After Jesus ascended to the right hand of God the Father almighty, in place of his physical presence he sent his Spirit, witnessed on the day of Pentecost in tongues of fire upon the apostles.[2] That day was unique in Israel, not because the Holy Spirit was absent from God’s people previously but because the Holy Spirit came in an unprecedented fullness, fulfilling Joels’ prophecy of the Spirit being poured out “on all flesh” (Joel 2:28), not indiscriminately but according to the sovereign grace of God.
Tag Archives: Christianity
When Christ Is Your Life
In the version of the Lord’s Prayer, taken from Matthew’s Gospel, we pray, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt. 6:12 KJV). The word translated “debts” implies that we have an obligation due God that requires forgiveness. Of course, Jesus uses this financial term figuratively for sin, an offense against the holiness of God that imputes an insurmountable debt, a debt we cannot pay.
From Mountain High to Valley Low
Have you ever had an experience that could be described as a “spiritual high”? Perhaps it was one summer after church camp (or every summer after church camp). Perhaps it was after a conference or during an especially uplifting Bible study. Or, perhaps it was a seemingly inexplicable time of spiritual growth. Whatever the case, you remember it, and then it went away, as if descending from mountain high to valley low.
The Incalculable Value of Following Christ
And if you are looking for a guaranteed return on the investment on your life in Christ, here it is: The Lord Jesus Christ will return in his glory and the glory of God the Father who sent him, with his holy angels, to gather all who belong to him.
The Lord Will Provide
Jesus’ twelve apostles had just returned from their first mission, where they proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and healed the spiritually and physically sick. As they were sent out by and with the power and authority of Christ, their mission was effective. Even Rome’s regional ruler, Herod the Tetrarch, took notice. But it was a short-term mission, and they soon returned to Jesus, eager to tell him all that they had done.
Resurrection Encouragement
Despite its certainty, as Western-culture moderns, we have a hard time thinking and talking about death. Such talk seems to our ears, well, morbid (which may make you wonder why I am talking about it today on Easter Sunday of all times!).
The Message and Its Miracles
This is the first record we have of the apostles ministering as Jesus did, which tells us less about the apostles and more about the bestowing of Jesus’s power and authority, which is all the more intriguing considering one of the twelve was Judas Iscariot. But called, commissioned, and sent they were, for the purpose of carrying a message, the good news of the kingdom of God. And while the substance of their message and its miracles were specific to their context, we (though not apostles) may glean from God’s work in and through them, starting first with the message they carried.
Delivered from the Domain of Darkness
The allure of sin is that it will fulfill the desire of our flesh. When it strikes and we submit, we do not think about its impact upon our hearts, habits, or hurt to our neighbor but the fulfillment of our desire. This is especially the case with habitual sin, sin which we commit so consistently that we give little regard to its offense and dismiss its insidious residence. But what if we could see what sin does to us, from the inside out. What would we look like? Would we recognize ourselves?
The Family of Faith
When Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth, from preaching throughout Judea, he didn’t receive what we would call a “warm welcome.” Rather than celebrating his ministry, the people wondered, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?” (Matt. 13:54). To them, he was just the carpenter’s son, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joseph, Simon, Judas, and his sisters.[2]
Take Care How You Hear
Take care then how you hear, Christian, because this world “is passing away along with its desires” (1 John 2:17a). Let the life, death, and resurrection of your sinless Savior speak to your heart. Let your ears daily hear the truth of his Word, that it may dwell in you richly,[6] training you to confess your sin to your faithful and justice Father,[7] to walk in his righteousness, as the Spirit conforms you to Christ.[8] “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” (2 Cor. 4:6).
Planter, Pastor, Preacher 