Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Love Conquers All (in the Ashes of the Fall)

John 15.9-17

When you leave this physical world, what do you want to be remembered for?

When you die, what do you want to leave behind?

What will be your legacy?

Godfrey Barnsley was one of the wealthiest men in the world in the early 1800s. He directed a shipping empire that sailed the world sea’s and transported 60% of the South’s cotton to his native England. He was well respected all over the world.

Barnsley decided to build a luxurious and magnificent home for his wife, Julia. He purchased 400 acres of land in the wilderness of northwest Georgia and created a vast estate and gardens. Since his wealth was so immense, he shipped in hundreds of rare trees and shrubs—ancient Cedars from Lebanon and other bushes from around the world. He chose handcrafted windows with sterling silver latches, marble from Italy and France, and priceless furnishings from the four corners of the world. It was one of the most exquisite antebellum estates east of the Mississippi river.

Unfortunately, his wife passed away before the home was completed in 1848, but several generations of the family lived at this estate until 1942. However, by the 1980s, the home and grounds were vacant and falling into ruins. In 1988, the property was purchased by an investor who developed it into the upscale resort it is today. If you go to Barnsley resort, all that remains of Godfrey Barnsley’s investment is a pile of rocks, known as the “Manor House Ruins.”

Godfrey Barnsley spent his life collecting money and possessions.  However, less than one lifetime later, nothing was left of his life’s work except a pile of rocks.  A sad remembrance of what used to be.

Godfrey Barnsley thought that he was changing the world for the better, but today, you didn’t know his name until I shared it with you.

When we think of the few short years we get to live on this earth, what are we spending our time doing?

To leave something lasting behind in this world is not an easy task.  

Are we collecting things that in my Dad’s words, “You can’t take with you?,” or, are we using our time wisely to live in a such that the world is truly impacted by the the way we think, act, and speak?

In our Biblical text for this morning, chosen by our lectionary for this Sixth Sunday After Easter, we are going to hear about the eternally lasting legacy that Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, God in the flesh, left behind after His death and resurrection.

Our Biblical text for this morning comes from the disciple John’s biography of Jesus.

Let’s hear together from John 15.9-17.

John 15:9–17 shares these words of Jesus with us:

[9] As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. [10] If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. [11] These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

[12] “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. [14] You are my friends if you do what I command you. [15] No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. [16] You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. [17] These things I command you, so that you will love one another. (ESV)

Here, Jesus is sharing the legacy that he will leave behind, that will last forever, after He leaves this world.

Two weeks ago, we heard Jesus promising to leave his followers with peace.

In Luke 24, we heard Jesus say to each of us, “Peace to you!” (Luke 24.36), and from John 14, Jesus said to each of us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14.27, ESV).

We learned that after Jesus’ life on earth is ended through death on the cross and after he rises from the grave and ascends back to Heaven, we are left with peace, specifically, peace with God.  

This peace with God comes to us after confessing and repenting of our Sin through faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.  We are left at peace at that point because we know that we do not have to work to earn God’s approval and acceptance.  Jesus has done all that was needed for us to be approved and accepted by God.  And, we receive that peace only and simply through believing in Him as God’s chosen and sent Savior.

In addition to leaving us with peace, Jesus tells us in this morning’s Biblical text that he is also leaving us with love and joy.

Now, I have to point out that Jesus’ words here can be confusing if we don’t put them in the greater context of His teaching.

The English translation of this portion of the passage is a bit awkward, and that awkwardness can easily mislead us from Jesus’ intended meaning.  The language here, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,” makes abiding in Christ seem conditional.  It seems as if Jesus was telling his disciples, “I’ll love you as long as you are obedient, but the moment you’re disobedient, you can kiss my love goodbye.”

What Jesus was actually saying was, “If you stay in my love, you will be obedient.”  His love is not a result of our obedience, our obedience is the result of his love.

We are not driven to obey Jesus in order to get in good with him; we are driven to obey Jesus by a heart that is filled with gratitude for the ways he plucked us out of this world and poured his love out on us.

The epistle text from the lectionary for this morning from 1 John clarifies this point a bit.

[1] Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. [2] By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. [3] For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. [4] For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. [5] Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

[6] This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. [7] For there are three that testify: [8] the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. (ESV)

Here, the disciple John makes it clear that love is an outflow of our faith.  Not the other way around.

Jesus in us, through the workng of the Holy Spirit, moves us to think, speak, and act in manner that is worthy of Him.  And, that manner is love toward him and love toward others because of the gratitude we have for his sin-forgiving and life-saving acts for us.

In other word of the disciple John, “We love because He first loved us.”

To further this good news for us sinners who can do nothing to make ourselves holy enough for God, here is a little bit of theology for us.

In the Lutheran theological tradition, we talk about two kinds of righteousness.  Alien righteousness and proper righteousness. 

Alien righteousness is the righteousness that comes to us from the outside. This alien righteousness refers to the perfect and Godly righteousness that God gives to us (Not from little green men in spaceships).  We play no part in obtaining this righteousness, it is a complete and unconditional free gift from God because of His love for us.

Proper righteousness is the righteousness that comes from our own acting.  This is the God given righteousness that is demonstrated in our thoughts, words, and actions, after we come to faith in Jesus as our Savior, and are in turn, transformed by His love to show love to God and those around us.

I have recently been reading Carl Trueman’s organized summary of some of Martin Luther’s theology that describes how and why we live the way we do as Christians.

In chapter 7 of Luther and the Christians Life: Cross and Freedom, Trueman shares this:

The alien and the proper are not unconnected and independent. But the alien righteousness has the logical priority: proper righteousness built directly upon the relationship with Christ that is constituted by the believers, possessing Christ and thus his alien righteousness. Indeed, Luther says that proper righteousness is the result of the Christian’s working with his alien righteousness and, indeed, is the fruit and consequence of alien righteousness. He describes it as follows: 

the proper righteousness goes onto complete the first [i.e., alien righteousness] for it ever strives to do away with the old Adam and to destroy the body of sin. Therefore it hates itself and loves its neighbor; it does not seek its own good, but that another, and in this whole way of living consists. For in that it hates itself and does not seek its own, it crucifies the flesh. Because it seeks the good of another, it works love. Thus in each sphere it does God’s will, living soberly with self, justly with neighbor, devoutly toward God. 

The motive for this righteousness is rooted in Christology. Luther sets forth Christ as the great example to follow, but does not do so in a short-circuited manner, such as “Christ helped the poor; go out and help the poor!” Rather, he takes his cue from Philippians 2: “Let this mind be in you.” Thus, he sees the motivation of Christ as shaping the ethics of his practical conduct. Christ humbled himself in the incarnation, and thus all Christians who understand what it is to be clothed in alien righteousness will, or at least should, start to act as servants toward their neighbors. We might say that Luther regards proper righteousness as the natural outgrowth of the cognitive realization of the significance of being justified by the alien righteousness we receive in Christ. Love is both the motive for works and that which shapes them.

Thus, the purpose of expounding the law is not simply to terrify consciences; it is also to shape the social mores of Christians. The teaching of the catechisms clearly implies that a way of life is to be taught and fostered (“this is what love looks like in action”), and not simply theological principle (“God is holy; you, as a sinner can never measure up”). This message is of a piece of what Luther taught earlier, in his first series of lectures on Galatians in 1519: 

The Commandments are necessary, not in order that we may be justified by doing the works they enjoin, but in order that as persons who are already righteous we may know how our spirit should crucify the flesh and direct us in the affairs of this life, less the flesh become haughty, break its bridle, and shake off its rider, the spirit of faith. One must have a bridle for the horse, not for the rider. 

Here the commandments of God to fulfill a positive function. They do not create justifying righteousness, but they do provide a guide to how the Christian is to keep his flesh under control and thus shape his outward life.

That being said, we do have to remember that in these bodies of flesh and bones, we will never get love completely right in this world.  Even after faith, we struggle with Sin.  We struggle with the Sin that continues to tell us to look after #1 first in selfishness and self-centeredness. 

However, with faith in Jesus, the working of the Holy Spirit will convict of us of those times so that we can confess that Sin and repent of that Sin, staying connected to God the Father and Jesus, God the Son.

And, the result of God’s peace and love being given to us and left with us, until we eventually meet Him face-to-face, is joy.

We rejoice because of God’s grace that loves us, even when we are stuck in Sin, to work through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, His Only Son, to ensure that we are not separated from Him, but reconnected to Him forever in this life and the next.

In his book, Thinking for a Change, leadership guru John Maxwell says this:

“If you are successful, it becomes possible for you to leave an inheritance for others. But if you desire to create a legacy, then you need to leave something in others. When you think unselfishly and invest in others, you gain the opportunity to create a legacy that will outlive you.”

The now defunct punk band Anti-Flag has a lyric that I have written on a post-it note next to my desk that says:

“Love conquers all in the ashes of the Fall.”

Jesus’ peace, love, and joy persist through all of the world’s hatred and sustain you, the Christian, as you endure it.

Jesus’ peace, love, and joy do not depend on your immediate circumstances or situations.

Jesus’ peace, love, and joy transcend this world into eternity.

That means that whatever happens to you today, through faith in Jesus, you have peace with God.

That means that whatever happens to you today, you are loved unconditionally by the Creator and Redeemer of the Universe.

That means that whatever happens to you today, you have reason to rejoice when you lay your head down at night because you have been forgiven of the sin that separates you from God.

This is Jesus’ legacy for you.

This is what Jesus leaves you with.

This is what Jesus works in you—peace, love, and joy—so that you can do his work, through obeying his commands, and with his daily help, work to create peace, through love, leaving others with joy. 

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Pastor Fred Scragg V.

May 5, 2024.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Love Won Another

Numbers 21.4-9 + John 3.14-21

I read once that the devil was having a yard sale, and all his tools were marked with different prices.  

They were a fiendish lot.  

There was hatred, jealously, deceit, lying, pride—all at expensive prices.  

But over to the side of the yard on display was a tool more obviously worn than any of the other tools.  

It was also the most costly.  The tool was labeled, 

“DISCOURAGEMENT.”

When questioned, the Devil said, “It is more important to me than any other tool.  When I can’t bring down my victims with any of the rest of these tools, I use discouragement, because so few people realize that it belongs to me.

We live in a broken and fallen world where it becomes very easy to fall into the trap of discouragement.  

In today’s political and economic climate, the list of worries grows by the minute:

Am I going to lose my job?

What decision is the government going to make next?  How will it affect me and my family?  

Who is going to be the President next year?

I have a family to take care of.  How will I provide for their needs?

I have bills to pay.  Where is the money going to come from to pay them?

And the list of worries grows and grows.  

And, as we worry and as life unfolds and not everything goes according to our plan, we become impatient and discouragement sets in.  

The problem with impatience and discouragement is that they lead us away from God as we try to lean on our own power and understanding instead of His.  

We only get discouraged because life does not go as we have planned it out in our own minds.

In this morning’s main Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary for this Fourth Sunday in Lent, we are going to visit a very interesting piece of history from the Old Testament.  

Now, to remind you, the Old Testament is the first part of the Bible that tells us everything that happened from Creation up until about 400 years before Jesus as born.

In this piece of history, found in Numbers 21.4-9, we are going to get a glimpse into a time when God was doing miraculous things for His people but, the people didn’t feel like he was doing them good enough or fast enough and became discouraged in their impatience.

Let’s look at this Biblical text together now.

Numbers 21.4-9 says this:

Numbers 21:4–9

[4] From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. [5] And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” [6] Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. [7] And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. [8] And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” [9] So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Numbers 21.4-9, ESV)

In this Biblical text, we learn many things about how discouragement functions in our lives.

First, discouragement leads to speaking against God.

The Israelites, we are told, immediately point the finger at God the moment they become uncomfortable.  When life does not unfold in the manner that they believe it should, those whom God has shown Himself to time and time again, stare God directly in the face, raise their finger and say “You have brought us out here to die!”

When we get discouraged, we automatically forget all that God has done for us, to us, in us, and through us.  

The Israelites forgot all that they had experienced while following God—transformation from slavery to freedom, a complete unharmed escape from the largest and most powerful empire on earth, miraculous provision of food from the sky, and drinking water pouring forth from rocks in the wilderness. 

In a moment of discomfort, having to spend some time in the hot desert away from the comforts of living in a settled area, the Israelites became discouraged because this was not the life that they would have chosen for themselves.  In their self-centered sinfulness they cast God’s works for them aside and spoke against their Creator and Savior.

You may be sitting there saying to yourself “How could they forget all that they experienced while following God?”  But I am here to tell you that you do exactly the same thing!

Our speaking against God sounds something like this:

My food isn’t tasty enough…

My clothes aren’t stylish enough…

My body isn’t beautiful enough…

My house isn’t big enough…

My car isn’t new enough…

My family isn’t refined and educated enough…

My church isn’t exciting enough…

My paycheck isn’t big enough…

Instead of saying “I am thankful to God for His provision.  He has given me a job, a house, a family, clothing, food, life, and a place in the body of Christ,” we criticize everything that we have and do and go through because we want to be God and think that we could run creation in a better way.  The very second in time that life does not go the way we want, the very second people do not do what we think they should, the very second that our plan does not match God’s plan, our impatience leads us to discouragement and we ultimately end up pointing the finger at God and accusing of Him of doing things wrong.

Second, discouragement leads to speaking against God’s appointed leaders.

We are told that the Israelites spoke against God and against Moses who was God’s appointed leader.  

Moses spent time in prayer, God called Moses by name, God chose and appointed Moses to lead His people through some miraculous but difficult times, and God directed Him step by step.  

Even though Moses stood up for God’s people, protected them, and led them, when life got difficult, Moses became just as guilty as God in the people’s eyes.  Moses was actually more guilty because as God’s representative standing before them, He was tangibly and physically present.  So, the people’s discouragement with life was unloaded on Moses who was doing nothing but following God.

And each of us does the same thing.  Sin flows out clearly in our words, attitudes and actions: “I don’t like what God is allowing to happen in my life, both inside and outside the church and because you are God’s representative standing before me, leading me through this difficult time, you are guilty by association.” 

Third, discouragement leads to a false view of reality.

In one breath, the Israelites say “there is no food and no water and we loathe this worthless food.”  Well, which is it, do you not have any food or is the food you have not the food that you want?

We get discouraged because we place ourselves at the center of the world and the truth is that we are not the center of the world.  

When discouragement sets in, it becomes almost impossible to judge things objectively.  All words and actions become magnified as an attack on us personally.  We become blind to truth and reality and our sinful hearts and minds create a false world where we are always right and everyone else is always wrong.

Fourth, discouragement leads to telling lies to justify your wrong attitude and behavior.

Because we end up in a false reality where it is the world verse us, we end up lying as we describe what we believe to be going on.  

For the Israelites, they lied and said they did not have any food when in fact, God was provided food for them day after day by dropping bread from the sky.  

In order for us to always be right and never be wrong, we have to create and describe a reality in which we are perfect and know-it-all and those lies are nothing but a slap to the face of God Himself.

Fifth, discouragement leads to God’s Judgment.

Due to the impatience, lack of trust, and outright disobedience toward God demonstrated in our discouragement, God brings forth the law which shows us the guilt of our sin and sets out the method of punishment.

For the Israelites, God punished them by bringing snakes to bite and poison them.  When the Israelites saw the snakes they would have been quickly reminded of the serpent in the Garden of Eden that helped usher sin into the world by making Adam and Eve discouraged with their perfect life with God.

and because of God’s judgment…

Sixth, discouragement leads to a need to repent and be forgiven.

When the Israelites were confronted with the sin associated with their impatience and discouragement, they saw their wrong measured against God’s law and came to Moses admitting “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you.  Pray to the Lord that he take away the serpents from us.”

When God heard their repentance, He answered their prayer and cry for help in a way that exceeded anything that they could have asked for.  

The Israelites asked for the removal of the serpents, which meant that those who had already been bitten would die and suffer the penalty for their guilt.  However, God, in His grace and mercy, does not remove the snakes because their sin deserves to be punished, but God provides a way to be healed and restored to life.  

God has Moses create a pole with a serpent on it and promises that whoever realizes their sin and their need to be forgiven and looks up to the serpent hanging on the pole will immediately find themselves healed from the punishment they are receiving because of their sin.  

God places a serpent on top of the pole so that every time the repentant look at it to be forgiven, they are reminded of their sin (the serpent) and God’s grace in providing a new life in spite of their sin.

For you, sitting here in the pew today, life is hard and you do become discouraged, probably daily, and in that discouragement you do not trust in God, you speak against God, you speak against His leads, you buy into the picture of a false reality and you often try to justify all of that by telling lies to get the pity vote from others.  

However, God has provided forgiveness for you; He has lifted Christ up on the cross to receive the punishment for your sin.  

When you come to the foot of the cross and look up at Jesus who became sin for you, you are reminded of your grumbling against God but you are also shown the grace and mercy of God who provides a way out from that sin through healing, forgiveness, and restoration to life with Him.

In his book Hidden in Plain Sight: The Secret of More, author and pastor Mark Buchanan illustrates God’s love through the story of Tracy. He writes:

Tracy is one of the worship leaders at our church. One Sunday, as she sat at the piano, she talked about the difficult week she’d just been through. It was chaotic, she said—a mess of petty crises on top of a rash of minor accidents, all mixed up in a soup can of crazy busyness. It had left her weary and cranky. She got up that Sunday to lead worship and felt spent, with nothing more to give.

However, Tracy’s 8-year-old daughter, Brenna, helped her gain new perspective earlier that morning. When Tracy had walked into the living room, the window was covered with marks. Using a crayon, Brenna had scribbled something across the picture window, top to bottom and side to side.

At first, it seemed like one more mess for Tracy to clean up. Then she saw what Brenna had written: love, joy, peace, patience, kindnece, goodnece, faithfulnece, gentlnece and selfcantrol (in Brenna’s delightful spelling). 

Mark writes: “Tracy stopped and drank it in. Her heart flooded with light. It was exactly what she needed to be reminded about: the gift of the fruit of the Spirit that arises, not by our circumstances, but by Christ within us.

And then Tracy noticed one more thing Brenna had written at the edge of the window: Love one another. Only Brenna, in her creative spelling, had written: Love won another.”

As Mark concludes: “It’s what Jesus has been trying to tell us all along. You were won that way.”

And, then he quotes our second text from the Lectionary this morning, saying:

[14] And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15] that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

16“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light becausetheir works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3.14-21, ESV)

Cast your discouragement aside this morning.  Admit with the Israelites “I have sinned for I have spoken against God” and come to the cross where Jesus gives you peace with God by providing the healing and forgives you need through His life, death and resurrection for you. Trust in Him whom we have seen is able to do more than you can ask or imagine.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Pastor Fred Scragg V.

March 10, 2024

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Remember Redemption

john 2.13-22

Why do you go to church?

Do you go to church because you have always gone to church?

Do you go to church because your friends go to church?

Do you go to church because they give you a free bagel and coffee before the service begins?

Do you go to church because they have the best band, the biggest video screen and the fanciest laser light show, or, in other words, do you go to church for the show and performance?

Maybe you go to church because God’s Word, the Bible, with the good news of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins is always front and center—and you need to hear that good news time and time again to get you through the day?

Now, another question we can ask is, why don’t you go to church on a regular basis?

Do you avoid church because you think it is boring?

Do you avoid church because you think it is irrelevant?

Do you avoid church because you think Christians are hypocrites?

Do you avoid church because you think it is one of the many places in the world that abuses authority to oppress you?

Do you avoid church because your 5 year old needs to play baseball or do gymnastics so that in 13 years they may possibly have a small chance at being one the few will get a scholarship to college?

Do you avoid church because Sunday is your only time together as a family?; Maybe it is your only time as a family because you are living above your means and have to work several jobs and extra hours to pay for your 3 trips to Disney World each year and all the bills for the unnecessary possessions that keep you drowning in debt?

Or, do you avoid church because you simply do not see any need for God’s love to change your life from a life that is separated from Him forever because of Sin to a life that is connected to Him forever through forgiveness of sin.

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary—a 3 year reading plan that let’s us hear every word of Jesus and see every deed of Jesus—we are brought to the biography of Jesus written by the disciple John.

In the book of John, which is found in the New Testament part of the Bible, we are going to see and hear Jesus talk about the meaning, purpose and importance of the church for each and everyone of us.

Let’s hear from John 2.13-22 together now.

John 2.13-22 says this:

[13] The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [14] In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. [15] And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. [16] And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” [17] His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

[18] So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” [19] Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” [20] The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” [21] But he was speaking about the temple of his body. [22] When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (ESV)

Looking back on this event, the disciples of Jesus that were present could have easily sung a song that was similar to Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 hit, “Crazy.”

The disciples could have sung:

“I remember, I remember when

[Jesus] lost [his] mind.

Does that make [Him] crazy?”

So, let’s first ask the question, “Does this event where Jesus pushes the tables of the businessmen over—like he just lost a game of Monopoly—make Jesus nothing more than a crazy out of control lunatic who has lost his mind?”

The answer is, “No, Jesus is not a crazy out of control lunatic who has lost his mind.”

And, to come to that conclusion let’s answer two other questions.  Those questions being, “Why was Jesus upset when he entered the temple, or, church of his day?,” “Why did Jesus chase the businessman out of the temple?”

Jesus was upset because instead of hearing prayers, instead of hearing people’s voices singings songs of praise, and instead of smelling the sweet aroma of incense and sacrifices, Jesus heard the sound of money clanging, animals mooing and cooing, and the place of worship literally smelled like crap because the animal feces was piling up all around the businessman who were trying to sell them.

Jesus was upset because God’s house, the place where people should come to hear the Word of God (the Bible) read—which reminds them of God’s love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness—,the place where people should come to pray, the place where people should come to sing praises, and the place people should come to find support and encouragement from other like-minded believers, has been converted into a market place.  

In this country we have The Mall of America.  In this morning’s text, the temple had been converted to The Mall of Jerusalem.

According to the apostle John’s biography of Jesus, which is our Biblical text for this morning, Jesus wasn’t angry at corruption and false practices, Jesus was upset with people forgetting about God’s love for them and weren’t remembering the reason for going to the temple, or, church of Jesus’ day.

The temple, like today’s church, should always be a place where we receive and remember redemption.  The Church should be a place where we are only pointed to Jesus for hope.

However, the people in the temple were not following the two greatest commandments which are love God and love your neighbor, or, as I like to put it, love God and don’t be a jerk.  

Instead, the people were following their own commandments—love myself and forget about everyone else.

Sometimes, because of human brokenness that is called Sin by God, churches today still smell like crap.

They smell like crap when you enter them because they are more concerned about selling you a cup of Starbucks and the latest self-help book in their foyer, and then selling you the lies in their sanctuary that God promises you health and wealth all the days of your life and that you have the power within yourself to become a better person, than they are about being dead honest with you about  the fact that without faith in Jesus you are dead in your Sin which means you are dead to God and separate from Him and His Kingdom of Heaven forever.

I will sell you no lie and give you no false hope from this altar today. 

Instead, I will freely give you the good news and truth that you need.

Jesus lived, Jesus died, and Jesus rose from the grave for you so that your sins could be forgiven, so that you can be credited with his perfection, and so that you could be reconciled to God in Heaven today, tomorrow, and forever.

That is all you need to be known by God and have a place prepared for you in His eternal Kingdom.  To say it is a bit differently, there is NO OTHER WAY to be known by God and have a place prepared for you in HIs Kingdom except through faith in Jesus. 

The truth is you don’t need an expensive coffee in an expensive Stanley cup, a Joyce Meyer self-help book, and a Ted Talk.  

The truth is that you need Jesus if you are going to have hope for a saving relationship with God.

And, God’s love of you is so great that He comes to you and freely gives you Jesus Christ, His Son, even while you are living in the crap and filth of Sin, making every excuse in the book to avoid Him, the Bible, and the Church, or, going to church for the wrong reasons, misunderstanding and misusing Him, the Bible, and the Church.

Sharing this good news was the purpose of the temple in Jesus’ day, and this is the purpose of God’s Church today.

Jesus wasn’t afraid of the businessmen in the temple because of their sin-filled lives and Jesus isn’t afraid of us because of our sin filled lives.  

Jesus loves us and continues to walk into our sin-filled lives and extend his nail pierced hand to us for us to take a hold of so that He can lead us back to God our Father in Heaven.

The irony of what happened on this day that Jesus entered the Temple is this:

People were committing sin in the temple when it is was the time of year—the Passover—when the temple was celebrating God passing over and forgiving sin.

About five minutes into every single morning, I find myself catching an angry or impure thought, I find myself filled with grumbling and complaining, and through the grace of God and the working of the Holy Spirit in my life, I come to complete agreement with the apostle Paul when He says this in his letter to the Christians gathered in the city of Rome during the first Century:

[24] Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? [25] Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. 

[1] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 7:24-8:1, ESV)

Here’s the thing…sin doesn’t go away once we find ourselves believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  In this flesh and bones body, every Christian, and that includes every Pastor, struggles to do what’s right every single day.  

However, we know where our hope for forgiveness is found and where our strength for the day to aim to to live up to God’s standards for life and love come from—they come from God the Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ, His Only Son, the in Holy Sprit working in and through us.

In a book I read a few weeks ago, the author made this unbelievable true and comforting statement:

“Christianity isn’t tidy, and neither is the church. As long as there is a church, there will be church hurt. As long as there is a cursed creation, there will be suffering. As long as there is mystery, there will be unanswered questions. But as long as there is a risen Savior, there is hope. And that’s what I want to leave you with. I want to share a story of hope.”

In 1989, long hair and leather clad bad boy rockers, Skid Row, released a song that would quickly go on to reach #6 on Billboards Hot 100.

The song was called, I Remember You, and has the singer remembering a relationship from days past that made him feel loved and cared for.

The first verse and chorus go like this:

I paint a picture of the days gone by

When love went blind and you would make me see

I’d stare a lifetime into your eyes

So that I knew that you were there for me

Time after time you there for me

Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand

Love letters in the sand, I remember you

Through the sleepless nights through every endless day

I’d want to hear you say, I remember you

In our Biblical text for this morning, we are told that when the disciples remembered the things Jesus did and said in their presence when He was on earth caused them to remember two ultimately important things.

The first thing that the disciples remember about Jesus is that He had a zeal for God’s Church.  This means that Jesus had and continues to have a great love and enthusiasm for giving us a place and a people that will help us receive and remember the good news that forgiveness and redemption are possible for those that trust in Him.

And, the second thing that the disciples remember about Jesus is that He did what He said He would do.  He was killed and He came back to life to defeat the power of sin and death for everyone of us.

In other, words, when you stand at the gates of Heaven, you can have full confidence that Jesus will look at you with tears of joy in His eyes saying, “I remember you, welcome to Paradise.”

This morning, I am thankful that you are in church, and I invite you to make a habit of attending church, whether it is here or elsewhere—as long as it is a church that is a true church having it’s priorities right—holding out Jesus alone for forgiveness, redemption, and Heaven by always keeping God’s love for you, the Bible written for you, and the gift of Jesus Christ for you, front and center.

Receive and Remember your Redemption from this day forward.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Pastor Fred Scragg V.

March 3, 2024

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Crowned With Comfort

James 1.12-18

A few years ago, a YouTube video circulated among some of my pastor friends.

In that video, we learned about Andrew Brunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina who spent 20 years in Turkey. 

He had a quiet but deep ministry there until 2016, when after a failed military coup, the government arrested him along with journalists, activists, military officers, and others. 

The Turkish government labeled Brunson a spy.

Brunson was held for more than a year without charges. 

He spent nearly two years in prison, often enduring long trial sessions. At one point, it looked like he could spend years or even decades in Turkish prisons. Finally, after pressure from the

United States Government, Brunson was released from prison and returned to the United States.

The video that circulated into my inbox contained a Wheaton College chapel talk in which Brunson candidly said that he did not feel God’s overwhelming presence during his stay in prison. Instead, he experienced something even deeper. Brunson said, “[After a few days in prison], I completely lost the sense of God’s presence. God was silent. And he remained silent for two years.”

When he was finally brought to trial, things were even worse. He says:

There are some who go into the valley of testing and some do not make it out … I was broken. I lay there alone in my solitary cell, I had great fear, terrible grief, and I was weeping. And the thought kept going through my mind, Where are you God? Why are you so far away? 

And I opened my mouth as I wept aloud, and I was surprised at what I heard coming out of my mouth. I heard, “I love you Jesus. I love you Jesus. I love you Jesus.” I thought here is my victory. Even if you’re silent, I love you. Even if you let my enemy harm me, I love you. [As] Jesus said, “But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

What has happened in your past, or, is happening to you right now, that has you not feeling God’s overwhelming presence in your life, or, has you feeling like you lost the sense of God’s presence completely, believing God is silent?

When we experience periods of hardship and suffering (and we all do, trust me!) many questions arise for us about God’s goodness,  God’s promises, God’s presence, and God’s existence.

This was the experience of the pastor mentioned above, and at some point in life, it was your experience too.  It is only human to doubt and question God in a world filled with pain and corruption.  I say this to let you know that you are not alone this morning, even though you may think you are.

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary for this First Sunday in Lent, we are going to hear some of what James, one of Jesus’ brothers, wrote concerning the place of hardship and struggle in our lives.

Let’s hear together from the first chapter of James’ letter as found in the New Testament section of the Bible.

James 1:12–18 says this:

[12] Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. [13] Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. [14] But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15] Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

[16] Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. [17] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. [18] Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. (ESV)

Right before this section of James’ letter to the Christians in various cities throughout the Mediterranean region in the first Century following Jesus’ birth, James speaks about the testing of one’s faith.  He speaks very clearly about the times we experience fear, grief, weeping, pain, struggle and hardship.

For, faithfulness’ sake to this morning’s Biblical text, let’s read the  section of James’ letter that immediately precedes it and gives us context for what we hear James encourage us with in what we just heard.

In verse, 2-11, James says this:

[2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

[5] If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. [6] But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. [7] For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; [8] he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

[9] Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, [10] and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. [11] For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. (ESV)

So, with all of this information, let’s ask and answer a question that arises out of this morning’s Biblical text from James 1.12-18.

Here’s the question: “Why should we feel like God is blessing us when we have difficulties and hardships in life?”

Well, according to James, when we walk through difficult moments and seasons of life and come out on the other side, our faith is strengthened because we see that God was with us the whole time, proving to us that nothing in all Creation can separate from us from his love.  

Even in the hardest moments of life, when we seemed to question everything and everyone, God did not leave us alone.  

In fact, we are reminded in Psalm 23, that God is not only with us in every moment, but he is also leading us, guiding us, and protecting us from ultimate harm.

Psalm 23 reminds us of this truthful good news when King David says:

[4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4, ESV)

When the harder moments of life test our faith, our trust in God’s presence and goodness, that faith grows stronger as we learn that God is really real, really present, and really concerned for us, so much so that he would deal with the crap and filth of broken humanity, which spits in his face and denies that goodness and existence, in order to rescue and save us.

The Bible often speaks of the strength of God’s love for us and the fact that nothing in all of Creation, what has come before in our lives and what will come in the future for us, will ever be strong enough to separate us from His continuous grace, mercy, and love demonstrated most clearly in His rescue of us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In a specific example, the apostle Paul, when writing to the Christians gathered in the city of Rome in the first Century following Jesus’ death and resurrection, encourages believers with these words:

[31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] 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? [33] Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. [34] Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. [35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?…

[37] …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31–35, 37-39, ESV)

James goes as far to say that when we see, learn, and come to believe that God helps us in our times of need, we become perfect because we trust in God who is in control of all things and can do all things, instead of trusting in ourselves whom cannot control anything fully, regardless of how hard we try, and we will try, believe me.

We come to rest in the fact that God never changes.  God is always good to us.  God always acts with grace toward us.  God always acts with mercy toward us.  God always acts with love toward us.  God is always patient with us.  

The author of the Biblical book of Hebrews captures this point succinctly:

[8] Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. [9] Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace…(Hebrews 13:8–9, ESV)

It is God’s will that you be forgiven of your sin so that you do not remain separated from Him forever.  And, God does everything needed to make sure that happens for you.

God gives you the good and perfect gift of Jesus Christ, His Son, who is God in the flesh, God with you, who lived the life you couldn’t live—obeying every command of God for life and love, who died on the cross to pay the price and provide the forgiveness you need for your command breaking, lawless, self-centered life, and who walked out of the grave alive after three days, defeating the power of sin and death that once kept you separated from God eternally.

And, through standing firm in faith in that good and perfect gift that is Jesus Christ, you will be given the crown of life which is your one way ticket into the eternal Kingdom of Heaven.

Speaking of his life of standing firm in faith through both good and bad times, the apostle Paul talks about the crown of life that believers will receive like this:

2 Timothy 4:7–8

[7] I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. [8] Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (ESV)

And, like this:

[24] Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. [25] Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable [crown], but we an imperishable [crown]. [26] So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. [27] But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24–27, ESV)

In his final letter to the churches on earth, the disciple John, shared this vision which has Jesus speaking to and encourages Christians saying:

[10] Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. [11] I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. (Revelation 3:10–11,ESV)

In this life, Jesus wore the crown of thorns, or, we could say, the crown of death, so that in your eternal existence, you could wear the crown of life, having been forgiven of your Sin, made righteous in every way, and therefore, welcomed into God’s Kingdom of Heaven.

At some each of us goes into the valley of testing and it is sad to know that some do not make it out.  We are broken. We lay in bed at night, feeling all alone, with great fear, with terrible grief, and we sometimes weep. The thought keeps going through our mind, Where are you God? Why are you so far away? 

In those moments, even as you weep aloud, hear Jesus saying to you, “Do not be deceived!,” “I love you!.” “I love you.” “I love you.”

And in response, say, “I love you Jesus. I love you Jesus. I love you Jesus.” “Even if you’re silent for a moment, I love you. Even if you let my enemy temporarily harm me, I love you.”

In every instance, ask God to remind you that Jesus said, “But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

With faith in Jesus, you are always blessed when you remain steadfast under trial, for when you have stood the test you will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to you who love him.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Pastor Fred Scragg V.

February 18, 2024

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Jesus Clean

Mark 1.21-28

Have you ever been the victim of someone’s abuse of authority and power?

While I was doing research this week to find common day and historical abuses of power and authority, I came across a very sad truth.

That very sad truth is this—the vast majority of recorded information about abuses of power and authority were centered on sexual assault.  Throughout each and every generation of human existence, the most common reason that people abused their power and authority was to receive immediate sexual gratification from those left in their care.  Whether it was a family friend or relative asked to babysit, or, a CEO of a fortune 500 company, those asked and tasked to provide safety, security and guidance for those under them, have abused the power and authority given to them in every situation imaginable to take what wasn’t theirs for their own benefit.

If you have been a victim of this type of abuse of power, I am truly sorry.  No one deserves to be used by another for their personal satisfaction.  

What time as prove to be true is that people abuse power and authority for any reason—even silly ones.

In 2013, Mexico’s Attorney General for Consumer Protection shut down a restaurant based on a complaint from his daughter. She was mad because they didn’t seat her at the specific table she wanted.

The attorney general’s name was Humberto Benitez Treviño. His daughter had gone to a popular restaurant in Mexico City without a reservation. When the staff refused to seat her at the table she wanted, she threatened to call her father and have the restaurant shut down. 

Soon after, four officials from the consumer protection agency showed up to carry out a “lightning raid” on the restaurant. They said they found some violations, including a problem with their reservation policies. They shut it down. At the same time, the daughter went on Twitter to complain about the restaurant.

Public opinion quickly turned against her. Mexico has long had problems with officials abusing their power, and this case was particularly blatant. It became a topic for discussion across the country, so the Mexican president fired Trevino, and the restaurant was reopened.

In 2017, a mayor in Florida got caught using the handicapped parking permits of dead people.

Darlene Bradley was the Mayor of Davenport, Florida. What makes her abuse of power particularly outrageous is that she stole a dead person’s identity for something as trivial as a parking spot.

She got caught after someone tipped off police, and they reviewed security footage from the parking lot at City Hall. The video showed her parking in a handicapped space and then lifting a heavy, wheeled briefcase from her trunk. Police discovered her parking permit had been issued to a woman who died in 2012, and Bradley had altered the expiration date. They eventually searched her house and found she had additional permits, including one from someone who died in 2015.

Prosecutors said the mayor’s actions showed she thought she was above the law. As part of a plea deal, she was forced to resign. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the charge of criminal use of the identity of a deceased person.

When we are talking about the proper and improper uses of power and authority, it is only fair that we also ask an uncomfortable question that requires an answer that comes from taking stock of our own pasts and possibly present.

Here it is:

Have you ever been the one to abuse authority and power given to you, making others the victim of an abuse of authority and power?

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary for this Fourth Sunday after Epiphany, we get to hear about the use of power and authority.  Specifically, we get to hear about how God, in the flesh and bones of Jesus Christ, used his power and authority, unlike the people just discussed, for the good of those He came to.

Let’s hear from the disciple Mark’s biography of Jesus now.

Mark 1.21-28 tells us this:

[21] And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. [22] And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. [23] And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, [24] “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” [25] But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” [26] And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. [27] And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” [28] And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. (ESV)

In this piece of history recorded for us, we see and hear that Jesus, God present with us, used his power and authority to help those that came into contact with Him.

First, we see that Jesus uses his power and authority to give us hope.’

And, he does this by using his power and authority to teach and preach a message that is actually called, “The Good News.”

As we saw last week, from the text that immediately precedes this one, Jesus’ message that He was teaching and preaching was, “Repent, Believe, Follow Me, and I will make you citizens of Heaven who love God and love others!”  

This message contained in all of Jesus’ preaching and teaching brings hope because with the message of God sending a Savior, He is also annoying and showing that He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to rescue and save humanity from being separated from God forever.

He is making the promise and fulfilling the promise all at once.

In my devotional reading this week, I once again came upon Galatians 4:4–7 which the apostle Paul tells us this very truth in this way:

[4] But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. [6] And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” [7] So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (ESV)

Second, in our Biblical text for this morning, we see that Jesus uses his power and authority to make us clean.

Now, you may be asking, who is unclean?

Well, the immediate textual answer is the man that was possessed by an evil spirit.

We hear Jesus, with His power and authority over all things that were created, command the unclean spirit to leave the man it is bothering, enslaving, and oppressing.  And, because Jesus has power and authority over all things in existence, that unclean spirit had to obey and leave the man alone just as Jesus told it to.

It is here that we clearly see Jesus using his power and authority to set a man free from bondage to all things evil and ungodly, leaving the man in a better place, and a freer place, than he was before He met Jesus.

Even though our text focuses on this one unclean man, the text is also speaking to and referring to the fact that every man and woman that has ever been conceived and born into this world is unclean in God’s eyes before they are cleaned by the work that Jesus does in their lives. 

And, that includes you and me!

We are told over and over again in the Bible that being unclean, meaning morally impure, doing the things that God says not to do and not doing the things that God says to, separates you from God, your Creator and Father in Heaven.

Most of us go on living unclean, ungodly, selfish and self-centered lives, using whatever power and authority we can get to take what we think we deserve and are owed by the people and places around us.

However, because sin blinds us to our ungodliness and convinces us that we are in fact God, we often don’t see our need to be cleaned, saved, and restored into a relationship with God our Father until we encounter Jesus face-to-face.

Without the cleaning and transforming of our lives that Jesus ALONE provides for us, we are victimizers playing the victim to further use any and all power and authority we have to benefit ourselves.

The apostle John makes clear that those who remain unclean, that is untrusting and unbelieving in Jesus as Lord and Savior do not make it through the gates of Heaven.

In Revelation 21:22–27 when he writes about what Heaven will be like.  The apostle John says this:

[22] And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. [23] And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, [25] and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. [26] They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. [27] But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (ESV)

Later on in his ministry, after being asked to use his power and authority for the wrong purposes—to give a two men positions of power and authority over everyone else in the Kingdom of Heaven—Jesus answered with these words:

[25] But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. [26] It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, [27] and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, [28] even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25–28, ESV)

Jesus always shows us his commitment to use his power and authority for the right reasons.

Unlike humans who use even the smallest bit of power and authority to serve themselves to the fullest, Jesus, God in the flesh, never once used his power and authority to serve himself.  Jesus always used his power and authority to serve you!

Jesus always used his power and authority to preach to you and teach you that there is hope for forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life.

Jesus always used his power and authority to wash and clean you from all of the sin that separates you from God.

And, Jesus always used his power and authority to lead you back into the eternal presence of God, your Father in Heaven, who both created you and redeemed you at the price of His own life.

Author Vaughan Roberts recalled the following:

Bobby Moore was the England soccer captain who received the World Cup from Queen Elizabeth when England won the trophy in 1966. An interviewer later asked him to describe how he felt. He talked about how terrified he was as he approached Her Majesty, because he noticed she was wearing white gloves, while his hand, which would soon shake the Queen’s, was covered in mud from the pitch … As the triumphant captain walks along the balcony, he keeps wiping his hand on his shorts, and then on the velvet cloth in front of the Royal box in a desperate to get himself clean.

Roberts continued, 

“If Bobby Moore was worried about approaching the Queen with his muddy hands, how much more horrified should we be at the prospect of approaching God? Because of our sin, we are not just dirty on the outside; our hearts are unclean. And God doesn’t just wear white gloves; he is absolutely pure, through and through.”

The only way for you to become clean enough for God to be with you today, tomorrow, and forever, is to recognize Jesus’ power and authority to say what he going to do and do what he is says he will.

In 1958, Mr. Clean, the all-purpose cleaner was introduce to the world with the slogan, “There’s no clean, like Mr. Clean!’ 

For eternity’s sake, there’s no clean, like Jesus clean!

This morning, rejoice because in Jesus “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11, ESV)

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Pastor Fred Scragg V.

January 28, 2024