Crucified that He might live through me.

I am sorry I missed 2 weeks in a row of blog posting but here is this weeks. I am doing it early because I am afraid it all wont make sense (not that it makes much now) in a few days. Thanks for reading.

Legalism vs liscense can be a big issue in the Church...well let me just tell you it is a big issue. Nearly every chruch goes through a period of time where they are strung between being in the wrold but not of it. Questions like "How much of the world can we 'contextualize (big word these days' and how much do we need to abstain from". I think it is important for us to allow freedom where the Bible says. Christians are no longer held by the law of the OT. We no longer sacrafice animals or require circumcision of converts. But that second example was not always so settled. In Pauls day a group of people known as "Judiasiers" (I probably mis-spelled that) were caliming that to become a Christian, one must first become a Jew and get circumcised. And that is what Paul is addressing here in Galatians 2. He begins by telling the Galatian church that NO ONE is justified by the Law but through faith. Jesus Christ alone is our justification. In this chapter Paul gives one of the best known Bible verses "I have been crucified with Christ. it is no longer I who lives but Christ lives in me". But what does that mean? What does that refer to? Obviously Paul was not physically crucified so what is he talking about? Later on in the ch we find that Jesus took the "curse" of the law to free us from it. He hung on a tree and took the laws curse so that we no longer have to live according to it. Paul is saying that he as well has died to the law so that the grace of Christ might live through him. Paul is free from the Law and its curse and has been set free for a particular purpose "It is Christ who lives in me".

The "Hard Sayings of Jesus" (pt 2)

Last week I covered part of Luke 9 and I want to finish off the end of the chapter. Jesus is visited by three different people that are called and desire to follow him but have reservations about different cares of life. The first comes to Jesus and is told that if he follows Jesus he will have no home or comfortable place to dwell. The second has a funeral to attend before he would follow Jesus. The third has a job to finish before he will go. None of these 3 men are fit to follow Jesus in the way that He demands. Jesus demands reckless abandonment of anything that would hinder us from ministering. The disciples are called and they immediately drop everything they have to do follow Him. Christians often look at people in the examples of the Bible and comment that "I would do it differently if I were there". But this is the very pattern displayed by much of Christianity today. "Jesus, I will follow you but wait till I get my degree/get a wife/whatever else". Jesus has one thing to say to you "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God". In other words: If you are worried about anything more than living for Christ you are of little worth. To follow Christ is going to demand everything from you, it will take all your time and resources. No wonder Paul said it is better for a minister to stay single. The demands of ministry and life will put enormous strain on a marriage. Jesus will not have it if you want to put off following Him for any reason. If that is your attitude then you will be useless in ministry when hard times come.

The "Hard Sayings of Jesus" (pt 1)

For those people that think that Jesus was weak of a sissy have obviously never read the Gospels (or much of the Bible). Jesus had a lot to say that made many people turn from following Him. Jesus called for a complete surrender of all we had. Luke 9 is an excellent example of this. In just one chapter Jesus calls people to "deny themselves" and "take up their cross daily" in order to follow Him. Deny yourself... everything that is of you and not of Christ must be completely denied. After which we take up our cross; the heavy, splintered, shame-filled, and despised symbol of oppression. And yet for a Christian is one of the greatest sights in history (along with His empty grave). Jesus is asking us to bear a burden that the world will look at and think foolish for embarking on this journey with joy, for taking such a task with gladness. The world will mock us and yet we happily take our crosses as a symbol of out association with the Christ. He is asking, in a different way, to deny ourselves in order to follow Him. Make no mistake, this is not a following that is going to be easy to see through. It has cost millions their lives and we ought not be so gib to assume that we can escape such an outcome yet we must embrace the opportunity to follow Him with great fervor. Paul echos this idea when he says that it is "no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me" which follows his claim to have been "crucified with Christ. I urge you (as I do myself) to follow the example of Paul in following the command of Christ.

Good morning. This is my first blog post here and I am excited to be able to post for who ever sees this. This post wont be anything theological or deal much with the Bible but the rest will. I just wanted to introduce myself. My inetent is to blog (at a minimum) on every Friday. I will be sharing quiet times, prayer requests, and other various theological topics. So, thanks for visiting and I hope you come back to see more.