Read James 2:1-17. Then consider: God's grace is for everyone. In Jesus' first sermon he read from the prophet Isaiah: " 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor'...Then he rolled up the scroll...He began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'" [Luke 4:18-21, TNIV]
Jesus continues to call us, right here, right now, to proclaim good news to the poor: in how we think, in how we act, and in how we vote. What would Jesus say about a health care system, in the richest country in the world, that rations care based on income, and bankrupts many who are ill or in need of long-term care?
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Golden Rule
Did you know that what Christians know as the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is a universal value in all world religions? Check out www.teachingvalues.com and look for "The Universality of the Golden Rule".
Friday, August 14, 2009
Being a Christian in 2009
This summer we have been exploring what it means to be a Christian in 2009. Our study is based on Galatians 5:22-23, commonly known as "the fruits of the Spirit". The apostle Paul writes: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." [TNIV]
So often we think of these qualities in terms of what our culture teaches us: Love is about romance and sexual attraction; joy is what we feel when good things happen to us; practicing peace and patience is foolish because we have to get ahead; being kind, good and gentle means we're the nice guy/gal who will finish last; and faithfulness and self-control are pretenses we hide behind while we try to get away with whatever we can.
Jesus and Paul teach us very different things about these qualities. They teach us that this is how we will live when we accept the love of God in Jesus Christ into our lives. Christ's love will transform us so that we can love with commitment, be joyful even in the midst of trouble, and live with the assurance that peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God.
What do these words, these qualities, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" mean to you? What do they mean for your life?
More about kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control in future posts.
So often we think of these qualities in terms of what our culture teaches us: Love is about romance and sexual attraction; joy is what we feel when good things happen to us; practicing peace and patience is foolish because we have to get ahead; being kind, good and gentle means we're the nice guy/gal who will finish last; and faithfulness and self-control are pretenses we hide behind while we try to get away with whatever we can.
Jesus and Paul teach us very different things about these qualities. They teach us that this is how we will live when we accept the love of God in Jesus Christ into our lives. Christ's love will transform us so that we can love with commitment, be joyful even in the midst of trouble, and live with the assurance that peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God.
What do these words, these qualities, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" mean to you? What do they mean for your life?
More about kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control in future posts.
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