old  “Can you believe that!?” routine.

A year and a half later,  I am very thankful that God didn’t say yes to my request – for a variety of reasons.

This isn’t going to be one of those “See, everything has a reason” posts.  I really get kinda nauseous when I hear that. The reason is that we need to submit to God and his sovereignty, and following him has a high cost – because ultimately it’s not about us, it’s about Him. We are like King Julien who says “It’s all about ME.”

Today I was in Luke 14 where Jesus is talking about the cost of discipleship.  In a word – if you want to follow me, it’s not going to be about you, it’s going to be about ME – so you’d better really seriously consider that before you become my disciple and understand what you are getting into.  Luke 14:33 says:

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Look at what Christ renounced for me?  His LIFE.  Temporarily…His GLORY, when he came to Earth on mission to be our payment, our justification, our righteousness. He calls us to be ready to do the same for him. For in losing our very life for Him – we will actually save it.

So, do I always understand and accept that perfectly? Oh heck no. But these passages are such good reminders of what we are called to as followers of Christ.

It goes against our own selfishness, right?

I think that may be why Jesus uses such strong language here, he knows our selfish hearts.

Romans 12:1-2…Let’s be rational about this…

Is basically what Paul is saying…I never got that until today…

That became readily apparent as I came upon the chapter “Paul and the Service of the Gospel” in David Peterson’s book “Engaging with God, a Biblical Theology of Worship.”

The author translates Rom 12:1-2 as:

Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercies, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, which is your understanding worship

“Understanding” worship?  Where the heck did he get that?

Even the mighty ESV has “spiritual worship.”  (KJV says “reasonable service…” a clue here…)

First, it’s important to realize that Paul is saying “therefore” – in other words, ‘because of the last 11 chapters I just explained to you about the amazing sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus…think this way about worship’

On the one had you had the traditional Jews who still were advocating the traditional animal sacrifice for worship. On the other hand you have the Greeks saying “Animal sacrifice? Yikes. How gross. Let’s be ‘reasonable’ about this.”

Reasonable.  Logical. The words in question here in the Greek are “logike latreia.”   Looking it up on BlueLetterBible.com  – - ‘logiko’ agreeable to reason and ‘latreia’ – the service and ministry of God.

So, what is Paul saying we should be rational about?

In light of the fact that God sent His Son Jesus to die for my sin, in light of the cross, the amazing mediation, in light of the Gospel of Jesus – your worship should be the giving of your whole bodies – an ‘extreme realism’ as it is referred to in the book.

I’ll close with a direct quote from Peterson -

It may be best to read ‘understanding worship’ and to recognize from the context that this means ‘the worship which is consonant with the truth of the gospel, or the service rendered by those who truly understand the gospel and it’s implications‘

In other words – look what God has done for YOU.  The least you can do is offer your whole lives – every bit of them, every inch and dark corner of your heart, to him in service as worship.  I mean…let’s be rational here.

-M

Seeds

The parable of the sower is found in 3 places: Matt 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8.

It’s been one of those passages that I’ve read over and over…until now of course. 

There are 4 kinds of seeds that Jesus mentions: (“seed” meaning the word of God…the Gospel)

1. PATH Seeds: Seeds that fall on the path: these seeds fell out of the sowers’ hands or bag…obviously he didn’t want to plant seeds on the path, but they fell there.  Jesus explains:
   • When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. (Matthew 3:19)
   • And these are the ones along the path, whtere the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them (Mark 4:15)
   •  The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved (Luke 8:12)
2. ROCKY Soil seeds:
   • As for what was sown on rocky ground this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself but endures for a little while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. (Matt 13:20)
   • And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a little while; then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  (Mark 4:16)
   • And the ones on the rock are those who when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing they fall away.
3. THORNY soil seeds:
   • As for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word,and it proves unfruitful (Matt 13:22)
   • And others that are the ones sown amonth thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful (Mark 4:18-19)
   • And as for what fell among the thornds, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choled by the cares and riches and pleasures of life and their fruit does not mature. (Luke 8:14)
4. GOOD soils seeds:
   • As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, on another sixty, and in another thirty. (Matt 13: 23)
   • But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word, and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. (Mark 4:20)
   • And as for the good soil,the are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. (Luke 8:15)

Again, I read thru the whole thing, to be blown away at the end of the comparisons. 

And as for the good soil,the are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Where did THAT come from?  I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that before?  How do I “hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience?”

I’m not good at holding things fast…and especially not good at patience.

But yet that is what we are called to do, by Jesus himself no less.

We are called to maintain, as Cross Movement says “hold it down.”

It brings to mind another similar passage in Colossians 1:22-23:

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, IF indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard…

That is a very active Christianity.

Not the “I-went-forward-and-prayed-’The-Prayer’-at-VBS-when-I-was-6-so-I’m-good” Christianity.

Once again, the “Valley of Vision” daily read has crashed into my Bible reading.  I love it when that happens.

Check out “A Neophyte’s Devotion” and you’ll see what I mean.

“let me be what I profess, do as well as teach, live as well as hear religion”

I’m off to pray for ‘an honest and good heart and to bear fruith with patience’ – I’ll need lots of help and grace for that.

-M

Jesus is a friend of mine

Not sure where to look here, there is so much going on…

The “dancing”, the matching vests, or all the theological mistakes in their lyrics.

O LORD HELP US!

Either way, I cannot STOP watching this!  Does that make me weird?

-M

Jesus’ Words Cut Deep

Reading Luke 6 today and I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t read Luke’s account of the Beatitudes in a while, but Jesus words are very cutting today.

In v20-26 He pronounces blessings on these groups:

1. Poor – for yours is the kingdom of God
2. Hungry – for you shall be satisfied
3. Weep – for you shall laugh

So, perhaps a good summary of mission – Jesus came to bring us the Kingdom, to satisfy us fully, and to be our joy?

He also pronounces blessings on those who are persecuted for His name – even telling them to rejoice becasue their reward is great in heaven. I’ve been reading “Tortured for Christ” and I can’t believe some of the stories in there – the moments of joy and singing praises to our Father amidst unspeakable tortures becuase of their faith in Christ.

He also pronounces woes on these groups:

1. Rich – for they have already received their reward
2. Full now – for you will be hungry later
3. Laugh – for you will weep.

I didn’t notice until just now that those groups were the complete opposites of each other.  So, I guess to ask the Piper-like question: where are we basing our total riches, satisfaction and joy?  If it’s in Christ you will be blessed, but if it’s in this world now and that is what you pursue, then you will not be and you are headed down the wrong road. Also, hope in Christ is true hope, because Christ will never change and is always faithful, unlike hope in this ever changing life.

v31 contains the infamous often over-humanized “Golden Rule” which most people don’t even realize is in the Bible.

v37 again, a famous and often incorrectly-interpreted passage, Jesus tells us not to judge – this doesn’t have anything to do with church discipline (see Matt 18), but I loved the ESV study note that says “Lit: stop judging…condemning. Jesus is not ruling out the legitimate use of discernment, church discipline, and law courts, but rather admonishing his listeners to discontinue their tendency to criticize and find fault with others.” Ouch.  That hurts. I do that WAY too much.

v39 cautions us to remember to check our own lives before we go off “correcting” others. The blind cannot lead the blind. (hmmm…another humanistic saying?  )

v46 is where the real cutting for me happens.  Jesus’ words are very simple and sharp:

Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I tell you?

Ouch.

In looking at v47-49 it was a great reminder to see that the foundation of him who built on the rock was the one who heard the words of Jesus and DID them.  Most often I forget that, I just think of building my house on a foundation in “trusting in Jesus.” Yeah…well there is ACTION there buddy…’hear the words and DO them” in order to have a rock solid foundation – then we can stand when the flood comes.

Assurance, justification, regeneration…oh my!

Great news! I’ve busted into the New Testament! It is so sweet to be reading the NT having read the entire OT…to actually SEE the prophecies come to life in Jesus…to see how much of the OT is quoted in the NT. Amazing.

I’m in John 5 and I came across verses 23-24 and there is so much in them — amazing stuff.

24Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
25″Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

There are some really sweet promises and assurances in here:

• “whoever hears my word and believes in him who sent me HAS eternal life” — as in it is IMMEDIATE.  Think about it…our earthly bodies will pass away, but that verse is assuring us that we already have eternal life now…an assurance that we will be immediately in the presence of Jesus upon these old tentative bodies finally calling it quits – ASSURANCE.
• “He does not come into judgment” — If we believe…we will not face judgment for our sins – why not?  Because Jesus already did.  He took all our sins on the cross and paid the penalty for our sins, there is nothing left to be judged if we believe in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus.  — we are fully JUSTIFIED
• “has passed from death to life” – in case you didn’t get it the first time…the work is done, we have eternal life, starting now.  “has passed”  — as in already happened! More ASSURANCE!
• “an hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live” — the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation – in our natural state we are ’spiritually dead’  and when we hear the words and work of Jesus, the Spirit opens our hearts to the message and we believe – we LIVE, we are REGENERATED!  New life.  And just to confirm, Jesus himself indicates that he is the one who brings life “…is NOW here”

That’s a nice way to start a Thursday morning, eh?

-M