Scripture Nugget 11.21.2016

“But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:22-23

Jesus frees us from sin and into relationship with God. In love with God we desire to serve God in holiness. Serving God isn’t work for which one receives a wage, it is a response to the free gift of grace. The free gift of life forever with Jesus sure sounds better than the wages of sin is death. I’ve worked hard for many things in my life, would hate to face God and find I’ve worked hard for death. Thankfully Jesus ensures we can be freed from sin and its wages. Turn to Jesus and live.

Scripture Nugget 11.18.2016

“From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law and from the prophets. Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: ‘The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, “Go to this people and say, You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn – and I would heal them.” Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.’ He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, arguing vigorously among themselves. Acts 28:23b-29

The truth of Jesus Christ and God’s promised salvation are forever true regardless of how the creation responds. We can, proclaim the kingdom of God and teach about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness for nothing and no one can stop the proclamation of the Word of God. But, closed ears, dull hearts and shut eyes do prevent understanding and acceptance. Knowing the true maintenance status of my/your/our spiritual ears, hearts and eyes is critical. For if our spirit isn’t right, we will never be able to sense God’s grace and offer of salvation; unable to recognize the offer we will not respond to it. Especially it we only listen occasionally. Paul testified from morning until evening and still some refused to believe. Will it be any different for those who listen for only an hour a week? If only we would listen and hear, then TURN to God, He would heal. Deaf ears, broken hearts and blind eyes would be healed, restored and redeemed. God’s Prevenient Grace ensures the Word can be proclaimed boldly without hindrance. The questions for each of us are, 1) have you received this promised salvation, 2) if yes, do you boldly proclaim the love of God to others?, if no, 3) what prevents you from receiving – deaf ears, broken heart, blind eyes?, and regardless how you answered 1) above, 4) how often, for how long, and how intently do you make yourself available to the Word of God? Maybe there is reason we refuse God and argue with each other….. The Good News is that the truth of Jesus Christ and God’s promised salvation are forever true regardless of how the creation responds.

Scripture Nugget 11.17.2016

“I have a hope in God – a hope that they themselves also accept – that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience toward God and all people.” Acts 24:15-16

Hope in God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). Most of you who read this have that same hope, isn’t it comforting to have hope in the One who Creates, Sustains, and Empowers? But then there are some who will read this and many who we all run into daily who have no hope or hope in something or someone who cannot fill those hopes. How sad. Promises are made by many from several walks of life. Family, friends, politicians, bosses, news anchors, for example. Most of these promises are pie in the sky, utopian sort of ideas that are un-deliverable. Yet, many hang onto to them as if they were solid. Sometimes they don’t even make sense. Why in the world would a college student, whose parents pay for their education, who drives a late model import car and doesn’t have to work even worry about “free” college for all. I’m not attempting make a political statement here, just an example. There is nothing free about free college for all. Someone must pay the bill or salaries, and room and board will not be covered. What else do I/you we put our hope in that is a false promise because it based on a false premise? But I know this; Jesus Christ, Son of God, left his place next to the Father, entered the womb of woman and was born just like you and I. This Jesus lived and ministered on this earth, same as you and I. Born sin-prone he never sinned, he is the ultimate perfect, once for all sacrifice who allowed himself to be tried, punished, nailed to the cross and buried. Praise God that’s just the beginning of the story! Three days later he arose from the dead, he was resurrected and returned to his seat next to the Father. I have a hope in God because my sins have been washed away, because of the Grace of God. Nothing in life is free, my sins were expensive, they cost Jesus his life. Yet he loves me freely. I have a hope in God! I pray those who hope in something less and are disappointed turn to God, hope in God and receive the gift of eternity with God.

Scripture Nugget 11.16.2016

“When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had been in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, ‘Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. The all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were trying to kill him ….” Acts 21:27-31a

Passages like this one make me laugh. One group attempting to force their will on others to “fix” a problem that isn’t even real. Assuming (supposing) something is true based on an observance or action that isn’t necessarily linked leads to faulty logic, action and false accusation. The accusation here, “they have defiled the temple” becomes a reality – the accusers become “they” as they seize, drag out and attempt to kill inside and on the steps of the temple. The temple, the place to encounter God on earth becomes a place of violence and hatred – the doors are actually shut. And they accused Paul of defiling the temple?! Recently we see this same behavior in our church, in our world, in our families. Just check out social media. False reports, not researched are taken at face value, believed and shared with conviction, often with accusatory language. It’s the equivalent of seizing, dragging, beating and attempting to kill. Jesus came to fling wide open the narrow door to salvation and eternal life. Ask yourself – are you a door opener or closer? Are you loving others into the kingdom of God or attempting to throw them out?

Scripture Nugget 11.15.2016

“And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.’ Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the marketplaces they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason’s house. When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These people have been turning the world upside down and have come here also, and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus.’ The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this, and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go.” Acts 17:1-9

God’s grace is at work, on the move, in different ways simultaneously – do I/you/we recognize the presence of God and accept this move of the Spirit, or do we deny and fight against it? We know Paul’s story well, the book of Acts (and his letters) tell us over and over of God’s grace in his life, (prevenient, justifying and sanctifying). God working preveniently through Paul introduced thousands to grace. Many accepted, but many fought against believing. They became jealous, they became violent, they remained worldly, they remained self-centered, they denied creator God choosing to protect self-interest. Yes, the love and grace of God, when accepted as it is offered, does turn one’s world upside down. Go back and read the story of Saul’s (Paul’s) conversion – an extremely religious murderer to world’s greatest evangelist in a moment. Yet, he continued to study so that he could proclaim with assurance Jesus as Messiah. See in those who refuse to believe the same opportunity to choose Christ, yet they form a mob and create an uproar. Which King or king will I/you/we choose to follow and believe? Creator God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) or only some portion of God? Will we be like the Athenians who attempted to cover all the bases worshiping an unknown god? Paul responds, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed, anything, since he himself gives all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him – though he in indeed not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:23b-27 Physical blindness causes one to grope and search for safety and comfort; Spiritual blindness causes one to grope and search for the Creator. Created in the image of God, the creation gropes for a connection. The Creator, God, offers that connection through grace and love. The question for each of us, is will we accept the free-gift or will we fight against it. Die to self, quit turning the world upside down in a negative way, stirring up mobs of protest against God. Let’s stir the world into mobs of love and grace, many of them will believe!

Scripture Nugget 11.14.2016

Offering Christ - Although John Wesley did not use the precise phrase “offering Christ,” his entire life embodied this Christian concept. To offer Christ is to bear faithful witness to God’s love for the whole of humanity in Jesus Christ. We share our faith with others so they may know the way that leads to life. Yet we offer Christ not only by proclaiming or sharing God’s word but also through “works of mercy” or the good works we do in the world. Wesley believed that we offer Christ by visiting prisoners, helping the poor, educating children, and providing medical care to those who cannot afford it. When we offer Christ through our words and our actions, we become a means of grace through which someone may receive the gift of faith. When we offer Christ through our words and our actions, we serve as instruments of God’s grace and offer the possibility of salvation, the fullness of life. -Wesley Study Bible pg 1347

“As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.” Acts 16:4-5

What were the decisions that were delivered? “Therefore I (James, brother of Jesus) have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood.” Acts 15:19-20 … “Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds, we have decided to unanimously to choose representatives and sent them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell. Acts 15:24-29 It seems to me there is a powerful message of instruction to individuals, to churches (denominational and independent) and to other values based institutions. Each of us, as representatives of something bigger than ourselves must carefully teach and enforce the beliefs and values of that which we say we represent. If one finds him/her-self at odds with those agreed upon beliefs and values then first address them with the group. If one finds they “must” teach something contrary to the group they are a part of then they should leave that group first. The Leadership of the group (church, denomination, civic organization) has a responsibility to hold accountable, their messengers – official or unofficial. The result: “churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily”

Scripture Nugget 11.13.2016

“‘And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?’ When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, ‘Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.’” Acts 11:16-18

Have you witnessed God moving in another person’s life and either then you or someone else either attempt to or wish God wasn’t moving in that person? In other words, have you ever hindered the move of God in another? Why? Is it because they weren’t “good” enough, or they weren’t as “good” as you; that person couldn’t possibly be “chosen” they aren’t worthy of God’s love. All have the possibility of singing, “I once was lost but now I’m found, blind but now I see,” what is our response? Celebration or denial. Please wrap your head and heart around the fact that none of us is “good” enough on our own merit, but by God’s imparted righteousness we are made righteous, we are made like Christ – bit by bit as we surrender ourselves to the work God desires to do, has done, is doing and will do in each and every-one of us. Praise God from whom all blessings flow for God has given even to sinners the repentance that leads to life! Let’s not hinder the work of God, let’s join in and facilitate the move of God – another Great Awakening is coming………

Scripture Nugget 11.12.2016

“Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, … Now there was disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ He answered, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ The Lord said to him, ‘Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight,’ But Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.’ So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. The he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” Acts 9:1a, 10-19

Has God ever asked you to lay hands on and pray for one who breathes threats against you and fellow believers? If yes, how did you react? Did you argue? A long time? Did you go boldly and courageously or with fear a trepidation? Do you stop to think that God may have already called upon, called out and is working in the life of the one He sends you to? Do you stop to think that if God can change me, a sinner, into a work of salvation, He certainly can change another? Are you willing to embrace that possibility? Or do you say, but Lord……. The beauty and power of God’s grace is that God can say, and desires to say, about all of us, “Go, for he/she is an instrument whom I have chosen.” Even those who breathe threats, who are angry, who lash out, who voice their displeasure of God and others. Who is the Saul in your life that God is sending you to? Who knows he or she may be the one who ushers in the next great revival?!

Scripture Nugget 11.11.2016

“After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living. He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.” Acts 7:4b-5

God makes and keeps “Over-the-Horizon-Promises”. Our response is to live by “Over-the-Horizon- Faith”. Abraham went where God called him to go, though God showed him step-by-step, day-by-day where he was going. Abraham’s father had stopped short, Abraham continued the journey. I can appreciate what Abraham went through; having gone home many times during a 28-year Army career to tell Cindy we were moving – again. Yet we often had a choice and sometime to prepare. As a United Methodist pastor I’ve received that call that informs me that there is a new place to go. Will we go where God sends us, in faith even when the future isn’t fully defined? Do we believe in God’s promises of eternal life, salvation through faith and life full of grace? Or are we angry because things aren’t the way “I” declare they should be? “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.” Acts 7:51 Abraham’s earthly father may have died, but his heavenly father continued to lead – praise God Abraham followed, he didn’t give up, he provided us a great example.

Scripture Nugget 11.10.2016

“When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to the people of Israel, that his man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is “the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone.” There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John … they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. … They said, ‘What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ ... But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ After threatening them again, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people, for all of them praised God for what had happened.” John 4:7-13a, 13c-14, 16-17, 19-21

By what power or by what name did you do this? Jesus. No, no we reject that name. There is salvation in no other name, we say again Jesus. Amazed, seeing with our own eyes the miracle that has been accomplished we have nothing to say, except, “speak no more in this name.” We cannot keep from speaking about Jesus. They could find no way to punish them, for all the believers praised God for what had happened.

Have I/you ever felt threatened to stop speaking the name Jesus? Have I/you ever given into that pressure? Jesus name, the power of God cannot be stopped, however by our own denial (even if only temporary) the spirit and power of God can be quenched, we and others may be separated from God. Who will I/you (we) follow, who will we declare Lord, who will we praise and give thanks? We are called to be witnesses, to testify about the truth of God, even when others would prefer we be silent. May I/you (we) always answer, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard. JESUS