Praise the Lord
for this Friday ... Sunday is coming. Without Christ the world is in constant
chaos and confusion. Without Christ the leaders of the world are confused and
self-seeking. Without Christ the world is in constant turmoil. Without Christ
every culture is in disarray and on a downward spiral.
As Morrie Schwartz
was dying of Lou Gehrig's disease, he shared his reflections on life with a
young friend, Mitch Albom. They were published in the best selling book,
'Tuesdays With Morrie". One day he said, "If the culture doesn't work,
don't buy into it." Later he reflected, "People are only mean when they are
threatened and that's what our culture does. That's what our economy does. ...
When you are threatened, you start looking out for yourself. You start making
money your God. ... Which is why I don't buy into it." (From "Tuesdays with
Morrie", Doubleday, 1997, pg. 154) In fact, lots of people who take an
honest look at the way in which they and everyone around them are living
eventually realize that , "This really isn't working. We really need a better
way."
We do, in fact,
have a better way. We have the Good News. There is a better and an excellent
way in and through Jesus. As we read in Luke, our Lord went to the synagogue in
Capernaum as it was His custom. Wesley would have called it a "holy habit".
Jesus stood in the synagogue, where He taught with Authority and authencity.
His presence brings power. The people who heard him were challenged to their
core. Those who believed in Him were changed and transformed. Their eyes were
opened. They received life abundant and eternal.
Jesus taught a new
way of life that is appropriate to the new possibility that God offers us.
Jesus had been preaching, "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe
the good news." (Mark
1:15) The kingdom of God is both a new understanding of
reality and a new possibility. It is a new understanding of reality based upon
the belief that God is really the most real and the most important of all
realities. It is a new possibility that is open to all who will allow their
lives to be shaped by that belief. Jesus is the realness of real. He is the
real Thing. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He brings and offers that
life to all who come Him by faith receive by His grace. He is alive and well.
The present
culture, though bought into my so many, does not work. Every culture without
Christ is a chaos. Every Culture without Christ collapses and decays. Jesus
transforms every culture. He reigns. He is our Eternal Contemporary. We do
not have to buy what He has accomplished at the cross. It is given, free
for the asking. Once we have received the Gift He offers we are empowered by
the Holy Spirit to live out our lives of purpose and victory. No matter how
bleak and despondent the culture might seem, our Lord sheds Grace, His light,
and His love upon us. What a way to live and a what way to serve. Let us come
to Jesus and live.
In
Christ,
Brown
http://youtu.be/puG_jl22z2Y
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