Upcoming Event: Dig In! Yancey Empty Bowl Benefit in
Burnsville, NC
This international
non-profit was begun by local artists, John
Hartom and his wife, Lisa Blackburn, to demonstrate the power of one, at a
grassroots level, to stop world hunger.
Millions of dollars have been raised through the worldwide events with
funds going to beneficiaries chosen by the local sponsoring organization. Dig In! Community Garden, Reconciliation
House, and Good Eats Soup Kitchen will benefit from proceeds at this one - October 18, 2013 from 5:00 to 7:00 at Higgins Memorial United
Methodist Church. Cost $25 -includes
handcrafted soup bowl (to take home as a reminder of world hunger), homemade
soup, bread and drink.
My Lessons and Applications from
Today’s Readings
(Ellipses are mine and are used for contemplation.)
The Lone Avenger and Savior of a Humbled, Desperate
People – Isaiah 63 and 64 – (Facts:
What It Says – Summarized) “I who speak in righteousness, mighty to
save….I have trodden the
winepress alone…and from the peoples no one was with Me…for the day of
vengeance is in My heart…and the year of My redeemed has come…I looked, but
there was no one to help…and I wondered that there was no one to
uphold…THEREFORE…My own arm brought salvation for Me. For He said, ‘Surely they are My
people…children who will not lie…’, so He became their Savior. In all their affliction, He was afflicted…and
the Angel of His Presence saved…redeemed…bore them…carried them all their days…to make for Himself an everlasting name…a
glorious name.” BUT the people rebelled against Him…forgot
His mighty deeds for them. In their
oppression by enemies, in the destruction of their land, the sanctuary, and in
God’s silence…His people cried out to Him…”to
rend the heavens…come down…make His name known to their adversaries.” And now…in this pit of despair, hopelessness,
and helplessness…they remember God and their history with Him. “For since the beginning of the world men
have not heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides
You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. You meet him who rejoices…and
does righteousness…who remembers You…in Your ways…You are indeed angry, for we
have sinned and in these ways we continue; and we need to be saved. We are all like an unclean thing, and all
our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; and there is no one who calls on
Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you.” Principle: God has
done all for us – from creation to salvation.
We must call on Him, turn to Him, put away our sins, wait for Him, love Him, praise and glorify Him as our God and Father.
A Prayer for You During Our Year Through the
Bible Together– Psalm 115: 14 -15
and Philippians 1 – (Facts: What It Says – Summarized) “May the LORD give you increase more and
more…you…and your children. May you be blessed by the LORD…who made heaven and
earth. Grace to you…and peace…from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ. I thank my God upon every
remembrance of you…always…in every prayer of mine…making request for you all…with joy…for your fellowship in the
gospel…from the first day until now…being confident of this very thing…that
He…who has begun a good work in you…will complete it until the day of Jesus
Christ. This I pray…that your
love may abound still more and more…in knowledge…and all discernment…that you
may approve the things that are excellent…that you may be sincere…and without
offense…until the day of Christ…being filled…with the fruits of
righteousness…which are by Jesus Christ…to
the glory and praise of God.” Principle:
And they will know us by our love…for the Lord Jesus Christ…for
His Word…for each other…all for the glory of God.
“To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain” – Philippians 1 – (Facts:
What It Says – Summarized – after the prayer above)The Apostle
Paul has learned what it is to share in the sufferings of Christ (see 2
Corinthians 11:21-33) and in His glory (Romans 8:17). Paul now vacillates between a strong desire
to be at home with the Lord and the necessity of “finishing the race”, to
fulfill his mission, which is to take to the Jews and the Gentiles the mystery
of the gospel – which is the salvation of both the Jews and the Gentile into a
“new man.” He has exhorted the churches
to have no tolerance for false teachers or doctrine. He now deals with a new controversy: those
who preach Jesus Christ “out of envy and
strife as opposed to those who preach Christ out of good will.” The Apostle’s final determination: “What
then? Only that in every way, whether in
pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I
will rejoice.” Then he gives the
church at Philippi – and us – these exhortations: “only
let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ…stand fast…in one
spirit…with one mind…striving together…for the faith of the gospel…not in any
way terrified by your adversaries…FOR…to you it has been granted…on behalf of
Christ…not only to believe in Him…but also to suffer for His sake…having the
same conflict which you saw in me…and now hear is in me.” Principle: This is one of the most neglected doctrines in
pulpit preaching, but we have seen that it is taught throughout the New
Testament. Believers will share in
Christ’s sufferings and His glory. We as
believers must consider how the world treated Christ to understand how it will
treat Christ within us. (John15:18-27)
This is the high cost of discipleship.
My Lessons and Applications: A careful
study of the New Testament will underscore the reason that devout Christians
hold the things of this world so lightly, and – like Paul – look forward to and
often long for our eternity at home with the LORD. Like the Psalmist and Paul we learn that the fellowship
of true believers in His Word, through the leading of His Holy Spirit within
us, is one of the most sacred gifts that Christ has given us, along with our
priestly and kingly role and exaltation as intercessors before His throne “in
the heavenly places” while we still walk this earth (Ephesians). How can we
neglect these gifts that are ours through the sacrificial blood offering of
Jesus Christ and so dishonor our Lord and Savior and God? The readings from Isaiah today remind us of
the great cost of forgetting what God has done for us – of our history with
Him.
Who His
own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree. — 1 Peter 2:24
The Cross
did not happen to Jesus: He came on purpose for it. He is "the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world." The whole meaning of the
Incarnation is the Cross. Beware of separating God manifest in the flesh
from the Son becoming sin. The Incarnation was for the purpose of
Redemption. God became incarnate for the purpose of putting away sin; not for
the purpose of Self-realization. The Cross is the center of Time and of
Eternity, the answer to the enigmas of both.
The Cross
is not the cross of a man but the Cross of God, and the Cross of God can never
be realized in human experience. The Cross is the exhibition of the nature of
God, the gateway whereby any individual of the human race can enter into union
with God. When we get to the Cross, we do not go through it; we abide in the
life to which the Cross is the gateway.
The center
of salvation is the Cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain
salvation is because it cost God so much. The Cross is the point where God and
sinful man merge with a crash and the way to life is opened – but the crash is
on the heart of God. (Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest)
