Set Someone Free Today

In Luke 13, Jesus notices a woman who has had "a disabling spirit" for 18 years, and sets her free. He does so on the Sabbath, the religious day of rest. His opponents complain he ought not be doing such work on the Sabbath, and Jesus argues that, if releasing a farm animal for water on the Sabbath is allowed, then surely releasing this woman is allowed also.

This is not just an argument to draw different lines in a

"I Didn't Vote for Him"

Today was the inauguration ceremony of our 45th President, Mr. Donald Trump, and his Vice-President, Mr. Michael Pence. Like always, there was a lot of pomp and circumstance. Like always, there were people deciding not to attend, in protest of the event, and others attending in order

He Came To Set Us Free

We just finished celebrating Advent and Christmas, a time when we look back the Son of God entering flesh. The 'incarnation' as it's called, marked the point in time when God became one of us, entering our world with all its pain and brokenness, and creating a restored

Forgiven and Free

From my friend Bill Winn, who writes so clearly about these things.

There's no way you can 'be good enough' to repay God for forgiving you. You can't repay a gift and you can't repay forgiveness. It's free, and it sets you free!

https://trinityandhumanity.com/2016/11/03/i-already-got-5-dollars/

Enjoy!

Let Freedom Ring!

One of the most famous icons of America's independence is the Liberty Bell, which became a symbol of our country's annual celebrations, although it wasn't actually rung on July 4, 1776. The words of scripture on it are quoted from Leviticus 25:10, "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." And truly, our founding fathers were pursuing the ideal of liberty. But I have to tell you, they missed the point of what real liberty is. What is it?

Liberty from oppressive rule, or freedom to make one's own choices, has

Pain and Good

This morning I pinched my finger in a cabinet door and yelped at the pain. Then I remembered what today is. Today is Good Friday in the Christian calendar. "What's so good

SIlly Things We Think, #1: God Cannot Look on Evil

Have you ever heard someone say "God cannot look on evil" as a way to tell you that you are cut off from him because you have sinned?  Well, if that is true, it sets up a lot of problems and doesn't solve any. Here are a few of them:

--Jesus who was God, came into a world full of sin

Sons and Daughters, not Slaves

From another blog, a post quoting John Stott's commentary on Galatians: 
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/gospeldrivenchurch/2014/07/30/the-life-of-sons-and-daughters/

Here's the quote:
“The Christian life is the life of sons and daughters; it is not the life of slaves. It is freedom, not bondage. Of course, we are slaves of God, of Christ, and of one another. We belong to God, to Christ, to one another, and we love to serve those to whom we belong. But this kind of service is freedom.
“What the Christian life is not, is a bondage to the law, as if our salvation hung in the balance and depended on our meticulous and slavish obedience to the letter of the law.
“As it is, our salvation rests upon the finished work of Christ, on His sin-bearing, curse-bearing death, embraced by faith.”

Lay those Burdens Down!

I read today yet another story of a person finally finding freedom from his past. As a child, he was victimized by more powerful people, abused in terrible ways. He carried the secret for decades, feeling shame for what had been done to him, feeling

Worthy, and Accepted!

In 1 Cor 11:17-34, Paul gives instructions to a mixed-up church about gathering for the Lord's Supper, as it is commonly called -- remembering and
celebrating Jesus' giving of himself for us and our salvation. Many have been tortured over what he meant by "unworthily" in verse 27, "examine themselves" in verse 28, and "discerning the body of Christ" in verse 29.

If by "unworthily" Paul meant "having sinned too many times in the last few weeks" we'd all be out of luck, wouldn't we? He's talking about comprehending the bread and wine as both symbols and means of receiving grace from the Lord. The context of the whole book is of divisions and arguments within the church -- and in chapter 11, primarily class distinctions, with the poor left to go hungry while the rich overindulged even to the point of drunkenness. Neither group would be able to come to the table with the proper reflection, having admitted to oneself and to God how deeply we need this grace. Paul is telling them to be unified in love, to treat one another generously, and to reflect on the incredible love of God in forgiving us through Jesus.

"But, I still feel so unworthy!" we often say to ourselves. So, is our worth determined by our feelings? No, our worth is already given to us by Jesus himself, his own sinless life and perfect death for us, his love for us bringing us into the love of the Father. It's not because we have managed to confess every sin in our lives and stop sinning. Jesus loved his disciples in spite of their sins and selfish attitudes (John 13:1) -- and note, this is said while Judas was still in the room!  He told them the Father loved them too (John 17:23) and that love should give us confidence.

See also Jesus' words in John 15:9-17:  This hardly sounds like someone who says he accepts us only  subject to constant review of our hard work! And in Luke 22, as well as Matthew 26, Jesus urges the disciples to partake of the bread and wine -- it was his earnest desire that they take these symbols, and it's his earnest desire today too, for every one of us.

Our Lord has loved us beyond our imagination -- even when we try to imagine it! The symbols we take, in fellowship with one another and with God, help us remember Jesus: yes, our need for his forgiveness, but also to remember his love (John 3:16-17) that moved him to rescue and restore us to himself long before we could even ask (Romans 5:6-10). The Lord has given us life, freedom and love through Jesus. Isn't all of that worth celebrating with joy?

Free Indeed!

Luke 4:18-19  "“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,
 and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come."  

Jesus quoted from Isaiah to state the purpose of his ministry (setting all humanity free), but they have
a parallel in our nation's history.  January 1, 2013 was the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order of President Lincoln, declaring freedom for some of the enslaved peoples in the United States (the proclamation was limited by politics and the ongoing war).  Nevertheless, Lincoln's proclamation was the first domino to fall that caused the end of slavery in the United States. 

There's another parallel.  All slavery was outlawed by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and all humanity is declared free in Christ.  Yet illegal human trafficking still occurs in this country.  And many do not know, or understand how to live in, their freedom in Christ, so they feel they are still enslaved by their sins, or under God's judgment. 

Jesus said "So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free" (John 8:36) and I believe him more than I believe myself!  So how do we live in our freedom in Christ?  First we have to believe we are free.  Believing God means letting him change our thinking:  "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect" (Romans 12:2).  Notice, it's surrendering our self-will and letting God change us -- not getting up the gumption to change ourselves so we can present ourselves to God already changed, because he is the only one who can truly change us anyway! 

Living in that freedom every moment of every day comes from knowing the will of God, as Paul said.  That leads us back to (no big surprise) spending time in the word of God and in prayer, along with other tools of spiritual formation that we know and practice.  And notice, these spiritual tools only work if we believe Jesus has truly set us free -- otherwise we keep trying to obey without faith, and that's a legalistic dead-end, spiritually fruitless.  (If you have any doubts about that, re-read the book of Galatians, especially chapters 3 and 4.) 

The freed slaves had to learn a new life -- how to make good decisions, think about the future, and care for their loved ones -- challenges created by their new freedom.  Christian discipleship, including the process of spiritual formation, is the exercise of learning to follow Christ in our spiritual freedom.  Let's make that spiritual formation a major goal in 2013 as we walk together in Christ.