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Powerful Compassionate God

Exodus 14:19-31, 15:1-13,21-22; Psalms 103:1-13 The Israelites are delivered from Egypt in our Exodus 14 passage by the power of God who turns the Red Sea into dry land which they can cross over safely. Then God causes the waters to come back and drown out all the Egyptians who are chasing them. In chapter 15 they sing a song of praise to the Lord who has triumphed gloriously. From this act of miraculous deliverance, they declare that God is their strength and might. They say that God has become their salvation. Little do they known then that God will later send Christ to bring salvation from sin and the ability to have a personal relationship with God. While the Israelites boast of God’s powerful deliverance from the Egyptians, David in Psalm 103 praises God for the Lord’s compassion and mercy. This is shown in God forgiving all our iniquities, healing all our diseases, redeeming our lives from the Pit, and crowning us with steadfast love and mercy. God’s steadfast love is mention...
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Gifts of the Spirit

Acts 2:1-21, I Corinthians 12:3-13   Our Acts scripture is commonly read on Pentecost Sunday. It tells how the Holy Spirit descended on the believers. One act of the Spirit was to make people filled with it speak languages so all in the diverse crowd were able to hear in their own language. When they are sneered at for being drunk, Peter speaks out and tells how the prophet Joel predicted this, that all people men and women, young and old, slaves and free will have the Spirit poured out on them. Peter quoting Joel mentions one of the spiritual gifts we spoke of a few weeks ago that being prophecy. We saw a list of spiritual gifts when we studied Romans 12. Well, Paul expands them in I Corinthians. Our passage starts by stating that no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. This is the power of the Holy Spirit in us to recognize Christ as Lord. Another aspect of the Spirit is its handout of a varieties of gifts. This magnification of the Spirit is for the commo...
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God the Repayer, Not Us

Matthew 16: 21-28, Romans 12:9-21 In Matthew 16 Jesus rebukes Peter and his philosophy that only good things should happen to good people. Jesus tells him he is setting his mind on human things not on the divine which was the plan for Jesus to suffer and die for our sins. He tells how those that save their lives will lose them, but those who lose it for Jesus sake will find it. Forsaking human wisdom and following the divine Jesus and God’s divine plan of salvation one will truly be saved and find a life worth living. This passage ends with Jesus telling them how when Jesus returns he will repay everyone for what they have done. This is one scripture to claim for those who wonder what will happen to the Hitlers of this life. Paul in Romans talks about genuine love and how it is shown by holding on to what is good and to outdo one another in showing honor. We are to continually rejoice in the hope God has given us to be patient in affliction and to persevere in prayer. He lists th...
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Building Up the Church

 Matthew 16: 13-20, Romans 12:1-8   There are many different thoughts today on who Jesus was. Some say just a prophet or a good man who lived righteously or what we as Christians believe, along with Peter in Matthew 16, that he is the Messiah the Son of God. People of Jesus’ time thought he was John the Baptist, Elijah, or Jeremiah. When Jesus asks Peter the disciple replies “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” To this response Jesus calls Peter blessed and tells how Peter is the rock on which he will build his church. The Catholic church patterns its leadership as priests like Peter. In Romans Paul talks about how the church built upon Peter the Rock has many different members, but not all have the same function. He goes on to list spiritual gifts ones that differ according to the grace given us. Each of us has been given a talent, ability, or calling that when exercised builds up the church. The gifts listed are prophecy, ministry, teaching, encouragement, g...
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What Truly Defiles Us

Matthew 15:10-20; Romans 11: 1-2, 29-32 The Pharisees are at it again elevating their rules above God’s. The one in question here is the ceremonial washing of hands before eating. The disciples who ate on the run didn’t go through this complex ritual of hand washing before eating. Today for health reasons we wash our hands before eating but this was a much more elaborate washing dictated by the Pharisaic law. So, Jesus tells the crowd that it is not what goes into the mouth but the evils that come out of it and the sins that comes out of the heart are the things that truly defile one – not omitting the ceremonial handwashing. He calls these leaders blind leading the blind. Their focus instead should be on the truly defiling activities such as evil intensions, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. We have seen the false witness and slander of what the Pharisees do to Christ and eventually they will be behind Christ’s murder on the cross. They do the...
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Walking In Faith

Matthew 14:22-33, Romans 10:5-13 Our Matthew account is the famous one of Jesus walking on the water. Peter asks to join him yet fear wins over faith and he begins to sink. Peter calls out to Jesus, and the Lord reaches out his hand and saves him. Jesus says, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" The disciples fearing the storm are amazed when it calms down when Jesus arrives. Those in the boat worship him their faith confirmed as they say out loud, "Surely this is the son of God." These are the first humans to confess that Jesus is the son of God.   In Romans Paul tells how righteousness doesn't come from the law but by faith confessing that Jesus is Lord, believing in the heart that God raised him from the dead. This confession leads to righteousness and by confessing with your mouth, like the folks on the disciple's boat, will lead to salvation. There are storms of life that make us fearful. We have initial faith like Peter that Jesus will help ...
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Beholding God’s Face

  Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7,15 Back in Genesis 28 we had the account of Jacob’s ladder. Today in chapter 32 we have Jacob wrestling with a “man” who he later declares to be God. Jacob is seen as the aggressor here since when the “man” asks him to let go Jacob refuses unless the “man” blesses him. This request shows that Jacob saw this to be no ordinary man. He is then being told that his name will be changed to Israel since he has struggled with God and with humans and has prevailed. Again, this is another hint that this man must be God. Yet the man will not tell him his name but does finally bless him. Then Jacob declares, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved - saved.” A reminder of this encounter will always be the limp he has been given being struck on the hip. Psalms 17 is a prayer for deliverance from persecution. David the author gives the account of how faithful he has been with no deceitful lips and no wickedness to be found in him. This shows th...
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