tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22813021714211854062024-03-13T08:43:01.899-07:00Monthly BlogHal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-83205361996054780182019-01-01T06:00:00.000-08:002019-01-01T06:00:09.382-08:00Don't Waste a Minute
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 7.2px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -7.2px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Here we go again — another year finished, and a new year before us. But we’re not just passing the time. God has revealed himself to us in his Word as the eternal and unchanging God, three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, existing together in one being.</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I am amazed at how his “diversity of persons” in “unity of being” is reflected in things like marriage, family, the church, and the universe itself with all of its variety and yet shared unity. God reveals himself as a trinity, reflecting relationships within that trinity that are complimentary, subordinate, and independent of the need for outside help (Rom 11:33-36).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Our creation by God, and re-creation by the Gospel allows us to participate in his life. The purpose of our life together is to know him and to find the meaning and motive of all of our moments and years in relationship with him and one another.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>It is God’s relational differentiation within the singular being of God that has reached out to us and included us in his eternal plan and purposes. This reaching out involved the Father’s gift of his Son, and the Son’s giving his life for us, and the Spirit’s sealing us for the day of redemption.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>So this year will not be exactly like last year, or like the year after this one. This year will have its own unique challenges and opportunities. We will live it one minute at a time. That means we will have 525,960 minute-sized opportunities to enjoy and honor Jesus Christ this year. I’m looking forward to it!</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><b><i>Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></b></span><b style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -7.2px;">(Ephesians 5:15-17)</b></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-83748697355924010352018-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:002018-12-12T11:03:38.019-08:00Good News, Great Joy
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {letter-spacing: -0.2px}
span.s2 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> We celebrate the birth of Jesus at the end of the last month of the year. It is a good time to reflect upon the year in a way that leads us to repentance and joyful faith as we meditate on the great reality of Christ who has come into our world.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The message of the angel who declared the birth of Jesus to the shepherds was: <i>“Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”</i></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2">(Lk 2:10-11)</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The first words of the angel, <i>fear not, </i>addressed the <i>fear</i> we would all feel if enveloped in the shekinah glory of the divine presence of God in the middle of the night. It is a fear that we would feel not only because of the mystery and intensity of such an experience, but because of an innate sense of our own sinfulness in the presence of our holy God. Just think about this last year. Our hearts are moved to fear by a meditative reflection in the dark night of our sins by the revealing light of his holy Word and Spirit<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>And yet, we are commanded not to fear because of the <i>good news of great joy that will be for all people</i>, even us. The more clearly we see our sin, the more precious the good news becomes. It is not just a word of pronouncement, but the promise of a person: <i>for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.</i> Consider how this makes the good news of the Gospel, <i>personal</i>, <i>datable</i>, <i>geographical</i>, <i>pardonable</i>, and <i>theological.</i></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Enjoy your Christmas this year in the light of God’s <i>unspeakable gift </i>to us in his Son.</span></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-36531383341199991132018-11-01T06:00:00.000-07:002018-11-01T06:00:07.423-07:00Rebuilding
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b><i>Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?…“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”</i></b> <b>(Ps 2:1,6)</b></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></b>The temperature of the political rhetoric has been escalating for quite a while from both democrats and republicans. We have just learned about the bombs sent in the mail to several prominent democratic leaders. At this point we do not know who is behind this, but I’m sure we will find out very soon. Like the shooting of Republican House Majority Whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana on June 14, 2017, (and several others), this was the action of an individual or group of individuals who violated the law by threatening or harming human life because of political rage.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Why this rage? God raises the question in Psalm 2 not because he does not know why, but to show the futility and danger of violating God’s rule. We are one country under God, however divided we might be about the best paths for moving our country forward. Healthy and respectable debate is a necessary and helpful part of the process in our democracy. Freedom of speech is no license for the verbal assassination of character or of resorting to violence.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>When Paul speaks to a divided church, his counsel is much like Psalm 2. Christ, God’s king, has lived and died for sinners and is seated upon his throne offering grace and mercy and love to all who will receive it. Our calling as Christians is to share that good news with others in a way that displays <i>a more excellent way </i>(I Corinthians 13).</span></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-10424824136515446972018-10-01T08:10:00.000-07:002018-10-30T08:10:29.083-07:00Meditation
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 4.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> There is a familiar discomfort in the ear that is experienced by anyone who has flown in an airplane or descended under the water for more than about 6 feet. The explanation has to do with atmospheric pressure. It changes as we ascend into the air, or descend under the water. The experience under the water creates a greater pressure because water is of course heavier than air. At sea level, the atmospheric pressure is about 14.7pounds per square inch. That means that the 1’x1’<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>column of air that extends from the top of your head into the clouds weights 14.7 lbs. at sea level. In every square inch of your body this pressure is being exerted. You are literally under pressure. Why don’t you collapse? Because the pressure inside your body (i.e. nose, ears, lungs), is the same as the pressure outside. So as we ascend or descend, we must <i>equalize the pressure</i> inside our body with the pressure outside our body in order to remain comfortable. This is usually done by holding your nose and blowing it so that equalization may occur through your eustachian tube in your ears. It feels like a “pop” or a “squeak” as the air equalizes.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> I think this process might illustrate the connection between Bible intake, meditation and application. When we read God’s Word there is a spiritual pressure that we are exposed to. The pressure may be like an exhilarating dive into crystal clear water, exposing us to the depths</span><span class="Apple-converted-space" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">of the beauty and mercy of Christ and his great work. Or it might be like ascending the hill of the Lord and standing in his holy place. Whenever we encounter God in his Word there is a kind of pressure upon our soul to respond in repentance, faith, and worship. This response is what I’m calling meditation and it is something like the equalizing of the pressure within our hearts to the truth of God’s word that comes to us from without. When our hearts have rightly responded to God’s word, then we find a new level of trust and obedience that we can joyfully walk in. If we fail to meditate upon God’s Word we experience the pain and disruption in our lives that always comes when we are resisting the Holy Spirit.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> We must hear God’s word, meditate upon it, and walk in it. The missing element, too often, is meditation. Without meditation upon God’s Gospel provision in Christ for our life, the Word of God is experienced as pressure and seems painful instead of profitable and prosperous.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><i>This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. </i>Joshua 1:8</span></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-47311454723618262018-09-01T08:08:00.000-07:002018-10-30T08:09:05.814-07:00Sharing
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” </i>Mt 14:16</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>In the feeding of the five-thousand, the disciples express their concern to Jesus for the crowds by suggesting that the crowds go into the village and get something to eat. It is a no doubt a heart-felt and pragmatic solution. But Jesus surprises them by commanding them, “You give them something to eat”.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>But the reason that the disciples were suggesting that the multitude find food in the villages is because they themselves did not have any to share. Why then, would Jesus ask them to feed five to ten thousand people, when all they had among themselves was five loaves and two fish?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>They therefore question his command by reminding him of their inability to meet the need with what they had. Jesus addresses their confusion by instructing them to bring all that they have to him. He then blesses the bread and the fish and breaks it and gives it to the disciples with instructions to distribute it to the crowd and all were fed and satisfied, resulting in a surplus of twelve baskets of leftovers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>It has been said, “love is like two fish and five loaves of bread, it’s never enough until it’s given away”. But it is <i>only</i> <i>enough</i> if what is given away is first given to Jesus and has his blessing upon it. We must bring our busy schedules, homes, food and kind intentions to Jesus and ask him to so bless them that they might be multiplied in reaching out to others.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>He is the true bread that has come down from heaven that we must share with others. But he often chooses to share himself through our expressions of hospitality and serving in his name. If we can’t get our neighbors into our <i>homes</i> as <i>friends</i>, we can hardly expect them to come into the <i>church</i> and become <i>family</i>. I think Jesus hears all of our objections to his call to hospitality, and would have us bring it all to him. Would you ask him to bless you, break you, and send you out to invite others into your home and into your church to share the bread of life.</span></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-34789967210354031982018-08-01T08:07:00.000-07:002018-10-30T08:08:01.589-07:00We Need Worship
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 14.0px Times; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 14.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> There is nothing that defines or develops our lives like our worship of God. We attend worship services and participate in worship each week. Some of our worship is done individually before God in our private times, and some of it is done publicly in worshipping God with others. In both private and public worship, the more important aspect of it is what God does in us, more than what we are doing for God.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>God delights to reveal himself as the glorious triune God that he is, presenting himself to us as the Father who is worthy of our worship, and the Son who has made us worthy to worship, and the Spirit who points us to the Father through the Son by his indwelling and enlightening ministry of the Word. In other words, worship begins with God’s revelation of himself to us and in us and through us.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>But our worship also requires our response and participation. Our liturgy, whether old-form or new-form, or somewhere in-between must be faithful to the Scriptures and move us to a <i>Spirit wrought</i> and <i>Scripturally taught</i> experience of God. As the Bible says: <i>…true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him (John 4:23).</i></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></i>Imagine that! God is looking forward to our worship of him, not because<i> he needs it</i>, but because <i>we need it</i>. In worship we are transformed by him, and he gets the glory.</span></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-43071971773353343542018-05-01T05:30:00.000-07:002018-05-02T12:53:18.935-07:00Our Unity In Christ
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 10.8px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -10.8px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> The Bible says, <i>And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll </i>and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God <i>from every tribe and language and people and nation </i>(Rev 5:9).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The Song of heaven is a song declaring the sufficiency, and worthiness of Christ. And it is a song being sung by people who are different in culture, language and geographical location. We could add the fact that they would be different socially, politically, economically, etc. But the point is that Christ is no respecter of persons (verse), and that his redeemed community as seen before the throne in heaven has left all differences aside except their allegiance and worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>That they are <i>different</i> is not to be ignored, or tolerated, but celebrated. What a wonderful display of the Gospel when all of the differences in humanity are overcome and replaced with a wonderful unity in the Spirit through the work of Christ, as Paul wonderfully explains in Ephesians 2.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The confusion in what is being called <i>racialization</i>, argues on <i>social grounds</i> for recognition, acknowledgment, and fair treatment for all. This is an appropriate <i>desire, </i>but a sinful <i>demand</i>. The Gospel provides the only way forward in the complicated process of cultural and social interaction, assimilation and social equality of people who are different from one another. And all sincere<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Christians desire to see the perfect expression of this equality. But until we get to heaven, the closest we will get to it is in our life together in the church, which should be a foretaste of the heavenly assembly with all of its rich diversity.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>In Acts 6 Luke records the fact that racial tensions was one of Satan’s earliest tactics to disrupt the Gospel ministry of the church: <i>Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution </i>(Acts 6:1)<i>. </i>But the church dealt with the issue with wisdom and insight so that the ministry of the Word was not hindered. The danger of social issues is that they take center stage and move us away from the centrality of the proclamation of the Gospel as our priority which is the life of the church.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>I commend our Haitian members who meet with us in worship and have become a part of our church, even though it means worshipping and participating in their second language. What a wonderful display of grace in their lives, and how enriched we all are as we share our lives in Christ together. We can even <i>now</i> begin to sing in the church this new song that will be heard around the throne of heaven.</span></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-29978074362546396612018-04-01T08:04:00.000-07:002018-10-30T08:05:39.328-07:00A Resurrection Meditation
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Every Lord’s day, and every day the Lord has made, should be a rejoicing in him as our resurrected Lord. To grasp the significance of his resurrection we must understand what his sinless life accomplished when he came to earth as a human being <i>in the</i> <i>likeness</i> <i>of sinful flesh</i> (Rom 8:3). We must also take into account that he carries out his mission in the world as the perfect God/man, who shares both our nature, and the divine nature without any mixture of the two natures, in one person. This sinless life lived out as a man before God as our representative means that all the righteousness that we need to stand before God is found in Christ’s perfect obedience.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>That he was <i>resurrected</i> assumes not only that he <i>lived</i> as a man, but that he also <i>died</i>. And his death was also for us. He did not just <i>die</i>, but he was <i>delivered up</i> for us as Paul says, <b><i>“Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” </i></b>(<b>Rom 4:25). </b>Our problem is our <i>trespasses. </i>It is our <i>sins</i> that make us <i>guilty</i> before God and <i>defiled</i> in our hearts so that anything we do <i>good</i> or <i>bad</i> (in human terms) is stained by our sin. God punished this sin which separated us from him, by judging his own Son in our place on the cross. God's justice was satisfied, so that everyone that he calls to himself and who places their faith in Christ alone, may stand before him <i>without condemnation</i> (Rom 8:1), but also, <i>eternally</i> loved and accepted through Christ (Rom 8:38-39).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>If he <i>lived</i> in our place, and <i>died</i> in our place, he was also <i>resurrected</i> in our place. In the words of Rom 4:25, he was<i> “raised for our justification.”</i> This is God affirming the person and work of his Son whom the world had rejected and condemned. But it is also God affirming and confirming all who trust in him as being raised together with him — free from sin, death, and condemnation and alive to God in joyful fellowship with him through Christ. We are called to live in participation with the risen Christ as spiritually resurrected people looking forward to the day of our bodily resurrection which has been guaranteed by Christ’s bodily resurrection. That’s why every Lord’s day, and every day the Lord has made should be a rejoicing in him as our resurrected Lord!</span></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-56606913461294817542018-03-01T08:02:00.000-08:002018-10-30T08:03:19.526-07:00God's Gift of Time
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 7.2px; text-indent: -7.2px; font: 11.5px Times; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 7.2px; text-indent: -7.2px; font: 11.5px Times; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 14.0px}
span.s1 {font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; letter-spacing: -0.3px}
span.s2 {letter-spacing: -0.3px}
span.s3 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="s2">Time is a gift that is given to us by God. Most of us think about time in terms of a clock or a calendar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But clocks and calendars are only a measure of time, they are not the essence of it. Time is the opportunity that God gives us in life to experience and to express his mercy in our lives. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The timeless Christ was outside of time and creation, but entered into time and creation by becoming a part of it, so that he could take away the curse that had fallen upon it. His life, death and resurrection were a perfect expression of God’s law and mercy. Indeed, God’s law and mercy found their meaning, interpretation and definition in him.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Sabbath rest has been opened up to us in a new way that goes beyond anything we find after the fall in the Old Testament. The veil of the temple has been rent, there is no longer a need for temple, alter, or Sabbath ceremony. Christ has called us to come to him and enter his rest by taking his yoke upon us and we will <i>find</i> (not earn) <i>rest (Mt 11:28-30).</i></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Is this rest to be experienced in one particular day out of seven? I think the answer is “Yes” and “No.” The rest we experience in Christ is surely a daily rest — and yet, the New Testament clearly establishes Sunday as “The Lord’s Day” a new day commemorating Christ’s resurrection which seems clearly to correspond to the 4th commandment in the Moral law.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The principles of refreshing ourselves in God by experiencing and expressing his mercy in Christ on the Lord’s day is what our hearts should prepare for, hunger for, and prioritize. These things will find expression on other days as well, as God gives us time and opportunity. But the Lord’s day was designed to be a day to celebrate Christ. A key question we<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>need to ask ourselves is: <i>How is what I’m doing on the Lord’s Day a meaningful and purposeful experience and expression of God’s mercy in Christ?</i></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s3"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><i>So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -7.2px;">(Heb 4:9-10)</span></div>
<br />Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-47467852070101204152018-02-01T06:00:00.000-08:002018-02-01T06:00:33.578-08:00Faithful Servant<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> I always look forward to February as a wonderful month of celebration. The first Sunday is Homecoming Sunday which is the birthday of our church. Our church will be 36 years old this month. On the 25th of February, we celebrate Mamie’s birthday. And a week later, is my birthday (March 1). The church has also designated the first Sunday in March as “Pastor Appreciation Sunday” (March 4th). So we come into the month and finish out the month celebrating the Lord for his goodness and mercy towards us.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vj3FlKhAE44/WnCbDBWLvII/AAAAAAAAAEw/A-73ltOItnMl7Ml9kQssHiwbgHBEVBimQCLcBGAs/s1600/chase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vj3FlKhAE44/WnCbDBWLvII/AAAAAAAAAEw/A-73ltOItnMl7Ml9kQssHiwbgHBEVBimQCLcBGAs/s200/chase.jpg" width="133" /></a><span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>This month, we have an unexpected event to celebrate. Bob Chase, one of God’s choicest servants has entered his rest and reward in Christ, at the end of January. Bob came to our church a few years ago, and began to serve as soon as he was given the opportunity. He was one of our go-to-guys whenever we needed anything done around the church because he was single, retired and made himself available for the Lord’s work.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Bob was an active deacon, a substitute teacher for our Senior Adults and children’s classes, the Servant Leader of our Care Team, a regular teacher for our Children’s Church, and an active participant in our T</span><span class="s2"><sup>2 </sup></span><span class="s1">groups. To say that he will be missed by his church family is an understatement. He not only served the Lord faithfully in all of these ways, but he enjoyed it in a way that was obvious to everyone. His is a life to celebrate, because he so clearly displayed the grace of God at work in his life by his manner and ministry.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>What was said of the Apostle Paul, might be said of him: <i>But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me (1 Cor 15:10).</i></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;"><i> </i>The thing that I would point out about Bob’s life as a Senior Adult is that these are not things Bob “used to do” in the past — this was Bob’s active life and ministry in the present. His death to us was surprising and unexpected, because he seemed to be in excellent health, but it was of course, no surprise to God. He left this world as Christ’s faithful servant and I’m sure he heard those words from our Lord to his faithful saints:</span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;"> “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Mt 25:21)</i></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 10.8px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -10.8px; font: 11.0px Times; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 10.8px; text-indent: -10.8px; font: 11.0px Times; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.s2 {font: 7.3px Times; font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-6950039365095342962018-01-01T06:00:00.000-08:002018-01-01T06:00:26.810-08:00Living By Grace<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>David Murray has written a helpful little book entitled, <i>Reset: Living a Grace Paced Life in a Burnout Culture</i>. I would commend his <i>reset</i> approach as you begin the new year. We enjoy learning about the grace of God, and singing about the grace of God, but when it comes to living by grace, we are, as Robert Robinson’s well known hymn puts it, “prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love”.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>And yet, we must be careful that we do not try to “repay God’s grace”, by a life of self-commitment, but rather realize that grace has paid all debts, and is itself the energizing life of God in Christ that empowers us to live for his glory (Gal 2:20).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Murray identifies five areas where grace often seems lacking in our lives, and then shows how to address these “grace deficiencies” in the rest of the book. The five areas include:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">1. The <b>motivating power of grace</b> is missing so that we find ourselves absorbed and exhausted by self-effort instead of (to cite John Piper), “living by faith in future grace”.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">2. The <b>moderating power of grace</b> is missing which results in our failure to deal realistically with the limitations of our sinful humanity and misses the necessary dependency upon Christ’s sufficiency.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">3. The <b>multiplying power of grace </b>is missing, so that we drive ourselves into the barrenness of a busy life, without resting in Christ and finding the necessary balance that living by grace brings to our life.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">4. The <b>releasing power of grace </b>is missing, which causes us to become controlling people and angry people (anger is almost always an indicator that we are trying to control others or life itself). Grace allows us to pray for what we <i>desire</i> in others and in life, and to take responsibility for trusting God to do what only he can do in this life.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">5. The <b>receiving power of grace</b> is missing, so that we ignore the ordinary means of God’s enabling grace such as good food, exercise, healthy sleep patterns, and all of the spiritual disciplines which are designed for our progress in godliness.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 10.8px; font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 10.8px; font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 10.8px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 15.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.</i> (Heb 12:1-2)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-12968967163048731922017-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:002017-12-06T11:09:17.108-08:00The Perfect Gift<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>“Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” </i>(2 Cor 9:15).<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>That’s how Paul finishes that chapter to the Corinthians concerning their generosity and willingness to participate in meeting the needs of the church by their financial gift.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Paul is grateful to the Christians in the church for seeing the real need that existed and responding to it in a way that confirms the Gospel and glorifies God. But his final sentence in this chapter is a reminder to them and to us, about what we are celebrating at Thanksgiving and at Christmas. Our thanks to God is prompted by the free grace-gift of his Son Jesus Christ. To say that he was given to us as a gift is to communicate that it was for our benefit, and apart from any payment on our part.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The gift is <i>inexpressible</i> because it is beyond human capability to describe the riches of the glory that are contained in Christ. And yet we are called to express our thanks, praise, and faith in Christ by our lives and testimony and by our own giving.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>In all of the <i>presents</i> that we share at Christmas, may we be reminded of the inexpressible gift of Christ. In all of the sparkling <i>lights</i>, may we be reminded of the shining <i>star</i> that led the wisemen to come and worship Christ and to offer him their gifts. And when we admire our beautiful <i>Christmas tree</i> with all of its decorations, may we remember the <i>cross</i> which is called a tree in the Scriptures and which was decorated by Christ himself the perfect expression of God’s holiness and love.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> As we come to the end of the year and meditate upon his inexpressible gift in Christ, let us all pray for grace and wisdom to express our gratitude and praise by meeting the financial needs that exist in our church as the Corinthians did, for the praise of his glory, and the good of his church.</span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {letter-spacing: -0.2px}
span.s2 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-78576881489488340172017-11-01T06:00:00.000-07:002017-11-01T06:00:21.888-07:00Rebuilding<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind…</i>Job 38:1<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Job had questions about all that was happening to him. God shows up, hidden in the image of a whirlwind, and speaks to Job about the wisdom of his ways with us which does not require an explanation from him, but rather our faith in his perfect wisdom, love and power.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>This is what we must remember as we deal with the aftermath of hurricane Irma. We sustained damages to our facilities that have been estimated to be around $50,000. We would like to raise $20,000 of that over the next three months (Nov-Jan).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>We have some reserve funds for this kind of disaster and our people are doing as much of the work as we can. The work being done includes: water damage and bacterial control which was done by Erickson; roof repairs on the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">two-story educational building. re-carpeting of the bottom and tops floors; repainting walls and ceilings on both floors, repair of water damaged drywall, air-conditioner unit repair; replacement of smoke detectors and emergency lighting units as needed; and other miscellaneous repairs or upgrades.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>We hope to have the bottom floor operational again in the next few weeks, and the top floor finished by the end of this year (only two months left with the holidays).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>So there it is. Mamie and I are giving $1,000 to get things started, and are praying that God will give you a generous heart and love for him and his church so that we can meet or exceed our goal of $20,000 as soon as possible.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. </i>(2 Cor 9:11-12)</span></div>
Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-22655022773876742662017-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:002017-10-17T06:31:54.676-07:00Taking a Knee<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="s1"> Many NFL Football players have tried to make a political statement by taking a knee during the presentation of our flag and National Anthem. It has caused quite a stir among people. People love football, but most people also love their country and the symbols of our freedom as expressed by our flag and national anthem. To stand, and even hold one’s hand over the heart is to show respect and gratitude for the freedom and human rights that we enjoy. This is the common practice of Americans who love their country. To disrespect those symbols which give you the right and freedom to protest any injustice that may occur within our great country seems wrong-headed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It is a strategic protest designed to maximize its impact by capitalizing on the large audience and by despising the values that should be honored. </span><span class="s1">But the argument of those protesting is that it is not a protest against our country, but against police brutality, especially among blacks. Is it right then to protest the very symbols that give you the right to protest? Would it not make more sense (if less sensational), to protest in a way that makes clear what it is that you are protesting.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Politics and power hungry people are always looking to seize the moment, opportunity, and felt need of people to trumpet their cause. You can be sure there is much of that going on in this display of dishonoring the symbols of our country. The sad thing is that many of the players participating do not realize that they are being used as pawns of the powerful to further their political agenda and ideologies.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="s1">Everyone should acknowledge that actions should be taken to address the issues of injustice, inequality or abuse of our country’s freedoms. These actions should be carried out in a responsible and peaceful way that reflects our commitment to the values and the symbols that represent those values. It is possible to love your country and its symbols, while recognizing that we are far from being perfect and that there is still much work to be done in continuing to make our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>country a place where every life matters, and our liberties are cherished. </span>Paul addresses our attitude as Christians toward those who are in power in Romans 13:1-7. This perspective must be guided by Acts 5:29, “<i>We must obey God rather than men.</i>”</span></h4>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-converted-space">
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>
</span></span></div>
Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-47229656215437648192017-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:002017-09-05T08:06:01.081-07:00Are you an ant?<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> The Bible exhorts us to <i>“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”</i> Now you might not think this exhortation applies to you because you don’t consider yourself to be a <i>sluggard</i>. The root meaning of the word is <i>idle</i>, <i>sluggish</i>, <i>lazy</i>. “Aha!” you say, “that’s not me, I work hard and am very busy”. My<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>question would be: “What do you work hard at?” Do you busy yourself with things that please yourself, or do you take into consideration the needs of others? And do you find yourself energetic and motivated by the grace that God supplies to practice the spiritual disciplines that you have been called to. Are you helpfully encouraging others in Gospel growth?</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"> Listen to Paul’s words in Colossians which I think are a great description of a Christian vision for a life of active grace:</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><i>“Him (Christ) we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”</i></span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Col 1:28-29)</span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 13.5px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"> Paul was no sluggard, he was as wise and active as the ant <i>toiling and struggling</i> not in his own strength, but <i>with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.</i> That power and energy is supplied for the work he has called us to in making disciples who make disciples. By ourselves, we are just one ant (if you remember the illustration from Hopper in <i>A</i> <i>Bugs Life),</i> but imagine what we can do together as we are empowered by God. There is wisdom in that!</span></div>
Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-83306512951147750692017-08-01T08:55:00.002-07:002017-08-01T08:55:53.733-07:00The Glory of God in the Scriptures<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> The Bible says that God’s righteousness is revealed in the Gospel (Rom 1:16-17). Paul goes on in this same chapter to show how God’s attributes are revealed in creation (Rom 1:18-20). The Apostle John opens his Gospel by showing how Christ is the revelation of God’s glory, grace and truth (John 1:1, 18).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>All of these examples are Scriptural statements about the Gospel, creation and Christ. The Bible is the lens through which we see the glory of God. But as John Piper makes clear in his book on <i>God’s Peculiar Glory,</i> it is not the text itself that reveals the glory (though it is inherent in it), it is the <i>meaning of the text</i> that reveals God in his Word. Piper illustrates this connection of God’s glory with his written Word by comparing it to the relationship of the body to the soul. The rational actions of a physical being not only infer a mind and soul but give immediate evidence of that fact. In a similar way, God is embodied within his Word. The Scriptures are like a body for God, which, when rightly understood brings an immediate glimpse of God’s otherwise invisible glory.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> This is why understanding Christ as the key to understanding the Scriptures becomes so important. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:4:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b><i>For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.</i></b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i> </i>The light of God’s Word that shines into our hearts is described as being <i>“the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.</i>” Paul seems to be saying that an immediate glimpse of the glory of God may be found in his Word as it communicates to us the meaning of the Gospel truths concerning Jesus Christ.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> This transforms our Bible study into more than an exercise in acquiring knowledge about God. Our study of the Scriptures becomes the way we experience God’s glory as mediated by Christ by the power of his Spirit in the light of the Gospel.</span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 12.0px Times; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-6536681007728797742017-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:002017-06-01T06:00:02.799-07:00Salt, Gospel & The Law<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Salt is also known by its chemical name <i>sodium-chloride.</i> When properly mixed together, these two elements make a useful product that has been used to preserve the decay of foods and to provide flavor as well. But if you separate these two elements — sodium alone, or chloride alone, they would be a poison to our bodies.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> In the same way, if we separate the law from the Gospel we will get a distorted and unhelpful result. By law, we mean the moral law of God, better known as <i>The Ten Commandments. </i>Most people understand that the Gospel is about the grace of God that delivers us from the judgement of the law. But this judgement is the judgement of God’s own righteousness, since the law is an extension of his own holy character. God’s holy character is not a bad thing, it is a good thing, and so is the law which is intended to spell out what God’s righteousness looks like in our relationship with him and with others as we bear his image. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> As Paul says: <b><i>Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law </i>(Rom 3:31).</b> Our faith in the Gospel and our delight in God’s law are compatible with a proper view of God’s good law which is intended to <i>expose</i> sin so that we might appeal to the Gospel, and to <i>explain</i> how it is that we are to live righteously before God. The moral qualities of God find expression in our lives by the Gospel ministry of his Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Jesus was the perfect embodiment of this as he was the law of God incarnate. In him we see the fulfillment (not abolishing) of God’s civil, ceremonial and moral law. Understanding this delivers us from the many subtle forms of legalism and antinomianism that are at work in the church today. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> The only way to delight in God’s law and be faithful in seeing his righteousness expressed in your life is by experiencing the truth of the Gospel which brings us into living union with Christ providing the provision of his forgiveness, righteousness and power for life. The law is good, the Gospel is good, because God is good. May that goodness be seen and enjoyed in our lives for his glory.</span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-27060204694528675362017-05-01T06:00:00.000-07:002017-05-01T06:00:16.672-07:00The Image of God<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> What if it were possible to link your thoughts with a computer, so that the information and thoughts that flow through the electronic impulses from the 80 billion neurons firing in your brain could be downloaded or enhanced and educated by means of a wireless computer network. This is the avant-garde thinking in the artificial intelligence (AI) computing world. The well known Ellon Musk ( founder of Tesla and Space X), is actually starting a company called Neuralink which he hopes will be the start of developing a helpful use of this technology that will ultimately prevent humans from becoming obsolete with the inevitable advance of robotics and artificial intelligence. His fear is that humans will not be able to keep pace with the abilities of artificial intelligence unless we can find a way to network mentally with that information. Musk says that if we can’t find a way to do this, human’s risk the possibility of becoming “house cats” to artificial intelligence, meaning, nice to have around, but not necessary. His idea is to create a “neuroprosthetics” that would work as a kind of mental telepathy by designing an injectable mesh-like “neural lace” on your brain allowing you to access abilities (night vision for example), and the ability to compute and gain knowledge by means of this symbiosis between man and machine.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: 7.2px;"> While all of this is quite fascinating, it is an example of a wrong path that scientism takes when it ignores the realities of man’s soul and the qualities of the human being who is made in the image of God.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: 7.2px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: 7.2px;">We were made for communion with God. To know God and to enjoy him is the highest use of our minds and human faculties.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: 7.2px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: 7.2px;">It is by the perfect Gospel work of Jesus Christ that we can be brought into a relationship with the living God who illuminates our minds to grasp the realities of his grace, presence, wisdom and power for our lives. Never will a machine or human mind achieve for us what Christ has achieved in opening up the way to God. Both now and through all eternity we enjoy an ever deepening and glorious knowledge and love for Christ and his eternal glorious purposes.</span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 10.8px; text-indent: 7.2px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
</style>Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-36653816196332821612017-04-01T06:00:00.000-07:002017-04-01T06:00:16.022-07:00Do You Believe This?<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b> The popularity of Jesus was at a high point as he entered Jerusalem on the first Sunday of what we call now call “Holy Week.</b>” It is called the <b>triumphal entry</b>. John’s Gospel tells us that the reason the crowd was gathered to greet him as he entered Jerusalem was because they had heard that he had raised Lazarus from the dead: <i>The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign </i>(Jn 12:18). The Pharisees commentary on the event was, “look the world has gone after him” (Jn 12:19). </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> The raising of Lazarus was the seventh sign in the Gospel of John and was an important indicator of his own impending death and resurrection. </span><span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Jesus had made an amazing claim in John 11:25-26 before he raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus said: </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> He proved the veracity of his claim by raising Lazarus from the dead by means of prayer and his word. In response to Jesus’ prayer and his spoken word the dead man was raised to life. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> But before he raised him to life he asked an important question that we must all personally answer: “Do you believe this?” The reality of our own resurrection hangs on our answer to this question. The promise Jesus makes is that <i>whoever believes in me, though he die,</i> (and we will all die physically at some point), <i>yet shall he live</i></span><span class="s2">.</span><span class="s1"> This is a reference to our resurrection on the last day and lies in the future. But then he includes a promise that may be realized in our lives today. He says, “<i>everyone who lives and believes in me</i>, (<i>lives</i> in the sense of having received eternal life by faith in Christ who is the resurrection and the <i>life</i>), <i>shall never die</i> (has already found the life and joy in me that will never be taken from them, not even by physical death). </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> Jesus’ claim was further confirmed by his own resurrection from the dead. This is the central truth of the Gospel upon which everything else rests. Not because the resurrection accomplished everything, (his perfect life and death for our sins on the cross was the accomplishment of our redemption), but the resurrection is the confirmation and consequence of his accomplished work. </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Do you believe this?</i></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Times; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.s2 {font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; font-kerning: none}
</style>Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-7070794301670549152017-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:002017-03-01T06:00:17.548-08:00God is Real<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> There is a glorious revelation of God that is present in the created world around us.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="s2"> <i>For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. </i>(Rom 1:19-20)</span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s2"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"> When we go the Scriptures, we discover that our observations in nature are confirmed and clarified by Scripture. God is the creator and sustainer of creation and it testifies to his glory. A man asked me the other day, “Why do so many people deny God, and the Bible?” The answer that the Bible gives to this question is that people love their sin more than God.</span></div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="s2"> <i>And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. </i>(John 3:19)</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"> </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"> As Thomas Nagel, a well known atheist put it: </span></div>
<div class="p3" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="s2"><i> I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that. </i></span></div>
<div class="p5">
<span class="s2"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s2"> How does God break through such obstinate sin and blindness? He does so by revealing the glory of his Son through the Scriptures: </span></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 7.2px; text-indent: -7.2px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px; text-indent: -18.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 18.0px; text-indent: -18.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p4 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 7.2px; text-indent: -7.2px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
p.p5 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 7.2px; text-indent: 24.3px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
span.s1 {letter-spacing: -0.3px}
span.s2 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p3" style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="s2"> <b>“<i>For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” </i>(2 Cor 4:6)</b></span></div>
Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-82905815482768655512017-02-01T06:00:00.000-08:002017-02-01T06:00:01.023-08:00The Cornerstone<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>A giant asteroid the size of a ten story skyscraper passed between the moon and the earth earlier this month on January 10th. That was a very close call. If the asteroid had hit the earth, it would have triggered an energy explosion equal in force to about thirty-five of the kind of nuclear bombs that were dropped on Nagasaki. What is especially unsettling is that we did not even notice the asteroid until a few days before the passing. Apparently, this size asteroid is not big enough to be detected by NASA’s NEO (near earth orbit) telescopes that are trained on the sky. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>This is like the proverbial “Shot across the bow”. It should serve as a reminder that in spite of all of our technology and knowledge, we are a vulnerable race, living in a hostile and unfriendly fallen universe where life is rare and fragile, but also very precious. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;"> Why precious? Because the Bible says,</span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;"> “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” </i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;">(John 3:16). We need not fear any rock from space, if our lives are built upon Christ the rock. But if we refuse to trust him, there is a </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;">perishing</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;">.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;">Peter puts it this way, quoting the Prophet Isaiah,</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;"> </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;">“So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” </i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;">(1 Pet 2:7-8)</span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; text-indent: -10.8px;">.</i></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 10.8px; text-align: justify; text-indent: -10.8px; font: 12.5px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}
</style>Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-74309260734172560772017-01-01T06:00:00.000-08:002017-01-03T08:21:47.157-08:00Strange New Year Mark Twain wrote: “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.” His statement might seem unclear, even confusing because we naturally think of truth as being based on facts, and fiction as being based on whatever our human mind wants to make up. But the idea of strangeness, that which is surprising unanticipated and unfamiliar, is truth that comes to us from beyond ourselves, and outside of our own human limitations. <br /><br /> This is the point that G. K. Chesterton makes when he says: “Truth must necessarily be stranger than fiction; for fiction is the creation of the human mind and therefore congenial to it.” So when it comes to recognizing reality and truth, we must be aware that what is true might be stranger than anything we could have imagined.<br /><br /> The truth that we discover in natural revelation (the universe and reality in which we live), and the truth that we discover in special revelation (that which God has revealed to us in his Word), are both accurate and consistent with each other but definitely stranger than any fiction produced by the limitations of the human mind. <br /><br /> One example from creation is that we are living in an expanding universe. This is undeniable incontrovertible observable fact. Putting aside the question of time frame that seems to be involved in this expansion (which makes people nervous for a variety of good reasons), the strangeness of this expanding universe is that it does not seem to be expanding from some particular point. Wherever you are in space, everything is moving away from you. The reason for this is that space itself is expanding. It is something like a small balloon with dots all over it. As you blow the balloon up, all of the dots are moving away from each other in perfect symmetry. The distances between galaxies and stars is increasing because space itself is expanding.<br /><br /> That is a pretty strange concept. But no stranger than the fact that the God who created this expanding universe has come into it in the person of Jesus Christ as the God/man, in order to reveal and share his life and love with the people on this planet. From the manger to the cross, this was a strange way for God to behave towards his rebellious creation. <br /><br /> This new year will filled with many strange, surprising and unanticipated things. And what God intends to do is unbounded because of the limitless possibilities of who he is. What will be most important as we move into the unknown strangeness of a new year is that we are knowing him.<br /><br /><b><i>And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent </i>(John 17:3).</b><style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
span.s1 {font-kerning: none}
span.s2 {font: 11.5px 'Times New Roman'; font-kerning: none}
</style>Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-71273869952644798172016-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:002016-11-30T06:32:34.565-08:00Questions About Christmas<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span><span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">People have a lot of questions about Christmas. Is December 25th really the date of Jesus’ birth? How did Santa Claus, with his magical sled and flying reindeer become a part of our Christmas holiday? Why do some drop the name “Christ” out of Christmas and make it Xmas?</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">(hint, </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">x </i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">is the Greek letter which stands as an abbreviation for the Greek spelling of his name). Were there only three wisemen, or is that just a guess? Was the star in Bethlehem a real star, or was it a special phenomenon? …</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"> </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> I'm sure that we could think of many more questions about this unique virgin born child and the unusual, — no, the unparalleled circumstances that attended his coming into the world. But I think two questions bring us to the nub of the matter: “Who is he?” and “Why is he here?”</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> Joseph was Mary’s legal husband, but according to the custom of Jewish marriage, they were pledged to be married, but had not yet consummated the marriage. It was during this time that Joseph learns that Mary is pregnant, and he knows the baby is not his. Joseph has questions. And so Matthew’s Gospel tells us:</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> <i>“But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” </i> </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1">(Mt 1:20-21).</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> The message of the angel confirms to Joseph that the conception of the child in Mary was a miracle of the Holy Spirit which cleared Mary of any unfaithfulness, and confirmed that her love for Joseph was true. But it also confirmed the fact that God’s love for us is true.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> <b>Who is He?</b> <i>You shall call his name Jesus. </i>He is the eternal Son of God conceived by the Holy Spirit who also becomes the son of David as Joseph and Mary’s son according to God’s covenant promise to the house of David.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><i> </i><b>Why is He here?</b> <i>He will save his people from their sins. </i>As John Stott says so succinctly, “The hour for which he had come into the world was the hour in which he left it.” His perfect life and obedience was all preliminary and necessary for his qualification as our perfect substitute and in fulfillment of God’s required righteousness.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> The angel adds a short commentary to show how the birth of Jesus as given in the Christmas story fulfills Scripture and accomplishes God’s redemptive purpose: </span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><i>All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:</i></span></div>
<div class="p4">
<span class="s1"><i>“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us). Mt 1:22-23</i></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> Christmas is about God removing</span><span class="s2"> </span><span class="s1">our sins so that he might be “with us”.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> <i>What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?</i> Rom 8:31-32</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<style type="text/css">
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 5.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 12.0px}
p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
p.p4 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 13.5px; font: 11.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}
span.s1 {letter-spacing: -0.2px}
span.s2 {font: 11.0px Helvetica; letter-spacing: -0.2px}
</style>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-45027978364811152132016-11-01T06:36:00.001-07:002016-11-01T06:37:52.193-07:00Election: Choosing & Being Chosen<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Every four years we have the privilege and responsibility to cast our vote for the presidency of the United States. We make this choice of a president based upon several conditions.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> First, in terms of <b>prosperity</b>, we want a president that we can trust to do what is best for the country as a whole, not just what is best for a select group of people, whether they are rich or poor, or somewhere in between.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Secondly, in terms of <b>security</b>, we want a president that puts America first by doing what is necessary to provide needed protection for our citizens.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Thirdly, in terms of <b>philosophy</b>, we want a president who will honor the ideals reflected in the constitution and values of our country as set forth in our history and documents insuring the freedoms, rights and responsibilities of the people.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Fourthly, in terms of <b>integrity</b>, we want a president who we can trust to do the right thing when everything else is going wrong.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> I’m sure we could all add more to this list, but the point is that we will cast our vote to elect and choose a president based on these and many other <i>conditions</i> that we think will <i>merit</i> our choice.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> In contrast to this, God’s election of individuals to salvation is not based on any conditions that he finds in us, but upon his own sovereign love and mercy: </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> <i>Even as he chose us in him (Christ), before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace… </i>(Eph 1:4-6)</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> God’s choice of us is not based on any foreseen merit in us, but is according to his own <i>love</i> and <i>purpose</i> for the <i>praise of his glorious grace</i>.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> But notice that each of us was <i>chosen</i> <b><i>in Christ</i></b><i>, </i>and, <i>we were predestined to be sons through </i><b><i>Jesus Christ.</i> </b>Yes there is <i>merit</i> involved in God’s choice of us, but it is not our merit, but the merits of Jesus, the God/man as our substitute. He lived the life that God required of us and died for the punishment of our sins so that in him we could be <i>holy and blameless before him</i>.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"> Let us remember that <i>all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus </i>(Mt 28:18). His merits are sufficient to provide <i>saving grace</i> to all of God’s elect, and c<i>ommon grace</i> for all of our presidential elections. God raises up kings and he deposes them. Our confidence is not in the government but in the God who governs all things according to his sovereign will.</span></div>
<div class="p1">
So we join Paul in praise as he finishes the clearest statement of God’s sovereign election and its profound effect upon the lives of individuals and nations in Romans 9-11 with these words: <b>“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom 11:36)</b></div>
Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2281302171421185406.post-63871192787854818212016-10-01T05:00:00.000-07:002016-10-06T11:48:16.694-07:00Christ Is Knocking<div class="p1">
Revelation 3:20 is one of the most well known and loved Scripture verses in the Bible: <i>Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.</i><span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"><i> </i>Jesus pictures himself standing at the door outside of his church, knocking. That is, he is seeking entrance into his own home. It would seem that the church has taken on a life of its own, apart from him. It may be involved in doing good things for people and even teaching true doctrine (or maybe not). In any case, at some point in time, a separation occurred between Christ and the people in this picture of the local church, and they don’t seem to have noticed it.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> So Christ presents himself to our senses as visually standing, audibly, knocking and calling to us, touching us by his presence in us, and allowing us to taste and savor his nourishing and satisfying fellowship with him as if it were a meal.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> It is not just forgiveness we need, but fellowship with the forgiver. It is not just love we need, but a love experience with the one who loves us and gave himself for us. It is not just a promise we need, but the presence of the one who made and guarantees every promise.</span></div>
<div class="p3">
<span class="s1"> In other words, we need, not the benefits of Christ, but we need Christ himself who is the benefactor. And when we have Christ, we have all of his benefits. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
Hal Wynnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01505825381538260662noreply@blogger.com0