Good day friends! I pray your week and weekend went well!
This Sunday we will be celebrating the Reformation, lead by Martin Luther in the 16th century. It was a cry within the church to turn back to proclaiming our salvation is attained by God’s grace alone, in Christ’s redeeming sacrifice alone, through our faith alone; not by works. Let us top up our coffee’s and remember…
Readings for Sunday, October 27: Reformation Day (Oct 31st)
Revelation 14:6-7; Psalm 46; Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36 or Matthew 11:12-19
There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood – to be received by faith. Romans 3:22b-25a
Have you ever felt like you just didn’t measure up? Maybe it was an academic subject, or a job, or a relationship? No matter how hard you tried or what you did, you just didn’t feel adequate or have what it took to do what was expected. Well I have. There have been many times and situations in my life where I felt like I just didn’t do the job well enough. I was not as good of a friend, wife, sister, mother, grandmother, co-worker, or teacher that I should have been. Many times those feelings were my own insecure thoughts, the world’s haughty expectations, or Satan’s whispers which were meant to deflate me and show me the reality of my inabilities.
Yes, we can easily see how we fall short of this world’s expectations. In this light, we should be able to clearly see how we then fall short of the glory of God. Personally, I know that no matter how hard I try, there are so many times in a day that I do not measure up to his laws. How about you? I believe, one look into the mirror of our souls and we will see our frailties and flaws, our inadequacies and imperfections. We will see our sins and our inabilities to turn from our sinfulness. There is no way that we deserve or could justify ourselves to be in the presence of our omniscient, all-powerful, and great Heavenly Father. Yet, through faith in all that Christ has done for us, we are justified freely by his grace. We can stand in his presence now and forever.
In Christ, we don’t need to put on a façade or front, but can lay our sins and weaknesses before him. He knows exactly what they are and has bestowed his forgiveness and cleansing upon us. He sees that many times we don’t measure up to the next guy. However, as we seek him as our Saviour, he prepares and strengthens us for the tasks he has prepared for us; not to compare ourselves to the guy next to us, but to work in the strength, the talents, and the abilities that he has given us. In all things we are justified freely by his grace, to do the good works he has prepared for us to do, until the day he calls us home. So, live as God’s child who has been freely justified through faith in Christ’s redeeming blood. Go and be all that he desires you to be until the day he desires you to be with him.
Prayer: Dear Lord, we are bombarded with how inadequate and sinful we are, especially before you. Yet you have taken care of it all for us. Yes, your law shows us our sins, but it will never redeem us. We will always fall short, each and every one of us. But thanks be to God, that you have worked out our salvation through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, our Saviour. You have freely given us life eternal, through a faith that proclaims Jesus is Lord. Thank-you! Please instill that seed of faith in all people. In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!
Like parents lovingly watch over their precious little baby, so God watches over us. Like a helpless, totally dependent baby sleeps with the greatest of peace and contentment, so we can rest in knowing that our God is watching over us with the greatest of care and diligence. His care is perfect and always there. There is nothing we need to fear. He will not let our foot slip. He is our shade. Not even the sun can harm us by day nor the moon by night. He will keep us from all harm. Where else can such help come from?
Stop and take a moment to think on your life. Think about some of the things you may take for granted: Do you have people who love you? Did the sun rise today to give you light? Did you have a place to sleep this past evening? Do you have food in your stomach? Did you hear the birds singing? Did you see a beautiful sunset or budding flower? Do you have the health to get done what you feel you need to do today? Is your body taking in fresh breaths of air?
However, if we took to heart and truly believed that God has equipped each of us with his Spirit’s power to enter each activity and relationship in our day with love and self-disciple, and then stood tall and with pride in all that Christ has accomplished for us, wouldn’t we see our earthly days with a much greater purpose?
My husband and I had the privilege of watching our eleven month old granddaughter this past weekend. She is a very busy and independent girl. She crawls to her desired destination, grabs the piece of furniture in front of her and pulls herself up into standing position all in the time you can say, “Hey little miss, where are you going?” Over the past few weeks I have seen her legs get stronger and stronger. Where she used to be wobbly and unsteady, she is now becoming surefooted and solid. With her determination, I am awaiting the day when she decides that going back down on her knees to get to her desired object, especially her Mama, will be just too much excess work, and she will take her first steps. Of course, at this point in time, we are calling out to her, and coaxing her to come to us. We are clearing the path between her and us in order for there not to be anything that would make her stumble, just in case ‘today’s the day’. We are all looking forward with anticipation to the day she takes her first steps.
Have you ever been to a sporting event where the crowd does the wave – one section of people stand with their hands rising, then the next row of people and it continues along the bleachers until it goes all around the stadium? It is quite something to see and quite exciting to be part of. Especially in large groups where there could be tens of thousands of people, there is great anticipation when it is your turn to stand up and sit down with arms raised and lowered in eloquent sequence. Although you don’t personally know the multitudes that join you in this unified act, you all are part of something exciting and moving, and together you all share in the joy and love of the event.
In the same way, God himself searches for us when we stray. Just like the child who wanders aimlessly after his own fancies, unaware of the impending dangers of where he is going or what his a getting himself into, we too wander, our loved ones wander, away from God’s precious embrace. Whether it’s the burdens of life, the temptations of money, prestige, self-indulgence, self-centredness or a plethora of reasons, we are enticed away from the faith and the new life we have in Christ.
As parents we so desperately desire our children to make choices that will keep them safe and healthy. We can lay before them the pros of healthy choices and the natural consequences of unhealthy choices. We can plead with them to listen to us and to choose the path that keeps them healthy and prosperous. However, when they choose the more tempting, dangerous path which leads to self-destruction, our hands are tied, and we feel like our words fell on deaf ears. Oh how we tried to warn them and guide them. Oh how it breaks our heart!
Many days I get caught up on the phrase, “I prepare a sacrifice for you…” My mind often ponders the Levitical laws that required God’s chosen people to sacrifice so many animals for so many purposes. But now, because of Christ, those sacrifices are no longer required. He is our perfect sacrifice – our lamb without blemish or spot, who takes away the sin of the world! We are free from sacrificial laws.